2 GIrls, A Long Drive, And A GIANT Truck

After loading the truck with a few men from church on the hottest day of the year, Christi and I had a most uneventful drive north.  We did have the check engine light on most of the first day (don't worry her awesome handy boyfriend checked out the problem before we departed, said it was the gas cap, he was right)

We did stop to visit with Christi's BFF, a pediatrician in Pittsburgh.  We figured out that amongst us 3 women there were 7.5 degrees.

We took a short tour, via car, of the city.

The next day, due to the lighter outlet not working and therefore not charging the GPS, drove 100 miles past our exit.  We ended up crossing into New Jersey at the Delaware Water Gap where the lovely New Jersey welcome lady told us that it was a good thing we missed I-84 because lots of construction would have made it rough driving for us in the truck.  She gave us directions.  We then stopped for gas because I wanted Christi to experience the uniqueness of getting gas in New Jersey, she was amazed.

We arrived at about 3pm on Sunday where we found Arwen and Dan sitting on my new porch, and my parents pulled up a few minutes later.  We promptly started unloading the van.  Then a massive storm rolled through.  We did what all New Englanders do during summer storms, we stood on the porch and watched it.  There was hard rain, wind, hail, and lightening, and about a 20 degree temperature drop.
Then we went back to unloading.  Dan told me I was not allowed to acquire any more stuff, the girls stood to my defense to confirm that I did purge a ton before the move, and that I don't have that much stuff, just a lot of heavy furniture.

My amazing real estate agent came by with a house warming gift, mailing labels with my new address, and printed copies of my lease and what not to get the power turned on the next day.  Except that the power was already on.

Honestly this has been the least stressful move in my life.  Maybe it's because all my stuff was already packed and in storage.  Or maybe it's because God's hand is so clearly all over this change in my life.  Or maybe it's because God was well aware that I wouldn't be able to handle anything else.

After the unload, Arwen and Dan headed back to New Hampshire, Christi and I drove the truck to the Budget drop off, and picked up dinner.   We ate with my parents on my own dishes at my own table :)
Then we went about a block down the street to the beautiful boarding school (that some of my friends actually went to) where we sat on the lawn and watched the local community Symphony Orchestra give a free concert.  The weather was beautiful.  And yes I did just say that my town has a community Symphony Orchestra. 

There is also a YMCA just down the street, a BJ's with cheep gas, and a Popeyes which I will never eat at, but that my former coworkers in Kentucky will be jealous of.  That's about all the exploring I had time for.

History All Around

Arwen has been super busy at work, so busy in fact that she had accumulated a lot of comp time that she needed to take.
I have been busy doing a lot of family stuff.  Today she took some comp time, I'm on vacation.
We had been discussing what to do, normally we are up for a big adventure, whether it's a hiking trip, or a getting lost somewhere in Boston.
We weren't really up for a big adventure, we were up for a chill time together.
Recently we were discussing how many major historical sites are right around us, but because they are so close we overlook them.  I thought, instead of a big adventure, we should explore some of the closer things we have overlooked.  I checked into a various and assorted sites near my Auntie's house.

Today we drove just a couple miles to Lowell, MA where we went to the Boott Cotton Mills.

 There is a pretty cool National Park there.  I remember learning about the industrial revolution in history class growing up, I remember reading about mill girls.

Today we saw the actual mills where it all started here in America.  We saw the quarters where the mill girls lived.  We saw the looms actually working.

I know I can be a total nerd with my love for documentaries and all, but it was pretty awesome to go see where major changes in our society actually took place, where inventions that directly affected the way our society functions today were first used.

It was also pretty awesome to have a really chill day with my BFF.

Of course we went into some random shops.  After taking in pretty much all that we could with the cold rain, we went to REI because who doesn't love looking at camping, hiking, snow gear?
It was really great to just be, and to have some conversations that just can't be had over the phone, and to bask in the reality that we live in the same timezone now.

Highway Robbery

$51.20
That is how much money I spent on tolls on the way up here.
Seriously.

I was expecting tolls, I mean, I've driven most of these roads before, but really?
Really Pennsylvania turnpike?

I took out $40 in cash before leaving Kentucky, just to be sure I would have enough for the tolls.
Yeah, funny, because I got to the George Washington Bridge and the toll was $12 and I had $4 left.  So there I am, sitting in my truck, counting out quarters and nickels and dimes that I had been saving for the little tolls when I am going from place to place around New England.  I can feel the drivers behind me getting mad.

"Do you have enough?  We can send you a bill if you don't" says the tollbooth lady.
I wanted to yell "I WOULD HAVE ENOUGH IF YOU PEOPLE DIDN'T CHARGE A BILLION DOLLARS TO DRIVE A MILE."
But I didn't, I just gave her my last couple dimes and said "there that's $12."
"Where are you headed?" she asked
"Massachusetts."
"You know there are going to be more tolls right?"

UM yes I do know that, again, I just didn't expect to have to pay $12 to cross a bridge, it seems like last year it was $6.

That is how my day Monday went.  I found an ATM to get more cash.  I made it up to my brother's town, and watched the parade as I walked to find my niece and nephew and sister in law.  I found them just after my brother drove by in his fire truck and the parade was over.  Oh well.

I enjoyed the quick visit with them.  I learned that my nephew's favorite lunch meat is pastrami, really.  My niece informed me that elegant is the fancy word for fancy.

I made it to my Aunt's before the traffic got so heavy it slowed down.  Arwen and her sister popped in for a quick visit on their way from Boston where they were visiting their grandfather in the hospital.

I was exhausted.  I was thankful to be in close enough proximity to so many important people to me that I could see them all in one day.  But all I could really think about was that I really need EZ pass, but should really wait until I have switched to a bank account and have a permanent address up here.  Oh EZ pass, I look forward to your presence in my life.

Packing Cubes

As I was wrapping presents today, I was thinking about the best presents I've ever given or received. I feel the need to highlight a few.

Last year for Christmas I got a gift from my best friend Arwen that I was excited about. I didn't realize how it would transform my life.

What I opened on Christmas morning was a package of packing cubes.
You can buy them here.

I had always had a problem with suitcase explosion. I would try to be strategic about my packing, putting my PJs on the top, but inevitably, within 24 hours of the start of a trip, the contents of the suitcase would be in a huge pile surrounding the suitcase.

After receiving the cubes, I tried several different arrangements over the course of the last year. I've finally come to a packing plan that works for me.

Specific cubes for whole specific outfits, socks and all. The picture below is the cube for the bus ride home outfit. I carry it into the gym with me before the game. It's amazing.

And now my suitcase looks like this.

What's more amazing than the fact that my suitcase starts out like this, is that it stays relatively like this for the duration of the trip. And yes that is a candle, yes it goes on the road with me.

Looking for a great gift for that person who travels a ton? Look no further than the packing cube.

It's not my story.

A couple days ago I had a really long, really frustrating day. I was proud of myself for not reacting to a few people (read not punching them in the face), but I was mad at myself for letting those people affect my attitude.

I had a 5 minute venting session on the phone with Arwen.

Then later in the evening she texted me, Romans 8:28.

I, being good at knowing scripture, but not where scripture is located, had to look it up.

Romans 8:28
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

Oh right, in the midst of all the chaos of my day, I had forgotten, this is part of the story HE is writing with my life. It's not my life, it's not my story, I gave it all away a long time ago. Try as I might to take it back sometimes, I can't.

And HE is working all things together for good, because even though I don't always act like it, even though there are days where I do say things I shouldn't, and days when I allow others to affect my attitude, ultimately, I am still HIS child.

I made a commitment, to follow Him, and I have to choose to follow Him every morning when I step out of my bed and into my day.

And each step along the way is part of the story He is writing about the redemption of my life, and the redemption of mankind.

So while it would be nice if He would wave His hands back and forth and magically change some of the frustrating to me circumstances I occasionally find myself in, He isn't really interested in magic tricks. He is more interested in the miracle of a changed and changing heart.

After all, He is the author and perfecter of my faith.

How to order a cannoli at Mike's

Earlier today, a friend asked on facebook for suggestions on an upcoming trip to Boston and Maine. Of course those are two places I love.
I have a lot of fond memories in both places as a kid.

We spent a lot of time at my grandparents' cottage in Maine.

And we were always flying into Boston. We would go to the children's museum, or to the commons, or to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum when we were older. We almost always went to Filene's basement, for the push and shove shopping experience, and the deals.

For a long time my aunt worked in Boston, in Kendall Square. In high school I would come up from Philly for breaks, hop on the T to Kendall Square, and ride home with her. Sometimes if I got there early in the day, I would drop my bags at The Office (that was the name of her business) and then explore the city for a while heading over to Harvard, or to Filene's basement, till it was close to time to go home for her.

In college my friends and I often took random trips into the city for concerts, sporting events, shopping, whatever.

Somewhere along the way I was introduced to the North End.

And then somehow it became an annual tradition for Cate and Arwen to spend a day in Boston, eat at a particular restaurant, and then get cannoli's at Mike's.

I submit that there is no more decadent dessert in the world than a cannoli from Mike's.

One common thing that is said about New Englanders, especially by people here in the south, is that they are rude. I don't think they are rude, I just think that they are direct, and that visitors don't know the rules, so they struggle.

Take Mike's for example, there is actually a sign in the bakery, it says "Do Not Form Lines." Mike's is almost always busy, especially on weekends and in the summer. It's a rarity for it not to be jam packed. And if you stand there nicely waiting for your turn, you will continue standing there. You might never get a turn.

The reality is that if you are going to get a cannoli at Mike's, which I think it would be a travesty to not do, you have to elbow your way to the front. I mean it's not that you should be shoving people out of the way, you just have to know what you want, and slither your way to the front. And if you "cut" people, then you "cut" them. But there is no line, so technically you aren't cutting anyone. Then when the lady behind the counter says "NEXT" you step up, even if the person next to you has been waiting longer than you. It's just how it works. And you tell the woman what you want. She won't be patient with you if you hem and haw. Don't step up to order if you haven't figured out what you want, let someone else go and figure it out. Then the next time one of the ladies yells out, you step up and say "I want 3 cannoli's." I prefer the regular ricotta filled, dipped in chocolate, or with the chocolate chips, or the peanut butter. You can also just point at what you want and say "2 of those and 1 of those." It's best if you are in a large party to leave most of them outside and send 1 or 2 to order for the whole group.

Then the lady will place them in the box, and wrap the blue and white string that is hanging from the ceiling, and you will wonder how on earth she did that, and she will take your money, and come back with your change.

Then you will slither your way back out and find another place to eat them, preferably on the grassy area with the fountains.

or at the warf.

Service

I love Derek Webb's song "The Church" I know in recent months Derek Webb has made some controversial statements, but in his song from his 2003 record, he makes some statements that I think are simple, and important, and profound.

"i have come with one purpose
to capture for myself a bride
by my life she is lovely
by my death she’s justified

i have always been her husband
though many lovers she has known
so with water i will wash her
and by my word alone

so when you hear the sound of the water
you will know you’re not alone

‘cause i haven’t come for only you
but for my people to pursue
you cannot care for me with no regard for her
if you love me you will love the church

i have long pursued her
as a harlot and a whore
but she will feast upon me
she will drink and thirst no more

so when you taste my flesh and my blood
you will know you’re not alone

there is none that can replace her
though there are many who will try
and though some may be her bridesmaids
they can never be my bride"

Sometimes I wonder, what does it really look like to love the church?
I mean, obviously there are the generic serving opportunities in most churches in America

You can teach Sunday school to 1st graders.
You can take care of little ones in the nursery.

You can sing on the worship team or serve communion.

There are opportunities to organize small groups, or greet people at the door.

Lots of churches need people to hang out with high schoolers and take them on retreats.

These are all important and valuable. These are all things that need to be done.

But what if you don't have the gift of mentoring high schoolers or you can't sing? What if you are terrible with children? What then? How do you love the church then?

It seems like in a lot of churches today there are a handful of ministry opportunities, and members, if they want to actively serve their church, have to fit themselves into one of those roles. It doesn't really matter that much if their abilities, or gifts as we say in Christianese, don't fit the roles available.

The reality is that in most churches I have been in, there are a lot of things that need to get done. But for the most part, the majority of those tasks get accomplished by paid staff, whether it's cleaning the church, or visiting the elderly and shut-ins, or organizing events.

Who knows, maybe at one time the church functioned in a manner that allowed members to love the church by visiting shut ins, or cleaning the building. Maybe the reason these tasks are generally undertaken by paid staff is that we as a body of believers over time have failed to come through and love the church by actually following through when we committed to something that wasn't fun, or took a lot of time, or cost us something.

While I was on vacation earlier this month, I had the opportunity to watch someone loving the church, in ways that don't fit the typical American church ministry opportunities.

First she cleaned the church, with a few helpers, myself included on Friday night.

Then on Sunday, as I followed her in my vehicle, she did this.

She does this pretty much every Sunday morning.

She leaves for church earlier than she would otherwise have to. She has to drive a little bit out of the way. It might cost her a little gas. But every Sunday, unless she is on vacation, she does this.

These people can't drive, they would not be able to go to church if she didn't pick them up.

How many people out there in America are like this? If someone would just pick them up on the way, they would never miss a Sunday?

Be forewarned!

Arwen is coming to visit this coming week. No matter the circumstances, whenever Arwen comes to visit, or I go to visit her, it's always an adventure.

We have climbed mountains together, successfully.

We have hitchhiked together.

We have seen the sites in Nashville together.

We have gone to art museums together.

We have been on T cars in Boston together whilst crazy man covered in goo tried to kick group of young lads and old lady's groceries fell over and oranges were rolling about. (Sorry, no picture, we were scared for our lives)

We have stood in the standing room only section at Red Sox games

(yes this was the time the confused lady from North Dakota had to have an explanation of standing room only)

How can one forget the Bondi wedding incident of 2002? When a certain male called randomly and unannounced requesting a ride from the train station, yes we did go get him, yes I had hot rollers in my hair. Yes later we discovered that hot rollers in my hair = VERY OUT OF CONTROL BIG HAIR. Yes said male was sitting in our apartment living room while we freaked out in the bathroom.

There was the awesome time back in 2006 when this happened to my car while going to the airport to pick her up.


No one can forget the brownie incident of 2003, I'll tell that story another time.

We have gone line dancing IN NEW HAMPSHIRE

Katy was there too

We have eaten a lot of seafood

And canolis from Mike's

We have gotten lost a lot.

We have watched minor league pitcher throw 100 mph strikes, with my uncle.

We have facebook stalked the one she will soon call husband. (Well maybe I stalked, she laid on the bed yelling "NO DON'T SEND HIM A MESSAGE" good thing I did)

The picture above is her dad as Dan is asking for permission to marry her.


We have laughed till we cried.

This year, the adventure involves Susie, and basketball. There is no telling what is about to happen. Put your seatbelts on people.

Unity and Diversity

I watched the movie "Life As We Know It" last night for the second time in 24 hours. It's cute, and funny. It's not anything incredibly earth shattering.
There are couple scenes in the movie though that really spoke to me.

The basic storyline is that a couple tries to set-up their best friends, it turns out horribly.
Then they die, leaving there 1 year-old daughter, to the two best friends who can't stand each other.

Last weekend, my friend Arwen called to tell me a quote she had heard. The quote was "Holding bitterness in your heart is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die." I told her to stop talking and hold the thought so I could run get a pen and write it down.

I had never heard bitterness described that way.

Then it got me thinking about the things I hold onto, the hurts the just still seem to hurt. The hurts that people just seemed to really jab at.

It also got me thinking about all the times that something was said or done that was really offensive. As a single person, over the age of 25, it happens a lot. The person may not have been meaning to be offensive, but the reality is that if they really thought about what they said, they would probably want to glue their lips shut for the rest of their lives.

Then I started thinking about whether or not people really are as they seem. What I mean by that is that often we project an image, and that image is how the world views us. The world except for the occasional very very close friend that really truly knows us. Many people don't have those kinds of friends. And of course God, who knows us at our very core, like it or not.

Which brings me back to the movie.

Holly and Messer have been living in their dead friends' house raising their daughter and fighting constantly. Holly finds some home videos, one of which is the husband filming the wife as she brings their newborn into the nursery for the first time. She starts yelling at him because it smells like paint fumes, and wasn't he suppose to have it painted weeks ago?
Holly and Messer are surprised, they had always viewed their friends as the perfect couple that never fought and had the perfect life. The following conversation ensued.

Messer: "So what you are saying is that it's okay if we are horrible parents and want to kill each other 50% of the time?"

Holly:"Ninety percent. I think what I am saying is that I think we need to stop fitting ourselves into their lives"

And then I started thinking about how sometimes it's not so much that I am trying to fit myself into someone elses' life, it's that they are trying to fit me into theirs, or I am trying to fit them into mine.

Yes I'm single, and yes I want to be married someday, but me not being married does not make me half a person. It does not make me a lesser person.
It just makes me a whole single person.

Yes I love to eat locally grown organic veggies and can't remember the last time I ate mac and cheese from a box. This doesn't make me a weird eater, it just means I like different food than the general population in western Kentucky.

I don't need a man to make me happy. I don't need to have 2.5 kids and a cutely decorated and organized house to be happy. I don't need coupons for kraft products to make my life rich and satisfying. In fact happiness is circumstantial and temporary.

What I am looking for is peace and eternal perspective, no matter what the circumstances.

What I need is Jesus. And good friends who love and accept me. Me, the girl who likes pink, and running, and swimming, and fresh from the vine tomatoes.

It all brought me back to a sermon I heard last Sunday. My pastor said "The church in the midst of our unity, should have diversity. We need to be taking on the character of Christ."

I felt like light bulbs were going off in my head.

I love my life, most days. And I wouldn't change the journey I've been on to bring me to this place I'm at. Yes there were times that were not very fun, in fact there were times that were down right miserable. I am sure there will be more of those times in the future. Those times, as well as the good times are all events and circumstances that God has used to shape me. There is purpose to it. I may never fully know what His purpose is or was, but none the less, He has ordained this life for me.

Some of those miserable experiences do include the times that people suggested that the reason I am not married is that I am too picky, or too athletic, or that I live in too small of a town, or that I am not forward enough with guys, or that I am too forward. I could go on, I won't though, here is someone else's post on that
http://jonacuff.com/stuffchristianslike/2011/02/awkward-youre-single-conversations-at-church/

and here
http://www.jonacuff.com/stuffchristianslike/2009/06/550-surviving-church-as-a-single/
and no, I will not tell you what my score was.

And yet we need each other. I could chose to eliminate the people in my life who are not like me. But I need them, just as they need me.

He didn't ordain this life I am living right now for my married friend with 2.5 kids, just as her life is not mine.

It all brings me back to the movie.
Messer is offering to help Holly. She doesn't want to take the help.

He says "Accepting help doesn't mean that you are weak, it just means that you are not alone."

Which of course brings me to this video. Not only do we as Christians need each other, differences and all, but the church needs us, our diversity and our unity.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arxfLK_sd68

Warby Parker

Several months ago a friend posted on facebook that she had recently purchased some glasses from Warby Parker. She was very pleased with them.
I had never heard of the company and so I decided to check them out.

Warby Parker is a company that was started to provide affordable glasses to people. The company founders were not happy with the exorbitant cost of glasses when the manufacturing costs are extremely low. They also wanted to give back.
So glasses are $95, prescription lenses and all. Not only that, for every pair of glasses you purchase, they donate a pair of prescription glasses to someone who needs them but can't afford them.

I told Arwen about it. She was in need of new glasses before I was decided to try them out, she had a good experience and loved her new pair.


I was in need of some new glasses this fall, and so I decided to try Warby Parker out. First I perused their website.
I uploaded a photo of myself and tried glasses on it.

Then I ordered five pairs of frames, which they mailed to me for free to try on.
Once they arrived, I was able to try them on.
The great thing about having them send the glasses for try-on is that I was able to have several friends and coworkers offer their opinions, and I also did not have my eyes dilated.
I ended up purchasing the ones in the picture, they looked better in person than on the virtual try-on.

I picked a pair, Aubrey, in king's purple, and sent all 5 pairs back to Warby Parker, they paid for the shipping.
Then I ordered my new glasses, sent in the prescription, and waited.
The new glasses arrived in less than a week.
They fit perfectly.

Then I submitted the receipt to my health savings account people. It wasn't an acceptable receipt they said.

So I called Warby Parker.
A most amazing thing happened.

A person answered the phone.

It never went to a automated directory with options to choose.

It just rang, and then someone said "Hello, Warby Parker, how may I help you"

I was so stunned I fumbled for words.

And then I told the lady what I needed.

She said "oh absolutely, let me email you a better receipt."

And then before we had even hung up, there was the new receipt in my email inbox.

Amazing.

So if you are in need of some new glasses, or will be eventually, or know some one who wears glasses, check out this company.

His name is "Dan"

It's a running joke between my two dear friends Arwen and Katy, that no matter what the name my at this time unidentified husband actually is, they will call him "Dan."

It all started Easter weekend 2010 when Dan called Arwen and told her he was taking her out on a date. He took her to dinner, and ice cream, and Lowes to look at fencing for her yard. I was so pumped for my best friend. He seemed like a really good guy, he even took it well when I told him to be nice to her or I would stun him with my stun gun, in a facebook message.

In July I went on my annual pilgrimage back to the New England area. I hung out with Arwen and Katy, and I met Dan. I decided that he was a good guy and that he could go ahead and marry my best friend. We joked about him buying her ring at a pawn shop.

In August he proposed. He did not buy her ring at a pawn shop.

Then some time around December Katy started spending extra time with her Dan. They officially started dating in January.

So a few weeks ago, I was talking to Arwen on the phone, Katy was at her house. I hear Katy in the background yelling "has she met Dan yet?"

"Arwen tell her I obviously haven't met her Dan yet, he lives in Massachusetts. I did facebook message him though, about the stun gun."

Arwen promptly relays my message to Katy, to which Katy replies "No not my Dan, has she met her Dan yet."

And that is when they informed me, whether his name is Joe or Steve or Reuben, they will be calling him "Dan."

And then some others joined in the hunt for "Dan."

Sarah, my frequent hotel roommate, drew the artist's rendition of "Dan" featured above.

A million miles

Last year for my birthday a friend gave me a copy of Donald Miller's book "A Million Miles in A Thousand Years: What I Learned While Editing My Life." It had just been published. I love Donald Miller's writing and so I was looking forward to reading it. If you are looking for a good read, I highly recommend this one. One thing I really like about Donald Miller's writing is that it makes me think. I don't always agree with him, but I always am challenged to dig deeper.

Without giving away too much, the basic message of the book is that we have choices in life, we can choose to sit on the couch and be spectators, or we can get up and experience life.

As I read through the book, and as I thought about my own life, I was struck by the fact that I was miserable in certain circumstances in my life, but I was too afraid of change to do anything about it. So here I was, sitting around, waiting for God to show up. The problem with this scenario is that sometimes God asks us to take steps of faith, it's part of His plan to transform us, to be more like Him, to be more the person He created us to be.

At the time I couldn't remember the last time I was excited to read my Bible. I couldn't remember the last time I had been involved in serving others with my church family. I couldn't remember the last time I didn't have to give myself a pep talk before going to either church on Sunday morning or my small group.

Basically I couldn't remember the last time I had been anything more than a spectator, and I also knew that I wasn't becoming more Christlike.

Donald Miller put it like this, "If the point of life is the same as the point of a story, the point of life is character transformation. If I got any comfort as I set out on my first story, it was that in nearly every story, the protagonist is transformed. He's a jerk at the beginning and nice at the end, or a coward at the beginning and brave at the end. If the character doesn't change, the story hasn't happened yet. And if story is derived from real life, if story is just condensed version of life then life itself may be designed to change us so that we evolve from one kind of person to another. "

A few Sundays ago during my Sunday school class we were talking about the part in Philippians 2 where Paul asks us to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. We talked about how the point is not that we can earn our salvation, but that we must continue to surrender to the Lord. We talked about how as we walk through this Christian life, we need to continue to grow in our faith, and continue to learn about who He is, so that we can have a deeper understanding of our salvation.

I recently was reading the part in Deuteronomy 31 where Joshua is preparing to take over for Moses and lead the Israelite people into the promised land.

Moses says the following to Joshua:
"Be strong and courageous, for you must go with these people into the land that the LORD swore to their forefathers to give them, and you must divide it among them as their inheritance.
The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged"

I knew about a year ago that I needed to find a different place to go to church. I knew that there were some really unhealthy relationships in my life.
The thought of going to a new church, of building new relationships, of finding a new small group was daunting to me. I know that relationships take time to develop, I knew that I would probably spend some time being lonely for a while. I didn't like the idea of any of that. But I came to realize that it was a necessary thing in my life and for my faith.

So this past May, after a week long trip with my parents, I came home and started the process, I took a step of faith.

And as Donald Miller said:
"And once you live a good story, you get a taste for a kind of meaning in life, and you can't go back to being normal; you can't go back to meaningless scenes stitched together by the forgettable thread of wasted time."

I'm so thankful that I made a hard choice, I'm thankful that a few weeks ago I was on the phone with Arwen and she was crying. I said "What's wrong?" She replied "It's just so great to here you excited about what going to church, it's so great to hear you laugh, it's been a really long time."

oops...

I have this annoying tendency to loose my keys. My coworkers tease me about this bad habit, I think to myself, "gosh it could be a lot worse."
When I was a senior in college and living in an apartment off campus, my roommate would inevitably come home from her night shift at the children's home to find me sound a sleep, the door locked from the inside, and my keys still in the key whole on the outside.
Therefore the following story should not suprise anyone. A few weeks ago my keys went missing. I couldn't find them anywhere, I looked and looked for about 32 hours. I used my spare to drive around town. I decided to go for a short hike with Brady at one of my favorite hiking spots. I got almost all the way around the lake, then had to turn back and walk all the way back around it because the trail was flooded. (We had been getting a lot of rain at the time) I returned to my car to notice this:


um hmm, yup those would be my keys, in the key hole, at the trunk of my car. What was I thinking? I should have looked there first.
While we are at it, this is how Brady rides in my car when we go for hiking trips:

Yes, she rests her head on the sideview mirror. If they made motorcycles for dogs, she would definately need one.

Cate and Arwen 2008

So every year, starting last year, my roommate from college and dear friend Arwen and I take a hike. Last year went swimmingly well with a 30 mile hike over 2 4000 ft mountains in the white mountains of New Hampshire over a 3 day period. So this year we were optimistic about a hike through the Land Between the Lake here in KY. It started with Arwen's flight, which was suppose to get in at 6pm Thursday night, getting delayed multiple times, rerouted multiple times, and finally arriving at 11:30pm. Needless to say it was rather late when Arwen and I finally made if back to Murray and went to bed. We were suppose to hike the 60 miles of the north south trail in three days over undulating terrain, but since we didn't start until after 2 pm on Friday, we opted to only hike 30, from the South station to the Golden Pond visitors center. No big deal right. So the first day we made our tenish mile hike to the tent site/ water spring. When we got there we were starting to run low on water so we went to fill up. YEAH, so the "spring" water was nasty stagnate water which we boiled, AND filter, and drank. The next morning we set out to hike about 15 miles to another tent site/ "spring" water. We were planning on filling up about half way. This is where it starts to get rather interesting. First, due to storm damage from IKE, part of the trail was closed and we had a detour. The place where we had planned on filling up, we had to bypass and we had to walk down the Trace highway till we were finally able to get back on the trail. So we look at our handy dandy LBL map and think, "well we can make it to the next water place." So off we hike. Occasionally we stop so Arwen can lubricated her blisters, with, Chap Stick. Yes, Arwen forgot the first aid kit so she improvised. We finally get to the place to turn off the trail to get water, and decide that we are going to camp there, it's only 6 miles the next morning. The sign said .8 miles to the camp site, and supposed water. At this point I think between the two of us we maybe have 2 Tablespoons of water left. After I'd say 1.5 miles we decide that the supposed camp site /"Spring water" site is not here. Arwen is now walking down hill backwards, her feet REALLY hurt and she is REALLY thirsty. So I ask Arwen "Arwen, are you having fun?" So she says "At this particular moment, NO." So we make a plan, we are going to hike back to the N/S trail and up to the next "Pic Nic/ Water" area. I would to remind you all that we did not make up these "Spring water" places, they are clearly marked on the map and my Murrayan friends told about also. So we get to the next lovely green sign and low and behold we realize, someone thinks they are funny and has rearrange some of them. We see a little map in the wooden box thing and we "sprint" ahead to read it. It looks like about 1/2 miles down a gravel road will get us back to the Trace. We decide we are DONE with this whole LBL hiking extravaganza and we hike to the road. We use my trust and ever true compass, purchased for 99 cents, last year at Walmart and we head NORTh on the Trace. Every car going North, we turn and stick out our thumbs. Yes Chris Talcott, it is true Cate and Arwen hitch hiked. Arwen at this present time has switch to the crocs and Cate is alternating between bare feet and flip flops. NO ONE STOPS. We finally make it to the pic nic area, NO SPRING WATER HERE. At this point my lips are crusty and I think I may be hallucinating. Finally some dears souls in a white car, with a messier backseat than mine pull over to get us. They have no water but they do drive us 4 miles to the law enforcement and administrative building for LBL. NO ONE is there and NEITHER IS THERE WATER. There is a vending machine, but I only have a 20 dollar bill. It's 7 pm so we leave our gear in front of the building cause we are not carrying any of it ANYMORE. We walk/ slash shuffle from the law enforcement building about 500 yards to the Golden Pond visitors center. Arwen is jogging in her socks. We know there is beverage in the trunk of my car and that my car is in that parking lot. Several people pass us with perplexed looks, it's also getting dark. We to the entrance, the gates are shut, it is past 5 pm. We get to the car and we chug, and I mean chug. I have never chugged alcoholic beverage, ever, but I'm pretty sure I could win a water chugging contest with my performance this evening. I mean were talking close to 9 ish miles with NO WATER. So now we are sitting in my car, chugging water and juice figuring out how to get home with no cell phone reception, no pay phones and the gate locked. Arwen is convinced that we can bust of the Golden Pond visitors center so I drive down and she directs me, still in socks, around several trees and out of the center. Yes my Ford Contour drove OFF the road and around several obstacles we shall say. At this point we have seen NO stunning views, pumped water in No running streams, but we are laughing at our lawlessness. So we head back to the law enforcement center to load up our gear. We pull and start packing the car when a kind gentleman, with, according to Arwen, a cute beard, what can I say, she like beards, asks us if we are okay. I'd just like to point out, that this is the first time someone has asked us that. We tell him of our trial, his face speaks of major confusion. He says "well would you like some water." NO thanks got that already, and juice, in the trunk. We drive out and towards home, cross the Kentucky lake, now there is also some water. As we are driving down 68/80 I notice that there is a car coming straight at me in the fast lane of the divided highway. I swerve to just barely miss a head on collision and I honk my horn. SO we head over to Culver;s for ice cream, and to the RSEC for a cold whirlpool because we have hiked over 20 miles today. Note to self, we will never hike again in the LBL. We will continue our annual tradition in a place where, when the map says water in 2.5 miles, there will be water in 2.5 miles. And I know this sounds like an amazingly fun trip and you are sad you missed it this year, but no, no guests will be allowed on the Cate and Arwen annual adventure. We finally made it home, Arwen had not fallen once, and she stubbed her toe going up my stairs, so now she is bleeding.

Don't you wish you had my life?

Note: Please read as much sarcasm as you want into this post...

I had an AWESOME it sucks to be single weekend. Now when I say AWESOME, I mean REALLY AWESOME. It started Friday afternoon. I left work at a decent hour, maybe 6:30 ish, I didn't feel like going home and cooking something because we all know that cooking for oneself all the time is SUPER FUN, and since I generally eat most of my meals at home, I decided to stop by Matt B's, a local pizza establishment that sells pizza by the slice, to purchase a slice, to eat at home of course. Because while I am getting up there in the "she's still single?" age, I'm not to the "wow, check out that girl in the corner booth eating by herself" category just yet. SO I took my pizza home, and ate by myself. I thought to myself, hmmm it would be fun to hang out with people tonight, but when I ran through a list of my friends in Murray that are fun to hang out with, most of them have small children who generally go to bed early, have date night with their husband on Friday night, etc... in fact my only single friends are some guys I work with, and we don't really hang out outside of work, and they were all in Indiana with the football team. So I decided instead of sulking at home, to make a night of it, so I headed out to do some much needed grocery shopping at Wal-Mart. At Wal-Mart I had the immense pleasure of running into SEVERAL student-athletes and their significant others, always fun, to try to get away from work for a couple of hours, or maybe 30 minutes, and run into people from work. So after spending $32 on food for the week, it's true, very cheep to feed one person, I headed home where I realized that my washer was officially broken. I stayed up watching the Wedding Singer, always a good movie to watch when you feel down about being single and then I headed off to bed. Of course I woke up at about 7:30 am because well, I go to work at 5:30 am during the week. I took Brady for a walk, she pooped in the yard of an abandoned house, I didn't feel compelled to clean it up, nobody lives there and the grass is like knee high. Some lady across the street came out of her house and yelled at me for it. Thanks just what I needed. It was really nice weather out and I thought, gee it would be a nice day to spend hiking or out at the lake, but alas, those activities are pretty boring by yourself. SO THEN THE HIGHLIGHT OF THE DAY. After cleaning the house some, I headed out to Lowe’s to buy a new washer, oh the joys of being a homeowner. As I perused the selection of affordable, and by affordable I mean costing less than $1000 dollars, ouch, the very good looking, super nice, no wedding band, salesman named John came up to ask me if I needed help. Now I will say, I have done some research on washing machines, because I knew this day was coming, but what guy wouldn't think that a single girl looking at washing machines would need help. I might also add that I was looking SUPER HOT, in my royalish blue mesh Nike shorts, sports bra, old and ragged looking Murray golf shirt, with my disheveled hair, my backpack, etc... you get the picture. I also, in my despair the evening before, forgot to take my allergy meds, so pretty much I eyes were puffy, I couldn't really hear out of my ears, AND my voice was, well, deep. So John and I discussed the pros and cons of various washing machines, he asked me if I played golf, I told him that indeed I do, but that I am not very good. Several times he mentioned his love for golf. I told him that I wanted to peruse some more but that in a couple of minutes I would make a decision because I needed to purchase one due to the excess of dirty laundry at my house and my desire to NOT go to the Laundromat. He verbalized his distaste for Laundromats also and told me to find him when I was ready to make a decision. Here's my thing about Laundromats, first of all they are gross, second of all, all sorts of sketchy people go there, and being single, living by myself, who will call the police if I don't come home? So as I'm wandering through the five isles or so of washers and dryers, I think to myself, 1. why aren't there any good looking, nice, single men, that go to my church, or that are Christian that I know, I mean what the heck, and 2. I have a "no dating guys named John" rule imposed by my dear friend Arwen. Arwen imposed this rule on me because the last two guys named John, were very unclear about their intentions, and pretty much it sucked. I mean what guy spends tons of time on the phone with you, always pays for your meals when the two of you go out, takes you to his "favorite place to watch the sunset", etc... and then sends you a facebook messages stating that he is not interested and maybe we have different ideas about what our relationship is? Seriously? SO no guys named John. SO I can't locate John the salesman, so I push that silly button that announces "assistance need at the appliance desk, assistance..." and John comes back from where ever he was. I purchase my awesome new washer that is energy efficient. This year instead of spending approximately $19 to run my washer, I will spend $11. John continues to tell me how much HE LOVES TO PLAY GOLF. I finish the details of having it delivered, give him my number to put in the computer in case the delivery guys get lost, and as I start to walk away he says, "hey if you ever want to play some golf let me know." Sure, I'll get right on that, I know nothing about you, or how to get in touch with you, other than the fact that you sell appliances at Lowe’s. So I returned home, where I spent the rest of the day watching the UNH wildcats beat Army on ESPN classic live, it made me proud to be a wildcat. Then I fell asleep in my chair because I was tired. I woke up, took Brady out to the lake, she had fun though there was an old man out there who appears to be living there, kind of weird. I came home, gave Brady a bath, and cleaned my house some more, ate dinner, by myself, thought, "it would be fun to go to the movies tonight." but alas, no fun by myself. I put in Memoirs of a Geisha because that is also an awesome movie about people who have terrible love lives. Then I went to bed. I woke up this morning and went to church, where there are no single guys to date, and where I had to hear about other people's great weekends. Then I went to lunch with people from church, I must confess that I was pretty pissy. Then I called Arwen so I could rant to someone who understands how much it sucks to be single, after you graduate from college, and graduate school, and have a real job. She suggested that I needed to look for a group of career aged, single, Christian people to get to know, like maybe another church has a group that meets for Bible study weekly or something. So this afternoon the washer was delivered, thankfully, I am doing laundry. I also spent time looking for said group online. I guess unlike the northeast, we don't have those types of groups, cause I searched Murray, Paducah, Paris, and Clarksville. In fact the closest one is in Nashville on Monday nights. Now that I am done ranting on my blog, my advise to you married people in the world, STOP TELLING YOUR SINGLE FRIENDS THAT YOU MISS YOUR SINGLE DAYS, because really if you think about it long enough, you don't. And don't assume that you understand how hard it is, if you were never single, and by that I mean not married, or not dating the person that you married, after you graduated from college and were in the working world for a while. UUGGHH.

So it has been an entire week since I was last a work. I has been very relaxing, very peaceful, very fun. I have not answered my work cell phone. I have eaten lunch in the North End and gotten Canoli's from Mike's. I have ridden the T on a Red Sox game day and enjoyed the fanaticism that this city has for their SOX!!! I have purchased new Red Sox attire because I really have been longing to wear a Red Sox t-shirt in Kentucky. I have climbed 2 mountains that are each over 4,000 feet high with my roommate from college! We also hiked 20 miles on the same trip. Yes it was girls gone wild in the wilderness, with exhibitions of pure woman power and lots and lots of gorp. I have eaten lobster with my aunt and uncle to celebrate my aunt's retirement. I have played with my nephew who is 1 and taken him swimming. I also got to watch him deposit all of the contents of my aunt's tupperware onto the kitchen floor. I visited with my great aunt last night, her husband died on Saturday, his burial is today. This morning I sat in the sun on the deck reading while no one was here at my aunt's house but me. It was peaceful. I have showered twice in my aunt's rain shower! Tonight my grandmother is coming over for dinner so I can spend more time with her and tommorrow I will be riding into the city to meet my second cousin for lunch before flying back to Nashville.

I hate my car

When I was a sophmore in college I got my first car. She is a red ford contour that I am still driving. Well I was still driving until Wednesday night when I was driving with my brother to Nashville to meet my parents who were picking up my college roommate. At the 80 mile marker on I 24 my beloved car stopped. Yup it completely stopped, engine turned off, I had to coast to the side of the road, put on my flashers and call my insurance company's roadside assistants. Then we had to be towed all the way back to Murray ( over an hours worth of towing) Anyway the most ironic thing is that a week before my car stopped, I took it to the shop and told them that something was wrong with it. That is was making a funny noise and just didn't feel right. They drove it for 27 miles and didn't believe me. I said drive it again something is wrong. THey said oh, the timing belt needs to be replaced. So they did that and charged me a bunch of money. Then four days later on I 24 my car stopped. Interesting isn't it. Sometimes I think they look at me and think "oh well there is a stupid girl who knows nothing about cars and won't know the difference" and honestly I probably wouldn't know the difference except that I paid them a quarter of my car's current worth and four days later is stopped working completely. So now on Monday morning inbetween practice at 6:45 am and the bus leaving for cincinnatti at 9:30 am I have to find a way to get from work to the shop and back to tell them that they messed up my car. YES