observation.. This little nugget of hope is in the midst of Isaiah prophecies against various nations and peoples. There may be turmoil all around us, but if we long for the Lord, He will be gracious to us, He will be our strength, He will be our salvation.

application.. So much of scripture is simple like this one. The challenge is to remember and apply it daily, whatever we may be struggling with.

prayer.. “Lord, be gracious to [me]; [I] long for you. Be [my] strength every morning, [my] salvation in time of distress.” Isaiah 33:2

Murphy is getting so big

I was lacking in photo inspiration today, I’d meant to take a picture of dinner as Pierre had made a super tasty risotto but I was so hungry I’d eaten it before I remembered I had meant to take a picture! As I was sat on the couch wondering what could be my next subject my Mum called and said she was going to pop over as she had something to give me, and when she arrived with her “gift” I knew what my picture was going to be!

These are the first pair of shoes I ever owned! Granted Mum said I only fit in them for a few times but they are still my first pair! I can’t believe how tiny they are, I suppose I’ll be getting used to things like that eventually but now it seems really surreal. She also gave me “my” hairbrush as well, which is so so so soft!

In other news, I think I’m getting the office “cold” as I’m feeling rotten (run down, tired, headachy, snuffly etc) which is not what I want. I’m never sure what is ill and what is being pregnant. This feels like ill though so I’m having an early night tonight!

Taken on a Nikon D60.
…means leaving old toys behind.

I’m back on the road again.
The first day back is always an adjustment as I leave the luxuries of a
full size kitchen, bathroom and bedroom.
In addition, I go from being stationary to being a nomad.  There is a lot to be said for being able to relax
in one place, even it is for a short period of time.  Finally, I leave my friends and family and
the social aspect of my life.  Knowing I
will likely spend days at a time without having a meaningful conversation in
person with anyone, makes it difficult to press on sometimes…and I’m not even
that social.

After a few days, however, I get back into the groove and
enjoy exploring the nature and beauty surrounding me.  Finding interesting, new places and
revisiting ones I’ve come to love make the journey a special endeavor.

I said good-bye to my Texas friends on Tuesday afternoon,
took VANilla in for a final tune-up, visited Verizon (hopefully for the last
time) to work the kinks out of this pitiful mi-fi card, and finally arrived at
Chas’ house around nine, where I spent the evening chatting with him and his
girlfriend Ellen.

Chas is an old family friend who ran his own fishing guide
business in Louisiana prior to moving to Denver where he earned his MBA.  He currently wishes to enter the consulting
business full-time and is willing to relocate.
He is a great guy that can talk to anyone.  If you need a consultant, he’s your man!

After a coffee and scone at the neighborhood coffee shop,
Wash Perk, Chas sent me on my way beginning the next four month segment of my
travels across the USA.  I took I-70 west
to Central City, located just north of Idaho Springs.  Central City, once an old mining town, became
known as “richest square mile on earth” when $2 million of gold was gouged from
the nearby hills in 1859.

The resulting boom financed several Victorian style
structures that still stand today, including the Teller House and the Opera
House.  The Teller House was constructed
in 1872 and was said to be the finest hotel west of the Mississippi River.  In 1873, President Ulysses S. Grant came to
visit his good friend Henry Teller, who later became the first Senator from
Colorado, and stayed in the hotel.  To
impress the president, gold mine owners laid 26 ingots of solid silver to make
a path for the president to the entrance of the hotel so that he wouldn’t have
to dirty his boots when he stepped from the carriage.  It is said, that this angered Grant, who
instead used the boardwalk.  At the time,
Congress was debating whether gold or silver should back the dollar, and the
president did not wish to show any favoritism.

The Opera House opened in 1878 and was frequented by
luminaries such as Buffalo Bill Cody and Oscar Wilde.  The glory years were short-lived as the
Central City mines were played out and the opera house fell into
disrepair.  A volunteer effort led to the
restoration of the opera house in 1932 when it reopened featuring Lillian Gish
in Camille, launching an annual tradition of summer festivals.  The Central City Opera Company is the
fifth-oldest in the nation.

Just west of Central City is the ghost town of Nevadaville
where a steep, dirt road led VANilla by slopes scarred by mining.

After winding along the top of the mountain,
we descended to town and took 119 north through the Roosevelt National Forest,
where we stopped at a scenic overlook.  I’d
call it an “underlook” if there were such a word.  Peering up through the pine trees, I caught a
glimpse of a towering, grey peak with areas still cloaked in snow.

A few miles further up the road, Longs Peak, standing at
14,255, comes into view.  Its summit, visible
to half of Colorado, long served as a landmark to westward-bound pioneers.

Across the highway, a monument to Enos Mills
was built to honor the founding father of Rocky Mountain National Park.  His one-room cabin, still filled with books,
photographs, and climbing equipment is nestled in nearby pine trees beneath the
Twin Sister Peaks on private property.

We reached Estes Park in the late afternoon, where we passed
by the historic Stanley Hotel, featured in The Shining.

We found a campground with showers not far
from the Rocky Mountain National Park just before sheets of rain drove from the
sky.  I turned in early, but not before
enjoying the view from by bedroom window…a deer foraging in the tall grass.

This video was created for a school project by a student at the Clarion University of Pennsylvania for a Physics of Energy and the Environment class.  It’s a wonderful video on the how-to’s of dumpster diving with some alarming statistics.  Check it out.  It’s well worth 8 minutes of your time.

When he did finally show up, he walked through the door with a bouquet of flowers, sunflowers prominent among them. (He must have been really scared because I can count on one hand how many times he’s brought home flowers during the entire decade I’ve known him.)

I must not have lit up appropriately because he began narrating his movements: “I’m coming in. Look what I’m holding. Lookie here! It’s sunflowers. To make you happy.”

>>My unsmiling face, looking up at him<<

“Sunflowers! Get it? Theeee sun will come out …”

>>Right eyebrow shooting up<<

He drooped: “Alright. I will find a vase.” And then slinked off.

Listen, I’m not complaining because I said I wouldn’t. I just want to make a point here. If I’m so bloody talented that I “will have no problem finding representation,” then why, pray-tell darling Big-shot Agent, do YOU not want to represent me? Or were you just blowing smoke? Trying to make nice? Kind of a it’s-not-you-it’s-me rejection?

I’m not complaining or anything (because I said I wouldn’t) …. I’m just saying.

Also, why haven’t I heard back from the lady who was imagining me on Oprah during our agent meeting in Aspen? Did she glance over my work a second time and go: “Well, maybe not Oprah, maybe Tyra.” And then a few minutes later: “Or maybe Sally Jesse Raphael … oh wait, that show’s off the air now … oh well!” And then chucked my partial manuscript over her right shoulder into the slush pile?

I procured an online subscription to Writer’s Market today and I’m about to start sending out cold query letters to agents. An agent’s blog I was reading said: “Query widely but don’t blanket the town with your query unless you want to end up on Gawker.” Well, Mr. Nice Guy Agent, I’m not quite sure what that means. Is sending out ten queries a day for the next 100 days considered “blanketing?” Is camping out outside an agent’s door until he or she says the magic words: “I would like to offer representation” considered stalking?

Two more weeks and it will be time to reach out to the editor from Algonquin Books, my new best friend (in my own mind only), my fairy god older sister, the lovely and incomparable Ms. J.

>>Long-suffering sigh<<

Until then.

P-51 Fun

I spent the day at the EAA AirVenture event in Oshkosh Wisconsin. I would like to spend more than one day, but lately, that has been hard with racing and art shows. Just not enough time off. Work again is getting in the way of life. Saw tons of airplanes today. Many aircraft I would like to have for my own. The sound of a P-51 at full throttle 50 foot off the deck is something I still love to hear. Cessna 195s, Pitts, B-17s, Biplanes, and much more. I love them all and would like to fly them all.

See all my Picture-Of-The-Day images in a calendar format at: http://shuttercal.com/calendar/MarkBuehl/

Day 198…My husband was out in the backyard yesterday and told I should go out and take pics of the big bumble bees! I love their fuzzy bodies!

Day 197…Abandoned…the boys took baseball stuff to play with at the park. It was quickly abandoned…

Day 196…A thank you…for the beautiful seaglass and shells…

Day 195…Rain! You would think after living in Washington for 11 months we would be sick of rain! Nope…the girls and I quite enjoyed it!

Day 194…Newly constructed t-ball fields and a soccer field at one of our favorite parks. The giant sports balls are pretty cool!

Day 193…My initials used to be so easy to type…heh…

Day 198…My husband was out in the backyard yesterday and told I should go out and take pics of the big bumble bees! I love their fuzzy bodies!

Day 197…Abandoned…the boys took baseball stuff to play with at the park. It was quickly abandoned…

Day 196…A thank you…for the beautiful seaglass and shells…

Day 195…Rain! You would think after living in Washington for 11 months we would be sick of rain! Nope…the girls and I quite enjoyed it!

Day 194…Newly constructed t-ball fields and a soccer field at one of our favorite parks. The giant sports balls are pretty cool!

Day 193…My initials used to be so easy to type…heh…

Day 199

This photo is from day 199 of the Great Grow Out. I know I haven’t been keeping up with this blog lately, but I’ve been busy with school, football, online classes and that blasted “other” blog. If you really want to know what I’ve been up to, check in with the Blessings Blog.

As part of my homework for my MJC online class, we had to talk about any online presence that we have so I listed the website. I received 3 comments back (all positive) but the part that cracked me up is that people actually made comments about growing out my hair. These people don’t know me at all, but they are still interested in hearing how the process is going.

I get people coming up to me all the time and asking about my hair. Most are honest enough to say they notice a difference and I really haven’t had anyone say they didn’t like the new look. But I’m still just in shock over the amount of attention my hair receives… so if you’re interested… here’s the truth!

I hate it. It’s in a middle stage right now where it’s too short to leave straight, and too long to curl. I’ve resorted to using velcro rollers and hairspray to style it which leaves me with BIG TEXAS HAIR! Ick. I haven’t colored it in about 6 weeks, so the big patch of grey right in the front by my cow lick is really obvious… but this part doesn’t bother me. As a matter of fact, I like it because it’s a constant reminder of the fact that it IS growing. It’s very frustrating right now, but I am committed to at least 365 days of growth before I make a final decision about style and length. Keep checking in with me for updates.

By the way… Yes… that is the same dress I’m wearing. It’s my sister-in-laws and I really like it so I wore it again to a wedding on Saturday.