Home Depot and Home Sickness

This past week was pretty busy, with traveling around, going to the temple and having a couple job interviews. I have been here just shy of 2 weeks and for the first few days I didn't jump into looking for a job, but eventually I did, well I applied for 2 jobs and that was it, and I was able to interview for them both. Now this is a whole lot better then what I was ever able to get in Visalia, I applied for several jobs over the past few years since I graduated from high school and only ever got one interview where the owner actually called and wanted to talk to me and 2 where they just interview you when you turn in your application. So for only have been looking for a week and have 2 interviews was pretty good. Well on Friday I was offered the job at Home Depot, it wasn't my first choice but I don't know if I got the other one yet so of course I took it, I may have blond moments, but I can think somethings through and make the right choices. So for the moment, unless I hear from the other job, I am the newest cashier at Home Depot, I don't know when I start quite yet but it should be soon.

So along with getting a job and traveling I have also been feeling home sick the past little why, I am not sure why, I just do. I have a good place to live, and the people in my new ward have been very welcoming, but I am still the new girl so I am not quite as involved as what I would like to be. When I am able to be out with the people here, I do feel pretty comfortable, I guess it just takes getting used to a new place. I also haven't been feeling well so that is also contributing to my home sickness. But I think the main thing is that I just miss seeing my mom on a regular basis, I miss having my dad home, and having my sister come and visit with my nephews, and being able to hang out with close friends and being able to talk about anything, and of course I miss cuddling with my kitten when I have the chance. It feels that now that I have a job, it feels like the move is more of a longer lasting situation then what I originally planned it to be, that I am stuck out here no matter what, I know that that isn't the case, but that is about how I am feeling right now.

So stay tuned for updates on my new job, and new adventures.

Washington D.C. Temple

Today I had the opportunity to attend the Washington D.C. Temple. It truly was a great experience and I am really glad that I was able to go. I have been able to get to know the new people in the ward here better and it really has just been a great experience. Before we did our session for baptisms for the dead we were able to watch the Restoration at the visitor center, this really set the tone for when we were able to go in and start to do our session. The spirit was pretty amazing there, and it was great to know that I was where I needed to be today. The temple itself is huge, and absolutely beautiful, I took my camera so I could get some pictures of it, but me being my brilliant self forgot to grab my batteries before I left, But I do have a picture from when we passed it on our way to Baltimore, it isn't the best but its a cool shot.

National Aquarium.

Yesterday we drove over to Baltimore Maryland for the day and went the the National Aquarium. It was a pretty nice aquarium, but it didn't seem to have to many fish, for some reason I think that Albuquerque has a better one, but I could be wrong. We were able to watch a dolphin show, it was pretty cool, I think dolphins are adorable so I really enjoyed it. When we were done in the Aquarium we went over and ate at the Cheesecake factory, which was really good of course, and of course we still at cheese cake even though we were full. we walked a around the harbor a little bit, then we got cold so we went into Barns and Noble, I am very proud of myself I came out without anything, even though I found lots that I wanted to get. After a full day we headed back for Virginia.

Washington D.C.

I finally made it to the Capitol of the United States of America. Here are the pictures of my adventure around DC. I didn't bother putting them in order but I am sure you are smart enough to figure it out.

The above picture is of me with President Abraham Lincoln.

The Nations Capitol
The Jefferson Memorial. I thought I was going to get a wall instead because we went be hind one right as I was taking the picture.
The Washington Monument from the Lincoln Memorial building.

The statue of Abraham Lincoln
Outside of the Lincoln memorial building.
World War 2 Memorial, we are going to go back and walk around once it gets warmer.

The Nation Cathedral
Me in front of the White house. They wouldn't let me get closer then that.
The Washington Monument from the front of the White House.
The National Christmas tree. I didn't know we had one of those but we do so here it is.
The front of the White house.
Me and the lovely Family I live with behind the White House.
The back of the White house with a few remaining protesters

This was my first view of Washington DC.Washington Monument from a distance
A cool Statue. I am sure there is some significance value of it but I don't know what it is.

The last Image is of a group of African American Protesters out side of the White House
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We will be making a trip back to DC once it gets warmer. But it was very enjoyable. We also drove down the street with all of the Embassys on it so it was pretty cool.

Surviving the New Ward.

I have been in Virginia for a week now, I have been a little home sick the last couple days, but other then that I have really enjoyed my time on this side of the country. I have started to meet lots of new people and have been able to start working on making new friends, a friend back in California says that I have to give myself two weeks before people start acting like I have always been there, so only one week left for that, but we will see. So today I went to the Singles ward here, notice it is a ward and not a branch like what I am used too. The sad thing is though, today it looked like my little branch was about the same size of the ward that I was excited to be bigger. People were very welcoming to me, at least the girls were, the only guy that talked to me was the one that took to and from church. I also had to introduce myself in Sunday school, I almost got out of having to do it, but about half the room was pointing at me telling the guy in charge that I had to do it. The most common question I am asked is of course where am I from, well I would always work my way around this question by saying I moved from California, and if people catch on or if they start talking about things that I don't know about California, I quickly tell them that its not where I am from and that I am really from New Mexico, my family is just living in California. So it wasn't as scary as what I thought it would be, and hopefully it will be easy to adjust, I just need to remember that it takes time to adjust for this type of thing.

Well my plans for this week are of course to look for a job, hopefully I can get one. We are going to go drive around DC a little tomorrow so there hopefully will be pictures of my adventure. I'll be going to FHE, and Institute, and on Tuesday we are planning on heading to Maryland, so I'll be able to mark another state that I have been to. There is also a Stake temple day on Wednesday, so I might be able to go to the Washington DC temple to do baptisms for the dead. So there should be lots of posts, and lots of pictures from my adventures coming up this week so stay tuned.

Boston Annual Girls Trip

Well I have been given a lot of time to think today, actually recently I have had a lot of time to think in general, but that is besides the point. Today I was thinking about the girls trips that my family has started taking once a year. Being in a family of all girls we feel we have the right to be able to take time and spend a weekend with just us.
The first year we did it, we traveled up to San Fransisco and spent a couple days there. But last year we just stayed in Visalia, which was fun, but it could have been better. This year, in my head it seems that it will be a little harder for us to get together, with me being across the country and not knowing when I am going back, and my sisters all having different things to do over the summer. So to my mother and sisters, My vote for our girls trip this year is that you all come out east to see me. I guess it even could be a big family trip due to the fact that I also would like to see my dad and my nephews. But that is my vote for this year.

The Joy of the White Fluffy Stuff.

Today I started to unpack and got all of my clothes put away, now I just need to tidy everything up, then I'll be done. So thats what I did this morning. This afternoon I got my key to the house, so that when I am out I can always get back in if I need it, I didn't think I would be needing it so soon. Minutes after I was left home alone I decided I would go outside and take a picture of the snow for one of my friends, well not wanting to put shoes and socks on I went out with my bare feet. I had realized when I opened the back door that it latched everytime it is closed it just didn't register when I closed the door behind me. I took the picture for my friend, and of course I took a picture of my bare feet in the snow, being done with that i turned to go back inside, but the door was locked. This was the first time I had been outside by myself since I got here, and I wasn't too sure about what to do, I also had never been in the back yard before. I finally decided that I could go around to the front and get in that way. Off I trugged in my bare feet, around the house. The snow is so deep that every step I took I sunk down close to my knees. When I got to the front door, it was locked. I was so happy to have had put my key in my pocket, because my feet were pretty cold.

After locking myself out I went sledding with a girl that I have become friends with that is in the YSA ward here in Virginia. Well I have never been sledding before, nor am I really that adventurous. So I spent most of the afternoon sitting at the top of the hill watching everyone else slide down. then it was time to go and I had to slide, it wasn't that bad but I am defiantly not that big of a fan.

Welcome to Virginia

Well I finally made it to Virginia, so I can now say that I have been to the east coast. I just haven't seen anything yet. My flight out here was pretty uneventful, which was very nice for me who was scared about the whole thing to begin with. I haven't flown for 8 years so I had no idea what to do, how you foundd your next flight, and all of that fun stuff. But surprisingly it wasn't to difficult. My layover in Chicago was longer then I expected it to be so it cleared some of my fears about being able to find my next flight. The funny thing is that my next flight was just 3 gates down from the one I had just gotten off of and you could see it from where I got off the plane, I just didn't know that until I had checked the little TV screen telling me where to go. I decided that next time I fly, I need to have someone go with me so I can have someone to talk to while I am sitting there for hours. I also decided that the city lights from above are really pretty. But I finally arrived in Washington D.C. when we had started our decent I looked out the window and everything was white, I had to look twice because I couldn't believe that there was snow on the ground. I was a little worried about jet lag and not being able to sleep a lot last night but I was out pretty soon and I first woke up at 7:30 but refused to get out of bed because in Visalia it was only 4:30. But now that I am up, I am just extremely tired, so going to bed tonight will be very welcomed.

Now as for the snow, there is a lot of it, it is everywhere, and just about half an hour ago it started snowing again. I get cold just looking at it. But on the other hand it is nice to see.

Tonight I get to go the the singles ward FHE here in Manassas, it will be interesting but I hope that it will be fun as well.

The picture is the view that I have from the window in my room.

End of Chapter.

Today ended a chapter in my life, and it was a nice day to end it on. It still hasn't completely set in yet that I am moving across the country in just a matter of hours. I have mixed emotions about the whole move, I am scared, nervous, excited, I can't wait, but at the same time I feel that it can take its time getting here, but the time for the writing of this chapter has come to a close. I look forward to see what lies ahead of me, I don't have any plans except to move to Virginia and see what is out there. I am ready for the new start that is in store for me, but I will miss being with my family, my friends, and of course my kitten.
I was lucky enough to have my last day here be perfect weather for a picnic, no I didn't go on one, but if I had had the opportunity to today would have been a nice day to do it. I was able to say goodbye to close friends, some new friends, and to some people that to be honest I really don't care about. I even had to friends stop by my house so they would be able to say bye to me in person.
During the week I was able to spend lots of time with some close friends of mine andgo on one last trip to the beach with a group of girls, I couldn't have asked for a better send off then being able to go to the beach with 3 girls that mean a lot to me. After that we were able to attend a dance, it wasn't the best way to end the day, but the time spent with friends made it worth every minute.
So needless to say I haven't even left yet but I am going to miss Visalia a lot, which is strange because I never thought that I could ever miss this place. But I suppose it will be the people I miss, not the town itself.
To end this long post I quote the song that is absolutely perfect for the occasion. "I'm leaving on a jet plane, don't know when I'll be back again."

Next post will be from Virginia.

The Dreaded Boots

Well for those of you that know me know that I hate shoes, I am one of those girls that just doesn't have any, and the one I have I have had for years, and they are the cheap ones. I also hate shopping, I much prefer to find things online in the comfort of my own home then going out looking around and getting annoyed that I went all that way to return home empty handed. Well early this week I went shopping with a good friend of mine and got myself some boots, so my feet are now ready for the snow that Virginia is getting. Now the big problem with the shopping for boots was that we were shopping for boots in the central valley of California, in February. Well some of you outside of California are probably thinking its February, there is still winter stuff out. Wrong. Here in the Central Valley, the winter stuff in stores are being replaced by swimming stuff already. and the other problem that we ran into was that Californians don't really need fancy warm boots, they just like having fancy cute boots that don't have to worry about feets of snow on the ground outside. But we were lucky, we were able to find a cute pair of boots, that I wont mind wearing out east, and they have nice insulation, at least they do here in California, I don't know how well they will work out east.

The 7th Branch

Today was my last day in the Visalia 7th branch, it was a bitter sweet moment, lots of hugs and goodbyes, but the best thing is there was only laughter and looking forward with excitement with what life had in store for me on my up coming journey. For the last year and a half I have attended our little young single adult branch, and I have seen many people come and go, some people just move others have gotten married and some people have been like me and have just stayed there. But now its my turn to be the one leaving, its sad because for the last year and a half I have only missed about three days of church there at the branch, because I always felt that that was where I needed to be. I have made so many friends that it will be sad the leave them behind, but the time would have come eventually for one of us to leave. The branch has helped me grow as a person, and it has helped to strengthen my testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I know that the branch is small, and when it has lost of people there we don't really know what to do with ourselves, but because of the we were able to become closer together as friends. Now I am not saying that the branch doesn't have any drama, because it does, it has a lot, but once you look past the defaults that we have you can see that deep down we all really do care for one another. As I move on to find new friends and move to a new single ward, notice I said ward not branch, I hope that I can find the kind of friendship I have found in the 7th branch. To all those 7th branchers, I will miss you, but I will be back, either to live or to visit, but keep up the good work, keep your friendships strong, because the friendship is what makes the people in the branch feel most at home.

4 Seasons

Having lived in California for the last 5 years it doesn't dawn on me that often that other then heat fog and a bit of rain there is more weather. Here in the central valley we have 2 seasons, summer and then a mix of the rest. Trees don't often loose their leaves so you don't often get the joy of walking through them and hearing that fun little crunching sounds. We usually only have a few weeks of cold weather, and for the rest of fall winter and spring the weather is either a bit chilly, a little foggy, or pretty warm. So when I realized that I was moving back east to where it snows quiet frequently it kind of startled me. I am not a native Californian but after a few years you get used to the environment around you, and don't really think about other weather happening other places. For the past 5 years I have tried to wear flip flops all year long and only stopped when my mother would ban them for the winter, even then I would try to sneak out with them, once I was 18 the only day I wouldn't wear them was if it was raining and then it would have to be a pretty heavy rain. Well next Sunday I have to kiss goodbye to my flip flops for a while, I will still take them with me but I wont be able to wear them, I will have to over come my dislike for socks and shoes and deal with it. On the plus side, I might actually see flowers come to their first bloom, because here it seems like they never stop blooming because it never gets excessively cold.

Fears of Flying

Well the big move is on. It is official I am leaving California on the 14th of this month and moving all the way across the country to Virgina. I am scared to death about what lays ahead of me, everything will be new, even the friends I will be living with will be new in a way since I haven't seen them since I was 5 or so. The thing that scares me the most is the flying part of it all. I can tell people that I was only a little over a week old when I flew for the first time, but the only other time I have flown was 11 years later, I flew by myself but I had an escort show me where I was supposed to go, so needless to say I am afraid of getting lost in the airport. I also don't like the taking off or landing part of the whole flying deal, so this trip will be interesting. So 13 days and counting, both sadly, and looking forward to what lies ahead of me.