Firsts

This week was full of firsts for me, in no particular order...

I ran my first 5k! To some of you, that might not seem like much, but to me, it was a great accomplishment. I run alot, but it's usually a private matter: it's time alone with God; shaking the cares of the day off; sometimes tears; face into the wind; pounding my frustrations into the pavement; people-watching in the rain.

This was different since it was with 100 more people. I really liked the feeling of the healthy competition. I pushed myself harder than I normally would've.




I turned 31. I've never been 31! So that was a first. :)

And I came home this week to a birthday gift on my front porch: Ms. Pac-Man...the mini arcade game! I plan to conquer this thing!




For my birthday, my girls took me out to French food at La Grand Bistro Americain and I had my FIRST EVER champagne lemon drop. Then I had another, so it was no longer a first. But just as amazing!

Listen to me right now. Try it.

Don't question me.

Just do it.




This next picture has nothing to do with a first, but definitely worth a post.

Just look at those sweet eyes. :)




I've been to M's games many times, but this was my first time in the front row.

Picture this: Ichiro, kicked back, sipping a cold beer, crackin' jokes, not a care in the world.

That's basically what it was like. I was that close! Except he was in uniform, about 50 feet away, totally ignoring me because his head was where it should've been: in the game.




I met a terrorist for the first time - named Bob. He had a knife and was very threatening.






I went to my first meeting at the Kirkland Arts Center as the newest Community Leader. Don't ask me what that means yet. But can a girl still be excited?




And lastly, I got my first pair of original Ray Ban's. Doesn't get more classic than that! I love them!

Kirkland Arts Center

I took this photo on a walk this morning with Connie.

There's an opportunity for me to get involved with the Kirkland Arts Center, so we'll see what happens. But I love art, and I love Kirkland. It just makes sense. More to come...

Gone Home

David Wilkerson, a great man of God died today.

As a little girl, I remember reading The Cross and the Switchblade comic book and being fascinated by his story and his willingness to give his life up for the lost and broken. I remember how he so fearlessly gave love away, all for the cause of Truth.

But today, at age 79, he went to be with his Creator.

You can read about it here.

Here's his most recent blog post from just yesterday.

And here's a powerful sermon he preached recently.

The Big Time

Hi guys & gals.
Remember this old picture from my stock photography archives?



Well...it made it into The Colbert Report in March. How hilarious is that?

I can't find the full episode on Hulu anymore, but the clip I'm in made it to the Colbert Nation website.

Check it out here. I'm 43 seconds in. It's easy to miss, so look closely.

[Special thanks to Danette V.W. for spotting me and leaving me a voicemail telling me about her find: "ROSEANNE RUIZ....You are going to crap your pants...!"]

Wings

Walking out on our back hill tonight, this is what Jen and I found. We looked up and there it was! A wild and beautiful sky.

“In my distress I called to the LORD;
I called out to my God.
From his temple he heard my voice;
my cry came to his ears.
The earth trembled and quaked,
the foundations of the heavens shook;
they trembled because he was angry.
Smoke rose from his nostrils;
consuming fire came from his mouth,
burning coals blazed out of it.
He parted the heavens and came down;
dark clouds were under his feet.
He mounted the cherubim and flew;
he soared on the wings of the wind.
He made darkness his canopy around him—
the dark rain clouds of the sky.
Out of the brightness of his presence
bolts of lightning blazed forth.
The LORD thundered from heaven;
the voice of the Most High resounded.
He shot his arrows and scattered the enemy,
with great bolts of lightning he routed them.
The valleys of the sea were exposed
and the foundations of the earth laid bare
at the rebuke of the LORD,
at the blast of breath from his nostrils.

“He reached down from on high and took hold of me;
he drew me out of deep waters.
He rescued me from my powerful enemy,
from my foes, who were too strong for me.
They confronted me in the day of my disaster,
but the LORD was my support.
He brought me out into a spacious place;
he rescued me because he delighted in me.

2 Samuel 22:7-20

ships are launching from my chest

Great filming with an equally great soundtrack makes me want to do things I've never wanted to do....like do 360's on a mountain bike.

Check it out.

Forestry

I'd like it if my running route looked a little more like this.


This would do too.

With the Last of the Mohican's soundtrack on repeat.


{found here and here}

Today...I would go to the Seychelle islands.

{found here}

My Latest Watercolor

I painted this little lady for the CCA auction.


Filtered photo.

I know I'm 30, but I still want one.

Found here.

The Great Divorce, page 134.

{Rattlesnake Ridge//7:30am}


The Happy Trinity is her home: nothing can trouble her joy.
She is the bird that evades every net: the wind deer that leaps every pitfall.
Like the mother bird to its chickens or a shield to the arm'd knight: so is the Lord to her mind, in His unchanging lucidity.
Bogies will not scare her in the dark: bullets will not frighten her in the day.
Falsehoods tricked out as truths assail her in vain: she sees through the lie as if it were glass.
The invisible germ will not harm her: nor yet the glittering sun-stroke.
A thousand fail to solve the problem, ten thousand choose the wrong turning: but she passes safely through.
He details immortal gods to attend her: upon every road where she must travel.
They take her hand at hard places: she will not stub her toes in the dark.
She may walk among Lions and rattlesnakes: among dinosaurs and nurseries of lionets.
He fills her brim-full with immensity of life: he leads her to see the worlds desire.

by C.S. Lewis

tundra

As little as I do it, you wouldn't guess that one of my favorite things to do, rain or shine, is go on morning walks by myself. I'm grateful to have a wide open field with trails and landscape and a view of the Olympics right behind my house. Walking back there changes my perspective and reminds me that things aren't as big of a deal as I make them. It reminds me that God cares about me, because he cares about the sparrows. And I am in His care so much more. Things get more simple, and I find myself trusting Him more.

Anyway, a couple of weeks ago, I took my camera out (aka iPhone) and shot some photos during my walk. It was a frozen morning, and the light was perfectly captured in the ice and frost. I used the CameraBag plastic filter after I took them, even though some of them probably didn't need it.

Call me greedy...

GORGEOUS!

I'll take two of each, please.

Gratitude

"Gratitude unlocks the fulness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more.

It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity.

It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.

Gratitude makes sense of the past, brings peace to our today, and creates a vision for tomorrow."

-Melody Beattie

The Exquisite Book

I saw this book online today and am in looooove.

Over 100 artists contributed to it by adding on to the previous artist’s drawing using a common horizon line.


Brilliant!! I'm dying to get it. Or start my own.


You can check it out here.

Summer Weekend

In honor of a great weekend, I've got to share some photos I took.

Friday night: Bolivian restaurant, then Seattle Art Museum REMIX with the gals.



Saturday night: I was given a ticket from a friend (if you're reading this Daniel, THANK YOU) to attend the Vogue fashion show in Bellevue.

I had a front row seat right on the runway!

It was a beautiful, inspiring show.

And yes, I wore jeans. A girl cannot have too many pairs.

Sunday: OK. So I have this friend who is training to climb Mt. Rainier, so we went to Mt. Si and got some serious hiking in. She is amazing! She will find a mountain and conquer it. I even tried on her 40 lb pack for a little bit on the trail, and the woman is seriously legit. And I am such a weakling.

Here she is. Nikki: Mountain Warrior Goddess.

This my friends, is a mac 'n cheese bar. It looks putrid, but it's actually delish. The synthetic cheese holds it together quite nicely.

Moss on a log. Once I was hiking by myself and I got tired and I took a little nap on a mossy log. It was very soft, trust me. I have a soft spot in my heart for mossy logs now, I guess.


Today: I'm a little sore, but I'm totally inspired. That's what happens when you combine friends + fashion + nature all in one weekend. My head is about to explode. In the best way possible, of course.

I might have posted this before...

...but I have to post it again.

Days With My Father

On Lake Union

Saturday Morn

See this innocent face?

This is Stella, Jen's pup and our house mascot.
Her hobbies include breakfast time, dinner time, cheese chunks and chew toys.

Last Saturday morning, Jen and I heard shrieks coming from somewhere.
Was it a small child? A bird stuck in the chimney? A squeaky toy?

Jen ran out back and found Stella pawing at a small animal.
Here's the scene of the crime.


Stella had found some live chew toys in this small little hole ("warren" to you bunny lovers).


Jen rescued this little guy (don't ask how). He had a broken leg.


We call him "Little Broken Leg".


Then we found his brothers: "Fearful Heart" and "Internal Wound".


What to do, what to do?
They needed to be tended to after flopping around in Stella's mouth and being batted around by her paws. So we put 'em in the shoe box and headed to PAWS...


We dropped them off and felt better about that decision than putting them back out in the wild, vulnerable and wounded.
God bless 'em.

mi madre

mighty one

"This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.

I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community and that as long as I live it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can. I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no "brief candle" to me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations."

-George Bernard Shaw

Mr. Ed at age 90.

A friend said this photo reminded him of me.

Why, o, why?

Sea

I'm going to the sea for several days.

What I will do while I'm there:
Walk, for extended periods of time.
Rest, for extended periods of time.
Eat, periodically.
Pray, the entire time. This trip is a prayer in itself.
Read, but not much.
Write, if I'm compelled.
Paint, if I'm inspired. I know I will be.
Photograph.

Be back soon!

Today I was just missing my short hair.

If you can't tell, I'm the girl on the left. I'm very tense here. That's what happens when I play Ms. Pac Man.