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

Summertime

Hi dear friends!

It is SUMMERTIME. Ah, what an interesting and full summer it has been!
It started off with Grant and I traveling to State College, PA to visit his niece, Kaylin. We had a great time playing with her and seeing the town. We enjoyed some wonderful homemade ice cream from a small shop down there. Good times.

In mid-June, we celebrated Grant's 29th Birthday. On his actual day, I took him to dinner at Founding Farmers in DC. We had a nice time. Afterwards, we went to a singer/songwriter thing where his roommate and future best man in our wedding, Ryan Walker was performing. Later that week, a group of friends met us at Dogfish Head Ale Restaurant, and we enJoyed a tasty meal and some great beer together.

Towards the end of month, things ramped up at my workplace, and it was Busy! Work is good. I'm enjoying it greatly. We hired a few new business development people - and they have made life at the office varied, fun, and full! I'm thankful for this job and where it will take me. I feel like I am growing a lot there. Life is good!

At the end of the month, I dog sat a cute little chihuaha and doxen mix dog named Lucky. We had lots of fun! I hung out with people from my church community a lot that weekend. It was good, and much needed. The last week of June was extremely full, but good.

The first week of July, Grant and I traveled back to Kansas. Good times were had with his family on the 4th. We did some wedding stuff the next few days and just hung out with my family. My adorable little nieces, Elaina and Izzy Rue were soo much fun to play with and just spend good, quality time with. I treasured that time! On Friday night of that week, my wonderful sister & brother-in-law hosted all of my mom's extended family and we had a big cookout. :) Grant was able to meet some of my cousins he'd never met before, and it was just a great time of catching up with family.

On Saturday, we worked on different centerpiece ideas for the reception, and came up with a few winners! We also celebrated my sister, Rachel's birthday and had a great time. Later that day, we drove back to Wichita and hopped on a plane back to DC. Even though it was a great trip, and quite productive, I was ready to return home.

Just yesterday, I moved - yet again! I'm now living in Alexandria for the next three months. I moved, unpacked, and Grant and I put together my new dresser from IKEA. :-) Yay! I'm pleased to live there, and excited to see what the rest of the summer holds! It's my last summer of singleness. I will be a married lady next year at this time. :)

enJoy the rest of your summer days. Take time to ReLax, breathe, and soak in the sun. Ponder. Smile. Be. Love.

Time Flies By...

Life changes quickly...

Hi dear friends,

It's been incredibly too long since my last post. Soo much has changed in the past year. It's hard to know where to start...

The handsome man in my life, Grant is now my fiancee'. He proposed to me at my favorite memorial in DC - the Thomas Jefferson Memorial, and I said yes! We created the unique ring together, and I absolutely LOVE it. 

Here's  a picture for you...

What else?

I have a new job. Oh, me and jobs...in the summer of 2011 I switched from working as an Admin at a civil engineering firm to going door to door and selling Verizon Fios, with the promise of owning my own business. Oh, it was hard. I learned a lot, and met some interesting people, but 10 hour days, and not making much money just wasn't cutting it.

At the end of November, I hunted for a new job. I started doing temp Admin work in December and working as a waitress at the District of Pi Pizzeria in DC. I really enJoyed working at the pizza place. It was fun, and I skirted by on tips. 

Around Christmas time, Grant and I made the trek to Kansas in one of our dear friends' SUV and had a wonderful time with family. It was great to visit them as an engaged couple! The future is bright. We set a date for October 2012 back in Kansas. He booked our honeymoon, and we have a church and reception place set up. We'll have a reception back here in DC late October, but I'm glad we have time. We need it. To plan. To prepare. To talk about all those things...you know, like money, and kids, and how to deal with conflict. All those important topics. The past. Influences. Dreams. Fears. Goals. 

In February, I landed a great job for a company called Black & Veatch. I'm the Office Manager for this architectural and engineering firm. It's good - they have benefits! And it's located in Arlington. We love that part of Northern VA. I hope we can find an affordable place in that area. :)

Well, what else? I've moved out to Burke. It's a long story, but I'm here for now. I paint from time to time. And I miss my cute little nieces! They are growing up so fast. I feel like the last year has been full of changes, lessons to learn, maturity to build, and lots of planning. This year has been full of ups and downs. I find myself pondering more than I used to, and thinking a bit more before speaking. I'm in my mid-twenties now! Life is viewed through a different lense than before. And it's okay - it's just different.

So many of my friends are engaged and getting married! It must be that time in our lives. Moving on to the next step. We're growing up friends. Sometimes we have to look life in the face and run ahead full force, even though we're a bit scared. I'm excited for what the next months in 2012 hold. 

There you have it - a quick little update on life. I'd love to hear how you are doing...a phone call, old-fashioned letter, text message, email, facebook message. I'll take it however it comes. Stay in touch, dear friends.

Until next time... 

Fall - are you here yet? Seasons change...

Hello, hello.

September is here. Hello and welcome to the start of fall. Ah, I'm SO glad it's here. I LOVE fall. This is an excellent season. Now, I realize that summer is still lingering...and fall has yet to fully come alive. ;)

Soon, very soon we will feel the crispness of the air, see the beautiful leaves change colors from green to multi-colored goodness. And I am ready! Ready for the layers. Ready to cuddle up in my scarves, to wear long coats, gloves, cute hats, be warm, layer, wear my great sweaters. I'm ready for it all!

Oh - and there is the season of pumpking goodness coming up too! How I love to make pumpking cookies, pumpkin bread - go to Starbucks and order a Pumpkin Latte. Mmmm...I can almost taste it now.

Enough talk about the changing of seasons. Have you ever noticed that when the physical weather seasons change, seasons in life tend to shift?

For some reason, there seems to be some kind of symmetry in my life with all of that, and I'm not quite sure why that is. However, I do feel like life is changing a bit.

In one instance, my job fully feels like it's mine now...and it's a BIG change from the office job of before. It's good. A challenge - which I always love. The hours are tough, I'm not gonna lie. And I've been traveling and gone WAY too much. I'm ready to be in DC...and STAY there. I know, it sounds strange, but it's true.

This coming weekend is the last one that I will be gone until the "Ladies Weekend" in October. And boy, am I glad. The last month or so, I have gone somewhere or done something every single weekend!

Let's see...a recap, if you will.

I'll move backwards from now. Well, right now - I'm away from home on a business trip in Mid-Maryland. Last weekend I was in KC visiting friends. The weekend before that I was in Jersey and PA visiting my Aunt & Uncle; my older cousin & her son & her significant other. Grant and I drove down after work on Friday and it took us forever to get there...but we made it. It was a lovely weekend! Good times all around.

The weekend before that I was at the beach. Bethany Beach in Delaware to be exact. It was pretty fun. We had a good time. It was full of a few days of relaxing, chilling on the beach, swimming in the good 'ole Atlantic, eating good food, and did I say relaxing? Awesome. The perfect beach vacation. The weekend prior to that...oh! I went to a wedding shower. And the the weekend before that...I did something. What did I do? It was the end of July - oh, right! I went to a wedding in Maryland. An outside wedding that was absolutely beautiful!

So - that's all folks! This coming weekend, I'm flying to KC, Missouri for another wedding. My boyfriend's sister is getting married on Saturday. And on Sunday he is going to meet some of good friends from college. I'm excited about that. ;) So - fun times ahead! And that IS good. It's just A LOT!

I'm ready to BE HERE. Now. And not leave for a good bit. Let me work a full week, from Monday to Saturday. And let me SEE and spend quality time with people from my church. I want to see my friend who came back from a little time in India and catch up with her. Oh - and I want to BE HOME! Do laundry. Breathe. Clean. Chill. Make food. Sleep a little more. Just BE. Maybe even spend some time with the roomies. We'll see. The point is, this season in life has been soo incredibly full, that I am more than ready for life to SLllloooow down. To live in routine life again will be lovely. Absolutely lovely.

That's all for now. I forsee more change in the future, but I'm still rolling around those ideas, possibilities, options. I have questions, no answers or explanations, but I feel like change is in the air.

enJoy the last days of Summer, my dear readers. And embrace the change and start of the wonderful season of Fall.

The End of Summer...

Hello there!

Can you believe that it's already August?! I know. The summer flew by! I can hardly believe that it is almost over, but it is. The start of September brings with it the beginnings of fall. :) And fall is my favorite season of all time.

Let's see...what to say? Life has changed a bit in the last few weeks. I have a new job now. Horray! It's pretty great. It's a LOT more hours, but the work environment is much better and I feel like I can be pretty good at this job. My new hours are 11am to 9pm, so out the window goes all my evening plans that were the norm. And I have to work on Saturdays...until I sign somebody up. Not the end of the world, but not the best either. Most of my coworkers are in their 20's and 30's, so that's fun too.

What else? Oh, I went on vacation this past week and weekend. It was great. I went to Bethany Beach in Delaware and it was wonderful. Incredibly relaxing. A great chill couple of days. It was exactly what I needed. And now, tomorrow embarks starting back to work.

I'm going to be traveling a bit these next few weeks, so by the mid to end of September, I'll be posting some pictures of my adventures. This weekend I went to the beach, next weekend I'll be visiting my extended family in Jersey, the weekend after that having a great time with my girlfriends in KC, and then heading to Missouri for Grant's sister's wedding and hopefully spending a little bit of time with my friends to introduce them to my boyfriend. :) Good times ahead, for sure.

In the midst of all of this, I'm realizing a few things.

First, that each difficult situation and encounter put before me is set there for a purpose, designed to help me become a better person - one who reflects the beauty of the Lord. It's there to help me overcome an issue, to become more like my Creator. So - I'm trying to look at these situations a bit differently than before. To embrace them, to learn as much as I possibly can and to try and overcome those issues. Because they are there.

It feels very much like a growing season in life. This is good. Mmmm...and I cannot wait for fall. It is full of my favorite things - turning leaves, crisp air, hot chocolate, cinnamon candles, pumpkin lattes, going to pumpkin patches, wearing scarves, and gloves, hats, ah! the JOYS of fall weather. :) I love it.

Secondly, people are put in our lives for a reason. Whether to sharpen us, or allow us to learn to love another way, or just simply to encourage us, it IS for a reason. And it's best to really get to know those God puts in our lives and seek to enhance theirs with the Lord's love.

So, what have you been learning lately? Any new discoveries or joys had?
Wish me luck on my travels, and I'll update in a month or so. Take care, dear friends. And remember to enJoy EVERY moment. Even the little things. It ALL matters - as do you. You make a difference in people's lives, even if you don't see it. You do. Remember that. Your actions do matter. You matter. And are LoVeD.