A day with Kate

We met to have lunch with our old roommate Hannah. It was fun to see her again; her year in France has changed her little. She is still as fun and funny as ever. Afterwards, knowing that the trip home would be pointless as I would just have to turn around and come back for our evening plans, we decided to hang out at the mall….Lol! Not something either of us has done in a while. We picked up tickets for a flick and with an hour and a half before the movie started decided to go shopping for a bit. Each of us got somethings to add to our wardrobe. From there we headed to our favorite spot for pedicures (with the added sea salt scrub). My feet feel fabulous, and look great as you can see. Toes should be red!

The movie that we had chosen was one Kate had wanted to see; Evening. I had heard of it but knew no more then the fact that it had Claire Daines and Meryl Strep in it. Kate described it as a “total chick flick” (not a rousing endorsement in my opinion).
If I had known what the movie was about I probably wouldn’t have watched it. Lol! I am not now, nor will I ever be, a big fan of things that make me cry.
My thoughts are rather scattered and I will need to gather them before I can write about this movie. Suffice to say, I thought it was amazing. I love Toni Colette and her character in this movie was someone I could understand. Her fears are those that I recognize in my life. I will probably watch it again some day, after it comes out on video and I can hole up in my room with no witnesses.

After the movie we headed to our favorite cafe to listen to the last performance by Barefoot. Perry is the amazing drummer of Barefoot and we took the chance to support him! It was fun to listen to them surrounded by friends. The music was great and the conversation was fun. (By the way Perry, I am holding you to your word, you are the only one will to see Pirates 3 with me, so we have to go. I can't NOT see it. Lol!) Kate and I were sad to leave, but with growling stomachs we headed to our final destination before the restaurant closed.....Peruvian Chicken! Yum!

All in all it was a good day. It is nice to have days that are full, though maybe a little less full would be good. Lol! I would like to be at least a little lazy sometimes.

DMV ...... Check

I guess I can't say I dislike them anymore. They were rather efficient yesterday and it only took me an hour of waiting! I know, I was impressed too. One more thing checked off my to do list. I will be able to get on the plane to go to my big sisters wedding next week and for that trip to Florida. Wahoo!

No Fear....Only Trust and Faith

There seems to be a reoccurring theme in my life right now. It started Saturday night with the advice of various friends: ‘Don’t be afraid and don’t worry.’ Sunday Morning dawned bright and early with a call to my big sister; her sage advice: Trust in the Lord and take things one day at a time. This was followed by a Sacrament Meeting with the theme of Trusting in the Lord. By 10 am I was sitting in a Catholic Mass listening to a fabulous gospel choir. The Homily was obedience and trust in the Lord, of course. Lol! Sunday afternoon, I was visited by the elders of my church, their lesson, can you guess? Yup, God loves me; I should trust in Him and not be afraid.

Today was my Institute class. Now one would expect a class on “The Lectures on Faith” to be about faith, right? Well tonight it was on the attributes of that God in which we have faith. Interestingly enough, there was quite a bit about trusting in God and our closing hymn ended with the words: “Fear departs when faith endures.” (LDS Hymn # 128) Lol! I think I have gotten the message. While I might not be afraid exactly about the choices I have made recently I am nervous. Nervous is allowed right? It’s not really afraid.

The lesson tonight was good. I do really enjoy the class.

Things of note…

• I got my first sunburn…summer is here and I officially have a farmers tan! Lol!

• I love my gym…I feel much better after having gone! I can’t wait till Sat to go again!

Hate is such a strong word….

So I will just say that I strongly dislike the VA state DMV.

The End.

What I want....

Tonight was my weekly institute class. Kate and I have decided to take the classes for the over 30 crowd, as they are having various bishops teach The Lectures on Faith from the School for the Prophets.

Sidebar for those readers that aren’t LDS:

• Institute is an LDS adult religion class mid week.
• Bishops are the local leaders of the congregations.
• The Lectures on faith are collected theological lessons used in the School for the Prophets
• The School for the Prophets was a gathering of various leaders in the early days of the LDS Church for secular and spiritual learning.

Now back to my thoughts….

The crowd that attends this class is always interesting and there are quite a few nuggets of knowledge that I take away from every class. Today, the bishop who taught said something that really made me think. (Paraphrasing): We should only do those things that we want to do. The trouble is that we should want to do what God wants for us.

I have thought about this all night. Many a times in my life I have wanted to do things that I know are contrary to what I have been taught is the will of God. Many times I have given in and done them anyway. Happiness never follows, as a matter of fact; unhappiness is usually nipping at the heels of these choices. On the flip side, there have been things I have wanted to do that which I know is in line with what God wants for me and I have not done it. Afterwards I am almost always angry with myself for my own laziness. So given the experiences I have had and the things I have been taught, why do I continually want to do those things that I know are contrary to God’s will? How do I make all of my wants coincide with what He wants for me?

I know the basic rote answers and for the most part I try to live those. I go to church, read my scriptures, and say my prayers. Granted I don’t do these things as often as I should and I have noticed that it doesn’t seem to be enough. I need to get back to where I was years ago, when I was burning with the fire of my testimony. I miss being like that therefore I am working my way back towards that; starting with the Lectures on Faith.

I Enjoy the Talented....

A couple of days ago Kuri blogged this

Since that day I have listened to it repeatedly. I seem to be in an opera mood and have therefore been listening to everything I have from that genre, which is sadly not much. Nessun Dorma continues to be one of my favorites; whether sung by the cell phone sales man Paul, Placido Domingo, Pavarotti, or the bounty hunter turned Opera singer, Carl Tanner. There is something to be said for the power of the opera…for the power of music really.

Last night I attended this year’s performance of River Dance at the Wolf Trap Theatre. (I will blog the pictures later; it was a co-worker dinner and a lot of fun) By the end of the show I was struggling to sit still.

I know Steph and others think I have an odd taste in music but when music is played well it can change your entire attitude. Good music finds a way into the soul. It can make me laugh or bring me to tears. I wish I was musically inclined in one way or another. Unfortunately I am one that must enjoy from the sidelines. I am grateful at least that I can enjoy so many varieties. Good luck to Paul Potts and his journey!

Anger and Emotion

I found myself angry today. There were reasons and all of that rot. My emotions ran high. When they reached a level I did not approve of, I picked up a book and retreated to another world. I recognize this as my personal escape mechanism. It is one I have used since childhood; escape the world in which you are, find a better place with a happy ending. It doesn’t make the problems disappear but it gives me the time to cool my head. Then once that is achieved you can look at things from another angle. Now I am going back to the world where the bad guys are all punished and the good guys get the girl.

My favorite color

Your Brain is Green

Of all the brain types, yours has the most balance. You are able to see all sides to most problems and are a good problem solver. You need time to work out your thoughts, but you don't get stuck in bad thinking patterns. You tend to spend a lot of time thinking about the future, philosophy, and relationships (both personal and intellectual).

What Color Is Your Brain?

The weekend…

So 2 DVDs, 4 books, many hours spent on the phone/IM, and watching old Law and Order reruns later and I am back.

This weekend my boss attended an out of state wedding, so I got to spend the weekend with Oscar and Lola…
Aren’t they adorable? And they are such cuddlers. If I sat on the couch or in a chair outside they wanted to be up in my lap. This was fine, as long as I had taken my allergy pills. It was nice to not have an agenda this weekend. There was no where I had to be, nothing I had to do. Just me and the weins….

Unfortunately, I have a weakness for good books and conversation…so I didn’t really sleep at all on Sat night nor take a nap on Sunday. Probably not my brightest idea as now I am exhausted. But well worth it…the bad guys all ended up either dead or in jail. Sophia Loren got her man, and Lara Croft kicked tail.

It was a good way to spend a weekend. I learned a lot...and definately enjoyed myself. Lol! Now it is back to the daily grind.

Birthday Lunch....

I think I have finally finished the Birthday celebrating. It was rounded out with a lunch with the girls from work. Definitely an afternoon to remember...Lol!


The group of us went to a place called Sweet Ginger in Vienna. It is an Asian place that has all the good stuff. From Sushi to chinese to Thai.....you can get it all.







As you can see there was lots of laughter and joy. We are a fun crowd. When you get us together with out the bosses some of them can really let loose.

It got especially fun when one of the younger girls spotted these gentleman at a nearby table. This picture was taken covertly so that she could have a keepsake of their attractiveness....or so she thinks. Lol! Sorry it is so grainy hard to be covert when your table is loud and obnoxious. Poor guys. Lol!

All I can say is that it was a good thing that HR was on lunch; even Kristin was a little shocked.

Looks like it is going to be a great year here in DC!

So months and months ago, my girlfriends and I decided to it was time to take a trip to Europe! I mean we are 28 if we don’t do it this year when will we.

Tickets were purchased, hotels scouted, tourist spots decided upon....we are ready to go.

Now we are applying for passports (yeah I know we should have done this last month…sue me I was busy).

Today I have come across two dilemmas:

First:
What color is my hair…I know officially it is Strawberry Blonde…but that doesn’t fit on the passport application? Many say I should just put red but other say blonde….What do you say?
Secondly:
What color are my eyes….I know that they used to change from Blue to Green. But I have always said green. Today some one told me Grey….some one else said Hazel? I think they are green…what do you say?

If I get these wrong will they not give me my passport? Lol!

Europe here we come!

On the Phones...

Once a week I answer the phones for our receptionists’ lunch hour. I started here as the receptionist and have always enjoyed answering the phone, so I don't mind slipping back into this role. But today has been one telemarketer/scammer after another. I have just spent the last 5 minutes on the phone with a pushy idiot. I have been in customer service/reception since I graduated high school and I am rather proud of my ability to recognize a fake call. I have little patience for a person who calls me wanting to speak to “his friend” Mr. So and So (who in reality a woman) or someone who calls telling me that they are in the middle of an important deal with So and So but no one has heard of the company. BAH! The ones I hate the most though are the people who call asking to verify employment. I mean come on people, how many times do I have to say it.

Blah Blah Blah….. Per our company policy, I cannot verify employment without written consent of the person in question! ….blah blah blah.

I swear , this last idiot made me repeat it every other sentence. By the time I hung up I wanted to scream. The only consolation is that he seemed just as frustrated that his “buddy-buddy please just let me know” personality did not get him the information he wanted.

Score one for me!

ARGH!
Breathe Deep….now back to work…..

I'm Just a Girl......

Some time we get down on ourselves for various reasons....It has been that way for me lately. Not that I have any reason, just because I am a girl and that is what we girls do every so often.
And then you get to hear things like today's 'Note from the Universe':

Oh boy, Rachel, are you ever going to laugh when you find out you were perfect all along...

Or these words from a good friend during a conversation this morning:

Wise, wise woman RaeRae....I knew you'd help me process

Now it is not that I believe that I am perfect...or really all that wise....but sometimes it is nice to hear that others don't think I am as foolish and silly as I do. Lol!

The birthday celebration continues….

After receiving my beautiful flowers last week the celebration has continued.

Saturday I fed the missionaries for my church Dinner. My great roommates and friends decided to through a little surprise party for me that night. Complete with cake and everything. I couldn’t believe it. I have some great friends. We then settled down for a night of Apples to Apples and the movie Oscar…Everything seems funnier when you are exhausted with firends. Lol!

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Today, was the actual day of my birth…While I still had to go to work, it was still a great day. My co-workers gave me flowers and we will be having a girls lunch on Thursday…..these are always full of laughter.

Tonight I went to dinner with Kate and Kim. Kate, with her amazing talent of knowing what I like, presented me with a collection of the works of Shakespeare. They are thin single volumes, which are perfect for me to carry to and from work. Thanks Kate!
Kim added to my DVD collection. I know have Empire Records on DVD. One of the greatest movies of all time…At least Kate and I think so.

I want to thank all of my friends and family for their cards, calls, and emails. I feel really blessed to have so many great people in my life.

Here’s to another great year!!

The words for today were Quirky and dilettante.

If I use the first definition of Dilettante (noun 1: an admirer or lover of the arts) and my sentence for the day becomes:

"I would consider myself a quirky dilettante."

How perfect is that. Lol!

P.P.S
“Love You Inside Out” by the BeeGees was the Number 1 song in the USA on the date of my birth…I know…I am glad that era is over too…lol!

Your Number 1 Hit can be found here…