ALEP: More than just a long expected party

Holly and Kelly: I would also add sister bonding, music, weekend, unity and silly things to the labels part of this blog, but the label section cut me off after 200 characters. So much for that. Anyway, YES. This was the weekend of ALEP: A Long Expected Party. Now what was it? Fun, fellowship, geeking out, costumes, music, food, dancing, skits, workshops and PEOPLE. Lots of people! From all over the country and in some parts of the world...mostly Canada. It started this past Wednesday and concluded yesterday, and most people bought passes for the entire couple of days. As for the two of us, because we didn't know what we were going to be doing work wise and schedule wise, we opted for a Saturday day pass (bear in mind, we made these reservations 18 months ago. Not even joking. You wouldn't believe how fast spots filled up) And we're going to try and get some friends to come with us in 2017!!!!

We arrived Friday night around 7PM and checked into our room. Little did we know that's when the adventure would begin. We stayed in the West Lot Dwelling, which if you've ever been to Shaker Village, you know that....well, it's kind of out there. A mile and a half out there, away from the main part of the village. By the time we arrived it was starting to get dark. We got in the car and drove to the house, couldn't see the sign (which we figured out later that that was it) and then realized maybe we missed it and drove back to the main part of the village. We walked around for over an hour, going into the different houses where people stayed, desperately trying to find our room! Then, it dawned on me, maybe the building we saw the first time was it. So we drove allllllllllllll the way back out there (and it was dark by this point) and went to the first building we found, and sure enough, that was it. Holly's room key had two keys on it and mine only had one; the check in person at the desk said that she didn't need the second key but said to just keep it there so they wouldn't have to worry about it. We got to the West Lot house and the door was locked. I told her "try that other key the desk person said was useless" and sure enough, that spare key opened the side door. Thank GOODNESS we had it, otherwise we would have been stuck. So we moved all our stuff in, got settled and drove BACK to the main area, chilled out at the Dancing Pony, met a few people and that was the end of Friday. There were lots of catchy drinking songs; yes we have videos but they are too big and Blogger doesn't like that.

Saturday was a beautiful day! We got up early and I (Kelly) went downstairs to the kitchen and fumbled around trying to figure out how to use the complimentary coffee maker. It worked, after about 5 minutes of tinkering with it. Once we got to the main village, we just walked around, since nothing started till 10 in the morning and we got up there at like 9ish. It was nice to look around, explore and actually see all the sites in daylight! We ran into a few people we met the night before and bought some cool little trinkets (and I bought an Evenstar!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) Right before lunch time we went to a workshop by an artist who showcased various paintings and sketches of Middle Earth from the beginning of it until the fourth age (the end of Middle Earth). Oh. My Goodness. Beautiful and stunning artwork....kinda wish we would have snagged some pictures of them. After lunch was a bit of chill time before we decided to join the Hobbit choir. Our selections were May it Be and The Road Goes Ever On, which is from the musical. Yes, there is a LOTR musical and apparently will be world touring next year. Wee.

The big party was at the site where our house was we were staying at, so we took naps! The party site looked pretty much dead-on to Bilbo's birthday party in Fellowship. There was also a Bag End site that was built by two of the coordinators of ALEP. Let me tell you it is a SPOT ON replica (pictured below). Holly also did a Bag End painting about a year ago...it's in our den :)

So anyway, thus the party began. It was all outside and there were tables and chairs set up under lights and paper lanterns. Like I said, it looked exactly like Hobbiton. We were joined at a table with the only person we knew at the time and met lots of other awesome people! What was so interesting was that we were some of the youngest attendees, with the exception of a few families who brought their young children. At this party, there was AWESOME food, music (major kudos to the Great Hobbit Jam Band) and a HILARIOUS skit near the end. I would post my video, but Lord of the peepers took over and its sound quality is a bit rubbish, but I still have it for my enjoyment. Holly has a video as well, but its watchers may endure a grand mal seizure in an attempt to view it. Anyway, after the sun went down it got a bit chilly but there were gracious individuals who were warm hearted...and also had a few matches to spare for some lanterns that had tea lights in them. After a final parting song, we made our way back to the Dancing Pony again where we chatted, nibbled and had some lovely tea and used our new tea pots. Then it turned into a mini bar where a bit of drunken foolishness occurred and we left. This was at about 1AM and we got back to our room and craaaaaaaaashed. 

Sunday was very lovely. We arose a bit early, packed up our room and drove to the main village again. Debbie, who we knew and goes to our church and told us about this in the first place, led a mini church service so to speak. None of us were expecting a good turnout but actually about 20 people showed up! We sang, prayed and Debbie shared a devotional that she wrote, and it was lovely. After mini church, we stayed around for a bit and watched a fan made movie called The Hunt for Gollum. For being done by fans, it was really well done! The cinematography was stunning! Then we drove home, and on the way home my GPS got a bit wonky and we ended up driving through Danville. It was a nice detour to say the least. So there you have it. ALEP in a nut shell. Overall, the time was too short. It was too fast. We met a lot of awesome people, some only briefly, but there is no doubt we will meet again. It was more than just a bunch of costumes, dancing and food. It was a retreat, so to speak. A revamping of it all, not necessarily an escape, but a respite. It was different and special. And on that note, we will close with this: 

I (Holly) wrote this in my journal last night, and I think it captures the spirit and mentality of the weekend perfectly.  Until 2017...

I met so many wonderful people, all from such vast and different walks of life.  And yet, despite our differences, backgrounds, characters of choice, we were all bonded and united by this one love of this brilliant soul and his magical world that will forever captivate us...I pray for a continued, prolonged sense of wonder, that we will establish our own Shires, wherever we may be, and that we will never, ever lose sight of not only the time spent together this weekend, but of the One who made it all possible in the first place.

The Bracelet

Holly: Warning: this is not your typical 4th of July post about cook-out food, fireworks, etc.  Although I'm pretty sure I did eat my weight in horrendously unhealthy textbook "fair food", which may or may not have included cheese-smothered fries, kettle corn, and a rough half of a funnel cake and...I'll just stop now.

No, today, this 4th of July post is about this.

So this is a bracelet that bears two words on it: Respect and Honor.  Part of the festivities last night included seeing for KING & COUNTRY in concert.  They're a Christian rock duo from Australia, and they've only been around for a couple of years or so.  I will just say that if you haven't seem them yet, you are missing out.  Those Aussies sure do know how to put on a show!  P.S. For any of you fans into more classic CCM music, they're the brothers of Rebecca St. James.  

Anyway, they had just finished a few songs, and Joel, one of the band members, jhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhcgfv (pardon the Yoda interruption) was talking about relationships, and how they are all important to all the band members.  They're all married.  The point of his message was simple: ladies, do not let ANYONE treat you as second-best; we ought to be treated as the priceless jewels that we are, especially in the eyes of God.  And men ought to treat women with respect and honor.  All the band members wore these bracelets too, in addition to a necklace in the shape of a penny with the word "Priceless" stamped onto it.  He also said that our society has ingrained women to be cheap, as cheap as a penny (that's where the necklaces come in).  Towards the end Joel said "You know what, there's a special someone I'm going to give this to right now."  What happened next I will never forget: He got off the stage, took off the bracelet, and handed it to me.  

Yes.  Me.

And that's the end of the story, guys.  We stood in line and met them again.  I told him I didn't have anything for him to sign, I just wanted to give him a hug and thank him.  So I did.  

Kelly: And of course while this was all going on last night, I was standing beside her ugly crying. Because that's what I do. I ugly cry when something awesome, really happy or sad happens. And last night was awesome. Truly. The end. Probably one of the best 4th of July holidays I've ever had. Not to mention the band MIKESCHAIR opened; let's give them some love too! Turns out I knew more of their songs than I thought. Plus they favorited one of my tweets :) While we waiting in line to meet them (again), I found myself thinking; I was supposed to be at work yesterday. But I put in a day off to see these guys again and missed getting paid time and a half, which means my regular hourly pay plus if I worked a half a day. So quite a bit. But it was totally worth it, and I'd do it again. The last few weeks at work have been incredibly stressful and emotionally draining at times, more than usual. I've been all over the place and have been struggling with fine tuning my purpose in what I'm doing there. Not thinking about leaving by any means, but let's just say I really needed last night. It's not over yet, according to one of their songs. 

I really don't have much to add, but I will close with this. I don't know what's going on in your all's lives right now. But I do hope that this story encouraged you or at least made you smile. That's why we share stories like this, not only for us but for you all too. I hope you remember that in God's eyes you are precious and are more valuable than anything. It's ok to feel discouraged, frustrated, worried and pissed off, but just remember who holds the key to being redeemed from anything that is trying to tear you down. God is good all the time. And remember, there's always hope. 

MIKESCHAIR! They were a great opener! :)

Rest are for KING & COUNTRY.  Enjoy! :) 

Best picture ever! 

Photobombing the concert! :D

We're all singing "Amazing Grace" here, by the light of our phones.  An incredible moment! 

Cheers!! 

Because it ain't the 4th without fireworks! 

Holly with Joel :)

Kelly with Joel :)

Five big hot air balloons go by...

Holly: We'll let the pictures do the talking...

Other than the less-than-desirable time spent waiting in line/crowds/bunches, the hot air balloon experience was still pretty cool!  Probably won't do it again, but now at least we can say we have! :)

After a nap, shower, a tasty lunch from our favorite local place, and a parade that never happened, Kelly and I ventured down to the festival (for information about that, please see this post)

First off, could not have asked for a more perfect day: sunny, not too warm, nice breeze!! Usually when we go we just wander around, which we did.  But I saw a purse that I decided I could not live without (greedy, vain, I know.....), so after a hill-heavy walk to the nearest ATM, I bought the purse.  I was expecting to pay $15 but it was only $10!!!!!!!!!!!!! I left the booth feeling like I had just won the lottery! :D 

Today was an awesome day...good company, food (kettle corn...yummy!!), and a good deal! What more could a girl ask for? :)

"The purse" I decided I couldn't live without!

Kelly: A great day indeed. The only downfall is my stupid camera stopped working!!!!! ALL CAPS RAGE. grrr...will be investing in a new one before Colin and Brad show. All the better to take awesome pictures with! ^__^ Anyway, I think this day was a great beginning to almost nearing....midterms. AAAAHHHHH!!!! I know, it's so unbelievable, already this semester is off to a speeding start! I too also invested in a new purse. Before I talk about it, I must confess I am a huge sucker for handmade goods. Having recently started a handmade craft, the time and effort going into them is something you cannot put a price on. My craft of choice is bracelets, which I do take requests for at anytime. All I ask is for 4 colors and somewhere where I can send them :] Ok, enough of my shameless bracelet pitch, back to the purse. It's a quilted purse that was sewn together like a patchwork. It also came with a matching wallet, and it is just rock-on awesome. 25 bucks for the whole lot, now in my opinion I don't think that's bad at all!

I really don't know what else to talk about, except about the moth that flew and landed on my glasses! Before Holly had enough time to get her camera out, it flew away.  It was definitely one of those moments that I will think of forever because the odds are like 1 in a trillion that it will happen again. Still, definitely worthwhile and it made me happy. *big cheesy grin* Now that our fun day is over, sadly I now must depart and do some homework Groan. Well, that's what we get for being full-time students. Until next time, cheers!

Purse :D

Great picture. Great day

Spoonbread, spoonbread, we adore thee....not really

Kelly: My apologies if I go off on strange tangents, but I am sick. Have been since Wednesday. But I'm going to just take it easy and let whatever this is run its course. No, I do not need an antibiotic. Anyway, onto the purpose of this post. Tonight, here on Berea's campus kick started the annual Spoonbread Festival. It runs tonight till Sunday early evening. Now some of you are possibly wondering; well, what is spoonbread? I will tell you what it is and then I will tell you how I feel about it. Spoonbread resembles cornbread, except you...get it in a dish and eat it...with a spoon. So in layman's terms, mushy cornbread. And that's how I feel about it. Personally, I think the stuff is disgusting, and the only way I like it is if I put tons and tons of butter on it. So now not only is it disgusting but incredibly unhealthy. Bad cycle. So I just don't eat it. But here in Berea, there is an entire weekend festival all about this spoonbread. However, the festival itself is quite enjoyable; sis and I have attended at least one day out of the three years we have been here.

Tomorrow morning though, we are going on a mini adventure! During the festival, usually on the first full day, the day starts with a hot air balloon ride. Well, Holly and I have never been in a hot air balloon, so we're going to give it a try come tomorrow morning at 7:30. Stay tuned for that; we will probably post about it tomorrow! I'm actually really excited, despite my wee fear of heights/falling from up high.  Now I'm going to watch some Whose Line and laugh my butt off. Cheers!

Holly: Ah, Spoonbread.  My opinion of the liquefied cornbread is basically the same as Kelly's...well, the connotation of "liquefied cornbread" basically just explains my opinion! lol

The one thing I find amusing about the stuff is that locals absolutely despise it, but out-of-towners LOVE it.  Riddle me that.  Anywho, early morning hot air balloon ride tomorrow is sure to be an experience, but I'm actually pretty pumped about it, considering Kelly and I decided to go for it somewhat on a whim.  No, seriously, the extent of the conversation was something like "Hey, there's going to be hot air balloons, want to go?" "Sure."  End of story.

I shall now participate in some great and fantastic humor-watching laughs of Whose Line.  Never gets old.

blessings! <3

P.S. Is it possible to be overtly excited about...well, anything, really?? No.  Ok, well, here it goes:

NINE. MORE. WEEKS. Until Colin and Brad Show hits up EKU! Kelly and I are beside ourselves with excitement!