(in no particular order...in fact...rather spontaneously as they popped into my head...)
1. MADELINE MARY SWOPE! Gaa she’s just a doll! LOVE HER!
2. OPI by Sephora nailpolish {I’m pretty sure there is no better polish IN THE WORLD!}
3. Jonathan Safran Foer – and really all good literature
4. Shalina MARIE Johnson {my NEWEST roommate – she’s FABULOUS!}
5. my ACTUAL MBA diploma which announces to the WORLD that I’m officially done
6. CRUSING the Caribbean with the BEST FRIEND in August {definitely best part of 2009}
7. Stamp Club
8. HTC {HOT TUB CLUB} the most exclusive and elite club I’m a member of! LOVE IT!
9. Gossip Girl {I’m officially a FAN}
10. The MIA song from Slumdog Millionaire and the dance Megan and I made up to it! hahaah!
11. HAPPY FEET MASSAGES
12. My newest COACH purse scarf from Jenny Redmond. FAVORITE!
13. EMMA DISHES by Pottery Barn
14. Anthro Latte Bowls (and ALL things Anthro really!)
15. Headbands {however BOLD or LOUD} especially my gray one! BEST EVER!
16. Pearl Earrings from Sara
17. Kelly Clarkson’s “MY LIFE WOULD SUCK WITHOUT YOU” (I even have it as a ringtone)
18. METHOD cleaning products
19. My devotional: 90 Days with a Heart Like His
20. The PaperBlanks calendar that has kept my life SANE even in the most INSANE year ever!
21. Long necklaces
22. The Hannah Montana Movie Hoedown Throwdown
23. CUPCAKE CRAWL 2009
24. Taking pictures of {virtually} everything
25. Helping Jenny Redmond and Kevin & Jamie Swope paint their ceilings in their FIRST HOUSES!!!
26. HAVING CABLE IN MY ROOM
27. Ina Garten & all things Barefoot Contessa
28. Having a Disneyland Annual Pass
29. David Sedaris: Holidays on Ice
30. Pizza Friday
31. Lady Gaga (especially Poker Face on Ellen)
32. Grey’s Anatomy
33. Drinking from a STRAW…ALWAYS!
34. My Ignight Bible Study Small Group
35. Working at Ev. Free Fullerton
36. FINISHING the Comp-X Exam (and the SUPREME feeling of joy that accompanied it)
37. BLOGGING
38. Adding to my collection of quotes on Index Cards
39. YOGA PANTS
40. Starbucks on workdays at 10 and 3
41. Renaissance Bistro Mimosa Brunch with Jenny Redmond {to DIE for}
42. CINNABON
43. (500) Days of Summer
44. The A-Line haircut
45. My brown COACH sunglasses
46. Teuscher CHAMPAGNE TRUFFLES
47. The letter “S”
48. All things DOMESTIC – especially RED things for my kitchen
49. Avenue Q (and Mary Poppins and How the Grinch Stole Christmas)
50. Adventures with Gan and Kenz (the Ghetty, the Boat Parade, Newport Beach, Carlsbad…and and and….) there are NO BETTER ADVENTURERS in the world!!!
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
A Year in Review... (Madeline style)
January 2009The BEST WAY to start a new year...
March 2009This picture was taken on my 24th birthday! Birthday adventures with friends are ABSOLUTELY AMAZING and FABULOUSLY FUN! but there is NO BETTER GIFT than a HUG from M on your birthday! (this was also right around the time that Madeline discovered the camera and made the most ridiculous squishy faced smiles!)
April 2009 This picture is at my parents house in front of the lilies on Easter Sunday. M looked SUPER CUTE in her FIRST Easter dress!
May 2009This picture was taken outside Gateway Church when I came home for a visit! There is NOTHING better than church ending and having a little M bound toward you running as fast as her teeeny tiny little legs will carry her! PURE LOVE!
June 2009This picture was taken on Madeline Mary Swope's FIRST BIRTHDAY!
July 2009This is the dress I had made for Madeline's FIRST BIRTHDAY! She looks absolutely ADORABLE in it if I do say so myself. This picture was taken at Claim Jumper - M was EXTREMELY excited about the chunky applesauce. It was a meal to remember for sure!
August 2009This picture was from my MBA graduation party in San Diego at Mom and Dad's house. This was the BEGINNING of the SCOWL phase. I think at this point we have determined that she isn't actually upset but rather that she knows she knows you...she just doesn't know how. This is her "quizzical" I'm trying to figure it out face! ha!
November 2009This was taken on Thanksgiving Day. M was still in the scowling phase so it was a bit difficult to get the smile - but if you tickle her just enough she laughs on command!
December 2009M has a slight obsession with chairs that are her size AND she got one for Christmas. I haven't seen it yet but I hear it is DARN cute! She totally made a little girl cry at Barnes and Nobles Jr. on Sunday afternoon because she wouldn't get out of the small chair! ha!
Monday, December 28, 2009
a WC t-shirt Quilt
Quite a while ago my mom started working on a quilt for me made out of all my old World Changers t-shirts. I really never wear t-shirts in my adult life – but these particular shirts hold so much sentimental value that I just couldn’t part with them. For Christmas this year, mom gave me the completed quilt and I must say it is one of my most prized possessions. Last night as I hopped into bed and started to drift off to sleep my mind was filled with memories of the amazing adventures I had as a world changer. Each shirt has a story – and each story has such lasting significance in my life. World Changers was where I truly experienced Christ and it forever changed my heart. 
HERE are the stories of the shirts in my quilt (starting in the upper left-hand corner)…
Labor Provided By: WORLD CHANGERS This shirt comes in poster form and is commonly referred to as an LPB sign. Each crew posts an LPB at the worksite to tell the neighborhood what’s going on. At the end of the week when the work is completed, each crew signs their LPB sign and gives it to the homeowner as a memento along with a World Changers Bible. I worked on 22 projects in my 7 years of world changers and probably gave away approximately 350 LPB signs and Bibles.
Eh? My last summer on staff (2007) my team went to Ottawa, Ontario Canada to do a project. Additionally, all the funds collected by the mission offerings throughout the summer went to Canada. This was our team shirt and we wore it with pride at least one day a week throughout the entire summer!
PINEAPPLE This shirt was a gift from LARRY WILLIAMS, my PC in Jackson, Tennessee (2005). He is a DIE HARD Sonic Fan! I think I probably had at least 12-15 chocolate peanut butter shakes throughout that project weeks and I don’t even want to count the limeades! Larry was one of the BEST PC’s I ever worked with and I am truly blessed to have lived WC with him!
Trabajo Provisto Por This is the Spanish LPB sign. My third summer on staff I was on the Atlantic Team and we spent the first 6 weeks of our summer in PUERTO RICO. It was one of the best experiences of my life – I experienced God in a whole new way that summer and was truly touched by my time there.
World Changers, Est. 1990 This was the participant t-shirt my first summer on staff when I was on the SOUTH TEAM in Mississippi and Louisiana! That first summer was SUPER hard – but I made it through and served an additional 3 summers! (NEVER stay at a Brand New facility with a group of World Changers if the school is slated to open only a few weeks later. It equals DISASTER!)
World Changers, Philadelphia My last summer on staff my team did a project in Philadelphia in coordination with the Salvation Army. BEV was our PC and Bonnie was our Salvation Army Representative. Favorite memories from that week were staying in the castle and shopping with Bonnie spontaneously in the middle of the day (not to mention the post office box packing extravaganza)!! “we no like the multi”
Just Ducky This shirt is from the Peabody in Memphis, Tennessee. My second summer on staff we were in West Memphis Arkansas. On our Wednesday night off we went to the Peabody and saw the ducks! SO FUN!
World Changers CHICAGO This shirt was made by a church that participated in our CHICAGO project my second summer on staff. That was a really hard week for me – the accident that forever changed my life happened the week before and I was definitely not ok yet. BUT it was the BEST great send off of my entire WC experience. We danced ON TOP of the Expedition in the rain to “Eye of the Tiger”. ONCE in a lifetime!
Impact New Orleans My last summer on staff my team spent our first month in New Orleans working with Habitat for Humanity and Operation Noah Rebuild in Musicians Village – one of the areas most devastated by Hurricane Katrina. It was incredible to see the students build entire homes in the short time we were there. (this shirt also reminds me of SHAWN CHANGERS which makes me laugh SUPER hard!)
CUBS Before our project in Chicago started we hit WRIGLEY field for a Cubs game and went to the Taste of Chicago. I wasn’t feeling super awesome at the time (again that whole accident thing) but it was FUN visiting Erica in her hometown in the middle of the summer and the CUBS rocked!!!
World Changers on the Bayou My first and second summers on staff I did the project in Baton Rouge, LA. Florida Boulevard Baptist Church goes ALL out for the kids and decorates the entire church in this World Changers on the Bayou gear. My first summer Baton Rouge was the hardest project we did – a kid got bitten by a brown recluse, the ceilings collapsed in the girls rooms from an air conditioner leak, our associational coordinator was SUPER HARD to work with…BUT my second summer on staff it was one of my FAVORITE projects! There is just nothing like pickle pops and inflatable games to brighten the week!
WC SUPERMAN My second summer on staff the theme was HERO hence the design of the t-shirts. That was also the summer that the INCREDIBLES came out. Susan, Whitey, Lee and I looked STELLAR in our Incredibles face masks wearing these t-shirts! Haha! PUMPERNICKLE! STAFF This was one of my 4 staff t-shirts! The backs pretty much all said, STAFF, so this one says it all! Being on WC Summer Staff was an experience I will cherish FOREVER!
World Changers Stoplight This was the participant t-shirt my last summer on staff when the theme was OBEDIENCE. Definitely not my BEST color – but people didn’t miss us!
Piggly Wiggly This shirt was a gift from SHAWN DOSS (purchased by Sara Jessica Linkous) from my very first summer on staff. Shawn was my PC in Shreveport Louisiana {we stayed in Bethany, TX} in 2004 and 2005. Shawn is perhaps the funniest person EVER and he reminds me of Stuart from Mad Tv! Ha! Shreveport was always hysterical – from driving the golf cart to eating two cinnastix pizzas, to laying beef on Nathan’s cheek while he was sleeping and waking Shawn and Eric up with the bull horn when they decided to “sleep in” Shreveport was a BLAST.
Operation Noah Rebuild Operation Noah Rebuild was a ministry in New Orleans that was run by STEVIE G! an absolutely amazing man!! We worked with him for several weeks in New Orleans and he truly taught us our way around the city! He had an incredible ministry and it was an honor to partner with him!
World Changers This was my staff t-shirt from my 3rd summer on staff when I was in Puerto Rico and Florida! I would have to say that one of my best memories about this shirt is how wretchedly it smelled when I returned back to the states. Puerto Ricans don’t dry any of their clothing – they just hang everything to dry. WELL…for whatever reason the process left clothes seriously fetid. The morning that we went to Disneyworld after we THOUGHT we had re-washed everything, Kevin Sanders only made it to the car before realizing he was going to HAVE TO CHANGE because he smelled like PR and that is just not an ok way to smell! Ha!
I LOVE NEW YORK Emily and I both bought these shirts while we were vacationing in New York City just before my LAST project EVER as a summer staffer. I’m not sure that we bought them on the actual day of Anna’s wedding – but that entire week was greatly overshadowed by my intense desire to be IN my best friend’s wedding rather than playing in NY. However, we did see the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, visit Ellis Island, eat in Little Italy AND see M&M world.
Nothing Works like a World Changer This shirt just makes me laugh. It’s {quite obviously} a play off of the John Deere gear…but it is just such an encapsulation of the south…this shirt would NEVER make it in California!
World Changers The final t-shirt in my quilt is the FRONT of my staff shirt from my very first summer. I still remember the interviewing process, the day I found out I was accepted, flying to Atlanta for the first time, meeting my team, and starting the adventure of a lifetime! World Changers shaped and molded my heart and gave me a whole new understanding of SERVICE. God used the ministry to touch my life and I am forever grateful for that.
HERE are the stories of the shirts in my quilt (starting in the upper left-hand corner)…Labor Provided By: WORLD CHANGERS This shirt comes in poster form and is commonly referred to as an LPB sign. Each crew posts an LPB at the worksite to tell the neighborhood what’s going on. At the end of the week when the work is completed, each crew signs their LPB sign and gives it to the homeowner as a memento along with a World Changers Bible. I worked on 22 projects in my 7 years of world changers and probably gave away approximately 350 LPB signs and Bibles.
Eh? My last summer on staff (2007) my team went to Ottawa, Ontario Canada to do a project. Additionally, all the funds collected by the mission offerings throughout the summer went to Canada. This was our team shirt and we wore it with pride at least one day a week throughout the entire summer!
PINEAPPLE This shirt was a gift from LARRY WILLIAMS, my PC in Jackson, Tennessee (2005). He is a DIE HARD Sonic Fan! I think I probably had at least 12-15 chocolate peanut butter shakes throughout that project weeks and I don’t even want to count the limeades! Larry was one of the BEST PC’s I ever worked with and I am truly blessed to have lived WC with him!
Trabajo Provisto Por This is the Spanish LPB sign. My third summer on staff I was on the Atlantic Team and we spent the first 6 weeks of our summer in PUERTO RICO. It was one of the best experiences of my life – I experienced God in a whole new way that summer and was truly touched by my time there.
World Changers, Est. 1990 This was the participant t-shirt my first summer on staff when I was on the SOUTH TEAM in Mississippi and Louisiana! That first summer was SUPER hard – but I made it through and served an additional 3 summers! (NEVER stay at a Brand New facility with a group of World Changers if the school is slated to open only a few weeks later. It equals DISASTER!)
World Changers, Philadelphia My last summer on staff my team did a project in Philadelphia in coordination with the Salvation Army. BEV was our PC and Bonnie was our Salvation Army Representative. Favorite memories from that week were staying in the castle and shopping with Bonnie spontaneously in the middle of the day (not to mention the post office box packing extravaganza)!! “we no like the multi”
Just Ducky This shirt is from the Peabody in Memphis, Tennessee. My second summer on staff we were in West Memphis Arkansas. On our Wednesday night off we went to the Peabody and saw the ducks! SO FUN!
World Changers CHICAGO This shirt was made by a church that participated in our CHICAGO project my second summer on staff. That was a really hard week for me – the accident that forever changed my life happened the week before and I was definitely not ok yet. BUT it was the BEST great send off of my entire WC experience. We danced ON TOP of the Expedition in the rain to “Eye of the Tiger”. ONCE in a lifetime!
Impact New Orleans My last summer on staff my team spent our first month in New Orleans working with Habitat for Humanity and Operation Noah Rebuild in Musicians Village – one of the areas most devastated by Hurricane Katrina. It was incredible to see the students build entire homes in the short time we were there. (this shirt also reminds me of SHAWN CHANGERS which makes me laugh SUPER hard!)
CUBS Before our project in Chicago started we hit WRIGLEY field for a Cubs game and went to the Taste of Chicago. I wasn’t feeling super awesome at the time (again that whole accident thing) but it was FUN visiting Erica in her hometown in the middle of the summer and the CUBS rocked!!!
World Changers on the Bayou My first and second summers on staff I did the project in Baton Rouge, LA. Florida Boulevard Baptist Church goes ALL out for the kids and decorates the entire church in this World Changers on the Bayou gear. My first summer Baton Rouge was the hardest project we did – a kid got bitten by a brown recluse, the ceilings collapsed in the girls rooms from an air conditioner leak, our associational coordinator was SUPER HARD to work with…BUT my second summer on staff it was one of my FAVORITE projects! There is just nothing like pickle pops and inflatable games to brighten the week!
WC SUPERMAN My second summer on staff the theme was HERO hence the design of the t-shirts. That was also the summer that the INCREDIBLES came out. Susan, Whitey, Lee and I looked STELLAR in our Incredibles face masks wearing these t-shirts! Haha! PUMPERNICKLE! STAFF This was one of my 4 staff t-shirts! The backs pretty much all said, STAFF, so this one says it all! Being on WC Summer Staff was an experience I will cherish FOREVER!
World Changers Stoplight This was the participant t-shirt my last summer on staff when the theme was OBEDIENCE. Definitely not my BEST color – but people didn’t miss us!
Piggly Wiggly This shirt was a gift from SHAWN DOSS (purchased by Sara Jessica Linkous) from my very first summer on staff. Shawn was my PC in Shreveport Louisiana {we stayed in Bethany, TX} in 2004 and 2005. Shawn is perhaps the funniest person EVER and he reminds me of Stuart from Mad Tv! Ha! Shreveport was always hysterical – from driving the golf cart to eating two cinnastix pizzas, to laying beef on Nathan’s cheek while he was sleeping and waking Shawn and Eric up with the bull horn when they decided to “sleep in” Shreveport was a BLAST.
Operation Noah Rebuild Operation Noah Rebuild was a ministry in New Orleans that was run by STEVIE G! an absolutely amazing man!! We worked with him for several weeks in New Orleans and he truly taught us our way around the city! He had an incredible ministry and it was an honor to partner with him!
World Changers This was my staff t-shirt from my 3rd summer on staff when I was in Puerto Rico and Florida! I would have to say that one of my best memories about this shirt is how wretchedly it smelled when I returned back to the states. Puerto Ricans don’t dry any of their clothing – they just hang everything to dry. WELL…for whatever reason the process left clothes seriously fetid. The morning that we went to Disneyworld after we THOUGHT we had re-washed everything, Kevin Sanders only made it to the car before realizing he was going to HAVE TO CHANGE because he smelled like PR and that is just not an ok way to smell! Ha!
I LOVE NEW YORK Emily and I both bought these shirts while we were vacationing in New York City just before my LAST project EVER as a summer staffer. I’m not sure that we bought them on the actual day of Anna’s wedding – but that entire week was greatly overshadowed by my intense desire to be IN my best friend’s wedding rather than playing in NY. However, we did see the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, visit Ellis Island, eat in Little Italy AND see M&M world.
Nothing Works like a World Changer This shirt just makes me laugh. It’s {quite obviously} a play off of the John Deere gear…but it is just such an encapsulation of the south…this shirt would NEVER make it in California!
World Changers The final t-shirt in my quilt is the FRONT of my staff shirt from my very first summer. I still remember the interviewing process, the day I found out I was accepted, flying to Atlanta for the first time, meeting my team, and starting the adventure of a lifetime! World Changers shaped and molded my heart and gave me a whole new understanding of SERVICE. God used the ministry to touch my life and I am forever grateful for that.
LADY GAGA IS MINE!!!!!
Wednesday, Dec. 23 I celebrated Christmas with Melody - one of my dearest friends at work. Last year we celebrated at Brea's Best while splitting a Turkey Club Combo (with an extra drink of course) so we decided to make it TRADITION and enjoy lunch together again: same place, same combo! We opened gifts in the office a bit before lunch. SHE DID SO GOOD! She gave me a BEAUTIFUL sweater from New York and Company, a SUPER FUN headband, a pot holder and kitchen towel set in Red Damask (to match my kitchen which is RED!!) AND….the LADY GAGA CD! I AM STOAKED! I listened to the cd the ENTIRE way to San Diego later that afternoon!! SO MUCH FUN!
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
LOVE my job!
haha! my entire staff {well at least those who are at work today} just spent the last hour stuffing candles into plastic cups for the Christmas Eve services tomorrow night! WAY TO GO music department - the boxes have been in the hallway for WEEKS but today only an hour and a half before we close the office you decide it's convenient to get those candles taken care of! haha! ONLY at a church! LOVE MY JOB!ps candles in plastic cups are pretty HIGH CLASS aren't they? we definitely just use these little flimsy paper things that definitely don't keep the wax from dripping or prevent hands from burning at the church I grew up in....
I Will Carry You
Since I started blogging, my eyes and heart have been opened to so many tender stories of God's grace and touch even amidst our everyday lives. He is not far even though it has been over 2,000 years since He lived here on earth. The stories of His love that are shared in the blogging community overwhelm me and unite me with the family of Christ in a way that I never imagined possible. It has been my joy and my honor to pray with many through the struggles and heartaches of their lives. We don't know each other and we likely never will, but my heart has space for them and their stories give me hope and inspiration and perspective. I feel truly blessed. One of the most amazing stories shared was that of Audrey Caroline. She only lived outside the womb for two and half hours and yet her life has touched and transformed many hearts. God chose her family to share her story with the world and reveal His glory even in a dark hour. Angie, Audrey's mom, wrote a book that is now available for pre-sale. I ordered my copy today and cannot wait to read and cry and journal and meet the Lord in a new way as I journey with the Smith family through the joy of the precious hours they spent with their little girl and the sorrow that followed as God took her home. 
a very INA Christmas with Gan...
Last night Gan and I celebrated Christmas together. We had dinner at Rutabegorz {one of our all time favorites that we have somehow neglected throughout 2009} and it was ABSOLUTELY fabulous. Gan had the sweet potato enchiladas
and I enjoyed the chicken enchiladas verde. 
Seriously the food was to die for and not very expensive either. Megan and I decided that we're going to work our way through the menu in 2010!!! {note: 2010 is Rutabegorz 40th anniversary so their dip of the month is only 40 cents!!! wooooooot!} After we ordered, we spent a lot of time catching up and talking {it had been an ENTIRE week since we'd had quality time together - do you have any idea how much can happen in one week??} and then it was time for the GIFT EXCHANGE! Gan and I have kind of established in our friendship that we do BIG gifts for each other at Christmas and every year we try to show up our previous gift. Well last Christmas I did really good and Gan loved absolutely everything that I got her and this year I had the fear of striking out. HOWEVER, I hit a HOMERUN. Megan's gift this year was themed: things she inspired me to love or we mutually love but they're kind of wierd. Her gift basket included Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer - a writer that we both absolutely ADORE but that she introduced me to; Gossip Girl Season 2 which I refused to watch until Megan convinced me that there is nothing better in life than Chuck Bass and Dorota - she was right; Vol. 50 of Adventures in Odyssey {including the collector's edition POSTER} which we both GREW UP listening to as OFTEN as possible; silver OPI by Sephora nailpolish - there is NO BETTER nailpolish on earth! FAVORITE for both of us {and we both try to keep our fingernails painted at ALL TIMES}; Viva La Juicy - we are both addicted to having NUMEROUS scents available for our smelling pleasure. Gan introduced me to the Sephora Scent Sampler for my birthday a few years ago...there is NOTHING BETTER!! Gan has several great bottles of perfume already in her repertoire, but she LOVES Juicy and therefore NEEDED to have this one as well! champagne glasses {well actually a champagne glass - I lost one while driving to pick her up - he shattered and his life ended quite abruptly. disappointing.} because there is NOTHING better than Ina dinner and champagne! YES PLEASE! not to mention that we found a GOOD cheap champagne with an adorable bottle! a SUPER CUTE picture frame with us in it for her NEW {and still clean - I'm SO proud of you Gan!} bedroom, AND an elephant mug {I got her an elephant mug last year too - this is the annual tradition now - I've gotta find a different elephant mug for every year! SO FUN!}. Such a good gift and it was FABULOUS watching her joy as she opened each piece! happiness!!! 
Gan provided me with a very INA Christmas!! SUCH FUN! I asked for a KitchenAide this year for Christmas so I keep building up my Ina supplies just in case Santa {aka mom and dad} bring it to me on Christmas morning {which would absolutely OVERWHELM me with joy!!} Gan gave me a serving tray that is deep mahagony wood and is absolutely beautiful. On top of it she put several really cute red dish towels {which probably won't show up in my kitchen for a while - I don't like to share my FAVORITE things with the roommates just in case they ruin them. no bueno}. The Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics cookbook, a champagne or wine rest, a bottle of peace sparkling wine and the CUTEST wine bag EVER!! SO EXCITING! I really couldn't have dreamed up a better gift! It is absolutely FABULOUS and I'm so excited to be domestic with all my stuff! YAY!!! 
All in all I would say that our Christmas was better than last year and that our friendship continues to grow and develop in ways that I cannot even begin to be truly thankful for. Megan is definitely one of God's greatest gifts in my life and I cherish her beyond words. Thank you for an AMAZING year Gan - I can't wait for many MANY more adventures together {and to plan them out at our New Years Ina dinner, champagne, and (500) days of summer party! YAY!} iloveyou!!! 
and I enjoyed the chicken enchiladas verde. Seriously the food was to die for and not very expensive either. Megan and I decided that we're going to work our way through the menu in 2010!!! {note: 2010 is Rutabegorz 40th anniversary so their dip of the month is only 40 cents!!! wooooooot!} After we ordered, we spent a lot of time catching up and talking {it had been an ENTIRE week since we'd had quality time together - do you have any idea how much can happen in one week??} and then it was time for the GIFT EXCHANGE! Gan and I have kind of established in our friendship that we do BIG gifts for each other at Christmas and every year we try to show up our previous gift. Well last Christmas I did really good and Gan loved absolutely everything that I got her and this year I had the fear of striking out. HOWEVER, I hit a HOMERUN. Megan's gift this year was themed: things she inspired me to love or we mutually love but they're kind of wierd. Her gift basket included Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer - a writer that we both absolutely ADORE but that she introduced me to; Gossip Girl Season 2 which I refused to watch until Megan convinced me that there is nothing better in life than Chuck Bass and Dorota - she was right; Vol. 50 of Adventures in Odyssey {including the collector's edition POSTER} which we both GREW UP listening to as OFTEN as possible; silver OPI by Sephora nailpolish - there is NO BETTER nailpolish on earth! FAVORITE for both of us {and we both try to keep our fingernails painted at ALL TIMES}; Viva La Juicy - we are both addicted to having NUMEROUS scents available for our smelling pleasure. Gan introduced me to the Sephora Scent Sampler for my birthday a few years ago...there is NOTHING BETTER!! Gan has several great bottles of perfume already in her repertoire, but she LOVES Juicy and therefore NEEDED to have this one as well! champagne glasses {well actually a champagne glass - I lost one while driving to pick her up - he shattered and his life ended quite abruptly. disappointing.} because there is NOTHING better than Ina dinner and champagne! YES PLEASE! not to mention that we found a GOOD cheap champagne with an adorable bottle! a SUPER CUTE picture frame with us in it for her NEW {and still clean - I'm SO proud of you Gan!} bedroom, AND an elephant mug {I got her an elephant mug last year too - this is the annual tradition now - I've gotta find a different elephant mug for every year! SO FUN!}. Such a good gift and it was FABULOUS watching her joy as she opened each piece! happiness!!! Gan provided me with a very INA Christmas!! SUCH FUN! I asked for a KitchenAide this year for Christmas so I keep building up my Ina supplies just in case Santa {aka mom and dad} bring it to me on Christmas morning {which would absolutely OVERWHELM me with joy!!} Gan gave me a serving tray that is deep mahagony wood and is absolutely beautiful. On top of it she put several really cute red dish towels {which probably won't show up in my kitchen for a while - I don't like to share my FAVORITE things with the roommates just in case they ruin them. no bueno}. The Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics cookbook, a champagne or wine rest, a bottle of peace sparkling wine and the CUTEST wine bag EVER!! SO EXCITING! I really couldn't have dreamed up a better gift! It is absolutely FABULOUS and I'm so excited to be domestic with all my stuff! YAY!!! All in all I would say that our Christmas was better than last year and that our friendship continues to grow and develop in ways that I cannot even begin to be truly thankful for. Megan is definitely one of God's greatest gifts in my life and I cherish her beyond words. Thank you for an AMAZING year Gan - I can't wait for many MANY more adventures together {and to plan them out at our New Years Ina dinner, champagne, and (500) days of summer party! YAY!} iloveyou!!!
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
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(500) Days of Summer
My favorite movie of the YEAR came out on DVD this morning...I'm headed to target {oh how i love thee} in less than an hour to PICK UP MY COPY! Can't wait!! WOOOOOOT!
Monday, December 21, 2009
Survivor...
OH MY GOSH was this a good season or WHAT!!?!!! I had SO MUCH FUN! I honestly can’t believe how exciting it was. I was HOOKED right from the beginning when Russell made his “dumb blonde alliance”. Then there was Shambo with her ridiculous hair and Eric getting closelined while trying to catch a chicken! NOTHING BETTER! Russell finding hidden immunity idols without clues led to me jumping up and down while shouting on the phone with Steven – “HE DID NOT FIND ANOTHER ONE – OH YES HE DID!!!” It was definitely the excitement of the season! LOVED IT.
Anyways, I was SO GLAD that Natalie won! I have been rooting for Foa Foa from the beginning – Galu was just super lame – who does YOGA on survivor – COME ON!!! They were the most ridiculous tribe of all time – but it’s ok because they LOST and Natalie took home the title {and $1 million!! Wooot}. 
I mean seriously - check her out - she TOTALLY deserves to win just for hanging out of that thing like that!!! {even if that was the ONLY immunity challenge that Foa Foa ever won!!}I’m not entirely sure that I’m thrilled about next season and this Villains vrs. Heroes theme {and I'm not sure I can handle another season of Coach if they bring him back}…but this season built my confidence in the show like never before…FEBRUARY can’t come soon enough!
I LOVE SURVIVOR!!!
Friday, December 18, 2009
Staff Christmas Party
Working is not fun… let’s just go ahead and establish that right now. I would say that pretty much 72.675% {I picked that number arbitrarily and it has absolutely no grounds or true meaning} of the population would like to stay home and do absolutely nothing all the time. Yes we would get bored. Yes we would feel useless. Yes we would watch endless amounts of television {or stupid video games for boys, or amazing books for the intellectually stimulated}. Yes we would be even more obese as a people group than we already are {the economy would also probably profit from this movement as we would stimulate it daily by ordering food in and staying in our jammies!}. None of that even matters – working is still not fun.
HOWEVER, the one redeeming factor in having to work {other than getting paid} is the people I work with. I think that I might have the MOST FUN co-workers ever. They are ENTIRELY CRAZY but they make every day just a little more interesting. Collectively we laugh way too much and probably make a lot of people feel uber uncomfortable – but I love them and I’m so thankful to work with such a stellar group of individuals.
Yesterday was our Ev. Free Staff Christmas Party and I showed up with a giant bow in my hair {could you expect anything less} and Melody wore her red socks {aren’t we festive}…amongst Christmas Carol Karaoke where Michael got a whip cream pie in the face and signing Grandma Got Runned Over by a Reindeer as a staff, we took a family Christmas picture {unfortunately we're missing Mindy and Bob}…yes THESE are my friends {and yes I’m CRACKING UP in two of the pictures!}.
HOWEVER, the one redeeming factor in having to work {other than getting paid} is the people I work with. I think that I might have the MOST FUN co-workers ever. They are ENTIRELY CRAZY but they make every day just a little more interesting. Collectively we laugh way too much and probably make a lot of people feel uber uncomfortable – but I love them and I’m so thankful to work with such a stellar group of individuals.
Yesterday was our Ev. Free Staff Christmas Party and I showed up with a giant bow in my hair {could you expect anything less} and Melody wore her red socks {aren’t we festive}…amongst Christmas Carol Karaoke where Michael got a whip cream pie in the face and signing Grandma Got Runned Over by a Reindeer as a staff, we took a family Christmas picture {unfortunately we're missing Mindy and Bob}…yes THESE are my friends {and yes I’m CRACKING UP in two of the pictures!}.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
the BOAT parade...
Last night was opening night for the 101st Annual Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade. Since Megan, Kenz, and I LOVE adventures, we decided to try it out! I called in dinner at Corner Bakery, Megan picked it up, Kenz drove and we were in Newport Beach by about 6:20pm. We have a good friend who has a beach house right there too so we had absolutely ZERO issues parking and we had a good spot to watch from. FABULOUS.The boat parade itself didn’t quite live up to the grand expectations its name planted within me – it took FOREVER to come to our area and there were probably only like 20 boats and only two of those were really worth looking at {there was one that was worth hearing – but only because of the laughter that followed – there was a live singer – and…well…let’s just say she wasn’t good!}. However, there was some great entertainment free of charge during the 2 and a half hours of waiting for the boats to come…there was the VERY STRONG child named Brody, his sister or cousin or something that really wanted to give Brody a hug, but Brody doesn’t like hugs…the boy who stopped right in front of me and belched then made some sort of “manly” sound and kept on walking, the girl who tripped and almost fell in the sand but didn’t yet still totally lost it on the beach {she was fine – just wanted attention} and the boy who was HOT and absolutely REFUSED to wear his sweatshirt even though it was freezing cold outside. Haha GOOD TIMES. {Last night reconfirmed yet again that I am SO HAPPY to not be married or have any children – the family beach is NOT the place I want to be yet!}
Anyway, we decided that perhaps the economic recession prevented people from “going all out” on lights this year and that perhaps in 5 years when we’re ready for another boat parade adventure we’ll try again – until then – we feel like we experienced it – and that is enough for us!
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
it's a skill really!
Since I became a chronic headache patient, my priorities for life have changed DRASTICALLY. Namely, sleeping has becoming increasingly difficult and therefore progressively more cherished. I typically have a really hard time falling asleep AND a really hard time getting up in the morning. For a long period of time I felt like I looked completely haggard every day because I would barely get out of bed in time to make it to work. Now I think I have perfected the SKILL of staying in bed until the FINAL moment and still managing to look halfway decent. This morning I got up at approximately 7:28 and walked out the door at 7:53…and THIS is what I looked like... 
All things considered I would say that is pretty impressive!!
All things considered I would say that is pretty impressive!!
Monday, December 14, 2009
a BROKEN tailbone and an ENGAGEMENT ring!!!
SO…December started off with a broken tailbone. Boo. I had a headache last weekend and got just dizzy enough that I couldn’t quite navigate the stairs. Next thing I knew I was at the bottom of the stairs sitting in shock and thinking, “wow, that hurt!” Come to find out I BROKE IT. Bummer. No wonder it hurt! Now, I have never broken a bone in my body other than my skull – so broken bones are a pain that is relatively unfamiliar to me. However, I think I would greatly prefer to break a bone which can be cast and immobilized over one that is used for LITERALLY EVERYTHING! Breaking your tailbone is a BAD idea!!!
Anyway, because I broke my tailbone I was on “bedrest” this weekend attempting to let the bone heal at least a little bit (while I didn’t have to sit at a desk in my office – sitting on a broken bone = NO BUENO). So I got to watch a lot a movies, read quite a bit of a good book, visit with my roommates when they came into the house or were about to go out of it…I also did a few relatively productive things – made some zucchini bread for my co-workers, cleaned the microwave, dusted my room, washed some clothes and SHEETS {clean sheets are pure happiness} had mimosas and cinnabon with J. and In-N-Out Burger with Kenz…it was a good weekend overall I would say.
THE BEST PART OF THE WEEKEND came on Sunday afternoon – Shalina came home from a beach picnic wearing a BEAUTIFUL diamond ring on her left hand ring finger!! CRAIG PROPOSED! My sweet and wonderful {and CLEAN} roommate Shalina Marie is getting married and she could not be happier!! CONGRATULATIONS and MANY BLESSINGS to the future Mr. and Mrs. Craig Truglio! There is SO MUCH LOVE in my heart for you guys!!!
Anyway, because I broke my tailbone I was on “bedrest” this weekend attempting to let the bone heal at least a little bit (while I didn’t have to sit at a desk in my office – sitting on a broken bone = NO BUENO). So I got to watch a lot a movies, read quite a bit of a good book, visit with my roommates when they came into the house or were about to go out of it…I also did a few relatively productive things – made some zucchini bread for my co-workers, cleaned the microwave, dusted my room, washed some clothes and SHEETS {clean sheets are pure happiness} had mimosas and cinnabon with J. and In-N-Out Burger with Kenz…it was a good weekend overall I would say.
THE BEST PART OF THE WEEKEND came on Sunday afternoon – Shalina came home from a beach picnic wearing a BEAUTIFUL diamond ring on her left hand ring finger!! CRAIG PROPOSED! My sweet and wonderful {and CLEAN} roommate Shalina Marie is getting married and she could not be happier!! CONGRATULATIONS and MANY BLESSINGS to the future Mr. and Mrs. Craig Truglio! There is SO MUCH LOVE in my heart for you guys!!!
Thursday, December 10, 2009
my new found friend...
In the middle of November my sweet friend Megan moved from her home in Placentia to a little condo while her family is in transition. I benefited greatly from her move (and Steven’s the same weekend) as I collected several SUPER FUN new furniture pieces and a bigger tv! {HOW FUN IS THAT (in Ina’s voice)}. Anyway, I have had a deep seeded desire to paint this cute little end-table type thing that I got from Megan in a fun blue color for weeks and FINALLY got around to it on Saturday morning. Now I’m not the BEST spray painter yet – but I got it done – and I’m pretty sure the Nester and BOOMama would be proud of me!! LOOK how cute it is in my bedroom…I’m impressed…watch out world me and the spray paint are FOND FRIENDS!! 
Monday, December 7, 2009
the scowl...
sweet Madeline is going through QUITE the phase. she SCOWLS at everything! it's hysterical! here is the family Christmas photo with M's grouchy eyes...well at least the phase is well documented so we can all remember it!
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
thanksgiving weekend...
Thanksgiving was a bit different for my family this year. Every year for as long as I can remember we have traveled to be with my mom’s extended family for the Thanksgiving holiday. This year was no exception {minus the fact that we only had to travel about 35 miles – which was absolutely FABULOUS} but we were missing some key people at the celebration. My grandma turned 92 just a few weeks ago and we had a grand birthday party for her! It was so fun to celebrate the MANY years of life she has lived and the role she has played in each of our lives. Following her birthday lunch she went to Palm Springs to stay with my Aunt Pat and Uncle Greg for a few weeks. The plan was that they would bring her to Thanksgiving and then we would take her home afterwards since she only lives about 15 minutes from my parent’s house. Well apparently Grandma got really sick right after she got to Pat & Greg’s {I say apparently because I didn’t find out anything until AFTER Grandma was already out of the hospital}. She spent a week getting really sick, then a week in the hospital, {which is quite the bummer since my aunt and uncle had some fabulously fun activities planned for her stay and she was sick the ENTIRE time} and just hadn’t recovered enough to visit with everyone on Thanksgiving day. It was unfortunate and we sincerely missed her being present at the table. However, since Grandma couldn’t come and she was staying with Pat & Greg, they couldn’t come either. A lot of mom’s extended family still came – but our branch of the family tree was severely lacking this year.
Friday Mom and Dad drove to Palm Springs to pick Grandma up and brought her back to their house to stay for a few days. She is such an independent woman that I’m sure she was not thrilled about the prospect of staying and being taken care of by our family – but she took it {and handled it fairly well from what I saw}. While they were gone, Jamie and I went shopping and managed to knock out a lot of our Christmas needs. I was really impressed with us – we spent 6 hours mulling through stores and I think I got gifts for all but 3 people on my list! NOT A BAD DAY! Friday night the entire family came over for dinner with Grandma – Kevin, Jamie, Madeline, Julie and boyfriend Tyler, Aunt Sandy…it was a FULL house. We managed to get 11 seated at our table for 6!Saturday was another FULL day…my Dad’s side of the family lives out of town – but they were in the area looking at colleges for their youngest son Matt. Since they were so close, we decided to rendezvous in downtown San Diego for lunch at Filipe’s. It was REALLY fun catching up with them – the time was incredibly short {it always is} and I definitely wanted more – but it was wonderful to grab a hug and quick conversation anyway. When we got home from lunch Mom and I decided to go run some errands – I had seen a few things I thought she might want to purchase as Christmas gifts and I had a few items to pick up as well. We ventured out in the rain {I was totally unprepared for rain and didn’t pack any appropriate clothing – it has been HOT AND SUNNY all fall} and managed to get a few more good deals. We came home and had dinner with Dad and Grandma and then settled in for a World War II mini-series {my parents get movies from the library so they are always “interesting”}. During the movie I finished all the Ev. Free Fullerton Staff Christmas Party invitations – they needed bows and helped mom write her accreditation paper – it was a HIGHLY productive afternoon/evening.
Sunday was my last day at home and I FILLED it up! I met Cassandra at Starbucks at 8am before church to have coffee and catch up {I really wanted apple cider but they were out – devastating}. I went to first service with Dad and heard Mom sing in the ensemble {they sang a song that I sang in college – warmed my heart!!!}. After church I ran home to check on Grandma and say hi to my cousins who had come over to visit her then ran back to church, picked up Jenny, and had lunch with Jenny, Jamie, and Amber. Amber is engaged and planning her wedding with Jamie who is a bridesmaid and Jenny is in a very serious relationship and is planning a wedding for summer 2011. CRAZY that all my friends are moving into that stage of life! After lunch Mom and I ran yet MORE errands – I got all the stuff I needed to make zucchini bread {which makes the house smell absolutely DIVINE} for work friends and another gift or two. At about 7:00pm after making dinner for grandma and getting my MANY purchases loaded in the car, I headed for Orange County to my OWN BED.It was a wonderful weekend full of family – not quite what I expected – definitely not typical – but a weekend to be thankful for nonetheless.
Just a little something to leave you with - it doesn't get much cuter than that!!!!That's me with the "M" I'm most thankful for in LIFE!
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
headband FUN!
So I've admitted openly numerous times my unadulterated love for television. WELL...one of the shows Iwatch on a weekly basis (this week it was a re-run and i STILL watched it) is Gossip Girl. I am absolutley IN LOVE with Chuck Bass {I don't mean that in any sort of a crush way - but the way he purses his lips makes me laugh and laugh and laugh! He is a totally LEGIT character}. Anyway...one of the most interesting parts of GG is evaluating the fashion statements that the girls make on a weekly basis. From Serena Vanderwoodsen to Blair Waldorf to little Jenny Humphrey there is no lack of clothing excitement. WELL...i've decided that I LOVE BLAIR's headbands and I've started building my own collection. I'm not nearly as awesome as Blair is yet...but I'm getting there.
Here are pictures of two of my latest headband purchases that I ADORE!
Here are pictures of two of my latest headband purchases that I ADORE!
Monday, November 23, 2009
Mary Poppins was PHENOMINAL!!!!
Most anyone who knows me understands that I am somewhat of a Broadway person. I went to a fine arts elementary school where I spent more time singing and dancing than I did sitting at a desk practicing Arithmetic or learning Grammar. I participated in my first “broadway” show when I was only 11 years old. It was Fiddler on the Roof. In 6th grade I was in Crazy for You. My love for musical theatre began there and progressed throughout my years. When I was in High School at Grossmont I was part of the Red Robe Choir and was privileged to travel throughout Europe singing in cathedrals and other grandeurs in a wide variety of languages. In college I was in the University Choir and Orchestra under the direction of Dr. Gary Bonner, a world renowned conductor. So you see, music has always been a part of my life and it seems to make my heart beat just a little bit faster. I have been to numerous Broadway shows now…the very first was Hairspray which was followed by Wicked (3 times) which was followed by the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee after which I saw We Will Rock You (in London) which was followed by Avenue Q bringing us to the latest and greatest : Mary Poppins.Kenz and I left for the show immediately following work on Friday evening. We seemed to avoid most of the interstate traffic but getting to the 5 on Imperial Highway took FOREVER. Alas we arrived at California Pizza Kitchen with plenty of time to eat before the show. When we walked into the restaurant we were pleasantly surprised to see Jamie White and her sister Jackie, mom, and sister-in-law already seated. They were all headed to the show as well! What a WONDERFUL coincidence! The waitress realized that we were friends and seated us together (sorry – we really didn’t mean to crash your party Jamie!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!) Jamie’s clan was more than gracious and allowed us to impede on their party. After dinner we walked the distance to the theatre (about 3 blocks) and stopped for several photos! We got to the theatre about 10 minutes before the show was to begin {perfect considering I was more than excited and VERY READY for the show to begin at this point} and what seemed like only seconds later the lights were out and the singing had started. I was encapsulated literally from start to finish…. I laughed, I cried, I got goosebumps and chills…it was a PHENOMINAL show!! SUCH FUN! The story line was better than the movie and the fact that it was a production made it absolutely breathtaking! I am SO GLAD we went and can’t wait for the next show on the list…I think it is Lion King in the spring of 2010….YAY!!! I LOVE BROADWAY!
Friday, November 20, 2009
oops...i forgot to post this...
I HATE MOVING…
SO…I moved this weekend (which means the first weekend of November)… moving is NOT my favorite pass-time…I really don’t enjoy ANYTHING about it. I don’t enjoy the process of packing (except for the part where you get rid of a whole bunch of junk you haven’t used and really don’t need but still keep for some mysterious reason). I don’t enjoy cleaning every surface of the old house once everything is in boxes. I don’t enjoy loading the boxes into the U-haul {which I don’t enjoy paying for} (I DO like being a “hoss” and not letting any guy think for one minute that I can’t carry a box!). I don’t like unloading the boxes or putting everything from the box (that I just packed yesterday) into the dresser/desk/cupboard/closet, etc. I REALLY don’t like the feeling of physical exhaustion that follows a move. I just don’t like moving.
I ESPECIALLY don’t like moving when the place I am moving into isn’t ready to be moved into. Like my new house. BASICALLY, the house was supposed to be painted, the carpets and floors cleaned, and the kitchen deep cleaned PRIOR to our moving in. WELL…the crew apparently got “stuck” on another job… SO…the carpets were cleaned the night before we moved in so they were wet on move in day – which makes them WAY dirtier than they were to begin with…the painting crew was painting on move in day and they focused most of their attention on the stairwell – the area that was probably the least convenient possible….the kitchen never did get deep cleaned and so we had an ant invasion on move-in day (this was due to a beer can left open underneath the sink for WHO KNOWS HOW LONG – way to invite the critters in previous tenants – we appreciate you!) and all the boxes needed to be “temporarily” stacked in the garage. Yay. See why I just LOVE moving. Gaaaaaaaaaa. It is the most frustrating thing in the world.
Anyway, as the story continues, the painting crew asked us not to put anything away in our bedrooms but to wait until they had finished painting to arrange furniture, etc. We moved ON HALLOWEEN so they had to leave rather early (as in like 2pm – and they didn’t show up until 11am…questionable when they said they would be there at 6am…) because one of them had a haunted house to attend that evening. They promised to be back first thing Sunday morning. When they arrived Sunday at about 12:30, they told us they were going to take the day off because they hadn’t rested much due to their late night Halloween festivities and they wanted to give us the day to get settled. I WANTED TO SCREAM! How are we supposed to get settled if we have to keep all of our furniture in the middle of the room?? YOU PEOPLE ARE CRAZY! {breathe, breathe}. Monday the painting crew came back and almost finished…so Tuesday the job was done. Tuesday, November 3 the job was done. The job was supposed to be done by Thursday, October 29. Good time management skills. I spent the entire day Sunday cleaning the kitchen and contact papering the shelves and drawers. I refused to listen to the paint people and went ahead and set up my room. I would rather have old paint than sleep in chaos for weeks. {DUH}. My life was then at least moderately manageable.
It has been 20 days now since we moved in and we are far from finished – there are still boxes all over downstairs and furniture that my roommates need desperately to dispose of. {they don’t really seem to think that is an urgent need though – interesting}. The kitchen isn’t set up and we have no idea what do in our living room/dining room. SO ANNOYING.
The only GOOD thing about moving day???? The cable was connected at 9am…by bedtime all my shows were recording again and I could rest in peace.
I SINCERELY HOPE NOT TO MOVE AGAIN FOR A LONG LONG TIME!!
SO…I moved this weekend (which means the first weekend of November)… moving is NOT my favorite pass-time…I really don’t enjoy ANYTHING about it. I don’t enjoy the process of packing (except for the part where you get rid of a whole bunch of junk you haven’t used and really don’t need but still keep for some mysterious reason). I don’t enjoy cleaning every surface of the old house once everything is in boxes. I don’t enjoy loading the boxes into the U-haul {which I don’t enjoy paying for} (I DO like being a “hoss” and not letting any guy think for one minute that I can’t carry a box!). I don’t like unloading the boxes or putting everything from the box (that I just packed yesterday) into the dresser/desk/cupboard/closet, etc. I REALLY don’t like the feeling of physical exhaustion that follows a move. I just don’t like moving.
I ESPECIALLY don’t like moving when the place I am moving into isn’t ready to be moved into. Like my new house. BASICALLY, the house was supposed to be painted, the carpets and floors cleaned, and the kitchen deep cleaned PRIOR to our moving in. WELL…the crew apparently got “stuck” on another job… SO…the carpets were cleaned the night before we moved in so they were wet on move in day – which makes them WAY dirtier than they were to begin with…the painting crew was painting on move in day and they focused most of their attention on the stairwell – the area that was probably the least convenient possible….the kitchen never did get deep cleaned and so we had an ant invasion on move-in day (this was due to a beer can left open underneath the sink for WHO KNOWS HOW LONG – way to invite the critters in previous tenants – we appreciate you!) and all the boxes needed to be “temporarily” stacked in the garage. Yay. See why I just LOVE moving. Gaaaaaaaaaa. It is the most frustrating thing in the world.
Anyway, as the story continues, the painting crew asked us not to put anything away in our bedrooms but to wait until they had finished painting to arrange furniture, etc. We moved ON HALLOWEEN so they had to leave rather early (as in like 2pm – and they didn’t show up until 11am…questionable when they said they would be there at 6am…) because one of them had a haunted house to attend that evening. They promised to be back first thing Sunday morning. When they arrived Sunday at about 12:30, they told us they were going to take the day off because they hadn’t rested much due to their late night Halloween festivities and they wanted to give us the day to get settled. I WANTED TO SCREAM! How are we supposed to get settled if we have to keep all of our furniture in the middle of the room?? YOU PEOPLE ARE CRAZY! {breathe, breathe}. Monday the painting crew came back and almost finished…so Tuesday the job was done. Tuesday, November 3 the job was done. The job was supposed to be done by Thursday, October 29. Good time management skills. I spent the entire day Sunday cleaning the kitchen and contact papering the shelves and drawers. I refused to listen to the paint people and went ahead and set up my room. I would rather have old paint than sleep in chaos for weeks. {DUH}. My life was then at least moderately manageable.
It has been 20 days now since we moved in and we are far from finished – there are still boxes all over downstairs and furniture that my roommates need desperately to dispose of. {they don’t really seem to think that is an urgent need though – interesting}. The kitchen isn’t set up and we have no idea what do in our living room/dining room. SO ANNOYING.
The only GOOD thing about moving day???? The cable was connected at 9am…by bedtime all my shows were recording again and I could rest in peace.
I SINCERELY HOPE NOT TO MOVE AGAIN FOR A LONG LONG TIME!!
YAY BROADWAY!!
TONIGHT I'm going to Mary Poppins and I must admit that the excitement is absolutely overwhelming. I feel slightly like a small child...oooh it's going to be SUCH fun!! Pictures are sure to follow soon.....
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Halloween is OVER (for me!)
so Halloween is totally NOT my holiday! It has really never been my favorite – I feel super cheesy dressing up and although candy collecting is fun, I much prefer ice-cream as a late evening dessert choice. When I worked at Toll Brothers, we had to dress up – it was literally an entire office competition. We didn’t get much work done the week leading up to Halloween and Halloween day was undoubtedly PARTY TIME. Now I work at a church and Halloween is massively under-emphasized. Here we have “harvest” and no costumes are required. My initial reaction: SCORE. However, the fact that work does not have a “Halloween” festivity planned doesn’t mean I get out of Halloween all together. Saturday night Rach held her annual (last year it was a pumpkin carving party) Halloween party. Megan and I went as Cristina Yang and Meredith Grey from Grey’s Anatomy. Our costuming was pretty easy and in all honesty we looked pretty legit (as surgeons that is – not actually as Christina and Meredith.)! The party was GOOD times and lots of fun. Rachel looked CRAZY in her most ghoulish outfit. Intense. Well now it is officially October 26 and I am DONE with Halloween. Beautiful. 
Monday, October 26, 2009
WEDDING MADNESS!!!
Ok…so for any who are confused, I am twenty-four–years-old. Yes I said 24. Now I know that is INCREDIBLY young and therefore I DO NOT NEED TO WORRY ABOUT GETTING MARRIED YET…but contrary to that opinion, there are MANY my age and YOUNGER who are already hitched. I entered the “we’re getting married” stage with friends SEVERAL years ago – and the number of single friends I have {holding onto the happiness of freedom and a total lack of responsibility to any other individual} is QUICKLY dwindling. October was officially WEDDING MONTH (and ALSO the conclusion of the 2009 wedding season [for me]).
On October 3, 2009 Stacey Joy Shepard (now Buck) married her love Ryan. I met Stacey when I was a sophomore in high school (I think I was a sophomore – I might have been a freshmen – but I’m pretty sure I was a sophomore). She started going to our church and we officially became FRIENDS at winter camp that year. She and I were “best” friends throughout high school. We definitely spent a lot of time together and there were numerous seasons in our friendship when the desire for a boyfriend was the primary topic of conversation. However, as we grew up, that became less and less important to me and increasingly important to her. I moved away for college (to Riverside – so not really far away) and our friendship had to change. I wasn’t around as much and when I was home my attention was divided between numerous friends and family. She and I talked less and less and ergo knew less and less about each other. However, I was still acutely aware that her true desire in life was to be a wife. In December of this year Stace and I had lunch together and I heard the latest saga of her lacking love life and disappointment was written all over her face. HOWEVER in January she and Ryan started dating and I would say almost immediately she said, “he is the one – all I’ve ever hoped for and more.” They dated for just over 2 months before he proposed in March and then got married in October. WHEW it was quick – but I am happy that she is happy and is getting to live her dream!
On October 9, 2009 Lisa Christine Paajanen (now Laird) married her love Mike. Lisa and I met when we were freshmen in college. She was the VERY FIRST person I met at Cal Baptist. She and I BOTH lived on 1C and hit it off before we even left for New Student Orientation Retreat. Lisa and I did all kinds of crazy things together throughout our college years…we even got food poisoning together! Ha! Lisa graduated in December of my junior year and moved back to Phoenix. She and I haven’t been as close since she left –but I went to visit her and she came to visit me and we did our best to stay in touch. When she got engaged, she called me right away and we celebrated together via the telephone. She and Mike have been together for a WHILE and they have been waiting for him to finish school and get his promotion and then for his brother (who is in the military) to be coming home soon from the Middle East. So finally all the pieces were in place and SHE GOT HER DIAMOND! {The ring just might have been her FAVORITE part of being engaged!!!} Megan and I roadtripped out to Phoenix for her wedding and had a blast. It was a WHIRLWIND trip {to say the least} but we were BOTH thrilled to be there to share in her day!! 
SO now my best friend from childhood (Anna) is married, almost all of my close friends from college are married (Tessa, Kimie, Krista, Lisa) {hang in there Megan - i think we are TOTALLY getting the good end of this deal!!} almost all the people I grew up in church with are married (Christina, Lauren, Stacey, Sarah, Krissy, Kristin, Lisa, Kevin and Jamie) and there are SO MANY others I can’t even categorize.
BUT I’ve made it through another wedding season…can’t wait to see what weddings are in store for 2010!!
On October 3, 2009 Stacey Joy Shepard (now Buck) married her love Ryan. I met Stacey when I was a sophomore in high school (I think I was a sophomore – I might have been a freshmen – but I’m pretty sure I was a sophomore). She started going to our church and we officially became FRIENDS at winter camp that year. She and I were “best” friends throughout high school. We definitely spent a lot of time together and there were numerous seasons in our friendship when the desire for a boyfriend was the primary topic of conversation. However, as we grew up, that became less and less important to me and increasingly important to her. I moved away for college (to Riverside – so not really far away) and our friendship had to change. I wasn’t around as much and when I was home my attention was divided between numerous friends and family. She and I talked less and less and ergo knew less and less about each other. However, I was still acutely aware that her true desire in life was to be a wife. In December of this year Stace and I had lunch together and I heard the latest saga of her lacking love life and disappointment was written all over her face. HOWEVER in January she and Ryan started dating and I would say almost immediately she said, “he is the one – all I’ve ever hoped for and more.” They dated for just over 2 months before he proposed in March and then got married in October. WHEW it was quick – but I am happy that she is happy and is getting to live her dream!
On October 9, 2009 Lisa Christine Paajanen (now Laird) married her love Mike. Lisa and I met when we were freshmen in college. She was the VERY FIRST person I met at Cal Baptist. She and I BOTH lived on 1C and hit it off before we even left for New Student Orientation Retreat. Lisa and I did all kinds of crazy things together throughout our college years…we even got food poisoning together! Ha! Lisa graduated in December of my junior year and moved back to Phoenix. She and I haven’t been as close since she left –but I went to visit her and she came to visit me and we did our best to stay in touch. When she got engaged, she called me right away and we celebrated together via the telephone. She and Mike have been together for a WHILE and they have been waiting for him to finish school and get his promotion and then for his brother (who is in the military) to be coming home soon from the Middle East. So finally all the pieces were in place and SHE GOT HER DIAMOND! {The ring just might have been her FAVORITE part of being engaged!!!} Megan and I roadtripped out to Phoenix for her wedding and had a blast. It was a WHIRLWIND trip {to say the least} but we were BOTH thrilled to be there to share in her day!! SO now my best friend from childhood (Anna) is married, almost all of my close friends from college are married (Tessa, Kimie, Krista, Lisa) {hang in there Megan - i think we are TOTALLY getting the good end of this deal!!} almost all the people I grew up in church with are married (Christina, Lauren, Stacey, Sarah, Krissy, Kristin, Lisa, Kevin and Jamie) and there are SO MANY others I can’t even categorize.BUT I’ve made it through another wedding season…can’t wait to see what weddings are in store for 2010!!
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