Forks: the play by play (Day One)

My favorite barista at Borders makes the best designs in the coffee.

I'm at Borders right now. And I think I've consumed too much coffee because I'm suddenly feeling very exhausted. But I've been reading The War of Art by Steven Pressfield and in it he talks about this thing called "Resistance", which is basically an evil force that's only goal is to keep people from doing their creative work. And so I want to use the excuse that I'm too tired to blog because I've spent the last two hours working on another project that I'm committed to (putting together a party kit resource list for Polaris Project) but I know my excuse is Resistance and so I'm resisting Resistance and plugging away.

Wow. I think that's the longest starting paragraph I've ever written.

Couple of notes before I get into the goods about Forks:

• As you may have noticed, I haven't been writing everyday. I've decided that it doesn't matter. Blogging daily is still the goal. But, I can't make up for the past and I don't care to beat myself up about it. Every day is a new day to try again.
• The other day I was struck with what I considered to be brilliant idea. Rob Bell is going to be at MHGS in Seattle on October 30th to talk about the Art of the Sermon. He did a huge conference in Michigan a year or two ago called Poets, Prophets and Preachers. I really wanted to go, but, couldn't, of course. They are eventually coming out on film, but I feel like I've been waiting for a very very long time. So, my brilliant idea was to actually go to Seattle - to make the money via cleaning jobs and fly over there. I talked to Jermaine about it and I decided to pray and then, if I still felt compelled, to go for it. The very same day I was thinking all of this, I happened to check Rob Bell's website aaand unbelievably it had been released!! 5 hours worth of film! Haha! It was like God speaking a big fat NO into my brilliant scheme. A-mazing.
• Last night I had the great fortune to go on a date with my husband. We don't get many of those. It was magical. And while on the date I discovered my love of being a tourist in my own town.

Me in downtown Bethesda. It's kinda beautiful there.

We found this at the gift shop and the Regency Hyatt
in Bethesda. Seriously, is this the best Maryland can do??

We went to this awesome French
Country cafe for breakfast called
Le Madeleine. I think it's my new
 favorite restaurant.

Okay. Now we can get on with Forks.

Friday

It was mad. We got up at 2:30am in Gloucester to catch a 6:45am flight in Richmond. Effectually, we were tired before we even started. But we didn't care. Both of us had been looking forward to this trip for so long, we could hardly sleep anyway. Neither of us have mastered the art of sleeping on a plane, either, so we read and squirmed in excited anticipation.

Andrea got the window seat. 

We got to Seattle around 11am (which was 2pm to us). We had to wait a little while for the car rental which annoyed us because we booked it in January. But the rental people were really nice. And, in all fairness, since they didn't have any mid-size cars readily available, they offered to upgrade us for free, but I wouldn't do it. I had to drive and I'm not comfortable in big vehicles on familiar roads. I didn't want to even think about driving a mini-van in Washington.

The first thing we noticed when we stepped off the plane was that people seemed generally more happy in Washington than they did on the east coast. And, as a result, it seemed, they were nicer. We drove through one of the sketchier parts of Seattle and ended up at Vince's, a cute little Italian restaurant. I got pizza, something I'd been craving for days. Andrea was starting to get a little antsy; she'd planned for us to be arriving in Forks about now, but we hadn't made it out of Seattle. And to make matters worse, my coffee addiction was rearing it's ugly head, so I had to stop and postpone our trip for another couple of moments.

Our first glimpse of downtown Seattle.

Finally, at around 3:30pm, we made it onto the ferry. We parked and walked around. It was a short ferry ride, but it refreshed us somehow. And it gave us the energy to begin the last leg of our trip.

After breathing in airport air all morning,
the Washington wind was glorious.

From the ferry to Forks took about 3 hours. And it was there that things started getting strangely beautiful. We had no idea what we were in for. Route 101, which takes you from Port Angeles to Forks is just swimming with the kind of beauty that makes words fail. The entire journey took about 20 hours and we were verifiably exhausted, but, at this point, more than ever, WE DIDN'T CARE. We knew it was going to be worth it.

The beauty between Port Angeles and Forks.

On this day we watched the sun coming up
at an airport in Richmond, VA and watched it
go down in the Olympic Peninsula in Washington.

About 5 miles away from Forks we got pulled over for speeding. It was the craziest thing. Normally, I'm terrified in those situations and it felt like a ticket would be a bad start. But, I didn't feel scared, I thought to myself, "Eh, it wouldn't be the end of the world." The cop approached our window . . .

He was so nice. 

He said he'd pulled us over because we were going 60 in a 50, but that 10 miles over wasn't that bad. He asked where we were going and when we said Forks, he smiled kindly. And he knew the owners of the Inn where we were staying, he remarked that they were very kind. He told us he didn't want to give us a ticket and ruin our weekend, he just wanted us to be safe. What we thought might be a bad omen, turned out to be a highlight of our trip!

This was just after getting pulled over. We finally made it!

FINALLY, at around 6:30pm, we made it to the Miller Tree Inn. I'd never stayed at a Bed and Breakfast and I wasn't expecting the sheer amount of hospitality. It was overwhelming and wonderful. I think I almost cried, but then, as you know, it doesn't take much. Forks Chamber of Commerce has dubbed this B&B "The Cullen House" and it was over-the-top. Bella's birthday decorations hung up everywhere, you could pick which Cullen you thought your room belonged to, and Edward had even written us a letter! The thought that went into everything was humbling.

So so wonderful.

Andrea was so excited to meet
Pocket Edward!

The extra touches were the best.

We put our stuff in our room and drove down to the only Mexican restaurant in town to grab a bite to eat. I felt too tired to eat but I wanted a drink, so after dinner we went to the only grocery store in town to grab some bottled water and a bottle of wine (there was a fridge (stocked with soda), wine glasses and a bottle opener in our room!). We came home to rest up for what we knew was about to be one of the best weekends of our lives.

A waiter at the restaurant jumped in this
shot at the last minute. :)

Oh good grief. I wasn't expecting the first day narrative to take so long. Guess this means I'm going to have to divide it up. Day two coming tomorrow. ;)

The first blog of the day

Hi! Yesterday was wonderful! Here are some fun pictures.

Wesley was wonderful. I'll give you the highlights:

• The commute to Wesley was a lot shorter than we thought it would be so we got there EARLY. Lol. We didn't know what to do with ourselves. We had to wait to be let in.
• I met a LOT of sweet people. I think it's going to be a kind, nurturing academic environment. 
• There were hints that the work was going to be strenuous. Makes me nervous.
• The worship service was one of my favorite parts. We sang a beautiful hymn called "The Summons" and another called "Jesus, Remember Me" - a very simple hymn from Luke 23:42. It's just "Jesus remember me when you come into your kingdom" sung over and over. It's a quote from the man who was on a cross next to Jesus. Singing it from the perspective of this man, a criminal - coming from where I'm coming from and sitting in seminary orientation - absolutely reduced me to tears. And they had us come up to the altar, and dip our fingers into a bowl of water (to symbolize purity and redemption). Then they gave us a shell (a beautiful symbol of Christianity with it's layers (and I thought about how funny it is that the creatures that create these beautiful shells never live to witness the finished product)) and then someone from the faculty prayed a prayer of blessing over each of us. It was so beautiful.

After a very long, full day, we road the metro to go and visit Andrea (who is in DC for the Women of Faith conference). I'm sure she and I would describe the event very differently, we went to Busboys and Poets for coffee and that was okay. But, let's just say we were all exhausted and getting them home (Andrea and her friend, Elizabeth) wasn't as easy as we anticipated. Getting lost (several times) was involved. Ranting and lots of loopy giggling was involved. Complete silence due to exhaustion was involved. Southeast DC was involved. Oh, and peeing in public was involved more than once. Man, I love this city. 

Andrea and Elizabeth are very tired, I'm sure (and poor Elizabeth will probably never want to hang out with us again). But, (this is for Andrea) I think it's fair to add that after we dropped them off, it took us another hour to get home and then I woke up at 8am to a text that said, "We've been up for an hour. Hope you're sleeping well. I am glad we saw each other! Next time will be a lot better." To which I retorted: "I was sleeping well until your text woke me up. I got the SAME amount of sleep as you. Although I'm not at a conference right now, I'm in my PJs. I'm glad we saw each other, too! Next time will be in Forks, so it will be better by default. But, are you implying that you didn't enjoy our great adventure? Love you!"

We decided not to go to Rehoboth today (obviously). Using this time to prepare for next week - training at my new job, my first seminary classes and the beginning of homeschool! I'll probably write another blog later in the day.

Joyful

Just now a friend on facebook shared a beautiful story of a beautiful Sparrow. I feel humbled and grateful and oh so flushed with joy. Sparrow's Daddy appears to be a musician. The week she was born he decided to give all of his music away for free. I am listening to Mark Mathis (Secret In This Town) as I type this. It's so good that I wanted to share it with you.

Sharing each other's intense joys and helping each other carry heavy burdens - those are such precious and holy parts of being human. It makes me feel so alive.

My most favorite mug in the Walker house. :)

We went over to Pamela's yesterday to help her move furniture. She fed us steak. It was fabulous!

We were in DC this evening at a fun mixer. This is my attempt to capture the quintessential DC feel.

This is Jermaine kindly allowing me to force him to smile for yet another picture. We're at the metro. I was hoping the background would turn out cooler than it did.

I planned our first week of homeschool today! We're starting out right with a field trip to the library. And I bought Sadie's first workbooks at Borders today! Totally geeking out.

Sorry I didn't blog yesterday. My first day at my new job went really well. I'm excited. I sort of feel like I've got something to prove. To who, I'm not sure. Myself, maybe. But I'm super focused on being the best waitress I can be.

I go to Gloucester 14 days from tomorrow! And we leave for Forks the day after that! I can't wait to start packing.

I've decided I want to read through all the Twilight books again before I go. A lofty goal, for sure. Especially considering I'm halfway through HP 5 at the moment. I've been rereading them, and I don't think I could possibly start Twilight until I finish the HP series. I'll keep you updated on my progress. I'm not too concerned about actually getting through all the books. I just think it's a fun goal to have.

Seriously though, I should probably go read! G'night! 

Being 29 Today

Being twenty-nine today meant a long hike in the woods with some really amazing friends. It meant three hours of seemingly wasted time spent in front of a computer screen attempting to figure out how to truly break in to the freelance writing world. It meant coming to the eventual conclusion that, though the hours seemed unfruitful (I didn't get any queries out like I'd hoped), my research granted me valuable insight into a mysterious industry.

Priscilla is too cute. And she's so hardcore! See that pack she's got on? Yeah. She's hiking with her baby on her back.

Being twenty--nine today meant laughing until my sides hurt. It meant telling stories and getting to listen to the stories of others (Nicki tells the best stories!). It meant creating a new story, too. It meant having a heart to heart and resolving a conflict that has been eating away at my insides for a while. It meant biting into a yummy Chipotle burrito. It meant lovingly putting lotion on my poor little girl's eczema before kissing her goodnight.

Brandon is just so confident.

Being twenty-nine tomorrow means starting training at my new job. It'll also, more than likely, mean having dinner with some dear friends with whom we don't spend nearly enough time.

Yes, indeed. It is good to be twenty-nine.

I don't know why the pictures came out so grainy. Boo. Heh, Priscilla is so exhausted she's loopy.

We took another to try again. This time I came out looking silly. Cross-eyed and intense.

I've never been big on bridal showers. Or baby showers. Or any of those weird parties that involve grown women playing random games to win dish clothes.

But . . . mine was this past Saturday. And for several weeks now I have been seriously looking forward to it. Maybe it's the fact that I'm excited about who I'm marrying. Maybe it's because I knew I'd be getting a bunch of presents. Maybe I was just psyched to attend a party that was all about me [yeah, that was probably it].

No. I'm kidding. That wasn't it at all [really]. For me, this trip was all about the people. First of all, my best friend Andrea came with. We had a blast. I can't explain it. We are so different. But when we get together I feel 16 again and I can't stop giggling. My dad offered her a beer. Now, we are both 26, but she hasn't seen him since before she was legal. It just seemed so strange.

She and I speak at the same time constantly. It's like we're on the same [off-whack] wave-length. I don't have a whole bunch of mom friends. I'm so thankful that she's one of them. I feel it helps us to relate to each other on a whole other level.

Andrea is not the only fantastic woman I got to hang out with this past weekend. My Aunt Peggy was there, too. Though she's not technically related to me, I love her like a mother. She babysat me when I was a toddler. And after we moved away from Pennsylvania, our families visited each other every chance we got. She told me that out of all the kids she watched, I was her favorite [shhhh, she made me promise [when I was 4] that I wouldn't tell anyone [I told my mom [when I was 5] and she didn't believe me]].

She's my favorite, too. She's one of those rare women, always trying to feed people [she doesn't ask if you want pancakes, she asks how many you want]. And she is an amazing cook. She's hilarious and frankly a little vulgar. She's so talented as a woman [think proverbs 31] and yet so modest. She's simply amazing.

But we haven't been close since I went astray as a teenager. We never talked about it, but I think she might have felt betrayed. Even after I got back on the straight and narrow, things just weren't the same. I'd see her at family gatherings, but it was just . . . different.

This was the first time I've bonded with Aunt Peggy in like 10 years. Of course, it's no surprise it ended in tears. Just before she left she gave me a big hug. With tears streaming down her face she exclaimed, "I just want you to be happy!" Before I knew it I was bawling. Andrea, my mom and my cousin Elizabeth followed suit. As Peggy drove away, feelings of relief and gratitude enveloped me. I realized whatever chasm that had been keeping us apart had just been demolished with one fell swoop. A piece of me returned.

I think the weekend ranks up there in my top three favorite vacations [hmm, I just realized that Peggy was present for two of them].

My all time favorite was at St. Simons Island when I met Jermaine [another blog for another day]. Second runner up was a week at VA beach with my family in between 9th and 10th grade. Anyone who knows me from high school knows I entered my Sophomore year a completely different person [I got a lot hotter, too [but again, that's another blog]].

In all three vacations I learned something extraordinary about myself and people I love [last weekend I learned way too much about Andrea [and that is definitely another blog [and one that I won't write because she would kick my ass [but bff's are supposed to share deep dark secrets [no - she did not kill anyone [that's just silly]]]]]].

Oh look. I made a whole paragraph from parenthesis.

I think that's it for now. I definitely have more to say. But it will have to wait [too much crap weighing down my to-do list].

Thank you for reading my blog.

P.S. I couldn't not add this! Jermaine's Red Bubble career is really taking off. Andrea bought one of his shirts and volunteered to model it on the site. It totally made the front page.