Road Trip!

Nothing says spontaneous like a last minute road trip, right? I think most of your know the story by now, so this is mainly for me to be able to remember such a fun and unexpected week.

A little back story: Back in November, Julie and Christian got surprise orders to move from Fayetteville, NC to Tacoma, WA. Christian's report date was at the beginning of January which meant they had some serious scrambling to do to get the house ready, packed and moved. They turned in the keys to their rental in NC and headed to Atlanta for a week mid-December. I got to see them (and cute Madelyn) a few times as we all counted down to the big move out West. The night before they left, I was talking to Dad on the phone and he suggested that we (he and I) take their other car out to Washington for them. I was instantly game, but was sure that it would cause more stress on them since they were packing up and heading out the next day. I called to offer and we had a YES! within the hour. Even though they were leaving the next day, dad and I knew we wouldn't pull out until after Christmas.

So they dropped the Jeep off on their way out of town the next day. It sat at the end of my parent's driveway taunting dad and I every time we passed it. Dad read the manual and practiced driving it to the gym and local errands. Oh, I guess I should mention that it is a 6-speed manual. Which means that dad was going to be doing all of the driving since I have yet to master a clutch. From the minute Julie and Christian agreed, Dad started looking up maps and routes online. He was checking the weather patterns every 5 minutes and would always have a different suggestion for how we should get from one side to the other. I realized early on that this was the big difference between us. I was more concerned about what we would listen to in the car or what I could pack and could I prepare for the different temps across the country while still fitting it all into one suitcase for the flight home, but I could care less about our routes and directions.

I got really sick the week before Christmas and was essentially bed/couch ridden the entire week (dang sinuses). Thankfully this was the first year I'd decided to do all of my Christmas shopping via Esty and Amazon instead of local stores on Christmas Eve. I think by Christmas Day we were both feeling overwhelmed at the task ahead of us. I mean, it sounded like fun to take a cross country road trip, but just how would it go? Would dad really try to make me drive some of the way as he had threatened? Would we run out of things to talk about? Would we get on each other's nerves? All this loomed at the fore front of our minds....along with my secret fear of passing on my sick germs to Dad half way through the week.

First thing December 26th, we got up, showered, breakfasted, and hit the road. Thus starting the Great Trans-American Expedition.

Day 1:

Here we are with the Jeep moments before pulling out of the driveway.

Our first rest stop visit after the Alabama border. Dad is already consulting the map.

We decided early on to take a picture of each state sign. Silly me dropped the ball heading into Alabama so we thought this would have to count. The #1 finger signifies the first state (well, technically 2nd since Georgia does count).

Since I was still recovering from being sick, we bumped elbows at every new state entry instead of the traditional Meloy handshake. This was my first time in Mississippi!

I'm sorry to say, my photography skills were challenged this week. This is welcome to Louisiana.

We decided to take a turn through New Orleans since I've never been. As it turns out, we didn't stay long. It just so happens that the Atlanta Falcons were playing the New Orleans Saints at the Superdome that night. There was traffic everywhere! People were tailgating/pre-gaming and partying in the streets as they made their way to the Dome. What's even more stressful is that it started raining. So we took a turn through the main part of the city so Dad could show me some of the sights. I was stressed by all of the people and didn't think it was worth it to try and find parking so we could eat a bignet. So we just waved at the famous spots as we jumped back on the highway. Next stop was Baton Rouge where we stayed the evening.

Day 2:

I think we were both running on a high from making it through the first day. We did notice once we hit highway speeds that there was no way to listen to the radio. The Jeep had a canvas top so once you got up to around 70, the wind noise made it too loud to hear anything...including each other. You should've seen us yelling back and forth. I also noticed after day 1 that my eyes were red and sore as I was going to sleep. It took me until day 4 to realize that it was probably wind burn. It was like the same feeling at the end of skiing a full day. Even with goggles on, your eyes get red and scratchy.

Anyway, Day 2 had more adventures in store for us so we hit the road.

Next stop: Waco, TX! OK, so there were a few bathroom stops and a lunch stop before we made it. We hit Waco right around dinner time and stopped in to see Court and Co. and their new house. Ryan's parents were in town for Christmas so we didn't stay too long. Plus we had more stops to make!

A huge star welcomed us to Texas!

The officialy elbow bump.

We hit our first 1,000 miles

Court's new house. Isn't it cute?

A close-up :)

Next stop on our road trip adventure was to the house of my god-parents....who just so happen to live in Waco. I haven't been to their house since I was little (maybe 8?) and they had no idea we were in town. *Note that I have seen their family since I was 8, just not in their house. So dad and I got their address from mom and rolled up to the front door. I was surprisingly nervous! They were so shocked to see us, I thought we were going to have to introduce ourselves. Mary and Bill were home, thankfully, and middle son, Drew, was still home from Christmas. We sat for about an hour with them and chatted about life, love and other mysteries (wait a second, isn't that the title of an Indigo Girls album?). After turning down kind offers to stay the night or at least stay for dinner, we hit the road. Right outside of Fort Worth we found a Cracker Barrel that was calling our names. Day 2 ended in a hotel just north of Fort Worth.

Day 3:

This will forever be known in my mind has the longest, hardest day. I think this for a couple of reasons.

1. We didn't have any stops to look forward to.

2. We drove across West Texas. Anyone? Bueller? Bueller? It is loooooooooooooong

3. We were sneaking up to the half way mark which made time feel like it slowed down

The excitement of the day really came at the end of the day. During the whole trip we never pre-booked rooms. We didn't know where we were going to be and since we didn't have a definite schedule, it just made since to pick a spot and work towards it all day and then stop and find something when we were tired. Dad brought his iPad along so in the evenings he would look up hotels with reasonable rates for the next day's travel. Then as we were approaching that city I'd pull up the details on my handy dandy GPS (Niles, as we lovingly refer to him).

Only there was a glitch this time. For some reason all of the rooms in Gallup, New Mexico were booked. Seriously. All of them. They were even calling around to other chains for us and no one had anything. So back in the Jeep we hopped and drove for another hour to Grants, New Mexico. The first stop we made had a cluster of 3 hotels and all of them were booked. What the heck? At that point I was starting to think we might have to sleep (read: FREEZE) in the Jeep overnight. We finally found a spot at the Motel 6 and jumped on it because we weren't guaranteed it would still be open if we kept looking. Needless to say, it wasn't the nicest of accommodations and neither of us ended up sleeping well.

Here's a shot of the flat West Texas scenery

Welcome to New Mexico! My favorite of the state signs since it stretched across the highway.

A sunset shot. No, don't reach to wipe your screen. Those little black specks are the bug collection on the windshield.

Days 4-8 -- To Be Continued....

Time Warp

Happy Halloween!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Blessed Advent!

Merry Christmas!

Happy New Year!

RABBIT!

There. Did I cover them all? I feel a little behind here..and rightfully so, I suppose. As it turns out, I get easily overwhelmed and this is the first thing to be put on the back burner. I guess I also have felt like I haven't had much to say. But I do miss posting. I signed on earlier this week and even realized that I passed my 1 year anniversary of being a secret blogger. So let's add a belated happy anniversary to this little neglected website.

Now with the start of another year with fresh hopes I have plenty I want to write about. Here's to hoping I can get it from brain to keys. I've realized that I do most of my thinking and processing in bed at night right before I fall asleep. Not surprisingly, it is also the time I'm most motivated to work-out. Probably because my brain knows it isn't really logical to head out for a jog at midnight. By the time I wake-up to face the next day all urges for productivity and change have passed.

Anywho, I'm here now and wanted to check back in. I think next on the posting list will be the chronicle the great road trip of 2011/2012. That's definitely one for the books.

Something To Keep In Mind

"We will never know abundant life until the unseen and eternal realm is home to us in our everyday experience. Until then, we will be living according to appearances, and appearances will never lead us deeper into the life of God. Only faith will. God wants to bring us to the point where we say, "I live by what God says about the things in my life -- situations, people, and myself."

-Dan Stone, The Rest of the Gospel

Closing of a Chapter

This has been a hard week for me. I feel like writing it out and talking it through will help, but I don't really have this post laid out in my head so please forgive me if it comes out jumbled.

For the past 6 years this week has been one of excitement and anticipation with adrenaline carrying me past my natural energy levels. It has stayed the same through the other parts of my life that seem to change. I've heard countless speakers deliver dynamite messages on leadership and personal growth. I've been challenged and humbled and seen creativity like I've never known it before.

It is Catalyst week. And it is the first time since 2005 I haven't been involved.

I noted the start of this week with hesitation and by Friday I felt heart ache like I had just gone through a break-up. You see, the Catalyst conference was my favorite part about working at Giant. It is the reason I got involved with the company in the first place back in 2005. And this year just reminded me that I'm no longer there. I remember thinking in February as I was ushered out the doors that maybe I would be in a better place by October so I could come back and still be a part of the conference team. As it turns out, I'm not there yet. I'm still hurt over having to leave and being so quickly discarded by a company I worked hard for and by people I respected.

I was asked to take up my position again this year and without a second thought I said YES. Then right after I hung up I had second thoughts. The Holy Spirit was shining a spot light on part of myself that I haven't dealt with before. I'm often willing to disregard myself (not in the admirable way) in order to be a part of the "cool" thing or "cool" group. It happened in elementary school with the popular girls. It happened in middle school with my perceived social status. It happened early in high school when I had the choice between sticking up for my best friend or flirting back with a certain boy. It was happening again this year with Catalyst. After hanging up, I realized that I had just committed to work 4 long, hard days on my feet, training and running a team of 10-12 volunteers and selling my heart out all for a company that was so quick to get rid of me earlier in the year. They don't care about me and yet I was willing to turn the blind eye to that glaring fact and use all of my energy to make money for them just so I could have an all access badge and walkie-talkie. I had to call Amberly back and tell her I had spoken too soon and this year wasn't going to work. I really feel like that was the right decision.

You know that part after a break-up when you want to still call the person and be in touch? That's what I was like this week. I had to sit on my hands to not text Amberly or just show up while they were setting up or even during the event. I talked to people last night who had been to the event and I wanted to hear details and know how it went. Like checking up on an old boyfriend. I was a little sad when I realized that I was holding out hope that they would call me and tell me they needed me there or that the event wasn't the same without me. That call wasn't coming.

I know reading this, it probably seems a little crazy just about an event. But thinking through it last night I realized that part of the heart break is linked to not being a part of something that I've been a part of for so many years. There are few things that I'm a part of these days and I always thought this was a constant. Catalyst isn't the be-all-end-all. Clearly, life will go on. To me, it has just been the confirmation of change of season and closing of a chapter. I'm trusting there is good that will come from all of this and I hope I can catch a glimpse soon.

October 1

A belated "RABBIT" to you all. Please pretend you're reading this on the actual 1st. I had every intention of posting then, but am quickly realizing that my intentions don't really make anything happen. But that's a post for another time. I didn't want this to pass without giving recognition to one of my favorite days.

Now, you must be saying to yourself "Self, why is October 1 different than any other day". I'm glad you asked. Not only is it Fall-ish and beautiful and often the start to the end of the year, but in my world it is also the Official Unofficial First Day of Christmas Music. In fact, I'm listening to a Christmas mix now to get in the spirit.

This tradition actually started when I was in high school. The summer after my freshman year, Zach went off to college. Sarah and I spent tons of time together as we headed into fall and I noticed that she was listening to her Amy Grant Christmas CD (you know the one) on repeat. When asked why, she said it made her feel like Christmas was closer which meant Zach would come back home from college. She didn't live to see Christmas that year, but I've never forgotten her love for the music and excitement for the season. While I can't bring myself to listen starting in August, somewhere along the way decided that October 1 is an acceptable start date.

Fast forward a couple of years and I'm living in West Palm Beach. Liz, Shelby and I wake up and head off to school on one bright and sunny October 1st. To properly honor our homemade holiday, we rolled the windows down and BLASTED Christmas music on our way to school. Much to our chagrin, the motorcycle cop 1 mile down North Flagler didn't carry the same passion for October 1 that we did, which resulted in a speeding ticket with my name on it. For going 45. Really, sir? If I'm going slow enough for you to walk out in front of my car to pull me over, clearly you don't really think I am a threat. According to my memory, the encounter ended with one of us mumbling "and a Merry Christmas to you, Sir" as we got back on the road.

Now a few more years down the road I can't get to October 1 without smiling to myself and humming a Christmas tune or two. To be honest, I can't go all Christmas non-stop from October 1 to the end of the year (I only have so many renditions of O Holy Night) without going crazy, but I'll always mark October 1 as the starting point.

Liz and I exchanged texts this year deciding that this is one of our favorite PBA memories....even if it did result in my parents getting postcards about defensive driving classes available in South Florida.

And in case you weren't able to mark October 1 properly this year, here's one of our favorites for you: