iowa.

today i was really happy to be alive.  one of the most beautiful days i have experienced in a while!

today i was brought back to my time in kentucky in so many ways, even though i am actually visiting iowa.

iowa. IT IS AWESOME!  there are so many farms, old barns, and flowers.  oh, and how could i forget...corn. lots and LOTS of corn.  really i could go without all of the corn...but it's still great!  my roommate and best friend kourtney is getting married, and since her fee-ohn-say;) is in Afghanistan i get to stand in and help with lots of the wedding planning.  it's pretty great considering this weekend, i got to try wedding cakes, catered dishes, and visit the barn where they are going to have their reception.

i pretty much had a panic attack when i got to the barn because it filled me with so much joy.  it was so beautiful.

hmm.

Here are some of the thoughts that go through my mind as I drive home to funerals.

The Lord has been teaching me so much lately.  As a fairly scatterbrained individual sometimes it is hard for me to get all of my thoughts out in an organized way, but thankfully I’m not being graded on this.  That would really stink.  Thank you Jesus!

Things I’ve been learning. 

People matter.  Things don’t. 

If you know me, I really like to make things and use my creative side.  I am constantly looking at things and thinking about what I could make out of it. That reminds me, I really want to snag my boyfriend’s old bike wheel, spray paint it, and use it on my wall.  ;)  The cool thing about having this type of mind, is that you can make things for people you care about!  Because if you don’t get rid of it, you become a hoarder!  I have recently tried to get rid of some things to simplify my life, let my brain relax, and because I can’t wear five hundred outfits in the three hundred sixty five days of the year…especially when I wear workout clothes for the majority of them. 

another thought...

I really love Jesus, eating healthy, crafts, and I have the brain of an entrepreneur…

Wouldn't it be cool to have a food truck?! A healthy food truck?  Honestly, I've only eaten from a food truck once, and it was Thai food down by the river, so I don’t know if most food trucks are healthy.  Anyway, I have this idea that I’ve been thinking about lately:  I think it would be cool to have a food truck called Eden Eats…like the garden of Eden. Get it? Isn't that cool?!  It would be a things like smoothies, and organic foods.   Slogan:  “We don’t serve forbidden fruit.”  I think the idea spawned because I have had smoothies for the majority of my meals this week. . .mostly because I feel like I get to eat ice cream at any point during the day, and they taste seriously good.  My friends like to make fun of my ingredients, but I say haters gonna hate. ;) or as my sister would say, "haters gon' hate." :) Okay, maybe sweet potato, pumpkin, kale, pineapple ,blueberry, and mango sounds like an odd combination.  Try it.  You’ll never go back.  Also, peanut butter powder.  I think the PB2 company should pay me for their increase in sales.  My cocoa, peanut butter powder, banana, kale ice cream is great.  And no one wants to eat it so I don’t have to share.  What a perk.  So as you can tell this foodtruck is a very developed idea, and judging by the demonstrated ADD throughout the last paragraph, this business plan has a lot of potential.  I’m practically ready to launch. 

Speaking of launching businesses. Saint Little Flower.

Saint Little Flower is a business I would really like to start.  I got the name Saint Little Flower from the saint, Therese the Little Flower who is the patron saint of foreign missions.  I also love LOVE flowers and anything in nature.  I would like to start doing something that would help with missions locally and globally.  It would be a craft business where I use old things to create new things.  

So these are the scattered thoughts I sometimes develop...or don't.  :)

stones.

yesterday, i walked around louisville, and happened to come across this old cemetery.  it actually turned out to be a pretty great experience.  i met a lady there, who i am pretty sure i would like to be one day, saw some names i liked, and just had time to sit and think--something i'm not the best at doing.

well, i had such a great time talking to my new friend that afterwards i wrote a poem about her.  sitting in the cemetery.  i actually wrote a couple poems.  i'm weird.  haha oops!  i like being that way.

warning:  i'm not a professional.  there are probably a lot of errors.  this was just the way i wanted to remember such a fun experience of meeting a new friend.

simply beautiful

today i met a woman i'd like to be like, 

one day when i grow up.

walking through a graveyard  in kentucky,

at her side walked two stray pups.

her name was chris,

and she talked about beauty in living simply.

enjoying earth and all its gifts,

not getting wrapped up in being greedy.

we walked among the stones for awhile,

talking about dance and art.

how things of this nature should not be forgotten,

as they are good for the heart.

she called herself a late bloomer,

emotionally and socially.

her freedom to truly live and blossom,

delayed by an alcoholic family.

there seemed to be a lot of wisdom,

behind her bright blue eyes.

her face and skin wrinkled,

but heart still young and alive.

she talked of getting dirty,

walking and resting on clay.

taking in all that is around her,

and sometimes putting it on display.

artwork out of bugs and bone, 

packaging materials and more.

she had a uniqueness, some might call it strange,

but i wish i saw it more.

i felt that she was similar to me.

not the kind to every really fit in.

but recognized she was not made to do so,

and to so would be a sin.

she talked of 87 year old mother,

and a sister a couple years younger.

the one who loved to watch the moon, 

and the one who counseled others.

it is so interesting to reveal,

a new but old friend's story.

to hear of theatre and dancing school days,

almost like solving their personal mystery.

refreshing to hear one's perspective,

of lives who have chosen wrong.

a perspective that reveals there may have been,

one path they could choose all along.

she could see their good, but also their danger,

and still she called them friends.

knowing each one had potential,

but could find themselves locked up in the end.

i sometimes wish i could be at her place,

in life with a cabin and outhouse,

living in the pure simplicity of things,

enjoying nature and maybe a spouse.

i gave her my last lucky four-leafed clover

they're uncommon and hard to find

the same goes for those who choose to live simply,

and not waste the gift of a thoughtful mind.

she walks through life appreciating and creating,

sharing kindness and beauty from within.

i'm so glad i had the chance to meet,

a one of a kind person-who now i consider a friend. 

i finished it!

when i was in fourth grade, i remember telling my dad that i could no longer watch television because there were so many good books to read out there and hardly enough time to do so.  i remember thinking; i will probably need to eventually take a speed reading class, so that i can read as fast as my uncle mike, who once told me he was able to read an entire elvis novel in two minutes.

i've found more and more growing up that i believed a lot growing up, and not everything i was told was necessarily true.  don't even get me started on santa.  but who knows? maybe he took a speed reading class.

anyway, although i loved books, and read a lot, over the years i've found myself reading less and less.  i told my sister jessie the other day, that it has been such a long time since i've read a book that wasn't the bible or about it.  and it's not because i'm constantly reading the bible, but because i seem to distract myself with other things, and look for things to entertain me without much effort needed.  (wow. i sound lazy.)  

SO...it is time for me to turn over a new leaf. ha, that was actually what the summer reading program at the library was called when i was growing up. how appropriate. i've started to read, and i even finished a book! my sister jessie finished reading the history of love by nicole krauss and gave it to me to read too.  i have to admit, i was so focused on merely finishing the book at first.  she probably could have given me the farmer's almanac, and i would have been just as determined to finish.  however, pretty quickly i became engrossed in the story, (engrossed is a weird word) and  really enjoyed it.  i actually wanted to read it, and i even compared it to driving the 4runner.  i really, really like 4runners.  it pretty much filled me with just as much delight.  

when i finished the book, there were no other words to describe how i was feeling other than my heart felt swollen.  unfortunately, it was about midnight so i had to get ready for bed, and couldn't run to release my happiness.  

i thought about describing the book, but 'm pretty sure jessie is the only person who actually reads this blog, so she already knows why i loved it so much.  and if you're reading this and haven't read the book, you should probably just read it too.  it's way better than the farmer's almanac.

i finished the book.  i love leo gursky. and i'll probably name one of my children alma.  

i'm a blogger?

i kind of like that nobody knows about this blog.  hopefully it will let me establish my own voice, and i won't have to worry about sounding cool. yet. i'm sure eventually i'll get too caught up in it, and have to give it up for awhile...but for the time being it's pretty fun. ha:)

what the heck even is blogging? it seems pretty cool.  people get to document the important things and events going on in their lives, as well as thoughts, poems, prayers, and whatever comes to mind.  at least that's what i think would be a good use for a blog.  that being said, i think that's what i'll do.

i have always had a really random mind, and love telling stories and memories.  most of the time, halfway into the story i forget the purpose, and i end up having really poor delivery skills. hopefully on here, i can tell complete stories.  i have to admit, it seems a bit intimidating.  my writing skills aren't the best.  it's really a work in progress.  anyways, i've always wanted a place to put random thoughts and memories, so here goes nothing. :)

pretty please

i'm trying.
















i'm trying.









please.

please.

all i want is for this blog to work. is that too much to ask...