current obsessions

*dustin kensrue's album "Please Come Home"
*Rediscovering Alex!
*easter....my mind is constantly on all things playhouse/easter related
*diet CHERRY pepsi
*baking! (too bad i can't eat it because of slim fast...."
*Golden Spoon!

I was able to see Jenny and Darrenn twice this week when i didn't expect to see them at all! AND i had dinner with Phil and Roxeanne last night, AND i get to have lunch with Will tonight...it's like a Revolution extravaganza right now and it makes my life wonderful!

okay so blogger is making my title post look like some sort of middle easter text....not exactly what i am going for...oh well, who needs titles anyway?? so yeah, i am moving at lightning speed and i am actually really enjoying it. we are so busy at RH with the GO campaign, and Easter, and my kids are singing this weekend in The Centre! i'm really excited, they know the song super well and i think everyone will love seeing them...hopefully people will think that they are so cute they will want them to serve in The Playhouse on Easter!! Easter is going to be off the hook people...seriuosly, a 60x60 ft. PLAYHOUSE!! how stinking awesome is that?! I'm excited to see how it all turns out! i guess that's all i have to say except i FINALLY get to see Will on Friday! YAY!

bills, bills, bills

so not having health insurance is pretty new to me...and so i've been making payments on all these bills from when i was sick after bangladesh...some of them are starting to get down to a reasonable amount where i don't feel like i'm drowning in them, but it still sucks...the best part is that not only do you get the hospital bill, you also get the lab bill, AND the doctor's bill...oh yeah, and 2 tylenol cost $200!! is that ridiculous or what?! my mom should have just given them to me out of her purse!! it's crazy how every little tiny thing costs so much! it's time to get health insurance!!

while searching online for curriculum for Good Friday, I came across this poem of sorts. I'm not quite sure why this hits my heart so deep, but it does. the way it's put together on the website is really cheesy, but the truth that it holds is weighing on my heart (and i hope that someday i can live up to all of this!!) so i thought i'd share:

I am a minister. I minister to the largest mission field in the world. I minister to children.

My calling is sure. My challenge is big. My vision is clear. My desire is strong. My influence is eternal. My impact is critical. My values are solid. My faith is tough. My mission is urgent. My purpose is unmistakable. My direction is forward. My heart is genuine. My strength is supernatural. My reward is promised. And my God is real.

In a world of cynicism I offer hope. In a world of confusion I offer truth. In a world of immorality I offer values. In a world of neglect I offer attention. In a world of abuse I offer safety. In a world of ridicule I offer affirmation. In a world of division I offer reconciliation. In a world of bitterness I offer forgiveness. In a world of sin I offer salvation. In a world of hate I offer God's love.

I refuse to be dismayed, disengaged, disgruntled, or distracted. Neither will I look back, stand back, fall back, or sit back. I do not need applause, flattery, adulation, prestige, stature, or veneration. I do not have time for business as usual, mediocre standards, small thinking, outdated methods, normal expectations, average results, ordinary ideas, petty disputes, or low vision. I will not give up, give in, bail out, lie down, turn over, quit or surrender.

I will pray when things look bad. I will pray when things look good. I will move forward when others stand still. I will trust in God when obstacles arise. I will work when the task is overwhelming. I will get up when I fall down.

My calling is to reach boys and girls for God. It is too serious to be taken lightly, too urgent to be postponed, too vital to be ignored, too relevant to be overlooked, too significant to be trivialized, too eternal to be fleeting, and too passionate to be quenched.

I know my mission. I know my challenge. I also know by limitations, my weaknesses, my fears, and my problems. And I know my God. Let others get the praise. Let the church get the blessing. Let God get the glory.

I am a minister. I minister to children. This is who I am. This is what I do.

By:Roger Fields

swedes.

i love swedes. really i do. i have been babysitting for a swedish family recently and they are wonderful, and this past thursday, i was able to talk to Ola and Håkan on the phone...two of my favorite swedes! Hakan said something that i really needed to hear. "enjoy life angelina." so simple, but so needed! i love my swedes!

mid-march resolutions

so i totally missed the boat with new year's resolutions. i have however been doing a little self-examination over the past couple of days, and realized a couple of things that i'd really like to change. so, i have 3 goals for myself:

1. use my time wisely...free time has gone from something i had an abundance of to something i need to cherish because it comes so seldom these days...with that, i've decided to greatly decrease on the amount of tv i watch. seriously, i think i'll try to keep it down to 24 and the hills...wow, that's a big step for me, but i think it will be worth it. maybe i will actually finish one of the 12 books i'm in the middle of....

2. i'm on a shopping fast...when kristin and tessa left, i decided to go on a shopping fast. the amount of money i spend on clothes, shoes, accessories, stationary, and so many other wonderful things is ridiculous! absolutely ridiculous. so, being that i spent an obscene amount of money over the past two weeks, i will not be shopping for anything for myself. i have a few gifts to buy, but other than that, it's neccessity only. this is definitely going to be the hardest one for me.

3. working out needs to be a priority...not because i want to lose weight, although what girl doesn't?...but more because i always feel so good after a nice run. and trust me, i'm not running fast, or for lond distance, but a great jog makes my life so much better...so yeah, i need to get on that.

so there you have it, these are my new goals for myself. i hope that i can stick with it. and the real reason i am putting these things on here is so that if you hear me talking about some random show, or my cute new shoes, you all can get on my case and hold me accountable!

bangladesh.

so, i have been getting so amped for bangladesh. i know it's like 8 months away, and i don't even know if i will be able to go, but hopefully by then i will get some time off. anyways, that's not really the point. the point is that i love this country. after i heard the girls on last years team talk about how crazy and insane it was, i wasn't sure why i wanted to go to bangladesh, but i knew that even with their intense stories, i had to go. I can actually remember the moment that i knew that i was being called to bangladesh. the guys from last year's team were sharing with our high schoolers and i knew. BAM! just like that i knew. it's one of the clearest things i've ever heard in my life. so....all that to say that i realize as much as i've talked about it, a picture says a thousand words, so here are some photos to tell the story....

geeks and technosexuals

as i was browsing through the urban dictionary, i found a hilarious word and its definition:

TECHNOSEXUAL:
A person, male or female, who is so deeply enthralled with technology they discuss it with a level of passion that most people reserve for sex. Not always a geek or a nerd, but generally someone who has the latest and greatest everything.

i also found the best definition of geek (there are 7 total, and they're pretty funny)...
1. geek
The people you pick on in high school and wind up working for as an adult.

HA!

24 has ruined me.

i love 24, we all know it. we also know that when i like something, i pretty much become obsessive, but, i actually didn't watch last monday's episode until last night!! i ws very satisfied with the episode. i'm still a little leary of charles logan, and when i say little, i mean extremely. he did so much damage, i don't know if he can redeem himself, but we will soon see.

after 24, me and the girls went to the movies to see Breach. it was good. really good. the only problem is that because of 24, i kept waiting for another twist, and when it ended, i almost couldn't believe it. it's changed the way i watch suspenseful dramas forever...but i can't complain, i love my jack bauer.

they're here!!!

So Kristin and Tessa are both here now, and we had a wonderful day roaming around Laguna Beach. We're staying at Deb's on the island, and I am loving it!! today we had Pacific Whey, and Gelato Paradiso! We all know how i love both of those places!

so i FINALLY watched the series finale of The OC. i had tears in my eyes almost all the way through just knowing that it was the end of an era. then when it got to the end...full on tears running down my face. is it wrong to be so emotionally attached to characters on a tv show??

tomorrow is a disney day for anyone who wants to come meet the two most amazing girls!!

oh how i love...

elliott smith...



and

damien rice...




i have rediscovered my love for all things elliott smith and damien rice. with all this new music, i can't forget about all the amazing other stuff that i adore! it's 9am (i'm going into work late since we have leadership community tonight), i have already done laundry and am ready to tackle monday! crazy...i'm turning into a productive person at home and not just at work! it's kind of a miracle.

so last night i went to church by myself for the first time in years probably. i went to the 7pm service at ROCKHARBOR, and other than the staff I did not know ONE person! crazy, huh? it kind of blew my mind that i could go to church somewhere for 6 years, and walk into a service and not know anyone. i guess that's what happens when a place blows up like that.

being alone in church actually helped me to focus a lot. no distractions. mike talked about the man that was possesed by a legion of demons and Jesus cast out his demons into the pigs, and because of that one man's story, an entire region heard about Jesus...it's a great message, and you should check it out on the website, but anyways at the end of the message, he asked us to write down "He Has..." on a slip of paper and then fill in the blanks. it was a pretty powerful way to see how much God has done in my life...what has he done in your life?

listen to this

I really think i might be the most random person ever when it comes to music...but hey, i'm a lover not a hater. so here is someone i've been listening to for a while and adore. you should check out joshua radin because he's amazing. the end.

for the love of Kean

so this morning i drove down to costa mesa to do some babysitting, and when i was done, i was driving up fairview and i thought, "hmmm, i'd really like one of those cookies from French's bakery that kimmie really likes." so i drive into the center with the bakery, get the cookies and think to myself "a chai sounds soooo good right now." thankfully diedrich's is in the same center, so i walk over, and to my suprise....DIED'S IS CLOSED....LIKE COMPLETELY GONE!!! now, i knew this was coming because stupid starbucks bought all the leases, but i absolutely did NOT know that they had already shut down! i was really really upset. i realize this sounds a little crazy, but we all know that i am a little crazy! so being the person i am, i refused to go to starbucks (right around the corner), and drove back further south to Kean. You see Martin Diedrich had left the corporate world, and started a coffee shop over on 17th and Irvine. I've been frequenting it more and more since i drive by everytime i go to RH, and i absolutely LOVE it. so yeah, i drove all the way down there out of principle, and enjoyed my non-fat iced chai with sugar free vanilla....YUM! So yeah, i am still sad that there is no more diedrich's, because there were so many memories and so many delicious chai's there, but it's time for the new season of 100% anti-starbucks, and 100% Kean!

and just as an fyi in case you are ever in the cm/newport area, there are also really yummy fresh treats, and the mayan spice hot cocoa is to die for....and i hear the coffee is amazing....see maybe that also makes me crazy for posting this because i don't do coffee....but i do TEA! oh yeah, and they are environmentaly friendly for all my green friends.