An update from the road...

Day 1: (October 25th)
I got a late start due to goodbye breakfast at Cracker Barrel with my Nashville friends. We were very loud and joyful at the breakfast table, so much so that we actually received a compliment from a couple strangers. They said we made their breakfast more enjoyable by how much fun we had. We took a bunch of group photos outside of CB, which made some people stare. Tears were shed - mostly by me. It was a long day of driving which ended near Topeka, KS at a rest stop. This was when I discovered the amazing rest stops that are actually service stations in Kansas. They have, not only clean bathrooms, but also gas pumps, convenience stores and fast food restaurants all in one location in the median. It was great!

Day 2:
Sleeping in a car packed with all your worldly possessions is not the most comfortable thing. I Kept startling awake thinking I had fallen asleep while driving. I left the service area at 6:15am and witnessed a beautiful sunrise which made up for the lack of sleep. :) When driving through Topeka I saw a small car (similar to mine) with a Vermont license plate, packed full with belongings. I wonder where they are moving to? I drove on the part of I-70 which was the first section of interstate to be built in the US. Why did they chose Kansas for this first section? I saw a church called 'JC Naz' which was apparently a Nazarene church. I arrived in Denver at a very decent time (about 3pm) and had a very nice chat with my good friend Sweet Leesh, before everyone (her husband, brother and sister-in-law) all arrived for dinner. I really enjoyed dinner with all of them, and we played some fun games afterwards too.

Day 3:
Denver has been issued a Winter Storm Warning. They are expecting it to snow, starting tonight and going through Thursday. Up to 18 inches is expected. So I am going to stay a couple extra nights with Sweet Leesh and her husband. This afternoon we went to Red Rocks Amphitheater and took lots of pictures. Tonight we had dinner at Sweet Leesh's parents house and got to play Apples to Apples with the whole family afterwards. It brought back many fun memories, due to the fact they were the ones who helped teach me to play that game in the first place.

Day 4: (October 28)
I slept in this morning and by the time I woke up there was a couple inches of snow. Sweet Leesh and her husband went to a special lecture at the Bear Valley school this morning. It was bad enough when they got out of that, they decided to go get more food supplies for the next couple days. When they got back we ate and watched movies all afternoon. Its about 10pm now and there is at least 9" of snow from what I can see. It is still snowing too. I think I may have to change my route home from here, in addition to waiting a couple extra nights.

Words are inadequate...

... for the mix of feelings I'm experiencing at the moment.
I've just gotten back to the house from a wonderful night with the girls (Miss Grey, BarlowGirl, and Sunny B) where we did pedicures, watched Anne of Green Gables, and ate popcorn. I love these friends of mine! I am lucky to have such amazing friends.
Today it has hit me. Everything was so 'matter-of-fact' until today. I don't know why or when exactly it happened, but it hit me at some point today that I really am moving back to WA and that I leave the day after tomorrow. This was, and still is, my choice. I have chosen to go back to WA and in doing that, leave my friends behind. Of course, the selfish part of me would much rather just take them along, but that is impractical and somewhat unfair to them.
I have chosen to move back because I have missed Washington, my family there, and my church family especially. This seems like a good decision. This may sound hoaky, but I feel like this is the right decision right now. That community is where I belong right now. One major thing I have gained from this year of living in Tennessee, is a much greater appreciation for my church family, and the community provided there. Like everything else, it has its flaws (how could it not, consisting of humans as it does?) but I know those flaws and understand them.
I want to take this last quiet moment to say, that I will never ever regret my decision to move to Tennessee. The experiences I have had while living here for a year were worth every minute I missed home and family. Because of this adventure, I have gained much confidence in myself and cemented bonds of friendship that I feel will last forever. Nothing could make me regret that.
To my friends in Tennessee - whether you are a new friend, or an old one... I'm not always good at being able to verbally express my appreciation for you, but please know that your friendships mean the world to me! Believe me when I say, this was not an easy decision to make, or to follow through with. Nothing and no one can take your places in my heart. I promise to come visit often. I love you all!

15 Things I will miss about TN

Since I did one about my home state, I thought it only fitting that I do a list for the state I'm leaving...

15. the amazing fall color
14. walking downtown at night without being accosted
13. friendliness from strangers
12. being within easy driving distance to multiple states
11. warm summer evenings
10. fireflies
9. crazy country sayings
8. poofy shaped clouds
7. the fried okra and hot rolls
6. having a Sonic less than 5 min away
5. thunderstorms that shake the whole house
4. all the many shades of green during the summer
3. being able to play with BarlowGirl's kids anytime I want
2. my coworkers
1. my friends

15 things I miss most about WA state

Since I'm getting ready to move back to Washington state in two weeks, I thought I would share some of the things I miss about where I grew up...

15. knowing all the back roads
14. having good teryaki just around the corner
13. waking up to a crisp cool morning while tent camping
12. having multiple bodies of water close at hand
11. fresh crisp apples available for decent prices
10. recognizing most of the native plants
9. having a Taco Time down the street
8. being surrounded by greenery during the winter
7. Trees taller than 3 story buildings
6. rain 3/4 of the year
5. seeing tall snow-capped mountains every day
4. having the beach less than an hour away
3. the hint of salt water in the air
2. My church family (especially weekly tuesday night gatherings)
1. My Family

Country-isms

During my time here in Tennesee I have heard many sayings that I didn't quite understand (and some I still don't fully understand) but that are quite humorous.... so I thought I would share some of the most common ones. Thanks to my coworkers (John, Tracey, and Pat) I have compiled quite a list:

• Smells so bad it could knock a maggot off a gut wagon.
• As useless as tits on a boar hog.
• That boy’s two bricks shy of a full load.
• Even a blind hog finds an acorn every now and then.
• They’re as bright as a burned out light bulb.
• I think he’s one fry short of a Happy Meal
• Slower than molasses in January
• Grandma’s slow so what’s your excuse?
• He ain’t the sharpest knife in the drawer, so we call him spoon
• He just made himself look like the north-end of a south-bound donkey
• Don’t mind the mule being blind, just load the wagon
• Blind man runnin’ for his life will never see it
• Ain’t seen hide nor hair of 'em
• As many as Carter’s got liver pills
• If you run with turkeys you’ll never fly with the eagles.
• If you lay with dogs you’re gonna get fleas
• As busy as a one arm paper hanger
• You’re the cats pajamas
• As fine as frog hair
• Goin’ to hell in a handbasket
• Happy as a coon in a rock house
• As easy as catchin’ fish in a barrel
• Happy as a cat in the scratchin’s
• Don’t want to hear the labor pains, just show me the baby
• I’m ready, if I don’t get to go
• Full as a tick

A Summary...

I originally was going to go back and blog about each adventure I had this summer, and even started doing so. However, after a couple entries, I realized just how many things I did this year and I decided maybe a summary would be best.

As you know, this year started with a bang - our New Years party at Micah and Miss Grey's house was an awesome start to 2009. It inspired me to make goals that seemed somewhat impossible, but also to realize that if you don't shoot for the moon you probably won't achieve much. Here are some of the things I accomplished this year so far:

• Read the Twilight series.
• Finished the Harry Potter series, and subsequentially watched all of the movies that are out.
• Visited the Country Music Hall of Fame, Cheekwood Botanical Garden, The Hermitage, Riverfront Park (downtown Nashville), Warner Park, the Loveless Cafe, The Parthenon, and the Natchez Trace.
• Visited West Virginia twice (once for a Redding Brothers concert, and the other for Mawmaw and Pawpaw Redding's anniversary party)
• Visited 2 out of my goal of 5 National Parks - the Great Smoky Mountains and Mammoth Cave.
• Walked 4 miles at the Nashville 'Walk 4 Water' to help raise money for water wells in third world countries.
• Saw the Atlantic Ocean for the first time.
• Visited North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama for the first time.
• Saw Lake Michigan for the first time.
• Witnessed my little brother graduate from Navy Bootcamp.
• Met cousins I didn't know I had, and also spent a day with my Great-Uncle from Arkansas who I hadn't seen in 10 years.
• Went to a drive-in movie theater for the first time.
• Went to a 'real' country fair.
• Went to a Greek Festival.
• Walked in a waterfall for the first time.
• Fell deeper in love with Bluegrass music.
• and finally - developed close friendships with Sunny B, Tberry, and Lady Dee, and deepened pre-existing friendships with BarlowGirl, Miss Grey, Micah, Gabriel, and Josiah.

I am so thankful for having been able to do all of these things this year. Especially since the year isn't over yet! I feel like I have used this spring and summer to its fullest, and don't regret any of the things I did or places I visited. Thanks to my friends who have helped come up with things to do and have helped made it possible for me to do all these things! I love you all!!

Random Road Trip - Huntsville, AL

The weekend after I went to Washington, me and some friends decided to take a 'random road trip' somewhere. The two options that came to mind were Chattanooga and Huntsville. We decided to go to Huntsville because it was supposed to rain, and there were more indoor things to do there. Sunny B offered to drive her mom's car (which is a very nice full size vehicle) and we all accepted. :) We took the scenice route to Huntsville instead of the fastest way, because we were looking for adventure. This is when I discovered the beautiful rolling hills that exist just south of where we live. It was so green and the road was winding through the hills, it was perfect!

Somewhere near Fayetteville we saw a 15 passenger van for sale on the side of the road, and we had to stop. We like to tease Micah about having van lust. For some reason him and his brothers really have a thing for large vans (probably something to do with growing up in a family with 11 kids). During that time Micah was seriously thinking about buying a 15 passenger van, so we stopped and all took a good look at this van.

When we got to Huntsville we stopped at a really nice and clean Super Target which Miss Grey had been to before. For lunch we found this fun little place called Nothing But Noodles, and they had all sorts of noodle platters including Italian, and Asian. It was really yummy! We tried to find the historic district on our own and weren't very successful, but instead found a neighborhood playground that looked fun. At the playground Gabriel proceeded to freak out Sunny B and Miss Grey by climbing on top the monkey bars and walking across the top. After that I found a map on my phone for the visitor center and we got to it right before they were closing. The ladies at the visitor center were really nice and we got a lot of helpful information. Then we drove a few blocks away to the historic district which has many houses from the Civil War era and the Victorian era. It was really neat to see all the old architecture and know that it was actually standing during that explosive time of America's history. One of the ladies at the visitor center had also told us that there was a new outdoor mall nearby that had a little lake with gondola rides. Since Miss Grey loves to shop we went to check it out. The mall was somewhat smaller than I expected, but they did have gondola and pedal-boat rides. While Micah and Miss Grey took a boat ride, Gabriel visited the Apple store and Sunny B and I sat watching the kids play in the large fountain/water park. Before we left the shopping center we visited Barnes and Noble, and they witnessed my weakness for nicely bound journals. On the way back to the car us girls witnessed a staged slow-motion martial arts fight between Micah and Gabriel on the lawn. We finished the trip off by splitting pizzas for dinner. On the way home Gabriel got into a discussion about politics with Sunny B, and ended up calling her a socialist. Now everytime they see each other they tend to get into long conversations about politics. We had a full and fun day, and decided that we definitely needed to do another 'random' road trip together.