California!

I'm back from the golden state of California. It was a whirlwind trip. First to Rancho, then to San Diego, back to Rancho, up to Fresno and then my flight connected in San Francisco on my way back to DC. The wedding was beautiful and Katydoll is all married now. Hers was the first wedding for which I was a bridesmaid. It was such an honor to be a part of her special celebration. I just found out my family will be celebrating a wedding for my sister in January. It's about time she's getting married. I just have to point out that both of my siblings' spouses will be about 9 months younger than me. 1987 was a good year for the Carlson family.

It felt just a little bit awkward being in Fresno this weekend. It could be described as a fish out of water. I sometimes imagine that I'll end up moving back to Fresno. I even set a goal to start a Council for International Visitors there. But this weekend, Fresno didn't fit. I loved seeing my family and most things were familiar, but Fresno doesn't feel like home right now. I suppose that's a good thing since I'm pretty well set-up here in DC.

A highlight of the Fresno trip was seeing the play Noises Off. My family had a nice birthday celebration for me on Sunday as well. Most of my extended family came over too. It was a combined birthday party and farewell party for my cousin Amy. It's the big joke that no one gets anything in my family unless you're Becky or Amy. I guess we're spoiled--or maybe just extra loved.

Anyway, here are some pictures of the few times I brought out my camera.

She might hate me for putting up this closeup...it was taken by accident. I think she's beautiful.

beck

Clarity in the Clouds

Our plane was minutes away from landing in Denver. In a few words: it was a long and uncomfortable flight. Since the movie that was playing had ended, I made a desperate attempt for peace and turned the channel to the classical station in the hopes it would calm my mind and I could avoid a stress headache. I opened my book to continue reading but had to stop.

Claude Debussy's "Claire de Lune" started playing just as we started breaking through the clouds. I was lucky and had the window seat. Debussy's delicate melody played as I watched the sun set. Orange and red painted the clouds where the sun peaked through. "Claire de Lune" normally takes my breath away, but tonight I felt like it gave it back. I landed and had peace of mind.

And now I'm waiting in the terminal for my connection. It's not as pleasant an experience.

beck

"I stopped it with my shin"

Who: Me and the softball

What: Collision with my shin and the softball

When: 6:47 pm on Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Where: Near third base at the Meadowbrook Park field in Bethesda, Maryland

Why: I had to stop the ball with something...and my glove didn't seem to want to do it.

How: Well...that I'm not so sure about. But I stopped the ball!

Maybe you're wondering what the big deal is. Well, there is now a softball-sized swollen bump on my leg. And a scrape to boot!

Take a look! In this picture it may look like nothing more than a slight discoloration of skin on the left shin. You may also notice the red bumps from those pesky mosquitoes!

Then from this angle, you can see that there is definitely a bump on the left.

And this is a closer view of the scrape.

Now for the next few weeks, I'll have a reminder of how I stopped that ball--with my shin. Our tournament is this Saturday. My goal is to use my glove more than my shins. Here's for hoping!

beck

Rachel Baby

Rachel Baby, you're the one!
You make our lives so much fun!
Rachel Baby, I am awfully fond of you...boop boop bee doo!



Today is Rachel Baby's birthday. There are many songs besides "Rubber Ducky" that we parodied just for her while she was growing up, because she is really just that cool. I don't know why I feel I should recognize her on my blog on her birthday. I've just been thinking about her today and you are getting all the buzz from this bee.

I am presently babysitting little munchkins and remembering back to when I first started taking care of little munchkins. It all started with Rachel. K was born when I was five years old so I was probably big enough to hold and play with her, but not much else. But Rachel was born when I was nine. Rachel was my live baby doll. She was the seventh and the last baby so my mom was a little tuckered out and glad for the extra hands to help.

I remember nights when I'd hear Rachel crying in her crib in my parents' room and feeling outraged that they would just let her cry! I now see the wisdom in this, however, at the time I would storm in and cradle my baby back to sleep.

After 14 years I also want to remind everyone that I was the only one who knew she was going to be a girl. Everyone else thought she was going to be a boy, but I knew better! I was so glad to have my baby sister. And I guess...I guess...I still am. And I still LOVE babysitting.


beck

What is this feeling?

Today I was shopping online to buy shoes to wear to Katy's wedding and came across a page of utter beauty. I didn't have a shoe fetish before, but finding these magnificent jewel tone colors on suede shoes is dangerous to my well-being. I would love to wear them all!

Oh and I picked these shoes for the wedding.




beck

The World We Live In

This is world that we live in. I feel myself get tired. This is the world that we live in. Well maybe I was mistaken. I heard a rumor that you quit this day and age. Well maybe I was mistaken. Bless your body, bless your soul. Pray for peace and self control.

This is a photo of Science on a Sphere. It's at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. Don't worry, Science on a Sphere is at NASA but it has nothing to do with astronauts. It's really just about Earth--what it looks like and how it's changing. I visited the GSFC a few weeks ago with a group of visitors for work. I saw severals presentations that day and Science on a Sphere was one of them. Out of everything presented that day, two points stood out to me:

1. Over the past 150 years, the temperature of Earth has increased an overall average of 2 degrees. They can't say exactly why, but they're pretty sure that it's caused by humans.
2. Out of all the food acreage in the U.S. (with most square mileage in the Midwest) the San Joaquin Valley produces 1/5 of the nation's food. Too bad my family isn't in the farming business.

So maybe the presenations didn't invigorate much in me. However, I did leave with awe over the toys/tools used on the Hubble Space Telescope and a better understanding of why we should even have NASA. It's not just about astronauts going on a ride and getting moondust; scientists are able to prove that for some reason...the Earth is warming. I won't get in to my ideas on why it's happening. I shouldn't even tell my parents that I believe it's happening. If it isn't true, I'll blame NASA and hate the administration forever. Oh, and I bought a NASA sticker to put...in a place where people can see how cool I am for having a NASA sticker.

On another environmental note, our IIE Green Team (of which I am a proud member) hosted a kick-off event last week for all interested staff to have a free organic lunch and watch the short film "The Story of Stuff." The film is by the environmental activist Annie Leonard. I think you can find the film at http://storyofstuff.com/. I'm not really sure though because I didn't really check because I don't really care to watch it again. Can you tell how I feel about it? Annie Leonard is very opinionated--as she should be. I don't think you deserve the title of activist unless you have really strong opinions. I certainly do not agree with everything she said--maybe not any of it.

I noticed that the film had an opposite effect than I think Annie would have liked. After watching the film all I could think to do was shop. I actually went to Macy's after work and bought a few items. Take that Annie Leonard! See, I don't think that's right for me to feel that way. It's similar to the time when a Brady Center representative gave a presentation on gun control: all I wanted to do afterwards was go buy a gun and shoot something. If you feel like shopping or if you feel like getting riled up about the environment, then perhaps the film is for you.


beck

P.S. T-5 days until the new and improved Dodge Dakota Sport arrives. I think I'm gonna name her Kota. It has a musical reference and I think she'd appreciate that.

I Needed That

"Remember that God often provides his blessings through the compassionate and timely response of another." --Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

Today I was mortified to find that I made not one but four hasty mistakes at work in the last week. The first three were fixable. The last one...not so much. I found out about the last one just a little while ago. Of course we all make mistakes, but some are the big, juicy kind that make a big mess.

The point of this post is not to go on about how retarded and absent-minded I can be while trying to get things done quickly, though both are true. The point of this post is to share what happened after my slight meltdown. It was an encouraging and uplifting moment.

I updated my facebook status since I happened to be online. Then I called my mom and recounted what I could of the story. She is always there for me, but she couldn't connect in the way I needed to about this situation. When I finished the phone conversation and wiped away a few tears, I noticed a text message from my friend in California in response to my status. He has been the best and oldest long distance friend I have had outside of immediate family. I'm not sure that I can give him credit for feeling inspired by the Holy Ghost to check on me since he's not LDS (but maybe he can still receive that inspiration?), however, I can give him credit for being such a good friend! I was feeling alone and wondering who on earth I could talk to about this and who on earth would care. Yes, I'm still crying about it after texting him, but I feel loved and cared for. Is that so bizarre? I'm not sure why I need to feel the assurance that someone cares for me. I've been trying so hard to just care for myself, but it doesn't work. People need to care for each other and raise each other up.

Okay, I'm fine now, I promise.

beck