Tumultuous changes…

Ah, it’s almost the end of August. I can hardly believe that summer is coming to a close so quickly. This summer’s theme for me has been “travel”. Every two weeks since the start of May until the close of August, I will have traveled. About once a month, I have gone to Kansas City for work, and then in between those trips, I have had personal trips to make back to Kansas.

The third week of July, I went to KC and worked at Block HQ for the Political Action Campaign in-person event. I organized all the logistics of it, and thankfully, it was a success. I am so thankful for this job; I enjoy it quite a lot, and I’m always learning something new – which is refreshing. Upon returning home, we discovered that my husband’s time at his firm would be cut short. His last day was August 13^th with no severance. A challenging time, indeed – thankfully, we can survive on my salary and his soon to arrive unemployment benefits for the time being. We’re praying that the Lord provides a good law job for him soon! So, in the meantime, we’re trusting God and trying to be patient.

At the start of August, we made the “jump” and flew to Kansas for my grandmother’s 80^th birthday celebration. It was lovely to see all my extended family – well, most of it. And my husband was able to meet my Aunt Lori and cousin Wes for the first time. It was a great weekend. I enjoyed a lot of fun cousin time in Salina. My grandmother – Mimi – seemed to enjoy herself, so that’s good. All of us grand kids collaborated and created her a photo book of memories with her. I think she liked it, and she’ll have it when she is missing us. We all live far and wide – from California, to Ohio, to New Jersey, to D.C. Thus, photo memories are important.

A few weeks ago, we encountered another lovely obstacle. Our landlord informed us that she sold our place! Can you believe it? Well, it’s happening. We have until the first weekend in October to move and find another place to live. So, we’re looking for a new home, as well. As if we didn’t already have enough to handle. On the up side, one of my close college girlfriends and her husband flew to DC a week ago – and they are living here for good! I’m so thrilled. He is stationed at the Pentagon, so they are staying with family while they look for a permanent home. I’m quite excited to spend some good, quality time with her, and just share life together.

We are loving life with our church community, as well. There is a sweet home group that we are part of, and those folks feel like family to us. We are grateful for their love, prayers, and support. This church community really knows how to love others well. It’s been a blessing to grow in our faith, knowledge of the Word and the Holy Spirit alongside such loving, lively, and fruitful believers. This summer, the teaching series has been about True Community. We have been studying 1^st John. It’s been good, challenging, and life-giving.

This past weekend, I spent with my family in Kansas City. One of my cousins on my Mom’s side got married. We had a lovely time. It was wonderful to see all of this side of the family and catch up with folks. I think the last time I have seen some of them was at my wedding, almost two years ago! It’s hard to believe. The wedding reception was so fun! Dancing with my cousins and nieces was fabulous. And it’s a great workout, as well. After the reception, I enjoyed a dip in the pool to cool off. Today, we all went to see Planes at the AMC 20 in KC that has recliners in the theatre! That is the way to do a movie. It was lovely.

Looking forward to the fall, I have a couple of hopes, and/or goals. One is to be healthier. My husband and I are going to do “Whole 30” during the month of September. I am looking forward to eating food that is all good for me, and laying off drinking alcohol for a bit. It will be good for us. And I need to force myself to exercise more…do my knee exercises, yoga, the elliptical. Oh, and I mentioned taking a Marketing course – well, after a lot of struggle, I came to discover that it will not work out this fall, which is okay. Another season it will be better. When we have less up in the air and going on in our lives…

And to close this lengthy post…a few reflections or thoughts to consider – as always, I am open to your thoughts/feedback.

-                 -- When life becomes tough and throws you curveballs, smile in its face, put on a courageous spirit, and run full force ahead.

-                    -- Welcome the surprises that life brings you and choose to embrace the upside in the process.

-                    --When one wants to give up, keep pressing – there’s something worthwhile waiting on the other side.

-                    -- Even though its hard to look past the flaws of those who we would rather not interact with, in the long run, choosing to treat them with respect, kindness, and even friendship proves to bless those we dislike.

-                   --  Always keep loving, even when it’s hard, even when you want to give up and run away. Keep loving…STRONG.

Well, friends – that’s all I have for this month. Until next month – keep living strong.

-       - Tina Lou 

Summertime

Hello Summer!

What a busy summer it has been thus far! I have been a travelling fool, as well. At the start of the month, my sister and her family (the Stucky's) came to visit Grant and I. We had a blast with them! The first day they were here we went to the National Zoo and it was great fun. We saw the elephants and the pandas among many other animals. That night was "girls night" while the guys went to a National's game. My sister and I enjoyed some delicious wine, ice cream, and chocolate while we watched Morning Glory. Good times, indeed. The following day, we headed down to the National Mall. We went to the American History Museum and saw Dorthy's shoes, Julia Child's kitchen, and the epic Star Spangled Banner Flag. Eating lunch out of a food truck was yummy. In the afternoon, we spent a good amount of time blowing bubbles and chasing them, and flying a kite! To round out our time on the Mall, we went and explored the Lincoln Memorial. It was fabulous! That night we ate in and played cards and drank lots of bourbon - sooo oh good! We loved having them stay.

The following week, I flew to Kansas City for a week long work trip. We found out that they did an internal hire for our new Chief Government Relations Officer. She's moving to DC and will be running the shop starting August 1. With her arrival, I will now have two jobs in one - horray. I will be doing "soft support" for her - booking travel, managing her calendar, reading her emails, doing her expense report, and anything else she needs all the while keeping up with my daily responsibilities. It will be an adventure for sure! A few fun highlights from the month of June include - Will on the Hill, where Members of Congress act in a play and then there's a mingling dinner afterwards. We went to that event with Anna & Bobby Tate and had a fabulous time. I will definitely want to go to this event again next year. Additionally, on the company we went to the Congress Baseball game at Nats park. It was full of great food, warm temperatures, free booze, and some mediocre baseball. :-)

To celebrate my husband's birthday, we went away for the weekend to Chincoteague, VA - the wild horse island. We stayed at Anchor Inn - a cute little inn on the water and enjoyed a lovely time. We played putt putt golf where my husband beat me, and then we went downtown for their art festival. In the evening, we ate dinner at AJ's a delicious and romantic time. You can see the beautiful sunset as the background to my blog. It was such a fun weekend! On Sunday, we headed down to the beach. On our drive there and back inside the National Park area, we saw the wild horses. It was pretty sweet. The beach was lovely. It was nice and hot, and not too crowded. We laid out, and then swam in the freezing water. There were dolphins there, too! Can you believe it?! Dolphins! I had never seen them outside of a zoo before. It was great fun.

The month of June was super full - I had something every night during the week. Needless to say, I ran myself out! I ended up getting sick at the end of the month and am still wrapping up the antibiotics to prove it. The lesson here is that I need to learn to slow down and to say no - which is not something I am well known to do. What else?

Well, last week we spent a good amount of time in Kansas, celebrating the 4th of July with family. It was loads of fun! Grant's cousin team won the Black Cat Classic golf tournament, which was grand. I had a glorious time with the lady cousins and Aunts getting maincures and pedicures done. We had fun eating homemade ice cream with both families (mine and his) and shot off a slew of fireworks. With my family, we celebrated my older sister's birthday and we shot off guns in the morning. It was a blast! Now, we are home, and I am so thankful. It is good to slow down and to be home. I need to learn to just be. Just. Be. That's all. 

On a different note, I have been thinking about going back and getting my Master's degree for a while now. So, this fall, I am going to take a Principles in Marketing course to see if I like it. Hopefully, I will and this will be the start of me going back to school and getting a Master's degree. What fun it will be! :-)

Well, dear friends - try to stay cool in this crazy summer heat. Have tons of fun with those you love...and remember to stop and smell the roses. Experience great love, and give love to others. Until next month! Choa, bella! :)

Changes: Marriage, life, adventures...

Hello there -

It has been a while...years, in fact. It feels like time to start writing again, sharing, opening up, living life in a more open way.

Since my last blog post, many things have changed. No longer am I single and living with roommates. A kind fellow came along who loves Jesus and wooed my heart and he is now my beloved husband. We have been married for a year and a half now - it'll be two years in October. Married life is a whole new adventure from single lady life. Merging two lives into one home takes a change....in perspective, way of living life, and relating to each other. We have had great times, hard times, sad times, happy times, and plenty of surprises along the way.

What else is new? Oh, I am working at a new place. Finally I am working in D.C. again, which is lovely. I am learning the "lobbying" world and it has its challenges, appeals, and surprises. Working for a great company, it has been a growing experience for me, which is always good. A bonus is that their headquarters is in KC. When I go back for work, sometimes I pop down to central Kansas with a three hour drive and see my family. I absolutely love being an Auntie to two adorable little girls. Their family is on their way to D.C. to visit Grant and I. We are thrilled! I have a fun-filled couple of days planned for us ahead.

A few of my girlfriends have also tied the knot since my last post. Four of my college girlfriends have gotten married and are experiencing the joys and newness of married life as well. It has been fun to see who people end up choosing to spend the rest of their life with and build the rest of their journey.

On a different note...my health has been a challenge in the past few years. It started before I was married, when I ended up in the hospital for bi-lateral pulmonary embolisms. What a surprise! From there, we discovered that I have thicker blood than the average person. It took almost a year and a half, but my lungs are finally strong again. My allergies continue to be a challenge, and my stomach has its days. Another surprise was discovering that I struggle with adrenal fatigue, making energy a hot commodity. In order to recover from this last piece, it will take a few years of strict discipline around my resting schedule, taking supplements, and not "overdoing" it physically. Joy. I am sure it will be good to look back on all this 2-3 years from now and see the progress, healing, and change - but in the now, it sure is not easy. Bless my husband who has had endless patience with me through it all. He has been wonderful! 

Well, in my next post, I think I will talk about fun places that I have seen/experienced in D.C. and some of the fun joys of cooking as a wife - the beauty of using pinterest as a resource. :-) 

Happy June - and welcome to summer. May this one be a purposeful, memory making, lovely one to remember for days to come.

Au Revoir!

~Tina Lou