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?

beachy-keen

let me just cut to the chase and say that i love the beach.

or, perhaps to be more specific, i love all the parts that make up the whole of the beach: the ocean, the sun, sitting still, judging people wearing bathing suits they shouldn't be, swimming, my toes in the sand, reading lots of books.

and, the most critical part of the whole: the mulhauser beach house! it might be the awesomest beach house in the world, as it is situated on the charmingly named little assawoman bay. (no joke there.)

the final (delicious) piece of the (delicious) weekend was: crabs! like the kind you dig out of the shell and stuff yourself with and lick your fingers when you're done.

{dana and elbert, who is sadly allergic to crab}

{lee. and a claw.}

{alex very seriously approaching the task at hand.}

{paul and heather}

{becca}

{the whole gang. crustaceans included}

all by the glow of the sun setting over the water.



{dana, the hostess with the most-est}


dear summer, please never leave.

(un-hip)ster

remember how i am hip and urban and i go out on weeknights to places called rock and roll hotel, where they give you stamps on your hand and you listen to wickedly soulful british bands?




and remember how today i bought a snuggie?




either the second cancels out the first, or my awesomeness has doubled.

mormon america

media coverage of mormons and mormonism can be kind of a mixed bag. we win some points on steve young, for example, but lose some on polygamists and gay rights. and i would say the osmonds are basically a wash.

generally speaking, i am usually a little bit infuriated when i read something about mormons in the news because i typically find it unfairly critical or downright non-factual. so i think you can imagine my pleasant surprise when i came across this this slate article about how mormons will save america.

the series as a whole is an examination of the things that could undo these united states as we know them. (as it happens, facism and global warming are both bad news.) it's captivating and terrifying all at the same time. but i am happy to report, what with our belief in america as a promised land, our family values, our love of capitalism and our food storage, we mormons stand ready to preserve the country and culture you love so well. rest easy, friends.

you can thank us later.

cheese with that whine?

i feel as though i might owe you all a cyber-apology.


i am sorry if i've been a blog-whiner lately.


do you accept my apology?


the truth of the matter is that rebuilding your life can be a sad and frustrating experience.


but the other truth of the matter is that rebuilding your life can be an exciting and instructive adventure.


and i certainly didn't mean to discount all the good things and good people i've come across so far in this new chapter.


so, without further ado (adieu, to you and you and you), bye-bye whining. and hello awesome weekend recap!


friday night lauren and i paid our respects to the dearly departed john hughes with a picnic and an outdoor screening of "pretty in pink."

we were slightly amused by the three girls sitting in front of us, who clearly had not even been born before the end of the 1980s. lauren admitted she has a t-shirt that says, "you can't be old school if you're still in high school." i sort of wish she had been wearing it.

saturday we hit up the neighborhood farmer's market, where i was baptized (quite literally) by the purveyor of "holy grail" sorbet. he squirted me with a spray bottle right after i took my first bite. i sound more holy, don't you think? we also bought bread from one of the most beautiful men i have ever seen up close (i can only hope he is as romantically tortured as nicolas cage's bread maker in "moonstruck"), and rounded out the morning with flowers and blackberries as big as my nose.

then it was time for part one of the massive fridge cleaning project, the details of which, with which, i will not bore you. with. (how would that go?)


the weekend's capstone event was a little jaunt to waldorf, maryland, a charming hamlet that is home to two very important things:

1. little caesar's pizza.

2. the south maryland blue crabs single a baseball team.


little caesar's pizza is a rare commodity here in the east, but emily spotted a little caesar's semi-truck not long ago and the magical secret of the waldorf little caesar's was revealed. it was a little slice of heaven.

and, as approximately 97 percent of the town came in while we enjoyed our ultimate supreme, we are obviously not the only ones who think so.

then it was off to the most charming baseball diamond you have ever seen, where every seat is a good seat and every person in those seats knows everyone else. where the scoreboard is still manual, and little boys in the row in front of you debate whether watching baseball or going fishing is a better way to spend a summer night.

sadly, the home team lost to the camden riversharks, but it was nothing a post-game fireworks show couldn't fix.

nothing to whine about there.

possessed

{unrelated to anything else in this post, but when i was in japan we were always on the look-out for funny japanese/english t-shirts and my companion, sister lau, totally found one with this exact picture on it. hi-larious.}

despite my best intentions, i have always been pretty much a consumer. the idea of minimizing my possessions and simplifying my life always sounds really good, but the idea of getting rid of my favorite stuff or, heaven forbid ceasing to add to my stuff, never sounds good so, long story short, i pretty much never do.

this situation has reached somewhat epic proportions of late as i have become something of a prolific online shopper. ('cus no rent and a salary that is (finally) higher than my age.) just this morning i opened the door to leave for work and found two boxes waiting for me on the doorstep, filled with stuff i don't need but definitely want.

to assuage my consumerist guilt, i usually employ one (or many) of the following justifications.

1. the economy is still hurting! retail sales are down! i am helping!

2. for basically the first time in my adult life i don't have to pinch pennies, so why should i?

3. there is no such thing as too many summer dresses. (or too many work-appropriate outfits. or too many inexpensive accessories.)

4. a new city calls for a new wardrobe, wouldn't you say?

5. i am still saving lots of money. ('cus no rent and a salary that is (finally) higher than my age.)

and now, the ultimate vindication has come in the form of this article from the washington post. even gritty downtown hipsters can't stay away from target! (wait until you get to the part about the kitty city. i nearly choked laughing.)

therefore:

6. if even gritty downtown hipsters can't stay away, why should i?