Saturday, November 21, 2009

My best friend's wedding...

My best friend in the world is getting married!! Rachelle and Ryan are perhaps my favorite couple ever, and I couldn't be more thrilled that they are going to spend the rest of their lives together.

I am just so happy that I had to share with the whole world (via my blog that gets read by about two people...). Congrats, Shell and Ryan!!!!!!

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

I Want to Go There!: Torres del Paine National Park


Torres del Paine National Park, located in southern Chile, first came onto my radar when I stumbled across a picture of it while flipping through a South America travel book (thanks, Rick Steves!) I didn't know anything about the park, but I was amazed at the stunning natural beauty.


Apparently the park is a popular hiking destination in Chile, with hiking trails that range from day hikes to 8-9 day backpacking adventures. The trails wind through the park, which holds mountains, glaciers, lakes, rivers, and some rare plant and animal life. Besides hiking, the park also offers horseback rides, sailing, kayaking, rock climbing, fly fishing, and many camp spots. Basically, it sounds like the outdoorsman's dream. The park rangers recommend visiting during the months of December - February, during the southern summer. Because the park is located so far south, these months offer an abundance of daylight hours and pleasant temperatures.



Sounds great to me...see you next December, Torres del Paine!

Monday, November 16, 2009

I Want to Go There!: Prince Edward Island

I've lately been inspired by some of my friends (Eric, Elise, and Kellie to name a few) who have been writing some series in their blogs. I think I want to begin my own series of sorts. It's going to be called: I Want To Go There! Since I'm basically travel-obsessed right now, I'm going to put some of my spare time at work to good use and research some of the places I want to visit. And then I'm going to write about my findings here. Perfect!

So, without further ado: I Want To Go There! installment #1: Prince Edward Island


I've wanted to travel to Prince Edward Island (or PEI to those in the know) ever since I was a child and read my childhood favorite book, Anne of Green Gables over and over and over again. Then I watched the movie and it was a done deal - I knew I had to get to PEI at some point in my life. According to PEI's official website, The Gentle Island (such a quaint nickname!) is much more affordable than you may think, and the "tranquil days, stunning views, and dazzling colours are all free!" PEI is a well-known golf destination, and while I'm not much of a golfer, the beautiful costal courses are appealing even to me! The island also offers a variety of sightseeing and historical tours, the most exciting of which (to me, anyway) is the Anne of Green Gables tour. And, most of all, the island itself seems to be absolutely beautiful.






So...someday soon I will get myself to PEI.

And hopefully I'll find myself a Gilbert Blythe while I'm there.
Thank you for reading. Please tune in next time for installment #2 of I Want to Go There! (destination TBA).

Thursday, November 12, 2009

flippin' your fins you don't get too far...


All day I've had "Part of Your World" from The Little Mermaid stuck in my head.  It's mostly been the line: "...but who cares?  No big deal....I want morrree!" but other parts of the song have been making random appearances also.  

This is in no way unusual or embarrassing for me.  What is embarrassing, however, is getting caught singing that line (loudly) in the bathroom at work when you think you are alone...  

I was simultaneously washing my hands and having a momentary lapse into childhood - enjoying the excellent acoustics provided by the tile floor and walls and singing into a fake microphone - when out walked a woman I didn't know from one of the stalls.  What do you even do in that situation?!  Stop singing and apologize?  Laugh?  Keep singing?  Walk away with your head down and pretend it never happened?  I went for the last option, but I would definitely be open to suggestions for what to do if it happens again (because let's be real...this is me we're talking about - it probably is going to happen again.)

But hey - such is a day in the life of me...and I love it.

has it really been a year?

One year ago tomorrow, there was a fire.

It's simple to remember the fear and sorrow.  It doesn't take much prompting to remember the feeling of ash ground in to my skin as I sifted through the remains next to a teary-eyed professor hoping to find just one photo left intact.  I often remember driving up to campus that first time and seeing buildings black and sunken to the ground.

What I choose to remember, however, is the community that came together.  I have to fight back tears when I remember standing in a crowded gym surrounded by strangers and friends all clapping in a feeble attempt to thank some very worthy firemen.  And I choose to remember the president of the college bursting in through fire-guarded doors (or so I'm told...) to spend the night in the gym with his students.

But most of all, I cannot help but remember the faithfulness of our great God.

Blessed be His name.

Sunday, November 8, 2009

reflections on two months.

I've started this post three different times now.

I don't really know what to say.

I guess the best way to describe the way I've changed in the past month is this: I've stopped looking at this phase of my life as an ending.  I'm learning instead to see a beginning.


...and what a beautiful, difficult, exhausting, terrifying, exciting, snowy beginning it has turned out to be.

Friday, November 6, 2009

time to change.

How you spend your days is how you spend your life.

Thank you for your wisdom, Ms. Dillard.




...how I spend these days is so far from how I want to spend my life.  Sitting inside while the world spins outside my door is not my dream.  I want to spend my days seeing, feeling, tasting, smelling, living...because that is how I want to spend my life.

It must be time for a change.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

a war.

Part of me wants a plan.  A schedule would be nice.  The certainty of the future set before me.

Part of me wants to embrace the adventure.  To accept the unknown is it's mission.  The excitement of an unknown future.

These parts are at war.

The outcome is yet to be decided...