Sandy Silver Linings

I had it all planned out. After spending a beautiful Saturday in Annapolis with these friends, I was going to get all packed and ready, go do some work for the Romney campaign, and then head out to Utah to meet my little baby niece. 

But that Sandy had some other plans.

I still got to work at the Romney campaign, and it was a blast since I had a friend:

But after not one, not two, but THREE flight changes trying to get out of here, all my flights were cancelled, thanks to the east coast mentality that it's better to be safe than sorry. Normally, I agree, but I was totally wanting to pull a Miranda Priestly and call the Coast Guard so I could just get to Utah already!

I guess it turned out ok though. We didn't lose power, and sure enough, D.C. didn't get hit hard at all (just as I expected). I caught a nasty cough/sore throat on  Sunday night, so it was nice to just cozy up at home. Not to mention how great it was that Victor didn't have to go into work on Monday or Tuesday, so we made a bed in the living room and watched movies while I made a lot of baked goods and soup. Victor braved the rain to get me medicine, cough drops, and Chinese food, which of course, made me feel very loved. So I guess the long weekend wasn't too bad after all. 

And let's not forget to thank the fabulous American Airlines who changed my flights three times to whatever days I wanted, and didn't charge an extra cent. I guess that's something to be glad about too. Thanks, AA. 

Utah, I'm coming to you tomorrow! Let's just hope that that jerk Sandy is gone for good. 

Confessionals

I really dread asking strangers to take pictures of my party (whether it be me and my husband, or a group of friends) when we want a picture of the whole group. I really, really dread it. So I make my husband do it.

I also hate, and sometimes refuse, to ask for directions--mostly just if we're in the car. I pride myself in being able to navigate myself, so I refuse to do it, unless it really is a desperate circumstance. Call me a stubborn man.

My closet is in a pathetic state 95% of the time. Why can't I just hang up my clothes??

It takes SO MUCH self restraint to not engage in political "discussions" (we all know they turn into fights) on any form of social media (well, except for twitter: that's another story). I love to argue, so this can be really hard sometimes. I made a personal policy to not engage in these discussions because to me, it really isn't worth it. People that don't agree with me politically are not going to change their minds from things that anyone says, especially with how easy people spiral out of control. And that's just fine. Not everyone has to agree with me, especially on who to vote for---after all, this is a free country. So my policy is to just remove the extremists that I don't agree with from my newsfeed, so we can still be friends. I just need to remember to bring them back once the election is over.  But like I said, it's really hard for me to keep my mouth shut about it---but then again, keeping my mouth shut is just a general life problem for me.

I've been doing a lot better in going to the gym lately thanks to having a work out buddy. But I still haven't been seeing the results I want, and I know it's because of my dieting choices. Sugar, I can not quit you!! I gave up soda, which I'm pretty proud of. But I know there's more: namely choc chip cookies, snickers, and chick-fil-a shakes.

I get too easily annoyed with people.

I have NO patience.

On the mornings where I don't have anything going on, I plan my morning on watching Gilmore Girls reruns. Basically, I am unproductive until I get to watch Gilmore Girls. And then randomly, abc family will not air GG but rather stupid marathons of Pretty Little Liars in its place. And it makes me so mad! A little too mad, I admit. As if it's abc family's fault that I was lazy all morning.

I believe that I am right all of the time: "believe" being the key word here.

And...that's all for now. Until next time!

Fall, Glorious Fall

What a beautiful week to be alive in Virginia! 

The weather this week was perfection. The colors are turning more vivid every day, which makes tasks like sitting in traffic on the I-95 more bearable because it's just so darn pretty. 

Our fall activities this week have included:

1. Visiting Mt. Vernon when Victor had a day off this week. I've been before, but Victor had never been, and it would have been a shame to leave Virginia without him seeing it, because it's lovely. 

2. Going out to the Homestead Farm in Maryland with Sarah. I don't think the weather could have been more perfect. We went to pick apples: unfortunately, all the apples were off the trees, so we were picking them off of the ground instead. But hey, that cut the price in half, so we got our 27 pounds of apples for a steal of a deal!

Oh, and there were goats there on the farm, so naturally, I was in love. It made me miss my pet goat, Gertie, may she rest in peace. Try not to have a cute attack when you see that pic of the little baby goat looking up at Sarah. 

 Above: that is a live reaction to Sarah's picking up a nasty apple.

3. Walking around the National Mall with the in-laws on a gorgeous Sunday afternoon. 

 4. Taking cheesy pictures.

And would you look at those vibrant red leaves? I'm just loving this time of year so much.

Happy Fall!!

Veruca Salt Syndrome

I've been growing tired of my current living room decor. For a while now, I've been wanting to wipe out the photo wall, because I think it looks too busy. (And while we're looking at it, let's disregard the fact that some of the pictures look crooked. My bad)

So I've been wanting to do something with either four big canvas prints of pictures we have taken. Here's an example that I put together on Picasa...imagine it on my wall...not necessarily the pictures I would use, but you get the idea

But then I saw this tonight at Ikea and I want it!!

It's a canvas print, and I want it so badly. Because of the price tag on the left, it looks like it costs $599, which isn't true, but it still costs more than we can drop right now, due to unforeseen costs on Victor's car. So sadly, I did not leave the store with it, which was very disappointing because I waaaant it NOOOWW!

While we're on the subject of being disappointed at Ikea, I just have to say that it is pretty annoying that Ikea has been stocking the flower pillow you see sitting on my couch for YEARS, and yet they didn't bring back these adorable Christmas trees that I was wanting to buy ever since they sold out last year. Why, Ikea, why? Veruca would be all, "Daddy! Tell Ikea to bring back the trees!" But in my case, it would more likely be, "Husband! Tell Ikea to bring back the trees!"

I had to scour Pinterest to even find proof that these trees even existed since Ikea doesn't stock them anymore. 

 I know. I'm ridiculous.

But besides all that, what do you like better? The big map, or the photo canvases. Tell me nooooww!

The Finer Things Club

It happens once in a while. An occasion to get dressed up and feel fancy. To go out for a nice dinner. To feel refined. Last night was one of those nights. 

Victor and I went out to the opera: Don Giovanni by W.A. Mozart. We had dinner in Georgetown before and took a stroll along the river as we made our way over to the Kennedy Center.

 I was a little weary of the fact that the opera was over three hours long, but we survived. In fact, we actually enjoyed every minute of it, because it was a very good opera. That Mozart sure knows what he's doing.

 Side question: do I look totally out of place wearing a white ensemble in October?? It's just that it's my go-to dress for feeling fancy, so what's a girl to do?

Anyway, we ended the evening with gelato. A very fine and enjoyable evening. An evening where I'm reminded how much I love my husband, because he enjoys the finer things and enjoyed the opera just as much as I did.

Aaaaand.... then we drove back down to our apartment in the woods. Until next time, Finer Things Club.

D.C. MUST DO: the newseum

The Newseum is my favorite museum in Washington D.C. It's kitty corner to where I work at the Archives, and I wish I could go in there every time I work. But the thing is, the Newseum is not a Smithsonian, so it's not free. And I can't really afford to pay $20 every time I want to go in there.

But once in a while, the Newseum will have free days, and if they do, you should snatch up the opportunity to go. So a couple of weeks ago, we did. Victor had never been, so I was excited to finally go with him.

The whole museum is focused on the history of journalism and the news, as well as the concept of freedom of speech/press. My favorite parts are the Pulitzer Prize winning photographs, the huge section of the Berlin Wall, the September 11 exhibit, the First Amendment Exhibit, and the special exhibit for covering the Presidential Elections. So yeah, I have a lot of favorite parts of this museum.

 That's a map of the world that rates each country's freedom of press based on "free", "partly free", and "not free." It's pretty sad to see countries that used to be free go down to partly free and not free. Mexico is one of them from drug cartels controlling the media. Crazy.

So anyway, when you're in D.C., you really need to check out the Newseum. It's worth the money, I'd say, but it's even better when it's free :)

Married Conversations

Scene: Victor is getting ready for a field exercise this week, and I will not see him or have any communication with him until Friday.

.....

Victor: So, do you think that you will have enough money in your account for this week?

Me: Yeah, I should be fine. And, you know, if there's any emergency, I have the credit card.

Victor: Ok, well "shoes" is not an emergency.

.....

I beg to differ.

End scene.

My View from Saturday: Sister Missionaries

Happy Sunday!

We are enjoying the weekend watching general conference. I especially love that today it's rainy and cozy. Perfect for conference.

I've been thinking a lot about the events of yesterday. I was "live tweeting" during conference which I really enjoyed, but I found myself having a lot more to say that twitter's 140 characters would allow. And then I remembered that I have a good old blog that I feel like I have neglected.

Yesterday, the church announced that female members can now serve a mission as early as 19 years old instead of 21, which is pretty big news. I, personally, was not too surprised by the announcement---in my opinion, it's been leading up to this by small steps, including the change in wardrobe of sister missionaries which I think is a big deal, since the thought of wearing frumpy ugly clothes was one of the "cons" of a mission to me ha ha. I myself was ready to go on a mission when I turned 20, and waiting a year was kind of a pain. I do believe that more women will serve LDS missions now, which I'm all for, since my mission was such a definitive part of my life. I don't want to sound boastful, but I really am proud of the fact that I served a mission. It was a big accomplishment for me.

So with that excitement, naturally there is some excitement shared by others that just kind of rubs me the wrong way. There are countless jokes about BYU campus having a girl drought now, and not so joking feminist comments that finally LDS girls will stop get married so young. And countless tweets from women about how they definitely would have gone years ago instead of getting married and immediately birthing children. These are two particular tweets from a couple of pretty popular LDS bloggers (and I should probably mention that neither of these women actually served missions)

"It sets a new narrative for Mormon women. It's no longer if you're not married, then serve. It's go for it!! Love."

"Girls, you can do it all! Go on a mission! Get an education! Have babies! I love this day. No longer an either/or."

.......

BARF.

.......

As a daughter and granddaughter of women who managed to serve missions, get an education, and have many babies, I never EVER was aware that this choice was an "either/or." And you want to know what bothers me the most?? The fact that the LDS church has NEVER made it be an either/or. It's all these LDS women who put that implication on themselves. And then these Mormon feminist women start going off that it's just so unfair that it has been like this for so long. wah wah wah.

I can't stand it. I just don't get it. I wanted to serve a mission, and I never felt that leaving at age 21 was making me an old maid who was risking "having it all." Maybe if the church rule was that girls couldn't serve until age 30, then would I agree to the ridiculous claim that "if you're not married, then you go on a mission." It bugs me so bad.

And just because you change the age limit doesn't mean that every single girl is going to go on a mission now. Missions are not for everyone, and with so many young women, they know that it just isn't for them. AND THAT'S JUST FINE. Why should girls feel pressured now to serve just because of an age change? They shouldn't. I just wish LDS women (particularly the feminists) would stop criticizing and judging each other for the personal choices women have made. I would be lying if I said I wasn't guilty of this. I'm not perfect. But I really try to not do it, because who am I to criticize someone's dream of happiness, even if that means having multiple babies before even reaching the legal drinking age?

A couple of weeks ago, I attended a forum led by the writer/blogger (and writer of one of the above tweets) Joanna Brooks. She is definitely a Mormon feminist, and at some point in the forum q&a, all of a sudden I was hearing multiple young Mormon women complaining about how the church had wronged them, by supposedly implying all they were good for was being a mother. I couldn't believe my ears, because in all my years growing up in the LDS community, I never felt like this. And I genuinely felt sorry for them, that they thought that was such an insult anyway. (you can read more about this discussion on Sarah's blog)  I'm not a mother yet, and it's because I know I'm not quite ready. And I know that it's an even harder thing to do than going on a mission, so I have genuine respect for women who are so ready for it. Because it still scares and intimidates me.

I guess my point in all this ranting, is that women need to back up off each other, and recognize that we are all so completely different. We all make different choices on what's going to make us happy, and as women, we need to support each other all the more. And with all this, I guess I need to remember even more that I believe the religion I take part in is Jesus Christ's perfect gospel. But that certainly doesn't mean that the members of the religion are perfect. So let's just try to be patient with each other, ok? I'm trying, but it's hard sometimes.

And as one final word, if any of you are still wondering or feeling whether the LDS church views women in any lesser form, all you need to do is watch or read this, and that should clear it up. I'm so grateful to know that I am a daughter of God, and I am so grateful to take part in a church that teaches me of this love and of my divine potential. What a blessing and a joy.

There go my emotions, again.

I just saw this preview the other night while I was about to watch this movie. It was another "first" for my emotional side, because never before have I cried just from a movie preview. Combine the storyline with the Damien Rice cover of U2's "One," and I lost it.

BUT, I seriously can't wait to see this movie. It just looks so inspiring. And who can say no to Ewan McGregor? Not me.