one crazy summer

This has been a crazy summer. Last time you heard from me we were in the middle of packing up and moving and our house looked like this for the week before graduation:

So accurate. Rhoda just watching TV all day while we packed up and ran errands and cried a little inside for leaving Philly. Thanks be to my mom for coming to hang out for a week and watching Rhoda while I got a dent in the packing and to Robbie's parents who drove with Robbie cross-country with all our worldly possessions. Next time I really hope we just spring for professional movers and save us all the physical/emotional toll of moving.

Then, there was graduation!!

It was such a great day. The group picture is Robbie with his Lauder classmates at the end of their informal graduation ceremony after the big Wharton ceremony. Robbie traveled/lived with them and since there are only like 60 people in the Lauder class (compared to the 900 in the Wharton class) it was just really easy to get to know all of them better and they were some of our closest friends in Philly. I cried at the end of the day because I felt like we didn't get enough time with all of our friends before we had to leave (THE NEXT DAY). But, packing beckons I guess. 

Us on the front steps of our house on Pine Street just before I turned in our keys. Sob, sob. Fortunately I just had to drive down to Virginia to spend the week with Eliza before flying out to California so that didn't really feel like I was *really* permanently moving...

I was in town just in time to go to Ida's "Grandfriends Day" at her school, which meant I got to eat snacks and sit in a tiny chair next to her desk and just see what an afternoon at Ida's school is like. It was super cute. Also Ida asking me if I wanted to go made me melt a little.

Rhoda and I flew with Eliza and Polly to LA for my niece's mission farewell, which was great. I love hanging out in Malibu on a beautiful summer weekend and I love hanging out with my siblings. I think we've really hit our stride in adulthood. We also got to visit my two grandmas—Grandma Helen (above) is turning 101 next week! I also spent the week in Monrovia while Robbie was in Boston for work training, and after he got back we drove up to Redwood City together and started unpacking.

Somewhere in there I went to my sister Phoebe's house in Oregon to babysit her three younger kids for the week while she was on trek. These pictures pretty accurately sum up the week (passing the time with Snapchat + driving a minivan).

When Phoebe got back we flew down to LA together to go to my Grandma Mary's funeral. She passed away less than a week after I left Monrovia. She had been very ill with bone cancer that she was diagnosed with in January and her body finally succumbed to the cancer months later. I was really happy that she was fairly coherent during both of our visits while I was home, but I was also really relieved that she was going to be free from suffering after all that time. I still can't believe how well she was handling such a tremendous amount of physical pain. The funeral was amazing and honored her memory so well. I miss her a lot and think of her every day.

Settling in to life here has been really great. The first month with all the travel and the emotional state I was in after my grandma died was a little crazy but we've hit a pretty good groove. I've been SUPER busy! Everyone's busy but I'm not used to being this busy with a kid at home. I started working from home super part time for a small business in Philly, and I also decided to start taking piano students and I've got two (!) starting in a couple of weeks. And then Rhoda starts preschool next month (!!). I hadn't been planning on putting her in preschool till next year because she's not 3 till November but Robbie and I talked about it for a long time and we both decided it was going to be best for all of us. Also, preschool here = $$ = I needed to add to our family's income so it all worked out pretty well.

Some other pictures of life here...

Rhoda dressed how my grandmas dress (no, seriously)

A little Sunday stroll/dinner at Mori Point

Major perk of living in the RWC—my cousin Karl and his wife Laura (and their awesome dog Louie) live like 10 minutes away and we see them all the time. It's the best.

Another major perk—living by lots of dear old friends and getting to hang out with them whenever we want! For some reason everyone just wants to live here. I invite all of you to follow their example so we can be neighbors.

My parents came for a visit (that's my dad hidden under that yellow blanket—why is he so tiny) and it coincided with Robbie's birthday. Also, my dad helped me with like a dozen house projects. Thanks, Dad.

And I leave you with this picture of Rhoda who somehow made it to the floor one night in her sleep. I'm feeling the same way after this update. Phew! See you guys in six months!

baby, baby, where did our blog go?

I was admonished yesterday for neglecting my blog. I have things to write about, I think, but two forces are at work preventing me from posting my usual insights. One, I've been working a lot (I may or may not have earned 23 hours of comp time last week). Two, I come up with things to write about and then I either talk myself out of following through on that idea or I forget what I was going to write about. Any suggestions on how to deal with any of those problems would be greatly appreciated.

So here is an illustrated list of what I've been up to lately. Philosophical musings on less-important things to come later.

I finally watched the Colin Firth Pride and Prejudice! (As you may recall, I had never seen it before.) All in one evening! And, of course, I loved it. In other news, Lizzy Bennet is actually American?? Are the shades of Pemberley to be thus polluted?

We had a sleepover for work on Friday, and I actually slept over. I use the term "slept" loosely, as it more loosely resembled the sort of restless sleep that happens when you're flying overseas. And then I had to be somewhat presentable for all of the participants the next day as I served them breakfast at 6 am. Sigh.

But in more exciting work news, I totally met Betty White on Thursday. She is a nice lady, and she loves animals. What more could you want in a woman?

Robbie is in Haiti. Again.

I bought four pounds of strawberries on Saturday and I've already gone through them. Here's one of my favorite strawberry recipes so far—a delicious summer salad brought to you by a lovely woman in my ward. You're welcome in advance. (BACON.)

EASY BREEZY SUMMER SALAD
1 package (6 ounces) fresh baby spinach
1 pint fresh strawberries, sliced 
8 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
¼ cup chopped red onion 
¼ cup chopped walnuts (I substituted slivered almonds sautéed in butter until brown)  

 DRESSING 
Whisk together: 
1 cup mayonnaise
 ½ cup sugar 
¼ cup raspberry vinegar

Yield: 6-8 servings

So... what's new with you guys?

i get by with a little help from my friends

Remember how I said I was busy with a little side project? Well, here she is.

I've been participating in a workshop run by the Mobile Learning Institute for the past few weeks where we focus on developing innovative learning strategies. When I was trying to decide what strategy I'd like to test, I thought about three things I really enjoy—DC, meeting new people, and blogging—and decided to combine them!

The result is DiscoverYourDC.com—a DIY approach to exploring the District.  My goal is to compile itineraries of things to do in DC and share them with readers. I've even gotten a few submissions from friends so far that have really made the participatory aspect really fun. I've been wondering for the past little while how I could create a sort of tour guide for locals, and I think that this project really has some long-term potential.

Here's where I could use your help.

I know there are quite a few DC-area residents who read this blog, and even some former residents of DC that still hold the city near and dear to their hearts. I'd really love for you to check out the blog—maybe even think of an itinerary or two that you'd like to submit! I know that there are many interesting outings and neighborhoods that I'm missing out on, so it would be really fun to hear from some of my readers here—especially since there are many of you that I don't know very well. Plus, there's obviously a lot of room for growth in terms of content, as you'll see on the blog :)

If you're on Facebook... you can "like" the Discover Your DC page!

If you're on Twitter... you can follow us @DiscoverYourDC!

Thanks for indulging me in my little PSA—you guys are the bomb.

hello again, hello

Wow—I have really gotten bad at posting. Remember the days when you'd get multiple posts of my random musings each week? Each day, even?? Those were the days.

There is actually a good reason for this (a side project of sorts, to be revealed sometime this week), but the not-so-good reason is that I don't really have anything to say... and I've been unusually busy! I realize that everyone is busy these days but this past week alone, this is what I was up to:

Chilling backstage with Harry Belafonte—at work

Sampling way too much homemade dip—at work

Eating the best noodles Chinatown has to offer—at work

Enjoying the Kogod Courtyard at night—at work

Getting my portrait done in masking tape—at work

I realize that it sounds like my life revolves around work. And, well, it does. Right now, anyway. We go through boom/bust cycles. Busy months, dead months. And we break up the busy-ness with dip parties. (Truth.)

I am also not complaining. I really quite like my job. It's good to be busy. I was completely fooling myself when I thought life would get less busy after I finished school, but it's a pretty fun kind of busy, methinks.