9/27/08

so. i think i have a sinus infection. yep. that's what my dad said. my whole left side of my face hurts. so bad my teeth hurt. yuck. my dad said to get some cayenne pepper pills and my mom said to do some steam baths (i like those..)... anyway. i think i'll make it out alive. i must. sigur ros is this weekend!
so I never told you about the rest of my trips....
Sigur Ros.
Take 3.
company: Drew Maw
location: San Francisco, the Warfield.
Drew had stayed up the whole night before.
We took his Grandma's.... Grandma car.
He slept the whole time (there and back).
I'd made some sweet mix tapes.
Sang the whole way (so much my throat hurt).
This was one of those squish in like sardines shows.
Amazing still.
they didn't wear shoes.
burned massive amounts of nag champa.
Amina played with them.
(this was my first experience with Amina)
4 phenomenal musicians.
And they are all such cute girls.
The show blew us away.
I remember walking out of the show,
into the cold bay air that chills you to the bone in no time...
and just feeling this high.
It was Drew's first time seeing them..
he was stunned.
We parked in a garage a few city blocks away.
Got to the garage.
Locked.
seriously!?!?!
Walked another 3 blocks around the city..
found another entrance.
Got back in the grandma car...
drove home.
Drew slept the whole way.
I remember I stopped at a rest area..
got out... and ran a few circles around the car.
I think he woke up when I was on circle 2.
Drew's got a great laugh (when he's laughing at you especially..:)

anyway. that was trip 3. 4 and 5 to come. Saturday will be 6.
i'm so excited to be going down with so many of my friends that will see them for the first time..it's so great to be there and experience their first time witnessing all that is Sigur Ros. And at the Greek nonetheless! Pray for sun in Berkeley.. it's an outdoor theater (that is amazing)... This will be my first time seeing them play outdoors *and I am SO excited*...
okay.. it's 9:43.
I need to be in bed.
Hopefully I won't drown in sinusitis tonight.
loves you.-a.

9.27.08

sad day for Team Coverdale.
little kitty had to go home today.
back to the folks'.
feels kind of empty in our little house.
i made sure and snuggled with her plenty today.
last night i wanted her to snuggle with me before I fell asleep.
couldn't find her....
apparently she'd rather sleep in the bathroom sink.
she also likes to drink out of the tap..while it's running.
crazy kitty.
you will be missed.

9.26.08

J and I are both sick. stupid. we finally have 2 days off together, in a row, and we've got the nasty. sore throats. stuffy noses. killer headaches. lame.
oh well. i still managed to put a roast in crock pot this a.m. 1 chuck roast. 6 cloves garlic. 2 cups espresso. delicious. well hopefully-we'll see in 8 hours.
life group last night...amazing. i love our new family.
Kelly. Matthews. Nolan. Matt. Brianna. Jordyn. Amy. Jason. Jeremy. Me.
seems like we're all in that place in our lives where we're really ready to start serving God in ALL areas of our lives..not just the "Christian" part. it's so encouraging talking with each other. speaking life to each other. bouncing off ideas..thoughts..discouragements. week 2. great week.
we're about to drop off the WE LOVE t-shirts at the Stirring office. 20 bucks. buy one. shoot, buy 2. i'm wearing mine right now. jealous?... you should be.
loves you all....
ps. this time next week, we'll probably be in Berkeley...eating lunch at Cafe Intermezzo (*amazing*), anticipating all that will be Sigur Ros at the Greek theater....aahhh....

9.22.08 x 2

just read "how to vote" and "I live with another man's wife" in the new Relevant.
*wow*
go do yourself a favor and buy this. or borrow it from a friend. but read these articles. i'm probably going to be quoting a lot from these 2 articles for days to come.
the mission of a community is to give life to others-that is to say- to transmit new hope and new meaning to them. Mission is revealing to others their fundamental beauty, value, and importance in the universe; their capacity to love, to grow and to do beautiful things and to meet God-------jean vanier

9.dosdos.08

so some friends of mine... just started up this website .menu central. . ... so get check it out. give them some love. and tell your favorite restaurant how much you would love it if their menu was online. do it. give my friends some love.

stirring last night. *whew* ... nathan "brought it" as some of you would say. i was really impressed with his message. impressed..... inspired.... excited.... i did alot of head nodding last night. who cares about labels? who cares about the religion you follow? who cares about which bar you frequent? who cares about what strip club you went to last weekend? who cares what book you're reading? who cares about the naked girl tattooed on your forearm? who cares how much money you make? .... it's not up to us. like nate said... salvation belongs to God. It's not our job to save people. it's our job to live life with them. love them. speak life and hope into their lives. and to show them, through our lives, that there's IS something worth living for. i know that sounds cheesy..but it's true. . . .

we need to have the posture that Jesus had. at all times. not just at church. or in our life groups. all the time. Nathan threw out a verse from Colossians.... which got me remembering how much I love that book. i've been having a real-bummer of a time at my job lately..having a real hard time keeping a positive attitude-which if you know me..is pretty rare, i'm usually a happy girl, full of joy...and quite a bit of sarcasm sometimes....:) so anyway, i've been having a pretty crappy attitude while at work..or even talking about work.... because well, everyone else is negative there..so I've had a hard time seeing God there (but today I had a conversation with God while facing up the sunflower seeds.. . ).... so last night I dove into Colossians. .
*quick side note*... i know this is why i've been having a hard time seeing God lately-I haven't been in the Word. it's so simple. so essential.

so my friends. be inspired. . .
"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving...." Colossians 3:23-24

i'm watching HGTV right now. i've come to the conclusion... vacation homes are stupid. can you imagine having SO much stuff that you need 2 houses to fit all of your furniture? . . . i don't know..it's just a strange concept to me. if you want to have a vacation house, then bless someone the other 11 months out of the year that you're NOT there, and let them live there. don't get me wrong... i love to vacation.... i just think it's crazy that people actually spend the money on a vacation home. . . and worrying about if the guest bedroom at your vacation house is BIG enough. seriously. but speaking of houses... we finally put up some shelves in our living room. a good place to put choschkees..right Lauren?

on a sad note...i have to give kitty back this Saturday. she and i have become quite the BFF's. she's sleeping on my lap right now, which means she'll be all wired up and squirly when it's time for bed tonight. great. . .

hey..... welcome my friend Kelly to the blog world.. she's great. one of my most favorite people ever. true story.
loves you all.

9.20.08

God was at the Squire Room last night.
He totally showed up around 12:30 a.m.
outside, in the parking lot...
as we were getting ready leave.
Jonesy and Matthews and I....
encouraging each other
speaking life to each other
recognizing God in each other's lives.
challenging each other to live out what God has called us to...
incredible.

good night.

pizza at Millhouse..always good.
packed house.
great people around, thanks for coming guys...
Kelly. Pete. Lyn. Jill. Erich. Matthews. Jonesy.
Heather. Chris. BV19. Christian. Jesse.
J. Edwardson. David.
we love being surround by the people that make up our lives.
we made a new friend at the Squire... Mark.
Nice guy, drives for Fed Ex, drinks Bud Light,
likes to fish, pretty down to earth guy.
we played Little Mexico with him.
he schooled us.
we talked about old music that we listened to in Jr.High.
Pinkerton and Dookie.
we talked about relationships
and life.
Jeremy got his number. They're supposed to go fishing.
i hope they do.
i know God has called us to meet people to live life with
in the places most don't think it's okay to go to.
i think you can be intentional with people everywhere you go.
our conversation never involved the word church, Christian, or Jesus...
but what an incredible conversation.
it's amazing when you have incredible conversation..
with a complete stranger. that's what it's all about my friends..
think of how many people Jesus met every day...
and had incredible conversation.
God loves the Squire Room.
got home at 1:37 this a.m.
slept till 8.
ready for a nap again...
kitty is asleep on my lap
i'm drinking a delicious french press.
the mockingbird it outside singing it's heart away....
and it's 67 degrees..
beautiful.

in the alley outside of the Squire Room..
we somehow got to talking about Job..what an incredible story.
we'd been talking about how we'd respond if God asked us to give up...
everything.
feel the love that Jesus had for us----knowing the people he met on this earth---
He was going to die for them...can you imagine being that selfless?
aahhh..
so I decided to take a short break from reading Acts and hit up Job this morning...
it's crazy-the first "test" that God allows Satan to do on Job,
Job lost everything.
he lost his oxen, donkeys, camels, sheep, servants...and his family. all of his son's and daughters... can you feel that? what if God came and took that away from you? I know I'd have a hard time not being angry at God.....
how could Job not be angry at God?.....no.... he worshiped God instead..
falling on his knees in worship
"Naked I come from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised." Job 1:21

amen brother....amen. we can't take it all with us when we go.......
loves you all-a.

9.19.08

so i told Hannah that we should trade mixes. seriously. i love making mixes. i remember countless hours of recording songs of the radio and putting them on a tape. yes. a real mix tape. having a big ole stack of cds and my little boombox and making some amazing playlists for my friends. it used to be my thing I did for the boys I had super crushes on. . . I know I've made Jeremy quite a few..
but these days, I make them for friends, for myself (lack of iPod makes it hard to shuffle between all the music you own...
anyway... the mixing of cds... I don't find as much pleasure in it.. for some reason tapes had more love put into them..anyone feel me on this?
Hannah isn't going know what hit her.
the mix has 4.4 hours of music....
61 songs.
mP3 disc I'm thinking..or maybe I'll a 1-2-3 box set...amy's originals. we'll see.
I always have some staples that are on ALL of my mixes...
1) Sigur Ros
2) Death Cab for Cutie
3) Bright Eyes
4) Radiohead
5) Foo Fighters
but lately these days.... it's been more
1) Sigur Ros (yea, this never changes...)
2) Cold War Kids
3) Spoon
4) Wilco
5) Band of Horses....

music is amazing. tells so many stories.... so many songs from my past bring such great memories to mind. remind me of mixes forgotten friends made. road trips with best friends. incredible shows. . .

Sigur Ros Take 2
location: Great American Music Hall---- San Francisco
this trip was with my dear friend Vanessa..
we were both living in Chico at the time.
i believe it was 2001..
the album.. ágætis byrjun
She drove a Dodge Neon
I drove a piece of crap Toyota Tercel
we took her car.
drove 99 down...
car made some funny noises..
we made it.
balcony seats.
we walk in...
The Album Leaf is playing...
they weren't on the bill.
incredible.
Jimmy Lavalle is a genius.
between sets, I turn around to check out the crowd.
some great friends from this band Remember August...
sitting right behind us.
weird how small of a world it is sometimes.
Vanessa and I didn't talk the whole show.
just sad in amazement.
once again.
spent some time with the boys.
went back to Leif's place in Berkley for a while.
got coffee at 2 a.m. at this amazing coffee shop
don't remember much of the drive home.
Sigur Ros kind of does that to you..
puts you in this daze....
almost like a drug.

how amazing is it that it's 1pm...and 70 degrees outside. i'm a happy girl today. this is MY weather. love it. the blues festival tomorrow will be incredible. great weather. great park. great music.... nice....

9.18.08

just realized I posted the wrong date yesterday. either that or my day went by real fast without me even knowing it.........

tonight was our first life group *yea*.... love having people over at our house.... Thank you Jason, Kelly, Kaitlin, and Amy for joining with us. Jeremy and I were a little worried we'd have a packed house b/c quite a few people said they were coming but they didn't show... so i guess that's good... except I made crazy amounts of goodies....so now there's a bunch of mini-cheesecakes in my fridge tempting me. I heard cheesecake is great breakfast food....:)
anyways, tonight was just a night of getting to know each other...we talked quite a bit about money, possessions, and time..and what we do with them. we talked about the homeless and the lonely....and how sometimes all they need is us to sit and listen to them. . . we talked about how we need to be prepared for the commitments we make.... and how God will show up and He WILL bring you chances to act out what you say you want in your life. . . . I've been reading up on Acts (as most of you are)...and I keep going back to that verse about the people that houses and land that would sell them and give the profit to the church to give to those that had need..... think about it. if God put in on your heart to sell your most prized possession...whether it be your house, your car, your computer...whatever... and NOT keep the money but give it away... how would you feel?
Kelly brought up some great points about wealth...and how wealth is NOT a bad thing. God created wealth..... money is not a bad thing.... but the love of money...that's where it gets bad. it doesn't matter how money you have..the important thing is that you're giving it away. if you have an abundance, give to someone that is in need. it's really not that complicated. really. it's pretty simple.
so what do you think friends? what's your favorite material possession? what if I needed it? or what if I was hurting for cash...and you knew you could get "X" amount for your car..would you sell it?
loves you all. i best be getting to bed..gotta go in to work tomorrow :( then go take my car to the shop... hope Jacob will be okay-he hasn't had a tune up in a while..but i wanted to make sure he's running good for our trip to see Sigur Ros.....

oh yes, Sigur Ros...
take 1.
the first time I saw Sigur Ros was...... 2000.
8 years ago.
yes, i AM their biggest fan.
paid 50 dollars to see them.
well actually 100.
went with my friend Kat.
they played at the Fillmore in San Francisco
*beautiful place*
we realized when we got to Berkeley that the tickets were sitting on the end table.
in redding.
*insert swear word here....* :)
ended up buying a ticket of a scalper out front.
thank God for scalpers.
saw a good friend Matt Krombach (I always butcher his name....:)
he was looking for a ticket too.
made it in just as Sigur Ros took the stage.
Kat and I worked our way all the way to the front.
some crazy Icelandic opera singer was touring with him.
It was incredible.
seriously.
well worth the 100 dollars.
met up with some more friends... (I feel like Olivia and Christian were there too..)
i remember we went to some little cafe afterwards
had milkshakes...
it was all of our first time's seeing Sigur Ros.
words just can't describe.
it's a spiritual experience.
can't wait for take 6....
loves you all.

9.16.08 x 2

it's 10:02.
ugh... past my bed time...
oh wells.. just got done making 24 mini chocolate chip cheesecakes for Jeremy's birthday/our life group starting tomorrow. oh they look delicious....maybe i'll post a picture tomorrow.... after I make some Bittersweet Guinness Cupcakes. oh yes. beer in cupcakes. oh snap-is that breaking the life-group rules? ah...no worries friends, the alcohol cooks out... no devil's juice :)... but oh, Guinness is so good. tastes like coffee. down it goes..down to my belly...
ok kids. goodnight. sleep well my friends...sleep well.
loves-a.

ps. remind me to tell you the story of the other day when I was doing dishes and my mid-3o's -kinda white trash neighbor was in his backyard, standing in a kiddie pool filled with water. just standing there...... i could've sworn i was on the set for a new Napoleon Dynamite.

9.17.08

so i made some killah spaghetti last night..yep yep. seriously. who doesn't love spaghetti? Jeremy told me last night it just so happened to be one of his favorite foods.... weird-you think after knowing him for 4 years, being married to him for 1 1/2 of those-i'd know that already..but no, it's news to me..... but seeing as how i love making saucy goodness, this totally works out...figured I'd share the recipe.. its so simple, it's ridiculous....

Amy's Killah Spaghetti Sauce.......
1/2 lb. each spicy hot sausage and sweet Italian sausage (i use pork... but i'm sure you could use whatever kind of meat you like..)
1 red onion, chopped up.
4 cloves fresh garlic, minced (i actually use like 6-7...but not everyone loves that much garlic..and may I stress-use fresh garlic, not the already minced stuff in the jar.... fresh is best)
2 cans (28oz.) crushed tomatoes
1 tbs dried basil (i know i said fresh is best..but when cooking a sauce for a while like this one, dried herbs hold up better..otherwise you gotta add the fresh ones in later in the process and i don't think you get as good of a flava)
S&P to taste (I've got my s&p in grinders..so i just grind away till my arm hurts...that's usually good:)
a few pinches of sugar (this mellows the acidity from the tomatoes..)

that's it..pretty simple. so you brown your meat in a soup pot.... add the onion and garlic-let them cook down for a few minutes..sweat out the yummy flavas... Add the rest of your ingredients and bring to a boil..watch out for erupting bubbles of tomato lava..they can stain a white shirt in no time...and hey-aprons are SO in these days, and i highly recommend them with anything involving tomatoes:)... so you after it comes to a boil, turn the heat down to low, put a lid on..... and go do something else for an hour or so... well, stay at home so you can occasionally stir the sauce..you'll find that the liquid tends to settle at the top, so you'll want to stir it every 15 min. or so...
and you know how to boil noodles right? :).... that's all that's left..boil your spaghetti noodles, pour a big ole ladle full of this meaty sauce on top and sprinkle some fresh grated Parmesan on top...and wa-la. this recipe will make enough sauce for you to throw some in the freezer for a later time.... or to share with a friend..or have a spaghetti feed for your neighborhood...:) Anyway.. you get the idea.
it's so rewarding making simple things like spaghetti sauce... because it's SO easy to just pick up a jar of Prego at the store..and yea, that's okay; but it does not have that home cooked taste..i don't care what you say... sure you can add some spices, thrown in some extra garlic..but by then-you'd be spending more on one jar of sauce than this recipe! oh..and don't forget the french bread..... must have. especially for spaghetti sandwiches the next day...

3 weird facts about me..in the kitchen......
1) i love to peel garlic cloves... most people hate it, some how I enjoy it.
2) i use onions in almost every dish and they ALWAYS make me cry..i keep thinking i'll become immune to it; but no. how do they do it on cooking shows... must be fake onions.
3) mincing herbs makes me happy. it's amazing to take a big bunch of cilantro or parsley and just mince away and end up with this tiny little pile of goodness.

alright... enough of the amy's weird kitchen world.... tell me about yours...... c'mon, you've gotta have something. c'mon humor me.
oh yes.. tomorrow is Jeremy's birthday..... we're going out to MillHouse on Friday night for pizza and fun... Join us?
one last thing.. i'd like to give a shout out to my BF Bloggers Christian and Hannah for always leaving me great comments:) you guys are great. Sigur Ros. T-minus 16 days.

a little picture from our camping trip on the coast July 08 with Team Rosten and friends. this was after I'd drank a whole french press to myself... nothing better than sitting by the fire early in a.m., coffee in hand, mist on the face, everyone still sleeping.....aaahh, i love that part of camping. sorry Jesse, I stole this picture from you..don't hate me. :)
i guess i've been feeling inspired lately..blogging like whoa. i think i'll blog about my Sigur Ros shows next... in anticipation :) loves you all.

9.16.08

paper done.
*sigh of relief*
i hate writing papers. why am i a psychology major? seems like all i do is write papers. sometimes i question my major.... i just want to teach kids. . . help them... understand them... so i guess psychology isn't a bad idea after all... i've had some real weird feelings about the whole "career" thing lately. Do you think this is what God intended for us? Do you think He wants us to sink thousands of dollars into a degree just so we can get a better paying job?. . . . it makes me sick thinking about it sometimes. I feel like there's a whole nomad-hippy world out there we could all be living. a world that isn't concerned with money, fancy cars, big houses. . . ugh. i keep going back to that passage in Acts..about the people that had land and houses, would sell them-and bring the money to the Apostles, all of the money-not just some of it... just so the wealth could be shared among the people. Why don't we do that? Do you think God intends for us to have money in saving accounts? . . . or do you think He wants us to put HIS money back into the community-back into loving people. . . tHiCk. .. ...
this whole money thing going on with Wall Street and the economy has really lessened my faith in the American way of living... well maybe not faith-but my hope for the future. . .. maybe it's not a bad thing living paycheck to paycheck. maybe it's not a bad thing renting a duplex. maybe its not bad having a 10 year old honda and a 20 year old Jeep. maybe it's okay that i work at grocery store.
i don't know... I just feel that God has something bigger for us---a better way of living..but we get so caught up in the american way of life...that we forget what our real purpose is. we're here to spread the love..not stock in up in our bank accounts.
i've kind of come to terms with the fact that Jeremy and I aren't going to have a super nice house and fancy cars..but that's okay..as long as my house is a place where people feel comfortable... a kitchen big enough to feed everyone i know... plenty of floor space for friends to crash when needed. . . i've kind of become fond of our little place lately.... it's not much; but hey its what God has blessed us with right now---and it works. it totally works.
Jeremy and I are super excited about life group starting this week..a little worried about not having enough room :) had lots of people say they were planning on coming so far..i think that's great though---so what, we might not all get a spot on the comfy couch; but we'll be meeting together....locking arms... lovin'.
anyway... just a few thoughts. had to get something creative down after writing that paper...... loves you all.

9.14.08 x 2

i think God has given me a heart for this city again. . . Jenna led that song... "there is no one like our God." you know the one that goes "Greater things have yet to come, greater things are still to be done in this city...."
last time we sang this song, i was bitter. Bitter? not sure if that's the word, but more discontent. Jeremy and I had talked so much about moving to Portland in the next couple years that my heart had already moved. it sucked. every day i was looking at craigslist (which is pretty normal for me....I'm addicted)...but in Portland. . .
then all of the sudden the other day I realized how happy Redding makes me right now. God is moving so much in my life, here. I just wasn't giving Him the chance to show it to me. Jeremy and I were down at the park by the river the other day, having a lovely picnic....we talked about being more committed here. . .even if that means liking the palm trees... (see previous post:)
it's so hard to not get caught up in the world of having a good paying job. because we all know that Redding is not the easiest place to get one of those.... but I know that's not the point in following God. He could care less about how much money we make or how much money we have in our savings account. He cares about what we give away. He cares about what we share.
a while back I think I shared this.... but I want to be remembered as faithful, not successful. . .

faithful
not
successful

this is what God's calling me to be. faithful. and in that being faithful... i want to give. i want to love. i want to stop being so selfish with my time. i want to commit myself to you----- my family.
i can't wait for Thursday when our life group starts.... i can't wait to have people into our home. to share what God has blessed us with. to break bread. to eat cupcakes. to kick back with my family. to lock arms with them.

"to be a part of the church was to join a countercultural society that was partnering with God to create a new kind of culture, right under the nose of the caesars. These Christians made sure everybody in their midst had enough to eat. They made sure everybody was able to pay their bills. They made sure there was enough to around. . . " -Rob Bell, Velvet Elvis

9.14..08

51 palm trees.
1 road.
seriously?
i've been meaning to blog about this for a while...but I keep thinking, maybe they'll grow on me. but no..they haven't. Maybe if I lived in Hawaii I'd be okay. Just think if you were driving on a road in Hawaii and you saw a bunch of Maples, Oaks, or Fir trees..just wouldn't look right. . . oh well. apparently the nor-cal thing wasn't working for us, we're going for nor-wish-we-were-so-cal. maybe it's just me.
i've even got Jack Johnson playing right now... just not feeling it, Redding.
and hey..why don't we close cypress too. just makes me want to stay on the west side. i'm not a freeway driver...and now I'm being forced to. lame. but hey-December 2010 is just around the corner, seriously? they've been working on that bridge for a year already-they need 2 more? . . maybe I should go help.....:)

planted flowers yesterday. helped the husband hang some shelves. rearranged the living room a bit. cooked a pot roast. baked a tasty, fresh peach cobbler. Hannah joined us for dinner. she's amazing. I love how God brings different people into my life of all different ages. it's wonderful. Heather came over later-she's amazing too. and the best part... we all have tickets to see Sigur Ros down in Berkeley on October 4th. This will be time # 6 I've been so blessed to see them perform. ***aaaahhhh*** (that was a wonderful sigh, not a scream).... we're planning on hitting up IKEA and H&M while we're down there.. maybe a little Rasputin's...Amoeba...Buffalo Exchange..you name it, we'll be there.

so i'm procrastinating. I have a 1050-word paper due tomorrow in my Biological Foundations of Psychology class....not feeling very inspired at the moment. Interesting topic though... the treatment of ADHD with extended release stimulants and non stimulants along with the development and use of clinical guidelines...oohhh, sounds wonderful doesn't it? sure. just not exactly how i'd love to spend my Sunday afternoon. Just made myself a tasty couple shots of espresso on ice-the real stuff-no foofy here.... going to go at it for an hour... get ready for church.. come home, work on the paper a bit more.... and watch Extreme Home Makeover :)
take care friends... -a.

9.13.08

sometimes you're on a blog-roll.... this is one of those times.
woke up this morning at 7am. that's sleeping in for me. *sigh* husband still sleeping soundly.... it's actually okay, I like the quiet mornings......
this morning in particular has been quite lovely. a slight chill in the air, windows open all night... got the flannel pj pants on..... first morning since April that I made a french press...drank it all to myself..... Put a roast in the slow cooker. I love chopping up veggies in the morning. I always feel so productive and ..... like susie-homemaker....:) the house is already starting to smell wonderful. Is it fall yet?.. so maybe I'm jumping the gun a little bit, pulling out the crock pot..but who cares that it's supposed to be 97 today... i'll just transpose the numbers and say 79 will be the high for today.....
thanks to Christian, I picked up Velvet Elvis again. My mother-in-law had this book before us... not sure if it was Jeremy's or hers..anyway, she marked some pages, actually quite a few pages, so I was scanning through them.... and came across this one section that slapped me in the face......check it..
"there is an issue of identity. it is letting what God says about us shape what we believe about ourselves. This is why shame has no place whatsoever in the Christian experience. It is simply against all that Jesus is for. As the writer to the Romans put it 'Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.'
None.
no Shame.
No list of what is being held against us.
No record of wrongs.
It has simply been done away with.
It is no longer an issue.
Bringing it up is pointless.
beating myself up is pointless.
Beating others up about who and what they are not is going the wrong direction. It is working against the purposes of God. God is not interested in shaming people; God wants people to see who they really are.
'Let us live up to what we have already attained.'
I am not who I was.
You are not who you were.
Old person going away, new person here, now.
Reborn, rebirthed, remade, reconciled, renewed.
Jesus put is this way: 'You are in me and I am in you.'
When we stumble and fall back into old patterns, we call them what they are: old patterns. Old ways. Old habits of an old person.
Something new is happening inside of us.
I thank God I am forgiven.
I make amends with anyone who has been affected by my actions.
And then I move on.
Not because my sin isn't serious, but because I am taking seriously who God says I am. The point isn't my failure: it is God's success in remaking me into the person he originally intended me to be.
God's strength, not mine.
God's power, not mine...." -Rob Bell

I think I will leave it at that..... Rob Bell, bring it.
peace-a.

ps-you didn't now Jesus and Elvis were BFF's? yea..... me neither...

9.12.08 x 2

a reason i've been too busy to blog lately..lil' kitty keeps me entertained. she's super sweet and loves to take naps with me. of course when she wakes up, she runs around like a crazy kitty for about 30 minutes. i have a feeling i'm going to have a hard time giving her back to my mom when she gets home from vacation.

seems like a lot of our friends are going green lately. i love it. i just bought a bunch of cloth napkins on clearance at wal-mart. yea, they're not made from any organic recycled material..but hey, not using paper napkins is awesome. i decided to make the switch earlier this year. it's so easy people. next thing to get rid of..paper towels. of course we bought a pack of them at costco a few months back..so we'll have to wait until those run out..but then, it's microfiber towels. they're great. i've got a few that i use for cleaning, love them. we waste so much paper these days its ridiculous. so there's my encouragement to keep up the green-ness. oh yes, our other next green step is to by some SiGG water bottles. it's so easy to buy cases upon cases of water bottles...but why do we have a filtration system hooked up to our water faucet if we don't utilize it. seriously.

i've been happy to be cooking again. the summer is always hard b/c it get's so stinking hot. we bbq'd alot..lots of kabobs, i think the fave of the summer was the bacon-wrapped chicken kabobs. delish. everything is better wrapped in bacon. potato slabs became a staple just like corn on the cob. now that it's cooled off a bit, i'm happy to be using the old stove again. a couple things this week.... spicy white chili.... not giving you the recipe though... getting ready for a potential chili-cook off next month, can't give you my secrets. A sliced sirloin with steak frites in a shallot pan reduction (wow, that sounded quite culinary of me, eh?) was served the other night when the Harrisons joined us for dinner. a yummy cut of affordable meat served with a sauce made of shallots, brandy, and some other tasty ingredients..and homemade french fries baked in the oven. yummers. it's way cheaper to make your own than to buy the bag of frozen ones. this has been something else i'm trying to do lately-make everything I can.... it's amazing the stuff we have in our cupboards that can make the most delicious stuff. my latest creation was a yummy herb vinaigrette for a fresh green salad..
tasty tasty....
1/3 cup evoo (extra virgin olive oil for those of you that don't speak rachael ray)
1/3 cup white wine vinegar (cider, rice or white can be used too-whatever you got on hand)
1 tsp sugar (add more if you like it sweeter..just not too much:)
1 tbs snipped fresh basil, oregano, and thyme (or if you don't have these fresh, use dried but just 1/2 tsp each, and make sure you crush the herbs in between your fingers to release the flava)
1/4 tsp dry mustard (or if use 1 tsp Dijon-style mustard if you don't have the dry stuff)
1 clove garlic (or 2 if you like it real garlicky..i used a HUGE clove that probably would be considered 3 small cloves...gotta keep those vampires away after all..)
and a few grinds of fresh black pepper... to taste

so easy, combine all the ingredients in a screw top jar and shake shake shake. put outkast on and shake it like a Polaroid picture. i used to love that song.
anyways, if you use fresh herbs, this will be good for 3 days (keep in fridge) or if you use dry it'll last up to 1 week in the fridge. good stuff. think next time I'll use balsamic vinegar to mix it up a bit.
aaahh, i love writing about cooking. maybe i should become a food editor. oohh, better yet, i could be a judge on Iron Chef. I love that show. even better-Gordon Ramsey's Kitchen nightmares just started up. sweet. it's on Thursday nights, so any of you that join us thursday night for our life group are more than welcome to stick around and watch it with us :) we're kind of addicted....
okay. 2 blogs in one day. 2 long blogs. I could probably go for 3; but I'll wait... are you even still reading? goodness. what dedication. loves you all-a.

09.12.08

yesterday was 9/11. I heard people talking about it all day at work yesterday. that's what happens when you work at a grocery store. people either talk about the weather, the economy, or politics. my day started with this real nice old man asking me if I remembered where I was....
I was working at Java Detour down in Chico, i'd opened that morning..at 4.45. I was going about my business when my every morning cab driving customer pulled up and told us to turn our stereo to the news. I couldn't believe it. I didn't really know what to think. Al was the last customer that showed up that morning. My boss let us go home early since there was nobody coming through. Driving home, I just felt scared.... unsafe. Of course I called my parents, they didn't really know what to say either; but not to worry-I should be safe down in Chico. I had to work at my other coffee shop later that morning...so as I walked the 8 blocks there I thought alot about America... and then I thought alot about the other countries that hated us so much they'd attack us. I felt sorry for them because I know that their actions had to have had a cause of some sort. I thought of the wives of the men who flew the planes, I thought of the people on the planes, I thought of the firefighters that died saving others. Too much to process. I walked into Moxie's and my boss and some regular every day customers were sitting around the television that Matthew had brought it.... drinking beer.. just sitting quietly. I "worked" 6 hours there. Then walked home. Jill and I were living on West Sac. in Chico in some real ghetto apartments. we were the only whiteys in the complex. it was so quiet on the walk home. nobody was out. for chico, that's weird. . . . strange that it's been 7 years. I remember the first year after 9/11 and everyone thought there would be another attack on the same day. people are funny like that..
anyway, this old man yesterday morning after listening to me tell my story told me where he was. He said he was driving downtown and an Iranian woman was crossing the street in front of him and he wanted to get out of his truck and yell at her to go home...go back to HER country. My heart dropped when I heard this.... this is why America is the way it is people. We treat other countries like crap. We have made America look so glorious and extravagant that yea, of course everyone wants to come live here. Don't get me wrong-I'm glad I live here but sometimes I wish I didn't. . . .
we as Christians especially have a higher reason to love these people of other countries...and I know it's easy to get all political and all patriotic..but I'm sorry-we're supposed to love those people to-even the ones that have been responsible for terrorist attacks. Jesus didn't refuse His love to ANYone..so why should we? we're so comfortable as Americans.... that when something like this happens, love goes out the window. it's stupid. we get so caught up in what people are doing or have done that we forget to love the people. remember that old saying "hate the sin, love the sinner".. yea-that's what we're supposed to do. We have to walk so people know that we're different. We have to talk so that people will hear nothing but love. We have to act like we actually care about everyone. We have to live so that Jesus shines through. We have to love.
simple as that.

we have to love.



We love. from the Stirring on Vimeo.

9.2.08

some things i've been looking forward to....
1) kitty sitting my mom's new kitty for 2 weeks...she's unnamed but I call her 'Lil.
2) starting a life group on September 18th (which just so happens to be Jeremy's birthday too!)
3) organizing a soup club.
4) starting up a community garden with the stirring.
5) maybe a chili cook-off? first annual stirring cook off.. yes, has a nice ring to it.

it's incredible to feel God giving me ideas again.

some other stuff going on...
1) Jeremy and I started a 2 week diet yesterday. he's already hating it. I think I'm more stubborn than he is though..but trust me ice cream sounds SO good right now!
2) we're thinking about going to Disneyland after Thanksgiving...
3) fall seems like its just about to bless us with her wonderful weather..
4) school..still going. only 1 year and 3 months till I have my bachelors!

anyway.. hope everyone is well. loves-a.