i've still got a lot of leavin' left to do

(you know i had to use some dierks bentley on here)


in the theme of leavin', here are my out-of-state trips planned for the summer:

1. CIY in Durango, CO
2. L.A. & Randall's wedding in Knoxville, TN
3. CIY in Savannah, GA (straight from Knoxville)
4. hopefully a road trip to Nashville some weekend?

My wish list for future vaca's:
1. Cali - to hang out w/ Becka, among others
2. another trip to San Antonio
3. NYC if Faith moves out there
4. Italy
5. London again
6. and of course, anywhere tropical

that's no big deal, right?

;-)

just some random things.

-so, Kate is leaving Sunday for Baltimore for the summer. There goes having one of my closest friends working with me in the office. It's kinda hard, but the summer will fly by...sometimes. On days when I'm not gone it'll be slow, but soon it'll be August and she will return. unless things with sam go extremely, extremely well very quickly! ;-) I'm beginning to burn her cd's for her roadtrip.

-did anyone watch Rob & Amber Get Married last night? I thought it was great! Call me crazy, but yes I cried even watching them get married and prepare for their wedding. I love weddings.

-alright, you caught me. I, somewhat hesitantly, watched the Kevin & Britney: Chaotic show last night too. not sure what i 'm thinking yet, other than the fact that her concert looks basically like the red light district in amsterdam came to life in america...just under another name.

-i'm thinking about trying to finally discipline and organize myself into making lots of lists: lists of books i want to read this summer, things i want to do, organize my financial life (if possible since there isn't much there to manage), etc. i just feel like i get lazy really easily and i don't want to be.

-there are several country songs that keep making me laugh. country music can be so simple, yet there are so many facets. I cannot stand that song "If heaven" simply because there is a line in it that says this: "If heaven was a pie it would be cherry." Are you kidding me? Did Andy Griggs really struggle for words that bad?

-On the other hand, I absolutely love Joe Nichols' song "What's a Guy Gotta do to get a Girl in this Town?" and especially the line that says this: "Had an old man tell me, 'boy if you were smart, you'd hit the produce aisle at the super wal-mart.' So I bumped into a pretty girl's shoppin' cart and all I did was break her eggs and bruise her artichoke hearts..." I love it!

-while we're on the music train of thought, I'm tryin' to figure out some hip hop song that I like but don't know any words other than the part that goes "baby baby!" and that's my favorite part to sing. wish i knew what song that was...if ya'll know by those two words please let me know! it's driving me nuts!

-i'm finally gettin' closer to my trips to CO and GA this summer! And Becka gets to go w/ me to GA for CIY! Yay! I need to get on ordering my plane tickets to Colorado soon though...

-well i'm sure i'll be bloggin' more soon b/c it's quite boring in the office, and now that kate'll be gone...it'll be quite different!

finally i can work picasa & hello!

Alright so I'm a little behind on the tech stuff, but I couldn't ever download anything onto my computer at work, so FINALLY at home in Streator I figured out this whole picture thing. Below are a bunch of pics from my road trip w/ Alli from good ol' Texas. Enjoy!

Senior pic time...one of Allison's senior pic shots @ the Alamo...hope it's not illegal to sit in the barred-up windows. haha.

Senior picture time at the Alamo...again, hopefully not illegal!

This was Allison's friend Jaclyn's dog (actually in Tulsa, not TX) Moses. I felt bad for him for having to wear this cone. poor thing. but it's pretty darn funny to see it! 

i don't know why i liked this so much but i love this shot. i really love how it reminds me of a cool movie or something. 

just a little b&w shot for ya. 

Ahhh...the riverwalk. beautiful. take me back there any day. 

Haha. This is me not knowing what The Alamo was. I never paid attention in History. I know, it's ridiculous. I now know what it is, thanks to this helpful sign. 

this is inside of Mamacita's, home of the best Mexican food EVER! 

I caught the sign at the perfect time...right when it said LADIES.  

cheesin' it up before going to Cowboys 

So, obviously...don't mess w/ TX.

this is my hilarious little niece...and i'm totally testing out how to use this crazy picasa thing b/c i'm at home for once and i never can use it at work. anyways, this pic is from halloween so it's old, but a good one to test with, nonetheless. 

a little something something

I finally finished reading Traveling Mercies the other day, and I love that Anne Lamott included this poem from Rumi:

Keep walking, though there's no place to get to.
Don't try to see through the distances. That's not for human beings.
Move within, but don't move the way fear makes you move.
Today, like every other day, we wake up empty and frightened.
Don't open the door to the study and begin reading. Take down a musical instrument.

Let the beauty we love be what we do.
There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground.


Sometimes it seems I'm walking but in no particular direction. I've been trying to see through the distances, but fear often hinders my movement. I'm trying to figure out how the beauty I love can be what I do. I've been chewing on these words, trying to figure out what exactly they mean.

"Don't open the door to the study and begin reading. Take down a musical instrument." This line, along with the last two lines (and thus, the whole poem), embodies how we view worship. So often we forget that we can just sit back and worship God for who He is and for His beauty. Instead, we tend to think we must be disciplined, straight-edged, scheduled readers, teachers, etc. But you can worship by simply picking up a guitar and starting to create. You can worship by typing or writing out words and articulating a thought. You can worship by picking up a paintbrush or dancing or sitting in silence or by savoring the taste of some kind of food. All of these things are not always worship, but they can be. I think it's important to broaden our perspective of what it means to even study God. It does not only mean to study the Word, though that's one way He displays Himself to us. Let's study His creation as well and there we will find different facets of His own beauty.

I'm just thinkin'...and writing as it comes to mind. What do Rumi's words mean to you?

Say hello to your friends, Babysitter's Club, say hello to the people who care...

Alright Joolz, I have to steal this idea from you. So here are my results...a little harsh, don't ya think? Jeez! But I always secretly wanted to be Stacey or Claudia. Everyone knew they were the cool ones. As long as I'm not Kristy... which was your favorite book everyone? I think mine was #6 - Kristy's Big Day--because it was about a wedding or something. And I of course loved the Super Specials...the summer vacations and what-not. Ah, what great memories. And I know I'm not the only one who tried to start one of these clubs... 'fess up!



TREASURER - STACEY MCGILL - You are a cold, vapid
bitch who loves only money and shiny jewelry.
You learned this from your mother who was
addicted to shopping and leeching off of your
rich father until he got sick of it and
divorced her, leaving her penniless. With your
gold-digging tendencies and general
heartlessness, you are destined to face the
same fate. Have fun!

Which Member of the Babysitters Club Are You?!?!
brought to you by Quizilla

more TV comments

Apparently each day I must blog about my previous night's TV watchings. (is 'watchings' a word? i doubt it. i don't care though.)

There are two topics we must discuss:

#1 - Gilmore Girls. are you kidding me? i can't believe they ended it that way! If you didn't watch, I'm still going to tell you what happened. In the final split second of the season finale, Lorelai nonchalantly proposed to Luke. From the way he was freaking out during the rest of the episode, my guess is he'll say yes. Besides, he's been in love w/ her for years! But he probably wants to propose to her, so maybe he'll do that instead. What do you think?

#2 - the ACM Awards. You bet your bottom dollar I watched the Academy of Country Music Awards after Gilmore Girls was over. I'll be honest though...most of the performances sounded pretty sucky. I hope it sounded better live than it did through the TV, b/c if not, the audience probably wanted to get up and leave every time someone performed.

Now I love Rascal Flatts, but they sounded awful. Sorry boys.

I love Dierks Bentley as well, but his voice wasn't quite captured.

Brad Paisley, however, sounded much better than the others, though not quite as good as he does live and in person. (though I LOVE his new song "Alcohol"--hilarious, minus the cheesy backdrop people during the performance last night)

Faith Hill? Liked the song, very cute! But again, bad mic's or somethin'...

and I had to laugh when Brooks & Dunn got Top Vocal Duo once again...happens every year. I think as long as they come out w/ just one new song, not even an entire album each year, they'll keep it up. it's pretty ridiculous!

And of course...Kenny- why didn't you mention your new wife Renee at all? Why wasn't she there with you...shouldn't you be on a honeymoon still?


And those are my comments from the show. sorry if you're bored from reading them, but it's what you get when I watch by myself! i've gotta let my comments out somewhere!

holy mother of pearl

it has to be said.

girls, if you watched the neverending, way drawn-out, 3-hour-finale of The Bachelor last night you know what I'm talking about.

come on, that's a freaking promise ring? what on earth is the engagement ring going to look like then?

you know, I hardly watched any episodes of this season of The Bachelor...pretty much the first, one in the middle somewhere, and last night's finale (and didn't realize it was 3 hours long, but i got sucked in!). Are you kidding me though?

I guess I'm OK w/ how it ended. I did like Krisily...but they both seemed good with him, so I think he did the right thing. oh well...i just had to comment on the ring!

currently...

listening to Rascal Flatts. I can't seem to get enough of country music since TX.

bored at work. There is nothing to do. I'm okay with it.

concerned about my excruciating lower back pain. My hypochondria gets the best of me in situations like this...I have no idea why it hurts. did I hurt myself somehow? I have no idea! Is it from sleeping on my living room floor last week? I have no idea.

researching job possibilities if I were to move to Texas in a year...also considering the option of grad. school? scary? yes. what would i do? good question.

thankful for the fun weekend w/ friends. funny that they're all older than me but i graduated before them. congrats girls! i'm glad ya'll are done now too! welcome to the world after college!

out of things to post about. i guess that's all for the time being. happy monday!

in case any of you were wondering and dying to know, yes I just researched...if you read my post below about Cowboys / Far West Rodeo - they ARE the same thing. I guess the Travel Channel was just a little behind... but it was good to see our hot spot on TV!

another sign from God from the Travel channel?

So last night I'm watching TV, flipping through the channels, when I stopped on the Travel Channel because of some "Best BBQ's" show where they talked about Texas.

Then I saw what was on next: "Home on the Range: Texas" What? Is it possible to hear about Texas more since I've been back than ever before? And of course, I waited to watch the show and found out that it was about SAN ANTONIO specifically! I had to tape it.

The funny thing was, they showed this place that looked just like Cowboys Dancehall but it was called the Far West Rodeo. I've yet to research and find out if they're the same or if that's an old name and the show was just outdated.

But now I know hot spots to go back to when I visit again--definitely going to get a Cactus Pear Margarita next time at the only place that serves them!

And I think i'd like to learn how to flemenco dance...

so I fall in love quickly...

with CITIES, not men, that is.

2 weeks ago? Brownsburg/Indianapolis
Currently? San Antonio.

I'm having a love affair with cities. It seems that I fall in love with every city I visit. Or maybe I just fall in love with the possibilities that exist in those cities. It's exciting to think about! Needless to say, I had a blast in Texas and it was so much fun to hang out and road trip back w/ Alli.

I have so much I'd love to post on here from the trip (especially pictures, but since I can't put them on here you'll have to see the few i put on myspace instead), but I've got to limit it to something for now.

So here it is...these are some reasons why I love San Antonio...or maybe just the south? (in no particular order)

1. First things first, Mamacita's Mexican Restaurant & Cantina. Best Mexican food ever. EVER. And, coolest atmosphere ever. I mean, come on, how many restaurants have you ever been to where you can see a shooting star on the ceiling? And watch them make the best tortillas ever? oh yum....and how many restaurants give you enough food to last you for 3 meals? oh yes, it did. thank you mamacita's. you're the best.

2. Cowboys Dance Hall. You know this girl loves to dance. It's not what you're thinking or picturing, which is probably some cheesy line-dancing place. Oh no. We're talking huge dance floor that is primarily covered with the two-step, a live band that is amazing, and when they take breaks, they play some good hip-hop. Good times. I'm taking yearly vacations back there to go back to Cowboys. For further reasons why...keep reading.

3. the southern boys. need i say more? i will anyway. Let me just say that there are some fine young gentlemen there. and they are, indeed, gentlemen. They POLITELY ask you to dance, and a few had to suffer through our Illinois non-two-stepping feet and teach us, but I was a fast learner. Thanks to the good teacher I had, some guy named Anthony. But oh, when they ask you to dance, they take your hand and lead you onto the dance floor so nicely...it's quite hard to resist. (unfortunately i had a hard time turning down a few 50 year old cowboy men, so i just had fun w/ it and danced w/ them.)

4. The Riverwalk. It's absolutely beautiful. Miles of beautiful scenery, restaurants where you can eat outside next to the river, lots of people, fun clubs like Howl at the Moon (where we went Friday night), etc. I could spend days at the Riverwalk just people-watching.

5. the culture. even though I don't know any Spanish except for "el bano" and a few other choice words, I enjoy the culture. The Market thing was cool, bought some fun Mexican goods, and there is music everywhere. You know this girl also loves music, so it's my kinda town. except when it's always the crazy Spanish music...but everywhere else, those Texans love good country and good hip-hop, which is just fine w/ me!

6. Sonic. Believe it or not, they're everywhere! We should have counted. I could get all the orange CreamSlushes I could ever want! I started to believe that the overabundance of Sonic's in the South combined w/ my recent obsession w/ orange creamslushes was a sign from God to move...is that possible?

7. WARM WEATHER!!! That's ALWAYS a plus. even if it's humid, I don't really care. I wouldn't mind being able to go year-round w/out an ice scraper or a giant alaskan parka.

So those are just a few reasons...probably more will come to mind later. Anyways that gives you a little rundown of some of what we did out on the town until Sunday. After that, it was off to Dallas, Tulsa, a brief stop in Joplin, and on back to IL on Tuesday.

I love experiencing new cities, and I do fall in love with them quite quickly. We'll just have to see where I end up! :-)

Why...

...does my lower back keep hurting from sitting in my desk chair?
...are my blog links way down at the bottom where you have to scroll down?
...do I get so easily angered by people sometimes?
...do I have a crush on someone I've never even met?
...am I trying to figure out packing schemes to try and avoid checking baggage?
...has the junk in my throat made a home there & I have random urges to cough?
...do so many of us jump to conclusions so quickly?
...did I wake up feeling extremely sore today from playing catch w/ a football TWO days ago?
...is it so wonderful to walk around outside without shoes on?
...do I not get paid more w/ this job...seriously I hate asking my parents for $$!
...can't I travel somewhere cool EVERY weekend to see all my friends? I'm going to get used to this!
...am I still blogging? It's 3:30 and I didn't take a lunch today, so I'm leaving early! I'm fixin' to go home and pack for Texas, ya'll! I'll write in here for ya'll again when I get back on Tuesday night!

good news + flying

here's the good news of the day (i've been informed by kate):

HITCH is playing at the Route 66 drive-in in Springfield this weekend! Woo-hoo! So, I was all excited to hear that, b/c I'd love to go see it next weekend when I'm back from Texas.

Bad news: it's only playing this weekend. grrr... I've never ever been to the drive-in, so i was all pumped about seeing my favorite movie there, but no longer will it happen.

Ok I posted the above stated once, but now I'm adding the following to this post:

After extensive research regarding my American Airlines flight this Friday, I have discovered that In Good Company will be playing on my plane. I couldn't be happier. I've wanted to see this movie since it came out! And I was really hoping to not have to fly w/ my ghetto Discman, since I'm way behind the times w/o an iPod and all...now I won't have to bring music at all except for our road trip home. American Airlines--if you screw this up for me I'll be ticked!

I'm extremely ridiculous about this flying thing...I've never done it by myself, so i'm nervous but excited! So I've been researching to make sure I don't bring anything over the required weight/size limits, and I thought it might be necessary to inform you of these odd things that American Airlines also gives limitations on:

antlers
archery
bicycles
boogie boards
bowling balls
fishing equipment
hangliders
javelin
kayaks, boats, sculls, canoes
oars
pole vault
scuba tanks
skateboard
snowboard, surfboard, kiteboard, wakeboard
windsurf, kitesurf

I found those quite hilarious...but it's just not the same unless you read their limitations here:
http://www.aa.com/content/travelInformation/baggage/baggageAllowance.jhtml?anchorEvent=false

bored

I forgot what it was like, for quite some time, to be bored at work. Today I remember.

So I'm blogging.

So...guess what?

-I leave in 3 days to go to San Antonio! What is funny is that several times when I've told people they have not heard me correctly and thought I said I was going to see Antonio. It's my first time to fly by myself, and I'll admit I'm scared, but I'm excited. I keep hearing people talk about cool in-flight conversations with strangers, and I'm anxious to meet who God will place next to me. I'm also excited to see a new city, hang out w/ Alli, road trip it back w/ her, see my cousins in Dallas that I haven't seen in 8 years, stop in Tulsa, maybe drop by Ozark, and come on back home next Tuesday!

-I hope the next 3 days go by fast...and I think they will!
-Tonight I have a cookout w/ my house church in Normal, and it's the last night for this school year!
-tomorrow night my SFG girls are coming over for dinner--should be fun!
-Thursday I'll pack, and Friday I'll eat breakfast w/ Kate & her boy Sam, and I'm on my way to St. Louie.

Yay! it's fun to travel. i can't wait to take pictures of every place we stop on the road trip.

In other news, Damien Spikereit totally spoke some great words in Chapel this morning...the best part? Him reminding us that when we feel inadequate it's okay because we ARE! we're all inadequate, inarticulate, we'll never be good enough leaders, we'll never be good enough teachers or preachers, and we'll always be in over our heads...because it's the WORD that is powerful. Power does not come from us.

Dang, it's a humbling reminder, but oh so necessary. Check out Isaiah 55 tonight and be amazed at the power of the Word. Just see what it can do. I'll be chewing on it for awhile.

the weekend

I had the bestest weekend ever. I wasn't in Lincoln, IL.

Left Friday night, picked up Aubs in Champaign, and headed to Indy to stay w/ the Fisher's in Avon. (They're the family I lived w/ last year during my internship and they are wonderful!) So, Melissa met us and stayed w/ us as well, and we had a good time catching up there. Saturday, we headed to Indian Creek for the Aaron & Shauna Johnson wedding. After that, Aubs and I went to Brownsburg, stayed w/ Julia, cooked out and had a "Christian party" (that's our little joke, actually) w/ some old One 5 Oh buddies who all work & live in Brownsburg now. Went to Brownsburg Christian Church on Sunday and now I'm trying to decipher my own desires from the Lord's nudging...

Is God calling me to move or am I just in love with leaving Lincoln? That is the question of the day. (along with when? how? where? what should i do?)

I've always had some weird connection w/ Brownsburg, Indiana, and I don't know why. After hanging out w/ my friends there Sat. night I just couldn't get over what a great time it was. It was nice to hang out w/ people--some who know me well and some who hardly do at all--and feel completely comfortable and have so much fun. Sometimes in Lincoln where all is familiar it seems more uncomfortable than comfortable...maybe a feeling of being unsettled...

so what's next? I'm not sure. i'm trying to figure out my piece in the puzzle. For now I'll just leave it at this: I had a great weekend and it was refreshing to see so many familiar faces that I love. Color me encouraged.