Diggin' Deep

A wise woman - my mom - told me (paraphrased), "Your social health is your relationship with others. Your emotional/mental health is your relationship with yourself."

My inner life was way more active than my outer life this week. Also, between the frequent heat warnings (100+ degrees!) and predictably unpredictable thunderstorms this summer, I find it alot harder to go out adventuring like I did in the spring. But here's a summary of all the meaningful things I occupied myself with this week:

- Focused on one set of scriptures all week (Moroni 7:45-47), which I don't usually do. "If ye have not charity, ye are nothing." I read these verses every morning/night and tried to live them all day. It's amazing how imperfect we are, and that it's ok! God knows we'll never be perfect in this life but just wants us to keep striving.
- Worked really hard to tone up and slim down. Worked out 5 days this week - woo! You can't see the difference but I can feel it haha
- Finally figured out my housing situation! Karen and Victoria decided to join a new lease with Mariaby and me. So excited and grateful to the Lord for helping me find such awesome new roommates in time. Such a relief and a blessing.
- Calculated the nitty bitty details - how much they'll pay and how much I'll owe - and submitted the application to claim my GW tuition benefits. SO GRATEFUL to be able to go to grad school without acquiring debt!
- Spent alot of quality time catching up with most of my closest friends, and my family before they left for China (3.5 weeks!) on Sunday. So grateful for their love and concern and prayers.
- Did alot of mental wrestling to figure out whether I'm an introvert or extrovert. It was consuming and exhausting, but with the help of many friends, I finally made my conclusions. See my introverted blog; this is my extroverted blog :)

If it weren't for the sightseeing and spiritual stuff, this would easily turn into a food blog. (See previous post: "The Foodie Within") This week at work was super awesome in that I got a free lunch everyday (tons of meetings = tons of leftovers)!
Monday - Cobb Salad

Tuesday - Caesar Salad

Wednesday - Tuna Roll

Thursday - Veggie Roll (better with mayo & mustard)

Friday - Turkey sandwich

I love my job :)

A highlight of the week was going to a free funk concert with Sam! We met up at Pentagon City Mall for dinner first. I've been wanting to try Cajun Grill for a while because it seemed the most exotic...

But I learned you can't judge a mall food counter by its name. It was pure "Chinese" food (we all know American Chinese food is more American than Chinese; see The Fortune Cookie Chronicles), complete with chow mein and "World Famous Bourbon Chicken" that tastes exactly like teriyaki chicken. It was yummy nonetheless...

Then we went to the cute little courtyard in Pentagon Row to watch "Higher Hands", a solid funk band. You can't see us, but we were dancing in the front while taking this pic haha

Had to sit down after dancing in the muggy heat

Enjoyed the festive atmosphere of Christmas lights in July :)

Had weekend plans, which all fell through. But I wasn't even mad about it this time because I really wanted/needed alone time. Believe it or not, I spent my Friday night singing along to pop songs and musical soundtracks (I signed up for Spotify). I used to do this alot more often in Utah when I had my own room and car, so it felt great after so many months of pent up singing!

Here are my recommendations if you want to make your own musicals playlist...

Singin' in the Rain, The Pajamas Game, Mame, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, On the Town, Easter Parade, Annie, West Side Story, An American in Paris, Show Boat, The Music Man, Meet Me in St. Louis, The Bandwagon, My Fair Lady, Porgy and Bess, Annie Get Your Gun, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Newsies, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, In the Heights

Enjoy :)

Saturday was what I call "Soup Weather" :) Reminds me of my home in the beautiful Pacific Northwest.

The temperature dropped and it drizzled all day - perfect for enjoying soul-warming soup, journaling, reading, chatting with friends, and watching movies...

I picked Double Indemnity (1944) out of my roommate's DVD collection for its "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" status in American film history. It's not my usual kind of movie but I really enjoyed the top-notch acting, screenplay, and cinematography. Well worth your time.

Big advantage to a week of [mostly] staying in: I didn't spend any money the whole week! Didn't think it was possible but it probably won't ever happen again haha.



By Sunday, I was so ready to be social again. I learned that a healthy inner life prepares me for my outer life (learning about myself makes me more interesting and confident) and a healthy outer life enriches my inner life (giving me new things to ponder and improve upon).

After Church, I went to the Relief Society activity at the DC Temple Visitor Center. It was supposed to be a missionary activity where we invite neighbors/coworkers but none of the ones we invited could come! Still, we had a wonderfully uplifting time watching "God's Plan" (short tearjerker about families), walking around the center, and having dessert afterwards.

Britt's favorite parable

Sunday evening - watched Hercules with these fun kids.

You bet your bucket we sang along!