Monday, May 23, 2011

I like dirt.

Guys, I have a desk job.

I thought I loved desk jobs, because I had one in Provo. And I loved it. 

But turns out that wasn't quite a real desk job. It was a... go to work for two hours, go to class, go back to work, go back to class, go play at work, go work at work kind of desk job.

Now I have a real, true, 9:00-5:30 desk job. It comes with its challenges. 

That's why Elder and Sister Sowby thought we would be very excited to go to a Foggy Bottom service project.

Foggy Bottom is the name of the neighborhood I live in. It got its name from the way the river looks around here sometimes. (Foggy...on the bottom.)


So about 20 of us headed down the street, ready to play in the mud serve.

The project people were so surprised to see us all. They asked if they could help us with something, but we told them we were there to help them! They were so excited.

The picture above is our before picture. This is when the park and street still had lots and lots of leaves. And weeds. And trash. And a dead cat. (I wish I was making that up.)


Maybe you can't tell. But this is a plant with roots in a tennis ball. It was strange.

We threw it in front of a dog. It wouldn't play fetch.


And this, this is after. Forty bags of leaves and weeds and trash after. Noah looks beat in this picture, but don't let him fool you. He was singing Justin Bieber at the top of his lungs just moments before this pic. Plus dance moves.

There were other groups of BYU students with areas just like this all over the street. So many bags!
Luckily it was one of those other groups that found the sad, forgotten cat.

So gross.


The whole crew! 


This is a cute news spread about the day, plus another article here for your reading pleasure.

What a good day. 
No desks. Lots of dirt. AND they sent us each home with an azalea. Mine is still alive because last time I let a plant die, Michael and his green thumb judged me. 

I should go water that...

I miss dirt.

Friday, May 13, 2011

Sisters M.

There's a party going on right now. 

A birthday party. I wish I was there! 

Yesterday was my sister's big b-day, and I MISS her. We are just on the same wavelength, you know?


Ever since these days.


I think we bugged Logan sometimes. But we sure love him. (He loves us too.)


Ali never wanted a dog. Obviously we had different opinions on the subject.

But for most things, we're pretty much on the same page. She has ALWAYS set an example for me. And I'm always trying to follow that.



I know we're not twins or anything, but we have the same vibes. If one of us is ever feeling an unexplainable emotion, it's usually because the other one is feeling it then too. 

I hope I don't throw up when she's pregnant.


I cannot explain to you how much I love my sister. We have the same random aspirations in life, and no one is more fun to check those off with than this girl.

For example, yelling off the Brooklyn Bridge just like (the beautiful) Jack and Spot Collins.

Or going to a Keith Urban concert just because.

Or touching all 50 states (getting there).


She moved out to the East Coast a few years ago because she's just fearless like that. And extremely cool. I love visiting her in Boston SO much. So much. 


Who else would take a night tour of NYC in the rain with me, on the top level of a double-decker? We frequently find ourselves in random situations like that.



We have mastered the art of the self-timer.

And the art of ridiculous nicknames. And inside jokes.

Kookaburra.

(No one laughed but Ali. Don't feel bad.)



She's an (extremely) avid NBA fan. Particularly the Jazz, but...well, it was a rough year for Jazz fans. Celtics are up there too. I owe her all my basketball interest, she keeps me posted.

I also owe her my stick shift abilities. My dad gave me a good foundation, but she taught me how to shift and turn the steering wheel at the same time.

That's kind of essential.


Sometimes people tell us we look like twins. Other times people don't believe we're sisters. ? 

I promise we are.


I love her because she will do illogical things with me. In fact, I think she is the person who taught me to do illogical things. Like, jump in the Atlantic ocean on New Year's Day.

It doesn't make sense to do that.

I loved doing it.


I love how open she is to traveling. I think I learned that from her, as well.

Spanish steps in Rome! 



Venice! If you ever go backpacking, take her. 

But if a bird poops on her again, don't laugh too hard. I mean, you can laugh later, but don't laugh right then.


It makes me sad that we went from sharing a room to living in different states, but we still talk just as much as we did then :)


Church in Rome! Just another area I've always looked up to Ali in -- she has such a strong testimony and dedication to the Church.


Like I said, take her backpacking. Some people just look at the Colosseum.

She has gladiator fights there.

(But it looks like I won.)


Easter Sunday in London! I love that she's always open to have an adventure with me. 



Fourth of July in Boston. I lived with her that whole summer, and I loved it.

We were sisters, roommates, friends, coworkers...pretty much everything. 

That's why I learned so much that summer!


She is one of the few people in my life that understands my love for driving.

She'll frequently take the long way home for me. It is definitely appreciated.



This is our future :) These lovely ladies are sisters, and residents at Hebrew Rehab (where we worked that summer).


She lets me wear her clothes. I miss that shirt.


This is right before she conquered a half-marathon in New Hampshire! I can honestly say she is my true source of inspiration in this area of life, too.

I read Harry Potter for two hours that day. She ran that whole time. 

It blew my mind.


She is always open to a road trip (this may go back to the "willing to do illogical things" principle). 

This was the Hill Cumorah pageant in New York a couple summers ago. We even slept in a car for it.

That's not really as adventurous as we thought it would be. Especially when you set the car alarm off at 6AM the next morning. 

I prefer my cell phone alarm, thank you.


DC and my dad's photography skills. He sometimes chooses to not count, which is never helpful on bright days.

I love that my sister has the same family as I do. That might sound slightly ridiculous, but I really do appreciate that we love and understand the same people in a way that no one else does.


Ali always understands what I need. Like this day, she committed to being my personal photographer for as long as I wanted. She followed me around to find all my friends even though she had just sat through a long and boring ceremony.


I love my sister. Always have, always will.

Happy birthday, Ali!

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Doing the DC Thing

This is my neighbor. I walk by the place on my way to work every day. It's a good reminder that I did, in fact, move to DC without even coming to terms with that decision.

Look, there's my finger. It moved to DC, too.


I figure a walk to and from work every day gives me a pretty good chance of an Obama sighting. Only 49 more work days here to live that dream though (who's counting?).


Capitol. The front yard is infested with squirrels. Who knew? 



I live in the Barlow Center, right in the Georgetown area, with almost 40 other BYU interns. We have ourselves a good time, probably no better times, though, than when we make our way to Target and watch our carts ride the cart escalator. Yeah, we're not in Utah anymore.


National Cathedral. Beautiful. It was weird being in a young church though. All my cathedral visits in London (like the time I managed to get lost in Westminster Abbey or learned that some cathedrals are a constant fire hazard) made me think that if you didn't build your cathedral by the year 1312-ish, you were out of luck. Apparently America wasn't letting that rule fly. 

We didn't finish it until 1990. But it's done now, so you should come see it. Tell me when you're here and I'll buy you some Joe-Joe's. Don't tell Oreos.

Sunday, May 8, 2011

To: Mom


Happy Mother's Day, mom! I love you!

This sign was at the flower market at the National Cathedral yesterday. I wish my mom was there too! She loves flowers, and loves making things beautiful.


My mom is an amazing mother (and grandmother!). I have always appreciated the selfless way she serves not only her family, but everyone around her.

She's just so nice. 

I sure miss her right now.

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms in my life! I'm lucky to know quite a few amazing ladies :)

Love you Mom! Happy Mother's Day!

Saturday, May 7, 2011

It happened.

 This happened two weeks ago...feels like two years ago? So much has happened since then! BUT it's momentous enough that I'm still doing a little recap.
(Andrew. Worked with him in Career Services. He has a great job lined up in Texas in November, so he's just gonna go kill some time in China at culinary school this summer...no big deal.)

 My time as a BYU student is no more, people. Unless you count this summer in DC, but I feel kind of grown up out here. So...the statement stands.
(The roomie! Elise. She graduated in Advertising, so it was fun to walk together in the same commencement! She's headed to an internship in Chicago next month.)

 This is Susan Walton, a professor I had for a lot of my PR classes. She's such a firecracker, I'm going to miss being in her classroom. 

 I was so happy to have my family there that day! Ali couldn't make it since Jerusalem is taking all of her vacation days this year, but I am totally supportive of that :) 




 Jenny was a wonderful photographer, as always. Allison even came all the way down from Seattle for the occasion! Or maybe she came for another friend's wedding. Hmm...

Gotta love Career Services. This office was a big and enjoyable part of my BYU experience! My boss, Monte, and coworkers Cody and Marsha made it such a fun place to work.

BYU was hard. In all sorts of ways. The first year hardest of all, though, and I'm glad I can see why I was supposed to go there now.

Ok. More recap on more life changes soon.
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