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

Best Oscar party

Last night, I had the opportunity to see the Oscars in style. One of my roomates (Jessica) has a friend who won 4 tickets from a radio station to a ritzy Oscar party in a ritzy hotel in San Jose. Jessica's friend asked if she wanted to go and bring a friend. Jessica knew how much I love the Oscars so she invited me!

Let me back up. I really do love the Oscars. I think they're fun. When I was in college down in L.A. my friends and I always wanted to dress up and pretend we were famous so we could walk the red carpet and catch a glimpse of the movie stars. One year we came really close...we were within 2 blocks of the red carpet and we could see the tall Oscar statues out front and all the cameras. But sadly, we got turned away.

So anyway, this was a FORMAL occasion so we got all dressed up, hair, make-up, the works. We meet up with Jessica's friend (Jenna) and her husband (Joe) and we all drive over together. The first thing we see are ladies in full-on formal gowns. Whoa, this thing really is fancy!

When we walk into the hotel, there is a red carpet! Woot! I was going to get a (fake) taste of what it would be like to walk a red carpet. I was totally in my element. They even had people with cameras taking pictures of us. A lady all dolled up comes up to our group and tells us we are going to be filmed for Comcast cable further down the carpet and we will be asked to quote a favorite movie line. If we do a good job and are selected, we will be shown in movie theaters before the movies start.

I start wracking my brain as we get closer and closer to the interviwer lady, trying to think of an amazing movie quote. Think, Sarah, think! There are a million good movies out there with a million good quotes! And all I could think of was Ace Ventura Pet Detective. WHAT!?!?! I don't even like that movie very much! I remember it coming out when I was a junior or senior in high school and I thought parts of it were funny, but mostly it was dumb. So why is it at the moment I need a good movie quote, that is the ONLY movie that was in my mind?!?

Before I realize it, we are at the video interviewer. She is super dressed up and totally has the "announcer-interviewer" type voice. I happened to be first, so she asked me to look at the camera and say my quote. So I get the biggest, dumbest grin on my face, open my mouth real wide and say, "ALLLLLLLLLLL RIGHTY-THEN!!!!!!"

Do you ever have that feeling where you wish you could turn back time? At that moment, I wish I could have. There was this silence and the lady just looked at me. I am sure she had heard all sorts of good ones like "Life is like a box of chocolates" or "But they will never take OUR FREEDOM!!" and then some chick comes and quotes Ace Ventura. (* crickets*) I was pretty much mortified.

So then it gets BETTER. The lady wants to make it seem more like the Oscars so she asks us where we got our dresses. If you watch the Oscars, this is where the actresses get to share their designers like Versace, Armani, Dolce & Gabbana, etc. So since I happened to be first, she turned to me. So...where did you get your dress?" And without thinking, I said, "Ross."

ROSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am surrounded by women in gowns and men in tuxes and I just said I got my dress at Ross. Wow. I can't believe I just said that. It was true, but I should have made up a fib, like Macy's or some nice outlet in San Francisco or something. But no, I had to say I got my dress at ROSS. I felt like I was headlining the "white trash" version of the Oscars. First Ace Ventura Pet Detective, then this.

So after that debacle, I was like, "Get me out of the spotlight!" and I made a beeline for the ballroom door. We went inside and it was SO NICE. Tables everywhere, candles, a buffet table, two bars, and a popcorn machine. Ooooh, popcorn! Jessica and I drop our stuff off at a table and make our way to the popcorn machine. The guy serving us is super nice and tells us he works at the radio station. I make the mistake of asking him if he is an intern (he looked kind of young) and he gets totally offended and says no he is NOT an intern. He is a program manager thank you very much and the only reason he is stuck slinging popcorn all night is he wore a suit instead of a tux. We could tell he was pretty bitter.

So he hands me my popcorn and our hands miss each other and the bag of popcorn falls all over the floor. "White Trash Sarah" strikes again! I started laughing nervously and apologizing profusely while Mr. I-Am-Not-An-Intern just starts moving the popcorn under the popcorn maker with his shoes. He's just sweeping the popcorn with his feet under the machine! It was something I would have done. Suddenly, in my eyes, we were kindred spirits. Probably not in his eyes though. Jessica and I hastily left the area and returned to our seats.

Nothing really eventful happened after those first exciting ten minutes. When we got closer to our table, we saw some men sitting there who Jessica described as "the Italian mafia". Tan, suits, pinky rings, you name it. I am half Italian on my dad's side so I confidently tell her that these are "my people" and I comfortable being the one to sit next to them. So we sit down and introduce ourselves. It turns out we are at the "Sponsers" table. We were sitting with VIP guests, who are the CEO and Vice President of a carpet company and they advertise on the radio station hosting the gala.

Because of them, we got primo service, lots of visits from the radio station president, and we got to go first in the buffet line. Thanks guys! The food was delicious! The plates were super small though. I am sure everyone felt like a pig because you seriously needed three little plates to hold an average amount of food. It was fun being in line and seeing people struggling and juggling their plates around.

The Oscars were so fun! At commercials, the morning DJ's would go up and give out raffle prizes and talk up the crowd. I am glad Helen Mirren won for Best Actress, because I made a bet with a guy at work. I am now ten bucks richer. Sweet. The Departed won for Best Picture, which I haven't seen but I heard it was pretty violent so I'm not sure if I want to see it.

Anyway, we were at the party from 5-9:30 and we were super tired by the end. I have never been to a formal Oscar party so it was a fun experience. I sure left my mark. I can't wait to see if I've been chosen to be shown in movie theaters. I highly doubt it.

New home group

I have realized on Wednesday nights (college group) that a lot of my role is "Hospitality". New college students come into the house and I love meeting them, getting to know them, introducing them to others, etc. That role has become natural and I really enjoy it.

So how strange was it when last night I went to a new home group for the first time and the tables were turned? I walked in to a house with 14 people looking at me and I knew none of them. Hmmm...that can be quite scary. I am so used to being the "welcomer", I haven't felt what it's like to be the "new person" in such a long time.

But it was a great night. The group seems really cool. I am looking forward to going back.

the countdown

10 days until I get to see Wicked in LA!

Yesssssssssss...

Amy and David

My older sister and her husband. Aren't they adorable? ha ha

I'm a clencher

Yowch. My left jaw has been hurting for awhile now so I finally went in to get it looked at. Turns out I'm a "clencher". One who clenches and grinds their teeth in their sleep. I don't even know I am doing it because I'm asleep, but it's true. So, I am going to have some x-rays taken of my jaw bones and muscles and then I'll get a plastic teeth shield that I will wear for 6 months to help prevent more clenching. Crazy. Aren't I too young to have stuff like this happen??

Weekend O' Fun

I am home from the weekend and still trying to recover. Zzzz....

What a great time we had. I rented a big ol' GMC Yukon XLT or whatever those beasts are. That thing was MONSTROUS! And amazing to drive. I felt so high and so powerful. I could cram 8 people (including myself) in that bad boy plus tons of luggage. And yeah for 4 wheel drive because boy did we need it.

The snow was so great. Best snow I have probably ever skiied in. I guess Tahoe has had no snow all season...until this weekend! Thanks, God! It snowed all weekend so we were always walking, skiing, snowboarding, or playing in feet of fresh snow. It was so soft and perfect. Man, it was hard to come home!