Lost and Found

Yesterday I was rummaging through things in my dusty basement and stumbled onto a roll of film. Intrigued as to the contents of the photos, I dropped them off at Walgreens and impatiently wasted 60 minutes of my life before going to retreive them. Much to my delight, it was filled with pictures from my trip to Europe a year ago!!! I was completely elated and have been pouring over them with an insatiable wanderlust. Here are a few of my favorites from the roll. Regula is from Switzerland but I met her working in Sri Lanka-it was such a gift to be able to see her two months after our adventure half way across the world. Next is the Swiss Alps. Lastly, the largest stone carving in the world (I think) that Mark Twain was quoted as saying, "the most moving piece of rock." It is a tribute to the Swiss soldiers that died defending the French king during the French revolution.

Weather Report

I received a message from my sister the other day that went something like this: "it's the day before Fall officially begins and we have our first snow..haha! love you."
Here's my response: "it's already Fall up here but we have 80 degree weather today...haha! love you."
You can clearly see what each of our season preferences are! :0)

Josh Turner

Last minute, I decided to go down to the Puyallup Fair with my roommate Laura to see Danielle Peck, Little Big Town, and Josh Turner in concert. We ended up only getting to see Josh Turner because the Grand Stand was full...they would only let people in when others left...so we heard the other two groups but didn't see them. The hour and half wait was absolutely worth the wait though...Josh Turner sings Long Black Train, Baby Lock the Door, Me and God, etc.

A Sunday in the Life of Emily

Today, I was very much a Seattlite...haha. After church this morning, which was very good by-the-way, I went to the Fremont Sunday Market. It is a very eclectic collection of booths with everything from junk, to furniture, to jewelry, to used cowboy boots. The jewelry selection there always catches my eye, and more often than not I convince myself not to buy anything, but today I caved! I bought this beautiful pearl ring from a South African man...he kinda looked like Robin Williams. I also met two men from Chile-they make beautiful glass pieces-we had a lovely conversation about how I want to visit there someday-then they tried to schmooze me into buying some of their very expensive pieces...it didn't work but they put up a good effort :0)and had my budget been a bit bigger, I probably would have bought some earrings.
The rest of the afternoon was spent in Verite Coffee in Ballard-sipping on a latte, listening to music and people watching. There is what I believe to be a real, live horse jockey at the next table over...he's so small and is wearing the hat and everything...haha.
By-the-way, I thing Fall has finally come...the chill in the air is lung-cleansingly refreshing. I love summer, but I think I'm ready for the cooler weather. A more contemplative attitude accompanies the season shift, which feeds my hobby of sitting and thinking about life. If you know me well, you understand that this philosophical contemplation is very much a part of who I am.

Nap on the Beach

Today it was about 70 degrees in Seattle and after church, I drove home, grabbed a blanket and book, and headed straight to the beach...with the intention of lazily reading the afternoon away, I spread out my cozy yellow blanket and plopped down...about an hour later, I woke up (ok, ok i drooled just a little bit) and spend another hour and half just laying there...reading a little, people watching, dodging frisbees that were landing precariously close to me. It was glorious.
Every once in a while I have 'me' days...which means that I need time alone with no agenda...that was today. There's nothing so soul-refreshing!!
During my lazy afternoon, my thoughts ran everywhere from work, to love, to friends, to family, to life and to God. As I lay there, soaking up the radiating sunshine, I was struck with the responsibility I have here on earth. To love God and to love others. I can't believe how powerfully each of our lives affects others every day-those we know and those we don't know and never will. That's huge. Am I living in a way that exudes Christ? Because it is He alone that makes me who I am...His grace, forgiveness, joy, complexity, expression, and uniqueness. Too many times I let the little things and even the regular things of life go unvalued or unnoticed...yet it is these very things that make life what it is. This is a good reminder to be looking for miracles in the common-day events...because they are there...I'm sure of it.
Life gets complicated sometimes and it's easy to hide behind that and lose sight of the big picture...but that should never be an excuse...Never is my life more important than another's because we are all on the same journey and you never know how God wants to use you to reveal Himself to another so desperately in need of His touch.

Color Obsession

Thank God for color! I can't imagine life without it and today I was reminded of how fabulously powerful it is in people's lives. I have known for a while that I am hugely affected by it and have a strange affinity to things rich in color, but today it was reaffirmed that I was created to work with color. it may sound strange but it's true. I just finished a degree in Interior Design and thought for a while that i was destined to work in that field, but after becoming disillusioned with the field, i have been searching for my niche. I still love design, and I care immensely about the people it affects (everyone in some way, shape or form). Yet I have been longing for something more fulfilling and intentional...enter 'color consultation'...yeah that's right...there's actually someone who does my dream job...and i got to listen to her speak about it for 6 hours today!! it was unbelievable and my heart was racing at the thought of studying and practicing color :0) yahooo...this won't be happening right away because God just plopped a great job in my lap...but it's good to be reminded of what the future might hold. God really had a sense of imagination when he created things, and I want to take his divine imagination and sprinkle it on other people's lives....
here's an intriguing thought: regardless of religious preference, without fail, EVERYONE awknowledges the ultimate inspiration for color, beauty, line, etc...is nature-hmmmm...we are all looking for God and he has swept the market visually - whether people want to own up to it or not is their choice and one they will have to live with for all eternity...maybe, just maybe, i can be a ray of God's light in their life so they learn of the Ultimate Beauty who longs to saturate their souls with His perfect love.

"camping"

Nicole and I went up to Beechwood with her family to do some "camping"...it's up near Birch Bay and Semiahmoo...beautiful location. The reason I called it camping to all those inquiring about my weekend plans was because it was easier than explaining the whole situation, but tonight after conversing with a friend, who shall remain nameless ;0), about the adventure...I was informed that it was pathetic to call what I did "camping". Ok, ok I suppose he's right...here's what I did: relax in an air conditioned RV, eat barbequed cheeseburgers and Bush's baked beans, lay out by the pool, swim, hot tub, nice comfy 'bed', and scones for breakfast. We picked blackberries in the wild until our hands were blue and our tummies were full, and had a great time. I must now call my activities by a more correct term: RVing--see how complicated that is to say and explain!! I think I win.

Happy Europe Day!!

Today marks the one-year anniversary of my adventure in Europe...it's so weird to realize that an entire year has gone by already because the memories are so vivid. Here's a photo of my roommates and I right before we left for the airport :0) we were soooo giddy!!