One of my favorite scriptures in the Book of Mormon is Enos 1:27.

"And I soon go to the place of my rest, which is with my Redeemer; for I know that in him I shall rest. And I rejoice in the day when my mortal shall put on immortality, and shall stand before him; then shall I see his face with pleasure, and he will say unto me: Come unto me, ye blessed, there is a place prepared for you in the mansions of my Father. Amen."

A very comforting scripture in general, but most especially when a loved one passes from this life into the next. My Aunt Marilyn is now with her Redeemer and is resting and free from a physical body which can be prone to pain, sickness, and disease. But more than that, her mind and heart are free. Former Mormon President/Prophet David O. McKay once remarked:

"The greatest battles in life are fought out daily in the silent chambers of the soul."

I haven't made my love and obsession of New Hampshire a secret. Can you blame me? NH is beautiful and has such a diversity of scenery that is incomparable. The Lakes Region, coastline, forest areas, the mountains (North Country), the more urban areas, the country, and all within a short drive of eachother. It reminded me of Idaho in some ways, though NH is a bit superior, IMO. It reminds me of Washington State much more.

Well one of the great things about Washington State is that you get a lot of that diversity, though much more spread out. Mt. Rainier, Mt. St. Helens and more, the country, the urban, the forests, the beaches and coastline, beautiful bodies of water, suburbia, etc. There isn't the beautiful color of fall that manifests itself in the leaves during Fall and there isn't the proximity to other states, but it's home, my home.

I am so excited to go camping, hiking, biking, weekending, etc. The west truly has so much to offer and the summer's in the west are amazing!

I am going to bear my testimony about the greatness of Facebook. It has allowed me to become closer with the friends I have, reconnect with long lost friends, become friends with people I met briefly, or might never have met without Facebook, and learn so much more about my friends* and in turn, learn about myself.

My mom always told me that the friendships from high school will pale in comparison to the friendships you get in college and beyond, and boy was she right.

If you haven't, get on the Facebook wagon.


*Also includes family.

I am thinking of having a housewarming party in the next week or so. I'd like to do it on a Saturday and have it be open for a few hours since my condo is only so big and people are pretty busy. I'd also like to have some nice weather so people can sit out on my deck and enjoy the view.

Would any of my family members reading this blog in the area drive to Seattle for it? Comment or facebook me and let me know.

The economy is still in the shitter. I've applied to a few jobs where I am overqualified and thought for sure I'd get a call back or something, but...nothing. Something will come along, someday.

Today, though, something interesting happened. Someone friend requested me on Facebook. We have some mutual friends (mainly campaign workers in D.C.), and so I accepted and took a look at his Facebook profile. He owns a firm that does communications work. They are hiring, but I am not quite qualified for what they are hiring for. Therefore, I decided to shoot him a Facebook email and ask if he would meet with me to possibly do an internship.

This is a great firm that does really good work. And I think it would be awesome to really get some great experience in communications and PR. He said yes to my email provided I email him a resume and cover letter!

Thoughts? No lectures on working for free, please.

But the damage that we've incurred will continue for a long long time. Luckily we have a President-Elect who will attempt to clean up the damage.

Today is a day I do not celebrate for myself, for I have celebrated enough already. Today is a day I celebrate for my country and world. Today is a day I celebrate for people of color who now realize that depsite the racism and discrimination that exist in this country, this is a land of opportunity and hope.

I can't help but wonder what my dear Katie (my daughter, who is mixed race) feels. Perhaps a little more optimism? Perhaps she has higher self-esteem? Perhaps other kids will be a bit nicer and she'll face fewer jokes because of her mixed race? That's my hope.

Lots of new season premieres! I am watching United States of Tara, a new show on Showtime and I really like it. It's about a mom who has Schizophrenia (multiple personalities). Entertaining!

She sold me a kitten with a congenital defect and a kitten with worms. DO NOT BUY KITTENS FROM HER. She is an unethical and dishonest cat breeder. I can supply supporting documentation proving that my kitten has a congenital defect and proof that she only dewormed the kittens once (when they were 2 weeks old). She refuses to work with me on a solution.

Steer clear of Nielkats Scottish Fold Cattery.

It is the center of the world right now! So exciting! I miss being able to take the subway everywhere! I miss having so much to see and do you can never get bored. I miss seeing the Washington Monument when I ride would the subway from Maryland to DC everyday for work. Washington D.C. is truly my Mecca and I will always miss it.

Anytime I get upset that I am not going to the Inauguration, I remember how insane it will be. The crowds, traffic, packed everything, lines, outrageous prices, etc. Hotels were around $600/night when they are usually 1/6th of that. Sorry, but I'm not spending $2k-3k for a 2-2.5 star hotel for 4-5 nights. 

She really is. I'm sad she gained weight back, but sooooo many people do, including me. And watching her shows lately has been really uplifting. She is such a good example to people right now. Today she talked to various people who have lost weight, gained some back, and others who just want to start losing now. Oprah mentioned that being angry at falling off the wagon isn't how you should feel right now. Be positive and move forward. Amen.

There is no shame in falling, only falling and not getting back up.

I'm pretty exhausted and annoyed with politics right now. I am scared of what Congress will do next. Even though the Dems control the House, Senate and in a little bit of time, the White House, I still get worried about what they might do with all of that power. 

Of course there are automatic and built-in incentives, such as fitting into clothes you haven't worn in a while, higher self-esteem, more energy, etc. But I've also been thinking of other incentives I could give to myself as I reach various weight loss goals. I think when I've lost around 30-40 pounds, I will go buy some cute workout clothes. I really should buy some stuff now and I might need to go buy some emergency workout clothes, because sweatpants and t-shirts might not cut it, but I really want to extra incentivize my weight loss. The gym I'm joining has some massage therapists on staff, so maybe another incentive could be a massage. Any ideas are welcome.

I have been posting much more regularly on my diet blog. I'm tired, I have headaches and I just feel like crap, which means I don't feel like posting here. Here's hoping my withdrawals from caffeine and sugar end in the next day or two.