ART invasion!

This past week I've had an endless surge of art inspiration. It's very strange. I'm once again realizing the tendancy I can have to get a little extreme about things. I literally can't sleep at night lately because I'm thinking about all of the art projects and things I want to do (while I still have time and it's summer). Maybe that's it...I feel frantic because I know I won't have time or mental energy to invest in these art projects once school starts.

The other night I found myself suddenly wide awake and it was still dark out. As soon as I woke up I had all of these verses of a poem running through my head. I jumped out of bed and in the dim light of morning, I wrote them down...then I went back to bed. That would be verbal art I guess. :) WELL OK, if you really want to hear the poem I might share it with you later...Ha.

Friday I ran to a craft store and purchased oil pastels and a huge 20x30 art board. Four hours later I had finished a vogue painting of a 1920's lass with scarf blowing in the wind. I'm planning to have it framed and put up in my apartment, which I'm really excited about. Taking it on the plane with me should be interesting. I'm going to have some good memories attached to this painting, because Jenny and I spent the evening at Kathy Gratto's(Lady that hosts sewing weekly) house while I painted it. Kathy has a really cool daughter named Audrey that's friends with Jen, and they were so fun to hang out with. Jenny studied Biology, Audrey worked on a fun sewing project with Kathy, the kids watched Jungle Book, and I oil-pasteled. It was super relaxing.

I bought a pretty curtain for my apartment bedroom and am going to order some beautiful flower-fairy lights too. I've spent so much time looking at inspiration filled pictures of decorating on the Internet- I love it. This is another area that's consumed me. I'm going to make my apartment desk space magical. :)

This afternoon, I want to work with watercolor pencils. I've never used them and am so excited about it! I found a picture of an earthy, unique girl that I'm going to re-create.

-------......-------......------- Three Cheers for art!

Florida Update...

Wow. I only have 8 days left here...I'm gonna miss it bad! I've had some amazing, quality time with the girls I've met here in Florida. I'll call them my Florida girls. :)

I'm going to create a list of some social highlights from my Florida summer:

-Driving range to work on (or should I say develope) my golfing skills. I went with Klaus and Charley who are our condo neibhors...and Charley's sister & 2 brothers were visiting for the weekend too. I felt very priviledged to be included in their family outing of golf. :)

-Anastasia/St. Augustine beach. This was a great day, and I'm so glad to say I finally traversed the sands of a Florida beach while here. I was getting worried that it might not happen...how embarassing would that be to tell people. :)This day I also had my first experience surfing. It's tough and you gotta be tough. Kristen (Jenny's friend) was brave enough to surf with me and we both brought home some impressive bruises.

-Dance party wit my FL girls(the "wit" is a typo, but I'm leaving it because I think it's funny). we danced for three hours...hardcore.

-Jewelry making with Charley. This was a lot of fun and now I have a pretty hip bracelet out of the deal too. Maybe I'll put it on my keychain.

-Fun dinners, again, w/FL girls. They have been amazing all summer about calling me and inviting me to random stuff. I love it.

-Late night talk with Holli(one of my FL girls)...I'm getting sick of using that phrase! We had a REAL heart-to-heart last night. Seriously, I've been able to connect with people on a deeper level than I expected...I'm so thankful God has blessed these relationships. :)

-Lunch with Miriam at Sister's. She's the best co-worker a girl could ask for. We've been hostessing together at sister's this summer. she pretty much was the perfect teacher too. It as so great connecting over lunch...and seeing the other Sister's staff that I love.

-Pool time with Aimee. Aimee is great. She's one of Jenny's closest friends here in Gainesville and we hit it off too. She has a little boy Luca's age so they keep each other happy playing.

-Sewing Nights. This happens once a week with ladies from Jen and Luke's church. It's such a special little group. You're always guaranteed some delightful baked goods and fresh coffee to enjoy while sewing. I sewed a ruffle scarf a couple weeks ago. So fun.

I think I'll have to do a post about some of my favorite memories with Luke, Jenny, and Luca before the summer comes to a complete end. That would be nice.

What a Find!

I was looking through my old post list and realized that I have a ton of posts that I never actually published!...so I decided to randomly read the drafts. I kinda felt like I was discovering buried treasure, if you know what I mean. :)

This particular post dates back to some time in February. I guess I really had some strong feelings for Nancy Drew at that point in my life. I mean, I still do...but the relationship between Nancy and I just isn't as strong as it once was. I think it might have something to do with the fact that her last PC game stumped me. Where's Luke and Ann when you need them! :)

Nancy Drew is such a thrill
Always finding ghosts with voices shrill
She is known to be quite sneaky and clever
always triumphing through every mystery endeavor
Nancy Drew is such an inspiration
Her sleuthing skills speak to the whole nation...

Well, there it is! Just think, this poem could have spent it's whole life as a forgotten draft in a long list of posts. How sad--- but then again, a little less embarrassing for me if I'd have only left it unpublished. :)

Sea World

A few years ago Ash, Liv, Christen, Natalie, and a bunch of other fun people traveled out to CA to hang with the young group there. I remember having feelings of deep regret after hearing all about the trip I missed out on. Let me be more specific...I wept when I heard they spent a glorious day at Sea World. And then wept more bitterly when I heard about the glorious meeting of--- Shamu.

Who would have thought that I too would be priviledged enough to meet Shamu so many years later? It's a miracle...Shamu is a miracle (sigh). :)

The day was fun, but very expensive and super hot. After getting soaked during the Shamu show, it was quite convenient that you couldn't tell whether we were sweaty or just sea-water drenched. :) We were seated above the splash zone --- Eight words: Don't ever underestimate Shamu and his splashing abilities. We didn't stand a chance.

We met up with family on Luke's side. It was so cute to see Luca with his cousins. I think all of us were very worn out at the end of the day. Those ocean creatures are just so dang stimulating!

Visit from the Steffens

Ashton and Bryan brought Liv and Brett to Florida and stopped in Gainesville for the night! It was so much fun. I love those people. We had a great dinner that was quite an adventure to cook together. After dinner we all talked and laughed around the table...one of my favorite things to do with good friends. Jen and Liv got into a pretty serious conversation about career stuff. I wasn't feeling particulary serious, so Ash and I ended up giggling about outrageous pick-up lines on the web instead. It felt good to be totally retarded and care-free together. And don't worry we have our serious moments too. :)

Ash, Liv, and I woke early to go for a run on the trail(Yes, you should be impressed!). Then, we headed out for a fun breakfast at The Flying Biscuit. The food was great. I definitely want to have breakfast there again before the summer ends.

Blasted Routine

Right now I'm reading a book Jenny picked up from the library- Wild Goose Chase, by Mark Batterson. Chapter three is about how we form routines in our lives,and consequently forget that God is involved in Evey detail...even in the small things that we've lost appreciation for. It made me think back to how often I fell into this at Purdue. I'd live like a robot, mechanically going to class, doing homework, and "enjoying" my youth group. "The sacred becomes routine. And we not only forfeit spiritual adventure but we also start losing the joy of our salvation."

Mark Batterson asked, "When was the last time you, as an act of worship, watched the sun rise?" This made me realize how much more connected to God I'd be if I could stop for a moment to notice the small things around me. God gives me little hugs all the time and I step right over them in my attempt to keep up with a demanding routine that I've created and let rule my life. As I was reading this chapter, I stopped to look up at the view from Luke and Jen's balcony. It was the kind of weather right before and after a rainfall. Everything is fresh and sparkly with rain and the sky looks like it wants to keep raining. I love the way the air smells and how calm everything is. There are so many amazing things around me that I want to open up my eyes to and see. And, it's so cool for me to remember that by noticing and appreciating these things we are worshiping God.

As a response to the thoughts in this book, I'm posting this picture.



I found these lights stored away in the bedroom closet. Twinkle lights are one of my favorite things ever. I love how they are able to make a room so cozy. Before I found them, I had been thinking how much I wanted a lamp for the same purpose. The twinkle lights are much better. Seriously, the lighting of my bedroom is a big deal to me...now it's like a little, twinkly oasis.

I want to say: thank you for that special gift, God!
Mmm hmmm, girlfrieend!--You know I'm feeling more joyful. :)

Luca

These pictures were taken on the first day of our nannying adventure.