Nuff Said.

Fall Break 2010

     *Sigh* Tomorrow is HALLOWEEN and the last day of October! It has been a crazy month, let me tell ya.

 October 20-24th was Fall Break and Jackie and I took full advantage of the time off. I had an absolutely wonderful time, but how could I not? Jackie is one of the sweetest people I have ever had the privilege to call my friend and a great traveling buddy PLUS we got to see some amazing landmarks and scenery AND share in the joy of our dear friend getting married!! I mean seriously, it can't get much better than that. After flying in late Wednesday night, we started our Fall Break adventure the next morning by taking the Metro into Washington D.C. I had been once before but for a very limited time, so it was so nice to have a full day to see more of the sights. Granted there is no way you can see everything in one day, we made a pretty good effort.

     The Metro took us into the city, but for the rest of the day we walked the gorgeous streets of American History.  As if just being in Washington D.C. and seeing everything wasn't enough, we encountered something very different on our lunch break. Our group of 5 stopping into the Ronald Reagan Building for some lunch in their large basement cafeteria. Toward the end of our meal as Jackie was standing in line to get a cookie, the entire building's alarm system started going off and we were evacuated! It is my understanding that when a fire alarm is activated, you typically are not supposed to use the elevators but to my surprise people still did. My group decided to play it safe and joined the herd of people scurrying up the stairs. No one knew what was going on, including the security guards at the door.

     To no surprise of anyone in my party, I whipped out my video camera to document the event. I still don't know what happened that day, but it was an interesting experience to see hundreds of confused businessmen standing around in the courtyard. I learned two things that lunch break 1.) communication IS still key and 2.) if you really want a cookie, buy it before your meal. ;) The rest of the  day could be summed up with stops at the White House, Washington Memorial, WWII Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, the Capital, National Archives (where the Constitution can be viewed but not where "National Treasure" was filmed unfortunately), and I'm sure dozens of other historical landmarks that I didn't even realize. The fact that the city was crawling with American history really fascinated me. Without knowing it, I passed dozens of intriguing statues and office buildings that contained our nation's greatest secrets. How cool is that? I really felt I was apart of history or at least getting a peak inside some of the events that shaped our country into what it is today. It is so important to remember all of the people that gave their life's work, as well as their physical bodies in the pursuit of freedom for all Americans. Every memorial really was a humbling sight. Needless to say, Washington D.C. was incredible and I would love to return again soon. There is still so many things I have yet to encounter.

     Friday morning I headed over to the precious little church Kim and Dan would be getting married in. As the event coordinator, I was apprehensive on what exactly my role was within the group. Kim had decided to have the rehearsal mid day which turned out to be a fabulous idea. Everyone was in high spirits and we didn't have to work late into the night to get everything right. I worked mostly with Megan, Kim's sister and maid-of-honor to get all the little details ironed out. I'd be lying if I said I knew going into it how much work this was actually going to entail. It was challenging, but with a notebook glued to my hands and an two amazing families to work with, it all came together wonderfully and I couldn't have been more pleased. The pastor ensured me if I wanted to move to Maryland, I would have the job of event coordinator at the church waiting for me. :) 

     Saturday morning, the women of the Maley house were surprisingly calm. The bridesmaids were just walking around, getting ready and Kim was completely relaxed. Not at all what I expected to see coming into the bride-to-be's house the day of her wedding. Emotions did pick up once we got to the church, but helloooo we were having a wedding!!

     Kim had not let anyone but her immediate family see her wedding dress so when she unveiled it, we were all stunned. She looked ABSOLUTELY beautiful. To say her dress was perfect would be an understatement. As she walked down the isle I had to peel my eyes away from her and look at, in my opinion, one of the most priceless facial expressions anyone can bear in their lifetime; the look on Dan's face when he saw his bride for the first time. The ceremony truly captured the beautiful merging of the two families and I felt so blessed to be able to be apart of it. The reception was held at a lovely country club that overlooked an amazing field of changing fall trees.

It was at that moment I realized why Kim had been so dead set on her wedding in Maryland taking place in October. It was breathtaking! This picture really doesn't capture how truly magnificent Maryland was with it's curving roads and glorious brick homes. The reception was a lot of fun as we danced with the bridesmaids and took a large group picture. Kim had baked the wedding cake and groom's cake herself and they tasted amazing, and I'm not just saying that. Jackie even caught the bouquet and is now on the search for her leading man. :) After the festivities, Jackie and I headed to the third house we had occupied over our 4 day adventure and took a little nap before we had to leave at 5am for the airport. Once we arrived back in Dallas, Jackie's lovely parents took us to her aunt's house where they had made us a wonderful brunch. Full, happy, and incredibly tired, Jackie and I made the 3 1/2 hour drive back to OBU. Fall Break 2010 was a huge success and who better to spend it with than loving friends and kindhearted new ones? <3 <3 <3

Hot Springs over to Baltimore

Wooo!! I am little miss traveler this week!! Last Saturday I embarked on a relaxing adventure with 7 other EMPD majors and the Hadleys to Hot Springs, Arkansas! We attended the Documentary Film Festival, the largest one in the U.S.!! It was sooo fun getting to see others' works, explore the cute town, and bond with the other majors. I would love to make a Film Festival Round 2 next year. (Which I WILL probably get to do) We got back Monday evening and now it is Wednesday and am again packing my suitcase.

Jackie, (possibly Laura, still don't know about that one) and I are driving down to Dallas, jumping on a plane, and soaring across the U.S. to Baltimore, Maryland for my dear friend Kim Maley's wedding. We are making a trip of it, taking a train to Washington D.C. on Thursday before the rehearsal luncheon on Friday and wedding on Saturday!!! Kim has asked me to be the wedding coordinator, which I'm really nervous about, but I'm sure it will be fine. *crossing fingers*

More info and pictures when I get back!

Deadly Door Decor

Today I finished my Halloween door decorations...ok well that may be a total lie because knowing me I'll come up with something else to add, but for the time being it's finished. My theme is the Bat Motel which features a room service tray, menu, chandelier, and guestbook. Please let me know what you think!



                 

The complete look of the "Bat Motel".                  Close up of the Room Service Stand. 



What is featured on the Room Service Tray.

                    

Bartok the bat and the Guest book.    "Name, Reason for Visit, How long you've been dead...."





Close up of the door.

Welcome sign...

Idiot

Picture this with me. I am sitting in the 2nd floor study room with my laptop and half frozen Vapur water bag at 11:00pm. I have yet to start my 5-7 page paper and presentation that is due tomorrow at 11am. But instead of diving head first into the enormous task in front of me, I get on my blog and write about it.

The logic in that?

There is non.


The End

Crash and burn

Life is just so busy, I run out of time in the day to blog about all the wonderful things that have happened! Since going backwards would simply take forever, I will just focus on today. Besides the normal, everyday happenings of my college routine, I was able to cheer on "Once Upon A Touchdown" for a while which was wonderful. I wasn't able to play flag football for two weeks while I recovered from a stupid concussion, and getting to see them out there was almost therapeutic.

I miss seeing my Junior friends on a regular basis. I seriously ACHE. I miss having them near by, and just hanging out on the hall. I miss being on the inside, and hate finding out fun plans from a secondary source. I miss our fellowship and how we just know each other. I miss all of those things, and it pains me to think about how things will never be the same. I guess this is the natural progression of life during college, but I just feel like they're continuing without me. Don't get me wrong, I adore being an R.A. for these amazing Freshmen women, but I need those people that have been with me for the last three years. It also doesn't help that God's timing for my romantic life is different than theirs, putting another separation between us. I just don't know what to do anymore. I don't know how to bridge the gap of me being in a dorm and them in apartments and a house. Or that they are completely different majors, or that they all are going to be getting married soon. I don't know how to handle it and I just don't know what else to say...

Wow, well that happy post took a nose dive. I guess this is what's really been on my heart...

What a great Monday

     My hall is so wonderful. I just don't know how else to put it. They are so lively and exciting, they keep me on my toes. It's amazing because they all have such unique personalities from timid in big groups to absolutely crazy, but I love them all. I'm so excited to watch them grow throughout the year, but dreaded the day when it finally kicks in that "college is hard". :)

     We had our first hall dinner tonight which was very successful. We almost got lost in the swarm of Singing Churchmen coming into the ARA, barely making it through the line. I'm sure they were very nice men, but there were a lot of them and that's intimidating. Though a benefit of them coming was that they had carrot cake out, which is rare indeed! Some of the roommates on the hall fought like married couples, which was thoroughly entertaining and kept us laughing the whole meal. These girls have known each other less than a month and I can tell there are already some great friendships growing. I pray they continue to develop and that the stress of the year to come with not be too overwhelming for them.  It really helps that a lot of them share classes, so they help each other out with homework and studying.

     Our football games were pushed back (yea!) and are now happening tomorrow. The team I play on is called "Once Upon A Touchdown" and our game is at 5:30pm but unfortunately I'm working so I won't be there. My girls' team "The Mighty Manatees", play at 7pm so I'm going to run over there after I get off the desk. I really hope they aren't too confused, the first game is the hardest. We ran some good drills in the RAWC practicing runs, catching and throwing. It was a lot of fun. Even though this wasn't my team practice, I played just as much as the girls to show that football really was doable. Some are still very apprehensive about the whole thing, but I really think they going to get into it with some practice.

     When we got back to WMU, I hopped into the shower. To my surprise, when I returned to my room I found a little party going down in my sink. One of my girls still loves playing with her Barbies and brought them to college with her. Once I discovered my new "roommates", the girls of course had to invite some of the other girls on the hall to see as well. Before I knew it, I had 5 girls sitting on my floor dressing up Barbie dolls, one Ken doll, and one G. I. Joe action figure. It was hilarious. And I have to say, I wouldn't be me if I didn't whip out my camera to document this event. They thought it was so fun, we are having a Barbie flashback party this Saturday! Everyone is bringing their old Barbies from home and we are going to watch one of those animated Barbie movies.

There will probably be cookies and popcorn involved as well. I've never seen an animated Barbie movie so this will be very interesting, but I'm open. I mean I love anything Disney, how different can Barbie be? OK, it could be really different, but I'm staying positive here. These kind of things characterize Freshmen year. Hopefully this type of silly, random happenings on the hall are what they will remember from their first year at OBU and the hw, stress and scheduling of it all will be forgotten.

Pranking Janna!!!

evacuate the dancefloor, I'm infected by the sound...

     So much has happened! I found out last week that I did not get the anchor position, but I got something even better. I am now the News30 Floor Manager, which I'm super excited about!! Though all of my new responsibilities are not clear until my training meeting on Thursday, my basic role is to be the middle man between the Video Suite and the broadcasting floor, cueing the anchors and making sure everything is running smoothly. I really think I'm going to like this a lot better and it will give me a much broader understanding of the different roles, which was my original goal.

     Reason #42875245 why I love being a EMPD major is happening next Monday. I have the opportunity to be a Production Assistant for a guy coming to shoot footage on campus. I'm working from 9am to 6pm, so I'll have to miss a few classes but it's going to be such a great experience!! AND on top of that, I'm getting paid $100 to do it. Can I get a BOO YA?!

     There has been a lot of activity this weekend here at the desk, where I currently type. Some freshmen, who are not on my hall hung out with me at the desk last night for at least 2 hours which was great! I love getting to know other freshmen who I don't see on a regular basis. While we were all gathered around my computer watching youtube videos, the elevator opened exposing an elliptical machine from the basement exercise room. After dieing of laughter and shock I sat down on the bike and pushed the down button; I was going to find out who had done this. I could hear the group at the desk run downstairs to see what I was going to do. I proceeded to interrogate the boys in the lobby to find out who the perpetrator was. The truth was set free and this picture was taken as we all watched Austin remove the machine by himself, and return it to the exercise room. Needless to say I'm keeping a very close watch on these new Freshmen boys, they're a lively bunch. 

     And now I come to today, were my parents gave me some very exciting news. Last night we discussed the financial likelihood of me being able to go to Kim's wedding in Maryland in a couple of weeks. Last night the answer was no I wouldn't be able to go, but when I woke up this morning, things had changed! They told me they were going to be able to help me with a portion of the airfare, enabling me to go!!! Jackie, Laura, and I are going to make a trip out of it, flying out on a Wednesday, taking a train from Maryland to Washington D.C. and touring around on Thursday, before the wedding on Saturday. I'm really looking forward to it and feel so blessed that it worked out.   

Well that's the update on my life! Who knows what will happen next, but I'm ready for this adventure!

i can blog, tweet, and update my facebook status from my phone at the same time. and i just did.

News 30 baby.

you can put makeup on her, but she'll still pee her pants

Poor WMU is taking a beating due to all this weather. The basement is flooding and girls are having to rearrange their rooms, lining the floors with multiple water catching trashcans. O happy day. Besides being cold, which I way prefer over hot, me and my floor are save and sound. Snuggled like a happy sandwich between the basement which floods and the 4th floor which can sometime leak, we've got it good here on the 2nd floor. Though I feel bad for the girls who are affected by it, I in no way want to trade places.

My girls' first flag football practice is tomorrow, the real test to see what hidden raw talent lies beneath my budding freshmen. Right now they are all nervous, unsure what to think, but tomorrow everything will change. They are supposed to have their first game on Saturday. I'm going to be honest, I hope their game is cancelled due to the weather. Not that I don't have any faith in them, but 1.) they are only going to have had one chance to practice 2.) they don't know what to expect yet on the field 3.) they are playing Cruise Club. I type this as my "Hogg Mama" Cruise Club shirt dangles from a Wonder Hanger in my closet. Though I've never played on Cruise Club, I have some great friends on that team that I love to support. Conflicting loyalty stinks, but I will be backing my girls up 100%.

As my second full week of being an Electronic Media Production major passes over hump day and on toward the weekend, I find myself completely enthralled with what I'm learning. This field excites me and I can't wait to diligently work at perfecting my craft. Yesterday was our first News 30 meeting and I actually auditioned for the Community Anchor position. On my way to the meeting, I was confident that I wanted to remain being the scenes, but as I sat their listening to Jonathan describe the positions, this one jumped out at me. I have some great ideas to try to build publicity for News 30, and this anchor role seems like it would put me in the best position to launch my creative plans. I really won't be devastated if I don't get it, I'm fully content on simply being apart of this experience.

Maybe there's a shark in the water

Since this is my blog and I get to make up the rules, I've decided that when I can't think of a good title for a post, I will use the title of the current song I am listening to. Sooo my title is brought to you by V. V. Brown.

Back to business....

I have a confession. In the past, I have been HORRIBLE at reading my Bible daily. I would just get busy, and not make it a priority. But here comes the worst part, I didn't feel guilty about it. There would be days that I wouldn't even think about cracking open that Holy book. Isn't that disgusting?! Well something switched inside my brain at the end of the summer which made me realize how stupid I was being. I felt that it was an obligation, something that as a Christian I needed to do. Well I was half way correct. I definitely needed to be diligent, but what I didn't realize was how wonderful it actually was! Diving into the precious words that Jesus purposefully left us has opened my eyes to such love and clarity, but with that, trials. I believe that if you aren't doing anything productive for Christ, than Satan isn't going to worry about you. Why should he? You are no threat to him. But...and its a big but, when that light bulb finally clicked in my head, Satan took notice. I will not remain idle anymore, and reading faithfully to learn what Christ has for my life is making Satan nervous. You know why? Because I'm asking to be used for the glory of Big Man in Heaven's name, not my own and that. is. powerful. When we ask for that, and truly seek Him, He's going to do great things through us and I'm ready for a wide ride.

So from now on, when my ridiculous alarm clock goes off at 7:00am every morning, Satan is going to say "O crap, she's up."

Saturday in the Park

Saturday in the Park will once again be spent at the WMU front desk for this Resident Assistant. I don't really mind, it would be fun to go but making money is even funner. It gives me time to do some homework, listen to the mixtape Heathbar made me, and reflect how AWESOME my hall is.

I officially finished my first week with 23 new beautiful freshmen women on WMU Second South!! I already love them. I won't ever refer to them by name for their own privacy, but I'm sure there will be some funny stories in the future.

On Wednesday we had a pedicure party which went really well. Some girls from 3rd South came down and it was a great time for the halls to get to know each other. We played some music, hung out, and simply bonded over movie and Glee quotes. Today we went to Hornbecks (dollar theater) and saw Prince of Persia!!! If you look back a few months, you can see my full reaction to this glorious movie, and it was just as good the second time around.  I really wanted to do some fun stuff their first weekend here so they weren't able to get homesick, or worse...BORED. And it was a success!!! There was a total of 15 girls that showed up, we had to take up two rows in the theater. It's great to watch them all bond so well with each other, which is just so fantastic. And they are PUMPED for flag football in a couple of weeks!

It's going to be a great year. I just know it.

Just as predicted

I haven't been a faithful blogger. Life is just so busy with school starting again, and I feel that my time can be better spent elsewhere. That being said, I will try to update as much as possible.

To sum up what this semester is going to look like for me: CRAZINESS. I thought I was going to have a pretty easy semester, but I was terribly wrong. But I wouldn't have it any other way. I love structure and calendars and lists, so I'm sure I'll be ok. :)

The Lie: not doing everything is not doing anything

The last waning days of summer are passing me by and yet I find myself conflicted whether I want them to speed up or to slow way down. This summer was a new experience for me, my first being back at home for an extended period of time since starting at OBU. Compared to my normal responsibilities at school, I have done very little this summer, content with spending my days either working, scrapbooking, reading, or hanging out with friends and family. I'm so used to having to schedule my day around all the place I have to be or things I have to do, slowing down and not having my standard "list" feels like I haven't accomplished anything. And I think that's where my problem lays, in my mind not doing everything is not doing anything. My ever present struggle shows its ugly face once again, this time with a huge stenciled "CONTENTMENT" painted across its forehead. I need to be happy where I am right now, today. The Lord had me working my butt off last summer at Falls Creek and that's where He wanted me to be. This summer He had me stay home, and that's ok too. I am so blessed in both "worlds" that I am apart of, I should never take that for granted.

crying in a store full of teddy bears

I cried at work yesterday.

Anyone who has spent a large amount of time with me will know that I hate crying. I don't do it very often. It makes me feel yucky. Some people need to have "a good cry" to make themselves feel better, but I am definitely not one of them. Crying makes me feel worse, most of the time...

I was at the F.I.B. position (first impressions bear, basically you greet guests as they come in to the workshop and explain the bear making process) when a Disneyland Security Officer approached me. She informed me that a 16 year old girl named Morgan wearing a red polo and green pants was lost in Downtown Disney. Morgan has down syndrome and had been separated from her parents at Ride Makerz. Checking both floors and the restroom, Morgan was not found in our store, so I told the Security Officer I would keep an eye out for her.  A little while later Morgan's mother approached me asking if I had seen her daughter and began sharing how helpless she felt just standing there. Security had asked her to stay put, in case Morgan came back to Ride Makerz and so Security could locate her. As I walked back and forth in front of the entrance, I couldn't help but feel a great swell of sadness for the entire situation. I can't imagine what it would be like to lose your child and for her to have down syndrome would only made it that much more frightening. She could be anywhere, extremely scared and confused. Watching Morgan's mother pace around was incredibly depressing, but things only became worse when her husband came back empty handed from his search. They switched positions, and the mother tore off in the other direction, literally running.

One of my managers Suzy approached me and I filled her in on what was going on outside. I shared with her how my stomach was in knots, sick from the whole situation. As we watched Anaheim Police walk by our store, apparently called to aid in the search, Suzy pointed out in the crowd toward Tortilla Joe's. There in the shadows was a girl that matched Morgan's description perfectly. Suzy asked if I wanted to go get her and before she had finished her sentence I tore off in her direction, forgetting I still had one of our roller skating F.I.B. dogs attached to my arm. Leaving the dog behind, I walked briskly toward the girl, praying it was indeed Morgan. When I finally reached her, it was apparent she had down syndrome and I began asking her questions. I told her "Hi, my name is Sarah, what is your name?" She didn't really respond, only muttering about her mom and dad. We had found her.

Trying to build trust with me, I told her about myself and how her parents were looking for her. I don't think she believed me at first because she was insistent in staying put. I told her her dad was right next to the big Mickey Mouse and he was looking for her. [we have a large Mariners Mickey Mouse statue outside our store as part of the All Star Baseball Mickey Collection all over OC] She was hesitant, but began walking with me as I asked her what her parents' names were and told her they were over by Mickey Mouse waiting for her. Suzy saw us approaching and ran over to get her dad.

The only sufficient adjective to describe the reunion between father and daughter is: perfect. He immediately began crying and hugging her, kissing her on the forehead. He told me that it makes total sense that's where we found her. They had asked if she wanted to go to Tortilla Joe's later because they had chips there, and she loves chips. She was just waiting for them. The scene was too much for me and I had to retreat into the store, tears welling up in my eyes. It was silly to be crying about this, and my other co-workers looked at me like I was crazy. Only Suzy understood how I felt.

Later on my way to my car, I thanked God for being there throughout the search and for the blessing of letting me witness such love. So I guess you can say, sometimes crying is a good thing.

Toy Story 3

Tomorrow! Tomorrow! Tomorrow I'm going to see it with Allison! O happy day!

Video #1

Just realized I have a whole lot of videos to put together from the end of the school year. Here goes my first one.

My friends and I had a lttle picnic fun during the last week of school before we all went our separate ways. Can't wait for them to get here at the end of summer!

A Do Re Tea Production.

this confirms it

today I got hit on by a 30 something year old Disney Cast Member. I was standing in line for the Cast Shuttle minding my own business and he turns to me and pokes my shoulder. "Do you want to go for a run with me?"

uhhhhhhh...................

"No."

what the crap?!?

He tried sitting next to me on the bus, but I shut him down. I think he finally got the hint. That or he saw me swinging my pepper spray on my key chain. Neither option displeases me.

Take that Disneyland Security. I do NEED my pepper spray.

This confirms it....creepers and drunks are my only male fans.

too bad...

http://mingle2.com/blog/view/dating-tyrannosaurus

Large Size Drink, Large Size Love

     The Chick-fil-a in La Habra was giving away free sandwiches from 12-2pm if you knew the secret password. Being the Chick-fil-a addicts that we are, Becca, Allie, and I awkwardly recited "Large Size Drink, Large Size Love" and received our little piece of heaven for free. There must have been some confusion with my order, because after I got my food, the cashier called out my name again with more food. They must have made my order twice because after watching the poor server walk around the restaurant calling "Sarah" for 10 minutes, he had still not found another Sarah. Yes, the thought came to mind to say something to him, but I'm sure he felt awkward enough carrying around an unwanted order of goodness. Plus I had just told him "large size drink, large size love" so my awkward meter was pretty high.
      After reading magazines on the kids couches in Borders, we met up with Melanie at Downtown Disney and proceeded to be my sister's official cheerleaders as she was applying for Build a Bear Workshop. [where both Becca and I work] She made it past the group interview and is on her way to the second individual interview! My managers were very excited that she did well, they were jumping up and down with me!
     A much more mellow day than in the past, it was still great fun seeing my sister go through all the motions of becoming a bear builder. :)

We're lost...again

I'm sorry, I have not been faithful to you blog. So much has been going on, and I've been distracted. I will work on my communication skills I promise. Do you forgive me?

Let's go back a little and recap the highlights of last week...

Tuesdayyyy:
Allie, Melanie, and I took a little trip down to Harbor House, a restaurant in Long Beach that Mel adores. Besides the fact I was in direct eyesight of at least a dozen movie stills from Star Wars Episode IV-VI and the discovery of the pink prison cell size bathroom, nothing terribly exceptionally exciting happened during dinner.  The real story took place after we left the restaurant.

Our first mistake was to head toward the water after leaving Harbor House. We wanted to take a little stroll in the sand, but after exactly 27 seconds, we decided walking on the beach in the dark with no male protection was not the smartest idea we've ever had, so we high tailed it back to the car. [though I have to say the girls rather enjoyed my pepper spray lesson] Driving toward what I believed was home, we stopped in Downtown Long Beach at a Yogurtland. Here comes mistake number two. I may or may not have completely missed the one way street sign and found a great parking spot...going the wrong direction.

The picture is a little dark, but there's my pretty little PT Cruiser, and all the other cars just looking at it. Such haters. I kept driving and driving, picking random streets, with no clear destination. We were just cruisin'... Drove down some alleys, following Pacific Coast Highway we passed Balboa Park, said hello to the Queen Mary, went across some bridges, and found ourselves in a shipyard.

     Uhhh, there are no shipyards anywhere near my house. That's when we came to the obvious conclusion we were without a doubt very, very lost. Ahoy, mistake number three! By the time we found an off ramp that didn't start with "Dock" and end in a number, we were in San Pedro. None of us had ever heard of San Pedro. After finally finding a grocery store to ask for directions, we started the 2 hour journey home. RE-DIC-U-LOUS. Here is a map of our travels. It's kinda hard to see [if you click on it, it will expand], but the star on the far right is my house. The star in the middle is Harbor House, and the star on the far left is where we ended up. I'm not very good with directions, I enjoy driving aimlessly around, and I love my friends who had as much fun getting hopelessly lost as I did. What I did not love was the discovery of mistake number four in the form of the very sad, very low gas gauge needle.  

     Wednesday, we did some cooking at Allison's house and I began documenting via FlipCam our summer adventures. Do Re Tea Productions presents Summer 2010, coming soon to a facebook and blog near you.

     Friday. O my gosh Friday was funny. Allie's parents treated me, Mel, Becca, Ben, and Allie to Farrell's Ice Cream Parlor. This place was intense. Servers running around everywhere, screaming, banging on drums, it definitely catered to all of your overloaded senses.

    One particular server was particularly fascinating to watch. He was excited, played the huge drum well, and if I dare say, not hard on the eyes. Everything would have been fine. We would have left the restaurant with gorged bellies and visions of pretty servers in hats, but alas, this is not a fairy tale. Prompted by my FlipCam, he opened his mouth and our illusions were shattered. How should I put this. He was not walking the straight and narrow. He had more pazazz than Rachel Berry on Glee. Move over Tyra Banks, there's a new addition on America's Next Top Model? Get the picture? We did. All too clearly.  

This commercial may be banned from TV, but my future kid will definitely be wearing these.

M&M's, Princes, and Apples to Apples

     The dynamic Allison and Sarah Duo hit the town once again last night, this time with a very different mission. Originally the plan was for Melanie and Brian to join us for the 7:50pm showing of Prince of Persia, but they were detained at a previous engagement. Allie and I had no choice but to carry on without them.

     Smuggling in m&m's and snickers bars, we found our seat in the not nearly full enough theater. Prince of Persia had been Melanie's choice and Allie and I were not exactly sure how we felt about it.

     I knew it was produced by Jerry Bruckheimer who I absolutely love, so I had high hopes for the new release. If you're not familiar with Jerry Bruckheimer's work go slap yourself... and then watch National Treasure 1 & 2, Pirates of the Caribbean 1, 2, 3, soon to be 4, Pearl Harbor, or Remember the Titans. Just to name a few of his movies, not even including any of his t.v. shows. Anyways, my opinion of the movie can be summed up in one fairly concise sentence: OMG GO SEE THIS MOVIE. The previews did not do this film justice, and I fear it will do poorly in the box office because of it. The previews promise an incredible amount of CG animation and appears overpowering, but there is a lot more to the story intermixed with the animation additions. I fully enjoyed it, will probably see it again, and will definitely be purchasing it. My apologizes to anyone who goes to see this and is less than thrilled, but everyone has their own movie preferences. Just ignore the previews and give it a chance.

     After regaining our composure from the surprisingly fantastic movie, Allie and I decided to give Julie a call, knowing she would be out of her church college group by then. Julie has invited us several times to meet her church and CRU friends so we took this opportunity to put some faces to the names she has told us about. By the time Allie and I arrived at In-N-Out [with the help of Maggie, Allie's GPS] the group had decided they wanted to move locations. Being the good friends that we are, we got back into the car and followed them to Calvary Chapel Santa Ana.

     There we played Apples to Apples and Allie kicked butt. Though my red "cheap motel" and "eyes" cards earned my only green cards of the game [which I was quite proud of], it was fun getting to know some of the people Julie hangs out with. Allie and I ended up staying an extra round after Julie left, which was a tad awkward but I was waiting for the perfect opportunity to use my Cheap Motel card. It came, and I conquered.

Urban Dictionary's definition of a blog...

"Blog: noun; to spew uncontrollably from ones brain; involuntary and unstoppable release of thoughts onto electronic media."

"Short for weblog. A meandering, blatantly uninteresting online diary that gives the author the illusion that people are interested in their stupid, pathetic life. Consists of such riveting entries as "homework sucks" and "I slept until noon today."

Utterly brilliant! Love it!!

so I woke up at about noon today...

Don't Call Us Heroes

Yesterday Allie and I decided to go on a rescue mission for our dear friends in need.

Mission: Ventilation of Frustration
Subject: Melanie the Marvelous
Supplies: cantaloupe, watermelon, coconut, hammer, 2 trash bags

Surprising Mel belle at her house, we proceeded to release bottled up emotions by smashing said fruit with said hammer. Though a psychologist would most likely deem our methods strange and a tad morbid, we found it entirely satisfying. From this experience we learned a couple of things: 1.) smashing fruit is a completely enjoyable experience 2.) we would be horrible at stashing a body 3.) coconuts make the best cracking sound but taste wretched.

we then proceeded to...

Mission: Sneaky Sustenance
Subject: Becca the Beautiful
Supplies: three In-N-Out #1's, two vanilla shakes and one ice tea

Becca was "grounded" for the first time in her life [at the age of 20] so we came to her at work, armed with food and hugs. We learned: 1.) In-N-Out fixes everything 2.) you can run away from home with two armfuls of Jimmy Dean's breakfast biscuits and a microwave 3.) there are no "k"s in the word marshmallow

Upon leaving Biola University, Allie and I took the scenic route to Anaheim, Tustin, and then finally home where we were joined by Julie. We partied like it was 2010, eating popcorn and whales while watching Iron Man, baked and decorated red velvet cupcakes, and talked about majors, no kill animal shelters, and hamsters until 4am.

It was a hard days work, but when our friends are in need, we deliver.

time goes on, but some things never change

Yesterday I stumbled across an online journal that I started in 2005. Following my typical written expression pattern of writing somewhere new to only loose interest soon after, I only made 7 entries in the journal.

One particular entry titled "100 Things I Want To Do" caught my eye, first being that there were only 25 things on the list and the second how so many things about me have stayed the same.

I'll share some of my favorites here:


2# work so hard that i feel i can eat a whole box of See's chocolates without gaining weight
[Don't know why that would have been appealing to my 15 year old self, but hey, we all have dreams...]
3# have a midnight conversation
[helloooo college]
4# adopt a child
[still want to!]
6# fight for a cure/organization i believe in
[Invisible Children The Rescue...check!]
12# own a ferret
[illegal in California *sniff*]
17# Drive a golf cart
[Falls Creek 2009, booyaaa]
19# take many trips to Mississippi and help rebuild people's homes
[2006, 2007, 2008...check!]
20# Be a teen girl counselor
[does a Freshman R.A. count?]
23# go to a ball
[thanks Disney]

I guess some things never change.

What's in a name...

Balloons.

Essential to a party.
Possessing the ability to brighten someones day.
Sometimes up, sometimes down.
An uncomplicated, peaceful moment.
Bouncing in the air, refusing to stay on the ground.
Optimistic, no matter the weather.

I see my life as a balloon, or more so, what I strive to be in life. A balloon is so simple and yet can convey so many different emotions. They have always made me happy, they have always made me "high", and they will forever be a strong metaphor in my life. I used the image of a balloon in my high school graduation speech and choose it now as my blog name.

As I write about my simple inflated latex of a life, my hope is that I can better allow God to hold onto my string, by reflecting on how He leads me out of the trees each and every day.