Adopting in Ashburn

1. Reading the Washington Post during breakfast 2. An excellent homily from the visiting priest from Massachusetts 3. Having someone tell me they were glad to hear me singing in church 4. Clean spaces 5. New kitchen stuff for a new apartment 6. Starting my first real job tomorrow 7. Finally seeing My Fair Lady 8. Grilled cheese and tomato sandwiches 9. Chats with friends 10. Checking out interesting material from the library 11. Creating a budgeting program for myself 12. Having a new crush (isn't that rush so exciting?) 13. Being absolutely, positively blessed 14. Spending the weekend at home with my parents 15. Packing boxes and preparing for a new adventure Oh, isn't life just lover-ly ? Love always, ~Heather

.... will Heather be going? I'm moving to the other side of the city to be closer to my job. Right now I live in Maryland, and the job is in Virginia (though both of these places are on the DC Metro system). Luckily, God has made this whole transition period really smooth for me. I found a place just a few miles from work. It is a one bedroom on the top floor. The complex has everything a girl could ask for (and more). There is a free shuttle that'll drop me a few minutes walk from work (no transportation fees!). If the weather is bad, or the shuttle isn't running, I'm about a ten minute commute in traffic with a pass for the free parking garage at work. The complex has a fitness center and a pool (both of which are really close to my building), a sand volleyball court, a lab with computers and a fax (in case my computer is on the fritz) ... basically as good as you can get. Rent and utilities are reasonable (but only by DC standards), and I even have my own wash...

This is volleyball code for co-ed doubles playing on grass courts with "women's" height nets. It was a good day for playing - slightly overcast, light breeze, bearable temperatures. My partner Aaron and I lost every game (though some were pretty close). It was a ton of fun, despite all the losing. Part of it was definitely the competition. I am a B level player (based on experience, skill sets, speed, etc.). We were playing in the A division, which is considerably more competitive. Also, I was probably the only player on our court (pool play) that didn't regularly play doubles. In case you aren't sure what the difference between playing indoor sixes and outdoor doubles is, I'll briefly explain: No air-conditioning Difficult to dive Limited plays (no over hand passing across the net, and because it is reverse co-ed, no guys in front, etc.) Sun in your eyes Shagging the ball means chasing it over half a soccer field (this can be a little wearing when don...

Well world, I finally got a job. I'm pretty excited. I've been working on getting a job since June, so this is two months of labor come to fruition. (And if you've been following a bit, you know my argument about how all of my schooling actually has led to this point.) I'm a little nervous about how this works. All the other jobs I've had have had an outline, a procedure. I'm not sure what I'll be doing all day. How does working in an office function? Everybody is at their desks all day ... does the work just appear there? Do people bring it to me, do I generate it? Is it reasonable, when brainstorming, to spend most of a day thinking? How do you measure thinking? The people I'll be doing outreach to - I don't know them yet. Will I have to figure out who they are? Will there be inroads paved by my new colleagues? I only have four business suits - am I going to be dressed appropriately for work? There are other nerve-racking things, like ...

I have never been the girl to turn down a good dessert when I was offered one. I've never seriously paid attention to anything except sugar content on packages. Calories, calories from fat, actual fat, total carbohydrates - these are things I used to not care about. Before. Before was a time when I wasn't on the verge of potentially needing to buy new clothes because I was about to go up a size (this has not happened since middle school, when I more or less stopped growing). Luckily, this was the breaking point for me: recognizing I didn't have the money to be my current weight. This caused me to actually weigh myself and take a personal health inventory. With diabetes, joint problems, and cardiac issues on both sides of the family, I need to regain control of my health. So, I have started reading packages. I made pudding for dessert tonight, since celery sticks just weren't solving my sweet tooth craving, and I actually split the bowl into six equal parts so I w...

I am so behind trying to catch you up I'm giving up. Sorry about that. Last weekend at home was fabulous. It is always a blast to celebrate family birthdays. Dana moved out this weekend too. Things are different without her here, but I'm slowly adjusting. I'm throwing all my energy into cleaning. I've finished three quarters of the baseboards, vacuumed most everything else, decorated the nook, went grocery shopping, cleaned the storage closets ... you get the idea. I'm also working on a few things to pass the time until I start my new job (which I don't exactly have yet, but hey, things like this take time!). Exciting activities of the moment: Volleyball, potentially two nights a week (despite my sucky shoulder, and still not being able to serve or hit without serious pain). Analyzing HOBY surveys Hurricane/global warming content analysis Walking/running the Capitol Crescent Trail Cooking healthy meals at reasonable hours Finishing knitting my first multi-...