"Wouldn't You Like a Nice, Cool Glass of Lemonade?"

A weird title, I know. Since summer is coming, lately I've been thinking about summery things- like swimming, roadtrips...and lemonade. Sometimes you pour yourself a glass and it's perfectly sweet with just the right tang; sometimes you take a sip and your face automatically crinkles up from the sourness (at least I do- am I the only one?). So now imagine me saying philosophically, "Life is like a glass of lemonade..." Well, that's kinda how I feel! I mean, when you get that sour sip of lemonade, summer itself is still great, right? And the perfect glass makes it all the more sweet.
That's the refreshing thing about knowing that God is in control of it all- when I feel that friends have let me down, that maybe my life isn't going exactly as it was planned a year or two ago (actually a great thing when I think about it), I'm restless for life to "get started"...I can trust that God has it all under control and that He wants me to make the most of my life now, a life that's already in full swing and with more sweetness than I could ever imagine or deserve.

~VL~

Half

This blog has everything to do with halves. How, you may wonder?

Well firstly, Parker and I have been in a relationship for half a year (so happy)! These last six months have been just wonderful- he is wonderful. He balances, challenges, encourages, and takes care of me in the most amazing ways. He cheers me up when I'm sad, and is patient with me when I'm being testy. I love seeing all the cool little ways we're starting to fit together- like when we were at B. Dalton yesterday and Parker says, "I'm getting you a present, so don't look at the books I'm carrying 'cause I don't want you to see!" We continue browsing through the store, and while he's at the cashier paying for the books I see one that catches my interest. I hold it up and say, "Hey, did you see this? This is so cool!" And...that's the book he got me! I love it! I love it when we're in the grocery store, or Wal-Mart, or anywhere really and he'll just start dancing with me. I love when he takes the long way driving to a restaurant so we'll have more time together. There's so many things! God has just blessed me with such a caring friend (and boyfriend) in Parker.

Next, Sunday is my half-birthday! So only six months until my birthday (I do love that glorious day...)! I should be one of those people who celebrates their half-birthday, or maybe just once, to see what it's like to have a birthday in the sunny first half of the year.

Sadly, I had a fantastic job for half a month. This makes me oh-so-sad, since I genuinely loved the job and the kids I was working with. It turns out that they need people who can be entirely flexible in their availability and lived in Santa Barbara and that just couldn't be me, since I was attached to the bus schedule and live in Santa Maria.

Last but not in the least bit insignificant, while riding a bike, I got hit by a car...halfway to Ashley and Jason's house! So, my family has been gone on vacation this week (I didn't go because supposedly I had work!) and I've been at home with no car. I was planning to go to Ashley's house but didn't want to walk, so I decided to ride one of Ernie's bikes (bad idea- I won't do that again...actually, probably never ride a bike again...) Simple enough, right? Well, everything was going great- I'm pedaling along, enjoying the beautiful day, when BAM! I feel getting hit from behind and next thing I know I'm lying on the ground looking at the sky. I don't remember falling. A little dazed and confused, I sit up and realize that no one had bothered to stop! I had been laying there for at least five to ten minutes- what, did people driving by think I was taking a nap? I call Parker and tell him what happened, and he immediately drives to pick me up and take me to Urgent Care. Those people are very leisurely until you tell them you were hit by a car...anyway, I got a CAT scan and basically a drunk test (with Parker chuckling behind the doctor), meanwhile being asked almost a hundred times if there was any possibility I could be preggo...oy vay. I walked out with the comfort of knowing I had a mild concussion and the sadness of not knowing the license plate of the car who hit me. If I had known, I would've probably been able to pay for college...

~VL~

Oh, The Places I'll (Hopefully) Go!

So, on Morgan's blog she asked if you could only go five places, what places would you choose? I hadn't ever really thought of that before, but here were my answers (since some of you who read my blog might not read Morgan's):

1) Paris- I just have always wanted to go. French bread, a book, street musicians, and the Eiffel Tower? Oh yes.

2) Sydney- I want to check out the opera house, see if there is a 42 Wallaby Way...

3) New York City- Yay! Museums, art galleries, music, theater...not to mention all kinds of different places to eat...
4) China- I don't know why, but I've always wanted to go to China!
5) Moscow- A combination of my little sisters' being Russian (sparked interest), a cool language, and great buildings (I've seen pictures)!

...and probably in that order! The cool thing about this question is that it helps me out a little bit because I was just about to blog about one of my life goals, which is that every year I need to travel to at least one country I haven't visited yet. Last year was Germany and Austria. This year, I haven't quite decided yet but do need to make up my mind! The year is already almost half over (which is crazy!) and I don't have any plans as of yet, but trust me, I'm thinking about it.

~VL~