Romance...

What is romance?

I looked it up online and the first definition is "a relationship between two lovers".
Kind of disappointing to me.
Why you ask?
Well, I'll tell you why.
I have found that I have been using, or thinking the word "romance" or "romantic" lately... now, now, don't be like my Grandma Bertha and start asking me if I have found my man yet, just listen. 

This is "romance" in my opinion...

To me, the idea of Peter Pan is romantic. 
The way that petals fall on the ground and their pale colors contrasted by the green grass... is romantic. 
The way the ocean is constantly changing colors, and teasing the sand... is romantic.
Mysterious wood-elves who have long flowing hair and wear wildflowers in their hair... are romantic. 
I just think that the beautiful things in life, that take my breath away, and make me sigh contentedly... are romantic.

I guess, now that I think of it, the definition I found does suit my feelings... because I just feel completely romanced by God right now.
He is captivated by my attention, and I am by His.
He loves surprising me, and taking my breath away.
He thinks of me day and night.
He constantly wishes to share special moments with me.
We share secret inside-jokes.
I tell Him my deepest fears, my highest dreams, and my thoughts about this day.
He is constantly giving me gifts - seeing five Kingfishers at once, petting a puppy on a special day, planting a flower in my yard, whispering sweet words in my ear while we are walking in the park... 
He is so romantic.

My God is incredible.
And I love Him with all my heart.

Read this and tell me that this is the most romantic thing in the world - because it is.
It's beautiful.
Proverbs 30:4, b
"Who holds the wind in his fists? Who wraps up the ocean in his cloak?"
My beautiful, sweet, lovely, caring, romantic Saviour - that's who.

Clumsy and Embarassing Moment # 8,827

I've never had a guy wink at me before. Until today.
I've never fallen up the stairs. Until today.

I'm walking up the stairs to go to my table on the third floor of the Library.
And this guy is rounding the corner to come down the stairs.
He stops just at the top of the stairs, grins... and winks.
Well, I have never had that happen before. And it shocked me.
So what did I do?
Stare at him with my mouth wide open, gaping in surprise, and stumble. up. the. stairs.
Great. Not only was I feeling really embarassed and awkward from the wink, but now I get to add to my feelings the sheer mortification of almost falling down - going up the stairs.
Sigh...
My life is average awkward.

I Heart Old Men... and Shuffleboard.

Today I finished up my volunteer hours (ten hours for a social work class) at the Weak Center/Senior Citizen Center. I went expecting to help cook meals, sort paperwork, clean something, etc. Instead, I spent two hours with the dearest old men in the world, watching them play Shuffleboard. It was one of the best "time-well spent" mornings I have had in a while. It was fun to talk to people with so many good memories, watch a game being played that wasn't aggressively competitive, *chucles to self*, and constantly being handed candies while being told I was beautiful.

NOTE: To all girls who need a self-confidence boost, go to the Senior Citizen's Center. You will be fed tons of chocolate and sweets (we always love that), told that you are too pretty to be in the company of these old son-of-a-guns, and asked why you haven't married their grandsons yet.

As I'm sitting there I was suddenly hit with how much I miss my Granmpa Sooter. He died 2 years ago this month, my Freshman year of college. No, I didn't get to see him every day (almost all my family lives in California), and no, I didn't call him every other day... but I still loved my Grampa and was very close to him. And sitting there today made me think of all the good times we had feeding the seagulls or playing Rummy, and just brought back to mind all the little things I have forgotten.

Here's a list of what I observed today... all sweet and most reminded me of Grampa Sooter (I am adding just a few other observations that I found to be sweet or funny.)

• their names -- When I think of older gentlemen I think of the names that these old men had: CM, Brice, Bob, Bud, and Skeeter... My grandpa's name was Doc...
• wet, chewed-up toothpicks hanging out of the corner of a mouth...
• when sitting and crossing their legs, their slacks come up above the top of their socks...
• a folded hankerchief seen sticking out of the pocket...
• an old man with a long white beard sticking his head out of the billiards room to shout to those playing chair volleyball, "On tv all the chicks wear bikini's! Why dontcha try that! A-hee hee hee!"... he then ducks back through the doorway before all the indignant (and secretly pleased) ladies start yelling at him and calling him, "a perverted, old, buzzard!"...
• how Bud (my favorite person there) makes faces behind Skeeter's back because Skeeter just made a good shot while playing Shuffleboard...
• Brice telling me about how he went back to college after being out for 29 years... and he "bested all o' them young whippersnappers there" and made the Dean's List...
• old-knarled hands that have seen years of hard work...
• jokes that really aren't funny but everyone still howls with laughter because of the personality of the individual who told the joke...
• the slang used: "let er' rip dip!", "wild as a barn-bird", and "hang onto your teeth!"...
• old men who seem rude and crotchety, but as they walk by they stick out their tongue, cross their eyes, and wink at you -- quickly returning to their original seemingly-grouchyness before someone sees and ruins their reputation...
• Bud fake jogging back to his seat, where Elsie shouts out, "You are acting like a little boy!!" Bud then shouts back with a gruff tone, "But I AM a little boy! Yippee!" (Can anyone say "perfect candidate for the real Peter Pan"?)...
• old faded ballcaps sporting their favorite baseball team...
• talk of the good old days... and who turned out exactly like their mother or father...
• card playing... Grampa and I played cards every time we were together.
• Bob sweetly talking of  his "pretty lady" that makes me understand the phrase, "I want to grow old with you"...
• spots of dark, black coffee that was dribbled on the fronts of their old long-sleeved polos...
• hands covered with band-aids...
• CM shuffling his feet and calling it a jig...
• the smell of lefterover cigarsmoke and peppermint candies left in pockets to give to visiting children (the word "children" is not determined by age... since I came home with my pockets stuffed with gum and candy...)

Even though I left feeling like I needed to see my Grampa and knowing that I couldn't, today was a great day. Hopefully my classes next year will require more volunteer hours... if not, I might have to make a fake certificate calling myself the "Official Shuffleboard Score Keeper" and go back every once in a while.

She Has a Name...

     I'm laying in my bed with the covers pulled up to my chin. My eyes are closed and my thoughts have drifted away down a lazy, clear-blue river that flows across a carpt of velvet black fabric and fades into the stars. I'm on the brink of falling completely under Sleep's spell when someone puts their hand on my shoulder. Not wanting to give them the attention they are wanting, I turn over on my side. The hand is taken off, and the person moves into my sight. Her name is Creativity and she has come to wake me up.


     To me, she is thin, willowy, made of silver and shining white thread and gives off a small glow. To others she appears differently. I have heard that Creativity sometimes comes as an elf -- maybe a short little Christmas elf wearing a onesie the color of an evergreen forest, sporting a peppermint jacket and brown leather boots. But to me, she is a lady of mystique.

     Now that I see who it is, I raise myself up on my elbows. "What do you want?", I whisper into the darkness. "I want to show you something" she croones in my ear. By now, since I am nearing the age of 21 and have already recieved many nightly visits by this annoying beauty, I know what is coming. Sighing and showing slight impatience I tell her that, although I appreciate her efforts and the generous gift of crafty ideas, I would rather sleep right now. I did not want to end up like my cousin, who awoke at Creativity's nudge to go make wrapping paper and rewrap ALL the presents under the Christmas tree at two o'clock in the morning. Oh no! I am MUCH too smart to fall for her silky voice... which last time told me to go Google recipes and ideas for ornate Gingerbread Houses at 11:00 P.M (my bedtime is 9:30). Knowing that I have smartly hinted that she should return another day, I roll onto my stomach with the pillow balled up under my chin.


     I then spend the next two hours planning how to make a rag rug. Staring at the wall in front of me I contemplate what colors I am going to use, what size crochet hook would work best, what rug shape would be the easiest or hardest to start off with, how big it should be to fit in my room, and how much longer it would be until the nearest fabric store opened so I could start. All the while, Creativity is stirring quietly in the corner of my room, twirling her hair with a finger, shoulders shaking with silent, joy-filled laughter.

"These Are a Few of My Favorite Things..."

1. My God
2. His taste in color
3. His provisions and plans for me
4. His unconditional love.
5. People
6. Laffy Taffy Jokes
7. Starry Nights
8. The smell of a new book.
9. Cooking with fresh garlic.
10. Kids -- esp, Isaiah
11. Smiles
12. Blue skies with fluffy white clouds-- so that you can lay on your back and find shapes in them.
13. My pink pig pillow.
14. Flowing white skirts -- to twirl in.
15. Flowers in my hair.
16. Golden Retrievers
17. Christmas
18. Accoustic Guitar Worship.
19. Singing in the woods, alone, singing praises to God.
20. Christmas Trees
21. Writing opinion papers.
22. Being called a hippie.
23. Kittens bundled in baskets.
24. Watching a movie in a heap of down blankets and feathered pillows.
25. Reading a good book, preferably in one day.
26. Burying my feet in the sand, and then wiggling my toes.
27. Feeling protected and secure.
28. Flannel Pajama Pants
29. Making lists for everything... literally.
30. Azaleas
31. Blueberry Pomegranate Applesauce
32. Holding Sleeping Babies.
33. the color orange.
34. cute shoes.
35. bracelets made by, and given to you by friends.
36. making up new recipes... like my parmesian stuffed chicken breast.
37. gardening.
38. sidewalk chalk
39. families who homeschool
40. the look on people's faces when i tell them i have been homeschooled all my life.
41. oregon trail.
42. snow.
43. the idea of a semi-casual, barefooted wedding on the beach.
44. christmas music.
45. guy's cologne
46. scrapbooking accessories with birds on them.
47. brown flipflops with gold sequins
48. picnics
49. deep conversations
50. prom dresses.
51. other people's akward moments.
52. laughter.
53. pranks
54. complements
55. new mechanical pencils.
56. wind
57. the smell of spring
58. taking thirty minutes in walmart to smell all of the laundry detergent and fabric softner
59. painting chocolate
60. long curly hair
61. sitting outside with friends, doing nothing but talkng.
62. coffee mugs
63. disney movies -- but not dumbo or the fox and the hound
64. cheering people on in sports from the sidelines
65. fabric
66. watching movies with the subtitles on
67. my roommates waking me up in the morning by cuddling with me
68. wearing shorts right after i shave my legs
69. climbing trees.
70. robin hood -- he's one foxy fox!
71. teaching people something new
72. playing in the rain in a parking lot
73. spring time flowers -- daffodils, crocus, tulips, etc.
74. french twists (the hair-do, not the pastry)
75. dipping cookies in my coffee
76. the smell of my cocoa-nut deoderant
77. making arrowheads out of the flint i found on the buffalo river banks
78. sunday night church
79. thunderstorms
80. the kind of tired you feel when you get done making a snow man
81. backscratches
82. stickers -- preferably of disney princesses or birds.
83. dark blue or white toe nail polish (meaning only on toes)
84. lunch dates with a friend, one-on-one
85. babysitting
86. professors who write comments on your papers
87. going over my minutes monthly, after telling everyone that i hate talking on the phone
88. anything that smells minty
89. shaggy hair (on guys AND dogs)
90. being included in a secret or surprise
91. the rare and few nights i stay up till 2:00 AM to do something fun
92. catching crawdads and minnows in the creek
93. sitting on the porch at 6 AM, with coffee and my mom, listening to the birds wake up
94. tank tops
95. hearing a different language being spoken
96. collages
97. fresh raspberries, eaten on the beach after a piece of cheese and black olive pizza.
98. surprise parties thrown for me (hasn't happened yet... HINT HINT)
99. diving off the high dive
100. montages of people falling down (America'sFunniestHomeVideos)
101. my Mom
102. Getting a stain out of a white piece of clothing
103. card tricks
104. Calligraphy
105. testamonies
106. Four dollar movies at Walmart
107. christmas lights
108. the tooth fairy
109. finger paint
110. old movies
111. black and white with yellow polka-dots
112. rachel ray magazines
113. music by cory asbury
114. baby ducks
115. going to bed early
116. dancing to music while in my car
117. playing sardines in the curris center
118. popping my neck
119. a harvest moon
120. old, romantic, folk songs... like stuff by aubrey atwater
121. confetti
122. the smell of lemon furniture polish
123. ribbons in french braids
124. rolling down hills
125. making a wish on a dandelion -- if you can blow all the seeds off in one breath, your wish happens
126. playing with flower petals
127. sleeping under the stars

Lists and More Lists!

So today I was reading a blog written by my Aunt Julie. In this blog she referred to her love for lists...

I also have this love for making lists.
 I make lists for everything. Literally. I make my lists on post it notes, in notebooks, in the margins of my textbooks (in pencil, of course), in emails, on newspapers, or on the offering envelopes at church (I know, I know, that's not what they are for.) I write them on everything, and I am constantly making them. If I were paid a penny for every list that I made I would 1.) be a millionaire 2.) be able to pay for my college 3.) probably not go to grad-school and 4.) buy too many cook books and craft supplies. (Ha! Just realized, that's a list!)
So it's a good thing I don't get paid for making lists... :-)

Here are some examples of the lists that I make daily.

1. Grocery Lists - these lists can be quite numerous and extensive. I have a list for recipes that I want to try, a list for recipes I am going to try this week, a list for the ingrediants to those recipes, a list that includes all of my groceries, a list dividing food items and non-food items, a list for each store, etc. When I say I make lists, it gets a little OCD - I go all out!


2. To Do Lists - these are the best. I make lists for homework, lists for goals for the day, lists for recipes to make, crafts to make, pictures to take, places to go, people to spend time with, etc. These lists for each day are all written down in 15 minute incriments of time. And I make two each day: one for today and one for tomorrow (even though the next day (the "tomorrow" list) I will make one all over again).
 
3. Journal Lists - I love to journal, and 75% of my journal is filled with lists! These lists are different every day... some days I fill the pages of my scrappy, torn and smudged notebook with lists of dreams. Other days it's "my favorite" lists, goals to accomplish, wish lists, things I have been thinking about, things that have changed in my life, etc.
 
So, as you can see... I love to make lists. I always have, and I always will.