red box dvd

here's one of our coolest discoveries in minneapolis....a dvd vending machine where you can get movies for $1!!! pretty exciting!! and it is close to our apartment, so we can walk to it. oh, the joys of minneapolis...

the month of august

right now i'm sitting on my friends' couch in phoenix. it feels good to be in a place of familiarity, i have to admit. it is good to be back. i've only been gone 2 months. in some sense it seems so much longer and it other ways it feels like i still live here.

i'm leaving to go on a camping trip with my old church tomorrow. we'll be in northeast arizona. i'm very excited. there is nothing better than sitting around a campfire having good conversations with friends, staying up late, smoking cigars, and just hanging out.

this month has been a little crazy. i've been in virginia (for my brother-in-law's wedding), north carolina (to visit family), arkansas (to visit my best friend from college), oklahoma (for my grandmother's funeral), and now arizona (for a work meeting and camping). that is just crazy. everything has been fun, except the funeral and i'm glad that i am able to travel so much. my new ibook has already been put to good use. i've been working and traveling. it will be good to be back to our little apartment in minneapolis next week.

but i'm stilling thinking a lot about my grandmother. she has suffered from alzheimers for the last 10 years or so...and the last few years she has gone down hill fast. in one way you'd think that her death would be a blessing, that she isn't stuck in that lifeless body anymore. but it was much harder than i imagined. i grieved that i wasn't able to know the amazing lady for the last 10 years, i grieved for my grandpa, who was married to her for 69 years, i grieved because i love her so much and death seems so final. my brother spoke at the funeral and i loved what he had to say. i feel like there is so much i can learn from emma....especially that she laughed and smiled a lot, even through her disease.

a new mac

this past week i finally gave in....after much ridicule from every designer i meet, i finally bought myself a mac. but i didn't just give in because of the marketing and all its followers. i really gave in because i needed a laptop. now that i travel so much, i need to be able to work wherever i am. no, i didn't get the best out there. i just got me an ibook. and it seems to be working just great for me. i just got back from seeing travis' parents this week....my first trip with my new ibook. it was great. i feel like a whole new person. my office is the world!! pretty exciting stuff!

exploring

yesterday, i went exploring....i was driving around lake harriot and i stumbled upon a rose garden. i quickly parked and got out of my car...i was hoping to smell roses, but instead i smelled horse crap used for fertilizing. it was a beautiful view, anyway. what a beautiful place. i will have to go there often. it was a great place for me to pray, to think, to be inspired. i walked around and it just seemed to be park after park. my heart needed that. i love finding new places in this city...and i love this city. i sat under a tree for a while. found a few cool sculpture thing...(see the picture on the right)

shortly after that i got turned around in a lot of neighborhoods trying to get to costco. i'm sick of costco. too crowded, too many tempations to buy things that i really don't want in bulk...and they won't ever give me a box to carry my stuff out, unless i ask. anyway. that was my monday. pretty exciting, huh?

so, i'm still trying to figure out how to make the pictures look good on here, just deal with the ugly design for now.

well, here's a picture of travis in the cockpit...yes, it is real.
he is officially an airline pilot!! kinda' crazy!!

I just went to the walker art center tonight. they have "target free thursdays"...so why not enjoy a free night at the art center? i went for a tour on the mix of film and sculpture. it was great. it was so cool to see the other pieces they have there, too. i love how art can cause a reaction in you...that it can make you feel a certain way. i'm going to try to go there every thursday, if i can. they have different things going on.

i'm really enjoying minneapolis. i wish i could put better words to what i'm experiencing. i love being in the art of the city and close to so much going on. i love driving through the amazing neighborhoods close to where i live. i love being able to walk places. i love riding my bike around. i have found myself proud of this city, like it is a part of me...and i have only been here a month...pretty amazing....is the city really that cool or is just the place i'm suppose to be right now? maybe a little of both.

God's doing some cool stuff in my heart. i think this time alone came at a really good time. he is breathing life into me in a fresh new way.

well, here i am in minneapolis. i love the weather. i love the city. it really is inspiring.