wanderlust

I'm feeling the desire to wander again. My Freshman and Sophomore year in college I spent much of my time wandering.....wandering in different countries....wandering about here in Athens. Just wandering. Thinking. Seeing new things. Exploring. It was a drive I couldn't ignore and it pulled me to some of the most amazing places and experiences I've ever seen. I embraced this desire and went with it. Looking back I'm so very glad I did.
I thought that part of my life was over. An itch I had scratched. Every couple months the itch would come back and demanded to be noticed. So I scratched it and have been so very blessed to have been able to experience all that I have.
For about a year or so now that desire has remained dormant. Maybe due to reality....maybe a little to the rational side of myself that has grown since I was 18. But once again....ever so quietly this time....its whispering again to me.
Go....
See...
Experience...
Feel...
Explore....
Live..
College provided wonderful ways to fulfill this desire through study abroad and trips with friends. God revealed this love for seeing His creation through mission trips and other life experiences.

You ever just get that feeling that if you don't do something you may be missing out on something very significant to who you are and what drives you. That's what I got right now. Something beyond curiosity. I would even go so far as to say design...how and who I've been designed to be by the One who knows best.
The desire to see and feel beauty. To be in awe. To be speechless by what surrounds me in nature.
The drive is back and cannot be ignored.
Now I just need to figure out why it is there....and how to fulfill it and continue to do His will.

It's not Christmas without Amy

So Will and I are going to Ultimate Christmas concert next week. I'm pretty excited about it....bringing back the 80's with some mistletoe and eggnog.
Yup...we are going to the Amy Grant/Vince Gill concert at the Fox.
Don't judge. (well we may be that lame couple..but I'm OK with it if it includes Amy)

I heard on the radio that she was in concert with Vince (we are on a first name basis) at the Fox and I almost peed in my pants with excitement. When I was little Christmas wasn't officially Christmas until I had listened to the Amy Grant Christmas Album. For those of you that know...I can hear you screaming "Oh ya!! Totally!" over cyber world...for those that don't, I shed tears for lost childhood memories for you. Amy Grant's Christmas CD is still by far the best Christmas compilation ever. I remember interpretive dancing to "Mary did you know" in my playroom when I was younger.
(Yup...I use to pretend interpretive dance....I was pretty good...and maybe a little in college. sigh...sorry for those that witnessed those)
Amy is necessary for me and Christmas. Can't have Christmas without her...it be like eggnog with out the nog...then you would just have eggs. Gross and not very festive. When I heard about the concert I had to go! The only question...who could I get to go with me who wouldn't think it was lame. Hmmm. That was a tough one. Will!! Well....I'll just leave the part about Amy out and say its a Christmas Country Concert with Vince. So I told him...and he sounded interested...ya go ahead and get the tickets...it will be fun. Here's where I thought I should at least let him know Amy was involved too. So I sandwiched it in with the time and location hoping he wouldn't notice. Kinda like when your mom asks what you did last night and you say....Oh you know....grab some pizza with friends, watch some T.V., almost get arrested....got some ice cream and called it an early night. (warning: that never works. They always catch the part about the 'almost' arrest. But I digress...that's a story for another blog)
So Will of course heard the part about Amy that I tried to squeeze in.
"Oh ya and it's this Monday at the Fox with Amy Grant at 7:30...we should grab dinner before!"
" WHAT!! AMY GRANT!!??"
I paused waiting for the " We are NOT going to that concert! That's just cheesy...etc etc. But I was surprised...instead of back pedaling from the 80's princess concert I heard....
" Oh my gosh!!! Her Christmas CD is my favorite! We HAVE TO GO!! Ahhh Tennessee Christmas is such a good song!"

I was shocked. Amazed...and slightly impressed. So next Monday be thinking of us...we will be reminiscing of old childhood Christmas joys with Amy ...oh and Vince will be there too.

But let's be honest...everyone is there for Amy.

Mug from above

Coffee is crucial in the morning. In the summer months this nectar of the gods provides caffeine...but in the winter it has a dual purpose.
Warmth and Energy.
I took a hiatus from coffee for a month or two...just because I'm lazy. But now that its -30 when I wake up in the morning, coffee has made its way back into my life.

The dilema with coffee is the travler mug.

For those that have the perfect traveler you would not understand the difficulty that comes from having a bad traveler. It's like taking a newborn to a movie...just not worth it in the end. So it is with bad travel mug. The only one we have in our house is one of the short pudgy ones. I have the Danny DeVito of coffee mugs (compared to the ideal tall, skinny travler...aka Heidi Klum). Now let me explain why the DeVito mug looks cute..but fails miserably!
1. Too fat to fit in cup holders. This COMPLETELY null and voids the purpose of a traveler. Instead of being hands free I have to either drive with one hand or master the art of driving with it in between my legs. (This never ends well)
This leads me to number 2....
Devito Mug is not air tight. Nope. When this thing tips over (see #1) coffee goes everywhere. You might as well take the lid off and just pour it on the floor- exact same end result.
These are the main reasons I gave up coffee. I'm too lazy and the effort to enjoy it in the car wasn't worth it! Also, I was way to cheap to go buy a new one and I hadn't seen the Ideal Traveler. I wasn't going to drop $20 bucks on another "accident waiting to happen". So I just gave up.

That is until the "Mug from Above."
I came home the other week and there was a stainless steel coffee traveler sitting in my drive way. You could say it looked like it was waiting for someone. (Me? I asked) I racked my brain for who's it could be....none of my family drinks coffee. No one had been at the house (that I knew of) for a couple days. And yet this Perfect traveler sat in the driveway. Could it have been forgotten....travesty. Or possibly a gift....I like that idea. Well, honestly either way I was going to take it. It looked perfectly clean...no left over coffee inside(thankfully!) I took it as a present from above. The Lord knew it was going to be getting cold soon...so he left me a mug :)
I did't realize "Mug from Above"'s full potential until our first experience together. This miracle mug is completely spill proof. I could launch that sucker into the air and not spill a drop! Also, I press a button to trigger the mouth to open so there is no whops I left the mouth open now my coffee is freezing...or spilled. And the most impressive thing....I brewed this coffee at 7:30 this morning. Didn't drink all of it....decided to see if it's still decent.
2 PM...Coffee is STILL WARM! Impressive!
This mug will make these winter months so much more bareable...and accident proof. So thank-you mysterious mug giver... I appreciate it!

I...

I Am: looking forward to the Holidays and eating way too much!
I Have: a new job, which is amazing
I Think: too much sometimes
I Know: that I am destined for greatness. But I forget my potential sometimes.
I Dislike: collard greens...and easily offended people
I Miss: the care-free days of college
I Fear: failure
I Feel: tired, excited, happy, scared, joyful, and especially cold.
I Want: to succeed
I Smell: fall in everything.
I Crave: chocolate. Or ice cream would be awesome too!
I Cry: rarely. And when I do it usually sneaks up on me
I Usually: wonder where the weekend went
I Search: for something good in everyone.
I Wonder: if I'll realize when I'm doing exactly what I was called to do. Will it hit me and be like " Oh THIS IS IT!"
I Care: about what people think way to much
I Love: laughing with friends and family more than anything!
I Regret: having not clung to every moment in highschool and college.
I Always: want to make wonderful memories
I Worry: way too much
I Am Not: perfect
I Remember: when my biggest worry was the spelling test on Friday.
I Dance: in the car and in front of the mirror...a lot.
I Don't Always: think before I speak
I Write: because I don't understand until I've written my thoughts out.
I Win: all the time! Unless I'm playing my brother Mitchell.
I Wish: poverty didn't exist
I Argue: very rarely
I Listen: to country because I love the stories the lyrics tell
I Lose: my purpose in life's business
I Don't Understand: why people would believe there isn't a God.
I Can Usually Be Found: in the bathtub. I love water and I love being warm!
I Am Scared: of being chased. Therefore, I usually hate Hide N' Go Seek
I Need: to learn to trust
I Forget: things a lot. I use sticky notes
I Am: excited about these new stages in my life and where they will take me!

Flu Season

I hate throwing up. Hate, Hate, HATE IT! Thankfully, this is only a miserable experience I go through every 7 years. However, whenever Flue season comes around I get scared. If someone near me is even thinking about being nausiated, I wear a face mask and stear clear. My roomate was sick last year....I wouldn't even go in her room. I love taking care of people when they are sick, but I have no tolerance for vomit.

Why? Because when I throw up I pass out. Yup. That's right. The gag reflex makes me black out. Unconscious. Its not fun. I discovered this in highschool when the morning of homecoming I got sick and kept waking up on the floor by the toilet. This resulted in a huge headache and since the I have learned to pad the floor near the tub and toilet with towels.

Why on earth am I talking about this?? Because it's Flu season and I'm getting scared. The intern who works with me has felt awful all day...nauseous. She said her roomate has been throwing up the past 3 days!! My reaction: oh...go HOME! If you don't feel good you really should get some rest. Don't worry about work...it'll be fine. (This all said as I back away from her)

Seriously, I avoid sickness at all possible. At lunch, I went out and bought Purell to soak my hands in the rest of the day. If I could get my hands on some Lyscol spray....our storage room would be a fog of disinfectant. I keep thinking of where the germs might be. Ugh...on my keys. Can't rub that down in Purell. OH...the doorknob is definately contamiated! So I've been walking around all day trying not to touch anything with my hands (elbows can be used for a lot!)

However, this reminded me of my all time worst/funniest sick story. So I felt like those who don't already know it..would love it!
Let me set the stage: May of last year....end of semester test are coming up....and I've just started dating Will. (We're talking like just over a month...still fresh.)

So, I wake up one morning feeling very nausiated. End up passed out on the floor in my bathroom. I crawl out of my bathroom and throw a shoe at Natalie's door (roomate) in hopes that she's awake. Not likely...its 6:00 A.M. and she sleeps HARD.


NAAATTTTAAAAALLLLIIIIEEEE is my sick call.

She comes and takes care of me for a little bit, but keeps her distance. She calls Will because she has to go take a test and my "NEW" boyfriend comes over to see his girlfriend curled up, fetal position, on the floor with the chance of throwing up again very likely. He was awesome and took great care of me.
Now fast forward...
I warned him I passed out when I throw up but after having been sick 5 times already...I figure I'm done, so not much of a threat anymore.

Wrong.

I'm laying in the bed in my sweats while he studies German. Suddenly I get a hot flash...(menapause?? really?) so I get up the energy to go to the bathroom and put on some shorts. I let Will know he doesn't need to check on me because I'm not that sick anymore. So wrong. I get in the bathroom and get the sweat pants off. As soon as they clear my ankles I feel another wave of nausea. Oh man...not good. I knock over a glass on the way to to toilet and it shatters. Immediately Will is at the door screaming for me. I, irritated at my clumsiness, tell him I'm fine. (this is while I'm hanging over the toilet waiting for the wave to pass.) You know where this is going....Yup, gag reflex....blackout.
Next thing I remember is Will is calling my name and I feel him pulling me by my arms out from between the tub and the toilet.

I was mortified! Oh my gosh did I pass out in my sickness!??

He chuckled....No. But you are in your underwear.

UGH!!! REALLY!!!! More embarassment. This is just ridiculous!

He then sweetly asks (after propping me up against the wall) if I want him to leave. I shake my head embarrassed and ask if he could just hand me my pants and put me back in my bed.

I give him props for not running for the hills. Girl passed out in the bathroom in her underwear isn't really a good start to a relationship. But he stuck around....and 20 minutes later when he found me again passed out in the bathroom he even chuckled a little bit.
And this is why for the next 4 months Airborn and Purell are gonna be my best friends!

Like your snakes

I often wonder if people act the same way when they were kids. You, but just in a mini version. My mother told me a story the other day that I feel like best sums me up as a person, and after my mother told me this story I am certain now that, at least with me, not much has changed.

Apparently when I was little my mother said I was full of questions and was a very observant 3 year old. Hmm…sound familiar. Also, she remembers that I would say whatever it was I was thinking…good, bad.inappropriate (ha of course). It didn’t matter; if I thought it, I found it necessary to let everyone know. Years ago someone said that my mental filter was broken.

this is proof that I probably never had one.


Well I was about three and my mother took me to a McDonald’s and while she was ordering she set me up on the counter. However, much to her chagrin she noticed that the guy taking our order had some intense tattoos. His tattoo was of a giant snake going up and down both of his arms…in perfect sight for her chatter-box three year old to notice. I just laugh envisioning my mom noticing last minute and realizing her mistake moments to late to prevent me from seeing these impressive displays of artwork. She tried to order as quick as possible because knowing her inquisitive child, I would probably say something extremely embarrassing if I noticed the tattoos.


Umm...Quarter Pounder and uh, kids meal ...quick. (Nervous glances towards me)


“Would you like cheese?”


“Cheese.....yeah sure.” (More nervous drumming of the finger nails. Eyes darting between the snakes and me quietly observing the slithering artwork.)


“Anything to drink ma’am?”


“Yah that’s fine...how much?” (Receipts go flying as my mother rummages for money as quick as possible)


I stayed quiet the whole time. Impressive right? As my mom picked me off the counter to go sit and eat she probably closed her eyes in relief that I had kept my mouth shut. However, we all know this story doesn’t end with me remaining quiet.

As she picked me up to leave, impressed at my silence, she says that I simply looked up at the guy and very matter-of-factly said…


“Like your snakes.”


With that my mother whisked me away to finish my kid’s meal and hope that my happy meal toy would distract me from further questioning the tattoos.

It could have been a lot worse…


And thankfully my taste in tatoos has changed since then.

Close but no cigar

Fall weather is here.

My favorite running weather.

Came home from work....

got the shoes laced up....

Appropriate running spandex were on.

IPOD....check.

started stretchin....

weather was perfect.

I was ready for a great run.

but instead...

I baked a pie.

sigh. maybe tomorrow.