Roommate Christmas #3

Pictures are worth a thousand words, typically, if it's just your average photo. This picture however, I would say is worth about a hundred thousand words.

We bought some pretty Christmas dresses from the Salvation Army to take Christmas pictures in. Then, we were going to put them on a Christmas card to send out to our friends... this was put in the reject pile... but I just thought it was to good to not share.

This picture is incredible because none of us had any idea what the others were doing. I love that Elizabeth is licking an ornament, I'm totally not even looking at the camera, and Becky looks mad.

Pretty good. Pretty dang good.

I'm so excited to be getting married, but on the same token so, SO sad that I won't be able to live with Becky and Elizabeth anymore. They are the best roommates ever!

Monday's are my favorite

Most people hate Mondays... I love them. Not only is it my day off I also get to go to Disneyland with Becky, make dinner with the roommates and then either play a game or watch a movie with them... sometimes both! How could it get any better than that?

I am so So SO blessed to live with two of my best friends!

It makes me happy when skies are grey...

Becky and I did some Christmas shopping last night and every year when I am doing my Christmas shopping I always end up buying something for myself. I know that's not the point of Christmas shopping... but I felt like I could justify it.

Since I will be moving to Kentucky (where they had snow flurries yesterday-something unheard of in Southern California) and I do not have a lot of warm jackets. And more importantly, I do not have a lot of CUTE warm jackets (something that will be ABSOLUTELY unnecessary when I live in Kentucky) I felt like the jacket I saw should come home with me, and then one day move out to Kentucky with me... so I bought it.

Then today I woke up and put on my brand new jacket! Not very often when I wake up and put on a jacket do I get to wear it all day long... and today I did! I'm even still wearing it!

I love cloudy cold days! And I am going to love Kentucky!

Dear Kentucky,

I like you.

I don't know if I love you (yet), but I sure like you. I like that you actually have seasons, and I like that you are cold during December- it makes me feel like it really is about to be Christmas time. I like you you are so green, and I like that sometimes you snow. I like that everyone is so nice, and I really like the amazing people watching that you provide.

Thanks for the nice stay and I'll see you again at the end of this month.

Your friend,
Annie

Thank you, KOST 103.5, thank you.

Tonight, thanks to the KOST and Karen Sharp, I learned how to NOT to heat my house.

Bringing my BBQ inside and turning it on.

... Really? I had no idea. Thank you KOST for saving me from a burnt house this holiday season. I totally had my BBQ ready to just wheel inside if the temperature dropped just a few more degrees.

THAT was a close one.

Well... IT'S OFFICIAL!!

I'm ENGAGED!! All the rumors that you might have heard... they're true!

And now I have a ring on my finger to prove it! On Thanksgiving day Drew Proposed...

Let's just say that it involved a surprise scavenger hunt, a lifeguard tower, fishing Asians, a close call on a parking ticket, and of course... A RING!

I can't wait to get married to the most amazing guy in the whole wide world!!

Irrational Fear #2

Those of you who know me well, know that I have a couple irrational fears. My main irrational fear is flying grasshoppers, but I'm also totally afraid of parrots. Ridiculous...? Yes, I know, that's why I'm admitting it's irrational. But I'm still afraid of them. Their creepy voices, their gross looking beaks, and the fact that they can have a conversation with someone.... I'm getting the shivers just thinking about them.

A few weeks ago a new family moved into the place next to us. And guess what kind of pet they have? Yup, a parrot. But not just any parrot, a Spanish speaking parrot. The family is Hispanic, and so it would only make sense that their parrot would speak Spanish. I thought it was funny the first time I walked by their window and heard the bird speak a different language, but then i remembered that I'm totally afraid of parrots... then it wasn't funny anymore. Just creepy.

Boo creepy birds.

You're welcome Dad.

It's been a while... I know. I'm not in denial of the fact that I have been the worst blogger ever... i get it.

So, tonight, to break my non-blogging streak, I decided to share with you something that I did.

My dad likes pictures of me. He likes having pictures of me around the house, and he even has one in his wallet. Adorable... I know. Anyways... tonight, I was over at my parents house on their computer and I decided to take another (as if he could ever have enough) picture of myself for my dad to have around the house:

Then I put it as his backdrop on his computer.

The little favors that I do for you... You're welcome dad.

Dear Elizabeth,

Thank you for picking super cute bridesmaid dresses. Although I have never been in a wedding before, I have heard and seen some ridiculously hideous bridesmaid dresses. Thank you for loving us enough to not make us wear something like this:


Your friend and bridesmaid,
Annie

Soup-er Dinner

Tonight, after debating back and forth with Becky about where we should go out for dinner, we just decided to go to Ralph’s and get stuff to make dinner. We walked around for a little until we ended up following our noses to this new section of Ralph’s that has AMAZING soups made and ready to be eaten. Little did Becky and I know that Ralph’s has the best chicken noodle soup EVER, and that four Hawaiian rolls (in a cute little package) only cost 69¢.

Best dinner ever.

Thanks Ralph’s. My tummy is very satisfied.

Thank you!!

To everyone who planned and came to my surprise birthday lunch yesterday... THANK YOU! You made my day! It was so great to see all of you... I miss you all very much! Thanks for taking time out of your busy day to drive all the way down to Dana Point. I feel so loved.

Thanks for being my friends. I love you!

Burned out? or burnt out?... I don't know.

I feel like I have been uber boring lately... and, I'm sorry. I just don't have a ton to blog about. Therefore, I can't promise when my next blog will be. I still love reading all of your blogs... I just don't know the next time that I will actually be writting my own. To everyone who blogs on a regular basis... cheers to you! I love reading your blogs!

Reasons that I love my job #3

After an awesome meeting with Jake today about how we can reach more students in our community, we decided to take a break and play some guitar hero. Seriously, how many other jobs can you do that? Awesome.

The Good, the Bad, and the Horrible...

Right now Becky, Elizabeth and I are all laying on Becky's bed watching this cheesy show on TLC. It's uber bad, and even though the cheese factor is WAY over the top, I am sucked in... and Becky and Elizabeth are too.

Watching this show makes me think about all of the different commercials and TV shows out there. The good, the bad, and the horrible. So, I made a list, because I think that list's are fun. Which ones are my favorite (the good), which ones are dumb (the bad) and which ones are painful and make me want to change the chanel as fast as I can (the horrible).

The Good:
- The Office
- Gilmore Girls
- Ace of Cakes
- House
- GEICO commercials
- (most) Cingular commercials.
- Saturday Night Live
- Scrubs
- Full House
- Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
- Quaker Chewy Granola Bar commercials
- America's Funniest Home Videos (minus all the cheesy comments)

The Bad:
- Eastwood Insurance commercials
- Judge Judy
- Chanel 8 at 10:00 in the morning
- Diagnosis X (what I am watching right now)
- What not to wear
- Charmin Commercials
- Jiff commercials
- Nair commercials
- Pimp my ride
- Celebrity Rap Superstar (see this)

The horrible:
- I love New York
- Bryman College Commercials
- The People's court
- Divorce Court
- Jerry Springer (midget's fighting? And brothers and sisters dating... really? common...)
- The Flavor of Love
- Fanta commercials (I can't handle the dancers)
- Gossip Girl
- Car dealership commercials
- Date my mom, Next, Room raders (pretty much anything on MTV...)
- Soul Train

Oh, and one more thing... Bad actors and over actors kill me.

Did I miss anything?

I love my friends...

Last night a bunch of friends came over to my house. A lot of my friends I hadn't seen in a while. I don't have a huge place, so it was a little bit of a tight squeeze, but it was sure fun to have so many people over at my house at one time.

We all had dinner together, played some guitar hero, watched some football, and played catch phrase (which we might have woken up some neighbors with our yelling... woops).

I love friends.

I especially love the friends that even if you don't see them very often, when you do get together you pick up right where you left off, and nothing has changed at all.

To everyone who was there last night... you're awesome. I'm so glad that we're friends!!

What I learned from the office tonight...

- Watch where you're driving in the parking lot
- Creed is the token creeper of the show
- Angela actually does have emotions
- When you park on top of old Indian burial ground you will be cursed
- If you trap a bat in a bag and put it over your head... you may get rabies
- Dundler Mifflin supports the rabid
- Squirrels are happy because they’re “insane”
- The key to running a successful marathon is drafting.
- You can ditch a 5K as long as your boss doesn’t see you
- Carbo-loading by eating Fettuccini Alfredo before you go for a run is not a good idea
- An $8 turquoise lamp makes a great trophy
- Sharing your sucker is a good way to make friends/ get rabies

Dear Jason Wahler,

You are not a baller.
You can't rap, you don't have flow...
You don't have rythm, so you need to go.
You are embarrassing to watch, it's painful for my eyes...
It's like watching a trainwreck, it makes me want to die.
You're not even trying, you look like a fool,
Please, go back to rap school.

Just tryin' to keep it real,
Annie

p.s. I give lessons, but don't call me.

I can't teach rythym
I can't teach flow
It's something you're born with...
so get over it yo.

Guilty Pleasure #8256

Guitar Hero.

I just played for the first time, and I was horrible. But, it's the coolest game ever... and I'm getting better every time I play! My highest score was 89%, and that was to the tune of Message in a bottle by the one and only Police.

Thank you Police for providing such an amazing song on guitar hero for me to stum my heart out too. I love you.

What I should be doing right now...

... is getting ready for bed. But, I just don't want to. I have an early morning tomorrow, but right now I'd rather be up watching TV with my roommate Becky. We're watching Ace of Cakes, and the guys on that show are seriously amazing with what they are capable of doing with some cake mix and frosting. Some of the cakes don't even look like cakes... like this guitar.

I think that would be a fun job...

Making cakes like this is totally on my list of awesome things I would love to do... but never will. I do not have the patience, nor the steady hands.

Cheers to you though, Duff... you're the man.

I'm definitely an Autumn Girl

I was talking to my friends Randy and Kim today about how I have really liked the weather lately because it's been cooler than the weeks before. It's not cold, but definitely cooler.

For some reason, every year, I get surprised that it's never cold enough in September to be wearing sweatshirts, jackets and fun scarves. Every year I trick myself into thinking that once September rolls around it's going to be cold enough for that... but nope.

I can't wait for it to get colder and be able to wear scarves... they are one of my favorite things about autumn and winter!

I got tagged... twice.

Brent and John tagged me... at the same time. So instead of doing two (since that would be ridiculous and repetitive) this is my response to both tags. I thought that maybe I would cheat the system and respond with 6 words instead of just 3, but when I tried that it was a lot harder to come up with 6 words, rather than only 3. I also figured that would be inconsiderate considering not everyone is as popular as me and gets tagged by two people at the same time like I do... I'm totally kidding.

Thanks for tagging me Brent and John! Here are my responses!

I have to use 3 words to answer each question. No more, no less. It's harder than you think!

Christine and Alyssa tag you're it!

1. Where is your cell phone? on my lap
2. Who is your boyfriend/girlfriend (or husband/wife)? Don't have one
3. Where is one of your parents? Probably teaching math
4. Cheesecake? Oh, Yes Please!
5. Your favorite thing to do? See my friends
6. Your dream last night? I can't remember
7. Your favorite drink? Lemon Ice Water
8. The room you're in? My living room
9. George Bush? This is funny
10. What you're good at? All things shopping
11. One of your wish list items? Some new Sevens
12. Where did you grow up? South Orange County
13. The last thing you did? Talked to Becky
14. What are you wearing? Jeans and T-shirt
15. Who stole your sunglasses? They're not stollen
16. Ketchup? Not for fries
17. Your computer? a MAC laptop
18. Your life? full of fun
19. Your mood? getting kinda sleepy
20. Your next blog? coming very soon!
21. Your car is? getting kinda old
22. Your summer? Always a blast
23. Your relationship status? Not in one
24. Your favorite color(s)? i LOVE pink!
25. When is the last time you laughed? 2 seconds ago

I got to be a princess for 5 minutes today...

This afternoon while I was getting ready for my very first church service at San Clemente (which, was awesome by the way) I had to go out to my car and grab my make-up. I was in my pajamas and I was jogging out to my car. For some reason I don't feel awkward at all going to the store in my pajamas, but if my neighbors see me in them... it always makes me feel uncomfortable.

Anyways...

I was jogging out to my car to grab my make up, and out of the corner of my eye I saw a little huddle of little boys dressed up. Their ages ranged probably from about 3 to 6, and they were easily the cutest little guys I have ever seen. One little guy was wearing a batman mask, one a super man cape, and the other a little denim hat. All of the boys were wearing rain boots (my favorite part of their ensemble). And, there were also some wooden swards, a pool noodle, and a big water gun involved. They were standing huddled around a tree and the littlest boy in the denim hat was standing up against it pretending like his arms were tied around it. He looked reluctant like he didn't want to be the bad guy. I think that he was probably just playing along so that the other boys would let him play with them.

I couldn't help myself, I had to go play with them for five minutes. So I walked up and we had this conversation:

Me: Hi... you guys aren't looking for bad guys... are you?
Batman with sword: Yes... have you seen some?
Superman with pool noodle: No no, we found him, he's there! (pointing to the boy "tied" to the tree)
Me: Well are you sure that he's the bad guy? You wouldn't want to kill the wrong person...
Batman: Oh, yeah... you're right...
Me: Well... I just saw some pirates run around the corner.
Little Guy against tree with a water gun bigger than he was: YOU DID!?
Me: Yeah, and I know they are bad guys. You should probably go get them...
Superman: OK! Guys, lets go! Come with us! Show us where the pirates are...
Me: OK, but you have to walk really quiet and be sneaky. Pirates have really good ears and they can hear people trying to sneak up on them.
Batman: OK. we'll whisper. We're just going to follow you
Me: Alright... see that car? The blue one? (I pointed to a truck that was parked close to us). The pirates are hiding behind that truck, I think they heard us coming...
Superman: Oh no... I need my sword!
Me: Now, I'm the princess because I'm the only girl. So you have to protect me from the bad guys.

The littlest guy of the bunch, walking right in front of me was ADORABLE. He turned around, gave me the biggest smile ever, and says "YEAH OK! I'll protect you!"

My heart melted a little.

After they fought off the bad guys (which was only about 2 seconds later after yelling "ATTACK!", and then sword fighting with each other) I told them that the princess had to go back to her castle. They said OK, so I went back to my house and finished getting ready.

Dang they were cute.

One more thing before I head off to bed...

Tonight while Becky and I were on our way to Wahoo's for dinner, we saw something that made me want my camera more badly than the day that I caught the 100 pound fish at the harbor.

Picture this: An old man (probably in his late 70's) with a big white beard. He really looked like Santa Clause... driving a teeny-tiny red vespa. For all I know it could have really been Santa Clause... who knows what he does on his off season? The best part of this blessed scene playing out in front of my eyes, was not that I think I saw Santa Clause on a red vespa... but the fact that he was wearing ridiculous goggles and had a HUGE American flag waving from the tail of his "bike". Not the kind of flag that some people put on their car windows... it was a flag that people would hang up in front of their house, or put on a flag pole. It was that big.

Amazing.

My first day!

So today was my first day down at the Saddleback San Clemente campus... and I loved it! I can't wait for this weekend to meet all the students, volunteers and see what the next year of my life is going to look like.

Highlights of my day were...
- Walking into the office and seeing that my desk had been decorated (Thank you Jake!)
- Getting Pizza with the whole team and getting to see Luke and Erin too!
- Watching Pastor Rick talk about Purpose Driven Churches on a DVD... from the 90's. The whole San Clemente team and I watched it together, not only was it super entertaining to see everyone in the audience with big hair, crazy make-up, funny mustaches, and big floral patterns on their clothes... it was also super helpful to be reminded of certain things that I so easily forget.

I love the team and working with Jake is going to be so awesome.

There's really not a whole lot else to say, other than I am so excited for this new chapter in my life!

Thank you to all my friends who texted me, called me, and e-mailed me letting me know that you were thinking of me and praying for me! I love you!

Dear Wildside,

I have SO loved being a part of everything that you have done. From the Wildside bowl to Mobile Missions, from weekend services to Strive. It was all a blast, and I will miss you very much.

To all the students still in Wildside... I LOVE YOU! I'm so glad that I got to know you! This is not a goodbye, but an "I'll see you later", there is no way that I could just walk away from all of you. I love you way too much to just pack up, leave, and never come back. You are all the reason I do what I do. Seeing your faces on the weekend made my week... every time. You are so great, and I can't wait to see where you will be in a couple years. Let's keep in touch! And, I'm sure I will see you around.

To all the students that graduated and are not in Wildside anymore... I LOVE YOU! I am also so glad that I got to know you! I am so excited for you to have your first year of High School! I hope you love it, and if you go through a rough patch, I am just a phone call or e-mail away. I cannot wait to see where you will be in a couple years.

You all mean that world to me and have touched my life immensely! I love you SO much! Don't ever forget that. I'm here for you always, and I can't wait to see you the next time that we meet!

Love,
Annie

p.s. If you come visit me down at the San Clemente campus... I would be beyond excited!

Pulled Pork Sandwiches, Will Ferrell, and a Mac...

Saturday night was very fun. After a delicious dinner at Lucille's with Justin, John and Elizabeth, we all came back to my house and watched the best of Will Ferrell SLN. I must admit, SNL has totally never been the same since Will Ferrell Left. Not even close. And, I am so thankful that my friend Josh got me the Will Ferrell DVD so that I can enjoy Will Ferrell whenever I need a good dose of laughter. I would have to say that my top four (because I couldn't pick just three) Will Ferrell Moments are:

1. The Robert Goulet One
2. The Cow Bell One
3. The Harry Carey One
4. The Drugs Stop Here One

So dang funny.

After all that fun... John and I stayed up and took pictures like this until about 2:30 am...







Such a fun night. I have the coolest friends ever.

God is bigger...

Last night I was driving home after picking up my car from my mechanics and the new Carrie Underwood came on, I'll stand by you. I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure that the song is not written in a spiritual context at all. But, last night as I was listening to it, tears started welling up in my eyes thinking about how that is how much God loves me and how God views me. And, to think that the song does not do God's love for me justice what-so-ever. For those 3 minutes I felt so overwhelmed by God's love for me and just pictured him holding me in his hands singing this song to me. I am so undeserving, and yet He loves me SO much anyways. I want to love people the way that Jesus loves me. I want to reflect Jesus in my life and especially in the way that I love other people. Regardless of what kind of day I am having, or what is going on in my life.

Here are the song lyrics.

Why, why you look so sad?
The tears are in your eyes
Come on and come to me now
Don't, don't be ashamed to cry
Let me see you through
I've seen the dark side too
When the night falls on you
You don't know what to do
Nothing you confess
Could make me love you less

I'll stand by you
I'll stand by you
Won't let nobody hurt you
I'll stand by you

So, if you're mad get mad
Don't hold it all inside
Come on and talk to me now
Hey, what you got to hide?
I get angry too
But I'm alone like you
When you're standing at the crossroads
And don't know whichpath to choose
Let me come along
'Cause even if you're wrong...
I'll stand by you

I'll stand by you
Won't let nobody hurt you
I'll stand by you

Even in your darkest hour
And I'll never desert you
I'll stand by you
And when, when the nightfalls on you baby
You're feeling all alone
You're wondring on your own

I'll stand by you
I'll stand by you
Won't let nobody hurt you
I'll stand by you

I am so thankful to be loved by such a BIG God that loves me so much, and know's what's best for me when I don't have a clue. I am so thankful that God will stand by me no matter what happens. Thank you Matthew 11:30 for this reminder, "For my yoke fits perfectly, and the burden I give you is light." Thank you Lord for telling me that the only burden you give me is to
try my hardest to please you (and that it's OK when I don't please everyone esle around me). Thank you also for telling me that my burden is easy becasue you will bear it with me by standing by me. Thank you for giving me the freedom to mess up; and for your patience and grace when you hold out your hand to me and help me to get back up on my feet even when I fall.

Intern Mystery Road Trip #2

Yesterday was SO much fun! All of the interns plus Josh, Allison, and Jana went deep sea fishing. I wasn't sure what to expect at first... but it was so great. And, one of the best things about it was that it was something that I never would have done on my own. But, now that I know it's awesome... i would totally do it again!

Highlights from the trip include:
- going fishing for my first time EVER
- spending time with the other interns
- being out on the ocean and rocking back and forth on the boat
- perfect weather
- helping captain bob make cheeseburgers
- getting away from e-mail and my cell phone for 8 hours
- trying to walk strait while the boat was rocking out of control
- never having to bait my own hook
- catching a 100 pound black sea bass... that's right.
Things I learned on the trip include:
- black sea bass are protected. Therefore I was not allowed to keep my fish and take him home with me. If I could have taken my fish home, I would have built him and tank and named him. I would not have eaten him. For two reasons:
1) I don't like seafood
2) I felt like since I caught him, he came to me and therefore belongs to me... to love him. He would have been my favorite fish that I ever had and I would never have tried to flush him down my toilet (poor Henry the purple fish...)
- Sea lions are just like a pack of wolves, but they live in water
- cheeseburgers are so much more delicious when you are out in the middle of the ocean
- Brian is an excellent fisherman
- Elizabeth, Dominik, and Jeff get sea sick very easily
- Barracudas are not only really slimy and gross, but they also have super strong teeth and can bite through your fishing line and swallow the bait and hook like it's nothing.
- Deep Sea fishing, although a little smelly and can make some people sea sick, is AWESOME. Everyone should go!

Breaking News...

A rat just ran across the cieling tiles in our office.

I screamed, stood on my desk, and grabbed my camera. I'm a lot of help I am in this kind of crisis situation.

Details later... and pictures...

Weekend Re-cap...

Friday night: Dominik's 21 birthday! WOO HOO DOMINIK!! A bunch of us went to BJ's and I got to watch Dominik open this awesome present:
Saturday: Saturday morning I had breakfast with one of my old C-group girls. I can't believe that she will be going into High School. We had a whole conversation about how High School is awesome, but it won't be anything like High School Musical. This was a little hard for her to grasp, considering that every single one of her notebooks were High School Musical and her walls are plastered in posters.

After breakfast with Abby and saying a sad goodbye because we won't see each other for a while... Becky, Elizabeth and I took of to the McTaggerts beach house up in Huntington Beach. It was awesome, and probably the most vacation-y/beach-y thing that I have done all summer.

Highlights from the trip include:
- making a ton of new friends
- jumping off a bridge into the ocean
- learning how to drive a dinghy and taking it out onto the harbor with friends
- playing cards until 2:30 in the morning
- floating around in inner tubes in the harbor
- a trip to target with Holly and Brian.
- water balloon fights from the dock
- delicious food... Thank you Heather, you're amazing!
- spending time with awesome people
- doing a Noah's Ark puzzle with Kelly

It was easily the most fun thing I have done all summer. It was so great to have no agenda what-so-ever and just be able to relax, have fun and laugh with all my friends. The best medicine to get me back on my feet and get me excited for what is coming up next in Wildside.


Sunday: Becky, Elizabeth and I said a sad goodbye to everyone at the beach house around 5:30 and took off to go home and get ready for church. We met up with my friend John at church, sat through an incredible message by Lee Strobel and then all went to Wahoo's afterward.

... what a great weekend.

Usually I hate getting my clothes soaking wet...

But a couple nights ago I didn't mind so much. I got to be a part of this:
Wildside went down to Salt Creek beach to Baptize four of our students and it was incredible. I was the person in charge of taking pictures of all the students getting baptized, which meant that I had to stand out in the waves (that were waste deep) and I wore jeans... oopsies. But, it was worth it. I love my job and I am so blessed to be a part of this kind of thing. I love watching Students fall in love with Jesus and take the next step with him. I love being able to watch them learn, grow and mature in their faith. And, even though I am just a small part of their lives... they have touched mine in a huge way.

I am SO blessed to be called into ministry and be able to experience God working in students lives first hand. I can't wait to see where these students will be 5 years from now.

This is my friend- Part 1

This is my friend Brian, he thinks his name is Bron (because that's how he say's it) But it's spelled B-r-i-a-n which means that is is pronounced BRI-AN. And not BRON.

Today Bri-an was running credit cards though our machine and asked me to help him load some new credit card tape into the machine. He went to get some new tape and it was too big to fit in the machine. So he said "Let's just unroll it until it will fit inside" to which I said, "Umm... really? Are you sure?" He nodded and just rolled it across the floor, and then i tossed it back. Then between the two of us this is what accidentally happened:

Ok, maybe it wasn't a complete accident. But then it just kept going... and going... and going...

Woops.

Seeing the big pile of paper on the floor (that reminded me of a pile of leaves) made me want to play with it... so I did. And I got BRON to play with it too. This is us dressed up in credit card tape:






I like you Bri-an. I'm glad that we're friends.

It was time...

In case you didn't notice... I have a swanky new blog layout. Sure, it's not as fancy as some of the other ones out there, but I like it. I especially like that I have all of my friends links back.

HOORAY!

And just when you thought I couldn't get any more talented...

Allow me to knock your socks of once again. Along with my many other talents including: knowing the lyrics to every Kelly Clarkson song, popping my hip out it's socket, being able to find whatever I'm looking for in pink, and perfecting the art of "the awkward face" in pictures... I also play tennis. That's right... yours truly LOVES the sport of racquet's and green spheres.

Tonight I played tennis with Becky... it had been about a year for both of us, so we were totally rusty, but it was very fun. Elizabeth came too, and she was our spectator/entertainer/cheerleader/time keeper/ball catcher. Thank you Elizabeth.

We all talked about getting out there at least once a week from now on. I can't wait until Tuesday next week!

Oh Disneyland... you never let me down.

Yesterday I went to Disneyland. And, as always... I had a FABULOUS time! I went with Wendy and Bethany and I can't wait to go back with them! Here are some pictures from our adventure at Disneyland...
In the parking structure getting excited about going to Disneyland... I feel like Wendy and I could almost be related in this picture.

An awkward interpretive dance. The lady who took this picture for us was giggling the whole time... I was worried that the picture was going to come out blurry.

Bethany was being Tinkerbell, I was being a soaring eagle, and Wendy was a chicken. We felt like we all needed to be a "flying" something because of the background...

A fun house mirror right outside of California Screamin'... always fun!

Wendy making an Elvis face and me trying to make an Elvis face...

This picture makes me laugh so hard. We were all supposed to make faces like we were afraid but Bethany looks like she just won a million dollars, Wendy looks like a scared Elvis, and I look like I'm about to cry...

It was such a great day! Wendy and Bethany... I can't wait to go back with you, and when we do... we need to have a picture scavenger hunt! I've already started a list of things to look for! Pink bangs (check), Hammer pants (check), fanny pack (check, check), family in matching outfits (check, check and CHECK.)

Gentle Reminders...

This morning I read this:

"Thanksgiving is possible not because everything goes perfectly but because God is present. The Spirit of God is within us-nearer to us than our own breath. It is a discipline to choose to stitch our days together with the thread of gratitude."

It really just reminded me of God's sovereignty and how little I am compared to Him. It reminded me that He's my Father and that He is going to take care of me through every single life situation that I go though; and He's got everything figured out already, therefore I need to be thankful and full of joy in Him. It reminded me that no matter how I feel, or how I try to take control of the situation... His will is going to prevail and its is going to be right. It reminded me that I need to be available to be shaped in every situation and not get caught up in my fears or emotions; but that I need to be ready to be molded though the things that happen in my life. And, hopefully I will have the chance to use that experience later in life and help someone in a similar situation.

Thank you Lord for your gentle reminders of how you are in control and that your will is perfect. Thank you that you that you know me better than I know myself and that you know what is best for me. Help me to be obedient, available, and ready to be shaped to be more like you.

Tonight, I love my job...

I am off to an Angel's game in about 2 hours with Wildside... oh boy am I excited!

GO ANGELS!!

Would you still be my friend if...

In my house there is one bathroom for three girls. It gets a little crowded at times so sometimes a couple of us will be brushing our teeth while the other one is in the shower. Tonight while Elizabeth and I were getting ready for bed she was taking a shower and I was brushing my teeth and Elizabeth says, "Let's play the would you still be my friend if game..." With my tooth brush in my mouth I said "OK! You first!" This is how the conversation went:

E: Would you be my friend if I had facial hair?

Me: Yes, but I would shave it in your sleep.

Me: Would you still be my friend if I grew out my finger nails and toe nails so long that they started to curl?

E: EW. Yes, but I would encourage you to trim them

E: Would you be my friend if I was a Paula Cole Impersonator for a living?

Me: Would you shave your armpits?

E: No.

Me: Yes, I would totally be your friend, and go to all your concerts.

Me: Would you still be my friend if I didn't know how to walk so I had to skip everywhere?

E: Totally.

E: Would you still be my friend if my boyfriend was Marlyn Manson?

Me: NO.

Me: Would you still be my friend if i made all of my clothes out of duct tape?

E: Yes, because I would love to have a friend that does that!

E: Would you still be my friend if I changed my accent every other sentence?

Me: Yes, totally.

Me: Would you still be my friend if I wanted to live with 50 cats?

E: Would the cats be wearing hand knitted sweaters?

Me: Yes, and I will have knitted them with rainbow yarn.

E: No, that's too much.

E: Would you still be my friend if I had sneeze attacks for hours at a time?
Me: Yes, I would just carry a box of Kleenex with me and always have a a face mask ready to go...

Me: Would you still be my friend if I sang show tunes really loud in my sleep every night?

E: Yes, I would just get awesome earplugs.

So... everyone... would you be my friend if every hour on the hour I sang It's a small world after all?

Reason 9,856 I love living with roommates...

My roommates are the best. I love them with my whole heart. Becky and Elizabeth are two of my best friends in the whole wide world and I am so SO blessed to be living with them. Sometimes I think that it would be fun to live in a studio all by myself in New York or Seattle, but then I would miss out on things like this...

Tonight when we all got home from our busy days, around 9ish, we decided that we wanted to go out. We ended up at the Harbor House... one of our favorite places. Not because the food is super delicious, or even because the waitresses are super awesome and nice... mostly because it is just always open, and we always seem to laugh the hardest when we were there. Tonight we saw a really big tall back man wearing a camo vest and tight black pants with cowboy boots. He was dancing all by himself and having an awesome time... how lucky for us be there while this was happening. AWESOME. The harbor house has a really big place in our hearts...

After two huge hot fudge sundae's Becky decided that she was craving cereal so we all piled in the car and went to go find a grocery store that was still open. Thank goodness for ALBERTSON'S! While we were there we did a scavenger hunt for the most random things that we could find, and also just took some other fun pictures...


Who knew that there was such a thing as Micky Burgers...

I love Becky's face in this one. I also love how excited Elizabeth is over these neon straws...

Awesome visors. If you're ever going to a themed visor party, Albertsons is the place to go!

We also bought these bug glasses at the store. 2 for $4... how could we say no!? They were way too good to pass up! We came home and had a photo shoot with them... this was the best picture.

I love my roommates!

Shoo Fly Don't Bother Me...

I am sitting in the Junior High tent right now and there are flys everywhere inside and outside of the tent. My friend Blair just had one in his ear and I just had one land on my face. EW.

List of reasons why I hate flys:

- They eat poop

- Evey time they land on you they throw up

- They were super rude in the movie A Bugs Life

- They get to have 3000 eyes, and I only get two

Highlights from Beach Camp...

- Driving a 15 passenger van for the first time ever...

- Listening to the girls in my van teach the boys in the back seat the motions to itsy bitsy spider.

- Driving past semi's on our way to Carlsbad and trying to get the semi drivers to honk their horn for us... then everyone exploding in "YEAH! That was SO awesome! He honked for us! Woo Hoo!"...every time. Awesome.

- Getting to go to Lifeguard Headquarters with a student because he got stung by a stingray... then going to the Emergency Room with him. FYI... if you ever go to the hospital without shoes on they give you awesome fuzzy socks to wear... and keep! I was a little bit sad that I had sandals on.

- Having a spoons tournament and listening to Matt Hall and David Hughes do running commentary. HILARIOUS.


- Playing capture the flag at night with glow necklaces... then dressing up with them!



- Going to the store in our glow necklaces and buying tons of ice cream. We also made friends with the cashier and gave him a couple of glow necklaces to wear. After getting the longest receipt ever, we danced in the parking lot.

- Singing "Don't build your house on the sandy land" with motions in front of all of our students...

- Going out into the water with a ton of our girls and doing ridiculous "YOGA" positions. We tried to stay standing when the waves crashed against us... but the crazier the positions, the easier we fell. We also made our hair look like George Washington and jumped up when the waves came so that our hair would stay "George Washington-ish"... I love junior highers.

- Playing Egyptian Rat Slap with awesome water proof cards on sandy towels with a bunch of students.

- Backing up a cargo van down a steep dirt road. Bethany was standing in the back of the van yelling, "Right, Left... now strait! OK, left... more left... watch out there's a wall!" I feel invincible now.

- Singing in my van on the way home with students and making up dance moves to Unwritten. Then watching every single one of them in my rear view mirror dance when the chorus comes on. Including the guys.

- Listening to Breaking Free (High School Musical) nine times in a row on the way home. The boys in my van DEMANDED to sing solo at the beginning... then we all joined in and sang together. So much fun.

- Getting home and taking a long hot shower...

I'm sad that our camps are over for the summer... but it's good to be home. And, I have something to look forward to next summer! Only 362 more days to go!

... and I'm gone again

Tomorrow morning, bright and early, I leave for beach camp. I am so excited because I love the beach and I love camp... so both of them together is going to be SO much fun! Another thing that I am super excited about this trip is that we're only taking about 50 students... so hopefully I (and all the leaders going) will get to know all of them by name!

Hopefully when I get back I will be a lot tanner than I am now...

I'll be back Friday... with pictures!

Being 12 again... and loving it!

The very last night up at Thousand Pines Bethany, Stacey and I decided to take some crazy pictures. Taking awkward pictures (where you look super uncomfortable in them, or just plain ridiculous) is one of our favorite things to do.

This was the "Pretend like you're the worlds wost model" Pose

This was the "Pretend that you're trying to be sexy... but you're horrible at it" Pose.

Such an awkward pose... we were laughing so hard. It might be one of those things where only the people in the situation think that it's funny... but I was just giggling while downloading the picture up to blogger I think it's so funny. Also, if you look at the girl in the background it looks like she has no teeth... which is also super funny.

This picture makes me laugh super hard because if you just glance at it it looks normal... but look at our hands. It's the most awkward hand pose ever. We were laughing pretty hard in this one too.

Good times. Stacey and Bethany, you guys are so much fun! I love you both and I'm so glad that we're friends!

I feel like this is a cheesy slide-show... BUT, here are pictures from Seattle.

Our first bus Metro Bus ride. We were on our way to the Mariners game... you can't tell, but we were SUPER excited! We didn't have tickets, but we were hopeful!


This is the guy that sold me his ticket for a dollar less than he bought it. I was SO excited that I got to go into the game!


The cutest player on the whole wall full of pictures like this, so of course we had to take a picture with him.


Who can go to a baseball game and not eat a hot dog... not us! It was our first stop!


The DUCK tour! We payed $2 extra and got "wacky quackers"... totally worth it!


The bus driver who who said that her name was "Helen Wheels" was a little crazy. OK, a lot crazy... she had Barbie's hanging from the ceiling of the bus that she would take down every once in a while and swing them by their hair to the rhythm of whatever song was playing....


Meet our crazy "Duck" Driver Helen. This is her boxing with pink floaties right before we went into the water...


Becky and I freezing in the back of "Helen Wheel's" Duck Bus


The ferrie ride over to Bainbridge Peninsula. SO MUCH FUN!


Becky and I at the top floor of the tallest building west of the Mississippi... supposedly. I don't know if it's really the tallest building... but the view was amazing!


My Aunt Barbara and Uncle Daryl.


This placed used to be an old factory, but it shut down 50 years ago; now it's just a park where anyone can go. It was pretty fun walking around and looking at all of the old gadgets and big machinery.


A lake filled with lily pads that we saw right off the freeway. It's such a different view from our freeway in Southern California!


Of course we had to go to Starbucks in Seattle. We couldn't have avoided them if we had tried!