My words seem silly

Read this and this first and then I beg, urge, plead with you to read this. I.haven't.been.able.to.shake.these words. Take 10 minutes and read. I promise, you won't have anything to complain about after reading this!

More favorites

Favorites 8/31/07
Originally uploaded by cottagegirl1.

Matilda's frocks

I found THE cutest clothing line today. Hello, Matlida Jane. I found it on this photographer's website, which I also discovered today. Beautiful shots abound here! I thought her little girl had the cutest clothes and found out most of them were from Matlida Jane. Most of the clothes are for little girls, like this adorable little number. But there are also things for people my size too, like this and this.
I love how messy and mixy all the colors and patterns are.

pouring over

I've heard the story. I've seen the movie. But I never read the book. I started it a couple days ago and oh, my. It's just lovely. So beautifully written and such a wonderfully, tragic story.
A little background with me and C.S. Lewis. We have a rocky relationship. I so greatly admire him, yet it has forever plagued me that I cannot get through one of his books except The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. And that was even read TO me when I was in 3rd grade. I've since "read" all of the other Narnia books after my mom gave them to me in radio drama form. They just amazing. I love the stories, but have the hardest time reading them.
I've tried to read Mere Christianity a dozen times and fail by the I finish the first chapter. I think my brain is just so far behind his way of thinking that I don't understand it. I have to read each sentence 3 times before I can move on (except in Narnia).
But after I finish this book, I will try again. And maybe watch the movie again cause Anthony Hopkins performance in the movie is just phenomenal.

One little side note...in my favorite college class that I ever took (musical theater) we all had to do short 15 minutes presentations. One guy in our class was writing a musical for this story. For his presentation, he had one of the theater guys, who had a voice that could have been on Broadway, sing a song he had written. The song was about Lewis feeling lost after Joy had died. Garrett, the guy who sang, was sitting at a desk, "writing" by the one lone candle that lit up the room we were all in. It gave me chills. Our teacher was standing, watching with her head leaned up against the wall just soaking in every moment. It was that good. I still wonder if he ever finished that musical and if it was ever performed.

.....hey, Linds, tell your hubby that I thought of him and his Lewis obsession several times while I am reading this!

free fallin'

The giant swing
It's not the most fun activity to run
But the kids LOVE it!

sucked into the vortex

Ashamed to admit....okay, so not ashamed at all...to admit. I watched High School Musical for the first time last night and LOVED it! It couldn't be more awful story-wise, which is what makes it so perfectly beautiful. So much good, clean fun. I think I will have to buy it....and watch 2 pronto. And I have to say I was severely distracted by Zac Ephron's INCREDIBLE hair in that movie.

Anyone else remember Ollie Hopnoodle's Haven of Bliss? Another Disney Channel classic.

stolen

Seriously...so darn cute.....ANYWAY, last week, I was watching Scrubs and this song came on at the end. I kept singing it over and over for several days after that, so I had to find out who sang it. Dashboard Confessional. Who would have thought?
You can listen to it here. Click on "Stolen." It's been on repeat this morning. Just wanted to share a little music love.

vintage

My daddy-o back in the day (in the center). Isn't this photo just adorable?! I love the old TV and stubby, little tree and the cat asleep and the socks on my uncle and the bow in my aunt's hair. I can look at it a million times and still find a new fun detail to get excited over.

i have no pictures, but fun links that do

I love Elsie's new red color. Been dying to chop my hair. It grows super fast and is long now. Long and annoying. But advice from friends is that I should keep it long. Color may have to be the way to go. And I do enjoy a good red!

Somehow my vacation pictures never turn out this good. Of course, Tara's do. Have I mentioned in the last few posts that I am just in awe of her...

Got sucked into this site today for hours. Started here and read through to then end of 2004. Found her on Flickr. I found her by doing a search for China adoption pictures. This one came up. Her photography is so inspiring to me right now. I'm ready to take some pictures.....I think.

Exited for you, my friend! Been praying/thinking about you all day.

I had a crummy day yesterday for some reason, but this made it better. It is almost disgusting how much he makes me happy. Reminds me....I think I need to watch Garden State again....and buy season 5 of Scrubs.

I couldn't get to sleep 2 nights ago. (Inspiration struck and I was art journaling like a mad woman.) I got to watch Dave, another TV person that I have a weird obsession about. I think he is adorable. Yes, I do. See, weird.... Oh my gosh, he makes me laugh! One of my favorite things he does is "Great Moments in Presidential Speeches." This one ALWAYS makes me laugh out loud. (and no "hate" comments. I love our president.)

Finally...dun...dun...dun....da....I am going on vacation! Oh, sweet, glorious vacation (realized today I have 17 vacation days left. Sheez, louise!). Not till December though. Here's a hint as to where, and I quote my mom:

"I'm hoping Luke will love ______as much as you did your first time at 7 months old. We had a blast watching your little face light up with all the sights! Won't ever forget carrying you in the backpack and seeing your BIG bright eyes."

Weird to think that my parents were younger than I am right now when they took me here for the first time. Weird.
Any guesses?!!

pretty, pretty

Look here. I adore Etsy. So much inspiration. So much fun shopping. I have a huge wish list.

just because

She makes me smile. She wrote me a note the other day that reminded me how much I adore her friendship. Age is such a silly thing sometimes. She's much younger than me, but I don't even remember that until someone tells me so. God brought her into my life at the perfect time. I miss her desperately but love, love, love that she is at Liberty right now. Her listening ear was exactly what I needed this summer, even if she only got to visit for 3 days.
I love you my dear, sweet, Ashley!

hit the jackpot this morning

I've been dying to go yard saling lately. Now that camp is over, I can leave the property on Saturday mornings. This morning was fantastic. Here's what I found:

The farmer's market is in full swing. Jam packed with all kinds of local yummies. Perfect for my vegetarian kick right now. The plastic bag is full of fresh organic mint. I've drank about half a gallon of homemade ice tea with tons of mint leaves floating in it. It's too delicious. Plus a jar of homemade peach jam. Yum!
The only things I had found this morning were this polariod camera and this book. Combined $2.50. I had to buy the book cause the cover is beautiful and it's about China. Hello?!! We all know I'm obsessed.
Then on our (my friend B and I) way home, we found a house up the street from us that was having a yard sale. I got this rocking chair...

and this stool.....
for $15. $15 for BOTH! I couldn't believe it! This lady was trying to get rid of some stuff that her father had given her. She said she still had a garage full of it. Be still my beating heart. Note to self: if they have another yard sale, STOP immediately!
I polished up both pieces, and am going to recover the bench since the fabric is in sad shape. They look so cute in my little cottage bedroom!

ice cream

Last night I had the biggest craving for Maggie Moo's ice cream. Their dark chocolate ice cream with strawberries mixed in with a "made by hand" waffle cone holding it all in...oh, it's heaven on earth! Their ice cream is DE-lious. I love that we have 2 shops within 15 minutes from my front door.
What kind of treats do you love?

this little guy has been on my heart...

since I read his story this morning. This family is in China adopting their 3rd little one. On their trip to his orphanage, they met Jie. You can read about him here. Oh, how I hope and pray that he could find his forever family. If you are at all interested or know anyone who may be, read their blog post to get more information.
It's heartbreaking to know that there are 1,000's more just like him not only in China, but all over the world. Each of these precious little children so desperately need love and for someone to show them that Jesus loves them too.

i made this

wonder which musical I was listening to?

paper: Urban Outfitters and Anthropologie catalogs, 7 Gypsies label: Dymo label maker (love this thing. I would label everything if I could.) acrylic paint, "stamps" which were actually cardboard (egg carton and a piece of a box).

cannot wait for this

Coming to theaters this Christmas....There isn't even a trailer for it yet, but I've been hearing about it for months online and in Entertainment Weekly. We did this musical in college. It's dark and twisted (perfect for Tim Burton and Johnny Depp!!!) and the musical is IN-credible. Plus, Alan Rickman (whom I absolutely adore!!!) is playing the Judge. So exciting!

Explore

Explore
Originally uploaded by cottagegirl1.

One of my pictures finally made it to Explore on Flickr! #319. So cool!

Flickr favorites

Favorites August 07
Originally uploaded by cottagegirl1.

Another round of favorites from Flickr. It never gets old.

Be sure to click on the picture to see it bigger. Then you can see the individual pictures and the artists who created them. I love Flickr with all my heart!

if I had a bead

for every time I thought about how much I miss camp, it would amount to just about this much.

But I must think of other things like this....
Now THAT is a good time! The cottage smoothie party is always a blast.

since Wednesday...

I have been meaning to post, and life has been too busy each time I try to sit down and do it. So here is what has been going on:

It finally cooled off, but only into the 90's. But it is August and it's always HOT here now.

Camp finished on Friday night at about midnight. Let's just say, this is my week of mourning for those who have left and gone back to their "other lives." I truly hate this week cause I always feel so depressed. I miss everyone so much, and I miss the kids. It's WAY TOO QUIET here now.

One of my friends had a birthday, and I will give here the proper birthday post she deserves as soon as I can.

After finishing camp at midnight on Friday, I woke up early and drove (with my pal, Jenny) to a wedding for some camp friends. It was about 5 hours away, and we decided to make it a day trip. Lots of hours in the car. It was great to see so many friends at the wedding. Like a mini old school camp reunion. Best wishes, Eric and Renae!

Went to church on Sunday and then hung out with my bro for the day. We went to Best Buy (it's on the way home from church, and an obvious choice for a place to wander around in air conditioning and drool over flat screen TV's). I bought season 5 of this. It's a guilty pleasure. I stopped watching this past year, but season 5 was so yummy. I've been waiting for it to go on sale since it came out last year.
I made him go to Jo-Ann Fabrics with me. I bought this book last week. I've been eyeing it for a while now and finally gave in. Can't wait to start a project!
Then we went to out to lunch. Ate a super, yummy portabella mushroom/mozzarella focaccia sandwich. I don't know if it really was as good as it was, or if I was loving anything that was non-camp food. We also decided a couple weeks ago, that we are going to go vegetarian for a month. Just to try it. A couple other people are joining in on the fun too. Yesterday was Day One for me.
After lunch, we went to the pool, which is now kid free and very peaceful! And then a nap. Oh, a glorious nap! It was such a relaxing day. I made myself not do anything and just enjoy doing it!

Now, it's back to the "normal" retreat season schedule. We are busy, busy these next few months.

And a few more things....my brother is now a permanent resident here (well, permanent for a year). He is working part time at camp and living across the field from me. The only way it could get better is if my sister decided to move in next to him!! Hint, hint.... I'm SO very excited about this!
I have no travel plans. I repeat. NO travel plans right now. It's crazy! I usually head somewhere after camp is over.
My roommate of 3 years moved out this weekend and I am getting 2 "new" ones. Not really new as much as just switching to a different room at camp. That room being in the cottage next to mine. Excited about that!
Am working on a list of projects/want to do's for the "off season." A couple things on that list: make an entire outfit (skirt and shirt), take more photos (maybe 365 project), re-do my bathroom (it's a desperate/must-do), re-decorate my bedroom (I just can't decide on colors. I love this one, but it might be too intense), de-clutter my life (this post convicted me big time), go on a sailing trip before it gets cold, swim as much as I can and write more letters.

FYI: This fun family is adopting their 3rd little one from China. Can't wait to hear/see all about it! I've loved their story since I first found it a couple years ago.

And in closing, my dear sweet friend, Rach, is having a baby today. Praying for you! How in the world does my college buddy have 3 kids?!!

off to bed...

...at 11:00pm. And it's

90 degrees
57%humidity
feels like (heat index) 96 degrees

and tomorrow isn't looking much better. It's like walking out the door and into the oven. You know that horrible heat wave that crashes into your face when you are checking on your cake in the oven. That's exactly what it feels like. Exactly.

And inside my poor little cottage, it's 75 degrees inside. Our one little window unit air conditioner can't keep up. It's finally dropped below 78 which is were it was when I came home at 6:00.

But, hey, we had chicken burritos for dinner and they were deeeelish. It's kinda sad how excited we all get for burrito night. Sad, but man, we love it!

we..are..melting...

Here is what the Weather Channel is saying right now...

current temp: 98 degrees
humidity: 42%
feels like: 108 degrees
Tonight's low: 80 degrees

Thank the Lord above for blessing us with a wonderful breeze, but it's like a blast of hot air out of the oven. You walk outside and instantly begin sweating. The kids are in the pool right now and staying wet as much as they can. Everyone seems to be moving in slow motion. I love summer, but this heat and humidity are unbearable!

Can't wait for this heat wave to break....

the magic of radio

Being my age, I can remember our family's first VCR, first DVD player, first CD player (for my birthday and it was exciting!). We had tons of records, the black vinyl kind that would get scratched and catch on the same part over and over. We wore out many a cassette tape. But my favorite of all of these was "Adventures in Odyssey."
Odyssey was created by Focus on the Family. It was a radio drama which now has hundreds of episodes, is celebrating it's 20th anniversary this year. My parents bought us our first set of "adventures" for Christmas one year. There is still a photo of us crowded around that plastic box of cassette tapes with our eyes gleaming. That set was followed by many more. Of course, now, they are only available on CD's. But there was something about sticking that tape into the tape deck and hearing it snap shut and pressing the play button with a big clunk. The rest of the world faded away and I was whisked away to Odyssey where I could go to Whit's End and get a soda, visit the Imagination Station, go to the Bible room or the Little Theater. It was magical.
We wore those tapes out on family vacations. All 5 of us, staring blankly (except my dad who was driving) out the windows as we listened to the newest adventure. When I read the stories of Esther and Ruth and Elijah in the Bible now, I picture them in the way that Odyssey helped me imagine them. My mom even bought me a new set of the CD's a not too long ago for Christmas, and I've listened to them over and over.

A couple years ago, I went to Colorado with a big group of friends. One of the things we did when we were in Colorado Springs was go to Focus on the Family. We did a tour of the facility and sat in Dr. Dobson's recording chair in the audio studio. Then we went to Whit's End. So cool! They had set everything up for parents to be able to come and let their kids wander around the Odyssey they heard about. There was a real Whit's End with sodas and ice cream. There was a little theater where you could put on a show. There was Kid's Radio where you can record your own little show. I LOVED it! I ran around and played and enjoyed every minute of it. And I was about 27 years old....

The great thing about Odyssey is you don't have to be a kid to love them. So, if you haven't ever heard an episode of Adventures in Odyssey....

Listen here for free
Find a radio station in your area that plays it
Buy one of the series sets
Learn about how the whole thing came about.

the beginning of the end

This is our final week of camp for 2007. How in the world did it go by so fast? 8 whole weeks. 2 whole months gone. So many memories. So much sun. So little rain! So much snack shop.
I'm hoping to soak in every moment I can and try to live in the present and not worry about next week when it will be very quiet around here.
Last week, I had some quality time with our day campers and had to write down some of their little "quotes" so I wouldn't forget. For instance...

"What is your painting?"
"It's my bunny (he came with a stuffed bunny that day)."
"Why does he have "X's" for eyes?"
"cause he died. He drank poison and died."
to which another little guy said..."why didn't you just give him human food like hamburgers?"

They are just too cute. I'm going to miss them so much! I wish that I still had their overactive imagination and a belief that the world was full of magic and fun. They teach me so much each day.

Thursday nights

Thursday evenings are one of my favorite nights of camp.
I had a long day today. Busy, busy. One thing to the next. Busy, but good. I took a 15 minute power nap and then jumped up and headed over to chapel. I knew it would make me feel better.
On Thursday nights, we do combined worship with our juniors (7-10 yrs old) and seniors (11-15 yrs old). That means that everyone crams into our largest meeting room to do praise and worship together before separating for their speaker. 140 kids crammed into one room. Plus all of the counselors and other random staff that slide in the door. It's close to 200 people. And it's usually hot and smells of sweaty kids.
But the moment the guitar begins to play and the leader begins singing, it is my favorite part of the week. I wish that you could all hear the kids singing. They sing with everything they have. They scream and laugh and have fun. They sing about Jesus and how He loves them and died for them. Many of them have never heard the gospel and many may never hear it again. But for that half hour, they sing those songs with all their might.
Throughout the week, I will hear kids singing the same songs in random places like the floating pier waiting for the tubes, on the banana boat, in line at snack shop. I love it...
Thursday night chapel always makes me tear up. I know that God must be walking among us smiling and just enjoying every moment of us lifting His name high and enjoying it! It's just a little taste of heaven. A small taste, but one that is a perfect encouragement for us weary camp staff. Kids singing to God. Can it get any better?!

look deeper

Don't let this seemingly normal photo fool you. There is super cool story behind it (read below it to find out). I instantly put it into my Flickr favorites, just so I could read it again and again.
Kinda reminds me of one of my favorite young adult novels. (have I previously mentioned my love of children's literature?! i can spend hours in the kids section of B&N)