Winter Wonderland

Being from Southern California, I'm a baby when it comes to weather. So I'm sure you can all imagine-maybe even experience it with me after seeing the video and pictures below-how fascinated I am with all the stuff going on outside.

We had a forecast of colder temperatures starting on Friday and lasting through till about wednesday along with what's called a "wintry mix" on monday and tuesday. I still don't know what that means exactly, but I knew it meant cold, wet stuff.... I actually had Nic kinda run through all the different kinds of weather we seem to get here in Rogers. For example: What is the difference between freezing rain and sleet? (neither of which I can say I've ever experienced.) What exactly does it mean to have an "ice storm"? Apparently sleet is somewhere in between hail and freezing rain, which is really cold rain that turns to ice once it hits something. I think. Anyway, you can understand my confusion this morning when the stuff on the ground looked like snow from a distance, but when you got up close, it's really more like walking through a slushee. I still don't really know what to call it, so well, just call it slush. That's what was on the ground, but everything else that was directly exposed to the elements were encased in ice! I've never seen anything like it. And it's probably one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen- It looks like everything was individually dipped in glass, forming perfectly to its original shape. It makes everything very ethereal looking. A Winter Wonderland if I ever saw one! See~

This is one of the prettier shots... See how everything looks encased??

Just another pretty shot.

This was a tree that I was so scared of it falling over! If it would have, it would have crushed the backside of a house that's right behind us. Still, it sure is pretty, isn't it?!

This is Nic's car all iced over... I would have gotten a shot of mine, but it hadn't been exposed as long as his... See story below! (Side note: I'm sure glad Aunt Lisa got me that ice scraper for Christmas!)

So, along with getting all the cool shots of frozen things, the thing that brought me out of the house in the first place was a pretty crazy incident! Megan had to work today, but she stopped by the house to tell us that we needed to move our cars...  Well, I'll just let you watch the video. I explain in there...

And here are some other shots of the damage:

Pretty narly, yeah??

My car would have been to the left of that post. Yikes!!

This was the only one that didn't get out in time.  :( Poor truck... Doesn't look like there will be too much damage though. It'll just be stuck for a while!

So, that was my adventure for the day!  My sister said she thought I'd be bored out here.... HAHAHA!!! 

Folding in Your Wings

I've spent the last 2 weeks or so trying to learn the ins and outs and generally make sense of my new position at Remos Aircraft, Rogers.  While the job is a little chaotic at the moment, what with no one really knowing what an Oelkuellerflappe is in English, or what the item number is for that size of nosegear bearing, and still through all the confusion, expecting me to make sense of the warehouse....  Even with all that around me all day, I still think it's pretty stinkin' awesome to be surrounded by cool little airplanes all day! It kinda makes all the mess a little more worth it. Just a little....  

And today I was marvelling a while over the design of the aircraft that Remos produces. There really spectacular little planes, even to my untrained eye. There small little 2 seater planes with one propeller, and even though, in all honesty, they look kind wimpy, they are perfectly airworthy!  But the particular feature that inspired me to write this blog today is that their wings fold in and make the plane compact enough to fit in the space of an average RV. So you could literally park it in your garage after a glorious day of soaring through open skies!  

...I think that most people, even if they are afraid of flying in a plane, would say on some level that they wish they could fly. (It's a spiritual kind of thing, I think.) It's not necessarily that they wish that they could fly an actual plane, or in some fantasy land actually physically fly themselves like a superhero can, although things like that may actually be a secret desire. But I think what they really mean is that they wish they could let their souls fly. And I realize that that's kind of a silly, cliche thing to say, but as silly as it sounds, I think we all want to, at some point, do just that- Let our souls fly! "Be free," if you will.  Let your dreams be your drive and throw caution to the wind. You get the picture. And I personally am a believer in that. I believe that we shouldn't be so afraid to dream, take flight. I don't think that practicality is always the best route. I don't buy the notion that when it comes to decisions one should always use their head first and only. I believe that gut feelings, inner longings, and split second decisions have their place in our lives. I believe that we should all learn to fly. 

However, I don't think that we should be flying all the time. Seventy five percent of a plane's life, after all, is spent on the ground. And in the case of Remos planes, with their wings safely tucked in as well. I've observed that there seems to be some sort of draw to "free spirits" amongst us. They seem so worry-free and content, as if there are no troubles in the world, and if anyone were to say "Nay!" a dictionary would need to be utilized, because no such word exists in a free spirit's vocabulary. And while I stand by my previous statements in the favor of the flight of soul, I also think that being such a free spirit that your feet never know ground isn't exactly as enchanting and nostalgic as it's painted. I would imagine that it's a rather unfulfilling existence to be constantly in the clouds. With no point of reference to speak of.  Never having a destination or direction. How happy could one be, I wonder? Well, not even happy, really, but......balanced? When you think about it, flight really only has true purpose when it's a means of landing somewhere. Even if it's the same place it took off from. A plane cannot fly indefinitely- It MUST land. Or crash. I think the same goes for our spirits. It's a wonderful thing to take flight. It's liberating. It's refreshing. It's fun! But if it's all we ever do, how will we realize exactly how great it is, unless we spend some time on the ground? 

So, this is what I say~  Go learn to fly. Go and let yourself take off into the big open sky and really soar. Do barrel rolls for all I care! But don't forget that there's a safe hangar waiting for you somewhere. While you're flying, keep an eye on the horizon and check the fuel gauge every now and again. Then, land somewhere safely. Take some time to rest and refuel. Fold in your wings and be home for awhile.  There will always be another day to fly again.  

Happier than I've ever been!!!

I went to dinner tonight with my cousin, her husband, and a friend to celebrate the fact that I am newly employed (Yay!), and the conversation drifted to a question that my cousin asked... "So, Nea... Did you ever think that we'd be here doing this?? That you'd be sitting in a restaurant, in Arkansas, with us, celebrating the fact that you are employed after only being here 3 weeks??"

Well............... No, not THAT exact scenario~ But when I got to thinking about it, I was somewhat taken aback that my answer was still no. It surprised me because I realized that I had always dreamed I would be, but never believed or thought I would be. (And please suspend your disbelief that I dreamt that I'd someday end up in Arkansas of all places... I know how it sounds, but there are reasons, and it's really a lot nicer than your likely predisposition. But- I digress.) I dismissed the idea as something I'd never be able to do. I was not ambitious enough or not smart enough, or didn't have enough support, or I'd never be able to save the money to afford the move, etc. There was always some voice in the back of my head saying I'd never be good enough in one area or the other to do whatever it was that I really wanted to do. A crippling self-doubt. A heap of lies. Because here I am tonight, in Arkansas, having just gotten back from a nice dinner, with people I love, celebrating a great new job with a lot of promise, having only been here 3 weeks. *Contented sigh of relief* I'm here! I made it! And I did it on my own; to cherry it up!

I'll admit that leaving California was one of the hardest, stressful, saddest, and scariest thing I've ever done in my life. But it really is true, what they say- The best things in life are worth fighting for. I wouldn't say that I had absolutely no one agreeing with my decision to come out here, but I also won't say that I had everyone backing me up 100% either. But the fact that I didn't have 100% support was a big deal for me. I'm the kind of person (or should I say I was? I'm not sure yet on that one... I'll let you know when I am.) who found it extremely difficult to do things on my own terms. I am (or was. still not sure.) always afraid of disagreement or (god-forbid) disappointment of a second, or even third party. And I know it doesn't make much sense to be like that because who can please everyone without exception, I mean really? But it didn't stop me from allowing the fear in. I thank God everyday for the kind of people and the resulting conversations that He put in my life at the exact moments that He did. If not for the instruments of guidance that they were, I don't think I ever would have found a loud enough voice of mine to make the decisions that led me out here, or in some cases, the means to do so. To those of you I'm speaking of: you know who you are, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart! I love you.

I can say now, without a shadow of a doubt, even considering the amount of tears that fell, the number of times I changed my mind, the arguments, the wondering "will this work?", and the sacrifice (relational, physical, and material), it was all worth it. Every second I battled to get here was worth the feeling of assuredness that I did a great thing for my life and faith that I am experiencing everyday. I can't remember a feeling of joy as strong as I feel it now. I am EXCITED about the coming days, weeks, and months for the first time in my life!! I feel liberated. I am happy. I am home.

The first post.

Hi.  Welcome to my blog. We're both new here. I'm doing this for a few reasons... 

#1: I just moved halfway across the country, away from my family (save 5 members), and friends, and this is a pretty good way of keeping them updated. 

#2: Because of the aforementioned move, I have a lot of free time and a lot of thoughts that fill it- and my brain just isn't big enough to store all that information. 

#3: I just felt like it.

So, falling into the category of numero uno, an update:

Moving to Rogers right before Christmas was something I wish I could have avoided effectively. You can't always get what you want, I guess. It would have been nice to see all the out-of-town family and to witness my nephew's first Christmas- things that are rare in life. However, even with all the sadness of being away from loved ones during the holidays, I've experienced great joy and a sense of accomplishment in being here. I'm the proudest of myself than I can ever remember being, and I've managed the process of plugging myself in the way of life here pretty well!

Job hunting was daunting to start with, but I'm happy to report that after only about 3 weeks of being here, I've secured a job with a lot of promise! At least for what I'm trying to do now. I'll be working for Remos Aircraft (www.remos.com), a small, lightweight, sport plane manufacturing company based out of Germany with a warehouse/distribution center here in Rogers.  I'll be working their warehousing and shipping operations. Sounds fancy and all, but I'm really just a glorified Admin Assistant. Starts out part-time, moving to full-time in the spring when business starts picking up again. I'm very excited about the opportunity I have there because it offers me a chance to become a very integral part in the running of the business on a day to day basis. I start in 2 days! Wish me luck!!

On a more personal and social level. Megan and Nic have been the biggest chunk of my social circle. :) I'm not complaining because they are some of the best friends anyone could hope to have (and roommates at this point. haha).  They have introduced me to a group of their friends, all of whom recieved me as long lost friend. I even rang in the New Year rocking out on Guitar Hero, playing rousing games of Apples to Apples, and eating the makings of a taco buffet with them all, laughing and producing pictures, both silly and album-worthy along the way. :) 

I've been attending church with Nic and Megan at Fellowship Church, and am enjoying it so far. They offer community groups, which I'm happy about because it was a very important part of my life and how I made a lot of friends back in California. I plan on joining one when they start back up again. I'm also going to check out a different church in Fayetteville called The Grove. I hear that it is very similar to the atmosphere found at The Edge venue at North Coast that I loved so much! And it's actually a church plant of Fellowship, so the teaching is parallel as well. We'll see!! 

So all in all, things are going very well for me here! I feel in my heart that this move is by far the best decision of my life to this point, and I look forward to what fruit will come of it! Plans for the near future include, first, getting my own place so that Nic and Megan can have their home back to themselves, and in the fall, starting classes at the North West Arkansas Community College (NWACC).  

Thanks for reading, and God Bless you all!

Linnea <><