Rachel's Wedding

So here are just a few pics from the elegant event, perhaps more to come later-- or just check out my Facebook in a couple days for more. ;) Melissa and Hannah did all our hair 1940's style and a girl came from Estee Lauder to do our makeup. I must say she did an excellent job. We felt like ladies truly out of another era.

We danced the night away at the reception with some swinging action, including being flipped more than one time. Good thing I wore shorts underneath my very flowy dress! The reception was a blast!

Mel and me

Mel, Spiro and Tricia dancin' it up Newsies-style, post-reception.

Word Musings

I've been reading in Jeremiah lately, and it really is a fascinating book. He was the prophet who continually warned the people of Judah about their sin-- that they would eventually come to destruction if they continued to ignore the Lord.

One verse in particular stuck out to me the other day, and I can't stop pondering it, even now:

"Then you will seek Me, inquire for, and require Me [as a vital necessity] and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart."
-Jeremiah 29:13, Amplified Version

How often do I choose to not seek out the Lord? And what exactly does it mean to seek Him? To seek... to look for without failing until you find what you are looking for. Yes. And that's who I want to be-- a seeker!

I want to be a woman who goes after the Lord, because He is the only thing, only being in the whole world that's ever going to mean anything! Everything else just does not satisfy like my beautiful Jesus.

Search my heart and know me, Father. Help me to be an intentional seeker of Truth...

Autumn Allegory

Whoa. The past couple of days here have been absolutely lovely. When I got to work yesterday, I looked like a drowned rat, because I walked across campus in the wet rain and got completely soaked. And after I completed my shift, I walked outside and it felt like FALL. I quickly went home to change into my red hooded sweater, jeans, and my favorite scarf.

The brisk air reminded me of my dear old friend-- Autumn. Autumn and I go way back and I can always rely on her for a grand old time. She brings a huge smile to my face when I think of her vibrant reds, yellows, and gorgeous oranges that permeate my surroundings. I breathe her in and instantly I feel happy! Visions of mystery and Hallows Eve dance in my head. I can almost taste the memory of a hot cup of caramel apple cider.

Yes, Autumn is a good friend. She moves away too quickly and then I eagerly anticipate her arrival the following year. With her, I always feel hopeful. I believe things can change when she's around. I look at her rosy red cheeks, throw back my head and let out a squeal of utter delight!

Snow Pond

This collage-creating business is FUN!

This next set is from Tricia and I's roadtrip to Maine. This collection of photos is from Snow Pond, the family camp by the lake in Oakland. We spent two nights and three days here and it was one of my favorite parts of the whole trip. It was truly restful. The following excerpt is taken my from my real journal during these days spent at Snow Pond:

"...Words cannot describe how lobster tastes. It is full and meaty, yet so tender. This was my first lobster taste and it was perfection. After lunch, we swam out to the anchored dock, where I laid out for a couple hours, sunbathing and reading the Great Gatsby. How perfect, I thought, to be reading Great Gatsby in this place-- how sad it must have been for Gatsby to have held onto a dream for so long and only to realize he had let his past consume him. I hope I never have to face that-- or even if I have been guilty of letting the past rule my life, I want to start in a new direction..."

The addiction remains strong...

So, as I metioned before, I am terribly addicted to Smallville right now. It has gotten so bad that I got up early today to write a paper for English due today. I didn't work on it last night, because I WAS WATCHING SMALLVILLE! And I hurried to finish my paper, so that I could watch part of an episode before I left for school. Thus has been the case so often these days!

Here's the sad part: Right now I am waiting around on campus because I got out of class at 3, and I work at 4. So it's not exactly enough time to come home, because it would just be a waste driving the seven minutes it takes to get to my house and then leaving twenty minutes before 4, just so I can scour the parking lots attempting to find a spot. This morning I looked for a spot for twenty minutes, before I resorted to stalking someone to their car just so I could park there! So anyhow, I am stuck on campus and I want to watch Smallville right now. I'm thinking about how busy this week is, and that tonight I will probably be only to finish the episode I started this morning. Tomorrow I have a Spanish test I have not even started studying for.

My addiction is so bad! I'm not sure how to cure it, and a huge part of me doesn't want to. Why is it that I love having little obsessions? Does it just give me a little something to look forward to?

Here's my question(s) to you. What are your obsessions? Why are you obsessed? What started these addictions?

My Hair Journey

I started coloring my hair last spring with just some simple caramel highlights from my natural mousy brown/sometimes looks light brown/with reddish warm tones. Those warm tones in my hair really throw things off a bit. Since then, I have done the following in the last year: blonde highlights, auburn red, dark brown, light brown and then finally to my hair state as of yesterday:

I like to call it bronde-- because it doesn't quite look blonde, but I'm not sure if you could call it blonde. However, when I got my new driver's license back, I was amazed that my hair actually looked blonde! It's been fun having a little lighter, I must say. I can't remember the last time it's been that light-- except may since I was three.

My hair reacts pretty strongly to hair dye. It always turns out darker than it looks in the picture on the box. But after about a week or so, it almost aways reverts back to those warm tones and gets lighter. I'm not sure how to fix this, but I must say it's quite fun getting to change it up a bit now and then. :) Here's the color I dyed it last night-- Brazilian brown. Even though I know it will soon lighten, I'm loving the dark cherry tone!

Katie and I saw a movie poster for Twilight and I was standing in front of it and she shouts, "You're Bella!!" I think I can live with being called that, if I get to be next to Edward. *Sigh*

Blueberry Paradise

I have tried to make collages on Picasa so many times, and I never really knew what I was doing, so I finally admitted I needed help and looked it up. Turns out, it's relatively easy! So here's my first collage, in honor of a blueberry-filled delightful afternoon in Maine.

Tricia and I were in this cute little coastal town (I think we called all of them that, hehe) called Belgrade. We ate lunch at a little cafe and we were talking to the owner before we left. She told us about this spot down the road (actually quite a bit down the road-- we weren't sure if it actually existed) where wild blueberries grew. We explored Bluberry Hill, picking blueberries, feeling like characters in a Jane Austen novel in our sundresses.

As we were heading back to Snow Pond, taking the back roads, Tricia spotted an old cemetary off the side of the road. Glowing in the sunlight, it was situated on top of a hill and spoke of old tales of another age.