Letters to my Cali Trip

Dear fish tacos from Ocean Beach Grill, you are very messy, but also extremely delicious.

Dear Ocean Beach, you are beautiful.  I loved watching people (try to) surf on you.

Dear Wild Animal Park, even though I have come to you before, I always enjoy seeing the animals in the safari.

Dear dog beach at Coronado, for people like me (those who don't own a dog), you can be quite overwhelming.  But, it was fun playing on you with Jake and Sparty.  The waves were HUGE the day we came.

Dear San Diego Zoo, you have changed a lot since my childhood.  Thank you for being another fun place to see animals.  

Dear Anza-Borrego Desert, you are a hidden treasure.  Looking at you from a mountainside was a total treat.  Maybe someday I will see you up close.

Dear LA, you are definitely filled with some odd people, but I enjoyed our time together.  

Dear Pink's, you had some delicious hot dogs.  I especially loved the coleslaw dog with onion rings on the side.  Mmmm!

Dear Hollywood, it was good to finally meet you.  You are filled with homes beyond anything I will ever afford.  Your Hollywood Hills are fun to drive up, but also very narrow and sometimes scary.  Hopefully someday I will see you again.

Dear Frank Sinatra, you will always be my love.

Dear Chinese Theater, of course you would have a film shooting in front of you the day after I leave.  Next time, let's have celebrities there when I am present and can take pictures.  :)

Dear Beverly Hills, I didn't feel like I fit in when I visited you.  The homes we saw were ENORMOUS and beautiful, but I will never have the "Beverly Hills Lifestyle" I need to exist in your city.

Dear Scott and Molly, thank you for allowing me to stay with you during my trip to California.  I appreciated your hospitality and catching up with you in person.  It is always a great time when we can be together.

Dear Padres game, you went into 12 innings and the Padres ended up losing afterall, but you were fun to attend.  You did have some crazy people attending your game, however, and things did get rowdy often.  I think it will always be an adventure if/when I attend a Padres game again.

Dear California, I always enjoy visiting you.  You are unlike the Midwest and I appreciate what you have to offer.  I am hoping to see you again in the next year or so.  In the meanwhile, I will be thinking of you.

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Cali, here I come!

I fly out to California tomorrow night and I am so excited!

I can't wait to see my brother and sister-in-law, Scott and Molly.

I'm also looking forward to fish tacos from Rubio's and spending time soaking up the sun.  :)

I'll try to post something while I'm gone, but can't make any guarantees.
Hope you all have a wonderful few weeks too!

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Ryan&Meghan

Yesterday was yet another summer wedding.

This time, for my dear friends Meghan and Ryan.

They have been together since high school and were made to be together.

I honestly believe that God created them to be the perfect complement for one another.  It isn't often that I genuinely feel that way about a couple.  I feel that way about my friends, Alana and Jordan, and I feel that way with Meghan and Ryan.  It is such a blessing to be part of a wedding where you can hear, experience, believe, and witness the love that the couple has for each other...a love that only God can create and perfect in us.

Here are some pictures from the wedding/reception:

The beautiful bride-to-be getting ready before the ceremony.

The husband&wife's first dance as a married couple!

The father-daughter dance.

The bride and I at the reception.

I caught/grabbed the bouquet (in my right hand) and am holding my bridesmaid's bouquet (in my left hand).  I guess I'm getting married soon....

So, as Meghan and Ryan begin their lives together, I pray that God blesses them in their marriage.  They are an absolutely beautiful couple and I am so excited to see where God leads them in their relationship with each other.  Love you both!  :)  Love&Blessings.

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State Fair 2010: Day 2

I went to State Fair again today.

This adventure was a little more *intense* than the first day.

For instance, there was a deal where, with a Goodwill receipt, if you bought a ticket between 8am-2pm, you could get "buy one, get one free" admission.  So, instead of paying $9 each, you get two for that price...a great deal!  So, my friend Rosie came over at about 1:40pm and we rushed over to State Fair.  We found a parking spot at 1:52 and then ran down the street to get in by 2pm.  

It was hard to figure out when the block we parked on would cut to the street State Fair was on, so Rosie and I started looking for a sidewalk or backyard to run through.  Rosie found a perfect place to cut through- a sidewalk going past a house towards an alley that then cut to the State Fair street.  Perfect!  So, we keep running.  And then the guy living at the house we cut next to started yelling "Hey girls, stop, come back here!".  So, being naive, I stopped running and shouted back asking what he wanted.  "You can't just run through someone's yard!!".  I answered back, "Sorry sir, we're on a deadline".  He shouted "Sorry doesn't cut it".  And I shouted sorry again while Rosie and I ran away.  

He didn't follow us, but it did catch me off guard.

Firstly, we were running on a sidewalk towards the alley, not on his grass.

Secondly, he was letting people park cars on his lawn, so it's not like he was super anal about his yard anyways.

Thirdly, there was no gate or entrance we had to go through-it was just a thorough-way.

We did make it to the ticket booth on time and got our 1/2 price tickets.

These are some pictures from the afternoon at the fair.

Rosie in an Alpaca hat

Me with an Alpaca finger puppet we named "Leopold" (he's in many of the next pictures)

Leopold and Rosie with a camel

Leopold attacking Jay

Leopold posing with the sheep during a competition

Leopold posing with a pig

Leopold, Rosie, and Angie posing with a cut-out of a Llama and Alpaca

Rosie and I as a cow-farmer and sun

Angie, Joe, and Jay making goofy faces with the Cream Puffs

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Countdown

It is now the official countdown to the end of my internship at Children's Hospital.

I can't believe it's already been 3 semesters there and that this Wednesday is my last day.

Being a medical social work intern has had its ups and downs; emotionally and physically, but has been an amazing experience.

Here are some things I have most enjoyed about the internship:

1.  Learning about medical diagnoses, terms, procedures, medications, and life in the hospital.
2.  Spending time with my field supervisor, Anissa, almost daily and getting to know her better.
3.  Practicing my skills as a social worker and being viewed as a professional by families and staff in the hospital.
4.  Laughing with coworkers daily.
5.  Playing with the kids and developing bonds with them over the past year.
6.  Carrying around a pager, which made me feel *important*.
7.  Showing up to the internship and knowing each day would be different.
8.  Dealing with crises and situations that most people run from (i.e. talking to a family about code-status or working with a child who is intubated).

The internship has been one-of-a-kind and I have really enjoyed my time at Children's Hospital.  It hasn't quite hit me yet that I'll be done in 2 days...

Maybe after prayer, God will open an opportunity to continue there with a full-time social work position.  Either way, I feel so blessed to have gotten the chance to spend time at the hospital and learn all that I did.  I know that my time there was not wasted and that it served a purpose in my life.  :)

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State Fair 2010

Katie and I at State Fair

Tony Rocker and the Comeback Special

Part of the Comeback Special, including Tom (Katie's boyfriend) playing Saxophone

Oh baby! 

Another picture of Tony Rocker ;)

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Courtney&Nick

Saturday, August 7th 2010 marks the (new) wedding anniversary of my friends, Nick and Courtney.

I met both of them at UW-Whitewater while going through undergrad.

I have been blessed to know Courtney throughout the years.

Nick and Courtney are a beautiful couple, who I know will serve the Lord and be faithful both to God and to each other.

It was wonderful celebrating with them on their big day. 

I wish them the best in all the years to come.

I pray that their lives together are filled with love, happiness, laughter, life experiences, and good memories yet to be created.

Love you both!

Courtney and her father walking down the aisle

During the ceremony

I now pronounce you husband and wife! :)

(P.S. Notice the three-fold cord around their wrists from the passage in Ecclesiastes 4:12)

It was great to see friends from college after so long! 

Here are (from left to right):  Rosie, Jen, myself, and Kelly

Me with the beautiful bride.

It was so great to spend the day with everyone. 

God bless your marriage, Courtney and Nick!

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Craft Day

At my mom's work, during State Fair time, the employees get to have "pig races" like they do at the fair.

Each employee in my mom's department gets a pig to name and decorate.

Here is what I came up with:

Little Orphan Hammie

Ham-ibal Lecter

Elvis Pigsley

Abra-Ham Lincoln

Which do you like best?

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Movie Monday

Tonight, I walked over to my friend Kelly's house and we decided to watch a movie.  Kelly's family has Netflix, so we took about half an hour just looking through the different genres and options.  Did you know that under "comedy", there is an option to watch an "African American Comedy"?  Or a "Latino Comedy"?  There are also the options for "Slapstick" and "Screwball" comedies?  I didn't even know that comedies could be broken down into ethnic/racial categories and also two adjectives that, to me, mean the same thing...

Ultimately, Kelly and I decided to watch Paper Heart, which has now made it to my top 5 movies.

It is a super cute, romantic mockumentary about love.  It left me in a romantic and happy mood.  :)  If you haven't seen the movie and you happen to like, 1) Michael Cera as an actor, 2) The movie "Juno", and 3) Feel-good romantic movies....Paper Heart could be for you!

So, after what felt like a very long, tiring, and slow-moving Monday, the day ended on a positive note.  Now, it's almost time to change into my pjs and go do my quiet-time with God before bed.  Hope all your Mondays were wonderful!

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Visions of the Weekend

Here are a few pics from the weekend:

Crepes from the Pancake House.  I went to breakfast with my friend, Dan, on Friday.   It was delicious!

Friday night, I celebrated my friend Meghan's soon-to-be wedding with a bridal shower.  It was a night of fellowship, desserts, laughter, and heart-to-hearts.

On Saturday, I went apartment hunting...but was left disappointed.  It was fun to look, though!  And ultimately, I'm fairly certain of where I will live in May 2011 (which is NOT in the apartments I looked at this weekend).

After apartment hunting, I went to a late lunch with my friend, Trevor.  It was great to catch up and spend some time with him.

Saturday night, I went to Andy's apartment to celebrate his birthday.  Andy and my friend, Kelly, have been dating for the past several years.  They are a really cute couple and I'm so happy they are together.  In Andy's party invite, it was requested that we wear our lederhosen.

Lisa actually did:

(This is Lisa and Andy, the birthday boy)

Andy and Kelly at the birthday celebration.  :)

Oh, and I brought a Skinnygirl Margarita to Andy's apartment.  This drink is only 100 calories per serving.  And in case you don't watch 'Bravo' on Thursday nights, Bethenny (Frankel) Hoppy, the creator of Skinnygirl Margaritas, has a show called "Bethenny Getting Married?"  It is a fantastic show and Bethenny is wonderfully entertaining.

Yes, I did seatbelt the Skinnygirl Margarita in my car...and took a picture of it.

Keepin' it classy with plastic cups!

Sunday, I did the announcements at church for 1st service.  I always get nervous before speaking in front of 100+ people, but it always goes pretty well-with God's help.

After church, I came home...ate leftovers...watched an ABC Family movie...and then took a 2-hour  nap.  When I woke up, I ran a few errands and came home for the night.

I had a wonderful, busy, friend-filled weekend.  It was great!  :)  

Also, Friday was my parents' 27th wedding anniversary and today is Alana and Jordan's 1st wedding  anniversary!  It was also, obviously, a weekend filled with L.O.V.E.

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Love.Laughter.Marriage

A year ago today, one of my longest and greatest friends, Alana, got married to a wonderful man, Jordan!  Since Alana and I have lived in different states since the end of middle school, I had only heard of Jordan when we caught up on the phone.  I feel so blessed to be able to meet Jordan before he and Alana were engaged when I came to visit them in California a while back.  It was so apparent to me that God had brought them together as a couple.  Seeing them together was only more proof that they were meant for each other.  :)

I was honored to be a part of their wedding last year.  The ceremony was beautiful, but what struck me most was the amazing love that Jordan and Alana have for each other and for God.  It has been hard being away from Alana for the past 9 years, but somehow we have been able to stay in touch throughout this time apart.  She continues to be a huge encouragement to me and I love the moments we do get to spend together, in person or talking on the phone.

I am so happy for Alana and Jordan and want to congratulate them on their first year of marriage!  I pray that God blesses them as they continue to experience life together.

I miss you and love you both!  God bless!

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