O Canada...and a little bit of Seattle!

Well - I'm back again - this is getting serious, three times in one week. I've had kind of a stressful day thus far so I'm hoping blogging will help with a little of the stress. So, without further ado, back to the vacation.

Port Angeles, Washington

Lindsey & I took the ferry, called the Coho across the Strait of Juan de Fuca from the town of Port Angeles Washington to Victoria British Columbia. Before we even boarded the ferry, we had a moment of slight panic - nothing major but I know we both freaked out a little bit. Our turn to flash our passports came up & the guy took a look at mine & said "Your passport is not valid." Lindsey was in front of me & she came to a dead stop & spun around - I was completely confused because I had only just gotten the passport, how was it not valid? He then said "You just need to sign it at the bottom before you get to Canada, that's all." I mean, do you have to give us a heart attack?? Geez. The boat we went on was absolutely huge - but I don't think I really gathered how huge until we came back. On the way to Victoria there were several cars on the ferry, but when we boarded to go back to Washington there were 2 18 wheelers on board - along with several RV's & cars.  It was a big ol boat. We were only going 22 miles, but it took about an hour and a half to get from one place to the next. It was a nice ride though, just a little bit of rocking along before Canada came into view & we made out way into the harbor.

The Coho - anchored at the Inner Harbor of Victoria

I've never been out of the country before - Canada isn't actually that different from the United States though. Certainly, the money is colorful & they have a coin for their $1 & $2 & yes, they actually do say "Eh", which just cracked Lindsey & I up...but it isn't that different. We stayed at a pretty great Bed & Breakfast called the Rosewood Inn; they had a 3 course breakfast every morning & we stayed in the Magnolia Suite - pretty good for 2 girls from Mississippi. I'm going to take a small detour because the night we arrived in Canada, we went to see The Hunger Games in Imax! Awesome! I should have been telling Lindsey this:

Seriously - she was too excited. Of course, so was I.



I'm not going to lie, seeing The Hunger Games was a big part of our trip. We were so excited to get to Canada because we knew that we'd be going to see The Hunger Games mere hours after we arrived. Getting from our B&B to the theater took a little figuring out, but we got there & saw the movie & it was incredible. I could write a whole post on The Hunger Games & maybe I will later, but for now I'll get back to the vacation. We slept & then enjoyed the first breakfast at our B&B before setting out to find Hatley Castle. Hatley Castle was certainly more of interest to me than it was to Lindsey, but she hopped onto the city bus & humored me by going along. Hatley Castle served as Lex Luthor's mansion on "Smallville" for the ten years it had it's run on television. It took a little while to figure out our way around & get there, but we did. And I was thrilled! :)

The Luthor Mansion & Me...

The Luthor Mansion as it appeared on the show.

After we'd explored the Castle, we walked back to the bus stop & went back into down town. We ate lunch at a place called The Stickey Wicket - anyone know what a wicket is?* It started to rain, as we were warned it might do since Victoria is still considered part of that temperate rain forest, so we bought 2 umbrellas at the drugstore across the street & began our journey to Craigdarroch Castle. Our waitress had told us it was about 8 blocks. Well, I think they define blocks differently in Canada because I think we walked about the equivalent of 18 blocks...mostly uphill. Thankfully it quit raining after just a bit, so we wandered along in the weak sunshine. The thing about the castle is that is sits on a hill, so we'd think we were close to it...only to round a little bit of a curve & see it disappear again. We finally made it to the castle & explored all 4 floors & probably about 50 rooms. Lindsey was intent on reading every single plaque on the wall, so I just wandered along with her & made comments along the way. It was pretty fascinating & what was more interesting was the son who grew up in Cragidarroch Castle went on the build Hatley Castle to show all of Victoria that his family was wealthy & has always been that way & would continue to be that way. I preferred Hatley to Craigdarroch, Lindsey preferred Craigdarroch to Hatley - go figure.

Miss Priss with the Castle...

We were so thoroughly worn out after our first full day in Victoria, once we trooped the 18 blocks back into downtown we explored Thunderbird Park & ate supper at the Spaghetti Factory before we wearily crawled into bed at the Inn. We decided the next day to rent a car because we wanted to go to Butchart Gardens & we'd been told that riding the bus took about an hour & the bus only came/went every couple hours. So, with map in hand we drove our rental car off the lot & headed out for adventure. We found Butchart Gardens almost too easily - but let me detour a minute & tell you that Canadians like to drive very slow. I tend to have a bit of a lead foot, so this was a problem for me. We were cruising down the highway (I guess it's not an interstate highway if you aren't in the States...ha-ha) and the speed limit said 80 kmh. Did you know that 80 kilometres is about equal to 50 miles? So the max speed limit was essentially 50 miles per hour. I felt like I was crawling! We got there all the same & I managed not to get pulled over for speeding, even though I did keep having to check myself - but let me get back on track. Butchart Gardens has been "in bloom" for over 100 years. It is gorgeous, even in the rain - which yes, it was raining when we were there. We helped ourselves to the clear umbrellas they provided & explored anyway. It was beautiful & well worth the drive.

This picture is from the greenhouse...the rest are outside.

Lindsey & I thoroughly enjoyed wandering through the gardens, even in the drizzle. We found a Cajun restaurant in Brentwood Bay, which was near the gardens. We were thrilled & a little surprised to find Cajun food in Victoria, but someone pointed out to me later that Cajun people often have French influence & since Canadians also have French influence that might have been the uniting factor. Whatever the reason, we were glad to have some good home cooking for lunch that day before we ventured back into the city. We explored some parks in downtown for the afternoon before stopping in at the Fisherman's Wharf to get supper at Barb's Seafood. I had to take a picture on the wharf because of all the house boats; I thought they were so neat, now that I think back I also wish I'd taken a picture of the paddle up windows at the restaurants on the wharf.

Fisherman's Wharf

Lindsey & I got up the next day to catch the ferry back to Washington - this time the ride was a little more choppy, but still not so bad. All too soon we were back in the States & at the wheel of the car, winding our way along the coastline to Seattle. Before we move on to Seattle, I have a couple more pictures of Victoria.

Inner Harbor

The Fairmont Empress Hotel

The Houses of Legislature



Lindsey & I thought we'd just be driving right on into Seattle, but we saw on our GPS that the next stop on the route was to board the ferry. We were a little confused, but soon enough the road we were on came to an abrupt end, the only option being that you boarded a ferry to take you across the Puget Sound & further our destination. We just went right along & before we knew it we were back on land & cruising into downtown Seattle. We stayed downtown the night we were there, we were mere steps from the Pike Place Market which was really neat! It was so windy the evening we arrived in Seattle, the wind felt like it was trying to physically tear your hair off your head. We sought refuge in the Hard Rock Cafe & ate some supper. We had an early night so we'd be ready to explore the Pike Place Market the next day.

The Pike Place Market has been located on the waterfront of Seattle since it was first opened in 1907. It is nine acres of shops selling anything & everything you can imagine but is certainly famous for the fishmongers that spend the days tossing fish as well as the beautiful flowers that go on for miles & the fruits & veggies that are everywhere you look. Lindsey & I watched the fishmongers toss a 21 pound halibut like it was nothing & sampled some famous Washington apples from a fruit vendor. The Pike Place Market is also home to the first Starbucks, so of course we joined the line of people waiting for coffee so we could say that we'd had coffee at the first Starbucks. If you're interested, I got a white chocolate mocha & Lindsey got a chai latte. After a delicious lunch at the Pink Door, we explored a bit more of the market & then headed back to the B&B to pack up. We were headed to a hotel near the airport, but first we had a date with the Space Needle.

The famous Pike Place Market

Flowers everywhere!

The Pig!

Fishmongers!

I am - as previously mentioned - not a fan of heights. I wasn't entirely sure how I was going to handle going to the top of the Space Needle, much less staying at the top for an extended period of time to eat supper. I mustered all my courage though & up we went. I'm certainly glad I did because we had an awesome time eating at Sky City, the rotating restaurant at the top of the Needle. We both started our meal with some soup; I had cream of potato & leek, Lindsey had clam chowder. I had prosciutto wrapped chicken with potatoes for supper while Lindsey had...well, I can't completely remember. Oops. Salmon! She had salmon with potatoes & some asparagus maybe? I know she had salmon. We both got dessert, she had the apple cobbler while I had the Lunar Orbiter - which was a glorified ice cream sundae but had dry ice surrounding it for a cool smoking effect. The Lunar Orbiter was the premiere dessert when the Space Needle's restaurant premiered at the World's Fair in 1960. After our awesome meal, we headed towards our hotel at the airport.

I conquered the Space Needle!

My flight left at 8 in the morning, Lindsey's flight didn't leave until 10. I am always restless before I fly, so I finally just got up at 5:45, got ready & went down to eat breakfast before catching the shuttle to the airport. I gave Lindsey a sleepy hug before I left; she was still in the bed & I'm sure she stayed right there dead to the world until about 8:15. I was already airborne by then. I had a small hiccup at security; the rocks from Rialto Beach were a little odd & so they had to search my carry-on bag. Thankfully rocks aren't considered weapons so I was allowed to hang on to my free souvenir & climb onto the plane. The flights home weren't bad, although they were a little bit bumpier than the flights heading out to the Pacific Northwest. Because of the crazy time zones, I left Seattle at 8:10, was on a plane for 4 hours & arrived in Atlanta at almost 4 in the afternoon. By the time I finally got back to Meridian, it was 7:45 at night & I felt like I'd wasted almost a whole day, but I guess that is how it goes with flying sometimes.

I had a blast exploring the Pacific Northwest & would tell anyone to go - just be sure you have rain boots & an umbrella handy. You can't let rain stop you from having fun. :)

Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head

Let me preface this by telling you that I think I'll only cover Portland & Forks in this post - if I were to blog about the entire vacation in one post, no one would read it (but maybe my Momma) because it would be too long. That being said...here we go!

Airborne....and medicated!



I was completely spastic about this flight because it takes five and a half hours to get from Atlanta to Seattle. I'm not so friendly with airplanes until I've been medicated, but once I have those pills - things are good to go. As you can see in the picture above, I'm on a plane & I'm completely cool with it. Only because of drugs. Both of my flights were smooth & I had a little TV set in the headrest in front of me as well as a book & a magazine to distract me - plus, I had a window seat & I spent a lot of time peering out the window to see what I could see. Terrified of heights & flying, but give me those pills & all I can do is look out the window to see how high up we are & see how tiny everything looks from 5,000 feet. Go figure.

Seattle at night....so pretty at sunset!



I didn't have any complications getting to Seattle, getting my luggage & getting to the hotel. Unfortunately Lindsey got a little delayed, but by about 11:30 (Seattle time - which felt like about 1:30 to me) we were reunited. There was not a lot of conversation - we had both had long days, so we hugged a lot & crashed. We had big plans to get to Portland the next day as quick as we could - we were ready to explore & knew we didn't have much time. Also - we were going to see Dee, one of my sweet best friends that I've known since I was about 10 but hadn't seen in over 2 years! Lindsey & I had about a 2 hour car ride to get all caught up & discuss important things, so we took care of all that. Portland was really a neat place - we found Dee & her husband Chris lickety split & we were off to get some lunch. We went to a place that Lindsey & I thought was absolutely awesome. It was this big open area with tables set out & parked around the tables on 3 sides were food trucks selling all kinds of things. There was a truck called Burgatroyd that sold tons of different burgers (I'll get back to this in a minute) a truck that sold waffles; I'm talking waffle sandwiches, waffles with fruit, waffles with bacon...Lindsey & I were torn after we saw the waffle truck. There was a truck that sold Oriental food - some kind of Kim chi burritos & all that jazz (not my cup of tea, but Dee & Chris were digging in) and there was a truck that had down home Southern cooking - straight from Vicksburg Mississippi! Lindsey & I both decided on Burgatroyd - everything just sounded way too delicious but we went with a good ol burger. Lindsey got a burger that had pineapple & all kinds of other goodness (I honestly don't remember) & I got a burger that had barbecue sauce, onion rings & Swiss cheese. They were both divine.

Chowing down on some of Portland's finest!

Just a few of the food trucks...and Dee!

Dee & Chris were awesome to spend the day with - they've lived in Portland for about 3 years now & they knew the perfect spots to take us & just the right sights to show us. They took us in some quirky shops near their apartment; we went in a store that sold nothing but light bulbs & it was big enough that you could get lost in all the aisles of bulbs: pink, blue, green, red, patterned, night lights of all kinds. They showed us 2 houses made of completely recycled materials. Chris took over the driving (thank the Lord) and they took us all over town. We went to the top of a big hill to see the Pittock Mansion which offered some amazing views of the city of Portland. Dee summed up the Pittock Mansion by telling us that the Pittocks were the wealthiest people in early Portland & so they built their mansion on a hill so they could look down on all the peons in Portland. That was a good enough description for me - Lindsey read the plaques though, maybe she could tell you more. :) They took us around the quirkier communities in town, we got Bubble Tea & bought chocolates at Moonstruck Chocolates & then we ventured down the the Willamette River & wandered around a bit, before eating supper at a place called Harvey's in Portland - it was delicious - and then we explored Powell's Books - the worlds largest bookstore. You know how you see commercial that say "there's an app for that"?? Well Powell's Books - there's an app for that.

Portland - and Mt. Hood from the Pittock Mansion

Lindsey & I took Dee, Chris & Goob (their cat) to the hotel they were staying at for the night - they moved to North Caroline the day after we visited, so they had a final hurrah with us - and then we went to our hotel. We stayed at The Kennedy School, which I had found online & Dee had also suggested to me. It was an elementary school in the early 1900's and once they closed it in the 1970's, McMenamins bought the place & converted it into a hotel! It was certainly one of the more unique places I've ever stayed before. Detention was a cigar bar, the Honors room was also a bar (apparently you get to party whether you've been bad or good) and the old auditorium has been converted into a movie theater & if you're staying at the hotel you get into the movies for free. The gym was turned into a banquet area & all the classrooms are now guest rooms, still complete with chalk boards for your writing, drawing & doodling pleasure. Lindsey & I weren't actually there for very long, but we did manage to explore the place pretty thoroughly before we set out on our drive the next day.

I've already finished the Spring Reading List...have you?

I said at the beginning that I'd talk about Portland & Forks, but I totally forgot that we stopped off in Astoria on the way between the two! I'm not sure how I forgot about Astoria because it was absolutely beautiful. Astoria is on the coast of Oregon & a friend of Lindsey's had recommended it to us, so we decided to stop in, which was an excellent decision. The views were amazing & we ate at this little cafe that was so wonderful - it was one of those hole in the wall places that you'd never think to stop into (thank you Fodor's travel guide for the suggestion) but once you were there, you knew it was going to be good. They served this freshly made bread with garlic, jalapeno & chili pepper jams, which might not sound so good, but trust me when I say it was delicious. They had crepes, which Lindsey & I both had - I got green apple & Lindsey got fruit compote - they were great. There was this very cute guy sitting at the counter by us & he was telling us all about how good the sturgeon grilled cheese was. Sadly, he left before I could try to sneak him into a picture. I'm not so sure about that grilled cheese, but he was very yummy. Ha-ha! After we ate, we drove to the top of Coxcomb Hill where the Astoria Column is located. The Astoria Column was built in 1911 & you climb up about 100+ steps to the top for panoramic views - Lindsey climbed to the top, I didn't. I don't do heights if you'll remember. Plus, the views at the base of the column were pretty spectacular as it was.

Beautiful - right?

Once we left Astoria, we had about a 3 hour drive to Forks but the scenery was so completely fascinating. There was rugged coast for a little while but before long it turned into amazingly dense forest with more green than I've ever seen in my life but later while the green & forests remained we reaches the Pacific Ocean & we had forest on one side & the coastline on the other. We went through all these sleepy little towns that were named for Indian tribes, most of them looked like they'd been there for years. After 3 hours we were rewarded with an awesome sign as we rounded the corner & came out of the dense forest: Forks!

OK - now where is Edward Cullen?

I will preface the next part of this entry by telling you that I am a Twilight geek. I will confess to it. So is my sister - so we definitely had quite a few moments over the next 48 hours. Our Mom had found a place called The Cullen House that was a B&B that supposedly matched almost perfectly the description that Stephanie Meyers gives of the Cullen home in "Twilight". We were so thrilled with the house - the couple that run the place just had so much of the house perfectly detailed with parts of the book that we were have little freak outs pretty consistently for the first hour that we arrived in Forks. The couple that owned the house are used to that though, they just went right along with us.

The Cullen House & just one example of their attention to detail.

Lindsey & I spent the next day exploring the beaches of La Push, looking around the Quileute Reservation & exploring the town of Forks. They have locations from the books mapped out all over town & they're pretty easy to find because Forks is basically a 2 stoplight town - it really is kind of a hole in the wall, but it was an awesome hole in the wall. We had numerous moments of pure geek out seeing all the sights that are mentioned in the book. The story of Forks is really pretty fascinating in & of itself - the town is a logging town but was really almost on the point of collapse when Stephanie Meyer decided to set her books in the town of Forks. Since the book was published on October 5, 2005 the town has seen a seriously dramatic upswing in tourists & now has tourism to thank as it's number one source of income - people come from quite literally all over the globe to visit this little 2 stoplight town that is the setting for their favorite books. Its amazing. I took a picture of the United States map in the Chamber of Commerce; it is covered in pins...I mean, pins everywhere. The girl at the Chamber of Commerce told us that before Twilight came out, the board averaged about 25-30 pins a year. Insane. There is also a map of the world & it has just as many if not more pins on it.

So. Many. Pins.

The beaches were so gorgeous - completely different from the sandy, bright aqua beaches that I was used to seeing but absolutely amazing in their own way. We hiked to Second Beach & let me tell you, they make you work for your beach experience in Washington - we walked through a forest so dense that once you stepped onto the trail & walked a few steps, it was like the world outside the forest disappeared. We were enveloped in greenery, the sound of birds & the gentle pitter patter of raindrops falling onto the canopy of leaves above our heads; and yes, it rained. A lot. The Pacific Northwest, where Forks is located specifically is a temperate rain forest & Forks gets on average 10 feet of rain a year. When we were there, it was late March & they'd already gotten over 7 feet of rain. Once we emerged from the forest & onto the beach, we had to climb over & around numerous fallen pieces of driftwood that littered the edge of the forest, but from there it was nothing but dark sand, huge rock formations & crashing waves. The tide was out, so we tried to look for tide pools but it was a little difficult - it was raining so hard it was almost coming down sideways & it was only about 50 degrees outside. We wandered the beach for a good 20 minutes taking pictures, hopping around in the sand & surf & then we headed for the shelter of the trees. We drove to First Beach, which was much like Second Beach & then headed for Rialto Beach, which we explored since the rain had let up. There were more rock formations - also called sea stacks - but the beach was covered in not sand, but millions of gorgeous, smooth polished stones. We collected some for our pockets, took pictures, dodged the waves & headed for the car. I took quite a few pictures...here are just a couple...the first two are from Second Beach & the second two are from Rialto Beach.

So gorgeous!



The people of Forks & La Push have really embraced the whole Twilight craze. Lindsey & I ate at a restaurant called Sullys, which was just your run of the mill burger joint but they offered something called the Bella Burger, which had Swiss cheese & was served with fangs. The local grocery store/outdoor store sells name tags that say Bella S & they often page Bella Swan over the loudspeaker. It is a pretty neat thing that people have just taken it all in stride & added a little bit of Twilight to their every day life. I couldn't see spending an extended period of time in Forks - but I told Lindsey that it would really be nice to have a little house there & be able to spend about 5 days just relaxing, walking the beach & exploring tide pools, watching the rain & just taking a time out. If you happen to be a fan of Twilight, Forks is most certainly a place you want to go.

The Vampire Threat...high, but not dangerous

Bill & Susan - they work for the Cullens. :)

Jacob Black's house

I'm going to end this post - Lindsey & I ventured on to Victoria & Seattle, but this post is already so long, so I'll leave that story for another day...soon.

Just Playing Games

I am seriously a bad blogger - I knew it had been awhile, but I can't believe I haven't written anything since February. I'm trying to decide what made March so hectic, but I really can't remember. Granted I was on vacation the last 10 days of March but besides that I'm pretty sure I was up to a whole lot of nothing. I mean - if you consider working 8-5 Monday through Friday nothing...then yep, there you go.

March - I'm looking back at my calendar & I just don't see that much of excitement; I guess March was kind of slow & so maybe that is why I didn't write. I know when I ended my last blog post I mentioned March coming in like a lion & it certainly did. On Friday March 2nd, everyone was worried about the weather getting bad & of course, so was I. I tend to worry about the weather far more than is healthy, but I suppose that is just one of the joys of being me. The weather never really got too bad; but for some wild reason the power went off at around 6:15 on that Friday night & so the challenge became trying to find something to do in the dark. My house gets REALLY dark when the power goes out. I mean - it is pitch black. I was pretty proud of myself though, I very calmly went around the house with my one candle & closed the windows I had open before I blew out my little candle & walked across the very dark yard to visit my Grandma. My dog is obviously just as paranoid about bad weather as I am, because he followed right on my heels all through the dark house; it is really a miracle I didn't step on him. I know I was far too excited when the power came back on at 11:15 - I didn't really want to spend the night in my pitch black house all alone; which is silly since I actually do that every night, but there is some kind of security in knowing you can flip a switch & illuminate the whole house. I was really glad to get in my own bed & go to sleep as the rain faded away into the night. We were blessed though - the weather did get bad in other areas, but we were spared & that is something I'm always thankful for.

I really don't remember much worth mentioning happening in March. I went out with my best friend a couple times; I gave him my copy of Catching Fire after he consumed The Hunger Games in about a day. I knew once he got ahold of them there would be no stopping him from devouring them. Since there was still a week until the movie version of The Hunger Games came out & we needed something to do, so we rented the movie 50/50. Now, don't get me wrong - the movie was good, it really was. But...oh geez. Let me preface this a little bit. The movie is about a guy that gets cancer & how he deals with it. The movie is billed as a comedic look at cancer, but I don't really know if  you can make cancer funny - but they certainly tried. David kept saying "Why did we rent this? It's depressing!" but I was a whole other story. There were moments when it was funny, but then the next minute I would be crying like a crazy person. I was laying on the couch & I finally had to sit up because the tears were running down my face & neck & it was just getting irritating. I guess I must have really been getting pretty upset because Watson even came into the living room & crawled up on the couch beside me. David told me that I obviously needed to calm down because I was even stressing out the dog. Oh well - sorry for being too emotional. :) It was a good movie though - rent it if you feel like a good laugh...and then a good cry...and then some more laughter...and then crying.

Let me get to the title of the post though - please, someone tell me that they feel like they are just playing at being a grown-up? Do you remember in Kindergarten that they had all these play stations that you went to & one was a house? I remember pretending to be the Momma & washing dishes, rocking my baby doll...even telling my little "husband" to have a good day at work & all that. Now, even though I'm 27 & I've lived in my own house for almost a year now there are still times when I feel like I'm just playing house. I had a moment like this on Saturday - I was rinsing out the sink & putting up dishes & it was just this really strange thought of "this is YOUR house, YOUR sink...all of this is where you live". I can't really explain the feeling but I have it every now & then & it just completely invades my thoughts for the rest of the day. Another thought that invades my head is how much easier it was to pretend to be an adult than it is to actually be an adult. Of course that is another topic for a whole other day...

I'll blog about my awesome vacation with Lindsey here soon, maybe even this afternoon if I get the chance. There will certainly be some laughs with that one because the two of us can't get together without some kind of hilarity - that is for sure. So, hope you enjoyed the small update for now. I'll write again soon.

February: Faith, Friends, Family & Funny Babies

Wow - how is February almost gone? I feel like this month just started & already it is about to take a bow & we'll move right on into March. I guess February went by so fast for me because I was busy having fun; you know what they say about the way time moves when you're having fun, right? Because it flies! Anyway, I don't have a real point to this post, it is mostly just about getting caught up with my life - maybe with some amusing anecdote's in the mix. So...here we go!

I started off my February with DiscipleNow weekend. I always feel the need to brace myself for this weekend because I am such a big fan of sleeping & that is just not a luxury you are really afforded on a DNow weekend. I'm sure I got more sleep than most people; the past 4 years I've been with the same group of girls & they seem to value sleep as much as I do. Smart girls really, quite brilliant. The theme was Comm:Unity & was all about establishing relationships with people - you must first have an intimate relationship with Jesus so that you can begin to build those intimate, lasting relationships with other people; the kind of relationships where you can discuss your faith openly & truly be accountable to one another as Christian brothers & sisters. The whole weekend really had me thinking, but on Saturday night the speaker (who's name I cannot remember...all I know is he spoke so fast my head wanted to spin) put a familiar verse in a way that I've never thought of before. Check this out - put your name everywhere the word Love is; or where my name is:

  Natalie is patient and kind. Natalie is not jealous or boastful or proud  or rude. Natalie does not demand her own way. Natalie is not irritable, and keeps no record of being wronged.  Natalie does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Natalie never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

The speaker talked with us about how we should use that verse to evaluate how we acted in our daily relationships - and let me tell you, I fall short. Sometimes I can be kind, I try not to be rude...but when I really start looking at the other things - There are days when I can't wait to tell anyone who will listen how I was wronged. And don't even get me started on that last line because there are so many days when all I want to do is give up because the faith & hope I have are completely drained because of my circumstances. Thank goodness I have a Savior that is always faithful, a Savior that never gives up on me, no matter the circumstances that I am in. He is always with me, always. So, I keep the words of the speaker with me & try to work on being the person in the verses above - so I can build relationships with others.

I absolutely loved me girls - there were only 3 of them; my trio of trouble. Which was so far from the truth, but I just liked calling them that. They are each one such a special woman of God & I was so blessed to spend time with each one of them, even if just for a short, sleep deprived weekend.

Senior Girls & Me!

Thankfully I recovered from DNow throughout the next week, because the second weekend in February brought a visit from two of my favorite people - Kristen & Lisa! Two of my sweet friends from Jackson! I've known Kristen since Jr. college when we were in chorus at MCC, we even managed to live with one another for 2 years while we were at Southern & came out on the other side better friends than when we started! I met Lisa through Kristen/the BSU at Southern & was immediately into her & her crazy, infectious personality. I'm so blessed to have them both in my life & call them my friends. We all have crazy schedules - I think they may have the crazier schedules than myself, but we managed to find a weekend when we were all free & so they came to spend some time with me. We had a blast just catching up with one another, eating junk food (actually not that much junk food) & watching a girly movie. Lisa & I introduced Kristen to the awesomeness that is the show "Once Upon A Time" & we might have created a fan. We spent Saturday poking around some shops, eating at Cater's Market & seeing the movie "The Vow". It was so much fun & I can't wait till we can all get together again.

This cereal had flakes...like us, ha-ha

Valentine's Day - or Singles Awareness Day as I like to call it, came without incident or thrill. I'm sure for so many people in the world, it is such a wonderful day to celebrate the love you have for your significant other but I'm always acutely aware of how very single I am on Valentine's Day. My wonderfully sweet parents sent me a fat padded envelope full of wonderful things & I even got a surprise at work - so it certainly wasn't a bad day. I'm just waiting for that extra special Valentine's Day, that is bound to come someday.

Not bad for a single girl....

My wonderful Mom came to visit me on February 15th - so glad to see her. I'm not even gonna lie. I'm doing pretty good with this whole living on my own thing, but it sure was nice to have a Momma to be sweet & take care of me for a few days. We did all sorts of things - went shopping, went to see "This Means War", bought groceries, got a pedicure, ate out (a lot) & just spent time chilling. All of those things were awesome but it was the little things that were nice too, like watching "Castle" with her on Monday night & being amazed or surprised (or shell-shocked, because the promo said we'd be left shell-shocked) with her, instead of having to wait for her delayed reaction via text message. I think one of her favorite parts of the whole visit was getting to see the sweet babies in the nursery & see how much they have changed. She just loved & cuddled on them as much as she could - it's very apparent where I get my love of little kids.

Mom & some of her new (old) friends.

The last thing I really want to write about is all the precious, adorable, funny babies that I work with on Sunday mornings & Sunday nights at my church. Being the nursery coordinator can be insanely stressful sometimes, but spending time with all the sweet little ones in the nursery usually makes up for the stress. I have heard some of the funniest things from some of the sweethearts in the nursery & I thought I'd share them. The first funny that I have is from a sweet little girl - every week when she gets to church, she asks over & over again "Where babies?" She is so set on having a baby to play with & even when you ask her other questions, she just looks at you like you're crazy & asks you again "Where babies?" I love it! :)

Another funny came from a two year old on Sunday morning. We were talking to the kids about what their favorite fruits & vegetables were & one little girl kept quietly whispering something to herself. I finally pried the answer out of her & when I asked what she liked, she said "I like chocolate". That is a child after my own heart - forget grapes or carrots, bring on the chocolate!

Lastly, a few weeks ago a little girl was telling me what her whole name was - she told me she was using her "all 3 names" & rattled off her first, middle & last name. Then she scooted close to me & whispered ominously "when Mommy uses my all 3 names, it means that I'm in twouble." Hahahaha! I love little kids. They can be brutally honest & incredibly endearing all at the same time.

I suppose that is all for now. Can't wait to see what March has in store, although if this crazy weather is any indication it is going to come in more like a lion than a lamb. Oh well, bring it on!

Broken Pieces

So - this post will probably be short & sweet, but it definitely has a point. I'm a firm believer that the Lord can use anything & everything as a means to speak to a person. This morning I was listening to my Adam Lambert CD (let me assure, the last place I thought I'd get some kind of deep thought) & I was listening to a song called Broken Pieces. The lyrics of the song just really began to stand out to me & as I listened to them, I was so humbled & amazed by the love that Jesus Christ has for us. Let me write some of them here & maybe you'll see what I mean.

-Broken pieces, break into me...

so imperfectly what you should be...

-I know the battles..of chasing the shadows...of who you want to be.

It doesn't matter, go on & shatter, I'm all you need.

Those were really the lines that stood out most to me. Because while I'm sure he is singing about the love you might have for a significant other, that is the kind of love that Jesus has for us. He only asks that we come to him the way we are - even if we are broken. Only Jesus can take the pieces of our life & make us into the whole creation that he means us to be. I get so caught up in being the person I feel like I need to be to please my family, my friends, my boss...to please the world. The only person that I need to please is Jesus & all he asks of me is to give him the broken pieces that I have & let him mold my life into the perfect plan that he has for me.

I need to be reminded of that all the time. I'm so concerned with trying to be in control of things & make sure that no "cracks" are showing in the facade that I keep up. The face that says that regardless of what someone might say to me or what someone might do, I can keep it together & put on a perfect show. None of us is perfect & the Creator of the Universe made us that way - so that we would need him to put together the pieces. It's amazing the things the Lord can use to remind me of little things like that. Of course, the Earth is the Lord's, as in everything in it - so maybe if I paid more attention to my surroundings, I'd hear his voice in lots of other things. Just thought I share that.

For anyone interested in listening, this is the link to the song - the lyrics as a whole really speak to exactly what I wrote about above.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLhqkCzDbj0

Enjoy!

So, in the Meantime

I feel like the month of January is just a filler month - does that make sense to anyone else? Its the month that comes after the hoopla, excitement & festivities of the past three months. Think about it - you've got Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas & New Years all in quick succession & then...nothing. Nothing but the winter (although here in MS it doesn't seem very wintry) and days passing on end in mostly gray repetitiveness. Aren't I a ray of sunshine today? No - I'm actually doing a very good job of blending in with the outside surroundings these days. I'm just passing the time, waiting to see what happens - but I guess that is what we are all doing; that's what living life is about. Passing time, waiting to see how life unfolds.

The weather as of late..



So, in the meantime, what have I been doing? Like I said - not too much. I spent my Friday two weeks ago with sweet Hayden & Ashlan - they're always good for laughs, cuddles & a good mood lift. How can you not love setting up a mock battlefield to wage war only to have your hard work crashed by....a giant stuffed fish? Trust me, on the battlefield that Friday night, the real opponent to worry about was not the good guys (Hayden's soldiers) or the bad guys (obviously mine) but the giant stuffed trout that Ashlan was wielding. It was a quick battle. I saw "Beauty & the Beast" in 3D - that was probably the most well spent $9 that I've parted with in a long time. It has easily been my favorite Disney movie since I first saw it when I was 8 - and the number one reason is probably because it is just an amazing story, but I think another reason is because I identify a lot with Belle. I'm a bookworm & even at 27 I still sometimes feel like maybe I just don't quite fit into my surroundings; I'm also constantly thinking that, much like Belle laments "there must be more than this provincial life". So, I thoroughly enjoyed my 80 minutes watching it, it looked especially awesome in 3D. Also, how awesome is the scene at the end? If you haven't seen it - go see it. Rent it. Heck - buy it.

Spoiler Alert - the Beast is actually the hottest Disney prince ever. Yep.

Beyond all that excitement - it has been pretty much run of the mill, day to day life. I started Slim Fast 3 weeks ago & I also started walking on the treadmill. I HATE the treadmill, I do. But I love the feeling of accomplishment when I get off of it, so I guess I'll keep right on walking & see what happens. I've been told that walking will make the weight just fall off. I've yet to see that...but it has only been 3 weeks. Maybe by blogging about this I will have some kind of accountability because if by the time summer gets here I'm not any slimmer, all you people who read this (all 6 of you) can tell me that I obviously lied in writing. Is that libel or slander? Oh well...

Want to see what the weather looked like the other night?

It's the End of the World...



Ok - maybe it wasn't that bad. I don't know - I was watching the weather though & it didn't look like it was so great. I've always seen the progression from light green to dark green to yellow to orange to red on the radar...I thought that was as bad as it gets. Who knew that hot pink actually means that you are about to be blown away by a tornado? I didn't until I saw it on the radar the other night. I am completely terrified of bad weather, so I had a sleepover at my Aunt & Uncle's house. Even though they (jokingly, I hope) told me they would make a pallet in their bedroom floor (haha guys, funny) I passed & slept on the futon in the bonus room. Thank goodness for box fans & the TV. That box fan was so loud I wouldn't have heard a tornado if it ripped the roof off the house - and the TV was important because I swear, even when I can't hear the weather getting bad, it is like I have a built in sensor & I wake up just in time...so I can watch TV & be prepared for the worst. The weatherman kept saying "If you live in a trailer, get out - tornados & straight line winds just shred trailers, find a ditch if possible" & all I could think was "hope I have a home tomorrow morning". I did - thank the good Lord. I'm about tired of this bad weather & I think if the weatherman says "It's unseasonably warm for January" (75, gee - you think?) one more time, I might scream. :)

The weekend is only a day away & I plan to do a whole lot of nothing. This month has been short on activites, but February is getting ever closer & I've got plans for February. Also, seriously - how has almost a whole month already passed this fast? But I digress - I'm gonna watch the series finale of "Chuck" (so sad) & maybe a movie or two, buy some groceries & just chill. I'll probably end up cleaning something at some point because I'm turning into my Mom & I can't seem to sit idly by when something needs cleaning. Fear not Mom - that's not a bad thing. So, until next time...anyone got any suggestions for a good movie to rent?

Adventures in Adulthood

Sure - this thing looks cute. Appearances can be deceiving.



Firstly - I have no clue why the picture editor makes the white border so large at the bottom. Makes no sense to me, but there you have it. I guess it thought I was going to write a novel about the mouse. I'm gonna write a post about mice, but the picture caption really need not be that long. Anyway, I digress..

Almost a month ago I opened the door of my bathroom cabinets & noticed something that looked a lot like mouse poo. I got to investigating & sure enough - that was what it was. I freaked out, mildly. I figured that for sure it wasn't too big of a deal because I hadn't actually seen the mouse so maybe it had only popped in once to nibble the towels & then left. I still went to the Dollar Store & bought some DeCon, just to be safe. After almost a month of seeing no more mouse "surprises" & the DeCon being baited & set...but never catching a mouse, I was lulled into a false sense of calm. Silly me. Silly, silly me. I'm sure the mouse (mice? More than one of them, oh Lord sustain me...) thought "what an ignorant human...so stupid".

Monday night; having been lured into this false sense of calm, I was sitting on my couch watching "Castle" - just enjoying some crime drama & chilling out. All of a sudden, from the direction of the kitchen this brownish blur whizzes across the carpet & under the ottoman. When I tell you I froze, I mean - my whole body went stiff & I couldn't move. I called my Mom in complete panic, about to sob. Over a mouse. Something that might weigh a pound. It probably doesn't even weigh that, but I flipped out. I thought that the mouse problem was no big deal. I thought the mouse had sensed the DeCon & left, never to return. Just kidding - think again.

I bought traps - regular traps, glue traps, I even hung on to the weird DeCon swirly trap things. Tuesday night at 5:45 I had nine traps set. Yes, nine. I'm nothing if not thorough. I kind of went a little crazy with the cleaning as well. I'd read all this stuff about how if you keep a really really clean kitchen, you won't be as apt to get mice. I thought I had a really clean kitchen - I sweep & mop regularly & I wipe down the counters & sinks when I am done cooking at night. Apparently that is not enough. I vacuumed the floor, I swept the floor. I scrubbed down the counters with kitchen cleaner...I went a little nuts, making sure everything was completely void of anything that could even be seen as possible food stuffs. And then I went about my business - watched some TV, poked around on the Internet..did my own thing...and then I went to bed & prayed that all the mice near my house would just die or run away & leave me alone. Then the morning came...

I was beginning to think that all the mice had run away & left me alone. I didn't see any of the traps in the kitchen had been snapped & so I was thinking that I was in the clear & everything was going to be fine. I was standing by my dishwasher & I saw it - a tail. A long skinny tail. I peered around the door frame carefully & let out a scream - there was a dead mouse on the trap! I started the scream loudly & then thought better of it & shut up quickly. What if my scream alerted the mouse? What if it wasn't really dead & my scream made it suddenly wake up & run at me? All stupid thoughts, but I had them. I called my Mom in a panic & explained that I had caught the mouse...I had caught the mouse & now I had to get it out of the house. Oh crap. What was I going to do now? Catching the mouse seemed like a great idea, but I hadn't thought about actually having to deal with a dead mouse. Let me just tell you that the next 10 minutes or so provided my Mom with some great entertainment - she was supportive but I also know that she was trying pretty hard not to absolutely lose it laughing at me.

She told me to poke the mouse with my broom & see if if moved. If the mouse moved then I was supposed to leave it alone & let it finish dying while I was at work. This is about the way the conversation went:
Mom: Just poke it & see what happens...it's fine.
Natalie: "poking mouse" AAAHHHH - OH LORD, IT DIDN'T MOVE!! I DON'T KNOW IF I CAN DO THIS!!!
M: Yes you can - be brave. This will make you tougher. Just sweep the mouse & the trap into the dust pan. "stifling laughter while she says all this"
I proceeded to sweep the mouse from in between the TV stand & the wall, screaming all the time. I mean, maybe screaming isn't the best word but I definitely let out some shrieks in the process...or several shrieks. And my Mom was cracking up the whole time.
N: OK - IT WILL NOT SWEEP INTO THE DUST PAN...I AM GOING TO HAVE TO PHYSICALLY TOUCH THE TRAP! I CAN'T DO THIS. AAAAHHHH!!!
M: I may wet my pants...you've got to calm down. "still cracking up"
N: AAAHHH - THE MOUSE IS IN THE TRASH BAG. IN THE TRASH BAG. I MAY BE ABLE TO BE MORE CALM NOW...Holy Cow. That was terrifying. I've never been more awake at 7:10 in the morning before...

So yes - I managed to catch & kill my first mouse. I'd really rather not ever have to do that again. Ever. Then again, if I could bottle the level of adrenaline my body was pumping throughout the experience, I think I'd drink it all the time so I'd be that pumped & awake. I was alert to the extreme. I could probably run for days with that much energy. Maybe I should kill mice more often...since it gets me so hyped up. Of course, my heart racing like that might not be the best idea.

Anyway - I have survived my first "crisis" of sorts. I was concerned about bad weather or power outages or something along those lines...I never even thought of mice. It's always the thing you least expect, right? This was definitely an adventure - there is no denying that fact. I think I've had enough of this particular adventure though. :)