One of my favorite places

One of my favorite places in the world is Ouray, Colorado. Ouray is a small town, about 90 miles southeast of Grand Junction (where I spent most of my influential growing up years--those between middle school and college).

In the early '90s my family took a road-trip to Ouray for a weekend away to celebrate my mom's birthday. It was a little like the Christmas story--we arrived under darkness, only to find there was no room at the inn--literally. Even though it was late in the summer tourist season (end of September), there was a big Jeep Jamboree in town and all the hotels, B&Bs and inns were booked solid (and my parents hadn't called ahead for reservations--totally out of character for them). Thankfully, an inn owner took pity on us (I think he listened to my dad's request and then looked out the window and saw our sad faces in the car), and offered us the use of his rental cottage--right on Main Street. We totally hit the jackpot and after a worrisome start to the weekend, ended up having a wonderful adventure.

The trip to Ouray became an annual tradition and a special weekend getaway for our family. On every visit we'd stop by the Ouray Candy Co., the Rock Shop, the Ouray Glassworks, and a souvenir shop or two. One time we went horseback riding, and another time we took a jeep tour through the back country (beautiful!). Sometimes we'd go hiking, or take a drive up through the mountains. Ouray is nestled in a valley, surrounded by towering peaks, and the scenery is truly awe-inspiring. Oh, and I almost forgot to mention the hot springs pool!

Our Kappes Family Vacation 2010 to Grand Junction wouldn't be complete without a stop in Ouray (actually, I don't think my mom would have left the state without a stop in her favorite place). It was fun to share the city with my brother's wife and kids--they especially enjoyed the hot springs pool (Carter and Halle swam for hours with Auntie and Papa helping them race across the pool!).

(Waiting for lunch at the Pub on Main St--Halle was entertaining Nana and Papa)

It was a wonderful day filled with special memories--both new and old!

Ouray is one of the those places that I could definitely see myself living one day...I could see myself working at the bookstore on Main St., running out on my break to grab a latte from the coffee shop down the street, then heading home at night to my log cabin (complete with wood fireplace). The only downside would be that the nearest Target is 36 miles away, and I'd probably have to shovel snow...but even those things would be manageable (I'd just need to have the funds to be able to afford living there!).

If you've never been to Ouray, I'd highly recommend a visit--any time of the year! Not all the shops are open in the winter, but the hot springs are great and the views are spectacular!

A message from God in an un-holy city

My family doesn't gamble, but for some reason, we enjoy visiting Las Vegas--strange, I know. And, it just happened to work out that for our family trip to Colorado (between Christmas and New Years), my parents and I found a good travel deal that would route us through Vegas....and then, through an unplanned turn of events, we ended up spending the night in Vegas. On Christmas Day.

After a morning spent opening gifts with my niece and nephew and the rest of the Kappes clan, my parents and I flew out to Sin City. We arrived in early evening and though Dad elected to stay at our hotel (off the strip and near the airport), Mom and I decided to hop the shuttle and head down to the action.

And action we found. I've been to LV several times, but I've never seen the strip as busy as it was that night. Wall-to-wall people and most of them were foreigners! Bring it on! Help us boost our American economy!

Mom and I had two stops we wanted to make (three if you count a stop to eat dinner). One--we wanted to stop at Tiffany's to check out their 'charm bar' to see if there were any have-to-get charms (to add to the charm bracelets we purchased during a trip to New York City a few years ago). And two--we wanted to stop at the Bellagio Hotel to see their dancing fountains (set to music) as well as their arboretum (decorated for the holidays).

After we left Tiffany's and were waiting for the dancing fountains to start, Mom turned to me and asked "Are we bad?" I immediately knew what she was asking...were we bad to be in this city on Christmas Day, shopping at expensive stores and standing in front of expensive hotels? I said, "No, we're not bad...we do good things, we give, we love others...." It was a pretty flimsy answer--which we both pondered for a few minutes.

But then the dancing fountain show started--the fountains at the Bellagio are amazing, choreographed, shooting high into the sky, turning and twirling. It's hard to explain (or justify) if you've never seen it in person, but of all the sights and sounds in the Las Vegas--this one is a must see. They do different "shows" every 15 minutes, and the show we just happened to see was set to the music of....the Hallelujah Chorus. Yes, that's right. A secular hotel in a very secular city choose a very non-secular piece of music for their dancing fountains display--and it wasn't just the orchestration--the music included the lyrics, drawn from the book of Revelation.

It was amazing and my pictures do not do it justice. Suffice it to say that Mom and I were in complete awe. The flash mobs and silent monks have nothing on the fountains at the Bellagio.

After it was over I joked that the musical choice was God's message to us that we were "ok" and that "He's here too."

Hallelujah Chorus by George Handel, from Handel's 'Messiah'

|: Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! :|

|: For the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth.
Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! :|

For the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.
|: Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! :|

The kingdom of this world
Is become the kingdom of our Lord,
And of His Christ, and of His Christ;
And He shall reign for ever and ever,
For ever and ever, forever and ever,

King of kings, and Lord of lords,
|: King of kings, and Lord of lords, :|
And Lord of lords,
And He shall reign,
And He shall reign forever and ever,
King of kings, forever and ever,
And Lord of lords,
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

And He shall reign forever and ever,
|: King of kings! and Lord of lords! :|
And He shall reign forever and ever,
King of kings! and Lord of lords!
Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

An education

Ten years ago this week, I was on Christmas break, in the middle of my senior year at Mesa State College (Grand Junction, Colorado), visiting my family in South Dakota, and preparing to take the GMAT (a graduate admissions test for business students). The GMAT scores are valid for 5 years and though I didn't have any type of solid plan, I was sure that I would start graduate school sometime shortly after my college graduation.

Ten years later I finished a master's program--though my path to graduation was completely different than I had originally envisioned.

I did not go to business school. I did not get an MBA. I did not use my GMAT scores.

But, I did...
...live in Thailand (and received an education of a different sort).
...start an MBA program (but discovered I wanted a different experience from my undergrad--in business management--and left the program after one class).
...begin a career in higher education administration (and now have 7-1/2 years of experience at two different universities under my belt).

There were definitely times I wanted to quit and was so tired of writing research papers (especially during the early days in my program when I didn't have internet access at home!). But thanks to the support of friends and family, and my own desire to accomplish something, I FINISHED.

I tell people I'm done with school--that you won't see me in a doctoral program...but, who knows. Ten years from now I might have something different to say.

The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Come on, ring those bells!

Despite no snow and no cold weather in Phoenix, I love this time of year. I love the joy, the carols, the sharing of the story of Jesus' birth, the presents (I mean, of course, that I love wrapping the presents!), the Christmas lights, the food--and I even love the hustle and bustle. I love the chance to reconnect with old friends and to reminisce about old memories as I pull out the Christmas decorations. And I love singing Christmas carols (anyone want to go caroling with me?!).

The other thing I love about Christmas is the sound of ringing bells. A few years ago, while living in South Dakota, I started playing hand bells with a group at my church. Though I had taken piano lessons for several years and knew how to read music, I had never picked up a hand bell before. The biggest difference between playing piano and playing the hand bells is that with piano you're an individual, with hand bells you're part of a larger group and everyone has to work together as a team to make the music "work." (And at times, it can be hard work!)

(This is me ringing alongside my friends Karady and Nancy)

This past spring my church here in Phoenix purchased a used set of hand bells and I've enjoyed being part of the first group to ring them. We rang several Christmas pieces this past Sunday and the weather was nice enough that we could play outside!

Anyone who loves music should try their hand at hand bells (pun intended). There's really only one thing you need to know in order to play--you need to know how to COUNT! Being able to read music is helpful, but not required since most people mark the notes they're responsible for with a highlighter or colored pencil. Having a sense of musicality is also helpful, but not necessary (it's helpful for when you get lost in the music and you're waiting for your neighbor to whisper the measure number!). But being able to count is a necessity--your assigned bells play at different times, in different measures, and you need to be able to follow along with the beats!

I love the challenge of playing hand bells. I love the fact that I have to let go of my perfectionist tendencies when I play--not only do I make mistakes, but my fellow ringers also make mistakes and I've had to learn to let go and just have fun! Wrong notes can very clearly be heard when playing bells but the show must go on!

I also love that like all music, every hand bell composition has some sort of musical story, or rather, a musical journey--a journey that I enjoy traveling with my bell ringing colleagues.

(My nephew Carter enjoyed "directing" the bells, and niece Halle had fun dancing to the music!)

Oh, and though I forgot to blog about this earlier in the year, this completes #92 on the list!

Fa la la la la!

This past weekend I made my debut performance in the Festival of Lights (FOL) at Palmcroft Baptist Church. For 15 years, Palmcroft has hosted a FOL Christmas production (different every year) that includes choir, drama, live orchestration and lights that hang from the rafters and criss-cross around the room (75,000 lights in all!). Though I had attended the performance last year as part of the audience, this was my first time involved as a member of the choir and I had a blast.

(See the lights hanging from the ceiling above the set? They're strung all around the auditorium like that!)

I loved it all--the singing, dancing, acting, sharing of the Christmas story and that God is the "Hope of the World." I loved the months spent memorizing music and the extra rehearsals leading up to the performances. I loved getting to know my fellow choir members more personally and making some new friends. I loved praying for people in the audience who were perhaps hearing the salvation message for the first time in their lives. Truly it was an amazing experience to be part of something with eternal implications.

I loved seeing everyone's costumes, and hanging out "backstage." And I loved that the program didn't list any names--though we were having a great time, it wasn't about us--we were simply a vessel, a tool, to be used for God's purposes.

(My friends Kara and Heather made great singing partners and wonderful new friends!)

A quick note for anyone interested in attending in future years (it's never too early to start thinking about who you'd like to invite!): the event is completely free--an outreach to the community, friends, family, co-workers, neighbors--but tickets are required (the performances are packed--we even had to add an extra performance this year!).

(Carter and Halle came to the first performance with mommy and daddy, and then came back
on day 2 for cookies and hot apple cider with nana and papa!)