Words fall through me, and always fool me, and I can't react

Hello, hello.

So Papa Bose has been disappointed in my lack of blogging so i decided to update.

I liked the way i updated last time soo thats how i'll do it this time.


Work...
Has been really lovely lately. I've been working on my own case, and although i can't talk about it it has been going really well. I really like working with the adults, i've been thinking that although i really love the kids of Chantilly, i'm better at communicating and working with the adults. We will see what the future brings i guess.
Ms. Lynda's club was in the newspaper earlier this weekend:
http://www.observernews.com/story08/news08/050109_lynda.htm
if you want to read all about it! :)
The kids are so darn cute sometimes. Last Ms. Lynda's club we were doing emotional check ins, this gives the kids a chance to figure out what they're feeling and express themselves openly. It gives them an outlet and helps them learn how to open up about their feelings. One of the girls said "I'm happy because we're at Ms. Lynda's and im happy about all the things that Ms. Lynda, Ms. Natalie and Ms. Stephanie do for us." I feel like that is a very insightful and thoughtful thing for an eight year old to say. I'm going to miss these little girls very much.


Also at work, i've had a chance to go to some conferences on capital hill, one being about black males in education and how they basically get left behind. It was really interesting, and made me realize how much work we have to do as a country, not only in reform but in our racial relations too. It makes me mad when people say things like "racism is over, we have a black president" false kids, we have a longgg way to go. One of the things that i love the most about DC is there is so many different kinds of lectures and conferences you can go to. I especially love the ones about social justice, since that is something I'm interested in advocating for the future. My philosophy is everyone should just live together and have access to the same opportunities. That's it. Its not hard or complicated, so why do we make it that way? Sooo thats my rant on that. haha

The other day Natalie and i kind of had our hearts broken. There was an unavailing of Sojourner Truth's bust on capitol hill and Ms. Coates went and for some reason we were supposed to be on the list, but we weren't. We missed the tri-fecta. :( Michelle, Nancy and Hillary. ahh. i don't want to talk about it.

On the other hand on April 24th, we went with Ms. Coates to the Kennedy Center to see Ragtime the musical. It was SO good.


Class:
I'm officially done with all of my work for class! <3 I just have to give a presentation on BWUFA tomorrow and then its smooth sailing for the rest of the semester.

The Washington Center:
Right now i'm halfway through with my portfolio that is due at the end of the semester. We don't have programming tomorrow so i'm going to finish it up tonight/tomorrow. I can't believe we have commencement next week! Ah, where did the time go.

Personal:
The weekend of April 17th-19th: Rachel's best friend Alex came to town! He is so much fun! Friday night we went on a party bus for Justin's birthday. It is a gutted school bus that the edges are lined with seats. You pay a certain amount and go to four bars & clubs, you get to jump the line at bars and clubs (big plus in DC), drink specials at the bars/clubs and lots of fun. This is also the night i broke my face. For more details please inquire within. The next day we went to the zoo. It was sooo hot outtttt. But a lot of fun, for a free zoo it was pretty good. We got to see some pandas so all in all it was a good day.

April 22nd: The girls, Andrew and i decided to go to the Nationals vs. Braves game. The Braves won, and yes the nationals are as bad as they seem. The tickets were five dollars and we were in the nose bleeds but it was a lot of fun. The park is really nice and clean, but nothing will ever beat fenway or the red sox. Michelle and I sported our sox hats at the game. This was also the night that i tried Five Guys, which is kind of a big deal around here. Apparently they originated in Alexandria, and are spreading across the country. When you order Fries they give you a paper bag full of french fries, and there burgers are double. Basically, if i have a heart ache in the near future I'm blaming them. All in all it was a fun night out.


April 24th-26th:
Friday night we just hung out and watched movies. Saturday we took a road trip to Virginia Beach because it was sooo warm out. Basically, it took us forever to get there but once we did we just laid on the beach and walked around. It was a nice and relaxing day. Then Sunday Sabrina, Rachel and I went out to eat on King St to this seafood restaurant. I tried seafood for the first time! and i didn't really like it... i guess it is an acquired taste.



This weekend May 1st-May 3rd: I didn't do too much of anything. I had a paper due for UMass on Friday and a presentation due tomorrow. Plus portfolio stuff, soo ive been doing that. But we've also been exploring more of Alexandria.





p.s. Check this out: My good friend and fellow blogger, Emily May introduced me to this artist Kina Grannis, because she played in Arlington and Emily thought i would enjoy her enough to go see her. I did enough her enough to go see her but i had class :(. This is Kina's cover to "Disturbia" and it is fantastic:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pT_klCRWzZU

There's always gonna be another mountain, i'm always gonna wanna make it move ♥

Whoah, i can't believe my last post was when Mama Laur was here! Woops on that one. Time has just been flying past. I can't believe i only have four weeks left here! It seems like too soon (especially since i just made a list of all of the assignments i have to do before i leave... lets throw another woops in there).

I guess i will just clump everything together since i fail.

Lets start with Work...
It has been going pretty well, and since Teresa left I've been receiving a lot more responsibility in the office and in the community. Recently, i've been working with one of the residents to get her dental care without insurance. Girl's club has been going well (with the exception of one rough day yesterday when we took them to the air and space museum) and last Tuesday Natalie and I got them nutritious food and they actually ate vegetables!! We're trying to add healthy meals to teach them good nutrition. Lately, I've felt really good about the after school programs because the girls have really started to open up to me. It has definitely been a good learning experience working with them.. that is for sure.

I also got to attend a workshop recently provided by Fairfax County government. It was about rewriting your mission statement. Sometimes when nonprofits achieve goals, or find different goals they have to revamp their mission statement. BWUFA is starting a five year plan to revamp our organization. One of these goals is to change our mission statement.

The Washington Center...
This past Monday we didn't have programming (which was good because i was driving back from the 413). The Monday before that (April 6th), we went to the Foundation Center which is a center for nonprofits. It has information for nonprofits such as grants available and a research center. But it also has information for the general public, it is especially useful when you're looking for a nonprofit. Most of the website is free, but some of it is for members only. If you're doing research on the web you have to be a member, but if you go to the Foundation center, or participating libraries its free. You can find these libraries on their website.
March 23rd, we had a Presidential Lecture Series where we viewed clips from the movie 14 Women. It was about the 14 U.S. senators. It was pretty interesting, especially when looking at the lack of representation of women in the U.S. Congress. We need a revolution dude.

For the Washington Center we have to do a civic engagement project, some of my friends and i decided to volunteer with Audrey's organization Washington Parks and People. They work to perserve and create green space in D.C. especially in impoverished areas. We cleaned up this little green space that had become a dumping ground. There was so much trash that everytime you would get through a layer you'd find another layer. A group of about 30 of us worked for three hours and got a lot accomplished i'd say.




Class...
Has been pretty good. We got our midterms back and i did better then expected :). I really enjoy class, in class on the 6th we did an exercise where we picked something interesting out of the chapter and then passed it around. Each person then added a comment, at the end we got our paper back and we got to see everyone's comments and opinions. I thought it was a cool exercise because each person got to share their views. In the next two weeks i have to finish my final draft for our final paper. I'm writing mine on BWUFA. The paper is a summary of the organization, but also an analysis. We then have to give a presentation on our organization.

Cheery Blossoms!
Yes, they are here.. and already leaving. Last week was the "peak week" for them. No wonder why people make such a huge deal over them.. they're beautiful and make DC very crowded. The weekend of the 3rd Rachel had her crew down from home. They are soo nice and so much fun. I will definitely be joining them on adventures this summer. We walked around the festival Saturday the 4th and it was insane but so beautiful. It was the perfect day to walk around and see them.






Home!....
I made the long trip home to the 413 this past Thursday (April 9th). Rachel, Sabrina and I got up at 5:30 a.m. and we were out of the house by 6. We rode the metro to Chinatown where we said bye to Sabrina. Then Rachel and I hopped on the red to Union Station. From Union station we took the MARC train which is Maryland's public transportation. We took that and got off right near BWI, we then took a shuttle right to our airline. We checked in and headed on a 40 minute flight (in a tiny commuter jet) to Philadelphia. There we had some pizza (at 10:30 in the morning) and hung out. Then we hopped on a hour long flight to Albany.
I was greeted by Papa Bose who then took me to lunch. After a belly full of spaghetti and a nap in the car, i finally was home! After 11 weeks, can you believe it? I feel like i just packed up the car and drove down here. I got to see Banker :) (our Dalmatian) who surprisingly wasn't a beast.
Thursday night i went to Applebees with Ashley. We filled each other in on our lives and stories, and also had some really good dessert.
Friday i got up and got my haircut. I made an impulse decision to cut it all off, and i have to say i'm pretty glad i did. Sometimes you have to switch it up, as Ms. Coates always says... never left your left hand know what your right hand is doing. After this, i headed to UMass. It was kind of weird driving onto campus and seeing people get out of class. It was even weirder going to my apartment and seeing other people living there! I must say, i have missed being on campus. I was recently named Publicity and Recruitment Manager for this year for band and after talking to perspective students (via email :p) about band I'm soooo excited for next year. Not only for band, but for the gang to be back together. I met up with everyone at the hatch and we hung out for a little bit, then moved to North. It was so nice to catch up with everyone. I even got to spend time with Jenn & Antonio who were leaving for the weekend. I saw briefly KFunk and Andrea just long enough for a hug or two which was great because i was afraid i wasn't going to be able to see them! Friday night a group of us went to the Hangar and ABC and had soo much fun.



Saturday i went out to breakfast with Molly & Emily May at the Long Wolf. It was sooo good. I feel like i'm finding all of these great places in Amherst right as i'm about to leave! Then Emily and I drove back to the berks and had lovely chats. When i got back i went to the verizon store with Papa Bose because my phone was messed up. I thankfully got a new one! That night Em Rosselli and i went to FYP for some chatting, i've missed this because we used to do it twice a week at school! After dinner i met up with my other half Stephanie and we went to the bowling alley with the family (and by family i mean the Burdicks) for some drinks and bowling.. on a WII. I've missed her!!!!

Sunday.. was Easter! It was the perfect day of lots of (really good) food and family. In my old age, i've turned into kind of a softy and really enjoy family time, call me crazy. That evening i slept over Rachels in Springfield so we could get up before the sun and hit the road to the Dirty Jers to get Sabrina and head back down to good ol' D.C. the trip was long, but fun. We jammed, we had energy drinks (that prevented me from taking a nap before class) and had many giggles.





Life has been very good, and i know i left a lot out of this post. I guess that's why good bloggers update regularly! I have a lot of pictures on facebook, so check me out there :)

♥ Steph

gimme them bright lights, long nights, party 'til the sun is risin', high rise, overtime. ♥

Hiiiii.

I must apologize for missing 2 weeks of blogging! Life has been going by way to quickly. I only have 7 weeks left of this adventure! :( The closer i get to leaving the more i don't want to leave, but at the same time seeing my Mom this past weekend made me miss home. As much as I'm always trying to get away, there really is nothing like home.

I guess the best thing to do would to be to start where i left off. I keep putting off blogging because i have so much to say, and i can't recap all of it sufficiently.

Monday, March 9th.. We had another Presidential Lecture series for programming and then we had class.

Tuesday, March 10th.. I went to work & then i went to Reading Club with the girls from Chantilly. Its a program that Natalie our Grad intern put together with a BWUFA member. Every other Tuesday we go to this members house, have snacks, and read a book with the girls. Then they learn how to do a fun task while there, for example bake cupcakes from scratch or how to knit. (Both of which i had no idea how to do..) Its a good way to get the girls out of Chantilly, get them reading and have them experience new things.

Wednesday, March 11th..I went to work and then I came home. I don't think the 11th was a very exciting day.. haha.

Thursday, March 12th... I went to work and then i met up with two of the civic fellows Andy & Erica who are also interning down here through the Washington Center, a former civic fellow Erinn, and Mike Hannahan one of our bosses. It was a lot of fun to see everyone and catch up on how everyone is doing. Life has been so crazy i haven't seen Andy & Erica besides programming. It was fun to see Mike and hear about how things are going at Civic and in Mass. All in all it was a fun night.

Friday, March 13th...I watched greys & hung around with Michelle & Sabrina. Fridays are usually lazy days because we're so tired from the week!

Saturday the 14th.. Sabrina and I went to Baltimore with Michelle to pick up her friend from the airport. Although i didn't see much of Baltimore it was fun to get out of the district for a little while. We even got a glimpse of mountains! We got up super early, so after a nap we went to Arlington Cemetery. We saw the changing of the guards and our boy JFK.

After this we went to the American History museum. I really liked this museum, as much as i like art i tend to like artifacts more. Besides, they had the old Dumbo ride from Disney.. which was pretty much my favorite ride when i was five.

That evening, Sabrina & I went to Ultra bar with the gang. I have a super interesting story if you ever want a good laugh. Inquire within if you'd like to know.


Sunday, March 15th..I didn't do too much of anything. I studied for my midterm and caught up on some chores. We then watched the Reader, it was verrry good, but i'd also like to read the book. I have a huge summer reading list for myself.

Monday, March 16th..For programming we went to the Newsum (because basically arts & advocacy program is the best) and it was super fun. I liked it alot, because like i said i like artifacts. They had the unibombers house which freaked me out.. haha. And they had a September 11th exibit. They also had a huge photography exhibit which i loveddd. I love photography.


Tuesday, March 17th..Happy St. Patrick's Day! In the morning i went to TWC with some Mass kids to meet Boston City Councilor Rob Consalvo. He was a pretty cool guy, not gonna lie. He was very funny and was also a TWC intern back in the day for our man Sen. Ted Kennedy. I went to work (after making a quick trip to my fave salad place.. chop't!) shortly after and then went to a meeting at Fairfax County G'vt to talk about the grants and measuring outcomes. We had girl's club later that night! yayyy. We talked to the girls about abuse & their body rights. After girl's club i went to Arlington with Natalie and met up with some of her fun friends for a drink.

Wednesday, March 18th..I went to work & then i went to the Landmark education forum at work. Sabrina & Andreaa met up with me. The landmark education program is basically a program that is about self-expression and leadership and unlocking problems. It was pretty cool.

Thursday, March 19th..work & then i met up with some of the crew for happy hour at The Front Page in Dupont Circle. They have 1/2 price apps until 7, $2 coronas all night & $3 bottom shelf mixed drinks until 7. It was good to get together with everyone after a long week and have some nachos. But i did make sure i came home in time to watch some greys (which has been SO good lately!)

Friday, March 20th..i went to work, we went out to Mt. Vernon Inn for Teresa's last day ( i love field trips, especially when they involve food!) and then i met up with My Mom!!! and Pam! They were at the DC home & garden show when i got out of work which wasn't what i expected. I got a really cool scarf though.. and good chocolate haha. I don't know what that has to do with either homes or gardens but i'm happy. We stopped by my apartment so she could see where i sleep and then we went to hard times cafe because i kind of love it there.

Saturday, March 21st..we checked out the monuments because you can never get enough of those babies.

Then we went to bucca di beppo for a lot of italien goodness.

Sunday, March 22nd..we went to Target! Can i tell you how much i miss target? Its really sad. I don't even like chain stores, but i always go to target when I'm at school. My target isn't metro accessible, so Mom took me.. haha. Then we went to Georgetown to a flea market and then Old Navy. The shopping problem is in our genes. We then went to dinner on King St and called it a night.

Today, the 23rd.. i woke up this morning not feeling well. I hadn't really felt well all weekend and today i realized i had a sinus infection. So after breakfast, we called the doctor and picked up some antibiotics. Thank goodness that Dr. Mom was in town! This afternoon Mom and Pam left :( and i went to programming. It was the Presidential Lecture Series with active and inactive Congressmen from different states. I liked this one the best out of the ones we've gone to so far. Tonight i came back home and just hung out because I'm drained.

Steph's corner.. i don't even know how to classify this: So while I've been down here.. I've collected some pretty fantastic friends. Today, I'm going to talk about two particular friends Sabrina & Rachel. As you've seen in past entries, Sabrina is one of my wonderful roomies & Rachel is from the 413. Sabrina has brought us in the wonderful world of calling people "the city dump"... you call someone this when they are less then attractive and/or do something that doesn't please you. This probably isn't politically correct but it tends to be pretty hysterical. The girls and I were talking about "spring cleaning" and going to "the city dump" because we're getting rid of all of the things and baggage we have collected through the years and throwing it away. They basically make me laugh so hard i fall to the ground and make my life a little better each time they open their mouths.

spin that record babe, just dance ♥

heyy,

So i think this weeks theme was neighborhoods. Sabrina and I had always criticized D.C. for the simple fact that we didn't feel at home. Every corner you turn is an office building or national something or other. We needed to see homes and shopping places. During this week, we got a chance to see some and we realized people really do live here.

Wednesday, March 4th.. i went to yet another conference for work. It was held at the Fairfax County g'vt center and was held by the Woman's group. It was really empowering and inspiring. They talked a lot about what if a women ruled the world, and a lot about woman's rights. A lot of people always talk about how there isn't a different between women and men and how we've reached equality. Well, I've got another thing coming to them. Women still make only 77 cents to every dollar a man makes.. and the majority of people in power are men. Women usually don't get the chance to reach their full potential because a lot of places don't offer enough time off to raise a family. Most women have to choose between one or the other, or taking a lesser career with a family in mind. The conference also talked about how women are too hard on each other and we need to band together instead of rip each other apart. SO. TRUE. How can we rule the world if we are criticizing each others outfits and calling each other names? Take for example, Hillary Clinton.. i heard more women bash her and rip her down then men did. And most of the woman's dislikes were about her outfits, or how she came off as "bitchy". We need to come together ladies, because if we can't do it no one can. So that is my rant on woman haha. After the conference, i came home and slept because i was one sick girl.

Thursday the 5th, i took a sick day from work. Later that night i thought i was feeling much better, so i went into the district to meet up with Amy, a fellow Northern Berkshire county resident and Papa Bose's former interns. We had dinner at a place called Stars, which has singing waiters and waitresses who perform every 15 minutes. It was really fun, Amy is probably one of the sweetest people ever and I'm glad we got a chance to get together while down here.

Friday the 6th, i woke up going strong. I felt better and felt that I could go to work. I went to work and got some projects done. But by 2 i was starting to crash. Ms. Coates being the wonderful women then she is told me to go home and get some rest. I went home and crashed and woke up feeling much better. Sabrina, Michelle and I made our way down to an International fair that the Washington Center hosted for the international students to showcase their culture. It also had some pretty great, free food. After this, we went back to the apartment and hung out and girl talked.



Saturday the 7th (Burd's 21st Birthday!) was a very busy day. Michelle and I went down to King St for some St. Patty's day action because Alexandria celebrates it early. We went to a dog show that was unimpressive.. the dogs were cute but the owners were crazy. We then found a stoop to stand on and watched the parade. We were very pleased with the amount of Boston Red Sox apparel we saw. Sabrina then joined us after taking the dreaded practice LSAT and then Rachel and her gang joined too.

Sadly my camera died during the parade, so all of my adventures from the day are unrecorded! :(
After the parade we made our way to Georgetown. I forgot how much i liked Georgetown until we were crossing the bridge. I lived here for 10 days the summer going into my junior year of high school. Sabrina and i were pleased to find our first neighborhood-feel place. We walked around and found a good grill to get some food. After a day of 70 degree weather and much walking around, we called it a night and headed back to Braddock for a movie night. We watched catch me if you can.. which i had never seen, i thought it was verry good.


Today (the 8th)we got up nice and early to head to Columbia Heights (neighborhood #2!) for some brunch at Red Rock Pizza. We (Audrey, Sabrina, Fransisco, Brendan & I) met up with Audrey's co-worker Carrie. Today was another lovely day in the high 60's, Red Rock had a patio that we could sit on for some laughs and eggs.

After that i split off from the group for my final encounter with the Staples rewards lady. I walked in, handed her the ink and she replied "what ink did you want?" When i told her, she said well the ink "i gave you was generic canon ink.. it should work in all printers." Well, when my computer flashed a message across my screen saying the ink wasn't compatible, i kind of got the impression that it didn't work. She then was shocked when i didn't want ink from her. I did get my money back though. Good riddance staples rewards lady, i hope we never meet again. After this glorious experience, i went to Dupont Circle (neighborhood #3!) for awhile i walked around (found a really awesome record store) and sat down to read for class in the sun. I then went to a drop in beginner hip hop dance class at a place called Joy in Motion...mainly for a different form of exercise. It was such a good workout. I can tell tomorrow I'm going to wake up soo sore. It was so fun though, i think I'm going to start going regularly. All in all i had a really awesome weekend and am so happy that spring is here! :)


Peace and Love
♥ Steph

You can talk all you want but my skin is really thick, i'm the leader of the crowd and my game is really slick... i'm unstoppable ♥

Hi Friends,

So lemme tell ya a little about my life.

Tuesday the 24th (Mama Laur's Birthday!), i went to work. My own personal goal for work is to create a book of activities, service learning projects, tourist attractions, and places to take the kids. So, whenever anyone wants to do a project with them, they can look in the book and it is mostly planned. Also, people can add to the book. I worked on that pretty much all day.

Wednesday the 25th, I went to work and kept working on the domestic violence workshop stuff. I'm creating a packet of healthy living tips for them such as nutrition, exercise, anger management etc. We also contacted associations for their free brochures. It doesn't sound like a lot but i worked on it pretty much all day.

Thursday the 26th, I went to work, and after work i went with the Director of Programs to Chantilly. We walked around talking to the residents about a computer learning center that is available free for their kids. I think this is one of the coolest things about BWUFA, they inform the residents about what is available. Then we met with a tutor, so he could meet his child in the child's home. This ensures that they will be comfortable when they're meeting and the parents can make sure they're comfortable with the situation too. After this we went to meet with a potential mentor, this meeting is to meet the person face to face, talk to them about the rules and get all of the paperwork. The Director let me run part of the orientation. After work, my roomie Audrey and I went to a restaurant called Las Tapas and had a fantastic dinner & wicked good Margaritas.

Friday the 27th, I went to work & wrapped up some of the weekly projects. Then my good friend Seth came down for the weekend. Friday night we went to Ultra Bar with Sabrina. It was a very good time, but very expensive. The club was super crowded too.


Saturday the 28th... we had a lazy day & then went to see some of the sights. Afterwards we went to King St. for some Hard Times Cafe action. They have the best chilli... which is saying alot.. because i usually dont even really like chilli. Seth, Sabrina and my good friend & fellow Mass resident Michelle hung out for the evening.

Sunday the 1st (hellooo March!).. Seth left early to head back to NY. I got up early and went to the mall to get my hair cut and they had a highlight special. So i got my hair highlighted too. The rest of the night i did homework. My roomies and i also created goals for ourselves and hung them on the fridge. This may seem silly, but i kind of love it. Mine are to start dieting again, going to the gym at least 5 days a week, stop buying coffee daily, stopping buying my lunch at work & only having 1-2 drinks while out. Our goals could be on anything. :)

Monday the 2nd...i woke up to SNOW! eww. We had programming which was "Career Bootcamp" I chose writing your grad school essay and applying to grad school.. since i have had a recent discovery that i want to change my life and go to grad school. It is pretty overwhelming stuff...haha. The workshops were pretty helpful, but ultimately i think that grad school is something you need to figure out on your own. Then i had class. Longg day. I've started to look up grad schools, i think i want to stay in Massachusetts since i'll get instate tuition.. which will be very helpful. And, i kind of love Massachusetts. Although, after living down here.. i wouldn't mind going to school here.

Today the 3rd.. i went to a conference for work! Yay office outings. We went to a conference provided by the Fairfax County government on determining outcomes. When working with a program that is run on a grant, there is a lot of evaluation and sometimes the program will become different by the time its done. In short, this conference was about evaluating what the program is, what your goal should be for it, and what the end result should be, but it is a little more complicated then this. I think it was a great experience and I'm glad i got to be apart of it. After the conference, we headed over to Chantilly. We took two of the boys from Chantilly to Buffalo Wild Wings, it was nice to sit down with two of the boys from the program. We then headed back to the Mews for girls club! I got to partially run it this week because unfortunately our Grad intern has the flu. We talked to the girls about nutrition. Now I'm home and feeling flu like myself. :(

Steph's grad school corner:
Now, I've told you about my future dreams of grad school. Ever since I've been down here, I've realized that i don't really like working behind a desk all day. The thing i look forward to and enjoy is running the programs, working with the kids and creating programs & collecting resources for the community. With this i think that i should pursue a career in social work. This will open a lot of doors for me. I could work within a school, within the health field, for a nonprofit or for a community coalition. From what I've read about social work it seems like everything that I was looking for in a major. Although, i do love politics, and I'm not closing the door on it.. i feel that the mixture between sociology, working with people and social justice of social work was what i was looking for.

And he could change the world with his hands behind his back, ohh ♥

Hey, Hey.

Where shall i begin.

I guess i should begin with telling you who i intern with and what we do..because i just realized i never did that.

I intern with a nonprofit organization called Black Women United for Action (yeah i know im missing a requirement). BWUFA is a non-profit community service organization whose mission is to advocate the concerns of women and improve the lives of impoverished, vulnerable families through a self-sufficiency/ empowerment approach. One of BWUFA's biggest projects is the Chantilly-Mews family preservation project and works to enhance community support, as well as mentor, provide parental guidance, and educational enrichment. This comes in many forms such as classes, speakers and working one on one in the community.

I honestly can't believe it took me 4 weeks to explain where i'm interning.. haha. Go me.

Moving on.. lets start with Tuesday because that is where i left off last.
I really need to start being better about blogging more often because i have so much to write about!

Tuesday after work i went to Chantilly with BWUFA's program director. We had a meeting with three women who are interested in mentoring. Before we went to our meeting we stopped at the Mews and two of the girls asked if they could come to the library with us. They're hysterical. If you ever want a good laugh ask them about Rihanna and Chris Brown... one of the girls said that Rihanna is a burp to her. Where do they come up with this stuff? haha. The mentors were really sweet women, who seem really sincere and loving, i think they'll do well.

Wednesday & Thursday i worked on some projects. One of the cooler things I worked on was working on the budget for our domestic violence program that we'll be running in the Mews. I'm excited to see this project all the way through, from the beginning planning to budgeting to the actual classes. It was nice to see the budget process and see what the grant covers and doesn't cover and how to figure out what needs to be purchased and what we need to cut back on.

Friday i went to work and then Audrey, Rachel and I went out to O'Shaughnessy's because if Kate is off in Spain i at least need some type of Shaughnessy in my life. haha. It was a good time, met some locals.. good stuff.

Saturday we woke up bright and early and went to the wax museum. Which if anything gives us many picture opportunities that i can share on facebook and make your newsfeeds entertaining.




Saturday night we went to eye bar in DC. It was a lot of fun. It was mardi gras night so we got some cool masks (k they weren't that cool.. but they were free) and some beads... but don't you worry we didn't have to do anything for them.




Sunday was a wonderful day. Audrey, Sabrina and I walked downtown to a bead store.. which was AMAZING. I wanted to buy the whole store. It made me very inspired to make some cool necklaces. Of course, i always get these ideas and then they sit around for 3 years. I'm still working on my high school scrapbook if that tells you anything. But anyways, I'm sure we will be frequent flyers in that store. Sunday night we went to the National Gallery of Art for their concert Sundays. We saw a piano trio which was AMAZINGGGG. The trio played Beethoven, Schubert and Mendelssohn and they were so moving. All of this was FREE-99, by the way. I think that i will be attending many more of these before the end of my time here.

Today, i didn't have to go to work because i have Mondays off for Washington Center programming. I got up, went to the post office & trader joes.. all before 10:30. WHATTT. And then i came back and did laundry and read for work... Mom would be proud. We had programming at the Department of Interior with some speakers who were talking about global players in the economy (i think.. uh..sorry). After that i had class and this brings me here. Writing down random thoughts on this blog.

Well, i'm off to bed.
Back to the grind tomorrow.

Peace and Love ♥
Steph

Stephanie's music corner:
Download Adele's album right now. She is AMAZING and makes my heart happy and sad at the same time.

Also, the other evening i sang for my roomies. Audrey said that i was better then the singers themselves. Although i don't think this is true, it is still nice to hear. Sabrina said that i should find open mics. I may, i really miss singing. Its weird how things that were so important in your life start to fade in the craziness. I think I'm going to try to sing more once again.