sparkly trees.

i'm in idaho on vacation right now. i love vacationing in idaho because it is seriously the opposite of california. 
for instance..
there is a lot of space. it's crazy. you can't just touch your neighbor's house from your house.
everything is green. in california (at least where i am) there is some green, but it's mostly different shades of tan. houses are tan, sidewalks are light tan, other shopping complexes are darker tan. i love the planned, organization of it all. but it is so nice to see tan be not such a priority.
you get to say things like "i'm driving into town" and actually have to drive to get places.
there are horses in front yards. or pastures? whatever they are, there are horses in them. 
and one of my favorite things about idaho is that there are trees that aren't palm trees. actually, i don't think there even are palm trees here. but there are these other ones. i'm not sure what they're called. brittan probably knows. but when the wind blows, the leaves look like they're sparkling. it's so cool. i just sit and watch them, and since it's been super windy, it's worked well.


i'll post pictures of our adventure driving from irvine to caldwell later. and my sparkly trees. hopefully they sparkle through pictures.

some summer days.

i've been waiting for this post for days. the one that gets to say that it's summer time! and i'm at home, my friends are slowly (veryyy slowly) making their way home, and i have nothing to do with my life but lie by the pool, go on leisurely walks and eat endless amounts of golden spoon.

which is all true. so, so true. i mean, my brunch this morning (at noon) was golden spoon.


however.. (ha. i always have a however, don't i?) it just hasn't felt like summer yet, and so i haven't made my summer post even though it's been over a week. 
maybe it's because i'm not unpacked from school yet. i still have tubs of blankets, bags of sweaters, and boxes of shoes that have hardly been touched. 
maybe it's because every time i come home from school for an extended period of time, it feels more and more difficult to get back into the groove of irvine life. i'm so used to just taking care of myself and being responsible for myself that it's a little strange to have dinner dates i can count on every night (with my family, of course).
maybe it's because elise is visiting and so there is still a little apu with me.
maybe it's because the thought of not having homework or papers for four months seems completely unfathomable. 
maybe it's because my "home friends" are taking their sweet time coming home. or they're on choir tour, which makes them equally inaccessible. and home without them is just a little bit less like home.
or maybe it's just because the weather is being ridiculous. 


whatever the reason is, i'm praying it will go away soon because i'm ready for summer! 

my God is so big.

you know that song you sing in sunday school about how big God is?


"my God is so great,
so strong and so mighty
there's nothing my God cannot do.
the mountains are His, 
the rivers are His,
the stars are His handiwork too.
my God is so great,
so strong and so mighty
there's nothing my God cannot do."


it is so, so true. i actually think all the really important lessons we learn about God we learn through songs in sunday school. 
but this one in particular has been stuck in my head all night. i'm not sure why. i think it's because recently i've been thinking about how to love on others (like my friends in swazi and joburg) and have been praying for them and about them being loved on.
and God keeps trying to reassure me that He has it under control. He's the big one. i just think i am. 

finals.

finals week is finally here. it's probably the only week i dread and look forward to at the same time. it is by far the most draining week of the semester and the stress of packing up an apartment only adds to it. but the end is so close, i can't help but be happy. knowing that summer is only 2 days away just has to make you happy.
here are my thoughts on finals week:
-i've never seen a library look like this. there are people everywhere, all studying or writing. not talking to each other. but everyone looks beyond drained.
-the weather is warm. hot actually. so the pool is full. but nearly everyone is studying while they're sitting outside. 
-people are up early (if they even sleep) to keep working.
-the only way you can make it through finals week is by giving yourself sanity breaks. to blog. shop online. skype a friend in paris. get frozen yogurt for lunch and dinner in the same day. whatever it takes.


its just one of those weeks i have take day by day. or question by question. because thinking about the next final, or how everything is going to fit into our storage unit will overwhelm me so much that i won't be able to finish what is actually in front of me.