by the bright shining light of the moon

 

oh, wisconsin.  how do you do what you do to me? 

 

as many of you probably know, i was in madison and appleton for a very brief stay this weekend.  i have recently been quoted as saying that i really love and miss wisconsin, but only in the summer.  turns out...that's not quite true... 

 

as soon as i got on the beltline, my heart felt different.  i drove past fish hatchery road and todd drive and was flooded with memories.  the places and faces and tastes of madison...there aren't enough words.  i got to see dan and holly.  i ate pho.  i played ultimate.  i got adjusted by chad, the best chiropractor in the freaking world. 

 

although it was butt cold, the weather was relatively cooperative and not much worse than indiana.

 

...and cheese.  OH, THE GLORIOUS CHEESES OF WISCONSIN!  it's something you just can't understand unless you have lived there.  when it comes to cheese, every other state is terrible.

 

and oh yeah, there was that great heart time with mj and jb.  nbd.  lots of giggling, quoting, and eating. 

 

considering i moved to wisconsin seven years ago on a pretty much just a whim, that state grabbed hold of my heart and refuses to let go, no matter how long i am away.

 

it's a terrible, good ache.  just think how bad it would be had i gone to a brewers game or the farmer's market or the farm...

hello, old friend

yeah, i have been absent.  not just from posting.  from reading blogs, too.  so if you have been writing super important things with funny little jokes that i should be laughing at, i haven't read them.  sorry.  i will spend some time catching up on those.

life update: i am still in madison.  still working for dan.  still playing frisbee.  but i am tired.  my body is worn out, and i miss home.  i love madison, and it will always be a home place for me, but it is not home anymore.

i am still looking at and applying for jobs.  waiting on one in particular, but we'll see how it goes.

i decided i am moving back to indiana in the middle of november.  unless i am called somewhere else earlier.

finally, a new little project.  miranda and i are doing beth moore's bible study on the psalms of ascent.  it's called stepping up, and i am super loving it.  one of the things i love most is that we are rewriting those 15 psalms in our own voice at the end of each section.  so great.  really helping me connect to the Word and to the Lord.

so...i think i am going to rewrite all the psalms.  and i am going to post them here randomly.  no timeline.  just want to share my heart a bit in that way.  i welcome your comments.

the end.

oh yeah...so here's some stuff.

i wanted to try and explain what i am doing this summer. this is not necessarily in order of priority or time spent.

a) i am taking two classes. (shout out to those jokers reading this!) they are online. lots of the same people i've been 'in class' with for the past two semesters.

b) i am playing frisbee. 4 nights a week. and almost every weekend. booyah.

c) i am working for my friend, dan. i will eventually post some pictures (that would require me taking my camera to work) that will better illustrate the things i am doing. the short version is that i am sorting and merging magic cards. and picking and shipping them. and other random stuff. the key is that i am getting really good at 'colors' (colorless, white, blue, black, red, green, gold, hybrid, artifacts, lands) and alphabetizing. and i am working on memorizing the sets. dan has informed me i will make a nerd husband very happy someday.

d) i am [theoretically] working on my book. but i haven't actually done that at all yet. too much homework...too many magic cards.

e) other random things. like brewers games (this sunday!!), going to all the cool places in madison that i love, playing excessive amounts of settlers with josh and jennifer, eating and cooking (but mostly eating), and mowing the penning's yard.

it's good times. i am busier than i expected. i think the summer will be over in the blink of an eye.