A Late Summer's Daydream

I was really excited to get this coin during one of the programs I helped coordinate this summer through work.

My first ever pair of cleats. Respect the Pumas.

I love baseball and I love astronauts!

Ashley and I at a Nationals Game.

DRAGONFRUIT. So beautiful, but not much flavor to it.

I picked up a "free" donut from the ground. It was delicious.



THE "What About Bob" house!! I was so excited to see it.

Gimme Gimme Gimme, I need I need I need

Right there where Dr. Marvin and Bob stood. Life is good, life is great, life is wonderful!



This is the hospital that Dr. Marvin took Bob to.

My hair turned GREEN! This is the first time it's ever happened. I first tried ketchup to get it out, but that didn't work. The remedy was baking soda mixed with shampoo.

Bree and Dree are Puma twins!

After our mud fight! Last night of frisbee with Bree was so fun, yet extremely sad. Frisbee will never be the same with the division of the Dream Team.

This is what I watched "Avatar" on for the first time. It was amazing. They painted the screen on the wall. Basically, their basement was a movie theater, even drawers full of snacks, soda and a popcorn machine. We stayed at this house for one night when we went to a YSA conference in West Virginia.

These recliners were wired so that when it got loud the seats would reverberate with the sound. It was pretty cool!

So Long, Farewell
My Little Bree Biscuit


FHE was canceled, but I took the opportunity to take a photo of the beautiful Capitol building while I was downtown.

I won the Biggest Loser Competition at work!! $80 richer


Such a beautiful and moving experience to watch "The Sound of Music" musical at the outdoor theater of Wolftrap in Vienna, VA. It was difficult not to sing along.


My co-worker, Melissa went to Nashville and got this bumper sticker for me. She knows how much I love using the word "biscuit." hehe

Confessions of a Workaholic

My roommates, friends and family would likely classify me as a workaholic. Well, I might classify myself as such since I have worked many weekends and evenings, sometimes late into the night, the past couple of months. Amazingly, I still have time to have some fun too. Since I haven't had much time to blog over the past couple of months, I've got a bit of catching up to do.

Aubrey and I went to the batting cages for a "girls' night out" (followed by Chipotle and watching planes land at Gravelly Point Park). This particular evening was the night of the Priesthood session of General Conference. Guys, it might come as a surprise to you, but by default, girls' nights out are more of a frequent occurrence than you may like to recognize...

Next morning, Aubrey and I woke up early to check out the Cherry Blossoms. They were beautiful, but somehow I didn't feel the magic this year. We took a couple of shots, stayed for about 15 minutes and headed home.

The next day I flew to Santa Fe, New Mexico for a week for a work conference.

Dreams come true, yes they do, in Santa Fe. Thanks, Jack Kelly for helping me find the Land of Enchantment. And yes, all of my dreams did come true. Well, not really.


Melissa and I on Burro Alley

At the St. Francis of Assisi Catherdral in downtown Santa Fe

E.T phone home

Reaching out to E.T.

It's really called Camel Rock because it kinda sorta looks like a camel from the side...but I dubbed it E.T. I am still waiting for approval on the official name change.

Work has since slowed down so let's get together. Call me my friends!

We can do this:

Or go to this:

Or play with this:

Or see this:

Or watch this:

My Last Year as a Twenty-Something

I figure I need to fulfill some notch above awesome accomplishments, dreams and goals in my last year as a twenty-something.

1. Go back to the Philippines for a visit

2. Graduate "the right way" from the singles' ward

Preferably a late night/early morning Lincoln Memorial proposal

3. Practice charity

4. Get Aubrey to wear this dress to the New Year's Eve dance

5. Convince Ashley into moving to Washington, DC

More dreams to come, I'm just getting started!

Died and Gone to the Philippines

Going to the Fresh World International Marketplace today was an emotional experience. As I walked up and down the aisles, a minority amoungst the mass of Asians, and saw familiar Philipino foods, I had to hold back my tears. Most people might think that my emotional state is quite ridiculous, but I felt that I was back in Southeast Asia and loved every moment of my shopping experience. I saw some foods in there that I haven't seen in the 6 years that I've been home from my mission. And here's what I bought!

Macapuno (young coconut), Halo-Halo mix, Ramutan and Langka (Jackfruit)

Pancit Bihon, Pancit Canton and Lumpia Shanghai

Ang saya saya talaga!!

So, Lord, Art Thou To Me

Last week I decided to check out the Mormon Tabernacle Choir album, "Consider the Lilies" (and ended up buying & downloading the entire album on the spot). There was one song in particular that I wanted to listen to, a song that we sung in Institute Choir this past Christmas, "God So Loved the World." I could listen to that song a million times and not get tired of it. I feel God's love for the world and for me individually as I listen to (and sing along) this song. "God so loved the world that He gave His only Son." I know that God loves each of us and knows of our daily concerns and struggles. I know that miracles can and do happen everyday. I experienced a small miracle at work this week. I was feeling the pressure to quickly secure a courthouse for the Federal Bar Association's Moot Court Competition in March. The courthouse we have gone to every year for the last 10+ years had already been reserved by another group. This lead me to start calling and mailing solicitations for another courthouse to hold our Friday rounds. Then out of the blue on Tuesday morning, I got a call from the clerk of the court of one of the courthouses I had contacted. She told me that they could provide the necessary space for us. I was so excited I jumped up, shouted and ran down the hall to tell my co-workers. (They had helped me research alternate locations). It truly was a miracle for me. And as I sat down back and my desk and calmed down a little, I silently prayed in deep gratitude to Heavenly Father for providing this miracle to me. I understood that He even cares about my success at work. He loves and cares for each of us and gave His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ to the inhabitants of this world so that we might be saved and return with happiness to live with them.

There is another song on the CD that, although the name is unfamiliar to me, the message speaks to my heart. The text was written by Johannes Tauler, a 14th century German Dominican. An interesting snippet from one of his sermons, "Now man with all his faculties and also with all his soul recollects himself and enters into the temple (his inner self) in which, in all truth, he finds God dwelling and at work." We are all God's children with divinity in each of us. As we ponder on how to expand our divine qualities and search for ways to become closer to and more like God, we will be able to, for the power is within us. The text for "As the Bridegroom to His Chosen" can be found below. I love the beauty of the similes and picture how they are so closely tied together and how one will exclaim "So, Lord art thou to me" when contemplating the closeness we desire with both our Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ. Read the words and then watch the video below (found this on youtube, I did not make it) to hear the Tabernacle Choir sing this moving song. I hope that each of us will take some time to recognize the daily blessings we receive from a loving Heavenly Father and find ways to be closer to Him.

“As the Bridegroom to His Chosen”
As the bridegroom to his chosen, as the king unto his realm,

As the keeper to the castle, as the pilot to the helm.

As the captain to his soldiers, as the shepherd to his lambs,

So, Lord, art thou to me.

As the fountain in the garden, as the candle in the dark,

As the treasure in the coffer, as the manna in the ark,

As the firelight in the winter, As the sunlight in the spring

So Lord art thou to me.

As the music at the banquet, as the stamp unto the seal,

As refreshment to the fainting, as the wine-cup at the meal,

As the singing on the feast day, as the amen to the prayer,

So Lord art thou to me.

As the ruby in the setting, as the honey in the comb

As the light within the lantern, as the father in the home,

As the eagle in the mountains, as the sparrow in the nest,

So art thou, Lord to me.

As the sunshine in the heavens, as the image in the glass,

As the fruit unto the fig tree, as the dew unto the grass,

As the rainbow on the hilltop, as the river in the plain,

So art thou, Lord to me.

Snowalicious

♫It snowed, it snowed, it snowed last night♫...and yesterday and all day today! And I'm lovin' it!

BRING IT ON!!

Friday night-around 7 pm

On our way to Wally World and look what we found when we got there ↓

Well only the milk, bread and egg sections were completely depleted. Thought it was pretty funny because a lot of people "panicked" and ran to the store before the storm. Apparently the grocery stores (and Walmart) had insanely long lines. In the end, it hasn't been terribly bad...we at least still have power. And I'm ok being stuck inside for a few days.

Jenni, Aubrey and I went to the Sev to get some hot cocoa. It was delicious!

Saturday morning- around 7 am

New Year, New Experiences

The new year has been very exciting for me with lots of new experiences. It all started with a snow storm. December 19, 2009 blew a huge storm into Virginia which resulted in my flight home getting canceled.

Enter new experience #1. FiRsT cLaSs

So they re-scheduled my flight and I got to ride in First Class all the way home. And yes, this is what our seats looked like. There was at least 5 feet in between my chair and the chair in front of me, the seats reclined, I had a personal TV with lots of movie options. I was so tired and all I wanted to do was sleep, but I also didn't want to pass up the opportunity to experience First Class.

Experience # 2 RaQuEtBaLl

Raquetball was the next on the list of firsts. Aubrey and Jenni taught me how to play raquetball a couple of weeks ago and boy was it a blast. I've found a new game that I love!!! Here are some shots of us.

# 3 HaRp LeSsOnS

I wanted to learn how to play a new instrument last year and didn't get around to it. So this year I decided I better start off the new year with music lessons. I chose the HARP and am quite enjoying it thusfar. Here is a picture of the harp I am renting.

Experience # 4 SkIiNg

Let me just say, that thanks to Aubrey, the first month of the new year has been exciting. She told me she was coming out of retirement to help me learn both how to play raquetball and then to ski. Although I didn't grow up in Utah, I lived there during high school and college and I NEVER learned how to ski. Over MLK weekend I decided it was finally time to learn how to ski and thankfully a master class skiier lives under the same roof. Aubrey, Kate and I headed up to Liberty "Mountain" (more like hill) for my first skiing experience. I learned fairly quickly by mastering the bunny hill. The coolest part about the bunny hill was the Magic Carpet. I guess most places have ski tows, which I heard were slightly painful to hold onto, but Liberty had the Magic Carpet. It's an inclined conveyer that you ride up to the bunny hill. Our magical ride.

Throughout the day I progressed from the bunny hill, to a longer hill with a slight decline, to half-way up the mountain and then one time we went to the very top. That experience was rather nerve wracking and let's just say I barely made it down the mountain. Ok, I'm being a little dramatic, but I fell several times and my knees were aching by the time I got to the bottom of the hill. But overall it was a lot of fun.

And now for my favorite part about skiing....the ski lift!!