Busy, The New Typical

I feel like I'm constantly busy and on the go in D.C.  Which is both good and bad, but mostly good. I've always loved being busy and constantly having something to do, but every once in a while it's nice to just do nothing, absolutely nothing.  Between work, hours and hours of homework, church, and socializing, free time has become extinct in my life.  My typical week looks like this: Monday- work, homework, FHE, watching the Bachelor with my friends (very important), homework, bed; Tuesday- work, homework, gym,  homework, bed; Wednesday- work, homework, institute, homework, bed; Thursday: work, gym, working on homework all night to finish everything due on Friday morning, bed; Friday- class, briefings, and then the weekend begins; Saturday- morning run, typical weekend activities (exploring DC, museums, shopping, eating out, movies, etc.); Sunday- church (takes 5 hours because the commute is an hour bus ride), much needed Sunday nap, socializing.  I find myself getting an average of 6 hours of sleep a night.  I get pretty tired during the day, but so far I'm surviving.

Here are a few pictures that recap the last couple of weeks:

After class on Friday some of us ventured over to George's King of Falafel

and Cheesesteak.  This hole in the wall restaurant in Georgetown.  

 I tried a Falafel for the first time, it changed my world of fast food. 

I was able to go to the D.C. temple with my friend Kelly.  Kelly is also interning at the same place as me and also goes to BYU.  I tagged along with her to her ward temple trip. The D.C. temple was so pretty. To get to it you go off this side road through a forest of trees and as you turn a corner the temple appears on a hill right in front of you.  I wish I could have captured in a picture how pretty it was. I will definitely be going back very soon. 

Jane and I bearing the wind. I have never felt such blistering

cold wind as I have in D.C.  It just goes right through your coat

and freezes you. 

  

Some of my friends and I went to the Air and Space Museum over the weekend.  This is one of my favorite museums.  Weird fact: the history of airplanes fascinates me for some reason. 

Again, I wish my phone could take a picture that did this scene justice.  Over the weekend, me and a couple others walked down by the water front in Georgetown.  It's really pretty, in person. And it would be a very romantic spot with a significant other.  I need to find one of those. 

Indulged in a Texas Sheet Cake Cupcake at Baked and Wired. 

 The Washington Monument at sunset. 

I'm starting to notice I post a lot about food, but it's all so good.  This is my meal
from BTS burgers and shakes. 

 And this, this is my favorite shake I've had since being in D.C., which is saying
something since I am the milkshake/ice cream connoisseur. 

I See DC

Over the summer I was riding in the car with my brother Brendon and sister-in-law Danielle. Somehow our conversation lead to Danielle mentioning that her sister had done the BYU Washington Seminar a couple years ago.  Immediately my interest peaked and I asked her what the Washington Seminar was.  She explained to me that it was like a study abroad but instead of taking a load of classes you do an internship and only take two classes.  A group of 30-40 BYU students are selected into the program each semester and live right in the middle of D.C. in the Barlow Center (a building owned by the church).  I love traveling and going on new adventures, so after I heard about the Washington Seminar I immediately began researching it and decided to apply.  I thought that going to Washington D.C. would, first and foremost, be fun and second, would be a great opportunity.  Being a month into the program now, I can say that I was right about both of those things.

I have always lived in suburbs my whole life so moving to a big city and living right in the middle of it is so foreign to me.  The first week being here was so weird to me.  The life style is so different. The thing that I had a hard time adjusting to the most was that there was no nature, well at least not the nature that I was use to.  BYU is located in a valley, surrounded by towering mountains.  In D.C. i only see towering buildings.  I also had to adjust to grocery shopping.  You would never think that grocery shopping would every be a huge ordeal.  But take away a car, and it is.  For the first couple of weeks I had to plan out exactly when to go, how I'm going to get there, and I had to constantly remind myself while I was in the store not to buy too much because I had to carry everything I bought home. But I have recently discovered the ultimate solution to all this.  Safeway delivers.  I now order my groceries online and they deliver them right to my apartment.  Grocery shopping's a breeze. And the third biggest adjustment I had to make was living without every person I have every met at BYU, and some of my best friends.  The first couple of days I turned to my phone countless times to text a friend to hang out, only to remember a few seconds later that they were on the other side of the country. Adjustments are a good thing though.  Adjusting means that you are changing, embracing new experiences, and growing far past your comfort zone. 

I have been in D.C. for approximately four weeks now.  My adjustment phase is over, and I LOVE it out here. There are so many little things that I love about my new adventure, but I will name the basic five.  First, I love all the BYU students who are doing the Washington Seminar with me.  We all get along really well even though we're all so different.  We often find ourselves dying laughing and we do everything together. Second, I love my internship.  I am working for the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (formally Morality in Media), and it is the perfect fit for me.  NCSE is the leading national organization fighting pornography and indecency through public education and application of the law.  I have learned so much in the short time that I've been here and I 100% support the cause.  I also have the best co-workers.  I don't mind coming to work everyday, and that's the dream. Third, food.  There is an endless amount of places to eat here and everything is so good.  I am constantly trying new food at restaurants I've never heard of before.  Fourth, I like the unique history here.  There is so much to see and learn on every corner.  It's a cool experience living at the center of the nation where everything started.  And fifth, I like the how there is always something going on and something to do.  I live on the corner of Georgetown (the cutest town ever), I'm surrounded by shopping, free concerts, and much more.  I don't think I'll get bored.  

A week before I started the Washington Seminar I came to D.C. with my Dad and
 sister Lauren. We did all the main touristy stuff while they were here.  It was fun to spend time
with them and the best thing was that my dad taught me how to use the metro and
navigate around the city. I looked like a pro by the time the rest of the students got here. 
Watch our trip HERE.

Washington Monument, mid-evening. 

Lincoln Memorial. A cool memorial for a pretty cool guy. 

& Pizza.  This is a sample of the many delicious
meals I've had while I've been here. 

Every weekend night you can find us in the basement of the Barlow
Center watching movies and playing games.  We've gotten really good
at Mafia. 

My friend Teresa and I at the famous Georgetown Cupcakes.
The cupcakes surpassed my expectations. Teresa a non-traditional
BYU student who is also doing the Seminar this semester.  She's
one of the most amazing ladies I've met, I hope I can be like her
one day.  

Some of the other students and I exploring Georgetown.
JFK and his wife lived here. 

Georgetown is home to the cutest houses.  I'm going
to have a vacation home here someday.  

The Potomac River.

Jane. I seriously love her, we always have fun together.

We ate at the restaurant where JFK purposed to Jackie. 

Georgetown.

We celebrated MLK day how it should be celebrated, in D.C.
at the MLK memorial.  We were definitely the minority here. 

To end MLK day we went to the Kennedy Center where
we watched a free Natalie Cole concert.  She sang one of
my favorite songs- "This Will Be".

Kennedy Center

The snowy view from my office.

And the sunny view from my office.

Me and most of my coworkers at a meeting in Philadelphia.

2014 in a Blurb

One of the most common things amongst all goals, is that most of them are never met.  I made the goal at the beginning of 2014 to start blogging, just to keep an online record of my life.  I kept that goal for two posts.  Fail.  This post is dedicated to 2014 and just a few of my favorite memories from the year.

Halley, Connor, Chad, and I (BYU's number one fans) road tripped to Las Vegas 

to the BYU Basketball championship game.  Watch our trip HERE.

Valentine's Day party with my best friends. 

Lucas, Me, Chad, Ashlyn, Brian, Caroline.

Visits from my life long friend Lexee.

The best trip is when the best people all road trip to California.
Watch our trip HERE.

My best friends' wedding.  Caroline and Brian got married!

My all time favorite pass time activity.  Long boarding through
Provo Canyon.

Beautiful hikes.  Utah is Rad. 

Fourth of July.  My second favorite Holiday.
(Daniella, Ashlyn, Me)

Floating down Provo river with some cool guys. 

Surviving the mine with my best friend Connor. 

Visiting my hometown of Parker, Colorado.
Also, I died my hair blonde in the summer because why not?
(Shilo, Michaela, Lexee, Me)

Ash and I on our first day of the fall 2014 semester. We rocked this semester. 

I got involved with BYUSA and planned their first outdoor concert. 

BYU Football and Shilo, the funniest girl ever. 

Sista, Sista, Sista.
(Michaela, Ashlyn, Me)

Hot Chocolate, football, and BYU fans. 

Halloweening.

Halloweeners.

Brad came home from his mission!! Brad is mine and Lexee's best friend
from High School and the funniest guy you will ever meet. 

Texas Visits.

Fam Bam

Con Con and a Christmas carriage ride.  What's better than that combination? Nothing. 

Surviving a near death experience with Ash and Connor.
This wasn't the first time I was in a near death experiences with Connor.
Maybe I should be skeptical of his intentions.