Snow Days

If you were not in Birmingham or Atlanta this past week, you might wonder why people are talking about 2 inches of snow like it's a huge deal and even making Facebook albums called "Snowmageddon" or "Snowpocalypse."  After all, can 2 inches of snow really send two metropolitan cities into mass chaos?  The answer is yes.

In attempts to explain exactly what happened, lots of people have posted interesting articles about the events on Tuesday, January 28th, 2014.  The summary is this:

1. We were expecting flurries and no accumulation, not two inches of snow.
2. Nearly every single school and business let out at the exact time.
3. Birmingham and Atlanta have bad traffic even on days when there is perfect weather conditions and staggered traffic patterns.
4. We have no salt trucks here.
5. The snow quickly turned to ice.

All of these factors led to a domino-effect phenomenon that had very far-reaching results.  My own adventure felt quite epic on Tuesday, but I quickly learned that I had one of the most mild experiences.  Here's how it went: 

• 10:15 AM, Tuesday:  My principal announces that she has just gotten the call that we will be dismissing in fifteen minutes due to inclement weather.  (We normally have 2-3 hours notice for early dismissals.)
• 10:30 AM, Tuesday: All teachers report to their assigned spots.  The Special Area/Special Ed teachers have the wonderful fortune of helping load students into their cars in the snow that is continually falling.  Thank goodness I remember to bring my rain boots to school that day though!
• 11:15 AM, Tuesday:  The cars have stopped coming so we go inside the gym where quite a lot of children remain.  My principal dismisses the teachers.
• 11:30, Tuesday: I begin my approximately 3 mile drive home that usually takes me about 8 minutes.  The road is covered in snow and traffic is a gridlock.
• 1:00, Tuesday:  After going less than a mile in an hour and a half, I run into the Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market to get food and water.  I continue to inch along and see more and more people on foot.  Abandoned cars are becoming a common sight.
• 2:30, Tuesday:  After precariously driving up several hills that thankfully had more snow than ice on them at this point, I make it home after three hours in the car.  Tired but relieved.
• Remainder of Tuesday: As I read Facebook posts and watch the news, I begin to realize that my three hour commute was nothing compared to what most people are suffering... tales of coworkers whose commutes are 8-10 hours, friends who have to abandon their cars and seek shelter some place, people who walk miles in their "dress clothes", and most significantly, more than 10,000 students that spend the night in schools including a handful of children at my own school.
• Wednesday: The stories go on and on.   Many people are still stranded.  Meanwhile, we watch movies and go for long walks after getting cabin fever while remaining thankful that we have plenty of hot water, warm heat, and no frozen pipes that burst.  Our house is more full than usual with three extra house guests who couldn't get home on Tuesday, plus two of my roommate's coworkers who join the fun on Wednesday night so they can get to work the next morning.  In fact, that night we had 8 people sleeping in our 3 BR/1BA house!
• Thursday:  Things begin to thaw and people get out more.  I venture out to the grocery store in the afternoon and am surprised to get a call that school is canceled again on Friday.  However, there are still several teachers from my school that still had not made it home as of Thursday afternoon.
• Friday:  Today I get dressed in something other than snow pants, work-out pants, or pajamas and put on make-up for the first time in several days.  Might as well be productive and enjoy an extra day off so I run several errands and get things done around the house.

So after 3.5 snow days, I'm actually eager to return to work on Monday morning.  To see my students' smiling faces and exchange stories with coworkers.  To hear countless examples of how people reached out and took care of others during the last few days.  To return to normal routine and life without snow and ice.  Which reminds me...I purposely left my lunch in my mini-fridge at school on Tuesday so that I wouldn't have to worry about bringing it on Wednesday.  Wonder if it will still be good six days later!

Bundled up for car duty!

Once I finally made it past the gridlock...

Just the beginning of the madness for these cars

My good friend & neighbor Cara was out of town and told me to raid her pantry and freezer--this definitely helped feed some of our extra house guests!

Worth the walk!

Blue sky and melting icicles on Thursday

Called Again

I first met Jen just a few weeks into our freshman year of college.  My R.A. Cara and I had organized a competitive intramural volleyball team when we each found out the other was a serious volleyball player.  You basically had to have played varsity volleyball in high school to be on our team.  Seriously—you can ask some of my best friends whom I didn’t even let on the team (not that they would have wanted to deal with my competitive spirit anyway).  Jen was the exception to that rule.  She was quite tall at 6'0, a natural athlete, and on the Samford tennis team so when another player invited her to play with us, we eagerly agreed. 

That was the beginning of my friendship with Jen.  Through four seasons of “Enfuego” volleyball, Music Appreciation class, and just hanging out together, we became good friends.  Jen’s also from where my family’s mountain house is located so we had that in common as well, and I occasionally saw her in North Carolina during the summer or over the holidays. 

You don’t have to be around Jen very long to notice two things about her:  she is extremely genuine and extremely talented.  She is one of the most authentic people I know, and the list of things she has already accomplished in her life is truly awe-inspiring (including writing two books and hiking more than 12, 000 miles on six different continents).

photo from Amazon.com 

In her recent book, Called Again, Jen relates the exciting tale of how she (with the support and help of her husband Brew) set the overall record for the Appalachian Trail fastest thru-hike.  The fact that Jen currently holds this title is evidence enough of her talent, but the memoir itself shows that Jen’s talent is not limited to the trail.  You are immediately drawn into the story and taken up with Jen’s passion and drive to attempt the record.  In fact, I even found myself wanting to climb the A.T. as I read the book, which is rather remarkable since I am not especially fond of sleeping in tents.  It’s hard to put the book down, and the characters are so well-developed that you want to meet their real-life counterparts.  In particular, I enjoyed “getting to know” Brew more through the book.  While I’ve met Jen’s husband a couple of times in real life, I feel like I know him so much more after reading this part of their story. 

Jen’s genuine nature also comes out in the book.  She weaves in her faith in subtle but sincere ways.  She lightly describes her “15 minutes of fame.”  Above all, she is real.  You see her ups and downs in the quest for the record, experiencing both the tears and the triumph with her.   So when Jennifer Pharr Davis reaches Springer Mountain, Georgia, just 46 days after she left Mt. Katahdin, Maine, you do too.

12 Days of Christmas

Highlights from "12 Days of Christmas" this year and the 6,000 miles I covered during them...

Day 1 (Dec. 21) - a trip to the new Trader Joe's in Tallahassee, lunch from Hopkins, a visit with the Gilberts--one of my favorite families, and a Christmas celebration with my Tally aunt & uncle

the best sandwich in the world (Hopkins ultimate turkey on rye-pumpernickel)

Day 2 (Dec. 22) - "Christmas morning" with the fam (we opened a few presents that we didn't want to take with us to Seattle),  church at Four Oaks, and seeing my long-time friend Kathryn

our camellia Christmas tree :)

Day 3 (Dec. 23) - a drive to Atlanta and a long flight to Seattle, but without any problems or delays!

Day 4 (Dec. 24) - Pike Place Market in downtown Seattle, a chai latte from the original Starbucks, Christmas Eve service at church, and tamales for dinner

the original Starbucks, Pike Place Market

the flower shops at Pike Place

sight of the infamous "fish throwing"

family pic in front of Pike Place Market

carrying on the Nochebuena tradition even in the U.S.

Day 5 (Dec. 25) - Christmas Day--yummy breakfast, delicious Christmas dinner, present exchanging, laughter, Spanish Bananagrams, relaxing...a great day!

Sibling love: without having any idea, we bought the same gift for each other

The cousins

Day 6 (Dec. 26) - a trip to Mt. Rainier-- snowshoeing, a beautiful & sunny day, and a picnic lunch back at the lodge, then back to Issaquah and the Village Theater for a great production of Les Miserables--my absolute favorite play

Snowshoe Fun

Glorious Mt. Rainier

at the theater

Day 7 (Dec. 27) - walking and shopping around Westlake, viewing the gigantic gingerbread houses at the Sheraton, a visit to the flagship REI store, and a hilarious and very competitive game of Encore

Westlake Christmas tree

Culinary teams and architects team up to create these masterpieces.  This year's theme: nursery rhymes

100% edible 

Day 8 (Dec. 28) - ferry ride from Seattle to Bainbridge Island, a visit to a bakery in the quaint town of Poulsbo, hiking in several places along the edge of the Olympic Peninsula, then the ferry ride back to Seattle at night

On the ferry to Bainbridge Island

Seattle, breaking through the fog on a chilly morning

town of Poulsbo

our lunch spot on the Olympic Peninsula

a whole herd of elk

So serene

Seattle by night

Day 9 (Dec. 29) - church in the morning, a trip to the movies to see Catching Fire for the first time (so good, but definitely got teary-eyed several times), and tasty salmon (that my uncle had caught previously) for dinner

Day 10 (Dec. 30) - Seattle City Center for lunch, the Chihuly Museum, monorail ride from the Space Needle to Westlake, a visit to the public library, and a good last night together at home watching a movie and looking at old photos :)

Chihuly Glass Museum

a classic Seattle day

Seattle Public Library

"the Living Room" of the public library

Day 11 (Dec. 31) - flight back to Atlanta, then Underground Atlanta and the Peach Drop...won't go into details, but it's the sort of thing you only do once in my opinion

Mt. Rainier from the plane

the Peach Drop + this year's bonus: the Peanut drop

Day 12 (Jan. 1) - brunch at Cracker Barrel with my Atlanta relatives at Cracker Barrel and then back to Birmingham, just in time for work the next day

How to Survive Working Full-time and Getting your Masters: Christen-style

As of a week ago, I am officially finished with my Master of Science in Gifted Education.  [Insert shouts of joy, sighs of relief, etc.]  Since I am already the gifted specialist at my school, my position or job title will not change.  However, here are a few related effects/results from finishing grad school:

1. I will get paid slightly more.
2. I am officially certified to teach gifted students and more importantly, well-equipped to meet and understand their needs.
3. I still love Samford and believe you get a great education there from some truly caring professors.
4. My classmates have become dear friends and colleagues. 

These are all very valuable, and I am definitely glad that I pursued this degree.  But it has been anything but easy.  Honestly, I had no idea how difficult it is to work full-time (at a job that is already fairly consuming and often more than 40 hours a week) and attend graduate school.  Each semester also got increasingly difficult in terms of workload and time required for the courses.  That's probably a good thing though--I may not have ever started if I had know all that it would entail.  But by God's grace and a lot of self-discipline, I made it.  

Through this process, I developed my own personal strategy for survival: rewarding myself with trips. :)  For the last three semesters, this plan worked very well for me and brought me the extra motivation I needed.  

Spring 2013: Went on a mission trip to Haiti at Spring Break--had a ton of work before & after, but it was so worth it and good for my soul to do ministry again in that capacity

Summer 2013: Actually managed to finish my massive concept-based curriculum unit 2 weeks early so that I could go to Puerto Rico with friends and enjoy a few days of complete relaxation before the school year started again

Fall 2013: Diligently worked on my practicum requirements & e-portfolio all fall so that I could go to Mexico and visit many dearly-loved friends at Thanksgiving, then came home and pushed through to finish everything the first week of December

So, that's the story of how I survived working full-time and getting my Masters.  Now, I'm ready to enjoy having more free time... bring on weekend road trips, watching TV, getting more sleep, and blogging more than once in a blue moon! :)

with my family on graduation day

Peace with the Paradox

I think it was something about the way the sky looked.

Today, I was driving to the trail to go for a run right around sunset but before twilight, and I had a sudden flashback to running around Fresnillo at that same time of night.  I can't even really articulate it, but it was a strong and vivid memory much like the memory that smelling a certain aroma or hearing a particular song can give you.  After a day of working up in the colonia, I'd sometimes come home to our house and go for a run around downtown Fresnillo before it got too dark.  Thinking about that tonight made me homesick for Mexico again and stirred up a bittersweet feeling in my heart.  It's not that my runs in Fresnillo were always great or joy-filled.  Often, my mind was full of loneliness or worry, but those runs were a part of routine.  They were my routine and my reality for two years, and there's something comforting about that.  And I even though I have a new routine now, there's still a nostalgic place in my heart for my old routine.

It's funny how moments like these sneak up on us and send us back in time.  People talk about how you grieve in waves or pockets when you lose someone you love, and I think we can grieve places or time periods in our lives in a similar way.  I no longer cry nearly as frequently as when I first came back to the States or miss Mexico as intensely, but my life there will always be a part of who I am.  Memories like the one I had tonight remind me of that truth but also make me thankful to be emotionally whole enough to let the paradox rest in my heart.  I can be grateful for and miss my life in Fresnillo while at the same time appreciating my life now and accepting my current reality as well.  It may sound insignificant, but I'm thankful for these moments and how conflicting emotions can coexist within us.

And as the saying goes, "Running is cheaper than therapy." :)

30th Birthday Extravaganza

Over the years, my best Samford friends and I have done a pretty good job of having regular reunions.  At least one or twice a year, we try to get together in a city that is within semi-close proximity of everyone.  About a year and a half ago, one of my friends had a brilliant idea: since we'd all be turning 30 in the near future, we would all take turns going to visit the city of whoever's birthday it was.  It would space out the reunions fairly nicely, and it would be a fair way of distributing travel.  This worked great for the first 30th birthday among us.  We had a great reunion in Tennessee that was attended by everyone (minus Lauren, who lives abroad most of the year).  The next friend's birthday/reunion in Kentucky was only attended by three of us, but it was still a lot of fun.

Among our friends, three of us (Kathryn, Lauren, & myself) happen to have summer birthdays which meant we were all turning 30 during summer 2013.  We also live pretty spread out (Bham, Raleigh/Durham, and Budapest) and didn't think our friends would be able to travel to all of those places in one summer.  So, we decided to combine our efforts into one big birthday bash which we affectionately dubbed the "30th Birthday Extravaganza."  And since we all grew up in Florida, we wanted this celebration to be more than just a trip to Destin.  We started researching places in the Caribbean and decided on Puerto Rico because it had the cheapest flights.  However, you only turn 30 once, so we splurged on luxury accommodations: the Ritz-Carleton.  We invited all of our other friends, but none of them could come so it was the "tres amigas" that headed to Puerto Rico for the 30th Birthday Extravaganza...

Instead of writing about all the details of the trip, I decided to sort-of make "superlatives" for our fabulous adventure:

Best Travel Perk that I Don't Take for Granted: All of my flights being on time and having no problems with my luggage

Most Delicious Thing I Ate: Tres Leches cake from Café Puerto Rico in Old San Juan

Best Part of Traveling with Old Friends: enjoying a great mix of deep conversation, hilarious laughter, comfortable silence, and happy reminiscing

Most Beautiful View: a tie between our beach on Isla Verde at sunset and the same beach in the middle of a bright, sunny day with sparkling blue-green water

Best “Turning Lemons into Lemonade” Moment:  Going to the Plaza de las Americas, a huge mall, on the day it rained and buying 8 articles of clothing for a total of $130 due to some great sales at Banana Republic and Gap

Most Awkward Moment: Going to a club to celebrate Lauren’s 30^th (per her request) and realizing we were about 10 years older than most of the people there and were dressed liked we could be their moms

Best Beachside/Poolside Reading: Is Everybody Hanging Out without Me? by Mindy Kaling (literally laugh-out loud funny)

Most Helpful App: Yelp (helped us find some great, nearby restaurants)

Most Interesting Cultural Observation: Puerto Rico is a fascinating mix of American affluence and the "developing country" feel you find in other Central/South American countries.  Still pondering this a bit...

Favorite Spanish-speaking Moment: After talking to the Walgreens cashier for awhile, he told me that it surprised him when I spoke so well in Spanish because I didn't look like someone who spoke Spanish.  I laughed and said, "I know.  It's because I'm what Mexicans call a guera."  He said, "Well, here we call them gringas, but yes." :)

Best “You Know You’re at the Ritz-Carleton” Moment: When the offered us guava mimosas while we were paying our bill at the front desk

Coolest Historical Site: El Morro in Old San Juan, a 16th-century military fortress that guarded the harbor 

Best Surprise Travel Moment: Kathryn and I were on the same flight out of San Juan on Saturday morning and sat next to the cutest nine-year old boy.  He was Puerto-Rican/American and had been visiting his grandma for three weeks and was now heading back to his mom in Orlando.  His grandma had dressed him up, complete with a tie, and he was one of the sweetest and most respectful kids I've met.  We spent most of the flight talking with him. :)

*photo courtesy of Kathryn Evans

All in all, I'd say the "30th Birthday Extravaganza" was a huge success!

Simple & Sincere

The Lord's Prayer from The Jesus Storybook Bible
(by Sally Lloyd-Jones and Jago)