I've been keeping my hopes unbroken

I got my swim trunks and my flippy-floppys

What a week! Last Saturday Andy and I attended the wedding of Hong and Emily (congrats!) and enjoyed a unique dining experience at their reception. It was ten courses! Each table had a huge lazy susan and the food was served family-style. Most of the time we didn't know what we were eating, and when we would ask the waiters would look confused and hesitate before confidently declaring, "It fish!" I'm proud to say I tried it all. I found the menu online so now I know what I ate!

Appetizers:
Deep-Fried Stuffed Crab Claws
Shredded Chicken with Jellyfish 
Soup:Crabmeat with Fish Maw 
Entrées:
Sliced Fish Strips with Chinese Mushrooms
Golden Roast Chicken "Cantonese" Style
Seafood Treasure in Taro Nest
Stuffed Crispy Duck with Taro Purée
Pan-Fried Whole Fish "Cantonese" Style
Young Chow Fried Rice 
Dessert:
Cold Almond Jelly with Mixed Fruits

our view

Last Sunday we drove to Corolla, NC with my immediate family. It is always a blessing to have my brother with us because he lives in Korea and we don't see him often. The house was right up against the beach and we saw beautiful sunrises, sunsets and summer storms. We brought Casey and my parents brought their dog Ellie, and they loooved the beach! It was the first time we had ever brought a pet to the beach with us (except for my sister's tiny turtle, Chompy), and it went better than I expected. Casey stayed out all day with us and kept cool by digging a hole in the sand behind someone's beach chair and resting in its shade. She chased sand crabs and fetched sticks in the water and behaved wonderfully off the leash. If you own a dog you understand how exciting this is. :)

Casey kept getting on my parents bed b/c they put the mattress on the floor.
on this day she was posing next to
my mom's crossword puzzle. 

The trip was simply perfect. We rode bikes, rented jet-skis, the boys golfed, the girls read, we ate fresh french toast bagels in the mornings (tradition), played games, watched movies and silly you-tube videos and enjoyed five star dinners every night. My mom and sister are such amazing cooks that I am usually too intimidated to cook for my family, but this trip I made penne with sausage and peppers, which is a super simple dish that my friend Amber once made for me. Each night one person in the family was asked to present a devotion. It was a special way to learn from one another and to keep the Lord on our hearts during our vacation. Andy discussed Philippians 2:3-4 and I discussed idols of the heart and how to counsel people who are struggling with putting God first. I thank God for providing me with such a special family and for allowing us to enjoy vacations together. We hope to have another person at our next family vacation, whether that is a wife for my brother or a baby from either Katie+Todd or Me+Andy. Eek! 

happy pup!

chicken with it's head cut off

we're leaving for Springfield tomorrow to attend a wedding on Saturday before heading to the OBX on Sunday. so much to pack. so much to remember.
enjoy the end of August! I know I will.

eat pray love

If you haven't read the book, "Eat Pray Love" is the true story of a woman (Elizabeth Gilbert) who spends four months each in Italy, India and Indonesia after a divorce and another relationship left her broken and unsure of herself.

I'm a different movie watcher than most people...or at least, many of the people I know. I get fully absorbed by the beauty of the actors, the costumes, the music, the scenery, everything. Here's a good example: I like the movie "Marie Antoinette." I think it's sad, funny, absolutely gorgeous and ironically, watching it feels like eating cake. I don't know many people who like the movie "Marie Antoinette."

That being said, "Eat Pray Love" was also sad, funny and gorgeous, though instead of making me feel like I was eating gelato and pizza and pasta, it just made me want to be eating them!  

Julia Roberts was beautiful, James Franco, Billy Crudup and Richard Jenkins were surprisingly tender and Javier Bardem was simply delicious. Every character was astounding. The soundtrack was glorious-- take note of the song that plays when Elizabeth (Julia R) is eating a plate of spaghetti. Genius. 

I think many women will be able to relate to the desire to know, to discover one's self. I think it's important to know who you are and to like that person. I think it's important to surround ourselves with people who enjoy who we are and who bring us up instead of down. I think it's important to not get caught up in the travel aspect of "Eat Pray Love." When I saw the movie "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" I ached for Greece. I thought that if I could only get away, then I would be able to discover myself. Granted, I did end up going away to Ireland for six weeks and I did end up discovering a lot about myself there. But the thing is, I'm still discovering myself. Most of my discovering has happened right here in Harrisonburg, Virginia. I'm thankful that I have moments to myself where I can just be me and just do "me" things and find comfort and beauty and pleasure in being in my skin. I like my thoughts, I like how I can make myself laugh, I like the way I eat cheesecake veeery slowly because I fork tiny slivers into my mouth and hold each bite on my tongue. I like that I like the movie Marie Antoinette, gosh darn it! 

Now, was it as good as the book? I wish I could remember the book better. In my opinion, if you read the book first, it's almost always better then the movie. If you see the movie first, though, it can be hard to pay attention to the book. So read it, watch it, whatever- I think you'll enjoy it either way.

no more break ups

I drove home tonight through a path of fireflies. It was breathtaking. I work out in the boonies, so it's all windy roads and scenic views. There was a fire in me tonight that I couldn't keep inside. I threw my hands up (driving with my knees) and sang at the top of my lungs and gave in to the flood of memories that immediately rushed in with each song that played.
It's weird listening to my old break up songs. I still love screaming out the lyrics, but the anger and frustration in my voice is all a show. What a relief to not have to deal with that anymore! It felt amazing to sing those songs and not be heartbroken.
"Sore Thumb" by The Format and "Over You" by Acceptance were my break up songs for Andy our freshman and part of our sophomore year. We were on and off and wanting to be back on but needing to be off until finally it all fell into place. We said "I love you" through shaking hands and tear stained cheeks and I told Andy that if we got back together I didn't ever want to break up again and there was a silence as the meaning of my words sunk in and he looked into my eyes and I knew, right in that moment, that he never wanted to break up again either.


This is a compilation of song lyrics I made freshman year. Can you feel the teenage angst?

I can't be losing sleep over this, no, I can't

I could still be ruthless if you let me.

but you left me here to count ten thousand questions to the answers

why can't you make up your mind
?

why don't you, why don't you say that to my face?

do you wanna leave or somethin?

It's thoughts like this that catch my troubled
 head,

but your lips when we speak 


are the valleys and peaks of a mountain range on fire.

So let me walk these coals till you believe

I can cut the mustard well enough.

But I won't make you,

I won't make you.

I'm under attack again, my dear,

I'm in the way.

If my mind would just stop racing...

Since then it's been a book you read in reverse,

So you understand less as the pages turn.

The rhythm of my footsteps crossing flood lands to your door have been silenced forever more.

The distance is quite simply much too far for me to row
,

it seems farther than ever before.

If i told you this was killing me,
 would you, would you stop?

'Cause something isn't right here.

How could I be so removed in the background waiting for you?