Sunshine, Muffins, and a Cat Named Semper--Spring Break Day 6

Waking up is hard to do! My first thought upon waking up (well, opening my eyes and trying to make thoughts become words) was ::OMG SUN!:: We woke up a bit later than originally planned, but in our defense we went to bed decently late. We did still wake up in time to make muffins for breakfast, which my grandparents greatly appreciated. After reviewing the NCAA initial matchups over orange juice, coffee, and muffins, Steph and I made consistent progress with the rest of our getting ready/packing without being rushed. I managed to snap some photos of the pergala my grandparents are building over their back patio with the sunshine and a little bit of green grass. As we left, my grandfather gave us 3 CDs he had made of dance music. He's a part time dj, so he has quite a variety of music. Every once in a while, I'll let him know if something new comes up in the country world that he might be able to use. Steph and I were quite excited with the CDs, as we're both huge fans of dance music and random dance parties. (Videos we WON'T be putting on youtube...)

After we said our goodbyes, we hit the road for a nice sunny drive to Morehead City, North Carolina. On the way, we stopped in Jacksonville to have lunch with Steph's cousin's wife Lauren. Steph's cousin Jordan is a Marine stationed in Jacksonville; he and his wife (both originally from MD) have lived there since November, when they were transferred up from Georgia. Apparently, the Marine base in Jacksonville, Camp Lejeune, is the largest Marine base on the east coast. Spiffy. We chatted with Lauren for a while, and met their dog Casey as well as their cat Semper. After a bit of talking and looking through wedding pictures (Lauren and Jordan will be celebrating their two year anniversary this summer...so cute!), we finally got to eat. Between our cooler and Lauren's kitchen, we pulled together some sandwhiches and cookies to hold us over for the next few hours. As we were getting ready to leave, we were surprised by Jordan coming home early from work. We hadn't expected to see him, but he apparently was able to finish early and had good timing ariving back at his house. Snapped a few photos, said hello/goodbye and it was back on the road for Steph and me.

Jacksonville had been about 2hrs from my grandparents' house, and it was only another mile or so to Morehead City. We found our hotel (conveniently located next to a grocery store!), checked in, and proceeded to relax for the rest of the evening.Videos on youtube :)

Quote for the day: "She likes to be pet with your feet" ~Lauren

Peace y'all.

It's not raining!--Spring Break Day 5

Happy St. Patrick's Day, belated at this point, but it's the sentiment that counts! Steph and I both wore green to commemorate the day. A recap of the day...

Being rather tired from our adventuring the day before, we slept in and had French Toast brunch around 1300. After food and getting ourselves cleaned up, we decided to take an easy day and stick close to Calabash. Our first stop was our trusty friend WalMart. We needed a few more misc things and decided we could buy them cheaper at WalMart. Steph was on the hunt for a charm to add to her charm bracelet. She wanted something that represented our journey through North Carolina (and some diversions into South Carolina--woohoo Myrtle Beach). The previous day's hunt hadn't turned up anything that Steph really loved or felt was worth the money. WalMart didn't turn up anything either, but we still were able to grab things like lip gloss and other girl things. Also, I found Peeps :D They have orange ones now! Oh sweet marshmallow and sugary goodness!

Anyway...after WalMart, we went back over to Sunset Beach so Steph could seef it without the rain and fog. Despite the clouds, we did catch a glimpse of the sunset on Sunset Beach :) We dropped by the Sunset Beach gift store to browse quickly then headed back over to Calabash. We met up with my grandparents at a cute little pizza joint called Tony's pizza. It actually reminded me alot of a little pizzeria near my house where I like to go with my parents when I'm home. After dinner, Steph and I stopped into Calahan's so I could grab a snow globe. I used to love collecting snow globes when I was little, but these days they're hard to come by. I was quite excited to find one :) I want to start collecting them again, so everywhere I go I'll be searching!

So a nice, chill, relaxing day required some evening entertainment. Stopped home at my grandparents' house to freshen up and dump our bags, then headed down to visit the guys again. We brought along a bag of our chips to eat and share, since the guys, being typical guys, had a house full of drinks and not much in the way of food. Upon our arrival, there wasn't much going on. Gridiron Gang was on TV and was passing for entertainment while a few others stood around talking or moseying around their rooms. We watched the last half hour or so of Gridiron Gang (for those of you who haven't seen it, it's your typical underdog football movie), then quickly set to work rectifying the lack of entertainment and energy level. Steph had brought along her iHome, so after some courtesy Irish rock in honour of St. Patrick, we put on some dance music and tried to move some energy through the house. When our dancing didn't catch on right away, despite popular tunes, we knew what we had to do. Enter Mr. C the Slide Man. We put on Cha Cha slide and hollered at everyone to join us. Lo and Behold, it worked! We were quickly joined by about a third of the guys, as well as one or two of the other girls. The Cha Cha Slide ended, but the fun was just beginning. We joined in a game of cards that goes by several different names. For my purpsoses here, I'll call it President. We played cards and listened to country music for about an hour and a half with Steph taking several wins. Around 0100 we said our goodbyes and departed with the music, sorry guys, but the iHome came with us and leaves with us. If we had any doubts as to whether we made ourselves likeable, they were quickly removed. As we were leaving, a couple people asked if we were coming back any other nights. When we informed them that no, sadly we couldn't, as we had to continue our travels, the news was not well recieved. Leave it to us to bring the party.

On our way out of Myrtle Beach, we stopped by a WalMart (quickly becoming our favourite road trip store!) to grab more sodas for the road, and some treats for my grandparents as a way of saying thanks. Breakfast muffins and brownie mix--yum yum. We headed home, did laundry, and packed/ consolidated as much as we could of our stuff. Sleep was not far from us, and once we were prepared to wake up and do only what was necessary, we crawled into bed and proceeded to dream land. A fun and relaxing wrap up to the first half of our spring break adventures.

Quote for the day: "He sounds like a hippo giving birth" ~Danny

Peace y'all.

P.S. Common Sense Life Lesson for the day: When giving someone directions, use street names. "That street that runs next to Calahan's" isn't terribly helpful when the store sits on a corner and fronts two streets. I love my grandparents :)

The Adventure Continues! Spring Break Day 4

So I'm a day late in posting this but I was too tired to post when I got back last night. I'm going to regret staying up to post tonight, but I know if I don't, I'll forget things.

Day 4 was our big adventure/shopping day. Despite the rain, we headed down to Broadway at the Beach, a touristy place in Myrtle Beach with boutiques, restaurants, and other entertainment. It took us a while to get there, because we got a little lost on the way. Surprise surprise. What day is complete without us getting lost, especially if I'm driving? Once we finally arrived, we hit up a few stores, then decided to grab pretzels at Auntie Anne's before heading to the mall to make the most of our time and limited money. Since it was a rainy day, there were a decent number of people at the mall, but not crowded. In the food court, I made a wonderful discovery. I found Chic Fil A!!! This made me very excited, as I was lamenting the loss of chic fil a fries while away from school. (Side note: if zombies ever attack UMBC, they better leave Chic Fil A intact). We managed to browse a variety of stores before the mall closed at 2100.

Once we were done shopping, we called for directions to the house in North Myrtle Beach where we knew some of my friends from UMBC are staying this week. Upon arriving on their street, we drove up and down for a bit, but found the house. Apparently in South Carolina, they don't believe in posting house numbers in visible areas. Go figure. In any case, we hung out there talking to the guys and playing games till around 0130ish. We said goodbye, headed back to my grandparents' and went straight to bed. We grabbed our electronics and other valuables, but left most of our shopping stuff in the car since we were tired and just wanted to sleep.

That about sums up Day 4 of our wonderful adventures. More to come! As always, video diary of the trip is being continued on youtube if you search Stephanie and Devon's Spring Break Adventures.

Quote for the day: "No tienes nada!" ~Me and Steph

Peace y'all.

P.S. Common Sense Life Lesson for the day: Put numbers on the house where they're easily seen by day or night from the road, not from 2 feet away.

Knick Knacks, Jigsaws, and Rummy--Spring Break Day 3

The adventure continues! Yay!! Today was very relaxing, which was what we needed after two days of driving. We slept in, Steph til 1100ish, me till 12ooish. By the time we had eaten breakfast, gotten cleaned up, and eaten lunch, it was about 1530. We set out for Sunset Beach, the local island beach where my family vacations every summer. It was cold, rainy, and misty, but we had lots of fun and of course, took many pictures and continued our video diary. We only took 4 videos today, and the saga continues on youtube. Search for Stephanie and Devon's Spring Break Adventure :)

The misty fog from the drizzle was actually a very nice touch, in my opinion. It made for some neat pictures. A little photo shop to up the contrast on some of them gets the full effect of what the camera couldn't quite capture. After galavanting around the beach and frolicking in water so cold it'll give your toes hypothermia (lol I love you Steph) we zipped over to Calahan's. This store is hug, and pure beach touristy goodness! Everything you could want in a beach tourist shop and more, including a whole wing of Christmas items, lots of salt water taffy, and a fudge counter. We found a kitty in the Christmas section!! Her name was Spooks; she was black with white on her paws and chest. ADORABLE!! She was very friendly :) I didn't buy anything, as I didn't have money on me, but I established a couple things I'd like to get when we go back (which of course we will!) Today was preview shopping, which actually helps you save money on impulse buys. Heaven knows I could buy 90% of that store if I had the money!! OH, one of the cool things I saw there...THEY HAVE SNOW GLOBES!!! I can never find those anymore. I used to have a whole passle of them when I was little, but nowadays it seems like nobody ever has them, except maybe at Christmas. They make good Christmas gifts, esp as a gag gift (hehehe...).

We returned home to my grandparents' house in time for a lovely dinner of Turkey, broccoli, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and rolls. So yummy! After dinner we chit chatted with my grandparents for a while, then cleared the table and went to work on a jigsaw puzzle. This puzzle is very unique, in that it is not a rectangular puzzle! It's sea turtles and some other aquatic life, and the puzzles peices are odd shapes. Parts of the puzzle go every which way, and it was tricky, but Stephanie ended up finishing it after we took a break to play rummy and eat Ben and Jerry's Mint Chocolate Chunk ice cream.

Tomorrow, or rather later today by this point, Steph and I will continue our adventures in Myrtle Beach. We're waking up earlyish to have breakfast and head down to Broadway at the Beach, then the mall. Shopping here we come!!!

Quote for the day: "I think my toes have hypothermia!" ~Steph
Quote #2 for the day: "Muy si!" ~Devon

Peace y'all.

Stephanie and Devon's Spring Break Adventure

So we're wrapping up day two of our lovely adventure. It was fun but tiring. Thankfully for me, Steph was the one driving today, so I'm less tired than yesterday. I got the fun part today...navigation. Woohoo for Devon learning how to read a map!

Today started around 1115. Well, my day did. Steph was up around 0930. She also went to bed about two hours before I did, so it all evens out. I was tired but finally dragged myself out of bed in the interest of watching the UMBC vs Binghamton basketball game. It was the America East Championship, and the winner continued on to the NCAA. Unfotunately UMBC lost ::cry::. Then again, I don't think anyone really expected us to even make it to the Conference Championship this year since our team didn't have last year's success rate. It'll be Binghamton's first trip to the NCAA, so congrats to them for making it that far, but I'll still be rooting for whoever plays against them.

Once the game was over, I finished my homemade breakfast of eggs, bacon, toast, and coffee (the essential), and got myself cleaned up for the day while listening to Queen (<3333 so much). Packed up my stuff, did the dishes, said goodbye to my uncle, my cousin, and my uncle's wife (step-aunt?) and hit the road with Steph around 1530. Since Steph was driving, I got to do the video diary. Yay!! We took 9 videos today, bringing our total to 15 videos in two days. You can see them on youtube if you search "Stephanie and Devon's Spring Break Adventure". Woot.

So once again, it took us about much longer than originally planned to reach our destination. From Lake Gaston, up on the border of VA and NC, to Calbash, on the border of NC and SC, should have taken about 4.5--5 hours including stopping for gas/ice/krispy kreme. We took 6 hours. Blehhhh. We got a bit discombobulated when we were on the highway. We got on the right highway, southbound interstate 795, but shortly after getting on, there apparently is a split with 795 and eastbound NC state route 264. We eneded up traveling aproximately 45 minutes east toward the coast when we were supposed to be going south toward Calabash. Joyous. In any case, we found a road that would take us back down where we needed to be and got back on track. All in all, it was just another part of the adventure. Plus it was kinda scenic...we got to see some horses and very rural areas of NC. Finally got to my Grandparent's house just before 2200. My amazing wonderful grandmother had kept meatballs and sauce warm for us since whenver she ate dinner, and fed us after we arrived. Nothing like warm food to take the edge off after a long day of driving in the rain.

So I think that about covers day 2...Music enjoyed today included Queen, Kelly Clarkson, The Jonas Brothers, Lifehouse, The Killers, David Archuleta, and various artists/songs from my "f*** you" playlist including All American Rejects, Dixie Chicks, Simple Plan, and many more! Going to finish up some AIM convos now and head to sleep. Hooray for sleeping in! More updates tomorrow.

Quote for the day: "We have ourselves and a camera. There will be entertainment!" ~me

Peace y'all.

P.S. Common Sense Life Lesson for the week day: Don't assign the half-deaf guy at the gated community guardhouse the responsbility of talking to people as they come in. It makes it rather tedious and frustrating for both parties when you're saying something over and over again, and he's not hearing you over and over again, even though he's less than 6 inches from you.

SPRING BREAK!!

So today was day 1 of the Adventures of Stephanie and Devon, Spring Break '09. Not that it feels all that much like spring, but hey, a little rain won't stop us from having fun. We've got cameras and country music, we're good to go. currently we're watching a very quality movie called "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days". Fabulous!! I'm a discredit to the fairer sex when I admit that this is my first time seeing this movie. I am greatly enjoying it though. How could anyone dislike a movie where the very premise is a woman playing games with a man? Granted he's playing games with her too, but what's the fun in playing games if you're playing alone? It's only really fun if they fight back.

Back to the trip...Steph and I left College Park shortly before 2pm this afternoon. According to GoogleMaps, our trip to my counsins' house on Lake Gaston in North Carolina was expected to take a little over 4 hours. Add in Richmond traffic, and we were probably looking at closer to 5ish hours. The end result? 7 hours. GAH!!! It took us over three hours to get from College Park to Fredricksburg, VA, a journey that's usually 2ish hours (1.5 with the way I drive >_>). We averaged about 12 miles an hour for most of that part of the trip. Thank God for music and "Would You Rather". Once we finally made it to Fredricksburtg, we stopped for gas then drove around for 15 minutes trying to access the WalMart we'd seen from the road. As luck would have it, due to one way streets and no u-turn intersections, it took us rather a bit to finally make our way to WalMart. Once there we bought drinks and snacks for the road. We had chips in the car but wanted someting a bit more substantial since we were not going to arrive in Lake Gaston by dinner as originally planned.

Of course no road trip adventure would be complete without getting lost trying to get back to the highway. Have I mentioned I fail at city driving? Long story short, I got confused (oh so shocking) coming out of the parking lot and got lost for a bit, but thanks to some friendly cashiers at a CVS we were able to make our way back to the highway. The benefit of our little detour was that by this time, most of the traffic had thinned out, and we were able to go somewhere around the speed limit for the rest of the trip. Steph fell asleep for a bit, but I eventually had to wake her up once we got to the border of VA and NC so she could navigate for me.

The rest of the trip was fairly easy, except I discovered that my driver's side windshield wiper is not clearing properly, and is conveniently leaving a not so clear splotch right in my line of vision. Joyous. I mentioned it to my Uncle and he said he'll take a look at it tomorrow (or later today by this point, seeing as it's after 3am). Spent the evening chilling out watching TV and chit chatting with everyone since we've been here, very relaxing. We'll stay here for most of tomorrow/today and head down to Calabash, NC to crash with my super awesome grandparents for a few days.

Okay, sleep now as I'm very tired and my battery is dying on my laptop. I'll charge my baby overnite then write more as our adventures progress. We're making a video diary of our trip, so many pictures and videos to come, both here and on facebook.

Quote for the day: "If WalMart was a person, I think I'd marry it. I'd call it Wally!" ~Steph

Peace y'all.

P.S. Common Sense Life Lesson for the week: When stopping at a store in a strange city, remember how to get out of the shopping are and back to the main road. Woohoo for Devon being directionally challenged.

Perspective

I'm realizing I've been getting caught up in petty things lately. Everyone tells me how I'm so mature for getting over the breakup so quickly, and that's good I guess. To truly care about someone is to let them go, without knowing if they'll ever come back. To truly care about another person is to want what's best for them more than your personal ideal situation. That's what's made this easy for me. My greatest desire is for him to be ok and happy with his life. Am I over the breakup? Yes. Am I over him? Just about.

I have so much for which to be grateful. God has blessed me beyond anything I could have ever deserved or wanted, starting with Christ's sacrifice on my behalf. Think about it: God gave up his only son. He gave up the person He loved most to save people who had no regard for Him. That really is love. I could never do that. I could never be so unselfish as to sacrifice the people I love most to help someone who didn't care about me, with no guarantee that my sacrifice would move any sort of response to them. That's just...wow. Beyond comprehension.

I've been complaining about school so much lately. I need to take a step back and realize school is a privelege, not a right or something to be expected.

Some things I can be thankful for: My parents are paying for me to go to a great school. I have an amazing family, some of the most wonderfullest awesomest friends anyone could ask for. My life is relatively drama free, I'm healthy, my family is healthy, we live comfortably despite the tough economic crap. I really am spoiled, and lived a semi charmed life. So my classes are boring and easy. All the more reason to do well! I have the freedom to worship my saviour wherever and whenever I please without fear of persecution. Billy and I are still friends, and the breakup was not ugly or drama or forcing anyone to pick sides. I have everything I need for life without having to do hardly anything for it. I never have to worry about where my next meal is coming from, or if I'll be waking up tomorrow, or if I'll have clothes to wear.

So many people have so much less, and are still making the best of their lives without complaining all the time. I knew two girls in high school who lost their mothers to cancer. They were both two of the sweetest girls I ever knew, and I never heard either of them complain. I met a friend of a friend the other day, and he seemed like a chill kid. He seemed content with his life, and happy to be who he was. He's a cool kid. I was reading his blog earlier tonight, and discovered that this seemingly happy go lucky kid has experienced some of the worst things life can throw at you, and is on the verge of another tragedy. It amazed and inspired me so much. You'd think anyone who'd had such a sucky life would be jaded and bitter, but this guy is exactly the opposite. His situation reminds me yet again of how much I've been given in life and how much I've been blessed.

Thank you, my new friend, for your example. You are an inspiration and an example. You are in my prayers every day. I am praying that God sends his angels to comfort you and give you strength. Many hugs!!

Peace y'all.

P.S. Common Sense Life Lesson for the week: When traveling to an unfamiliar destination, plan extra time to account for getting lost and trying to figure out how to get there.

Unity is Coming!!

I'm super excited!! Echo and Intervarsity are finally starting to hang together!! This is what I've been hoping for since I got here!! There is so much disconnect among the various Christian groups on campus, and this semester it looks like we're finally starting to form some cohesion. Echo, now called OneU, isn't doing much this semester so their leadership has been encouraging us to just keep finding other Christians to hang with. On Wednesdays during free hour, we have United Prayer, which is where all the Christian groups on campus meet to pray with one another. It's led by a different organization every week, such as Intervarsity, OneU, Korean Campus Ministry, etc. This is new this semester, but seems to be going a long way towards bringing the various groups together. After all, we're all one in Christ, so why should we all be our own little cliques on campus? How are we supposed to spread Christ's love all broken up and disconnected? So I'm quite excited and can't wait to see what the future holds for this :)

Off to play Apples to Apples!

Peace Y'all.