Travis' bread

Our new roomate Travis made some homemade sourdough bread. We did a photo shoot of him holding his creation with 4 different expressions and angles. Which is your favorite?

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4)

sorry, Jenna

My amazing friend Jenna just moved up (from San Diego) and into our house on Thursday. We had a free room till January and she wanted to move back to this area (she used to live here) and have a few months to look for a job. Anyway, I feel bad because here are the 4 things that have greeted her:

1) Our cat leaving us a gift by the door. And by "gift", I mean either the remains of a small animal that she has killed and wants to show us OR cat vomit, with the aforementioned dead animal parts inside. Jenna said she had to step over it to walk in the door. Gross.

2) A huge house of people. Jenna got up at 3:20 a.m. to drive up here from SD. She was tired and probably just wanted to have a quiet evening to rest. Nope! Here are 40 people to meet and talk with! We had a house concert with some local musicians which was awesome, but I just felt bad it was the night she got here.

3) Heat wave. Seriously you guys, it has been the perfect summer. Breezy, in the 70's or 80's. Lovely. And then Thursday is got HOT. And it has been blistering hot since then. It is currently 107 degrees outside. This is not normal. What happened to our nice weather?

4) No power. Jenna went to the store and got some groceries. And then at 3 p.m. yesterday afternoon, our power went out. It did not come back on till 1 am this morning. Many of her groceries got spoiled in the fridge. And after going out last night, she came back to our house (and street) being pitch black. It's a bit freaky.

So all of that to say...sorry, Jenna. It will get better.

Sayonara to Summer

I'm back from a lovely vacay (visiting the bestie and her hubby). As always, I enjoyed sleeping, eating, reading, laying out by the pool and sometimes jumping in when it got too hot, shopping (woohoo outlets!), going to Disneyland to see the fireworks and Fantasmic (and I got to see my youngest sister who was there for a friend's birthday!), and going fishing with my BFF's father. I only go fishing with her dad so I'm not a big fisherman (fisherwoman?), but I DID catch my first halibut and I was very proud. I don't know why people get proud when a fish has the poor luck to think a squishy lure is lunch...but I was.

27 and a half inches long, baby! And heck yes, we kept it and took it home. FEAST!


In case you can't tell, I am flexing to show how hard-core I am.

And now it's "Sayonara to summer" and "Hello to fall!"

IT'S HERE!!!

The flash mob video is here! Enjoy!



And then here's another version that someone found online. This was taped by a newspaper in Santa Rosa. It shows the dance with different angles. In this video, you can see me (in a black shirt) jump off some stairs at the beginning and run into the dancing area.




Well friends, I leave today for vacation (I feel like this whole summer has been one fun vacation, although I think I managed to fit some work in there somewhere). Anyway, this is my last little vacay before my fall officially kicks off. Be back next week!

FLASH MOB

This past weekend, I got to be a part of something really cool.

A FLASH MOB!

What is a flash mob? According to wikipedia:

A flash mob is a large group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, perform an unusual action for a brief time, then quickly disperse. The term "flash mob" is generally applied only to gatherings organized via telecommunications, social media, or viral emails. They are designed to surprise passer-byers.

Maybe you've seen the Sound of Music flash mob in a Belgian train station. Or maybe the T-Mobile flash mob in Liverpool. Or 100 Beyonces dancing to "Single Ladies" in Piccadilly Circus? They are going on all over the world. And every time I watched one on YouTube, I would think, "I want to do that!"

We did it. Union Square, San Francisco. Sunday August 16th. 4:30 pm. 100 people. The song we danced to? "Pinball Wizard" by The Who.

Video coming...

End-of-Summer BBQ/Pool Par-tay

Last night was our last college event for the summer. We had a BBQ at a house near the church and then went swimming. It's always kind of sad at this event because I have to acknowledge that summer is pretty much over. Noooooooo. From this point on, everything is gung-ho for the fall. Which is great. Except I've had such a great summer, I'm not ready for it to end. Oh well.





I love this one. The girl is pretending to be Patrick Swayze and the boy is pretending to be Jennifer Grey. They are re-enacting the Dirty Dancing "lift" scene.

I met Cinderella

Last night I met Cinderella. And Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Ariel, and Giselle (from the movie Enchanted). They were all the same person.

Lemme esplain.

I was at a BBQ, chattin' it up with some friends. My friend Jane introduced me to a girl standing next to her named Lisa. Lisa said she lived in San Francisco. And then when I asked her what she did, she smiled and said, "I'm a princess."

Whoa. Back up?

Yes, it turns out Lisa really is a princess. She works for "The Cinderella Company" and they do kids' parties. You can choose whatever Disney princess you'd like (besides the ones Lisa plays, there are: Mulan, Tinkerbell, Alice in Wonderland, Pocahontas, Jasmine, Belle, etc), and they will show up in costume and character and play with the kiddos for an hour and a half. Most of them are even classically trained singers so they can sing songs from their movies. Disney reps fly up every year to audition ladies and make sure they will represent the Disney name well.

I was fascinated. I had no idea this sort of thing existed. I started asking Lisa tons of questions. How did you get into this? What do you love most about it? Are you bombarded with kids the minute you show up? (yes) What songs do you sing? What activities do you do with them? (story-telling, face paint, singing, dancing, pictures, etc)

She was so sweet and I could tell she truly loves her job. So hey, if you have kids and you think they'd be into something like that on their birthday, I'm sure there is something like "The Cinderella Company" around your town. And if you have boys, they have guys who can come as a pirate, Prince Charming, a cowboy, Jedi Knight, Storm Trooper, Superman, Spiderman, or Batman. Sweet!

I Got A Feeling

It's been awhile since I posted a picture or video of the world's cutest baby (aka: my nephew Judah). Yesterday was a Fun Friday where I got to spend the whole day with him, praising him every time he turned the page in our book, responded to things I said, or ate solid foods. He is so smart and getting so big! (8 and a half months old)

This video is when sister Amy came home from work. We had the Black Eyed Peas song "I Got A Feeling" song stuck in our heads. "Mazel tov!"

R.I.P. John Hughes

I was so sad when I heard the news yesterday. John Hughes, 59 years old, passed away in New York from a heart attack.

Like many of you, I grew up watching his movies. Whether he wrote or directed them, they are classics in my mind.

Sixteen Candles
The Breakfast Club
Pretty in Pink
Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Some Kind of Wonderful

When I think of those movies, I think of 80's music, The Brat Pack, and amazing scenes/quotes. It's so sad he is gone.

The Walk

<< Ok friends, this might be kind of random, but I have been struggling with envy lately. I hate it. Tonight, I wrote a short story. I'm not a writer or anything, but I just sort of went for it. It might not make sense, but that's ok. I'm just not sure what else to do. >>



The Walk

I was walking down the street with my good friend, Peace. We took our time, savoring the sweet sunlight as it hit our faces. Small steps, no rush. Enjoying the breeze, the conversation, the laughter.

Suddenly, I noticed someone turn the corner and start heading our way. As they drew closer, I recognized the face with dread. My thoughts started racing. "Please. Not this time. Please...not again."

Peace, unaware of the oncoming person, kept looking at me and telling her story. But I could not listen. I knew what was about to happen.

We stopped. Peace finally realized someone else was in front of us and turned to them. I saw her face cloud over and her smile slowly fade.

"Hello, Envy. How are you?" she asked politely.

"I'm doing well, Peace. Thank you for asking," Envy replied, but he was not looking at her as he spoke. His eyes were locked on me. "How are you doing, Sarah?"

I looked down.

"Fine."

"Well, that's good to hear," he said with a strange smile. "Where are you two ladies off to?"

Peace glanced quickly at me and then back at Envy. "Nowhere in particular. We just felt like going for a walk today. It's so nice outside."

"Hmmm," Envy said. "I agree. We couldn't ask for better weather."

Even though I was looking down, I knew he had not taken his gaze off me. I knew what was coming.

"Sarah, why don't you walk with me awhile. We could go down to the beach."

"No, that's ok. I'm kind of tired." My voice came out low and quiet.

"Oh come on. It's been awhile since we've seen each other. I'd love to catch up." Envy again smiled strangely.

I lifted my head and looked pleadingly at Peace. She immediately knew my internal struggle.

"Well, we're actually heading home, so maybe another time," she replied on my behalf. She turned around and started to head in the direction we had just come. With a silent sigh of relief, I also turned to go.

But Envy grabbed my hand.

"Wait, Sarah. Don't go yet."

I froze. I saw Peace's retreating back as she walked further and further away. "Follow her. Follow her!" I screamed in my head. But I could not. I turned back and finally looked Envy in the eyes.

He was beautiful.

I knew I shouldn't. I knew he was all wrong for me. I knew how horrible I felt after I spent time with him. I tried to avoid him as best I could. And yet, somehow he always seemed to know where to find me.

I stood there, unable to take my eyes away from his face.

Maybe just a little walk. I really do love the beach. He knows that.

"Ok. A short walk."

He smiled again. Still holding my hand, he crossed the street and led me down a new block. He looked down at me as we walked away.

"I've missed you."

I could not say the same.

God-appointments in the Ladies Room

Do you ever strike up conversations with strangers? On a plane, waiting in line at the grocery store, at a coffeeshop?

I do sometimes. It depends on what mood I'm in. But I don't know if I've ever struck up a long conversation with someone in the restroom.

I won't go too into it, but I met a 49 year old woman named Stasha in the Chili's restaurant ladies room. What I thought was going to be a 20 second exchange of pleasantries turned into a 20 minute conversation, ending with an exchange of phone numbers and a plan to meet for coffee to continue.

As I rushed back to the booth where a patient college student was waiting, I kept thinking: it was no accident I went to wash my hands just then. A little God-appointment. And in such a random place.

Yeah for Tahoe and weddings!

Just got back from Lake Tahoe to see one of my roomies (Annie) and a friend I used to work with (Scotty) get hitched! The wedding was amazing. It was at a ski lodge which is now all green for summer. All the bridesmaids came down on the ski lift - everyone started laughing. And then there came Annie with her dad on a lift, too. It was so so fun. Got to see some old friends (don't you love that about weddings?) and dance the night away. Congratulations S & A!!