The More the Merrier

One of the absolute BEST things about living in DC is that people come to visit! They pretend like it's to see me, but they aren't fooling anyone... I know I can't compete with the likes of Washington or Jefferson and so I just enjoy the perks of my proximity to them.

The tourist season is slowly starting and the roads are filling with tour buses, but it's all worth it if in those mobs of people are the likes of Manny and Krista - the first of many (I hope!) great friends to visit.

Manny came to visit during my (actually ours, as his birthday is the 14th) birthday and we hit the city for the weekend. Here we are in front of the White House.

We really had a good time, it was definitely too short; especially considering we haven't actually seen each other in 5 years. Didn't miss a beat though. And no he has yet to repay me for the car he wrecked - but that's a story for another time...

The top picture is of me and one of my BFFs Krista. Oh how I love that lady!! She was out here for a family wedding and I just couldn't let her be that close without hogging her time. We strolled through the city and laughed our heads off, after of course eating everything in sight- a bad habit we picked up somewhere in Europe.

So the moral of the story is if you are reading this and you don't live in DC, come and visit! I have braved driving through the ciy and am quite a pro now, plus the weather is getting warmer and you just can't beat Spring in DC.

The door is always open so get on it!

Walking on Sunshine

Alright, I have a confession. I don't run. Ya there it is. I use to. I mean, heck, I ran a marathon! True that was a good 5 years ago and I haven't run more than 4 miles since, and so my running habits have faded. However, I have developed a new habit...walking!

Yes, I'm now a 65 year old woman and I walk for exercise. Haha. It really began about a year ago with my beloved Amanda in Florida. Everyday after school we'd walk about 3 miles into our very own Floridian wilderness and it was just absolute therapy that I lived for. Loved, loved it!

And then I trekked across Europe and I mean what's not to love about that?

But then came Spring in DC. Oh my beautifulness! How did I not know about this?! It is completely gorgeous here, well we've had a few slips back into the dreary Winter, but Spring is beating down the door and I am head over heels in love with it.

I have walked through our neighborhood nearly everyday this last week that I've been home (I was on the road for 2 weeks for work) and it is so invigorating... I can't even describe it (yet I will keep trying..this is a Blog! Haha).

My roommates have indulged me and we've walked down the Potomac and watched planes take off from DCA, observed the Monuments from across the river and just chatted up our neighbors. I love this place!

And so here are a few shots of Spring peeping up in our neighborhood...beautiful, simply put, this is what it means to stop and smell the roses.

So stop reading and go take a walk; Spring is waiting.

Gotta Have Faith

64 churches in less than 2 hours.

Ya, we counted them. It started as a joke and a bet amid my colleagues and myself, as we were driving between Cosmetology schools in North Carolina. And yes, let's look past the fact that we were gambling in regards to the number of churches we'd see... as I'm sure that's not quite "Christian"..haha.

We were taking the back roads from Fayetteville to Monroe when we started to notice that there seemed to be a lot of churches and so we started counting them and by the time we reached our hotel, we had counted 64. 64?! And those were just the ones we could see off the road.

I had bet that we'd see 25, which I thought was a rather liberal amount... and yet the South has surprised me again. And what a pleasant surprise. It really did just make me smile as we slipped passed 30, 40, 50 and even 60.

I mean I don't know if their pews are packed each Sabbath day, but their doors were all wide open and it made my heart happy. In a time when so many seem to scream about getting rid of God and faith seems to be dwindling, it was a ray of sunshine.

Who knows what'll happen with the economy or the Dow Jones or whatever else seems to be stressing us all out, but I saw signs of real hope in the heartland today and it was beautiful.

Keep the Faith America.

Life on the Road

I went on my first official "business trip" this last week! We flew out on Monday the 16th of February for Rochester, Minnesota. Exotic, I know..haha. We spent a couple of days there to check out a school (I evaluate Cosmetology schools all over the country and help them become accredited institutions).

Minnesota was cold, but not quite as freezing as I had anticipated - my long johns weren't quite necessary ;). The people were really friendly and the food was quite tasty. I did go with the recommended sandwhich at a local pub we stopped in for lunch - a BLT with peanut butter; yup I ate it! Haha. It actually wasn't as disgusting as you are probably imagining it to be, not the greatest thing I've ever eaten, but I did still devour the whole thing, so good enough for me!

We flew to the great city of Cleveland for another school visit and pratically froze there! I had no idea it would be colder than Minnesota, and yet it was! Didn't get to see too much of the town as we arrived later and flew out the next day once we were done working. It was still a cute city and one I'd love to hit up again, especially so I can go to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. We almost went, yet I wasn't in charge and my manager wanted to work out instead... LAME. Next time.

I did fly home for a moment after Cleveland, and a moment was about 10 hours before we jumped back on a plane and headed to Las Vegas! My agency had a big workshop there and so I had to work and participate. It turned out pretty well; I learned a lot and met some great people in my field. I also got the chance to bond with colleagues and am really starting to feel like I've got a grip on this Accreditation thing.

The best part of the whole trip though was that I was able to finagle a trip to Utah out of my Vegas workshop. My Travel Coordinate Suzie (who is amazing!!) got my a flight out of SLC on Wednesday night - the red eye- and so as soon as we were done Tuesday afternoon, I jumped in my rental car and drove to Parowan, Utah! Everyone else was flying home Wednesday morning and so I figured I'd maximize my travel day and I did!




Here would be the main reason why I drove to Utah for this single day. Mr. Graham Gideon Oakeson. The first child of one of my very bestest friends, Michelle (Mooso). He was only 6 days old when I met him! It was so worth it to drive up and see him and be exhausted these next couple of days following the red eye. It was just great to see Michelle and Tiffany and their babies. I've met Tiffany's baby, JJ, before ; but just being all together was such a blessing.
It was also great to spend time with my cousins and Grandma and brother. I do love my family
and was grateful I got to see them, if only for a moment.



















This is J.J. Tiffany's youngest ( the blue eyed 8 month old). He is just so flipping cute! I love these boys :).



We had a little bit of fun putting the two boys in the crib together! I love this shot because JJ is petting Graham... so adorable! They are only 8 months apart but just so different!


Here's a shot of Tiffany, Michelle and I. I simply would be lost without these girls. My bestest friends in the whole wide world :).


All in all, it has been a busy week and a half. Luckily, I'm in the office this next week and still trying to learn all I can before I head out on the road for two weeks straight (well I get to come home for the weekend) to North and South Carolina and then Maryland and Deleware. I'm excited. I am really enjoying my job and the people I work with; we definitely have a good time. I am so blessed!

Unsolved Mystery

February 11th, 2009. 4:30 pm. No flowers. 5:30 pm. Flowers on the doorstep. No note.

I live in a house with 4 other girls, all beautiful and eligible. So tell me who thinks it's a good idea to leave a gorgeous orchid on the door step with no mention who they are for and even who they are from. Does this make sense?!

My roommates concluded they had to be for me since it was my birthday and yet I have absolutely NO clue who they are from! We sat down and brainstormed all options and I do mean all options, even straight out asking possible conspirators... to no avail. A bunch of people came over that night for cake and no one asked or claimed them! AHHHH!!!

This has been driving me crazy and I am desperate to know who they are from. We have decided that they are local as there was no delivery information or even advertisement for where they could have originated. Plus we heard no knock on the door when they were left, I just happened to check for the mail when I came home and found this sitting on the door step instead.

It truly is an unsolved mystery and I cannot live with that. Any and all suggestions/ideas are wanted, we can do this together! HELP! :)

Isn't it gorgeous though? I mean this wasn't cheap...someone deserves some credit!

Another Year Older...and Wiser too?

I turned 27 today. Most of you texted, called and facebooked me (ya I'm pretty sure that is now a word- "Facebooked" ). Birthdays are such a great time to just step back and realize how blessed we truly are. I'm so grateful for the love and support I have in my life. It truly is a gift.

With that all said, getting older is not easy. Yes I know I'm not "old", but hey I ain't gettin any younger, that's for sure. My knees are cracking and my back is aching. Not good signs. Or maybe I just need to take better care of myself.. that is possible.

It's funny though because I do honestly feel a year older. I'm not quite sure I'm all the wiser though. This year has definitely been one of growth. As a 26 year old, I backpacked Europe, moved to D.C., quit teaching, endured uenmployment for 3 months, and started a whole new career in accreditation. Those are pretty big things for me.

All in all, I won't soon forget 26, but I'm sure 27 got's some big moments for me too, and I'm pretty positive they'll involve many of you who are reading this.

Thank you for the love and thank you for the birthday wishes. I am who I am because of most of you. Here's to each day and making it count!

Soaking it up

I live in Washington D.C. Well alright, not completely true, I live in Northern Virginia. And this is what I get to do on Saturday night with friends, roam around the Jefferson Memorial and take in the skyline. How gorgeous is this?!

We've had some unusually warm weather and so I am enjoying it, since I despise being cold-which is what I've been since about October. Last night was beautiful though and so we ventured out and enjoyed our proximity to the nation's capital. I'm not sure I'll ever get use to living this close to it all, but I'll definitely do my best to make the most of it. And to be honest, I did not take these pictures, but they were taken with MY camera. My friend Jay has a magic touch and set these shots up and I am forever grateful. They are amazing.

(This is my roommate Kim and I in front of the Jefferson Memorial. I adore her.)


Besides roaming around presidents' memorials, I've been busy with work and attempting to stay on top of all the new material I am learning every day. Really though, it has been great so far. I love the people I work with and am slowly figuring out the accreditation process. And I have to share a proud moment with you all, if I may take a moment and brag on myself... on my own blog. Haha.

Today, we had a big Commission Meeting, where all the Commissioners for the Agency (there are 13 of them) are in town and make all the final decisions regarding our schools and visits. So yes I unfortunately had to work on Sunday, but luckily I did have a shining moment.

We were sitting there in the General Session and they are going through the Agenda rather quickly and I'm seated behind another Specialist I've been observing and she is next to a Commissioner. Well, they made a decision about a school and voted and moved on and as I was looking at my copy of the Agenda and notes, I saw a discrespency and really just had a question about it. Well I lean over to my colleague and point it out and she agrees with my point and then leans over to the Commissioner. He checks it and then brings it to the attention of the entire Commission. By this point, I'm just sitting back in my corner observing. Well the Commission acknowledges the error and thanks Jim (that's the Commissioner who brought it up) for pointing it out and he goes "Oh no, that wasn't me, Miranda caught it".

The entire room turns to me and is startled-in a nice way, I mean I am the new girl-and everyone starts to congratulate me and then they all begin to applaud! My cheeks began to burn and I'm pretty sure I was a deep shade of crimson, and so I just smiled and laughed it off! Even later, during lunch, my boss and a few Commissioners came up and praised me on my catch. Hahaha.

It really was just a lucky catch, but hey I'll take it! Except now they may think I'm some kind of Wiz Kid, when really I'm still trying to sort it all out. But hey, I'll take the praise when it comes... I mean as a teacher, those moments were rare, so I'm a tad bit proud of myself, if I do say so :).