Dream•sync

9:17 Local time (Mountain Time)

Just a quick update - Katie and I are packing up from our hotel here in West Yellowstone and heading out to the park today.  Tonight we'll be getting in to Jackson where I'm hoping to be able to upload photos from the day :) 

Now off to see the sights!

What a great trip so far :)

So here's Katie and I at the Rochester airport... at like 5 AM.  We were exhausted from the Square Dance and trying to pack that morning.  No makeup, no showers, and just back from a drive from Bath that was interesting... not to mention my extended stay in security :)

So Sunday night... we arrived in Salt Lake after boarding a little plane in Denver... that flight was mostly uneventful except for the creepy guy a seat back from me and across the aisle that kept winking at Katie whenever she would turn around to say something to me (she was in the seat in front of me)... and the woman who started hurling into the little puke bag next to me on the plane.  For those of you who don't know already, I'm a 'chain' hurler... so when someone else starts I have a VERY difficult time not hurling myself.  So it's only by God's grace that I didn't start right along with her.  I felt bad for her -but at the same time could not help for fear of needing my own puke bag...  blegh...

Got to Salt Lake, grabbed our luggage, and proceeded to pick up our rental car.  We're driving a white Dodge Caliber, which is actually a pretty nice vehicle.  Nice sound system too :)  And plenty of space for all our stuff...

So we piled it all in the vehicle, shut the doors, gave a loud shout of excitement and proceeded to drive off the rental lot :)

Some shots from the drive up to Logan...


See the 'B' on the side of the mountain?  Kinda felt like they were welcoming me :)

We got to Logan and drove around following both my printed directions and Katie's GPS.  Neither of which did us any good.  LOL  The hotel's address doesn't officially exist, so when mapping it - yeah.  We were in the middle of cow pastures LOL.  I finally called the hotel for directions and sure enough, it was on main street and so huge if we had actually just continued north through Logan there is no way we could have missed it.  Checked in and went up to our room :)


We showered, then ate at Texas Roadhouse, as most places are closed on Sunday in Utah.  Kinda feels weird, but good in an odd way.  Does make it hard to find places to eat :)  Took most of the food back to the room and crashed into bed at like 9:30 local time.  Absolutely exhausted, but thankful to be out here :)

Monday - I got to visit my company's new division's office out here - they are a recent acquisition so it's always a bit of a challenge walking in to what could be either an indifferent, or sometimes subtly hostile environment.  None of which applied to this visit.  The people here at the office are wonderful.  Got to meet and work with some great guys and have made some good progress on their website development plans.  Lots of meetings yesterday along with a tour of the facility, and then a meeting with their new external marketing consultant who I think will work out well.  I spent the day with them while Katie got groceries for the trip and did a bit of exploring and shopping.  Ate lunch at a local mexican place for lunch which was good, and they had recommended the Coppermill Restaurant for dinner.  Katie picked me up at 5 and let me drive - she wasn't feeling well at all.  I wasn't really hungry, so we went to Wal-mart to pick up so last minute supplies...



Once we picked up those we headed back into town to see about eating... and that's when Katie's lunch hit :/ Apparently she ate leftovers from Texas Roadhouse that may not have been refrigerated well enough, and she got food poisoning.  Not cool.  So we headed back to the hotel and I ordered room service so she could chill and recover from some bad meat...  Then it was laundry, and the hot tub :)  Followed by watching more Avatar and doing our nails... then sleep.

Tuesday - This morning I packed up the vehicle with my stuff and then Katie dropped me off at work.  Today I've pretty much taken pictures of every product that this group develops and markets in preparation for their website and new literature.  It's afforded me the opportunity to talk to a few more people, and to get a better handle on the products.  In about 30 minutes I'll say farewell to the crew here and will set out for Yellowstone.  First though, we're stopping at the Great Harvest Bread co.  AWESOME bakery that everyone here visits once a day.  Buy a drink, get a free slice of freshly baked warm bread and then try to to pick up their giant cookies and huge cinnamon rolls.  I'm going to pick up some fresh bread for the rest of our trip.  the smells in this place are absolutely wonderful...

So that should get you caught up to where I'm at now.  Between Katie and I we'll be taking pictures on the drive up to Yellowstone tonight.  Grabbing a hotel room and then tomorrow it's hiking around Yellowstone :)

More updates tomorrow night :)

1:32 pm Local time

What a whirlwind trip thus far...

In bed after the square dance followed by packing at 12:30 AM this morning... 2:30 AM wake up via cell phone alarm...  loading up the car and heading to Rochester and encountering 2 deer...  that's right - 2 deer on the highway while I was doing 75.  I am VERY happy with my brakes and God's grace to allow me to see them in time to stop :)

Made it to the airport and proceeded to get picked to have me camera bag examined more closely, i.e. everything came out of it and had to be scanned... I didn't realize how much tech I had stuffed into it lol

Got on the plane and headed to Dulles... arrived, hung out and got on the plane to Denver.  So here I sit in the Denver terminal waiting for the last flight of this leg of the trip... Salt Lake City :)

I am looking forward to getting to the hotel tonight...  and showering... and enjoying the pool...  not to mention enjoying the scenic drive up to Logan. 

And in case any of you are wondering why I'm giving so much info out on the blog - well - seeing as I no longer live alone and so therefore don't have to worry about my apartment being unoccupied... and how I don't allow Google to index my site for search engines...  yeah.  I'm ok with giving you a day by day review of the trip. 

So I'm hoping to upload photos of this leg later tonight.  Denver's got some weird site blocking software (though still thankful for the free WiFi)...

More to come!

Hey there... quick update for those of you interested in the apartment progress :)

Kitchen is painted, cabinets are up and my microwave and range are pretty much installed. Fridge and dishwasher get delivered within the hour. I have pics, but no time to upload, so those will have to wait. Bathroom is also painted, floor was delivered yesterday, and my tub is on order. Next up is choosing the right color for the living areas and bedroom. It's definitely coming together :)

On another note, I posted another flashback, this time of a dream I had journaled back in May of 2002 - almost 8 years to the day. Enjoy :)

Flashback - [Recount of May 16 2002 dream]

So before I entered the Blogger blogging world I had a xanga blog.  One which I've always thought about transferring to this one.  So last night I found it, logged in and went back.  Way back.  My first post was Thursday, February 10, 2005.  I apparently had the same issues with perfectionism then as I do now :)

I'm going to post these separately and label them 'Flashback'.  That way it's a bit more obvious - and I'll also be giving it the original post date too.  Enjoy :)

Flashback - First Post Ever.

Listening to: "Last Tango in Paris" by Gotan Project from their 'La Revancha del Tango' album.  Think French-Argentinian Tango music.  Very cool.
Reading: Started 'Captain Blood' which is not taking me nearly as much time to read as I thought it would.  Finding it interesting reading thus far.
Crafting: Still stitching a baby shower gift.   
Studying: Michael Warden's  'Alone with God'. Also digging back into the Beth Moore study on the Fruit of the Spirit. 

I am exhausted.  Mentally, emotionally, physically, & spiritually exhausted.  Most of that is simply because my life consists of intense times of work, worship, hanging out with friends, and sleep - all sandwiched between driving.  And I love driving :)  Gives me time to think about life - sometimes too much.  And it give me time to listen to music - which is a big mood effector.  And it gives me time to talk with my Lord.  And pour my heart out to Him.  To sing; to weep; to laugh; and to get frustrated at the driver in front of me who has no respect for anyone else on the road :)

For the first time in a long time I feel as if I am being poured out and really used in the lives of my friends.  That not only is the Lord using those things in the past that I used for His good to minister, but also those things from my past that I thought would never be redeemed.  Ever.  It's a heavy burden to bear - and though I had given those things to the Lord long ago, and had been forgiven, it was like I was still unwilling to let go of them.  I think, "It's my pain, my anguish - I should remain under that bondage of that anguish because I failed; I'm forgiven, but I failed." I still wrestle with letting those things go.  And it's humbling to realize that despite my failures the Lord still chooses to use me even in my brokenness.

I am a perfectionist.  I am also a detail person.  This actually comes in pretty handy with my job.  When I'm designing a website, every minor detail of code must be perfect, or the site breaks.  When it comes to life though, it's not such a good thing.  It makes me second guess everything I do for fear of disappointing myself or others I care about.  And living in a state of 'fear' is not a fun place to be. Which is why blogging is such a challenge for me :)  I think, "What happens if people read this and don't like it?  or interpret it wrong?"  and it takes me forever to get back to writing again, even though I find it extremely cathartic.

Anyway, life lately has been full of long, wonderful, and challenging conversations.  I am so thankful for friends who are comfortable enough to share things, as well as listen to me too :)  I only pray that that which I say and do that's of the Lord sticks - and that which I say and do from the flesh is forgiven and forgotten.

I want to be poured out for the Lord's glory and I feel that He's been doing that.  That also means I need to make sure I get filled back up with Him and not my own flesh.  Sadly I feel as if I've been trying to fill myself back up lately and I can tell.  I have definitely not been spending enough time in the Word.  So tonight after work is done I'm grabbing my Bible and hiking down to the pond for some reading. And maybe some studying.  And definitely some reflection & prayer.

Good news is - even though I have been wrestling with my flesh - the Lord is faithful.  Funny how He works too...  Because just as I was writing this Sanctus Real's 'Forgiven' song was playing on FLN.  I'll close this post with those lyrics.

Well the past is playing with my head
And failure knocks me down again
I'm reminded of the wrong
That I have said and done
And that devil just won't let me forget

In this life
I know what I've been
But here in your arms
I know what I am

I'm forgiven
I'm forgiven
And I don't have to carry
The weight of who I've been
Cause I'm forgiven

My mistakes are running through my mind
And I'll relive my days, in
the middle of the night
When I struggle with my pain,
wrestle with my pride
Sometimes I feel alone, and I cry

In this life
I know what I've been
But here in your arms
I know what I am

I'm forgiven
I'm forgiven
And I don't have to carry
The weight of who I've been
Cause I'm forgiven

When I don't fit in and I don't
feel like I belong anywhere
When I don't measure up to much in this life
Oh, I'm a treasure in the
arms of Christ ‘cause 

I'm forgiven
I'm forgiven
And I don't have to carry
The weight of who I've been
Cause I'm forgiven

Listening to: FLN though it's really full of static today for some reason...
Reading: Going to be gathering some books for this next trip I'm taking.  Right now looking at a 1930's National Parks portfolio which I'll be using in future blog posts and I've borrowed a copy of 'Captain Blood' which will take me forever to read but I've been told it's a good book...
Crafting: Stitching a baby shower gift.  For what seems like forever. Should turn out well though if I can get it done before the child turns 15 LOL. 
Studying: I've started a new devotional by Michael Warden called 'Alone with God'. I have thoroughly enjoyed this one so far - simple reading, great insight.  It's apparently exactly what I need at exactly the right time.