Country Cruisin'

The other day I had a hankering for adventure. It pestered me all day while I was at work. I was tired of the mundane daily activities. After dinner I wasn't sure how to satisfy my restlessness, so I went for a drive down some roads I'd never driven on in my area. I took a couple of lefts and a couple of rights and wound up on a spectacular road that gave me a view of the mountains and a valley.

There were wonderfully green trees and the fields were freshly plowed. Suddenly I was struck with a love for where I live. I hear quite often how gorgeous it is, but for the past few years I've taken it for granted. The view was unreal. What started out to be a small need for adventure turned into a deep appreciation for where I live. Thank you Jesus for where you have me! :)

You know you live in a small rural town when...

1.) You notice that one of your bank tellers got a haircut.

2.) You can tell your boss the reason why you're late is because you got stuck behind a tractor on the way to work.

3.) The town goes to the local carnival/fair just to see who else will be there.

4.) The weekly police blotter reports llamas, pigs, or other farm animals on the loose and/or the town crazy who j-walked during "rush hour".

5.) People create drama just to have something to talk about.

6.) Traffic involves three cars at a four-way stop.

7.) Town shuts down by 7 pm.

8.) You can see a tourist coming from a mile away.

9.) The local bus system consists of two bus routes; one into town and one out of town. (Well maybe more...)

10) You run into at least two people you know while running errands.

It's been too long...

If anyone has been checking my blog to see whether or not I've posted anything new, today is your lucky day!
I'm back and hoping to write about my caffeinated adventures and thoughts more frequently.
Thank you (whoever you are) for your patience. ;-)

The Tale of Two Santas

The other day after work, I was greeted by the sound of jingling bells. I was on my way to a nearby store with my lovely co-worker, Gail. Then we saw him. Santa, in all his bell ringing glory. Thinking that he was a bell ringer for a charity, I smiled at Santa. He gave me a partially toothless grin and a wild-eyed "hello." That was when I realized that Santa wasn't charitable. He was outright crazy. Gail and I quickly proceeded to the store, scoped out the sales and then left. When we came out of the door, Strange Santa was waiting. I believe he wanted to say something, but we didn't give him a chance to spread his crazed jolliness.

After that strange Santa encounter I thought that I wouldn't have to see another Santa again. However, I was wrong. The next day at work, another Santa came into the store I work at. This time she was very angry. She wanted help finding a gift for her husband's great aunt. Nothing I suggested was good enough or it was a "ridiculous" suggestion. She was loud, negative, and grumpy. Aside from her outfit and her love for eating goodies, she was nothing like jolly ol Saint Nick. I was tempted to ask her if she made a mistake in her costume...perhaps a grinch outfit would have been better? But I didn't. I like my job way too much to do something like that. Oh and that's not nice in the first place.

This is my tale of the two Santas. There really was no point to this blog other than to maybe possibly make you chuckle and consider how you will treat others during this Christmas season. I know it's a hectic time in which tempers flare or one goes crazy...but that's not what Christmas is about. Drop what you're doing and reflect on what we're really celebrating. God sending His beloved Son to earth to save our lives. That's something to rejoice and think about!

What are you looking at?

The other day I went to my favorite coffee shop in a nearby town and indulged in two of my favorite activities: Drinking a latte and making use of the free wi-fi. While I was chatting with several friends via facebook chat, a middle aged couple stared at me in (what seemed to be) amazement. I was wondering to myself why they were being *ahem* odd...
...Then I realized that for the past few minutes I had been ridiculously grinning and quietly chuckling at the conversations I was having with my friends. I was, in actuality, the odd one. Silly me.