I'm in Love!

I'm in love...with a shoe. And I'm so excited that it's finally warm enough that my good ol' Chacos can come out to play. I was getting worried that my Chaco tan line would disappear before I could wear them again. But that is not the case!

I've had friends rave and rave about Chacos, so when I originally decided to go to Taiwan, I figured they were worth checking out. My friend Elise and I spent what felt like hours in shoe store (she was checking out Keens) agonizing over style, color, and fit. I finally decided on the black beauties, and am so glad that I did.

My first experience wearing my Chacos was here:

Arches National Park in Moab. My two roommates wore theirs, so I figured it was a good place to break them in. Umm, not so much. They gave me blisters at first, so I had to ease my way into wearing them.

But once I flew over the great big pond (considerably larger than the one between New York and London), we could not be separated. Not only did they accompany me in the classroom, but on many exciting adventures across Taiwan and Thailand.

Amazing dirt/ tan line from Chacos. First day of Trek in Thailand

All in all Chacos are pretty much amazing, and if you haven't given them a try, you really should. You'll love them as much as I do.

Check, Check

Ever since the start of the new year, I've been meaning to set some new goals for myself. But in the craziness of returning to the States and then moving to DC, I haven't made the time to reflect on what I now want out of life.

My senior year of high school, right before I began the new and exciting world of college, I sat down and made a list of about 20 things I wanted to accomplish in my life. They weren't all life goals, but some were. Others were things I wanted to do while at BYU. Last night I took a look at this list, and realized that there were only few left. That means I really needed to write a new list.

And so I did...and here it is:

What I Want to Accomplish in My Life--a list of sorts

1. Get married in the Temple


2. Have a family


3. get a TESOL certificate and teach ESL


4. take the foreign service exam


5. brush up on my Czech and French


6. learn Chinese


7. run a half marathon


8. run a marathon


9. visit my mission


10. work for a non-profit or begin my own


11. have a savings


12. go to hair school


13. travel to Jerusalem


14. see Petra


15. see the Taj Mahal


16. see the Great Wall of China


17. get out of debt.

And that's my newly updated list. Hopefully I'll be able to check off some of those things soon! Goals are exciting, and I'm feeling more hopeful about my future in general. It's not like I haven't had an exciting life thus far, so I'm sure that I'm bound to have a few adventures in my future!

P.S. Look what I'm wearing today!!!

I'm wearing shorts!!! That means winter is no longer here. Huzzah!!!

Welcome Aboard!

Flash back in a psychedelic Wayne's World sort of way:

So, does anyone remember the one thing I always seemed to moan and groan about while I was in Utah? Any guesses? Any at all? It was the serious lack of Trader Joe's in the area. Let it be known that I am definitely attached to this delightsome neighborhood grocery store, and was thrown off when I didn't have one within walking distance of my abode.

Flash forward to today:

You are now friends and/or acquainted with the newest crew member of the Tyson's Corner Trader Joe's! Hoorah! To be perfectly honest, it wasn't the sort of job I was expecting to land when I came out to DC, but I definitely lucked out in a different sort of way. Not only is Trader Joe's an amazingly awesome place to shop, but from what I have assessed in my 2.5 hours "behind the scenes" it's an equally awesome company. They encourage recycling (if you know me, then you would know how excited this makes me), they give back to the community (huge), plus the other crew members are laid back and super nice. And I can wear my somewhat hippy attire to work! Could it get any better than that?

Here's to having work in this time of economic disaster! And seriously, if you haven't been to a Trader Joe's, get thyself hence!!!

Les Amis, Kamarady, Friends, if you will...

So I have incredibly blessed to have some amazing friends in my life at this moment, so this is a little ode to a few of them (I've noticed I do a lot of odes).

This is Miss Larkin, and myself a really long time ago. We're talking pre-mission long ago. And we were the first two official members of The Corey Fan Club. And I have to admit that I'm still a fan. He's been a great friend over the years, and just so happens to be here in DC. In a time of need, I know he's got my back. He'll even hunt down and beat up guys that mistreat me. His beard can be very menacing...

Me and Lex at our very first Bonfire of Awesomeness. It was Awesome!

(Have you noticed the different eyewear? I didn't realize I got new glasses that often. )

This is Miss Lex. She is one of my most amazing and closest friends. Even though we live in states pretty much on the opposite ends of the country we continue to talk to each other practically everyday. Now that's commitment. She's been there many a time for me, especially as of late. :)

So I know that I just used this picture in a past post, but I've realized that I don't have any other pictures of Kellyn and John. But they are amazing! I've been so blessed to have friends as generous as they are. They've been my saving grace since being out here in DC.

Even though my life is taking me in a direction I never though it would, or even really know where it's taking me, I'm lucky to have such amazing people in my life!

And for those I have not mentioned, know that you are loved and appreciated too!

So....I hated it....

So the three column thing just wasn't doing it for me. It was much too cluttered. So no we're back to a lovely, spacious two column design. Sorry if you liked it the other way, but I sure did not.

And....

I promise I'll blog about something worthwhile soon!

3 is better than 2...

So I decided to try the 3 column thing with the blog. What do you think? As a result, I'm slowly building all my blog features (not like I had many) so bear with me as a tweak things here and there. Change is a good thing, right?

New Place, new neighbors...

Almost three months ago I made the decision to pack up my bags, load up my car and drive the long distance from Seattle to Washington, DC. It's amazing how much has transpired over the last couple of months, and I must admit that I've grown a lot. There was obviously some lessons that I needed to learn, and I'm still going through some of the "refiners fire."

But I had the wonderful opportunity to room again with one of my most favorite roommates from BYU again. And that is what really prompted my move to the other coast. Miss Kellyn, however, married Mr. John Morris two whole weeks ago.

Dropping Miss Kellyn and John Morris at Dulles airport.

I needed to find a new place to live, and fast. And I did. And it's in Virginia. And it's great. It's pictured below:

It's cute, huh? And it was a steel. But, my first morning there, I had a little visitor as I woke up. A new neighbor if you will:
A big ol' nasty bug. This picture doesn't even begin to give it justice. I was over an inch long, and had some cool design on the back. When I turned on my table lamp, it froze. But when I turned it off, it booked it across the blinds, and almost reached my head. I freaked out. For the record, I absolutely HATE bugs. Don't ask me why. I was never bit by some horrific insect, but I do have a fear of them jumping on me and injecting me with some lethal poison. Anyways, I built up my courage and trapped my new neighbor in water bottle, ran down stairs, and deposited him on our front porch. I quickly ran inside, in case he had wings (I've been chased by killer cockroaches with wings before, and boy is it scary).
Despite the unwelcome insect, the place is pretty sweet. It's right next to some biking trails, and is in a real neighborhood. Hooray!
Here's to new places, and to new neighbors (not the insect kind).