camping is not for the faint of heart

so last night tam and i spent the night camping at comlara park. little did we know when we decided to go camping that we would be embarking on the adventure of our lives. we entered that campsite city girls but we came back wilderness wonder women. since i do not like to see knowledge go to waste, i have decided to share some camping tips so you, unlike us, do not have to learn the hard way.

ahem...

1. when building a campfire it is best to start with two key ingredients
-a lighter
-a fire starter
i am sad to say there is no other way to start a fire. it's just not possible.
it is also important to put all differences aside and join hands as a team. arguing over who is the better fire-builder will get you nowhere. it is only through teamwork that this great task can get accomplished efficiently. there is no i in fire...wait...

2. if you don't want to pee in a hole in the ground make sure you have a car to drive to the nearest real bathroom. this is of the utmost importance!

3. sleeping under the stars is awesome...until you wake up at 1:30 to the sound of coyotes ravaging another yelping animal...even that is not too terrifying until the howling gets louder and the nearby bushes start to rustle. that's when it's time to head inside the tent

4. if you forgot to bring stakes for the tent pray for no wind, otherwise you might wake up in the morning with the side of your tent trying to crush you...or when you're packing up you might have a hard time getting out of the tent because it will most definitely try to blow away with you in it.

there you have it. the four keys to an enjoyable camping trip with no injuries or accidents. i hope this will come in handy of at least one of you.

i feel much better now!

i'm sick...i just thought you all should know so you can feel as sorry for me as i do for myself

my patch of blue

today i was driving home from work with my sunroof open and my window down.  it was beautiful weather, perfect temp...(sigh)

i was almost home when i felt a noticeable drop in the temperature outside and i saw ahead huge rain clouds.  as i got closer and closer i thought, 'i should roll up my window cause i'm gonna get rained on.'  as my window was going up i waited for the rain drops to hit my windshield, but they didn't come.  i wondered why it wasn't raining yet so i looked up, (not always the safest thing to do while driving, but sometimes i just can't resist the urge to gaze at the sky) expecting to see looming dark clouds and i was really surprised to see the most beautiful blue open sky.

so i started playing a guessing game the rest of my drive called 'when will the clouds cover me.'  i'd look up trying to catch them roll over my head, but they never did.  there were a couple times i thought they had to be overhead, because the shadow and the cold felt so close around me i knew there couldn't be open sky above, but sure enough.

this got me thinking...it seems like there are times in my life when i allow approaching clouds to rob me of the blue sky in the present.  does anyone know what i mean?  i know without a doubt that the rain is approaching...i can see it in the distance...and sometimes it feels so close, so thick around me, that i completely lose sight of the fact that i'm not in it yet. 

then i thought how, not only in apprehension, but even in the midst of the darkest storm i still have my Savior's blue sky covering me...that small opening of hope that will follow me where ever i go.  so whether i see storms approaching or have to trudge on through them, i have a patch of blue to go with me.

thank you, Jesus, for being my patch of blue.

QUICK! before april is OVER!

here's the dealio folks.

i noticed that it has been almost a month since my last post and thought to myself, "being my birthday month, it would be a deep and terrible shame if i let the all of april pass without at least two posts." (that healthy snack that wasn't healthy post for a jami, totally didn't count) so i have resolved to grace you all with my blogging presence...

1 problemo...i have nothing to say! shocked?

well, well, well, that just goes to show you i will not be judged! i will not be thrown into a box with all other bloggers, slapped with a label reading, "likes to talk." no-sir-ee. i will choose when to talk and when to be silent. i will not let this blog rule me or determine when i have something to say. hah! take that blogisphere!

...hhhmmm, does the fact that i'm posting now contradict my little schpeel back there? oh come on! i am not bowing my knee to the world of blogs. i am merely nodding an acknowledgement mixed with a scolding for provoking unnecessary guilt for not expressing every little notion that pops into my head!

excuse me if i want to ponder things in my heart every once in a while. you know, like mary.

actually, funny story...

my mom once told me:

"leslie, i was thinking about how in the bible it says that mary would ponder things in her heart. i think it would be nice for you to try that, too."

thanks, mom

a great snack recipe for me sis

here james, i'm think i'm doing it right this time...

mmm... chocolate quesadillas!

so you basically take a tortilla, spread peanut butter and marshmallow creme (when i was little i used to think this is what Heaven would be made of... wait, i still do.) over half of it.    put banana slices and semi-sweet chocolate chips on top of that and fold the tortilla over it.  then you cook it in a skillet until both sides are golden brown and crispy.  oh, and make sure you butter or spray the outside of the tortilla before you start filling it.  when it's done enjoy.  and since these have bananas in them we can all officially talk ourselves into believing they're good for us!  yey!

there, i officially sound like a mother.  i think i'm going to be depressed.

i didn' know i could cry that hard

last night i finished reading 'anne of green gables' and just in the nick of time. one of my many resolutions this year is to read a book a month, which shouldn't be so hard but i just always seem to waste my time, plus....you guessed it...i'm slow.

anyhow, i've been wanting to read this particular book for years because the movies are so great. i was looking through my parent's bookshelf and found the prettiest copy i've ever seen and since i always judge a book by it's cover (i mean that only in the literal sense...not about people...although if i'm honest there have been times when i've done that too...shhh!) i knew i had to read it even if i hadn't wanted to for so long.

i simply loved every minute of this heart warming, thought provoking look into an extraordinary little girl's mind. i found myself laughing out loud quite a few times. but the height of all emotional influences of this book hit me at about 2am this morning when i was quickly trying to make my monthly deadline...technically late, i know, but i like to think the next day doesn't really start until after you wake up.

(for those of you who have never read or seen 'anne of green gables' and really want to without having any details spoiled, proceed no further. but i'm pretty sure all of you have at least seen it and are as big of fans as i am.)

this great surge of emotion was inflicted from the very well known scene where matthew dies, leaving anne with those precious words, "i never wanted a boy. i only wanted you, my anne. my girl." ooh, just writing it now about brings me to tears. as i read of the tragic death of matthew cuthbert i was flooded with this overwhelming urge to bawl...which happens often in books, but is always controlled to a sufficient amount of tears and scrunched up facial expression, as was the case here.

however, as i read on i began to lose all control and soon my tears and wrinkled expression compiled with an abundance of sobs and a quivering lower lip. i couldn't stop! i kept thinking, "leslie, you know this story. it's no surprise. get a grip!" but alas no grip came. for a solid 5 minutes i cried so hard i was afraid my roommates might hear me through the air vents two stories up! oh, matthew!

so this morning i was thinking through my previous emotional state and trying to find some justification in it. i told my roomy, holly, about it and she responded with an all too gracious, "i think it's a gift that you can feel that much for characters and relate in such a personal way that it moves you to tears. i never do that."

thanks for the encouragement, holly, but i'm prone to believe i'm just mentally unstable.