Christmas Count

My Christmas so far...

• Being sick (boo)
• Watching the Food Network all day while sick (yay)
• Bacon wrapped Filet Mignon for dinner (thanks Jon!)
• New York City at Christmas time (loved it)
• Times Square (First visit ever....loved it)
• Macy's (crazy sales people)
• Rockefeller Center (First visit ever....loved it. Took token family picture in front of the tree.)
• Saw Hair (on Broadway....First time actually seeing a show on Broadway in NYC. Loved it!)
• Lincoln Tunnel into the City
• George Washington Bridge out of the City

All in all, it's been a good Christmas so far! (Minus being sick....oh well.) Hair was awesome by the way. A little risque (ok, maybe a lot risque, but still really really good.) And at the end, they put railings on the stairs and invite the audience to come dance with them on the stage! Sweet! (No....I didn't go). I definitely recommend seeing the live stage version if you ever get a chance.

Now I'm off to finally do some Christmas baking (the bad part of being sick at Christmas is missing out on all the baking. Boo.)

Merry Christmas!

Epic Expiring Espicades

So I mentioned in my previous post (which was now like a month ago....sorry to the 2 of you who have actually been waiting for something...) that I had some wonderfully exciting travel experiences. First there was the bridge....oh the bridge... then the moving airport. Previous to that there had been hammers confiscated by travel security, emergency chutes deployed on airplanes causing day long delays. As I've said many times, I'm always ready for an adventure when I travel.

So a couple of weeks ago I was heading to New York again to visit my sister. I was so excited. I hadn't been on vacation since March, and I hadn't been to my sister's since last November (see the story of the moving airport.)

My flight left Indy at 11:30 Wednesday morning. I figured "I'll leave at 6:30, get there by about 9:30 and have plenty of time for any delays on the road, problems etc." Boy am I glad I gave myself extra time!

6:30 am...in my room....putting my wallet in my carry-on. For some reason I think to myself, "I should just double check my driver's license. You know...make sure I have it and whatnot." Oh whatnot...you slay me.

Let's back up for a minute...I was traveling on Nov. 18. My birthday is Nov. 14. Four days prior to the date of my epic trip. This is important.

BECAUSE MY LICENSE WAS EXPIRED! EXPIRED!!!!!

Yea....driver's licenses expire on your birthday.

Not kidding. By myself in my room, as I frequently do when I get flustered, I muttered to myself (ok, there may have been some yelling) and proceeded to figure out how to deal with this. Got online, looked up BMV hours printed directions to the BMV in Carmel and headed out.

Part-way there realized I'd be hitting Kokomo right about 8:30 when the branch opened. So I called my dad to get directions to the branch in Kokomo, at which point he just said "Well, did you think to just grab your passport? You can fly with that?"

More muttering. Dang it. Wisdom I could have used 2 hours earlier.

It all becomes very unexciting from here....I make it to Kokomo, am first in line to go in, and make it in and out in 15 minutes with a new license. Hallelujah!

Made it to the airport by 10:30 and was just fine to catch my flight.

The moral of the story....Traveling is always an adventure for me.

And oh yea...Check the expiration date before you travel.

Coming soon....How to catch a mouse when you return from vacation.

Aaaaand.....I'm back

Not that there's actually anyone around reading this anymore (except maybe my dear friend Rachel...Hi Rachel!) But I am officially back after a 5 months blogging hiatus...Also known as "camp was in session and life was crazy busy but incredibly amazing at the same time."

I would love to share lots of insightful thoughts about this summer and everything going on....but quite frankly my brain is a little fried. So instead, a list of things that I am so incredibly thankful for.

• My family. They were a great sounding board all summer. They listened to my thoughts, celebrated the successes with me, and continued to steer me in a good direction.
• The people I work with. They truly are a great team of people who do everything to make sure that kids have the opportunity to hear about and experience Jesus every day at camp.
• The way God provides. So many times this summer, God provided in ways I couldn't have imagined or expected. As my boss said recently "I need to pray bigger prayers!" I serve a BIG God who loves to answer prayers in a big way.
• My Life Group. It's a great "home base" group of people who are walking through life together. Even when I couldn't be there throughout the summer, we emailed, talked, and met when we could. We share the ups and downs and I am so thankful for the community that God has so clearly provided.
• My Church. I am challenged, encouraged, and strengthened by worshipping every week with the body of Christ.

It's been a good few months. Many ups and downs along the way. But in the end, I know that my God is a God who provides.

So I close with a song that has been perpetually on my iPod all summer and into the start of the fall.

This is my prayer in the desert

And all that's within me feels dry

This is my prayer in the hunger in me

My God is a God who provides

And this is my prayer in the fire

In weakness or trial or pain

There is a faith proved

Of more worth than gold

So refine me Lord through the flames

And I will bring praise

I will bring praise

No weapon forged against me shall remain

I will rejoice

I will declare

God is my victory and He is here

And this is my prayer in the battle

And triumph is still on it's way

I am a conqueror and co-heir with Christ

So firm on His promise I'll stand

All of my life

In every season

You are still God

I have a reason to sing

I have a reason to worship

This is my prayer in the harvest

When favor and providence flow

I know I'm filled to be emptied again

The seed I've recieved I will sow

Chipmonk

To begin: Why are all my recent posts centered around rodents? I would love an answer to that question. Oh wait....I know why....I LIVE IN THE BOONIES.

Moving On.

This epic story began Sunday morning, just before church. I was inside with the dog, the cat had already escaped outside. I opened the door to let the dog out and found myself standing on the front porch shrieking as the cat chased a CHIPMONK into my house. The dog of course followed, while I stayed on the porch...still shrieking...by myself. Picturing it? Yes, I am an idiot.

Well, before I even got my act together to run inside and at least find out where the blasted rodent had gone, the dog chased the cat back outside...no sign of the chipmonk. One questions: WHAT KIND OF HUNTERS ARE THEY!?!?!?! My dog and cat stink at the whole "stalking their prey" thing. So, I was left to go inside, having no idea where the chipmonk had gone. It literally could have been anywhere.

I had about 10 minutes before I had to leave for church, so I quickly glanced under the sofas and behind the piano...the most obvious places I could think of. I did NOT, however, check under the sofa chair that sits in the corner. Mostly because there was no way to look under it without fully tipping it over, and I surely wasn't going to do THAT to let the thing escape and run upstairs and hide in my bed (which is clearly what it would have done.) I left the door open during all this hoping that maybe it would miraculously find it's way outside on its own. I didn't find it, before I had to leave for church....so I just left.

Got back Sunday night....no sign of the chipmonk, the dog and cat weren't going crazy or anything, so I assumed that maybe it had in fact run out while I had the door open earlier in the day.

Friends came over for a cookout Monday evening. My dear friend Erin stayed late, and as we were sitting on the couch chatting at about 10:30 that evening, I heard rustling and scratching from....you guessed it, the sofa chair in the corner. I calmly looked at Erin and said, "The chipmonk is still in my house." She graciously agreed to help me out. So we set about devising a plan.

Our step-by-step thought process:

• How do we know the chipmonk is actually under the sofa chair? We need to find out.
• But if it is, and we tip the chair back, it's free to run anywhere in the house....therefore, we must contain it. How do you contain a chipmonk?
• You build a SWEET FORT! That's right, we built an awesome barricade using plywood, coffee tables, end tables, boxes....you name it, and blocked off from the wall where the sofa was to the front door....so it was contained in the fort until it ran outside. Brilliant eh?
• We didn't want to open the door until we knew it was there....so Erin in her infinitely genius wisdom figured out how to open the front door with a broom handle while still standing OUTSIDE of the fort. Erin....hats off to you my friend.
• I patted down the curtains for good measure to make sure it wasn't there, then tipped back the chair. We didn't see it, so Erin came over to help me tip the chair alllllll the way back and pat it down with the broom. Still no sign of it.
• We concluded we had been hearing things.
• Erin began tearing down our fort (don't worry, we got pictures), and I righted the couch and began sliding it back into the corner when all of the sudden.....

The Chipmonk appeared out of nowhere right at my feet!!!! I screamed (again....are we sensing a pattern when I'm faced with rodents?) and yelled for Erin to get the door. Well she had a choice to make: fix the fort that she had started tearing down so it didn't escape, or open the door. She fixed the fort, but the door stayed closed, so it ran to the door, and promptly ran back to the couch.

We finally opened the door, I grabbed the broom, found the little guy hiding behind the couch (not under or in it again...he was too tired...and probably pretty close to a heart attack) and began sweeping him to the door. He tried to climb the plywood and escape to the kitchen, but I swept him down and out the door!

Hallelujah.

Let me just say....I don't like rodents. Period. Erin made me promise not to scream during this entire ordeal. I asked her "what if it climbs my leg?" She agreed that then I would be allowed to scream. Well...given that leeway, I screamed every time the curtain touch my foot or leg. I thought Erin was going to choke me.

Alas, the chipmonk is gone, and I can sleep peacefully knowing that the only animal I'll find in my bed when I wake up the next morning is my stuffed Owl. (Okay, I don't really sleep with a stuffed owl....but I do have one.)

On trusting

Confession. I'm a planner...and when I don't know the plan I get impatient. I am an impatient planner. And while I'm impatiently waiting for the plan....I worry about the plan that I haven't even heard about yet. I know....pretty ridiculous eh?

I'm learning a truth that is new to me these days, and it is this:

I don't need to know the plan. And even when I don't know the plan, I can still be at peace.

How?

Because God knows the plan. In fact, He is the author of the plan, and the one who carries it out (Hebrews 12:2). He's known the plan in its entirety from the beginning of time and nothing is going to stand in the way of it's completion (Ecclesiastes 3:9-14). Not even me. Not my worrying, not my compulsive efforts to plan out my life....nothing.

So do I just sit back and do nothing? No. I still pray, listen, and take steps....but the fear that accompanies worry is gone!

That's the new reality I am beginning to learn.

^"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. ²Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." ~Hebrews 12:1-2

"What does the worker gain from his toil? ¹⁰ I have seen the burden God has laid on men. ¹¹ He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. ¹² I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live. ¹³ That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil—this is the gift of God. ¹⁴ I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that men will revere him." ~Ecclesiastes 3:9-14

Lifelong Friends Part II

St. Louis is awesome. Great friends are even better.

This weekend I got to go see my dear friend and college roommate in St. Louis...and I fell in love with that city (again) and remembered (I had never really forgotten but it just became even more evident) why we were meant to be lifelong friends. I personally think we were meant to always be roommates, but she had to go and get herself engaged and blow that plan! Jeez...

My dear Katie had an itinerary for the weekend that involved an urban chic restaurant, breakfast at the London Tea Room, meals at 2 different Crepe Restaurants, dinner on the roof of her building, strolls through downtown, and a walk around the Wash U campus. Let me just say it was an incredible weekend. (Partly because of the food....GLORIOUS!!! But mostly because I remembered why Katie is such a good friend.)

We would just sit and talk over coffee, tea, gelato...whatever and get lost in conversations about helping people, serving people, how the church can be involved in helping and serving lost and hurting people. We share similar passions but approach them and think about them from different angles, and that is something I love!

Katie is amazing friend. She is a lifelong friend. And I am so thankful for the blessing she is in my life.

*My roomie reunions over the past month have been terrific. My goal is for this to continue for many, many years.

Lifelong Friends

Two of my college roommates were in town visiting this weekend.  There were 2 sad parts:

1. Katie - my 3rd college roommate and queen of awesomeness - was not here.  I'm still crying over that fact.
2. They left to return to B-town.  Boo.

However, there were many many highlights.  Here are a few.

1. I got the best ab workout of my life (all from laughing.  score!)
2. Collapsing onto my bed giggling and eating peanut brittle immediately upon arrival.
3. Amazing dinner.  A classic "cardboard shack" concoction of pasta deliciousness.  My mouth is watering just thinking about it.
4. Curulean: Japanese Restaurant/Sushi Lounge of AMAZINGNESS in Winona.  Best meal I've had in a long time...maybe ever.  I want more now.  Now...
5. Reading, chatting, and drinking coffee all morning long.
6. They like (put up with) my dog (when she's well behaved.) 
7. Popcorn.
8. Spontaneous Dance parties in the kitchen
9. French Techno music
10. Falling asleep on the couch watching a movie.

It was a weekend of sharing old memories and making new ones.  They are life long friends and I love them.

Two weeks and I'm going to St. Louis to visit my Katie!  More epic greatness to come.

But for now...I am content, having had an amazing weekend with great people.

*There may or may not be pictures coming soon.  Fortunately I was the only one taking pictures all weekend...so that means I am in COMPLETE CONTROL of what gets posted.  (evil grin)

Impress or Impact

I was visiting a church this past weekend for work, and got the chance to hear a different Pastor preach...and I was challenged!  Love it when that happens...

Have you ever considered the difference between Impressing someone versus Impacting someone?  I never really had, but he offered a good thought.

You can impress someone in the short term....but impacting someone takes long-term effort and energy.

You see, impressing someone can be fairly simple, it doesn't necessarily take a lot of time, and the person you are trying to impress doesn't need to have a deep understanding of who you are.  You can keep them at arms length, yet let them get just close enough to impress them.

Yet impacting takes work.  It's difficult, it takes time, and it requires closeness: them in your space, and you in theirs.

I think this rings true in many areas of life....not just relationally.  Take a job for instance.  In the short term, you can come in, show proficiency, keep things running smoothly, and earn praise and accolades.  But have you made a dramatic difference?  Have you tried to leave a lasting impact in the organization?

Often in our lives, we sail through the impressing phase, hit a difficult spot...and rather than digging in and fighting through it, we give up thinking "I've done something good here.  It's time to move on."  NO!!!!  The good stuff...the great stuff is just ahead! 

Impact comes when you hit a challenge, dig in, fight through, and come out on the other side.  You've worked hard, taken time, and gotten messy doing it....but what a glorious mess.

I'm tired of just making an impression...I want to make an impact. 

Finding the Bright Spots

It's been an interesting/chaotic/rough week.  Lots of stuff happening...good, bad, and other.  And I'm exhausted.  So I've decided to look for the bright spots of my day that make me smile.  Today's bright spot was early this morning.  

I was up visiting my grandparents last night, and by the time I was ready to head back home with Misha (my dog) in tow...it was super windy, raining/snowing, and altogether gross.  So I stayed at my parent's house and decided I would just leave early this morning to get back to the office.

This morning, I loaded the dog in the car at about 6:30, ran to Starbucks, and was on my way.  I realized after Starbucks that I had forgotten something at the house...so I ran back, left the car running, ran inside and ran back out to find.....

Misha sitting in the driver's seat.  She looked so cute and innocent as if she was saying, "Come on mom...let's go home already!!!!"  I stood in the driveway laughing for a good minute or 2. 

Normally I make Misha ride in the back...but she just looked so stinkin cute that I acquiesced and let her sit in the passenger seat....where she remained with her head in my lap the whole way home.  Awwwwwww.  (Sarah N. please refrain from gagging or mocking me as I know you will upon reading this since I know how much you love Misha and dogs in general....)

It definitely made me smile.

That's all I've got...Now I'm on my way home to run, grab dinner, watch The Office and do massive amounts of laundry.

Acts

Tonight, I had the opportunity to speak at a college service in West Lafayette.  I am too tired right now to really say anything of substance about what I talked about....but in a nutshell, it was about the community of believers in Acts.  (More on this later....maybe tomorrow)

If you haven't read the book of Acts...READ IT.  It's amazing.  The church has such an incredible beginning!

I was blessed by the opportunity to be there speaking to the group.  Although I was nervous and felt unprepared, I enjoyed being to able to share from scripture.  There's something that fires me up about challenging people (students specifically), and I find that I walk away challenged myself.  Even beyond that, I want so desperately for people to "get it"...  To truly understand what their faith is all about, and if God gives me a chance to play a tiny role in that...I'll take it!

A Tradition

This fall a tradition started at my house.  Every Thursday, friends in the area gather at my house for dinner and to watch....The Office (one of the greatest shows ever, thank you very much.) 

To be honest, I didn’t think it would become a tradition, but I think it’s GREAT that it has, for so many reasons: It gives me an excuse to cook (I love cooking, but it seems a little silly when cooking for one), It gives me a chance to catch up with friends, and last but certainly not least....The Office is way more funny when watched with friends.

As this tradition has developed, I have enjoyed noticing some things about great friends and great friendships

• The door is always open.  People come on over whenever, let themselves in, and make themselves at home.  I LOVE it!
  
• The door swings both ways.  I know I am welcomed to their places whenever the opportunity comes up.
  
• They move from “guest” to “family.”  They know to help themselves to drinks, snacks, blankets, and pillows.
  
• No lost time.  No matter how long it’s been since we’ve seen each other or talked, we pick right back up where we left off.
  
• Great friends have earned the right to push, poke, and challenge.  They can say things that I may not like, but I know that they still love me.
  

I am thankful for friendships like these.  They encourage, challenge, and strengthen me.

*Side note: I also found out this week that some friends of mine are actually attending a Journey Class on Friendship at GCC.  How cool is that?!?!

In You

I sing for joy
In my remorse
A well within prosperity’s curse
That drowns the mighty oak of pride
But feeds the root of God inside.

In You
I find my rest
In You
I find my death
In You
I find my all and my emptiness
Somehow it all makes sense

In You I’m rich
When I’ve been made poor
Comfort found when I mourn
The prideful one You see from afar
Drawing near to low, broken hearts.

In You
I find my rest
In You
I find my death
In You
I find my all and my emptiness
But it all makes sense

"In You" Shane and Shane

Reflections on Two Years

I’ve been full-time at camp for just over two years now. Hard to believe...and boy does time go by fast. So in honor...A quick bullet list of the funny, the serious, and the future.

Funny Stuff...

• Never underestimate the need for knowing random yet practical skills...shutting off water lines, repairing plumbing, using power tools, water softeners 101, how to start a lawn mower....these skills will get you farther in life than you think! 
  
• In college, 3 weeks of vacation at Christmas is not nearly enough...In the adult world, you don’t know what to do with yourself when you’re given that kind of time off!
  
• Laugh at the ridiculous things in life (even yourself if the occasion calls for it.) Life is way more fun when you laugh....a lot.
  
• A dog is really like an infant....or a toddler. If you get a dog, be ready. It’s intense.
  
• And oh yea...dog proof your house, otherwise you’ll be buying new furniture within 6 months.
  

For Serious...

• It will take your body a few months to get used to a new schedule (getting up early and going to bed early). And once you adjust, you’ll wonder how you EVER were able to stay up until 4 and get up at 8 and still function. It’s normal...and you may even come to love early mornings!
  
• It will take time to adjust to not being able to just walk down the hall to your friends room to hang out and talk. Enjoy it while you have it. 
  
• Find a place to connect....TODAY! Don’t wait. Don’t put it off. Don’t let work, or the temptation to skip town to visit friends all the time stand in your way. To make some place home, you have to be fully present there...Not somewhere else. Find a church, make new friends, meet random people, invite them over for dinner. 
  
• Don’t be afraid of silence. Enjoy it and appreciate it for the opportunity it is.
  
• No matter where you go or what you do, push yourself to learn something new on a regular basis. It will keep your job (and life in general) way more interesting.
  

The Future...

• I want to keep learning. Today I got to learn some web stuff I never thought I would know or need to know...but it was actually kind of fun to learn! I am choosing to look at everything that comes up as a new opportunity and a chance to grow.
  
• Wherever I am, and however long I’m there, I want where I am to be home. Be invested, have meaningful relationships, and feel good about being there (whether in small town Indiana or wherever life takes me.)
  
• I’m going to focus on where God has me right now and the tasks he’s put before me...not what other people are doing, not something “better” that might be out there. Live every moment fully, and give everything I have to what God has called me to today. God will take care of tomorrow.
  

Two years down...who knows how many to go!

Extravagant Love, Radical Hospitality

"Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality." - Romans 12:12-13

A Challenge to myself and others:
Love Extravagantly
Practice Hospitality
Live life with arms wide open

Although I moved to my little town 2 years ago (almost exactly to the day! wow!) I have hopped from church to church. Tried several, but never felt like I truly found a place to call home. For lots of reasons. I was always traveling on weekends, visiting friends or family, working... While there were 2 churches that I attended regularly, I never found "home."

I decided recently that the only way to do that is to truly protect certain times. I did that when I was in college. These times on Sundays were morning worship, and Connexion (the college service)....This time on Thursday is when my Bible Study meets....As a result of that commitment, I was connected...and my church was home. While I have protected my Sunday morning time for church, I haven't protected a location. Interesting distinction, I know....but one that I think truly matters.

I also had a hard time feeling like a part of the community different places. No idea how to connect in small groups or Bible Studies....I could literally walk in and out on Sundays and be a ghost if I wanted. While at times that may be appealing, I want more. I want to be surrounded by people who are going to push, challenge, and encourage me. I want to be involved in the life of the church.

Last week, I had a brave moment. I called a church that I had visited a few times to see how I can get involved in small groups and adult classes. (I have tried this off and on various places for a year now and have literally gotten nowhere.) I ended up on the phone with one of their staff members who, after about 15 to 20 minutes of talking, hearing what I was looking for, and where I was at in life just stopped and said, "My small group meets on Friday nights. We would love to have to join us. And hey, you know what? My wife and I love having people over to hang out, just for fellowship. We'd love to have you over for coffee sometime too."

WOW! seriously!?!?! Just like that. An open invitation. This person didn't know me and yet extended and invitation and practiced radical hospitality.

By the time I checked my email later that day, I had an email thanking me (seriously, thanking me....) for stepping out and calling, giving me directions to their house, and just a bit of information about some of the other people in the group so that I would, as he put it, "feel like family when I walked in."

So I took a risk (for me, a fairly quiet, shy, introverted person...at least until you get to know me) and went....to meet a bunch of strangers (who oddly enough, I discovered some connections with once I got there!) And you know what...it was 100% worth it. Everyone was welcoming, loving, and truly interested in my story. Can I just say that this was probably one of the most encouraging moments of definitely the past week, and even the past month.

So why do I challenge myself and others to that? Because it makes a difference to people. I know that I will remember this conversation and this moment for a long time to come.

"But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love." - 1 Corinthians 13:13 (Msg.)

Chucking the Cell Phone

Every couple of months I have a moment where I want to chuck my cell pone out the window of my car, throw it in a lake, run over it with my car....something that will make it stop ringing. This doesn't happen all the time...but sometimes. (I must have a fairly low threshold for this considering the fact that I am NOT that important of a person and things DON'T demand my attention every waking moment of the day.)

Today was one of those days. Just a desire to escape and be out of touch even if only for an hour or so. Cells phones are great, don't get me wrong. I love that I can just type a quick message to a friend and not too intrusively interrupt their day to ask a question, or people can send me a quick little one liner that makes me smile (I however, have what I call a phone phobia....that is I don't like calling people. I am just worried I am interrupting too much, or bothering them, or catching them when they don't really want to be polite, but feel a social responsibility to be polite and engage in a conversation that they don't really want to be engaged in. I'm currently working through this....) :)

Anyway....I found a great post about just that by a staff member at GCC. I've enjoyed reading books and posts by him and learning as much as I can because let's face it, I'm young, and I've got a lot to learn.

I'll say it again, I am NOT that important of a person....I don't twitter, I don't subscribe to hundreds of blogs or automatic notifications, yet I still crave silence.

I think that was one of the things I loved most about being in Nashville at the National Youth Worker's Convention. Yes, I was still doing some work stuff, and I was busy attending different sessions and seminars. But the great thing was that I could leave a session and just go walk around downtown, or go to the prayer chapel, or back to my hotel and just sit, in silence and actually process and digest what I had just heard. I didn't get a lot of phone calls because people knew I was out of the office, I didn't get a lot of emails, and I didn't even check email all that often. It's been awhile since I've done that...since I've really just stopped to listen and hear what I'm supposed to hear. And it was GREAT!

I need to carve out more time to do just that. Stay offline, turn off the phone, the tv, and even the music and just enjoy the silence.

Three Words: I Hate Turbulence

Flying is always an adventure for me. I feel like I never know what is going to happen. One time while boarding a plane, one of the crew members accidentally deployed the emergency chute...no lie. And those suckers don't just get rolled back up and stored away.... No no no. You deploy the emergency chute...maintenance is hunting for a NEW DOOR.

Then there was the time I unknowingly had a hammer in my carry on. SERIOUSLY. I thought the TSA dude was going to take me away (this was on a trip for work, and I thought my co-workers were going to die laughing. It was pretty ridiculous.)

The list could go on.

Today, on my way to my sister's in New York, I added another "What the heck?!?!" moment to my list of flying stories.

I was flying from Indianapolis and leave to drive there at about 6 this morning. That's a rude way to start the day anyway. But then I get to 465...and I start noticing signs saying "New Airport, Now Open," and "New Airport, take I-70 West to Exit 68." And I am going, "Did I miss something here?"

Turns out I did. Turns out there is a NEW Indianapolis airport...that I had no clue about. I'm still driving along thinking, oh they probably just put in new access roads, or redid the entrance. No no no....It's a whole new airport. Brand spanking new. Don't even get there the same way. Wanna know when it opened? Last night. Yep. Last night.

Pretty sweet right? Sure... but let's think about something for a minute. Had I flown to New York on, oh...say Monday of this week, and returned Saturday. I would have driven to the old Indy airport and left from there and returned at the new one. Here's what I want to know....How would I get my car? I sincerely hope someone in the upper levels of management thought about that little predicament. (If not, I would be willing to bet someone got fired fairly recently. Like maybe today.)

To top this all off, I got there and there are a ton of military personnel walking around, lots of flags, and...you guessed it....a band. At first I about laughed out loud thinking how ridiculous it was that there would be a band at an airport opening. But then, as I am finding my way through the terminal, I hear, "Danni!" I turn around and it's an old friend of mine from High School! He is in the military and was working and informed me that there was also a unit of troops returning home from Iraq and that's why they, the band, and all the television cameras and reporters were there. It was pretty neat to see, I'm not gonna lie. And it was pretty great to see him too! An added bonus!

So all this to say....I never really know what to expect anymore when I am traveling. But I am always prepared for an adventure.

Sidenote: They used to not charge for checking any luggage, then recently it became you got charged if you checked more than 1. Today...if you checked any bags, you had to pay. Boo.

Seriously?? Now I'm nervous...

For the second time in 3 days, I slammed my finger in a door.

It happened with the same stinkin door at the office, trying to shut it the same way (which is how I always shut it....like a normal person would shut ANY DOOR), just a different finger the second time (but oh yea...on the same hand.)

Seriously??? Now I have matching black and blue fingers.

Now I'm a little worried. I have to go shoot a video standing on the roof of a cabin. If I can manage to slam my fingers in a door twice in the same week...I wonder what's going to happen when I climb a ladder and stand on a roof.

Someone should probably pray I don't die.

Time Away!!!

After a whirlwind fall and many busy weeks and weekends...I am taking some down time up in Mishawaka tomorrow and Friday. I am very ready for it!

The time away started with dinner with my mom, a good friend, and her mom (at Hacienda!!! always a plus...) What a great time. I don't think we stopped laughing once!

Tomorrow is a day to sleep in, lounge around, and hopefully do nothing! Then Friday, mom and I are going to IKEA in Chicago to go couch shopping! I can't wait!

But mostly, I am looking forward to a chance to get away for a bit...relax, refresh, and recharge so I can dive back into everything when I go back to work next week.

Ready...set...REST...