Dear Mum

As I'm sure every single person can attest, your childhood home and the memories you make there are priceless. For me, that childhood home carries so much significance because it's where my mom is, where my mom nurtured and taught me, and instilled within me Gospel principles.

It's where she loved me.

I have been gone for seven years now. It's been seven years since I moved away and went to college. In that time I have served a mission, cared for orphans in Ecuador, and picked up my life and established myself on the East Coast.

There have been dozens of trips home and although repeated over and over throughout the years, I will never get tired of pulling into my driveway, opening my front door, smelling the rich beautiful scents of my childhood, seeing the beautiful decorations my mother has meticulously collected, smelling the latest decadent dish cooking in the kitchen, and arriving in my childhood room, with my bed perfectly made and my mail waiting for me on my pillow.

It all means so much to me. And it means so much to me because that's where my family is and that's where my mom has been all these years.

In May I wanted to finally show my mom a little of my life here, the life I've established for myself and love so much. So one plane ticket later and my mom was due to arrive in October for a four-day extended girls trip here in DC.

I was nervous of course- nervous that we wouldn't get along or that she wouldn't like what I showed her, nervous that we wouldn't have a lot to talk about. It had been so long since we'd spent that much time together. I couldn't imagine that those four days would become precious to me and that I would enjoy them more than just about anything.

Oh but they were glorious! I got to finally show her this place that I'm obsessed with! So I took her to all of my favorites: the monuments and museums, Arlington Cemetery and Mt. Vernon, Founding Farmers and the Washington DC temple. To top it all off we did a Capital Bikeshare monument bike ride at night, my most favorite thing to do with visitors in DC. And she loved it all! I couldn't have been happier than seeing the sites sink down deep and have a real impact on her, just like they do me.

So thank you dear Mother. I'm glad we got to spend those precious days together. More than ever I'm grateful that you are mine. That I share some of your beautiful features, that I resemble you, that I think like you, that I laugh like you. Thank you for visiting me and seeing my life!

It means the world.

Un-expectations

Sometimes when I'm browsing Pinterest I come across something like this:

And I laugh.

I laugh because it's ridiculous! It's ridiculous to push your body so hard that you would puke, faint, or die.

That doesn't make sense! Why would you do something like that to yourself? That can't be healthy.

So tonight I was at the gym working out with my trainer Joe (aka Joe the Rock) who is a literal magician when it comes to helping me fix everything I don't like about my body. He's kind but motivating. He pushes me just enough but not too hard. He encourages me to reach a little further and dig a little deeper.

And guess what?

I puked tonight at the gym.

Yes, puked.

We were almost at the end of the workout when I sat up from a particularly hard set and....just...lost..it.

For a second neither of us even realized what had happened. But then Joe saw the look on my face and the splatter on the floor, reached for the equipment wipes, handed me a couple, and turned away.

I was so embarrassed until he came back and told me that he'd seen worse come out of his client's bodies.

So sometimes you laugh at things on Pinterest. You laugh because they are so ridiculous.

And then they happen to you.

Election Day

There is a feeling in the air today, a feeling I've never felt before in DC. There's an air of excitement and anticipation. It's like a buzz, filling the metro, the office, every conversation.

Today is November 6, 2012. Today is the day we decide to deep Barack Obama in office or elect Mitt Romney.

Both the young and the old are leaving the polls after standing in lines for hours and are wearing their "I voted" stickers proudly.

In just 16 hours or so we'll know the leader who will shape our country for the next four years. We'll know the man whose policies and promises will change my own life in the next four years.

Never before have I felt so involved emotionally in a campaign. Four years ago I was a missionary in Texas and barely knew who the candidates were let alone cared enough to vote. Eight years ago I had just barely turned 18 and although I did exercise my right to vote, I hadn't put much thought and effort into educating myself about the candidates and issues.

So here I am now. I graduated in Political Science from BYU-I. I moved to DC (Arlington, VA to be exact). I live a swing state. I actually read the news. I watched all the debates. I've studies the issues and hashed out the differences with roommates and friends. I have dozens of friends who've worked tirelessly on the campaign, putting in hundreds of hours and losing sleep to spread the word.

And everything is to be decided today.

Go Mitt!

I never want to see a police officer at my door at 12:45 am ever again

So I had an experience last night.

One of those I-have-to-be-an-adult experiences where I “get” to do things I’ve never done before nor would ever choose to do if I didn’t have to.

So let me ask you this, have you ever gone to your car and not found it where you left it?

I mean, it happens to the best of us.

I walked out to the parking garage last night to run to Costco and my car (my roommate Katie’s car that I’m borrowing) was nowhere to be found. My heart immediately went into slight panic mode as I looked around and tried to rack my brain about where I must have left it. It was then that I realized that ALL the cars were gone from the parking garage.

Of course we found a letter on the floor of Katie’s room notifying everyone of the garage close yesterday morning. It even listed the towing service that would be used if any cars were not removed from the garage. How kind of them. 

Just like a good roommate I called the towing company and got the address to the tow lot. Next I called a friend to come pick me up and soon enough we were on our way.

This wasn’t going to be as hard as I thought.

False.

Two-lots-without-my-car later my friend dropped me off at home car-less and concerned.

I became really grown up next when I called the Arlington non-emergency number and talked to several nice people who, even though I didn’t know the license plate number, VIN, or my roommate’s social security number, told me that my car had never been towed.

Oh no.

Heart beating.

“Ma’am do you want to go ahead and file a stolen vehicle report?”

I guess.

Within a few minutes there was a knock on my door and a police officer standing in my doorway. We went over the details of the evening, where the car was parked last, and the fact that it hadn’t appeared at either car lot.

This is legit stuff.

At this point I’m almost laughing. I mean, my car disappeared, I had no idea where it was, and it wasn’t even my car.

The good news is that this all ends well. I got a call a few minutes later from the police officer informing me that he’d found the car………

{wait for it}

……in the parking garage across the street.

Awesome.

As it turns out the Avalon had decided to tow all the cars into the garage instead of to the tow lot and not let anyone know.

Double awesome.

I walked over to make sure my baby was safe and sound, walked home, called and soothed my worried owner-of-the-car roommate, and went to sleep at 1:15am.

I’m officially calling myself a bona fide adult.

Oh yeah, I also called and canceled the stolen vehicle report, thus ensuring that neither me nor Katie will get pulled over at gunpoint for driving a stolen vehicle.

Now that would have been a great story.

This is really happening.

Monday July 2: Sent Cute Boy #1 a FB message and asked about his Fourth of July plans. Never received a response to date.

Tuesday July 3: Texted Cute Boy #2 to come watch fireworks on the 4^th. Took him a day to respond. Couldn’t come. Invited me to go swimming a couple days later. I was excited. Told him to keep me posted. Never heard from him again.

Wednesday July 4: Cute Guyfriends #1 and #2 failed to tell me that their friend, Cute Boy #3 was married. Cute Boy #3 never mentioned his wife and wasn’t wearing a wedding ring. I flirted. Then found out at the end of the night he was married.

Friday July 6: Talked with Cute Boy #4 at a baseball game. He mentioned Katy Perry. Asked him if he wanted to see the movie with me the next day. Then Cute Boy #4’s girlfriend arrived.

Friday July 6: Talked with Cute Boy #5. Trying not to crush on Cute Boy #5.

Saturday July 7: Went on a date with Cute Boy #6.

Sunday July 8:  Found out some stuff about Cute Boy #5. Crush is officially over.

Monday July 9: Sent Cute Boy #6 a thank you FB message for the date. Friendly and sincere. Received the lamest response on the face of the planet “Thanks. Your great.”

Tuesday July 10: Car gets towed. I call Cute Boy #5 for help. He shows up to help me out while out with another girl.

This is my life.

All I can think is, "Dear God, you've got my attention. Now what?"

When four girls go to New York we...

Ride on a Bolt Bus

Eat at donut place #1: ice cream filled donuts. yes, please. 

Walk, walk and walk some more. 

Make the birthday girl take a picture next to models

Take the birthday girl to eat some steak

Do dessert in Central park 

Eat at donut place #2: creme brulee and carrot cake

Experience real Italian food

Take pictures by random things

Do a lot of refreshing

Ride the subway

Creep on the nerdy and the beautiful

*he was playing pokeman with himself. bless him.  

Shop. I mean, shop a lot. 

Eat cupcakes and pizza on a rooftop overlooking the city

Die from said sugary cupcakes

Take pictures from said rooftop

Take pictures of us from every single possible angle on said rooftop

Love every single second of our lives! Happy Birthday Marissa!

Addiction

Okay people, I have some bad news. 

I’ve felt for a while now the need to get this off my chest. It’s something that’s been on my mind a lot lately, as is custom when you have an addiction as bad as mine. 

There, I said it. I have an addiction. 

It’s as bad as any in the book and I don’t know how to stop it. I think about doing it every day and crave it again at night. I thought it would get better once I moved to DC but nothing has changed. 

I know it’s costing me so much time and energy but I just can’t stop. I don’t want to stop. 

Why is this so hard for me?

The good news is that I know of a couple other people who have the same problem. We talk about it and can really support each other. We understand what each is going through. The bad news that is then we all cave and our addiction to the same thing deepens.  And then we do it together. 

Hello, my name is Hannah, and I’m addicted to Café Rio. 

Anyone want to go tonight, or tomorrow, or the day after that? I'm always available.