you have got to be kidding me

I want to go puke.

moms = rockstars

I have always had huge respect for moms.

But after yesterday, my respect has multiplied ten-fold.

If you're a mom, HOW do you do it?!?!

So here's the sitch: I used to baby-sit these kiddos in my town back when Brett was 6 and Emma was 3. I was pretty much done with baby-sitting after college, but these kids were way too fun and awesome to say no. So they were my only exception. However, since I went full-time at my job two years ago, I have not baby-sat. In fact I've only seen them three times in the last 2 years. Sad!

Anyway, their mom (Clara) called me out of the blue and asked if I would be willing to watch the kids all day Saturday and spend the night (she and her husband were going to be out of town). I thought about how much I miss them (Brett is 12 now and Emma is almost 9) and said yes. I was really looking forward to it!

But oh my goodness. I am SO TIRED. My day started at 6 am yesterday morning and did not end till 11:30 pm last night. Observations:

* I am amazed at how much kids are involved in nowadays. There's piano, softball pratice, swim lessons, dance class, basketball, choir, school fundraisers, birthday parties every weekend, and tons more. And somewhere in there they are supposed to find time to do homework, eat, and possibly sleep at night.

* Our day looked like this: played some games, went for a hike in the redwood forest with the kids and their dog, home for breakfast. Emma then had a softball game while Brett worked on a school project. Came home and Emma and I jumped in their pool to cool off. Lunch. Got dressed and packed for what was next: Brett had a softball game, Emma had a try-out for a talent show and then I dropped her off at a birthday party. Went back to Brett's game. 2 and a half hours later Brett and I jumped in the pool to cool off. (Hot day yesterday!) Then dinner, more homework, showers, teeth, bed.

* I realized that a huge role of moms is "Taxi Driver". Holy cow, I felt like I spent the whole day carting them from one activity to the next. Pack up, go, drop off, park, go watch, pile back in the car, drive home, unpack, get cleaned up, eat, get dressed and pack up for the next event.

* Car rides are times for great conversation. Some of the topics we discussed: examples of Greek mythology, Prince Caspian, why it's not ok to leave dog poop in the forest, who decided which words would be "swear words" and why did they choose those specific words, and High School Musical 2.

* I really enjoyed both the kids' softball games. At Emma's, I felt a bit out-of-place. I was surrounded by moms in their Chanel sunglasses and manicured nails, holding their toddlers in their laps while they chatted with each other about their husbands and funny things their kids did recently.

Brett's game was much longer but highly entertaining. About 15 minutes into it, I realized I was totally sitting in the opponent's bleacher section. I had no idea...it was the only section in the shade. But I realized right after I got all these "stink-eyes" from the parents around me when I cheered for Brett's team that I was clearly in the wrong place. But heck with it! I wasn't gonna leave the shade. So it was SARAH vs. THE PARENTS screaming for our different teams.

It was actually kind of funny because Brett's team was getting crushed by the other team. So all the parents in my section were SUPER cocky and making all sorts of comments (ie: "I told Jimmy we'd eat the celebratory cake when they win the game. It's in the cooler..."). But then, Brett's team slowly started getting more runs and the parents got quieter. And then they started freaking out. I just sat there smiling to myself (is that wrong?) and cheering even louder for Brett and his team. And they WON! 11-10. I was surprised how into it I got. I felt so proud for Brett and he's not even my kid! =)

* Last observation: when the kids go to bed, the mom's job is still not done. There's all the clean-up from the day's messes. I tackled cleaning up the house, doing the dishes and trash, and some laundry. At 11:30, I literally dove into bed. I can't remember the last time I was so excited to go to sleep.

I left the kids in the morning to go to church (someone else would be coming by to watch them next) and I was exhausted. And that's when I realized, "Oh my gosh! Moms do this every day." I barely made it through my Saturday without falling dead asleep at the wheel.

So again I want to say, Mothers - you are ROCK STARS. Thank you for all you do for your children. I am beyond impressed and in awe of you.

ZZZZzzzzzz........

the character of Jesus

Right now I am taking a break from working on my talk for tomorrow night. I am SO INTO it. Sometimes, I totally get into the talks I prepare; other times I'm just not feelin' it (whether it's the topic or just where I am in life). But I am super stoked on this one. We've been doing a series on Jesus this spring - who is he? why did he come to earth? what does it look like to follow him? etc. And tomorrow evening I will be sharing about Jesus' character. We say we want to be "followers of Jesus" but what does that mean? What does it look like to follow Christ? What are the ways we can follow his example? So, we're focusing on 5 interactions Jesus had with people in the bible...and what we can learn about his character from those interactions. And then how that looks today as we strive to be more like him.

It's funny. When we teach at college group, it's to help these students learn more about Jesus. But I always feel like I'm learning so much myself just getting ready.

Love it.

BIG news

I am going to GREECE!!

Yesiree bob, I am going to Greece for two glorious weeks.

3 roomies and I expressed interest to go to Europe this summer. We were looking at maps and trying to find countries none of us had been to yet. And the one country that we kept coming back to....was GREECE. None of us have been and it somewhere we have all wanted to go. So we're going! I can't wait!

We bought our plane tickets, go team. Next up is figuring out where we want to visit while we're there. We're flying in and out of Athens so I'm sure we'll spend some time there. But oh, there are so many amazing places to go and so many beautiful things to see! I think some island-hopping will definitely be on the schedule.

Anyway, just wanted to share the fun news. We leave June 22nd.

*raise glass*

"OPA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

update on my ticket

So I have an update on my ticket from the Mexico trip (when I went through a yellow light in San Diego and blocked an intersection? Yeah, that one.)

I owe $168 to the San Diego County Court. I am going to take an online traffic school course to get the "point" removed from my driving record. That's another 30 bucks. Then, after I've read all the info online, I have to go to a nearby UPS store and take the test. And then I have to go have it all notarized. Whew!

The plan is to do this all tomorrow. Yeah for not working on Fridays.

Wildflower Triathlon

Allrighty then, time to share about the Wildflower Triathlon. This is the annual tri that my roomates/friends and I do at Lake San Antonio the first weekend in May. This was my fifth time - woot.

I drove down Thursday with some buds and we claimed our camping spot. Friday was soooo nice. Because we did nothing. We had breakfast, chilled, biked down to the lake to pick up our registration packets, walked around, went back to eat lunch, took naps, welcomed other friends who were arriving, played with our friends' kids, made dinner with everyone, had a fire, and went to bed.

We woke up super early on Saturday - RACE DAY! We carbed up before we left. We got to the bike station (to rack our bikes) by 8:30 am. Our race didn't start until 10, so we had an hour and a half to get ready, drink as much water and Gatorade as possible, stretch, get numbers written all over our bodies in permanent marker, go to the porta-potty, set up our stuff by our bike for "transition time", etc.

Around 9:45, we headed to the lake to get in line with our fellow age/gender peeps. We prayed together and then put our caps and goggles on. Game time! There were about 100 women in each wave of women. So imagine trying to swim with all those other bodies kicking, flailing, slapping water around you. Crazy but never a dull moment! I really felt good about my swim this year. I jumped out of the lake and ran up the hill with my friends cheering on the sides. Wooooo! Adrenaline!

After I transitioned, I jumped on my bike and took off. The bike section was pretty good. It was fun to see my buds on their bikes at different times. Some of those hills were SO HARD. Yowsers. I dropped my bike off and then headed out for the run. This is the part that always kills me. I get so tired by this time, my poor feet are dragging.

But this year something funny happened that made my run a lot more enjoyable. I was about halfway through the run, when I saw a guy running toward me. He was a "Long-Courser" which means one of those crazy people who do the half-IronMan. They swim 1.3 miles, bike 60 (?) miles, and then run a half-marathon. No thank you!

Anyway, so this guy is probably 40, doing the Long Course, he's on the run section, which means he's close to the end. I was going to wave as I passed him, BUT I didn't get the chance, because just as we were about to pass, he suddenly stopped running, stepped to the left, and started peeing!! UM!!!! HELLO!?!?

The best part was that there was a tree two feet away. He could have taken 2 steps and peed behind the tree. You know, out of courtesy to the young woman who was about to run past him? But no. He couldn't be bothered. So he just whipped it out right there on the curb of the course, and I ran by chuckling to myself. And just as I ran by, I saw a HUGE group of runners coming in his direction, about to go by Mr. Pee as well. I guess after you've swam, biked, and ran that much, you just don't care. Because he sure didn't. He just kept going number 1 in front of the world. Gotta love it.

So anyway, great race. When you turn the last corner and start your way down the finsh line, it's SUCH a rush! There are tons of people screaming and cheering, the announcers are broadcasting your name, all your friends are there shouting for you, YEAH! I did a dramatic leap across the finish line and then immediately sought out the fruit/Power Bar/gatorade station to re-fuel.

If you ever have a chance to do a triathlon, go for it! It is great motivation to work out and there is a great feeling of accomplishment when you cross the finish line. Can't wait till next year!

video blogs

Intern Jeff and I have been having a lot of fun filming our Monday video blogs for the college group. They are just a fun way to share what's going on that week in the college ministry. And then we leave the students with a "Question of the Week" that they can answer in the comment section of our MySpace page. Dang, we're SO 2008!

Here was yesterday's vlog:

The Swell Season

Another blog about music. This time, it's to chat about the amazing concert I went to last night: The Swell Season!

First off, if you haven't seen the movie Once yet, please do. It's an indie film about two young people in Ireland. The guy (Glen Hansard) works in his dad's shop, fixing vacuum cleaners but also is a street performer in Dublin with his beat-up guitar. Music is his real passion. The girl (Markéta Irglová) is a street vendor immigrant from Czech Republic. They meet, find out they both love music (she plays piano and sings) and start writing, performing, and recording songs together while growing closer through it all.

So Glen and Markéta are now touring the US, playing music from the movie. The concert is called "The Swell Season" because that is the name of the album with all their songs (it came out a year or two ago, right before the movie). The roomies and I got a heads-up on tickets (thanks, Nick!) so luckily we snagged some before they sold out.

So last night we headed up to Oakland (O-Town! Represent!!) and had dinner at this fun tapas cafe/bar in Berkeley. Then we found the theater and got seated.

THEY BLEW US AWAY!

Oh my goodness, I love concerts but this one has got to be on the top of my list! Glen and Markéta (he calls her "Mar" - yes, they are dating in real life) seemed so sweet and down-to-earth. Glen introduced most of the songs and he was really funny. And when they sang, their voices blend so beautifully together. They were joined on stage by a violinist and two other guitarists. No drums or percussion at all. Amazing.

When they came back for an encore, we were treated to another hour of music! Sweet! And even then, everyone in the theater was like, "No! Keep going! Don't send us home!" It was like we couldn't get enough. And they seemed to be having a ball on stage, too. We finally left around 12:15. We were tired but SO PUMPED. Love love love them.

Here's one of my favorite songs: Lies

I heart David Cook

I really do.

Let me start off by saying I have never been into American Idol. Sure, it's this mega-reality show, millions of people watch it, it's in its seventh season, singers like Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Daughtry, Jennifer Hudson, Clay Aiken have come from it...blah blah blah. But I've never been "into" it. I heard people talk about it each year but never really cared enough to make it a weekly show I watched (unlike LOST or The Office).

BUT.

Then along came David Cook.

I happened to be flipping through channels on a random Tuesday evening and I came to this. My jaw dropped. Who IS this guy?! So then each week I checked in, just for David Cook. Yeah, a few other singers were good. But week after week, David was hitting it out of the park! "Billy Jean" by Michael Jackson, "Little Sparrow", "Day Tripper", "All Right Now"....heck he even rocked "Always Be My Baby" by Mariah Carey! I was like, "This guy can do no wrong."

And then to make things even better, this past week was Andrew Lloyd Webber week. All the finalists had to sing songs from musicals he had written. Cats, Starlight Express, Evita, Jesus Christ Superstar, Phantom of the Opera, etc.

I grew up with a love for musicals, but especially Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals. My mom LOVED him and we listened to Phantom in the car to and from school growing up. She and my dad even got to see Michael Crawford in LA as the Phantom, which to this day, they say is one of their most memorable nights together.

When I was 12 (I think) my parents surprised my sisters and I and took us into SF to see The Phantom of the Opera. My first time seeing a musical! I will never forget that night. They even rented a limo and we got all dressed up and had dinner in the city and everything. It was a magical night. I was captivated by the theater, the music, the orchestra, the sets and costumes, and seeing everything played out in front of me, whereas before I had just sat in my mom's Volvo and imagined everything in my head.

This past week on American Idol, David Cook said he was going to sing "The Music of the Night" from Phantom and I almost lost it. One of my favorite musicals, one of the coolest songs, and sung by my favorite finalist. It was like I had died and gone to heaven.



I seriously almost cried. Again, who IS this guy!? I went on iTunes and bought the full length version he recorded (all the finalists record full versions in a studio) and have been listening to it all the time.

So it's official.

I heart David Cook.

And he should definitely win American Idol.

a good but long week

Dang, it's been a whole week since I last blogged. I've had all these blogs topics running through my head, but everytime I have time to sit down and type 'em up...I'm too tired. Oh well. Movin' on.

So yes, last week was very fun and very full. I'll give the quick run-through. Monday was meetings at work, hip-hop class, and dinner with roomies and friends. Tuesday after work I went to sushi with my college adult leaders. We had such a good time! Then I went to "Ladies Night" at a nearby coffeeshop (we do this every other Tuesday).

Wednesday I had college group and afterwards when I went out to my car, I saw that my stduents had made Intern Jeff and I some fun signs. They had placed them in front of our cars. Super fun and creative. I stuck my sign in my trunk and if I ever need to reserve a parking spot for myself at church...I'm set!

Thursday was the beginning of the weekend o' fun. My two younger sisters (Liz and Emily) came into town and stayed with me overnight. We went downtown for a "Flashback Movie Night" at the big movie theater. They're starting this thing where every Thursday night at 8, they're showing fun movies from the past for only 5 bucks. This week was JURASSIC PARK! Dun dun DUNNNN!!! Can you believe that movie is 15 years old? Came out in 1993. It was fun watching it on the big screen with surround sound. Everyone in the theater was totally into it - laughing, screaming, clapping, gasping. I love that! It was one of my co-workers birthdays and he had invited everybody, so we had a big crew of people there in the theater to celebrate.

Liz and Em crashed at my place and then Friday we drove over to where my parents were staying for the weekend. (The reason my whole fam was in town was for a wedding we were all going to) I had lunch with them, went shopping for the wedding present, went home and cleaned the house, wrapped the present, and then got ready and drove to the wedding. My older sis Amy and her hubby David were there with the rest of the fam by the time I arrived. We all sat together and watched my dear friend, Jessica, get hitched. It was an outside wedding and very beautiful. Congratulations Sass and Rex!

I sadly couldn't stay for the reception because I had to get back home for our....LADIES SLEEPOVER. On Friday night a group of college ladies came to my house (which is why I had to clean it) for a sleepover and a bunch of college guys went to another house to spend the night. The boyz wanted their sleepover to sound manly, so they called it the "Guys Manover". Cute.

We had a great time. We ordered pizza (and had a pizza delivered to the boys house that said "Girls Rule" in black olives), had a dance party, played games, made cookies, listened to music, etc. We also had the idea to make a cake for Intern Jeff because he was turning 25 the next day. The girls went crazy decorating it (it looked like a Jackson Pollack painting). At midnight we piled into cars and drove to where the guys were. We lit the candles and surprised all of them by walking in and singing "Happy Birthday"!! They were all playing video games, so we joined them for awhile. They even had Rock Band! Fun!!

We went back to my house and watched a girly movie and crashed around 3. (Zzzzz....too late for Granny Sarah) I made them all breakfast in the morning and then they took off around noon or 1. And then since my fam was still in town, I spent the day with them. We walked around, shopped, went to see a movie ("21" - about five MIT college students who go to Vegas and "count cards" to win thousands of dollars), had dinner at a fun Mexican place.

And THEN we went to ice cream at my favorite place nearby...and we ran into the bride and groom! Jessica and Rex were there getting ice cream! They didn't leave for their honeymoon till Monday so they were in town. My mom was so shocked to see them. She pulled into a parking spot, looked up and said, "There are the bride and groom!! Oh SH--!" which is awesome, because my mom is not a cusser.

Sunday I had church and afterwards went to "Park Day" (we all bring lunches to a park nearby and hang out). Then I did some work and went home and CRASHED big time. I was so pooped from the week and weekend. I slept for 11 hours and I woke up today still tired. I am contemplating taking a nap right now or not. Hmmmm...

Anyway, so thanks for reading about my life the past week. Good, full, sunny. (Can it be summer soon PLEASE!?!) I hope all of you are doing well and had enjoyable weekends, too. More blogs (that don't involve a blow-by-blow description of my schedule) to come. Love you all!

Sarah's Top 10 Signs She's Getting Old

10. I have been buying things for "back-up". For example, I have a tube of toothpaste or bottle of shampoo in my bathroom. But I'll be at the store and will buy an extra tube or bottle to keep as "back-up" for when the first ones run out. And I do that with multiple toiletries. Seriously, who DOES that!?! (moms and grandmas, right?)

9. When some jr. high/high school students cut across the street (not at a stop light) and I hit my brakes, I mutter under my breath about the "younger generation".

8. I am constantly forgetting things. They say memory is the first thing to go...

7. I need at least 8 hours of sleep every night. But I aim for 10.

6. Sometimes when I get out of bed in the morning, my joints are noisy and creak-y.

5. I talk to our house cat. (Oh God, help me)

4. My college students have their 19th and 20th birthdays and I can't even remember my own. They seem like eons ago.

3. I recently discovered 2 gray hairs. Nooooooooooo! Those babies were ripped out right away.

2. Someone asks for the time and five people nearby pull out their cell phones to check. Suddenly, I feel so old to still be wearing a watch.

and last but not least

1. At the Paramore/Jimmy Eat World concert last week, it was too loud for me. And I didn't have any earplugs. So I made a pair myself out of toilet paper. I looked ridiculous.

Anyone else feelin' old? Do you resonate with anything on the list? Are there any of your own you would add?

thank goodness for days off

I have Fridays and Saturdays off from work, and hallelujah, I needed today. This week was so lame. And by lame, I mean ridiculously busy and frantic. There is so much going on in students' lives, it's a bit overwhelming. Add to that still not being caught up on post-Mexico schtuff and planning/running the normal college stuff this week. Whew. Both Jeff (intern) and I were so ready for a couple days off.

So instead of boring you with how lame my week was, let me share how AWESOME my Friday was. First off, I slept in. Always a good thing for Sarah. I met a friend for lunch downtown and while we were sitting outside eating, we ran into 3 different random friends at different times. It brought me joy because I realized how much I love the community I live in. I never know who I'm going to run into.

Oh and can I also add how BEAUTIFUL the weather was today? It was seriously in the low 80's and breezy. So of course I drove everywhere with all 4 windows down, sunglasses on, and listening to a new mix CD I made last night. It felt like summer. I was so giddy.

I came home and got inspired to clean my room and bathroom. I will be the first to admit that cleaning the bathroom is on the bottom of my favorite-things-to-do list. But two of my sisters are coming to crash with me next week so I wanted to clean everything up before they got here. And it actually felt good to get everything clean. My room looks good and smells good. Sweet.

And THEN I went on a bike ride. I waited till it cooled down a bit and then got out the ol' bike from the garage. My annual triathlon is coming up in 3 weeks, so I gotta buckle down with training. It was a great ride. I saw 5 deer eating grass in someone's yard, a ton of horses at a ranch, lots of birds, and had the pleasure of multiple bugs flying into my sunglasses and mouth. (Bleh!) But who cares? It was invigorating.

Today has been so nice and relaxing. Just what I needed. Thank goodness for days off.

Paramore and Jimmy Eat World

What a fun concert last night! Oh my word. I loved Paramore before I saw them in concert, but now I love them even more. They did SUCH a great job. The lead singer, Hayley, has a great voice and bounces around stage while the guys in the band headbang (she joins them in that once in awhile). Lots of energy, great songs, everyone was singing along. I love that!! Music brings people together. I didn't know the other thousands of fans in the arena, but we all sang as one when we heard songs we knew.

I didn't know many songs by Jimmy Eat World, but they were fun to listen to and they all seemed super nice. I am so glad I got to see both bands live. (AND we stopped at In N Out before the concert...always a good thing) So all in all...a fab night.

Mona Lisa talks??

Ever wanted to know why Mona Lisa doesn't have eyebrows? Well, I guess now we can ask her. I saw this on Yahoo today and wanted to check it out. Apparently there is an art exhibition in Seoul, South Korea called "The Alive Gallery" where paintings come to life and talk to you. They can answer your questions, too. When asked about not having eyebrows, Mona Lisa replied (in Korean) that wide foreheads were considered beautiful during the Renaissance. So many women back then shaved their eyebrows to make their foreheads seem wider.

Leonardo de Vinci and Michaelangelo also come alive to answer questions and talk about their paintings. The Last Supper is also featured with Jesus and his 12 disciples. It's so crazy! Here's a clip from CBS News:




What do you all think? Cool? Not? How dare they mess with famous art like that? Etc?

Mexico '08

I've had a couple days of rest so I am a bit more coherent. I would love to share with you all about our amazing mission trip to Mexico. It was good. Good good good. God is good.

We left Saturday March 22nd and drove down to San Diego. I was in charge of transportation for the trip and luckily everything went well for the ride down. We crashed at a church that night and then woke up Sunday morning to cross the border. Once we crossed, we drove to our tent area. The rest of the day was spent setting up camp. Yeah for wind and tarps and tents and porta-potties and unloading equipment and setting up the kitchen area and tables and chairs and making a campfire and assigning students to tents and unloading luggage and sleeping bags and making our campsite as homey as possible.

Monday was the first day of building. Since we had over 100 people on the trip, we split them into 5 teams, with the goal that each team would build a house. It was great because AMOR (the organization we work with) got us work sites that were close to each other. (in previous years we've been split up) So here was a typical day:

wake up at 6
breakfast, pack a lunch
drive to work sites
work from 8-5
drive back to campsite
dinner, leader meeting
campfire with everyone to talk about the day
hang-out time, bed


It was so fun to walk around to all the sites each day and see the students working SO hard. And smiling! And laughing! They were giving up their spring break to be in the hot sun (praise for no rain!), live in dirt, get sweaty and filthy and hungry, doing hard labor...and loving it! I was so encouraged.

Yes, there were definitely times of frustration and stress. But then I watched as the leaders of each team would stop everyone's work and they'd all just grab hands and pray. Love it love it love it.

Here are some of my highlights from the trip:

* camp fire time (I loved hearing stories from the day)

* the girls in my tent

* car rides to and from the work site (our favorite songs were "This is Why I'm Hot" by MIMS, "Low" by Flo Rida, and "Livin' On A Prayer" by Bon Jovi)

* the families (our site's family was a mom and dad - Sergio and Elvira, and they had 3 kids - Valeria, Sergio Jr. and little Cesar who was almost two years old)

* hangin’ with college students (and high school students, too) Because of all the prep that went into the trip, I hadn't spent time with students in a long time and I missed it! It was so nice to be away from home and get quality time with them.

* the kids in the village

* seeing everyone working so hard and having the greatest attitudes

* poop stories (it wouldn't be a church trip without them)

* giving the keys to the family on the last day


So overall, when people ask me about the trip, my response holds words like "soooo good" or "it was so cool to see the students grow closer to God and to each other" or "awesome!" or "it's so great to see God at work in Tijuana" or "best year yet!" All are true.

The only bad part of the trip for me was the second-to-last day. We packed up camp early Friday morning and set out to cross the border back into Cali. First, I got separated from our group and got lost on the road. Scary. Then we had to wait for 2-3 hours to cross the border. Then, when we stopped for lunch, I got a call saying one of our vans broke down 10 miles behind us. Eek.

Long story short, I went to pick up the stranded students (the driver would stay there until the car was fixed) while everyone else headed for our little motel in Anaheim. When I got there, I got chewed out by one of our adult leaders. Then I went BACK to our lunch spot to pick up a couple more students. And then I got my first ticket. Arg. All I was thinking about was how behind we were, all I wanted to do was get to the motel, it's the end of the week, I'm fried, I'm done, etc. I went through an intersection at a yellow light but got caught behind backed-up cars and end of blocking the intersection. Crap! Got pulled over, tried not to cry, all of this happened with 6 students in the car.

Then we hit 3 hours of Friday afternoon traffic. As soon as we pulled into the parking lot and the students scrambled out, I burst into tears. I was so DONE, ya know? Since I was in charge of transportation, I felt responsible for the stuff that happened. (although I couldn't help the wait at the border, the traffic, or the car breaking down)

So I just stayed in the car (when I should have been in the all-group meeting) and cried and thought and prayed and cried some more. After awhile, a friend of mine (Amy) climbed into the passenger seat and sat with me. After I shared with her about the day, she and I talked about freakin' Satan. We had just experienced an amazing week in Mexico, watching God at work in the lives of these students. No injuries, no problems, no sickness...just a purely awesome week of serving God. And I felt like Satan wanted to bring me down and make me forget about all that had happened. And it was true! I was so focused on all the horrible things that had happened that day. It was souring the whole week's experience.

It was so good to put things in perspective. We also talked about how good it was that both the break-down AND my ticket hadn't occurred until AFTER we crosed the border. They both happened in San Diego. If they had to happen at all, I am thankful they did not happen in Mexico.

Anyway, I could go into it more, but it really helped to talk with Amy. The rest of my evening was w-a-y better. I went up to my room, took a shower, and then got to have dinner with best friend Elissa and her hubby Mike. Then Saturday we packed up and headed home. I almost fell asleep 4 times at the wheel. Good times.

So since then I have been sleeping, sleeping, sometimes eating and seeing roomates and friends, but mostly sleeping. This trip wipes me out more than any other trip. But. It. Is. So. Worth. It. Next Sunday night is our "Celebrate Mexico" night where we all come together for a night of stories, pictures, a video, awards, re-connecting, etc.

It will be so good to see everyone again. You get very used to waking up and living life with 109 other people all day every day. It's a bit strange to come back to real life and not have that around you.

So anyway, thanks for reading my long post. Great trip. Still reflecting. God is good.

home

home.
tired.
sunburned.
5 homes built.
thankful.
sad.
joyful.
got my first ticket ever on the way home.
details and pictures coming soon.
zzzzzz....

adios

Allrighty friends, we're off! Tomorrow morning bright and early we head down to Tijuana, Mexico for 8 days. 110 people (high school and college students, leaders, construction peeps, cooks, nurses, staff, etc), 20 vehicles, 4 trailers, loads of luggage, sleeping bags, food, tools, tables, chairs and tons more.

God is going to do AWESOME things down there. I can't wait!

If you think of us while we're gone, here are some specific prayer requests we have:

* the last-minute odds and ends would get done
* safe travel there and back
* weather (no rain)
* health (no puking from bad water like 3 years ago...)
* unity and growing community within the group
* willing and helpful hearts and attitudes

I'll tell you guys all about the trip when we get back and I have slept for 4 days straight. =)

Have a great spring break and Happy Easter!!

concerts comin' up

First off, Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone. How many of us when we were in elementary school got hunted down by people who wanted to pinch us for not wearing green and we vehemently stated that we had green on our underwear, but they couldn't see it? Yup, me too.

So, it's crunch time here at church because we leave for Mexico in 5 days! Ack! So the high school and college staff is running around like banshees trying to get all the last minute stuff done before the big trip. (oops, sorry....for those who are new to the blog, our high school and college groups are going to Tijuana, Mexico to build 5 homes during spring break. We have 110 people going. We leave on Saturday)

But I have some fun news in the midst of the craziness. There are some fun concerts/shows I have tickets for and I am looking forward to all of them.





1)Jimmy Eat World and Paramore. Yes, I am obsessed with Paramore and I think I have memorized every song on their "Riot" album. I found out they were going to be playing in early April nearby, so I immediately snagged some tickets. I only know a few Jimmy songs but I'm sure they will be great, too.

2) Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova. How many of you have seen the movie Once? If you haven't please go to your nearest Blockbuster or get it from Netflix. It's an indie film (came out last year I think) about about an Irish street musician (guy) and a Czech immigrant (girl) who strike up a friendship based on their mutual love of music. The guy (Glen Hansard) and the girl (Marketa Irglova) just won an Oscar for Best Song "Falling Slowly". The two of them will be here at the end of April. The tickets for that concert were sold out in 10 minutes, but luckily we hit the internet pre-sale. I am so excited!

3) Eddie Izzard!! Holy cow! Do you guys (and gals) remember when I came back from my vacay to So. Cal in January and said how I watched a ton of Eddie Izzard (British actor and comedian) DVD's and laughed my head off? My BFF Elissa called me last week and said Eddie was going to be doing a show at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood in August and she got tickets for us!! I think I screamed into the phone. I immediately got online and bought my plane ticket. Stoked stoked stoked.

So there we go, friends. 3 amazing concerts/shows coming up in the next few months. Each one will be different from the previous but each one will be special in its own way.

Back to work for Mexico. Just wanted to share the fun news. =)

video blogs

This blog will probably take you 15 minutes to go through. So if you want to do it in chunks, that is totally cool.

My intern Jeff and I are trying something new. Because it is 2008 and technology has become so savvy, we decided to make a video blog for our college group's MySpace page. We make a video, talking about what is going on with the group that week, and post it up every Monday. Here was last week's.

** DISCLAIMER - I will be the first to admit it is a bad video. We were borrowing a friend's Macbook Pro laptop and for some reason it was not recording sound. We recorded 4 TIMES before we finally figured out the issue. But the last time, the battery was almost dead (and we couldn't find the cord to plug-in power). So the quality of the video is poor. It's super choppy and none of our words match what we're saying in the video (there's a delay, esp. toward the end). We lovingly describe our first video blog with words like "endearing", "first-try", "rusty" or "ghetto". Anyway, we got the final words out before the battery died completely on us. Here ya go:



Pirate Night was so much fun. It was last week. Everyone came dressed up and we had prizes for the best costumes. We had decorations, pirate music, temporary tattoos, pirate bandanas, swords and pistols, etc. We played games inside and outside and at the end, the students went on a treasure hunt (in teams) and the winners dug up a treasure chest with GOLD (reeses mini cups and rolo's) inside! Here are some pixs.












This week Jeff got hold of an actual video camera so after we filmed this week's vlog he could edit it, add music, and all sorts of other bells and whistles. This one's a bit longer...6 and a half minutes, I believe. Oh! And you get to hear what I sound like with my mouth guard in! =)

i have my mouth guard

Yup, so I've been clenching and grinding my teeth when I sleep for about the last year and a half. I don't know if it was from my car accident or just stress in general. But I went to see a TMJ specialist because I was having jaw problems, headaches, and my gums were receding. He fitted me for a "splint" or what most people call a mouth guard.

I got it last Wednesday and have been wearing it ever since. He wants me to wear it 24/7 for six months!!!!!! What!? Why not just at night when I sleep? He said it takes six months to train my jaw not to instinctively clench. I can only take it out to brush my teeth and floss, but then it goes back in.

He wanted me to eat with it in, too, but there is no way. I tried and it doesn't work. First of all, I can't chew. Second, it takes forever to eat a meal. And third it gets pretty gross when food gets in the splint. (Was that an overshare? Sorry.) So I take it out to eat and brush my teeth, but then it goes back in.

The first couple days were really hard. My teeth were so pissed at me. "We've been with you since you were 8! Don't we chew your food well? Haven't we been good to you? Why are you putting us through all this pain??" But now they are used to the big hunk o' plastic in my mouth. Which is good because I need their support for the next six months.

So if you see me and I look different (the splint makes my upper lip stick out a bit) or talk different (I still can't say my "s" words without whistling through my mouth guard), you know why. Here's hoping all this helps heal my jaw!

Oh say can you see

I know it's not Memorial Day, Veterans Day, the Superbowl, World Series, or the 4th of July, but I just love this video so much! I have never heard our national anthem sung so beautifully. These girls (between the ages of 8-13) sang at a Texas Tech vs. Texas basketball game on January 20, 2008 in front of over 11,000 people. It's a home video, so the camera's pretty shaky. But I hope you like it as much as I did. (I even got a little teary!)

"with my ragtop down so my hair can blow"

** the title of this blog is dedicated to Vanilla Ice. (too cold, too cold...) **

I have realized lately that I LOVE driving with my windows down. I can really only do it if it's nice outside. So imagine my joy this week because I have been able to drive everywhere with all four windows rolled down, music blastin', big sunglasses on, and hair going crazy! Ahhh!!! I love sunny days!! When I'm not basking in the warmth of the sun and grinning like an idiot, I am singing along with my music at the top of my lungs.

I feel so alive.

how would you respond?

We're doing a series on Jesus this spring. We were curious to know what the students wanted to learn about, so we passed out some paper and asked them: "List 3 questions you have about Jesus". When Jeff (our intern) and I got them back, we went through them all and were impressed/intimidated. Read through them and think about how you would respond.


* Why does Jesus never give a clear answer about who he is until the last days of his life? (he always answered indirectly)

* I want to look into Jesus being there before time.

* How can he be wholly man and wholly divine?

* If Jesus was on earth in present time, how different would he be today?

* When did he start having his abilities to heal?

* How did he know dying on the cross would save us?

* How could Jesus be human and not sin?

* Why hasn't Jesus come back a second time yet?

* Why does he seem so different than the Old Testament God?

* What were his struggles?

* What happens to people who never hear about Jesus?

* I know God is supposed to be perfect, but did he, in fact, have any flaws while on earth?

* What is the distinction between God and Jesus?

* What did Jesus do as a teenager?

* Jesus was the Word, but did he have to learn the word (just as it was customary for rabbis of that time to do)?

* How was he made?

* What did Jesus think about women in his time?

* How does Jesus speak to us today?


If you're like Jeff and I, you read some of these questions and then immediately (in your head) thought of easy, this-is-why, it's-so-simple type answers. But the truth is...the answers are not easy. In fact, they are the opposite of easy. I was pretty convicted. Stop thinking you know everything, Sarah. Tough questions like these deserve prayer, thought, time, and study...not quick Sunday School answers.

Anyway, back to the series. We could literally spend a teaching night on each question. But we have to narrow it down to 4. How do we choose?

Chonda and Bone

Last night I got to help out my sister at a comedy event her radio station was putting on. It was a night of "clean comedy" featuring two Christian comedians: Chonda Pierce and Bone Hampton.

It was such a great night! I helped at the "merch" table, selling CD's, DVD's, books, and all sorts of other random stuff. (There was some great people-watching involved) And then myself and the other merch peeps would sneak into the concert and laugh our heads off.

Both Chonda and Bone were really funny. Chonda talked about some things I can't relate to (menopause, anyone?) but she also spoke on a lot of stuff that women of any age would love (she gave a shout-out to all the men who got dragged to the event by their wives...they were such good sports!) And then Bone got up and his energy and humor was rockin'!!! And through the whole night, I was appreciative of the fact that they were so funny and yet so clean. It was good to be reminded that you don't have to be dirty or crass to be funny (although I do admit I love a few comedians who aren't always so clean).

Anyway, if you're ever bored, you can go on YouTube and look up some of their sketches. Enjoy!

busy, busy world

It's been a busy, busy week. In a busy, busy world. I have a feeling life will be at this pace until we return from our Mexico mission trip March 29th.

a few highlights at work:

* We started a new series at the college group. "Controversies of the Christian Faith". We choose a controversial topic, present both sides unbiasedly, and then the students get to choose which side they most resonate with. Then they get in small groups and have to answer questions to defend why they believe what they believe. At the end of the night, we come together as a big group and share. Our first topic....stem-cell research!! Nothing like starting off with the easy stuff. ha ha. I really love this series! It's not about teaching them what to think...it's about teaching them how to think.

* For fun one night, we had karaoke. Here's a 4 minute video of some of the songs. None of us are good singers...we just had fun. Which song is your favorite?

* Last week Jeff and I shared our testimonies. So hard, but so good. If we want our students to be vulnerable with us, we need to model that and choose to be vulnerable with them, too.

* Our group just sponsored a child through Compassion Intl. Otavio is 5 and lives in Brazil. The students will donate pocket change (or more) each week to pay his monthly sponsorship. We're all going to write letters to Otavio this Wed. night.

* Our final meeting before Mexico is next Sunday March 2nd. I'm supposed to have all the transportation (cars, vans, trailers, insurance, etc) worked out by then. Ask me if I have. (nope)

* Yesterday I had a Day O' Fun with our student leaders. It was rainy so we drove to a h-u-g-e nearby mall and got lost in it. For fun, we decided to dress some of the guys as the "opposite" of what they really are. For example, we took Jeremy and Brian (who are skater/alterna boyz) and dressed 'em all preppy with clothes from Express For Men. It was awesome! Then we took our intern Jeff (who actually is preppy) and visited Zumiez to dress him like a skater punk. He looked SO young! It looked like he had been stripped 10 years of his age. And then the ladies and I found a Jessica McClintock store and tried on hideous prom/bridesmaid dresses. We were making fun of them and then we realized how much they were....$500!!! What!?!? We took them off in a hurry.

* This week (Mon-Wed) is our staff retreat at a nearby conference center. I am so excited! It will be nice to hang out with people away from church. It's always very relaxing. And we get to rock out the volleyball court every night! Woot!

Off to bed. Love to you all.

new favorite video

Even if you're not a Harry Potter fan, you will hopefully still enjoy this 30 second video.

3 day weekends

3 day weekends are bliss. Could every weekend be a 3 day weekend, please? Who do I need to vote for to make that dream a reality?

Well, my dumb cold has decided to linger on for week 2. But aside from that, things are going well. I've had a weekend of good friend time, swimming, some caught-up phone calls, sleep, church, and a new nighttime activity: watching LOST Season 1. You guys are probably tired of hearing me talk about LOST, but oh well. Saturday night a group of us watched the first 4 episodes with all the lights off to make it even more suspenseful. It was such a blast that last night we made pizzas and watched another 4! It's fun to go back to the beginning and see everything I've forgotten. But mostly what's so great is the people I'm watching with. Some of them are LOST addicts like me. Some are watching it for the first time. Either way, I really don't think it's possible for them to be any funnier. I think that makes the nights even more enjoyable.

Will we continue tonight with another 4 episodes? We shall see. I have my hip-hop class this evening, but maybe after that...

P.S. We just found out that one of our roomates, Jessica, broke her ankle snowboarding yesterday! Sad. We love you Ese and we'll take care of you when you get home!

C-R-A-C-K

For those of you who have been reading this blog for awhile, you might remember that last May I had my very first car accident. I rear-ended a guy who slammed on his brakes when a light turned yellow for him. I took my car in to get fixed, paying my $500 deductible and sticking $1,900 to The Man for the rest of the repairs (thank goodness for insurance).

However, since then I have had a few neck issues. I didn't think it was anything serious. "Oh it's just whiplash from the accident" etc etc. I had my roomate (who is a massage therapist) work on my neck from time to time. I thought I was fine.

But in the past month my neck was really starting to hurt. Like I would be merging on the freeway and I'd turn to see if any cars were on my left...and it really hurt to move my neck too far to the side. Ack! Everyone kept telling me to go see a chiropractor. But here where my hesitations:

1) If I go, I might never be able to stop going. I've heard that once you start seeing one, you have to keep going back to get re-aligned. I didn't really enjoy the thought of having to be dependent on someone to fix up my spine everytime it got out of whack.

2) Money - how expensive are these chiropractors? My auto insurance and my health insurance don't cover it, so it would be me footin' the bills.

3) Would it hurt??

But finally I couldn't take it anymore. One night last week I was at coffee with some buds and I got this horrible headache and felt like I was going cross-eyed. My friend told me later that the pressure from my out-of-place top vertebrae was pinching into my skull/head. Dude! This is crazy.

So the next morning I bit the bullet and called a recommended chiropractor in my area (Dr. Kerri). I made an appointment for the very next day. I was so nervous! I went to see her and she was very sweet and kind. I told her all my concerns and she was very understanding. Then she started feeling around my shoulders, neck, and back. "Sarah! You are SO tight!" she said. She definitely thought it was from my car accident. And since then my muscles have tried to compensate around the misplaced vertebrae and caused a mess.

So Dr. Kerri had me lie down on my back and started moving my neck around. "Tell me about your job," she said. "Oh, ok," I said. "Well, I work with college students at my church. I'm in my third year there and I was OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Because just at that moment, she quickly tweaked my neck from the far left over to the right. I heard this huge *C-R-A-C-K* right by my left ear. I was in such shock that she had done that without me knowing. So yes, the Lord's name was proclaimed quite loudly in her little office. (I might have freaked out the people in the waiting room)

But I have to tell ya: I immediately felt better! I felt a release of pain and could even imagine blood flowing back into my neck or something. It was so crazy! I started laughing and told her she had to do that every time...make me talk about something and then crack me when I'm not expecting it.

I am still a bit wary of this whole process, but for now I can say I'm glad I went. She taught me some stretching exercises for my neck to do at night. And I am going to see her once a week for four weeks to keep getting re-aligned until my muscles get used to the change. And then she thinks I won't have to go in after that.

Anyone else go to a chiropractor?

Snow Blast weekend

After getting some sleep, downing tons of Emergen-C, and drinking lots of liquids, I am starting to feel a tad better. So I can finally tell you guys about my weekend in the snow with the college students.

It was fab. No accidents or emergencies. No car or road problems, traffic, snow shutting down freeways, nothin'. We just enjoyed our time up there and enjoying spending time with one another. It was cool because I brought DVD's and a video game system but they were used maybe once. Everyone just wanted to play games or have fun conversations and get to know each other better.

We drove up Thursday and got to our condo around 9 pm. Most people went to bed. Friday we split up into two groups: those skiing/snowboarding and those staying behind to play. I went skiing and it was the best snow I have ever skiied in! Yes, I know I've done my share of complaining about the rainy weather, but it was worth it for the snow. There is SO MUCH. I half-expected unicorns and fairies to come flying out of it and the angels to sing from heaven.

The crew back home decided to 1) build a snow cave 2) make snowmen 3) go exploring. Their exploring took them to casinos, shops, all around town. They took some funny pictures. That night we had dinner and played Mafia for 2 hours, followed by poker and Apples to Apples.

Saturday, only 3 went back to the slopes and the rest of us stayed behind. What a fun day. We also played in the snow, fed ducks right outside our back porch (our condo was on the marina), went shopping for random stuff in Kmart, a supermarket, and Ross, played more games, etc. I got to go on a long walk in the snow and talk with one of my girls who was dealing with some hard stuff.

In the early afternoon, one of the students (Rob) said he would let two of our girls wax his back. So gross but so funny! He fully did the 40-Year-Old Virgin bit where he screamed a pop star's name. Check out this video:

That night we ate enchiladas, ice cream pie, and played more games. (Catch Phrase, more Apples to Apples, someone whipped out Clue - yeah old school!) It was fun to see all the students and leaders getting so comfortable with each other, laughing, talking, learning new things about everyone else.

Sunday we went to church and afterwards some random guy came up and introduced himself to me, and then asked for my phone number. Whoa! Are snow guys more forward?? We made a quick stop at Starbucks, said goodbye to the Tahoe, and headed home. We stopped at In N' Out for lunch (tradition) and were back at church by 4 pm.
And then I went home and got sick.

But SOOOOO worth it!!

* cough *

amazing weekend in the snow with college students. came home and immediately got sick. will blog when i feel better. *cough cough*

i almost forgot what the sun looked like

Wow. This is the second day in a row where the sun has been out. After weeks and weeks of clouds and rain and wetness, I forgot what it felt like to have the sun shine on my face. Ahhh....what a lovely feeling. Even if it is 52 degrees...the sun is still shining and that is what makes me happy.

Well friends, much has gone on in the past couple weeks. It's at times like these that I pull out the ol' ** bullet points **. None of them have anything to do with each other, but it helps me organize my thoughts. Feel free to comment on one or all.

* LOST IS BACK!!! For those who caught the season 4 premiere last Thursday, what did you think? I am in love with flash-forwards. Ok, so we know Kate, Jack, and Hurley got off the island. Who are the other 3 of the "Oceanic 6"? Any guesses? (I have some hunches) Also if you had to choose, would you be on "Team Jack" or "Team Locke"?

* Superbowl Sunday. What did you guys think of the game? I'm not necessarily a Patriots or Giants fan, but it sure was exciting, especially toward the end. I am glad the underdog won. As far as my favorite commercials:

1st place: Tide-To-Go
2nd place: Coke
3rd place: Bridgestone

* I can officially say that I saw "dead people". A couple weeks ago I went with some friends to the Tech Museum where Body Worlds 2 was on display. You pay 22 bucks and spend 2 hours looking at the muscles, bone structures, internal organs, and nervous systems of "plastinates" (dead bodies that are preserved using a technique involving plastic. Crazy!) After about 10 minutes of being weirded-out, I actually became quite fascinated. The human body is so beautifully intricate.

* I saw Cloverfield. Some people love it, some people hate it. I loved it. The shaky-camera wasn't as bad as I thought, or maybe I just got used to it after awhile. If you haven't seen it yet and want to, hit a matinee. It's definitely worth seeing on the big screen with surround sound.

* Last week, the student ministries staff went to Tahoe for a retreat. We stayed in a fun cabin near Tahoe City. You could see the lake from our window. Gorgeous! Even though I am tired of the rain, I have to admit...it meant for GREAT snow up in the mountains. They powder was fresh, soft, new, perfect. We had so much fun playing in it - sledding, snowballs, snow angels, sliding on discs. We also had some great talks and bonding time as a staff, which was much-needed.

* We came home from our retreat and I went to my office to drop my stuff off. As soon as I walked in, I noticed a mini-refrigerator. Huh? Who put that in there? I opened it up, and guess what was inside? Watch the end of this video for a clue:

My students know I love The Office, so they decided to leave me some gifts, based from the show. They are too kind.




* My computer is possessed by the devil. It's an old laptop that my dad gave me when he got a new one a few years ago. It has a touch-pad for the mouse right under the keyboard. I won't even be NEAR it, and the mouse arrow on the screen will start going crazy. It's seriously goes nuts. It flies all over the screen and I just stare at it with my mouth wide open. What the heck is going on. I either need to learn how to exorcise the demon within, or get a new laptop. And since I don't know much about computers, I would love any advice or suggestions on what I should get. Mac or PC? What design?

* Because of the aforementioned demon-possessed laptop, I went to Costco to buy a back-up drive (so I can save all my pictures and music in case it crashes). As I was perusing the options, a dad and his 3 year-old son came walking by me. I have no idea what they had been talking about, but just as they passed me, I heard the little guy say in a hushed whisper, "Dad!!! I know what a 'buttock' is!!" And then he smiled real big. That kid made my day. Nay...my week.

* Music: Paramore. I am obsessed with them. Older sister Amy gave their Riot! CD to younger sister Emily for Christmas. I listened to it once with Em and dug it. I have been listening to it non-stop in my car. Hallelujah is my favorite song.

* I just finished a book and am looking for a new read. Any ideas?

* I voted today.

* I leave on Thursday to go back to Tahoe...this time with 15-20 college students. College Snow Trip, son!!!

Ok, enough typing for now. I need to go out and enjoy some of this sunshine! =)