day off

7am: wake up

8:45: wake up again

9am: coffee and scones delivered couch-side while gaining consciousness under a pile of blankets

9:30am: hit play on Felicity (season 4, disc 2)

11am: start laundry, make pumpkin muffins

11:30am: shower

noon: Starbucks

12:30pm: Record Collector, almost get hit by a bike, wander around the library

2pm: slowly drive north, point at pretty trees, laugh a lot

2:30pm: pumpkin farm - visit chickens (and guinea fowl), horses, cows, llama, donkeys and a zebra, corn maze, squash and pumpkins

3:30pm: deliver pumpkins and squash to some parents, poke around the bookshelves, search for the cat, look at the backyard pond, visit sister, slow back roads tour of small town Iowa

5pm: tenderloins at Jonesie's

6pm: watch preparations for the small town homecoming game, slowly drive south

7pm: tea and New York Times on the balcony

blog? what blog?

And could you keep your heart in wonder at the daily miracles of your life,

your pain would not seem less wondrous than your joy;

And you would accept the seasons of your heart,

even as you have always accepted the seasons that pass over your fields.

And you would watch with serenity through the winters of your grief.

Much of your pain is self-chosen.

It is the bitter potion by which the physician within you heals your sick self.

Therefore trust the physician, and drink his remedy in silence and tranquillity:

For his hand, though heavy and hard,

is guided by the tender hand of the Unseen.

And the cup he brings, though it burn your lips,

has been fashioned of the clay which the Potter has moistened with His own sacred tears.

- Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet (on pain)

jealous

The yellow dots each represent a plane in flight. You can also see daylight moving from east to west, and how the flight numbers increase during the day and decrease at night. Amazing. I had no idea this many planes were in the air each day.

i just realized that when i yell 'where are all the sharpies?!' at work, i am to blame.

Does a kiss make you feel better?
Totally.

Have you ever passed out on the bathroom floor?
Definitely, but usually because of parasites.

Do you start the water before you get in the shower or when you get in?
Before, for sure. Cold water in the morning is misery.

What did you do today?
Woke up later than planned and went to work, tried to avoid the district manager, tried to avoid talking about cats and sleep schedules with my co-workers, changed clothes and drove to waterloo, went to see Crissa's dad, went to my grandma's favorite restaurant for dinner, went to 2012 and giggled because it was silly, made Charly drive home.

Have you ever brushed your teeth while in the shower?
Yes! I used to be kind of passionate about it, actually. I don't do it anymore because I don't have a good spot for my toothbrush like I used to.

Have you had more than 3 boyfriends/girlfriends at the same time?
Are you kidding?

Ever been in love?
Probably not.

Would you rather be in a permanent relationship or play the field?
Permanent. Although that word kinda makes me nervous.

What is your favorite sport?
I've mostly forgotten all about sports.

What color is your shower curtain?
Stripes.

Have you ever had stitches?
Yes. On my eyelid.

Did you believe that boys/girls had cooties?
No, but I did think they were gross. And by "did" I mean "do"

Do you know how to use chop sticks?
Yes.

Lyrics stuck in your head?
Missed the Boat by Modest Mouse

Do you like the Red Sox or Yankees?
I don't know. I used to like the Yankees but I forgot about them (see above)

What are you doing tomorrow?
technically it is tomorrow...so, being a haircut escort so that i can take notes, hopefully fixing an espresso machine, then maybe (maybe) going to New Moon...begrudgingly (mostly)

Who was the last person you couldn't take your eyes off of?
This question makes me hate myself.

Have you ever given money to a homeless person?
Yes.

Have you ever run over an animal?
Yes. Only once, and I guess I didn't really run OVER it, it was more like I ran INTO it.

What is your favorite cereal?
Currently I'm really into Kashi Autumn Wheat. Usually dry right out of the box.

Have you ever had an Oreo with peanut butter?
Definitely. It's mostly delicious but the texture isn't quite right.

What are you doing right at this moment?
Typing this.

Do you think its right for straight guys to get their tongue pierced?
I don't think it's right for anyone, but whatever.

Where's your favorite place to be?
In my bed with lots of blankets. My bed is awesome.

What's your favorite song?
Today in the car I thought it was Beast of Burden but then I remembered about Van Morrison so I'm back to the drawing board.

Are you more of a coffee or alcohol drinker?
Coffee, for sure. Like, for sure. I was proud of only drinking 2 shots of espresso today but then I remembered that it was 6.

Have you ever thrown shoes on a telephone wire?
No.

Have you ever been skinny dipping?
No, no no no.

Have you ever been arrested?
No, never even really come close.

Do you dream in black and white?
No, which I like.

Do you talk in your sleep?
No but I make noises.

Do you snore?
Sometimes. When I'm not sleeping well, like when I'm camping or sick.

Are you a redneck?
I really really don't want to be.

Funniest thing you heard all day?
Listening to someone talk about wanting to see more of John Cusack in a movie was pretty hilarious.

Have you ever gotten a mosquito bite on your face?
All the time!! Bugs bite me in the face ALL THE TIME, it's so rude. I had a bug bite on my face yesterday. How do I not notice it happening?!

What are you afraid of?
Abandonment. It used to be failure but that's just a close second now.

What do you look like right now?
Sleepy and kinda greasy. I tried not washing my hair today and it didn't go well.

Could you go for the rest of your life without drinking alcohol?
I definitely could, but I don't think I need to.

Who's bed were you on last?
Mine, it's my favorite one.

Does anyone have feelings for you?
As if it were that simple.

Are you happy with the choices you've made?
I haven't decided yet.

Whens the last time someone of the opposite sex told you they miss you?
A couple days ago.

Are you excited for anything?
I'm pretty pumped about the haircut thing I mentioned early, not gonna lie. I'm going to take notes.

What were you doing last night at midnight?
Falling asleep.

Would you be able to date someone who doesn't make you laugh?
No way. No. Way.

Could you ever be friends with the person who hurt you most in life?
I think I might be already.

Is there someone you really like to hang out with and just talk about stuff?
Yes.

What’s more important, trust or happiness?
Trust. Happiness without it is pretty hard for me, I've found.

What was the last thing you drank?
Vitamin Water

If you were offered to smoke some weed right now would you accept?
No way. Totally over it.

Where is the shirt you are wearing from?
A Main Event conference from like 5 years ago.

What is on your wrists right now?
A hair tie.

What does the outfit you are wearing look like?
Pajamas are not an "outfit"

Do you have to sleep with a television on?
No, usually a fan, sometimes music instead.

Do you know anyone named: John, Mike, Nathan, Joe, Tim?
Lots of Tims, always lots of Tims.

What was the last movie you watched?
2012 a couple hours ago. It felt like I watched a video game for 2 hours.

Alex!

that's just what they'll do

These are my boots. I love them. I've wanted rain boots for YEARS but could never justify buying them. On my first ever trip to TJ Maxx (dangerous!) they beckoned to me from the bottom shelf. Cheap and only in my size. When stores have shoes only in my size I'm always convinced that it's fate and I have permission to buy them. Even fate overrules practicality, folks. I'm an ISTJ and even I believe that.

Fate was at work several years ago in a random store in Alaska when I first encountered a pair of rain boots that beckoned to me from the bottom shelf. I wore them all around the store and stuck out my bottom lip when my mom reminded me that they wouldn't fit in the suitcase I was taking back to Iowa and they certainly weren't going to fit in the suitcase I would be taking from Iowa to Africa in a few short months.

Fast forward a few short months to me standing in a street in North Africa in the rain, the hem of my jeans soaked in gross street mud. Mud from nasty guys blowing their noses and butchers throwing out the leftovers and a million stray cats and donkeys with digestive problems. So many donkeys. My street was too narrow for an umbrella and the streets that were wide enough for umbrellas were minefields. My rain-fearing neighbors were oblivious to the fact that umbrellas are deadly weapons when put into the wrong hands. My life flashed before my eyes every time I left the house in the rain. Not my past life but my future life, in which I wore an eye patch. Rain meant mud and mud meant dirty jeans and dirty jeans meant laundry but rain meant the laundry took DAYS to dry. And I only had one pair of jeans. And no, I couldn't just roll them up because heaven forbid a girl show a little ankle on her way to Arabic class. Sister needed some boots.

And now they're mine at last. And I'll take them with me wherever I go.

I can't decide how i feel about this.

my worlds keep colliding

mountain men on letterpress stationery.

oh my.

nailed it

"Lamentably, we fell away from our intended divine context and from the task for which we are by nature fitted. We mistrusted and distanced ourselves from God and then, very naturally, from one another. In our arrogance and fear we flounder through our existence on our own...But at the same time our fundamental makeup is unchanged. The deepest longings of our heart confirm our original calling. Our very being still assigns us to "rule" in our life circumstances, whatever they may be....And we still experience ourselves as creative will, as someone who accomplishes things, constantly desiring to generate value, or what is good, from ourselves and from our environment."

-Dallas Willard, The Divine Conspiracy p.23

My nails match my car!

A Million Miles In A Thousand Years by Donald Miller

Day off.