season of summers

an important chapter of life has ended: school summer vacation. summer is always here (as long as the climate changes don't go too crazy), but i will (hopefully!) be employed sometime soon and that job will most likely not have 3 months of vacation time. boo. 

(summer '10 - ghiradelli in san fran)

 (summer '09 - libby's 8th grade graduation)

(summer '09 - hanging out with grandma and photobooth)

 (summer '10 - summers were incomplete without some dog sitting - here's one of my canine friends henri)

 (summer '10 - hanging at the grandparents' ...with mac of course)

 (summer '11 - mammoth family vacation)

 (summer '10 - dad hoping his height and our kbakes sign will help find kels after her HS graduation ceremony. i have never been so thankful for a tall father than during ceremonies like these where there are at least 2,000 people wandering a football field looking for 1 out of 450 graduates all wearing the same clothing)

(summer '11 - cousin reunion :))

 (summer '09 - reunion with the grimes in arkansas!)

 (summer '11 - making key lime pie for grandma's birthday -- 

with uncle alan cheering me on :))

 (summer '12 - walk on singing beach with lyss)

 (summer '12 - beach day with bekah)

(summer '12 - my 1st new england 4th of july! - with sam adams o' course!)

as i'm in the process of looking for work, i am reminded of the blessings of this past summer and the summers before that. each summer God has been faithful to provide both money as well as time with family and friends. i remember going back to Gordon for my junior year and feeling refreshed physically (yay for summer gym memberships!), spiritually (loved the church Bible study on the book of David), mentally (no papers to turn in! no Con Law briefs to write! No tests to study for! = decreased stress levels), and emotionally (cheers to laughing with my sisters and hanging with my family all summer long). that was the summer of '10, and summer '11 was different, but still so good - time with family and friends to process my time in Latin America, full-time work at the retirement center which i loved, vacationing with the family in the mountains, and doing spinning classes for exercise with some crazy athletic trainers.

this summer was different, but still wonderful. i confess i watched more TV than i would like to admit (netflix is a blessing and a curse) and at times was a bit lonely living by myself in a dorm, but i loved being in new england during the summer months, running to singing beach and exploring Boston during the warm summer evenings, laying out at west beach with dunkin' donuts iced coffee and a book in my hand, shopping at the outlets, and coffee dates with friends and co-workers. i read some good books and blog posts, learned more about managing a budget, and relished mcdonald's rolo mcflurries and $1 iced coffee (i think i have mentioned those two delicacies a few times already. i apologize. it's just THAT good). i felt like relationships with friends were strengthened and that i could rest. 

while i'm sad that this chapter of school-break-summer seasons is over, i am grateful for the rest and rejuvenation i have experienced during those late-may, june, july, and august months. i hope i'll find that same sort of rejuvenation and rest in these new seasons of life. 

life-long learning

i walked up to her office door on the third floor of frost, clutching the computer where i had just typed quotes that shook me, and the book (whose quotes i had typed furiously) sitting on top. i walked into her office and i just started to talk -- i don't ever seem to have hesitancy in that arena. when i'm that invested in something words just seem to pour out.

"dr. george, i don't know what to think about this. this is changing the way i think! the way i think about singleness and marriage and femininity and masculinity and my value as a woman and who i am and what society thinks of me and, and, and ..." the words bubble over.

and she looked at me in her chair and said words to me in her beautiful British accent. she nodded and told me stories and lessons about culture and society and this thing called paradigm shifts.

i'm scared of losing the love for books, for ideas that make me stay up late at night, for conversations that make me smile wide.

but i guess i shouldn't be fearing that. you see, i found that book (the one i took up to my professor's office) at a small bookstore in boston. my friend and i were purusing the book shelves and i stumbled upon it, flipped through a few pages and was fascinated by the author's frank discussion about weddings and bachelorette parties and what being a bride and groom signifies. so i bought it and read it and haven't stopped talking about it since.

i'm not a college student anymore, but i hope to always be a student in some capacity. and maybe one day, i can be a teacher too. i can have a bedroom or office where people come to me bursting with confusion and eagerness about books and ideas. and we can be confused and eager together. i can look in their eyes and smile and say "me too! i'm excited too!" and we can drink coffee or tea and share stories and ideas and lessons.

i hope to always discover things - the big and small. i hope to always leave crazy voice mail messages on my friends' phones that go like this "LISA THIS BOOK IS BLOWING MY MIND! YOU HAVE TO READ THIS! IT'S SO INCREDIBLY GOOD!" and i hope to always sit at the dinner table with my dad and talk about the newspaper and those articles he clipped out and places in his basket next to the computer.

i'm hoping school is closer than it feels. and i'm hoping to always be a life-long learner, no matter if i'm taking 16 credits or zero.

welcome to california

I made it to California. 

After two weeks of long car rides, books on tape, periodic bathroom stops, hotel and hostel sleeping, and countless interstate signs along the road, I am back in Southern California. It's funny to me how much scenery changes across the states I traveled through -- from the Nautica/polo-preppy attire of Cape Cod and manicured homes along the beaches of Massachusetts, through the vibrant green trees aligning the roads in the south, to the bare-landscape of the interstate leading to Searcy, Arkansas where there were homes just "here and there" for miles and miles, to the insane heat of Dallas, Texas, to the cactus-hills of Arizona, and then to the hazy fog of mornings in San Diego. On one side of the coast you see signs for Waffle House and Dunkin' Donuts and then finally you reach Arizona and the sign for "In-N-Out" miraculously appears. I wonder how when someone from another country decides to visit the US how they go about picking their exact destination.

I am thankful to be here. And I am thankful that I can say that confidently, even though I sometimes wonder if I fit in with Southern California culture and wonder what it's going to be like as I make friends here and make this my home again. 

Highlights from the trip:

(1) Being with my mom and friend Allison (P.S. Check out her blog - she has tons of sweet photos). You can't do a drive like this with out someone sitting in the passenger side, or driving while you take a nap. We passed the time together by listening to books on tape, enjoying the scenery, reading books to each other, chatting about things like the upcoming election and gender roles and weddings and jobs and work and figuring out life (and lots in between - including a very short game of 20 Questions).

(2) Friends and family along the way. It was really special to see family in Virginia and friends in Arkansas and California as we traveled. Plane flights are expensive, schedules are busy, and reconnecting across the miles is difficult. Hence, road tripping proved to be the perfect way to just be together - by eating meals, enjoying the pool, making crafts, and driving around their respective towns. It was fun to meet some of Allison's family along the way and to hang out in San Diego with our friend from the semester in Costa Rica. And I got to see one of the families I hung out with during my week in San Diego for spring break. That was so so SO special

(3) McDonalds: this is more of a confessionary point. I think I went to McDonalds almost every day during this trip. Before you freak out and assume I have gained 30 pounds, let me clarify that usually the stop was for iced coffee (and sometimes for a fruit n yogurt parfait as well). I always looked for those golden arches as we drove along the road - it was the perfect bathroom/coffee stop. 

(4) The South. In Virginia I saw the city of Richmond which holds many stories from the Civil War, in North Carolina I ate grits and fried okra, in Arkansas people wore high heels to church, and in Texas I heard the long accent drawl "how are youuuuuuuuuu?" The south is different and fun, and while I'm not sure I would want to live there, I enjoyed being there -- and I really do love that accent.
(5) My car, Charlie (pronounced Chah-lie). He was a champ. Despite a few minor hiccups along the road (climbing hills was a bit difficult at some points and my hazard lights decided to randomly go off 

at different points throughout the trip), my car did great and I am incredibly thankful for that!

the end!

texas / new mexico / arizona

texas:

fort worth at night

 dealey plaza. hello JFK!

 

brownwood (allison's college hometown)

beginning the drive to albuquerque before the sun rises ...here we go west texas!

we stopped at allison's cousin's restaurant in plainview, texas for some delicious mexican food!

we did go to new mexico. no pictures to document that trip, but we stayed at a nice home through air b&b and then headed to the grand canyon!

it was breathtaking. i don't think there's any more words needed to describe it. 

trekkin' through the south

and the journey continues!

places i can cross off my list (well, sort of -- certainly not enough time spent in all these beautiful places!)

*nashville, tn

*searcy, ar

mom and i checked out the grand ol' opry hotel in nashville

 crossing the mississippi river en route to arkansas!!!

 crafting it up in searcy, arkansas with our dear friends the grimes!!

 katie and i made earrings holders, candle holders and picture frames

now i'm in dallas, texas and off for the second leg of the journey with my friend allison.

i've been slacking on the words part of this blog -- trust me, there will be plenty to come. thanks for reading and following my adventures!!