Praise God from whom all blessings flow...

Days left: 632
Goal #81: Find a church in DC that I'd like to go to regularly.

To be completely honest, since January 12, 2010 I have had a hard time finding a place I'd like to call my church home and have had to be really intentional about finding one. I longed to find a place which as open and welcoming and full of people on a journey to better understand who Jesus is.

To my surprise, I found this community at an Anglican Church in Columbia Heights which uses a liturgical worship style. Church of the Advent, the church I have been attending, is a simple, no frills church, based on fundamental Christian principles and rooted in community. I've met so many quality and down to earth people at Church of the Advent and can't wait to get to know them better!

Another thing I found about the church after having gone for a few months is that it is actually a church plant from a Christian church in Rwanda who was seeking to help bring the Gospel to the USA.

Matthew 18:20
"For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them."

The big cleanse

Days Left: 651
Goal #99: Cleanse my entire apartment

On the 4th of July in 2011, Allie and I moved from NYC to DC together. After quite an ordeal with our moving "truck" and a massive tropical storm that hit us while unloading in DC, Allie and I were moved in (and with admittedly lots of stuff).

On the 4th of July in 2013, Allie moved out. She is starting a new adventure and in about a decade (*wink*) will be a doctor and taking care of her old sista'! I feel so blessed to have been able to live with her and will truly cherish our three years as roomies for my entire life. 

It's now the beginning of August, and I've since done a fairly massive apartment cleanse and reorg. There are still a few more touches I plan to make, but feel great about the newly organized closet spaces! I sold some stuff at a local consignment store, gave some goodies away to the Salvation Army, and then tossed the junk.

Here are some pics of the freshly cleansed place.

Re-discovering Manhattan

Days Left: 716
Goal #1: Walk the island of Manhattan from North to South

Two main things inspired this goal.
1. My dear friend Becky and I have met a lot of wonderful woman and wanted them to meet each other.
2. I love Manhattan and wanted to explore it in a unique way.

So Becky and I planned a walk down the island of Manhattan with a group of girls who don't know each other but who Becky and I thought would really enjoy each other.

So, at 9am on Saturday, June 1 we started with 8 girls (everyone meeting at least 2 new people) on 225th Street across the river. We then began our 13 odd mile walk down to Battery Park, taking bets on when we thought we would arrive. Becky guessed 6:30pm and I believe Georgina had the latest guess at 11pm.

Let the walk begin. Each girl was assigned a section of blocks where she was asked to plan events (food, coffee, drinks, historical landmarks, fun facts, etc.)

We started up in Inwood, weaving our way past auto-body shops and into Washington Heights where we stumbled upon a neighborhood block party full with loud music and craft making stations.

We then continued down to Hamilton Heights, Morningside Heights, the Upper West Side, Chelsea, down the High Line Park, through Tribeca, into the Financial District, and then finally at Battery Park. The day was full of highs and lows, fatigue and energy, sugar highs and sugar loooows, walking and running and sitting and stretching, laughing and some heart-wrenching moments...

While the day started with 8 ladies and at one point we had 9, there were only 5 of us who walked the entire island from 225th down to Battery Park. It was such an accomplishment and it's amazing how much closer I feel to those girls.

Below are some pics from the day. And, yes Georgina won the bet. We completed the walk around 11:30pm Saturday, June 1.

One of Abba's activities was for us to write down 5 things that New York has taught us. Here were mine.

1. To be vulnerable and let my close friends help me when I need it.

2. To walk places whenever I can.

3. To live with passion and go for my dreams.

4. To feel comfortable in my skin.

5. Not to eat legit Indian food without being close to a working bathroom.

Til next time you Concrete Jungle you.

The Dirty Dirty

Days Left: 744
Goal #69: Go to New Orleans

Now technically, I suppose I could count the New Orleans trip as also attending a music festival because I went to New Orleans for the Jazz and Heritage Festival. I loved the city and I loved the festival! My dear friend Jane is from NOLA and so organized a group of us to go down for the festival.

I basically ate and people-watched my way through this beautiful city. Below are some photos. Can't wait to get back down there!




Let the good times roll

Practically Picasso... practically

Days Left: 844
Goal #28: Do a wine and paint outing with Allie

Mom came to visit DC and the three Rapp girls did a drink wine while attempting to copy a painting class. We had a blast and I think came up with some great paintings. It was pretty great how different, yet similar each of our paintings were.

Left. Left. Left Right Left.

Days Left: 855

Goals #95: Get a tour of the Pentagon

While my mom was visiting DC, she, Allie and I took a tour of the Pentagon. We were greeted in military style with strict instructions not do perform any foreign translations while on the tour. Well, we ended up being with a Russian delegation who translated the entire tour. Ha. So much for running a tight ship! The tour was really interesting and the young man leading it was very eager to see the world. Great tour. I would recommend doing it but then trying to get an inside scoop from someone who works there. 

30 x 30 Challenge

Days Left: 870
Goal #13: Complete a 30x30 Challenge (Work out 30 minutes a day for 30 days)

This challenge was really fun! I worked out for at least 30 minutes a day for 30 days straight. I actually started this challenge on Friday, October 19 (the day I got back from spending 4 months in Senegal), but stopped at Day 28 because I was in a wedding and literally couldn't find 30 minutes! So, this 30x30 Challenge below started on Sunday, November 25 and ended Tuesday, December 25.

The workout is definitely dominated by Nike Training Club (an awesome I-Pad/Phone app with a personal trainer style workout). And once a week my friend Sarah and I run to Logan Circle (a cute park in DC) and meet for a 30 minute (ish) circuit training workout which we alternate who plans. Finally, I also got my workout on at a local dance studio taking Hip Hop and Tap classes!

Overall, working out for 30 minutes a day wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. I will definitely be continuing the habit!

Sun, Nov 25	30 min	NTC: Wipe Out	1
Mon, Nov 26	90 min	Hip Hop class at Joy of Motion	2
Tues, Nov 27	40 mins	10 min cardio, 15 min abs, 15 min butt	3
Wed, Nov 28	40 mins	15 min (1.5 mile run) 30 min: Logan Circle Workout with Sarah Jaffe	4
Thur, Nov 29	30 mins	NTC: Flex Machine	5
Fri, Nov 30	30 mins	10 min butt, 10 min legs, 10 min arms	6
Sat, Dec 1	30 mins	NTC: Slim Effect (did with Leah and Allie- way hard)	7
Sun, Dec 2	40 mins	10 min abs, 20 min yoga, 10 min butt	8
Mon, Dec 3	30 mins	NTC: Conditioning Corps Workout	9
Tues, Dec 4	45 mins	Ran 1.5 miles 35 min: Logan Circle Boot camp club with Sarah Jaffe	10
Wed, Dec 5	30 mins	NTC: Sweat and Shape	11
Thur, Dec 6	30 mins	NTC: Slim Chance	12
Fri, Dec 7	30 mins	NTC: Li Na’s pre-match routine	13
Sat, Dec 8	30 mins	NTC: Laura Enever’s surfing workout and Allyson Felix’s  sprinter workout	14
Sun, Dec 9	30 mins	NTC: Yoga and Ab Burner	15
Mon, Dec 10	90 mins	Hip Hop Class	16
Tues, Dec 11	60 mins	Yoga taught by Sarah Jaffe at YWCA	17
Wed, Dec 12	75 mins	15 mins NTC: Sculpted Arms 60 mins tap class at Joy of Motion	18
Thurs, Dec 13	30 mins	NTC: Body Surge	19
Fri, Dec 14	60 mins +	Dancing at Grizzly Bear and Sleigh Bells concert	20
Sat, Dec 15	720+ mins	Santacon: Say no more...	21
Sun, Dec 16	30 mins	Abs, butt, stretching	22
Mon, Dec 17	90 mins	Hip Hop class at Joy of Motion	23
Tues, Dec 18	60 mins	Sarah’s yoga class at YWCA	24
Wed, Dec 19	40 mins	Run to/from Logan Circle and 30 min circuit training workout with Sarah and Jane	25
Thurs, Dec 20	30 mins	NTC: The Shredder	26
Fri, Dec 21	30 mins	NTC: Drill Sergeant	27
Sat, Dec 22	30 mins	NTC: Ab Burner and Cardio Burst	28
Sun, Dec 23	60 mins	Ran ½ mile NTC: Slim Effect with Kelly at Prairie Life Played basketball w Kelly and lost 0-5 :(	29
Mon, Dec 24	30 min	NTC: The Shredder	30