Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Shenandoah


Last weekend I decided to brave the terrible weather with some friends and go camping in the mountains. We had been planning the trip for a while and when the weather looked less than favorable, not one of us was deterred since we had been looking forward to camping for so long.

We left on Friday night after work around seven. It had stopped raining here by then so we thought it would be better in the mountains too. Well, it was supposed to take a little over two hours to get to the campsite but it ended up taking almost four because the fog was so bad it was like driving through cotton candy.


I was so frustrated but we finally made it and the guys helped us set up the tent and canopy until it started pouring down rain. I mean, it was so bad it was saturating the ground and everything else. Thankfully, our tent was dry (relatively) on the inside so when the rain subsided Rachel and I laid down for a bit. Then around 4 AM it started storming: lightning, thunder, and HARD rain for about an hour. I would have been more scared if I hadn't had my earplugs in and slept through the majority of the storm.

Saturday morning greeted us with cotton candy fog again but thankfully the rain had stopped. We had a great breakfast of pancakes and campfire cooked bacon (I don't recommend it). we went for a hike and I shot some great waterfall picks before the sky opened up again to pour on us some more.


Saturday night was spent by the campfire smoking the hookah I got last week and playing games. It was dry and awesome and probably my favorite part of the trip. It was great getting to know everyone better.

Sunday was foggy at first and then ... beautiful! Our drive home was amazing; the rain subsided completely and the sun came out and then mountains were gorgeous. Unfortunately I was driving during this time so I didn't get any pictures of it.

The other thing was that I was sick all weekend with a cold that got worse as I got more wet. I finally feel better today and as I reflect on my first camping trip in over ten years I am happy I went. It definitely wasn't ideal camping weather, but everyone made the best of it and in the end we had a great time. Hopefully I'll get more pictures for my next trip and it will be a little more dry.

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Frontline Fall Retreat

As promised, this is my second blog this week - go me!

This past weekend I went with five hundred other Christians to the boonies of Virginia for some fellowship and R & R. It was a great weekend, with lots of great sermons and quiet times with God. I met a lot of new people, including Nadya, who is from from eastern Europe and rode down with us. She is an au pair for a family who goes to my church.


In addition to some great spiritual growth, the retreat offered really cool recreation activities like ropes courses, a zipline, and tons of outdoor sports like beach volleyball and ultimate Frisbee.


I did the ropes course with Noelle (my dear friend from A&M who was in DC for job interviews) and we had a blast! I fell and bruised my arms a little bit but other than that we did pretty good for our first time out there.


It was a great weekend and I can't wait for the spring Frontline retreat.

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

The End of the Season

I meant to post this last week but I never got around to it so this week you get two blogs!


I went to my last Nats game last Tuesday with Sean. It was a little sad having to say goodbye to baseball for a year (especially when the Aggies are sucking so bad in football right now) but I look forward to going to even more games next year and maybe buying some Nats gear.


We had a great time at the game, and they won again! We had hot dogs, fries, beer, and the best - funnel cake!

I managed to get more powdered sugar on my shirt than in my belly but it was so much fun. Next time I'll wear funnel-cake-eating appropriate clothes.

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

The Simple Things

I've always been moved by nature. Most people are surprised to learn that about me. I really enjoy the outdoors (when I'm dressed for it) and I love a good hike. Speaking of which - the aggies and Rachel and me are going camping in a few weeks to Shenandoah so I should get some good pictures of the leaves changing that weekend.

Last weekend I was outside and this really pretty blue butterfly landed on my hand. I let my dog, Diego, smell it and then he decided it might make a tasty snack. No worries, though, I rescued the butterfly before Diego could eat it up.

That cute little insect stayed on my hand for at least twenty minutes! My roommate snapped this picture of me before it finally decided to fly away.

Oh, I got five inches chopped off my hair last weekend, but you can't really tell. The curse of curly hair ...

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Another Nats game

I'm getting the most out of the $40 pack of tickets I bought at the beginning of the season.

The aggies (Sean, Reagan, and Austin) and Alexis came with me to the Nats game on Saturday night. I honestly don't even remember who they were playing.

It was an incredibly hot night and for some stupid reason I decided to look cute because I'd been living in scrubs for the past week. I wore some nice jeans and this pair of boots I hadn't worn since last winter. I was so hot that I had to take off my shirt and wear the tank top I had on underneath. No worries, guys, it was totally conservative - sorry.

I think I was having a clumsy day. You ever have those? A day where you try but you just keep bumping into everything. I think I have fourteen bruises from last Saturday.


The biggest came when I was bringing my beer back to our seats and I totally ate it coming up the concrete stairs. I mean, I really went down. The only thing I could think of was, "I have to save the beer - it cost $7.50!". I managed to save about $3 of it and in the process spilled most of it on my arm and in my hair. The only silver lining was that I was so hot that it felt good to have something cool on me. Even if it was miller lite.



Back at the seats we enjoyed some good baseball, stadium food and camera time. Alexis and Austin were going crazy with the camera (I think they were a little bored).



Oh, the Nats played the Braves. And they won. Again. I think I bring them luck. :-)