Sometimes this is all I can say.

Accident

Here's a watercolor I did a few months ago that was completely accidental. I was working on a flower, got bored and started a face. The way it ended up looks like the flower is meant to be in her hair, but they started out completely separate.

I want to get really good at faces and expressions.

Who is John Galt?

I've been making my way through a very well-worn Atlas Shrugged (on page 188 of 1084), and Ayn Rand is blowing my mind. What an incredible writer.

Some excerpts that need no context:
_________________________

He glanced at her and did not answer. Then he said, "I like cigarettes, Miss Taggart. I like to think of fire held in a man's hand. Fire, a dangerous force, tamed at his fingertips. I often wonder about the hours when a man sits alone, watching the smoke of a cigarette, thinking. I wonder what great things have come from such hours. When a man thinks, there is a spot of fire alive in his mind - and it is proper that he should have the burning point of a cigarette as his one expression."
_________________________

"Francisco, you're some kind of very high nobility, aren't you?"

He answered, "Not yet. The reason my family has lasted for such a long time is that none of us has ever been permitted to think he is born a d'Aconia. We are expected to become one."

He pronounced his name as if he wished his listeners to be struck in the face and knighted by the sound of it.
_________________________

"Francisco, what's the most depraved type of human being?"

"A man without a purpose."
_________________________

The three of them set out every morning on adventures of their own kind. Once, an elderly professor of literature, Mrs. Taggart's friend, saw them on top of a pile in a junk yard, dismantling the carcass of an automobile. He stopped, shook his head and said to Francisco, "A young man of your position ought to spend his time in libraries, absorbing the culture of the world."

"What do you think I'm doing?" asked Francisco.
_________________________

And I just found out there's a movie coming out. The book was published in 1957, but I love that the story is timeless enough to create the film in a modern setting, 50+ years later. She was ahead of her time. I can't wait to see the movie, but I want to finish the book first.

May Day Clean at Heritage Park

Home

I can't wait to sing with my kids someday!
This video melts me every time.



I've seen this a few times, and I just now noticed that at 1:48, she says "One day I'm gonna whistle??"...too cute.

As a kid, my favorite song to sing with my stepdad was Dance, Dance, Dance by The Steve Miller Band. He'd get out his 12-string every night. I'm pretty sure he's one of the main reasons I love music so much. So I look forward to times like that with my kids. (And they won't care how bad my guitar playing is.)

Here's the original Home by Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros.

Me. U2. Qwest Field. June 4th.

"U2 is not a rock band really.. I dont think so, I think its like we're a folk band or something. The LOUDEST folk band in the world... but once in a while.. there's a song, that makes you want to burn the house to the ground." - Bono

I'll be there.
And I'm seriously pumped.

Yeeeee!

Sweet Song

And sweet light through the trees.

And sweet lyrics...

"I just want adobe slabs and four walls for my boys."

Uhhh...

...somehow I deleted my blog template.

%&$@#!!!

So sorry, friends. I'll be working on it the next couple of days and hopefully make it into something you'll enjoy looking at.

Meanwhile, I leave you with this happy song sung by a girl named Rosie who loves bonfires and bike rides and dancing. (uh, me?!)

Wallace Falls

Saturday morning, some girlfriends and I had a nice little hike up to Wallace Falls. I recommend it if you want a day hike with gorgeous views of falling water and lots of moss-covered trees.

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.