Richly Satisfied.

Over the last few weeks, I've realized that I'm so satisfied with life.

And no I don't have my dream job and I still live in an apartment, but that's okay. I am where I'm supposed to be. And I don't feel pressured to be somewhere else. I don't have kids, my room is still as messy as it was when I was 16 and not married, I drink regular coke (and yes I know that coke is so terrible that it gets rid of battery acid corrosion - but I happily put it down my throat all the time), and I still don't like vegetables. All that to say that I haven't necessarily "matured" any more, but I have just found a way to be happy amidst the messiness. Sometimes you just have to embrace the process of life.

Some reasons why I'm happy:

• I have great and supportive friends, some that I talk to every day and some I only talk to every few weeks. 
• I get to read a good bit (this summer I read all 4 Twilight books, Eat Pray Love, The Host, The Help, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Same Kind of Different as Me, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, Through Painted Deserts, and am now working on the very short 1,000 page novel "Pillars of the Earth")
• I go on frequent walks with friends by the river (although fortunately not with Cameron or we'd no longer be friends because we'd realize we know nothing by going on walks)
• I get to cook dinner most nights (when my job doesn't own my life from 9am-7pm), and I get to watch new episodes of Project Runway and America's Next Top Model while eating said dinner
• I've gotten to travel to fun and exotic cities (although some might not consider Driggs, Idaho exotic)
• I get to drink endless amounts of Starbucks coffee (but let's be honest, I don't really drink coffee without sugar and syrup and cream, so we might not really be able to call that "liking" coffee). 
• I've been doing some creative writing every day which is hard but really fabulous at the same time. One day I might actually get a book out there.
• We have a really great church. It's growing and changing every week, but we've been with it since it was first planted so we feel like we're key players in all that is happening. 
• We're surrounded by people that challenge us and force us to communicate better, which in the long run is a beautiful thing, but not always the easiest. :)
• And just for fun: I always have Gushers and fruit roll-ups in the pantry, and still wear Celestial Strawberry lip smackers lip gloss (hello pink sparkles and tongue tattoos). Perfect for a bad day.

So overall, life is good. I'm learning a lot all the time but sometimes wish I could move to another part of the world and just spend a few years. Whether that be the Middle East or Asia, I think we learn so much more about ourselves when we get away from everything that is familiar. But alas, we live in Atlanta and both mine and Patrick's jobs are headquartered here, so it doesn't look like we'll ever be needed overseas. But if it happened, I'd be completely happy with that. 

But until then, bring on the fall. Fires, apples, cold weather, sweaters, scarves, cider and colorful leaves. Fall was modeled after heaven.