Adjusting and Birthday

Hey!

I haven't written in about a week and a half... so sorry! I've just been busy adjusting to life in the south.
Friday was my 18th birthday! C:
So, I went to the gas station first thing in the morning and bought a scratch off lottery ticket, a power ball lottery ticket, a cigarillo (and obviously a lighter), and celebrated my first freedoms of being an adult. I think I'll save the strip club for some other time C; (that's a wink face).

Friday night I went to Asheville with my dad and we went to a minor league ("Asheville Tourists") game and ate at a restaurant called The Jerusalem Garden Cafe where some lady belly danced while two guys played a drum and a mandolin/lute (played them very well, too!) and she kept dancing and stuff for people while we were all eating. Then she passed around a tip basket. She was good, but really? We didn't ask for the dancing, nor was there any notice of it...
The food was pretty good, and I might eat there again, but I think there are more things to try while in Asheville instead, so I probably won't eat there for a while.

Saturday we went to Greenville, South Carolina... Can I just say that it is the most BEAUTIFUL city I've ever been in?! There are tiny waterfalls DOWNTOWN and you can walk along them because of city trails that are safe, clean, and open. There's also a bridge that seems similar to the Millennium Bridge in London--but a good distance shorter. There are also tons and tons of really good and different places to eat, too! Just so much to choose from! We ate at a Cuban/Mexican fusion place that had a really good selection on vegetarian and vegan options... actually, most of the restaurants in Greenville seemed to have good options on almost any menu for vegetarians! I highly recommend visiting Greenville if you ever get the chance.

Then, today I met up with a woman who used to teach at Wayland (my high school), Heidi ("Ms. E"). We ate lunch at "Fresh Pizza and Pasta" in Black Mountain (about an hour away... had to drive through the mountains today for the first time and by myself! So scary!). They had wonderful salads and Fire Oven pizzas that could be gluten-free if needed! So I tried the "Fun Guy" Pizza (Mushrooms, Risotto Cheese, Feta Cheese, Basil, with a red sauce base) gluten free, and it was AMAZING! Definitely going to be visiting that place again sometime soon....
But anyways, Heidi has an aunt who lives about 20-30 minutes from Asheville, and together, the three of us went to the Pisgah National Forest. While there, we went down "Sliding Rock" three times, and then swam in the "Looking Waterfall" for a little while. The water there is very cold... anywhere from 50-60 degrees Fahrenheit, but it's so hot outside that it feels refreshing. Then it just gets cold. Then you can't really feel anything.
But I loved it! I can't wait to take my mom and sister and hopefully my cousins and aunt someday if they ever visit us in the summer! The only downside is that it's about an hour and forty five minutes away from my house... but I'm sure the car ride wouldn't be so bad if there were others in the car as well!

It was such a great day! But now tomorrow I'll be back to my boring days at home. At least I have my guitar and netflix! C:

xxox,
lizzie

p.s..

Sliding Rock (The drop from rock to water is about a foot and the water is about 8 ft deep. The admission price was only $1, and worth it because the Pisgah National Forest is so beautiful and clean and fun! By the way, these are not my photos):

Moved!

Hello,
So, after 14 hours and 7 states, phase one of my move was complete and pretty successful.

Before I moved though, I had a little road trip adventure with some coworkers from the deli! Sheena, Taylor, Miranda and I all decided to get one last beach type day while I was still in Wisconsin. So, after my car was packed up and everything was mostly set, we hit the road.... unfortunately it was about 4:30 at that time. We figured we'd still be able to get a few hours of fun in--we were going to Spring Lake, which was near Kingston (only about a half an hour to 45 minutes away).
This area is beautiful--I kid you not--eat your heart out rolling hills and farming countryside. It was especially beautiful because of the fading sunlight which casted a summertime orange-ish glow on everything. Plus, there is a pretty large Amish community in the area who are pretty friendly most of the time and will wave whenever you pass them (and they have an excellent bakery!).
Eventually, though, we took one wrong turn which lead us out of cell phone service (and GPS service on our cell phones!) It took us probably an extra 15-25 minutes, but we were in actuality only about 10 minutes from where we wanted to be... hahaha.
After swimming for about 30 minutes, we left to go back home and meet another coworker, Maria, for ice cream at Dairy Queen. We sat and talked for about an hour and it was honestly one of the best nights I've ever had! I'm really going to miss (and I already do!) these great friends I gained over the last 6 months.

Moving day/Saturday:

We got up at 3 a.m. and left the house by 3:30, and after fueling up, we hit the road at about 3:45. I fell asleep from about 4:15 until 6, and then at like 7:30 again. The night before I only got about an hour and a half of sleep, so I slept about half the trip... hahaha. But anyways, the trip was fun at times because of just talking to my dad and sharing random stories.
We finally got home at about 6:15, but we had to pick up his car from work, and since he works less than 10 minutes from the film site of District 12 in the Hunger Games movie, we stopped there just to peek.
Then we were home.

Sunday:

My dad and I went up to Asheville to watch a baseball game in their minor league stadium (The Asheville Tourists). It was about 101 degrees, so we only stayed for about an hour and a half and then went downtown to look around and eat a late lunch/early dinner at a great place called Mayfel's.
This place is great for my family because it serves really good vegetarian food, and really good meat food (or so I've heard from my family). All burgers can be changed to black bean burgers! So I had a "Zeus Burger" which had spinach, feta cheese, crushed olive salad, tomato, and a red pepper spread with a black bean burger on a ciabatta bun. SO good, but I think my favorite is still the barbecue tofu, but you can only get that after 4, and we were there just a bit too early for that.

My dad didn't really like his, though, because he could taste a lot of onion in the olive salad (we both HATE onions), so he ate half and boxed the other half up.
About a half an hour later as we were wondering along the streets of Asheville, this guy stops my dad on the sidewalk and says "Man, can I have that styrofoam because I'm really hungry" (or something in that nature). The guy looked to be in his early or mid 20s, and he didn't look homeless, he just was hungry and either too lazy to go get something, or he had a short lunch break at one of the stores downtown. It kind of reminded me of Wayland, where you bring stuff out from the dining hall like a sandwich or you buy chips from the vending machine, and people ask you if you want the rest of it. Kind of like that.
The best part was as we walked away, I turned behind and watched the guy open the box and his face was priceless. I'm pretty sure he said "Awesome!" when he saw the huge half of a sandwich left in there. I turned to my dad who whispered to me, "I didn't even like it that much! He can have it if he wants!"
I think that will be a story I'll remember for a long time, because if you knew my dad, you would know he makes fun of hippies and certain types of artists who live in a hippie-ish way, so for him to be confronted by one asking him for his food is a pretty great image if you need a laugh.
:)

I'm going to go eat breakfast and get ready now!

xoxx,
lizzie

p.s...
My burger at Mayfel's

Some funny things along the way.. except the mountains, those are just beautiful!

This is the bakery where Peeta lives and works! :) About 20 minutes away from my house.

Caption: "The only Ten-I-See"(driving through Tennessee) 

My new hair color! I just dip dyed some of it in purple and blue.

"The Music Won't Last" and Beauty

hi!

This weekend we showed the house to an interested family (it's not even on the market yet!), so I obviously had to make the finishing touches on gutting out my room. While doing so, I found this wonderful poem that I once had to read with some friends during school mass in elementary school (I went to a Catholic school).
This poem was written by a terminally ill young girl in a New York hospital.

Slow Dance

Have you ever watched kids on a merry-go-round?
Or listened to the train slapping on the ground?
Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight?
Or gazed at the sun into the fading night?
You better slow down,
Don't dance so fast,
Time is short,
The music won't last.

Do you run through each day on the fly?
When you ask how are you, do you hear the reply?
When the day is over do you lie in you bed,
With the next hundred colors running through your head?
You better slow down,
Don't dance so fast,
Time is short,
The music won't last.

Ever told your child 'we'll do it tomorrow',
And in your haste, not see his sorrow?
Ever lost touch--let a good friendship die,
Cause you never had time to call and say 'Hi'?
You better slow down,
Don't dance so fast,
Time is short,
The music won't last.

When you run so fast to get somewhere,
you miss half the fun of getting there.
When you worry and hurry through your day,
It's like an unopened gift.........just thrown away.
Life is not a race,
So take it slower,
Hear the music,
Before the song is over.


This is a really good poem to take the time to read and remind myself to live in the moment and appreciate where I'm at and how I got to this point in my life. Yet, that is all I can do--the rest is left to fate and chance.

I was thinking while I was in my car today on the way to the Appleton mall with my family.... what is "natural beauty"? To me it doesn't depend solely on makeup or anything like that. To me, it depends on confidence and character. I believe someone can still be naturally beautiful with bright makeup colors on their face, but ONLY if that makeup is something true of their character; not just something they're trying to become, or something someone else wants to see on them. Natural beauty is doing what you want because YOU like it, and then owning up to it.
To me it is confidence in what you like and what you contribute to the world's humanity.

Not someone who thinks that they are cool, but someone who doesn't care if they're "in" or "out", and wouldn't give a damn either way. Does this make sense?

This is what I strive to find in myself. It is my goal for growing up.

Sleep on it or something if it doesn't make sense.

xoxx,
lizzie

p.s... 4 days left in Wisconsin, and 1 day on the road until I'm in North Carolina!

p.p.s...
I've been doing yoga with my sister lately! I'm sure this is what I look like... right?!