Gardening is harder than it looks

Why not start a new hobby?

Yesterday after lounging around for a while I remembered the small plot of over grown garden space behind my apartment and thought to myself, "hmmm, I bet I could plant some stuff in there." So I got up and went to check out my future garden. Not having any gardening experience besides the tomato plant my dad gave me at my last apartment I didn't really know what I was looking at. I found some random tools behind that house and figured that was enough to go on. So I hopped in Rambo and headed to Lowe's. Once there I had to pick what I wanted to grow. Since I had success with tomatoes I decided to get one of those and then I found a cantaloupe plant. Who doesn't love a good cantaloupe?! Then a couple flowers to add some color. One says it will attract butterflies so that obviously went into the cart and one cute little white flower. I grabbed a watering can, since there is no hose and the water spigot (well that's a weird word) did not produce any water. And I was off to the races. I also managed to snag a super fun little tree that also reminds me of my sister, Joanna. 

Once back in the garden I started ripping up all the weeds and overgrown vegetation. I soon realized that the dirt needed some help so I got to "plowing" (?) or basically hacking up dirt. Very quickly I worked up a sweat and came to the conclusion this was not going to be as easy as I had anticipated. I was pleased to find that there was (what I believe to be) good soil under the top layer. Once I started digging in the ground I found Mother Nature had previously planted a rock garden and it had flourished. I spent a good chuck of time finding and removing rock after rock, growing increasingly more frustrated every time my shovel hit another one. It was about that time that I noticed I was being eaten alive from mosquitoes, as if I don't get enough of that in the woods. I was covered in sweat and dirt and yet not shockingly, I loved it. I had reached a point where I believe the ground was as ready as it was going to be for the plants, so... I planted them. Not a whole lot else to say about that.

A few of my neighbors came by while this was happening and each were impressed with the progress I had made. I only finished a small portion of the garden but am hoping to have more of it done in time. Maybe then it can be used for its intended purpose. As for now, I feel very accomplished, very itchy from the stupid mosquitoes, and am very much looking forward to seeing how my plants do. I shall keep you all posted on how this new hobby goes. Any suggestions, tips, recommendations etc are welcome as always! 

Until next time, start or try something new and don't be afraid to play in the dirt! :)

my past off shift

Typically I try to write right after I get back from being on shift, but these past few days have been packed full! Better late than never, right?

My parents arrived in Asheville last Wednesday, probably somewhere around the time when I was going out with the other staff for some dinner and a drink or two. It was a great way to decompress and process the whole week with people who fully understand what your job is. Thursday morning I made my way over to the hotel that my parents were staying at and enjoyed a nice little breakfast while catching up with them about work, travel.. just life in general. It was so great to see them here, in Asheville! We eventually made our way back over to my little apartment and began unloading all of the things that they brought down for me (Thank you guys!). It is amazing that stuff can make somewhere feel more like home, but as I hung the pictures and placed things where I wanted them, I was so grateful to have all the memories that came with the stuff. Later we went out to dinner and shopping a little bit before calling it a night. The following day I again made my way over to the hotel (it's free breakfast, who can say no to that?) and then we went exploring a little. I tried to navigate back to the really cool places that my neighbor had shown me only a few weeks prior and managed to find one. We took a short, but very enjoyable hike along the Blue Ridge Parkway. I was so grateful for not wearing two packs and hiking with 10 teenage boys! It was a lot of fun and I'm sure that I'll be revisiting those trails soon. I'm glad that I could share that with my parents. We said goodbye that night and they left the next day to travel up to see David and Kendra in OH. What a great couple of days those were.

The day they left also happened to be the day that I had plans to go to the beach with a friend from work. So I got in my jeep and headed out. I drove through the mountains and entered into farm land territory. Upon arriving at his house I got out of my jeep and into his and we headed for the beach. We drove through more farmland and then we hit the coast. Once we got there we got to drive on the beach, which I had never done before, and yeah, it was awesome. Parked, threw down some chairs and took out the cooler. It was a great time with some new people. We walked along the beach and I learned how to look for and even found some really old shark's teeth! I had such a fun time. In one day I went from the mountains, to farmland, to white sand and waves. North Carolina, I love you.

Oh, I also forgot to mention, I am officially hired as a lifeguard at the YMCA. I had a little bit of training and will be starting next Thursday when I get back from my next shift. I think that it will be a good way to make a little more money and have something to fill my time. Somewhat unrelated, I am also looking into getting my open water diving cert, because well, why not! There actually is more reason behind it, primarily that my buddy knows where I can get megalodon teeth but I have to dive for them. So yeah, talk about motivation.

 As for now, I'm going to enjoy the rest of my off shift with relaxation and try to do a whole lot of nothing.

Until next time friends, remember that you always have more than you think, be grateful and joyful!

Ready for Another week

Ready is such a strange word. When are we ever really ready for anything? But here I am sitting, hoping I am ready for another week in the woods. And I think I am. But who really knows. Just one way to find out.

These past six days have been fairly productive, very restful, somewhat exciting, but in general they were just days. And I am thankful for days. I have been trying to find part time work to fill my days while I'm back in Asheville and today I had some potential success! I had an interview at the YMCA, about five minutes from my apartment, for a position as a lifeguard. I had to take a drug test and once that and my references come back negative and positive (in that order) it looks like I'll officially be a lifeguard. I am very excited about this, and looking forward to having something to do with my time while I'm back and another community to be apart of. Speaking of community, I went to the young adults ministry that my church offers. It wasn't quite what I had expected but it was good to try.

Community is so complex and yet so simple. Making friends is a weird process and one that I never feel I'm very good at. Sometimes I feel as if I don't really need friends (don't judge just listen) and that is true... sometimes. Sometimes I just want to be alone for days at a time and I love it! But at the same time, I need people. I need interaction. Sometimes it is nice to have people to say 'no' to, sometimes it's nice to have people to do nothing with. I'm figuring it out, I'm sure people will be in my future.

So tomorrow I go back into the woods. This morning I tried to savor laying in bed a little bit longer knowing I wouldn't be able to do that for another 8 days. I made sure to eat a little extra icecream, who am I kidding, I always eat a little extra icecream. But you get the point. I'm reading a book that one of the girls (JoJo) from the internship I did at Timber-lee gave to me. It's called, "One Thousand Gifts" by Ann Voskamp. It is a book about thankfulness, which is something that I am trying to be  more conscious of. Ironically, my job helps with this a lot. When I am in the woods I find that I am thankful for the smallest things: a colorful salamander, the sun shinning through the leaves just right, a cardinal, a short rain shower, when the short rain shower is over, the list goes on. Then I found I am thankful for things when I'm not in the woods: a bed, food I can eat with a fork, short sleeve shirts, facewash not in the form of a wipe, fresh fruit and veggies! There are so many things that I am thankful for. In this book one of my favorite parts so far is, "As long as thanks is possible, then joy is always possible." Giving thanks is the beginning, the ignition of joy. And man oh man do I have things to be thankful for. So I'm going to try it, to have thankfulness at the forefront of my mind throughout this next week, and I encourage you to do that same.

So here I sit, pretty sure I'm ready, but who really knows. When I come out of the woods next week my parents will be down here! I am very much looking forward to having them see where I am living and getting to spend some time with them for a few days.

But until then, may you not forget how blessed you are, may your dreams be big and your prayers be even bigger, and may you enjoy your indoor plumbing...

Making friends

I have felt very productive over the past couple days. Today I went to REI and exchanged a sleeping bag compression sack for a completely water proof one, because a wet sleeping bag sounds like the worst thing ever. And then I went and saw Jurassic World. Ok, maybe my day wasn't as productive as I thought it was. BUT the movie was awesome and totally worth it. 

The other day I failed to mention that I met my neighbor who lives above me. He is a little older than me and super friendly. Let's call him J. J is a very social, talkative guy; he's really nice and easy to get along with. Now I have been without internet since I moved to Asheville, so I've been traveling to $tarbucks or like yesterday, the public library. However it was my goal to get internet in my own place. The problem is that I am gone for more than half the month, so what's the point in paying so much money if I'm not even there?! I thought that perhaps I could get to know one of my neighbors and offer to pay some money in exchange for their wifi password. So this afternoon J was out working on his car. He told me that I could come hang out with him if I wanted to. So I told him that I had some things to do and might be out later. While I was munching on a poptart inside trying to scroll through facebook on my phone and getting increasingly more frustrated with things not loading, I made the decision to go and hang out with J. I was pleasantly surprised. We had good conversation and had some laughs. He told me about some cool places in Asheville and I got some insider information. The one of my other neighbors came out (with an awesome looking dog) and asked if I was from IL (she had seen my license plates). We very shortly found out that we are both from Hoffman Estates. WHAT?! How crazy. She seems like a really cool person and perhaps someone who I could hang out with. If not her, perhaps her dog. Then out of nowhere, J offered me his WiFi password. It was like a gift from God. I explained my situation and offered to pay him some money, to which he declined. Wow! I am so grateful. Then some time passed and soon J was finished working on his car and offered to take me on a short sight seeing trip. I wasn't super inclined but the man just gave me his WiFi password.. so I agreed. And the sights were beautiful! I was shown literally hundreds of trails that I can go exploring on and views that were nothing short of stunning. I am so excited to get back out there and check out some of those trails! 

Today has been a good day. I am excited for all the adventures that continue to unfold. Who knows, maybe I'll actually have some cool friends soon. Also, tomorrow I'm excited because I'm going to be going back to that church I tried, and hopefully getting more connected there! Here's to hoping. Regardless, be prepared for some sweet pictures when I start hitting up these trails! 

Boys, bears, and bow drilling

So I survived my first shift in the woods. And what an experience it was! We started off at what they call the second base camp, Sky Valley. I was with the oldest boys group, Bravo. The majority of these boys are there for substance abuse along with all of the things that come along with substance abuse. Sky Valley is sort of an in between camp, not quite as rugged as expo but still no running water. We slept in yurts or canvas structures with wooden floors. My first night we were visited by Jughead, the local bear. Not more than 50 ft away I could hear this bear ransacking the bear barrels that weren't fully closed. You better believe my heart was pounding. The next day we moved campsites after the bear continued to come back and was not being scared off. We stayed in Sky Valley for two nights before being transported back to Base Camp. Here we slept in cabins and had access to running water and indoor plumbing, what a treat! Our group grew to eight boys after we got three new students. During the week we worked with horses, went to "school," did yoga, fed snakes at science center, and worked on phase work and bow drilling. I am so excited that I completed my first bow drilling set! It was a long process but it was also nice to have a little project to be working on during my "free time." I was humbled when I finally completed my set and gave it a shot because bow drilling is HARD. I am looking forward to getting better at it and hopefully busting my first coal soon! When you bust your first coal you get to name your bow.. it's kinda a big deal.

This week was extremely hard, there were lots of highs and lows, but the experience overall was incredible. Working with those boys was challenging and you learn to love the smallest of accomplishments. My bosses and co-staff told me that I killed it and did better than expected. I still have so much to learn and improve on, but I think that I am in a good place and most importantly, ready for more! I will be working with Bravo again this coming week and we will be out on expo, so camping and actually roughing it. I was talking to one of my co-staff before coming off shift and I said, "I don't even know how I'm going to explain what I do to my family and friends. I feel like there is no way for me to explain this job." He could only agree. The job that I do is weird and more elaborate than I could ever explain. Every minute of every day is a trial, every moment of silence is cherished, every small break through feels like gold, every ounce of sleep is coveted, every situation is a learning experience. This list goes on and on. I could not do it with my own strength and am grateful for a God who provides me with all I need to be the best I can for this kids. One of the kids quoted a rap song during the week saying, "Everybody's somebody's something, I know you right, nobody's nothing, that's right."When you think of it in those terms, every one of those boys is so important to someone that they were sent there to "get better," but so much more importantly, each one of those boys is a child of the Most High. So regardless of what they have done, they are loved by the one who created them. I'm just trying to show them that love and that they matter more than they can ever imagine. 

As for being back in "real life" I have come to feel more comfortable in my apartment. I have been exploring around Asheville, I am currently in the public library were I just got my library card! Woop Woop. My apartment is pretty close to downtown Asheville so I am able to walk to most places, which if you know me is a huge life change. I am excited to learn more about this place I now reside. 

I'm still looking for some part time work to help cushion my bank account and keep me busy in my off days. I'm still looking for a place to get connected with other people my age. But I have found so much in the short time that I have been here and can't wait to see what the future holds. 

I miss my family and friends, the community that I had at Timber-lee. I miss my Wisconsin runs because Asheville is kicking my butt. I miss having internet and being around animals. But I love this adventure that I am on and figuring it out as I go. 

Until next time friends, may the sun be on your face and the breeze on your back. 

"That's so Asheville..."

After some hunting on Craigslist I managed to find a futon in "excellent condition." In case any of you are wondering, as I was, the 'futon' originated in Japan. However, it was just a mattress and thick quilted bed cover that were moveable enough that they could be stored easily. I also learned they are most commonly bought in stores called, "futon'ya." Obviously we changed it up a little bit by elevating the mattress onto a frame and the contorting it into either a couch or bed. Hope that was informative. Anyway, I got one. But getting it was quite the ordeal. The lady who was selling it was very pleasant, especially since she had literally just gotten back from her vacation to the beach as I pulled in. I offered to help carry her suitcases, but she politely declined. As she hauled them into the house we made small talk about how I'm "not from around here, huh?" And then meet Andrew, her child and Sam, her cat. I played with Sam for a minute while she got settled. After inspecting the futon I handed over some cash and we took it out to Rambo. I was feeling confident that this would be no problem for such a faithful Jeep. But as we set it down to open the liftgate I was growing a little nervous. "Well, let's just shove it in there." So we did. And it almost fit. So then I moved the front seats up. And it almost fit a little bit more. And then it started to rain. And I began to scheme. This lady was being so patient and I didn't want to see what would happen if that patience ran out. Finally we figured out a way to get it in enough that we could tie down the liftgate. And man did we tie that sucker down. It was sketch, I'm not going to deny that. As I got ready to leave, she said, "Uhh, why don't you let me know when you're back and that nothing has fallen out!" So much confidence from the lady who just tied it all down! But it survived. Then I had to untie all of the knots. Enter Kershaw Knife. And then I managed to get the stupid thing into my apartment all by myself. In retrospect, a friend would've been nice. I'm still working on that part. ALSA! I have a futon in my apartment.

Yesterday was a hectic day and I accomplished so much. I love setting up my new apartment, and am excited for it to begin to feel more like home. It's not perfect but it has a lot of potential! I think that one of my favorite moments from today was in the parking lot of Target. I had just purchased a new Nalgene water bottle. It is so clean. Unscratched, no stickers, no dirt, no memories. And I love it. But laying in the passenger seat was my old Nalgene. Literally the opposite. And it made me remember all the people who gave me a sticker, where that water bottle has been, the people who I was with during those times, just... memories, fond memories. Here's the cool part, I still get to take the filled water bottle with me on my new adventure with my new water bottle that is waiting to be filled.

Last night I slept in the hotel one last time. The electric people couldn't come out till today to turn the power on. But if I'm being honest, it had nothing to do with that. In some ways I was hesitant to move into my new apartment, because that makes it feel real. Until now, I was just vacationing in a hotel, roaming around Asheville playing interior decorator. But this morning I will checked out of my hotel and now my apartment is the place I will return to. Because tomorrow morning when I wake up I'll drive down to Lake Toxaway to go on my first shift as a Field Guide in Wilderness Therapy. A job that I accepted almost 2 months ago! I can't believe that the day is less than 24 hours away. I'm feeling a lot of things right now, but above all of them is peace. I'm just going to let it ride out and see what happens. My path has been laid out before me by a God who knows much more than I do and His way is perfect. So yeah, I'm feeling pretty peaceful.

It has been raining here a lot the past few days, I mean like pouring rain. And I thought, well that's good, maybe it won't rain while I'm out there. Then I pulled up the 10 day forecast. Looks like I'm going to get a little wet. All apart of the job.

Today also happens to be the day that staff training starts at Timber-lee. And for the first time in 4 years I won't be there. That makes me a little sad. But I am also really excited for all of the people who will get to be there this summer. You all are on my mind and in my prayers. May God use you in incredible ways. 

Anyway, this will be the last time that I post for at least 8 days. I will be done with my first shift next Wednesday and then I'm sure I will be ready to take a shower and sleep in my bed..uh futon. Please keep me and the kids that I'm working with in your prayers. Until next time!

Oh also, I'm sitting outside at a $tarbucks so that I can get free wifi and I heard a girl say to her friend, "Oh, that's so Asheville.." I don't know what it means, but maybe the longer I live here I'll begin to understand. I'll keep ya posted!