add cinnamon

Moved

2009-01-14T09:08:00.000-08:00

What Bonnie? Moved? But you have hardly been here. I know. But I have two blogs and have done a poor job with keeping up with both. So we are putting two into one. So please, for all future posts, click here:

http://www.conversantlife.com/blogs/bonnie+lewis

Thanks for following me to the new blog!

My New Christmas Career

2008-12-23T08:50:00.000-08:00

I LOVE Christmas. I love to give gifts and I love to open them. However, the whole process of people getting me gifts makes me stressed out. I hate telling people "No, I really like the gift, I just maybe would have chosen a different color..." because that really means, "I don't like this gift, but I feel bad for saying it." And I do. I feel AWFUL for saying it.

When I was 5 my mom bought me a pair of pink cowboy boots. They were a soft pink leather with a glitter lightening bolt down the side and pink leather fringe. I kid you not. I think about them now and one word comes to mind: awesome. However, at age 5, I opened these boots on Christmas morning and as soon as I saw them I BURST into tears. Bawling. I hated those boots. But I was not crying because I hated them so much I was crying because I knew I was going to have to tell my mom I hated them. The whole thing seems a bit odd to me:

Don't you think the tears would have given away my extreme dislike?

Way for me to be an extremely sensitive 5 year old.

Nice style sense Bonnie. What were you thinking? Those things were money.

I feel like if I would have kept those boots I may be a country singer and not a seminary student.

So this Christmas I am bound and determined not to cry because I am afraid someone's feelings will get hurt, but even more I am going to look for a career opportunity in my gifts. My mom always tells me she wont buy me a surfboard until I learn to surf. I tell her that it's too much work to rent one, if I just owned one I would surf the waves like I was born to do it. So I just feel like this year could be the year, that someone will get me a gift that will just turn my life around, and this is what I asked for:

Gift: Exercise workout DVD
Career: I am loud enough, I could totally do that

Gift: Hanson Take the Walk Shoes
Career: Shoe Model. Missionary

Gift: Canon Digital Camera
Career: Professional Photographer. Small sales to my mom on Etsy

Gift: Roxy Surf Board
Career: Enough said.

Mac Tip #9: Undo and Redo

2008-12-22T09:27:00.000-08:00

Sometimes when I am blogging or typing a love letter of sorts I write things and I want to scribble it out and change it and have it still look really professional. Cause that's what I am: a professional blogger and lover.

So clearly I can not take a sharpie and scribble out the mistakes on my screen, although I did that once when I was three to my mom's friend's new Apple II e. Oops.

So when I make a mistake and I choose a poorly written word, or I need to just simply start with a clean state after the first paragraph I wrote, I simply push:

"Apple key + Z" and the mistake disappears.

But then, in a moment of sanity when I decide that my word choice, before I deleted it, was actually GENIUS and I am sad that erased the word, or entire page, I simply push:

"Apple key + Y" and what was taken away, is now back!

Editor's tips and tricks. Easy as pie. Apple pie.

Boys vs. Girls: Tug of War

2008-12-19T12:15:00.000-08:00

Hey Ladies.

I have a bit of news for you that the male population would like you to know. Be it your boyfriend, your dad, your husband, your coworker, your neighbor, your mailman; they all would like this info made known.

If they are: tired, hungry, or sick, they are the most tired, the most hungry, and the sickest that anyone has ever been. Ever. And ever will be.

And in case you think that you could understand the agonizing pain they are in, you can't. Because you have not been working, going to the store, cooking, or trying to do anything that would cause you to use energy. No. Instead you have been lying around all day (every day) sleeping and eating, so you are constantly renewing your energy source and also by nature "healthy" is your middle name.

So please, when you hear a male say they are really tired, or extremely hungry, or that this time they are so sick you would not understand how much their throat hurts; please do not try to empathize, that's insulting to their pain. But, take that as a warning and gear up, because this time wont even come close to the discomfort they will be in next time.

Breakfast? I'm sorry I can't, I'm Apparently Not Smart Enough

2008-12-19T08:49:00.000-08:00

We got a really awesome toaster oven as a wedding gift and I must admit that I am truly thankful for it. With regular toasters, I get a little stressed out that they are not actually working. I have had so many in which it is time for the bread, or pop tart, to do some actual popping, and nothing. Later I find out that the spring is broken, the bread has been burned and I am cranky.

But one thing really confuses me about this toaster oven. First of all, it's a toaster and an oven all packaged into one. That must be why there are about 500 different options for heat, and broiling, and a timer, etc. Which, let me say, it's small am I really going to be cooking a turkey in there? Doubt it.

But really I am bitter about the whole thing, because I am beginning to think that my lack of trust for the toaster is not really the device. I hate to admit it, but I think it's me. I can't get a freaking piece of bread to be the right consistency no matter what I do.

I always have it at the same setting (mostly because the other ones are too complicated)
I always use the same timer

And one time it will be burnt to the crisp, and other days, like now, I am so disappointed that my english muffin is nothing more than a flimsy warm piece of carbs. I mean really? Is this some kind of joke? Or how about yesterday when I made cheese rolls for Cy and the cheese melted everywhere inside the toaster oven, but no effect on the bread? What is wrong with that thing? Or me?

So as I sit and eat my half warmed, non melted buttered, flimsy piece of bread, that I realize there is so much to learn and life and frankly is daunting if I can't even figure out the toaster over. I'm going to have a zone bar instead, or should I say in addition to?

You Invade

2008-12-17T10:37:00.000-08:00

It's been cold and rainy here lately. I find myself going to sleep with the rain and waking to it as well. I adore it. There is something about the weather moving and changing, interrupting our lives that reminds me of the existence of something much bigger than my daily life and mundane tasks.

As a little girl I can recall being deathly afraid of the rain. My mom told me that God was moving the furniture, but as I pictured the giant couch being moved on the floors of heaven, I could not help but still shiver at the loudness of it all. My fear was quickly replaced with awe as I would watch my dad seat himself in front of the big picture windows we had in Arizona and marvel at the lightening that one only sees in a National Geographic catalogue. This is coming from a man who once watched a tornado pass from the porch a block away, or he who wanted to drive slower so that we may see the green cloud in the Kansas sky turn into that dreaded funnel shape. Later, he took me to see Twister on the big screen. I loved that date of ours. And he loves the storms. The lightening had a way of illuminating everything around us, causing the rain to look as though it stopped mid air and for that second, the dark was gone and was replaced with light.

I began to love the rain that night. Still, I hold a sweet memory of sitting on our plaid couch watching the dessert drops pour down as hard and as much as they want. It stopped us in our tracks. It changed the fear in me to wonder. It illuminated the darkness around me and continually reminds me that always, no matter how dim or bright, the light will always shine in the dark.

So now, as I sit on my leather couch, hundreds of miles away from my dad, and years away from that fear, I am still moved by it all. We are so blessed to have a God that invades our lives, because they are not really ours in the first place.

Mac Tip #8: Putting Pettiness Aside

2008-12-16T08:41:00.000-08:00

I left you in the cold yesterday Mac users. I am sorry, I had a final and babysat and yada, yada, yada. Yes, potentially I could post another tip today, but in light of the Christmas spirit, I chose a video instead.

Enjoy.

p.s. I have no idea what a video has to do with the Christmas spirit. Nothing, in fact.

Buy and Give Back

2008-12-12T08:56:00.000-08:00

This holiday, we can buy gifts that give back to others who are less fortunate. Mama Manifesto posted a bunch yesterday, and here are two more:

Krochet Kids International

Krochet Kids International is a non-profit dedicated to ending poverty by supplying skill training for "reliable income, education training and personal care" through the sale of hand-crocheted hats to benefit women in Northern Uganda. After extensive research on communities in Northern Uganda, Krochet Kids has selected 10 women based upon economic status, personal background and number of dependants for an opportunity to work for salary crocheting hats to be sold in the United States. Most of these women are young adult orphans that are heading one or more households, those who have been displaced or abducted due to the war in Northern Uganda, and whose past has wrongly told them they do not have a future. They look for the least of the least. These women are trained with skills to cochet for a good salary, and provide a sustainable income for their family. In addition, these women are taught financial stewardship of budgeting, financial savings, and small business management, so they make continue this change for generations to come.

The Ugandan women of Krochet Kids crochet hats in many sizes, shapes and colors that they may be sold in order to be given back to the community. 100% of the proceeds goes back to the community in order to promote health care, education and clean water through local programs. These community incentives allow for to establish a stable environment that will last for generations.

So help them out by keeping your ears and head warm! This Christmas, buy a hat. For you, your mom, your brother, your youth group leader. Buying a hat is all it takes to support these women and these communities. You buy one hat for someone you know, and you help someone you don't.

Visit krochetkids.org for more information regarding their program, bios on the women who crochet, and the numerous knit hats you can purchase!

Toms Shoes

Beginning in May 2006, Tom's shoes is dedicated to supplying shoes for children around the world who do not have this luxury. They have already donated 10,000 pairs of shoes to children in Argentina and 50,000 South Africa. Their goal for 2008 is to give away 200,000 pairs of shoes to children in need.

For every pair of shoes purchases, Toms donates a pair to a child in need. One for One. It's that simple.

This Christmas supply a child with a pair of shoes; or four. Purchase shoes for everyone in your family, on your worship team, or ask for them as a gift. Everyone loves shoes, and everyone needs them too. Easy as pie. This December, theyare trying to get 30k shoes in 30 days!

Visit tomsshoes.com for more information about the cause, to view their collection, shop online, or find a retailer closest to you.

Happy Birthday Mom!

2008-12-11T05:00:00.000-08:00

Mom,

Today is your Birthday, and as I think of today, I can't help but think of all the great days that led up to this moment. You have always been right there beside me, comforting me when I was scared, sharing every story with me into the wee hours of the night, making my favorite dishes when I had a bad day, and your hugs and kisses remind me of my worth. Although I could not pick favorites, because all of our memories are too good, here are a few to enjoy on your special day:

Remember when I was afraid of the dark (and dad putting me in the cold shower to stop crying), so I would sneak in your room and lay as flat as I could and as close up against you as I could, allowing your body's shadow to cover me so that Dad would not see? It never worked, he always heard me. But what I love about this is that you always let me try anyway.

What about the time that you taught me how to ride a bike? It was those cute pink banana seat bikes that we got for Easter that one year. You ran next to me again and again at that park by our house on 68th street. I always got scared and let myself topple over, but you got me to try again and again. I'll never forget when the practice paid off and you let go of the bike, and I began to pedal on my own. I looked back at you, afraid to leave your side, and you yelled for me to keep going, "YAY Bonnie!" so I kept going, around the track until I was next to you again. I still feel like that today.

Remember the awesome birthday party that we decorated those SWEET cups with paint pens? Then you duplicated it with the glasses at my bachelorette party. You always remember things like that, and it means the world to me.

I have always loved when you sang me to sleep. "Bonnie, Bonnie, Bonnie's in love..." Now I am there, and I love him because you taught me to love first.

You have always been the best artist, remember that puff-paint whale on my lunch box? I love that, and secretly want another one.

You are the only one that consistently cares if Bebes has a seasonal outfit. You made him those overalls with clouds and another with roses, and not to mention his heart sweater. You will kiss him and I love that about you because you appreciate cute things. More than that, you know that Bebes has gotten me through some scared nights, lonely nights, plane rides and a trip to college; you understand the importance of being comforted. Your voice is the best comfort to my heart each day.

You let me call you as many times as I want per day, and you never seem annoyed with me. You listen to my stories, you encourage me, you laugh with me, cry with me, and you tell me that you are my best friend too.

You are the best example of God's love that I have seen. The way you love your husband, your kids, and your friends is always inspiring to me. Your gifts are plentiful, and you bless others just by your words of kindness and encouragement. Thank you so much for loving me with so much grace and patience. I can not even begin to express how much you mean to me. You are my mom, my best friend, my encourager, my confidant, and a source of joy that I am thankful for each day that passes. I love you so much mommy, and I can't wait until we get to live near one another. I hope you have the BEST birthday because you deserve it!

Happy Birthday Mom! I LOVE You!!!!

It's Never Too Early to Start Parenting

2008-12-10T07:00:00.000-08:00

Yes kids. We would totally smoke you in a kissing tournament.

Parenting who? My future kids.

I thought of the BEST way to freak them out and stop them from making out all the time, especially in our living room, or their room.

Bonnie! People don't make out on couches or in their rooms when they are teenagers.

Um yes the do. So relax, and get prepared.

When Cy and I catch one of our children playing tonsil hockey in our house, in the car, at the football game, or at the movies, we are going to go up right next to them and we are going to start making out too. Yes that is right, we are going to show them that there is not just one team in the league, and that we too can toss that puck.

The natural response will be, "Mom and Dad, SICK!" And to that I will say, "What? Are we too loud?" Which will invoke vomit of some sort, and if our son or daughter throws up on his or her date, then there goes that date, no longer a worry.

Then, from that moment on, we are going to instill a rule, that if our son or daughter wants to kiss his or her girlfriend or boyfriend then they have to do it in the same room as me and Cy, like a make-out party. They will NEVER want to do this, and therefore they wont make out in our house, or anywhere near where they think we might just randomly "show up." This is abstinence training at it's finest.

Genius.

I told Cy this idea, and he looked so grossed out and like I needed help. But true artists are never appreciated in their time.

On Your Own: Foamy Latte

2008-12-09T08:51:00.000-08:00

I wanted a bit of foam on my Chai the other day, but I just don't have the money for a machine that steams the milk, Starbucks style.

So instead, I relied on my trusty friend Google, and found a method that works great, and for free!

Just heat up some milk in a sauce pan on low to medium heat and when it begins to get warm, use a whisk and whisk away. As the milk heats, the foam will form, and when it's the right frothiness, add it to the top of your drink!

I added sprinkles to mine too...I know, so very impressive:

Excuse the blurry photo. Took it with my phone and I have not mastered the non-shaking hand yet.

Mac Tip #7: Spotlight and Spotlight Shortcut

2008-12-08T11:56:00.000-08:00

Spotlight, located at the top right of your screen, is an easy way to quickly search for documents or applications without having to open the Finder window. This can be beneficial if you already have lots of windows open and you don't want to open another, or you are not sure where your document or application is stored on your computer. You can simply type in the name of whatever you are searching for in your computer and you will see a list of documents and applications come up on your computer! Select the one you want, and you are good to go. It's like the "find it" feature on a PC, only you don't have to watch that flashlight roll around...and around....and around.

The Spotlight Icon, is found here, and looks like a magnifying glass:

You have two options to utilize this feature. Either move your mouse there, click, and begin typing, or use this short cut:

Command + space bar

The spotlight function will pop up right away and you can start typing. Once you type in the document name, use the arrow keys to navigate through the documents and once the one you want is selected, hit the "return" key to open it! If you use the shortcut and decide you don't want to be in Spotlight anymore, then hit "command + space bar" and it will disappear.

Easy as pie!

This Week is Not My Friend

2008-12-04T17:43:00.000-08:00

I have been so incredibly MIA this week and this is why:

Monday: Worked instead of day off

Tuesday: Day off instead of worked, but internet is down.

Tuesday night: 5 hour retreat for Seminary

Wednesday: Internet down, sat at Starbucks for an 8 hour work day and only got one Venti Earl Gray tea. Got called "cheap" I'm sure many times by the employees.

Wednesday night: Meant to write a paper, but didn't.

Thursday: Work. Dropped my iphone and broke it. The screen goes back and froth between a black and white barcode or a blue and yellow striped Gap button-up.

Thursday night: This is now, let's hope that I: babysit, and then write my life away. No internet and no phone....should be able to get something done.

Mac Tip #6: Quick Look

2008-12-01T16:01:00.000-08:00

Sometimes, I want to see a document without actually opening it. I want to look at the contents without waiting for the program to load. Yes, I am that impatient.

Thankfully, Mac has shortcut to solve this issue. It's called "quick look". Quick look will only work if you have the leopard operating system (this is the newest operating system available). This tip will allow you to find your document quickly and easily.

Open your Finder.

Click on your Documents folder.

Highlight a document that is most likely titled the same as all of your other ones (BonnieLewis1.doc, BonnieLewis1a.doc, etc.) and this is why you are confused.

Click the space bar.

Voila! A small preview of the document will pop up on your screen. Take a look at it, and when you are done, click the space bar again and it will disappear.

You can do this for photos, itunes artwork, and really anything that is in your Finder. If it's an application, then it will show you a larger version of the icon with the application information.

It's like peek a boo but for your computer. Easy, easy easy.

GREENPEACE: Why Do You Give Me None?

2008-11-26T23:57:00.000-08:00

Look, I am all for being passionate. To have something you believe in and the effort to share it with others is a very courageous endeavor. I don't care if it's your faith, your shampoo, your favorite recipe, or yourself when you were up for "most popular" in high school, I truly think that if you believe in it, then you should shout it from the rooftops.

"R-E-S-P-E-C-T"
I mean, done and done right?

"I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!"
Could this be more clear?

"Say no to drugs."
Very, very clear. In fact, we've established programs after this.

So please, shout out all you want. But can we talk about this? Can we try and be consistent with our policies? For example, if Aretha demanded a bit of respect and then punched someone and called them a "loser" then I might question her motives. Or if the ten year old who screamed for ice cream opted for a glass of lemonade, then well I would tell him that he should get his snacks straight. Or even, Mr. D.A.R.E. was caught smokin' the hash, I might wonder where he drew the line for "drugs".

So, GREENPEACE. I get you. I understand you are about going green, being friendly to the environment, and to keep the whales and the sea in mind. I have seen your maps of the trash that is the size of Texas, and I have seen the sad whales that have been hurt.

You showed me.

On the street.

As you blocked my way and would not let me get away. You showed me those photos up in Pasadena, and once was enough. I don't want to see them anymore. I don't want to see you at Albertsons, because when I tell you that I have already heard the pitch and that I have done all that I can, you don't believe me. You actually question my honesty. It's offensive. Because if you don't beleive me, then how do you know that I am not lying to you when I "listen?" How do you know that I am not preparing a banana cream pie to shove in your face at the perfect moment when you are pitching your story to me? I mean, if you think I am lying, then why ask?

I especially do not want to see you outside of Trader Joes. Because I watched you follow that poor old woman to her car and I watched you watch her put groceries in her car and you did not offer to help her. In fact, you just grilled her on why she would not donate.

But today, you really went overboard with your tactics. I confess, as I headed out of Trader Joes and I saw you with your clipboards with photos of Texan-sized-trash, I picked up my phone and called my mom. I did it so that I would not have to talk to you. I'm sorry. But I knew that no matter how much I explained to you my thoughts, you would tell me that I was lying through the asking of your questions. So I confess, I hid and I looked down, and you yelled to me, "Hey lady! Call waiting on line 2! It's the EARTH!"

I may be more apt to listen to you, but I do not get your inconsistency. You give me no peace to hear your story.

Put a Ring on It

2008-11-25T08:00:00.000-08:00

I love me some Beyonce.

Maybe I will just put a ring on her new song, Single Ladies.

Some people who do not appreciate her hip dance beats, and totally awesome in da club vibe may question, "why, why miss Beyonce are you referring to yourself and the subsequently every one of us that blares this in our cars pretending that it is a totally normal thing for a 24 year old seminary student to be doing, as an "it"? Why do you say, "If you like it you should have put a ring on it?"

Because that does not even make sense. What else do we put rings on of things that we like?

I like this mac and cheese, let me put a ring on it.
Nope
I like this shirt, let me put a ring on it.
No
I like this book, let me put a ring on it.
Still, no.

But, Beyonce, I just can not hold this against you. Because with a person, when a man likes her, then he puts a ring on her (finger). You are clearly wise beyond your years. Because between your vow to not compromise your Christianity (Survivor), your crazy rhyming skills of the word "minute" with "minute" (top hit Irreplaceable), your intuition that JayZ and the rest of the world was not at all ready for that jelly (Bootylicious), and that you bought all of your clothes, watch, the house you live in, and car by yourself (Independent Women); you are my girl.

Mac Tip #5: Shortcut to Shutdown and Sleep

2008-11-24T16:02:00.000-08:00

I know, shutting down your computer or putting it in sleep mode may not seem like a hard thing to do. But check yourself. I mean how often do you leave your computer running all day or all night simply because you forgot? Didn't have time? Ran out the door too fast?

Already, if you have a mac, you are already being green with their environmentally friendly incentives , but making sure you remember to put your computer to sleep or shut it down is even better for the environment as well as your computer.

So, if you are leaving your computer for an extended amount of time, and are in a hurry, or just don't feel like using your mouse, simply follow these keyboard shortcuts:

To Sleep:

Option + Command+ Eject

{The Option button is right next to the Control button and says "Option". The Command Key is right next to that and has a picture of an apple on it, and the Eject button will be in your upper right corner}

To Shut Down:

Control+Option+Command+Eject {Just add Control, which is labeled "ctrl"}

This makes me wish I had a shortcut in life to do the same thing.

Idaho Travels

2008-11-19T08:35:00.000-08:00

My husband and I are going to visit his home state full of potatoes: Idaho.

He actually hates that joke, but I still get a kick out of it.

Like most places you travel, if you look around at the people on the plane you can always tell (or at least guess) where they are coming from or where they live. For example, if you are en route from Arizona to New York, and you see someone wearing a dreamcatcher necklace, chances are you've got a Zoni on your hands.

Or if you are going to Hawaii and someone is decked out in sunglasses and a hat and a fake lei, well then, you know they are not the native Hawaiian.

So today, I fully expect to see lots of these types of shirts:

as well as these:

and I bet we could guess who is the Idahoan and who isn't.

My History Repeating Itself

2008-11-17T21:36:00.000-08:00

When I was younger, I would draw the infamous "peace love and happiness" on everything. It was like my slogan. I don't even know if I understood what that meant. I cringe when I think about that on my trapper keeper.

I literally drew that symbol everywhere. I think I may have even written "flower power" with the "o's" as flowers. Oh, so very creative of me.

When I was in fourth grade, I took a yearbook picture in a tye-dye shirt with these beaded earrings and my sister told me I looked like Janis Joplin.

When I was a senior in high school I became really attached to tye-dye again, and wore it all the time. So much, that when I entered college I had a few good friends that called me a hippie.

That was years ago. I am totally passed it.

Until now.

Tonight I found myself googling peace sign necklaces and I envisioned myself wearing them in photos and walking out of my apartment complex holding up two in a very peaceful manner to whomever was passing by.

I think my history is repeating itself. Although, without going into too much detail, I think I might understand this whole peace thing a bit better this time around, at least I am trying.

Or maybe I am just a hippie.

Mac Tip #4: Zoom In

2008-11-16T22:20:00.000-08:00

At some point, we all have trouble seeing and brining a magnifying glass every time you use your computer may be a bit odd. The print on some websites and the people in some pictures are just too small and you need a way to make it bigger. Pulling the screen closer to you is not the best help, because after a while you will hit your nose to the screen. So put away that magnifying glass, keep your head at a normal distance from the screen, and learn how to zoom in.

Find the "Control Key":

(Yours will be far more streamlined than this, because this chunky one is from a PC. It's located in the bottom left corner of your keyboard.)

Simply hold down this button while you move your fingers on your trackpad on your laptop (You know, it's where you control your mouse) in a upward motion. You will see the screen get larger in front of you. Once the words or picture is as big as you would like it, let go of the control key and use your fingers on the trackpad to move the screen around. You will not be able to type or navigate when the screen is zoomed in, you will only be able to look at what is on the screen. To get the screen back to it's original size, hold down the control key again, and move your fingers in a downward motion. If you have a desktop, do the same things as mentioned above, only use the scrolling feature on your mouse.

Go on, give it a try:

isn't it so much better when you can see?

We Wasted the Good Surprise on You

2008-11-14T19:01:00.000-08:00

Surprise parties present such problems for everyone involved.

If you are the guest of honor, then the weeks leading up to the party, you think that no one cares about you. This is because everyone who knows about the party is trying really hard to be really sneaky and therefore say nothing about anything pertaining to the event at hand. Not even a hint that they know that something is going on. So if it's a birthday, no one even acts like they remember it's coming. If it's a congratulatory party, no one acts like they care. You may as well have lost your job, or quit school. So you end up feeling that you are a loser who has no friends, and the ones you do have, hate you.

If you are the organizer, you are forced to think of who to invite. This is so crucial because if you invite someone that you have no idea that the guest of honor has a secret loathing for, then you are screwed. You shift quickly from "party-organizer-hero" to "party-ruiner." If you invite the enemy, then you are better off not throwing a party at all.

When it's time for the "SURPRISE" everyone is always freaking out. And with good reason, I mean no one was mean to their friend for no reason right? But this moment is either overly prepared or completely under prepared. If it's coordinated perfectly, then the guest of honor is receiving text messages or phone calls telling them where to go and when, that the organizer hopes to pull off as a spur of the moment plan, and the guest of honor will wonder why the heck the organizer is suddenly so freaking prompt and organized. If it's not planned well, then the surprise is wasted. The house is full and booming with loud tunes and doritos crunching and then right before the guest of honor gets there everything is quiet. You have to balance a fine line between being organized and being aloof. Which is really hard to do when you are trying to be yourself and make someone go somewhere right at an exact moment. This is the most stressful part of the party.

Attached to the "SURPRISE" moment, is the mess of the picture takings. For some reason, when people hide and are waiting, there is this temptation to crouch down. No matter that there is most likely nothing to hide behind since everyone is in a living room, if people are crouching they feel like they are being really stealth. So when the guest of honor opens that door and people scream the beloved "SURPRISE" all the cameras start flashing; but from down below. This results in the guest of honor always having a double chin. Eyes red, and stomach looking sort of pregnant. They always demand that a fake "surprise picture" is taken, and it never fools anyone.

The People You'll Meet

2008-11-14T12:41:00.000-08:00

At the Starbucks that I frequent, I usually run into this character. He loves to communicate and so I know way too much about him:

1. He "loves all things Jesus"

2. He is unemployed but is dying to find a job very fast. But, he sees that for most jobs he wants, he needs a Masters. So when he found out that I was getting a Master's he said, "Oh where? I need to pick one up."

3. His career goals have evolved from accounting to health care to drug rehab.

4. He no longer goes to this Starbucks anymore because the soft chairs started to hurt his back. He goes to one now with "more tables."

5. After telling him all about my job, he has concluded that my line of work is a "professional reader."

Oh the people you'll meet.

You Forgot Your Pen and Asked Me for Mine. I'm Mad at You Now

2008-11-13T13:54:00.000-08:00

This is a great post from Stuff Christian like.

Ha ha. I'm still laughing.

Read it, and then please confess here that me and that guy are not the only two people that do exactly this.

Class Act

2008-11-13T09:16:00.000-08:00

We had macaroni and cheese with apple sauce on the side for dinner last night.

I ate it on my bed, with a tray, in my running clothes while watching Sienfeld.

All I could think about was how I would love some wine to go with it.

I'm such a class act.

Sir, Can I Have Some More?

2008-11-12T06:00:00.000-08:00

I picked up some Natural Mint Hot Coco from Trader Joes. Cy said we could only get it if I actually drank it. I think he is referring to, literally, the 30 boxes of tea that I have yet to consume. But, I am proud to say that scoop by scoop I am drinking it down. I even brought it with me babysitting last week, and when it was time to reach for a mug, I was delightfully surprised to find the same jar in their cabinets. The grocery shopper of that household is one of the healthiest but still yummiest food eaters I know, so I knew I had scored big time. But just in case I need to convince myself (and you) a bit more, check it out:

In terms of pesticide use, it is second only to cotton. So that means, if you are wearing your organic shirt and you spill your hot coco down the front, then you are pesticide free. Or if you get organic coco, then none are used at all. Yes, that means you don't even have to wear a shirt. Wait, what?

Coco has almost twice the antioxidants of red wine, and almost three times as many as green tea. But you can't pretend you are drunk, no one will buy it.

Mint will soothe your digestive track, and getting rid of stomach discomfort and any bacteria that you may have in there. If this really is the case, I can't imagine that mint hot coco is the best option, but it might be enough for you to have more than one cup.

Facts from: Ideal Bite and A2Z of Health

M.I.A.

2008-11-11T08:08:00.000-08:00

I have been totally and completely M.I.A. lately. I guess that is what happens when you work full time, go to grad school full time and try to live a life. But I think I am back for a few days now, so that is good. Here are a few things that you have missed hearing about:

1. My best friend Stephanie got engaged.
2. We tried to send out our thank you notes for our wedding gifts and found out we have about 5 gifts we have no idea where they came from.
3. We talked about "bodily fluids" in seminary class. Oh, Leviticus.
4. I was dying to go to Costco and got all hyped up when we ran out of time and we could not go. (yes, that is a highlight).
5. I threw away some hair dye coupons so they could not "tempt me". (That's a direct quote)
6. I realized I have a book due today and I have not finished it yet. Or started it. Or even have it in my presence.

You are probably so sad that I have not blogged about these things. Grab a tissue, it's ok. I will be back on my A-game this week.

Wait, What?

2008-11-07T20:12:00.000-08:00

We are in class on a break.

The woman sitting in front of me just got up and faced me like she was about to say something. So I leaned forward. She did too.

We were about 6 inches apart, leaning over the desk and she looked at me very intently and I am pretty sure she whispered: "Popcorn."

Then walked away. There is no popcorn anywhere in sight.

What?!

Friendship in Photos

2008-11-07T06:00:00.000-08:00

"My friends are my estate."

-Emily Dickinson

"The bird a nest, the spider a web, a man friendship."

-William Blake

"What is a friend? A single soul in two bodies."

-Aristotle

"The making of friends, who are real friends,

is the best token we have of

man's success in life."

-Edward Evertt Hale

"In a friend, you find a second self."-Isabelle Norton

"Ah, how good it feels. The hand of an old friend."

-Mary Englebright

"Good communication is as stimulating

as black coffee, just as hard to

sleep after."

-Anne Morrow Lindbergh

"Friendship? Yes Please." -Charles Dickens

Photos provided by Stephanie Fay with Tunnel Photography . She has a unique gift; the ability to capture the warmth behind the lens.

Starting: Seminary Moments

2008-11-06T20:50:00.000-08:00

There are just too many precious gems that are said in my seminary classes to not blog about them.

Lets make it clear that I love my classes. I learn tons, and most of that comes out here in posts that talk extensively about God and food, God and politics, and, well anything serious that I have to say. So please, take those posts as all the gold stars that I think that my classes deserve.

This new section will just be a few golden nuggets that are hilarious, and that only could be said in seminary.

November 4, 2008

Barack Obama has just won the presidential election:

"You are a democrat too?" - A sweet lady in my class asked me this. She did not say it like "You are a democrat along with the others in this room?" Or "You are democrat along with the other millions of Americans that voted for him?"

No, it was "You are [also] a democrat too?" as in, "I have only known you for a few weeks and I have a bunch of other grievances against you. This one, has pushed you over the edge."

PhD Here I Come

2008-11-06T09:06:00.000-08:00

I'm very ambitious. I get really excited about people who are doing great things in life and I want to do the same. And I think that I really could do it if I tried. But usually, I dont want to do that same thing, I just want to be that ambitious. But the road to that final conclusion is always a bit bumpy.

I wanted to be Michael Phelps earlier this summer, so I swam 50 lengths in my apartment complex pool. Once.

So yesterday, I was very emotional about Barack winning. I'm totally excited about it. In fact, as you may have guessed, I have lots to say about it, but I have not had time to process it all yet, and I'm trying a new thing called "think before you speak". Or in this case, write. So more on Barack later.

But anyway, yesterday I got really excited about Barack Obama and change and politics.

I get really excited about people who are doing great things in life and I want to do the same. And I think that I really could do it if I tried. But usually, I dont want to do that same thing, I just want to be that ambitious. But the road to that final conclusion is always a bit bumpy. This is what happened last night at my house:

Cy: "Hey Bon. What are you doing?"

Me: "Oh just looking at PhD Programs online."

Cy: "That's great!"

Me: "Yeah. I think I might change my focus. I'm going to get a PhD in Political Science."

Cy: "[smiling] Oh really? I think that you can get whatever you want, but I dont think that you want to get a PhD in Political Science."

Me: "You are mean."

Twenty minutes later...

Me: "Thanks for saying that. I don't really want a whole PhD in Political Science. I would rather just go to cnn.com"

I'm ridiculous. Good thing I have people to keep me grounded

Thanksgiving? Are You Still There?

2008-11-05T03:00:00.000-08:00

As I run around the beautiful city of Costa Mesa, where South Coast Plaza is the center of "culture", I am already surrounded by holiday decorations. There are tinsel-coated giant stars on the light posts, larger than life Christmas ornaments that surround the mall entrances making you think you have blown a warp whistle from Super Mario Brothers and landed in Big World. And not to mention giant Santa Houses that take over the middle of the mall. At first, I find myself oohing and ahhing over the Christmas Spirit, and wanting to put in my favorite Christmas album: Hanson's Snowed In.

But then, I pause, because I realize that it's only November 4th. We skip from July 4th, to a small celebration of candy during Halloween and then we go straight to Christmas. Thanksgiving, one the BEST and the oldest holidays in our country is getting the shaft. For a people that claim to be sooo American, we sure do drop the turkey and mashed potatoes out the window. I am here to say that:

I. LOVE. THANKSGIVING.

The food, the family, the giving of thanks. It's wonderful. I mean I'm not advocating that we put up large turkey heads at the mall, but don't you think that we could wait just a bit on the holiday decor? Just to honor Thanksgiving?

We will be going to Catalina Island for the fourth year in a row this year, and I am so excited. Good friends of ours live there, and I can not wait to visit again. I made these photos old school so that we could instill some thanks for those that actually grew the corn and killed the turkey:

Melissa Tomeoni , from Soul Mates Photo gave me this great idea. Check her out, and click here if you want to make your photos full of the olden times.

Voting Incentives

2008-11-04T09:24:00.000-08:00

I voted today.

Then I went to my favorite addiction, even though I only get decaf, and got a free tall coffee. Yes, all Starbucks are participating, so you can go and get one too!

However, I was a bit startled to find that the "Way I See It" quote on my free-voting cup was as follows:

"Politics is about getting outside of yourself and your own problems for a little while and fully immersing yourself in the lies and the deceit of others. " -Stephen Elliott

Hmm. Coincidence?

Let's hope. Otherwise, they will have some sort of uproar at some of our favorite caffeine locations.

If not, then we have far bigger problems: our stay awake potion that we put in our veins is anti-government. Crap.

The Wrath of God and the Coming Election

2008-11-02T18:50:00.000-08:00

I'm sorry, but I have to. I'm warning you now: stop reading if you do not want to read about politics, Christians, the Bible, or my opinion on it. Don't complain later, I warned you.

Romans 13:1-7 says this:

" 1Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.2Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. 3For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. 4For he is God's servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. 5Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience. 6This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servants, who give their full time to governing. 7Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor."

I have been pondering these verses over and over again in my head and heart and through prayer because they are difficult for me to accept. First, I think it's easy for all of us to live in fear of a government, an earthquake, a disease-anything that has the ability to have power over us. But, like this verse talks about, it is God who has appointed the government. But wait. What about corrupt leaders and rulers that have treated their people poorly or have failed us in the faith they professed to have? Did God really appoint them too? We are reminded of the Exodus and of Pharaoh's rule. Scripture tells us that God "hardened Pharaoh's heart", thus controlling Pharaoh and the situation even though Pharaoh was not a follower of Yahweh. It was a horrible time for God's people, and the fact that God allowed Pharoah to be in control, and His people to suffer tells us something about God. Our idea of comfort, or in this case, the Israelite's is vastly different from God's. It does not always look the same, but it does not mean that God has left the scene.

What we do see is that God used that situation to bring destruction against the myth of those days (some of the ten plagues is a a metaphor against the gods and goddesses of that day; resulting in an establishment of power and sovereignty of Yahweh over any other gods of Egypt), brought people out of Egypt and into the promised land, setting up the precursor to the story of our Christian faith: we are in slavery, and are in the Exodus. We need a Savior to rescue us and we are on this earth, rescued, but headed towards the promised land. So it is here that we find comfort and the truth of this Romans' passage speaks loudly: Our kingdom is not set up by the authorities of this world. We are called to abide by it because it's a part of order that God has set up on this earth. Why? Because He has appointed the leaders, and whether they know it or not, we see it or not, we have to have faith that God is using it for what He sees fit.

This last part is especially hard to swallow, because sometimes what we see is fitting, is hardly what God sees as necessary to His plan. We know that the Israelites hated their time in slavery, and in the wilderness. In fact, they even doubted God after He had rescued them! But God knew that the event of the Exodus would speak louder than the mis-understood cries of His people. This is why it is repeated in Scripture when God is declaring His name "It is I who brought you out of Egypt." This Exodus became a part of God's name, Rescuer and Redeemer.

So what happens when the president that is appointed is one that we do not agree with? What if we feel oppressed by a tax plan, a health care incentive, abortion rights to name a few? Does this change our view of God because He appointed it? No. In fact, it should change the view we have of ourselves and of our country. God's plan and purpose is to redeem all things. Revelation talks about the new heaven and the new earth, a restoration of all things He has created. So whatever the tax plan, whatever the foreign policy, God's agenda is to restore a world that He created, and we don't have a better idea of how to do it because we did not create it.

I agree that we should be in deep prayer, but our prayers should be focused on a deep faith in God and in His plans for our lives, this earth, and His return. No matter how bad it gets, or how scary it can become, we ultimately do not answer to this world, nor will we stay here forever, and it's empires, including the ones that we belong to will one day cease to exist. That is something that we can praise God for, and pray for ourselves and others-that we would have the strength to stand, no matter what the situation, in the peace that God is in control over everything.

This does not mean, however, that we should not vote, nor does it mean that we should vote for whomever is "cool" or "compelling" or the "norm". It is hard for all of us to stop judging other Christians for the choice they are making when they vote. We are all flawed in our thinking, every one of us, and the best we can do is read the Word, and vote not with our interest in mind, but how we truly feel that God would be honored the best. We must pray for discernment of these things, but these answers are also found in Scripture: caring for the poor, widow and oppressed, truth, honesty, the fruits of the spirit, the ten commandments, the beattitudes....the list goes on. But we face trouble when we realize that not one candidate fits all of these. So we feel the need to play warrior and we often give voice to slander or ridicule, and we put our faith in one person and we end up hating the other. This is no better than loving both and making no choice. Because it shows us our abilities to have faith in man rather than God.

The same thing happens when we make our decisions based on fear. Its so easy to get afraid of someone and so then we vote the other way. When we do this, we are putting our trust in the safer candidate. We must ask ourselves, "Is either one safe? "Or are both in danger of falling?" If we take a close look at the world around us, and Scripture we are aware that ever since the fall, the world is getting worse. It's not getting better. Sure we may have advances in technology or medicine, but the world according to God's purposes are not getting any better. So our trust can not be in one candidate, as we are tempted to claim that one person will destroy a good world. Our world is full of good things, but it's already in process of being destroyed. It's part of the plan. Both candidates will play a role in God's plan. To vote because we are afraid of the terrorist attacks that may happen if we vote one way, or the poverty if we vote another, for example, we are saying that the other candidate has the power to save the world. Unfortunately, I think we have to realize that neither have this ability. Sure, they may make things a bit better, but better according to whom? Better according to God's purproses to restore things in His timing, in His way, and only He knows that path. Afraid that this really is the end of the world? Then let's get this ball rolling. Why are you so afraid? Finally, it all can end. If it is, then our vote is not going to stop it. Cause it's not ours to stop. We did not create this earth, nor will we decide when it ends. The One who began it is the only One who has a say over life and death.

We are a Church that sees the upcoming election as a time of doom and dark ages that the wrath of God will come upon us. For aborting babies, for homosexual marriage, for not taking care of the poor, for stealing people's money, for being in a war. We think that this decision, this term, will bring wrath on His people. First of all, we are hardly a Christian nation. So let's stop that thinking now. The United States of America has not been appointed by God as His elect, and to act like that is to play God, and place politics with Religion in the same Bible, resulting in theology that is at best questionable. Secondly, we need to wake up and notice that this world is passing away. Abortions and everything else that we have labeled Christian issues and decisions and have thus cast our vote based on a few key words, is our sign that that is our wrath. We have been given over to the desires of our hearts, to be a world that has allowed this to take place. To exchange the worship of God for a lie. (Romans 1:24) This already is His wrath.

In addition, it has the danger of labeling people as "Good Christians" and "Bad Christians", and drawing thick black and white lines of what makes someone responsible or irresponsible. We must have grace for one another in our decision making, enough so that we can hear people out and we can discuss and pray together. How awful if we as the Body get to the point that we can not pray for whomever is appointed?

Man, woman, republican, democrat, barack or mccain need our prayers. Just like I need them and just like the homeless guy on the corner does. Because in Christ, we are all on the same playing field. We all are in need of Savior. So my hope is that we realize that we are called to act responsibly and through the Word, praying and discerning what would God want, even if that we means we have to potentially give up what we want. My hope is also that we all learn that our prayers need to not end in the out cry for the right person to be in office, but that no matter who is appointed, we realize God's sovereignty. And finally, my hope is that we do not judge one another, causing division between Christians because of who we vote for, that we would realize that we have the blood of Christ bonding us together that is stronger than any checked box on a ballot.

It had to be said. Where is our faith?

If you can help it, realize that John Piper has his own opinions, and there is no need to get worked up and miss the point. The message of this is worth watching.

AND if you have not gotten enough of my rant, then please click here for my personal voting preferences. Small Government. Big Constitution.

No Treats For Me!

2008-10-28T23:15:00.000-07:00

My husband and I are trying to be healthy. Yes, it's true, we already eat organic everything, almost everything homemade, whole grain, and I exercise 4 days a week. But we have a huge weakness: TREATS! My gosh, even now as I typed that, my mouth started watering, like mad. We LOVE to eat treats. In fact, we will eat a very light dinner so that we can have more ice cream later. I'm so not kidding.

So this week, my husband has decided, in a secret pact with himself, to not eat treats. I know this because each time I ask him if he wants one, I am really telling him in code that I want one but I wont have one unless he has one. He is fully aware of this, because when we don't want treats at the same time, we get so frustrated and guilt one another into having a scoop of ice cream, or four. But he just keeps saying no. Which means I keep saying no.

Another something I must bring up is that carbs make me sleepy. I have no idea why, but I can't eat carbs for breakfast or during the day because about 20 minutes after I am in a coma and I have to inject caffeine into my veins or I will find myself in my bed. So, I have been eating lots of fruits and proteins. Now because I claim to be very healthy, and really I am besides the treats, I know that according to avid dieters, proteins are good for you, and carbs are not. And because my metabolism is crazy fast, then I insist to myself in my head that I need treats to make up for the lack of carbs that are going to my hips. Besides, doesn't ice cream and chocolate look so much prettier under my jeans than a loaf of bread?

So I am really trying to only eat treats three times a week. I already had one, the day that I made the pact, so I only have two more and this week is a big week: Halloween. So tonight, I asked my husband if he wanted a treat, and because he is in a health conspiracy against my treat longings a great encourager of my goals, he said no. So, I grabbed a glass of water and pretended that it was no big deal.

But do you know what? It WAS a big deal! I want a treat! I just bought mint hot cocoa from Trader Joes and it's taunting me. No matter that I am causing the temptation because I did not put it in the cupboard, I placed it right by the hot water boiler. So I sat there and watched it, and today I thought of smelling it. No. Can't. I have decided that Thursday will be the day to break it out. Why Thursday when Halloween is Friday, you ask? Well, I babysit on Thursdays and if you frequented their couch, you would call it a treat couch too. There is just something about how you sink in, and can watch TV without being at the gym, that just SCREAMS treats! And then, of course, I know I'm at a breaking point, especially after tonight's stunt so I will not be able to have a treat and then not have it again the next day. Better to get them both out at once.

I feel better now, and I also feel better that today at lunch, I stuffed two JUMBO marshmallows in my mouth while I was waiting for my tea to heat up. I'm not counting it as a treat though cause they had sand on them from the bonfire.

Baby Bug

2008-10-28T05:00:00.000-07:00

No, no baby for me. At least not to keep. I am an avid babysitter because seriously I just can not get enough of those cute little ones. But I say "Baby Bug" because I am surrounded by them, think about them, and worry about having them all the time.

This weekend I saw two friends that both had twins, and was overwhelmed with how precious those little babies were. But we all know that it's exhausting, at times frustrating, completely joyful, and everything in between. But I must say, what I love the most about babies, is how much I love moms.

Go ahead, call me emotional, call me nuts, you can call me any name you want, but I have to confess that when moms get together and they talk and share and be a part of one another's lives I just start crying. I can't tell you the amount of times that I see mom's out on a walk together, or mom's that I know personally talking and laughing and their kids playing, and it takes every ounce of strength in me to hold in my tears so they do not stamp "CRAZY" on my forehead and never let me babysit again.

But there is something special about women getting together and powering other women. No, this is not a feminist rant, but instead a tribute. To all the mom's I know in my life: you are amazing. Starting with my Mom and followed by the rest...you inspire me.

I had a dream the other night where Cy and I had a child. We only had one and we were so poor that we had no shoes to wear. (Real life fear? Yes.) Anyway, this child of ours came running out of the other room ( I almost can not believe I am sharing this crazy dream) and ran to me when she saw me. I seriously loved that girl in my dream so much, and I woke up thinking about how much I loved her and I loved being a mom and that I loved having no shoes.

So of course, you can see the many fallacies in this story, especially that I loved not having shoes. I have two on my mind right now that I want if I get any extra babysitting jobs.

But also, I woke up thinking how cute this little tike was. Seriously I was overwhelmed with joy about how cute my kid was. Sometimes I think we are doomed cause we both have very pronounced features and so for sure the child will have a big forehead, HUGE eyes, a receding hair line, and be really long and lanky. But this girl, she was ADORABLE. Funny thing though, she was a carbon copy of me when I was a child. Oops...guess I am not so mommy-selfless yet after all.

But just so you know, Mom and other moms in my life, I love you, appreciate you, count you as heros, and you make the miracle of being a mom something to pray and hope for. You are strong, you hold to your convictions, and you have more love than I knew possible. Thank you.

In this post: Mom (best friend, and the best mom) Gail Mendrop, Lori Lewis, Ali Bray , Kristen Howerton

Mac Tip #3: Hot Corners

2008-10-27T10:17:00.000-07:00

This is perhaps one of my favorite features on my Mac. It's very simple, and once you use it, you will never go back.

"Hot Corners" is a feature that allows you to assign each "corner" or your screen to perform a different function when your mouse pointer goes to that corner. So for example, you can have the top right corner show all the windows that are open, the top left corner bring up your dashboard and so on. It's a great shortcut that will save you time, and stay organized.

So let's get started!

1. First, click on the "System Preferences" icon on your dock. If you have removed it from your dock, then simply click on your hard drive icon, and it will be in the "Applications" folder.

2. Next, click on the icon that says "Expose and Spaces". Make sure, that once this open, you are on the tab that says "Expose"(it will be highlighted blue as shown). Spaces is another great organizational function we will get to next week.

3. The screen should look something like this:

The four pull down screens represent the four corners of your desktop. Each pull down menu has a different option to assign to each corner. Let me briefly explain each option:

All Windows- If this is selected, when the mouse is placed in the assigned corner, then all the windows that you have open in any application will be shown on your desktop. This allows you to pick and choose which window you want at the front of your screen simply by clicking on it.

Application Windows- If this is selected, when the mouse is placed in the assigned corner, then all the windows that you have open only in the application which you are working in will show up, allowing you to see what you have open and click on the window that you would like to work on. For example, if you have six windows open in Safari, and you use this feature you can see what you have open and which one you want to access.

Desktop- If this is selected, when the mouse is placed in the assigned corner, then all the windows on the desktop will disperse, allowing you to see a clear view of your desktop. You can even click on an icon on the desktop and it will bring all the previous windows back to the front of the screen, but the most recently clicked item on top.

Dashboard- If this is selected, when the mouse is placed in the assigned corner, then the dashboard will appear on your screen. The dashboard icon may or may not still be in your dock, and is a place with little applications such as the weather, white pages, or stocks. We will learn about the dashboard function more later.

Spaces- If this is selected, when the mouse is placed in the assigned corner, then the "Spaces" function will begin. Spaces is a great organizational tool that allows you to essentially have up to 16 different desktops. It's perfect if you are doing numerous tasks at once.

Start Screen Saver- If this is selected, when the mouse is placed in the assigned corner, then the screen saver will start immediately. Good way to leave your desk with the screen saver running if you are in the office and do not want anyone to see what you are doing, you know, highly sensitive material.

Disable Screen Saver- If this is selected, when the mouse is placed in the assigned corner, then it will disable the screen saver from starting. This is a great feature if you are in a meeting or watching a movie but your preferences have your screen saver set to go on after a certain length of time, then this will stop that from happening.

Sleep Display- If this is selected, when the mouse is placed in the assigned corner, then your display, or screen, will go to sleep. It's a great way to save energy!

Finally, the (-) means that you do not want anything to happen when the mouse is placed in the assigned corner.

Once you get the hang of it, and remember what function you assigned to what corner, you will use them all the time. Remember, to assign a corner, just simply select the desired function in the pull down menu. It will be effective immediately, no need to click "save" or "apply".

Feelin' hot, hot, hot!

24th Birthday!

2008-10-25T21:52:00.000-07:00

I recently turned 24, and I have a few photos to prove it. My husband took me to dinner at wonderful Maggianos (of which I am still enjoying left-overs), and the next day was a beach bonfire with friends. It's one of the best things about SoCal: bonfire weather all year round. In fact, we are toying with the idea of hot cocoa and smores on Christmas Eve.

Thank you for all your birthday wishes!!! I LOVE birthdays, and I am so blessed to be so loved. I've been thinking though, on someone's birthday, shouldn't we thank their mom and dad?

Mom and Dad, thanks!

Tag!

2008-10-24T09:29:00.000-07:00

Sweet Kristen tagged me! I'm so stoked, it's my first one! I really feel like I am part of the blogging world now. All I need to do next is some free giveaways...but I dont have anything to give away. So, here are my random facts:

1. I have only been married for about 4 and a half months and I am so glad I got married young, because that is more time I get to spend with my husband. I am so incredibly thankful for him.

2. Yesterday was my birthday and I turned 24. I have no more sense in my head than I did when I was 23...or 12.

3. I LOVE banana and peanut butter.

4. I always think I am taller than I am.

5. Running is my biggest stress reliever.

6. I LOVE Starbucks Christmas blend.

7. I got new slippers for my birthday and I love them!

Alright, Shey , Kristen , Ethan , MaryBeth , Kali , Brianne , and Melissa , it's your turn!

Halloween Hair Disaster

2008-10-22T22:38:00.000-07:00

1. It's not Halloween yet. I'll get to that.

2. If you are reading this and thinking that I am so well put together, so on top of things, so graceful and tidy that I could never have a blog about a disaster, then you obviously do not know me well enough...or spent more than 5 minutes with me.

I am all about "fall colors". I took a trip to Target last week and have been wearing "Hot For Chocolate", a very stylish nail color on my fingers ever since.

So, I decided today that I need a fall color in my hair. Yes, it already is a fall color: brown. But I decided that I needed a different one. What I wanted and what I pictured was a beautiful array of browns and reds, both lights and darks, falling in perfect formation with my curls, creating a very fall look. So much so, that if I were in the midst of a beautiful park filled with falling leaves, you may think that it was some sort of photo shoot for great curls. Or perhaps an environmental ad, assuring us that if we took care of the environment, we would become one.

But let's be honest, I'm just not that bold. Curly hair has a tendency to look dry, and well, I have dry hair so that just makes it all the worse. So when my hair is light in color, I feel like it looks like a stack of straw, super dry and ready to break. That being said, I always go dark, but I still envision the light. Today I left with "Soft Licorice Black" and pictured "Pecan", "Chestnut" "Paint the Town" (all titles of the wonderful fall colors I longed for.)

So my adventure began after dinner tonight, and I went in the bathroom and prepared for a new fall color. Almost immediately it was disaster. As I began squirting my head with the bottle, like an older person with no depth perception, I squirted right past my head and on to the wall, and the carpet. I am sure I mumbled some sort of profanity and quickly wiped the dye off. Coast clear.

No, not clear; black. Cause Bonnie? It's dye. So it' dyes things. Stains things. Stays there. I looked back no more than two minutes later and there are blackish purplish streaks running down the wall. Profanity again. So I hurry up with my hair dye, which of course, is a really good way to make sure that you are getting every strand and that it's evenly colored.

At about that time, I hear Cy turn off the TV and I panicked. Like a twelve year old who just spilled black emo hair dye on the carpet got caught on the phone late in the night, I just shut the door and locked it. YES! I am a freak! ( I am seriously dying [no pun intended] laughing at myself for doing that. What is wrong with me?) Cy comes over to the bathroom and asks what I am doing in there, and of course I have no explanation so I open the door and show him the wall. But he does not notice because he is pointing at the Dalmatian spot of emo on the carpet. That too, does not come up with one little wash cloth swipe.

The work began, and an hour later, we have a wall that barely has streaks, and a patch of carpet that is soaked in Resolve, water, shampoo, vinegar, and hairspray. (Can you tell I googled how to clean it up?)

In addition, I have black Halloween hair that is not at all like a London afternoon frolicking in the leaves. Instead, I will fit in great when I go to the Twilight premier (ok not premier, just the regular showing with way too much excitement) next month, and in the mean time, I could sit in a dark room, and between my hair and the my googly eyes, people would genuinely think that I am a ghost.

Soft black licorice? Try Tar in the Night.

Two Raccoons In One Night

2008-10-21T15:02:00.000-07:00

Raccoons frequent our apartment complex a lot. When it was summer and the sun did not set until 8:00, we would often see a mom raccoon and her four babies scampering across our porch in search of food. I would scream with delight cause those little raccoons were so cute, and would beg Cy to leave Oreos out for them. I have no idea why, it's not like Oreos and raccoons are a marketing technique that I have fallen for, I just seem to think those little thieves would get a kick out of that delicious treat.

One night, I left the sliding glass door on our porch opened as I was sitting out there doing some post-run stretches. I left it open to give Cy some fresh air as he was diligently putting together our dining table. (Do you see something wrong here? Cy is doing the work and I am running? You may think that I just don't want to help or perhaps that I am not skilled enough to do the table, and I get so cranky that Cy lovingly suggests that I go on a run to relieve my stress. It's the second one.) I got out of the shower, and I hear Cy clapping and making loud yelling noises. Turns out, the raccoons were scampering across our porch, saw the door open and began to enter our house! Cy looked up just as the mom was almost completely inside, followed closely by four little ones, and started to scare them off. They ran away, cause they are all bark and no bite with those bandit masks on, and I got so sad because in all the confusion of the get away plan, one of the little ones ran into a wooden pole. Poor guy. However, I am sure he is fine, they have been back numerous times.

I love to see the raccoons. They are so exciting and it's like a trip to the zoo but with the best seats in the house...and it's free.

So last night we are walking out of our apartment complex to return a movie when we hear a rustling in the bushes. As we look over our right shoulders across the small "stream" of sorts, we see a raccoon staring at us! In my excitement and fear I wanted to take a picture, but the fear won out, so we kept moving. Shortly there after we arrived at Albertson's. Still hyped about the raccoons, I was singing along to the 80's music they were playing and was insisting that we look at the hair dye to find ideas for "a good fall color."

Finally, we decided it was time to leave and started to make our way to the exit. I heard a rustling, and again (like the friend at the "stream") looked over my right shoulder in the middle of the candy isle at Albertsons and saw another raccoon of sorts. Expect the only thing these two had in common was their theivery. That's right! This bandit was placing a bag of Peanut M&Ms in his Jnco jeans. We made eye contact, and he immediately took them out of his jeans, but kept them in his hands and walked down the isle. I stared at Cy with wide eyes and explained what I had seen. We then rounded the corner and there was the human-raccoon! He saw us, no M&M's in hand, walked back down another isle and emerged with a bottle of Advil. He then walked straight out of Albertsons. I was in shock. Did he steal it? Maybe he just put the bag down in another isle? We had no idea what to do. We left, sort of saddened by this possibility and made our way to our car.

THEN, as we are driving home, we look to our right and there he is, in his truck, eating what seemed to be delicious candy covered chocolate in some sort of yellow bag. We turned separately before we had time to do anything, and the rest of the ride home was spent in silence as I began to think of calling the police and then being met by him months later after he served his time for the M&Ms, in the middle of Albertsons with fire in his eyes.

Mac Tip #2: Add and Subtract Items from Your Dock

2008-10-20T02:00:00.000-07:00

By now you are an ol' pro at changing the size, location and bells of your dock. Like a color coded closet, or a bookshelf in your home by the Dewey Decimal System, your dock has the capability of satisfying all of your type A, OCD, or just plain organized needs.

Most likely, you have a few icons on your dock that look totally cool and really awesome if you knew how to use them, and you may even know how, which is a bigger plus for you. If not, then you can always sign up for a One to One appointment at the Apple store, in which you will be taught by an Apple teacher, one on one, once a week for a whole year.

Until then, let's clean up that dock so that you can click and when it pops up, you won't find yourself just staring at the dock. The dock's purpose is to keep your most used programs in a very accessible way, so if you don't use an icon, let's get rid of it. Or a program that you use lots, but hate having to open it through the hard drive, then let's put it in the dock so you can point and click.

But how? Easy! I promise:

To get rid of any icon in your dock:

Simply click on an icon and hold down the mouse (or trackpad) button.
Drag it out of the dock and on to the desktop area.
Let go of your mouse (or trackpad) button and watch it disappear!
This action does not delete the application from your computer, it can always still be found in the Finder and on your Hard Drive.

To add any item to your dock:

Open the finder which is the face button on the left hand side of your dock.
This is where you will always find any document, application, program etc. Also, this can not be removed from the dock, so if you keep trying and can't...it's not your fault!
Click on the file that says "applications" and look for the appropriate application that you want to find.
Once you find the application that you want to add to your dock, click on the appropriate icon and hold down the mouse button (or trackpad) and drag it into the dock. Let go of the mouse and watch it appear!
You can put any icon anywhere. So I like to put like icons next to each other. But you can do what you want, and you don't have to admit that you color code or alphabetize your icons.

A few extra tips:
If you have the Leopard operating system, each time that a program is open, there will be tiny spot light underneath the icon. The Finder will always have that spotlight, so again, you can stop trying to get rid of it.

Don't know what your icons do? Just try them out, and have some fun!

Pumpkin Fun!

2008-10-19T23:40:00.000-07:00

A wonderful friend from out of town, Shey , visited this weekend for a pre-birthday celebration! We went to the pumpkin patch at Tanaka Farms in Irvine and had a great time!

"WOW. Mom's going to pig out tonight!" - a father who is picking vegetables with his wife and son.

Careful lady, you may get really unhealthy habits by eating vegetables.

Peace of Mind

2008-10-17T02:00:00.000-07:00

As I babysat a pair of sweet children tonight ages 2 and 5, I was struck with an eye opening difference between the two of us.

When it's time for bed, and I ask, "Are you ready for bed? " The answer is never "YES! I am WIPED! Today was exhausting." Followed by a getting into bed by themselves with great eagerness.

When I get there each Thursday night and ask what game they want to play, they never say, "You know what? I don't really feel like it. I'm kind of tired. I think I'll skip out on fun and just sort of hit the hay early."

And when I ask them if they are ready for school tomorrow, I don't hear "[sigh] It's so stressful. Oh wait, can you turn on the light? I just remembered 5 more things I need to put on my to-do list."

At the end of the day, we are exhausted and bed does not come quick enough. We are a sleep deprived humanity. According to the Sleep Foundation , 67% of American Women say they frequently encounter sleep problems, and 43% say that daytime sleep interferes with their daily routine. But is it sleep that is really stopping me from functioning fully or from staying up just a bit more to have a conversation with my husband? I mean, if I got that extra hour on top of the 7 that I get, would I be chipper all day, bells on my shoes, fresh picked flowers on my table, and songs of praise on my lips at all times? No. I wish. I think that are real problem is that we do not rest daily, in the day and throughout the day. We go and go and go and we think that our 5, 6, or 7 hour sleep night will make up for it. Think of this way. Would you ever expect to let something cook for 8 hours that should only cook for 1? No way, it would be burned, taste awful, and would loose all of it nutritional value. Same goes for anything that has a time limit or a shelf life. It's expiration date is there for a reason, and for a purpose. Our lives are not forever, and the days do not last all day so that we can pretend that we will never get burned out, always act as sweet as sugar, and continually be at our healthiest best. We are severely kidding ourselves if we think we do not have a shelf life.

We all want peace. And we all want a piece of sanity. So here is a small way to obtain both. Although it's not like sitting on the beach listening to nothing but the waves, nor is like a day trip to the spa, but it's just about as close to serenity as you can get in your own home. Or your car, the office, in traffic. Yes, it's that good.

Origins Peace of Mind is a light lotion like substance containing natural ingredients such as basil to relieve tension, peppermint to release trauma and tightness, and eucalyptus to help fight fatigue. Simply squeeze a small amount of this light weight but very powerful lotion on to the tips of your first two fingers. Rub your finger tips together to make sure that both hands have this delightful escape on them, and get ready to begin a moment of peace, and to gain a piece of mind.

Simply dab and rub in a circular motion the lotion on your tension areas. This can be muscles, or for basic stress relief, try right below your ears, and on your temples. The peppermint will cool your skin and in no time you will be feeling, fresher, invigorated, and like you just might make it the rest of the day.

Best features? At 3.4 oz, it fits neatly in your purse, car, or in your hand if you are expecting a long line at the DMV, doctor's office, or anywhere else that just drives your crazy. And, the $19.50 that you will spend on this will seem like nothing in comparison to the benefits your will reap.

Let's all breathe in, and out. Go on, it's good for you.

Radio Pause Button

2008-10-15T21:18:00.000-07:00

When I was little I never understood the concept of the radio. Like a tape player or the needle on my father's record player, I thought that when the car was turned off, it wold be like pushing a pause button on the radio. That if I were to get back into the car and turn the radio on, that it would pick up right where it left off. So if I ever entered the car and it was on a different spot, then my dad or mom or sister must have turned it on and that's what had happened. I just didn't get that things were moving and operating and existing without me.

That's how I feel today. So much is going on that it feels overwhelming that I am such a small part of it all. It was a rough day in many aspects, and I so wish I could just push the pause button. If I could have just a few moments to

think.

breathe.

have a good cry.

sit.

be still.

be ok with being still.

A pause button on the chaos of life and the weight of the decisions around me would be greatly appreciated. But I know that it keeps going and it keeps moving, and things keep getting done and people keeping talking, that life does not come with a pause button. But I also know that just because it's not given to me, doesn't mean I can't ask for it. I am comforted in knowing Someone whose yoke is easy and whose burden is light. Thank you Jesus, for in You I will find the pause button.

"Come to me all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me. For I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30

Trash Food

2008-10-13T22:08:00.000-07:00

As we leave church on Sundays, we are always starving and in no mood to cook, make, or cut any food and put it together in any form. So, we usually end up laughing at our lack of self control, and getting food at a local place. This Sunday, I opted for a Chicken Waldorf Salad Sandwhich from The Gypsy Den, and my husband was in the mood for "a really messy lunch." "What is that" you may ask? We don't mean messy as in cheetos where the cheddar sticks to your fingers, or perhaps even an ice cream cone on a hot summer day that drips all over your hands and gets all over your mouth no matter what your age. No we mean "messy" as in full of crap that is not good for your heart, your arteries, or your life expectancy rate: A Double Cheeseburger and large Dr. Pepper from Jack in the Box.

In my husband's defense, we NEVER eat like that, and even I sometimes crave something that I know I will be unclogging for days. So, that is what he got.

As I ate my chicken sandwhich, I watched him eat his fast food and was fascinated by something that we all do, I'm sure without much thought, and put absolutely no reservations with it, because well, we must figure the very fact we are eating it already has put us on a destructive path:

There are usually multiple items of food in somewhat of a paper bag. However, that bag rips so very easily, and deteriorates so quickly as the grease hits it, can we really be sure it's even paper? I would love to give them the benefit of the doubt that's it's made of recycled corn, but come on, they are open 24hrs with all their neon lights. I doubt that "going-green" is on top of their list.

We usually will remove these items one at a time, mostly because we begin to eat the fries before we reach our destination. So when it's time to sit and eat it, the fries are already, or almost, gone. Therefore we have two decisions: we can either pull out the fries and just polish them off, or pull out the burger and save the fries for later. This is so incredibly odd, as some of us will hesitate the latter because we are afraid that they fries will need to be heated up again. This is a sign that we have fallen for the trap in believing that they were fresh in the first place. Never mind that when they enter into our microwave, that is at least the sixth time of being re-heated.

So say we opt for decision number two, and we pull out the burger and then save the fries for later. We then take the crumpled up burger wrapper with a little left over cheese on it, and place it back into the bag with our other food. Yes, we take our trash and put it all over, around, and on top of our french fries. So much so, that sometimes, because we are in deep conversation, we will pull out our fries and find our balled-up pile of trash resting on top, and often wedged between our french fries. We have no problem with this.

If this food were on a plate and someone handed us a note, we would never read it, dip it in some cheese from whatever we were eating, and then ball it up and place it on our other food. It just would not fly. We would be unsanitary, gross, sick, unhealthy. But somehow we do it with ~~trash~~ fast food all the time and have zero issues.

Oh wait, it's because we are fully confident of where the paper came from, who touched it, and where it in the world it's been before. So no big that it gets all over our food. In fact, why don't we dip the fry in some of the left over cheese, and just squeeze the grease out of the recycled corn bag and re-heat it for a delicious, fresh, batch of french fries. It's like we ordered two kinds: the regular and the trash deluxe.

Mac Tip #1: Dock

2008-10-13T02:00:00.000-07:00

Alright, here we go, round one.

I think I have perpetual OCD when it comes to my dock. Do I want it real big or real small? On the bottom of my screen or the side of my screen? Do I want every application that I have ever used on there, or just two of my favorites? I do know that I love to have it magnify when I roll my mouse over it.

What the heck am I talking about?

The dock is simply a view of applications in pictures that are easily accessible on your Mac:

When your software is initially installed, it will look pretty generic, will be located at the bottom of your screen and you may have a heart attack if you are OCD and will feel the need to change it immediately. So here is how:

1. On your dock, click the System Preferences icon:

2. You will then be taken to the System Preferences screen. Click the icon that says Dock:

3. Here you can adjust the size of the icons, the magnification, placement on your screen, minimization, animation, and visibility preferences:

If you are new to a Mac, you may be confused as to why you do not get 50 billion pop-up windows asking you to click "Apply". On a Mac, when you click something, it will change automatically. It saves you time and frustration, because as you make a change, you can test it out right away, without having to jump through any hoops. Unless of course, you are hula-hooping out of pure joy that it was so easy. Then, yes, that is from a Mac.

Too many icons on your dock? Too little? Next week, on "i heart my mac Mondays", we will learn how to organize, and add and subtract applications from your dock, as well as another was to access applications easily that you do not want in your dock. Stay tuned.

This was, of course:

When a Christian...

2008-10-10T21:20:00.000-07:00

says, "That was a total God thing"

Everyone else hears: "Some things are from God and others aren't. And, oh yeah, we get to say what is and what isn't"

Example: Two friends are sitting in a coffee shop and one girl waves to a gentleman sitting across the way.

(True Story)

Friend 1: Do you know him?
Friend 2: Yeah I do, he is friends with my husband.
Friend 1: He's cute.
Friend 2: He's married. He just got married, and has a baby on the way too! It was really unexpected. In fact, his wife got sick, she was having these migranes and had to go on some medication that interfered with her birth control, and she got pregnant!
Friend 1: Wow. The headaches, that was a total God thing.

Everyone else thinks: What about the baby!? Just the headaches were part of the plan, but the baby was a shocker to Big Guy upstairs?

What we mean is: We really do believe that God is in control. Truly, and completely. But you have to forgive us, we just have an unfortunate list of phrases that makes everyone else think that we are a sorority, making t-shirts for "God Day!" I mean, if we truly believe that He is in control, then what is not "a God thing?"

W.W.M.P.E.?

2008-10-10T07:41:00.001-07:00

I am my father's daughter. I mean, I definitely have traces of my mother (our love for books, hatred for random noises, same writing mind...I mean the list goes on), but when looking at my physical, my Dad and I are twins. We have the same speed of light metabolism, smile, body structure, eyes, hair...So when I ponder what I will look like 50 years, I just look at my Dad.

Due to my fast-acting, ever-racing metabolism, plus my un-dying love for running, I must constantly look to my hero: Michael Phelps.

True confession, after watching him swim in the Olympics this year, I got really excited, put on my Target bikini, a pair of speedo goggles, and swam 50 lengths in the pool at our apartment complex. So it was more likely 2 lengths compared to an olympic pool, but you get the drift. I had to stop at every turn and catch my breath, and I can't even begin to imagine what a complete fool I looked like. What kept me going was the announcer's voice in my head, "Can you believe this woman started swimming only four years ago? And in her apartment complex?! Wow. Talk about the American dream. This is IT!" BUT I must say that since that fateful day, I have seen people swimming laps in the pool, too. They must have seen me, and gotten the Michael Phelps bug. I would like to think I started a revolution.

Since then I have dropped swimming. (Can you really drop something that you have never started?) But I still look to M.P. for advice. I am a 23 year old stuck in a 12 year old's body, with a 40 year old's brain. Yes, I am surprised too that I have not had an identity crisis. BUT so that my physical year does not drop below 12, I must ALWAYS ask myself: What Would Michael Phelps Eat?

This of course, comes from the impressive fact that M.P. can eat 12,000 calories a day and can not break 200 lbs, and, of course, the indoctrination of my sunday school fundraisers of the ever so popular, W.W.J.D. bracelets. Maybe my worlds will collide and I will find myself looking to some author who suggests, What Would Jesus Eat? Let's give this man props, he does include red wine, it's good for the heart.

On the Menu:
Oatmeal with blueberries. 100 calories

crap. 11,900 more to go.

I Put Tea on My Face

2008-10-09T07:34:00.000-07:00

My good friends over at Mama Manifesto posted a great post today encouraging us all to really take a look at the products we are using and the content in them. We consume a ridiculous amount of carcinogens and hazardous chemicals each day. Some, we can not control, like the amount of pollution in the air. (Okay, we can do our green part, but on a day to day basis, can we just decide not to breathe? No.) So, if we make changes in our diets and the products we use, we can lower our risks significantly. I know this seems so very green of me, but being faced with the reality after marriage that my life is no longer affecting just me, but a husband, and someday children, then these little steps make the biggest difference.

I know I have ranted and raved about the benefits of tea, but let's me honest, I do it because I love you.

So today, it's not another rant, but a helpful tool to help us all live just a bit healthier.

I can not go one morning without washing my face. In fact, I have yet to do it this morning and I am dying. I just hate the feeling of things on my skin. It grosses me out, and I'll admit I'm borderline OCD when it comes to having a clean face. In fact, I will wash my face mid day if it feels dirty. Our skin is an organ, and just like any healthy organ in our bodies we must treat it as such. You would not give your heart anything but blood, right? Then why give your skin anything but that which is healthy for it? So our question is: do we believe that it matters what we use to wash our faces? If so, what is good for it?

Studies show that up to 60% of what you put on your skin is absorbed and ends up in your blood stream. Because our skin is the first defense system that our bodies have, then we better be pretty careful about what we wash it with, what we put on it, and and how we take care of it.

So I have found a facial cleaner that is not only safe for my skin, but, actually helps it as well:

Kiehl's Yerba Mate Facial Line

Kiehl's Yerba Mate is made from the Yerba Mate Tea Leaf from South America. In it's native habitat, Yerba Mate leaf is used for all kinds of healing remedies both outside and inside. In the form of facial cleanser and lotion, it holds the same properties. All three of the Yerba Mate line (cleanser, toner and lotion) contains 15 amino acids, 11 antioxidants and 24 vitamins and minerals! Let's take a trip back to middle school bio class for a minute. Amino Acids are the building blocks of protein, so when we put this on our skin we are not only using something safe that can be absorbed, but we are also making our skin much stronger. Antioxidants have powerful detox abilities. Not only does this make for a super clean face, but over time, when complimented by an antioxidant healthy diet as well as healthy cooking, cleaning, and clothing products, will make for a clean blood stream. 24 Vitamins and minerals? Need I say more? In addition, Kiehl's Yerba Mate line contains lemon extract, the fruit with the highest percentage of vitamin C, as well as Kombutchka Tea another tea leaf that is supremely rich in anti-oxidants. The toner is alchohol free, but does not feel like you have done nothing to clean your skin. The lemon extract is also a natural astringent with an antiseptic quality found in the lemon peel, giving you that deep clean feeling without using chemicals. Finally, the Yerba Mate lotion is oil free and the tea extracts help reduce the size of pores.

I know, I sound like I work for Kiehls. The truth is, I used to.

But how easy to clean your skin and, prevent harmful chemicals absorbed into your blood just by washing your face?

Go to Kiehls.com to find a store near you.
Cleanser: $20.50
Toner: $24.50
Lotion: $35.00

Too expensive? Not only are the health benefits worth it, but with Kiehls a little goes a long way. In fact, when used the correct quarter size amount, your products will last you a good 4 months. But because all three of these products are infused with the same ingredients (15 amino acids, 11 antioxidants and 24 vitamins and minerals!!!!) then just buy one, and start putting it in your regime one product at a time.

One cup, or two?

Test your skin care products here: Cosmeticsinfo.org

TV Guide

2008-10-08T19:28:00.000-07:00

Lately I have been putting in my running milage at the gym. I prefer the outdoors, especially since I live where it's summer all year round, but I have injured my leg recently and indoors is all I do right now.

Sadly, I have been planning when to run based on the TV shows that will be playing during that hour. I literally go on TVguide.com and search throughout the day to find the best shows. I know, it's not the best use of my time, but we currently do not have a TV and I spend my hours and days and weeks and years and life reading books for work, reading books for school, listening to podcasts for work and listening to lectures at school. So there comes a point that this brain of mine just needs a little bit of mind numbing activity.

Yesterday I ran to The King Of Queens. I got lucky too, cause there were two episodes on in a row! That show is one of my favs to just sort of phase out to. That, and Reba.

The day before that I watched Wife Swap.

The goal, is that you find a show that you do not have to stop running to change the channel, so it is CRITICAL that you pick a good one.

Tonight is out. Just too tired. But tomorrow, is another day. I will be running in the morning, before work so here are my options at a roaring 7:00 am:

Sister, Sister (wayyyy too early for twins with parents who are so incredibly annoying)

Planet's Funniest Animals (I can't picture myself cracking up over this)

Babies: Special Delivery (I'm newly married and that will scare me straight to the couch at night)

Parental Control (a trashy MTV show. I'm embarrassed I know what this even is)

Saved by the Bell (for a rookie, this would seem like a good option. WARNING: 80's TV shows do not have good sound quality, so you will end up just blaring those speakers and that can cause ear damage. Not a good idea.)

So it's down to: Good Morning America and the Early Show. I'll have to check who is guest starring. I can't have someone blabbing about something and then want to change the channel. See because the show has to be so, so good that when the commercials come on, you kick that speed and that incline way up just to blow off some adrenaline, then back down to normal pace when the show comes back on.

Interval training. I can't decide if this is pathetic or really inventive. I'm voting the former.

When It's Ruined

2008-10-07T18:59:00.000-07:00

I consider myself to have child-like qualities. I love print socks, capri suns, the Little Mermaid, and I still think that stuffed animals are real. You don't? Just read Corduroy and you will be convinced too.

But, I have to get something off my chest that I am sad about. There are people who have ruined cartoon characters for me. I can't stand it. I do not want to know about any lame producer that thought it would be funny to write nasty words in the middle of Disney movies nor do I want to know what the people who do the voices do in real life. It ruins it!!! And frankly, I feel like I have been traumatized to some degree.

When I was really little, my sister once told me that Goofy was a drunk driver.

First of all, what does that even mean? Goofy is an actual person who drinks alcohol on a regular basis? That if I were a police man in the state of California or Florida I may run into Goofy during a night shift at the local bar?

Or does this mean that the person who is playing Goofy, all dressed up is drunk? Is that why he laughs like such a fool and sort of walks all slumped over? Perhaps it's not that he is so tall and has to lean over to talk with his other friends who are so short, but in fact he is stumbling home from the bar.

I mean this is what goes through my head now when I see that long-eared (what is he, a dog!?!), bucked toothed, overall wearing animal at Disneyland. I am disgusted with his choices. Come on, Goofy, you are supposed to be some sort of role model.

Now we know why they are not serving Margaritas or Cosmopolitans at the Happiest Place on Earth. Someone would be caught drooling for reasons that Walt would not like to admit.

i heart my mac mondays

2008-10-06T00:03:00.000-07:00

Alright, the time has come to share that I have fully, officially with no reservations, become a total Mac snob. Fanatic. Lover. Guru. Partially, it's because my husband works for Apple and I have washed so many Apple logos printed on T-shirts, been to the store more times than even the avid Mac user could count, and personally thank Apple for assisting in helping our family eat. But, the other part, is that I own a Mac, and I love it.

The streamline simplicity of my black Mac book shouts sophistication, while the glowing Apple logo on the back of the computer screams creativity. You don't believe me? According to this study, when a group of participants were given subliminal messages in the form of pictures of either an Apple or IBM logo, participants responded more creatively after seeing the Apple logo vs. the IBM logo. If this information is not enough for you to glare at your PC, point your finger, shout, and blame it for all your attempts at failed creativity, then perhaps the next Windows pop-up message will do the trick. Come on, don't hide, we all want to forget those burned cupcakes, the drawings that no one can recognize, the projects that got thrown into the recycle bin on accident, and that dress you really tried to sew (but somehow ended up with only one sleeve)? That is exactly, my friends, why having a Mac comes in handy.

So, from this moment on, Mondays will be dedicated to the celebration of Apple. Mac tips and tricks, application shortcuts, new products, new designs...you name, and I will try to have it. And if you don't have a Mac to join in that celebration, please do not put away those dancing shoes just yet. Tune in, but I will not foot the bill when you break down after a few, harmless Mac Mondays and find yourself charging a different type of apple than granny-smith to your credit card.

feeling creative yet?

Cycle of Life and Death

2008-10-04T17:32:00.000-07:00

My mom, an English major in College, and now a high school librarian, always speaks of the literary device of the cycle of life and death. In a story when one person died, there would inevitably be a birth of a new life. Or, when there was a birth, there would soon be a death. Growing up, I never understood what she was referring to, and this past week, I lived in this tension, in this cycle.

My Grandma, my dad's mom, passed away this week. It was expected, but it still hurts. It's hard because she is my last grandparent. It's hard because she has not been well for awhile, and when she was well, I did not have enough sense to appreciate that time. If only I could have frozen a moment or two when she was laughing when we were little, or she gave me a high five that was so awkward, and I could have taken a snapshot of that moment; but I didn't. And truly, this ink is not a spillage of guilt. I was so young, so naive and there was no way that I could truly appreciate and understand Grandma. Her wisdom. Her generation. The fact that now, in my life, that generation is gone, and the new one is rushing in is something that has, in one week, become a reality. The thought of being only second in line of my family name, instead of being third crosses my mind and I realize that instead of being last, I am now approaching the middle. It's puts a fragile cloud over my parent's life and my friend's parent's life. And mine. I am no longer a grandchild, but just a child, and my other friends, who once made the transition from grandchild to child are now...parents.

Two days after my Grandma passed, after a generation in my life came to an end, a new one began. My dear friends Megan and Randy had their precious twin babies. They are so beautiful and the beginning of this stage of life is something that now being married, I am beginning to grasp a better understanding for. I feel like I am in a race for wisdom, that I am so aware of what I have been missing by only living like I would forever be just a grandchild, and now, as a new awareness of being a child, I have much to learn before I become a parent. And so it's here, in the middle of that tension, of third to second, last to middle, that I find myself.

I am mixed with sorrow grief, joy and happiness and I can not help but begin to think of the generations that have come and those that will come next. We are fragile people. We are made out of dust.

Our history is precious and the patriarchs and matriarchs of our faith declared, as they saw God move "This is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob." Because, we know of where we came from, where we are headed, and who we are living for because of those who paved the way before us. We recognize the movement from generation to generation, yes as a literary device used in our favorite stories, but as an act of love, redemption, and culmination by our God, who knows each generation by name. And so, we too, will declare in the cycles of life and death, that "this is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob", because their lives are a thumbprint on ours.

My Thin, Thin Blood

2008-10-03T08:52:00.000-07:00

It's 64 degrees here, and you know what that means?

WINTER!

Coming form the Mile High City where there is snow on the mountains till July and there is snow on your grass till May, I am sad to admit that my Colorado heart has thawed, completely. I moved to Colorado from Arizona, and the entire first year I was there I was frozen. Literally. I remember when it was negative nine outside and I just refused to go out. Nope. Not doing it. But then I turned so hard core. My blood thickened and I went running in the snow. Played games in the snow. Would roll in the snow in my swim suit before entering our hot tub. And now, here I am, in Costa Mesa, CA and I am thinking that this is winter. So here are ten things that I am truly embarrassed of, because they are defining aspects of me that change me from CO to CA:

1. It's 68 and I am wearing Ugg boots.
2. That I even have Ugg boots. In CO, we are bad a's and don't wear boots with fur.
3. I pray for rain on Christmas Day.
4. I drove around this morning with heat on in my car, and was horribly upset I had to walk so far to my apartment door.
5. I often use the word "brrrr" to describe how I am feeling when it gets below 70.
6. Is it a bad sign that I contemplated getting into the hot tub to "warm up"?
7. I wore two layers, both pants and tops this morning.
8. When I wear my puffy ski vest, I know I am putting to shame people who really ski. Cause, well hello. Nothing but sand and freeways here.
9. I have actually considered purchasing a heavy, winter coat from J.Crew.
10. That I would even think that J.Crew could offer a good winter coat. What happened to my knowledge and love for rugged REI?

I mean, need I say more?

Colorado, please cover me with snow and freeze me to the core this Christmas. California has stolen all my blood and made it as thin as the girls who live here.

Got Milk?

2008-10-02T09:25:00.000-07:00

Milk was a staple for me growing up. Everyday after school I had a tall glass of cold, whole milk and loved every single gulp. I love chocolate milk, I love to dip cookies in it, make milk shakes, milk baths (well I've never had one, but I think that I would like it), and milk in my coffee. However, what I do not appreciate is everyone who is running around and making me weird and grossed out by milk. You ruining it for me! "Who are these people?" you may ask. PETA for one. Yes, the animal rights group. They recently put out a formal request to Ben and Jerry's asking if they would please stop using cow's milk (to "give the cow a break"), and start using human breast milk.

human.breast.milk.

I really, really wish that I was kidding. In the report, which you can read here, they are quoted saying that "breast is best" and thus, I should really be consuming breast milk mixed with caramel and peanut butter, all frozen to perfection while I'm sitting on my couch watching the rain or getting over a bad day. Please can I do that? I literally am almost throwing up in my mouth. Is anyone else totally grossed out by this? And what does "breast is best" even mean? According to who? I guess this brings me to another misunderstanding I have about life. What is the big deal about boobs?! They are fat that just sits there, and frankly, people act appalled by it anywhere else on the body, so how come two random spots on the middle of someone's chest are so appealing? And, your mom, grandma, and every other girl that you have ever known has them. So, please please tell me what the big deal is. Furthermore, I am pretty sure, that people (majority men) who are going around saying "breast is best", are not thinking that they are consuming it's natural fluids in ice cream. If they even remembered that milk comes out of those, I think they would loose some of the appeal. So PETA maybe this is actually a hidden way to stop people from looking at so much porn, or grabbing people's boobs on the streets. If so, then I understand your true intentions. But, I have see you in action, and the way you yelled at me with signs that had puppies on them in Times Sqaure, makes me worried that you are serious about this statement. I am really hoping that pictures of boobs and cows and any combination of the two do not show up at your next picket line.

The second person who is really destroying my love for milk, is this guy. He insists that soy milk will make a child gay. I can not even begin to comment on this. He says that giving a kid soy milk is the equivalent to taking two birth control pills. I would like to personally thank him for this information. Because now that I know, I will stop taking my birth control pills and I will drink a half cup of soy every morning. But, Sir? Will you foot the bill for the diapers, clothes, food and college of the baby that will be born out of your soy milk birth control method? Just let me know where to send the invoice.

Dear Starbucks

2008-09-28T23:07:00.000-07:00

You are a master of foolery. You tell me that you have the best coffee and espresso beans around, and although I have tasted better, I still believe you. You know the temperature outside and you draw me in with the perfect internal thermostat neutralizer. And then when I do come in from the heat and get and iced beverage, you freeze my core with your air conditioner that is so quiet I have no idea it's on, until I am so cold that I find myself ordering another drink, a warmer one. I fall for it every time. You offer me "healthy" options with a scoop of whey protein, and despite my careful research, I find my head convincing my rationale that whey protein is the equivalent to having a chicken breast for lunch. You offer me an array of treats that tantalize me when I am not hungry, but your sign that says "organic blueberries" or "whole grains" I begin thinking that I am doing myself a disservice if I do not consume your sugar traps. Your atmosphere makes my head spin. Is this a community or is it time to listen to Jewel and write in my journal? You set up tables and couches with just enough chairs that if I am alone, I am totally aware of the silence that surrounds me. And it is not long before I find myself emoed-out, brushing my bangs in my face and putting my earphones in my ears. If I am in a group, I am all too aware of our rambunctious nature, which is hardly our fault. It was you who caused this intense elevation in loud voices as you offered us a "free extra shot" with a wink. And we took it, because we believe in the quality of your beans, but then we are given scornful looks for our energy, from the dark poet that is writing vigorously in his journal. And what about your energy shot? It was vitamin B, so I may as well get this everyday instead of taking the vitamins right? Yes, that is what you want me to think. And just as I am standing waiting for my tea, served plain, I begin patting myself on the back for not falling for your antics, and I pity those that are in line, savoring the menu options and splurging for the venti. So as I am becoming prideful in my choice, I look down and see your new brochure: "Good". This is your master plan, because each Thursday you put out a small newspaper that folds neatly into my purse and in a small snippet you give me information that I am too lazy to look up on my own: Immigration. Carbon in the Air. Health Care. You point out which Presidential Candidate supports what, and I begin to fool myself into thinking I am well informed. I don't even check the source. And then, I find myself sitting down, reading that information like the Bible and finishing my tea when I just meant to leave. I look around and although I am alone, I begin to feel like we are all a community, learning about politics and getting filled with protein and vitamins together, and so I stay. I get cold, hungry, and I begin to fall into your trap.

Next time you come out with another one of your antics, I will be prepared. And I will not fall for it, until you pass out those sample that you make in those tiny cups, and I will begin to feel energized, cleansed, full of vitamins, or whatever else you promise and then I will start to feel a chill in the air, and your list of options will begin to entice me. And just as I want to fight it, I will see the pamphlet that gives me a Poly Sci degree in one sitting and I will order a venti, and decide to stay awhile.

You are a bad, bad drug.

Occasion Appropriate

2008-09-27T19:21:00.000-07:00

I am always wanting to dress occasion appropriate. I think it's because my mom always knew what to wear, and how to wear it. It was never over done, and never flashy. It was always simple, and very classy. I would watch her get ready for football games and she wore simple red tennis shoes, and a red polo. Dinner dates with my dad when we were young were always a nice dress, that was enough to stand out, but simple enough to not take away form the best part of her: her face. I love that about her.

So, I am occasion conscious. I really do not like the feeling of wearing jeans when everyone is in formal wear. I don't like even more when everyone is in jeans and I accidentally put on my prom dress. I just dont like to stick out, especially if the crowd, the event, the everything is unfamiliar. So I really try and fit the mood, I get embarrassed when someone tells me I look "sooooo nice" dragging out the emphasis like usually I am wearing a trash bag. I also get embarrassed when people make comments about what I look like in my clothes. Skinny. Toned. Filled Out. AHHHH. There is something about those comments that make me feel like there was a certain way that I should be looking in my clothes and I missed it, I have dressed my fat count, bones, and and skin in the wrong proportions.

LIKE ITS MY FAULT!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!!?

So this brings me to my conflicted understanding concerning the activity I participated in today: A lingerie shower. It is totally the season of my life right now. Many of my friends are getting married and people are throwing and giving showers, and to the ladies that have decided not to have sex until we are married we just have no idea what people wear or don't wear, where things go, where they don't go and well really anything about sex in general. So we throw lingerie showers, cause I guess at least we will be dressed, or undressed occasion appropriate.

Sushi for every occasion, sushi for every caucasian

2008-09-24T23:17:00.000-07:00

Tonight I travelled down the delightful road of allowing my palette the delight of sushi. I truly love sushi. I have had lots of good sushi. You know, where the rice sticks the perfect amount to the fish so that you can dip the roll into the soy sauce without it falling apart. And I have had incredibly bad sushi where the rice is so sticky that when I put it in my mouth it's like someone is making a rice mold out of every tiny hole, dent, and wrinkle in my mouth. I have been to very friendly sushi places, where they serve wonderful appropriate drinks, my favorite being Milk Boba Tea, and I have been to some odd sushi joints where the sign outside read "no tank tops". Either way, I am in love with with sushi.

Not surprisingly, so is the large majority of America. We are loving the tuna, the salmon, and the lobster, layered with cucumbers, cream cheese, apple slices, fried shrimp, mangos, avocados...the list goes on. Yes, it can seem like a random pairing to the untrained mouth, but anyone who has been to sushi more than twice begins to develop a sense of adventure for these outlandish pairings. On top of that, the health of these rolls on a wooden plate is a bonus. It's all raw, one of many new fad diets, and the amount of carbs can quickly be replaced with brown rice, seaweed wraps and even soy wraps. They are appealing for the exotic nature of the roll; it represents everything that American food does not. Its guilt free, yet full of an adventurous style of dining.

However, tonight as I was drinking my Boba tea in record time, and trying my best to be patient for the soy dish to be placed in front of me (because that means the rolls will soon be on their way), I could not help but think about this wonderful food option that has become a big part of an American fad, health conscious, and often exotic experience. I say that with a bit of disdain, because the more I think of things we incorporate into our culture, the more I am sad about what people may incorporate from ours, into theirs.

Now, let me first say that I have not been to more than 2 other countries. Yes, that is right. I have been to Mexico once and the Dominican Republic once. Two stamps on my passport, which I lost after I got them. Opps. I was only 17. So, I will be the first to say that I need to travel more, I need to add some stamps to that passport, and a bit of perspective and appreciation for our culture. But until then, please help me understand:

In other countries, do people visit McDonalds or In-N-Out as fad eating choices? Or is all that we contribute our pop stars and synthesized music?

Call me jaded. A cynic. I am not an America hater, just want to better understand what and how we contribute.

My fear is that we consume other cultures as a weekly flavor, and we switch religions, diets, clothing, and language to appreciate other cultures, but is all we do is what we do with our pop stars? Do we consume, watch, decorate, and play house with them incorporating them into our lives for a short season and then like the Britney have we chased the beauty but destroyed the girl? Our sushi fad soon leaves us sick of the food, and is it then a downward spiral of the culture and the people? Or worse, is our understanding of such places wrapped up in seaweed with the choice of reduced-sodium soy sauce on the side?

soundtrack

2008-09-22T22:10:00.000-07:00

My husband is an amazing musician. On top of pure, raw talent, he has a passion for it like I have never seen. Tonight, a dear friend of ours, that is also incredibly talented, came over and after consuming dinner and conversations, we ended up in front of the screen watching John Mayer's Live from LA DVD. We only watched two songs, but it was enough to spark light in all of our eyes.

But it was different for me than it was for them.

They watched and listened with such an intense stare, nothing could have broken their concentration. They saw things that I did not see. They listened to every note, to every aspect of the arrangement, to the guitar chords and the melodies and they heard things that I did not hear. Intoxicated by the melody, the amount of inspiration that welled up inside of their hearts was enough to thirst no more, and the intense desire and longing that began to burn in their tear-stricken eyes would burn a hole through any discouraging thought. And as I watched the enamored love affair with a love that they wish they put more effort towards, I found myself in awe of their passion.

It has been far too long since I have felt that longing and that desire; to want to drop everything and want to pursue something so fast and so hard that for a moment I do not care that the ground beneath me has momentarily become distant and my ambitions no longer seem like dreams written in my journal, but a reality.

I watch them both, pent up with equal amounts of frustration and desire, I find myself humbled to a point of almost jealousy. Because to live with that sort of frustration means you have a desire to change by creating, to make this world a better place by adding something beyond yourself, but somehow has been given to you to add. I look back and forth from the two of them, one my right and on my left, and back to the screen and I find myself saying "Imagine if he got discouraged and just stopped playing, you know before he made it big. Think of all that we would have missed hearing." As they nodded in agreement, I told them that they, too, needed to think of such a consequence in their own desire to learn, to grow, to create, to mold, and to live the way the Creator has intended them to live.

In a world that offers to many soundtracks, it's a blessing to be given a song.

What is my song?

this is me, in pictures

2008-09-22T00:32:00.000-07:00

When Fiction Has Too Much Say

2008-09-20T23:26:00.000-07:00

The librarian in me that has been passed down by my mother, has learned from far too many ridiculous mistakes to never, ever under any circumstances judge a book by it's cover. Never. For example, the Bible's cover was hideous. What if we never picked it up, because we did not know what that book was about and we saw the cover and ran? No good. Now, we have a Bible for every occasion (Precious Moments, Young Adult, Women's, Men's, College Student's) completed with assorted colors, scratch and sniff pages, and hypercolor covers. (This is used, of course, as means to monitor your spiritual growth. Is your Bible cover only one color? Then your sweaty palms have not been glued to your Bible for hours of diligent studying. Ok, I made that up.)

But, I must confess that today I did something that I think the "wine librarian" would be so incredibly disappointed in. In fact, I am almost certain he or she would shake their head at me mumbling: "amateur".

No, I did not just buy a bottle because it had the prettiest label. Nor did I buy it because the wine was pink and I decorate everything with pink. No, I am not that much of a rookie.

I choose my wine because the label looked like and reminded me of one of my favorite books.

I am embarrassed to admit that the chosen wine was:

based on:

It is still corked sitting my kitchen waiting for me to swirl it nicely in my blue wine glasses but according to the reviews, I should never, ever take a sip.

Because I could care less if you are laughing at my wine choice, but I care incredibly much if you are laughing at my book choice, I must defend the Twilight Saga. The books are anything BUT similar to the review of the wine; in fact it's the exact opposite: "full, with everything as notable and memorable." Obviously, if it's enough to control my beverage choices.

Wants vs Needs

2008-09-19T16:06:00.000-07:00

If you build it, they will come.

That's my mantra. or at least I act like it. I can not tell you the countless times I have asked for a guitar for Christmas swearing that if I had one I would learn to play.

or how about last summer when I almost bought a Roxy surfboard, because if I had one to learn on I could actually learn.

or when I got in they olympic spirit last month and swam 50 lengths in our apartment pool, with the voice of the announcer echoing in my head "she only started swimming four years ago in her apartment in Costa Mesa! Talk about the American dream!"

So, my mother, like a wise woman would be, is very cautious of these "needs", and usually explains that once I am a pro surfer, she will get me a board, or a guitar, or the newest baking gadget from Williams Sonoma, or a bunch of make-up to be a make-up artist. I'm very ambitious.

My newest need....ok want, is a digital camera. I have one that my mother in law gave me that I love, and I also have a nice film camera that I got when I graduated high school. Both are great, but both have different uses. So, I would like to get a new digital camera that I can learn with (I used to take photo in high school and college, so this is not that far removed from real life) as well as grow into. I am dying to learn about lighting, flashes, points of views, and get a real camera-woman's eye (that is for sure the technical term, I am so professional). In fact, some of my best friends, have their own photography businesses and are superb at it ...maybe I should be asking them for lessons and not just sitting here on my computer writing about it. Well, if I had a nice camera then I would ask for lessons...uh oh, there I go again. ha.

ANYWAY, I truly love a good shot. a moment in time. a glimpse of emotion. nothing at all compares to it. Our wedding photographer is a great family friend and she took our wedding photos as well as our Trash The Dress pictures:

How fun are these? They totally and completely capture the love, joy, passion and excitement we are having as newlyweds. They are spontaneous. Adventurous. Exciting. They turned out beautifully, but also they represent something so much more. We messed up our wedding clothes because our marriage is not about the perfect wedding. It's about sticking together, even when it's messy and having fun in the midst of it.

I only wish I had this talent, but for once, I am going to learn. I really am going to ask Stephanie and Kathy for lessons, and I am going to save my money and purchase a nice camera. I am going to give back what I learn and use it to capture God's creation, using it for good.

I am going to turn this want into a need.

If I Made You Switch...

2008-09-19T08:33:00.001-07:00

It's true. I have maybe, perhaps, guilted you into drinking tea if we went out to "coffee" and I agreed with you about how wonderful the Pumpkin Spice Latte is, how I just die for a Soy Cappuccino (I do get this, I confess. But decaf.) and how the holiday drinks are too much for my addiction and then just as you were about to consume your first sip, I rudely rattled off my statistics to you about the benefits of tea and then the not so good benefits of coffee. I am sorry. It's in your best interest.

To make up for it, I am directing you to Mama Manifesto. They are giving away, courtesy of Honest Tea, a free case of kids honest tea!

What is that? I added injury to insult by taking away your favorite drink and now calling you a kid? Nope. It's just that when we are addicted and want to change our ways, we must take baby steps...

NaNo-cHrOmAtIc

2008-09-18T22:55:00.000-07:00

I seriously can't stand when people write like I wrote the title of this blog. It takes so much effort. Which is crazy cause it's meant to look so jagged and out of sorts like someone just put their hand in a grab bag of written (or typed) letters and just threw them up there. But that took major coordination of my fingers and of my head. But, I did not feel like I could write it without writing it that way. Yes, I am referring to the new ipods. There are here and with a kick.

Now I counted and between my husband and I, we have seven ipods. Six of them work. I know, I am so embarrassed of this fact, and I would love to say that I have so many songs and podcasts and books on tape and vital information that we need all seven. But we don't. We just bought the first shuffle when it came out, got two others as gift, received a free one from a family member, and each own an iphone. So, if you need an ipod, you know where to turn.

But with all of these ipods flooding our house, I still saw the add for the new ones, and began thinking of really imaginative ways that I could use these new colored wonders. Wait, before you say, "bonnie that is so ridiculous. do you know how many you have?" The answer is clearly yes. I am not saying that I went out and bought one of these crazy awesome colorful ones, and I am very sad to admit that the thought of wanting another one even crossed my mind. BUT it did. I do not want all of them, I only want a few of them. A few of them to compartmentalize my life a bit more. ( I know, at 23, I have soo much going on. I am ridiculous).

Yellow for my podcasts.
Purple for my books on tape.
Green for my desire to pretend I am being green.
Blue for the days that I need some blue in my life.
Red because it reminds me of my mom's red Kenny's when I was little.
Silver is way over done.
Orange is sick.
and then pink and black, we already have.

No, really I do not want all these ipods, for those of you that don't know me, I am kidding. Being sarcastic. And a little poking fun at the orange county desire to match your hand bag, car, phone, nail polish and even dog to our outfit. My desire to actually want a designated ipod for my podcasts is a true confession. But, I mean how many do I have downloaded that I just don't even listen to. I have big plans for myself that I will grow and learn all of these great things, be well informed and then do something with it. Sounds vague? Yeah, me too. That is maybe why they sit in my iTunes and the blue dot that says they are yet to be listened to never goes away.

But all this talk about colors reminded me of a cRaZy (sick) teacher that I had at Chapman in my undergrad studies. The class was called "Eastern Concepts of Health and Healing". I had been to a chiropractor once or twice, and my pediatrician from when I was little, (whom I call on a regular basis for medical advice anywhere from a reddish hue on my finger out of nowhere to when I had hernia surgery), practices eastern medicine. And, given I was a Religious Studies major I assumed I would be well equipped to take this class. It goes into way too deep to explain and because I want you to come back and read more of my blog, I am afraid that if I tell you everything you will assume I am lying. So here are a few highlights:

She told us she was the Chinese men's trainer at the 2000 Olympics in Athens. Apparently she was getting some deja-vu and so were a few of her other fellow "trainers" and one night, they came together and figured it out: (this is a direct quote) they were "a bunch of old souls that were re-incarnated and joined together at this olympics because they were the first ones to perform in the very first olympics in Athens." She was dead serious.
There are energy vortexes around the earth, in fact there is one in Sedona, Arizona. And, NASA has no idea about these things. And if they did, we would be way farther ahead in the space race.
If you have a friend who is having a bad day, just put their picture in some sun light and they will feel better.
If you or a friend is having a bad day, then you need to get a crystal (if no crystals in reach, then a "polished rock" will do) and you need to cleanse it of it's aura. How does one do this you may be asking, well, take some sage and burn it. As the smoke from the sage is billowing up into the vortex-centered air, waft the sage toward the crystal and it will be clean. Then, hold it in your hand and say out loud what you want to feel that day. Example: "Today will be a good day." Repeat it over and over, and then carry the crystal (or rock) in your pocket all day. If you are with a friend when you are doing this, and you want it to be a secret (in case they were not tipped off from the burning sage) then just think the good thoughts. It will be the same. Oh, and be sure to "slip" the crystal into his or her pocket, they will never know it is there, but they will have a good day.

These comments were always furiously written down in my notebook from which I should be taking notes, but since we never learned anything, I had tons of room. Later I always took them home and they became the dinner conversation for my roommates and I. BUT, my favorite topic has yet to be shared:

Color Chakras

For those of you that did not get to take this ever-informative (gag) class, then I will briefly explain to you what these are. They are seven energy centers in the body, each that have a different color. So, because she is an Olympic Trainer, she uses color therapy on her clients. No joke. She carries around a suitcase with every color polo of the rainbow. She then will study the client's aura, and whatever chakra, represented by a specific color, is heightened, then she will be sure not to where that color polo. If the client's base chakra (represented by the color red) is most intense, and my teacher happened to be wearing red, then she can do a quick change (behind her client's back?) into a polo that will off-set the chakra, thus calming the patient down. Or, for example, if she wants to have a good day of talking and communication, then she would wear blue for the throat chakra. She never was wearing blue in our class.

I wonder what my Olympic-Trainer-teacher would have to say about these nanos. Now, there would be even more reasons to get every color. One never know's who they will run into on the street. Too much blue will leave you blue in the face from all that talking.

*The views an opinions of my Olympic Teacher are not shared by yours truly. I am not liable for any burned skin from sage wafting, nor do I promote spending your entire paycheck on polos...or ipods.

Beach Walk

2008-09-18T22:53:00.002-07:00

My husband and I went for a nice walk on the beach this past weekend. Its been beautiful weather here...the leaves changing, the crisp air, the smell of rain and coming snow...oh, wait. It's 75 all year round. The place that reminds me of fall the most are the seasonal drinks at Starbucks.

Food Dilema

2008-09-18T22:53:00.001-07:00

The best thing about a good song is the beat. Now a days, people are always making iPod playlists, car soundtracks, and video montages with that perfect song because life is just a bit better when walking to a beat. This is most likely one of the biggest driving forces behind the sales and the obsession with the iPod. According to arecent study there are approximately 70 million current iPod users. [1] Take a second and think about that number. An average heart beats103,680 beats in a day. That means that if music was blood, there is enough music being played in to give 67,515 people breath. These white ear-buds give it’s owners the ability to drown out the societal noises of cars honking, baristas screaming and even their own thoughts and get lost in a rhythm that seems tobeat the same thump-thump of the emotions of their heart. But why, why must there be anelectronic phenomenon to create this rhythm? Is this world so chaotic that ears must be stuffed full ofbeats in order to truly hear? Must footsteps really be in tune to the latest and greatest song, or were they meantto hit the pavement to different sort of rhythm?

The Old Testament is filled with rituals, dietary laws, and festivals all centered around food. Celebrated yearly, at the same time, and with the same guidelines, these feasts and festivals imprinted a rhythm on the lives of the Jewish nation. They were feasts the Israelites could count on, rules they knew like the back of their hand, and blessings which they hoped for. These rituals have been continued on till today, and food holds the central part of the guidelines. One Rabbi refers to these festivals as a map of understanding and referenced these festivals as “lodgings for travelers making their way throughthe year.”[2] They have become more than holidays, but instead sign posts of the cyclical calendar of food and Scripture. Remembrance of provision. This calendar puts into place a seamless connection between food theology and God, and unlike in the Church today, they went together like peanut butter and jelly,not like water and oil.
Take the Passover meal. Today, it’s known as communion. Some take it weekly, some monthly and others never have really gotten the point of it. The communion meal began as Jesus’ Passover dinner. It commemorated the Exodusfrom Egypt and served as a reminder of God’s provision and faithfulness among His people. This story was knownby everyone who was Jewish, and so the Passover meal played a central role in their faith. Food, not only in Passover, but other contexts as well, became the beat that held the rhythm of remembering God’s faithfulness together. Could it be, that this rhythmic pattern of food has been lost in culture today? The number of people with eating disorders is three times the number of people who are diagnosed with AIDS.[3] If that is not shocking, then perhaps the fact that 15% of women who are pregnant have eating disorders and will give birth to babies who are malnourished. Globally, the price of grains and bread has sky-rocketed by 83%[4],making something as easy as bread to buy be close to impossible to some foreign countries, yet in some parts of the world there is an over abundance of food. Didn’t Jesus teach His followers to pray for “daily bread?” Why, then, is it so hard to find? In 1970, the average amount of food available to an average person was 1,675 pounds of food in one year. Since then, it has jumped by16% and now the average person has 1,950 pounds of food available a year. [5]With more food, then shouldn’t there be less starvation? The problem is that with the rise in food production, there has been a rise in food consumption. On average, people are consuming 42% more calories a day, and people are 74% more likely to be obese than in 1970 yet over half of Americans do not think their diet needs to change.[6] The statistics are jumping all over the board, but so is humanity. Food in overabundance and in deficiency costs $250 billion dollars in medical costs a year with over half (53.3%) of caused deaths. On some level the issue is overweight and underweight-neither are healthy. But on the other, more prominent hand, the question should not be pertaining to the amount of food available, but what is done with that which has been given. God gives man authority to enjoy food and drink in Genesis. In the New Testament Christ feeds 5,000 with two loves of bread and a few fish. However, how come these essentials to life have become so incredibly mis-treated?

Over eating, hording, under-eating, starvation and wastefulness is an epidemic that is just as awful as the starving children in the Sudan, and honestly; it’s worse. Many can afford the food but it has so much control over their hearts that they choose to starve themselves. One of the top three causes of death in America is dieting.[7]What sort of rhythm is that? Thisis just as awful as the consumption of food going up…whether we are eating too much or too little, there is not a rhythm in our lives and it is invading that which has been designed to remind us of God’s provision.

Close in on Sarah. She is a seventeen-year-old girl who, like most her age, is struggling with her body. Is she too skinny? Too fat? To dark? Too light? As she harmlessly posesthese questions in her mind, she begins to dissect her being. Day after day she dissects a bit farther and it’s not long until that scalpel has penetrated her core. She begins to hate the way she looks and she wants to change it, and so as she flips through the TV commercials, she can’t help but notice that food seems to be the proposed answer. Drink Juice for 72 hours. Eat only vegetables. Count calories. Get the results you want. Overwhelmed by all the choices, she walks away decides to try the mall. Determined, she begins to control her intake of food, her exercise habits…which eventually, will controlher body…her mind…and the way she views everything else.

About 45 million Americans diet each year, spending about $1 to 2 billion dollars on weight loss programs a year.[8] Whatever happened to a balanced diet and regular exercise? The truth is that that takes time, money and effort, none of which people have excess of. Weight Watchers is the only diet that has proven effects of weight loss, and this program takes lots of time and effort[9]. One must calculate out food, can’t eat whatever they want, and must exercise as part of the program. Other fad diets, like manufactured pills, eating only a certain kind of food, and never having to exercise give results for a few hours or few days at best, but do not show long term change. This is because food is not meant to be consumed in this way; it is meant for health, balance, structure and a reminder of that which is sacred.

God chose to use food to explain His Kingdom fully aware of the imbalance. Manna was given to Israelites in the Exodus on a daily basis, each day they were given what they needed for that day alone. No more and no less. In fact, if anyone tried to save some for the next day because they did not believe it would be provided, it would be inedible in the morning. In addition, Jesus begs His followers not to worry about food and drink, because He knows it will be provided for them. But in a culture that is obsessed with diet and control, he provision of God’s kingdom is not understood, because there is not a practice of understanding the provision of health that comes from food.

Fast forward six years down the road from Sarah’s teen years. She is now 23 and after long sessions of eating disorder counseling, countless sharing of her testimony, and daily battles, she has stepped over the bridge of mental turmoil and into a place of healing. She can eat her food now and not think of the calories, she can go to the gym because she enjoys it, and she can look in the mirror and believe that she is beautiful. However, regardless of what she eats, how much she eats, and what she does for exercise, Sarah seems to struggle with other issues in her life that never seemed to important before. She has no money. How will she pay off her loans? Payrent? She is constantly worried about the well being of her family. Are they safe? And after a string of hopeless relationships she begins to wonder if she will ever get married. Like any “good” Christian would do, Sarah opens her Bible to the teaching of Jesus. She is immediately faced with parables,examples, writings, of that which used to haunt her: food. Banquets. Feasts. Wedding dinners. Feeding 5,000 out of two loaves of bread and two fish. Jesus relies on food to tell about the provision of His Kingdom. It is open to all, and will provide for all. But Sarah is so used to controlling food and the results which it will produce, she is having a hard time fighting off controlling the Kingdom in her own life.

The treatment and understanding of food should be parallel to the treatment and understanding of the Gospel . Unfortunately, the power asserted over food and the effect it has, has been transferred into power over the Gospel. Paul warns the Church about this power struggle Romans 14. In fact, he uses food as an example of a divisive nature. He knows that food has the ability to separate and to judge, just as much as it has the ability to bring people together. So in a world that is divided much by food, a correct diagnosis of the problem is needed. In a recent study, 6 out of 10 Americans say that Aids and poor nutrition are the most serious problems in Africa. By ignorance, we have labeled Africa as the only place with these problems. What is not seen, is that globally, 88% of Africa suffers from poor nutrition and 80% of the rest of the world suffers from it as well. The problem cannot be diagnosed as only pertaining to under-developed countries. Foreign Aid policiesare often marked by needs which are thought the most important, but often they are grossly mistaken. Instead, it must be understood that it is an epidemic that has invaded humankind. As Christians, it as part of the cycle of this world, but also as having deep ties to Christ and the Kingdom of God. Unfortunately food as the source of life is marked by control, doubt, greed, waste, gluttony and pride and the deeper understanding that food is supposed to give has been lost. Is the current state of food consumption a reflection on the consumption of the Gospel? Pick and choose what tastes good, what will give the desired results, and throw the rest to those who we think need to hear it.

[1] http://mac360.com/index.php/mac360/comments/ipod_users_lies_damned_lies_and_statistics/

[2] Strassfeld,Michael. The Jewish Holidays, Harper Quill. New York, 2001.p 1

[3] http://www.ars.usda.gov/Services/docs.htm?docid=14958

[4] http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89697004

[5] http://www.globalissues.org/TradeRelated/Consumption.asp

[6] Ibid

[7] Ibid

[8] http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/01/03/health/main664519.shtml

[9]Ibid

You or Someone Like You

2008-09-18T22:52:00.000-07:00

I wish I could meet myself...but younger. im not talking about the younger that you can get with botox or surgery which daily seems less shocking, but i mean the younger self: who you were before who you are now. i feel like all of us, love that self.

when i was little i used to cry and cry and cry every night because i was afraid of the dark and i knew that dad and mom would come in and comfort me and they would always take care of me. of course, after a few years (yes, years) this act got old and dad would threaten to put me in the cold shower. i never believed him, but one time, he came storming the room and I could only see the outline of his body as he reached down, picked me up and took me into the bathroom. the cold water knob was turned on to full strength and then the door opened, and i was shoved in, tears and clothes and all. i never cried in my bed again....not only to avoid a shower. but there was something liberating about that night. some freedom which was found in being saved.

we laugh now everytime we remember that story but as i sit here, i realize that i love that story. i love that self. i love that i was put into the shower. i love that story becuase that is me:

incredibly freaked out everytime that i hear a noise.
incredibly in need of someone to save me when i cry out.
and incredibly in need of some discipline.

i think we all are. i think that each one of us hates it at the time, but there is something refreshing and almost rewarding about being taken out of the hole we have fallen, or dug ourselves into, and brought into so much light that we must blink our eyes to see. I can not imagine a life without parents who sent me to my room, or a boyfriend who cared more about working things out then having his way, or a God who humbly carves away at the pride of my heart and gently uproots those weeds which are so deeply planted. as the weeds are being pulled, and the soil of my heart is being replowed, there is clarity that comes with the new found sun:

the noise i hear is the echo of the enemy's voice, speaking straight into wounds which have not healed, and hitting hard against the scars which i have so carelessly ignored.
i cried out to the One who I knew could, and did, save me...
and Jesus answered with loving discipline.

20 years after that cold shower i sit in my own room in southern california. i hear cars pass, roommates carry on conversation, and crickets whose voices echo from miles. what is different? nothing and everything at the same time. i still hate cold showers. i still wake up and night and feel like crying. i still cry. and now, as i have gotten older and i live away from my parents, not next to my sister and across the united states, i realize that i need that loving discipline more than ever.

the freedom i found on that night, and every cold showered night thereafter was the freedom to love myself. to clear the floor, lay out all of my tears, my fears, my insecurities, my pride, my sin and stand fighting to believe what i know is true. i am beautiful. i am loved. i am free.

" a rebuke goes deeper into one who has understanding than a hundred blows into a fool." proverbs 17:10

Leaving the Church

2008-09-18T22:51:00.000-07:00

Ever since I can remember, I have gone to church and loved it. I loved the Sunday School games, the hymns, the Christmas programs, the energy, the potlucks...we were a church family. However, I was just a child then. I went to church where my parents went to church, and no questions asked. Now, as I am newly married, a seminary student, and am asked by my community, my family and my self, what type of person I will be, what I will believe, and what I will allow to define me; my husband and I find ourselves very seriously thinking about where we go to church. For someone who has always accepted church as being a part of the non-questionable Sunday routine (and youth night when the activity seemed fun enough to go), we are finding ourselves refreshingly shocked that we are not taking church with such openness. We are being very particular, and dissecting the sermons, the worship and, if I am honest, the leadership.

We are making our very best effort to not be judgmental and instead of putting up sermons, practices, and programs up against our preferences, we are trying to put them up to Scripture and see what the Bible has to say about church and asking God to lead us to the right community. One of the many resources that we have found very helpful is Gordon MacDonald's book, "Who Stole My Church." It's a fictional story based on over 45 years of pastoring experience, where a church is facing the difficulties of a changing culture. It's phenomenal. It deals with problems and issues that we encounter, and in a unique narrative way, MacDonald tells a story of a community who searches Scripture and invites you to join them.
We also have been surprised to realize that many are leaving the church today. Some blame it on the church and they ways that they have been "burned". (Count me in) Others blame it on the poor exegesis that goes on in the weekly sermons (Count me in). What about the lack of programs or discipleship tools? Biblical Faithfulness? Although it is disheartening to see where the Church is going wrong; it is only by this knowledge that we can figure out how to make it better. I am not saying that we should leave the minute we have an issue; because that is what life is about. However, I am saying that we should always test everything, and weigh it carefully, and deal with it in a Biblical way. All that to say, here is a unique and telling blog that allows an inside look into the reasons that people are leaving church: Letters From Leavers.

If this many people are leaving the church building, are they leaving the Church?

According to PewResearch.org, in 2008 more than 25% of American adults have left the religion that they were raised in for another religion, or abandoned it altogether. 44% have changed religions, switched affiliation, or become dis-affiliated with religion, with 16.1% of American adults have declared no affiliation at all. Finally, 1 in 4 18-19 year olds say they are not part of a religion at all.

Why are people leaving?

What are your grievances with the Church?

What have you done about leaving, or staying and how did you walk through that?

Things That Blow My Mind

2008-09-18T22:50:00.000-07:00

1. This is the first year in the history of the world...(I repeat, the history of the WORLD) that more people live in the city than in the rural environment.

2. Although we speak of an ant's work ethic, their organization in their colonies, their ability to carry more than 10 times their weight...it has been shown through studies that at any given time, EVEN in a time of crisis that only 50% of the colony is working. The rest are just sitting there.

3. www.wefeelfine.org

Coffee Vs. Tea

2008-09-18T22:49:00.000-07:00

Every time the 9-5 life sets in, I begin to down coffee like it's part of my job. Not only does my checking account begin to go down (because I have fallen for the Starbucks lure) but my addiction sky rockets. In college, I would drink about 6 cups a day. Yes, you heard me: 6. I loved it. Loved the sound of it brewing, loved the taste of it, loved watching the milk swirl like a Monet painting as I poured it in....ok I sound crazy. But so was my addiction. I'd take it anyway that it came: steaming hot with a biscotti, over ice, no frills in a double shot, flavored with vanilla or carmel, or toffee nut, frozen and blended...you name, I would drink it. My addiction came to a halt when I came down with an awful cold and could not eat or drink anything except herbal tea. The bite the tea gave to my coffee-loving tongue was almost unbearable, but it was the results that kept me drinking it. Perhaps my other addiction you should know about it my love for buying books. (Which is why, although I think it's the neatest thing to be able to buy a book at the tip of your fingers, I will never buy a Kindle because just as Video Killed the Radio Star, I fear that Kindle will kill the smell of brand new turning pages....) So as I am sick, and beginning to like tea, I purchased The Ultimate Tea Diet. And in it I found a few daunting facts:

What coffee does for your body:
1.a lower risk of type 2 diabetes

2. a reduced risk of parkinson's disease

3. A reduced risk of liver damage in people at high risk of liver disease

4. A 50% lower risk of developing gallstones

5. traps body fat

6. increases stress

7. causes insomnia, anxiety and irritability

8. causes heartburn and indigestion

9. increases cholesterol levels in people who drink unfiltered coffee (including espresso)

10. contributes to an increased risk of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women

11. contributes to a worsening of PMS symptoms in some women

12. reduces fertility in women trying ot conceive

13. increases blood pressure

14. raises blood sugars

15. slows metabolism

16. negatively affects sleep, which can increase your appetite

17. leads to higher levels of inflammatory substances that have been linked to heart attacks and strokes.

Things tea can do for you:

1. raise the rate of your metabolism, causing an increase in fat burn

2. tea has an amazing success rate of helping to prevent cancer:

tea has EGCG that can inhibit the formulation of tumors and slow the growth of those already formed
the antioxidant power of tea is 100 times greater than Vitamin C and 25 times greater than Vitamin E in protecting DNA from free radical damage that can cause cancer women that consumed at least 26 ounces of green tea leaves each year had a 39% reduced risk of breast cancer...this equal 300 cups a year, which is not even a cup a day! Woman who consumed two cups of black or green tea a day reduced the risk of ovarian cancer by 46%

So as I have put down my coffee mug and picked up my kettle, I can't help but think about other addictions in my life. If a drink can control my body, what philosophies, or ideas are addictions that no matter what I know about it to be addictive, control my way of life?

The Women

2008-09-18T22:48:00.000-07:00

My friend Martha and I were in desperate need of a girls night out, so we splurged and spent the $10.50 ($1.00 off for attending Seminary. Not sure how $1,200 a class warrants one whole dollar off at the movies...but...) and we saw the movie The Women. I know, so very stereotypical of us, but I absolutely loved it. LOVED it. Meg Ryan, who is one of my favorites, for her excellent work in Sleepless in Seattle, You've Got Mail and of course, When Harry Met Sally, is the quintessential chick-flick but for the more mature generation actress. Even though rumor has it that she has had a face lift, she is still so pretty and her hair made me wish that I never chopped mine off.

I'll just have to wait a year.

The movie was well scripted and the acting took many surprising turns. Jada Pinkett Smith plays a lesbian, and it was so hard for me to get at first because her husband is only one of the most handsome guys in Hollywood. But, her performance would make you question her loyalty to such a man, and that is a compliment. Mission accomplished Mrs. Smith. Eva was, as usual a tough character to like. She's gorgeous but also completely rude and ridiculous, plus the fact that she double crosses Meg, well then she is already on my hate this. But again, mission accomplished. She is the woman who cheats with Meg Ryan's husband, and therefore we are supposed to hate her. It's a movie with tragic and delightful moments, reflecting the ups and downs of adulthood, motherhood, love, betrayal, and the underdog finding her new place on top. The performances are not golden-globe, but they are definitely worth the 10.50 (or 11.50 if you are not sacrificing food to get your degree) to see it on the big screen with a bunch of girl friends. It's even a bonus if you are in a guy-hating mood because although it does not bash guys, it reminds you how close and special girl bonds truly are, and there is only one guy in the entire film. So from your dinner date, to the theatre audience and if you are lucky the ticket counter rep, ticket ripper and pop corn sales woman, you may spend your night dripped in estrogen, and loving every minute of it.