erika

Life is a beautiful thing. So many things make me happy. I just saw a bunch of friends in Utah who I hadn't seen over a year. Loved every second of it. I love nature. I love the beach. I love my family. I love kids. I love being creative. I love music. I love the temple. I love trying new things. I love to travel.  I love my life DC life. I love new experiences. I love my job. I loved my mission. I love Brasil.  I love the challenges and trials I have faced in my life. I love my friends. I love being a friend. I love to listen. I love my church calling. I love my Heavenly Father. I love the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. 

This last one is one thing I love the most. It's what I hold most dear my heart. I had the privilege to share this love and knowledge with a dear friend of mine months ago. It was as if I was on my mission again. It was a reminder of the most important things in life and what really matters. It made me the happiest I have been since I have gotten back off my mission. It made me realize that we can't be doing anything more important or worth while in our "single" years than sharing this precious gospel. 

The happiness I felt as I sat in on every lesson she had with the elders, as I saw her grow and develop a testimony, and make the necessary changes in her life to move towards baptism are indescribable. I don't have words sufficient enough to explain how happy I truly felt not only during her conversion but all those I got to know on my mission. It is a happiness that is long lasting. A happiness that I feel deep inside the core of my heart. A happiness that can't be bought and a happiness that is eternal. How I am grateful I opened up my mouth. I knew from the second time we had met this girl was special and the Lord was preparing her to accept the true gospel. Each day I am humbled by her example, by her faith, obedience, diligence, compassion, determination, humility, and by her love towards God. She thinks I have taught her yet she is the one who has taught me in more ways than I can describe.

From her getting baptized..

 To her getting confirmed...

To her bearing her testimony exactly a month after her baptism

(too bad I don't have a picture of this day)

To reading this today on her Facebook...

She has changed me for the better  and I thank God for putting her in my life. Who would've known that meeting someone in the girls bathroom could have turned into this. Amo vc minha amiga eterna!

tuesdays tune

I have to thank Heather and Caleb for this discovery.

gratitude

Sometimes I don't feel worthy of all the blessings that come my way. When something good happens, I immediately thank the Lord and attribute all my success in life to him. Recently I have been feeling a lot of gratitude. Life is such a beautiful thing and today especially I am feeling more humble, more grateful and an extreme amount of happiness.

So I have been working at National Geographic now for almost 9 months! It seems like yesterday when I was walking up to the Nat Geo office building with butterflies going in for my first interview. When I found out I had gotten the job I was seriously the happiest person in the world. I had just landed my dream job which was by far the best birthday present anyone could give.

So I knew later down the road my job with Nat Geo could come to a close seeing as it was only a 6 month contract with a possibility of hiring me full-time. They weren't telling me anything concrete as to whether this would happen so I started applying for jobs.

I just heard back from the House of Representatives that they are offering me a job! Never in a million years did I think I could potentially want to work for them/ be excited about a job like this. Since when was I political?! I don't know if I am in comparison to other people out here but DC is changing me... After examining 33 people, interviewing another 15 people on the phone and asking 5 people to come in for an in-person interview, I found out that they are making me an offer! The interview process was long and extensive (a whole 3 1/2 hours) but once I sat in some beautiful office with a fireplace, huge gold mirror, beautiful victorian furniture and couches and a straight shot looking out to the Washington Monument to meet a couple  "big shots" I knew this was a good sign.

How cool would it be walking inside this building on a daily basis?

And then just when I thought I already had a difficult decision to make-

1. Stay with Nat Geo when there's a chance they might not hire me because I love my job or

2. Work for the House of Representatives which would be a once in a lifetime opportunity while I'm  living in DC and now there's a number 3

3. Just today someone reached out to me for a Digital Graphic Design Job in LA and they're wanting someone who speaks Portuguese!! Could this be true??

Since when does this happen? A job at some major company, doing what I love, in a city I love, beautiful weather (I don't want another humid summer in DC)  and they are specifically looking for a fluent Portuguese speaker! They had literally posted the job on Linkedin minutes before they reached out to me. 

And here I'm thinking I already had a major decision to make and now this? When I started reading this (Call me a cry baby. I know. I'm different. The mission has changed me) I started to get teary eyed. I can only thank the Lord. I know he is looking over me and while I feel like I am so unworthy of all the blessings he's pouring out to me in my life I am extremely grateful. Sometimes I wonder why me? And I guess I always resort back to the phrase my mom told me growing up...good things happen to good people.

fun fun fun

So there are times when I can easily say..I love my job. I love what I do. after I finished this infographic for the show The 80s: The Decade That Made Us I could easily say that. I was even featured on random websites like this one: http://www.rediscoverthe80s.com. My creative directors gave me complete freedom to do whatever I wanted. I obviously went crazy with the colors. And out of all the things I have done or designed this was by far my favorite. I've said it before, I said it just after I finished this project and I'll say it again....I love what I do!

oh happy day

I realize I am a much happier person when its warm. Today was no exception.

It was a whole 83 degrees today! Simply beautiful. And it was not only warm but there wasn't any humidity (I am so not ready for that to come yet..) Because of the temperature and all the cherry blossoms I can say that this was the first day of Spring..oh wait. 83 degrees in Spring? And tomorrow should be 90?  I guess I can say summer. I heard DC doesn't have a Spring. Crazy to think that a couple weeks ago it was snowing and now I am enjoying this beautiful weather! Ashley and I met up for lunch to eat at the food trucks and clearly a million other people had the same idea. It felt so good to lay on the grass, in the sun, even if I did get grass stains on the back of my shirt.

And then...

look who came in 2nd place in our family March madness bracket?! That would be me! I had forgotten to fill out my bracket so my sister called me seconds before the first game started and told me to quickly fill it out. 2nd place isn't bad for a girl that literally filled this thing out in a minute. Too bad I am not $50 richer. Best part was my dad apologized for having underestimated my final score and ranking. He never admits he's sorry or wrong. Because I had forgotten to fill my bracket out I was logged out of the ESPN website and my points weren't being accumulated like all my other siblings so this 2nd place winner was a complete surprise to the family today, especially my dad. Of course it wasn't a surprise to me. I knew I would at least place in the top 3.

And then there was this..

I received more likes than ever on Facebook and I think never in my life will I ever get more than that. This normally happen when you get engaged, married, have a kid etc, but I am pretty sure nothing will top this. Thanks Nat Geo. By far the highlight of my week since I live and breathe Facebook. I have always aspired to get over 4,700 likes. Mission accomplished. The story behind this- at work we all went around sending funny 80s pics to each other. Then someone in digital marketing wanted to use these 80s images for 3 individual categories in a photo contest and mine was selected! Since I design everything digital it was me who got to design the specs for Instagram, Facebook and the photo contest. That was strange. Never have I designed anything with me in it. And because I am so vain, I loved every second of it. 

Talked to my Creative Director and he told me Nat Geo are fighting for me and they are doing everything in their power to keep me. I heard back from The House of Representatives and they want me to come in for a 3 hour interview this Friday. You heard me...3 hours! Hopefully this will put the pressure on Nat Geo and I'll find out about my job. Just heard amazing talks in conference this past weekend and can't wait to study them in more detail. Life is good. So many blessings all around. Here's to more happy days like this!

one of those days

For those of you who are uninformed of what's going on in Israel, today I saw some videos that depicted the Israeli and Palestinian conflict pretty well. Despite the major division that exists amongst them, Israel is truly a beautiful place. I dream about going back all the time and already decided that I am going back one day with my hubby.

How grateful I am for my personal freedoms. How grateful I am for the fact that I can go outside and feel safe. Or stay inside my home and have that same feeling of safety. How grateful I am that despite the major differences between the Jewish/Muslim cultures vereses my own, I can see so many similarities. How grateful I am to have been able to learn and gain a personal understanding about both sides of the conflict. How grateful I am to have been able to experience and live in a place completely foreign to anything I have ever witnessed before in my life. My eyes have been forever opened. The Jerusalem study abroad program changed my life.

After watching the 4 clips on the Israeli confilict on Youtube (check them out..they all are amazing) I can safely say that today is one of those I-am-missing-Jerusalem-days!! JC4ANKH

let loose

So I guess you could say that I have changed over the past couple years but that's a good thing right? Right. I mean who would want to be the same person they were 3 years ago? Not me. That's why we are here. To grow and to become better. So not to say that I was a completely terrible person before my mission but I did have my crazy ways. Crazy G-rated Mormon ways I should say. I did things that I don't particularly care to do now....at least not all the time. I used to go out dancing 1-2 (or Freshmen year 2-3) times a week and things got a little crazy on the dance floor.

Since I have been back from my mission I can say that I have only let myself go wild twice!
1. At the Halloween dance=church dance. I told myself I would never go to one of those things after I hit age 15. And yet I am considering this "church dance" as one of the 2 craziest moments I have had post mish? Somebody help me.

The intense glare in my glasses just shows how hot and sweaty I was this night 

2. A couple weeks ago at Ashley's karaoke birthday party. Things started off on the ground and made there way onto the table and my hands were completely to themselves and somehow led to other places.

You can tell how much crazy dancing/singing was involved based off my 

roommate's expression and the blurriness of the photo. 

And can I admit that the 2 times I let loose completely I had fun? Is that legal? It made me think about what I used to be like and what I used to like doing. And while I might not show it a ton (like i said it's only been twice!) it's still in me. I appreciate those who can bring out that side of me. It's not that I have to be rapping every word to Snoop Dog's "Drop it Like It's Hot," standing up on top of a table belting some Destiny's Child song or getting down low on the dance floor all the time, but every once in awhile is ok by me. It's fun and that's how life should be. Maybe 6 months down the road this crazy side will come out since that seems to be the ongoing pattern? All it takes are the right people, with the right music, at the right place which will get me in the right mood.