Tag: vacation

Summons of sunlight

James HoganLeave a comment

And since I’m sitting here in Starbucks this gloriously cold afternoon in Aberdeen, I feel almost compelled to write at least a few lines! Although I must confess my writing muse is cold and I don’t think I’m up to my usual standards of wordiness today. We shall see. I just knew I couldn’t let this opportunity to write a brief entry pass! I currently don’t have internet in the flat, so my online time is quite limited as of late…so this morning I trudged down George Street(making my customary doughnut stop) to Starbucks where I’ve been catching up on correspondence ever since! Oh and before I came here, stopped by the music store and picked up Imaginaerum, latest Nightwish album!! I’m sorely tempted to listen to it now, but will wait until I can listen to it properly at home. One amazing advantage to living in Europe…I was able to get this album now. You know when it’s released in the US? January 10th. Yep, there are certainly advantages! Anyways, I’m expecting this album to be epic, even more so than Dark Passion Play. (Other random note, now that I’m talking about Nightwish…Laura got me their “End of an Era” live DVD – watching that at home together with her was simply awesomeness)

And while my writing will hasn’t deserted me yet, I’ll continue, just touching on the highlights of the last few weeks! Last weekend, where was I, you may ask? Well, not in Aberdeen. I was in Glasgow, seeing Coldplay in concert! They kicked off their Mylo Xyloto tour in Glasgow and I WAS THERE. Sort of odd thinking that back in 2009, I snobbishly thought that Coldplay couldn’t possibly appeal to me since they were too mainstream. Ah how foolish was I. Anyways, Rosemary, Beth, Bree and I all rocked out and had a most amazing time. I’m not a big concert person in general…but I wanted to see them at least once! And they played all my favorite songs, so I was most satisfied. Yellow, Scientist, Fix You, Violet Hill…mmm, aural loveliness.

And seriously – enough about music now! I do enjoy good music so, but never may I let it subvert my worship to the King. Never.

On to my other highs for the month(year!) – home in Florida!! Of course it was awesome. Of course it was amazing. And of course I wasn’t quite ready to leave. And of course I am far too blessed. Besides watching far too much 24 and eating food far too delectable and buying far too many books to bring home(seriously, I had to bring an extra bag just for my books!! Hunger Games trilogy plus Lord of the Rings plus Towers of Midnight paperback plus a couple Joel Rosenberg books…YES), I simply loved relaxing with Dad and Mom and Katharyn and Maryanne and Laura…love you all, always.

And no, I did not limit myself to Tampa! Spent a day in Gainesville early on in my trip to catch up with RobG(yeah, we may or may not have spent over five hours together talking and playing frisbee and praying and…yeah) and awesomely got to see Deanna too! And after Thanksgiving and Christmas(yes, we celebrated Christmas on November 25th, since I won’t be home for real Christmas…), Maryanne and Laura and I drove up to Gainesville for the UF/FSU game! (Which I will not comment further on for the duration of this entry) But the most lovely part of the weekend(by far) was simply being with my sisters and the whole Lebo family, where I stayed a couple nights. What was included in this weekend adventure? Of course, classic awesomeness. Disc golf, epic board games(MUST get a copy of Shogun!!), delicious food, ping-pong and fun times talking and talking…yeah just amazing times. And I hadn’t seen Becca in nearly *two* years. So being able to talk to her again(in person!) was just glorious. Of course, my Gainesville trip had to come to an end eventually, so I bid farewell to Maryanne and Laura and the Lebo fam…I shall return, someday!

But all I can say about my Florida trip was that God has blessed me exceedingly…knowing I needed a time like that with the people he’s blessed me with so. And now, I worship him in humble adoration. Why do I deserve such extreme and everlasting love? I know not. I simply exalt my God and lift up His name – Him do I worship. Always.

A swiftly tilting planet

James HoganLeave a comment

And about dinner time here in Tampa! Only have a minute to write, but wanted to dash off a quick entry before dinner! Hopefully a longer, more in-depth one will follow later tonight, but I make no promises…

Just wanted to state how awesome our God is, truly. And how blessed I am, always. Tonight I spend my last night here at home for a while, before flying back to Scotland tomorrow, but oh have these last few weeks been amazingly awesome. From being blessed with such a loving family to being encouraged by the best friends a man can have…like I have said many times before, I am overwhelmed by the goodness of the Lord.

And now, time to help Mom and pour water glasses for dinner as Dad and Katharyn are almost home. Roast chicken, potatoes, onions, mmmm…chocolate cake to follow, along with some 24-watching? Yeah, pretty good night coming up if you ask me.

Over and out.

Scent of Roses

James HoganLeave a comment

And as I think of writing a few lines here…I sign in happiness, relaxing at home in Tampa!! The cool Florida sea-breezes are blowing through the house and I smell lunch(hash – fried beef, potatoes, onions and carrots, mmmmm…) on the stove and I’m chilling here with Dad…yep it’s a good day!! Just had a sweet few minutes outside in the glorious Florida sunshine, watering the roses and digging in the garden a bit.

But no, getting home wasn’t that easy. After a somewhat over-adventuresome journey home(missed my connecting flight in Amsterdam, barely got on the next flight to Detroit, then snagged the last seat – first class, yo – on the Detroit-Tampa flight to arrive home some five hours later than I’d planned. And without my luggage. But I’m here home now and all is well!! Oh how wonderful it is to relax with Dad, Mom and Katharyn and enjoy this lovely vacation!

Yesterday was Dad’s 58th birthday!! So of course we celebrated in classic Hogan-style, complete with Pizza Hut and a few episodes of ’24’. How we do it! Dad and I finished up the evening watching the Oklahoma State(ranked #2) vs. Iowa State game…went down to 2OT with Iowa State pulling off the massive upset, complete with the field being rushed! A good birthday present to my dad, I’ll say! (Yes, Iowa State alumnus)

And now lunch smells almost complete – and how can I spend too much time on the computer when I can spend it with the fam here! – so I think I’ll be away. Before I do…some sweet verses I read this morning…(actually I would love to quote verbatim Psalms 37 and 38 in their entirety, but I’ll spare you)

Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD, trust also in Him, and He will do it. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light and your judgement as the noonday.
-Ps. 37:4-6

Oh glorious verses! How I long to follow my God in all that I do – and for Him to bring forth righteousness in me as the rising sun! Oh bliss.

And I’m really off now. Love y’all.

Smoking Beauty

James HoganLeave a comment

Roast chicken and potatoes(oh yeah, and a pan of stuffing!) is in the oven and dinner is less than thirty minutes away. But will I let that stop me from attempting to update y’all on the awesomeness of the last few weeks? No, I will not! So no messing around and no tangents and no randomness from me today…I will just let my fingers fly in correspondence with my increasing hunger.

Anyways, I have several updates, seeing as I haven’t written in quite some time.

Update Number One: Yes, I am back in Scotland now.

Update Number Two: Yes, I was in Florida last week due to some visa complications.

Update Number Three: Wait…wasn’t I supposed to be in Oklahoma City by this time? This is true, but due to some business needs here in Aberdeen, turns out I’ll be here through the end of July!! Actually, I almost ended up in Singapore, but Cameron figured it’d be easier to keep me here. And no, I don’t know where I’ll be following my time in Scotland. I’ll keep you posted.

Update Number Four: Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, our awesome and most holy God blesses me ever more abundantly than I could ever ask or imagine. Oh wait, that’s not an update. That’s always true!!

And now that the bullet point updates are out of the way, I’ll expound a bit on my Great Florida Visa Renewal Trip of 2011!! Cameron knew that my visa was going to run out…but somehow I still found out on Monday(yes, TWO weeks ago) that I’d need to be back in Florida for a biometrics appointment and visa submittal to the British Consulate in the States. So two days later I found myself on a flight back to Florida!!

I told my parents I was coming…but pretty much no one else(bar a few of you Scotland people!). So my parents picked me up Wednesday night at Tampa International and I walked in the house to the shock of Laura and Katharyn. Their faces were a sight to behold…following the reunions, enjoyed some of mom’s spaghetti and enjoyed being with my family even more…

Thursday, I didn’t get to sleep in, nope. It turned out we were planting grass at the church, so my dad took me along to help him lay down the hay on top of the grass to protect it while it germinated. I ended up getting a sunburn my first day back in Florida. Yep, I got skillz. That night, rested with the family a bit…and the following day after a pancake breakfast, up to Gainesville I drove! And why did I go to Gville? Well it just happened that Friday the 15th is Maryanne’s birthday, and I just could not pass up the opportunity to give her a happy birthday surprise! I haven’t been in Gville since Rob and Laurie’s wedding December 2009, so it was so weird making the Tampa-Gville drive and then driving through the oh-so-familiar streets. Took me about an hour to find parking near campus(yep, no change there)…finally I gave up looking for legitimate parking and parked at McDonald’s near the corner of 13th and University Ave. I bought an iced coffee there…so fair enough, right?

I then walked onto campus grounds…feeling the oft-trod paths under my feet and exhilarating in my return – it wasn’t even that hot(yet). So I let the breeze caress my face while I slowly proceeded towards Turlington. Maryanne was supposedly(according to my informants – thanks Mom!) eating lunch at Subway with a friend, so I ended up near there. I really wanted to call her and pull a Bourne(“Maryanne, you look tired. Get some rest.”) but because she’s a good friend, she kept eating lunch with her friend Sarah, not answering her phone! After attempting to call her phone about 12 times, I walked towards the Subway…about 10 feet away, she looked through the door and saw me…yeah, her face was priceless. “What are you DOING here???” We laughed and hugged and it was SO GOOD to see her again!!! Happy 20th, Maryanne!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sarah then graciously left so we could have some time together, so me and Maryanne grabbed some Subway and ate out on the Plaza and caught up(a little!) She finally had to go, so I left her and went to get my car and go meet…RobG!!! I had called him the night before, so we’d set up a meeting at the CSC. I drove over there and found him inside at our old study corner…and it was amazing. It felt like I’d seen him 15 minutes ago…not 15 months. He bought me a java chip chiller and we talked and talked and talked…obviously I can’t really recount that here, but know it was epic. Oh God has poured out grace on him and Laurie exceedingly…and well, I just can’t express how blessed I feel knowing him and having him as a friend. Laurie came down eventually and so got to talk with her some too!! Eventually, Rob had to leave(for an overnight youth trip), and so then I dashed to the Hub to see Chris real quick! He just might have been a bit shocked to see me, but we got a few minutes together before he had to close down work. I went back to the CSC and Laurie and I made our way to my next stop…Dan and Betsy’s!!! I had also called them the night before, and they’d assured me I’d always have a place at their house. So me and Laurie drove over(on the way, Laurie called Mary…who upon hearing I was in town decided to join us at Dan and Betsy’s for dinner!).

Arrived at Dan and Betsy’s…Dan opened the door, and oh it was good to see my brother and friend again. We then decided to walk down to the store for some supplies for dinner(walking is always better than driving, no??) and on the way, ran into Betsy driving home(who was listening to Absolution in my honor – yep, she knows me!) Me and Dan walked to the store and back, talking and enjoying each other’s presence all the while…

And hm, now it’s time for me to take my dinner out. Apparently I don’t type fast enough!! But, I will let it cook a little longer while I try to finish up. Operative word: try. I’ll speed this up a bit!!

So me and Dan and Betsy and Laurie and Mary enjoyed dinner together…and we stayed up past twelve talking…about pretty much everything, from deep matters to light. We had fifteen months to catch up on!! And so I found out what they’ve been up to(a lot) and they got the low down on my life(yep, a lot!) And most of all…I just rejoice in the LORD that I have friends and family such as them that any time I see them…I can bask in their fellowship and love them and be loved. Oh good times. Again, words cannot express.

And I just checked the oven and the stuffing is slightly burnt, eek!!! I think the inside parts will still be good, but I am a tad bit annoyed. Burning food is most definitely not my favorite thing. Anyways, while the food cools…I’ll just finish up with my Gville trip…Saturday morning was spent disc golfing with George and Laura Lebo(with Dan’s Beast disc…which he gave to me afterwards. I love that disc!!). For some reason, even though I haven’t played disc golf in ages, I played better than was my custom. Weird? But I’ll take it. Also got to hear a lot about what George and Laura have been up to…

Soon enough, dropped the Lebos off and then stopped by at Dan and Betsy’s to change my shirt. Oh Florida. Then back to campus to pick up Maryanne!!! We had decided we must have more time together, so we gleefully Starbucks-ed, browsed book stores…and finally finished off our time at Five Guys. Which is THREE MINUTES WALK from Stoneridge. WHY was it never there when I actually lived there? Well, maybe that’s a good thing. Anyways, my sister Maryanne is indeed so dear…I love her so!!

Finally, finally, I drove back to Tampa. And the next few days would take a while to describe, but be assured that they were just as sweet as my Gville trip. Spent oh-so-delicious times with mom, dad, Laura, Katharyn…and above all, soaking in the grace of the Almighty. I wasn’t quite sure why the Lord wanted me back in Florida for a week, but I was determined to make the most of it. It felt like a gift of the Father, indeed.

And now, it really is dinner time. This was not a short update. Oops?

Dance in the beauty of this glorious world, y’all…dance and laugh and sing. And glory in our God!!!!

The eye of the sea

James HoganLeave a comment

Mmmm…sipping some perfectly lovely mint-chocolate tea right now and feeling slightly sleepy, but I couldn’t resist writing a few words(and since I’m hearing my bed call my name, it will indeed be only a few!). Today, returned to Aberdeen after a totally awesome week in Florida!! I wish I had the time to truly do it justice, but alas for my tired state(flew from Tampa to Detroit to Amsterdam to Aberdeen last night and so didn’t quite get much sleep). Truly though, just let me say one thing(actually no, two things): firstly, I have pretty much the best family in the world. Secondly, God is awesome.

And while one week isn’t really the ideal length of time to spend at home…we made the most of the time, what with continuing our annual Mini-Golf Tournament of Champions tradition and eating like royalty(roast turkey, potatoes, stuffing, asparagus, fettucine alfredo, shrimp, lots of salad, chicken parmigiana, chocolate sheet cake…just the tip of the iceberg) and playing cards and ping-pong (which got stylishly interfered with by our resident kitten troublemakers, Caroline and Julia) and relaxing in the joy of each other’s company and watching Jack Bauer dominate it up in a ’24’ marathon(Season 3 – but we didn’t get to the finale before I left ahhhh!!!) and singing together and staying up late talking about random things with the sisters and making known the goodness of the Lord and going out to lunch far too much(TGI Friday’s with Mom, Panera with Katharyn, TGI Friday’s with Laura, Chili’s with Maryanne, Five Guys with Dad…yes, I told you I ate bad. Shh, no telling. But it was so worth it just to get the time to talk with everyone..) and catching up with friends(and seeing friends’ new baby – Gloria!! David and Dream, y’all are indeed most blessed of our Father!) and oh I just don’t know how to properly convey the joy of the blessings of the Lord which He has bestowed on me and my family! And while my prayers for them will not lessen as the distance between us increases, may my love for them increase all the more! And all of you that aren’t my family, don’t worry, I love you too. Always.

And as for me, it is not that late, but I fear my wits are fleeing me, begging me to rest my eyes and drift away to the land of my dreams before I pour out my whole mind like a waterfall into the deep… First though, I will finish my tea.