Saturday:

Another day of sleeping in.  Which is probably for the best, seeing as this was a crazy-ass weekend in DC.  Seriously, there was the Marine Corps Marathon (*cough, cough, overachievers, cough, cough) and the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear, plus other stuff.  Wait, speaking of the Rally, have you seen the signs that were there?  HILARIOUS!! I love funny people, and people who don’t take themselves seriously.  M and I did some errands and then got ready for a housewarming/Halloween party.  We aren’t big Halloween people, so this was just our speed.  I went as Liz Lemon (hello, I’m practically her), and M went as Rachel Berry.  We practically closed the party down and it was just so much fun.  Also, I now have about 10 pounds of dirt cake sitting in my fridge that M and I made.  Yeah…its probably not all going to get eaten.  So, love/happiness/gratitude for the day:  I love those perfect fall days that are like something you read in a novel.  You can smell the leaves in the air, the crispness in the air slightly tugs at you, and you can just tell its a fall day.  Aren’t those the best?  All you want to do is sit on a park bench with hot apple cider or hot coco, and read a book and people-watch.  I love fall days.  I wish they lasted slightly longer here in DC.

Sunday:

M and I both slept in WAAAYY too late on Sunday.  Like, embarrassingly so.  Hahaha.  Anyway, we went to see Easy A (M had already seen it, but graciously went with me to see it again) and I LOVED it!  Seriously, go see it.  Now.  And I love Emma Stone.  I think she’s absolutely hilarious.  Anyway, then we went to Mass on Georgetown’s campus.  I’ve done it a few times, and I absolutely love it.  It reminds me of Mass at Spring Hill College, my undergrad.  I have missed Mass that is geared to people my age, and Georgetown.  Love/gratitude/happiness thought of the day:  I love seeing new initiates come into the Catholic faith.  At Mass, they had the candidates for baptism and confirmation stand in front of the congregation at the beginning of Mass.  I just love seeing grown adults make that decision in their lives.  I’m a ‘Cradle Catholic’, so I’ve just sort of…taken it for granted, I guess?  So I just love that these adults have prayed and thought about this for so long, and are taking that jump.  I love being Catholic.  I don’t agree with all of it (hello, I’m not a robot), and I don’t know all of the dogmas and beliefs, but I love seeing join that family that I am apart of.  Warms my heart.

Monday:

Had to work while M went to the outlet mall.  Which totally stinks.  Anyway, we decided to go to PF Chang’s in Ballston for dinner.  YAY!  However…not going to lie, the food was sort of a letdown.  Oh well.  But the company wasn’t!!  And my love/gratitude/happiness thought of the day:  compliments that came out of nowhere, from an unlikely source.  Well, it wasn’t unlikely.  It was from M.  But…you know we have these great conversations and fun and just laugh all the time and make fun of boys and dream about our futures together.  We are rarely…serious in our compliments to each other, if that makes sense.  We’ll be like, YOU’RE HOT!!!’ when one of us is feeling down or something, but…we were talking at dinner, and at one point she just said, sort of nonchalantly and almost under her breath, ‘You’re so pretty.’  Or something like that.  It just caught me off guard.  And I was extremely taken back by it, and grateful, I guess.  I rarely think of myself like that, and it was just a great pick-me-up to hear it.  THANKS, M!! I LOVE YOU!!

Tuesday:

Had to take M to the airport.  Whomp whomp.  It felt like she was here for a long time (in a good way), but then all of a sudden I was dropping her off at the airport.  Sad news.  So…while not much happened that day, my love/gratitude/happiness thought of the day was: lazy afternoons.  You know the ones where you lose track of time, maybe nap for a little bit?  I love those.  And since grad school ended…I’ve had quite a few of them.  Probably a few too many.  Oh well.  I honestly think I deserve it.

Today:

Just worked.  And that’s about it.  Oh, I think I might have been a victim of a phishing scam, that’s awesome.  But I called my bank right away and changed some security settings on my profile, so hopefully that’ll help.  Just sucks, because as soon as it happened, I was like…seriously?!?  How the hell did that just happen?  What was I thinking??!?!  But anyway…love/gratitude/happiness thought of the day:  I love my customers, the people I work for.  Of all the groups in my overall group, they are clearly the best.  They are funny, uplifting, patient, and just overall great.   While the job I have right now isn’t my dream job by any means, they make me love it.  They really do.  Especially when they call me and talk about McRibs all morning long, and get fake mad at me when I seem repulsed at the idea.

Today we saw Life As We Know and I liked it.  Cute, had heart, and a predictable ending.  For once, I’d love to see a movie with a neurotic, Type A, control freak GUY and an easy going girl.  I mean, I’m sure there are some out there (that I’ve even seen), but for the most part it just seems to be crazy women and easy-peasy guys.  Oh well.

We also did a favorite past time of ours- driving around the monuments and memorials at night.  And it was such a magical fall night.  Crisp air, not too much traffic, and just a great time marveling in this great city.  LOVED it.  Now, its 80s movies marathon, cupcakes, and pajamas.  Friday nights with Riester girls are ca-ca-crazy!!!

Today’s gratitude/love/happiness entry:  simple emails that brighten my day.  Case in point- the other day I got one from my mom.  One sentence: “I miss you”.  It was perfect.  Just a simple sentence to let me know she was thinking of me.  And I loved it.  Hope you get those, too!!

So tonight’s gratitude/love/happiness post should come as no surprise.  I am so, so, SO grateful for the love in my life that is Mandy.  In case you’re new to the site, I talk about her all the time.  She’s my oldest and closet friend, and just happens to be my cousin.  She’s the greatest and most self-less person I know, and when we’re together, we’re in our own world.  Just laughing, making jokes, posing thought provoking questions and statements (“…I don’t know that I’ve ever had a fresh apricot…”) and try to get through our catastrophes together.  When we’re together, we like, morph into the same person.  I imagine that’s how my life will be one day with the man I marry and want to spend the rest of my life with.  That’s what I need…the male equivolent of Mandy.  That’s all I ask for.  Lots of love, laughter, and loyalty.

Anyway, this is super short since she’s right here next to me, and I don’t want to waste time by not laughing with her!  Hope everyone reading this has that one great, amazing person in their life they can say anything to, ask advice on anything, and just be their absolute selves around.  I know I’m an extremely blessed person!

Anyway…the project I want to do on here is…a happiness/love/gratitude project.  I realize this probably isn’t terribly original, but I want to do it.  Every day, I want to jot down a little something that I love, or am grateful for, or makes me happy.  I’m a huge believer in positivity brews positivity, so I don’t want to be negative or bitter any more.  Sure, something awful happened to me, and my heart was shattered and I was in more pain than I’ve ever known in my life.  But there are worse things happening in the world than my heart getting broken and being betrayed by someone I trust.  And I need to remember that.  Luckily, a huge bit of drama is out of my life, and I need to do my best to not get wrapped up into stupid stuff any more.

So here’s my Inaugural Happiness/Grateful/Love post (I really need to come up with a better name.  Now taking suggestions!):

I am extremely grateful for my cousin, Jason’s daughter, Starcie.  She was born in December, 2009.  And today she had to have heart surgery, to fill a whole in her heart that she was born with.  I think at this point in her life, she’s been in the hospital more times than being home.  This is a recent picture of her, when she was stable enough to leave the hospital and come home:

Sweet Starcie

Her cheeks are swollen because of the steroids she has to take, and she’s on a respiratory.   But those of us who have seen pictures of her up to this point, she looks amazing here.  Her life has been a struggle so far, and she’s only 10 months old.  All I do is pray for this little child because she shouldn’t have to know such hardship before her first birthday.  Her parents deserve to be worry-free and care-free.  It just puts my petty issues into perspective.  So, today I’m a grateful to God, and for Starcie.  Because she had risky heart surgery today that the doctors were split on, trying to determine if it was worth it to pursue, or if she wouldn’t be able to pull through it.  But she did.  She pulled through.  She proved those doctors wrong.  And I’m so grateful for that.  I want that child to be healed, I want her to be a miracle, and I want her to experience life.  I want her to see the seasons and holidays and have crushes and read books that will take her places she can’t even dream of.  I want to talk to her in later years, and tell her how much I love her, even though I might not seem like a close relative.  I want her to know how amazing her older brother is, and how strong her parents are.   She comes from a family of fighters, and I want to watch her grow in her precious life.

Well…here’s my ‘glorious’ return to blogging, I guess.  Nearly a year later, and so much has changed.  At the beginning of the year, my ‘great’ boyfriend revealed that six months prior, he had cheated on me.  With the worst possible person I could imagine.  And while everyone around me said, ‘At least he told you”…I just wanted to laugh.  And cry.  Because who does that to someone?  Who betrays them in the worst possible way?  Who makes someone believe their crazy when they get that weird feeling like someone isn’t right…but they are the crazy ones.  I will NEVER.  EVER.  make someone feel like that.  But I guess that’s my burden in life.

Quick run-down of my 2010 so far: Winter: one of the harshest in my life, ever.  Physically…emotionally…mentally.  Arg.  Its painful to think about it again.  I was miserable.  It was all blizzards and heartbreak (hello, awesome title of song).

Spring:  things start turning around.  I didn’t cry as much…and work was awesome.  Had a new hire to take the crap jobs off my hands, and I got to go to Hawaii.  Twice within a period of a month.  Started feeling like my old self.

Summer:  a haze.  It was my last semester in Grad school.  Most Friday nights were spent in the library.  I’m not proud of it, but hey, I’m 26 and now have my Master’s from Georgetown.

Fall:  Travel once a month for work.  Hanging out with new friends.  Weddings galore.  Well, really, only two.  And one was in August, so I don’t know if that counts or not.  And plus…I’m writing this in October.  Definitely still fall.  So……..I’m a work in progress.  Things have gotten better.  Hey, I got to go to Hawaii again last week for work. I know, I know…go ahead and hate me.  But honestly, it was different this time.  I was like…jaded or something.  And sick.  And got a laceration on my foot from surfing.  And found out, thanks to a lovely co-worker, that the ex is now dating my ex-roommate’s (and his) sister.  Its just…funny how someone who once said they wanted to wanted to marry you, then hurt you, can move on so quickly.  Funny.

Alright.  No more Debbie Downer.  I’m excited to be done with school…although terrified to try for a job in PR.  Besides, I love my current job.  My customers are awesome, I’m still being challenged, and hello, I get to go to awesome places.  Also, I’ve been hanging out with high school friends lately, which I also love.  Its not that I long for ‘glory days’, its just…we all have this bond.  We grew up in this great place, at a great time, and have wonderful memories of it.  It makes me love being around these people all the time because we GET it.  We just get each other, probably like no other people.  Its refreshing.  And it warms my heart.

In other news, I get to see the greatest person I know this weekend!  AND its the second time this month!  That’s right, Mandy will be here!!! WOO HOO!! Honestly, I feel bad for people who don’t have someone like Mandy in their lives.  Someone who lights up your day with just their laugh.  Who understands you, but calls you on your bullshit.  Who challenges you in ways you never see.  And who will tell you you’re beautiful and lovely, even when you’ve been crying for days on end.  People who don’t have someone like must be left wanting.  I’m sorry they don’t have a Many.

Some friends from work and I joined a Skeeball league.  HA! Tonight was the second game of the season, but my first.  And it was fun.  And I was awful!  But it was nice talking to new people…putting yourself out there.  I’ve really missed that.  For the past two years, I was in a bubble.  Now, I’m branching out on my own (well, with friends), and I love it.  After all, isn’t life about hiding and retreating.  I’m in my mid-20s.  I need, should be living my life.  And its about time I get back to it.

So that’s my glorious return.  Sorry its a bit of a downer…but its the truth.  However, I’m thinking about trying something new.  Like, a project on here or something.  Something celebrating everyday life.  Its a work in progress, but I’ll get back to you soon.  In the mean time, I’ll leave you with what I used to do.  An album I love:

I fell in love with this album in undergrad.  Its haunting and beautiful and….perfect.  I just started following Joe Firstman on Twitter, and he has some great new material out.  Anyway, its hard for me to pick a favorite on this album…but I’d have to say…I love “Car Door”.   I just love the tortured, hopeful yet depressing sounds on this album.  Its a great one, for sure.

Much love to my 2 readers.   Sorry about the lack of posting this past year.  I promise to be better.

This past weekend was the first one in a while (two weekends) that I actually spent at home.  And it was a glorious feeling.  It was wonderful to  just. do. nothing.  I did tons of laundry, went through a bunch of stuff and got rid of things I don’t really need to be holding on to, and even rearranged my bookshelf.  I realize this last one sounds particularly nerdy, but I’m so excited about it.  A) I have waaay too many book because I just love to read (even though its been a while since I have for pleasure), and B) have always organized my books on a book shelf by height.  But recently, I kept seeing in magazines and on home improvement blogs with books organized by COLOR.  So I rearranged my books to a fun, haphazard new way by color.  And every time I walk by my bookshelf now, I smile cause I just love it.  Anyway, onto the catching up:

The weekend of October 9-11, I was in New Orleans because my best friend from college, LindsayBlair Griffith got MARRIED!  Oh my gosh, she’s such a big girl now.  Anyway, it was great seeing her, her whole family (whom I love dearly), and especially catching up with my good college friend, Maura, whom I’m awful with keeping in touch with.  It was great just talking to her and remember great college memories.  Anyway, it was such an honor to be a bridesmaid for Lindsay, and be a part of her big day (and getting all done up was awesome- hello, fake eyelashes!  You are my new best friend!  Sorry, M!).  Here’s a pic (from my phone) of our beautiful bouquets (for the record, I love these as wedding colors): 

Aren't they beautiful?

Also, here’s picture of Lindsay’s cake:

Sooo delicious!

 I absolutely loved the detailing on the side (my camera on my phone doesn’t do it justice) and how the cake tasted, of course!  Apparently there were three different flavors among the four layers, but I only had the vanilla cake with strawberry filling.  It was soooo good.   Lastly, my date for the evening:

The Wonderful MaryParker!

I LOVE Mary Parker.  She’s a close family friend of Lindsay’s (Linds always babysat for her, and works at her parents’ jewelry store in the French Quarter).  MP insisted at the beginning of the wedding that she wouldn’t be dancing later in the evening.  But, oh, did I get her dancing!  She was so cute in the limo, mimicking how me and other bridesmaids were dancing in our seats.  She was sooo cute on the dancefloor just twisting about, and followed me everywhere.  I love that girl to death!  She made the cutest flower girl/junior bridesmaid.

Ok, so after my completely exhausting weekend to NOLA, the following weekend was Mandy’s fall break from intense nursing school, so I had booked a flight out to see her.  It was fun being back in Kansas, at what is pretty much my second childhood home.   I love just being there, and hanging out.  It was wonderful to hang out with my Aunt Jill.  I love her so much.  The great thing was, my dad had been out there for work that week, and changed his flight to stay an extra day.  So I got to see my daddy! ! YAY!  I miss that kid so much.  But I’m so proud of him because he’s QUIT SMOKING!! WOO HOO!  My biggest, longest prayer I have wanted my entire life has come true.  Thank. Goodness.  Anyway, that Friday night, we had a father-daughter dinner, with me and my dad, and Mandy and her dad.  We went to this awesome place called Yard House which had Strongbow on tap (EEE!!! My favorite!) and AMAZING classic rock playing.  We were all saying the songs within seconds of it coming on, and my dad even challenged albums on which said songs were on.  And I totally got a few right.  Go me!  It was just so much fun.  And, I’m not going to lie, comedy-wise, I was on fire.  I nearly made my dad cry from laughter TWICE!! That, my friends, is a victory in my books.  After dinner, Mandy and I decided to go suprise her brother, Alex, at work.  I think he nearly peed his pants when I snuck up on him in his store.  We went to his apartment afterwards so I could see this beauty:

DENALI!

He is the most beautiful dog.  And he doesn’t run, he jaunts.  Its the cutest thing ever.  Saturday we ran some errands, and then that night, we went to see Where the Wild Things Are.  It was sooo cute.  And my favorite part was when M, mimicking the main character Max, starting howling.  In the theater.  At a quiet part.  It was awesome.  Oh! I almost forgot.  I surprised M when I got off the plan with a cake I baked her from scratch, and some Georgetown Cupcakes in case the cake didn’t turn out as planned.  I wanted to decorate it really fun, so I used this as inspiration.  The final product: 

Orange Stethoscope!

I’m pretty sure M’s socks were knocked off.  So that trip was wonderful for my soul.  But seriously, having this past weekend to just stay home and clean was good for my soul, as well.  I’m looking for the same sort of weekend starting tonight.  I’m also really excited to start Christmas shopping (well, I’ve already started some) and Christmas projects.  And can I just say that I LOVE fall, and thought it would never come?  I love the brisk weather, and craving apple cider, and hot chocolate, and scarves and warm coats.  Mmm.  Oh!  Wednesday the boys and I carved pumpkins, and here’s mine:

A definite improvement on my awful pumpkin carving skills last year.

Hope you all are enjoying fall!

So two Fridays ago, September 18, was the day before the boys’ housewarming party.  And the bf was really excited because one of his greatest friends from college, Mike, was flying in with his girlfriend, Becky.  Also, that day at work, he mentioned that Mark, another good friend, decided to come up to.  Which, at the time i replied with, “That’s great!  Its funny because I was thinking he might surprise you and just show up this weekend.”  Oh, the irony.  So anyway, after work and some errand-running (i.e. shopping) I show up at the boys’ place and hang with all of them for a bit.  We finally decide to go out on the town to a bar I’ve never been to.  Once we’re there, it was fun hanging out in a new location and all.  So finally, Steve mentions that he has to go to the airport to get Mark.  I kept offering to go with him, but he kept saying he was fine.  A few minutes after he left, the gang decided to go to the Clarendon Ballroom.

We went to the rooftop bar, which I’ve never been to before, and that was fun.  However…I don’t always do well with crowds and it was mighty crowded.  Plus,  I wasn’t drinking and started getting so tired.  For the record- going on out on a Friday is always a challenge for me because I’m completely exhausted by the end of the work week.  Especially if I don’t get a nap in (yes, I’m an old lady!), like this particular evening.  So I start talking to Rob, saying I’m getting sleepy.  And he starts suggesting things for me to drink: alcohol, Red Bull (yuck!), coke, etc.  So I start texting the bf, asking if he’s still at the airport.  Response: yes.  Dang, what is taking him so long?  So I text back saying that I’m over the Ballroom, hoping that once he gets there, we all just go back to the boys’ place.  While we’re all standing in the circle, I feel a tap on my shoulder.  I turn around, and a familiar voice starts asking me a question, “Do you know if this place….” and the rest is drowned out by my realization that it is MANDY, MY BEST FRIEND IN THE WORLD, and my confusion as to why she was standing there in front of me in Clarendon, when she’s supposed to be in Lansing, Kansas!!!  So I hug her, and then just start bawling because I’m so excited she’s there, and still thoroughly confused.  “Wait…Mark’s…not coming?”

I’m so nerdy that seriously, one of my first questions for her was, “Did you finish your homework?”, knowing full well she always has tons to do.  And the bf was standing off to the side, and when I looked at him after my cryfest, just goes, “Surprise!”.  SERIOUSLY. Best. Boyfriend. Ever.  And the really, really ironic part is that I just bought a plane ticket to go see Mandy on her Fall Break (which she knew of).  Yay!  Twice in the span of a month!  Anyway, after I composed myself (and it seriously took about ten minutes), I wasn’t tired anymore!

Saturday the whole gang went to go play volleyball on the District and it was tons of fun.  I’m quite rusty in my volleyball skill-ness.  Afterwards, about half of us went to Rob’s apt to go to the rooftop pool.  So much fun!  Then we trekked to Five Guys since we were all hungry.  After that, Mandy and I went to rest before the party.  Because we are old ladies.  Then the party! It was tons of fun.  M & I made our famed black bean dip, and had some Strongbow (YUM!).  There was tons of dancing, laughing, and fun all around.  A bunch of Webbies (Webb Institute is where the boys went to college) that I had never met before showed up, so that was fun to see.  M & I didn’t leave til like, 3 AM.  Which is crazy!  I normally cannot stay that late at a party.

Sunday, M & I ventured to Dupont Circle for brunch, complete with Mimosas.  Yum!  Then we kinda walked around a bit.  After that, we attempted to go to Georgetown, were foiled and just went back to my apt.  After a rest, we went to dinner with the boys to a place near their house, Tap & Vine.  I really liked it very chill.

Sadly, I had to part with Mandy EARLY Monday morning, but like I said, I’ll be seeing her in a few weeks.  The following week at work, after M left, I was in the best mood.  Seriously.  That girl just raises my spirits like no one else.  And it has a lasting effect.

This past weekend was fun, as well.  I finally went to the King Street Blues restaurant in Old Town and loved it.  Drank a little too much sweet ice tea.  Saturday, me, the bf, Matt, Rob and Sarah went to the Georgetown homecoming tailgating.  It was a little rainy, but was manageable.  Annnnddd…we skipped the homecoming game.  HAHA.  The rest of the weekend was full of football and laziness.  Perfection!  Now…juts trying to get through the next few weeks.  Can’t wait for LindsayBlair’s wedding in New Orleans!

THE WALK FOR PKD (Polycystic Kidney Disease)!!!!  YAY!  In case you don’t know, PKD is a huge deal in our family since my Aunt Jill, Mandy‘s mom was diagnosed with it, and Mandy & her brother, Alex have a 50% of getting it.  Anyway, I raised a whopping $700!  That’s $200 MORE than I planned!  I’m so grateful to everyone who donated…it was so kind and generous of them all.  I have some EXCELLENT friends! (And family members)

After that…I went to the boys place to watch the Penn State/Syracuse game.  We all passed out and napped afterwards.  Then the bf and I went to dinner to Ted’s Montana Grill.  Um, hi, if you have never been, GO.  And have a Bison Burger.  The meat is sooo tender and juicy (TWSS!!) and delicious.

Sunday, I decided to have a ‘me’ day.  I have been wanting to go to Eastern Market ever since I moved to DC.  I finally made it, trying to get birthday present ideas for Mandy and my awesome mom.  And I loved it!  It was great meandering around, looking at all the treasures.  I really wanted to buy some fresh veggies and fruits, but was kind of overwhelmed and couldn’t think of a recipe off the top of my head.  I’ll definitely go back soon.  After about an hour, I was done.  But I wasn’t done being in DC, so I decided to go to Dupont Circle and meander there.  I was looking for a bookstore that M and I had been to before, but to my horror, they CLOSED it!  BOO!  Alas, I found some other ones.  In fact, I was walking down the street, saw a widow with books, and thought, “Yay!  A bookstore! I’ll go in”.  Um…it took about 2 seconds upon entering to realize that it was a gay bookstore.  Which is fine with me, hello, I was in Dupont.  But I just didn’t see it coming!  Hahaha.  And I didn’t want to look like a spaz so I was all, “ok, just browse for a few minutes, then leave”.   So that was a pretty exciting part of the day.

I called Matt to ask his opinion about something, and he reveled that he was at 51st state.  Not one to pass up Strongbow on tap, I decided to go meet up with him.  Um, it was 3 PM and he was HAMMERED.  Um, a certain event occurred that he was upset about and was taking it out in beer.  I took him home shortly after, and then went back to my apt to do a boatload of laundry.   So it was a successful weekend- the perfect mix of laziness and productivity.

Last night was the September Girls’ Night Out.  I haven’t mentioned this before, but once a month, a group of four ladies and myself get together for some girl time.  We’re an older group that my core group of friends (i.e., The Boys..they’re all a year younger), and we’re all in relationships.  So…its definitely a different dynamic than my normal posse.  And I absolutely love it.  We always talk about our jobs, our relationships, and anything else in between.  Its just great to have a core group of amazing women in my life who lift me up.  I came away last night in the best mood.  We decided to do a Girls’ Night In at one of the participants house, and each bring a food.  I made raspberry-filled lemon cupcakes, and they were really good, if I do say so myself!  I like trying new recipes.   Its always a good time with those ladies.

Now…I’m getting into the swing of school.  So far, I’ve kept up my promise of keeping up with my readings!  I even did mine for my Thursday night class on TUESDAY.  I’m pretty much awesome.  This weekend is a volleyball game Rob is putting together, and then the boys’ housewarming party.  And then recuperiating. 

Favorite album to mention this post: Pink Floyd’s Wish You Were Here.

I discovered this in high school, and immediately became a favorite.  In fact, the song “Wish You Were Here” is my favorite song.  I love that the whole album only has like, what, 5 songs?  Its awesome.  They just don’t make music like that anymore (hello, I’ve turned into my father).

I’m participating the Walk for PKD this weekend in DC.  If you are so inclined, please donate on my page: www.pkdcure.org/ceciliariester.

I have more details listed there, but its for an amazing and personal cause.  Thank you in advanced!

To say that July was a crazy month, is an understatement.  Work. Was. CrazyBusy.  I had to prepare for three surveys, two of which I’d be going on.  We lost the Awesome Jeff to the government (he’s now my customer…so weird!) so our group, which should have 5 people, now has 3.  That being said, much of my days at work were jam packed.   My survey at the end of July was to Newport News, VA (where I always go…ugh…).

August was just as crazy.  Mainly because…I WENT TO SAN DIEGO FOR TWO WEEKS!  Wooo!  It was for work, but still!  I finally made it to California!  And let me say…the weather there was glorious.  It was such a nice break from the swamp that is DC.  It was breezy, mid 70s…my perfect temperature.  But it did get me in trouble: since I spent a weekend out there, Saturday morning I decided to spend some time by the pool.  Some time = 4 hours.  Without sunblock.  Yeah…the back of my legs looked like lobsters.  It was awful.  Anyway, I ate great food while I was out there, even being adventurous with lobster ravioli (I haven’t touched lobster in about 20 years…until recently) and a SHARK TACO.  It was great.

Things are crazy at work because, well, to make a long story short, some of our overall group had to move to a small company.  And I, of course, am in that group.  We all still have our same jobs, support the same people, but it was just honestly the worst timing ever.  Me on travel for two weeks in SD, coming back for a week long meeting at our facilities, having to move cubicles (I JUST moved.  Dang it!), it was just a lot to deal with in a month.  Now is the first time I feel like I can breath and don’t have 5 million things on my to-do list.  But still..this whole move has been…challenging.  At first, I didn’t think I had any questions about it.  But now, I have soooo many.  Oh well.  It’ll work out.

Now…I’m ready for fall.  I’ve had a fun summer, taking multiple trips to multiple places.  Haven’t really had a good, long vacation, but I’m ok with that.  My classes started last week, and I was reminded of how much I like school.  I realize I’m such a dork, but still.  I really miss the Septembers of my youth: going school supply shopping, the promise of a new beginnings, and just wanting to learn.  Yes, me = nerd.  I’m excited for my classes, and have VOWED to be better about keeping up with readings this time.

Oh, and just to recap Labor Day weekend, it was awesome.  Went to Cleveland to visit Jon and Liz (who often come to DC for parties, so it was our turn to reciprocate).  We went boating, jet skied, played tons of corn hole and ladder golf, and ate tons of amazing food.  And the best part…I didn’t get sunburned! YAY!  Just added some color to my sad little tan.  

And since I haven’t done it in a while, in response to M’s post, another favorite album: The Beatle’s White Album. 

Its hard for me to just pick one Beatles album, because I love them all.  I just love the randomness of the White Album.  I feel like each song is a story on here.  Well, I guess many of them are.  But you have (two of my top Beatles songs) While My Guitar Gently Weeps and Blackbird, and then the Piggies song.  For real?  I just think its sort of comical, the random songs on here.  But I could honestly listen to this album on repeat for forever.  I love it.