Seattle: Moving In (day4)

My apartment and keys :)

 It's official- I live in Seattle!

Living room

 What more can I say?
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!


A special shout-out to my parents. Without them, there is absolutely NO way I could be doing any of these things. They have supported me in every way possible since I was born, and have encouraged me to follow every dream I believed in.I know I keep saying this, but I am blessed beyond measure.

"There are two lasting bequests we can give our children.  One is roots.  The other is wings."  ~Hodding Carter, Jr.

A must-have for all fridges

Some things are completely worth the extra space :J

Life in Seattle: Blessed (day3)

Starting out the day the right way

"time is a tree (this life one leaf)
but love is the sky and i am for you
just so long and long enough"
-e.e. cummings




Today was my first production meeting with the Seattle Children's Theatre and all I can say is............WOW.
The building, the facilities, the capacity, the art, the people, the possibilities.
They say that theatre attracts the best and worst people.
Well I am saying now that SCT has drawn the best of the best. I am so utterly blessed to get to work for them and cannot wait to see what the future holds.

Tomorrow= move in apartment day!... It's slowly sinking in. Here's to the unknown.

Happiness

So in awe

Life in Seattle: Day 2

Space Needle, standing at 605ft tall

 After all the hard work of getting here, we decided to just hit downtown and do whatever felt right, whatever called us. We ended up eating in the top of the Space Needle. It's absolutely gorgeous. You sit in the very top of the needle, and the restaurant slowly rotates so that you get a complete 360 view of the Puget Sound and downtown. It was raining and the sky was gray and just perfect for viewing.

Later we went scouting through bits of downtown, just looking around. We found some awesome shops and just enjoyed being there.

Tomorrow marks my orientation day at Seattle Children's Theatre. So excited for the adventures, stories, memories, people, art, and possibilities that it brings. Just think-- more than two years ago this theatre became my dream theatre to work for/with/ do anything with. One year ago I visited Seattle and the theatre for the first time, and it only confirmed those dreams more. And tomorrow? Well, I will walk into those buildings as a future part of that theatre, however big or small my role may be.

All I can really do is stand in awe of that. So my only thought for today is:
1. When you dream, dream big.
And then when that dream seems less impossible, dream bigger. Shoot for the moon, but not because if you miss you'll "land among the stars." Shoot for the moon because once you make it there, you can shoot for places no one even knows about yet.

Our view from the table

 You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself any direction you choose.
You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the guy who’ll decide where to go.
And when things start to happen, don’t worry. Don’t stew. Just go right along. You’ll start happening too.
-Dr. Seuss 

AMAZING food and experience

On the observation deck

Perfect Day

Life in Seattle: Day 1

New pajamas :)

The Pier

I must admit, I'm falling in love with Seattle all over again.
The weather the food the view the atmosphere the life the excitement!
I'll let the pictures speak for themselves (and boy, are there going to be a lot of them).

Mine, Mine bird

It has given me so much peace to just breathe in Seattle. It's the "Oh rightttt. That's why I've wanted to live here. That's why this is my dream. That's why I'm risking so much to do this" moment for me. So with that being said, I think the things I can share today are:

Benefit to Seattle- always live music in the market

 1. Sometimes in the journey of chasing our dreams, it's easy to forget why we were chasing those dreams in the first place... Well I say, go ahead and stop. Breathe in what ignited your passions in the first place, allow yourself a moment to remember what's important to you and why. I think 80% of chasing your dreams is composed of the act of actually chasing them. And that's the beautiful thing because...

2. When you're pursuing the right kind of happiness for you, you will enjoy the getting there just as much as the being there. And shouldn't you?

For perhaps we never truly "reach" our dreams. Perhaps while still living in this world there is no final line you cross, which would ultimately end all of your motivation and permitting you to live the rest of your life goal-less. And then? What's the point?

Life is all about the getting there, the journey and not the end, the traveling and not the destination. Instead of a finish line, we reach milestones. And when you look at it that way, our dreams don't seem quite so impossible. We can reach marks we didn't know we had the stamina for, and then we can build another one, and another one, and another one.....


3. So don't stop dreaming. Or believing that you can make it. Pace yourself. Smell the flowers. Take in the scenery. Make some running buddies. Jog alone. Do it all. Because when you dream big, you are already placing yourself on a track destined to be grand.

The infamous gum wall!

 As for me, this Sleepless in Seattle birdie needs to get some zzzs. Adventuring does, after all, require some rest every now and then.


"Though we travel over the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

BEST plus to Seattle- you can buy any one of these bouquets for a mere $10. Yes, I'm serious.

Fresh fruit and veggies

Fish market at Pike's Place

View from the pier

WE MADE IT: Day 3

I am oh so happy to report that we made it to Seattle! 3 days of driving, more than 2,000 miles traveled. Done and DONE.We have seen so many incredible mountains, rivers, waterfalls, rocks, woods, and skylines along the way. If you've never been to the West, GO. Here's the picture summary of the last road trip day. Looking forward to adventures in Seattle tomorrow, with plenty of things to share with you.

Just Driving

Oh yeah, my coffee cup holder. You know you're jealous

Little travel bottles of wine in a gas station? Didn't know they existed

~Cool things about today~

1. Coffee makes everything better
2. It's against the law to pump your own gas in Oregon (seriously. they make an attendant do it for you)

2. Music keeps you going
3. Laughter can be your survival tool and
4. Just when you think you are too tired to carry on any further, you hit your destination.

Final Travel Log- 2,027.7 miles from OK to WA in 3 days

Tired and delirious, but blogging nonetheless

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows
higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)

- e.e. cummings

The Middle: Day 2

Sign in our hotel's breakfast area- all too perfect

 Today marked Day 2 of the journey to Seattle. Or, also known as the "Middle" of the trip.

It was a good start to the day with a run to Starbucks (naturally) and this sign greeting us in our hotel.
Have a look at some awesome scenery- because we did!

Beautiful church across our hotel

Wyoming mountains

Utah mountains

Utah again

How else can I say it? While today's drive was absolutely breath-taking, there was something about it that felt much more exhausting than Day 1. And we traveled longer and further on Day 1. It got me to thinking about the whole "Middle" concept...

Take this trip, for example- We're going to make it from Coweta to Seattle in 3 days. Day 1 had all the excitement of beginning the much anticipated adventure, and looking forward to all that has been in the making for weeks/months/possibly even years. On Day 1, you're also rested to travel.

And then there's Day 3, which will be the final day of our road tripping. We'll be super excited to cross over into the Washington border, and hit Seattle just in time for a lovely dinner off the pier and such. It has a sense of finality to it with the finish line in sight. It's the final boost of energy before end.


So...What about the middle?

The initial excitement and momentum is lost, and the finish line is not going to be in sight for quite some time. It's enough to make anyone feel restless.
I think that's how life is sometimes. We are constantly moving through separate stages of life that have their own beginnings, middles, and endings, to loop back to a new beginning once again. It's easy to become discouraged during the middle, even losing sight of where you were headed in the first place.

That makes it quite difficult to enjoy the Middle.

So today when I was feeling tired and cranky, I tried to remind myself of some things about the poor Middle that no one seems to care for (it has feelings too): 

1. Stop focusing on how it doesn't feel like you're getting anywhere. Feel the momentum and action you're taking. And look up. Because even though you might be in the middle of nothing, you might also just find yourself surrounded by glorious mountains.

2. Enjoy the Middle. Savor it. Think about how many middles are really the best parts after all like- the cream in oreos, the moment after you realize someone's given you a gift but before you know what it is, the middle of a great hug, the chocolate candies with your favorite filling inside, and perhaps the middle of a great conversation- when people usually open up to one another.

These are the things that essentially fill our lives- the calm in between storms, the simplicity of doing nothing.

~I hope that you not only make it through the middles, but that you truly enjoy them~

Yay!

My travel log resets at 1,000, so that would make today 692 miles

Umm... WHAT in the BACON?!

PS.
Soo funny story. When we made it to Boise, ID, we stopped at Denny's (practically one of the only things to eat in the city, which is odd since it's state of Idaho's capitol?! ...You would expect more.

Denny's advertized for a sundae with breakfast style maple syrup and sprinkled with lots of bacon. I interviewed our waiter for quite some time and here's what he had to say about this <summarized> ------------------------>

-Yep. It's vanilla icecream, just like in a sundae right? But we add syrup and bacon. Just like the sign says.
- Yes, I'm for real. We really do make them.
-It's really not a joke. Seriously.
-Oh yeah plenty of people come in here and order them all the time.
- Out of all the people who have ordered it, I've never heard or seen someone that didn't like it. 
-Why do you want one? Because I'll get you one.
-If you don't like it I'll buy it for you. On the house.

Needless to say, I couldn't stomach the idea of it. In retrospect I should've said yes to him (I mean why not try?..if nothing else for a good story) but I just can't get past the idea of it. IS THIS NORMAL? DO PEOPLE REALLY EAT THESE?

The Beginning: Day 1

Today kicked off Day 1 of my roadtrip to WA for this new chapter of my life. It was definitely weird to count all the "last times" I would do something before moving across the country (from playing video games with the younger sisters to petting the family dogs to the simple moments like grabbing one last slice of my mom's homemade banana bread early this morning yumm and then to eventually catching one last glimpse of my home in the rearview mirror).
Then we were off! I am so blessed to be able to take my Mom with me for this journey. Here are some of the pics from today.
I got up before 7am to cram every last bit of stuff I could into my car. Thankfully, most of it fit.

one last picture before leaving

Real World's Tetris Game

Entering Kansas

And..This is about the extent of what Kansas is- FLAT

Then we arrived in Colorado- and big bears?

Colorado Sunset

Worth all the hours of driving

Travel log for the day- 838 miles? I'll take it :)

I just have to say, the longest I've ever driven for a trip was maybe 2-3 hours tops. Whenever I thought about driving to Seattle, I would worry, thinking about how I've never driven this far- can I make it? Will I be okay? Will I get lost? Or will I get so turned around that I give up and turn back for home?...

Well today I drove more than 9 hours. And drumroll please.... Made it all the way from Coweta, OK to right past Cheyenne, WY! ...Yep. That's driving through Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, and Wyoming. Pretty sweet. And kind of symbolic in some ways.

For in those 14 hours, I learned:

1. Just because you've never done something before, doesn't mean that you can't do it now
2. Kansas is extremely boring to drive through
3. Life is so much more rich and enjoyable when you travel with the right person
4. We are stronger than we believe, braver than we sometimes dream, and far more capable of things beyond our past experiences than we usually imagine.

And

5. Even if we ever do get turned around, there are people in our lives who will turn you around, pat you on the back, and say, "Don't stop. Keep chasing the dream."

So here's to your dreams (and mine too!). Keep on chasing and living them.