My Journey Through Life

New blog!

2011-08-21T14:31:00.000-07:00

Hi friends (for those few of you still out there!)

After much prodding from various people in my life, I started a new blog for my crafty projects, quilts, bags, etc.

Go check it out and let me know what you think!

http://practicallyimperfect.wordpress.com/

I'll still keep this one up, but it will be more of a documentation of my life and thoughts and not necessarily crafty stuff. I love doing the sewing and creating though, so the other one is probably going to be updated on a more regular basis.

So if you want to know what's going on in my life, keep reading here.

If you want to know what I've been busy making, go there.

There will be some overlap and maybe one day I'll combine them.

For now, I have 2 blogs.

Enjoy!

Beauty Through the Storm

2011-08-19T00:27:00.000-07:00

http://www.photocollect.com/homepage/dirchoice.html

"Ansel Adams once took a photograph he titled 'Jeffrey Pine, Sentinel Dome.' It is beautiful. He stood where he did, he saw what he saw, and he was able to catch it, fitting it into a small frame with only two dimensions and nothing but blends of black and white. The sky is there, the rock, the Jeffrey Pine.

"The tree grows on the left, but it is gnarled, bending even now, spreading across the picture in its struggle against the wind. Its muscled branches are frozen in their strain, unquivering; its roots claw into stone, matching granite strength. There is a mountain watching from the distance, wondering who will win. The tree has fought for this life, fought in this permanent unretreating retreat.

"The wind will win in the end, but this uncomplaining tree is noble. I see no bitterness, no resentment. We may forget, but this tree knows that the world is spinning, and it has hung on to the globe through decades. I see pride in those roots, gratitude where the light sits.

"Could we improve this picture? How can we make it not better but best? Remove the tension and the contrast. Remove the black. All of it. Remove the struggle and the inevitable end.

"Leave the white. Only white. And now it is perfect. Perfectly blank."

- Notes from the Tilt-a-Whirl by N.D. Wilson, pages 84-85

I came across this passage as I was reading today. And it struck me. Made me stop and think. I long for beauty in my life, for my life to be seen as beautiful and pleasing to the Lord.

But so often, I reject and run away from that which will make me more beautiful. The Lord uses the storms and winds and struggles in my life to make me stronger and more beautiful. To create a depth and richness in me and my relationship with Him that is impossible to get in any other way.

Yet I run away. I pray that they would disappear. That life would be simple and easy to understand.

And, often, God says, "No." Life is not simple. It is not easy to understand. Real life includes trials and struggles and uncertainty and heartache and loss.

All that He requires is that I cling to Him through it all. That I don't let go through any of the storms in my life.

Because it is there that I will find true beauty. Rich and deep and lasting beauty. That only He could create through the storm.

"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."

- James 1:2-4, English Standard Version

My feelings about blogging and some recent projects

2011-07-28T00:30:00.000-07:00

I've more or less decided that I really don't like blogging. Granted, it's a good way to chronicle my life but I'm not nearly consistent enough to really take advantage of that aspect.

Maybe if my life were more interesting...

Seriously. No one wants to read about my boring life. No one. Not even my mom.

I'm not deleting this thing because one day my life may get more exciting and I may have things I want to share. And blogger tells me that I have 9 subscribers.

Which is about 8 more than I thought. Don't want to let you all down. {{Side note... who are you?}}

So that's how I feel about blogging. Want to see something more exciting? I've completed 2 projects in the past week, both for my room.

First, I repainted my mom's old desk. She gave me permission to paint it, but I never told her what color I wanted to use. Because I was afraid she would take away her permission if I told her. The original desk was a light honey stain and the knobs where big wooden knobs that matched the desk.

The color's called Caribbean Holiday. It's bright and I love it. I replaced the old knobs with ones from Cost Plus. $4.99 for 2 knobs and if you're a member of their rewards program they send you a $10 gift certificate for your birthday. So the knobs were free. Happy Birthday to me!

The second project was using an old embroidery hoop that my grandma gave me. It's a big one (nearly 24" across!) and I wanted to do something fun with it.

I made essentially a small rag quilt and stretched it over the hoop. Hammered a couple nails in the wall and hung it up. Since the front of the hoop is about an inch and a half from the wall, it works quite well to stick pins in it and use as a sort of bulletin board.

So there you go, my every other month update.

Hopefully there will be something more exciting to report on in another 2 months!

The Hiding Place

2011-04-03T23:36:00.000-07:00

A year or so ago, my mom gave me the book The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom.

I fully intended to read it, but it somehow got stuck in my need to read pile. Other books that I borrowed (and thus had to give back) took priority.

Then I got distracted and didn't read as much as I wanted.

And The Hiding Place is still in the need to read pile.

So imagine my excitement when I opened my monthly e-mail from Christian Audio and discovered that the free download of the month for April is The Hiding Place.

Go check it out! And while you're there, take a gander at the entire website. There's a ton of great free downloads available.

Now that I have the (free) audiobook, I may actually get through this book and hear what I've heard is an amazing story!

Adventures at Peet's

2011-03-08T13:07:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow morning I start a new Bible study at church. Who cares if they're on Lesson 16? I'll be jumping into Ephesians 5 with them. Combine that with the Friday night group I've been going to that has also been in Ephesians and I joined in Chapter 6, I'm expecting to be an expert at the last 2 chapters of Ephesians. The first 4? I'm sure they're excellent. I'll get around to studying them one of these days.

To prepare for study tomorrow, I decided to go to Peet's. I'm much more efficient away from home.

So I packed up my Bible (kind of necessary for Bible Study),

put my computer in it's case (the lesson is online in the form of a Word document, I decided to type out my answers instead of writing them down),

threw on my amazing green trench coat (that I absolutely love),

grabbed my yellow purse,

and headed out!

Got to Peet's, ordered my latte, found out about free coffee sampling on Thursday (YUM!), found a table and sat down, ready to get started.

As I pulled out my laptop, the woman at the table next to me looked over and asked, "Are you a quilter?"

Why, yes, I am! Apparently my computer case had given me away. She was just learning how to sew so we chatted for a couple minutes about sewing and then I started my study.

About half and hour later, I heard, "Is that a Bible?"

Why, yes, it is! Apparently she had been watching me had determined that the combination of my green trench coat, my yellow purse, my pink and brown handmade laptop cover, and my Bible made me, in her words, "seem like an interesting person." We talked about church and Bible studies and living in Clayton for a bit. Eventually I went back to studying.

When she gathered her things to leave a few minutes later, she stopped on the way out, said it was nice chatting with me, and asked me to pray for her pastor, who is currently in the hospital. She explained a bit of the situation to me, I told her I'd pray, and she left.

I was thinking about this brief conversation as she left.

The items that I had decided to wear and bring to my trip to Peet's told this woman something about me.

I was doing Bible study so I needed my Bible.

I would be typing out my lesson, so I needed my computer and when I take my computer out in public, I carry it in the case I made.

It was cold so I needed a coat and I wanted to wear my green one.

I'm a girl, I need a purse, and I'm currently using my yellow one.

These seemingly inconsequential decisions grabbed the attention of the woman at the next table, led her to conclude that I was an interesting person, and prompted her to strike up a conversation with me.

Which got me thinking. What do I clothe myself with everyday? Beyond the clothes and purses. What do I bring along with me when I go out? Beyond my Bible and laptop.

Do I clothe myself with grace and humility and patience? Probably not as much as I should. Do I bring along a bad attitude and grudges and self centeredness? Probably more than I should.

Do I think about the fact that people are watching? Rarely.

My Bible study today focused on Ephesians 5:8-11. Verse 8 says "For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of the light." (NKJV)

Is the way I live my life reflecting the light that I have in the Lord? When people look at my life, do they see something attractive, something that makes them say, "She seems interesting. I want to know more." Or do they just see another person, no different from the rest of the world?

I pray that when people look at me, they see an interesting person, but one who is interesting because of the light of Christ shining through me, not because of the color of my jacket or laptop cover.

Moving In, Throwing Out

2011-02-17T12:26:00.000-08:00

I've been at my parent's house for about 3 weeks now. It's been good. Getting a chance to relax and refocus, reconnect with old friends, and hang out with my parents on a regular basis.

One of the first things I had to tackle was moving back into and getting settled in my old room. In order to do that, I had to move a lot of stuff out. Things that had accumulated over the years and, since I haven't lived here, I haven't had to deal with. Think Goodwill and garbage. Lots of stuff that, as I looked at it, I thought, "Really? I kept this? Why?" Things that I held onto thinking that one day, I might, maybe, possibly, get around to doing something with. I gave up on those ideas and tossed a lot of stuff. It felt great and now there's room in my room for stuff I actually want to have and use. And I can find it without wading through a lot of useless junk.

Ahhhh.... big sigh of relief!!

Just for fun, I thought I'd share some of the amazing finds my room yielded.

Books. Lots and lots of books. Now, I'm a book fan. But old textbooks from general ed classes, The Babysitter's Club, and books I used for my senior project in high school. Not so useful now.

Ah, Discman. Or portable CD players, whatever you want to call them. You got replaced long ago by my collection of Apple products (iPod nano, iPod touch, iPhone). Apparently I have a problem collecting portable audio devices.

Monster glow light stick. I'm thinking it's from a Halloween care package my mom sent me. In college. Unopened. Lovely.

Foam floor tiles. I think these were used in my attic in college. I probably thought it would be a good way to add color to the floor. I'm pretty sure I got them at the dollar store, so no big financial investment, but they needed to go.

Awesome yard artwork. Picture frame and switchplate cover. You can't see it in the picture, but there was a sticker on it that showed this was from 1992. If I haven't done it yet, it's never going to happen.

Hunter Dan, American Sportsman. White elephant gift that you can read all about here. I decided that it was time for him to move on.

I know this is some kind of game, but I'm not quite sure what or how to play...

R2D2. On a leash. You can walk him and make him make noises. I'm not even a Star Wars fan.

Grass skirt. You know, from my hula-ing days.

A couple black purses I haven't used in years and that are faded and aren't really even black anymore. The smaller one's from Homecoming sophomore year, the only high school dance I ever went to. That's how cool I was in high school.

Halloween headband.

Old computer mice. 2 of them. That won't plug into any computer that we have.

Bible cover with inspirational verse and eagle embroidery. Not that this isn't useful, but I ditched the store-bought Bible covers in favor of my own creations in high school. I probably just felt weird about getting rid of something with a Bible verse, like it's a sin or something. But now, it's gone.

Foam stickers. Unopened. Though I think they were a gift, so at least I didn't buy them and then never open them. On the other hand, I just gave away someone's gift to me.

So that's a small sampling of what I got rid of. If any of this catches your eye, it's up for grabs at Goodwill. Though you better hurry. Treasures like these will go fast!

Mary Poppins Had It Right

2011-01-19T14:31:00.000-08:00

As a child (and still today), one of my favorite movies was (and still is) Mary Poppins. I never had a nanny, but if I did, I would have wanted one like Mary Poppins. Cleaning my room would be so much easier if I could snap everything into place. Taking medicine, I would imagine it was from one of her magic spoons. Chalk drawings on the sidewalk always remind me of Bert and make me wonder if I can jump into them. Smoke coming out of chimneys makes me wonder if I could walk up it to the sky. I’ve always wanted to try the one man band thing, though I think that would be a total disaster. I’ve thought about what it would be like to slide up a staircase railing and spent hours trying to figure out how to spell “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.” I still don’t know… had to look that up.

Despite all the fun, there’s a serious side to Mary Poppins as well. Mary Poppins is exactly the nanny that Jane and Michael wanted and she loves them, but when they ask how long she will stay, she won’t commit to a timeframe, simply stating that she shall stay until the wind changes.

She never commits to a timeframe, knowing instead that when it comes her time to leave, she will leave.

I think this is the way that we, as Christians, should approach our lives. The Lord has a specific purpose for every second of our lives. And we don’t get to know what that purpose is. All we can do is simply follow, one step at a time. When it’s time for a change, He will let us know and we need to follow obediently. Which is much easier said than done. We need to approach life with the outlook that we shall stay until the wind changes. And then leave, so sooner and no later.

My wind is changing. God is changing it. As I’ve been evaluating and looking into my life recently, I’ve come to the realization that God is asking me to move. Not a little move from my apartment to my aunt’s house, like I did a couple months ago. A big move. 400 miles away. Next week, I’ll be loading up my car with whatever will fit, leaving the rest in my storage unit and moving north, to Clayton, where I grew up. Leaving the life that I’ve built and the friends I’ve made over the last few years of my life.

Why? I don’t know. Other than I believe that God has asked me to move. I don’t know what will happen once I get up there. I don’t know how long it will be before the Lord changes the wind again. It could be a week, a month, a year, never. But I’m okay with not knowing. I’ve come to understand that God doesn’t give us the whole plan, just the next step. So I’m taking it.

Eventually, the wind changed for Mary Poppins as well. Her work was done. The children ran off to fly a kite with their father without even saying goodbye, as her talking parrot umbrella points out. While saddened, Mary Poppins watches them run off and simply states that is as it should be.

After making my intentions “official” a few weeks ago, I’ve seen that life down here will indeed go on without me. My junior high girls will come to trust and confide in another female leader. Someone will step up and lead the Young Adults Girls’ Bible Study. Someone else will help with childcare at church when needed. God doesn’t need me for any of His work to happen. The ministries I have been involved in will go on and flourish without me. As sad as it is to write this, even think it, my prayer would be that I am not missed. That the Lord would fill the holes and seamlessly continue His ministry.

Simply because that is as it should be.

Something Else To Do With Fabric Scraps

2011-01-11T15:23:00.000-08:00

Since my last post, I've officially moved and become somewhat of a nomad, splitting my time between the Bay Area and Orange County. That's about to change, but that's for another day...

Over Christmas, my parent's house became a sort of sweat shop. The Monday after Christmas, we had a rag quilt party. Friends of all ages came over and we sewed and learned. To do this, we took over the living room with cutting and materials and the dining room with sewing machines. For the rest of the week, my parents graciously let my sister and me leave the tables and machines up so we could continue sewing.

We're dorks. We sewed all week. Cutting and sewing. We went to a New Year's Eve party. And left at 10:30 so we could go home and get more sewing in.

Janelle made a rag quilt. And put way more thought into hers than I think I've put into the four I've made combined. But it turned out cute. And HUGE. It's with her in Boston now and hopefully it's keeping her warm because snow's in the forecast.

I made a scrappy quilt. Rag quilts are great for big scraps, but for the smaller scraps, rag quilts don't really work. So using the paper piecing method that used for the quilt I made for my parents a few years ago, I made good use out of the bag-fulls of fabric scraps I had collected over the years. Yes, years. I found (and used) scraps from the first quilt I ever made, my senior year of high school (over 10 years ago!).

First, I dumped the bag out and started ironing.

This pile became a neat, flat pile that I then cut into strips/evened up the sides. Then, using pieces of paper in 4 different sizes and a pattern I made up on Excel graph paper, I sewed/paper pieced/cut/tore paper off (with help) like crazy and eventually ended up with this (I didn't take any pictures of the in-between steps):

That's the top. For the back, I used a 6-yard piece of fabric that had been sitting around waiting to be used for over 3 years. It wasn't quite big enough, so I used some more scraps to get it to the right size. The batting I did have to buy, but it was on sale at JoAnn a few weeks back. Pinned it, straight quilted it on my machine, and attached a binding made out of scraps as well.

So that's my Christmas-time project. I love the way it turned out, lots of variety and memories in the scraps. It's currently on my bed and doing quite a good job of keeping me warm and cozy at night.

Big THANK YOU! to Mom and Dad for letting us take over the living room and dining room and to Dad for helping me get the paper and tear it off and to Janelle for donating some of the scraps for the back and for helping tear the paper off {2} of the smallest squares.

Now I need another project and need to start replenishing my scrap drawer!

Boxes and Empty Shelves

2010-11-15T20:56:00.001-08:00

All my stuff is in boxes. Some are in the apartment, some are in the car, but I'm surrounded by boxes. Two friends came over and we spent hours boxing things up. Bubble wrap, paper, tape, we went through it all. And now everything's in boxes.

Since everything's in boxes, my shelves are empty. One of the things I really like about my apartment is that there are these really awesome built-in shelves. They've been full of things that represent me for the past year and a half. Books and pictures and mementos from trips. They definitely collected dust but they all mean something to me. The stuffed reindeer from Finland. The doll and wooden giraffe from Africa. Willow Tree Angels from Grandma. Pottery from my wheel thrown ceramics class.

And now, they're all hidden away in boxes and I don't know when I'll see them all again. I'll sleep in my bed tonight and tomorrow it will all go into storage. We'll have a last Bible study sitting on the floor of my empty apartment tomorrow night. Then I'll sleep on an air mattress, finish cleaning, and leave.

When I started typing this, I didn't know exactly what I was going to say, but I felt that if I want to truly use this blog to record my life, I needed to write something.

When I started typing this, I started with "my life is in boxes." Halfway through the second paragraph, I looked at that sentence and realized that is incorrect. So I changed it.

My stuff is in boxes. My life is in Christ.

It doesn't matter what I do or where I live. The part of me that is most important is never going to change. I cannot allow my life to be defined by the books that sit on my shelf or the plates that I eat my food off of or the chair I sit in. In the grand scheme of things, all of my things are just things. Important to me, but just things. My identity is as a daughter of the One who created it all.

Yet I'm still sad. I've cried myself to sleep a few times. Something is ending and it's not what I want. My life is about to change and when I look at the big picture, I'm excited. I believe that He has something amazing in store for my life. And I know that I have to continue following Him if I want to find out what that is. So this is me doing what I believe to be following Him. One step at a time. I don't know what comes next. All I know is what comes now. He will reveal what is next at the right time.

I just need to wait.

Right now, I'll be staying at my aunt and uncle's house until God reveals the next step. As I took a load of things over there earlier tonight, I was listening to my favorite worship CD.

I'm giving You my heart | And all that is within

I lay it all down | For the sake of You my King

I'm giving you my dreams | I'm laying down my rights

I'm giving up my pride | For the promise of new life

-Surrender, Seventh Day Slumber, Take Everything

This is me. I'm giving Him my heart, dreams, and pride. I'm laying it all down so He can pick it all up and turn it all into something beautiful. I'm scared. But if I truly want to follow Him, I have to do it.

The Speed of Life

2010-11-13T00:07:00.000-08:00

If it were up to me, my life would move at a steady pace. You know, with things spread out at a manageable rate. However, it is not up to me. By any means. Sometimes it seems as if life is on *pause* and no matter what I do, the *play* button is not working. And then all of a sudden, it *fast forwards.*

For a while now, I feel like my life's going in slow motion. I've been doing church stuff. Spending some time with friends. But nothing out of the ordinary. Plodding along. Some days I don't even go anywhere. Searching and applying for jobs and not hearing anything back. Haven't had an interview in a while. I get bored sometimes. And in evaluating where my life is and where it's going, I made a decision a few weeks ago to move out of my apartment. I can sit around and be bored anywhere so paying rent to do so seems silly. So after some serious time in prayer and talking with some trusted people, I decided to move all my stuff into storage and begin living the life of a nomad. Told my landlord and figured I'd spend the month of November sorting through my stuff. I have a lot of stuff. It could take an entire month.

I got a call yesterday for an interview next Wednesday. For a job in Wyoming. Phone interview, so no trip. Which is fine with me because there's a high of 30 degrees or so right now. I was pretty excited about that. If I can't pack up and move to Wyoming now, when can I? It would be a great adventure, which I'm always up for.

I got an e-mail today for another interview next Thursday. For a job in Walnut Creek. In person. Which means another trip up north. I've made the drive twice in the past month. So I'll be going up next Wednesday after the phone interview and then staying through Thanksgiving. You know, the prime time for my planned move. So now, instead of moving over the course of a couple weeks, it'll be done in the next couple days. *fast forward*

Should be fun. Anyone want to help?

Rag Quilt

2010-10-28T14:42:00.000-07:00

I quilt. I learned in high school, where I was a home.ec nerd. I dropped out of more academically challenging courses to learn how to sew and quilt. And I must say, I've gotten more use (and enjoyment) out of those classes than I ever would have out of French 4 or AP Biology.

So glad I made this non-academic decision.

Most of the quilts I've made are traditional quilts, with a top, batting, and backing. If that means nothing to you, don't worry about it. You know what a quilt looks like.

However, at some point, my grandma gave me one of those free pattern things from JoAnn for a rag quilt.

I was intrigued. It looked pretty awesome. And it's made with all scraps. Gave me something to do with the leftover batting from quilts and scraps of fabric I didn't want to put in a different quilt. Seriously. Not going to be put the Happy Hawaiian Christmas fabric {that I got for free}in a quilt and couldn't bring myself to throw it out.

So I made a rag quilt for myself. Just to see how it worked. And I ended up loving it. It's on the back of my couch and I love snuggling up with it. I've even added to it since I first made it, something that is not possible with a traditional quilt.

Then I made one for my sister-in-law for Christmas a couple years ago. It's on the back of her couch too. Apparently it garners a lot of compliments.

Then I made the girl who lead Junior High small groups with me last year. She loves hers. Some other women at church saw it and I ended up helping them make their own rag quilts. Which not only led to some great projects, but also great friendships and we sewed and hung out for many many hours.

Recently, I had enough scraps to make another one. Finished clipping it last night at a friend's house and washed and dried it today. Love it. Still don't know what I'm going to do with it.

Wherever it ends up, it'll be better than being a bunch of scraps languishing in a box somewhere.

My Bible and Coffee

2010-10-27T12:15:00.000-07:00

(This picture was taken a couple weeks ago when I was up north and went to Cup o Joe in Downtown Clayton to do my morning Bible Study. It's how I prefer to start every day. My Bible, my Bible study, and coffee.)

For the last two years, I've been going to a Bible study every Thursday night. It's through the women's ministry at my church, there are women of all ages there, and I'm almost always the youngest one there. By about 25 years or so.

And I absolutely love it!

While I enjoy spending time with and studying Scripture with people my own age as well, there's something pretty fabulous about being surrounded by the wisdom that only comes with age. These women are simply amazing and I learn and grow so much by being in fellowship with them.

Up until this current study, we had always done Beth Moore studies. I've studied Daniel, Jesus, and what it truly means to Believe God with these women and all the studies have been fabulous. This time around, however, we took a break from Beth and are doing He Speaks to Me: Preparing to Hear from God by Priscilla Shirer. We're only a couple weeks in, but I'm finding this study rather excellent.

The study is somewhat based on 1 Samuel 3 when God speaks to Samuel as a child, looking at the attributes of Samuel that made him ready to hear God's voice. Of course, it expands and brings in other Scripture as well. This study is causing me to think and examine my life and my attitudes in a way I don't think I have before. It's challenging and sometimes rough to get through, but in a good way.

As I sat with my Bible and my coffee this morning and did the study on "His Acceptance," the first thing that I had to write down was things that I like best about myself.

Not going to lie. Stopped me in my tracks. Are we allowed to do this in a Bible study? I wrote that down and then wrote some things I like about myself. Later in the study I had to write things I don't like about myself.

The point to this exercise?

None of my good traits make me acceptable to God and none of my bad traits keep me from a standing of righteousness before God.

Or, as Priscilla puts it:

We are not made acceptable to God by who we are but by Whose we are.

In short, it's all about JESUS.

Amen!

It's been a while

2010-10-25T21:22:00.000-07:00

So I haven't blogged in over a year. And so much has changed since last October. I did get my furniture. From Pottery Barn. And it's pretty fabulous. And I've been able to enjoy it a lot more than I was thinking I would. Mainly because of the one huge change that has happened in the past year.

I was laid off at the end of February.

Weird experience. Totally unexpected. (Still) tough to accept.

Through it all, God has been my strength. I can't imagine having gone through any of the past few months without Him.

I've learned a lot about myself since February.

I took a lot of pride in my job. (Note: God's not too big on pride in His children.) I'm not saying that's why I was laid off, but who knows. It may be a part of it.

My friendships are stronger than I would have ever realized without losing my job. The support they've given me is amazing.

But the biggest thing I've learned is that I don't need a job to be content, to feel fulfilled, to give my life meaning. Because I already have all of that in Him.

I don't know exactly where my life is going to take me next. If you hadn't heard, the economy is not so great right now and there aren't too many jobs available. I've applied and sent in resumes to many places. All over California, of course. But also Illinois, Tennessee, Washington, North Carolina, Wyoming.

Considering South Dakota. That would be interesting.

In the mean time, I've been continuing to be involved in the Young Adults Ministry at church (and lead a Bible Study), hang out with the Junior High girls (my girls are fantastic), and attend my Women's Ministry Bible Study (those women have been such a wonderful support system!).

Besides church, I've been sewing a lot. I've actually been paid for a couple quilts that I've made, which was pretty exciting for me. I also taught some women at church how to sew which has led to a couple great friendships.

I also ran a half marathon with my mom last week. So training for that took up a bit of my time. Now it's over and I need to find another reason to continue running. (Side note: The half marathon was way more fun than I was expecting it to be!)

So that's my life at the moment. Applying for jobs, Bible Studies and church activities, sewing, cultivating friendships, and trying to figure out where life's going to take me next.

And possibly getting back into blogging. If for no other reason than to be able to look back and remember where God took me on this journey.

I want new furniture

2009-10-22T23:46:00.000-07:00

I know I don't need it. But I really really want new furniture. The
free couch that was left in my apartment by the previous occupants and
the egg chair left over from college just aren't cutting it anymore.

Thus, I started a furniture fund. It's only about a week old so
there's not much in it right now. But I started looking at furniture.
And tonight I measured my living room and made a floor plan and cut
out furniture pieces to see what fits. And wouldn't you know it, the
Pottery Barn furniture I was looking at online fits perfectly.

But it's super expensive. But I don't want cheap furniture. If I
wanted cheap furniture I would have already bought something.

Is it wrong that I'm considering Pottery Barn? I never thought I
would. It seems so snobby to answer the question "Where's that from?"
with "Pottery Barn."

Makes me think of that Friends episode where Rachel buys furniture at
Pottery Barn and tells Phoebe it's from a flea market.

These are the things I think about when I'm at home by myself, up too
late, and am thinking about what I should do with my Friday off.

Pottery Barn trip? Just to look? Maybe?

24 hours!

2009-10-07T21:19:00.000-07:00

My plane to Boston leaves in 24 hours! So excited to spend the week
with the sister!

I should probably pack.

Fixed!

2009-09-25T14:52:00.001-07:00

The car is fixed! Big thank you to my uncle who saved the day. I tried
to do it myself but I didn't have the tool that would have made it
easier. Or a car to get to the store to get the new battery.
Apparently the old one was dead.

Now I'm tired. And I'm supposed to be going to the beach for a
bonfire. I want to sleep. Or just lay on the couch. But I'll probably
end up going. When did I actually get a social life?

Why today was the perfect day for my car to break down

2009-09-24T22:23:00.001-07:00

Right now my car doesn't work. At all. Doesn't turn on. At all. And my
dad assures me that I can have it fixed (by myself!) before noon
tomorrow. I love his confidence in me! So instead of sitting here and
complaining about my car not working and missing Bible study tonight
because my car doesn't work and losing out on part of my day off
because I have to fix it, I am instead going to think about the good.

It happened at work. Where I work with guys who know about cars and
were able to get it to the point where it got me home. It wasn't at
home or while I was running errands or some random place by myself.

It happened on a Thursday afternoon before my Friday off. I can use my
Friday of to fix it. I didn't have to come home and stress about
getting it done right away so I could make it to work the next day.

I have a wonderful dad and brother who can try to help me from far
away, give me instructions and encouragement, and answer any questions
I have (including ones like "is there anyway I could end up killing
myself?"). And I got to talk to both of them today. And Stephen. And
Erin. And Mom.

I have a dad who thinks it's important that all of his children have
tools and know how to use them. They're coming out tomorrow!

I have two good legs that can walk me to the store should I need
anything.

I have uncles nearby that would come over and help should I need it.

And even though I hated having to miss Bible study tonight, it was
actually really nice to have a relaxing night at home (the first one
in a while) and get to watch the season premiere of CSI.

So things are looking up! In all honesty, I do think that it won't be
a big deal to fix the car. Basically I need to remove some corrosion
from the battery terminals. But Dad and Nathan made it seem easy
enough. And if I actually do it, I will definitely feel accomplished!

Simple Pleasures

2009-09-11T20:53:00.001-07:00

sleeping in a big comfy {real} bed
sleeping until nearly 8:30 and then laying in bed for another hour with a cool breeze blowing in the window
3 day work weeks
cinnamon raisin toast with butter
an entire clean apartment
"borrowing" internet from an unknown source and completing albums on iTunes
a new bag in super cute material that took less than an hour to make
looking forward to Disneyland tomorrow
beautiful sunsets
showering when sweaty
cool night air
random DVDs from the 4 for $20 rack at blockbuster
an apartment all to myself
calling my big brother to wish him happy birthday
disney's earth
stove popped popcorn with butter
Bible studies
jr. high girls
raspberry iced tea
dr. quinn medicine woman on dvd
smelly candles and wallflowers
creativity, imagination, dreams, and the ability to act on them

and those are just some of the ones I experienced in the last couple days. God is good.

4 weeks, 2 hours, & 43 minutes...

2009-09-10T18:32:00.000-07:00

... until my flight leaves for Boston! 6 days with the sister! So so
so excited!

Anyone out there?

2009-09-06T20:58:00.000-07:00

So after a nearly month long break from blogging, I'm pretty sure I've lost any readers I actually had. Oh well. I don't think I had that many to begin with. Why the long break? Honestly, I'm lazy. I still don't have internet at the apartment and blogging from the phone is, quite honestly, a pain in the neck (and possibly other body parts, but we're keeping this child friendly)... Add on to the annoyance of typing on the phone the fact that I tried to post a couple times and Blogger only would publish about half of what I wrote, and well, I gave up.

This weekend, I'm in Clayton with the parents, so I actually have a real computer with real internet. Much easier. I came up for a dear friend's wedding reception. It was this afternoon and it was amazing. Such a wonderful celebration of God's faithfulness and goodness and a time to catch up with some of the best friends a girl could ever hope for. This was all after getting to spend yesterday with my parents, brothers, sister-in-law, and grandparents. Ah, the blessings in this life are almost too much to handle! It's weekends like this that I sometimes wonder just why God had chosen to take me away from all of this to my life in Southern California. I know I'm where I'm supposed to be, it's just that at times I get a little sad that where I'm supposed to be isn't here.

Nevertheless, I press on. Things are getting busy down in the southland. I've recently started doing Jr. High at church (and actually missed a staff retreat to be up here this weekend). Jr. High is such an interesting stage of life. I know that personally, I did not particularly enjoy that stage, but it's wonderful getting to know these kids as they are growing up, becoming their own people, and beginning to make their faith their own. I'm also doing a couple Bible studies. One is through the Young Adults group. I'm hosting it at my apartment. It should be good and it makes me clean at least once a week! The other is the women's study I did last year. This year, we'll be studying Beth Moore's Jesus the One and Only. It starts this Thursday and I'm so looking forward to this study and getting back with these women! If it's the same general group as last year, I will be the youngest (by far), but I love forming strong relationships with older, Godly women. It's great! Can't wait!

All of that combined with work and continuing to develop friendships and relationships and trying to be a good daughter/granddaughter/sister/niece/cousin/friend/etc. makes for one busy girl!

So that's my life at this moment. Further posts may continue to be few and far between until I give in and actually get internet. And I'm stubborn and like the look on people's faces when I tell them I don't have internet at my house. So it probably won't happen for a while. Oh well.

Saturday morning snippets

2009-08-08T10:58:00.001-07:00

• I got a new mattress last week. After 3 months the Aerobed was
deflated and a new real mattress was moved in. Amazing! I'm loving it.

• mattress shopping. way more fun than it sounds.

• 5 day week this week. When this is my biggest complaint, life is
good.

• almost done reading the time traveller's wife. So good. Cannot wait
for the movie.

• today's dad's birthday. Happy birthday dad!

• janelle returns to California today and I get to see her in 5 days.
Woohoo!

• I get my sewing machine back from Janelle next weekend. I cut all
the material for the next quilt last night. It's going to be great!

• sale at Joann this weekend. I bought a Cricut for half price. No
clue what I'm going to use it for, but it's so cool! I'll figure
something out. Watch out, if I have your address, you may be getting a
spiffy homemade card!

Happy Saturday!

Problems

2009-08-03T20:49:00.001-07:00

So blogger is being a little funky in letting me post from my phone.
The two posts below are supposed to be one. But maybe it's appropriate
because my sister is doubly awesome!

Another reason I love my sister!

2009-08-03T20:46:00.000-07:00

Only Janelle would get me basically the best birthday present ever
(even if it is a week and a half late)!!

So yes. I am a big dork and LOVE this! It's perfect. And my amazing,
amazing sister, instead of reminding me how lame I am, gets me things
like the second season of Wildfire and would totally watch it with me
if she weren't 3,000 miles away and up to her ears in studying.

I love you Janelle!!! Thank you!!!
>

Another reason I love my sister!

2009-08-03T20:13:00.000-07:00

Only Janelle would get me basically the best birthday present ever
(even if it is a week and a half late)!!

What a day!

2009-07-22T21:16:00.001-07:00

Oh. My. Goodness.

Today was something else.

Got up late. Quick breakfast. Poured my coffee in the travel mug. Left
the travel mug on the coffee table.

Got to work {almost} on time. Realized th zipper on my pants was
broken. No joke. Don't ask.

Went on the bathroom and fixed my pants for the day. Walked around
very carefully for the rest of the day.

Lunch. Went to JoAnn's to get some stuff for a project I'm working on.
Slowest fabric cutter ever. Seriously. Calked my number. And then left
fir a couple minutes. Came back and forgot she was helping me. After I
reminded her, she had to go look for her scissors. Finally got the
fabric cut and had to {literally} run around the store to get
everything else. Remember the pants.

The rest if the day was uneventful.

Got home and started work on my project. Didn't go as smoothly in real
life as in my mind.

Made guacamole for dinner. I am aware it's not the best dinner.
Realized I'm out of tortilla chips and my tortillas were moldy.
Guacamole on rye toast. Yum.

Listened to the rock bad in the park. Didn't actually go to the park.
Just heard it from home. Sounded like someone screaming in a
microphone for an hour and a half.

Ugh... The day's just about over. And tomorrow's looking up. All
morning meeting in drought resistant landscaping. Lunch with the
planning girls. Then taking the afternoon off to go to Disneyland to
get my birthday gift card. Should be fun!

Child's diet

2009-07-15T19:36:00.001-07:00

Quite by accident, a lot of the food I have eaten this week has been
food I ate as a kid, and, at least in my mind, are distinctively "kid"
foods.

Velveeta Shells & Cheese
Chicken nuggets (dinosaur shaped, no less)
Egg in a bread
Cottage cheese and applesauce
Berry Berry Kix (Pretty much every breakfast this week. And one dinner.)

I have enjoyed every bite!

To top it off, this week is kids week on Jeopardy. 10-12 year olds.
And they ask easier questions than real Jeopardy. Makes me feel so
smart!

Wiped out

2009-07-13T18:48:00.001-07:00

So I've been back at work full time for about a week now. And I have
to say, last week completely wiped me out! That 6 am alarm and 10 hour
day after two weeks of sleeping in and relaxing and hanging out with
friends was so much harder than I was expecting. But I made it and now
I'm into the second week back.

All my stuff is more or less put away. My apartment looks like an
apartment again rather than a storage locker. I still need some more
furniture, but nothing that can't wait.

Um... My parents are coming down this week and we're going to Big
Bear, celebrating my birthday a week early.

Sadly, I really have nothing else to say. My life is incredibly boring
at the moment, but I'm enjoying it, for the most part. There's a
couple things coming up that have the potential to make me a bit
busier, but nothing's set yet.

That's all for now.

Reality Check

2009-07-06T19:44:00.001-07:00

I have to be at work in 12 hours for the first time in 2 1/2 weeks.

I brought down an entire carload of stuff yesterday and I have no
place to put half of it so it's sitting in boxes my living room.

I ate all my perishable foods before I left so I went shopping today
and bought a lot of food. The food that needs to go in the
refrigerator or freezer is put away. The rest is sitting in piles in
my kitchen.

I made dinner tonight and along with the piles of food, there are
dirty dishes everywhere.

After being surrounded by people non stop for the better part of the
past 2 weeks, I am back to living by myself and am enjoying the
solitude.

Vacation is over and my real life is starting back up. Here we go...

Technically Over

2009-07-03T14:47:00.001-07:00

Technically, my vacation is over. Today is my regular Friday off, and
because of that, I'm "observing" the 4th of July on Monday. It had
been a good vacation, relaxing, a lot of fun. But next week us back to
reality. And in a weird way, I'm actually looking forward to it!

Happy 4th of July one day early!

Dear Janelle,

2009-06-30T22:47:00.001-07:00

I am currently sleeping in your room, as Mummi and Scott are in mine.
And, quite honestly, I have absolutely no idea how you have slept in
this bed in this room for the past 15+ years. The bed frame makes
noise. As does the bed springs and the mattress. Even your comforter
is noisy. How the heck did that happen?!

Apart from the bed, your room shares a wall with the TV. And
apparently our family is deaf. So loud! And the talking! You're so
close to it all. The front door slams. The faucet goes on. People walk
down the hall. Oh, soneone's using the ice dispenser in the
refrigerator right now.

So. Many. Noises. How have you slept here for so long? I just do not
understand. Tomorrow night I will return to my room, with the bed that
doesn't make any noise and walls that are only adjacent to the
outside, closets, and other bedrooms. Until then, I will suffer
through the night in your noisy room.

Hope you are sleeping well in Boston.

Love, Cari

Naps

2009-06-23T23:01:00.000-07:00

I never take naps. Never. Ever. I've always found it hard to fall asleep in the middle of the day. So I don't take naps. I just don't.

This week, being on vacation, I have dozed off every afternoon thus far. Ok, so it's only 3 days in a row. And dozing isn't a real nap, but I think I've fallen asleep for at least 10 minutes each time. But still. That's more than the last couple years combined (I think).

Anyway, this is a big deal for me. My mom thinks it's because I'm actually breathing fresh air and not the smog infested junk I'm stuck with down south. Whatever the cause, it's odd. At least for me.

Summer Vacation

2009-06-18T18:14:00.001-07:00

Woohoo! My personal summer vacation is upon me! It took me a bit
longer to wrap everything up at work, but I left around 5:50 this
evening and don't have to me back until 7:30 am on July 7. I'm looking
forward to a couple great weeks of wedding, family, friends,
relaxation, and hopefully even a bit of adventuring!

I'm excited!

Cold Turkey

2009-06-17T18:52:00.001-07:00

17 days ago I embarked on one of the most difficult undertakings of my
life. And I did it quite by accident.

June 1. My supply of Diet Coke ran out at both work and home. I didn't
much feel like going to the store that night, so I didn't get more. I
didn't make it to the store the next day either. And by Wednesday (the
3rd), I thought to myself, "What if I just don't get any more? I
wonder if I could do it? Could I just quit cold turkey? Would it work?"

Fast forward to now. I have not had any sort of carbonated beverage in
two and a half weeks. My only source of caffeine has been a cup of
coffee in the morning. Holy cow, it's hard! Oh, how I would love a
Diet Coke right now. Especially after this week. One planner left for
vacation last week, so we're down a planner. Random meetings (code
enforcement, code enforcement, stormwater, new computer permitting
system) all week. More public inquiries at the counter in the last two
days than the last month combined (at least it feels that way). Oh,
and tomorrow is my last day before I take off for two weeks for Nathan
and Erin's wedding.

On one hand, vacation cannot come fast enough. On the other, I want
tomorrow to go by somewhat slowly so I can get everything I need to
done before I leave so I don't go into vacation thinking about it.

Oh, Coke, how I miss thee.

Let there be light!

2009-06-09T22:06:00.001-07:00

I started my job approximately 15 months ago. As is typical (I think)
of new employees, I explored my surroundings. And my desk. Beautiful
cubicle. Two overhead cabinets. Lights under both. Flip on the lights
(I have lights!). Dang it, one of the light bulbs is burned out. I
should get that replaced.

Fast forward approximately 15 months. 15 months of making do without
getting the light fixed. 15 months if working in semi-darkness. I
finally had Flor, our office support specialist, put in a work order
to have the light fixed. So proud of myself. I will finally work with
light!

So yesterday, Tony the maintenance guy comes by to take a look at the
light to make sure he got the correct replacement.

Tony: Is the light plugged in?

Me: Uh... Oh. Never mind.

15 months people. 15 months.

2 line post

2009-06-06T09:41:00.001-07:00

My sister is blogging in Boston!

Check it out - janellemeyer.blogspot.com

New place

2009-05-30T16:05:00.001-07:00

So that's the new place. (There's a bunch of pictures below - scroll
down!)

Hope you enjoyed! Come and visit. I may even clean again if I know a
visitor is coming so it'll look awesome!

Sent from my iPhone

Bathroom

2009-05-30T16:03:00.001-07:00

It's small and hard to get a good picture.

Kitchen

2009-05-30T16:02:00.001-07:00

From the bathroom

Kitchen

2009-05-30T16:01:00.000-07:00

From the living room. Bathroom door in the distance

Living room with kitchen beyond

2009-05-30T16:00:00.001-07:00

From the bedroom. A built in shelf and Man vs. Wild on TV.

Living room

2009-05-30T15:58:00.000-07:00

Side entrance and built in shelves.

Living room with bedroom beyond

2009-05-30T15:56:00.001-07:00

From the kitchen.

iPhone pictures of the apartment

2009-05-30T15:54:00.000-07:00

I cleaned! Then I took pictures.

You learn something new every day

2009-05-29T21:22:00.001-07:00

Today's lesson:

No matter what the barista (is it baristo if it's a boy?) tells you, a
lavender flavored latte is definitely not good and tastes vaguely like
dirt.

- - -

Tonight I'm trying to decide whether I want to stay up and watch Jay
Leno's last Tonight Show or try to find it on YouTube later. I'm
leaning towards staying up.

Tomorrow I'm planning on cleaning and then trying to post pictures of
the new place. I'll post after I clean in order to perpetuate the idea
that I am an amazing housekeeper.

And finally, Amy's coming over for dinner tomorrow. WooHoo!! Another
reason to clean!

Observation

2009-05-26T22:40:00.001-07:00

On the offramp I take on my way home from work, there's this sign.
It's handwritten on a piece of poster board and says something to the
effect of "I just sold 25 houses. Let me show you how. Call me." Then
it has a phone number. Ok. Not so dramatic or anything. But every time
I see it (that would be every work day and some non work days as
well), I have two thoughts.

1) Does this guy realize that few people are going to see his sign? Of
course, I've seen it, but it's next to a right turn only lane and it's
somewhat rare to stop long enough to read the sign, much less take
down the number.

And 2) It's handwritten. And not in especially good handwriting. With
a black marker, probably a Sharpie On a piece of white poster board
you can probably get for 50 cents at a drug store. Sir, if you've
really just sold 25 (TWENTY-FIVE?!?!) houses, you can most likely
spend more than a dollar on advertising yourself. So do it. And if you
can't, well, then I don't want your help. No thank you.

Guilty Pleasure

2009-05-26T13:23:00.001-07:00

In the last year or so, I have come to LOVE taking my car to the car
wash. I used to either wash it myself or let it be dirty. No more!
There's something oddly exhilarating about giving someone $12-$15 and
getting a beautiful shiny clean car. It's absolutely lovely.

So here I sit on my lunch break, watching every inch of my car get
cleaned and polished. Ah... So wonderful!

Sent from my iPhone

Update

2009-05-23T23:45:00.001-07:00

To answer Janelle's question... I actually wrote the previous post at
6:30 - my phone just messed up when posting it.

Now it's bedtime after a great night!

Sent from my iPhone

Progress!

2009-05-23T22:16:00.000-07:00

My apartment is beginning to look like someone actually lives here
rather than a bug storage locker. Garage sale finds from last weekend
when Janelle was here gave me some actual furniture so I no longer
have to eat on the floor and a place to put by soda while I'm watching
the TV I bought last weekend as well. That plus some if my stuff
Janelle brought down last weekend, fun stuff from Target and Ikea and
a bit of organzing, sorting, and putting together equals a place
that's beginning to feel like home! And I love it! Pictures may be
coming soon (still iPhone-ing for internet).

Now off to dinner with the Yaholkovsky girls!

Just a Spoonful of Sugar

2009-05-10T20:21:00.001-07:00

In ev'ry job that must be done
There is an element of fun
You find the fun and snap!!
The job's a game.

I'm trying. I really am! And if I were Mary Poppins (or at least Jane)
and a snap of the fingers made all my stuff put itself away neatly in
the correct place, I'd be having an absolute blast.

But alas, this is not so. I'm not only responsible for putting every
last piece of stuff I have away in its correct place, I'm also
responsible for figuring out where that correct place is.

I also am responsible for buying everything that an apartment may
need. Like furniture. And garbage cans. And toilet plungers. And
internet (I'm holding off on that one and iPhone-ing it fir the time
being). And snapping my fingers does absolutely nothing. Nothing
whatsoever. I'm exhausted and finding the fun to make this all a game
just isn't happening right now.

Why can't I be Mary Poppins? Or at least be Jane and have her magic
rub off on me.

Sent from my iPhone

What do you do...

2009-05-08T09:18:00.001-07:00

... when you're moving into a new apartment, have no furniture, all
your stuff us in piles on the floor, your refrigerator just got
delivered but can't preserve food for another 6 hours, don't actually
have any food, you still have one more load of stuff and cleaning to
do at your aunt's house, and have absolutely no clue where to start?

What do you do? Apparently I shun reality and blog from my phone.

Sent from my iPhone

Brilliant

2009-05-05T23:15:00.000-07:00

Calling in sick when you're sick. Good idea.

Traveling (flying) while sick. Bad idea. Especially when the flight is super turbulent, not that you could know that ahead of time.

Moving while sick. Bad idea.

Yet since I got sick last week, I have not missed any work, flew up to Clayton for 2 days for Erin's shower, and am currently in the process of moving. And I'm still sick.

I'm brilliant. Have a good week.

I'm not dead

2009-04-26T20:06:00.000-07:00

So apparently some people think that I'm dead if I go AWOL for a few days. OK... to be fair, I'm talking about my mom and she did call and text message me... and I didn't respond to either. Bad daughter. As for the lack of posts here, that would be basically because my life at the present moment is wholly boring and thoroughly uninteresting. And now if I have any readers left out there, you get to hear about it.

I got back from Indio last Monday. Very relaxing time after a very good historic preservation conference.

3 days of work. Nothing exciting happened. I finally completed my 1-year review and passed with flying colors. I'm off probation now, which basically means that it's harder for them to get rid of me should they want to (I think). No pay raise.

Friday I did laundry and bought a set of pots. Woohoo! Matching pots and pans for the new place. The old mismatched, well used pots go to Stephen for his first apartment next year. The other option was donating them to charity (if a charity would take them) or throwing them away. I'm such a good sister.

I also managed to drain my car battery by sitting and talking to Janelle for a bit (apparently a longer bit than I thought) with my phone plugged in and my headlights on in the Target parking lot. Thanks to the random family I ran down in the parking lot for a jump. That's the first truly blonde moment I've had in a while.

Riverside for t-ball and hanging out with the aunt and uncle and littlest cousins yesterday. Very fun.

Church and IKEA (didn't buy anything, but I'm definitely going back once I have a place to put furniture!) today.

5 working days this week, then off to Clayton for a quick weekend trip and a bridal shower on Sunday. I believe Arijaan will be coming out to Clayton on Saturday and I'm very excited about that, so she better not disappoint. I'm flying this time. This is actually the first trip north I've taken since I moved down here that I won't be driving.

Next week is moving week! Yes, it will be streching out over an entire week. I'm prioritizing loads, as in the stuff that I need the least will be going over first. Hoping to have it all done by Friday. Then I think Janelle's coming down to visit and bring down some stuff from Mom and Dad's and to visit.

So the next few weeks should be busy. I'll try to keep this updated, if only to assure certain family members of my well being.

Weekend Away

2009-04-17T22:52:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is a historic preservation planning conference in Palm Springs (again, I am just so awesome!).

Then 2 days at my parent's timeshare in Indio. All by myself... and I'm totally looking forward to it!

And this is my 3rd short post in a row. They're so much easier than longer ones!

Last Night

2009-04-10T21:54:00.001-07:00

I went to the midnight showing of the new Hannah Montana movie. And I actually really enjoyed it. And then I got home at 2:30 AM.

Don't bother telling me how cool I am. I already know.

You know you go to Vons way too much when...

2009-04-07T20:39:00.000-07:00

... the checker greets you by name while you're still waiting in line.

True story. So I went to Albertsons for my contact solution tonight.

I'm Moving!!

2009-04-06T21:18:00.000-07:00

I found an apartment! I'm moving! I'm excited!

So... after toying with the idea of buying a place (CRAZY that thinking about that isn't actually crazy) I decided I'm not ready to be quite that permanent yet. And pretty much as soon as I made that decision, I found this place on Craig's List. And I waited (not always a positive when it comes to Craig). But then, it was still there, so I sent an e-mail. And I went to look at it. And it's great! A little one-bedroom place. Perfect for me.

Bonus? It's an amazing price and water, gas, and electric are included (it would be a fantastic price even without the utilities). And there's a washer/dryer on site.

Double bonus? It's in Old Towne Orange in a historic house about 3 houses away from a huge park where they have concerts in the park in the summer. And there's a really cute old lady who lives next door. I met her today.

I'm rather excited. I move at the beginning of May. Visitors welcome!

Now about my lack of furniture situation...

Dream Cari

2009-03-22T13:59:00.000-07:00

Real Cari has not been in school in about 2 years. If you don't count my last quarter when I only took one class, that one class being Senior Project that was pretty much 100% independently done (with Melissa), save for a 15-20 minute with our adviser each week, it's been exactly 2 years. 2 years since I've gone to class, taken notes, studied (or thought about studying), tests, finals, midterms, study groups, etc. 2 years since that has been a reality in my life.

However, Dream Cari, the me that exists when I go to bed, has been going to school for the last 2 years. Due to weird things that happened when I transferred, there were a couple classes that I didn't have to take. So Dream Cari keeps having what I will call a recurring nightmare. In this nightmare, I'm back in school, taking classes. I've been in the same classes for the last year and a half or so. I'm behind in a couple classes due to the fact that I never go, never study, couldn't tell you which classroom they're in, who is in the class, or who the teacher is. But I'm enrolled and I have to finish in order to get my degree. Every recurrence of this nightmare stresses me out a little more.

I have my diploma, I have a job based on having that diploma, it's been almost 2 years and they have yet to recall that diploma. Yet Dream Cari is still haunted by this nightmare that I have to go back to school.

I am overjoyed that I am done with school. I love the fact that I can come home from work and do absolutely nothing and not feel guilty. I love that I can take off for the weekend and not bring work with me. I love that I can take vacation time, that I get paid for that, and don't have to worry about getting notes from someone or making up tests when I get back. I love working my 7:30-5:30 job and not being in school.

And despite all of this, in the past couple weeks, I have been thinking about going back to school. Not immediately, but in the next couple years maybe. I am thinking about a Masters in Public Administration program that I could do online and continue to work at the same time. I've found a few that I think would work. Am I crazy?

1 year

2009-03-20T21:52:00.000-07:00

Did you know that as of yesterday, I have been at my job for one whole year? Crazy! It has been a good year and I can't wait for the second year!

On another note, I spent my extra $20.50 (see previous post) on Season 1 of the Big Bang Theory at Target. And it was actually on sale, so I bought some earrings and mini Reese's peanut butter cups too (the peanut butter to chocolate ratio is much better in the mini ones than the regular size ones). Just doing my part to stimulate the economy with the extra money the stimulus package gave me.

$20.50

2009-03-20T17:50:00.000-07:00

My paycheck today had an extra $20.50 on it as a result of new tax tables due to the "American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan." Over the course of a year, it's $533. Which really won't change my lifestyle too greatly. Though I probably will spend it on something. More Target shopping trips perhaps? Extra clothes and books and DVDs I don't really need. Which I think is its purpose.

Random Pictures!

2009-03-15T22:45:00.001-07:00

My sister commented (to me) a while back that I hadn't posted pictures in a while. No, I have not. Basically, it's because I'm lazy. Too lazy to get the camera out at opportune moments and too lazy to plug in the camera and download the pictures when I do have them. As a result, there are pictures that have been in the camera for a while... here's a sampling...

Makenna's birthday party. Matt fell asleep. In the middle of a room full of loud 10 year old girls. That's pretty powerful sleeping talent. A talent I do not possess.

Janelle graduated from college and I was there! Congratulations little sister!

Krissy graduated too! And they took a picture together. (Side note - Krissy and Caleb are getting married in 2 weeks in SLO. I'm going to the wedding, so if anyone's around, let me know!)

The family came down for Christmas and some of us went to Ruby's on the pier and then took the ferry to Balboa Peninsula. Me, Haley, Karen, Dawn, Makenna, Janelle, Mom. Dad, Stephen, and Jeff were there too but did not participate in the picture.

Me and Haley on the ferry.

After the family came down for Christmas, I went up for New Year's. And Mom made us take a family picture after church.

The awesome photo album I got for $30 (regular price $180) in Venice (California, not Italy, though the book is Italian leather).

Nathan and Erin came down to visit. As always, the white board was a big hit. Erin made sure Maggie knew how cool white boards really are.

I believe Rachel had my camera this night. Thus this is one of the better pictures I have of the night. A blurry Tom, Nathan, Jen, and Erin.

Their last day here we went to Disneyland. And went on Splash Mountain at night. 3 people in the first 3 seats and no one in the back means you get really wet. Believe it or not, Erin was actually sitting behind Nathan. She just really did not want to get wet. (Trust me, she's really there)

So there are the pictures that were stored on my camera... now back to picture less posts for a while.

Long Day, Long Week

2009-03-10T21:51:00.001-07:00

Sick all weekend.

Still sick.

Worked all day yesterday.

Slept horribly (5 hours) last night.

Worked ALL day (13 hours) today.

Still not feeling well.

Have to be at work at 7:30 tomorrow morning and work all day.

Decision time. New Law and Order: SVU tonight and the return of Alex Cabot.

Should I watch or not?

I found it!

2009-02-27T13:55:00.000-08:00

A scientific reason to continue my insane caffeine habit!

Caffeine May Offer Some Skin Cancer Protection

My combination of white white skin and penchant for caffeine-infused beverages seems to be the perfect combination!

As the article says, the protection caffeine offers is not huge, "but if you like it, it's another reason to drink it." Like I needed another reason. But I'll take it!

Habit

2009-02-26T22:04:00.000-08:00

When I was learning how to drive, my parents bought a used Honda Accord. The Honda became "my car." Being an old car, it had its quirks. One of these quirks was that it refused to idle. Whenever it was in park, it would rev. All by itself. Not my favorite noise. But it wouldn't rev when it was in gear. So I got in a habit. I would get in the car, put my foot on the brake, turn the car on, release the emergency brake, and shift the car into gear. All in the first 4 seconds I was in the car. I probably could have left the car off, but I liked the air to be going and I didn't want to lose the keys. Yes, I am talented enough to lose keys while in the car. For nearly 10 years I drove the Honda. The habit formed. Get in, brake, turn on, release, shift. Right away, 4 seconds. Even if I sat in the car for a few minutes without going anywhere. Get in, brake, turn on, release, shift.

7 months ago, I bought my own car and said goodbye to "my" Honda. After 10 years, the relationship was over. My new used car does not rev while in Park. Nope. It just idles. Yet, when I first bought it, I would go through the same routine. Get in, brake, turn on, release, shift. It actually took me a while (as in a few months) to realize that I did not have to go through this anymore. I could actually leave my car in park if I so chose. It was truly an enlightening moment. And I proceeded to try to break my habit. Get in, brake, turn on, release, shift. Oh wait! I don't have to do that anymore. Shift back to park. How am I doing? Not well. I still have to consciously make myself not get in, brake, turn on, release, shift. It's automatic. I did it today when I got in the car after work. Get in, brake, turn on, release, shift. It's not a habit that will be broken anytime soon.

Why can this repetition not replicate itself in other areas of my life? Get up early, read my Bible, pray, get ready, go to work. Or get home, read my Bible, pray. Why is it so much more difficult to get the spiritual habits ingrained in my life than it is for other things, like how I start my car. Maybe it's the 10 years. Going through the routine multiple times each day. Having to go through the routine multiple times each day. Having that annoying revving in the background if I don't go through the routine. Oh, how I would love for my spiritual life to be that ingrained in my psyche, to automatically pick up my Bible and spend time with my Savior. Not that it become so routine that the relationship goes stale, but to have it so much a part of my life that I cannot get through the day without it.

Zoom Zoom!

2009-02-18T22:11:00.001-08:00

That's more or less how I feel about this week so far.

It's a 4 day week, but because Monday was a holiday. I was actually rather bored on Monday and somewhat anxious to get back to work on Tuesday. Starting on Tuesday totally threw my entire week off. Weird.

One of the girls I work with decided to go back to school to get her teaching credential and yesterday was her last day. Lunch out and cake in the afternoon and saying goodbye to her.

Today I went to Diamond Bar and spent the afternoon in the basement of the AQMD headquarters there learning how to fill out a report about the way money is spent.

We're somewhat short staffed right now, with the one who quit and the other who is still out on maternity leave, so I've been spending more than half of my time at the front counter. Which cuts into the time I have for everything else. And that work load keeps getting bigger.

I've actually been getting up earlier and getting my coffee before going into work. It actually makes mornings a bit less hurried and so much more pleasant.

But I keep busy, the days go by fast, sometimes a bit too fast. I think back to when I first started and when there were 5 of us and I didn't have as much to do. Now there's 3 and I have more than enough to keep me busy.

Nathan and Erin are coming down this weekend and I should probably clean up a bit before they get here, bathroom, that sort of thing. But this Tuesday start thing has me completely confused and I keep thinking I have one more day than I actually do. Hopefully I'll get to it tomorrow. If not, maybe they won't notice. Except that they will. I really need to get to that tomorrow.

And the week continues to fly!

Stephanie's Question

2009-02-17T23:33:00.000-08:00

To answer,

I saw He's Just Not That Into You.

And yes, I would definitely recommend it. It was great!

4 days

2009-02-16T11:25:00.000-08:00

Today is a holiday for me. I get paid to sit around and do nothing. Maybe I'll go see another movie. I say another because I saw a movie on Friday. My regular Friday off. I'm at the tail end of a 4 day weekend that involves absolutely no vacation time used. I really should have come up with plans for this weekend, because, with the exception of yesterday, I have been doing absolutely nothing. My weekend has pretty much consisted of sleeping in, watching movies (at the theater and on TV - there were so many chick flicks on TV on Saturday), watching TV, eating, reading (almost done with another book), sitting around, playing mindless computer games, etc. All very unproductive events.

The one highlight of the weekend occurred yesterday. After church in the morning, I went out to Venice to meet up with some people from work. We spent the afternoon shopping in a bunch of cute little shops. The only thing I got was this beautiful handmade Italian leather scrapbook/photo album. (I found this picture online, the one I got was honey/pink and a bit smaller)Regular price? Somewhere in the neighborhood of $180, I think. Yes, for a simple scrapbook/photo album. But it's so pretty! However, I did not pay regular price. Since the one I got (along with a few others) were "last year's colors" (whatever that means, apparently mine isn't one of the cool colors, but it's still pretty), it was on sale. Really on sale. $29 + tax on sale. So I bought it. I have no clue what I'm going to do with it, but I'll figure it out!

After shopping for a few hours (the book above is all I bought), we went to dinner at Primitivo Wine Bistro ... SO GOOD! It was Sangria Sunday, which is why we went (and went this weekend - no work today!), so Sangria was half price, fantastic! And the meal was a whole host of tapas. Got to try a little of everything. And it was all so yummy! It was quite amazing!

So there was my one exciting thing I did this weekend, went to a new place, tried some new food, got out and about. Now there's today (and it's raining, wonderful!) and then back to work tomorrow (really, I have to get up early - that'll be hard).

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

My 25

2009-02-09T22:40:00.000-08:00

So... if anyone is on Facebook, you may have noticed that EVERYONE is doing that "25 random things..." list deal. Now, I'm conflicted. I HATE doing something trendy like that, but I have been reading some people's and I'm usually intrigued. Anyway, I absolutely REFUSE to do it on Facebook. So I decided to do it on my blog. I think about 5 people read this anyway, so you 5 will be the only ones to know I gave in. Here goes...

I hate plain chocolate. In order for me to eat it, it has to have something else in it - nuts, peanut butter, etc. - and then only in small doses.
I love my job but don't like living in Orange County so much - which is a bit strange as I work for a city in Orange County. It's not like I could do my job anywhere else.
I love budgeting. I have graphs and tables and spreadsheets that track it all. It's so much fun!
One year, I asked my mom for goldfish and Coke for my birthday. (I was never very good at making a wish list.) I got goldfish and Coke for every birthday for the next 5 years at least.
I lived in an attic for 2 years in college.
I love driving, especially since I got a new car last summer. Even with my less than 1 mile commute, I've managed to put about 7,000 miles on it in 7 months.
I spent 6 years getting my bachelor's degree, graduated with about 100 extra units, but never took philosophy because a weird loophole in the Cal State transfer system that allowed my wheel thrown ceramics class to count for philosophy.
I get compliments on my teeth a lot because they are so straight (yay orthodontists), but because of the way they tweeked my teeth, I can only open my mouth about an inch, an inch and a half on good days.
I went to physical theraphy for my jaw to teach me exercises to loosen up my jaw. They work, I just don't really do them.
I love eating dips. Give me crackers or chips and something to dip them in and I'm happy.
I hate having to make new friends and I'm not very good at it. But I'm really good at keeping friends. Two of my best friends are Joy (known her since the day I was born, literally) and Cheryl (since the summer before my freshman year of high school, almost 12 years)
I hate long fingernails and cut mine at least once a week. My sister timed me once and I think I cut all 10 of them in less than 30 seconds. (Janelle - is that right?)
I have never had a pedicure and I never plan on having one. Other people touching my feet is about the creepiest thing in the world and completely freaks me out!
If it were socially acceptable for females to shave their heads, I would totally shave mine.
I have to take a shower before I go to bed - I hate going to bed dirty.
I cannot take naps. I've tried. It just doesn't work.
I always sleep on my left side. When I was 19, I got my inner right ear pierced and it was sore for many months and I couldn't sleep on my right side or even my back (the "rim" of my ear hurt if it touched the pillow) for at least 3 or 4 months. Ever since, I've only been able to sleep on my left side.
On the same trip when I got my ear pierced, I got my hair braided with extensions. Long really dark brown braids all the way down my back. I loved it, but would probably never do it again. My hair never got clean while in braids.
I lived in Room 666 for a year in college.
I was captain and MVP of my high school tennis team my senior year (we weren't very good, but we had SO much fun!)
I've always wanted to live by myself and hopefully I'll get the chance soonish.
I love quilting and have made probably around 15 quilts. I give them away and never really kept a list.
I don't like pie. Except for the ones I don't really consider "real" pies, like banana cream. Every Thanksgiving with my family, we have the pumpkin, the apple, the pecan, and the banana cream. Everyone loves the banana cream!
I hate it when people spell things wrong. Or use the wrong form of a word. Or add an "-ing" or "-ly" ending inappropriately. The worst? There/Their/They're. It quite literally makes me cringe when someone uses those incorrectly.
I love rain! And it rained all day today! But I hate snow. It's okay if it's outside and I'm inside and don't have to go outside for anything, but I could really do without it. But I'd be more than happy if it rained 365 days a year. Rain gives me energy!

And that's 25. Good night all!

I'm happy

2009-02-05T22:40:00.001-08:00

It's raining.

And it's supposed to continue.

YAY!

Smelly

2009-02-03T22:47:00.000-08:00

During the course of my day, I talk with many a person. Some call, some come in person. Everyone's different. And everyone smells different. Some people smell really good. I've learned I'm a big fan of most men's cologne. (Now if I just had a man of my own to smell it on...)

Some people don't smell so good. I deal with a lot of contractors, builders, generally people who do hard labor outside in the sun every day. Oh, how I wish I could politely suggest deodorant every now and then.

Smokers also smell horrible.

One can typically tell when a person has had too much alcohol to drink. Or spilled it all over themself.

And as much as I like men's cologne, there are some that are just really, really bad.

However, today I experienced what I believe to be the trifecta. I think it was cigarettes, alcohol, and really bad cologne to cover it up. At least that's my best guess as to the smell. I tried really hard not to breathe through my nose.

I think the smell got into my clothes and followed me home. It was positively awful.

One of the downsides to my job...

Disaster Preparedness

2009-01-28T21:04:00.000-08:00

Today, instead of sitting at my desk for work, I attended a Disaster Preparedness class. It's required for all city employees. Apparently a city can be disqualified for a bunch of grants if its employees aren't trained in disaster preparedness. So everyone has to attend one of the classes. Today was the second to last class, so most people had already gone.

Truthfully, I was dreading it a bit. There hadn't been a lot of good things said about it, so I attended today with a bit of wariness. AND... I actually really enjoyed it. I found it extremely interesting to learn about the history of the disaster preparedness requirement (think September 11 and Katrina), good and bad examples of preparedness, lessons learned, and the proper way to respond and organize in case of emergency.

Honestly, in case of emergency, I'll probably just a peon doing whatever I'm told (all government employees are disaster workers and are required to respond in the event of an emergency, or "incident" as they termed it). I won't be the one making decisions, not even close. But I thoroughly enjoyed learning about the process and all of the thought that has to go into organizing a response to an incident, no matter the scale of said incident. There's so much that has to be considered, both before anything happens (as in NOW) to be prepared in the case of an incident and then after the incident. So much that the average person has no clue about.

So the class was interesting, I'm officially trained (I have a spiffy certificate with my name on it and everything), and I'm going back to "real work" tomorrow. Then a 3 day weekend.

Life's good.

The Sun

2009-01-25T15:03:00.000-08:00

It's really no secret that I love rain. And to go along with that, I love clouds and what some would term gloomy days. I know most people love sun. Me, I love the clouds. A cloudy overcast day does more to energize me than a clear, sunny day. It's been overcast here for the past couple days and I've been loving it!

This morning, as I was driving home from church, I was reminded of another reason that I love the clouds: Because every once in a while, the sun comes through. There's a break in the clouds and the sun shines brightly. The clouds right around the break are the brightest white you will ever see in clouds, probably seemingly brighter because of the contrast to the gray clouds surrounding them. From a distance, you can see the rays of light streaming through the clouds and as you get closer to the break, it gets brighter and brighter until you're right under them and it's almost blinding. Like in the picture above, which I did not take, but that's pretty much what it looked like on the way home this morning.

The first time I remember noticing the sun come through the clouds was when I was a little girl and my family would drive up and down I-5, visiting my mom's family on vacations. Back before the days of in car DVD players and iPods, we had to entertain ourselves in the car. Much time was spent staring out the window. On one of these trips, I remember noticing the sun coming through the clouds. And I stared. I remember thinking that it looked like God was reaching down to earth. I still get that sensation each time I see the sun through the clouds. Like the Lord has decided to push aside the clouds for a bit and reach down to us.

Maybe one of the reasons I don't care for clear days so much is because you can't see the sun. When there aren't any clouds, nothing gloomy, nothing dark and foreboding, I can't see the rays of sun reaching down from Heaven. It's only when the clouds roll in that the rays of sun are clearly visible.

And it's one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen.

I really should be in bed right now...

2009-01-23T23:54:00.000-08:00

Seriously! What am I doing awake right now? It's almost midnight. I'm tired. My contacts are really bugging me to the point that I'm having to squint. I was up at 6 this morning, worked a full day, went to Bible study tonight. I'm still in my clothes. Haven't taken a shower yet (I refuse to go to bed dirty - gross.)

Yet, despite all this, I'm blogging.

For some reason I bought Beyonce's new album on iTunes yesterday. I hadn't bought anything on iTunes recently, mainly due to the loss and cancellation of the debit card and not wanting to put iTunes on the credit card. I finally changed my card information in iTunes. Bought a couple songs that I actually wanted. Then I bought Beyonce. Why? I have no clue. I think it will end up being a good "Keep me awake on a long road trip" type of CD. Everyday listening though? With the exception of maybe 2 songs, no.

I remembered something today. I remembered because of the rain.

As I was listening to the rain while I got ready this morning, I happened to look at the date. January 23. Today is my half birthday. 25 1/2 today. Last year, on my 24 1/2 birthday, I had my first interview with the City of Tustin. After the interview, I drove back up north through a HUGE storm. As in I had to go up 101 because I-5 was closed. Stopped in SLO. I posted about that, but don't have the energy to link it, so feel free to go and find it if you so choose.

As I was thinking of last year's half birthday, I again thought about everything that has changed in the past year. Who knew that interview would be such a huge stepping stone in my life? At the time, it was just another in a series of interviews, another one where I answered the questions to the best of my ability and left the result in God's hands. And yet, this is the one He chose for me. This is the interview that led me to the job that He has chosen for this stage of my life. The job that enabled me to buy a Beyonce CD on iTunes yesterday.

One year ago, God knew where that interview would lead. All I knew was that He is control. And because I was driving north that day I got to spend a precious afternoon in SLO. At the time, I was focused on the short term, getting home in one piece and getting to see friends. God had something so much bigger in mind!

How will the events of today affect where I am one year from today? I don't know. They could have no effect. They could have a huge effect. I won't know until I get there. God knows now. All I can do is to keep on following Him, one foot in front of the other, taking the step in front of me so that He can illuminate the next one.

I think it should rain every half birthday. Not just because I love it, but because it reminds me of His faithfulness.

I'm addicted!

2009-01-21T21:42:00.000-08:00

What is wrong with me?? I'm pretty sure I'm addicted to Bath and Body Works and wonderful smelling stuff that no one actually needs. AH!

THE SALE is going on right now. I've been getting e-mails about what new and exciting things are on sale just about every other day. If I was really serious about breaking this addiction I would probably unsubscribe. But I don't. Out of all the things to be addicted to, body wash and air fresheners is probably one of the least dangerous.

Despite the e-mails, before today I had not gone once. In fact, I had not been in said store for many months. And my collection was still HUGE! But today, today I decided to stop in. Just to see. Take a peek. See what was there. Yeah. Most everything I got was on sale though! I don't think that's a good enough excuse. I would take pictures, but I don't want to get the camera out. And it's just plain embarrassing.

On the receipt today (I would say list, but there was no list. Just a shopping bag, Cari throwing stuff in, and a receipt at the end.)??

Lots of body wash and shower gel and hand creams. All the packaging is being changed so anything in the old packaging was on big sale! I think I'm set for a while. A good long while. I also realized that I must really like the wild honeysuckle scent. After today, I have at least 4 tubes of body wash and 2 hand creams in that scent - by far the most well represented scent in the collection.

Scentportable refills! New product. Not on sale, but so excited about this one. Scentportables are great little air fresheners (I use mine in the car) and they just came out with refills. Up until now, I was having to buy the full package whenever mine ran out. Such a waste! Yay for refills!

The travel sizes of CO Bigelow "Not Your Ordinary Daily Shampoo and Conditioner" on sale for $1 each. I heart CO Bigelow - WONDERFUL skin care products, but not often on sale, so Bigelow products are normally a splurge. This shampoo and conditioner are wonderful (I've used the free samples many a time). And they smell like coconut! Yum!

Mini lotion for the purse. Breathe brand. The blue one, not my favorite Breathe scent, but they didn't have any of the orange and the blue is good enough. Once I use it up, I can refill it with lotion from the big size orange one I have. And, Breathe is discontinued, so it's really not around a bunch anyway. I should go buy more. It was 90% off!

A lighter. Ok... not on sale, but I needed one. The matches and the mini lighter I have don't do well going into a deeper candle (one that I've burned) and my fingers can't take it anymore.

... So that's about it. I don't need to go back for probably a couple years. But I'll probably go back before that.

p.s. Just thought I'd mention, just in case someone out there stumbles across this post and doesn't know me... I'm not crazy. Bath and Body Works was a between college and career job for me, I learned more about skin care products than I ever really cared to know, got sucked in, and now still love going back and buying their stuff. I've tried many a product via sample and tested lotion in every scent multiple times, so I only buy what I know I like. And in general, I much prefer going there to get what I know I like rather than Target or the grocery store, hoping I don't pick out some cheap product that will make my skin react in a strange way. And I generally wait for the sales, I know when it is the cheapest it will ever be, and when I don't buy something on sale, it's because I know it never goes on sale or it's such an amazing product that it doesn't matter to me. So there's my disclaimer. Now go on and think what you will of me and my addiction.

It's back!

2009-01-14T18:42:00.000-08:00

That would be my debit card. And not really back, but replaced. But the result is that I now, for the first time in 3 weeks, will be able to get cash back from the store. And I won't have to use my credit card for EVERYTHING. And I won't have to come home at the end of every day and transfer money from my checking account to my credit card so that I won't have a huge balance. And I can go to the ATM. And I won't have to hoard cash that people give me when I pay for them with my credit card (like for dinners and such). And I don't have to carry around a big coin purse full of quarters for emergencies. And I don't have to put a $1.60 cup of coffee on my credit card because I'm afraid to use the little cash I do have. And I can feel free to put money in tip jars because I no longer have a finite supply of cash.

And I'm sure there are many many other things that I can do now that I have a debit card again.

(I know that I could have gotten cash from the bank, but I'm too lazy to actually go into the bank and I never remember to go in my lunch break and they're closed other times.)

A Tuesday Post

2009-01-13T22:34:00.001-08:00

The week is halfway over. Well, at least for me. Nothing out of the
ordinary is happening, life is plodding along. Or gallopping,
depending on the day.

The ankle is still rather sore and a bit swollen. And somehow I
managed to lose my Ace bandage. Don't even ask how that happened.

Had a great chat with Arijaan tonight. And hopefully I'll get to see
Becca later in the week (if she emails/calls me back, hint hint). I
did get to see her last Friday night, though, when Janelle and I went
to Trace's show. So fun!

Janelle left on Saturday. It's a bit strange not having anyone around
after being surrounded by people for so long.

Nathan and Erin are supposed to be coming to visit soon. That should
be fun!

I've been doing the Beth Moore study on Daniel, which is amazing!

After I finished the quilts for Christmas, I was looking forward to
having more free time and getting some reading done. Only now I'm
really getting into the books and am still staying up late. I can't win.

Ummm... I'm posting this from my iPhone so hopefully it works...

Sent from my iPhone

Why I don't typically go to the doctor...

2009-01-10T16:56:00.000-08:00

Doctor: Well, you definitely sprained it (my ankle, see last post). Nothing's broken or torn. It'll hurt and be swollen for a few weeks. Go easy. Ice it a couple times a day. Here's an ace bandage. You should keep it wrapped for the next couple weeks. Take some Advil if it hurts.

On one hand, going did offer peace of mind in that nothing was structurally damaged (they did do some x-rays).

On the other hand, I spent 2 and a half hours (most of it spent waiting and filling out paperwork) for a medical professional to tell me to go easy and ice the ankle I could barely walk on. Because without going I was going to be running a marathon? No. Oh yeah, he gave me an ace bandage too. Woohoo. I could have stopped in at Vons for 2 minutes and gotten one of my own. Didn't even get any prescription drugs.

And my ankle still hurts (though it is getting better, I think).

Birthday Party at Disney!

2009-01-07T23:24:00.000-08:00

Today's my sister's birthday! Happy Birthday Janelle!

For those of you who don't know, you can get into Disneyland FOR FREE on your birthday this year (you do have to register ahead of time...), so Janelle, who came back down with me on Sunday, went to Disneyland. A couple of her friends and my aunt went with her. I met them there after work. Which I can do since I got a season pass for Christmas!! ... Which also means that if anyone out there would like to go on their birthday, I'll totally go with you! As long as I'm not blacked out.

So I only went on a couple rides. As in 3. The last one was the Jungle Cruise. When I TOTALLY fell getting into the boat. Yes, I am a klutz. But we already knew this about me. So I rolled my ankle and it's absolutely throbbing now. I can't walk very fast either. Not bruised (except along my sandal strap line). Not swollen (yet. We'll see what tomorrow brings). But throbbing in pain. And the pain is spreading. UGH! Not such a big fan of the doctor, so I'm hoping it feels better tomorrow.

We all went to the Rainforest Cafe in Downtown Disney for dinner. Our cousin Tim and his girlfriend Courtney met us there. So much fun. And so good! I think Janelle rather enjoyed her birthday dinner! And Tim made fun of me for falling on the Jungle Cruise. When brothers aren't around, boy cousins will have to do.

Fun day! Off to shower and to bed and back to work tomorrow!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JANELLE!

The last 6 days...

2009-01-04T23:47:00.000-08:00

... from the perspective of Gretchen the Garmin!

1,050.1 miles traveled (with the exception of a few trips around town, this is all highway miles)
Overall average of 49.2 mph
Moving average of 57.4 mph
Maximum speed of 85.7 mph (that was only once, moving at the speed of traffic down I-5 this afternoon)
Total travel time (aka time in the car) of 21 hours and 21 minutes
Total moving time of 18 hours and 17 minutes (again, mostly on the freeway)
Total stopped time of 3 hours and 4 minutes (sitting at lights, sitting in traffic, etc.)

Now, I'm back. Bed now. Work tomorrow. Sister here for the week.

Done!

2008-12-27T11:36:00.000-08:00

The last few days have been an absolute flurry of excitement! Family, family, and more family have filled my days. It's been great, but I did stay up until about 2 last night just because the house was quiet.

Anyway, I thought I should let everyone know that project #2 was finished in time and gifted in time as well. It was for my parents and one good thing about them not getting here until Christmas night was that it gave me an extra couple hours to finish. It got done about 2 in the afternoon on Christmas and was given to my parents that night. And it looks like this:

And now off to more family activities!

How the heck did I do this?

2008-12-21T22:50:00.001-08:00

So today was a good day in Project Land. Everything went smoothly. Except for the weird guys in the random warehouse - but I needed to buy something from them! This would probably make more sense if I were talking details! Only one small thing had to be redone, and that only took about a minute. And I have absolutely no clue how I got from where I was yesterday at 7:30 p.m. to where I am right now, approximately 27 and a half hours later, with a good night sleep, church, AND eating to go along with it. Since everything's been going so well, everything will probably go wrong when I pick up again tomorrow, but for now, I'm savoring the moment, eating a bowl of ice cream, and going to bed before midnight!!!

I also feel somewhat comfortable in updating the percentages as follows... Keep in mind that I have absolutely no system whatsoever for coming up with these numbers, so they pretty much only reflect my feelings at the moment:

Chance that it will be presentable to give as a gift: 100% (Because it's there RIGHT NOW!!)

Chance that it will be done: 33.3% (Yes, this percentage made a gigantic leap!!)

Project #2 Update

2008-12-20T23:58:00.000-08:00

Some superb progress has been made in the last few hours, therefore, I feel somewhat sort of confident in issuing the following percentages update:

Chance Project #2 will be finished by Christmas: 10%-15% (with 10% of that still being to make me feel like there could be a chance) ... Hey! I'm just not that fast and there's just too much to do.

However, I will add the following:

Chance Project #2 will be at a point where it is easy to understand what it is, what the finished product will be, and that I will not feel embarrassed to present to someone as a Christmas present: 95%!!

Yes, I have made progress to the point where I will not feel guilty and cheesy and un-Christmas-like by giving a half-finished gift! Woohoo!

Projects...

2008-12-20T19:28:00.000-08:00

I mentioned before that I am working on two Christmas present project. I'm buying the rest. Project #1 turned out fantastically, was finished in less than a week, and is waiting patiently for the lucky recipient. (Or maybe I'm waiting patiently to give it.)

Project #2 is a completely different story. I knew it would take longer than #1, but not this much longer. If I had thought about it a little more, I could have figured it out, but once I got it into my head that I was going to make it, there was no turning back. It is turning out beautifully, just not a quickly as I imagined. 3 months would have probably been more realistic than 3 weeks. I haven't been getting a lot of sleep, it has consumed every free moment I have, my fingers hurt, my neck hurts, my back hurts, my eyes hurt, I feel a little claustrophobic surrounding by all the pieces in my room. My room's a mess and I would love to just clean it, but that would take up time and it would just get messy again. And still, I'm estimating that there's only a 10%-15% chance this gets finished in time to give it away for Christmas. And I think about 10% of that is just to give me hope.

So I press on. Pictures will appear after they have been gifted!

In other money news...

2008-12-10T22:58:00.000-08:00

... Wells Fargo decreased my monthly payment on my student loan through them by about $20. I'll probably continue to pay the same amount I have been, but that's exciting!

Question

2008-12-10T18:50:00.000-08:00

If I were making you a gift for Christmas (and it's pretty stinking cool, if I do say so myself), would you be willing to wait until after Christmas to get it? I could give it to you half finished for Christmas and then make you give it back to me so I could finish it, but would it be okay to not have it finished for Christmas?

Or would this be really bad Christmas etiquette?

Because if Christmas etiquette dictates that I must give only finished gifts on Christmas, I'm in trouble. Because I could have it finished, but then I would probably be incredibly sleep deprived and repeating today's performance of waking up well AFTER I'm supposed to be at work, which would create it's own problems.

- - - - - -

On a completely unrelated note, Wells Fargo increased my credit limit by $2400. Not that I'll actually use it, because I don't really believe in carrying a balance on my credit cards, but I guess if I get in a really big emergency, it'll be there. And no, I don't consider Christmas shopping (or really, any kind of shopping) an emergency.

???

2008-12-06T18:34:00.001-08:00

I don't really think I have anything to say... but I haven't written anything in almost a week, so I feel like I should say something. First of all, Thanksgiving last week was a great time at home in Clayton. Very relaxing. Spent time with family and friends. And then there was that drive back... but we don't talk about that...

This week was crazily busy! I don't think I ever mentioned it here, but the Monday before Thanksgiving I woke up about 4:30 in the morning ... and I was sick. I don't get sick very often, but when I do... it's a doozie! I called in sick to work (1st time!) and spent the day in bed, on the couch, or in the bathroom... I won't get into details, but let's just say it was not pretty. I didn't go to work on Tuesday either and I had already taken Wednesday off, so no work for me last week... which meant this week was very full! Two weeks worth of stuff plus getting extra stuff to do because of people being out on vacations, etc. But it made the week go by even faster!

On top of the busy week at work, I started the whole "Christmas gift marathon" thing. I like to give meaningful gifts. Or to make gifts. I try to make at least a couple gifts each year. This year I'm making 2 gifts, and I got a late start on them, so I've been up late, working and working on them. One is finished (hooray!) and I would post pictures, but then that ruins the element of surprise if said person is reading this. But I absolutely LOVE the finished product. Now onto #2...

So, work and gift making have taken up pretty much every waking hour this week, so I have not much else to report on...

OH! Wait! I do! I went to this Christmas dinner thing at church on Thursday night that the Women's Ministries put on...

First of all, remember my week. Not much sleep. Crazy busy. The whole way out there, all I could think about was that I probably should have just gone home and slept. But I went. And I got there late because, well, it started at 6 and I didn't leave work until about 5:45.

Anyway, I got there and apparently I was supposed to know who I was sitting with... um... I signed up by myself, they put me at some table that had an opening. I had no clue who I was supposed to sit with. So I was put at a table with other people who didn't know where they were supposed to be either.

Then, dinner was, well, more of an appetizer. It was salad.

What?!?! Do they not think that women get hungry?

I kept on waiting for the main course to come out and stopped waiting when the speaker got up. And the speaker... I guess she was good, but she spent the first 10 minutes talking about chocolate and how women have a special bond with chocolate and how chocolate is the best thing in the world...

Now...

Confession...

I really don't like chocolate.

I think I just got kicked out of the women's club. Whatever. I was never a very good member of that anyway.

Needless to say, the speaker kind of lost me. The combination of my small dinner, feeling very tired, and not really wanting to listen to a spiel about the wonders of chocolate kind of lost me.

Anyway, I had yesterday off, which was wonderful, spent the day relaxing and working on gifts. Bible study last night was good. We're growing, getting some new people, which is great!

Today was soccer for Makenna. It's the playoffs, which always makes it more exciting. Very good game, the game ended in a 1-1 tie, so they went to penalty kicks, which they won 2-1. Makenna was the last one to go for her team and made her kick. WOOHOO!

Okay, that's my week. Hope you all had a great one!

Now I'm off for a relaxing evening... aaahhhhhh..........

10 hours!

2008-11-30T23:16:00.000-08:00

Um... yeah. That's how long it took me to drive back today. 10 hours. Left around 12:30 this afternoon. Got in a little after 10:30. 10 hours. In the car. By myself. Waiting in super long lines at gas stations to go to the bathroom and get gas. One gas station was out of the regular stuff so they were selling the supreme for the regular price. And I got about 5 miles more per gallon. Of course, I was also going downhill much of the way. But it was in traffic. Because there was traffic the entire way. 10 hours of traffic. A drive that usually takes around 6 and a half hours. In 10 hours.

Much music was listened to. 10 hours of music.

I'm now tired, but I was drinking Diet Coke the whole way to keep me awake. So who knows if I'll be able to sleep. More on my vacation later. Right now, all I can think about is showering and sleeping. Because 10 hours in the car can really wear you out.

10 hours.

If I go up north again for Thanksgiving, I'm coming back on Saturday. I've heard it's not so bad. I've heard it would be less than 10 hours.

I'm completely useless right now.

Did I mention my drive was 10 hours long?

An average of about 40 miles per hour. Down I-5. Where it's usually easy to creep above 80.

10 hours.

Good night. Too bad I can't get 10 hours of sleep. That would be nice.

But no. I spent 10 hours in the car. So I get much less sleep.

iConvert!

2008-11-23T21:00:00.000-08:00

This is my new toy. And it's quite the fun toy. If you can't figure it out from the ad shown above, this lovely little gadget convert negatives (and slides, but I don't have any of those) into digital pictures! I wasn't quite sure if I would like this thing, I was rather worried that it would give me really bad quality and it wouldn't be worth the money. However, I first looked at this thing at least 6 months ago. And I haven't stopped thinking about it. So today, I gave in and got it.

And I actually think it works pretty good. The quality isn't quite up there with my digital camera, but I realized that I can't expect that kind of quality from my old negatives. And it's really, really easy to use. Install software, plug it in, push a few buttons, VOILA!

So, the only negatives I had were from my mission trip to Slovakia in 2000. Oh, such memories! I got all 120 pictures done today. It would have gone faster, but my computer's slow. It's so much fun having these pictures on my computer now!! I'll be going home for Thanksgiving this week, and you better believe that I will be digging out all kinds of old negatives. I may even dive into my mom's stash... So for those of you who have known me for a while, beware. Some very old pictures of you may be converted to digital soon. And then, the possibilities are endless...

So here are a sampling of the Slovakia pictures I iConvert-ed today. Like I said, not the best quality, but pretty good considering the source!

On a hike our first day in Slovakia: Roxy, Sara, Jessica, Me, Lauren, Colin, Nathan, AndrewAt the top of a mountain we hiked: Jessica, Lauren, MeCheryl, Jessica, Lauren, hanging Bunny!A tractor that we hitched a ride in one dayOur group, Americans and Slovaks, our last night there!

Bills, Bills, Bills

2008-11-21T16:10:00.000-08:00

Confession: I love paying bills. Does that make me weird? I think so.

One thing I love about it is that, as I watch money leave my account in bunches, I am reminded that God is constantly providing for my needs. That for another month, he has allowed me to live an extremely privileged life, that he is not only providing for all of my needs, but a good number of my wants as well. And it's amazing to me that, every month, everything is paid on time and then there's some money left over.

And that's amazing!

However, it goes further...

My favorite bills to pay? My loans! I've said before that I truly believe that some kinds of debts are a good thing. But I do love paying them off. And then I keep track of them. How much went to interest? How much to principal? How many extra payments have I made? I have all kinds of Excel spreadsheets and graphs that track all such statistics on my loans. I stare at them with the calculator in hand, trying to guess how much less interest I will pay next month, how much longer it should take me to pay it off, how would all that change if I paid just a little more towards a loan each month.

Currently, I have a total of 4 loans. 3 are student loans. 1 is a car loan. They are due on the 6th, 14th, 23rd, and 25th of the month. Spread out enough so that my fun is somewhat well spread out over the course of the month. I just find it really really fun to watch as the total amount goes down each month, seeing less of my payment go towards interest and more towards principal. Every month after I update a graph I cannot wait for the next month when I get to make another payment and it goes down a little more.

So there you go. I'm a nerd who loves paying my bills.

My dad will use this as further proof that I should have been an accountant. But I'm happy in my current job.

New Year's?

2008-11-19T22:02:00.000-08:00

So this may be a bit early, but I'm putting it out there anyway...

Does anyone have something fun planned for New Year's that you wouldn't mind me tagging along to?

OR

Does anyone want to plan something fun with me for New Year's?

Here's the thing... I took the week after Christmas off of work. So really, I just took Monday and Tuesday off, I get the rest of the week off automatically. I tried to get the day after Christmas off too, but that was a no go. Anyway, I was going to go up and see my parents for the week. But now it seems as though they are planning on coming down here on Christmas and leaving sometime at the beginning of the next week. So I'll see them at that time... and have the rest of the week off of work... AND NO PLANS!

Therefore, if you have something fun planned and would like an additional participant, I want to come! Or if you don't have anything planned, but are thinking, "YES! I want to hang out with Cari on New Year's!" let me know!

It could be a blast!!!

One Year Ago Today...

2008-11-17T23:12:00.000-08:00

... I was babysitting my neighbors. I had accepted a job at Bath and Body Works yesterday and was getting ready to start my first day tomorrow. I had attended the Kaleo Thanksgiving dinner two days ago, starting to accept that I would be around Clayton/Walnut Creek longer than I ever planned. I had just started helping out with Pioneer Girls at church last week. Truthfully, I was beginning to wonder if anyone would ever hire me. Would I end up working retail for the rest of my life? But at the same time, God was gently reassuring me that he had my best interests in mind. That He knew what was is store for me. (I had actually applied for the Tustin job about a month ago.) Yet He would only reveal pieces, in His timing. And He still is, revealing piece by piece who He has created me to be.

So this is really random, but for some reason, I was starting to think about the past year. So much has happened. While thinking about it, I decided to go back. I looked at my Google calendar. I used to be so good at updating that thing. Back when I was unemployed and living at home (ALL of one year ago), I put pretty much EVERYTHING on that calendar. It helped to occupy my mountains of free time. Not so much anymore, I should go back to that. It's really interesting to go back and look. And then there's this blog. I've been reasonably decent about updating it, so it's relatively easy to "remember" what I was feeling at that time. And when I was applying, of course I dated everything.

So that's what I just did, I went back and looked. And it's absolutely amazing to realize what has happened in the past year. Off the top of my head (with some help from aforementioned sources)...

started a new job (Bath and Body Works)
found that even though I didn't have the career that I was looking for, I could pay my bills and all of my needs were more than covered... just as He promises!
had an absolutely fabulous time helping at Pioneer Girls
made some good friends at BBW (which reminds me, I need to call a couple of them, hopefully we can get together when I'm up there for Thanksgiving)
interview trip to Tuolumne County in the pouring rain, mom took the day off of work to drive with me. I eventually got a second interview for this transportation planner job. How different would my life have been if that's the direction God was leading?!?!
interview trip to southern California, 3 interviews that eventually resulted in 1 second interview, 1 eligibility list, 0 jobs, but slowly learning that God is still in control
babysat my neighbors some more (they paid well!)
did some more Kaleo stuff
worked at BBW some more, floor sets, inventory, lovely overnight shifts... still appreciative of the job, but no desire to go back (though I know I can if need be)
another trip down south for aforementioned second interview that did not result in a job, but did produce some wonderful time with JOY! I miss her...
getting to be a barista at football parties
interview trip for my first interview with tustin on my half birthday, weather causing a spontaneous trip to SLO
celebrating Stephen's birthday at the Old Spaghetti Factory
another interview trip to Tustin for my second interview, 3 weeks after the first one
seeing Kim Shultz
getting a job offer based on my application and resume for Contra Costa County
eventually interviewing with Contra Costa County and placing #1 out of all candidates they interviewed
turning the County offer down when I got and accepted the job at Tustin
cancelling interviews
packing as much of my life into my old Honda Accord
driving away from my parent's house knowing that it would never be my home again, but knowing that it always would be home
realizing that moving was a little more complicated and emotional than I expected
starting a new job less than 2 months after my first interview and feeling somewhat overwhelmed
searching for and finding a new church
UC Irvine baseball games
going to my cousin's soccer games and birthdays
Nicole and Matt's wedding, Nathan's and Stephen's graduations, Tiffany and Patrick's wedding
new Bible studies, new relationships, new friendships
fun trips, fun adventures, fun experiences

I could probably go on and on and on and on. So much has happened in the past year that I never could have guessed about. So much good, hard, challenging, exciting, exhilarating stuff. I've grown and changed in ways that I never would have imagined. But God didn't just imagine it all. He knew.

And He knows exactly what the next year will hold for me. I can't wait! Let's go!

Fires, continued

2008-11-17T22:52:00.000-08:00

From what I read, the fires are more or less under control. I'm not a fire fighter and I really don't know much about fire fighting, but people are being allowed to return home and see the destruction for themselves. The area around my church is in and some of the homes surrounding it burned, but as far as I know, church is still standing. Until I hear differently, I'm going with that.

I just Googled the route and it's about 15 miles from home to church and as far as I can tell from the news, that's the closest the fire got to me. When I write 15 miles, it kind of seems kind of far, but then you factor in that I go out there at least once a week and it's not a big deal.

I was driving home from Michael's and JoAnn's on Saturday night and the entire horizon was glowing orange. That was somewhat eerie.

A few people I work with were evacuated in the middle of the night.

All weekend, during the day you could see all the smoke in the air. A huge, gray cloud that just kept growing.

From talking with people at work today, they all seem like they sort of accept that fires are a part of life. This is my first "fire season" down here, so this is all new to me. Do I become complacent too, accepting that it is a part of life? I don't think so, I hope not.

Like I said, I've seen the stories in the newspaper and on TV for years. But this is still the first time I feel like I'm personally experiencing it. That I've known people who were evacuated. I'm familiar with the areas that burned. I recognized apartment buildings burning on TV. My life was affected. Church was cancelled. All due to a fire.

It's still somewhat surreal. I don't know how I'll react on Sunday when I drive up 55, out 91, get off at Weir Canyon, and go to church. Past buildings that were lived in and land that was alive the last time I saw it.

Suffice it to say, I'm still processing...

Fire

2008-11-16T10:34:00.000-08:00

So I'm home from church today. Not because I'm lazy or because I partied hard last night and wanted to sleep in. No. Church was canceled today. Because, well, there's a fire out there. And Kindred is right in the middle of the evacuation area (at least the one for yesterday, don't know about currently) and no one is allowed on the property.

It's kind of surreal. This is my first "fire season" in Southern California. I've never really been affected by a fire before. I've seen them on the news and felt bad for the people they affect, but they've never affected me. One of the firefighters they interviewed was talking about how these huge fires are becoming commonplace. But for me, they are completely foreign.

I've watched fires burn on the news before, but they've always just been pictures. Yesterday I watched the news as an apartment complex that I pass every time I go to church become a raging inferno and burn to the ground. They are no longer just pictures. They are places I know. As far as I know, church is okay, but I could be wrong.

This is something new to me, these fires. I think I will really hit me the next time I go to church and actually see the destruction with my own eyes.

In the meantime, I don't really know how to react.

ShakeOut

2008-11-13T21:27:00.000-08:00

At work today, we participated in The Great Southern California ShakeOut. Supposedly, this was the biggest earthquake drill ever dreamed by anyone in the history of anywhere (or something to that effect) and it was supposed to make us much better prepared for "The Big One" that is apparently going to happen soon, so say the experts. I heard of some organizations that got really into it and assigned different roles to different people. Some were okay, some mildly injured, some seriously injured, etc. They performed actual roll calls and searched for the missing, in an attempt to get everyone out of the building safely.

But such tomfoolery, that is not what we did. Our "Great Southern California ShakeOut," the grand-daddy of all earthquake drills amounted to an alarm going off for about 5 seconds and then we all walked out to the parking lot. Then we walked back in about 5 minutes later.

Exciting. Very exciting. Except not.

But we participated! That's got to count for something, right?

The Waiting Game

2008-11-07T22:17:00.000-08:00

Most of the time, I like to think I'm patient. But then something little happens that makes me realize that it's definitely something I need to work on...

Today was my Friday off. I slept in, which was absolutely amazing! Then I went down to the District, the new shopping area in Tustin. (Doing my part to keep the tax money flowing into Tustin, meaning that I get to keep my job.)

One of the stores I went to was DSW. Found super cute shoes for 80% off! So great! I got in line to pay for them. There was ONE person ahead of me in line. However, there was also only one cashier. And the one person ahead of me didn't agree with the price that rang up so she and the cashier went walking through the store to find the display. And it's a pretty large store. So I waited.

Went to a movie. Decided to see The Secret Life of Bees. It was good, I recommend it. Got in line to buy the ticket. There was ONE couple ahead of me in line. And one cashier. And the couple didn't know what they wanted to see, so they were going through all their options with the cashier. And I waited.

Got my ticket and went inside. The indecisive couple had gone in before me and gone in the wrong door, so the ticket taker had to go chase them down. While I waited.

Decided to get some popcorn. A small popcorn. There was ONE group ahead of me in line. And, of course, only one cashier. And everyone in the group was ordering pizzas and hot dogs and drinks and candy. And paying for them all separately. So I was there, in line, waiting. Then, another cashier came out. And the guy BEHIND me wanted a refill. So I was skipped over, he got his refill. And I waited.

After the movie, I went to Michael's to get something to fix an earring. This time there were two cashiers. And I got in the line where I just had to wait for the woman ahead of me to pay for her few items. Or so I thought. She was actually returning the items and buying something else. And they had to get a manager's override for the return/exchange. And the manager was in the back helping someone. AND I WAITED!

So in short, I kind of feel like I did a lot of waiting today. And a lot of realizing that I'm not as patient as I like to think I am. Add it to the list of ways that God can change me. (It's not a short list... Praise the Lord for His grace and mercy!)

Vote, Vote, Vote!!

2008-11-03T18:23:00.000-08:00

So... I'm guessing this is not like most "Vote" blogs out there today and tomorrow...

Vote for my cousins!!

First of all, thank you to all of you that have voted. We're currently in a strong second. However, there's some weird guy dressed as Elphaba who's way ahead of us. And he's kind of creepy. And my cousins are way cuter!!

So vote (up to 5 times per MINUTE!). Vote often. Spread the word. Not that my cousins need to go see Wicked again. But it would be SO COOL if they win! VOTE! VOTE! VOTE!

Oh yeah, there's some other election going on tomorrow. Vote in that too. Then come back and vote for the cousins again!

Vote for Haley and Makenna!!

2008-11-02T16:33:00.000-08:00

Click above to vote for my cousins, Haley and Makenna in the Wicked costume contest. The winner gets free tickets to Wicked. As an added bonus, if they win, I'll be rather excited because I made Haley's costume. You can vote up to 5 times per minute and someone already has over 20,000 votes, so we have a ways to go to catch up. Get voting!

Rain

2008-11-02T14:15:00.000-08:00

So in yesterday's post, I was dreaming of rain. Well, today my dream came true. It "rained." At least that's what people were saying at church. "Oh my... look at the 'rain'!!" (Quotes around rain added by me.) In actuality, it was a heavy mist that lasted for about 10 minutes. Long enough to smudge the dirt on my car and make it look even more dirty than it was. Needless to say, the "rain" today didn't quite do it for me. Just more proof that you don't always want your dreams to come true...

Yet I continue to dream. Now I am dreaming of an all day downpour. Oh... how wonderful that would be, at least in my dreams. In reality, the downpour would probably cause a horrible gruesome accident involving fatalities. The forecast for at least the next week contains no rain. Good or bad? Both?

By the way... this is my 300th post. Pretty exciting topic for such a momentous number, don't you think?

November?!

2008-11-01T13:28:00.001-07:00

Seriously? It's November? It sure doesn't feel like it. I guess I'm just going to have to get used to the different interpretation of the seasons that exists in Southern California. Will it ever rain? One can only dream.

Daylight savings time ends tonight! Extra hour of sleep? Or I'll forget, get up early, get ready for church, realize that I have an extra hour, and have a wonderfully relaxing morning at a coffee shop somewhere (which, down here, means Starbucks or Peet's... not too many SLO Perk-esque places down here).

Speaking of which, SLO Perk has now closed due to the required seismic retrofit of the building and the building owner trying to recoup his costs by upping the rent by 2 and a half times. Sad day. Where will I ever get an Anytime Breakfast Sandwich again? Or a Ranger Cookie? Or Pecan Bars? Or ANY SLO Perk food?

Halloween was yesterday. I didn't really participate. We had a party at work on Wednesday that I sort of organized, but that's about it. I bought some creamy body wash from Bath and Body Works (on sale for $5!) last night. Why is it that, even though I no longer work there, I still find myself growing my collection?

The election is on Tuesday. I voted a couple weeks ago via absentee ballot. I don't really talk about politics too much on this thing, mainly because I don't really think anyone would listen to my opinion on politics. Except maybe my mom, but she asks me herself. Truthfully, I don't really think there's a great candidate out there. Neither one "excites" me, whatever that means. And the proposed propositions just make me sad because it makes me realize the moral depths to which our society has sunk. In case anyone cares, here's my position on the two major ballot items. Feel free to stop reading if you don't care.

President. So neither one is wonderful. Isn't it sad when we can't get a strong candidate to run for president? Anyway, whoever is elected will be the leader of the country. One thing I learned in my job search is the importance of experience. Cities (and probably most companies) won't even talk to you unless you meet their minimum requirements. I looked for Assistant Planner, entry level, jobs. Because that was what I was qualified for. After a couple years of experience, I will be qualified to move up to Associate, and it will be even more time before I can go into the management side and so on. It will be quite a while before I would even think about applying for a job as a director. Many many more years. Translating this to the campaign, the candidates have vastly different resumes when it comes to experience. It's one thing to have good ideas, but if you don't have a good understanding of how to actually put those ideas into action, it doesn't matter. And that only comes with experience. It cannot be learned from books or talking to people. It comes with experience.

Proposition 8. This one (and those like it in other states) truly makes me sad. As a society, we have already given everyone the same rights through the civil union legislation. The fight is over one word - marriage. It is not about rights, it is about a word. A word that God created and God defined at creation. And that man, with his sinful and twisted and depraved mind, somehow believes that he has control over. I understand that the vote of sinful men will in no way change the sovereignty of God. And God is not changing His definition of marriage because sinful and twisted and depraved men vote and say that he got it wrong. Not going to happen. (As a side note, want to know what God's opinion of the issue is? "Sodomy" is a reference to the Biblical city of Sodom, as in Sodom and Gomorrah. Read all about it in Genesis 18-19. Call me crazy, but I really don't think He is on the fence on this one.) I once heard that the greatest societies in the history of mankind have fallen after they begin to recognize homosexual relationships as valid. I don't remember where that came from, so I can't quote it and it may be wrong, but it's interesting to think about.

So there's my opinions. I purposely didn't use names or specifically say how I voted. But I'm guessing you can figure it out.

Flagstaff pictures

2008-10-28T21:34:00.000-07:00

Check out Jessica and Stephen's blog for more pictures! Enjoy!

Weekend Fun

2008-10-27T18:21:00.000-07:00

I went to SLO this past weekend... I originally was going to do some "CRP Reunion" activities, but kind of decided late in the week that I wasn't going to... but I went anyway. It was a very relaxing weekend... And no pictures because I'm just lazy when it comes to breaking the camera out.

I stayed with my sister. Friday night we went to see High School Musical 3 with her roommates. It was cute, I didn't think it was so great. I laughed pretty hard at all of the 12 year olds who let out a high pitched squeal/scream every time Zac Efron showed up on screen... it was really funny!

Saturday we went out to lunch with our old roommate Ashley and then Janelle went home to do homework and I hung out with Ash for a bit longer. Went back to Janelle's, made cookies, and watched Baby Mama - so cute! Much better than I was expecting.

Church on Sunday... saw a ton of people, so that was great! I want a church like Grace down here... a girl can dream... Went over to Nicole and Matt's after church. Fun to see them and catch up. Then I left to return to Tustin. Quick, fun, relaxing weekend.

And now I'm done travelling until Thanksgiving... what will I do with my weekends?