city limits

Sometimes it's nice to get out of the city limits of Seattle. Today was full of travel. I was all over the place.

Started by waking up and making breakfast for Kelsey. Discovered something new to add to the recipe book: banana pancakes...nothing special by any means. But it was nice to have something new and different Kels really enjoyed it...success.

Our first stop was Enumclaw. Today, we celebrated Kelsey's mom's birthday. So much fun. To start off, I haven't seen the Henderson family in quite some time...it was definitely nice to hang around the house and catch up with everybody. We went out to a late dinner at a very nice Italian restaraunt (forgot the name) in Sumner.....I haven't been there in forever! So nostalgic! I had the crab filled ravioli........yummy....but waaaay too rich. The next two hours were filled with good eats and better conversation. We eventually found ourselves engaged in a discussion regarding dating within the Christian community. It was interesting to hear such strong beliefs regarding dating in the Christian circle. I enjoyed it because I found myself at odds with some of the ideas presented.

    --I wonder if I'll ever really understand the stereotypical Christian "dating community." It's not my place to judge but, personally, I believe people think too much. When Kels and I started dating, I wasn't a Christian. Sure, I was searching...but still...definitely not following Christ. After much discussion and soul searching on my part, I made the decison to follow Christ. Turned out very well for me, obviously! I'm glad Kels took that chance with me. Of course, it won't always turn out like it did for me. Which is why we must be careful if we're dating outside the Christian community. But the idea that we must limit our options or be "good friends" before anything else (kinda unrelated, but an idea I've heard more than once) is kind of ridiculous, in my opinion. Dating is so you can get to know somebody...no pressure! Anyways....done with my side rant.

I hung out in Enumclaw for the remainder of the evening. As I was driving back to Seattle, I got a text message from Laura saying, "Bianco wants u to come drink with us quickly get ur ass over here." So...I ended up in Bellevue, in the pub by 1AM. Hung out and had a few drinks with some old friends from Western. They were in Bellevue for the NWMENC conference. Even though I was only with them for an hour or less, it felt longer. It felt like I was back in Bellingham, at a local bar with my friends. I really enjoyed myself and wish I had ended up there earlier in the evening.

And now, I'm back home in Seattle. Seriously, it's nice to get out of the city limits sometimes. So much of the time, I feel like a robot. Go to work. Go home. Sleep. Go to work. Go home. Go to work. Go to Bellingham. Go home. Sleep. Go to work. I think a lot of this has to do with the fact that I don't have a lot of really close friends in Seattle...and, unfortunately, it's been hard to see the friends I do have in town. Lately, I've been so exhausted at the end of the day that I just go home and lounge around...meaning, I pass out. Wake up. Go to work. I love my job, but I am so glad that mid-winter break is here. Such a relief, and I intend to make the most of it =)