Harry Potter and other stuff

We saw the new Harry Potter movie last night. It was really good. Although Isaac and I spent about 30 minutes talking about all the stuff left out. I guess you do have to cut material from a 700 page book. The movie was already 2 1/2 hours and I wasn't ready for it to be over!

Isaac got me hooked on the HP books, even though I'm not so much into fantasy. I guess I was again enthralled by the human relationships between the characters. Love Harry, Hermione, and Ron. And Luna is priceless too! It was a treat to take Isaac to see the movie on the first day, even though it meant we didn't get to bed till midnight.

I had a dream last night that I couldn't breathe. What do you know I wake up this morning with a stuffy nose. No wonder I had that dream! My allergies have been doing a number on me this year. Zyrtec and advil take care of it, but I hate taking it almost every day. Oh well... Love living in NC more. : )

We're off to TN tomorrow for a long weekend. The weather is supposed to be nice as we're a little higher up in elevation. I'm hoping for a good hike or two, and some bonfires outside. Isaac's mom and Nana live on a 80 acre piece of property. His grand-dad built the 3 level cabin himself--in his 60's!! I'll be sure to post pictures when I get back.

Updates

Gonna do this in bullet form!

• Isaac's averaging 11 hour days, 6 days a week so far. (And he went in at 5:00 am today!) Good news is that he gets to work with an old boss and coworkers fairly regularly--and he's been encouraged by that.
  
• We're heading to TN this weekend to visit Isaac's family. His brother, SIL, and nephew will be there. This is our first extended visit together ever. Excited about seeing everyone.
• My 10 year old niece Haley is coming the last week in July to spend a week with us. I am so excited. She is going to Eco-Explorer's camp at Umstead Park during the day, and gets to camp overnight on the last day. (I want to go camp with her!)
• I ran 10 miles with the Galloway group on Saturday. It felt really good actually and that's the first time I've been able to run that far in over a year. 5 miles yesterday in our beautiful 78 degree weather. Taking the day off to go to spin class tonight.
• Isaac's company is hosting an engineer from England--and we are going to take him to dinner next week since he can't drive in the US. We're looking forward to that.
• The Harry Potter movie is coming out tomorrow. Isaac is SO excited. I think he'd go to the midnight showing tonight if he weren't up at 4 am this morning.
• I'm thinking about studying for the PMP (Project Management Professional) exam. Not sure if I'm even eligible. I have to fill out a HUGE application first to see. Wish me luck. 70% of candidates pass the first time. I'll be self-studying since BB&T has no training $'s in the budget.
• We are thinking about running the Rock 'N Roll 1/2 marathon on Labor Day weekend in Va. Beach. Just trying to figure out if Isaac will have enough time to train, and if I can stay healthy (i.e. non-injured) till then!

Have a great week. Would love to hear from you all!

Family Crucible

I just finished re-reading The Family Crucible by Dr. Augustus Napier and Dr. Carl Whitaker. This is one of my books from graduate school at Gordon Conwell. It's a fascinating book and takes the reader on a journey through a fictional family in family therapy. Family therapy is exactly what it sounds like--the whole family participates int the therapeutic process, not just individuals on their own.

Family therapy is a really different approach to therapy. It is based on the idea that the whole family system is responsible for the problems families experience... not just individuals. So, when there are martial problems, or a "black sheep" in the family, or a trouble maker... this is a result of the whole family's interactions, and not just the individual. Some people get "scape goated" into being the focus of the family's "problems." It's an easy way to take the heat off what's going on in the rest of the family.

I think this is a fascinating approach, and if I were to be a counselor at some point, I think I would like to do this kind of therapy. BUT, this is pretty complex since you have so many people involved.

I often wonder what it would be like to be a counselor. But honestly, I haven't had the guts to go DO this. For some years, it was due to financial reasons. I couldn't support myself and do the hours of training needed to obtain licensure. But this is less of a reason now. So, we'll see where this leads. It's been nice to go re-read some of my old grad school materials and feel re-energized by the concepts there. If nothing else, it is giving me a new way of looking at issues.

Anyway... enough pondering for one day. I would love your prayers as I explore counseling opportunities, even if it is on a volunteer basis. Have a good day!

Grayson Highlands, VA

We had a great camping trip July 4th weekend with our dear, dear, friends the Casey's. Julie and Alan and I went camping to Grayson Highlands several times years ago... so it was fun to get out there again after all this time. GH is in SW Virginia, and it is a gorgeous state park. The temperatures are so cool because you are so high up in the mountains. I think our high for the weekend was around 70 degrees. There are so many neat hiking trails, some that take you along the Appalachian Trail. We saw a beautiful waterfall on the Cabin Creek Trail. Here is a nice picture of my sweetie by the waterfall. Isn't he cute?



Grayson Highlands also has WILD PONIES. How neat is that? This time I got to see lots of baby ponies, and they were precious! Here is my favorite one of the bunch. I wanted to put her in my car on the way home. But for some reason, Isaac wasn't in to that idea. : )

Isaac called our camping trip similar to camping at "Camp Marriott." I whole heartedly agree. The Casey's treated us to a turkey, rice, and apple dinner... and Belgian waffles and bacon on Saturday morning. How fancy is that!? We are so thankful for our friends, and hope we can make this trip on an annual basis.

More on Isaac's new job later... so far he's working 11 or 12 hour days. EEK! But we're still thankful for a job.