I just wanted to say quickly how much I am loving my new camera. I know this might seem like a strange concept these days but I recently got a Snapfish coupon and went online to print off several pictures I had taken with our new camera. They were mainly from Christmas and New Years and therefore contained pictures of all my favorite people. I am also not exaggerating when I say they were amazingly crisp and vivid. They might have seemed even more amazing because I am so used to just looking at pictures on facebook or my computer these days. But printing photos is like reading a paper back, sure I could download a book to read on some electronic device (I don't actually own one of these it is just for an example) but something about holding the book in your hands and flipping through the pages is just nostalgic. I think it made looking at the pictures even more meaningful because it was like I was holding on to the people I love. They weren't there with me but holding a picture of them someone made them seem more tangible. Maybe it is just the novelty of never printing pictures anymore or maybe it is some sort of homesickness but I was just loving looking at these photos. I wanted to share them with everyone in the pictures and say here is a great pictures of us don't you want to stare at it too. I am sure soon enough they will be put in an album somewhere and I won't be staring at them all the time but even going through an old album can bring back such great memories. I almost look forward to putting them away and then finding them in a year and remembering those times all over again.
P.S. This last comment might make me seem strange so if you are feeling warm and fuzzy stop reading. I think for some reason I associate really great old photos with funerals, like when you go to some one's funeral that you have known a long time but you see pictures of them from earlier in their life when you didn't know them and you just wonder what they were like when that picture was taken. So I can't help when I go through pictures of other people and think we have to put this up at their funeral because it is such a great picture of them and captures them so well. I even had a dream the other night about having to get a picture of someone before the end of this really happy party because I was thinking if they pass away I want to remember this day. Am I the only person like this, probably so, it is OK I don't mind being strange. I warned you to stop reading.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Friday, March 9, 2012
Wine tasting anyone?
So maybe I let my last heavy blog linger a little long but now I am finally getting around to posting a lighter blog on the subject of wine tasting. The longer I am married the more amazing my husband seems to become. I really think I married one of the most thoughtful men out there which is good because I am not the most sentimental person on Earth. Anyway, on Valentine's Day 12 years ago my husband asked me to be his girlfriend, I will spare the very romantic story of how he did this. So Valentine's Day has twice the specialness to me and in some ways I still see it as our anniversary more so than our wedding date, probably because we have been celebrating it like 5 times longer. For this special day he booked us a surprise weekend trip. We hopped in the car Sat. morning and found ourselves in Temecula, which is like an hour south east of where we live. It is known for its vineyards but I didn't realize what a cute downtown it had. It was kind of like Gatlinburg but much smaller and slightly less cheesy.
We checked in to our hotel and then he informed me that we would be going on a jeep wine tasting tour. So someone came to our hotel to pick us up and we met up with our fellow passenger. There were a couple of older women who were friends and assured us they weren't lesbians which the I guess they commonly get mistaken for and a mother daughter duo. Everyone was very friendly and intrigued with our accents as usual. On a side note I have found a KY accent often gets mistaken for Australian, I think they just aren't sure what an Australian accent sounds like. So we went to the first vineyard and had several delicious wines outside with live music playing. I was already feeling a little tipsy after the first stop so I wasn't sure how the other stops were going to go. Apparently a lot of people just have a taste and pour out part of the glass, I found that out to late. After the first stop we went off-roading up to this hill where we could look out over the valley. Then we headed back down the hill to the next vineyard. I thought the jeep ride might have straightened me out a little but after a couple more taste at the second place I realized I needed to start pouring some of these samples out. We headed off to our final vineyard and there we had some cheese and crackers to snack on which I shoveled down thinking it might get me straightened out, not so much. Everyone was very friendly and touchy feelly by the end of the night and it provided many laughs.
We got dropped back off at our hotel and then we were going to get some dinner down town. There was one place we really wanted to eat at but it ended up having a 3 hour wait, what! So after driving around some more looking for a new place I informed John that the only thing I needed was somewhere to lay down. So he grabbed some take out while I feel asleep at 8 PM. It was so much fun though, despite how rough I might have felt at the end. The next morning I felt fine and we went back to that same restaurant and had lunch with no wait. The thing about these cute little tourist towns though is that they are outrageously expensive. I paid 2.12 for a 16 ounce coke, I couldn't hide my shock when the man rang me up.
Normally you would be sad to have to come home from a fun little trip but luckily it was sunny and 75 so I was able to head down to the beach and lay out while napping. It really helped damper the sadness. I would definitely recommend this type of trip to others, just pace yourself.
On a side note John finally got a new surf board, made by a guy from Bowling Green that lives in San Clemente, small world. He also got a new wetsuit so he is really turning pro, just kidding, but he is excited.
My pictures from the trip are not on this computer so I will have to post later but they are also on facebook.
We checked in to our hotel and then he informed me that we would be going on a jeep wine tasting tour. So someone came to our hotel to pick us up and we met up with our fellow passenger. There were a couple of older women who were friends and assured us they weren't lesbians which the I guess they commonly get mistaken for and a mother daughter duo. Everyone was very friendly and intrigued with our accents as usual. On a side note I have found a KY accent often gets mistaken for Australian, I think they just aren't sure what an Australian accent sounds like. So we went to the first vineyard and had several delicious wines outside with live music playing. I was already feeling a little tipsy after the first stop so I wasn't sure how the other stops were going to go. Apparently a lot of people just have a taste and pour out part of the glass, I found that out to late. After the first stop we went off-roading up to this hill where we could look out over the valley. Then we headed back down the hill to the next vineyard. I thought the jeep ride might have straightened me out a little but after a couple more taste at the second place I realized I needed to start pouring some of these samples out. We headed off to our final vineyard and there we had some cheese and crackers to snack on which I shoveled down thinking it might get me straightened out, not so much. Everyone was very friendly and touchy feelly by the end of the night and it provided many laughs.
We got dropped back off at our hotel and then we were going to get some dinner down town. There was one place we really wanted to eat at but it ended up having a 3 hour wait, what! So after driving around some more looking for a new place I informed John that the only thing I needed was somewhere to lay down. So he grabbed some take out while I feel asleep at 8 PM. It was so much fun though, despite how rough I might have felt at the end. The next morning I felt fine and we went back to that same restaurant and had lunch with no wait. The thing about these cute little tourist towns though is that they are outrageously expensive. I paid 2.12 for a 16 ounce coke, I couldn't hide my shock when the man rang me up.
Normally you would be sad to have to come home from a fun little trip but luckily it was sunny and 75 so I was able to head down to the beach and lay out while napping. It really helped damper the sadness. I would definitely recommend this type of trip to others, just pace yourself.
On a side note John finally got a new surf board, made by a guy from Bowling Green that lives in San Clemente, small world. He also got a new wetsuit so he is really turning pro, just kidding, but he is excited.
My pictures from the trip are not on this computer so I will have to post later but they are also on facebook.
Monday, February 13, 2012
Real expectations
So a couple of events came together to really get my brain working and inspiring this post. One I am reading a great book called A Case for Faith and the first chapter is about how can a loving God allow bad things to happen on this Earth. Two, a family member heard the dreaded word Cancer and there is some fear and uncertainity right now related to that, though the prognosis is good. Three, the sermon at church Sunday was on fear. I have come to realize that God doesn't necessarily speak to me through a loud voice in my head but more through events and messages that all come together at a perfect time and there is no way I can miss what he is trying to get through to me. I think that is why prayer and reading his word and christian fellowship are all so important because those are all part of hearing what God has to say to us.
What has been on my heart lately is how I could explain to someone who doesn't know God why he would allow bad things to happen, especially when you are praying to him for a positive resolution. I know God says when we pray he hears us and that he can perform miracles so why can't he just start throwing down miracles all over the place like he did when he was here on Earth. I know he is a healer and I believe he performed many miracles on his time here on Earth and even since then, so why wouldn't he want to bust out one of those miracles when I am praying for something serious. Well I think I have come up with a couple of reasons that can bring me some comfort even though I might still just prefer the quick miracle.
I am not a biblical scholar and still growing in my faith so please excuse me if I don't get all this right, I am just letting my heart's thoughts flow for a second.
1. God gave us a perfect place to exist with no pain and suffering and we blew it. I hate to point fingers but specifically Eve and Adam kind of blew it. So since they went for that seemingly healthy apple snack, the world fell in to suffering. Since that bite we have existed on a fallen Earth. Disease of the body and mind became the norm. Cancer wouldn't have been an issue in God's perfect plan but once we became a fallen place all kinds of diseases were allowed to run their course. It is not that God is causing these things he is just allowing them to happen because that is the result of a fallen world. All these sickos who kill and hurt people, well they got their start with that first bite, I know, it sucks. I have been reminded several times lately that it is not God wanting these things to happen but as a result of the fall in to sinfullness Satan has some temporary power in this world and things are going to have to run their course until Christ returns to claim his kingdom. The good news, all things will be made right in eternity. That is a strong encouragement for me. All the wrongs that we endure and feel like aren't justified here on Earth are going to be reconciled in Heaven. If a love one is suffering here on Earth and we want their pain gone, it might not be gone before they leave this Earth but it will be gone when they get to Heaven and everything will be made right.
2. God sent his son to this Earth to suffer all the nastiness of being human and then sacraficed his son for us. How can I be in a position to ask God how he can allow something bad to happen to me or a loved one when he sent his own son down to Earth to suffer as a human and then die on the cross for my sins so that I can spend eternity in his glory. As a human Christ asked God the same thing we often ask in hard times, why does this have to be me is there anyone else that can carry this burden? God why would you forsake me? But ultimatly Jesus trusted in God and knew that his will would be done and while we can pray for burdens to be lifted off of us we have to remember that God's will and plan have a purpose. He won't give us more than we can handle and what we endure through following God will not be in vain. God never promised that our lives would be perfect if we followed him, he never said this. We live in a sinful world full of sinful people and bad things are going to happen, this isn't Heaven, this is Earth. What he did promise is that he would be there with us through the journey. He will be my strength when I feel like giving up and I can trust him to never leave me. Suffering can have a purpose, I truely believe that and I just hope that the next time I am faced with trials that test my faith I can trust in the Lord to help me through. When bad things happen or what you prayed for doesn't happen it doesn't mean you didn't have enough faith or didn't pray hard enough it just means that is not the plan. God doesn't set bad things in to motion, living in a fallen world has set those things in motion, God will be there though to hold us up as we walk through this world.
My mind has been racing with a lot of thoughts lately and I am not sure I conveyed them all or if I conveyed anything well with this post. It was probably more for me than it was for anyone reading. But something I heard lately that stuck with me is "my faith is based on my circumstances." So I am not going to have faith in God's power when things are going well and then doubt him when things go bad. This is a fallen world and bad things are going to happen, that is a fact. But I have faith in the Lord leading me through those bad times and all things being made right when I enter his kingdom. For now I praise because I feel truely blessed.
What has been on my heart lately is how I could explain to someone who doesn't know God why he would allow bad things to happen, especially when you are praying to him for a positive resolution. I know God says when we pray he hears us and that he can perform miracles so why can't he just start throwing down miracles all over the place like he did when he was here on Earth. I know he is a healer and I believe he performed many miracles on his time here on Earth and even since then, so why wouldn't he want to bust out one of those miracles when I am praying for something serious. Well I think I have come up with a couple of reasons that can bring me some comfort even though I might still just prefer the quick miracle.
I am not a biblical scholar and still growing in my faith so please excuse me if I don't get all this right, I am just letting my heart's thoughts flow for a second.
1. God gave us a perfect place to exist with no pain and suffering and we blew it. I hate to point fingers but specifically Eve and Adam kind of blew it. So since they went for that seemingly healthy apple snack, the world fell in to suffering. Since that bite we have existed on a fallen Earth. Disease of the body and mind became the norm. Cancer wouldn't have been an issue in God's perfect plan but once we became a fallen place all kinds of diseases were allowed to run their course. It is not that God is causing these things he is just allowing them to happen because that is the result of a fallen world. All these sickos who kill and hurt people, well they got their start with that first bite, I know, it sucks. I have been reminded several times lately that it is not God wanting these things to happen but as a result of the fall in to sinfullness Satan has some temporary power in this world and things are going to have to run their course until Christ returns to claim his kingdom. The good news, all things will be made right in eternity. That is a strong encouragement for me. All the wrongs that we endure and feel like aren't justified here on Earth are going to be reconciled in Heaven. If a love one is suffering here on Earth and we want their pain gone, it might not be gone before they leave this Earth but it will be gone when they get to Heaven and everything will be made right.
2. God sent his son to this Earth to suffer all the nastiness of being human and then sacraficed his son for us. How can I be in a position to ask God how he can allow something bad to happen to me or a loved one when he sent his own son down to Earth to suffer as a human and then die on the cross for my sins so that I can spend eternity in his glory. As a human Christ asked God the same thing we often ask in hard times, why does this have to be me is there anyone else that can carry this burden? God why would you forsake me? But ultimatly Jesus trusted in God and knew that his will would be done and while we can pray for burdens to be lifted off of us we have to remember that God's will and plan have a purpose. He won't give us more than we can handle and what we endure through following God will not be in vain. God never promised that our lives would be perfect if we followed him, he never said this. We live in a sinful world full of sinful people and bad things are going to happen, this isn't Heaven, this is Earth. What he did promise is that he would be there with us through the journey. He will be my strength when I feel like giving up and I can trust him to never leave me. Suffering can have a purpose, I truely believe that and I just hope that the next time I am faced with trials that test my faith I can trust in the Lord to help me through. When bad things happen or what you prayed for doesn't happen it doesn't mean you didn't have enough faith or didn't pray hard enough it just means that is not the plan. God doesn't set bad things in to motion, living in a fallen world has set those things in motion, God will be there though to hold us up as we walk through this world.
My mind has been racing with a lot of thoughts lately and I am not sure I conveyed them all or if I conveyed anything well with this post. It was probably more for me than it was for anyone reading. But something I heard lately that stuck with me is "my faith is based on my circumstances." So I am not going to have faith in God's power when things are going well and then doubt him when things go bad. This is a fallen world and bad things are going to happen, that is a fact. But I have faith in the Lord leading me through those bad times and all things being made right when I enter his kingdom. For now I praise because I feel truely blessed.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Bad Blogger, bad blogger
So I got really busy at work and therefore my blogging suffered. There is probably a direct inverse correlation between my productivity at work and my productivity at blogging. But anyway the past couple of weekends have been pretty slow so you haven't missed much, other than the couple of 75-80 degree weekends we have had lately. It as been amazing. I was complaining about my tan fading and I guess the Lord likes me better tan because he blessed me with 2 great beach weekends. In my world nothing is coincidental everything is a direct blessing from God, that is just how I like to look at it. It can be a good parking spot or extra income, it doesn't matter the size I just like to imagine it is my friend Jesus looking out for me, I don't think that is wrong, just good fun.
Anyway, a couple of weeks ago on one of these beautiful 80 degree days we spent our Sat. painting our neighbor's, the sober living house, trim work. We started this project in Oct. with our church's serve San Clemente day but we got rained out before we could finish and we finally wrapped the project up in Jan. There were just a couple of us this time but we got a lot done and mainly thanks to the hard work of John, David (from our home group), and Eric (the painting expert and leader). During the painting project John and Eric set up a surfing date for the next day. So on Sunday I headed down to beach and got settled in for the afternoon when John called and said that Eric was bringing his wife and daughter surfing so I would have to go with them now. After first I was a little bummed because I thought great I will be sitting there with this guy's wife who I have never met and teenage daughter what will we talk about. This is a big insecurity of mine being in situation with new people and not knowing what to talk about or will they like me. But I said this is the Lord challenging me to get over these insecurities so suck it up. Anyway we all rode over to Trestles, my first time at this surf spot and you have to walk down a long trail to get there. We talked a lot on the ride over and down the trail and I found out that I actually have a lot in common with Eric's wife, his daughter didn't end up coming. I guess I just assumed that I would have a limited amount of things to discuss with someone older than me with teenage kids but I was being age biased. They love the outdoors and see we had lots of hiking adventures to compare. His wife surfs too so I just hung out on the beach on my own taking pictures, which was fine with me.
That weekend I also stepped out of my bubble and went with a friend to a women's connect coffee that our church was having. I had to laugh when I walked in because if it were not for my friend and me the average age would have been around 50. Most women were grandmothers but it was fine because I just was scouting potential babysitters. Also a lot of the women were talking about how they have gotten in to stand up paddle boarding and it was cool to think of how you are very to old to pick up cool new hobbies. I think I really overcame some age bias that weekend and some insecurities of my own.
The point is that since we have actually been in town the past couple of weekends I have been able to enjoy the company of several people I don't get to see when we are always out of town and met several new people. Relationship/Friendships really do take a time commitment and when you get older that only gets harder but I feel like the benefits are definitely worth any sacrifices involved. Just because get older doesn't mean you don't get those nervous feelings meeting new people (like your first day of lunch at a new school). But I think it helps a lot to realize that the people you are seeking to connect with are probably seeking the same thing. That has probably been one of my biggest growths since moving to Cali because before I was already in a lot of comfortable friendships that didn't require much work but new friendships require a little extra effort and courage. I think like a home cooked meal though everything is more satisfying when a little extra work goes in to it. But maybe I am just really lucky to have found so many women here that I connect with and think will be life long friends.
Anyway, a couple of weeks ago on one of these beautiful 80 degree days we spent our Sat. painting our neighbor's, the sober living house, trim work. We started this project in Oct. with our church's serve San Clemente day but we got rained out before we could finish and we finally wrapped the project up in Jan. There were just a couple of us this time but we got a lot done and mainly thanks to the hard work of John, David (from our home group), and Eric (the painting expert and leader). During the painting project John and Eric set up a surfing date for the next day. So on Sunday I headed down to beach and got settled in for the afternoon when John called and said that Eric was bringing his wife and daughter surfing so I would have to go with them now. After first I was a little bummed because I thought great I will be sitting there with this guy's wife who I have never met and teenage daughter what will we talk about. This is a big insecurity of mine being in situation with new people and not knowing what to talk about or will they like me. But I said this is the Lord challenging me to get over these insecurities so suck it up. Anyway we all rode over to Trestles, my first time at this surf spot and you have to walk down a long trail to get there. We talked a lot on the ride over and down the trail and I found out that I actually have a lot in common with Eric's wife, his daughter didn't end up coming. I guess I just assumed that I would have a limited amount of things to discuss with someone older than me with teenage kids but I was being age biased. They love the outdoors and see we had lots of hiking adventures to compare. His wife surfs too so I just hung out on the beach on my own taking pictures, which was fine with me.
That weekend I also stepped out of my bubble and went with a friend to a women's connect coffee that our church was having. I had to laugh when I walked in because if it were not for my friend and me the average age would have been around 50. Most women were grandmothers but it was fine because I just was scouting potential babysitters. Also a lot of the women were talking about how they have gotten in to stand up paddle boarding and it was cool to think of how you are very to old to pick up cool new hobbies. I think I really overcame some age bias that weekend and some insecurities of my own.
The point is that since we have actually been in town the past couple of weekends I have been able to enjoy the company of several people I don't get to see when we are always out of town and met several new people. Relationship/Friendships really do take a time commitment and when you get older that only gets harder but I feel like the benefits are definitely worth any sacrifices involved. Just because get older doesn't mean you don't get those nervous feelings meeting new people (like your first day of lunch at a new school). But I think it helps a lot to realize that the people you are seeking to connect with are probably seeking the same thing. That has probably been one of my biggest growths since moving to Cali because before I was already in a lot of comfortable friendships that didn't require much work but new friendships require a little extra effort and courage. I think like a home cooked meal though everything is more satisfying when a little extra work goes in to it. But maybe I am just really lucky to have found so many women here that I connect with and think will be life long friends.
Friday, January 20, 2012
NYE in San Fran
So I wanted to do a quick recap of our San Francisco trip so I could remember what a fun New Years it was. To me a good New Years is full of fun and awkward moments. One of our BG friends Dave recently moved from KY to San Francisco and is living with his brother and his brother’s girlfriend. They have a nice big house about 25 minutes south of San Fran so we decided to take a trip up and stay with Dave to celebrate New Years. Luckily they have an extra guest bedroom so we had a comfortable place to sleep. John flew in from KY Friday night and so after I got off work I headed up to pick him up from LAX and then we drove about 4 of the 6 hours to Dave’s. We pulled in to a local Holiday Inn to stay and John noticed that across the street was one of the famous Anderson’s Pea Soup restaurants so he insisted that we would stop there for breakfast the next day before we left town. I am not a fan of pea soup especially early in the morning so I secretly hoped they didn’t serve breakfast. To my chagrin they were open. My breakfast was actually pretty good and involved no pea soup. John on the other hand ordered a combo breakfast that came with a side of pea soup. Needless to say he only ate like 10 bites of his scalding hot pea soup.
We got to Dave’s on the 31st and picked him up and headed in to San Fran because we had tickets to go on the Alcatraz tour. When we came 5 years ago to San Fran tickets were sold out so I was interested to see what all the fuss was about. We were lucky in the it was actually a clear day in SF and even though it was windy and a little chilly it felt pretty warm for December. We took the ferry over to the island and I took a lot of pictures along the way. The island was pretty cool as far as historical things go and after completing most of the audio tour we jumped on the ferry back.
We had lunch at Fisherman’s Warf and drove around to some other scenic parts of town but had to get back home to get ready for New Years.
They do fireworks on the bay near the Golden Gate for New Year’s so his brother had worked it out that we had 10 PM dinner reservations on the North side of the bay and after we wrapped up dinner it was time for the show. On the way to dinner we crossed the Golden Gate which was fun and then we had a couple drinks at a local tavern near the restaurant. This place was perfect for awkward NYE moments. It was mainly very old people, I am talking walkers and canes old, who had too much to drink and were feeling rowdy. One older lady and gentlemen broke out dancing near the bar and the even older bartender told them no dancing, he said it was too crowded for that. Which was not the case at all but we kept joking that it was just like we were in footloose. There was also a suspicious looking gentlemen that sat quietly in the corner creepy eyeing us all night. The bartender was a no nonsense kind of guy and when you ordered a drink it better not involve anything fancy like sweet and sour or a blender. Don’t worry they did have a microwave on the counter at the bar though. The name of the bar was actually called the “No Name” bar. Charming huh. For dinner we sat in a glassed dining room right on the water and had an amazing seafood meal. John probably wouldn’t say this was his idea of a wild NYE but it was perfect for me and I have done enough NYEs his way. After dinner we sat on the water and watched the fireworks. Of course some drunk lady with balloons sat right next to me with her balloons flying inches from my head the whole time, John thought it was hilarious.
I am going to skip the part of the story where it took us an hour and a half to get home for reasons I can’t understand and just say after a very long drive home we were lucky to have a free sober right so we can’t complain.
The next day John and I said goodbye to our hostess Dave and headed out to do a little more exploring. We did another run through of downtown SF and then had lunch at a little spot on Haight and Ashbury. John tried to explain the significance of the area to me but I only caught something about hippies. We decided to take Highway 1 home through Big Sur, an extremely beautiful part of the California coast. We had never been on the 1 that far North so it was great driving through Pacifica and Moro Bay. We had great weather driving through Big Sur but it got dark about 2 hours before we finished the drive, we covered most of the good stuff though. A crazy fog cloud surrounded us right as it got dark and I felt like I was in the movie The Mist. We stayed at another lovely Holiday Inn south of Big Sur and after a struggle to find some food for dinner, I get grouchy when I am hungry, we were so ready for bed. We got up the next day and headed home, all in all a great New Years trip.
We got to Dave’s on the 31st and picked him up and headed in to San Fran because we had tickets to go on the Alcatraz tour. When we came 5 years ago to San Fran tickets were sold out so I was interested to see what all the fuss was about. We were lucky in the it was actually a clear day in SF and even though it was windy and a little chilly it felt pretty warm for December. We took the ferry over to the island and I took a lot of pictures along the way. The island was pretty cool as far as historical things go and after completing most of the audio tour we jumped on the ferry back.
We had lunch at Fisherman’s Warf and drove around to some other scenic parts of town but had to get back home to get ready for New Years.
They do fireworks on the bay near the Golden Gate for New Year’s so his brother had worked it out that we had 10 PM dinner reservations on the North side of the bay and after we wrapped up dinner it was time for the show. On the way to dinner we crossed the Golden Gate which was fun and then we had a couple drinks at a local tavern near the restaurant. This place was perfect for awkward NYE moments. It was mainly very old people, I am talking walkers and canes old, who had too much to drink and were feeling rowdy. One older lady and gentlemen broke out dancing near the bar and the even older bartender told them no dancing, he said it was too crowded for that. Which was not the case at all but we kept joking that it was just like we were in footloose. There was also a suspicious looking gentlemen that sat quietly in the corner creepy eyeing us all night. The bartender was a no nonsense kind of guy and when you ordered a drink it better not involve anything fancy like sweet and sour or a blender. Don’t worry they did have a microwave on the counter at the bar though. The name of the bar was actually called the “No Name” bar. Charming huh. For dinner we sat in a glassed dining room right on the water and had an amazing seafood meal. John probably wouldn’t say this was his idea of a wild NYE but it was perfect for me and I have done enough NYEs his way. After dinner we sat on the water and watched the fireworks. Of course some drunk lady with balloons sat right next to me with her balloons flying inches from my head the whole time, John thought it was hilarious.
I am going to skip the part of the story where it took us an hour and a half to get home for reasons I can’t understand and just say after a very long drive home we were lucky to have a free sober right so we can’t complain.
The next day John and I said goodbye to our hostess Dave and headed out to do a little more exploring. We did another run through of downtown SF and then had lunch at a little spot on Haight and Ashbury. John tried to explain the significance of the area to me but I only caught something about hippies. We decided to take Highway 1 home through Big Sur, an extremely beautiful part of the California coast. We had never been on the 1 that far North so it was great driving through Pacifica and Moro Bay. We had great weather driving through Big Sur but it got dark about 2 hours before we finished the drive, we covered most of the good stuff though. A crazy fog cloud surrounded us right as it got dark and I felt like I was in the movie The Mist. We stayed at another lovely Holiday Inn south of Big Sur and after a struggle to find some food for dinner, I get grouchy when I am hungry, we were so ready for bed. We got up the next day and headed home, all in all a great New Years trip.
Friday, January 13, 2012
Christmas in KY!!
So I think I should do a quick recap of Christmas just because it is such a marathon and needs to be captured in words for my future memory. John and I flew home separately, due to differing work vacation schedules. I didn't particularly mind this considering it meant for once I didn't have to seat in the middle seat so John could have the aisle and I didn't have to hold any clammy hands or assure anyone that the flight was safe. The main problem with flying separately is that I worry about John smoothly making his flights. I was flying in and out of LAX which would have been really convenient for having my sister pick me up and drop me off but she was also out of down the day I was flying out. Since my flight was at 6:30 AM I decided to go stay at her house, which is close to LAX, the night before so I could sleep later and not worry about driving up the day of my flight. I normally don't sleep well the night before a trip but on top of that I was staying alone in a strange house and was nervous about the cab not coming in the morning and missing my flight. So I somehow managed to fall asleep around 9:30 but woke back up around 11:30 and from then on I was wide awake. I laid there with the TV on a couple of hours and then I laid there a couple hours in the dark. Finally I just got up and called the cab and got to the airport nice and early. I even had time for a Starbucks. Now when you fly southwest you know getting a good seat is all about getting in the "A" group which is increasingly tricky these days. You must click on the "check-in" button exactly 24 hours to the minute ahead of your flight or you will become familiar with the "B" group. For my flight home I managed to make the A group and there was an aisle seat about 4 rows back open and a larger man next to the window. I am pretty good at figuring out which middle seat someone is going to work really hard to avoid and I figured the odds were pretty good in that row so I went for it. Sure enough there were only 3 empty seats on the plane and our middle seat was one of them, this is like winning the lottery, especially on a direct flight. I made it to KY no problems.
The Friday night I got in I headed to my Dad's house to celebrate Christmas, John had to miss out since his flight didn't get in until like 2 AM Sat. morning.
As you can imagine I was pretty tired for a long travel day and no sleep the night before so I tried to sleep in a little Sat. morning. Sat. I got up and went for a run, this would be my only workout of the trip, and I noticed that even though it didn't feel that much colder out initially the chill really set in once I started running. Breathing in the cold KY air brought back a familiar stinging to my lungs, it might get chilly here but the air is never stinging cold. By the time I showered and got ready Cam and his wife Erin made their way up from TN to hang out for Christmas Eve. My brother Chris was already there so we were only one sibling down from having a full house. We just hung out all day, snacked, got all caught up on life, and opened presents of course.
That night John's parents came over and we all had Christmas Eve dinner together. The next morning we had to be up bright and early to get to my Grandmothers church, John skipped this part to hang out with his family. I told him skipping Nanny's church service would get him on the naughty list but he lives life on the edge. After church we hung out and Nanny's and ate and opened presents of course. John still got his presents even though he skipped church. Nanny pointed out that she didn't make any of my favorite Christmas morning foods, I wondered if I was being punished for making everyone go to early service.
After we left Nanny's we headed further south to Hendersonville to celebrate Christmas evening with John's family. There was a new baby "second" cousin in the mix year so that was a fun addition. As always the Lansden family get together involved a lot of noise and since I was suffering from a never ending sinus headache I would say I was a big party pooper that night. I got back to my parents house around 10:30 and with a killer headache sent John to his parents house to sleep.
I had to get up early the day after Christmas because I was heading to Lexington to visit all my college girlfriends. This year that get together included two new baby boys in the mix. The babies eventually went home and we just sat around eating, talking, and opening presents of course. I slept on a loveseat so despite how tired I was I wouldn't say I got major quality zzzs that night, also I have determined I don't sleep well in new places.
The next morning I couldn't stay very long because I had to get back to BG in time to have lunch with some of John and our friends, I can't skip Shogun when I am in town. Since I had half an hour to spare before lunch I stopped in and visited my Grandaddy. He as more than half an hour worth of stories but there is a schedule to keep, even if the person is in their 80s. Lunch was great but I had to head out before the bill arrived because I needed to shower before my next get together. After a quick shower I packed up my bag again and headed to see all my old H.S. dance teams buds. This year included 2 toddlers and 2 pregnant women, are you noticing a trend here. We told tales and I took more pictures and we ate more.
I had to leave at 10 that night because I had one last stop for the day. I headed over to Jamie and Michael's to make sure I saw as many BG friends as I could before I went home the next day. Exhaustion started setting in though and I will admit around 12 I feel asleep on their couch. John and I went back to his parents where I stayed the night. The next morning I had to head out because I was flying home that afternoon and had yet to really see my mother, what a shame I know. So after a quick Starbucks stop I made it home to shower, pack, eat and visit. Before I knew it the trip was over and I was on a plane back to CA. Unfortunately I messed up my confirmation number and ended up in the "B" group going home. I chose a seat next to probably an 8 year old boy and this provided some good entertainment. His mom hadn't brought a single thing for him to play with on this 5 hour flight home and you can imagine how antsy this made him. He had 1 toy car which he showed me several times. I was watching a movie and he would lean over and watch it with and ask me questions about what was happening. I had to be careful and cover the screen during any r-rated moments. I started coming up with games for him just so he would give me a break but I think that just bonded him to me more. As soon as we got on the plane he informed me he was having a coca cola zero. So when they took our drink orders I ordered a coke zero and he said "I'll have what she is having", the stewardess looked at me like we were together. Anyway it made for some laughs. I finally landed at LAX, aka, hell on earth. Luckily Kristy was back in town so I had an easy ride back to her house, I probably shouldn't have sat around talking for an hour though because it was 10:30 when I finally got home. Getting up for work the next morning didn't come easy but luckily I only had a 2 day work week. Which went by really fast considering I had to unpack and repack for a Friday night departure for San Francisco. Stayed tuned for my new years San Fran blog coming next.
The Friday night I got in I headed to my Dad's house to celebrate Christmas, John had to miss out since his flight didn't get in until like 2 AM Sat. morning.
As you can imagine I was pretty tired for a long travel day and no sleep the night before so I tried to sleep in a little Sat. morning. Sat. I got up and went for a run, this would be my only workout of the trip, and I noticed that even though it didn't feel that much colder out initially the chill really set in once I started running. Breathing in the cold KY air brought back a familiar stinging to my lungs, it might get chilly here but the air is never stinging cold. By the time I showered and got ready Cam and his wife Erin made their way up from TN to hang out for Christmas Eve. My brother Chris was already there so we were only one sibling down from having a full house. We just hung out all day, snacked, got all caught up on life, and opened presents of course.
That night John's parents came over and we all had Christmas Eve dinner together. The next morning we had to be up bright and early to get to my Grandmothers church, John skipped this part to hang out with his family. I told him skipping Nanny's church service would get him on the naughty list but he lives life on the edge. After church we hung out and Nanny's and ate and opened presents of course. John still got his presents even though he skipped church. Nanny pointed out that she didn't make any of my favorite Christmas morning foods, I wondered if I was being punished for making everyone go to early service.
After we left Nanny's we headed further south to Hendersonville to celebrate Christmas evening with John's family. There was a new baby "second" cousin in the mix year so that was a fun addition. As always the Lansden family get together involved a lot of noise and since I was suffering from a never ending sinus headache I would say I was a big party pooper that night. I got back to my parents house around 10:30 and with a killer headache sent John to his parents house to sleep.
I had to get up early the day after Christmas because I was heading to Lexington to visit all my college girlfriends. This year that get together included two new baby boys in the mix. The babies eventually went home and we just sat around eating, talking, and opening presents of course. I slept on a loveseat so despite how tired I was I wouldn't say I got major quality zzzs that night, also I have determined I don't sleep well in new places.
The next morning I couldn't stay very long because I had to get back to BG in time to have lunch with some of John and our friends, I can't skip Shogun when I am in town. Since I had half an hour to spare before lunch I stopped in and visited my Grandaddy. He as more than half an hour worth of stories but there is a schedule to keep, even if the person is in their 80s. Lunch was great but I had to head out before the bill arrived because I needed to shower before my next get together. After a quick shower I packed up my bag again and headed to see all my old H.S. dance teams buds. This year included 2 toddlers and 2 pregnant women, are you noticing a trend here. We told tales and I took more pictures and we ate more.
I had to leave at 10 that night because I had one last stop for the day. I headed over to Jamie and Michael's to make sure I saw as many BG friends as I could before I went home the next day. Exhaustion started setting in though and I will admit around 12 I feel asleep on their couch. John and I went back to his parents where I stayed the night. The next morning I had to head out because I was flying home that afternoon and had yet to really see my mother, what a shame I know. So after a quick Starbucks stop I made it home to shower, pack, eat and visit. Before I knew it the trip was over and I was on a plane back to CA. Unfortunately I messed up my confirmation number and ended up in the "B" group going home. I chose a seat next to probably an 8 year old boy and this provided some good entertainment. His mom hadn't brought a single thing for him to play with on this 5 hour flight home and you can imagine how antsy this made him. He had 1 toy car which he showed me several times. I was watching a movie and he would lean over and watch it with and ask me questions about what was happening. I had to be careful and cover the screen during any r-rated moments. I started coming up with games for him just so he would give me a break but I think that just bonded him to me more. As soon as we got on the plane he informed me he was having a coca cola zero. So when they took our drink orders I ordered a coke zero and he said "I'll have what she is having", the stewardess looked at me like we were together. Anyway it made for some laughs. I finally landed at LAX, aka, hell on earth. Luckily Kristy was back in town so I had an easy ride back to her house, I probably shouldn't have sat around talking for an hour though because it was 10:30 when I finally got home. Getting up for work the next morning didn't come easy but luckily I only had a 2 day work week. Which went by really fast considering I had to unpack and repack for a Friday night departure for San Francisco. Stayed tuned for my new years San Fran blog coming next.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
A New Year and a renewed blog
So it is the start of a new year and I felt like it would be a good jumping off point to restart my blog. Last year during the summer we were on the go so much it just became too much to keep up with. I think after my little break and hearing from a few people that they would like to see it again I am ready to give it another go. I would start the blog off with thrilling tales of our first trip in 2012 to San Fran or trip home to KY but I am going to save that story for the next blog. I want to kick off this blog, version 2012, with a summary of my New Year’s resolutions.
I was meeting with my small group last week and we were discussing goals we have set for ourselves for 2012. I was still worn out from said San Fran trip and year-end close at work so the best thing that came to mind was hopefully John would cut his hair. This was not very thoughtful or probably very nice so after a weekend at home and a slow down at work I am feeling renewed and now have clear mind to consider goals for 2012. I haven’t actually listened to the sermon on setting goals yet so my goals might get adjusted but right now I have a basic list of daily/weekly/monthly things I hope to accomplish in 2012. Now that I look at the list I can say I have covered mind, body, and spirit so it has to be somewhat well rounded. I have never been a “write down your goals” kind of girl but I am hoping to gain something from this exercise. When you are younger your goals are more easily defined, finish high school, excel at a sport, graduate college, or get a job, these are all pretty big goals and pretty much the extent of my goal planning. I have always been a fairly self-driven person, I didn’t have to write down that I wanted to excel in school for it to happen I just knew that is what I wanted to do. Other kids might have benefited from a more detailed list though. At this moment I am in a pretty mellow place in life where things are moving along at a nice pace and full of enjoyment so at this point I have to wonder if I am just coasting through life. That same student in me that wanted to be at the top of the class is also the same person that probably can’t be satisfied for a long time just coasting. In some ways it makes me feel like I am not taking advantage of this time and place in my life. I don’t think anyone would say John and I take for granted our new location, we seem to always be on the go, but I am talking about those week nights when I am at home with a couple hours to spare or those weekends when I am just hanging out around the apartment (few and far between as they might be). Am I wasting valuable time where I could be growing in a beneficial way. I know you are on the edge of your seat so here is the list:
• Read 2 hours a week outside of the gym
• Workout 5 days a week
• Make your week full of as many natural healthy foods and veggies as possible
• Stop treating the weekend like a free for all, only splurge one night not all of them
• Spend at least 20 minutes a day in quiet time with the Lord and listen
• Pray daily and for people you have said you will pray for
• Listen to others needs and engage them in prayer
• Engage at work, less internet time
• Cook dinner at least twice a week
• Complete a Pinterest/or creative activity once a month
• Don’t analyze yourself in the mirror
• Call a friend once a week
• Do at least 2 charitable activities this year
• Increase tithing
• Blog about the year, a scrapbook in words
• Not chew more than 4 pieces of gum a day
• No more than 3 diet cokes on the weekend and none during the week
• Memorize 3 verses a week and use the 4th week for repetition
• Be a better listener, even if the subject (sports) doesn’t interest you.
• Travel
• Don’t stress when having guests
• Write more cards to friends and family
So as you can see I am covering several areas with my goals and some are more general than others. Some things are easy and I don’t anticipate trouble fulfilling and some are going to be more challenging. I figured the easy ones would give me things to cross off the list and the hard ones will help me grow.
It occurred to me as I was driving and thinking about setting goals how important it is in life to keep growing. I get that different people like different things. I know a lot of people in KY that love it there and would hate living in CA. And I truly believe there is nothing wrong with that, that is now what I am talking about when I say I want to keep growing. Yes for me part of growing involves wanting to travel and experience the world hands on but it can also mean trying a new restaurant in your home town. When I was in Lexington I look back and think how stagnate I was, I didn’t speak to my neighbors, I didn’t try to make new friends, I ate at only a few of my favorite restaurants, I hung out on my side of town. I wish I could do it over now. Why, since we have been here, has taking a 8 hour road trip for a 2 day adventure been so normal when it would have seemed crazy before. Why was I spending so many weekends on the couch instead of out in the world, probably the weather, just kidding, kind of. I think my goals reflect what I want to do in the next year and that is live life to the fullest (without as much junk food though). I want to feel like I am evolving as a person through experiences and moments. I know some of you cynics out there will say wait until she has kids and then she will just be happy to take a shower each day but for now this is my goal, next year could be a totally different list. Heck, this list could be a total flop but I am going to give it my darndest. I have printed off the list and plan to keep it on the inside of my closet door where I can mark things off each week. Maybe this blog will be a little inspiration to write down your own list or at least give your goals a little more thought than you did in 2011.
I was meeting with my small group last week and we were discussing goals we have set for ourselves for 2012. I was still worn out from said San Fran trip and year-end close at work so the best thing that came to mind was hopefully John would cut his hair. This was not very thoughtful or probably very nice so after a weekend at home and a slow down at work I am feeling renewed and now have clear mind to consider goals for 2012. I haven’t actually listened to the sermon on setting goals yet so my goals might get adjusted but right now I have a basic list of daily/weekly/monthly things I hope to accomplish in 2012. Now that I look at the list I can say I have covered mind, body, and spirit so it has to be somewhat well rounded. I have never been a “write down your goals” kind of girl but I am hoping to gain something from this exercise. When you are younger your goals are more easily defined, finish high school, excel at a sport, graduate college, or get a job, these are all pretty big goals and pretty much the extent of my goal planning. I have always been a fairly self-driven person, I didn’t have to write down that I wanted to excel in school for it to happen I just knew that is what I wanted to do. Other kids might have benefited from a more detailed list though. At this moment I am in a pretty mellow place in life where things are moving along at a nice pace and full of enjoyment so at this point I have to wonder if I am just coasting through life. That same student in me that wanted to be at the top of the class is also the same person that probably can’t be satisfied for a long time just coasting. In some ways it makes me feel like I am not taking advantage of this time and place in my life. I don’t think anyone would say John and I take for granted our new location, we seem to always be on the go, but I am talking about those week nights when I am at home with a couple hours to spare or those weekends when I am just hanging out around the apartment (few and far between as they might be). Am I wasting valuable time where I could be growing in a beneficial way. I know you are on the edge of your seat so here is the list:
• Read 2 hours a week outside of the gym
• Workout 5 days a week
• Make your week full of as many natural healthy foods and veggies as possible
• Stop treating the weekend like a free for all, only splurge one night not all of them
• Spend at least 20 minutes a day in quiet time with the Lord and listen
• Pray daily and for people you have said you will pray for
• Listen to others needs and engage them in prayer
• Engage at work, less internet time
• Cook dinner at least twice a week
• Complete a Pinterest/or creative activity once a month
• Don’t analyze yourself in the mirror
• Call a friend once a week
• Do at least 2 charitable activities this year
• Increase tithing
• Blog about the year, a scrapbook in words
• Not chew more than 4 pieces of gum a day
• No more than 3 diet cokes on the weekend and none during the week
• Memorize 3 verses a week and use the 4th week for repetition
• Be a better listener, even if the subject (sports) doesn’t interest you.
• Travel
• Don’t stress when having guests
• Write more cards to friends and family
So as you can see I am covering several areas with my goals and some are more general than others. Some things are easy and I don’t anticipate trouble fulfilling and some are going to be more challenging. I figured the easy ones would give me things to cross off the list and the hard ones will help me grow.
It occurred to me as I was driving and thinking about setting goals how important it is in life to keep growing. I get that different people like different things. I know a lot of people in KY that love it there and would hate living in CA. And I truly believe there is nothing wrong with that, that is now what I am talking about when I say I want to keep growing. Yes for me part of growing involves wanting to travel and experience the world hands on but it can also mean trying a new restaurant in your home town. When I was in Lexington I look back and think how stagnate I was, I didn’t speak to my neighbors, I didn’t try to make new friends, I ate at only a few of my favorite restaurants, I hung out on my side of town. I wish I could do it over now. Why, since we have been here, has taking a 8 hour road trip for a 2 day adventure been so normal when it would have seemed crazy before. Why was I spending so many weekends on the couch instead of out in the world, probably the weather, just kidding, kind of. I think my goals reflect what I want to do in the next year and that is live life to the fullest (without as much junk food though). I want to feel like I am evolving as a person through experiences and moments. I know some of you cynics out there will say wait until she has kids and then she will just be happy to take a shower each day but for now this is my goal, next year could be a totally different list. Heck, this list could be a total flop but I am going to give it my darndest. I have printed off the list and plan to keep it on the inside of my closet door where I can mark things off each week. Maybe this blog will be a little inspiration to write down your own list or at least give your goals a little more thought than you did in 2011.
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