coincidences.

Last week, I had the opportunity to see Mitt Romney speak at the Hotel Fort Des Moines.

Unfortunately, though, as we shuffled past security, a man in a suit told us that the fire marshal would not allow anyone else to into the already over-crowded ballroom.

Instead we would have to wait outside of the room to listen to his speech over speakers (and be bored for a while waiting, as shown in the above photo).

Sorry, Mitt, for not taking the most flattering picture of you ever.

BUT. Before going into the ballroom, Mitt stopped by to say hello, thank you for coming, nice to meet you and all of that jazz to us. We got to (briefly) meet the presidential nominee, shake his hand and be this close to him.

Kind of the coolest thing ever.

Wait, though. The story gets cooler.

Today, my mom and I had the opportunity to hear President Obama speak at the Des Moines Faregrounds.

(Let me just take a moment to say that living in a swing state is a beautiful thing.)

Waited in line for hours...

Well. Two hours. Getting dramatic here.

Right about when it was our turn to be escorted into the building to hear the president, we were informed there was no more room.

We, along with a hundred or so other people, would have to listen to the speech at an amphitheater near the building Obama would be speaking in.

BUT. He would come and talk to us before the speaking in the other building.

Exact. Same. Situation.

I would say my political ventures are off to very a good start.

my love year adventure.

I will be spending my gap year adventure in beautiful Ecuador!

If you have talked to me about my gap year anytime during the last few months, you know how badly I wanted to go there. 

And now that I know that's where I'm going, you can listen to me blab about how ecstatic and terrifed I am! Cheers!

http://globalcitizenyear.org/updates/clockwork/

I AM GOING TO ECUADOR!

(I better start working on my Spanish...)

Next in my Ecuadorian adventure: Fall Training

more music and an arizona sunset.

(NYC Weather Report by Five for Fighting)

moments.

Sometimes you can walk past something a thousand times and never see how absolutely breath-taking it is. 

Usually my nights are spent working on whatever homework assignment I have inevitably put off until the last minute or attempting to make my sewing skills less feeble or, well, sleeping (definitely more of the first two).

A few days ago, though, I took a second to walk outside and look at the world from my Iowa perspective. Not just glance at it while I walked past, onto the next item on my checklist. Really look.

My defeated, little camera just could not quite capture the pure, white glow of the moon etched into the background of a quiet and spacious field. 

The simple but refined beauty of a mowed field spotted with weeds (which, to me, are just as gorgeous as any flower). 

My camera lost any trace of those heavenly stars, flickering, but constant. 

Bright. 

Beautiful. 

And it completely failed to record the soft breeze that brought sweet smells of fresh, chilled air, newly cut grass and spring. 

Those are moments that will only be able stay in my memories, and in my words that I pour into this little blog.

I have a few months left in Iowa, and I want to spend so much more of that time really looking and really seeing the moments around me. The precious, pulchritudinous and just plain pretty moments.  And  focus on loving every second of those lovely moments. 

Because what is life if not a string of moments?

application = sent.

fingers crossed!