It was the best of times...it was the worst of times...

Alaska Blog

Day 1 (Written on Day 2—be thankful for the perspective a decent night’s sleep has given)

Whoever Dickens was writing about (that was Dickens, right? I’m slightly Dickens illiterate, which I blame on my college professors, who taught me no Dickens. Lots of Edith Wharton, though, and since I like her better, I’m fine with that—but I digress…lots) Let’s start over. Whoever Dickens was writing about had nothing on our first day of the Great Alaskan Adventure. There were highs…there were lows…But we made it though and we’re convinced it’s going to get easier as we get into a routine.

We left Forsyth at 5:13 in the morning. Note the fact that it is not an even number and you’ll know that we were a little later than we’d meant to be. Thirteen minutes (hmmm…a sign? Kidding…) late shouldn’t be a big deal, but I think it set the scene for day one.

The Georgia part of our drive was like the drive always is when you’re in your home state. You feel like you’ve been driving for hours, but in reality you’ve barely left. Which is part of the reason I took a nap in Georgia, in the bed in the back of the camper, which is apparently against the camper’s owner’s manual “rules”, but they’re really more like guidelines anyway, right?

Fast forward to Alabama. We saw some incredible tornado damage outside of Birmingham. I took a couple pictures, but the scenes I captured through the window really didn’t do it justice. It was just…incredible. Awesome, but not in a good way. We learned, or were reminded, really, that though we fondly refer to Alabama as “that trailer park west of Georgia”, it is a gorgeous state. At one point, desperate to express my feelings, I jotted down notes in my phone, since my computer was dead. “Alabama is pretty, especially when viewed through the panorama of a camper’s side window. And I feel like I’m on a train and I’m relaxed. The road noise I thought I would lose my sanity to this morning now serves as a comforting, even relaxing backdrop.”

Annnnd just for the record, Alabama has better roads than Mississippi. If you try to talk to me anytime in the next six months and I say “what?” eight times because I can’t hear you, blame the Mississippi road system. Forget all that pretty stuff about road noise being a “relaxing backdrop.” In Mississippi, it was just noise. They’re just patching up the patched spots at this point, as far as I can tell. If you live in Mississippi and have the chance to vote for better roads, specifically interstates? Please do it. I beg of you. Mississippi did have something going for it, though. Beautiful daisies all through the median and on the side of the road. They looked so carefree and happy. I adore daisies. They’re pretty much my favorite flower ever.

And then Tennessee. Which we were only in for…I don’t know, an hour an a half? Yeah, go ahead. Look at a map. I’ll wait.

That’s right. There’s no possible way the brief drive through Memphis should take an hour and a half, right?

Tell you what. Since we’re supposed to be relaxing and I can feel my blood pressure elevating as we speak, let’s not talk about Memphis anymore. In fact, let’s not ever talk about Memphis again ever. (If you live in Memphis…I’m sorry. No, really, you have my sympathies).

Arkansas was the same old state we moved away from nine years ago. I’ve never loved the drive from Memphis (ah! It was an accident. Really, no more talk of that word.) to Little Rock and while I’d like to tell you that yesterday my resolution to savor my surroundings and enjoy the beauty of the individual states made me relish this drive…it didn’t. Still boring.

We got to drive into Conway! I cannot believe how much that town has grown in the last decade. The only bad thing I could see about the growth is that my favorite custard place, the place I look forward to from hundreds of miles out, is now a Mexican restaurant. That was the bad news. The good news was that by the time we got there, I was really too tired to care much, as was everyone else.

We only drove another hour out of Conway to Lake Dardanelle State Park. The lake was gorgeous and it was fun to be camping even though we’re on a cartrip. I’m trying to convince myself to enjoy the journey and not just the destination (although I’m SUPER excited about Alaska), so we’ll see how that goes.

Last night we had four adults and one baby (toddler, I guess) in one 24 foot camper. It doesn’t sound cramped until you realize that two of the adults were in the bed over the cab, one of the adults was sharing the bed in the back with a very sleepy, very grumpy baby who did not want to sleep in that awful, evil, terrible contraption known as the “pack and play.” And one adult on the floor in a pile of cushions. You couldn’t have walked from one end of the camper to the other if you’d wanted to. Well, I guess you could have but you would have stepped on my hubby, and honestly I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t have been a fan.

So today (day 2—more to come on that later) we’ve resolved to slow down a little on our pace, set reasonable expectations, like trying for 400 miles today instead of the 650+ from yesterday. We’re going to stop on occasion (food! Hurray!). And we’re going to enjoy the scenery.

Wish me luck on that last one. I’ve driven through Oklahoma and Kansas before…

T-7 Days

It's official. I am now counting down to Alaska. Hurray!!!!

Good news--my dad seems to be doing well! He's out of the hospital and is just getting his strength back after doing nothing for two weeks. He wants to go to Alaska, the doctor sees no reason not to, and so it appears the trip is ON. I'm incredibly grateful to God for healing my Daddy AND for making this trip happen still (as of right now--still one doctor's appointment to see about first). My dad is the important part, but the trip is the icing on the cake. Yummy icing, but just icing, nonetheless.

So, just to remind you, I'm planning to blog during the majority of this trip. So picture me, with three other adults and a baby, in a 24 foot RV, typing witty (haha, we'll see) anecdotes about the things we're seeing and doing.

And pictures. There will be lots, and lots of pictures.

So stay tuned for that. And be prepared for a relatively quiet week here as I focus on making lists about what I need to be doing to get ready (and maybe some getting ready too).

And THANK YOU for sticking with me despite my posting inconsistency. At the risk of sounding like I'm making excuses (I'm a teacher, I've heard a lot), we moved several months ago and the internet company STILL has not gotten out to our house. But it's the south. We move on southern time. So I'm trying to go with it.

Hope your summer is going well! Exciting plans, anyone? Feel free to share!

PS: You'll note that "coffee" is tagged as a label for this post. No, I have not mentioned coffee (um, until now), but I'm at Starbucks. So there you go. Anyone know if I've posted something and NOT tagged coffee???

Seeing God Working

Please pray for my dad, who has had some serious health problems the last day or so. He had some bleeding on the brain, but they found no evidence of anything that could have caused it. We're thinking that might mean that God just healed whatever caused it before they could even look at it. We're still here at the hospital, and I would love for anyone who reads this to pray for him especially.

But even though I'm still worried, because ICU is ICU, it's so amazing to see God at work.

He got my dad to the hospital quickly, even though he was in incredible pain and had to drive himself.

He got my son to sleep last night without Mommy being home.

He got my mom and sister out of an airport right before they were to leave on a 12 hour flight to another country.

I believe He's healing my dad.

We can really feel Him with us, encouraging us, especially through the prayers of His people. We can feel Him giving us strength and hope. We can see Him helping keep my son a happy camper cooped up in the family waiting room.

It's so easy to talk about trusting God. Doing it is another. But by His grace and with His strength, that's really what we're trying to do.

Continue to pray, if you would, friends. We really appreciate it and I know God hears the prayers of His people.

Weather and Weddings and Bad Guys, Oh My

Is it me, or has the last week been about larger than life events?

First, the weather. If you know me, you know that I hate tornadoes with an unreasonable passion. I prayed Wednesday night that God would keep them from us, and He did, for which I am incredibly thankful. But there were lots of communities who were devastated by the storms and their effects. I wish I could help them in some way, other than just throwing money at the Red Cross, which I know is good but I wish I could do something more tangible.

Then, the royal wedding. My sister says I'm a dork for watching, but I totally don't believe her. It was really neat to see an event of that scale, and may I just say that I thought Kate's dress was gorgeous. Beyond all reason kind of gorgeous.

Then, Osama bin Laden is dead. This one I'm mostly going to leave alone because, well, I'm tired of the debates. Suffice it to say that I think it's okay, from a Christian standpoint, to rejoice that justice has been served. But Christians--don't be happy someone has gone to tell, and please, please, please don't disrespect our president just because you disagree with him.

Last, what is it about facebook that makes people completely forget that they're adults? If you can't handle facebook and how easy it is to post something quickly, then get off of it. Watch what you say and remember, Christians, that you're still Christians on facebook. The only difference between it and actual conversations you have are:

1. It's easier to be bold and say something stupid you might not say in person

2. Your words go down in print. This is a big deal, whether you realize it or not.

My sister brought me a mocha this morning, which was a fabulous start to my Monday, and I give the caffeine some credit for helping me have the clarity of mind to sort through all this world craziness. And I'm glad God is still in charge. I would be terrible at the job.

In case this post is too heavy, let me make my confession for the day. I taped the Lifetime movie "William and Kate". And I'm planning to watch it. So there you go.

Spring Cleaning

I'm not usually that into spring cleaning. For some reason the urge for organization hits me more in the fall. Maybe it's the whole going-back-to-school thing? Anyway, it doesn't usually hit me in the spring, but this year it did.

We have TOO MUCH STUFF. How did this happen? Where did it come from? I'm not entirely sure, but it's there and I need to get rid of it. The problem is that I'm a bit of a pack-rat and I'm convinced that if I get rid of something I'm going to desperately need it.

I'm half tempted to just throw some boxes of stuff (do you have those? Boxes of random stuff that has no home?) away and hope for the best.

Any better cleaning/organizing tips than this?

Starbucks and Springtime

My wonderful hubby sent me to Starbucks today. He told me he'd take care of our adorable son (who I think I've mentioned is the cutest boy in the world) and that I should go get a mocha.

Um, okay.

As I was driving here I was just appreciating what an awesomely beautiful spring day it is! The cherry trees are blooming, it's warm...people are starting to get tans.

I love spring. I know. I said I loved fall the best. And winter. And summer. And I do. But I like it when the seasons change.

Which is odd, because in life I'm totally anti-change. Weird, huh?

It's spring break right now, so I'm enjoying time around the house with my cute little family, and getting settled into life in the country.

I hope everyone's spring is going wonderfully!

P.S> Has anyone else noticed how many posts are tagged "coffee"? What does this say about me...

Your Next Book to Read!

Shakespeare's Julius Caesar was told to "Beware the Ides of March", but I'm telling you that this year, March 15th is something you should be looking forward to. Why?

It's the release date for Catherine West's debut novel, Yesterday's Tomorrow! I read a reviewer copy of this book (thanks, Cathy!) and let me tell you, this is one you should put on a "to-be-read" list. Go ahead. Add it to your list. I'll wait.

Are you back?

In case you need some more details and my word that it's a great book isn't enough (hey, I understand), here's the review I'm posting on Amazon later on today. You get the first look. =)

Yesterday's Tomorrow
Written by Catherine West
Reviewed by Sarah Varland

It takes a talented author to stir a reader's emotions at a deep level, but Catherine West managed it with no problem in her debut novel Yesterday's Tomorrow. The story centers around Kristin Taylor, a twentysomething journalist who goes to Vietnam to continue her father's legacy of touching people's lives with the written word. She's unprepared for the gritty reality of war and the emotions--and sometimes lack of emotions--that go with it, but she's spunky and determined to stay in Vietnam and report the truth about the war. She traveled to the country without a visa or a press pass, but finds work with Time magazine shortly after arriving. A photographer, Luke Maddox, reluctantly introduces her to the cuontry and the media's way of life there. Kristin and Luke, along with Jonno, who is a soldier who, for medical reasons, spends most of his time chauffering Luke around, travel into the dese jungles and throughout the war ravaged country visiting men who are involved in the war and hearing and reporting their stories.

Kristin and Luke, who are still only reluctant acquaintances, are assigned by Time magazine to be partners. Kristin will write and Luke will take the pictures. As the two of them get to know each other while still trying to keep secrets, their witty dialogue and back-and-forth sarcastic comments keep the reader interested in their relationship and wondering if anything romantic could ever develop between two people with such distinct and strong personalities.

I laughed. I cried. I know it's completely cliche to say so, but I really did. The story made me feel every emotion along with the characters. Fear. Guilt. Hope. Finally--peace. It will appeal to a wide variety of readers. Romance fans, I think you'll enojoy the sparks that fly between these characters. Women's fiction and Karen Kingsbury fans? I can almost guarantee you'll love Catherine West's heart-tugging story telling.

Kudos to Cathy for crafting a story in such a controversial setting and making it about MORE than just Vietnam or the political climate. The story is well integrated in its setting but the characters and their journeys as people are the focus of the book. Very well done--this debut novel is only the first of many compelling stories I'm anticipating from Catherine West. She's definitely an author to watch.