needtobreathe

In your ocean I'm ankle deep
I feel the waves crashing on my feet
It's like I know where I need to be 
I can't figure out
No, I can't figure out
Just how much air I will need to breathe
When your tide rushes over me
There's only one way to figure out
Will you let me drown
Will you let me drown

Hey now, this is my desire
Consume me like a fire
Cause I just want
Something beautiful to touch me
I know that I'm in reach
I am down on my knees
And waiting for
Something beautiful

And the water is rising quick
And for years I was scared of it
We can't be sure when it will subside
So I won't leave your side
No I can't leave your side

Hey now, this is my desire
Consume me like a fire
Cause I just want
Something beautiful to touch me
I know that I'm in reach
I am down on my knees
And waiting for
Something beautiful

past, present.. . future: the piano

Watch more cool animation and creative cartoons at Aniboom

"which one do YOU like?"

It happened on a motorcycle, 

I went on a date with Shane, 

who my college roommate, Becky, 

had called ‘dibs’ on the first day of class…

But it didn’t count… if she had a boyfriend??? ? riGHt??? ?

He was the football player type _ the tan, cute .. .Buff guy in the corner.

I had my eye on another _ the quiet reserved one who was studying to be a pastor.

Turns out the football motorcyler, Shane, asked me out weeks later.

One ride on his motorcyle and I knew he wasn’t for me.

avoided him @ Wilbur’s Cafe next time I ran into him.

Wwhaatt was I thinking? .. .

I quite enjoyed the ride.

nooma: Store 016 / rob bell

Fill in the blank. two

If i could rewind time [for just one day], 

I would choose to be the ____ year old version of myself. 

.. .why?

Would you want more than just one day?

Lead me.

an empty sound transformed into a love song

1 If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don’t love, I’m nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate.2 If I speak God’s Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, “Jump,” and it jumps, but I don’t love, I’m nothing.3 If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don’t love, I’ve gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love.


1 Corinthians 13:1-3
.The Message

Music Playlist at MixPod.com

dear students,

   are you reading this summer?

i've got a crush on.. .

Little Flower School 

with Nicolette and Sarah

... hmmm.. autumn classes.

i think. YEs! 

Odette

the two of us

This is my first time participating in

kind of ironic since I plan Writing Workshop lessons 

for my students every day during the year. 

I'm on the opposite side of the desk now.

Writing Prompt #4 i chose.. .

Post a picture and a description that fits into this quote for you: 

"How far to heaven? Just open your eyes and look. You are in heaven" -Shankar

Absolutely anywhere with my sister.

Could be... eyes glaze over boring _ with her  _ it will surely become hysterical. 

Guaranteed silliness. 

for sure good food.. . even if we need to scrounge the corners of the cupboards. 

and endless loving _ i will hug upon every inch of her. 

{My sister surprised us all last year. appeared at my classroom door while i was teaching; my parents' house during the day, catching my mom off guard. At least, we got my dad on tape here as record of all her surprise efforts. .. }

.. all old photos from Martha's Vineyard summering .. 

.wait a month or so for a slideshow of our new venturings.

the countdown has begun.

late night bathroom break

for a little late night silliness, enjoy my FAVORITE punk'd episode ever.

Penelope and Salma

... ."it was dIsGusting!"

Season Four Episode One

click here

mukhtar's day

Mukhtars Fødselsdag

"Mukhtar’s Birthday is the most delightful flash mob clip I’ve seen yet.
Mukhtar is a bus driver on line 3A in Copenhagen and doesn’t know that a whole bunch of people are riding along just to celebrate him.
Watch it and love it."

via: yeswaynoway

wipe away those happy tears... and save them for a rainy day.
loved it, didn't you??

Mukhtar is someone i would be honored to meet.

Bianca Juarez

"Yes. We are broken, but it's through love that we can do pretty much anything that God wants us to do. 

So whether you are a doctor, whether you are a lawyer, whether you're a teacher, whether you're a mother, whether you're a homeschool mother.. .

whether you work in the White House or whether you work in the warehouse. 

God HAS a PLAN for you.

I pray that you say, SPEAK LORD. your servant is listening." 

In The Name of Love from Bianca Juarez on Vimeo.




the question is .. . when is Bianca coming to the east coast?

Reunited: after 62 years

chasing norah

is there another like her?
i think not.
she made waves with her first album.
i played it months on end when it first came out.

Don't Know Why
Come Away With Me
Shoot the Moon

I think i very likely may know all the words on that cd.


: from The Fall [2009] album

on repeat. for the First Time.

you know that moment when you've heard a song a million times.. . 
but finally hear it for the FIRST time.. hits you like a ton of bricks.


it feels like everyone i've talked to lately has been having it rough.
and i'm just one among many.


no one seems to just be floating down Easy creek.
it's white water rafting for many.


i pray_ i try my very hardest to give it all over _ to surrender.
but sometimes the waves seem to capsize my tiny boat.


i'm reminded of last year's post _ on the water


Brooke Fraser's Shadowfeet was clear to me today. i needed to hear these words.


There's distraction buzzing in my head
saying in the shadows it's easier to stay ---- -
when time and space are through, i'll be found in You.
--- -- -STILL STANDING.




2 Corinthians 4:8-11


We are hard pressed on every side, but NOT crushed; perplexed, but NOT in despair;persecuted, but NOT abandoned; struck down, but NOT destroyed.We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body.

in search of grumps

One Week

the trailer doesn't do it justice.

the characters you meet

places you go

questions you're left asking

and a sweet soundtrack to boot.

*maybe you'll meet your own Grumps too.

the many me.s

i stumbled upon these photos today. and paused on them for quite some time.
there are so many layers to them.
so much meaning.

i've certainly felt like this young lady before.

versions of myself.

hiding from the real kimberly.
playing it tough til i bled..
... .in the never ending recess of life, where bullies come in all forms.
overwhelmed with emotion until i can't find anything good enough to think of tossing across the room. .. i've never done that...me? No.
never.

can you relate?

Lera on Flickr

::source::

Fill in the blank.

With enough coffee I could _______________________.

or even change it up.. .

With enough ________________  I could____________________.

This could get interesting.

intervention: your can collection

i have a collection of cans. all sizes.
and i've been mocked. by more than one.
it's ok.
it doesn't stop me.
i eat my Goyas and then save the can.
i knew something good was coming.
and in the meantime. i had kitschy bouquet vases.

while i'm in the midst of starting my summer crafts: learning to sew
starting my cross.stitch.
i suggest you head on over to
Design*sponge and checking out this post.
and while you're at it start saving up those cans.

Summer can.Lanterns

i'm liking how one of the readers also painted and strung them as well.. . 

something to think about.

and for your summer drink .. . 

a Mint, cucumber, basil and lime fizZ. 

You'd better be getting those herbs from your garden?!?! 

livesey kennels.

it's amazing how a simple song.
a simple four minute combination of notes can send memories flooding back
.. . rushing .. until they overpower you.

even. if it the first time you've heard the song.
it's the strangest thing to me.

needle and thread: step one

i once knew how to work the sewing machine 
that now sits in my parents' basement covered in piles of dusty books and old college notebooks.


i want to learn again. 
a new home already awaits it. 
.its very own corner. and table.


but i need to pull it from its dingy quarters @ 22 Lewis. 
then the two of us can get to know each other again. 
i have a lot of re.learning and new.learning to do. 


today i found my first sewing diy project on etsy.
the full.on step by step.s

i should set the goal of august as a due date Deadline.
but that may be a bit too ambitious.
seeing as i,m not sure i can sew a straight line yet. 
here's for hoping.. .

sunday 100.7/8

it's been a long time since the last sunday.one hundred.
i have a lot of catch.up to play.
that's ok.
i've been doing it./// / /just not online.
all around in my notebooks/ here and there.

that's where i'll start.

39. my notebooks
post.it pads, bulleted notes
they are everywhere.
and i honestly have started to feel like a writer.
it's funny because. i teach my students about this. and make an effort to refer to them as 'writers' so they can own their work.
own their words.
it seems though, that once i started this blog I can't stop the ideas from flowing out of me_wherever i may be. so i must have some means of recalling these ideas later on. If you remember I even have a method in the shower. ... 

38. the one hundred. by nina garcia.
[do the 'Look Inside']
a christmas present from my sister a few years back.
a book you can read over and over.
_not that you will ever do a front cover to back cover read.
a must buy for any fashionable gal out there.


37. when a blog friend turns into a real life friend. ahhhhhemmm. miss frankie.. .


36. the scene in Sleeping with the enemy with the adorably cute music teacher [0:30]
They're playing dress.up back stage.
Brown.eyed girl playing in the background.
who can forget that movie?
_ haunting.

35. this 3 X 3 inch section of a sketch i did in college.
copy of a famous Klimt piece.
The Kiss.
there's such emotion.. . .passion
.in just the hands.

detail from the Klimt's work:  in Vienna

34. All.TIME favorite song lyric line [1:39] ever.


33. wildflower gardens growing in the front yard.
reminds me of THAT scene when tristan returns in legends of the fall.
heart beating fast.

32. maidenhair ferns.
--- -  for more reasons than can be explained.
ingrid m.  can help.
'you say, that my skin feels like no one else's.
that it's different somehow. .. .  but i don't understand.'


31. old.old.old couples walking while holding hands.


30. target. period.

29. craftsman homes.
i've started a photo file on my flicker link to the right there.


28. cheesy gordita crunch.
although, faithful i have to ask the Taco Bell worker,
"what is the one called that is soft on the outside and crunchy on the inside?"
[they seem to enjoy it when i do that.]
i'll take junk food or quality good, five star [you know what you're doing] cooking.
No faking it.
Lasagna with prego sauce will Not do.
sorry. no in betweens.
it may not make sense to you,
but in my mouth/stomach's world the distinction is perfectly clear.


27. josh ritter _ lark lyrics.
i am assured peace will come to me.


26. an Ice cold corona. a lime is an added bonus.. but not needed. 


25. vintage window panes

one currently hangs in my bedroom 
another adorns my living room wall. 
bought it for a hundred and a half from a flea market in west virginia. 
beautiful turquoise and blue glass, all intact church windowpane. almost four feet wide across.

24. abagail, my girl. 
sometimes when i come to my parents' house i still expect to see her scurrying to the door. 
this was snapped a few years back when she lived with me for a bit. fresh outta the bath. 

23. the sound of a rocking chair. or is it the sensation of being IN a rocking chair?... 
may just be both. 
the repetition. 
back and forth 
back and forth. 


22. quotes. 
i'm a sucker for a good quote....  a "Quotable Quote". 
thinkexist.com is a smart place to hunt these down. 

“What we have once enjoyed we can never lose. All that we love deeply becomes a part of us.”   Helen Keller

After buying, these books [volume 2 and 5] at Michael's, I onced teased my sister about 
only talking in these catch phrases.  
She was entertained for about_ three minutes. 


21.  a surprise!.. . just because i care about you. gift.
these come far and few between. 
I've received a couple recently and they just about made my month! 
Don't they just make you feel like a million bucks?  i think it's time to send out a few _ or drop some off on doorsteps soon.

20. my mom's Annoying phone calls. 
i pretend like i hate them. 
but when i sit down and think about it..
i kinda love them.. cause i know she loves me more than anything else.
ever.

lafayette avenue: for sale.

i used to live a town away.

if i got in my car right now: it would most likely take a minute to get to my old apartment. 

it was a tiny one bedroom shoebox. three rooms, on the corner of the entrance driveway. 

right underneath the railroad tracks, which i soon learned to love. 

got used to all the clicking, clacking and 5:00 whistles. 

drove by there yesterday. 

two of my favorite houses on the nearby streets are for sale. 

not that i could think of nearing a down payment right now. 

that's quite laughable. but [sigh]].. . a girl can dream .. . and stare longingly at these photos.
aren't they dreamy?

mama!?!?!@?!?

before i started my first job of the summer, I spent a few days out with my sister and her family in Michigan.

her big family of six.
four little ones.
the biggest one, almost as tall as me.
the littlest one.. the fun age of two. I've seen all of them go through it.
With each of their different personalities ... the age of two has morphed them into unknown creatures.
obstinate, unyielding ones at that.


but my sister
.my very patient sister
who is an award winning mother
has raised them so very well. i watch her in awe.

it is not an exaggeration to say that the youngest, A. will walk around the house calling for her, "Maaaama!! Maama!" 
He must have said 'Mama' ten thousand times, in the five days I was there...

He asks incessant questions. even when he knows the answers.
he will not accept the slightest hiccup.
:: needing constant attention, affection and lovin' upon.

in the middle of the night last thursday, he entered allison's bedroom, five times,
'mama, can you put my tiger t.shirt on?'
[his detroit lion shirt]
the next four times it was various other shirts.

99.9 percent of the day my sister can handle this// / along with her other three children scampering around the house.
but at one point when i was there,  he was overwhelmingly out of control.
'Mama! Mama!'
if it wasn't this. it was that! this, that! THIS! that!??
but he wasn't getting her undivided attention, at the very moment he wanted it.
he wasn't getting what he wanted now.

so A. had some time outside with his brother on the patio.
Well this was not gonna do. he wailed. collapsing.

his brother immediately came over and cradled him. hugging him from behind.
wiping his hair from his face. Shhhh.. .it's ok, A.
over and over again. rubbing his back.

just like his mother did to him when he was little.
just like his mother still does to him.
just like his mother has taught him.

and in that moment, i saw 'the two year old' in myself.
how in moments when i'm confused,
or i don't get what i pray for right away, how i can act just like A. did.
even in moments of distress or trouble.

if we're lucky we have people in our lives, who know just how to comfort us,
just how to pray for us... that is until we reach age_ three.

guiding me home

Will you ever look at a sunrise or sunset the same again? 

makes me smile.