city life.

I got 2 parking tickets today. That is $60 dollars in one day for the DC government. Lovely.

Now, I get parking tickets pretty often but 2 in one day is pretty terrible. City life's charms. On street parking at home and at work. This means I have a permit at home, so can park along the curb, but if I get home after 7pm one night, it's hard to find a spot so if I don't want to walk really far, then I sometimes have to park "illegally" overnight. I don't get caught everytime I do this but I wasn't so lucky this morning. But I had groceries to bring in last night and it was raining! I didn't want to walk 6 blocks and across a major road to get home lugging stuff in the rain. Not sure if that was worth $30 but at the time it felt like it would be.

I also have to park on the street at work. However, work is across town so my residential permit doesn't work there, this means I can only park for 2 hours. Then I have to go move it and move it far enough away from where I was previously parked to be sure the parking enforcer won't notice that I just moved and that I don't belong parking there all day, every day. Sigh. I like having a reason to leave the office and walk around for a bit, but sometimes I forget or get held up and can't go move the car. Hence parking ticket #2.

Once I don't need my car at work (transitioning to being at the office more), then I will start taking the metro and then I'm sure I will have many more commentaries about life in DC. Until thenm I shall share experiences such as parking tickets, moving the car every 2 hours and hauling in groceries in the rain.

If Ashley (my sister) had a blog then she could tell a tale of city life including find 2 mice in her apartment and trying to chase them into a homemade trap. Gross and hilarious. The building she lives in is old and historic, yet comes with its share of issues like mice appartently. So, we will take the bad (parking tickets, mice, overpriced everything) with the good (interesting people, walking everywhere, history and things to do, beautiful scenery.....).

Good news: Jonathan gets home tonight and I shall not be husbandless for almost 2 weeks....Yay. Now I just have to calm myself so I don't seem as "needy" as I feel......

alone time.

Jonathan's travels have increased lately so I have had way too much alone time for my own good. I did read all the Twilight books (even though I said I wouldn't hop on that bandwagon, but they were pretty darn entertaining!!). I have been studying for my licensure exam which is around the corner. This has been productive. I have gone to the gym more. Otherwise, I have sulked a bit and thought too much. Alone time gets old quickly for me. I am excited for a whole week with Jonathan coming up for Thanksgiving. We are going to North Carolina to spend some time in the mountains with Jonathan's side of the family.

I continue to be thankful for my job, since it takes up most of my time these days it's a good thing it's positive. The people I work with, peers and the families we serve, always inspire me and stretch me so much that I didn't know I could grow anymore. Sometimes I don't want to grow or stretch. It can be tiring. Somehow, I wake up in the morning, and the Lord refreshes me and I am ready to go again. Even if I went to bed and thought, "I can't do this in the morning". I do and I still love it.

Some examples of how I am "stretched" each day. A co worker tells a story of his childhood in an African country in which he had to flee as a teenager because civil war broke out (as in the movie, "Blood Diamond"), escape to the US after walking through countries in Africa, to never see his family again. Wow. A family I met with today that lives in one of the worse housing projects of DC (think "The Wire"), with 6 kids piled into a small apartment, and very affected by poverty. Yet, the older brother still helps the little brother with his homework. When they can't afford money for public transportation (which is most of the time), the teen girls and boys walk over 6 miles across the city to get to school and back. The Father (yes, they have a Dad in their life which is pretty rare yet amazing) walks everywhere, taking hours if needed, to get things for his family and attend appointments. They lost their mother suddenly to undetected illness. Yet, I'm sure these kids complain far less than most in the burbs with every toy imaginable and a nice car to transport them around. The upcoming struggle is to find Thanksgiving and Christmas baskets to have a nice meal together for the holidays. Lets see.....Another teenage girl that I work with who is healing from sexual abuse. She writes the most amazing poetry that touches me more than anything I've read from a NY Times Best Seller list. She has a gift and I am entrusted with this gift of her art and the expression painful feelings from such horrible things that have happened to her in her young life. A picture of resilience and strength, yet she sees herself as a shamed, dirty, stupid and poor child. I could tell you a story like this about each and every child, teenager and family I work with....Yet to write it down with my lame descriptors almost cheapens it. They are more amazing than my portrayal can describe and I wish you all had the opportunity to meet and understand and "see" them as I have and be changed. Incorporating the change and experience into my life is the hard part....but I will never complain about that....To not have poverty at my doorstep, sexual abuse in my past, deceased parents, racism, and so many other obstacles in my life, I am so undeserving and often go to sleep wondering "why me" as to the amount of goodness, opportunity, blessings and love in my life. Yes, I am lonely when Jonathan travels but this is such a small "thorn in my side". Yet the pain I do feel at times, makes me human, and able to relate and "be" with people in their pain, their uncertainty and that I am real, able to cry, fall apart, scream and feel "crazy".....

Not much to say so.....

Quiz: one word answers only (which I did not succeed at doing).

Where is your cell phone? coffee table
Your hair: helpless (need appointment ASAP...crap, that is more than one word)
Your mother: giving
Your father: patient
Favorite food: southern or mexican
Dream last night: my husband leaving to go to work (oh wait, that really happened at 4am).
Favorite drink: diet coke
Goal/Dream: a more simple life with children and to where I can give back to God and others
What room are you in: living
Hobby: reading
Fear: paralyzing
Where you want to be in 6 years: kiddos and a happy hubby....not sure about anything else
Where were you last night? dinner for my sister's birthday
Something that you aren't? half hearted
Muffins: tempting
Wish list: patience (i started to type other things but then realized if i had to write one word, i need patience the most, because i shouldn't "want" so much!)
Where did you grow up? Campbell St.
Last thing you did: ate a mini snickers bar (halloween candy)
What are you wearing? workout capri's and my gator hoodie
your tv: source of noise which i enjoy
your pets: RIP daisy :(
Friends: faithful
your life: unbalanced right now
your mood: restless and bored
missing someone: yes
vehicle: makes my life easier
something you are not wearing: makeup
favorite store: anthropologie and target
favorite color: pink
last time you laughed: today
last time you cried: last night
your best friend: jonathan
Place you go over and over: facebook, ha
person who emails you regularly: shopping websites and my supervisor (that is sad, someone send me real email!)
favorite place to eat: home