running man

i am compiling a list of 28 goals for my 28th birthday (i will reveal the full list on the anniversary of my birth, which i will now unsubtley remind you is september 23rd) and i was thinking that maybe i would add "learn to love running" to the list because it seems to me that running is something that people actually do fall in love with and every time i read or hear about someone accomplishing an impressive running feat i think to myself that it must feel pretty darn good to have done that and i might like to feel good like that, too.

but then last night dana and i had to run from jess' house to the bus stop to catch the bus before it left and it was only five or six blocks or something like that but by the time i got there i was totally winded and thinking how much i hate running.

so now i am thinking that might not be such a good goal after all.

maybe i should replace it with "always be on time so i don't have to run for the bus."

well done, sister suffragette

it was 89 years ago on august the 26th that women in these united states of america were granted the right to vote.

and it was last week on august the 26th that we celebrated this most important of milestones.

first came sashes for everyone. (crepe paper was as classy as i could make it. better luck next time.)

then came a sing-along to this classic suffrage anthem.





and then a viewing of "iron jawed angels," a film, and more importantly a story, i love with all my heart.

a few thoughts.

1. the right to vote is one for which we should be grateful every single day. it is a right won just a few short generations ago. there are people living and walking on this earth today who were born before women could vote in the u.s. i can hardly believe that that is true. the fight is still so near, and it makes me want to take the greatest advantage of this privilege possible.

2. justice for one is justice for all. no group, in the majority or the minority, gains anything by denying someone else's rights. and if i believe in rights for my minority, whatever minority that might be, i have to believe in rights for your minority, too. a win for one of us is a win for all of us.

3. sometimes we have to be bold. there is certainly a time for tact and patience, but there is also a time to say what is unpopular and do what is risky. it seems almost ridiculous now that women had to go so far as to put their lives on the line to win the right to vote, but it is true. what boldness do we need now?

4. our daughters' daughters will adore us. suffrage is, to me at least, an enduring and precious legacy. and one that i feel responsible to protect and propagate. i am reminded of hillary clinton's speech at last year's democratic national convention in which she said, "my mother was born before women could vote. my daughter got to vote for her mother for president. this is the story of america."

i love that story.

hooked

it's restaurant week in this, the district of columbia, which means fancy food for cheap and there is nothing to argue about there. i tagged along with katie and her crew for dinner at hook, a high-end georgetown seafood joint.

the big news was the rachel had not eaten seafood in 11 years. she decided to go big to break the trend and ordered oysters for her starter.

she didn't puke, so i think it went pretty well.

really the only other pertinent detail is that we had three courses of some of the best food i had ever eaten. my dinner went like this: gazpacho with jumbo lump crab, artic char with basmati rice, peas and carrot curry, and lemon cake with lavendar buttercream frosting and honey ice cream.

i ate every single bite and then promptly died and went to heaven.

other people's dinners went like this:

katie and i are already plotting a return trip for lunch.

you might say we're, well, hooked.

all's fair

i was driving to target on saturday morning when i saw a BMW with a bumper sticker that said, "rednecks for obama."

and that's when i knew it was going to be a good day.

it was pretty much already destined to be a great day because, for one, i had target coupons! and, for two, it was the last weekend of the montgomery county fair!

as it happens, you can find pretty much anything your heart desires at the montgomery county fair.

por ejemplo:

wise environmental stewardship...




... religion...




... an earlier end to your life by way of delicious fried foods...


{i may or may not have eaten my whole corn dog and half of scott's.}







... true love...



... prizes to die for (maybe literally)...




...pigs on the run...



... and an education...




... about all kinds of things.

{yes, this poor bunny rabbit was disqualified for being the wrong sex.}


you can also find a big old rainstorm...




... which sadly led to the cancellation of the demolition derby, the planned highlight of our county fair excursion. luckily, we heard about another fair and demolition derby in september, and i am totally there.

if that fried oreo doesn't kill me first.

meltdown

guys, it is so hot here.

like walk out the door and your face melts off hot.

like move a muscle and the humidity sticks to you like a blanket of sweat hot.

like wear anything but underwear whenever possible or you might die of heat stroke hot.

but then, just a little bit ago, dark and sinister clouds came racing across the sky, bringing a few glorious moments of horizontal rain, and now it doesn't feel quite so bad.

though i am about to heat it right up again, because i just found this in my mailbox, courtesy of netflix:






oh, edward cullen. i wish i knew how to quit you.

if you're happy and you know it

last night i went out with the sister missionaries to teach jeff, who recently joined the church. i had not been out with the missionaries since i was myself a missionary, so it was about time. as they say.

the topic of discussion was the plan of salvation. the plan of happiness. god's plan for us.

the plan whereby we left the safe bosom of heavenly parents, gained bodies and came to earth. earth where we would learn and grow through trial, triumph, hardship, sin, repenting, overcoming, failure and success. learn and grow so we can become more like god and return to live with him some day.

the plan of salvation promises us ultimate happiness. but to get there, we have to do and experience things that are hard.

and last night i wondered. why?

why, sometimes, does it have to be so hard?

because without the bitter we cannot know the sweet? without falling down we cannot know the joy of getting up again?

yes. yes, i think that is part of it. but that is not always a great comfort in the thick of adversity.

and then, i thought of something else.

maybe it doesn't have to be that hard after all.

i think the only reason a loving heavenly father could send us away from him to learn and grow and experience on our own was because he had the power to make our journey easy, and our burdens light. we just have to ask, trust, believe. leap.

easy does not mean simple. and easy does not mean that we will not struggle, face challenges. fall down. but i was reminded last night that i believe in a loving god who wants us to succeed, who is ready, willing, and able to make our way as easy as he possibly can.

easy means that we do not fight our battles alone.

and that means it doesn't always have to be so hard.

that is my salvation, and my happiness.

that, my friends, is a plan i can stick to.

(white) house call

the bad news: i have come down with some sort of fever-y, ache-y illness that i am praying to the high heavens is not of the swine variety.

the good news: emily brought over four seasons of the "the west wing" to help me through my convalescence.

the question: where is my sam seaborn?