There are days when I feel like living in the age of technology is a curse. I feel like we take the simple things in life for granted, and think of them as boring rather than sweet.

Sometimes I feel like we've forgotten what it is to have an actual conversation; one that doesn't involve hitting 'send' first.

But then there are the times when I get an online message from someone I haven't talked to in ages -- someone whose phone number has been lost or changed over the years; someone who has moved enough times that a mailing address becomes impossible to keep track of... It's those times when technology is an absolute blessing -- when their name is staring at you from your inbox, and that part of you that you've forgotten to tap into lately because it is so far in your past suddenly becomes alive again.

It's nice to know that all you need to do is type someone's name in a blank, and in a matter of seconds your lives can be connected again.

Summary time!

- My audition is growing closer and closer by the second, and it still hasn't really hit me. At this point, I'm unsure if that's a good thing or a bad thing.

- Scott Johnson, my former next door neighbor and relative of sorts (ahhh, Naselle...) has become the new local hero, after receiving a gunshot wound to the head after a DUI arrest last week in Long Beach. He was taking inventory of a car about to be towed when a man who had nothing to do with the arrest itself came up and shot twice. The Washington State Patrol has seen too many tragedies in the past few months, and by God's grace Scott's name was not added to that fateful list of lives lost. What an amazing thing it was to watch the WSP caravan escort bring him safely home to a town of people that love him.

- Jeff and Katie Bjornsgard officially have a new addition to their family! Ava arrived in Miami from Haiti a few days ago with a tearful and relieved welcome from her new parents. It has been a long and emotional ride that so many people have become invested in -- and now she is here! A beautiful, precious gift for such a wonderful family.

- At this moment, I should be on my way to Rochester to spend the weekend with some of my best girls -- the first time we would have all been together at the same time in nearly 3 years. However, Life decided to be mean and instead I'm sipping apple juice... And throwing it back up. Awesome. For someone like me, a person whose whole world revolves more consistently when she's with her best friends, this is a travesty. C'est la vie, I suppose... Bah.

- This morning when I woke up, the elk were in the yard being watched by a couple of bald eagles. The fact that the population of wildlife here far exceeds the population of humans is something we like to joke about, but you know what? It's pretty special...

Fruit. Singular.

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.

Fruit of the Spirit.
Not Fruits.

All or nothing.

...to truly love

some silly little piece of music

or some band

so much

that it hurts...

- from 'Almost Famous'