Laugh long. Laugh hard.

hiya

2012-01-31T20:31:00.000-08:00

How's everyone doing in the blogosphere?!

I'm still recovering from our fun weekend in the snow. It was a wonderful trip with 15 peeps, 4 cars, 2 condos, and a bit of snow. But hey, I'll take a little snow over no snow at all.

One of our beautiful sunsets in Tahoe:

we're home from Tahoe

2012-01-30T00:44:00.000-08:00

snow (?) trip

2012-01-25T23:09:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow I am taking 15 college students up to Lake Tahoe for our annual snow trip. It rained this past weekend which means it was snowing there. But it's been sunny and lovely and in the 60's here all week (and maybe up there?) so who knows if any snow is still on the mountains. Nevertheless, we are going and will have a wonderful time.

Be back to blog more next week!

response to "Why I Hate Religion But Love Jesus"

2012-01-23T21:03:00.000-08:00

I just watched an interview where Jeff Bethke, the guy who did the "Why I Hate Religion But Love Jesus" video, got questioned on CBS This Morning.

As you read, this video struck a chord with me. I liked the way he shared his poetry, but I didn't like what he said. I was hoping he would have an opportunity to explain things further.

This is a GREAT interview. I liked hearing from him and Father Edward Beck. Father Beck said what I would have, if I had met Jeff in person.

You can watch the interview here.

fairy tales

2012-01-19T23:02:00.000-08:00

I have been enjoying a new TV show this year called "Once Upon A Time". The premise is: the evil queen (from Snow White) has put a curse on all fairytale characters and brought them from Fairytale Land (or wherever they lived) to our world (in Storybrooke, Maine) and none of them remember who they were. Snow White is an elementary school teacher, Jiminy Cricket is a psychiatrist, Red Riding Hood is a waitress at her Grandma's Bed and Breakfast diner, and the evil queen is mayor of the town.

Each week they focus on a different Storybrooke character and flashback to who they were and what their story was in Fairytale Land. Last week we saw Hansel and Gretel's story. And something was brought to mind that I never really focused on when I heard these stories as a kid. The blind witch with the candy house? She's a cannibal. Good lord, she wants to cook the kids in her oven and eat them. Why did this not give me nightmares as a kid?

It got me thinking about all fairy tales I heard when I was young. Almost all of them are actually quite disturbing. But either Disney made them G-rated and took the bad/scary stuff out, or it just didn't hit me how crazy the stories were. They're just stories and hey, I'm a kid! Let's go ride bikes!

Let's look at some famous fairytales and review the real story:

* The Little Mermaid - when she goes to get legs from the Sea Witch, not only does she give up her voice but she is told it will constantly feel like she is walking on sharp swords. And if the prince doesn't marry her, she doesn't just turn back into a mermaid. She DIES. And guess what? The prince doesn't marry her. He ends up marrying someone else. But as a last chance to live, her sisters bring her a knife the Sea Witch gave them in exchange for their long hair. If the Little Mermaid kills the prince with the knife and lets his blood drip on her feet, she will become a mermaid again and live. But because she still loves him, she cannot do it. As dawn breaks she throws herself into the sea and her body dissolves into foam. Um, WHAT?

* Sleeping Beauty - When Aurora (who originally had brown hair - suck it, Disney!) pricks her finger on the spindle and "dies", seven good fairies put everyone to sleep for 100 years. After a hundred years, a prince who had heard the story of the enchantment approaches the overgrown branches and thorns in front of her castle. And they just OPEN and make way for him! Really? No dragon to fight? And he doesn't even kiss her to wake her up. He trembles upon seeing her beauty and falls on his knees before her. She wakes up, followed by everyone in the castle who all continued where they had left off. Um, girlfriend was asleep for 100 years. She is at least 100 years older than the prince. Weiiiird. (P.S. The story continues where they get married and have two kids. The prince's mom is part-ogre and sends Aurora and her children into the forest and then tells her cook to kill them and prepare them for eating. What is WITH all this cannibalism?!)

* Rapunzel - Before I start, I must say that I love the movie Tangled. It's seriously in my top 10 even though it just came out a year and a half ago. The original story is a bit different. A prince hears Rapunzel sing in her tower and watches Dame Gothel climb her hair. When Gothel leaves, he asks Rapunzel to let down her hair which she does (skank?). He visits her every night and they eventually start sleeping together. Dame Gothel sees Rapunzel getting pregnant (even though Rapunzel doesn't know what's happening to her because she's been so sheltered) and cuts her hair and banishes her into the wilderness. Dame Gothel uses the hair to lure the prince up and then he freaks when he sees her and leaps from the tower and is blinded by the thorns below. Awesome.

* Cinderella - there's no fairy godmother in the original story. When the stepmother and step-sisters go to the ball, a white bird drops a silver gown and silk shoes to Cinderella outside. The ball is actually 3 nights and she goes every night. She keeps leaving before midnight and so the third night the prince has the entire stairway smeared with pitch. The third and last night, she loses a golden (not glass) shoe in the pitch as she runs down the stairs. Then it gets fun - when the prince goes around to find the owner of the shoe, one step-sister cuts off part of her heel so her foot would fit the slipper. The other step-sister cuts off a toe so she'll fit. *vomit* Obviously, it fits our girl Cinderella and at the wedding, doves from heaven fly down and strike the two stepsister's eyes, leaving them blind. Ack! Along with cannibalism, there seems to be a lot of blinding going on in these stories.

* Red Riding Hood - a talking wolf? Ahhh! I'd run. But RRH stops and chats with him like it's no big deal. He runs ahead and does the whole swallow-Grandma-whole-and-dress-like-her bit. He's so clever. RRH will never notice! And she doesn't at first. (Idiot.) But when she finally does, he eats her in one bite. Then along comes a hunter who cuts open the wolf and RRH and Granny emerge, living and unscathed. They fill the wolf's body with heavy stones. The wolf awakens (did he not wake up when he was, you know, CUT OPEN and two living people climbed out of him?!?) and tries to flee, but the stones cause him to collapse and die.

* Snow White - it goes something like this. The Evil Queen who can't stand the thought that Snow White is prettier than she is, calls a huntsman. "Hey, you! Burly dude! Take my step-daughter out to the woods and kill her. To prove to me she's dead, bring me her lungs and liver. I'm hungry and I want to eat them. Hop to it, boy!" He loves Snow and can't go through with it so he lets her go. He then brings the queen the lungs and the liver of a boar, which is prepared by the cook and eaten by the queen. (I'm seeing the pattern here)

The queen is so pissed when her magic mirror tells her S.W. is still alive. So she tries to kill Snow herself. Try #1 - she comes by the dwarves' house disguised as a peddler. She offers colorful laces and laces Snow White up so tight that she faints, causing the Queen to leave her dead on the floor. However, Snow White is revived by the dwarves when they loosen the laces. Try #2 - the Queen dresses as a different old woman and brushes Snow White's hair with a poisoned comb. Snow White again collapses, but again is saved by the dwarves. Try #3 (success!): the Queen makes a poisoned apple, and in the disguise of a farmer's wife, offers it to Snow White. When she is hesitant to accept it, the Queen cuts the apple in half, eats the white part and gives the poisoned red part to Snow White. Snow eats the apple and immediately falls into a "deep stupor". When the dwarves find her, they cannot revive her, and they place her in a glass coffin, assuming that she is dead.

A prince traveling through the land sees Snow White in her coffin. He instantly falls in love and begs the dwarves to let him have the coffin. The prince's servants carry the coffin away. While doing so, they stumble on some roots and the movement causes the piece of poisoned apple to dislodge from Snow White's throat, awakening her. Are you kidding me? All she needed to do was cough? Land sakes alive. No kiss required in this story either. Oh and here's the fun ending. The Evil Queen goes to Snow and Prince Charming's wedding and as punishment for what she tried to do, she's given a pair of heated iron shoes. They force her to step into them and dance until she drops dead.

I can't believe we read these stories to our kids.

Here's what we can learn about fairy tales:

* cannibalism was a popular pastime
* step-mothers are evil
* chicks can sleep and be dead at the same time
* it doesn't matter if you're a good guy or bad guy. You might be blind at the end of your story
* the Brothers Grimm were CAH-RAZY

kayaking and Michael Jackson

2012-01-16T23:18:00.000-08:00

I had an amazing Saturday and I would love to share it with you all.

First, my friend Laura invited me to go kayaking because she bought groupon tickets months ago and wanted to use them. So off to Monterey we went! It was such a beautiful day. We saw all sorts of fun stuff: scuba divers (swimming below us), kelp forests, jellyfish, seal lions, harbor seals, and my favorite: a mama sea otter with her baby! We weren't allowed to get too close so hopefully you can see them in the picture. The mama is on her back and her pup is laying on her stomach. So so cute!

We ended up at the end of cannery row where the Monterey Bay Aquarium is. I grew up going there with my fam and have always loved it. There is an area where you can walk outside and look at the bay. It was such a cool experience being on the other side of it - out in the bay, looking at the aquarium.

Then that evening, I went to my first Cirque du Soleil show EVER. Have you been to one? I've heard about them and seen pictures but never experienced one myself. The family I used to baby-sit for (8 years ago) had tickets and wanted to take me. (P.S. I feel very blessed to have such wonderful people in my life who want to invite to fun stuff like this, both kayaking and the Cirque show).

What made this show special was its theme

MICHAEL JACKSON.

Sha'mone!

Here's the description of the show: "This once-in-a-lifetime electrifying production will combine Michael Jackson music and choreography with Cirque du Soleil creativity to give fans worldwide a unique view into the spirit, passion and heart of the artistic genius who forever transformed global pop culture."

It was amazing, you guys. I just sat in awe the whole time. They played every single MJ hit and had dancers, acrobats, aerialists, costumes, LED suits that changed colors, etc. The choreography blew me away. We weren't allowed to take pictures or video, so here's the official preview they released on youtube:

If the tour comes to your town, you should definitely go!

Jesus hates religion?

2012-01-13T22:26:00.001-08:00

There's a video that has been shared on facebook, twitter, blogs, and other social networking sites the past few days (I have personally seen it posted it 9 times on my facebook news feed by different people). It is titled "Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus". It's gone viral and has almost 8 million views.

The video features a young guy (probably in his 20's) named Jefferson Bethke who lives in Tacoma, Washington. He speaks in rhyme for 4 minutes explaining why Jesus is better than religion. In the video, he makes statements like:

- "What if I told you Jesus came to abolish religion?"

- "...which is why Jesus hated religion..."

- "Now back to the point. One thing is vital to mention, how Jesus and religion are on opposite spectrums."

- "And that's why religion and Jesus are two different clans."

- "So for religion? No, I hate it. In fact I literally resent it."

As I was watching it, I had a weird feeling. How do I describe it? I could tell this guy loved Jesus and had obviously spent a lot of time putting together this "spoken word" poetry.

But something wasn't right. His doctrine was off.

Where in the bible does Jesus say he hated religion?

A friend posted this in response to the video: "Jesus was a very religious Jew. He went to temple and he offered sacrifices. He participated in the feasts and holy days. He was baptized and he taught his followers to baptize. He knew the Torah and how the people of his day understood it. In fact, he modeled many of his actions around motifs found in the Torah, and his later followers interpreted his actions through this lens.

Like the Hebrew prophets before him, he challenged the abuse of religion. But he never rejected it.

Similarly, the early Christian authors understood Jesus through the very languages and practices of the Jewish religion. Jesus was remembered as a sacrificial lamb, a high priest, a prophet, a king, a new David, a new Moses, a new Adam, the Son of Man, and many other 'religious' images."

Maybe Jefferson didn't understand what "religion" is? Why didn't he say Jesus is better than legalism? Or Jesus was against false religion? Those statements are biblically sound.

I read an article that basically explained everything I felt (and would have blogged) about this video. You can read it here.

My favorite sentence in the article is "We should not retreat from vocabulary that has been defiled, we should redeem the terms."

I would love to hear your guys' feedback.

what's going through my mind right now

2012-01-10T18:23:00.000-08:00

* I might be going to my first Cirque du Soleil show EVER on Saturday night.

* I have Tim Tebow fever.

* I get to see my nephews tomorrow! *squeeee*

* I LOVE this sunny weather. It's January and I was in short sleeves today.

* I got a new pair of athletic shoes and I've been running a few times a week. Who AM I? I hate running. Why am I going running?

* The show "The Bachelor" makes me embarrassed for my gender.

* I wish it was March 23rd so I could see The Hunger Games movie.

* I wish I didn't get nervous around boys I have a crush on.

* I'm taking 20 college students to Tahoe for a snow trip in 2 weekends. The only problem is there's no snow. Hmmmmm.

* My hip-hop dance class has started up again. Yeah!

* We still haven't taken down our Christmas tree yet. It's January 10th.

skating kick-off

2012-01-06T23:45:00.000-08:00

We always like to start off the new semester (at the college group) with some ice skating. Rather "ice falling", because nearly everyone walks away from the ice with a wet booty. But hey, it's still fun!

And before we head home, we make a quick stop at our happy place.

iSarah

2012-01-02T19:12:00.000-08:00

I think I am 5 years behind everyone else when it comes to technology. Mostly in the phone area of technology. Part of that is by choice. Park of that is stubbornness.

First off, I don't want to pay the extra money for a smart phone. And the phone plan.

Next, I don't want the freaking internet at my fingertips all the time. I already struggle with pulling away from my computer at work or home. I don't want to be tempted to be online every other moment in life.

I don't like it when people say they can't live without their smart phone. I'm on eharmony and there's a section where you put the "5 things you can't live without". I cannot even tell you how many guys have their iphone in the top 5 (Some even have it as #1). Really, men of America? Really? You cannot LIVE without your iphone? I'm deleting you, sorry.

And lastly, I don't like that they are a status symbol. "Oh, you have the droid? I have an iphone. It's way better." Or "You have an iphone? Which one? Just the 3g? Well, I got the new 4s. It's way better." It promotes competition, elitism, superiority/inferiority complexes, and lame conversations. And honestly, the second you get the new updated version of your smart phone, a new version will be released 6 months later. It's ridiculous.

But with all of reasons to be against smart phones, I am thinking I might need to get one next year.

When someone has a question, I can't answer them. Everyone else can pull out their phone and google it.

People don't need to carry around a phone and their camera, like me. A smart phone does both.

When someone asks me to hang out, I tell them, "I'll have to check my calendar at home (or work) and get back to you." Everyone else can pull out their phone and check their calendar right there. And then type in the hang-out time.

I get lost a lot. Something with GPS would be nice...

And I begrudgingly admit it would be good to use with my college students. We can talk about apps and play games against each other. Those are things they do with each other right now and I cannot join them. And I never know what they're talking about.

I'm torn. I would love any advice. Should I get a smart phone? If so, which one? Or should I continue to hold out? Even if it makes me 5 years behind everyone else in technology?

So long 2011

2011-12-31T00:01:00.000-08:00

2011, you were...an interesting year.

You were a year of ups and downs. Successes and failures. American milestones and world milestones. It's time to look back at what's happened the past 12 months.

What happened in the world in 2011:

* Japan experienced a horrific 9.0 earthquake and tsunami.
* Egyptian president Mubarak resigned and fled Cairo. The people rejoiced. "I'm 21 years old and this is the first time in my life I feel free." -young Egyptian in Tahrir Square
* Osama bin Laden was killed.
* Prince William and Kate Middleton got married.
* North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il died of a heart attack.
* And a million other things I am either ignorant of or don't know enough about to post.

What happened in America in 2011:

* We were introduced to Rebecca Black. Fridays will never be the same.
* The "man with the golden voice", Ted Williams, was homeless one day and then offered housing and a job the next.
* The Green Bay Packers won the Superbowl.
* Charlie Sheen went crazy.
* Netflix made some bad choices and annoyed a lot of customers.
* Harold Camping predicted the rapture would come in April. Oh just kidding, October.
* The iphone4s was unveiled. We met Siri and enjoyed her sassy answers to our dumb questions.
* The 8th and final Harry Potter movie came out in July.
* We watched the final launch of the space shuttle program.
* We fell in love with Adele's voice and songs.
* R.I.P. Steve Jobs, Amy Winehouse, and Elizabeth Taylor.
* It was the 10th anniversary of 9/11.
* The St. Louis Cardinals won the World Series
* Occupy Wall Street. And LA. And NY. And Dallas, Boulder, Chattanooga, etc.
* Tim Tebow became the "mile high messiah".
* Soldiers started returning home from Iraq.

Let's raise a glass and celebrate a new year coming. 2012, what you got for us?!

family, food, and fun

2011-12-28T15:53:00.000-08:00

Hello friends! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. I just got home from 4 lovely days at my parents' house. My highlights:

* My nephews. Judah who is 3 and baby Samuel who is 6 and a half months old.

* On Christmas Day after opening gifts, my dad brought out all of his remote controlled cars for people to play with. It was so fun!

* Food food and more food.

* Singing carols at the nearby assisted living residence on Christmas Eve.

* Seeing Judah play with the toy violin I got him for Christmas.

* Getting not one but two SF Giants blankets! (Is it April yet?)

* Seeing the musical "Bring It On" with my sisters. Yes, they have made the cheerleading movie Bring It On into a musical. BUT it has two things going for it: 1) they do ah-MAY-zing flips and stunts in the air! 2) Lin-Manuel Miranda (who my sisters and I love because he wrote all the songs and lyrics for In The Heights) co-wrote all the songs and lyrics for this one. And we'll pretty much see whatever he has done. That man is so talented.

* Good talks and hang-out time with my family

* Mission Impossible 4 - go see it. It was very entertaining. (I love Simon Pegg!)

* Um, and have I mentioned my nephews?

sand art

2011-12-23T23:28:00.000-08:00

Tonight I went to the Christmas Eve (Eve) service at my church. I will be with my family on the real Christmas Eve but I still wanted to celebrate Christmas with my church. Luckily they have a service two nights before Christmas.

Between the songs we sang and the message our pastor shared, a man named Mike Conley got up and did sand art. Have you guys seen this before? Imagine a big hollow wooden box. They top of it is plastic and inside the box is a light that shines out the top. The artist uses sand to make pictures, people, scenes, etc. on the surface. It was mesmerizing. I could not take my eyes off it.

This video is not Mike's, but it is similar to what he did.

what Christmas means to me

2011-12-19T23:04:00.000-08:00

For me, Christmas can be summed up in three simple words.

God with us.

700 years before Jesus was born, the prophet Isaiah said, "The Lord himself will give you a sign: the virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel." (Isaiah 7:14)

What does "Immanuel" mean?

God with us.

God, the creator of the cosmos, wrapped himself in human flesh and came to the earth he created.

He wasn't born to a wealthy married couple in a mansion. He was born to a young girl and her financially poor fiancée in a cave, because there were no rooms available for them in the town of Bethlehem.

Instead of being wrapped in gold blankets and put in a comfortable crib, he was wrapped in strips of cloth and placed in a manger. Basically a feeding trough for dirty outdoor animals.

And who were the first people to see Jesus, besides Mary and Joseph? Shepherds. Smelly shepherds who hung out with sheep all day and were the lowest of the low in social circles.

What humble beginnings for the King of Kings.

Why did he do that? Why did the God of the universe come to earth?

Because he loves us.

He loves me.

And he loves you.

We are his children. His creation. The work of his majestic hands.

And he knew we needed a Savior.

So the Father sent his one and only son to this crazy, dark, messed up world.

To save us.

From sin.

From death.

Through the Son, we can have a relationship with the Father. And if we believe in Jesus, nothing can separate us from him.

That is what Christmas means to me.

I celebrate Jesus' birth. The birth of my Savior who left heaven and humbly came to earth so we could know him. And find grace, love, and forgiveness through him. And be saved from what we deserve.

Immanuel.

God is with us.

weekend o' fun

2011-12-18T23:05:00.000-08:00

What a fun weekend.

To start off, our house had our annual white elephant gift exchange par-tay. You never know what you'll end up with at these things. In previous years, I've received a bag of cement, an old nasty chair, "Masters of the Universe" (a live action He-Man movie) on DVD, an N'Sync calendar, and more.

This year I ended up with old-school records that teach multiplication tables. What a great gift! If I was a 4th grade teacher. In the 1970's.

But I was more excited about the gift I gave this year. I was at Goodwill and heard someone/something singing "Living La Vida Loca". It turned out to be a Santa on a reindeer stuffed animal. When you press his hand, the Santa sways from side to side during "Upside, inside out" and then the reindeer turns to you and sings "Living La Vida Loca!!". They sing the whole chorus together and then stop. It was both horrible and amazing. Our friend Colin got it. He was less than pleased.

The best gift of the night was actually a re-gift from last year. It's a painting of a Tootsie-looking woman wearing a Star of David necklace. Her eye holes are cut out which makes her freaky-looking. When our friend Holly opened it, she burst out laughing. Someone grabbed it and put it on our mantle with white lights coming through the eye holes.

And THEN Holly's husband Andrew opened a gift and it was a picture of Brad Pitt from Legends of the Fall. He went on the mantle as well - slyly looking at the creepy Jewish Tootsie. So wonderful.

Saturday I drove to my older sister's house to spend some time with her and my two nephews. Judah is 3 and we had a great time playing together. Samuel is 6 months old and so cute, I want to die.

From there I drove to see my sister Liz in her winter musical "13 Days of Christmas". She played Bernie, a truck drivin' tomboy with a crush on the town mechanic. She stole the show. I'm not just saying that because she's my sister. She legitimately was the best singer, dancer, and actress. She KILLED her solo. I always love seeing her perform on stage.

Today (Sunday) I went to my church's Christmas concerts. Every year our church puts on these amazing concerts that people come see from all over the county. They do 10 concerts in 4 days. And they are a-may-zing! I went to the 11 a.m. concert with my college students and the 5:30 pm concert with my aunt, uncle, and cousin who drove into town to see it.

What a wonderful weekend. I am feeling very thankful and blessed tonight.

lovely ladies

2011-12-14T19:32:00.000-08:00

The other evening, a dear friend (and previous roomate) was visiting from out of town so we had a Ladies Night.

I look at this picture and my heart swells with joy.

I love these ladies so much.

I have known many of them for 11 years, ever since I moved here.

We have many memories together.

They have taught me a lot.

They are precious in my life.

I know Thanksgiving is over, but it doesn't matter. I am thankful for them today and every day.

Advent Conspiracy

2011-12-11T19:57:00.000-08:00

I will be blogging soon about what Christmas means to me. Until then, I will share my favorite Christmas video. There is a movement going on called "Advent Conspiracy". They are trying to get the focus OFF shopping, materialism, and consumerism at Christmas-time. Instead the focus should be on worshiping Jesus. Spending time with loved ones. Giving to others.

You are free to Conspire.

Christmas Banquet

2011-12-09T17:51:00.000-08:00

College group is done for the semester! Wooooo!

We had our annual Christmas Banquet to end out the year. And I can honestly say this was the best one we've ever had. Everything went well and was fun.

I loved seeing all the college students dressed up. My friends Jenn and Steve made a delicious meal for us (3 different types of pasta, 3 different sauces - marinara, alfredo, and pesto, and 3 meats to choose from - meatballs, chicken, or shrimp). Intern Scott sat in a grandfather-type chair and read a re-telling of "Twas the Night Before Christmas" while wearing fake glasses and holding a pipe. We played games (wrap up someone at your table and a gingerbread house competition). We had a white elephant gift exchange. And to top it off, DANCE PARTY!

Here are some pictures to showcase the evening.

I have readers in the Philippines?

2011-12-06T21:47:00.000-08:00

I don't know if you've noticed, but there are three new "counters" at the bottom of my blog. The first tells you how many people have viewed your blog. The second goes into more detail: how many visits you've had today, this month, etc. The third is my new favorite: WHERE your readers live.

I LOVE seeing that I have readers not only from all over the US, but in countries like Ireland, Brazil, India, Portugal, Ukraine, Scotland, Canada, Japan, Poland, Italy, Finland, Philippines, Mexico, England, Vietnam, Denmark, Australia, Pakistan, Chile, and the Netherlands.

To my international friends, welcome. Did you come upon this blog on accident? I apologize if my random ramblings don't make sense. To my readers across the U.S., welcome as well. Did you come upon this blog on accident? I apologize if my random ramblings don't make sense.

Just kidding. For whatever reason, I'm glad you're here. Please feel free to comment so I can read your blog, too.

And you should put the "visit counters" on your blog page. You'll be surprised to see how far your blog reaches.

"It's a small world after all..."

Christmas tree time

2011-12-04T22:02:00.000-08:00

Today was such a wonderful day. Some friends and I went to a nearby Christmas tree farm to cut down trees for our respective houses. I especially love this farm because I used to work there at Christmas-time when I first moved to this area.

This really made it start to feel like Christmas. The smell of all the douglas fir trees, Christmas music playing, families all dressed in red and green and reindeer antlers, sitting by the fireplace, drinking hot chocolate, enjoying the crisp, cold air. Ahhhhhh. On top of that, the farm also has a barn, a cute general store, animals (chickens, goats, bunnies) you can feed, and hay rides.

Lovely.

steroids

2011-12-02T22:05:00.000-08:00

*a text I sent my sister today*

"Who has two thumbs and just got a steroid shot in her bottom?

THIS GIRL!"

Yes, my friends. I have steroids running through my veins right now.

I feel powerful.

Not really.

Basically my allergies have been worse than usual the past couple months. So I finally decided to go visit my doctor. We talked awhile and then she prescribed me a new medicine and a new nasal spray.

"Sarah, I'm also going to give you a shot of steroids," my doctor said.

"Huh?" I said.

"We give them to patients if they have bad reactions to poison oak or allergies. It helps calm your body down," said my doctor.

"Oh okay," I said and started removing my sweatshirt so she could have a good shot at my arm.

"It's going in your toosh," said my doctor.

Nothing, said me.

I looked at her in silence for a couple seconds. Um, I've heard about bum shots but don't they just give those to babies?

So yes, I can now officially say I've been shot in my bottom (bucket list?) but the best part is that at any moment I could turn into the She-Hulk.

STEROIDSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!

Christmas caroling

2011-11-30T23:17:00.000-08:00

Top 3 moments caroling downtown with my college students tonight.

#1 - Screaming/singing "BRING US SOME FIGGY PUDDING AND BRING IT RIGHT HERE!" with a student as we ran down the street. (By the way, "We Wish You A Merry Christmas" is the worst Christmas carol ever.)

#2 Singing Frosty the Snowman for people sitting outside a pizza place and a group of guys repeatedly asking my underage students if they wanted a drink.

#3 Asking 3 homeless men with guitars if they want to sing with us. Their reply: "Nah, we'll smoke pot over there and just listen."

food drive totals!

2011-11-28T23:04:00.000-08:00

Remember a couple weeks ago I blogged about the food drive my church was doing?

To recap: the past 10 weeks, we've been collecting food and money for Second Harvest Food Bank. We've done a food drive the past 6 years, but this year our pastor gave us a huge challenge: one million pounds of food. And not only that, but one of our missionaries works with Kenyan refugees in a famine-stricken village in Somalia and said it would only cost $10,000 to feed everyone in that village for a year. So our pastor added that to our goal as well.

It was so cool to hear/see what has gone on the past couple months. Kids have been making crafts and selling them door-to-door (a couple kids even did a "board-break-a-thon" with their martial arts clubs), families had garage sales or took money from their Christmas budgets, and my college students and I went downtown to make friendship bracelets and play music to raise money. Everyone wanted to be involved to help those in need.

Last weekend was the final weekend to turn donations in. And yesterday our pastor revealed how much we raised. Here's what he said.

"Did we reach our food drive goal? First, some background: We believe that providing food for the hungry is part of what it means to live like a Christian. 'If you spend yourselves on behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.' (Isaiah 58:10)

Every year we partner with Second Harvest Food Bank for the food drive. Our first year, our goal was 50,000 pounds of food. This year, our goal was one million pounds of food. This has never been attempted before. And the amazing news is...we exceeded our goal, raising 1,229,961 pounds for the food bank locally, plus enough in cash donations to help feed a village in Somalian with our African church partners for three years!"

Everyone was screaming, cheering, dancing in the aisles. It was so awesome. So much hope and joy was bursting out of that place.

"Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." (Matthew 5:16)

I'm thankful

2011-11-25T09:55:00.001-08:00

Nephew Samuel - 5 months old.

B.S.W.

2011-11-21T22:31:00.000-08:00

I'm scared I'm becoming a B.S.W.

Bitter

Single

Woman

I reeeeally don't want to be one. But I am noticing I am headed in that direction.

I'm trying to think of a way to illustrate my concern.

Maybe I should share about having to hold in my exasperated screams of "YOU'RE FREAKING 19!" every time one of my college students whines to me about wanting to be married and where is Mr. Right. Or maybe I should mention I have reached almost ninja-level stealthiness of finding the bathroom when it comes to the bouquet toss at weddings. Or perhaps I should mention my annoyance with "The Back Scratchers" at church. You know. The couple that take turns rubbing and scratching each others backs during a sermon. I seem to have the frequent unfortunate luck of sitting right behind them and spending the whole service wishing to God they'd just get a room already.

But no, I think I will illustrate my BSW-ness with what happened last night. I was feeling nostalgic and wanted to watch an old Disney movie. I decided on Sleeping Beauty.

Well, I'm not proud to say this, but at the end of the movie I cried and then threw a curse word at Aurora. Prince Phillip was fighting Maleficent (aka: Crazy Dragon Lady) and all SHE had to do was look beautiful and take a nice long nap until he came to kiss her. Boooo.

When you start cussing out Disney princesses, something is definitely wrong.

Is there a support group for B.S.W's like me?

P.S. If this continues, I might have to buy a rocking chair, knit afghans, and start taking in all the stray neighborhood cats. I'm allergic to cats but I might have to do it anyway.

woot

2011-11-20T20:32:00.000-08:00

I did it! I blogged every day this week. I have more ideas for upcoming blogs in my head, but I'll space 'em out.

Thanks for reading, everyone.

food drive

2011-11-19T23:15:00.000-08:00

A few days ago I blogged about going downtown to raise money for Second Harvest Food Bank. It was today...and it was so awesome! Here are some pictures from our afternoon.

We raised $25.75 for Second Harvest (those dollar bills sure add up). Because $1=3 pounds of food, we're donating 77 pounds of food toward our church's goal. It's not a whole lot, but I'm so proud of those students for coming up with the idea and going for it.

to seminary or not to seminary

2011-11-18T21:22:00.001-08:00

This past year I have been seriously thinking (and praying) about going to seminary. There is one about 45 minutes away that many of the pastors at my church and a couple friends have gone to and liked. I went to their "Preview Day" back in May and felt like it would be a good fit. I am interested in two of their Masters programs: Master of Arts in Ministry and Leadership or Master of Arts in Biblical and Theological Studies.

The problem is finances.

Seminary is dang expensive. We're talking $445 a unit. So if I want to take 6 units a semester, that is $2670 I need to magically appear in my bank account every six months.

I appealed to my boss, wrote a letter, and he presented it to the board at my church. It was my hope that they could approve some money starting in 2012 for staff who want to go to seminary. My boss said the board seemed interested in the idea...but all churches are struggling financially right now, so they're not sure what they can do. I'll know Jan. 1st what they decide.

I know it's a lot of money but it would go toward a great cause. It will equip me to be a better minister, shepherd, teacher, and leader. (I especially want to take more bible classes because my students ask me really hard questions and I don't always know how to answer them.)

I'll keep praying. If God wants me at seminary, I'll be there.

trivia night

2011-11-17T19:02:00.000-08:00

My roomates and I have started a new tradition. There is a pizza place downtown that has Trivia Nights every Thursday. You get in groups of 2-6 people and come up with team name. There are 4 rounds, 6 questions a round.

The trick is to get different people on your team. One person who knows history. One who knows science. Entertainment/pop culture. Geography. Literature. Your combined brain power helps you answer the most questions correctly.

Here's hoping Turd Ferguson (our team name) wins it all tonight!

donations accepted

2011-11-16T23:09:00.000-08:00

I'm not a homeless person, I swear. But I WILL take any money offered to me this Saturday.

Our church has been raising money for Second Harvest Food Bank. SHFB provides food for hundreds of thousands of family in the Bay Area. And with the recession, more families are in need than ever before.

The church's goal is one million pounds of food. (*cue Dr. Evil's pinky to mouth*) 1 dollar = 3 pounds of food. Which means our church is trying to raise $333,333. We started the food drive 6 weeks ago. It's been so fun to hear stories. Kids are doing lemonade stands or car washes. Families are having garage sales. People are re-budgeting their income to set aside extra cash for the food drive every week.

This Saturday, myself and some of my college students will be going downtown and setting up a station. Some of them are going to play music for donations and I will be making friendship bracelets (either I will make them or I will teach people to make one themselves). 100% of donations will be given to the food drive.

I've never done anything like this before. I always see people downtown either asking for spare change or sitting on a blanket selling stuff - art, jewelry, photography, etc. I hope people see what the cause is for (we'll have signs) and get excited about what we're doing.

All money for the drive is due Sunday. And then they'll reveal how much we raised the Sunday after Thanksgiving. I'll let you guys know as soon as I hear the results.

nephew updates

2011-11-15T19:59:00.000-08:00

Staying on the same vein as family, I would love to give you nephew updates. Tomorrow, baby Samuel is 5 months old. Whoa! Time is flying by. I got to see him Saturday at my mom's birthday. He's so cute! He's super responsive to everything now. And then Judah is turning 3 next week. The big news is that he has been going "poo-poo in the potty". Big boy!

Here is an adorable video of them: Judah is being silly and turning his head everywhere to make Samuel laugh.

Baby giggles are the BEST.

Happy Birthday Mamacita

2011-11-14T23:20:00.000-08:00

I have the best mother in the world.

Seriously.

How did I get so lucky?

Today my mom turned 65. This picture was taken at her birthday dinner on Saturday. I'd like to take a moment and say how hott she is. 65? Yeah right. She looks 45. Total babe.

Let's start by talking about how amazing she is to have birthed 4 kids!! I can't imagine squeezing ONE "watermelon out of a straw" (as my sister says) let alone FOUR. Good lord. She said by the fourth kid, she was reaching down and helping the doctor pull my youngest sister out.

Which brings me to the next part - how wonderful it is to have a mom who's a nurse. Nothing fazes her. Between her four kids and working at a hospital for 40 years, she's seen and weathered it all. Snot, puke, diarrhea, fevers, bruises, mononucleosis (that would be me), broken bones, stitches, bronchitis, fingers stuck in bedroom doors or car doors, sprains, scratches, chicken pox, pneumonia, the common cold, etc. You name it. If we were ever hurt or sick, we didn't have to worry. Mom knew just what to do.

She and my dad have been married 43 years. She loves my dad and has always been a supportive partner and helpmate to him. They live and enjoy life side-by-side. She has shown me through example of how to be a godly wife.

I mentioned this at her birthday dinner, but something my mother excels at is hospitality. Any person who walks in her front door is instantly family. It doesn't matter if you are someone she's known her whole life, a friend of one of her daughter's, or a stranger off the street. You are welcomed, cared for, and loved. The house I grew up in is not huge but it is full of love and memories. A huge part of that was due to my mom's gracious and selfless heart.

Now let's talk about her cooking. I didn't realize till after college (when I had to learn to cook for myself) how awesome my mom's cooking was. I don't know where she got her recipes but they are so good. Fresh ingredients, homemade sauces, soups, salads, and more. And she had to cook for 6 people every night! How did she do it? She's also a fantastic baker. (I just gained five pounds thinking about her Christmas goodies)

When I was growing up, my mom supported my sisters and I in everything we did. She came to our class parties, choir concerts, dance recitals, plays or musicals, award ceremonies, etc. And if we ever needed to have a party or get together, she planned something fun and memorable.

There were so many times I came home from a bad day at school or after a fight with a friend. My mom was there. She hugged me and let me cry my eyes out. She would jokingly ask if I wanted her to beat them up. I couldn't help but giggle, thinking about my mom going out with fists flying.

Vacations were a priority. She and my dad knew the value of making memories together. I have fond memories of going boating with my mom at our summer family camp, her mooning our whole family in Hawaii, and watching her freak out inside a broken elevator in Spain.

She instilled in us a love of learning and reading. At the dinner table growing up, if we were stumped on something, she jumped up and grabbed an encyclopedia or the globe so we could find the answer. Instead of buying a video game system, she would drive us to the library or big bookstore 10 minutes away. We'd spend summers reading or swimming at her friend's pool. We were smart and healthy.

Years ago, when I went through the hardest time of my life, she took care of me, spent time with me, even took me away on a two day retreat so I didn't have to think about things. I look back on that time and am beyond thankful for her gentleness, listening ear, and servant's spirit.

I'd also like to mention that she goes to Ethiopia every year (sometimes twice a year) to love and provide medical attention for kids and adults. She doesn't raise support - she pays all the money herself. To give up weeks of work and life to go to a third world country and show them the love of Jesus.

Today I celebrate her 65 years of life. She has been a blessing to me and so many others. I am so thankful for her. Happy birthday Mamacita!

it is decided

2011-11-13T18:10:00.000-08:00

I have not been giving my little blog much love or attention lately. Therefore, it has been decided that I will blog every single day this week. Maybe it will be deep thoughts. Maybe it will be fluff. Regardless, come check it out.

I will start by saying that the ladybugs are back. I have lived in this room for 8 years now and they come back every November like clockwork.

I keep thinking it's starting to rain, but no...it's just them hitting my windows, trying to get inside my room. A few are flying around my head as I type this. Good times.

All right blogger friends, let's see where this week takes us!

I want to live at Hogwarts

2011-11-07T22:33:00.000-08:00

Seriously.

Can I just live there?

Hi, I'm back from Orlando. I had a wonderful vacation.

I posted all my pictures on facebook if you want to check them out.

My highlight, of course, was visiting the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. We saved it for our last day of vacation. When I entered the park, my heart was beating really fast. I was so excited/nervous.

It was AMAZING.

I did everything my Harry Potter-loving heart could wish for.

I ate at the Three Broomsticks.
I went into Ollivander's and bought a wand.
I drank 3 butterbeers throughout the day.
I bowed to Buckbeak and he bowed back.
I browsed through Zonko's joke shop, Honeyduke's candy store, and Dervish & Banges.
I went to Hog's Head.
I saw Hagrid's hut.
I saw the Ford Anglia, Goblet of Fire, golden egg, and Triwizard Cup.
I bought chocolate frogs and a Time-Turner.
I watched the Beauxbaton girls dance, the Durmstrang boys grimace and stalk about, and a choir of Hogwarts students sing in a "frog choir".
I sat in the owlery.
I watched Filch's footsteps walk around the castle on the Maurader's Map.
I drank pumpkin juice.
I bought a purple pygmy puff.
I taunted the Monster Book of Monsters and it tried to bite my finger off.
I walked through Hogwarts castle. I saw Dumbledore, Harry, Ron, Hermione, talking portraits, the Fat Lady, the 4 founding witches/wizards of Hogwarts, the Herbology greenhouse, the Sorting Hat, the pensieve, Quidditch equipment, etc. And the ride at the end was the BEST!

It was all I hoped and more.

I didn't want to leave.

I want to live there.

P.S. If you're not a HP fan, no worries. I will blog about other stuff coming up.

leaving...again?

2011-10-28T18:12:00.001-07:00

I know I just got back from Disneyland on the fall road trip with my college students. But I am leaving again to go to another Disney theme park. This time though, it's Disneyworld!

I'm sure you know by now, I love Harry Potter. And in Orlando, they opened up a Harry Potter theme park as part of Universal's Islands of Adventure. I've wanted to go ever since I heard about it. And months ago when best friend Elissa and her husband Mike said they could go in October, we jumped online and bought plane tickets! Woooo!

We will be hitting "The Wizarding World of Harry Potter" as well as the 4 Disney World parks - Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom. We're staying at the Animal Kingdom lodge. Would it be wrong to feed the giraffes outside my window? (I don't know if they come right up to the windows. Probably not. It's fun to think about, though)

It's very strange to be going on vacation smack dab in the middle of our semester. But I have been dealing with heavy stuff lately (work, students' struggles, and friend stuff I've mentioned before) so it's actually perfect timing. I can get away and have fun and come back feeling more light-hearted and ready for the rest of the semester.

Farewell my friends! Be back in a week!

pumpkin carving

2011-10-25T23:51:00.000-07:00

It officially feels like autumn. Tonight I carved pumpkins with my roomates. Guess which one is mine.

a swim and a smile

2011-10-22T20:32:00.001-07:00

Last year I swam laps at our community pool every Saturday. It was like clockwork. I woke up, made pancakes, put on the sunscreen, and headed over to the pool.

Recently, I have slacked. I can't remember the last time I went swimming. So when I heard today was going to be sunny and in the 80's, I decided to jump back in.

It was glorious.

As I was swimming laps and then laying out afterwards, I relished the fact that it was this warm and lovely in late October. I know the cold weather and rain storms will be here soon, but I am going to enjoy these sunny days as long as possible.

Anyway, something that stood out to me at the pool was how many dads were there with their kids. I love seeing fathers play with their children. I saw them playing Marco Polo, having their kids jump into the water from their shoulders, and swimming around with two or three toddlers clinging to their necks. And they were having a ball - both the dads and the kids. The moms were also in the pool, cheering them on.

It made me smile.

I think I really needed to see that today. Like I mentioned in the previous post, my friend's divorce is weighing heavily on my heart. I needed to be reminded that there are many fathers out there who love their kids. Who are good husbands and dads. Who put their family above their own desires. Who will never abandon them. Who will stay and continue to love, even when it's hard.

It was a good day.

ups and downs

2011-10-20T23:34:00.000-07:00

Hi friends. Isn't it interesting how up and down life is? Two heavy things on my heart right now are: 1) a dear friend of mine is battling colon cancer. She is married with two little boys. 2) I just found out that another dear friend of mine is getting a divorce because her husband of six years is having an affair (with a married woman) and doesn't want to save and restore their marriage. She has a young daughter.

Sometimes I really love this life.

Sometimes I REALLY don't.

Thank you God for being God and being unchanging.

we went to diddyland, dawg

2011-10-18T15:34:00.000-07:00

HOME!

What a great trip. One of the best. On a logistical note, everyone stayed safe! No car accidents, breakdowns, or car issues. No injuries, hospital visits, sicknesses. Yeah! On a ministry note, the students had a ball, made new friends, and are more invested in the group (and church as a whole). Double yeah!

We drove down to So. Cal on Friday. We enjoyed 3 hours in traffic. (LA traffic can suck it.) Friday night people either went to a Ducks/Sharks hockey game, walked around Downtown Disney, or hung out in the hotel's pool and hot tub.

Saturday we played in Disneyland from 9 am - midnight. Our feet felt like they were going to fall off. Highlights:

* everything decorated for autumn and Halloween

* seeing the joy in the faces of 3 college students who had never been to Disneyland before

* Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy. Scary and fun!

* Haunted Mansion, Nightmare Before Christmas style

* I think I saw Cee-Lo by Splash Mountain

* being silly in line with students

* one of my shy girl students having to sit extremely close in a guy student's lap for Matterhorn

* getting dizzy in the Mad Hatter teacups

* all the Disneyland smells - churros, cotton candy, popcorn, big soft pretzels, etc

* 30 of us went on Star Tours together and took up the whole room

* fireworks and Fantasmic

Sunday, we drove to a nearby church for their morning service and then ate at Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles for lunch before heading home.

I fell asleep the MOMENT my head hit the pillow the night. And I stayed asleep for 14 hours. Bliss.

Thank you, Happiest Place on Earth!

fall road trip

2011-10-10T23:15:00.000-07:00

The past two weeks, Intern Scott and I have been getting all the details ironed out for our annual Fall Road Trip. Every year we take a bunch o' college students somewhere fun. The whole point of the trip is to bond and build community. It's so nice to get away from church and get to know each other, while making memories at the same time.

This year, we're heading to the Happiest Place on Earth! Aka: Sarah's 2nd home. I swear, I have been to Disneyland a million times and I'm still not sick of it. I love it so flippin' much. I think I will always love it.

Anyway, in previous years we've taken anywhere between 10-20 peeps on the fall road trip. This year, we're taking 35. Woot! That might not sound like a lot to jr. high or high school groups who pile 100 kids on one bus for 13 hours straight and the bus breaks down in some podunk town where it's 105 degrees outside. (Sorry, I'm having flashbacks of my own high school trips.) But 35 is big for us. There's a lot of collecting money, medical release forms, finding drivers and cars, putting directions together, making cell phone lists, getting gas money, hunting down some walkie-talkies, figuring who sleeps in what rooms at the motel, etc.

We leave Friday.

Mickey...we're coming for you.

how do you view God?

2011-10-07T21:13:00.000-07:00

We've started a new series at church about the characteristics of God. My pastor's recent sermon has stayed with me and I can't shake it. So I'm going to share it with all of you.

How do you view God?

What is your mental image of God? Maybe it's one of these:

* God is like Santa. Do you picture him as an old guy with a long white beard? Do you think of God like the Santa song: He knows when you're sleeping and He knows when you're awake. He knows if you've been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake. And you go to Him to ask for stuff? I want a Barbie, a pony, the new iphone, the perfect job, a husband, a kid, etc. Dang it, God. I didn't want that other type of doll, that Samsung phone, or that job. And where's that husband? Didn't you get my list?

* God is a Cosmic Cop. Always lurking with his Sin radar gun, just waiting to bust me. He is anti-fun. "Are you having fun? Then it's wrong." You know that feeling when you're driving and you see a cop car in your rear view mirror? Your heart leaps, your hair stands up on the back of your neck, and you check everything you're doing. Did I get that tail light fixed? Am I going the speed limit? Is that how you feel about God? (Or the church?)

* God is the Giant Judge. Always judging and grading me. God is up there in heaven analyzing every single thing I do, and at the end of every day, I get a little report card from God. "I was very pleased with you today," or "I am very disappointed."

* God is The Big Blur. God is blurry, fuzzy, unknowable. Kind of like "the Force" in the Star Wars movies. He's not really a personal God. He might exist but it's presumptuous to say you can get to know Him and He doesn't really have any standards except for a vague fuzzy, lovey-dovey-ness.

These labels limit God.

They put God in a box.

Do you believe in the God who really IS...or the God we make in our minds?

Here's the kicker my pastor shared: We shape the idol of God in our minds and then the idol ends up shaping US.

Psalm 115:8 "Those who make idols end up like them. So does everyone who trusts in them."

If Christians think of God as a Giant Judge...they become judgmental.

If they see God as a Cosmic Cop - they become behavior cops.

God is a Big Blur? Those Christians become blurry. They don't take a stand on anything.

You become like the god you serve.

Let's get God out of the box we've put Him into.

Let's discover and then stand in awe of who God truly is.

Holy.
Powerful.
All-Knowing.
Faithful.
Just.
Loving.
Always present.
Untamed.
Sovereign.
Full of grace and forgiveness.
Everlasting.
Peace.
Jealous for you.
Everywhere.
Creator.
Abba Father.
Worthy of our worship and praise.

The Magic Clipboard

2011-10-03T23:07:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago, I got a call from one of my previous college students whose wedding was Saturday.

Jill: "Sarah, I have a question for you."

Me: "Go for it."

Jill: "Austin and I were just talking about the wedding and we realized we should have a 'day-of coordinator'. You know, someone to be in charge of the timeline and make sure everything goes smoothly. Check in with the caterers, DJ, pastor, etc. And the first person we thought of was you. Would you like to be our day-of coordinator?"

Me: *pause* "Could I have a clipboard?"

Jill: "Yes."

Sarah: "Then I'll do it."

Seriously, I just wanted a clipboard. I've helped set-up lots of friends' weddings and I've seen the wedding coordinators running around. They ALL have a clipboard.

I don't have aspirations to be a wedding coordinator. But I wanted to see what it would feel like to hold The Magic Clipboard.

It. is. awesome.

Granted, I am exhausted. But it was a great experience. I would like to share...

What I Learned as "Day-Of Coordinator" at a Wedding

1) When you hold The Magic Clipboard...you hold the power. Everyone will ask you anything and everything. The cake guy arrived and looked confused. Then he spotted me and walked over. "You have a clipboard," he explained matter-of-factly, without even introducing himself. "Where do you want the cake?"

2) You can get drunk off its power. I felt like I could boss anyone around. One glance at my clipboard and they knew they had to do what I said. Mwahahaha! *evil laugh*

3) With great power comes great responsibility. After your initial drunken spell, you sober up and realize your job is not to boss people around. Your job is to make sure things run smoothly so the bride and groom can enjoy their special day and not have to worry about anything.

4) You have to make big decisions. And dumb ones. It's super windy and knocking down the centerpieces? Since they could potentially break the glasses on the table (Oh wait, one already did?) we will take them off and pray the wind will die down before the wedding. Why do we have an extra table set up? No I don't have scotch tape for the namecards. The DJ's not here yet? Make sure the bridal party and families are staying hydrated in the sun. There are bees everywhere. Does the bride have her epi-pen kit with her? She's deathly allergic to bee stings. We don't have enough chairs? The bathrooms are over there. The cake is going to melt in the sun? Let's find an umbrella. No, I don't know where the ring bearer's fedora is. Where is the photographer? Hold on, I'll be right there. I'm pinning the 5 groomsmens' boutonnières on. And on and on.

5) Wear comfortable shoes. A nice sensible pair of ballet flats will suffice. You will be doing a lot of running around. Do NOT wear high heeled wedges. Especially at an outdoor wedding on grass. However, through this mistake, I DID discover a new dance move: the "Gopher Hole". It's really fun. While holding a clipboard, start strutting with purpose. Then quickly and swiftly crank your ankle 45 degrees to the right when your foot lands in a gopher hole. Regain your composure, act like you meant to do that, and continue walking. After about 9 or 10 times, the dance move will catch on and soon all the guests will be doing it, too. Woooo, party! And the DJ hasn't even started the music yet!

6) Speaking of the DJ, you hold the Magic Clipboard...but he holds the Magic Microphone. Microphone trumps Clipboard every time. You can tell him to announce toasts in 20 minutes and he'll get on the microphone in 10. Enjoy watching the caterers panic and run for alcohol to fill up everyone's glasses.

7) Some wedding guests will not listen to you. Even when you show them you're holding The Magic Clipboard. So get creative finding 5 or 6 different ways to say the same thing to the same people. For example:

- "Do you know where your seats are? Austin and Jill are waiting until everyone is seated before they come out."

- "Sorry to interrupt your conversation, but we need everyone to find their seats."

- "May I help you find your table?"

- "Once everyone is seated, the DJ will announce the bride and groom."

- "SIT THE EFF DOWN!!!!!!!"

Okay, maybe don't say the last one.

8) Eat fast. You don't have much time. Yes, the food is amazing. But Great-Aunt Harriet needs assistance getting to the buffet line.

9) In everything you do and say, you must be bossy but nice. Or nice but bossy. You can't be one without the other.

10) Enjoy the thought that you are helping make that day special for two people you love. It's all for them.

Congratulations Austin and Jill! I love you both very much. Magic Clipboard and I had a wonderful time.

catch-up

2011-10-02T19:06:00.000-07:00

Hello readers and friends.

It has been awhile.

I am looking forward to reading all your fun blogs and seeing what's been going on in the world and in your lives.

You probably saw that I was sick two weeks ago and then I spent all last week playing catch-up. Life has a bit crazy. Busy but good. Here are some highlights from the past 2 weeks:

* A few weeks ago, I baptized 10 college students. Last Sunday we had Part II - there were 3 students who wanted to get baptized but couldn't that first day. So we planned this day and had all their family and friends come out for it. The waves were SO big and powerful. When we baptized the third student, a huge wave came up behind us and knocked me over. It was awesome! We were laughing. It was like I got baptized, too.

* I went to my final Giants game of the season last Tuesday. It was a great way to say good-bye to my boys. We won 7-0 and one of the players hit a homerun into the cove behind the stadium. It also happened to be Tony Bennett Tribute Night so the man himself was there and he is still rockin' at 85 years old. His version of "God Bless America" (at the 7th inning stretch) was amazing. After the game, we were walking to the parking lot and we saw his car in the street right next to us. We yelled hi and that we loved him and he saw us and waved. Wooot! I left my heart in San Francisco, Tony!

* There was a goodbye party for a friend who is moving back to Tennessee. It was at the bowling alley, complete with black lights, disco balls, and dance music. Par-tay!

* My friend Jody was here from Boulder, Colorado! She flew out for a wedding and stayed with me for a couple days. (more about the wedding in the next blog)

* My hip-hop class has started up again! Yeah!

* I turned in the reservation forms for our hotel and Disneyland tickets - fall road trip in 2 weeks!

* Um, have you seen the first two episodes of Glee? SO GOOD! This season (so far) feels like season 1. Back to the characters and singing and dancing. Does this clip for Tuesday's ep get you excited? (Brittany is running for class president against Kurt)

blog coming...

2011-09-29T01:29:00.001-07:00

Goodness, I haven't blogged in forevah. I was sick and then this week was crazy playing "catch-up". New blog post coming soon.

Josh Groban + Kanye West

2011-09-23T14:52:00.000-07:00

Being sick means you have lots of free time to browse the interwebs and see what's out there. I happened upon this video which I loved so much, I HAD to share it with you lovely readers. Josh Groban sings Kanye West's tweets. Enjoy.

sicky

2011-09-22T17:42:00.000-07:00

Hi friends. Sorry I haven't blogged much lately. I've been sick since Sunday. Booo.

time for a barn dance

2011-09-19T12:58:00.000-07:00

For the past couple years, I've enjoyed third-Saturdays-of-the-month at a farm 45 minutes away. They have a big ol' potluck and then do some barn dancing for 3 hours. It's good, clean, wholesome fun for the whole family. I finally decided it was time to share this awesomeness with my college students.

We went this past Saturday and had a BALL! They loved it. Everyone got dressed up country/western style and we ate & danced the night away.

dang it, I wish I was British

2011-09-15T22:50:00.000-07:00

At the end of October, I am flying to Orlando, FL to visit the Harry Potter theme park. And this got me thinking...dang it, I wish I was British.

Seriously, can we just take a moment and acknowledge how awesome England is? That country has contributed so many cool things to to the world. Music, art, literature, film, theater, historical figures, legends, endless pop culture lovin'.

* William Shakespeare
* The Beatles
* J. K. Rowling and Harry Potter
* Sherlock Holmes
* King Arthur, Merlin, Lancelot, knights of the round table
* James Bond
* Mary Poppins
* Andrew Lloyd Webber
* Jane Austen
* Robin Hood
* David Beckham
* Peter Pan
* Monty Python
* C.S. Lewis (Narnia)
* J.R.R Tolkien (LOTR)
* Lewis Carroll (Alice in Wonderland)
* A. A. Milne (Winnie the Pooh)
* some amazing actors and actresses: Michael Caine, Anthony Hopkins, Jim Broadbent, Ian McKellen, Colin Firth, Alan Rickman, Emma Thompson, Jude Law, Ralph and Joseph Fiennes, Judi Dench, Helen Mirren, Julie Andrews, Maggie Smith, Kate Winslet, Daniel Day-Lewis, and Gary Oldman just to name a few.

Random thought: I am tempted to speak in only a British accent inside the Harry Potter park. Thoughts?

was Jesus happy?

2011-09-12T22:29:00.000-07:00

Let me start out by saying I'm not trying to be all sacrilegious in this blog. I'm genuinely curious.

When Jesus was on earth, was he ever happy?

I mean, we can assume he was. Besides being fully God, he was also fully human, so he experienced all human emotions. I can assume he was happy. But is it in scripture?

Here's what brought me to this question. I was cleaning out a drawer in my room and came across an old 3" by 5" spiral notepad. "Whoa! This thing is old!" I opened it up and inside was the date: October 15, 1997. This was the notepad I had in college. I took it everywhere to write down prayer requests. I flipped through and enjoyed reading prayer requests and praises from 14 years ago.

And then I got to a page titled "JESUS WAS..." And below I had written feelings/emotions/human responses Jesus had during his 3 years on this earth. (Was I bored between classes and felt like doing a treasure hunt? Was this for a bible class? I don't remember). Here's what was on the page:

JESUS WAS...

Hungry

* "After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry." (Matthew 4:2)

* "Early in the morning, as Jesus was on his way back to the city, he was hungry." (Matthew 21:18)

Thirsty

* "When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, 'Will you give me a drink?'" (John 4:7)

* Jesus was thirsty on the cross (they brought him a sponge with wine vinegar)

Tired

* "Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping." (Matthew 8:24)

Sad

* "Jesus wept." (John 11:35)

* "As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it." (Luke 19:41)

Astonished/Amazed

* (with the centurion) "When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, 'Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.'"

Sorrowful

* "'My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,' he said to them. 'Stay here and keep watch.'" (Mark 14:34 in the garden of Gethsemane)

Moved

* "Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance." (John 11:38 at Lazarus' tomb)

Gentle/Humble

* "'Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.'" (Matthew 11:29)

Wanted To Be Alone

* "After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone." (Matthew 14:23)

Compassionate

* "When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick." (Matthew 14:14)

Angry

* "When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves he said, 'Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!'" (John 2:13-16)

Felt Abandoned

* "About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, 'Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?' (which means 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?')" (Matthew 27:46)

Happy
...

And that was all I wrote.

Under "Happy", I had written an ellipsis. Dot dot dot. Did that mean 14 years ago I couldn't think of (or find) any verses on Jesus being happy?

Was Jesus happy?

Growing up, I saw pictures in Sunday School of Jesus smiling with children. Did you? He said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these." It doesn't say it in the bible, but I bet children made him happy and brought him joy.

I assume Jesus felt happiness when he saw people choose life over death. He saw them turn their lives around, give up all they had, and decide to follow him.

And is it weird or sacrilegious to imagine Jesus smiling and laughing with his disciples at mealtimes?

I don't know, friends. I mean, this issue is not vital in Christian doctrine or theology. It's more of a personal curiosity. Can any of you remember verses in the bible where Jesus was happy? If so, please share.

Sept. 11th - a happy day?

2011-09-11T21:29:00.000-07:00

September 11th. A day that cannot be lived without thinking about what happened 10 years ago. A day of sadness and sorrow. A day of fear and uncertainty and death.

And yet, something happened today that changes things in my mind a bit.

Today 10 of my college students made the decision to be baptized in front of their church, their family, and their friends.

These 10 students chose this day to die. They symbolically died to their old selves and rose out of the water covered in the newness and cleansing power of Christ. They publicly proclaimed they belong to Jesus and will live for him on this earth until their Jesus comes to take them home

From death to life.

Oh Happy Day.

what I'm learning (using pictures)

2011-09-08T23:14:00.000-07:00

Life has been busy lately. I thought I'd share things I've been learning. And since I'm visual, I'll use pictures.

I've learned the value of finding a job you love and being committed to it.

I've learned there are some stores (and products) I will never understand. Smile and move on.

I've learned that I will always love the SF Giants, even when they're not doing well in the season.

I've learned if you teach college students the cup game, they will be entertained for an hour.

I've learned that Intern Scott does not enjoy pranks. We learned this after his car was "loved".

I've learned how fun a new fall season can be. There will be times when things feel monotonous and slow. But this is not that time. Dwell in the excitement and let the joy flow.

I've learned that good friends are one of the biggest blessings in this life.

i heart my nephews

2011-09-06T22:30:00.001-07:00

Guess who I got to spend the weekend with??

retreat time

2011-09-02T12:46:00.001-07:00

I'm going on a retreat with my 9 student leaders and Intern Scott. We're going to my parents' house (they are gone) to hang out, get to know each other, and do some leadership training. Have a wonderful Labor Day weekend, everyone.

34 and single

2011-08-30T23:12:00.000-07:00

The time has come for this blog to be written.

Ladies and gentlemen, friends near and far, strangers whom I have never met...

I am 34 years old.

And single.

It's an odd thing. I thought (hoped) I would be married at 25. But 25 came and went. As did 26, 27, the rest of my twenties and now four years into my 30's.

I don't want this post to be a pity-party for myself. That's not productive. I do allow myself pity-parties from time to time, but they occur in my mind and they last for a short, healthy amount of time. And then I make myself stand up tall and say, "Ok you've let yourself do that. Now move on, girl." And I do.

Since I look at my blog as an online journal of sorts, I want to process the reality of being single. First, I'll share about the guys I meet. And then I will share about where my heart has been recently with all this. Not that either category explains my singleness at a late(r) age, but Imma do it anyway.

Ok, let's start with the guys I meet. The following section of the blog is probably stereotypical, so I apologize ahead of time. Also, single guys can probably say the same things about the women they meet. But oh well, here I go:

THE GUYS SARAH MEETS

1) They are already dating someone.

Almost all peeps my age are already married and these are the people I hang out with (my community). So if there's the off-chance I meet a guy somewhere else, they always seem to be already dating someone. There have been so many times I've been chatting with a guy and I'm enjoying our conversation...and then his girlfriend walks up. Oh hi, I'll excuse myself now. Yikes.

2) They don't love Jesus.

My faith is the most important thing to me and about me. I love and follow Christ. It's been frustrating because I don't meet a lot of quality guys who also love Jesus. I meet nice guys, but it is very evident while hanging out that they are not Christians. It's a shame because they really are great. But I desire someone who shares my faith, beliefs, and values.

3) They are YOUNG.

This one is embarrassing. I should start this section by saying if you know me, you know I look extremely young for my age. So I don't know if I just attract younger guys because I look (and sometimes act) younger than I really am. Add to this that I'm the worst judge of age. I can never tell. This had led to quite a few uncomfortable moments.

I'll meet a single guy who loves Jesus and I'll be stoked. And then at some point he tells me he is 22. What. The. Crap. I am such a cougar. Oh wait, my friend told me if we're under 45, we can refer to ourselves as "pumas". MUCH better. Moving on!

4) They are socially awkward.

Some examples:

- The guy who stands/talks too close for comfort.
- The guy who wears the same thing every time you see him.
- The guy who stares at you (without blinking) for a verrrrry long time.
- The guy who is wa-a-a-y too eager to talk to girls.
- The guy who doesn't understand social cues (ie. I'm trying to comfort a friend who is bawling her eyes out and he is standing right next to us waiting to say something to me).
- The guy who doesn't know how to talk about life issues. (However, he can talk for tens of minutes about level 37 of his favorite video game or Greek mythology or the latest cartoon character he sketched in his notebook. These are all true stories.)

Guys, if you're reading this, please don't do these things. (Well, feel free to do the last one, but after you've known each other for awhile. Talking about them when you've just met is a little weird.) And I hope you know I'm not trying to be mean or snobby. This might just be my experience. It's unfortunate that the guys my age who are single are a bit awkward. Wait! Am I the awkward girl? Is that why I'm still single, too? **pause while I have a quick identity crisis**

Ok, so I guess what I'm saying is: it's hard to meet a quality single Christian guy who is around my age and can hold his own, socially.

I'm not blaming my singleness on men. And I'm not saying I'm perfect. Dang, I'm so flawed. I have issues, too. Don't we all? But I felt like I should explain why I'm having a hard time meeting guys.

However, now after sharing the guy-side of things, I'm ready to personally process where my heart is with being 34 and single. Here we go.

First off, let me say I love my life. It is filled with blessings. I don't want to wallow in the one thing I don't have when there are so many things I DO have. I have the most amazing family a woman could ask for. I love my parents. I love my sisters. I have the cutest nephews in the whole freakin' world. I live in a beautiful place. I have a job I enjoy immensely. I live in a great house with awesome Christian housemates. I have the most amazing friends. Just looking at this paragraph makes my heart swell with joy and thankfulness. I am so blessed.

So why can't that be enough?

Why do I insist that there is still one more thing I need?

The truth is, I don't know if I will get married or not. I am not promised anything. Nowhere in the bible does it say every believer will get married. God is not obligated in any way to give me a husband. I feel like a spoiled, entitled 5 year old when I look at all the blessings in my life and ignore them to focus on the one thing in my life I don't have. As if getting married will make me complete, make my life "perfect", and settle all longings I have (or ever will have) in my heart.

I think the best way to share where I am with my singleness is to tell you about the breakdown I had last Friday. I was with a dear friend and we were talking about how things were going with God. As I spoke, I could feel myself getting choked up. Whaaaat? Where is that coming from? I swallowed and tried to keep talking, but the next thing I knew, I was crying uncontrollably. It was like all my emotions, fears, and heartache couldn't stay inside my any longer and needed to be released.

"Sarah, what's wrong?"

"I am scared, B. I know I need to trust God with every area of my life. And I want to. But I am struggling with doubt. I am doubting God's goodness. I'm doubting God's provision. I feel like this has been a desire of my heart for so long. I feel like I've been patiently waiting and praying and he has done nothing. I keep praying and hoping, but I am wondering if it will ever happen. And I'm afraid that I am starting to give up on hoping. I hate feeling this way. I feel like my doubt is pushing God away. It's creating this distance in our relationship. And it's my fault. Why can't I trust him?! B, I'm scared to say I don't trust him in this area of my life. Deep down, I know I do, but I don't feel that way right now. And it's so scary to admit it out loud."

And with that, I continued to cry as I replayed in my mind what I had just said.

B was wonderful. She let me cry. And when I calmed down, she responded.

"Sarah, I am so glad you admitted that. What has been in darkness has now been brought into the light. It loses some of its power over you now that you have shared it. And you're right, we are not promised husbands. But it's not a bad thing to want that. It's not an unholy or sinful thing to desire. On the contrary, it's a wonderful and understandable thing to desire. What I love is that you are being honest about where you are with God. Satan would love for you to keep all your doubts and fears inside, where he can judge you and make you feel shame and guilt. He wants you to feel far from God. But think about this: when you feel these things, can you remember what you KNOW to be true?"

Oh my gosh.

Feelings vs. Knowledge.

I choose knowledge.

I choose TRUTH.

Is God good? YES. Does he know me? YES. Intimately. More than anyone else. He created everything about me. Does he love me? YES. So much he sent his son to die for me. Has he blessed my life? YES. Does he provide for his children? YES. Maybe not always in the ways we want him to. But we're not God. He knows what is best. Does God have a beautiful plan for my life? One that will not harm me but give me hope and a future? YES.

We prayed. And I have been processing all of this ever since. That is where I am today, friends. Still struggling. But choosing to be real with God and others about this. And telling myself to remember it's not about what I FEEL. It's about what I KNOW.

I am 34 and single.

But I am a single 34 year old who is loved by my heavenly Father and saved by his grace. And I will live my single or married life in response to that truth.

Glee season 3 spoilers

2011-08-28T18:18:00.000-07:00

With the Glee Project taking up most of my summer, I forget about the actual kids who are on Glee. They've been filming for a couple weeks now and I have been trollin' the interwebs to find out some spoilers. Don't read if you don't want to know what's coming up at McKinley High.

GLEE SEASON THREE SPOILERS

* The first episode is called "The Purple Piano Project".

* Trouty Mouth is gone. Chrord Overstreet will not be back at McKinley High. The reason? No one really knows. Executive producer Brad Falchuk said: "We did invite him back for a portion of the season, to see if being a regular was a possibility. But he declined the offer, which we were really disappointed by." Falchuk said they had a storyline in mind for Sam. "We wanted him back because we like Chord personally and had some good stories planned for him and with Mercedes (Amber Riley)," he explained. "He decided he would have opportunities elsewhere that he would like to pursue, and we can't force him to work, so we wished him well."

* Because of Sam's departure, Mercedes has a new boyfriend she met over the summer. Friday Night Lights' LaMarcus Tinker will portray Mercedes' new love interest. Formerly known as 'Bubba', he's a massive linebacker for the McKinley Titans.

* Darren Criss (Blaine) and Harry Shum Jr. (Mike Chang) are now season regulars.

* Kurt convinces Blaine to transfer to McKinley and be part of New Directions.

* Santana and Brittany are back on the Cheerios. Santana is named captain. But she has a co-captain. And apparently, that person’s not too keen on sharing either. (we don't know who the co-captain is yet, but I'm guessing it's Becky)

* Quinn has pink hair in the first episode. Rumors are she's gone all "bad-girl". Rocker clothing, pink hair, smoking, etc. She doesn't want to go back to New Directions.

* We are going to meet Mike Chang's parents. Jenna Ushkowitz (Tina) said "We're going to see how Mike's parents feel about Tina not being in a traditional Asian family, because she was adopted."

* Rachel will join the school musical this season.

* Sue's running for Congress. She doesn't just wanna end the glee club. She wants to end all glee clubs. Her platform is "No arts in schools". And she will also be getting a new love interest.

* Idina Menzel is back for 10-12 episodes. More duets with Lea Michele, please! (I still get goosebumps when I listen to their "I Dreamed A Dream" song from season 1)

* While the previous two seasons have included multiple tribute episodes (Madonna, Britney Spears, Rocky Horror Picture Show, Lady Gaga, Fleetwood Mac, etc) Ryan Murphy will have just one tribute episode in season three. It sounds like it will be a two-hour television movie in the second half of the season (ie. spring)

* Finn, Rachel, and Kurt will be graduating at the end of this year, but "because they’re graduating doesn’t mean they’re leaving the show. It was never our plan or our intention to let them go. They are not done with the show after this season." -Brad Falchuk. Mike Chang is also a senior this year but we're not sure about the rest of the kids (I think I read somewhere Quinn, Puck, and Santana are also seniors). Tina is a junior so that will cause some issues between her and Mike. And they said (jokingly?) they might flunk Brittany so she can stay on the show.

* Two new female characters: Sugar, who is well-off, self-confident, and has a terrible voice played by Vanessa Lengies (did anyone ever watch American Dreams?)

There will also be "Sheila", a tattooed modern-day Joan Jett. Don't know who will be playing her.

* Two new male characters: Samuel Larsen and Damian McGinty from The Glee Project! WOOOOO!!! So happy. Lindsay and Alex will get a 2 episode arc but both Sam and Dam get a 7 episode stint with the possibility of becoming regulars if fans like their characters. Can we get Cameron on, too? Please???

* Speaking of the winners of the Glee Project, one of them is going to be Sue Sylvester's archrival. "The winner of The Glee Project is the person who she hates the most in the history of the show." Her motivation to take down her new opponent will keep her tied to McKinley High (in the midst of running for Congress). "The Glee Project winner is Sue Sylvester's new archenemy and she is going to destroy their life." Apparently, she hates them more than the glee club. Between Samuel and Damian, I think it will be Samuel. He won't put up with her crap. Haha.

And so my fellow Gleeks...what say you?!

to ad or not to ad

2011-08-25T21:36:00.001-07:00

You may have noticed something new on my blog. In the right column under "Cool Peeps - Followers", my blog now has ads.

I honestly have no idea who reads my blog. But I thought it'd be fun to see what happens. I also have no idea how much the blog makes if you click one of the links. Half a cent? Haha.

Feel free to ignore them if you come to this site to read my random ramblings. (Hey, alliteration!) But if you're just dying to help pay my rent, I'll take a half cent from your click.

summer movies

2011-08-23T23:17:00.000-07:00

With summer winding down, I figured I do a summary of the movies I saw the past 3 months. In order from least favorite to most favorite.

10) Pirates of the Caribbean 4. This one was better than the third, but the third was so bad, it's not saying much. Jack Sparrow is back. And thaaaaat's about it. There were mermaids which I liked. There was Blackbeard, who was not really scary as a villain. And there was Penelope Cruz who is not that great of an actress. I'd give it a C-.

9) Water For Elephants. I wanted to see this one for two reasons: 1. I enjoyed the novel it is based on and 2. my sister Emily spent much of last summer doing background work for it. I was looking forward to seeing her. Sadly, Robert Pattinson and Reese Witherspoon didn't have much chemistry and I didn't see my sister in any of the crowd scenes. The big-top circus scenes were pretty good, though. This one gets a C.

8) Transformers 3. I wasn't planning on seeing this one because the second one was so bad (like the third Pirates movie). But someone told me it was better than they thought it would be, so I caught a matinee. There were some really cool scenes (ie. the snake-like "Driller" going through the roads and buildings, the sky-flyers, etc). And yeah for not having Megan Fox in this one! I also enjoyed Shia LaBeouf in this movie (not so much in the previous 2). It still wasn't a fabulous movie. The writing and plot are lacking. I'll give it a B-.

7) GLEE 3-D Concert Tour movie. The only reason this one is down the list is because I had seen the concert so it wasn't new and unexpected. I went with my sister, Liz, who hadn't been able to go to the concert. One thing that was great about the movie was seeing all the kids singing and dancing close-up. Our concert seats had been pretty far back. (By the way, it didn't need to be 3-D). It gets a B.

6) Thor. God of Thunder! Before this movie came out, all I knew of Thor was from the 1987 movie "Adventures in Babysitting" where the youngest girl, Sara, idolized him and wore his helmet everywhere. I kind of went into this movie with low expectations but was pleasantly surprised. I loved the guy they picked for Thor and I liked the conflict within his family dynamics (Thor and his father, Thor and his brother) - it felt very Shakespearean. I even laughed a bunch which I was not expecting. This film gets a B+.

5) Super 8. Do you like E.T. and the Goonies? Then you will like this movie. It takes place in 1979 and the nostalgia was wonderful. Before the age of internet and cell phones. Kids played and went on adventures together. Small town. Your first crush. So so good. The kids (and their dialogue) in this movie were my highlight. B+.

4) X-Men First Class. I've seen the 3 X-Men movies and Wolverine so I was on the brink of X-Men fatigue. But THEN I heard James McAvoy was going to play Charles Xavier. Done. I'm going. I luff him. I don't care if he is Mr. Tumnus in The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe or the doctor in The Last King of Scotland or Tom Lefroy in Becoming Jane. I will go watch him. And yes, he was my favorite part of this movie. Actually him and his co-star Michael Fassbender (who plays Erik/Magneto) were the best part. It takes place in the early 60's and shows how they meet, become friends, and start recruiting kids for their school. B+.

3) Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Again, this was another example of not being interested in seeing it and going in with low expectations...and then being pleasantly surprised. I haven't seen the original Planet of the Apes, but I've heard it's about life in the future where apes have evolved into creatures with human-like intelligence and speech. And humans are their slaves. So this movie was supposed to be a sort of pre-quel to show how the apes became so intelligent. I really liked it! The eyes of the apes look freaky realistic. And then I found out Andy Serkis (who did motion capture for Gollum in the LOTR movies and also did King Kong) did it for the main chimp in this movie, Caesar. I recommend it. B+.

2) Bridesmaids. Oh my goodness, I loved this movie so much, I saw it twice. And I laughed my head off both times. Seriously, one of the funniest movies I've seen in a really long time. I love Kristen Wiig! And Melissa McCarthy! And we were introduced to a Mr. Chris O'Dowd, who plays Irish policeman Officer Rhodes. He was presh. If you are female, GO SEE THIS. Take some girlfriends. A-.

1) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Of course this is my number one summer movie. I blogged about the experience here. A.

So there you go, friends! Now...what movies did YOU see this summer? Are there any I missed that I should check out?

Bat Girl

2011-08-21T00:26:00.001-07:00

My sister Liz came to visit for for a couple days. It was just what I needed after a hard week. We had a great time. We went to the beach, explored some tidepools, made dinners, saw the Glee concert movie (in 3-D....why?), went to our favorite ice cream place, etc. But my highlight was what happened when we went creekwalking.

I had taken a bunch of college students creekwalking last Sunday and Liz and I wanted to go to snag more blackberries. Once we were in the creek, I noticed something flying around. At first I thought it was a bird. But then it got really close to my head and I realized - it was a BAT!

Um, aren't bats nocturnal? We see them by our house when the sun sets. I have NEVER seen one flying around in the middle of the day. And it was flying SO close to us! It would barely skim over our heads or fly by waist-high. I thought maybe he was deaf and his echolocation wasn't working. Whatever the case, he was small (maybe a baby?) and super cute. I know I know...how can bats be cute? I don't know, but this one was. Fuzzy with big ears and big nostrils. It landed on a tree stump and I got a good look at it. Cute!

So anyway, we're picking berries in the creek and he's flying around like he's our new best friend. Seriously, I felt like he was our pet. At one point he dipped down into the water, mid-flight, to drink. He turned and started coming towards me. "Come here, little guy!" I sang with my hands out as he flew toward me. (In retrospect, that was dumb.)

At the last second, he turned, and LANDED on Liz's shirt.

ON HER SHIRT!

To say Liz freaked out is the understatement of the year.

She immediately started jumping up and down and screaming, "SARAH! IS HE ON ME!!??! GET HIM OFFFFFFFF!!!" He was hanging on for dear life on the bottom right part of her shirt.

"Liz! Stop moving!!"

"NOOOOOOOOOOO get him off me!!!!!!"

"Ok, but stop moving!! Stop jumping!!"

She finally stopped and I was able to get nice and close. There our little bat friend was. Just chillin'. Like Liz was his mom and he found a nice new place to perch. I was admiring him (when I should have helped scoop him off her shirt) and finally Liz couldn't handle it anymore. The jumping continued.

"Eeeeeee!! Is he still on me?!?!?!? GET HIM OFF!!!!!!!!!!!!"

The more she jumped, the more the poor bat slid down her shirt. He was trying to stay on with his little claws (attached to his wings) but he kept falling lower and lower. Finally he was clinging on to her shorts and continuing to slip down. At the last minute (before he touched her leg) he finally let go and flew away.

And we never saw him again.

We think Liz gave him a heart attack and he died.

Here is Liz's re-enactment when we got back to the car:

dads, love your daughters

2011-08-17T23:43:00.000-07:00

Do you like John Mayer's songs? Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. I really like "Dreaming With A Broken Heart", "The Heart Of Life" and especially his live acoustic version of "Free Falling". But I'm not a fan of songs like "Your Body Is A Wonderland". You wanna swim in a deep sea of blankets? Sounds a bit suffocating. Oh what, you're looking at her "bubblegum tongue"? That's weird, John.

Anyway, the reason I bring up Mr. Mayer is because of a lunch I had today with a student. I sat in horror as this 18 year old girl told me what has happened in her life to bring her to where she is today.

When she was 3, her grandfather began sexually abusing her. When she was 6, her father started physically and verbally abusing her. He never told her he loved her. He never told her he was proud of her. He never did anything but hurt her in every way. She spent her childhood in and out of the emergency room.

Her parents got divorced and she went to live with her mom. Her mom has multiple sclerosis and was so busy dealing with her life she became neglectful of her daughter. Because of this, this 18 year old went through high school eating ramen noodles 3 times a day.

And now, across the table from me with her eyes filled with tears, she tells me why we're meeting. She met a guy from the college group 2 months ago and they started going out. He wasn't a Christian and was actually stoned the night they met. He told her he loved her. And because she had grown up with a daddy who never told her he loved her, she was desperate for any man's love. All she had known was abuse and neglect. And here was a guy who told her he loved her. She gave him all of herself. Anything to keep him. Anything to have him stay and keep telling her he loved her.

They broke up a week after they started dating.

And last week she found out she is pregnant.

If she tells her mom, she will get kicked out of her house and have nowhere to go.

You can stop reading if you're already having a bad day. But I freaking hate this world sometimes. We are so messed up. I hate seeing these girls so broken. Sometimes it's because of their choices. Sometimes things happened they had no control over. But when I see them so young and so hurt, my heart breaks. It breaks.

In my mind, all I can think is, how DARE a man abuse his daughter. How DARE he not shower his little girl with love and hugs and sweet words. HOW DARE HE.

That's where John Mayer comes into this. Do you remember that song "Daughters"? It's so random to think of a John Mayer song at a time like this, but it kept popping into my head when we were talking. This is the part that stuck out to me: "On behalf of every man looking out for every girl, you are the guide and the weight of her world. So fathers, be good to your daughters. Daughters will love like you do."

Dads, LOVE your daughters. Her view of men (and how she views herself) will be formed by the way her father treats her growing up. And even more than that, her view of her Heavenly Father will be formed by observing her earthly father.

I feel like I'm barely scratching the surface here. I could blog about this for another 5 pages. But I am so angry and upset so I think I will stop here.

creekwalking

2011-08-15T17:54:00.001-07:00

I love creekwalking. It's one of the best, most peaceful, most soul-invigorating things you can do outside. You're down in a creek (which means you have a million trees above you and sunlight occasionally peeking through) with cold, refreshing water running around your ankles and nothing but fresh air and bright blue dragonflies around you. Ahhhhhh!

Yes, you might slip on a rock and fall bottom-first into the water, but that's part of the experience.

We took some peeps to the creek after church yesterday. Not only was creekwalking fun, but it's wild blackberry season!! And they are ready to be picked. So as we walked through the beautiful water, we plucked blackberries off branches and vines and ate them as we went.

Lovely.

progressive dinner

2011-08-11T21:21:00.000-07:00

Last night was our last Wednesday night for the summer (with the college group). Intern Scott came up with an idea: let's do a progressive dinner. I have never done one before, have you? You go to one house for appetizers, another house for the main course, and a third house for dessert. How cool!

To make it more fun (and because I can never pass up an opportunity to dress up in costume), I decided to be Flo from the Progressive commercials.

I've had SO many people tell me I remind them of Flo. Or Flo reminds them of me. In fact a year and a half ago, I made a video to audition to be Flo's assistant in a commercial. I didn't get chosen of course, but it was still fun.

Anyway, I dressed up as Flo (wore my black Converse shoes, bought a white apron, wore a white collared shirt, made a "Flo" nametag and I Heart Insurance button, wore a blue headband, ratted my hair in the back and put on bright red lipstick. When students showed up, I'd approach them enthusiastically, "WELCOME TO THE PROGRESSIVE DINNER!" (And then I'd ask them questions about their car insurance.)

Most of the students got it and loved it. A few students gave me weird looks like, "Why is Sarah wearing an apron? Is she cooking for us tonight?"

We headed to our first stop. A girl hosted us at her condo's pool for potato skin appetizers and iced tea.

Our second stop was 20 minutes away at another girl's house where we had pasta, salad, and bread. Everything was home-made and SO delicious.

Our last stop was ice cream sundaes at the intern house (which is located on the church property). We gave hugs and said goodbye to summer. Now we are on break till our Fall Kick-Off Sept. 7th. Intern Scott and I are going to use these couple weeks to plan and prepare for the fall semester.

The Glee Project

2011-08-08T23:14:00.000-07:00

I think we can all agree that television in the summer is lame, yes?

As in, all our favorite shows are on hiatus. So our only options are really bad reality shows like "The Bachelor Pad", "Toddlers & Tiaras", and "Keeping Up with the Kardashians".

But a new show began this summer that has entertained me and made me look forward to the next episode week after week. The Glee Project!

The premise is they are looking for a new character to bring to the Glee cast for season 3. The winner gets a seven episode arc this season, with the possibility for a full season pick-up if people like their character. Thousands of people auditioned, and The Glee Project follows the top 12.

I LOVE THIS SHOW.

Here's why. (It's the same reason I love the Glee concerts.) It's JUST singing, dancing, and acting. No issues forced down our throats. Just super talented kids who love to sing and perform and want to be on their favorite show.

A typical episode goes like this:

* Homework assignment. They kids get a theme for the week (ie. Individuality, Danceability, Pairability, etc) and a song they have to perform for a Glee actor/judge. They've had Blaine, Mike Chang, Coach Beiste, Tina, Dave Karofsky, Puck, Lauren Zizes, and Idina Menzel as judges so far.

The kids each sing a part of the song for the judge and the judge chooses the person they think stood out the most. That person gets 1) extra footage in the weekly music video (more on that in a minute) and 2) personal one-on-one training and practice time with that week's Glee judge. Sweet.

* Vocal recording. One by one, the kids go into the studio and sing the song for their weekly video shoot.

* Choreography. Zach Woodlee, who is the Glee choreographer, teaches these kids the moves they'll need to know for their video shoot.

* Weekly music video! The best part. All the kids get make-up, hair, wardrobe, etc. to look all spiffy and then shoot a music video that also goes with that week's theme. Here's one of my favs. They covered "We're Not Gonna Take It" by Twisted Sister (the theme that week was "Theatricality"):

Another favorite was during the Pairability week. They paired the contestants up and each got to make their own video. These two covered "Don't You Want Me" by The Human League:

Fun tidbit: the video director told the girl (Marissa) to secretly kiss the guy (Samuel) at the end of the song. Samuel was totally not expecting it. All the other Glee Project kids were in another room, watching them film their video and when Marissa kissed him, they all gasped and freaked out. It was awesome.

* Bottom 3. After the video, the kids are brought together and told who is in the bottom 3 that week. Those 3 are assigned a song and have 2 hours to practice it before they do a "last chance performance".

* Last Chance Performance. Also known as: Ryan Murphy's Pompous Time. Ok so Ryan Murphy is the creator, main writer, producer, and sometimes director or Glee. It's his baby. I get it. But the man has such a God-complex! Dang. He's like the American version of Simon Cowell. Maybe in real life he's nice, but on the show he comes across as arrogant, blunt, intimidating, egotistical, and Mr. Top Dog In Hollywood. It's hard to watch the way he talks to these kids. I'd probably wet my pants if I had to sing a song in front of him.

* Elimination. After the bottom 3 do their "last chance performances", Ryan, Zach (choreographer), and Robert (casting director) discuss and choose who will be going home that week. It is revealed to the kids and there's a lot of tears and hugging. And then the episode ends with the cast-off singing "Keep Holding On" while the other ones sing back-up.

As of now, there are only 4 contestants left.

I must quickly share my saddest moment. *SPOILER ALERT* My favorite since Day 1 has been Cameron. He is the tall, skinny blond guy with glasses. He came onto the scene with his beautiful voice and his adorable nerdiness and I was sold. Did you see him in the Twisted Sister video WORKING that David Bowie look? Woooo! Love him.

Well sadly, two Sundays ago Cameron quit. He was getting uncomfortable with all the kissing and sexy stuff because he has a girlfriend back home. And I think he just realized it wasn't for him. Because let's be honest, if he got on Glee, his character will kiss many girls and possibly have sex with them. (Grrrr Ryan Murphy...)

On one hand, I am selfish and sad because I loved watching him on the show every week and wanted him to win. But on the other hand, I am SO proud of him. He made the decision and did what he felt was right in his heart. Even if it meant giving up a huge opportunity. And he was up against all this peer pressure that was telling him to stay. But he stayed strong and went home with dignity, saying The Glee Project was the best experience of his life. He made 11 new amazing friends. He got to sing and play his guitar and share with the world his love of music. He even made Ryan Murphy consider putting a Christian kid on Glee (Cameron was always upfront and real about his faith). Such a cool guy. I will miss seeing him on TGP but maybe he will have a career aside from Glee. Here's his goodbye video.

Anyway, just wanted to share my love for this show. It has redeemed summer tv for me. I'm looking forward to seeing who wins and how they are incorporated into Glee.

And now Amy (and anyone else watching the show), time to hear YOUR thoughts!

pictures from vacay

2011-08-05T23:12:00.000-07:00

Home! I had a wonderful time in southern Cal. A huge highlight was seeing Les Miz. For the 25th anniversary, they've taken away the circular stage and replaced it with all new staging, sets, art (some taken straight from Victor Hugo's sketches), and some really cool video moments. I won't spoil it too much, but if you get a chance to see it on tour, GO. Even if you've seen it before, it's better than ever. (If you live in the Bay Area, it's coming to San Francisco next summer 2012!)

Fishing in San Diego, seeing friends from college, going to Disneyland and finally seeing the World of Color (SO GOOD!!!), lots of reading, walk/talks by the river by Mike and E's house, hanging out by the pool, watching movies, etc. I came back to work this week feeling very refreshed. Yeah for breaks from life.

peace out

2011-07-25T00:59:00.001-07:00

Ahhh, my annual summer vacay to So. Cal has arrived. On the agenda for the week:

* spend lots of time with the BFF Elissa (and her hubby Mike) and Melanie, my roomie from college (who is flying out from Texas)

* see my favorite musical, Les Miserables (it's touring for its 25th anniversary and currently in LA)

* celebrate E's 34th birthday

* read by the pool

* get massages and/or facials

* sleep. a lot.

* go to San Diego and go fishing with E's dad

* Disneyland to go on the new Star Tours ride AND finally see World of Color

Be back August 2nd. Peace out.

play ball!

2011-07-21T23:18:00.000-07:00

This will be my last blog about softball. Because I realized this week that Tuesday was my last game! *sob* I am going on vacation next week and will miss the next 4 games and then our team is not scheduled to play the last week of the league. So I REALLY wanted to play well on Tuesday's game so I could go out on a high note.

Unfortunately, one of the girls on our team was not there, so Coach Doug had to rearrange our line-up. And he sent me to center field. Noooo. Please no. Put me in right field because people don't usually hit there. Or put me as catcher, which I love. No dice. So center field I went.

We did not play very well. The other team was really good. The first two times I was up at bat, I hit right to the pitcher who threw it to first and got me out. Boo. My third time up at bat, I got on base but the person after me struck out and that was the end of our inning.

Outfield was scary. I was freaking that any minute a ball would come hurtling toward me. Thankfully I had two great people on either side of me that told me where to stand and what to do. In the third inning, someone hit a ball that bounced my way. I thought I had it but missed and it went right past me to the fence. The guy playing left field had to grab it and throw it in. I was a bit embarrassed.

Our whole team seemed to struggle. People were dropping balls, not hitting well, getting injured, etc. We ended up losing 15-6. As we went back to our bench area, I overheard some of the older guys asking each other what they were doing that night. One guy named Tom said in a sing-song voice, "I smell ibuprofen..." That gave a me a good laugh. It's true. We all seemed to hobble to our cars after this hard game.

So anyway, I wish I could have finished out on a high note, but oh well. I hope my team wins the next (and last) 4 games they play! I'm sad I won't be there. As nervous as I was to join a softball league, I'm really glad I did. I learned a lot, made some new friends, and have some good stories to share with people. I'll definitely do this again next summer.

P.S. One more thing. I forgot to mention one of my favorite people. Dale was the referee at all our games. He is probably in his late 70's/early 80's and one of the sweetest people I've ever met. He always called me "Sarah Jane" (even though that's not my middle name) and encouraged me when I was at bat. It was like having a kind grandpa on your side. He loved to share stories of previous games he's reffed where he threw players out for talking back to him or horror stories of players getting hit by the ball. My favorite Dale quote came on Tuesday. I asked him how he was doing. He looked me, smiled, and said, "Well, just as Lucille Ball used to say, 'Any day I'm above ground is a good day'."

My second baseball event of the week was a Giants game! Wooohoo!

On Wednesday, our whole church staff went up to SF to watch the Giants play the Dodgers at AT&T Park. We had a ball (pun intended). It was a beautiful day, Timmy Lincecum (my fav) was pitching, and I ate garlic fries. We sadly lost 1-0 because the Dodgers got a homerun, but it was still fun to be there. I wish I lived closer to the city. I would go to so many more games!!

Anyway, if you've been bored with baseball/softball stuff in the blog, no worries! It's done for now. I'll be blogging on other fun stuff in the future like a trivia night I went to, how much I am loving the Glee Project, and how weird it was to go to a wedding for two of my 20 year college students.

Love you all!

Harry Potter

2011-07-16T01:33:00.001-07:00

I went to the midnight showing of the LAST Harry Potter movie.

Thursday July 14, 2011. Twelve college students, Intern Scott, and myself drove to a theater 45 minutes away that had a 3D IMAX screen. We plopped ourselves in (the already long) line at 6:30 pm. 5 and a half hours till the final movie of the Harry Potter world.

Waiting in lines for stuff like this is always fun. So many people were dressed up. We saw Rita Skeeter, patronuses, Hedwig, a golden snitch, Dobby, lots of Hogwarts students (wearing their colored ties or scarves, depending on what house they were representing), lots of people with wands, robes, lightning scars, Harry glasses, etc.

As we waited in line, you could feel the energy. Everyone was so excited! People brought chairs, blankets, pillows, books, cards, laptops, games. It was a party. We went and got In-N-Out and brought it back in line with us.

Around 10 pm, they let us into the theater. Wheeeee! We found seats and settled down for some more waiting.

I had brought a bunch of glow bracelets for our group. As I was passing them out, I was struck with an idea. "Hey guys. Let's go down there and do some Harry Potter trivia with everyone!" Two girls jumped on that. "YEAH! And let's give the glow sticks as prizes!"

The next thing I knew I was in front of the movie theater, shouting.

"Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention please!! Welcome to the midnight showing of Harry Potter 7 part two! We thought it would be fun to do some Harry Potter trivia before the movie begins. We will ask questions and if you think you know the answer, raise your hand and yell 'EXPECTO PATRONUM!' If you are correct, we have these glow sticks as prizes!"

People went nuts. They were SO into it. And everyone thought we worked at the movie theater. Like this was planned. haha!

Here are some questions we asked:

* Name all 7 Weasley children.
* List at least 4 ways wizards and witches can travel.
* What is Dumbledore's full name?
* What is written on top of the Mirror or Erised?
* List at least 4 animals that have been under Hagrid's care.
* Name all 7 horcruxes.

(Can you answer these? If so, congratulations! You're a Harry Potter fan!)

Anyway, we asked questions until all the glow bracelets had been given away. Then we thanked everyone for their time and told them to enjoy the movie.

As for the movie itself? What can I say. I loved it. It was wonderful. Full of action but also heart. The audience was awesome. We all laughed together, cheered and clapped together, and we even all cried together. There were two spots in the movie where myself and everyone around me was sniffling. Awwwww...

After the movie, I was sad. I can't believe there are no more. The books are done. And now the movies are done.

I do have something to look forward to, though. I'm going to the Harry Potter theme park (in Orlando, FL) in October. My love for this little wizard will never die.

J.K. Rowling, I love you.

Ball-cap #3

2011-07-12T23:13:00.000-07:00

Double-header Tuesday!

I am exhausted but it was such a great evening. You guys, I feel like I'm getting better! I am feeling a bit more confident. I am catching, hitting, and talking like I know what I'm saying.

Ok, first game. This team was GOOD. We were neck-and-neck most of the time. My two highlights of the game were:

1) I hit a line-drive (see, don't I sound official?) down center field and got to first base. Can I just say I am absolutely addicted to the feeling I get when my bat makes contact with the ball?! It is electrifying. It feels so amazing. And then other teammates hit really well and brought me home so I got to score for my team. Another great feeling. To score for your team as they cheer you on.

2) I was catching in our last inning, we were tied, and we couldn't let them score (or they'd win) and someone in the outfield threw the ball right to my glove JUST as someone tried to run home. I caught it! Whoosh! I was so happy and shocked that I caught it, I did a little dance of joy. What I didn't realize is that the game doesn't stop just because the catcher caught the ball. So during my spastic dance number, two other runners got to their next base. Whoops. But let's just focus on the fact that my glove caught the ball. Yeah.

We were tied after 7 innings (that's all you play in softball) so we went to an extra inning and sadly we lost 11-13. It was a good, close game.

And then the next team was there so we just jumped right into our second game. Oh man, that team was baaaaaad. Like, really bad. For the first 5 innings we were winning 19-0. I think it helped that we were all warmed up and on fire from already playing a game, but still.

A couple things to note from this game.

* I pretended to be Peter (Banning) Pan from the movie "Hook". The scene where he's pretending to be a pirate so he can watch his son Jack play baseball near Captain Hook. Whenever someone on my team swung and missed, I'd close one eye and out of the corner of my mouth say, "Wait for the good pitches!" in a pirate voice. (Sometimes followed by "Run Home Jack!")

* A girl from the other team got hit (hard!) in the side by a ball as she ran to her next base. I don't remember much of internal organs, but it probably hit her in the kidney. It looked painful. Suddenly my left calf bruise didn't seem like such a big deal. This sport is dangerous.

* In one inning while catching, the pitcher threw a great strike at me. I picked it up and yelled "Hey, Jeff! Good serve!" Um, I forget. What sport are we playing? Not tennis?

We won our second game 24-5.

P.S. - This has nothing to do with softball, but it's worth noting: Afterwards we went to Chili's for celebratory chocolate milkshakes. You know which ones I'm talking about, right? So thick you can't even drink them with a straw? And covered with chocolate sprinkles? That sounded so ridiculously good after playing softball for 2 and a half hours. To say I was looking forward to it was an understatement.

We got there and the waiter informed me that Chili's does not serve milkshakes anymore. I looked at him and said, "You're kidding, right?" He assured me he wasn't. They stopped serving them three months ago.

I didn't know how to respond.

I had my heart set on one.

When I realized I wouldn't be drinking one that night, I started getting teary.

Something is seriously wrong with me.

R.I.P.

Great Mer-ca

2011-07-10T21:10:00.000-07:00

There is an amusement park about an hour away called "Great America". There's only 4 or 5 roller coasters and the rest is kiddie rides and boardwalk-type games. Even though it's on the smaller side, I thought it would be fun to take some students. So a group of us went yesterday and had a good time.

One of my favorite parts of the day was getting drenched on Rip Roaring Rapids. There's a section where people can pay 25 cents and splash the riders as they go by. I thought if I had my camera out, the people would see that and not get us (ie. "Don't get her camera wet!")

I was wrong.

softball game #2

2011-07-08T16:41:00.001-07:00

My sister said my last softball re-cap was like my GLEE-caps during the school year. And if I can entertain you all with softball stories, I'll do it! So, without further ado, here's this week's "Ball-cap" (that's what I'll call them - short for "softball re-cap")

It was definitely not as eventful as my first game. As in, I didn't have any injuries or snot issues.

I DID hit the worst traffic on the way to the game. Let's talk about THAT for a moment. It normally takes me 15 minutes to get from my house to the field. It took me an HOUR. It was ridic. I don't get angry very often, but I was pissed. I'm trying to make a good impression on my teammates and after showing up late last week (by going to the wrong park) I wanted to be early this week.

I sat in my car, fuming. I cussed several times. (At first in my head. Then under my breath. Then out loud.) I got to the game 20 minutes late and apologized profusely. But here's the thing - it might have actually helped me. My first time up at bat, I will still so mad about the traffic, I swung all my anger into the ball and HIT IT. And got on base! And the other runners at base got to their next base. No outs! From then on, I started feeling much better.

Not much happened to write about. We played a LOT better than last week. Or maybe the other team was bad. I'm not sure.

The only fun thing that happened was my second time up at bat. The pitcher was reeeeally bad so I got to walk to first base. One of my teammates, Mike, was there to coach runners. I said, "Okay Mike, just tell me what to do. I'm sort of new to all this."

Well he took that and RAN with it. Suddenly he's telling me all the rules of softball and I'm realizing I can't listen to him talk AND focus on the game at the same time. So I keep my eyes on the next hitter while smiling and nodding so he thinks I'm listening.

The next guy hits the ball so I book it to second base. However, Mike decides he STILL needs to be telling me what to do. So he's literally shouting at me while I'm at second base.

"SARAH! OKAY NOW LISTEN. HERE'S WHAT YOU DO. WE'VE GOT ONE PERSON ON FIRST AND ONE PERSON ON SECOND. IF THE NEXT HITTER GROUNDS IT, RUN. IF THE BALL FLIES UP, WAIT TO SEE IF SOMEONE CATCHES IT OR DROPS IT BEFORE YOU GO."

I see everyone on the other team looking at me and I was so embarrassed. Mike is basically announcing my rookie status to the whole field, when I'm trying so hard to seem like I know exactly what I'm doing.

I forced a fake smile and gave Mike a thumbs-up to shut him up. But he kept shouting.

"SEE, SARAH? THAT WAS A FOUL. IF THE CATCHER HAD CAUGHT IT, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN AN OUT. OK GET READY SARAH. REMEMBER, IF IT HITS THE GROUND, RUN! FLY BALL, WAIT TO SEE. HERE'S THE PITCH....NOPE, THAT WAS A STRIKE! STAY THERE!!"

Good lord.

Not much else to report. I struck out my third time at bat. I switched off playing catcher with another girl and found out I really like that position. I slapped a girl's butt on my team when she gave us a run, just like the Giants do. We won 17-7. All in all, it was a MUCH better experience than last week's.

Stay tuned for next week's "ball-cap". We have a double-header on Tuesday. Which Mike told me means we'll be playing 2 games back-to-back. Thanks, Mike.

Mer-ca!!

2011-07-05T22:35:00.000-07:00

Ok, this is my new favorite thing. Instead of saying "America", Imma say it shortened and with a bit of a southern twang. "Mer-ca!!"

I invited the college students over to my house yesterday for a 4th of July BBQ and we said it as much as we could.

We hung up patriotic decorations.

Mer-ca!!

Intern Scott grilled tons o' meat.

Mer-ca!!

We ate until we were stuffed. And then we ate some more.

Mer-ca!!

We watched the sun set.

Mer-ca!!

We played games, talked, laughed, and broke a bench in my backyard.

Mer-ca!!

When it got dark, we could see the city's fireworks from our front porch. They lasted a good 25 minutes. At the finale, guess what we all yelled?

MER-CA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

oh yeahhhh

2011-07-02T22:47:00.000-07:00

Look at that beautiful softball-shaped bruise.

first softball game

2011-06-30T22:31:00.000-07:00

Today was my first game in the summer softball league I joined. I thought I'd share with you how it went.

First off, I went to the wrong place. I parked and walked around, not seeing anyone on the field. I called my coach and he told me they were at a different location. And that they were all waiting for me so they could start the game. Eek! I jumped back in my car and flew there.

When I got there, there was a frantic 5 minutes of trying to meet the people on my team, put my new jersey on, learn the rules, and realize I forgot to pack a baseball cap (ie. the sun will be in my eyes).

The game began! We had 14 people on our team and only needed 9 or 10 in the field. I was SO okay not playing defense my first game. But our team only had 3 girls and that is the minimum required for co-ed leagues...so the 3 of us HAD to play. They put me as catcher. No big deal, right? I'll catch and throw.

I did okay. In the 2nd inning, my teammate at third base threw the ball to someone near me, but missed and it hit me in the left calf. Owwww. I had turned around to go back behind the plate so I totally didn't see it coming. I am currently typing this on my stomach (on my bed) with an ice pack on my calf. Big ol' bruise. But hey, no pain no gain.

When it came for me to bat for the first time, I was freaking out. I went up to my coach and said, "Ok Coach Doug. What do you want me to do?" He told me to "swing away" and I have no idea what that means. I nodded though as if I totally knew and walked to the plate. I swung and missed on the first pitch.

The second one came at me and I hit it. Not far but I hit it. But at the moment my arms extended with the bat's movement, my left shoulder popped out of place! Owww. It hurt so bad. I stood there for a millisecond, focusing on the pain. Then I realized everyone was screaming at me to run. RUN!!!

My shoulder was making my whole arm crooked in a weird angle. My arm and hand were twisted up toward my face. But I had to run! So I did. My right arm went back and forth while I ran (like normal). But my other arm just stayed in that awkward position. I looked like a cripple.

At first base, I popped my shoulder back into place. I felt pretty BA.

After a couple innings, they switched me to right field. Finally! No one hits to right field, so I would be safe. However, as the game went on, we realized the other team had a lot of lefties. So a ton of balls were coming my way and I was not doing well.

So they switched me to center field.

My second time up at bat, I again swung and missed the first pitch. The second one I hit as a foul. The third I swung and the ball flew...one foot. Seriously. It barely tapped my bat and went one foot in front of home plate. Oh well, gotta run. I ran like heck to first base.

But then the most embarrassing thing happened.

As you know, I was sick all last week. I was well enough to go to work this week, but I'm still dealing with my nose. As in needing to blow it all the time.

So I'm running to first base and Coach Doug was there, holding out a hand to give me a high five. As soon as my foot hit base, I was so relieved I made it on a one-foot-hit ball, I meant to laugh and slap his hand. But my nose decided at that moment to shoot a HUGE gob of snot from my right nostril onto my face. GROSS! Ahhhh!

We lost 13-6.

Things I need for next week: cleats (everyone wore them except me), a glove (I had to borrow Coach Doug's), baseball cap, tissues in a pocket in case something embarrassing happens again, and some confidence.

Sherlock

2011-06-25T22:08:00.000-07:00

I don't know about you, but when I'm sick I tend to do 3 things:

- complain
- blow my nose constantly
- watch movies

I was asking for suggestions of fun things to watch and a couple people suggested "Sherlock". Not Sherlock Holmes, the Robert Downey Jr/Jude Law movie that came out a year and a half ago. But "Sherlock", the BBC Masterpiece Mystery series. It consists of 3 ninety-minute episodes that aired in England last year. Then PBS broadcast them in the U.S. last fall. And now....they're all on Netflix instant watch!

I LOVED them.

I don't recognize the guy who plays Sherlock Holmes (his name is Benedict Cumberbatch) but I love the guy who plays Dr. Watson - Martin Freeman. He is going to play Bilbo Baggins in the upcoming Hobbit movies. Sweet!

These stories take place in modern day London, not Victorian-time London. So Sherlock uses texting and GPS to help solve crimes, he has forgone the iconic pipe and wears nicotine patches instead, and when you first meet Watson, you find out he was a war doctor in Afghanistan and just returned home from duty.

If you get the chance, you should definitely check these 3 episodes out. The first one was my favorite, because it introduced the characters and had a really great plot. There were a couple of laugh-out-loud moments, which were pleasantly surprising. The writing is so well done and the actors are perfect in their roles. Sherlock is brilliant. It will blow your mind to see how fast he can observe and share exactly what happened.

Have I mentioned lately that I wish I was British?

Obama

2011-06-23T18:33:00.000-07:00

You've heard of horse whisperers.

Did you know our president is a baby whisperer?

I LOVE the look he gives Michelle at the end.

sicky

2011-06-22T19:27:00.000-07:00

Hi friends, I was rearing up to do my long New York blog...and then I got sick. So I've posted all my pictures on facebook and put all the stories as captions. I'll have to let that be my sharing.

So yes I started feeling sick on Monday. Yesterday (Tuesday) I woke up with the worst body aches I've had in a long time. I could barely get out of bed. Today I was supposed to speak at college group, but knew I couldn't, so I rolled myself into my car and then into my office so I could finish my talk (we're studying the book of Philippians) and print it out for Intern Scott.

Hopefully I'll feel better soon.

baby!

2011-06-18T22:52:00.000-07:00

Oh my goodness, the new york blog is going to have to wait.

BECAUSE MY OLDER SISTER HAD HER BABY!!

Introducing her beautiful son: Samuel Asher Nyquist!

Born June 16, 2011 at 7:26pm
8lbs 5oz, 20.5 inches
Mom and baby are doing great.

And here is why my sister wins "Stud of the Year" award - she did it all without drugs! WHAT!?!? Who does natural births anymore? No one. And she did it both with Judah (her first son) and Samuel. I am speechless and in awe. She is a complete and total rockstar.

My dad and I got to spend Thursday and Friday with Judah while Amy was in labor at the hospital for 18 hours with her husband and our mom. We got to visit them at the hospital Friday morning and spend some time with baby Samuel.

HE IS SO CUTE!

Dark hair, blue eyes, gorgeous. We even saw a little smile and a dimple.

I...just...can't...

Seriously, sister, you and your husband make great babies. Well done.

It has become tradition that my dad buys a birthday cake and we sing to the new baby. My favorite part of this video is when I zoom in on Samuel's face while we're singing and he is like, "Seriously guys? I just want to sleep."

Welcome to the world, baby Samuel! We love you!

where are all the buildings?

2011-06-15T23:38:00.000-07:00

I'm home from New York and my first thought was, "What is all this green stuff?"

As in trees.

For seven days I was surrounded by tall silver skyscrapers. After awhile you just get used to it. Cement sidewalks, huge buildings, bright lights, taxis, people walking everywhere...that is your life.

And then I got home and was startled. Where are all the skyscrapers? It sounds weird but I miss them. But it's because I love New York and that city gets in my blood.

We had a wonderful trip. I can't wait to share details, pictures, and a video or two but right now I am exhausted. Fun blog coming soon.

New York or BUST...again

2011-06-08T06:53:00.000-07:00

New York City was a place I had always wanted to visit. And two years ago in June 2009, my friend Amy and I embarked on a New York adventure that I will never forget. It was filled with fun, laughter, memories, stories we still tell people, and 1 million pictures (Amy and I are crazy with the camera).

As soon as we returned to California, we looked at each other and said, "When are we going back?"

That day is today.

Amy and I are heading back to the Big Apple. And this time we are joined by our awesome friend Jenn. Jenn hasn't been to NYC since she was little so she doesn't remember much of it. Girls Trip!!

What are we going to do?

What aren't we going to do!

We plan to do lots while we're there. We already have tickets to a Broadway show, Central Park, 30 Rock, Times Square, meeting up with friends that live in or near the city, go to Redeemer Church, Ground Zero, Serendipity's, perhaps some Statue of Liberty , and SoHo, Greenwich, and of course, we plan on eating our way through the city. Oooooo, the food is one of the best parts of New York!

I cannot believe I get to go back. That city and I were made for each other. It's magical. You can feel the electricity in the air the minute you step out your door. I can't wait to see what's in store for us!

Be back next week.

there's no crying in softball

2011-06-05T21:55:00.000-07:00

I just signed up for a summer softball league.

Do I play softball?

No.

Have I ever been on a softball team?

No.

Do I own any softball equipment?

No.

I don't know what possessed me. I just saw an advertisement for it and I signed up.

I am secretly terrified that I will be like Evelyn in the movie "A League of Their Own". I'm going to mess up and my coach is going to call me over and say, "Uh Sarah, what team do you play for? Ours? Well I was just wondering why you would throw home when we got a two-run lead?! You let the tying run get on second base and we lost the lead because of you! Start using your head! That's the lump that's three feet above your ass!!"
And then I'll start crying and he'll yell that there's no crying in softball and I will be benched for the season.

weather forecast

2011-06-03T13:58:00.000-07:00

Today - rain

Tomorrow - rain

Sunday - rain

Monday - rain

Did the weather not get the memo that it's June?

computerless for 4 days

2011-05-31T23:20:00.000-07:00

I've been having some computer issues. And because of it, I have been without a computer for 4 days. It was a strange experience, being without my laptop. It made me stop and realize how much time I spend on this thing (I got it back today so I'm typing on it right now). Except for email and facebook to connect with friends, it's a pretty big time waster.

So without a screen to look at, I spent much of these past 4 days doing other things. I went for a walk around a nearby park and saw families of quail and a wild baby bunny. I read more of my book. I met a friend for coffee and laughter. I zumba'ed it up. I called a friend I haven't spoken to in months and caught up on life. I cleaned my shower (it needed it). I played with my neighbor's golden retrievers. I went to a bridal shower. I journaled. I went to a Mary Poppins sing-along and dressed up as chimney sweeps with some friends. I slept a lot. I read the paper. I drove by the ocean.

It did feel weird not having a computer available, but it was also a very nice break.

Isn't is weird how dependent we are on computers/smartphones? Could you go 4 days without them?

Glee concert

2011-05-27T16:38:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday night I got to see the Glee kids live in concert. If you've been reading my blog for awhile, you'll remember last year I did a road trip to LA just to see the Glee kids on tour. They only did a 4 city tour (LA, Phoenix, Chicago, and NY). Probably just to see if people would be into seeing them live. The response was overwhelming - tickets were sold out in 15 seconds, they had to add days and times to each city. They got smart and made this year's tour a 40 city one. Nice!

While we waited in line to go in, I saw tons of fun T-shirts and signs. Here are a few:

The show was opened by the LXD (Legion of Extraordinary Dancers). They opened the show last year too and they are amazing. They can do things with their bodies that blow your mind. After they finished, the lights went down, everyone started screaming...and the show started with "Don't Stop Believing"!

Here was the set list of the concert:

•Don't Stop Believing (whole cast)
•Dog Days are Over (whole cast)
•Sing (whole cast)
•Slave 4 U (Brittany)
•Fat Bottomed Girls (Puck)
•I Want to Hold your Hand (Kurt)
•Ain't no Way (Mercedes)
•PYT (Artie with Mike Chang dancing behind him)
•Born This Way (whole cast)
•Firework (Rachel)
•Teenage Dream (Blaine and the Warblers)
•Silly Love Songs (Blaine and the Warblers)
•Raise Your Glass (Blaine and the Warblers)
•Happy Days/Get Happy (Rachel and Kurt)
•Lucky (Sam and Quinn)
•River Deep, Mountain High (Santana and Mercedes)
•Don't Rain on My Parade (Rachel)
•Jessie's Girl (Finn)
•Valerie (Santana)
•Loser Like Me (whole cast)
•Single Ladies (Kurt and the ladies)
•Friday (Puck, Artie, Sam, Mike, Blaine)
•Safety Dance (Artie)
•Empire State of Mind (whole cast)
•Somebody to Love (whole cast)

Ok, so I have to admit something to you all. After Rachel sang "Firework", the lights went out on the big stage up front and a spotlight shone at a tiny stage RIGHT BELOW US where Blaine and the Warblers began singing "Teenage Dream".

I LOST it.

Suddenly I was no longer a 33 year old grown woman. I was a 12 year old little girl screaming my lungs out. Oh frick Darren Criss, you need to marry me now. What? I'm taller than him you say? He's only 24 you say? We don't know if he loves Jesus you say? Details, details. Please enjoy the video below and I apologize profusely for my loud screaming. Especially at the end. Use your computer's mute button.

That was obviously my biggest highlight. Other highlights include:

* Rachel's voice. She gave me and my friend Jenn goosebumps. Such a beautiful voice.

* Artie was alone on stage in his wheelchair. He looked at the audience and asked, "Have any of you ever had a dream?" Then he stood up and started doing the Safety Dance, joined by others. He is SUCH a good dancer. Why is he in a wheelchair?

* "Born This Way" with all the kids wearing their personalized T-shirts (Trouty Mouth!)

* At one point the boys were on stage playing guitar all slowly and solemnly...and then they burst into "Friday" by Rebecca Black. Everyone laughed and sang along. (Is it sad that everyone knows the lyrics to that terrible song?)

* They set up the stage to look like the choir room. Everyone did their duets from that episode. Mercedes and Santana rocked "River Deep Mountain High"!!

* For their encore, Kurt and a bunch o' ladies went up on the little stage below us and did the "Single Ladies" dance. So fun!

I realized why this concert is so fun. On the show, I get tired of the preaching, the one-sided views on issues, and the un-needed drama. But I keep watching because I love the songs. With the concert, that's all we get! Nothing else, just pure entertainment from super talented guys and girls. I'm so glad we went and I will definitely go again next year.

nooks

2011-05-23T18:02:00.000-07:00

It's official. I would like a nook.

Not one of those e-book "Nook"s you can buy at Barnes and Noble.

A nook, like a corner spot in a room that you can hide away in and read, listen to music, or just be.

On yahoo, they posted 7 pictures of bedroom nooks and I was enchanted.

Look how cool they are.

My absolute favorite one is the Narnia-style wardrobe nook.

If I had this as a kid, I would never come out. I mean, how awesome is that!

season finale

2011-05-20T22:44:00.000-07:00

I haven't blogged much because I've been finishing up the semester. But Wednesday night was our "Season Finale"!

We started a tradition last year. For our final college group meeting of the school year, we went to a Christmas tree farm about 45 minutes away. The owner is a friend and previous boss (I used to work at his farm selling Christmas trees) who graciously allows 45 college students to play all around his huge grounds. We had such a fun time last year, we were really looking forward to this year.

Another great finale! We ate pizza, played with his goats and chickens, and hung out around the fire pit. Then, we piled into the hay wagon (pulled by the farmer's tractor) and rode up to the top of a hill. And then the real fun began. We bought 6 blocks of ice to go ice blocking. We brought plastic saucers to slide down the hill. And to top it all off, someone brought a plastic truck bed lining. You could cram a good 10-12 people in that bad boy.

After an hour and a half of sliding, falling, laughing, biffing, making saucer chains, and pulling people in the bed liner behind a jeep, we headed back down to the fire pit. There we talked about the year, shared stories, and prayed. A great evening to end a great year.

night owl

2011-05-15T23:45:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I wish I was a morning person.

I would grab my surfboard and get in the water while it was still dark.

I would watch the sun rise in the east while waiting for waves and listening to the sea lions bark their good mornings to each other.

Then I'd drive home, take a shower, and get ready for the day.

I'd stop for some yummy iced coffee on my way to church.

I'd start work at 8:00 a.m. and feel productive. Not feel like I've wasted half my day in bed.

But alas.

I am a night owl.

I love staying up late.

And having a job that encourages a night owl lifestyle doesn't help.

I dislike mornings.

I am so not an early bird.

Pity.

happy things that start with "G"

2011-05-10T22:40:00.000-07:00

I am happy tonight. Here's why:

* the nerf assassins GAME is en fuego. Did I mention we are in the midst of this year's nerf assassin game? It's been epic so far. I got killed when one of my students hid in the trunk of my car and killed me when I opened it. HEART ATTACK. I was so scared when I opened the trunk and saw him there, I tried to slam the trunk closed and nearly chopped his head off.

* GOOD reading. I bought "Love Wins" by Rob Bell and it is freakin' blowing my mind.

* the San Francisco GIANTS won again tonight! They are on a roll. We are now only half a game from 1st place in the NL West! I know it's early in the season, but I'm still so happy. Watch the boys celebrate tonight's win here.

* GLEE was awesome. Quick unofficial glee-cap:

It was prom night. I enjoyed Jacob ben Israel asking Puck where Lauren keeps his balls (Sorry to offend anyone who didn't watch the episode, but it was so amazingly written and spoken). Jesse St. James should never wear a scarf again. I loved Sam, Rachel, and Mercedes doing prom-on-a-budget. I loved when the girl at prom walked by Santana wearing the same dress and Santana just shook her head over and over.

"Jar of Hearts" by Rachel was my favorite song from the episode. But I know my sister was ecstatic the glee club sang "Friday" by Rebecca Black. (Question - why did they sing "Friday" when prom was on a Saturday?)

More questions from the ep: Why was there a high school boy slow dancing with a bluetooth in his ear? Has anyone heard the song Blaine sang? Finn + Jesse = Shove Match 2011? Kurt winning PQ? Quinn slap-happy? What the?

Loved Santana and Mercedes ending with "Dancing Queen". Those two need to sing together more. I still have fond memories of their "River Deep Mountain High" duet earlier in the season.

* Last "G" of the blog - G'night.

Judah day

2011-05-07T22:13:00.000-07:00

Guess who I got to spend the day with?

The nephew.

Amongst many highlights of the day, I wanted to catch this one on film. He saw my deodorant and not only did he know what it was, he knew how to apply it. (Pardon the hair, he had just gotten up from a nap)

God, I love this kid.

the perfect work-out mix

2011-05-04T13:37:00.000-07:00

Who loves to work out? Some do. I don't. Unless it's a dancing workout (hip-hop, zumba, etc). However, I know other work-outs are good for me to work other muscles, get the heart rate up, get some good cardio, etc.

So I thought I'd share my favorite work-out mix. I call it the "Pump You Up!" mix because the point of it is to pump you up and get you excited about running or riding your bike or being in a smelly gym.

Make sure if you buy any of these songs on itunes, you get the "clean" version.

SARAH'S PUMP YOU UP MIX

1) "Written In The Stars" by Tinie Tempah (feat. Eric Turner) - I am currently obsessed with this song. Eric Turner's hook is AMAZING!

2) "Till The World Ends" by Britney Spears (get the one with just Britney, NOT the Ke$ha/Nicki Minaj one)

3) "More" by Usher (RedOne Jimmy Joker remix)

4) "Club Can't Handle Me" by Flo Rida (feat. David Guetta)

5) "Hit The Lights" by Jay Sean

6) "Stereo Love" by Edward Maya and Vika Jigulina (Molella remix)

7) "Shut It Down" by Pitbull (feat. Akon)

8) "Animal" by Neon Trees or the GLEE a cappella version

9) "Waiting For The End" by Linkin Park

10) "Return The Favor" by Keri Hilson and Timbaland - I'm also very obsessed with this one.

11) "Never Say Never" by Justin Bieber. Yes, I just put in a Bieb song.

12) "Raise Your Glass" by Pink

13) "Love Like Woe" by The Ready Set

14) "Just A Dream" by Nelly

15) "On The Floor" by Jennifer Lopez (feat. Pitbull)

You can also throw in some Michael Jackson, Gaga, Beyonce, or any other groups that make you want to MOVE.

Turn the volume way up and have a good workout!!

Osama bin Laden is dead

2011-05-01T22:42:00.000-07:00

I'm sure you, like the rest of the world, have heard the news - Osama bin Laden is dead.

Osama bin Laden was the mastermind behind the 9/11 terror attacks that killed thousands of Americans.

And tonight he was killed by a helicopter raid in Pakistan which was carried out by CIA paramilitaries along with some Navy SEALs.

I watched President Obama's address to the nation with my roomates tonight. He said "Justice has been done."

The news showed thousands of people outside the White House waving American flags and chanting "U-S-A!!" They were so happy. And at Ground Zero in New York, there were tons of others rejoicing that this man was finally dead after almost 10 years of hunting him down.

My first reaction was that I was happy, too. Not elated, but relieved that this wicked man was gone and could no longer hurt people.

But the more I thought about it (and the more I watched the people cheering and celebrating around the US), I got a yucky feeling in my stomach. Why did I feel this way?

I jumped on facebook and saw a status update my friend Kevin posted: "What do you desire more: revenge or repentance?"

Hmmmm. And then I read the responses to his update.

- "Justice. Whether or not God hears one's words of repent is of no relevance to me. But a man must accountable for his disgressions against man." (Marvin)

- "We all want justice. We just don't want it to be dispensed towards us." (Kevin)

- "It isn't revenge, its criminal justice amidst war...that is separate from his personal choice of faith/repentance. I hope he did repent, but his death is justified and a consequence of his personal choices." (J.T.)

- " '10 years, 2 wars, 919,967 deaths, and $1,188,263,000,000 later, we managed to supposedly kill one person. Worth it?' I saw this on someone's site and it's fitting for this post, I think." (Kaycee)

- "I can't cheer for death, no matter the circumstances. And I'm not qualified to cast the first stone." (Kevin)

- "I too find it a little unnerving to celebrate death. Reflection is more appropriate and supporting those who has lost a loved one." (Sue)

- "I'm wondering if we want to see people reformed more than we want to see them punished. Because it's easy to forget that, by God's justice, we also deserve death. Doesn't God desire mercy?" (Kevin)

And then a friend posted this blog about bin Laden's death and what the Christian reaction should be, and I loved it. Go read it and then tell me what you think.

testimonies

2011-04-28T22:39:00.000-07:00

Last night at the college group, I shared my testimony with the students.

It was an extremely hard, extremely emotional night for me.

Sharing my testimony means going back 6 and a half years ago to the hardest time of my life. I have to remember the darkness, the pain, the despair, the feeling of hopelessness in the midst of a crippling battle with anxiety and depression.

I hate remembering those days.

After I shared my testimony, I walked into the parking lot and bawled my eyes out. I cried out to God. Oh Lord, you know I hate opening up these scars and remembering that pain. But use it, God. As hard as it was, use it in my life.

And He will.

Just like He will use your story.

He is risen!

2011-04-24T22:50:00.000-07:00

What a wonderful Easter. I went to church and celebrated Jesus' resurrection with my church family. Then I drove to my parents' house and enjoyed the day with my immediate family (and some friends). Intern Scott was far away from his fam, so I invited him over and he got to meet everyone. My highlight of the day was of course spending time with my nephew, Judah. I luff him.

I should seriously rename my blog

2011-04-21T18:54:00.000-07:00

I know the title of my blog is "Laugh long. Laugh hard" because laughter is my favorite thing in the world. But I should seriously consider re-naming it to "The Bullet-Point Blog". First because bullet points are awesome. And second because I seem to be blogging in bullet points a lot lately.

* Hello readers and friends!

* It's April 21. Holy crap. Why is time going by so fast?

* One of my housemates grew up on a farm. A couple weeks ago he came back with hundreds of oranges from his parents' place. I have begun a tradition of making fresh-squeezed orange juice every night before I go to bed. Every night. My body is so full of vitamin C. I will never be sick again.

* I saw the new Jane Eyre movie. Beautiful. Gorgeous.

"Do you think because I am poor, plain, obscure, and little that I have no heart? That I am without soul? I have as much heart as you and as much soul. And if God had given me some beauty and wealth, I would make it as hard for you to leave me as it is now for me to leave you." -Jane to Mr. Rochester

I think I was born in the wrong century.

* Speaking of movies, you all should go see Water For Elephants this weekend. My youngest sister Emily is living down in LA trying to break into the "biz" and spent most of last summer as an extra in this movie. I'll be looking for her in the big-crowds-in-the-circus-tent scenes. She said the costumes are awesome because it takes place in the early 1930's.

* I went to a beach bonfire with some friends the other night. Saw the most amazing sunset ever.

* We've been doing the "Sex Series" in the college group. Last week I spoke about God's design for sex. Last night we had a guest speaker (a guy I work with at church) and he shared this crazy statistic: If you are between the ages of 18-24 and are not a Christian, 72% of you are having sex. If you are a Christian, it is 78%. Whoa.

* I don't think I'm going to do glee-caps anymore. Sorry if that's what kept you coming back to this blog. I mean, let's face it - Glee isn't giving me much to work with. I only had 2 highlights from Tuesday's episode. 1) the song "Turning Tables" by Hollie Holiday (originally by Adele) and 2) Dustin Goolsby hitting on Ms. Holiday by saying, "Admit it. I'm handsome, I'm good looking, and I'm easy on the eyes. Also, I'm gorgeous."

* I miss my nephew. A lot. I get to see him Sunday for Easter. (squee!!)

* I went to a Zumba class for the first time this week. I LOVED IT! It's like Latin dance (shake those hips, baby!) plus hip-hop. Um, yes please. I signed up for a month of Zumba classes to start. I'm already looking forward to my next class.

* Intern Scott continues to rock.

* This is the last bullet point for today's blog post.

NYC update

2011-04-18T23:00:00.000-07:00

I'll be in New York in a month and a half! Woot. Quick update: we found a place to stay. We'll be on the upper west side, right next to central park. Like literally across the street. Yeah! Between the 3 of us, we're only paying about 50 bucks a night, each. So cheap for the city!!

Can I be there now??

i have a new intern

2011-04-15T23:00:00.000-07:00

May I introduce you to my new college ministry partner - Intern Scott!

Intern Scott arrived last Saturday night. This past week has been super busy. I've been showing him around town, introducing him to church staff and all the crazy college students, going over what his job looks like and how the group runs, etc. It's been such a good week. Here are some things he's said:

* "Sarah, I heard two students say 'gnarly' in a sentence. Is that a normal word to use in conversation around here?"

* "I LOVE that you guys don't have a Wal-Mart. I can't stand Wal-Mart! They are EVERYWHERE in the midwest and south. They come into towns and drive all other businesses away. And then people become dependent on them, because it's the only place in town where you can get anything and it's cheap. And then people just become lazy shoppers..."

* "I LOVE that you guys are so health-conscious in California. Back home, if I asked for 'grass-fed beef', they looked at me like a lunatic."

* "Do I want to try surfing? Well, there's not too many things in life I DON'T want to try. Although you might want to take back your offer once you get in the water with me. Because I have a feeling I'm going to be really bad."

Wednesday night was his first official night at the college group and he was awesome. I didn't have to babysit him or hold his hand. He just went up to students and started talking and hanging out with them. He can totally hold his own. I love it! We put him on the "hot seat" where students could ask him any question, and he answered them with ease and humor.

And then there's the cool fact that he and I already have a good rapport with each other. That's super important because I work with my intern pretty closely so I need someone I get along with. When we interviewed him, I could tell we would get along. So far we have discovered we both love:

-pop culture
-much of the same music
-The Office, 30 Rock, and Community
-Harry Potter (He's already been to the theme park in Orlando. Jealous!)
-talking about/dissecting the bible
-church ministry
-as mentioned before, a distaste for big chain companies
-quoting movies (we've written a million Tommy Boy quotes on my door at work)
-reading (we're going to recommend and exchange books)
-Disneyland/Disneyworld

This is just a huge answer to prayer. I have been leading the group by myself for 15 months (since my last intern left). It's been hard. I've been way too busy. I hadn't been able to find anyone. And now finally someone is here. And even though it's only been a week, I am so thankful the Lord brought Scott to us.

Off to sleep for 14 hours straight. It's been a long week.

confession

2011-04-13T23:43:00.000-07:00

I don't want to keep this secret inside anymore. It's time to put it out in the open.

I have a crush on Joel McHale.

He plays Jeff Winger on Community. My intern Scott (I'll be blogging about him soon) let me borrow season 1 and my crush on Mr. McHale became real.

Here's a quick video from my favorite season 1 episode "Modern Warfare". The community college has an all-out paintball war around campus. It is AMAZING. Netflix it.

opposites

2011-04-10T23:36:00.000-07:00

I am realizing things about myself as I get older. Here's what I've learned lately. Many of the things I like (or characteristics that I have) are different. Opposite.

For example:

I am an extrovert. I am an introvert. Equally.

I love dressing in grubby clothes and getting dirty on a long hike through the redwood forest. And then I love turning around and being girly and getting a mani/pedi.

I love big blockbuster movies. But I also love small indie movies.

I am huge supporter of local businesses and I dislike big chains. But I freaking love Starbucks. (the worst big corporation of all!)

I am a big fan of deep conversations that make me think deeply and stir something in my heart. But I am also a huge fan of silly conversations about pop culture or just finding someone to trade witty banter with.

I can simultaneously read the 1,463 page "Les Miserables" by Victor Hugo and then take a break and read some Harry Potter.

I am a liberal conservative. Or a conservative liberal. Whichever you like.

Sometimes I feel so strong. I can take on the world. I am woman, hear me ROAR. Other times I feel so weak. This crazy world is too much for me to handle and I just want to cry.

Have you noticed any opposites in your life?

busy bee

2011-04-08T22:08:00.000-07:00

Hi friends. I haven't blogged all week because things have been super busy. Two main reasons.

1) This week was spring break for my college students so we helped out at an after-school program about 30 minutes away. We tutored middle schoolers and high schoolers with their math, science, whatevah. These kids don't live in the greatest neighborhoods and many get involved in gangs, so it's so cool to see there is a safe place for them to get help with their homework and play games outside when they're done. (For the high schoolers, they're building a coffeehouse)

2) My intern will be here TOMORROW! Holy crap, after 15 months of not having an intern...we finally have one. And he will be here in 24 hours. He's driving out from Kansas. Although he's originally from Ohio. But lived the past 7 years in Nashville, Tennessee. It's complicated. But anyways, hooray! So when I haven't been tutoring kiddos, I've been getting Intern Scott's office space and room in the intern house ready. It was taking way longer that I planned, but oh well.

I hope you all had a great week! Enjoy your lovely weekend.

things that made me smile

2011-04-03T21:03:00.001-07:00

I went away for a one-day retreat this weekend. A whole day with no computers or cell phones. It was lovely. I need to do that once in awhile. Lots of little things have been making me happy lately, so I thought I'd share some with you:

Sparkle shoes. Seriously, I am in love with them. I'm not a big shoe person. I mean shoes are fun, great, whatever. But I was in Target and something sparkly caught my eye. Glitter ballet flats. They had my size. Before I knew it, they were in my basket. I wore them today for the first time and I kept doing kicks to show people my fun new shoes. "Hey guys! Look what I just bought!" *high kick* And I would walk backwards outside to watch the sunlight on them and everyone was making fun of me. I think I'm too old to wear something like sparkly shoes, but I don't care. I luff them.

My car, Johnny , turns 5 this month. And he is officially paid off!! Woohoo!

Baseball season has begun again!!!

Got my taxes done and got a sweet refund. Thank you, Uncle Sam.

After much thought, I have decided to tackle a book I kept putting off because of its size. Les Miserables by Victor Hugo. I am flying down to see my BFF in July and we have tickets to see the musical (it's my fav). I figured this was the time to read it, if any. It's huge. 1463 pages, unabridged. And I'm LOVING it. Hugo spends 70 pages just describing the bishop. We haven't even met Jean Valjean yet. I am enjoying reading all the backstory and getting to know the characters in a deeper way. Have any of you seen the musical? Have any of you read the book?

Last week I finally got a new cell phone. My old one was...old. Falling apart. I've had it for 3 or 4 years and was due for an upgrade. So I hit the Verizon store and picked out a new one...fer free! I don't want a smartphone, just calls and texting. So I picked a basic one, but it's a bright blue color. And then I looked online and found a fun cover for it.

I cleaned my room and bathroom. It took forever. But a clean room/bathroom makes me smile. It's the little things.

My day retreat away from the craziness of work and life.

This weather! I wore shorts and flip flops last Thursday and was in heaven.

The twin babies talking with their hand gestures...and everyone's subtitles of what they think they're saying. So awesome!!

thank you, sun!

2011-03-29T23:01:00.000-07:00

Oh my lord, I feel alive again.

What is it about the sun that brings me joy? I love the feel of it on my face. I like the brightness it adds to daytime. I like seeing flowers and trees twist their way towards its rays. I love the heat it brings. I love how everyone's moods seem better when it's sunny. Life doesn't seem as dreary or blue.

If you live in this area, you've no doubt experienced the crazy rain storms lately. On top of all the rain, I live in the mountains so we've had 2 weeks of flooding, trees falling, power outages, closed roads (and closed freeways), landslides (and rockslides), and more.

But today...the sun came out.

Bliss.

I went for a walk after work with three friends. We walked by the ocean for an hour and a half. We soaked in the sun. We had a spring in our step. We felt the sun on us and the wind blowing through our hair. We grinned like idiots the entire time. We laughed and talked freely about anything, everything, and nothing. We saw dogs, cyclists, joggers, rollerskaters, skateboarders, surfers, boogie boarders, birds, seals, families, kids. It was like the whole town came out from under a damp, dark rock and wanted to be in the light. To enjoy the sun, fresh air, and beauty around us.

I love you, sun. I also loved watching you set behind the ocean this evening. Sometimes I have to pinch myself. Do I really live here?

my first march

2011-03-28T22:46:00.001-07:00

This past weekend I had the opportunity to be part of my first ever march-for-a-cause. Have you guys heard of IJM? (International Justice Mission). It's a human rights organization that goes around the world rescuing kids from human trafficking and sex slavery. One of the colleges in this area decided to do a "Freedom Walk" for IJM. Their goal was to get 300 people to walk 3 miles and donate $10 each. That $3000 would rescue 3 girls from slavery.

A few of my college students were doing it so I wanted to walk with them. It was a really cool experience. When I got to the starting point of the walk, I didn't realize it was going to be a full-on march. Like people were wearing IJM T-shirts and holding banners and posterboards. We got into teams of 20 and set off. Luckily the rain held off the whole time we walked.

At first, I was weirded out by everyone looking at us. I realized I'm always the one looking at marches or people holding signs. I've never been on the other side of it. But there I was with a ton of other people, walking downtown, with cars and pedestrians squinting to read what our banners said.

The only two strange experiences were one guy driving by and yelling out his window, "Go Satan!" I guess he realized we were a Christian group and wanted to ruffle some feathers. And then toward the end of the 3 miles, there was a homeless man dancing in the middle of the street. He was smiling with his eyes closed, smoking, dancing, listening to some headphones, and clearly in his own world. When he saw us, he beamed even more, turned around and showed us his G-string underwear. A bunch of people gasped, but I laughed. Was that wrong? My town is so weird, I guess I'm just used to it.

The "freedom walk" was really awesome. We got lots of "What are you guys marching for?" questions. We got a few "woohoos". We got many honks and waves of support from people in cars. I don't know how much money was raised, but I'll find out soon and let you know. It felt good to be part of something that is making a difference in this world.