The Little Things

With several big things not working out for me lately, I have a new-found appreciation for the little things in my life right now. These little things give me greater strength to press forward in my current circumstances and to be grateful for the tender mercies of the Lord.

Here are some little things that have made a big difference...

1. A friend texted me last night to see if I was ok. She said that she thought of me during her scripture study.
2. Hearing that people are praying for me in regards to my present situation.
3. My mom listening to me while I cried on the phone for about 30 minutes.
4. Attending Institute and listening to a lesson that I absolutely needed to hear!
5. My SmarTrip card that allows me to save 50 cents every time I go from bus to metro or metro to bus.
6. My roommate, MJ, who is as obsessed with the Sound of Music as I am. She and I watched the special features together and can't stop talking about them.
7. The cooler days and cooler nights.
8. A new bathmat in my bathroom.
9. A picture text sent by Steve of my niece, Kassie. I still have it in my phone.
10. Amazon and ebay for saving me a lot of money.
11. The opportunity to work at the Cannery yesterday afternoon for service and realize that I am so blessed that I don't have to work there for an actual job.
12. Principals and teachers who see my great potential as a teacher.
13. My home teachers for forming a "home teaching group" on gmail.
14. A friend emailing me a couple of job vacancies.
15. My roommate, Sarah, who is always willing to give me a ride to places.
16. My extra firm pillow that allows me to sleep better at night and to wake up with no soreness.
17. Feeling like I am starting to have a good set of friends out here.
18. Hugs. Lots and lots of hugs.
19. Being invited to a popular Crepe party that occurs every Conference weekend. I feel so special.
20. The knowledge that many people have been in my situation or much worse.

I could go on and on but these are just some things that have made me happy lately. These little things have sure gone a long way in maintaining my sanity!

Stick-to-it

My sister, Julie, is launching a family business called "Stick-to-it" charts. She will be selling products that will help kids "stick" to their responsibilities. She has been using these tools for years with her own kids and they are some of the most responsible kids that I know!

I realize that most of my blogger audience has no children, small children, or children out of the house, but these are great products that instill responsibility and management. If you know of anyone who could benefit from information like this, please pass this on to your friends.

The website is: http://www.sticktoitcharts.com

The cool thing is that all proceeds will go to my niece, Olivia. Olivia wants to come to Washington DC with her school next summer. She will be doing all the shipping/handling. I want Olivia to come to DC so she can visit me too! I'm a bit selfish. :)

Dance like it's 2009

For my post-birthday bash, my roommate, Sarah threw me a dance party. Hooray for Sarah! She got the best decorations and made the night so special. What would I do without this girl?

Here are a few pre-dance party shots...this one reminds me of a senior picture of sorts.

The Queen reigns! Muhahaha.

Here are some friends...

And yes, Kaleb was really that mean and planted my pretty face in my very own birthday cake. What a punk. :(And if any of you know me well, there are not many things that make me happier than dancing. So you will now get to catch a glimpse of the DC singles dance scene.

WARNING: you may think this looks lame, but in reality this party placed in my top 5 favorite dance parties ever. Now that's saying something!

Yes, I do know how to shake it.

The third wheel curse

This curse has been with me ever since 7th grade when I realized that my boy crushes actually liked my friends more than me. Well, they liked me too, but much more in a platonic sort of way. At 7th grade that curse is way more legit. Relationships should be platonic. But the curse began then.

After I left the Dark Ages of Middle School, I emerged into the Renaissance of High School. Sure, I was still a bit awkward but getting my braces off, slimming down a bit, and establishing a stronger sense of confidence boosted my spirits and, I thought, my likelihood to break the third wheel curse. Oh I was wrong. Though I had some nice guy friends, I could never shake off the fact that they always liked my girl friends just a little bit more than me. This often resulted in me, my girl friend, and my guy friend hanging out, with the other two flirting it up while I got a few pats on the back for my good sportsmanship.

College, was going to be different, I determined it would be. It was definitely an improvement, I will give it that. I went on dates with just me and the guy. I even had a few guys liking me! Whoa. However, the curse didn't die. Surrounded by gorgeous roommates my entire college career I ended up being the sidekick or the comic relief. You know, talking it up with the boy while my roommate got ready for the date. Lots of times, they even wanted me to join them on their escapades. After a few frustrating third wheel "dates," I decided that I would rather hole up in the library on a Friday night than commit third wheel social suicide. Yet, somehow I would forget the third wheel mishaps and still try...again...to not feel left out and to be involved in the conversation and such. But oh how wrong I was! Usually those situations resulted in some ice cream, some tears, some Pride and Prejudice, and the damaged hope that someday I would not be the third wheel.

Which brings me to today. This curse hasn't ended. I often find myself, accidentally, getting into third wheel circumstances. It still occurs here in DC with the single's scene. I had hoped that the curse would end as I have matured but no, it lives and it thrives. I try to get out of it, I try to escape it, I try to avoid it at all costs, but somehow it follows me.

Maybe I should kiss a frog so that this curse will be over? Oh wait...wrong curse, wrong solution.

I don't know what the solution is, I feel like I've tried everything. All I know is that I am looking forward to being the second wheel...someday.

It's great to be alive at twenty-five

So my birthday was this past Saturday. Yes, I am admitting that I am now a quarter of a century old. Crazy. To celebrate I went up to NYC to visit the Newmans and to see my mom who also visited at the same time. Yeah for family! I miss seeing family on a regular basis.

And I miss seeing my nieces and nephews! I mean I will have 25 of them in my 25th year!

Sammy
CarolineMatthew on the iphone.
Sammy took a picture of me in the car. I had to give him props for that! He is just 3.

Oh and my cousin, Kim, came down from Albany to see me. We slept on these couches and thought about making a fort to relive past memories, but instead we just stayed up talking for a few hours!
Before doing some birthday shopping.

Kim tried on some ugly shoes. Luckily she did not get this pair!

We searched for some sexy black heels. It's a must over here. I got this Jessica Simpson brand of heels. Don't I look hot?


Later that afternoon Caroline got baptized! I got to sing at it and the whole ceremony was so beautiful. I didn't get a picture with Caro but I did get one with my mom. Thanks for giving birth to me mommy! :)And lets not forget that evening of my birthday...I saw Wicked on Broadway and it was absolutely phenomenal. I had heard people rave about it for years and now I understand why they rave. I wanted to cry. I didn't though.

Times Square pre-Wicked.

But first we wanted to get a quick bite to eat at Cosi. But lets just say that Cosi had horrible customer service so our quick bite turned into a huge bite out of our time. Lame sauce.

Mom and KathHere we are after Wicked! Loved it.

And finally we celebrated my birthday Sunday afternoon with a chocolate pie. So scrumptious.


Family, New York, Wicked, chocolate pie, living on the east coast in general...lets just say it's great to be alive! Bring on 25.

Please don't ever, ever tell me this...

"Yah, I did not like sister missionaries on my mission. I hated to babysit them. They could never get along with each other."

OR

"I would never marry a returned sister missionary."

Hmmm...not very smart statements to someone who is, in fact, a returned sister missionary.

Strike 1, 2, and 3.

You're out.

Fruit picking and other happenings in Mary-land

Saturday I got to experience the beginnings of the east coast fall. I know it's not technically fall yet, but when you're fruit picking you start to feel like you're really getting into the season. In honor of BYU and to show my Cougar support, I wore last year's shirt. Boy am I proud to be a Cougar.

Here's Matt and Melissa. Currently they are BF and GF. Melissa is my roommate and she is the biggest sweet heart! Love her.


Those are apples...

I thought there was a worm on the apple but I was just overreacting a bit.

Melissa and I...

We also picked blackberries. The ones I picked went straight into my mouth. I used to make fun of people who took close up pictures of fruit, trees, insects, or flowers. But I guess I am now one of them. Maybe that's my initiation into my 25th year!

I thought this was artsy.

This is just ridiculous. That's a peach by the way...

Another fruit shot...I don't know what's wrong with me!

Then switching gears...we ended up hiking up this waterfall at this National State Park in Maryland.


Happy Labor Day folks!

Christ's Team Always Wins.

This theme has been protruding my thoughts for quite a while. I've been seeing in the scriptures that when we stay true to the Gospel and the commandments, we will always come off victorious because Christ is the Conqueror. Although we may not know what happens tomorrow or next year, we do know that good will overcome evil. Therefore, we can conclude that if we stay true to the good of the Gospel, we will all be winners.

This thought process came to fruition last night as I watched the BYU vs. Oklahoma game. I got really into the game and I think I probably surprised/scared away a few people. I have always been competitive by nature and I sure got worked up almost every second of that game. I would cheer, groan, complain, clap, smile, laugh, shake my hands in anger, jump up and down, and every other action you can imagine. It was a roller coaster of a game for those who watched it. And if you didn't watch it, it's okay because any game we watch in whatever venue we may be in, we see how the game can change in a matter of seconds.

Last night as I watched the game, I realized that my life is so much like this football game. There are moments when I am flying high (take 2 weeks ago) and I feel like nothing can stop me. Then oops, I fumble the ball or my pass in intercepted and all of a sudden I am no longer on top but on bottom. Officials make bad calls or someone gets injured and I see how the game is not going the way I thought it would or it should. Frustration crowds into my thoughts and I find myself thinking, "how is this ever going to work out? Am I going to win this? Will I get the ball back?" Yet, when all hope seems lost, a pass is made and caught, a break is made in the defensive line so I can get through, and I start to actually progress towards my goal. I feel invincible all over again. Then a few seconds, minutes, or a quarter passes and things shift. I am back to being the underdog and I have no hope of how this game of mine will work out.

Yet, if I contrast this game of life vs. a normal sporting game, there are some profound differences. In a normal sporting game, my favorite team (BYU) does not always win. There are disappointments and victories, but there is no assured outcome that they will become the National Champions or even components in the BCS. However, in my game of life I can be assured that I will win and that I will come off victorious.

In my game of life I struggle constantly and currently I am on bottom. I don't know how I will come out on top again. It feels like my football is constantly getting blocked, fumbled or intercepted. I feel like there are so many barriers and so many yards until I make it to my goal.

But this I know to be true: I am on Christ's team if I stay true to His rules and commandments. By covenanting myself to be on His team, I receive the reward that I will be a winner in the end. He has not promised me that this earthly game would be easy. In fact, He has told me that it would be a hard and difficult battle.

However, He has also told me that if I stay on His team, I will win, regardless of my many losses in my game of life. How grateful I am to know that as I stay true to the Gospel, I can be assured that ALL things will work out for my good and that I can obtain true happiness, peace, and comfort.

In other words, I will be a winner. And I love being a winner.

Oh the possibilities!

This place that I live in has so many possible opportunities. There's a million things to do and sometimes I get so overwhelmed with all the possible places to visit. I know, my life is so hard.

Here are some recent happenings...

Fredericksburg, VA. Home of the greatest Confederate victory during the Civil War. Cutesy town plus history makes Susie a happy person.

This is my friend, Jenny, who loves adventures too!And then there's the Natural History Museum. Not my favorite museum, I will admit. I think I discovered as I walked through this particular museum that science truly is not my thing. But I try to like it and learn about it...I do try!

Have to do the Susie Baer with the bear thing. I feel like it's a must whenever the opportunity presents itself.
Ian refused to stand close to me claiming that if we stood together we'd be blocking the elephant. To me, that's just a lame excuse to not touch me. I get it, Ian. So I laughed about it. Better than crying.Perusing Georgetown with my former Condo Row pal, Sam.The National Cathedral. I was too hung up in my misery to remember to take a picture of the outside. Oh well.My puzzled, "what am I going to do with my life?" expression.
Then the optimistic, "life will be okay as long as I put God first" expression.Washington DC temple! Classic.
And there's nothing like a nice bike ride on the Mt. Vernon trail with no humidity, a good book, and a great view. Capitol in the background, though you can't see it in this picture.
The possibilities are all at my fingertips. Now I just gotta take advantage of it while I am unemployed, single, and while the weather is oh so perfect.

Still love DC.