eggo?

today i worked at floc from 1-5 and then tutored from 6-8. after tutoring it was pouring down rain and continued to sprinkle on my way home. when i got to center everything was dark. there wasn't a light on in the house i live in. april was sitting outside and i asked her what was going on..we lost power! so...the air wasn't on..uhh it was hot...and it wouldn't be back on til 4 AM...

i went and sat in the lobby of the main building at center and was greeted by some friendly faces from turkey. they are studying here for 6 weeks. we got talking and actually had some very interesting conversations! they asked what i did for hobbies and i told them scrapbooking, blogging, etc. then i showed them my blog and realized i didn't have a picture to post for the day so we took one quick! the one on the far left wanted to know if this would make him famous?!?! the other keep talking about eggo's... apparently that is years in Turkish...i told him that the only eggo's i know are waffles. anyways...i just love meeting people from all different backgrounds, races, religions, etc. -- it is so interesting to me and this wonderful city offers it!

the power came back on a little bit ago too :)

better is one day....

i have had the worst stomach ache for the past two days and haven't been able to eat anything. i just forced myself to eat some yogurt...

i worked at floc today. i am compling a list of all tutoring services offered in the dc area to give to families who don't qualify for floc.
tyler just took this picture of april and i sitting out on the porch. this is where you can usually find us on nice nights...listening to music and talking

wish party

I keep putting off writing this post because I can't post what I want. I had my first wish party yesterday and it was amazing! It was neat to see my work carried out and in action. I have a lot of neat pictures, but I can't share. Maybe the family will change their mind about being publicity approved and then I can...

After the wish party I met up with my friend, Chase. We went to Old Town Alexandria and walked around, went to a museum and grabbed some food. The town was celebrating its birthday and they had a concert by the Potomac River followed by fireworks. The concert was amazing! The US Army band played first followed by the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra. They played Star Wars, Harry Potter, LOTR, and even The Sound of Music. It was celebrating the fourth two weekends in a row. Only it was cold...I was freezing for some reason!

This first picture is of this guy who plays songs using water glasses. He was unbelievable. He plays songs that are recognizable too.

The second picture is of the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra.

Today I woke up at about 8 and went to church, came back and then took a 3 hour nap...I'm still tired too...

hearts in the sand

Last year, when I went with the Newman Center on Alternative Spring Break to NOLA I drew a heart in the sand and tagged my sisters in it on Facebook. I decided to do the same in the Dominican Republic and at Rehoboth Beach. I hope to eventually make a collage of pictures or something neat. Check back in a few years :)

Today at MAW I did just about everything. We had a rush wish come through and so I had to pull up files and make an itinerary, etc. Then I went with my fellow intern, Randi to Chinatown to grab some food and then I met up with my friends Jake & Kayla at Open City in Adams Morgan.

wrapping wishes

Today at work I prepared about 40 thank you letters for people/businesses/organizations who have given either time or monetary donations to our wish kiddos.

and then.....Randi (MAW intern from GA - she is so much fun) and I got to wrap up a little kiddo's macbook pro and all of the other gifts the wish kid is receiving!!! It felt as if it were Christmas in the intern room!

I actually will be giving the wish child the gifts this coming Saturday. It will be my first wish party - can't wait!!! I wish I could tell you more about the little kiddo, but it is a no publicity wish. :(

After work I went and helped with group tutoring at FLOC.

Have a happy Friday! :)

This is a picture I took at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception on Saturday. It is absolutely beautiful there.

I miss not having a car and being able to go to the grocery store and buying a FULL watermelon! (I crave watermelon in the summer! It is my favorite food, but I can't take a full melon on the bus ride home with me...) Mom...please have watermelon waiting upon my arrival. :)

This morning I went on my White House tour. It took about ten minutes. Saw a few rooms and was headed back. It wasn't anything too special, but now I can say "I have been to the White House." Then I worked from 1-5 and tutored from 6-8.

Off to plan wishes tomorrow :)

Where do I even begin?

On Thursday my friend, Ryan flew in from St. Louis to visit me. His plane was supposed to arrive at 5:55 PM. Earlier that morning (around 10 AM) I was asked if I would be willing to give a night view tour to a group who had a last minute request. I told them I couldn't because my friend was flying in and they asked me if I would be able to do it if they pushed the tour back to 7 PM instead of 6:30 PM. So, I agreed and I figured I would be able to pick up Ryan and quickly hurry back the the center in an hour. Ryan's plane landed a little bit early...but then they sat on the runway for about 20 minutes because there was no open gate. I waited and waited and realized that if I didn't leave NOW I wouldn't make it back to center. Luckily, I had brought my friend Jordan with me. He stayed and I left. So, I didn't get to greet Ryan :( But thankfully Jordan stayed and waited for him and then met up with my group and I on our tour.

On Friday Ryan and I went to Arlington National Cemetery followed by Georgetown. We had the famous Georgetown Cupcakes and walked around. Later that night we went to Mary Poppins at the Kennedy Center. It was AMAZING! The "Step in Time" scene was unbelievable - people walked on the walls and the ceiling. Unbelievable.
On Saturday Ryan and I headed to Eastern Market, grabbed brunch at my favorite restaurant and wandered around the various booths. Then we went to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception for mass followed by dinner at Union Station. We met up with people I live with and we went to the rehearsal of the 4th of July concert on the Capitol Lawn. Not all of the performers were there, but Reba was! On Sunday we celebrated the fourth!! We went to the parade in the early morning, followed by lunch and Old Ebitt Grill and then a trip to the top of the tower at Old Post Office. We decided to watch the fireworks at Iwo Jima. We got there early in order to get seats, but we didn't bring a blanket. The grass was itchy and I actually began to break out in a rash, so Dru and I ripped up a bag and sat on it. The fireworks were fantastic! From our view we saw the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, and the Capitol. It was an unbelievable sight. This morning we woke up and walked to Trader Joe's. Ryan had never been to one and I had to show him before he headed back to the Midwest.

It was great to have Ryan here. Although I am a little homesick now. It was hard to say good-bye because I wasn't going back to good ole' Missouri with him. I am so thankful that he was able to come here and visit though.

On another note, Happy Birthday to my wonderful mommy! I wish more than anything in the world to be sitting next to you right now. Only a month mom and we can spend lots of time together. I can't wait to see you. Love you and miss you and dad so much.

Have a great week! I have an early morning tomorrow...White House Tour @ 8:30 AM