Weddings Restore my Soul

So most of you that know me, know that I don’t have normal favorite things like favorites colors, and favorite food, etc. I do however have favorite hills. Every place that I live I find a place that I can go and call it my own. A place where I can get a fuller prospective on the world around me, literally. A bigger picture of what it is I’m doing here, outside of the mundane routine of my everyday life. When I don’t get away and allow myself these quiet moments of clarity now and again, I can feel it. I don’t even know what it is that I am missing, but I know that somehow I am missing it.

I'm not as odd as i know your thinking right now. Slipping away to be alone on a mountain is totally trendy! Ya know, like scrap-booking, and tweeting... Jesus did it all the time!!  "But He Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray." Luke 5:16 ( and again in Mark 1:35, Mark 6:45, Mark 14:32, Luke 4:42, Luke 6:12, etc)

Now, Can I trust you with the knowledge of my secret places? I hold you solely responsible if they become overpopulated....

First is Wildflower Drive ( I believe thats what Rachael named her mile long driveway, what i more commonly refer to just as Slike Mountain) It sits just on the cusp between Mechanicsburg and Perry County. Although my car barely can make it up this off roading death trap experience it keeps me coming back every time I return home!  

Second, my beloved Pittsburgh.  This is Flagstaff Hill just opposite Phipps conservatory.  When the ultimate Frisby team isn't tearing up the grass it is the greatest place to run/walk too and watch the sunset over the city.  Not to mention the free movies they play in the summer to add to the appeal. 

Sadly, finding this place in Melbourne has proved to be quite a challenge. The fact that Melbourne is fairly flat, and that there are literally people everywhere has made this more difficult indeed. It’s like finding a good church, there’s nothing particularly wrong with the places I’ve tried, just not right either. Fear not though blogosphere! I think I may have succeeded in my quest!

Enjoy this sneak peak at the closest thing i've found to peaceful serenity.

This is South Lawn on a week day. Lots of people hanging around, lots of birds. Pretty great but def too crowded to hear my own thoughts. (see what i did there... def-hear...)

HOWEVER, University of Pittsburgh is mainly a commuter school, most students take trains in from home during the week for class.  Meaning, last weekend I discovered this already favorite place on campus of mine is now completely deserted!! If your thinking it couldn't get much more perfect, it did.  After laying out a blanket, getting a little shut eye in the beautiful Melbourne "no ozone" sunshine. I heard people. Not just any people, but newlyweds! Getting their wedding photos taken. This continued to occur every hour of so.. Seriously! I love my life! 

Cue Creeper Cam!

Heres a Song for ya:) "Sometimes I believe that I can do anything. Yet other times I think I've got nothing good to bring. But You look at my heart and You tell me That I've got all You seek, And it's easy to believe even though I got a couple dents in my Fender. Got a couple rips in my jeans Try to fit the pieces together. But perfection is my enemy And on my own, I'm so clumsy But on Your shoulders I can see Im Free to be ME!" -Francesca Battistelli

Excursion Central!

Sorry I haven’t written in a while!! What a busy few weeks! Classes are well underway, and I just enjoyed two weekend trips in a row! I’ll try to stick to the important events and save the tangents for later this week, but I’m not making any promises...

Okay, so this first trip we took to Grampians National Park. About 30 of us under the fearless leadership of out dear mate Lyndon ventured approximately 3 hours outside of Melbourne (cant really know for sure.. i slept the whole way). Grampians has not much in the way of civilization but was incredible nonetheless. The drive there and back was probably the the most fascinating! Their was a mountain we passed that reflects the suns rays! There is one road that has a tree planted for every soldier that died in the war, and everything was so green and growing like fields of sunflowers which apparently was a once in a lifetime sight, seeing as how they have been in a drought for like 100 years! I suppose the other highlights were :

1) my first emu sighting 

2) my first climbing of a real mountain 

3) pretty sure the highest elevation I’ve ever been to! 

(no this picture doesnt show the view, but i know you all wanted to see my face...)

Now onto the second far more spectacular trip.  It was to both The Great Ocean Road and Phillip Island.  So as I'm sure you can imagine it was packed full of non-stop sight seeing.

Day one:

Gibson steps (76 of them! cool?)

Shipwreck coast

London bridge (fun fact the bridge part fell down last year and there was a couple having an affair stuck on the other side! HA)

Lock and gorge

12 apostles (there are actually 14 still standing, used to be 18)

surf coast (i could sit and watch them do this all day, heck i could sit and surfers do ANYTHING all day...)

Apollo bay

Day two:

Tropical birds and koalas in the wild (koalas sleep upwards of 20hours a day! Glad he woke up for us!)

Rainforest (mountain ash tree 2^nd tallest in the world!)

Wildlife reserve (i got to pet that little guy! He licked me!)

The Noobies (no idea what this name is all about...)

Penguin Parade

which actually looked more like this

but your not allowed to take pictures anymore... apparently the penguins are amish....

And that my friends is the final thought that i am going to leave you with as I am deleriously exhausted and will start rambling embarrassing nonsense if I type any longer. 

"These are the times in our lives that we wait for

These are the days and the nights that we pray for. 

and i'll say it again... its so beautiful!" 

-Jared Lee

I Have a Dream.

One day I had this dream.  There were beautiful beaches everywhere. I was surfing. There were heaps of kangaroos.  Little baby ones too. Everyone spoke a little strange. Infact everything was a bit strange.  That’s how I knew I was in a dream.  The coffee had ice cream in it, like a root beer float.  From drinking the coffee I had to pee, but couldn’t find a bathroom. The people looked at me funny when I asked for one. Finally I located it in a stairwell. Strange, see. The birds were different. At least they sure sounded different. What is this place, I thought. I couldn’t seem to find anyone I knew.  They drove on the wrong side of the road.  They drove on the wrong side of the car.  Many didn’t drive at all! They walked. Walked and walked. All day long. I was one of those people. Those people seemed the happiest. Those people seemed as though they never had anywhere to be.  They sat around in the beautiful weather. They played music and did art on the side of the road.  Some men dressed as police officers asked them to stop, other men dressed as police officers joined them. One day I wanted to be one of the driving people. I took the plunge and got into one of these death traps they call vehicles.  Just as a passenger, but still found myself so confused.  The sky ahead looked like it was shiny.  As it came closer the air appeared thick or foggy. I thought I was entering Brigadoon. That wasn’t what happened next. What happened next was millions of locusts, crashing and splattering the windshield.  No one else seemed phased. I played the guitar and wrote prose for fun. I spoke in front of people at what I thought was Campus Crusade for Christ but they tried to tell me was Student Life Live.  In this dream I felt that I needed something I knew, something familiar. Universal. Church.  Even this was a bit off, the traditional building you’d call a church was all of a sudden a room atop a restaurant, or a movie theatre before it opened. What a odd dream. Odd indeed. One month later. I think I'm still in that dream.

The beautiful beaches.

heaps of roos

coffee float

stairwell bathrooms 

(sorry for the blurryness its kind of social suicide to take pictures of bathrooms...)

Being a Walking Person

Police men + Street Performer?

Driving through locust plague.

My new baby Skylark.

View looking out the back of City on a Hill Church in Docklands.

"I feel your spirit when you're near me and when you're far away.  Somehow, somewhere I'll see you again. But until then I've got dreams" Gavin Degraw- Dreams 

So many good songs to choose from about dreaming! Whats yer fave?

The Adventures of Danielle and Elle

As I sit here writing this I am being serenaded outside by an orchestra of wippersnippers. More commonly known as weedwackers. They are the inspiration of todays post. As they are one of many things Danielle and I have been able to experience in the comfort of the 10’x10’ box we call an apartment.

We pretty much share everything, although I was kind of under the impression there was an unspoken rule about such things as razors, toothbrushes, etc. Only after she wore my contacts did I decide this should be a spoken rule! Needless to say, I didn’t ask for them back but did kindly inform her that that was the reason she was having trouble seeing. HAHA! Unfortunately, I’ve also had my fair share of catastrophe, so I can’t make fun.  One such event being when I decided it best that we inform the staff that 3 of our 4 burners on the stove do not function.  Before doing this I figured we should to test them out one last time, just to be sure.  Turn first knob, doesn’t light. Turn second knob, doesn’t light.  Turn third knob, doesn’t turn off. WHAT! DOESN’T TURN OFF!!! I think we really bonded in that minute and a half that gas was just pouring into our apartment and we saw our lives flashing before our eyes.  No worries though, super girl that I live with pried it apart with her fingers and the entire apartment complex did not combust.

Now if only we can train her to be my skype secretary while I shower every morning, I just may give in and take a dance class with her. This is unlikely, despite her desperate attempts..

Cheers!

Today's song is a plug to the most talented musician I have even known.  Where you want me- Kassi Konz (Hemerka)  download it on youtube. you wont regret it! 

"I cant see where your taking but I know that its more than I can imagine."