I rocked the box

Last weekend, I spent every waking moment with my Bible study girl friends.

Friday night was dinner at a Mexican cafe, followed by late night bowling on the nearby Army base.

Saturday was Disney Day, beginning at 11am and lasting through the afternoon. Cars, Lady and the Tramp, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, all watched in our pajamas. And plenty of snacks, of course. That night, Bruin Girl got a few of us tickets to the Kennedy Center . . seated in the President's box! Champagne bottles with the Presidential seal. Red, white, and blue M&Ms specially boxed with the seal as well. And the best part?? That feeling I felt when I sat there, like a queen on her throne - there, in the very place many Presidents have sat before . . the toilet. The girls and I finished the night with yet another movie, The Guardian, and burgers and fries from Five Guys - yum!!

Sunday, after church, we began another Disney Day. Cinderella, Oliver & Company, Rescuers Down Under. We grabbed sandwiches from our favorite sandwich place and just laid low. Feeling incredibly lazy, we headed to the pool and swam laps for awhile only to come back and watch yet another movie.

Pretty much a weekend of perfection.














In Georgetown, taking a movie break and walking the dog that The President gave my friend.

Thief!

MISSING!:

an ENTIRE load of laundry!

including:

t-shirts
[expensive] jeans
underwear

Please call XXX-XXX-XXXX if you have seen my clothing.

Thank you!


That's the note I left hanging in the 8th floor laundry room. So I sit here waiting and praying that whoever stole my laundry will be kind enough to return it! Who does that?!

West Coast slang?

“You ate your biscuit because he was getting stale,” Em said. Em is a new co-worker and friend from Southern California. And I reference her home state, because it seems to be the birthplace of her random West Coast vocabulary.

She’s taught me several slang words already, including the use of the word “biscuit” in reference to any guy you’re involved with. If you’re admiring him from afar, you’re “checking out the ingredients”. If he’s a great boyfriend, he’s “golden brown”. If he’s done something to upset you, he’s a “wet biscuit” and “Nobody wants a wet biscuit”. And let’s be honest, sometimes the “batter tastes better than the biscuit”. (And I promise, no sexual innuendos here - yikes.:)

So as you all know, this biscuit I've gone out with just didn’t have the right ingredients. I need to wait for a fresh biscuit with the finest ingredients. I need a biscuit that is golden brown.

coach

“I have some very exciting news to share with you,” she said over the phone. “God is so good.”

Fear gripped my heart. She was leaving me. That’s what it was. My teacher, my mentor, my friend. Not just my co-worker. My encourager, my challenger, and the one who believed in me. She was brilliant. With people, with strategies, with tactics – just brilliant.

“I’ve been given a position in a different division of the company . . where I can train those coming into the company, where I can invest in them.” And that’s what she does. She invests in people and cares about people. She appreciates their value. She sees them. So it’s perfect. Less stressful, too. And tailored to the person that she is.

“I’m not leaving you,” she said. “My door will still be open.” My throat was tight, and the tears wanted to come. “Stop being so selfish. Stop being so scared,” I told myself. But what would I do without the one who gets me? Who sees my strengths and weaknesses. Who hates that I don’t micro-manage, but likes me anyway. Who trusts me with things and builds my confidence. What would I do?

I will find out.

One thing I know. God will take care of me just as he is taking care of her. My company is already great, but with her in this new position, it will only get better.

Ok, I know I missed National De-lurking Week, but so what?

There are loads of you that read my blog consistently, but you never post anything. You must have something to say. At least say hello. Come out and post something. It can be anonymous; I don't care. Just leave a comment! Please! :)

636

As the elevator reached the sixth floor, I stepped off and flipped up my turtleneck to cover my nose and mouth. I didn't care if she said she wasn't contagious, I wasn't taking any chances by breathing freely in her apartment. The poor thing had been sick enough to warrant a trip to the ER and no way did I want to catch that virus. But she needed her laptop, so there I was.

New Girl and I have developed a pretty close friendship. Constantly visiting each other's desks at work. Daily eating lunch together. Spending time together outside of work. The level of comfort allows us to frequently (as in every other sentence) tease each other and be blatantly honest when the truth needs to be told. When sharing a hotel room in New York last month, New Girl had no problem making herself at home in my presence by sleeping pantless. "When you come out of the bathroom, I'm not gonna have any pants on. Just so you're not surprised." This would explain how the following occurred:

I firmly knocked at 636 and waited for New Girl to walk from the bed in her studio apartment to the front door at which I stood. "It's meee," I announced. I heard movement and bare footsteps and then, what was that? It sounded like someone was putting on pants. Yes, first one leg, then the other. (Nice solid doors, huh?)

"What are you putting on pants for????" I asked through the door. "You always take them off when I'm around."

No comment.

The door slowly opened and there stood a 60-year old man . . just smiling, expecting the very look that he found on my face. He looked almost satisfied, knowing that I was humiliated and he had absolutely nothing to be embarrassed of. He was merely answering the knock at his front door.

"Ohmygosh! I could've sworn my friend lived on the sixth floor!"

"It's a big floor. She probably does."

"No . . this is her apartment."

"I'm sorry, but I live here."

Immediately I turned, walked back to the elevators, and found New Girl in the same place she's always been . . 736.

Congratulations!

Once, my youth leader and 'big sister'; often my personal advisor and voice of reason; always my close friend. I've known her for eleven years as all of these things, and now I will know her as a mother. Congratulations to my wonderful friend and her great husband! After an awful day and a half of labor, Chloe Anne finally made her way out to meet the world. I can't wait to meet her myself. Isn't she adorable?

Like coming home

"It typically takes about seven to eight months of church-hopping to find a church you're happy with". The pastor was right. I've been here eight months and although I've liked things about each church I've visited, none have felt like home. Like a place to settle, to plug in, to embrace the people around me as my church family. Sunday, I found that place.

I had already decided to consistently attend a mega-church about 20 minutes away. It reminded me the most of home . . yet not completely. I was comfortable getting lost amongst the hundreds of people in each service. I knew most of the songs they sang, and loved learning the new ones. The messages were good . . often wimpy, but good . . like drinking milk - delicious milk, when I was craving steak or at least some chicken, something to chew on. Every person I'd met there so far loved God . . as long as He didn't ask them to give up too much, as long as He didn't interfere with how they lived their life. I'm not saying that every member of that church felt that way, because I'm completely certain that's not the case - only my experience. I could've made an effort to meet more people and get involved, but something was holding me back.

Then, I heard about another church. Solid pastor. Challenging messages. I learned it met right next door to my apartment. "Please let this be it," I prayed. I listened to the sermons online and my hope that this would be home only grew. I met a friendly face at the door, filled out a nametag, and walked into an auditorium filled with music played not as a performance, but an invitation to the Lord. I didn't have to shake any hands or make any small talk to sense that the people in the room knew Him and wanted to know Him more. And I knew this was it. The search was over. This was where I belonged.

writing

Sometimes I just want to write. Not crappy writing. Good writing. Writing about memories. Going deep, digging it all up, and serving it real. Unedited.

Always I wish I was a better writer. I want a teacher to make me write again and grade me on it. Bring on the red marks. Challenge me.

It's always at work that I want to write. I feel the creativity surging through my veins. It feels bottled up. But I have work to do. And if I decided to write a paragraph, it would turn into ten. Then I go home at night . . and food sounds good. Exercise is important. Running errands must be done. And before I know it, I'm in bed again at the end of the day, and the urgency to write has subsided like hunger pangs that eventually go away.

2006 Survey

1. What did you do in 2006 that you’d never done before?
The better question is: What did I do in 2006 that I HAD done before. My life totally changed. I’d never lived out of state, and I lived in San Diego temporarily and Washington D.C. permanently. I flew 11 times. I visited 26 states, twelve that I’d never been to before. Much of this was due to my cross-country trip.

2. Did you keep your New Year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I didn't make any last year, although I wanted to find a better job and I certainly did that. I will set goals this year, too. I want (no I NEED) to get in shape for BF's wedding in June. I'd like to create a budget, save, be smart financially, and worthy of God entrusting me with more. I need to set goals for work, become more organized, etc. And most importantly, I want to know the Lord more intimately than ever before (this year I certainly did nothing to make that happen).

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? yes, two friends had boys

4. Did anyone close to you die? no

5. What countries did you visit? mexico

6. What would you like to have in 2007 that you lacked in 2006?
more money-ha! no seriously, it’s expensive to live out here. I’d also like to make more friends who are like-minded. I love my girl friends here, but at times we are not quite on the same page.

7. What dates from 2006 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? There are so many things I will remember about 2006. It was one of the best years of my life in many respects. Specific dates? My birthday was great. Fourth of July was fun.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? My job.

9. What was your biggest failure? Some compromises regarding moral convictions; being a hypocrite more times than I'd like to remember

10. Did you suffer illness or injury? no, I don’t remember ever being sick

11. What was the best thing you bought? my digital camera, furniture, my Citizen jeans (new fave pair)

12. Whose behavior merited celebration? Rochester for taking care of me/looking out for me

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Some of my Bible study friends who don’t seem to want to practice what they say they believe. Sometimes my own behavior left me appalled as well.

14. Where did most of your money go? moving and starting new in D.C.; plane tickets

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? my new job, all my trips

16. What song will always remind you of 2006? sexy back

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? happier
b) thinner or fatter? a little fatter
c) richer or poorer? I feel poorer now that I live out here

18. What do you wish you’d done more of? exercising! and spending time with the Lord

19. What do you wish you’d done less of? drinking for sure and hanging out with boys that I clearly had no future with

20. How did you spend Christmas? with my family

21. Did you fall in love in 2006? no i did not

22. How many one-night stands? ew, zero

23. What was your favorite TV program? greys anatomy

24. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? no

25. What was the best book you read? drawing near by john bevere

26. What was your greatest musical discovery? hmm, I like Corinne bailey rae

27. What did you want and get? My job

28. What did you want and not get? a higher salary

29. What was your favorite film of this year? not sure; I liked the Break-up

30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
i turned 25 and went to an upscale restaurant, ate and drank wine to my heart’s content with 4 of my friends, one of which picked up the entire tab!

31.What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
pursuing the Lord more, definitely

32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2006? i call my style "contemporary classic" :) . . this year my tastes continued to get more expensive

33. What kept you sane? my co-workers who are great to work with; new friends; getting to see BF so much

34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? no one in particular

35. What political issue stirred you the most? i don't want to get into it

36. Who did you miss? family and friends at home

37. Who was the best new person you met?
BF's boyfriend turned fiance and his family

38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2006. I now know why drinking and nonChristian boys (not even necessarily at the same time) are a bad idea. I now know that those things certainly don't satisfy. I always knew those things, but now I (unfortunately) know from personal experience.

New Year's Day!

I returned to D.C. yesterday (New Year's Eve). Reluctantly. I had such a great time at home for 8 days. Yet it wasn't long enough. Well . . long enough to make me not want to return to work tomorrow.

Wishing I was spending New Year's Eve with friends in Omaha, I headed out with 13 girls to try to have $35 worth of fun (as that was the cost of my ticket). I didn't have a drop of alcohol, but instead watched every one of the girls get drunk. I was so happy with my decision to ring in the New Year without vodka and cranberry - (in fact, I am so sick of the bar scene that I don't care if I ever have a drink again). The crazy thing is that not drinking doesn't keep the boys away at all. In fact, they seem to be quite fascinated by it. For instance, last night I met a cute boy who decided to spend the entire night with me and quit drinking at 11:00 upon learning that I was going drink-free. We had a blast dancing . . proving everyone in the bar wrong as we 'loosened up' while staying completely sober.

Today I began the New Year with a workout, a full day of watching bowl games and the movie "Step Up" with my friends, and an entire Burrito Ultimo from Baja Fresh (the "entire" part was a mistake).

Tomorrow it's back to work after nearly two weeks off. I'm anxious-nervous about starting 2007. I'll write more later.

Happy New Year Everyone!

Christmas

Christmas. Because God became flesh. The Creator of the universe became a human! How insane is that?! When I really dwell on what that means, I'm so overwhelmed by it. How can a story like that become familiar?? Probably because we forget that Jesus is God! . . not just a good man . . not even just the most influential man that ever lived. More than that. That little baby was the Father coming down to show us who He is. To reveal His character. To be personal and not far off and unapproachable. To show us love in a language we can understand. And then to die for us and take all of our sins upon Himself when He was the perfect one and we rejected Him. Our Creator and the one who loved us enough to become flesh like us and to serve us and give His life for us. That is Jesus. That is Christmas.


"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it."
John 1:1-5

"The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us."
John 1:14

"No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side, has made him known."
John 1:18

Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father [God]except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him."
Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us."
Jesus answered: "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'?"
John 14:6-9

Last minute

Do you ever feel bad for last-minute-ing someone on your Christmas list? You feel like you should've had some spectacular idea for this person or you would be a better sister, friend, daughter, etc. if you had purchased their gift sooner than 72 hours before Christmas! Maybe it's because I love putting extra thought into what I get someone. I hate resorting to "This is nice. This will do." I've had to do that with a few people this year. It certainly hasn't saved me any money, and it's caused a lot of stress. Because my gifts somehow don't feel good enough. My mother brought to my attention my gift-giving issues. That I overspend and can't ever give one gift. It's true. I can't give just one gift to anyone. It kills me. It doesn't matter how expensive it was. One thing is not enough. And I think I realized what it is. If I give at least two gifts, the recipient is sure to like at least one gift which hopefully helps me to maintain my reputation as a good gift-giver.

Christmas shopping in Alexandria

What else I've been up to

Ok, I've mentally checked out at work . . days ago. Fortunately, my boss told us mid-day that we could work from home today and tomorrow. This means I won't be back in the office until next year. AWEsome.

Life update: Other than my trip to NYC last weekend, my life has been packed.

I'm so close to being done with Christmas shopping I can taste it! Hopefully a trip to Georgetown tomorrow will be the end to my five straight days of overspending on people. Dad, this year you're banking. Sorry Mom.

**On a side note: I've been trying to leave comments on all of your blogs, but it won't let me (unless you have Haloscan)! Not even anonymously. So know that I'm still reading . . and dying to comment.

I'll leave you with a picture . . of food, of course. New Girl's small Christmas party last week:

What I Saw

New York was what I expected . . except that I expected to like it more. I expected it to be overwhelming and dirty and full of trendy people. And it was all of those things. I liked what it was for the experience of it. But I didn't like what it was enough to want the experience over and over again. Don't get me wrong - I want to go back - more than once. But I think I wanted to be able to picture myself there - living there - even though I never would. And I couldn't do that. I can do that in a lot of places, but not there. New Girl said that your favorite city is always the one you've spent the most time in, which for me would now be D.C. And she's right I suppose. I do like other cities I've visited, but I compare places to D.C. now, because I like it here. I know it the best I suppose, though I don't know it that well yet.

You can't escape New York really. It's not easy at least. It surrounds you and yells at you "More, more, more" . . in about a hundred different languages. D.C. is pretty diverse, but New York is Diverse, capital D. It's cool, don't get me wrong. I just didn't expect to notice. I don't even think twice about it in D.C.

Designer coats and boots and trendy everything. I loved that. "You know what I'm enjoying?", I said to New Girl. "Seeing what everyone is wearing". "I knew you were going to say that" she said. It was true. I was enjoying it . . but if I had to see it everyday, I'd always be wanting more . . and nicer . . and more expensive. I'd always be wanting to live in Upper West, to take a cab everywhere and not the subway, to only eat at the hidden little ethnic places because I wanted to and not because it was cheaper.

The plan to take the bus on Friday night was changed last minute, but good I suppose, because I felt less rushed. We arrived by 11:30am on Saturday morning. The 29th floor at a hotel in Upper East. We could see the water from our window. First stop - Dylan's Candybar, the most fun candy place I've ever visited. On to Rockefeller Center with the massive Christmas tree, Trump Tower, Radio City Music Hall, FAO Schwartz, NBC Studios, etc. Then it was shopping in Times Square - not a lot, just a little. The sidewalks were so crowded that we couldn't take full steps. I literally walked on my tiptoes. Walked right past Tim McGraw and his daughter actually! They were adorable . . all bundled up and holding hands.















































We showered up and headed to Greenwich Village. There, I tasted Ethiopian for the first time in the tiniest little place. It was "bring your own beverage", too, so we grabbed a bottle of wine. Great food. Across the street, we had tickets to a comedy club - nice intimate setting. One comedian out of six isn't bad - ha! Truly, three of them were awful - as in graphic and perverted - this went beyond shock factor, people. I loved Sherrod Small, though. (He's been on VH1 and Chris Rock, etc.) Afterward, we met up with New Girl's friends at a hipster bar that played underground music; the band was pretty good.



















Sunday morning, bright and early. I asked to skip Serendipity for ice skating in Central Park, and I'm glad I did. Ate at Mickey Mantle's across from the Park. We took the subway to Battery Park, walked down Wall Street, saw what was up of the 9/11 Memorial, the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island from a distance. Our last destination was . . my first Broadway show! We saw "The Wedding Singer" at my request, because it ends in two weeks. It was so cute and funny. Seats in the second row. I love Laura Benanti! I'll definitely see another show someday.

























































And that was it. We got back to D.C. at 11:30pm on Sunday. Quite a trip for a day and a half, huh? And I know, I know - I need to see more. I want to see more. It was a lot of fun. There is so much to explore! But I'm glad to be back in D.C. for now. I love the nice, clean Metro (subway) and the cute neighborhoods and the highway that quickly leads you away from the city . . if you so desire . . and sometimes I do.

Will I Heart NYC?

Plans are being finalized for NYC. I’m excited and oh, so broke. Where the heck is my bonus?? Can’t complain about a free place to stay, though. New Girl’s mom is letting us use her Marriott points. Our itinerary has been laid out and don’t ask how we’re going to fit it all in. We have tickets to a comedy club and a Broadway show as well as dinner plans and much, much more. My week has already been booked, and I have two dates to blog about!

Walker sits . . and Walker walks!!

and here are some cute pics of my cousin's adorable home . . .

low key

That basically sums up my weekend.

Last night, New Girl and I began our Christmas shopping with purchases for our Angel Tree kids. Then, we picked up Listrani's pizza and watched "Nacho Libre" at my apartment. . Only we didn't finish it, because it was so random and weird. But after it was over, we began quoting it to one another . . which is so hilarious. The movie is funny after you watch it. Just like Napoleon Dynamite. And whadayaknow . . same creator. So now I want to watch the movie again . . sort of.

This morning, I had a Christmas brunch with my Bible study friends. I love those girls! They are so much fun! I've mentioned KC, Kentucky Girl, and Bruin Girl before, but there are four more girls in Bible study. We had chocolate chip pancakes, bacon, fruit salad, and banana walnut muffins. Our gift exchange was fun, too - it was the 'number gift exchange' where you have the opportunity to choose from the pile of gifts or steal someone else's. Only one person chose to steal a gift from someone, so Bruin Girl said we had to go through again because it would be much more fun with gift-stealing. I was against it because I loved the gift I had (an Express ring). . but fortunately I still came away with a good gift (chocolate and a Barnes & Noble gift certificate). I gave the new Justin Timberlake CD and some chocolate truffles, which happened to be quite popular . . because who doesn't want to bring sexy back?

I went with Bruin Girl and her roommates to pick out a Christmas tree for her house. And once I got there, the smell of fresh fir trees was too much and I just had to get a real tree for our apartment. I came home with a baby tree, a table topper. So cute.

I baby-sat Baby Walker tonight. He's walking now . . and as adorable as ever. As usual, the time flew by too fast and it was soon time for bed. I was incredibly blessed by the gift that Cousin J and K gave me for watching him/Christmas.

Tomorrow will be my last uneventful day for a week . . I have three Christmas parties, a birthday party, a date, and a trip to New York City coming up!

I don't believe in Santa

What has happened to Christmas music? I’m a pretty open person when it comes to different types of music and I love spicing up the Christmas tunes, as well. Christmas rock, Christmas pop, Christmas hip-hop, and of course some Christmas Country. But Santa sings? What is enjoyable about listening to “Santa” (who by the way sounds like he’s been popping the gym candy) sing about wanting to be a popstar? NOTHING. Nothing at all. I found this fantastic site called Pandora where you can tailor the station to play only music that you enjoy. And when it comes to my Christmas station, anything that “Santa sings” is getting a big thumbs-down from me.