Everybody's Hometown (Happy Easter!)

I spent the weekend with Camille's family this weekend, as they got ready to move away from their home (of 14 years!) in Media, PA. Her parents are Utah-bound this week, and it was fun to visit one last time (after all, I was awarded "honorary Moffat" status!) and to see some of Camille's favorite spots in Media.

Camille introduced me to Rita's:




We visited Camille's favourite park:






Then, we asked a nice man to take our picture, but he took 20 seconds of video instead? Ummmm..... The crazy thing is he was young, so we thought he'd know how to use an iPhone? I guess not. It was baffling. I took a screenshot of the video, but it has a ton of black space. Whoops...





Then we petted a rooster!



And, of course, it wouldn't really be an outing with Camille without some sort of photo shoot. Alas, she has all those photos, sooooo maybe I'll share a couple if she sends me some (please, CMoney$!)? And/or I'll link to whatevs she posts.

I also watched (half) of my first French movie! We went to bed before it ended. Now I'll never know what happens to Mr. Bob or "the girl who bloomed too young for her age."




On Easter morning, the Easter bunny came!



And I matched the daffodils in front of the house!




We got up early so we could see the Temple site for the Philadelphia temple.



And then we headed to Church, where, in addition to uplifting talks, awesome lessons, and beautiful music from the ward choir, there were BABIES, and PUPPIES, and hipster elders, and all SORTS of amazingness!! (There were also some really, umm, interesting comments about my name/my heritage/etc/etc? Ha.)

But puppies!!



We ended the day with a delicious Easter chicken dinner (SO gonna try that recipe soon!), and a happy birthday key lime meringue pie for Mama Moffat.



I LOVE living on the East coast and having these little getaways just a few hours away. It was a lovely Easter weekend in everybody's hometown. Thanks for letting me visit, Familia Moffat! And safe travels!! :) xoxo

PS I also was privileged to photograph history as Camille took one last dip in the pool -- never mind the 44-degree water! Unfortunately, my iPhone ran out of memory at the end, but check her out here anyway! (Video by me, uploaded to Camille's Vimeo.)

The Journey of the Brave Levain Cookie

It was a beautiful spring morning on the Upper West Side, and a young woman smoothed patiently over her hair with the InStyler her daddy had bought her. A little Fresh Prince and an overpriced mango smoothie from Whole Foods were all she needed to make her morning complete. As for her afternoon... that was TBD.

As she lounged about, recovering from a most successful -- but tiring -- Voto Latino Power Summit conference, she pondered what she should do that day that would bring meaning, that would make a difference. As she weighed her options, she paused. She considered. She reflected. And then... She knew exactly what she needed to do.

Her goal in mind, she made her way down Columbus Ave., past fruit stands and second-hand stores, past flower stands and the most darling cafes, as she walked with determination towards 74th Street. A quick turn and a couple of street crossings, and she found herself in front of one of the most glorious places on the Upper West Side -- nay, in New York City!

As she walked towards the door, ready to walk down the narrow steps that would take her to her destiny, a large family -- complete with strollers and various small humans -- crossed her path and descended the tiny staircase before she could. Alas, her date with destiny was delayed. But no matter! What was a few more minutes when she KNEW that soon -- oh, so soon! -- the deliciousness, the perfection that IS the Levain chocolate-chip cookie would be hers!

She bought two cookies -- one for herself, and one for her partner in crime whose 30th birthday was that day.

Though she could have eaten her cookie right away, she chose to wait, to savor that sweet, sweet cookie when she was back home in DC. It would be like an extension of her trip and a special treat as she transitioned back to the daily work grind.

After a glorious afternoon spent mostly in Central Park -- but also partially dedicated to eating other delicious NYC treats (Gray's Papaya piña colada, anyone?), she found herself on a DC-bound Amtrak train, still clutching the precious paper bag that carried her two Levain cookies.

The next day at work, Partner-in-Crime -- enjoyed his birthday cookie. As he ate, she kept her little paper sack safe on her desk, knowing that in a few hours, the 3 o'clock slump would hit, and THAT would be the time for the little (not really -- those things are MASSIVE! as big as my hand!) Levain cookie to work its magic!

She had made plans for outdoor yoga with a friend that evening. But Mother Nature had something else in mind. One blustering, sideways rainstorm later, and her evening would now involve a trip to Pinkberry (which is basically like yoga, right? right??).

She ate half of her cookie, and saved the other half for her friend. She wondered if he would recognize (probably not) what a true act of selflessness and love it was for her to share a chocolate-chip cookie (no, but seriously... sharing treats is a big deal for me) --- and a Levain cookie at that! Levain! Second only to Sister Beck cookies in deliciousness! --- with another human being.

But she loved the cookie so much, she wanted to share the joy of the Levain experience with him (it's sort of like sharing the gospel. Once you have it, you want to share it with others, so they can experience the blessings and joy, too!).



They enjoyed their FroYo that evening (does anyone else thing that term is lame? though not nearly as lame as HoCho. gag...), and she gave him the cookie. ("Hooray!" she thought, "Now he'll know true joy in his life, too!")

But alas, as their conversation carried on, and the FroYo quickly disappeared from their cups, the little paper bag was forgotten. As they made their way back out into the night and onto the cold metro, not a word was spoken regarding the little cookie left behind.

As she got off at her home metro station, she remembered.... The cookie! Had he taken it? Had he already eaten it? Had he loved it as much as she hoped he would?? She texted to make sure he had taken it.





The unthinkable had occurred! The world's greatest cookie had been left behind!! How could this have happened??

Knowing there was not a moment to lose, she ran out of the metro station and dialed the number for Pinkberry. The angelic voice on the end of the line told her exactly what she wanted to hear, "Yes, we see your bag here. Of course we can hold it for you 'til tomorrow. You'll come in the morning? Sounds good!" Bless you, kind Pinkberry employee!!

The next morning, she walked to Pinkberry as SOON as it opened, and behold, the heavens were parted, and upon the counter of the Pinkberry was foundeth an paper sack, wherein lay the blessed remains of exactly one-half Levain cookie. It was a Passover MIRACLE!

HOORAYYYYY!!!!

That night, she met up for dinner with a different friend (AND the cutest dog in Congress!). and together, they enjoyed Good Stuff Eatery (first time!) AND We the Pizza. I mean, does it even get any better than that?

Meet Lily, 2013's Cutest Dog in Congress!

Actually, yes. YES, it can!  HOW?? you ask?

By ending the night with half a Levain cookie, split in two. :)

At last, the brave little Levain cookie had reached its destination. :)

Behind the Scenes: Voto Latino Power Summit NYC 2014 (Part 1)

We just finished our first Power Summit conference of 2014 in NYC! (If you haven't heard of Power Summit, it's a really great professional development & leadership conference my organizations hosts every year. In 2014, we're taking Power Summit on the road and hosting FOUR events in FOUR cities across the country! NYC was our first stop.)

Here's a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes (and WHO it takes) to put on such an awesome conference.

First off, Power Summit involves boxes. LOTS AND LOTS of boxes...

This is what our office has looked like the past few weeks:

Secondly, it involves traveling. In this case, ROADTRIP! Half the team drove a van (full of the aforementioned boxes) from DC to NYC. The rest of us got up there via Megabus!







Once you get on site, it's time to UN-pack all those boxes! (But don't throw them away yet! We'll use them to pack up again at the end of the conference.)





Then the on-site fun begins! Set-up, meetings, writing speeches and talking points for e'rrybody, working all together in your boss's hotel room at midnight... At Voto Latino, we do it all!

See those white socks? That's me! :)

best. graphic designer. EVER!! Seriously. She is the BEST!

I look like I'm asleep, but I promise I was working.

Partners in crime!

Then people start arriving, and it's showtime, baby!

 

Part 2 coming soon!

LOVE is all you need

I have wept in the night

for the shortness of sight

that to somebody's need made me blind;

but I never have yet

felt a tinge of regret

for being a little too kind.

I feel so blessed and inspired after a glorious weekend of General Conference. As I've quietly pondered the things that stood out to me and more importantly, the things I need to improve based on what I learned from Conference, one theme that keeps coming back to me is LOVE. SO many of the talks, at least for me, focused on LOVE! On loving others more, and on loving them better.

On loving fully and without hesitation. On balancing our own lives and our own loads -- that we may have time to serve others when they need us. On focusing on the needs of those around us, and then rendering Christlike service.

Christlike love is the greatest need we have on this planet... (from Elder Holland's talk), and each of us CAN do something every day to help someone around us feel it.

I tend to go overboard sometimes when I'm setting post-Conference goals, so this time, I'm going to set just two small goals.

I recently received an abrasive email from a professional contact I've never met. I... didn't like his/her tone or much of what s/he had to say, and I automatically became a hater. Of someone I don't even know! 

I also had an encounter recently with someone who... probably doesn't number tact among his/her strengths? I thought all sorts of sassy things in my head, but I thankfully didn't vocalize (most) of them.

I frequently get so caught up in all the things I "have" and "need" to do, that I don't leave enough time or mental space/energy to look for the needs of others and find ways to serve them.

And well, I shared this experience already...

Clearly, I NEEDED these messages about LOVE in my life. My goals are thus:

1. I will give people the benefit of the doubt. I won't be a hater, and instead, when I feel hurt or attacked, I'll try to see things from the other person's perspective.
2. I will look for ways to serve those in my sphere of influence. My sphere may not extend far and wide, but it extends enough for me to make a difference to at least one person each day.

Stephie's Birthday!

I missed Stephie's birthday party this year because of a work even, so I got to celebrate with her one-on-one two Saturdays ago. I told her we could do annnnything she wanted. What did she pick? A Saturday bike ride, and Tacklebox for lunch. So off we went!

First stop, Tacklebox, of course! (aka Basically the only place I'll eat seafood voluntarily. ICYMI, I am not a seafood person.)

We grabbed our lunch and biked over to the Georgetown Harbor. It was one of those rare gorgeous weather days between a couple o' snowstorms, and we enjoyed every moment of sunshine! :)

Ignore all the bird poop. :P

After enjoying our delicious lunch (I highly, highly recommend the tilapia tacos!), we cruised along Rock Creek Parkway (fighting tourists e'rrywhere we went... ugh, tourist season...) and made our way to the National Mall, where again... tourists!

If you ever visit DC, DON' come in the spring/summer! Come in the fall after all the tourists & Madam Humidity have left!

I've mentioned before that WWII Memorial is my absolute favorite, right?

And after enjoying the AMAZINGNESS that is the National Mall (and the amazingness that is riding your bike on the National Mall!), we made our way back up Rock Creek Parkway, back through Georgetown and Glover Park. And goodness, Georgetown is a pretty place! (Seriously, even the doors are pretty.)

It was SUCH a lovely day, and I enjoyed spending it celebrating one of my very dearest friends. Happy happy 28th, Stephie!! You are the epitome of what it means to be a friend, and I count you as one of my great blessings here in DC. Te quiero! xoxo