Traffic

I will warn you right now, this is not a happy post...it's an annoyed one! 

One of the things I like about living in the subburbs is that I don't have to deal with traffic on a regular basis.  I don't have to deal with interstates on a daily basis, and when I do have to deal with them, it's my choice! 

Saturday, Will and I got an invitation to meet some friends at the Cowboys pre-season game.  We were all going to sit in the "party deck" and you can't order those tickets over the phone ahead of time.  The game started at 7, so when we left my house before 5:30, I thought we would be ok.  I don't live far from Arlington, and it usually takes about 30-40 minutes to get to Cowboy Stadium. 

About halfway there, we realize that we don't have cash on us for parking.  Will finds an ATM and we pull in. There are two lines for the ATM, one is long, the other short.  Thinking we are smart, we pick the short one...note to self, there is a reason that line is short, the touch screen didn't work.  So we drove around the parking lot to get in the other line.  I'm not sure what the person actually using the ATM was doing, but I don't think he knew the proper use of an ATM.  We sat in line for almost 10 minutes before giving up and trying to find another bank, in all that time, I never saw the guy actually put money in or take money out of the machine.  He kept leaning out and pressing buttons, but nothing happened.  I mean, it's an ATM, it's not rocket science people...

So we head off, find another ATM, get cash, then head back on the road.  We thought we were back on track.  Then we got caught in traffic...really, really, really bad traffic, like no one actually moving traffic.  We could see Cowboy stadium, but we were not getting any closer to it! 

At 6:45, we still were not anywhere close to parking, so we decided to give up and go home.  We figured that by the time we parked, got tickets, and were able to watch the game, they would already be in the 2nd quarter and all the starters would be out.  I called our friends and told them to enjoy the night without us, we were going to watch the game at home (which worked out for me- I watched Teen Mom/Saints game upstairs while Will watched Cowboys downstairs). 

Today was the first day of school, so I knew traffic would be heavier than normal, since parents like to drop their kids off on the first day.  I left my house at 7:15, thinking it would take me at MOST 40 minutes to get to work with the increased traffic.  At 7:35, I turned on to Keller Hicks Road, the road that my school is on.  At 8:45 I turned in to the parking lot of my school, about 1.5 miles away.  Yep, an hour and ten minutes to go 1.5 miles, not because there was an accident, but because people can't pay attention, there is incomplete construction, and the lights were not timed correctly.  So, I was 45 minutes late on the first day of school...thank goodness I'm not in the classroom anymore, or I would have been a horrible example!

Seattle

Last Friday, Will and I boarded a bound for Seattle to visit my parents!  I hadn't seen my parents since April, so I was very anxious and not patient on our 6 hour trip!
When we arrived, Will and I had not had lunch yet, so Mom took us to a fish'n'chips place on Lake Washington.  We had beautiful weather, so we sat outside while we ate lunch and took a stroll around the lake. 
After dinner, we went to one of the many state parks near my parent's house and saw the Puget Sound. 

After breakfast on Saturday morning, my parents took us to Pike's Market, the original Starbucks, and the Space Needle.  We had more great weather (the high got up to 95!) and we all really enjoyed the day outside!  We got a coffee in the original Starbucks store, meandered through the market (which reminded me a lot of the French Market in NOLA, only with more fresh fruit/veggies/flowers) then had lunch on the pier in Seattle.  We headed over to the Space Needle, bought VIP passes to skip the line, then headed up to an amazing view!  Seafair, the famous airshow, was going on that weekend, and the Blue Angels were flying in the show.  We got to the top of the Space Needle just as the Blue Angels blew past us! 

After the Space Needle, we headed next door to the Chihuly museum.  If you don't know who Dale Chihuly, I highly recommend you look him up!  the museum was amazing, then we noticed that Dale Chihuly himself was walking around in the museum (he is the man with the eye patch in the pictures).  Coolest museum I have ever been to!



On Sunday, we headed up to the mountains for more amazing views!  First we headed to the Snoqualmie Falls.  During the spring, then the snow is melting, the falls are quite a bit bigger, but we still had a great time!  We headed further up the mountain and found some lakes and trails.  One of the trails led to an old railroad tunnel that is 2.3 miles long.  In the middle of the tunnel, you cannot see either end (it's completely dark) and if the temp is 100 outside, it is 50 inside the tunnel!  The tunnel is closed between November and May each year, because stalagtites will form on the roof of the tunnel and could fall on you!  We didn't come prepared with flashlights and warmer clothes, but it's definitely something we want to do next time! 

On Monday, we headed to Bellevue, the home of Microsoft!  We looked at all the really big Microsoft buildings, then went the the mall!  It was another great day weather wise, so we ate outside on the deck! 

All in all, we had a great trip and cannot wait to go back!!!  Mom, keep that room ready!

Chic-Fil-A

First off, I want to say I think the whole Chic-fil-A thing has gotten out of hand.  Unfortunately, the radicals on both sides have let it get this way. 
I mentioned to Will the other day that I was kind of glad I lived in a conservative state, because then I won't have to vote for or against the legalization of gay marriage/civil unions.  I honestly don't know how I feel about it, and I don't think I could confidently vote either way. 

Some Christians preach that the biblical stance is against gay marriage, but I wonder if those same Christians check the clothing label on every item of clothing they wear, since the bible also discourages wearing clothes of blended thead (Leviticus 19:19). 

I wonder if they eat ham, bacon or anything else made from a pig (Leviticus 11:8).

I wonder if any of them have tattoos (Leviticus 19:28). 

I wonder if any of them eat lobster, crab, crawfish, oysters, clams, shrimp, etc (Leviticus 11:10). 

I wonder if any of the men shave their faces in the morning (Leviticus 19:27). 

I wonder if the women ever braid their hair, wear gold jewelry, or wear revealing/expensive clothes or shoes (1 Timothy 2:9).

I also wonder if people who are "boycotting" Chic-fil-A because of the owners comments or because the company is donating money to "undesirable causes" research what some of the other companies they buy products from donate to. Do they spend time looking up all the organizations that Wal-Mart, Target, CVS, Walgreens, Kroger, etc give to.  Are they judging other companies the same way they are judging Chic-fil-A?

Yes, most of the above bible verses are found in the Old Testament, and many Christians focus more on the New Testament, especially the Gospels where Jesus teaches us to love one another, forgive one another, and leave the judgement up to someone who is more powerful than us. 

I am not a biblical scholar (in fact, I'm probably lacking in most of my biblical knowledge), I'm not a political activist (I will admit, I don't research issues as much as I should), I AM however a Catholic sinner.  I trust that I am forgiven for my sins, and I believe that others are as well. 

I honestly don't know how I feel about gay marriage/civil unions.  I have friends who are gay/lesbian, and I certainly don't think I am any better than they are because I am in love with a member of the opposite sex.  I don't want to deprive anyone the rights that I have.  On the other side, I believe in my church, and my church doesn't support the right for gay marriage.  

On a recent Facebook post, a friend wrote that we should take the word "marriage" out of the discussion and focus on civil unions, but even when you are married in a religious setting or married by a priest/minister, you still have to get a marriage license from the state.  When you go to the JP and have a legal ceremony, it's still considered a marriage, not a civil union, right? 

I'm sure people will say I'm missing something here, but this is my opinion.