Adventures in baby-sitting

During my last bout of unemployment (thanks, dismal Phoenix economy), I got creative about how to make some quick cash. Every day I scoured Craig's List looking for random gigs.  Said gigs included participating in focus groups, working as a brand ambassador and I did a couple of health studies at ASU (having someone pay ME to get a physical = genius).  It kept things interesting.

Since I've been in DC, things have been somewhat mundane because I've just being doing the office temp thing. A few weeks ago I got a call from a woman who received my name from her sister-in-law via my friend Cassie asking me if I was interested in watching her 10 month old twins. Initially I was hesitant about accepting since the prospect of not one, but two small children seemed a little daunting. However, I decided it would be good for me to mix it up. Plus I heart bebes.

There was some definite anxiety on the actual day of about watching baby A and baby E. They're on a pretty tight schedule: eat every couple of hours, have a bottle every couple of hours, sleep every couple of hours. Repeat. You get the idea. And factor in there are two of them, which means double time.  Anyway, my anxiety was all for naught, because things went really well. The highlight of our time together was going on a huge walk around their hood, Chevy Chase, which is quite possibly one of the cutest communities in the US of A. Aside from a few moments of post-nap hysteria, I was  impressed with how easy-going they both were.  I've watched them twice now, and I think it's safe to say, they like me, they really like me.

                                                           

                                                  

clean. happy. ready to zonk out. success.



i believe in a thing called love

...and so do Will & Kate. For some reason this song http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRYNYb30nxU was stuck in my head while I watched the Royal Wedding. Perhaps because the band is British? Who knows, but I thoroughly enjoy the chorus.
Since the actual wedding took place at the crack o' dawn on Friday (clearly I value sleep a lot more than some people, who watched it in real time) we had a Royal Brunch on Saturday, to ohh and ahh over the dress, the venue, David Beckham, etc. The girls who hosted know how to do it right and I couldn't get enough of the decorations. And the food was also pretty tasty - sweet potato hash, beignets, muffins, and fruit.

My favorite is the "Keep Calm and Marry On". I see singles wards worldwide adapting this motto in the near future.

Evading Taxes

In college I would usually turn to Facebook /reading blogs/anything on the web to procrastinate writing papers. Now that it's time to wrap up my taxes, I'm so desperate to avoid them that I am blogging. Hmph. You would be too if you owed the state of AZ as much money as I do...not cool.

Anyway, I am happy to report that I had a nice, low-key weekend. This has been rare since moving here. I can't quite explain it, but the pace of life is so busy that I feel compelled to always be doing something, and there are always fun things going on. In a lot of ways I really enjoy this. But there comes a point when complete exhaustion sets in which can make life miserable. Basically I haven't felt truly well rested since I got to DC at the end of February. No bueno.

However, this weekend I made a concerted effort to catch up on my sleep. I slept in Saturday and Sunday, which has made a huge difference in how I've felt. Rejuvenation - check.

Friday night I started things off right with a much needed manicure/pedicure. It was long overdue. And the nail tech was incredible. Props to her and her perfectionist ways for doing an excellent job and helping me feel relaxed and pampered. Blissful, indeed. Afterwards I met up with some friends for Indian food and debriefing. Always a good time.

Saturday was a productive day that included the gym, cleaning, Crumbs, and the outlet mall. It rained most of the day, and sadly, the outlet mall did not put out as hoped. The highlights included purchasing an umbrella, cute juice glasses from Crate & Barrel and a sweater stone. I know, I know, how could I possibly contain myself? But, it was still a pleasant day because I wasn't confined to a schedule, which has been pretty common for my Saturdays thus far in DC.

Tonight I went to a BBQ where we had some good eats and played bocce ball. I, being a bocce ball novice, wasn't exactly an asset to my team. Aside from a few lucky plays, I was kinda terrible. Though I see why people get addicted to playing. Hopefully there will be more b-ball in my future.

Earlier in the afternoon, I mentioned to my roomies I was thinking about making cookies. My roommate Becky would not let up on this notion, so I ended up channeling my inner domestic diva (the apron is a nice touch, no?) and whipped up some chocolate chip delights with a pinch of sea salt on top. The trick is to add the addtional salt right before you throw them in the oven. Doesn't disappoint.

PS - Jill please send me YOUR choco chip cookie recipe. It's a lot better than the one on the Harris Teeter chocolate chip bag. Boo on HT all around.

Life Moves Pretty Fast

I blame blogspot for my lack of desire to post regularly. It isn't the most user friendly, and it frustrates me when I try to correct something fifteen times without any success. Anyway, things have been ever busy around these parts. I'm still amazed that I get to live in such a beautiful city rich in history with endless things to do.

The other day I had someone ask me about my experience in DC thus far and what I've enjoyed most about living here. Firstly, I absolutely love all of the diversity. So many different cultures which is refreshing after coming from Phoenix where it's mostly Mormons, Mexicans and a lot of overly tan people. Whenever I'm out and about and see these people from all over the world, I want to know their history and their perspective on the world. If only it weren't weird for me to ask them 20 questions while they shop for produce or wait for the train..

One of the other things that DC has to offer is lots of opportunity. This was something I could sense when I came out in January for my trial run. Even though I'm still looking for full time employment, the economy is strong here and undoubtedly the right position will come along sooner or later. This is a place where people make their dreams come true and it's inspiring to see. Also, opportunity abounds for new relationships and it has been incredible that I've already been able to meet so many people. Great things are ahead.

I'm still temping, which has it's ups and downs. It's nice because I would be going crazy if I were just hanging out everyday, but it's also been challenging to job search and submit resumes/network after putting in a full day. And the work itself isn't very exciting and I'm not gaining any new skills. Nonetheless, I am grateful to be earning money instead of watching my savings account decline.

The weather has been an adjustment for me. When you're used to 332 days of sunshine and you are suddenly getting rain, rain and more rain, it's a drag, no? Helllooo humidity, goodbye straight hair. Until November, perhaps? April Fools was indeed a cruel joke, I was sportin my marshmellowpuff queen jacket. Pretty sexy. But it gets the job done. The look on my face says, "why the H is it still so bloody cold?" Sidenote - I've drunk more hot chocolate in the past 3 months than I have in the past 3 years. Seriously.

My spring/summer wardrobe - approximately 80% of the clothes I own - arrived yesterday from AZ (thanks, mom!), so my new approach is to will the warmer temps to come. So far it's working - today was pleasant. I headed out to Farragut Square to eat my lunch amongst the throngs of other Vitamin D starved people here:

Some other exciting things that have been going on:

*Jimmermania is not just a phenomenon in the Beehive state. Little P-town has serious Fredette fever too. This greeted me when I arrived for a b-day party last week:

*What is better than fro-yo? FREE fro-yo. This shop just opened by my oficina, and was all about making a good first impression with its neighbors. No objections here. It's not Yogurtland, but it will suffice. I may or may not have hit up Ben & Jerry's earlier this week for their free cone day as well. Don't judge me. Besides, I had to walk half a mile to get there.

*Tourist season is officially underway. Steady stream of friends in town the next two weekends and got to hostess my first visitor, Ashley C. last weekend. Unfortunately the cherry blossoms were mostly gone, but we still enjoyed going to the Tidal Basin and a delicious late breakfast at Eastern Market. AC took the pics that day, so sadly I have none of us running around town. My guess is they look more or less like any pic you've ever seen on The Mall. Just a hunch :)

*I got a bike! Or more accurately, I'm storing a bike for a friend. Even better. There are some goregous places to ride around here, and I cannot wait for some Saturday excursions into the city or to ride along the Potomac.

*Our little casa is coming together. All five of us finally agreed on a rug, we have curtains for our front nook, as well as freshly upholstered cushions for the bay window. Yes, bay window. What, you've always wanted one too? It's the best. I adore our house and am so happy it's turning into a home ;) I had a vision for my room, inspired by my Anthro apron, courtesty of Jill, and it should be complete soon. Stay tuned...

Zipcar Take 1

Meet Truman. He lives a few blocks away from me. He's available to rent by the hour and came in quite handy on Saturday when I had some furniture to pick up didn't feel like harrassing some guy to help me. If you ask me, Zipcar is a totally genius idea. Especially when I purchased a membership via Groupon and saved a ton of dinero. What is Zipcar, you might be wondering? It's car sharing. You pay an annual fee and then you are able to rent cars/trucks (they range anywhere from Kias to BMWs) by the hour, for a very reasonable price. These vehicles 'live' all over the Metropolitan area, close to Metro stations. I first heard about Zipcar a few years ago and have now experienced firsthand how practical it is in a big city like DC.

Back at the beginning of March, I was lucky enough to score some free furniture off the listserv (Craig's List for Mormons, essentially). The only problem was the girl who was giving the stuff away kept changing plans on me, so I continued to sleep on an airmattress and live in a chaotic/unorganized room in the mean time. When things are free, you cannot complain too loudly, right? Anyway, the day for pick up finally arrived. Enter my first time using Zipcar. My roommate Laura was nice enough to come with me into the District to help navigate, bright and early on Saturday morning. If you think you are a competent person, drive in D.C. and all belief in yourself will be lost. Ok, not completely, but it is a confusing place to get around, even with GPS. What makes it even worse is when you are on a strict schedule (Zipcar late fees start @ $50. Yikes). After some anxiety and a few illegal U-turns, we made it to our destination and worked quickly to haul my new bed, dresser, nightstand, and headboard into the truck. Free is pretty hard to beat; bless the girl who gave them away for saving me a bunch of money!

Thankfully getting home wasn't as complicated and we unloaded everything in approximately 8 mins. I had some other things I needed to pick up so I hurried over to Target. Zipcar is good for a lot of things - one of them being efficiency. Usually when I go to Target I will meander around and waste time looking at random stuff. Not so on this trip. I was in and out in a record 10 minutes - I should get some type of award or ribbon for this accomplishment. Traffic in Arlington on Saturdays is no joke and I knew that I would probably get stuck in some. Luckily I made it back to park Truman right on time. Happy, oh so happy.

My Saturday got even better when Heather came to pick me up and we headed over to Costco. Also adding to our joy was the fact that it was around 70 degrees and sunny. YES. Costco on Saturdays with Heather (and once upon a time, Neebs) is one of my favorite things in the world. Not exaggerating. When we lived in PHX it was tradition to hit up Costco for samples, lunch, and occasionally we would actually buy stuff. This particular trip I accomplished all of these things. Including checking out this regional item Costco has to offer: chocolate capital building, anyone?

Temp it Up

The day which seemed unfathomable for so long finally arrived: I moved into my new place and retired my couch surfer status. I have no desire to pack a bag for a very long time. Mostly because I am still not totally unpacked and am living the glam life a la sleeping on an air mattress. Nonetheless, I am grateful for a sense of normalcy and to have all of my things in one place and to not feel like I'm infringing on someone else's space.

I have been temping at a large non-profit in DC for the past week and a half. This is positive for several reasons, including the structure it brings to my day and the cash it puts in my pocket. My commute isn't too bad, although waking at the crack of dawn has been a rough adjustment. I've been enjoying scoping out Dupont Circle, an area i the District I haven't previously been to. A few gems I saw one morning on my walk from the Metro station to the office:

Picture uno: I, for one, find this shop's honesty refreshing.
Numero dos: how awesome is this sweater? Bright + squiggly; is there a better combo?
Tres: I'm applying. CC's got what you need.

February Recap

Apparently my passion for blogging was short lived. Just kidding, mom. Things got a little (ok, a lot) crazy/stressful which left me zero motivation to record them for posterity's sake. Because, yeah, it wasn't the great month ever. My sublet in Bethesda ended January 31st so I played couch surfer the remainder of my one month stay in Northern Virginia. Living out of a suitcase started to take it's toll, along with staying at various friends' houses and mooching rides off of people. The record was 4 different places in one week. Don't get me wrong, I am incredibly grateful that I had shelter (free shelter, no less) though there's no place quite like your own space. Despite the challenges, I decided that I do want to stay in DC permanently so I began searching for housing. That proved to be a whole new ordeal - I will get back to that in a bit.

I was scheduled to fly back to AZ on Feb 12th. I've never been so excited to get on a plane before. Unfortunately, I ended up missing my flight because of traffic on the freeway courtesy of a bad car accident. There were no other flights out that day, so I was stuck an extra night. Big disappointment, especially because I had plans to hang out with the amigas once I got to PHX. However, the night turned out a lot better than expected because my friend Katie introduced me to a delicious Indian restaurant and we had fun reminiscing about our time in U3 years ago.

PHX greeted me with exceptionally warm weather (80 degrees when I landed) and I was rejoicing after a month of snow and cold temperatures. It was great to be amongst family and friends and not have to provide a bio sketch about myself every other minute. Some of the highlights included:

*Reuniting with Last Chance, aka my favorite store of all time (2X) - found some amazing treasures, per the usual.

*Yogurtland, LGO, Pita Jungle, Rumbi, In N Out, Joe's Farm Grill, Pomegranate - none of which are located on the East coast. Sad.

*Galentines day celebracion, complete with MoBach throwdowns and 'A' mountain night hike

*Susan's Run - loved seeing old friends and honoring Susan's memory

*Jill's no-bakes, aka the best chocolate morsels ever. I think it's all the love they are made with

*Never Say Never with SK. Bieb's has got it going on and tween girls are hilarious.

*I finally got an iPhone. Worth it, worth it, worth it. Best decision I've made in a long time.

While I was in PHX, things started coming together for the house I was hoping to move to in Arlington. This was a miracle in itself because getting the house was contingent on a zillion other things working out. Anyway, I booked my one-way ticket to DC thinking I would be all set to move in Feb. 25th, the day the lease went into effect. Wrong. I am still living out of a suitcase (love the patience lessons, yes I do) and bunking in with strangers, though we should be able to move into our new house tomorrow. Unless something absurd happens. Given the events of the past month and a half, I'm not ruling it out...

Caralie + me. It makes me sad to think about how much older/taller she'll be the next time I see her.