free spirits have to soar.

with you little rachel. my heart is happiest!

look at us and our new little mountain lives.

in the world we are in the midst of creating for ourselves.

if there is one thing i do know about myself. well its that i cannot sit still.

i am a restless child.

i haven't written in so long. sometimes i get stuck in ruts, and i know to get out of them i need to scribble my heart out in a notebook or scream it out...but it takes me a while to get to that point where bam! it all comes out. well i've hit that point. and my friends shit's going down.

so warning! i am not holding back on this one.

because now i believe that

my dreams are never too crazy.

my goals are never too big.

and i should not fear them.

this life is so fleeting,

these moments so temporary.

and i think sometimes

i am afraid of what i fear those things i may not accomplish.

or i don't make expectations because

i am afraid they won't be met.

how cowardly.

how silly.

things are much sillier when stated.

in your head they become haunting.

those things, thoughts if held in

seem so serious.

hold you hostile,

and hold you back.

oh but that is just not for me,

I AM GOING TO LET IT OUT.

someone told me emotions and feelings should not guide you. if you say so.

but really sometimes i wonder, if you don't listen to your feelings. what do you listen to?

my heart has taught me some valuable lessons.

and shown me the sweetness of this beautiful life.

i don't think i've ever regretted letting my heart take hold.

my heart drives me to the beach for hours and hours of running,

and dives me into the ocean when into the middle of january,

ignores the rain and invites the child to teach.

i've gotten to grow with people and become intimate,

learning what their hearts crave,

my heart has led me to dance, and to cook, and to slow down.

sure, sometimes it leads to hurt, tears, pain and sometimes following my heart is ignoring the practical...but how alive that makes you feel. how it makes every breath all that more beautiful.

like i said before. we don't have a lot of time in this speck of a life...

so why would we not?

so this christmas break i worked for three weeks at Barnes and Noble. first corporate job. ever. i spent my hours and hours a day repeating scripts they'd give us in the mornings trying to sell overpriced chocolate and a ridiculous amount of giftcards and memberships. if you sold enough things you'd be worshipped and get your name plastered all over the break room walls, and even your name highlighted on lists of sales on the bulletin boards outside of the employee lockers. every day i went out to my cash registered i was reminded by obnoxious posters saying "HOW MANY NOOKS WILL YOU BE SELLING TODAY?" my reward? $7.50 an hour and a cup of coffee. don't get me wrong i am so thankful for my little holiday job, and it helped me to replace my old computer...but after about 100 hours of "hello! did you find everything you were looking for....oh awesome what about some chocolate," scanning thousands of dollars worth of trashy romance novels, listening to a million loops of repeated michael buble and the sound of muic soundtrack, and being awkwardly hit on by a dozen creepy lonely old men..i think it is safe to say i am happy that i am taking a little hiatus from corporate america and retreating back to my cozy little mountain.

i had this random thought the other day at work though. i wondered what would life be like if we weren't so distracted by the obnoxious amount of retail and consumerism? what would it be like if there was no walmart, or even if there was a walmart if there wasn't an ad on every little rack trying to sell me an uneeded item like "dust mopping slippers" or "whitening strips" or "the impressive steam powered drying ball" i am not trying to hate on entrepenuers at all. but all i am saying is life was fine without all these things. and i was just wondering what would it be like not even having the option of picking up the newest and most improved "dust mopping slippers" you know? i imagine it being rather nice.

thought #2: original written on the back of a receipt at work. i sometimes wonder: "does everyone's lives feel like this?" just how unique is our life, really? you know, [or maybe you don't know depending whether or not we feel the same the question really cannot be truly answered] but these quirks. does everyone feel as quirky and confused about this life like i do? i mean they are good and they are bad. maybe its just growing up. maybe its this inbetween youth and adulthood, nineteen year old feeling where everything just feels more intense but man...the people i grew up with through high school -- they are all cokeheads now, i miss the front porch jam sessions and when we all had curfew. people couldn't get too crazy then. they weren't burnt out and on the fast track. and right now i am checking peoples books out, working for Barnes and Noble with a bunch of middle aged women and gay men, and how the heck did i end up on a mountain for school? like i am going to school ON A MOUNTAIN TOP!? how blessed! it is so crazy beautiful, it makes me sad being home sometimes because in cantonment it seems like people are stuck. and i am so thankful i got out, but man sometimes seeing where people are reminds you of where you could be, i am not saying being in cantonment for life is bad. but man a lot of people seem miserable. and i don't know, for me personally it just wouldn't work out. sometimes i wish i had a narrator following me around. and a soundtrack, yeah...a soundtrack would be nice.

why do people want to speed up? i am just begging for the seconds to slow down. i am an old soul yall. i maybe nineteen but i think i won't really be my age until i turn like 32 or something crazy like that. you know.

[from father to son] "there are people out there who know how to do these things a lot better then I do, and if you meet them...make sure you learn from them" in church Jon said this, and it was refreshing. i just though i'd share the wisdom.

thinking...our pursuit of holiness is only a starting point. we should die to the idea of arrival. we must always be growing. and racing on. eagerly awaiting our Savior. how i love this little life and all of its little joys, but man i cannot wait to go home. like really home.

i love being on the road. i made the drive up to cullowhee last night from cantonment, and it was awfully rainy and slow and rainy and snowy, but i got here and i cannot be more happy. with the drive came a lot of clarity. with the drive came a lot of questions. and with the drive came a lot of comfort. and now i am comfortably sitting with rachel planning our lives in ft collins, colorado for the summer. because gosh, i am learning how this little heart needs big places.

so going west!

we've got the dreamer's disease.

being a diva, well is all about owning it.

writer's block. dang it. four months of writer's block.
trying to break free here. (so bear with me.)

don't let go, you gotta do what you feel.
finally i was able to sleep deeply

and wake up with sand in my hair and salty skin.

there is nothing comprable to the intensity of the ocean.
nor is there anything that can match it in comfort.
nowhere else can i be so unsure of what i do not know,
yet feel so effortless in conversation

andi haven't felt this sort of embrace in a while.
it just all comes out.

lately i have been insanely touched by the beauty around me. i have been working on enjoying the present. enjoying the now, not worried about later or what might happen or what the future holds, but rather taking the moment to breathe. i think a lot of enjoying the moment for what it is, is appreciating the beautiful things that surround you now. it is not letting someone who has moved you, just go by. it is jumping into an ocean full of jellyfish and feeling the sting of a man-of-war. it is letting yourself cry. its driving the longer route just to be by the water. it is just walking. just walking, no direction., no destination.

"for you have been taught by God to love one another...we urge you to do more and more, and aspire to live quietly and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one." I thessalonians 4

i like these things right now: windmills, pomegranites, imagination, fisheye lens, yoga, saltwater.

so i was talking to someone the other day while painting and they told me they didn't believe in imagination :[ my heart broke a little bit. i want to be five again.

I keep gaining more inspiration for writing my book. so i have a collection of photos and post it notes, thus far. my book is going to be of passer-bys. a collection of encounters. because that is important to me: people and their stories, and mostly taking time to listen and learn something from someone strange, new, beautiful. i think i am going to start with velcro man who brushed my little seventh grade life on the metro in D.C. he didn't know it but he sparked in me this passion for stories, that I cannot simply let go of.

i am so full of quick, fleeting thoughts.

i love november. the sun rises early,

the sky is blue and the air is cold.

the sun warms my cheeks and my nose remains froze

the leaves are falling, but the trees still display impressive hues

yellows and oranges and reds and oh the yellows.

are my favorite.

my mug of tea warms my hands, my legs are unshaven,

i have time to photograph and knit, and read. purely for pleasure.

the fireplaces are cracking and

oh if only time could slow down.

- JESUS CAST A LOOK ON ME. GIVE ME SWEET SIMPLICITY. -

hear

so that your

soul

may live.

i still cannot figure out why i blog. i am not advertising anything. nor do i have a political view to fight for. which makes me wonder: is it bad i haven't ever voted?

final thought: i am a song repeater. i could listen to the same song probably a million times and not get tired of it. oh hey sublime...waiting for my ruca. is currently that song.

i don't really think that matters, at all.

oh well it is done and said. or is it said and done?

its 3a.m i am in cantonment ya'll.

she sent a message of love:
i like it the the way you move i love the way you rap.

321..salmon.

"DIE TO THE IDEA OF ARRIVAL."

because i shine like a princess in the middle of thugs.

song i can't get enough of: Hannah by Ray LaMontagne.

"I'll lay down this bottle of wine,

if you'll just be kind to me."

i have tons on my mind and tons i want to say. but its all jumbled.
so if you are reading you've been warned..but hang in there!

yesterday was my favorite day of the summer.
&& it was the official first day of the summer season

:]

i wish i could entertain yall with all the fine details..
but well i think that would ruin the beauty of yesterday. but i can leave you with ...

ladders, mermaids, pomegranite yumminess, the stars,

sand, ocean, bikes, singing elton john at the top of our lungs,

dancing, underwear, chacos, fancy resort pools, taco bell

what a burger breakfast on a bun

sisterhood in Christ.

oh it is love. <3

---> 06.21.2010

but before yesterday my life was filled with legos, story times, play doh, watercolors, the movie "CARS", hotwheels, blocks, train tracks, crayons, and markers...and it was awesome. but, also so very exhausting. babysitting/nannying full time has also made me never leave the house without the essentials: ziploc bags of cheerios, grapes, and goldfish, sippy cup of milk (with the no spill gaurd of course!), an extra t-shirt, and a waterbottle. i have also learned there is nothing wrong with a good little bribe here and there using caprisuns and popsicles...because hey. it gets the job done. i have also started finding joy in the smallest of moments. like this one... so its like 9:30pm (you can bet after a 3 year old's bedtime) I am chasing a kid around the house while he's naked trying to get him into the shower, after he's already peed all over his bed, and screamed about how much he hates me...the most rewarding thing was reading his bedtime story and he looked at me and said: "Stephanie, I guess we are friends."
i don't even know what that means,

but he fell asleep and then there was peace.

working with the youth this summer has been such a blessing. and on Friday we went and saw Toy Story 3 together in 3D. and seriously. it is my new favorite movie. i laughed and cried, and if you haven't seen it...spend the money. it is so worth it. your heartstrings will be tugged at.

i have been busy writing letters and preparing for the hall as well. i am getting so pumped for the fall. i misss everyone terribly and i can't wait to get to know the freshies who will be joining us. I have been praying that Harambe! becomes a place of sisterhood and Christ's love...and nametags are in the making :]

things i am looking foward to here in the near future:
THIS FRIDAY ITS FOR REAL. i am getting a bicycle.
ONE WEEK - JIMMY BUFFET. oh and kenny. margaritaville. beach. dancing.
14 DAYS AND I WILL BE IN ASHEVILLE. rachel. camping. escape.
38 DAYS until DAVE. west palm beach. hammocks. husband. yes please.


yeah i will admit. i am exploding in excitement. i love the sun. i love not wearing pants. i love the salt. i love the sand. i love music. i love dancing. and boy do i love adventure.

thank you God. for the love you give to me.
- little me.

on and on and the lights come and go.

"the soul is healed by being with the children"

- English proverb

"the fence,

oh it is just there to

keep the people
who can't handle it

out."

Today I was looking at pictures from last year, and i was reminded of the fall. and cross country season, and most specifically our trip to louisville, kentucky. i think it was our favorite trip - the leaves were all turned, and there were rolling hills and crisp air...and it was also where we stopped at the kentucky state line and snuck into an old horse track and...

ran like animals.

it made me really really really excited for this fall. oh the adventures to come.

[as if i am not already stoked.]

so let me think what has been going on in life here lately in podunk cantonment...

actually, quite a lot.

the wear and tear of the nannying front has set in,

but there is nothing more rewarding than investing in the children.

Zahria is teaching me quite the patience, and i absolutely love her love.

i've also been busy climbing trees, leading Bible studies, reading and learning about "Calvinism," preparing for the hall, running, swimming, karaoke with good company, driving too much, and watching the world cup...hey USA...we can take a tie! yes.

current reads: "There are No Children here" and the book of EXODUS

current song on replay: "Chicago" (acoustic) by Mat Kearney

OH! mae mae, fletch, and j-julian made a gulf coast appearance.

it was quite nice having some Covenant spirit down here.

"we're at war!" Ephesians 6.

i know you'll come for me. and i'll be here on my knees.

Three weeks I'll be in Asheville, NC. which really excites me.

other things I really like right now: watermelon. and more watermelon.

things i do not really like right now: tarballs and oil. and becca going away soon :[

and...its beautiful outside, so i must go kayak. all day.

thank you God for the sun. the ocean. your love.

- Stephanie

wildflowers in memphis.

my dad has mastered the art of cooking mediterranean seasoned squash.
it is my new addiction.

" you see the depths of my heart, and

you love me the same. "

if i were to try to capture the essence of Memphis in this blog, i would epically fail.i spent the day we had in Memphis listening. listening to the people

their stories. their songs. their poems.
their struggles. their pleasures.

Met a protester,
who has been sitting for 22 years and counting,
would not accept a hug,
or thanks, only
praised God for her voice.
Met a British traveler,
who is on a journey to renew his perspective... on Americans.
was robbed, fascinated by Japaneses culture,
and sang about wine.
Met a poet,
who could not find emotion...


with absolute love for
Jazz. afros. tapas.
i have to peace out.

oh! and i thank joey for the fresh cucumbers we harvested from his garden this morning.

:) fresh and oh so yummy.

-Salmon.

this one's not so bright.

tonight i experienced something deep. feelings more intense than I have felt in a long while, but they were so real.

TRUTH.

no one likes that word. no one wants to hear it. no one wants to submit to it. no one wants to deal with it. no one wants to spell it. no one wants to see it. no one wants to read about it. no one wants to scream about it, or even just speak of it.

but man when it hits you,

when you do feel it.

you can't hide it. you can't hold it in.

you have to share it.

THIS IS UNCOMFORTABLE STUFF, what i am about to discuss.

but i challenge you to read it.

Tonight I went alongside a few people in holding a candle in rememberance of a brother, his name is Victor Steen. Victor was ran over by a police officer while riding his bicycle here in Pensacola, Florida on October 3, 2009 at 17 years old.

a tradgedy i didn't even become aware of until recently, when i moved back to pensacola from school. why is no one talking about this? how come people are trying to pretend this never happened?

I am not a reporter, heck, i am not even a writer.

i am not a police officer.

i am not black.

i am not a witness.

but, i am also not someone who is going to let this one slide.

tonight i stood next to Victor's sister and cousin and just listened. i listened to how the family is dealing with the loss of a brother, son, cousin, friend...they are suffering. they are in mourning. i listened to stories of Victor, how he loved children, was still a child himself, how he loved to play video games, was always willing to help. the Victor i was hearing about is not the one media portrays. not at all. i listened to how the family is coping. and how they really aren't able to cope. how they are being harassed even more after the death of their beloved. how in court they have been laughed at, for expecting compensation. they are being LAUGHED AT?

WHY ARE THEY BEING HARASSED? THEY ARE MOURNING. THEY ARE SUFFERING! yet they are being titled "enemy of the city" and their tires are being slashed, WHAT THE FUCK guys? how is this ok?

it makes me sick. where is the slightest sign of guilt?

he runs over a child, and laughs.

and even more sickening, how in the world is this police man in his right mind enough to be back out on the streets patrolling? this is what i don't understand. how do you kill someone, and bounce back so quickly. excuse me, i think i have asked the wrong question....how are you in your right mind mr. ard?

IS HUMANITY REALLY AS DISGUSTING AS I THOUGHT IT WAS, that human life is not even valued? white black black white, whatever. life is life. Victor Steen was a human being.

I personally just don't find it even civil. isn't it extreme to run someone over with a car? how is that not murder? how is that not deliberate? how is that an accident?

THIS IS NOT A JOKE. and i don't see how people can take it lightly.

everyone is so wrapped up in the details. "the gun." "why was he riding his bike so late at night?" the contents of his pockets. and nothing is matching up. hm. seems to me like they are looking for a story that isn't even there.

here is the story...he was a 17 year old child, killed. murdered. ran over by a car.

to me that is all it takes for me to know somehting is wrong. i don't need any other detail.

how come on the news, this is never stated?

that the night Victor was ran over he was writing a gospel song at his friends house.

&& even after all of this, Victor's sister still finds it in her to say "thank you Jesus."

the least we can do as a community is be there for the family.

we should not be getting caught up in details of the incident,

we need to come together,

we need to show love.

we need to be praying.

amen?

this is not radical.

this is real.

this is the tension that is alive in our city.

this is happening.

this is tragic.

i cannot sleep.

i hope this made you sick.

praise God. praise God.

he is worthy, his love is better than life.

I have put my hope in him.

problems like these make me so sad,

but i find hope in his redeeming love.

thank you Jesus. thank you Jesus.

learning to fly around the clouds.

"Beauty

of style and harmony and grace and good rhythm

depends on simplicity."

- Plato

i really like Tuesdays.

especially Tuesdays where i wake up and
eat chocolate chip pancakes
with Rachel,
and there is still salt in my hair from the ocean's embrace
from the day before,
Tuesdays are slower pace days,
where I can run longer,

reflect, write, sew, and design at my leisure,

and I am pretty sure that if i were to make a huge life decision,

i would do it on a Tuesday.

there is just so much more clarity on a Tuesday.

I don't know why I go to poetry night on Tuesdays,
because for one...poetry is not really my thing.
most times i don't connect,
most times i don't understand the struggle,

but i believe that it is not always good to do what is comfortable.

because sometimes there in the uncomfort,
there is quite delight.
in someone
,
a cup of chai,
in a face,

in the lyrics,

in the beat,

in the song.

you would've missed otherwise.

today is a big day. for i have chosen a World Cup team to follow. It is the Netherlands. GO DUTCH. of course i will still be watching and rooting USA USA! but, you know...as an American watching the World cup since forever, I just know that is the way things go. But, I will say our team looks stronger than teams in the past...players are playing all over the place (Europe), and hey Donavan totally kicked ass on his loan in England...so you know. represent.


even more than the world cup, i love what this girl is teaching me. things about freestyle, and the imagination. the intricacy of a seashell. love. and the simple joys of being a woman.

I am heading to Memphis in a couple of days for a black poetry tour.

never seen Memphis before, but i like the blues.

and i hear thats the place to go if you fancy the blues.

it should be quite the experience. and I am looking foward to it.

just as powerful as words can be, they can also be extremely empty.



on my run today i intended to go for three miles, but my legs carried me seven...i like runs like today. it was raining, and humid, and man...it hurt. but it hurts so good. I am finding that i neve regret running, i only regret NOT running. its such a weird love/obsession of mine. i just don't quite get it.

what i would do for a chance to see wilco again right now: [something pretty extreme.]

things i kind of really like right now: flight of the conchords and gardens.
things i don't really like right now: red meat and ignorance.

but as for now I am going to finally watch Fantastic Mr. Fox.
I have been anxiously waiting for this moment for quite a while.
my expectations for this movie are intensly high.

last thought, if you don't feel with your heart, or your head.

where do you feel from?

shalom,
Salmon.

&& we jammed to the beat of a child.

babysitting//mothering. yes.
fingerpainting. yes.
imagination. yes.
popsicles. yes.
clean up time? hell no.

i am amazed at how much she has taught me.

i am so exhausted right now,

i doubt anything

i try to say will be profound or life changing.
so how about pictures instead?

[Theraputic.]
[Zahria and Steph's art gallery.]
[mom would KILL me if she knew i got paint on the porch...ooops!]

[Koa.]

I don't find it radical that i want to love, would rather love.

and that is me and my final thought of the night.

Salmon.

i reach into my pocket for some small change.

,

Things I have been enjoying lately: Romans 8:37-39, alone time, hawaiian sweet bread & cranberry juice, my sewing machine, Exodus, lots of Ryan Adams, swimming, new oreans, grilling out, old friends, black culture, learning, reading, spanish, passion iced tea lemonade, being unemployed, the beach, real simple's "new uses for old things," southern thunderstorms, children's literature, bath and body work's scent disks for your car, running in the rain, belly dancing core workouts, hammocks, harmonicas and violins, the garden...

things that i do not like at the moment: rihanna's song "rude boy", racism, greasy foods, running and having to dodge roadkill, trucks with tires bigger than me, money, lame house parties, sick lovey couples, not owning third season of one tree hill.

i really want to watch fantastic mr. fox,

good news! i have a babysitting job at the end of this week.

even better news, Rachel is coming into town in 2 DAYS! i cannot wait. and looks like i will be going to asheville in july for her birthday....

i am not really in the mood to write. though there is a lot more to be said. i'd rather be sewing or reading.

With lots of love,

me, a wonderer.

"without anyone to love you, what will you blossom into?"

your reading fitzgerald, your reading hemingway.

"What a wild life! What a fresh kind of existence!"
- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

since i am unemployed i find that i have a surplus of time on my hands.

today I occupied myself with making flower hair pins and starting to cut and pin material to start making dresses and pillows, and other things of the sort...i know i know, i am trying to not kill you with excitement, or make you too jealous or anything...my lifestyle is just SO overwhelmed in adventure and outrageous endeavors.

this morning my dad woke me up early to run errands and take the car to the shop, and on the way to the auto shop I was following a huge monster truck with a bumper sticker that said "Nightmare on any Street" hahahahaha oh man, only in Cantonment right? events like these make me chuckle, and just wonder "why?!" I just don't understand why people think that sort of thing is ok. and can anyone please explain the next bumper sticker I saw... "John McCain really hit the bullseye with Sarah Palin" WHAT? I don't even know where to start interpreting that one. any takers on trying to tackle that one? well, if it helps the bumper sticker right below it said: "I'M THE NRA." ok, does that make it better?


you know, I have really found enjoyment in writing letters lately.

[and thank you realsimple, for your idea of sealing envelopes with clear nailpolish...genius.]

Me and John did a book swap the other day, and he gave me "the Last American Man" by Elizabeth Gilbert. I am excited to start reading it. It is about a man who lives off the land in the Appalcian Mountains...and speaking of books, "La telarana de Carlota" es muy muy bueno y leyo tres mas paginas! oh how reading spanish just makes my day all that more brighter, and understanding it is even more rewarding.

being home and being alone,

has taught me to really find enjoyment

in the

smaller things we take for granted

like letter writing,

reading children's books,

arts && crafts,

and yoga.

on the running front - so far I have logged 16 miles for the summer, by the end of the week I should have between 20 and 25 miles depending on how awesome I feel tomorrow...but man, I have to keep telling myself 300 miles...300 miles...they don't run themselves. I just hope I can keep motivated.

ICorinthians9:27

No, I beat my body and make it my slave so I that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

much much love,

Salmon.

born to run baby run, like a stream on the mountainside.

thursday.

today there is a thick haze outside. its so gray.

but there is good news despite the terrible weather, this saturday i will be the mother of a brand new sewing machine...and yesterday at goodwill i managed to scrounge up some pretty intense pieces of fabric, that i cannot wait to sew some new dresses. lately i have had this deep desire to just cut and sew and pin and sew some more...maybe just maybe my sewing machine will help me produce amazing dresses and tops and skirts and what not. i am just feeling crafty lately, i might even try to rival some of anthropolgie's greatness.

i have realized i ma the most scatterbrained writer. so much to say sorry if you can't hang in here with me.

today i started reading "La Telarana de Carlota" or en ingles..."Charlotte's Web" by EB White. thats right...I am attempting to understand Spanish, starting with children's literature. so far so good, granted i am only one page into the book...children's books are just fantastic. i was in Barnes and Noble the other day for a while and just sat in the chidren's section reading the classics ... you know ones like.. "Ferninand," "Where the Wild things are," "Cordoury," "the Very Hungry Caterpiller," and "the Lorax" they are soooooooo good!

when i was younger i always wanted to write a children's book, i tried multiple times in first grade, they were not very big hits. i think my mom was my only fan...i mean my life is still pretty young i guess in the future maybe i could...i need to find me an illustrator though...and actually on Monday I went to the doctor and turns out i am kind of old. my joints are getting old at least, i am now a slave to aleve. i hate taking drugs.

poetry night 5.11. people are craving to be heard.

Man destroying Man.

silly little poem...

Oil spill stay away
you are not welcome in our bay.

if you come

where will children play?
where will the lovers lay?

i must be home
because there is salt in my hair

sand between my toes,
and my skin is burnt.

i had forgotten how much of a

summer child

i actually am.

The oil spill is supposed to hit sometime this week, so yesterday i went out there and ran on the national seashore for a while. As i was running i became so saddened at the thought of the oil staining our beaches. our powdery white sand turning black, the ocean being slicked by brownish crap. And the thought crossed my mind that in a few days the current could just impose this nasty mess in our direction, and it really made me mad. so after my run i walked along the water for about an hour and i just took it all in. the fishermen, the fat tourists smoking their cigarettes, little girls in their tutu bathing suits, and their mothers chasing them around trying to smack sunscreen on their little cheeks, the old couples, the dolphins, the beautiful greenish mass of ocean, the smell of the salty air...and to think all this could die within the next week.
man is truly is destroying man.

Romans 12:9-21

as far as today goes. i met someone whose story i am eager to hear.

Q

last day in chatty.

days like today make it easy to blog.

because you want to remember every beautiful second of it.

the kind of day where you go to bed and you just feel good.

the kind of day where you have great company,

and use your imagination like a child,

chase the sunset.

watch the sun tease the horizon,

and finally catch it.

you face your fears. because well

today's the last one where you're at

so

jump off the very very very top of the tree...

drink dr. pepper for the first time in years,

find a piece of home away from home.

the kind of day where a new someone shares their story,

you talk in a british accent,

while swimming in the dead of night

stargazing.

thank you chatty for a great year, thanks for sharing your beautiful mountain with me, and your even more thanks for bringing all these beautiful people together. can't wait to see you in the fall.

however, until then. i am quite excited to be getting my hair salty again.

much much love, salmon.

ant farms and iced tea lemonade.

today is the first day I actually felt the summer.

and of course we celebrated...

by buying an ant farm

So, thank you one dollar bin at Target.

best buy of the year, hands down.

Come on in, I've got to tell you what state I'm in.

"Say what you mean,

and i'll find away to show you

that I can be grateful."

So here I am. Joining the blogging world.



Much love,
Salmon.