Things I'd Like to Try

*please note that the following is a self-indulgent list which you neither have to acknowledge nor  comment on. 


tribal! i want every and anything tribal "give it to me now!"



i'd like try eye-makeup. eyes wear glasses (please tell me you got that?) so normally i only wear mascara, i think i will try this...


swirly, twirly nails! don't they just look awesome!



high heels...correction HIGH heels.


the end.

Rut to Gratitude

the other day i got stuck in a rut. i started feeling all "woe is me", "my life has been so hard", and "i'm so unhappy". i don't know how common this is for any of you, but it seems to come every now and again for me and i hate it. i'm not saying that i'm a perpetual optimist, but i do believe that life is inherently good and those moments when the sum of my imperfections presents itself are incredibly difficult. so i started listing things that i am grateful for, here are the pictures.

so what are you grateful for?

Paradise

i'm a huge fan of the Coldplay original. that said, this guy is amazing.

Update

that last post was written on my birthday. it was a fantastic day. i'm 22 now. remember when you were a little kid and you thought that whatever age you are right now was old? do you still feel that way? that is how i felt about being 22. there is so much that i thought i would have done by this point, but  haven't. i'm not saddened by the thought of it not having been done...a check list, incomplete. i know that i am right where i need to be; improvements and changes to be made in their own time.

i've decided to take a new approach to blogging; less writing, more pictures.
today's theme is Nauvoo, Illinois.

to quote a song a friend wrote "...racing toward a sunset..." 

Mississippi

"Devil went down to Georgia..."

The strength of a leader, of a man, can only take you so far...

Chocolat

if you haven't seen this movie, you should.*

it is one of my absolute favorites. i love the costumes, the character development, the lighting, the scenery, and everything that makes it. but most of all, i love the moral; this quote sums it up pretty well: "...we can't go around measuring our goodness by what we don't do, by what we deny ourselves, what we resist, and who we exclude....we've got to measure goodness by what we embrace, what we create, and who we include."

yeah, you should watch it.


*Note: There is one scene that I skip every time I watch it, but I still really love the movie.

What Ever Happened to Silence?

when i was about 4, my mom invited a friend of hers and her two daughters over for a play date. as my mom tells it, i marched into the living room where my mother and her friend were talking, and exclaimed:

"mami, can you tell them to be quiet?"
"what?" she, was shocked at my lack of manners
"can you please tell them to be quiet?"
"and why do you want them to be quiet?" she laughed
"because, i need to think!"

may i remind you, i was 4.

now, 6 days shy of 22 years old, i still have the need to just be quiet. especially at night.  but when you live in an apartment, with 5 other women it is kind of an issue. so, what ever happened to silence? why can't we do homework without music on? why can't we walk for ten minutes without i pods in? i suspect that there is a bigger issue. in an effort to get done as much as possible as quickly as possible, we multitask which really translates to doing a bunch of things in an incredibly mediocre way. if you focus on the task at hand you might enjoy it for what it is and you might eve do a better job.

so, people of the world, live in the moment, enjoy everyday.
you'll get fewer ulcers that way.
also, keep the noise to a minimum.

okay, so now that is over here are some pictures of the coolest cloud i have ever seen. i would call it a cloud wall.enjoy.

Project Inspire Final

even though it happened about 3 months ago, it still sticks with me, and often when i feel like my world is too cluttered, i think of the views i got to experience there. so, here's to the last days of project inspire. 

on our last day, we worked on another trail. we hauled larger rocks, that would later be crushed and covered with smaller rocks and dirt in order to make the path, 'cause apparently, these trails don't just show up. it was hard work but it was fun. i carried rocks, dug up and carried dirt, and i filled water bottles in a stream colder than any tap  water i've ever had. and now, the picture show. 

rock smashers

beauty

drinks anyone?

love

love, love

L in a model pose

our last trek out of the wildreness

 ten minute ride back to the high school = naptime

some people play volleyball

i loved doing this. i met fantastic people and figured out that i have much more physical strength than i thought i did. it also did wonders for my self-esteem, emotional health, and general sanity. i recommend spending time in nature; it prepared me for the adventures that came in chicago, which will be blogged about shortly.