Changes Coming in the Winds of Tomorrow

One more day of May, six more days until my third semester starts. It's supposed to be rough, and it's going to be a challenge. I know I can handle it, but it's going to be tough. I hope I'll have enough time, though, to let my mind unwind and do something crafty to post here. I do expect I'll be quite busy, though. But it's useless to think about that now before it's even started. Why worry yet, hmm?

Everything seems to be catching up to last year in the blooming and growing department. I went outside yesterday and snapped some photos from around the house of various flowers, lilies, fruit blossoms, grains, honeysuckle, pitcher plants, and, of course, the magnolia blossoms. Every breath outside brings in a waft of the musky-sweet honeysuckle that can be found all over the property, and every sideways glance yields some plant thriving in rich greens and blossoms.

The days are getting warmer, and the evenings staying lighter longer. If it weren't for mosquitoes and other slurping insects, I'd be sitting outside in the shade right now, because when there is a nice breeze and a glass of tea in my hands, no heat can bother me.

I've been feeling poetic lately, but often I'm doing something else when the inspiration strikes me, so it fizzles away. I can feel it all leaving me the closer class gets as my mind switches from creative to analytical. There are tests to be done, homework to be worked, and projects to be written up in my future, so my thinking cap must go on and stay on for quite some time. I'll be in class longer than I have been the last two semesters because summer semesters are short, so I'll have less time in the evening to do anything other than the work due the next day. I'm not complaining, no, far from it. Rather, just thinking out loud and trying to get a mental schedule going in my mind in hopes of squeezing creativity in somewhere.

For now, I shall savor my last few days, and shall smile when class time comes. My college classes are a blessing and shall be treated as such. I am lucky to be there. And I shall work my keester off to the best of my abilities or not at all! I will be successful and determined to finish with a bang!

Wishing you all a great Thursday! ♥

...I'm going to start working on all of my homework early. Mwuah.

What's in the Wood?

Just wanted to share these with you all! A picnic bench near the lake with some fabulous texture. I was examining it just a few moments ago and realized that is truly is the epitome of drift-wood, though it was hardly drifting. But what really made me stop was the wood itself. Insignificant as it may seem, I must have thought about it enough to snap the pictures. But now that I sit and stare, I think that this, what might otherwise be considered broken and dirty, is actually quite lovely. Sure, it's rough and weathered, but it is still in one piece, surviving the elements in its own, not-alive way. It's cracked and bent, but has supported person after person for who knows how long without breaking. Through storms and calm, it has not bowed to the pressures of being sat on, even though those things scrape its skin to the point of bitter roughness. It is still wood, doing its job day in and day out, taking the abuse, but staying firm. On the inside it is strong and just as lovely as it was when it was new, while the outside shows its age. People have probably left their marks on it, carving their names into its skin so that it cannot forget those who sat on it, but there are also the stains from the families who came and thanked it for its part in their memories. All the remnants of things past, etched into it forever.

Sort of like people, no?

The Abundance of Simplicity

 

 {Heron nests & baby Herons.}

"Those living far away fear your wonders; 

where morning dawns and evening fades

you call forth songs of joy.

You care for the land and water it;

you enrich it abundantly.

The streams of God are filled with water

to provide the people with grain,

for so you have ordained it.

You drench its furrows 

and level its ridges;

you soften it with showers

and bless its crops.

You crown the year with your bounty, 

and your crops overflow with abundance. 

The grasslands of the desert overflow;

the hills are clothed with gladness.

The meadows are covered with flocks

and the valleys are mantled with grain;

they shout for joy and sing."

Psalm 65:9-13

Occupying My Time With Paints & Things

{I decided to forgo the yarn today and go after the paints instead.}

{I snagged some chunks of slag out of the driveway and cleaned them up so they could come inside and get beautified.}

{After much consideration, I settled on a mosaic style. I know it's not the classiest painting, but it occupied me for quite a while and made me happy, so that's what matters!}

{After I finished painting on the stone, my craving for painting had not yet been satisfied. Being a whittler, I have a supply of sticks I planned to save for hiking. But they are barkless and the biggest canvases in my closet.} 

{All in all, I am quite happy now, and I have painted til my heart's content. Not a bad way to spend a cool afternoon after shopping all morning.}

Have a wonderful Friday. Go an do something creative today! Anything. =D

20 Years, Oh My!

{A wonderful Japanese tea set I got today! ♥}

I'm 20 years old today. God has permitted me to live two decades now. I don't particularly feel any older than I did yesterday, aside from standing in the realization that in ten years I'll be 30....Odd. But there is some sort of...I don't know how to put it, air about today that is...thought provoking, that makes me feel small. I can't quite put my finger on it. It's surreal. I'm 20.

I keep telling myself that. 

I'm 20! And I'll only have ten years to BE in my 20s!

I want to do new things this year. I want to try new foods (starting it off by having a raspberry chocolate torte instead of a Boston Cream Pie for my "cake" today), I want to try new arts (I have some in mind, actually), I want to read new books (I have a whole list of accumulated works that I have yet to even open just waiting to be read), I want to write new things and FINISH what I have started writing (starting by getting my novel into Word on my main computer. That might inspire some action. -chuckle- And maybe get a book of poetry done.), and I want to make time for all of these things. I know I have a hectic next few months coming, and then I'll be a full-functioning working adult, but I want to do these things and share the results with YOU. I want to blog more and be a better blogger.

So, let's make this in a list, shall we?

•  Try new foods!

• Try new arts!

• Read new books!

• Write new things (and get published) !

• Write more things!

• Make more time.

• Spend more time with God.

^-- That is most important of all.--^

And if there is one thing I have learned recently, or something that has particularly held steadfast in my mind about life this far (laugh at me all you like for my young naive thoughts -- I'll laugh at them in ten years), it's be bold, daring, and be proud of being YOU. You are you and no one else, show it off! Be your own flavor in life -- I want to be! I want to live!

Goodnight, world. This girl is off to bed! ♥

P.S. If something isn't punctuated properly, blame tired eyes at almost midnight after a long day.

A Watery Sunset!

 {Very creepy. I wish I could have gotten a better shot of this guy, because what you don't see is the rest of his lanky body waving behind him in the water like some sort of cootie. Gives me shivers just thinking about it!}

{This mist here was wafting off the water and rising out of the trees, turning the pastel sky into a hazy chalk painting. Stunning indeed!}

All in all, a very good run for the boat that has been sitting dormant for a year. And the lake, rising high above her banks due to the insane amount of rain we have had lately, made getting to the boat...

...a foot-soaking adventure.

Happy Tuesday, everyone! ♥

The Changes of the Storm

Last night, a storm rolled over and smashed itself over my town. What started as random outbursts of rain and wind last night soon gave way to a steady flood of drops this morning. It was peaceful to lie in bed and hear the thunder rumble high above my head. Eyes glue to the ceiling, I reveled in feeling small under the never ending sky. With the covers pulled up to my chin, it was like a breath of childhood without the fear; only pure, content nostalgia with nature. All other thoughts were washed away, leaving me feeling clean and simple.

The rain continued to add peaceful chorus to church this morning. Even though the roughness of the storm was enough to prevent us from going to church in person early this morning, the family gathered around the computer and watched the wonderful service online, Bibles open and breakfast in our mouths.

And what a sermon it was.

I took a good, hard look at myself after the Word has been preached, and I'm still examining myself as I type this. Even this far into my life, raised in my amazing faith, there is room for me to grow. Not that I thought I was perfect and had nothing left to learn, I just didn't quite realize what I needed to work on until I was told this morning. It's funny how some sermons seem to be aimed right at you and the things that burden your heart right then. God sure knows how to say the right thing to your heart at the time you need to hear it most.

So I made a list.  A list of things and traits I must find and rid myself of daily, and a list of things and traits that I must find and keep with me all day, every day, to help me walk closer with God and allow me to live a life as close to His ideals as possible. I want to grow in my faith, and there are just some things I have to do to nourish that. Things I will remind myself of every day. Things I will work on every day, every hour, every minute, every second, every blink of my eyes and beat of my heart. Through God, I will accomplish this.

I feel refreshed now. All other thoughts have been washed away by God's Word, and I have been left feeling clean and simple.

What a way to start a day, huh?

Smile today and rest up. God gave you breath in your lungs and sunshine in your eyes. Even if today ends up not being a good day, your are alive, and that is enough to make it a good day. =)

Wishing you all a refreshing, cleansing, clean, and simple Sunday. ♥

Paint Chips and Color Slips

I'm studying Cosmetology. Naturally, my dream is that, when I graduate and pass the state exams, I will own my own salon (perhaps with my sister if she doesn't decide on owning a restaurant kitchen rather than a salon). Of course, I plan on working in another person's salon where I can learn more about what I do and more about running a business before I jump on out in the world and invest in  something that may flop if I do not put well-planned thought into it.

I have recently finished my second semester of Cosmetology, and there is a project due for third semester that is that of planning to build my own salon. Part of that planning is the picking of colors of walls, floors, and furniture to help someone visualize your imaginary interior.

This is right up my alley. Seriously. 

So when my parents left to go buy some paint for the living room and my little brother and sister's room, I tagged along and rifled through paint chip after paint chip with a high amount of glee.

At first, I started picking pastel green colors with the thought of a dark chocolate arrangement of wooden floors and furniture bringing it all together. An earthy spa sort of thing. But then my mom came by and looked and my selection, remarking that she was surprised I was choosing such plain colors.

I looked down and saw those greens in a whole new light. I imagined myself sitting in a salon that color, and with the greens being so light, I realized that they looked better on the paint chip than in my plan, and I would probably be uncomfortable in such a light environment. (Not that green is a bad selection, just these hues together.)

Let's face it, the world isn't colored in solid pastels. God had a much richer color scheme than just that when he created this earth. Why should I be so reserved? =D

I was freed. I wanted rich, warm colors on the walls that would make me want to fall asleep in the sunshine.

I turned to the purples, reds, and hot pinks, finding the perfect shades possessing enough tints from each to create the perfect mental salon with a Bohemian air. Thanks to my sister, I am obsessed with that particular style. For once, I didn't actually pay attention to the names of the colors swatches. I just grabbed at colors and they came together: walls, trim, doors, all of it. I even went to the kitchen department and got some pamphlets of counter tops for reference. It was highly satisfying.

I can just see me with my own house in the future. Blank walls will be canvases. 

I come from a creative family, so seeing my own sense of style develop is exciting. My mother is already excellent in her designing techniques, and I want to be as good as her when it comes time for me to be in charge of designing a business or home.

Ah, paint. I love it, even if it is only imaginary. ♥

This is the Oasis of Home

God has blessed us with an oasis to live in. I do not think I would want to be anywhere else but home. Despite the dirt being equivalent to red clay, everything here grows and grows and grows. Our veggie garden thrives, our flower gardens flourish, and shrubs and trees explode like green fireworks throughout the yard. Bees are in the air, birds can be heard singing all day, and frogs chirp and croak in the ponds.

It is my hope and dream that someday when I have a place of my own, that it is as lovely as here. May I have inherited my mother's green thumbs, please.

To me right now, there is nowhere else I would rather be than my home, inside or outside.