759 pages in 21 hours

This blog is going to be about Harry Potter, so if you are not into him or are tired of hearing about all this, you can totally skip it. No worries.

But for those who are still reading, don't worry...I won't be posting any spoilers. I just wanted to share my first-ever experience of attending a "midnight release party" and then spending 21 hours of the next 28 reading the final book in the Harry Potter series. Here we go!

It all started in summer 2000. I was working at camp and I saw a counselor friend of mine reading Book 4. I was intrigued so I asked her about it. She gushed on and on about this boy named Harry who had a lightning bolt scar on his forehead and got whisked away to a magical school for witches and wizards. She said she was reading Book 4, but if I was going to start, I should start with Book 1.

When the summer was over, I borrowed my younger sister's copy of Book 1 and began reading with loads of apprehension. A book about an 11 year old wizard in England? Would it be sketchy? Would it have lots of talk about witchcraft? I had no idea what to expect. But I found myself being thoroughly charmed during my reading. By the time I finished, I was immediately grabbing Book 2 and reading that one as well.

Soon followed Book 3 and 4 and then I couldn't get enough. Pottermania hit me hard. I had fallen in love with Harry, Ron, Hermoine, and all their crazy adventures. Fans had to wait three summers to get Book 5. I remember summer 2003 getting my book and not even waiting to get home to start reading. I sat in my car in a parking garage, scouring every word as quickly as possible. Yes, I am a nerd.

We had to wait two more years to get Book 6. Summer 2005. Again, got my book on the release day and my eyes attacked its pages for the next week, sometimes staying up till 1 or 2 in the morning to finish a chapter.

And now that brings us to the release of the final Harry Potter book - Book 7. My friend Haley wanted to go the "midnight release party" at our local bookstore. I had never been to one, and since it was the last book and all, we went for it. Here are some pixs from the night:
It was packed! People of all ages everywhere. Kids and adults were dressed up in Hogwarts robes, Harry's signature round glasses and lightning scar, or Hagrid the giant, or a dementor covered in black garbage bags chasing people around the streets outside. The energy was so high. You could tell the build-up of the past week...heck the past 2 years...was reaching an all-time high.

After listening to some Shakespearian actors read the last chapter of Book 6 outloud to a group of listeners, I walked around to all the different stations. One station had a magician.
This one had Sirius Black speaking to kids through the fire.

This section had trivia about the books and gave prizes to kids who answered correctly.
Another station had a game where kids had to carry a slug on a spoon across the room without dropping it. (The funny part was when I took this picture, the guy had just dropped the slug as he put it on the girl's spoon. Nice.)
As midnight drew closer, people started screaming and laughing with anticipation. We all headed outside to get in line. The line was crazy! It went all the way around the whole block and then some! There must have been at least a thousand people there. We made friends with the people near us in line and watched all the costumed people walk by.
At midnight, everyone shouted with glee and the line began moving. People who had their book ran by us in line holding it high. We all cheered and clapped for them. It was so exciting. Others weren't even waiting to get back to their car to start reading. They started reading page one in the street.

I grabbed my book, hugged Haley good-bye, bought myself an extra large soda, and stayed up till 4 am to read (even though I am a night-owl, I never stay up that late). I was still wide awake and wanted to know what happened next, but I forced myself to go to sleep. Haley and I had promised each other we would have the book finished by the next night. I was determined.

I woke up at 11 am and promptly started reading again. I read all day. Oh my goodness. I will probably never do it again. This was a one-time-only deal. I just don't think our bodies are meant to sit and read for that long at a time. I barely ate and drank, hardly left my room.

I have never felt so anti-social in my life. Roomates and friends kept coming up to my room or calling me wanting to go have fun and I kept turning them down, feverishly turning the pages in my book. About five o'clock, I started to feel sick. I needed air. I left my stuffy room, made myself some food, and sat outside reading for awhile. Ahhh...much better. At least 20 degrees cooler.

I got a text message from Haley at 8 p.m. saying she was done and I flipped. "How could she be DONE?!?!" I still had a fourth of the book to go! I HAD to find out what happened to Harry. I would stay up all night if need be.

My roomates all went to bed around midnight. My light was the only one still on in the house. As the book started coming to a close, I began to feel very sad. And at 4:00 a.m. when I read the last sentence of the last page and closed the book, the sadness was overwhelming. I had read 759 pages in 21 hours. It was over. Done. Complete. No more.

Have you guys ever felt that way with a book? I wonder if people felt it when they finished "The Last Battle" by C.S. Lewis or "The Return of the King" by Tolkien. Or any other series or book where you have been enthralled for hours. The characters you have been with for days or months, whom you almost feel like you have experienced everything with...are gone. Yes, you know you can go back and read about their adventures again, but it holds no mystery or surprise anymore. You know how it is going to turn out. They won't be coming back for any new adventures. In a way, you are saying goodbye to those dear friends whom you have come to know and love.

Maybe you think I'm crazy to feel this way or "Whoa, that Sarah is in way too deep with this Potter series" or whatever else. I'm ok with that. All I know is that it is a joy to have read all 7 Harry Potter books and even though it may sound funny, I'm glad I got to be alive when they were released. These books will be passed down and read by children of all ages. And how fun to remember back in life when I got to be there for their release and how much fun and excitement they brought.

Thank you, J.K. Rowling, for bringing the love of reading back to so many people!

Harry Forever.

Abraham, Issac, Jacob, and Joseph

Awhile ago I posted questions/observations I had from the beginning of Genesis. Well, I finished Genesis and LOVED it. Who knew it would be so cool to go back and read this book of the Bible I have only read sections of before. So, without further ado, here are my observations from the rest of Genesis:

* I got PISSED in Genesis 19 with Lot (Abraham's nephew). Two angels of the Lord are at his home in Sodom. While they are there, men from the city surround his house and demand that Lot bring out the two "men" (not knowing they were angels) so they could have sex with them. Lot goes out to them and says, "No, my friends. Don't do this wicked thing. Look, I have two daughters who have never slept with a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do what you like with them." What a great dad!! Jerk.

* Even though I have heard the story of Abraham being tested many times, I still love it as much as ever. He was asked to sacrifice his beloved son, Isaac. And he was totally going to do it! Dang! I liked the idea of how the Lord stopped him right before he did it, and provided a ram instead for Abraham to sacrifice. One life for another. Just like the ram took the place of Issac, Jesus would one day come and give his life instead of us.

* Issac's son, Jacob, was a little swindler! He took his older brother Esau's birthright (the inheritance rights of the firstborn) AND his father's blessing by pretending to be Esau. Issac was too old and couldn't see and knew he was near death. He wanted to give his oldest son his blessing before he died. With prompting from his mom Rebekah, Jacob lied to his pop (saying he was Esau) and stole what wasn't his.

This scene breaks my heart: (it happens right after Issac gives Jacob his blessing) Esau comes in from hunting and is bringing his father food. " 'My father, sit up and eat some of the game, so that you may give me your blessing.'

His father Issac asked him, 'Who are you?'

'I am your son,' he answered, 'your firstborn, Esau.'

Issac trembled violently and said, 'Who was it then, that hunted game and brought it to me? I ate it just before you came and I blessed him - and indeed he will be blessed!'

When Esau heard his father's words, he burst out with a loud and bitter cry and said to his father, 'Bless me - me too, my father!'

I can just imagine Esau's anguish and tearful pleading. His younger brother had taken his birthright and now deceitfully stolen his father's blessing as well. And he cried out to his father for a blessing, too, but it was too late. Jacob received what was meant for Esau and would in turn be lord over him. Sad sad sad.

* Favoritism sucks. Parents, don't have favorites. Look at what Rebekah caused by favoring Jacob over Esau. Look at what happened to Joseph because Jacob favored him over all his other brothers (more on that in a moment).

* In Genesis 32 when Jacob struggles with God, the angel tells him his name will no longer be "Jacob", but it will now be "Israel" because he had struggled with God and men and overcome. I have a study bible, which has been awesome. The notes according to this section talk about how the name Jacob/Israel shows the characterization of the nation of Israel: the people who struggle with God and with human beings and overcome.

* Joseph. It wasn't his fault that his dad, Jacob, favored him over his bros. But he could have been a bit more selective in what he shared with them. For example, if your brothers are already annoyed at their father's favoritism and that you have been given an amazing coat with tons of colors on it while they are stuck still wearing boring blah clothes...you might not want to tell them dreams you've had about them bowing down to you one day. It's called tact, buddy.

* Another cool note from my study bible: "Joseph's experiences in Egypt, as well as those in his youth in Canaan are similar to Israel's national experiences in Egypt. Initially, because of God's blessing, Joseph attains a position of honor (in Potiphar's house); he is then unjustly thrown into prison, his only crime being his attractiveness and moral integrity (not to sleep with Potiphar's wife). And finally he is raised up among the Egyptians as the one who, because God is with him, holds their lives in his hands. Similarly Israel was first received with honor in Egypt (because of Joseph); then it was subjected to bondage, it's only crime being God's evident blessings upon it; and finally God raised Israel up in the eyes of the Egyptians (through the ministry of Moses) as they came to recognize that these people and their God did indeed hold their lives in their hands." I like the comparison!

* Later when Joseph is number 2 under Pharoah and his brothers come to see him to ask for food (they don't recognize him), chapter 43 verses 29-30 say, "As he looked about and saw his brother Benjamin, his own mother's son, he asked, 'Is this your youngest brother, the one you told me about?' And he said, 'God be gracious to you, my son.' Deeply moved at the sight of his brother, Joseph hurried out and looked for a place to weep. He went into his private room and wept there." There are a few other passages that talk about Joseph openly weeping (revealing himself to his bros, hugging Benjamin for the first time, seeing his father when Jacob comes to Egypt, receiving a message from his brothers after Jacob dies, etc). He was emotional and sensitive, no doubt through all the experiences he had been though in life. It is very beautiful to me.

* Joseph's brothers intended to harm him, but God intended it for good. He was able to accomplish many good things through something that had been meant for evil. How true is that in life! Romans 8:28 comes to mind.

Anyway, these are just my random ramblings. I have so many more, but these are the biggies. Feel free to add any commentary of your own or call me out if I've misunderstood something. And seriously, when you get the chance, I totally recommend going back and reading Genesis. It's been so cool to see how God can use fallible, sinful humans and do amazing things through them. It gives hope to the rest of us!!

man + monkey = Sarah's new favorite video

pixs from the amusement park

fun but busy week

Last week was fun and crazy at the same time. My sister Liz came into town and stayed with me from Monday-Saturday. And with her came between 1-12 friends, depending on the day. Woohoo! Good times. During the week we had 4th of July at our house with fireworks, went surfing, ate breakfast at our favorite spots, went hiking in the redwoods, played beach volleyball, and all sorts of other fun stuff. And then yesterday I spent the whole day with 15 college students at a nearby amusement park. Can we all agree that roller coasters are amazing? Good. I'll post pictures from that in a couple days. Tomorrow morning I head out for a 2 day retreat with my staff. Hope you all are doing well and enjoying your summer.

It's gonna be a bright sunshiny day

I have lived in this area for 7 years. And I have NEVER experienced summer weather as perfect as this. Usually, we have a bit of "June gloom" where it's cloudy and foggy most of the day. And then in July and August it is foggy until about noon or 1. But for the past month, I wake up every morning and the sun is already out and shining! No clouds, lots of cool breezes, perfect temperature. I LOVE it! It is making me enjoy this summer even more.

We had church on the beach this past Sunday. I have never done that before. It was amazing! We were singing and praying with the sound of the waves in the background and the sun shining over us. Everyone sitting on beach blankets, kids running everywhere, acoustic worship. Afterwards people went in the water, played beach volleyball or ultimate frisbee, and ate lunch. I wish we could have church on the beach every Sunday in the summer!

I'm sure I sound like such a grandma, talking about the weather. But I can't help it. It's lovely. In fact, enough time on the computer! Bah! I'm going outside...

Less Known...But Not Less Important

Two weeks ago we kicked off the college group for the summer. This week we kicked off our summer teaching series: "Less Known...But Not Less Important". We have 4 teaching nights planned. We are going to highlight two men and two women from the Bible who no one has really heard of, but who still play an important role in the history of our faith. (For example, last night I taught on Jehosheba. She ROCKS! Read about her story in 2 Kings 11 when you get a chance)

To introduce the series, we made a video. You are going to get to watch it in about two minutes. But let me set it up for you: The main characters are Big Rob (the match-maker/"Hitch"-type character), David (who is obsessed over Kim), and Kim (his crush). They are all college students in the group. We call Rob "Big Rob" because he is 19 but 6'9". He's so great. I'm in it, too, but very briefly. Kim and I are at a meeting at Starbucks.

Anyway, copy and paste the link below and enjoy this lovely video. A few warnings:

1) It's long (10 minutes)
2) It's very...um, non-professional. There are times when it's pretty slow. But oh well. We're just having fun, right? The whole idea behind the video was to show Rob as being less known in the David/Kim scenario, but just as important! (you'll see why)

Fun Fact: David and Kim are dating in real life! Woohoo! Love connection!!

Grown-ups can like Harry Potter, too

Sarah's Harry Potter timeline this summer:

July 11 - see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix in theaters

July 21 - pick up copy of the seventh and final Harry Potter book (HP and the Deathly Hallows)

July 21-22 - read and finish book

July 23 - realize that there are no more Harry Potter books coming and weep bitterly

I didn't write this, but thought it was funny

This letter is for the 30 and under crowd,

When I was a kid, adults used to bore me to tears with their tedious diatribes about how hard things were when they were growing up; what with walking twenty-five miles to school every morning...uphill BOTH ways...yadda, yadda, yadda.

And I remember promising myself that when I grew up, there was no way I was going to lay a bunch of crap like that on kids about how hard I had it and how easy they've got it! But now that... I'm over the ripe old age of thirty, I can't help but look around and notice the youth of today.

You've got it so easy! I mean, compared to my childhood, you live in a Utopia! And I hate to say it but you kids today you don't know how good you've got it! I mean, when I was a kid we didn't have The Internet. If we wanted to know something, we had to go to the library and look it up ourselves...in the card catalog!!

There was no email! We had to actually write somebody a letter...with a pen! Then you had to walk all the way across the street and put it in the mailbox and it would take like a week to get there! There were no MP3's or Napsters! You wanted to steal music, you had to hitchhike to the record store and shoplift it yourself! Or you had to wait around all day to tape it off the radio and the DJ'd usually talk over the beginning and mess it all up!

We didn't have fancy Call Waiting! If you were on the phone and somebody else called they got a busy signal, that's it. And we didn't have fancy Caller ID Boxes either! When the phone rang, you had no idea who it was. It could be your school, your mom, your boss, your bookie, a collections agent, you just didn't know!!! You had to pick it up and take your chances.

We didn't have any fancy Sony Playstation video games with high-resolution 3-D graphics. We had the Atari 2600! With games like "Space Invaders" and "asteroids" and the graphics sucked! Your guy was a little square! You actually had to use your imagination! And there were no multiple levels or screens, it was just one screen forever! And you could never win. The game just kept getting harder and harder and faster and faster until you died! Just like LIFE!

When you went to the movie theater there no such thing as stadium seating! All the seats were the same height! If a tall guy or some old broad with a hat sat in front of you and you couldn't see, you were just screwed.

Sure, we had cable television, but back then that was only like 15 channels and there was no onscreen menu and no remote control! You had to use a little book called a TV Guide to find out what was on. You were screwed when it came to channel surfing. You had to get off the couch and walk over to the TV to change the channel. There was no Cartoon Network either! You could only get cartoons on Saturday Morning. Do you hear what I'm saying!?! We had to wait ALL WEEK for cartoons!

And we didn't have microwaves, if we wanted to heat something up. We had to use the stove or go build a friggin' fire...imagine that! If we wanted popcorn, we had to use that stupid Jiffy Pop thing and shake it over the stove forever like an idiot.

That's exactly what I'm talking about! You kids today have got it too easy. You're spoiled.

You guys wouldn't have lasted five minutes back in 1980.

Regards,
The over 30 Crowd

Summer Kick-Off!!

The past few weeks my summer intern, John, and I have been getting things ready for our summer program. Errands, cleaning the house/garage where we meet, planning/brainstorming summer events and our teaching series, and other stuff like that. And then finally...it was time. Summer Kick-Off!!
We had decided to have a BBQ, because I think we all know that college students love food. I remember getting things prepped and thinking in my head about who might show up. The more I thought about it, the more I realized a ton of our "regulars" were going to be gone this summer (mostly working at camps in the area).

Me: "Hey John, I'm thinking we're going to have a small crew this summer."
John: "Oh really?"
Me: "Yeah. A lot of students are on vacation or working at camps. So we'll probably have 10-15 students tonight."
John: "Oh that's cool. Those will be the ones God wants us to minister to. And plus it gives us room to grow."

Side note: this is a perfect example of why my intern ROCKS.

So we finished getting everything set up and we spent some time in prayer. By the time seven o'clock rolled around, we were both giddy with excitement. Me because I have missed my students like crazy and John because he gets to finally meet them and start the summer!

You guys...we had 50 college students come that night!! WHAT!?!?!?

Seriously, John and I were floored. We could not believe it. We were expecting a small group and they just kept showing up. I got to meet a lot of new peeps who were coming to check out the group. The electricity in the group was overwhelming. My heart was overflowing! Wow God! Wow.

John and I met yesterday to talk about the night. And even though we were both still in shock and awe, we were praising God like crazy. It wasn't anything WE had done, no way. That was totally God. These are the students He wants us to love and challenge this summer, and we are so stoked on that.

The Chronic - WHAT - cles of Narnia!

I have been re-reading The Chronicles of Narnia the past few weeks and I'm lovin' it. I say "re-reading" because I have not sat down and read all 7 books all the way through since I was a kid. I have forgotten pretty much everything, except for the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, thanks to the recent movie. I just finished Book 5 (The Horse and his Boy) last night and started Book 6 (The Magician's Newphew).

I went online today and found out they are filming Prince Caspian right now. It is due in theaters May 2008. It will have all 4 returning Pevensie kids and they just cast who will be Caspian: Ben Barnes. Hmmm, never heard of him. Hope it's good. Cheers and Cheerio! (that's me trying to be British)

An oldie but a goodie: http://www.nbc.com/Saturday_Night_Live/video/#mea=2921

Pomp and Circumstance

Well, it is finished. The last of the 4 sisters has graduated from college. Yes, my youngest sister Emily has joined the ranks of Bachelor of Arts. I drove down to San Luis Obispo on Thursday night and spent Friday with her: running errands, buying food, cleaning her house, a little mani/pedi action (yeah!).

And then Saturday was the Big Day. The whole fam, including relatives, got up early and drove to Cal Poly to get good bleacher seats. There was the usual beach ball throwing, bubbles, happy screaming and cheering, families yelling out names to show their graduate where they're sitting, flowers, decorated graduation caps, speeches, pictures, and video.

First pix is the sisters. Then, we have a fam pix. Back row is bro-in-law David and Daddio. Front row is sister Amy, me, Emily (the grad!), Liz, and Mamacita.




Then, we had a party for her back at her house (she lives on a ranch) with family and friends.
One of my favorite things about the party was we had tons of balloons but no string or ribbon to tie them. So we ended up using the only thing we could find...dental floss. Oh yeah!! Amy and I kept joking that after we finished eating, we could grab a "balloon string" and get the food that was stuck in our teeth.

Top 40 children's books that didn't make it

1. You Are Different and That's Bad
2. The Boy Who Died From Eating All His Vegetables
3. Dad's New Wife Robert
4. Fun Four-letter Words to Know and Share
5. Hammers, Screwdrivers and Scissors: An I-Can-Do-It Book
6. The Kids' Guide to Hitchhiking
7. Kathy Was So Bad Her Mom Stopped Loving Her
8. Curious George and the High-Voltage Fence
9. All Cats Go To Hell
10. The Little Sissy Who Snitched
11. Some Kittens Can Fly
12. That's It, I'm Putting You Up For Adoption
13. Grandpa Gets a Casket
14. The Magic World Inside The Abandoned Refrigerator
15. Garfield Gets Feline Leukemia
16. The Pop-Up Book of Human Anatomy
17. How to Become the Dominant Military Power in Your Elementary School
18. Whining, Kicking and Crying to Get Your Way
19. You Were An Accident
20. Things Rich Kids Have, But you Never Will
21. Pop! Goes the Hamster... And Other Great Microwave Games
22. The Man in the Moon Is Actually Satan
23. Your Nightmares Are Real
24. Where Would You Like to Be Buried?
25. Eggs, Toilet Paper, and Your School
26. Why Can't Mr. Fork and Ms. Electrical Outlet Be Friends?
27. Places Where Mommy and Daddy Hide Neat Things
28. Daddy Drinks Because You Cry
29. Strangers Have the Best Candy
30. Getting More Chocolate on Your Face
31. The Attention Deficit Disorder Association's Book of Wild Animals of North Amer. . . Hey! Let's Go Ride Our Bikes!
32. Testing Homemade Parachutes Using Only Your Household Pets
33. The Hardy Boys, the Barbie Twins, and the Vice Squad
34. Babar Meets the Taxidermist
35. Where the F**k is Waldo?
36. Start a Real-Estate Empire with the Change from Your Mom's Purse
37. The Care Bears Maul Some Campers and Are Shot Dead
38. Controlling the Playground: Respect through Fear
39. When Mommy and Daddy Don't Know the Answer, They Say God Did It
40. What Is That Dog Doing to That Other Dog?

5 things this week

1) Last week my car was in the shop getting fixed (from my accident a few weeks ago). They had told me they would need about 4 days and it would be approx. $1300. Well, they kept finding stuff wrong with it, so it ended up being 8 days and $2400. I paid my five hundred deductible and brought Johnny home. Needless to say, I keep a good distance between myself and the cars in front of me....and my car insurance has gone up. Oh well, such is life.

2) So I've been taking a jazz class this semester which I have loved. Our "dance recital" is tomorrow. I don't know if you have ever been to a dance recital before but it can be torture. Imagine 2 hours of girls up on stage in their tutus or tap shoes (depending on what class they took) dancing to bad music and forgetting their moves. My roomates wanted to come and see me but I told them not to. First, because of the above reason. And second, they are charging $10! HUH?? They should be PAYING people to come. I mean, maybe I'm being too harsh. Parents love to come watch their kids dance for 2 minutes on stage and take pictures and video. But I'm afraid if my roomates come, they'll have to sit through the 2 hours of that before my group goes on. So I told them to save their money and I'll do my dance for them at home. And even though I am bashing dance recitals, I AM really excited. It is a thrill to dance, no matter where I am.

3) I think I have "Threequel-itis": Spiderman 3, Shrek 3, Pirates 3. Crap, crap, and crap. Come on, Ocean's 13...don't let me down.


4) At work, our summer interns are here! My intern is John from West Virginia and he is awesome! Yesterday we went out to lunch to talk about the college group this summer and then we went boogieboarding. SO FUN! The sun was out, the waves were perfect...and then to make things even better - an otter swam right by us!! I had made a joke to John how I wanted to see a dolphin or an otter come up to us, but I wasn't serious. 30 minutes later, we're out bobbing on the waves, waiting to catch one in...and this otter pops out of the water 5 feet away from us!!! We were so stoked/shocked! I have never seen an otter so close to shore or so close to ME! He was so cute! He was swimming in and out of the water, flipping, turning, chillin'. Complete and total highlight of my week.

5) I found my new favorite video. It's entitled "Mother's Day".

My Phun

I'm home and I had a great time down south. I did everything on my fake To-Do list (see previous blog) which included lots of sleeping and resting. One of my highlights was about halfway through the week. I went jogging every day which was great (how come I don't have that same motivation at home?) and one morning I decided to bring my camera with me. So, I went on a "Photo-Run" which I now affectionately call a "Phun". And boy was it phun! Here are some sights I encountered around their town.

First, I ran by a middle school and a bunch of kids were walking out to P.E. I had to smile because a) man, I sure don't miss wearing gym clothes and b) you guys are still in school, suckahs!! I'm on vacation!


Second, this picture goes to show that no matter where you live...you will always see shoes on a wire.


The rest of the pixs all have to do with dogs. This next picture was so phun. There were 2 dogs in a park. Their owner let them run around while he chatted on his cell phone. The dogs would hide behind a tree and watch birds fly down to the grass in groups. Then, they’d burst out from behind the tree, barking like mad and chasing after the birds. I loved watching them! They made me laugh. Those dumb birds kept coming down to the grass again, forgetting that 2 seconds earlier huge dogs tried to maul them to death.


Best lawn ornament ever. EVER. I want one. Sort of.


These last two are great. I passed a house on a corner and heard barking. Actually, can I call it barking? It was more like loud "yipping". Anyway, I turned around and saw the tiniest Chihuahua growling and yipping at me through a gate. "Whatever, I'm not even near your house, buddy." Just to taunt it, I started walking toward him. He FREAKED. He started jumping all over the place (in the right picture you can see him getting some sweet air).

Don't let the picture fool you. He was so small, you could hold him in your hand. I just got closer and closer to tick him off (is that wrong?). He continued to go nuts. What is WITH these chihuahua dogs that makes them think they are german shepherds or something?! Dude, I know you're all protective and keeping your house safe...but seriously? A baby could sit on you and life would be over. So chill.

I had such an enjoyable "phun". Just observing everyday life and appreciating it instead of running by without thought or care. I think you all should try it once and see what life throws your way.

Leaving on a jet plane

Yeah for me. Vacation again. Some of you may be thinking, "Wait...didn't she just go on vacation?" Yep, I went to Disney World in March and it was amazing. But I try to plan vacations every 2-3 months to keep me sane. And it seems to be working so far. I leave here stressed and overwhelmed and I return rested and ready for what's next. Even if it's just for a few days...it sure helps. Everyone should do it. Jobs should require it. I think we'd all be more productive.

Anyway, I'm going to visit my best friend Elissa and her hubby Mike down in So. Cal. E and I plan trips to see each other a few times a year, whether they come up here or I go down there. It's always good times. Here is what I plan on doing this week: sleeping, reading, jogging, sleeping, eating, catching some summer flicks, napping, journaling, soaking up some sun (it's been cloudy here and I miss the sun), sleeping, shopping, having good, deep talks with E, and did I mention the all-important task of sleeping? I love vacation!

And if I think about work at ALL, I am going to punch myself in the face.

Ha ha.

amazing picture

Let's look at this picture together and reflect on how awesome college students are...even when they don't mean to be.

We celebrated the end of the school year with a party night. We had games, slideshows, videos, a pinata, and a dance party (complete with lights, balloons, and a disco ball). I took this picture during the dance party and caught these 3 students totally unaware. Let's focus on each of them:

First of all, check out Libby's face. I think she was just walking through and didn't realize I was taking a picture. Shock and puzzlement times 10. Classic.

Second, look at "Elmo the Pinata" eating Ricky's arm. It's already halfway gone. Love it.

And last, please note Brian. He was headbanging. The picture caught his hair at the perfect time. Another student saw this picture and said he looked like one of the Yu-Gi-Oh characters which gave me a full 2 minutes of belly laughter. It's so true!

College students...god bless 'em.

Genesis

I am reading Genesis. And not just reading it. I really want to wrestle with it. Go back to the beginning and write down questions or comments I have. Talk with people about it. Work through some doubts. This personal study has nothing to do with the basics or foundations of my faith...I just want to do it. So without further ado, here are some questions/observations I've had so far (i'm up to chapter 9):

* When I pictured the beginning, I pictured darkness and nothingness. In Genesis 1:2 it says "and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters". So...I guess water has always been here?

* It looks like humans and animals were all vegeterians before Noah. Gen. 1:29 God gives plants and trees for food. After Noah and his fam exit the ark in Gen. 9:3, God gives them plants, trees, and animals to eat and we all got to become omnivores. Thank goodness because I really enjoy a good steak. That sounds weird to say in this context, but movin' on...

* Did ALL animals talk before the Fall? If not, wouldn't Eve have freaked out and said, "Holy crap! A talking snake!"

* Did she know the serpent was Satan? Did she even know there was a Satan?

* There's always been tons of speculation about where Adam was during the temptation. Had he just mosied in and took a bite of fruit his wife gave him? Or was he mutely there the whole time, watching everything and not speaking up?

* I think it is interesting that Even sinned first (and God knew that) and yet it is Adam he calls after in the garden and asks an explanation from.

* People lived forever in the OT! Well, I'm exaggerating, of course, but still! Chapter 5 is all about the descendents of Adam. Methuselah (fun name) looks to be the oldest man ever, clocking in at a ripe 969 years of age. Good lord. He also happened to be Noah's grandpappy.

* Speaking of Noah, he was 500 when his 3 sons were born. Ack! No piggy-back rides for those boys!

* Onto Noah and the flood. Here's something I LOVE: I learned that the Hebrew word for "ark" is the same word used to describe the basket Moses was put into as a baby. AND there had never been a "flood" before, so no one knew what that word meant. So basically God was saying, "Noah - I want you to build a 45 foot tall basket because I am going to make it sxhgeqtm." Poor Noah probably had no idea what God was talking about. BUT he still trusted God even if he didn't understand. Which is always a good lesson for me to remember.

* Personal comment: I think it is funny that Noah's ark is taught all cutesy and colorful. Parents have "Noah's Ark" themed rooms for their babies. Sunday School shows us pictures of Noah and the animals smiling as they walk into the ark two-by-two. What a great story! Right? Um, that's because no one ever focuses on the fact that millions of people died horrible, painful deaths. I'm not gonna dwell on this, because it's super sad to think about. I just wanted to make a comment on the irony of Noah's Ark being seen in such a cute, fun light when the more I think about it...it really isn't.

* I added up all the days and months the Bible said it rained, flooded, the ark chilled on the water, etc. It came out to about 6 months. 6 months! It wasn't just 40 days and nights like we sang about as kids. Noah, his wife, 3 sons, and their wives had to live in that big, smelly, floating, wooden "basket" for 6 months with all those loud animals. And then it looks like it took another 6 months for the water to recede and they got to feel dry land again. One whole year total. Dang. I wonder if Noah ever felt God had forgotten about him during that time?

* Personal question - why the heck did Noah have to bring mosquitos on the ark? All they do is suck blood, make us itch, and spread the West Nile virus. I think we'd be ok without them.

Well, that's what I've gotten so far. Feel like sharing your thoughts on these questions? Or add some of your own?

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

In honor of Pirates 3 opening tomorrow, here are some fun pictures one of our students took last weekend at the Disneyland premiere. Ohhhh Johnny and Orlando...

Nerf Assassins

Have you ever played Nerf Assassins? I remember playing in college. Basically, anyone who wants to play goes out and buys a Nerf gun. When the game starts you are given a name. Your job is to hunt that person down and shoot them with one of your darts. If you are successful, the person you shot is now "dead" (out of the game) and they have to give you the name of the person they were going to hunt. You then go after that new name. And you keep playing until there is only one person left.

We thought this would be a fun activity for the college group to do. So we got 25 students to sign up and the game began! Paranoia ensued. People would walk to school, work, home, college group with their Nerf guns held tightly in their hands and looking around as if any minute someone would pop out behind a car and get them. It was hilarious. The first day after the game started I picked up a student and we were driving to the church to meet everyone for a bowling night. We pulled into the parking lot, talking. I parked and then reached down to grab my bag. When I lifted my head, I looked out my left window and screamed. This is what I saw:



The, I looked to my right to see if we could jump out that side of my car and make a run for it. And we saw this:



So we were stuck inside my car. Good times.

Pictures of life lately

I wanted to post some pictures of life recently. Pixs of Mexico, some of my students, the triathlon, etc. Enjoy.

Bumper cars in real life is not fun

I had my first car accident this week. Scary. Let me set the scene for you. I am driving to work. Beautiful morning. I am behind a red Mitsubishi. We come up to the street light right before the on-ramp to the freeway. Just as we approach, the light turns yellow. The guy in front of me makes every indication that he is going to go through it and onto the freeway...and so am I! Yeah!

However.

Then, he happens to look to his right and sees two police cars. He freaks and thinks he'll get pulled over if he runs the yellow light (even though everyone and their mom knows once your front tires make it over the line, you're fine. Right? Everyone knows that, right??). He had plenty of time to make the light and I had plenty of time to make the light. Heck, the car behind me could have made it too! Sorry, I'm ranting.

So.

He slams on his breaks. Not expecting this, I slam on mine and I proceed to have my first world-in-slow-motion experience. Have you ever had one? It's very strange. It was like in that .5 second amount of time, everything slowed down and I knew I was going to hit him and there was nothing I could do about it. My tires squeal, I skid, and them *BAM* I hit him forward just like in bumper cars. But this was real.

And this all happened in front of the cops.

Sweet.

So the cops come over to us and bring us into a nearby parking lot. The guy gets out of his car and we introduce ourselves with me constantly apologizing. Once the officers make sure we are ok, we start exchanging information and they take off. The guy's name was Matt and he was so cool. I think if he had been some raving lunatic shouting obscenities at me, I would have been crying. But Matt and I were both friendly and still in shock of what had just happened. Good combination.

Here's the good news: it could have been a lot worse. His car only has some scratches on the rear bumper and he said it's so old and has so many dents/scratches already he is just going to get a new car. So I don't have to pay for any of that damage. My front bumper has dents, scratches, a bent license plate, my hood is a little unaligned, and there's some red paint from Matt's car. BUT it could have been a lot worse. My car could have been totaled. My hood could be all scrunched up like an accordian. Our air bags could have gone off (it's a couple thou to stick those bad boys back in the steering wheel) or we could have had other people in the vehicles with us.

So now I've had my first car accident. I hope I never have another. They are scary. The bad news from all of this is I have whiplash. My neck and upper back hurt soooo much. I want to make an appointment to see someone, but I have to wait till Monday to see if I'm covered through my insurance.

What life lesson should I take away from this experience? Anticipate people breaking at yellow lights? Don't drive so close to cars in front of me? Only hit old cars to give their drivers excuses to buy new ones?

Wildflower Triathlon

I just got back from completing my fourth Wildflower Triathlon at Lake San Antonio! Woot. Here's is why I love Wildflower:

1) It keeps me motivated to work out during the year.

2) I get to train with my roomates and friends.

3) I love getting away for the weekend and camping at the lake. We always have a big group that gets together for this weekend and it's a fun time to catch up with friends.

4) Crossing that finish line is the BEST feeling.

Ok, so here is one of my highlights of this year's tri: I saw the Bachelor! Hopefully you don't watch The Bachelor on ABC because it's super cheesy. But if you do, you'll know who I'm talking about. Ok, so on the show, Andy Baldwin (aka: The Bachelor "An Officer and a Gentleman") was talking with one of the girls and she said, "I know you're a triathlete and I'm training for my first one." He said, "Oh really? Which one?" She said Wildflower and he said, "I'll be there too. I'll see you there." So all my roomates and I knew he was going to be there and we were going to try and find him. (We've bumped into Survivor contestents at Wildflower before so it seems to attract reality TV stars or something)

Anyway, all weekend I had my eye out for Andy. No dice. Oh well, there is a million people here, I thought. I doubt I'll see him. So on Saturday morning I had my race. The swim was great...I felt better about it than I did last year. My bike was challenging, but still felt good. When it came to the run, I started feeling really low on energy and dehydrated. I was heading back to the finish line and I was looking down, breathing. I looked up for a second and all of a sudden, The Bachelor ran right by me! I fully stopped running and did the whole turn-around-with-gaping-mouth. (The chick behind me almost ran into me) But it was him. We shared air.

It seems so silly to get so excited about that. But I guess it's always weird to see someone in person when you've seen them on TV. He's a bit shorter than I thought (he looks taller on TV) but super cute. So then when I saw everyone afterwards, I kept saying, "I saw the Bachelor!" Some random ladies overheard me telling my friends and they said, "Ooooo, you're so lucky!!" and they were genuine about it. They must be fans of the show. It was so funny.

Another great year at Wildflower. I'll post some pictures in about a week. It takes me forever to download pixs to my computer. Peace out.

oh man, I love this video

My favorite group is no longer together

Concert tickets: 40 dollars
Parking and gas: 25 dollars
Snacks and drinks inside: 10 dollars
T-shirt: 25 dollars
Seeing Nickelcreek in their "Farwell Tour"...priceless.

Update on our psycho neighbor

This was on our CBS station news. Dang. Here's the article online:


MAN SUSPECTED OF STABBING HIS BROTHER SURRENDERS
04/28/07 3:35 PDT

A man suspected of stabbing his brother at their home in on Thursday turned himself in to the County Sheriff's Office on Friday, police reported.

Police received a phone call from the two brothers' neighbor at about 12 a.m. on Thursday reporting that one of her neighbors was being stabbed with a knife, police reported.

Responding officers determined that 25-year-old Daniel Campbell allegedly stabbed his brother in the abdomen while the two brothers were in the backyard of their home.

After the stabbing, the neighbor took the victim to the hospital while Campbell reportedly fled the area on a bicycle.

Police issued a warrant for Campbell's arrest and sent out a press release warning people that he should be considered "armed and dangerous."

Campbell turned himself in to the County Sheriff's Office shortly after noon on Friday, police reported. He was transported to the County Jail and booked on suspicion of attempted murder.

Sirens in the night

Wow. Who knew that my tiny little town could be a hotbed of criminal activity??

To begin this story, I better go back a bit. We have some interesting next door neighbors. And by "interesting", I mean "psycho". Well, one of them is anyway. They are two twin brothers - Jon and Dan. Both probably 25. They've lived in their house for 6 years. Their parents died and that is what was left for them. They've had roomates come and go and we talk with them whenever we see them and have had them over a few times.

But in the past year, things have gotten bad.

It all started when they decided to have a HUGE bonfire in their backyard. It was in the summer when everything was dead and dry and if a tree caught on fire, we'd all be toast. (We have a mini-forest in our backyard) So after asking them to tone down the fire and them drunkingly not repsonding, we called the fire department. After the fire dept. came and asked them to put it out, they came out to the street, flipped off the world, and screamed, "SCREW YOU, NEIGHBORS!" not knowing which neighbor made the call.

Then, came the night drag races. They love dirt biking. I usually don't mind it. Unless it is on a quiet Saturday or Sunday or in the middle of the night. Which has happened. They have made a mini-course in their backyard which came into our backyard which made our landlord pretty angry. Sometimes they'll just ride up and down our street and the noise is deafening. These things are not a big deal, we're all pretty nice and flexible with each other. But then things got worse.

About 8 months ago or so, we would wake up at 2 or 4 or any other ungodly hour of the morning to the sound of screaming. Terrifying, loud, piercing screaming. And then that was usually followed with swear words, threats, and more screaming. When you wake up in the dead of night to that, it is so scary! And there's the fact that our driveway echoes like crazy and it sounds like that is all happening right by our window. Ack!

Basically, one of our neighbors, Dan, has not been doing well. According to his brother Jon, he has scared away all of their roomates (they've probably had 5 roomates come and go in the last year). He gets drunk, violent, angry, you name it. He has punched people and ripped out the fence between their house and the other neighbor's house when they got in a fight. Anyway, it was happening a lot. We totally called the cops a couple times because all the screaming made us worried that someone was hurt. Even when we weren't calling the cops, cops just always seemed to be over there. Finally two weeks ago, we saw the house was up for sale. Whew. Enough of this drama. In talking to Jon two days ago, he said he and his brother were kind of going through a "divorce", it wasn't going well, and Dan needed help. Jon didn't know what to do.

That brings us to Wednesday night. I always get home late on Wednesdays because of college group. I was getting ready for bed around midnight and all of a sudden I heard the screaming again. "Not again," I thought. But then it got worse. I heard a guy yelling, "HELP ME! SOMEBODY HELP ME!" I freaked and ran to my window. Outside I saw a white truck take off down the street. Someone else got on a bike and took off. What the heck is going on?!?!

Then, I heard sirens in the night. At least 5 or 6 cop cars came to the house and there were officers everywhere. They came into our driveway and started searching around their house and in our backyards with flashlights. I realized they were probably looking for the brothers because something happened. So I decided to go out and tell them I saw them both leave. I threw on a sweatshirt and shoes and ran out the door, where I bumped into a roomie who was also going outside to see what was happening. I saw a policeman so I started to say, "Excuse me, sir..."

"GET BACK IN YOUR HOUSE!"
"Um...but...
"GET BACK IN YOUR HOUSE NOW!"

We fled. A couple other roomates were up now and we all were looking out the window. A couple minutes later an officer came up to our window and told us to stay in our house. Something had happened and they thought Dan was armed with a rifle. We of course got all scared. He really has gone psycho.

The 8 or 9 officers plus dogs surrounded the house and yelled for them to come out with their hands up or they were going to let the dog in, who would bite them if he found them, etc. I felt like I was watching an episode of Law & Order/CSI in my front yard. They searched the house and found no one. I did hear them say they found some marijuana growing. Lovely.

I stayed up till 2:30 am listening and watching, too scared to go to sleep. We were all so tired on Thursday. I called the police department after work to get an update. The guy I talked to gave me the scoop: Dan and Jon got in a fight, Dan STABBED his brother in the stomach (what the crap?! Who DOES that?!) and then took off. They had not found him yet. They were afraid he had taken his rifle with him. There was a warrant out for his arrest. And Jon was still in the hospital. If we were ever to see Dan sneaking back into his house, we were to immediately call 9-1-1.

The officers came back last night at midnight and did the whole house-search with the dogs and everything. Dan hasn't been back. This is probably the most action this city has seen in 5 years. And all of this happening right next door to us.

Needless to say, we lock our doors at night now.

What Not To Wear

My roomates have started something: What Not To Wear (Gordon House Edition!)

If any of you have watched the show on TLC, Clinton and Stacy go to hopeless fashion victims and pledge to educate them on "What Not To Wear". They go through the person's wardrobe and make snarky comments while the victim watches helplessly off to the side. For example: Clinton says, "Oh no you DI-DN'T buy this wrap! This looks like a picnic blanket!" He and Stacy will then pretend to sit on it and have a picnic. Quickly after, they'll stand up and toss it into the big garbage can while the woman tears up a little bit because her husband gave that to her on their 20th wedding anniversary or whatever. Pure drama.

Anyway, in the name of "spring cleaning" and "fun", my roomates started our own version of "What Not To Wear". One of us brings ALL our clothes into the living room. The rest who are the Stacys and Clintons get ready: pj's, food, drinks, exercise balls, magazines...whatever we're going to do between changes. And then it begins...

The other night it was roomate # 3's turn. During the night as she tried things on, here were some comments I made/heard (in between lots of laughter):

"It makes you look too box-y."
"You are only allowed 10 cotton T-shirts."
"That makes you look like 'Fonz' from Happy Days"
"What IS that?! Outdoorsy pants? Oh ok, you can keep that."
"I don't like the bottom. I like from the waist up, but not the bottom."
"Do you have any other colored shirts besides maroon, brown, or turquoise?"
"Yes, you can have two pairs of pj bottoms."
"You don't need more than 2 long sleeved white shirts."
"Next time you go shopping, buy tops with patterns on them."
"Oh, yeah. Those are definitely 'work' pants. Keep 'em."
"What?! Are you a lumberjack?! Toss it!"

I am looking back at these comments in wonder. Who ARE we?! Wow, we can be pretty harsh in the name of fashion. The 2 previous roomates who already had their turn seemed to be extra vocal with their comments...they already had to endure comments about their clothes and were ready to dish it out to others.

Ok, so here's my confession. I am scared for my turn. I really want to do it, because I need to clean out my closet and I am interested in what my roomates' opinions are on my clothes. But secretly I am terrified. Everyone has those articles of clothing that have sentimental value and we want to keep them forever even though they are completely ridiculous or out of style. I can just picture myself trying on a shirt and being like (whining voice) "Come on, guys! I know I never wear it! But what if one day I wake up and think, 'I really want to wear my Rainbow Brite shirt!' "

Yikes. I have a feeling I am going to be donating a lot of clothes to Goodwill. And my pitiful excuses will not hold up to the roomates' scrutiny. And I am also going to probably feel like a complete and total fashion victim. Maybe I should give Stacy and Clinton a call.

Spiderman 4 without Kirsten??

I read something today that made me laugh. Since Spiderman 3 is coming out in a couple weeks, there is already speculation about whether this will be the last one or if there will be a Spiderman 4.

The director (Sam Raimi) might possibly be working on "The Hobbit" next. And recently, Kirsten Dunst said if Sam weren't going to direct the next Spidey...well she wasn't on board either. And I quote:

"Audiences aren't stupid. It'd be a big flop without me, Tobey, or Sam. That would really not be the smartest move. But they know that already. [Sony chief] Amy Pascal would never do that."

Here is my response:

Dear Kirsten,

Look. I'm sure you're a nice person and all. I'm a big fan of the cheerleading moves you and your team busted out in "Bring It On". But I'm sorry to have to say this - you're one of my least favorite actresses. I wouldn't be all that sad if they replaced ya in Spiderman 4 with another actress who can...um...act.

Kindest regards, Sarah

What would you have said to him?

I had a conversation with a college student - I'll call him Kevin - the other night. He told me he grew up Catholic but fell away from "religion" in high school. He said he turned his back on God. He instead became fascinated with science. He could prove (or disprove) anything with science. That made him pumped to find Christians to argue with. He said he also got into history.

So while we're talking, he said, "Sarah...I only came to the college group because of Michelle. And during the whole time we were dating, she would tell me about the Bible and Jesus but I never really wanted to understand. Now that we're broken up...I still want to come to church. I want to learn more. This is really hard for me, though. I love science so much. I've always used it against Christianity. And now I'm looking into Christianity and it's weirding me out a little. And I also love history, and let's be honest: Christians don't have the greatest history. When I think of them forcing their religion on the Natives when they first got here and spreading their disease and death...and then when I think about the Crusades and other times in history like that...why would I WANT to be a part of that?"

And then Kevin paused.

"And even if I did...why the hell would God want me?"

not again

I remember where I was when the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake hit. I remember what I felt when I saw on the news the sadness of Columbine in 1999. I remember the shock that registered through me when a friend told me the horror in the morning of 9/11. I remember standing in the living room and watching the Indonesia tsunami in Dec. '04 and then Hurricane Katrina in Aug.'05. These country (and world) events stay with me. I remember them vividly.

And now, sadly, I have a new one.

I came home from Mexico last night and was so tired, I couldn't even put words together to form coherent sentenes for my roomates. I went to bed and didn't wake up till noon today. I was still so incredibly tired. "Gosh, what an amazing week," I was thinking. "These high school and college students built 5 houses. We all bonded as a family. There were no major illnesses, accidents, car problems. Such an awesome experience!"

Because I had planned to not leave my bed all day, I grabbed my laptop and went to check my email. As I got on yahoo, my heart stopped. WHAT?! A school shooting? Virginia Tech? 33 people dead and more than 15 injured? How could this happen???

It felt so surreal. Here I was, recovering from an incredible mission trip and feeling so tired and weary...and the first day back, I am reading about the worst shooting rampage in our nation's history.

I was watching the news and they showed about 20 seconds of someone's cell phone video capturing the sounds of the gunfire inside a school building. I seriously felt like I was going to throw up. And then a half hour later, they played it again. STOP! I felt like back at 9/11 when the news kept replaying the scenes of the planes hitting the towers over and over again. I wanted to look away or turn the TV off, but I couldn't. I felt so sick to my stomach.

I am so sad.

I don't get our world.

Make a run for the border

Hi everyone. Tomorrow morning I head out to Tijuana, Mexico with 100 other people (high school students, college students, adult leaders, parents, etc). We are going to build 5 homes! I am really looking forward to what God has in store for us. We'll be back April 15th. Please pray for us while we are gone. Hasta la vista, mis amigos.

9 seconds of awesomeness

Wait...it's Easter?!

Ever since I've been back from vacation, we have been working non-stop on Mexico. 100 high school and college students plus a ton of adult leaders are leaving this Sunday for a week to build houses in Tijuana. So all of us here in the Student Ministries office are running around like chickens with their heads cut off. A co-worker and I just mentioned how we don't think we've ever made so many phone calls in our lives. There's all these last minute details that need to get ironed out before we leave.

And then as I was at my computer sending out my millionth email...I had a revelation. Wait a sec! It is EASTER this Sunday. I have not thought about it at all. At all. I'm bummed. I've gotten so wrapped up in Florida and Mexico, I haven't stopped to think about what this week means. And it means a lot to me. So I am going to make sure I spend some good reflection time before we leave. That's all. Just felt like sharing.

I dig vacation

In the immortal words of the Go Go's: "Vacation all I ever wanted. Vacation have to get away!" Well, it's what I wanted and boy did it feel good to get away.

I had kind of a rough start to my vacay thanks to a lame airline that was delayed and made me miss my connecting flight. Which airline, you ask? Oh, that's not important. (*cough* American *cough*)

But instead of focusing on the fact that I got up at 4 in the morning to make my flight in SF, then got there and found out it was delayed and no one else could get me to LA in time for my next flight and the lady helping me treated me like I was a big bother and then waiting around the airport for 6 hours (airport floors are NOT fun to sleep on) plus longer because THAT flight was delayed and then flying to Dallas and having to wait another 4 hours for my next flight to Orlando (which was also ran late) and then having to find my bus and arriving at my hotel at 1 in the morning....I will focus on better things. (I'm laughing on the inside...really)

Disney World! Ok, first off, the weather was amazing. Sunny, clouds, 70's and 80's, ahhh...it was wonderful. The first day, BFF Elissa and I went to the Magic Kingdom. We tore it up. Second day: Animal Kingdom and Disney-MGM Studios. We tore those up, too. Third day was Epcot. Woot. Last day we visited all the parks and caught everything we had missed the first time around. Highlights:

* First and foremost was spending time with Elissa and her hubby Mike. They live in So. Cal so it's always so fun when I get to see them.

* I have NEVER eaten so well in my life. We bought this meal plan where you pay $40 a day and you get a Take-Away type lunch (meal, drink, dessert) Snack (popcorn or ice cream, etc) and a fancy-schmancy sit down dinner. Now normally, when I go to places I get something pretty cheap on the menu, water to drink, and no appetizer or dessert. Ya know, the basics. Well, we went for it! We had Italian food one night, steak one night (our meal cost over 50 bones each...and we only paid 40 for the whole day. Ha!), Chinese one night, and Japanese where they cut, cook, and serve everything right in front of you. Woohoo! What a fun splurge.

* At the Animal Kingdom we saw a Finding Nemo musical. So cute!

* Speaking of animals, we saw them everywhere. Bunnies came out at night at our hotel, there were ducks, egrets and blue herons all over the parks, we saw a snake our last night, I caught a couple frogs by the water, it was so fun.

* We rode every type of transportation possible: cars, boats, trains, buses, monorail, trams, even go-carts at our hotel.

* Elissa has a small bladder, so we now know where every single bathrom is at all 4 parks...and which one we are closest to at any given time.

* Whoever invented the "Fast Pass" needs a raise, medal, or ceremony. We didn't have to wait in many lines.

* I loved getting into conversations with kids in lines or on the monorail. The first reason is because kids are super cute and excited to be there and the second reason is because kids say really funny things. Most of what they say ends up in my "Quote Board" book from the trip.

* There is a new fast ride called "Expedition Everest" and inside is a huge yeti. Rockin'.

* My last night I had to switch rooms (because a new family was coming to take my room) and at first I was a little bummed. But then when I got to my room, I realized it was an UPGRADE! Holy cow, I had a living room, kitchen, balcony overlooking a lake, two bathrooms (one with a jacuzzi tub!), and a bedroom with a massive king size bed just for little ol' me. I don't think I've ever slept so well. It was such a surprise. Heck, you guys can switch rooms on me anytime

And then to end the perfect vacay, I flew home and the next day saw Josh Groban in concert. He is AMAZING!!! I was in awe. As much as I love my job, I did NOT want to go back. I think I always feel like that after time away. I am so thankful for vacation! Can't wait for my next one... =)

Yes, I love Disney

It's vacation time again....yesssssss. I feel like I just HAD vacation, but then I realize it was three months ago at Christmas time. And then that makes me realize how fast this semester is flying by. And then THAT makes me realize that time is like sand in the hourglass...

But I digress.

Ok, so this vacation came out of nowhere. I got a call a month ago from my BFF (the one who works at Disneyland) and she asked what I was doing at the end of March. When I told her I thought I could get some time off, she informed me that we were going to Disney World. Yup, not DisneyLAND, but DisneyWORLD. Woot.

Here's the sitch: her hubby just got a new job at D-land but they are training him for 2 weeks at D-World. (I'm not sure why) She thought it would be fun if we went out for a week to play and her husband could join us at night and on the weekends. FUN! And since they both work for Disney, they got us a free hotel room and free entrance to all 4 parks. All I am paying for is food and my plane ticket.

Dude, they are hookin' a sister up! I wish I could hook them up with stuff, but um...I don't know if they count a Bible, microwave popcorn, or Nerf guns as a "hook up". Oh well.

So, tomorrow morning I get to wake up at 4 a.m. and fly across the country to the lovely state of Florida, where it is currently 75 degrees with some clouds. Perf.

Be back next week. Off to enjoy the Magic Kingdom again...

I'm almost 30

I went to a Mary Kay par-tay this afternoon that one of my students was putting on. If you've never been to one (so, basically all guys...) it's about 2 hours of learning about Mary Kay products (make-up, skin care, etc) and getting free make-overs and "Satin Hands" (where your hands come out as soft as a baby's you-know-what).

About halfway through, our "consultant" was telling us how important it was to take care of our skin, blah blah, blah, and then she said something super random:

"Ladies, you know how you can tell how old a tree is by counting its rings? We get rings, too. We get one ring around our neck every 10 years." My first thought was, "Whatever..." but nonetheless I turned my head to look in the mirror. ACK! She's right! I have two lines ("rings") on my neck and the makings of a third one! Seriously, go look in the mirror and check out your neck lines. You should have one for every ten years of life you've lived.

Yep, I'm almost 30. Freakin' Mary Kay.

Grandma Judy

I have talked to many of you about this, but for those of you who I haven't...I have some sad news. My grandmother passed away last week. She was my mom's mom and my last living grandparent. Her husband, my grandfather ("Pop-Pop") passed away last year around this same time. It was so weird to be at the memorial service at the same church we were at last year, celebrating our grandma's life...when I feel we had just done that for Pop-Pop.

My grandmother loved music. She had a piano, wrote songs, always led us in carols at Christmas time. When my mom was growing up, my grandma Judy would write musicals for her school or church. And she passed down her love of music to my mom who has in turn passed it down to my sisters and I. What a gift.

We wanted to honor that at her service. So my mom, 2 aunts, and uncle would get up and share about Grandma's life and then a group of family members would get up and sing a song about that period of time. It was like a musical in Grandma Judy's honor! My sisters and I sang two songs for Grandma - "Love in Any Language" and "How Beautiful". Here are the words for that one:

" How Beautiful the hands that served
The Wine and the Bread and the sons of the earth
How beautiful the feet that walked
The long dusty road and the hill to the cross
How Beautiful, how beautiful, how beautiful is the body of Christ

How Beautiful the heart that bled
That took all my sins and bore it instead
How beautiful the tender eyes
That choose to forgive and never despise
How beautiful, how beautiful, how beautiful is the body of Christ

And as He lay down His life
We offer this sacrifice
That we will live just as He died
Willing to pay the price
Willing to pay the price

How Beautiful the radiant bride
Who waits for her Groom with His light in her eyes
How Beautiful when humble hearts give
The fruit of pure love so that others may live
How beautiful, how beautiful, how beautiful is the body of Christ

How beautiful the feet that bring
The sound of good news and the love of the King
How Beautiful the hands that serve
The wine and the bread and the sons of the Earth
How Beautiful, how beautiful, how beautiful is the body of Christ "

I miss her so much. But it's also interesting that I am happy, too, in the midst of my sadness. It was the same way with Pop-Pop. I saw how much pain they were in...and I just longed for them to be with their Jesus and to be free of that suffering. And when I found out my grandma has passed, I imagined her being reunited with Pop-Pop again and it brought me so much joy.

She lived 87 long, full years. Surrounded by many friends and family who loved her. I am so thankful I knew her and got to have her in my life.

winning video

About a month ago, we had a "Make Your Own Video" night where the college students got to get in groups of 8 or so and make a 2-5 minute video. They had an hour and a half. We all came back and watched the videos and voted for our favorite. Would you like to see the winning video? It is entitled "Peanut Butter and Jadie". I hope you like it as much as I did.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kf1rjAuhdSc

Today

Today I processed film, went grocery shopping, got an oil change, and worked on my taxes. Gosh, I'm such an adult. I should go take out a loan and buy a house or something.

Spring!

Oh my word, the weather is BEAUTIFUL!

Yesterday I sat outside Starbucks with a student for a glorious TWO HOURS in the sun. We chatted, sipped ice blended goodness, and just enjoyed being outside with the sun shining down on us. Ahhhhh...

I feel like everyone is in such a better mood. There is more smiling and laughter and eating outside and walking and commenting to others about how nice it is.

Good for the soul.

Best. Musical. Ever.

I laughed many times. I gasped three times. I cried twice. And I even got goosebumps once. What a phenomenal show. If any of you get the chance to go to L.A. to see this musical...please do! It is worth every penny.

Off to L.A.

Peace out, everyone. Myself and some buds are heading down to traffic-y, smoggy, not-very-pretty L.A. to see the best musical ever!!!


"So if you care to find me, look to the western sky. As someone told me lately: 'Everyone deserves the chance to FLY!' And if I'm flying solo, at least I'm flying free. To those who'll ground me, take a message back from me:

Tell them how I am defying gravity!

And nobody in all of OZ, no wizard that there is or was, is ever gonna bring me down!!!"

- - Elphaba, the Wicked Witch