Did I mention the toilet paper?

I didn't? Well let me tell you.

The last night of our vacation (Friday), we went out as a family (all 18 of us...that's the extended family, by the way. We are NOT the Duggars. We're much cuter. And older.) for my grandmother's 80th birthday celebration. My parents have been going to Destin since before I was a twinkle in anybody's eye, and there's this one restaurant, Captain Dave's, that we always seem to go to. So Captain Dave's it was for Grandma's birthday!

Earlier that day, M and I had taken a break from the beach and braved the horror that is an outlet mall. Yes, we did it. Granted, we lasted about an hour and a half and only went into 4 different stores, but we did it all the same. M got a shirt for free (I LOVE GIFT CARDS!), I got two great skirts, and this fantastic, and I mean FANTASTIC long, white summer dress. It was originally over $200 but I got it for $50!! Woohooo! That's practically like spending no money, when you get it that cheap, right? (Note: Apparently American Express does not agree with this reasoning.)

ANYWAY, since it was a special occassion, I put on my beautiful white dress, put on make-up (who wears make-up when they're at the beach?) and left my hair wavy. Oh, did I mention I also had new gold flip-flops? Because I wore those, too. M told me I looked beautiful, and I would post a picture here, except I don't have my camera by me right now. All this to say, I was feeling great, feeling pretty and feeling loved. And was about to spend some great time with much of the family.

The majority of dinner went well. The food was good, the conversation was great, the wine was free (thanks Jared!) and the view was amazing. Actually, we saw a wedding taking place as we ate dinner. They had interesting paper palm trees as decoration. If it were me, I would probably just stick with the "decoration" of the gorgeous ocean. But I digress.

After we finished up dinner, I headed to the bathroom because, well, because...why do you think people go to the bathroom? Geez. After washing my hands (WHO DOESN'T DO THAT? It's so gross when you hear the toilet flush but then don't hear the sink water come on. Blech.) I headed back to the table, a lazy grin on my face as my body processed my food and wine. A couple people looked up at me and smiled and I thought, "wow, I must really look nice in this dress."

And then, as I sat down, I realized.

I had a three-foot long train of toilet paper stuck to my golden flip-flop.

Short but Sweet.

We just returned from a much-needed four day family vacation with my extended fam. Good time, good food, good weather, good beach. With the stress of the move and the big date looming (We move August 30th!) It was really wonderful to get away for a few days and do nothing but...well, relax.

And these, dear readers, are the two pictures that best sum up the feel of the vacation. Yes, that's M. And yes, he's happily snoozing (ok, not really snoozing but at least relaxing) under a couple pounds of sand. Is there anything better than this? He would probably say "Yes, if I had a PBR in my hand." Which he did most of the time, come to think of it...

And then this, below. All I can say is that this is the face of a happy woman, who is not concerend about a job in Chicago, or world peace or international economic development (these are the things that keep me up at night.) This is the face of a woman who woke up to the sound of the surf outside the sliding door, drank Mike's Hard Lemonade (yes, I know it's a girly drink. I'm a girl. Get over it.) and ate so much seafood it almost made her sick. And this is the face of a woman who apparently has many more freckles than she ever realized. Interestingly enough, a family friend once told me that freckles are kisses from angels. If this is true, M's probably going to want to have a little talking to with some of them angels...

A Revelation

Note: this is an environmentally-friendly-light bulb-Aha!-moment.

Maybe I should blame it on the two glasses of wine that I had before church yesterday (our good friend Katie says one of her most meaningful worship experiences came after a couple glasses of wine), but yesterday in church, as we were singing some song or another, a light finally came on in my head.

If we believe that God has provided for our salvation, surely we can believe that He will provide for us in this little move to Chicago.

Taa-daa!! DING DING DING! We have a winner! (Also note that by "we" I mean "I". Because somehow M came to this realization a long time ago.)

And then I immediately started thinking about that little passage about not worrying in the book of Matthew. Remember that passage? The one you try and pretend isn't there because I DON'T HAVE A PROBLEM WITH WORRYING ABOUT EVERY LITTLE DETAIL OF MY LIFE AND IT'S NOT LIKE I'M A CONTROL FREAK WHO WANTS TO PLAN EVERYTHING OUT ANYWAY. Right, that one. Surely, Jesus tells us, that if God clothes the birds of the air and the flowers of the field (which by the way look better than Solomon in all his splendor) which are here today and gone tomorrow, He can take care of us, right? And surely if we really believe that He's taken care of the big stuff, He can take care of the little stuff, right? All He's asking of us is that we pursue first the things of Him...and all this other stuff will fall into place. It might not look exactly how we would have had it to look (ie, I will probably not be the Executive Vice President of a Fortune 500 Chicago business), and there's definitely no promise that it will be a walk in the park. But surely, in the knowledge and experience of what has been provided in the eternal, we can believe the temporal will be provided for, too, right?

So the light has finally come on. Don't get me wrong: the reality is that the proverbial light will probably continue to flicker on and off during these two years in Chicago (and probably on for the rest of our lives). But it's a good revelation to grasp right now before we take the plunge of moving at the end of August.

And I'm really considering having a glass or two of wine before every service. It obviously helps with something.

Sigh...

The only thing getting me through this...

Is the knowledge of this in just a few more days...

Can I just say that I applaud the workers who first brought us the weekend? And can I also say that we have a LOT to learn from European attitudes toward vacation? Man, to take a whole month off....

In the meantime, I'll look forward to our five day break coming up.

Why you should never search for a job using the word “international” or “research” (in Chicago)

Unless, of course, you have a PhD in the medical field or want to be a CPA and work in international tax (I can’t even do American taxes). Because frankly, reader, these are the ONLY jobs that come up when you use these words on a job search website.

Because I know you are all extremely interested in the continuing saga that is my occupational future, I’ll give you an update: there is no update. Well, I take that back. I have officially signed a short-term contract to do some consulting work. And heck, who knows, maybe more will follow! Woohoo! Let’s all stand up and do a little dance in celebration!

Now that that’s over…the cold, hard fact is that otherwise, the well is dry. I mean BONE DRY. Apparently the list of bleeding-heart international organizations for which I am qualified in Chicago is equal to about three. And none of them are hiring (what, is there a bad economy or something?) So, being the innovative, 20-something that I am, I have looked to reinvent myself, ie, capitalize on the “less the focus of my job but also interesting work I’ve done and possibly would make me marketable” things that I’ve done here in Washington. I’ve looked at PR jobs (had a couple good interviews). I’ve looked at event planning jobs. I’ve looked at fundraising jobs. I’ve even looked at being a secretary. I’ve tried to find a job that I would actually like doing (working with kids is one of the top things on that list) but even that’s not working. And even when I do get an interview and it goes swimmingly well, I hear nothing back.

Which brings me to my next point. In the book of second Corinthians, Paul says something about a thorn in his flesh, a messenger of Satan’s to torment him. I’ve figure out what Paul’s talking about (and am therefore putting to rest the debate over what the thorn was that has been raging for centuries). Paul was hiring for a position (probably scribe or assistant). He interviewed a couple people, but was slow to follow up. One of the interviewees, who was anxiously awaiting a response since he/she thought his/her interview went fantastically well, sent a standard “thank you for the interview” email (or whatever the first century equivalent was. Papyrus?) And then, a week later, another email when he/she had not heard anything. And one more a few days later. Understandably, this person has now become a thorn in Paul’s flesh, and he/she is probably tormenting him. But…why can’t he just respond?? It wouldn’t be so annoying if he would just reject him/her when he/she asks!! The “thorn” has feelings and expectations too! Note: Obviously this is in no way related to my own experience. Obviously.

So I labor on at the task of finding labor, while at the same time trying at least a little to not be a thorn in anybody’s side (with mixed results, I’ll admit). Apparently finding and getting a job isn’t as easy as I remember the first few times I’ve done it, and M was right that it might take a while. Interesting. M being right…I’m seeing a pattern here.

All that to say, at this point, I would take almost any job if they paid me enough (and would consider becoming an indentured servant if they gave us health benefits, too). If you know anyone whose hiring in the greater Chicago area, have their people call my people. I just don’t do taxes.

Overseen. With bonus material: We really did just do that.

First, I give you Overseen, episode 3.

Yesterday as I was walking to meet M at the metro, I was stopped by a red light. I was looking around, as I'm prone to do, and there, lying on the sidewalk- actually in the little handicap access ramp that leads from the street/crosswalk to the sidewalk- is a man. He's in spandex workout gear. And he's doing what appears to be sit-ups extremely fast. And he has some free-weights next to him. Did I mention that he is on the sidewalk? On the corner? Of I Street and 16th Street, one of the busiest intersections in DC? At rush-hour? Doing these weird hiccup-like sit-ups? In the middle of the sidewalk? I am seriously considering getting the dude a real gym membership. Along with that other guy who runs through the streets and, when stopped by a red light, runs around in circles yelling "HEY! HEY! WOOO! YEAH!" in the middle of the intersection. Also in spandex.

Bonus material:

My work friend N and I just raced up the elevators. Like as in she went in one, I went in the other, we both pushed our floor and we "raced" to see who would get there first. She says she won. I'm not so sure.



And yes, we raced in the elevators of a "high class" law firm building (our government organization is renting the space). And yes, we've both graduated from elementary school.

If you sat in a cubicle all day, you would probably do the same. All in my quest to lighten this city up, one worker/exerciser/traffic person at a time.

I watched cartoons this morning

I got to the office gym this morning for my before-mentioned "morning gym" routine and was flipping through the channels on the TV in front of my machine when I came across a channel that was showing a bunch of the old Hanna-Barbera cartoons. And so I watched them for my 33 minutes (yes, I know that's a weird number, but whatever) on the eliptical machine. I literally LOVED watching them...it was a great way to start off a Monday.

And here's the thing: in my enjoyment, I realized that if people watched cartoons more often they would be happier, nicer people. We are so over-stimulated by news, politics and celebrity stuff that we've forgotten how to laugh. Cartoons, in all their ridiculousness, help us not take things so seriously. Who can be uptight when they're watching the Wacky Races? Or Yogi Bear? This is not to say that we shouldn't pay attention to the news (if I hear one more thing about Michael Jackson or Sarah Palin, though, I will vommit), it's just to say...well....let's lighten up a little.

I choose to do so by watching Penelope Pitstop and Dick Dastardly (with his dog Muttley, of course) You should consider it, too.

By the way, does anyone remember Hanna-Barbera Land in Houston? I vaguely remember this theme park, that's now Splash Town, the water park....

Winter coat: update

Well praise the Lord, because we just happened to walk into LL Bean and there just happened to be a great down coat with hood and extra lining etc etc in Mason's EXACT SIZE (which is hard because he wears a "tall") and it JUST HAPPENED TO BE ON SALE!!!!! WOOOHOOOOO!!!!!

So instead of spending 300-400 dollars on a great down winter coat, we spent 1/3 of that.

Now if only we could find one for me...