TO's

I like to think that conceit isn't something that plagues me. But thats just arrogance on my part. I'm no better than anyone else. I'm still human. I still struggle. Well, thats the lesson I learned today. Several days ago I read a blog post written by someone very dear to me. It was about losing the desire to work in a relationship. I'll admit, I wasn't too worried about making the same mistake. Thats only for couples who've been together for decades, right? Not quite.


It turns out I got distracted too. Not without good reason. I mean, I'm 17 I have a job with tons of hours, I'm studying the Bible with my pastor in the hopes of serving as a pastor, I have a girlfriend I desperately want to marry, I'm trying to wrap up high school, and get going on college. Its a lot. I barely have time to write this. As it is, I'm cutting into my precious 8 hours of pure happiness period. And thats after not sleeping much last night. Add to the mix some serious struggles with anxiety. (WHAT on Earth caused that, i wonder...) With all these things weighing on me, I haven't always been pleasant. I've been a grump.


Which is fine. I mean, Meg still loves me. She patiently hugs the bad moods out of me. And with all these things putting immense pressure on us, we've made it over 14 months of dating with only one real fight. Also, we've barely spent any time apart for over a year. Its been amazing. I've loved every minute. I wouldn't trade it for anything. Im so comfortable around her. I can tell her absolutely anything. I love her so much.


Craziness or no craziness, I've let things slip. I can't remember the last letter I wrote her. Im gonna make sure that changes. Sure, my sappy mind is still here. I've been planning many, many things. But its not the same when its years away. I need to do things NOW. I get that marriage isn't a constant state of making gooey faces at your spouse. I know its not all sunshine and roses. (Dating sure as heck isnt perfect either.) I'm ok with that. I know we'll have our fights. I know we'll have rough patches. It doesn't make me love her less.


I'm sort of learning a balance. The intense feelings of teenage love can't (and shouldn't) be maintained over a lifetime. Its impossible. And thats fine. Real life can be pretty great too. Better, usually. As a wise woman once said, There is a surprising amount of romance in doing the mundane tasks of life mundanely with someone you love. (Thats a paraphrase.) Its just life. And I'm ecstatic that mine will be filled with goofy trips to Walmart and jokes that we have together. I honestly believe we'll spend forever being King and Queen of Kemenbar. (Another thing I've let slip.)


What brings this upon my peaceful, simple blog, you ask? Today brings it. Rather a slight twist in the grooming habits of a certain someone. She showered last night. And let her hair dry while she slept. The result was a frizzy, curly, adorable mess. I loved it. It drove me crazy. On top of that, she put the slightest bit of makeup on today. "Just for you" she told me. That was it. I was done. Out for the count. Full-on puppy dog, sappy, mushy mess. Thats me. I was a puddle again tonight. I can't remember being THAT twitterpated. There hasn't ever been a moment where I didn't think she was beautiful. Nor one where I wasn't in love. But this, this was a different feeling entirely. Her eyes were the only things in the room. I can't describe it. Not with every poetic bone in my body.


If I COULD describe it, I'd know it wasn't as amazing as it felt.Why such a change? I don't know. Maybe just the act of her *trying* to turn me into a puddle did it. I just know that the nervousness I felt tonight was a million times better than when we first started.


I want to do the same for her. I don't quite know how. Maybe I'll ask her. I guess I'll just keep being sappy. I'll write letters and notes and Facebook wall posts. Ill hope that she doesn't get bored. I'll pray that the 3,482,100th "I love you" means more that the 1st.


Now. Allow me to use this sturdy platform of mine to send this girl a message.


Dear Megan,


I. Love. You. Ok? Don't let that be background noise. Its not something I'm "just" saying. Its something I'm begging you to hear. Its every smile, every chivalrous thing I do, and every kiss I've ever given you, all packed into three teeny tiny words.


So let me say it again. I love you. Lots. Tons. Vast amounts. I don't care if some days we just can't find sappiness. Maybe we'll just be comfortable sitting on the couch watching a movie. Maybe we won't need to go out to dinner. Lets make sure we see the romance in every day life. Never forget how much I love you. 


Please know that I don't need you to wear make up to be madly in love. I don't need you to change the way you look. I adore everything about you. Still, I would ask that you join me in shaking things up whenever we get in a rut. Do something unexpected. I'll make sure I do too. Lets just have fun, ok? I want to be married 50 years and still staring into your eyes like they're the only things in the room. Lets show all the boring, cynical people how its done. Somewhere there's a realistic balance of how to stay in love. We'll never find. I don't really care. I'm just happy I have someone to always help me look.


Always,
YSG

Practice.

This blog has provided me (and hopefully you) with unimaginable enjoyment over the past several months. I've had fun being silly and serious. And none of that is by any means going away. I'll still have random posts. I'll still put up pictures. I'll still explain my day. I'll still write strange and honest songs. I'm just adding a little something to the mix. I suppose its not all that new. I've done posts on Bible passages before. Its just that now I'm going to do them more regularly.

Every month, I'm going to write a blog post about a passage from the Bible. I'll be starting at the Sermon on the Mount and I'll just take it one passage at a time. I'll put it together just like I did when I was preparing devotionals.

I'm really quite happy about this. The very best studying I've ever done was when I needed to share it with people. So thats what I'm trying to create. With luck, this will help me stay focused on God amidst the craziness of my life. I don't know if I'll get just one done a month, or two, or four. It depends on my schedule. But I will be doing them.

And one more thing. None of these will be about me preaching "at" anyone or even preaching at all. I'll just be sharing my thoughts and studies and what God has laid on my heart after a month spent digging in one specific passage. I hope you all get something out of them as I know that I will. I honestly can't wait to get started.

It's been a really, really messed week.

Where to begin...

I don't even know anymore. I could detail my experiences of the week. That'd be boring and pointless. You all know anyway. You about my new job, my belly flop, and everything else that happened to me. I honestly feel like I'm losing my mind. Scary thoughts and feelings are inching their way to the back of my mind. Its taking a while. I've had to leave one of my favorite things behind, but it beats the feeling of being terrified of nothing at all. Long story.

I would like to apologize to everyone who came into contact with me during the month of August. I haven't been a pleasant person. Im sorry.

I hope to change that. Let me start now...

Once a turtle licked its own restricted planning meeting. He licked everyone of those Iguanaz. Yes, thats Iguanaz with a "z." They rap better than you would expect. Go ahead. Just ask them about their rendition of God Bless America. Its amazing. Your earbuds will thank you. And then they'll melt into a puddle of happiness.

Hi-_-am
The
Nate

Down Here

I have returned, Faithful Followers. I am here to take my rightful place as hero, entertainer, super hero, and, most importantly, New Hampshire resident. I'll be the first to confess that New Hampshire is a freakishly boring place. Crushingly, hopelessly boring. But I love it for that. Life needs a little boredom. You don't spend time making up your own fun in an interesting place. No one wastes hours writing blog posts about nonsensical stories. They have lives! Thankfully, for you all, I don't. So I can write this. And as a result YOU can read it.

Here's the thing. I spent the week in Connecticut. I was on a missions trip to help with another church's Bible Camp ( *Cough* VBS *Cough* ). It was grape fun. (Yes, I meant to do that. Those who were there will get it.) I spent the week among good friends, having tons of fun, and serving God. Best of all, it snapped me out of the rut I had been in. Suddenly serving God is the focus of my life again. Its refreshing.

This week was filled to the brim with unforgettable (and Iwishitwereforgettable) memories. I snapped almost a hundred pictures over the course of the week. This is the story of my week as told by the pictures Detroit took. Some of them Im super proud of. But Im guessing you'll figure that out when we get to them.

I saw many many tourists during my trip to Connecticut. They were all taking your average tourist-y pictures. You know, the wide-shots with the family posed in an awkward fashion in front of some incredibly boring monument? Yeah, those. So I decided to mix it up and take a bunch of artsy shots of random things. These are them.

Connecticut 

This is right above the door of the church. I think we can all agree that the colors in this are awesome.

Some random pillars. Im thinking of putting these somewhere in the Kemenbarian castle.

OSCAR!

A CREEPY GUY!

Emily spent a few hours traipsing around Bristol, Connecticut with a bunch of teenagers. She remained thoroughly unimpressed the whole time.

This just makes me feel like a winner.

Ducts

Ducks

This is a game that is very dear to my heart. You see, a very cute girl ran this game for much of the night. I thought she did a marvelous job.

Why not?

Julie growling at me (again.)

Wet floors: Now in dry pavement form.

In all seriousness, this one makes me feel something. The simple innocence of the cupcake sign mixed with the  harshness of the paint splatter on a brick wall makes me smile. I love it.

This one also makes me feel something. I have no clue why.

The tank is clean...

Dear Sun,

When I said I'd go blind for you, I didn't expect you to take me up on the offer.

The clouds looked otherworldly.

Garage-set.

The only non-creepy excuse for snapping pictures inside a bathroom: To take artsy shots of cleaning supplies.

When speaking about coat hangers, don't confuse the annoying plastic things that spend more time stretching out collars than they do holding up clothing, with those lucky few who've executed members of the British army.

I like her lots.

A picture of Hartford, Connecticut.

Another picture of Hartford, Connecticut.

What? It was a very photogenic city!

Foe-Toe-Genn-ICK!

Tell me this isn't one of the coolest pictures of traffic ever...

I was so tempted to get this hat and convince my Mom I really went to California. So very tempted.

Caught Meg in an awkward pose.

My delicious tea. It was incredible.

Stomer. Quality. Ser.

ANY packaging that has a serving size set at "1 taco" is a good thing.

"Why not?" The phrase of my week. By an not-so-happy coincidence, that's also the official phrase of Snuggies.

*grins twitterpatedly*

*giggles contentedly* ... (several moments pass in awkward silence)... you know... Giggling about tea may not be the manliest thing ever done...

America... I have no words...

*shrugs* And when an elf comes looking for some cranberry sauce, and I can distract him with this. THEN you'll see. Then you'll ALL see!

This is the exact moment of me making eye contact with bacon.

This is Meg making sure I was ok after I had an aneurysm due to extreme happiness about the aforementioned bacon. 

Im pretty sure that said vegetable cellar. I can just see a big, hairy biker sitting in the dark enjoying a delightful salad.

I wanna go back.

Contrary to appearances, this was actually a super close up of my sandwich from three weeks ago. Mold is more complex a creature than we give it credit for.

I see a lack of bacon in this picture. That disappoints me.

I met a nice person in the emergency room. I was in the emergency room because I got stuck in between those pillars and had to get my left appendix removed to fit back out. I went in between those pillars because I thought I smelled bacon. It was just a sweaty sock from an old guy. In a horrific twist of fate, that sock hit me in the face.

Whatever this looks means, its sure as heck cute.

Who says heroism and cuteness cant coexist? This picture and The Powerpuff Girls beg to differ.

I wonder if somewhere there's an overachieving river... Probably the Nile with that whole, "Im gonna go North" business.

Im gonna name my kid, Trip. Thats not a prophecy. Thats just common knowledge.

This castle didn't have many recycling reciprocals.*shakes head at the 19th Century*

Checkers anyone?

Railings. Now in Artsy Fartsy form.

A caterpillar. He was cute.

I didn't get stuck here. Thank goodness for the over-powering smell of peanut butter.

Whats that? No witty comments?

Why no, Self. I don't have any witty comments. Do you?

Nope.

Why are we still talking?

Im the only one who will talk to you.

Oh yes. Sooooo... I was wondering... Am I the voice in your head? Or are you the voice in mine?

Dunno.

I still like her.

Since when did rain get so snarky?

Abacuses.

Ill bet a kite has never gotten stuck in that tree. I'll bet I could change that. I'll bet I'll be riding in a police car soon.

This reminds me of something. I want to go to a super boring town and start taking pictures of random things and people. I mean has Antioch, Illinois ever had a tourist? It should.

Is the instruction to open it really necessary? Does anyone other than trained professionals ever touch it? Also, do plumbers learn about "Lefty loosy, righty tighty" in plumber school?

Speaking of plumbers... What?! With a caption like that it could have been MUCH worse.

How do doors feel about their hinges?

Aria is super cute. She's also one of a VERY small percentage of girls that I can call cute and not get in trouble. She kissed me. Several times. I got the "Mmmmwuhhhh" sound and everything.

Oh benches! How I love thee! As (Is it a Freudian slip if I typed another "s" there?) I rest my tender buttocks on your cool, smooth frame. ((And just like *That* I lost all of my readers...))

I distinctly see "N M"

Either a light switch... or a two beaked duck...

WATCH IT!

This is by far the coolest picture I've ever taken. How amazing is THAT?!

I like this too.

And this.

(extra long spaceeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee....)



(And abnormally off set lettersssssss....)



Also, whats with the four periods? Why did I do that twice?



And WHO stole my parenthesis?! Huh? Who did it?



Nevermind. They were just playing with the neighborhood children.

Conscience? Am I dead?

More out of place than a bullfrog in an intensive care unit being treated for "chest pain."

Don't. Blink.

Hoot soot.

Makes me think of Toy Story.

Its always about the hobos.

I'm a real FAN of your library... Get it?!?

Ree D. Q. Luss Signs Inc.

Providing for your blind janitor sign needs since 2014. (Also, we invented a time machine. It hasn't come out yet. We decided to play around making stupid signs for a few years, THEN get into the real business: destroying the Space-time continuum. And confusing the heck out of everyone since 1994. Wait...what? Now we're confused.)

No wonder Waldo was so hard to find...

This is sweet. Not that I would know... I didn't lick it or anything...

s

Two and a Half Sideburns: Starring... Ashton Kutcher.

Every other mustache in the world is weeping hairy tears.

There's a face in here somewhere...

It just looked cool.

I don't see a sign telling me not to climb the sign...

Turtle. R.I.P.

I call it... "Arrows with crappy earbuds getting in the way." Its impressionable.

This, too, needed to be done. The world now has an artsy shot of a Men's Bathroom Sign. We can all sleep peacefully tonight.

On that note, Im going to sleep.