Oh Really?!

Has anyone ever told you that they think you are depressed and going through a depression? How did you respond? What did you do about it?

I am not having a good morning so far and one of my co-workers thinks I am depressed. What a way to brighten my day, you might as well have kept your mouth shut and walked away. Maybe I am in a depression.

Hmmm.

Please Pray

My friend Kelsie was in a very bad car accident yesterday on her way home to her dorm. The driver of the other car was going too fast and could not make the turn and slammed into Kelsie head on. She is pretty seriously injured and is in surgery right now. She many broken bones in her legs and bruises and pain all over. Please pray for her surgery, that the doctors can repair the broken bones. This is especially hard for the family as they have two sons in the military and one of them was recently injured and blinded in an accident in Iraq.

Also, another friend in that same neighbor is battling cancer at the young age of 25. Brittany had cancer in high school and beat it and now doctors have found a large tumor in her back. She is also in surgery right now and I would like your prayers for her as well.

Thank you for your support and prayers.

GRRRR

I HATE MACHINES!!! They make your life so easy when they work and they make your life hell when they don't work.

I want a new RISO for the church office. If I win the lottery, I am going to buy one.

Sorry for my rant, but I had to get that off my chest.

New Found Glory

Last night, I was "in charge" of SURGE and I admit, I was very nervous. I don't know why, it went fabulously! The kids had a great time celebrating their detachments and the other advisors were very helpful.

I was talking to John last night about how I have changed as an advisor because of last night's leadership. In the past I have been the mother at SURGE. I always try and get the kids to be quiet and sit still and keep their hands and feet to themselves. Last night was the complete opposite. I didn't really care if they were quietly talking (except for one part where their peers were sharing deep feelings and stuff) or not really playing the games. I think it is because I had the control and the power of the night. I knew things were going to happen, both good and bad, and I didn't really care. I just wanted to hang out with the kids and that is just what I did. I think it has been a power and control issue for me in the past and hopefully it will not happen again. I loved the way I felt last night after leaving SURGE. I was exhausted, but I had a blast.

I hope that makes sense to those of you who read this. It is kind of hard to explain and I don't know if I did a good job. You can ask me in person if it doesn't make sense.

Ahhh, so good.

P.S. Thank you to Krystal McIntosh for all of her hard work yesterday. I couldn't have done it without her.

My Quirk

Recently I have been exposing a weird side of myself that I don't think a lot of people knew about.

That is right, I am into tracking earthquakes. Everyone keeps talking about "the big one" that is supposed to be coming in the near future.

Awhile back, there was an earthquake while I was working and Nita Standke and I got online to see some details about it. Well, I ended up adding the website to my favorites and now I go on a few times a week just to see the activity. It is pretty interesting. Go check it out for yourself. You'll see how amazing it is (ya right) and you'll also see the 5.2 earthquake that hit northern California yesterday at 8:06 p.m.

What can I say, I'm a nerd.

Fun times

John and I had a great weekend, but a short one. Friday night we spent the night together and went out to dinner at a new restaurant (or at least new to us). We went to Marmalade Cafe in Sherman Oaks. It was so cute and quiet and the food was pretty good. I guess this is a pretty well known chain, but we had never eaten there before. I love going and doing new things.

Saturday John left with Carol and Bridget for a conference in Atlanta, Georgia. He is loving it, and I am hating him being gone.

I have some wonderful friends who have stayed with me and kept me busy and a special thanks to John's mom, aunt and grandmother for cooking me dinner and letting me crash with them last night.

John has left me in charge of SURGE tomorrow night and I have to admit, I am rather nervous. I don't really know what to expect. Hopefully it will go "well."

Well that is all for tonight. I should really try and get some sleep before tomorrow.

All In

I am so sleepy today. Last night I was awakened (and kept awake) by our neighbors having a poker party. There is a young guy that lives in the apartment behind us (I think he is the manager's son) and he loves to have people over. I don't mind that, but I do mind the parties that start after they get back from the bars on a MONDAY NIGHT. It is really annoying because his living room is right by our heads so we hear everything. There must have been 5-10 guys there last night playing poker from 2:45-4:00 a.m. I finally got smart and got ear plugs for both John and I.

I just want some peaceful sleep.

Marriage Retreat

This past weekend we went to Oxnard with about 10 other couples from the church for our Engaged and Young Marrieds Retreat. It was fabulous! The weather was amazing and the house was spectacular! We really enjoyed getting to know other couples and chatting about our relationship and getting thoughts, ideas and perspectives from other people that we love and that love us.

All in all we had a blast. A nice refresher.

Here is a picture of our group.

ER

Yes it is true, I did end up in the emergency room last night. Remember that migraine I mentioned in my post, well it caused so much pain and discomfort all throughout my body that I had to got to the hospital last night at 11. I could hardly move and was having cold and hot flashes and was feeling nauseous. I did end up having a fever and was a little dehydrated so they gave me some morphine (which hurt like heck at first, but then made me feel goooood) and some IV fluids. We were in the ER for about 4.5 hours. I was feeling good after the second dose of the morphine and they let me go home.

So today I am just hanging out around the house, keeping a low profile and just resting. I need to get some laundry done before we go this weekend, but I don't know if that is going to happen. Alright, it is time for another nap. Thanks for your thoughts and prayers.

Peace.

Can't Work

I have a killer migraine right now and it is having a serious effect on my functionality at work. I wish I could just go lay down and sleep for a few hours. Gotta go to SURGE tonight. Yee haw!

Pain, pain, go away.
Come again another.....

Wait, don't ever come back!

Long Awaited

Here are some of the pictures we took in Vegas. Nothing special, but it is a start. I will post more when I get the pictures from my parents. Here are some pictures from Red Rock Canyon and my nephew finishing off a Corona.

I hope this satisfies you all for a little.

I forgot to mention that we stayed at John's grandfather's house. It is so nice and elegant inside. Papa Omar was a wonderful host. He cooked for us and served us and took great care of us. We couldn't do anything without him telling us that he would do it and for us to sit down. He even gave us his own bed and bedroom and he slept in the office.

Thanks Papa!!

What a Weekend

SHE DID IT! Nicole and Karanja got married this weekend (on Sunday). I had such a blast hanging out with Nicole and her family all weekend. I drove out to Corona on Thursday so we could get up early and head to Glen Ivy Hot Springs for a relaxing day at the spa. Friday was fabulous!! We had our own little cabana with our own cabana boy to serve us. Nicole and I got stress relieving massages were absolutely amazing. Too bad it was only 20 minutes long, just a tease of a massage, but still relaxing. After the spa day, the younger (but still old enough) girls went out bar hopping in downtown Fullerton. It was good times.

Saturday we drove to Riverside for the rehearsal in the morning and then back to her parent's house in Corona for the rehearsal lunch. It was nice and easy, the rehearsal was short so that was nice.

Then came Sunday! The BIG day. I was asked by Nicole to be her "coordinator/gopher." I didn't realize how big of a job that was. I was running around sweating before noon. Besides a few people being late, the wedding went off fabulously (a little chilly for my preference). Nicole made a beautiful bride and Karanja looked amazing in his purple tux (yes, it was lavendar). It was well put together and planned.

Congratulations Broomfields!! Enjoy your honeymoon in Jamaica! Karanja, thanks for the rum punch:)

Back to real life in the church office.

Here We Go Again

John starts school again tonight and I am really not looking forward to it. Sometimes I feel like I lose my husband for 10 weeks and then boom, he's back, and wait a second, gone again. There is just something about school (maybe the stress and pressure) that makes him seem different to me. Maybe it is just me, because he doesn't seem to see or think anything different. We have so much fun when we are together and have no cares and nothing to do, but even on weekends during school he is preoccupied and has to study and just doesn't have the time to spend with me (which I need). We'll see how this quarter goes. I have to admit that this school season of our lives is going pretty fast and will be over sooner than I think.

So this quarter John is going to be in school on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays so I am trying to find something new and different to do. I am looking into starting school at Pierce to go back and get my nursing degree. I haven't met with counselors or anything, but it has been something I have been thinking about doing and talking about doing for a while now. Also, I have thought about joining a bowling league on Tuesday or Thursday nights.

Pray for me, pray for us. Nothing is really wrong, I am just struggling trying to find my role in the home and trying to find out how to meet John's needs and how my needs can be met also.

Check it!

I found this when I got on the internet to check my Google email account. Why can't we have an "Earth Hour" every day? It seems logical and plausible (at least to me). If you are around tonight, turn out your lights at 8:00 p.m.

I will be posting some pictures from our wonderful weekend in Vegas.

Mysterious Ways

Sometimes it seems like we just get complacent. I know I have a lot recently. I have just been letting this apartment stuff work itself out and have learned to accept the place that we live in.

Until now. God sends mysterious messages and He has definitely given us one. Upon returning home from work yesterday we were greeted by our apartment manager. He plainly told us that there was a notice from the county saying that our unit did not have the proper permits or any permits for that matter. What this means is, we WAIT. We have to see if the landlord can get the proper permits. If he can, great, we can stay. If not, we get evicted and have to move.

Just when I thought our apartment problems were on the mend. God must have some better place for us to live. Thanks for the eviction God.

I've Found Something

In response to Amy Souza's blog on "things" I have found ONE of my many things. Last night John and I sat down to watch TV and eat dinner and upon finishing dinner I was inspired. Not by the TV or anything John said, but by my boredom and laziness.

Over 4 years ago, I started embroidering squares for a quilt I was going to my make for my newborn niece. Well let's just say I wasn't that motivated so I never finished it.

So last night, I brought out my box of patterns, thread, needles, etc. and sat down and started embroidering. It was so calming and so relaxing and I was still able to watch enough TV and enjoy John's company.

It really made me feel great to have something to do even in the quiet of my own home even if I do look like an old grandma doing it.

Seasons

Enjoy the sun. Embrace the cool breeze. SMILE, LAUGH, LOVE.

So Close, Yet So Far

Lately I have been feeling like John and I are so distant and not as close as we used to be. I guess that is to be expected since he is in school and busy studying when he gets home. But even when we are together and we just sit and watch tv, I feel so far apart.

This weekend was a good reconnect. We spent Friday night together (when I finally escaped from work). We had a fabulous dinner at Roy's for my birthday and boy did we splurge....drinks, appetizer, dinner, dessert (we got two, one small one for my birthday and then another full dessert). It was fantastic. Saturday I had to work for the Presbytery event at our church and after I got back John and I went housesitting for the Dials and did TONS of laundry. We had three full baskets/suitcases full of dirty laundry. It was great, we laid around and watched the entire first season of Heroes while doing the laundry. It was fun and relaxing. On Sunday we spent the morning and afternoon with John's family and celebrated his grandmother's and my birthday. And yes, we did watch the Oscars. Thanks to the Lofgren's for having us over.

This weekend was fun but last night was the best. When John got home from school he was supposed to write a paper but instead we just hung out. It was so nice, I felt like I had my husband back even if it was just for a night. We laughed together and held each other.......and watched the Biggest Loser. It was so nice.

I know this whole school thing is only a couple more years, but it is a lot harder than I expected. I miss John and would like him to be "home" more. By home I mean, emotionally available and not so preoccupied. Oh well, I will have to survive for 2 and 1/4 years.

We're Going Away!

WE ARE GOING TO JAPAN!! We just bought our tickets online for our summer/fall trip to Japan. We are going to see John's mom and her husband who moved to Japan in October. We are so excited and I am just a little nervous. If Liz can move there.....I can definitely visit for a few weeks. WOOHOO!!!

Holiday?

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY! Enjoy the day, enjoy your loved one (if you have one), enjoy LIFE!

Rest

Sometimes you just need a personal day and some good ol' rest. So that is what I did today. I took half the day off to just relax and try not to get the sickness that is going around the office. It was, I actually slept for a few hours.

If only I could do that everyday.

Oh ya, John and I saw this movie last week. You should check it out, it's awesome.

Get Out?!

I have been complaining about being cold all the time, and God must have listened. The weather has been beautiful the past few days. John and I took advantage of the sunshine on Saturday and went hiking at O'Melveny Park. We hiked to the top (or basically the top) and enjoyed the view of the east side of the San Fernando Valley. It was amazing. The hike was challenging but we survived and was well worth it.

Yesterday was a long day and so was today... I am exhausted. Nothing to do tonight, thank goodness.

Wood eye?

So not only do we have a mold issue or at least some sort of moisture issue, we now have TERMITES!!! John found worker termites in our bathroom eating away at the base molding. You gotta love our apartment. You get free utilities, but with it comes harmful bacteria and freaking bugs. Great!

I am not sure what we are going to do. First of all, we need to have a serious chat with our manager and then prepare for action in the future. As Karen Lofgren keeps telling me, "start building your case" and that is what we are doing. Not that I will have to do anything with it, but you never know.

Oh ya, did I mention I am exhausted from working so many hours this week? Gotta run, more work to do.

Sunshine

Today was a great day in the office! I don't say that very often so you know it must have been exceptional. It was a little bit stressful, but not the end of the world.

If only every day was a little bit like today.

Thank you God for the sunshine.

Pile It On

I have been feeling very overwhelmed by things these days. I feel like everything is going wrong at once, or just not going the way I planned. Yesterday started off bad and only got worse and then spilled over to today.

I woke up late and was frustrated because John wasn't coming to get me and we were late to church (which annoys me) and when he did come and get me, we argued about whether or not he could buy cleats for playing frisbee and football. Then I was really pissed off about the way our lunch turned out. I thought it was going to be this nice lunch with the Aaron and everyone else that was there and instead it turned into work. I really annoyed by some people and the comments they were making. I guess I just had a different agenda for the lunch meeting than others.

When we got home after lunch, I went into the bedroom to open the windows and found a large layer of mold all around our bedroom window; less than 2 feet from my bed. I was livid, to the point of trying to find out how we could withhold our rent until they fixed the problem. It turns out, I think we are pretty much liable, which is retarded because our apartment is not ventilated well and it is almost impossible to keep it aired out enough to stop the mold. AARRGGGHHH! So John and I started thinking of our options and that just got me all worked up. I really don't want to move again, but I want to be healthy and in a home that is safe.

Then every little thing started to pile on and make me more frustrated. Our printer won't scan anymore, our dishwasher was leaking water (but it wasn't even on), I installed the printer wrong and now it is really messed up, John isn't motivated to do his homework and our apartment was in shambles with crap everywhere. I just wanted to scream.

What should we do? Do we move or stay where we are because it is cheap and we don't pay utilities? Isn't my health more important than money? If we move, should we upgrade to a 2 bedroom in case we ever decide to have a baby? Can we afford a different apartment?

These are my questions running through my brain and distracting me from work. Please pray for guidance and wisdom for John and I.

Symptoms

I am still feeling worn out and completely exhausted from last weekend. I don't know if it is because I don't go to bed that early or what, but I am so tired all day long. I have also been getting really bad headaches at night. I wonder if something like mold is in our apartment and that is what is causing this. I don't know, but I am flippin tired.

Going to another SURGE event this week. Can't I just rest?

FOHO FO SHO

Heading out this afternoon to the beautiful Forest Home. I have been super excited for Winter Camp '08 until now. I am freaking tired and my body just feels run down. I think the adrenaline rush of the week and trying to get things done is wearing off. Hopefully, as soon as the kids get here and the other advisors, I will get that second wind, because man do I need it.

Have a great weekend and Happy Martin Luther King Day! Yay for no work on Monday!

"Mom said I could go to FO HO!"

A Night Out

Last night I went with Amy and Justin Souza to see Shane Claibourne speak at Bel Aire Pres. I thought he did a great job. It is amazing what this guy has done, from living in the inner city of Philadelphia to working with Mother Teresa in Calcutta to visiting Iraq. His stories are amazing. If you haven't read his book, Irresistible Revolution, you should join me in reading it. I guess his talk was pretty much what his book was about, but it was very inspiring. His talk was entitled, "Have Less, Live More." The part that struck me the most was the video that he showed at the end of his talk. It was of his trip to Iraq. The video depicted a young boy laying on a hospital bed dying of malnutrition. The boy had survived a bombing and was also suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. He lay in his bed quivering uncontrollably and a Sister of Mother Teresa stood stroking his belly. It was an amazing moment, but suddenly the boy became still and just stared into the eyes of the nun. I couldn't help but weap.

Still trying to process how I can have less and live more.

So long.

Taking Notes

I feel like I should be taking notes on how I want to raise my children and what I want to do and what I don't want to do.

Having children is still a ways away for John and I, but some of our friends are having kids and I am thinking alot about how I want to raise mine and things I want to do for them. If I don't write them down somewhere I will never remember when the times comes to have a child.

We just celebrated Kiley Lofgren's first birthday and they had a cute idea. Everyone had to write notes to Kiley and Karen and Jamie are going to save them and give them to her when she is old enough to understand and appreciate the things that were written.

John and I want to do something similar, but we want to write notes/letters to our own children every year on their birthday (from pregnancy on). We want to encourage them and let them know how much we love them.

Just some ideas going on in our heads, thought I would share.

The party is over.......time for laundry.

"Resolutions"

I have mixed feelings about the phrase "new year's resolutions." Sometimes I get excited to think about all the things I want to change about me and my lifestyle. Other times, just the thought of making changes scares and overwhelms me.

Last night something hit me. I don't know what came over me, but I have decided that I have a few "new year's resolutions" (or whatever you want to call them):

1. To eat healthier (this includes):
a. Eating in more often for dinner (using Dream Dinners)
b. Taking lunches rather than going out and buying fast food
c. Eating breakfast daily (at home before I leave for work or at work)

2. To exercise more
a. Use my gym membership (that I have had for a few years and used 3 times)
b. Start a walking club with the ladies at work

3. Read more (both the Bible and leisurely)

4. Save money and pay off loans (this is more of a life resolution than just one year)

5. Keep a cleaner house and do smaller chores more frequently rather than letting them all pile up and then doing them

If you are my friend, please help me to keep on track, keep me accountable by asking how I am doing.

Here's to a happy and healthy 2008! Cheers.

*cough*

I knew this was going to happen....the sickness after the adrenaline rush. Leading up to Christmas, John and I were very busy with work, finishing school, and parties. Now that we have taken the time to rest and just relax for awhile, the sickness has caught up with us. John wasn't feeling "great" before we left, but we thought rest and relaxation would help.....well, it didn't.

Now we are both sick again and none of the family wants to hang out with us because they don't want it. Woohoo. Just kidding. My family is cool, most of them are sick too.

I hate the feeling of having to sneeze with nothing happening. It makes my head hurt more and my eyes water like crazy. This sucks!!

Fear....Straight Up

Last night the whole family went to Bellevue Square for dinner and to watch the Snowflake Lane production. It is always fun to see the high school drummers dressed up like little drummer boys and to see the "snow" falling from the sky. We tried to go to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory, but it was almost a two hour wait, so we decided to go next door to Red Robin. I didn't mind so much, but some of the family weren't so happy. After dinner we rushed outside to get a spot right up near the street so Erika and Mitchell (my niece and nephew) could see everything that was happening. My sister and her husband and the kids went in one direction to reserve our spot and the rest of the family was going to the restrooms and what not.

As we walked out of Red Robin we ran into Donnie who screamed at us "WE LOST ERIKA!!" We all started to freak out. I had Trevor (my other nephew) in a Baby Bjorn and John and I took off running in one direction while my mom and dad went running in another and Donnie in a third. It was absolutely the worst feeling in my life. We started shoving people out of the way and screaming her name and asking people if they had seen a little blond girl walking around with a purple jacket on. John and I saw so many girls her size wearing purple jackets. It was horrible to say the least. We ran up and down the one side of the street screaming frantically. John found a cop and told him we lost Erika and they said join the club. There were also two other children that had gone missing that night.

All of this to say, that Erika is one smart girl. She went right back to where she knew we all were last...right out in front of Red Robin and Cheesecake Factory. She had been yelling for Mom and Dad and some couple realized she was lost and wouldn't let her leave where she was until her parents had gotten there. Erika told them the names of her parents and they were not going to go anywhere until Kim and Don were found. Donnie ran back that way and found her and wouldn't let her go the rest of the night.

We were all freaked out and panicking. It was very traumatic for Erika as well as Kim and Donnie and the rest of the family. needless to say, we got to enjoy the show! I couldn't imagine the feeling if that was my own child lost in a crowd of hundreds or thousands of people right along a busy street. Thank God for that couple.

Airports

Today John and I left for our trip to Washington for the Christmas holiday. I never expected to wait for so many hours in so many airports. We left the church office around 11:50 a.m. to get to the Burbank airport around 12:15 p.m. for our flight at 2:30. When we got there, our flight was delayed over an hour and a half. This wouldn't have been that bad, but we were flying into Portland and connecting to Seattle and we were going to miss our connecting flight in Portland. so we had to go standby on a direct flight from Burbank to Seattle. We didn't get it so we were back to square one just with a later connecting flight in Portland.

John and I are still sitting here in the Portland airport at the moment. It has been a long day spent people watching and waiting, lots of waiting.

We are on the last leg of the trip for now and then will probably be up late visiting with the fam. What a great start to our vacation.

My BFF 4eva

It was a sad day yesterday as we all said goodbye to Dustin Rhoads. Dustin is now moving on to bigger and better things in Arizona and then in Vegas.

I have had so much fun getting to know my "son" and my fellow advisor. I will never know another person to make me laugh so hard and so much. Dustin liked to run his jokes past me and if I didn't laugh, he knew it was a good one.

Not only am I going to miss Dustin, but the kids are SURGE are really going to miss the man in the viking hat.

We love you Dustin!!

The Time Is Near

The parties have finally ceased and the work load has increased tremendously. I have been so busy here in the office and stressed beyond belief. It always seems that way right before a vacation, but right before a vacation before a holiday is insane. I feel so far behind and that is overwhelming to me. Today is better than yesterday, but still, there is a lot to be done before John and I get on that plane tomorrow afternoon.

I am so excited to be going home for Christmas, but this year is going to be different and I don't really know how I feel about it. My sister has her own family and has to work on the 26th so they aren't going to be around on Christmas day. My brother has a new baby and so they are doing Christmas day (in the morning) at their house and then coming over to my parent's house. I am not used to the fact that we are doing our gift exchanging and opening 2 days before the actual day and then nothing will happen on Christmas Day. I am kind of sad, but I am sure it will all work out. It is just different and I don't like change for the holidays.

I am so thankful for a loving and caring family that actually enjoys being together and gets along well. It will be nice to spend time with my niece and nephew and my 92 year old grandmother. I am especially looking forward to not setting my alarm and really getting to hang out with my parents after the holiday rush dies down.

I pray for safe travels for John and I and for all of our friends and family who are traveling for the holidays. I also pray for a wonderful time with family.

See you Californians for New Year's Eve. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Elves

Please check this out. It is hilarious and will probably make your day!! http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1369304736

Parties!!

I love the Christmas season. It seems like most people like to have parties during the wintertime. We have been partying with our small group, with friends in general and this week is no exception.

Today started with the Weekday School Commission breakfast, which is always fantastic. Tomorrow is our office volunteer luncheon that the staff hosts for all of our hardworking volunteers and Friday is the church office staff Christmas party at the Sillerud's. Ahhh.

This weekend I am going to be hosting at Norm and Posey McCracken's Christmas Open House. If you are in the area and what to stop by and see all the wonderful toys, decorations, ornaments, etc. come on by. I will be bored just standing around so come keep me company. It starts on Saturday night and runs for three consecutive nights. If you want details call me.

I am so full, so I am gonna take a short nap!

Christmas Bliss

This weekend was amazing. Although it was busy, John and I really enjoyed the time we spent with friends.

Friday night, after my haircut, we went to Santa Monica to our friend Lori's dad's house for a small group get together. It was a blast. We all sat around the fire and the living room (with NO TV) and just talked and reminisced. After eating some wonderful food from Kay and Dave's restaurant, we had an awesome Christmas jam session. John, Andrew, Justin and a few others played guitar while Nayla and Matt played piano and the rest of us used shakers or other noise makers. We had such a good time just messing around and singing like crazy people and enjoying the true meaning of the Christmas season....spending QUALITY time with friends and family.

The weekend continued with partying on Saturday and Sunday. Saturday we were invited to AJ and Rachelle's engagement party where ate some great Trader Joes food and played some exciting Wii video games.

Sunday was chaotic but hilarious. After church was the usual hang out at lunch and then we all had the great idea of going to get a group picture taken with Santa. Whose idea was that? The mall was insane and we almost got hit numerous times just trying to park the dang car. Once we safely reached the inside of the mall, we found that Santa was on a break. Who does he think he is taking breaks during his busiest time of the year? So we went window shopping with the Souzas and the Lofgrens and then headed back for the Christmas Concert at church. The concert was good, definitely aimed toward the older generations of the church, but fun hanging out in the choir loft with two sleep deprived girls. Congrats to Justin and Amy for the debut in the drama. I am sure it was great (I didn't see it cause I was watching Adelaide in the choir room) but I heard lots of laughter.

A great weekend was had by the Bowlings!! We love our friends!!

Free

John is a free man (free from school that is) for the winter. WOOHOO!! I finally get my husband back and now we can hang out together and do stuff on the weekends.

Did I mention that I am thankful for those negative emails? This email in particular helped me to laugh about my pain and tight shoulders. Now I can look at that email and have a positive outlook about myself.

Stress

All of my tension and pain in my back, neck and head is caused from stress (according to my doc). So I guess I have to have a new outlook on life and work.

It was hilarious that after I returned to work from the doctor's office, I had a very unpleasant email waiting for me. No wonder my shoulders and back are so tight, my job is a major stressor in my life.

It is not only my job that causes me stress. There are many things going on that are both good and bad that cause stress. It the change that causes the stress not just something bad happening. John and I have a lot going on in our lives and that is something that I need to reflect on and watch how I react to certain things.

Hopefully the blood tests and x-rays will come back as good news. We'll see.

Simple gifts

I am so thankful that I have the benefit of using a washer and dryer to do my clothes even though I have to pay $2.25 per load.

Yesterday I had to wash some clothes by hand because I haven't done laundry in forever and it wasn't dry this morning. Oh well, that is what happens when life gets busy and you get lazy. Maybe I should be doing my laundry instead of just talking about it.

Blah

It has been a long couple of days and I am very tired. I am sick of working and I just want to sleep well for a few hours at night. I have no desire nor the energy to work today.

Here's an update on my second job search. I applied for a position at Banana Republic and I have not heard back from them. I figure this is God telling me that I just need to take some time for myself and enjoy the holidays and not to worry about the finances. So, that is what I am doing. And according to my tiredness, I don't think I could handle working two jobs three days a week.

I need some energy to keep up with the season of Advent and all the church activities.

What is it about?

I know the holidays are fast approaching and everyone is talking about what the holidays really mean. I am looking forward to being with my family again and having some time with them, but I haven't bought our plane tickets yet. Airline prices are through the roof and John and I really don't have the money. I do get one ticket for $50 because of my Alaska membership, but one ticket is over $400. Yikes!! Not only do we have to fly, but we also have to buy gifts and such for people. We are not planning to spend a lot on gifts, but that is still some kind of funds that have to come out of our account. I just don't want to be broke after the holidays.

So John and I have been thinking. This past weekend we spent a few hours at the Northridge Mall and I noticed that most stores are hiring just for the holidays. I jokingly commented that I should get a second job for the season so we could have some extra cash. Now, I am starting to really consider it. The mall is going to be open later and I get off work at the church at 5....I could work from 5:30-10 a few days a week while John is at class. It's not a ton of hours and I am never in bed before then anyways, so why not?

I really don't know if I should do it or not. I don't want to be doing it just for the money, but I do have to live and I do have to buy groceries. Hmmmm.

Say Goodbye

Our TV has died. I was watching it while I ate lunch and all of a sudden it just turned off. I haven't been able to turn it on since.

Looks like John is going to get his LCD or Plasma he's wanted and we are going to spend MORE money.

WE DID IT!

Thank you to everyone for the warm anniversary wishes. John and I had a great time this weekend.

As most of you know, we were originally supposed to take John's brother Evan and Andrew Seely to Vegas for the weekend. Evan turned 21 on Saturday and Andrew has never been to Vegas. We had it all planned and the room situation fell through. Not a big deal, but I really wanted to go, so I was bummed. And I think Andrew was too. John and Evan didn't want to spend the money in the first place, so they were ok with it. Then I had the grand idea of going to Napa Valley for the weekend. I started researching some B&Bs and found that that was almost more expensive than going to Vegas for the same amount of time. Man oh man. I was pretty pissed. I really wanted to get away for the weekend and John was absolutely no help in the planning. So I was pretty bummed when we decided to stay here, but I figured it would be alright and we could save all that money.

Our weekend turned out to be fun. Friday night consisted of going to Barney's Beanery in Pasadena for John's aunt, Stephanie's birthday. That place was cool. Then Saturday night we went out to Fatty's in Eagle Rock (a great vegetarian/vegan restaurant) for Evan's 21st. And then for our actual anniversary on Sunday, John made me a wonderful candle lit breakfast of waffles and bacon and then we went shopping at the mall to use up our Macy's gift cards from the wedding ($200). I bought a dress and John bought shoes. In my card John gave me tickets to Wicked for the night, so we headed off to the Pantages.

This deserves a side note! As we were walking in to the theater, John hits my arm and says "LOOK!" I had no idea what was going on and there were so many people that I was confused and just turned in a circle. John then informed me that Barry Bonds was there. OOOOHHH, who cares about Bonds. Anyhow, it's always exciting to see a "celebrity." Then as we were walking toward the door to go to our seats, we ran into Bob Koster. He and Sheila were there for her birthday. "It's a Small World" comes to mind. Wicked is a freaking awesome play. If you haven't seen it, you better. Very good songs and acting.

So after dinner, John and I headed to a really cool restaurant called The Stinking Rose. This place is probably the cutest restaurant I have seen in my life. It is sorta like Buca but better decorations. So that was our anniversary. It was nice to just be together for the entire day and do whatever.

Disease

I feel like crap today. I have been so healthy, but I always seem to catch something during the fall/winter. You know I am really not feeling well when I go home early from work. Well here I am, sitting at the Dial's house doing absolutely nothing except lying around. This sucks!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Have a safe and happy Halloween. John and I will be at SURGE tonight. Yippee!!

Irritations

These are the two things that irritate me the most and cause me to be in the mood I am right now:

1. Migraines - I have this one for 3 days now and can't shake it. I have taken all kinds of medications and am not eating anything differently but it is affecting my whole life and especially work.

2. People - not just people in general, but people that just give up and don't ask questions. I am struggling to get some people to understand that it is ok to ask questions and that I am not really a scary person. I have a lot of general information that I am willing to share to make other's lives a little easier, if only they would ask.

These things that are irritating me are not just permeating my personal life, but also my work environment. I am in such a horrible mood right now, that I just want to go home and cry myself to sleep.

heartache

I have really been struggling with my role in youth ministry. I know that I cannot be the ONE THING that "saves" kids, but I don't like to see them hurting either. I just don't know what to do or say to the people that I know are hurting. It is horrible what these kids are going through these days. More and more awful things are happening to our youth, things that I would never wish on anybody, ever. It is a sad reality, but I want to be able to do SOMETHING and I don't know what.

It is depressing.

Back in Issy

I will always miss being in Issaquah. I love it here, this is home to me no matter how far away I am. I am back for "my best friend's wedding." I am so excited to be sharing in Lauren and Tim's big day. It is going to be a blast. Well, I better go get ready for the festivities to begin.

Today: dentist appointment, lunch with grandma then the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner.

P.S. The cool weather is a nice relief, but dang is it cold compared to California.

Labor Day in Vista

Here are some pictures from our trip to Vista last weekend for Labor Day. We spent a lot of time relaxing in and around the pool at John's mom's house. Some activities included visiting the Scripp's Aquarium, La Jolla Cove and the Dodger's vs. Padres game at Petco Park. All in all......best weekend we've had in a long time. Enjoy!!

Deserving

The time has finally come for John and I to take some sort of "vacation." We are heading to Oceanside for a short (but free) stay thanks to Mark Wilson. It has been a long, short week at work if you know what I mean and I am ready to be out of Northridge again.

Heat Wave

I can't handle this hot California weather any more! I am moving back to Washington where it is cooler and sunny. I am tired of the triple digit temperatures of Southern Cal.

Leavin'

Going home for the weekend. Celebrating the soon to be Mrs. Castro and seeing my new nephew for the first time (in person)!! Gotta go, my plane is a leavin'.

Birthday Wishes

Happy birthday Gma Rhoda. Hope today is as good as the past 33580 days. See you soon.

Shake, Shake, Shake

second earthquake this month....gearing up for a BIG ONE!!

First: Aug. 9th magnitude 4.2
Today: Aug. 16th magnitude 3.5
Both earthquakes were just north of Chatsworth, CA (4 miles)

Hunger

Spent the morning at the Children's Hunger Fund. This is an annual service project for the junior high kids at our church. Today we packaged school supplies for children that don't have paper, pens, folders, etc. The kids seem to really enjoy helping at the Hunger Fund even though it was HOT!! Now they are busy working on cleaning the Youth Closet in Fellowship Hall, while I sit in my air conditioned office typing this post (oh, I mean while I am working hard)! Ahhh, the joys of being an advisor.

Do I have to?

Finally going to get some use out of my gym membership that I have had for nearly 2 years. I think I have only gone to the gym twice. Once to sign up for the membership and then once to use the free personal training session I got when I signed up.

After going to Chatsworth Karate on Saturday night, I realized how out of shape I really am. All I did was punch and kick a bag for a few times, but man am I sore. I could barely hold a pen my arms hurt so bad. Oh well, I am done complaining (I think) and now I am going to do something about it.

John and I are doing a kickboxing class at Bodies in Motion if anyone cares to join us. We are going today at 5:30 or you can call us and we'll go with you another time.

Helping Hands

This month at church the pastors are focusing on "social justice" and how we can make a difference. This reminds me of a few things.

Have you heard of Zach Hunter's "Loose Change to Loosen Chains?" Zach is a young kid who started collecting loose change from everywhere to help free slaves. He has raised a ton of money and freed many slaves, all because he cares.

What about World Vision or Compassion? These are great organizations too that help people in third world countries. How about sponsoring a child? It is only $30 a month and you give them clean water, health care, education and a spiritual partner. A small amount of money each month can save a child's life. I have been sponsoring a child through Compassion for 2 years now and it is such a joy to receive letters from Telvin telling me about his schooling, his family and above all how much he loves Jesus.

Change does not happen over night, we all know that. Change just takes action, saying yes. It doesn't even have to be a big action. I challenge you to look inside and to pray about what you can do to make a global impact.

Baby Nephew

This is my brother and sister in law's first baby. His name is Trevor Aaron Garrott Snow. He was born yesterday, August 4, 2007. He is a tank. He weighs 11 lbs. 2 oz. and is 21 inches long. HUGE!! No wonder he wouldn't come out. Welcome to this crazy world TAGS!! Congrats Ted and Ann. I love you guys.

Honduras

It was a long trek across the country of Honduras but we made it back to California relatively unscathed. Just a FEW bug bites (26 to be exact)!! We had an amazing time hanging out with children and church members in Choluteca, Honduras. We helped the local contractor build a front porch area to the church equipped with steps and a ramp. It was lots of shoveling dirt and mixing cement on the ground, but we survived. Don't discount the heat too. It was in the high 90s and probably over 100 degrees with more than 90% humidity all week. YUCK!! After a week in Choluteca, we headed North for our short stay in the city of Copan. While we were here we got to see the Mayan ruins at Copan, the bird sanctuary, a coffee plantation and went horseback riding to a hacienda. It was a great trip. A good mix of work, play and sightseeing. If you want more stories you have to ask. Here are a few pics from our travels.

A Glorious Homecoming

After several weeks away, John is finally on his way home. We both thoroughly enjoy youth ministry, but it doesn't help the marital relationship when he HAS to go to camp. Oh well, thank God for the telephone. It is not all fun and games though now that he will be home. We have another mission trip to plan in only one week.

Some of you may have gotten a letter from us asking for donations for our trip to Brazil. Thank you for your help and prayers, but our trip has been......"redirected." It was not in God's plans for us to travel to Brazil. We had numerous problems with our airline (COPA). I think they must be going out of business or something because one by one our flights were cancelled. They are no longer flying to Brazil. We tried desperately to find another airline that would give us a good deal but to no avail. We were forced to cancel the long expected trip. Fortunately, we were able to get another mission to Honduras. We were going to travel to Honduras and still meet up with ROW (Rivers of the World). There was some bad luck there too, because they originally said "sure, no problem" but found out they were overbooked.

So now we are going to be visiting a church that our church helped build two years ago in Choluteca, Honduras. We will be doing some manual labor on the church, potentially dedicating it and serving the first communion. Some other plans include: Vacation Bible School, touring a coffee plantation, attending school with some children, going to see some ruins from the Mayans and checking out the beautiful waterfalls and thermal waters.

I think this trip is going to be fascinating and a great experience for the youth in our high school group. Please continue to pray for safety, health and rest for this group of kids and especially John as he keeps going like the Energizer bunny.

Love you all!!

Well since John totaled my car a few weeks ago, we spent the entire day Saturday out shopping (and buying) for a car. It was 105 degrees in Valencia where we were and we couldn't do anything but sweat. Every time you opened a car door to look inside, it felt like your eyes were being burned and your eyebrows singed. It was a scorcher. At the end of the day (after 6:30 p.m.) we drove off the Honda lot with a brand new 2007 CR-V. It is so cute. I don't have my digital camera so I downloaded some pics for you from the Honda website. The interior of our car is gray cloth, not tan interior. But you get the idea. Our's also does not come with the navigation system. This is obviously the upgraded, more expensive model. Although our's does have the sun roof and 6 disc changer. Ooh la la.
It's fun and we enjoy it and it gets us around. Or at least me while John is out of town.

My mom's family's first home in Oregon. I think there were only like 2 or 3 bedrooms for all 6 of them (4 kids and 2 parents).

My aunt and uncle and cousins with the Princess (me) and my mom.

Jenny prancing or leaping, not really sure what the heck is going on.

My mom and her sister taking a stroll along the beach and "having a moment."

Life's Challenges

Alright, here it is cuz.....the PRINCESS is back in action on her blogging. In case you haven't noticed, I haven't blogged in FOREVER. So here I am. I got a raft of crap from my cousins while I was visiting them in Portland a few weeks ago. Both of them are out of the area and don't get to see me often, so they have been checking my blog, or lack there of. I promised them I would get back on and keep everyone posted on my life.

Everone always says your marriage will be tested once you experience a lot of stress or traumatic occurences. John and I must have a pretty strong marriage then. My grandfather passed away a few weeks ago after suffering a heart attack. It was so hard on me seeing that I am all the way in California away from ALL my family and especially Gpa. I couldn't decide if I should fly up right away or wait a few days to see how the surgery went. In the end, I waited and now I regret it. I didn't get to tell my grandfather how much he meant to me. It was so hard, but John was right there by my side the entire way. He made every effort to travel with me to Portland for the funeral and services and to comfort me in my time of grief and extreme emotional meltdowns.

My grandfather was such a fun guy. Whenever I was sick or just didn't have anything to do, I would go to their apartment and would instantly be "all better." Grandpa always took me to the driving range or miniature golfing (he was an avid golfer). Grandma and Grandpa always gave me what I wanted: good food, ice cream, candy, a dog (since I never had a pet) and love. I will never forget spending the night and walking into their bedroom and seeing Grandpa's eyes wide open. I used to get so freaked out, I never knew if he was spying on me, or just sleeping with his eyes open. Oh and Grandpa always made the best food and after dinner we ALWAYS played a few games of Yahtzee. My grandfather was a game player and it never failed that he always won, why, because he was a cheater! He would steal my points in Cribbage, change the dice during Yahtzee if I wasn't looking, or counted the points in his hand faster than I could add in my head. But nevertheless, I loved playing with him. Even though I didn't get to say goodbye and tell him that I love him, I have many great memories. The last memory and time I spent with Grandpa was during my wedding when I did a tribute Hula for my grandmother and John. I know that his last memory of me was a happy and special one.

I LOVE YOU GRANDPA! Tell Grandma I love her too.

What is that?!

So I have decided that I need physical activity. You know how they say that the first step toward recovery or healing is recognizing you have a problem? Well I recognize it (that I need exercise) but I am still lacking the motivation. I have no desire to leave from work at 5 p.m. go to the gym and workout for an hour. I would rather go home and sleep, but I know I need to workout because I am always so tired and bored. Let's just say I have slept more in the past few days than I have been awake. It doesn't help that my motivation and gym buddies are out on the river delta having fun and wakeboarding without me (yes I am just a little bitter, but I am getting better).

That reminds me of a lesson John just taught at SURGE. Haha, it is funny how random typing makes you think of things and then that leads to other things that help resolve the first thing. John taught about how we should not get bitter when we get angry. The thought for the week was, "Get better, not bitter." I think God is trying to tell me something right this very minute. I need to get better, not be bitter and just mope around, I need to do something with myself. But for now, I have to go back to work. --Peace!

Old news...or is it new news??

Well I know it has been some time since I have posted anything on this blog. I have mostly been on Myspace and Facebook.

So, for those of you who don't see me on a daily basis or talk to people of the church, John and I have gotten engaged. Oh, did you know that John and I were dating? Well, we are and now we are getting married in November.

I have started working full time in the church office that John and I attend and where he is the youth director. It is fun because of the staff, they are wonderful. But I am not used to having what my boss calls "a big girl job." It is hard to wake up every morning and be here by 8:30. Especially when I know that I am going to sit in front of my computer for at least 6 hours. Oh well, I like the job and the people and the pay isn't bad either.

I need to get going because John is sitting here behind me waiting to leave. This is just the beginning of more posting and updating regularly so I can get off of Andrew's hobo blogger list.

catchin up

Alright Andrew here it is. I am finally posting. I know it has been awhile, but other things are taking up my time, such as MySpace.

I am already stressed with work, although I love working at the church. There is a lot of work, but I love the people and it is so nice to have my own office and be able to sit.

Other than working, I just hang out with John. My life is pretty boring right now, I wake up go to work, come home hang out for a few hours, go to sleep and do it all again the next day.

Peace.

Going Places

My life couldn't be better. I am so thankful for everything that happened in the past month of my life, whether it be good or bad.

I am thankful for the friends that I have made down here in California. I am thankful that God has provided for me when I didn't think I was going to make it. God is faithful in all ways. I am thankful that I have a new beautiful apartment and a wonderful new job.

I just started working at my church (First Pres. Granada Hills) as the "office assistant." I am not sure that the title really matches the job description, but that is what I am. I am responsible for creating and running the powerpoint on Sundays and doing a lot of paper/computer work, and making the weekly and monthly bulletins. It is a big responsibility and I have some big shoes to fill, but I think I am capable.

All of this sounds good, but I am still not in the clear. I still have to finish my last week at the coffee shop, the last few weeks of school, and finishing up the old apartment and organizing this one.

Got stuff to do. Peace.

'Tis the season

It is that time of year again where I stress out because I have so much to do and the end of the semester is fast approaching.

I have been slacking and am now kicking myself in the butt for it. Anyhow, enough of this wasting time crap, I have to get back to work.

If I don't post for awhile, I am attempting to study. You are more than welcome to call and check on my progress.

Peace, I mean stress. G'nite.

Out of service

Sorry I have been away for awhile. Nicole and I are finishing moving into our new apartment and we just got our internet hooked up yesterday. Wahoo, it is about time.

Anyhow, I am off to study/sleep and get some things put away in this beautiful apartment. I love it!!!!

I am actually going to go to bible study tonight, wow, I haven't done that in awhile. Later.

I shoulda known

Don't you hate being sick and missing class? That isn't even the worst.

What is worse is what happened to me today. As you know I have been sick for the past week and a half or so. Today is the first day that I have gone to all my classes today. I was sitting in my room thinking about what was going on in my communication and the sexes class and I decided to take a look at the syllabus. I was just gonna check and see what I missed. Well what do you know, 4/21- EXAM 2. Just wonderful!!! I have missed the last two classes and don't have the notes for the class. Just my luck, I should have known we would be having a test.

Luckily I had been caught up on the reading and articles, but still, I missed a video and the almighty important in class discussion groups. Oh well. I think I can pull a C. Hopefully.

I am praying for a miracle. At least it is over and I don't have to worry about it anymore.

Love, or something like it

I have been thinking alot lately about love. What does it mean to be in love with someone? What does it feel like? Love is such a mystery with so many different sides. I love alot of people in my life. I love each member of my family, I love my friends, those close and even the distant ones. I love a man. But each of these loves is different and causes different emotions to arise within me.

I am not saying that these things are bad, but sometimes I just don't understand the emotion of love. It feels so amazing to be loved and to be in love, but sometimes it hurts too. Not hurt in the sense of pain, but a hurt that is sadness. I am not sure how to explain this, and I don't feel I have to.

Maybe I am thinking too much instead of just following my heart and continuing to walk down the path that God has laid out for me.

Taking one for the team

Last night we took the SURGE (junior high) students to the ice rink for a fun game of broomball. For those of you that don't know what that is, it is similar to hockey except you don't have skates, just your shoes, and you use a broom and ball, no hockey sticks or puck. It is funny to watch people try and run and then fall on their butts.

Of course my team won, no thanks to me though. I helped assist a few goals but didn't score any of my own. I did take a few falls though trying to get the ball away from the other team. I fell really hard on my knees and now I have a huge bruise and lump on my left knee. Oh well I am tough.

After we got back to the church, we were waiting for the last few parents to come pick up their children. I don't know how it got started, but we ended up playing four square on the church patio. The ball was hit into my square and I sort of had to reach for it. I lost my balance and fell into the tree. I am serious, I fell onto the tree and scraped my arm. What a great night. We had so much fun with all the kids. They really enjoyed it.

Props to Bruce Landon for taking two chunks of skin off either side of his face and Andrew Seely for eating everyone's leftover pizza crust.

Living Spaces

Oh my gosh.....I cannot believe I just did this. Nicole and I went to the apartment complex we were looking at to just drop off our applications. I was not expecting to be signing papers and planning on moving in next weekend. So ya, you heard it, we are moving into our new apartment next friday and saturday. Woohoo!!!! I felt so horrible for Anne (our new roommate) because we totally sprang this moving thing on her.

The reason we are moving so quickly is because we got a killer deal. Normal rent is $1550 a month, but if we move in within the next 10 days, our rent will drop to only $1395 a month for the duration of our lease. That is a killer deal and we couldn't pass it up. Anyhow, if any of you reading this are free next Saturday the 23rd, we could use some help moving.

God has blessed Nicole and I in so many ways lately. Thank you Lord. G'nite.

Blessings

I have been praying for something to happen and God has begun to answer my prayers. I don't feel like I am at liberty to say what is happening, but what I can say is that it has been a long time coming, and I am so happy that this day has come.

I am thankful for answered prayers and for the Holy Spirit acting/speaking for me when I don't know what to say. I am thankful for my sister Kim and her husband Donnie, and their two beautiful children Mitchell and Erika. I love you guys!!! Now come down and visit me gosh darn it!!

I need to get some sleep. I am still sick and have a western civ test tomorrow. Wish me luck. G'nite.

Good music

I am still feeling crappy and down in the dumps, but I was able to get my butt up and go to the Jars of Clay concert at Azusa on Saturday night. It was amazing.

I had never heard of the first group, "Small Boat Sinking" but they were pretty good. I wasn't too fond of the girls voice, but they were good. Check 'em out for yourself. Next was Tyrone Wells. What do I say about him? He was amazing. I love his music, he sounded so good. I was kinda ticked though because we were in the front row and there were a ton of people standing in front of us so it was hard to see. Thanks to Percy for saving all of us seats. Jars of Clay was awesome too. There were only four of them and all they had were two guitars and keys, but they sounded good that way. It was kinda of chill, really laid back but again I couldn't just sit in my chair and enjoy the music because of the people standing in front of me. That was disappointing, but we dealt with it. Good concert, all three bands were great, and I had fun. Period, end of story.

Death Becomes Her

I feel like crap today. My throat hurts, my nose is running, and I have a nasty cough. I guess it happens to the best of us and it is the season for sickness. My parents are both so sick they missed a week of work, and can't even take care of each other, how sad.

Prayers for Grandma would be appreciated. She had her blood transfusion this morning. Not sure how she is doing, mom has not called me.

Today I am thankful for Ruben. Happy Birthday!!! You are 21 now. Wahoo.

Check it out

Just to let you all know, I changed my comments thanks to Andrew. He spent a whole half an hour helping me change from crappy comments to Haloscan comments. So now my blog is cool.

If you decide you want to comment on a post, please click on the word comments, or the link on the left. The ones on the right are my old comments. Thanks Andrew, and everyone who reads this.

G'nite.

Fit for Life

I have recently noticed some changes in my body. Not huge differences or negative ones, but I have just noticed that my muscles aren't as toned and my abs have a thicker covering over them. I have been wanting to get a gym membership for some time now, but just can't afford the monthly payments, and I want to join a gym where I know one of my friends works out at. So of course I haven't done anything about it and just put exercising on the back burner.

I went running one morning about a month ago and it felt amazing to get out and do something physical. Although the rest of the week I was sore, I felt good. Now if I could only keep that up and go running more than once a month. I don't know what my problem is, I have become so lazy since high school and it sucks, I used to be so athletic (soccer and gymnastics) and now I just lay around all the time. Probably because my mother isn't around to get on my case and tell me to go do something, whether it be running or going to the gym.

I need to workout. I think that it helps me focus and stay alert, and plus, it makes me feel better about myself. We'll see what happens.

Maybe if I find a better paying job I will be able to afford that gym membership.

April Fools

I had this burning desire to play an April Fool's joke on my family, but I didn't want to be mean. My dad and I pulled one on my mom one time and she freaked out and started crying. I didn't want to play like I had gotten seriously injured because mom would have tripped out and wanted to come down right away (since her baby is in Cali and she is in Washington). So I didn't know what to do.

I kind of mentioned telling them that I had gotten engaged, but I wasn't sure how that would go over and I didn't think it would get them. So I decided I would be a nice daughter and not do anything. Then that burning got to me and I had to do something.

I talked to Nicole and we decided that I should just tell them that John and I got engaged. I had some pics from the beach that Andrew had taken, so I thought I would send those in an email along with my left hand with a ring on it. So that is what I did. I sent an email and explained "the story" and included the pics. My dad was the first to respond and just said congratulations and wondered why I sent the email without calling. I had him going for so long. Then he insisted that he call my mom and have her call me. So she did and then we 3 way called with my mom, dad, and myself. My mom was screaming and almost in tears with excited. All she could tell me was that she was happy for me and "OH MY GOSH, OH MY GOSH!!!" It was hilarious. I wanted John to hear, so I put my parents on speaker phone and Nicole used her phone to call John and put him on speaker phone. It was insane. Then the next thing I know my sister is on the phone as well, the whole freaking family was on the line. It was good times. It hurt so bad to have to tell them that John and I weren't really engaged. They were hurt and disappointed. And they called me a few names and told me I was in trouble. I was surprised that they weren't concerned that John and I have only been together for a month and that I am still in school. It was interesting to hear their reactions.

We played the same joke on John's mom and grandma later that night when we went out to Pasadena. His mom was more skeptical because this was the first time she had ever met me. John was disappointed that his mom wasn't more excited, but we understood. It was a good April Fool's this year.

Grapes...my favorite fruit

Here is sort of an addition to my blog from Wednesday night. After SURGE was finished and everything boiled over, the advisors were feeling like we needed some drinks. So we all headed over to Andrew's house to have some drinks and nachos (See Andrew's Ghetto Blog). I got the royal treatment and had a wine tasting evening. Now you have to understand that I do not like wine or beer. I just can't get over the taste. So I mentioned to Andrew that I had tried a glass of Shiraz and actually liked it, so then he brought out four bottles of wine and we sampled some of each. I really enjoyed three but the fourth one had been open for awhile, so the taste was off a little. I had a Sauvignon Blanc, White Zinfandel, Merlot, and the one I didn't like so much was Pinot Noir. Oh ya, I guess I tasted five wines because he brought another brand of Shiraz. It is weird, I never thought I would like wine, but it turns out I do. I just want to sample some more and see the different tastes. Maybe we will actually go to a wine tasting somewhere. Who knows.

I have also been wanting to go dancing. Not like club dancing, real dancing. I want to go to a blues or jazz lounge that serves dinner and drinks and also has a band that plays so you can get up and dance whenever you want. Do you know of anywhere like that close by? Let me know, thanks.

Also, please continue to pray for my grandmother, she is having some difficulties right now and may possibly have to have a blood transfusion. We find out today what is going on and what needs to happen in the near future. Thanks for the prayers.

Fear Factor here I come

So tonight was SURGE (the junior high youth group that I am an advisor for). During the month of March we do what is called "March Madness." And it is madness. We are split into four teams and we do many things to compete against the others. The teams get points for coming, bringing their Bibles, dressing up with the team theme, and many other things. They also are awarded points for what place they get in the game and crowd breaker. Which brings me to tonight.

Tonight was the last day of March Madness and we saved the grossest, nastiest things for tonight. John was talking about fear and dying (to ourselves and spiritually, not physical death). So of course we had to do something related to fear....what better than our own version of Fear Factor. For the game we took a gatorade water cooler and rigged a "contraption" from the ceiling and put glow in the dark bouncy balls in the cooler and hung it from high above. We turned off all the lights and then pulled the lid off and kids had to collect as many balls as they could. It was pretty insane with it being so dark and there were a lot of kids.

Then for the crowd breaker we had each team send up three reps and made sure they weren't allergic to any foods. We placed in front of them three plates of wonderful foods: 1-sardines 2- dried squid that was seasoned with something and also some dried anchovies 3- half a can of boiled oysters. It smelled so raunchy in that room, I thought I was going to puke. So I got up and started announcing the crowd breaker and we carried on. The kids actually did better than I thought they would. However, my team and "your mom goes to college" (one of the other teams) could not finish so Andrew and I took over. I wanted to eat something and show myself that I could. Andrew got the plate with the squid (which he liked) and the anchovies, and I got stuck with the nasty slimy oysters. You better believe I won. I swallowed those things whole, I couldn't chew them, they were absolutely disgusting. I don't know how people eat those and enjoy them. Anyhow, I started to puke in my mouth, but I had to get them all down. I did, and got third place for my team. As soon as I was done, I ran to the back and started coughing and spitting and ended up throwing up. It was lovely, I had the most wonderful smelling breath (NOT)!!!. So ya, that was my big event of the day. Hope you enjoyed it. Good night.

Oh by the way, check out Andrew's Ghetto Blog. I made a guest appearance tonight.

John trying to be Hee-Man and climb up the rock instead of going the easy route. Trying to show off for me.  

John and I in a rock at Montana de Oro on our trip up the coast. I pulled my butt and leg muscle trying to get up into this stupid hole. But it was worth it.  

Jono and Kelsey cutting up veggies for the pizzas and salad we made on Thursday night. I miss these kids.  

John and My footprints at the beach in Cayucos. 

Everyone else is doing it, so I thought I would

Check it out:

Where is the love??

It is right here in front of me. I haven't been so happy in a long time. Crazy times. Anyhow, sorry I have not been posting, Life has been keeping me busy and away from home. And I have to admit, when I am home, I am either preoccupied or just plain ol' lazy. You should know that by now.

So some frustrations have come up lately for me. I am frustrated with the living situation here on Devonshire. It is not the roommate (whom I love), it is just the surroundings. I am not feeling safe, we have been having problems with leaks in the windows, and the management has been kinda lazy with things and not so helpful. Here is the frustrating part: I don't think I can afford to move out of here and pay for a new place. Which leads me to my next frustration.

Frustration #2: not having money. I have never lived like a college student really until now. I have been eating peanut butter and jelly, top ramen, and tuna fish for like a week now. I am so poor and I am not working enough hours to make money. I need money, I have bills to pay and groceries to buy, but no money. Yeah I have a wonderful boyfriend who pays for me a lot, but I can't live off of him, he needs to pay bills and buy groceries too. I just hate worrying about money, and I know that I shouldn't but it is hard to do. I know that God will provide for me.

Some prayer requests:
- my grandmother is sick, she has been battling some things and the doctor's don't really know what is wrong. I just ask for strength and encouragement for her and her spirit, and for wisdome for the doctors.
- Donnie (my bro-in-law)- his grandmother died earlier this week. So just pray for comfort for the family in this time of loss.
- Myself, I have been having a lot of back pain lately. It has gotten to the point where nothing is comfortable and I am in constant pain. I think it is just a flare up of my spondyloarthropathy (a.k.a. rheumatoid arthritis), but I am not sure, the pain is excruciating. I am going to the doctor's in the morning, so we will see what he has to say.

Please keep me and my family in your prayers. Love to all who read. God Bless!!!

What a weekend....

The past few days have been amazing. Not necessarily in a good way though. A lot has happened and I really haven't had much time to sit and write about it. So now I am taking the time.

Let me start by saying that this weekend was already crammed with fun activities, that I didn't need any more. I am going to kind of go day by day.

Friday was nothing unusual, I had class in the afternoon and then worked. Friday night I had to rush home after work and get dolled up to go to Kerri and Sharon's mystery dinner that they were hosting. Had tons of fun there. When I came home John came over and hung out for a little bit and we watced a movie and just chatted. We stayed up until about 1:30 and were dreading waking up in the morning to go snowboarding.

On Saturday me and my fellow SURGE advisors had to get up early and meet some students at the church at 6:15 to go snowboarding. Now mind you, John left my place at 1:30 so I am already not getting a lot of sleep. Nicole and I both prayed that night that God would help us to get enough sleep and be able to wake up in the morning.

Let me just tell you that God is faithful and He does answer your prayers, sometimes not in the way you might have expected. At 3:45 or 4 in the morning I woke up to a car horn honking, nothing unusual for our building and area. So off to sleep I went. A few moments later I was awoken by Nicole screaming for me to get out of bed because there was a fire in our apartment building. YIKES!!! I started to freak. I didn't know what was going on and I was petrified. So I grabbed my shoes and my jacket and cell phone and ran outside. As I left our front door I looked to the left where huge orange and black flames and cloud were shooting up from the end of our building. I wasn't sure if it was in the parking area or if the actual building was on fire. We evacuated the apartments, or tried to and the fire department was there immediately. I am not sure exactly what happened, but all I know is that 4 cars were burned down the frame, unrecognizeable. It was the scariest thing in my life. So needless to say, we got our "wake up" call. I just can't believe how God works in lives. He is so amazing. I have been learning so much and I am going to have to continue this post tomorrow, because I am so tired.

I am going to sleep but check back soon for a follow up post.

Today I am thankful for the food God has provided for me and for friends to cook it for me!!

Yook it mommy!!!

I am so proud of myself that I have to write about it. I have been so bogged down with school lately and I also haven't been sleeping much. Needless to say, I am worn out and tired and a little weary, but I am hanging on to what hope I have left.

I am so happy and proud because I got an A on my western civ test. If you know me and history we don't usually get along. So I am very excited about that. Anyhow, I am off to class one more time today. Later.

Such a beautiful sunset to end the journey. This is just a reminder to me of how amazing and awesome God is and how much He has blessed me. Thanks John for risking your life hanging out the car window to take this for me.  

Walking down the strip you see some interesting people. This man was wearing a nice suit and riding a little girl's pink bike. After crossing the street he actually chained it up to a garbage can at Burger King. So funny!! 

The whole gang after a long night of dancing and drinking at Studio 54. Who's missing? Oh ya, Dad is taking the picture.  

We all had a fun night dancing at Studio 54.  

Hot dancer at Studio 54 that I gave a $5 tip to. Oh ya!! 

I have a good excuse

Ok so I know it has been awhile, but I have been so busy and then this weekend I was in Vegas celebrating my birthday with John and my family. Here are some pics.