My Alaska Adventure // part I

Sometimes I ask myself how so much could happen in ten days. I remember how the trip started: arriving at 5 A.M. in Anchorage and driving straight to a breakfast place. Entering a dimly, greenly-lit diner with a huge taxidermy bear splat in the center. Having a monstrous plate of reindeer sausage with scrambled eggs and home fries placed in front of me. Forcing myself to eat.

Marveling at the snow on the mountains (it's summer, people!) and being able to see my breath. Getting car sick about two hours into our long drive to another town and feeling the reindeer sausage churn with a vengeance. I never hated a car ride so much in my life. The rest of the day we climbed up a mountain to see a glacier, drove a few more hours, and swam in an Olympic pool before we finally passed out on some church pews padded with sleeping bags. A day to remember, that's for sure. May I quickly and solemnly thank God for dramamine in this moment. It later saved me from dying of nausea many a day.

Suffice it to say, I could dwell on the first days of sightseeing for hours. We saw many more rooms overflowing with taxidermy pieces, ate at cozy breakfast spots, fed reindeer, went moose watching, and swam in an outdoor hot springs that smelled like rotten eggs; and I can now say I've eaten bear chili, caribou jerky, reindeer sausage, and moose burgers. Alaskan's have an interesting diet.

The first few days were filled with staring out a window at the scenery, which was so breathtaking I felt like I was driving through a travel magazine; and the sun never really set, so it always seemed like 4:00 P.M., even if it was midnight! And honestly, that was only the beginning.

By now, I'm sure you're wondering about the actual missions part of the trip? Well, I believe I'll save that for part II -- just because.

Note: I want to say thank you to all of my amazing guest posters! Weren't they awesome?

blueberry + strawberry cobbler || a guest post by simi

Hello, all you Kimberly-ites, er..Amusingers? Whatever it is y'all want to be called :) I'm super excited to be guest posting for my dear friend Kimberly while she's off dazzling Alaska, and I thought I'd share with you a recipe that is perfect for using summer's delicious bounty, a blueberry and strawberry cobbler. Note: It's best enjoyed outdoors, while laughing and chatting with your favorite people.


blueberry + strawberry cobbler

ingredients:
-3 cups fresh/frozen blueberries
-3 cups fresh/frozen strawberries
-4 tbsp granulated sugar
-2 tbsp all purpose flour
topping
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup milk
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt

directions:
-Preheat oven to 375 F. Butter a 13 x 9-inch glass baking dish. In prepared baking dish, combine strawberries, blueberries, sugar, and flour, and spread evenly.
-In a bowl, whisk together sugar, milk, butter, and vanilla. Without stirring, sprinkle with all purpose flour, whole wheat flour, cinnamon, and salt. Stir with a fork until just moistened.
-Drop spoonfulls of the topping over the fruit, spreading gently to cover. Bake for about 40 minutes or until berries are bubbling, topping is golden, and tester inserted in centre of topping comes out clean. Serve hot or warm.

Enjoy with whipped cream!

Hey there! I'm Simi from over at In Search of Beautiful, where I blog about finding lovely things in the everyday. I love spontaneous dance parties in the kitchen, laughing until I cry, deliciously frightening thunderstorms, and impromptu adventures with friends. (Especially when it involves taking pictures!) Procrastination is (sadly) my forte, and sometimes I interject my sentences with French words and phrases.
If I'm not blogging, you'll probably find me snapping pictures, curled up with a good book, or writing furiously in a notebook.
xo.

Oh, the kindredness of it!

my lovely sister Kalei

me

So Kimberly is off romancing Alaska and, no doubt, having the time of her life, whilst I'm stuck in Hawaii. And although "stuck in Hawaii" doesn't sounds that bad, I assure you she's the lucky one.  She's been texting me jealous-worthy texts, like, "I'm in North Pole now," or, "I fed reindeer by hand,"

When Kimberly asked me to post, she said, "Since you know me in real life, it would be interesting, no?" Little did she know, my evil, scheming mind had grasped onto that idea with both sticky hands. I decided it would be delightful to tell you about how our kindredness began.

When I first met Kimberly, I admit, I did not think much about her. She was a nice, quiet girl, according to my horribly written journal. But I was a hoyden at the time, and as she did not play football, I had no use for her. One evening, though, as we were laying side by side on a hammock I realized she was one of the first people outside of my family I actually could have a conversation with. An actual conversations, with two people conversing! It was strange and lovely.

Then it became impossible for us not to become kindred spirits. I don't quite know the day we discovered our kindredness, it's one of those things that feels like it's been forever as soon as it happens. Kimberly thinks it's when we started emailing each other, but I cast that idea away. How unromantic is that?

And we've had many adventures together, because kindred spirits ought to have adventures together. Like the time we were hiking with our group of friends; we were looking for our brothers who had wandered ahead, when Kimberly saw these shirtless guys down the hill from us. Somehow she got into her head to wave and shout at them, before identifying them. I was like, "I don't think those are our brothers, Kim," Before we collapsed into the hill, laughing our heads off because those people must've thought we were crazy. And now I'll never let her live it down that she's waved desperately at shirtless guys before. And yes, I had to tell an embarrassing story. Sorry, Kimberly, dear. ;)

But I must conclude with this thought, kindredness is rare (unlike Anne Shirley thinks), so when you find a kindred spirit, grasp onto it with both hands. There's no telling what adventures will befall you when you have lovely friends beside you.

Thanks ever so to Kimberly who let me post. My blog is My Blue Castle

Chalk'n Up the Summer

Hi Y'all!! First off, Kimberly made it safely to Alaska and is most likely roaming the Alaska wilderness with Perry in hand(on her free time anyway). We all miss her here at home as i'm sure y'all do to in the blogosphere.
i guess i'm one of those "few surprises" Kim mentioned in her latest post. i'm Nathan, her oldest brother. i'm terrible at bios so i'll give you my "to-do" list for this summer: slackline, swimming, play guitar, learn banjo, read Relationships a Mess Worth Making, reread David Copperfield, sleep, work with dad, play guitar, eat lots of food (i prefer saying "i'm ten pounds stronger"), annoy my siblings, forget everything EE related. So now you know a bit more about me :)

i'm pretty sure Kimberly only said yes to me guest posting because she was too distracted preparing for the Alaska trip to fully realize the consequences. This worries me, what if she repeats this and says yes to some knuckle head who decides to propose to her during final exam week. We both know that's a ridiculously exaggerated example; but placed in the context that this is the same sister who just this summer realized the Blogger logo is a "B" and not a misshapen "8", all i can do is laugh- and stalk every eligible man she meets(joking, i don't have that much free time. If you watched the video then you may realize i actually do).

Perhaps you've watched the video already, maybe not. If you have then the one thing you'll notice is the millions of things wrong with the video. All of them bug.bug.bug me. It's made me question my motive for excellence. Who am i trying so hard to please? With each person i a have a relationship or even a chance meeting with i craft a role i want to play in that person's life(however small and generic like "be myself"- what does that mean?) and a role for that person to follow as well. From the scripts i give others, i create false expectations that ultimately fail everyone. God's been teaching me to peel back those scripts and blueprints. He has a story that's so much better for the both of us. The role i cast on myself and others is so limited and blinded by my pride and understanding. The realization that my Heavenly Father is crafting a story for His children that surpasses anything i've seen yet get me so excited. The part that i'm learning to live a truth is that the story is happening right now!! i'm not completely sanctified, yet He is inviting me to be involved in this massive epic, an orchestral piece fit for the greatest symphony of angels, a story that centers Jesus.
Even with all the mistakes in my film(using the wrong lens, small animations as opposed to large, varying speeds of the animation, not using Perry for the intro sequence, off beat playing), i'm sharing it cause like me its a work in progress.

p.s.  i took me day to finish the video, but another to do the audio. so really it was two summer days and yes!! i cant wait for fall 2012!!

p.p.s props to all you bloggers. blogging is so much harder than i anticipated.

plugs: Josh Garrels~ little blue, John Mark McMillan~ economy, Ben Howard~ keep your head up,   Avett Brothers~ murder in the city

Alaska here I come!

In about six hours, I'll be up-up-and-away. My destination is Alaska, and our mission is to build houses. The truth is, I still can't believe I'm doing this; ever since our youth group mentioned it, I wasn't certain whether or not I would go. The journey towards this moment was far more then I could have imagined, when after days of indecision, I finally decided in my heart and mind to go.

Growing up, I always heard stories about God's provision and miracles, but I never had a story of my own. With college looming closely in the distance, I wasn't sure if I'd have enough time or money to enjoy the trip. Oddly enough, I didn't worry half as much for the first six months of fundraising as worrywart-me is generally inclined to. I thought I was pretty close to paying off the trip, when I learned that I was only halfway to the goal of $2000. At that point, my confidence that I was going to pay off the trip fully through my own work and fundraising shrunk considerably. My realistic side kicked in: Mom and Dad can help me pay off the trip and maybe some graduation cards will fill in the gaps. But my insides cringed at the thought; this wasn't how I'd wanted it to go down. God was supposed to provide for the trip, not Mom and Dad. I knew and believe now that God wanted me to go on this mission trip, and there was a strong peace inside me -- a well spring of hope that I knew didn't come from my own selfish wants.

After a series of wonderful events, my church did a garage sale for me, and I was now only about $500 away from the goal. At that point, I figured we could pay the trip off without feeling too bad about it, but God had a different plan. In the last two weeks before the trip, miracles happened. I received jobs from people I'd never met before in my entire life. I ended up staying with a lady who had Alzheimer's, doing yard work, and helping a lady move (we cleared out a 40 foot container full of stuff!). It was all physically and emotionally stressful, but I could see God's hand preparing me for the mission trip through the work I was being offered. Afterwards, I was so close to the final goal. I could fill in the last few gaps! But God never does anything halfway (like I always do). At my final Sunday at church before the trip, there was an outpouring of donations, and the trip's now completely paid off. I still can't believe it.

Let's just say it didn't happen the way I had planned. Circumstances failed me, people failed me, and I failed myself, but through it all God showed himself more faithful then I could ever deserve. This journey was not only a miraculous story for myself, but a very humbling one. I realize how undeserving I am of God's mercy and love and provision, and it fills me up with a thankfulness that's hard to describe.

So here I am, only five hours to go until we're flying off and away. The best part? This journey's only started. Alaska here I come!

P.S. I'll be back in a little over a week! Please enjoy the guest posters! There are a few surprises coming your way.

A dress and a braid.

dress: garage sale // belt: tuscano // necklace: handmade // shoes: target

It's rather hilarious to look at my closet now, because I know five years ago I would have loathed most of the pieces I now wear. My style has changed immensely over the years, and I'll admit, it's mostly due to the influence of fashion bloggers! Lots of the clothes I wear are thrifted, free, and the dress above was found at a garage sale. Let's just say, I'm hoping to go to another garage sale soon. They can be gold mines. Very cheap ones, too.

Though the aid of my fashion pinterest board, clothes have become more of an art then a daily necessity. The colors, textures, and overall style of a person's outfit does speak volumes; and so fashion has just become another medium for me to grow in creativity (and frugality).

short stories: the train ride

Finally the train pulled up and we boarded. Somehow I expected the people on the train to be unfriendly. The foreignness of the country, culture, and view helped my already clammy shell to cement shut. We came to a slow, screechy halt and more passengers boarded. A pudgy, middle-aged couple was suddenly seated in front of me. All I remember is that the gentleman began talking; his forwardness must have astounded me so much that I went blank for a few moments and just smiled out of politeness.

The haziness began to clear and soon I heard him talking about traveling and food. He addressed me and my cousins, his voice booming above the noise of the churning rails beneath us. He was funny and lively and friendly. I felt he was almost out of place in the train full of somber, frowning faces. A few flashing and surprised glances were pointed our way as the dialogue loudly continued. Was it unusual for strangers to converse on trains? He told us he was going with his wife to a special restaurant for some curry mein (noodles). It was a wonderful bowl of mein, very delicious. He uttered the directions, most of which I forgot in half a second.

Eventually our stop came; we all stepped off. I can't remember seeing him disappear into the crowd, but I still do remember that moment. The way he loosened my clammy shell with a multitude of words and helped to introduce me to a foreign country.