Waiting for My Marshmallow

Today has just been one of those days.  You know, the ones where everything seems to fall apart without your permission?  Since when was it OK for life to force me to grow up?  The days of childhood call back at me all too often saying, "you should have appreciated those lazy summer days more", and "you shouldn't have worried at age 10 about doing the responsible thing".  Little did I know at the innocent age of 10 that I would have to do the responsible thing for the rest of my life.  If I could tell my 10-year-old self, or even my 15-year-old self, one thing, I would say: "play, create and imagine more and don't worry about growing up, you will have plenty of worrying to do as a grown up".

Being an adult is not as glamorous as my childhood imagination thought it would be.  Sure there are perks like having a cute husband, eating ice cream whenever I want, staying up late, earning my own money, and having the freedom to make my own choices.  But to each perk there is a downside (except for the husband part, that part is always good) and reality tends to set in. 

Since our move to DC, it seems like we are constantly batting one obstacle over the next, like a marathon ropes course.  We basically live in the most simplistic way possible, I sometimes joke and call it survival mode, but it kind of is that way.  We live without luxuries like Internet (gasp), cable, a microwave, fancy electronic kitchen gadgets, the latest and greatest cell phones, and more that I probably don't even realize now.  I usually don't miss these things.  Until something breaks, like a laptop, a DVD player, or today, our only car, whose engine has been deemed unsafe to drive.  Then it seems that all I can focus on is what we lack, and figuring out how to finance replacing these things without having to go into debt. 

Fortunately, I have a great husband who says things like, "We'll figure everything out and feel good that we can overcome obstacles."  And I know I picked a good man.  Because while waiting for our marshmallow can be difficult, I know that continuing in patience is a godly attribute. 

"Often the deep valleys of our present will be understood only by looking back on them from the mountains of our future experience. Often we can’t see the Lord’s hand in our lives until long after trials have passed. Often the most difficult times of our lives are essential building blocks that form the foundation of our character and pave the way to future opportunity, understanding, and happiness." -President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

The Empowering Factor

Lately I have been pondering a lot on how to more effectively enable myself to achieve the great things I know I am capable of.  In terms of success, I would say I have achieved somewhat average to most standards.  I have luckily been able to track my progress from college graduation, to my move to DC, to my incredible (in my opinion) internship, to my first full-time salaried job, and now on to my second job experience.  I have not been immune by any means to hardships along the way, I can assure you there have been many difficult and trying circumstances to overcome.  But I am glad that I can see the slow upward movement toward better things. 

I am a firm believer that we can achieve anything we put our minds to.  I know I stand in my own way when it comes to pursuing my dreams, it is nothing short of a mental challenge, but it's in the action that dreams are achieved, and it's the action itself that I am always intimidated.

Today I watched a short talk that inspired me to "throw down the pom poms and get in the game."  It's empowering to hear the stories of people who have started from the bottom and worked their way to the top.  This particular video talked about "disrupting yourself" in order to open possibilities. 

Watch, learn, and feel empowered!  I know I am currently on an 'empowerment' high , although I think sitting at work eating a square of dark chocolate might be the antithesis to the message this speaker gives :) but I am examining my life to find ways to disrupt myself!

The Day I Fainted During the President's Speech

I have always loved American holidays.  I especially love the ones where we honor those who have served, or are currently serving, in the military on behalf of our beloved country.  Living in DC has continuously reminded me to appreciate our freedoms and those who defend those freedoms.  Which is why I wanted to celebrate this Memorial Day by taking a walk through Arlington National Cemetery.

Eric and I headed out our front door to walk to the cemetery entrance gate in Ft. Meyer, which is only a 10 minute walk from our door to the gate.  We were told by the guards that the cemetery was not open for walkers until later that day, and that we must board the military bus at the gate to take us in to the Memorial Day service. We had not planned on attending this service, but decided on a whim to go for it. 

Once we got to the cemetery amphitheater, which is a beautiful marble structure, we found a shady little spot on the rim to stand while we waited for the President and the First Lady. We came prepared with sunscreen and plenty of water to combat the high heat/humidity/haze index for the day. 

Upon the President's arrival, we heard the 21 gun salute and waited for him to lay the wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier before his speech.  At this point, I was feeling extremely hot, dizzy, and nauseated, but I was determined to make it through.  Just as the President was making his way to the lectern, I leaned over to Eric and told him I needed to exit the premises immediately.  Within three steps of trying to weave my way through the crowd, I fainted and fell into a marble pillar and the hands of complete strangers. 

No more than 30 seconds has passed before a military medic came to escort me to the Red Cross tent.  (These guys are on top of things, let me tell you.)  As I held on to his arm to go down the stairs, I fainted again, and they had to send another military medic to help him carry me (I promise I do not weigh as much as a cow).  Maybe it was my foggy head, but I swear these men were twice the size of Eric in height and stature.  They wouldn't let Eric help carry me down (and he is not lacking in the muscle department.)  Once I got to the Red Cross tent, I was informed that I was the first person of the day to faint, and once one faints, they all start fainting.  Wonderful for me, as I was incredibly embarrassed to have even fainted at all, let alone be the first domino to start the trend.  But I must say, I got excellent treatment from these EMT's. They took all my vitals, gave me lots of water to drink, and monitored me frequently.  Being a healthy person who carries water everywhere I go, I was shocked to be that person who fainted due to heat and dehydration.

But while most people celebrated their Memorial Day thinking about their gratitude for the military, I got to put them to work in saving my helpless, fainting self.  I didn't get to see the President give his speech, but I did get to thank two active military medics and several Red Cross EMT's in person at Arlington Cemetery.  At least now I have a good story to tell about the day I fainted and had to be carried off by two military men during the President of the United States' speech.

Epic Fail Moment

This weekend started out to be an adventure from H-E-double-hockey-sticks. I had a training workshop to attend this weekend that I was REALLY looking forward to.  I had been preparing for this training for a couple of weeks, and literally busting my bum to learn everything. I woke up at 2 a.m. Saturday morning to find that the Ice Princess had visited the land of D.C. I fell back into a shallow sleep until I realized I should probably get up and ready earlier than planned.  Eric thawed the car out and we were off right on the dot at 7 a.m.  We passed several cars sliding off the road, and even a minor car wreck.  (People out here don't know how to properly drive in the snow. It makes those of us who have lived in place like Idaho go crazy!)  Just when we were about 4 miles away from the final destination, our car started wobbling and making a strange sound, so we pulled over to the icy, icy shoulder to find our car had a flat tire. Being the man he is, Eric started to change the tire- on the icy shoulder mind you- when the jack lost its gripping and the car fell on it.  (Thankfully not on him!)  I started to get really cold, you know sitting in the car while my husband braved the weather outside in non-waterproof clothes, so I went to turn the heater on.  The car was dead.  So now we had a flat tire, a broken jack, a dead car, and no AAA service. We called a tow truck to help us with their nifty tools, and $95 and two hours later we were back on the road.  When I arrived at my training, almost 2 hours late, they turned me away.  I was so sad.  All that preparation down the drain.  I saunterd in my Charlie Brown way back to the car, and we headed home. And of course, Murphy and his law wanted to join the party, so right as we pulled in the driveway, my phone rang and it was a woman from the training telling me they had decided to let me attend.  Too bad I was already an hour away, and would be even more behind than the rest of the class.  FAIL.  Boy do I hate the Ice Princess.

At least they said they would refund me or put me in the next training session.  So after that depressing event, Eric and I stayed in our P.J.'s all weekend watching The Big Bang Theory in our snuggie's, only getting up to order Chinese food. 

Cheers to 2012

The start of 2012 means a lot of things. Goal making, starting over, breaking bad habits, forming new ones. It's a fresh start. And I love that about the new year.

I need to revive this little blog of mine. I have found it hard to keep up with the blogging world, but I am committing to writing more blog posts this year. (Last year I didn't blog once, so I am already beating my record! I love to win.) Maybe if I am on top of my life, I can actually find the time to post pictures on here for memory's sake.

So I am raising my glass of sparkling cider, and cheering to a better year of blogging.