Giving Thanks

I have so much to be thankful for. I am a very, very, very blessed girl! I know that all of my blessings come from my Heavenly Father, and I am so thankful that He thinks I'm worth blessing!

This year, I'm especially grateful for:

My sweet husband who loves me unconditionally.

The chance we had to live in Utah this summer and spend so much time with our families.

My faith.

My new job. What a blessing!

Getting to live in such a great city.

The Fabulous Hat Brunch

A few of the ladies from the J. Reuben Clark Law Society Spouses Association, or the "Wives Club" as I like to call it because it's easier, got together for brunch this morning. We try to get together for an activity once a month. This morning we ate at a delicious restaurant called The Carlyle. Basically everyone who's anyone eats at The Carlyle and if you've never been, you're shunned out here. It turns out that the past 2 years of my life have been so hard because I'd never eaten there. But I'm really counting on my quality of life to greatly improve now that I've dined at this fine establishment.

What are the fabulous hats for? Nothing really, just for fun! It's a shame that women can't get away with wearing such fabulous hats these days. We thought we'd be nontraditional and have a little fun. Not all of the girls that came were as into the whole hat idea, but we were glad they joined us anyway!

No wonder our apartment is so dark!

When our bedroom light recently burned out and we opened the cover to replace it, we discovered that this lonely little light bulb was the sole source of light for the whole room.

Our kitchen, bathroom, and entry way are also lit by only one bulb, but the "designer" of our glorious abode really went all out in the living room. We've got 3 light bulbs in there! We feel so lucky!

A Sunday Afternoon in the Park

Adam and I often go to the park by our apartment on Sundays to throw the frisbee, lay on the grass, and watch the joggers, the tourists, and their adorable dogs.

Today was an absolutely gorgeous day - 72 degrees and sunny! Every weekend, we think it will be the last nice weekend, but it seems like we're always in for a surprise the next weekend. I can't believe the weather is so gorgeous in mid-November!

There are still some bright leaves on the trees.

We tried taking some pictures, but as it turned out, we were not having a very photogenic day.

Some examples:

Things started deteriorating, quickly.

Adam decided that if he ever starts his own law firm, he would use this photo to advertise. Doesn't it inspire confidence?

Adam Alba, Attorney at Law.
"Why Should You Go to Jail for a Crime Someone Else Noticed?"

I did what I do best: strike poses.

Sometimes I can't help myself.

We hope the weather stays nice for a few more weeks so that we can continue our Sunday tradition of going to the park!

There's nothing better than a bunch of Mormon kids in a wine glass!

Thanks, Michelle, for finally finding this Alba classic!

I'll enjoy it for years to come!

Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam!

I was recently called to teach the "Sunbeams" in primary. They are 4 years old and are the cutest little things I've ever met. As I was preparing their lesson today and was flipping through the manual, I was cracked up by some of the lesson titles.

• "I Am Thankful for My Eyes"
• "I Have Feelings"
  
• "I Am Thankful for Birds and Insects"
• "I Can Be Kind to Animals"
  
• "I Am Thankful for Fish"

Can you even imagine teaching a 45 minute lesson on being thankful for fish? I have to be honest- I'd have a hard time with this one. I don't even like fish!

These are valuable lessons, though. In fact, I think some of the men adults in the ward (ahem, Adam) need to hear the lesson on having feelings, for example. And it wouldn't hurt for everybody to be reminded of all our incredible blessings, like eyesight! It really is awesome when you think about it.

High Heel Drag Race

That's men in drag, not cars.

Yes, we attended the annual drag race in Dupont Circle, Washington's gay neighborhood.

It was an absolute blast!

The event featured hundreds of men dressed in elaborate costumes. The actual race began at 9:00, but the real fun was what happened beforehand.

The men paraded up and down the race course, showing off their costumes.

Most of the men didn't just dress up as random women, but iconic females or characters from movies. It was fun to see their impressions of these women.

This guy did a great Julia Child impression.

And of course we had Cruella de Vil.

Some men didn't look half bad as women...

But others really struggled...

It might sound risque, but it was all in good fun.

It's definitely one of those things you can only do in a big city.

This will definitely be an annual Halloween tradition for us!

Washington DC Tourists

We dressed up as tourists for Halloween this year. We were a big hit at our friend's party.

Our costumes included:

DC maps and guidebooks tucked into our shorts

socks with sandals

watches

dorky hats and sunglasses

cameras around our necks

shorts worn way too high

t-shirts with political sayings

a camelback filled with ice water

sweatshirt tied around the waist

When guests walked into the party, Adam would run up and start taking pictures of them and yell, "Look honey! Locals!"

We had a good time!