In Need of Prayer Again

Last time I had a prayer request, the bulk of you got e-mails. I was unable to say anything on the internet because......Meghan was to be kept in the dark over the fact that I was flying to see her.

Well now......my time in Pittsburgh is up. It is going to be a very emotional day for me, I can tell you that already.

So, I come to you all and ask for prayer. For peace as I board and as I fly. (My flight leaves Pittsburgh at 6:45 P.M. EST and gets back home at 10:55 P.M. MST) And I also need prayer for grace as I leave.

I will be back in touch when I get home....and after I have had a day to get over jet lag =)

Thanks so very much, y'all.

Pittsburgh Itself

Big cities are something that I do not get to "explore" all that often. After all, where I live, tall buildings aren't exactly "the thing." So, yesterday, Mr. Gorecki took Meghan, Sara, and myself all around town. I greatly appreciate his willingness to show off his city.



First stop was the Point, which is where the three rivers (Allegheny, Monongahela, and the Ohio) come together. Mom remembers that was where the old stadium for the Pittsburgh Pirates used to be. It was also where Fort Pitt stood.





The tunnel that we went through to get into the city.


The point had a fountain....which apparently gives off more water. But like with every city, something is being worked on.

The three girls
A riverboat. My Bub (Mom's maternal grandfather) used to pilot these.
I think this is pretty self explanatory. But if it isn't.....it marks the exact site where Fort Pitt once stood. All that is left is the Block House, which I went inside by the way
Heinz Field....that's where the Steelers play.

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Not exactly in chronological order, but anyway.........There was a stop in between these next pictures. We went to the top of Mt. Washington by taking the incline. It is hard to describe--it was a car on a cable and....yeah, it involves heights and motion =)

Can you tell I was just a little freaked out =)

Sara took this picture out of the window. Me, I was more nervous, so I wouldn't look.

The view from the top
I can't tell you which bridge and river this is....because I don't know myself.

I am so proud of this picture. I took the panorama....ALL BY MYSELF!!

More views from the top

Again, the three girls at the top

Meghan and myself

Just me =)

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In between going to Mt. Washington and at the Point, we went to Station Square. It is a shopping mall of sorts in an old train station.

Now, some funny photos.

Sara demanded that I get a picture of me with this guy. I think his name was Punch and it was outside of a tobacco store =)

And Sara is hilarious. I love the Dr. Seuss wig in Steelers colors. =)

What is a day without Starbucks? =)

There are a lot of memories that don't have pictures--like eating yummy turkey salad sandwiches in the parking garage, buying something for my brother, finding myself a political mug that I just had to get (and then kicking myself that I didn't get another one for my dear sister, Jen), and so many other things.......but I hope you get the gist of everything. It was definitely an experience I won't soon forget.

Taking A Trip Down Mom's Memory Lane

Perhaps your childhood has been a lot like mine. You have grown up hearing stories about your Mom and Dad's homes, their schools, their churches, etc. Well, being in Pittsburgh, I have had the opportunity to explore my mom's old haunts, as she grew up here for fifteen years.

Sadly, we were not able to make the trip together (one day!) But Mom made me a list of places that I must go to and I thought I would post them on the blog. If no one but Mom enjoys them, I am fine with that.

It so happened that the day I was scheduled to go to Pleasant Hills, it was pouring down rain! =( So a lot of my pictures were spent being like a jack in the box.

See.....I took a few pictures through the sun roof.

Here is the church where some of my grandparents went....well, the sign of it =)

Here is the church. (Sorry that Mrs. Goecki's head is in the way, Mom =)


McClellan Drive....my Mom's Elementary school was on this street.

Has this sign changed at all Mom since you went there?

Because I am sure the school itself has

I am disappointed that I couldn't get a picture of this sign better. If I had been paying attention on the way into Pleasant Hills, I would have gotten a much better picture of "Jefferson Memorial Cemetery" (since I was on the right side of the street earlier =) Anyway, a lot of my relatives are buried there. Some day, I hope Mom will show me where they are buried.

129 Green Drive. My Mom's paternal grandparents lived in this house.

142 Marshall Circle. My Mom's maternal grandparents lived there. I did have the time to meet and know them; they lived in Florida in their last few years....when we did.

Temona Drive.....my Mom's house was on this street!


The house number where Mom lived

The house where my precious Mother spent many years of her life.

Visiting my Mom's "homestead"


I also got to visit the place where Mom spent many happy times sledding.

The hillside. Pennsylvania has a lot of them =) It's been culture shock in a way

One of the paths

Higher up....or was the camera on zoom?

That's what it was. There was no way I was going to go "hiking" in sandals....in the rain....

But I think it would be fun someday....when I am dressed more practically.

And last but not least, the Pleasant Hills library. I remember Mom telling me about an old librarian named Mrs. Hubbs. Has it changed at all?

I hoped you enjoyed the picture tour, Mom. I want to one day take it slower....and with you.

I'm Not Here to Buy

While I am not one of those girls that has to go shopping every day of the week and increase their wardrobe with every trip, I do enjoy browsing through stores. Sure, it is great when you can buy things, but more often than not, either your frugality or your common sense convinces you to just look and "have fun."

I have gone on two such trips here in Pittsburgh. The first was back on Friday and I went to my first antique shop. Meghan is majorly into antiquing and even though she didn't know I was coming this year, it was on her agenda to go with me. So we did.

I thought antique shops were just a place to keep junk....and sell it for some times ridiculously high prices. But actually, I had fun looking around. Being a 1940's and 50's fan of classic movies, I loved the hats and wardrobe pieces. =)

You can't really see the hat in this picture. It was a green featherish contraption that I had a problem figuring out how it worked. =) Honestly, how women like Audrey, Grace Kelly, and Jackie O wore hats all the time is beyond me. The coat was "vintage" too (I wanted to take it home with me and replace mine with its blasted hood =)

The three of us girls with hats on. First off, I can't believe that I left the price tag hanging down. Second of all, I am not a fan of hats with the netting over them. This one had green dots on the netting to boot, so it looks like I had a case of green chicken pox.

This time, Sara left the price tag in plain site. Sadly, I don't have a picture of Meghan in an outfit. I can't even remember if she tried something on...besides a hat.

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Then on Sunday after church, the three of us girls went to the Galleria Mall. I have determined that that mall is for the upper crust of Pittsburgh's citizens, because I certainly couldn't afford one single blessed thing. (Well, that is not true. I did buy Mom something =)

After a positively wondeful lunch at Panera Bread (my second trip, as I am making up for not having it for six years), we browsed in shops. Meghan and Sara took me into a store called Anthropologie, saying that I would be able to fit into the clothes.

While I have determined that to be so, I have also determined that spending over $130 dollars on a dress isn't something I can do.....unless I might have a very good reason....and I didn't. But that didn't stop me from trying on two dresses....and wishing I could take one of them home with me.

I do not really care for this picture, but at least you can see the color. However, it was a bit on the short side.

I loved this green dress, and I am sorry that the picture is fuzzy. Meghan was shooting into the mirror, that's why. I wanted to take this one home, although it was a tad too low and just a tad too short. I loved the color =)

We girls probably annoyed the sales associates to no end with our "I'm not here to buy, just to try" mentality. But we made memories....and that is the important thing.

Power of Prayer

Twenty-four hours before I left home, I felt like chickening out of visiting my friend. I didn't think Meghan was worth being brave about. I wanted to stay in my own little world, in relative safety and familiarity... forget about adventuring in the Great Unknown. Deep down, I knew I would have to "suck it up" but I didn't want to.

Wednesday morning dawned after a rough night of sleep, a night spent with a lot of crying and, of course, a vivid imagination. I got up and did everything I needed to do and we departed for the airport. I made Mom promise not to cry until after I left and couldn't see her anymore. I am so happy to say that she did that!

Starting from the beginning, God was right there as I departed and "tested my wings." I had had this dream of meeting one of our local network personalities. And golly, that happened. He was right in front of me as I went through securtity (acting much more sure of myself than I really was) and we talked a bit as we waited for our flight. That helped me get my mind on other subjects and not on that airplane.

But I could only talk with him for so long. I had to get on my flight and with a deep breath, I did. I closed my eyes and prayed and prayed and prayed. I got through takeoff and landing; I even got to Chicago even a bit earlier than anticipated. God knew that I didn't want my flight to be on the opposite side of the airport....and it wasn't. I even made the decision to walk a ways by myself to find something eat (which, incidently, I have learned that I don't really need to eat after I fly. My tummy doesn't feel good =)

What was more amazing to me was the flight from Chicago to Pittsburgh. I don't know why that flight so much, since both of them were fine and with very little turbulence. But during that flight, I really felt you all praying for me. I totally felt like my plane really was hemmed in all sides that, that I was surrounded by the Lord and his angels. I know that might sound weird, but it is SO true.

God knows infintely more than I do. He knew that I would be alright and that ALL would be alright. Once again, I was left in awe of the power of prayer....and the extra grace He bestows when I doubt it all over again.

Safely in Pittsburgh

Well, it's hard to believe, but I am now safely arrived in Pittsburgh. In fact, I have been with Meghan and her family for twenty-four hours, but I have been unable to post until now.

Details about my trip will be in a forthcoming post. I especially need to tell you about how awesome prayer really is. But I thought you would want to see pictures of Meghan's reaction before that =)


She was positively flabbergasted.....to say the least. I think her expression says it all!


By this point, she is still stunned, surprised, in shock, everything. It was definitely worth flying....I think =)

The three girls: Sara, myself, and Meghan. We're going to be roommates for the next thirteen days. I highly doubt we will get at each other's throats.

Me and Meghan. Friends that have gotten to meet at last. I hope that one day, there will be more pictures like this, but for now, this is good enough. YOu can read Mrs. Gorecki's post about it here.

Oh, and if you are curious as to why the glasses are absent--I had left my purse in the car and my glasses case was in there. I doubted people wanted pictures with me in big sunglasses....so I just took them off.

I hope you look forward to many more posts from Pittsburgh!

Past Stars Online

Maybe your family is like mine.....or actually like we used to be. You like to watch movies; you aren't anti TV. The only problem is that you can find only so much to watch. After all, it is hard to find anything current that doesn't have raw sex or language in it. In fact, new movies that are good are few and far between. And you can only watch 1970'd Disney movies so many times, right?

Well, introducing Past Stars Online, a movie review site dedicated to classic movies from the 1930's, 1940's, and 1950's. Though it is only just beginning, you will discover reviews to many films you have undoubtedly heard of. Made apart are the "flaws" that can be found so you know what to expect.

I have gotten the wonderful opportunity to be a reviewer for Past Stars. For those who know me well, you know that I watch old movies as often as I can, and now I can have a chance to make them apparent to families. Maybe yours will find a classic gem (My family has, I don't know, dozens of them now =)