Palmyra

In March I made a last second decision to run away from DC for a couple days. So I hopped in my car and drove north to Palmyra, NY. Finally got to see some church history sites!

It was a cold spring day, but walking around the grove was so special and sweet. I felt so happy and peaceful. 

I loved that the stained glass in the temple was all trees! And it was the same design as the OKC Temple, so it made me feel vaguely homesick.

The Smith Cabin!! Where they were living when Moroni came to Joseph. 

The whole weekend was so special. I walked around the farm and the grove and went to the temple and reveled in not being in DC. Spontaneous adventures are the best adventures.

Music ABCs

My sister Kelly is my usual go-to music suggester. But I managed to find these hot babies all on my own! Here's the ABC's of what I've been rockin' out to lately. Youtube playlist here 
I'm always on the hunt for new tunes. Send your recommendations my way! But only if you have good taste.
*Songs I particularly love.

Architects - Open Letter to Myself
Walk the Moon - Work this Body
*Breaking Laces - Astronomy is my Life, But I Love You
DNCE - Cake by the ocean
The Avett Brothers - Ballad of Love and Hate
*Walk Off the Earth - Rule the World (love those trumpets!!)
*Rossini - The Theiving Magpie
*Hamilton (AMAZING)(listen to the playlist!! you will not regret.)
MIA - Bad Girls
JR JR - Gone
The Killers - Shot at The Night
Spada and Ellen - Cool Enough
*Magic Man - Paris
Mika - Ordinary Man
Walk Off the Earth - Hold On
*One Republic - Preacher
Q
Adele - When we Were Young
The Struts - Could have been me
Sidney Bichet - Si Tu Vois me Mere (I want to fall in love to this song.)
Mumford and Sons - Hopeless Wanderer
Chvrches - Mother We Share
*Imagine Dragons - Warriors
X
Mika - Last Party
Z
Lady Antebellum - Compass
Demi Lovato - Stone Cold
Mumford and Sons - Ditmas

Sydney and Day Trippin'

Sydney came to visit!! We kicked off her first trip to DC with a day downtown, where I forced her to go look at the beautiful art in the National Gallery, and then to the Air and Space Museum WHERE WE TOUCHED THE MOON. BECAUSE I STILL FREAKIN LOVE THE MOON. Syd is the best for indulging me.

The National Gallery has some really lovely JMW Turners. And since he is my fav, I have to go see his stuff every time.

Next, we went on a couple day trips! We went to Monticello to see the legacy of Thomas Jefferson, and boy, it was worth it. The house, the grounds, the mountain top, even the creepy tunnel, were all wonderful and amazing. I love being in this area with such great history. Montpelier happened to be on the way, so we made a little detour and saw James and Dolly Madison's place as well. (Heart eyes emojii at Dolly M.)
We also traveled up to Antietam National Battlefield, the site of the bloodiest single-day battle in American History. I remember reading a lot about this place in High School, so it was kind of sobering and sad to be there. But it made me grateful for the people who fight for freedom.
Syd and I went into town a few times, but my favorite time is always at night. The monuments at night are glorious, and really beautiful to look at. Just a heads up for all those who come to visit me - we're going to go look around at night.

Wathis!!

Wallis (aka Wathis) came to visit me!! We painted the town red. 3 days and 50,000 steps later (she has a pedometer on her phone, I am not making up that number of steps!) I'm pretty sure we saw about 30% of what DC has to offer. Except for that moment where I couldn't get into the national archives to steal the Declaration of Independence, because my pocket knife was too rad.... too knifey.

Jefferson Memorial at sunset. It was the most gorgeous day!

Guys, the DC Temple is so magnificent. I love it so much. 

Mt. Vernon! We love George Washington. 

This pizza is THE SHIZ. 

She loves Bei-Bei, who we went to see TWICE!

Babe-raham Lincoln Memorial. We love him.  

The Pursuit of Happiness

Day by day it seemed like nothing was changing, until suddenly I woke up yesterday and realized I had been wonderfully happy for the past two weeks. January was so hard and I swear there was a night I could actually feel the devil laughing at me, but (as I wrote in my journal) I got through it, and I feel so much better. "[Here] but for the grace of God go I."

I loved this talk by Elder Busche. The whole thing is excellent, and this clip is really extraordinary. 

Notable quotes: "Avoid at all costs any negative, pessimistic or criticizing thoughts. If you cannot cut them out, they will do you harm." SO TRUE. "Be grateful for every opportunity to serve. It helps you more than those you serve."

Notable Quotables

Some worthwhile statements from my grad program this last month. I am taking classes in Arms Control and Intelligence, so I'm sure you can guess which quote goes with which class.

"Never trust the French! Trust the British less."

"We never play by Moscow Rules."

"Cancun is the only place international diplomacy actually moves forward. Everyone wants to drink and go to the beach, so negotiations move along fast."

"Don't get caught!! DON'T. GET. CAUGHT."

"The ends don't justify the means. But sometimes they do."

I am like 70% certain one of my teachers is at least 80% Communist. Debates about U.S. policy are always lively, to say the least.

National Cathedral

I definitely moved from Hufflepuff to Slytherin.
Today I was a tourist and went to see the National Cathedral. It is a beautiful example of Gothic architecture and the stained glass work was some of the best I have ever seen. I love stained glass! Interestingly, Hellen Keller is interred at this Cathedral, and stumbling upon her plaque was neato bandito.

Ah, the Rose Window. Iconic and stunning

If you don't love stained glass you are wrong. And just look at those arches! Magnificent. 

Memorial for Helen Keller! And it's transcribed in braille. Very fitting. This was in St. Joseph of Arimathea's Chapel, beneath the main kanve. 

If you look reeeeeaaallly close, you can see a Darth Vader gargoyle!! I love it. So American. So cool.

My old stomping grounds

I decided to go back to the place I prefer to forget, just for kicks. I had this wave of nostalgia, missing Lindsay and Jackie and Jimmy. It's weird to have such wildly different emotions about a place - I hated the work but I so loved the people. I got a sandwich at Potbelly's - as per tradition - and sat in Lafayette Square thinking about my time here. My takeaway lesson? That I cannot plan my life at all. It is taking such a wildly different shape from what I imagined 10 years ago, 5 years ago, even 1 year ago. There's a double meaning in that somewhere, but I'm not sure what it is yet.