Is it Really Christmas Time?

With my friend Jamie at Second String Santa - annual X-mas Party.

The term "time flies" has never had such meaning as it does now.  Working full-time and trying to maintain my social, spiritual, physical and emotional health is like juggling flaming torches while walking a tight rope over the Grand Canyon.  I can't help but think, how in the world do women with kids do it??  Good grief. 

On the plus side, my body is adapting to less sleep, so I'm getting by with between 7 and 8 hours a night, instead of my previous 9.  My feet are also adapting to standing for long intervals and all the standing is helping keep the weight off even though I don't have time to work out every day anymore.

With friends at Second String Santa

My typical day is this: drive anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours to get to a blood drive or a high school pre-recruitment.  Then I spend the next several hours either saying "Would you like to donate blood today? You can help save three lives?" then answering any questions of those who actually stop to acknowledge me; OR, "Any of you still need to sign up for the blood drive next week?  You get out of class, get a t-shirt and free Subway!"  Needless to say, the students are much more eager to give.

Dinner at my new place with friends for the first weekend of Dec.

Today was quite interesting.  I was at CMC hosptial in Concord today and originally the developer, Adam, (he booked the drive) was supposed to be there with me the whole time. But he had a drive that was going badly so shortly after my arrival, he left.  I was standing with a table full of CBCC (Community Blood Center of the Carolinas) goodies, and catching people as they entered and exited the cafeteria to remind them about the blood drive which was taking place downstairs.  Then, some CMC worker bee rolls a popcorn cart up next to me and says "Here's your popcorn machine."  I was like, "Umm, my popcorn machine?"  She said, "Yes, didn't Adam tell you? We give out popcorn to get people over here. Where is he?"  I informed her that he'd left me there alone and she looked disturbed and proceeded to show me how to work the contraption.  I then spent the next 3 hours trying to slice open the bags of popcorn seed/buttery good with a box knife (and not get sliced myself), feeding it into the burning hot metal cooker (without getting burned), pop open the flattened popcorn boxes and fill them with the buttery mess without getting dirty.  Not to mention hand them out, tell people about the blood drive, and try to keep random passers-by from stealing all the pens, notepads, water bottles and so forth that were supposed to be for people after they donated. It was NOT a one-woman job. 

Over 40 friends went caroling at an old-folks home.

However, I got pretty good at it, and after a while, the woman who'd brought me the cart came back and said, "Wow, you're doing really great!"  Sheesh.  Who thought I'd be getting movie concessions training at my job??

At the entrance of McAddenville

This month has been a difficult one for my blood drives.  During this month where we celebrate the greatest gift of all, many people are incredibly self-centered and utterly unconcerned for those in need. No drive has been as terrible as the one I had last night at the YMCA in Ballantyne.  In an area that is flooded with wealth and stay-at-home moms, these people could not take 30 minutes from their schedule to save lives.  Their days are strategically planned out - nails, hair, gym, dry-cleaners, Christmas shopping - there simply isn't time!  But if we had a gala in which they needed to donate $200 a piece, I bet we'd have a swarm.  *sighs*  So, I may not get my bonus for meeting my quota this month, but I'm trying to pull out all the stops and get my friends out en masse. And, I believe I will donate for the first time Thursday when my friend Jeff comes to donate as well.  I can donate at the center while on the clock, so I figure it's about time I suck it up and do it.  Here's to praying I don't pass out or something. 

with my friend Lesley in McAddenville

It doesn't seem real that Christmas is 6 days away.  I've never not had a Christmas break before.  This year, I'll only have off Christmas day and New Years Day.  However, I do have some happy visits coming.  The day after Christmas (when my family goes down to Tallahassee to see Grandma Bailey), my friend Erika from LA will be coming in town and staying with me until the 30th.  Then Lieselotte (who will be in Raleigh for a couple weeks over her Christmas break), will come on the 31st and we will attend a NYE party together and spend New Years Day together.  I have such lovely friends - whatever would I do without them?

I also have funny stories from last weeks blood drives.  1) While at Chase High School in Forest City, NC (in the middle of nowhere), a high-schooler asked if he could take me to lunch.  He then proceeded to tell me I didn't look a day over 21.  I said, "Even if I was 21, I'd still be far too old for you."  It was quite amusing though.  2) I was working a blood drive sponsored by The Meat House in Ballantyne.  While standing in front of the store and directing people to the blood mobile, an employee kept coming out to cook meat on a grill.  Finally, he asked if I was waiting for someone.  I told him no, I was telling people about the blood drive.  It was a rather slow day, so whenever he came out, we chatted about various things - mostly about what I did for my job.  At the end, I went inside the store to buy a sandwich for lunch.  The manager said it was on the house and then said, "Tim, come help this lady with her order!"  But Tim must have been outside again, because a different guy helped me instead.  Then the manager said, "Hey, write Tim's number on there in case she has any questions."  That is when I realized that Tim must have said something about me inside the store and all the employees were in on this.  Finally, while my sandwich was being made, Tim came out and gave me a "tour" of the store.  Finally he said, "What are you doing tonight? Do you want to get a glass of wine or something?" I was totally flustered and said, "Umm, I have a family dinner tonight."  He said, "Well, I really came out here to give you this (and handed me his name and number on a sheet of paper).  Give me a call sometime if you want to hang out." 

Josh, Renee, Bethany, me and Bill at a Christmas party

I was a little shell-shocked because of his audacity - most guys my age are such chickens it's unbelievable.  Anyhow, I texted him later and said I could probably get together after dinner.  We met up at Fox and Hound that evening and I found out he is also 25.  We had a lot to talk about - he's been to most of the countries I've been to, loves nature and travel, reading and good movies.  Two hours later, the time had flown and I said, "Oh it's late! I have to get to bed."  He walked me to my car and asked if I wanted to go see the Hobbit with him on Thursday.  I said yes.  So, let's hope I don't react to giving blood too poorly that day. lol 

with friends at Tyber Creek Christmas party

I've also been attending nonstop parties. It's been a lot of fun, but rather exhausting - and not good for my waistline!  This past weekend my dearest Bethany who just returned from the World Race came with me to a Christmas party.  It was the first time I'd seen her since her return, and oh how happy I was to have her back!  It was like no time had passed, yet she seemed somewhat different - older, wiser.  I suppose that happens when you go to 11 third-world countries in a year.  Another party I attended was a Christmas tea party for my life group.  We all dressed up in antique hats and gloves given to Whitney by her grandmother, and spoke in British accents all night.  I kept mine up pretty much the entire 2.5 hours.  It was so much fun!  I wish I could get away with that on a daily basis! :)

with some of my life group ladies at the tea party

I also went with a bunch of friends to McAddenville - which is a little town outside of Charlotte requiring each house to decorate for Christmas.  We parked at a nearby gas station and walked through the town to avoid the crazy traffic.  It was fun, but not quite as magical as Disney at Christmas (which I much need to see again - it's been since I was a child that I saw Disney at Christmas, but I do remember it being one of the most magical sights ever). 

I also went to a huge Christmas party with over 600 people called Second String Santa where you bring a gift and $20 to be donated to the Salvation Army to help with children's Christmas presents. A large group of about 40 people mostly from my church organized a caroling event at a nursing home where we entertained the residents for nearly an hour with a variety of Christmas carols.

trying to help "Lady Katie" with her corset

There seems to be so very much to tell - but I will stop now.  Must get to bed!  However, I will try to be better about updating this more regularly so it's not a novel each and every time. 

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

Working Girl

"Friendsgiving" - a bunch of us got together for food and fun

Working life is treating me well thus far!  I quite enjoy my job, though I can see already that driving is going to get old really fast.  I drive to blood drives almost every day, usually far away from my home and/or office.  Think Hickory, Gastonia, Lincolnton, Mint Hill, etc.  However, I get paid for both my drive time and .55 cents a mile, so not too bad. I just need to load up on books on CD. 

My job consists of going to blood drives at schools, businesses, YMCAs, churches etc. and informing people about the blood drive and asking them/convincing them to donate. I have a goal of blood units for each drive, and I try to get at least that many units.  In my first three or four recruitments, I exceeded goal, but the last three were difficult with the holidays upon us and people being in a rush.  I’m hoping to do really well the weekend after Thanksgiving since people will be out and about, and hopefully feeling benevolent. J

Mitch, Tiffany, me and Jeff at Friendsgiving

When in the office, I create lawn signs for the drives, ship them out, make sure other promotional materials are ready way ahead of time and do other random things to help the developers (those who schedule the drives with the sponsors).

Yesterday I worked 10.5 hours, but Friday I won’t have to work until 3, so that’s good.  The hours are fairly flexible (other than when I have to be at drives), which enables doctors’ appointments and things of that nature.  

Unfortunately, I don’t have the time to work out every day anymore, but when on the job, I’m almost always on my feet either standing or walking.  I also eat less than I would at home because I stay busy and don’t think about it as much.  I’m hoping that will balance out my lack of gym time and I won’t gain weight! J  I also bought five new pairs of really comfortable shoes because I realized that standing 5 hours at a time is not possible in most of the dressy shoes I own.  Over $500 later, I now have shoes that are both cute and comfortable, and should last me a long, long time.

I’m still doing the Charity Column for the newspaper once a week, and tutoring once a week.  I also have Bible study once a week and silk either once or twice a week (depending on what I can fit in).  Tonight will be the first time I get to go to silk class since I left for California. I’m really excited, but I know I’m going to be dying up there – it’s so exhausting if you’ve missed time and try to return to the swing of things.

Last weekend I got baptized which was really nice.  I’d never been baptized before, so it’s something that was on my list.  Nothing like getting in a big tub of water fully clothed in front of 50 of your friends, family and strangers. Haha  I was really glad to do it though and was happy that Pastor David was the one baptizing the night I was there.

I also met someone at a charity event called the Red Hot Turkey Bash.  His name is Jeff and this other woman I’d started talking to at the event met us both and introduced us to one another.  If things continue to go well, I know she will take personal credit for it. Haha  Jeff is 31 and 6’4” – almost a full foot taller than me.  But that’s okay, because I carry myself like I’m 5’8”.  J

Mom and Dad are driving to Alabama to see Brett for Thanksgiving, so I’m doing Turkey Day with Maria, Nicole and their family.  It’ll be the first Thanksgiving without family, but they pretty much feel like family, so it won’t be much different.

California Continued

Seeing Mike for the first time since last year.

Reuniting with Lieselotte.

Lunch with Mike, Eric, me and Lies in Berkeley.

Lies and me at Halloween.

View of the Golden Gate from Coit Tower.

With Jaja in Coit Tower.

On Pier 39 with Alcatraz behind me.

I can't believe I haven't written in so long when so much has happened.  Berkeley and San Fran were amazing.  I hung out with Mike a few times while Lies was in class, and the three of us hung out one night and had a really great time. We went to Indian Rock to see the sunset from Berkeley overlooking SF - the same place I went with Mike last year.  He hadn't been back since then, and Lies had never been.  We had a really great time and Lies was blown away by how beautiful it was. She said she plans to go back with friends and bring a picnic. After that, we ate dinner at a Peruvian place called Brasa and it was delicious.  There was a long mirror in the restaurant that had mustaches painted on it and we took pictures in the mirror, looking like we were wearing the mustaches.  It was really funny and we laughed and laughed. From there we went back to Lies' place and played Klaverjassen (the Dutch card game Lies' family taught me a year or so ago).  We played a three-handed version which isn't quite as fun as the four-handed one, but we still really enjoyed it.  Mike laughed at the scores after we played 9 rounds and I was killing both of them.  He said it was interesting how the woman working on her PhD had the lowest score, the guy working on his MBA had the middle score, and the woman with a BA was kicking butt. ;) 

With Lies on her front steps.

I also went into SF one day and spent the day with a CouchSurfer named Jaja.  She was from the Phillipines but has been living in the US since 2010.  She spoke excellent English - I couldn't believe it. We walked a long way that day.  We walked from the Powell St. Bart stop all the way to Coit Tower, went to the top and had great views of the city (though the bridge was pretty much shrouded in clouds), and then walked all the way to Fisherman's Wharf/Pier 39.  I bought a couple gifts and then we walked back through Little Italy and China Town before I went back to Berkeley to meet Lies after she got out of lab.  That night, we had dinner at Jupiter's pizza and it was delicious.  We sat outside but a little fire and even though it was rather cool, we had a great time.

View from Indian Rock with sunset over the Golden Gate.

For Halloween, Lies and some of her friends and I went into the city.  We went to the Castro district (known for its population of gay people and a lot of really odd characters - including random naked people).  It was definitely a sight to behold.  Despite the drizzle and people everywhere, I did enjoy myself.  Lies' friends who came with us were great, and I'd even met one before in Amsterdam.  They are all very smart (most are in her PhD program), so it was always good conversation.  For example, I learned a good bit about color blindness as well as random anatomy facts.  Four of us left around 1 a.m. and took a taxi back to Berkeley.  Lies and her other two friends didn't end up making it home until 5 a.m., as they'd had to take a bus and it only ran every hour and they couldn't find the stop.  It was a whole big fiasco, and she said next time, she'll just stay in Berkeley for Halloween.  

With Lies on Indian Rock.

Another afternoon I met my cousin Kelly in the city (she was in town for work from Jacksonville, FL) and we went shopping.  I got some great deals at H&M and Marshalls.  Then, when Erin (Kelly's step-sister) got off work in the city, she picked us up and we went to this street that looks like it was transported straight out of Europe.  It's not known very well by tourists.  It has white lights strung across the narrow ally and the restaurants are all on a row on the right with outside seating in the ally.  They are French, Spanish, Italian and maybe a couple others.  Last time I was in town we went to a French restaurant.  This time, we went to the Spanish one and shared a bunch of tapas.  It was so yummy!  From there, Erin drove Kelly and me to the hotel Kelly had gotten, and the three of us chatted for a while until Kelly (who'd gotten up at 4 a.m. the previous two days) was practically asleep at 9:15.  Erin left, and I stayed in the hotel that night with Kelly.  She worke up at 4 a.m. again and left before I work up.  After I did, I got ready and took the BART back to Berkeley to meet up with Lieselotte.  It was a really beautiful day, so we walked to campus and enjoyed how pretty it was.  She had to do some lab work where she had to check on an experiment every hour, so we hung out until about 4 and then hung out with Mike the rest of the evening.

Lies, Mike and me at Indian Rock.

The day I left, I hung out with Lies in the morning - it was a beautiful day and we sat in the front lawn for a while enjoying it.  Then Mike picked me up and we went to church in the afternoon (in which we were practically the only 2 non-Asians in the joint - but it was a good service), then we went to a coffee shop to hang out until he brought me to the BART.  At the coffee shop, I made friends with the people sitting on either side of us, when my giant laptop incited laughter all around when I propped it up next to Mike's tiny little iPad.  Turns out, the girl on one side of us was soon moving to Charlotte for a job at Ernst and Young. So I chatted with her and we became facebook friends.  Then the guy on the other side of us started talking to me about video game addiction, and I told him how I'd written an article on it, so we became facebook friends and I sent him the link to my article.   Meanwhile, poor Mike was trying to get homework done and was probably none too pleased with my social butterfly-ness.  But he didn't complain.  He then drove me to BART and I took it to Millbrae where Erin and Kerri met me on the other end and took me to dinner before bringing me to the airport to catch my red eye.

It was a really fun trip overall, and seemed both long and short simultaneously.  It's always hard to leave a place when you have parts of your heart there, and it seems like I have parts of my heart in so many places now. 

I'm now back in Charlotte and it is the second week of my new job.  I'm a blood drive recruiter - basically go to the drives and get people to donate.  Most of the time, I'm out and about and not stuck behind my desk in the office.  This is good, but also a little exhausting.  I'm hoping once I buy more comfortable shoes, my feet will be a bit happier about the situation. lol  I really enjoy talking to people and knowing that for every person who says "yes," I'm helping in the process of saving lives.  Today I went to CMC main and to the Siskey YMCA recruiting, working 9 hours straight without a lunch break.  Tomorrow, I had to Gaston County for a college campus recruitment.  Thank goodness they reimburse for mileage! 


Well, I'm beyond exhausted so I'm off.  Stay tuned for updates. :)

CALIFORNIA!!!!!!! (LA, SB, Big Sur)

Can you tell by the title I'm excited to be back??  I LOVE California in October.  Maybe I just get supremely lucky, but this month is good luck for me.  Cali+Lauren+October = fantastic weather, time and friends! :)

Pier near LA

I also flew standby this time thanks to a friend who is a flight attendant for US Air.  This saved me a ton of money, though did make things slightly difficult on the way out.  I tried to catch a 9:50 nonstop from Charlotte to LA, but it was full, so I flew to Philly then was able to get on a 2:05 to LA.  I arrived in LA at 5:20 p.m. and my bag (which had made it on the original flight) was waiting for me in a little baggage claim room.  This was actually rather nice, since I didn't have to wait for my bags to come out on the turnstile.

My friend Erika (who I met through my life group back in 2009 and who moved out to LA in Aug. of 2010), picked me up from the airport.  We drove straight to a lovely pier with restaurants and a great view of the receding sun.  After taking some photos on the pier, we had dinner at a place with awesome fish tacos.  We ended the evening back at her place in Torrance, Ca. (a suburb of LA), and both went to bed at 10 p.m. (of course my body thought it was 1 a.m.).

Erika and me before our killer hike

The next morning we woke a little before 8 and decided to go hiking at Palos Verdes (which translates to green sticks).  We started at the top of a high hill at Del Cerro Park which is at least several hundred feet in elevation.  Standing at the top with a cool breeze hitting us and looking out at the shimmering water in the distance, we decided to hike to the water.  It couldn't be that bad....right?  Well, the hike down wasn't terrible.  Dusty and dry with little shade, but not bad.  When we made it to the cliffs along the water, we were amazed by the view.  We saw below us a secluded beach with sand and big rocks.  The water was turquoise and cobalt blue.  At the other side of the little cove, there was a cave.  We decided to go exploring, and took a steep trail to the water's edge.  We were the only two people in sight.  We skipped rocks, took photos and really enjoyed watching all the wildlife in the tide-pools.  We saw starfish, crabs, purple and blue sea anemones and more. Then we realized there were two seals on a rock a little way into the water.  We got as close as we could and took photos.  They were so cute - one kept petting the other with his flipper (so he was either saying "I love you" or "get off, this is my rock").  We made it to the cave, which was actually more like an arch, for the water rushed through from the other side and swelled up in a big rush.  It was really cool.

As we made our way back to the other side of the beach, we saw a man splashing water on himself at the water's edge - and he was naked!  Finally, he must have seen us, because he went and put a towel on and sat over by the base of the cliff while we passed.  Haha - welcome to California!

We decided to hike all the way to the sea

The little cove we made it down to.

It was on the way back to our car that we realized we should have parked closer to our destination.  The trek back up was uphill the whole way, and the last half mile was practically straight up.  Add to that 85 degree heat, no moisture in the air, and only one bottle of water (Erika forgot to bring one).  We started rationing the water by the beginning of the hike back, and by the end, we both had dehydration headaches, we didn't have to pee anymore, and we were practically falling over.  We seriously thought the vultures may find our dessicated bodies on the mountainside the next day.  But, at last, we made it - four hours after starting out.  I can't tell you how many miles it was - but I know it was a lot.  Upon attaining the car, we drove straight to the nearest shopping center and got glasses of water at Whole Foods while they made us smoothies.  I gulped about 20 oz. in 2 minutes, then drank a 16 oz. smoothie.  I can't remember anything tasting better.

We were pretty much done for the rest of the day.  We came home, showered, and watched a movie before getting ingredients at the grocery store for dinner and picking up another movie.  We made an amazing black bean, corn, feta dip that Aunt Coleen taught me, and my (now famous) sopapilla cheesecake. Add in some fruit, and that was our dinner. lol

Resting after the first half of the hike.

We got up at 7:30 on Saturday and Erika attempted to drive me to meet up with Eric in Oxnard (partway between LA and Santa Barbara).  However, right when we reached Malibu on Hwy 1, traffic came to a standstill.  A bus of kids told us out the window that there was a 3 car pileup and we should turn around.  So we did, and got on the 405 which also had a lot of traffic, but no accident.  We were then supposed to get off on the 101 heading North/West, but we missed it and ended up on the 5 which heads into the Ca. hills in the east. By the time we realized, it was too far to backtrack, so we took a random state road to cut back over and ended up meeting Eric in Ventura 2 hours later than originally planned.

Down by the water in Palos Verdes.

Eric (who I met originally on the Utah trip July '11) and I set off immediately (he had a full day of sightseeing planned).  We went Rinton Beach first and sat on some big rocks and just enjoyed the lovely day.  Next we  stopped by the beach in Summerland, picked up lunch and drove about 45 minutes to the top of the highest peak around - La Cumbre Peak (4,000 ft elevation). We ate our lunches up there and watched a ton of hand gliders all around.  One flew right over us, and we could hear him whistling. It was about this time that I decided I really needed to use the bathroom - of which the closest was at least 30 min away. Luckily, it was a very secluded area with lots of large boulders - so I had to pee behind a rock.  Probably my second time ever that I had to pee outside.  It totally grossed me out, but at least I could enjoy the view better after that.

The seals we saw.

Partway down the mountains, we stopped at some ruins from a huge lodge that used to sit on the edge of this mountain in the late 1800s.  I have no idea how horse and buggies made it up there, but they did.  Now it's known as Knapp's Castle and it's ruins are really pretty with fantastic views of the Santa Ynez Mountains and Lake Cachuma that serves as Santa Barbara's water supply.  One part of the wall that is still standing was quite wide and I walked along it and Eric got some pictures that look really terrifying/cool.  It looks like, if I fell, I'd kill myself.  But really I'd probably just break an arm.  However, I was careful and crawled whenever I got a little spooked.  Eric wouldn't stand at all - he just crawled and sat. lol  

The "cave"

From there we drove back down into Santa Barbara and went to the UCSB college campus.  It was really pretty, and as Eric pointed out, not a lot of homework gets done with the beach literally in front of the dorms and nature/hiking so nearby.  We watched people skin board, surf, paddle board and swim.  It was a gorgeous evening and we got some great shots of the sunset from a huge rock that jutted into the water.

With Eric at the top of a very high mountain near SB.

Knapp's Castle

Eric at Knapp's

right by the UCSB campus

Finally we went back to Eric's parents' house and I took a much needed shower.  His mom made us a yummy stir-fry dinner with tofu (I pretended it was chicken) and then we went through our pictures from the day. I showed his mother a bunch of the photos we'd taken that day, and some from home.  She's very sweet and really enjoyed seeing my pictures.  Then Eric got his guitar and he started playing song and I sang along for about two hours.  His mom said she enjoyed it so much and that we sounded really good.  I'm not sure we'd be a very successful band, but it was fun. lol

Sunset from UCSB

The next day we started the drive up Hwy 1 toward Monterrey.  We stopped at a bunch of different overlooks and cool places - the views were to die for.  One of our first stops was at Morro Rock (located in Morro Bay) where a huge rock comes up out of the water.  It's like a mini Gibraltar.  Standing on the breakers next to Morro Rock, you could watch the waves come in and often get unexpectedly splashed (as I did).  

At another vista point stop, this squirrel came right up to us, and we realized it must be used to getting fed.  We pulled some nuts out of the car and got some great photos of Eric and me feeding him.  Another stop gave us a view of a huge beach covered in elephant seals.  At Ragged Point, we ate subway lunches and looked out over a stunning vista.  Basically, everywhere we stopped was breathtaking. One of our favorite spots was McWay Falls in Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park. There was a waterfall off the cliff hitting the beach right by a cove with waves of turquoise rushing in.  It's really indescribable.  We also stopped and saw elephant seals (hundreds of them) on this one spot of coastline where they all gather.

watching the sun set in the Pacific

We finally made it to Monterrey in a sea of clouds (it had been pretty clear all day) around 7 p.m.  We'd originally planned to camp, but Eric was getting over a cold and it was cold/wet in Monterrey, so we stayed at a cheap hotel.  I'm quite glad, because it was way colder out than I was anticipating. We ate dinner on Cannery Row (a famous street in Monterrey) at a place called Buccaneers and listened as the restaurant erupted in cheers when the SF Giants won the World Series. This morning, we finished the drive to Berkeley where we met  Lieselotte and Mike for lunch at an outdoor cafe.  After making introductions and chatting for about an hour, Lies went back to her work in the lab and Eric drove Mike and me back to Mike's place.  When Lies gets off, Mike will drive me to her house.

Elephant seals, Ragged Point, Julia Burns State Park

McWay Falls

Right now, we're in a coffee shop while he works on some stuff and I do this blog.  It's hard to find time to keep up with my blog when I'm having such a great time living. :)

Good Times are Here

It's been a really good week!!  First off, I got a job!  I was officially offered the position at Community Blood Center of the Carolinas on Oct. 15.  I went in to fill out the paper work and get my drug test (which I passed - shocker, I know ;)).  Anyway, they agreed to let me still keep my Cali trip plans, so I will start Nov. 6. 

This past weekend I went to the mountains for a girls retreat with some of the girls from my bible study. I was a little let down right before the weekend started, for I'd planned this way in advance so everyone could come, and we had about 15 people say they'd be there - and then, they all ended up dropping out, excuse after excuse, until there were only four of us left who actually made it up to Jonas Ridge. However, as soon as we got up there, I forgot about my letdown and was taken away by the unbelievable beauty.  It was a peak weekend for the leaves, and wow.  So gorgeous. 

Katie and I went up first on Friday afternoon.  I showed her around the mountain and we did a little impromptu photo shoot playing with the settings on my new camera.  (Which, by the way, I absolutely love).  Then we visited with the Keiths for a little while before heading back to the house.  We tried to catch the sunset, but the clouds were too low to see it well.

We came back and played around with the photos on the computer and made tuna for dinner.  Ti and Christina arrived about 9:20 and Christina and I taught Ti and Katie how to play Spades.

On Saturday, I made pancakes for breakfast and then we went to Upper and Lower Falls. We hiked to Lower and then hiked over the boulders to get to Upper (my usual route). The water was higher than usual though, so we had a bit of an interesting time and a little bush-whacking to get up there.  Christina wanted to take jumping pictures (inspired by all of mine), so we went a little crazy with the jumping pics. lol

By the time we got back to the house, we were all sore and tired.  We took showers and changed and got all pretty to go out and do an official photo shoot with my camera and tripod. I directed the shoot and I think the photos turned out really great.  It was a lot of fun being able to direct the shots and be in them.

The sunset that night was absolutely gorgeous. 

We finished our game of spades, made lasagna for dinner and then watched "Wild Hearts Can't be Broken" - one of my favorite old Disney movies.

Christina and Ti went to bed about 10:30, but Katie and I went out to look at the stars - and I saw two shooting stars. It was very cold, but it was nice, lying in the yard and watching the clouds move to reveal the heavens.

The next morning I made biscuits (from a bag) and oatmeal (which I kinda burned), but anyway, I was the first one up (amazingly), so that's just the way it was.  The biscuits were good. :)

We went to Linville Falls after that, but it was really crowded.  Pretty, but nothing super special.  Christina and Ti left after lunch and Katie and I got some stuff done until 5 when we left and headed straight for a clothing exchange. 

It wasn't as good as the last clothing exchange, but we each found some good stuff.  Overall, it was a very full weekend.  Now, I'm trying to get a bunch of stuff done before I leave for Cali on Thursday.  So excited!!!

Ti and Me

Me, Christina, Ti, Katie

me