As many of you have so kindly told me, too long between posts! :)
I had some deluded idea that since I am only working part-time I would get back to emails faster, blog more, in general, stay in touch with people better... I then realized, I am good at keeping myself busy :)
Since I last wrote, I have had many exciting adventures. The weekend of September 11, I went to State College to visit my friend Clair - I know her from my time in El Paso - and my friend Kendra - also studied at UP. Then Clair and I went to Mountain Craft Days with her friend Carrie, whose grandfather has a treadle powered lathe. So of course, we had to dress for the occasion. And I learned how to make bobbin lace :)
Carrie's mom was also instrumental in organizing the Flight 97 Memorial in Shanksville, so we went to the Luminaria Ceremony on Sept. 10 to pay our respects. It was a very beautiful ceremony with a Luminaria for ever person who died in the attacks on 9/11. It was very interesting to observe the various emotions present.
I also got to travel for work and do recruitment for the program which was lots of fun! I went to Meadville, Washington, New Wilmington and Pittsburgh, PA. All of which were new to me and a great adventure :) I went to a museum and learned all about Heinz Ketchup, the Steelers, the French Indian War, and the Pittsburgh population. I also went to a Slovakian store near New Wilmington and learned about tin work. This mural in Meadville was one of the coolest things I saw. It was a collaboration between Allegheny College and DOT.
The second part of my recruitment trip took me to the NW. I, of course, had no objection to being 'sent home' for work. I got to visit Walla Walla and Spokane, WA, as well as Portland, McMinville, and Salem, OR. And this great little town called Hillsboro where a bunch of people who share my DNA live :) It was so nice to be home again, after only being away for two months. Plus, I was able to return from Spokane via Seattle and visit family there (don't look at a map, it isn't 100% on the way back to Hillsboro :) ) And I got to see Amy (my sister) PR in her cross country meet! The long drives around WA were also beautiful and a great time to learn some Chinese, catch up on phone calls (with a blue tooth), and contemplate the meaning of life :-P
In the small amounts of time I have been home, I of course have been doing absolutely nothing :) Some of those highlights are going to a Redskins game - a neighbor gave me and my roommate tickets he couldn't use. It was a GREAT game.
My house has also been hosting weekly dinners for all our friends every Friday - often the highlight of my week! Just keeping my housewife skills up cooking for usually 15-20 people. It really becomes loaves and fishes and with all the food other people bring, my roommates and I eat left overs for the rest of the week - like these homemade fortune cookies that my friend Amanda made. We also have lots of adventures as a house. Like apple picking- we over course dressed for that occasion too - and monster making for Halloween :)
We have also had lots of visitors to our humble abode. My friend Kirsten that I know from church choir in Oregon spent a night with us, her mom Eileen came a few weeks later and we got to catch up over some amazing Macaroni Grill, and my friend Sara from El Paso came for a weekend and got to go to the Wider Circle 10 year anniversary gala with me :) We got all fancied up.
So at long last, there is an update on my life - I know it is long but at least there are pictures! It hasn't all been amazing, just so you all don't think I have some perfect life. A few of the scarier happenings were when my rental car stopped working (decelerated from 70 to 35 in about 10 seconds) on a highway or when I was hit by a car while biking (the bike and I are both fine, and I was not even doing anything crazy!) but the moral of the story is that when my life is in balance and I focus on all these positives, the negatives are just small speed bumps :)
Oh, and I almost forgot. I leave my house tomorrow at 4:00am to go to China for three weeks. :) I am chaperoning a student trip for work. There will be 25 of us - 23 students and one professor and me :). We get to go to Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Shenzhen. I AM SUPER EXCITED... Should probably pack... Will definitely update you on that adventure when I get back! And will probably not be responding to emails and such much while away, so no worries if I am AWOL. :)
Remember to smile and hug your loved ones,
~ Karen
