A Trip to Visit the Sun

Clay and I joked about bringing all of our friends a souvenir back from Tucson--a picture of the sun. We never quite got around to it during our 3-day whirlwind to the sunny desert, where it's 75 degrees in the winter. But we did enjoy the sun and a lot of other great things.

Here are our top 5 take-aways of a memorable visit:

1. Friends. We spent time with the Kings, the Cummings, the Reminders, Tom and Vonnie, the PV Church of Christ youth group, Kendra, Amanda, Heather and Ben...not to mention a stop on the way back to the Phoenix airport to have lunch with Drew, Lisa and baby Micah. In all of this, I'm so thankful that through Christ we can have so many brothers and sisters in a place far away. We were filled with so much love and appreciation for these people, and I was thankful to have so many great conversations with the people that shaped Clay during his three years of ministry there. It's like I gained more understanding into who Clay has become by getting to know the people that have shaped him. Pretty cool.
   
   
2. Babies. During our trip, there were babies and toddlers everywhere. Clay spent a good hour playing ball with a 5-year-old and 2-year-old. He spent another good hour jumping on the trampoline with a 7-year-old and a 6-year-old. I spent time crawling around the floor with an 8-month-old and bouncing a 4-month-old on my knee. We realized we enjoy hanging out with kids, but they're messy and a lot of work, and we are not ready for them yet.
   
   
3. Cold Drinks. I feel that living in the Northwest gives you a greater sense of appreciation for the joys that coffee can bring to your life. In the same way, visiting the desert gives you a greater appreciation for cold drinks. Whether it's a slushee from Eegee's, some gelato, an iced tea, or a frappuccino, cold drinks don't taste any better than they do in Tucson.
   
   
4. Grass. You really start to miss grass when you don't see it. Everything in Tucson fades to this light browny-pink color, and there aren't any really rich colors around, especially green. Everyone's front yards are filled with nicely arranged tiny pink rocks. While in Tucson this go-around, we were both appreciative of how our quality-of-life is improved by something as simple as grass.
   
   
5. Closure. Clay has missed Tucson pretty much since he said goodbye in August 2007. He misses the sun, he misses the concerts, he misses Eegees, he misses his friends. In this visit, we were able to see that our Tucson friends are still very much our friends, and that he has made a big impact in the lives of the teens he worked with. In a way, it was like we finally received closure from Clay's departure in August 2007 while saying hello to the realization that these people are still connected to us in the present.
   

The Engagement

I now have a fiance! It is true! And Clay now has a fiancee!

The fact that Clay moved up here to be with me in Washington in September seemed to tip off 95% of our close friends and families off that something serious was going on...but it didn't become official until December 27th, 2007.

Clay and I were in Texas in the midst of a hectic week. We'd been in North Carolina for my brother's wedding, driven back to Ohio to celebrate Christmas with my family, flown to San Antonio to celebrate Christmas with Clay's family, and were preparing for Clay's sister's wedding. For our second evening in Texas, Clay said, "Let's get away and have a date night." He had no problem convincing me!

"Where do you want to go?" I asked.

He replied, "How about Austin." Oooh this guy knows the key to my heart. Austin is where Clay and I met at the National Youth Worker's Convention in Fall 2006. We hadn't return to Austin since our initial meeting, but it's only a 90-minute or so drive from his parents' home in San Antonio. I was eager to take a sentimental journey of all the places we'd hung out on that first meeting.

So we hopped in the car and drove into downtown Austin on Cesar Chavez Drive. We headed straight to Waterloo Records and Book People, fantastic independent stores we'd spent hours in during Quasi-Date #2. When it was time for dinner, I again asked, "Where do you want to go?"

Clay responded, "Let's go to Threadgill's." Again, he knows the keys to my heart. I agreed, and we went to eat dinner at the restaurant/concert venue that sparked our first meeting of Not-Really-Even-A-Quasi-Date #1. We enjoyed a very home-cooked vegetable platter. And afterwards, we wanted to walk out to the Congress Street Bridge (aka the Bat Bridge)...which is where we officially first met, on our way to the Eliza Gilkyson concert at Threadgill's.

So--we walked out to the bridge, excited to be at "the spot" where we met. As we neared the middle of the bridge, we picked a spot next to a pole that had a Christmasy/guitar-type decoration attached to it. We're obviously not confident that this was "the spot." But it seemed as good as any other spot on the bridge. At this point, I was just ahead of Clay. I turned around to hug him, but he was already down on one knee. He said some nice things that neither of us really remember and pulled a ring out of his man-bag. I'm confident that at some point in there, he said he wanted to marry me, and I responded with, "Yes, I would love to marry you."

And there it was. He slipped the ring on my finger, and we went from being non-engaged to engaged.

We continued our walk on the bridge and had a celebratory dessert at TGI Friday's, which we had also originally visited during Quasi-Date #2. What amazed me was that when one goes from being non-engaged to engaged, the world does not actually stop turning on its axis, a corps of singer/dancers does not emerge to throw confetti into the air, and millions of doves do not fly in front of you, foreshadowing a spectacular fireworks display. It was all very normal. For the rest of the world, they wouldn't have really known that our lives were changing in that moment.

So now, Clay and I are engaged. We're getting married in Ohio on August 2, 2008, a mere 6 1/2 months from today. I looked the definition of engagement up on Wikipedia and discovered that engagements began so that people could have time to figure out if there were any "legitimate impediments" to this marriage. So, if you know of any of those, you're evidently supposed to let us know.

Thanks for journeying with us, and we'd appreciate your prayers over these next 7 months!

P.S. For those of you who wish to know if I was surprised, I will say, "Moderately so." Clay and I had already looked at rings, but I had no reason to suspect he'd have a ring by Christmas. He hadn't done much to tip me off during our date to Austin, mostly because he was so nonchalant all day. The only thing that tipped me off was his Jack Bauer man-bag, which he rarely carries unless we're going someplace to sit and read. I figured the only reason he'd have the man-bag was if he was carrying something special in it...which turned out to be true. I was still pretty surprised when he pulled out a ring, and so glad that Clay knows me well enough to know exactly how I'd hoped he'd propose.

The Top 2's of 2008

Top Two Gifts I Got for Christmas:

• A Sparkly Diamond Engagement Ring
• Not for Sale: The Return of the Global Slave Trade and How We Can Fight It by David Batstone

Top Two Weddings I Participated in This Christmas:

• Sean and Rachael Baker's (My brother and new sister-in-law)
• Brendan and Erin (Utley) Voss' (My sister-in-law and brother-in-law to be!)

Top Two Cups of Coffee I Had Over Christmas:

• The First Americano I got at The Dripolator in Black Mountain, NC.
• The Second Americano I got at The Dripolator in Black Mountain, NC.

Top Two Best Unplanned Moments of the 2-week Whirlwind:

• Seeing Billy Harvey open for The Old 97's in Austin, Texas. My friends and I stumbled across Billy Harvey's website a few years ago and have been closet fans of his website ever since. We own none of his albums and have never attempted to see him in concert--until I accidentally did!
• Spending 8 hours in the car with my aunt and uncle riding back from North Carolina to Ohio. This included playing James Bond Scene It, laughing a lot, and a fantastic visit to a Texan restaurant in West Virginia.

Top Two Touristy Things I Did Over Christmas:

• Visit the Biltmore Estate near Asheville, NC.
• Visit the Grand Canyon in Northern Arizona.

Top Two Scariest Moments of Christmas Break:

• Riding into downtown San Antonio with someone at the wheel driving 35 mph on the interstate in 8 lanes of traffic.
• Having to help a van full of my exhausted friends come to consensus for where we should eat dinner in Flagstaff, AZ.
  

Top Two Things About Returning Home After A 2-week Whirlwind:

• The killer cold I've been battling for the last week.
• Returning from vacation in need of another vacation.

When your baby brother gets hitched, you should visit a mansion in your time of mourning.

This past Friday, my baby brother gots himself hitched to the now Rachael Baker.

There was much revelry and celebratory-type activities throughout the city (village) streets of Montreat and Black Mountain, North Carolina. For several days, I shared a cabin with Mom, Dad, Clay, 4 Grandparents, and My Aunt. Woo-wee! For several days, we all had to wait in line to pee.

After the revelry was waning, we all said, "Enough of mourning Sean and Rachael's departure into the sweet land of matrimony! We're going to take 8500 of our closest friends to party at the Biltmore Estate!" So that's what we did...visit the Vanderbilt mansion.

I have to say, the Biltmore Estate was pretty rad. 250 rooms, an indoor swimming pool and bowling alley, a 35-foot-tall Christmas tree, 30 some bedrooms and 40 some bathrooms. At the beginning of the 20th century, the Vanderbilts were worth 96 Billion Dollars in today's money, which was before there was income tax. A double Woo-wee to that!

It reminded me how vast the discrepency is between the rich and the poor. And you know what the crazy part is? To most of the world, we are closer to the Vanderbilts than we are to them. The fact that we're reading this on our computers is proof of that.

It's Christmas eve, and since there are now a few days to rest in between my brother's wedding and Clay's sister's wedding, I'd like to try my best to celebrate Christ-mas today and tomorrow. And I'd like to ask the Lord what he wants me to do with my wealth? Should I build a mansion? Should I give to the poor? Should I build a mansion for the poor to live in?

What does He have for us this week?

Existential Week!

It's existential week here in hmb-land. This morning I woke up in bed, panicked because I'm subsisting on the American status quo. I have a down comforter, a nice house to live in, an array of strip malls within driving distance, a fossil fuel-mobile, and 50-60 more years of life to figure out how to fill.

Life is this really unique blend of good and stressful right now. Clay is moving to Washington in about 61 days (he'll arrive approximately September 8th, job and residence are pending). I'm applying to an online graduate program. I'm editing an essay I wrote for an anthology about girls growing up in the church. I made a cheesecake.

But as Clay and I look at our lives together in Washington over the next few years, I'm tormented with complete Wanderlust...wanting to get out and go and have excitement and adventure. It's odd when the place of adventure (Washington) becomes the normal...and for this moment, at 12:17pm on Monday morning, I just want to get out and be on a beach in Fiji or snorkeling in Australia or on a peak in the Himalayas...and I want to know more about what I'm passionate about. I want to know how to fill my weekends in a way that doesn't involve hitting play on the DVD player so much.

This weekend I made a cheesecake...and some seafood linguine...and a chicken dijon panini...maybe I'll explore my love for cooking this week--create some dishes that would appeal to the well-traveled...and maybe my existential crisis will subsist for the time being.

Ode to Portland

Over Memorial Day weekend, I went to visit friend Sonja in Portland. She recently moved there to start a new life/job, and I was excited to spend the weekend exploring an under explored town.

There were lots of good times to be had:

• visiting Imogo Dei Community. This church is the home church of Donald Miller, and Sonja has begun attending there. There's a strong sense of artistry and active community service.
  
• eating dinner at Andina (Johnny P and Drew, this should be on your list of mileage runs--eating at this restaurant). The food was Peruvian, our waiter was beyond impressive, and the atmosphere was killer.
  
• catching 300 at McMenamin's Kennedy School. It's not everyday you can see a movie while sitting on a couch in a restored school auditorium with a pub in the next room.
• visiting Powell's Books, one of America's premier independent bookstores, which seriously, is like, the size of a shopping mall.
• going to the Japanese gardens and discovering a new potential hobby! This was an amazing Japanese garden, too, as far as Japanese gardens go...5.5 acres of greenery. (P.S. Did you know that the Druids of Stonehenge influenced the Japanese gardeners? It's true! Look below!)

So, in retrospect, I've definitely decided that I desire a Japanese garden in my future. Preferably with a coy pond, a waterfall, and little stones with original haiku scattered across the backyard. I will do Tai Chi there. It will be a good time.

Now, the only thing I have to do is buy a house, hire a landscaper, hire a part-time gardener, and learn Japanese and Tai Chi.

Because that is a lot of work, for the time being I'm very glad to share a house with Heidi, who's taking it upon herself to landscape our entire yard while I smile and watch from the window. There's even a mini-Japanese garden by the back door. For now, this will have to suffice for satisfying my Japanese Gardening needs, until I manage to grow a green thumb myself. Someday in the near future, I will take a photo of the landscaping because it will make last month's trip to the dump all the more exciting!

(P.P.S. Did you know that Japanese Gardeners patented putt-putt? It's true! Look!)

"I'm Fixin' To": An introductory Guide to Texas

From May 9th-14th, I visited the Lone Star State. The intent of this trip was to meet Clay's family and attend Clay's sister's college graduation from Abilene Christian University. This was only my second trip to Texas ever. (The first trip was last October for the Youth Specialties' Convention in Austin, when I met Clay.) So--this was my first real immersion into Texas culture.

To capture an entire state in one blog based on a 6-day visit seems rather ridiculous...so I'll merely give you the Texas Top 5...which is definitely the Top 5 conclusions I deduced about Texans based on my observations of the state.

1. Texans love their state flag.
   
   Seriously...I'm telling you...the state flag is everywhere and on everything. My absolute favorite Texas- flag- themed item I saw for sale was this snazzy desk chair in Abilene. Who would not want to sing Deep in the Heart of Texas everyday at work when sitting in one of these?!
   
   While eating lunch in Fredericksburg, TX, I swear to you I saw no less than a hundred Texan flags hanging from businesses on the main drag. I suppose this would not seem so odd if any of the other three states I've lived in loved their flag this much. But Texas is the only state I know of that has a Pledge of Allegiance to its state flag, so at least there is consistency to the passion.
   
   So, FYI, Texans love their state flag.
   
   
   
2. Texans love their state history.
   
   They love it so much, that there are markers posted approximately every fifty feet that recount important historical events which may have happened on this exact spot. Here, Clay shows off the very marker that commemorates the first railroad across West Texas. It would certainly be an impressive collector's item to visit all of the significant railroad-related Texas State history markers. In fact, I have just added this to my to-do list!
   
   
   
   
   
3. Texans love tortilla soup.
   
   I had never before in my life eaten tortilla soup, but I think I ate it once per day on my visit to Texas. When I heard "tortilla soup" I was thinking it would look like a can of tomato soup poured over top of a tortilla. This was not true. It actually looked like this. Tortilla soup is the best-dressed soup I've ever seen. It gets an A+++ for presentation and an A+++ for taste. My newest favorite food!
   
   
   
4. Texans believe their state to be really, really important.
   
   I hesitate to be so brash as to generalize to say that Texans have a warped view of geography...but this photo from a children's book that I've loosely titled, Indoctrination to the Superiority of All Things Texan should speak for itself:
   
   
   
   The state is really large, this is true. I mean, in the time I can be in California, you can drive from east Texas to central Texas. But seriously, this map is OUT OF CONTROL! Look! Texas basically goes from Mexico to North Dakota and from San Bernadino to Alabama. What is going on?! This is not an accurate depiction of reality!
   
   Our trainer on our new database who is from Dallas claims that this is evidence of Texans poking fun at themselves. I call it infantile brainwashing! Beware!
   
   
5. Texans are people too.
   
   So while in general I'm confused about the Texans' love for Texas, I enjoyed my time spent meeting and interacting with Texans. Every Texan I met was friendly and more than excited that I was visiting their state. And, they have nice accents. Also, I ate some fantastic food while I was there (ribs, BBQ, tortilla soup, enchiladas, horchata) meaning that Texans are good cooks, which speaks to my soul's core.
   
   It's definitely true that with all the crazy indoctrination, Texans grow up to be real people (i.e. Clay and family...although maybe I'm biased). It's also true that every state has its own quirks (i.e. Ohio's passionate love for a poisonous nut or North Webster, Indiana's Mermaid Festival or eco-friendly Seattle's aversion to mass transit).
   
   So I'm probably willing to let Texas off the hook if they are willing to put actual maps into their children's books and occasionally imply that there are other states besides Texas.
   

One thing that is not true about Texas--all of my exes do not live there. But the sage in bloom is like perfume...

Bob's Island Getaway 2006 Highlight

Remember that time you voted on the best t-shirt for Bob's? Here's the highlight reel from that event, which took place last April...one of my favorite things about YD--Bob's Island Getaway...

Why is there not a better title for this entry than There and Back Again?

I've just returned from a formative trip--one that makes me feel like at the end of the trip, I've arrived back at the same place to find that everything is different.

My 9-day trip across the Southwest started last Sunday. It was preceded by a day of visiting with Hannah and Jon, who flew out to Washington on their spring break. We celebrated their visit by eating lots of good food, watching Arrested Development, and going to bed early.

Early Sunday morning I was off to Palm Springs, California, which is the brainchild of some creative capitalist who decided the best place for a bunch of green golf courses is the middle of the desert. Palm Springs is a nice town, though. On the way there, we enjoyed a breezy 2-hour drive from Ontario, in which we could intake all the beautiful graffiti that lines I-10 through San Bernadino.

My five days in Palm Springs were to attend the Christian Management Association (CMA) Conference. It was fantastic! I listened to great talks from Dr. Henry Cloud, Gordon MacDonald, Patrick Lencioni, and Priscilla Evans Shirer. I attended workshops about Financial Development and Marketing. And I enjoyed a lot of QT with the other YD leaders. In fact, beyond the info I was gathering, that was the best part of the whole week--the informal time with my coworkers, talking about the future of YD and the excitement and tension about change. I definitely got to know everyone a lot better, and a lot of trust was built. (As I like to say--relational equity.)

After five days of filling my brain with work-related brainstorms, I said goodbye to California and headed east to Arizona.

Clay met me at the rental car drop-off at Sky Harbor, and we went to visit Drew, Lisa and Justin, Taylor friends who live in Phoenix. We enjoyed a fantastic rooftop dinner at sunset in downtown Scottsdale...and if we would have desired to purchase a buffalo head for the living room wall, our dreams could have certainly come true. We enjoyed great food, fondue, and fun conversation. And I ate a lot of queso...which was so good to eat and so sad to say goodbye to after I'd eaten it all.

During our fantastic 24 hours in Phoenix with the aformentioned Drew, Lisa, and Justin, we also had coffee with my friend Laura from TU Admissions, and enjoyed a raucous afternoon with the amazingly talented Karaoke Trio of Tim, Jennifer, and Frenchy. (Apart from our visit highlight, which included Jennifer spilling gallons of Horchata smoothie all over the Gas Station Slushie aisle, we were introduced to SingShot, an online community for karaoke lovers.)

Then, Clay and I headed to Tucson so I could meet his life. During the three days in Tucson, I met lots of fun peeps from Clay's church, saw the sunrise over Tucson from a viewpoint on Mt. Lemmon, had my first Eegee, explored 4th Avenue and dined at Caruso's, drove past the US Air Force Airplane Graveyard, and saw a lot of the sun and cacti.

The weekend in Tucson was fabulous...I got a lot of confirmation about Clay and I's relationship just as a result of meeting other people who are friends with Clay...in fact, it was all so fabulous, that when I got off the plane in dreary Seattle yesterday, I began crying about stupid things. (Things like missing the airport shuttle the first time it came and forgetting to take the West Seattle exit.) I think this is a testament to missing the sun, having the letdown of coming home after a fabulous trip, being alone on the car ride home, and being really sad that after 5 days with Clay, I had once again said goodbye.

So I arrive home after nine days with a lot of confidence...I'm confident in my personal relationship with the Lord...I'm confident that I enjoy my job immensely...I'm confident that Clay and I belong together...and I'm confident that what this world needs is more online karaoke and Horchata smoothie.

Life is very, very good.

Californiaaaa and Arizonaaaaa

So I'm off traveling again starting this weekend. First to Palm Springs, California for the Christian Management Association's Spring Conference. At the conference, I will go to exciting seminars on Marketing, Fundraising, and Strategic Planning. (Do not read any sarcasm into this sentence. I am actually stoked about it!)

And then I will drive to Puh-ho-nix, Arizona to see Drew and Lisa, Tim and Jennifer, Laura, and boyfriend Clay.

Here are my anticipated highlights for next week:

1. Having my brain overloaded by exciting career information.
2. Enjoying time with my coworkers and continuing to build relationships with the YD Leadership.
3. Getting a tan.
4. Wearing my new "business casual" wear from Gap Outlet.
5. Spending four hours driving across the California/Arizona desert with my iPod blaring.
6. Seeing six good Taylor friends I haven't seen in awhile.
7. Drinking 14 gallons of water per day.
8. Applying lotion 6-10 times per day.
9. Applying aloe vera 2-3 times per day.
10. Visiting boyfriend's place of residence, church of employment, circle of friends, etc.

And my yet-to-be highlights from tonight:

1. Leaving work at a decent hour.
2. Buying new sunglasses and body wash from B&BW.
3. Preparing the homestead for a visit from Jon and Hannah tomorrow. (Hannah being my bestest friend from my time in Kenya during fall of 2001. She and husband Jon are visiting from Indiana before I leave on Sunday morning!)
4. Getting a smoothie on the way home.

It's the small things in life, you know. I will hope to post more of exciting California/Arizona revelations. Maybe even a torrid tale of running in the desert just before heat stroke. And a blog entry on meeting the significant other's significant others will surely transpire at some point. Please wait on the edge of your seats in eager anticipation.

High's and Low's

Here's this week's High's and Low's...

High's--

• Learning how to download bootlegged live concerts of Over the Rhine, Radiohead, and Brandi Carlile.

• Making friends via Over the Rhine's Forum page, and thus acquiring some Trent Wagler bootlegs. (He opened the show for Over the Rhine when I saw them live in Dayton, OH in November.)
  
  
• Finishing a final draft of an essay for an anthology put together by my friend Hannah called Growing Up Churched.
  
  
• Getting my tickets in the mail to see Patty Griffin live at The Moore in Seattle next month.
  
  
• Eating Ben and Jerry's.
  
  
• My new weekly phone date with Renee, in which we determined that if I were a paint, I would be a bold orange, and if I were to date any superhero, I would date Spiderman.
  
  
• My weekly phone date with Clay in which we read Chapter One of Soul Survivor and discussed our most influential spiritual mentors.
  
  
• Being woken up at 11:37pm last night by a phone call from Sean in China. The first words he spoke were, "What time is it there? It's 3:30pm here." Then he boasted about how he knows more than I do, because he lives in the future. I pointed out that compared to him, I live permanently 4 1/2 years in the future.
  
  
• Arrested Development, Season One. My favorite part thus far is Tobias crying out, "There's dozens of us out there! Dozens!"
  
  
• Realizing the previously defunct Western Airlines is planning on getting up-and-running again in the near future and will be offering $59 one-way tickets to Phoenix. PTL!
  
  
• Only having three girls in Junior High girls at Youth Group on Wednesday. We could actually talk.
  
  

Low's--

• The horrors of something called "Caffeine Withdrawel." It's pretty much the worst headache I've ever experienced. So much so, that after 48 hours of being caffeine-free, I assuaged my wearied brain with a Diet Coke. I now know what it's like to be an addict.
  
  
• Realizing on Thursday morning that I'd forgotten to watch American Idol this week.
  
  
• Doing my hair really pretty this morning and then walking outside to have it drenched by heaps of white, wet, gobs of snow falling from the sky.
  
  
• Realizing that Starbuck's White Berryblossom Tea is not caffeine-free.
  
  
• Eating the last bit of leftover curry from last Friday's dinner, meaning that five meals later, I might have to cook something again.
  
  
• Every moment that led to turning in my 'churched' essay was a low point. The writing process is really horrible sometimes. Okay, all the time.
  
  
• Only having three girls in Junior High girls' at Youth Group on Wednesday. I have no idea where the other fifteen went, and I missed them.
  

Where is the Love?

This Valentine's Day blog is dedicated to people who meet the following criteria:
1. I love them.
2. They live 10,000 miles away.
3. I used to talk to them weekly until they moved 10,000 miles away.
4. I miss them.

Brother Sean in China! (furthest right in photo.) He's been there for a month already, and will be there through August. He's studying and interning and traveling and learning. Today, as a Happy Valentines/Belated Birthday gift, I received a package of tea and candy from beloved China, courtesy of Sean Ian. This, makes me happy, and I miss him!


Barrett and Suzanne! These dear friends followed their love and devotion to the Lord and their love of adventure to Zambia. They're currently leading a student program called "African Quest," in which they supervise teaching and training for 20 American/British college-aged students. Before they left for Africa, I talked to Suzanne daily. Since they left for Africa, I have talked to Suzanne once for thirty seconds and get emails every 4-6 weeks. I definitely miss them.

So...if you're reading this blog, the odds are high that I love you too...so, I want you to know that. And--Happy Valentine's Day.

New Years in Chi-Town...

For the eighth year in a row... my Taylor crew has gathered for a New Years hurrah.

What's intriguing about an annual New Years party with a core group of friends is that it's really more than a party... it's the one time of year where we're all together with our oldest, dearest friends... it's a time of centering and remembering who we are because of the comfortability to be ourselves... and while there's the expected new years fun of manic living room dance parties, there is also usually tears and reflection that bring closure to a tough year.

So, the Photojournalistic highlights....

Millennium Park and The Art Institute...

While we were staying with dear friend Allison in her urban home in Lawndale, on Saturday morning, we took the El down to Millennium Park... BekahD, Janelle, Suzanne, BeccaM, Mike, and Chris said hello to the bean, while I trekked over to the Art Institute to say hello to my favorite piece by Marc Chagall, White Crucifixion.

I really love the Art Institute more than most places in the world...and it was fantastic to have an afternoon to myself in the city. I love strolling through the halls and discovering new art to love...this time I really connected with the Greek iconography...and the part of me that used to be enamored with dollhouses loved the miniatures...

Cafe Iberico...

Later that evening, our group of fourteen enjoyed very fine cuisine at a Spanish restaurant, Cafe Iberico...and as far as the food there (amazing Tapas and Paella), we escaped the evening at $11 a plate for dinner! Amazing! So...if you're headed to Chi-town anytime soon and looking for fabulous food downtown, do not miss it.

Not only did I get fabulous food, I was introduced to the glamorous world of Spanish music videos, which are essentially, what would happen if Christina Aguilera's less attractive cousin had a music video produced by the Teletubbies.












New Years Eve in Lawndale...

Seriously...what New Years celebration is complete without taking fifteen small town and suburban white kids into an urban African-American church for morning worship? Allison took us to her home church, Lawndale Community Church, where we sang and swayed to the tunes of a sweet gospel choir. And--I learned a lot about the ministry of this amazing church from Allison, who works with HIV patients at Lawndale Christian Health Center. Hence--why we were staying with her in such an interesting Chicago neighborhood, where she lives out Jesus to her neighbors and coworkers everyday.

And then--the New Years extravaganza itself, which typically includes some SDP's (Spontaneous Dance Parties) and a lot of laughter...this year it also included some choreographed dancing from High School Musical. Woo!

Heartbreaking, though, was the moment when Suzanne and Barrett called in from Zambia to say hello. It had been over three months since I've heard the voices of these friends of mine (which prior to their move to Zambia...we talked several times per week...) It's very odd to have friends on the other side of the world and only have time to say, "Hello! I love you! I miss you! Happy new year! Here's Renee!" So--to Drew, Lisa, Nate, Jessica, Suzanne, Barrett and other friends around the world who were not with us, we missed you immensely! (Mike and Chris especially missed you...because, well, they were surrounded by ten women all weekend.)

And onto 2007...

On New Year's morning, we took some time to pray and thank God for a new year...to thank God for the blessing of amazing friendships...and to take the time to bless each other for the coming year. It's truly incredible to have Christian friends doing amazing ministry all over the world and to gather together once a year to enjoy them and be encouraged by them. We work to not take this privilege for granted...

Over the last eight years, we've gathered in Indiana, Ohio, Chicago, and Colorado...and next year we're headed to Arizona...so next year around this time, expect exciting tales of the desert sun and the Grand Canyon...because it's highly probable that when TU folks are around, a goofy and ridiculous time will be had by all.

And lest ye forget, Charlie, Janelle, me, Pam, Renee, and Suz are here to remind you that brown is the new black...

Photojournalistic Highlights from the Tour 'o the Midwest...

So...my photojournalistic highlights from this last trip are sparse. Even though I was in seven different states on four separate trips over 20 days, I took exactly 8 photographs. So, in your mind, pretend that I'm sharing photos of these important events that I didn't take pictures of: Cincinnati YS, Muncie, Taylor, my immediate family, Pittsburgh, Charlotte, and my meetings with following famous people... Lauren Winner, the Detroit Pistons, Leigh Nash, and James Laurinaitis. (Imagine specifically, lots of pictures of me smiling next to dear friends and family that I haven't seen in ages...and imagine YD staff recruiting 70 staff leads.)

Highlight #1: Baby Caedmon Rider Barth's First Flight.

He did very well...slept the whole time...and Heather and Jade did really well on 'first travels with a baby.' We discovered lots of cool perks of traveling with babies:
1. You get to go to the front of lines.
2. Flight attendants are reeally nice.
3. TSA officials smile at you.

We also discovered lots of non-cool perks of traveling with babies:
1. You have to find elevators, many of which are unmarked or hard-to-find, or out-of-the-way (especially the one in S-Terminal at Sea-Tac, which is conveniently located through a huge glass door marked "Customs and International Travel" and down a long hallway filled with security officials.)
2. You are expected by TSA to simultaneously break down the stroller, put it on the belt, and hold the baby, boarding pass, and ID. They offer no assistance and required that I come back through the metal detector to carry the baby for Jade so that Jade could put all the luggage on the belt herself.
3. You nearly miss flights because sometimes the baggage people take a bazillion years to give you your gate-checked stroller back...and then you, Jade, and baby have to run at top speeds, gear-in-tow to the opposite sides of the Minneapolis airport, including crashing into business men as you run at top speeds on moving sidewalks. As you can see, though, this did not phase Caedmon. He slept the whole time.

Highlight #2: The Casey Family National Championship

On Thanksgiving Day, Cousin Randi and I began reflecting on Thanksgiving Friends' episodes. Since it was a beautiful, sunny 65 degrees outside, we specifically waxed nostalgic about "The One With The Football," and Randi started giggling over the thought of "The Geller Trophy" (which was a troll doll nailed to a 2x4) during that episode. Then someone cried out, "We could make a Casey Cup!" (Casey being my mom's maiden name...the side of the family with whom we were gathered.)

The idea was too amazing to pass up--and the idea of competing for a ridiculous trophy inspired us all to really play an actual game of family football. So...I crept into the attic, dug through boxes, pulled out the hot glue gun, and 20 minutes later emerged with the official "Casey Cup."

The Cup itself actually holds a lot of sentimental value. It's comprised of of homages to the OSU Buckeyes, the Cleveland Browns, and the Cleveland Indians (of extreme importance to the Casey Clan.) It also includes the shark-on-a-stick puppet I bought on the 8th grade trip to DC, Sean's trophy from being the "Top Selling 6th Grader" in the Lincoln Elementary PTO Fundraiser, a small piece of PinArt I once purchased at COSI, and Sparky Pig (the running family joke, who makes recurring appearances in luggage, Christmas presents, and trunks of cars.)

The game itself was pretty intense: the competitive Welch/Schilling clan vs. Me/Sean/Rachel (and Aunt Angie at all-time Center...guest appearance by Aunt Danie and Dad as our sneak illegal receiver.) The Bakers were really at a disadvantage from the start considering the Welch/Schilling clan was comprised of Cousin Paul (Air Force,) Cousin Randi (played high school volleyball and softball,) and Cousin-in-Law Warren (Contractor and extremely buff.) Team Baker was me (retired ballerina,) Brother Sean (speaks Chinese,) and Brother's Girlfriend Rachel (chemist.)

But--in the first half, Team Baker put 14 points on the board (including one major reception by hmb that resulted in me being the defense's player to stop! Woo!) The second half was less pretty...because I think we were shut out....

But--we rejoiced at the end of it all that several hours of fun happened. And--that we've started--in our 20's--a new family tradition. So, the Casey Cup will be up for grabs again at Christmas when the Welch- Schillings battle it out with the Whitings... (p.s. notice all the red eyes? in my entire extended family, both sides, everyone has blue eyes...crazy, non?!)

...and Sean and I determined that at some point we're going to need a Triwizard tournament of sorts in which the Casey Cup is occasionally attainable via Trivial Pursuit victories...otherwise the Baker clan may never see the beloved Casey Cup again.

Char-Latte

I am in Charlotte, NC for the last of the four Youth Specialties' Conventions. It's nice to see my 'exhibit booth buddies' who are quasi-friends based on the fact that I've seen them more in November than I've seen my roommate. (I'd like to give a shout-out to the peeps of Easy Worship, Bigstuf Camps, Reach Workcamps, Time Ministries...)

I'm tired, and I don't feel like I should be. But--when I say that, I say, "Heather. You've been in Washington, California, Minnesota, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina in the past thirty days...and you've slept in eight different beds. You are allowed to be tired for no other reason than that alone."

So. Here I am kicking it in the amazing lobby of the Westin Charlotte, and I'm excited to start the last of the four conventions. Tomorrow, Havaleh (my best friend from high school) is coming to spend the day at the convention too! Fun!

There's so much anticipation--like--I'm going to meet a few future YD staff this weekend...

The Home Office

Am sitting in kitchen of parents' home in Ohio on my laptop and cell phone communicating with YD Office in Washington and Youth Specialties in California and friend Havaleh in North Carolina to hash out logistics for YS Convention in Charlotte, which begins on Thursday.

Feel very much like trendy jet-setter / road warrior...

Life on the Road

I've been living beyond Washington for the last eleven days, voyaging through Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana and Pennsylvania...and before the trip concludes, I'll be in North Carolina.

What in the world! All of this while my job title is being a missionary to Pacific Northwest youth!

The third of the four Youth Specialties' conventions was last weekend in Cincinnati, and it was by far our most productive convention in gathering leads for staff. Our biggest draw to the booth was Baby Caedmon Rider (Jade's son whom I blogged about last month.) All the booths around us were using sign-ups for "Win an iPod" to get people to their booths...so we stuck a sign on Caedmon's stroller that said, "Sign Up to Win a Baby." People would giggle and ask us baby-related questions, and then we could tell them about the ministry...I have pictures...but my cable to upload them is in Washington, so you must wait in suspense.

Sarah and I's adventure of sharing a hotel with Jade and 8-week-old Baby Barth proved to be pretty fun. He slept through the night all week and only cried as Jade strapped him into his carseat for our drive to Muncie, Indiana after the convention. I'm praying right now for God to gift me such mellow/non-crying babies (since I know I was colicky and fussy myself.)

After the convention was a three-day excursion through Indiana to visit friends in Muncie and at Taylor. It was so fantastic to trudge across TU's campus, visit chapel, hang out in the Union, talk with Prof's, visit Admissions, and miss my community in Upland...

And for the past four days, I've been bumming around C-town with the family, enjoying a hearty Thanksgiving dinner, family football (in competition for the "Casey Cup"--photos also pending), and lots of good hang-out time watching football and putting up Christmas decorations.

Wednesday I fly to North Carolina for YS Convention #4, thus ending my fall travels.

Yesterday I was talking to Heidi and homesick for Washington. I miss my bed and my books and my car and Heidi and I's house.

Blogging will probably be not happening much until I return to Washington the first week of December. If you're missing me, please visit Homestar Runner and watch Teen Girl Squad. It's essentially what I would write if I were posting blogs anyways.

Highlights from Anaheim...

I spent six days within sight of Disneyland, and I did not go there...and I was ten miles from the Pacific Ocean, and I did not go there either...

...but I did spend a lot of hours in the Anaheim Convention Center, where protesters stood outside with signs that said, "Youth Specialties Sends People to Hell." (The best part about the sign was that the part at the top that said "Youth Specialties" was not a permanent part of the sign...meaning that the picketer probably writes out a different organizational name to protest each week...I'm sure it would be funny to show up next week when his sign says, "The Organization of Real Estate Professionals sends people to hell" or something like that...)

We did what we came to do: talk to people about working for YD. Over the six days, we have five people seriously interested in being an Area Director, another ten people seriously interesting in being on full-time staff, and 19 people interested in summer staff and/or internships. Wowzer!

I felt 247% better about the logistics of everything, having a much better idea of what to expect this time around. We ended up with a spot on the corner, which meant a little more traffic. And I ordered this bright red carpet, which shone as brightly as the sun, beckoning passersby...and--best of all, I eased the logistics of my next two conventions by having everything shipped directly from the Anaheim show site straight to the Cincinnati show site! Woo woo! This means I did not have to cart excessively heavy luggage on my way home from Anaheim!

My numero uno favorite surprise visitor for the week was Scott Greene, who was the Camp Director at Camp Adventure in Indiana during my internship there in Summer of 2001. I told him that to this day, he's still my favorite boss, which is true. Because he taught me a lot about empowerment--and--how to get your staff excited about Junior High ministry by blasting Petra in their ears at 7am on a summer morning. It was definitely fantastic to talk with him!

The most entertaining evening of the whole event was on Sunday night when the YD staff team got together for a final hurrah dinner. We ended up at the Rainforest Cafe in Downtown Disney (which I describe as Easton or Alderwood on speed.) We were having a pretty fun night, chilling in the rainforest and eating schmancy appetizers.

Then, I realized the men around me had started to go crazy. My coworkers Bethany and Teresa had taken off early to go to a concert, and I was left at a table with eight of my coworkers, seven of whom were wifeless married men. Within a few moments, all of the pent up "being good and being professional" seemed to get to them, and they disintegrated into the mentality of junior high boys. Kevin sprayed water all over me...Aaron and Joel were competing in a credit card tossing competition, and Eric was on the verge of breaking an expensive-looking 6-foot tall space heater. The moral of the story? If you're ever with a group of two girls and eight guys (seven of whom who've spent six days without the supervision of their wives), and the other two girls take off, go with them. Seriously.

And now I've returned to Mount Vernon, which is flooding. I haven't been inconvenienced by it, really, which is funny because we definitely live in the flood plain...and we definitely live less than fifty feet from the river...and the river level is easily higher than our house's foundation right now...all to say, Praise God for sturdy dikes...

here's a photo of Heidi's wonder dog, Max, staking out the flooding and ensuring that he'll protect us from encroaching waters...

Disneyland!

I can see Disneyland from the hotel window...

...this freaks me out a bit, because you can't see Disney World from hotel windows.

The convention starts in 90 minutes. Things are ready-set-go.

I'm excited...

...pray for us!

California...

There are so many great songs about California to commence my departure to Anaheim...

...but I always end up humming Tiny Dancer...blue jean baby...LA lady...seamstress for the band...

Now I go to Anaheim for Youth Specialties' Convention 2 of 4. I'm leading a crew of ten staff...and I pray that God will protect us as we travel and bless this step of faith.

I'm excited...because already I'm headed home from the office five hours earlier than I was before YS in Austin.

It will be a good trip! I am excited...