randomness of mind

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(To dare every day to be irreverent and bold. To dare to preserve the randomness of mind which in children produces strange and wonderful new thoughts and forms. To continually scramble the familiar and bring the old into new juxtaposition.) - Gordon Webber

+ i want to go to Colorado. how have i never been there?

+so much to do: move. throw engagement party. work. birthday parties. and yet i'd rather read this...all day long.

+ let's have a dance party. i need a dance party.

+ 4 veggie burgers in 2 days. is this a problem?

+ i'd give anything to be back at Chastain Park listening to Ray Lamontagne serenade me all night. please.

+flea market & farmer's market this weekend? yes please!

finally, the two above are precious and their save-the-date was equally so. check it out.

Save the date! 31 july 2010 from Kishi-Grover on Vimeo.

le bébé singe

my heart melts every. time.

Ragged Wood

The amount of time that I spent cleaning my car out in the sweltering heat today made me even more anxious for fall! Everything in me revolts against heat...

I hate sweating
I prefer gray days over sunny ones
I love scarves, tights and hats
I prefer hot coffee over iced

Sitting by a fireplace with a book & a cup of tea = glorious
...oh yeah, and who can forget that fall is just plain beautiful?!

(How can anyone possibly question whether there is a Creator when

there is such beautiful creation to behold?)

So, in honor of the impending autumn, go listen to Fleet Foxes, put on a scarf & dance around (even if the heat will allow for a scarf and a scarf only...)

Muffins and Musings

My job is a dream – baking cakes, cookies and muffins all day long with my iPod faithfully providing whatever soundtrack I choose for the day.

(Nevermind the dishwashing and mopping…I pretend those parts don’t actually exist).

The most interesting aspect of my job, however is not how many Beets are in the Beet muffins or how long we bake a cake for, but the fact that you have 6 hours at a time of uninterrupted thinking. Being in your mind for that long can be dangerous – I’ve been told that one girl actually quit because it was “too much time to think” – but I’ve grown to appreciate it more than anything. Something that has been on the forefront of my mind for quite some time is the concept of love and its image verses its truth and reality. My boss and I got on the subject and both agreed that a wonderfully realistic, although overused and underappreciated view on love is found in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7. When you actually read the words for what they are, it changes entirely. It transforms into a painfully real picture of what love is supposed to look like in contrast to the way we often picture it in our idealistic minds.
It does not say:

1 Corinthians 13:4-7
“Love is perfect, love is sunshine and happiness. Love is never annoyed, never frustrated, always easy.”

Surprise! Love is not what it seems to be from the outside looking in. Is it wonderful? Is it a gift? Absolutely! But it is also a daily choice - another nugget of wisdom from my boss. Love is not easy, but those who have committed to love one another wake up every day and choose to love that person. “It is not self-seeking”…shoot! “It is not proud”…dangit. It is patient, hopeful, and it “always perseveres.” Upon reading these words I saw how much I fall short. If it were a checklist, the result would be dismal…

□ Patient
□ Kind
□ Is not envious
□ Is not boastful
□ Is not proud
□ Is not rude
□ Is not self-seeking
□ Is not easily angered
…you get the picture.

Maybe I’m the only one who needed to come to the realization that love is not perfect or easy, but let me tell you it changes everything. This verse gives us a difficult standard to uphold, but I believe it's the aspiration and attempt to emulate it that counts. If we all made the daily choice to aspire to love in the way 1 Corinthians tells us to, our relationships would certainly look quite different. Whether you’re loving your husband, girlfriend, family, friends, there are many people to whom we say “I love you,” but very rarely do we even attempt for it to look like it should. Above all else, it makes me so thankful for the love lavished on us by our Savior. Our declared love for others may fall short, but His is everything in this verse and more. His love is perfect.

In the light of this newfound reality, 1 Corinthians takes on a whole new meaning. Read it today with new eyes.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Also, this...

lonely is a freedom that breathes easy and weightless.

Alone.
Sounds lonely, right?
It always surprises me how afraid people are to do things on their own.
Some are understandable: eating out, shopping.
Others are slightly absurd: doctor's visits or hair appointments.

I enjoy being around people, especially those I love.
I like having company at a coffee shop or a hand to hold at the grocery store. These are all good things.
But I find that it feeds my independence in such a lovely way when I do things on my own. Being forced into this mindset may have jumpstarted it (stuck in Boro on school breaks or visiting random cities), but I have grown to cherish stopping at a coffee shop to read by myself, getting pedicures on my own, or even going to a movie without a companion (yep! I'm proud to say, I've done it). Sometimes you need to breathe, be with yourself, hear yourself think. I found this video and wanted to share it and encourage any and everyone to be alone every once in awhile. Don't be afraid of it. I'm convinced it's good for your heart.

Ants in my Pants

It's been awhile since my last post...and when I think of all that has happened since December, it seems that much longer. However, I find it to be a good sign when one has no time to write about living life because they are too busy living life.

So what have I been doing as of late?

• Reading, reading, and reading
• Baking to my heart's content at my favorite Nashville coffee joint
• Jumping off of cliffs...no, really...
• Loving, loving and loving the amazing people in my life.

Another thing that has been almost annoyingly present lately are the ants in my pants that I've been battling. These silly little buggers come around without fail at least once a year. I usually can find some minor change to make that will appease them for the moment, but with this being the first year in my entire college education that I will be returning to the same school, the ants are gettin a little crazy! What to do, what to do...I often say that it's a good thing I don't follow my impulses all of the time, because my life would look nothing short of chaotic. I know that I must stay put for now...for now. My wild fantasies of travelling around the world or up-and-moving-wherever will have to remain just that...wild fantasies. I'm going to be ignoring these ants for just a bit longer, and then hopefully someday I'll have the freedom to indulge them to my crazy heart's content.

In the meantime, here are some things that have inspired me lately...

todaysletters.com

This couple has been married for five years and the wife writes a daily

letter, addressing various people/things that have impacted her day.

The best part is the 2 times she addresses her husband...they seem to enjoy

each other so much and have nailed down the aspect of love that involves

cherishing random little quirks about each other. Inspiring.

(source)

Don't even get me started...good grief. Caroline Smith & the Good Night Sleeps.

I want to be her...no, seriously, I want to be her. So talented, so precious,

and she has massive amounts of red hair (someone I can relate to!)

Way to represent the gingers!!

"Tying My Shoes" - Caroline Smith and the Good Night Sleeps from The Duluth Scene on Vimeo.

Your investment in health and happiness...

Hello dears!! Yes, it is Christmas-time and it seems strange that I would write about anything other than that, but it seems too good to even write about. Let me promise you that I am enjoying it immensely - it has always been my favorite time of year!

Now, on to the goods. I am a seasonal "cash register girl" at our wonderful Teavana store. I get to work with a couple of my closest friends, so I've dubbed us the Teavana Dream Team and we are legit to say the least. Although my first love will ALWAYS be coffee, these people have convinced me over the past couple years that tea can be pretty dang great. Here are some of the things I have been loving and that you should go out and grab asap.
This is a white tea called Youthberry that is literally the stuff. It's great iced, which doesn't work so well with my frigid nature, but it's worth the shivering.

White Ayurvedic Chai. Figured out today it's great with some warmed up soy milk...so cozy and delish. Nice and spicy. The Perfect Tea Maker!! This thing has made my life soo much easier. If you could ever envision yourself in the future liking tea, turn off your computer right now and go get one. It's also really fun just to watch it...why? You'll have to go buy one and find out!

As Cash Register Girl I am supposed to say "Your total investment in health and happiness today is only..." and while I could've been a punk about it I decided just to embrace it and start doing this right from the beginning. I've been made fun of a couple times, but it's all good and pretty entertaining to watch customers roll their eyes at me. It's all in the holiday spirit, guys.

Hope everyone is watching plenty of classic Christmas movies, listening to Delilah play Christmas music on the radio 24/7 and bein cozy.

.ginger.

p.s. I helped today with a group of women at church who are throwing a Christmas Cookie Party for single-parent families in the area and my part was to bake 6 dozen cookies. It was fun, but I would be happy to not look at another cookie or brownie for a good month or so...