music

This Guy is so talented, and I am SO EXCITED to see him live on June 8. Check out his website - you can hear 3 of his songs by using the >> arrows in the top right hand corner. (You have to enter the site first.)

Shakespeare: Sonnet 18

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;
Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou growest:
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this and this gives life to thee.

Color

Feb 27, 2005. Frosty tree as seen from my balcony.

FGBI Football Weekend 1997

Impending Storm

Dreaming

Dare to live the life you have dreamed for yourself. Go forward and make your dreams come true. --Ralph Waldo Emerson

The sermon this past Sunday was about dreams. Not the kind of dreams you have at night, but the dreams people have for their lives. It was the kind of inspirational message that shakes you awake, and reminds you that there is more to life than what you are living right now. Pastor Dean challenged us to take some time to figure out what our dreams are, and then to pursue them. For some people this is easy; they have always had a great, overriding ambition to do a particular thing. For others, like me, it's harder to figure out exactly what your dream might be. Sort of. When I quiet my thoughts, when I still myself, it's like there's this whole other world that opens up to me. And then it seems that my dream is right there in front of me, in caps lock and bold, underlined, with multiple exclamation marks. But that quietness is hard to hold onto. Before long the "real" world crowds back in - there's laundry and other various housework that needs to be done; supper to start; groceries and birthday presents to be bought; decisions to be made. Oh ya and I should probably exercise, too.

But despite all these distractions, I'm trying to take some time this week to be quiet, to think about what kind of dream God has given me. To think about the fact that every person is unique, and has something that they are destined to do. And when I think about it that way; that in the whole scheme of things I have been cast for a very specific part; then it seems pretty important that I figure out what that thing is. Because whatever IT is, it's the reason for my being here. And I just don't want to miss it.

Fall 2004

Scrapbooking

So I decided awhile back that I would start scrapbooking again. I bought an album and some paper and was so excited! That was about 2 months ago. I finally started my album last night. Sort of. My sister invited me to go with her to a local store that offers "Late Night Crop" - they have a room in the back that stays open till midnight, and anyone can come and scrapbook there, using their tools and such. So I dragged Nicole along with me, and off we went. As it turned out, I spent all of my time there wandering the store and picking out paper, trying to formulate my ideas. Nicole made one very nice page, and my sister made 2 or 3.
I think my problem may have been just a little intimidation. It seems there is this whole scrapbooking subculture that I was unaware of. Almost all of the women in the room had these giant scrapbooking-suitcases-on-wheels full of paper, tools, pictures, etc. And here I was with my plastic bag containing a few pictures, some paper, and an album.
However, I had another go at it tonight, in the comfort of my own home, and voila! I have completed my first page. (In just a few short hours, to boot.)
You can check out my first page here, as well as viewing Nicole's first two pages. Thus, my scrapbooking journey has begun...

Singular Beauty

Double Vision

They call me "legs."

Thankful

Feeling thankful for the people in my life.

Thankful for the great supper my aunt made last night for a few of her nieces. (Myself included, obviously.)

That seems to be the theme this week: good food and conversation shared with friends and family.

Food, Friends, and Fun

What a wonderful evening! 9 friends sharing a great meal and 3 1/2 hours of conversation.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Feeling Good

I am in the midst of a happy moment. I just posted a new picture to carmsclicks. I love my pictures. Because they are something that I've created. Something that did not exist before I decided to create it. Sometimes it's just a matter of being in the right place at the right time, and I do have those kinds of pictures, but my "fine art" pictures are my treasures because they happened purposefully.

Also, I'm listening to one of my favorite CD's - a mix of some fantastic songs. Some great 80's songs that require an air guitar/air drum accompaniment; others that just cut right to the soul; and those that require a little hip hop action. Some days I could sit and listen to music for hours. Today could be one of those days, but that is just not practical. Aaahh, the tyranny of the urgent. I love music. I miss my guitar. One of these days, I'll buy a new one...

I had a great conversation at lunch today. It wasn't about anything spectacular, but it was so nice to genuinely converse with someone, and not just make small talk.

And while I haven't written much here and it's probably a little disjointed because I'm listening to music and "air guitaring", I just wanted to share these happy moments with you. Right at this moment, listening to my music, writing here, I wouldn't change a thing.

inspiration

Footprint?

The Conversation That Almost Happened

It still makes me laugh. Yesterday my friend Kyla called. I was in my bedroom, where I do have a phone, but the call display was not working. As per usual, I waited until the answering machine clicked on and the caller started leaving a message. (Yes, I do screen my calls. Diligently.) So the machine clicks on and Kyla starts leaving a message. I think "Yay! My friend is calling" so I pick up the phone. And here's where it starts to get fuzzy...I mean funny.
I say "Hello" and she says "Hi it's Kyla" and we start having a conversation about our upcoming Valentine's Day party. She suggests that we go to a movie after supper and I agree wholeheartedly. This carries on for a minute or so until she says something very strange - "So anyways, call me back when you get this. Bye."
Then I realize that we were not having a conversation at all. She was in fact still leaving a message because when I picked up the phone, it did not disconnect the answering machine (like it usually does)! It just so happened that she paused in all the right places to accommodate my end of the "conversation."
So I guess I need to call her back now, seeing as we didn't actually talk the other day. (Much as I thought we had.)

My Guitar

That Sinking Feeling

That Sinking Feeling

So I'm at a church meeting last night when it happens. We're sitting on these orange plastic chairs with the metal legs. You know the ones? And all of a sudden I feel as though I'm sliding down in my chair. So I straighten myself up only to realize that I have a problem of another sort. The seat of my chair is slowly caving in! Trying not to draw attention to myself I discreetly re-position my body over the frame of the chair, in an effort to avoid ending up with my knees around my chin, my bottom half sinking slowly towards the floor. That seemed to do the trick, and I made it out unscathed.

Of course, I could have just moved to a different chair.