Okay, so everyone in my office is sick. I really don't want to get it, so I feel obligated to go purchase myself a germ-mask :) Okay, I won't but I'm really tempted to do it. I hate being sick and don't want to get this bug, even though I really don't know if there is a way I can avoid it...so, here's to the Vitamin C and hopes that it'll keep the icky bug away!!

election day is next week. I finally found a breakdown of the candidates in the paper today, so now i can be an educated voter. i believe in voting, but i also believe in being an educated voter, so i'm feeling a little better about that whole thing.

I guess I don't have a lot to say today. Tim and I's three month anniversary is tomorrow. Wow! I can't believe it's been three months already-time is a strange thing. In some ways it feels like we've been together for so much longer, but in other ways it seems like we just got together. Neither one of them are bad feelings; it's just funny how I can feel both of those at one time!!

Sometimes I forget how rare it is to actually be appreciated for what I do at work. I think, because I work at a church, it's easy to forget that I work with people, who, by their very nature, are caring and like to let you know when you're doing a good job. But, I remember what it was like to work at 1stBooks and I remember that that isn't always the case. Today one of my bosses took me to lunch, just to let me know that he appreciates what I do here and that he enjoys working with me. It is a very simple gesture, but one that, today, touched my heart. So, Jeremy, thanks :)

This is week 2 of going to the Y. i'm still excited and hope I see some changes soon. Granted, the cheeseburger during the aforementioned lunch probably didn't help anything. Ah well, what can you do? :)

Happy Monday, world! The sun is shining on another day, even if it is getting colder and colder outside. At least it's not snowing. Yet. :)

It's Friday again. I heard rumor that there were flurries in the forecast at one point for the next few days and I was angry. However, there doesn't seem to be a mention of it this morning, so hopefully it was just a bad dream during the news last night. Because let me tell you what I'm not ready for-snow. Sure, i know it's coming, but let's face it--it's OCTOBER. Cold, sure; bitter, okay...snow, NO. As I've said before one of my favorite things about living in Southern Indiana is getting to really experience all the seasons, but that is only fun when the seasons come when they're supposed to come. Like winter. It's not officially winter until December 22 this year, so it would be nice if it wouldn't snow before then. I know, the chances of that happening are pretty much nill, but still, it would be a nice change of pace, you know? Granted, I really don't want it to snow well until March, though, so....take some lose some I guess.

I tired in vain today to get tickets to "the Blue Man Group" in Indy tonight. I didn't know they were coming until this morning, but they're a trip. If you've never seen them, you really should check it out at some point. I saw them when I went to visit my friend Annie when she was living in Boston 2 summers ago. It was a strange, great, amazing experience. They're political and they're funny and they do some crazy stuff, but it's totally worth it. Kind of one of those out of body experiences, if you know what I mean. :) But, there are no tickets, so I will have to find something more exciting down in Bloomington tonight. Good luck with that one, Emmy. :)

For those of you who didn't think it existed, and wondered if I was just crazy, I give you the lyrics to "Brush Your Teeth"

When you wake up in the morning at a quarter to one
and you want to have a little fun
You brush your teeth
(cha-cha-cha-cha-cha-cha-cha-cha)

When you wake up in the morning at a quarter to two
and you want to find something to do
You brush your teeth
(cha-cha-cha-cha-cha-cha-cha-cha)

When you wake up in the morning at a quarter to three
Your mind starts humming "Tweedle-E-Dee"
You brush your teeth
(cha-cha-cha-cha-cha-cha-cha-cha)

When you wake up in the morning at a quarter to four
and you think you hear a knock at the door
You brush your teeth
(cha-cha-cha-cha-cha-cha-cha-cha)

When you wake up in the morning at a quarter to five
And you just can't wait to come alive
You brush your teeth
(cha-cha-cha-cha-cha-cha-cha-cha)

You brush your teeth
(cha-cha-cha-cha-cha-cha-cha-cha)

Happy Sunday! It's about 10:30 and I am getting ready to call it a night and head to bed, but thought I would write a little here first and expound upon my weekend. Saturday was a great day. Tim and I went on a long drive all day--we were going to go to Brown County, but it is peak leaf season and that means there would be about a million people milling around the park, so we decided to just drive. We ended up driving through a lot of Hoosier National Forest. Let's see, we went from Bloomington to Bedford to Logottee (however it's spelled) to the dairy queen. From there we went to West Baden Springs. Have you been? If not, you simply MUST go. We toured the West Baden Springs Resort and Spa. It's an amazing old building (I'll look for a URL and put it in here tomorrow) and grounds that were built on natural mineral springs (yeah, the stuff that smells like sulfer). The hotel hasn't been active since 1929, and it is now part of the National Historial Society, which means that it's getting some money to make the necessary repairs, but still. There is talk in Orange County of opening a Casino, which would mean money and jobs, but at what cost? The good people of Orange county will vote on November 4th about the casino and the land-locked West Baden Springs Hotel may soon become part of living history. I think it would be really amazing to see it in working order again, but am sure it would cost a fortune to stay there. There is enough majesty and beauty there to make it a success. The best part? It's for sale. It's true, for only 33 million dollars, YOU can own this piece of property!!

After touring the hotel, we went to Lake Patoka and then began the drive home. We stopped again in Bedford for dinner and Tim saw something he considered rare-a man with a mullet. Silly Tim, he hasn't spend a lot of time in Bedford, now has he? :) Then it was home, a movie, and then I came back to my apartment and went to bed. It seems so simple to describe it here, but it was another beautiful day in the brief history of Emily and Tim. It's true, it's been 11 weeks already. Such a short amount of time, yet so beautiful and amazing and so much has happened...so amazing.

A total change of subject: I'll be in Costa Rica in about 6 weeks. I'm excited and nervous--got a crazy email from my aunt about monkeys, the jungle and pickpockets...wow, this is going to be an adventure unlike any other. I hope I can find a computer down there to post blogs throughout the week. I think I'll need it. :) In an effort to be a little more comfortable in a bathing suit, Rene and I joined the Y today. Tomorrow is our first workout. Should be an adventure. :)

Goodnight...

I've been trying to write something for this site for a couple days now and just haven't really had anything to say...so, pardon me if this is nothing but rambling nothings... :) Do you remember the old saying that children are meant to be seen and not heard? I've always had a problem with that statement, but lately it's really bothered me. I don't' know, maybe it's because I work in children's ministry and because I've always loved kids and loved being around kids, but who really thought that thought up???? and why did it catch on like it did? So, on that note, here's a great quote...from a 7 year old...

"I believe in God, but I still wonder about a lot of things. Like I wonder how He made eyeballs." Joseph Langer

How true is that? I know that I believe in God, but I still wonder about a lot of things, myself. I wonder why friends hurt, I wonder why life is hard, I wonder why everything can't go right at once. I wonder if I love Him enough, I wonder how I got so blessed, I wonder what people see when they look at me. I hope the person they see is the person I am. I hope I am as genuine as I can be. I find it funny that the deeper my faith becomes, the more questions there are to ask. But, that is part of seeking him; that is part of experiencing life and experiencing this journey we are on, instead of just being here. And that's one of the greatest things about being a kid, whether your a little one in 'reality' like Joseph or whether you're a kid like we all are; God's kids. Kids aren't afraid to ask questions, they are naturally inquisitive, and they want to know what is going on in the world; what's more, they want to know WHY...the questions get a little harder, the older we get, but the longing to ask them stays. Instead of why is the sky blue? we wonder...why do bad things happen to good people? Instead of why does a dog bark? we wonder why do we say such hurtful things when in our hearts we are not hurtful beings? Instead of why is that boy sad? we ask why am I sad, why am I lonely, why do I hurt?

And, just like we don't always have the answers for everything a seven-year-old asks, God doesn't always let us in on the plan. The secret is to take comfort in the plan anyway....and know that He's already answered the hardest question of all...Why did you send Jesus to die for me? Because I love you, that's why.

So, wonder away, dear children. Ask God the hard questions and then relax knowing that He's got the details already worked out. Why? Because God is God and we are man...we only know one little piece in the puzzle of the universe.

Okay, some days I feel like there are a million and a half reasons why I would rather live anywhere than Southern Indiana. Take, for example, the 120% humidity in the summer. Or the ice, ice, ice, snow, ice, mix in the winter; the fact that I live in a college town, yet do not attend college anymore. The 45 minutes it sometimes takes me to drive the less than 10 miles to work in the morning. The list could go on and on...but then, something happens and I realize exactly why I love this part of the world so much

--FALL happens.

Right now, the leaves are about every shade of red, orange, and brown you can imagine. Not dying brown, but living brown--it's amazing. Just glancing out the windows here at work and seeing the little I can see paints such a beautiful image in my head. It's as if God, for just a few weeks every year, looks down on Southern Indiana and says "look what I can do! It's amazing, it's beautiful, it's so much more than you ever thought possible. To you, they're just leaves for 11 months a year, but then in just a few brief moments everything changes and it's a masterpiece of epic proportions."

It is moments like this that I am completely humbled to know that just like He paints each leaf on each tree, He is painting my life and making it a brilliant masterpiece. Little ol' me! And sometimes it's the bottom layers of the masterpiece that he works on - you know the ones, the ones where it's the foundation, but when the work is done, you can't really see them. And I think that's when we feel God the most. My friend Liz just got back from a worship conference and said some really amazing things about being in place and in peace with God. Check it out Liz.

It's funny how just a few hours can change your outlook. I know it's a cop-out sometimes, but I know when my hormones are out of control and what that does to my body-it makes me really emotional...and then you throw in an extreme lack of sleep the last few days, and here we are. But, luckily, I am dating a really understanding man who knows that when i'm really tired and really out of the loop, I sometimes say things that I don't mean, or have a hard time making sense of what I'm feeling. So, now, I feel much better, but am to the stage of just missing the boy a lot, even though he just works upstairs (literally) from me. I think this blog will become quite a bit of short blogs that are my current thoughts and ideas and feelings and not so much really deep, really difficult ideas that I'm wrestling with, if that makes sense. And since I have internet access most of the day, it's helpful. I can log on and say what I'm feeling and log back off in just a matter of minutes. Now, the really funny thing is that i think all of three people read this thing :)

Open Mouth. Insert Foot. This should be the theme of my life. I think it deserves a place on honor on a T-shirt I wear, a bumper sticker on Ginny, and a mug from which I drink my coffee. I have a sick tendency to not think things quite all the way through before I say them--and that can sometimes cause a whole slew of problems in my life, you know. Maybe not huge, life-changing problems, but it makes me feel bad about myself and worry about what I say and do. Last night was one of those times. The only thing worse than the open mouth, insert foot mentality I have is the I don't know how to accept forgiveness mentality :) Neither are healthy, I do believe :)

Have you ever had one of those days where you have so much to say you're not sure where to begin? i'm having one of those days today. I feel kind of lost, but not in a bad way--in an "I like being lost because then I have to search to find the things to bring me out" kind of way. I guess for awhile now I've been walking around with this assumption that I wasn't allowed to feel anything but happy. And, don't get me wrong, I am happy--but that doesn't mean I can't have a bad day or that things can't bother me or that things can't make me want to cry- those are natural responses to life, right? Life is hard and it isn't always perfect and there is always a quest for something more. I think in the bliss of falling in love and finding someone who is basically PERFECT for me, I've forgotten that I'm still allowed to feel and hurt and dream and wonder and wander....that he is an amazingly important part of my life and a beautiful thing that brings me so much happiness, peace, and joy, but that there are other things in life, as well. it's all so strange. I feel like my life has been a ball of play-doh being squeezed out of that spaghetti contraption and now God is quietly molding all the pieces back together to make me whole. I didn't know I was allowed to feel whole again. it's a nice feeling.

Today I got a fish. A wonderful lady here at the church used it for a talk and then decided that she didn't want it anymore, so now it's sitting in it's little home on my desk. Tonight I will take him home, get a 'real' tank for him, and let the water sit for a day before putting him in his new home. He's a dark red beta. very cute, actually. i'm excited. i love fish. I would love to have a fish tank, but I really don't think we need one more thing in our apartment at the moment. :) Anyway, that's the new and exciting thing for today. It's been a very fishy week. This weekend Tim and I went to the aquarium in Newport, KY. It's really neat and one of those things that is actually worth the money :) I had a great time!!!

it's monday morning and I have a feeling it's going to be a great week :)

There is something about Friday. It's so hard for me to get motivated, but at the same time I am so happy that the weekend is here...it's a strange feeling, that's for sure. Fridays at my job are always one of two things-either they are completely easy and i don't have a lot to do or they are so jam-packed I don't know how I will ever get everything done that needs to be done. It's only 9:15, so i'm not sure how this one is going to turn out yet. So far things have been pretty slow...so that could be a good sign :)

I am fighting my first cold of the season. I do not like being sick at all, but I guess that's just what happens when you're up too late and you spend an entire weekend in the woods, even if you are inside. The weekend was worth it, though, just as being up late at night to spend time with Tim is worth it. Someone told me to take an insane amount of Vitamin C so I tried that this morning--we'll see what that much Vitamin C does to the stomach lining of a person. :) Should be interesting...

Can you tell I'm having a hard time forming complete sentences? we'll see what the combo of cold medicine and vitamin C do to a person...

"I love you."

He whispered those words to me a week ago and sent my heart racing. I never knew I could feel like this after such a short amount of time--I never knew that my heart would skip a beat when I caught a fleeting glimpse of him walking down the hall, on the way to one office or another. I never knew that hearing him say my name would cause my breath to catch in my throat and a smile to dance across my face. I never knew that an embrace could make every dark moment disappear into nothingness as we sit together, doing nothing, just enjoying being with each other.

I thought I had known love; I thought that I had understood the little things that make a relationship work, but I was wrong. Relationships require work, they have all told me. And, i'm sure they're right. But work and being hard are too different things. This relationship is not hard, it's amazingly easy, amazingly peaceful, amazing blessed. I'm beginning to understand now. I'm beginning to feel love in a way I never thought possible. I'm beginning to believe in the unbelievable.

"I love you."

As of today, it has been 2 months. A short amount of time, but at the same time, a telling journey. We have spent a lot of time together and we have both felt the same kind of love. Last night he said those three little words as he dropped me off at my apartment. He looked right into my eyes, and I could see nothing but love, passion, and beauty. I'm amazed and humbled and loved by a true treasure on earth.