computerless for 4 days

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

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

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

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

Glee concert

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

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


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


Here was the set list of the concert:

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

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



I LOST it.

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



That was obviously my biggest highlight. Other highlights include:

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

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


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


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


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


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


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

nooks

It's official. I would like a nook.

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

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

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

Look how cool they are.

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


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

season finale

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

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

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

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

night owl

Sometimes I wish I was a morning person.

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

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

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

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

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

But alas.

I am a night owl.

I love staying up late.

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

I dislike mornings.

I am so not an early bird.

Pity.

happy things that start with "G"

I am happy tonight. Here's why:

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


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


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

* GLEE was awesome. Quick unofficial glee-cap:

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

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


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

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

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

Judah day

Guess who I got to spend the day with?

The nephew.

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



God, I love this kid.

the perfect work-out mix

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

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

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

SARAH'S PUMP YOU UP MIX

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

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

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

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

5) "Hit The Lights" by Jay Sean

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

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

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

9) "Waiting For The End" by Linkin Park

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

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

12) "Raise Your Glass" by Pink

13) "Love Like Woe" by The Ready Set

14) "Just A Dream" by Nelly

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

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

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

Osama bin Laden is dead

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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