tahoe loven..

hello friends. just got back from lovely Tahoe. lovely Tahoe. It was BEAUTIFUL over there... a little smoky; but gorgeous still. we had fun. road trip with the girls. devil's juice with friends, old and new. a wonderful wedding. fun sunburns. great breakfast. amazing families. Jeremy did an incredible job on the pictures... but I think it really helped that Jamie is so naturally beautiful, and Pete, well he IS a Metz... all combined with the sparkling blue water of Tahoe.... and well- it was wonderful. I'm sure Jeremy will post some pictures this week.. Keep an eye out.
the trip left me with a lot of time to think...... was thinking about this whole money issue I blogged about a few days ago.... I think some people took me the wrong way and I wanted to explain myself a little more. I think that as a community we do not live below our means so we can help others. seriously. we have to have SO much. we have to drive a nice car so people will think we have money. we have to wear name brand clothes so people won't think we shop at Wal-Mart. we pay more rent than we can afford, just so people will talk about how nice our place is. we go on expensive vacations so we can brag to all of our friends. now tell me... why the hell do we have to have all this crap? None of this means ANYTHING. and I'm speaking about all of us, myself included-our lives in general-not just related to the Stirring. Everyone needs to re-evaluate what's really at the top of our priorities. Think about it...if for some reason you got 100 bucks in the mail from whoever..would you think-sweet, I can go buy that new shirt i want (to hang in my closet full of shirts) or do you think, awesome, How can I bless someone with this gift? Seriously. Think about it. We can get by on SO much less than we think we can. And when you realize that.... you've got all this extra cash flow to bless people with. or maybe it's not even cash, maybe its extra food-invite someone over for dinner.. if you've got some extra gas money, fill up someone's tank. I don't care what you do... just learn to live on less. As a community if we did that-we'd be able to do SO much.
anyway.... just some of my thoughts... that's what this blog is for. take them or leave them. I don't care. loves you all.

amazing

sigur ros. simply amazing. this is blog #2 in a row about them. Yes. go buy their new album- it is simply amazing. they blow me away. Go buy it. I can't spell it...and tried to figure out how to say it...but I don't speak Icelandic. sheesh. I should learn. . .

watching the news right now... seriously. all of FarNorCal is going up in flames. 157 burning just in Shasta Co. alone. crazy. I look like a stoner..my eyes are so red from the smoke. . . can't sleep at night.... gross. i can't turn on the swamp cooler b/c then my entire place smells like smoke. gross. God bless Redding.

heading over to Tahoe tomorrow with Meg & Kristena. Should be a fun little road trip... we're going over for Pete Metz and Jamie White's wedding. it's about damn time those two got married! Hopefully it'll be nice over there.. Jeremy said it was a little smoky over there..but not bad. either way, it'll be nice to get away.

it's crazy that the 4th of July is next weekend. i'm beginning to wonder if they're going to still have the fireworks... probably not the best idea to shoot off FIREworks when there's hundreds of fires burning all around us. . bummer. I love fireworks. maybe we'll go up to Mt. Shasta and watch theirs..of course I'm sure it's pretty smoky up there too. Maybe we'll drive over to the ocean. *ah* I miss the ocean. I was actually just thinking about it the other day b/c some of our friends are heading over camping at Gold Bluffs this weekend. something about the ocean, i feel relaxed just thinking about it... the sand...the waves...the quiet.... the fog....the smell... dang.. i need to go over there. it's good for my soul. God speaks to me so much in the outdoors...well, I should rephrase that-I hear Him so much more in the outdoors.... that's a good reason I want to live a simpler life...get rid of all the noise. all the crap that we fill our days with.... ya know?

anyway...... keep it real friends. i'm going to go buy a baby panther I think... or maybe i'll just start feeding the neighborhood cat.... loves you all.

is it october yet?

sweet. sigur ros. berkely. greek theater. october 3rd. ooooohhhhh snap, i'm excited. it's on a friday.. So i'm thinking that it's going to be a great chance to make a memorable weekend in the city. their new album comes out tuesday. go buy it. believe it or not Target has it for 7.98. Go Target-beat out Best Buy...but don't buy all of them-I need to get a copy too!! :)
went to church tonight. I feel weird about church sometimes. sometimes I just get sick of how nice our church is. I'm lounging back on a comfy, overstuffed couch listening to Nathan talk about how crappy the Stirring finances are....and all I'm thinking is.... well why do we have such a nice place then.. If our rent is too much....then lets just meet outside. we can sit on the ground if we have to. . . not run the a/c if we have to... you know what I mean? it just kills me how much we are comfortable Christians. it's stupid. I think the inner-hippy in me comes out sometimes (did i really just say inner-hippy? yes. i did.) and wants to rid myself of all of our modern comforts and live life the simple way. . . I want to live in a community that is like what Shane Clairborne talks about in Irresistible Revolution. I want my house to be where anyone can come over and eat...but I want other people to want that to-and be able to sacrifice enough to accommodate that. it's not easy...but if its something that you feel God has called you to do-why the hell aren't you doing it!?!?!? (i'm talking mainly to myself here....but maybe some of you feel me on this...) We read these amazing books on what the Christian community should like and books that bash on the Church...and we get all pumped up reading them..but as soon as we close the book...it's back to our normal day-to-day life... why do we forget all the stuff that pumped us up? sheesh...
.....went to WinCo tonight. just walked in and was squeezing the peaches. yes. i squeeze the peaches before i buy them. they were hard. i didn't buy them. I turn around and in walks Chad and Jordan. 2 of my old friends from back in the day. it blew me away that I saw them. we talked for a little while but it kept getting silent and we just looked at each other-tripping out. I haven't seen Jordan (who lives in Eugene, OR now) for.... shoot 4 years or so?....and Chad (who lives in North Carolina now) for atleast 4. It was really good to see them. Old friends that just make you smile.
Dinner tomorrow night should be fun...Peter and Christian are coming over..I invited Jordan and his family to come over too-but he wasn't sure if they were heading back to Oregon tomorrow or Tuesday...and of course we'll be bbq'n :) That's how we roll. and it's so smoky outside..we might as well add some more :)
. . . ok kids. I need to do some homework.... love you all.

Death and all of his friends.

so i just listened to the new Coldplay album, twice. INtense. maybe it has to do with the incredible thunder rocking and lightning flashing outside my window. I feel like i live in the Midwest right now. anyway. props to Coldplay for actually making album that sounds different than the last 3. I think the live show for this album I'd actually want to go to. Seems like it have some crazy energy. I've seen on t.v. some of their other shows... kind of boring to me. But seems like they've tapped into something good with this album. yea. this is a feel good album. . . . next comes the new Sigur Ros. *whew* from what I've heard so far.... sounds amazing and incredibly different from anything I've heard of theirs before. bummer that the presale tickets sold out in a matter of hours. hopefully we'll get our hands on some tickets. Portland or Berkeley..either one..we'll be their, even if we have to buy them from those damn scalpers that make a killing..... every time I see Sigur Ros play...it's like the first time. I've got a pretty good track record with them... in the last 7 years I've seen them 5 times. let's make it six people.
didn't make it to farmer's market today. was afraid I'd get struck by lightning.... seriously, I'm almost too scared to walk to the mail box! oh how i love summer storms. God has somehow made this day incredibly relaxing for me...almost feels like I've had my normal two days off instead of just one.... beautiful.
we had a couple good coverdale family dinners this week. been grilling almost every night. we love our new bbq. think I'll do some fish tacos next week! RR has this recipe that I've been dying to try....
everyone has been asking about our vacation. i promise I'll blog more about it later... just know that team coverdale has put Portland in their 1-5 year plan.

saturday in the a.m.

I was all excited about sleeping in this morning, first morning after a long week at work, first morning off after vacation.. and i was WIDE awake at 6:30. *bleh* but in actuality that is sleeping in for me... since my alarm normally goes off between 4:30 and 5. but still. seriously? Jeremy is still sleeping, snoring away. I laid in bed till 7 just thinking about things.... then i heard it. how wonderful! it's raining outside. just sprinkling a little but still-it's raining! i love summer rains... but really I don't mind winter rains either.
anyway. sorry i haven't blogged more about our wonderful vacation... I've had this gnarly head cold all week long. feeling pretty poopy still. lame. to top it off i only have one day off from work... yes today. that's it. lame. to top that off even more, I started my math class this week for school. *bleh* I forget how much homework you have with math classes. and how much I HATE story problems. seriously.
anyway. think I might go to farmer's market this morning...since it's so nice and cool out it'll be a nice morning to stroll around... have a wonderful Saturday friends.

the start

*whew* hello friends. back from vacation. team coverdale wishes they were still gone....:) we had a great time though. 10 days away from life really did us some good. i have a lot to blog about...but to the suggestion of my husband, i'll break it up. apparently i've been known for having some way-too-long-blogs-that-no-one-really-wants-to-read-all-at-once...so i'll do you a favor..split up the stories :)
we spent our first night in my hometown of Coos bay, Oregon with my grandparents. they are seriously so cute. they live in this new "apartment" that's above my uncle's coffee shop. pretty sweet little place. i'd totally live there...except it's in coos bay. great town...just maybe a little too small for team coverdale. jeremy got some sweet pictures..from our whole trip... but even of coos bay..we walked up to this park called Mingus Park that I used to play in and feed the ducks :) looked a lot smaller than it used to be....weird how that happens...anyway-go look at Jeremy's page..i'm sure he'll be posting pictures as the week goes by. they have this community garden about 4 blocks from my grandparents new place that is INcredible. really inspired me. seriously community-there's no reason that we couldn't do one!! walking through gardens is so therapeutic for me..i can't wait to someday have a nice to one :) but for now, i'll stick to having all my veggies in pots randomly positioned outside:) anyway, Coos bay treated us nicely.. had some great coffee, good food, and wonderful family time. got to see my little cousins too that aren't so little anymore. Seriously, why is everyone getting older but I still feel the same? if you ever want to buy some delish coffee..check out my uncle's roasting company, my grandparents have been doing the roasting ever since it's been around.. I may be a little partial but I pretty much think it's some of the best coffee I've tasted...chances are if you ever are over at our house and we make you a coffee, it's the whiskey run espresso..occasionally I give in to the man and buy Starbucks b/c it's convenient.. and now that some of my friends work there, I guess it's another reason to support the man. whatever..
anyway.. that was just part one. i'm tired. need to take a nap. we ended up getting home around 8 last night from vacation... then my alarm went off at 4:30 this a.m. *bleh* oh well, that extra night in portland was totally worth it.... loves you all. come visit team coverdale...we missed you.

3....2....1.....

vacation starts tomorrow at 2:01 p.m.... Team Coverdale is SO ready for this vaca. *whew* can't wait. Coos Bay on Friday night-staying with the grandparents... I don't care what we do while we're there...but I'm going to the ocean. I need to see the Oregon coast....its been TOO long. . . then off to Portland for 2 nights..a little anniversary present for Jeremy and i.... hopefully we'll get to see a couple friends....but mainly we're just going to explore.... be young.... drink some tasty brews...enjoy just being away...then we're up to Seattle for the rest of the time...oh Seattle. I'm so excited to see you again...Thanks Christian for the heads up on Kel's and the Matador :) We'll have a Guinness and some tequila in your honor :) ew but not at the same time... *bleh*
anyway.....
it's been a good week. busy. but good. monday was our anniversary :) 1 year *whew* it's been incredible. I grilled up some tasty ribs and corn on the cob. I was a little nervous b/c my mother in law Patty, makes some killer ribs and I wasn't sure if I could live up to them...but Jeremy said they were delicious:) Check out what I got from Jeremy...... :)

oh yea..they're the rachael ray knives. I love them..they are aMAzing! Just like my husband. He made a pazookie..it was SO good....seriously. if you haven't experienced pazookie, google it. make some....
tuesday night has turned into terrific tuesday in my mind :) Team Harrison comes over for dinner, we bbq and then we watch Hell's Kitchen. Great company. Great food. Tasty beverages. Hilarious T.V.... Shake face's (which I still can't do :(..... This week Team Coverdale has the pleasure of having Christian over for dinner...nice guy that Christian. Team Ostrom. C-money. that's what we'll call you. come over any time.
we love our new bbq...seriously. all we do is grill now. . . next thing you know we'll be drinking natty ice in a can....in a koozie. nah, we're bad ass grillers.... not white trash grillers..... check out what we did last night... Chicken Kebabs w/Peaches & Onions (with an apricot-vinegar marinade)... *yum* even if the peaches did fall off....
and Grilled Beer Drumsticks and Potato Slabs.... dElish. even if jeremy lost a potato... those tongs can be kinda tricky ya know? :)
........ it's been a good week. . . Team Coverdale won't be back till June 15th... don't miss us too much :) We love you all.

happy year baby!

june 2. 2008 minus june 2. 2007= 1 year of marriage!
1 year of marriage= lots of love+memories+smiles+laughter+tears+joy+amazing moments+late nights+incredible smiles+miscommunications+jokes+prayer+kisses...................
it really has been year? the year has flown by like whoa. I love Jeremy even more today than I did 1 year ago when I said "I do." I feel so lucky and blessed to be on Team Coverdale, I couldn't ask for a better person to share this life with. I love you Jeremy Coverdale. Thank you for an incredible year of life. I can't wait for the next one..and the next one..and the one after that..:) I love you baby.
-me

x2

i don't think i've ever told anyone this before...but when i'm worshipping... God gives me the tingles. not the shivers. the tingles. it's weird. it's incredible. i feel like the Holy Spirit is just moving through every inch of my body. it's amazing. it's why I worship. tonight at the Stirring
I got the tingles like whoa. sometimes the music just hits me right. sometimes my heart is just in the right place. sometimes I'm actually worshipping instead of wondering who just came down the stairs. this is why i sit on the side. i like to worship in solitude. but i love the energy God allows us to feel when we're together in community worshipping. there is something amazing about it. the sky outside is giving me tingles. whew. God is such an amazing artist. i live in a beautiful city. with beautiful people. with lots of tingles.....

June 1st. 2008.

what in the world have i been doing? seriously. sorry blog friends. I've been busy I guess. Jeremy went with the band down to LA this weekend so I was left to myself.. wondering what to do with the weekend.... a few pictures of what I was up to...



my parents came down on Saturday.. My mom got a 2009 Toyota Matrix... I'm not gonna lie, I'm pretty jealous-it is a freaking sweet car. This picture doesn't really do it justice.... but wow... it's nice. I'm already looking forward to going on our annual trip to Ashland this October so i can drive:) but maybe by then Team Coverdale will have a new ride... we've kind of been looking. its such a commitment though... did you know you can buy cars through Costco? that's how my parent's got the Matrix...for only 400 bones above Lithia's price on the ride! Craziness! Costco is amazing. We're kind of looking at the Toyota Yaris (the 4 door)..pretty cute little car... As much I like to think of myself as an outdoorsy girl that really needs a truck or at least a 4WD to cruise around town and up in the mtns....the whole gas thing kind of sucks..And if I'm trying to be all earth friendly, I guess it would be better to opt for the ride that will do the environment less harm... If we could afford a hybrid, I'd be all over it.. maybe we should go hippy and go bio diesel..hhmm..
so my amazing sister and I always hang out Saturdays.. It's our sister time. She's crazy. I love every bit of her. So she was taking the boys (Erich-her man, LG, Jamen, and Keith) up Southfork Mtn so they could bomb the hill so to speak... those boys are crazy-good at downhill. Jamen's crazy-he did it with NO downhill gear... no pads or nothing.. just a bmx helmet (not the full face one either!) Anyway, they invited me to go with...and then bbq after. So I find out we're taking LG's 1967 Ford beast of a truck up the mtn. crazy. this truck ...man, it's the red one in the photo above. the gasoline fumes had us all high pretty much by the time we got to the top...Keith and Jamen were troopers and rode in the back with all 4 bikes... I probably would've been puking out the camper shell window (that was actually missing the glass....) So amazingly, we made it up the top. LG tells us as Jill and I are about to drive the beast back down the hill to not ride the brakes b/c he's not sure how good they are. this is when I look at Jill and say What the HELL did we get ourselves into?!?! We laughed as we took off, bumping and squeaking the whole way..there were plenty of times we reached for the oh sh*t handles that weren't there....the lack of power steering made going around those 2 gnarly switchbacks super gnar-gnar. we made it. I'm not sure how..but we made it. We bbq'd burgers and sat around chit-chatting. nice people. good evening.
Friday night I was supposed to meet up with my boss Rose for margaritas at Chevy's..but she canceled..I really wanted a margarita though b/c they have killer fresh fruit ones right now... anyway, I called Jill like a million times to see if she wanted to meet up..but in the mean time I decided I'd check out TJ Maxx and Ross. success. 2 shirts. 1 sweater vest. 1 dress. I never do that good. . . .
so Jeremy and I have been married one year tomorrow...crazy. crazy. it's been an amazing year... I got this for Jeremy as part of his anniversary present, go buy it. it is an amazing album. of course it is though- it's freaking Death Cab!


If there are any Portishead fans out there.. not sure if anyone out there is as bad ass as me in music... they've just released a new album! Crazy! i think it's been 8 years since their last album!
whew.. I've gotta get ready for the Stirring. The Bachelor is on VH1 right now and totally sucking me in. GROSS. someone come save me!