Mike and Elissa headed back home a couple days ago and now I'm back in the swing of things. It was SO fun having them here. We played non-stop. Here are my highlights:
* The Mystery Spot (a tourist trap where a house is built sideways and the tour guides say it is full of a mysterious "force" that can make balls roll upward and people lean at an angle, etc.)
* Beach Boardwalk for cheap nite! (every Monday and Tuesday, all rides are 75 cents...so are hot dogs, cotton candy, and soda)
* seeing The Dark Knight (Heath Ledger R.I.P.)
* having them come to college group Wed. night and meet my students
* taking the train into San Francisco, going to a basebell game (go Giants!), playing in the city, and going to Rainforest Cafe for dinner (and then almost dying in our taxi going back to the train station)
BFF Elissa and husband Mike are here in town for the week, so I probably won't be blogging much. But if you find yourself bored this week, why don't you check out the online dance battle going on between Miley Cyrus and her friend Mandy VERSUS the director of Step Up 2 and his friends. ("M&M Cru" vs. "AC/DC")
Last night we had an Outdoor Movie Night at the college group. We brought out all the couches from the house, set up a screen and sound system, had frisbees, footballs, hot drinks, popcorn, etc. It was good times. The students requested the movie "The Sandlot". If you have never seen it, please do, so that you can finally understand what the heck people mean when they say, "You're killing me, Smalls!"
So anyway, last night we had a discovery. I am going to share it with you all now, but let's keep it on the down-low, mmmkay? There is a part in the movie where the boys make s'mores, so we had intermission and made s'mores ourselves. One of our girls had the most amazing idea: "Have you ever had peanut butter on a s'more?" *silence* No, none of us had. We all looked at each other with wide eyes. Oh my goodness, that sounded amazing/sketchy and we all knew we were going to try it that very night!
WOW, you guys! Wow. Best freakin' thing I have ever eaten. It is pure goodness. Graham cracker, toasted marshmallow, chocolate bar, and PEANUT BUTTER all together? You MUST try this next time you make s'mores. Seriously. Right now. Go rent "The Sandlot" and buy s'more stuff at the grocery store and get ready for an amazing night.
The reason I ask you to keep it on the down-low is because we would like to copyright the idea. It's a "patent pending" situation. We'd like to receive 5 dollars every time someone makes one and then we'll all go to Disneyland for free. Tra-la-la-la-la! I'll let you know once we've figured stuff out and then we can start the revolution. (What would we call them??)
Anyway, to end this blog, I'd like to share a video of our students "ghost-riding". What is "ghost-riding"? The wikipedia definition is: "when a person puts their car in drive or allows it to idle and then the driver (and passengers) of a vehicle exit while it is still rolling and dance beside it or on the hood or roof." A song came out a couple years ago called "Ghost Ride It!" (with a similar tune to "Ghostbusters") and since then the fad has spread.
Last night we were getting everything set up for the movie, and Michael and Austin decided to ghost-ride Michael's smurf-blue truck on their way back to pick up more couches. Listen for my intern/associate Jeff's voice at the end of the video saying, "That was the shortest ghost ride EVER."
Does anyone else dislike wearing those bluetooth headsets when they drive? I feel like the biggest tool. Maybe I'll just do this to give people on the road a laugh:
I shared awhile ago that older sister Amy is prego. She just finished week 21, I believe. And we now know the baby's gender!
Amy and David FOR SURE thought it would be a boy. Which I then said would mean that God would give them a girl. I think my parents and other two sisters were split, half thinking boy, half thinking girl. We started some fun smack talk about what the wrong-guessers would have to give the correct-guessers once we found out the news.
So anyway, it is time to reveal whether Sarah will have a niece or a nephew!! This is exactly how I was told:
"Ok Sarah, are you ready? Drum roll, please.....(I "drummed" on the nearby table with my hands).......penis!"
If you are not into American Idol or under the age of 13, feel free to skip this blog and come back in a couple days. Because yes, I did indeed go to the American Idol concert. For one night, I was no longer an adult. I was a 12 year old tween with a crush on the winner.
First off, let me say that I am fully aware that I am opening myself up to ridicule from my friends and peers. I mean, seriously. Who by CHOICE, pays hard-earned money on a concert like that unless they are a 12 year old girl or their parents. I'm not above poking a little fun at myself either. I know that everyone I tell is probably thinking, "Um...last time I checked, Sarah was 30. But whatever..." So I share this blog with a smile and I know how silly I must sound.
BUT
The concert was actually a lot of fun. I originally was supposed to go with my sister Liz because we both were/are huge David Cook (the winner) fans. But the week before the concert Liz had to sadly bow out because of another obligation. So I invited my friend Amy. She was such a blast to go with! She had followed the season and was a Jason Castro fan.
Our seats were in booneyville. Really. We were in the top balcony, furthest row up. Our backs were literally touching the cement wall. The stage seemed so far away. But we had resigned ourselves to that fact and were just there to enjoy the performances and the music, even if the Idols did look like ants.
Before the concert started, a host guy came out with the sponsor of the concert: a huge frosted Pop-Tart mascot. I am not even kidding. There was a guy (or girl) inside a Pop-Tart costume. They came skipping out waving at everyone and running up and down the center aisles. The fact that Pop-Tarts were the official sponsor of the show again reminded me of the target demographic for the night. But I digress.
Chikezie was up first. He had great energy. I don't remember any of his songs, but oh well. I just like saying his name. Chikezie.
Ramiele was next. Probably my least favorite performer. She had just an ok voice and absolutely no stage presence.
Michael Johns was a big hit. All the ladies went crazy. He sang some Queen songs and had a great sense of humor.
Kristy Lee Cook. Meh. Didn't care too much for her. And she shook her booty a little too much for a family show.
Carly Smithson! LOVE her. She has this husky Amy-Lee-from-Evanescence voice and she opened her act with "Bring Me To Life" which was perfect. That chick can sing! She was so fun to watch and listen to.
Brooke White. I was actually impressed with Brooke. I didn't care for her too much on the show but at the concert, she did well. She played on the piano and jammed on her guitar. I really liked it when she sang Coldplay's "Yellow".
After that, it was intermission. And this is where it gets exciting. So there Amy and I are...up in the top balcony with the tumbleweed drifting by. And Amy saw three seats open near the stage. She quickly took a picture and then we left our seats. We walked down to that section, whipped out her camera to see where the seats were, and then TOTALLY WENT AND SAT THERE. Holy crap, you guys. We were so close to the stage. No ushers checked our tickets and none of the people around us said anything. And we just pretended like we belonged. WOOT!
So needless to say, the second half of the concert was amazing. Jason Castro came out and Amy took 1.2 billion pictures. He sang the Iz version of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow". He is super shy and soft spoken, but he did well. Yes, he still has the dreads.
Then, it was Syesha Mercado's turn. SHE BROUGHT IT. She was a highlight of the whole night. She has a strong set of pipes. She would belt out these notes and hold them forever and the crowd went crazy. Loved her. The guy behind Amy (probably our age) in a green shirt kept saying, "Mmmmhmmm, bring it, girl."
Then, the floor opened and David Archuleta rose slowly upward playing a piano. All the 12 year olds went flippin' NUTS!! (and some of their moms too, which was a bit unnerving) When David came over to our side of the stage, I noticed, "Wow, he's really short." But as a singer, he was spot-on. He is only 17 and has the voice and stage presence of a...um...30 year old. Moving on.
And then came the one I was most excited for: DAVID COOK! This time, all the older ladies in the crowd lost it (and by older, I mean 18 years old and up). Because he was the American Idol winner, he got to sing 5 songs instead of 3 like everyone else. And he rocked!! He sang a couple songs from the show and then a couple new ones. Here's a quick 40 second video of him playing and singing "Billie Jean".
It was so strange seeing him live. These were all people I had watched on TV. And now they were so close. Surreal? Anyway, after David finished his set, all 10 finalists came out and did a closing number "Don't Stop The Music". It was so fun. Everyone was on their feet clapping, screaming, singing along. Here's another quick video (55 seconds) of that song.
So yes, it was a fabulous night. I still can't believe we snagged those seats. That just made the experience so much better. I don't know if I'll ever go to a concert like that again, so I'm glad I went.
I actually got home earlier than planned. Some stuff came up (no worries, everything is fine now) and I sadly had to cut my trip short and come home early. What can ya do? But while I was there, I had an wonderful time in Greece.
Before I jump in and share about the trip, let me introduce you to my 3 roomates/traveling buddies and interesting tidbits about each person:
Jen - aka "Copey" (from her last name). Copey talked really quietly on the trip so we always had to ask her to repeat herself, which became hilarious. We celebrated her birthday in Greece. (Happy B-Day!!) She was also our stud driver when we rented a car.
Laurel - Laurel kept us entertained the whole time with her accents and songs that she would make up on the spot. She also had this amazing floppy white hat which we sometimes teased her about. But in her defense, she never got sunburned on her face or neck!
Jessica - aka "Ese". Poor Ese got poison oak from mountain biking right before the trip. Plus she had broken her ankle back in Feb. from snowboarding and had been in a cast with crutches for 4 months. So one of her ankles was way bigger than the other, leading us to the affectionate term: cankle (her calf and ankle melded together). Also she had this awesome Guatemalan bag she wore everywhere. It became an Ese staple.
Me (Sarah) - I went into full photography-mode for this trip, plus journal-mode and "Quote Board"-mode. My claim to fame (shame?) on the trip was buying all my traveling clothes at Ross. Seriously. Everything I wore on the trip I bought at Ross a week or two before we left. Ross Dress For Less. Designer brands at low prices. Word.
First thoughts/reflections on Greece:
* The country - beautiful. Athens is like any big city. Loud, busy, buildings, traffic. But when we got out of Athens and got to see the country....gorgeous! Green hills popping out of the earth everywhere. Little villages (with their dome-topped Greek Orthodox churches) tucked at the foot of mountains. Deep blue seas. Olive trees that grow for miles (I felt like I was back in bible times). Ruins, ruins, and more ruins. There is so much history is that country.
* The food - aMAzing. We'd hit supermarkets and grab food for picnic lunches and then go out to eat dinner at night. Everything tasted so fresh and good.
* The sounds - first off, I love Greek music. The instruments, the singing, the passion, the way it makes you want to dance and yell "OPA!!!" Other than the music, the sounds we heard most were from cicadas. Their noise was incessant and deafening. In the video from Delphi below, you can hear them. They're so loud!! I think the heat made them louder. Speaking of which...
* The weather - SO HOT. Between 90-100 degrees and that didn't include humidity. Copey LOVED it. She loves hot weather. On days we did a lot of walking (ie. every day), we would literally be dripping with sweat. Ew. And this is just the beginning of summer. I can't even imagine how hot it will be in August.
* The people - GREAT! Different, but great. Almost everyone we met was friendly, smiling, and helpful. Those who were harried or annoyed at something, didn't stay that way for long. Greeks remind me a lot of Italians. They are expressive, passionate, and use their hands when they speak. Love it.
Ok, onto the trip! First, we spent a couple days in Athens. Our first night we walked to the Acropolis. We couldn't walk to the top till the next day so instead we climbed up a hill and watched the sun set over Athens and the Acroplis. So amazing and peaceful. It was all surreal. Are we really here? Are we really in Greece??
We went to dinner at this fun restaurant that had two old guys playing music and singing. In the video, the one in the yellow shirt (Andres) waved at me a couple times because I think he thought I was taking his picture. And check out the little boy sliding around at the doorway to the restaurant. That was the owner's son. Cute!
After that, Andres came and serenaded us personally, one at a time. He gave me his address in Greece so I could send him the pictures. After he serenaded Ese, he pointed to his cheek for her to kiss him. Oh that scallywag!
Next day was "tour day" where we caught a bus and saw the main sights of Athens. First stop: The Olympic Stadium. That bad boy was HUGE! The 2004 summer Olympics were held there. It could hold over 74,000 people. Dang.
Second stop: the Temple of Zeus. (In the picture, the other 3 are the "standing columns" and I am the column that fell over) While our tour guide was telling us about Zeus and his sacred temple, a stray dog decided he was going to pee right on one of the columns. Sacreligious!!! And so funny.
Third stop (save the best for last): the Acropolis! The Greeks purposefully built their temples on that hill for protection and refuge from the Turks or Persians during war. That hill became a sort of citadel for them. Here's a video if us climbing the Acropolis.
We walked through the Propylaea (the gateway to the Acropolis). To our left we saw The Erechtheum (ancient Greek temple with the "Porch of the Maidens" - six draped female figures holding up the columns). And to our right...TAH DAH!!! The one, the only, the Parthenon. The temple for the Greek goddess, Athena. Again, surreal. I have seen the Parthenon in books and movies, but I never thought I'd see it in real life. And isn't the scaffolding a nice touch?
We took a million pictures and then walked to the edge of the hill. It was so neat looking out over all of Athens. I could see the Olympic Stadium and Zeus' temple. The sun was shining over the city so the tops of all the houses were sparkling. It was so windy at that height so we just stood there and took it all in. Remarkable.
The next day we wanted to go to Delphi and were planning on taking a tour bus. But we had run into a sweet mom and her 6 kids in the airport in Philadelphia and she recommended renting a car and driving ourselves. I'm SO glad we did! It was way more fun. Poor Copey and Laurel had to do the driving because they have the most experience with stick shifts. And let's just say Greek drivers are some of the worst I have ever seen. (I believe Greece has the highest car accident rate in Europe)
But man oh man, car rides were such a highlight. Talking, laughing, asking fun or hard questions, driving by the Gulf of Corinth, trying to find radio stations, getting lost, seeing the countryside, taking pictures, all the pit stops. Awards for the car rides: Copey wins Best Parallel Parker. Ese wins Best Navigator. And Laurel wins Best Questions. As for me, I guess I could win Best Loud Laugher or something.
Ok, so the city of Delphi. Home of the Delphic oracle (most important oracle in the classical Greek world) and a major site for the worship of the god Apollo. Mount Parnassus looms over the ruins there - quite breathtaking. Here's a vlog from when we arrived in Delphi.
We first hit the nearby Delphi Archaeological Museum so we could get more background. Then we headed up "The Sacred Way". The Temple of Apollo and the Ancient Theater were very cool. We could look down and see the whole valley below us. I feel like the whole time we were there, we had to keep pinching ourselves. We're in Greece!
The last place we got to visit before I had to come home was Meteora. HIGHLIGHT! Oh my gosh, way better than I could have ever thought or imagined. When I first received my tour book in the mail, I saw these pictures of monasteries perched on top of pillars of rock. "That can't be real!!" I thought. But oh yes. In Meteora (northern Greece) outside the villages of Kalambaka and Kastraki, there are huge, tall mountains (that are more like pillars) that seem to shoot straight up to heaven. There are 5 monasteries and one nunnery (convent). Monks and nuns still live there today, but they have opened them to the public.
so. flipping. amazing.
We drove to the biggest and most popular one first: The Holy Monastery of the Great Meteoron. Here's another vlog right before we entered (and I'd like to take this moment to apolgize for the weird face I am making in the video still...I look....um....special.)
The sound of chanting and the smell of incense greeted us as we walked in. We went through all the different parts of the monastery: the museum, the library, the gardens, the kitchen, the wine cellar, sanctuary, the prayer rooms, etc. Woot!!
Our second stop was the convent: Holy Monastery of Rousanou/St. Barbara. This one was VERY small. The rooms where the nuns slept, a garden, and a sanctuary. There were nuns greeting us and running the tiny bookstore. (We found out there were 14 nuns who lived there) The bookstore was full of things they made. Laurel had bought a bookmark that said "Meteora" on it, and a lady nearby (who didn't speak any English) came up to us beaming and showed us her basket of thread and needles. She was making them right then and she was so glad to see people liked them and were buying them.
Our third, final, and favorite monastery was The Holy Monastery of St. Nicholas Anapausas (or we called it: "St. Nick") This one was on top of a super steep cliff. Plus it was a bit out of the way from the other monasteries. Because of those two deterrents....we were some of the only ones there. That was so nice after being to the first 2, which were more crowded.
We hiked up and up and up (hot...melting...need water...) and finally got to the top. We saw MONKS! We were in the prayer room and a couple of them came in. They greeted us warmly (in Greek) and then set about doing some tasks. One of them was about to head into the kitchen but he stopped and asked us in English where we were from. He was so kind! We walked to the rooftop of the monastery and met a sweet couple from Germany. After we chatted, we made sure to tell them we would root for Germany in the Euro Cup (it was going on while we were in Greece and it was what everyone was talking about).
Our hostel co-owner, George (btw, every male in Greece is named George or Demetrius) told us about this "look-out spot" in Meteora. So after our third monastery visit, we drove to it. The road was closed off for some construction, so we parked our rental car and walked about a mile up. We walked out onto some rocks and BAM! We had a breath-taking birds-eye view of 4 of the monasteries and the villages below Meteora. Magical! The wind was blowing so hard (which felt lovely since it was so hot) so we just stood on the edge and took it all in. Ahhhh...
I did not want to leave. That was such an awesome place. That evening we headed into the center of town and ate at this fun outside restaurant with a fountain to our left and the mountains to our right. The men nearby were setting up a TV on some crates so everyone could watch the Russia vs. Spain soccer game (Euro Cup 2008). With the sun down, the weather was perfect and the food was delicious. What a day!
I am going to post all my pictures from the trip on MySpace and Facebook, so you can check them out there if ya want. And if you ever get a chance to go to Greece, go for it! OPA!!!
Well friends, I'm off. Off to the beautiful country of Greece for two glorious weeks. I'll be sure to share stories and pictures on the blog when I return.
If you think of us, we'd love your prayers. Thanks!
P.S. - the translated title of this blog is "I'm sorry, but I don't speak Greek." I might be using that phrase once in awhile on the trip...
My youngest sister Emily graduated college last June and moved down to LA this past January to try and break into the "biz". She works at CBS, takes acting classes at night, does a lot of auditioning, she's been in a few student films at UCLA, filmed a commercial, was an extra in a new Eddie Murphy movie, etc.
She just sent my family a link to a video she was in for HBO. It's really funny! I think I appreciate it even more because it's all about an office Nerf war and we just finished Nerf Assassins in the college group.
Anyway, there's probably 70 people in the video so let me point out the 2 spots you can see her (she's wearing black business attire - like everyone else - and a red scarf/tie)
* At 3:07 she is the one pushing the copier/tank to block darts and move forward
* At 3:45, she climbs onto the desk and throws the nerf football grenade
First off, the fire is contained. Yeah! That is great news. The firefighters were studmuffins and worked tirelessly for 5 days straight to put out the fire. (On Saturday, we went outside and saw our cars covered with ash - crazy)
Right now, I am in the gettin'-ready-mode. We have had the last few weeks off of college group to get ready for the summer and now it is time to start up again for summer. We kick off Wednesday with a BBQ. So Intern Jeff and I made a trip to good ol' Costco (samples!) to stock up on all the food. We've cleaned the house and garage, front and back porch, put up decorations, etc.
But then I am also getting ready for Greece. It's strange because we kick off for summer this Wednesday...and then I leave on Sunday for 2 weeks. Oh well! Vacation!! =) I'm doing all my last minute errands, laundry, exchanging money, etc. It still doesn't seem real. I'm really going to Europe in 6 days??
I hope you all had a nice Father's Day yesterday. My dad's birthday is today, so we had a two-fer last night. We celebrated him as a dad and we celebrated his life. The whole fam was at my parent's house so I got to rub Amy's belly. They get to find out the gender in two weeks! Amy and David are so sure they're going to have a boy, but I believe that means they're going to have a girl.
A couple weeks ago, a huge fire started in the mountains near my church. I remember driving to work one morning and seeing tons of white clouds. I thought it was just fog. But when I got into my office, my co-workers informed me it was actually smoke from a crazy fire. Thousands of homes had been evacuated. At the end of it all, 4,200 acres and 35 houses were burned and it took firefighters 9 days to contain and put it out.
So today on my drive home I looked up and saw huge columns of smoke. "Oh no! Again??" This time the fire was coming from a different group of mountains northwest from the last fire. I know it's been super hot and dry, but really?? Another one? (I almost got in an accident trying to take this picture. Whoops!)
I got home and we had a view of the smoke from our porch. We quickly turned on the news and sat for about half hour, listening for updates. We found out the fire was only 6 miles from our house. It was pretty scary because we were watching scenes of fire and smoke on the TV and to the left of the TV were our windows where we could see the smoke! And then we'd hear/watch planes fly right over our house and then see them on the news dropping retardant onto the fire. It was crazy.
** I just checked for an update online. Here's what I have: A growing 300+ acre wildfire...it could spread to as many as 1,000 acres before firefighters are able to begin slowing it...1,400 residents have been evacuated from their homes...1 burned home confirmed so far...started around 3 pm...no lead on what started the fire yet...650 firefighters will be fighting the blaze overnight...eight helicopters, eight air tankers and as many as 20 bulldozers...
This morning I went surfing with my roomate Laurel. It has been way too long since I've been out in the water and man oh man, did it feel good!! The sun was out, the waves were perfect, people were friendly, the pelicans were out in huge V's...it was amazing. There was even a guy who would catch waves and then do HANDSTANDS on his board! What the heck?! That is talent.
Random moment to share: Laurel and I shared my surfboard and brought a boogie board for the other to sit on while we waited our turn. The leash for the surfboard is huge and goes around the ankle. The leash for the boogie board is much smaller and goes around the wrist. Laurel caught a few waves first and then we switched boards and leashes. Out of the corner of my eye I saw her fiddling with the velcro from the boogie board leash for awhile. Finally she looked up and said, "It's not fitting!" I then realized she was trying to put the velcro around her ankle and it was way too small. I told her it went around her wrist and then tried to brush it off like it was no big deal, so as not to embarrass her. But she smiled and said, "Oh Sarah, feel free to laugh!" So we did.
I had three long meetings today. But they were all outside. In the glorious sun. It was probably 75 degrees with an amazing breeze. All seemed well with the world.
Peace, rest, warmth, comfort, smiling, joy.
Can I go ahead and officially say that summer is here?
(there was a dog nearby wearing a t-shirt and I just HAD to take a picture with him - love it)
Up in the top right corner of my blog, I have a little paragraph that shares my roles, or titles, or whatever you call them. Christ-follower, roomate, friend, co-worker, daughter, college director, etc. Well, very shortly I will have a new title to add to the list...
AUNT!!!!!!!!
Yee-haw! It is with great joy that I share with you the news that my older sister Amy and her hubby David are PREGO. Their little bundle of joy will appear around the middle of November.
I can't wait to love on that baby...
Sincerely, Aunt Sarah (Please everyone call me that from now on. Thank you.)
This is the picture Amy and David sent out to all their friends and family with the big news. It is them and their "bun in the oven". CUTE!
It is midnight and I just left the college group where we celebrated our last Wed. night of the semester (and school year). It was awesome - we ended the night with a 2 hour dance party, complete with disco ball. And then I came in to quickly send an email on my work computer and I saw the top stories on Yahoo. "Who won American Idol?" was the first headline. I couldn't help myself. I had missed the show but I wanted to find out who won.
DAVID COOK!!!!!!!!
I'm stoked because now I know I will for sure get to hear more music from him. The winner automatically gets a record deal. Sweet!
But after yesterday, my respect has multiplied ten-fold.
If you're a mom, HOW do you do it?!?!
So here's the sitch: I used to baby-sit these kiddos in my town back when Brett was 6 and Emma was 3. I was pretty much done with baby-sitting after college, but these kids were way too fun and awesome to say no. So they were my only exception. However, since I went full-time at my job two years ago, I have not baby-sat. In fact I've only seen them three times in the last 2 years. Sad!
Anyway, their mom (Clara) called me out of the blue and asked if I would be willing to watch the kids all day Saturday and spend the night (she and her husband were going to be out of town). I thought about how much I miss them (Brett is 12 now and Emma is almost 9) and said yes. I was really looking forward to it!
But oh my goodness. I am SO TIRED. My day started at 6 am yesterday morning and did not end till 11:30 pm last night. Observations:
* I am amazed at how much kids are involved in nowadays. There's piano, softball pratice, swim lessons, dance class, basketball, choir, school fundraisers, birthday parties every weekend, and tons more. And somewhere in there they are supposed to find time to do homework, eat, and possibly sleep at night.
* Our day looked like this: played some games, went for a hike in the redwood forest with the kids and their dog, home for breakfast. Emma then had a softball game while Brett worked on a school project. Came home and Emma and I jumped in their pool to cool off. Lunch. Got dressed and packed for what was next: Brett had a softball game, Emma had a try-out for a talent show and then I dropped her off at a birthday party. Went back to Brett's game. 2 and a half hours later Brett and I jumped in the pool to cool off. (Hot day yesterday!) Then dinner, more homework, showers, teeth, bed.
* I realized that a huge role of moms is "Taxi Driver". Holy cow, I felt like I spent the whole day carting them from one activity to the next. Pack up, go, drop off, park, go watch, pile back in the car, drive home, unpack, get cleaned up, eat, get dressed and pack up for the next event.
* Car rides are times for great conversation. Some of the topics we discussed: examples of Greek mythology, Prince Caspian, why it's not ok to leave dog poop in the forest, who decided which words would be "swear words" and why did they choose those specific words, and High School Musical 2.
* I really enjoyed both the kids' softball games. At Emma's, I felt a bit out-of-place. I was surrounded by moms in their Chanel sunglasses and manicured nails, holding their toddlers in their laps while they chatted with each other about their husbands and funny things their kids did recently.
Brett's game was much longer but highly entertaining. About 15 minutes into it, I realized I was totally sitting in the opponent's bleacher section. I had no idea...it was the only section in the shade. But I realized right after I got all these "stink-eyes" from the parents around me when I cheered for Brett's team that I was clearly in the wrong place. But heck with it! I wasn't gonna leave the shade. So it was SARAH vs. THE PARENTS screaming for our different teams.
It was actually kind of funny because Brett's team was getting crushed by the other team. So all the parents in my section were SUPER cocky and making all sorts of comments (ie: "I told Jimmy we'd eat the celebratory cake when they win the game. It's in the cooler..."). But then, Brett's team slowly started getting more runs and the parents got quieter. And then they started freaking out. I just sat there smiling to myself (is that wrong?) and cheering even louder for Brett and his team. And they WON! 11-10. I was surprised how into it I got. I felt so proud for Brett and he's not even my kid! =)
* Last observation: when the kids go to bed, the mom's job is still not done. There's all the clean-up from the day's messes. I tackled cleaning up the house, doing the dishes and trash, and some laundry. At 11:30, I literally dove into bed. I can't remember the last time I was so excited to go to sleep.
I left the kids in the morning to go to church (someone else would be coming by to watch them next) and I was exhausted. And that's when I realized, "Oh my gosh! Moms do this every day." I barely made it through my Saturday without falling dead asleep at the wheel.
So again I want to say, Mothers - you are ROCK STARS. Thank you for all you do for your children. I am beyond impressed and in awe of you.
Right now I am taking a break from working on my talk for tomorrow night. I am SO INTO it. Sometimes, I totally get into the talks I prepare; other times I'm just not feelin' it (whether it's the topic or just where I am in life). But I am super stoked on this one. We've been doing a series on Jesus this spring - who is he? why did he come to earth? what does it look like to follow him? etc. And tomorrow evening I will be sharing about Jesus' character. We say we want to be "followers of Jesus" but what does that mean? What does it look like to follow Christ? What are the ways we can follow his example? So, we're focusing on 5 interactions Jesus had with people in the bible...and what we can learn about his character from those interactions. And then how that looks today as we strive to be more like him.
It's funny. When we teach at college group, it's to help these students learn more about Jesus. But I always feel like I'm learning so much myself just getting ready.
Yesiree bob, I am going to Greece for two glorious weeks.
3 roomies and I expressed interest to go to Europe this summer. We were looking at maps and trying to find countries none of us had been to yet. And the one country that we kept coming back to....was GREECE. None of us have been and it somewhere we have all wanted to go. So we're going! I can't wait!
We bought our plane tickets, go team. Next up is figuring out where we want to visit while we're there. We're flying in and out of Athens so I'm sure we'll spend some time there. But oh, there are so many amazing places to go and so many beautiful things to see! I think some island-hopping will definitely be on the schedule.
Anyway, just wanted to share the fun news. We leave June 22nd.
So I have an update on my ticket from the Mexico trip (when I went through a yellow light in San Diego and blocked an intersection? Yeah, that one.)
I owe $168 to the San Diego County Court. I am going to take an online traffic school course to get the "point" removed from my driving record. That's another 30 bucks. Then, after I've read all the info online, I have to go to a nearby UPS store and take the test. And then I have to go have it all notarized. Whew!
The plan is to do this all tomorrow. Yeah for not working on Fridays.
Allrighty then, time to share about the Wildflower Triathlon. This is the annual tri that my roomates/friends and I do at Lake San Antonio the first weekend in May. This was my fifth time - woot.
I drove down Thursday with some buds and we claimed our camping spot. Friday was soooo nice. Because we did nothing. We had breakfast, chilled, biked down to the lake to pick up our registration packets, walked around, went back to eat lunch, took naps, welcomed other friends who were arriving, played with our friends' kids, made dinner with everyone, had a fire, and went to bed.
We woke up super early on Saturday - RACE DAY! We carbed up before we left. We got to the bike station (to rack our bikes) by 8:30 am. Our race didn't start until 10, so we had an hour and a half to get ready, drink as much water and Gatorade as possible, stretch, get numbers written all over our bodies in permanent marker, go to the porta-potty, set up our stuff by our bike for "transition time", etc.
Around 9:45, we headed to the lake to get in line with our fellow age/gender peeps. We prayed together and then put our caps and goggles on. Game time! There were about 100 women in each wave of women. So imagine trying to swim with all those other bodies kicking, flailing, slapping water around you. Crazy but never a dull moment! I really felt good about my swim this year. I jumped out of the lake and ran up the hill with my friends cheering on the sides. Wooooo! Adrenaline!
After I transitioned, I jumped on my bike and took off. The bike section was pretty good. It was fun to see my buds on their bikes at different times. Some of those hills were SO HARD. Yowsers. I dropped my bike off and then headed out for the run. This is the part that always kills me. I get so tired by this time, my poor feet are dragging.
But this year something funny happened that made my run a lot more enjoyable. I was about halfway through the run, when I saw a guy running toward me. He was a "Long-Courser" which means one of those crazy people who do the half-IronMan. They swim 1.3 miles, bike 60 (?) miles, and then run a half-marathon. No thank you!
Anyway, so this guy is probably 40, doing the Long Course, he's on the run section, which means he's close to the end. I was going to wave as I passed him, BUT I didn't get the chance, because just as we were about to pass, he suddenly stopped running, stepped to the left, and started peeing!! UM!!!! HELLO!?!?
The best part was that there was a tree two feet away. He could have taken 2 steps and peed behind the tree. You know, out of courtesy to the young woman who was about to run past him? But no. He couldn't be bothered. So he just whipped it out right there on the curb of the course, and I ran by chuckling to myself. And just as I ran by, I saw a HUGE group of runners coming in his direction, about to go by Mr. Pee as well. I guess after you've swam, biked, and ran that much, you just don't care. Because he sure didn't. He just kept going number 1 in front of the world. Gotta love it.
So anyway, great race. When you turn the last corner and start your way down the finsh line, it's SUCH a rush! There are tons of people screaming and cheering, the announcers are broadcasting your name, all your friends are there shouting for you, YEAH! I did a dramatic leap across the finish line and then immediately sought out the fruit/Power Bar/gatorade station to re-fuel.
If you ever have a chance to do a triathlon, go for it! It is great motivation to work out and there is a great feeling of accomplishment when you cross the finish line. Can't wait till next year!
Hello and welcome to my blog. A little about me: I'm a thirtysomething who lives near the ocean and redwood forest and works at a church. I enjoy writing, telling stories, and sharing life. Hence, this blog. And yes, I really love to laugh.
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