Travel Girl

hey! I am in Italia!

I could not figure out how to flip this picture around in the internet cafe.

I have been dreaming about throwing a coin in the Fountain of Trevi ever since I saw the movie Three Coins in a Fountain!

We have been in Rome, Venice, and now Florence.

My Friends

I've realized something. I absolutely adore my friends.

Yesterday was high energy socializing due to Edwin Fest 2007 (Eddie's birthday) which took place at the Southpoint Mall Food Court. Pure genius when you realize that you can get over 30 people in and out, give them all the choices they could need for food, and then not have to spend an hour waiting for the checks to be settled out. I made the cake AND it must be pointed out that Eddie got his birthday dinner from Five Guys Burgers & Fries. Jim, your blog inspires us to greatness. You put them on the map!

.

After that, was the prophetic service at church which brought the crowds and I headed home to do laundry and pack for my trip but there was "the family" who went to Randy's Pizza and then the Wednesday night dinner party at Jeff's to miss. I had to laugh when I got the message from Cole where they passed the phone around to everyone at the house to say hello. Luckily, I'd already had an EARLY breakfast with Patricia that morning.

.

It is the little things that matter. Seeing Sandra (FINALLY), playing with Aidan, having Kim and Jaimie as my champions, Lance making an appearance, watching Matt butcher my cake, getting to set up more hip hop fun with Lu and Britt, catching up with the old Highgate crowd, Ceeece & Jason just being Ceeece & Jason, getting to be around the old college friends like Jess, Jonesy, Adina, John, Char & Nicole and all the other fabulous friends collected on along the way since. (Sarah, have fun in California!)

.

Then, I think about everyone I love who wasn't there and it makes me so thankful. I've really spent a lot more time praising the Lord in all things. Some days, that can seem really hard. Especially in the past week. However, once you get started it becomes humbling and amazing to start remembering that the blessings far outweigh the turmoil. And when I say it can be hard to praise, one day I just started with thanking the Lord for my apartment and the things inside of it. I was very upset, knew this was one of those "praise Him in all circumstances" but I needed to work with what I could see at that point and praise God for the obvious things that were right in front of me. You know those days, where nothing seems that glorious.

.

What was wonderful is that as my eyes traveled across all of those books on my bookshelf, I started remembering the people who gifted them (or swore that it was the best thing ever written and would change my life...some have). I thought about the conversations, the locations and the time of my life some of them were read. It is funny how we sometimes have such little energy to give to the Lord yet when we bring him what we have He multiplies it and gives it back to us as a way to minister to our hurting souls. I love books so there was a lifetime of love, memories, benchmarks, and people looking back at me from those shelves. The faith of a mustard seed was all it took for the Lord to send his comforting peace.

.

Selah.

So many great people showed up on Friday night at Southern Village for the Symphony. Afterwards, we all split off into groups and the crowd I was with went to see Ocean's 13.

This was one of the most fun weekends I have had in a long time. I almost always enjoy life but the concert was just the beginning. Saturday night, I ended up at West End with an old friend and a lot of new ones after dinner at 411 West. It is always a little funny to be at a wine bar sipping sparkling water like a connoisseur. I was reminded why I loved Chapel Hill. We met so many people who were "friends of friends of friends" and from so many different disciplines and countries and we are all bonded by our love of Carolina. Absolutely fabulous.

I realized that I've missed the diversity which is funny considering the fact that I go to one of the few multi-cultural churches in the Triangle. However, Sunday was nice, too... worshiping with 54 different ethnicities and 23 different nationalities does add something amazing to your existence. It was great to see some old friends there, as well. The nice thing about still living in the place you went to school is that when people come back to visit you get to be a part.

Just another little snippet of information on me. Nothing too personal, nothing too deep. Definitely nothing too juicy. You just never know who comes across my little part of the web galaxy.

One of Kayla's friends died tragically last Sunday. Fourteen years old is a hard age to loose a friend. Kate, K, & I were sitting on the couch watching a movie that afternoon when we heard the sirens. You never know how close to home some things can really be.

This story brought an end to the week. Now we know who her choice to become an organ donor helped save.

Just one week left until I leave for Europe! I'm most excited about Cinque Terre, Italy. It looks beautiful, doesn't it?

I'm headed to Charlotte this morning to do six, back to back, twenty minute presentations to about three hundred people. It should be interesting! The three hour drive there will give me plenty of time to collect my thoughts.

1. Jeff Friddle once again knocked dinner out of the park. To say that he is talented would not really describe the experience he creates. His cooking is fabulous but he also just goes above and beyond. I took Cole and even though Kim & I tried to prepare him for what was coming, his jaw dropped when Jeff told him the menu. The immediate benefits to showing up to prayer on Wednesday nights would definitely include dinner at Jeff's. Mike & Tom didn't know what they were turning down!

2. Today is my mom's birthday. I think I'm attempting to bake a Sarah Foster Cake. Patricia was given one of the cookbooks and apparently made a cake the she was told was the best her friends have ever had. I thought that sounded like a good option! I love it when friends give me good receipes.

3. Melanie and Jennifer taking photos in L.A. There is just something funny about friends you love trying to take a good picture while sitting in traffic. Melanie is coming to visit in October and hopefully Jennifer will be able to stop of in RDU for a few days, too.

Vocabulary ripped from Today's Headlines: Define "Popemobile"

One of this morning's top headlines on Google was that the Pope was unharmed after someone lunged at the popemobile.

Okay, what exactly IS the popemobile? The word is pretty offensive. Sounds like he is puttering around in a golf cart. Trusty Wikipedia helped me work it out.

Apparently, after a few assassination attempts, a new type of car was created in the 80s. Each country that the Pope visits has to have one made and then they just normally display it in a museum and wait for his next visit back.

In Portugal, private donors gave millions of dollars to have one constructed. The glass is bulletproof, bombproof (is that possible), and allows that Pope to still be seen as he stands (or sits) and waves to the crowds.

Last words: "In 2002, John Paul appealed to the media to stop referring to the custom-made vehicle as the popemobile, because he believed the title was undignified."

I agree, completely. It sounds awful. However, it is still kind of funny, especially when you see how strange the vehicle looks.

Why we retreat to nature...

I CANNOT FORGET WITH WHAT FERVID DEVOTION

I cannot forget with what fervid devotion
I worshipped the visions of verse and of fame;
Each gaze at the glories of earth, sky, and ocean,
To my kindled emotions, was wind over flame. -

And deep were my musings in life's early blossom,
Mid the twilight of mountain-groves wandering long;
How thrilled my young veins, and how throbbed my full bosom,
When o'er me descended the spirit of song! -

'Mong the deep-cloven fells that for ages had listened
To the rush of the pebble-paved river between,
Where the kingfisher screamed and gray precipice glistened,
All breathless with awe have I gazed on the scene; -

Till I felt the dark power o'er my reveries stealing,
From the gloom of the thicket that over me hung,
And the thoughts that awoke, in that rapture of feeling,
Were formed into verse as they rose to my tongue. -

Bright visions! I mixed with the world, and ye faded,
No longer your pure rural worshipper now;
In the haunts your continual presence pervaded,
Ye shrink from the signet of care on my brow. -

In the old mossy groves on the breast of the mountain,
In deep lonely glens where the waters complain,
By the shade of the rock, by the gush of the fountain,
I seek your loved footsteps, but seek them in vain. -

Oh, leave not, forlorn and forever forsaken,
Your pupil and victim, to life and its tears!
But sometimes return, and in mercy awaken
The glories ye showed to his earlier years.

I don't want to ever forget or loose my sense of awe or ability to be inspired by creation. To be able to have enough belief and hope and still be able to dream is still so important. William Cullen Bryant is one of those poets who "got it" but this poem also works as a warning to me. I don't want to be too beat down, too careworn, or too jaded by the world to let these emotions slip through my fingers.

AND if it is just something you experience in your youth, then I want to make sure that I'm out enjoying it now. SO, I'm going to work in the mountains next week!

Had a great weekend. Charity planned a really fun outing to Raleigh's Art Walk.
.

Kim and I got a lot of excercise on the trail at Lake Crabtree.

Girls' Night was a good time even though it rained and we couldn't have a picnic on the courtyard and listen to the band.
.

Watched a movie at Kate, Kayla, & Lucy's house. Sadly, we heard sirens during the movie that marked a bad moment for the family but we didn't find out until this morning.
.

Cooked dinner for Candice and Nicole now that they live in the neighborhood.
.

John Michael came into town and will be staying with me for a few days.

"Hey, chick, where's your car?"

Lost my car in a parking garage at 11pm in Downtown Raleigh.

Much love to Nicole, Jonesy, Justin, and Amy who walked through THREE different garages until we found the right one. Nicole gets extra points for walking 25 flights of stairs in slight heels, Jonesy for being the encouraging trail blazer and singing a fabulous song that ended in a call and response with the drunk people crossing the street, Justin & Amy for being so cool and finding the upside of the bonding experience, and, of course, extra points to me for effortlessly creating a bonding activity that went so well it lasted an entire hour. (Which meant I was mortified.)