It's a Likely Story, Morning Glory

Update:

I made it through finals,
wondered at the likelihood of Fresno actually getting a tornado,
raced home,
raced-er- crawled along to Anaheim,
saw Missy Higgins at the House of Blues in Downtown Disney,
chilled with the fam,
made sugar cookies,
made some amazing new friends,
went to LA again,
got early Christmas goodies at Ikea,
wrapped Christmas gifts,
tried to figure out registration for classes- for about six hours,
cleaned,
played my guitar- ah! What a release from stress!
and received some early gifts!

All this to say, I hope that this Christmas season will be a contemplative and meaningful time, besides the chaos and hubub of decorating and shopping. Christmas comes only once a year and we need to remember the meaning and reason for the little baby in the manger. This year I look at the nativity scene (apparently creche is a real word) and see Jesus as a carpenter, hippie, friend to all, miracle worker, servant, teacher, and sacrifice. He is the "propitiation for my sins" and I will honor Him on December 25th and for my whole life for his choice of death. His birth guarranteed his ultimate death, and I will love and serve him for the meaning of the end of his life.


P.S. Robby Francis is a weird one. Couldn't really tell what that guy was sayin most of the time.

If you give a mouse a cookie....

.then you'll end up making a gingerbread house.
...Then you'll have to watch a sappy, girly movie to relax after all your hard work.
......And...then you'll drive home at 2 o'clock in the morning and truly pray you make it home alive. ........at least you'll get all green lights though.
_____________________________________________________________
Don't you just love little moments shared with friends?
For instance, a conversation with that certain person does not even have to include any words. How cool and weird is that?! Sometimes only a few words are needed while at other times, a simple look will do.
Tonight's little moments....
...."Rachel!"
...."I know!"
....singing under breath
...."Next week, tomorrow!"

And....
....."I wish I had a group of four friends like that."
.....a glance
.....a smile


Who knows the next time someone will say something that will totally resonate with you in a completely different and unintentioned way?
Look for those moments and
cherish them.

To those friends that I can have these conversations with.....I love you.
..................................................................................BRMW, WWS, BSF

To Rachel...

Because you're the only person who reads this, I hope you like this one!

.....Why, oh why, did we get sucked into that sappy (and poorly acted) Lifetime movie?! Sorry- it was probably mostly because of me. It's just that that guy was so stinkin' cute!!!

Falalala Lifetime! (Say that 5 times fast!)


Today's random song that popped into my head.....
______there's a view to the sea
______there's a view to the sea
______there's a view to the sea
______I'm not sure what it is


.....One of my most favorite moments of one of my best friends: while praying with a group of girls our freshman year, there was a lull in the praying. Then, one of my good (but usually unoutspoken) friends said out loud..."Sweet baby Jesus!"

Oh Nicole, I love you!

.....Like I was telling my roommate Heidi today, you are one of my most reliable and easygoing friends. I love taking pictures with you, crashing on your floor, and talking about life with you!

......Random tv quotes for the week:
No, Toby. You are the silent killer.
And:
I want to go to there.

Ciao, mein!

Read

Lately I've been meandering around on the internet and found a cool photographer who covered the story of an amazing young boy.

Go here to read more: http://www.heraldextra.com/content/view/275334/

His story is inspiring and amazing.

Or go here to check out the cool photographer: http://miketerry.blogspot.com/

Okay, that is all for now folks!

Who knew?

Who knew that one would leave a journey in Walmart on Decemeber 3rd alive and unscaled?

I sure didn't.

I almost had fun too. Looking at cheap Christmas decorations and horribly shiny fake Uggs (metallic silver Uggs? Who could design something so horrible?).

Then....I went to the craft section. Apparently, my grandmother calls the fabric section of Walmart the 'yardage' section. She then told me that Walmart employees do not use or know that term anymore. After asking me if I would know what she meant by 'yardage,' I told her yes, but only because she's my grandma.

Anyways, I had intended to go to the fabric/yardage/crafts section to get something (my sole reason I would shop there) and when I finally meandered over there, I almost came out buying an armload of things I had not intended too. I saw so many potential projects (mostly Christmas gifts but a few pipedreams as well): blankets, cake decorating items, patterns for clothing, and YARN!!

Yes, I did buy the one thing I went in the store for and I am proud to say I bought nothing else! After being so inspired, I was brought back to reality because most of the things I wanted to make I had not ever attempted to do so before and need to ask for help before I decide to do them (read: ask my mom to help me!).

By the way: I want to show someone the Christmas gifts I bought for friends and family soo bad but as of right now I cannot decide what to give exactly to which person so I am at a stalemate. Good friends, good gifts, too many decisions!

Back to my story....Although I was in crafty project heaven, I came to the realization that I come from a long line of people that start projects and do not finish them. Maybe, just maybe I can break the pattern and finish the one I started with my grand purchase of $4.32 tonight.



By the way, why on earth would there be a kettle corn stand in a Walmart parking lot? Isn't it enough that Clovis simply has a Walmart, must we corrupt the city further by making it more white-trash? (Basura blanca: thank you Mr. Henderson)

Ever...

·said, "Blow your nose...no...not your mouth, your nose"?
·met someone with an incredibly good memory?
Like freakishly good?!
I know a few people like that and it freaks me out everytime!
·had a two year old give you an ‘air high five’?
·thought incredibly stupid thoughts like, “That’s what facsimile means!”?
·had one of those God moments where he totally showed you or reminded you of something super important?
·had the best job ever without even realizing it?
·been completely blown away by something completely unexpected?
Like showing up for work one day and being told you are being let go?
Argued with your boss and then feeling completely justified in your frustration because of their lies and misunderstanding of your initial job description?
·felt incredibly hot because someone gave you a compliment on a day you felt like crap?
·thought you would know someone named Dempsey?
·met someone so predictable it wasn’t even funny?
well maybe it was…
·been completely amazed by the weather?
·had tons of things on your ‘To Do’ list and only crossed off one thing?!
·wished people would just listen?
·painted your nails at the grocery store?

Thursday night

The way I see it, the Office is crazy.
Tonight's episode was almost too much!

Good times!

I think I will watch 'Chair Model' again on fanpop.com or nbc.com this weekend!

Reflections

I have this written on my hand right now....

Captivating you are,
Calling to my heart you are,
Calling me to be yours,
To be yours.


And another...


Your name is holy, your name is wonderful
Your name is father, your name is wonderful.

Your name is redeemer, Your name is wonderful
Your name is forgiveness, Your name is wonderful

I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee
I exalt Thee, O Lord
I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee
I exalt Thee, O Lord

Your name is savior, Your name is wonderful
Your name is Jesus, Your name is wonderful
Your name is mercy, Your name is wonderful
Your name is healing, Your name is wonderful

I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee
I exalt Thee, O Lord
I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee
I exalt Thee, O Lord

I love going to The Well. Not because it is a cool place to go or the thing to do on Sunday night, but because I finally feel at home there.
I love the teaching staff, the music ministers to me at the times when I need it most, and I love the people!
At the beginning of the school year my sister and I decided to make the commitment and help with Kids Connection. Trading off with some friends from Pacific, we help with Sunday school every other weekend. I have learned so much helping with my five's and Kindergartners and I think Rach can say the same about her 1st -3rd graders.
Some kids touch my heart with their sincerity, wackiness, and interesting behavior. For instance, while explaining the story about Jesus walking on water, the question was asked, "Do you think he could walk on the water? " To which one little girl with flaming-red hair replied, "No silly, it was Jesus!" That puts things into perspective! (As does playing with your dress and lifting up the skirt around your arms so that your lower-half shows to all who care to look. Or coming out of the bathroom before butting or zipping up your pants -luckily only a couple girls were there that night.) Ah, the life of kids. I think the thing that amazes me the most is when a little girl or boy will say something like the little girl above did. The faith, innocence, and sincerity found in their remarks, thoughts, and faces is just mind-blowing to me.

Remembering these thoughtful moments, I ask myself: Why have I lost that mentality?
Well for one thing, I have lived longer than these children. But I think the main reason is that I have lost the mentality of service and and centralized heart. Tonight's message by Brad Bell is just what I needed. Go to iTunes to hear the message from the Well Community Church.

Playing guitar usually puts me in a pensive mood and I think it helped me focus better at church tonight. I love the ability to make music, combining words with notes, and praise the Lord. Not that I am good at all, but I feel that God has given me the blessed ability to learn songs and praise him in a somewhat reverent and unique way. I like that God gives us abilities to glorify, lift up, and adore Him. Or as Ben Wrightman says in Fever Pitch, "I like being part of something that's bigger than me-than I."

Continuing, Ben says another interesting line, "It's good for your soul to invest in something that you can't control."

Now isn't that interesting for being a somewhat-questionable-at-times PG-13 rated movie?

I thought so. Maybe there is a little theology inside of every wonderful and corrupt thing in life. Maybe my window is becoming bigger.
Or maybe I just know what to look for now.

Fever Pitch

Quotes from a movie I watched last night, Fever Pitch.

-Number eight: I like sometimes you talk out of the side of your mouth a little bit. And it's like- it's like an adorable stroke victim.
-I do?
-No, it's very cute. It really is.

-It's like, "Hey, how about sometimes I like to be years old. "
- Yeah.
- I like being part of something that's bigger than me-than I.
It's good for your soul to invest in something that you can't control.

-You're a romantic.
-Hmm?
-You have a lyrical soul. You can love under the best and worst conditions.

The last part sounds like a fortune cookie or a horoscope.

They're Baack!

Yes, that's right.
You heard it from me!
The pigeons are back
and in full force!

I even got pictures

I also tried to get a video of one
making noise but it was too loud
outside to pick up on the bird alone.


Onto to better things, I have a fun view today.

Today is the day that everything started happening for the MCC sale. The parking lots and streets are gradually closing down. The Green was mowed earlier today and....
...dun.....
......dun......
..........dun.......
Tents are going up!
I saw the first poles while on the way to my last class this afternoon and the first tent (canvas-less) was up by the end of my class.

My roommate and I talked it over and we both feel a lot more excited about the sale this year than last year. Having experienced it last year, we both agreed that it will be fun and we cannot wait to volunteer, eat good food, and buy weird things! I hope I can help with kettle corn again. The people who ran that booth made very good kettle corn and it certainly was fun helping them out.
However, I do hope that it does not rain this year. That was definitely not a fun part of the sale last year. Although it has been overcast the last few days, I hope that it will rain before, wait until Sunday, or not rain at all!

Did I mention that Cheerios are good?
Well they are.
Because I never really had breakfast or lunch, I went to the caf and had a little breakfast/lunch/snack/pick-me-up. I decided on Cheerios- one of the few things the caf never gets wrong and poured in a little skim milk. (By the way- why in the world is it skim milk? Why not something else- less weird sounding?)
Oh and it was good. Just what I needed.

Then I went to the library and got four books: two for school and two for fun.
On the long trek back to school I listened to one of the pleasure books (on CD) and I must say that the reader is not the best.
You know how while you read something you come up with different pictures, images, and sounds for different characters? Well this lady pretty much ruined the lovely book for me (it's the second in a series). The man sounded like he was an old man from Texas (he is not either) and the woman sounded like a thirteen-year-old school girl instead of being twenty-five. I debated for about ten minutes if I should stop listening or request and wait for about two months for the written book from the library. Reasoning that I requested the CDs in the first place so that I would not have to wait long, I gritted my teeth every time she 'changed' characters and tried to enjoy the story.

Okay must go now...pictures later.


Oh when I looked at the pictures on my camera earlier I found some from my last trip to the beach with my Mom and sister. Walking the pier at Cayucos, I took some great pictures of the sunset and the big ocean waves.

First Ever Blog

I am sitting here thinking of this morning.
Last night I kept waking up; being cold, hot, uncomfortable and hearing loud noises were some of my problems. I woke up early to hear one girl talking really loud -surprisingly without ever hearing my usually noisy roommate get up. Then I woke up because pigeons decided to make their home at the windowsill across from mine –the STRAS 1 boys’ bathroom windowsill. Ugh- stinkin birds! Did I mention that the boys can see directly into my room? Well, they can if they want to. One time I had the window open a little and my friend and I were laughing really hard while working on a project. The guy in the bathroom had the window open and looked out when he heard us. Seeing us, he quickly popped his head back in and closed the window! Ha! Take that boy- for all the times you have freaked me out by randomly talking (read: singing) LOUDLY in your bathroom or for suddenly turning on the light at night! Back to the birds….Later I was wondering if we are allowed to have BB guns at school- probably not because we are pacifist and we are not allowed to have ‘firearms’ on campus. Then I remembered how Opie accidentally killed a bird on the Andy Griffith Show with a slingshot and how cute he was when he cried while Andy taught him his lesson.
>Wow- that all seems pretty stream-of-consciousness!

Oh I just remembered, yesterday at work I was looking at the blog, stuffwhitepeoplelike.wordpress…. and this girl saw it minimized on the bottom toolbar and asked me if I have looked at stuffeducatedblackpeoplelike. First, this annoyed me because I did not really want my boss to know I was on the internet at work, and secondly because I was reading someone's blog! Definitely not work related or homework related! Now I must say this particular girl is of a certain ethnicity (you can probably guess) and she really bugs me for some reason. Usually when she comes in to receive help she does not behave as the ideal student. For instance, last week she came in and asked me to find something for her that I have no ability to do so. Unable to help her and not wanting to help her for her rude and ignorant attitude, I asked my boss to help me help her. After stepping away from the situation I realized that in the brief three minutes I interacted with this certain girl, I made several blatant sins and judgments in my head against her. Remembering that she is an apathetic- ‘I’m only here because I have to be’ (and not because I do not care to know how to write) -type of person who is consistently rude and impertinent to fellow workers. Needless to say, all the judgment I felt for her left a bad taste in my mouth and I felt mad at the girl. Thinking about the situation now, I realize how judgmental I can be without realizing or intending to be. Lately I keep seeing my judgmental attitude in different areas of my life with different people.

Eewww! There is a hairy- grayish-whitish spider crawling in between my window and screen! Yuck- I think it’s on my side for a minute and I freak. Then I realize it is stuck between the panels. But then I feel something crawling on my leg and I think it has gotten into my room somehow. Maybe it really is on my side of the glass. Ah! I cannot figure it out! Getting cold so I must put on my sweatshirt- then I will be protected if the spider somehow gets on my side.


The view from my window is crazy sometimes- did I tell you about the pigeons?