Ridin' Along In My Automobile....

Tonight we went over to my Aunt and Uncle's house to play games, and my brother, sister-in-law, and I got a special surprise. My uncle took us out for a spin in the 1951 Packard Mayfair that he restored. It looks something like the picture above. (http://www.automotivehistoryonline.com/Packard1951.htm)

We listened to oldies, enjoyed the feel of the powerful engine and the gleam of it's chrome, but most of all we enjoyed some memories. You see, this isn't just some car that my Uncle bought and restored, it is a family legacy.

My grandma and grandpa bought a 1951 Packard Mayfair for their family car, and their kids remember piling into it every Sunday to go to church. My Uncle spent a lot of time with my grandpa, helping him fix the car up. By the time my Uncle was in his teens, the car was getting old and so my grandpa gave it to him to drive, but told him that he had to be responsible and that if he got in an accident, he would get rid of it. My Uncle loved that car, but unfortunately he backed into something, and when my grandpa saw the car, he asked for the keys and called that salvage yard.

Throughout the years, my Uncle would often talk about the car and about how much he loved it and dreamed of buying and restoring one some day. Then one day, he was at an auto shop and the owner mentioned that he knew someone who knew someone who had a 1951 Packard. Just as they were talking, the first someone drove up and my Uncle got in touch with the second someone. So he went out to some junk yard to check the car out, only to discover that it was not just any old 1951 Packard, it was HIS 1951 Packard! He bought it and restored it with his sons, and my grandpa was even able to see it (un/partially restored) before he passed away. My uncle plans to give it to his son, who plans to give it to his son... and so on.

I'm really glad that my Uncle is willing to drive and enjoy the car, instead of just keeping it garaged. He says he likes to just take it out cruising and listen to oldies (the only tunes that the car will play) and roll down the windows - he feels like my grandpa is right there with him.

There was a really great article written up about it in the newspaper. If you want to read it, just shoot me an email and I will send it to you. It tells the story a lot better than I ever could. I was on my mission when it came out and my mom sent it to me - I don't know if I was just super emotional in general as a missionary or if the article itself is just really touching, but I cried like crazy when I read it.

Dear Santa:

All I'm gonna do is post this. No explaination necessary. :)

Christmas, Texas Style

For the last 50 years all the residents in this one neighborhood go all out and decorate their yards for Christmas (the idea is to be very unique) – then everyone else drives or walks through the neighborhood in the weeks before and after Christmas and generally enjoys the Christmas spirit and beautiful 60 degree weather. Everyone is friendly and politically incorrect – they will just walk past you and smile and say “Merry Christmas”!! Who’da thunk? So here are some pictures of Christmas, Texas Style. I must say though, as pretty as all these lights were, the most beautiful lights I have seen so far in Texas have been the blinkers on people’s cars – yes all you DC drivers – blinkers are actually meant to be USED!!

My Birthdaymas Miracle!!

All you December babies out there will understand – sometimes you are so busy around your birthday, that you almost forget to celebrate. Christmas shopping, finals, wrapping things up for work before you go out of town – there are a million things to do. This year I was getting ready for a final, so for my birthday I was planning to go home from work and then study, study, study – exciting, right?

Then a birthdaymas miracle occurred. Our roommate had some extra tickets to a Colbie Caillat and Jon McLaughlin concert (I don’t know why she had them, but I should ask… maybe that will make the story even better) and Kami called her up and asked her for three. When she emailed me to tell me about it, I only hesitated for a few seconds… when opportunity knocks, you have to open the door! So I abandoned my studies and we went to the concert (which was awesome!! I LOVE Jon McLaughlin!) and then ended the evening with a midnight trip to IHOP.

The real birthday miracle, though, was that Diana’s car was still there when we got out of the concert!! Thanks Kami and Diana, you girls are the world’s best B-day Planners!!

My Thanksgiving Miracle or Why I love my Blackberry

For some reason all of my holiday miracles involve cell phones... I don't know why, but they do. Last year for Christmas I got a brand new Samsung Upstage for $40 because the old broken phone I took in to have fixed wasn't being made anymore. Lucky me! This year I already had the phone, my Blackberry Curve, and the phone did the miracle.

I have never gone shopping on Black Friday, so this year I agreed to join Diana, Kami, and Wayne on a trip to Woodbridge - home of the Potomac Mills Outlet Mall - just so I could have the experience. The mall opened at midnight on the 28th, but not wanting to seem too eager, we left our house at midnight and got there around 12:45 AM. I had been eyeing a certain item on sale at Best Buy (which must remain nameless until it is gifted at Christmas),but it had sold out online within a matter of minutes on Thursday, so we decided to stop by the store and see how long the line was, thinking I could buy it there.

Fact: Best Buy opened at 5 AM on Black Friday.
Fact: Best Buy started handing out tickets for hot items at 3 AM on Black Friday.
Fact: At 12:45 the line for Best Buy was already wrapped around the shopping center.

I was not about to wait in the line for over 4 hours, so we decided to head to the mall and then come back at 3 to see if we could get a ticket. The mall was crowded, but not too bad. There were great sales. I love to shop. 'Nuff said.

At 3 we went back to Best Buy and got into the line. It was freezing cold and we were in the dark alley in back of the store - lucky Wayne was there to protect us, right? As we were standing there waiting, I got this little intuition to check Best Buy's web site on my Blackberry and see if they had added more online. As I got to the page, I saw that instead of a big red "Sold Out" button, there was an "add to cart" button, which I immediately did, purchasing the item and freeing us from the line and the freezing cold! I LOVE my Blackberry! This gave us time to go back to the outlet malls and to Target, etc, etc.

Kami, Diana, and Wayne will tell you that the line wasn't all that bad. Sure it was cold, but they were passing out free Chick-fil-a brownies and coupons for free sandwiches and some of our best "that's-what-she-said" jokes of the evening were told in that line!

So... now that this post is written I'm pretty sure I am the only one who cares, but hey, it's my blog and I can write whatever I want!

NYC: Take II

Some of you may have heard me mention that I was going to go to New York in the fall, even if I had to sell a kidney to do it. Well, I have good news for you: I went to NYC last week AND I still have all of my internal organs. What a deal!

Every year our Institute hosts our Global Leadership Award Dinner in New York and this year I was able to go up to help with the event. Words cannot describe how well it went or how beautiful it looked (or how much work it was!!). The pictures should be up on our website soon, and if you are into German - American relations you DEFINITELY need to check the web site out!

So Thursday we were busy, busy, busy, but Friday I had some time before taking my train back to DC and got to spend some time in the city. I LOVED it, but I can't lie... I love DC more. DC is so clean, and the buildings are lower, so you feel like you can still breathe fresh air. Don't get me wrong, I love New York, but I LOVE LOVE D.C.!

So here are a few pictures from my day:

The Brooklyn Bridge

Where we had our Event - see the light blue flag at the bottom right of the picture? That's Tiffany's. Did I go in? You bet I did!!

Lady Liberty from the Staten Island Ferry

Ellis Island

The Manhattan Skyline

Central Park

Times Square

And, oh, can I just say - the Macy's on 34th - beyond my wildest dreams! I knew it was the largest department store in the world, but I could not have imagined how big it really is - it felt like heaven!

One of the MANY Reasons I love Virginia (other than the fact that Virginia is for Lovers... )

I love trees... I know it's weird, but hear me out.

If you grow up in the desert you can always entertain a crowd with childhood stories of riding your bike and falling into a cactus, or eating the fruit off a prickly pear cactus but forgetting to take the needles off first, or backing into a cactus while setting up your tent. You won't, however, have many stories about trees, or the fall for that matter. I never really knew anything was amiss in my life until I went to Germany, and, upon flying back home, realized that the desert really is just BROWN and UGLY. (I have since come to see that the desert has a beauty all its own, but that is going to have to wait for another post)

So upon graduating and moving to Virginia, I again found myself amongst the trees and fell in love with fall. This year I have been waiting for fall to come since, well, last December 22. Yes, I am a season anticipator.

It stayed really warm all through September, and even through October, and I was REALLY worried that all the leaves were going to turn brown, shrivel up, and fall in a matter of days like they do at home and that I wasn't going to get my fall. But Virginia didn't let me down and yesterday I spent 4 hours gallivanting around and obsessively taking pictures of every tree that even had a little bit of color in it. This was no small feat since my camera battery started dying a soon as I got the the Arlington Cemetery and I had to turn it on and off every time I wanted to take a picture or zoom.

Above is a slide show of my day. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!!

A few of my favorite things...

My favorite scripture: (at the moment) Doctrine and Covenants 6: 37

"Behold the wounds which pierced my side, and also the prints of the nails
in my hands and feet; be faithful, keep my commandments, and ye shall
inherit the kingdom of heaven. Amen."

My favorite ice cream flavor: Pistachio

My favorite Brother: Rob

My favorite Sister: Nicole

My favorite tourist site: Pont Alexandre III in Paris

My favorite class: Humanitarian Intervention

My favorite German pastry: Marzipan Croissant

My favorite song: Ain't too proud to beg - the Temptations

My favorite hymn: O Love that Glorifies the Son

Favorite Family Vacation: camping

Favorite Perfume: Hugo for Women - but it's not for sale anymore!!

Favorite Quote:

"Wem das Wasser bis zum Halse steht, der sollte den Kopf nicht haengen lassen." (If you're in water up to your neck, don't hang your head!!)

Favorite Monument: hhhmmm... either the Jefferson or the FDR Memorial

Recipe for Love Handles

I have come to realize that my blog is totally random and not really meaningful at all, but I've decided to embrace it. So, since I love to cook, and my blog is kind of a reflection of me (random, but not meaningless :) ), I decided to post a recipe. I got this one from my freshman and sophomore year roommate Megan, and it is FABULOUS! I wish I could tell you single ladies that it will be the key to catching your dream man, but I can't. If, however, you're already pretty close to the finish line, it might just seal the deal!

Cinnamon Rolls

Dough:
1/3 Cup butter or margarine
1/3 Cup Sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 Cup milk
2 Eggs
2 ¼ (1 packet) yeast
3 ¾ to 4 ¼ Cups Flour

Cinnamon Filling:
¼ to 1/3 cup butter, melted
Brown Sugar
Cinnamon
*Add cinnamon generously (1 to 2 tsp) to the butter and then mix in the brown sugar until the mixture is smooth, but not runny.

Directions:
Heat the butter, sugar, salt, and milk on medium-low in a sauce pan until warm and the butter is melting.

Mix 2 cups of flour and the yeast in a large mixing bowl. Pour the butter mixture into the flower and yeast, add the eggs, and beat for 30 seconds on low speed. Beat for 3 minutes on high speed.

Using a spoon, stir in as much of the remaining flour as is needed.

Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead (with as much flour as necessary) until the dough is smooth and elastic (6-8 min). Shape into a ball. Place in a lightly greased bowl, turn once to grease the entire surface.

Cover and let rise in a warm place until it doubles in size (30 min). Punch the dough down and let it rest for 10 minutes.

Roll the dough out on a floured surface into a 12x15 inch rectangle. Spread the cinnamon mixture (below) over the dough and roll it up long ways.

Cut the roll with floss or thread into 1 inch sections and place into a greased pan. Let them rise for 30 minutes.

Bake for 15-22 minutes at 375* (should be LIGHT brown)

I like to eat them with cream cheese frosting!!

So I was at the mall...

The last 5 or 6 times I have "discovered" a new song, it was while I was shopping at New York and company - a working girl's gotta dress professionally, right? I don't know what it is, but whoever picks out their music just gets me. So there I was - looking for a new shirt to wear to work and I heard another song that I really loved. So I got on my new Blackberry (I understand why they call them "Crackberry") and searched the song. I discover that it is called "Crush" by David Archuleta (you can listen to it on my play list). Normally I would have stopped right there. I've never been a fan of American Idol - in fact, I've never seen an episode - but I love Carrie Underwood, and this song is just so fun that I let my prejudice go. I think I've listened to the song 20 times already and it's only been 15 hours... 8 of which I spent sleeping.

My Morning Confidence Boost

So.... I should be studying or sleeping, but I am blogging... what's new? So yesterday I got unto the bus for the fourth leg of my trip home from work, and as I got on a girl sitting near the isle brought down her newspaper to reveal her UNIBROW! Now I really do try not to be superficial, but I don't think I'd ever seen one of these things except on TV as a joke. I gasped a little and tried to move on as quickly as possible. (I realize I really do sound like a jerk here)

When I got home I must have had eyebrows on my mind, because while washing my hands, I looked looked at myself in the mirror... and at my eyebrows. No unibrow... thank goodness. Then I remembered that once in high school some girl told me I had funny shaped eyebrows and I started to obsess a little.... "Am I some kind of MONSTER?" After assuring myself that I am at least half-way normal looking, I moved on and enjoyed some Costco pizza and three episodes of Pushing Daisies with my roommates.

Then this morning on my way to work I was waiting for my train and a young woman came up to me, tapped my shoulder, and said "excuse me, I just really wanted to tell you that you have the best shaped eyebrows I have ever seen! Are they natural?" Well let me tell you, these puppies are 100% mine! After a nice 10 minute conversation about plucking, waxing, etc. my friend got off at her stop, leaving me feeling like a million bucks! It's funny how the Lord puts people in your path at just the right time. :)

So here you go - a bona fide picture of the prettiest eyebrows in the world... thank you, thank you very much!

As American as it Gets

So I had my whole weekend planned: do some laundry, wash my car, grocery shop, sit around and stare at the walls in my room – sounds great right? Well, all that went right out the window when Kami, Diana, and Wayne invited me to join them on a little excursion to Delaware – I have great friends!

After work we hopped into my zippy little Toyota Corolla (let me tell you, this thing gets great gas mileage) and set out. We headed out of the busyness of the city and within an hour we were in the cornfields of Delaware – Delaware… who knew? I love DC, but it was like a great weight was lifted off my shoulders and I wanted to shout and sing (which we did, thank you Keith Urban).

Our fist stop was the Delaware state fair… let’s just say we would hardly wait to get in! We fought off hunger pangs and dragged ourselves away from the food stands and rides so that we could catch the rodeo – what does a Texan love better than a rodeo? (well, a lot of things, but I have to maintain my image, so the correct answer is nothing) My favorite part of the rodeo was the boy with his trained horse Trigger who did tricks. I still have a hard time with the calf roping… what can I say?... I’m a tree hugger at heart.

After the rodeo we headed out to the double wide trailer on display – it was such a magnificent display of architecture that Kami and Wayne decided to get married then and there so that they could buy one of their own and settle down right on the fair grounds.

Next we set out to see what kinds of grease soaked delicacies we could purchase and clog our arteries with. Diana and Wayne went for Corndogs, Kami and I got Gyros. Wayne went all out and bought himself a fried Twinkie. I tried some and here’s my assessment: a lot of hype about nothing… it tasted like a greasy Twinkie. We also allowed ourselves to indulge in some homemade root beer… the lady at the stand thought Wayne was cute, so she gave us some samples without us even asking… work it, Wayne. I got Birchbeer… different, good.

After strolling through the barns and rows of livestock we checked out all the rides, but nothing really caught our fancy, so we headed to the Super 8 motel where Kami proved just how good of a friend she really is. Fortunately she used Diana’s toothbrush, not her own, to do the job.

Saturday we headed to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware after a quick stop at the SUPER (I repeat SUPER) Wal-Mart. (Gotta get your white trash on somehow, right?) The beach was great, the air was warm and dry, and the water was cold… could I ask for more… I think not. We met up with a bunch of other people from our ward for a lovely day of tanning, chatting, swimming (I ended the day spitting rocks and sand out of my mouth after getting taken under by a wave), and volleyball (Eat it Aggies!!). Unfortunately I came home with a 2nd degree sunburn and am literally crispy fried, but I guess you have to make some sacrifices if you want to have the perfect day, right?

We ended the day with a relaxing drive home through the country, a stop at a produce stand, and a shower. Then to show just how hard-core we really are we went to see The Dark Knight at 10:50 PM.
In the end I just have one word to say… legen-dary!!

Independence Day in the Nation's Capital

Yay!! This was my first 4th of July in DC and it was all I hoped it would be!! The metro was PACKED as was the mall and even the Potomac River!! Fortunately, my friend Janine found a great spot at the FDR memorial where there were fewer people and a great view. We were right on the tidal basin, which is my favorite part of DC, and really close to the fireworks as well.

Lucky

I love Jason Mraz and I love Colbie Caillat.... and now I get to hear them sing together!! See my play list above: "Lucky" is one of the best songs I have heard in a while!! Enjoy!! (The first link was struggling, so I put a second one underneath it)

Baltimore and Annapolis... I love Maryland!!

Well, summer is off to a good start! It has been ridiculously hot here and our air conditioner wasn’t working, but that’s all fixed now and I’m cool as a cucumber. I have been looking at a few other blogs today and have realized that my blog is kind of more like a journal or a scrapbook than anything, but the whole reason I put it up was for my friends and family to see what I’m up too, so I guess that makes it just right!!

So, just after I got back from my brother’s wedding I went with some friends to Baltimore to visit the Little Italy section of town. We went out for some authentic Italian food at Amiccis and it was… authentic. No, really, it was amazing. I got Gnocchi and Janine even helped me to pronounce it correctly. Then we played some Bocce ball on the local courts, had some locals show up to watch us and cheer us on, and got some professional training from an 11 year old named Angelo Pizza who plays on the adult bocce ball team there. After that we grabbed some ice cream and pignoli cookies (recommended by Angelo) and just strolled around Baltimore’s inner harbor and watched a street performer.

Then Memorial Day rolled around. While others were off at Duck Beach or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, Emily and I opted for a quiet day in Annapolis, MD. It was a beautiful day and there still weren’t too many people in town so not only did we find good parking, it was FREE! We headed straight to the visitors center to get a map and the little old ladies there greeted us with exciting news: that very day the great entertainer, Pat Sajak, a Vietnam veteran, was in town to lead the Memorial Day Parade. That’s right, you heard me, we saw Pat Sajak.

Emily and I were actually super excited about the bag pipers and even more excited about the military band… there’s nothing like a man in uniform!! You think I’m waiving my flag excitedly because I’m patriotic, really it’s just because I was excited about all those officers (mid-shipmen)… I guess that could be considered patriotic too, right?

After the parade we headed down to the bay for a boat ride where we got majorly sunburned and then had a nice lunch. I decided that since I was on the Chesapeake Bay I should get seafood, so I ordered crab balls, which are just a smaller version on Maryland’s famous crab cakes. When I told my dad what I had ordered all he could do was laugh and asked me if they were anything like Rocky Mountain Oysters. Silly dad!

After lunch we headed to the best part of the trip: The US Naval Academy. OK, OK, it’s not just the uniforms that drew us over there. The campus is beautiful and you really do gain such a respect for those people who defend our country and who sacrifice so much for us. After some reflection on these things we did get right to the business of finding us some men, though.

I hope you enjoyed seeing all those pictures of me with long hair, because it is gone now!! I totally chopped it and it looks great… or at least that’s what everyone tells me. J I’m sure you’ll be seeing it in my upcoming posts.