dear vermillion, i have missed you...

wow -- once again, it has been some time since i last posted anything here. in my defense, things have been pretty crazy around here for the last month. i have been settling into my new apartment, which is amazing and quiet. i have also been working for state farm -- a continuation of my summer internship -- and have been attempting to prepare for classes and get back into a routine.

this has been a summer of change for me, and i have a feeling this year will be a major growing period for me as well. it IS my senior year of college, after all. :) BUT -- that is a completely different and much more complex topic.

on a more exciting note (at least for me), i forgot how much i love vermillion. this town has so many unique and wonderful things to offer. on saturday morning, a few friends and i walked in nikki's fund 5k. the event was planned to raise suicide awareness and raise funds to assist students at my university who are in crisis with depression and are considering suicide. the damage this horrible phenomenon has done and the impact the event has on this community did not hit me until the balloon release took place. during this time, i saw the pain on the faces of those impacted as well as hope for the future. the strong sense of purpose and community at that event was undeniable.

on a less somber note, vermillion has some of the coolest shops and businesses. so many times i have taken these for granted. on friday, e and i went to a few thrift stores in town. i spent quite a bit of money on our excursion, but my finds were amazing! at one thrift store right outside of town, i bought a little table for my living room for $3 and an amazing blue and white vintage set of dishes for $20. total steals!! at another thrift store, i found some unique jewelry -- an owl brooch, a beautiful cross pendant which i nailed to the doorpost of my apartment entrance, a peaceful dove necklace from 1974, and a pendant with a cute little bird. i was so excited about my purchases. we also have a great guatemalan fair trade store called "sharing the dream." all proceeds go to artisans in guatemala. i do not usually feel too guilty about purchasing items here simply because my money is going to a good cause. however, i did not expect to walk out with three items -- a beautiful blue and white purse, an embroidered tunic, and earrings. i am hoping to post photos soon!

saturday morning also "reintroduced" me to jones food center and mr. smith's. oh, how i love thee!! mr. smith's is a bakery/cafe/catering/etc business. the bread and sandwiches are absolutely mind-blowing. so much so that oprah named it the home to america's greatest bread a few years ago. my friends and i ate breakfast there after the 5k, and it was glorious. i also love love love the fact that jones has rows (yes, plural) of organic food. since being back in south dakota, i have missed the variety of food available in illinois stores.

well... i suppose i have rambled enough for one night. this must be what occurs when one does not blog for ages. hopefully, this will not be the case anymore.

good night, dears.

the song i cannot get out of my head...

no matter what i do, i cannot get this song out of my head. it will be my favorite song at least for the next few days. :) the rest of his stuff is amazing as well, and his station is the newest on my list of 90ish pandora.com stations. (blush)

"under my skin" by peter bradley adams

she whispers to me
she whispers her secrets to me
and i feel her breath as it brushes my cheek
and her voice is the only sound i hear

and if i don't move
she pulls me off of my bed
and she makes me dance to the songs in my head
and it's late, but please just sing it again

she's under my skin
she's under my skin

and if i say no
she kisses the scar on my chin
and before i can speak, we're dancing again
we turn, and spin right out of control

wherever she goes
she carries a smile in her hand
like a thief, she can steal any grin that she can
and i watch, i wait, to see her again

she's under my skin
she's under my skin
she's under my skin
she's under my skin
under my skin

so beautiful!

night all. :)

this is all i have...

all,

"the sweetest moment on this road is moving forward, not knowing where to go." - "if i'm brave" by alli rogers

this is all i have for tonight. it pretty much sums up everything going on in my head and in life right now.

night.

eek! it has been forever...

hi all. :)

i hope the last weekend was as restful for you as it was for me. i literally did NOTHING! it was beautiful. i definitely needed the peace and quiet after a crazy crazy week of yab. i love the board, but four-ish straight days of going nonstop was enough to exhaust anyone. i would not trade it for anything, though.

as i said, i did pretty much nothing over the weekend other than catch up on sleep, read a bit, watch some movies, and hang out with my friends and fellow yabbies, a and p. it has been so long since i have watched a movie. this weekend we went to see public enemies in the theater. so freakin' good! johnny depp and christian bale were amazing. i definitely believe having some background knowledge about john dillinger and company helped, but regardless, it was still an amazing movie. i also watched the french film, amelie, and nick and norah's infinite playlist. both i would recommend to anyone. i am planning on hunting down the soundtrack to n&n. :) i finished off the weekend the right way with funny face, an audrey hepburn movie. all and all, a great weekend.

unfortunately, i am learning more and more that when i spend a weekend in the peace and quiet with noone to disrupt my thoughts, my mind decides to go into overdrive. this week, so far, has been one of overanalyzing and overthinking EVERYTHING. i went for an amazing drive sunday evening. one hour driving out into the country -- windmills and cornfields -- with the beatles accompanying me. usually this seems to quiet my mind a bit, but it was seemingly counterproductive. diligently, i will need to search for a way to calm my mind a bit.

because i have not blogged in so long, i have so much to say. that being said, i am simply going to keep it simple and add a few photos/lines/etc of what i am reading, listening to, etc. enjoy. :)




What I'm watching:


What I'm reading:



What I'm listening to:


New favorite blog: http://marfatrip.com/



just bits and pieces of my life. :)

night all.

currently reading...

... and yes, there are three books here. :)

random acts of kindness...

"each small act of kindness reverberates across great distances and spans of time, affecting lives unknown to the one whose generous spirit was the source of the good echo, because kindness is passed on and grows each time it is passed, until simple courtesy becomes an act of selfless courage years later and far away." - deab koontz, the character of h.r. white in "from the corner of his eye"

this evening, i was able to receive a small random act of kindness. story to come...

i will start tonight's blog post by apologizing for being incredibly m.i.a. in the last week or so. it has been absolutely crazy around here. keeps me out of trouble, i guess.

tonight, i finally was able to go on a long-awaited dinner date with k. we had been talking about this for quite some time, and it happened! woot! the first week of our internship, he promised me dinner at cosi. my schedule has been super hectic, but today we were determined to go. when we got there, the sign said it closes at 3pm. after brainstorming restaurants, k decided we should go to cj's out by the private airport. fast forward an hour or so... we were getting ready to head out, and the waiter comes by our table. we assume he will give us the bill, but instead, he tells us that an anonymous benefactor paid for our meal, and we are leave whenever we please. i was absolutely shocked, and neither of us could figure out who paid for our meal. random acts of kindness such as these remind me of the good in this world. definitely puts a smile on my face and gives me an extra boost of hope.

pass it on...

night all.

it's been awhile...

hey all...

i did not realize how long it has been since i have posted, but it definitely has been awhile. last weekend i found myself in d.c. with a few others from the yab. there we represented the board at the impact network academy through america's promise. it was an amazing opportunity to network and brainstorm. i always find myself at a loss for words when i see the youth leaders who are making such an incredible positive impact.

along with the academy, i had the fortune of going out on the town in d.c. to see all the memorials and such. beings this was my first time there, my friends took me out both nights. it was breathtaking, and i found (minus the major traffic) myself really liking the city. little things for me were novel -- riding the metro, walking the streets by george washington campus, things like that.

moving on... i will post some of my photos here later, but in the meantime, it is time for bed. i am exhausted. hopefully i have more to say next time. :)

night all.

the videos i promised...

great find...

i am just posting something quick while i take a brief study break. during a break at work today, i found a great blog on the times site. enjoy. :)

http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/

one thing before i head for bed...

bah!!! why, why, why do i always seem to run out of time to blog?! i am heading for bed soon so i can get up early to study for my legal environment of business class. i am getting anxious about it because i still have quite a bit of work ahead of me while also worrying about hoby and my trip to d.c. this weekend. i just keep telling myself that it will all get done ... it always does.

i am very excited about d.c. (even though i am a tad bit worried). just another place to add to my "places traveled list." granted, i will not get to do much site seeing, it will still be a great experience.

on a more random note, tomorrow i will post a few videos highlighting on of my fellow yabbies and i riding her bicycle inside. it is pretty amazing. :)

and... on another note, i had a really great talk tonight with a friend. a good portion of the conversation was about spirituality and religion. i love quotes, and i have a bumper sticker with a great one from Jonathan Swift on my wall next to my bed.

"we have just enough religion to make us hate, but not enough religion to make us love one another." - jonathan swift

granted, this may not be the most relevant quote in terms of our conversation, but i really do love this quote. think about it a bit...

night all.

running out of time tonight...

once again, i am running out of time tonight to post anything of any major substance. hopefully, i can start researching a bit more and find some really cool articles (like this one) to post. in the meantime, quotes and random thoughts will suffice.

today was quite enjoyable. i really enjoy work, and i am beginning to feel more settled. we'll see what tomorrow brings. i have a lot of homework left to do for my online class, and hoby is coming up next month...still so much to do with that! i am not panicked yet because i know how these things work. everything seems to fall into place at the last minute with these things. i just need to get through each week as it comes. i have learned a lot this year, and taking each day at a time and living in the moment is the way to go. granted, my head knows this... my heart does not always listen. well, i have now begun to ramble and babble and say all things that make no sense. on that note, i will leave you all with one of my favorite quotes. it is one i have posted right next to my bed so i see it every night before i go to bed and every morning when i wake up. :)

"finish each day and be done with it. you have done what you could; some blunders and absurdities have crept in; forget them as soon as you can. tomorrow is a new day; you shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense."
- ralph waldo emerson

night all.

currently listening to...

too exhausted...

i'm pretty tired and my head hurts from thinking too much about things today. that said, i will simply share a few short words of wisdom i came across today.

my friend, dan, is amazing. i swear he always knows what to say and when to say it. tonight, i was searching for some advice or profound insight and ran across old texts i received from him. below are some words he has shared with me.

"we can learn something in every situation---what are you learning?"

night all.

currently reading...

it was on my to do list...really...

so here it is... my first post. i've been meaning to blog for some time. originally, i was intending to use this to document my summer internship, but instead, i decided that it should be free-flowing -- including anything i find that is interesting, things that happen during my time spent in illinois this summer, etc. on that note, be prepared for my randomness... my first and only warning! :)

i'm struggling at the moment to find motivation. currently, i am taking full-time summer classes while interning at state farm. i love what i am doing, but at the same time, really would not mind having at least a taste of summer before i find myself back in the classroom in a few short months. i have found a coffee shop called Coffee Hound within walking distance of where i am living for the summer, and i am looking forward to visiting it tomorrow so i can work in peace. it has been too long since i have studied in a coffee shop...FAR too long.

with that said, it just dawned on me that it is after 11pm (11:11...make a wish!), and i must wake up early tomorrow for work, which i love A LOT!

good night all!