adventures in the land of awesome

I didn't have to dream of a white Christmas

2012-01-07T12:55:00.000-08:00

Because I GOT ONE!!!

David and I went running in the Christmas Eve snowfall. There is nothing in the whole world like running in the middle of a snowfall. The way all sounds are muted. The sound of your shoes crunching in the snow. The way the sky and all of the trees are covered in a fluffy, white blanket. It was stunningly beautiful. It was utterly peaceful. It was pure magic.

It was two miles all downhill and then two more all uphill!!!

We spent our Christmas in Spokane this year with the VanderLouws, the Colin Croshaws, and my parents. On Christmas Eve everyone spent the night at the Croshaw's so we could all be together on Christmas morning. And so we could all be together to open our Christmas Eve jammies!!

Thank you Jack and Naomi for looking my way. :) (And thank you DC for making sure I too had a pair of Christmas Eve pj's!)

Christmas morning! Let's all play with everyone else's toys!!

This was definitely the least organized Opening of the Presents I've ever participated in - which one may expect, with the army of kids we had present that morning. David and I just sat and watched for awhile - we were enjoying witnessing the pandemonium. Plus, we figured all the well-behaved adults would be opening their own presents in a more orderly fashion once the kids got through their spoils. Then we looked around and noticed that even the grown-ups were tossing organization to the wind and had already begun digging in! It was every man for himself!!

P.S. Yes, David grew a beard. The Proposal Beard. Chalk it up to workplace camaraderie - they found a way to commiserate together through the insanity at the office. More on that later.

Once again, David has shown the world that he truly can sleep anywhere.

But it's okay - he was just building up energy to play with this little bundle of goodness!

So David is kind of like the Pied Piper of children. As soon as he enters the room, they respond to the siren sound of his footsteps and come running from all over the house to vie for his attention. That said, you can imagine their glee when he asked them if they wanted to help him shave off the Proposal Beard!!

Oh yeah. We went through phases. First there was just taming down the beard...

The foo man chu...

The soul patch...

And whatever this is...

And the clean-shaven eye candy!!

(Good thing it was out of focus. You’d all have to hold yourselves back if you could see the real thing! Just take my word for it.)

Thanks everyone for helping!

It goes without saying, but I LOVE getting to spend time with all those kids. But, I also really love when I get to chill out with the adults.

Thanks to everyone in Spokane for letting us come play and providing the snowy backdrop that these LA residents were craving!

Fall update...or whatever season it is...

2011-12-18T21:42:00.000-08:00

I can't really tell what season it is. The weather doesn't change much around here. But enough about that.

Your wait is finally over. Here is our house.

Aside from that, there are lots of other things I could show and tell about, but my phone got an update and it deleted all the pictures I'd taken - which was essentially all documentation I have of the last while. But there are a few pics I managed to salvage.

More of the house updating. It's weird to be putting holes in walls just to hide cords, or to be removing paint on a wall just so we can add more paint. Ah, the difference you see when there's a man around who isn't afraid to play with those power tools...

Halloween...we did the classic punked out costume for a dinner party.

We went to the Farmer's Market later dressed up like this. As I kind of expected, most people thought nothing of it.

I must also include our friend Pierce's costume - he grew a beard for six months just so he could be Brian Wilson from the SF Giants. Pretty impressive, eh?

We also branched out a little this year with the costumes. We were invited to another Halloween party and the invite said that costumes were encouraged, so of course we jumped at the opportunity. David wanted to use some goodies he got when he was in Saudi Arabia, so we showed up looking like this:

First thing we noticed: whoever threw the party neglected to mention that costumes were only encouraged if you're under 7 years of age. Yep, we were pretty much the only adults who bothered to not wear our street clothes. (And did we EVER!) We were pretty much the lone costumed grown-ups until another childless couple showed up much later dressed as Mary Poppins and the chimney sweeper guy.

I really hope we don't stop dressing up when we have kids. Just sayin'.

Thanksgiving! I had to work the day before and after Thanksgiving (made it real hard to get into Thanksgiving mode. Kind of a bummer.) so we stayed local and kept it small this year. Emily came out from Phoenix to hang out with us, which was AWESOME.

Although our numbers were small, we prepared a delightful feast that lasted through another week and a dinner with the missionaries. And then we skyped about it during Let the Magic Begin!!

To commemorate the fact that we live in So-Cal, the three of us spent a quality day at Disneyland. Kind of amazing how much work they put into decking out the place for Christmas. Two words: Fast Pass. Best invention of all time. (It snowed on Main Street after the castle-lighting/firework show. I'd show you proof, if not for my phone update FAIL.)

And finally, for some current events. LA had a crazy wind storm - some actual inclement weather! I took pictures of all the fallen palm fronds all over our yard but...yeah, you already know this story. This is all the proof I have of the effects of the storm - our power outage!

"Occupy" has spent some time in California. Here's the insanity we've seen...

Oh yes. They occupied the port and barricaded the trucks to keep them from shipping stuff. I'm holding back from commenting on just how backwards I think the logic is on this one. But this, I think, is my favorite:

THIS is Occupy Torrance, right across the street from my office. Cute little protest, isn't it? :)

Happy December!

The Catch-All Post of Awesomeness

2011-10-15T00:11:00.000-07:00

So, David has been in South Korea for almost three weeks. I promised myself I would blog before he got back, and maybe even (eek!) get caught up. Well...he gets back tomorrow. The time has gone by mercifully fast. I have a lot of ground to cover. But I'm going to do this in 3 installments to try to be at least somewhat organized with my thoughts, so keep reading after this one, there'll be more!! That said, I dub this post the catch-all because that's where everything else fits. :) Hope you enjoy.

David and I tried to go camping on the beach one Friday night, with the intent of waking up in the morning and going diving. It was kind of a spontaneous decision (read: we wasted a lot of time getting out the door and on the road and we didn't reserve a camping spot in advance), and it kind of backfired. We were driving down PCH in stop-and-go traffic and had reached Malibu when we were graced with this view:

It was about then that we realized that there was no way we'd actually get ourselves a camping site, so we pulled over and watched the sun go down over the ocean until it was so dark that we started trying to spot constellations instead. Not a bad way to salvage the night.

Speaking of sunsets, I really love our Marina del Rey apartment. It has such easy access to the beach, great options everywhere for running, and the views all around were amazing. One day I realized that this was the view we got of the sunrise from our living room:

And this is what we get at night:

Not to mention, we have easy access to Venice Beach, which is quite possibly the most entertaining people-watching venue in existence. My personal favorite is the drum circle that seems to randomly materialize every so often. Everyone just somehow knows when it's time to pick up your drum and head down to Venice and jam.

Drums, bongos, whistles, dancers, sand, ocean, awesome.

MDR is also close to Abbott Kinney, home of First Fridays, where all the food trucks in the area cram into every spare inch of the street. Given our newfound interest in food trucks, of course we had to check this out.

The diversity of selections was impressive! We sampled dishes from the Dim Sum truck, the Korean/Mexican fusion truck, and the ice cream cookie sandwich truck. We wanted to check out the grilled cheese sandwich truck, but the line was just too long. Who knew grilled cheese could be so popular?

MDR is not close to Disney Hall. But we wandered over there one day anyway because it's just a photographer's paradise, with all the fun little curves and angles. As usual, David has all the good pictures and I have the self-portrait we took from my phone where we're blocking most of the building with our heads.

MDR is also not close to Bakersfield. But that's where I spent General Conference weekend. Emily came up to visit from Phoenix and we gathered with some cousins and aunts and uncles and had ourselves a fine weekend where we ate way too much good food and junk food and indulged in the Good Word. It was a delightful time.

And just because this is a catch-all post, look at the flower me and my co-worker made out of DUM-DUMs!

Keep reading! Looks like there's some more stuff down there...

In which I bore you with stories of The House

2011-10-14T22:55:00.001-07:00

It's official: ACDC has bought a house.

The search is finally over. We fell for a house that we could actually commit to. And so we did.

Here's a sample of what has been consuming our lives over the last month.

First of all: we refinished the hardwood floors. Of the entire house. By ourselves. Sanding, re-sanding, sanding the corners, sanding some more, staining, re-staining, polyurethaning, buffing, more poly, more buffing, more poly. Wait, wait, wait.........okay, go ahead and walk on it now.

I would not recommend the DIY method, if you have a full-time job and not a lot of vacation. If you're considering doing this for the first time, my suggestion is to take whatever amount of time you think it will take, and then multiply it by three. Or four, if you're extra-ambitious like we were.

Here are some floor-finishing statistics:

Days we thought it would take, start to finish: 2

Days it actually took: 11

Trips to Home Depot: 17

Number of tools rented to do the job: 5, but that doesn't count repeat rentals of the same machinery - in which case the number goes up to about 20.

Number of different types of sanders we used: 7

Coats of stain we wanted: 1

Coats of stain we ended up doing: 2 (long story, but just going with 2 saved the day)

Number of days we used the fridge while it was plugged in on our back patio: 8

It was a huge learning experience, and it was also kind of fun (when it wasn't extremely frustrating) to work together on our home beautification. And now we have floors that we utterly slaved over, and we utterly love them. So. If you ever come to visit and you take a look at our floors and they somehow aren't particularly to your liking, do me a favor: lie. Tell us they're amazing. Please and thank you.

I don't really have any other stories - just some fun pictures. For example, look at the random assortment of light switches and covers you can find in The House (this isn't an exhaustive list):

And look at how high I've been able to stack the packing paper so far:

Here's our first meal in our first house:

The movers came before the floors were done, so they unpacked everything into the garage. Before David left for Korea, he got most of the furniture in the house, but our garage was still loaded to the ceiling with all our boxes. While he's been gone, I've been slowly by slowly whittling away at the mountain of boxes. This is all that is left:

And yes, I put a rug down, simply because I could.

And also, look what I built!

This probably isn't nearly as interesting to all of you as it is to me. I think about this house stuff A LOT now. But really, this post is just a teaser to get you extra-excited about a FUTURE post in which I will actually show you the finished product!! I promise I won't make you wait too long for The Video of The House of ACDC.

There's one more new post, read on, read on!!

My trips "east"

2011-10-14T21:57:00.000-07:00

Since we moved to California, I've had a couple of opportunities to travel east: once to Utah, and once to Idaho.

I still have to wrap my mind around the fact that I am even further west than both of those states. In fact, I am constantly almost going the wrong way on the freeway because my concept of "inland = west" is so ingrained into my mind. But in any case. Here I am, west of pretty much everything.

The trip to Utah was spent with much of David's immediate and extended family, for his uncle Virgil's funeral. I only got to meet him when I got married, but I got to learn so much more about him this weekend. It felt much more to me like a celebration of a life well-lived, rather than a mournful time of loss.

It was also a valuable opportunity to spend quality time with David's extended family. Considering the fact that they don't all live in the same place, they're incredibly close-knit.

(Almost all of the Chipman siblings)

Since all of David's siblings were present, we took some time to just hang out together and celebrate the birthday girl!!

(This was before the surprise party at Aunt Jane's. We also made sure there were fireworks all over the valley...fireworks that may or may not have also been related to the 24th of July.)

The trip to Idaho was on my side of the family. I got to see some good friends, meet my two newest nieces for the first time, and play to my heart's content with the other kids. (Incidentally, I was too busy playing to take any pictures, but here are some shots I pirated from my sisters so you can check out these cutie patooties.)

David and I took advantage of being so close to the great outdoors by taking a bike ride with Jason.

He pretty much put us sea-levelers to shame.

Kind of a pretty valley, isn't it?

That same day, we had a Christensen reunion - complete with good food, good company, and a ginormous slip 'n slide.

Of course, David and I were fully expected to participate. And so we did.

I love being with family.

My 15 seconds of fame

2011-09-07T21:49:00.001-07:00

Once again, my awesome internship makes an appearance - this time in the Washington Post.

Update: Make that 30 seconds of fame! It was included in the Metro Express today, which means I could find it in digital! Check me out on page 21.

:)

CA Q&A

2011-06-19T10:37:00.003-07:00

So...how is it?

The work is great. It was a really easy transition for me since I'm doing more or less the same thing as before, and my co-workers are genuinely nice people. As are the customers. I am constantly surprised by how nice the customers are, even (especially?) when I have to give them bad news. They just take it! I am not accustomed to this. When I comment on it, they all say (as if it were the most natural explanation in the world) that it's because we're in California. The rumors are true: happy people are in California.

Oh, and also - I take the 405 to work every day, which many people warned me not to do. BUT since I have a reverse commute, it's a breeze. I now have the shortest commute I've ever had since I graduated from college. Although I do miss reading on the metro.

David is loving his new job. It's a steep learning curve and lots of stress but also very fulfilling. His commute is even shorter than mine, but it's always been that way.

Other than that, right now we're in the middle of June Gloom, when every day starts out overcast and it usually doesn't get above about 65 degrees on any given day. But I'm not complaining. It's still quite beautiful here.

Enough about the work and weather. What else do you do there?

We drive around town and look at houses. And then we go home and get online and look at more houses and research neighborhoods and school districts and remodeling costs. And then we call our agent and talk about other houses. And if we find one we like, we brainstorm on how we could re-do the inside, or we lament little things that make the house a deal-breaker. And then we go look at it again, along with a couple other houses. And then we go to sleep and dream about them all.

Okay, so do you ever get to have any fun?

Sure do. Over Memorial Day weekend we rode bikes in Orange County with the Tustin Chipmans. We go running on the beach on a semi-regular basis (which absolutely counts as fun). We also took a Saturday off from house-hunting to go diving in Catalina.

One night we got to check out a Fidelity event at Disney Hall - there were some musical genius children that got to play solos with the Hollywood Bowl Philharmonic Orchestra. It was kind of amazing to watch those kids. And it reminded me of Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother.

Guess what else. There's a Cafe Rio in El Segundo. I definitely count trips to Cafe Rio as fun.

Okay, so back to the house. Did you ever find one?

Not yet. We found some that we've liked quite a bit, but there's always been a deal-breaker in the mix (it's right next to the noisy 405, schools are bad, or it's just not a good area). There are some potentials that we haven't written off just yet. We just have to decide what concessions we're willing to make. We've been going to a different ward every week to get a feel for the area, which has helped us to narrow down the neighborhoods a lot. I think we'll be benefitting from a more focused search. We'll see.

So, since you don't have a house, where do you live?

In a furnished apartment in Marina del Rey, a nice little area where all the streets are named after Pacific islands. It's lovely. We packed only the essentials, and the majority of our stuff is still sitting in storage, awaiting a new home. But our location is permanent enough that we could use it to become legitimate Californians, with real-life California IDs and license plates and everything.

Any other questions?

Ask away.

May(hem): a pictorial narrative, as told by our phone cameras

2011-05-26T19:19:00.009-07:00

David got back from Saudi!

We ran the Indy Mini!

We packed!

Marcia and Casey got married! (And I was the matron of honor!)

We moved to LA!

We celebrated our anniversary!

We started new jobs! (Alas, no pics of us at work...you'll just have to take my word for it...)

David lost his keys down the storm drain and we tried to reclaim them with a magnet and string!

Yay for May. (Waddya say...hey hey...)

Best birthday ever

2011-04-17T16:30:00.005-07:00

It was the first one ever where I got to spend the entire day with my husband.

Incidentally, we were also in France.

David had a mission reunion (his first ever), so we decided to be there. It was a delightful chance to wander through the land of David's mission. And also hear David speak French. That was favorite. David made the comment once that it was funny how I was having a foreign experience, and he was totally at home. I love that.

For the record, this was my shortest birthday I've ever had - we landed in Paris at 12:45am DC time and immediately jumped forward to 6:45am Paris time. Voila - I lost 6 birthday hours. I guess that made me 6 hours younger, until I went back to DC and earned it all back. Anyway. The birthday was a blur.

In short:

We brunched by the Eiffel Tower,

we took a train/bus ride through the French countryside (I love getting out of the big cities when I travel),

and we watched the sun set behind Mont Saint Michel, a gigantic cathedral surrounded by a quaint little Renaissance-looking village on an island off the coast of Breton.

Technically, Mont Saint Michel is only sometimes an island, when the tide is in. And technically technically, it's never really a true island anymore because they built a causeway to get out to it. But I digress.

I had different songs in my head throughout this trip that seemed to perfectly fit each time. This was the song on the Mont:

We got to explore the Abbey the next day, always staying just barely a step ahead of the masses of tourists.

After that, it was back to the city of love. Here's the song for this leg:

What a beautiful city Paris is. We explored around all the tourist attractions with reckless abandon - we stopped by the Eiffel Tower (thrice, although we never made it to the top)...the Louvre (twice, although we never went in)...

...Notre Dame (during mass - glad we got to go in, but sad that they let tourists roam around during mass)...

...Arc du Triumph (we were ghosts) and the Champs Elysees (it's a busy street)...

...Sacre Coeur (amazing edifice, seedy neighborhood)...

...and the giant air vent in front of Moulin Rouge (people-watching opportunities abound).

You know why all of these are so popular? It's because they are absolutely stunning, especially when all the background sounds you hear are people speaking French. Now I understand. Oh, and the food helps, too. The world would be a more beautiful place if we all had easier access to crepes, macaroons, and chocolate chip pastries. Just sayin.

We also got a chance to consummate our almost-year-old union by making a contribution to the fence-o-declarations-o-love that we found on a bridge behind Notre Dame:

Here's my other song for this leg:

Watch it all, even if you don't speak French. It will blow you away. And/or hypnotize you.

Finally, we made it to the reunion, and I got to meet the Cuenots (David's mission President), and share with them one of the only French phrases I'd learned: "Je suis tres contente de vous reconetrer." Oh yeah. It was a show-stopper. (I confess. I had to look it up to spell it right. Turned out I'd left off the last half of most of the words. :) It was much easier once I learned that Sister Cuenot spoke Spanish.

I loved meeting everyone that was able to come, and I loved watching David reconnect. I also loved meeting a little girl who reminded me of my niece Lilia from the very first glance.

What a great thing reunions are. This time, I was humming this little ditty:

When the weekend was drawing to a close, I headed home to face tax week, while David stayed on the east side of the Atlantic to take care of some important work business for about a month. Miss you, David. Thanks for the killer birthday!

Westward bound

2011-04-14T19:56:00.002-07:00

For those of you that didn't know, David and I will soon be headed to sunnier, less humid pastures. With more ocean.

That's right, it' LA or bust for the DC Chipmans. The big move happens mid-May. The details, we don't know much about yet. We're working those out beforehand, sort of. I'm feeling excited, I'm feeling sad, but mostly I'm staying focused on the present and working on being okay with a lot of unknowns.

Bring it on.

Destination: Reunification. ETA: 24 hours

2011-03-22T17:05:00.003-07:00

So I've been flying solo for the last couple weeks.

It's not my favorite thing.

But you know what? I've been alright. Since David gets home tomorrow, I've been reflecting a lot on the silver linings I've been able to find while he's been gone.

A little background: usually when David leaves town for a work trip, I spend my freetime moping around the house and being lonely and willing time to go faster. (Thank goodness I have a job to keep myself occupied during many of my waking hours.) And those are the trips that usually last a few days at most, when he goes to exotic, distant places...like Boston. Or Dallas.

You can imagine the mild panic I was feeling in anticipation of his two-week trip to Saudi Arabia, and in the midst of all the Middle Eastern/north African upheaval, no less. Yes, this trip called for more drastic measures on my part. I needed to be proactive in filling my time. Maybe I could reach out to people. Or, more likely, maybe I could tackle some serious projects around the house, like ironing all of this:

and scanning all of this:

Well...I didn't get to my projects. I didn't have time.

I was helping my brother and his family move, and spending some QT with this little guy...

And also with this little guy.

I was discovering that I am actually quite a responsible, capable adult, since I've had to do everything by myself for a change. (I kind of needed this, so it counts as a silver lining.)

I was rearranging the artwork on the fridge to better display the artistic talents of some of my favorite kids.

I was helping one of my best friends find a wedding dress she could feel beautiful in. And spending a lot of time goofing off with her, too.

I was spending more than a few nights enjoying my neighbor Al's renditions of "Danny's Song" and some James Taylor song I can't quite remember. (Ah, he just sang it. "You've got a friend." Thanks, Al, for helping me to remember.)

I was celebrating Green Day with friends (this is me in their "photo booth" with my "date").

(If you're wondering, "Where can I get me that awesome wig?!" Target. $1. Oh yeah.)

I was having dinner (and almost a slumber party) with my sister - probably the last time I'll see her before she becomes a mommy.

No doubt about it, my life has been rich and full over the last couple of weeks that I had previously been dreading. It reminds me of a comment my first Stats teacher made about the Stats course everyone has to take at BYU: "It's the most dreaded class on campus, but not the most hated." See the connection?? But I digress.

I've been reminded of the value of good friends and family, and of the great potential the Church has in bringing people together. I have so much gratitude to everyone who has reached out and helped to fill my time with phone calls, visits, opportunities to serve, and excuses to get me out of my house. You are all wonderful people.

This time alone has also increased my appreciation for my husband. Not long after he left, I set a new background to my desktop:

It has been a perfect reminder of what a gem I have found. And when I've looked at it, I haven't been hit with the typical wave of loneliness. I've been able to feel the love that I see in his eyes. While I certainly miss him and eagerly await his return, I've been able to feel genuine excitement for the experiences he's having, and pride in the way he has capably shouldered such great responsibilities. I've been able to feel comfort in knowing that he is devoutly committed to the most important things in his life. I've been able to feel happy, even though he isn't here with me right at this very moment.

I am truly blessed.

Holidays in the Southern Hemisphere

2011-01-26T18:35:00.003-08:00

So, how'd you spend your Christmas Eve?

David and I spent it in the sky, en route to see his parents. I meant to watch out the windows of the airplane for Santa, but I fell asleep and must have missed him.

David's parents are mission president in Piura, Peru, so we took a trip down so spend some QT with them (and some of David's sibs) - and really, it's one of the first times I've gotten to hang out with them at all! It was delightful. I had a grand time with everyone, from the moment they picked us up on Christmas morning. Much of the time we spent traipsing from place to place in their mission, just seeing the incredibly diverse landscapes and meeting the people they get to associate with all the time.

We spent some incredibly relaxing time at Punta Sal - a perfect way to unwind after the insanity of working in financial services at the end of the year. It also offered the best food I ate in Peru. Besides Yolanda's.

A few of the sights from our excursions...

There were at least a dozen churches like this between Piura and Chiclayo. Each has its own individual flair.

We actually got kicked off this playground in Chiclayo shortly after we captured this moment...

We spent New Years in Piura. A word about some interesting New Years Peruano traditions. Of course, there are the fireworks all over town - which we watched from the roof of the casa del Presidente.

But they also run up and down the streets with their suitcases. It's for luck in travels over the next year! So, of course, we did it too.

And here's my favorite. Observe: the muñecos.

Here's the deal. You get yourself a muñeco (they're sold everywhere). You think of something you want to put in your past. It could be a person you don't like, or a class you failed, or a bad experience...or, as we saw, it could be Michael Jackson, or a politician. You write this person or thing on the muñeco. Then, at midnight on New Years, you light it on fire in the street.

You may be asking yourself, do they ever explode? As a matter of fact, they do - when people put fireworks inside them! Which is probably what led to the practice becoming illegal. As you can see, that doesn't seem to stop anybody. I was itching to burn my own New Years Peruano muñeco effigy (not necessarily because I had anything to put in my past...I just really wanted to light a muñeco on fire!), but I abstained. Since it's illegal and all. Figured I could do smarter things than break the law on my vacation with the Presidente.

Part 2 of the vacation: the mountainous south. Words will not do justice to the majestic beauty I saw of the Andes and the Sacred Valley. So I'll just share a few stories and let the pics and vids do the rest of the talking.

We learned on our drive from Cusco to Ollantaytambo that every town was swearing in their mayor that day, which meant every town was having a big fiesta in their Plaza de Armas - the center of town. It basically meant that we got to see everyone in their traditional garb and watch the celebrations.

From Ollantaytambo, we took a train to Aguas Calientes, at the base of Machu Picchu. Unbeknownst to us, our train ride came fully equipped with entertainment. We got some crazy dancing creature, and they even modeled some alpaca sweaters for us.

We had been concerned that our hotel in Aguas Calientes was too close to the train station and would wake us up at odd hours. Turns out, we needn't worry:

And finally, the moment we've all been waiting for (I know I certainly had) - hiking up to see the wonder that is Machu Picchu - in particular, the world-renowned view of the Inka ruins in the shadow of towering Huayna Picchu. Behold, our amazing first view:

Wait...where is it?

Well, maybe if we hike around for a bit and go on a little tour, it will get better. And so we did. And it did.

Please move, little clouds...

Thank you. :)

I waited a long time to see that. Now that I've gone with David, I'm glad I waited.

We capped off our trip by using our 7-hour layover in Lima to do a session at the temple - in Spanish! Right before we met up with Emily again at the airport. I can't think of a better finale.

Christmastime in the East

2011-01-18T18:25:00.002-08:00

So I'm playing catch-up, just not all the way. ("Christmastime in the Southern Hemisphere" deserves its own post, which I'll get around to writing sometime soon. Maybe.) I've gotten to see a few different angles of Christmas in the east this year, namely of the DC and NYC variety.

For starters, we have largely missed the insane snowstorms that have been pummeling the east coast. There has been lots of snow in North Carolina and lots in New York...just not much around here. Instead, we just get a whole lot of freezing wind. That said, I did take advantage the first time we DID get a little snow...

I really couldn't help myself. Snow brings out the kid in me. But even without much snow, DC can be a magical place at Christmas.

We went to a show at the DC temple visitors center with some friends and got to see an impressive set of Nativity scenes from around the world that would have made Mom light up like a Christmas tree.

Despite the fact that it was bitter cold, we managed to take some pretty cool shots while David taught us all the concept of Bokeh.

See all the blurriness behind us? Voila. Bokeh.

As for the New York Christmas variety, we paid homage to the Chinatown bus yet again for David's birthday. The Chinatown choir was out and about, helping everyone to get into the Christmas spirit.

We got some tix at the very last second (read: steep, steep discount) for Lion King, which I've always wanted to see. The show is an audiovisual assault. In a very good way. It also made me nostalgic for the sights and sounds of Africa, and I kept leaning over to point out unimportant Africa/Swahili trivia to David, like that "mufasa" means mirage and "rafiki" means friend and that the concept of an elephant graveyard is actually pretty accurate because elephants will push all the bones to the same place and mourn their dead. He humored me though, because he's nice like that.

We also battled the crowd to get a glimpse of the Christmas tree in front of the Rockefeller Center.

We'd been considering the possibility of going ice skating there, but one glance at the line for ice skating told us that we should find another form of entertainment. So we decided to check out the city from the Top of the Rock. I recommend this. The view is spectacular, especially if you time it right...

And then there was that one time when I took David to see Gin Blossoms playing in the streets of New York for his birthday...

We stumbled upon this gem of a show while wandering the streets one night. Turns out, they were filming their show for New Years. On December 18. (And just like that, I'm suddenly skeptical of the timing of every Times Square New Years performance I've ever seen.) So even though I wasn't in New York for New Years, FOX has documentation to prove that I was. Guess I can check that experience off my list.

Autumn, 2010

2010-11-14T14:52:00.005-08:00

So I realize I've been away for quite some time. Sorry about that.

Basically, my excuse is that I like to post pictures with my adventures. And I've learned that when you marry a photographer, you kind of stop taking pictures because spouse is doing such a great job of documenting for the both of you.

But I'll see what I can do to get you caught up. It may or may not involve borrowing heavily from said photographer spouse. I hope you've got a few spare minutes...I'm pretty much covering a whole season, here...

Most of my family came out over Labor Day weekend to hang out and explore DC.

(there's more where that came from, if you click on those pics)

More importantly, most came to attend the coveted Boise State/VT game.

It took place at FedEx Field so that the game could be played on what everyone at Tech likes to call "neutral" turf. Hmm. Let's review: VT is a 4-hour car ride. BSU is a 6-hour plane ride (plus layovers) and a 1-hour metro ride. 80-90% attendance being rabid fans from one team (with their band playing the halftime show and their fans monopolizing the jumbotron) don't seem so neutral to me, but whatever. (See that blue section? That's Boise.)

Although I admit, I was pretty impressed with the marching band's mad skills. They actually formed the state of Virginia, with a little star where Blacksburg was.

Not like Boise State needed a bigger fan base to win in the closing moments of the game, anyway. Please observe the faces in the crowd on this one, to get the full effect. (For the record, David cheered louder when he realized he captured this game-winning shot than when the dude actually caught the ball. Can't say I blame him.)

It was intense. It was probably the best football game I've ever seen in person. It made me a believer.

And incidentally, it got us on ESPN.

****

David and I also took a trip down to Broadway to party with our newest 2-year-old nephew and his 1-year-old cousin.

The weather was perfect, the decorations were exciting, the food was divine, the scenery was spectacular, and the kids were perfectly happy.

It was a good one.

****

I also got a chance to show David the wonder that is the Renaissance Festival, in all its decked-out glory. It is a fabulous mismash of tightrope-walking magicians, sword swallowers, glass blowers, turkey legs, chocoloate-covered cheesecake on a stick, bagpipes, jousting, and everything in between.

The highlight this year: we got to do a little bit of axe-throwing. Huzzah!

(Dude next to us: 2. Us: 0.)

****

We wanted to really experience the amazing east-coast autumn this year, so we took a camping trip to the Shenandoahs just as the leaves hit their peak.

The weather was on our side, so we took a leisurely hike through the hills to check out the leaves and some pretty stunning waterfalls. It was a virtual photography wonderland.

We also caught every sunrise and sunset while we were there. I love them. So does David's camera.

But the most fun (besides the campfire and s'mores) was goofing around with David's camera after dark.

Aw yeah.

****

Sarah-Dawn came out to visit, which gave us an excuse to wander around the monuments and eat at some of our favorite places she'd never been to, like Dangerously Delicious Pies and Rita's (ice custard happiness!).

Check it out - I flashlight-graffiti'd David's shot. I'm such a nice wife.

We also visited the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear. Best part of all: reading everyone's signs.

Other favorites: "Zombies for education! ...We love bigger brains!" "I enjoy pancakes." "We're in DC, Charlie!" "I want more tortillas when I order fajitas at a restaurant" and "Is this the line for Justin Bieber tickets?"

S-D was with us over Halloween, so on Saturday we got ourselves all dressed up and hit up Georgetown (we'd been told the people-watching opportunities were substantial).

It was amazing to see how creative everyone out there got with their costumes. Popular recurring themes this year: Where's Waldo?, Mario and Luigi, and Alice in Wonderland.

****

Leslie, Alex, and my mom were in New York last weekend, so you know we couldn't resist heading up there to join 'em. We jumped on the Chinatown bus right after work and were on our way to the Big Apple.

Don't worry, we all crammed into one teensy NY hotel room, family style. Which worked very well, because we just wanted to be together. We were having such a good time talking and laughing (did you know that my mom has an extremely contagious laugh?) that we kept it up long after we turned the lights off. Family is so awesome.

It was a whirlwind trip, as trips to New York almost always are. We did some people-watching around Times Square in the morning rain and caught the tail end of Good Morning America.

We walked across the Brooklyn Bridge and ate pizza at some famous place under the bridge that I can't remember the name of (awful darn pizza though!).

We also tried (and failed) to win the Wicked Lottery, and ended up seeing the Rockettes Christmas show instead (so refreshing to see people who will still say "Merry Christmas!" and talk about the Savior's birth in a public, non-religious setting. It is virtually nonexistent in PC DC anymore. Two words: Holiday Tree.). We also ate at my new favorite Indian restaurant called Tadka (it's near Lexington and 53rd. If you're in NYC, go there. Just go. Please. And you're welcome.).

Of course, a trip to New York just isn't complete without a stroll through Central Park.

It never fails me. I just adore that park.

****

Finally, I went to Raleigh last week for some work training. Totally a worthwhile trip, and it made me all sorts of excited to pass on my knowledge to my customers. Also, as you may or may not recall, one of my best friends, Lauren, lives in Raleigh. Of course, I stayed with her and got to catch up, admire her mommy skills, and oogle over her adorable, happy baby. I was too busy living in the moment to take any pictures, so you'll have to settle for a shot from May.

To sum it up, all is well on the eastern front.

David is the new awesome.

2010-09-20T15:59:00.004-07:00

So, my husband is awesome. In case you didn't know.

(And if you didn't, where in the world have you been??)

This past weekend, he managed to catapult himself into all new heights of awesomeness. He had a sneaky plan that was so perfectly executed. It was beautiful. It was cunning. It was brilliant. It was so characteristically David.

It was awesome.

I knew he had some fun plans brewing, and that he was really excited about whatever it was. Even if I had tried to figure out what he was scheming up (which I didn't, since I like surprises), he threw off the scent so meticulously. All I ever managed to get out of him was that I really needed to leave work on time on Friday.

Alright, leave work on time. Check. Now what?

"Well, here are some envelopes. Open this one first."

Red Sox tickets? Hmm...I didn't think the Nats were playing the Sox this weekend...wait...

Can you guess what was behind envelope #2?

It wasn't a pony. It was tickets to Boston. Departing in one hour. David was going to be there next week for work anyway, so he decided to bring me along for a bit.

"Ooh, I need to pack!"

"I already did. Your suitcase is in the trunk."

"Did you pack my...[fill in]?"

"Yes. And probably anything else you can think of that you may need, and some extras. And your laptop, and the Conference Ensign. And your Sox hat, and your brown shoes, and your black shoes in case you want those instead."

Turns out, David can successfully pack a woman's suitcase. Aren't you impressed?

And so, in a dizzying flurry of spontaneity, I was in Boston. We dined on hot pots, we spent some time at the temple (which we'd been planning to do that weekend anyway, I just somehow thought we'd be at a different temple. For whatever reason.), we moseyed through a coastal fishing town, we cheered for the Sox and belted out all the words to "Sweet Caroline", and we took a stroll along the Charles River. And we even got to squeeze in a visit with Jonathan.

Verdict: I like Boston. It's charming.

Last time I was in Boston, I was 14 and traveling around with a posse of 9th graders. I got a much better feel for what the place is like this second time around. I think every city has a sort of pulse to it - an overall tone or ideal that defines it. If you're paying attention, you can feel it crackling in the air when you're there. If I had to describe the pulse of DC, it might be "networking." David says Boston is some sort of combination between "academia" and "Sox."

In any case, it was a fabulous weekend. Well done, David. You have truly outdone yourself. Again. The only downside was that I had to leave you behind when the weekend was over.

ACDC World Tour

2010-09-02T19:58:00.000-07:00

Well, we're finally wrapping up our tour, and what a tour it was!

You've already heard about the first two stops on the tour, but you may not know about #3 and #4. Our third gig involved a BBQ at our new digs (which gave us all the incentive we needed to put our house together in a hurry), where we got to meet up with our DC-area friends who may not have been able to travel so far to catch either of the previous shows. We treated them to burgers and kosher dogs and a place to gather and Rock Bandify, and they treated us to their sparkling company. Not a bad trade-off!

We had so much fun that we neglected to take even a single picture. So, David and I reenacted a few scenes for you. Just imagine that the tortillas are hamburgers. And that there are other people.

Last leg: Indy!

Special thanks to the Drapers for making our final appearance possible. David and I buzzed on over to Indiana for a whirlwind excursion through his old stomping grounds. It included a pit stop at Steak 'n Shake (I'm told that this was essential to my Indy experience), and a trip to the State Fair, which we realized was going on just after we arrived. I learned that they have a new fried delicacy every year. This year it was fried butter. Last year it was fried Pepsi. Not really sure how either of those work. In any case, we neglected to sample said fried butter, but we did manage to meander through the cattle building, check out the local artistic talent, pick up a funnel cake, and take a ride on the ferris wheel. I'm feeling good about that.

But wait, there's more. We also wandered over to the Children's Museum, which is the largest in the...country? World? Not sure. But it sure is big. And it sure is awesome. We sort of flew through it. I'm dying to go back.

After all that funness, it's showtime! We headed over to the Drapers' and I got to meet all kinds of awesome people that David grew up with. (Pictures will be available on David's blog, probably.) It was a smaller crowd, and it was delightful. What great people. And let me tell you, they love those Chipmans! Lucky me, I get to be cool by association!!

Ohana

2010-08-21T07:52:00.005-07:00

I've been thinking a lot about family this week. And I'm feeling so deeply blessed by my entire family that I want to tell everyone about it. I was born of goodly parents and brought up in a home filled with love. I was taught the important things that would bring meaning, purpose, and joy to my life. Each addition to my family has brought new richness and blessings that I never even realized were missing, but couldn't imagine now living without. My latest Chipman-style addition was, in all seriousness, beyond my wildest dreams. They're everything I never knew I always wanted. How fortunate I am to have been guided by a divine Hand to where I am today.

I have so much love for my complete, eternal family. I have so much gratitude for each and every member of it. We support each other. We pray with and for each other. We share in each others' successes and trials. We will always be there to lift each other up in our times of need, and I believe that help comes from family on both sides of the veil. We are, as a wise man I know has said, 100% family.

It is with these thoughts in mind that I feel a need to take the time to "resurface" and share more of the positive experiences I've had over the past few months. These are for you, my wonderful family, the most loyal readers of my blog.

Covington is where it's at

2010-08-10T20:55:00.001-07:00

And by "it," I mean my Fidelity training trip. And also the center of everything Fidelity, really. It was grand. I got to meet other Fido workers from all over the country, and in our freetime we got to explore all over the Covington/Cincinnati area. Among said activities:

We met Mayor Mallory of Cincinnati, owner of the worst opening pitch in baseball history:

One of my new Fidelity friends convinced him to pose for a picture with all of us.

He requested that we put it on facebook and tag him. Awesome.

Could the night get any better? I submit that it DID! We stopped at a nearby establishment that had, of course, a mechanical bull. Needless to say, most of us took a turn.

It was a grand trip. By the end, everyone was calling me Shirley Temple after my Sprite-based drink of choice. Aren't work friends great?

Summertime and the Livin's Easy

2010-08-08T10:00:00.001-07:00

Despite the humidity and masses of tourists, DC is an excellent place to be in the summer. Especially if you're friends with fun people. Which I am.

Here's proof.

This year was my first Independence Day in the US since 2007. So, of course, we made it good. David and I went camping that weekend. Sort of.

Yes, that's our backyard. We dined on popcorn and hot chocolate and slept soundly on a mat made of memory foam.

We also made some killer pancakes.

(The regular-looking one is actually the Death Star. Bonus points if you figured that out before I said it.)

And, of course, we took advantage of our location by biking down the Mt. Vernon trail to a fantastic lookout point for some fireworks.

See those kayaks on the water? That's where I'd like to be next year.

Here's my attempt at capturing us and the moment at the same time.

Self-portrait fail. If you'd like to actually see some quality shots, you can find them on David's blog.

Also awesome: Screen on the Green! Copycats of this pastime are popping up all over the area, but we stayed true to the original with a trip to the National Mall.

Not even the rain could keep us away. We were far too prepared for such sissy impediments to stand in our way.

And more awesomeness: Go Ape!! It's how I spend my weekends when David's away. How does one go ape, you may ask? Like this:

and this:

and a little of this:

and don't forget this:

and perhaps most importantly, this:

The trick is to embrace the swinginess. And don't forget your harness.

Can there really be more in this awesome summer? Why yes, yes there can. How about a nice game of polo in the not-too-distant town of Middleburg?

And just for fun, here are some shots of Marcia's award-winning "best wedding shower activity idea of all time."

Yes, it's true. She happens to have a belly dancer friend who came and showed us the ropes.

There's more, but I've gone on enough. If you want more, it'll be on David's blog. Eventually.

Summer is wonderful. And it ain't even over yet.

Of one heart

2010-07-24T17:01:00.004-07:00

Guess what??

I got married!

To this guy!!

Here!

Two months ago!!

As you can see, I finally have some pictures to show off. (Thanks, Busath!) It was a delightful day. All we really wanted was for everyone to enjoy themselves, and I'd like to think we succeeded.

(I also really wanted to not be stressed that day, which mostly worked out, most of the time. For the most part.)

Lots of happy memories were born. Here are a few highlights I remember:

* Friends and family came from near and far, from the east coast to the west coast, and even from Peru to be there. Thanks to all of you – both those who were present and those who wished you could be – for the love, well wishes, acts of service, and support.

* I picked up David's sister, Emily, before I picked up David from the airport. He did not know this. She hid in the back seat and scared the pants off David by jumping out and yelling, "Party in the USA!" Sheer awesomeness. She was also the catcher of my bouquet. :)

* David and I put together all wedding day playlists on our drive down to Salt Lake the night before the wedding. If you know either of us very well, you'd already know that the musical selection was a highly important piece of our day and would be shocked that we put off this detail until the eleventh hour. Well...we did.

* For the party in Pocatello, Uncle Carl catered, Aunt Verna Lee entertained us with beautiful piano music, Cousin Sveta arranged the flowers, the nieces and nephews were the greeters/gift collectors, Dad was the landscaper, and Mom, the event planner/interior decorator. Huzzah for family!

* After Friday's Poky party, Dad x-rayed David's ankle. Marcia said it was to make sure he didn't have cold feet. :)

* It was raining buckets the night before. (I've decided that "rain on your wedding day is good luck!" is just something people say to make you feel better about the situation.) Marcia said she'd take care of the weather, and she suggested that we buy an umbrella because then it wouldn't rain for sure. So we did - a cute red one we'd be able to use in pictures. She was right: we never had to use it.

* We got free cookies AND Lion House rolls during our photo shoot. Awesome.

* David and I got some quiet time to ourselves in the morning, after the pictures and before the sealing (during which time we enjoyed our delectable Lion House goodies). I highly recommend this.

* Of course, the sealing was special. We were sealed by President Child, the temple president, who is a friend of David's parents and understood very well the sacrifices they are making for the Church in Peru. The look on David's face all through the sealing was captivating. I couldn't take my eyes off him.

* Before we came out of the temple, they warned us not to trip on the big step down right outside the door. So, we threw the doors open and jumped over it instead, which is what everyone got a picture of. :)

* Ibuprofen saved my feet - especially at the end of the day while I was waiting to transition out of my hot red heels and into my nice, comfy flip flops.
(This is the only picture I have of said comfy flip flops!)

* David's parents got to be there - his mom in body, and his dad in mind and heart, but also in cardboard cutout form and via Skype.

* We took family pictures outside and then requested that everyone meet on the terrace in the building next door in 5 minutes...when we reached the terrace 5 minutes later, not a family member in sight. It was an impressive collective disappearing act.

* The dancing at the reception was the only thing I knew I wanted at my wedding before we ever began planning. (Except the lilies. I knew I wanted those.) I especially enjoyed that the kids joined in so much. It helped that Dana got them going, and that we did the chicken dance in their honor.

* The kids in general were amazing. My biggest fans. Thank you for helping to make my day special. My mom made a comment about how good it was that the grandkids were all so excited about a temple wedding. I am more than happy to have contributed to that.
(Must...resist...posting...too many...kid pictures...oh well, I give up.)

* Speaking of the kids, apparently Colby threw up at the end of the reception after we left?? Something about dudes in hazmat outfits cleaning it up? Too much sampling from the candy buffet, I guess? Please tell me someone has pictures of this?!

* We didn't even get to try any of our carefully selected desserts, except for one little bite...

I hope it was all good.

* I got to play Charlie Brown at the reception. David pointed out afterward that I should have played it upside-down. Yeah, probably. But I wouldn't have looked as pretty. :)

* David and I made our exit through a gauntlet with Thunderstruck playing in the background. (I think everyone can agree that AC/DC just had to make an appearance.)

Bye-bye everybody!

Being married is awesome.

If you wish to see, there are many many more pictures here.

ADDENDUM:

Thank you very much to my new mother-and sister-in-law for THIS:

and THIS!! (Dad, I still want to see your vid!)

Luna de miel

2010-06-21T06:35:00.005-07:00

I'm going to go slightly out of order with this post. I've got lots of great pics from a nice little post-wedding-type trip David and I just took, and I'd really just like to share them now.

We went on a cruise. Neither of us had ever been before. We were extra-careful to choose an itinerary that was appealing to us, but our inexperience left us feeling just a teeny bit skeptical. So, we hedged our bets and extended the trip by hopping off the boat at the last stop and staying an extra week. I highly recommend this.

Turns out, cruises are awesome! And very low-maintenance, just as everyone promised me. Food was amazing. We made some new friends at our dinner table, and there was always some form of entertainment going on. (I think my favorite was the night we went clubbing. We may not have been the best dancers on the floor, but I'm pretty sure we had more fun than anyone else.)

We sort of made things up as we went and chose our excursions the night before each port, which revealed a very unexpected trend:

Grand Cayman: diving

Roatan: zip-line tour, then diving

Belize: charter plane ride to the Cayes, then diving

Cozumel/Playa del Carmen: diving in the ocean, going to church, roaming 5th Ave, and diving in a cenote (imagine spelunking...only the cave is filled with water)

Turns out we're both obsessed! Will we ever be able to plan a trip again without first considering if we'll be able to dive there?

We diversified a little when we got to beautiful Tulum: See ruins, count iguanas, be lazy, watch Mexico beat France, watch LA beat Boston, take naps on the beach, go for long walks on the beach, try to take pictures of the stars, try to find turtles laying eggs, hitch a ride from fishermen to check out the ruins again from the water at "sunrise," mourn the imminent return to "real life..."

All good things must end. But you know what? Even though we're no longer lounging around paraiso, life is still good.

For your information,

2010-05-28T14:10:00.006-07:00

I got a job.

I am thrilled to be working for this company. I'll start working in Bethesda after David and I get back from the honeymoon.

Speaking of. Wedding adventure post coming once the dust settles...you can go here and here to get a preliminary taste. :)

Wedding prep is fun. Sometimes.

2010-05-16T17:52:00.003-07:00

Nowadays there are some advantages when it comes to preparing for a wedding that weren't necessarily available just a few years ago. Greatest of all is that we have the ever-expanding Internet, in all its social media/online vending glory. It is certainly easier to connect and find people, we can keep in touch with vendors from afar, and we can find and make purchases for items that may have otherwise just not been possible.

This convenience definitely comes with its ups and downs, as we've explored the not-yet-mature realm of online social etiquette and taken some risks when it comes to placing orders from websites we just don't know that much about.

I have now found the greatest example ever.

Behold. The beads I ordered online for the ladies:

I was unaware at the time that the vendor in question was a Chinese wholesaler - not that it matters much, as long as the beads get here in time, right?

When the package came (correctly labeled as containing 10 strings of beads), it seemed a bit light. Well, I guess something may have gotten lost in translation. Instead of the anticipated beads, I got this:

For the pictures alone, I think I'm willing to just cut my losses and move on.

You may now call me Master Croshaw

2010-05-08T17:50:00.004-07:00

...but only for a couple weeks. :)

Spring is in the air...

2010-05-02T09:23:00.002-07:00

And no, I'm not talking about the record-high pollen counts currently facing the greater DC area. It's just a beautiful time of year in DC. Actually one of my favorites. It's the time when the weather gets nice and the trees turn green but the humidity hasn't caught up yet. I think I say this every year.

In any case, it always provides lots of good excuses to neglect my finals and be outdoors!

Excuse #1: 4th annual Lupus Walk in downtown DC.

I've gotten to do this every year since inception with some of my friends, and it's exciting to see how much it grows every year.

David joined us this year. And you can't see stickers that say so, but we were walking for Crystal, my sister-in-law.

Excuse #2: Salt Flats

David and I just took a whirlwind trip to Salt Lake to take care of some business for an event taking place exactly 30 days hence. We were incredibly efficient, if I do say so myself. (Go team ACDC!) I even got to meet some of his aunts, uncles, and cousins, and we took a side trip to check out the Salt Flats...or supposedly that's what we would have seen, if not for the unusually high levels of precipitation that Utah has been seeing lately.

Still made for some beautiful pictures - including another that would make Dad proud.

Our flight was delayed on the way home, but we sat on the plane for so long that I was able to watch a spectacular sunset.

Excuse #3: 2nd annual RunAmuck!!

David and I participated in this race last year. It's a 5K that entails running up and down hills, climbing over/crawling under obstacles, wading through a lake, and lots and lots of mud. Last year this was actually one of our first "dates," and we had a blast...but we were disappointed by the degree of muddiness we had obtained by the end of the race.

This year, we vowed, there would be much more mud to show for our efforts. We even wore colors that would allow for better presentation of said muddiness.

I am happy to say that we succeeded, thanks in part to our very intentional efforts at dirtifying ourselves, and thanks in part to the grandiose efforts of the RunAmuck planners in upping the opportunities for everyone to crawl through the mud (including right at the finish line). Aside from just getting really dirty, both David and I earned ourselves some battle wounds from crawling through the mud and kicking underwater logs. Yeah, I know. We're so hard-core.

If you haven't had enough yet, here is more of the race and our muddy selves in all our glory. Please note wherever you can, the costumes in the background. People got seriously creative. Maybe we'll do that next year.

What just happened?!

2010-04-22T20:04:00.000-07:00

So I'm graduating soon. I know because everyone keeps reminding me, not so much because it's on my mind. Apparently I'm fixated on exactly two weeks after the graduation date, which naturally means that the end of school has seriously snuck up on me. I had a sort of "aha" moment as I was walking down the hall at school today and realized that my Kogod days were numbered. It's a staggering thought, and it leaves me feeling all sorts of emotions. I have no intentions of pursuing another degree after this one, which means I'm about to enter into my last finals week. Ever. Today I had my last Derivatives class. Ever. Monday is my last graduate class. Ever. How did this time come so quickly?

Of course, I'm excited about this accomplishment. It's been a long, grueling lesson on time management and how to play well with others, and it feels good to finish something I've worked so hard at. I honestly feel like grad school is the best investment I've ever made, and of course it's exhilarating to reach the pinnacle of said investment.

But it also means that it's almost time for another transition.

I like school. I think I'm pretty good at school. I've grown quite comfortable with my current circumstances and acquaintances as a student. I love the constant flow of new and different information that keeps my brain from atrophy. As I sat in class tonight, I was consciously trying to savor whatever last vestiges of wisdom I could glean from my brilliant professor. I feel in my element when I'm roaming the halls of Kogod, and I'll always retain a high level of gratitude for what I have gained from this school.

I don't like change. I know it's good for me and whatever, but that doesn't make it any less unpleasant. It's like moving from the top of one ladder to the bottom rung of another. When I was younger, I was much better at doing things that absolutely freaked me out on a regular basis - like leaving home for college, living in Spain, moving to DC - because I knew it would help me to grow. But after I got to DC and life became a little more stable, I slowed down a bit on the freak-out activities. School has upped the frequency a little, but I'm still feeling a little rusty. (In case you're wondering, I'm not referring here to change of a marital nature. Like I mentioned, I think about that change so much that I forget about my own graduation.) Now, I've been "career girl" before, and I know it has its perks too. I'm just suddenly not in such a hurry to get back there. I'd like to spend a little more time in warm and cozy academia, rather than venture out into the big, bad, menacing real world.

But you know what? Every one of those freak-out transitions had their growing pains, but then they became something beautiful. I just had to acclimate and start climbing that ladder.

I guess that means all I have left to do is figure out which ladder it's going to be...

Tribute

2010-04-14T19:38:00.001-07:00

I was chatting with Princess the other day, and I realized what an amazing feat she is about to accomplish. I know I've got a lot on my plate and whatever this semester, but as long as I'm careful with my time, I can manage alright.

Let's talk about Princess.

Princess actually played a pivotal role in my return to school. If left to my own devices, I almost definitely would have put it off for at least another semester - if not indefinitely. But Princess would have none of it. She bullied me into finishing my application right before the deadline, which has drastically affected the direction my life has taken over the last two years and given a serious boost to my confidence, self-awareness, and personal development. For that, I am grateful.

But I digress. Back to Princess.

She's in law school. She started the same time I started business school. From what I understand, law school is HARD even if you're just taking the typical load. But Princess is made of tougher stuff. Girl's taking 19.5 credits this semester, because she wants to graduate early. 19.5! Credits! Of law school! I don't know what a typical load is, but for me it starts to get a little hairy once you pass 12. I imagine it's similar for law.

So does she spend her life stuck in the library, buried in books and papers? Nope! Look at all the fun she manages to have! Adventure finds her wherever she goes. It's actually made me jealous on numerous occasions since she left DC and keeps having adventures without me.

Her finals are this week, and she's still managed to call me for a chat - on more than one occasion. The last time we talked, she had to cut the conversation short because she didn't want to be late for her water polo tournament. I don't know how she does it. But even more than that, I don't know how she can say that she doesn't know how I do it.

But what I do know is that I'm excited for her to finish with those finals so she can get out here for a month of play interning.

Cheers to Princess!

On the move...

2010-04-03T19:00:00.005-07:00

Last weekend I vacated what was my place of residence for the past 5 years.

A moment of silence to reminisce and commemorate the end of an era, please.

my old room before the move...

...during... (yes, it's true that I slept in a sleeping bag on my bare mattress on the last night)

...and after. Weird. I'm glad I won't be around when the landlord paints my walls back to boring bone white.

It's going to take me awhile to wrap my mind around not living there. It feels very surreal to not be living with those girls. We've been telling everyone that the house imploded on its own awesomeness.

But on the plus side, I get fabulous sunset views from my room in my new humble abode. And it will be David's humble abode too, come June.

That's happy.

Everyone in my house moved out and didn't replace ourselves, which meant we also had to move out at least a decade of other girls' belongings that had been left behind as people have cycled through this house. Foutons, linens, bikes, cabinets, rugs, kitchen utensils, appliances, and lots and lots of other little (or not-so-little) knickknacks. I think we just singlehandedly kept Goodwill fully stocked for about a month.

As you can imagine, five years of buildup has left me with plenty of stuff too. (Granted, this isn't all mine...but you get the idea.)

All 15 members of Team Move joined forces for a flurry of loading, unloading, scrubbing, sweeping, raking, and emptying. It was a humbling reminder of what awesome friends I have.

Goodbye, 22206. I'll miss most things about you.

Hello, 22202. I'm excited to get to know you.

In other news...it's Cherry Blossom Festival time!! David and I got up extra-early one day this week to catch the beauty and beat the crowds. Beauty, check. Lack of crowds...not so much. Ah well, still totally worth it.

Happy Easter/Conference weekend!

Last Spring Break ever

2010-03-16T12:35:00.004-07:00

I treasure my Spring Breaks. Why? Because I never had one during undergrad (except once, sort of, when they needed the students to clear out for the Olympics). I remember thinking it was really great that we got out of BYU a week earlier and whatnot, but I sure am glad AU doesn't follow the same policy. With this in mind, I've tried to make the most of the two Spring Breaks grad school has bequeathed to me.

How do I take advantage this year? I go to Fort Lauderdale to meet up with David after his work trip, kick it with Leslie and Alex, and get Scuba certified!

We had so much fun hanging out with Leslie and Alex. They took us to Miami (bienvenido) for Cuban food, and they practiced one of their taco truck dishes on us (I think it was borrowed from Lori?). T'was divine. If I could find a taco truck here that sold this dish, I would go there every day. Just saying.

We also got to spend a little time on the beach by their house.

Turns out there's a pirate alley on the beach with a pirate gift shop, pirate bar, pirate wax figures, and a pirate photo op. Of course, we had to partake.

Obviously, David makes better pirate faces than me. I'll have to practice.

Leslie also took us for an airboat ride in the Everglades! Trivia for you: Did you know the Everglades is actually an extra-wide and extra-slow-moving river?

On our way down, we tried to figure out the difference between Okeechobee and Okefenokee. Mostly because they're just fun to say. Do you know the difference? Without asking Google?

We saw a lot of birds and one single alligator. Then we celebrated when we got back to land by sampling some fried gator. They did the same thing at the Mamba village I visited in Kenya. Both times, I was a little disturbed that they show you the wildlife and then feed it to you. Both times, I partook anyway.

Scuba certification is something I've had every intention of getting done before now - but I didn't. David thought it might behoove me to get that taken care of. In case I might need it. In a couple months. For whatever reason.

In short - I loved it. It was a surreal experience. Once I figured out the buoyancy, I felt so freeeeee! On the open water dives we saw sea turtles, lots of tropical fish, a couple of nurse sharks, and a lobster - which my instructor, Erin, proceeded to catch with her bare hands.

Even though the paces are completely different, I would compare the sense of freedom to how I feel when I'm skiing. And that says something! I can see myself getting hooked on this hobby. Or maybe I already am?

You are my Muse

2010-03-10T12:45:00.016-08:00

This semester's round of midterms were the most intense I've ever had. Fitting, I suppose, since it's my final round. For about a week straight, I spent most of my waking hours studying and reviewing (except for my blessed study-restricted Sunday). After all that, I still felt like I needed several more hours each day to feel like I was actually prepared for all five of my exams.

I knew, going into midterms, that things would be this way. So I scheduled in a few moments of mandatory respite. Because sometimes, you just need to burn off some stress, else you just won't make it out with your sanity intact.

One night I took a cardiovascular respite, and I ended up swimming a mile. I've only gone that far one other time ever, and it's been awhile since that happened. Apparently I had more to burn off that I realized.

An unscheduled moment of respite was brought to me by the reliable ingenuity of a old quality standby, OK Go. Their low-budget, creative music videos (like this one and this one) never fail to impress and bring a smile to my face. I'm always wondering, what brilliance will they come up with next, and how can they possibly outdo their last vid? Answer: They'll recruit a high school band to remind me that this too shall pass. Well timed, boys. Well timed.

And then there was Muse.

Oh, delightful respite of wonder and bliss. How I love thee and thy awe-inspiring musical abilities. When I saw Muse open for U2, all I wanted was for them to come back and headline in a smaller venue. Wish granted!

I actually neglected to bring my camera, which only enhanced the experience because I wasn't constantly interrupting my experience to document it. I was only able to catch a few shots and low-quality snippets on my phone - and leave a fun voice mail for traveling David. (I don't regret that he had to miss Midterms-Crazed Abby, but it is a shame he didn't get to partake of the goodness of Muse.)

I had some pretty seriously high expectations. Unsurprisingly, Muse delivered. If they're coming to a city near you...go. See them. Run, do not walk, to the ticket office and get some seats before they sell out. Please. And you're welcome.

And you know what? Thanks to the reprieves and lots of prayers, I survived the mighty midterms. Queue the wind-down (my favorite respite of all - details forthcoming)!

From snowfall to a shower

2010-02-27T19:33:00.004-08:00

I just took a whirlwind trip to Idaho last weekend. I had high hopes of spending some quality time with a few people, but this trip was strictly business - only time to take care of a few wedding details. About 36 hours after I arrived, I was already headed east back to my DC.

Granted, some of my "business" happened to be a wedding shower put on by a dear friend from the good ol' 2nd ward. I got to see many ladies I grew up with but haven't seen for quite awhile, and my best friends in town also showed up to celebrate with me. I felt so loved and supported. Thank you, ladies (and especially Michele), for making me feel special. It was exactly what I needed.

Nice to be home. :)

Snowpocalypse

2010-02-22T20:08:00.001-08:00

Thought I'd come up for air before midterms hit next week.

DC got hit by "the storm of the century" a couple weeks ago (it has also been called Snowmageddon and Snobama). It was the most hyped-up storm I've ever seen, but it actually ended up living up to all the hype. And I've got documentation! It literally paralyzed the entire area. School was cancelled for a full week , church was cancelled two weeks in a row, huge trees were falling down all over the place, over 200,000 people lost power, and some days I didn't even leave my house. And I'm from IDAHO. I have to say, even coming from the good ol' Rockies, this was a pretty fantastic series of storms. Check out this progression...

Friday afternoon:

Saturday morning:

Saturday evening. Anybody seen my car?

Some people said it was like I had an extra spring break, which is not quite right. Not just because it's the dead of winter. Class was cancelled one day at a time, so I still spent the bulk of my days doing homework and shoveling, just in case the folks at AU decided the roads weren't really all that bad and class should take place. Every night I'd anxiously await my AU class cancellation text update for the following day...then like Pavlov's dog, I'd start jumping up and down in celebration every time it came.

How I love snow. Cold is so much more bearable when it's accompanied by snowfall. I waited almost five years for a winter like this in DC.

When I'd get cabin fever, I'd go out to play and try to dig a path out of our house. Not like we had anywhere to go, I just wanted to be out in all the beautiful whiteness.

The world just seems so fresh and peaceful when it's all covered by 23 inches of snow.

I also went out for a stroll a few times. I just loved being outside! I took a walk to David's one day and captured these beauties.

Marcia and I had our playtime out there, too.

We were solicited by some friends of ours to come over for dinner and Rock Band on the night of Snowpocalypse. How do you say no to that? Sometimes the sidewalks were nonexistent, but no matter, the roads weren't being used either.

This is King Street, one of the main busy streets by my house. See the other pedestrians up there who also opted for the street instead of carving their way down the sidewalk?

I must spend just a moment defending DC, because this is something I just didn't understand when I moved out here. I've seen plenty of crazy bad snowstorms in my day, where the next day life went on as normal. School was rarely cancelled for weather, especially if you were in college. So why does DC literally shut down every time we get a little flurry? It took me a few winters to understand that they're not just all a bunch of sissies. #1 - Since it doesn't come down like this on any kind of a regular basis, they're just not equipped with all the snowplows needed to take care of anything of this magnitude. So...everybody panics leading up to the storm and cancels everything based on the predictions alone. It also takes them a LOT longer to clear off all the roads (lots of roads, by the way) with what they've got. #2 - Black ice. That ol' DC humidity wreaks havoc on the roads, I tell you. So next time you're tempted to scoff at DC's wimpy reaction to a storm, be gentle. That being said, I can't resist poking fun at a DC-ism that has always made me giggle.

Honestly now, is it going to make things better to put the wipers up when you're up against Snowpocalypse?

Reclaiming the weekend

2010-01-31T10:01:00.003-08:00

I love Sundays. It is my self-enforced break from my work and school labors. I may have some major group projects or tests on the horizon, but Sunday is off limits. My classmates and bosses know it, and they've learned that I'll always get my work done - just not that day. It takes a little self-discipline up-front when big things are coming due, but it's always such a relief when Sunday gets here. In many instances, it's my day to regain my sanity, and I think it shows in my demeanor throughout the rest of the week. (I've had classmates comment before that maybe they should give themselves a day of rest, too. I tell them it's a start, but there's a little more to it than that.) It's not that I don't do anything that day - I often spend much of my day taking care of churchy duties. It's just that I set part of my life aside - and the cares and stress that go along with it. I've been asked before if I can really afford to do that every week...in all honesty, I don't think I can afford not to.

That being said, this post is brought to you by AC's day of rest.

DC got hit with a snowstorm all day yesterday. It was delightful. I had been mourning the fact that I missed the last huge storm in December, so this was a welcome sight indeed. Naturally, when David suggested that we go to town to take pictures of the monuments and trees in the snow, I was immediately on board.

I didn't actually take many pictures. I let David be the photographer while I made snow angels and watched in delight as the big, fluffy, white flakes just kept on coming down.

We passed by our good friend Mr. Lincoln and I couldn't resist asking a passerby to document our 2.5-month mark since the last time we were there.

(It was so cold that I had to massage my face a little bit before I could make my mouth form a smile.)

Hooray for winter. Especially when there's snow.

The end.

School update: I really like all of my classes - even the ones that go until 10:30pm. A couple of them are going to be doozies, but I enjoy the content very much. I think I can pull everything off - in and out of school - this semester, but it means I need to be more disciplined with my time in the mornings than I was last semester. Please pray for Abby to have more discipline. Many garcias.

One year ago today...

2010-01-20T09:40:00.002-08:00

I met David.

Did anything else big happen around here on January 20, 2009? I forget.

Adventures and Misadventures of Christmas Break

2010-01-03T16:41:00.012-08:00

Perk to being in school: extra-long Christmas break.

Potential drawback: most of said break will be spent recuperating from school.

Despite that, it was great to spend some quality time with a small portion of my family and focus on the important Christmas-type things. Sadly, there were zero nieces and nephews in the house this year. I didn't know what to do with myself and all the quiet time!

David and I decided to celebrate the new year with a race. SLC has a 5K that begins at 11:30pm, and if you beat the new year to the finish line, you get a nice wooden commemorative plaque.

How could we refuse such an invitation for competition?

For the record, it was HARD. I can definitely feel the difference between DC and UT altitude. Living in the east has made me weak! The race started late, but we still beat 2010 by about half a minute. Aw yeah.

I used to always say that I would marry the first guy who took me to see the lights at temple square. As of New Years Eve, it hadn't happened yet. (I may or may not have tipped David off to this fact.) In any case, after the race we had plenty of energies, and wouldn't you know it, they kept the lights on after midnight! So we stopped by, still adorned in our running paraphernalia.

Guess that means I have to marry him now.

There was one misadventure of the break, although I don't feel totally right calling it a misadventure. Because hey, sometimes crazy bad things happen, but sometimes you get really really ridiculously lucky when it comes to the timing of said bad things.

Case in point:

* Bad thing: My hard drive crashed on my lappy the day before I left Idaho.

(Mac owners: if this pops up on your screen, run - do not walk - to the nearest Apple Store's Genius Bar. But be sure to schedule an appointment. Those stores are POPULAR. I asked Davy, my Genius assistant, if it was always so busy. He said, "Are you kidding?! This place is absolutely dead right now!")

* Luck: It was still under the extended warranty I got before school started (because I didn't want to have to worry about it while under "starving student" status).

* Serious luck: I took it to the Apple store in Salt Lake to get a diagnosis before I jumped on my plane back to DC, assuming they'd have to send it in to HQ and hoping and praying that they'd get it sent back to me by the time school starts next Monday. Within the next half hour, not only did they replace my hard drive (with an upgrade too, since they don't make 'em as small as they used to) and update the operating system (I can now get Boot Camp, hooray!), but they also cleaned out all the dust (which I've wanted to do since Kenya) and fixed some little cosmetic things that I was putting off until a later, more convenient date.

* Real real ridiculous luck: I got an external hard drive for Christmas - I think it was from Santa? Just two days prior to the crash, David helped me to back up the last year and a half of my life of pictures, music, reports, presentations, resumes, you name it - the first time I've bothered to back up my lappy since I bought it. I literally did not lose a single thing. When you're one semester away from finishing grad school, that's kind of a big deal. In case I needed more signs that I absolutely need to marry David, that one sealed the deal for me. Not like I was at all unsure before - I mean, he did take me to see the temple square lights, after all - but a little reinforcement is always a good thing.

* In summary: What could have been an extremely traumatic experience ended up being more like, "Oh, hum. Well, good thing I got that extended warranty!" (I do need to replace my MS Office for Mac software, but that's actually replaceable. I can handle that.) I love when blessings are so perfectly timed that you have no choice but to recognize them for what they are.

iHeart Mac.

Now, for my next act! I will attempt to hold two jobs, find a post-graduate career, train for a half marathon, complete a 15-credit semester, graduate, and plan a wedding - all in a mere 134 days - blindfolded, with one hand tied behind my back! (Read: I might fall off the radar for a bit.)

Here we gooooooooo....

A reenactment...

2010-01-03T16:34:00.007-08:00

...of David's birthday surprise:

One of the David masks that me, his siblings, nephews, and niece put on before David got to his sister's house in El Paso (where he didn't know I would be):

What David saw when he walked in the front door:

(He actually missed his flight and was a day late, which meant more time to plan a more elaborate surprise and extra bonus day with the siblings and kids! It also meant hiding in quiet rooms and faking my way through a few phone calls before he arrived.)

His initial reaction when he saw us:

What he did when I took off my David mask and he discovered that I was actually in El Paso, not Pocatello:

What the kids did in response:

Yay for surprises!

The next morning, I was on the road back to Idaho. Totally worth it!

Happy Birthday, David C!

2009-12-18T21:01:00.001-08:00

I'm actually on the opposite side of the country for David's birthday. Sad, I know. :(

But don't worry, it just means that we got to celebrate a week early, when I was still in DC!

We took a trip to the National Geographic Museum to check out the Terra Cotta Warriors exhibit. It was fascinating stuff. And isn't he an attractive guy?

Naturally, said trip was followed later by the movie "Hero." Because we're cool like that. And also because David is mildly obsessed with everything China. Makes me feel pretty awesome, for beating out all the Chinese ladies for his attention. :)

We also took a trip up to the temple to check out the lights and listen to the Northern Lights Dance Orchestra play some big band-sounding Christmas tunes.

Yay, Christmas.

And yay, anniversary of birth of David. :)

Where was I?

2009-12-10T20:49:00.006-08:00

FYI - year 2 of business school is hard. Anyone who says otherwise is lying to you. I feel like for the majority of the last month, I've been running around in a sort of maddened delirium of trying to finish out my semester. Not the stressful kind, because I can't really say that I've been that stressed. Just a delirium. Like a chicken running around with its head cut off. Yeah, that's a fitting image. The last two weeks of school I feel like I've been running around like a chicken with its head cut off, trying to get everything done. You can imagine how hard that must have been, what with no head and all.

But it's done now. Projects and papers have been turned in, presentations given, finals taken. Time for a break.

Sort of. Something tells me I'll be plenty busy over my "break."

Now, where did I leave off? Ah yes, Thanksgiving. David and I went to Idaho, to spend some QT with a portion of the family and to see some friends. And of course, to eat. A lot.

And play with the kids.

And sleep.

We also decided that this was the year to chop down a real, live Christmas tree. So we all piled into the cars and took a drive through Arbon Valley. Destination: Christmas tree farm.

And we drove.

And we drove. It was very scenic.

But not a pine tree in sight.

Once we hit the freeway, we decided that maybe it was a better idea for the ladies to go to a girly movie (where we made everyone else in the theater mad by laughing really loud at all the wrong times) and the gentlemen to go to the manly shooting range (where apparently my Dad reduced the boys to tears of laughter by telling stories of the high school days).

It was classic. That's what I love about my family. They're all flexible like that. :)

Ah well, at least the pine tree chopping permit was only $5.

Bringing it back to DC...

Over the last couple weeks of school, I was craving some serious excitement. Something - anything - to shake things up a little and keep me from burning out before my last final. Turns out, the opportunity presented itself via a presentation to be given in a marketing class by some of my friends.

Basically, they were pitching a new Ben & Jerry's ice cream flavor, Good Mooove, and an accompanying marketing campaign. It's brilliant. Good Mooove has its own website, it's on twitter, and it has a fan club on facebook. And the presentation was amazing. They were just missing one thing...a Good Mooove mascot to pass out ice cream and business cards to everyone who came to the class.

Yep.

I could use the excuse of "a lot of actions are forgivable during finals week," but odds are good that any other time of year, I would have done it anyway. :) Someone else commented that I had done my charity for the Christmas season. Yeah...that was what I had in mind...I need to dress up like a cow for my friends because, hey, it's Christmas.

In that case, let the Christmas festivities begin!

He liked it, so he put a ring on it!

2009-11-26T19:30:00.008-08:00

He asked.

I said yes.

:)

I'm a little tardy in my posting of The Story. Please forgive. Today seems to be a particularly timely day to tell the tale, as I indeed have much to be grateful for. And I'm going to bend my rules a little bit for the content of this post - this is a blog for adventures, not the personal stuff. But I can make an exception this once...although this one kind of counts - I still see it as quite the adventure.

Ahem. Just a little background, to get you oriented, and for those who are saying, "You have a boyfriend?" Well, yes. Actually, he's my fiance. I've got to get used to saying that one. I have a Fiance. His name is David.

I met David at the beginning of this year at Institute. (Hooray for Institute!) We had quite a few months of nothing more than chatting for 10 or 15 minutes when we crossed paths, during which time we both started to notice that we had an awful lot in common. One thing led to another, and eventually we moved beyond the once-a-week chats. Since we'd taken our sweet little time letting the interest build, we sort of took off at a sprint once we started dating. We actually figured out very early on where we wanted things to go, which was a blow to my pride because I'd always been of the mindset that some things just take time. But I got over it. When it's right, it's right. I know now.

By the time I left for Africa, we'd built ourselves a nice, solid base. We kept in touch all through Kenya and continued dating once I got back. Things kept going wonderfully well despite our backwards schedules, and so we decided to proceed with what we'd basically already figured out after about one week.

Now. On to the good stuff.

Awhile back, David's cousin had a flight that connected in Dulles. The original connection out of Dulles was cancelled, so he got an overnight stay. He called to see if we could give him the grand tour while he was in town, which sounded like a fun adventure, so we were in. We picked him up that night at 11pm, took him to Ben's Chili Bowl, gave him a whirlwind night tour of the monuments, and got him back to his hotel by about 4am. 'Twas a fun adventure indeed.

Among the stops we made was the Lincoln Memorial, which was mostly deserted. We started chatting with the security guard, and he told us that the best part of his job was that he got to watch the sun come up behind the capitol building every morning. He was so convincing in his description of the sunbeams bouncing off the reflecting pool that we decided we'd have to get around to doing that, sometime, later. Definitely not that day, but sometime.

Fast forward to Saturday night, November 14. Seemingly out of nowhere, David turned to me and said, "Hey! We should go watch that sunrise at the Lincoln tomorrow!" Great idea! I love spontaneity! It had been rainy and gloomy in DC for the past few weeks, and it was finally clearing up (and not too cold yet), so it was an optimal time.

And so we went. I literally rolled out of bed at about 5:55, David came and picked me up at 6:00, and we headed into town. He’d thought ahead about the cold temperature, and he brought some thermoses of hot chocolate, along with some breakfast. Awesome. I love this guy. Not only is he adventurous, he's also always thinking of details to make my life better. And he was right about the weather. It was just a little chilly, and the sky was clear except on the horizon – perfect sunrise conditions. (Have I ever mentioned that one of my favorite things is sunrises and sunsets?) We snapped some photos, talked about his family's "Let the Magic Begin" post-Thanksgiving tradition, and joked about letting our own magic begin. Hello, foreshadowing?

We found our way up to a corner of the memorial, which really gives a grand view of the DC skyline. I did consider the fact that this was a bit of a perfect setting for someone to pop The Question, should they so desire...but I wrote off the possibility of anything happening because, remember, this was a "spontaneous" activity. Which I'm absolutely positive is exactly what David intended to make me think.

Once the sun finally peeked over the horizon, David said, "You know, there's really only one thing that would make this better."

“What?”
“If you said yes.”

Then he got down on one knee, brought out the ring he'd been hiding somewhere, and asked, “Will you marry me?!” (If I remember right, he was sort of giggling when he said it. Maybe it was nerves, maybe it was in response to the gasp that I let out when he did it. In any case, it was adorable. I know I'm biased and all, but honestly - how could anyone say no to that?)

I didn’t actually say yes. I think my exact words were, “Of course!”

There were a lot of people passing by because of a race going on across the street. I don't know if anyone actually witnessed the proposal, but I hope someone did. I hope it made their day.

We're going to have a lot of fun. :)

You can see David's version of the story here.

Thanks to all for your support and excitement. It's definitely cause for celebration. I feel like I have already been abundantly blessed with a full and happy life, and things will only get better with David (and his family) in the picture. Now that he's here, I'm not really sure how I ever lived without him.

Voices calling from a yellow rooooooad!

2009-11-06T12:24:00.004-08:00

I've realized there are a few common underlying elements to bands that just really impress me. One of them is if they can actually involve instruments above and beyond the guitar/drum combo of typical rock bands (although I do love that stuff, too). It doesn't hurt if they can pull off the falsetto, either. And any band that can involve children gets bonus points.

Guster proved their worth last weekend, and then some, when they performed at my favorite cheap venue, the 9:30 Club. Their concert represented the 10th anniversary since their Lost and Gone Forever tour, so they sang that entire album and then some. It was delightful.

Big weekend event #2: Halloween!!

I LOVE Halloween. It's such a creative time of year. I'll probably be that mom who keeps on dressing up for the holiday long after my kids think it's cool for me to do it.

And just for fun, here's a preview of a new Guster song!

Happy weekend everyone!

I love the fall.

2009-10-29T18:03:00.007-07:00

Especially in DC.

It's the perfect time. The weather is cool (but not cold), the humidity is gone, and the fall colors come out in all their glory. I feel like I've said this before. Still true.

David and I took advantage of this optimal combination by taking a leisurely bike ride down by the canal in Georgetown one morning.

This was the same day as the Marine Corps Marathon, so we got to watch and cheer a little.

I love big marathons. They're inspirational. The energy in the air is electrifying. You get to see all sorts of interesting people - the ones juggling, or wearing a grass skirt, or a jack-o-lantern outfit - none of which I got pictures of, because I was too busy cheering them on. Next time I run a long-distance race, I'm wearing something fun. I want to make people smile the way the dude with the kilt and mohawk made me smile.

Since the race is so big, they close all sorts of major roads in and around town...which is why it was perfectly fine for us to ride the middle lane down 110. As you can see, David just won Tour de France. The second-place guy is so far behind, you can't even see him.

I've always been just a little jealous of people who could ride bikes with no hands like that.

In other news, David and I took a trip down to Raleigh to visit Lauren and Yuriy one weekend. Lauren is having her baby soon and I'm excited out of my mind about it! We hit up the NC state fair, where we partook of such delicacies as grilled corn on the cob, ham biscuits, fried macaroni and cheese, and caramel apples. (We stopped short of trying the fried candy bars and fried twinkies. But I was tempted.) And a state fair isn't a state fair without a pig auction and few rickety carnival rides! It was a nice weekend indeed. Especially knowing that we bypassed a weekend of gloomy, overcast raininess in DC.

And in other other news, I would like everyone to meet my new car. Thanks to the DKCs for helping me in my search to make my dream a reality.

David has dubbed him "Vader." I guess it reminds him of someone?

And finally, just to fill in all the other gaps: school. Class at night is hard! But on the plus side, the delightful silver lining is that I have never been so well-rested because I don't have to get up extra-early and rush out the door every day. All of my classes are starting to pick up the pace in a mean way, just like I knew they would this time of year. I had an exam last night and another tonight, and I'm TIRED!

But then I got home, and found this waiting for me:

That's right, it's a card full of Halloween love from Mia! (With an extra helping of love from the rest of the Cleveland Croshaws.)

I went from feeling like this:

To this:

I love my family. :)

And just like that, life picks up again

2009-10-03T19:30:00.008-07:00

Muse is my current favorite band.

How does one gain this status, you ask?

Simple. They create incredible musical music with haunting-yet-upbeat sounds and thought-provoking lyrics, and then they put on a show and let me come watch.

Even from the nosebleed section, Muse gave me the adrenaline rush that only a top-notch group of musical performers is capable of. I was feeling it. It takes more than your everyday run-of-the-mill band to pull that off.

U2 also put on a rockin' show. Now that I've seen them, I feel like I can cross an important event off my list of things to do before I die.

However, I have one grievance regarding this show: too much propaganda. Just because you have a captive audience doesn't give you carte blanche to start filling everyone's heads with your ideals. Now, I can respect that Bono feels strongly about whatever given cause or issue, I think it's great that he's using his power for good. But there's a time and a place. People go to U2 concerts to hear Bono sing. With all due respect, when he's putting on a show, that's what he should stick to.

Let's talk about U2's 360-degree stage. I guess it's a big deal because it's the first of its kind or something?

It reminded me of a spider (that's right, a giant 4-legged spider). David thought it looked like a spaceship (which I think is what it's supposed to be), and Marcia was reminded of Invader Zim.

We basically ran all the way to the metro after the show, counting the hours we were saving as we passed by hundreds of people (it was estimated that metro had to cart out about 10,000 people once the show ended). Good thing we both are runners. That marks the 3rd time I've gotten to run in the last two months. Three days later, my legs were still voicing their complaints. It's glorious.

I also have another thing to add to my growing list of why David is cool.

Work sent him to California, then at the end he flew me out to play with him because he found a ridiculously good deal on flights (and also because he missed me). Needless to say, I had a fantastic weekend.

David showed me around the neighborhood he used to live in, and introduced me to some of his old favorites - like Tommy's (the closest California will ever get to Ben's Chili Bowl)...

and Venice Beach (the people-watching possibilities are endless).

I also got to meet some extended family. They're delightful people. One night, some of us had dinner (not so much dessert, not so much spoiling our dinner, just dinner) at Yogurtland. If you don't know what that place is...you should.

Naturally, we paid a visit to Sarah-Dawn. She never fails to fill my soul with joyness. We all went to the beach.

Which, by the way, means David and I made it to both coasts within the month of September - ironically, both were in O.C.

He found some dolphins...right - over - there!

David still wants to hang out with me even after he saw me and S-D in all our uncensored silliness. Isn't that great?

The post you've all been waiting for...

2009-09-24T18:43:00.015-07:00

That's right, it's time to see pictures of my 5th (and most likely last) Colonial 2 Retreat Campout Socialfest Party Shindig Gathering Activity Event.

I sort of just coasted through this weekend, which felt a little unusual - I've almost always either been on the planning committee or participating somewhere or other. This time I decided to take it easy and just let other people run the show. (What can I say, school is beating me up, I needed the break.) I met new people, made s'mores, played cards, napped on the grass, and spent an inordinate amount of time trying to remember the Tin Man song from Wizard of Oz. I got so involved in my chilling out that I didn't even take any pictures. So here are a bunch of candids for you, courtesy of random other Colonialites.

A favorite activity. We were playing Hearts. Darren shot the moon. Twice!

We did two service projects: some of us picked up sticks in the park and threw them in the forest (yep), and others colored and cut out rockets for the children. Here we are, anxiously engaged in making our rockets perfect.

We always have church in the forest on Retreat weekend. Look at how good and disciplined I am in wearing kosher footwear. (I'm not yet back to my 100% physically active self, but I did go running once last week!) And it's true that I may or may not also have scrubs on. Don't be fooled by the sunshine - it was cold!

The highlight of the entire weekend: Eyner spontaneously jumping up on the stage during our skit night, stealing the microphone, and saying, "Imma let you finish, but Prince Charming is the best prince of all time!"

It was just his way of giving a shout out to everyone's favorite charming, classy hip-hop star.

And now I'm off to prepare for my next whirlwind weekend adventure. You'll have to visit again for the deets, but know that it involves two of my favorite people. And a coast that isn't the east one.

Awesome times for which I have little to no photo documentation

2009-09-07T19:13:00.005-07:00

...at least for the most part. For the sake of getting caught up, I'm just going to give you the basics. If you want the deets on anything, all you have to do is ask.

* While I was still in Idaho, my whole entire family came to visit. That's 14 adults and 12 grandchildren. It was insanity. I loved it. What I didn't love was that my recovering feet kept me from entertaining the children in my normal fashion (fortunately, the kids seemed to understand that it was just my shoes that were making me so boring, not that I had actually become boring myself). David picked up the slack for me with the kids, because he's cool like that.

We also had a surprise 60th birthday party for my dad, and he was actually surprised. I am shocked that he didn't find out. I guess it helped that his birthday is actually in November, so even when certain nameless people did accidentally slip up, he didn't even question it. This party was complete with delicious goodies, friends from all over, and the grandkids singing "Yellow Submarine" inside a giant cardboard yellow submarine. If you want to see more pics, they're scattered all over my family's blog over the past few weeks.

* School started! I am still trying to adjust to my backwards schedule with class at night. This goes against some serious morals of mine - I've always made it a point to get off campus ASAP once it gets dark. Now, that's when class begins. But I'm slowly but surely finding my groove. I'm really enjoying my classes and my two jobs - all of which are forcing me to use completely different parts of my brain. Ahhh, education. How I love thee.

* Marcia, Darren, and I got to see Lord of the Rings with the National Symphony Orchestra and a choir performing the soundtrack music. It was superb. My geeky musical self couldn't stop watching the conductor - he had a screen that was playing the movie. It would flash for every downbeat, and a line would go across the screen to signal when he needed to start up again.

* Jazz from the Navy band on the Capitol steps + warm summer evening - humidity + David + Indian food = I love DC.

* David and I took advantage of the long weekend and went to Ocean City for Labor Day. This is where I ran my marathon three years ago, but I never got to see the beach. It was mental and emotional therapy to get quality time with the sand and the ocean. I was so enthralled that I neglected to snap a single photo. But if I had to pinpoint my favorite moment, I think it would have to be when a plane flew over us with a banner in tow, advertising for a doc who could take care of toenail fungus. Since my mind is easing back into the business school mentality, I had to give the guy credit for marketing to people right at the exact time when they'd all be barefoot and checking out their little tootsies.

We got a chinchilla! His name is Desmond and he lives in our front room. He pretty much has the softest fur ever.
I'm getting a new car. Stella (my trusty Civic) wasn't getting it done for me anymore. And by that, I mean the transmission stopped working once she collided with another car's bumper and State Farm decided she wasn't worth reviving. :( But on the plus side, now I can get that Corolla S I always wanted since before I met Stella. :) To all of you who have been carting me around since I'm not yet able to walk all the way to the bus stop to take the metro to school: you are saints and I love you.

I got to start wearing normal shoes again this week. While I still miss flip flops, it's nice to not have to explain my cute blue velcro open-toed shoes with socks all the time...although now when I park in handicap spots, I feel like I should pretend to walk with a limp, in case anyone is watching and thinks I'm an impostor. My feet are recovering great, but I don't feel like I can start running yet. I've picked up swimming to fill in the gaps, but man do I miss the running. It very well may be the greatest test of patience I've ever had, to learn to bide my time until I can be physically back to normal.

That is all.

Kwaheri, Kenya

2009-08-20T13:25:00.005-07:00

Q: Does it really seem like I was living in Kenya for two months, doing what I did and seeing what I saw?
A: No. Not yet. Maybe never.

Q: Do the pictures help to make it more real?
A: Negative.

Q: Even if I'm in it?
A: Nope.

Here is the promised "best of" slideshow of my surreal summer, from the eyes of all my roomies. It's long, so I hope you've got a few minutes. If school doesn't pick up too fast, I'll try to give you an update about the last three weeks back in the homeland soon.

Kwaheri, Kenya. I miss you.

A Sabbath-day treat for your heart

2009-08-02T19:52:00.002-07:00

I didn't forget that I promised to share this Mulunguni delight with everyone once I had better bandwidth. Watch, and be happy.

Learning to live with my temporary handicap

2009-07-31T06:43:00.008-07:00

So, maybe over time I'll get better at being lazy, but so far I've been a restless recovering patient. Feeling good, though! Here's my track record so far:

Day 1:

I didn't go under the knife until the early afternoon, so I took a nice, long commemorative run around Barts Field before consigning myself to immobility. It was delightful.

I'm always amazed (after the fact, of course) at how fast anesthesia knocks me out (all two times I've experienced it, that is). The anesthesiologist was good to me: after the surgery, my feet were completely numb for the rest of the day. I was in a semi-groggy stupor until bedtime. I'm pretty sure I provided some quality entertainment to anyone and everyone in my vicinity.

Of course, the doc was good to me, too. I asked him how my new and improved feet looked, and he said they were perfect. He's good like that. I'm guessing he took a little extra time to make things just right, since he'll have to look at his handiwork for the rest of his life. And also because he loves me. :) He says they usually try to set records for how fast they perform this particular procedure. In my case, I may have broken the record for the longest ever.

Day 2:

* Woke up at 4:00am to take some pain meds. Dad says this will be the worst day of all. Thank you, modern medicine, for such goodness as Hydrocodone - despite the fun side effects I know are coming.

* Had a lovely conversation with my favorite International Strategic Sourcing Manager.

* Got breakfast in bed because my mom is AWESOME.

* Sewed Kenya and Tanzania patches onto my backpack.

* "Worked out" as best I could with my feet elevated using my blessed borrowed stretchy band

* Had a long chat with a good friend I haven't talked to since before Kenya.

* Took some goofy pics of what it's like to be immobile.

* Took a field trip to Winger's to get out of the house (thanks, mom!).

* Caught up on some school-related emails I've been neglecting all summer.

* Got in touch with some Yehu constituents I've needed to contact post-internship.

* Took some more goofy pics of my awesome half-platform post-op shoes. I think I could start a fad with these hot shoes. Don't you agree?

* Figured out my entire class schedule for this coming Fall and Spring.

* Tried to start a document I promised to create for Yehu after I left...and failed. Better luck tomorrow. Or Monday. Or not.

*Updated my Kogod Yehu blog with an entry that looks a lot like one I already gave you here...just with a little bit more business talk added in for good measure.

*Cleaned out my email box. It's actually empty.

I'm running out of "to do" items, and it's only one day in. Fortunately, I've got some good books to keep boredom from setting in over the next couple weeks. And I guess I could always watch TV...is it odd that I didn't once think to turn on the TV all day?

Pocatello friends: Come visit! Pander to me! Please!

Wapi wewe?

2009-07-26T09:02:00.002-07:00

On the count of three, everyone breathe a sigh of relief. 1, 2, 3.....

Ahhhhhhhh, Abby is back in America.

The return trip was a little more eventful than I would have liked, but I'm back safe and sound. Simon says, stop worrying about Abby. You know who you are.

From American soil, I bring you one final installment of life in Kenya...besides my other more differenter "greatest hits" installment that will be coming soon.

This is a big one for me. It's close to my heart. I'm going to tell you about the one thing I felt I needed to do while I was there. If I could go back and do Kenya over again, I would insist upon repeating this experience as much as possible. I wouldn't save it until my last full day in the country.

But I did, and when all is said and done, I still got to do it.

That's enough for me.

I attended some center meetings in Yehu's Kisauni Branch. For those of you that don't speak microfinance (or maybe you just don't speak Yehu), these are the meetings where all the clients gather in their groups to make payments, apply for new loans, or discuss anything of importance to the group. This is the very base level of the organization, where all the most important exchanges take place. This is where the real people are.

These are the frontlines.

Kisauni is a unique branch for Yehu. The bank itself is unique in that it is mostly focused on serving the rural poor, but Kisauni is actually right outside of Mombasa. Most of Kisauni's clients are urban, or as Yehu likes to call it, "peri-urban." It was easier for us, because a few of them spoke English and could keep us up on what was happening.

At Yehu, their ladies organize themselves into groups of five. Once a group is formed, they can apply for loans. If anyone in the group ever misses a payment, the rest of the group is responsible for picking it up. No one in the group can apply for a new loan until all missed payments are taken care of. This has a lot of advantages - it keeps the default rate very low, it is self-reinforcing because the ladies will keep track of each other and will feel the pressure of being responsible for their own payments, and it encourages them to only find responsible people to be in their group. The downside is that this concept probably sounds okay when you're told in the beginning, but when you're waiting several months to apply for a loan because of a delinquent group member and you have to pay off her loan, it can be very frustrating.

At this particular meeting, two groups paid off loans of delinquent group members that had been in arrears since January, so they could finally move forward with their plans. It was an exciting day. I particularly enjoyed seeing these strong women speaking out and voicing their opinions - even if it was in frustration. I could see the progression, from those who were waiting to apply for their first loan to those who were paying off their third loan. They've all been enabled and empowered by the opportunities Yehu has offered them. I imagine most of them were not always so confident as they are now.

We talked to some of the ladies afterward. This is Alice and Purity. Alice sells charcoal, Purity will use her first loan to open a fruit stand.

They expressed a very sincere interest in learning about properly running a business and managing their finances. They know the loan is a blessing and they really want to do everything right. It spoke to a deep desire I've had to conduct training for that very thing. Not only would the ladies benefit, but Yehu as well. I had hoped to do some of this training while I was here, but there is just so much to be done for this bank. It would take a completely separate internship - or more - to reach out to that need.

We also talked to Carol, who has been with Yehu for three years and was about to apply for her third (and biggest yet) loan. She sells secondhand clothing and has high hopes for growing her business. I could see the wisdom and confidence in her persona at having been around the microfinance block and learned some hard lessons along the way. I could see how she has grown.

Some of the ladies also brought children to distract me for just a few minutes. As usual, I was smitten.

Overall, the center meeting was a very powerful experience for me. In one fell swoop, it allowed me to connect everything together and gave my work more meaning and purpose than I could find anywhere else.

On my last day, Aaron asked me what my #1 favorite thing about Kenya was. Hands down, it was getting out to the villages and meeting the people. I wouldn't trade those experiences for anything in the world.

Calvary Zion

2009-07-23T11:53:00.000-07:00

This is Jane. She is an angel.

Allow me to elaborate.

About 10 years ago, she started up an orphanage (which is run more like a foster home) in a neighborhood of Mombasa called Bamburi. She calls it Calvary Zion Children's Home, and all of the adopted kids consider her to be their mother and use the last name of Zion. They range from 1 to 18 years of age, and they've come at all different stages of life - the youngest, Jeremy, was one day old when Jane took him in. Over 10 years, she has probably taken in 50 children - and there are currently 39. These kids all have a roof over their heads, they're well-fed, they're given an education (six are currently in boarding school), and they seem to be emotionally healthy. Most importantly, they are loved. Considering what some of them came from, this is no small feat. In short, it is angelic.

Calvary Zion was a collaborative effort with six other ladies, including Rosemary, a co-worker of mine. They all worked together to get it up and running, and now Jane is holding down the fort. Rosemary had been telling us about the orphanage for some time, but sadly I didn't get a chance to pay them a visit until Sunday.

If I had more time, I would pay many more visits.

I'd like to make a few introductions.

This is Mercy. She's got spunk! She loved playing with my purse and making my watch glow.

This is Prince and Susan. (There is also a Princess.) Prince loves soccer. Susan's got lots of energy, and she gets attached fast.

This is my co-worker, Rosemary. Heart of gold, she has.

I can't remember all of the names - thus, why I wish I could go back more. But I won't forget the hope they made me feel.

I also got to play with some kids at church, and teach them to make some faces.

This was my last Sunday at the Changamwe Branch. I miss it already. I had one last chance to learn from my favorite Relief Society teacher and the most outspoken group of RS ladies I've ever known. We had a nice lesson about talents, and just for you, I'll share a highlight. We were going around the room, each of us saying what one of our talents was. One woman (who I believe is actually fairly new to the church) said, "I'm good at helping people," and the class immediately erupted into adamant declarations of "That's not a talent!!" Oh my. Fortunately, Andi raised her hand and commented that it actually could be considered a talent. Thank you, damage control.

Spending so much time with children over the past week has buoyed me up in ways I didn't expect. My days are flying by now in a major way, and I'm starting to feel a little nostalgia for this place. Isn't that not supposed to happen until after I'm gone?? I guess all I had to do was exactly what I expected to be doing since I got here: getting out to villages and spending time with people.

Think of the children in Africa!!

2009-07-20T23:17:00.008-07:00

So here's why CHOICE is awesome. In particular, Bekah UT:

She comes up with kickin' excuses for us to get out of the office!!

This time, we visited a school in the village of Mulunguni to conduct an art project with the kids.

We asked them to draw whatever they wanted, which very consistently (and with no collaboration) tended to be huts, cars, trees, and people with frowny faces.

We took a little bio of each kid and snapped a photo of them with their art. CHOICE is going to frame the drawings and auction them off, in order to (a) get a little extra funding for the school, and (b) get a lot of extra exposure for what they do. I'm a fan of CHOICE, so I don't mind shamelessly promoting their awesomeness.

See that line of kids in the background here?

They're all getting lunch, courtesy of the USAID School Feeding Program. For some of these kids, this is their incentive to come to school. Pretty brilliant strategy, if you ask me.

School ended around the time we finished the project, and EVERYONE (several hundred kids) surrounded us, just watching and waiting for whatever form of entertainment we would provide. We played some games with them, they sang some songs for us, and of course we pulled out the ol' cameras and captured some dazzling shots.

I have a video of Nicole taking a picture of some kids, then all the kids crowding around to see it and cheering when they got to see themselves...it's priceless. Once I'm back in the land of high bandwidth, I promise I'll share.

For those of you counting down, the number is four.

Had enough yet? Yeah, me neither.

2009-07-15T23:14:00.002-07:00

So, before Bekah DC left Kenya, she wanted to do it all, and I got to be the travel buddy! Which basically means I had a three-day break after my Tsavo excursion and then we were off again to the western part of the country, home of Maasai Mara, the Great Rift Valley, and Lake Nakuru.

There were some interesting adventures along the way. We rode the bus from Mombasa to Nairobi - on the highway commonly known as the best road in the country. Ironically, much of it was under construction, so our smooth ride was diverted to the bumpy dirt roads we've come to know and love. But no worries, we made it safely to our safari car and our old driver, Ombwayo. We've gotten to know him pretty well over the last week. He's really into politics and wants to be the mayor of Nairobi in 2012. And you know what? If I lived here, I'd probably vote for him. He says when he gets elected, he's going to send us an invitation to the Mayor's palace. We told him he should come to DC after he takes office and we'd give him a tour of our town.

Ombwayo proved his savvy on the ways of the world when our car broke down 3 different times. The first time was favorite - the engine is on the inside of the car in the middle console area, and at one point we literally had a geyser of water (?? I think it was water) spewing out, hitting the ceiling and the windshield. Who decided putting the engine on the inside was a good idea?? Luckily, we were in the middle of the hilly Rift Valley and he managed to jump start it. Such were our experiences, and thanks to them we also became quite familiar with the town of Narok and its friendly mechanics.

Q: How many Narok mechanics does it take to fix our safari car?
A: About 7, plus Ombwayo

In addition, these car troubles allowed us to make friends with a nice Australian couple living in England who was kind enough to share a couple of their game drives with us while our car was under repair. Such was our introduction to the savannah grassland wonder of Maasai Mara. Much more densely populated with animals than what we'd previously seen. The landscape and animal sightings really are as good as all the guide books say.

One morning, as we were leaving, a bat flew into our room. Ombwayo says that's good luck. The day before, a monkey had jumped in an open window of our car and stole the shiny wrapper that it probably thought was food. Turns out, it was laundry detergent. Sorry, little monkey. Let that be a lesson to you. I just wish I'd gotten to watch him "enjoy" the fruits of his thievery.

We happened to time our visit such that we got to see the wildebeest migration. You just cannot imagine the masses of these animals we saw running across the grassland. Thousands upon thousands of wildebeests crossing the plains and the Mara River. And the funny part is, these animals aren't too bright, so they may run in one direction for awhile, and then something could set them off and they'll all go tearing back the way they came. They hang with the zebras because their eyesight isn't so great...I can't imagine how the zebras tolerate it.

Among all the animals we saw, my favorite was the CHEETAH!! We saw a mama and three cubs. What a beautiful animal. I didn't even realize how bad I wanted to see a cheetah until I was staring at them.

Something we particularly loved was how many baby animals we saw - monkeys, babboons, hippos, giraffes, zebras, elephants...yes, it was love.

We even got to cross briefly into Tanzania and the Serengeti. Here we are, taking our token "I'm standing in two countries!" photo.

We had originally planned to take a hot air balloon ride, but later we backed out. You can imagine my surprise, then, when we woke up one morning and Bekah directed me to the Balloon Safaris vehicle waiting outside. Her attention to detail in keeping the surprise was intricate. (Have I mentioned before that I love surprises?) She even hid my watch so I wouldn't know what time it was - and she put together a playlist of music to listen to while we coasted above the Mara (it began with the opening theme song to Lion King. How perfect is that?!).

In a way, this fulfilled a dream of mine that I've had ever since my family used to go watch the balloon races in Driggs. Plus I got a bird's eye view of all the African wildlife running around beneath us. It was magical.

We also visited a Maasai village just outside of the park. They showed us their traditional dances (and made us participate) and how they make fire, and they gave us a tour of their village and of their school that has been built and is being run completely on funds they receive from the tour we had just paid to take.

It was interesting. Their lives seem to be centered on the cows they raise - they eat all parts of the cow and they drink their milk and blood. They also build the walls of their homes out of sticks and cow dung. This is their life, and they don't complain about it. They're happy. In many ways, they're actually a lot better off than other villages I've visited since I got here. I was actually okay with most of it - the only really difficult part was the masses of flies (remember - lots of cows) and how they seemed to especially enjoy swarming around the faces of the beautiful little children.

Our second leg of the safari was farther up the Rift Valley in Nakuru. I was a big fan of this place - it just felt so peaceful. Maybe it was all the Yellow Fever Acacia trees...maybe something else.

Aside from that, there are two big highlights to visiting Lake Nakuru: lots of rhinos...

...and a rampant abundance of flamingos. They literally fill this lake, and they're always around.

It was a great way to end the adventure, with an easygoing jaunt around the flamingo-filled lake, and then a short trip down to Nairobi so we could pay a visit to the Upper Hill Ward. I think I'll keep with the trend and take it easy for the next week. The rest of my time here will be spent in Mombasa - except when I get to visit villages for work.

I'm feeling the urge to take a poll. What is your favorite safari animal?

Wazungu in Tsavo

2009-07-12T22:40:00.007-07:00

I'm in an endless game of catch-up that will no doubt continue until I leave Kenya. This last bit of time is flying by, and it's so packed full of adventure that I can't seem to find the time to document. I don't want to give it all to you yet because each thing deserves its own moment in the sun. For now, I'd like to introduce you to the wonderful world of Tsavo and Amboseli.

All the wazungu went on a little safari over the weekend. The original plan was to see Tsavo East, Tsavo West, and Amboseli - an aggressive schedule, but we just wanted to see it all! There was some miscommunication between our travel agent, us, and our driver, that resulted in us completely bypassing Tsavo West and essentially making things up as we went. It was a grand social experiment of how people act when things don't go as planned, and a big reminder to me of two things: (1) I don't like traveling in big groups. There is an element of flexibility I like to have, and it just doesn't exist when there are more than two or three people. The ability to wing it and be spontaneous is completely gone. Everyone's got their own opinions + no one wants to make any decisions = lots of wasted time. (2) Things just operate differently in Kenya. Everything takes longer than any typical American would anticipate, and you've just got to learn to be okay with that.

Despite the change in schedule, we managed to have ourselves a grand time. We opted for the camping-style safari, which was great for me because I haven't gotten to do any other camping this summer and I needed my fix. And we had a cook!!! Never in my life have I eaten so well on a camping trip. It may have spoiled me forever.

But enough of the talk. On to the highlights!

We saw a waterfall, Lugard Falls, that had cut itself through the rock over time. This was especially a favorite time because we actually got to exit the car and walk around. I literally skipped down to the falls. I'm pretty sure I held back from doing a cartwheel.

The best time to go looking for animals is when the sun is just barely coming or going, which means lots of amazing sunrises/sunsets we got to witness.

We saw a lion love triangle - a young, tough lion happened upon an older lion honeymooning with his lioness. There was a skrimish between the two, and in the end, the young dude stole the lady away while the old dude looked on. That was when we happened upon the scene. Poor guy. He was pretty beat up - physically and emotionally!

Elephants! Lots of elephants! They get a little testy when there are baby elephants around - which was almost always. They puff their ears out to look more threatening and lunge at you. Duly noted. We kept our distance.

As we got to Amboseli, the sun was going down. So I was looking out one window at this amazing sunset, and then I'd turn and look out the other window at Mt. Kilimanjaro. Which one do I look at?! What a happy dilemma.

Driving through Amboseli in the dark, we saw masses of animals around the marsh that don't come out in such abundance during the day. Lots of them were halfway submerged in the marsh. It was too dark to capture this image, but I borrowed one to give you an idea. Just imagine that it's also dark.

There are a lot of Maasai living in Amboseli, and once we arrived they stopped by - probably to try to sell us some bracelets. Basically, they were standing there, huddled around me and Bekah DC and UT, watching us set up our tent. They did the same thing to me the next morning as I dressed my wound from a minor mishap in Tanzania. For whatever reason, this was hilarious to us. Uh, did you guys want to help, or were you just going to stand there and stare at us?

Other than that, there were just lots of beautiful animals!

Just to get you all excited about when I come home, I plan to post a "best of" album with all the pics everyone else has been taking that I just haven't gotten my hands on yet. There are some real good ones, and sometimes I hold back from snapping shots so I can just enjoy the moment.

I hiked (not climbed) Kilimanjaro

2009-07-02T12:05:00.007-07:00

Literally.

Last Saturday, Bekah DC and I got up bright and early to brave the roads of Kenya to day-trip to TanZANia. Destination: Moshi, one of the main starting points for climbers ready to brave the not-so-steep-or-treacherous slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro. The drive itself was quite an adventure, full of ghost elephants and trucks, long stretches of wiggity-whack messed up dirt roads, a suicidal donkey, a herd of babboons, and some other wildlife (goats). And since it's in the past, I feel like it's okay to paint a better picture for you...

Kenya drives British style - left side of the road, right side of the car. Tough to get used to under any circumstances, only we were drivng a big truck - like a dad-sized truck. I don't like driving cars that big when I'm familiar with the roads and driving norms, and in this case I was familiar with nothing. And since I'm not used to the dimensions of the car from the right side of the car, there's always that tendency to stray into the shoulder. Which we did, plenty of times.

The trip was a straight shot - we drove on the divided highway (more fun) from Mombasa to Voi, then headed west to Taveta, the border town. We had some great expanses of red-tinted dusty African landscape, we saw lots of baobab trees and pineapple farmland, and I got some glimpses of mountains - the first I've seen here. (They reminded me of southern Utah.) Voi to Taveta was 110km of pothole-infested, washboard-laden, unchecked dirt road. I think they tried to put down some gravel once, but it didn't work out too well. There was almost zero traffic, which was very good, because the entire time we were on that road, we were weaving all over it in search of the smoothest route. (Bekah took video. I'll try to post it later.) Basically, it required some heavy concentration.

Which reminds me, does anyone know how washboards form? I wondered that again and again during the 2-3 hours we spent clanking down that road, I just couldn't think straight enough to figure out the physics behind it. And now that I can think straight enough...I still don't know.

This was probably one of the most spontaneous trips I've ever taken. I realized on the way down that we had no idea what we'd do once we got to Moshi, or where anything was, or really anything at all. It was kind of a rush and a boost to realize that this didn't phase me in the least.

There were many African angels who helped us through our day...

*The petro station attendants at Voi that showed us the turn we'd just missed to Taveta.
*The Sergeant at the border who helped us figure out where to put our car when we learned we couldn't drive across because we didn't have the log book (still don't know what a log book is), and then kept the creepy dudes away who were lurking nearby, and then arranged for some piki-pikis to give us a ride for us across No-Man's Land, the 4-km stretch between borders.

*The guys at the police station who let us park our car there for the day (could there BE a safer place to leave a car?).
*The Tanzania immigrations guy who didn't put up a fight when I countered his request that we pay $100 for a visa, which is literally double what every foreign country besides the US pays for a visa (some countries like to do that).
*The guy we met on the matatu (or dala-dala, as they say in TanZANia) into Moshi who was kind enough to offer assistance once we got to Moshi. We didn't use his guidance, but it sure is nice to meet good people.
*Frankie and Mikey, the two dudes we finally found who were willing to charge us a halfway decent rate to take us on a hike 1/5 of the way up Mt. Kilimanjaro for a couple hours...

...which allowed us to see Materuni waterfall ($250 for a cab ride to a trail head? Uh...yeah, no thanks. I mean, I know mountain climbers are all prepared to drop a couple G's when they roll into town, but seriously?).

*All the little kids who decided to join us on our hike and pose in our pictures with us.

*And all the little kids who didn't.

*The guy we met on the dala-dala back to the border who convinced the driver to take us right up to the border since it was already dark (hey, cramming in and dropping off 30+ people and a mattress can take awhile).

Bekah took her turn at the wheel for the drive back. There are no street lights here, and we were basically in the bush for the first 110km, so it was DARK. Driving in Kenya is a team sport! The one not in the driver seat was responsible for watching everything on the periphery, so both of us were wound up pretty tight and giving 110% concentration to our tasks...which is why I wasn't so tactful in loudly and very suddenly announcing when an elephant popped up on the side of the road, literally right next to the truck. And it was BIG! From my seat, I had to look up at it to see the head, the tusks, the trunk...and then it was gone as fast as it appeared. I'm pretty sure I almost gave Bekah a heart attack when I yelled, "Did you SEE that?!?!" Luckily, she didn't swerve off the road and we survived the ghost elephant sighting.

Back on the main road...a word to everyone who may be driving at night on Kenya roads in the future: some semi trucks don't bother with the tail lights. So you may or may not actually see it until you're practically upon it (remember, no street lights). Beware of the ghost semis. BUT the lack of street lights gave us a fantastic view of the stars once when we decided to pull over and do a little stargazing. Living in DC, I don't get to see stars much. And a lot of the constellations we saw were exclusively southern hemisphere stars, so it was a double treat!

Home safe, glad I went, 17 countries down, 100+ to go.

Coming soon...buckle up for some safari adventures...

A-Town

2009-06-28T21:56:00.002-07:00

I'm breaking from the norm of talking about Kenya to give some love to my US residence...or at least to a small section of my town where I don't actually live. Those of you who know can vouch for its accuracy.

Coming soon: update on my weekend adventures in TanZANia.

Let's talk about food...

2009-06-26T02:37:00.002-07:00

It's one of my favorite subjects.

Given my level of interest, I figured maybe everyone else likes it as much as I do, and thus you'd like to be enlightened on my food situation in Kenya. Here are the kinds of things that have made their acquaintance with my palette:

Beans and rice. A classic. And when I get it for lunch, it costs me about 60 shillings. That's less than a dollar, and it's usually more than I can eat in one sitting. Sometimes I splurge and get beans with a hint of coconut flavor. Aw yeah.

Also pictured is muchicha, one form of greens I've had here. Kind of like kale. It's a little bitter, and it bears a strong resemblance to seaweed. Although I have to confess, it looks and tastes exactly like every other form of greens I've eaten. They're all cooked down the same way wherever I go and whatever I get, and if I ask what's in it, they'll tell me, "African vegetables." Awesome. The one you see in the next pic is sukumo. Notice any difference? Yeah, I couldn't, either.

This is githeri. A slight variation. This time, the beans are accompanied by corn (these grains tend to be a little tougher than you may typically be accustomed to), and a little cabbage. I swear, the first time I tried it, I was reminded of the flavor of Shepherd's Pie. I can't say I've had that impression again since the first time, but there you have it.

Ugali. Kenyans go nuts over this dish. They eat it all the time and crave it when they don't. To those of us who are accustomed to food that isn't very, very bland, this may come as a surprise. It's basically just cornmeal. It's kind of like mashed potatoes, only thick enough to hold its form. You'd never eat it alone - it usually would accompany the greens or some meat.

If ugali doesn't provide enough flavor for you, you may consider trying mukimo, another traditional dish. They mash together beans, corn, potatoes and greens. The whole time I was eating it, all I could think of was Green Eggs and Ham. I just may try to recreate mukimo next St. Patrick's Day. In this picture, it's the green stuff that doesn't look like the greens I've already shown you.

Chapati. Think tortillas. No, wait. Think nan. Eh...it's something in the middle. It's like a thick tortilla that is fried. Like lots of things I'm mentioning, it tends to accompany a more flavorful dish, like beans or the beef stew I tried on my first day.

Pilau rice is also a favorite around here, and it's eaten with beef stew. But unlike the other favorites, this one's got plenty of flavor. The rice kind of tastes Middle-Eastern. The closest flavor I could compare it to would be the rice I get at Kabob Palace (Afghan food) in Crystal City. The resemblance is striking.

Other than that, there are lots of mangos, bananas, mangos, passion fruit, mangos, and other fruit that is extra-sweet and crazy delicious. As is the yogurt, and the juice. I am helplessly hooked. Hopefully once I get back to the US, I won't have a hard time adjusting back to fruit that wasn't picked earlier that same morning.

Kenyans are serious about their food combinations. If you're getting multiple items, you'd better make sure they match. If it's not an acceptable combination, don't worry. They'll let you know. Let's say you tried to order some mukimo and sukumo. They will tell you flat-out that this is a bad idea, and then they'll offer alternatives, and then they'll walk away to go fill your order that they determined you actually wanted.

And just for fun, I'll show you a couple things you may see from vendors on the streets of Mombasa...not like I've tried any of it, because I don't buy food from street vendors.

Cassava. Think yuca. Here, they'll fry them like potato chips in these big, black, wok-looking things...

...or they'll fry them like french fries (which everyone here calls "chips").

And the coconut. I confess. I've gotten this off the street lots of times. I think I've already mentioned this delicacy before. They take a not-yet-mature coconut, hack off the top with a machete, and let you drink the coconut juice inside. When you're done, they make a spoon for you out of the coconut shell and then you get to eat the coconut meat. It's bliss.

Cooking conditions at my house aren't exactly optimal. We haven't ended up cooking much at all because it's just such a large-scale production. First of all, we just don't have many options at the grocery store. Second, we have a hot plate and a microwave, and nothing else. Finally, after the meal we have to boil water to wash the dishes, then wait for it to get cool enough to touch. By this time, it's getting late, and we've just lost the ganas to get it all done. Add all that to the end of a long day of working in a hot office, and together it equals minimal cooking and dinners that are less than balanced.

So Bekah DC and I have a plan. We order just a little more than we typically do at lunch, and we take all the leftovers home, and voila! We eat lunch and dinner until we are filled, typically for less than $2 a day. Step two was to invest in some paper plates and plasticware, and we successfully eliminated the washing of dishes. Granted, we don't have so much variety, but we get to be healthy and lazy, at a fraction of the cost! It's win-win-win!

Ninataka shani!

2009-06-21T22:16:00.007-07:00

This past week was kind of a turning point. On the work front, I've gotten to the point that I'm comfortable with what I'm doing, I'm friends with my colleagues, I've made some great progress on the projects I'm working on, and I've established some much-needed boundaries (mentally and otherwise) on expectations. On the non-work front, I realized that I've reached the point where the strange things feel normal, I am oriented to the city, I know the matatu routes, I've picked up the essentials with the Swahili, and I'm feeling lighthearted and comfortable with my surroundings. I've reached equilibrium and my confidence has been restored to its optimum level.

Basically, I found my groove.

I really am happy with the work I've been able to do so far out here. Earlier this week, I showed Omar the templates I've been working on that he can use to automatically generate reports for all of the different levels of the organization. In the long term, I'm envisioning this to be a tool that benefits everyone because it's just going to mean faster access to data that is easy to read and use. In turn, this means more loans for more people. In the short run, it's all about making Omar's life easier. And if that's the only result I get to see while I'm here, that's enough for me. He's been a definite bright spot in my time here, even though I'm pretty sure he's been more stressed out than I ever have. Anyway, when I showed him the templates, he LOVED them. I think I can confidently use the term "gleeful" to describe his reaction.

The running joke has become that he increases my dowry every time I show him my latest time-saving implementation. So far, I'm up to a cow and two elephants.

I got to visit some villages this week, with Bekah UT and some CHOICE people. We were going to do interviews with people from villages where they were building latrines or digging wells, to put on their website and get the word out about what they're doing. I got a taste of just how difficult it can be to make things happen here. Nobody has a watch, or a calendar, or a phone, and forget about email. So you basically just drive the two or so hours into the bush, and you hope that they're there when you show up. If not, you may have to drive around trying to find them, or you may have to just move on to the next thing. Working at the grassroots level with these rural villages is more work than they get credit for.

Most of the kids were afraid of us, but in one village they were extra-excited to see us when we rolled up. So of course, I rewarded them by taking lots of pictures (and letting them take pictures) to entertain them while the CHOICE people did their thing. They loved it, and I...well, you can see what a blast I was having. Each time we snapped a photo, everyone would huddle around to look at it, then they would all squeal with delight. Two of the little girls started holding my hands, and one of them kept looking up at me, deep into my eyes, and then she'd begin spouting Swahili. Never have I wanted to be fluent in Swahili more than at that moment.

This weekend was full again. We took a trip to Shimba Hills Nature Reserve, and since we're technically living here, we got to pay the resident rate ( = significant savings) to get in. With our trusty park ranger guide, Frederick, and his trusty shotgun in tow, we explored the reserve in style.

We got to see lots of animals...

...and we got to hike to a waterfall and explore around it.

None of these animals have been artificially placed on the reserve, and I love that about Kenya. What you see is the real deal. We decided that Kenya's new motto should be "Kenya keeps it real!"

We also took a boat ride to Kisite Island (just a few miles off the coast of Kenya/Tanzania) to do some snorkeling. I don't recall ever seeing live coral before, but if I have, it was nothing like what I got to see that day. It was just so vibrant and colorful and alive. After that, we opened the sail of our old-school boat and sailed all the way back to the marina. I didn't bring my camera for this leg of the journey, but others did. I'll add some pictures in once I get them. Instead, I got to fully live in the moment and enjoy the incredible, peaceful wonderfulness that is sailing on a ruddy sailboat with our Kenyan crew. Here’s a snippet of the conversation Bekah DC and I had during our sail:

“Hey, remember that one time we went sailing off the coast of Kenya on an African sailboat?”
“At sunset?”
“Right after we went snorkeling?”
“When the temperature and breeze were perfect?”
“Yeah, that was fun.”

Relief Society this week was all about disease prevention. Nothing too crazy this time, but I was really impressed with the knowledge and understanding all of the women had about how to treat/prevent the diseases in this area. We talked about the major diseases that can be found around Mombasa - and how to stay away from them.

I don't know how all the local ladies were feeling at the end, but us mzungus had turned into a bunch of hypochondriacs. We all were feeling like we wanted to rush home and disinfect and sanitize every inch of our apartment that surely must have been suffering from major infestations and diseases. We found a cockroach the other night - the first bug to show its face in our flat apart from the usual flies and mosquitos. (No sightings since then, but speaking of cockroaches - have any of you heard about this???) But the disease-ridden flies! And mosquitos! What if we have bedbugs?! Did we leave this fruit out too long?! Can we bathe in our water?! Or wash our clothes?! (Oh wait, our water wasn't running that day. Well, no problems there! But yes, if you're wondering, we can.)

We've calmed down a little bit since then. Well, most of us have. Basically, I know I'm doing what I can to be cautious, and outside of that, I refuse to live in fear. I can actually feel the security blanket of prayers on my behalf, and there's power in that. My halfway point is tomorrow - I've got one month left here, and it’s going to be a great one.

P.S. I've gotten multiple requests for things to bring back from here...and I've forgotten every last one of them (except a magnet for grandma!). Could you please refresh my memory? You know who you are. :o)

Ninapenda baba yangu

2009-06-20T13:22:00.004-07:00

Thanks for being the greatest.

Karibuni!

2009-06-14T10:20:00.005-07:00

I'm starting to get the hang of some of the key Swahili phrases now. Karibou (car-ee-boo) means "welcome." You hear that a lot here, because Kenyans are just so nice. Another one I've learned is "kwa heri," which means goodbye. Every time I hear it, I think of Chris Farley on that Japanese game show on SNL saying, "kwa-kee-sir-pee-nee-koo!" Whatever works to jog your memory, right?"

So I guess I haven't given much of an update lately...a house tour probably doesn't cut it, eh? Let's see what I can do about that... (Disclaimer: this will be more word-heavy than usual. But don't worry, I'll include slide shows.)

I mentioned that I was sharing a room with Bekah from Utah. That didn't actually last, but I feel like it accomplished what it needed to: now we're friends and we hang out. She doesn't live too far away, so we still meet in the mornings and run to the beach to watch the sun come up, and we'll go dancing or out to get cake. Or juice. (Turns out juice in Kenya is amazing. No matter what kind you get. I just got avocado juice the other day. Loved.) She directed me to a shop that sews skirts out of kangas, and she introduced me to the delights of drinking the juice out of a not-yet-mature coconut and then eating the meat with a spoon made out of a piece of the coconut shell. Yeah, I like Bekah from Utah.

I also like Bekah from DC, who I've been indirectly connected to from a lot of different sources prior to this, we've just never really connected ourselves. Apparently we needed to go to Kenya to be friends. That's okay by me. She just came out this week and is set on experiencing Kenya as much as possible for the 5 weeks she's here. So things have been busy since she arrived, but in a good way.

Our last roommate is Nicole from Mexico City. Such an interesting story she has! Her mom is 100% Spanish and her dad is 100% French, and she speaks English so she's fully conversant in all three languages. She also plays soccer on the club team at her school, and we got a chance to see her mad skills with a bunch of kids in the street today.

We've actually gotten to have a lot of conversations with her about the church because it just naturally comes up all the time. She grew up "Catholic" and has been very curious about Mormons because she's surrounded by us but she just doesn't know anything about us. She was very surprised to learn there were Mormons in Mexico City, because she's just never met any. One night she turned to me and said, "So tell me about your church." Everyone but me has served a mission, so she's basically gotten the first discussion and then some, depending on whatever questions she asks. Her interest seems purely academic, but it's always nice for people to have a good, solid source for this kind of information.

Work has been interesting. I've been learning a lot about what it's like to be a non-profit company that is still trying to grow and be self-sufficient. Yehu has made incredible progress over the past couple years. There is just still so much to be done, but who will do the work? The corporate staff is all stretched so thin. They work long days and come in on the weekends. (Although you would never know when you talk to them - they are all so kind and I've seen no outward displays of any kind of stress that they're all no doubt feeling.) Yehu needs more employees who are qualified, but they just can't afford to pay the kind of salary that would attract said employees. And at the same time, they've got some heavily aggressive expansion plans over the next couple years. Who is going to market this to new potential clients, and who is going to accommodate these new clients when everyone is already so busy?

Yehu is definitely making the most of having access to educated, free labor. I've been keeping very busy with working on my own projects, and with helping the stats guy, Omar, to get caught up. One of the big things I'm focusing on here is making processes more efficient - using shortcuts where they're available, eliminating steps that aren't necessary, and so on. I'm learning that the corporate office may have some inefficiencies, but the biggest problem is in getting those in branches out in the bush to use technology. They have the tools, they're just hesitant to use them. I'm hoping to make it out to some villages to do a little training with these people, to help them to get more comfortable with what they have.

Enough about work. Let's talk about the weekend.

I took Bekah DC and Nicole to the beach. On our way back, we met a guy in a wheelchair named Anthony who has led a fascinating life. He's done multiple marathons in his wheelchair, including in the Olympics (his fastest time was 1:51). He's also done a triathlon, and he knows how to kite surf and he coaches other people on how to do it (they call him Mr. Wind). He offered to teach us, and I may take him up on it. He also has a brother who works for Tsavo West National Park, which just so happens to be where we were hoping to go on a safari in a couple weeks. He says he'll hook us up with some sweet deals. Awesome.

We also visited Mamba Village, a crocodile farm (mamba means crocodile). Lots and LOTS of crocs there. As it turns out, they raise them there and everyone can come see the live crocodiles during all sorts of phases of life, but they also sell croc-skin purses and shoes, and you can eat the meat. Kinda creepy, since we just bonded with the live ones. (But yes, I ate the meat. It was delicious.) They also have a botanical garden there, and some spiders and scorpions and snakes. It was a cool place, and we got to take some of those pics that would never happen in the US...

We took a nature hike that day, too, in a place that used to be a quarry for the cement factory. They restored the place and now it's a lush jungle forest-looking place with giraffes, tortoises, monkeys, hippos, and other African wildlife. (Did you know the hippo is considered to be the most dangerous animal in Africa?)

Today we took a self-guided walking tour of Old Town Mombasa and several different churches/temples in the area. We didn't actually go inside any of them, but it was still interesting, and it's helping me to connect the pieces of the city I know. At this rate, I'll be able to navigate Mombasa by the time I leave.

A word about my branch. It's just solid. It is well-organized and there are some stellar members. I’ve been blown away by the Gospel Principles classes we’ve been taught – the understanding of the teachers, the questions asked by members in attendance, and the answers given. Today was Branch Conference, so the Mission President was there. (And they're from Idaho Falls!) This mission actually covers all of Tanzania and parts of Kenya including Nairobi and i don't know what else. These people really are pioneers out here.

My Relief Society is a riot. We're learning out of the LDS Women's Handbook and we're in the section of the book that covers homemaking skills. The last two weeks we've been talking about nutrition and how it relates when you're pregnant/have a newborn. Let's just say, we have some highly opinionated people here, and sometimes there were some outbursts (in a room that echoes). But because of the location and cultural beliefs and life situations, questions came up that you'd never hear in the US. Some were funny, some were not so funny. Let me give you some examples...
* Q: What are the 5 food groups? A: Carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins, minerals, and water. Milk is included in all of them.
* The teacher asked everyone to come up with three balanced meals using 100 shillings (about $1.30). There was a huge outburst that this was NOT ENOUGH, but then they did start naming foods. The first was cocoa. The third was sugar.
* Q: if you have HIV and you have a baby, should you breastfeed?
* The teacher asked everyone in the room how much their baby weighed when it was born. If the weight was too high or low, everyone would ask what they did wrong. Everyone went nuts when someone said her baby was 5 kilos (about 11 pounds).
* Re: women who go on bedrest during pregnancy: could this have been an effect of using "family planning pills" prior to pregnancy?
* You're supposed to eat fruit every day, but what if you can't afford fruit?

These are in sharp contrast to the questions and problems we may discuss back home. Some of them did make me laugh, some brought me quickly and humbly to the reality of life here, and some made me wonder what is being perpetuated here because of cultural beliefs about different situations. I am definitely interested to see what is to come in the ensuing weeks of Relief Society in the Changamwe Branch.

As an aside, could someone in the northern hemisphere help resolve a debate? We've been talking about the Coriolis effect, that water drains in a different direction depending on which side of the equator you're on. Could someone up there watch the water next time it's draining out of the sink or whatever (but not the toilet because it could just be the way the water is forced to flow - I want to remove all bias) and tell me which way it rotates? Down here, it's clockwise.

I updated my Kogod blog the other day with a bunch of random pieces of information about things I've noticed around here, so if you haven't had enough yet, you can see it right here. I just found out that my blog is currently being featured on the Kogod website, and they used my favorite Mwambalazi picture to do it, so that's pretty awesome. A nice reminder that going to a small B-school is cool because it allows everyone to be a rock star. Thanks, Kogod, for making me look good.

Time to come clean...

2009-06-09T23:03:00.002-07:00

For those of you who may still be thinking I’m living in a mud hut, I need to fess up. I’m not. I may spend a couple nights in one before I go, but the Nyali Beach area is a little nicer than that. I actually kind of live in a double-gated community (which sounds pretty cool, until you learn that almost everything here is gated). To make up for my façade, I’ll give you a tour of my real digs.

This is where I sleep (complete with mosquito net), although the mattress situation has changed. Now I actually have a mattress that is too big for the bed, so it hangs off the edges and is bowed in the middle. Aaron calls it the soft taco. I’ve actually decided this is the most comfortable mattress in the house.

Here’s the front room/living/dining area…

The kitchen, complete with propane-powered hot plate and water cooler. Fortunately, we upgraded to a refrigerator that is slightly better-equipped to handle the high volume of traffic created by five people. Maybe only slightly. But I’m grateful to Louis for the upgrade.

And here is my shower. Speaking of coming clean - do you see the water running there, in the bottom right corner of this picture? No? Let me give you a closer look…

How about now?

This is how I’ve taken my shower for the last few days, by contorting myself under that little trickle in the cold water tap that I think is meant for washing one’s feet. Since I came here two weeks ago, our water has shut off twice, and for the last three days we’ve almost completely lost all water pressure, to the point that only the faucets close to the ground still produce water. We actually have a hot water switch we can flip on, but I’ve decided it must just be for show.

Now, I don’t mind at all that my showers here are cold. I actually kind of prefer it, especially after my morning runs to the beach. And I am very happy to have access to clean, running water. I actually feel a little bad complaining about such nuances even in jest, after seeing the water that village women have access to. With that perspective in mind, I’ll just chalk this up to being part of my African adventures. Anyway, on with the tour.

Let’s step outside. This is my flat – the one on the bottom corner. Most of our complex is actually empty, but the residents we have met are very nice. Aaron is locking the door, because he’s the only one strong enough to make the key turn.

Here is gate #1. It is manned at all times. Behind the gate, you can see your friendly neighborhood mosque. This is the one that has been so kind as to remind us five times each day when it’s time to pray. So far, they haven’t missed one yet (although I confess that half the time I sleep through the first daily reminder).

And up ahead is gate #2.

I hope you’ve enjoyed your stay. If you want to come visit, you can sleep on the little wicker couch in the front room.

Mwambalazi and more

2009-06-02T02:41:00.008-07:00

I doubt every week will be as packed as this one was (but then, I’m hoping it is). I’ll try to keep up.

We’ve had some more people moving in and out of our house, which makes it feel a lot like a halfway house. Three Coast Coconut boys have been passing through, and soon we’ll get one more intern from DC and one from Miami. Another girl is out here who works for CHOICE Humanitarian (she does grassroots technology, which she has dubbed as “grassnology”). All staying at our place. After the dust settles, there will be six of us. It’ll be tight, but I think we can do it.

I’m sharing a room for the first time since college, but I really like the girl I’m rooming with (the grassnologist). Her name is Bekah, she’s a free spirit from a small town in Utah (population 300) and she’s had such an interesting life. We seem to enjoy very similar things. She’s been out here for two months already, so she knows the area and said she’d show me around. I have a great time talking with her and she's willing to go running with me. It is a blessing to have her in the house.

That reminds me – I haven’t yet shown you what my house is like! Here it is:

Home sweet home.

Kenya’s Independence Day was on June 1, which meant we all got a 3-day weekend. We took advantage and headed south. We got to visit Coast Coconut Farms and see the process of making coconut oil.

It was interesting! They husk the coconut…

Crack it open and shred all the meat out…

Then you dry out the meat and press out all the oil. I promised mom I'd bring some home to her, but apparently it solidifies at 78 degrees Farenheit. That's not a problem, is it?

They even use the old shells to make charcoal. How many of you knew that coconut shell charcoal was a valuable commodity? (This is Luis Pope, one of the founders of Yehu. I can’t say enough good things about him. He is such a generous man, beloved by many people in the Mombasa area. He’s taken over 20 trips to Kenya over the last 10 years.)

We also visited Mwambalazi, Yehu’s first branch (there are now six). My first trip into the bush. It was enlightening! I got to see women everywhere wearing the traditional attire you’d expect to see in the African bush, and it was also quite common to see them carrying packages of all shapes and sizes on their head. I didn’t actually get a pic of that yet. But give me some time, I’ll get it. They're beautiful. Kenyans are beautiful!

Some more sights from the bush…this is Mwambalazi's well. They use this water for drinking, cooking, and bathing.

This is the gathering place for the Mwambalazi branch meetings, and this guy is the groundskeeper. He was sweeping the dirt to keep things neat and tidy.

We visited one family and got to meet the three wives and all of their darling children.

They weren’t afraid of us, for the most part…probably because of all the Yehu people who come to the village.

I just kept taking pictures of the kids and showing them. It was a big hit!

Imagine this, all you parents/aunts/uncles out there – kids here don’t even know what to do when a camera is pointed at them. Smiling at the camera is not a process they’ve been conditioned to do, so they just stare at the strange silver box you point at them. I am very proud of this picture. I think it’s my favorite so far. What do you see in these beautiful little brown eyes?

I’ve noticed a little trend – kids out here aren’t used to seeing white people, and I think it scares them a little. Kind of like this little guy…

I saw this phenomenon play out at church – most of the kids just looked at us in fear. It’s a good thing I’m so determined to get on their good side.

Luis Pope is building a home outside of Mombasa because he is planning to spend a greater amount of time here once he retires. We stopped by the construction site and enjoyed his backyard…Diani Beach. My first chance to dip my toes in the Indian Ocean.

We made a few friends while we were there.

We also visited Shimoni and Washimi Island.

In Shimoni we found the Slave Caves, where people were kept prisoner before they were carted off to the markets of Zanzibar.

It was a sombering visit. The caves had such a thick, dark sense of foreboding and gloominess. You could see the places in the wall where people had been chained up.

To add to the mood, when we went deeper into the cave we found that it was also heavily inhabited by bats. Can you imagine what it must have been like, and that people actually did this to other people? It's such a scar on the history of man.

Church on Sunday was at the Changamwa branch. Wonderful people. And I just love how the church is always the same, wherever you go – the lessons, the doctrine, the Spirit…it’s my comfort blanket out here. But I just have to mention one comment that was made. We were talking about teaching children the value of hard work, and someone said, “Yeah, nowadays kids don’t even know how to carry water on their head!” Love it.

I went running this morning with Bekah, to see how close we live to the beach. It was glorious. We got there just in time to see the sun come up over the ocean. A-MAY-ZA-ZING. The beach here is so beautiful. The sand is white and very fine, the ocean is a beautiful turquoise blue, and there were clouds in just the right place in the sky to make for a deliciously captivating sunrise that I couldn't take my eyes off of. Maybe next time I'll bring my camera.

After that, we turned around and booked it home, to beat the heat that most definitely would accompany the rising of the sun. What a great way to start the work week.

Asante sana

2009-05-28T02:50:00.010-07:00

This is my 100th post. Not bad, for a self-proclaimed "I'm not that into blogging" blogger. Let's celebrate by talking about Kenya!

Today is my third full day here. I made it safe, I'm all settled in my place, and I intentionally had a crazy sleeping schedule on my 28-hour, five-city flight so I could sleep through the night once I got here at midnight. It actually worked - I slept like a rock and was mostly awake for the whole next day.

Just to orient everyone, I'm working in Mombasa (It's an island. Sort of.) and living in Nyali Beach, just north of Mombasa. (It's the "rich" area, where supposedly all the white people live...although I haven't seen any other white people yet.) You can see them both here. Not such a bad living situation. I think it'll suit me just fine. So far, there are two other interns here that I live with, Aaron and Andi - an awesome couple that got married about four months ago and will be working here for a year.

There is a mosque right by my apartment. Cool, right? You know how Muslims have their call to prayer five times a day? It's really interesting - I've never been to a place where it's actually announced and done all over the city. Anyway, one of them is at 4:30am, so every day, bright and early, we hear it over the loudspeaker. I wonder if I’ll ever get used to that?

I'm at Yehu now, with at least a vague idea of what I’ll be doing. In short, I’m going to be organizing and aggregating all of their important data into a readable summary for the important people at varying levels of the organization. It’s all about the efficiency. I met the CEO, Adet, yesterday. He said that soon we'll get to do some visits to the villages where we give loans, to see how the process works and meet with the people. That is what it's all about. I can't wait! This weekend we're going to take a trip to Coast Coconut Farms, a for-profit social enterprise that works alongside Yehu and offers employment to the rural poor.

This is the desk/office area I share with Andi and Aaron (and probably soon to be a few more), and we're fixin' to dig into our lunch, which was conveniently brought to us in little black baggies that were tied shut.

Mmm…beef stew and rice…

Yesterday after work, I made everyone walk a little before we jumped on a matatu and headed home. I just wanted to be out in the middle of everything, in slow motion. It's so much easier to experience the true character and personality of a place. We were able to get a closer look at the people, the street vendors and their wares, the scents and billboards...the general pulse of Mombasa. We even stopped to help a guy whose cart had tipped over, spilling mangos all over the sidewalk. I don't feel at all unsafe in this city (and I say that in the least naive manner possible). We stick out like three sore, white thumbs since we’re the only caucasian people as far as the eye can see, but that doesn’t really bother me at all. Sometimes I forget that we're not like everyone else, except when I notice everyone staring. It has actually been quite liberating for me - it doesn’t really matter what I do or how I look, since people will be staring at me regardless. With that in mind, I tried to subtly (and sometimes not so subtly) snag some photos of the real world - Mombasa style.

Just some random nappers, relaxing after a long day's work.

This needs some explanation. Anywhere there is a pothole around here, the lid is missing. There's metal in that lid, which means quality material for a roof. Thus, the lids never last. Rather than leaving a gaping hole in the sidewalk for people to fall in, they just cover it up with something else! (Sorry this is blurry - like I said, trying to be subtle and there were a lot of speed walkers behind me!)

This is the view from the bridge we cross to get back to Nyali. Since Mombasa is technically an island, it's all salt water.

This shows you two very typical sights - a matatu (the van on the right, probably loaded with people since it's rush hour), and a man pulling a cart. Compared to what I see in the mornings, his cart is pretty empty. Hopefully he had a successful day at the market.

This morning on my way to Yehu, I kept seeing these men pulling their overloaded carts. Most of them were barefoot. Often, their loads were so huge that there were two or three more men pushing the cart from behind. These were seriously heavy loads - you could see how hard they were straining, how much they were sweating, and how hardened their muscles had become from doing this every day. I even saw one guy hanging from the handles of one, putting all of his body weight into it, while three other guys lifted it from behind so they could get it started rolling. It was deeply humbling to see how hard they were all working, and then to think that this was all probably to take home the tiniest fraction of what we'd make in a half hour of sitting at a desk in an air-conditioned office in America. It was a powerful reminder - this is why I'm here. I can't help all of them, but I can help some.

What I did for Memorial Day weekend...

2009-05-27T23:00:00.005-07:00

Sorry for being MIA, I'm sure everyone is wondering where I am, if I'm alive, etc. etc. Well, I am, and I'm in Kenya. I've just been slowed down by the spotty Internet and my desire to wait to post until I can include pictures. (That, and I'm posting on a couple other blogs and I just hate to copy and paste - I like to give some variety in everyone's lives. One of the blogs is for Kogod, so they can show to the world what awesome opportunities people can get if they attend...but really, I have to credit this opportunity to the Mormon network. But in all fairness, Kogod did help me to focus in on this industry. If you'd like, you can see that blog right here.)

First off, let's talk about Memorial Day weekend. David and I trekked up to Palmyra for Jen and Matt's wedding.

And what a wedding it was! The bride looked beautiful and both of them were glowing. Sort of a special day for me - it was the first live sealing I've gotten to attend, and plus I'm friends with both of them (I sort of convinced Matt to go to the activity where they met, so do I get some of the credit here?). I think they just might be my favorite couple ever.

The reception was grand! In short...there was a ring ceremony where they exchanged their top ten reasons they chose each other, Martinelli's toasts, amazing Chinese food, the dancing, and even sparklers for the departing couple.

Some of us graced everyone with the Kung-fu Panda dance, which I have on video but no WAY am I going to try to upload that thing here. The pic and other vid below will have to do.

Lori and the kids were also in Palmyra, so we got to spend some time with them and take a lightning tour of the Grandin Printing Press. They were quite accommodating to the low attention span of David...I mean the kids. I may even say too accommodating. Be that as it may, we got to do it, and that was a very good thing.

My favorite part of the weekend was definitely Sunday morning. David had the brilliant idea that we should visit the Sacred Grove before my two-day journey to Kenya. I could see why Joseph Smith would choose such a place to pray. We were there early enough that the rest of the world wasn't there yet, and it radiated peace.

My favorite part of the weekend was definitely not the next day and a half, although I saw some interesting things. I parted ways with David at the Rochester airport to begin my journey to Kenya. I connected in New York (I've been to JFK before, but I had no idea switching Terminals was such a crazy ordeal!), Amsterdam (I thought it was supposed to be a crazy loco city, but the airport was pretty boring), Nairobi (not even as crazy as JFK), and finally to Mombasa where I'll be living for the next two months while I work for Yehu Microfinance. 17 hours of flying and 11 hours of layovers doth a delusional Abby make. But I got a few shots along the way...

I think this might be the Swiss Alps?

Flying over the Sahara. Are those crop circles? What could they be trying to grow in the desert? Could someone explain this to me?

I'm even more curious about this phenomenon. I couldn't see what was on the other side of the plane, but what could create this dark/light divide all the way across the horizon? This was right before we landed in Nairobi. Here's entering the dark...

...and here's coming back into the light.

Here I am in Nairobi, with 26+ hours on my travel clock, waiting for my last quick plane ride.

Thus beginneth the next adventure...

I like surprises.

2009-05-20T05:33:00.002-07:00

But I don't get them often. You can imagine my glee when David took our trip to Indianapolis and tacked on a surprise visit to see my brother's family in Cleveland! I must say, I am very impressed with EVERYONE for keeping the secret. (Except Dana, but it's okay because I didn't even notice. :o)

We got to visit Kirtland!

We gave Lori a break from the older kids and took them on a tour of the temple. Everyone thought we were their parents and kept giving us knowing looks and commented on how well-behaved our children were.

Later, it was time for the slip-n-slide! Of course, one must stretch first...

...so that one can be amply prepared when we chuck you down the slide!

David even took a turn - standing - in his clothes! And he didn't even fall!

It's true that we saw this rental car and couldn't live without it. At least until the next day, when we traded it for a car with satellite radio.

Indiana is a beautiful state. I did not know this - my knowledge of the midwest is sadly inadequate. But we had great weather and even better company the whole time we were there. I'm pretty sure I've been convinced to pay the state another visit sometime again. I think I promised Ben (not Benjamin) that I would.

But when? Guess we'll have to wait and see.

Why I love Institute...

2009-05-12T22:57:00.007-07:00

Because if I work hard and put in my time, then eventually I'll get to go sailing with the rest of the Council!!

(among other reasons...but I'll get there.)

It's true, we had a retreat in Lusby, MD over the weekend with some uplifting and motivational discussions, followed by some uplifting and motivational sailing. The Masons are my new favorite people for being so generous in sharing their home and sailboats with us.

This has been the most amazing calling for me. I've gotten to work with some fantastic people who all have so much enthusiasm for whatever we've gotten to do. I'm actually a little sad to be leaving it behind for Kenya (I know, quit complaining, right?). I don't know that I've ever been so immersed in a calling and so happy and content to be a part of it. It has been a very good fit and it came about at the perfect time for me. Look at all of these happy people!

For everyone who hasn't been in DC for the past couple weeks, there was a long stretch of nonstop rainy, dreary days. I'm pretty sure it was enough for seasonal depression to kick in for more than one individual. But then, the clouds parted and the sun came out for the weekend and the evening weather was PERFECT. It's my favorite DC weather of the year: sunny and warm, but no humidity yet. To celebrate, I took David on a night-time tour of the monuments.

FYI, using a tripod is off limits outside of the Lincoln Memorial. Don't bother verifying this elsewhere. We tried, and we were most definitely shut down. Who knew?

(He's got pictures that are better than mine. Surprise, surprise.)

After our tour, we paid a visit to Ben's Chili Bowl. See how happy we are, in anticipation for delicious chili cheese fries??

Not pictured: our more differenter celebration of the perfect weather - Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, as seen from a big screen in a grassy park in Rosslyn. Aw yeah.

The end. Two more action-packed weekends until Kenya...

Journey to the end of finals week

2009-05-02T23:12:00.006-07:00

I defy finals. Not so much because I can afford to, I just refused to miss out on some amazing opportunities for fun this weekend. There's my FOMO kicking in. (Fear Of Missing Out, for the uninformed. It's a serious phobia, and I caught it.) For whatever reason, finals week has never felt so long. Memo to AU: Straddling a weekend for finals is just not cool. Thus my defiance.

Unmissable activity #1: Brian Regan

Yes, I've seen him three times before. But he had some real zingers that I hope end up on his next DVD. And I got to wear my "Readin' don't never do nothin'" tee!

He is a master of comedic timing. Here's one that I was able to capture:

Unmissable activity #2: Journey to the End of the Night

I discovered this event last year and was unable to attend, so there was a lot of anticipation backing up my excitement this time around. Basically, this is just a massive scavenger hunt that crisscrosses the city - except the whole time you have to hide from chasers. If one of them catches you, then you too must chase. An artful description can be found here.

I bumped into some DC2 friends at the very beginning and joined their "team." We ran, we jogged, we tiptoed, we metroed, we dove into bushes and shadows, and every so often we sprinted in terror back the way we came to escape a chaser. (I can't remember the last time I ran that fast. Love the adrenaline rush!)

At some of the checkpoints, we had to do something extra to get our paper stamped, like draw a picture of what we wanted to be when we grew up, or sing a campfire song.

Every so often, one of use got picked off. We started out as a dozen, but by the fourth checkpoint (there were six), it was down to me and four of the boys. By this time, I'd earned their respect, not just for being hard core, but for being able to keep up and hold my own. Sometimes it's cool to be a runner. :)

A block away from the 5th checkpoint, we were in the middle of Adams Morgan. (We had just come from Howard University. For those of you who don't know, that's a decent hike all by itself.) It was midnight, so we figured most chasers had given up, and plus we were surrounded by lots of people. We figured, safe time to check the ol' mappy, right? WRONG! We were poached, and all of us lost our non-chaser status except Greg. One block from safe space. Sad. We didn't even see it coming!! (The dude in brown is the one who ambushed us.)

We figured, we're this close to the end, let's hang with him for the rest of the way. And so we did. Well, I did. The last checkpoint was at a restaurant full of chasers and racers. Everyone started cheering for Greg, and he got a medal. So far, only 19 people had actually finished. Out of hundreds. Awesome.

I couldn't resist clocking our route once I got home. You can see it right here. I'd just like to point out, it was essentially a half marathon. Although we did cheat for about 3/4 of a mile and took the metro. And it did take us about 4 hours. I think I'm still counting it.

I am sore, it hurts to walk, and I think I may have caught a cold, but I am exhilarated and completely happy and content. Bring on the finals.

P.S. Click here for some bonus photos from last week's RunAmuck, just to give you an idea of what the route was like.

Run Amuck

2009-04-28T23:50:00.004-07:00

Just coming up for some air before finals begin.

I would like to give you a taste of what happens around here during finals.

Well...every teacher (almost) has some kind of project, paper, or presentation that is due within a week of finals. These are often group projects and are always a big deal. I've heard from various academia-based counterparts who are getting their degrees in other things, and I guess they typically only have either a paper/project or a final at the end of the semester, but certainly never both. Not so here at Kogod. Despite these big projects, many of which are due on the day of the final, every single class has a final. That means two big papers done by me alone, another big one done in a group, a business case presentation, and five finals. All to be completed between last Thursday and next Tuesday. Giddyup.

That's the recipe for sleep deprivation. Even if you don't factor in certain newly-added outside-of-school events that may or may not also be keeping me up late.

May 6 will be a glorious day.

But on a more fun note, and just to show the world that I can still manage to have fun despite the insanity, David and I ran a 5K on Saturday. But this is not your average run-of-the-mill 5K. This was the Run Amuck mud run - hilly trails, scaling walls, climbing over bales of hay, and running through the muddy lake - all ours. We owned it.

Our only complaint was that the lake washed off most of the mud. We were hoping for a messier finish.

Happy Birthmonth!

2009-04-20T23:06:00.004-07:00

I've always liked to drag out my birthday for as long as I can. This year it was unintentionally extended an extra two weeks (I had to be responsible on the actual day because it was a Tuesday - one of my busiest days - and both weekends surrounding it were already spoken for. I had a lot of churchy duties lately.) It actually made me a little sad to be so busy that I couldn't celebrate the actual day in style, but that's just the child in me still fighting hard to keep from growing up. It was actually still an enjoyable day, because I got to hang out at Institute where I get to see so many of my friends. But then, I did get to celebrate after all - after Institute, I went to Silver Diner and got dessert with some of my favorite people.

For some reason, though, I've been really excited to get to 27. I can't really explain why - it's probably partially because I know this is going to be an amazing year. But whatever the reason, my subconscious has been really impatient for 27 to come around - I've actually been rounding up for the last few months.

I began the year of awesomeness surrounded by my family. Really, is there a better way to start? I knew the parents and brothers (and families) would be there, but I was fully surprised by two mystery surprise visitors: Dana and Grandma Christensen. They love me! (Grandma turned 80 that day. Thanks for sharing your day with me! :)

They came out to support me for my first visit to the temple. I made some important promises that day. I'm excited to go back often so I can begin to attempt to understand it all.

It was also Easter weekend, so Dana and I got to help the Easter Bunny hide eggs for the kids! (It's a typical practice, for the favorite aunts to help the Easter Bunny. Did you know that?)

Mia got her ears pierced. She used to just be really cute. Now, she's stunning. Don't you agree?

Yep, it's one of those days where I use my blog to shamelessly show off my cute nieces and nephews. Have you ever seen a face this cute?

This past Saturday was gorgeous outside. Gorgeous! I took advantage by participating in the Lupus Walk and taking David on a bike ride. (We had indoor plans, but had to cancel them due to weather. It just wouldn't be right to let the weather go to waste.)

I walked for Crystal.

I've said it before, I'll say it again: Kim knows how to rally the troops! The group gets bigger every year!

The latest extension of birthmonth celebration: our 3rd annual Pirate Parrrty!

I just piggybacked my birthday onto it. Nobody minded much. I felt loved.

What a great life I have. What a great year this will be.

Only took me four years...

2009-04-09T21:41:00.013-07:00

...but I finally got to see the cherry blossoms (not at night or in the rain) around the Tidal Basin!

My friend Jen and I decided to take advantage of the fact that they hadn't all blown away yet, so on the morning of Conference Saturday we did a lap around the basin and checked out the parade in fast-forward. It felt weird not being a volunteer this year. I almost wore my "Volunteer" shirt so I could take extra liberties with crossing the streets and ordering people around and such.

In short - it was beautiful.

Breathtaking.

Everything I ever hoped for and dreamed of.

Can't wait to do it again.

I just love the Kennedy Center. I don't pay homage to this place enough. Did you know they have a free concert of some sort every night at 6:00? It's true!

While they boys were at Priesthood, a group of the ladies got all dolled up for a night out at the KC to see Buster Keaton's silent film, The General.

Except ours was backed up by the National Symphony Orchestra. It was glorious.

Sometimes, it's just fun to dress up!

We went out for dessert afterward, and the servers accidentally gave me someone else's free birthday dessert. We didn't realize until after they sang their song and walked away that none of us had told them it was my birthday. Awesome.

Power Outage, Shooting Range, Golf Balls, Oh My!

2009-04-09T21:41:00.012-07:00

So this one time a few weeks ago, the telephone pole in my front yard cracked in half. I was home to hear the BOOM! And then the power went out. Naturally, everyone in the neighborhood went outside to check it out. This is what we saw:

Except that it was on fire. Yeah...I've had enough of those in my day, thank you. Don't need any more flames so close to my abode. But would you look at that thing? Should've been replaced eons ago, right?! I actually felt strangely vindicated, because on more than one occasion after I parked my car right under it, I had said to myself, "Hmm...is that thing supposed to sound like that? One of these days, it's going to blow!" And Viola! Thankfully, I wasn't parked under it today.

When the firemen and cherry pickers came, they made me go back in the house. No one else in my neighborhood had to go back inside. Only me. What's that all about? So I had to document from within the safer confines of my prison home.

To their credit, they worked into the night (with THREE cherry pickers at one point) to get things up and running again. We had our power back before morning.

To kill time while we were powerless, we went out to a shooting range with some friends (pretty punny). The boys all taught us how to shoot lots of different guns, and then we had target practice. They impressed us all with their patience and attention to detail in teaching us. Definitely a good thing, with something as powerful as a gun. In that light, I guess they had extra incentive.

My personal favorite was the shotgun.

My opponent disagrees.

And finally, for April Fools this year, we decorated Jeph's car. :o)

Sadly, it blew away before he ever saw it. But we still count it.

Free snorkel with every visit!

2009-04-09T21:31:00.004-07:00

I posted this on my fam blog awhile back, but I forgot not everyone checks that one. So here's my biggest update. It's such an intricate story of networking webbery, I just had to include all of it.

Everyone knows I've been on the prowl for an internship for the summer. And everyone knows the market is ridiculous right now, and the odds of me finding one are pretty slim. And forget about any kind of paycheck! My whole class is all just trying to find people that will let us do a bunch of their work for free. (So far, 4 of 70 have secured summer employment.) It begs the question: what do I like doing enough that I would do it for free, just to have the opportunity to do it?

School has helped me to focus my mind and find the answer to this question. I am passionate about microfinance. It is the kind of work that I could be proud to stand behind, a cause that would get me out of bed every morning so I could help it to move forward. Whether or not I actually need an advanced degree to work in this field, my MBA already feels worthwhile because it's helped me to figure this out.

So. AU has a search engine called CareerBeam to help us in our quest. One feature I discovered is that you can look up a company, then connect to LinkedIn (Think Facebook, except for working professionals) and it will tell you the degrees of separation between you and someone who is affiliated with that company. I looked up the microfinance org FINCA International, and learned that I knew someone directly who had worked there before. I hadn't seen him in over a year, but at least I knew someone!

Two days later, I bumped into him at a party. (This guy is married, and this was a singles ward party, which makes the fact that we crossed paths even more amazing.) He was very willing to help me out, and suggested that I talk to a guy named Otso, because he also used to work with a different microfinance bank. Interestingly enough, I had met Otso at Institute earlier that week.

I sought out Otso the next week, only to learn that he used to be the CEO of Yehu Microfinance, an organization based in Kenya. Not only that, but he was still on the advisory board and still conducted interviews for internships. We talked some more, and through his questions ("Have you ever been to a third world country?" "What were the conditions like - did you stay in nice hotels?") I realized that this wasn't a DC-based office job where I'd be doing good from afar. It would be in Mombasa, Kenya, on the frontlines. There would be some office work, but I would also get to actually be in the bush where everything is happening, to meet the people I'd be helping. This is the exact setup I hoped for the chance to try (knowing that this summer would probably be my last window of opportunity) but I did not expect to find it.

Otso asked me to send him my resume, and we'd get together and talk. Even this aspect seems divinely guided, because my resume had just come out of a major overhaul that same morning, where everything my resume said was now intentionally geared toward attracting microfinance-related employment.

Needless to say, after our conversation, I was starry-eyed. This option just made so much sense, and the way everything had fallen into place was just too perfect to be coincidence. I felt so compelled to follow this to the end, and so sure that it was already a done deal - to the point that all other internship pursuits dropped off my radar. I figured, why bother? I already found it. Even the way I talked about it was always "when" I go to Kenya, not "if." I haven't even considered being concerned about the location because clearly I'm supposed to go there, so I'll be taken care of. And as mom pointed out, I'll be going through the temple just a little over a month before I leave, so I'll be extra-protected.

As you may expect after a sequence of events like that, it worked out. I'm going to Kenya!

I love when the Lord uses timing to remind us He's aware of us, and to make sure we know we're moving in the right direction. In this case, He seemed to want to make it painstakingly clear. (He probably figured I'd be a little averse to the extra debt and would need the push.)

So now you know the whole story.