"Which would you like?"

Funny how such a simple phrase can warm your heart and make an already bright day just a little bit brighter.

Two brothers came into the store today. They must have been around 8 or 9. They were getting something that came in different colors, and I asked them what color they wanted. One of the boys turned to the other and said with the utmost sincerity, "Which would you like?" For some reason, that just blew me away. Maybe it was the way he said it. Most kids would pick what color they wanted... but this kid wanted to let his brother choose. It made me smile.

The weekend was awesome: I got to dogsit for a really cute 8-month-old golden lab and hang out profusely with two of my favorite families: the Stalsbrotens and the Battens. Activities included movies, midnight tackle basketball, hikes, sunsets, frisbee, delicious meals, and plain old hanging out. What more could you ask for?

I also decided on a "theme song," if you will, for the summer: Ordinary by Late Tuesday. You can actually download it from their website's store for free (www.latetuesday.com). It's one of those swell-up-inside-of-you, dance-when-nobody's-watching songs that's really fun to sing along to (or at least it has been lately). Especially the second verse/chorus. Disagree if you want to, but I know when I'm right :) When you're walking along smelling the ocean on a sunny day, it's darn near impossible to ignore that voice that's telling you life isn't ordinary.
Ecclesiastes 2:24-25

Good Old Raisins and Peanuts

GORP: the constant friend and companion of hikers, rafters, campers, and adventurers worldwide.  The energy-packed snack that satisfies cravings for both the sweet and the salty.  The acronym that I have been trying for the last 3 weeks to remember the meaning of.  I know that, for all practical purposes, it means "trail mix," but I haven't been able to remember what each letter literally stands for... until now.  I was browsing through a kid's camping cookbook at work and there it was.  Phew.  That's a weight lifted from my shoulders.

 

In other news, I've been off-island the last couple days babysitting my boss's daughter.  We had some delicious meals, watched the dog try to dig a laser beam out of the carpet, and baked cookies.  She even introduced me to Hannah Montana and her friends (they reside on the Disney Channel, which I don't get at my house).  All it all, it was quite fun.

Work has been fun, too.  Jeez, it seems like I haven't wrapped a present in 5 months!  I'm still catching up on what inventory we have now and where everything has been moved to, but I'll be solid in about a week :)

Alright, back to the ongoing project that I like to call "The Attic."  Hopefully my pillows and quilts will arrive via UPS soon so I can really make my bed!

green beginnings

Since I am basically starting this blog anew, and since I have recently been obsessed with the color green, I figured I'd change the template accordingly.

My last final was due Friday morning. I left Spokane at 2:00am Monday morning and made the 8:20 ferry home. It was quite a drive, and amazingly I didn't ever feel tired. I'm sure it's due in part to my 2-hour power nap combined with a venti iced vanilla latte... but at any rate, I made it back safe and sound.

Having just finished a very heavy semester at school, I'm home and spending some time renovating my room. In this case, 'renovationg' involves getting rid of a heck of a lot of junk that's been sitting around taking up space since I was a wee lassie, and shuffling around some furniture. The goal was to have everything sorted through and taken to goodwill or the dump by the end of this week... ha. Try two weeks from now. We'll see.

Pleasure reading for the next week or so: "The Next Christendom" by Philip Jenkins. It's about how the majority of Christians are no longer in the "West" but in the "South" (namely Central and South America, Africa, and Asia). It was one of the books we bought for my History of Christianity class but didn't end up having time to cover in class, so I'm reading it now.

On a more (or less) exciting note: Today I brewed up a batch of homemade giner ale. It's way better than the store-bought stuff.