happy new year!

~this radical outfit was created by me a few hours before the event... you may not see it... but my hair is crimped! amazing!~


~the party animals~


~what a tubular time we had~


~groovy goodies and bodacious beverages~


~me and my besties~


to welcome in 2009 we decided to have an 80s party. i always love a reason to dress up and have fun with friends. it was fantastic. we looked totally tubular. awesome dude! it was like the best like time i have like had in like a really long like time! we played apples to apples. had delicious organic reisling wine. and watched the ball drop in time square then the "bitchin" fireworks at the space needle. fun time with friends were had. uber wunderbar!

Happy Christmas

This Christmas was extra special because my sister was in town with all of my nieces. As many of you know... my family is a bit scattered. In more ways than just location. Together my sis and nieces and my mom went to get a Christmas tree. Then they came back and I got to help them put up the tree and decorate it. I have missed having a live tree for the past couple years. The smell was intoxicating and induced years of Christmas memories at the first wiff. It was so special watching the girls decorate the Christmas tree and lifting them up high to place ornaments on the branches at the top of the tree. Christmas through the eyes of a child is something so unique. We also had fun projects to work on each day. There were Christmas door hangers, Christmas reindeer, Christmas cookies, and so much more! I received precious hand written notes from the girls too. They just blessed my socks off! Christmas day after opening presents my sis took Natalie to the ER because of an infection on her face (thought it was a spider bite gone bad) and the rest of us girls stayed home and did pedicures. They were so adorable! We filled up a giant plastic tub and sat on chairs (little Mea -3- sat on a garbage bin) and we all stuck our feet in the the warm water. They squealed and giggled with delight... and so did I! So fun! I think pedicures should be a regular part of Christmas! What a joy to spend so much time with family this Christmas! I watched more Christmas movies than ever before. Camped out on my moms couch nursing a cold and an ear infection. It helped me get some much needed down time I suppose. I am so thankful for my family this Christmas. What a happy Christmas it was!

St Nicholas Surprise

I was coming to terms with my brother Nick being in Florida this Christmas when he called and told me that he wanted to come home. We decided that it should be a surprise for my mom and didn't tell because then she would be extra excited coming to find out that all of her kids would be home for Christmas this year.
So my brother got a flight out of West Palm Beach, Florida on the Sunday before Christmas. His connecting flight in St. Paul Minnesota to Seattle was canceled because of all the snow that blanketed the northwest thus shutting down the airport. Nick was stuck in St. Paul with no money. After staying the night in the airport and being given gifts of food by strangers he got on a midnight flight to Las Vegas... getting him a little closer to home. After arriving there he asked to be placed on standby on all flights to Seattle or Portland. That morning he was seated on a plane to Seattle and before they left the terminal they bumped him off the flight. bummer. he was back to waiting. hours later he got on a flight to Portland. trying to work out how we were going to drive to get him in Portland was nearly impossible. the weather in Portland was worse than Seattle. so dad bought him a train ticket. his flight would get in at 3:30pm and his train was scheduled to depart at 4:25pm. The train station was 45 minutes away from the airport. It would be a close call. His flight got in on time and with money from a kind stranger on his last flight he found his way to the bus station and got on a bus to the train station. He arrived at the train station at 5:40pm. Low and behold the train was delayed two hours. His train was the only train leaving the station to Tacoma... and it just happened to be delayed enough that he would be able to catch it home! Nick was picked up in Tacoma by my dad a little after 10pm on the evening of the 22nd. It took four planes, a bus, a train, and my dad... to get him home for Christmas.
The next day (the 23rd) was my moms birthday. She woke up still not knowing that my brother was home. He slept in the back bedroom at her house where she thought I was sleeping. Though he had a deep cough that she heard... I was fighting a cold so she just thought my cough had gotten REALLY bad.
My sis showed up to the house about 10am with her kids in tow and yelled to mom as she entered the house... did you get your present yet?! did you get your present yet!!? Mom was confused and said... what are you talking about? sis spilled the beans and said... Nick! mom turned around in the hallway and was immediately embraced by her birthday present. Nick was home for her birthday and would be there for Christmas too! what a fun surprise! It is so wonderful to have Nick home!

faithful to complete it

This has been the hardest quarter of my college education thus far. hence the lack of blogging and the lack of spending time doing anything other than studying hours upon hours. I am so in awe of all the happened this quarter. God brought me through a time of trusting Him for provision. I saw all of my college expenses get paid for including books. He also brought some unique friendships through classmates. I was challenged to grasp so much information at a time and yet felt like I was able to give back and share my testimony with my new study buddies. Amazing. This quarter I took Anatomy & Physiology I, Statistics, and Human Nutrition. All tons of information. My A&P class had a lab as well so it was like an additional class because we were simultaneously learning different things and being tested on them. It was nuts! At the end of the quarter I look back and am so glad that I made it through. God definitely was the reason for that. He told me He would enable me if I put in the effort. So I finished my courses above the goals I had set for myself and meeting the requirements to get into the RN program. AWESOME!! I was not sure if I was going to have to repeat at least one of these classes because of not meeting the minimum requirements for the RN program. God is so good! And this is only the beginning. There is so much more to come in my education and future endeavors. I am excited for the future. Thank you for all of your prayers and support. I could not have made it through the quarter without you! God has began a good work and He is so faithful I know He will complete it!!

Report card:
Anatomy & Physiology 3.3 (needed a 3.0 for the RN program)
Statistics 2.6 (needed a 2.0 for the RN program)
Human Nutrition 4.0 (needed a 3.0 for the RN program)

28 LOVES

I am a lover not a hater... so my list of 28 things that was requested by my friend for my 28th birthday last week will be about 28 things that I LOVE! (these are in no specific order)

1- My Friends! - I have some amazing people in my life that make me laugh, challenge me, and have given me so many wonderful memories I can not count them all. I love you friends!

2- My Family! - I have such a colorful family. They are like a crazy quilt. But it has been my family that has taught me how to love, my family challenges me the most. Because of my family I have learned how to forgive, how to love, and how to hope! I love you family!

3- Cannon Beach! - My favourite place in the whole wide world! I have been blessed to have been traveling to this beautiful little beach town for the past 23 years of my life. There is piece of my heart that only comes alive in this place. Gorgeous!

4- Edinburgh, Scotland! - My next favourite place in the whole wide world! It also includes one of my favourite people in the whole wide world! Josephine!

5- Education! - It is such a joy to be finally in school and each day getting closer to the goal of being a medical missionary

6- Tiramisu! - Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Need I say more. Nope. Not really. But my bosom friend Ang and I celebrated my b-day last week with an enormous piece of Tiramisu from Mama Stortini's. It was amazing!

7- Bike rides! - I have a beautiful Blue Electra Townie that rebirthed my love for riding this past summer. I miss spending so much time on the trials. Soon I will live closer to school and will be able to ride my townie again! Woot!

8- Laughter! - It truly is the best medicine. There have been countless days in my life where laughing has turned the unhappy moments into ridiculously silly moments. I love to laugh! HA HA HA HA! Loud and long and clear!

9- Africa! - So when I left Africa in 2001, there was a piece of my heart that I left behind. My heart aches to be whole again and some day I will go back to Africa and find wholeness as my heart is full again and filled up as I do the work God has called me to.

10- Ice cream! - I love Ice Cream! Breyers all natural original flav is the best... and there is a seasonal Bailey's Irish Cream flav that shows up on the shelves in the winter. Mmmmm. My mouth is watering.

11- 11:11! - Ha! I love to have special times to remember special people or times to pray for friends or just a reason to get excited. 11:11 is awesome! This year on 11/11 at 11:11 my friend Rach sent me a message and that was rad! I am looking forward to 11/11/11... thinking there might be something big to celebrate. I will have a party for sure!

12- Mount Rainier! - Whenever I leave this place and come home I realize how blessed I am to live in such a beautiful place. This mountain takes my breath away and makes me speechless on so many days. We truly have an awesome creator!

13- Seasons! - I love watching the seasons change and feeling the change in temperature. I love comparing our lives to the seasons. We are ever changing.

14- Moving! - I love moving! I am somewhat of a nomad. It has not been a habit of mine to stay in one place for a long period of time. I just recently realized that I have been at my current address for over a year! Hoping to be there another year at least. Wow!

15- Chocolate! - I am female. I love chocolate. My fav is milk chocolate. The best kind, in my humble opinion, is Lindt milk chocolate with the filling. Mmmmmmm!

16- Shopping! - I love to shop! Before 6 months ago I would have called myself a shopoholic. It was something I could do every day if I had the funds. I made a goal for myself to go one year without buying new clothes. It has been almost 7 months. I have maintained not buying any new clothes for that long. I still love to shop and have become a "personal shopping assistant" for friends who need help sprucing up their wardrobes.

17- My youth girls! - My youth girls are no longer youth but in their 20s and some are married, some have graduated from college, some have steady jobs, some are still in process. I just love that I still get to be a part of their lives!

18- Italian Food! - My weakness is Chicken Fetticini Alfredo. Wow. Mmmm.

19- Technology! - I have friends all over the world. Because of how awesome technology is I can still communicate and see my friends when our schedules meet up. Amazing! I love technology!

20- My Car! - I am so blessed to be in the 2% of the world that owns a car. I fully own my car too! Paid it off in January of this year. I love that it gets me from A to B and has AC for the hot days in the summer, and a CD player to entertain me when the radio or my thoughts need to be drowned out.

21- YWAM! - I love what God did in my life during my time at YWAM! It was an amazing life changing experience. I will never be the same again.

22- Music! - I get taken away to another place while listening and singing music. Love it! Can't imagine life without it!

23- The Beach! - I love the beach... yeah CB is my favourite beach... However, I love all beaches! Even the ones in Africa that were covered in poo. Beaches are beautiful and the sea spray and smell refreshes my soul!

24- Traveling! - I love to travel! Seeing as much of the world as I possibly can is a goal of mine. This world is so big and we are such a small part of it. I want to explore all of God's beautiful creation!

25- Sleep! - I am a major sleeper! Sleeping in is one of those things that everyone should get to do on a semi-regular basis. I love to sleep... and people love me to get sleep too! I can be a grumpy pants if I don't get enough of it.

26- Cafe Adamo! - My favourite coffee shop. A little cafe that has the best coffee in Puyallup... probably the best coffee in the Northwest! The people that work there are pretty amazing too. They know my name and care about me as a person too! I love Adamo!

27- Reading! - I love to get lost for a day within the pages of a good book. Some of my favs are written by Beverly Lewis, Lurlene McDaniel, and Dee Henderson. Yep... I like reading about the Amish, young people with life threatening illnesses, and Christain action adventure. Hey. It's whatever floats my boat!

28- Life! - I love to be alive! Living life every day is such a gift! I am blessed by everything above. All of these loves enrich my life! God has blessed me with so many wonderful people, adventures, and things. I have an amazing life that I hope will forever be a living testimony for God's goodness!


Thanks for listening to my loves! I love you!

were has the time gone?

I haven't posted for two weeks. To say it simply. I have been busy. Overwhelmed with massive amounts of information, trying to grasp every concept, cram every method and sliver of information I may need to remember to succeed in my classes. God has provided for me in awesome ways. When He told me to go back to school He told me that He would do His part, and I had to do my part. So I am holding up my end of the deal. And it is taking a LOT of focus. A LOT of determination. And a LOT of extra study hours. This has unmistakably been my most challenging quarter as of yet. There are only 14 class days left until the end of the quarter. I am pressing in even more to try to attain a GPA that will enable me to be eligible to apply to nursing programs. Thank you for all of your prayers this quarter! And thank you for understanding when I can't "come out and play". And also recognizing when I need a break and forcing me to have a day or few hours of fun. I love you friends! This time is so much easier to endure knowing I have your love, prayers, and support!

2...8...

I am official 2 years away from 30. woah! how did that happen?! I was 22, seems like a few months ago. I don't feel like I am 28 thats for sure.
Thanks to all of you friends who love me! I am so blessed to be loved by you!

I was asked by one of my friends to write a list with 28 things on it.
What kind of list do I want to write?
Bucketlist? Dreams? Goals? Favourite moments in life? Favourite ice cream flavours?

No Shave November

Thats right. It is officially time to put away the razors, nair, waxing strips, and epilators. One month of shorter times in the shower, less layers while sleeping, and warmer body temperatures are here. My little brother and his friends used to do this when they were in college and by the end of the month they would all have fun looking facial hair. Thankfully I do not posses the genes to grow a beard... but I do get cold in the winter and not shaving for a month is something worth rejoicing about. I know some of my married friends may be unable to participate in this challenge. Or maybe you and your hubbies can complete this challenge together. This challenge is not meant for one sex alone. Let us all come together and grow... some hair. Some may think it gross to have hair. But I will assure you that God made us this way and He was NOT the man who invented razors. So bring on the warmth ladies and gents. Lets see who can make it to the end of No Shave November with the best outcome... you can determine what that may be. Bring on the warm fuzzies! Have fun!

Flirty Fun

Does he know that the compliment made my day?
Does he know that his smile tickled my thoughts?
Does he know that I was distracted for hours because of his flirting?
Does he know that I hope to run into him again?

I don't know.

But I do know that being flirted with is delightful.
To all of my readers out there.
Get your flirt on.
It is way more fun to be flirty. way.

Moments of Today

Today was a day spent in the presence of long time friends. This morning I picked up Rachael and Paul and we met Gerod at his house in west Seattle then went to visit his church Grace community. It was a delightful experience. Unlike any service I have ever been to but very comfortable and engaging. The music was more orchestral instrumental than the regular church band type I am used to... and more classical/hymnal in music choices as well. A positive experience. The message was challenging too.
After church we went to a little cafe a couple blocks away and had a delicious lunch. It felt like old times sitting round a table and enjoying each others company. These friends have shared many amazing moments in my life. It is so wonderful to me that today we added more amazing moments together. Sharing great fellowship, delicious foods, and even a trip to my favourite store in the world... H&M!!! Fabulous! I like to think that my special moments can be saved in a special memory box and wrapped all pretty with ribbons and colorful papers to be opened again some day and relived as those same special moments. I must have storehouses full of special moments already! One of these days I will unwrap a great deal of them!

goodbye beauty

yesterday I found myself having to stop several times on my way to my car to take a few photos of the colors of fall that were taking my breath away. I was brought to the reality that soon the branches that were so vibrant and full of beauty, would shortly be bare and stark in comparison. It made me stare a little longer. Take in a deeper breath of crisp fall air. Enjoy the bite of the wind on my face. And even kick up some leaves that had already changed and fallen to the ground. At that moment I wished for a huge pile of leaves to jump into and a bunch of friends to have a leaf throwing "fight" with. Sigh. Oh the beauties of fall are quickly passing. Capture a moment before the season turns.

Big Headed

Currently I am being challenged in my academic endeavors. I seem to be cramming so much information into my head that I am sure it has to be getting larger. I think it might be compared to when a woman is pregnant and a baby is growing inside her womb. Except my brain is growing! It must be! I get head aches! Thankfully I don't have any stretch marks yet! I am not retaining water... but am retaining massive amounts of information! If I keep at this rate through the next three quarters (not trimesters!), I am going to have one GIANT NOGGIN!

Shares, 401-K, and MPG

If you had purchased $1,000 of shares in Delta Airlines one year ago, you will have $49.00 today.

If you had purchased $1,000 of shares in AIG one year ago, you will have $33.00 today.

If you had purchased $1,000 of shares in Lehman Brothers one year ago, you will have $0.00 today

But, if you had purchased $1,000 worth of beer one year ago, drank all the beer, then turned in the aluminum cans for recycling refund, you will have received a $214.00.

Based on the above, the best current investment plan is to drink heavily & recycle. It is called the 401-Keg.

A recent study found that the average American walks about 900 miles a year. Another study found that Americans drink, on average, 22 gallons of alcohol a year. That means that, on average, Americans get about 41 miles to the gallon!

This made me laugh... I don't really like beer so don't worry about me drinking 22 gallons a year :)

URGENT NEED FOR PRAYER

Sent to us by Jose Sebastian via Isaac Pulladil urgent prayer request from YWAM missionaries in India . This is long but it is important we pray for these persecuted Christians. Thank you for taking the time to read this and to be one with our brothers and sisters in Christ.

URGENT PRAYER REQUEST!
Dear beloved sponsors and friends of Good News India .

We have never seen anything like this. We knew that Orissa was the most resistant and hostile State in India as far as the Gospel is concerned. And we brushed off the continuous threats and harassment we faced as we went about His work. But none of our staff imagined that they would see this kind of carnage.... And it seems to be totally under the radar of the Western Media ....
Let me explain.... A militant Hindu priest and 4 of his attendants, who were zealously going around the villages of Orissa and "reconverting" people back to Hinduism, were gunned down by unknown assailants in Central Orissa last weekend. Immediately the Christians were blamed. The cry rose up..."Kill the Christians!" And the horror began.... In the past 4 days, we have first hand witness to hundreds of churches being blown up or burned and many, many dozens of Christian tribals have been slaughtered. For no other reason than they bear the name of Christ.

Night and day I have been in touch with our Good News India Directors spread across 14 Dream Centers in Orissa... they a re right in the middle of all this chaos. In Tihidi, just after the police came to offer protection, a group of 70 blood-thirsty militants came to kill our staff and destroy the home.
They were not allowed to get in, but they did a lot of damage to our Dream Center by throwing rocks and bricks and smashing our gate, etc. They have promised to come back and "finish the job." Our kids and staff are locked inside and have stayed that way with doors and windows shut for the past 3 days. It has been a time of desperately calling on the Lord in prayer.
More police have come to offer protection. In Kalahandi, the police and some local sympathizers got to our dream center and gave our staff and kids about 3 minutes notice to vacate. No one had time to even grab a change of clothes or any personal belonging. As they fled, the blood thirsty mob came to kill everyone in the building. We would have had a mass fu neral there, but for His grace. In Phulbani, the mob came looking for Christian homes and missions. The local Hindu people, our neighbors turned them away by saying that there were no Christians in this area. So they left. We had favor. The same thing happened in Balasore.

All our dreamcenters are under lock down with the kids and staff huddled inside and
police outside. The fanatics are circling outside waiting for a chance to kill. Others were not so fortunate. In a nearby Catholic orphanage, the mob allowed the kids to leave and locked up a Priest and a computer teacher in house and burned them to death. Many believers have been killed and hacked into pieces and left on the road.... even women and children.

At another orphanage run by another organization, when this began, the Director and his wife jumped on their motorbike and simply fled, leaving all the children and staff behind. Every one of our GNI directors that I have spoken to said: "We stay with our kids.... we live together or die together, but we will never abandon what God has called us to do."

More than 5000 Christian families have had their homes burned or destroyed. They have
fled into the jungles and are living in great fear waiting for the authorities to bring about peace. But so far, no peace is foreseen. This will continue for another 10 days.... supposedly the 14 day mourning period for the slain Hindu priest. Many more Christians will die and their houses destroyed. Many more churches will be smashed down. The Federal government is trying to restore order and perhaps things will calm down. We ask for your prayers. Only the Hand of God can calm this storm. None of us know the meaning of persecution. But now our kids and staff know what that means.

So many of our kids coming from Hindu backgrounds are confused and totally bewildered at what is happening around them. So many of their guardians have fled into the jungles and are unable to come and get them during these trying times.
Through all this, I am more determined than ever to continue with our goal: the transformation of a community by transforming its children. Orissa will be saved... that is our heart's cry. If we can take these thousands of throw-away children and help them to become disciples of Jesus, they will transform an entire region. It is a long term goal, but it is strategic thinking in terms of the Great
Commission.

What can you do? First, please uphold all this in fervent prayer. Second, pass this on to as many friends as you can. We must get the word out and increase our prayer base for this is spiritual warfare at its most basic meaning. We are literally fighting the devil in order to live for His Kingdom. The next 10 days are
crucial. We pray for peace and calm to pervade across Orissa. Thank you for taking the time to read this. Please pass it on and help us to get as many people to partner with us on this cutting edge effort to fulfill His mandate: Go and make disciples of all nations.... Prayer works!

Blessings, Chip & Sandy Wanner Col 2:2 MBI
Team Facilitators to YW AM frontlines

Are you serious?

Today I went to the cashier's office at college after dropping off a scholarship application that would cover winter quarters tuition. I waited my turn in line. And sat down in the chair in front of the cashier office worker. I asked her if my Stafford Loan check came in. She reached into her file and I saw her pulling out some forms. She told me... "no the stafford loan funds are not here... but, it looks like there is a check... and it is grant money from the state need grant." ARE YOU SERIOUS!!! I am just in awe of how God is providing above and beyond what I could hope or imagine. I quickly went to the bank and deposited the funds. Paid some bills. And filled up the gas tank. God is so amazing! I am going to continue to share His awesomeness in my life. AWESOME!!

Dying Delima

So I was playing around with a photo of mine the other day with picasa and changed my hair color to be a bit darker. I liked it so much that it prompted me to go out and buy some color for my hair. I love Feria products and have used them in the past when I would dye my hair blonde every 4-6 weeks. So I picked up the darkest shade of brown they had and made sure it wasn't a warm tone because my hair has a way of turning red every time I color it. So tonight after a fun day in Bellevue, and IKEA in Renton, I brought out the dye and followed the instructions to a T. When it was all said and done I thought it looked almost exactly the same... except... there might be a more red hue to my hair. sigh. I guess I am going to have to try again... maybe I will get some professional help this next time. Here is a cute picture of me while I waited for my hair to have its not so dramatic change. I smell like hair dye now. I have been two years without any hair color on my head so that is why this is blog worthy. Felt like I needed to justify myself for a moment... but really this is my blog and I can write about whatever I want, no matter how ridiculous it may be :)Thanks for reading! Love you friends!

Toast

this is the state of me. I am toast. my brain has been zapped to the point of not functioning like it should. It is definitely well done, maybe quite burnt, but surely there has been a chemical change that puts me on the brink of crumbling to pieces. There is a miracle though... when I sleep my toasted state somehow reverts back to fresh fluffy delicious bread and I then go through the "toasting" process again that new day. Tomorrow is going to be a day where I almost stay out of the toaster completely. There will be church in Bellevue, browsing The Container Store, lunch and more browsing at IKEA, all the while delighting in the company of a dear friend. I am making it a goal to have one day per weekend where my brain does not get exhausted by the end. Tomorrow is going to be refreshing. Delicious! If wonder bread were natural... thats what kind of bread I would be tomorrow. :)

More Provisions!

My A&P teacher GAVE me a book! Just GAVE it to me. I have been borrowing the book from her the past week and a half and today she asked to talk to me after class. She then asked me if I was waiting for a loan to then by a book or if I would be getting some type of voucher for a book. I told her I was waiting for a loan. And she asked if I would get to keep the money from my loan if I didn't have to buy a book. And I said yes of course. And then she said. I want to give you my book. You can keep it. It is yours now. My response was a rather loud... "Are you serious?!" And she smiled and responded calmly... "Yes." It took all that was in me NOT to jump up and down and give her a great big hug. Instead she got several thank yous from me and a smile from ear to ear. God is so amazing! I am blessed beyond words.

Stripping!

Today I had the joy of stripping some ugly wallpaper border from the top of a bathroom wall for a friends mom. The stuff was very stubborn and so we had to use some potent chemicals and apply them at a few stages. I got to wear a cool mask and goggles, and eventually put on a hat when I was taking the gloss off of the ceiling. Oh what a fun day! My arms are sore. sigh. But boy do I love working on renovations! I am so excited for the next project! Can you tell I am excited and totally smiling in this picture? :)

Provisions! Provisions! Provisions!

I never would have guessed that getting "let go" a couple months ago could be a blessing. Since this quarter of college started I have understood why I have been unable to get a job for almost two months. The amount of studies needed to do well in my classes (Anatomy&Physiology+Lab, Human Nutrition, and Statistics... Plus required study group and additional study groups for required projects)has been overwhelming. So much so that my eye has been twitching off and on since Saturday. I am trying to get enough sleep and some exercise/fresh air every day to ward off shingles( I have had them twice in the past and they can be stress induced). I have been waiting to find out about financial aid and grants for weeks. Monday I was told that I was awarded a grant that covered all of my tuition and then some! I also applied for a book fund scholarship last week and was awarded a free book for the quarter... one that normally costs $150! I am able to borrow books from my professors of my other two classes until my stafford loan comes through. Which I should have in a little over a week. This will take care of a need for a job and pay my bills so I can focus on doing well in school. Praise the Lord! He has provided in ways that I could not have thought up a couple months ago. Hind sight truly is 20/20. I need to remember that more often in the beginning of a "character builiding/learing experience/trial". Thank you for all of your prayers. I will still gladly accept them for the rest of the quarter. It is going to be tough. But I know that if God brought me to it... He will bring me through it! Money doesn't grow on trees... but God's provisions certainly supply ALL my needs!