On and Off the Wagon

I fell off the map for a while but I'm back. This past week was a blissful week of traveling and visiting friends in far off lands like Illinois and Minnesota. Rose and I jumped in the car and cruised across the map.

But let me start off where I last ended...
Towards the end of April I started getting bored of my daily exercise routine. You may recall that for the past several months I've been engaging in a rather difficult workout program that uses bodyweight to strengthen tone and sculpt. I was seeing major improvement with this workout program combined with my daily dose of AdvoCare but doing 50 variations of push-ups was getting boring. I'd been craving a good run for several weeks (running is something that comes and goes frequently from my life) so one morning after work I spent an hour just running around Denton. It was beautiful at 6:45 in the morning and I remember running through several lovely gardens that lined the sidewalks in various neighborhoods. It is hard, though, to muster the energy to go running after I've worked all night so I set a goal of running once a week. Well, that lasted fine until Rose and I went out of town last week and so for about 10 days I've gone without any exercise at all. Man-oh-man does that take a toll on you. Towards the end of my trip I began feeling so gross and I was literally craving a workout. Thankfully I was able to jump back on the wagon today. It was definitely tough- I've lost some strength- but I already feel better.

Despite missing my workouts last week was a great week. Whenever I get to travel I'm a happy girl and when you add visiting friends into the mix it makes it so much better! Our first destination was Peoria, Illinois to visit my dearest friends, Jessica and Brian, and their two youngins', Liam and Evvi. We always have fun together and whenever I'm around this dear couple I leave feeling inspired and refreshed by their spunky attitudes. This was an especially exciting time to see them because Jessica just started a new job as the Creative Arts Director at Riverside Community Church in Peoria and I was able to see their new house and go to work with Jess one day. She is going to be the bomb.com at this job. Her creativity, leadership, and passion to love the Lord are inspiring and contagious. I'm beyond excited for what God is going to do in and through this family.

As always, it was hard to leave my second family but I was also very excited to head up to Chicago! If you've never been then, man, you've got to get there. We only spent a few hours there but I loved every second of it. First off Rose and I hit up some touristy attractions like the Navy Pier. It was pretty quiet on the pier because huge rain clouds were threatening us but we still were able to enjoy a nice long walk and take in some great views of the city. Next, we headed downtown to Intelligentsia Coffee to meet with some Venture friends. What a wonderful hour we spent just chatting about past and upcoming tours and how awesome it is to know that in any city we have community to connect with. And finally we headed over to Little Italy to see my amazing Kilimanjaro teammate, Tim, and his equally amazing girlfriend, Caitlyn. It had been nearly two years since I'd seen Tim (one of only two teammates that I've not visited with since our trip) so we spent a long while just catching up. Tim and Caitlyn were in the middle of finals and preparing for graduation so I was very thankful that they took time to have dinner with Rose and I. It was wonderful. Like I said, I wish we would have had more time in the city to explore and hang out with friends but our final destination awaited us.



Rose and I on Navy Pier with Chicgo in the background


That night we drove straight through the night and landed in Minneapolis at 5 a.m. We spend 3 days exploring the cities, its many parks and lakes, delicious restaurants, museums, children's theatre, and friends. Some of my favorite people in the world, Paul and Candace along with their two kids, moved from Texas to Minneapolis about a year ago. It was absolutely wonderful catching up with them and sharing life happenings. Also while in Minneapolis I went to the Venture Expeditions offices for some leadership training. It was really awesome to connect with some other trip leaders. We had training on how to drive the fifteen passenger van with a trailer connected. I feel pretty legit now. We had so much fun and I wish I could share it all with you but it would take entirely too long. I would, however, like to share with you my discovery of corn pancakes. This is definitely note-worthy. When you hear 'corn pancakes' you might be thinking cornmeal pancakes, which is what I was anticipating, but I was so very wrong. Corn pancakes are like corn casserole in a pancake form. Literally, these cakes were life changing. I promise you. I can't wait to find a good recipe and try to make them.

Myself, Rose, Lola & Candace at the MN Children's Theatre Co. production of Pippi Longstocking

It's never fun to end a vacation and head back into the 'real world' but I'm absolutely feeling refreshed and excited about all the good times that we had while on the road. I can't wait until next time!