spilling out

I miss writing.
Oh, how I miss it.

I miss mixing words together.
Stringing thoughts into paragraphs.
Thinking up the best word to exactly fit what I am thinking or feeling.

I miss the click-click-click of the keyboard as I type.
I miss the scratch of the pen on the paper of my journal.
I miss re-reading the words that spill out.

These things, and so many more, I miss so much.
I've always been a big writer.
Stories, journal entries, blog posts.
Since I was a little girl, I had to find a way to get the words out of my head and on to something tangible.

I start to feel a bit crazy when I can't write.
Like my mind is completely filled and the faucet needs to open up and empty everything out.
I run around looking for pen and paper and just start writing.
Everything comes spilling out.
Word after glorious word.
It's fantastic.

Anyway,
I miss writing here.
So very much.
Just wanted to tell you that.

on my radar

I have a small semi-life outside of camp during the summertime.  

Okay, not really, but I like to pretend I do.

Here are a few things on my radar as of late:

Amazon MP3's and Cloud Player app for iphone ~ this is, like, one of my favorite things all summer.  The app was just released for iphones a few weeks ago and it is already my favorite, besides Instagram, of course.  

Great things about it?  Well, #1: it's not itunes (itunes = my extreme dislike) #2: Amazon gives away free music/free music credits all...the...time.  I have 41 one songs (including two full albums) in my cloud right now and I paid about $2 for all of it.  Follow @amazonmp3 on Twitter for all the freebie info.  They were giving out $3 mp3 credits just last week.  

Music I'm loving right now:  The Bloom album by Beach House (99 cent sale on Amazon) and the new Cornerstone album from Hillsong Live (99 cents after $3 in free credits).  Plus Rivers and Roads by The Head and the Heart (sniff, sniff, Chuck) and some Ingrid too.  

TV:  Our DVR died, you guys.  Sad, sad day.  We lost all of Downton season 2 and a bunch of Sherlock episodes and my favorite Emma that the BBC did a few years ago.  Ugh.  Plus, Dish (our current provider) dropped AMC.  Not okay.  No Walking Dead or Mad Men?  Not okay at all.   

I've watched very little TV recently (besides my Dr Quinn marathon when I was sick 2 weeks ago).  Truly, it just hasn't been appealing lately.  I've watched a few episodes of White Collar season 3, and they were fantastic.  That's a great summer show.  I love recommending that show to people who need something to watch.  

Books:  I am now currently in the middle of 5.  Wool by Hugh Howey (a self published book I found on Amazon and downloaded to my Kindle).  The Girl Who Could Fly by Victoria Forester (not to be confused by The Boy Who Could Fly, the 1980's Disney Channel movie that I watched about 45 times as a child.  anyone else?) The Story Girl by L.M. Montgomery (free on my Kindle). Searching for God Knows What by Donald Miller (I will finish it this summer and return it to you, my dear brother.  I will.).  And I just started The Soulkeepers by G.P Ching (free through Amazon Prime on my Kindle).  I like variety.  Always been one of those people who is in the middle of a bunch of books at once.  And I'm still loving my Kindle.  

Treat:  My favorite thing at snack shop right now is Horizon's Chocolate Milk.  Good gracious, it's delicious. A perfect bit of chocolate without all the calories and fat that are in candy.  

Movies:  I've seen two movies lately and both were just ho-hum.  I think The Avengers ruined me for the summer.  It's bad to start out with the best one because everything else just pales in comparison.  The two "ho-hum's" were Brave (it was fine, but didn't wow me like most Pixar movies do. ex: Wall*E and Up) and The Beasts of the Southern Wild (it didn't live up to the ridiculous hype it's been getting).  The Dark Knight Rises is up next.  Oh, and I watched The Artist again and it was just as lovely the second time.  

Podcast obsession:  A few months ago, I found Kevin Pollack's Chat Show by way of hearing that a certain Zachary would be on it.  After listening to his episode, I dove in head first into the library of over a 100 other interviews, downloading them and listening to them constantly.  I just finished Damon Lindelof's, and can I just tell you that I was entirely enthralled.  No joke.  It was fascinating to hear the story of how he became a writer for TV and ended up doing Lost.  I'll be listening to that one about 7 more times, I'm sure.  Nick Offerman's is also fantastic.  He is fascinating.  

****WARNING:  I would rate this show with a giant PG-13 or higher.  There are no censors online, so the language can be harsh at times.  You've been warned.  

Other than that, it's just been boat repairs, hot summer days, lots of sand and brackish water and a couple children.  Okay, more like 200 children.  I do love that summer is a completely different lifestyle for me.  I don't miss TV.  I don't get bored often.  I'm busy and investing in people and trying my hardest not to melt into a puddle.  My days are filled with things that most people dream about doing.  Driving boats and having conversations.  Getting snack shop treats and going to the pool.  Don't get me wrong.  It's tough and exhausting.  But I wouldn't trade it for any other summer job.....well, maybe a house sitter on Oahu's North Shore, but still.  This job is pretty fantastic.  

Side note:  It has taken me four days to post this.  If I could just get a decent internet connection... It's so incredibly frustrating.

the third week

Week #3 of Summer 14.

Week 3 turned out to be pretty crazy.  Why?
Well...

1) We started a day late because of the power outage caused by that crazy storm the Friday before.  First time I think that has ever happened and I hope it will be the last.

2). It was blazing hot.  I mean, I felt melted by 10am H-O-T.

3) I got sick with a yucky cold.  I realized just how sick I was when I was sitting on the beach on that hot Tuesday morning and I wasn't sweating.  It felt comfortable.  Fever.  Yes, indeed.  And I lost my voice too after all the yelling I do at the beach.  It still isn't back.  I miss it.

4) Lots of great conversations with the staff.  So very much younger than me, but oh, how I love them.  I just l-o-v-e them.

5) I got to spend a good chunk of time in our neighbor's backyard while my roommate was house sitting for them.  It's a dream of a back yard (Day 15).  A pond, full garden, green house, chickens, flowers everywhere.  I sat for a long time watching the frogs in the pond and wandering through the yard.  I didn't even mind the crazy hot evening.

6). The jellies are here.  They arrived with a vengeance this week. We didn't have a single jelly fish last summer.  Well, this summer is making up for that already.  They are everywhere.  And huge.  Some of them are the size of a dinner plate.  Jelly fish stings are happening constantly now.  I hate it because there is nothing you can do for a jellyfish sting to make it better. I feel so bad for the kids when it happens.


On to week 4.  Or Teen Week, as we call it.  Lots and lots of boating going on.  But it's only going to be in the temperature is only going to be in the upper 90's.  Bliss.

written everywhere

If only the Lord would write words on Target's parking garage walls.  

Imagine seeing the Psalms written all over the place.  

In the sky.

On the road.

On buildings and roof tops.

In ocean waves and sandy shores.

On rolling hills of green.

Sounds like a perfect idea for my next photography project....

Sweltering

Week #2 of my #campsummer14 project on Instagram.  

Because of the power outage last week, I couldn't post last weekend, so here it is a bit later.

Week 2 was lots of HOT days.  Close to 100 degrees mostly every single day.  Yes.  Hot.

I was talking to one of my camp co-workers about the weather the other day.  You know how people say that you talk about the weather if you can't think of anything else to mention?  It's like a safe topic of nothingness?  Well, when you spend 85% of your day outside, the weather becomes essential.  I check the updated forecast about 37 times a day.  Praying for rain (we haven't had a good rain in over a month).  Looking out for storms that would affect our activities on the waterfront.  Planning my day around the hottest part of the day if it's going to be sweltering.  Case in point:  the weather is important when you work outside all day. 

Week 2 was also one for the books because we had that crazy storm that knocked the power out on Friday night.  No running water.  Trying to feed the kids breakfast with no power.  No phones.  We managed (read: the Lord showered mercy upon us) to have one random phase stay on giving us limited electricity to get the necessities.  And we got two generators hooked up so that we could have running water.  

The campers were gone by 11am and we were left to die of heatstroke in the extreme heat.  Thankfully though, the kids were pretty much unaffected by the loss of power.  Had it happened a day or two earlier?  Nightmare.  But, as hard as it was the days that followed, the Lord was gracious and the damage was minimal.

And lastly, Week 2 was the week we had problems left and right with our boats.  Those two old workhorses are showing their age with a vengeance this year.  We haven't had two boat working simultaneously even once this summer.  It's been tough, but again, the Lord is gracious and we've been able to move the schedule around and get all the kids through their activities with just one boat.


So there we go.
A quick re-cap.
Week 2.
Over and out.

Zombie apocalypse

When I look back over the past few days, I realize why it seemed so entirely overwhelming:

Friday Night 11pm: the power goes out during one of the worst thunderstorms I've ever witnessed. I literally thought the cottage roof would blow off. Tree branches and trees crashed down.

Saturday morning: try to feed 120 kids breakfast with no power. Initial clearing of debris from walkways.

The rest of Saturday: temperature soars to 100. No AC or fans. Venture out into town, but it's like a zombie apocalypse happened. No working streetlights. Flares all over the roads. Grocery stores with empty selves and no power. Restaurants crammed with people trying to stay cool.
Go to a neighbors house for a party. They still had power and blessed AC. Sleep at this house because the cottage is now 90 degrees inside.

Sunday: No church because there is no power there. Fight the 500 other people at Panera trying to get breakfast at one of the few shops with power in the area. Temperature is close to 100 again.
Call every family that is supposed to be coming to camp that night to tell them we don't have power and can't have camp. On our cell phones because we don't have working phones. Every single family for 170 kids.
Have a meeting with the staff asking them to go to a house with power because we can't take care of them.
Sleep at neighbor's house again still too hot to go home. Get sore throat.

Monday: wake up with a cold. Perfect. Start cleaning away debris at 8am. It takes 4 hours with 15 of us working.
Power finally restored!! Call back 170 families to tell them camp will open that night.
Clean out fridge full of spoiled food at the cottage.
6pm Registration for week 3.
10pm management meeting.
Cold now in epic form. No sleep. Watch TV and drink hot tea because medicine won't work.

Tuesday: morning activities on the beach. Try remain conscious, but now have a fever. Get coverage for the rest of the day and spend the afternoon and evening on the couch sleeping, drinking water and watching lots and lots of Dr. Quinn. (I love you DVR). In the AC. Glorious AC.

I'm so ready for things to get back to normal. And I'm also incredibly thankful the Lord kept us safe during that crazy storm. Now I just need to feel better...