The Sandwich Weekend

What a fun weekend this was! I did my last seminary prospective student day in between visiting some very wonderful friends.

Friday morning I was almost on the road at 7 a.m. but for the little matter of my car being solidly ensconced in ice! After trying kitty litter and cardboard boxes to try and give my wheels some traction, I finally succumbed to the helpless-female-in-distress posture and had a neighbor dig me out! Sweet kind man!

Had a fairly easy drive on my way down to the DC area and stopped off to visit one of my favorite people on the planet--Miss Bent Fabric. Lucky for me, Her Highness was receiving visitors that day and I had the pleasure of joining her for lunch and a bit of telly before resuming my journey. Thanks for a fun visit cutie!

I then zoomed down to Alexandria and 5 miles from my destination got caught in the worst traffic I've ever seen! I thought I'd seen it all in NYC, but I was wrong wrong wrong! Needless to say, I was late but I still made it in time for dinner. The rest of the weekend was spent learning about Virginia Theological Seminary, the 2nd oldest Episcopal seminary in the States. I think I'll wait for a separate post to reflect on the visit. There's so much information to absorb when you visit a school that it takes some time to sort yourself out. I'll just say that I really enjoyed my time there, can confirm that the school has much to offer, and that I met some truly wonderful people!

On Sunday, a group of us went and worshipped at the National Cathedral in DC. I hadn't been there since a grade 8 history trip when I was a wee lass in a kilt. It really is a beautiful place and I really enjoyed the service.

Now for the top layer of my friend-seminary-friend sandwich: a blogging buddy met me at the Cathedral and joined me for the service. I've mentioned Janet before--she's the angel that helped me with my autobiography for the school applications. Funny because the essay I wrote for one of the schools was an essay on the relationships that can happen due to blogging, and Janet was a perfect example. This was our first meeting but I felt like I'd known her for years. She drove me around and gave me a mini tour of DC, and let me just say that this lady really knows her stuff! I so enjoyed seeing the city and hope to go back when the cherry trees are in bloom.

But the treat did not end there. After my tour, we drove down to Shirlington to a little bakery there to meet up with another blogging buddy--Mr. Gunfighter himself! Again, there was this remarkable ease and a feeling of being reunited with an old friend. And I must let you all in on a secret--Mr. Gunman is adorable!!! Now this does not detract from from his tough-guy-gun-carrying persona in any way, but it is the most delightful combination of opposites imaginable! I had such a great time getting to know these two wonderful people! I think I smiled all the way back to NYC--and 4 1/2 hours is a pretty long time to be smiling!

Monday, as some might imagine, was a day of wondering what hit me. I had a premonition that I might be feeling like road kill, and so had tentatively planned on staying in my jammies, in bed, with my book and pastries at the ready. And that's pretty much how I spent yesterday, except I was too tired to read and so watched movies and episodes of House and Grey's Anatomy I hadn't seen, courtesy of Ms. BF~smooches!

It was a good week

Wow, it's been a while (thanks to Shirlie for pointing that out to me! Smooches!)

Let's see, here are all the things I meant to write about:

Feb 3rd--Happy Birthday to my wonderful sister! How blessed am I to have a close sister and best friend!

Feb 5th--Got my first "big-girl bed." I am officially, at least in my mind, now an adult! Hard to believe but this 44 year old has slept on a twin her whole life, so this switch to queen size is actually huge for me! (I was actually so excited about it that I took a picture and was going to do a whole post on it, and then I thought about the cracks that would inevitably come my way! Oh, and Syd darling, you are sooo banned from any comments on this one--remember my mother reads my blog!) ;)

Feb 6th--This marked my 19th Anniversary of being in NYC! Seems like a life time ago and yesterday at the same time! I think about all the things I've been through since moving here and my head spins (not in that rotating, vomiting, exorcist kind of way, but still...)

Then most of last week was spent doing my taxes and filling out forms and questionnaires in preparation for applying for financial aid for school. Can we say "fun?"

And so, what is on the agenda for this week so far? Well Wednesday is my admissions audition, uh I mean interview to the NYC seminary. The fact that it is also Valentine's Day kind of cracks me up! Not exactly my first choice about how to celebrate that day!

Then on Friday I'm driving down to Alexandria to visit the last seminary on the list. Although this school is not my first choice, it still has a lot to offer so I'm going to go check it out. Truthfully though, the thing I'm most excited about is seeing some friends while I'm down there!

Oh and lastly, did anyone see last week's Oprah about "The Secret?" I found it profoundly encouraging and very inspiring. There were many things about it that struck me but I think the things that really struck me were the practice of gratefulness and the principle of abundance. I am so acutely aware right now of all that I have to be grateful for, which is everything! Life is good and a gift and I am grateful!