Looking professional

There will always be those people who try to head off to work as comfortably as possible, even when the dress is business sophisticated.

As someone who used to frequent the DC Metro system I have seen it all. Sports coats on hangers, sneakers and tube socks with skirt suits, flip flops with everything, sweatshirts over a business dress, and the list goes on. I have seen people put their makeup on in the office, trudge in with ugg boots to switch out less-trendy flats, even go into the bathroom with one shirt and come out with another one on!

But today was the worst thing I have ever seen. (In regards to professional dress...)

I turned left into the parking lot at work like I always do, when I saw a man standing next to his tiny (yet expensive looking) car, wearing basketball shorts and stepping into his work pants with the belt already in the loops!!!

Now, I am not completely innocent here, I was wearing flip flops with my outfit and had every intention to change once I sat behind my desk and I do that fairly regularly. However, this is wear it crossed the line. The man wasn't even using public transportation!! He was in his own car!! Common, Mr. Dude... no one wants to see that!!

This post was just a tribute to those who can not fully dress themselves in the morning for lack of time, comfort, whatever. May you continue to put on your pants in the parking lot forever more... (or maybe stick to dark parking garages where I don't have to see it...)

I haven't had a meal indoors since Thursday...

What a joyful weekend!!

Friendships and relationships are such a blessing in life. I am thoroughly rejuvenated after this weekend, and absolutely refreshed in the ways that God bestows little gifts and joy for those who love him. I wonder many times if I would have the same love for my friends and people if I were not trying to see people through his eyes, and I am pretty convinced that I would not.

First of all, this enjoyable weekend was so beautiful, and was the first "summer-esque" weekend in DC. The weather has been in the 90s, and the sun has been shining brightly (mostly).

Thursday night I was able to enjoy ultimate frisbee night with the YL kids from Wootten, Churchill, and RM, and although it sucked that we didn't have enough people for club, it was really great to spend time with the kids that did come, and just have fun and be active with them. I am pretty sure thatteam Luxemburg beat team USA, but I was having so much fun with the kids and other leaders, that I don't even remember. 

Friday I was so anxious to get out of the office, so as soon as my work was done, I was GONE! I got to wash my car, and then experience the joy that is springtime in Maryland when it was covered in pollen 5 minutes later. Honestly, I tried to wax the car right after I washed it, but wasn't able to because of all the pollen! It was crazy! So after taking the pup for a 4 mile walk, I headed to the Rio with roommates of old and future to enjoy some Margaritas and mexican on the Rio Waterfront.

The view from our restaurant!!

Saturday Kyle and I headed downtown to spend a day with Nadine who was in DC on a bus-trip. We did the Holocaust Museum, lunch at a pub at Gallery Place, sat with our feet in the wading pool at the Sculpture Garden, walked the national mall, found the best gadget store ever and took no less than a bizillion pictures. There is nothing like good weather and good friends to make your heart resound in joy!!

I know it looks a bit awkward, but we were on the National mall trying to get the capitol in between us!

My favorite place in DC!! The Sculpture Garden and wading pool!

The gadget shop we spent over an hour in!!  (Notice the incredible sunburn!)

When Nadine left, we hosted a BBQ in Rockville. And although it did get rained out before all the chicken was done cooking (thank goodness for George Forman grills!!), we were able to just hang out with more friends, and just enjoy the simple blessings in life. Jessica and Angela came and hung out with Kyle, Katie, Brett, Corey, and I and we just shared stories all night.

Today was more joy-filled relationships as I started the day with a wonderful friend, bible, and iced coffee at Panera, attended a great church service complete with children dedications (it is so beautiful to see parents committing in front of their church community to raise their children the best they can with the love and strength of God), and had a grocery shopping and outdoor lunch date with Emily. It's hard to think that I could be anywhere else than this, and is so comforting to look at all the people I have in my life that God has placed here for very wonderful and different reasons. I just look back on this weekend and think about how restful and blessed it was. 

Watermelon on a hot day!! Eating watermelon with chopsticks from my sushi, because Emily and I both forgot a knife!

Emily is one of the chance encounters I have had down here, and now don't know how I would have survived without her!!  Enjoying lunch on a beautiful Sunday!

One thing that I really love in this world is people. It is so great to just think about how different we all are, and how beautifully and wonderfully made we are. Sitting around the pool at the sculpture garden, I could not help but realize that everyone at that pool came there with their own story. Stories of joy and love, tragedy and pain, stories of hope, and stories of forgiveness. It was wonderful to see couples, parents and children, friends, and people who are different in countless ways gathered around the wading pool just to enjoy the day and enjoy life. It is obviously no lie that I enjoy people watching, but to really appreciate people watching is much different. I am so grateful for this beautiful weekend, and my beautiful friends, and my beautiful life.


On a side note, I have made a personal commitment to give up facebook while I accomplish some side goals, so enjoy more frequent blogging and less frequent facebooking.

I hate sick daysssssss

So...
5 Tums tablets,
2 naps,
2 hours with the work laptop in my lap,
and 2 rerun episodes of the hills later...


I am ready to feel healthy again!!
ARGGGGGGGGGH


I am pretty convinced that the only enjoyable sick days are the "personal" days. I would rather be at work right now.

Ironically enough, 3 other members of my HR team called out sick today and all for different things!
1. pink eye
2. head cold
3. fell in the shower
4. me with my sick little tummy.

I want to feel better and be working again tomorrow!

Easter and mi familia!!

My family is coming to DC for Easter!! When I decided to stay down here for Easter and not go up to Pennsylvania, it was pretty much because I realized I had been spending quite a few weekends away from DC and didn't feel like I was living at 'home.' I never imagined my parents would decide to cart the whole family down here!!
But then the call came. I am very excited, and feel like hosting my family for a holiday says to me personally, not only am I being a grown up, but I am doing it right! I think this weekend will be a lot of fun, and I hope to take a lot of pictures and have a lot of fun. We may go visit the seafood market (my dad would LOVE IT!), and go see what's left of the cherry blossoms, and of course... dye some easter eggs.
Unfortunately though, the plans of spending all day Saturday got pushed to the wayside, primarily because Tim had an accident on the elliptical machine on Tuesday and almost sliced off his toe!! So now the kid is walking around with a boot, but in true T Pott fashion is insisting that he wants to go downtown in the city... we will see about that.

But yes, this week can NOT pass by fast enough, and they are all coming tomorrow!! Wonderful! Updates will hopefully be fun and exciting!

a Spring Festival fit for the capital!

Cherry Blossoms in DC.
What a beautiful time to be in such a beautiful city!  What a wonderful and great weekend, which revives the desire to spend whole weekends down in DC soaking up the beauty and history now that the sun and warmth is returning to us!! 
Nothing makes me happier than the feel of the sun on my cheeks in the birth of springtime, but to be in such a beautiful place, with people you love, can just be a bit overwhelming.  I sat on the bank of the tidal basin this weekend, thinking "would I have EVER imagined that I would end up in Washington DC?"  I always swore I was going to be an NYC type of person.  Wanted to live the big life drinking, clubbing, making lots of money, and then about 5 years ago my life drastically changed. Now I have a life of contentment, hard work, independence, love, and all things that are great in my life and have made me the person that I am today.  
I have been increasingly made aware of how, when left to my own tools, I make my life into the equivalent of a kindergarten art project.  But in my life, I found a GREAT artist, who wanted to take that and turn it into a masterpiece.  And I am so thankful for that.

And also today, I took an elevator down 18 stories, with Johnny Cash on my iPod, after a long day at work, and was the only person in the elevator.  So I did what any fake-grown up would do, and rocked out HARDCORE the entire way down.  When the elevator opened in the concourse, it opened to a young, female professional calmly put together (and thankfully too, because there was a cute FEMA guy waiting for the elevator!).  I just chuckled to myself and jumped the metro home.

Sundays are my favorite

Sunday mornings are just so wonderful! I am one of those people who really doesn't mind doing the laundry on a Sunday or cleaning the apt. on a Sunday. But recently I have been enjoying Sundays for what they really are - restful. I have not been running or doing Yoga on Sundays... not that I don't let myself, but I also don't make myself. I have this routine where I wake up at 8am-ish and invite the pup into the bed, and watch TV or movies for a few hours and just enjoy what physical blessings I have in my life. I love going to church, and being a greeter has been sooooo wonderful for me! It is so great to be friendly and completely au naturale in the place where I should most be in my element (in the church family).
With the warm and sunshine appearing increasingly often, walks with the pup, coffee and magazines outside at the Rio, and going downtown to hang out on the national mall are going to be more frequently a part of my Sunday routine, and soon the night will be capped off with late night soccer games!
Yesterday, Katie and I went to go look at apartmenets, and I realized that was the first Sunday I had even made plans in almost a month! Shopping for apts was a lot of fun, and we are both so thrilled to say we fell in love with one, and that will hopefully be a good move for us. I have just realized in the past few weeks how much I have fallen in love with this day of the week, and the gift that it is to me each week! (wait til football season starts again too!!)

uphill battle

So for a lot of reasons I have decided to train for the Germantown 5-miler that my church sponsors every year.  This means that I need to have the ability to run a 5 miler.  This is something I haven't been able to do in half a decade.  However, I have been running the last two weeks and am very hopeful that I can do it.

The problem so far has been my asthma.  I can run with extreme shortness of breath, however it seems to be much worse when I am running outdoors.  So for now I have been sticking to the indoor treadmill, and I am planning on doing Yoga in my off days to build my core and my breathing abilities.

I am just saying this to ask you all to keep me in your prayers and if you see me, ask how it is going.  Keep me accountable.  More updates to come!

So also, last weekend I went to Scranton to celebrate St. Patrick's Parade day! It was so much fun just catching up with old friends, being with my sister, and going crazy because we could! Check out some of the pictures below, the rest are on Facebook.

Beth and I with some of our favorite characters of the office!! Yeahhhhh



Clyde, Lisa, Me, Ellen, and Beth. This was at the parade just hangin out with some of my best friends!



Getting Ready in Ellen's room I had Nancy take a picture of us. The goal was do to something irish, but the only three things we could think of the Irish doing were drinking (Elizabeth), Praying (Ellen), and Jigging (do you have to ask...?)



Just hangin out at the sports pub with some great friends from 2008! Billy, Me, Jackie, Kevin, and MH!

Reality Check

I feel like sometimes we are given these to remind us that life is not all about us.
Well time at 9902 is coming to a close, and so is my time of living with Kyle and Jessica. I have been very excited for a while about this new Christian girl living arrangement and have kind of been taking it for granted as a gift from God. Right now I am finding myself a month and half away from having no place to hang my hat or call a home, and that is fine with me. But I just found a really great townhouse and was really excited about it. But as natural Irish Luck would have it, I found out yesterday that maybe my plans that I had to move in with my one friend would be tossed to the wayside. That being said, currently I may or may not have an identified roommate. This is something that just really rattles me, and sets me in a tizzy of anxiety.
One thing about me is that I like plans. I like to know what is going to happen, and I hate when things change. It has been a major struggle for me in many different areas of my life, especially my faith. Last night I found myself questioning God, and wondering why things have worked out the way they have so far, and trying to convince myself to have faith in his plan and his timeline, rather than my own. But the anxiety is what gets me.
Funny enough, I was looking around for some message boards for local churches to see if any of them had postings for rooming situations. The first website I went to had their verse of the day up there: Philippians 4:6 "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."
I mean if that isn't a boyah! for my reaction, than I don't know what is. It is funny how we choose to close our eyes to what we can't see, and regard them as not what God wants for us, when we really have no idea. It is defnitely going to be a struggle to (again) let the control go to a better navigator than me, but I know it is for the best, He will get me home safely.

What a wyld weekend...

I fully expected to return from my Wyldlife weekend ready to write a full blog about how wonderful or stressful or exhausting it was.  But since being back, I am still trying to process through it all.  I mean I have been working with this Wyldlife ministry for months in such the wrong mindset, and not having my heart clearly focused on what God wanted to do through me there.  I simply saw it as doing a favor for Amanda, and leading until they found another leader to take my place.  God has taken this weekend as an opportunity to show me how wrong I was.  And I am so glad for that.

The weather was great this weekend!  So good in fact... the zip line was open.  Almost 80 degrees on Saturday and bright and sunny.  It was like summer camp - condensed.  Anyway, it really solidified why I am doing YL and WL and totally gave me that focus I have on God.  Not that before this weekend I was missing that focus, because I have actually been walking with God quite closely lately, and finding out new things about Him and myself lately.  But he

 reminded me of how important this ministry is.  I mean of how He acts through leaders to reach kids and save their souls, their hearts, their everything, and how great is that to be a part of?  Sometimes I admit, I get involved with YL and do things out of habit, and let the true intensity subside, but really it is so important.  I often think back to my first experience with YL, and how different I am now because of it.

This weekend has also called me accountable for some future decisions I thought I was making for the right reasons, but God has really shown me I may have been very wrong on many of those counts.  So right now I am just praying very hard, and trusting that God will lead me (and heal me in some areas too).

But the basic stuff was that the four girls who went with me were 4 8th grade girls who will be going to my high school next year.  So it was good to know that soon I will be their Younglife leader, and they already feel comfortable around me, and know me, and know they are encouraged to come out again next year, and it makes me happy to see that!  Here are some pictures too, just to check out!  (Top, Julius West girls: Marta, Tori, Megan, & Grace) ( Left: Pale Gulch cabin with pigtails and tattoos for club) (Right: The Blodowski Brothers giving Archie Nemisis a SNUGGIE!)  (Below: Grace going fishing for Karate Training and Wyldlife games)

My life as a white female Coolio...

Don't get the tagline?  You should read the whole story

Anyway... this has been a CRAZY week! I haven't had a single free moment! Monday after work, Nick Jess and I all headed over to the Vistica's for Charade-themed Wyldlife. It was great, and the kids had such a blast! We did commercial slogan trivia which was such a hit, and we had a hands-off lemon eating contest! The kids loved it, and Jonah was a beast! He tore that lemon to pieces! I did a talk from Matthew 6 about worrying about what we have and what we look like, and how comparing ourselves to each other, and worrying about what we have or don't have is not necessary, because we have a God who knows what we need, loves us, and makes us more beautiful than "lilies in the field or king solomon in all his splendor" Unfortunately no guys signed up so it is just me and the girls. But also that is pretty great!
PS it was also a snowday for anyone who doesn't teach!! ahhh - must have chosen the wrong profession!

Tuesday Maris came to visit! That was really great, she hadn't seen my DC shindig yet. We just had a laid back evening, drank some wine, made some homemade pizza, took the pup for a walk, and watched the 2-hour episode of 24. (I did not cheat on giving tv up for lent, I made that exception for 24 and the office) It was really laid back and fun. Also, I read in Glamour Magazine that for trendy fun waves, put 4 braids in your hair while it was still wet and let it dry. Maris and I talked it over, and who would have 4 braids when you can have 7?!? Ok I have included a picture at the VERY bottom of this blog, but keep in mind that if you think this picture is funny, you should have seen my hair when I woke up and tried to go to work looking very professional... yea, not so much...

Wednesday, had training all day and then got together with Maris for lunch before she skipped town. I am excited about the changes that happened at work on Wednesday, and struggling with some issues in the apartment and keeping things as loving and peaceful as possible. I went to small group and it was so great! Emma led this week and just had so many good insights, and I feel that this week especially God has really been calling me not to be mean to others but to love everyone at all times. It is challenging, but I realize that sometimes I do not treat people as well as I should and that has become evident to me, and I really am so grateful to Emma for calling that to attention to me, through very diligent reflection on the Word.

Tonight we had YL and planning night, so we met at McDonald's... because we are cool and it was such a small group of us. Anne got a beautiful new puppy and that was really exciting! Other big news... we are combining RM and Wooten clubs! We made a whole list of fun clubs to do, and I am very excited about this semester. Also the spring sports are starting up soon... track, lacrosse, softball... and all games I can bring the pup to! I have a lot of hope for our club this semester, and am just praying and trusting God that he will lead us as he see fit to bring his word to the YL kids.
Tomorrow... is Wyldlife spring weekend!! And also forcasted to be the most beautiful weekend in 2009 so far!! I am so grateful for this great weather, and although it may sound silly, I really feel that this weather is a person gift from God for me. I was a bit hesitant until just a few days ago about going to Spring Weekend. I kept trying to rationalize it by saying that YL was my first priority so it was ok, and "wow, they have so much energy" so it's ok, but really there is no rationalization for not being excited, because I am so in love with the mission of YL and want these girls to get to know Jesus in a more intimate way than they could have ever imagined. When I finally conceded to that and the fact that God has brought me to this point for a very good reason, I was told about the wonderful weather. So yes, even though it may be silly this weather was given to me as a gift. Please be praying for a beautiful and wonderful weekend!