It’s beginning to feel a lot like CHRISTmas!!

The last few weeks have been very festive around these parts! It really is beginning to feel like the Holiday Season! I’m looking forward to a three week break – particularly because I’m starting it off with my own little retreat this weekend! Pray for my time; it’s going to be awesome!

A house ready for Santa by a delicious restaurant that the ministry team at Horizon Park Chapel went to on Sunday night.

Deck the Halls! Little Italy is ready…

Stockings were hung by the…picture frames with care?!

The Family Room at Casa Camden is more than ready! And Jamie and I have decided that the icicle (spelling?) lights will stay up year-round!

Horizon Park Chapel’s Bless The City outreach – a powerful time of getting to bless San Diego families

Little Italy is all decked out

A group went ice skating at Horton Plaza after enjoying a DELICIOUS dinner at home cooked by Rachel

Most of the group after ice skating – complete with blisters and all!

Roommate Christmas night was last night – such fun times, presents, fellowship….

I am so incredibly blessed. May you enjoy this Holiday Season as we celebrate the birth of Christ!!

Thanksgiving 2009

Now that December has stormed its way in here and it’s about time to update with Christmas Roommate photos and then Christmas vacation pictures, I figure I better update and post on actual Thanksgiving festivities. This year, we got an entire week off of work and believe it when I tell you I took full advantage!!

I caught a flight to San Antonio on Friday afternoon at 4:30 pm…I had a two hour lay-over in Vegas where I made Candace and Kristy meet me for a quick rendezvous dinner and then I was back on my way to Texas!! Jojo picked me up and we headed straight out to Karoake night at one of their favorite little hole-in-the-wall bars. Fun times!! I spent Friday through Wednesday spending time with Jojo, Natalie and company! It was great seeing Lacey, meeting Jojo’s roommates and neighbors, seeing Natalie’s new home, her family, and her friends and life in great ol’ SA. We talked, laughed, ate, drank, danced, and watched lots of TV and movies. It was a fabulous week of inactivity and gluttony at its finest. Surrounded by great friends

Wednesday I was able to catch and earlier flight to Phoenix without a lay-over and was greeted by my dad, grams, and gramps! We headed straight to the store for some ’shopping’ (of course, by shopping, I mean my grandma and I just picked out goodies to take!) and then it was off to dinner with Aunt Lin and Colby. We practically shut down the joint while enjoying delicious food and wonderful company! Thursday morning, dad and I set up the Wii (his early Christmas present set up for my benefit!) and then it was off to Boston Market to pick up our Turkey Day feast! What a great stress-free way to do Thanksgiving! Dishes were completed within ten minutes time! Colby and I enjoyed our traditional walk and we all had a great time. Friday grandma and I were back at the stores finding more fun things!! Then it was off to the office to help dad sort Demdaco…I’m sure laws were broken as far as the mistreatment and over-working of elderly people Friday night, dad set up a special ‘Thanksgiving Reunion’ dinner for us at the Chart House and it was once again a FABULOUS time! Saturday morning, grandma and grandpa hit the road 1 minute after scheduled departure and it was off to see Lyndsey…I had a great time helping her prepare for Laura’s baby shower and getting to see old friends and, of course, my little bestie, Gracie. Afterwards, I went shopping with full intentions of finding good stuff for mom and Bec but ended up with way more for myself. Ooops! I then drove out to Lindsay and Ryan’s new humble abode in Phoenix (they spent the day after Thanksgiving moving in)! It is SO cute!! And I just LOVE Lindsay and Ryan…had a good time snuggled up on the couch catching up. Saturday night, dad and I met the lovely Lyndsey and Kevin for dinner at Islands before heading to ‘New Moon’ – yes, dad and I were two of the ones keeping it at #1 for so long Sunday, it was off to church, lunch, some more shopping, some football, gave my dad a massage I’ve owed him for a year, ate some left-overs and then headed to catch my plane at 8:30pm! So, yes, I made full use of that break and am fully looking forward to our next break in two weeks! CRAZY how time flies….(when you’re having fun, of course) (Sidenote: my camera battery died during my trip home…so I’m awaiting photos from my dad to post here)

Also, the week before break was full of fun as well…went to go see Lauren Stamatis’ team play San Diego Christian…texted my friend Courtney to let her know I was on her campus and was surprised five minutes later when the announcer announced Courtney Barlow into the game!! So, I got to see Lauren’s team play (the college’s name is not coming to me right now…but it’s a school in Illinois who plays an awesome run and gun style play that is so fun to watch!) AND Courtney! (She received my text after the game, of course). Kristen also drove down from Bakersfield to surprise Lauren!

A Surprise (whirlwind weekend)!

Okay, so it all started a couple of months ago. My mom and I were talking about our ‘early Thanksgiving Plans’ for 2009 (it has become a real holiday in our book) and chose a weekend in November. I decided what better thing to do than to fly my sister in town to surprise my mom at early Thanksgiving?! So, my sister and I planned her trip kept it under wraps for a little bit – until a comment on a friend’s page about being excited about coming down here gave it away (darn technology). The story goes that my mom went downstairs pretty upset that Becca would fly in town without telling her until my mom realized the dates and discovered we were trying to surprise her…well, she wasn’t going to have it! Fast forward a few weeks…

Becca flew in town on Friday afternoon – Nikki picked her up and they headed over to work to meet us for lunch and check out the school. As we finished up at work, they explored downtown San Diego and Bec got a hair cut. Friday night, we got ready and headed out to Ra for our sister tradition of this delicious Sushi! We had a great time at happy hour and then were able to walk home before I drove them out for the night. Saturday morning, Becca and I got up to head to the Farmer’s Market for some ingredients for all we were supposed to be preparing for Thanksgiving (Heaven forbid I plan ahead these days and actually get something done!). Upon returning and walking back towards the apartment, we spotted my mom. I think our conversation went something like, “What is mom pushing?” as Becca said, “Is that Aunt Lisa?!” SURE ENOUGH!! My mom flew my aunt and Grandma in town from Michigan to surprise US for Early Thanksgiving!! HOW FUN! AND WHAT A SURPRISE!!! We both screamed and ran towards them…probably quite the site to be seen! (sight? site? darn homophones…or homographs. Whatever)

The weekend was ABSOLUTELY perfect!! We enjoyed a delicious Thanksgiving dinner with the family, the roommates, Jenny (and baby), and Jessica (and two beautiful kids!). Saturday we walked them back to check them into the hotel and after dropping Becca and Nikki off in PB, I ended up with Jessica and her husband up in north San Diego after he was stranded at the bus stop in La Jolla – long story, but it ended up well as Jess and I got the chance to catch up a little bit!

Sunday morning we started with breakfast over here at Casa Camden and then headed to Coronado to find some more of those sand dollars previously mentioned. The weather was absolutely gorgeous as we cruised the beach successfully searching for shells and such. Afterwards, we drove out to Jamul where we grabbed a bite to eat and then went to Maness Winery to get a tour and enjoy some wine tasting! How fun! We walked around looking at turkeys, pigs, dogs, bottles from over 50 years ago, and lots of vines. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. After spending a few hours out there, it was time for mom, Jim, Grandma, and Aunt Lisa to head back north while Becca, Nikki, and I wented to church.

Monday, Nikki and Bec got some together time as I headed back to work (I tell you what…having a job really impacts your social life!). As soon as I got off, I came back and Sister and I walked down to Little Italy to grab some dinner and then it was time for her to go We had SUCH a great weekend and we’re all hoping to pressure her into moving here by February!!

A Whirlwind (surprise, surprise!)

So the fun started a few weeks ago!! My dad came out here and visited at the end of October. We had a great time walking the dogs (two-hour walks each day he was here with only a few minor altercations), visiting Seaport Village and Balboa park, frequenting Little Italy restaurants, playing Bananograms, and trying to get a budget set up for me. He also came and witnessed some of the craziness Monday morning at work before driving back to AZ. LOVED having him here!!

That week it was “Jenny from work”’s birthday – Jamie’s co-worker who we’ve all befriended and love! We headed down to Old Town for some cheap tacos from Fred’s – yum! And then, off to Balboa’s Haunted Trail or whatever. Perfect night to go with no waiting. And it was pretty scary! (Secretly, I enjoy being scared but only when there are people there who are more scared than me that are counting on me to not be scared, then somehow I’m not as scared. Codependent tendencies? Probably. But, I’m pretty surprised with how ’scaredy cat’ I was as a child that I don’t get more scared.)

That following weekend was Halloween weekend – which, as you know from the previous post, included lots of adventures for Raggedy Anne. I also hopped on the train and headed up to the OC on Saturday afternoon to enjoy some mother-daughter time with mom (obviously.) We went on a walk, paddle boating, got a pedicure, and headed to Target. Afterwards, I headed out to help celebrate Irene’s birthday with some of the crew! So fun to see everyone and try to catch up and head back to the Anderson’s for some more laughs and games (and some curriculum ideas from Mrs. Anderson!) SO MUCH FUN!!

Sunday morning, I got up early to meet KD and Cookie for breakfast at the newlywed’s pad. It included a Diddy Reese cookie and some scrambled eggs. Delish!! We also got some time to talk before I ran out and met my mom and Jim for a beach meeting followed by some shopping. Unfortunately, I felt really sick on Sunday and spent most of the day sleeping but was able to muster up the strength to head to Lazy Dog Cafe for a FABULOUS pizza. Seriously. Best pizza ever. Bar none. Then, it was back on the train to get some work done and head back to San Diego to see Mistie and Bri.

Monday, it was back to work! And by Wednesday, Andrea (a friend from college days) arrived for some fun in the sun!! She has some time off of work (while looking for new work) and decided to head out west! We had a great time hanging out, going to the beach (we collectively found 85 – yes, read it again. 85 – sand dollars!! it was a gold mine at Coronado!), eating yummy food, lounging around, reading, riding our bikes around town, going to the farmer’s market, watching movies and TV, talking, and even meeting up with Texas’ own Amber Angell! It was like Denton reunited

Monday night Andrea, Jamie, and I headed up to Los Angeles for an Imogen Heap concert (which, by the way, we have been waiting for over the last two years!! And she was WELL worth the wait – and the 250 mile round trip. And the 4 hours of sleep!) We picked up Acosta and met Heather, Erin, Stacey, Lauren, and her beau at the venue. Absolutely fabulous.

All this in the midst of absolute craziness and chaos at work – but so it goes. Keep on keepin’ on! And the fun is just going to continue!! My sister heads this way this weekend for an early Turkey Day celebration with my mom. I’m sure I’ll have a bunch to post about this trip! Next week, Lauren Stamatis – friend from high school basketball days – is heading to town because her team plays out this way. Then, it’s off to San Antonio for frolicking with friends before heading home to Arizona for Thanksgiving festivities with dad, G&G, Aunt Lin and Colby. Then it’s December. Where has 2009 gone?!?!

All in a day’s work

Well, Raggedy Anne made her 5th appearance. I tell you what, I have made sure I got the most out of my $50 investment (thanks, again, Sarah Hennes for the invaluable input so many years ago!). Here’s a little peak of what she was up to today:

At work with the co-workers

Chillin’ in the Learning Center

Stretching before the bike ride

At the bike ride with batwoman

Having fun at Balboa Park

At the USD soccer game with roommates and…yes, Waldo.

Walkin’ the newly trained pups

Enjoying Yogurtland

Playing Bananagrams and drinking wine with the leprachun (spelling??)

Getting ahead on some laundry

Getting filled up on the Word!

Always stop to smell the roses

And now off to write an IEP (yes, this is what I’m really doing on a Friday night)

*No dolls, leprachans (sp?), or other characters were harmed in the filming/photographing (word?) of these events.

Yesterday…

All my troubles did not seem so far away. Quite the contrary, my dear readers. Yesterday, all my troubles seemed to be compounded, magnified, and insurmountable. Of course, I’m over that for this moment…but really, yesterday was pretty daunting.

For those of you who do know me, you know how vital lists are to my existence. However, I literally have not written a true list in weeks. WEEKS. Do you hear me? The life of a working woman is highly over-rated; as is becoming fully aware of my ‘adultness’. I know that’s not a word….however, with this overwhelming sensation, my vocabulary seems to have gone outside the window as well. Thankfully, I can still describe things well enough that people can usually help me out…but the retrieval of vocabulary, not so much. A few things that have reminded me of my aforementioned ‘adultness’ – comments from friends from middle school and high school who have both, on separate occassions, told me how I am looking older these days. Yep. True story – but also just as true is the fact that I am. I have crows’ feet around my eyes (I laugh too much, so I’m okay with that) and I can see the early onset development of wrinkles. And I’m not even 30. I also found my first frontal gray hair in the mirror at work today. I’ve had some grays in the back of my head…but not in front. Until today.

I don’t know why yesterday brought such an overwhelming sense of being overwhelmed, but it did. And I couldn’t even fully explain it. And I wasn’t in a place that I even wanted to have people help me brainstorm any solutions. I was pretty happy settling into my state of overwhelmedness (which includes making up lots of words).

As I left Target (where I had been attempting to find calculators and 3-hole punchers for the Learning Center), I was on my way home. That’s when it happened. I ran out of gas. This was the first time I’d run out of gas in RegEnDev. And seeing as he’s been mine for a year and a half, I don’t consider it all that bad of a track record. Really, it was about time. The danger with living three miles from work is that when my gas light goes on, I feel I can make it another week without filling up. Which I probably could. However, this week happened to be customer appreciation week at Chick-fil-a which warranted free food and therefore, extra trips. Unaccounted for in my initial calculation of when I needed to fill up. So there I was. Thankfully, I was in a place where I was able to get over three lanes of traffic and pull into a vacant parking lot. I was also less than a half mile from a gas station. So I took it as a God-given opportunity to slow down and catch up on some phone calls – I talked to my dad, my cousin, left some messages, and talked to my friend Lauren’s friend, Elizabeth whose interview for Teach for America is on Friday and she wanted some ‘advice’.

I was able to make it home safely and my dear friend Mistie came down afterwards for dinner, some much needed conversation, and hang out time. I was quickly reminded of how sovereign the Lord is. Thanks to a book she has been committed to reading and God speaking through it, He reminded me of how in control He is. How it’s easy for me to believe this intelectually (can I even spell that right anymore? I don’t think so, but I’m leaving it as such)…but when anything happens that seem to thwart MY plans (which, by the way, I seem to think are pretty great most of the time), I tend to question it and quickly wonder what I can do to make things better. But, that’s not my place. I’m glad that’s not my place. Because I’m overwhelmed. And there’s no need to be. He is in charge. His yoke is easy and His burden is light. He promises that. Now I just need to walk in that. So much easier said then done when I’m constantly tempted to take it all on myself. Who do i think I am?! So, I’m glad for yesterday…and grateful for today. Glad He is the same regardless of how I feel. That He is unchanging. Despite my ever-changing circumstances.

My Life…in Photos

Sunset Cliffs

Hence the reason it’s called Sunset Cliffs

Lovely company to enjoy Sunset Cliffs with…also a great help in organizing my life and classroom

My little barista at this cute little coffee place by work…Latte Mi Corazon

Miss Clarice Spicker was in town!! So we got to reconnect after some eight odd years…which also prompted an elevated stalker search for Allyson Stewart which ended in SUCCESS!

Lunch in Newport Beach with two of my favorite women!

Camping with the FCA Crew – a GREAT time!!

Good times at Pizza Port with Des, mom, and Tori

Friends for going on 15 years!

Discarding our futon from Casa Schneple ended up in a relocation behind the ever so classy Sports Bar aka Mira Mesa Inn!

Fun times in El Paso with a surprise guest appearance, dad! (Getting his blood pressure measured by grandpa while smoking a cigar…Classy)

My grandparents are going to hate that I posted this…but they are absolutely PRECIOUS!!!

Really, I wasn’t even a part of this night. But, I had to steal this off Facebook just so I could document that I got to spend time with the Huff family! Pictures were taken, but not by me. So this will have to suffice for now.

Isn’t there a song or something about three little somethings in a tub? Rub a dub dub…

REALLY?!? There was a person dressed up as a chicken at the pool today.

Enjoying the first cup of coffee I have EVER made by myself!!!

Living it Up!

So, here I am. Eating my dark chocolate with goji berry, pecans & maca (anybody know what maca is?). Trying to get myself motivated for my workout I promised myself would be beginning at 4:15 (it’s already 4:12). I’ll just push it back til 4:30.
I wanted to give everyone a few pics of our new pad! We’re loving it down here in Little Italy- Rachel and I frequent the Farmer’s Market on Saturday mornings which is DIRECTLY outside of our side door (often making facetious comments about our long walks home), I have a five minute drive to work, and I find myself continually trying to justify frequent trips to yogurtland. I have noticed my purchases there get cheaper and cheaper. I just know what I want. And maybe there is such a thing as satiating on something. Even something as delicious as Yogurtland.
On Wednesday the 16th, Desi and three of her friends from her doctoral program at the University of Georgia came out for a week! We’ve been talking about this upcoming visit for MONTHS!! They had a conference with a national convention of Primatologists or something (I know, Des, I’m sorry – I messed it up) and we had a lovely time during the breaks! I just absolutely loved having Desi here; man, I miss that girl! Sweet to have had friends for over half my life And it was great to meet her lab partner, Tori, and classmates Jessi and Freeya (sorry about butchering the spelling) in addition to make it down to the conference to check it out. They flew out the 23rd after a week of San Diego fun .
The following Saturday, we hosted a dinner party for some of our friends at Urban – Jen, Jamie, and Rachel’s church family who were an amazing part of our moving experience! It was great to share dinner with the Pastor, his wife, their kids, his mom, and a few others – Rachel cooked up a storm in the kitchen and we enjoyed a great game of Fish Bowl/Sakagawea/Suhcatash followed by a couple hours of Tetris and Dr. Mario. So far, I have been blessed with a great deal of self-control and haven’t become too swept in by the captivating little games. Time will tell….
Work continues to get more and more overwhelming by the day. I’m able to look back and be grateful for last year and the opportunity to invest in relationships and have down time…it’s remembering those moments that get me through! Well, that and the kiddos – they are so stinking cute! Okay, most of the time…it just breaks my heart because at least with middle schoolers you can chalk some of their behavior up to their own choices. However, with these little ones, all the baggage they’re stuck carrying is a result of stuff going on at home. Sad, sad, sad.
Anyways, I’m off to the gym. Enjoy the pictures!

The outside of our building

The inside entrance of our building…aren’t we spoiled?!

Our pool and jacuzzi…it just keeps getting better!

Our dining area/family room view

The view from our famiy room french doors…not too shabby!

My and Jamie’s bathroom…gotta love green and brown

Looking into my bedroom

My walk-in closet now even more organized and color-coded

View from my french doors…I literally sit on my bed and am amazed daily!

View from one street…looking over the infamous train tracks to the court house

True San Diego City Living…who would have thought?!

This is how close we are to the Farmer’s Market!!

So…if these don’t entice you to come visit along with the fact that I live with four amazing girls, I just don’t know what else it would take!!!

City Living

Okay…so lots going on in the last few weeks!! Including: a staff retreat, a visit from cousins, a new job, a move downtown, a visit from sister, a camping trip, etc. Now, the words ‘move downtown’ don’t fully convey the amount of work and effort that went into this process – we had about 10 people come and help us at Casa Schneple: load the vans, clean the house, rent a uhaul, etc. More met us down at ‘Casa Camden’ in Little Italy as we dominated the elevators moving stuff up three flights. Thirteen hours later, everything was cleaned out of Casa Schneple and literally heaped in piles at the new place. It’s still a work in progress – hard with all of us working! Overall, SO excited to be downtown! SO excited to be living with these amazing girls! SO excited to get our house all unpacked and decorated. SO excited to have our first guests (Desi and her lab partner coming from Georgia), dinner parties, etc. Life is good!

Living downtown has brought its fair share of adjustments as well. As I type, I’m currently suffering from minor shin splints due to all the concrete stair and dog walking I’ve been doing. Trying to remember to do my shin exercises as I sit to help alleviate this problem. I realized I forgot to bring my phone to work today, but that was after I’d already been up and down the stairs twice (I had already forgotten my breakfast), so decided to go with no phone today. Also, I turned down a one way street heading the wrong direction. Thankfully a car was slowly approaching so I quickly realized my mistake and was able to reverse and get back on course. Third, while looking for a parking spot in an alley behind our apartments, I turned onto the actual traintracks – this, too, was quickly rectified. Speaking of trains, the french doors of my bedroom open right over the tracks so I’m able to hear the comings and goings of all the train/trolley activity in SoCal. Whoever thought this method of transportation is a lost art, come stay at our home for a night!

On the up side, I am able to walk to church (tried biking last night, got lost, but was able to walk my bike home while catching up with an old friend I haven’t talked to since high school!! There’s been a lot of that going on lately too; getting reacquainted. San Diego seems to be quite the vacation spot so I’m able to see many people this way and LOVE IT!!) Also, we live one block from Yogurtland (also very dangerous). Parking hasn’t been nearly as difficult as anticipated. Our house is adorable and we know so many people living within walking distance. I’m going to attempt to bike to work this weekend to see how feasible it will be during the week – need to appropriately gage the hills and the sweat factor before I try on Monday.

So, point of this post is – LIFE IS GOOD! GOD IS GREAT! And, come visit San Diego anytime you want (preferable after next Wednesday because that’s my goal in getting stuff done).

Casa Schneple Summer Camp

Raleigh is just so clever. And she was here this weekend and dubbed our home ‘Casa Schneple Summer Camp’, CSSC. I really can’t disagree with her here- our home does have the comforting (well maybe not ‘comforting’, but familiar nonetheless) environment of a summer camp lately.

-Late nights, early mornings
-Worship/guitar sessions distracted by anything and everything
-Unhealthy eating – and plenty of it (pizza, yogurt, pazookies, etc.)
-Teenagers running around (Ladejeiasha got to spend two weeks down here…more on that later!)
-Lots of game playing (uno, monopoly, life, sorry, clue, dominoes, to name a few)
-A plethora of people bustling about at any given moment
-Much laughter, conversation, and fellowship

So, even though some of us missed out on the FCA camp experience this year (others of us opted to just crash the experience instead!) – we are getting our fix here in San Diego! My summer officially started on Thursday at noon when I finished working with my last client (bittersweet!) and headed home to take a two hour nap. Raleigh came in Thursday evening and we spent all day Friday lounging around CSSC. Absolutely lovely!

I will be posting soon about the two fun-filled weeks I got to spend with Ladejeiasha!

Until then….What has been your most memorable experience from summer 2009?
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