Talk Thursday // Reasons Why Summer Rocks

Today, I was once again ghetto fabulous and grabbed my lawn chair from my car and kicked it in the GHC parking lot for a solid 30 minutes soaking up the rays (since it is 90 degrees here in the PNW!!!!!!!!!!).

As I was reflecting over the awesomeness that is, in fact, sunshine, it hit me that I have not always been a summer girl. Years ago, I was a mild weather person, often cold weather suited me just fine. I loved wearing scarves and hats and mittens and drinking cocoa and bundling/cuddling under layers of blankets. In the last 3 years, a shift has occurred...I am a summer gal. I want to be WARM! Possibly, this happened because warm weather is so infrequent here in the temperate climate of the Northwest. Maybe it's just because I miss Missouri and their abundance of warm. Likely, its a both/and. And granted, Washington hot is no where NEAR Missouri hot (in MO the lakes get warm enough to swim in! Shocking!!)

Whatever the reason for the switch and in the midst of the difference between WA hot and other places hot, I have compiled a list of reasons why summer is awesome. But this is Talk Thursday so add your own:

Why do you love summer too?

1) Country music can be played at much louder decibles considering the windows will be down and the wind will be whipping through the car
2) There is a perfectly reasonable explanation for why I am eating 2 popsicles for breakfast and will enjoy probably 2 or more throughout the day
3) It necessitates a reason to go to the lake or river
4) Nobody else wants to sit inside so we can all go play
5) I often NEED a reason to shave my legs...summer gives me that reason
6) Two conjunctions: Flip-flop tan-lines
7) Walking away with that "summer glow" (which is funny because it sounds like "Summer Glau"...non-nerds, you won't understand)
8) There is no reason to turn on the heat so I save on electric
9) Warm night driving
10) The smell of sunshine

Let's hear your reasons why you love summer. =)

Now That's What I'm Talkin' 'Bout

Thank You, Jesus.

I might miss Missouri. But I'm gonna enjoy this beautiful Washington State weather while it lasts. Which means mowing our overgrown, crazy, jungle-esque lawn, perhaps washing the car, and definitely driving with the windows down.

How are ya'll going to enjoy the sun?

Talk Saturday // What the Heezy?!

I just now realized that we didn't Talk Thursday it up this week. Shame on you for not reminding me! =)

Since it's now Talk Saturday and I've just returned from the Show-Me State and the Volunteer State and am wishing I was still there...

Where do you want to go on vacation? Do you get to vacation this summer? Pick your place and tell us your grand dreams of getting away. 

Where The Blacktop Ends

The longer I live here, the more I realize JUST how much my heart longs to be in the South.

I've never lived there, you know. My parents are born-and-raised Tennesseans. Us girls are all West Coast primadonnas. Our whole family (minus a couple) are still in that general area.

Sweet tea, "yes sir, yes ma'am", barbeque, college football, cicadas and crickets, hot muggy nights, fireflies, "All ya'll!"

Likely it's not as picturesque as I dream it to be. I have many friends who are longing to get out of the South or have already done it. They know the good, the bad and the ugly.

I think I may need to know it for myself.

So... Tennessee - I think you and I will have a date sometime in the future. Hope that's cool with you.



Are you living where you want to? If God said "GO!" and you got to pick, where would you head? Let's chat. =)

Young At Heart??

It recently high-fived me in the face that I am old.

Not old in the sense that I am physically old (although my chiropractor may beg to differ).

But I'm not a kid anymore.

It's been snowing here like crazy-face. We've had some 18 inches of snowfall in the last week alone.

And I am so irritated. I realized that I only appreciate snow when it is convenient for me. There were days when I would seriously consider "work or not work?" That question is just a different way of saying "$$ or my safety and the safety of others?" I've gone with $$ each time.

Kids, on the other hand, see snow and they think:

"Tobogganing!" "No school!" "Hot chocolate!" "Snowball fights!" "Playday!" "Yippee!"

It makes me sad that I don't have those thoughts. I feel...unyoung at heart. Which is stupid.

Ok...I'm going to figure out a way to play. Even if it means more laundry and being cold.

The kid inside me needs it.

(The metaphorical kid in me. I don't have a bun in the oven or anything. Just to clarify. =) )

There's No Place Like Home, There's No Place Like Home....

Well, I clicked my little sparkly flats together and found myself back in Missouri (thankfully not Kansas) this last week. It was good to see my friends and utterly refreshing to spend time with peoople my own age and relative place in life. During the whirlwind that was my week away, there was a wedding, a bridal shower, a shopping spree, too many rushed dinners, lots of awkward hugs, a birthday party, a moving extravaganza, and entirely not enough time with people that I love and miss terribly.

And in spite of all that, I was homesick.

I do not know what is wrong with me. I get "homesick" for Missouri and while I'm there, I get "homesick" for Washington. There is some kind of disconnect in my brain, I think.

It was a completely exhausting, much needed week away. And I'm glad that I'm back.

Perhaps I've been wrong all along; maybe home isn't always simply where my stuff is. Home is where I feel vulnerable and accepted in that vulnerability. Completely safe from judgment and derision, welcomed to share in community and desired for who I am and what I can offer. And to be honest, some days that changes. Some days I am fully at home in Washington. This last week, there were days I felt right and some days I longed for home. A friend reminded me that we are created for something grander and all of what we know, what we encounter, what we love is sometimes only a reflection and a glimpse into what we were made for.

Thanks God, for giving me people who allow me to find home in You, wherever that may be. Thanks for continually being a rock of habitation to which I call. Thanks for always being home.