#travel2013: Duck Beach.

For the past several years on Memorial Day weekend, the Outer Banks of North Carolina have been overtaken by young single adult Mormons from all over the East Coast, and now from all over everywhere else. Dubbed "Mormon Spring Break", the Duck Beach experience now has a reputation and the more outsiders find out about it, the more they become fascinated by it. If you are intrigued, you might consider watching the insightful documentary, "Duck Beach to Eternity".

Anyway, I did not go last year because I was in California, and I did not think I would be going this year because G and I were supposed to be going to Hawaii (ugh, still not over it. THANKS SEQUESTER.) However, once I found out that I now had no plans for MDW, my friends and I started thinking about what we were going to do. Not many of our friends were going to Duck; everyone kept saying "I don't know if I really want to go, but I want to go somewhere." DC is a ghost town on MDW and we did not want to be stuck here when everyone else was gone celebrating summer's return. Well about a month or so ago, we all realized that we didn't have any plans, so everyone ended up deciding to go ahead and make reservations in open houses.

I was really looking forward to going. Not for a chance to go insane, throw some glitter make it rain, but more so a chance to SIT on the beach and RELAX. Caity, Krystale and I left Friday after work and actually made it there in pretty good time considering the stigma MDW traffic carries with it. We got there a little before midnight: as soon as I saw the ocean, I instantly became more carefree.

Saturday I decided that I was going to do a photo project over the weekend and start semi-mocking common pics you see from Duck. I present to you..."The Duck Beach experience."

The getting-ready-for-the-Glow in the Dark-party mirror selfie.

The chillin-on-the-beach-at-midnight pic.

The feet-in-the-sand pic.

The thighs pic.

The sampling-local-food pic.

The hot tub pic.

The walking-down-the-beach pic.

The ocean pic.

The beach selfie.

The name-in-the-sand pics.

The babes-in-bathing suits-on-the-beach pic.

The wading-in-the-water pic.

The time-to-go-home pics.

Joking aside, it was a very relaxing vacation. Here are some more highlights:

Saturday it was a tad chilly and windy, so this was my attire until it warmed up.

Anchors, anchors everywhere.

Loving my girl Krystale.

Sunday morning we locked ourselves out of our bathroom, so here we are watching a You Tube tutorial on how to successfully break back in. (We ended up having to go to the Ace down the street to buy a tiny screwdriver.)

I just like the sand here.

Andddd last but NOT LEAST, we stopped at Cookout in Norfolk on our way home. Always delicious.

I'm so glad I decided to go to Duck this year: I had a really nice time. The whole weekend my friends and I all felt very chill, loose, care-free and happy. There was no drama, no pressure, and no sadness. Our little groups of friends could do our own thing, but come together at night if we felt like it and party together, or just hang out. Probably my favorite moment was on Monday afternoon, when all the DC people ended up congregating at the same section on the beach-we haven't had a lot of opportunities to get that large of a group together since the ward realignment in January and it was nice to catch up, relax and laugh.

Needless to say, it was soooo tough readjusting back to normal life on Tuesday. Post-vacation depression is REAL and NOT FUN.

Until next time...

EPWC Relay For Life 2013.

In high school, I joined my group of friends in getting involved with Relay For Life-a 24 hour walk set up by the American Cancer Society to raise awareness and funds for cancer research. Through the team set up at our school, we did fundraisers, made decorations for our camp site, and tried to encourage our friends to join. It was always a party-we would go at noon on a Saturday in May and stay until noon on Sunday, and someone from our team was supposed to be walking the track at all times, yes, even at 3am. So we would bring tents and sleeping bags and camp chairs and have a (supervised) sleepover. (Our senior year, we went to prom Friday night, got little to no sleep, and were at the school mid morning to set up for relay-it was a LONG weekend.) There was always a lot of eating and talking and laughing and of course, walking. We had some of our most intense, deep conversations walking the track-and I treasure them.

Luckily, my family has not been hit too hard with cancer. Both of my grandfathers have had prostate cancer, but Grandpa Price still lived a long and relatively healthy life and Grandpa Morgan is still kickin at 97. However, earlier this year my #superbestie R found out that this random lump in her neck was a malignant thyroid tumor. It was caught early, thank goodness, and her surgery to remove the tumor was a success. Even though it was pretty late notice compared to the other teams, she decided to create a team for this year's relay and named it Robyn and Friends. Soooo we got prepared for another exciting weekend.

First off, I did not have work on Friday so my weekend started early-HEYYYY. Went downtown and had Shake Shack with G then went shopping in Georgetown.

 

Saturday I was up bright and early to meet R to get things ready. Also, I am over I95 construction. OVER IT. It was rainy and cold when we got there, so we put up the canopy and sat underneath in our camp chairs for a while, just talking. The rain finally stopped so we decorated our campsite with Steph, including the pinata we made and labeled "Ted". (Ted is the name R decided to give to her tumor.) Also, next year, if we forget, please remind us to NEVER MAKE A PINATA AGAIN. Every year we've attempted to make one it rains and the whole thing is ruined. Ultimate fail.

 

Opening ceremonies began and we were off! Every year, one team has a table where you can buy a string to put around your neck and every time you walk a lap you add a bead. This year G and I were really into it, haha I wish I had gotten a picture-we walked probably about 2 miles before we got the string and by the time we left, we had 24 beads/laps, or 6 miles. So we probably walked about 8 or 9 miles altogether. We were also a few campsites over from the Fighting Fitzies so you KNOW I had to take a picture-I also had a "Scandal" related conversation with some of the team members LOL.

After the survivor lap, I had to run back up to Arlington to take care of the dog of the family I work for because they were out of town. When we got back, the luminaria ceremony was just beginning. For the luminarias, you make a donation and then write the name of someone who has cancer or has passed on due to cancer on the outside of the bag. The committee lines the outside of the track with the bags and after it gets dark, the candles inside are lit and there is a solemn ceremony to honor them. It is always emotional, but this year extra so, since we were there for R. I purchased luminarias for both of my grandfathers as well as my #superbestie. The committee also uses the luminaria to spell "HOPE" on the opposite set of bleachers.

The rest of the night I was thinking about how powerful of a word "hope" is. When everything seems to be going wrong, it's common that the only thing left that you can do is hope. Hope that one day things will be better. I hope that one day, we will be able to find a way to cure cancer. It may be years and years away from happening, but I know that as long as Relays for Life continue to occur around the country,  it is always in our grasp.

To my wonderful, beautiful, amazing #superbestie R, I love you. I am soooo proud of you for how strong you have been. Keep fighting girl-you can do it. <3

"Scandal".

Four months ago, my friends and I finally decided to catch up on "Scandal" after hearing from other friends how addictive it was. I had seen commercials for the show when it first premiered in April 2012 and kept making a mental note to start watching-Josh Malina, who plays David Rosen in "Scandal", was in "The West Wing", and we ALL know how much I love that show. So we started binge watching on Netflix and then Hulu Plus, and got caught up to the middle of season 2 in about 10 days.

If you're looking for a feel-good, morally correct show, this is def not for you. Obviously, its title pretty much gives it away. The president is cheating on his wife (who is pretty much in an arranged marriage with and is absolutely ferocious) with a crisis fixer; said crisis fixer had rigged the national election with the future COS, FLOTUS, and Supreme Court justice; the Supreme Court justice then hires out to have the president assassinated; upon finding out about the election and truth behind the assassination from the Supreme Court justice, the president murders her as she lies dying in a hospital; I could go on...... But in the times of DVR, this is the first show I have felt like I have had to watch live every week. Its THAT addicting. And, knowing how much I love and respect the presidency, you would think I would be appalled. However, Shonda Rhimes has done an amazing job in this show with painting all her characters as good and bad. No one character is all good or all bad. One episode, I'll hate a character and the next episode I feel sorry for them. It has made you think about relationships and how we approach them as a culture. Obviously i'm not condoning adultery...but it is interesting to see how Shonda has written her characters and started a discussion about such things. She also has a gift for twisting the crazy twists in her shows until you're left theorizing constantly until the next weeks episode as to what is REALLY going on. And I love it. LOVE IT. It has been so fun trying to figure everything out with other fans on twitter and constantly texting possibilities to my friends and sister. It really has been a whole experience.

Its an added bonus that the cast is absolutely AMAZING and talented-live tweeting every episode, engaging with fans on twitter, generally being awesome. Kerry Washington and Tony Goldwyn have insaneeee chemistry as Olivia and Fitz and are just precious. Jeff Perry plays the COS Cyrus Beene and while he can be real mean (and had a WH staffer murdered because she was going to come out that the president slept with her), I just LOVE HIM. I can never hate Cy and Jeff Perry does an amazing job playing him.

...And you know how much I love my boo Fitz.

Last week was the Season 2 finale-I made cut out brownies to spell "SCANDAL" and "FITZ", and while it required a little effort to get them out of the pan, it finally worked.

Also, Rebecca sent me the picture form the airport last month, in which we are holding the "BE A FENCE" sign she made. I tweeted it to Tangela who loved it :) haha.  Here is the recap where she says the now infamous "Jesus, BE A FENCE!" Seriously, i die. Love her. If you watch the show or want to start, you HAVE to watch her episode recaps. I promise; if you need a laugh, SHE WILL DELIVER.

Of course, since its "Scandal" the finale included not one, but a MILLION cliffhangers, and I don't know how I will last through the summer. Must rewatch them, obviously. That night, after the east coast airing, the entire cast did a live table-read of the finale script for an audience in Los Angeles. Okay, how cute are Tony and Kerry??? I can not get over them. CAN. NOT.

Sigh. So anyway. I am excited for season 3 and to see what Shonda and the writers have up their sleeves! In the meantime...here's a web Cosmo made trying to sort out the connections all the characters have with one another. And some more Olitz pics because who DOESN'T want another excuse to stare at them?

Buckle up friends, its going to be a longggg summer.

[recently]

This is really just going to be a compilation of random things that have happened in the past month that I don't want to make a separate post for. It is spring which means there is a LOT going on:


-Jack and I have been able to get out and do more things during the day because it has gotten warmer. He loves to go to Gravelly Point and watch the planes land at National Airport. And really just to be outside in general. (Aren't his little curls the cutest? And his anchor shirt? I can't deal. Love him.)

-Went on the White House Garden Tour with Caity, Britt, and Brooke.

-Finished reading this book along with the second title by the author, "Service: A Navy SEAL at War". I recommend both to everyone, but especially the first one. There were several parts where I was holding back tears-really an amazing story of heroism, hope, faith, perseverance, and survival. I literally felt that the pride I have in our Armed Forces was going to burst through my body-I am so grateful to be an American. Truly. It is not just a phrase to me that is uttered around patriotic holidays. I am grateful that I am free; that I can travel freely, choose my own entertainment, and worship as I please. I am grateful for the hundreds of thousands of my fellow Americans who have died to keep it that way. I could go on but instead ill just plead with you-READ. THIS. BOOK.

-"ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT" COMES BACK IN A WEEK AND A HALF. I CANNOT CONTAIN MY EXCITEMENT.

-Been to a lot of Nats games. Duh.

-Saw "The Great Gatsby" last weekend with a large group of friends. I actually really enjoyed it-kind of funky and over the top, but thats what made it entertaining. Wasn't the best movie ever, but the novel wasn't exactly a happy story either. The next morning I went to Giant to get groceries and saw this gem on the rack. HI LEO.

-And last but not least...President Fitzgerald Thomas Grant III. Love ya Tony.