Peace

Peace. A word we hear all the time but never really let it soak into our lives. I never appreciated it until the past few months. Peace is a companion I would alway like to keep in my life. No matter how rocky your road of life is, if you have peace with you then it'll be ok.

I have had a few trips and falls in my life, a few pits I've fallen in and stubbed toes. Right now looking back each one of those have been worth the pain, the bleeding and the tears. For they have all shaped me into who I am today. They all have also brought me closer to my Savior. The true companion that brings peace into my life. Walking with my Savior through out my life side by side is my goal, my life goal. He's my guide who see's my future and my past, that knows what's best for me. He knows what trips and falls will strengthen me and lead me to true knowledge and understanding.

In January I was laid off and was followed closely with a month of sickness. Following this to survive financially, I have been babysitting and being a mother's helper (my go-to when jobless) while waiting for a job. Most people would be very frustrated and down about this situation and in all honesty, I usually would be too. But there were two things in my life that made my attitude change: Peace and the Savior. I knew this is where he wanted me and I knew he has been guiding me.

I have been a happier person in a not-so-happy situation and I can only give credit to my Savior. I have learned a lot about myself and about life in these few months. What's important and what's not and what brings true happiness.

I am going through the temple on Saturday (3 days) to get my endowments taken out. A step in my life that has taken years but with the Lord slowly guiding me to. For so many years of my life I was scared to go through, for fear that I would never be perfect enough. Last fall I had a dear friend of mine get his endowments taken out. After a life of a lot of ups and downs he was able to go through. He told me something that I will never forget, "The temple isn't for perfect people. It's a place where imperfect people go to work towards perfection." This calmed my fears as the spirit testified to me that it was true.

I feel as though I'm taking a step away from the world and a step closer to my Savior and my Father in Heaven.

Once upon a time. . I was never good at blogging

Looks as though I don't have the talent of blogging. I've been inspired many times to blog when I stalk my friends blogs (in the best possible way. .)

Tons of things have happened to me since my new blog post. Here are just a few:

1. I got a new job in November 2010 at Newmark Knight Frank, a commercial real estate firm in downtown DC. What an experience! I've learned how to deal with rich high maintenance men.

(This picture is missing a lot of the people in the office)

2. A group of friends and I went to NYC for Thanksgiving in 2010 and decided pull an all nighter on the streets so that we could go a good spot to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. I must say it wasn't worth it ha ha. Maybe it's because I'm not a lover of parades. But I was able to check it off of my bucket list :)

3. I went home for Christmas and saw the family which of course is great!

4. February I took a day girls trip up to Philadelphia which is about 2 hours north of DC. We hit up Valley Forge but didn't last long there. It was very windy and FREEZING cold. So we ended up going into the city for the rest of the day. Walked around the city, saw the liberty bell, hit up some philly cheese steaks. . I must admit, it wasn't my favorite city. I was more scared walking around Philly then NYC.

5. At the end of February I took a trip to Cleveland, Ohio to visit a friend and had a surprise visit to see my brother Merrick and his family in Wisconsin on my layout (my second leg in my flight was cancelled because of weather).

6. I've had some fun times babysitting an amazing family. . The Ellis'. Abram and Kristin have become friends of mine and have made me a part of their family, they even invited me over for Easter dinner. I love their kids so much! Max is 5, Aviva is 3 and cute little Leo is 1.

7. One thing I must add it is something I have really come to dislike. . COMMUTING TO WORK. I have to take a bus to the metro station, which only comes every 30 mins so I have to time my commute just right, and then I have to take the metro into the city. All in all it takes about an hour from my doorstep to my desk. I leave to make the 7:30am bus and then get to work between 8:15-8:30.

8. In May, there was a church building put together for the singles in the Virginia area. It was an office building that the church gutted and changed into a three story church building. We ended up putting an open house together for the neighborhood and I was put in charge of a table that was about Family Home Evening (I'm FHE Co-chair in my ward).

9. My friend Brendan came and visited me in May. We went and visited NYC and I got to have an extra day off of work which was really nice.

10. During this spring and summer I have been able to help my friend Julie Jackson with doing hair at weddings out here. It has been tons of fun and it's be a good way to make some extra money on the side. My talent is slowly getting better and I have loved helping out brides and bridesmaids.

11. I got to go to DUCK BEACH again this Memorial Day. So much fun as usual. It was an amazing experience. A lot different than my first year. I got to meet so many more people this year from DC, NYC, Boston, Philly, Florida, San Francisco, Utah and Idaho.

12. A few weeks after Duck I went and visited a guy I met at Duck (well a week before Duck but got to know him at Duck) in Florida. We went to Orlando and spent a day at Universal Studios and got to see the new Harry Potter land. SOOO COOL!!

13. For the weekend of the 4th of July, my roommate Marjorie and I with a group of friends went down to a lake right outside of Fredericksburg, Virginia called Lake Anna. My boss Larry let me take his waverunner, which is awesome, but it gave me some problems. The good thing, is that since I grew up with waverunners and since I loved watching/helping my dad with the trailer and fixing them, I was able to figure out the problems with it :) After some oil and a new battery later, we enjoyed the rest of the day. . well besides the fact that the boat we rented was crap and died on us. . . I must admit though, I felt pretty. . handy during that trip. . I definitely was the one getting my hands dirty :)

14. On the 4th of July I went tubing down a river in Fredericksburg, Virginia with another group of friends. I saved a friends life (in her dramatized words) . . .we were in a mass tube called the "Relaxation Station" it fits at least 4 adults on it. . kind of fun . . at least until we got sucked up in a rapid and the middle of the tube ripped out and my friend Angela got sucked under... that's when I "saved her life". . it wasn't as bad as it sounds, but hey I can't complain... if I'm a hero, I'm a hero :)

15. On the night of the fourth of July, I lost the energy to go to downtown DC this year since it is sooo hard to leave the city after the fireworks. So I ended up hanging out with 2 of my friends in Arlington instead. We grilled some steaks, made some homemade brownies and relaxed. Then we made a quick trip to the Air Force Memorial and we watched the fireworks in between the memorial and the Pentagon. Much more relaxing then the last two years.

16. REDFISH!!! I got to go home and see the family and I must say it was the first time I was really excited to go back to Utah in quite a while. I'm realizing how much I've missed my family. Redfish was such a great getaway. My heaven on earth. . Redfish has been my heaven on earth.

17. 25th Birthday-Yup I'm a quarter century old. Kinda weird. . . I'm getting old ha ha. I don't regret my life. . so happy for all the blessings the Lord has given me. My wonderful friend Nathan threw a surprise party for me. . love him for that. . and I had tons of great friends there to support me.

18. My sister came to see me this weekend. She needed a getaway and I loved seeing her. My cousin Caitlin came as well. We got to hang out and "prep" for Hurricane Irene. I must admit, I am really starting to realize that the second coming is getting closer ha ha. . We had an earthquake on Tuesday and then on Saturday we were suppose to get hit by a major hurricane. Two things that don't happen in DC.

So that's the update of my life. Very long post, as usual. . . hopefully it entertains someone.

Hopefully I will post before then :)

Until next time!!