lazy hair day...

i have crazy hair...and i am lazy. i KNOW i don't have the kind of hair that dries naturally and looks decent the next day. i know i have obnoxious curls that are out of control and that if i want straight hair i MUST STRAIGHTEN IT or if i want curly hair, i MUST APPLY PRODUCT and allow it to dry before going to bed. yet SO VERY OFTEN i choose laziness instead {lets be honest, i choose to watch my shows instead}. i KNOW it won't look good the next day if i don't get up in time to radically change it's initial appearance - and yet that is also not something i'm likely to do. getting up in time to actually do my hair is a rare occurence. {i already told you i'm lazy!}. so on days like today - i have lazy {crazy} hair. basically, i woke up in time to twist my hair and pin it up and then used a headband {thanks Amber - so glad you got married, i coordinated, and you gave me this AWESOME headband} to disguise the hot mess going on all over my head. the funniest part - TODAY i get compliments on my hair. today when i did absolutely NOTHING and feel haagard people tell me i'm cute. tomorrow, i'll actually DO my hair and it is an INSTANT guarantee that NO ONE WILL NOTICE. because THAT is how this works. feel cute, no one cares. feel DISGUSTING and the world thinks you're a beauty. ahhhhh. FIGURES!

goodbye sweet jamie...

This morning we had staff meeting...and a part of our time together was spent hearing about and praying for my sweet friend Jamie White and her family who are headed to France VERY SOON (like 3 weeks) to begin language school as preparation for becoming career missionaries in West Africa. Jamie's husband Justin is a pilot and they have been accepted by Wycliffe Bible Translators to bring the Word of the Lord to Cameroon by means of aviation. INCREDIBLE!
Jamie was one of my very first friends in Orange County - she was the Communication Assistant when I was hired at Ev. Free and we enjoyed LOTS of lunches together. She was also a small group leader in Women's Ministries and I was extremely blessed to grow from her wisdom and insight. She is an amazing woman and I am going to miss having her around tremendously. (However, I must admit I am overwhelmingly grateful for technology - email and SKYPE will get us through!) I have yet to make it through a commissioning for Justin and Jamie without having tears streaming down my cheeks - but I guess that's ok. The tears are a mix of pride, saddness, inspiration, and awe. Jamie - you are a WONDERFUL friend and my life has truly been touched by your presence. You will be in my prayers daily and I have no doubt the Lord will bless your ministry oversees. iloveyou!

CHEERS to the FABULOUS birthday girl!

this weekend i went home and celebrated my dear sister-in-law Jamie (she turns 28 on Wednesday). her party turned out to be a huge success and it really was a beautiful and fun evening. the food was warm (and served on time), the chocolate fountain was a hit (and didn't have the overflow problem I had with it at Shalina's bridal shower) and the variety of wines people brought for sharing was impressive. the guest list included some of my very favorite people (including my brother and sister-in-law) and some friends that i don't get to spend a lot of time with now that i live in orange county rather than san diego! it was truly fabulous to spend a warm summer evening in the backyard lit by candles and twinkle lights while drinking and nibbling on italian food with some of the best.

Happy Birthday AGAIN (and more to come!!) sweet sister! iloveyou!

cheers...

i'm headed home to san diego for the weekend to celebrate my sister-in-law jamie's 28th birthday. we're throwing her a classy soiree on Saturday evening with close friends, wine, and lots of good food. one of jamie's closest friends amber and I have been dreaming up and planning for this weekend for quite a while and i sincerely hope it goes SMASHINGLY. it is going to be a backyard cocktail party like people have never seen before! ha! i designed the invitation and almost all the paper goods - so i'll be sure to get the best photos i can and document accordingly! it is going to be a lovely weekend - can't wait to squeeze my sweet baby M-girl (who is ANYTHING but a baby now...) and dressing up in cocktail attire although not always my favorite, sound fun! cheers to you sweet sister-in-law! ILOVEYOU!

Adventures in Odyssey...

as a child, my parents introduced me to "Adventures in Odyssey" - it started out as a radio broadcast (which still airs TO THIS DAY) and grew into a world of "excitement, imagination, and discovery" {odyssey lovers, can you hear the theme song playing in your head right now?? be STILL my beating heart!}. my brother, sister, and i listed to Odyssey like it was about to be eliminated from the universe and we would no longer be able to get our grubby little fingers on our already purchased episodes. we would tune the "dog ear" antennas on our radios to catch the NEW episodes at night and then beg mom to buy us box sets for Christmases and birthdays alike. we got to the point where would could feel the package and KNOW it was Odyssey and the excitement COULD NOT BE CONTAINED! {i tell you the truth, mom could STILL get me Adventures in Odyssey sets for my birthday and/or Christmas and i would STILL be thrilled! it is TRUE love!}. WELL, one of my besties GAN is AT WHIT'S END TODAY and has been taunting me with amazing pictures...i am SO jealous that she is drinking a world famous chocolate soda and playing in the imagination station. it just isn't fair! hope you bring me back something FABULOUS gan...SO GLAD we share the unadulterated love! :)

to check out adventures in odyssey on your own, visit http://www.whitsend.org/ where there is a free downloadable podcast including full episodes! Make sure you meet Mr. Whitaker, Eugene, and Connie Kendall! ahhh....SO FUN!

love me some CHUCK BASS!

yesterday brought season 4 episode 2 of Gossip Girl (even though Ellen incorrectly suggested that is was the season premiere - she was confused. i'm sure she apologies.) and Chuck was in purest form after being forced to graple just a bit with reality. i thought for a little while there we might loose him and all the splendor of those pursed lips and searing eyes - but alas, he ended the episode with this quote, "We don't need tickets, I'm CHUCK BASS." PERFECTION!

playing catch-up {on my blog}

1.Last Monday was Stamp Club – the set theme was Perfect Punches. The cards were pretty cute. I made a birthday card {I seem to use more birthday cards than anything else} I was rather impressed with it – I would TOTALLY send it to a friend!2.Last Tuesday was the first meeting of Ignight for Fall 2010. I LOVE MY WOMEN’S BIBLE STUDY. Sometimes it makes me feel like I’m a super old lady and most definitely an adult – but the deep, insightful, and often thought-provoking discussions that occur within my small group are absolutely irreplaceable. I have grown tremendously because of their influence in my life and for THAT I am so thankful. This fall our study is “revealed” and it is all about the character of God. I cannot WAIT to begin learning more about the amazing God I want to love more.

3.Wednesday started the HORRIBLE HEADACHE of the month. I threw up in the office twice (SO not bueno) and did absolutely NOTHING at home in the evening but attempt to watch some tv. Although I must admit I did not earn my television gold medal last week - I was feeling TOO crappy and distracted to focus on my shows so they were temporarily postponed. Sad day. Sweet Rachel did come over on Wednesday night though to visit me – that was TENDER (even if she did tell me that my skin was so dry she couldn’t handle it and proceeded to rub lotion all over my arms! THAT is a good friend!)!

4.Friday was wine nite with some of my best girls {namely: kenzie, melody, mindy, leslie, lauren, and joy (Katie was supposed to come but she got “busy” last minute aka double booked herself)}. We drank a little, chatted a lot, and enjoyed some sweet time together outside of the office. It was lovely. 5.Last night I FINALLY watched My Sister’s Keeper. The book is SO MUCH BETTER than the movie – the endings are COMPLETELY different. BUT it was a pretty good movie nonetheless. Movies are almost NEVER better than books. So I’m not sure why I was surprised by my menial disappointment in the dumbing down of a good book for movie making.6.Last night I also watched the finale of the Great Food Truck Race and must admit I was a smidge disappointed that Nom Nom didn’t win. I know they were cocky and arrogant and that is annoying – but they had taken every other challenge. Oh well, I guess Grill ‘em All can have this one – they definitely won fair and square. It was a fun series…food network almost never fails me! 7.TODAY begins ABC RED CARPET PREMIERE WEEK!!! Which means: THE REST OF MY SHOWS COME BACK THIS WEEK! yay!!!!!!!

Gunn's Golden Rules

a little birdie just told me that TIM GUNN's book is now available for purchase.

my half birthday was on Sunday and I totally missed it {i was a bit preoccupied with a MASSIVE HEADACHE due to opening a coffee shop the day before} but it must be added to the wish list immediately. i am sure it is punchy and quoteable! LOVE HIM! ps i WANT that library - how beautiful is that book collection!!

{it is available at amazon if someone wants to send me a little hap-birth gift in the mail...}

oh GAGA...

she did it again - swept the VMAs and was the talk of the show! i must admit that she was a little "crazier" this year than typical - however, i credit her for knowing who she is and standing for her platform in literally every way possible. she arrived on the "white carpet" with uniformed military personnel - one from each division - each of whom have been dismissed from duty due to being found out or revealing his or her sexual preference. Apparently there is a bill in Senate now regarding the overturn of "don't ask don't tell" and she was taking a stand in hopes of generating support and sponsoring awareness. later in the evening she accepted the award for "best video of the year" wearing a dress made entirely of meat - when talking to ellen about the outfit choice later she explained that if you don't stand for what you believe in now, eventually you won't be worth anything more than the meat on your bones. she is fascinating to say the least albeit a bit eccentric! ha! somehow she never fails to capture my attention...

THE WELL IS OPEN!!!

OH MY GOSH...i have been a BAD BLOGGER! my life has been a little crazy BUT i think it is safe to say that I'M BACK!!! THIS is what my office looked like when i walked in this morning. i forgot when i left on Saturday {yes you read that correctly, SATURDAY} that i didn't waste even a single second cleaning up my desk before going down to the print shop and The Well. PROOF that I have been a crazy person at work {by crazy I mean overtime and everything. i'm SO legit!}. I don't have any GREAT pictures, but here is what i captured PRIOR to the grand opening of The Well on Saturday afternoon. We have just about EVERYTHING...a menu board, pastry case, all the "cool kid beverages", tumblers and travelers, parfaits and freshly squeezed orange juice, there are sandwiches and salads and there will be soup this winter, we drink Peet's hot or cold and can even take it to go...we are undoubtedly a FULL-SERVICE-ESTABLISHMENT and we {i} am thrilled that we are officially in business. I am sure there will be some additional graphic designing to be done - but for now, we're working with what I've completed and I must say, I'm rather impressed with the overall turnout...Congratulations Ev. Free Fullerton!! Welcome to the BIG LEAGUES!
ps those cookies are RIDICULOUSLY good {and Kirsten is a ROCKSTAR for making 1500 of them on Friday because she decided none of the frozen dough was good enough - that is my kind of food service manager!!}

the thriteeth tale...

gan gave me this book for my 25th birthday and i can FINALLY say that i read it and enjoyed literally EVERY PAGE. the language is rich and the story is intriguing, the character development is deep and the underlying tones of mystery amidst compassion compelled me to keep reading just one more chapter. it is written as a story within a story which is a personal favorite literary device and i really just couldn't get enough. i don't know what my all-time favorite books are - but this definitely ranks up there! it is a worth-while read!

Emmy LOVE 2010

I think I have mentioned (several times now) that I'm a certifiable television ADDICT. If it were a crime to watch more than a reasonable amount of tv, I would undoubtably have a warrant out for my arrest and would immediately be found guilty as charged. Thankfully to date no such laws exist (there may be a bill sitting up on capital hill but I digress). While I was at Gan's last weekend in the great city of Nipomo, we were THRILLED to share yet another AWARD SHOW EXTRAVAGANZA! (watching award shows together has become one of our "annual things". Sunday night was the Emmy's and they were FABULOUS. Seriously...beautiful people in ridiculous dresses on a red carpet followed by singing and dancing and terrible attempts at comedic relief - how could I not watch it? We enjoyed the whole show, but I must admit that my favorite part was UNDOUBTEDLY the opener.

I am slightly relieved to say that out of the shows featured in the GLEE opener, I think there were 3 or 4 I don't watch...I passed on LOST and 30 Rock, and Community, and Dancing with the Stars...but definitely didn't miss an episode of Glee and Shalina got me (shamefully) addicted to the vampire vortex... it was a good year for television and fall 2010 looks promising...WOOT!

(i promise my next post will not be about television - SO SORRY my addiction has become so prominent that talking about it has now taken up a permanent residence on my blog. Unfortunately for you - I have not yet decided it's an issue I want to confront. I refuse to participate in any 12 step programs...so don't even offer suggestions!)

PREMIERE MONTH!!!!!

it is officially September - which means it is FINALLY fall premiere month and I AM EXCITED! since I have 4 roommates, the television scheduling is always a bit intense - so today i decided the time had come to map out what is on when and where and how many things we can tape at once. have no fear ladies - we are COVERED. we can watch EVERYTHING and MORE!

JUST IN CASE someone out there needs the scoop...here you go...in order of premiere date... America's Next Top Model - Wednesday September 8 @ 8pmVampire Diaries - Thursday September 9 @ 8pm
Gossip Girl - Monday September 13 @ 9pm Survivor Nicaragua - Wednesday September15 @ 8pmHOUSE - Monday September 20 @ 8pmGLEE - Tuesday September 21 @ 8pmParenthood - Tuesday September 21 @ 10pmModern Family - Wednesday September 22 @ 9pmBig Bang Theory - Thursday September 23 @ 8pmGrey's Anatomy - Thursday September 23 @ 9pmPrivate Practice - Thursday September 23 @ 10pm
The Amazing Race - Sunday September 26 @8pmBrothers and Sisters - Sunday September 26 @ 10pm

and there you have it...my favorite shows...AND don't forget Project Runway will still be on...and Top Chef desserts ONLY...oh man bring on the hot chocolate and baileys...IT IS TIME TO WATCH TV!!!