Day Three: A taste of the northeast.

Today I drove from my hotel room in PA to the Boston temple...and then to another hotel room in NJ. If you don't know geography very well, go ahead and look it up on Google maps. That's right, I drove all that today--to attend the temple.

I feel at this point, now that my insanity has been established (and will continue to be, as this blog grows) to explain that when I got my very first (limited use) temple recommend, I set a goal to visit all the temples in the world. There are 134 operating temples currently, with 10 under construction and another 13 announced. This number will only grow, so if you're following along, this project will keep me busy for the rest of my life. At least I won't be bored, right?

The Boston temple was my 41st temple. I'm trying! My rules are simple: I have to do work inside the temple for me to be able to count going (standing outside is not enough.) I take pictures, and collect a temple schedule at each one I visit. I have them all on a wall in my bedroom. To be honest, sometimes when I need a reprieve, I'll sit and look at the ones I have left and plans trip to go there. Also: no matter how many I've gone to, or how long I've been doing this (five years at the current time,) I still get excited each and every time I see one. It's a feeling of familiarity and elation and awe that never seems to lessen...and I hope it never does.

The temple was incredibly beautiful, not that I expected anything less than that. I actually thought to myself, "I wouldn't mind getting married here." Yes, it's that pretty.

As I was driving back to NJ, a friend of mine convinced me to stop in Hartford for dinner. Brian took me out to seafood and I had the "true Connecticut experience" of lobster bisque and stuffed shrimp. (He still insists that the true experience of seafood is in Boston, but coming from a girl in a land-locked state, I'll take everything I can get.) Since we both love to talk, I didn't leave until after 11...which leads me to now, and no sleep. I think, however, if I had to do it again, I'd do almost the same thing.

Day Two: The craziness begins...

Today I left Columbia and drove up to Kensington, MD to visit the Washington D.C. temple. Entering Virgina, it started to snow, and continued throughout the rest of the night. I entered D.C. right about rush hour time, due to the weather pushing back my arrival by a good hour. Enter stage left of the craziest drivers I've ever seen--and I used to live in Chicago. They'd honky, they'd swerve, they'd tailgate, they'd slam on their brakes, they'd wave fingers at you that didn't quite mean "peace." All in rush-hour, "you-aren't-going-anywhere-so-why-bother" traffic. Needless to say, I was pretty stressed by the time I got to the temple. Luckily, the sight alone was enough to make me forget about the near-death experiences I recently took part in.

The temple was gorgeous. And I mean gorgeous. Gorgeous in the huge, awe-inspiring, "ta-DAH!" way. There were Christmas lights all arou

nd the temple grounds and visitor's center, and the nativity display included an audio recording of Luke 2.

The astonishment didn't stop upon entering the temple. After getting past the recommend desk, I entered a walkway with floor-to-ceiling windows on either side, and was met with a huge mural at the end of the hall. And it just kept getting prettier from there. To say the least, it got incredibly prettier from there.

Now I'm in my hotel room (three hours after the temple--and yes, I know I'm crazy for driving that far) attempting to get some sleep before heading out in the morning for Boston.

Day One: I'm a travelin' (wo)man.

Today I flew into Atlanta, GA where I then got my rental car (based not only on color, but on the fact that it had automatic windows and doors, thankyouverymuch) and drove 3 1/2 hours to Columbia, SC to stay the night at my brother and sister-in-law's place.

My original schedule consisted of me boarding my first flight at 8 AM, and then, two changeovers later, arriving in Atlanta at 9 PM. Yuck. However, a snowstorm hit last night, which forced a cancellation of one of my flights. I received a voicemail stating that Delta had taken care of it--and booked me on a non-stop to Atlanta, leaving at 8:30 AM and arriving at 2:30 PM. Hallelujah! Delta, I really like you right now. I haven't been on a non-stop flight in yea

rs. They put me in the front of the plane, which meant no stowing space, but a ton of leg room. Plus, thanks to Google* Chrome, I got free WiFi during my flight. I put my feet up, surfed, and watched Going the Distance (which caused me to laugh out loud a few times, to the befuddlement of surrounding passengers.)

*Have you noticed that no one ever says, "I Binged it" or "Just Yahoo it?" There's a reason for that. One evening, Google went down for about half an hour. It was basically as if the Apocalypse had arrived. In horror, I looked over at my roommate and the following conversation ensued:

Me: "Google's down."

Her: "Really? Okay."

Me: "It's down."

Her: "So?"

Me: "Well, what do I do?"

Her: "Are you kidding me? The internet isn't down. Use Yahoo or something."

This is a great example of branding, and the power it has. This is also a commentary on our dependence to the internet and search engines in general, but I won't go there right now. Suffice to say, you also don't see anyone saying "I MySpaced you" or "Add him/her on Friendster" anymore.

You know you have a powerful brand when it's not only used to address your product, but is also adopted into our language as a noun and a verb.

What is this, Santa's workshop?

I had this brilliant idea to make gift bags full of baked goods for Christmas gifts. I say this somewhat sarcastically, because, as per usual, I went overboard and tried to do way to much in way too little of a time frame. However, I have decided that the next place I'm in for any prolonged period of time will need a kitchen with enough counter space for me to bake--along with a small television and/or stereo, a KitchenAid, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and a cute retro apron. I'm hoping this plays out for me in the next year. I want that KitchenAid.

I might even talk like Julia Child. In fact, I might even de-bone a duck!

I decided to make cake balls (chocolate, chocolate peppermint, vanilla peppermint, and red velvet) along

with gingerbread men (or as Amber called them, my gingerbread alien ar

my,) banana chocolate chip muffins, pumpkin

bread, and snickerdoodles.

There were so many baked goods in our kitchen I didn't know what to do with myself. Then the wrapping came, and in the wee hours of the morning when I should have been sleeping, I thought I saw an elf run by. Hallucination, or extra help? You decide.

In any case, I have an apartment that smells like a bakery and a roommate reaping the benefits of my holiday stress cooking.

Once in a lifetime.

This morning I got to sing with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and it was amazing. I really don't think I can eloquently describe how amazing it was, to be able to be under the direction of Mac Wilburg and singing right next to a row of sopranos in the Tabernacle, hearing our voices bounce off the walls and then waiting, quietly, alert, at the end of the song for the recording manager to tell us that we could relax. Brother Bryan gave thanks to the Choir on behalf of all of us, and reminded them that the 100 in attendance were from all over the world, and all over the states, to come and be a part of this experience. Indeed, many in the company were converts, and first generation members to go to a CES school. Let me just say, the Spirit was very strong, and I was very grateful for that experience.

As if things weren't surreal enough to sing with the Choir, a manager announced that a friend of theirs from New York wanted to come and say "hi" to us. We watched as David Archuleta came on the stage and said hi, and waved to all of us. Now, granted--I was not one of the people gasping and twittering excitedly about his appearance, but it was neat nonetheless.

I'm going to be receiving a copy of the performance, and when I do, I'll try to post it on here for you to see. This is a day to remember, for sure!

Magnetic Poetry.

As I was about to go to bed last night, I got distracted by the magnetic poetry on our fridge. Standing there for five minutes, then ten, then longer, I rummaged through the words and thought and dreamed and constructed. I want you to understand: magnetic poetry does not showcase brilliance: rather, it allows a cliff, a jumping off point for it. That is, if you allow it to do so. It *is* quite artsy-fartsy.

white spring rain

and red mountains

like sugar cupcakes

can I hold it together

grow to wax ugly

for me it is like brilliant music

sensual lies

come the way of her smooth life

ask a good book

said in a thousand words

imagine when it speaks

it connects to your soul

A Study in Contrasts.

I'm a dichotomy; a walking and talking antinomy, a breathing incongruity. This is a study in contrasts, in the complex and yet oh-so-simple nature of me:

I think out loud and love to talk, yet have many times where I prefer to be alone with my thoughts. I value intellectualism and am sometimes seen as harsh, yet I daily where my heart on my sleeve. I may seem disconnected, even icy, yet the intensity of my love for people around me sometimes breaks my heart when I'm met with disappointment. I'm articulate, yet oftentimes stop mid-sentence, confused at the eighteen trains of thought my mind has currently going through its Grand Central Station. I'm not girly, yet I love lip gloss, hair products, and walking around Sephora. I love people yet choose to be alone a fair amount of time. I'm incredibly diligent and on task with goals that I have, yet will literally waste hours of time staring at the wall instead of doing things on my to-do list. I'm intimidating, yet scared to do a number of things. I'm very expressive, yet keep so much under the surface that no one ever sees. And on, and on, and on.

Accommodation is key here. We must present ourselves in a certain way, be certain things, to achieve certain ends. Sometimes it calls for one to be a chameleon, in a sense. That's all right with me. I've got plenty of contradictions to go around.