Chafe-chafe-mcgafe

Well today was a Tuesday, not your normal Tuesday just because it felt like a monday... Gross,! Well I worked on loads of ibga stuff... Called several alumni folks and then mid day had to make a Starbucks run... Or slow walk, if you will... Due to the 90 degree heat wave and lots of humiidity going on in the dc area...

the Henley 47 gals (my roommates)And I had planned to go to the grocery store this afternoon after work,,, however, around 4:30ish we get an email which told us that there was a "brown" out at our apartments, meaning no air, no power....nada until 9 pm... There went our grocery plans. So we instead decided to go out for dinner at a Thai place called taiphoon (twas delish)! I had pad Thai.... So good!!!!!

After, we were bound and determined to find CAKE of sorts, we walked out of dupont in search of a cupcake shop, didn't see one so we kept going... We were soon in georgetown.. We had walked all the way from dupont circle to the white house then turned around and headed to Georgetown... geeeeeez Louise!!!! but we made it a cupcake joint called sprinkles (it was just ok, sadly) but we accomplished our mission... Finding CAKE!

Memorial Day

I wore these today!!!!

I woke up super excited about attending the Memorial Day parade. We got the invite through work and got to sit under the VIP tent and reviewing stand right on Constitution Ave. across from the National Archives. We even got free lunch too! I didn't know it was going to be so starstudded too... Pat Sajak, Miss America, Gary Sinise (Leut. Dan), and Joe Mantegna were all there, plus a whole lot of 3 and 4 star generals and many more. It was so coool!

I sat next to a lady named Claudia. I just chatted with her and she said she had worked for the US Marshall service and the Justice Department for 37 years.... Talk about LEGIT! Also her husband worked for the Purple Heart org... they give out the Purple Heart awards. Anyhoo... we were just talking and she mentioned she retired but now works for her pastor. I told her I was looking to find a church nearby and she and I just talked and talked about her church called Colombia Baptist in VA. She invited me to come and gave me her name and numbers so that I could contact her so that I would have someone to talk to if I came for a visit! How great is our God! I am excited to check it out! She said it was pretty big and there were alot of ways to get plugged in; she even said there was a flute choir... how cool!!! Im excited to see God use this!

More review stand material!

Miss America lipsyncing

Review Stand

Program!

After the parade we came back to the apt (stopping for a frozen treat along the way hehe) then just hung out in the apt. Jesse and I went to CVS to get some snacks and then we all watched Hairspray... quality stuff people!

Today, for some reason, I felt super homesick... I miss all of my family and my friends. I am just kinda unsure still about things up this way, but at the same time not worried. Hard to explain i know... but I don't need to know, I guess. God has a waaaaay bigger plan and better idea about my life and path than I could ever imagine. So i just need to pray for patience and a peaceful heart about the upcoming summer and busy times ahead. I know God has something planned :)

Lazy Daisy

Today was a lazy day! I was so worn out from moving and walking so much yesterday i guess i just needed to sleep. I set my alarm for 9... woke up... then decided to sleep for 5 more minutes... I woke up at 11:30.. oh my stars... I felt like i wasted the whole day. but, as Jesse said "Your body must have known better than your alarm." words of wisdom right there... Well, after waking up and such, Jesse and I walked to get some coffee and snack at Saxby's on O street... Twas a lovely little joint, but its nothing like Pound, at Capital Hill. Sarah then met up with us and we went strolling down M Street of G-town, did some browsing and shopping, got a few cute things :) Then we came back and went on a nice run across the Key Bridge and such. Twas a lovely time.... had dinner then went for ice cream :) 

G-berg to G-town

Ok people.... today, began with Eastern Market, definitely the best way to start a Saturday!!!! :) Me and Jesse got up and went and looked around. We browsed then came across this AWESOME booth, with headbands, "hats", and barretts. She is from New Zealand, but lives in Charleston, SC. She uses vintage fabric, ribbon, jewelry and such and combines them to make headbands stuff... think "royal wedding"-esque... so.. AWESOME!!!!!! She really liked us so she made us try basically every single one on... we didn't mind. She was so sweet. I loved her story and her things... needless to say we purchased a creation of hers... or two ;) Here is an example... She styled my hair around it too...

Next came crepes from the crepe guy... an excellent decision made... plus freshly squeezed lemonade... SO good!!!! This is my favorite "eat" at Eastern Market! He probably makes 200-300 crepes in the morning... Y'all... seriously his crepes are fantastic! I got one with blueberries, blackberries, and peaches and sweet cheese... OM stars!

then we headed back to the apartment to move... :( 
It took us like 30 loads and 2 taxi vans and almost $150 to get our stuff over to Georgetown.... Then we had to carry everything up... about 5flights of stairs, equivalent to (that is)... all of which were outside in the heat and humidity of G-town... We didn't have cleaning stuff so we went to CVS and got some things, then stopped in at the Marvelous Market and had lunch, followed by Argentinian gelato, a swell decision. We also saw some beautiful G-town houses.

Then I went to meet up with Eugene and Blake at the Smithsonian... I had to trek across the key bridge and then walk some more, but I didn't care. I was so excited to see them and see a friendly/familiar face! We all walked to China town and as they ate lunch, i went to Bed bath and beyond for supplies... Then told them bye, which was sad, and then headed back to the apt.

I was exhausted but we decided to go out to get dinner, we went to Mr. Smiths and got a burger and it was delish!!!! Then came back to unpack and then i got distracted, haha. Excited for sleep tonight... I am pooooooooped!

also in more exciting news.... I got my new summer address. It is as follows:   ;)
Lauren Goldberg
Summer Box 572050
Henle 47
Georgetown University
Washington, D.C. 20057-572050

Signed Sealed Delivered

So today is FRIDAY!!!!!!!!!!!! All day I was super excited about the upcoming weekend... both because it is the weekend, after all, and because it is a holiday weekend, which means we get off early and we get Monday off! YES!!!!!!!!!!!!! Impending freedom was at bey...

Ok so this morning began with Starbucks... There is such a friendly gal who works at the Dupont Circle starbucks. She is hysterical and around our age... Me and my roommates always cut-up with her. It never hurts to be friendly, ya know?

In addition to starbucks... Shane brought doughnuts for the office... SCORE! We even got an official email alert... haha LOVE it!

Also mid-morning, Stacie and I ran to the window to spy on a protest going on... They were just marching down the street for like 20 minutes.... They were mad about dictatorship in Eritrea... Stace and I dubbed it an "iPhone moment."








I got a lot done today at work. Lots of documents printed for our registration packet... To give you an idea... We have like 30 different documents to put in each packet, personalized too... for 420 students... that is alot of trees and a whole lot of paper and time needed to get it all done by next week.

Print media delivered via Pony Express

After work we headed over to Union Station! We went to Capital City Brewery to get dinner reservations and happened upon the National Postal Museum.... oh my gosh... it was AWESOME!!!! I was like a kid in a candy store... Fun fact: I love anything that has to do with mail, postage, stamps, or the postal service.... :) I had never been there! It was amazing. They had print media, stamps and everything! Totes awesome!!! They even had a post office in it, go figure.

A postage stamp... R for Rosemary :) my momma!

I have the top hot air balloon postage stamp! So does my best bud Alex!

Shout out to the best state where my bestest friends live!

yellow cake, yellow icing, yellow sprinkles... Can someone say "Lauren Goldberg cupcake"

Ok, we went to dinner at Capital City Brewery, which was fantastic... Instead of bread they bring you freshly baked pretzels! oh my stars y'all... talk about de-freakin-lish! Afterword, we decided to go back to the Capital Hill area and check out this cupcake place called "Hello Cupcake." My roommates (Jesse and Sarah) and I have decided to go on a mission to figure out the great Washington DC cupcake debacle. We are bound and determined to decide once and for all, who has the best cupcakes... (im partial to Georgetown Cupcake, but ;)  ) anyhoo, we walked down to 8th street, which is Barracks Row, and got a cupcake. I got the "You Tart!" cupcake... [lemon... and yellow :) ] delish... just right!

Following the cupcake, to gain momentum to pack (since we have to move across town tomorrow :( ) Jesse and I stopped at Pound and got some coffee and just chilled and chatted. It was great!!! We got to relax and just sit in the window of this awesome coffee shop. We want to transport it to Georgetown. We promised to come back later in the summer. The owners are really cool and their coffee is wonderful. Also, we have to get a t-shirt. :)

Tomorrow: Eastern Market!!! /Moving/Meeting up with some UT folk :) /Moving in at G-town/groceries/Run/G-town extravaganza and exploration... Who knows?

"You just gotta be you"

Today, my day began with an apple on the way to the Metro, a bear hug from the sun, and Toms on my feet (they are my shoe of choice for my commuting shoes). I finished "cold calling" in the morning and was anxiously anticipated 11:30, because our office was going out toMexican for lunch to celebrate Dana, a coworker. We went to Loreal Plaza... twas delish! Came back, got back to work then had to get ready for going to a cocktail hour with the LSI program... To be honest, I was nervy about it both because I didn't know what to wear (don't hate fellas) and because I didn't really know anybody other than my supervisor... So... I went because my supervisor specifically invited me to go. We went to this place called 18th Amendment... semi-sketch. We were going to the cocktail hour for the Legal Studies Institute, so basically a bunch of law students. So I chatted it up with them but it was pretty awkward. I got a drink, but didn't drink it both because it was bad and I am just not really a huge fan. I went ahead and got one because the head guy of the program was like... "I got the tab, go ahead" But all in all, the cocktail hour was ok. However, I left early because I felt so self conscious and out of place. I left feeling pretty down and doubtful about some things, but I went on a run to get my mind off of it.
Praise the Lord for letting me stop thinking and overanalyzing things. He used my run and talking to my mom to calm me down and chill out. I went from our apartment to the Wash. Monument and back, running and walking. Again, I took a whole bunch of photos. So below is the gallery....

Lovely isn't it?

Some sort of statue....

I found WALDO!

Well today was a good one, but I was in a funk for some reason. I couldn't seem to get going... I don't know why... I felt like i was in a slump... but I eventually just worked it off ? I honestly looked at my pics on my wall and smiled and semi-shook it.

I did alot of cold-calling today. I created a spreadsheet that was composed of Associations all over DC and called them to see if they were taking any interns for the summer... Part of the program that i am working for is to place students in internships... We have a few more to go so we called a whoooole lot of folks today. I got pretty good at it after a little bit... a few mess-ups but, that is inevitable i think. For those who didn't know, talking on the phone tends to make me nervous and uneasy (not sure why) but... today God help me conquer my task!

I also got to meet a student today.. He was pretty cool... Fun fact, he had on bright green pants and a striped tie... pretty legit i might say.

After work, I went for a run on the national mall. I felt so B-A because I was running alongside some pros.... I definitely don't compare... but i can dream. I went by the capital (right when Congress was getting out of session) and thenran passed several softball teams that were playing on the grass in the mall. All I could think about was our BCM team and how stinkin awesome we were! next year, y'all will totes win the championship... :D  In addition there were dodgeball and kickball teams too... I ran down to the Washington Monument and in front of the White House and gave a little wave and shout to the big man Obama then proceeded back toward my apartment on Capital Hill.. On my way back i found waldo from a distance and creeped on him... please see below... But all in all, I think my day can be deemed a success because of the Waldo sighting...

Waldo, doing who knows what?

After my run, me and the roomies went out to get some coffee at this place called Pound... we walk by it everyday and thought that tonight would be the night to check it out.. It was such a happenin' little joint. There were several people there and they were all really friendly. I went with the guy's suggestion... the Nutella Latte... AWESOME! I got it iced.. I basically was an adult version of chocolate milk... Adult in the since that it had 2 shots of espresso in it.

A Jolly Ole Time

Today was a swell one! Went to my 2nd day with a joyful attitude, a cute dress on, and a smile on my face... ready to conquer some work! Upon arrival... I tricked out my desk with a UT pennant, pic of the band in the power T (:D) and some more random UT stuff. I also put up one of my favorite Bible verses.... Psalm 143:8. Also a majority of my friends are up in the cubicle as well.... I am so happy I get to still be surrounded by all of you everyday. 

Today I worked on and got a lot accomplished. Yay! I really love my office! The folks who work there are soooo friendly and funny! We are constantly joking and making the day anything but dull. 

A very nice surprise arrived at my office today! My mom sent me flowers. She asked for my address at work yesterday, but i didn't think anything of it... but she sent me a lovely arrangement of Yellow flowers... She is so wonderful! She added the extra pep in my step for the day. 

They even let us off of work an hour and a half early today. SaaaWEEET! My roommates and I commuted home, via Metro, then decided to go eat. We went to Good Stuff Eatery and had some epic burgers, fries, and a shake... Then we decided to take a little stroll and we ended up right by the washington monument, making for a swell little saunter. We took some photos and then just sat on a bench and people-watched... Let me tell you there are many-a-kind of people in these parts. haha We saw a lot of runners and even saw some people on SEGWAYS!

While sitting there, this guy randomly asked us to play frisbee with him and another guy. So.. we did! We were all in dresses or a skirt so it was interesting to say the least... but needless to say i PLAYED FOR KEEPS!
onomatopoeia
All in all, today was a jolly one!

First Mile in DC

Today I ran for the first time since I have gotten settled and it was awesome to just run around the beautiful Capital Hill neighborhoods. I ran with my roommate Jesse, so it made for a fun run!

We also ran by the Capital Building... only my favorite building, ever. I was so giddy as we ran by, i had to stop and take a picture... yes, i am that girl!

I am going to try and keep track of my running everyday and take a picture of something new that I discover on my run.
Today was obviously the capital... :D

This pic was taken from my iPhone, too legit!

First Day of Work

First of all, today was AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
God ever more revealed to me how awesome He is and how he is a great comforter, in this new place and job. Y'all I love where I am working. It has a fabulous location but way more importantly, the office staff are incredible!!!!! they are all super sweet and hysterical, its perfect right! I am soooo excited about this summer!

Today we got aquainted with the office and everyone in both our building and the one across the street. We got to meet everyone, which was a bit daunting at first, but also fun :D I am so excited about working with all of the PAs and the various department and program heads!

Yall, I can't tell you enough how awesome my first day was. I got to do alot of work and meet some fabulous and funny people. I am praying that this is where God wants me to be and if so, He will make it apparent. :)

There is no place like home

Ok friends....

I made it to DC. Can you believe it? God has some amazing things in store! I can't wait to fill this blog with all of the wonderful things that happen and the challenges that bring me closer to Him.  :D

Lets begin with a picture, shall we....  

look familiar? :) They adorned my feet upon arrival to DC. I wore them on the plane... I saw the wondering eyes of several passengers as they marveled at the sheer aweseomeness that housed my feetsies. Wouldn't it be awesome if i could click them 3 times and instantly be at home !
Well, i thought i would give you all a break down of the adventure off to DC.


5am- woke up, not easily as we had stayed up packing late and putting off the inevitable... me leaving home.
6am- left the house, went by Granny's. She totes signed my Toms and she was wearing a pair when she signed mine.. Too Legit if you ask me.
7ish-arrival at airport, where we were greeted by a rather friendly fellow who informed us of the $350 baggage charge to get my luggage to DC.... not a great way to start the day, but he was super friendly so it didn't seem too bad.
later 7ish- mom and i decided to have some breakfast at the only place on the outside of security... Tooties! haha Twas a swell breakfast and the restaurant was bustling with people, NOT. but Mom and I decided that we basically owned the place haha
8am-have to say "so long" to mom... and yall, I tried to be strong, but i lost it and straight up bawled right there at security... What can I say, I just really love my momma! I also ran into a friend Sara Long from UT headed to Geological Camp in Colorado. Seeing her calmed me down actually.
8:15am- I arrive at my gate, and tell mom so long on the phone, BUT then i realize that my plane wasn't going to Reagan Int'l Airport, the closest airport to my apartment, but it was going to DULLES (i.e. super far away from my apt)... AHHHHH! I had a freak-out moment. Dulles is in DC, but super far in comparison.... So there was nothing i could do but go with it... Mom and i decided that God made it happen for some reason.


After take off, i stared out the window watching the city and home I love zoom by. I looked down and saw downtown and got to wave bye to the Batman building. Then our pilot basically decided to fly right in line with I-65 north, the interstate that I drove all the time and has the exit I take home. We flew over my high school, my mom's office, my granny's house and my house! It was so bittersweet. I loved seeing it, but i was also so sad to leave. But i felt God telling me that it was all going to be ok. :)


When i got in town, I got a cab and went to the apartment on Capital Hill. it is A-DORABLE!!!!! I wish we wouldget to stay here for the whole summer because of the awesome location (next to Eastern Market) and cuz it is oooober cute. I met my roomies! They are really nice! I am stoked to get to know them better over the summer. We had a blast the first day. We went to Safeway for groceries then went to Eastern Market just to browze and we ended up finding these adorable crocheted Octopi.... SO CUTE! I totes got an orange one to represent!!!!!! 

 Let me introduce the new family....
Orange: O-man
Purple/pink: Ottie
Red: Oscar, aka lil nugget

Later the roomies and I made dinner and then went out for dessert... Precious, right? oh yea! We went to a french place called Montmartre and I had coffee and Creme Brulee! :D

It was such a lovely first day. God definitely comforted me throughout the day and helped me not get nervous or scared or anything. I give him all the praise!!