Oh Comely: 2014

Tuesday, December 30, 2014

36 Reasons Why 2014 Was Great:

1. Got a new car

2. Climbed a mesa, in a dress

3. Had a picnic in the middle of nowhere at sunset, also on a mesa

4. Received my prison badge

5. Saw a waterfall in Oklahoma for the first time

6. Went to Dallas for a day with Jake and Taylor

7. Saw mewithoutYou for the 4th time

8. Spent a few days with Amish people hanging out with them on their plantations

9. Went to California

10. Lived in a tiny house in the desert for 5 days

11. Went to Salvation Mountain

12. Spent an afternoon on the beach

13. Saw a seal whilst swimming in the Pacific Ocean

14. Finally (nearly) successfully photographed the moon

15. Saw The Grand Canyon

16. Played Norman Music Festival

17. Expanded from volunteering in jails to getting to hold around 8-9 worship services in one of the state's largest men's prisons

18. Saw Tycho live

19. Reached year 10 of surviving brain trauma

20. Went to a Renaissance festival for the first time

21. Saw Andrew Bird live

22. Learned how to cook more things

23. Swam in a waterfall at a natural swimming hole

24. Somehow ended up as the featured story on the front page of my town's local newspaper

25. Played the same music festival as AWOLNATION and Cold War Kids

25. Turned 22

26. Hosted a bachelorette party, a wedding shower, and 2 bridal showers

27. Had a lot of fun at the fair

28. Conquered the art of rock climbing with a blind person

29. Eliza got married

30. Was a maid of honour in a wedding for the first time

31. Walked around for an entire day dressed like Woodstock

32. Got one of my photos on a Jones Soda bottle

33. Saw Listener live

34. Bought a plane ticket to a far away place I've dreamed about for years (see you in 2015)

35. My hair got longer

36. Drew nearer in intimacy with our Great Designer and was challenged even further to love others beyond my own capability

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

41 Things That Make My Living Better

1. Freshly picked blackberries

2. Fireworks and the whole visual aspect of people celebrating, in general

3. Eating at restaurants in different states/countries

4. Getting a package in the mail, even if I ordered it for someone else

5. Stopping to listen to all the different sounding laughs when in a lively conversation with friends

6. Overcast days in the summer

7. Seeing elderly couples holding hands

8. When my dad sends me selfies

9. Old-fashioned candy shoppes

10. Swinging in Matthew's backyard

11. Homemade guacamole

12. 4 and 5 o'clock P.M. (every day)

13. The feeling I get when I'm rock climbing

14. Giant soft pretzels

15. Sleeping in

16. Amusement parks

17. When Eliza is about to tell a story and prepares me for it by saying, "Okay, now I would only tell you this..."

18. New boxes of crayons

19. Snapping a photo of someone in mid-laugh

20. Being told I smell good

21. Lightnings bugs

22. When my mum rides her scooter down the driveway

23. Working in a music store

24. Those times that I get to hang out with Tye

25. Pockets

26. Those old, haunting church bell chimes

27. GoPros

28. Making food with friends

29. Breakfast

30. Leading a group of people in worship

31. Going to festivals with Jes

32. Movie nights with just my brothers and I

33. Deep conversations with Olivia (as well as when she bakes sweets to put on my merch table)

34. Taking walks with people

35. That really positive feeling I have about myself after I've worked out

36. Getting excited about things

37. When James Reza gets excited about things

38. Watching really horribly made films

39. Adventures with the Salas boys

40. When people pick me up and twirl me around while hugging me (especially if it pops my back)

41. The poems the prison inmates write and give to me

"You can complain because roses have thorns, or you can rejoice because thorns have roses." -Ziggy

Thursday, October 23, 2014

The Abandoned Journal: Temple Israel

I decided to begin sharing a tiny morsel of my obsession with abandoned places and things by using my blog to post some of my adventures amongst them, for all of my fellow explorers out there and those on the internet hungry for a good discovery or history lesson.