Flashback Fridays - Five Years Ago

Sitting on the steps of an outdoor ampitheater, basking in the sun, I thought to myself, "Soak it all in. This adventure will quickly dissapate leaving a renewed and changed soul." In reality my seventeen year old self was not that eloquent by any means. In all probability my thoughts went something like this; "Awesome! I'm here and I should enjoy it... dude." Confused yet? Five years ago I departed in July for my first overseas mission trip with an organization called Global Expeditions. My trip came about this way: I had a core group of friends in my homeschooler group in highschool. One weekend we decided to live it up and have a sleep over. The next morning while joking about drinking coffee [because i would never actually partake of it] I spied a magazine on the counter of my friends kitchen. Filled with colorful pictures and words like "Go" and "Adventure of a lifetime" I was soon filled with the desire to go to Romania and minister to those orphans.

After applying and raising over $3,000.00, I was off on a plane to Texas and then Romania. It was month filled with newly made friends, good looking translators named Sebi, dramas on the street complete with bruised hips and scraped ligaments, cuddling babies in a hospital, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches everyday, whole loaves of bread for breakfast, quiet times, exploring a humongous boarding school, meeting Jesus and sharing him with those I encountered. I miss this. I miss being in an unfamiliar environment and being stretched. I miss being thrown together into a team where none of the faces are familiar, but they are all wonderful.

My little sister departed last Saturday to go on a trip with the same organization that I had gone with to Romania all those years ago. At 15 years old, she wisely decided to stick with a two week trip instead of a month or two months. She is basking in the sun of Trinidad as I write, ministering to the locals and loving little children. It would be so wonderful to be in her place right now, but it's not my time. It is her time to have adventures and explore new places.

I will always remember that trip. I made lifetime friendships and made eternal memories.

Flashback Friday - The Kimmy Edition

Sometimes I just can't handle small children. I feel like I've said this before. I suppose this is because they aren't mine. It has to be different if they are your kids. 

Also, I love when people adopt. I think it is incredibly special and meaningful. All of the adoptive parents that I know really really love their kids. When I was in high school I had the privilege of nannying for the cutest kid ever. I was lucky enough to be at the airport when they got back from China. 

How cute was she? This must have been right after they got her since my album is labeled December 2006. Every time I see these pictures I just want to squeeze her adorable cheeks.

It's crazy how fast kids grow up. It seems like just yesterday I playing with her one year old self. Now she's five going on thirteen. It's too crazy.

Flashback Friday - Reflections

Indulge me for a brief moment [errr... post. whichever you prefer] as I reflect on post graduate life. If you have been reading for a while, you will know that I graduated from college a year ago this month. If you haven't been reading for a while, I just told you everything that you need to know. This past year has been hard. I've struggled with my job. I've struggled with being away from my friends. I've struggled with more than I had bargained for.

But it is all good struggling.

It was necessary for me to grow up in many ways. Being flung into the real world is more shocking and unexpected than most people would like to admit. Perhaps the hardest bit to grasp onto is the whole "working forty hours plus some" a week. I've done the whole full time working thing before. But not like this. I always had it split up between multiple jobs. That way I could bounce from place to place and not feel like I was continually doing the same thing. I worked mostly with people in food service and I nannied. And I was good at both. I'm a people person. I know how to throw a huge smile on my face and actually care about others even if they are just walking through my Starbucks for five minutes.

The job I have now I am not very good at. Which was a slap in the face. I knew that I would have a lot to learn. But not this much. I knew I would struggle with enjoying a desk a job. But not this much. For months I would sit at my desk and feel weighted down by everything expected of me and all the things that I didn't understand at this job. My attitude was slipping.

But it was good to struggle.

I cannot say that I am perfect at my job now by any stretch of the imagination. But I am catching on. I have changed the way I view my work, and that helps with attitude.

I certainly still have rough days. But they are are getting better.

So what pictures would I attach to something as morose as this?

Summers will never be the same now that I am employed full time. As my mother said, "The only way you get summers back is to have kids and be a stay at home mom."

Thanks Mom.

So, since I will never swim on a swim team again:

Nor will I ever be this tan again [my sister will always be pale as a vampire though!]:

Here's to the glorious summers that I did enjoy! Complete with swimming at the pool 24/7 and riding my bike to 7/11.

Adult summers are going to be wonderful as well if I have anything to do with it.

Here's to adventures with friends on nights and weekends. Cold Sangria. Ice Cream downtown. Weddings.

Bring it on.

Flashback Friday - In Honor of the Brother

This week was another birthday week. My dad turned 51 on Wednesday. My dog turned some age yesterday. My brother turns 19 today [i think he's 19, i can never be too sure]. Therefore, this Flashback Friday will be dedicated to the younger brother I never had.

The younger brother I never had is sensitive and outgoing at the same time. He wears popped collars and makes sure his khakis are always pressed with the perfect creases in the exact right place. He loves all things polo [the sport and the brand] and croquet. Sometimes he even indulges himself in some badminton. He is always seen sipping on Arnold Palmer or munching on Triscuits. His favorite book is The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery, and he can quote about half of the novella. Painting is his favorite pastime followed closely by Civil War re-enactments. Life is never dull for the brother I never had.

The brother I do have would scoff at the above paragraph filled with nonsense. Bryan is a writer along the lines of H.P. Lovecraft, Edgar Allen Poe, and Stephen King [although he thinks Stephen King is trash]. I read a chapter of his novel once. I haven't slept a full night since. Bryan works at Great Harvest Bread Bakery as one of the lead bakers. He works the ovens, makes scones and muffins, and is generally a very trusted employee. We benefit from his perks as he brings home fresh bread almost every day! So much for a low carb diet. Bryan heads to Saint Marys Honor College in the fall. Out of all the children in our family to go to college thus far, Bryan is the only one who has been accepted to an Honor's College [i should have applied to Cornell when i got the chance]. He's a smart one.

In honor of Bryan, I have decided to post some lovely pictures of him from his 13 year old days.

Definitely the ladies man. Even back then you could tell that he was becoming a brooding author filled with dark tales and intricate plot twists.

And to round things off a bit [he wasn't 13 forever, despite what people have told you] here are a few pictures from his 14 year old days with his neighborfriend Keaton. They were quite the pair.

At this point I was still taller than at least Keaton. Now he is 6 feet 3 inches or something. I am still 5 feet and 1 1/2 inches tall. Oye. Or shall I say 5 feet, 1 1/2 inches short.

Here is Bryan in the present [this was taken at Christmastime on our quarterly Outback Steakhouse trip with the other neighborfriends]. He has become quite the handsome young man if I do say so myself. I'm also biased. Please affirm me!

The happiest of birthdays to you, Bryan!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Flashback Friday - A Tribute

I know many of you have waited for this day with baited anticipation, just waiting for the shiny new disc to be in your possession. Well, today is it. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part One has made its way to DVD and Blue Ray just in time to make spring that much better. After perusing some blogs this morning, I found one joyful gal use her excitement for some artistic creations. You should seriously check it out. Her ideas made me want to leave work right now and go to the fabric store so I could create a beautiful Harry Potter themed apron of my very own.

It also made me want to throw a Harry Potter party with cute little snacks. I'm not sure if I'm too old for that, but I am going to go ahead and just say "no", I'm not old for the magical world of Hogwarts. If and when I do throw that party [i'm thinking right before the last one comes out in theatres on July 15th. you'd better believe that i will be at that midnight showing] I will also be baking these. I know you are thinking of not clicking on that link, but you should. It will blow your Harry Potter mind.

In honor of today I have a few "flashback" pictures to share with you. This would be the youngest sister in summer of 2009. We attended the midnight showing of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince with a bunch of hard core HP fans. In fact, there was audible crying in the theater when Dumbledore... I won't spoil it for you. Go read the series... now!

These last pictures are from my jaunt to London in spring of 2006. My father took a four month job there, so I was kind enough to venture "across the pond" and visit. I know, pretty selfless of me.

My brother was in college at the time, and it just so happened that his spring break and my being homeschooled lined up perfectly!

So we took in the sites [all the free ones that is], and we literally only ate out once because everything is so pricey over there. Thankfully all those great museums are free to the public. Below is my father and brother imitating a Greecian statue [i think?] at the British Museum.

It was a fantastic ten days spent in the city, and I know that I didn't see everything that was available. Someday I would like to go back and explore again. And next time I am searching for Harry Potter. I will find him. And I will be accepted to Hogwarts. [it's not creepy that I would be way to old for a school like that, right?]

Happy Harry Potter day! How will you be celebrating?

Flashback Friday - Pre-Lane Nostalgia

As I have been going through some of my older pictures, I am reminded by my epic visits to Gordon pre-Gordon education. I fell in love with the school while my sister studied and worked in its hallowed halls. She left for school at the beginning of my 11th grade year if I am remembering correctly, and I visited her at least three or four times while she was there for her two years. Almost every time I visited, Lauren would work at least once, and I would join her. The rules in our school cafeteria, Lane, were a bit more relaxed back in the day. Once I scooped icecream and made fraps for about 3 hours sans pay. It was wonderful. 

People often wondered at school why I loved Lane so much. I could work there forty hours a week and still be enamored with the crusty blue polo shirts and slick tile floor. I loved the 'fry-a-lator' and the sandwich line. I loved the pizza oven and dough press. I loved the sound that students cards made as they were swiped through the check out machine. I did not love taking out the trash. The bags were often five sizes bigger than I. I loved the chefs. I loved cutting vegetables in the morning with Katherine. I loved being scared to death by Glen when he his around corners. I loved working stir fry with Nasser as he tried to teach me how to flip the food as I cooked it in the pan [those poor students who I threw food on]. I loved having a question of the day for all the students that came through the stir fry line. I loved how close I became to the people I worked with for hours on end.

So now you know. This love for a cafeteria started young. I didn't even attend the establishment yet when the feelings started to build and grow inside me. I just can't help the connection.

I've got a double chin in the picture below... what? I totally rock it.

Some more sister pictures. I cried the day we dropped Lauren off at college. It was kind of traumatic for me.

Melissa joined me on this little Gordon trip in 2006. We stayed in Lauren't apartment. Worked at Lane. I made peanut noodles that were far to peanut buttery. Ech, I can still taste it.

I know that I have been thinking about Gordon a lot for a few reasons.

1. I am visiting that great school this weekend for a friend's birthday

2. I am coming up on a year that I've been gone [where does the time go?]

3. I have some really dear friends abroad this semester, and I miss them

I wonder if other people are as attached to their alma mater as I am.

Are you?

Flashback Fridays - The Community College Edition

My observations over the years from not only those I see on facebook, but in the real world as well [i have to have one credible source], has lead me to this conclusion: Highschool was about looking good and having semi-normal friends that partied with you. I'll admit right off the bat that neither of these fit my description of highschool as I had been literally trapped in my home until then. Until I was fourteen my mother shoved books at me while I wept in the corner daily. Yes, I was homeschooled. To change my upbringing in highschool seemed unthinkable, so my parents sent me to a tutorial for homeschoolers where we all sat around staring at our shoes because social skills was not a gift that had been bestowed upon us or nurtured. To complete the social awkwardness coffin my parents had prepared for me, I was sent to the local community college at the ripe old age of sixteen. Now I was by far the youngest student in any of my classes and blushed violently when my acting teacher said anything about sex. I actually wore a Red Delicious apple color on my face when anyone said anything about physical contact. 'What do you mean they kissed each other on the lips?' Twitch. [interestingly enough, this has never gone away] Aside from my near to non-existant social graces in class, I at least had my normal circle of friends who 'kept it real'. Right?


You decide.


Let me preface these pictures by explaining that it was not in fact Halloween. It was a normal school day at the Community College.

I laugh at these pictures now because we did actually have our heads on straight. And all of these people are friends I wish you had, because they are great. The one with the pink hair? I had margaritas with her this week, and we actually communicated on a normal social level while recieving only smiles from those around us. There was no mocking and laughing that I was aware of. These pictures just must have been from 'Wig Day' at the school. That must be the answer. It has to be.

Flashback Fridays - The Puppy Edition

I love puppies. I also love dogs. That's like saying that I love small children, but adults? Eh.

Anyways. In honor of Flashback Fridays I would like to share some pictures of my favorite dog with you. When we purchased Orly from the SPCA she was a wee little thing. She used to fall asleep at night when we watched movies in the family room. Just for fun we would pick her sleepy self up and set her four legs on the ground. For a moment she would be okay, then she would collapse. Is that cruel? More funny and super super cute than cruel [i think].

Orly was really just the cutest puppy. I can never remember what she is a mix of, but she kind of looks like a dingo. Below is a picture of a dingo. After that is a picture of Orly from last week. Resemblance? I think yes!

Except her ears flop more than a dingos.

Orly ruled the roost for about three years. She replaced my sister when she left for college [as all children should be replaced]. It was a fitting change as Orly is incredibly noble and likable, very much like my sister. We missed Lauren, but it was a good trade [let's be honest, it was fantastic]. We all wanted a dog growing up, and our first [save for Chico who was a crazed maniac and who promptly returned to the SPCA after two days] was wonderful. She was everything dog is supposed to be. Loyal yet wild. Cute yet regal. Fiesty yet calm. Like I said, everything a dog should be.

Then my dad picked out this dog to replace me when I went to college.

Seriously?

Flashback Friday - The Tuesday Edition

I realize that it is indeed Tuesday. Not Friday.

However, I totally blanked this past Friday when it came to posting pictures of yesteryear. I was so caught up in what had happened the week before, that my mind didn't even gravitate towards the past. Let us not dwell on insignificant details, however. Instead let us view pictures of those near and dear to me who are much older now.

This is the little brother in 2005. That means that he was thirteen... I think. My math is horrendous. This was the summer [as referenced in my last Flashback Friday] that we lived at the pool, thus his streak of blond and unusually tanned skin.

Bryan just graduated from the community college this past December at the ripe old age of eighteen. I am so proud of him for that wonderful accomplishment. Now he is applying to four year schools so he can finish up his degree. He is quite the writer, and while I would never read anything that he writes [not totally true, but mostly true. i'm not into horror novels or psychological thrillers], he really is very talented. He weaves words together in a way that my mind will never quite grasp.

Quite the difference, eh?

This next picture is of my younger sister Meredith and my next door neighbor Meredith. We do the same name thing just to keep it confusing. My sister must have been around nine when this was taken. The other Meredith was probably eleven or twelve [wow, i really can't figure this out in my head. seriously, what is my deal?]. They both look super young because they were [simple].

Here is my little sister today [the picture is actually from August, but who's really counting]. She is going to be sixteen this year. That involves a drivers permit, 11th grade in the fall, varsity lacrosse and just looking older. I am not ready for this!

Lastly we have the beautiful and talented other Meredith. This Meredith graduates highschool in May and has applied to ivy league schools because she is incredibly bright and intelligent. She is also an incredibly talented actress and will be in 'Our Town' this spring playing one of the lead roles. I'd like to just go ahead and say that I taught her everything she knows [totally false, but i feel like i should be in the credits somewhere for her life accomplishments]. I am always impressed by this young lady and her talents.

Flashback Fridays

Rituals are comforting in a world of turmoil coupled with the unknown. That is why I have decided to start a little tradition here on sepia toned vignettes. Every Friday I will be drawing from the scores of photos that I have taken over the years and show you a bit of my past.

Today we are going back to the summer of 2005. What can I tell you about that year. Well, according to the pictures the only thing I did during that summer was swim and hang out with my next door neighbors. I do believe that I was more tan during that glorious summer than I ever will be again.

It also marked, if I remember correctly, the year my dear sister started her adventure at a four year school. So that summer was also marked by the impending doom of her departure. Therefore, let me share with you just a few pictures of what that summer looked like like for me.

I swam every day at the local pool on our community swim team. Let's be honest for a moment, I was horrendous at this sport. I was slow. My form wasn't very good. My butt got kicked in almost every single race I was ever in. But, I had fun. Competitiveness doesn't play such a big part when you suck at something.

Our next door neighbors helped us throw a superhero party. Apparently this obsession with Marvel and DC has stemmed from a long history of dressing up and pretending that we had powers. That's normal, right?

My litter sisters were tiny. Not the one in the middle. I'm not related to her. Awww... little J. and her sun/chlorine bleached hair. Sometimes it even looked a little green she swam so much.

This looks like one of those super awkward family photos. It was taken in Ocean City really close to when Lauren left us. Our neighbors wanted to have a special overnight in her honor. Seriously, why would anyone ever pose like that unless they were forced too?

Below is the girl I spent nearly the entire summer with either by going to the pool or playing cards. Phase Ten was our card game of choice, and boy did we ever own it. I don't think I have even attempted to play that game since 2006.

Here we are posing at Lauren's final dinner before shipping her off. My skin looks like I went through a dozen tanning sessions at my favorite spa. But at least everyone else did it as well! We could be from the Jersey Shore if we teased our hair enough. Except for the sister. She will never look like she is Italian or from the Jersey Shore. The skin gives her away.

Uno mas. Here is the prom dress I bought for $12. It was quite possibly one of the biggest deals I have ever found. What a lovely reminder to look for another ball gown of sorts for the Ring Dance in May. If I find one as cheap as this, I may just possibly have a gift. The gift of clearance shopping.