My Changing Life... and Happy Christmas!

Once again, I find myself needing to 'catch-up' my blog... Nothing unusually exciting has happened since my last post. Mostly because I feel like life overall is exciting. It is all exciting! My life this year has been constantly changing, and I am making it my goal to continue this in 2010. I don't want my life to be stagnant... to get stuck in a rut. I want my life to be active and changing... more on that later...

As most of you know... I did make it home safely after spending a longer stay in Denver with my good friend SweetLeesh and her family. That experience was such a blessing, and their family is amazing! I haven't updated my blog since arriving home for the simple reason that I've been spending pretty much all my time with my family, church friends and job hunting.

This holiday season has been extra special, because unlike last year, my family is all together this year. My sailor brother is home on leave, and we get him for two whole weeks! It has been a true blessing to spend this time with my family and not having to worry too much about going anywhere.

I want to share an excerpt from my personal journal about this Christmas with you:

"The last few days have been so enjoyable. The focus has been almost completely on family and just having fun together. That is the true meaning or purpose of Christmas, in my mind. Nowadays people get so caught up in the religious arguments about Christmas. Why do you waste time arguing? Just spend the time with family and friends. During that time just spend it loving them and then Christ is automatically infused into the holiday. There is no need to use words in arguments, just act your belief out!

I think this Christmas has been the best of my memories. Maybe part of it is that I appreciate it so much more from having been gone, that I don't sweat the small stuff. "

My hope is that you all are pulling your family close around you as much as you can, during this time and also throughout the next year. God, Family and Friends are the most important things in life... I don't care what anyone else says! Love them to the point that they cannot question it! In conclusion here are some thoughts from Donald Miller's book 'Through Painted Deserts' that I'm currently reading...

"I figure you might forget what kind of person you were back when you were on this trip. I want you to know you weren't a bad guy. But you fell into thinking a lot of money and a lot of stuff and a lot of social collateral would get you somewhere. And I don't know who you are now, and what you've done with your life, but try to remember, God doesn't expect you to accumulate a lot of stuff. You were really happy here in the canyon, you know, I promise it's true. I guess I just want you to remember there was a time when you did a pretty difficult hike, and you decided that you didn't need to carry a bunch of stuff on your back because the climb was hard. And I don't know who is around you, whether you met a woman or have some kids, but I really hope you have shown them this stuff, that life is going to be okay, that you just have to enjoy it. If you can't buy a nice car for your family or anything, don't worry about it. Just go into your kids' room and kiss them on the forehead, okay, 'cause there is all kinds of beauty and it doesn't have anything to do with having some stuff. Also, don't kick yourself around. If you can't climb up out of a canyon real quick, just do it slow."

I am really enjoying this book so far, and plan to post a full review soon! It has some parts that I've really identified with.

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 8 story buildings (edited 1.2.10)
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.

First trip home...

In May my really good friend Tasha was graduating from college, and I really wanted to be there for her, so when I saw airplane tickets go on sale in March I knew I had to buy one. Since I got a great deal on my ticket, I didn't feel as bad taking a short trip and just went for the weekend. It was then that I learned taking a short trip for my first trip home was not a brilliant idea. There was so much to do, and so many people to see! It was very difficult to balance everyone and not hurt my family's and friend's feelings. However, I did have a good time and was able to spend a day with Tasha at her graduation.

I was (and am!) so proud of her! She was one of the first people in her family to graduate college, and it wasn't an easy thing for her. Tasha is a very social person and likes to do everything with everyone, which makes it difficult to get homework done. ;) Her first year was a learning experience, but thanks to some very supportive staff and church family, she was able to pull up her grades after that. Due to the community environment that her college provided, she has become even more beautiful on the inside than when she started attending there! I am so proud of her!

National Parks part 1 of 5: Great Smoky Mountains

This blog entry has been a long time in coming... it's a couple months overdue. However, I'm determined to share my first 2009 national park adventure with you. I feel a certain sense of accomplishment having started on my goal to visit 5 National Parks this year. Especially since it is now July and New Years Resolutions seem like forever ago.

Easter weekend of this year I went on a group adventure to the Great Smoky Mountains. The excitement started as soon as I and a couple friends stepped out the door. The rain drops coming down were large and fast, so that even with running we all were soaked by the time we got in the car. I drove north to meet a couple more friends who were going to follow me east to our destination. The rain turned to hail, and it was so loud on the car I couldn't hear my phone ring four times. Apparently there was a tornado warning and some of my friends got worried when I didn't answer my phone. We waited out the warning at Sunny B's house (she is a friend I met through Micah and Miss Grey) and then completed our journey to the cabin, without further complications.

Our cabin was in Pigeon Forge, and we arrived in town after dark. The whole strip was lit up, like what I imagine Las Vegas looks like. Go karts here! Boat rides there! Carnival rides and upside-down buildings and multiple 'Ripley's Believe It or Not!' sponsored attractions. Once we turned off the main road it looked more like a normail town and it was pretty peaceful at our rental cabin. The hot tub at the cabin was a favorite feature with our group and Sunny B was especially enamored with it. :)

Saturday was our main time to see the sights and some of us had differing interests. One part of the group joined me for a drive on the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail (in the national park) that morning. Another part of the group went to the outlet mall. The third part stayed at the cabin for some quiet time and to finish homework. About mid-day we all met up in Gatlinburg for lunch, and then ventured up into the foggy mountains of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. I led the way in my car, Micah followed me and then Siah brought up the rear. Some people (not naming any names!) in Micah's car were nervous about how thick the fog was, but we pressed on and came out of the fog on the other side of the mountains. We even saw some elk on the other side! The main road through the park, that we were on, comes out on the other side in Cherokee, North Carolina. I wanted to go the whole distance so I could finally say I've been to North Carolina. We refilled on gas there and bought some ice cream and went back through the park to go back to the cabin.

I am really glad we decided to make it a group trip. We had such a fun time! It also was really reasonable for each person since we split cabin costs between 10 people. part of the reason I had such a good time was due to the act my oldest brother had flown out from WA state to visit for the weekend. We had a good visit, and he got to see a part of the country he has never seen before. I highly recommend that you all visit the Great Smoky Mountains whenever you get a chance... It is really pretty out there!

Here are some of the pics from my trip:

A visit to The Mountain State

A week ago tonight The Redding Brothers had a concert in their home-state of West Virginia, so our whole group decided to go up for the weekend. We stayed at their grandparents house in what is called Scott Depot, but its really not in a town. Its up on a mountain. Joyce Road is one of the main roads up to the house, and is one of the worst roads I've seen. (Although the locals say there are worse ones.) It is really only wide enough for one car, which makes it interesting when you come face to face with another car or - even better - a school bus. I do not envy the residents of Redding Mountain their main transportation route, especially during the winter months. However, they do have some very beautiful wildlife up there. I was intrigued by all the decidious trees budding up and flowering. While I was out in the mud taking pictures I saw my first red cardinal. It was so strikingly pretty and had a lovely song. Unfortunately he flew away before I could snap a picture.
BarlowGirl and Micah's wife (I'm going to call her Miss Grey) came up with the idea friday afternoon that I needed a 'tour' of all the local haunts. So saturday morning Micah, Gabe, Miss Grey and I all piled into the car and started off. First we went by the building Mr. Redding used to work at, called Building 82 owned by Union Carbide. That morning they had reduced it to a mere pile of rubble. We got some good pics of the guys by the rubble, and moved on.
From there we went to St. Albans where there is a road underpass which is more like a tunnell. It is only wide enough for one car at a time, so you have to honk before you enter it to 'announce' that you are going through. It was somewhat flooded but that just added to the effect, especially with all the graffiti. This is also the same place where they have multiple churches and multiple strip clubs all on the same main road. I got one priceless picture of a Baptist church right next door to both a strip club and an adult video store.
The local Power Plant is somewhat conspicous with white clouds billowing out of it constantly. According to Gabe the towers are something like 900 ft tall. He also said that the large white clouds are actually steam and not smoke like I thought.
On our way through one area we saw an apartment building that we think was designed and built by the Redding's grandfather. While we were driving around we went to Hometown where Josiah and BarlowGirl's old apartment is next to the Kanawha river. What could be quite a picturesque view from the apartment building is a somewhat sad sight because of the muddy brown water. Also saw a church with a quote from 1 Samuel about 'rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft'. It seemed like an odd scripture to quote and we still don't know what message they were trying to impart to passerby's.
Sunday morning we stopped at Tudor's Biscuit World which is (according to Micah) to West Virginia like Starbucks is to Seattle. The breakfast biscuits tasted good, mostly because the biscuits were very buttery, but made me feel somewhat greasy after eating mine. In our way out of WV we stopped in Huntington so I could see Marshall University & the memorial fountain on campus. The movie 'We Are Marshall' is a favorite of mine and I wanted to be able to see the memorials put up for the staff members, and football players who were taken in the tragic plane crash of 1970. We also visited the memorial in place at Spring Hill cemetary where the six unidentifiable victims were buried.
Even though I saw some bizarre stuff, and some of the roads scared me, I really did enjoy my time in West Virginia. I'm also thankful for my friends and how patient they were with me while I snapped pictures of all the sites! Here are some of my findings:

This is Joyce Road. As you can see - the car takes up the whole 'road'.

Some of the nice wildlife...

The guys and Building 82...

the tunnel in St. Albans...

the Power Plant...

and Marshall University.

Book Series in Review: Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

Another goal accomplished! Though it may not be one of the most significant on my list, I'm glad to have finished the recently popular book series by Stephenie Meyer. Several people I know had read the books recently and were quite enthusiastic about them, so naturally I was curious. I decided to read them to figure out what all the fuss was about, and also so I could understand what they were all talking about.
Now before I offer my full critique, I want to say that I think Ms. Meyer's was very smart in creating the story she did. It is an addicting story, and it is written in such a way to target teen girls especially, which makes it an easy money-maker. I have yet to see the first movie, but I have already seen the results from creating a movie from the first book in the series. Young Women tend to make very loyal fans when heroes like Edward Cullen are involved.
The first three books were very full of the teen romance, which gets a little old after so many chapters. I understand that this was targeted at teens, but I felt that the books could have been better if there was less syrupy romance stuff and more mythical creatures stuff. This was my first time reading a series involving werewolves and vampires, and I really liked the creativity Ms. Meyer used to take something that seems so overdone and turned it into something new. She explains away all of the reader's pre-conceived ideas about vampires and takes it in a new direction. There seems to be a lot of controversy over the final book in the series (Breaking Dawn) as it is written differently and almost doesn't seem to fit with the previous books. However, if I had a favorite it would definitely be the last book. I think the reason for this is that it had less of the teen romance, and had more about the vampires and the 'gifts' different ones had. That was more interesting to me.
For those who might not have read the series yet, or who have teens who want to read them, I feel I need to offer a short word of advice. (This is especially directed towards my conservative christian home-school friends who read my blog.) Even though the series is targeted at the teen audience, and the heroine's love is somewhat immature I would not recommend teens (girls especially) under the age of 17 to read this. Having read the series, if I had a teenage daughter I personally wouldn't feel comfortable letting her read it. There is nothing explicit, but a lot of the romantic parts are very sensual.
Finally - I have to give Stephenie Meyer some real props for doing my home state so much credit. Some of her descriptions really made me miss home, all the green and the water and the mountains.

The Crime of Living Cautiously by Luci Shaw

I was given this book a few years ago because the small group I was in at the time was going to read this book together and then have a discussion each week. I started reading it at the time, but didn't really have the time or motivation to keep with it, after our group disbanded and melted into other small groups. This last year I decided I really needed to finish it, so now I have. I finished it this last week. In the beginning of the book I was excited about the idea of living life boldly instead of cautiously, and I think Ms. Shaw had some really good points.

"Because God loves us and wants to fulfill his ardent plans for us, he invites us to broaden our horizons. He longs to expose us to riches we never dreamed of, to realms we've only guessed at. There are barriers to be broken down. They fill us with apprehension at our profound inadequacy. But as we face our fears and trust his love, we can welcome the opportunities and dare the risks. If I fear failure and the possibility of looking foolish, I cut myself off from reward."

I definitely struggle with the fear of looking foolish, or stupid or stepping into the middle of something I'm not comfortable with. However, if I just sit at home afraid of looking foolish then how can I really serve the King? Some of the things the author wrote in the middle chapters of the book, I wasn't sure if I understood very well or agreed with, but in the last couple chapters she talked about the 5 women in Matthew's record of Jesus' geneology, and how they were normal women who took risks and did extraordinary things.

"It's either the safe, secure life, living within the box without enterprise or resourcefulness, or it's the risk of initiative and faith, the road less traveled. Jesus wasn't willing to live the contented, predictable, unremarkable existence of a small-town carpenter. He knowingly abandoned that role and 'set his face toward Jerusalem' and what he knew would be abuse, rejection, torture, Golgotha, death, the grave, resurrection and ultimately heaven so that his Father's purposes would be fulfilled in him. And the five women in Matthew's record didn't just exist, waiting in the shadows to be told what to do, even in the overwhelmingly patriarchal world of their day. They believed. They obeyed. They risked. They acted. They made a difference. And God thinks that is worth mentioning."

If you have a moment also look up 2 Timothy 1:7-10

[All quotes are taken from The Crime of Living Cautiously written by Luci Shaw]

a nice relaxing day...and the discovery of a new BBC film

Late last night I slipped some Valentines Day notes under the doors of my sleeping housemates, and this morning I woke to find that my best friend had left a note and a lavender hyacinth plant for me outside my door. She had also left a single rose outside Lady Dee's room with a note. It was very thoughtful of BarlowGirl, and a lovely little surprise! My room is now filled with the sweet fragrance of spring.
My original plans for the day included going to the movie theater to see "He's Just Not That Into You" even if I went alone. What actually came of the day was that I spent most of it quietly in my room enjoying a newly discovered made-for-tv BBC production based on the novel by Charles Dickens called "Bleak House". Netflix had it available as an 'Instant Play' movie, so I started it out of curiosity and liked it so much I couldn't stop. Most of the BBC productions of classic English literature I have seen I have thoroughly enjoyed and this was no different. Every couple episodes I would take a break and wander downstairs to get some refreshment and see how everyone else was doing. Halfway through the day the mail was brought in and I had received a packet with publications to help me plan my trip through the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. Just flipping through the pamphlets raised my excitement! But there will be more on that later... for now, I would like to wish you all a Happy Valentines Day, and I hope that your's was as relaxing and enjoyable as mine was!

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day never has really stirred strong feelings in me, either for or against. Growing up my parents always did a little something for all of us kids. Usually there would be a book, or a small toy with some candy and a card waiting for us, next to our breakfast plates in the morning. It was a nice little reminder of how much they love us, but since their love was obvious all year long, it wasn't a huge deal. My Dad would usually take Mom out to dinner and a movie, but it wasn't like he bought her expensive jewelry like on all the TV ads. It was a nice simple night out for them. I've been thinking more about Valentine's Day this year, and trying to decide how I am going to approach it. Do I want to ignore it completely? Or do I want to try and duplicate my parent's tradition with my housemates? If you have any inexpensive little ideas for letting people know how much I care about them, I would love to hear them.

Also - there is an interesting post about Valentine's Day for us single people over at Blissfully Single that you should read.

another goal - finish a quilt

I have this quilt which I bought materials for several years back. I started the quilt, only getting to the point of finishing the backing and the front base material. The original plan was to applique shapes of hearts and hands all over the front, with each set of hands representing some of my dearest friends. As time went by, I realized that some of my 'dearest friends' weren't really as close as they had been so I adjusted my plan. The second idea was to change the shapes to butterflies and have a large floral applique in the center of the quilt. Finally I decided that was more complicated than I wanted, and a little more frilly than was really me. I started appliqueing flowers of different colors with individual flower petals, before I left WA. Once I got settled in here in TN I realized that I had left some of my fabric at my parents house in my sewing box (which there wasn't room for in my car). A few weeks ago BarlowGirl and I went to a local fabric store, and I bought some replacements. They aren't exactly what I had in mind, but they are close. Below you can see how far I am, and what the other flower colors will be.

Harry Potter - one goal down... a lot more to go

I have acheived one goal on my list for 2009. I have finished the Harry Potter series. The end of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was so good! I don't want to ruin it for anyone who hasn't read it yet, so I won't give anything away but if you haven't read it - you should! After finishing the books, I decided to go back and watch all the movies so far. Recently, I renewed my Netflix subscription and lined up the Harry Potter movies in my queue. I've watched the first three movies a couple times before, but it had been a while. I really enjoyed them, and it was funny to see the actors as such little kids! It was interesting to see how close to the story those first few movies are. The 4th and 5th movies however, did not include as much of the story as I would have hoped. I've noticed that the books progressively get deeper and more serious with each one, and with that it seems that each has more details than the first. I especially noticed this after finishing the last book in the series. That being said, I understand that with the each movie, it will be harder to include as many details. However, there were certain things, especially in 'Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix', that they could have included without the movie being much longer. Anyways... thats my opinion. :) Watching the movies was mostly enjoyable because it was something my friends Gabriel Redding, and Lady Dee and I were able to do together. Lady Dee had never seen any of the Harry Potter movies, and certainly hadn't read the books. (I think we got her hooked!) I am kind of sad, because now I have to wait until July to see the next movie... maybe I will be able to see this one in the theater though!

The House

during the last few weeks, I've realized that my current living situation doesn't seem normal to people outside of it. I also realized that I never explained what my living situation is since I've moved to TN. Maybe if you knew what it is, then some of my other posts would make more sense. I will try to briefly explain...
The Redding Brothers have a friend who is also now their band manager, and she (I'll call her Lady Dee) is leasing a house here in the Nashville area. Its much too large just for her, even when her daughter stays with her. Lady Dee did this on purpose so that two of The Redding Brothers (Josiah & Gabriel) could also live here, including Josiah's wife (BarlowGirl) and kids. I had the pleasure of meeting Lady Dee in 2007 at Micah Redding's wedding, and we hit it off right away. Lady Dee is so full of energy, and has a very generous heart. When she heard that I was wanting to move here to TN, she immediately told me that I could stay at her house as long as I needed. So this is where I landed! I live in a 4 bedroom house with 6 other people, and I'm not related to any of them. However, I feel quite at home here. I think in a way its comforting to all of us to live in a full house. All of us, except Lady Dee, have grown up in families with several kids and are used to living with the noise of other people in the house. Its also interesting that with all these people in the house - I'm the only person who owns a PC and also the only person who eats meat (the rest are all vegetarians). Weird eh? Hopefully this lends you some insight into my environment. :)

a new music interest...

I was catching up on some of my blog-reading, and saw this post at the Common Room. I really liked the music, so I looked up the artist - Lenka on iTunes and on YouTube. I found this other music video from Lenka, which I thought very creative. So I decided to share... unfortunately I can only post the link.

the song is The Show by Lenka.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

The Country Music Hall of Fame

One of my friends heard on the radio the other day that the Country Music Hall of Fame was going to be open to the public for free on saturday. A group of us decided to go, since it was free why not right? I had been curious about the hall/museum since I got here in Nashville, but didn't want to pay the ticket price to go. Some of the old stage outfits from various famous country music singers were quite unusual and Elvis's solid gold cadillac and gold piano were something else. The Williams Family Legacy exhibit was interesting as I didn't know much about Hank Williams Jr. and even less about his father. It was neat to see the Hall of Fame room with all the plaques hanging on the wall in this round room where everyone has equal status. However, I'm glad I didn't pay the $20 it would have been on a normal day. here are a few pictures I took while there...

Funeral Processions

Last week, my best friend (I'll call her BarlowGirl or BG for short) and me were on our way to do a little shopping, just the two of us. It was nice to get out of the house for a bit, and we were chatting away as I was driving. All the sudden we saw two police cars with blue and green flashing lights coming toward us. I turned to BG and said "that was odd", and looked again and noticed a white hurse following the police cars and then a whole line of cars following the hurse. Ahead of us cars were stopped or pulled over, and I couldn't understand what was going on. Noticing my face, BG laughed and said "You think this is weird too right?". I looked at her, and replied "What is this? and why is everyone stopping?". BG then proceeded to explain that it was a funeral procession and that down here in the South people stop or pull over to show respect for the dead and the family. She also told me that the first time she saw this was in Alabama when her and her husband had first gotten married, she thought it was strange too. They just don't do that out West.
A couple days ago I was riding with one of my co-workers to lunch, and she was telling me about the day before when she went to the post office. There had been a funeral procession with police cars at the front, but none at the back and she got mixed up in the procession because she didn't know where it ended. I proceeded to share my funeral procession story, and how I thought it was strange. She was so shocked that I had never seen anything like that before (she was born and raised here in TN), she proceeded to ask me, "If they don't do that in WA, then how do the people get to the cemetery for the burial?". As if there was no other way! I told her that everyone just drives there... with no police escort. She was so flabbergasted by what I told her.
I do have to say, I'm glad BG was with me the first time I saw this funeral procession so that now I understand how to behave when I see another one.

some thoughts from TN...

On the way home from work this evening I was thinking about all the things I've seen and noticed since I've been here in TN, and got the idea that maybe I should share them with you.

Some of the differences I've noticed while I've been here have been slight, like the fact a shopping center in WA probably wouldn't ever be called "Colonial Park". As was expected, there are many stores and restaurants here in TN that aren't in WA. One of my new favorites is the local Super Target. Of course I was a Target-lover in WA, but now I've discovered something even better! I think maybe its because its the closest thing we have here to Fred Meyer (besides WalMart) that I feel at home shopping there. Most of the restaurants are different and I still haven't even made a dent in all the places I've never eaten. Some of the ones I have tried include Sonic, Chili's, Captain D's, Famous Dave's, Fizoli's (inexpensive somewhat fast-Italian food) and Ruby Tuesday. As far as Sonic goes - I can now understand why my southern friends who have been transplanted to WA crave Sonic. I have fallen in love with their onion rings and shakes. My intention is to try a wide variety of menu items but I keep going back to the onion rings. Captain D's is very similar to Skippers with the exception of offering Fried Okra as a sidedish, and every meal comes with a couple Hushpuppies. When I went there for lunch with one of my new co-workers, she was shocked I didn't know what a hushpuppy was, and that I don't remember ever eating one. So far I think Famous Dave's has been my favorite sit-down place to eat. They have some delicious BBQ burgers, cooked with special seasonings and different kinds of BBQ sauce slathered on them. They have like 6 different kinds of BBQ sauce at the table so you can dip your fries in some or coat your baked potato with one. There are a few familiar places to eat too, like Jack in the Box (which I was afraid they wouldn't have here), Red Robin, and places like Cheesecake Factory and Panera. Its nice to have some familiar things. :)

Book in Review: A Daughter of the Land

Since one of my goals is to finish reading all of Gene Stratton Porter's books, I decided to get started right away. My first book of 2009 was called A Daughter of the Land. Like many of Ms. Porter's books, this one takes place in rural Indiana. The story begins in the late 1800's with a young woman named Kate, at the age of 18. Kate is the youngest of a large family, and works hard for her parents on their large farm. She helps her mother in the house, with dishes, with meals, with the laundry, and in the potato patch so that her older sister can teach the local school. When it comes time for Kate to be able to go off to "Normal" to gain the knowledge she needs to be qualified to teach her parents refuse to assist her or even give her permission to leave the farm. One Sunday Kate hears a preacher encourage his congregation to "take the wings of morning". Unsure of what this meant, Kate considered this phrase in addition to her current situation. After pondering this, she realized that it must mean to take the opportunities life brings you and fly with them. Kate grabs ahold of that idea, and uses it to propel her to "Normal" and take charge of finding a school to teach at. For a while things seem to be progressing as smoothly as possible, but like is common in real life she finds herself in a few valleys. Life for all of us is filled with hills, where we feel nothing could harm us, and also valleys, where at times life seems to get the best of us. Kate's life in this story seems to have some of the lowest valleys. Most of the difficulties she has to go through during her life, people I know have never experienced and hope we never have to. However, somehow these difficulties only develop the best in Kate. She is better off for the valleys she has experienced, whereas some of her sisters are worse off for all the hilltops they have been on. Despite being estranged from her family, witnessing many deaths and disappointments she does find happiness and joy and love, especially during the end of her life. Though this is a fictional story, I think having a happy ending after living through such adversity is such a great example of what real life can be.

Once I started reading this book, I couldn't hardly put it down. During the middle of the story, I was starting to wonder if she would ever reap benefits from the adversity she faced. When I got to the end of the book I realized that this was one of the best stories I had read in a long time. How often do we read books about someones whole life? I'm not sure about you, but a lot of the books I have read (classics even!) end with the two favorite characters, who are usually from the younger generation, "hooking up" which suggests that they live "happily ever after". A Daughter of the Land was refreshing to me because even after Kate endured so much, she was able to get her "happily ever after" even if it was in her later years. In conclusion, I would highly recommend this to anyone to read, and especially those looking for something to make them appreciate their lack of valleys in life.

Evolution of Wedding Dance

I was catching up on some reading over at Beth Spera in Domino and found their post about this video called "Evolution of Wedding Dance" which is reminiscent of the famous YouTube video "Evolution of Dance". This video made me laugh so hard... I just had to share the link.

Life Goals, Resolutions and more

In August of 2007 I traveled east to visit my friends in Indiana [from the Common Room], and my friends in Tennessee. During my time in Indiana, my friend The Equuschick told me of something that she does which helped her in making some life decisions. She told me that several years ago she started a list of Life Goals. This concept was intriguing to me as I had never done something of that nature. Here is an excerpt from my journal about our conversation:

“She started telling me about things that were on her list of Life Goals. Things she wanted to accomplish or see before she dies. In the end I understood that her job at the Animal Shelter was a means to an end. She needs money to help her accomplish some of these things, and what she ultimately wants to make a living at isn’t ready yet. All her talk about goals & dreams, and plans of how to accomplish them, inspired me. I realized that I had nothing like [Equuschick’s] ‘list’ of goals. I’ve just been floating along since graduating [from college]. For 4 long years my goal was to finish school. Now that I’ve done that, I haven’t found anything to replace it.”
I was so inspired by Equuschick, that I wrote my own list of Life Goals on the airplane coming home. I broke up my list by periods of time I would like to accomplish these tasks, here is what I came up with:

1 yr goals:
Get my scrapbook up-to-date
Form habit of walking 3 mornings a week
Take Microsoft Office training and get certification
Attend a Photography class
Read Harry Potter book series
Finish “friendship” quilt
Get Business License [?] (not completely sure about this one)
5 yr goals:
Read all of Gene Stratton Porters books
Roadtrip down Oregon and California coasts
Go on a ‘We Care’ Campaign
Other goals:
Extended stay in United Kingdom
Live in a different state than WA
Visit New York City
Trip to East Coast (including New England and Florida)

If you’ve been keeping up with my blog, you will have already noticed that one of my goals can be crossed off due to a recent change in my living situation.
Earlier this week my friend Micah Redding (of The Redding Brothers) and his brother-in-law Ryan Hogan, started a list of New Years Resolutions. However, this list is not full of your typical New Years Resolutions, such as ‘lose weight’ ‘exercise more’ or ‘watch less tv’. They decided to come at it from a different angle and aim high instead of aiming low and not accomplishing anything. They told me that if we aim for the stars we might at least hit the moon. Their original list included such gems as “Get Bubble Tea with Barack Obama”, and “get accepted to Yale”, however, they asked each of us who went to the New Years Eve party at Micah’s house to add a couple ourselves. After we all added to the list Micah posted a blog about this new adventure called The Resolution Begins, with an organized version of the list. Hearing Micah and Ryan’s thoughts on this new year refreshed my interest in my Life Goals list, so yesterday I flipped through my journal to find it. I’ve done some updating, and I will probably do some more as I feel that I need a couple more big ones on it, but here is what I have so far:

1 yr goals:
See the Atlantic Ocean
Visit New York City
Find a church family to place membership with
Finish reading the Harry Potter book series (only 2 out of 7 left!)
Finish reading Gene Stratton Porter’s books
Read the Twilight book series
Finish a quilt
Refresh old friendships through new correspondence
5 yr goals:
Roadtrip down Oregon and California coasts
Go on a Mission Trip
Trip along East Coast (including New England and Florida)
Other goals:
Extended stay in United Kingdom
Start Landscape Design business

You will notice that some things got moved around as I now live closer to some of the places I wanted to visit. I’ve also changed some items completely. Anyway… maybe this will inspire you as Equuschick did me… or maybe not! Whatever your reaction, I hope your year is filled with love and joy and that you make a positive impact on the people around you. Happy 2009 everyone!