Today was one of those days. No, not one of those days as in the sort that leaves you stressed and tired and wanting nothing more than a cup of tea and a comfortable bed. It was one of those days that you relish; not because anything special or important happened. But because the simplicity of each moment tugs at something in the corner of your brain ...or your heart..I'm not sure which. My day started with a mug of chocolate coffee (my favorite homemade drink), rain, thick traffic, and two three-year-olds, suffering from separation anxiety, stuck to my neck. One would think it was a recipe for the day that leaves you wanting only to start over or move on to tomorrow. But something about those three-year-olds...their very first day of school ever. I felt like I was part of a monumental event with all of the pictures and video cameras. Noon came and I drove home to scavenge for food. I couldn't get myself to look for jobs that didn't even exist. So I put my energy into re-organizing the library at the tutoring center...better use of my time anyway. Soon after I found myself in one of my favorite places in this city....curled up in a big chair on the 2nd floor of a bookstore. A man had sat in it before I came along. I could tell because the leather had remnants of cologne. Where had he gone? Home to his family? Back to his college dorm? To work a late night in one of the prominent businesses in the neighborhood? The rain had stopped. From my perch, I could see the busy intersections below. People bustling home from work oblivious to the fact that the clouds were still low and dark and swirly. More swirly than dark. The weather was more what I imagined Seattle weather to be like. When I could finally tear myself away from the view below, I looked through the books I had chosen off the shelf for today's visit. Yes, I'm one of those customers. I like to get books off of the shelf, read portions of them, and then leave them on the table by the big comfy chair-the one with the hole in the seat. I so often lose myself in this place. Today it was not the movement of people around me that jolted me back to reality. Instead it was pleasant phone call. The promise of a few hours of work. Now I end the day listening to the melancholic voice of KT Tungstall...she's not always that way, but my favorite of her songs consistently matches the mellow side of my inner self....and letting the blogging world in on my day...just one of those days...but in a good way.

i would be...wife of a miracle man and a witch

Which Princess Bride Character are You?
this quiz was made by mysti

learning to laugh at myself

I reazlied rather recently this summer, that I am always blogging inside of my head. When something funny happens or interesting words are spoken, I sort of "check out" of the situation and go into the blog world of my mind to begin fashioning the story as I would tell it to others. Sadly, many of my stories don't make it beyond my mind. Unless something triggers the memory later, I don't even retain it long enough to get it on my blog or in my journal. Ahh...the stories that have been lost.

I'm currently in the readjustment period after my stint at camp. I'm finding that my time alone is much harder than I was expecting. There is no one to laugh at all of my stupid mistakes...or give me hugs laced with pokes - thanks Nolan! Two days ago, I was walking down a sidewalk and out of nowhere found myself lying on the ground. Knees, hands, ankle stinging, I pulled myself up and looked around to see who had noticed. Luckily, there was no one in sight. I decided not to look at my knee for I was on my way to apply for a job and thought it would be better if I didn't actually know how much I had injured it. After I did the whole job thing, I made a beeline for my car where I checked out the damage....pretty big scrape along with a bruise that covers basically my entire knee. 5 cuts on my hand - must have been some rough concrete! As I was sitting in my car, laughing at what I dork I was, I was reminded of one of my camp friends who calls me "grace". Not because of the grace of God, but because of my tendency to get hurt...to fall in random places...even though it would have been embarrassing, I sort of wished he was there to laugh with me. I guess I just have to learn to laugh at myself all by myself.

Movies

So about a month a go, I was tagged by Tanya to fill out this movie questionnaire.

1) What is a movie that changed the way you think and act? Or just got you thinking, if the first question is too intimidating.

Life As a House - While it can be a very graphic movie...it is a great reminder of the gospel and just how much one person can affect change on many. I recently saw V for Vendetta. It definitely makes you think about the fact that any time , choas could ensue in our big country. There were scenes in the movie where you would see newspaper articles or the news on tv talking about the war in the former USA or it would show americans fighting just to coupons to get water. Scary.

2) It's a late autumn evening and rainy and cold? What do you have for dinner/snack? What movie do you pop in the DVD player?

Snack- chips and salsa... Dinner- potato soup and cinnamon rolls
I would probably put in one of the many Lifetime movies that my awesome mom tapes for me:)

3) You are off to wee Himalayan hamlet(...even better gift idea) for a year, your laptop hard drive can hold one film. What will it be?

One film?!? I really don't know.

4) What movie made you laugh the hardest? What movie made you cry?

Laugh- National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation!
Cry- I cry at almost every movie for some reason or another. Most I've ever cried? The Passion. I started in the beginning and could not stop!!

5) Favorite actor (female, male)?

This is hard- I haven’t seen every movie everyone has done but the few people I have seen once or twice here I like:
Female: Julia Roberts,
Male: Harrison Ford, Denzel Washington. Tom Hanks , Matthew McConaughey (only because he's in almost every chick flick these days), Hugh Grant

6) What book or story would you like to see made into a film or what book do you love that could never be made into a film?

I am usually greatly disappointed by the films made after the books.

7) What is a movie that immediately after you watched it, you wish you hadn't?

CLICK! The main point of the movie is great, but the way they get to it is aweful! And it moves rather slow.

8) Do you read movie reviews? Before, after, never? Whose reviews do you find the best? Are you an analyzer?

No reviews...ever. I judge on my own.

9) What movie do you think is a must see, that you can only recommend with caveats? What movie do you really like, but can only recommend with caveats?

Crash and Life as a House.

10) What movie do you most wish to share with your friends?

Uh...the world of Lifetime!

I'm supposed to tag 5 people to do this on their blog, but I think Tanya already tagged most people that I know with a blog.

I'll tag Jonathan.

I'm back from the dead. Or more accurately, from camp. It's sort of like being dead (to your prior camp life) in a way. I mean, no time to call people really....no computer to maintain contact on. And I was way too tired to do anything at night, but go to bed....so none of that archaic letter writing stuff (although I actually really like to do that). Anyway, I'm back...I've been back for 4 days...and things are different. Not only have I changed some, but there have been changes in what was once normal here (at least in my little corner of the world). It's nice to have non-rusty water to drink, to have clothes that actually smell clean when they come out of the laundry, to take a shower and feel as thought I really got clean. I thought I would love being back in my little apartment; away from the living environment that eighty college students produce. While its nice to have my own room, my computer, and a full kitchen, there is something sort of lonely about this little place. You can't walk out into the living room and become part of a random coversation that ends with people being duck taped to trees or using "shocking gum" on a myriad of body parts. On the flip side, I haven't been called "Grandma" for 4 days now, and I can lay in bed without having to listen to the noisy people in the hallway.

I had a great summer, and at the same time, I'm excited to be back. I'm looking forward to what this fall is going to bring.

Not a whole lot to say today, but I feel like I should blog because I'm so far away from my friends. Camp is fun. I'm glad that I chose to come back here for the summer. The staff is hilarious. And energetic. And creative. And great with kids. Ya know, the typical camp type people. My roommates, Jody and Cori are way fun. We all have the same middle name, Lynn. And they aren't messy which I like.

My campers are really cute. They all have great smiles. They like to laugh. And they really like Jake, my male counselor last week and this upcoming week. We planted a garden this past Wednesday day. Each child has their own tomato plant. I went out to water them this morning...some of them look like they are on their way to being dead. YIKES! The soil just isnt' very good up where they put the garden. And the water supply consists of me filling buckets in a creek and hauling them 50 yards....so needless to say, they may not get enough water. Oops.

Today is Saturday. A day to rest, rejuvenate, and plan for the week. And that's what I'm doing for sure! Oh, I like getting mail at camp. But in the four weeks, I've been here, I've only gotten one piece of mail. Hint. Hint.

Last week, I sprained my ankle on the slip n' slide - the first step I took onto the dumb thing! Then this past Tuesday, I took a chunk of my leg off and left a fist sized bruise...new picnic tables that have screws sticking out. And I got a spider bite on Wednesday. But I'm alive. hehe.

Okay, I'm signing off now. Go read someone else's blog.

on being old

Its wierd. Like a sickness. Or a disease. Something you aren't used to. Something you think will not actually happen to you. (I mean this in a much lighter tone than the one I am setting). Getting old. It seemed to happen to me over the course of 24 hours. I went from the youngest person among my friends to being the oldest woman on a staff of all college students. What a small battle I had internally...do I act a little bit more immature than what I am comfortable with in order to gain their friendship? Do I remain at my maturity level and feel annoyed by them frequently? Do I share from my plethera of experiences and offer up suggestions or do I remain quiet?

This battle only lasted a few hours as I quickly realized I would not only be cheating myself, but also God, my program director, and the staff if I were anyone but me. My age has most certainly been both a blessing and a bit of a challenge in the short time I have been at camp. But the Lord is teaching me to get over myself, let Him figure things out for me, and to be more flexible. He's already used me in ways I didn't think possible and stretched me in ways I didn't think would ever be stretching for me AND the kids haven't even arrived yet!

Praise the Lord for being old. For the work He continues do even as we get older. for now, I'll try to think about reverting back to being the youngest in August.

Tulip Time Pictures

Hello mudder...hello fadder

Yep, I'm off to camp today. Early mornings, late nights, campfires, and lots of kids. I'll be sure to blog my experiences as often as I can. In the meantime, write me letters!! (for those of you that have my address).

maven goes to the park

Outlook Not So Good

I remember as a child frequently walking the two blocks to my friend Amber's house where our Saturday afternoons were swallowed up by playing house, school, "Guess Who", all sorts of imagination games, and driving her grandma crazy. Sometimes, usually toward the end of the afternoon, we would run out of things to play so we would pull out the (drumroll please) Magic 8 Ball. The questions we asked it were so silly. "Is so and so the cutest boy in our class?" "Will I get an A on my next test?" Many times the answer was very straightforward. "Yes." or "No." However, the phrase "outlook not so good" would occassionally make its way to the surface. Normally we would just reask the question without even a thought to the meaning of that phrase.

Fifteen years later, that phrase continues to show its face. It smiled in on me not all that long ago when I was lying in bed asking God a whole series of questions about my future (mostly in the job world). This time my questions not so silly. "Will I have a job?" "Will I be a teacher?" "Should I be pursuing something else?" Just as I finished my slew of questions, "Outlook not so good" popped into my head. I almost laughed out loud. Even though I was talking to God, there is no way that is what he was replying to me. For real, when you are walking with God how can the outlook NOT be good? The situation may not be good. MY situation has been hard and scary and has contained a lot of unknowns. But the outlook has never been bad. The Lord has promised to take care of me and He has been MORE than faithful in His promise this past year. YEAH!

on fiances and singleness

My car was made just before they started installing CD players, therefore, I listen to the radio when I'm out driving around. Over this past year, I have slowly fallen in love with Natasha Bedingfield. Her music is an enjoyable mix of hip-hop and pop. Her lyrics are clean and catchy. And her message is powerful! Currently she is most well known for "These Words", which is about finding the best word to say "I love you" and "Unwritten" which speaks to the fact that we have some control over our life and the direction it takes. These are the two songs that got me hooked on her, but I would have to say that "Single" is the song that I like the best.

Ah yeah that's right
All you single people out there
This is for you

I'm not waitin' around for a man to save me
(Cos I'm happy where I am)
Don't depend on a guy to validate me
I don't need to be anyone's baby
(Is that so hard to understand?)
No I don't need another half to make me whole

Make your move if you want doesn't mean I will or won't
I'm free to make my mind up you either got it or you don't

[Chorus:]
This is my current single status
My declaration of independence
There's no way I'm tradin' places
Right now a star's in the ascendant

I'm single
(Right now)
That's how I wanna be
I'm single
(Right now)
That's how I wanna be

Don't need to be on somebody's arm to look good
(I like who I am)
I'm not saying I don't wanna fall in love 'cos I would
I'm not gonna get hooked up just 'cos you say I should
(Can't romance on demand)
I'm gonna wait so I'm sorry if you misunderstood

[Chorus]

Everything in it's right time everything in it's right place
I know I'll settle down one day
But 'til then I like it this way it's my way
Eh I like it this way

Make your move if you want doesn't mean I will or won't
I'm free to make my mind up you either got it or you don't
'Til then I'm single

This is my current single status
My declaration of independence
There's no way I'm tradin' places
Right now a star's in the ascendant

Not only does this song literally say "I don't need a man to validate me", but it also doesn't come across in the extreme feministic "more rights for women" kind of way. It's okay to be single. It's okay to not date. It's okay to want to wait.

Sadly so many women fall into the mindset that they must be with a man to have purpose and meaning to their lives. That they can't be someone without first being WITH someone. So they are constantly going from one boyfriend to another, never single for more than a week, and in the end left feeling more empty than the beginning.

How great it is to see someone in the popular radio world taking a stand...trying to empower women (in a different way) ....to make a statement (even if it is a small one). Too bad this isn't the most popular of her songs on the radio!

On a different note (fiances): I have a former student who is now 6 years old. He attends the school where my roommate currently teaches. Recently some friends had a BBQ where both my roommate and my former student were in attendance. Now this particular student has a problem with remembering big words, but not using them at the appropriate times. The following is a conversation between Tanya (my roommate) and my former student and his mother.

Student: I remember you. You're Ms. Salmond's fiance!
Tanya: Roommate. I'm Ms. Salmond's roommate.
Student's mother: Roommate sweetie. Roommate.
Student: Fiance! Fiance! Fiance! Fiance!