That’s right. Two blogs in one day, but hey, I’ve got to make up for some lost time. After my earlier update regarding where things were at, I feel it’s high time for some photos of all of the awesome things that have happened in the last few weeks!
1. Took a trip to my homeland. Got to see some lovely people, catch up with family, rummage through old photos and congratulate my sister on her high school graduation.
2. Beach trips are always welcome. The day after returning from the Midwest, I packed up our bags and we headed to the coast for the annual family beach trip with the hubby’s sister and her family. It was warm and sunny, perfect for swimming in the ocean. We ate donuts, shared stories and visited our favorite seaside thrift shop.
3. Holiday weekends are awesome regardless of your job status. Because everyone else was celebrating the time off, we returned to Raleigh to spend time with friends from Charlotte, host a couple from Wilmington and enjoy a barbecue in the neighborhood.
1. Sometimes it’s nice to go off the grid. Did we do that while camping? Not really, thanks to some helicopter drills at all hours of the night, but we had a good time pitching a tent near the bay anyway. Down by the bay…
2. Being disconnected isn’t all bad. I finally broke down and agreed to upgrade to the new IOS (I know, way behind), and it resulted in a phone stuck in recovery mode for the better part of 24 hours. But life went on and I enjoyed not being slave to a phone all day long.
3. Catching up with old friends can be either really awesome or really hard. It likely depends what you feel is going on and what you share. The last two weeks I’ve been sending long personal emails to people I haven’t seen in years and really enjoyed hearing from them in return. Not only that, but I got to better understand and articulate my own story. I got to share all of the things that have happened in the past five years, and it seems like a lot of transition when it’s all written out. To be honest, there are a few things that have been going on in the last month that I haven’t known how to share, things that aren’t all easy to explain. I’ve been isolating myself a bit as I’ve tried to grasp everything all at once. I promise to fill you in later, but in the meantime, please forgive me if I seem withdrawn. I’m just sorting through things but fully intend to soak up some of the sunny goodness of the summer and enjoy the people around me.
Thursday Three is cancelled today in honor of May Day. Maybe I’ll come back and report on the week, maybe I won’t. Instead, tonight I made a few of these little “baskets” for the neighbors.
After ringing doorbells, running away and then later explaining the concept of May Day to these Southern folk who’d never heard such a thing, I received this in return 20 minutes later:
May Day likely has many origins and stories, but I just know it as the day you throw together a basket (or more commonly a cup) full of popcorn, candies and flowers. Drop it on the doorstop and ring the bell before you run away. Legend goes…if they catch you, they kiss you.
The weather this week has been so incredibly awesome. We have less pollen flying around and the sun won’t quit shining. I love it.
1. A day is a day, full of goodness and imperfections, trials and triumphs. I’ve been thinking lately about days. Sure, sometimes we have really great days, and sometimes we have really rough days. But then there’s a ton of days that could really go either way. We have moments throughout the day that swing back and forth between good and bad. For the most part, each day is going to get a little mix of both. Instead of labeling it one way or the other though, I’ve decided to take it all in…but ultimately let the good win.
2. I wonder how many friendships are formed at Redbox. We had a weekend full of good food and movie marathons. We saw several great movies (About Time, Gravity and In A World…) and ended up waiting for a Redbox movie twice, both times forming fast friendships with someone else in line, joking about movies and relating on some level. We’ve all got something in common—we’re all just people trying to figure out this life. It’s fun to intersect with someone along the way and share one of life’s sweet moments.
3. You never know what people pick up on. We hosted another couch surfer last night, and she told us all about her upcoming trip across the country. Hearing about someone’s adventure makes me want to grab a camera and join them, but it was also interesting to hear what made her decide to stay with us. Her reasons were completely different from the last person who stayed with us, but it made me think a little about what we represent to people.
I love writing/blogging but today, I don’t really feel like it. This morning I would have told you I felt somehow that we might be on the verge of something big, but I didn’t know what. By the end of the day I feel a bit more defeated and disappointed. This has been a long and tiring week. After a night of lackluster networking and not enough sleep, the last thing I want to do is reflect on what the past week looked like. Sigh. But the fact of the matter was that it wasn’t all bad. There’s always some good and some sort of progress. So, tonight’s three is just going to be three things I managed to accomplish this past week. We can ignore the failures and frustrations this time.
1. Read the book Divergent in its entirety in one night. Am I a teenager? No, but people tell me I look like one. Might as well get away with a little young adult lit while I’m at it. So, I avoided all the things I should have been doing and finished it in one shot.
2. Cleaned the house and hosted a brunch. Every few months, the staff wives at our church get together. Being one of them, I decided to open up our little home for some eggs and coffee. What are staff wives? They are the wives of the men who work at church, also known as ministry wives. We have a weird (and unpaid) job at church so it’s good to get together from time to time.
3. Wrote half a paper and gave a presentation. Maybe this one doesn’t deserve full credit, but I did have to give a presentation. The second half of that paper and one more class remains before the end of the semester. As much as I’ve enjoyed learning more about nonprofits, I’m ready for time away from homework and another night of flexibility during the week.
Well hey there. What a week to review. It’s pretty hard to top a week of vacation, so obviously, I didn’t. This week has been fairly stressful in an odd assortment of ways but the weather has been beautiful, albeit pollen-filled. For those of you who don’t live in North Carolina, you should know that when I say pollen-filled air, I mean you can literally see it. Giant yellow pollen dust clouds that leave a visible layer on everything outdoors.
1. The more rushed a person is to seal a deal, the less I trust them. For a whopping 24 hours there was some sort of freelance deal that I was a part of that made my head spin. I was sooo glad it didn’t come to fruition in the end. Business can be funny and sometimes it is hard to know who to trust. I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what can be considered acceptable business practices and where the line should be. I’ll own up to being a millennial wanting to find meaning in my work, but I won’t apologize for it. So, what kind of business do I want to be a part of and represent? What are the red flags and why do they seem so alarming? What motivates the decisions?
2. You’re not in it all alone. Sometimes I take on the weight of everything happening around me. I wouldn’t recommend it. For a few days this past week I’ve just felt frantic in my stress. Sure, they were stressful things, but it’s not all up to me to handle alone. This is why we have friends and family and a God who cares for us. It’s not worth me hanging on to all the things that wear me down.
3. Saving up always pays. I’ve mentioned money things once or twice before, but I’ll give you a little more background. When we got married, we did the Financial Peace University video series with Dave Ramsey. To be honest, I think anyone who does the class should take it with a grain of salt. At the core, it’s a decent system though, one that encouraged us to pay off our school loans quicker and save up an emergency fund. It wasn’t always easy or fun and meant a lot of saying “no” to things. But it has enabled us to live with so much more freedom and flexibility. It allowed us to move without having jobs lined up and provides us with a buffer when we need it. Would I sometimes rather travel the world and worry about the money later? Heck yes. Instead we’re slowly putting money away to take a big trip in a few years. Neither of us have super high-paying jobs, but we live within our means and save what we can. All that to say, I am so grateful for this mentality to save for a rainy day. Because it will rain, but now we don’t have to live in fear of that day.
What’s a vacation without coming home to a camera full of photos that won’t be printed for years, an overstuffed suitcase of dirty clothes and a happy heart bursting with fond memories?
Seriously, the last week has been so great. And then sadly came to an abrupt end as soon as we got home. Apparently between the time change, day of travel, lack of food with substance and the start of a cold, everything in me decided to fall apart and be quite sick for a bit. But was it all worth it in the end? Absolutely.
I don’t even know how to put it all down in a Thursday Three. (Don’t I say that every week? Clearly I should blog more…) Here’s my best attempt at the rest of the week after we left Portland. Believe it or not, the good photos off the camera have yet to be sorted so these are just what we’ve got from our phones.
1. Having family in cool parts of the country has its benefits. Obviously if they live somewhere cool, yet far, that can be a bummer, too. After Portland we drove through the gorge and up and down the Oregon landscapes to visit the hubby’s brother and his family. We had so much fun playing with our little loves (our four-year-old niece and two-year-old nephew). They have grown and changed so much since we last saw them in May. I love being an aunt! Plus, it was great to spend time with his brother and sister-in-law…a bit like old times before we all moved different directions.
2. Weddings bring the happy couple’s favorite people all into one room.When we got married we thought it was so fun to see people we loved getting to know each other for the first time. Part of our reason for heading out west was to attend the wedding of a good friend of mine. When I studied abroad in Greece, we traveled together every weekend and she was my closest friend there. I was so glad to get to see her again and attend her wedding. But what ended up being an unexpected bonus was meeting all of her other friends. These are the friends I heard all about while we hiked mountains and ate crepes. It was as if I was meeting long-lost friends for the first time and we hugged as our friendship came full circle.
3. Driving the coast and exploring was unbelievable. There are so many different parts of Oregon and changes in scenery within a few miles. We went to a tulip farm, drove through mountains, played on Cannon Beach, visited a cheese factory and even spent a day hanging out in Seattle, WA to see the hubby’s uncle and the gum wall. This is clearly the catch-all of the three so I can throw a bunch of photos up here. At least I’m honest.
It’s still Thursday. I’m in the Pacific time zone and completely confused as to when I should sleep or eat. It’s been a fun week though. I think it’s best if this post is fairly photo heavy. Yeah?
1. We stayed on a boat! We are in Oregon for the week and spent the first two nights in Portland. What better way to experience port life than docked on a yacht? It was a pretty fun little experience and still cheaper than a hotel. With some strong winds and a few storms, it felt like we were off at sea a time or two. Every once in a while on land we’d feel like everything was rocking then, too.
2. Portland is weird. But they want it to be that way. We had a good time walking around town, eating good food and thrifting. We managed to stay mostly dry throughout our time there but let me tell you, it rains like crazy in that place. We were amazed at how many people seemed unfazed by the fact that it was pouring rain as they went about their day.
3. Oregon is crazy pretty. Most of the good photos are on our real camera, but here’s a few shots of what we saw on our drive today. Within the span of four hours we drove by beautiful waterfalls, the river gorge, rolling hills and a bit of desert. Around every corner we had no idea what to expect next and kept saying “wow!” with each new element. I’m excited for everything else we will see and do these next few days.
Well hello. What’s been happening with your week? Mine has been long. It’s had ups and downs, but also in-betweens this time. I keep thinking we’re halfway through April but then come to find it’s the first day of spring. In honor of the new season, all three listed will feature something NEW.
1. I have embraced a new hobby. After a little prodding and some instructions from a friend, I have taken up cross stitch. I picked up a pattern at a craft store, and let me tell you, those things are doozies…I will surely make my next purchase on etsy and aim for something slightly less cheesy. Other than that, I like it. It’s nice to do make something with your hands. I went through a knitting phase before moving but cannot possibly knit another scarf in this climate, it’s just not worth it. This is a good alternative. Here’s what I’ve got so far (good luck guessing what it is).
2. We tried out a new dinner spot. After a day of freezing rain and ice, we had a commitment cancel, leaving us with an impromptu date night. We went to The Flying Biscuit to finally try southern grits and loved every bite. I also had the best salmon scrambled eggs that have ever been served. I never actually took a picture of the food (it was too good to photograph), but here’s a little photo to commemorate the table we sat at. We were glad for a night out when most of the town was taking shelter from the storm.
3. We celebrated St. Patrick’s Day with our friends and their new baby! Saturday was a gloriously sunny (albeit windy) day, so we walked down to the parade with our couch surfer in tow (oh, didn’t know about him? I promise to blog about it at some point). We met up with friends from church and their little baby boy who was a whopping 13 days old at the time! So tiny and so cute. Their daughter is pretty adorable as well…and clearly loves hot dogs. Also on Saturday—reading a book in the sunshine and a bonfire with friends. It was easily the best day of the week.
What a week it has been. I know, I didn’t make it in time for the Thursday Three, so I’ll just give you a week in review. This week has been so FULL. There were high highs and low lows with not much in between. Thankfully, the good far outweighed the bad.
1. We had company! Know right now if you’re ever in North Carolina, you have a place to stay with us (albeit incredibly tiny). This was the week everyone decided to take us up on that offered, and I loved it. One of the hubby’s close friends, River, was here to record music (as previously mentioned), and it was awesome. I’m so glad he came. Also, a close friend of mine, Carrie, came through town along with her sister, brother-in-law and niece whom we are also friends with. Such a wonderful time was had when all seven of us were together just eating our favorite pizza on the lawn (because did I mention it was 70 degrees?) and enjoying our time together.
Hubby and Jim matched. (This has actually happened two weeks in a row)
Carrie and I!
Love these guys. (Shout out to Riv’s girlfriend who was at SXSW—you were missed!)
2. Not all fountains are scenic. Ummm. On Monday the toilet was apparently clogged at work. Plunging it then caused a full-on fountain of sewage water (or as I call it, poop water) out of the drain in the kitchen. (The photo below does not even begin to show near the amount of water that spouted out.) This went on for days. Needless to say, things have been a little crappy at work lately. (Yeah, I just went there)
3. Planning a wedding is always more fun when you aren’t planning your own wedding. It’s true. Everyone says it’s so much fun. When you’re in the middle of it, surrounded by all the stress, details and bills it feels a lot more like work. But when you are free from those variables and just along for the ride, it’s quite enjoyable. I happily went wedding dress shopping with my friend Connie over the weekend, and she found THE DRESS. Obviously no photos until the wedding, but it was the cutest little shop full of Southern belles.
