Twitter

Okay...

so I am attempting to "twitter"?

And just as with blogging...it might take me a while to figure it out.

My phone refuses to cooperate, so patience would be greatly appreciated.

If you're currently "twittering"?...you might want to help me...because that would make me very happy!

"Oh my Goooood! You are SO Beautiful!"

A group of us from Student Ministries went down to San Clemente for a part of the weekend...

So much fun!

We started with lunch on Friday at Fisherman's Restaurant at the pier. Their clam chowder is delicious!

Best part of lunch was Janette telling the story of a man she and her team met while in Nicaragua. Some of the girls from her team met a man that knew exactly 7 words in the English language...and he used them while following them around: "Oh my God! You are so beautiful!".

The girls got scared when he attempted to give them his phone number by typing it on a calculator and following them around with it while the whole time repeating "Oh my Gooooooood! You are SO beautiful!"...the guys on her team saved the day by telling the man to stop it.

Needless to say...we repeated that phrase to each other all weekend. I especially loved saying it to Howard when he came back from his workout.

After lunch we hung out by the beach and relaxed.

We checked in to the hotel at 3 and just did nothing until more of the boys arrived. I love watching tv, checking email, laughing, taking naps with my friends...just doing nothing feels so good.

Once the boys got there we had dinner and rented a movie. We went back to the hotel for new school year planning (which went so well). Then headed to the pool and jacuzzi.

Went to bed after the movie at about 2.

The next morning was so great...slept in a bit and went over camp details.

We went out to Casa Romantica, which overlooks the ocean:

Had lunch at a little pizzeria that sold refillable fountain drinks for 93 cents! I was the only one in my group to be ridiculously excited by the price of our drinks...seriously awesome.

Then had more beach time where Howard laid out in hopes of tanning his arms...

he did so unsuccessfully.

Went to Saddleback to visit HSM and Wildside where Allison and Bethany gave us a tour of the Refinery...fun!

A really great couple of days with friends!

Sara Bareilles

I know I'm always the last to find out about a "good" musician...and I didn't miss a beat with this one!

I listened, for months, to Sara Bareilles on TV like many of you...on commercials and such but wasn't impressed (I don't think "Love Song" is all that great).

I decided to see if any of her other songs were good, so I took a listen...

My favorite is "Gravity" ("You hold me without touch. You keep me without chains. I never wanted anything so much than to drown in your love and not feel your rain")...

I also like "Bottle It Up" and "Love on the Rocks".

You should try her...I think you'd like her very much!

Remember when you had to develop film in order to see the pictures?

I do.

About a month ago, while cleaning my room, I found 4 rolls of undeveloped film. Immediately it hit me, they were from my trip to Spain in 2004...yes, I procrastinate.

I didn't there there was much hope...I always thought film "went bad" after a couple of years. So I procrastinated some more and waited until this weekend to see if they were still good enough to develop the pictures.

So, I went to the little photo shop down the street from my old house (just 3 minutes from my new house). The same shop my family and I always developed film at...since I was 9. I hadn't been there since digital cameras came into existence.

Once I walked in I was transformed into a 10 year old. The signs, the smells, the people...all the same. I looked up and a banner read "We've been here since 1990". I sometimes think 1990 is recent...then I remember it's 2008...

I picked my pictures up on Tuesday....

Pictures of my friends and I gallivanting through Spain, my nieces and nephews as toddlers, my small group students who are now adults as unfashionable, awkward freshmen...

I'll post some pictures up once I get a chance to scan them!

I love bridges. I hate bridges.

I've posted (on this blog) about how bridges scare me.

I always figure some massive earthquake will hit while I'm crossing one, or that a suicidal person will take a leap just as I'm looking over the edge and leave me traumatized for life.

But last week, while listening to Howard's iPod, I realized how much I love bridges.

Most of my favorite lyrics have been part of musical bridges.

I love that realizations are made in the bridge of a song, words of inspiration are sung, the climax of it all...

I wonder what would happen if I listened to a bridge while on a bridge?

Would I suddenly love both bridges or be altogether scared?

I want to write lines like these...

"The thing that separates you from the rest is greatness."

"I know I'm the villain in your story, but I'm a good man."

"I'm not done loving you."

"I think that we could be extraordinary together, rather than ordinary apart."

I just saw season 4 finale of Grey's Anatomy...

I don't think I've ever loved that show more than I do at this very moment.

Free book!

I got a gift card to Borders a couple of weeks ago and have been wondering what I should get with it.

I was looking into purchasing some poetry (love letters, love poems, pretty much anything love), but wasn't sure what exactly to look for (I'm not a huge poetry girl...but would like to be).

So, I set up a date with a friend (who happens to have excellent taste in poetry) to go into Borders together and have him school me on poetry, the good, the bad and the cheezy.

Today, while reading Allison's blog, I decided to forgo the poetry and buy this.

I'm so excited!

I'm going to Borders right after I leave the office today.

I'll let you know how it goes...

Long time no blog

Recovering from being sick, running an entire summer event this weekend and spending time with one of my best friends (who just returned from a month and a half long trip to Nicaragua) have consumed my life...

posts will follow shortly!

Sick

I've been sick (ridiculously sick) for the past two days...

having an infection bites...trust me...

the best part of my illness has been watching endless Jon and Kate Plus Ei8gt from bed and also having my niece tell me her mom has been sick too...

Her words exactly:

"Oh, you're sick...my mom's sick too, she's sick of us!"

Priceless.

Verbal Vomit

There's this friend I have...

Every time I'm around him I can't seem to shut up.

I just keep going and going...silence is really awkward with him...so, I just keep talking.

I'm usually okay with silence...just not with him. I get nothing from him. No response to questions. No laughter after my witty jokes. Seriously. Nothing.

After I'm done hanging out with him I'm exhausted. I can't even remember half the stuff that spilled out of my mouth.

We hung out this morning and somehow I ended up bringing up kissing, my future husband and this...

talk about awkward.

On My Mind

A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO
I couldn't get these lyrics out of my head:

Heal my heart and make it clean
Open up my eyes to the things unseen
Show me how to love like you have loved me
Break my heart from what breaks yours
Everything I am for your kingdoms cause

YESTERDAY
I read this on Neely's blog...

and read this on another blog.

LAST NIGHT
As I prayed for three of my friends, who are currently serving people in different countries, my heart ached and was deeply burdened. I cried...for them and for those whom they've been sharing their lives with.

THIS MORNING
I read:

"If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor,
he too will cry out and not be answered."
Proverbs 21:13

and listened to:

It is not a human right
To stare not fight
While broken nations dream
Open up our eyes, so blind
That we might find
The Mercy for the need

I've always felt I was aware of the needs around me, the needs around the world. But now I feel as though its not been enough.

I know God is wanting to show me something I thought I already saw.

You're a 90's Kid If:

you remember...

Watching:
Doug
Pinky and the Brain
Animaniacs
Saturday morning cartoons

TGIF:
Step by Step
Full House
Family Matters
Disnosaurs
Boy Meets World

PBS:
Mister Roger's Neighborhood
Ghostwriter
Reading Rainbow

the WB

Saying:
Psyche
da Bomb
Talk to the hand

Eating:
Warheads
Splashers Gum
Ring pops

Also, if:
You just cant resist finishing this . . . "In west Philadelphia born and raised..."

You remember reading "Goosebumps"

You settled everything with rock paper scissors, bubble gum, bubble gum in a dish or ms. mary mack

Kick ball was something you did everyday

You used to listen to the radio all day long just to record your FAVORITE song of ALL time on a tape

You remember when Super Nintendos, Sega Genesis and game Boy became popular

You always wanted to send in a tape to America’s Funniest Home Videos . . . but never taped anything funny

You remember boom boxes instead of cd players

You made those little paper fortune cookie things and predicted your life with them

All your school supplies were "Lisa Frank" brand

You collected Beanie Babies

You remember silver dollars being were cool to have

You know what an original walkman is

You know the Macarena by heart

You had light up sneakers...and they were cool

You rented VHS tapes, not DVDs

You remember gas being $0.95 a gallon

You actually played outside until it was dark!

I saw a variation of this on myspace today...it made me smile more than once...

At the Beach

Gettyng Around

Yesterday, Chris and I spent the day at the Getty Center (well, part of the day).

We saw:
Imagining Christ
Photography: Basic Forms
Photography: People of the Twentieth Century
Greek & Roman Art
and the gardens too.

Saw "Made of Honor" at the Grove and browsed Barnes & Noble.

Such a nice day...

iHeart iTunes

I just bought 19 songs on iTunes.

Most of them love songs...

all of them, songs I spent hours listening to while laying in a hammock on my grandparents farm the summer of my sophomore year in high school.

Every song brings back a memory, emotion, boy, friend (notice it's not boyfriend but boy, friend)...

I heart the fact that I don't have to run around searching stores for all these songs...all I had to do was type in the search bar...and it ran around for me.

I really do love iTunes.