Thrill the World 2010

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to once again dress like a zombie and do the Thriller dance with hundreds of other crazy people downtown. Yes, it was time for Thrill The World 2010.

"Thrill The World" is a global attempt to break a Guinness World Record for simultaneously performing the routine from Michael Jackson’s video for “Thriller.” So for example, on the West Coast we did the dance at 4 pm. On the East Coast, it was 7 pm. In Europe, people got up at 1 a.m. to go dance Thriller in the streets. It's so cool knowing that people all around the world are doing the dance at exactly the same time! Last year there were over 23,000 people from 33 countries participating. They are trying to beat that record.

To add to the fun, it was raining the day we did the dance. Wet, soggy, but happy zombies!








Those 2 girls are in my college group and we learned the dance together. We had two other guys from the group taking pictures and video. I wanted to show you the video they took but it's in HD so it's too large to post on youtube. However, I hunted down another video someone took so you can see the dance. You can't see us (we're in the back) but it gives you an idea how it looked.

Can't wait till next year!

GIANTS

Holy crap.

The SF Giants are going to the World Series.

I have been freaking out all night.

born again?

My pastor wrote a book to go along with the current series we are doing at church and I am loving it! I was reading something the other night that I felt like sharing.

John 3:1-4

Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, "Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him."

In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again."

"How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born."

The top religious scholar in the land, Nicodemus was impressed enough by Jesus to ask for a secret night meeting so he could get to know this new and exciting young teacher. Jesus gets straight to the point: "You must be born again."

Born again. It's a familiar phrase but what does it mean? Max Lucado explains it like this: "How active were you in your birth? Did you shove yourself out? Did you have a walkie talkie in the womb saying, 'Ok Doc, I'm in position. We are good to GO!'" No.

Someone else did the work.

Someone else felt the pain.

Someone else made the effort.

And we were given life through them.

Same when you're born spiritually. It's not about your effort. Jesus did the work. Jesus felt the pain. Jesus made the effort. He did it so we might have life through him. (John 3:16)

How beautiful.

parrot

It's time for another edition of "My Nephew Is Cuter Than Your Nephew" (sorry, but it's true). My almost 2 year old nephew Judah is at this super fun stage where he imitates and mimics what people do. He's like our own personal parrot. If I roll around on the grass, he rolls around on the grass. If I say "Cool, dude!" he repeats it with just as much fervor.

I was at my parents' house one night and as we were eating dinner, my dad took a sip of his drink and went, "Ahhhhh!!!" afterwards like those old soda commercials. Judah LOVED it. So of course we kept doing it just to see him smile. I mean, come on, look at that smile. Cutest. Kid. Ever.

A couple things to note in the video:

* Judah's name for my dad is "Grandude" and my mom is "Gigi".

* Don't you love the kitchen wallpaper? It has been there since the 70s. My parents had some guys paint the whole house a few years ago but they kept the kitchen wallpaper. My friend calls it the "Happy Happy Joy Joy" kitchen.

* My mom is a nurse and just got home from work so she's still in her scrubs. I want a pair. They look comfy.

GLEE-cap #4

Episode 4. Mr. Schue decides to throw a contest, having the GLEE clubbers sing in duets. Finn and Rachel. Santana and Mercedes. Tina and Mike. Kurt and...Kurt. I was thankful for this episode because we were treated to what makes GLEE great: the kids and their voices. As much as I love Emma and her outfits and Sue and her one-liners, I didn't miss them. I wanted to hear these kids sing!

Of course, GLEE just had to cross the line and have a yucky scene with Brittany and Santana that made me sick to my stomach. Why the heck do they put that in there? It cheapens an amazing show. I could do a whole blog about this but Imma continue. It's time for the GLEE-cap. (Don't read if you haven't seen the episode yet. I don't want to spoil anything for you.)


TOP TEN QUOTES/MOMENTS FROM "DUETS"

10) "All right, question for the group. What's a duet?" -Mr. Schuester

"A blanket." -Brittany (It brought back the memory of Mr. Schue asking what a ballad was and Brittany saying "A male duck". Love. It.)

9) Rachel and Finn singing "Don't Go Breaking My Heart". Could they be cuter? When Finn smiled and wrinkled his nose at her (while playing the drums), I wanted to squeal like a little 12 year old. And I liked the conversation they had after their song about throwing the competition so Sam could win.

8) "So I just want you to know...I'm really into you." -Brittany to Artie

"Oooooookay." (I loved his uncomfortable face as he looked to the side) "Sorry, I'm just a little confused. You've never even made eye contact with me." -Artie

"I know. For awhile I thought you were a robot." -Brittany

7) I reeeeeally like Sam Evans (Chord Overstreet) in a towel. That's all I'm going to say about that.

6) "River Deep/Mountain High" - good lord, those ladies killed it!! Such a good cover. Tina Turner would be proud. They even danced like her. It made me laugh.

5) Mike and Tina's duet "Sing" was super cute. Homeboy can't sing and should definitely stick to dancing. But I guess that was the whole point of the song. When Mr. Schue got up after the song and said, "Thank you, Tina, for introducing us to the amazing voice of Mike Chang!" I was like, "Um, he didn't really sing. He spoke the song." But oh well. He can dance like nobody's bizness.

4) "I thought I was over somebody, but I still think I have feelings for them." -Artie

"The Clintons?" -Brittany

3) I enjoyed Sam and Quinn's version of "Lucky". They would be a good couple together, yes? I think it's because they're both blonde (even if one is a fake-blonde). My sister has this theory that people are attracted to their own hair color.

2) Finn's face when Mr. Schue declared Sam and Quinn the winners. Seriously, go back and watch it again. I think I watched it 5 times and died laughing every time. Rachel is saying, "Unbelievable! I don't know HOW this happened!!" and Finn is trying so hard to fake disappointment and confusion over not winning. Cory Montieth-I love you!

1) The final mash-up song between Rachel and Kurt. Pretty much all my highlights were the songs this week. Let's keep 'em coming, GLEE clubbers!

** Final pressing question: do the Cheerios wear anything besides their uniforms? Brittany was wearing it in her room with Artie, Quinn was wearing it on her date with Sam. Ladies, mix it up a little.

Your throughts on the episode?

Hollywood or bust

I'm leaving today for our annual Fall Road Trip. I'm taking a bunch of college students down to southern California for a weekend o' fun. This year we are hitting Universal Studios. I went 5 years ago and had a blast. These trips are a great time to bond with students - talking in the cars, in the hotel rooms, in lines at the park, etc. I always come back wiped out, but it's so worth it.

Have a great weekend!

GLEE-cap #3

Well THAT was a 180. To go from Britney Spears and her scandalous shenanigans to a whole episode about God and faith. Some views were shared about Jesus: he is a fairy tale character like Santa Claus (Kurt), he is a genie that grants 3 wishes (Finn), he is not the Messiah (Rachel and Puck), he is someone worthy of worship (Mercedes), some people don't believe in him at all (Kurt and Sue), etc. I'm sure we've heard these before. I hope this episode gets people thinking and talking about what they believe. And now...onto the GLEE-cap. (Don't read if you haven't seen the episode yet. I don't want to spoil anything for you.)


TOP TEN QUOTES/MOMENTS FROM "GRILLED CHEESUS"

10) "You got a problem with Jesus?" -Finn to Puck

"No, I got no problem with the guy. I'm a total Jew for Jesus. He's my number one 'Heeb' (Hebrew)." -Puck

9) I loved Mercedes' song "I Look To You". It was so nice seeing/hearing Mercedes sing - she is so talented and a bit under-used on the show. I know she can belt it out, but I liked this song because it also showed the softer side of her voice.

8) "Both of my dads' peoples were slaves once. I need to know that my children will be free to worship in the way that I decide is right." -Rachel

"Sure. Of course. Yeah, they should totally go to Jew church. And wear those hats. And eat that salty orange stuff with their bagels." -Finn

7) "I need to know what's going on with that glee club. Brittany? Jugs the Clown? Go." -Sue to Brittany and Santana

6) “Last week we were too sexy. This week we’re too religious. We can’t win.” -Tina

“Now I know what Miley feels like.” -Brittany

5) My FAVORITE song of the night was Rachel's version of "Papa Can You Hear Me". I actually heard it Monday (a little sneak peek on YouTube) and listened to it 10 times in a row. It's so beautiful, emotional, haunting. I love Lea Michele's voice!

4) I love Sue's relationship with her older sister. Their scenes are always very touching. I like what her sister said at the end: "God never make mistakes. That's what I believe."

3) Kurt just wants to hold your hand, Burt. Those flashback scenes were so cute. They did a great job finding a younger version of Kurt. Loved him learning to ride a bike with a bowtie. And I loved Burt learning the correct way to hold a teacup (pinky up!)

2) I remember when "One of Us" by Joan Osbourne came out in 1995. It was always on the radio and I got tired of it. However, if you get a chance to hear the full version of the GLEE cover, it's quite good. It's like that "Bad Reputation" episode in May when they took bad/cheesy songs from the past and redeemed them.

1) This last highlight wasn't from the episode - but from next week's promo! Sam Evans joins the GLEE club! They all pair up and do duets! Brittany hits on Artie! And rumor has it Mike Chang sings for the first time - a duet with Tina. Awhhh.

Your thoughts on the episode?

happy birthday sister!

36 years ago today, my older sister Amy was born. To celebrate her day-of-birth, I would like to dedicate this blog to her. Aimes, you did this for my last birthday and I really loved the idea, so I am going to copy it. (As the younger sibling, copying ANYTHING the older sibling does is frowned upon. But I can't help it. I just always loved my sister's ideas and looked up to her, so yes, I copied her a lot. Our mom would try and smooth it over by saying, "Imitation is the greatest form of flattery." Sure, Mom.)

IN HONOR OF AMY'S 36TH BIRTHDAY I AM GOING TO:

* sleep in (oh blessed sleep, she needs more of you...)

* drink an amazing cup of coffee

* play with the cutest 22 month old in the world

* go to the farmer's market

* watch Singing In The Rain, Laurie Berkner, and Raffi videos

* work at a job that is truly making a difference in this world

* make fun of my neighbor's bad karaoke

* do something fun with my hair (sausage bangs? perm? white streak underneath? whatever I feel like!)

* spend time with my friends and their adorable kids

* put together a snazzy outfit from whatever's in my closet

* go to Peet's for some more delicious coffee

* watch Dancing With The Stars, 30 Rock, and Project Runway

* eat a yummy meal mostly made with Trader Joe's/Farmer Joe's groceries

* listen to amazing, Spirit-led worship from Bethel

* go to the zoo with "little son"

* have a night out with good company, fun drinks, and live music

* get lost in a good book

* spend a weekend at Mount Hermon with the people I love

* watch a fun Netflix movie with popcorn

* make my sister laugh

Happy birthday to YOU, Amy! I love you so much and could not have asked for a better sistah. I am so thankful for the years we've had together and I look forward to the many more to come. xoxoxo

GOOOOO GIANTS!!

Wow, I am on a bit of a euphoric high right now.

The San Francisco Giants are the National League West champions!

Lemme back up.

I actually had the opportunity to go to a game last Thursday with my church staff. We had a great time. I flippin' love AT&T Park. Beautiful stadium, beautiful day, and where we were sitting - a perfect view of the bay. I took this picture with my phone about a half hour before the game started.


The Giants played the Arizona Diamondbacks. The crowd was full of energy. Everyone was decked out with their Giants T-shirts, baseball caps, foam fingers, you name it. The Giants won 4-1. We went nuts! But that was nothing compared to this weekend.

The Giants had 3 games scheduled against the San Diego Padres. All they needed was to win ONE to be the NL West champions and head to the play-offs. Did they win Friday night? No. Did they win Saturday? No. People were freaking out. They only have one more chance. Did they win today? YES!!!!!!!!!!



They beat the Padres 3-0 and the 42,000 people at AT&T Park simultaneously wet their pants in sheer excitement. NL WEST CHAMPS! Play-offs coming our way! World Series in the future?!?!

All the players ran out onto the field and were jumping up and down, high-fiving, and slapping each other's bottoms. Then they all did a lap and ran around the edge of the field, high-fiving fans. Oh man, I wish I could have been there for today's game! So epic!!

My highlight after the victory lap was a lady going around interviewing players before they went into their dungeon and partied. She was interviewing Tim Lincecum (pitcher) and he totally dropped the F-bomb on live TV!! This was being shown on Fox Sports and ESPN!! I was so shocked, I laughed. Wait, did he just....yes! Yes he did!



Oh Giants, I love you. You've made many, many people in Northern California very happy. Good luck in the play-offs!!

GLEE-cap #2

I almost didn't do a GLEE recap this week. I disliked Tuesday night's episode. A lot. I was tempted to either do a "Top 10 Things I Disliked About GLEE" blog or just not do one at all in protest.

I didn't like Brittany dancing all over Dr. Carl in her see-through diamond unitard, I didn't like her dancing with a bunch of 9 year old boys in the red catsuit, I didn't like Kurt yelling at Mr. Schue, I didn't like Mr. Schuester dancing and singing with the kids at the pep assembly, I didn't like Jacob (with the big hair) being caught in the library by Sue (Ewww! I need soap for my eyes), I didn't like the Britney songs they covered (except Artie's), and the list goes on and on.

However, I finally decided I could find 10 small things that were ok. But I do it with a bit of sadness. GLEE, you're so much better than this episode...


TOP TEN QUOTES/MOMENTS FROM "BRITNEY/BRITTANY"

10. I love John Stamos. He is ageless, yes? He looks the same as he did in his Full House days.

9. "This room looks like the one on that spaceship where I got probed." -Brittany in Uncle Jesse's, I mean, Dr. Carl's dentist office

8. "Please don't pull out all my teeth. When I smile, I'll look like a giant baby but with boobs." -Brittany

7. "Is this real life?" -Rachel waking up from anesthesia (great shout-out to David After Dentist)

6. "They're personifying you!" -Finn
"Objectifying..." -Rachel (in her "Baby One More Time" outfit at school)

5. I LOVED Artie's cover of "Stronger". I love Artie. And I loved the football players dancing behind him.

4. I liked the locker room scene where Finn was hugging Rachel in his football uniform and told her he'd throw a touchdown at the first game and then point to her in the stands so everyone would know she was his girlfriend.

3. "But do we ever have a treat for you." -Principal Figgins in a monotone voice at the pep assembly. "Fresh off their last place finish at regionals, please give it up for 'New Directions'."

2. "I'm gonna sue the pants off you, Will. I'm gonna take your house, your car, your extensive collection of vests. I mean seriously, you wear more vests than the cast of 'Blossom'." -Sue (probably my favorite quote of the night)

1. I liked Rachel's final song "The Only Exception". It was very sweet when Finn was talking with Brittany and Santana in the hallway and then saw Rachel and left the other ladies to go grab her hand.

But even though I liked the final scene and the final song, it wasn't enough to redeem the episode. Here's hoping next week is better.

Your thoughts on the episode?

indian summer? or hell?

I was really looking forward to our annual "Indian Summer" this fall. This summer was on the cool side, with not many sunny days. But usually September and October make up for it. But good lord, the past 3 days have been over 100 degrees. I was kind of hoping for a happy medium. Say, 80 degrees with a nice ocean breeze?

I had every intention of taking today off work and going to the beach to jump in that cold water. But this has literally been me all day.

It is so hot. Do you see the sun blazing through my curtains on the left? 105 degrees. I have no energy to do anything. I can't get out of bed. I just lay there with the fan blowing in my face. I am supposed to go to my hip hop class tonight, but the thought of dancing in a heatbox with 12 other sweaty people is not appealing to me right now. Not to mention that I'd have to actually get up from this bed.

So I guess I'm going to pop in disc three of my 30 Rock (Season 1) marathon and keep watching the crazy antics of Liz, Jack, Tracy, Jenna, and Kenneth.

Stay cool, friends! (Not in the slang way. In the opposite-of-hot way.)

happy weekend

Friday I had college students at my house for a night of pizza and trivia. I feel like we're so much smarter now. For example, did you know George Washington's teeth were not made of wood (like most people believe), but carved out of hippo tusks? And did you know that pogonophobia is the fear of beards? Good stuff.

Tonight I went out to dinner with some ladies and then we saw the musical "Into the Woods". Super cute! Tomorrow I have church and a couple meetings. I am hoping to take Monday off work and hit the beach because it has been sooooo hot lately.

Hope you're having a nice weekend!

GLEE re-cap

Hi friends. I realized I spent most of Wednesday discussing how awesome Tuesday night's episode of GLEE was. (Season 2, Episode 1 - titled "Audition") I thought it would be fun to do a weekly blog with a Top 10 countdown of my favorite quotes/moments from each episode. And any other GLEEks out there can share their favorite moments, too. Please don't read if you haven't seen the episode! I don't want to spoil anything for you. And now without further ado, here is my first GLEE re-cap...or as I'm going to call it from now on: my first "GLEE-cap".

TOP TEN QUOTES/MOMENTS FROM "AUDITION"

10. The first 3 minutes were so great. Jacob went around to check in with the Glee kids to see what they did all summer. Favorite quotes:

* "People thought I went on vacation, but I actually spent the summer lost in the sewers." -Brittany

* "Did you know there's a forum on my blog that's begging you to stop rapping?" -Jacob to Mr. Schuester

* "When are you slated to make your triumphant return to the Shire?" -Jacob to Rachel (who is beaming for the camera) because she's so short.

9. I liked how Finn overheard the new character Sam Evans singing in the boys locker room showers, because that's how Mr. Schue found Finn in the first episode of Season 1. "I would have joined in with a kick-a harmony, but the dude was naked." -Finn

8. LOVED Rachel and Sunshine Corazon's scene in the girl's bathroom. "Listen Sunshine, we need chorus members. People to stand behind me and stare at me with wet, moved eyes while I sing solos." -Rachel. I really liked their cover of "Telephone" and then Sue coming in. "SHUT UP!"

7. Asian Camp? Amazing. Not quite sure why Mike Chang was dancing without a shirt, but whatevs.

6. Does anyone else think the new transfer student Sam Evans has a mouth like Jack Nicholson's Joker? That aside, he seems really likeable and I thought he had a good voice. "Billionaire" is a kind of a lame song, but I liked how the guys sang it. And Sam can play guitar! Get him in GLEE!

5. Finn auditioning for the Cheerios was both painful to watch and hysterical. When he did that forward roll and then pointed to Sue at the end, I think I died a little inside. Oh Finn. You are presh.

4. When Quinn and Santana were fighting in the hallways and Brittany said "Stop the violence" in her quiet, monotone voice.

3. Sunshine intro'd her song "Listen" by saying it was from the movie Dreamgirls. Rachel turns to everyone and says matter-of-factly "A Broadway show first." I loved Puck's "Shut up..." to her. Sunshine did a fantastic job on her song. Someone said her voice is like a mix between Rachel and Mercedes. Yep, I agree.

2. Dustin Goolsby, the new coach of Vocal Adrenaline. His name is Cheyenne Jackson and he's been on Broadway (awesome voice!) and 30 Rock (he's funny, too!) Fun fact: he had auditioned for Will Schuester two years ago, but the role went to Matthew Morrison. Anyway, I think he's great and I'm looking forward to seeing him and Vocal Adrenaline this season. Sad that he stole Sunshine, though. Enjoyed him walking away with her Hello Kitty backpack.

1. I know Rachel is ambitious and over-bearing but I can't help it - I love her. I thought it was cool that Finn called her out on what she did. And then I loved her song "What I Did For Love" at the end.

So there you go! Top Ten GLEE-cap for episode 1!

What did you guys think of the episode?

well, that was a first

This past weekend I went to a nearby American Red Cross station to give blood. You might remember my first time giving blood was last July and I was terrified. But it ended up being a great experience and I have given blood a few times since then. But something happened this time that was a "first" for me.

So I'm sitting on the puffy table thingy. The vein was found, the needle went in. No problems. My technician (named Noah) said my bag was filling up quite nicely. Sweet. He turned his back to check on something and as I sat there watching the wall, I suddenly starting feeling light-headed. Then my vision started going blurry. My stomach started feeling weird. Hungry? No, more like nauseated. I think I started freaking out a little. I remember thinking, "Should I say something to Noah?"

The next thing I know, I'm flat on my back, a cold washcloth was on my forehead, and a strange woman's face was RIGHT above mine. "Sarah! Wake up! Open your eyes!" I opened my eyes and I did not recognize the woman. I was super disoriented. Where was I? Who were these people? What was going on?

Dude. I fainted.

I have always wondered what it would feel like to faint. And now I can finally say I know. (Check it off my bucket list?)

I lay there awhile trying to gather my senses. I felt sweaty and clammy. I finally asked the lady (Gail), "How long was I out for?" She smiled and said, "Only about 5 seconds." I guess Noah was fiddling with my blood bag when he noticed my arm went rigid and then he looked at me and saw I had fainted. He put the table flat, called for Gail to come over, and they quickly grabbed a cold washcloth and started yelling at me to wake up.

I turned toward Noah and croaked out, "Did you get enough blood?" He also smiled and said, "Yes. We got the full bag. You did great. Just relax."

They watched me like a hawk. I lay flat for 10 minutes, sat up a bit for 5 minutes, came to a full sitting position for 5 minutes, swung my legs to the side for 5 minutes, and then shuffled to the snack table and stayed there 45 minutes. (Normally you only have to stay 15 minutes)

I can't believe I fainted.

Weirdest. Feeling. Ever.

Have any of you ever fainted?

GLEE in 4 days!

I haven't been able to blog much lately because things are so busy with our fall program starting.

Buuuuuuut...

I just realized something that filled me with glee.

4 more days till Season 2 begins!!

beach baptisms!

Today I had the great honor and privilege to baptize 2 of my college students in the Pacific Ocean.

Every year, my church does a huge beach baptism. We all meet out at the beach and roast hot dogs with a country band singing in the background.

Then we get into circles on the beach so we can hear testimonies from the ones getting baptized.

My two students, Zach and Parker, shared how they came to Christ. Both had been brought to church by friends. Zach when he was in high school, and Parker just 6 months ago. It was so awesome hearing their testimonies and what Jesus has done in their lives since they received him as their Lord and Savior.

We prayed for them and then all tromped down to the water. My co-worker Kevin (he was Zach's bible study leader in high school) and I were going to baptize the guys so we started wading in the water. But then suddenly Parker ran right by us and jumped in the ocean. We all started laughing. Is he baptizing himself? But he knew the water was going to be fah-reeeeeezing so he figured he'd just get in and get the cold-feeling over with. So Kevin and I followed suit and bounded in after him!

After baptizing Parker, we baptized Zach (blurry picture).

Then all their friends and family joined us with hugs and yells of "Congratulations!" and we took a million pictures.
Oh Happy Day! (Check out this song)

P.S. This is Parker's status update on facebook: "God is so awesome!!! Baptisms today were amazing!!! To my church family and brothers and sisters in Christ, I love you all so much, I can't put in to words how much you mean to me. Between you and God, I've been affected and changed in more ways than you could possibly know. Thank you all so much!"

5 year anniversary

Today I celebrated 5 years at my job. And 5 years later I can honestly say I still love it. It is challenging, full of ups and downs, and I have given my blood, sweat, and tears. And I wouldn't want to be doing anything else.

As per tradition, I brought donuts to work and went around telling everyone how much I love working with them. Bring on year 6!

Happy long weekend!

Yeah for 3 day weekends! My family is in town so I am looking forward to spending time with them, relaxing, eating, walking around, and laughing. This is my last weekend of freedom because next Wednesday...college group starts for the fall!

(My weekend kicked off with a night of baby-sitting this little munchkin. He is 21 months old and SO smart.)

is worry a sin?

This is a question I've been thinking about lately. Is it sinful to worry? Because isn't worrying a lack of faith in God? Like, if we truly trusted God with everything, why would we worry?

Deep thoughts for your day.

Summer 2010 recap

Well it's that time of year, friends. People are retiring their bathing suits and schools are starting all over the country. I thought I'd take a moment to reflect on Summer 2010 and see what happened. Good and bad.

* WORLD CUP! From June 11-July 11, I was riveted. Such fun to see countries from all over the world bond over this one event. I could have done without the vuvuzelas ("Is there a beehive nearby??") Congratulations to Spain for their victory. Oh and my marriage proposal to Gonzalo Higuaín is still standing.

* THE GULF OIL SPILL. On July 15, the leak was finally capped off. But not after spilling millions of oil into the ocean. I had a hard time seeing pictures of those pelicans and turtles covered in oil on the news. BP, you SUCK.

* COLORADO TRIP. My friend Amy and I had a wonderful time visiting our friend Jody in Boulder. I want to go back!!

* SUMMER READING. I started the summer with Eat, Pray, Love (haven't seen the movie yet) and then read Water For Elephants. I fully intended to read The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo after that, but then I was recommended "The Hunger Games" by a co-worker. That trilogy has consumed my summer reading ever since.

Here's the gist according to wikipedia: "Sixteen year old Katniss Everdeen lives in a post-apocalyptic world where a powerful government called the Capitol has risen up after several devastating disasters. The Hunger Games are an annual televised event where the Capitol chooses one boy and one girl from each district to a fight. The purpose of the Hunger Games is to show how no one, including children, is above the Capitol's power. The last person standing wins the game."

So North America was hit with tons of disasters and many died. The part of America left was renamed Panem and the Capitol (located in the Rockies) is the city that run the 12 Districts. The Capitol is super evil and corrupt and could care less that everyone in the districts is starving. Finally the rest of the nation decided to rebel. There was an uprising. The Capitol won. And to show the people who is in charge (and to also issue a warning to never rebel again), they throw the Hunger Games every year. From each district one girl and one boy (between the ages of 12-18) are chosen by lottery to play in the Games. They are flown to the Capitol and put in an arena. The last one standing wins. So basically these kids have to kill each other! Ahh! There will be 23 dead and only 1 winner. Whoever wins gets to live in luxury back in their district with their family and never go hungry again.

It's a crazy premise and I was super skeptical at first. I don't read much post-apocalyptic stuff. But my friend reassured me it was amazing and to not read before bed because I won't be able to stop. "Pssh, I can totally stop reading when I want," I thought. But oh dang, he was right! I was staying up till 2 a.m. to find out what happened! So so good. The third and last book of the trilogy came out this past Tuesday. I went to the midnight release party at Borders. I am currently halfway through book 3. I'm going to be so sad when it's over.

* FLASH MOB AT WEDDING. This was such a highlight of my summer. I loved seeing my roomate's face as we danced.

* 2 CROWNS. Not fun. Many tears. But luckily the pain is gone.

* SUMMER MOVIES. I was kind of disappointed in this summer's choices. Usually I see a ton o' movies in the summer. I think I only saw 5. And the only ones I really liked were Toy Story 3 and Inception. What did you think about this summer's movies?

* JOB. I love summer at my job - lots of relational time. One of my highlights was talking with a girl who was home for the summer and started coming to the college group because she made some friends. She was a full-on atheist and didn't want to hear about God. By the end of the summer, she was asking so many questions and seeking God! It was so cool! I am praying that when she goes back to college, she will find a bible study or college group to get plugged into.

* TRIP TO SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. So fun to see friends, go to D-land, sleep, and relax. Vacation is soooo needed for the soul.

* WEATHER. Weird weather this summer. It was pretty much cloudy and foggy every day, all day for the first 2 months of summer. Dreary. And then recently it's been sunny and beautiful. Just as summer is ending. What am I doing indoors typing? I need to go outside and soak up the sun! *cue the Sheryl Crow song*

How are you guys feeling about your summers? Were they good? Bad? Ok?

last one for the summer

This past weekend, I went to my fifth and final wedding for the summer. This time it was my dear friend and old roomie, Cara who got hitched. She and her (now) husband James had a beautiful outdoor wedding up in Nevada City. Two highlights were Cara singing to James right before she came down the aisle and watching James' face as he listened. And secondly, James is from Mississippi so we had a full-on southern bbq at the reception! Fried catfish, anyone? Mmmmm...


Love you guys!!

mascot fail

My sister sent me this video and I was crying, I was laughing so hard. The video itself is funny, but what made it even better was the commentary a blogger put underneath (I'm copying and pasting his comments). After reading what he wrote, the video became funnier and funnier each time I watched it. I hope you love it as much as I do!




A few highlights:

-- The apathy on the part of the players in the Aces dugout is probably my favorite part of this. By their reaction, you'd think a guy in a giant wolf costume drops from the sky into their dugout every other inning. None of the players rush to aid him, and two men in baseball uniforms just continue their bored stroll across the dugout. I think the on-deck hitter might actually be walking over the wolf's prone carcass.

-- The moment you choose to moonwalk backwards in a mascot costume with zero peripheral vision, you're just asking to fall off a ledge.

-- It's fantastic that the second mascot, whatever the hell that thing is, doesn't break character for even a second. It makes me think there's maybe a 20 percent chance that this was planned. Wolf mascot could be lying on the dugout floor with compound fractures in both of his femurs, but the red morbidly obese blob thing is still going to do his freaking job and get the crowd fired up. I love minor league baseball ...

-- My second favorite moment is when the wolf falls, and then instictively sticks his oversized fake mascot hand out to grab the ledge of the dugout. Like his giant wolf mitten is going to magically grab the concrete, clamp on, and avert this disaster.

-- Look closely. I'm pretty sure the wolf's pupils actually dilate before he falls off the ledge.

birthday weekend

It was a weekend of birthdays! My dad turned 65 recently so my mom threw him a luau-themed party on Saturday. They had food, drinks, a band, dancing, the works! It was so great!



Then on Sunday I took a bunch o' college students to a SF Giants game at AT&T Park. For a few of them, it was their first professional baseball game. We had a fun time, even though the Giants LOST against the San Diego Padres (booooooo....)



After the game, I went to my parents' house to celebrate my birthday with a delicious dinner, cake, and lots of laughter.

Is anyone else weirded out that summer is almost over?!?!

yeah for birthdays!

Today is the big 3-3.

Dude, when did I get so old.

I don't look that old.

I don't act that old.

I don't feel that old.

And yet, 33 sounds so old.

Oh well, who cares! Bring on the cake!! Yeah for birthdays!!

Really, Generation Y? Really?!

I don't know if we're supposed to call them "Generation Y" or "Millennials" or whatever. All I know is...something is wrong.

We've been playing volleyball on the beach a lot this summer. We have a fun slide to post on facebook to announce it:


Classic scene from Top Gun, yes? I love this picture. It makes me chuckle every time I look at it.

Well, we posted it and one of our 19-year-old male college students responds, and I quote:

"Who is that? Is that the son from that Tim Allen show?"

As in Jonathan Taylor Thomas. The middle child (Randy) from Home Improvement.


I weep for the future.

black widow excitement

The other day my friend Amy (travel buddy) and I were outside my house and we came across a black widow spider. Instead of leaving it alone to possibly crawl in the house windows, I decided to be pro-active. I grabbed a mason jar and a piece of cardboard to capture it. Here's how it went down:

(Sorry you can't hear us talk most of the time. The camera microphone is in the worst place ever - right where you hold the camera. So our voices are usually muffled. Oh well, enjoy anyway!)

fun time with college buds

There is a fun new tradition in life. Every summer my BFF from college Elissa, roomate from college Melanie, and I are going to have a mini-reunion. Last summer they came up and visited me in Nor Cal. This year we went down to So Cal. (And next summer we'll be going to Texas). We had a great time! Some highlights:

* DISNEYLAND!! Love this place.

* eating at all our favorite places

* shopping at the outlets (dangerous!)

* a college friend Leslie was in the musical "Trails" in Hollywood. We went to see her and she was amazing!! So so talented.

* seeing Inception! Good lord, if you have not seen this movie yet, GO! Your brain might hurt a bit from trying to figure it out but it's totally worth it.

* hot tubbin'!!

* spending the day at a park (BBQ'ing, hanging out with another college friend, Jessica, reading, falling asleep in the sun, bliss)


* having Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles for the first time! Who knew such random foods went SO WELL together. Yum!

* visiting college (the ol' stomping grounds) - so many great memories!! (Mel and I are pointing to our old dorm room)

blog coming

Hello fun readers, I've been gone visiting college friends down in southern California. New blog with pictures comin' tomorrow!

GLEE Season 2 spoilers

Who's ready for some SEASON 2 GLEE SPOILERS?!?!?

First off, new actors signed on for the season:

* John Stamos (Uncle Jesse!) will be playing Emma's new dentist boyfriend.

* Is Ken Tanaka not coming back to William McKinley High as the football coach? I ask because I just read an article that said there is a new coach: a FEMALE football coach. Her real name is Dot Jones but I don't know what name she'll be given for the show.

* Chord Overstreet will also be joining the cast of Glee for its second season. "He will play a recurring role as the character Sam, who is 'a high-school athelete starts off as Finn’s protégé but becomes his competition.'"

* International singing star, Charice, will play a “foreign exchange student whose killer vocals get Rachel (Lea Michele) contemplating murder.”

* If any of you are a fan of Broadway or 30 Rock, you will love this next piece of news. Cheyenne Jackson is joining GLEE as the new coach of Vocal Adrenaline. "Jackson's character succeeds Shelby Corcoran (Idina Menzel), who left behind the world of competitive glee clubs to start a family after adopting Quinn and Puck's baby in the season finale."

* Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth are both coming back! Probably just for an episode, though.

Okay, now other fun spoiler news:

* Season 2, Episode 1 is titled "Audition". The first half of the premiere episode will be catching up with everyone and what they did on their summer vacation. Ryan Murphy (creator) plans on starting the gang at "ground zero," as he calls it. "They start the year as bigger losers than they were last year because of their very public third-place finish."

* Episode 2 is a Britney Spears episode (called "Britney/Brittany") and will consists of six songs. "We're doing it in a very funny way. We're doing it in a fun, hallucinogenic way," Ryan Murphy reveals. Since Matt Morrison publically voiced his objections to a Britney-themed episode, Mr. Schuester will spend the whole episode refusing to do Britney songs. (Ha!)

* The show will be tackling REM's "Losing My Religion" and a song from Yentl in an episode about religion. We'll get a look at Amber at church and Kurt will go with her.

* They're planning on doing another Madonna episode.

* There will be a Rocky Horror Picture Show episode. Kurt will probably sing "Time Warp".

* You will see more from Mike Chang. In fact, there will be an episode next season that will have Tina fall out of love with Artie and in love with Mike. (Nooooooo!)

* We'll see more of the home lives of the GLEE characters in the upcoming season. Amber's home life, Artie's parents, possibly Rachel's dads, and Ryan believes that Brittany has a "really smart older sister."

* An episode of GLEE will follow the Super Bowl, and Ryan revealed it will be a tribute episode, though he can't tell us who they will be honoring.

So fellow GLEEks, which spoiler has you the most excited?

Congratulations Nick and Jenn

Yesterday my dear friend and roomate Jenn got married!!

It was a beautiful wedding. It was held up in the hills at a private estate/winery. We sat outside and it was sunny with a breeze, perfect temperature. After two years of dating, I couldn't believe the day was finally here: they were getting hitched!!



We had a little treat for them at the reception. Nick's mom has a tradition with her girlfriends - when one of their kids gets married, the ladies do a dance at the reception. They had seen the flash mob dance I did last summer in San Francisco so they asked me to choreograph the dance and make it like that. For the past few months, we've been practicing to the song "I Gotta Feeling" by the Black Eyed Peas.

You can watch the video below. Around the 2 minute point, we have friends and bridesmaids jump on stage and join us for the end of the dance. (I taught them the moves in secret so Jenn would never know). It was so much fun!



Congratulations to the happy couple! Jenn, I will miss living with you, but I am very happy you found a great new "roomate". Lots of love to you both!

i feel royal

You know when people get their wisdom teeth taken out and they joke, "Will I still be wise? I'm getting my 'wisdom' teeth removed!" Well, today I am joking that I feel royal. Because I have two crowns in my mouth.

Hopefully none of you have a clenching/grinding problem at night. I do and it's caused issues with my teeth. It all started because my bite was misaligned. And then a car accident and stress in life added to it. Anyway, I wore a plastic splint for 6 months to train my jaw to not instinctively clench when I closed my mouth. And then I got my braces on to fix my bite. But even after all that, there was damage. The back two molars on the right side had been bitten down pretty bad. So I had to get some crowns.

I was soooo nervous! I didn't know what to expect. First of all, it took not one, not two, but THREE shots of novocaine to numb me up. I felt like a junkie. "Um, Dr. Mitchell? I think I need another shot..." Seriously. Who gets THREE shots of novocaine in the same spot? Have I gotten so much in the past (with all my teeth issues) that my teeth laugh at just one dose??

Anyway, even with the novocaine finally working, it still hurt like a mother. And my jaw is super sore from holding it open for an hour and a half. And it cost a pantload. But hey, we gotta do what we gotta do, right? I am actually very thankful I could afford to get this done, because I know NOT taking care of it would cause more problems in the future.

So here's to being royal! I shall now demand my supper to be fed to me and the court jester to make me laugh before my servants turn down my queenly bed. Fare thee well.

funny

This made me laugh today.

home!

Yeah, finally time to blog about Colorado! Well friends, it was fabulous. My highlights were of course spending time with Jody and Amy. Here are some of the things we did.

* We ate. A LOT. Jody took us to really good restaurants around Boulder. The Med, The Cork, The Kitchen, and other places that start with "The". This is me describing a "Bump-It" to Jody using a french fry at one of our classy dinners.



* Downtown! Downtown Boulder is so dang cute. It's closed off to cars so it's fully pedestrian-friendly. There are musicians, street performers, ice cream carts, a fountain area for kids to splash around in, shops, balloon animal peeps, grass to play on, places to eat, a short walk to the Boulder Creek (where people go tubing!), a three story bookshop I got lost in, and every Wednesday and Saturday there's a farmers market. I could spend hours there.







* Celestial Seasonings tea comes from Boulder. We took a tour of their factory. I wanted to spice things up so I asked our tour guide if there were any "accidents" in the factory. I was hoping for a good bloody story (am I morbid?) but I think the only thing she shared was the machines getting backed up and having to stop production for awhile. Snore.



* One day we drove up to Estes Park, at the edge of Rocky Mountain National Park. We did a tour at the Stanley Hotel. It was built in 1909 and it's where Stephen King stayed in 1974 (Room 217), inspiring him to write "The Shining" (he called it "Overlook Hotel" in his book). Such a cool tour! Many people believe the Stanley Hotel is haunted so our tour guide kept telling us to look for "orbs of light" in our pictures. Maybe they were ghosts! (um, or maybe it's the reflection of the camera off the lights? Just guessing.)





trying to jump in Rocky Mountain National Park:


* Seeing my old roomie, Lindsey! Lindsey and I lived together for 2 years and I was the maid of honor in her wedding. She, her husband, and their two kids live in Loveland (about 45 minutes away) so they drove down and we were able to spend time together. It was so much fun to see them!!



* Boulder Dinner Theater! Ok, this was a huge highlight. Boulder has this place where you eat and watch a musical at the same time. They are doing Peter Pan this summer so we went! The tables are actually set up horseshoe-style around the stage so you are right up in the action. The food was...how do I say this...bad? Let's just say we ate a LOT of bread. Which looked like a big hot dog bun.


Our waiter's name was Scott and he was very nice. He and all the other waiters were dressed in black and came out to take our orders and serve dinner. When the show started, we were watching and enjoying. When the pirates came out, we were like, "Wait...isn't that our waiter?! Our waiter is SMEE!?!" Yep, all the servers were actually the actors too. Scott was Smee and he was hilarious! All the pirates were great, but Smee stole the show. We took a picture with him afterwards. He was wearing red long underwear.



* Our last day there Jody took us to the edge of the Flatiron Mountains. So beautiful! Then she drove us up to the top of Flagstaff Mountain where you could see the Continental Divide. I couldn't stop looking at the view.





What a whirlwind! Great city. Great friends. Great times.

Colorado or BUST

Tomorrow my dear friend and travel buddy, Amy, (we took 2 trips last summer: New York and Oregon) and I are flying to visit another dear friend, Jody, in Colorado. Jody lives in Boulder and ever since she's moved there, we've been wanting to visit. And the time has finally come.

Be back next week with stories and pictures...

whoops

I had a great time on the hike on Saturday. It was beautiful weather and great connection time with the students who came. The only bad thing was that I accidentally dropped my digital camera in the river. Whoops. It died. Time for a new one.

And my nephew is cuter than ever (of course). It was so wonderful spending time with him. I wish I could have posted some new pictures or videos of him so you can see how much he's grown, but alas...the drowned camera. Oh well, live and learn.

Happy 4th of July weekend!

Any fun weekend plans?

I am taking a bunch of college students hiking tomorrow to enjoy this beautiful weather and God's amazing creation. Then Sunday after church I'll be heading to my parents' house to spend the day with my nephew, Judah. I can't wait!

A comedian, Jim Gaffigan, does a whole spiel on holidays and how weird American traditions are. Enjoy the clip below. Happy 4th of July!!

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

Have any of you heard of this book? Apparently it's taking the world (not just the U.S.) by storm. I've heard bits and pieces about it and remember seeing the movie playing at our local indie theater. But then recently, I've seen it all over the news, on display in bookstores, and it was even on the cover of last week's Entertainment Weekly magazine (the cover title was "Secrets Behind the Hottest Book on the Planet").

Today I was in Costco and I saw the "Tattoo Trilogy" on sale ("The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo", "The Girl Who Played With Fire", and "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest") so I impulsively bought 'em! I had two separate people stop me on my way to the check-out line to tell me how much they LOVED these books.

As soon as I finish "Water For Elephants" (I'm almost done!), I have 3 new books to read. And I get to see what all the hype is about.

Has anyone read these? If so, did you like them?

facebook relationship drama

I was checking facebook recently and came across some drama. One of my male college students (21 years old) and his girlfriend (20 years old) had both changed their status from "in a relationship" to "it's complicated". Uh oh. Trouble's a-brewing.

But then to my horror, they had a full-on conversation about it in the girl's status update! For everyone to see!!


Girl: "when are you gunna make it right. when??? I wish sometimes life was like the movies where girl is upset, boy makes it right, like the chick flicks, But its not :( I wish i could be proved wrong."

Boy: "Boy was told not to contact until girl did, and has been respecting that. Maybe boy figured girl needed her space and to think about things also and will hopefully remember that boy really loves girl?"

Girl: "girl actually is actually wanting boy to do opposite and contact her. remember what girl told boy? note: wishes life was like the movies (hint chick flick) Boy should prove his love then, cuz girl is feeling judged, used, and unloved right now"

Boy: "Well that was just put on here recently and not told to boy or hinted directly to him. and it made boy sad to see the relationship changed to 'complicated'. Also boy never meant to judge or make girl feel used and unloved."

Girl: "girl was upset to change it, but right now things have been made complicated and girl was really upset but should have told boy how girl felt"

Boy: "Girl never gave boy a chance to speak this morning and hung up."

Girl: "i'll message you"

Boy: "on here or on phone?"

Girl: "like in the inbox"


Ok, I don't even know where to BEGIN. Here are some thoughts:

* um, WHY put all this on facebook for the whole world to see?

* I felt uncomfortable the whole time reading this. I'm sure everyone else did, too.

* Is this what relationships in this generation are like now? Instead of calling each other up and talking it out, they speak in the third person on facebook?

* If chick flicks are to blame for mind games, I'm done with them. Seriously, you tell your boyfriend not to contact you so he doesn't because he respects you and wants to give you your space. But you actually are just SAYING that and hoping he will ignore it and call you to prove how much he loves you?! Ahhh!

i luff summer

Summer, I love you. LOVE. Luff. You are my absolute favoritist season. I look forward to you every year. And you are HERE!! Thank you for being here!

Seriously friends, can I just describe my last week of life?

Friday - went and saw Toy Story 3 opening night with college students.

Saturday - went swimming, got to play with my precious 19 month old nephew, and then went with my parents, sister, and bro-in-law to see my sister Liz perform in "Godspell".

Sunday - Father's Day! Lunch, Toy Story 3 again (GO SEE IT), amazing steak dinner

Monday - beach volleyball and taco bar

Tuesday - 30th birthday party for my friend Amy. It was a Casino Night/James Bond/Casino Royale theme so everyone came in dresses, suspenders, ties, fedoras, and feathered boas. We played poker, blackjack, Texas Hold 'Em, Omaha, etc. until midnight.

Wednesday - bonfire, smores, and worship at the beach

Today - lunch with a student and then bible study at night

I can't even tell you how much I am enjoying life right now. It is SO nice to have a break from the craziness of the school year and enjoy the weather, people, and area I live in.

I hope you're enjoying summer wherever you are!!

Father's Day

Thank you for being my father. I love you so much!

listening, reading, watching

Hello readers and friends! I thought it would be fun to do another rendition of "listening, reading, watching". I'll share mine and then I would LOVE to hear yours!

Listening: Katy Perry's "California Gurls". It's funny that Katy was in my last post because I cannot get this song out of my head. They play it on the radio all the time and it's so dang catchy. West Coast REPRESENT!!

Reading: I just finished "Eat Pray Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert (which I loved! go read it if you haven't!) and was looking for a new book. And I found one. Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen. I actually first heard about this from my youngest sister, Emily. Em is down in LA trying to break into showbiz. She's been an extra in a bunch of TV shows and movies. She said she was getting fit for a really great Depression-era costume for a movie called "Water For Elephants", based on a book. It stars Robert Pattinson (Twilight boy) and Reese Witherspoon.

I was at our used bookstore last week and I saw it on sale so I bought it. It's really good! It takes place in the early 1930's. The main character is named Jacob and he is about to graduate from Cornell University with his Masters in veterinarian sciences. Right before finals, he finds out both his parents have been killed in an automobile accident. He leaves school in shock and grief and ends up jumping a train. He doesn't realize he has just jumped a traveling circus train. Through a series of events, he ends up being hired as the caretaker for all the animals in the circus (lions, giraffes, polar bear, monkeys, and they finally get an elephant). He falls in love with a female performer (who will be Reese Witherspoon's character) but she is married to one of the ringmasters who of course is a jerk.

Just a note to those who want to read this. I'm halfway through and I do recommend it, but I have to warn you that there's some sex stuff in there that's pretty graphic. I'm sure the author just wanted to be "edgy" (ie. "There are freaks in the circus who do crazy stuff!") but I really don't like it in there. The book would be just as good, if not better, without all that. But if can overlook those scenes, then you should like it. It's very engaging and hard to put down. I love books like that.

Watching: 2010 World Cup

GOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAL!!!!!!!

I have definitely caught World Cup fever. I get mad that I have to go to work when all I want to do is watch soccer all day. And I'm not even a soccer fan! But I dunno, the World Cup sucks me in. It's fun seeing all the countries playing each other. Speaking of which, how cool is it that we get the Olympics AND the World Cup in the same year!?!

So I have a confession. After watching the Argentina vs. South Korea game, I have a crush on a Mr. Gonzalo Higuaín. He is a forward on the Argentinian team and um, well, VERY easy on the eye. Not to mention he scored 3 out of their 4 goals - and 2 of them were head hits! (which I learned are called "hat-tricks", when you head-butt the ball into the goal) Marry me?

What are YOU listening to, reading, and/or watching? I'm always looking for new ideas for summer.