tragic....

A couple of weeks ago I posted about a story of a boy who lived in a concentration camp and a girl that threw an apple to him everyday. Eventually they fell in love and were married.....I just learned the story is not true...how sad...

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/12/30/holocaust.hoax.love.story/index.html

My Favorite New Year's Eve-So Far

Just in preparation for New Year's Eve....here is a great story for the NYTimes to help you all get excited for New Year's Eve.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/27/opinion/31classic-burns.html

Galapagos Islands!!

I have been meaning to post these pictures for weeks and I finally have a few minutes of free time. A couple of weeks ago I went with some friends and a charity group called Charity Anywhere to the Galapagos Islands.  We went there to do some dentistry work and paint schools.  I had an excellent time.  The islands were unlike anywhere I had ever been.  The islands were beautiful and clean.  The people were great to work with and I had an excellent time with the group.  All in all it was a fabulous trip.  

A little taste of Christmas

Best article I have read today...

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/22/opinion/22gup.html?_r=1

Merry Christmas!

giving in....was it worth it?

this past week i was having a nice little chat with my dearest friend andi and she told me that all she wanted for CHRISTMAS was for me to have a facebook account....i gave in.

i couldn't help it...

so, in case you are wondering i gave in.

Just missing Andi

Today and every day I miss Andi, but espeically today because she missed out with Jenna and me last night. I have been with Andi the last couple of years during the Holidays. I just wanted to give a little shout out to her!! I love you, just remember that we are missing you here in Utah!!

Whitney Houston

Just listening to Whitney Houston Christmas on Pandora and I couldn't be more in love with the Christmas Season.

Happy Holidays

gobble gobble

Today, my boss is out of town. Well to be totally honest she has been out of town the last three days and I have been trying to keep myself occupied, but I have decided to take a little break and write a new post.

First I want to mention that I have no self control, especially when it comes to eating my lunch around lunch time. So, my lunches are not even that exciting, usually my lunch consists of nothing more than an Adam's peanut butter and honey sandwich with bread that has been in the refrigerator for weeks(I learned to keep bread in the fridge on my mission). I keep my sandwich in my drawer and every time I open the drawer, I become obsessed with the idea of eating my sandwich. So, I start with one small bite and the next thing I know, it's gone and the time hasn't even reached noon.

Another example of my self control is last night. I work a couple nights a month at j.crew until early hours in the morning re-arranging the store. Last night, I got into work at eight and the first thing I spotted was Cadbury Christmas eggs, how could my boss have know of my pure obsession with these little tiny, so delicious to the taste chocolate eggs. I told myself to just take one and the next thing I knew it was one in the morning and I was still eating, delightfully.

Being Thanksgiving and all I thought it would only be appropriate to make a cliche' blog post about what I am most thankful for. Call me cliche', I don't mind....

Here is my list.....
my family, dance, my friends, good books, memories, rainy days, sunny days, memory grove park, my job, my mission..jolita, aleksandra, jenna, maile, jake, andi, julija, nijole, jennifer, kristina, kristina, giedre, aurika, dovile, ginvile, violeta, natasha, the wattersons...my dad and his love for the utes, my grandmas, food, intelligence, light, my savior Jesus Christ, Heavenly Father, fictional characters..jack elliot, geric, george emerson, edward, lloyd dobbler..good music, the mountains, snow ski days, water-ski days, jacob lake, sunsets, pure air, long bike rides, long drives with great conversations, silence, laughter, joy, the BoM, lithuania, 4th of july, the founding fathers, my bed, old friends, the spirit, confirmation, chase, the utes, my mom and her silly side...the list is endless...Happy Thanksgiving!

loves,

sj

All I have to say is GO UTES! The game on Saturday was so glorious, I am always proud to be a Ute, I wear red in rain or shine. But on Saturday, I was especially thankful to wear red and to be a UTE!! Go Utes!!

a week of miracles.......

This past week has been a true week of miracles.  Obama won!  My sister Corinne came home from her mission.  And let's talk about the Utes!! What an great game, I got tears in my eyes as they scored their touchdown.  And oh, one more thing....good-bye to my job at the Capitol and hello to my new job at the University of Utah.  Go Utes!  Sorry for the lack of pictures, I washed my camera and I just barely got a new one.  And oh, Mitch was in town last weekend.

The Grand Canyon

A couple of weeks ago I hiked the Grand Canyon with Ash, Tucker, Jake, and Spencer. It was beautiful, long, and amazing!

On another note...today is ELECTION DAY! How exciting, I hope that all of you get out and vote. I can hardly wait to see who wins the election!

early voting...VOTE!

Vote...vote...VOTE..vOTE

Oh, I love this time of year!!! I almost can't wait for Election Day, I LOVE to watch the states turn red and blue. I have this great desire to see red states turn blue...and blue states turn red. (can you imagine if Utah's electoral votes went to OBAMA!!!) Voting has already begun, yesterday in Utah around 20,000 people voted. If you don't want to wait in long lines, go ahead and vote early. If you don't know where to vote early go to www.elections.utah.gov and clink on the link that states, "early voting locations." Get out and VOTE!! You can also view your sample ballot online at www.elections.utah.gov. I love Politics and I love AMERICA!!! VOTE!

love...true love

i read this article in the salt lake tribune this morning and loved it. read it and enjoy.

loves,

http://www.sltrib.com/ci_10704439

a 14-year-old virgin

so today i was quietly taking a little nap during my lunch break, relaxing prefectly enjoying the rays of sunlight in city creek park. i was suddenly awakened by three 14-year-olds. they were talking ever so loudly or maybe it's just the fact that i love to listen to what everyone else is saying. anyway, back to my story (bts-hah), this is how their conversation went:

girl 1: you are not a slut if you are not a virgin.
girl 2: even if you are 14?
girl 1 & 3: no! of course not

as you can imagine, i was surprised beyond belief. they kept on walking and i kept on sleeping. well, when it was time for me to go back to work i walked right past them and i felt like i had to stop and say something.....this is how my conversation went with them.....

me: are you really 14? all three of you?
girls: yes, yes, yes
me: well, i heard you talking and i don't want to be like your mother or anything, but have you had sex? (can you imagine, i really did this)
girls: no, no , no....
me: well, i just want you to know that sex is a big thing and can bring...AIDS, STD's, and children. and i would guess that none of you want those things right now...
girls: (no words, just staring at me like i am completely ridiculous)
me: well, have a nice day

as i walked away, they just laughed.......

There she goes...

Andi left last week for the middle-east, she will be missed.

Gettysburg

This past weekend I went to D.C. for the weekend, it was fabulous.  I still wish that I lived in D.C.  I love potbelly's, the Jefferson and all of the wonderful people that live there.  I also went to Gettysburg which was exciting, especially since I wanted to go this entire last spring but never found the time.  I think my favorite part was riding bikes on the mall with Mitch. I love D.C.

Sarah Palin......

So, I must be fair to both sides. It's convention time and I believe the Republicans are making a strong comeback.

Watch tonight as the McCain and Sarah Palin accept the nomination.

it's convention time.

i should be working, i am working. but i just quickly have to mention how excited i am for elections and espeically these next two weeks...convention time. oh, how i wish i could attend either party's convention.

i love politics...i have faith in politics, this is a new faith. but i have faith, that people we elect will make America better.

vote.

A little update

A little update one my life:

1.  Last weekend I accomplished one of my summer goals...fishing.  I went fishing with my Dad, Rhonda and Ashley.  Don't worry, we didn't catch one fish, but had a great time.  ( I actually feel asleep fishing on the boat, but it was rather relaxing.)

2.  I ran the park city half marathon yesterday with Erin and Sloane.  It was a great race, the temperature was perfect and the run was enjoyable.

3.  Yesterday I went to the Obama open house!!  It was so exciting, yes I am a political junky.  I am not a democrat or a republican, but I love politics.  It was inspiring to see politics in the making.  It's exciting to have a democratic headquarters in Utah.  

This is the extent of the excitement of my life.  

Gone

So, Mitch left this week....he's gone.  He's missed.  (the picture attached is us at the demolition derby)

On the happier side of things, I hiked the pheifferhorn today was with Caitlin, Lauren, and Corey.  Last night we hike up to a lake a mile below the pheifferhorn and camped!  This morning we slept in until 8:30 and hiked until 2:00.  It was the perfect day.

I heart Hebgen

Hebgen Lake, Montana...a little piece of Heaven on Earth.  I went with Rach to her cabin in Montana this past weekend to celebrate the fourth.  Rachel was so kind to let all of us come and experience the beauty of her cabin, it truly is remarkable.

We watched fireworks on the fourth from the town of West Yellowstone, I love the the fourth of July.  I am thankful to live in America and have the right to vote and experience freedom daily.   Life is good.

Mt. Olympus

On Saturday Cait, Ashley, Caitlin Jayne, and I hiked Mt. Olympus.  We started at 3:45 a.m. so that we could be at the top in time for the sunrise.  We got to the top with one minute to spare, the sunrise was breath-taking, just as beautiful as I had remembered.  At the top there was also another surprise waiting for us, gnats...hundreds of them swarming us.  They were so annoying that we could only spend minutes at the top.  

Non-the-less it was worth the early wake-up.

VOTE

Remember to VOTE tomorrow!

It's Primary Elections!

The Wasatch Back!!

The Chaffing Cheetahs

3 parts of the "FLAT"

Van #2, Sloane, Jane, Erin, Cait, Keri, & me

The WASATCH BACK!!!

Go Chasing Cheetahs or Team Athletes or Chaffing Cheetahs! (Our team had multiple names, our name kept on being changed)  This past weekend I ran with Wasatch Back/Ragnar Relay with 11 other girls.  We ran a total of 180 miles, each running 3 different legs and stayed awake almost the entire time.  My team started the race on Friday at 1:20 in Logan and we finished Saturday around 4:00 in Park City!  I loved the race, I was able to see beautiful parts of Utah that I have never seen and I got to run.  My teammates were all awesome runners!  Go Chaffing Cheetahs!!   

As Myliu Lietuva

I heart Lithuania! It has been one year since I returned home from serving my mission in Lithuania. I still think about Lithuania and the people there every single day. I'll be honest, I wish that I was still serving most of the time. I just wanted to pay a little tirbute to Lithuania! I love Lithuania, every single part of it. The picture attached of me in the green field is my last steps in Lithuania. (So I had another picture attached, and I can't find it!) I can hardly believe that I have been home for an entire year. It has been a great year, but nothing has compared with Lithuania.

Some of the things I loved most in Lithuania include: 3-bits, my nasty apartments, ice cream, cold borsh, carbonated water, the women in the church, the sea in Klaipeda, the youth in Klaipeda, Vilnius, the Cathedral in Vilnius, Andi, the white bench park, Sister Robbins, Andi, Friday district meetings, the Watterson's, teaching, knocking doors, contacting like crazy, the cheese, geisha's, the summer's, the bus rides, Lily and Fred, the days when the sun only set for four hours, Nijole, Jolita, Aleksandra, Ingrida, Aurika, Carolina, Jennifer, Rasa, Julija, all of my companions, the winters, teaching the primary how to sing (like I know how to sing), but most of all I loved, and still love, the people. They were the best part of Lithuania. I send all of my love to Lithuania!! Happy one-year mark.

Little Red Riding Hood

This past weekend I did a little bike race with Caitlin, Caitlin Jayne, Ashley, Ali, and Ali's mom.  The race, Little Red Riding Hood, was up in Wellsville and went to Preston, Idaho.  We did the entire race, 102 miles.  I was good until about mile 82, at that point I was sure that my legs were going to fall off, mostly my knees.   I was determined to finish, even though the last 20 miles took me double the time.  It was a great feeling to finish, I was proud of everyone who participated.   Go team SAACC!!!

got to love LAKE POWELL!!

I was lucky enough to go Lake Powell again this weekend with some friends, we had a great time!

Once again, I love summer.

Clips-in & Lake Powell

This past weekend I went with Rachel, Catherine, & others (that I didn't know so well) to Lake Powell. I haven't had a chance to visit since my mission, so as you can imagine I was so excited to go. Even though the weather was a slightly chilly, it was still great to be in Powell and to waterski. I especially enjoyed spending quality time with Catherine and Rachel, we had great conversation the entire time.

As for the picture of the clip-ins...well, I just barely got some clip-in shoes for my road bike. Yesterday I went on a little ride with some friends and I thought that it would be the perfect time to try my clip-in shoes out, I don't even think that "clip-ins" is the right name for the shoes. So I got everything ready, go one foot clipped in and in the process of trying to clip the other shoe in I fell over. This was the first fall, which was proceeded by many other falls. At the end of the night I had fallen twice at 21 & 21, once at the beginning of the ride and once at the end, and four other times. I felt like a fool each time I fell and I laughed at myself. I wish that someone could have been recording me. Hopefully my next bike ride will be a little bit smoother. But I will add, that riding is much easier with these crazy shoes.

let me just end with saying...I love summer!

Happy Birthday Dad!

May 19...today is my DAD's birthday!  My DAD is the best in the entire world.  I have missed his birthday for the last couple of years and I can't wait to celebrate with him.  

Let me tell you why my DAD rocks....

1.  He can fix anything, he could build you a home or a car

2.  He shows love to everyone

3.  He loves the Utes, just as much as I do

4.  He cares about his family more than anything else

5.  He loves to camp and fish

6.  He made the best sack lunches out of anyone I have ever met, when I was little

7.  He taught me how to ski when I was 10

8.  He is one of the hardest workers ever

9.  He is the best DAD

I love you DAD, Happy Birthday!!

(For the picture, I know that it is a little blurry, but the facial expression is so typical of my dad...always happy.)

Did I hear someone say camping?

Since I start my new job on Monday, I thought that it was completely appropriate to go camping this weekend.  On Friday Ash, Caitlin, Caitlin Jayne, and I went to Moab for a little weekend trip. We got to Moab late Friday night, rock climbed early Saturday morning, and went through Arches on Saturday afternoon.  We got home late last night, so that we could celebrate Mother's Day today.  It was fabulous!!

Speaking of Mother's Day, I just want to say how much I love and appreciate my mom.  She is the best!  She is so patient with me and never stop loving me.  Happy Mother's Day Mom!!! 

Graduation!

Graduation for the University of Utah was on Friday and I walked with my class.  Even though I graduated in December of this past year, walking was such a memorable experience.  I guess that I just want to say thanks to everyone that made my college experience amazing.  I owe special thanks to my parents, my grandma's, the rest of my family, my professors, Chi Omega, the Alumni Association, ASUU,the administration, my friends, and the flat members which have all made my experience one that I shall never be able to forget.  I love the University of Utah, I will be a life-time fan.  I can hardly wait to see what comes next!  GO UTES!  Thank you to all!!  (As for the pictures:  (1) I love this picture with my dad, my mom, my step-mom, my brother Chase and me, this is the first time we have all been together in a long time.  (2) This is me clapping for the main speaker, Mario R. Capecchi, who spoke about global warming!!!)

Welcome to Williamsburg!!!!

My days are coming to an end for work, everyday at about 5:15 p.m. I start to go crazy.  I just can't handle sitting in my desk much longer.  There is no window to look out, no CNN to watch; it's just me, my desk, and the other intern-Josh.  We are both like little kids waiting for the school bell to ring, we try to find little projects to keep ourselves occupied for the remaining 45 minutes and tell funny stories to humor ourselves.  And it always seems as if at 5:59 p.m. someone comes around to my side of the room and gives me a new project to be finished before work ends.

I have gained a greater love for D.C. during the month of April.  If every month was April in D.C. I might not ever leave.  This past week one of my best friends was here to visit, Andi!  It was the highlight of my week, mostly we just watched the Jazz play, ate good food, and talked. 

This past week I also watched more sports than usual.  I have become addicted to watching the Jazz games, I feel as if they must win!  I think that this desire for the Jazz to win is my undying love for Utah and the excitement I feel for home.  I also attended a Nationals game, they actually won and I went to a D.C. United Soccer game.  Which was an experience within itself, I have never seen better fans.  At half time, they all rounded up in a circle; they screamed, clapped, and sprayed beer.

Yesterday I went to Williamsburg with Megan and her Mom.  It was a nice little road trip, we walked around the old city of Williamsburg, which is located right next to Jamestown, and heard old ghost stories.  You can't drive around the city of Williamsburg, you have to take a bus there and the city of full of tourists and locals dressed up as 18th century citizens.  The locals really get into their parts, it's rather humorous and inspiring.

Tonight I met with my book club, which is Kimball and Liz, Bobby came along.  I am sad to leave them.  It's funny that we call it a book club, because we never finished the first book we started but more than anything my D.C. experience has been fabulous because of these people. 

(The first picture is in front of the Courthouse in Williamsburg and the second picture is with my friend Lindsey from work; we shot M-16's in the bottom of the Capitol.)

Bitter-Sweet

My time in Washington D.C. is quickly coming to an end and usually when I end an experience, I have what one may say as a bitter-sweet feeling inside of me, but not this time. For the first time in a long time, I am ready for home. I am ready to stay in Utah for a little while, even though my time may only be one short month, I can hardly wait. I feel like I haven't been home for years and I am ready to come home and figure a few things out.

The best and worst part about coming home is graduation. Yes, I did already graduate in December 2007 when I handed in my 30 page thesis about the role of religion in Lithuania during the Communist era. At that moment, as I pushed my paper under Professor Judkin's door, I felt nothing but pure excitement, it was an end of an era. But I knew that I had D.C. waiting for me. Now as my D.C. experience comes to an end, I have no idea what lies for me in the future. I believe that the possibilities are endless. Each week I have a new plan, however this plan seems to only last days and I have changed my mind again. Here are a few of my ideas: Law School, Business School, PhD in Political Science, Investment Banker, flight attendant, a gardener, joining the Peace Corp, a professional reader (I wish), a financial representative for the state of Utah, working on the advance team for the administration, a letter writer, a staff assistant, a national forest employee, or working for the AIDS Foundation. As you can tell, I have lots of ideas, and not a single clue of what in the world I am going to do. So if any of you have ideas, please let me know. At this moment in time, I am really ready for just about anything.

Back to graduation, what exactly am I going to be celebrating? I was in college, but I feel as if my college years or the best of my college years were before my mission when I slept for just a few hours a night, was involved in every single association on campus, was in love with the U and still managed to pull-off decent grades. I was the most involved in school before my mission and since the end of my mission I was just in school. I was the normal commuter student involved only with the Alumni Association. So, I guess on Friday, May 2nd I will be celebrating the fact that I finished or maybe I should celebrate the fact that I don't have a real job yet. Don't worry Mom and Dad I will find a job I promise. Maybe I should celebrate that it's all over and it's time to move onto something new, scary, and exciting.

Since being in D.C. I have learned a lot about politics, but more than that I have learned that it will all work out eventually. I just have to keep on putting myself out there, keep on looking for something new, and keep on finding things to fall in love with and I will be happy. I have fallen in love with D.C. I love the Jefferson at night, I love the canal in Georgetown, I love the row boats on the Tidal Basin, I love the Metro when it goes to Virginia and the first thing you see is the city of D.C.-which stands for freedom, I love the National Cathedral, I love it when it rains and I wake-up to thunder, I love carrot cupcakes from Baked & Wired, I love Kramer's bookstore, I love running to the Mall past every single monument, I love that I saw a group of 100 protesters and 300 cops on Saturday, I love giving a tour at the Capitol and talking about Martin Luther King, Jr., I love the old man Ken that works in the basement of the Capitol, and I love so much more.

Since I got home from my mission, I have been living my life in four-month increments...four months of summer, fours months of school, four months of D.C. and now I am back just to where I started, four months of summer. I am excited to see what these next four months hold, it is like a big mystery and only time will tell. Life, what an adventure.

(As for the picture, this is a picture of the Nazi Protest I saw on Saturday in front of the Capitol celebrating Hitler's birthday. The craziest part was that there were Nazi protesters and anti-Nazi protesters and a million cops!)

Baseball and Fireworks!

Fireworks and Baseball!! This past Friday I went to a Nationals baseball game and had a fabulous time.  They lost to the Atlanta Braves, but there were fireworks after the game.  As my friends and I were walking back to the metro it started to rain, just like the rain in Lithuania, hard and long.  All the people tried to cram into the metro stop; babies were crying, rain was poring and everyone else was laughing.  

Saturday morning Megan and I ran down to the Mall to watch the Cherry Blossom's parade, just as we arrived we saw Timpview High School play, it was just wonderful.  After I went with my friend Lindsay to Georgetown and to the Japanese street festival.  Overall, I had an amazing weekend in D.C.

New York in the Spring Time!

This weekend I was in New York to see my good friend Liz!  We had so much fun!  Liz is one of the best people in the world, she makes you feel happy and excited the entire time you are with her.  My roommate Megan and I went up to New York on Friday night on the most ghetto Chinatown bus I have ever been on, the driver almost crashed five times.  Once we got into New York, Megan and I went to meet Liz at Radio City and we met Bill Hader from Saturday Night Live, it was rather exciting.

On Saturday Megan and I woke up early and took a FREE ferry to Staten Island, which goes right past the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.  That afternoon Liz, my cousin Kellen, and I went to a see a Yankees game, they lost.  After the Yankees game we went to Grimaldis Pizzeria in Brooklyn, which is the best pizza that I have ever had in America.  Last time I was in New York I ate there and I loved it so much that I had to take Liz with me this time.

After eating pizza Megan and I went to the musical WICKED and it was truly a magical experience, especially for Megan because it was her first time.  We had great seats and enjoyed every minute.  At the end of the day, it was the perfect day in New York.  We left early this morning to come back for conference, which was fabulous as always.

Kite Festival

The KITE FESTIVAL was amazing!  I was hoping that it was going to be just like the kite festivals in Afghanistan with kite battles and competition, but it wasn't quite like that. Although it was amazing with hundreds of kites flying over the mall.  Before yesterday I had never really flown a kite, I basically became a pro yesterday after making a fool of myself because my kite crashed into a group of people and I almost ran into a garbage truck trying to make my kite fly.  I went with my ward, Kimball, and John.  The Kite Festival is in honor of the beginning of the Cherry Blossom Festival, which is beautiful with pink flowers blooming everywhere.  

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter!  I went to mass at the National Cathedral on Easter with my cousin Kellen, Megan, Liz, and Kimball.  It was beautiful and early in the morning.  I was tired the rest of the day and accidentally feel asleep a few times during my church. 

My long lost cousin Kellen came to visit from New York.  I haven't seen him since before my mission.  We had a fabulous weekend.  We went to a jazz concert in the southeast area of D.C., we were the only white people at the concert.  It was awesome.  We also went into the Library of Congress and were allowed to go into the restricted area because of my job, which was exciting.  I took Kellen to my favorite area, Dupont Circle and went to my favorite bookstore, Krammer's. We went to the National Portrait Gallery to see the Stephen Colbert painting in between the women's and men's bathroom.  The weekend turned out to be a fabulous one.  I hope that you all had a fabulous Easter.

Utah People Working Together

"Utah, what a great place to be..."  This past weekend I was in Salt Lake.  I love it there so much!  I went home for Jeff and Whitney's wedding, which was on Tuesday.

My favorite part of Utah are the people.  While in Utah, I was able to see my Grandma Bev who is just fabulous.  She made my cousins and me french toast with bacon fat for breakfast, it was awesome. I saw my parents, which is always exciting.  I loved seeing Chase, I can annoy him in under twenty seconds; which is one of the reasons why I love him so much.  I had food club with some college friends.  I saw Andrew and Laura's new baby, Brayden, he is huge and so cute.  I hung out with Mitch, which was just wonderful.

This past weekend, I also skied with Mitch.  I was amazed by how much powder there still is in Utah.  Every time I ski, I have to remind myself that the likelyhood of me dying is very slim.  I get so scared skiing, I have no idea why; I have been skiing since I was little.  So when I ski, I ski so slow.  Good thing the people I ski with are patient with me.

The wedding was on Tuesday, Whitney looked beautiful and in love.  Jeff and Whit had their reception at Red Butte Gardens, which was perfect for Whit and Jeff; since Jeff is the biggest Ute fan in the entire world.  

I was sad to leave Utah on Tuesday night as I took the red-eye back to D.C.  I was  so tired yesterday at work, I even fell asleep at my desk.  Hopefully no one saw me.  

Basically I love UTAH!

Happy Birthday Kimball!

Life is good in the District, I have been working overtime so that I can come to Utah tomorrow.  I am so excited to see everyone!  

This past weekend, I went with two of my roommates and Kimball to Arlington Cemetery.  The last time I went to Arlington, Jenna and I were so lost that we didn't see most of the cemetery, even though we told ourselves we did.  The sun was shinning at Arlington and it ended up being a wonderful day.  Later that day I made smores with my friend Liz in her fireplace.  I felt just like we were in the Mountains, yea right.  

I think the highlight of my week was today when I saw Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.  I tried to wave at Obama, but he didn't see me.   

So today is Kimball's birthday, therefore I felt it completely necessary to have a picture to honor his birth.  Happy Birthday Kimball!

 

Lisa and Mount Vernon

This past week has been just great.  I have to mention how fabulous my Monday was, I was a missionary again, my greatest desire....j/k.  No seriously I went with the sisters on splits and I had multiple flashbacks of my mission and I felt great joy!

To continue with this week, my friend Lisa, who is from Bountiful, was in town on Friday night. We went to the Portrait Gallery and I met this awesome old woman just eating her food in the gallery, just kidding...she's not real.  

On Saturday I went to Mount Vernon for the third time, Lisa really wanted to go there.  It's a good thing that I have a season's pass.  Let me just say that it was quite an adventure to get to Mount Vernon which involved:  a long metro ride, a woman from Louisiana named Melody, one bus ride, a fake bus ride, a veterinarian clinic, and a nice woman who loves dogs.  After two and a half hours we finally arrived at Mount Vernon and I had met an amazing woman who wants me to marry her son.  I might have to pass.

My Favorite Places in D.C.

1. The Jefferson Monument...I have only been to this monument at night, but I have never seen something more beautiful at night without mountains. My first friday in D.C., my good friend Bobby was trying to drive me home and we got lost. We ended up at the Jefferson and decided to take advantage of the situation, it was a great introduction into D.C.

2. Mount Vernon...I have spent two days at Mount Vernon, which is in Virginia about 30 minutes away from D.C. I spent President's Day there with Bobby, who has been a life saver for me out here.

3. The National Cathedral...which is about a thirty minute walk from my house. It is the most amazing cathedral that I have seen in America. It reminds me of my time in Europe and of my mission in Lithuania.

4. Kramerbooks...this store is in Dupont Circle (three metro stops away from my house). This bookstore was recommend to me by a dear friend, and I have spent countless hours there with great friends. (www.kramers.com)

5. The Capitol...this is where I spend most of time and part of my job is to give tours, I love giving tours!

The D.C. Experience

I just moved to Washington D.C. about two months ago to do an internship up on Capital Hill.  I am having a great time and I am slowly but surely getting acquainted with the city.  Every once in while I miss my metro stop because I am to interested in reading my book and a couple of times I have just gone the wrong way. 

I am living with three new friends and enjoying every second.  One of my roommates, Boggs, loves to run with me and loves to be active with me every second of our free time.  Which is just what I need to make any experience complete.

I am brand new at blogging, but decided to start a blog to keep my parents updated on my life.  I love D.C., but nothing compares with the beauty of Utah.