Lake Days... the most wonderful time of the year!

Three day weekends mean one thing to us East Coasters: LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL!

And this Labor Day weekend was no exception. This year's festivities took place at Deep Creek Lake in Maryland, where they filmed What Lies Beneath. In my younger, scared-ier days, this random piece of trivia would have defeated me. I would have stayed in rainy DC with my homework and my netflix rather than risk showering in a haunted bathtub.

But that was old me. New me is braver. And new me knew Deep Creek Lake comes with access to a ski boat. Again, let the good times roll!!!!!!

Welcome to Rivendell! 14 friends and I rented it for the weekend. It had doorknobs in the middle of its doors, hence the name. On the left is the home of our passive aggressive neighbors who I'm pretty sure woke their rambunctious kids up at 6:30 am just to annoy us.

The View From Rivendell. Bottom Left corner is our dock and friends taking it all in.

Saturday morning we awoke to a beautiful but freaky golden mist that covered the whole lake AND the sun! No one got a pic of it, but it reminded me of this J. M. W. Turner nautical painting so I'm putting it up. You get the idea!

10:30 am Saturday: Mist gone, people anxiously wait as Ryan and I fetch the rented ski boat. Ps all my pics have been stolen from Spencer's camera. Many thanks for documenting the trip, boo!

Turns out, only Ryan, our house "dad," and myself know how to drive boats. This is the start of my very long but very rewarding stint channeling Uncle Gene, Lake Mead Ski Captain extraordinaire! :)

So, East Coast lakes are SKETCHY! They don't enforce flag laws. With the heavy lake traffic roughing up the waters and being the safety Nazi that I am, I enlisted Nick to alert other boaters when we had a downed skiier. No injuries were sustained. Way to be, Team-Nick-and-life-vest!

I think I might be whistling in this pic.

At one point it was me and 7 first-time wakeboarders aboard. Everybody got up, though- I'm so proud of my crew!!!

Steph was a trooper- popped up smiling even after a faceplant!

Eric got up on his first try. It's cuz it was his birthday.
 

Cheesy lake grin. I wub boating sooooooo much! And it was SUCH a beautiful day to be out there!

Oh, except at one point the engine wasn't turning over and we had to get towed back to the marina and swap out boats. I learned I have a lot to learn when it comes to negotiating a discount with boat rental coordinators (aka pirates!)

And after a sweet sweet 8 hours on the sunny, perfect lake,  we retired to Rivendell for an epic massage train and watched BYU clinch its season opener v. Ole Miss!!! 

After that we celebrated Eric's bday at the Santa Fe Grill, where we met Elder Gerard, an area authority who saw our BYU shirts and wanted to celebrate with us. He sprang for all 15 of our meals!!! I love kind people! What a treat!

Eric and his ladies

Birthday boy eats REALLY slow.

Hoover and I ride the bear. <3

Awwwwww yea. How every singles weekend should end. There may have also been a midnight skinny dip off the dock...

Visual "-ism" Reader and a Challenge

LOVE this- how many of these "-ism" illustrations can you explain to yourself?

No worries. I'm a lil rusty, too. :) Solipsism??

Good thing grad school started back up again this week!!!! My last year! The end is in sight!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! T-minus twelve months and counting! MORE exclamations!!!!!!!!!!!

If there were a "mormonism." illustration included up there, what do you think it'd be? How about this:

I will send 8 fresh fluffernutter cookie bars to whoever can tell me where this emblem is located! :) Hint: there are literally thousands of them just north of me.

Weekend Thoughts on Romance (written backwards)

In the spirit of 500 Days of Summer, I'm going to relate my developing thoughts about romance to you, backwards, starting with my much-older-and-wiser thoughts of today.

----------------------------------------------------------
(Monday) Yesterday was a day of reckoning... not really, but it felt like it. We had a combined meeting about dating (quel suprise.) and for once this subtle monster of a topic pricked, not amused, me. I'm feeling the strange need to change the way I think about love and romance. Does anyone feel like they've successfully done this before? During the talk they advised us to throw away the "high school and college rules" about dating. Yikes. To me, that means setting aside dreams of falling in love like all my friends fell in love. They got married at age 21 and 22 and 23. I know I won't have a 21 year old's love story, I'll have at least a 26 year old's love story. I just don't think I know what that looks like, or how to prepare for it. I got the message yesterday in church that such preparation should include not getting excited about dates 1, 2, and 3 and to start dating your friends? Mmm ok. Overall the talk made me kinda sad, which means I'm probably immature. So sue me, I like my little romantic dreams of man sees girl, man chases girl, woman and man fall in love, have a few mishaps on the way but ultimately become beaming man and wife and endure to the end (very important last step).

(Sunday) The question burning in my soul as I go to sleep is, what romantic dreams do you retire over time, and which do you retain?

(Blurred for her privacy,
trust me, it's darling!)

(Saturday) It was probably on a Saturday just like this one, three or four years ago, that I was sitting on Jessica's bed, strolling through facebook, when I suddenly came across a new, darling picture of our friend Genna and her then-boyfriend-now-husband Andrew. She has ahold of his suspenders, looking flashy and sly in high heels, while Andrew displays his characteristic sarcastic smirk that clearly says "I'm whooped and I'm happy... but if you ask me I'll deny everything." I cheered out loud for their cuteness, and Jessica looked at me with the strangest smile and remarked, "You get crushes on couples. You love couples!!!!" And I guess I do.

(Friday) In the car on the way to the outlets, I discover that my friend Summer also gets crushes on couples. I'm glad I'm not alone. I shouldn't be alone. True love gives off more love, and it's good to bask in it. It's called empathy. It's enjoyable! It's hopeful! It's energizing! Etc. (Fast-forward to Monday: I think I need new, older couples, or a new, older boyfriend, to show me what to be excited for anymore?)

Adorable card I found on some blog somewhere...
Yep that's as rigorous as my attempts to establish copyright go. Oops.

(Saturday night) As a 26-year-old Mormon, I have seen good friends make great matches hundreds of times over! I still love their stories, I don't think I'll ever get tired of them. I know some of you might be rolling your eyes at me, thinking, "Linds, it's not all fun and games, this marriage. Get over it." Got it. Heard the spiel. Yes, marriage is hard, all of life is hard. But that's not what I'm blogging about today. I'm talking about that adorable energy, that synchronization that real love turns on between two people. I REVEL in that stuff! I REJOICE in it! I even get SQUEALY for it! It gives me hope. I have the audacity to hope for real love, even as the statistics of failure come crashing down over my head. 

(Saturday morning) The fabulous blog A Cup of Jo featured two adorable engagement videos sent to her by readers- of course I eat them up. I used to not be a fan of people taping their engagements (I liked the idea that such a moment is meant to exist in the couples' memory alone), but these two tapes have me singing a different tune. These videos get me started thinking about how I always get crushes on couples...

(Monday night) I return to my new question: how do I change my ideas about love for the better?

[Enter an earnest, outgoing, Mormon Joseph Gordon-Leavitt look-alike. Problem solved.] 

remaking van gogh... into pixels.

Holy mutt....

Click on it to make it even bigger!

from World-Shaker

Blatant steal, the heat made me do it.

Re-posting from my friend Lauren's blog:

Yep that's us DC-ites, the hottest spot in the United States. Hey, THAT must be why the debt ceiling debate continues- NOBODY on the Hill can write a coherent compromise with sweat pouring into their eyes!

When I saw this, my eyes went straight to Vegas, because whenever the weather sucks here, I like to comfort myself by remembering that at least I'm not stuck in that perma-oven... oh wait. 75 DEGREES IN VEGAS!?!?!

BLAAAAAAAAAHHH!

TGIF.

TGIHAVEAC.

Pool this afternoon, mais oui.

You should follow my friend Lauren and her other blog, thingsiwouldsendlisa.blogspot.com. I'm kind of obsessed with it. She has impeccable taste in everything I care most about: baked goods, romantic/funny videos, girly accessories, traveling to GOOD places, etc.

In other news, my obsession with Twitch from So You Think You Can Dance made me do something last night I swore I would never do: sign up for Twitter. His "LiveTweet" session with Lauren Froderman was indeed worth it! After, I realized that since I crossed over the dark side into the Twittersphere, I might as well follow all the writers and museums whose Twitter feeds I've been Googling for the last 6 months anyways. Chuck Klosterman! The Whale at the Natural History Museum! Niall Ferguson! (His take-down of Mika from Morning Joe on MSNBC is the one video I turn to for solace when the Obama administration and Congress make me want to bang my head against the Washington Monument) If you are a Tweeter, follow me @SerendipLC. I can't guarantee I will tweet about anything other than the idiosyncrasies of my little life, but isn't that the whole point?

HP fans- It's worth the watch.

Got a lil teary eyed too, it's ok:

Choices

Almost blew my month's utilities on
these bad boys. Luckily I had a dinner
to run away to.

I have been really, REALLY antsy lately. Antsy for change, antsy for a challenge, antsy to get up and leave, to kiss someone, to buy big ticket items, to travel, to graduate, etc! It's just that season. My prayers lately have been almost frenetic; Heavenly Father has been getting an earful, lemme tell ya. "What do you think of me having a crush on _____? What should I work on right now? What comes next? How does a curatorial assistant job in California sound to you? Can you set that up? Am I doing enough in DC or do you want me to delve further? Are you still ok with me taking a year to finish this blasted degree? Will you bless me with charity? How am I doing? What else you got for me??"

Have you ever been in a similar state of mind? It might be a singles thing. Friends move in and out of my city and my life at record pace, literally: in my 320 member ward, there is usually a hundred person turnover each year. 100 out, 100 in. Lots of goodbye-I'll-never-forget-you's, followed by plenty of Nice-to-meet-you-what's-your-story's. I navigate never-ending rounds of engagements, grad school acceptances, sicknesses, birthdays, break-ups, promotions, and a million other occasions jostling the journeys of my friends at all times. Right about now is when I usually change jobs myself, or start a new semester, or move or do something crazy (kissing a guy in front of his whole football team last year, anybody??). I got absolutely NOTHING this July. I think that's the biggest thing that's got me on edge. At least it's summer and I can jet off to New York or the watering hole or a national festival and blow off some steam when necessary.

So what do you do with this mood? Certainly not make big decisions, but definitely start researching potentials. And go running a LOT. And stay away from the Nordstrom shoe rack.

This mood has caused me to revamp my habits, to create a better here and now. I have taken a hard look at my emotional and physical health the last month, with some interesting findings. You may have noticed some additions to my blogroll: I've started following a few health and fitness blogs for motivation and I have been working on building a better me. I know I feel better and have better organization and motivation when I go to sleep early--like WAY early, before 10-- and wake up early. I know I've got a massive sweet tooth and I am learning, SLOWLY, to keep it under control (Thank heavens for summer produce! Blueberries, sweet corn, and bell peppers, you are the loves of my life!) I find I am still, as always, rather reserved in large social settings, but I love finding people with big stories to listen to, and such people, and my besties out here, enrich my life and I am so thankful for them.

I was telling a good friend tonight that one of the greatest things DC has taught me is how to identify and maintain my own personal work-life balance. I know how much stress I can take without turning into a sad/cranky zombie. I know that if I am feeling a little depressed, it takes me around 4 days to get out of it, and that's ok, I WILL get out of it. I just have to cut back on a few extracurriculars (except service!) and watch the sugar intake. I don't feel the need to rush myself out of lulls anymore, and that in and of itself creates LESS lulls. I know I am a natural planner, and as I take a leading role in organizing my weekends with friends, I have a funner time (who wouldn't, with the gems I associate with out here, really?)

Is anyone still listening to my ramblings? The point is, I'm doing it. Living life, and living it as large as such a barely-anybody-mid-20s-girl can. I'm not good at everything, and sometimes it drives me NUTS that I'm in such a gypsy state of mind, but I'm working it out. Merci, mon pere celeste.

[No Title]

Into Haiku now.

This blog's too narcissistic.

Post-Impressionists!

Georges Seurat, father of pointillism, Le Cirque 1891

Paul Cezanne, father of modern art depending on who you ask,  Le golfe de Marseille vu de L'Estaque, 1878-9

Henri Matisse, father of fauvism, Luxe, Calme et Volupté, 1904

Paul Gauguin, father of a load of illegitimate children, such a pig, but a big name in art history. A Belle Angele, 1889

Vincent van Gogh, father of Expressionism and  1,000,000,000  Starry Night copies by first graders, including myself back in the day.  L'église d'Auvers-sur-Oise, vue du chevet, 1890

All pictures from the 

Musee d'Orsay collection.

I've seen them live! Meep.

A fine DC evening

Tonight is the Third of July. The city's excitement for tomorrow's celebration is palpable, has been since Friday. Oh, wait, that's the coma-inducing humidity. Or maybe it's both.

Today I spent the whole morning in bed enjoying the AC and pounding down 200 pages of Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol (that's right, I broke the snobbish Washingtonian code of not acknowledging that book's existence. I make up for it by noting with distaste its manifold mistakes. I tell ya, I laughed right out loud when they started talking about the CIA "descending" into the King Street Metro... which is in fact above ground. And how about when the characters gasp in awe at Robert Langdon's revelation that the painting on the Capitol Rotunda is called "The Apotheosis of Washington"? Every intern and tourist in the WORLD could tell you that!)

I went to church today, listened to a lot of America-monies, came home, bolted down a wee bit of food, then looked outside my window with my impatient roommate as the thunder BOOMED and the rain came down in a sudden, swift sheet. It lasted about 25 minutes... right into 6:30, when we were supposed to be leaving. I donned my rainboots and rainjacket, enlisted the aid of a big umbrella and blankie, and together Kelly and I set off into the ocean that was 21st Street to meet up with our ward friends. Together we had all planned to drive into the city and find a good spot on the West Lawn of the Capitol in order to watch the dress rehearsal of tomorrow's grand Fourth of July concert. The dress rehersal is a Washington secret event that you must attend at least once to be a native. You go sit amidst a haughty upperclass picnicking crowd, watch Josh Groban or Natasha Bedingfield squint out at some unknown director behind the stagelights who asks them to "Stand here, look there, now sing it again." You have a great time and realize how awesome (and awesomely entertaining) your nation is.

Unfortunately, the rainstorms that preceeded our drive today also wreaked havoc on the Hill. We drove by crowds streaming AWAY from the Mall (bad sign), then we drove by a massive tree branch half on top of a misfigured red Yaris, half in the right lane of Independence Ave. (Another bad sign).

Undeterred, perhaps emboldened by the discovery of an impossibly good parking spot right next to the Library of Congress, we unloaded our gear and marched down towards the Hill on the offchance that something would change. Shepharded down to the lawn by cool and detatched Capitol police, we arrived alongside the stage to see the reason so many people had been leaving: part of the outdoor stage had collapsed in the storm and the show had indeed been cancelled. Other parts of the lawn also showed recent scars. We decided to make merry in the cool evening air on the lawn next to the Botanical Garden, a ways off from the stage. We sat across from a crumpled metal detector station (the winds had tipped over some HUGE concrete pylons! What a storm!) Police stood, bored, everywhere.

We played games we learned from EFY, nibbled snickerdoodles, and amused the tourists (I think there were 20 of us?). We listened as they fired canons (at least the military is undeterred by storms), we watched a glorious sunset, and we packed up as low clouds rolled in with accompanying thunder, forty-five minutes after we had settled down. As we departed, Josh Groban (or perhaps a recording of Josh Groban) began to sing, filling the entire top half of the mall with his glorious, mellifluous sound.

I came home to even MORE friends who were sitting around an open ice cream carton. We discussed timely events such as the last SYTYCD episode and the act of hugging. Tomorrow I'm renting a bike, going to breakfast and a parade and probably much more. It'll be great. But tonight... tonight was grand. What a good day to be here, in this beautiful spot of land. Today I remembered I live in the heart of my nation.

26

Here's a list of fabulous things accomplished by people during their 25th year of life:

Orson Welles co-scripted, directed, and starred in Citizen Kane.

Charles Lindbergh became the first person to fly alone across the Atlantic, thus winning a $25,000 prize.

Fayette, N.Y. farmhand Joseph Smith founded the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints after translating the Book of Mormon from golden tablets revealed to him by the angel Moroni.

Physician Roger Bannister broke the four minute mile. As he collapsed unconscious into the arms of his trainer, the loudspeaker announced, "The time was three..." The uproar of the fans drowned out the rest of the announcement.

Natalie Wood earned her third Oscar nomination.

Charles Chaplin appeared in his 35th film.

I, Lindsey Ann, earned approximately $14,000, opened two bakeries, took out my endowments in the LDS Las Vegas temple, did research at FBI headquarters, fell in love with Ethiopian art, traveled to New York City 3x, rode a blue bike along the Outer Banks, saw Brad Paisley in concert, and loved my friends and family.

Ashley and I on the NYC Subway

Blue bike on Bonito Road... I think my face accurately expresses how I felt about being alive at that moment.

Marissa, Brad, and I, rockin out

Miracles occur. These three besties making it down to Vegas for my endowment was one of them.

Example of the type of contemporary Ethiopian art that lights my fire! by Wosene Kosrof 

Me and Amanda, my boss at Crumbs.
She also had never opened a store before, I think we did a pretty good job!! 

More besties

Notable accomplishments by people age 26:

Albert Einstein published five major research papers in a German physics journal, fundamentally changing man's view of the universe and leading to such inventions as television and the atomic bomb.

Benjamin Franklin published the first edition of Poor Richard's Almanac, which was to play a large role in molding the diverse American character.

College dropout Steve Wozniak co-founded Apple Computer.

Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin, revolutionizing the economies of the United States and Britain.

British ethologist Jane Goodall set up camp in the Gombe Stream Chimpanzee Reserve on Lake Tanganyika and began studying the lives of chimpanzees.

Napoleon Bonaparte conquered Italy.

... My journey for similar glory starts tomorrow. I'm turning 26.

Some ideas for how to change the world in a year:

- Continue to get more education

- Be financially self-reliant and thus be prepared to aid others

- Deepen my relationship with Jesus Christ and invite others to get to know him, too

- Marry up and start making wicked smart, funny, beautiful babies

- Pass my French certification

- Stop running the tap while I brush my teeth

- Laugh til I cry with choice friends
- Get a new stamp  in my passport

- Be in the right time at the right place for somebody

Dad Day

At my cousin’s family ward in New Jersey this morning, I found myself envying the part-to-play that belongs to little kids on Father’s Day. You elbow your way to the front of the stand in sacrament meeting so you can wave to him, add your own warbley strain to the off-key chorus of “My Daddy is My Favorite Pal,” and then during Primary, you color a cut-out tie that your Dad will sport proudly for twenty minutes (or, if you are MY DAD, twenty years. Every Father’s day his now-giant paper tie makes its annual appearance in the Buffalo Ward, filling his 26, 24, 22, 20, and 17-year-old kids’ hearts with pride. I love you for that, Dad).

I envied the kids today because Father’s Day gets harder as you get older, as you learn to love your Dad for new, grown-up things. He became your friend somewhere in between your last year in college and your first grown-up paycheck. You realized that he is just a regular guy who faces both his own troubles and those of his wife and kids. He meets these trials with a smile on his face that is sometimes pretended, but most times summoned up from the bottom of his loyal, brave, faithful, family-man heart. It’s hard work, being a grown-up dad. Thanks for all your hard work, my Dad. (Which work is easier, now that it’s all over: keeping 5 adult kids on track or waking up at 3 am to feed and lull 5 babies to sleep for about 10 years straight?  I’m curious.)

So what do you do on Father’s Day when a paper tie ceases to convey the fullness of your affection for him and the role he plays in your life? Some people resort to silk ties, some people to a new set of tools. I’ve tried these  gifts in the past, only to see Dad’s interest in them fade from his face almost as quickly as he opens the gift bag* (my Dad’s ridiculously honest face hides absolutely NONE of his emotions, for better or worse). I’ve gotten closer to the mark for a few years with books for presents. Those are more up my Dad’s alley, mostly they because they represent ideas, idols, or goals to set. That right there is speaking my Dad’s language.

But if you choose the wrong book, heaven help you. You might as well have given him that “One Free Chore” coupon you gave him when you were 10 that you obnoxiously refused to honor three months after its bestowal.

(In case you’re wondering, siblings, in terms of the types of books you are thinking of buying for him, David McCullough is less than Mitch Albom is less than C. S. Lewis is less than Eugene England.)

Ok he's not exactly smiling at this MOMENT, but this was that night.
There's Grandpa, Wee, Dad, and the Metropolitan's sweet water fountain entry.

I’m trying to think of when my Daddy’s face has lit up the brightest and clearest. That’s what I want to bring to him this and every Father’s Day. The last time I saw that look on his face was when we took HIS Dad with us and as a family explored the new Cosmopolitan casino. Dad the architect loves to expound upon the different tricks the designers build into the walls and floors of a multi-million dollar building, loves asking us to think twice about how they managed to put an entire restaurant atop a small, curving pole or made a water fountain of ice (I still can’t figure it out, but it’s rad).

Ice water fountain. What? How?? I don't know. But I touched it. Solid ice.

Sweet Dad smile! Cheesy rest of us smile.

Before that night, I saw him happiest when we took pictures together at the temple after I took out my endowments, right after Marcus came home from his mission. I sure am grateful for a father who loves his eternal family and values them above all else. The benefits I have received from that devotion I am sure are untold and innumerable.

So. How to bring that smile back when 4/6ths of “his people” live in states other than his? Dad, this is what I’d like to tell you today: the only thing I can do that I think makes you smile is live my life with daring, cunning, faith, and love. I’m three semesters away from my Master’s, I live in a beautiful and challenging city, and I plan on skipping back to the West the second I’m done. I love our church, I love and worry about our family every day, and I take extremely frugal but fabulous vacations like you’ve taught me, so that I make good memories but don’t go bankrupt in the process. Most days I credit you with the part of me that is driven to succeed, to question things, to be devoted wholeheartedly to those I love. For those qualities and many more instilled in me by you and by our beautiful, graceful mother, I thank you. Happy Father’s Day, Eric. I’m doing my best out here, thanks for all your support. I love you.

Happy Father’s Day to everyone who has ever been a father, who wants to be a father someday, or who today feels their heart well up with gratitude for their own father or the father of their children.

* Talking to my Dad tonight I was informed that my sister did in fact give him a tie this year, about which he remarked, "Well, you do always gotta have these things!"

Thank you

I have some fantabulous, amazing friends who have decided for some unwarranted reason to build me up lately. Seriously, you guys make me feel DANG good and I'm 100% positive I don't deserve you but I'm remaining insanely grateful for my good fortune. Whether we're connecting through Duck Beach mania, a three-day long text message conversation, a four hour So You Think You Can Dance marathon, or skyping til way past my bedtime, I'm feeling good, and feeling lucky, because I have you for a friend. Thank YOU.