rhythms of grace

O to grace how great a debtor
daily I'm constrained to be
let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
bind my wand'ring heart to Thee
prone to wander, Lord I feel it
prone to leave the God I love
take my heart, O, take it seal it
seal it for Thy courts above.

13 days.

the simple things

it's the simple things that make life just a little bit better.
& also the simple things that can make life just a little bit awful.
adele 19&21 on constant repeat. & gungor.
been on blogging+reading hiatus. must get back on the horse.
somalia's current status makes my heart break.
trying to stay more open to things. & people.
bee stings are truly painful. leaves you with a strange sensation.
chopped's lance nitahara is a true man. who can do that, really?
goodbye BB. hello iPhone4.
in need of inspiration.
less than two months away from the next chapter.

poison & wine

today, I had a random inkling to watch a movie, so I chose The Hours. it was very beautifully made and consisted of a stunning cast of women. when I read Mrs. Dalloway a long time ago, I had found Woolf's writing to be tedious and unnecessary. but upon enjoying this movie so much, I'd like to give it another try.

on the other side of the spectrum:

Bridesmaids was a pretty horrible film. I felt more frustrated than humored, and I just can't believe it got such high ratings.

but moving on:

barton hollow has been on repeat. can't get enough of that good stuff.

and let's end with this:

baobab seeds are poison. allow them to grow and you're in for a nightmare.

a light in the attic

flowers respond to music. isn't that amazing?
I like to color inside the lines.
watched L'arnacoeur last night. twas witty and fun. I truly love French films.
right now, I'd really like to drop everything and transport myself to Barcelona.
Conan's Thor trailers are so hilarious. there are three of them.
I want to watch this movie. it looks eerie and subtly raunchy, but so intriguing.
full-blown senioritis right now.

there may be pain in the night,
but joy comes in the morning.

show & tell

sitting kills. taking it pretty seriously.
flowers from strangers bring warmth.
trying to read the news more. some really interesting things are happening out in the world. things are so calm here in comparison.
I'd like to take a journey to visit all the pretty libraries of the world.
peonies & ranuncles.
Slaughterhouse Five has been a constant source of laughter.
the civil wars, june 14!!

dance me to the end of love

my limited edition little prince moleskine came in. all smiles.
nearing the end of b90x. it feels good.
fresh farmacy & grease lightning--current lush favorites.
randomly got sick in the middle of the day today. must be the rapid climate change.
God gives and takes away.
but man, when he gives, he gives.

dance me to the wedding now, and
dance me on and on
dance me very tenderly, and
dance me very long
we're both of us beneath our love
and both of us above
won't you dance me to the end of love?

photographs and souvenirs

a very eventful weekend:

walking adventure
dance performance
l'illusionist
beach bbq
santa barbara fair
catching up
lots of md

how come leftovers are so delicious? the microwave is an interesting gadget.
so many fruits are in season. watermelon, berries, mangoes. summer is on its way!
I wonder if county fairs will still be around by the time my children are in existence. sure hope so.
sometimes, I think I hear my ringtone. but of course, it's totally not. am I going crazy?
lately my memory has not been as vibrant as before. usually my eluding thoughts would make their way back to me, reminding me of their existence. but they are fewer now. perchance it's for the best. they must have been trivial.

so the story goes

last night, I fell in love with a boy named Michael. the confident way he flashed his goofy grin and the tenderness with which he held my hand captured my heart. my one-and-a-half year old nephew is the cutest thing ever. why are kids so cute all of a sudden?

the importance of breakfast was felt today. it was only after I ate something somewhat substantial that I began to bowl better in class. amazing.

addicted to using the mypanera card. they keep giving me free stuff!!

I love being introduced to new music.

this past weekend was oh-so-good to me.
thank You.

keeper of my heart

sometimes, I turn on the radio to see what kind of songs are hip. boy, some of the songs are truly disgusting. I wonder how they even came up with such trash. ie: alien sex song. granted, some of these songs are very catchy, but the lyrics make them almost impossible to bear.

the fact that a great number of Borders is closing leaves me with bittersweet feelings. the end of their reign=sad. the awesome deals=happy.

it's fun to whisper entire conversations.

tapatio-flavored doritos are my current favorite. I must try all the different chips in that flavor. and while we're on the topic of delicious carbohydrates, why are triscuits so addicting?

there's something so beautiful about the sound of violins. soothes me to my core.

I've gotta start riding my bike again. forgotten how fun it was until today.

can there really be only two weeks left of April? graduation season is almost upon us.

I'm restless till I rest in You
let me rest in You.

sous le ciel de paris

I like homonyms. it's really funny when they are misused.
current bowling average: 145. goal: 200+.
it feels good to be back in ballet. I think we're learning pirouettes this quarter.
thinking about teaching myself shorthand.
being human season finale. so intense.
I like hand-holding.
started Alice in Wonderland.
feeling lazy these days.
I think I'd really like to live in Paris for a few months.
parfois, je n'aime pas être un enfant unique.
en ce moment, je veux partir.

my heart and my flesh--they fail.
You are my portion.

bottle it up

mr. wind came on a bit too strong today.
been going on a personal journey through the cute cafes of sb.
so far: renaud's patisserie (very good cakes), our daily bread (ok), the french press (loved).
trying so hard to like coffee, but unless it's a latte, I pretty much gag.
I like looking at pretty pictures.
they temporarily transport me to beautiful places with beautiful things.
after the completion of Ulysses, I have managed to finish The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime and begin The Love Revolution and 50 Great Short Stories. everything is back to normal.
if you haven't already, watch this. then read this.
the dreams have returned.
can't wait for spring break!

these heavy sands

I'm done.
gotten through the impossible.
it feels good.
painful at times, funny at others.
sad, strange, racy, religious, confusing, convoluted, witty.
thank goodness that's over.
hopefully now I can start reading other books.
and start blogging again.
I truly believe this text has blocked me from doing so for the past few months.
I'd like to shut off my brain for a few days, please.

quelqu'un m'a dit

my life has been filled with a lot of fun lately.

1. had a staff lunch with my coworkers for the first time. I must admit, it was nerve-wracking--I had never done this before. but it turned out to be really enjoyable. they're all seriously awesome.

2. went on a brisk walk/jog on the coastline. on the way there, I found a stone path leading to a labyrinth. it was the first time I had ever seen it, and it was so cool! as I walked through the maze, I felt a calming sensation. there were no tricky turns that led me astray. when there was a dead end in front of me, there was a path to my left or my right that I could escape to in order to reach my destination. and that's when I realized that this is what life is like with Christ on our side. He'll always lead us to where we need to go, no matter how daunting the path may appear.

3. watched three movies for the Santa Barbara Film Festival--The Knot, Pure, Patisserie Coin de Rue--of which the last was definitely my favorite. it was the perfect mix of happy and sad, laughter and tears. very refreshing.

4. been really getting into French music lately. each song sounds like a beautiful poem. helps me study. and get through Ulysses without wanting to punch the wall.

5. had an amazing discovery. after a long search (three months to be exact), I found the cardigan I've been searching for. literally, the exact one I wanted. I think it's true, that you tend to find things when you stop looking for them.

I love this story:
And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon." But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, "Send her away, for she is crying out after us." He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." But she came and knelt before him, saying, "Lord, help me." And he answered, "It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs." She said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table." Then Jesus answered her, "O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire. And her daughter was healed instantly.
matthew 15: 22-28

something in the water

I love the sound of violins in songs. secrets_onerepublic is my current fave.
I'm really over Ulysses right now. as entertaining as my professor is in enlightening us of its brilliance, it's so dense and tedious. ten more episodes to go.
just started b90x with my church college group. it's like p90x, but with the new testament. love it so far. today's encouraging verse: "The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!" matthew 6:22-23
kiwis have become a part of my daily breakfast. they're delicious and nutritious.
I really don't like how mid-quarter, things start to get very mundane.
snap out of it.

give me long days in the sun,
preludes of the nights to come,
previews of the mornings laying in all lazy.

what dreams may come

finally got my little mermaid ringtone back. call me.
started The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime. a pretty quick read so far.
played bananagrams for the first time last night. a more intense version of speed scrabble.
as much as I love this sunny weather, it's been making me quite drowsy during the day. and making it quite impossible to wake up early in the mornings. but I'd choose it over the gloom any day.
where have you been all this time?
Grey's Anatomy, where have you gone?
feeling thirsty for some adventure.

I learned the art of biting my tongue.
I'm tired of trying to guess what was wrong.

you may as well be a part of my reality, because you play such an integral part in my dreams. get out of my subconscious.

witty banter

A panda walks into a cafe. He orders a sandwich, eats it, then draws a gun and proceeds to fire it at the other patrons.
"Why?" asks the confused, surviving waiter amidst the carnage, as the panda makes towards the exit. The panda produces a badly punctuated wildlife manual and tosses it over his shoulder.
"Well, I'm a panda," he says, at the door. "Look it up."
The waiter turns to the relevant entry in the manual and, sure enough, finds an explanation.
'Panda. Large black-and-white bear-like mammal, native to China. Eats, shoots and leaves.'

-Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation by Lynne Truss

the importance of punctuation and, consequently, of grammar.
gets me every time.

single digits

my final winter quarter
has been awesome thus far. I especially like my Ulysses seminar, where we just literally spend an hour talking about the intricacies of Joyce's language. time flies in that class. it's really a pretty cool book.

europe
was absolutely amazing. of all the cities I went to within ten days--london, paris, geneva, venice, rome, florence, milan--paris was definitely my favorite (venice came in second place). as cliche as it sounds, it was simply love at first sight.

films I've seen as of late
the black swan-strange
the king's speech-so very good
never let me go-not as satisfying as the book, but still pretty awesome

miscellaneous
I went rock climbing for the first time on Monday. I am still sore.
this is by far one of my favorite sermons. so convicting and inspiring.
I've found two of my blog soulmates: rougelily and cations.
I had an extremely vivid dream last night. would it mean anything if I told you that I wished it wouldn't end?

piece of treasure

I came across a gem of a song today at reality.
it goes a little something like this:

You won't relent until You have it all
my heart is Yours.

come be the fire inside of me
come be the flame upon my heart
come be the fire inside of me
until You and I are one.


that's the sheer beauty of it--
He'll never give up on me.

sweetly broken

simplicity. that's the word I grasp firmly in my hand as I enter into this new year.
in action, in thought, in speech, in every aspect of life.
I resolve to live simply, staying off the path of intricate complications and neverending webs of toils and troubles. whereas I will not be able to completely avoid obstacles, I desire to distance myself intentionally from such circumstances.

two thousand and eleven. it seemed so far away, and yet here it is, telling me to hurry up and come to the realization that minutes and days have already begun to pass me by.
it is a year that is unpredictable, like all others have been, but seemingly more so. the vision's hazy and at times even completely dim. all I can sense is change after change, and as exciting as the prospect may be, it is also extremely frightening.

but God's grace helps me to trust, helps me to realize, to breathe easier.


ready or not, here we go.