I'm Your Satellite--

have you ever tried out Google Earth?
if not...you should.
i was introduced to it through the class i just finished.
it's a neat little (or big) program.

• it's all based on satellite imagery.
• you can type in a location and it'll take you there.
• it tells you how far away from the earth you are at any given point. like what your eye altitude is...so neat!
  
• you can save your own little maps.
• you can see things halfway around the world.
• some things are in 3-d!
• it tells you your location (latitude and longitude).
  
• you can put borders around things.
• you can even see what's going on around the world. like different movements. like different villages that have been burnt down in Darfur.
  
• there are photos loaded in.
• you know how far above sea level you are.
  
• tons of information available.
  

here are some of my favorite places:

Jenness Park, in lovely California...can ya see it? huh? huh?

Nashville, TN (like anyone needed to know that)...

Ridgecrest, NC...Fuge #1 (2006).

Chicago, Illinois...

St. Louie!!!

i just really like it.
you should try it out.
(please note that all of the above photos are direct shots from google earth...)

I Dare You to Move

i dare you to move
i dare you to lift yourself up off the floor.

i let myself go through the motions.

somedays i'm content with where i'm at.

somedays i'm not.
and i don't think that's a bad thing...

but there are times when the motions control me.
i don't move myself.
i let the motions dictate where i am and what i feel.

i let the motions dictate me.

i don't want to be that person.
it's time to move.
it's time to do something.

i dare you to move
i dare you to move
like today never happened before.
maybe redemption has stories to tell.
maybe forgiveness is right where you fell.
where can you run to escape from yourself?
where you gonna go?
salvation is here.

What Else Can I Do?

I've recently taken up being a procrastinator.
And by recently, I mean, I've been one since at least 6th grade.

Things I've done today [besides my actual homework]:

vacuum. [yes, i was wearing that exact outifit.]


organize my whole paper/pen/marker/paint supply corner.

write in my journal.


dance around my room.


color.


unload groceries with my momma.


listen to loads of music.

Happy MLK Jr. day, folks.

I Spell It Like This: Moustache.

Last night I saw a dog with what seemed to be a handlebar moustache.
The dog's hair was a light brown, the but the moustache hair was visibly black.
I couldn't get over it.

Enjoy.

The anatomy of a handlebar moustache.

They come in different colors.


They can be somewhat normal.

Or just plain outlandish...



Who knew they could be multi-tiered?

Most of me wishes that no-shave November would lead to more men looking like this.

you can do it all by yourself--

let me see ya do it.
let me see ya do it.

i've got a new step.
and sometimes it doesn't look like it's going anywhere.
and sometimes it doesn't make sense to other people.
and sometimes it just looks a hot mess.

but the thing is...i've got a new step.

i may not know what the dance looks like...
but i'm going to enjoy learning the moves,
moving and stepping to the rhythm,
and hearing the music deep down in my soul.

snap ya finger.
do ya step.

it just takes some time...

little girl, you're in the middle of the ride.
everything, everything will be just fine.
everything, everything will be alright.


two times today i was reminded of these lyrics.
and more than two times today, i knew that everything would be alright.

things to look forward to:
*using google earth
*birthday extravaganzas
*a new season of 24
*getting Lost with the Oceanic 6
*taking it easy on the travel...staying put for once
*losing weight on purpose
*a new (possibly improved) haircut
*being one semester closer to having my master's
*hearing about Fuge placements
*a new dress
*a Friday night wedding in Memphis
*a Jenness Park Fuge reunion as result of said wedding
*roommate reunion with Sarah and Candace!
*my future career
*endless possibilities
*new episode Tuesdays
*loving...hurting...and loving in spite of that hurt
*cheerleading competitions with my girls
*Bible study training weekend
*seeing Candace twice in one month!
*growth and learning


everything, everything will be alright.
alright.

dancing, Dancing, DANCIN'

she's a dancin' machine.

sometimes i forget just how much fun it can be to just let loose and have fun with friends.
these pictures make me smile.

erin and i dancin' up a storm at the coldplay concert in washington, dc on halloween!

jared, trav, me, scottie and susan on the gorge before anna's wedding...laughs!

jared and me doing what we do.

So I Can Import Other Slides?

Rundown: I'm in graduate school. I'm getting my Master's degree in education, and when I'm done I'll be certified to teach...

Tonight: I went to class. In Belleville (over an hour away) because I had to make up a class I missed a few weeks ago...anyway...

WHO KNEW POWERPOINT WAS SUCH A DIFFICULT THING?
I mean, it must be difficult
if we spent three hours (of a four hour class)
talking about it, right?

Three hours. Talking about PowerPoint.
There is something inherently wrong about that.

Questions covered:
-How do I make all of the backgrounds the same color?
-How do I change the color of the hyperlink
-How do I print off slides?
-When I print off slides, is there anyway I can print the notes section with it?
-So, I can import other slides...like, slides from some other file?


America: This is what I'm doing to get my Master's. Paying money. Talking about PowerPoint. It doesn't get much better than that.

OT Stands for Old Testament

i've been spending a lot of time in the old testament lately.
and i've fallen in love with it.

i have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. --genesis 9:13

is anything too hard for the Lord? --genesis 18:14

...for God has been gracious to me and i have ALL I NEED. --genesis 33:11

you intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. --genesis 50:19

God said to moses, "i am who i am." --exodus 3:14a

"who gave man his mouth? who makes him deaf or mute? who gives him sight or makes him blind? is it not i, the Lord? now go; i will help you speak and will teach you what to say." --exodus 4:11-12

"this is what the Lord, the God of the hebrews, says: 'how long will you refuse to humble yourself before me?..." --exodus 10:3b

the Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still. --exodus 14:14

the Lord is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. --exodus 15:2

then the Lord said to moses..."they have been quick to turn away from what i commanded them and have made themselves an idol..." --exodus 32:8

and the Lord said, "i will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and i will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. i will have mercy on whom i will have mercy, and i will have compassion on whom i will have compassion. but, you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live." --exodus 33:19-20

"the Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished..." --exodus 34:6-7a

fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed the burnt offereing and the fat portions on the altar. and when all the people saw it, they shouted for joy and fell facedown. --leviticus 9:24

'i am the Lord your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because i am holy...' --leviticus 11:44a

'i will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people. i am the Lord your God, who brought you out of egypt so that you would no longer be called slaves to the egyptians; i broke the bars of your yoke and enabled you to walk with heads held high.' --leviticus 26:13

but the people grew impatient on the way; they spoke against God and against moses, and said, "why have you brought us up out of egypt to die in the desert? there is no bread! there is no water! and we detest this miserable food!" then the Lord sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many israelites died...so moses prayed for the people. the Lord said to moses, "make a snake and put it on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live..." then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, he lived. --numbers 21:4b-9

"God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. does he speak and then not act? does he promise and not fulfill? i have received a command to bless; he has blessed, and i cannot change it." --numbers 23:19-20

do not add to what i command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the Lord your God that i give you. --deuteronomy 4:2

for the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God. --deuteronomy 4:24

acknowledge and take to heart this day that the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth below. there is no other. --deuteronomy 4:39

go near and listen to all that the Lord our God says. then tell us whatever the Lord our God tells you. we will listen and obey. --deuteronomy 5:27

fear the Lord your God, serve him only. --deuteronomy 6:13

observe the commands of the Lord your God, walking in his ways and revering him. --deuteronomy 8:6

and now, o israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to live him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the Lord's commands and decrees that i am giving you today for your own good?...for the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. he defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing...fear the Lord your God and serve him. hold fast to him and take your oaths in his name. he is your praise; he is your God, who performed for you those great and awesome wonders you saw with your own eyes. --deuteronomy 10:12-21

fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates, so that your days and the days of your children may be many... --deuteronomy 11:18-21a

and you are to rejoice before the Lord your God in everything you put your hand to. --deuteronomy 12:18b

do not pervert justice or show partiality. do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous. follow justice and justice alone, so that you may live and possess the land thae Lord your God is giving you. --deuteronomy 16:19-20

you must be blameless before the Lord your God. --deuteronomy 18:13

the secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law. --deuteronomy 29:29

now choose life...for the Lord is your life... --deuteronomy 30:19b, 20b


and that's just the first few books!
i love that the old testament is full of history, people actually conversing with God, laws, the sin of the people, and deliverance...it's such a beautiful story of the God of creation and his people...it is a constant reminder of the loving, merciful, jealous God that i serve...

You Can Find Me in St. Louie...

i made a pretty sweet mix-cd.
and an art project to go along with it.
read it and weep, folks.

Augustana Got It Right

i think i'll go to Boston...
i think i'll start a new life,
i think i'll start it over, where no one knows my name,
i'll get out of California, i'm tired of the weather,
i think i'll get a lover and fly em out to Spain...

if only it wasn't so difficult.
here's to starting over...