I haven't really been in the mood to blog much since we were taking classes hardcore the past two weeks. So I'm forcing myself to now so I remember how fun it is. Yesterday we celebrated Independence Day by going hiking in the Rockies, watching the firework display at City Park, and studying. We enjoying our three-day weekend since we finished our classes on Friday. However, we still had to take our final this morning for one class. So Friday night we went out, Saturday we played games, and Sunday I studied ALL day!! It was great to take a break yesterday, and just study a little at the end of the day. Who makes an exam for the day after fourth of july? I don't know. I'm trying to say Independence Day now instead of the Fourth of July. 4th of July is what it always was to me - just a fun day. Actually I used to not really think about it at all - for about 4 years we were always on a mission trip on July 4, and I could have cared less about missing the holiday. After living in Venezuela, I truly appreciate America now and all the freedoms we have. I don't think you can really appreciate it until you've lived somewhere where the people don't have freedom. So, to America! The best darn country in the world.
July 6, 2011
Happy Independence Day!
I haven't really been in the mood to blog much since we were taking classes hardcore the past two weeks. So I'm forcing myself to now so I remember how fun it is. Yesterday we celebrated Independence Day by going hiking in the Rockies, watching the firework display at City Park, and studying. We enjoying our three-day weekend since we finished our classes on Friday. However, we still had to take our final this morning for one class. So Friday night we went out, Saturday we played games, and Sunday I studied ALL day!! It was great to take a break yesterday, and just study a little at the end of the day. Who makes an exam for the day after fourth of july? I don't know. I'm trying to say Independence Day now instead of the Fourth of July. 4th of July is what it always was to me - just a fun day. Actually I used to not really think about it at all - for about 4 years we were always on a mission trip on July 4, and I could have cared less about missing the holiday. After living in Venezuela, I truly appreciate America now and all the freedoms we have. I don't think you can really appreciate it until you've lived somewhere where the people don't have freedom. So, to America! The best darn country in the world.
July 2, 2011
Road Trip
So I haven't updated this thing in awhile but it was because I was busy taking two seminary classes. We had our last day of class yesterday and we still have to take a test on Tuesday, but both of our projects are turned in! YES!! I haven't been so happy it was Friday in a long time. I really enjoyed both classes, but they were very time-consuming. We (by we I mean all new staff) took Intro to Christian Theology, where we briefly studied all major doctrines, as well as the CCC statement of faith. I think that class was my favorite because we got to study deep things! I love studying theology and I miss learning so I really liked doing all the reading and listening to the lectures. The other class we took was Bible Study Methods. It's meant to help you prepare (aka write) Bible studies, so I wasn't think I was going to like it very much because I won't be leading a Bible study next year. However, the "methods" we learned will also be very helpful in my own personal study. We wrote a Bible study, but before that we summarized the book (Ephesians), and surveyed the context, observed, interpreted, and applied the passage (Eph 2:1-10) to our lives. It was really great to get an in-depth Bible study and learn new techniques!
Okay, on to our road trip! I can't believe how busy we were before this - we completely moved out of our house, drove to Baltimore, and went to THREE Phish concerts (in 2 cities!!). Fortunately we got some good grilled cheese every night to keep us going. ;) So we got back from the last concert at about 12:00 (after trying to chase down the bus that we thought the band was riding in) and left the next morning at 8:30am. We meant to leave at 8, but we were pretty darn close. We rented a Chevy Malibu so as to not put a million miles on either of our cars, have the chance of Whit's breaking down, lose tons of money due to my horrible gas mileage, and have AC (the jeep's AC is pretty weak). One main reason we drove instead of flying is that Whit doesn't have a laptop now, and he needed his computer (desktop) for class and since we'll be here for 6 weeks.
Anyways, it was a really fun trip! I love road trips, and am ALWAYS sad when they are over, no matter how long they are! Even this one! Whit was getting a little antsy at the end - we were stopping for dinner at about 8pm in Cheyenne, which is 1 hour from Ft. Collins. We were too hungry to wait to get dinner there because it was really 10pm our time (or 9 I guess, depending on the adjustment). We really wanted something other than nasty fast food and kept waiting for something other than McDonald's or Subway (or Taco John's). We looked up a Chick Fil A on the good ol' Droid, and it took us forever to find it! Why? Because it was in the mall!! Ugh, don't you hate it when that happens?? Since we had already spent so much time, we stuck with our plan and got delicious CFA. It turned out to be the right move because right next to CFA was a PUPPY STORE!!! We got to see a cat, which was a requirement I set upon our trip that we had to accomplish before we reached Ft. Collins. So it was worth it. Anyway, Whit was so ready to get to our dorm, but I secretly didn't want to be there yet. It's just how it is. Unless I'm going to Aruba...then I want to arrive at my destination asap.
So, even though we didn't get to stop anywhere cool (except a brief stop at an old Pony Express station - if you don't know what that is (I didn't), it's how they delivered mail quickly back in the days of the Oregon Trail. They had super fast horses and switched off at these stations) I really enjoyed our trip. And I'd do it again! Oh wait, I have to anyway!
Okay, on to our road trip! I can't believe how busy we were before this - we completely moved out of our house, drove to Baltimore, and went to THREE Phish concerts (in 2 cities!!). Fortunately we got some good grilled cheese every night to keep us going. ;) So we got back from the last concert at about 12:00 (after trying to chase down the bus that we thought the band was riding in) and left the next morning at 8:30am. We meant to leave at 8, but we were pretty darn close. We rented a Chevy Malibu so as to not put a million miles on either of our cars, have the chance of Whit's breaking down, lose tons of money due to my horrible gas mileage, and have AC (the jeep's AC is pretty weak). One main reason we drove instead of flying is that Whit doesn't have a laptop now, and he needed his computer (desktop) for class and since we'll be here for 6 weeks.
Anyways, it was a really fun trip! I love road trips, and am ALWAYS sad when they are over, no matter how long they are! Even this one! Whit was getting a little antsy at the end - we were stopping for dinner at about 8pm in Cheyenne, which is 1 hour from Ft. Collins. We were too hungry to wait to get dinner there because it was really 10pm our time (or 9 I guess, depending on the adjustment). We really wanted something other than nasty fast food and kept waiting for something other than McDonald's or Subway (or Taco John's). We looked up a Chick Fil A on the good ol' Droid, and it took us forever to find it! Why? Because it was in the mall!! Ugh, don't you hate it when that happens?? Since we had already spent so much time, we stuck with our plan and got delicious CFA. It turned out to be the right move because right next to CFA was a PUPPY STORE!!! We got to see a cat, which was a requirement I set upon our trip that we had to accomplish before we reached Ft. Collins. So it was worth it. Anyway, Whit was so ready to get to our dorm, but I secretly didn't want to be there yet. It's just how it is. Unless I'm going to Aruba...then I want to arrive at my destination asap.
So, even though we didn't get to stop anywhere cool (except a brief stop at an old Pony Express station - if you don't know what that is (I didn't), it's how they delivered mail quickly back in the days of the Oregon Trail. They had super fast horses and switched off at these stations) I really enjoyed our trip. And I'd do it again! Oh wait, I have to anyway!
June 19, 2011
The Funk & Glowsticks
So I mentioned the funk in my last post. I think that everyone needs to experience what I am talking about here, so you need to watch this video. I think it will help you understand. You only need to watch the first 15 seconds, and pay special attention to what Mike does between 10-15 seconds. AAAH.
I also expect you would want to see a video of a glow stick war. As I also mentioned in the previous post, Phish concert attenders love glow sticks. During a great jam, a glow stick war will occur. People throw glow sticks and other people pick them up and throw them again. Then, when there is a sweet climax, everyone throws them at once. It is awesome. It inspired our glow stick exit at our wedding (yes, I came up with that idea. :)). At the first night of Merriweather this year, glow sticks were literally raining down on us. We would hold our hands up to the sky and they would pour down on us. So, enjoy.
(Sad - I tried to upload the videos that I took but they failed. So this is from a show that we weren't at, but fully shows you what you need to see. Again, just the first 15 seconds will do). Glow sticks
I also expect you would want to see a video of a glow stick war. As I also mentioned in the previous post, Phish concert attenders love glow sticks. During a great jam, a glow stick war will occur. People throw glow sticks and other people pick them up and throw them again. Then, when there is a sweet climax, everyone throws them at once. It is awesome. It inspired our glow stick exit at our wedding (yes, I came up with that idea. :)). At the first night of Merriweather this year, glow sticks were literally raining down on us. We would hold our hands up to the sky and they would pour down on us. So, enjoy.
(Sad - I tried to upload the videos that I took but they failed. So this is from a show that we weren't at, but fully shows you what you need to see. Again, just the first 15 seconds will do). Glow sticks
Grilled Cheese and the Bass
If you didn't pick it up already, my husband and I love Phish. If I was saying that out loud to you, you would think "you love fish?" But no, Phish is not fish. It is a band - the greatest band - that is talented, plays many genres, lets people give away their music for free, has over 200 original songs (and has played hundreds more covers), and is very silly. [If you wonder why we go to so many concerts, let me help you understand. I have been to 16 shows and have only heard TWENTY percent of all the songs Phish has ever played. Talk about some serious set list variation. PS don't ask me how I know that unless you want to know how serious Phish phans are.] Let me give you the example of my favorite song, Harry Hood. Ever heard of Hood dairy corporation? They make milk. They used to have a commercial with the mascot, Harry, standing in the fridge with the milk. So the lyrics to Phish's song go "Harry, Harry, where do you go when the lights go out?" Hilarious. Or another favorite song, Tube. "An asteroid crashed and nothing burned...it made me wonder - do tigers sleep in lily patches? do rhinos run from thunder?" Some lyrics are more or less meaningful than those, but I love them all. So "N" in terms of Myers-Briggs.
People that attend the concerts are also quite silly. They dress up in costumes, wear pun shirts with corporate logos replaced by song lyrics (ex. IBM --> YEM), have cool tapestries, think of creative ways to make song requests (throwing a beach ball on stage with the song they want written on it), blow bubbles, throw glow sticks (and wear them), and have tongue-twister lyrics to 200 songs memorized. Phish people (or phans), as Whit and I have noted, enjoy the simple things in life. Which brings me to next point, grilled cheese. Phish phans are very very bad at resisting a delicious grilled cheese made from some guy in the parking lot with a gas grill after the show. Which brings me to my next point, selling such grilled cheese. After standing in many a line after a show this summer only to buy the most delicious grilled cheese for one dollar or two, we decided we will sell grilled cheese. And we realize this will slide us up in a notch in Phish phan-atic, and we are ready for that step. Because the toasted delectableness will help us go to many more shows than we could otherwise afford, just like all the other grilled cheese craftsmen.
Before I ramble on any further, here are some pictures of the shows we attended this summer:
Holmdel, NJ
Camden, NJ
Right across from Philadelphia
You can see the skyline from the lawn :)
Sweet lights
Sweet husband
Columbia, MD
Oh yeah, so maybe now you are wondering why I mentioned the bass in the title. Every band member for Phish is extremely talented. The music is amazing. A song is much like a novel. There is an introduction. You make a connection (the melody). Then there is suspense. Something changes from what you already know (the melody) and becomes dark (dissonance). You want resolution. It pulls you in, makes you sit on the edge of your seat (or jump in the air waiting for the climax). Then it is resolved (the climax). The tension is breached and you are again satisfied. If you are unfamiliar with this musical scenario, you are probably listening to too much pop. Pop is fine, but rarely ventures out of the major keys. Every once in awhile you'll get a nice interlude with a bridge, but if you want something that pulls you in you need a band that will take a risk and go away from the 1-4-5-4 boring pattern (worship music).
ANYWAYS that was all fairly irrelevant (sorry! if you really want relevance, then take that to mean that Phish makes me and Whit dance. and we don't dance). When I listen to the band on a CD I typically listen to the guitarist, for obvious reasons. In concert, the pianist and bassist are turned up more so I can hear them better and I tend to notice what they are doing more. I have come to realize that what makes me dance the most, what I appreciate the most in the building of the climax, and is just overall the funkiest is the bass. So Whit has convinced me I need to learn the bass. Phish's bassist, Mike Gordon, plays some pretty down and dirty funk beats. And I must learn them. Cause I want the funk...it's all about the funk.
People that attend the concerts are also quite silly. They dress up in costumes, wear pun shirts with corporate logos replaced by song lyrics (ex. IBM --> YEM), have cool tapestries, think of creative ways to make song requests (throwing a beach ball on stage with the song they want written on it), blow bubbles, throw glow sticks (and wear them), and have tongue-twister lyrics to 200 songs memorized. Phish people (or phans), as Whit and I have noted, enjoy the simple things in life. Which brings me to next point, grilled cheese. Phish phans are very very bad at resisting a delicious grilled cheese made from some guy in the parking lot with a gas grill after the show. Which brings me to my next point, selling such grilled cheese. After standing in many a line after a show this summer only to buy the most delicious grilled cheese for one dollar or two, we decided we will sell grilled cheese. And we realize this will slide us up in a notch in Phish phan-atic, and we are ready for that step. Because the toasted delectableness will help us go to many more shows than we could otherwise afford, just like all the other grilled cheese craftsmen.
Before I ramble on any further, here are some pictures of the shows we attended this summer:
Holmdel, NJ
Camden, NJ
Right across from Philadelphia
You can see the skyline from the lawn :)
Sweet lights
Sweet husband
Columbia, MD
Oh yeah, so maybe now you are wondering why I mentioned the bass in the title. Every band member for Phish is extremely talented. The music is amazing. A song is much like a novel. There is an introduction. You make a connection (the melody). Then there is suspense. Something changes from what you already know (the melody) and becomes dark (dissonance). You want resolution. It pulls you in, makes you sit on the edge of your seat (or jump in the air waiting for the climax). Then it is resolved (the climax). The tension is breached and you are again satisfied. If you are unfamiliar with this musical scenario, you are probably listening to too much pop. Pop is fine, but rarely ventures out of the major keys. Every once in awhile you'll get a nice interlude with a bridge, but if you want something that pulls you in you need a band that will take a risk and go away from the 1-4-5-4 boring pattern (worship music).ANYWAYS that was all fairly irrelevant (sorry! if you really want relevance, then take that to mean that Phish makes me and Whit dance. and we don't dance). When I listen to the band on a CD I typically listen to the guitarist, for obvious reasons. In concert, the pianist and bassist are turned up more so I can hear them better and I tend to notice what they are doing more. I have come to realize that what makes me dance the most, what I appreciate the most in the building of the climax, and is just overall the funkiest is the bass. So Whit has convinced me I need to learn the bass. Phish's bassist, Mike Gordon, plays some pretty down and dirty funk beats. And I must learn them. Cause I want the funk...it's all about the funk.
June 18, 2011
The Big Apple
We were in New Jersey. Phish was playing two nights in Holmdel. Whit's aunt & uncle live in Holmdel. We had one day with nothing to do until 6pm. The train from Metro Park (30 min. from Holmdel) to Penn Station was $40 and a one-hour journey. We did it. We were only in the grand city for the short side of 3 hours, but we saw Times Square and Central Park and booked it in order to get back in time to catch our train (not without an all-out run in the train station to make sure we caught it). We even managed to grab lunch and buy an item from a street vendor (a magnet). I had never been to New York before (let alone New Jersey) and it was different from what I imagined (aka the movies). It was hot, stuffy, third world-ish (ugh, too many tiny stores selling cell phones and electronics), and the people fit into our genre more (young, white, wealthy). I didn't hate it, but I definitely wouldn't consider it the picture of "America," as is assumed by Hollywood. It was quite a trip though and I would love to go back to explore it more. Next year!!
June 17, 2011
The Beach!
The story of our vacation to St. Mary's, Georgia. It was our first vacation as a married couple besides the honeymoon - just us two!! It was so fun to be able to do whatever we wanted to do and not worry about anyone else's plans. 
I couldn't resist these beautiful peonies. Unfortunately they died in two days due to the heat. :/
We stayed at my parents' house in St. Marys. This is the beautiful backyard on the 4th hole.
We played at Fernandina Beach in Amelia Island. We had a lot of fun crashing about in the waves on this float.
Downtown Amelia Island. We got dinner one night at "Toppings," a pizza restaurant. The girl rang us up for one SLICE of pizza instead of one pie. Our bill was cheap but they let it go. Then about ten minutes later this woman wearing a cami and had her hair in a bun comes over to us and explains. She's the manager and wasn't even working, just happened to be nearby. The two girls working the register called her in because they were too scared to come out and tell us that they rang us up wrong and we needed to pay more money (about twenty bucks more - lame). We thought it was hilarious that she described the cashier as "brand new...we hired her out of emergency." Ohh maybe you should have just gone without someone instead of hiring someone fairly incompetent. Oh well, it's the beach who cares. They made up for it by bringing us two beers since they had to teach the new girl how to work the tap. OH and our white sauce hawaiian pizza and sweet potato fries were DELICIOUS.
This picture shows but a fraction of the seagulls we saw throughout the week. The first day I had a traumatic experience when Whit thought it was funny to throw food to the birds after I begged him not to. This resulted in not him but me being chased by the enormous flock of 60 seagulls (no kidding - I counted them after the fact). I ran to the water and cowered as I protected my pepperoni sub. It was quite hilarious but I also did not appreciate it at all. Fortunately now I am back on good terms with the gulls. ;)
We stayed at my parents' house in St. Marys. This is the beautiful backyard on the 4th hole.
We played at Fernandina Beach in Amelia Island. We had a lot of fun crashing about in the waves on this float.
Downtown Amelia Island. We got dinner one night at "Toppings," a pizza restaurant. The girl rang us up for one SLICE of pizza instead of one pie. Our bill was cheap but they let it go. Then about ten minutes later this woman wearing a cami and had her hair in a bun comes over to us and explains. She's the manager and wasn't even working, just happened to be nearby. The two girls working the register called her in because they were too scared to come out and tell us that they rang us up wrong and we needed to pay more money (about twenty bucks more - lame). We thought it was hilarious that she described the cashier as "brand new...we hired her out of emergency." Ohh maybe you should have just gone without someone instead of hiring someone fairly incompetent. Oh well, it's the beach who cares. They made up for it by bringing us two beers since they had to teach the new girl how to work the tap. OH and our white sauce hawaiian pizza and sweet potato fries were DELICIOUS.
This picture shows but a fraction of the seagulls we saw throughout the week. The first day I had a traumatic experience when Whit thought it was funny to throw food to the birds after I begged him not to. This resulted in not him but me being chased by the enormous flock of 60 seagulls (no kidding - I counted them after the fact). I ran to the water and cowered as I protected my pepperoni sub. It was quite hilarious but I also did not appreciate it at all. Fortunately now I am back on good terms with the gulls. ;)
June 16, 2011
A slue of posts
...is sure to ensure. I have been absent from the blogging world the past few weeks due to a multitude of trips, plans, and activities. So much has been going on! Now that I'm settled in Colorado and won't be leaving for the next six weeks, nay, one week, I will be using my downtime to refresh by documenting my journeys on my blog. YAY! So get ready.
Trey & Meredith, Charlottesville VA
They had a light-hearted balloon exit. So colorful & fun!
And the next wedding is...my brother's!! Evan & Courtney get married in 10 days!! We fly back out to Baltimore in one week - crazy! Can't wait!
Up first - weddings! Everyone loves weddings, so they get the first call. In May we went to four weddings in two weekends. It was as crazy as it sounds, but since we were able to go to all of them, we did! We felt so loved and connected to be invited to all these weddings. We're going to 8 in 2011 and got invited to 2 that we are regrettably missing. Sometimes I feel like I value my friendships more than is reciprocated, but being chosen to attend all these weddings has graciously shown me how much people do appreciate mine and Whit's friendship. We love our friends and value them so much, and have been so happy to celebrate these momentous occasions.
Joey & Ashley, Blacksburg VA 
We actually got to go to two weddings in a row with this great couple. Love them! 
Whit discipled Joey. It was really cool for him to see Joey (and Trey) get married after talking with them about itand giving them lots of advice. 
Adam & Crissen, Virginia Beach VA 
I'm not gonna lie, this one was my favorite! It was on the beach, everyone was barefoot, the sunset was beautiful, and all our friends were there. PERFECT. 
We all stayed in a room together... we are crazy but it was really fun! 
I love this group of people - everyone is so ridiculous. Unashamedly. 
Our whole crew. :) :) 
We actually danced. Big WHUT! 
Mary Catherine's face basically sums up how much fun we had. Love these reunions! 
Ben & Monica, Northern Virginia
We actually got to go to two weddings in a row with this great couple. Love them! Whit discipled Joey. It was really cool for him to see Joey (and Trey) get married after talking with them about itand giving them lots of advice. Adam & Crissen, Virginia Beach VA I'm not gonna lie, this one was my favorite! It was on the beach, everyone was barefoot, the sunset was beautiful, and all our friends were there. PERFECT. We all stayed in a room together... we are crazy but it was really fun! I love this group of people - everyone is so ridiculous. Unashamedly. Our whole crew. :) :) We actually danced. Big WHUT! Mary Catherine's face basically sums up how much fun we had. Love these reunions! Ben & Monica, Northern Virginia They had the most beautiful tropical blue flowers 
Monica is of Latin descent, so they had salsa dancing!! Too bad I never learned how to do it in VZ
Monica is of Latin descent, so they had salsa dancing!! Too bad I never learned how to do it in VZTrey & Meredith, Charlottesville VAThey had a light-hearted balloon exit. So colorful & fun!And the next wedding is...my brother's!! Evan & Courtney get married in 10 days!! We fly back out to Baltimore in one week - crazy! Can't wait!
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