Over the Top!

This weekend I went to the Women of Faith "Over the Top" Conference in Dallas with my friend Becca. We had a great time. We weren't able to attend all of the sessions, but we really enjoyed the ones we were able to go to.

I will say this, I've never been in a place with SO many women at the same time before. It was a little overwhelming on Friday night. But a really sweet moment happened on Saturday morning. We were singing some praise songs with the worship team and I just got quiet for a minute and listened to all of the thousands around me raise their voices to the Lord. Gathering together in corporate worship, praising the same Lord was so beautiful. Our God is great! And I loved the opportunity to worship Him with fellow sisters in Christ from across the country. 

The first speaker that we heard was Lisa Whelchel on Friday night. She was in the show "The Facts of Life" back in the 1980s, which happened to be one of Becca's favorite shows ever. So, needless to say, she was pretty excited about it! Lisa shared a testimony about what she has learned about friendships and it was really touching. She shared stories from her life about struggles that she's had, and she was very open and vulnerable. I appreciated that about her. As she shared about struggles getting close to friends and maintaining strong friendships, I was reminded of some of the wonderful friends that I have been blessed with and was thankful for them as I sat and reflected. I truly think God blesses us with friends to share life with - to laugh with, to cry with, to be vulnerable with and to rely on. I really enjoyed Lisa's talk and the things I took away from it.

Then on Saturday morning, we got to hear Sandy Patti perform (she is a gifted artist!) and speak. Sandy shared about struggles in her life, with weight and other self-esteem issues and what it means to have new beginnings in your life. She has some great points to share and it was neat to see her in concert. She seems like a genuine, loving woman.

The highlight of the conference for me was seeing Amy Grant in concert that afternoon. I grew up listening to Amy, from the time I was a little girl. When I was in second grade, I entered the school talent show with my awesome dance to "Baby, Baby." Believe me when I say, I was a fan! So, when I saw her on stage, I reverted back to that little 6-year-old. Becca thought I was a little crazy, but I didn't care. I sang along to "El Shaddai," "It Takes a Little Time, Sometimes," "Lead Me on" and "My Father's Eyes." I loved it! This alone made the conference worth it.

There were also touching moments of testimony, moving dramatic pieces and more. I may have cried more than once. :)

While, I will admit, I felt a little young in the audience, I did enjoy the conference. It was a neat experience bonding with other women of faith as we laughed, cried and listened to how God is moving in the lives of others.

Fun in the Summertime

This summer has been fun as I've enjoyed and explored this new city I call my home. I wanted to share some of the fun places that I've been to over the past two months:

The Sixth Floor Museum

My college friend Kate came to visit and we went to the 6th Floor Museum in Downtown. This is a museum dedicated to JFK and share insight into his assassination in 1963. You can even view the spot from the window looking down on the Grassy Knoll where it is believed that Lee Harvey Oswald stood when he shot JFK. Kate and I are secret history buffs and we loved learning more about this pivotal day in American history.

Fort Worth Botanical Gardens

My RA from college and dear friend Sarah Gardner got married at these beautiful gardens in June. It was such a precious ceremony and I loved getting to walk around these awesome gardens! I'd love to go back when it's a little cooler and explore some more!

Buca de Beppo

Last weekend we went to this really fun Italian restaurant as part of Cristal Moreno's bachelorette party! The food was delicious and the atmosphere was lively and entertaining! This was a great place to have a great time!

The Melting Pot

My HPU friends, affectionately known as "The Herd," try to get together at least once a year for a reunion so we can catch up on each others' lives. This year only four of us were able to meet up, but we still had a great time! We went to this really fun fondue restaurant called The Melting Pot in the Arlington Highlands and it was quite a treat. While the overall meal was a little on the pricey side, we enjoyed every minute of the four course meal! It was so laid back and fun as we enjoyed cheese fondue, salads, the biggest meat platter you can imagine and delicious chocolate fondue for dessert! To give you a good idea, we spent about 3 1/2 hours there and loved every minute! :)

Southlake Town Square

My sweet friend Larissa came to visit me from Brownwood one weekend and we found a really fun shopping area called Southlake Town Square. It's only about 15 minutes from my apartment and it is so much fun! We enjoyed roaming around in all of the cute shops and grabbing lunch. I could have spent a lot more time here! I'm looking to going back again sometime soon (maybe when I have more money, haha!).


Rangers Ballpark in Arlington

I also went to a Rangers game with Larissa and my Brownwood small group the weekend she came to town. While it was really hot, it was also really fun! I love the atmosphere at baseball games (shocking, I know!) singing "Take Me Out the Ballgame," eating nachos and people watching is a good time to me! Plus, the Rangers beat Toronto 12-2 that day! Go Rangers!

Well, these are just some of the highlights of the summer. There has been a lot more going on, but that's all I can think of at the moment. I'll try to keep highlighting fun things to do in the Metroplex for all of you friends that should come and visit me! I've got plenty of room in my apartment and I love company! And, obviously, I'm fun and Dallas is fun, so you should come visit! haha. 

Women of Faith

So, I have exciting news! I received two tickets to attend the upcoming Women of Faith conference here in Dallas on August 26 and 27. I'm really excited about going to this event for the first time. I've heard wonderful things about it over the years and it will be neat to have a firsthand experience to share with all of you!

I feel like many of the speakers and singers this year are a collection of women from my childhood - including Amy Grant (Baby, Baby anyone?) and Sandi Patty, along with Lisa Whelchel from The Facts of Life! One speaker I am really interested in hearing is Brenda Warner. She is married to the pro-football player Kurt Warner and it sounds like she has a really neat testimony to share.

I'm excited to hear stories about how God is moving in the lives of these women and worship with women from around the state. I know God has great things in store and I look forward to sharing with you all about it!

Show me how to love

Earlier this week my new boss asked how I was doing with my adjustment in the new job and everything. I told him I was doing really good. I'm enjoying my new job and everything is just great. Then he said, "you seem to be a positive person. Are you ever not positive? Are there ever times when things aren't going well?" I told him, yes of course! Well, tonight was one of those times.

I got my feelings hurt by someone and then I got mad about it. I was trying to do something nice and they were not acting appreciative at all. It just hurt me so much.Didn't they see what I was doing? How I was going out of my way to do something nice?? In fact, I got so upset, that I took a walk in the park across the street to tell the Lord all about it. I took two laps around the park, huffing and puffing, crying and venting. Didn't God see how hurt I was? Why was He letting this happen? Why was I being punished when I was trying to do something nice? Didn't I deserve better? Tears were flowing as I was crying out to the Lord asking why I was being faithful and yet things like this happened.

And then, on lap three it hit me. I realized that the reason I was so upset was because I was doing this good deed to make myself feel better and I wasn't getting the response I thought I deserved. It was all about me ... Whoa. That just kind of slapped me across the face. The Lord reminded me that I should be doing this act in service to Him. I should be loving and giving to others as an overflow of my love for Him, and not be seeking anything in return. As I was walking, the song "Hosanna" sung by Christy Nockels came on. One of the lines spoke to my heart. It said, "Open up my eyes to the things unseen. Show me how to love like you love me." That's what I was missing. I was so wrapped up in me that I was missing out on an opportunity to learn how to love like the Lord does. Once I realized this, my heart was lifted, my burdens were lighter and I was able to look around and see the beauty God was displaying all around me. The sun was setting behind the hill, reflecting brilliant colors of orange and pink across the night sky.

This verse just came to me as a beautiful reminder:

"I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine, He who pastures his flock among the lilies." Song of Solomon 6:3

So, next time I get all worked up about how someone has wronged me, hopefully I will stop and look at my heart and motivation. I want to love others like the Lord loves me. And I know my faithful God is going to keep walking beside me and showing me how. 

Fight for Survival

Headlines lately have highlighted the verdict for Casey Anthony and the race for our next President. There was a huge fire in Phoenix and the Texas government passed 1,200 bills we didn't hear about because of the budget crisis. But, when I was reading the Fort Worth Star-Telegram I ran across a story I hadn't heard anything about until today.

Did you know that 12 million Africans face 'fight for survival'? I had no idea!!! Apparently the severe drought across the Horn of Africa has affected people in Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia and Djbouti. In one refugee camp more than 360,000 people have come to receive some kind of relief. The camp is only equipped to help around 90,000. Can you imagine?

We are facing a severe drought in Texas right now, but I had no idea about the plight happening on the other side of the world. The photos I saw and stories I read brought tears to my eyes. I'm researching an organization to contribute to that will help a little bit and I'm going to be lift up prayers for these hurting, starving people. I know they belong to the Lord. I know He loves them. Sometimes it's so hard to understand why there are some in the world that are starving while there are others that have an abundance. This news deserves more attention than it's getting. It shouldn't be buried on page 10.

Land of the Llamas

I can't belive it's taken me so long to blog about Peru. All the moving and life changing stuff kind of got in the way. But! Have no fear, dear readers! I'm here to share some of my adventures in my first South American country. I went on a super cool adventure with my sweet sister Lorin on April 27-May 1 to the exciting and exotic country of Peru. Lorin's husband Phillip was doing a medical internship in Lima, Peru (the capital city) for the month of April, so we went at the end of the month to meet up with him and go sightseeing. We arrived on a Wednesday, after flying through El Salvador and Costa Rica, into Lima. It turns out we weren't that impressed with Lima. While it is on the coast, which is pretty, the city itself is very modernized and there wasn't much for a foreigner to really do. We did have a traditional Peruvian meal and tried our first of many Inca Kola's (think Big Red but bright yellow!). We hung out that night and then left on Thursday morning for Cusco.

Cusco was my favorite! It is a city that's about 11,000 feet above sea level, so we actually took elevation medicine so we wouldn't get sick. Basically, Cusco's claim to fame is that it's the city you go to to prepare yourself for Machu Picchu. We spent two days wondering around this ancient city, and I loved it so much! It was like rolling back in time, to a slower paced, easier life. There are still streets and walls that were built by the Incas over 500 years ago. Women carried their babies around on their backs. You go to different parts of the city to buy different goods. Markets are everywhere. It was so much fun. I must mention that this is also where Lorin and I feel in love with llamas. We were joking about how we were going to buy all of this llama stuff when we were in Cusco, and then we ended up really doing it. It was addicting! I left that city with a llama sweater, llama socks, llama shoes, a llama blanket, a llama purse and a turquoise llama figurine. See? I was obsessed! Possibly the highlight of the trip was when these native women walked right up to us with two llamas and asked if we wanted to take pictures with them. Naturally we had to oblige. It would've been rude otherwise! :)

Then on Saturday we made the long and arduous trek up to Machu Picchu, one of the 7 new wonders of the world. Machu Picchu is an ancient Incan city that was built up on this mountain. It was basically hidden from civilization and wasn't discovered by the moden world until 1911. Crazy, right? The Incans built a self-sufficient city up on this mountain that was just so beautiful. We wandered around the ruins for several hours imagining what life must have been like for these people. The best part, though, was just sitting on the rocks and taking in the beauty of God's creation all around me. I've never been to a place like it. We were literally up in the clouds. Gorgeous mountains (and steep cliffs) were all around us. The land was lush and picturesque. Llamas roamed free. There was a hush all around us as people just took it all in. It was one of the neatest experiences I've ever had.

Lorin, Phil and I had so much fun together! They are great travel buddies and I'm so glad I got to go on this trip with them. Here are just a few of the hundreds of pictures I took. I will say pictures don't do it justice. This was a trip like no other and I will never forget it!

The main square in Cusco

 Sporting our llama sweaters. Aren't we cute?

 Phil examining one of the ancient Incan walls

 The Perurail train we took to Machu Picchu

 Me, Lorin, the Peruvian women and LLAMAS!

 At Machu Picchu! Gorgeous doesn't even begin to describe it!

 Phil with the aqueduct that still had running water! Such an explorer!

 Where the llamas roam free

 Just sitting and taking it all in

 Phil and Lor in Cusco at the Temple of the Sun

Our traditional Peruvian meal in Lima

New Chapter

I've just started a new chapter in my life. I don't know the title of the chapter yet, but it sure has been eventful (hence the lack of blogging for the past two months). Here's an update on everything: the day I returned from my awesome trip to Peru (blog to come next, I promise!), I had an interview at Dallas Baptist University. I did not know at the time that it would basically be a job offer, but that's what happened.

I was offered the position of Director of News and Information, working for my friend Blake (who is the VP for Communications). The job includes public relations type work (which I love to do!) and a new project that's underway and hard to explain, but it's fun! Additionally, they told me about a brand new master's program they were launching this summer - the Master of Arts in Communication. It just so happened that this was exactly the kind of program I was looking for, and they just created it! In one day, I was offered a great job and a great educational opportunity. That day I was just overwhelmed by how God orchestrated everything!

It was like God was saying "Kalie, remember how I've been asking you to wait? Well, this is what you've been waiting for!"

The job was even in the same building that my sister Jamie (who will be a junior) works in! It was too great to pass up, so I said yes! And moved to Dallas three weeks later.

It was tough to say goodbye to HPU, which has been my home for the past nine years. Interesting fact: that is the longest I have lived anywhere my whole life! I feel like I "grew up" in Brownwood. HPU definitely shaped so much of who I am today. There are so many wonderful people who invested in me and believed in me, even when I didn't. I made lifelong friendships and even created my own family there. All that to say, HPU will always hold a special place in my heart! While it was hard to leave, I know that this is exactly what I am supposed to be doing. I don't have a doubt that I am where God wants me right now. God has blessed me with such a peace as I've basically turned my life upsidedown.

Everything is new right now and it's exciting and scary and overwhelming and so much fun! Now, I'm just learning everything that I can about DBU. I'm meeting new people and trying to not get lost too often around the Metroplex. I've been blessed to be able to reconnect with old friends over the past few weeks, which has been really wonderful. There are still many people I want to meet up with, and I know I'll be busy for a while.

And, I actually am really enjoying school too. I started class about two weeks ago. My class is on Social Media Communication. It's really interesting! It's fun to study a subject that I'm familiar with and deal with on a daily basis. I really think I'm going to enjoy this program and will have my degree in about two years, if everything goes according to plan.

So, there's my update. It's kind of lot. Believe me. I know. But, it's good! God has been so faithful and has provided for me in so many ways. I can't wait to see what's in store for me in this new chapter of life. I'll take some pictures of my new apartment and DBU and post them soon so you can all see what my life up here looks like.

Full House

Whatever happened to predictabilities? The milkman, the paperboy, the evening tv. You miss your old familiar friends waiting just around the bay ...

I decided to it was important to dedicate a whole post to one of my all time favorite shows which happened to be based in San Francisco. You guessed it! It's Full House!

I grew up having a crush on Uncle Jesse, identifying with DJ, having Stephanie drive me crazy and wondering how many times Michelle could say "You got it dude!" in an episode. I'm thankful my dad wasn't OCD about cleaning like Danny, but we loved hugs around my house and were probably just as hokey at the Tanner family. So, it was only natural for me to hunt down a couple of great locations from the show while I was in San Fran.

 

Here are the Painted Ladies. These house are well known in the city, not just for being in the opening credits of Full House. But do you recognized them? Think back to the opening song when the family is having a picnic in a park and Michelle comes running around and jumps into Danny's arms. Recognize it now? Haha. The Painted Ladies are in a park called Alamo Square which is really beautiful! The neighborhood has gorgeous houses all around and it is really picturesque.

Once I made it to the park, I found out that THE Full House house was just a mile away, and so I just had to go. Thankfully my friends Megan and Landry were willing to appease me, so we walked many blocks to find this house. The show was obviously not filmed here, but they used the front of the house throughout the show. The address is 1709 Broderick, incase you ever want to go find it.

 

Seeing these houses reminded me of so many childhood memories. It was a fun little field trip around the ciy and a great chance to see some unique sights!

The City of Enchantment

Well, I'm back from my latest adventure. I was in San Francisco for five days and it was so much fun! I took 12 HPU students to a Model United Nations conferencce and we had a great time! I really feel like I was able to see so much of the city and it quickly climbed the charts as one of my favorite US cities! I also got to see my sweet friend Cassie. She lives in Redding and came down for the weekend to see the city with me. We had a great time laughing, getting lost and catching up! She's my first travel buddy and I love exploring new cities with her!

Here are some things that I loved about The City of Enchantment:

The Bay:

Can I just say that San Francisco Bay is gorgeous? It truly was breathtaking. I think I could have sat along the water for hours and just stare out at the water, the clear blue skies, the mountains and all of the beauty that God created. I loved eating at Fisherman's Wharf, walking along the water, grabbing chocolate at Ghirardelli Square and riding a little cruise boat across the bay (it was SO windy, but I highly recommend it!)

North Beach:

I think this was my favorite area! This is the Italian district and it is so cute! I loved sitting in Washington Square Park and soaking up the sun, eating at this cute little Cafe Delucchi, seeing the San Fran original musical "Beach Blanket Babylon" and getting confused on the crazy streets.

Golden Gate Bridge:



I literally flew over, rode under, walked across and traveled around the Golden Gate Bridge. I think I got a pretty good look at all sides of that architechural wonder! I loved walking across the bridge with Cassie and getting a feel for how enormous it really is! It's also a chace to get a great view of the city! It's almost 2 miles long, so it takes a little while to get across, but I think it was well worth it!

Walking the streets



I think my favorite thing to do when I visit a city is to walk the streets. That's the best way to really get a feel for the culture, do window shopping, admire the houses and parks and people watch. I ended up walking from the Pier all the way to Union Square three times on this trip, which was quite a trek, but I loved it every time! I saw so many things - Chinatown, Washington Square Park, Lombard Street, cute homes and cafes and so much more.

Other highlights:

Some other great things I saw included Coit Tower (a great view of the city!), Cliff House (gorgeous restaurant on the coast with an awesome view of the Pacific Ocean), cable cars (although I didn't actually ride one, tragic, I know!) and Market Street (lots of shopping and fun buildings).

San Francisco is a great city! I highly recommend it! I would go back in a heartbeat. It has a very international feel. It was funny because I would be riding a bus or walking down a street and be surprised when I understood English all around me. At first, I thought it was only because I'm just used to touring international cities, but I think it is also because San Fran feels international. The people are very helpful and friendly. It's just a great city! I <3 San Francisco!!!

April Adventures

I have some great trips coming up in the month of April, so here's my latest travel update:

San Francisco, CA

This Friday I am going to San Francisco and I'm so excited! I've always wanted to go to this awesome city on the West Coast! I'm taking a group of HPU students on a Model UN trip, which I think will be a lot of fun! Also, as an added bonus, my friend Cassie is going to come into town for a couple of days to visit! Cass and her husband Tucker live in Redding, which is like 3 hours away and I've wanted to go and visit them, so I'm glad this is working out! Cass and I have been on many adventures together and I'm looking forward to another great trip!!

Machu Picchu, Peru

A couple of weeks after I get back from San Francisco I'm heading to a new city, country and continent! Lorin and I are flying to Peru to visit her husband Phillip, who is working there for a month doing a medical internship. We're flying into Lima and spending a couple of days there and then heading to Machu Picchu, an Incan lost city that is one of the 7 new wonders of the world! (For those keeping track, this will be my third wonder to see - including the Coliseum in Rome and Chichen Itza in Mexico, and don't worry! I planning on visiting them all at some point!)

This will also be my fourth continent to visit. I've obviously been to North America, and then Europe and Asia. Another travel goal is to go to every continent (except Antartica, that is just a little improbable), so I'm well on my way! Only Africa and Australia will be left after this trip!

Arms of Love

When was the last time you just let everything go? Like, literally everything? I thought I was pretty good at it ... coming home from work and letting work go. Going on a trip and forgetting about all of the stress and pressure that was waiting for me at home. Maintaining friendships in the midst of busy schedules, time zones and changes. But you know what? I've been holding onto all of that. Even when I was convinced I let it go from time to time. When I took time to spend with the Lord, I was still holding onto all of the ... stuff. I let it distract me from giving God my full attention.

Well, last weekend I went to a women's retreat with my church. The theme was "Creating a Sacred Space" and I knew going in to the weekend that we would be talking about putting aside all of our busyness and everything in our lives and making room for the Lord. The problem was, I didn't have time to make time for all of that. My life was too busy. Are you sensing the irony here? By the time I got to the retreat late Friday afternoon, I was ready for some rest. During our first session, our leaders were talking about putting aside everything that is on our minds - everything. We had a "Sabbath" box on the table and we wrote down things that we were going to lay aside for the weekend - work, communication with others, I had quite a list. Then our speaker was talking about finding rest in God. True, quiet rest. She described crawling up into God's lap and letting Him hold us.

I can't remember the last time I crawled into someone's lap and just let them hold me. I pictured that with God. Just sitting there, letting Him rock me, calming me worries and fears, taking all of my stress and throwing it away. Completely letting go of everything. It was amazing. I can't even describe how wonderful it felt to give it all over to the Lord. I guess as a single woman, I feel the need to take care of myself. I can ask for help, but ultimately I feel like I still have to always maintain control. There isn't anyone else around to take care of me. Just me. But you know what? That's not true. I've been lying to myself. My God is here to take over. He wants the control. He wants my worries and fears. He wants all me. He longs to wrap me in His arms of love and rock me. Oh sweet friends, I pray that you can experience that someday. It truly is the sweetest feeling. Now, I just need to remember how to do that every day. To crawl back up in my Father's lap and let him take control.

Trains and Toilets

So, I have some more stories to share about my adventure in Taiwan with Danielle. I had some new experiences that were unique, to say the least.

One day I went with Danielle and her friend Leah to a city on the south of the island called Tainan. We rode a high speed train to get there, which was pretty cool. Next to airplanes, this was probably my fastest speed of travel so far in my life. What would have taken us 8 hours by normal speed train only took 2, so that was pretty neat. Danielle and Leah had to do some work in Tainan, but we also got to see some of the big sights. We went to a Confucious temple, which was pretty interesting, and to a "castle" built by the Dutch and then rebuilt by the Japanese known as Anping Fort. The trees at the fort had these super long roots hanging down, and we enjoyed taking some pretty funny pictures. We also went shopping in a little market that was super cute. One of my favorite things there were these little waffle type things they made right there on the street in the shape of funny things like a chicken, motorcycle and gun. Brilliant, right? haha. On our train ride back to Taipei that night we found out that we were under a tsunami alert. It was kind of scary for me for a little bit, but praise the Lord nothing ever happened!

Another great adventure was to a very, shall I say unique, restaurant in Taipei called Modern Toilet. Several people on facebook commented that they had seen this place on the Food Network, but I can I just tell you that the real-life experience is far greater than anything you can watch on t.v. It was pure craziness! The toilet was their theme and boy did they stick to it! The food (which was not good at all!) was served in toilet and bathtub shaped bowls. We sat on toilets for our seats and ate on plexi-glass that was covering a bathtub. There were little swirls of pink poop on the wallpaper and poop shaped light fixtures. I told Danielle that I think I only enjoyed this experience because I was in Taiwan and it was so crazy that it was funny. Had I been in America, I probably would have thought it was disgusting. But, we definitely laughed a lot! Modern Toilet was in an area called Ximen, which is a fun pedestrian shopping area. I went there on my last trip too, and it's a great place to roam around and have fun!

Needless to say, these experiences were really fun. All in all, it was a fantastic trip! Taiwan is such a neat country full of beauty and warmth. I'm so glad I had to opportunity to return for a second trip and experience more of its greatness! Danielle was a wonderful host and it was great to get to see her in her element in her Asian home! Although, I must admit, that I'm ready for my best friend to come back to the U.S. in August!

Going and Coming

I'm home, finally! This may have been my most exciting travel experience to date. Going and coming back from Taiwan were both definitely adventures! I had such a wonderful time with Danielle! She is the best and we had so much fun together!!! I will tell you more about my trip in another blog- this post is dedicated strictly to my traveling stories. My, oh my!

Going

I attempted to leave for Taiwan on Thursday, March 3 at 10 a.m. When I arrived at the airport, I found out that because my passport was expiring in less than 6 months (June 25 to be exact) Taiwan wasn't going to let me in their country. So, I ended up having to go and get a new passport that day. It was crazy! But God took care of everything and I had a new passport and flight and was on my way about 8 hours later than anticipated. There were lots of crazy things that day - a parking bus that broke down, immediately followed by a broken escalator and elevator, my new flight to San Francisco was delayed ... it was a lot to take in, but thankfully I was not stressed or worried - I knew that I'd get to Taiwan eventually. My biggest concern was making sure that Danielle knew I wouldn't be coming in at 10 p.m. on Friday, but rather at 6 a.m. on Saturday. She did get the message, which was so good and we talked in the airport in San Francisco before I left for Taipei. I finally arrived at 5 a.m. on Saturday morning and continued a VERY long day until about 9 that night when I crashed.

Coming

As I'm sure all of you are aware, there was an earthquake that hit Japan on Friday, March 11. Well, I was still in Taiwan at that time. We were under a tsunami warning, but praise the Lord, we were not hit at all. I was concerned because I was supposed to be flying back to America via Tokyo on Sunday and so I called to check on my flights and they told me everything would probably be fine. Tokyo wasn't hit that badly and so I was trusting everything would work out. When I got to the airport on Sunday at 8 a.m., I found out that my flight had been delayed until 1 p.m. - I'm assuming because of the earthquake, but no real reason was given. Danielle's friends who brought me to the airport had to get back for church, so I said bye to them and entertained myself in the airport for a long time. I ended up getting sick around 9 a.m., but I think it was just because I hadn't had a lot of sleep. Great way to start the trip, though! haha. I boarded my plane for Tokyo at around 1 and as we were traveling down the runway, I found out that our plane had air conditioner problems and we'd have to get it worked on for a while. We sat on the runway for over an hour and finally left about 3 p.m. When we got to Tokyo, I knew I'd already missed my connecting flight for Dallas and that I'd have to be at the mercy of Japan Airlines to hopefully get back home sometime soon. They rescheduled me on a flight to LA that was leaving within 30 minutes so I rushed to that gate. One good thing was I was bumped up to Premium seating - which was really nice for my long flight! I had a nice cushy chair with a pop-up foot rest, lots of little amenities and I was able to sleep most of the time! I arrived in LA at 1 p.m. their time and was so thankful to be back on American soil! I had a four hour lay-over in LA, so I bonded with some of my fellow travel buddies who I'd been with since Taipei. There were some really sweet people and we all laughed and bonded over our exhaustion. Our flight ended up being delayed (surprise, surprise) and so I think we finally left LA around 6:30. We landed in Dallas at 11 p.m. - still Sunday to me (maybe the longest Sunday of my life) and when I called my parents they told me they were booking me a hotel for the night. I know they were really worried about me and all my travels - especially since I was by myself. I really just wanted to be home at that point, but since Brownwood is a good 3 hours from DFW airport, it would've been around 3 a.m. by the time I got home. So I took them up on their offer and stayed at the Sheraton that night. It was so nice to be in a bed! I woke up yesterday morning at 7 a.m. and drove back to Brownwood. Whew! I have no idea how many hours of traveling that was- but it was exhausting for sure! I felt like I got hit by a bus. Thankfully I was able to rest yesterday and now, I'm ready for the week!

As you can tell, I had quite a trip! I can't wait to share more about the fun things that I did in Taiwan! It is such a beautiful country, full of wonderful people, including my best friend! I had a blast! But I am glad to be home ... finally!

Taipei Take 2

Ni Hao!

I'm writing from Taipei, Taiwan on my second adventure in this wonderful city. I'm here visiting my best friend, Danielle, in her Asian home. Just like all of my other trips with Danielle, we have been busy pretty much non-stop. We've seen some really beautiful places, had some great food and I've met some wonderful people! There are still times, just like last year, when it just hits me that I'm in Asia. We'll round a corner, and WHOA, a smell will hit me. Or we will be walking down a street laden with flashing signs, millions of scooters and cars, smells and noises everywhere and I will experience a little sensory overload. Sounds fun and exciting, right? It totally is!

Danielle knows so much more about this city this time - she can get around by bus, carry on conversations with the shop owners trying to sell me crazy things and knows where to get all of the best food - like big chicken and jawza. Here are some pictures from the past few days.

Yangmingshan

Sharyl, Danielle and I hiking Yangmingshan Mountain

Dinosaurs at the National Taiwanese Museum

Leah, Danielle and I at the Shilin Night Market

Trying candied strawberrys - an explosion of flavor in your mouth!

Big chicken! It's as big as your face!

Flora Expo - so many gorgeous flowers!

As you can see, we are having a wonderful time! More pictures and stories to come!

Valentine's Jane Austen Style

Yesterday I had one of the most fun parties ever! We had a Jane Austen themed Valentine's party complete with scones, cucumber sandwiches, tea and so many other yummy treats. We watched Sense & Sensibility and the Jane Austen Book Club and just had so much fun! I just love bonding with friends over our adoration for Jane. We discussed our favorite characters and books. It was just a great afternoon of good food, good friends and good movies! I even got to use my grandmother's milkglass tea plates and cups! It was so special! Here are some pictures from our great (hopefully annual) party!

Our delicious spread of food - all scrumptious!

My co-hostess Maria

Heart-shaped chicken salad sandwiches

My teapot from Bath, England - where Jane Austen lived for a while

Jane Austen lovers - Maria, Katie, Beka, Candice, Keren, Jen and me!