We Went to the UK: Edinburgh

We arrived in Edinburgh by train after dark. Our hostel was less than a half mile from the train station, but because of what they call closes (side streets that are very narrow) and our lack of knowledge of these, we took a very round about way to get there. But we found it!

We stayed at High St Hostel. It was a 400+ year old building. The staff were super kind and friendly and they had the best cereal for their continental breakfast. 

Once we were checked in and found our bunks, we went out to explore a little. It was dark but it was only about 7 or 8 o'clock. 

We found our way to the Christmas festival and wandered around. It was very similar to the one in London. 

The only thing I would change about the whole trip (really) would be that we would have made it to the St. Andrews festival that night before it ended. We missed it by about an hour. 

After a little meandering to find a view of the castle we headed back to catch some sleep before an early morning. 

That night the hostel was cram packed. 

The next day the plan was to get up early, walk to the castle at the end of the street on the royal mile and then go to a church service.

The weather this day was perfect. The sky was blue as could be and it was not overly chilly. 

We checked out the castle from the outside and planned to go back the next morning for the tour. 

Walking back down the royal mile we passed a Santa playing Christmas songs on bagpipes. As it was the first day of December, it seemed rather appropriate. 

We made it to the church which was a lovely service, but to our slight disappointment, the pastor was from New Jersey and lacked the accent we had hoped to hear.  

After church we went out for brunch and both ordered the traditional Scottish breakfast. I'm glad we waited until later in the day for this because I could not have handled it first thing in the morning. There was sooooo much food and it was all good. I'm pretty sure I didn't finish most of it.

After brunch and checking in at the hostel to trade out some things in the day pack we asked for a hike recommendation and ended up hiking up Arthur's seat. This is a must do if you ever visit Edinburgh! You can see the whole city and the coast line and the rolling countryside. However, if you do hike it, wear shoes with good tread. It was a slippery climb at times,but this added to the adventure. 

After this Jessi and I split up for a little while. I did some souvenir shopping and stopped in a used book store and a vintage clothing shop and found a fantastic scarf that I just couldn't pass up.

Next on the list was a nap. It had gotten dark and all of our hostel roommates had moved out and we had the room to ourselves! To the introvert in both of us, this was a lovely time in the day.

After a good long nap, Jessi suggested we go see a movie. I thought this was a great idea! It was about a 10 minute walk and it was a great movie. We watched the movie Sunshine on Leith which was filmed in Edinburgh. It was a hokey musical but very enjoyable and neat to see the city that we had been touring all day on the big screen. 

After this we wandered back through the Christmas festival and into a pub that had some good live music coming from it. 

We sat and listened for a little while and then went back to enjoy a peaceful night in an almost empty hostel. 

The next morning we took off early to hike up Canton Hill for another view of the city. We then came backed, packed up, cleaned up and checked out of the hostel. Leaving our bags in 'storage'. 

We headed off to tour the castle and what a great tour guide we had. Kilt, boots, and Scottish accent to go with his extensive knowledge and snarky commentary.

After the castle we stopped in a weaving factory. This was one of my favorite stops of our trip. There were giant mechanical looms working hard to make the many tartans and plaids that Scotland is known for. 

We wondered around a little more and ate lunch. We passed by the birthplace of Harry Potter, the White Elephant Cafe. 

After this we were headed to the train station and back to Liverpool. 

Edinburgh was very much more my style than London. I could definitely see myself returning there for a short or long term visit. 

Next stop Liverpool!

Commitment, Transitions, and Satisfaction

The grass is always greener.

Maybe. 

Maybe it's just a different shade. Or it could be the same, just better lighting. 

I used to think I was a little bit of a commit-a-phobe who always thought the grass was greener, but really, I think I just enjoy change and trying new things. A week from today my whole rhythm of life will change and be a new thing. 

Some might think I'm leaving the camp world in search of something that will make me happier. And maybe that's partially true. 

But in all honesty, I don't like to think I live my life in pursuit of happiness. Yes, there are many things in my life that bring me happiness, but I hope that is not my main pursuit. 

I am leaving this job because it was very clear to me it was the Lord guiding the process, that it was time and that the opportunity that came up was the next chapter in this continuously edited book of my life. 

There will be struggle, there will be a lot of learning by trial and errors, there will be wonderful new people to interact with, there will be many new experiences, but ultimately, it will not satisfy and I will see greener (and less green) grass all around me. 

And that's ok. 

I have learned that I am of the sort that is often looking for something else, what might be next, not really fitting in. And I could not say words better than C.S. Lewis on this subject:

"If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world."

This world is not the world we were created for. This new chapter of my life is not being written to bring me to my ultimate happiness. 

My hope is that the new chapter continues to sharpen me as a person and point me in the direction which the Lord wants me to go. Which will bring me joy that comes from knowing the Lord.

I am excited for the this new season and the learning and new relationships that come with it! 

But mostly I am excited that I can see and feel the direction of the Author of Life  in this whole process. 

I am not yet where I belong, and this job will not be where I belong, but until I reach this place to belong, I am looking forward to serving the community and building deeper relationships and understandings of the things this side of life. 

Movin' on Up

Actually, I'm moving a little further south, not really up at all. 

This week is packing week. 

What have I learned about myself during packing week, you ask?

A few things so far. 

Thing 1: I am a bibliophilic. Not necessarily a book worm because I haven't finished reading half the books I own. Mostly I'm a book collector. And it seems that books are my largest collection of things that I own. My librarian mom and English teacher aunt are to blame (or thank) for this. 

Thing 2: I think I can turn anything into something. The amount of almost projects I have on hand at any time is completely ridiculous and unreasonable. I will never do half of them. 

Thing 3: I'm sentimentally attached to everything. As I start to sort through things I find myself an hour later in a pile of memories with no progress made other than making a bigger mess to clean up. 

Thing 4: I want to be one of those people that lives simplistic and minimally, but not enough to actually be one yet. 

Thing 5: Just because you have a whole house doesn't mean you should fill a whole house. I did well to keep 2 closets mostly empty and one full bedroom empty other than furniture. 

Thing 6: If you need a pen, half used notebook, or sharpie, I'm your girl! I have sooooooo many. 

Thing 7: I really like most of the things I own. 

Thing 8: It's good to move often because it forces you to clean out your stuff. 

As the week continues on, I will continue cleaning out my stuff and likely learn more things. And learning is never a bad thing!

Already, but Not Yet

Currently, my life is in a clear waiting period of already, but not yet. 

I am leaving my current job. 

Things are lined up and planned to do so. But, I have to wait on a few things before the transitioning can end. 

Thusly, I'm not gone yet. 

My new job has begun. 

But I'm still working my job of three and half years. I'm not fully in either. One foot in each. 

Again, not quite yet. 

Because I'm leaving my job, I have to move. 

And I am excited for the coming season of living in a home with a family and not alone. I think it will be really good for me. But I need to enjoy and soak in my last 2 weeks of living in my own house with my own things with my own self. 

So I'm moving (and packing) but not yet. 

I will get to be what I refer to as a 'normal' person again. 

By this I mean I won't be a current camp person anymore. If you are or have ever been a camp person you know we aren't normal, nor are our schedules. But I will get to go to church regularly again and have weekends and evenings a lot more free. But this scares me a little. As a good friend once told me 'you can take the girl out of the camp, but you can't take the camp out of the girl'. I am looking forward to this different season, but as summer approaches I kind of want to say, 'not yet'. 

There will be relational shifts. 

Relationships come and go. Many of mine will change. Some for the better and stronger and richer. Some for the lesser and weaker and looser. 

But not quite yet. 

But. 

I'm in good company. 

In the waiting, in the already, in the not yet, I'm in good company. 

The whole universe is in a state of already, but not yet. 

For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. (1 Corinthians 13:12 ESV)

Redemption and salvation have come. Now we wait in hope for the future glory that is promised to us who believe. 

My new chapter is in the pages soon to be turned, but I hope I can enjoy the already while I await the not yet. 

And if a sunrise in the already can be this glorious, I cannot even begin to think or imagine what it will be in the not yet!

We Went to the UK: London

I'm only 4 months late in finishing the blog reports of my trip to England/Scotland. But here they come....

There will likely be 6, but I might drop a few other things in between. My goal for April is to catch the blog back up to writing about things that are currently happening. I'm not so sure what happened this winter, but blogging regularly was not one of them. With much to catch up, here goes England.

London to be specific.

After spending time with Rachael and Andy and baby Ava in Liverpool, Jessi and I headed off to London.

We took a cab, which was my second ever time in a cab, at a very early hour to catch the train. The trip from Liverpool to London was my first train experience ever in my life. (aside from things like the Cincinnati Zoo)

Our first adventure in London was finding our Hostel. I tried to book walking distance from the train station and it was a success, if you call a 30 minute walk walking distance, which we did. We dropped our bags in the luggage store room and went off to see the sites!

Having never been to London and having no personal tour guide, we decided that a tour bus company would be our best route. It turned out that we were right! We got our bus passes, with a second day free upgrade because we were visiting in non-peak season, and a river tour pass, and thus we were off to be educated about the historical and cultural things all around us.

Our stops for the day included:

- Kensington Gardens so that I could say hello to the statue of Peter Pan (my only must see)
If I lived in London I think I would like to spend much time in Hyde Park, it was a lovely area.

I want to live in this house!

- Then it was off to Buckingham Palace for tea with queen.
For some reason, they didn't have us on a the guest list so we just got to admire the gigantic building from the gate with the rest of the visitors. It really was impressively large.

The Palace

- Next on the list was Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, and the London Eye.
They are all right along the river and an easy walk from place to place once you are close. The architecture and structure and design of each was impressive as to be expected.

Standing in front of Westminster.

- We then stopped for lunch and ate our only London fish and chips.
It was pretty tasty. I was most impressed with the malt vinegar in packets like ketchup. We need to get in on this.

Standing near the London Eye and our lunch place.

- After lunch we crossed the Tower Bridge and stopped to see the Tower of London.
In case you were wondering, the Tower of London isn't really all that tower like. It's more like a fort and the parts that are towers are not so towering comparatively to the buildings around them.

Tower Bridge and the Tower of London.

- We then boarded a river boat tour.
This was a very neat (and cold) way to see the city. Our guide was not a trained guide, rather just a member of the boat crew. He was precious.

View from the river boat.

- The German Christmas Festival was next on our list.
It was quite similar to the one in Liverpool and Edinburgh.

- Lastly we headed back to catch a bus to get us close to our hostel.
We rode down Fleet Street and headed for Piccadilly Circus to end our touring for the day. (It was not late, but it got dark about 5:00pm) Along the way we stopped at a giant M&M store, really the most M&Ms I have ever seen in one place; saw street performers break dancing; and stopped in some used book stores where they wouldn't let me see the oldest copies of Peter Pan.

- At the hostel we explored a little, but mostly wanted to get to bed early to start the day early to catch a few more sites before heading to Edinburgh.

- Next morning we hit a few more sites and the British Museum.
We saw the actual Rosetta Stone and Serpent Mound in Ohio was on a display in the museum. You could spend hours and maybe days and not see all the exhibits. We also went back toward Piccadilly so that we could see it in the day light.

The Roestta Stone

- Then it was back to the hostel to pick up our things and head to Kings Cross Station to catch the train to Edinburgh!

Overall, London was a pretty cool city. The new and old architecture all interwoven together was very interesting to me. I think I could go back and spend a little more time, but for the budget and time we had, I think we did it the best way we could. It only rained on us for about 20 minutes (the whole trip) which was very unusual considering the time of year. We actually had some sunny days too.

Next up, Edinburgh!

Amazing and Not Happy

Before I get back into my blogs about the trip to England I would like to share a video.

I am likely way behind on sharing this.
I was likely way behind on viewing it.

When we boarded the plane back to Atlanta from Manchester, we approached our seats and I was a little deflated that there were not individual screens in our seats for our viewing pleasures.

Jessi immediately asked me, "Have you seen the Louis C.K. video, Everything is Amazing and Nobody's Happy?"

I had not.

So she explained it to me.

Her explanation made the duration of the flight much more enjoyable as I remembered that I was in a seat, in the sky, traveling through the air, across an ocean, in a matter of hours. I was not on a ship, with dysentery, for months on end trying to make it to a new land.

You can view part of it here.

And all of it here.

*Disclaimer: I cannot say that I support all of the comedy of Louis C.K.

Now when I fly or use my phone or anything that seems a little frustrating technologically, I try and remember that it is all amazing and I have no idea how it is really happening. Almost every time I fly I think to myself that I cannot understand how this works and part of me is a little afraid that because I doubt the physics behind the flight that we will just start plummeting to the earth because of my doubt.

So next time you are waiting in line, traveling a far distance in a short time, or waiting for your phone to communicate with a satellite, try and remember that it is actually pretty amazing even if it makes you wait a whole 20 seconds before it does what you want.

30 by 30: The Completed List

You can find the original list here.

However, it did change quite a bit. And I am ok with that. Because of all the things I have learned in 30 years of life, one of thing that often bubbles to the top is change happens and you should probably just roll with it.

So here it is, the amended and completed list of 30 things done in my 29th year before turning 30:

1. Go to a play/live performance 

The first was The Living Gallery at a local university. It was quite impressive. I also went to a second play at a local theater that starred two dear friends in an adaptation of the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Also quite impressive.

2. Become a coffee/tea drinker

I have become a warm beverage appreciator, but not addict. My favorite drink aside from everything I had in England is the Indian Chai Latte at the Forest Coffeehouse in TR.

3. Downsize my wardrobe

With losing weight it has been interesting shifting and going through clothes, but I believe that I have indeed downsized my wardrobe and likely will a little more in the coming weeks.

4. Drive to the beach and back in one day

We did this in June and I don't know why I haven't done it more. It was so fun!

5. Go to the Braves vs. Reds game at Turner Field

As well as go to all the MLB stadiums in the US, I would like to see the Reds play in as many as stadiums as possible. This make 4, with one more on the horizon.

6. Eat adventurously

I tried everything new that I was offered and ate at many new restaurants. And I must say that I really like food.

Haggis, blood pudding, and baked beans for breakfast,
if that's no adventurous eating, I don't know what is

7. Visit 3 states I have never been to

I actually made it to 8, touching ground in every state from New Jersey to Maine.

8. See 3 bands that I have never seen before live

Band 1 - the Avett Brothers, Band 2 - Ben Rector, Band 3 - The Lumineers, and just for good measure, Band 4 - Brett Dennon

The Avett  Brothers

The Lumineers

9. Ride in a cab

No, I had never ridden in a cab before. Yes, my first cab ride was in England, with a very chatty little mate.

10. Just keep running

I did my first 5k, mud run, and 2 half marathons. I think I can qualitatively say that I am a runner, even if I am running at a pace that some people can walk.

11. Stay debt free and reach personal savings account goal

So far so good on the debt free and having the number I would like to see in my savings.

12. Find a semi-regular volunteer opportunity

I have been able to volunteer at my church during the week helping with piddly office tasks that I enjoy and others do not.

13. Try out 30 new recipes

Some from Pinterest, some from Aunt Betty (you may know her better as Betty Crocker), all mostly successful.

My first scones.

 

Sweet potato pie.



Blueberry lemon cookies



These muffins were de-licious!

Baklava

14. Try as many interesting chocolates as I can

The add ins were: almond, cherry, ginger, coffee, toffee, peanut butter, pb&j, cocoa nibs, sweet potato, pumpkin, sunflower seeds, honeycomb, pop rocks, paprika, curry, bacon, orange, and maybe some others. The only one I honestly did not care for was the curry. My favorite was the pop rocks.

15. Plan an itinerary for international trip 

Success on all accounts here. It was a fantastic trip!

16. Get a new stamp in my passport

Manchester, England.

17. Rent a car

This was the first amendment, when I realized I had never done it before and had to do it last minute when some plans changed. I liked it. It is nice to drive a car that is new to you for a short time.

18. Visit 3 friends I have not seen in 3 years

BFF Leigh Ann and Alison were one trip. Jonathan and Rachel were another. And Rachael and Andy the last set. I also got to see my friend Chelsea that I also haven't seen in years. So that makes 7. Plus seeing my friend Amy and skyping with our other friend Amy whose face I hadn't seen live in 5 years.

19. Have an outfit for an interview if the opportunity arises

And the opportunity did arise and I was ill prepared, but now I have the interview outfit!

20. Climb a new mountain

Literally, not figuratively. I climbed 2. One in Maine I think called Pleasant Mountain and the other being Mount Le Conte in the Smokies.

Maine

Mt. Le Conte

21.  Travel by train

We did this in England/Scotland. Great way to travel. I wish it were a more convenient option here.

22. Join a small group at church

I am hesitant of this and was very cynical about it at first, but it has been wonderful!

23. Choose family

I rarely choose my family, it seems, living so far away. I had the opportunity to go to Mardi Gras this year and then a surprise party was planned for my dad's 60th birthday. I chose Dad and I am so thankful that I did. It was a wonderful weekend home and celebrating my dad's life and work.

24. Give up something I love for a short time

I gave up chocolate for 40 days. But I think I have eaten enough in the immediate days following to make up for the 40 days. 

25. Take the opportunity to see your favorite band more than once because you can

I saw Switchfoot 3 times this year. All of them were fantastic. And I would go again today if they were going to be nearby.

Fading West Film Screening, ATL

Music Farm, Charleston

Hangin with Jon in the balcony!

Charlotte, Amos' Southend

26. Meet a famous person

This had been suggested for the list, but I did not add it originally because there was no way that I could just make that happen. But then the stars aligned and last week I met Jon Foreman (and unknowingly John Mark McMillan) at a food court pre-show. I'm still feeling a little of the excitement from that.

Jon Foreman, my favorite since 8th grade.
He also let me know that 30s are better than 20s.
Hopefully he is correct!

John Mark McMillan, nice to make your acquaintance.

27. Go to the Biltmore Estate

I have lived in this area for over 5 years and never have I visited the Biltmore Estate. Now I have. It is quite impressive.

Richie Rich anyone?

28. Go on a hair-brained road trip

This happened in September and I would let it happen again tomorrow if the opportunity presented itself. SC to Maine in 2 days.

 

29. Read 30 books

The list will be a later blog post. Some of them ended up being children's books, but I read 30 books none the less.

30. Plan a trip to Fenway Park

The original list said to go, but the baseball season did not cooperate with my schedule. However, it has this year and I have a plane ticket to Boston and 2 tickets to Fenway Park to the Reds vs. Redsox game and free place to stay and a friendly face to visit in the month of May. Can't wait!

Now on to the next 30 years of things to do, places to see, and adventures to be had!