Pink Roses & Chocolate

2011 Wrap Up

2012-01-06T13:37:00.000-08:00

Here was my list and in red is what I was able to achieve.

2011 Goals
These are a few of the things that I would like to accomplish this year. I may not get to all of them, but I'm hopeful that it is not too daunting of a list.

1. Find time to paint and/or do art projects

While not super consistent, I was able to be more artistic at times this year. I spent time coloring and doing projects with the kids. I wasn't able to do any painting this year, but my hope is to work on this again in 2012.

2. Finish reading the Bible – Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, 1&2 Samuel, 1&2 Kings, 1&2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Job, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, 1&2 Thessalonians

Basically I didn't even start working on this until December. However, I found a website and an app for my phone that allows me to read online in whatever version I prefer. I am reading The Message version and was able to get through all of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and the first 10 chapters of Deuteronomy. I will continue to work on this in 2012 and have found the more I read the more interesting it is to see it all play out and work together.

3. Read the following books - Chronicles of Narnia series, The Catcher in the Rye, War & Peace, Brave New World, Vanity Fair and the Anne of Green Gables series

I think this list was a bit ambitious especially since I read so many other books as well. However, I was able to read Brave New World (very interesting and forward-thinking especially for its time), Vanity Fair (the longest book of the year at 912 pages) and I read through the first 5 books of the Anne of Green Gables series (book 1-3 were amazing, book 4 almost made me give up, book 5 redeemed it and book 6 has been really interesting so far). I'm not sure whether or not I'll work on reading the others listed in 2012, but perhaps.

4. Unpack at least half the boxes in our garage

I unpacked nothing from the garage but Josh has made it his goal to work on this for 2012. I'm finding it harder and harder to believe that I need much that is out there since its been there for over 2 years without me wanting or needing it...but the packrat in me thinks it must be important.

5. Organize & file all important papers and clean up desk

This didn't happen. We NEED to make it happen this year.

6. Try at least 3 new recipes each month

This definitely happened, even if not always 3 per month some months had more than three so it worked out. We had a lot of new favorites, and a few that were just ok. But I continue to enjoy reading cooking blogs, collecting cookbooks and trying new things as often as possible and that won't change in 2012.

7. Visit Josh's family, and some of mine, on vacation in May/June

This wasn't able to happen - financial reasons, no time off availability, etc. However, Josh was able to visit his Mom, brother & family in October for a week and they had a great visit.

8. Hang curtains in our house to replace ratty metal blinds

Hasn't happened yet, but will happen eventually.

9. Mail Christmas cards with letter & picture by beginning of December

We mailed/delivered about 140 Christmas cards with photo card and letter by December 14. And only two were returned, so our address book is pretty accurate too! :)

10. Take a trip with my best friend

This didn't happen, and since she ended our friendship it won't be happening in 2012.

11. Write on my blog at least once a month

I wasn't consistent, but only missed about 4 months I think.

12. Watch film version of classic novels read (Age of Innocence, Anne of Green Gables, Vanity Fair…)

I did watch both Age of Innocence and Vanity Fair. I really enjoyed the former and thought that the latter made Becky Sharp into a much more likeable character. Though I've seen all the Anne of Green Gables films, I didn't rewatch them yet...but I will once I've finished the series of books.

13. Watch Film Studies films that interest me

I watched quite a few this year - Lost in Translation, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Phantom of the Opera, Hamlet (Ethan Hawke version), Scotland PA, Mildred Pierce, Temple Grandin, The Apostle, The Godfather, The Turning Point, I've Loved You So Long, RENT, and Babies.

14. Read 100 books this year

I ended up reading 111 books.

Happy/Sad November

2011-12-09T09:28:00.000-08:00

So this was the first year that I did not get to celebrate Thanksgiving with my family. Mom & Dad were in Arizona with my grandparents and Kelly & David were also in Arizona but celebrating with David's family. Josh & I were unable to travel because Josh was scheduled to work the day before and the days after Thanksgiving. I thought I'd be fine...I'm 32 years old...we decided to have a pajama day and stay in and eat yummy roast chicken for dinner. But I am a sap...I love my family...and combined with dropping a can of cranberry sauce on the top of my left foot (huge bruise!) and jamming the toes of my right foot into the bathroom doorway (really hard!) I became a sobbing mess who missed my family and felt very alone.

We always celebrated big on Thanksgiving. It wasn't unusual to have over 20 to 30 guests at our holiday table. We used to have to use the large meeting room at our apartment complex to hold all the people who came to our Thankgiving dinner. But it's hard to get everyone together nowadays...we're all grown up and have multiple schedules and families to coordinate...and this year was just a lot more sad than I ever expected.

Through continued visits to the chiropractor, my back has been doing so much better this month and I celebrated with a desire to do more cooking. :) My niece Katelyn came over one evening and we had fun watching Dumbo, eating pizza and baking cookies. One night I tried to re-create a potato soup that my CBU roommate Angie once made...hers still has epic proportions in my mind, but the one I made turned out very yummy with shallots, onion, garlic and green onions mixed with the potato, beef broth and heavy cream. Katelyn & Jonathan came over another night for a sleepover and we made a delicious monkey bread the next morning which was sugary and delightful. And a few days later, I decided to try making a savory version of monkey bread with garlic, parmesan, basil and crushed red pepper flakes with a tasty dipping sauce of melted butter and chopped garlic.

Katelyn finished a many months long social studies session on world cultures and to celebrate Kelly planned a World Festival. We ate foods from the many countries including cheese from France, feta from Greece, sushi from Japan, orange chicken from China, Tabbouleh from the Middle East, etc. After our meal, we had a craft time and we made aboriginal drawings from Australia and Russian nesting doll paper dolls. It was a fun event and I'm glad we got to be a part of it.

This month I achieved my goal and read my 100th book this year - The Lady in the Palazzo: At Home in Umbria by Marlena de Blasi. I've read several other memoirs from her and really love her very descriptive writing style that perfectly captures the beauty of Italy and her love for its people, culture and food. If you love food or travel memoirs, I highly recommend reading her books. I also got a chance to watch the documentary called Babies which chronicles the lives of four babies over the course of their first year or so of life - from Namibia, Mongolia, Japan and San Francisco. It was fascinating and by far my favorites were the little boys from Namibia and Mongolia as the lifestyle of those countires varied the most from the United States. I highly recommend watching this if you get a chance.

My favorite part of November was the opportunity to go to Disneyland with Kelly & David and the kids. They are both now tall enough to ride all the rides at Disneyland and so for the first time they got to ride Star Tours (a little scary to them, but also fun) and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (they liked it, except for the dark parts). Katelyn also decided to try going on Matterhorn with her daddy and she ended saying that was her favorite ride of the day. We were only able to spend about 5 hours there, but it was a perfect Disney day - cool weather, short lines, yummy food and happy children.

Catching Up

2011-11-16T14:53:00.000-08:00

September:

~ Made semi-homemade ravioli with our friends Danielle & Andy: the ravioli was tasty, but they all got stuck together so it did not look very appealing. However, the mushroom cream sauce I made to top them was divine! (Recipe: http://mommymadedinner.blogspot.com/2011/09/mushroom-cream-sauce.html )

~ Watched the film RENT (finally). While I did enjoy it for the most part, I really like La Boheme much better.

~ I finally got around to putting new photos in frames to hang around the house to replace out-dated ones and to show new family & friends.

~ I finished two new Robin Jones Gunn novels - Canary Island Song and Love Finds You in Sunset Beach. Both were wonderful and I was reminded once again of the way the author is able to weave beautiful spiritual truths into interesting stories in ways that hit you unexpectedly and definitely made me cry.

October:

~ Prepared Nigella Lawson's easy Chocolate Croissants four different times - delicious!!! :) (Recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/nigella-lawson/chocolate-croissants-recipe/index.html )

~ I read some varied books this month: two books about life in France, two modern adaptations of Sense & Sensibility and the book Working for the Windsors which inspired a recent rush of interest in the story of Edward and Wallis Simpson, the king who abdicated the throne for love.

~ I unfortunately injured myself while leaning down to pick up a napkin and caused sacroiliac joint inflammation (it's the joint that connects the pelvis to the spine). It has continued to cause pain, but with weekly visits to the chiropractor I've steadily gotten better.

~ Josh was able to visit his mom, brother & brother's family for one week and he had a wonderful time playing with our nieces and nephews, trying lots of new & unique restaurants and just spending time with his family.

September so far...

2011-09-19T19:54:00.000-07:00

Josh got a job!!! :) That is the best news we received this month and I didn't want to wait to share it. He was hired last week to be a server at Olive Garden. He is in training now and is really enjoying it so far. This has truly been a blessing because not only does Josh love being a server - this job pays minimum wage, plus tips...and includes benefits! Which means that he can continue getting his prescription for the medicine he needs for his Restless Leg Syndrome. Praise the Lord!!!!

God truly provided for us in the past two months while Josh was out of work. We were able to meet all our financial needs and had enough for my birthday celebrations as well as some fun too. He had opportunity to do some projects around the house, to sleep in when he felt like it, and to spend more time with friends and family. While we had our dark days, we continued to feel God working in our life and we never lost sight that God was in control and taking care of us.

July/August Updates

2011-09-19T19:36:00.000-07:00

Well, I didn't succeed in writing a blog post every month, but I'm not going to beat myself up about it. July & August were tough for a few reasons and I just didn't feel like blogging about them at the time. But here's a short recap so I can at least keep track.

July

We made three kinds of ice cream - fresh peach (from our tree), fresh strawberry and creme brulee (from coffee creamer) - all were delicious.

We had some friends over for brunch and tried a few new recipes - chocolate peanut butter coffeecake, Pioneer Woman bacon cheese biscuits, and an absolutely amazing fruit salad with mint sugar!

I watched three films - The Godfather (finally!!), The Turning Point (lovely ballet) and Vanity Fair (a much more sympathetic treatment of Becky Sharp I thought).

I read 8 books and the best one was The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams.

Josh lost his job near the end of the month. It was a difficult situation, but God truly has been taking care of us.

August

I tried some recipes that recreate North Woods Inn cabbage salad, blue cheese dressing and cheese bread. The cabbage was fabulous (!!!!!) but we loved all three recipes.

Cooking Club began - our first session was at Sarah's and we had a great (and quick) time preparing chicken tacos and pico de gallo, enjoying fellowship and enjoying ice cream with delicious homemade chocolate sauce.

I watched the French film I've Loved You So Long - it was sad, quiet and slow-paced, but I liked it and Kristin Scott Thomas was wonderful as always.

I finally read the Hunger Games trilogy and loved them (can't wait for the film!); and I also read a few Walt Disney World memoirs that were interesting.

My best friend ended our 17 year friendship which left me hurt, disappointed, angry and really sad. My heart breaks for her though and I hope that her future is blessed and at peace.

I celebrated my birthday with a fabulous French dinner party hosted by my amazing and talented sister & brother-in-law - it was 5 courses of deliciousness with friends who I love dearly. I also got to celebrate with tickets to see Taylor Swift in concert (thanks Mom & Dad!) - she was awesome and it was a great evening.

We had our ups and downs these past few months, but God is still in control and He knows the plans He has for us. We are putting our trust in Him and that is the safest place to be.

June Favorites

2011-07-11T20:01:00.000-07:00

Top Book I Read

1. Moral Disorder by Margaret Atwood

Top 2 Purchases

1. Purple Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker
2. Disneyland Annual Passes

Top 3 Ice Cream Recipes

1. Easy Chocolate
2. Georgia Peach (made with peaches from our backyard tree)
3. Vanilla

Top 4 Laughs

1. Playing Scattergories with Rob & Kaylean
2. Playing the Game of LIFE with Melissa, Alicia & Jessie
3. Decorating patriotic cookies with Becky & her boys
4. Coffee with Amanda & Anna - AFD, Chewbacca and more

Top 5 Foods I Didn't Cook

1. Salted Caramel frozen yogurt @ Pinkberry
2. Tomato Mozzarella Salad @ BJ's (two nights in a row)
3. Ground Beef Tacos @ Taco Bender
4. Enchilada & Carne Asada lunch @ Rancho del Zocalo
5. Filet Mignon & Braised Short Ribs @ Blue Bayou

Top 6 Moments

1. Shopping at Sur la Table with my sister
2. Danielle & Andy's wedding
3. Katelyn's kindergarten graduation
4. Disneyland vacation with Mitchell's and Pofahl's
5. Winning a guacamole-making contest in Downtown Disney
6. Riding the new Star Tours 3 times

Top 7 Foods I Made

1. Tomato Mozzarella Salad
2. Banana Nut Bread with Streusel Topping
3. Molten Chocolate Peanut Butter Cakes w/homemade vanilla ice cream
4. Italian Fondue anniversary dinner
5. Salsa Pasta Salad for Jason & Anna's housewarming
6. Creamy Cucumber Salad
7. Award-winning Guacamole w/Feta Cheese & Lemon

Pictures of May

2011-06-02T13:36:00.000-07:00

For the month of May I've decided to use more pictures and less words...let me know what you think. :)

Near the end of May, we were able to join Josh's sister-in-law, our niece and one of our nephews at Casey's Cupcakes for a snack and visit while they were in town. I enjoyed a Coconut Cupcake and Josh had his usual Carrot Cake Cupcake. They were delicious as always, as was the time spent with faraway family.

http://www.caseyscupcake.com/

Artistically, this month I was able to help paint the backdrop for our church's VBS program this coming June. I had so much fun painting a forest scene with my friend Mandy. We have complimentary paint styles and I look forward to seeing how our beautiful backdrop comes together and blesses the kids, parents and helpers of this year's VBS program. We're praying that lives will be touched by the power and love of God.

There are lots of films coming out this summer that I want to see, and we got to see three of them in the month of May. We just saw Pirates a few days ago on a date night with my parents. We all enjoyed it a lot and look forward to the possibility of another one in the future. Thor was a fun date night with our friends Danielle and Andy. The movie was okay, probably better if you are familiar with Norse mythology or comic books, but the actor who played Thor was pretty handsome. :) Josh & I saw Fast Five for a second time and it was an even better audience than in Vegas on opening day - lots of cheering and clapping and huge gasps of surprise at the end of the credits. It was awesome...and on a geeky note, I am one of the 25 million fans of Vin Diesel on Facebook and I posted a comment about the great audience at the movie and Vin Diesel "liked" it!!!! I know he really reads all the comments and moderates his own page...and out of over 12, 000 comments on that photo he chose to "like" mine! I willingly admit I was THRILLED to say the least... :)

I finished reading Vanity Fair - it only took about 5 months through DailyLit.com. It was pretty interesting, not a lot of boring bits and I'm really interested to see how the film version reflects the story. The rest of May's reading time has been gobbled up by re-reading the Christy Miller, Sierra Jensen, Christy & Todd: College Years, and Katie Weldon series' by Robin Jones Gunn. These are wonderful Christian books that I have read many times and just absolutely adore them. It's neat to read them again as an adult and see the different insights that come, but most important are the constant reminders to build a deep relationship with God. I needed the comfort of these books this month - they're like comfort food for my brain.

http://www.robingunn.com/

Three delicious recipes this month:

Orzo salad - For my sister's birthday we had tea at the Huntington and they had a delicious orzo salad as one of the options in the buffet. I decided to make a similar one for a library potluck using orzo, diced tomato, basil, shallots, feta cheese and red wine vinaigrette - it was a big hit and definitely something I'd make again.

Mini carrot cake muffins - These were for a Pampered Chef party I hosted and I didn't read the directions very carefully so they turned out to be a little bit Pampered Chef and a little bit me. They were a bit dry, but delicious and the cream cheese frosting was yummy.

Knock-You-Naked-Brownies - this is a Pioneer Woman recipe and it was AMAZING! A bit time-consuming, definitely messy with caramel, rich brownie and powdered sugar on top, but definitely a repeat for sure!

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2011/05/knock-you-naked-brownies/

I finally attended a Faculty/Staff Dinner at CBU. I figured since it has been 10 years since I started working in the library full time and I would be getting a pin that I should go. I asked Kelly & David to go as well and we enjoyed dressing up and the yummy meal prepared. My favorite parts of the meal were the Caprese Salad starter, the breadsticks and the Tiramisu dessert.

Our Palmer cousins moved to Virginia - we are sad and will miss them, but it is a good job and decision for their family. We had a goodbye BBQ and enjoyed the family time to play, talk, laugh and take lots of photos. They may be far away in distance, but they are always close in our hearts.

We had two weddings to attend in May, and in the first Katelyn was a flower girl. She looked sooooo pretty and loved being a flower girl. Her favorite part seemed to be dancing all night with all the bridesmaids and groomsmen. In fact, it now appears that she thinks all bridal parties will dance with her at weddings and no one else will do - thankfully there was a kind bridesmaid at the next wedding we attended who was willing to dance with her. This wedding was also my sister's first attempt at catering. She worked very hard with a great crew and provided a delicious and well-timed meal that everyone raved about. Kim & Mac's wedding was held at our church and it was a wonderful event. The weather was perfect, the bride looked lovely, the food was delicious, the dancing was fun and our tablemates - Alex & Morganne and the Sanchez family - were so much fun.

The second wedding was for Alex & Morganne and it was lovely. Held at the Burrage Mansion in Redlands and officiated by our old pastor it was a wonderful God-filled ceremony that was a joy to attend. We had some bad luck at arrival when our keys accidentally got locked inside our running car at the valet - thankfully AAA was called and within 1/2 hour the keys were out and the car safely parked. The reception featured delicious food, a lovely outdoor setting, lots of fun singing and dancing, and a table full of wonderful friends from church. There was even s'more fixings and an open firepit!

My sister Kelly celebrated her 30th birthday this month and decided to have her party at the Huntington (http://www.huntington.org/) which offers a tea room in their Rose Garden. She invited several of her close friends and we gathered together to celebrate her birthday with tea, scones, assorted salads and sandwiches, delicious desserts, and walks through the beautiful gardens. She had a wonderful day and felt loved - just as she should!

My niece Katelyn has been taking ballet lessons and had her first recital this month. Her class performed an excerpt from Swan Lake and they did so well. She was wonderful - remembered all her steps, didn't get nervous or stage fright, and was thrilled to receive flowers from her parents, grandparents and TeeTee & Uncle! Due to limited tickets only Kelly, Mom, Carla (David's mom) and I were able to attend, but we took photos and video and met the rest of the family at Jose's after to celebrate. Katelyn was greeted with applause from Dad, Uncle & Jonathan and a large group sitting nearby joined in and even asked her to perfom her piece for them. She happily obliged and they clapped again as did all of us. What a cutie!

April update

2011-06-02T10:16:00.001-07:00

April was a good month with lots of family time and the celebration of Easter. This year I was hosting Easter dinner and decided to go with a Greek theme since Easter is a very big holiday for their culture. I did some research about the Greek traditions and meanings and found it very interesting. What I found most fascinating was the description of their midnight service on Saturday night - beginning in darkness and silence and then as midnight arrives the bringing of light and passing it from candle to candle in celebration of Christ being risen. It made me want to experience it and so I found information about a local Greek Orthodox church in Riverside and their midnight service.

Josh, Kelly & I attended and found it to a very popular service and quite crowded. All the lights inside and outside the church were turned off and there was a man chanting in Greek from the Bible (we assumed). Beginning around 11:30pm, there was singing/chanting from both men and women from opposite sides of the sanctuary. It was pretty, but mostly in Greek so impossible to understand. At midnight, the priest came from behind a curtain with the "eternal flame" representing the risen Christ and he slowly lit the candles of those in the front of the church. One by one, the light was passed from candle to candle throughout the church and then the priest led everyone down the center aisle and out the front door of the church. We walked around the building slowly while people sang softly and then back to stand outside the front door. There was more talking in Greek and pounding on the front door before it was finally opened and the lights were all turned on and everyone went back inside. Although the service would continue, we chose to leave at this point since we were already outside and it would not be disruptive (others left at this time as well).

Ultimately, I am glad that we attended and the lighting of the candles and walk around the building were just as lovely as I imagined. It is amazing how much light comes simply from candles in a dark room and it was a poignant reminder of how we are to be a light to a dark world. We often think that our little light can't make much difference, but it truly can even when we never know how. How amazing God is. However, due to our inability to understand Greek and the very formal nature of the service we found it somewhat dry. It was a neat experience and I'm glad we attended part of it.

Easter dinner the next day was a feast of grilled lemon chicken, beef and vegetable kabobs, greek salad, roasted lemon potatoes, assorted hummus, tzadziki, pita, olives and lemonade to drink. Katelyn and I had made some Greek Easter cookies earlier in the week which were slightly sweet with a hint of orange flavor. They were a nice end to our delicious dinner which was shared by our family as well as a coworker of Josh's and her siblings. We also had a small Easter egg hunt for Katelyn & Jonathan and they had fun finding the eggs and then opening them for their treasures - bouncy balls, stickers, socks, and some candy as well. :)

Josh & I made plans to have a date with Katelyn & Jonathan this month. The Thursday before Easter, Katelyn & I had our date which included lunch at Weinerschnitzel, baking Easter cookies, dying Easter eggs (a first for both of us and lots of fun), and playing UNO. The following day, Josh had a date with Jonathan involving lunch at McDonalds and a visit to the lake where they played on the playground, tried to feed the ducks and walked around. We all had a lot of fun and hopefully in a few weeks we will do it again, this time Katelyn will go out with Josh and Jonathan will be with me.

I watched a lot of films this month: Age of Innocence (similar to the book and well cast), Hamlet - the Ethan Hawke modern version (dark, but things made a lot more sense in the modern setting), Scotland, PA - a modern version of MacBeth set in the 70's (a little dark but funny and also well cast), Mildred Pierce (Joan Crawford was GORGEOUS and the story was really interesting. I wanted to see it because a new miniseries version with Kate Winslet just came out and I recorded it and hope to watch it soon), Temple Grandin (a wonderful true story about triumphing over challenges) and The Apostle (poignant picture of our sinful humanity but how God still loves us and can show such grace in spite of our weakness).

This month I had a cold and felt miserable for a week or so. Got over that and then had a weird dizzy/light-headed/weird day when I needed Josh to take off work to come pick me up from work. Thankfully it went away by the evening, but it was weird (and no I'm not pregnant). We had a super fun day with cousins playing at a playground near our house where we all had lots of fun and Kelly & I even joined the kids on the slides. We all attempted going down on our stomachs and I ended up with a huge plastic burn on my elbow - but it was fun! :) We went to the Farmer's Market three times this month and twice followed it with lunch at the Bella Trattoria at the Mission Inn - beautiful outdoor patio seating, delicious food and the second best vanilla bean creme brulee I've ever tasted! We had dinner with friends from church, our friend Robin (who we hadn't seen in way too long) and a lovely spontaneous dinner & conversation at IHOP with Josh's brother-in-law Jim who was in town from Louisiana (he's a truck driver).

The month ended with a trip to Las Vegas for the wedding of Josh's cousin Cassie. We had gotten a great deal on the room through Josh's work and ended up loving the MGM Signature which is a non-smoking, casino-free timeshare-like resort. The room was spacious and new with a huge bathtub and shower, kitchenette with stove-top, microwave, fridge and sink, comfy king-size bed and a great view of the pools part of the Strip. Friday night we went to see the new film Fast Five since it was opening day and we love these movies. It was a great film with an interesting plot and amazing surprise after the credits. We followed that with dinner at Outback (one of our all-time favorites) and a trip to the giant M&M store. We had fun making customized M&M's for our friends Danielle & Andy who are getting married in June and taking pictures. Saturday we relaxed in the room for most of the day before getting dressed up for the wedding. Transportation was provided to and from the event, so we ended up not driving our car all weekend which was nice. The wedding was lovely with lots of fun things we'd never seen at weddings before. Josh really enjoyed spending time with his cousins Scott, Kelly & Cassie and was inspired to keep in closer contact with them and make an effort to get together more often. Cassie was a beautiful bride and it was obvious that she & her husband Eric are very happy...we were glad to have the opportunity to be there to celebrate with them. Sunday we slept in before checking out and heading to the Ethel M chocolate factory for some delicious toffee and chocolates followed by lunch at Fatburger. On the way home, we stopped in Baker at the Alien Fresh Jerky store to look around, try some tasty jerky, and buy a variety of flavors as well as some cool root beers as a birthday gift for my brother-in-law David. It was a great weekend.

To end this long post, I read 7 books this month but my favorite was Love, Otto by Cara Wilson. It was a true story detailing the friendship through letters between a young girl (the author) and Anne Frank's father Otto. Their written friendship lasted decades and they were able to meet in person as well. It was a lovely book.

Time MARCHes on...

2011-04-06T11:48:00.000-07:00

So my title might be a little silly, but I just didn't feel like making it March Update. :) This was a good month with lots of time spent with good friends, many new recipes and other than twinges of pain now and then from extended standing no sciatic pain. Praise the Lord! We did our taxes this month and while I still trust and believe that God is in control, we were a bit tested when we realized that not only would we not be getting any money back, we actually owe a quite significant sum. There was some crying and reorganizing of finances and rescheduling of plans. The biggest issue was that we just won't be able to have the finances or the time (due to all my time off for sciatica) to take our planned trip to see Josh's family. We were quite sad about this as it had been something we looked forward to, but it won't be able to happen at this point. However, Josh's brother was able to visit while in CA for a conference and we truly enjoyed the opportunity to spend an evening with him - eating at Claim Jumper and Cherry on Top and driving around town looking at houses. The conversation was really great and I know Josh especially loved seeing his brother even for the short amount of time. Hopefully, Josh will be able to take a trip out to visit his mom later this year, though it may not be possible for me to join him. We'll have to see what our finances and vacation time looks like this summer or later. We celebrated Josh's birthday with a few fun things. The family went to lunch at his favorite taco place Taco Bender and we all enjoyed the delicious tacos, spicy hot sauce and crushed ice! He was able to take his actual birthday off from work and chose to make his own birthday dinner which was full of family favorites - tacos, chili relleno casserole, ortega rice and banana split cake. He was happily surprised to find that our close friends had finished paying off a 20-volume series of history books he had been making payments on for several months. He also received an electric screwdriver which he's been wanting, several Disney films and an updated DC Comics encyclopedia and a Star Wars encyclopedia. This month also included my best friends's birthday and I was thrilled to finally be able to give her the present I had made in February - a photo book from Snapfish which included photos of us from the beginnings of our friendship to now, scanned pictures of old notes from high school, letters and cards through the years and many quotes and stories of our friendship. She loved the book and we had a wonderful evening celebrating that included a fun art project. I had read about the idea of making a vision board, like a collage, that has words and images that are meaningful to you torn out of magazines and pasted onto 16 x 20 stretched canvases. We spent several hours on this project and ended up with very personal artwork that was a lot of fun and inspirational for both of us. We had the opportunity to see what it would be like to add a dog to our home when my parents went out of town for a week and we decided to keep their dog Belle at our house instead of just checking on her twice a day at their house. Belle is about 11 years old, a Jack Russel terrier mix and very sweet. She's already used to cats since my parents also have 2 cats, so she wasn't very disturbed by our three cats. However, our cats HATED her! None of them ever really adjusted to her - Cyrano and Talia basically hid upstairs most of the week and would hiss and puff up anytime they ran into Belle. Marilyn mostly ignored Belle and even sat on my lap to sleep in the evenings even though Belle was usually sleeping next to me on the couch - I think her lack of hearing helped her to be less intimidated. Belle did great all week and though it was obvious she missed home, she seemed comfortable with us and never had any accidents or problems. I'm not sure we'd add a dog of our own anytime soon since the cats are still adjusting to her being gone but at least we know it would work out fairly well. :) I did a LOT of cooking this month and tried many new recipes. My cousin had posted a recipe for Jacques Torres' chocolate chip cookies that uses dark chocolate and adds a hit of sea salt on the top and I'd been wanting to try it for quite awhile, but you have to let the batter chill overnight and I wanted to get this special 5 salt set from Cost Plus that I've been eyeing for months. I mixed up the batch one Friday evening and made myself wait until the next afternoon before baking up 2 dozen - 1 tray with French Fleur de Sel and 1 tray with Australian Murray River pink sea salt. The cookies were amazing and surprisingly I loved the Ausstralian salt topped cookies better which I think was due to the light flaky nature of the salt. The remaining batter was baked up on Sunday using all pink salt and they were a big hit with Josh and some of my coworkers. For St. Patrick's Day I wanted to make something Irish-like and found a recipe for Guinness Onion Soup with Cheddar toasts by Michael Chiarello. While I followed the basic recipe for the soup, I decided to adjust the toasts by adding a smear of Irish herb butter and thinly sliced Corned beef along with the Irish cheddar before broiling them open-faced. It was a quite tasty dinner and something I'd probably make again. Melissa d'Arabian has quickly become one of my all-time favorite chefs on Food Network since her food is fairly simple, French-inspired and always delicious. I tried several of her recipes and almost all were a big hit. An super easy recipe was for Garlic Spaghetti and Josh and I both really loved this vegetarian and delicious dinner. When a former student worker came to visit for dinner, I made her Mustard Chicken with Noodles and it was so delicious and made plenty for our meal as well as leftovers for three. I also served her Roast Carrots and Radishes and while I found the carrots perfectly delicious, none of us were fans of the taste of roasted radish. But it was something to try, and now we know we just like them raw and salted on buttered bread! :) I've been trying to read more this month and read seven books including Pioneer Woman's new love story Black Heels to Tractor Wheels which was great, a Wuthering Heights inspired novel called Here on Earth which I liked a lot though I disagreed with the interpretation of Heathcliff's character, and I started reading Francine River's series called Lineage of Grace which tells the story of the five women listed in the the geneaology of Christ and it has been wonderful so far. I also was able to watch the film version of Phantom of the Opera and it was really great and the music is still in my head weeks after watching.

February update

2011-03-15T08:55:00.000-07:00

Thankfully, February brought slow improvement and eventual healing from the awful sciatic pain in my left leg. Due to a great massage and continued physical therapy, by mid-month I had no more pain beyond occasional twinges when standing too long. Praise the Lord! My joy in feeling better was sadly overshadowed by getting sick for over a week with an upper respiratory infection, but with antibiotics and rest I was back to normal within a week.

I had the opportunity to cook quite a lot this month, including a cooking lesson with a dear friend and a baking day with my best friend. The cooking lesson included making a lunch of poached chicken and vegetables for lunch with molten chocolate cake for dessert, going over a few additional recipes and time to chat about spices, basic cooking skills and the proper peeling of a pommelo. She also brought me a huge bag of delicious oranges (made AMAZING fresh OJ!), pink lemons and pommelos from their backyard citrus trees. Baking day is a fun tradition with my best friend that usually occurs around Christmas time, but due to work issues and travel, happened this month. We made an absolutely yummy Pumpkin Walnut Cake with homemade whipped cream. For lunch I made quick crocque monsieur sandwiches based on a recipe from Melissa d'Arabian and they were sooooo good! It was a great opportunity for best friend time and I'm glad we could carry on our tradition of baking together at least once a year.

There were several other delicious new recipes this month as well - a delicious buffalo chicken dip for Super Bowl Sunday, a vegan chocolate cake with chocolate tangerine frosting that I made for some dear friends as a Valentine's day surprise, and an amazing recipe for Barefoot Contessa's Lemon Chicken with Croutons. It was a simple roast chicken with lemons over a bed of onions which carmelized deliciously - so deliciously that friends who came over loved them even though they HATE onions! :) The croutons are freshly made and served with the chicken with pan drippings over them to soften....yummy! That night I also made an Aarti Sequeira recipe - Moroccan Carrot Salad with Carmelized Lemon. Ultimately, I really did not like it at all (cinnamon/ginger flavor of the dressing is not my taste), but thankfully my friends LOVED it and had seconds and happily took home all the leftovers. :)

Artistically, I didn't do much myself, but I was finally able to give my painting of Cayucos to my good friend Jeff and he really liked it. I also had the opportunity to do school with my niece Katelyn and one of the things we did that day was her Art & the Bible lesson which involved drawing. With some direction from me, she was able to draw a camel, donkey, and goat surprisingly well. We also learned about the color wheel, warm and cool colors, and what happens when you mix colors together. It was a wonderful opportunity to learn with her and remind me how much I love art.

I'm currently in the middle of about 4 or 5 books, but am most obsessed with Pioneer Woman's Black heels to tractor wheels which details her falling in love with her husband Marlboro Man. I love her writing style and this book is great so far. So far this year, I've read 12 books and considering my goal of 100 books by the end of the year I need to start reading more! :) In February, I read 5 books and of those my favorite was a book called Split: a memoir of divorce by Suzanne Finnamore. It was sad, but very honest. In January, I read 6 books and my favorite was The Help by Kathryn Stockett which was amazing and I can't wait to see the film version.

I watched a lot of movies this month, both at home through rentals and at the theater. I was able to rent and watch the film version of the book The Virgin Suicides - it was a sad book and the film was a decent interpretation. It's not a film I would want to see again, or really recommend, but I'm glad to have seen it. We also rented the new version of Robin Hood which I was initially against seeing since I truly dislike Russell Crowe. But I had heard it was really good, and it was something we could agree on renting. I have to say that it was a wonderful film - a very different interpretation of the Robin Hood story, but it was very good and the relationship between Russell Crowe's Hood and Cate Blanchett's Marian is just lovely. I won't say that this changed my opinion of him, but he was great in this film. Josh & I celebrated our nine year anniversary of the day we met with a movie day. Using 3 gift cards, discounted movie tickets and one free ticket we were able to see 4 movies (Unknown, Hall Pass, Gnomeo & Juliet and No Strings Attached) for no money out of pocket. This month we also saw The King's Speech which was incredible and even though Josh initially thought it sounded boring and didn't want to see it, he ended up loving it and we both agreed that it definitely deserved all the Oscars it won.

January update

2011-02-01T16:29:00.000-08:00

January was full of lots of time off due to increasingly worse sciatica pain. It started the first week with pain the the back of my left thigh, went away for a week or so, and then came back with a full fledged lower back all the way down the left leg vengeance. :( Thankfully rest, alternating heat & ice, physical therapy and prayer has done wonders. While I am not pain free yet, I seem to be on my way with less pain each day and more mobility as well.

For my books goals, I additionally decided to set a goal of reading 100 books this year. This was inspired by Goodreads.com and I figured since I had read 73 books last year that 100 was a reasonable goal. So far, I have finished reading Brave New World (very disturbing, but also amazingly modern considering it was written so long ago), I am beginning book 4 of the Anne of Green Gables series, and have started slowly reading Vanity Fair through DailyLit.com.

Due to cooking much less because of pain when standing, I haven't been able to try as many new recipes as I would have liked. I had intended to try my hand at Indian food last weekend, but made due with pizza. I will try again once better though. :) I did try a new recipe called Green Chile Roll-ups at my Princess House party - it's quite simple, but was a big hit.

4 oz. (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) PHILADELPHIA Neufchatel Cheese, softened
2 Tbsp. chopped green chiles
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
4 whole wheat tortillas (6 inch)
1/2 cup finely chopped red peppers
1/2 cup KRAFT Mexican Style 2% Milk Finely Shredded Four Cheese

MIX Neufchatel, chiles and cumin; spread onto tortillas. Top with remaining ingredients.
ROLL up tortillas tightly. Cut each crosswise into 5 slices.

I also created a new recipe based on something Josh's grandma had made for us once that I loved. Simply chicken, potato and carrot poached in chicken broth in the oven - but in my mind it was the most delicious thing ever! I've wanted to recreate it for a long time and finally decided to a few weeks ago. Both Josh & I loved it so much we had it twice in one week! I added a few ingredients and it is yummy!

Poached Chicken & Veggies in Garlic Lemon Broth

2 frozen chicken breasts
4 medium potatoes, peeled & quartered
4 carrots, peeled & quartered
5 cloves garlic, chopped
1/3 sticks salted butter, sliced
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 can chicken broth
Dash of pepper

Preheat oven to 375

Pour lemon juice and chicken broth into a 13x9 baking dish. Add chopped garlic and stir around. Add chicken, flipping over once so that liquid gets on both sides. Add veggies. Place slices of butter all over veggies and chicken and then add fresh ground pepper. Place in oven and cook for 25 minutes. Flip chicken breasts and cook another 25 minutes. Flip chicken breasts again and check veggies to see if tender. If not done, cook another 20 minutes. Serve in pasta bowls with liquid over chicken and veggies – DELICIOUS!

This month I also continued a tradition of watching the film version of classic literature I've finished reading. I read Anna Karenina last year and finally watched the Russian version this weekend. It covered the main drama and conveniently cut out all the boring (to me) descriptions of farming, Russian politics, etc. I did this last year after reading Wuthering Heights and rewatching my favorite interpretation of that film starring Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche. Upon completing Vanity Fair I will likely watch the Reese Witherspoon version. This reminds me that I need to watch the Michelle Pfeiffer version of The Age of Innocence since I read that book last year as well.

I also decided to embark of a film studies class of sorts by watching some of the films that caught my eye from the Film Studies Reserve items in the library. In January I watched Lost in Translation (slow, but touching) and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (weird and quirky but lovely - though it gave me super disturbing dreams).

2011 Goals

2011-01-03T18:47:00.000-08:00

These are a few of the things that I would like to accomplish this year. I may not get to all of them, but I'm hopeful that it is not too daunting of a list.

Find time to paint and/or do art projects
Finish reading the Bible
Read the following books - Chronicles of Narnia series, The Catcher in the Rye, War & Peace, Brave New World, Vanity Fair and the Anne of Green Gables series
Unpack at least half the boxes in our garage
Organize & file all important papers and clean up desk
Try at least 3 new recipes each month
Visit Josh's family, and some of mine, on vacation in May/June
Hang curtains in our house to replace ratty metal blinds
Mail Christmas cards with letter & picture by beginning of December
Take a trip with my best friend
Write on my blog at least once a month

Goal completed!

2010-11-04T12:15:00.000-07:00

It took me until December 31 in the late afternoon, but I was able to complete my goal of reading a book for each letter of the alphabet in 2010. I'm glad that I did this as it allowed me the opportunity to read some books that, while I did intend to read them eventually, were very thought-provoking and interesting.

Here's my list of books I've read this past year from A to Z. If you check out my Good Reads profile ( http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/107921?shelf=2010-books-a-z ) you can see how I rated them and if I wrote a review. In total I read 73 books in 2010 - most were really good, and some I absolutely loved.

A ~ Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

B ~ Burning the map by Laura Caldwell

C ~ Certain girls by Jennifer Weiner

D ~ The dirt on clean: an unsanitized history by Katherine Ashenburg

E ~ An embarrassment of mangoes: a Caribbean interlude by Ann Vanderhoof

F ~ The Frugal Gourmet keeps the feast: past, present & future by Jeff Smith

G ~ Grace under pressure: Grey's Anatomy uncovered by Hillary Robson

H ~ The host by Stephenie Meyer

I ~ Insatiable: tales from a life of delicious excess by Gael Greene

J ~ The joy of doing things badly: a girl's guide to love, life & foolish bravery by Veronica Chambers

K ~ Kings of Madison Avenue: the unofficial guide to Mad Men by Jesse McLean

L ~ Love and other impossible pursuits by Ayelet Waldman

M ~ The mermaids singing by Lisa Carey

N ~ The next thing on my list by Jill Smolinski

O ~ Orange is the new black: my year in a women's prison by Piper Kerman

P ~ Pretty in plaid: a life, a witch, and a wardrobe, or the wonder years before the condescending, egomanical, self-centered smart-ass phase by Jen Lancaster

Q ~ Queen of babble by Meg Cabot

R ~ Rachel's holiday by Marian Keyes

S ~ Serenity found: more unauthorized essays on Joss Whedon's Firefly universe by Jane Espenson

T ~ The time traveler's wife by Audrey Niffenegger

U ~ Unbearable lightness by Portia de Rossi

V ~ The virgin suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides

W ~ What we eat when we eat alone by Deborah Madison

X ~ Exes and ohs by Beth Kendrick

Y ~ A year in the world: journeys of a passionate traveller by Frances Mayes

Z ~ The zookeeper's wife: a war story by Diane Ackerman

Books A to Z

2010-11-03T07:37:00.000-07:00

I was referencing my GoodReads list the other day and was happy to see that finally my list of books I've read is bigger than the list of books I want to read. I really enjoy the ability to keep a growing list of books I have read, that I'm currently reading and that I want to read. But it always seems that for every book I read, there are at least 2 to 3 more books added to my to-read list. You should check out the website, and if you join - add me as a friend! :) www.goodreads.com

A new thing they offer is statistics measuring how many books you've read each year. So far this year I've read 61 books. I started to wonder if I'd read a book for each letter of the alphabet. And if not, how many more would I need to read in order to read books from A to Z. So, I made an Excel spreadsheet and found that I was missing 9 books - D, N, O, Q, U, V, X, Y, and Z. I looked through my to-read list and found books to correspond with each missing letter and my plan to is to read them before the end of the year.

I'll post my full list at the end of the year, or when I complete my goal, but for now here is the list of books I need to read in the next 2 months.

D - The dirt on clean by Katherine Ashenbury
N - The next thing on my list by Jill Smolinski
O - Orange is the new black by Piper Kerman
Q - Queen of babble by Meg Cabot
U - The unprejudiced palate by Angelo Pellegrini
V - The virgin suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides
X - Exes and ohs by Beth Kendrick
Y - A year in the world by Frances Mayes
Z - The zookeeper's wife by Diane Ackerman

Hopefully I can make it...we'll see. :)

This one's for Gigi...

2010-08-09T17:43:00.000-07:00

Instead of feeling bad for not writing on this blog more often, I'll just take time to catch up and move on. :)

We've been in our house for 1 year as of today! It's hard to believe that a whole year has gone by, and yet in many other ways it seems like so much more time has passed. We still have MANY boxes to unpack, we still keep finding little things that need to be replaced or fixed, and we still are adjusting each month to the bills and costs involved in being homeowners.

Our house got broken into in January, likely by some teenagers, and several things were stolen. We felt unsafe for a time and every little noise would bring up fear...but God is faithful and it is only through His peace that we do not have to be afraid. We are cautious and make sure our house is secure when we leave...but we are not afraid to leave home and we are not afraid to be home.

In July we were able to attend my cousin Bethany's wedding along with my parents, sister, Auntie Terrianne & Uncle Jerry and cousins Laura and Kevin. We had lots of fun being silly at the hotel we all stayed at as well as during the beautiful wedding of Bethany and Ray.

The cousins - Jay, Laura, Kelly, Bethany, me, Kevin and Brandon

After the wedding, Josh & I were able to spend one extra night near the central coast - in Cayucos at our favorite Shoreline Inn on the beach. We enjoyed the opportunity to spend the afternoon with my longtime friend Jeff while there, as well as checking out the antique stores and cute shops like the new Brown Butter Cookie Company which had amazingly delicious cookies! On the way home, we stopped at the Pasolivo olive oil tasting room and joined their press club and had the best crab lunch ever in Pismo Beach at the Cracked Crab. Though I am not usually a fan of crab, this was especially delicious and sweet and the owner was very knowledgeable and friendly - we would highly recommend that you visit if you ever have the opportunity!

Almost a month ago, my Mom had surgery to remove her right kidney which had a tumor growing in it. They chose to remove the entire kidney due to the location of the tumor and we're glad they did so - it turned out that it was stage-2 cancer, but it appears that it had not spread at all so she does not need to have chemo or radiation. She recovered quickyl in the hospital and was home within 3 days, but still needs help around the house. Now that Dad is back to work, my grandparents have come to visit for a few weeks to help out.

Saturday was my Dad's birthday, and for lunch my sister & I took him out to lunch for Thai food - something new for all three of us, but we were all eager to try it. We went to the Thai House in Redlands which had been recommended to us, and we had several menu choices recommended as well by friends. For starters we had Chicken Satay with peanut sauce and cucumbers, Tom Yun Kai - lemongrass soup with chicken and mushrooms, and Larb - minced beef with onions in a lime dressing served with cabbage. All were quite tasty, but we especially loved the soup and Kelly's favorite item of the meal was the Larb. For our meal we shared Gang Karee - yellow curry with potatoes, carrots, onions and chicken; and Drunken Noodles - wide, flat noodles in a sauce with tomatoes, onions and thai basil. Dad & I both decided that the curry was our favorite item of our meal. All in all, the Thai food experience was a big hit and we all can't wait to try again. :)

Well, this doesn't completely cover everything from the past many months, but it's some of the highlights. Hopefully my grandma (also known as Gigi - an abbreviation for Great Grandma for my niece and nephew) will be glad that I finally updated and I'll try to do so more often. Love you Grandma! :)

100 Things About Me

2010-05-12T10:53:00.000-07:00

It's taken me about a month to slowly accumulate these 100 things and then read through them to make sure I didn't repeat myself. Hopefully you enjoy learning some new and quirky things about me. :)

1. I hate confrontation, but will do it if I feel strongly enough.

2. I am often much too nice.

3. I try very hard to never be cruel or to say things I don’t mean or would regret.

4. I am content with how I look 98% of the time.

5. I will not eat peas, sweet potatoes or brussel sprouts.

6. I love broccoli.

7. Bell peppers are one of my new favorite foods, except green ones.

8. My favorite number has always been 8.

9. I own a house.

10. I have a very active imagination and when I was little this translated into believing that a tiny Noah lived in a pipe outside of the bank and I would say hello to him every time we had to run an errand at the bank.

11. Roses are my very favorite flower, but I also love hydrangeas, orchids and tulips.

12. I want to go to Paris in the springtime.

13. I’m proud to say I once went white-water rafting on class 4 and 5 rapids, but I will NEVER do it again.

14. I am slightly afraid of heights.

15. Spiders and bugs freak me out, but I will kill them if no one else is around to do it for me.

16. I used to get strep throat every year and almost had to have my tonsils removed…but now I never get it and instead get bronchitis which I never used to get.

17. I will be your friend forever, with a few rare exceptions.

18. I love to roll down my windows in the car and blast my music super loud – sometimes its Nickelback or the Mamma Mia soundtrack, but sometimes its just instrumental music that stirs my soul.

19. I love to cook and bake, but hate to knead or roll things out.

20. Words of encouragement make me feel loved.

21. Survivor is one of my all-time favorite shows and I never get tired of watching it.

22. I get easily hooked on soap opera type TV shows with multiple characters and storylines, especially if the acting and writing is well-done.

23. I believe that God is in control, all the time.

24. My parents have been happily married for almost 37 years.

25. I met my husband through Match.com on February 25, 2002. His silly-face profile picture made me curious, his romantic profile intrigued me, his deep sexy voice wooed me, and his absolute love and care for me convinced me that I had found the man God had planned for me. We were engaged by June 21 and married on December 21...and though we have our ups and downs I couldn't imagine my life without him and I love him more than ever.

26. I have always loved stickers.

27. Good bread with real butter makes me so happy.

28. I was born on August 28 – the same day as my Auntie Terrianne, my mom’s best friend…and I know about 4 other people with this birth date, but none the same age as me.

29. If I could have multiple clones of myself, I would want one of them to do nothing but read all the time – every book I could ever want to read.

30. I turned 30 last year and found my first grey hairs recently.

31. I would love to someday visit Kerikeri, New Zealand, mostly because of the name.

32. I love to send cards to people I love.

33. I had my first boyfriend in the 8th grade, but didn’t have my fist kiss until my freshman year of college.

34. My first kiss was on the roller coaster Colossus at Magic Mountain – not the best location for a kiss, nor was it a great kiss.

35. I know all the words for the script and soundtrack of Dirty Dancing.

36. My favorite ice cream is soft serve chocolate from Foster Freeze.

37. I love to color.

38. I want to have a garden and grow tomatoes, green onions, shallots, cucumbers, cilantro, thyme, sweet bell peppers (red, orange & yellow), strawberries and raspberries.

39. I collect cookbooks.

40. My favorite food network chefs are Ina Garten, Nigella Lawson, and Melissa d’Arabian…but I’ve been known to enjoy Giada de Laurentiis, Rachael Ray and Tyler Florence.

41. I love reading cooking blogs and am thrilled we live in an age where there are so many people who HAVE cooking blogs for me to read!

42. I love to sing in my car.

43. I need a pedicure.

44. My top three favorite home cooked meals are roast beef with carrots and potatoes, my mom’s spaghetti, and chicken tacos with sautéed red pepper and homemade guacamole.

45. My favorite animal is the orangutan; especially the cute little baby ones with wild orange hair.

46. I hope to always be an annual pass holder at Disneyland.

47. As my niece often asks me…my three favorite rides at Disneyland are: Pirates of the Caribbean, Storybook Canal Boats and Space Mountain.

48. I have a “man book” – ask me what it is.

49. I am so glad they brought back Captain EO and hope it sticks around for a long time.

50. I saw the movie “Fast & Furious” on the day it opened and liked it so much that I went to see it again at a different theater an hour later. Yes, it’s all about Vin Diesel.

51. I really want a new Dell laptop with the OPI color Pompeii Purple and think that it is brilliant marketing for Dell to team up with OPI nail polish.

52. I miss playing the SIMS and hate that my laptop and over 10 years of SIMS history is gone.

53. I like to try new recipes on company and never practice any recipes in advance.

54. I like to collect keychains.

55. On my work keys all the keychains are from vacations that either I or my coworkers have gone on and includes three shoes – a sandal from Mexico, a flip flop from Bali and wooden Dutch shoes from Solvang.

56. I love Mister Rogers. His show was so soothing and memorable and I have collected three books of his sayings that I often quote from in notes to family and friends.

57. I have read Gone with the Wind three times.

58. The first meal I remember cooking was Chicken Cattiatore and I remember we ate outside on the back patio.

59. I love the novel Wuthering Heights and adore the movie version with Ralph Fiennes and Juliet Binoche. It amazes me that a sheltered woman with little relationship experience created the dark and passionate Heathcliff and Cathy.

60. I find it very difficult, if not impossible, to not finish reading a book even if I hate it.

61. I want to be a warm and affectionate person who hugs easily, but it does not come naturally to me although I find it easier when the person I’m interacting with initiates it.

62. I am a people pleaser, but try hard to be who I am in spite of this.

63. I love people who speak with an accent…especially French, Australian or British.

64. I love working with students, especially the library student workers. But I’m always sad when they graduate and leave.

65. I try to always be content in my circumstances, but can get discouraged more easily than I like.

66. My favorite ribs are the Original Baby Back Ribs at Chili’s.

67. I enjoy cooking and baking with my niece and we have matching aprons from Disneyland that we always wear when doing so.

68. My grandpa owned a Foster Freeze when I was a kid and I have many happy memories of that time. I always got a deep-fried burrito with a little fry bag of shredded cheese and to this day that is the only thing I order at any Foster Freeze in memory of my grandpa…other than ice cream that is!

69. I love to eat ice. Crushed ice is my very favorite and I started loving it as a child when my grandpa’s Foster Freeze had it and I would go around eating a cup of ice. It’s hard to find places that have it, but I know of a couple and always enjoy having it when I can. And I would love to own a crushed ice machine in my house.

70. I have been to almost all of the 50 states, but still have a few left to go – Alaska, North & South Carolina, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Maine, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont and New Hampshire.

71. I prefer to sleep on my left side, with one pillow to cuddle with, one pillow between my knees and a small pillow under my foot – and two pillows under my head.

72. I love flip flops and own at least 20 pairs, but most often wear either my pink or black ones.

73. One of my favorite places in the world is Cayucos, CA.

74. My favorite beverages include icy cold Coke in a can, iced tea with lemon & lots of ice, and Diet Dr. Pepper.

75. I prefer to use a medium point black ink pen, especially at work.

76. No matter how many times I’ve seen them, I always cry when I watch Beaches, Steel Magnolias and The Notebook.

77. I love pictures, photo albums, scrapbooks and picture frames.

78. I love to sit by the ocean, watching and listening, but hate to swim in it.

79. My favorite color is pink and I like to wear it as often as possible.

80. I love how in the movie “The Saint” Elisabeth Shue’s character had little post-it notes all over her apartment & journal – full of scraps of poetry, quotes, lists, etc. I do that a little bit on my computer at work with little post-its with Bible verses.

81. I love to change the color of my hair. It’s been dark brown, auburn, blonde, orangey red (not purposeful but it’s what happens when you add auburn hair dye to brassy blonde) black, brown with blonde highlights and now dark brown with auburn highlights. My favorites have been black and auburn…though I do like it now as well.

82. Though I haven’t been to too many concerts, I have seen – Trick Pony, Brooks & Dunn, Bon Jovi, Daughtry, Bette Midler, Trace Adkins and Toby Keith.

83. When I was a kid, I used to play marine biologist in the pool – water balloons were dolphins or fish, Tupperware blocks that opened were crabs, bricks were sponges, and the pool cleaner was an octopus (though it did look like one, with a floating disk with several long hoses coming off it).

84. My sister and I used to play Oregon Trail – we’d load up the porch swing wagon and deck chair horses with supplies including clothes, blankets, pillows, a Bible, a pitcher of lemon water and a sleeve of Saltines. Each “day” of the trip we’d portion out the crackers and water until they were gone and we “arrived”.

85. Growing up, I was in love with Patrick Swayze. I loved the movie Dirty Dancing and had a poster of him on my wall that was moved so many times (including to college) that all the edges are ragged from pushpin holes.

86. The funny movies I could watch again and again and still crack up are Night at the Roxbury and Zoolander.

87. I don’t like scary things in movies or TV – if it looks or seems too scary for me I’m not ashamed to cover my eyes and even hum to myself if necessary.

88. I used to collect straws from Bakers…I don’t know why. But my collection has come in handy now and then over the years.

89. I would love to take a vacation that centers on eating BBQ all over the South to try the different styles and varieties – brisket is my favorite, especially chopped/shredded and I prefer a sweeter thick sauce to a vinegary thin sauce.

90. I have 1 godson, 6 nephews, 2 nieces and many other children who I love and always send cards and stickers to for major holidays and birthdays.
91. I accepted the Lord when I was 4 years old while listening to a Psalty the Singing Songbook record with my mom and sister.

92. Other than babysitting, being a nanny, tutoring and being a student worker I have only had one real job – the one I have now and have been at for almost 10 years.

93. My favorite breakfast would include French toast, maple bacon, cold milk and maybe some fresh sweet raspberries.

94. I love cucumbers – in tea sandwiches with soft butter; dipped in French onion dip; sliced in a homemade red wine vinaigrette; doused in lemon juice & salt; chopped up in a taco salad with kidney beans, onion, tomato and avocado; or tossed with thinly sliced onion, sour cream, lemon juice, salt & pepper.

95. Some of the books I could reread again and again are: You Shouldn’t Have to Say Goodbye by Patricia Hermes, the Christy Miller series by Robin Jones Gunn (actually basically anything she writes), the Georgia Nicolson series by Louise Rennison and the Chesapeake Bay Saga by Nora Roberts.

96. I collect pressed pennies, Gone with the wind memorabilia, and choose-your-mood magnet sets.

97. I like to talk to myself while driving in the car and no, I’m not ashamed or embarrassed about it.

98. I’ve always loved the smell of coffee, but only in the past year have grown to enjoy the taste of it – though only with a LOT of Crème Brulee creamer or as a hot mocha.

99. Lunch is one of the hardest meals for me. I really dislike leftovers, frozen dinners, and sandwiches so it is always a struggle to find something to pack for lunch. I prefer hot food for lunch, so often resort to fast food but don’t like to spend the money all the time. I have been this way since I was a kid and the only time it wasn’t an issue was in college when I could eat in the cafeteria every day.

100. I like to keep track of the dinners that I make for friends so that I can try new things and not accidentally serve the same menu.

Catching up

2010-01-20T13:50:00.000-08:00

It’s been too long since I last updated this blog, but I’ve had a hard time figuring out what to say. The past few months have been quite difficult at times and in the midst of the challenging times I just didn’t feel like blogging. I still really don’t feel like blogging. But perhaps it will help to just write it down. Perhaps it won’t really help, but at least it will allow my blog to move on even if we aren’t completely able to move on.

First of all, though I do appreciate our ability to own a house, it has been challenging to get used to home ownership and all the financial aspects that come with it. While we have been able to pay our bills we’ve had a lot of learning “Uh Oh” moments that took large chunks out of our extra money. HOA monthly payments (including a large transfer fee), figuring out how much watering is “TOO” much and getting the bill that told us (Eek!), extra fees for going over our monthly cell phone minutes (we have since upgraded our plan), etc have made for some tight financial moments and some slight remorse for giving up the relative comfort of renting. But we do love having our three cats (though hubby hates the almost constant need to clean the litter box!), having more space and knowing that it is ours to do with as we please.

In October, the week before Josh’s parents had planned to move out of state, his Dad got unexpectedly sick and was admitted to the hospital with a serious infection due to a leak in his colon and intestines. He had major surgery and was in the hospital for almost a month with many ups and downs. Most of the time passed in a blur of roller coaster emotions, overnights spent in uncomfortable waiting room chairs, lots of eating out, and sitting and talking with family & friends who gathered to wait and pray. Sadly, on November 16, my father-in-law passed away and went home to meet the Lord. That week was spent with family who flew in for the memorial service, and though we were all sad I have to say it was time well spent together with my in-laws. This really does not adequately explain or show how truly hard that month was, but…it’s what I can say for now.

Most of December was spent working, dealing with grief, Josh helped his mom a lot as she prepared to move out of state just prior to Christmas, and I spent the end of the month enjoying my two week holiday from work. We didn’t have a lot of extra money this year and for the first time I did basically ALL my shopping on Christmas Eve! We managed to have a lovely Christmas spent with some of my family as well as my sister’s in-laws. I got some boxes unpacked, did some yardwork, framed some pictures and enjoyed several baking/craft days with my niece. I would have loved just one more week of vacation, but had to go back to work.

As usual, at least for me, I got sick once again at the beginning of the new year. It always seems to be something for me and this year it was a cold that turned into bronchitis. Thankfully I am feeling better finally, but the cough has lingered for a couple weeks. Unfortunately, it seems that I have passed on the cold to my sister and my mom…and it turned into an ear infection and bronchitis respectively. Hopefully we all get better soon.

The other big stress happened almost two weeks ago when our house was broken into and several pieces of technology stolen. Thankfully I was not home (I was sick that day and wanted to stay home, but had to work at least half day to cover the front desk of the library) and nothing was broken and our cats were fine. But the feeling of being violated and knowing that someone we don’t know went through our things has been challenging to get over. I just have to keep giving my anxiousness to God and trust that He will take care of me. I know it to be true, and I know that He did protect us already, but I still have to keep giving it up to Him when I feel afraid.

Life has been challenging and trying and difficult lately. But there have also been moments of joy and laughter and love. Thankfully God has filled our lives with wonderful friends and family who have come alongside us to support, encourage, cry, laugh, and just love us; and their influence on our lives has been so appreciated. I know God is in control and He has not been surprised by anything that has happened to us…so I just need to keep trusting and keep praying.

End of Great Books Week

2009-10-09T10:43:00.000-07:00

Well, I skipped yesterday topic as it was what book did I hate in high school but love now. I didn't have an answer for the question since the ones I hated then I still don't like (Lord of the Flies), and all the other ones I had to read I liked or loved then and now.

Today's topic is "When I want to give someone a special gift, I give them [name of book] because…"

This is a bit of a tough question as well since I don't really have a consistent book that I give people, but I can think of a couple possibilities. There are two specific children's books that I love to give to new parents - Guess How Much I Love You and Harold and the Purple Crayon. The first speaks of love and the other of imagination and creativity...all things I believe in and want to share. Most of the time if I give a book as a gift, it's something that I specifically think the other person would like and thus it is closely tied to their personality and/or favorite genre.

I've enjoyed thinking about books this week. I think about them often anyways since I work in a library and love to read...but it was nice to read what others think about books too. Any book suggestions for me?

Great Books Week - Day 3

2009-10-07T08:22:00.000-07:00

Today's topic was hard at first since they asked for a classic book and I just couldn't think of one that seemed like my story. I tend to be drawn to characters and people who are more likely to be the opposite of me. But, then I remembered the character I felt the most kinship with and knew what to say. It isn't a classic book, but it's a favorite series of mine.

"I’d write my autobiography, but I don’t need to, because my story has already been told in…"

The Christy Miller series by Robin Jones Gunn

I love these books, and thankfully for me this author just keeps writing more and more about my favorite characters and their continuing story. But it is Christy Miller who I have always felt most similar to. She is the main character of the first set of 12 books which detail her life in high school. My parents got me the series when I was abotu 16 or so and I quickly read through all 12 books and each one seemed to be so like my own life in so many ways. I could empathize with Christy Miller and there were even events that happened to her that were eerily similar to my life experiences. I love that it is a Christian series so God is always at the forefront of the stories, but the author's amazing detail and vivid descriptions and storylines kept me hooked. Christy Miller's story has continued on through other storylines and series which have a different main character, but she remains my favorite and the one I feel most reflects my life.

Great Books Week - Day 2

2009-10-06T08:51:00.000-07:00

Today's question is "When I was a child, my favorite book was… because…." and I have four answers.

You Shouldn't Have to Say Goodbye by Patricia Hermes. I'm not sure exactly when I read this book for the first time, but it has become one of my all-time favorites. It is very sad and always makes me cry when I read it. The story is about a young girl whose mother is diagnosed with incurable cancer. She struggles to feel normal and resists acknowledging that her mother is sick even though her mother writes her a journal (or letters) detailing things she wants her to know and remember. There are very humorous sections and other parts that just make me weep.
Little House on the Prairie series by Laura Ingalls Wilder. I remember devouring this series of books and being so excited about them that I asked my mom & dad to read them too so we could talk about them. I have a much beloved collection of the books and want to reread them soon to see what I can learn from them now as opposed to what I remember. My particular favorites were the stories about cooking, toys, and Almanzo's childhood. And though Laura's life was very different from mine, I felt like her family was very similar to mine and that was comforting.
Izzy Willy Nilly by Cynthia Voigt. I'm not sure why I've always felt so strongly about this book as it is not a situation I've ever gone through personally, but it has always resonated with me. It is a book about a young girl who is in a car accident and one of her legs must be amputated. It details the struggles she faces with accepting herself, getting stronger, making new friends and moving on. I often reread this one and really enjoy it.
There's a Boy in the Girl's Bathroom by Louis Sachar. I have always loved this book...it's a short read, but meaningful. It is from a boy's perspective which is different for me since I usually feel more empathy for female main characters, but I just love Bradley Chalkers. However, my favorite character is his school counselor Carla and the relationship she builds with him. I also love his imagination regarding his animal figurines. It makes me laugh and it makes me sad sometimes too, but it has stuck with me over the years and I love it.

There really are so many other books I could write about since I have loved reading from the moment I could finally do it on my own and probably even sooner. :) I'm really enjoying this great books week and would love to know what book you loved as a child and why?

Great Books Week

2009-10-05T16:57:00.001-07:00

Randomly, I just found out that this week (October 4-10) is Great Books Week through my friend Maggie's blog. Since I do love and adore books I wanted to join in. So here is my first entry:

Day #1: If I were stranded alone on a deserted island with only seven books to read over the next few years, I would like to have…

Gone with the Wind - I've already read this one three times and would enjoy the time and opportunity to give it a few more good readings. I love the story and I'm sure that I would discover new things each time.
The Post-Birthday World - this book was fascinating and definitely one I'd reread.
You Shouldn't Have to Say Goodbye - it's sad and always makes me cry, but an all-time favorite.
Bible - it would be good to finally read through all of the Bible
The Historian - great book, a little creepy, very interesting and definitely time consuming.
Nora Roberts trilogy - either the Three Sisters or Chesapeake Bay Brothers...both are favorites and come three books in one.
I can't remember the title, but it is a Heartsong Christian romance novel that is one of my favorites...it's a quick read, but I love to reread it.

Here's a link to the Great books Week facebook page for more info if you want to join in.

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=148413758577&ref=mf

What seven books would you bring?

Mamma Mia! It's my big fat Greek 30th Birthday and Housewarming!

2009-09-19T17:19:00.000-07:00

Well, it appears I've made a habit of being late on this blog, but better late than never! :) On August 29 we celebrated my 30th birthday and our housewarming with a Greek-themed open house. Over the course of the day (from 1-9pm) we had 93 family and friends join us in our double celebration. We felt so blessed to see so many loved ones and to share our joy with them in our new home. I've included some pictures of our house and the party.We do have photos with every guest, but that would take too much space...but you can check out the photos on facebook if you'd like.

The house is no longer empty - our furniture is there! It's feeling more like home, but sometimes I still get the sensation that we're somehow on vacation yet we brought everything we own with us! :)

Our living room has since changed due to the wonderful addition of a large entertainment center - a hand-me-down gift from Uncle David and Aunt Rasa - thanks! :)

Birthday balloons leading up the stairs, and looking through the living room into the dining room.

Another view of the stairs, this time looking through to the kitchen past the bathroom.

The extra part of the living room...will eventually hold a nice desk and a large shelf for the stereo.

The kitchen is mostly moved in we're just still trying to find the best location for some items with less cupboard and drawer space than we had previously.

One half of the dining room - one of my favorite rooms in the house

The other half of the dining room - the loveseat is under the window and since the ceiling fan is just above it's one of the coolest parts of the house. :)

Our Greek extravaganza - Kelly cooked Greek chicken and soup and hot diggity dogs, Mom cooked more hot diggity dogs, and we made Greek meatballs, hummus layered dip, Greek roasted potatoes, Greek salad, watermelon feta salad, and pasta salad.

We also had flavored hummus, pita chips, tzadziki, fresh pita bread, marinated olives, Mediterranean salads, fresh fruit, veggies & dip, marinated peppers, fresh tomatoes and homemade vinaigrette. Kelly was our living menu and showed every guest the bounty of the table. :)

My wonderful friend Mandy made two cakes which were themed from the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding. The lamb cake was red velvet and represented Tia Voula's decision after hearing that Ian "won't eat no meat"..."that's ok, I make lamb!" :)

Mandy also made a lemon bundt cake which was also in the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding..."Bun, no a bundt, bung, no a bundt...it's a cake...I know" :)

Later in the evening our wonderful friend Gracie from church showed up with this beautiful and yummy cake version of our house. We hated to cut it up, but it was quite tasty. :)

It was a great party and we felt so blessed to have so many wonderful guests in our new home. We look forward to having people over again individually so that we'll have more time to chat with them personally.

It's hard to believe that we are now homeowners and we still have a garage full of boxes to unpack! :) We are so grateful that God has blessed us with a lovely home, wonderful friends and family, and so many other amazing blessings. Thank you God!

Homeowners!

2009-08-07T08:35:00.000-07:00

I'm a little delayed in posting the good news...but as of Friday, July 31 Josh & I became homeowners for the first time. Hooray! We had spent the day in great anticipation of when we might officially get the keys but did not get the call until after 5:30pm when we hurried over to our house to meet our wonderful realtor and friend Rob May. We took the obligatory photos and were just so excited to be able to say we own a house! :)

Saturday was spent scrubbing every surface and cupboard and wall with some wonderful friends. Angela and Robin showed up first thing along with my sister Kelly. Kelly, the queen organizer, had made a detailed two-page list of everything to be cleaned and her housewarming gift to us was all the cleaning products we could possibly need. We worked on the kitchen first - Angela stretched to reach the highest shelves and even got just about right into the oven in her goal to scrub it clean. Kelly scrubbed walls and shelves so she could lay lovely fruit-themed shelf paper in all my cupboards, drawers and pantry. Robin patiently scrubbed walls, windows, and even crawled almost completely into huge dark cabinets. I cleaned out drawers, scrubbed cabinet doors, cleaned all three bathrooms, including all the toilets and also wiped down walls.

Meanwhile, Josh and his parents got to work on the yard. His parents had offered to do our landscaping and share some of the lovely plants from their backyard since they will be moving later this year and hated to leave them all. His dad quickly dug up the ugly cactus front the front walkway and his mom pruned our hugely overgrown rose bushes. They weeded, raked, and basically made the front yard so much lovelier. Josh was able to mow the lawn, clean the garage and thanks to our friend Jerry, was also able to trim the edges of the yard with a weed whacker.

Soon after Josh's parents headed home, our dear friends Melissa and Alicia arrived with little welcoming gifts and were prepared to immediately get to work helping us clean. They even took some time to run get lunch for everyone and decided to bless us even more by paying for it themselves, even though we had planned to pay. With their help added to everyone else, now also including Angela's husband Jerry and their son Michael, we were able to clean the entire house. Michael helped by scrubbing the banisters and some stariway walls, then protected us from the bad guys with a Star tours play gun we found hidden in a cupboard. Melissa and Alicia helped me to completely scrub the upstairs bathrooms along with mopping high walls and scrubbing windows. By 4pm, we had accomplished everything on Kelly's list - we were tired, sore and sweaty, but we were finished. On the way home, I had a bit of an emotional breakdown and just sobbed happy and thankful tears thinking about my wonderful friends who were willing to give up their day off to help me clean my beautiful, once dirty and now clean, house.

Saturday evening we celebrated our becoming homeowners with a big dinner at our favorite once-in-awhile restaurant Outback Steakhouse. Since my grandparents are visiting to help Mom & Dad while Dad is recovering from his surgery they were also able to join us along with my parents, and Kelly & David and the kids. We had a wonderful dinner (I sure do love their steak, bread, and broccoli) with wonderful fellowship. What an amazing God we serve!

Then Josh and I decided to head to PetSmart to buy a new kitten. We had always wanted another cat, but in our apartment we were limited to just the one. We really wanted an all white kitten since our cat Cyrano is all black and we were trusting that God would provide just the right pet for us when we were able to get one. Well, we got a bit more than we bargained for! :) There were two all white female kittens - littermates, about 9 weeks old and one was deaf. The pet adoption lady really wanted her to find a good home and though we intended to get just one, we decided why not? So Talia and Marilyn Monroe became part of our family.

Talia (closer to me) loves to snuggle and bite my chin (why?), loves to eat and often pushes her sister aside to have the food to herself, and can be a little whiny when she wants attention.

Marilyn Monroe is deaf, wears a pink collar with a bell, is curious and fearless, loves to attack her sister and has a loud purr which she does the minute you pay her any attention.

They have not been properly introduced to Cyrano yet, but they currently live in my closet and bathroom at the apartment so he can hear and smell them through the door. Once we are moved into the house, we plan to introduce them to him while he is in his carrier and then let them roam the house together. We will leave the kittens closed up in a room when we are at work or out of the house until we can trust them all together.

After church on Sunday, we were able to borrow a power washer from our realtor Rob and Josh spent the afternoon cleaning the outside of the house. I spent that time playing with the kittens and snuggling them so they could get used to me. This week we have spent time in the evenings packing more boxes, loving on the kittens and trying to get prepared for the big move on Saturday.

On Tuesday, we had the carpets cleaned. Though they ended up coming much later than expected, and it ended up costing more than we thought due to some very tough stains, we now have clean carpet throughout the house and it looks so much better than it had. Wednesday, Kelly helped us by packing all the guest bathroom and our Tupperware cabinet in the kitchen. I also packed everything else non-breakable in the kitchen and we took a load over to the house and spent some time putting it all away. So part of the kitchen is done, and Kelly got the upstairs guest bathroom completely decorated and pretty. Josh spent that time placing our computers, TV's and phones around the house in preparation for the Verizon guy to connect our phone, internet, cable and DVR throughout the house on Thursday.

We still have so much to pack and it can seem quite overwhelming to me at times. But, I spent yesterday afternoon packing the pantry and was able to put 4 bags of food aside to take to our church pantry and unfortunately had to throw away a lot of past-expiration date food (even back to 2005) as well. Josh worked on the kitchen making sure all the dirty dishes either went into the dishwasher, or he hand-washed it. Kelly came over and we took down all the pictures in the hall, dining room, living room and office and packed those up. Then we packed all the breakables from the curio cabinet in Josh's dresser drawers, using his clean clothes to cushion them.

Today we plan to pack up my bathroom and closet, the china hutch using my clean clothes in my dresser drawers, and at least the rest of the kitchen. His parents are coming over to help take loads of boxes to the new house and put things away. Josh will pick up the U-Haul truck this afternoon and our apartment neighbor Robby, who is a handyman, is going to help him fix some little issues around the house - replacing acrylic panels from the kitchen and bathroom light fixtures, buying new lightbulbs, fixing the downstairs toilet and some faucets that leak. Tonight our Bible Study group will help us with more packing, taking stuff to the house and putting it away.

Tomorrow is the big move and we should have 7-10 people there to help out. Due to prior plans, I will not be able to be there the whole time, but thankfully Angela has offered to take over for me and direct the movers as to where furniture and such will go in the new house. Josh will pick someone to direct movers in the apartment so he can pack the truck which he is very good at using the space wisely and efficiently. We hope to get it all done by the afternoon. We will spend our first night in our new house tomorrow and I'm looking forward to it finally feeling real...we own a house and we live in it, you know? :)

I'm sure over the next few weeks, months, and years we will find many things that need fixing, replacing, redecorating, etc but I still can't believe how quickly we became homeowners. Just 6 months ago I was so dead set against buying a house and didn't think there was any way we could afford it and why did we need to even try. But God spoke to my heart at a little church in central CA and reminded me that I needed to put all my trust in Him and that if it was time for a house then He would make it clear to us and He would provide a way. And oh how He did! We have been truly blessed and it's been so clear from that moment that this is what God had planned for us - every door opened and everything came together to become this miracle of a new beginning for us. I am so thankful and grateful and happy...God is soooooo good, all the time!

Almost there!

2009-07-29T13:38:00.000-07:00

It had seemed like nothing was ever going to happen with the house. For the past month we hadn't heard much except what financial paperwork we needed to get to our mortgage guy Brian. I admit I was getting impatient and a little frustrated by the seeming lack of forward movement with the house. But...that has changed!

Last week we found out that our loan was approved and the loan documents were being sent to the escrow company. We called them repeatedly on Monday hoping to be able to get in to sign them. Finally around 2pm they were finally ready and so we stopped at the bank to get a cashier's check for the remainder of the down payment. It ended up being almost $1000 more than we had expected, but God provided and with us needing to only pay half our rent in August, not having our first mortgage payment until September, and the fact that we had started saving up some excess money we were able to handle the surprise. After getting the check we drove to San Bernardino to visit the escrow company.

We met with Linda, the notary public, and spent just over an hour signing and signing...and signing :)...our names. It was quite a stack of documents, but we got them done. We were told that the next step was to find out if the two broken windows had been fixed. They had not, so both Brian and Rob called the seller to make sure they were on top of getting it done this week. We've been told that the window will be fixed today, so that hopefully it can be appraised this afternoon. Next we make sure everything is signed and that the money is transferred and then hopefully by Friday we will get the keys and actually be homeowners!

Though it seems to me sometimes that this process has taken a long time, I can look back and see that it really happened so quickly. We began looking in March after God spoke to me in late February and let me know that He would provide a house for us and that I needed to trust Him. We found several possible houses in the next few months, and then on June 9 our offer on Via Apolina was accepted. And by the end of this week we will be homeowners...just 5 months from when we began! What an awesome God we serve! He is so worthy of our trust and adoration...what a blessing He has provided for us.

We began packing a few weeks ago, but as we are both procrastinators, it is of course no where near being complete. Our goal is to have the big move-in day of Saturday, August 8 when we hope to get all the furniture and all packed boxes moved into our new home. We will still have our apartment until at least August 15, so we have some time if there are a few things left over. If we do get the keys this Friday, then we are hoping to have a cleaning weekend on Saturday and Sunday, August 1 & 2. If any of you reading are willing and able to help with either cleaning or moving - or even packing! :) - ...please let us know as we would greatly appreciate it!

Thank you for your prayer and support as we've gone through this process. We look forward to celebrating with you at our housewarming/Mamma Mia, It's my Big, Fat, Greek, 30th Birthday on August 29!

Prayer requests:

Pray that the window will get fixed, the appraisal will go well, and that everything is complete so that we can get the keys on Friday
Pray that cleaning will go well prior to moving in
Pray that we get packing and have most, if not all, accomplished by moving day
Pray that we have lots of energy to pack after working all day and that we get enough sleep as well
Pray that moving day goes well with nothing broken, lots of help, and no complications
Pray that we are able to get our full deposit back from our apartment and that move out goes well
Pray for patience, kind words, and peace as we go through this major change in our lives - I have been very stressed about much of it and worried about many things
Pray for anything I can't think of that I'm sure will pop up unexpectantly :)

Love you all! *hugs*

Things are happening quickly

2009-06-26T14:34:00.001-07:00

Last Friday we had our house inspection and appraisal. Both seemed to go well. Our inspection paperwork has already been emailed to us and all is well with the house. The biggest concerns were the two broken windows which we already knew about and which the seller will need to have repaired. Everything else mentioned is fairly cosmetic and easily or inexpensively repaired like leaky faucets, tiny rips in the kitchen linoleum, tree debris on the roof to be cleared, etc. All the appliances work, including the a/c, which I was concerned about as it isn't necessary by FHA rules that it be functioning - only that the heat works. :) There aren't any plumbing or electrical problems which is also an answer to prayer.

On Wednesday, we met with our realtor to give him a cashier's check for the the deposit. Right before we arrived, he received a bunch of information regarding our house - disclosures, escrow instructions, etc. This was the next step we were waiting for in the process. He needed some time to read and reveiw everything and we will meet with him either this afternoon or tomorrow to discuss it all and sign all the paperwork ready now. Things seem to be moving along pretty quickly which is exciting and also a bit nerve-racking as it means we are this much closer to being responsible homeowners. :)

I've included a few new pictures of the house - mostly of the upstairs since I didn't have any to post last time. There is also some updates to prayers, and some continued prayer requests. Thanks for supporting us with your love, prayers and encouragement...we appreciate it. *hugs*

Looking into the master bedroom, just beyond the door is the closet on the left side, and to the right is the master bathroom. The windows look out into the back yard.

Another view of the master bedroom.

Looking from the master bedroom toward the extra bedroom to the right and the office to the left. Stairway looks down into the entryway.

Looking into the guest bedroom - it is quite small, but has a large walk-in closet to the right behind the door. Cute windows overlook the front of the house and along the front walkway.

Looking into the office (middle doorway) which is larger than the guest bedroom; and the bathroom to the left.

A better picture of part of the kitchen. To the right is the door to the garage and walkway to guest bathroom and front door. To the left is the sink and counter. Behind is space for the refrigerator and a walk-in pantry, and opening to the dining room/family room.

Prayer Updates:

House inspection is finished and requires few repairs. Cost was much lower than we expected as well.
Paperwork is coming in quickly and seems to have few problems if any.

Prayer Requests:

That all repairs would happen quickly, inexpensively, and easily.
That any and all paperwork involved be handled with no complications or problems.
That cleaning and preparing to move into our new home go smoothly.
That the move process from our apartment to house go smoothly with little or nothing broken.
That we get most, if not all, of our deposit back from our apartment complex.
That there be no financial, spiritual, emotional, or physical setbacks or problems in the next few months as we prepare for this big change.
That God will bless our realtor for all his help in this process, and also that he bless his wife and their new baby girl.
For anything else that I can't think of or just don't know about yet.

House update

2009-06-18T10:07:00.001-07:00

Last weekend we were able to visit the house to remind ourselves exactly what it looked like inside...to take pictures...to measure all the room dimensions...and to enjoy that it looks pretty much like it's going to be our house. Josh's parents came along to see it, and Kelly & David and the kids stopped by too. Katelyn & Jonathan loved the stairs most of all and went up and down them at least 20 times in between hiding in the closets, running around in the empty bedrooms and laughing a lot! :)

We signed some additional papers yesterday (not sure exactly what they were, but basically they started the 10 days countdown of time to have a house inspection done). Tomorrow is the house inspection and we meet & pay the inspector at 3:30pm. Hopefully all will go well and once this is completed the seller will fix the two broken windows (in formal dining room and kitchen), and we move on to the next step of the process. Our realtor expects that escrow should close by the end of July and we should get the keys by early August hopefully. If this happens, we hope to have a big moving weekend on August 7-9 and we'd love any help we can get. We also plan to have a housewarming/Keri's 30th birthday party on August 29 at our new house. Invitations will be on the way next month, but please put it on your calendar as everyone is invited! :)

Here's some more pictures of the house, followed by some updates to the prayer requests.

Front door - needs to be sanded and we plan to repaint it a lovely dark blue color. Roses need to be pruned, but they smell divine and I love the pink, red and purple colors!

In the kitchen looking toward the back door, through what we will use as our dining room. To the left is where the fridge will go, next to a great walk-in pantry.

Front door is to the right with the half bathroom (open doorway) across from the stairs to the left...then leading into the kitchen with garage access.

Looking up the stairs to the two bedrooms and bathroom to the far right. The room with the large window will be the office, and next to it will be our guest bedroom (Winnie the Pooh themed). Master bedroom is behind and to the right and has a nice sized master bathroom (no pictures of it for now).

From the stairs looking down into the living room - our realtor Robert May in the picture.

Looking down into the formal dining room, but we will use it as an additional part of the living room making it kind of L-shaped.

Lovely staircase...can't you just imagine it wrapped in Christmas lights and greenery? :)

Some of the beautiful and delicious smelling roses along the front walkway.

Looking into the backyard at the giant shady pepper tree. There is a also a peach tree just out of the picture to the left full of ripening peaches. :)

Our soon-to-be house...isn't it lovely?

Prayer Updates:

Immediate financial costs (deposit, house inspection, closing costs, etc) have been generously loaned to us by Kelly & David and Uncle David & Aunt Rasa. We are so grateful for their help. Thank you!
We've spoken to one of the manager's of our apartment complex and discovered that we can give our 30 day notice at the beginning of July and still have a week or more past the 30 days in the apartment if necessary and only be charged a partial amount. This will help since we need to "live" in both places for at least a week or more to give time for cleaning and moving.
The process has moved along fairly quickly so far and we are currently busy collecting financial documents that our mortgage guy Bryan needs, and as mentioned will take care of the house inspection tomorrow afternoon.

Continued prayer requests:

That all inspections, repairs, etc would happen quickly, inexpensively, and easily.
That any and all paperwork involved be handled with no complications or problems.
That cleaning and preparing to move into our new home go smoothly.
That the move process from our apartment to house go smoothly with little or nothing broken.
That we get most, if not all, of our deposit back from our apartment complex.
That there be no financial, spiritual, emotional, or physical setbacks or problems in the next few months as we prepare for this big change.
That God will bless our realtor for all his help in this process, and also that he bless his wife and their new baby girl as they adjust to being a family.
For anything else that I can't think of or just don't know about yet.

Thank you for all your love and support and prayers. We love you! *hugs*

Offer accepted!

2009-06-09T15:05:00.000-07:00

We got some great news today from our realtor - one of our offers on a house was accepted! We are cautiously optimistic that this may be the house God has for us. They also accepted our original offer of $171,500 instead of our more recent highest and best offer of $175,000...this is an answer to prayer as we weren't sure if the higher offer was truly something we could afford.

The house is in Moreno Valley - 10173 Via Apolina and here is a picture.

It is 1,600 square feet, 3 bedrooms, 2 & 1/2 bathrooms, fireplace in the living room, on a just under 5,000 square foot lot in a very nice neighborhood called Sunnymead Ranch.

We received the acceptance of our offer this morning and will be visiting our realtor tonight to sign the offer and see what needs to be done next. A house inspection will need to occur and two windows need to be replaced (most likely by the seller), but provided all goes well and there are no complications they want escrow to close by August 14. This answers a particular prayer of mine that we be in a house before my 30th birthday on August 28.

We would deeply appreciate your prayers about the following things:

That this is the house that God has for us and if it is not, then prayer that we continue to have faith that it is out there and not be too disappointed.
That all inspections, repairs, etc would happen quickly, inexpensively, and easily.
That any and all paperwork involved be handled with no complications or problems.
That the immediate financial costs (down payment, closing costs and home inspection) be provided.
That cleaning and preparing to move into our new home go smoothly.
That the move process from our apartment to house go smoothly with little or nothing broken.
That we have no problems giving 30 day notice and that we get most, if not all, of our deposit back from our apartment complex.
That there be no financial, spiritual, emotional, or physical setbacks or problems in the next few months as we prepare for this big change.
That God will bless our realtor for all his help in this process, and also that he bless his wife and their new baby girl as they adjust to being a family.
For anything else that I can't think of or just don't know about yet.

I know things can change and this isn't set in stone yet...but I want to thank God and share this wonderful news with all of you. God does answer our prayers and He does it just in His time. Even if this doesn't work out, I will still believe that it true. Thank you for your prayers up til now, and those that you continue to pray. I'm so blessed to be surrounded by such a warm, loving and caring crowd of family and friends and that is all due to the many blessings of God in my life.

House Hunting and the Farmer's Market

2009-04-30T14:32:00.000-07:00

We are still in the process of looking for a house and have gone most Sunday afternoons to look at possibilities with our awesome realtor Robert. This past Sunday, he had chosen 4 houses that he thought we might like and took us to view them. We ended up liking three of the four homes so much that we decided to place offers on all three. We haven't heard any news yet about any of them, but whether we get accepted or not we continue to have faith that God has a house out there for us and it will happen exactly when it is supposed to happen. :)

In other news, we have found a new hobby that keeps us busy and healthy on Saturday mornings - the Farmer's market! :) We went to the local farmer's market for the first time the weekend of Easter. Josh's parents have become vegan and they were coming to our house for dinner. Since we had to eat all veggies for dinner I wanted to find the freshest and yummiest ones possible! :) It was an amazing experience to see all the piles of delightful fruits, vegetables, fresh bread, and much more! It smelled sooooo good and really makes you want to buy everything! We ended up cooking a delicious meal of french onion soup with soy broth, fresh tabouli, cucumber salad, whole-wheat pita bread, mixed green salad with radishes, cucumber and homemade vinaigrette, roasted asparagus and carrots with lemon vinaigrette and a grilled veggie salad full of red wine vinaigrette marinated portabellos, zucchini, red onion, olives, fresh tomatoes and red, yellow and orange bell peppers. We ended the evening with fresh strawberries and fresh fruit juices (apple cherry pomegranete or passion fruit apple carrot). Since that first Saturday we have been back several more times and tried many more delightful things - fresh squeezed orange juice, fresh tdaziki and pita chips, garlic rosemary bread, fresh olive oil, more strawberries, and much more. Now I look forward to Saturday mornings spent at the farmer's market, followed by several meals of delicious, fresh, local produce! :)

Celebrating Angela

2009-03-27T10:11:00.000-07:00

Today is my best friend Angela's 30th birthday. I was sitting here thinking about our friendship over the years and wanted to share some memories of the past 16 years. I think I will do 16 memories - one for each year that we've been friends, though not necessarily specific to each year. Enjoy!

Angela and I met in our freshman year of high school in 1993. We immediately disliked each other for one reason - a boy. I had dated him the year before and she was dating him then. I kept trying to get him to talk to me and get back together, so of course she had no reason to like this girl who wanted to steal her man. Eventually they broke up and we became friends...though exactly how and when it happened has never been quite clear. I'm grateful that in his own way, Brett was able to bring Angela & I together as friends.
One year for Angela's birthday, she had a slumber party and several girl's from school came over. We had a fun evening talking, giggling, eating, doing makeovers, etc. But one strange thing I remember is that we tried to make it look like a homeless man was asleep on the couch. We used pillows, a hat, a huge dog bone for the leg, tennis shoes and a blanket and I remember it looking pretty convincing. Why we would do this, who can remember?
Yes, we were a bit boy crazy in high school. But we got creative and came up with nicknames for the boys we liked so we could talk about them around them without them knowing who we were discussing. I particularly remember often discussing them in Geometry class for some reason...probably because Jordan and Scurvy were nearby. :)
My first trip to Las Vegas was a memorable last-minute trip with Angela, her mom and her younger sister. We stayed at the Golden Nugget, went to the amusement park at Circus Circus, walked around the Strip and memorably walked one very long evening walk from the Golden Nugget to the Stratosphere late at night and thankfully safely. It was a wonderful first visit and great time spent with my best friend.
Once we got to college, we had originally intended to be roommates, but Angela wasn't able to live on campus. But we had a lot of fun getting to know fellow new students at retreat, in class, and in the dorms. There was one memorable time that Angela moved into my dorm room for a few weeks, hush hush, but we eventually got caught and she had to leave. But it was fun to have her around more often.
One thing I've always loved about Angela is her joyful, silly and happy personality. She can never fail to make me laugh with either something silly she'll say or do and just laughing so hard and happily that you can't help but join in. You never know what will set her off, but you can be sure that life is more joyful with Angela.
We have both always loved the movie Beaches and have nicknamed ourselves CeeCee (Angela) and Hill (me). Though our lives have not completely mimicked the movie, our friendship is in many ways very similar. We are remarkably different from one another and these differences both draw us together and also cause conflicts...but we love each other and do our best to be there for each other.
The beginning of our friendship we were in many ways very much like big sister (Angela) and little sister (me). She was more experienced and more protective of me. This fit who we were at that time and worked for us for a long time. But as life is always changing and we with it, this began to have an effect on our relationship. I was experiencing more things and grew unappreciative of the protectiveness that I had once enjoyed. It caused little ruptures in our friendship. We weren't sure how to interact with each other in many ways and decisions we both made caused us eventually to have a falling out.
Though a dark part in our friendship, it is still an important memory to me to remember what it was like to not be friends for a time. I think it gave us both time to evaluate who we were now and not just who we were in the past...and so about a year after my wedding I sent an email to Angela asking for reconciliation. Being able to forgive and move on from the past allowed us to come together as stronger and closer friends who had gone through more similar experiences and now had a more equal friendship. I am grateful that we had the time apart to realize how important our friendship was and that we were able to work out our differences to be there for each other now.
A happier memory is of Angela's wedding. I remember planning her bridal shower - making tiny tea sandwiches, rose cupcakes that didn't rise and had shriveled sugared rose petals, and buying a gorgeous dark red rose corsage for her. Shopping for bridesmaid clothes with Angela and her sister Jeannie - I have often reworn the beautiful black velvet pants and shimmery black top. Angela & Jerry's beautiful outdoor wedding in Las Vegas - it was windy, chilly, and she was an absolutely beautiful bride! I was so happy to be able to be there to love and support her & Jerry on their special day.
Another thing that I love about Angela is her honesty and openness. She is pretty much an open book - openly sharing her thoughts, feelings, emotions, up and downs with people through conversation and her blogs. She isn't afraid to share her opinion and will listen to yours even if you might end up disagreeing. We don't always think the same way, or agree on the same issues, but she doesn't let things like that stand in the way of friendship. It is refreshing to see her honesty and it makes it easier for me, and others I'd think, to be just as open and honest with her. I'm grateful that she brings this out in me as without her I'd be more likely to keep things to myself. In this way, one of our many differences is what brings us closer together.
Another special memory I have is from when her son Michael was born. He was born two days before Christmas and I remember going with Josh to see him for the first time on Christmas Eve. He was such a cute little tiny guy and I loved holding him and spending time with them that day. Michael has grown into a super sweet little boy who is such a mixture of his parents - quiet and contemplative, yet also silly. I loved all the moments I've been able to spend with them - lunches with Angela & Michael at the CBU cafeteria, birthday parties, Halloween, and just evenings spent at their home or ours. He is a precious blessing to his parents and to all those who get to meet him.
A couple year's ago, Angela began a monthly Girl's Night event. It was a time to come together with other girl friends and watch a movie, eat some yummy snacks and talk. We've alternated whose house we meet at (though most often at Angela's), what kinds of foods we eat (Mandy always makes us a feast with multiple desserts! :), and have watched many great and not-so-great movies over all these months. Some favorite evenings have been 80's night for Angela's birthday, princess tea at Mandy's, Christmas baking day, and many others. I think we have all benefited from the opportunity to spend one evening a month just girls. We've been able to love and support one another and just plain have fun together.
One of my most recent memories with Angela happened last October when we got to go back to Vegas together and see Bette Midler in concert. We enjoyed yummy dinners, shopping, trying Coca Cola's many varieties, flirtatious merchants, and of course, the Divine Miss M! :) It was the first opportunity we'd had to take a vacation just the two of us and we had a lot of time to talk, laugh, cry and enjoy time together as best friends. I hope that in the future we'll have the opportunity to take another best friend vacation.
Something else that I admire about Angela is how she will always follow through on what she decides to do. If she says she'll do something then you can be assured that it will happen. She decided to start exercising and training to do the Mud Run and worked so hard to accomplish it. She decided to walk in the Breast Cancer 3-Day and not only raised more than the necessary fundraising, but she also pushed herself to walk all three days. She has continued to set goals for herself to do another Mud Run and who knows what else. I am also so proud of her for her dedication to completing her college degree. Though it is challenging to combine being a wife, mother, full-time employee, and have any kind of social life - she adds in being a student and working hard toward obtaining her degree within the next year or two. I love that she works so hard to achieve those things that are important to her and it inspires me.
Though Angela and I are very different, I love that we support and love each other in spite of, and sometimes because of those differences. She helps me to see things from another perspective, she allows me to be more open and honest, she makes me be silly and have more fun, and she encourages and listens to me. I am so grateful for her friendship in my life and I hope that this special birthday post helps to remind her why she is so important in my life and how much I love her.

Happy 30th Birthday Angela Rose!

7th Anniversary Vacation

2009-03-10T12:38:00.000-07:00

This February 25 was the seven year anniversary of when Josh & I met online through Match.com and we decided that we wanted to celebrate by taking a vacation to the central coast. We've been wanting to take a vacation to this area for several years now, but it finally was a possibility this year. We each took 3 days off work and decided to visit Atascadero/Paso Robles, San Simeon, Cayucos/Morro Bay, and Solvang. The beginning of our trip was spent staying at my good friend Jeff's apartment in Atascadero. We've known each other for almost 13 years after having met on a mission trip in 1996. He generously offered his extra bedroom for two nights and from there we were able to visit San Simeon - specifically Hearst Castle where we took two of the five tours offered. We also had the opportunity to go to church with him and he took spent an afternoon taking us on a driving tour of some picturesque country roads with lovely green valleys, beautiful old trees which sometimes created tunnels over the road, a pretty creek and gorgeous ocean vistas. Then we spent an evening in Cayucos at a quaint little hotel right on the ocean. It was a wonderful place to stay and we both wished we could have stayed longer enjoying the ocean views and the constant sound of waves crashing. After we Cayucos, we had lunch at a yummy BBQ restaurant in San Luis Obispo recommended by my boss Erica called Mo's Smokehouse. It was delicious and definitely someplace we'd like to visit again. We spent the night in Lompoc before spending several hours touring quaint Solvang. It was full of beautiful architecture, amazing bakeries with delicious pastries, and cute little shops including one called the Sock Loft which was full of adorable socks and foot-related items. We had a wonderful vacation that was very relaxing, very peaceful and very beautiful. We would love to go again so that we can take the additional 3 tours offered at Hearst Castle and spend a few more nights in Cayucos.

Waiting on the bus to take Tour 2 - Upper Floors of Casa Grande including Hearst's bedroom & study and the kitchen.

The Enchanted Hill - Hearst Castle as viewed from the Visitor Center (with our super zoom camera)

Casa Grande - the main house. Hearst Castle was built over a 28 year period and is uncompleted but full of amazing architecture and art and is a neat glimpse into life in Hearst's time.

The meeting room - guests were expected here each evening for cocktails before dinner and a movie.

Hearst's personal study

The dining room - dinner was served between 8:30 and 9pm and all guests were required to be there. Food was served on fine china, but paper napkins were always used.

The kitchen - it had some neat displays of the china, liquor cabinet, medicine cabinet and ovens/stoves.

One tiny corner of the huge library - thousands of beautifully preserved books.

One of the bedrooms in the Cloisters - every bedroom in the main house and 3 little houses had its own bathroom with flushing toilet and shower or tub. This is amazing since at the time most homes across America still had outhouses and one communal stand alone bathtub.

One of the ceilings in one of the main house bedrooms.

Another ceiling - this one is in Casa del Sol.

Pretty pink tree in the gardens.

Casa del Sol - one of the little houses. Each little house had several bedrooms and bathrooms, but all meals were served only in Casa Grande. No room service here!

Neptune Pool

The indoor pool - everything that looks like gold is 24 karat gold!

Ocean view coming down from Hearst Castle - at one time Hearst owned over 50 miles of coastline among many other properties.

Beautiful view

Shoreline Inn...on the Beach in Cayucos, CA.

Ocean view from our room - so beautiful!

Gorgeous ocean vista!

Elephant seals sleeping on the beach near San Simeon.

This one was flirting with the camera!

Pretty creek

Friends for almost 13 years - Jeff & Keri

Montana de Oro park - beautiful views!

Friends at the ocean - Josh, Keri & Jeff

Happy 7 years!

View of Morro Rock (means rock rock :) from our dinner at Embacadero Grill.

Kissing on the beach in Cayucos :)

Solvang, CA

New Hair

2009-03-09T19:14:00.000-07:00

Late last year, my best friend Angela mentioned that she thought I might like to try dying my hair black. While looking at pictures of us from our October trip to Vegas to see Bette Midler, she thought her black hair looked good against my skin. Since I am almost always up for a change to my hair and had never dyed it black before, I said it sounded like a good idea. So about a month or so ago, I went over to her house and she dyed it for me.

Wow...black hair was quite a change, but I found very quickly that I LOVED it! I felt prettier and sexier and just all around happy. Since my hair was also in desperate need of a haircut (tons of split ends that kept taunting me!) I made an appointment with my favorite hairdresser Kerry. This past Saturday we finally got together and talked about what to do. I wanted to keep as much length as possible since I really don't like how I look with short hair. I also wanted some long layers to frame it around my face...but nothing that would require a lot of daily maintenance since I am so not that girl! :)

The cut we ended up with is super cute, super easy to care for, and so much healthier. See the pictures below and let me know what you think! :)

First Five

2009-02-12T09:25:00.000-08:00

First Five
I got this from my cousin Jennie and love the idea!

The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me! My choice. For you.This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:

1- I make no guarantees that you will like what I make!
2- What I create will be just for you.
3- It'll be done this year.
4- You have no clue what it's going to be. But I promise that I will take time to think of something that seems right for me to send you! :)
5- I reserve the right to do something extremely strange.

The catch? Oh, the catch is that you must repost this on your blog and offer the same to the first 5 people who do the same on your blog. The first 5 people to do so and leave a comment telling me they did win a FAB-U-LOUS homemade gift by me! Oh, and be sure to post a picture of what you win when you get it!}

How goes it...

2009-02-03T10:39:00.000-08:00

Well, we are in a new month now and I thought I'd take a look back and see if I was able to follow through on my resolutions. A friend of mine read about my goals for 2009 and came up with a cute acronym to help remind me about it daily. RENEW

R - relate
E - eat
N - Nehemiah 1:11 "Grant your servant success today."
E - enjoy
W - walk

I like the acronym a lot, especially with the included Bible verse which is also a reminder to me to pray daily for God's help in achieving daily success. I have this posted on my computer at work and find that it reminds me daily to make better choices.

I have had many opportunities in the last month to spend time with friends and family and I'm preparing to go out to Hallmark this week to purchase Valentine cards to send out as well. I've made an effort to make healthier food choices, to not eat everything on my plate or to take a smaller portion. I've done pretty well with eating breakfast every day and have cut back on the amount of soda and have been drinking more water lately.

As for prayer, I've tried to make a conscious effort to pray for those who I have offered to pray for - whether it be while driving in my car, before going to bed at night, or as I think about them throughout the day. Josh & I still need to order our new Bibles which were supposed to be Christmas presents. Mine will be the Bible on CD and I intend to start listening to it in the car on the way to or from (or both) work.

I think that I've tried to do things that make me smile...reading some good books, spending time with friends, going to Disneyland with my family, and watching things that make me laugh. I think that I would like to add to this idea by trying to not argue so often with Josh and try to let little things slide more often. To try to enjoy our time together and not let little issues steal our joy. We also have a vacation coming up at the end of this month that should be full of opportunities to smile. We are headed to the central coast to visit Paso Robles, Hearst Castle, Cayucos and Solvang over a 5 day vacation. This is in part to celebrate the seven year anniversary of when we met online through Match.com (2/25/02) and also because we've been wanting to take a vacation to those places for the last 5 years.

As for walking more, I've done several things to make this true almost every day. I walked one evening with my best friend and look forward to doing it again once she is recovered from her recent surgery. I've been parking my car further away from the places I need to go so that I can add a little walking here and there. I've been trying to get up from my desk throughout the day to walk around upstairs or around the library. We went to Disneyland two weeks ago with my family and as usual spent lots of time walking around. :) I find that I think about it more often and thus make more of an effort to add a few steps or more here and there. I've also recently ordered the original Sweatin' to the Oldies DVD set and Josh & I intend to start doing that once a week to start...and hopefully working up to a couple times a week.

I know that it will only be with God's help that I am able to continue working to achieve these goals...but it is my sincere intent to keep depending on him and not give up even if I stumble or fail. I appreciate any prayers or encouragement.

Goals

2009-01-11T16:58:00.000-08:00

With the new year often comes the desire to make changes, or resolutions, as we like to call them. They are often very specific and in general they can be overwhelming and all to easily forgotten or given up on. I am no exception. But I do want to make some attempt for change, and so have come up with four things I would like to do in this new year.

They are purposely not extremely specific for I do not want to become overwhelmed and give up on them. They are not something I can fail once and say oh well, better luck next year. They are decidedly vague and hopefully able to continue throughout the year. I want to do my best to keep at them, and perhaps you who read my blog can help keep me accountable and ask me if I am doing what I've decided to do. Please pray for me and encourage me if you'd like...I would appreciate and enjoy that.

#1 - Walk more
We all have to walk and we all could stand to walk more. I purposely did not choose to say exercise more, or lose weight. Though I would like to do those things they are so specific that I would set myself up for failure. But I can always walk more...whether it be taking a few laps around the library at work, parking my car further from wherever I need to be, or purposely deciding to walk as exercise. My best friend Angela did suggest that we get together a couple times a week to walk and talk...and we will begin that this week. Whether or not we meet every week is not my goal...but choosing to start each day with a desire to walk more somehow...and realize that even if I don't do it once, twice or for 3 weeks or more I can start up again the next day and it will still be a success. :)

#2 - Eat better
Once again this can mean a variety of things and in general I want it to mean that I make more purposeful choices about what I am eating. I don't want to forbid myself from eating anything and I don't want to limit myself to a strict diet that I will surely cheat or give up on. I want to make an effort to eat breakfast every day and try to make sure that it is something filling and somewhat healthy. I want to try to eat out less often and cook at home more often. But I will still make time for semi-monthly Taco Tuesdays, or dinners out with friends, or wanting pizza at Shakey's. I can do those things on occasion and still make good food choices. I am also in the process of readingEat This, Not That: the no-diet weight loss solution by David Zinczenko. I love the idea of not limiting myself, but still making healthier food choices. I am also hoping to limit the amount of soda that I drink and making the choice to drink water or tea instead...and milk and juices on occasion.

#3 - Make time for the people who matter to me
I think that Josh & I already try really hard to do this the majority of the time. We often think about which of our friends we've seen recently and try to get together with people at least every other month or more. Josh has a monthly guy's game night, and I have a monthly girl's movie night. I try to keep in contact with friends and family through email, Facebook, MySpace or phone calls....or in person or through cards sent in the mail. But I know I can always do more to let people know that they matter to me and that I care about them. I know there are some people that I haven't kept in touch with as well as I should...and it is my intention to try harder this year. Making time for the people who matter to me is of vital importance to me and I believe that every little bit helps.

#4 - Do things that make me smile
This is a little vague...even for me and I came up with the idea! :) Basically I want to make sure that I make time for the things that make me smile, happy, joyful, or at peace. Maybe it's to read more books, or play with my niece and nephew. Perhaps it means visiting Disneyland more often, or buying fresh flowers. It could be taking time to draw or paint or scrapbook, cooking meals that I always want to but never make time for, or just sitting on the couch vegging out with my hubby for an entire weekend! What kinds of things make YOU smile?

I'd love to hear from those of you who read my blog...either post a comment or send me an email. Tell me what you think of my goals...what are your goals this year? Let me know if I need to make time for you. Thanks for reading! *hugs*

My favorite books of 2008

2008-12-12T12:19:00.000-08:00

The Twilight saga by Stephenie Meyer
~ Great series of 4 books which many of my friends also devoured and they are definitely on my re-read list.

The Post-Birthday World by Lionel Shriver
~ I found this book amazing and absolutely needed to share it with someone so I asked my friend Amanda to read it and we still need to talk about it.

Queen of the Road: The True Tale of 47 States, 22,000 miles, 200 Shoes, 2 Cats, 1 Poodle, a Husband, and a Bus with a Will of its Own by Doreen Orion
~ Great book, great stories, great recipes...but even greater is how amazing the queenly author is. She really connects with her fans and I've enjoyed that quite a lot.

The Confessions of Georgia Nicolson series by Louise Rennison
~ Though this series of nine books is for young adults I hysterically laughed out loud multiple times (ask Josh :)) while reading each book and would love to own them so I can re-read them again and again. The titles alone made me laugh outloud and inspired me to read them.

Peculiar Treasures and On a Whim by Robin Jones Gunn
~ As always, I love anything and everything written by this author and I particularly love that she has continued on my favorite characters through this Katie Weldon series. Looking forward to more over the next few years.

My Life in France by Julia Child
~ This was an amazing book which told me so much more about Julia Child's life than I had ever realized. She had a very full life with so many adventures and neat experiences. I loved it and would highly recommend it to anyone who likes autobiographies or books about food culture.

All the President's Pastries by Roland Mesnier
~ This was a really fascinating book about the former pastry chef at the White House for over 20 years. Great pictures, neat stories and several recipes are included.

The Last Chinese Chef by Nicole Mones
~ Though this was fiction, it really read like a non-fiction story. I found it fascinating and very enjoyable to read. Beautiful descriptions and a neat love story too.

Around the World in 80 Dinners by Bill Jamison
~ Intriguing idea for an anniversary trip by the author and his wife. Though sometimes slow, I liked how descriptive they were about the foods and travel and quite enjoyed the book.

Auschwitz: A Doctor's Eyewitness Account by Miklos Nyiszli
~ Not a fun book to read, but important and a different perspective from many books written about the Holocaust as the author was a prisoner whose medical skills saved him from death, though at what cost?

The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber
~ This was a very large book, but it never felt tiresome to read. Intriguing story and interesting characters made for a great novel which I enjoyed reading and discussing with Aunt Annette.

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver
~ Interesting non-fiction about a family's decision to eat locally and organically for one year growing most of the food themselves or obtaining it from a short distance from their farm. It really made the idea of growing vegetables sound good and I specifically enjoyed the short essays written by their teenage daughter which included recipes.

Thankful & Grateful

2008-12-02T10:15:00.000-08:00

When I think of all the things that I have been blessed with in my life, it makes it hard to imagine how I could ever feel like I need or want more. But I always do...I suppose it is human nature to always feel a need for more, and whether right or wrong it is there, always lurking beneath the surface of our thoughts or sometimes right out in the open. But at this time of year, there is hopefully more opportunity to think over our lives and be thankful and grateful for the many blessings we all can count. No matter how much or how little we have, there is always something to be thankful for, and these are some of mine.

10 - Facebook and MySpace: now you might think this a silly one or something unnecessary to life...and perhaps it is unnecessary. But, through these two websites I have been able to reconnect with, keep in touch with, and have fun with a variety of friends and family. Yes, some of it is silly - like Kidnap, Food Fling, Mafia Wars, or bulletin surveys. But the ability to support, encourage, and pray for these people is available at a moment's notice and for that I am thankful.

9 - Blogs: I love blogs...I love writing a blog...I love reading blogs...I love that blogs exist and are so prevalent. Though in some ways reading someone's blog can seem a bit like stalking them - reading about their personal life and they may never know you were there. But it is also a wonderful opportunity to know how to pray for others. It is a wonderful way to share memories, commemorate vacations, see pictures, share recipes, and even host book clubs. I love spending time each week visiting the long list of blogs I check on to see who has written or posted something new. The ability to leave a comment for them, or to read a comment they've left for me makes me smile and feel more connected to all of them.

8 - Vacations & Fun events: In the past year I have been blessed to be able to see Bon Jovi in concert, visit my godson & his family in Texas, go to Las Vegas for my birthday with Josh, Kelly & David, see WICKED in Los Angeles, spend time in a timeshare in Palm Springs, visit Las Vegas again this time with my best friend to see Bette Midler in concert, and see "The Glory of Christmas" at the Crystal Cathedral. I have also been able to visit Disneyland many times thanks to the blessing of having an annual pass, gone to San Diego to cheer for Angela in the Breast Cancer 3-Day, help plan and host a Bunco for the Cure fundraiser, along with many other fun and exciting events and daytrips.

7 - Books: If you know anything about me, then you should know that I LOVE books. I am constantly reading something and while I do have favorite genres and authors, I like to read a wide variety of books. Through my job at the library I am able to request even more books through interlibrary loan, in addition to purchasing books and borrowing books from others. I love talking about books and enjoy the opportunity to share my book love with friends like Melissa & Amanda. I love the website http://www.goodreads.com/ which allows me to list the books I've read, I am reading and that I want to read. I love being in an online bookclub with my sister and Aunt Annette. I love to always have a book available to read...and I am grateful that long ago when I was in kindergarten my teacher Mrs. Overholt took the time to teach me to read. Without her patience and encouragement I would not know how to read...without my parents love of reading to us and around us I would not have discovered my own desire to read...without my dad taking my sister & I to the public library every two weeks to check out our limit of 20 new books I would not have discovered my voracious appetite for reading...without my job at the library I would not have found a way to live as much as possible around books...and without my husband's love of books I would not have found someone who is just as happy as I am to sit in silence with our own books.

6 - Working at the Library: I never knew that I would work in a library. As a child I never dreamed of this job...I thought I'd be an artist, or a set decorator, or an oceanographer. Throughout college I thought I would be an artist, an English major or a teacher...but then I discovered that I did not want to teach and I got a job as a student worker in the library. I fell in love with it - who knew you could work with one of your favorite things all day long, in a quiet environment, with usually low levels of stress, and with such wonderful people. I was happy to be there...but then I graduated and was lost. But thankfully three short months later, the library assistant position became available and my old boss told me the job was essentially mine for the taking and so it began on August 16, 2001. Working here has been the best possible job for me. I am so grateful for the kind coworkers who genuinely care for one another, for the faculty and students that I am able to develop friendships with, for the work that I do that is not only interesting but also fulfilling. I know that this is where God wants me to be, and I can daily see how He is able to use me in this job. I love working with the student workers and talking to them, critiquing papers for them, inviting them into my home for homecooked meals, and just watching them grow. I am always sad to see them graduate, but that is part of life in a college...and there are always new ones to take their places. I love the quiet, I love the books, and I love the ability to work in a quiet, Christian environment.

5 - Grocery Stores: As I get older I find that I am more willing to try new things to eat and to discover that some things that I never used to like are now some of my favorite foods. I love walking into grocery stores and seeing all the possibilites. I love the stacks of fresh vegetables and fruits - deciding to try new things has revealed a few new favorites like parsnips, fennel, red peppers, and leeks. I love the dairy products - trying new cheeses like Camembert, or richer butters from Ireland or France, and of course focusing on old favorites like cheddar and 1%milk. I love the baking goods, the cereals, the meat department and bakery. I love trying new recipes and and just being able to go into a grocery store and stock up on yummy foods to eat and enjoy. I also am grateful for the opportunity to be able to share some of the food in a variety of ways - by donating to the food pantry at church, by inviting friends and family over for meals, and baking Christmas goodies to share with co-workers and students.

4 - Financial Security: We are not rich by most definitions, but we are also not poor either. I am thankful that we have the security to know our bills will be paid each month, that we can eat well, that we can do fun things and that we can give gifts to those celebrating birthdays, milestones, or holidays. Though sometimes money is tight, we are never unable to live and really, to live well. I am thankful that God provides for us enough that we can talk about vacations to Walt Disney World, or the possibility of buying a house, or of having a baby. I am grateful that we have enough so that we can donate to charity or help support people in missions or just lend some money when needed. Though we might complain sometimes, I know that we have much to be thankful for financially and I am grateful that God provides for us.

3 - Friendship: I am so overabundantly blessed with friendships. Some specific friendships I've loved this year include - taco Tuesdays with Robin, Melissa & Yolanda; once-a-month dinners with Amanda; monthly movie nights with Angela, Kelly & Mandy; vacation to Texas to see John & Melissa and the boys in April; lunches with Angela & Michael at the cafeteria; dinner & movie nights with Amber; anniversary dinners with Joseph & Sunset; dinners with Melissa, Alicia & Jessie; dinners with Yukai, Rob & Marisa, The Alexanders, the Zupkofka's; Disneyland with Kevin; Las Vegas & Bette Midler with Angela; looking forward to dinners with Anna & Jason; and so many others.

2 - Family: I am so grateful for the blessing of my family. My husband Josh is such a perfect fit for me. Though we can be very different and look at things in very different ways, we support and love each other. He takes such good care of me and gives me more compliments and assurances of his love than I could ever need or ask for. He is a daily blessing and I am grateful to have married him. My parents have been such an encouragement all my life - they are so kind, loving, Christ-like, friendly and supportive. My sister who is also one of my best friends - "a sister who was a friend and with whom I could compare myself, the better to understand both my singularity and our commonality." (Ahab's Wife). David who is the best brother-in-law anyone could ask for and always fun at family gatherings. My niece and nephew Katelyn & Jonathan who are the lights of my life - every opportunity to spend time with them is cherished and I am daily amazed to see them growing and learning new things. My Aunty Diana who is not only my aunt but also like a mother & friend to me. She is so supportive, encouraging and loving and I am grateful every day that we are as close as we have become...though I miss her and wish that we could spend more time together I know that we are in each other's hearts and thoughts daily. My other aunts and uncles who are each special in their own way - I love the many ways that we can stay in touch and share our love with each other. My grandparents who I always love to see and are such a blessing. All my cousins - related by blood or by love...they are each so special to me. God has blessed me tremedously with a huge loving family and I am so thankful for their presence in my life.

1 - God: Simply put I am grateful that God sent his only son to die on a cross for me, and for everyone else who will believe this to be true and accept him into their hearts and lives. I am grateful that God made such variety in his world - all the colors of the flowers, the types of trees, the amazing animals and so much more. I am thankful for his many blessing in my life and for always letting me know that he is there - protecting, guiding and blessing my life. Thank you God!

Decisions

2008-11-19T09:31:00.000-08:00

Who doesn't want a house? If one had a choice, and money was no object, wouldn't everyone choose to own a house rather than rent an apartment? But since we all know that for the majority of people, money is a huge concern how do you decide when the time is right to buy a house? And if you decide that you do want to buy a house, how does one decide how much one is willing to do without and how much one is willing to cut back in order to have said house? These are some of the decisions that Josh & I have been wrestling with over the past few weeks.

Josh wants a house...pure and simple. He wants it and according to him there is nothing that he would mind giving up or cutting back on to have a house. To him, now is the time to buy and if we wait we will never own a house. I would love a h0use...at some point. There are many things that I would mind giving up and cutting back on if that is the only way we can afford a house. I believe that if we are meant to have a house, we will...but that doesn't mean now. I am content in my circumstances, even if that means continuing to rent an apartment. So how we reconcile these two VERY different positions? We are married and thus we must come to some sort of compromise since neither of us is willing to settle.

We qualify for a good-sized loan and at this point in time there are a variety of homes available for that amount or less in the areas we are contemplating moving to. A few of the homes we saw looked a little familiar - one was my sister's house, just flipped; another two looked like my parent's house, one exact and the other flipped. So yesterday I asked my sister and my mom what they pay for utilities each month. We needed to come up with an estimate for what our costs would be if we bought a house and this was a pretty decent way to guess at utility prices. In our apartment we only pay for electricity, phone, internet and DVR - water, trash, gas, and cable are covered by our rent. However, in a house we would have to cover all of those bills in addition to the mortgage, insurance and taxes. The difference in utilities was about $300.

So, last night Josh & I sat down and crunched some numbers. Based on an estimate for mortgage, taxes and home insurance our realtor had given us, the utility costs for my parents home, our other bills, and other budget lines (food, fun, etc) we determined that in order to have a house we would need to trim at least $1,000 from our monthly budget. This is a large number and it would involve very difficult cut-backs that Josh was completely willing to make, but I was not quite as certain. Part of my uncertainty stems from the fact that at the moment we are completely comfortable. We make enough to provide a comfortable life that allows us to go out to eat when we'd like, buy things when we want or need to, take vacations that can be costly sometimes, and not stress too much about finances. Buying a house would mean constantly cutting back every month for at least one year, and possibly several years. Yes, we would have a house, but for me I'm not certain if that is comfort enough.

A second concern is the possibility of becoming pregnant. If we bought a house and tightened up our budget and then we became pregnant...how could we afford it? We know that neither of us can stay home, so daycare is a must. More money would be taken from my paychecks to cover the additional health insurance. Furniture, clothing, diapers, etc would need to be purchased as well. I know we could handle either buying a house or having a baby...but I don't know how we could handle both at the same time. One way to tackle this problem is to discover whether or not we are even capable of having children. There is a concern that we cannot, and so we are going to take steps to discover if this is true or not. Once we have that information we can determine if this is even a concern, and then move on from that point.

After much discussion, much arguing and yes, some yelling and crying...we came to a conclusion that we are both willing to stick to for now. We will table the decision of buying a house until March. First, because the holiday season is upon us and the only way we could seriously cut back would be to cut out all Christmas money we are both unwilling to do this. Second, we need to finish paying off Josh's dental bill before mid-March in order to pay no interest. Third, we want to see if home prices will continue to drop. And finally, we will discover whether or not we can get pregnant. However, starting in January when we create our new yearly budget, we will start gradually cutting back in as many areas as possible and putting that money away in savings. This will help us to have something set aside for a down payment and also prepare us for the cut-backs that will come with either owning a home or having a child.

We do not know what the future holds for us - perhaps we will buy a house next year, or maybe we will have a child. No matter what happens, we are prepared to deal with it together in prayer and thanksgiving. We know how blessed we are, and I am grateful every day for the amazing ways that the Lord takes care of us.

11 years since graduation...

2008-11-11T12:45:00.000-08:00

This past Saturday night I attended the 50th anniversary of my high school which included an all-class reunion. The weekend began with an alumni flag football game on Friday, which I was not able to attend. However, it was apparently very well attended and a great game that I'm sad to have missed out on. Because that event was free, and because many of my fellow classmates were too "cool" to attend the dinner...not nearly as many alumni came to the reunion dinner. But that is okay...as Mr. Vance Nichols mentioned "The ones God wanted to attend were there, and hey....more prizes for all!"

About 40 people attended the dinner event which worked out to almost a prize per person which was pretty good odds. :) Of my former teachers, there were three in attendance - Mrs. Van Dyke, who taught English and now is middle school principal; Miss Brown, who taught Science and now is guidance counselor and oversees curriculum; and Mr. Nichols, who taught TV/Film and now works with the administration. The head of the school Mr. Lewis was also there along with a board member and the elementary school principal. Of the alumni we had a variety of years, including some from 1964, 1977, 1987 and most from the 90's and a couple recent graduates.

Me, Jodi, Rhyen and Angela. I went to school with all three of them - Jodi was a year ahead and Rhyen & Angela were in my class. Rhyen now teaches English, Yearbook and coaches Basketball at RCHS.

The evening began with a meet and greet time and some snacks. They had all the yearbooks out and available to browse through and we all enjoyed (well, maybe enjoyed isn't the word ;) looking at our younger selves. We had time to pray together and opportunities for professional pictures. Mrs. Van Dyke and Miss Brown took the opportunity to have a picture with all their former students in attendance. We then ate some delicious tacos catered by Izzy's Baja Grill located in the Adams Plaza. Dinner was followed by raffle drawing #1 including prizes of 50th anniversary RCS shirts, In & Out, Starbucks and Cheesecake Factory gift cards. I ended up winning a shirt, as did Jodi and Angela won a Starbucks gift card.

Jodi, Keri, Mrs. Van Dyke and Angela. We reminisced with our former English teacher about her trademarked teaching tool - Diagramland with residents like Suzy Subject, Vic Verb, David Direct Object, and others.

After the raffle, we had some fun with a couple games. First was a word scramble which proved to be more challenging than we thought. Then an RCS trivia game which our table scored very poorly on - but could we really be expected to know so many specific sports trivia? :) Even Mr. Lewis managed to miss 3 questions on that quiz...but someone did win a prize. Finally, there was a really fun music game created by one of the current teachers who is also an alumni. 23 snippets of popular music over the past 50 years were played and we called out the answers - much more quickly than Mr. Nichols expected which often made him laugh. Raffle #2 came next and many others became winners at our table - Danny & Jerry each won something along with several other alumni from other tables.

Friends - Jodi, Keri & Angela. We had a much larger group of friends in high school, but many of them were unable to attend due to sickness, distance, or vacations.

We then had the opportunity to choose what kind of cake we wanted from the 6 varieties available - I went for a small slice of both yellow cake/lemon filling and marble cake/chocolate cream filling. Both were delicious. :) We next had an award giveaway. Farthest distance went to Philip who came from New York, Chris who came from Texas and someone else who came from Mission Viejo. There were awards for oldest alumni, most kids, most grandkids, most siblings who attended RCS and a couple others that are included in picture form below.

Jodi won for most school spirit - not only because she was wearing blue, white and gold (our school colors) but also because she cheered so hard at the alumni game, and throughout the reunion dinner event. If anyone knows Jodi then you know she deserves this award! :)

Most classmates in attendance was 1997 - my senior year and equal to 10% of our graduating class! We had 4 alumni - Rhyen, me, Angela and Chris. We all won In & Out gift cards and I got to take home the trophy. :)

The event ended with raffle drawing #3, with many more prizes going out to the remaining alumni. We had closing prayer and more opportunity to chat and say goodbye to our fellow classmates. Though the attendance was small, I am so glad that I took the time and spent the money to attend. It was nice to see the former classmates and teachers that I saw and to hear what they knew about those not able to attend. I look forward to the next opportunity we have to come together to look back at our time at Riverside Christian and remember the fun, the lessons, and the friendships that we may have forgotten.

Best friends then and now - Keri & Angela. :)

Knowing God is there

2008-11-05T10:18:00.000-08:00

I felt the need today to look through my Bible. Since I am at work, I have my small pocket Bible and as I browsed through it I found many underlined verses and several of them seemed to speak to me today. I wanted to share them here...for my own benefit and also so that God's word may inspire someone else reading it.

Matthew 6:5-8
"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him."

Matthew 6:31-34
"So do not worry saying, 'What shall we eat?' or "What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

Matthew 22:37-40
"'Love the Lord your God with all your heartand with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbour as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."

Romans 13:1-5
"Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. For he is God's servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience."

Ephesians 2:8-10
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

Ephesians 5:15-17
"Be very careful, then, how you live - not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is."

Philippians 4:4-7
"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanskgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Colossians 2:6-10
"So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority."

Titus 3:1-8
"Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility toward all men. At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous thingswe had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone."

Hebrews 13:5b-6
"...and be content with what you have, because God has said, 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.' So we say with confidence, 'The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?'"

1 Peter 5:7
"Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you."

Psalm 121
"I lift up my eyes to the hills - where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip - he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord watches over you - the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all harm - he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore."

Thank you Lord for your words and the peace and comfort you can bring. Thank you for all the blessings in my life - a comfortable place to live, good food to eat, a multitude of family who love me, good friends to support and encourage me, a job were I can be a blessing and in turn bless others, the security of knowing that I am yours and will be with you forever in eternity. I love you.

Girl's Weekend in Vegas

2008-10-23T14:41:00.000-07:00

About a year ago when I heard that Bette Midler would be performing in Las Vegas at the Caesar's Palace Colosseum, I asked my best friend Angela if she would be willing to go together some weekend. We both have always loved Bette, and feel a strong connection to the movie Beaches. Finally we were able to look at ticket prices and available weekends and settled on seeing Bette on Saturday October 18 at 7:30pm. We decided to make a weekend of it, and booked a room at the Southpoint Hotel & Casino. It seemed like it took forever to get here, but we finally got to go!

The show was amazing. We had fantastic seats directly in the center on the second mezzanine level. Bette performed a variety of her famous songs including The Rose, Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy, Wind Beneath My Wings, and many others. She made us laugh, she made us cry - she truly was the divine Miss M. :)

Best friends Angela and Keri - over 15 years have passed since we met and this weekend provided our very first opportunity to spend so much quality time together. We talked a lot, we laughed even more, and we really strengthened our already strong friendship. Though we don't always agree on every issue, we gain perspective from each other, we support each other, we encourage each other and most of all, we love each other in spite of and sometimes because of our differences. This weekend would not have been the same with any other person and I'm grateful we had the opportunity to go.

Being silly with feather boas at the Barry Manilow store at the Las Vegas Hilton. We had wanted to eat dinner at Quarks (craving the Holy Rings of Betazed - onion rings), but were saddened to discover it no longer exists.

So, we ate at the Paradise Cafe instead and contented ourselves with some shopping for cute trinkets, like a small button I got that says "I love not camping", and being silly with boas and other assorted Manilow merchandise.

Saturday was spent checking out the M&M super 5-floor souviner shop which included a huge wall of over 25 colors of M&M's in assorted flavors too.

Angela finally got to try out an oxygen bar. The salesman flirted with us as he showed off all the massage tools they also sold and convinced us enough to buy several of them. Nukkles was a great investment for me, and a scalp massager was a hit for Angela.

Next we headed to the Coca Cola store where we had the opportunity to purchase Tastes of the World. Soda flavors from 16 countries available in small taste servings for only $7 (and free for us because their computer system went down and the line got long).

We tried all the flavors by themselves first and then got silly making our own mixed flavors. Some looked bad but tasted good, some looked good but tasted bad...and a few were even better mixed together than on their own. :)

The Italy flavor was called "Beverly" and this was the face we made when tasting it. It has a terrible mediciny/tart grapefruit taste. We tried mixing it with "Fanta Kolita" from Costa Rica (tasted like deoderant smells)...but it was actually worse, but made for lots of laughter. :)

Beautiful Angela ready for our night out to see Bette Midler. We had dinner at Planet Hollywood in the Forum Shops of Caesar's Palace. It was quite yummy and fun to look at all the movie props and watch old music videos.

Me in my cute new top and jeans. Thanks Kelly for helping me pick out the shirt. We had great seats at the Colosseum and the ladies sitting next to us were also huge Bette Midler fans and provided some interesting pre-show conversation.

Before the show, we had the opportunity to get our pictures taken - it was a little embarassing, but lots of fun and yes, we did purchase the pictures after the show. :)

All in all, it was an amazing weekend. Seeing Bette Midler was such a wonderful opportunity and I would love to see her perform again. This was only my second concert and the setting was much more intimate and thus more exciting. Being able to share this weekend with Angela was great and I really enjoyed all the opportunities for conversation that it provided. I'm grateful for her friendship and support in my life and glad that we were able to have this girl's weekend. Maybe there will be more in our future! :)

Don't let it steal your joy!

2008-10-13T19:52:00.000-07:00

Something my mom often says to us when it seems like attacks are coming on every side of us..." don't let Satan steal your joy!" Though it can be all too easy to give in and let all the negativity, all the problems and concerns steal our joy, we must not give up and try to find and keep all the joy that God brings to our lives.

This weekend we joined my sister & family for their yearly timeshare vacation. This time it was in Palm Springs at the gorgeous Marriott Shadow Ridge Resort. My sister and her family planned to be there Friday to Friday, Josh & I could come Friday through Monday afternoon and our parents could be there through Thursday afternoon. We didn't have a lot of fancy plans...just to relax, play games, spend time together, read, the boys could play a little golf and maybe spend a day or two at the nearby Children's Museum.

Starting last week, I got my first case of laryngitis which seems to have been brought on by an allergic reaction to the constant daily use of fertilizer on the courtyard outside the library which lasted Monday through Friday. I had a slightly hoarse voice late Monday evening which turned into full blown laryngitis on Tuesday - with almost no voice all day and a very sore throat. Wednesday and Thursday were a bit better - more able to talk, but still sore. Thursday night it started to get worse and Friday was almost as bad as Tuesday had been. The smell of fertilizer alone was almost unbearable, but the reaction to my voice was much worse. Though I tried gargling with salt water (first time made me gag, subsequent times were almost as bad...but I've continued), lots and lots of water and hot tea, and as much rest as possible for my voice...it seems like it does take at least a full two weeks to heal as told (we'll see if this is true after this week).

So we started out the weekend with a my humorous (at least to my sister :) hoarse voice, my dad not feeling well and Katelyn having a fever, but not seeming too sick yet. I drove out to Palm Springs with Kelly, Katelyn & Jonathan. Along the way, Katelyn was enthralled with the windmills and kept pointing them out as we passed them. She counted them (1-25, then 26, 27, 28, 29, 26, 27, 28, 29, 26, 27, 28,29, 40!) and several times told us we needed to drive up those hills to them and hit them! As my sister said, she was a little Don Quixote, chasing windmills! :) The resort was beautiful and our rooms were spacious, lovely and conveniently located. Josh & David arrived soon after...and an hour later Mom & Dad got there too. We settled into our rooms - a one bedroom unit which included a full kitchen, dining room, living room, separate bedroom and a huge bathroom with walk-in glass shower and ginormous tub, and a patio overlooking the golf course; attached was a studio unit which included a tiny kitchen area, large bathroom and bedroom/living room combo along with a small patio with the same view. About 5 doors down was another studio unit which was the mirror image. Mom & Dad were in the bedroom, Kelly & David and kids were in the attached studio, and Josh & I had to separate studio.

Though Dad wasn't feeling well and didn't eat much until Saturday evening, the weekend started out pretty well. Katelyn continued to have a fever, but seemed perky and mostly happy. We had dinner and played games on Friday night. Saturday we relaxed around the resort and rooms, played some more games and had lunch. Kelly & I went shopping at Kohl's where we were happy to discover major sales, with additional savings at the register. I had needed a new shirt & shoes to wear this coming weekend when I go to Las Vegas with my best friend Angela to see Bette Midler in concert! With Kelly's help and advice I ended up with a really awesome shirt that I never would have picked on my own. We found some great earrings to match and adorable shoes too. Everything I ended up getting was at least 30% off, and some was up to 75% off - it was fantastic! :)

Things started to go downhill on Sunday morning. We had all gotten up to make birthday breakfast pancakes for my mom and Kelly was feeling sick. As the morning progressed she felt worse and had major chills and nausea. Katelyn was feeling worse as well and continued to have a fever, and it looked as though David had developed pinkeye. So they made the decision to drive back home to go to Urgent Care. So while the three of them headed out, the rest of us stayed home with Jonathan. Thankfully Dad was feeling much better, and though my throat was still sore by the end of each day it was no longer very hoarse. They arrived home with the diagnoses - Katelyn had an ear infection, David did have pinkeye, and Kelly had antibiotics for whatever was ailing her (strep throat or bronchitis they thought). Half of us were miserable...we had to cancel our plans to go out to dinner for Mom's birthday and decided to get Pizza hut instead. Thankfully it turned out to be the best pizza Mom felt she had had in over a year.

This morning we discovered that it appeared David had gotten whatever it was Kelly had as he had a fever and chills as well and felt unwell. Josh & I had to head home so that I could go to work. At this point it does not seem like we caught the bug they have...and we're praying that it stays that way. Be praying for my family as they struggle to feel better and try to enjoy the rest of their vacation. The hope and prayer is that the medicine will help and they will feel better soon. Already Katelyn seems much improved and doesn't have a fever that I know of.

Though it is tempting to give up and feel like all is lost...God is still in control and He knew this would happen. Though you never want to be sick on your vacation...at least it was time David already had off from work. At least they are somewhere they can relax and not worry about the normal daily life stresses and struggles. I know they can still find joy in spite of the trying circumstances. We were able to be together...we were able to laugh...we were able to have some fun...and those are all wonderful things. We will do our best to not lose our joy!

New car

2008-09-29T15:02:00.001-07:00

We got a new car on Friday afternoon! :) It is a 2006 Ford Focus ZX4 SE sedan. It has 42000 miles on it and was only $9988. It had pretty much all the options we were looking for, but most importantly it was the right price and right time. Even without putting any money down (and adding some extra coverage and a security system) the monthly payments work out to be $10 cheaper per month than the Cavalier which we just paid off. What a blessing!

We picked up the car on Friday afternoon at our credit union. Jason, the Auto Expert, was waiting with the new car which we were able to look over and inside of to check out all the features. Then we went inside to sign all the paperwork and get the keys. It is neat and also a little overwhelming to realize that this time the car is all in my name...what a blessing that I've been able to accrue such good credit over the past 6 years that there were no problems or issues.

After leaving, we were headed to the DMV to change the title on the Cavalier to remove the lienholder as it is now paid off, and to change it to mine & Josh's names. I got lost on the way as I wasn't aware that the Moreno Valley DMV had moved, but after a bit of crying and extra driving I arrived and it really didn't take too long. $15 later it was in our names only and we had a new plan for Josh's old car, the 1993 Toyota Corolla.

As it had been a gift to us several years ago when we really needed a second car, and because we were blessed with a significant insurance settlement from the car accident, and because the new Focus didn't end up being as expensive as we had feared - we decided we wanted to use Josh's car as a blessing to someone else. A family in our church has a daughter who recently graduated and was in need of a car. Though the Toyota isn't brand new, and is a little rusty, it is still in really good condition and we were able to let them know at church yesterday that we wanted to give it to their daughter. They were blessed...and we were blessed...and we are grateful that we had the opportunity to be used by God in this way...and that He provided so perfectly for us.

Though just a week ago I was feeling frustrated and unable to see when and if things would work out, I am so full of joy to see how God has provided for us once again and in so many more ways than I even imagined. What a great God we serve! And by the way...I love my new car. It is so cute, especially with my new seat covers, steering wheel cover and soon to be administered decal stickers. And one super cool thing I love is that the stereo gets louder as you accelerate...and lowers as you slow down. So cool! Thanks God!

To buy a car, or not to buy a car...that is the question

2008-09-20T11:36:00.000-07:00

So, a few weeks ago Josh was in a car accident. Thankfully he was not injured, and though his car was he is still able to drive it. He was not at fault, the woman in front of him decided to back up and didn't think to look in her rearview mirror first and crashed into him. The car was declared a total loss as the cost to repair it was much higher than the worth of the car. So we received a nice settlement check last week. Thank you God!

We recently finished paying off the 5 year loan on my car and were for the first time without a car payment just days after this accident. So, knowing that God is in control and has great timing, we decided to look for a new car. Instead of going to a dealership and being pressured, we decided to use a service that our credit union offers called Auto Expert. Basically, you call them and tell them exactly what you want, what price range, what bells and whistles, etc. and they do all the hard work of searching, haggling and finding you what you want. It is a free service and something my parents and sister had used successfully in the past.

I called the Auto Expert (Jason) and explained that I wanted a Pontiac G6 sedan - automatic, a/c, CD player, silver color, power locks and windows, cruise control, no older than 2005, less than 50,000 miles and around $10,000 in price. He began to look and I had nothing more to do other than answer his phone calls. He found one fairly quickly, but it was too much out of my price range. Then on a Thursday he found what seemed to be perfect...exactly what I wanted, plus a few cushy extras, only 18,800 miles, 2007 and $12,998. Within my monthly price range if we put about $2000 down (which is an option based on the insurance payment we got for Josh's accident), so I said yes. He said I could pick it up the next day...we had pictures and we were so excited.

Then Friday rolled around and Jason called me back. The dealer wanted to back out of the deal as he decided the price was too low and he wanted more money. This was unexpected and upsetting and though Jason did his best the dealer would not back down. Though disappointed I decided to focus on the fact that God is still in control and He knew this would happen. Something better must be out there and we can be patient.

All this past week I hadn't heard anything from Jason, so I decided to give him a call yesterday. He apologized for not keeping in touch, but he had continued to search for me but with unfortunately no luck so far. After talking to my dad and searching for comparable cars online I decided to call him back to add two other car options to the mix. I found that I really liked the look of the Ford Focus ZX4 sedan as well as the Kia Spectra sedan. I let him know to be on the lookout for these as well as the Pontiac G6 with the same details. Hopefully next week he'll be able to let me know some possibilities and we may just find the car for us soon.

It's a learning experience trying to buy a car and assume that financial responsibility again. But God provided...we didn't need a new car until the old one was paid off....Josh's car still runs, so we most likely will not be without two cars during this time...the insurance provided a sizable chunk which allows us to have a little more wiggle room on the new car price. What a blessing and I know God is in control and He will provide exactly what we need, exactly when we need it. Thank you God!

Dining in Vegas

2008-09-03T08:39:00.000-07:00

We went to Las Vegas this past weekend with Kelly & David to celebrate my birthday with some yummy food, relaxation, and fun playing board games. We initially had reservations to stay at the Sahara hotel, but upon checking in we discovered our rooms to be quite shabby, fairly stained and not clean. While it may have been that we were just in the non-refurbished tower we decided to see if anything else on the Strip was available. After calling around we were able to book two rooms at the Excalibur hotel for not too much more than the Sahara was costing. The rooms at the Excalibur were much nicer, cleaner and ultimately we just felt better about the experience staying there. We decided to try using the Las Vegas monorail to get to our dinner at Margaritaville at the Flamingo Hilton hotel. $20 later and with very sore feet after walking through the MGM Grand, New York and Flamingo hotels - we arrived and checked in for dinner.

Dinner at Margaritaville is much more about the experience and atmosphere, though the food is decent but not fabulous. David had the shrimp pasta, Kelly & I had fajitas and Josh had the BBQ ribs. All were tasty but not the best we'd ever had of each meal. Josh enjoyed getting a bumper sticker at the gift shop which reads "The weather is here - wish you were beautiful".

That night after almost deciding to visit the Shark Reef experience at the Mandalay Bay hotel, we decided to instead go back to the rooms and play the game Hollywood Blockbuster before bed. The next morning we had a light breakfast and dressed up for our first fine dining meal of the weekend. This time we drove the car and headed out to the Venetian hotel for our 11:30 reservations at Emeril Lagasse's Delmonico Steakhouse. We had the first reservation of the day and were able to have the restuarant to ourselves for the first half hour or so of our meal.

We decided to share appetizers so Kelly & I split the heirloom tomato, red onion and buffalo mozzarella salad which was served with watercress and a balsamic vinegar dressing. David & Josh split the lobster bisque which was served with a toast covered in lobster mousse. Both were delicious and enjoyed immensely. For our main courses we all went with steak - Kelly & I had the ribeye, Josh had the rib steak bone in, and David had the bone in NY strip. All were served with herb butter and house-made worchestershire sauce, steak sauce and bernaise sauce. We also got one twice baked potato which included cheddar and bacon for the table. We all agreed that these were the very best steaks we had ever eaten. A birthday serving of chocolate sorbet was brought out for me while we waited for our desserts. It was delicious sorbet, but even better things were coming. David enjoyed Emeril's banana cream pie, Josh had the chocolate peanut butter torte with warm blackberry caramel, and I adored my individual pecan pie with oatmeal shortbread crust, caramel and homemade vanilla bean ice cream. Kelly decided to try something savory instead and chose the cheese assortment. It included 5 different cheeses, with accompanying items as well as some sliced baguette. First was a goat cheese served with champagne grapes, then a camembert served with cherry preserves (her favorite), cheddar served with blanched and glazed almonds, next was a brie served with honeycomb and finally a blue cheese served with green apple. She kept referring to her cheese plate as "heaven in my mouth". All in all it was a very expensive, very delicious, and very delightful experience and I would highly recommend it.

That afternoon we decided to spend more time relaxing in our rooms and trying out a new game - Bohnanza. We knew we needed at least an hour's time to get from our hotel to Caesar's Palace where we had dinner reservations at Rao's. After changing into our fancy clothes, we headed out and this time were able to valet park at the hotel.

Dinner at Rao's began well. The restaurant is dark and cozy and our waiter Shaun was very good even though he was quite busy with many other tables. We began our meal by splitting two appetizers - Bruschetta al Pomodoro e Carciofo (Bruschetta with tomatoes and artichokes) and Mozzarella in Carrozza (breaded and fried mozzarella served with sauce). Both were very delicious and in my opinion the best part of the meal. For our meals, David had the Gnocchi alla Bolognese, Kelly had Risotto ai Gamberi (risotto with shrimp), Josh had Scaloppine alla Romana (veal with artichoke, proscuitto and sage) and I had Uncle Vincent's Famous Lemon Chicken. For my taste I did not love any of them though they were all good. The lemon sauce was a little tangy for me, but Kelly and Josh both loved it and finished off the chicken I couldn't eat. Josh ended up liking Kelly's risotto better, so they switched meals midway through. David enjoyed his gnocchi but was unable to finish as they were so filling. For dessert Josh, David and I shared the profiteroles as there were three in the serving, and Kelly had the cannoli which was quite delicious. All in all it was not my favorite meal, though Italian food is also not my favorite. Kelly seemed to enjoy our dinner the most as she loved everything we ordered, but of course Italian food is her favorite. It was nice to try something new.

That evening we enjoyed finishing our game of Bohnanza and then Josh & I went back to our room and watched the movie Baby Mama which surprisingly more clean, touching and sweet than I had orgininally expected and we both enjoyed it. The next morning we got up earlier, packed and checked out of our room by 9:30am and headed back to the Venetian hotel to have brunch at Bouchon. They do not take reservations for brunch, but thankfully we only had a 20 minute wait for a table. We had two great waiters helping us and the restaurant and atmosphere were really nice. A bit fancy, but not too fancy that we ever felt uncomfortable.

The restaurant is located in the Venezia tower on the 15th floor, so you have to take an elevator near the check-in desk in the lobby to get there.

It was quite beautiful inside and they also had outdoor seating available as well.

The daily specials were listed on the chalkboard, but our server also went over them for us. He really seemed to want us to order the Crispy Pork Belly appetizer which was served with roasted beet salad, but we really did not feel like having that for breakfast...or ever. :)

They quickly brought out some yummy butter and homemade respberry preserves and eventually some delicious warm bread came out as well.

I decided to go with an all pastry breakfast so I ordered freshly made spiced beignets covered in cinnamon sugar and served with preserves and Nutella. They were delicious by themselves, but truly outstanding with the Nutella. Yum!

I also ordered the pastry assortment basket which came with a warm fresh blueberry muffin, banana muffin, pecan sticky bun and fresh croissant. I let David and Kelly split the blueberry muffin as I don't really like them, but they said it was delicious. The banana muffin had a crumb topping and was quite tasty and moist. The pecan sticky bun was absolutely yummy with a sugary glaze and cream center. The croissant was the very best one I've ever had - amazingly flaky on the outside and warm and buttery soft on the inside and was so delicious with butter and raspberry preserves. I also had a mocha to go along with my meal...but eventually all the sweetness got to me so I had to take some of it home. :)

Josh got one of the daily specials - Steak & Eggs. While he was not as impressed with the steak the meal was filling and the potatoes served with it were divine! :)

Kelly got another special - Quiche Lorraine which was served with a mixed green salad with vinaigrette dressing which she said was delicious and just right to cut the creaminess of the quiche.

David tried the Croque Madame served with pomme frites. I had wanted to try this, but was unsure about how a fried egg would taste on the top of the sandwich. It was delicious though...and the pomme frites were all deliciously crispy and yummy.

For dessert, Kelly & I decided to share the cheese plate. We chose a Camembert, cheddar, and a semi-hard sheep's milk cheese. They came served with apple, honeycomb and toasted bread. All three cheeses were delicious - the camembert was especially good on the bread with some of the raspberry preserves and the sheep's milk cheese was delicious with the apple.

All in all I would highly recommend Bouchon and would love to eat there again for brunch, and perhaps someday for dinner as well. Our weekend in Vegas was full of delicious food and many new experiences. I'm glad we all had the opportunity to go and that we had quick drives there and back...as well as fairly good weather considering it was August in the desert. I would love to go again...specifically to Delmonico and Bouchon.

Tag - ...again :)

2008-08-14T13:30:00.000-07:00

Find pictures to fit the categories in Bold - enjoy!

Hobby: Reading, reading and more reading :)

Dream career: owning/working in a cozy little bookstore maybe with a cafe attached

Favorite flowers: roses and hydrangeas

Favorite vacation: either Walt Disney World or Hawaii

Dream vacation spot: Kerikeri, New Zealand

Favorite place to shop: I love to shop at the grocery store - it makes me so happy to find yummy things to eat. But I also enjoy shopping at many other places too.

Favorite color: Pink

Favorite restaurant: BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse is one of my fav's

Favorite movie: too many to count, but currently Mamma Mia! :)

Guilty pleasure: reality TV especially The Hills and Denise Richards:It's Complicated

Born: Desert Hospital in Palm Springs, CA

Tag - You're it!

2008-08-11T15:42:00.000-07:00

Directions: Once you've been tagged, you have to write a blog with 16 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 10 people to be tagged, listing their names and why you choose them. Don't forget to leave them a comment ("You're it") and to read your blog. You can't tag the person who tagged you. Since you can't tag me, let me know when you've posted your blog, so I can see your weirdness~

1. I tend to sneeze a lot, especially at my job in the library. Most often I sneeze in pairs, sometimes more. And I am a very loud sneezer so typically several people bless me, including more than once people from way across the library.

2. I dislike driving most of the time because I hate how crazy other drivers can be and the fact that they rarely follow the traffic laws, especially speed limits. Driving on the freeway scares me and so I never drive on the freeway.

3. However, I do love to drive sometimes because it gives me the opportunity to listen to my music. I like to listen to the same song over and over again...sometimes as many as 10 or more times in a row. But I will never subject others to this as I know it could be annoying. I love to sing along and even sometimes try to dance too...but it tends to look stupid and make me take my mind off driving, so I don't do it often.

4. I like to color coordinate the hangers in my closet with the clothes hanging on them. This means that I try to have a yellow shirt on a yellow hanger, blue on blue, pink on pink...etc. But if I can't match then I try to find a complementary color to hang it on.

5. Some of my favorite foods include chicken tacos, flying saucers, salmon - especially teriyaki or bbq flavors, creme brulee, lemons, roast beef, roasted vegetables, chocolate and spicy sweet Doritos.

6. I try to drink water every day and usually add lemon slices to it to make it tastier. In a 32 oz. cup this usually means anywhere from 4-6 lemon slices. In my iced tea I like even more lemons, probably 8-10 in a similar size cup.

7. As I child, I liked to pretend that Noah (yes, the biblical figure) was made miniature and lived in a water pipe outside of the credit union where my parents went. My sister and I would say hello to him each time we'd visit.

8. I love roses and they are my absolute favorite flower to receive. My favorite color rose would be light peach or pink...but I also adore yellow, cream, orange, bright pink, lavendar, red, and multi-colored ones.

9. I love to read books and try to always be in the middle of reading something. I try to read from multiple genres, but several keep my interest the most. I love books about travel and food, any books about someone's year of doing something, juvenile literature can be interesting, romantic novels, mysteries, basically much fiction and non-fiction. Check out my goodreads profile to see the many books I can at least remember reading and plan to read and am currently reading. http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/107921

10. I am so excited about going to Vegas in October with my best friend Angela to see Bette Midler in concert. We love her and have talked about going to see her for a long time. We're going to have such fun! :)

11. I love the color pink and I'm currently in the process of redecorating my bathroom to be pink and black with a kind of Parisian, Ooohh la la, dresses/heels/bags/makeup look. It's going to be so lovely...and expensive...but beautiful!

12. I love high heels and would love to own some gorgeous Louboutin heels someday. But, I hardly ever wear them since my feet/legs are not used to them and they kill me. But they are sooooo pretty!

13. I much prefer to be barefoot if I can and if I can't I'd rather wear flipflops then any other type of shoe. I own somewhere around 20 or 30 pairs of flipflops, but typically wear only 4 or 5 pairs over and over.

14. I would love to travel around the world someday and my top priorites (that I haven't already been to) would be - Bali, Australia and Kerikeri New Zealand, Hong Kong, Tokyo, France, England, Ireland, Italy, Greece, Brazil, Grand Cayman Island, Virgin Islands, Georgia, Louisiana, Maine, and Alaska.

15. I once visited Prairie Dog Town, the Corn Palace, the Tulalip Indian Reservation, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Cayucos CA and many other locations while traveling around the US with the Royal Servants 10:10 Team over the summers of 1996 and 1998.

16. I've been dying my hair since I was about 16 years old. I have been dark brown, red, blonde and black haired over the years along with highlighted a few times as well. I do this because I enjoy the change....but probably my favorite color on me is red. Most likely people who know me have no idea what my natural hair color is...and pretty much I don't even know what it is and that's ok by me. :)

I tag only those who wish to do so...but let me know if you do so I can read about you! :)

Best Friends & Nights Out

2008-07-24T12:42:00.000-07:00

Originally planned as a last night out before surgery (but thankfully Kelly's surgery is cancelled for now), our dinner last night at the Elephant Bar with our best friends was a great success. Kelly & I wore two of the new dresses we bought a few weeks ago at Dress Barn - mine is one of the infamous travelling dresses (let me know what you think?), and Kelly's looks just super-flattering on her. We each had our best friends in attendance - each other first of all and then Kelly's best friend Amanda and my best friend Angela. We enjoyed a delicious dinner, yummy desserts and wonderful conversations. We took a ton of pictures of each other in various groupings...some are here, others are on my MySpace account and many more are on my computer at home. :) Kelly & I left saying that we needed to do this kind of evening again with this same group. Thank goodness for best friends and fun times together.

We were laughing about something...not quite sure we even knew then exactly what was so hilarious. These are our new dresses - hopefully they look as nice as we think they do. :)

Best friends since high school - Keri and Angela. We took several great pictures last night, but this is one of my favorites and is Angela's favorite. I'm so greatful for the blessing of her friendship.

Best friends since college - Amanda and Kelly. We also took several good pictures of them, but many were on Amanda's camera instead of mine. This is one of the best though.

Mamma Mia!

2008-07-21T15:54:00.000-07:00

This movie is amazing...fabulous...just great! I had seen the stage production a few years ago with my parents and though I'd never really heard or cared for ABBA before, I loved the music, loved the story and just loved it. I bought the CD that night and listened to it so often that I actually wore out the CD and Josh lovingly bought me a replacement copy. When I heard that they were making it into a movie I was intrigued and knew that I had to see it. I could only imagine that the movie would be beautiful - with a location like Greece how could it not? but I wondered how they would incorporate the music...the whole plot and much of the dialogue stems from the ABBA songs...so would this be a musical? How would they do it? I couldn't wait for it to come out...and finally this past weekend it was here. We saw it on Saturday afternoon along with my parents, Kelly & David and a huge crowd of all ages, though mostly women. The movie began with the waters around Greece...bright gorgeous blue with light sparkling like diamonds...as Sophie walks to the mailbox singing "I Have a Dream" as she mails the invitations to Sam Carmicheal, Bill Anderson and Harry Bright. From that moment on I was hooked...happy...and dying to sing along!

Though I loved the stage version, the movie was so much better in a variety of ways for me. Many of the songs I had never really warmed up to, but watching it larger than life on the big screen I was amazed to discover how much more interesting and understandable the story became. When you realize that basically this story stems from visually expressing the lyrics of all these ABBA songs and tying them together into a story that not only makes sense but also is interesting....it just blows me away to think about it. Songs that before were just okay are now favorites since I've seen the emotion and story connected to them - SOS, The Winner Takes It All, Slipping Through My Fingers...these three specifically really touched me.

Meryl Streep is phenomenal...she has such joy, such visible emotion in this role and not too bad of a singer. When she sings Mamma Mia I loved how much she got into the emotion and feelings of the song and literally rolled around....it was great. And her song The Winner Takes It All was full of passion, emotion and just blew me away. All of the casting was great. I loved the men - Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth and Stellan Skarsgard. They were perfect and though at times it was a little silly to see them singing...I love that they took this chance with their reputations and had fun with it.

Fun is the best way to describe this movie. It is all about fun, joy, happiness, silliness, and just being all out what you feel. These actors are not professional singers and because of this they don't sound perfect. But they sound full of joy and just happiness at being able to be in this movie. The fact that they aren't perfect just makes it that much more realistic and that much more fun. I had to go out an buy the movie soundtrack as soon as we finished watching the movie - and thankfully it was already out and able to be purchased. I like what what written in the insert -

"Although none of the actors had much experience in the recording studio, they were undaunted and completely at ease singing the classic ABBA songs. The sessions were a joyous process which you can hear on this recording, that not only brings back that fantastic experience of watching the film, but also perfectly captures the heartwarming, feel-good spirit that is MAMMA MIA!"

It is soooooo true...this is a heartwarming, feel-good movie and you must see it! Enjoy the fun that it is...it is not supposed to be too deep, it is not supposed to make you think too much...it is all about joy and love and fun. Keep those thoughts in your mind and let yourself enjoy the joy that it this fabulous movie. Also, make sure you stay for the credits, they sing two more songs and their outfits alone are worth the price of admission, at least that's what my sister said. :)

And if you hate it, don't tell me...my mind it made up and I LOVE it! :)

Movies

2008-07-21T15:35:00.000-07:00

This turned out to be quite a movie weekend. Josh & I finally had a Friday night to ourselves (though we did end up going out to dinner with Kelly and David and the kids) and we decided to get our three free rentals at Blockbuster along with a few more. We ended up with 8 rentals and watched two of them that night. The Bucket List was a funny, sometimes sad, always interesting movie that we both decided must be added to our large DVD collection sometime soon. Fool's Gold was a repeat viewing for me as I had seen it in the theaters with my best friend Angela. But it was once again enjoyable, funny and a great re-pairing of Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey. We also decided that this should be added to our collection.

Saturday we had plans to see two movies in the theater, with Kelly & David joining us for both (David's parents babysat the kiddos) and my parent joining us for lunch and the second movie. We saw Batman: The Dark Knight first and it was amazing. Christian Bale is perfectly cast as both Bruce Wayne and Batman, which in my opinion has not been done before. All other incarnations have been good at one or the other, but never both. Heath Ledger as the Joker was chilling, evil, psychotic and definitely the best acting I have ever seen from Heath. All the talk that I've heard about him deserving an Oscar for this role is true in my opinion. Dark Knight was very dark, very suspenseful, and all in all a great movie...well worth the time and money.

We then went to lunch, with Mom & Dad joining us at Daphne's for delicious Greek food (Josh & David got Quiznos from next door). I love Daphne's, specifically the chicken Zestas and pita with fire feta and tzaziki. Yum, yum, yummmmmmy. :) Our second movie of the day was Mamma Mia! This I will discuss in more detail in my next post....stay tuned! :)

That night, all my family joined us for dinner at our apartment where yummy Soya chicken had been slow-cooking away all day. This is one of my Dad's favorite meals...something his mom always used to make. It is a super simple recipe that creates such a delicious dinner served with rice and steamed broccoli or carrots. We enjoyed dinner together, but soon Josh left for work at the restaurant and Kelly & David headed home with their tired and sick little ones. Mom & Dad stayed with me to watch another movie - Definitely, Maybe. This was such a sweet movie with an interesting premise/storyline which I really enjoyed. I loved the actors - Ryan Reynolds, Isla Fischer, Rachel Weitz, and Abigail Breslin. It was a feel-good movie and I'm glad they stayed to watch with me. After they left, I continued on with the movie weekend and watched another movie I had rented that Josh did not want to see - I Can Never Be Your Woman starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Paul Rudd. This was a little cheesy, but also funny and all in all not that bad...but definitely not a movie Josh would like.

We still have a few movies left to watch...something just for Josh (can't remember what it's called - Jumper, I think?), one more for me (Margot at the Wedding starring Nicole Kidman) and two more to watch together (Semi-Pro and something else I forget the name of). :)

I love movies and this was a great weekend for them...it's just so nice to sit back, relax and watch something interesting unfold on the screen. Let's all go to the movies....

New Dress & weddings

2008-07-01T11:58:00.001-07:00

Me & Josh before the wedding - photo shoot at my sister's house. :)

One of my new Dress Barn dresses. :) I felt very pretty in this dress and it was quite comfortable as well.

Erica & Brian Walker -
the happy couple :)

Some of the library staff at our boss Erica's wedding on Sunday. It was a beautiful wedding and she was a beautiful bride. All of the staff was at the wedding, but not all of us stayed for the recption. From left to right - Barry, Helen, me, Brian & Erica, Steve and Vi.

Resist discouragement

2008-06-26T11:56:00.000-07:00

My mom sent me the following article in an email a week or two ago and I really appreciated the message shared in it. Hopefully those of you reading this will gain something from it as well. I love you and am praying for you! *hugs*

Resist discouragement by Rick Warren

For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay. Habakkuk 2:3 (NIV)
*** *** *** ***
As a pastor, I’m sure many of you are discouraged.
Some of you are discouraged over your children that their lives are not going well. Some of you are discouraged about your marriage; it’s not at all what you thought it would be. You feel deflated and disappointed.
Some of you are discouraged about your finances, or your health, or the economy, or an unanswered prayer.
I want to say something to you, and it may sound mean, but it isn’t. It’s simply truth, so I say this in love: If you’re discouraged, that’s your choice. We make a choice to be discouraged. We make a choice to let discouraging thoughts move freely through our minds. But, we can also make a choice to change our thoughts at any time, taking them captive in the Lord.
You get to choose what to focus on – your purpose or your problems, God’s power or your weakness, or your circumstances.
We can fight discouragement. Here’s a tip to help: When you get discouraged, focus somewhere else. Say to yourself, “I don’t have time to be discouraged right now. I’m too busy fulfilling my life mission.”
This doesn’t mean you should be a Pollyanna and pretend everything is okay. You can be realistic, but you also need to be optimistic because you are a Christian: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13 NIV). God says, “Lo, I am with you always” (Matthew 28:20 KJV). He will help you and he will strengthen you. Faith starts with optimism.
Some of you have been praying for something specific and you haven’t yet gotten the answer. In Habbakuk 2:3 (NLT), God says, “These things I plan [for your life] won’t happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, wait patiently, for it will surely take place.”
Just be patient. The answer you’re waiting for will not be overdue a single day. God’s timing is always perfect.
At Saddleback, we claimed this verse from Habbakuk for 13 years. We were growing bigger and bigger, but we still didn’t have the land we needed to build a worship center. We’d tell God, “Everybody else has a building. How come we don’t have a building?”
After 13 years, God answered our prayer – and we realized he had a much bigger plan than we did. The property we built on was not even available when we first started Saddleback. There weren’t even roads leading to the property. God had a plan and slowly, steadily, surely he began to fulfill his vision.
© 2008 Purpose Driven Life. All rights reserved.

Crowns & Clothes

2008-06-25T10:59:00.000-07:00

So, yesterday I was able to see my previous dentist and get my crown reset. Thankfully the tooth cement had been working well and kept my crown temporarily in place since last Thursday. They cleaned up the area, took an X-ray and found no sign of decay or any problems. So $115 later, my crown was reset and good for at least another 10 years. :)

On Sunday, my sister and I visited a new store in Moreno Valley called Dress Barn. Can I just say that we LOVE LOVE LOVE this store!!!! We spent about 2 hours gleefully trying on just about everything in that store. The saleslady was very nice and helpful (knew she'd make a great sale off of us no doubt:), the dressing room was large and nicely air-conditioned and best of all the clothes were not only cute but they fit so nicely and often were in smaller sizes than we might think we wear. ;) I needed a dress to wear to my boss's wedding this coming weekend and was able to find one that is not only very pretty and flattering, but also only $20!

We found that many dresses looked good on me, but bad on Kelly. Or great on Kelly, but terrible on me. But then we found what we now refer to as the "Travelling Dresses" - 2 sexy and flattering dresses that look equally good on both of us. How this can even work when she is tall, I am short, and my chest is much larger than hers....but magically both looked so good we had to just sit and stare at ourselves wondering how can this be??? So, we bought them both of course...one will live at my house and the other will live with Kelly. We plan to wear them on opposite days while in Vegas for my birthday weekend in August. In addition, I will bring the dress that I got for the wedding and Kelly has an adorable dress that suits her perfectly! Now we have gorgeous dressy/sexy outfits to wear to our fabulous dinners at Margaritaville, Delmonico Steakhouse and Rao's. :)

I love shopping with my sister and now we LOVE shopping at Dress Barn. But we must resist the impulse to visit too often otherwise our hubbies will get upset about all the money we spend! :) Good thing we know to keep most things in moderation.

Tooth update

2008-06-18T13:34:00.000-07:00

I looked up online how to care for a lost crown and found some good information on Colgate.com They recommended keeping the area clean and getting some tooth "cement" to temporarily restore the crown to its place. I drove over to CVS and was able to locate some.

After spending the last few minutes brushing, flossing and rinsing my teeth I have used the "cement" to reinstall my crown. It still feels a bit tender, but the feeling of emptiness is gone thankfully and the most tender spot is now recovered. Hopefully this will help until I see the dentist.

I just need to remember to not chew on my left side, or at least chew very carefully. Thanks for listening and continuing to pray. :)

Annoyed

2008-06-18T12:23:00.000-07:00

At lunch today while eating a piece of cheese, one of my crowns fell out. :( I called my dentist (who I have never been to) to find out when I could come in. They told me that because they did not install my crown, they cannot fix it and that I needed to see the dentist who installed the crown. So I call Canyon Crest Dental (who I actually liked, but do not accept my current dental insurance). They told me that anyone can fix a crown, but that they will take care of it. But...they have no openings until next Tuesday at 8am.

Now I apparently must wait almost a week with a huge empty hole in my mouth...unless they have a cancellation and can fit me in sooner. I'm a bit stressed about whether or not it will cost anything. I think it shouldn't since a crown is supposed to last longer than 9 years (I got this one in 1999 apparently). But since they don't take my insurance if there is a cost it will be out-of-pocket...though they do accept CareCredit which we have due to all Josh's teeth issues. So if it does cost, hopefully we have enough left on our $2500 limit to cover it.

Pray for me...I get too emotional about anything remotely emotional and just sat at my desk crying because of this. I want to get it taken care of sooner, but feel unprepared to call my dentist and ask them to just take care of it...all they have to do is re-set the crown. I know that this is serving as a reminder that I need to finally go get a cleaning...it's been 6 years. Yes, I know that is too long...yes, I should have been going twice a year...but I haven't and nothing can change that fact. But I guess it's time....:(

Hopefully Gentle Dental really is gentle or I will be even more annoyed.

Memories

2008-06-18T09:47:00.000-07:00

"No love, no friendship can cross the path of our destiny without leaving some mark on it forever."

On Saturday I spent a couple hours going through some boxes of things I have saved over the years. I keep pretty much everything, so the items in these boxes were quite varied and not in any kind of chronological order. I found birthday cards, graduation cards (high school and college), Christmas cards, report cards from college, class schedules, and so many other things. One of the neat things was some old letters from friends who I had totally forgotten ever wrote to me. I took the time to reread them all and sent a few notes or comments on MySpace to those friends. I think they enjoyed the reminders of their past as well.

I spent the evening that night with my best friend Angela and was able to go through a box of Angela memories with her. She had been having a hard day and I was glad that God used a little gift I had found for her to bless her and remind her that she was loved. We laughed over old passed notes, got a little sad over some pictures, and tried to remember who we meant by some old code words...who was Rice? We remembered Scurvy and Jordan though. :) It's so nice to be able to look back over years of friendship and see not only how much we've changed, but also the ways we can also be the same silly girls together.

Going through the boxes also reminded me of a lost friendship from college. I remember how close we all were back then and it seems impossible that the friendship ended. There are times when I'd like to get in touch with Kristi again and see if the friendship could be revived, but other times when I just feel like it was a season friendship. Truly important in its time, but not meant to be forever. It makes me a little sad, especially rereading the notes, poems, and cards...but I'm glad that I can look back with fond memories of that time, that friendship and that experience.

Yes, I'm a pack rat and perhaps I shouldn't save all the things that I save...but when I get the chance to look back through all those saved memories I am glad that I took the time to keep it. Some of these saved memories would have been lost forever if I hadn't been so sentimental and decided to keep it. I don't think I could ever be convinced to throw these memories away...they and the people they remind me of are too important to be forgotten.

Friendship

2008-06-12T09:52:00.000-07:00

My best friend Angela Rose - though our friendship has had many ups and downs over the 15 years we have known each other I would have to consider her my best friend. I know that I can always talk to Angela about anything and everything that I wonder, that bothers me, stuff that makes me sad, mad, bad, happy, silly, etc. We are very different from each other, but I know that our friendship is deep enough and strong enough to not only handle our differences but also to embrace them and make us realize how much we complement each other and give balance to both of us. We can be silly, we can be serious and we are always there for each other loving, supporting, encouraging and caring for each other. She is a lifelong friend and I'm grateful to have Angela in my life - I love her! :)

Hill & CeeCee being silly

Kelly, me & Angela in Vegas last summer on our girl's weekend. :)

My beautiful sister Kelly - we have always been good sisters, though we fought on occasion and had some struggles we always loved and supported one another. But since college, our relationship has become closer and I consider Kelly one of my best friends. I love to spend time with her and since she is now a mommy of my beloved niece and nephew we get to spend time together quite frequently. I am so blessed that we are not just sisters, but friends and I love her.

Melissa and I have known each other for many years. She is one of my best friends and though we don't live close to each other anymore I am blessed to have her continued friendship and support in my life. We were college roommates for three years and I couldn't have asked for a better roomie. She and her husband John have always been my favorite couple, for many reasons including how much they love each other, their kindness and friendliness, their love for God and desire to serve Him, but most important to me was that they always made me feel comfortable with them. I never felt like a third wheel and I always felt supported, encouraged and loved by them both. I am so grateful for both of them and glad that we continue to be a part of each other's lives. I'm so blessed to be the godmother of their oldest son Matthew and look forward to many more years of their friendship...they are very loved. :)

Bunco Beauties - Angela, me, Kelly, Mandy, Jodi & Donna.

Princesses for a day with yummy food made by Mandy. :)

Mandy's birthday - Kelly made her the dress, apron and hat.

Girl's Movie Night - a tradition began by Angela two years ago. We meet monthly at one another's houses and eat yummy food and watch classic movies. Some of the movies we've watched are It Happened One Night, Some Like It Hot, Steel Magnolias, Cinderfella, West Side Story, Funny Farm and many others. We often celebrate each other's birthdays, we've supported each other (specifically creating a Bunco fundraiser to raise support for Angela who is doing the Breast Cancer 3-Day), prayed for each other, baked Christmas cookies together, dressed up 80's style ,and basically have a LOT of fun together. :) I'm so glad that we've been able to continue this every month and look forward to many many more opportunities to continue. I love you girls!

Family ties

2008-06-12T09:42:00.000-07:00

My hubby Josh & I at our favorite place - Disneyland

My family - awesome brother-in-law David, sister Kelly, nephew Jonathan, me, niece Katelyn, Dad and Mom (Josh took the picture)

Kind of an old picture, but a great one of me and two of my aunties Leslie & Diana (and our dog Belle)

Katelyn playing Candyland with Uncle Josh & her Daddy

Katelyn & TeeTee

Kelly, Katelyn, Jonathan & David

I am so blessed to have such a warm and loving family. I am surrounded by so many aunts, uncles, grandparents, etc and I have always felt very secure and loved. My sister is one of my best friends and we are blessed to be able to live close (to our parents too) and spend time with each other on a more than weekly basis. I adore being an auntie (TeeTee as Katelyn calls me) and love to spend as much time as possible with Katelyn and Jonathan. They always make me happy and bring a smile to my face.

Visiting Texas & good friends

2008-06-12T09:35:00.001-07:00

John & Melissa at the NASCAR truck race

Josh & I at the NASCAR truck race

Playing with Matt & Drew

The Cordrey's

We recently were able to go to Texas for four days to visit some really good friends - John & Melissa Cordrey and their two boys Matt & Drew. Melissa and I have been friends since 10th grade and were roommates our last three years of college. Though we don't get to see them too often, our friendship continues to stand the test of time and distance and it was a blessing to be able to visit them and see that we really are like family. We had lots of time to play with the boys, watch movies, talk and laugh a lot and even got to attend a NASCAR truck race. Though it was sad to say goodbye, we will be able to see them next month when they come out to CA to visit. And no matter how many miles or how much time separates us, our friendship lasts and that makes me feel very blessed. I love you Cordreys! :)

Trying this again

2008-06-12T09:30:00.000-07:00

This is my new attempt to create, and more importantly maintain, a blog. I enjoy reading other people's blogs quite a lot and hope that eventually others will enjoy reading mine. I definitely don't claim to be a great writer or creative thinker, but hopefully this will provide something interesting to read now and then. I also plan to post pictures of people, places and things that I want to remember and share. It will probably be a mishmash of unrelated things, except that of course they all relate to me. But I guess that is the whole point of blogs...they are very uniquely designed by each individual and we all have our quirks. So hopefully enjoy...and if not, give me suggestions. I promise to at least think about them though I do not guarantee to follow through on all...but I appreciate suggestions. :)