happy birthday America

Enjoyed celebrating independence day in our nation's capital, right beneath the dome of the Capitol. Beautiful spot we found on the west lawn of the Capitol building.
So today's JOYs:
- listening to an amazing free concert on the lawn, especially the wonderful national symphony orchestra playing the Olympic theme directed by none other than John Williams himself. It was awesome. I got chills. I LOVE good music.
- great friends to spend my day with. How did I get so lucky to have such great people to call my friends?
- sunshine....very hot and humid sunshine, but a gorgeous day nonetheless.
- living in the great state known as the United States of America. I do not always agree with the politicking and drama of it all, but how amazing is it that this country was founded on principles of freedom, rights, and that I happened to be born here. Where the freedom of religion allowed the gospel to be restored, the freedoms of economy have enabled prosperity and growth, the freedom of speech has allowed people to progress intellectually. And all this was established in one place and has then spread across the globe. It's obviously not perfect, but how blessed we are to have what we have.
- the metro...simple, direct, clean, organized. With AC. Love it
- seeing divine sparks of human compassion, cooperation, tolerance, as people come together for events such as the Olympics, or honoring the sacrifices of others, or lifting those who have disabilities. It gives me hope for us as humans.

I am so grateful for those who stood up for the freedoms they knew were right to create this country. And for those who have and continue to serve to secure them and possibly provide them to other nations around the world. It saddens me that we do need to fight for that which is just and ofttimes violently defend that which is right, but it must be done and I am grateful for those who do it, whether at home, in our streets, or abroad, in the war zones across oceans.
"the only thing for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing" Edmund Burke
So let us fight against evil, stand for what is just and right, and help those who do not have these precious blessings.
"We have implanted in our souls a desire to be free. The Lord understood this when He granted us our mortal probation. With that freedom, however, comes accountability. We are instructed not to idle away our time nor bury our talents and not use them. We are expected to make our lives better through our own initiatives and efforts." L Tom Perry, apostle of Jesus Christ

As we strive for peace, we would do well to remember that Christ is the author of and the only true source of peace: " my peace I give unto you, not as the world giveth give I unto you, let not your heart be troubled neither let it be afraid." As we turn to him we find solutions to every problem in the world and pathways of peace.

day clubbin

I am a day clubber. That is a label specially reserved for those "fortunate" souls who are not employed. Thus far I have enjoyed my day clubber status apart from the long hours of resume/cover letter writing and submitting. It has allowed me to catch up on past episodes of NCIS (thank you DVR) while browsing job boards, work on my tan at the pool while waiting for news from interviews, and visit my favorite hot spots here in the nation's capital and surrounding areas.....Until yesterday. As I once again languished for hours working on the job search, I resented my day clubbing activities and very much desired employment. I have never been one to enjoy laziness or extended periods of spare time. So I am hoping to very soon turn in my day club pass, let my tan fade, and be too busy to finish a 500 page book in favor of full time employment status. 

On the bright side, as I always enjoy that side of life more than the opposite, here are the JOYs I experienced in the past couple days:

• Sunday was a very peaceful, productive day. Organized my computer/hard drive files, took in my dress, took a nap, enjoyed some chat time with the roomies, read, listened to music...ahhh. good day.
• KEY LIME PIE....I don't think this one really needs further explanation, however I will elaborate with the details that my wonderful mother sent me here with a key lime pie mix in preparation for celebrating my birthday with my dessert of choice. I must say it was the best boxed key lime pie I have ever tasted. And still enjoying it..yes.
• Books...I love reading! I love that an author simply uses words to describe a scene/emotion/event, and being able to transport yourself to that place/time/event. I very much enjoy the feeling that my mind is working, absorbing new words and ideas, expanding my imagination, vocabulary, and over all view of the world.
• Fireflies...they don't exist in the West. And last night they were lighting up all around me as I chatted with people in a well-treed backyard at dusk. It was cool.
• Evening runs...last night was very pleasant after the sun set, so I decided to go out on my second run of the day and found it much more pleasurable to run in the cool of the evening than the rising temps of the morning. might be a new tradition.
• Simplicity...realizing I want more of it in my life. So new goal: simplify. Life is too crazy to complicate it with too much stress, stuff, activities, etc. A simple life is a happy life because the person with a simple life appreciates everything. How will I do this? Stay tuned...

Speaking of staying tuned...I promised to document my birthday activities and failed to do so the day following my birthday as I was quite tuckered out. So here we go:

Yes we got to wear those bright orange vests on the paddle boat...go ahead and be jealous.

1. Anticipating a VERY warm day, we got to downtown as early as possible to rent a paddle boat on the Tidal Basin (by the Jefferson Memorial). By early as possible I mean 10:30 as they do not open until 10. Didn't help much as it was blisteringly warm by 11...up to 102 by 12:30. PS: paddle boats- yep, awesome. you get a view of the Jefferson, Washington, FDR, and new Martin Luther King memorials all in one little jaunt around the basin.
2. Hopped over to L'Enfant Plaza, ate lunch in a VERY crowded food court, but were rewarded with CRUMBS CUPCAKES! If you are not acquainted with the deliciousness that is Crumbs...I invite you to imagine the best cake, filled with something sweet in the middle, topped with the most delicious frosting ever. Sorry you probably can't experience it for yourself as they are very limited in locations at present. Safe to say....every cupcake I have tasted from Crumbs has been exceptional. 
3. Went home to cool off after sweating all morning/afternoon.



Cupcake selections at Crumbs



pizza at 2 Amys

4. Drove up to NW DC to have an authentic Neapolitan pizza experience at 2 Amy's pizza. Amazing. Yep it was authentic...authentically sooooo good. Def going back.
5. Came home, and danced the night away in front of the Kinect. My fav. So I was a happy girl. :)

All in all GOOD birthday!

IKEA

Today's adventure: shopping at Ikea. Traffic was so bad it took us literally twice as long to get down there....which means like an hour instead of 20-30 min. Naturally we got sucked into the wonders of Ikea, but still forgot things. Now we'll just have to go back....darn.
Then we giggled like little girls as we constructed our new additions. Table, chairs, footstools, hanging lamp. We took a break briefly to stop by a BBQ and socialize a bit, but it took a lot to tear ourselves away from the treasures we had purchased. I always say, it's the little things in life that bring joy and amusement.
Speaking of, today's JOYs.....
- my roommate Caitlyn, she is awesome. We laughed our way through getting lost, never ending traffic, missing our movie time, ghetto Walmart, and headaches from hunger. So grateful to have her in my life. Surround yourself with good, uplifting people and you can never go wrong or be bored.
- cheap, good home goods
- electricity, which means functioning air conditioning...when half the city is without power after insane storms last night brought down trees and branches which brought down power lines which leaves neighborhoods without power...which means they are living without AC.....in 100 degree weather. Poor souls
- beds. Nuff said

my birthday gift to my Father

As the anniversary day of my birth starts, I want to express my gratitude and love to my Father in Heaven for all the things he has given me in my 26 years of life.

“Whatever hour God has blessed you with, take it with grateful hand, nor postpone your joys from year to year, so that in whatever place you have been, you may say that you have lived happily.”

• I am grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ in my life that guides me each and every day, gives me hope, and leads me in the path of true happiness
• I thank Him for a wonderful, loving family: for a mother and father who raised me well, taught me the truth, and have always expressed their love for me; for sisters who are always there to humble me, have fun with me, talk with me, defend and stick up for me when I can't do it for myself, who share dreams and passions and laughter with me.
• I give thanks for the Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ, who made this life possible and made it possible for me to be cleansed from my sins, for my mistakes to be sanctified for my well being, and provided the way for me to receive eternal life.
• Thanks to my Father for good friends, for all the wonderful people in my life who have supported me, loved me, cried with me, laughed with me, mentored me. 
• I feel gratitude for the many material blessings I have been given, that I have never lacked for the physical necessities of life: food, home, clothing, water; but that I also have an over abundance of material comforts: TV, computer, bed, entertainment, music, books, shoes, etc.
• I am grateful for all the opportunities I currently/have had for education, for travel, for amusement, for entertainment, for learning, for leisure, for work, for growth.

I love my Father in Heaven. I know that He is the one and only true God. That He is the Father of all of us, His children, and He loves each of us indefinitely. I know that Jesus Christ is His Son. That Christ died for our sins, but also for our pains, our weaknesses, our temptations, our sicknesses, our heartache, and every other physical/emotional/mental experience in this life. I know that He lives, and we all shall live again, to be resurrected. I know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is His true church restored to the earth, restored with every teaching, ordinance, and authority necessary for happiness in this life, and eternal life in the life to come. If you want to know more about how/why I know this, or how to get the happiness that I have experienced in my own life, please ask. God loves us all and wants us all to be happy. It is possible through His true church.

self esteem boost

After deciding to not go to the pool today in favor of instead going with the sister missionaries to feel the spirit and do some good, the person they had an appointment with ended up not being there. Sad reality of missionary life. I left them to their backup plan (you RMs out there know what I'm talking about). Then came home, changed and quickly ran down to the pool to get some SUN! I was excited as this would be the first day my sunburned skin has felt ready for additional UV rays since the tragic burning at Virginia Beach. I met up with my roommate and noticed that the lifeguard was eyeing me peculiarly.....once my roommate left I found out why. He wanted to ask me out! He told me I was cute (quote "even your name is cute") and he couldn't wait to spend time with me. Well I'll admit he's a charmer, a bit of a smooth one, but a nice guy. So that was flattering.

JOYs for today:
- already feeling pretty when someone else tells you so
- cleaning...baseboards, washing machine, vacuuming, dusting...cleanliness really is next to godliness, I feel like a sweaty, tired but joyful goddess after cleaning
- laughing with roommates
- cheesy Disney movies that give you warm fuzzies right after making you roll your eyes
- making great plans for my bday tomorrow!! (stay tuned for unveiling of successful completion of said plans tomorrow)

funny morning thoughts

went running this morning and noticed once again, that the air is a bit tinged here. it looks orangey compared to the clear, sunshine in the dry West. another factor of the humidity.
I ran by the freeway around 8ish...rush hour. and it was hilarious that at times i was running quicker than the cars just over the fence. and i am not a quick runner. :)
i hate it when you can't go to sleep at night even when you are exhausted because you are thinking about something. that was me last night. i was so excited about the job at USAID and wishing, hoping, praying that i would get it. now to wait. i hate waiting. and not being able to sleep.

Quotes I like

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