another sunny day.

i don't know what people are talking about, all this gray weather in seattle. i know it will come, but today was another day of clear blue skies and blazing sunshine. believe me, i took as much advantage as possible.

exhibit a: when walking across the street from the child development center to the community care center, susie and i found a full 8 spare minutes in our schedule to sit on the railing and soak up some rays.

exhibit b: inside the freezing little staff workroom, which has become our makeshift office, i wedged the broken window shade, which was blocking all glimpse of outside beauty, at the top of the window...so that we could move our chairs to the sunny corner of the room and study in warmth.

exhibit c: all driving today was done with the windows down and the music loud.

exhibit d: a jog along the water at lincoln park at sunset. it was kind of blinding in one direction...but quite pleasant.

i know this beautiful weather won't last forever, but i thoroughly apprecciate its current presence.

after my jog (32 minutes, working my way up from being out of shape all summer!) i sat on a log by the water and...just sat. listening to the water, watching the people, admiring the view.

see?

it's just like you're here, right? i think that last one might be my favorite.

tomorrow is friday! we're making "petit fruit parfaits" with the kiddos at the cdc and the elderly residents and the ccc for our intergenerational project. (we donned the always stylish hair nets and chopped up lots of fruit today to prep). it should be a fun (and tasty) project, all in spanish! well, hopefully all in spanish. we'll see what conducting an activity in front of a class does for my vocabulary retention and grammatical precision...haha

AND this weekend i already have plans to make up some seven layer bars and bust out the bag of banagrams....SO ready for that one!

that's all for now, 6am comes quickly :)



tuxedos and tennis shoes.

Seattle is a city full of foodies and outdoor enthusiasts. Last Thursday I got invited to an open house event by Tuxedos and Tennis Shoes, a local catering company that my roommate used to work for. Let me just tell you, it was the highlight of my day. They had little dishes set up all over the place, and the presentation was beautiful. Little cups of ceasar salad with the most delightfully tender filets of salmon on top, a seared sea scallop on a bed of corn risotto with thyme, braised short ribs with garlic mashed potatoes, crab cakes with ginger plum sauce, mushrooms stuffed with sausage and herbs, gorgonzola and brie cheeses with tasty nutty crackers, little baby burgers the size of a nickel with cheddar cheese and balsamic onions, vegetarian spring rolls, a bite of mozzarella and basil wrapped with prosciutto and speared with a cherry tomato, and the list goes on and on. There was also wine tasting (I tried a chardonnay, a mélange, and a pinot gris), rosemary lemonade, AND desserts: chocolate mocha cookies, coconut macaroons, and pumpkin cheesecake. What a treat to get to taste all of these delightful little morsels, I tried one of everything! To top it off, they sent us out the door with chocolate chip cookies…this is my kind of place. If anyone is looking for a catering company in Seattle, I recommend this one.

Susie and I got off work early on Friday due to the fact that I had some banking issues to tend to, and once I got those taken care of, I gave in to the pull of the beautiful weather and hit the park. One benefit of West Seattle? Alki beach and Lincoln park are only 7 minutes away (unless you get lost, of course). I ran along the water, and it felt so good to just be out and about! Of course, as soon as I got there the sun hid behind the clouds, but I still enjoyed seeing the ferries come in and out and watching the people (and their dogs, because apparently you’re not allowed in west seattle unless you own a dog). That evening Susie and I worked ever so diligently (…) on our projects, then I made some pizza, crust from scratch! Red bell peppers, red onion, fresh basil, feta, mozzarella, and roma tomatoes. I really enjoy cooking, and we have the same tastes, so we eat together often.

Saturday I woke up to the most beautiful weather I’ve seen in Seattle yet, no joke. I was going to have a productive morning around the house, but the cloudless sky was just too much. Once again, I strapped on the running shoes, this time heading to Alki.

I jogged some and walked some, but mostly watched the people. EVERYONE was out enjoying the weather.

I saw several people on roller blades, lots of kids riding bikes, and plenty of people running and talking with their friends. My favorites were the little old couples out for some exercise, holding hands as they shuffled along quietly. And the two girls that were riding beach cruiser bikes, entirely too big for them, with their feet pulled up onto the seat because they could hardly reach the pedals. I also particularly appreciated this one pair of younger couples, moms power walking in front, dads pushing strollers, each with a 1ish year old boy, a few paces behind. I even caught a glimpse of Mount Rainier!

It's just part of daily life around here.



Fast forward to the afternoon, which I spent working on medical terminology and responding to emails at Uptown espresso. There was a group of people sitting at the table behind me speaking French, and though I know nothing of the language (other than that “plugs” are a type of meat….I think), I enjoyed hearing them talk. Other languages are really beautiful, especially French and Italian. If I lived in Europe I would definitely learn them, though in the states it’s not as practical.

That night I got to see Alki beach by moonlight; the three of us roommates went to this really great little open air Mexican restaurant, right on the water! There’s always plenty of parking along the street, so even in my big car I usually don’t have a problem finding a spot, and have yet to have to parallel park for real. Well, sure enough there was a spot right up in front of the restaurant…next to an open air art gallery packed with people. So here I am in my 4runner, having not parallel parked in who knows how long, trying to fit into this little space. I was going to pass it up and find something more roomy, but Susie convinced me, and when I tried to give up (because everyone was watching me, quite amused, and there was a car behind me looking very impatient) she just kept saying “crank! Crank!!” Sure enough, I made it in, though it’s probably a miracle I didn’t hit anything.

The random thought of the day: Isn’t it interesting how certain songs make us remember certain things? Big Trouble Gone Fishin’ always reminds me of driving to Colorado.  John Mayor reminds me of Neal Pickett, and the freebie Starbucks cd, Playing for Change, reminds me of a day last winter when we were eating at Jimmy Johns and it snowed in College Station. How He Loves reminds me of camp, The Fray reminds me of biking to class, Amos Lee reminds me of Kelsey and Europe, The Robbie Seay Band reminds me of a huge green lawn in Houston and Brian and Clif. Revelation Song reminds me of Kristen, many Chara choreographed songs remind me of Emily, Eisley reminds me of Sam and the commons. Coldplay makes me think of a bridge in the middle of Kansas somewhere, gleaming with golden sunshine. Ray LaMontagne makes me think of Sarah Elizabeth, Taylor Swift makes me think of Tiffany. Hey Juliet and Jack Johnson remind me of Victoria, and of ice skating. I could go on and on reminiscing over here, but you get the idea. Isn’t memory neat??

I’m sitting outside in a skirt and sleeveless shirt as I type this. What lovely weather!

One last little bit.

When I was at Uptown Espresso I just sat and read and thought for a little bit, one of my favorite things to do.

About what? Hoping in the eternal. Considering eternity in the face of the fleeting pleasures of the present, and choosing obedience to the one who has washed, sanctified, justified, and redeemed us. And in that, full obedience (the Langemeiers say to their kids: “Obedience is right away, all the way, in a happy way.”) Obedience is a mark of love, and love is the gift of God to his children.

“Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you.”

But here’s the best part:

“But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” 1 Corinthians 6:9-11

It’s not a system of weights and balances. We don’t accumulate good works to counteract our sinful ones. We can't! By no merit of our own, as believers, we have gone from a state of eternal condemnation apart from God to one of justification and redemption. By.nothing.of.our.own! We WERE those things, but we ARE NOT anymore. Our identity has changed, we have been given a new one. Because identity isn’t something you earn, it’s something you’re given. And out of our identity flow the choices we make, the hope that we have, the things that we do.

Think about it.

Enough computer. I’m going to enjoy the day outside, sans technology.

Thanks for reading!

i'm a foodie.

did i mention that life is a whirlwind?

it has been many days indeed. i spent the weekend in san diego, which was, as amy puts it best, grace upon grace. i got to the seattle airport early, medical terminology textbook stowed in my backpack, with every intention (okay, maybe not every....maybe just a mild intention) to study for the 3 hours i had before boarding. of course i spent the time walking the terminals, exploring the shops, and finding the views. toward the end i did settle down with a cappuccino and cranked out a few pages of medical terms, so at least i got something done!

i love airplanes. why? because they are an opportunity for a fresh perspective. to be reminded that we, in our busy and frantic lives, are miniscule beside mountains that stand 14,000 feet tall, and oceans deeper than that. i always request a window seat and find myself admiring the view and thinking...hence why i never seem to get much work done on flights. if that were my objective, i'd request an aisle seat.

the predominant ponderance of this flight? i'm thankful that my soul is REDEEMED. that regardless of whether that plane landed on the runway or crashed in the mountains, my soul is secure, and nothing can change that. pain is temporary, suffering is refining, money is fleeting, the things of this world are nothing. but as a follower of Jesus, a redeemed believer, my roots are anchored. what peace!

to describe my time in san diego in a matter of words: hot chocolate, sunshine, phenomenal food, love.

i got to go on the boat as the impact girls tubed and did the water skis in carlsbad lagoon, which was a blast! i got a tan from my hand splint because of it. cool, i know. afterwards we went to this really great local restaurant called al's diner, where i wanted to eat everything on the menu. i had my eyes on the coconut and macadamia nut french toast, but ended up getting the grilled cod with mango chutney on a fresh croissant. mmm. and i think everyone got a hot chocolate....because we were all cold from the boats!

there were 18 mugs on that tray....and they topped off the meal with samples of fresh fudge. a winner for sure.

okay, this is slightly out of order, but please just admire the quality of this continental breakfast:

yeah, i know. are you drooling yet? it came with fresh squeezed orange juice too, and coffee. i would gladly have eaten it for many days.

sunday rolled around and it was time to catch the flight back home. i had one of the earliest, which meant that when we arrived at the airport at 12:20 in the terminal 2 parking lot and my plane was boarding in terminal 1 at 12:45, i was slighlty concerned that i might miss it. hurry hurry on over to terminal 1, make it through security, find the gate at 12:44, only to find that the flight is delayed and not boarding until 1:30. go figure. so i proceeded to have a peaceful lunch with jared and maggie, who were also flying out of the same terminal, on the floor of our secluded little group of gates. after a while i got to san francisco, where my flight was also delayed, and finally made it back to seattle.

moving right along, monday was perhaps one of the most fun days in seattle so far. the interns all went out to the ropes course and bastyr university, where we spent 6 hours playing all kinds of really fun and challenging games. my favorite? the ladder. but i like to climb things, so i was determined to make it to the top from the beginning. frances and susie were in my group, and i don't think i've laughed so hard in a while, especially being suspended on a log 30 feet in the air.

we also coined the term "commit your pelvis" during a task where you and a partner had to edge down two cables that grew farther and farther apart. you have to lean in for it to work, but if you bend at the hips, you fall. so, it makes sense: commit your pelvis, stay straight as a board, and lean! it's now kind of the phrase for "be all in!" all my fellow interns get it....i might be too tired to be doing justice to the explanation for everyone else. 

that evening i met up with a new friend named chris (thanks again to the broken hand) to explore california street, where there are all kids of fun things to see and do and eat. we ended up stopping in a great little restaurant named table 35, as neither of us really ate a full dinner, and tried out their hummus (which i have heard for a while now is amazing, and it was), their calamari, and some hawaiian poke. all of it was delicious! then we ended up playing bananagrams at uptown espresso, where i learned just how many two and three letter words there are that i have never heard of. it was definitely quite a delightful day!

tuesday was the first real day of my first rotation- my days will be 8am to 5pm. looooong days. thank goodness susie and i are in the rotation together, which is super nice, seeing as we're both trying to figure it all out. after work i made some homemade pesto using basil from the plant in the front yard. i didn't have a chopper/cuisinart, so i just chopped it on the cutting board.

it was so packed with flavor, and the rough chop gave it this rustic home-grown vibe. i enjoyed it very much. i also munched on a fig from the garden out back, which unfortunately wasn't quite ripe yet. having never picked a fig before, i wasn't quite sure....now i know. it made for a good photo though!

after that i headed off to community group. i'm so thankful for those guys, honestly, i miss them when i don't see them for several days! it's a real group doing real life, and i like it. we talked about mary and martha this week, and ended up talking for over 3 hours! and there's talk of busting out the old school rollerblades along alki beach....i need to jump on finding some of those!

okay, more elaboration to come later. i really need to be going to bed. these early mornings and late nights are adding up! tomorrow i'm waking up early to go to starbucks to sit and read for a chunk of time. with all this busyness i've been going going going, and i just need to sit. i'm so looking forward to that.

ah, sleep.

it's official.

well life has officially picked up its pace around here. no more moseying to the library or sitting leisurely in a coffee shop across town to read. at least not on a (week)daily basis! we started going through our "objectives," aka all the assignments that we work through as part of our internship. good gravy, it seems like we need an entire semester just for each rotation! and yet they vary from a meager 8 days to 48 days in length. it's going to be a busy year. and at the moment, we are also trying to tackle an 800 page medical terminology textbook...in 4 weeks. boy am i thankful to have had good nutrition and biology professors in college!

oh, and today we got our name tags:

see, it's official.

we also watched a video during orientation, which, i'll admit, was quite dated and one of those cheesy videos you typically see as a new employee. but, it explained the vision behind seamar, which i think is really great. basically, seamar is there to help those who need help in any way that they can, from medicine to dentistry to housing to emergency financial aid. meeting the needs of people- exactly as jesus says! in a totally non-discriminatory, practical, tangible way. another cool aspect: since the majority of seamar clients are hispanic, and a big part of the hispanic culture is community and family, seamar decided to do this intergenerational thing. i forgot the exact term...but in a nutshell, they put an emphasis on allowing the young and the old to interact. as in, the day care/child development center is immediately adjacent to the nursing home, and they kids and the elders do projects together. i can't wait to observe that one- how cool, old grandparents teaching young children about their heritage!

speaking of all of that, i found out that child development is my first rotation. meaning that i get to do things like plan a menu for the day care and teach little kids classes on how to eat right. i do love those little kiddoes!

what else.

i've made some new friends since i wrote last! tuesday night i went to a potluck birthday dinner party celebration with one of the community groups at mars hill- we had some tasty little sliders and some seriously delicious crab and artichoke spread, and ended up just talking and hanging out for almost 3 hours! i got to talk with one of the moms a little bit about nutrition, as well as about the church. dorina, who invited me to come, is eager to get me plugged into the youth ministry :) we talked about that for a bit, as well as what discipleship looks like. somehow i took a tangent off to a discussion of camp with tommy, and then got to talking with dustin about traveling the world. by that point, it was getting late, so i headed home. but before i did, dorina invited me to dinner at her house tonight, which i gladly accepted.

dinner tonight was so enjoyable, it reminded me of a meal in europe. there were 6 of us there, and we just mingled for a bit until the food was done. we ate slowly and talked about all kinds of things, always interesting. we decided we should make a tshirt with probably the best quote of the night: "marry me, fly for free," which came up after discussing pricey airfare to europe with dustin, who flies planes. then we moved on to dessert, some homemade blonde brownies (shout out to cam crake for the recipe!) and some carrot cake. and after that, we just sat around and talked some more. it's been a while since i've had the time to really just sit around and hang out with friends like that, and i really enjoyed it.

but once again, the earth continues to move around the sun, and i had to get home and pack...because tomorrow i leave for san diego!! the gathering is finally here.

and i need to go to sleep. all this excitement...it's way past my grandma bedtime.

the interns go gourmet.

so, yesterday was the day it all began. i finally met all the fellow interns, and our director (who showed up with bagels and cream cheese...yes please). it was all really pretty chill, we spent lots of time just kind of talking and getting to know each other, as well as discussing expectations and why we got ourselves into this, which got me to thinking about why i'm doing dietetics in the first place.

we ended up getting out of class early, so susie and i detoured by the farmer's market on the way home, feeling ambitious and eager to cook. i bought a prune, singular, for ten cents, for the sole reason that i have never had one before. i ate it this morning...it tastes just like a plum to me.

anyway, we swung by qfc to pick up some other odds and ends, then home. i'm telling you, the food was gourmet. people would pay $15 a plate in a restaurant! i had a salmon fillet with chive and garlic cream cheese, susie had a turkey burger with chives and garlic. on the side, we cooked up some squash and made a delightful little salad with some farmer's market lettuce, some raspberries, walnuts, feta, and kalamata olives. it was a beautiful plate, only missing a garnish (apologies to my food service management professor, garnishes are her pet peeve).

we also found some decently priced pinot noir at the store, so had a glass with dinner, and ended up just sitting and talking for a while about all kinds of things. like sororities, school, the internship, and why WE are doing nutrition.

i guess when it boils down to it, i'm just passionate about empowering people who don't think they can eat healthy to beat the odds and do so. to teach them how to shop and cook on a limited budget, to plan, to organize. i love those kinds of things, especially when it's in meeting needs.

after that we had every intention of hitting the books...until lori's friend robert came over with his huge malamute dog. so we spent the next hour or two all just sitting around the table, talking and playing with the dogs. come ten, i was tired, but i managed to crank out an hour of medical terminology before hitting the sac.

evening, morning.

the last thing i wanted to do was get up and go on a jog this morning, i even hit the snooze, which i rarely do. but i got up and put my running clothes on, before i looked outside, which is a good thing. had i seen the misty gray morning that met my eyes while i still had my pj's on i would have just crawled back in bed. after all, no class today. but my running shoes were eager to go, still being fairly fresh out of the box, and i knew that i would be better off to just go ahead and go.

i only got minorly lost on my way to the beach....i should just stick to the main roads. but i finally got there: alki. i hear about it all the time, and i drove along it the other day. i spotted a bakery as well, and was really wishing that i had a book so i could grab coffee and a scone after my jog....but not today. jogging was wonderful- it was so peaceful and beautiful, mysteriously serene with all that fog.

quiet too, except for the birds. and the dogs- everyone here has one. i'm not kidding. everywhere you look there is someone and their dog....in the coffee shop, in target, on the street, at the beach. as i was jogging i discovered that there are constellations designed in the sidewalk...i stopped to look at the first few, and then decided i'll come back one night to actually find them in the sky. 30 minutes later i was back at my car, headed home for some breakfast.

okay, i know i'm getting long-winded. er...i AM long winded, and this is getting long. but, truth be told, i just realized that it's 5pm, which means that i might as well stay where i am for another hour, because if i go anywhere now, i'll spend the next hour in traffic anyway.

so after breakfast i went to starbucks to read and study for a bit, and this old philipino man named angelo sat down at a table near me. i hadn't bought a coffee yet, and he asked me if i wanted anything. honestly, i thought he was a creeper. i said no thanks, if i wanted something i would get it later. 5 minutes later: "what you like? i buy drink for you, i'm nice guy." uh, no thanks, i'm okay for now, but thank you. ten minutes later he strikes up a conversation about how he works on a cruise ship and his family is still in the philipines. he's been living for himself for the past 5 years here in america, squandering away, but just got this cruise ship job, "praise de god." he then hands me $5 and insists that i go buy a drink. i assure him that it isn't necessary, but he persists. so i did, a tall nonfat pumpkin spice latte, mmmmm. i thank him for being so generous, and he proceeds to explain that he saw me reading my bible. he said that he has been going to a local church here in seattle, and that he has all this money and basically nothing to do with it. he said he likes to be generous, and we talk a bit about what it looks like to show grace with the things that we have, to give to those in need. we then continued on to our separate tasks, me reading, him working on the computer.

now, i'm not in need or anything, and a latte is far from one of the necessities of life, but i still learned much from his generosity. jesus talks a lot about being generous with the things that we have, because they are only temporary. after all, all that we have is his, we can only give to him what was his to begin with. so why do we hold onto things so tightly? regardless of his intentions, what a sweet picture of generosity, from a total stranger. thanks angelo.

okay, that's all. tonight i'm headed to a community group potluck, but i have to get back across town to get there, which is at least a 30 minute affair. unless i happen to encounter another drawbridge, which was crazy cool to watch...draw up(?) on my way here. here being a coffee shop named zoka in the university district, where i met stephanie, a fellow intern, to study (though we probably talked real life for half the time...which, let's be honest, is way more worthwhile than a silly quiz).

thanks and gig them.

sunset on the sound.

what a day, a beautiful day. i woke up 3 minutes before my alarm for the 3rd day in a row. i like it actually, i wake up feeing more rested that way.

sunday- finally.

i decided to go to mars hill this week, and conveniently enough, the campus is less than a mile from me. i walked, which was quite enjoyable! i wasn't cold until the walk home, which is kind of backwards, but whatever. i'm trying to get used to this weather still. the service was great- the campus pastor preached on the parable of the good samaratin in luke. and interwoven throughout were constant reminders of the truth of the gospel, that we are redeemed people, and that the spirit works through us to enable us to serve and to know God. the worship was refreshing to my soul- with all this travel and moving around, it's been a while. we sang a couple songs that i sang often over the summer, and a few classics. mmmph. i really loved it. afterwards i found the coffee (i know, backwards.), which wasn't your typical tastes-like-dirt coffee. this was good stuff, AND they had soy milk. what a treat! totally not a necessity in a church home, but a bonus for sure :) i talked to someone about getting plugged into a community group, which i plan to do this week. there's another church i want to try out as well, called bethany community church, but i won't be able to go until the 26th, and i'm eager to plug in somewhere!

after i walked home (where i ran into my roommate, who said, upon finding out that i went to mars hill, "if you end up engaged, it's not my fault!" haha) i composed a grocery list, which was a slightly larger task than it was in college, seeing as i no longer have new life, kappa, and my roommates to provide a meal a week apiece. i get so excited to have a kitchen again that i want to cook everything right now, but then i would have entirely too much food on my hands. patience.

with so many places to buy food, grocery shopping here is a multi-location affair. i ventured to the west seattle farmers market, which was definitely an event in itself. there was a jazz band playing, and people selling everything from homemade soup to fresh cheeses, fruits and veggies galore, meats and eggs, fish, flowers, honey, and on and on. my grocery list was definitely dominated by produce, so i bought a few things there. it was fun to be sure, but when i got to the grocery store, i realized just how very much more expensive the market was. so, i'll probably be back to browse, but maybe not purchase! there's another market close to me, and i stopped there as well to pick up some more fresh blueberries- at $2 a carton, it's hard to pass up! then on to qfc for the rest of the necessities. i bought some fresh salmon this week- that's tomorrow's dinner. i hear the fish up here is incredible. everything i've had so far sure has been!

after i got all that put away i headed to barnes and noble, dressed in pants and a long sleeve shirt with a cardigan. as soon as i walked out the door i felt silly, because it was considerably warmer outside than in my bedroom, which is always freezing. but i went on, because barnes always seems to be cold as well. i was lucky enough to get a table by the window, and was pretty productive until the sun came out.

these days, sunshine is a good excuse to drop whatever you happen to be doing and go outside. and so i did. i hurried home to change into some running clothes, then headed to the park, where i jogged along the beach of the sound for half an hour or so. it was beautiful, the sun was out, the ducks were swimming, the waves were coming in...i dabbled a bit. the only downer was that smell of seaweed...not used to that one yet. then i grabbed my phone and sat on one of the many water-worn logs and caught up with some good friends as the sun came down. what a wonderful evening.

only to be topped off by a fantastic salad at home and some leftover homemade pizza.

a day full of the grace to enjoy all the things that i love.

tomorrow starts day one of orientation! not until ten though, so i think i might start the day off as any good day in seattle should start, reading at a coffee shop.

grace and peace.

a beginning.

well, i know if i keep waiting for a good time to sit down and compose a well-written "first post" it will never come. such is life, unorganized and imperfect.

so i'll plunge right in.

seattle is wonderful. minus the clouds, but seeing as every person to whom i mentioned that i was moving here reminded me to bring an umbrella, i was well prepared for that one. today was a beautiful day though- tons of sunshine, the first of it's kind since i've been here. unfortunately, i spent 7 hours of it inside listening to a lecture with 5 of the other interns. but we did get a chunk of time for lunch, during which we made a bee-line for the doors and sat outside, eating our picnic lunches. and the lecture, apart from being slightly too-long for my attention span, was fairly informative. there were a two first hand accounts, and the one lady straight up preached the gospel, right there in front of the class: "i've been taking these meds for 19 years now, 19 years and they tell me they's what's keepin me well. but i praise GOD because i know, i know it was HE who healed me. i prayed and i prayed, i fasted and i prayed, and he healed me." cool picture of boldness in speaking truth.

after that my roommate and i headed home; i had all the fixin's for a homemade pizza, so i pulled that together while we snacked on some pita chips and babaghanoush (i probably butchered that). we have a lot of the same tastes, so hopefully we'll get to cook some this semester! then we busted out the medical terminology...boy do i have a lot of memorizing to do these next few days.

i'm so thankful that tomorrow is sunday. i'm eager for community, to find people to plug in with. turns out, one of the mars hill campuses is nearby, so i plan on going there for a start. i also got to meet up with emily, my "insta-friend, just add rain," as she termed it. we had coffee in the university district of town, which is an area i'll definitely have to go back and explore. it was so refreshing to sit and have intentional conversation, the kind that digs below the surface, exposes vulnerable honesty. our conversation got cut a little short a little shy of that due to the fact that it's impossible to park close to anywhere in seattle (no wonder everyone takes public transport), and i was afraid of getting a parking ticket. i walk everywhere possible (i ventured to the puget sound the other day! and the library, i'm fond of those.), there's a great little coffee shop nearby that i think i would frequent on a daily basis if it weren't so expensive to buy coffee. i did just pick up some new beans at whole foods the other day though, extra dark french roast. yum yum yum- i had them for the first time this morning- it was a good choice.

i seem to get lost still almost every day, although i am getting MUCH better and knowing my way around. i drove along the beach the other day, it looks like a fantastic place to bike or jog, and i can't wait to try it out! maybe that will be a study break tomorrow.

alright, on that note, i'm signing off. bedtime for me.