01.28.09

On Facebook, I got tagged and had to write 25 random things about me. Since I've been slacking lately on my blog, I thought I'd share them. Here goes!

1. I've broken two bones, my wrist and my foot, both while climbing around on monkey bars.
2. I love the way I feel with super-long hair but I like the way I look when it's short.
3. I love healthy foods and could live off of fruits, veggies, nuts and whole grains for the rest of my life and be completely content.
4. I castrated two lambs when I was in 4-H. True story.
5. I secretly wish I would get laid off so I could spend a year living in Zimbabwe.
6. I don't like sleeping with socks on.
7. On some days, my anxiety is so bad I go through an entire pack of gum from lunch time until I leave work (roughly four hours).
8. I think my sister is one of the most beautiful women in the world and I used to take pictures of her all the time for my photography class.
9. I love everything there is about horses (aside from how expensive they are to keep). My favorite thing is to hold on tight and let them run!
10. I'm pale skinned and rarely ever show my legs in fear of blinding (or disgusting) people.
11. Every year for Christmas, my Mother gives me a children's book signed by the illustrator. It's fired a dream in me to one day write and illustrate my very own children's book.
12. It takes a long time for me to trust people and open up to them. Because of that, I can be pretty socially awkward.
13. I thank Jesus for saving me from the person I would have been without Him. I can't wait to see what other awesome things He's going to do with my life!
14. I have two cats that are so naughty and sometimes I wish they were dogs, but I love when they lay at my feet on cold nights and purr super loud.
15. I have two tattoos and am going to get another one in the next few weeks (Refuge wings).
16. I'm part of an amazing group of girls who are on a mission to change Zimbabwe, and maybe even the world! (shout out to Lorz, Gi and CC....woohoo!)
17. I don't have a favorite song or a favorite movie because I'm always changing my mind.
18. I long to live in the country, surrounded by wide-open spaces.
19. I work in a cubicle but I hate it and wish I could be working where my hands get dirty and I feel physically tired by the end of the work day.
20. I used to have a huge fear of crickets after I found one on my pillow in the middle of the night. I got over the fear when I started working at a pet store and had to bag and sell crickets to people who owned creatures that ate them. It was horrible at first.
21. I've always known I'd be good at playing the piano but am too stubborn to learn on a keyboard. My Mom bought me a piano a couple years back at an antique auction and I'm waiting for it to be moved into my house (I finally have a place where it will fit!) before I start teaching myself to play.
22. I am not nice to be around if I don't get enough sleep...and, sadly, I'm not one of those people who can survive on less than eight hours.
23. I have the best Mom in the entire world and I'm not just saying that. She's AMAZING.
24. Joshua Tree National Park is one of my favorite places ever.
25. One day, I want to be an artist.

01.26.09

I can feel myself changing. It's a growth that's happening from the inside. The wounds I've carried for so many years are suddenly surfacing and it hurts...but after the pain comes healing...and after the healing comes growth...and through that growth comes strength. They are relatively small hurts and small strengths, but I can feel my faith stretching each time, and that's a pretty beautiful thing to feel.

Another cloud picture from my camera phone:

01.23.09

Boca burger on Ezekiel bread with mustard. I just had to take a picture of it because I was walking up from the cafeteria (where I toasted the bread) and was slightly embarrassed with how unappetizing my lunch looks. It doesn't look very pretty but it's SO yummy!

01.21.09

I can't get enough of the clouds. This is from my drive home today. It's always so easy to see God in a cloudy sky.

01.19.09

This weekend was really nice. The weather was perfect (if felt like spring) and the company was wonderful.

Saturday, Regina and I drove up to Cal State Northridge to see an extremely talented young man run. I'd never been to a track meet before and had a blast watching people jump, run and throw things. That night, after getting back to OC, a small group of us did a movie and popcorn at my Mom's. It was a good day.

Sunday, I went to church with my new friend K. The lesson was on the mustard seed...how small and insignificant it seems but how it will grow into a huge, flowered bush that birds will perch on. I feel so much like a mustard seed right now...so small but with this huge desire to grow. After service, K and I had lunch and then I went for a trail ride. Kalvin went right over the bridge without any spinning (hooray)! Then, last night, I met Regina and two of her friends at Newport Church for worship night. Imagine a bar/club that just the night before was filled with people drinking and doing all the other stuff that comes along with partying...and imagine that place being packed tight with youth who have a passion for the Lord. Now, picture a band spouting out rockin' music and almost the entire room of people jumping up and down with their arms raised, singing at the top of their lungs to God. Incredible.

Now, back to Monday. It's not as painful as most Mondays though -- I'll be taking tomorrow off to go to Disneyland with Regina and K. Fun!

1.14.09 P.S.

Every time a blog reposts “People Got A Lotta Nerve” by Neko Case, ANTI will donate five dollars to the Best Friends Foundation.

Let me tell you, Neko Case is amazing, amazing, amazing. So, grab the free download now. Great music for a great cause...can it get any better?

Now it's your turn to post this and help raise money for animals.

(Thanks KK for the heads up on this.)

01.14.09

When I get to Heaven, I'm definitely going to hang out with C.S. Lewis. I want to spend hours talking with him...his mind fascinates me! Hmmmm...I wonder if he likes horses? I'd love to take a trail ride with him and then stop midway for lunch under a huge oak tree and chat it up over yummy sandwiches.

Here are a few of his quotes I especially like right now:

"Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point."

"...that people often say about Him: "I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept His claim to be God." That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic--on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg--or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronising nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to."

"You don't have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body."

"I have found a desire within myself that no experience in this world can satisfy; the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world."

"This year, or this month, or, more likely, this very day, we have failed to practise ourselves the kind of behaviour we expect from other people."

01.11.09

From The Inside Out, by Hillsong, speaks to my heart in so many ways right now...

A thousand times I've failed
Still your mercy remains
And should I stumble again
Still I'm caught in your grace

Everlasting, Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending, Your glory goes beyond all fame
In my heart, in my soul, Lord I give you control
Consume me from the inside out Lord
Let justice and praise become my embrace
To love You from the inside out

Your will above all else, my purpose remains
The art of losing myself in bringing you praise

Everlasting, Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending, Your glory goes beyond all fame
In my heart, in my soul, Lord I give you control
Consume me from the inside out Lord
Let justice and praise become my embrace
To love You from the inside out

11.11.09

Ah. Today is beautiful! The sun is out, the sky is clean and blue, there's a wonderful, spring-time feeling in the air (even though it's January). Last night, Regina was telling me how I live in one of the most beautiful places and I need to start opening my eyes to it all. Today was a good day to start opening my eyes...it wasn't hard at all to see it when so much of the states are covered in snow and ice right now. Maybe I do have it pretty good! ;)

I looked up a painting class online this morning. It starts in February at the local community college...I think I'm going to sign up for it. I had a wonderful heart-to-heart with Lorz the other night (that girl is AMAZING) and she made me realize how much I've been holding back my creativity because I'm scared to let it out. I need to stop worrying about what people think so much and start living to please God. A huge part of that, for me, will be to release the creativity full-force -- paint, draw, play guitar, sing...just be the quirky little thing He's made me to be and use it all as an act of worship. I need to give it all to Him and not care that others may think. That's huge for me and it's going to take some time to get there...but I'm excited to start!

Regina flew in on Thursday and it's been such a blessing to spend time with her. I knew I missed her, but I had no idea how much! I need to get used to being tired (I'm so tired right now!) because I'll want to spend as much time with her as I can before she heads back to Zim. It's hard because she's so busy (so many people want her time) but I'm determined to steal her for a day and spend some quality time with her. I wonder how cold Joshua Tree is right now?

::yawn:: Gonna go take a nap...

1.07.09

Tomorrow Regina is here! I'm really excited to see her and can't wait to hear about everything she's been doing in Zim. It's going to be so special to spend time with her and I'm really looking forward to it!

I started a sketchbook a few days ago in order to spur my creativity back to life. So far, the pages are pretty dull, but at least I'm drawing/doodling every day. Here's something I did today. I folded two pages in half vertically to make doors and when you open them there's a sacred heart inside.

01.05.09

It's so my style --the evening before I have to go back to work I catch a cold. Last night I curled up next to a roll of toilet paper and tried to sleep through a marathon of nose blowing...by morning there was a sea of tissue balls around my bed. The beginning is the worst for me -- I'm such a big baby when I have an achy body -- so work was a tad uncomfortable. I can't wait for 8 o'clock so I can take some p.m. meds and zonk out until tomorrow. Waaaaah...

I ordered a book on Amazon called The China Study and am really excited for it to get here. I think a huge reason I get sick all the time and have stomach problems is because of my diet (makes sense!). I try to eat healthy but the problems are still here...and I'm beginning to think it has to do with the meat and dairy in my diet. I'm really looking forward to learning more about nutrition and the benefits of eating more vegan-like. Not only might it help me be healthier but I'll feel so much better not noshing on animals!

Below is a picture of the curtains my Mom made for my kitchen. I picked out the fabric and she sewed them up in one night. She's seriously the most amazing mother in the entire world.

01.03.09

I really like this chair. So do my cats...to scratch on.

I have to figure out how to make it work in my bedroom. That way I can close the door when I'm not home and they can't get to it. Sadly, that also means there will be one less sitting spot in my living room.

01.01.09 P.S.

Shortly after I wrote the previous post, I went into the bathroom to hang the curtain rod before returning my Grandfather's power drill (by the way, I want my own power drill...they are fantastic!). I forgot about the wet paint as I was trying to screw in part of the curtain-rod holder and pressed my head and arm into the freshly painted wall. Paint got in my hair, on my cheek and down the side of my sweater...and the wall doesn't look so pretty now. I suppose I'll have to find a picture to hang to hide the smudged paint marks.

01.01.09

Happy new year! The year has started off on the right foot. I woke up and met a friend out at the barn for a trail ride, and when I got home I found a happy little mix of tunes from Kev...then I put up the new curtains and after that my Mom came over to help me paint the bathroom. Now I'll be heading over to my Mom's house in a few for a little family party to celebrate the new year. There will be homemade pizzas and board games, and lots of hugs from the nieces. Fun!

Look, the bathroom is painted!


Finally, curtains!