dripping with passion

for the very first time in the 6.5 months since i took the leap to san fran, this week i have questioned if this is the right place for me and if i am going to stay for much longer. it's always been obvious to me that i belong in san francisco, and i have felt definite and sweet spiritual confirmations of my belonging over and over. so, i'm a little confused as i consider other options. in reflecting whether or not my time here may be shorter than i thought, i decided that i need another "things i like about my life right now" list. (here's part one and part two ) -i wake up to this view (you can't really tell how awesome it is, but i let out a blithe sigh whenever i see it first thing in the morning - yes, that's the ocean): -coral and teal sunsets and and full moons or a canopy of stars out the same window (that cannot be captured with a camera, no matter how hard i try) -my house is pretty and it feels like home, and my roommates are so good to me ...

i love valentine's day because i love love. it is true what edmund says in the most recent film rendition of jane austen's "mansfield park": " there are as many forms of love as there are moments in time ." i love each person that i love with a unique love, and i so love every one of those brands of love! i love celebrating all that love on valentine's day. i realized this february the 14th that this was my first v-day spent in america in 5 years! valentine's day 2007: jerusalem, israel putting on quite a celebration with the in-center activities committee - finding valentines on our doorsteps in the morning - surprising the boys and singing a special rendition of the mango song to them during class - an epic dance party with friends that had become like a family - one of the top 5 sunsets of my life from the jerusalem center balcony valentine's day 2008: basingstoke, england heart-shaped pancakes for breakfast with my trainer (my first week in t...

last week my parents came to town for 24 hours. i loved spending a glorious day in san francisco with mum and dad. look at those cuties. seriously, my parents are so cool. i don’t know anyone else who would both qualify for the senior discount on the ferry and enthusiastically rent bikes to cruise through the park. and after they left me they road-tripped down the coast to orange county. i’m forever grateful they passed on that never-miss-an-adventure thing to me. i was so excited to finally share my san francisco with linda and rick. we had perfect weather. and i think they came to understand a little of why i adore this place so much. after we dropped their bags off at my house, we drove downtown right as the lowering sun gleamed and bathed the hills in warmth and dad said, “i feel like i am in a dream.” welcome to the wonder of the city i love! i took mum and dad to all my favourite spots and toured them around the colorful neighborhoods of the city by the bay. they were...

charity's journal: 9 march 2010, china air flight 005 taipei --> lax - "and here we are, dear reader, on the last page of the journal. i feel a great need to sum up this experience but also a great inability. nothing could compare me for india and nothing can adequately describe it. the rich, colorful, crazy intensity of it all plus a truly life-changing experience that was surprising in many wonderful ways have combined to leave me stunned and enchanted and new in some aspects. i see the world differently now. my perspective has been expanded and enlivened and ennobled and excited and enthralled. i hope i can retain the zeal i've developed for diversity, the strength of conviction that has come, the appreciation i feel for blessings, the new or reinforced ideas i've conjured up, the stunning and strangely gorgeous sights i've seen, the way all my senses have been pricked, and most of all, the increased size and brighter glow of my beating heart." la...

my bestest friend in middle school was an artsy girl named caitlin. in those awkward, teenybopper years, she made my life happy. we played the flute together, wrote each other immaculate notes during english class, and giggled over our crushes. we grew up and cait ended up marrying her middle school crush, and i caught the bouquet at their wedding. together, they are one rad duo of art and music - she is a painter and he is a rockstar -- for real! i feel blessed that through the years caitlin and i have been able to maintain a sweet friendship. i look up to her a lot. i love caitlin's art. and guess what?? for valentine's day, the artist is offering a sweet special on prints of the two paintings you see in this post. what a unique and superb gift for one you love. maybe the coolest part is that caitlin is offering a "pay what you want" price for these stellar prints. yeah! woah!!! nah, the coolest part is that the art is uber awesome. right?? CLICK HERE!!! for more ...

after my experience taking the train to southern california and back, i cannot recommend transit by rail highly enough. i loved it i loved it i loved it. the ride down to l.a. took 12.5 hours, so i anticipated antsyness and brought along a lot of reading material, but when we pulled into union station around midnight i just wished i had more time on the coast starlight, train #1111.    reasons why i fell in love with train travel: no baggage weight limits or costs, no security screenings, lots of storage area for bags toooons of legroom, foot rests, calf rests, head rests, armrests… outlets to charge my electronics the practically floor to ceiling windows in the scenic lounge car amazing views (the way down the main scenery was incredible canyons that we got to right at golden hour)   train conductors in uniform walking down the aisles (and 2/3 of those i saw had white moustaches) the conductor making legitimately cool announcements (“we are now passin...

i spent the past week babysitting my brother’s three small children. i am a seeker of all kinds of adventures, and this was one like no other. a glimpse into the trump-all adventure of parenthood. (i’ve experienced such glimpses before, but for some reason or another, this one was particularly poignant.) among other things, i kissed owies better, tried to sooth choruses of screams when i really felt like screaming myself, changed the most world’s most epic stinky diaper (you are probably thinking, i have seen worse, but i honestly doubt it), drove to the elementary school in my nightgown, made a memory game and a chalkboard canvas out of the driveway, wiped up literally countless piles of spit-up, barely won the wrestling match in the pew during sacrament meeting, safely (but perhaps just barely) frequented the swimming pool and the school playground, sang lullabies and made pigtails and shook formula into bottles and desperately promised fruit snacks for good behavior. every night ...