The Gym at 6am isn't fun.

SOO my co-worker Kelly texted me last night about hittin the gym early this morning. I said I was down, not really knowing what I was signing up for, but I'm usually one to think "nothing can be that bad. Right?"

6am. The gym?? What was I thinking? List of reasons why I probably won't do this again.

1. Not a "6am" person. Never have, never will be.
2. Anything that requires mental capacities more extensive then stumbling to the bathroom and turning on the coffee pot are just too much for me at 6am.
3. Self Motivation? NONE at 6am
4. Falling asleep on the way to work at like 8:40AM because you were up at 6am... not so good
5. 6am is a good TWO hours before I usually wake up. Bad news Bears

Ha! I'm not totally anti trying this again but I think it will have to be outdoors! Walking, luging, hiking, canoeing, long-distance skiing, underwater basket-weaving... All of these things would be better than the gym at 6am.

Trader Joes

Vegan Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies. Delish.

Today, my co-workers and I went to lunch at a delicious place called Tender Greens in Point Loma. It was a nice, fun little outing to celebrate a birthday and after lunch we all had this sudden craving for cookies (Not a rare occurence). Trader Joes happened to be right there so we meandered in. (I could easily spend about 3 hours in there, but as we were working, we made it pretty quick) I remembered that a friend had suggested the veg. choc. cookies so in my head I planned to buy 1 bag and share them with everyone... When we came out of the store we each had our own bag and some chocolate bars! Hilarious. We bought oatmeal chocolate chip, cranberry & flax seed, flourless chocolate hazelnut and molasses. Overkill? Naw!

Today, work was awesome. I met with three of my girls and each meeting was just so fun! They were encouraging, funny and a nice mid-week reminder of why I love my job. My job is full of all my favorite things: mentoring, coaching, encouraging and sparking growth...all of which seemed to happen today! To end my day, I stayed late chatting with a co-worker about life, church, relationships. Yay!

I'm now sitting in my pajamas (my routine second outfit of the day), watching american idol, thinking about starting my bible study sometime soon. The gym was supposed to happen as well, but thats ok... My co-worker and I are taking that beast on tomorrow at 6am. Bring it on.

Adios for now, or "Go Away!" [Nacho Libre]

Pigeons, Lambs. I LOVE GOD'S WORD.

Dang! The bible is FUN!

I know, most people wouldn't probably say that about the bible...but that means they probably haven't read the bible where you feel like you've walked through the dust of Nazareth or actually heard the cries of Jesus. Beth Moore: I love this woman. I feel like I meet with her each day as my mentor, even though its through a devotional she wrote back in 2002! What a blessing she has been to my life, even though I know the true blessing has been in God's Word, I am just so thankful for a woman to help me understand it! I am going through the study "Jesus, the One and Only" with a group of my close friends on Thursday nights and I can't even begin to tell you how influencial this study has been in my life. I highly suggest every woman study one of hers some day. Whether or not its your cup of tea, I think the valuable take-away would be how to really study God's word with a fresh set of eyes and a renewed heart. I used to read the bible more for comfort or encouragement and honestly...sometimes I wouldn't even remember what I read. I can now say I picture what went on, understand more of the reason why it was written and can imagine in my head the incredible stories that I've heard my whole life. How fun it can be!

This weekend was awesome, as I was in Boulder, CO for ADX Convention. (I will post later about that) but my dear friend and I were in TEARS laughing about something we had learned through our study! All I can say is who knew pigeons could be so hilarious. :)



Well I'll leave you with just a taste, as I have this BM quote on my computer at work...

"Time and time again I am struck by how divine the story of the Gospel is. It did not originate in the human mind. No man could invent something so beautiful."

[I know this picture is terrible, but I just couldn't resist ;)]

Oh How He Loves!

Well, I realize my last entry was about CODM and I haven't blogged since then. My friend pointed out that "I must have had a bad case of the Mondays!"

Actually, this week was dedicated to practicing for the Open Mic Night Haiti Benefit show last night at Alpha Delta Chi. The funny thing is, I actually had a post-it on my computer saying, "Practice Music" to remind me. You know, I was talking with a dear friend last night about spiritual gifts and that I feel like even though God has given me the gift of music, I am still called to cultivate that. Discipline is always something I'm working on in my life and in music, its the same. I've realized over the years, it takes: TIME, ENERGY, EFFORT and DISCIPLINE to be a good musician. Ugh. I have to remind myself, this is for God's glory and I've come to enjoy the process.

Well, on Tuesday night, my girl "Twilight" or Catherina came over around 7:30ish and we jammed until midnight. On a weekend...you know thats some dedication. It was a blast though! We let the creative juices flow, listened, played, wrote and re-wrote bridges. I need to do this more often. I'm so blessed to know a girl so musically talented and who has an ear to critique and make suggestions. I plan to jam with her on a regular basis. (Twilight, you down?!)

Thanks to my incredible parents, I have some ridiculously cool practice/recording equipment and we busted it all out! For those who aren't too familiar, it is a TC Near Interface, which is basically converting the music into what sounds like "being plugged into an amp." I route the music through the Interface to my Mac Book, plugging both my guitar and mic into the Interface to hear myself plugged in. You can practice and record, using some recording software (Garageband). I'm focusing on just practicing this way, in order to improve my vocals primarily. Some day, I'll record some stuff. Hopefully after I've written a few more songs!

Well here are some pics of what the living room looked like. *(I don't know why they are so small, sorry)



Here's my drummer, twilight. She's rad.



Well after we had practiced through the set list, it was finalized as follows:
Sweet Love of Jesus -Original
Magic -Colbie Caillait
How He Loves -John McMillan

On to Last Night! ADX hosted a "Help for Haiti" event featuring many local artists, some great food, and many awesome people! So many talented people were there! So many people in general! I would estimate around 150. What an awesome opportunity to raise money for a country in need of financial resources, along with the straight Love of Jesus. I pray what we raised (over $800) will be multiplied and go to furthering The Kingdom. Here are a few pictures from the night...



My number 1 Fans







Well, thats a wrap. Such a long post. (Had to make up for lost time)
Thanks for reading. You all rock.

Oh How He Loves!

CODM

Well first off, this is privileged information that is only to be known between me and one of my bfs*, but heck... why not share the love with you all! Feel free to use the following term at your leisure, I give you permission. :)

So, let's get down to the nitty griiitty:

CODM is the official term for "Case of Da Mondays" There are several qualifying factors, I will list a few below. [Note: this list does not include ALL factors...an exhaustive list would take too much time to create but could include anything from spilling your coffee on yourself to sleeping through work all together!]

+Staff Meetings over the 1 hour time limit
+Meetings in general
+Bosses with CODM
+Overbearing bosses
+Long-winded co-workers
+Exhaustion
+Lack of caffeinated beverages
+Lack of "good jams"
+Too many clients
+Too many crazy clients

That covers enough for now. We've all been there. We've all experienced CODM in some form or another, so raise your caffeinated beverages and toast to the only CURE out there!



Amen?

Reference/Co-Author of the term CODM:
*Heather Renee Fuller

BOOTS

Can't a girl with a mere size 12 shoe find some dang BOOTS in this world?!?!?!

Help.

SOS.

God, Whyyyyyyyyyy?


:(

What makes a great day?

Well many things could make my day great, but here are a few of the things that happened today to bring in the weekend with a smile on my face.

1. Coffee/Cutters Point: Pretty much anytime I have a break in the day, I can easily find a way to sneak in a trip to my local (or Starbucks because its convenient) coffee shop. Today, I decided to stop in Cutters. I love the place because of its feel mostly...well and their white mochas. :) I always feel like I see at least one person reading their bible in there... That's just stellar. It brings a smile to my face and a breath of fresh air to my soul! It makes me crave Jesus, like I crave coffee. (I know, I shouldn't be able to use that analogy so well)

2. Tears-streaming-down-your-face-kind-of-laughter at work. God is so rad to give us a sense of humor. What in the WORLD would you do without laughter? Working in social services...? Um, I'd be on meds right now if I couldn't laugh my way through the day. Can't really remember what it was about, but it's becoming a common occurence around the workplace lately... and I'M LOVING IT.

3. Getting off early. I'm loving my job, but there is nothing like bouncing out early on Friday to miss traffic (sort-of) and start your weekend even as much as an HOUR early! YES

4. Card with Cash. I get home to find the only piece of mail with my name on it and the sender being Mom. The card read that we started as mother and daughter and turned out to be friends. My heart is full. I then find a check for a CHUNK of money with strict orders to spend on a "new outfit or boots"...not bills. Who has parents like mine?? Lord, You never just provide...You lavish!

5. Friends, the Oldies but Goodies. My ADX girls, both old and young, alumni and active are near and dear to my heart and will never be replaced. My time in college was absolutely priceless and the JOY I see and feel when I'm around these ladies is overwhelming. Lord, thank you for dropping me into the world of ADX, having no idea it would have such a lasting impact on my relationship with You. I'm forever grateful.

That, my friends/readers/fellow bloggers, was a Great Day!

Smiling my way to sleep...

American Idol... and things like that

OK. First order of business. AMERICAN IDOL: What kind of show are you?? A reality TV show? A claim to fame? A freakin' circus event or a real talent show? I'm not sure anymore. But I guess there is still something on the show that makes me laugh...therefore I still watch.

Exhibit A:
"Head turned sideways. Gold in my mouth. Lookin' like a fool wit my pants on the ground." ps. his pants were on...

But seriously, I am still trying to figure out the motivation behind trying out for that show. I'm prettttty sure most of the time its just to get your 30 seconds on TV but then there are those few... the ones that scare me.

Anyways, enough of the tomfoolery! Today was a great day! Started at 9am (nothing too out of the ordinary) and ended roughly around 5:30pm. I know... craziness! Naw, I had some good laughs with co-workers and thats always a recipe for a good day! My job doesn't feel like work anymore, that is a cool feeling. Then I made my way over to the gym [NOTE: despite the fact that I was tired and hungry!] and went to the spin class! Its not a real spin class if your butt isn't sore and your shirt is 100% wet. I always go into Target after I work out... Its like part of my work-out. But today I thought, "Hey target friends! Here I am again in my awesome work-out garb. Hope its inspirational!"

Well, I'm feeling the BP. Not blood pressure...BLOG pressure. I think I now have a couple (2) of followers and now its like, I have to post. I can't just skip a couple weeks and not record that part of my life! That would be insanity! So, to all my followers... I will do my best. Can't promise a blog a day or even every other day, but I WILL keep you updated on my exciting, blessed life. ;)

Love you all!

A Day in the Life

Its actually pretty funny the responses you get when you say you are a "Social Worker" or "Work in Social Services.", which is how I like to explain my career. The usual response is something empathetic like, "Wow. That must be hard.. work.." or sometimes when people want to say "That sucks" instead they say, "Ohhhh."

It doesn't bother me anymore, now it just makes me laugh! When I think about it, I would respond the same way. Like who wants to work in the system and try to "fix kids" that seem unfixable. Well lucky for me, I believe in the very Life Changing Power of Jesus Christ. He can do anything! I really don't know why someone would want to work in this field without that.

Todays highlight: I met a little 5 day old baby that one of my "kids" (22 year old) just brought into this world. I was watching her sit there, holding him... Wow, life is a miracle! He is so tiny but with really BIG hands and feet! How sweet his precious life is to Jesus. I'm so glad she decided to bring him out of the womb. Sometimes my kids decide not to.

Usually Mondays are FUN-days because our answering machines are filled with interesting messages and for some odd reason its like the "kids" [NOTE: my "kids" are between 18-24 year old former foster youth. They aren't really kids.] missed us and want to provide LOTS for us to do on Mondays! (sarcasm...) I usually don't mind it because I like to be prepared. I usually prepare myself for a disaster and when its anything less, well, What a Blessing!

Today wasn't too bad... it consisted of some moving chaos. AKA County social workers calling numerous times upset that we hadn't furnished kids' apartments. A message from a landlord that one of my kids got into a huge fight over the weekend and used her baby as a shield, therefore dropping the child. CPS report tomorrow. :( Ending around 7:45pm with a community meeting with many "Opinions and personal statements" If you know me, I hate meetings that run too long, get off topic or have a severe lack of structure. Its like a pet peeve or something. My favorite professor in college told us "Never have a meeting without a purpose." Why do social workers like not get this?? Hmm.

Well to wrap it up, I'm hiding in my room while my roommate has her small group. I like overhearing comments about what God is doing in people's lives. Sweetness. Now I'm signing off.

That was a day in the life, my friends.