happenings

i have had a strange desire to listen to john denver lately.

i know.

i think it's because of the eTV special that my parents watched while they were in town. you know what i'm talking about, one of those documentary-ish things that involve lots of breaks to ask for your money. well, anyway, for some reason i keep thinking of him, and plus there's that new raisin bran commercial that has one of his songs on it. and obviously, when i think of john denver, i end up thinking of the crocodile hunter.

having trouble following my logic here? you probably should. but, the crocodile hunter always reminded me of john denver, and now with both of their untimely deaths, they are definitely filed in the same mental folder.

sunshine on my shoulders (let's not talk about the fact that this song makes me tear up, even in the raisin bran commercial..)

i joined this facebook group where you make a mixtape for someone every month. i'm pretty excited about it. there are about 500 or so members and we get paired up and send each other an old fashioned mixed tape. fun, huh?

also. i need to find friends. ugh.

[oh--p.s: here is the link to nienie's blog. it's a bit confusing because they are just reposting old entries because she is in critical condition in the hospital. and they sort of talk in code on her website, so just to give you an idea of what's what.

stephanie and christian are the parents. stephanie goes by 'nie', and she refers to her husband as 'mr. nielsen'.

she has four children, who are many times called by nicknames. but their real names are claire, jane, oliver, and nicholas. happy reading.]

God is my cigarette

it's been a while friends, hope you haven't forgotten about me out here. 

the parents have come and gone, and beulah and i are sitting here watching fashion police. we had the best week ever. it was restful. it was fun. and i was sad to see them go.  

they came all the way out here during their vacation time to do nothing but pamper me.  and beulah.  it was so sweet and selfless.  and i can't wait until christmas!

i have been all wrapped up in a blog lately. i actually posted a link to it (sort of) on my sidebar. an awesome couple from arizona was in a plane crash over a month ago, and survived, but are very badly injured/burned. the wife/mom is a blogger and over the last few days i have read all of her entries (about 3 years worth). i can't quit thinking about that family. the link on my sidebar is to this woman's sister's page who is updating for her while she's in the hospital.  

anyway, starting tomorrow they are having a benefit sale to help cover at least a portion of their hospital bills.  go here.  maybe go buy a little something for yourself, or someone else and you can feel good about where the money is going:)

as i was driving home with one of our girls last night, she was talking about how she has dealt with stress in the past, and how God has changed things, thus the "God is my cigarette" comment.  it's too good to pass up.  really.  

foggy

i am growing weary of blogging.  

almost four years of continuous blogs makes for very little else to share--besides daily events.  

so...  

my parents are flying out today.  i haven't seen them in over six months, so i am really looking forward to them coming.  this week while they're here, i definitely won't be spending much time on the computer.  

our house got cable yesterday, and i am currently watching my second episode of million dollar listing on bravo.  really bad show, and yet, i am still engaged.  

alright-- off to hang up some clothes and do some last minute things for my parent's arrival!

also, any suggestions for getting over the blog hump would be appreciated:)

[MiA------paper planes]

doggie day

well, every day is a doggie day for me these days, but today was an especially fun one. 

 

right around lunch time every day beulah and i set out for some type of adventure.  it could be a nice long walk all through downtown puyallup, or a trip to the dog park, or even just walking down the street to play with her boyfriend, tucker.  today, the plan was to go to the dog park.  as we made our way down the path to the park, i didn't hear any dogs, so i figured we'd just hike through the numerous trails that surround the park.  

now, you should know, last time i tried this i fell about hmm 200 feet or so down an incredibly steep decline.  poor beulah was much younger, and still connected to her leash when i fell, so she got dragged down with me.  

needless to say, we were both a little hesitant when we started our hike.  

but today was much different and we romped through the woods having no idea where we were going, but just explored, and got a little turned around, and ended up spending almost two hours running around the forest.  it was especially fun because i was able to take beulah off her leash and she stayed right with me the whole time.  

she loved every second.  after getting our bearings and figuring out where we were, we played in the creek for a while, and then headed home.  all in all, there couldn't be a much better day for a dog.  soaked, muddy, and tired.  just the way i love 'em!

love this girl.

another saturday

hiii all.  

i am currently watching free willy.  i haven't seen this movie since i was (hold for imdb search), wait this might be free willy 2.  well if this is the first one i was 9, and if it's the second one i was 11.  jesse has a lady love, so i'm thinking it's the second one because i don't remember that from the first one.  anyway, too much free willy speculation for one blog.  moving on.

new girl moving in this afternoon.  it's an interesting thing, it is really easy for me to be cynical about our 'girl situation' but, hopefully she will want to be here, that is always a step in the right direction.  

i am trying to refuel myself with a rather large cup of coffee.  hopefully it will get the ball rolling in a few minutes and i will want to do something other than blogging and free willy.  

also, in absolute vulnerability, if you guys could be praying for me (and for the connollys as well) as far as support goes.  i have one family that is supporting me right now, and i am at 1/5 of what i need to be in a responsible place financially.  i am going to have to send out another email in this next week, and if you guys could just pray that i will have wisdom as far as how to word the email, and also that the email will be sent to the right people.  and that mental connections will be made between my friends and organizations/businesses that are interested in giving to non-profits.  

thanks ahead of time for the prayers.

a week from today my parents come!  agh.  so fun.  

hellacious and awesome.

i hate to exercise.  i do.  i usually find something i can semi-tolerate and do it for a few weeks and then gladly (gleefully, even) find something else to fill my time, like watching season three of project runway for the nineteenth time in my room.  

but i am here to tell you, something has possessed me this last month or so.  

jess and i went to our first spinning class right around the time they returned from their vacation at the end of july.  i hated it, i mean, i saw Jesus' face, and wanted to kill the lady with the neatly pinned back bangs yelling at us to stay on our bikes.  

jess did amazing and i was seconds away from flying over the handlebars.  it was bad.  those first few times were ugly.  but something happened between the soreness in my behind, and the ricky martin musical accompaniment:  i started to really get into it.  and felt really great during it and after it.  

so, at the risk of failure down the road, i am making my love/hate relationship with spinning public.  

there it is.  

wherever you are is warmth and light

iron and wine--peng

i either have way too much to say, or nothing at all. i can't be sure.

i have lots of square pegs, and way too many round holes.

this past week has really been the first time that i've struggled with homesickness since i've been here. it's a good thing that my parents are coming out in a few weeks. i'm really really looking forward to being a little taken care of for a few days. being hugged on by my Dad, and laying my head in my mom's lap and having her play with my hair.

it's amazing that no matter how far you travel, or where you move, you're still you. and growing is still work. basic life stuff isn't fun, but making it to the other side means you get to go another round. there is always the knowledge that the next one will be different, not necessarily better or worse, but different, which gives me to motivation to ready myself for whatever comes next.

steady.
steady.

on another note, it's just about Fall. yesterday i wore jeans, a turtleneck sweater, and a peacoat. on september 1st. this is a dream realized. when i was younger, i always wished that the beginning of school would herald the beginning of cooler weather, but alas, that was never the plight of south carolinians in september. or october.

to continue on with my Fall lovin', i will now list my favorite things about Fall (or specific things from Falls past)

1. The colors--bold, rich, and comfy. this is one of the reasons i've always wanted to be married in the fall.

2. growing up, the churches we went to, and our family for that matter didn't celebrate halloween, we always had 'harvest parties' or something of the like. two of my favorite memories from throughout the years of these parties:

• when i was really young, my mom cooked a huge HUGE pot of chili to take to the party. my dad had pulled the family van around behind the church gym, and unbeknownst to me, my mom had placed the enormous vat of chili right by the sliding door. it was almost pitch black behind the church, and here i come, barreling towards the car in the dark, and fell butt first into the chili pit, overalls, pigtails, and all. that ride home was sticky. and smelly.
• winning first place in the pie contest. it's every 12 year old girls dream to beat out the old church ladies for the blue ribbon!
  

3. warm soup on a rainy night.

4. the smell of burning wood outside, and the smell from the heater the first night it's cold enough to use it.

5. school supplies.

6. season premieres of my favorite tv shows.

7. pumpkins (pie, frappuccinos, chai tea latte with pumpkin pie spice on top, carving them)

8. being outside with a warm drink in my hands.

9. thinking of fun new things to make for thanksgiving, and going wayy overboard.

10. i really don't like football. at all. but the thought of my brothers and my dad watching football all day on saturdays- that totally equals fall in my mind.

happy fall.