Heartbroken

I am so very very sad tonight. A sweet friend of mine had a baby today who was born with a heart defect. He passed away soon after. I am grieving for my friend and her husband and this extremely painful loss. Please join me in saying a prayer for them. I cannot even imagine what they are going through and I would have no idea what to say to them in this moment. But I am praying harder than I have in a long time that God will comfort them and they will feel his presence.

Elf Yourself!

Check out this link to see me and my lovely family dancing to Christmas music. It makes me giggle. A lot.

http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/qc5u9aAm9HVBeREqixbL

Wow, really?

Seriously, I just had a student tell me it wasn't fair that students with disabilities got to register before other students because she didn't get the English class she wanted. Amazing. I just looked at her. I wonder if I would have gotten in trouble if I had said, "Yeah, because having a disability is such an advantage and all." Some of these kids need a reality check.

Election Season

I used to really love politics. The last presidential election was the first one I was able to vote in and I was captivated by all of it. I listened to NPR and watched the news constantly to get every spare bit of information I could about the election and the candidates.

Now, I hate politics.

It's not because this year's election is any less exciting. It's more exciting to me, actually, but there is a candidate I can truly get behind and I have a great hope of what he can do for our country. But this year, I am completely overwhelmed by the negativity of the political machine and the utter disrespect and downright hatefulness that this election is bringing out in people.

It makes me cringe to hear one of the political candidates or those associated with the campaign constantly bad mouthing each other rather than focusing on the issues of a nation in crisis. It discourages me and angers me that at a time in our nation when the financial markets are crumbling around us, people are losing their homes and cannot afford the most basic necessities, let alone proper health care, and most of the world hates us for meddling in things that we should have left alone, we are spending our time insulting the opponent rather than telling the American people how we are going to solve these problems. One campaign has already told us to expect constant character-bashing of their opponent up until the election. Is that truly the best way to win an election? If so, how sad for our country.

But it's not just the politicians that are making me hate politics. It's the ugliness it brings out in normal folks too. One thing I will never understand is why Christians think at election time it's ok to say horrible, awful things about political candidates and those who support them. "Be kind one to another" applies during election season, too, in case you have forgotten. In what way is it Christian-like to call others names or wish harm upon someone you disagree with? I'm not saying I'm always perfect and never have a harsh word to say about others, but I have tried to be very aware of how I treat those with different political leanings during this election season. I would never personally attack someone because of what political candidate they support, and all I ask is that I be given the same respect. I respect your ability to make your own choices and form your own opinions about what is best for our country, and I hope you will do the same for me.

A friend and I have been discussing these issues quite a bit this fall. We have decided that we will pray for unity of our country and the church. Unity doesn't mean everyone agrees, but unity means that we can respect each other's beliefs and not tear one another down.

So I'm sure some of you will roll your eyes at this and call me an idiot and a hippie liberal and that's fine. But this election season has caused me to really consider these issues and the way I treat others. I just really needed to get these thoughts out there, because if they cause even one person to think twice about their actions then I'll feel a little better.

Happy voting.

Avett Brothers Concert

Last night Andrew and I went to an amazing concert by the Avett Brothers. They really are incredible. I've always been a semi-fan of bluegrass and folk music, but since we went to Merle Fest back in April, I've really gone crazy for it. This was the first time I'd seen the Avett Brothers in concert and they put on a really great show. The band has a guitar, a banjo, an upright bass, cello and drums in it. I've never seen anyone really rock out on the cello, but this guy was doing it. The band seemed to be having a great time and most people in the crowd knew every word to every song which was amazing to me.

Unfortunately, being around all those college kids made me feel old and dumpy. Ha! Twenty-five. So old.

Today at 1:00 we are heading to North Carolina! Yay!! We're going back to Sylva to stay with our friends Jeff and Annie and their son Addison. It should be a great trip. We are going to Mountain Heritage Day tomorrow which is a big festival with mountain crafts, awesome kettle corn and bluegrass music that we kind of fell in love with when we were living up there. I'm looking forward to seeing mountains and hopefully some fall foliage, visiting our old church, and spending some time with some good friends.

We're coming home on Sunday and then Monday night we are going to Birmingham to see the Fleet Foxes in concert. They are supposed to be really good in concert, but I just hope I survive! the show doesn't start until 9 and it's an hour away. I have work and night class on Tuesday. I am getting too old for this! But it should be a (busy and tiring) fun weekend!

Tuscaloosa

Well, it's been a while since I posted anything, so I thought I would give an update on our new life down here in Alabama. We moved to Tuscaloosa almost 2 months ago. I really like it more than I thought I would, especially now that the temperature is dropping a little bit!

I am working in the Registrar's Office at the University of Alabama. Not my dream job per say, but it works for now. The people i work with are nice and friendly and most of the time the parents and students we work with are polite and easy to deal with. I really love working at the University and all that comes with it. The benefits are great, the campus is beautiful and sometimes I get to have lunch with my husband or my sister, who are both students here as well.

I am going to school 2 nights a week to get my Masters in Library and Information Studies which I love. I can't wait to be a librarian! I am trying to decide what kind of librarian I want to be but right now i am leaning heavily towards working in a public library. I am really drawn to the opportunities for community service within a public library environment. The other option I am considering is working in a college or university library, but to do that I would really need an additional masters degree or Ph.D. Which could be possible in the future, but that's not something I'm too concerned with at the moment.

Andrew has started work on his Ph.D. in Clinical Geriatric Psychology and seems to be enjoying it. He says he has already learned a lot. My sister Sarah is also here, starting her freshman year. It's so nice to have her close by!

I like the town of Tuscaloosa. It's bigger than Sylva (thank goodness!) but not huge. Most everything we need is here, and on the rare occasion we want more shopping or resteraunts, Birmingham is less than an hour away. Our apartment is nice, the area is quiet with a lot of trees and only 4 miles from the school. we have found a church we like, too, Canterbury Chapel Episcopal. We tried a couple of different denominations before deciding on this one. Something about the ritual and quietness of the services really speaks to both of us. For me, it's soothing to my soul. The quiet simplicity makes me feel closer to God, easier to shut the other things out and focus on Him. But all that's a different blog post I guess.

Hopefully I will start updating more often. Being back in school is helping me become used to writing again, I have been feeling a little rusty. Now if I can just find time between all the working and going to school...

Walt Disney World - Day 2 - May 21 - Chef Mickey's, Animal Kingdom, and Hollywood Studios

We began our first full day at Disney World with breakfast with Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald, and Pluto at Chef Mickey's in the Contemporary Resort. The Contemporary Resort, which I don't think looks like much from the outside, is absolutely gorgeous on the inside! I hope to stay there someday if we ever win the lottery. (Although really I would love to stay in each and every one of the hotels eventually.)

The breakfast was such a great way to start our day! The food was of course fantastic. They has these really yummy Mickey-shaped Belgian waffles! We looked for mickey waffle makers all over the park, but sadly we never found one. Each of the characters stopped by our table for a photo op. Yeah, so maybe we were the only people there without kids, but we had a great time acting like big kids!

After breakfast we headed to Animal Kingdom. As we walked in, we wandered though the Oasis and saw the Tree of Life.

Next we went to the Africa section.We got fast passes for the Kilimanjaro Safari and went for a walk through the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail. Here we saw many different animals, including the okapi, naked mole rats and gorillas. We learned that if you ever meet a gorilla in the wilderness, it would not be a good idea to pound your chest unless you would like to be permanently maimed.

Next we rode Kilimanjaro Safari, which was one of my favorite rides at Disney World! We saw giraffes, elephants and lions. It was really amazing how close we were to these wild animals!

After the safari, we trekked to Camp Minne Mickey to see the show the Festival of the Lion King. It was one of Dustin's favorite things we did all week! The show was great, and my favorite part were the acrobatic monkeys!

Next we went to explore the Asia part of the park. We got fast passes for Expedition Everest and went to see the Maharajah Jungle Trek. Here we saw a variety of animals including giant fruit bats and tigers.

Finally it was time to ride Expedition Everest! Wow! This ride is so amazingly fun! Definitely my favorite ride of the week! We liked it so much that we got in the single-rider line so we could ride it again right away! After that we went and rode Kali River Rapids. We all got soaked, of course, but Karen really got the worst of it! I wish I had gotten a picture of it!

Next we headed to Dinoland. It is set up to look like a carnival with dinosaur-themed rides. We rode the Primeval Whirl, which is like an old carnival ride, and Dinosaur which is a ride in which you are on a mission to travel back in time and bring back a dinosaur.

The last part of our time at Animal Kingdom was spent seeing Finding Nemo: The Musical. This musical is awesome! It is a combination of people and puppets that is colorful and beautiful to watch.

After we left Animal Kingdom, we took a bus to the gorgeous Boardwalk resort. The guys wanted to have dinner at the ESPN Game Zone. It was pretty neat, the guys loved all the TVs playing sports everywhere, even in the bathroom! The food was average and I thought overpriced, but I realize you are paying for the atmosphere.

We walked down the boardwalk and boarded a bus that would take us to Hollywood Studios. We planned to see Fantasmic, but we had a little time to do a few other things first. We rode Star Tours and then went to ride the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. We all had a blast! Dustin was hilarious! We all just kept hearing a very high-pitched voice saying "Oh my Lord! Oh my Lord!" When we got off the ride and saw the picture they had taken at the top, Katie and I were looking at each other screaming. It was so funny and I can't believe we didn't buy it.

Finally we went to see Fantasmic. We were all super tired by this time and in general people were just getting on our nerves. But when the show started I think we all enjoyed it. To be honest, I thought it was a little strange, and not exactly what I expected. I thought it was mostly a fireworks show, but there were hardly any fireworks at all. I think the show would be scary for kids, there were a few times I jumped myself. But overall it was entertaining. When Fantasmic was over, we were all completely exhausted. We headed back to our hotel to get rested for what would be another busy day on Thursday!