Last One

Here's my last post for 2006.

Thank you 2006 for treating me well.

See you in 2007!

Sleeping Into the New Year

So far...no plans for New Year's Eve.

Things have been brought up by friends but nothing secure yet.

I might just sleep right into the new year.

I Hung Out With the Pillsbury Dough Boy!

Okay...not literally.

This may come as a surprise to many people (seeing that I am an incredibly hospitable and homemaker-ish type of girl):

I have never baked a thing in my life!
Well, not before yesterday I hadn't.

Growing up I never had an oven to bake in, so my mom never taught me to bake...cook, yes but bake, NEVER. I always felt like I was missing out on stuff because I never baked cakes or cookies or anything of that kind.

Yesterday was the turning point.

I have extra time on my hands this week (end of the year, finishing up series this week, etc.). Yesterday was my day off (school's not in session right now) so after all of my small group girls got sent off to their homes I found myself wanting to do something for just me!

I had purchased some cake mixes and icing a couple of week's ago so I decided to bake a cake!

I did it!

All by myself...and although I really didn't "make" it...I felt accomplished and welcomed into an amazing all-American tradition!

Go ME!

Where Have I Been?

I haven't posted in quite some time...
here is what I've been up to this past holiday weekend:

Friday
* Worked to complete both weekend programs (children's and youth)
* Finished up all paperwork for the weekend.
* Picked my mom up at work from her Christmas party.
* Had a rather uncomfortable conversation.
* Helped my mom wrap presents.
* Got really bad, painful allergies.
* Didn't sleep all night.

Saturday
* Stayed in bed most of the morning recovering from my 18 hour headache.
* Showered and had a nice brunch in front of the TV.
* Had guests over at our house.
* Headed to church to finish weekend prep and sort Christmas gifts for the kids.
* Went to Target to buy one last gift.
* Got dinner at Mc Donald's.
* Took my mom to the grocery store.
* Wrapped all of my Christmas gifts.
* Did lesson plan for children for next weekend.
* Filled out 20 Christmas cards...went to bed at 1:50 AM.

Sunday
* Woke up at 7:30 AM (45 minutes late) had to take a "body shower".
* Worked my hiney off at church for 5 hours (had a great time!).
* Had lunch at home.
* Hung out with my family.
* Had dinner and opened presents.
* went to bed at 2 AM.

Monday
* Woke up at 9 AM
* Lounged around all day.
* Watched TV.
* Ate.
* Didn't shower till Tuesday morning.

Overall...a great Christmas!

Question: Do two nerves make a right?

Earlier this week we had a team from our ministry go to downtown LA for 4 days to serve and minister in the inner city. Kind of a local missions trip.
We had two of our leaders go with the lead of this trip; for encouragement, support and help.

These are two amazing people whom I feel are completely guided by the Spirit. They are the kind of people whom I feel try their best to carry out God's will in their lives. In no way, shape or form do they live their lives in a selfish way.

Here is where I place my thoughts.

Before going to this trip these two leaders demonstrated a bit of apprehension to going on this trip. They weren't sure if that is where God wanted them to be during this week. Financial burdens presented themselves and they felt like they were going more because of the commitment they had made than because they truly wanted to go. They were nervous...or maybe scared...or maybe God really didn't want them to go.

Question: Do two nerves make a right?
Where is that fine line between feeling fleshly nervousness and feeling uneasiness in your spirit?

How do you know if what you are feeling is coming from your flesh or your spirit?
I know that prayer is the best way to confirm that...but still...these two leaders, I know, will return blessed from their trip, but was it really in God's will for them to go or were their nerves just their flesh guiding them?

Just something I've always wondered...

All that's left to do...

is wait.

I just got out of a meeting with my boss.
We just went over some pretty major stuff.

Honestly...I thought the tough part was getting all the material gathered, preparing for the meeting, speaking from my heart...all of the time that led up to this.

I was wrong...the tough time is now...I have to wait and see what happens...it's hard to think about how I will respond to the outcome.

What if the outcome isn't what I expect it to be? How will I respond?

I want to be the kind of person who is led by her spirit, not her flesh.
I want to be a woman who fights for justice through peace.
I want to be that tree planted so deeply that not even a storm can move me.
I want to be secure in the fact that God, my Father, is in control of everything.
I want to be fearless, knowing that I am not doing it all, He is.
I want to wait endlessly for only Him.
I want to be at peace with what He decides.
I want to obey so that no matter what happens...I surrender my will to Him.

So I wait not on man...but on my Father.
And He is One that I am willing to wait for.

"When I was growing up..."

is one of the phrases that I've caught myself saying a lot lately...and I mean A LOT.

This, of course, makes me feel old. I know I'm not "old", but it makes me feel that way.

I've caught myself saying things like:
"When I was in school..."
"I had to [insert difficult task here] everyday just to get a dollar."
"Back in the day..."
"When I was young..."
"In the 90's..."
I just want to clarify that, in no way, shape, or form am I proud of these things coming out of my mouth.

I thought about it and realized that lots of things changed since I was a kid...for example:
1) Cassettes changed to Cd's. (my first Cd, No Doubt's "Tragic Kingdom" 8th grade)
2) VHS turned into DVD.
3) No more waiting to see what your pics look like (and I thought the "1 hour photo" was fast)-digital cameras are so mainstream that my 8 year old cousin has his very own.
4) Computers no longer need that big, thin floppy from when I was in 2nd grade and the monitors don't make the "eeerrrrrrrr" sound when you make a mistake.
5) Beepers turned to cell phones and blackberries and sidekicks and ......

Working in student ministry, will of course, have you surrounded by tons of young-ins...and will also remind you that you are no longer one of them-but it really does surprise me to see how much the world has changed since I was a little kid and even since I was a teenager.

I will always categorize the 90's as the one of the best decades of my life...no matter how uncool it might seem :) And I AM proud of that!

Lost...and FOUND!

This is it!

I have been searching and searching for this CD.
Michael Buble's "Let It Snow".

I don't think I have ever been so obsessed in all of my life! I went to at least 5 stores looking for it.
It only has 5 songs but oh how sweet they are....they COMPLETELY get me into the holiday spirit!
Thanks to Bibi I found it at Borders!

Now my Christmas is complete.

P.S. The guy at "The Warehouse" said it wasn't in print this year...shows how much he knows about music.

There's no Better Way to say Merry Christmas than with a little glass Coke bottle

Wow! Today was our Staff Christmas Lunch and it was so delicious! We had chicken (an amazing roasted, flavorful one), rice, beans (that kind of looked like thick chocolate milk), a yummy variety of veggies, tamales (I had the cheese one...yum!), guacamole and much more! I really enjoyed the company because everyone seemed so carefree and we had a couple of those "laugh really hard" moments...nobody was uptight or anything which was a relief 'cause we were with the "grown-ups".

Anyhow...here is what really made this lunch a complete SUCCESS! Hermano Barbero and his clever little ways thought of bringing the tiny little Coke bottles...yup that's right...those little glass ones that they used to sell before Americans all of a sudden needed gigantic portions of everything. You know, the ones that were sold in the fifties in little vending machines. The ones you see at the market in cases but seem way too expensive to buy so you just shoot over to the 2 liter ones...YES! Let me tell you: they taste so authentic!

I am definitely a coke lover and this beverage just made my year!

Thank you Hermano Barbero for saying "Merry Christmas" with a little glass Coke bottle!

Dear Bibi, (part 2)

Thank you for blogging.

You have seriously made my day!

Out of a plethora of darkness today...you lit up my life!

Yet one more reason for why I love you!

You've made me so happy!

My Friend Bibi

These are the top 10 reasons for why I really love my friend Bibi Bracy:

10. She looks so great as a bum.

9. She is so easy to get along with.

8. She makes me laugh even when I don't feel like laughing.

7. She loves to poke fun at Edgar with me.

6. She is one of the wisest and godliest people I know.

5. No matter what we do...a good time is guaranteed when she's around.

4. We have an amazing variety of "inside jokes" we can revert to at any given moment.

3. She puts up with me.

2. She's a really hard worker.

1. She loves people and loves God...which makes for a great combination.

Bibi...you are amazing and I feel so privileged to be your friend and get to serve God along side a great woman like you!

Day at Work

It's the middle of the day...and I already know it's not going to end soon.

Just came back from a delicious lunch and I'm getting ready to hit it hard till 10 pm.

It's one of those days...

But I am thankful that God is with me and guiding me through it all.

UPDATE: Boob Grabbing

So the boob grab competition is off. Yes, this makes just as sad as you. I really thought it would happen, but Edgar decided to be a party pooper and cheat his way through it. He refused to count the boobs that had been grabbed on the day of the initial bet.
Too bad...I could have used the 100 bucks.

Maybe next time.

It's In The Air #3

Shopping.

I hate admitting this but yesterday I went out on a mission.

I was ready to kick some serious butt with my shopping skills.

I am sad to report that I was defeated.

My plan failed me miserably. I got tired even before my first purchase. I got dizzy, sleepy, hungry, nauseous, etc. I don't know if it was the busy stores, smell of sample perfumes filling the store or tons of driving I did. Maybe it's because I was all by myself.

I think it's because I went out without a plan. And if you know me, I ALWAYS have a plan. I did get a couple of gifts...but nothing compared to what I thought I would get. I got more wrapping tools than I did gifts.

Before I head out again I will be prepared...I will not be defeated twice.

Dear Bibi,

PLEASE blog...I am begging you!
Once you start you can't stop. Trust me.

I love you...even if you never blog :)

Jessica

Howard's Birthday!

This Sunday is my friend Howard's birthday...but we're celebrating it this Saturday...it's all hush, hush so I can't disclose what we're doing or with whom we're doing it...but I am guaranteeing an AMAZING time!

I can't wait! I love Howard!

Birthday Update: Here's a picture of us girls at Del Rio.

Ready...Set...Shop!

Today I begin my shopping for the season.

I already purchased 3 gifts as I shopped a couple of months ago, so at least I have a head start!

Wish me good luck!

Boob Grabbing

The title of this blog might disgust you...but I ask that you be open minded.

We all have our quirks and although they may seem weird to one, they are treasured my another. Here is my quirk:

Tagging Edgar's boobs.
It's more like grabbing a handful of his boob.

The reason I started this was because when he found out where my "tickle spots" were he would use that information against me when he'd want to get back at me for stuff i.e. tickle me till I couldn't stand it.
I searched and found no such "tickle spot" on him.
Until...one day I touched his boob and he almost died...it was then that I knew this would be the root of his downfall! What is so funny is that he protects his boobs as if they were made of gold.

So it brings be to the present challenge:
How many times can I grab his boob between now and Christmas?

Started today at noon: 4 grabs and counting!

It's In The Air #2

Today, Bibi, Edgar and I went out to Alin's Party Depot to do a little last minute Christmas shopping for tomorrow's staff meeting. Once we walked in I could feel that "ooohhhh it's Christmas" feeling all over me. It felt like when I was a kid and was so excited that soon there would be food, family and, best of all, presents to look forward to in less than a month. I began to sing Chrismas carols and jingle around with some odd little "reindeer sounding" bells that I found at a display.

As I enjoyed bothering Edgar with the bells this thought came to mind: Why is it that the "good old feeling" is old? Why did it bother Edgar that I was spreading holiday cheer? Is it wrong...or mind you weird to LOVE Christmas? Like when you were a kid?

When I was alittle girl I loved it...the weather, feeling, shopping, anticipation...now it feels like the people around me (twenty-somethings) see Christmas as a second rate holiday...it's like you're not cool anymore if you get excited about it.

When did it become wrong to love Christmas?

Think about it.

TAG! I'm it!

Here we go...

I don't know...why it takes me a while to get "into" my work every morning.
I talk...more than the average person.
I love...my family.
My best friend...is more than one person.
My first real kiss...was not that great.
I hate it when people...are irresponsible.
Love is...not easy.
Marriage is...further down the line than I originally thought.
Somewhere, someone is thinking...TGIF.
I'll always...compare my blog to other peoples' blogs.
The last time I cried was because...my mom and I were sharing family memories.
My cell phone...doesn't exist.
When I wake up in the morning...I am cold.
Before I go to sleep at night...I think of someone special.
Right now I am thinking about...having a snack.
Babies are...an amazing gift from God (I love my baby nephew).
Today I will...get all my last minute things sorted out for the weekend programs.
Tonight I will...get some down time.
Tomorrow I will...finish some work, cook and have our Staff Meeting at my house.
I really want...a laptop.

I tag Bibi...maybe she'll blog.