[] underwater self []

Megan is a friend of mine that has knack for outdoor adventure.  She's the type of friend that will walk across the rotten, soggy fallen tree to "test it" for the rest of us waiting to cross the river.  She is usually right about everything nature, and so is her boyfriend.  He can spot an ant on a tree from miles away and can handle a canoe like nobodys business.  They are a great team. They are also gracious enough to invite me with them on their adventures.  If it weren't for them, kayaking would have never crossed my mind as something fun to do.  But it is.  Unlike the wild canoes I get into, the kayak is easily, completely self controlled.  Well, for the most part.  Megan is super good at it, while I am ok at it.  I have a way better time in the 'yak maneuvering and exploring the rivers than I do in canoes. 

Megan is fearless, (thats her on the right jumping off) which is amazing to watch.  She will float down a rocky path, jumping from rock to rock, very confident and sure of her footing. This is just not me, I place one foot, make sure- triple make sure- its secure and then place the next.  She never seems bothered by my lameness, which really allows me to be comfortable being me.  I think we all want this in some way, in every part of our life.  Over analyzing and being too critical with others comes way to naturally to us.  I try really hard to let people be, and I love when I get that in return.  But don't get me wrong, I love challenging people to figure out some way to become better versions of themselves: to use their Starbucks money for the day to bless someone, or to take their huge helping of leftovers to the homeless people that sit outside downtown, to flip people off less often, to stop talking so much about Hollywood and more about real life...

Anyway, all that to say, I took a underwater camera with me this past summer to the rivers and then had left over film for my parents pool.  It was an experiment, and with the learning curve of film, I doubt my next set will be any better.  For now, enjoy!

Side note: Its 30ish degrees outside as I write this, and to think of my parents pool as warm and inviting isn't easy, but I love their pool.  I remember as a kid taking the mandatory swim lessons in 5th grade.  Do you remember taking lessons? During the testing phase, I swam the entire width of the pool, putting me into the "well now what do we do with this kid that already knows how to swim?" category.  They figured something out.  For the rest of the sessions I got to hang out with the high school dive team at the other end of the pool.  I felt so cool, so knowledgeable about swimming or something.  Sitting on the edge of the 1970's style pool, I can remember listening to the highschool girls talk about smoking and cute boys.  Neither appealed to me at the time, however cute guys are definitely on my radar now...

[] Salvation Mountain []

Last part of the great summer LA trip. The best thing I have experienced in a long time was by far our trip to Salvation Mountain. A few years ago I saw "Into the Wild" and there was this one scene with this amazing little mountain painted with scripture and other saying of love. Anna and I had tried to plan this trip out to Niland, California last summer, but I am glad we waited. It was about a four hour drive from LA, going from nice 70 degree weather to over the 100 degree "bake your face off" mark. I still can't believe people actually take up residence out there.

Anyway, the amazing little mountain was thought up by the cutest 80-ish year old, Leonard Knight. He has lived and worked out there for decades, dedicating his life's work to spreading lavish love through Bible verses and personal stories. I prayed that he would be out there, willing to engage. We heard that he only comes out at night because of the heat, but that is not true. We arrived an hour before sunset and climbed the mountain and once on top I spied him below in a different, new section of his creation. I was so excited to get to talk to him, I was a bit nervous as I didn't know if he wanted to talk or if he wanted to be just left alone.

We walked up behind him and he slowly turned around with a big, perfectly white, symmetrical smile on his face.  A greeting of "Welcome, do you have time for me to show you around?"  Of course we did, I was so happy to see how personable he was and to think, we had him all to ourselves.  He explained as he walked through the different sections and told us he's been out here for several years, all by himself and actually pretty "spoiled" by the people that come to visit.

 Insisting that he is taken care of, he refuses money, food, and anything else, but notes that if its on someones heart to donate any of these he doesn't turn it down.  Standing so close to him, listening to every word, I got a great close up of all his deep wrinkles around his kind little eyes and the smile lines surrounding his mouth (which, by the way, he had amazingly white teeth contrasting against his sun tanned skin). 

[] the Getty got it goin' on []

On another day we traveled up to the Getty Art Museum where we didn't know what to expect. Our experience there was kinda mind blowing, really. First, I smiled and giggled and they let us park for free and then we followed signs that took us to a modern tram station. The tram arrived, we boarded and it glided off, following the carved out contours of the hillside. The view over the freeway down into L.A. was actually pretty.

 I thought this was going to be like all other museum experiences: park, walk to entrance, and then proceed to exhibits. Uhhh....the Getty got it goin' on! It was amazing. The glass tram doorways open to a outdoor marble mezzanine, dotted with minimal sculpture and modern water features.

Going over toward the edge, the courtyard below opens up to this Edward-Scissor-Hands-esque garden will rolling green hills and couples picnicking on the lawn. We ended up spending the majority of our time outside, so we basically ran through a very small portion of the indoor exhibits as they closed.

Best museum visit...ever

[] Anna, she is good []

Wow, time has really flown this past few months, I haven't even thought of blogging until I came across photos from this summer.     Blog time, fo' sure. 

Ok, so I've been going out to L.A. for the past few summers and I am totally loving it.  This past trip was totally different in that I got to do more touristy things, which at first I would have never thought I would be into.  Anna, my dear friend is soooo good to me when I am out there.  For example, she lets me sleep in, and then she lets me take her car and explore for a few hours. My first destination is always a coffee shop where (with my decaf) I can sit and watch people, the bike culture, and think about things...Anna is soooo good to me because she knows I need time by myself each day to feel like myself.

Anna had a very relaxed itinerary for the week, which she knows I would be totally content sitting in her back yard looking at the sky, but I was excited for the things she had planned.  Three of the best things we did:  a sunset tour of Hollywood, the Getty Art Museum, and Salvation Mountain.  I'll do three separate entries just so I can really write out the details and make each post as photo rich as possible.  But I will start out first with our sunset tour.

The 10 passenger van with the top chopped off  beckoned us as we waited just outside Graumans Chinese Theater (the place where stars put their hand print in cement for us to oogle over).  Our driver was super at two things: being really sociable and driving like a maniac.  It was so much fun.  We stopped at various famous places and drove by tall hedges, shielding important people from being bothered by people like us. Riding through the hills and back down to old Hollywood was beautiful, and since we weren't the ones driving, we could actually look around and relax.

Hollywood has so many different personalities: dirty, immaculate, filthy rich, calm, jumpin', vast, cramped, squiggly, straight..we got to see all of these in about two hours...

 My camera and my brain are on high alert when I am out there...everything seems so new and fun...maybe that's why vacation is so important for the human mind? I know it is for mine...

[] serve somebody []

Often, when I am overwhelmed, that feeling drives me to figure out a new plan of attack.  And since I usually procrastinate, it takes me a few tries before anything is tackled.  Specifically, the only time this really bothers me and I wish my emotional response was different is when I am asked to remember several personal prayer requests at once.  Let me explain: I'm a part of small group and at the end we usually go around and state where we would like God's attention to help change, awaken, or show wisdom in.  Usually 5-7 concerns are put out there for us to remember and intercede for.  This overwhelms me, to completely honest.  I 100% believe in the power of prayer and know it can bring understanding beyond anything else. But with the addition of extra prayers adding to the heaping stack in my brain completely stop me from moving forward at that moment.  As I said before, I wish my response was different.

I see my close friends writing furiously as the people in the group voice their needs, as I sit and pray a blanket prayer over everything, sincerely, with details and love.  I know that writing them down and keeping them to look over for the next week or two is great, but I know myself all too well.  That list will end up lost before the end of the night.  I wish my process was different.

It is one of my life's expectation to be in the Word everyday.  Writing thoughts and praying for wisdom in everyday life and things.  If I were to sit down and pray until all the needs for those on my heart AND on paper were spoken for, it would take until the sun came up.  Something has to change...

[] make it rain...[]

I love when I can modify things to fit my life better, which brings me to blog about my rain barrel.  I decided to buy one through Wickman Gardens last year ($70) so that I could water my garden, houseplants, hose off grandma (just kidding) and other things in the yard.  Conserving resources and money is always a fun challenge to me. My first step was to choose a central location with respect to everything that needs to be watered. I then took a saw to my downspout, cutting it off a few feet above my raised rain barrel.

Note: the higher you raise the barrel, the better the water pressure is.  So there was a two foot gap between the end of the sawed off downspout and the opening of the rain barrel, which is then where you attach the flexible downspout, which kinda feels like a slinky made from hard plastic.  The water will flow through the fine mesh top, straining the large particulate out, but mosquito eggs can still drop through and harvest.  I haven't had this problem, but a touch of olive oil to the surface of the water should prevent anything from growing.

[] Ross and Libby love []

A good friend of mine got married to one of the best guys you'll ever meet this past summer!  Libby met me at the very early stages of creating Twin Town Studios, and her undying support will always be remembered.  We always talked of how it would be "one day" when we each got married.  It seems like that was a million years ago, and now Libby shares her life with Ross.  They had an amazing wedding, and my team of Jamie, Emily, and myself were honored to photograph their day. 

[] the view from a blanket []

A few weeks back, Amanda, Holly, and Christy and I ventured 20 miles north to Brighton, Missouri for their annual fireworks display. The church there held a very organized event, from the parking arrangements to the the nights lineup of entertainment, it was a simple, beautiful evening. I tend to forget that I live in the Midwest, visually, there is nothing around my everyday life that would make me feel "Midwestern". Does that make sense? Being surrounded by the open sky, vast fields, and kind people would probably be the iconic Midwestern existence. Emulating the TV show "the Andy Griffith Show", a small piece of Brighton had been transformed into the town of Mayberry.

Under the main tent held all the deep-fried, full fat goodness that adorned every flimsy plate.  My friends decided on the generous helping of homemade cobblers and ice cream for just a few dollars.  As we headed back to our little spot on the ground, a train full of smiling kids passed in front of us.  Some of the kids had colorful balloons tied to their wrist and a melting snow cone in their other hand as they clueless walked among the strangers.  And may I note that these strangers were the nicest ever.  One man directed me to what he thought "was the cleanest port-a-potty" he had ever been in.  Well, I totally disagreed, but it was the nice gesture that counted.

Amanda had brought the most appropriate thing: a blanket big enough for all of us to lay on.  It was perfect.  Sitting on the ground, people watching, listening to passing conversations, observing fashion that I hope was just a take on the "Mayberry lifestyle", and getting to be with friends makes time stand still for me.  Its like I'm so happy, nothing else matters and I loose track of the things that normally distract me.  

The sun had finally set across the warm, blue sky and the fireworks began.  I had low expectation for the show, honestly.  I thought a few bottle rockets, maybe jazzed up with some gasoline type of show would end the night, but I was very wrong.  It was beautiful.  These huge white, fountain plumes expanded across the entire horizon, forcing us to lay back on the blanket to take it all in.  At one point in the show, they were playing Jeff Buckleys rendition of "Hallelujah".  The fireworks matched the beauty of his recording. The nights end came to soon, but I left with a renewed appreciation for friends and a simple life (and indoor bathrooms). More Mayberry love...

[] tulum travels []

Ahhh, vacation time! My brother, myself and 20 of his closest friends decided to travel to Tulum, Mexico for 8 days of greatness.  My brother, Andy and I have a love for the Mexican lifestyle and laid back culture.  Most of our family trips have been to this area for awhile now.  They have amazing drift diving that rivals what I've experienced in the Great Barrier Reef. 100 ft down with 100ft visibility makes for effortless elation.  It was a great trip for me for several reasons: getting to travel, spending time not only with my brother and his wife Lisa, but meeting a bunch of new people and getting to know them throughout the week.  Both the best part and weirdest part: being unplugged from the world. Unplugging from the phone, weather widgets, calls, emails, tweets, updates, texts, editing, and any other media.  This was a first for me.

If and when you travel to Mexico, you have to turn your phone off so roaming charges aren't racking up, which kinda put me off for the first day.  I didn't have instant access via text to knowing the whereabouts of friends, and when and where we were to meet.  Even not knowing what time it was bugged me a little, as I usually just look at my phone for the time and weather. But I got over it, as I'm sure anyone would.  The 10 sun filled hours of each day spent in our all inclusive resort (the only way to do Mexico!) started each morning around 9am.  I roomed by myself and since the resort phone lines between rooms didn't consistently work, I made my way to breakfast hoping to see someone from our group.  Funny enough, I ate with strangers most mornings! It would either be a couple, married for several years inviting me to join them, sensitive to my "i don't know a single person in here" look, or just the wives of the men who sleep late (sounds like a support group) that just wanted some company for the morning.  The personal selection of refried black beans, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, and the perfect Mexican cappuccino made each morning a bit more special. (yes, i drank coffee this trip!) Everyone was so communal and friendly.  I'm usually the one inviting strangers to join, so being on the other end of that was nice.

Everyday followed the same wonderful, relaxing routine: Breakfast, the beach, jumping the waves in the ocean, reading, sunning, drinking, laughing, and the evening pool time with everyone (which, I found out, that I dominate in water volleyball).  The ocean there was a great mix of sugary, white sand and 80 degree rolling waves.  These waves were the kind you can either jump or ride over, or dive underneath to avoid being swished around.  I calculated that I was in the water an average of 7 hours a day! Still not enough, though...

Adventures outside of the resort were anything but relaxing, but still a blast.  Sarah and I (my smart, hilarious, scientific friend from way back), went snorkeling in a cenote and then into open water with sea turtles, rays, and other coral life.  This cenote (over 40,000 just in that area) was a spring fed, water-filled cave that you accessed climbing backwards through a small hole down a metal ladder. Once you stood at the bottom, you are looking at water that resembles glass or a mirror.  Its hard to explain, just google a cenote and you'll see what i mean.  The water is motionless, ultra reflective and ice cold.  Its the kind of water you regret getting into.  But a nice change from the boggy jungle and blankets of mosquitoes you have to tramp through to get here.  Underwater lights were set up so that you could see the formations, but it also gave you a better perception on the depth and textures of what you were looking at.  It was an odd feeling to float over a giant, deep, black crevasse that you know went several hundred feet somewhere.  Or to look where the guide shined her underwater flashlight and see a mile of the cenotes nooks and crannies.  This was by far the best experience I had while there.

The second best group date would have been the ferry ride over to the island of Cozumel (our home away from home) and then renting 4 jeeps to drive around the sunlit coastlines: that was a great experience.  It was like Andy and I got to show all of our friends our favorite non-commercialized places and the side of island that is just so beautiful. Follow here for some mexican goodness...

[] bikes and beignets []

A little road trip this spring brought us through my new favorite city, New Orleans (well, second to Los Angeles, of course).  I quickly fell in love with the dense culture and amazing visuals.  Its like you can smell the culture in the air. Canal Street with its 50 foot tall palm trees lining the streets in front of buildings infused with a Creole-European architecture was a regal way to enter the city. A strong eclectic bike community and the wash of a punk scene was a complete surprise.  But I had some work to do, I needed to make new memories of this place.  Everything I knew about New Orleans has been gathered from my parents dated, grainy Mardi Gras footage from the 1970's.  Needless to say, there were many things in those videos that I didn't want to see, but being there in the city myself was nothing short of amazing.  The bogginess of the air forces you to slow down.  The unevenness of the sidewalks shifts your mind down a gear or two, all the while people are moving in and out of the streets like ants. Living in a city with millions of people I really miss, and these city streets make me feel found again.  One of the best things I enjoyed that day was getting to walk around and observe the French Quarter residents and the very present biking community.  I'll be the first to admit that i am a little obsessed with bikes, and the bikes down there were completely different than what I'm used to seeing.  Different shapes, colors, and models totally fit into the niche they were chained to.  They were everywhere.  And the feeling of the freedom that comes with riding one, well, its there in a big way.

Ok, so my senses are on overdrive: people, bikes, architecture, culture, street music...what could possibly make this better? 
Cafe du Monde: A simple french cafe that has a huge following of coffee fans around the world.  And when I say simple, I mean simple.  The only thing on their menu is coffee and beingets.  My sister and I found the perfect combination of a decaf café au lait with an order of the "heaven on a plate" french doughnuts on our small marble table. A funny fact: In 1986, beignets became the official Louisiana state doughnut! The coffee here is also special, as its coffee-not espresso.  Its brewed really strong and dark and roasted with chicory to give it a flavor all its own.  At one time in history people had to think up a way to conserve their coffee supply, so they started experimenting with adding chicory to the roasts to stretch their supply.  Add milk to the brewed mixed, viola! The café au lait was born. 

The french-ness of this sidewalk cafe reminded me when my sister and I went to Paris when we were 17 years old.  The city was great, but I was really too young to really appreciate where I was at.  What i did appreciate was my sisters plan to prank other guests in the hotel, call them up and pretend to be the concierge of the hotel requesting what time they would want their wake up call.  The funniest part, we were with a group from high school and a few of our teachers were chaperoning us. Every morning they had something planned at the crack of dawn, so we figured if the entire group missed the bus, we could all sleep in.  Grace rang our teachers room " ahem, mademoiselle, this is the concierge Lief at the front desk. Vwould you like to shez-ule a vwake up call for ze morning?"...They totally fell for it.  We threw in a few "v"s and other unnecessary sounds to fake the perfect bad french accent. I will always remember those times and laugh...

But I've digressed: I love New Orleans.  This city will be on my places to come back to, perhaps to cheer on my friend in the February Marathon.  I'm also really glad I got to make my own memories here, where the culture is as thick as the air.  some naw'lins love...

[] glass social houses []

As I was waiting on my "sandwich artist" at Subway to make my veggie patty concoction, a little old couple pulled open the glass door and stood near me. They were probably in their 70's, retired and out traveling the world. They both had some old skool sweaters on that had probably seen the world with them. She wore a Estes Park, Colorado adorned with a blue bird-twig combo painted on the chest, while his was a bold font ALASKA with a wolf and snow background. Smiling and almost even giddy, they stated that they've "never ate here before" looking at me, the "sandwich artist" and each other. Every decision from what bread and cheese they would like, to the exact veggies they could tolerate was dependant upon the other persons decision. For instance, he wanted wheat, but when his wife chirped up and wanted something else, he simply smiled at her and stood quietly. She quickly recanted her bold decision to accommodate him, but then he insisted on what she wanted. I was totally enjoying watching them, but it was driving the workers and the people behind them crazy. They were oblivious. They didn't care. They were in love…let me explain:

Do you remember liking someone before Facebook or Myspace, or even texting? It was radically different. It was easier to comprehend why I was single, or why he didn't get a hold of me, or why he didn't show up, or why he didn't tell me he had a girlfriend because I only had my imagination to conjure up little excuses for him, or quaint little mental picture of me and him and nothing else in the world but us and well, who else is there?...it was easier to deal with because there wasn't any other way to be connected, other than the phone, really.
Now, when I know I share the same networking sites as him, that he has my cell number, knows my address, knows my work schedule and STILL doesn't call me, I cannot help but take it extremely personal. I think it's a natural desire to know what someone is into, who they are, what words they say to others, what photos they are taking, what they might say they do from day to day, what they find interesting, and how people converse with them, its all fascinating. But its like we live in glass social houses that people can dvr for their viewing pleasure. This natural desire has turned into a feeling of entitlement into someones world, which isn't healthy at all...

"but maybe he was at a market, buying me some wildflowers- knowing how much I hate roses- and on the way back to his car, trips over the curb and breaks his sweet little fingers causing him to be immobilized, maimed from any social networking for a few weeks..."

…but then trolling around his sites and blogs and tweets and underwear drawer (basically, right?) I see that he's not only socially networking his ass off, but he's apparently going out with cute-ish girls and having great fun with them leaving comments like "....had such a great time with you, see ya next friday"...knock, knock, knock- who's there??? heartbreak, sucker…

I assume the Estes Park-Alaska couple have never had their heads and hearts boggled by this whole networking fog. Their love that day was so endearing and simple. And they deserve it, they put in years of work to be there in front of me, looking like two giggly 12 year olds. I want something like that (but perhaps with a man that is way more independent with his sandwich choices.)

Seriously though, I want a love that is amazing and deserving of such dedication and work. I know my love is on the horizon and I wait patiently. Very patiently. (clears throat) Very very patiently for Gods extravagant love and amazingly detailed protection to be played out. And until then, I am in a great season of singlehood, preparing and cultivating my own heart to share with that someone as they search thier own horizions...

[] my good eye []

life is a circus. so my dog park and nature center mornings help me to be more of me...they are undoubtedly the absolute best.  they revive me and take me far enough from technology for me to relax and think. its wasn't easy after starting my own business to feel like i ever deserved such time to myself, but i've gotten over that for the most part.  my  first few steps are always prayed into with thanks for a healthy body, no aches and pains, no headaches, no heartaches, and from there i usually jump off into the vast expanse of questions and thoughts that are in my heart for God.  You have to do this...walk your sub-div when you get home, the sunsets will be amazing, i promise.  Ride your bike at 8pm on a saturday night, downtown. Or go feed the horses carrot sticks in the nearby field after work.  Take the time out of your day to be connected to the ground with your feet moving.  there is just something about it that causes your brain to really start sorting things away.

Today i woke up and my right eye was really sore.  i had too much to accomplish to even think about what it could be, soon i found myself at work with a more painful eye situation.  Since i work at the hospital, i just ran down to the ER where they told me that i have pink eye...what the what? pink eye or as one of my coworkers said "the dirty kid disease"? yes, conjunctivitis.  since the lab has a strict policy about it, they made me leave work, and I can return on Thursday.  My first thoughts were of how i got it and then my second thought was who have i given it to.  One friend thinks i got it from handling a dead animal, another a dirty microscope at work, while my mom is convinced its the high pollen count. whatever the case, i had the evening off.  I raced to get my script filled and then headed to the lake to catch the sun set. I wanted to leave my phone in the car, but there were some sketchy people way too interested in what i was doing, so it went with me.  I sat on the dock, squinting with my good eye, to watch all of the colors change and the clouds sway.  and it was good.

i am 100% of a few things in life. one of those are how being outside, in nature, is a reminder of Gods betrothment of peace and simpleness to me...hope you enjoyed the read

[] my social elixir []

Sooo many changes since the new year began and you heard from me last.  One of the more interesting things, I completely stopped drinking coffee and pop.  This may not sound interesting to you, but for me, a whole new perspective emerged.  To be honest, its really weird to be on "this side" of the coffee debate.  I drank for over 15 years the wonderfully, full bodied, deep, rich, smokey potion that my grandmother Susie introduced me to at a very young age.  This is where my social aspect of drinking coffee started.  Having the positive attention and time spent with the older people in my family was always a huge desire. Drinking coffee on the front porch with my grandma in mid-summer is one of my favorite memories.  She had a great front porch: a super green, always clean indoor/outdoor carpet, big overflowing planters of flowers and a perfect yellow porch swing.  I remember my sister grace and my favorite cousin erica fit on that swing with just enough wiggle room.  Each morning my grandma would brew a big batch of coffee so strong and hot, it tasted terrible to me as a kid but I was hooked already.  I would carefully follow her outside, spilling the molten lava all over the place, but quickly regaining composure if she were to turn around. The gold shag carpet hid the stains pretty well.  Making my way onto the porch, the perfect amount of shade, breeze, and company shared: I was hooked into the social aspect that coffee drinkers everywhere experience.
Let me me say that I never intended to give up on coffee.  How did it happen? I decided to do the Daniel Fast in January.  Brainstorming ways to start my new year off right, opposed to the typical new years resolution thing, the fast grew in my mind as something more than a promise to keep.  I did some research, but ended up just jumping in on a monday.  I'm no stranger to the whole vegan lifestyle, so the transition wasn't a huge shock, but there were many things different: the fast provides a 3 week period in your life to eat like someone in the Bible, Daniel.  He demonstrated that eating a diet rich in fruits, veggies, whole grains and water is very beneficial. So thats why I gave up coffee in the first place. The fast also provides during this 3 week period a time to really focus on God's heart for us.  I truly wanted this in a big way.  Just as if we start our day talking to God, thanking him for the certain people and things in our life, asking for straight-up wisdom and counsel, the day has a better focus.  If we then can start our year out with these things, wouldn't it make sense that our year has a better focus? I believe so.

Its been 2 full months without coffee.  I've gotten over the perception of it being my social elixir, I've gone through the detox process (don't roll your eyes, it was terrible) and I have emerged the same person only richer, more robust.  After all, I never wanted to be a different person, I wanted a personal experience that let me know I was on Gods radar, that He loved me and was looking into the details of my life. And He is. 

Friends, sit down, think deeply and follow the heart that He has given you...thanks for reading