one hundred. eighty two.

I am currently obsessed with "Ulysses" by Josh Garrels. It is truly a thing of beauty. I listened to it as we were flying over hills/deserts on my first ever plane ride last week. It's the perfect traveling song - driving, flying, biking, sailing (naturally, since it's about sailing...). It just has that feel to it. You know?

So. My first ever plane ride!
I think I tend to make a big deal out of many things in my life. So many occasions strike me as momentous or especially enthralling.
While this is good for me because I end up rarely disappointed in life, to others it might appear that I am over-dramatic.
It's not like I'm spinning in circles with arms outstretched in the airport, singing. I was, however, one of the happiest people on that plane. That may have also been due to the fact that it was 5:10 in the morning; most people were tired & cranky.
The plane ride was probably not good for me, though. I gazed out the window for the longest time on high hills and stretches of land that I longed to visit. I like the west, there are a lot of open spaces and high peaks. I am restless and want to travel, want to walk those hills. I like visiting places an awful lot, I love seeing how other people do life. I'd especially like to get a passport and see how people do life outside of the states.

California is a neat place, and the wedding we went to was the most lovely. I've only been to several weddings that felt so right. It just spreads through the air as family and friends are happy for the union, encouraged by it even. It's something that sends people away with hope. Both sets of parents were so grateful to the other set for raising such a wonderful child. Jacob and Jenna are two of the sweetest people I know, it made for such a fun, joyful wedding, so centered around God and His work in their lives.

Another California adventure: fell asleep in the sun day one since I'd had relatively no sleep, so I burnt alive and was peeling pretty hideously by the time the wedding came around. It literally looked like I had some skin pigmentation problems. It didn't show up in pictures (I think?) but anyone who got too close to me gave me some funky stares.
We also did some of the things you're supposed to do, like go to In-N-Out Burger, watch the surfers on the pier, and visit the most beautiful park, Torrey Pines, which had a beach I'd like to live on. We also went to several fun, eclectic little places and little markets that were very dear or very strange. Really, one or the other.

Now it's back to the humdrum which I love so much. I returned to work to find that some customers hadn't come in since I'd left, then came in today for my first day back. Makes a girl feel pretty special.

one hundred. eighty one.

Had the most girly evening with Bethany a few days ago: we padded around her new apartment in our bare feet & served up some pasta on old china. Then we hunkered down for an evening with Audrey Hepburn and fresh peach pie, finishing it all off with chatting over french press decaf. Delightful.

This week I've had sort of a mini vacation which turned mostly into catching up on things I haven't been doing, i.e. cleaning/weeding, plus catching up with friends and cheering up the dearest friend. Today I cleaned like a madwoman in the morning so that I could take a few hours to drive up to Lake Geneva in the afternoon. I soaked up some sun, read, napped like a kitten in the warmth, wrote a letter, perused shop windows...a few hours later I felt nearly brand new.

I start far too many books at one time. I've lost count of how many I'm reading presently.
I've been without my journal all week and have since felt the strongest urge to journal. Never mind that I have been slacking quite a bit on journaling, if I know I can't do something I really want to do it.
It's a destructive habit.
Also, it's just extremely disconcerting to be without my journal. Sometimes I write things and think "If this got published, I would probably be famous."
But, most times it's rubbish, embarrassing rubbish at that.

I always comment anonymously on other blogs, but when people comment anonymously here I get so inquisitive. Backwards, I know. Serves me right for trying to be mysterious/too afraid.

It's been a good while. Sometimes if I feel especially vulnerable I won't write because I feel like I'll betray something. I don't even write in my journal.

This is bad because then periods of vulnerability go undocumented. I might glean something if I learned to write honestly and carefully during those times. 

I should also install a recording device in my car, because I frequently talk things out there as I drive, which I think might be humorous in about 20 years. 

Last thing: Tonight I took vanilla ice cream and put on dark chocolate shavings and pecans. For some reason I felt like a total genius. It was delicious, by the way.