it's official

Got the tickets to Paris last night. It's finally hit me that I will be in Paris in almost 2 weeks. Paris! I've only seen it on movies and postcards. I was so excited that I was jumping around the house singing outloud "I'm go-ing to Paris. I-'m go-ing to Par-is." My roommate was gone, which was good for the persona that I try to put off (aka dignified, intelligent, mature. I am all of these things at times. And none of these things at other times).
I'm so excited to take pictures and experience it. To live it, breathe it, feel it, smell it. Love it or hate it. Be terrified by the fact that I know about 5 words of French. Know that the people around me are saying "tourist" to each other just like I do when I go to DC. Take a picture of me and 2 of my best friends in front of the Eiffel tower. Sip tea at a cafe.
I was born with an overactive imagination and sometimes, it literally takes over when I'm in new places. I went on a dream trip last year to Prince Edward Island (I have devoured L.M. Montgomery books since I was young. I've re-read my paperbacks that my grandfather gave me a thousand times so that they are hanging on for dear life) If you have never read an Anne of Green Gables book #1 I feel so sorry for you and #2 that is the setting for the stories. I had dreamed about what it would look like and smell like. I imagined the Island back in the day when the books were written (early 1900's). There were few cars and no street signs and power lines. I was ecstatic to find that the Island hasn't changed so very much since those days. I could walk "Lover's Lane" and truly feel like I was in the story. I tiptoed through Haunted Woods feeling the chill and eeeerieeeness in the trees. The places of my imagination were real and I could walk around in them. It was amazing... I still dream about the Island.
Now that I've totally gone off the subject (imagination can also equal rabbit trails). Paris, here I come
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A picture is worth a thousand words....

I have no idea how I found this website, but I'm loving it! It's a blog from a lady who does photography. As you can tell from all my previous posts, I adore photos. Good ones tell great stories. Her photos are amazing. Not only that, but she's a fantastic writer too. I love that she posts them all online for everyone to look at. If you love taking pictures, check it out.
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Clouds of white. Sky of blue.

The clouds were so amazing last night that I just had to take a picture. The trees are starting to change colors in my own little corner of the world. I'll miss seeing the boats on the water during the winter.
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Cold, cold, cold...

I've realized this year, more than any other year, that I just do not like the cold weather. I could handle wearing scarves and hats for about 4 days and then I miss my flip flops and tank tops.

Outside, at this very moment, it's cold and windy. It's always windy where I live. That makes the heat livable in dead of summer. It also makes it bitter in the winter. My little cottage just whistles in the frigid winds. I should be a bear so I can sleep through the cold and come alive in the warmth.

Maybe I should just move to Hawaii, which has been haunting my thoughts lately. To sit on the beach and watch the sun set over Sunset Beach. Or watch the sunrise on the Na Pali coast. That sounds like perfection. Maybe I was born in the wrong state.
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What do I do on my days off?......

Since I work so hard when I do work, I want to lay around and do nothing when I'm not working. I'll be honest. I love to watch TV and movies. If that were a "legit" hobby on surveys, I'd check it every time.

So that's what I did on my day off this week. I went home to hang with my brother. We watched Firefly all day. We got hooked after watching 2 episodes a couple weeks ago and then seeing the movie Serenity. I love just about any world that Joss Whedon decides to create. Buffy, Angel, Toy Story, Firefly. All good.

And my parents little doggie decided that she wanted to share in the fun too. We did do one thing that was active. We walked her down the road near our house. We also went into the woods to see our old sledding hill for old time's sake. The woods is being torn down to make a new housing development. Yuk. I think that is the first time I've been devastated by one of my childhood haunts being destroyed. It's horrible! Those trees were the source of so much fun when I was a child. Now they are going to be levelled and our house will look into someone else's front window. No more shade from the 50 year old trees outside of my childhood room window. Something will always feel like it's missing when I go home now.
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One month and counting

Can't wait, can't wait, can't wait! I leave for Europe in a month! Oh to be on that plane today....sigh. There are so many feelings that go into traveling to new places. Excitement for new sights, sounds, smells, people, stores, food.... Fear of the unknown. Wonder of the fact that people living on the other side of the world are doing the same things I do every day. Just the fact that you can get on a plane and be in a whole other part of the globe in just a few short hours. It's incredible.

I hope I like Paris. I will be there with friends, which will make all the difference. But will it be like the movies? Sipping tea in a small cafe with the Eiffel tower in the background. A chill in the air. The French language drifting about around me.

And London...I've never thought of a particular place, but just to see it. Double decker buses. Red phone booths. Hear it! Everyone will sound like my English grandma. Then Big Ben and London Bridge.

Scotland...will it be like I imagine it from "Brigadoon" (one of my favorite musicals). Will there be heather on the hill in the Highlands?

I think of each place in a different season though and this could be a problem. The Fall/Winter is a wet, cold time over there. But I've also been to the Twin Cities in the dead of winter and loved it.

I wonder if people in Europe think of America like that? Do they think about hiking the moutains or seeing NYC at night? Maybe I'll ask them when I'm there.....
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DC Fest (yes another "fest" for this Fall)....

This weekend was festival #3 for the last 2 months. It was in DC as you can see. There were lots of bands and speakers and cool stuff to do (all free, too!). The highlight for me was, of course, Steven Curtis Chapman. He talked about his family,his adoptions from China, and just what God was doing in his life. I'm constantly encouraged through his music and his life.



How amazing is it to see the capitol all lit up behind the stage! There were thousands of people there singing and praising. It was an amazing experience that I enjoyed so very much. It made me realize once again how blessed we, Americans, are to live in a country with so much freedom. We have so much to be thankful for.


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10 Fave's in no apparent order...

Here are 10 things in life that I love right now. Not in any particular order of importance.

#1 Summer camp (If working there for a summer changes your life, imagine what 7 summers can do?!)

#2 My brother (He just moved near me and I'm LOVING it.)

#3American Express commercials (especially Kate Winslet's)

#4 In Style Magazine (it's my guilty pleasure each month. Clothes I can't afford and make-up I want to have. No gossip either. I hate US and IN TOUCH. Yuk!)

#5 This is my favorite website of a family who just adopted their first child from China)

#6 Fall season premieres on TV. (I've always loved TV more than movies. This year it's the following: Gilmore Girls, Alias, Lost, Smallville, Amazing Race)

#7 No humidity (It's ridiculously humid in the summer where I live. It's like walking into your bathroom after you've taken a shower. Forget not sweating. And forget looking nice.)

#8 My digital camera (was a film girl all the way, till I met my Kodak Easy Share. Now if I can only remember to print out the pictures I take...)

#9 The sunset (If you've never seen it over a river on the East Coast. Go do it now. Yes pollution is bad, but it makes the best sunsets.)

#10 Zap2it.com's TV Gal weekly article (read to find out why)

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Looking kingly while driving

Had dinner with the "king" this weekend. When my brother is along, that means I get to wear the crown too.

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