+i would rather be a letdown than let being with you go

Three reasons last night was wonderful:
1. Athens' Greek Salads
2. Food Inc. at the Belcourt
3. Sleepover with Kelly

+you're gonna walk backwards through the room

Also, I just completed my application for graduation for December 2009. It seems a lot more real when I was filling out form that in less than 6 months I'll have a degree to hang on my wall. Mom and Dad are ready to book a hotel room and celebrate.

And I still feel like I am preparing to GO to college.
or at least I still know that I LOOK like I am not old enough to be done with college. All those voices that said "It flies by!" are ringing in my head. And I can't help but wonder why in the world I thought graduating early was such a great idea...

+meet me in the middle, c'mon let's make up a dance

When Henry and Sharon arrived in Nashville Friday night, the weekend had begun! Devon and I hopped in Gonzo and caravaned up to Lousiville to the Holladay's home for the weekend! It was quite a sleepy journey up for me, but we made it and got a good night of sleep before waking up to Beth getting in from Cincinnati and bringing with her some amazing doughnuts and Drew's coffee. As for the rest of the day, painting, eating lots of food, and hanging out made me very happy. I very much like my sisters and their husbands and it was nice to spend some time with them in Kentucky. I hate that Devon and I had to head home late Saturday night, because another day would have been even nicer. I guess it just means we'll have to do it again...soon!

+and that's not all

Love is staying fully alert though extremely tired because you want the person in your front seat to have a smooth enough ride so he can get a few moments of rest. You give him a blanket so his eyes don't have to keep seeing the light of the other cars and you take great care to select only the music that will soothe and calm. It's love because you want want is best for the other person so desperately that your own wants and desires seem so tiny and insignificant it hardly feels like sacrifice to give them up.

+it shines to light the shores to home

Popcorn makin' at the apartment last night!!! Check out our Summer Blog :)

+time moves on and time won't be long

Renewed and refreshed. I feel like I have been caught in a storm and suddenly the clouds parted and then there was the after-the-rain feeling - kind of raw from being tossed and turned, but cleaned out and ready for something new. Hello, sunshine and hello to the feeling that life is never meant to be lived alone. It is like that over-referenced Emily Dickinson poem about "you too?" Thanks to the book of Romans, music of Kate Rusby, obsession with Stephen King, Summertime in general, and a weekend in Louisville with the sisters, husbands, and Devon to look forward to!

Quote from Kate Rusby, "I don't really have long term plans apart from continuing to make the music we want to for as long as we can. You never know what's going to happen so you just have to work hard and be good to people and hope life treats you well. So far it mostly has and I really do believe I've been so lucky."

+this is a call to the color blind

Another trip to visit another lovely friend! After a pretty fast-paced friday I got on the road to Atlanta, Georgia to see Alicia, who is interning at First Baptist Atlanta in the youth ministry. Our time was mostly spent relaxing - enjoying the mall and driving around. I may have picked the hottest weekend to visit on record and the afternoon pool trip was perfect. After a cookout with Alicia's host family, we saw The Proposal, and read, and slept quite well.

First Baptist Atlanta was wonderful - it was great to meet the people she is working with for the summer and meet some of the students that are a part of the ministry. I was really impressed with the integration and the ability for a church it's size (3,000 seats in the sanctuary plus overflow rooms) to still remain close knit and family oriented. Dr. Charles Stanley is the pastor and I really enjoyed his sermon. I had never heard him speak, but I have read some of his son Andy Stanley's books. Dad even mentioned he remembers hearing Charles Stanley preach when he was invovled in Campus Crusade in college. I'm not normally a huge fan of large churches or really even Baptist churches (you never can like the way you were raised, right?) but I kept an open mind and was so happy that Alicia has found a place to serve and spend her time this summer where she enjoys it so much!

We finished our time in Atlantic Station and driving around Atlanta a little more before I made the journey back to Nashville for another work week. I'm so ready to see my family again - I missed seeing my dad for father's day. I cannot believe it is almost July.

+so i'm working tearing back the roof

At the very real risk of overstepping the bounds that I have established in my head for this blog, I must mention the appreciation and thankfulness I have for Devon. Perhaps this emotion will fade and in no time I'll be trying to back-peddle or something, but I doubt it. I just laughed because I realized that I'm a plotter and a planner and that I love nothing more than to create a new idea, a new place to go, or a new thing to do. I always end up reanalyzing myself in the process and I always end up asking Devon if that is okay. If that is alright. His response is unwaveringly, "If it's who you are, then yes." Then I get worried about if he still likes the person I'm becoming and he smiles and says, "It's who you are, how could I not like it?" and then I apologize for what I say or how I act and he hugs me and says something like "If it's who you are how can I ever hold it against you?" I think it's a rare person who says that they will be there for you no matter what, just wants you to be yourself, and then proves those words with their actions every day. Just thankful today. That's all.

+no bread-crumb trail to follow through your days

I took a "Tuesday after work-Wednesday before work" vacation to my dear friend Kelly's home in Chapmansboro, TN. I thought it would be just like going to any person's house, but no, Kelly didn't mention to me the large acreage of land her family owns, the dirt roads, the farm-like feel of it all. I am in love with the country and it was such a fun mid-week break. I also was also given veal, veggies, homemade bread, and homemade pineapple cheesecake for dinner. We just had a relaxing evening, went to bed early (being the working-women we are) and woke up to coffee and fresh blueberry pancakes. The morning commute back to Nashville was rainy and dreery, but with the Groundbreaking Ceremony of our newest Residence Hall to look forward to at Belmont, the time passed pretty quickly. Oh, the country. If I could just live there for years and years I would be so content. So much simplicty.

+won't let it pass me by again

Thanks to Sarah Norton, I now have Ding!, Southwest's free, downloadable flight-specials tracker. You can select up to 10 airports to track and it will find you deals on tickets. It's fantastic, and already saved me over $80 on plan fare. Tickets to Jacksonville, FL are happily awaiting the end of July. Thanks Southwest (where bags fly free!) and Sarah!