Where The Weak Are Finally Strong..

It's been a while since I've posted, and it seems like the summer has come and gone. It feels like just days ago, I was wishing for the weather to be warm enough to ride bikes, and go for long walks, and lay outside. That time is brief. Sure, there are three months of summer bliss, but with that bliss comes temperatures that are almost 'too' hot for all those things I wanted to do.

Now it's Autumn, and my favorite time of year. I went with my love to Hawk Mountain the other day to see the hawk migrations. Nature, and all that God has put into it, never ceases to amaze me. We would sit and laugh, and I would ask so many questions, like 'But how, how! do the birds know which way to fly?!' And we went to the South Lookout, where we had one of our first dates those few months ago.

October has arrived, and brings with it: babysitting the most funny and clever almost-two-year- olds I have ever met, and subbing in elementary schools with children who can't wait to compliment you on your hair or use the scissors even when they're not supposed to.

So THIS is the time of year for all those things I wanted to do..

Where Did The Moon Go?

The moon rises so early, and moves so fast across the sky, that by the time I was laying down to sleep, I couldn't see the moon anymore.. but my Sunshine was right there to reassure me.

Weeds As Tall As Small Trees

I'm going to use this post to regale you with my woes of this past week.

As my last post stated, I went on a mission trip to Philadelphia last week. The first day, I did some weeding with three youth from my group, called the Hershey's. A few bug bites appeared during the week, just normal ones, ones I can get over. We got home on Friday afternoon, and I was happy to be back in air conditioning and my own bed and shower and home etc. Saturday came as a nice long day to relax before I would leave on vacation with my family. I attended St. Michael's Sunday School Picnic, had a bowl of chicken corn noodle soup, which I love, and was extremely full, even though I hadn't eaten that much. Well, I didn't hold the contents of my stomach down much longer that day, and a few days later had some other issues of the stomach flu. Not a great way to start a vacation. Just after the stomach flu seemed to be over (yay!), these little bumps on my arms and legs started to flare up and get itchy (ITCHY!!!). Needless to say, after a clinic visit, a prescription, and a few days, my rash/bug bites/poison/whatever is still a little itchy, very red, but (prayerfully) on it's way off of my body.

Moral: never weed anything that you don't know what it is, or that the weeds aren't the size of small trees.

Anyway, I am in Disney World, having a grand time.

Here is a happy photo of the little girl I babysit. I am missing her, my best friend, and others, as you might imagine.

Bring Your Own Sunshine

Next week, I will be in Philadelphia, sharing joy, Christ, and anything else I can with others. Tell you all about it when I get back. Oh, and I get to go with my best friend..words can't describe how happy I am.

All I can say is..

Daisies To Push Through The Floor

The flea market was a success...tiring, exhausting work, but a success. And I benefitted in many ways, too. There was a variety of milk glass for sale, prices ranging from 20 cents to a dollar. So, after the time was up for the flea market, and everything left was up for grabs, I snagged every good looking, vase-like piece of milk glass. My thoughts are that, someday, I will get married, and hey, maybe I'll want to use milk glass for the center pieces. Most of the pieces look like this:

And I want to use them like this, but without all that mossy stuff:

Oh, Telescope, Keep An Eye On My Only Hope

The new Owl City album comes out today..All Things Bright and Beautiful. You can grab a free download of the song 'Deer In The Headlights' here!

This Saturday there will be a flea market at St. Michael's Church in Tilden Township. We are cleaning out the pavilions basement of some vintagey, kitschy stuff. I've already purchased some awesome, old books that I may be using in an art journal class I'll be teaching. Here's a link to the website of the Walk-In Art Center in Schuylkill Haven. Could be a great place for art opportunities!

A sign we found in the church's pavilion:

I'm Worth What I'll Convince Myself To Be..

Well, THAT was a great reunion. This evening, I 'reunited' with my favorite band, Relient K. The last time I saw them in concert was the year 2008, when they toured with Switchfoot and Ruth, two of my other favorite bands.

Tonight, Relient K played in Bethlehem, at the all new Musikfest Cafe at ArtsQuest, near the SteelStacks. The band played in front of a backdrop of a window that showed the old, rusty steel stacks. They joked that the stacks were spooky, reminscent of Transformers, which we all know is true...because they filmed part of the second movie there, remember? Anyway, this show was personal, and I picked the best best best! seats..knowing that the lead vocalist, Matthew Thiessen, plays his piano on stage right. Second row, baby, ten feet from the stage. AND, since this was such an intimate, casual viewing space, they did an acoustic show..an acoustic show!!! I've never heard songs from their newest album live before, let alone acoustic..acoustic!! It was beautiful..perfect. And, as always, humorous. Here are some photos, I am done ooing and ahhing:

Jon Schneck, Ethan Luck, and Matthew Thiessen

Matthew Thiessen

He's looking at me..doesn't it look like he's looking at me? John Warne always has a smile and a good time.

Serving Something Beyond Me..

Here are some snippets of my artwork that will be on display/for sale at the Hamburg Arts Fest:

In other news, the new Fleet Foxes album came out today. I will be more confident on my bicycle.

Not A Note Is Out Of Tune Or Out Of Place..

Today, I was the art substitute for Perry and Tilden Elementary schools...

Conclusion?

I miss elementary art.

The stories, and wonder, and excitement, and just a love for school and people in general..it's so fresh in the eyes of children. I received more hugs from strangers today than some people do in a lifetime. These little people don't even know who I am, but they know that I'm there to do art with them for 45 minutes, and that's enough to grant me the privilege of a hug.

We drew cats, turtles, and pigs today..not really my idea (or Kutztown's idea) of a great art lesson, but for a one-day sub, it was just lots of fun. I've never heard anyone get so excited to draw the scalloped belly of a turtle. These drawings brought out lots of stories that began with 'One time, I saw..' and 'I don't know if you knew this, but..'.

Even through the frustrations of an unruly kindergarten class who desperately need to sharpen their pencils, I found silence and comfort in the simplicity of the lives of little ones.

In other lately stuff, I spend lots of time with this little one:

And Spring is here, and it is welcome:

And I Became Inspired To Live Brighter Than I Have Before..

Even the weatherman has no optimism anymore. 50 degrees is pretty warm, so you should probably stop calling it 'chilly' outside. And it was a good thing today was in the seventies..Mary and I were locked outside the house until her mom was able to open it for us when she was done working. Not a bad thing..just difficult to keep Mary from putting sticks in her mouth and from smelling rocks.

Welp, Anthropologie has hooked me again..they've put together a new part of their website just for me! Click here to see their new section called, 'For The Decorator'.

Here's is a sneak preview of what I've got in store for my artwork..this is the only watercolor version, but it just gives an idea of what's happening in my crazy brain!

Lord, I Love The Way You Hold Me..

Jesus is certainly holding me..He lifts my heart and makes it clean, pure, and jumping for joy. Thank you, God!

Let's see...last post, I told you about my Lenten decisions. They are going well. I am amazed at how well I am limiting my coffee intake, and it seems to just make me stronger. The drawing and painting is going especially well, becauseeeee I now have motivation to make art! On May 7th from 10am to 4pm, I will have a table at the Hamburg Arts Fest...yayyyyyy!!!! I will be selling and showing some paintings, and hopefully some bracelets and other crafty stuff as well...just 5 more weeks to create stuff, and it's getting exciting.

The little girl I babysit, my little MaryBear, is growing so quickly..it seems, in one weekend passing by, she learned how to say Mama, Dada, Gram, and PopPop..and she even says an adorable variation of Heidi, which sounds like hiney :) She is also very good at saying cup, coat, car, and banana (sort of). Even though there are a lack of 'real' jobs out there, I feel extremely blessed to have this experience with Mary and the Whalen family.

Here's a free download (just for this week!) of the song that inspired the title of this post.

Put A Fresh Wind In My Sails..

It is the season of Lent! Well, it all began yesterday with the amazing day of Ash Wednesday. This is one of my favorite times of the year. The only thing I ever gave up that I can remember following through with was in high school, when I gave up chewing gum for the 40 days of Lent. It was a big deal back then..chewing gum in school was one of the highlights of each and every day, mostly because we were allowed to.

Long ago, my mother taught my siblings and I to add something to our lives, rather than give something up or take it away..this year, I thought about taking away and adding..I was going to give up drinking coffee, because I had been experiencing heart palpitations. The palpitations stopped last week, after I got sick and didn't drink coffee for a few days. But I think I will be just limiting myself to 8 ounces of coffee a day..and who knows, maybe that will lead to less and less.

To add something, I want to draw something in my little notebook every day. And then, I took it further to adding painting once a week. This will help keep art in my life, during this time of substituting and babysitting.

This has been a post that includes lots of 'I's. Not only is Lent a time to reflect on our own misgivings and sins, but it's also a time to focus on Christ, and all that he did to save us from those sins.

Psalm 51:7-15

(The Message)

Soak me in your laundry and I'll come out clean,

scrub me and I'll have a snow-white life.Tune me in to foot-tapping songs,

set these once-broken bones to dancing.

Don't look too close for blemishes,

give me a clean bill of health.

God, make a fresh start in me,

shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life.

Don't throw me out with the trash,

or fail to breathe holiness in me.

Bring me back from gray exile,

put a fresh wind in my sails!

Stay strong during this time of reflection and change..and remember..

How Deep Is Your Love..

One year ago, at this time, I was on a plane ride to this place..

Paris, France

Two years ago, at this time, I was on a plane ride to this other place..

Rome, Italy

From time to time, I think and reminisce about the feelings these foreign lands allowed me to feel..I'm so appreciative to be able to have visited their landmarks and treasures.

But now I will be happy and appreciate the adventures I get to experience here on home land..

And it's only a few days until Ash Wednesday..love this time of year.

Busy week!

I'm Giving It All To You..

I do not like when my friends say that something is depressing, such as, 'I hate this weather, it's so depressing.'

Things are only depressing if you let them be. Certainly, I feel that too at times, and say things are depressing..but I try not to verbalize the words so it takes away the power of those words..

More words to inspire less worry.

Oh, I'm headed to a Jason Castro concert this weekend..while purchasing his music on Amazon, I discovered JJ Heller, a Christian acoustic/folk

singer..here's a peek into her lovely tunes..

Please pray for my little valentine (see entry below..), she has been having some spaced out episodes and she holds her ear sometimes..she's been to the doctor, and nothing has been discovered..just pray for her health and happiness.

My dad just handed me one of these thumb rings..

It's too tight..and I don't text..but I like the idea of it.

Happy Sunshine!

My Valentine..

Mary is my valentine. The little girl I babysit is one year old now..our favorite activities are peek-a-boo and opening the lids of jar candles..

Thank you, God, for the sunshine, comfort, and putting everything into your loving hands..

Sweet Dreams That Leave All Worries Behind You..

Only two more weeks for me as an art sub at PGHigh School..and I'm only now remembering that the lady I'm subbing for told me I could make whatever I want with the clay and ceramics tools they have. Therefore, I am super excited about going to school tomorrow! I also started my own painting that goes along with what the painting class has started..stoked about that, too. When those projects are completed, I will surely share them with you :)

This past Friday, I rediscovered my Xanga, which I started in 2004. I wrote on that thing practically every day, until it dwindled to about three times a year in 2010. I read some of the early entries to some of my best friends, which brought ab-building laughter..topics included chem class, lunch with freshman, and epic speeches from our gym teachers. I won't share the link here..unless you ask, ha.

After this substitute position, I will be returning to random sub days and babysitting sweet Mary..I am excited not to have to wake up so early anymore, and just for some relaxation in general. Kinda miss those days without so much monotony..we'll see how I feel in a few weeks!

Thanks for listening..

Optimism is key.

If you expect the worst, the worst will happen.

You are your own stress, your own anger, your own sadness and frustration.

If you let things bother you, they will..so don't let them. Just be happy.

Nothing in life is easy, so make the best of all of it.

Don't dwell on the negatives.

Optimism is key.

Wide Eyes Will Always Brighten The Blue..

So I made these Cake Batter Cookies…and they turned out delicious! I've baked some like this before, based on a recipe on the side of a Funfetti box, and I don't remember them being this good. I saw this recipe on (surprised?) Pintrest.com. I was looking for red velvet cake mix for the recipe but couldn't find any. Anyone know where I can find some, and what brand makes it? I wanna do that!

My mom just said, 'Eh, they're okay..they're edible.' At least fake it.. Well, the one I had fresh out of the oven was heavennn *said in high pitched, excited voice*

Last night I watched Legend of the Guardians: Owls of Ga'Hoole..a beautiful movie, visually..a little boring otherwise. Oh, and the best part was when this beauty of a song came on :) Inspiration at it's best..sigh, owl cityyy..

You Are The Hope That Leads Me Out Of The Dark..

Almost let the cold and and bitterness that is outside overwhelm me today. And then I remembered..

Happiness is already there, wherever you are, whatever is happening..just feel it and accept it..

I think I'm going to buy Brandon Heath's new album today..new music needed? Check!

Bittersweet..

At this moment, I am watching one of my favorite, if not my favorite, movies, Pride & Prejudice, the one with Keira Knightly. It is such a visually pleasing movie, not to mention the amazing music. It always makes me feel the hope of Spring, that I know is imminent. Even though it is mid-January, and mid-winter, I have and hold the hope of Spring. This part of the movie depicts that for me..

She is spinning around on a swing, as the seasons go by, while The Secret Life of Daydreams plays..

Started a new painting :)

Every Seed Dies Before It Grows..

This is exactly how I feel right now..and how I felt at 4pm today. I have begun a smallish art teaching job that will last another few weeks. It's amazing how little time tasks take when you want them to take forever. The woman I am substituting for has made the job too easy for me..so I find myself reading, doodling, and visiting pintrest.com during the day. I should visit my artwork as well during the free time..hmm..

What a day filled with no energy..I blame it on the time of year and what I've been doing lately, a.k.a. working.

Oh dear, I'm usually more chipper. Maybe it isn't good to write blog entries on a headache and empty pep.