WARNING: long, inane post. Get comfy...

Thursday was my mimi's birthday. (yep, that's what we call her... are you thinking what I'm thinking? About the song about grandmothers? If so, like woah <--click)

To celebrate, we met her in Charlotte.
We got up early for the drive. Surprisingly, I was semi-peppy for it to be 6:15 a.m.

{Daddy made coffee (to be specific, cappuccino). That drug is amazing. I am such an addict. I hope they don't outlaw that bean.
Oh the horror of that thought. I can do without it, but the hordes of addicts would NOT be fun to face. Headaches, hysteria, and horror would result.}

Upon arriving in Charlotte, our first stop was the Billy Graham Library (pic from nytimes):

I was expecting books and plush chairs in front of a huge fireplace.

Not so. This "library" had a false name.

It was more like a museum of Billy Graham's life and ministry.

Some of the stuff on display was incredible. Among the honorary doctorates, the certificate of  knighthood, and various awards of recognition from all over the world, one thing really stuck out to me. (aside from B.G.'s amazing testimony for God)

Bono wrote him a poem!
Here's how it went:

“The journey from father to friend
is all paternal loves end.
it was sung in my teenage ears
in the voice of a preacher
loudly soft on my tears
I would never forget this
melody line
or its lyric voice that gave my life
a rhyme,
a meaning, that wasn’t there before.
a child, born in dung and straw
with The Father's love and desire to explain
how we might get on with each other again….”

for The Rev. Billy Graham (that preacher)
Ruth and all the Graham Family
from Bono (March 11 2002)

with much love and respect….

Aww, isn't that sweet?

(I really appreciate poems.
Unless they're stupid.
Like William Carlos William's The Red Wheelbarrow...look that one up )

I was surprised at some of the stuff that was saved and on display...like the case for his wife's engagement ring, various papers and books...

It's a confirmed fact that the Grahams were pack rats. His wife wrote a book about it.

I've resolved to save supposedly insignificant things. One day, they will be placed in my museum for thousands of people to observe from behind glass. Just in case. You never really know.

...kidding...a museum isn't as much my style. A big statue or monolith floats my boat. Something like the Lincoln memorial...

But seriously, I was encouraged to see how God used this one man to spur on a huge revival.

After filling our noggins with Billy Graham trivia, we went to a cute and quirky french bakery called Amélie's in the arts district:

I LOVE CUTE AND QUIRKY PLACES. 
(I bet you already knew that. If not, now you do)

The atmosphere was great. The pastries were by no means terrible. The ultra dark coffee with real cream (no fake powder-y stuff here!) complemented nicely. The soup was wonderful too.

Many of the people who decided to frequent this place were "unique". It was almost like they were putting on a show.
One lanky guy, wearing a gray hooded sweater (with the hood up), ray-bans, and a five o'clock shadow, looked shifty. Not "up to no good" shifty, but "I'm a cool guy and I want to look like I'm doing something incognito" shifty.
I could go on telling you about the different peoples, but this is getting to be a LONG post, so I'll move along.

One thing I hate about Charlotte is that the roads are CONFUSING. Lanes suddenly drop. Lanes strangely appear. Roads are not called the names that appear on the GPS.

The GPS was confused. Poor thing. But she was still bossy about it, so I didn't feel THAT bad for her.

After our leisurely lunch, we could not possibly leave the area without visiting Ikea.

If you've been keeping up with my posts (I don't expect you to), you'll know that I'm redoing my room. It's bright green
(the color of creativity, my aunt says)
and the hardwood floor is in as of yesterday. w00t!

I decided to take mental notes at Ikea. Ikea seems like the place to be to get inspired.

Walking through the maze of rooms, I was inspired.

I want a closet like the ones on display. I sighed with envy for the pretend ikea people who get to enjoy such well-organized storage. (I don't envy that they have strangers going through their house daily and inspecting every nook and cranny.)
You know how many clothes I could fit into one of those closets?  It's a nice number.


So, basically, I wanted to buy a whole bedroom suite from that inexpensive, yet well designed store. But we decided to wait and actually measure the space I have available. Acting on impulse is not always the smartest thing.

I ran (erm, sped-walked) through the maze of store twice. That's one problem with ikea: they are so controlling about where you can and cannot go. Follow the arrows, they say. Follow like a drone.

Backtracking to find an item is crazy.

I found a lapdesk on display, and found out it was at the BEGINNING of the store. We were getting ready to check out, and I reeeallyy wanted that lap desk. Finally, after getting slightly lost a few times, I found it and bought it.

Then we daintily ate princess cake in the ikea cafe.

It was a beautiful day weather-wise too. I hate the cold weather, but the trees are positively mesmerizing this time of year.

Are you still reading? I think I would have given up by now...

Friday I ran 6 miles. It was a brisk, crisp day.
Then, I went to my friend's house and met her other fabulously fun friend.

We ate dinner, and left to get good seats for:
THE TAMING OF THE SHREW 
The theater was arranged in such a way that there were no bad seats.
The production was GREAT. I was impressed. {Although, I forgot how much innuendo Shakespeare put in his plays. It wasn't horrid, but still surprising...)

Afterwards we went to Goodberry's. Heath bar sundae. Score.
It was a lot lot lot of custard happiness.

Can you tell that I'm running on little sleep? I'm going to look back at this post in wide-eyed wonder...

...we stayed up until 4ish. We got up 8:30ish
mmm
sleep does sound good. But I want to finish recording memories here.

At 9, my parents came. We went to celebrate my grandaddy's 70th birthday!
They cooked some good steak.
As is usual when visiting my dad's parents, I was utterly stuffed full of food.
My grammy is the type to offer food repeatedly, telling you that you need it or it won't hurt to have a bit more. It's a sweet trait...

It was fun to visit with them. We came up with some crazy career paths for me to take...

After eating, I felt like the granddaughter/grandparent roles were reversed. My parents and grandparents were talking, and I nodded off while sitting on the couch. I couldn't seem to keep my eyes open. I dozed for a few minutes. AT LEAST I didn't snore.

The lack of sleep was WORTH IT. So worth it. Whenever I miss out on precious shut-eye, it's always for a good reason.

...I am dragging here.

I really should sleep.

oooh, I bought some white face cream. I'm dressing up tomorrow for the fall festival at my church.

Okay, I'm getting slower and slower at typing. My eyes keep closing, and my spelling MUST be suffering, not to mention the high likelihood of atrocious grammar errors. Four hours of sleep will do some crazy things to you.

Goodnight.