Kari's Long-Awaited Return

Kari Nelson is now officially home from her Mission to Missouri! I am so grateful that I was home for this one, I've been so excited for the last 2 weeks. Sure thing, her talk was amazing, and her words only reminded me how amazing she truly is and how blessed the world was to have her in it. It took all my willpower not to completely dominate our conversations with "me-me-me" talk, only because so much has happened in the last 18 months. Regardless, I know that in the very near future, we will get together and catch up as if she had never gone.

Me and Kari at YSA Summit 2009

It gets even better, now that Kari is home, it means in 6 months her equally amazing twin sister Kaci will be home from HER mission in Germany. I cannot stress how blessed I have been to know these sisters, they have inspired me in so many ways, and I love them forever!

Kari, me, and Kaci -Summer of 2010

My Own Surprise!

When I got home from DC, this was waiting for me!

Go Lindsey!

Ian's Surprise!

Those of you who know me, know that my younger brother is named Ian. What you might not know is that I have a friend named Ian Doherty who is one of my best friends. After I left for DC, I noticed his FaceBook status' were sad :( so I wanted to do something special for him. One of his favorite shows right now is The Addams Family, and those who follow me know that I went to see this show in New York during my time in DC. Anyway, the fabulous Brooke Shields was starring as 'Morticia,' and long story short:

Surprise! Hope you like it Ian! :)

Update: I am still alive!

So, I realize it's been almost a month since I last posted. Sorry, something major came up.

I am back in Salt Lake, I left my internship 6 weeks early.

Reason: My Bubby died.

It was a difficult month for my family. First, my dad's father passed away on Oct 8. Two weeks later, my dad's brother also passed away. A week later, my mom's mother was admitted into the hospital. She'd had some major health problems, and finally went on Hospice to pass on with some dignity (her request). I booked my flight to come home on Nov. 5, and she died later that evening after I booked the flight. My mom didn't tell me until the next day. I was a wreck. Luckily, my wonderful friend Sandra took care of me. She let me stay with her that night, she made sure I actually ate food, and then she helped me get to the airport. It was the longest 5 hour flight I'd ever been on. My dad was happy to see me. It really put a lot into perspective.

It felt great to be home, regardless of the circumstance. Suddenly, I was in a sea of familiar and loving faces, instead of in a miserable black hole like I was in DC. I pulled it together for the funeral (or the Celebration of Life), but had a really hard time at the burial. It was hard to be there for my mom when I felt like I couldn't even be there for myself.

I really miss my Bubby. The hard part is when something happens, and my first instinct is to call and tell her about it. I never realized just how much of my life I shared with her, and how much wisdom she had to offer me. In the meantime, I have to remind myself what she told me, "I've had a full and happy life, and I love you very much."

New York, New York!

The Addams Family poster in front of the Lunt Fontanne Theater, yes that is snow you see falling. The first day it decided to snow was the only day I decided to take a day trip. I will say that the slushie snow was the only unfabulous part of the trip.

Sandra and I waiting for the bus at Union Station, 6:30am on a Saturday. After two DC buses, we boarded the Bolt Bus for a 4hr15min nonstop ride to Port Authority. I will say I have learned to have patience by being in DC, and I now have far more patience than I ever thought I would have.

Times Square, although in my mind I see it as the heart of Broadway, we did stop at McDonald's just so we could say that we had lunch in Times Square. There was a crazy protest going on while we had lunch, all we could see were umbrellas and hear people screaming excitedly. It was exciting!

Before the show, Sandra and I had about an hour to kill, so we did what any sane adults would do: got to the Time Square DISNEY Store!!! They had adorable Tigger ornaments, and since we both love Tigger, it seemed appropriate to take a picture.

I SO wanted to by a Rapunzel outfit, they were super cute and sparkly, but alas they were too small :(

At Cindy's Request...

I forget to mention some crucial details about our adventure yesterday.

First was Cindy's insane flirtation technique to which she promptly displayed by hitting on a group of Marines while we were waiting in the long line at the White House. She waltzed right up to them, and I watched in awe and amusement as she chatted up this group of 10-15 people. She is very charismatic.

Second was when we were at the Post Office, on our way down from the tower. One of the riders commented to his buddy that Amish country was the Utah of the East Coast. Cindy quickly rose to Utah's defense, and once again, I watched in both awe and amusement.

Cindy, I hope this post met the standard of your last request. :)

Me, Sandra, and Cindy in the Tower

A Cindy-themed day

All right, so we are halfway through the semester! One of the things on my To-Do list for DC was an obvious task 'Go To White House.' Today, we had our tour of the East wing at noon. It was a great activity and a fun opportunity to see all the other interns, we've all been crazy busy lately. Part of this greatness was that I got to visit with Cindy. Cindy is an intern from UVU at Rep. Cheffetz's Office, and she's the one who organized our tour.

After we finished the tour, we noticed a protest going on in front of the White House (by we, I mean myself, Sandra, Cindy, Talisha, and Matt). We watched for a few minutes, and then hit up the White House gift shop. I found all of the perfect DC gifts for for my family, especially for Max & Kate.

Cindy and Sandra and I continued our journey to the Post Office Tower, and stopped briefly for lunch in the food court (meatlover's pizza and lemonade). I purchased the perfect souvenir for myself, a rose-colored   pashmina scarf, before we went up to the tower. It was AWESOME!!!!!

Cindy then insisted that we go to the Capitol so she could give us a tour. We walked for what felt like forever, and arrived 30 minutes before closing. Cindy condensed her 2.5 hour tour down to 1/5 of the time, ridiculous! She did a great job. Pictures to come, as Cindy took all the photos of the day on her phone and promised to post them to FaceBook before the day was over. My feet are SO killing me.

*Added this morning by Cindy, here are the photos:

Me and the Capitol

Me and Cindy

Me and Sandra at the White House

Me and the Ike statue in the Rotunda

A girl and her cat

Not 15 minutes ago, I left my apartment en route to the lobby to facebook until our mid-semester meeting. As I locked the door behind me, I saw a girl coming down the hall, also heading to the elevator. She was carrying a large carry case, her large cat, and crying hysterically.

My first thought was that her boyfriend had just broken up with her and she was leaving. As we waited for the elevator, she called someone on her phone, and told them that she thought her cat had died. She was sobbing at this point, and my heart went out to her. She hung up the phone, looked at me, and through her tears apologized for making such a scene.

I asked her if she needed a hug, and she opened her arms. I hugged this complete stranger for a good five minutes, as she told me about how this cat was her baby, and that she had just moved out to DC and didn't know how to get to the 24-hr Veterinary Clinic. Her friend called her back with the directions, and I asked her if she needed any help with anything. She said no, but seemed to feel better that I had asked.

Her cat looked like my old cat Lucky, only he was rather large, kind of like my cat Sugar Ray. My initial reaction to seeing her was to say "I like your cat" as I myself miss my pets in SLC like crazy. I'm glad I instead offered her a hug instead of complimenting her cat.

The whole scene just reminded me how easy it is to offer someone a seemingly basic action (a hug) and how much it can help them. My heart broke for her, I hope she will be okay.

On My Own

So today was the Utah/Pittsburgh game at Pittsburgh; half the interns went up to catch it, and another group went on a day trip to Shenendoah Valley. I refused to stay in my apartment all day, so I went on an adventure. I started at the Smithsonian Castle, and then made my way to the Freer Gallery, with a sidestep to the Hirshhorn Sculpture Gallery. From there, I walked to Chinatown to see the American Art and Portraiture Gallery (National Portrait Gallery). Then I got hungry, so I walked from Chinatown to Union Station and went window shopping before buying a delicious Turkey sandwich and oatmeal chocolate chip cookie from Potbelly's. Finally, I decided it was time to come home. I followed my long day of cardio up with a hour nap and then 2 hours at the gym. Next weekend, we have the White House Tour, and the weekend after, it's NEW YORK!!!!!!!

Photo and Video of the MLK-themed protest

Smithsonian Institution-The Castle

Freer Art Gallery on the Mall

National Archives statue

Exhibit in the Portrait Gallery

MJ cartoon, way cool

Madonna quote on the wall, love it!

Nightseeing

So, Sandra and I went out to see the memorials at night yesterday, and here are a few highlights.

This is the view of the Washington Monument from the Lincoln Memorial

Hello Mr. Lincoln

White House at night

Me and the White House at Night

Overall, we had a ton of fun. I fee like we walked forever, but by the time we got home we were totally beat and ready to sleep for a day or two. It was a bit annoying on the way home, only because the train wasn't running to our stop, so we had to take the long way home on the Metro. Other than that, it was a fun activity to end the killer week with.

Touched By An Angel

It's crazy, I feel like I've been simply spinning my wheels for the last three years. Never stopping to breathe, never stopping to think, never stopping to feel; it wears you down after awhile. Being busy, so busy, you never really stop and be honest with yourself.

If you could look at yourself in the mirror, take it all in, and be truly honest, what would you say to yourself?

I'm sorry. I'm sorry I never gave you a chance to feel anything the right way; heartbreak, heartache, or even to let someone love you. I'm sorry I ignored your concerns and fears, and pushed aside your spiritual needs. I'm sorry that I lost track of what real happiness is. I forgot what it felt like to feel anything, not knowing what to do about it, and constantly forgetting to let you heal.

I'm sorry that you don't know how to love because of me. I should've tried harder the first time to put your broken heart back together, and given you more time to understand love in general. I wish that it wasn't my fault that you can't trust others, or be entirely honest with anyone.

I'm sorry I stopped listening. That's changed.

An angel came out of nowhere, kicked down my door, and let me have it. I love you, so why would I knowingly and intentionally hurt you just because? This angel was just one of the many, but the only one to look me square in the eye and say, "What are you doing? Seriously, why?" I don't know why she came to me out of nowhere, out of the blue, to me, right then and there. But I understood.

Dear Me, I'll be better. You deserve the best, the highest honored respect, and all the love and happiness anyone could ever desire. I promise I'll be better, because I love you so much. Thank the angel, every day, every night, and never forget how it feels to be this way. Ever again.

Obsession: The Addams Family Musical

Okay, so immediately following my first Theater Singing class with Ian D, The Addams Family Musical premiered on Broadway.

I downloaded the soundtrack just because it sounded interesting, and, sadly, I didn't fall in love with it.
However, it has become one of my main musical squeezes out here when I ride the Metro. Because of this, I am now determined to hop a bus to New York and see it at the Lunt Fontane theatre at some point in time this month (October, Halloween, etc). When I do this, I plan on waiting outside the back entrance to convince Brooke Sheilds (who is currently playing Morticia) to sign a playbill for Ian D. I have made this a mission, now all I need to do is pick a date and swipe my credit card.

I will say that I am aprehensive about traveling to New York alone, but I honestly believe that this endeavor would be one worthwhile.
For your entertainment, below is a performance of the show's opening number.

I will complete this mission, if not for me, then for Ian D!

Saturdays in DC

So, I realized that I had not posted last week :'( Very bad form on my part. So this week's posting is more or less a double dose of my DC adventures.

Last weekend, Ash and I hit up the Greek Festival, very briefly, at our neighborhood Greek Orthodox Church. Afterward, as we walked home, we were hit on by three 8-yr-olds. Oh my, can you say 'Jailbait?'

Then today, Sharalyn and I hit up the National Museum of Natural History before we went to the Book Festival on the Mall.

The Hope Diamond, gorgeous as ever, and I had to explain to Sharalyn that they probably used an imitation rock in Titanic

What does the Crystal Ball see for your future??

The Triceratops skeleton

Crouching, I mean Pouncing, Tiger

Sleeping Cats

At the Mall for the Book Festival

The Magic School Bus (right) and Ms. Frizzle reading to the kids

It was a great day. I love hanging out with Sharalyn, and we may become Sightseeing-Buddies. I'm almost half-finished with my list of places to visit while in DC. Stay Tuned!

Zoo Videos

Hungry Panda Eats Large Skinny Tree

Ginger Monkeys, who according to Ashley have people faces

Angry Pacing Tiger, it might have been dinner time

Baby Monkey follows parent around like a shadow

American History Museum

After we went to the Newseum and the Sculpture Garden, we went to the Smithsonian American History Museum. Again, some highlights of the day:

Catwoman Suit

The Original Muppets!

Bill Clinton's saxophone

Ike's coin collection

Lindsey for President!!

Mamie Eisenhower's Inaugural Ball Gown ensemble

Michelle Obama's Inaugural Ball ensemble

Me and the Clinton's

Julia Child's kitchen

The History of the Pill

Me and Talisha

Me and some random genius

Election Swag from the 1940-1950s