This one totally cracked me up and I had to post it...

So a girl walks into a car dealership...

I still remember the first time I saw her. I knew instantly that she was meant to be mine – it just felt right. I took her out for a test drive and then bought her on the spot – a 2001 white Dodge Intrepid! She had a trunk so big I was able to pack everything I owned into her and still had room to spare! (And I am a pack rat, so that’s saying A LOT) Everyone told me she looked like a grandma car (though I thought she was pretty sporty), and within a few days she had a name – Brunhilde, my first car. I basically just thought of the most horrible grandma name I had heard in Germany and christened her thusly. It was either Brunhilde or Waltraut. I think you see why I chose Brunhilde.





Unfortunately it apparently “felt right” because I needed to be tested and tried both mentally and financially. Within a few weeks the check engine light came on and over the course of the next year I spent several thousand dollars trying to fix her – transmission, gear shift, belts, radiator, alternator, mounting brackets, new tires, lights – you name it. After several more repairs to get her ready for the trip, I drove Brunhilde out to the east coast, and she promptly started overheating. (And PS, had it not been for Jake, the family mechanic, I would have spent alot more!! Thanks Jake!)



Figuring I had a real job now, I decided to get myself a new car. I talked about it with my dad on Sunday, and then on Monday was looking on the internet and saw some used Toyotas I wanted to look at. So I hopped into Brunhilde, drove to the dealership, and came home with a BRAND NEW Silver 2007 Toyota Corolla. I didn’t realize how much I loved Brunhilde until I had to hand over the keys (I traded her in). I literally started crying and I think that the dealer thought I was insane. That car was a lemon, but I sure loved her!!

So I drove my new car home, went into my room, and then it hit me – I just bought a BRAND NEW car – complete with BRAND NEW car payment. What was I thinking?! You don’t just go out one night a buy a new car on a whim! Talk about impulse shopping! The thought just really freaked my out and I panicked and stressed about it for several weeks until finally coming to terms with the whole situation and realizing that I was going to be OK.

My car is really great, runs perfectly, and makes a really great sound when I press the gas – vroom, vroom! (I love that sound!) I have a warranty on it, so I don’t have to pay out the wazoo for repairs, and it is much more compact than Brunhilde (she really was a beast), so I can actually parallel park it. Unfortunately with all the stress and anxiety I caused myself when I bought it, I never really got attached enough to give it a name. I have had the car for over a year and a half now, and I think it really needs a name, so I have decided to open the decision up to you all. What do you think would be a good name for my car? (See photos below)

Hot Spot

Sometimes I get tired of being single. Not because I don’t like my life – I love my life. I get to do some of the most amazing things, things that I never even dreamed I would do. What I get tired of is how much effort it takes to date, or, more accurately, even get someone to notice you. I know the grass is always greener on the other side, but some days you just have to whine a little - and eat chocolate.

At Any rate, I was having one of these days, as was my friend, whom we will call “Betsy “ to protect her identity. So “Betsy” and I are having a frustrating day – we’re single with no end in sight, just about to have birthdays, which will make us officially closer to 30 than to 20, and the weather is cold. So we head over to the Barnes and Noble Bookstore to grab some hot chocolate and decide to sit and chat, nay, vent about our lives. Guys are stupid, the media is ruining the self-esteem of all women and with it our society, life’s expensive – we have to work.

After really getting ourselves steamed, we feel a little bit guilty, so we try to change the tone of the conversation and start to point out to each other the good things about life, and that there really are some great guys that we have the privilege of being friends with. This, I think, is what friends do – you help each other get it all out, but then you have the responsibility to bring each other back down to earth.

So, finally, we stop complaining – and a little bookstore miracle happens! This good looking guy walks by wearing a hat with the logo of our alma matter. “Betsy” asks him a question about the last football game and he sits down to talk with us - turns out he and "Betsy" have alot in common! In the end, we’re probably never going to see him again – he was just out here for a visit and I don’t even know his name, but it proved to us that there is hope. LESSON: happiness is out there, but you’ll probably miss it if you’re too busy complaining.

A few months later “Betsy” and I are planning a trip she is taking to Germany and we need to pick out a travel guide for her, so we head to Barnes and Noble again. We basically clean out the entire section of books and carry them over to a table by the Starbucks. So we’re sitting there choosing a travel guide and planning her trip (and I am turning 4 shades of jealous green), and this guy who is sitting at the table next to us pipes up and asks “are you going to Germany?” Eavesdropping is a little bit creepy, so we give him a short “yes” and turn back to the books.

After a few minutes, he interjects into the conversation again and starts to give us tips about traveling in Germany since he has lived there for x number of years. We smile and listen, then turn once again to the books. Once we were done we collected our things and started to walk away, and the guy calls after me, auf Deutsch, “Hey, do you speak German? How long have you studied it?” To avoid having someone yell across the store at me in a foreign language I walked back over to him and we had a little chat.

EVEN BIGGER LESSONS: 1) German geeks can find each other anywhere. 2) Guys, don’t eavesdrop – its creepy and the girl won’t give you the time of day. 3) Barnes and Noble is our hot spot.

So now I know, if I want to meet my future husband, I need to spend more time at Barnes and Noble. I’m not surprised. I’m a smarty-pants and the only guys who can probably stand me are smarty-pants themselves.

Inauguration Day 2009

I consider myself to be EXTREMELY blessed. Sometimes in the day-in day-out of life, even the most extraordinary things can start to seem mundane… and then something happens to snap you out of it. In my case, I often forget how amazing it is that I live in DC and have a job that I love but was brought back to a sense of awe about my life when I got the opportunity to go to the Inauguration Ceremony yesterday. It was amazing and wonderful and CRAZY!

After spending MLK day off shopping for gloves, ear muffs, and hand warmers (which were all surprisingly difficult to find… I guess everyone had the same idea) I dropped Kami and Diana off at the metro and then headed over to Tabbi’s, where I spent the night. We got up at 5 AM and were at the metro by 5:45. It was a good thing that we went in early – the metro wasn’t too bad on the way in, but inside the district, things got crazy! It took me 45 minutes just to get out of the station and then another 45 to walk the few blocks to the orange ticket line! At 7 AM the streets were already crowded with people and I had to squish along the sides of buses and buildings just to get through.

The ceremony didn’t start until 10-10:30 and the swearing-in didn’t start till nearly 12, so I spent a lot of time out in the cold freezing my tush off! I got a really good seat though, so it was worth it! In the picture below you will see a long walkway on the left. I was at about the 4^th tree.

My favorite parts of the ceremony were a) Aretha Franklin because she’s still got it and b) Obama’s speech and the fact that speeches like that aren’t just pretty words to me any more – I know the historical and policy implications of what is being said and that knowledge thrills me! Here you can see Obama being sworn in – well that’s what’s happening in the picture anyways – all you can really see is Michelle Obama in her lime colored dress. (Fashionistas – please don’t judge me for my inability to describe colors well) My camera is great, but it has really bad zoom. Even with the zoom things still look further away than they really are!

After the Inauguration I ran into some friends and we headed closer to the podium to get some pictures and we ran into Samuel L. Jackson. His bodyguard saw us standing there and motioned to us to come over for a picture. He said “Mr. Jackson, these ladies would like to take a picture with you.” SLJ was like, “I know what they want – they want to put me on their my space page!” But au contraire, Mr. Jackson – I am putting you on the crowning jewel of my online world – THE BLOG!

After that we headed up to a reception on the hill and on the way there I saw President Uchtdorf walking just ahead of me. Anyone who knows me realizes this is a dream for me – talking with President Uchtdorf auf Deutsch. So with a little nudge (or possibly a shove) from a friend, I walked up to him and was like – “Hi, Elder Uchtdorf, how are you.” The whole situation was somewhat awkward, what with me accosting him on the street and all, but he was really nice and I explained that I served my mission in Germany and we then had a little chat in German and he introduced me to his wife, who was there also. I was so nervous that I couldn’t remember even the simplest German and was pretty stressed for awhile that I had used terrible grammar – but I checked it when I got home and it was correct after all – whew!!

After the reception we headed back, grabbed some dinner, and gave Kami, Diana, and Tim a ride home since they had to walk back into Virginia on the 14^th Street Bridge. Once home, we did the only appropriate thing – CRASHED!

So that was my Inaugural Experience. I am so grateful to have been able to be there for this moment in history. I remember sitting in my classroom in 2^nd or 3^rd grade – we had the pictures of all of the Presidents of the United States lining the ceiling and I would always look up at them and wonder why we didn’t have any women or black presidents. I asked once why and was told that it just hadn’t happened yet, but that it could, so I asked when my teacher thought it would and she said she didn’t think it would happen in her lifetime. Now I don’t know if she lived to see it or not (but she was pretty young so let’s assume she did) but I am amazed at the power of ideas. Just about 50 years ago we still had segregation, but by affirming the idea of equality and teaching it to the next generation, those walls were broken down faster than anyone could have imagined. Now it is our generation’s turn to look at our world, determine what we need to change to make the world a better place, and make it happen!

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!!