January the seventh (the one with Sonia's birthday)

Saturday day night we went out to Jamul for an ice cream social to celebrate my very first ever roommate's birthday. Woo-hoo!

I'm not going to lie, making that drive up Skyline had me missing the old camp days. It didn't matter that it's been five summers since I worked there; driving up that hill felt just like driving up every Sunday afternoon with my truck filled with fresh clothes and snacks. As I told Chris when we got to to the top of the hill, and looked down over the misty valley, God lives in Jamul. It's true.

We had a splendid time hanging out with Sonia and Paul, Jeremy and his girlfriend Sarah, Jared and his adorable daughter (who calls Sonia Mo-Geek, for Monique), and Krista and Jon. Settlers of Catan was the game of the night, but we had to play in teams since there were more than six of us. I'm not going to lie- I was a little concerned how Chris and I would handle both trying to control our team's strategies and moves. We are both way too competitive for our own good. Surprisingly, our strategies matched almost the entire game, and we ended up blowing everyone else out of the (Catan) water. Go, team, go!

And since this post is about Sonia's birthday, and not our awesome teamwork skills, here's some Sonia-centric posts I dug up from years past:

Adventures with my Roomie
Adventuresome Times
Last Night at B22
This is what...

Hmm. Half of these posts have the word adventure in them. I think that may say something about Sonia's personality....

What I did on my Christmas Break (Week 1)

Made green smoothies. (This one's got blueberries, which masks the green.)

 Got artsy with some paints

Had steaming hot bowls of chili that were oh so satisfying in our cold, cold house.

Made my awesome spicy chicken soup and added way more spinach than normal, just to get rid of it in my fridge. (You could tell there was way more, especially with the cilantro, and the additional fresh parsley, which I was also trying to get rid of. It looked like green soup until I added 8 more cups of water to balance it back out.)

 Was amused every time Jack sat in front of the kitchen sink and gave me this look. This is his, "please, sir, can I have another?" plead for more treats. Did I mention I taught my delightfully smart kittens to sit on command for treats? Now Jack just goes to the kitchen and sits, staring at us with that look, until we're so enamored with him that we cave in.

 Updated the audio books on my ipod. I've been going through the Harry Potter series while in my car. It's fantastic, because I love multi-tasking and I certainly have no time to sit and read lately. Next up: Order of the Phoenix.

This is Jack's "What is going on up there?" face, as I was chopping the spinach and carrots, and little pieces of carrot kept flying off the counter and on to the floor.

 Same sentiment as before, just trying to get a better view.

 This is what Sawyer does while I'm cooking. Sits on my feet in the corner. Sometimes he brings Green Mouse with him and flings himself and his toy around my ankles.

 This was a real, true green smoothie in every sense of the word. But we left it in the fridge for three days, and they're not even really good after one day, so cleaning all the stuff we'd left to sit in the fridge that we'd "eat later" was another one of my tasks this week.

 Chris has been in "come home from work, play video games" mode lately. It's his de-stresser. 

 Finished product. This was the first time I'd crock potted it, instead of cooking it over the stove. And it was a good thing I'd made a huge crock pot batch, because we had surprise visitors that night!

 Chris' new laptop/monitor setup. Dual screens. And there's our Christmas picture photo up on the laptop!

 Why is Chris smiling here?

 Because of our surprise guests!

 What I love about my old roommate Mandy is that she's totally willing to come over spontaneously at 10pm to make sure she gets in hang out time on her short trip out here. She'd been hanging with my sister Britt and their reunion small group party, heard Britt was stopping by to exchange gifts, and decided she'd come too! My phone was on silent when she called to inform me of this, but when we finally spoke she said, "I figured I'd just come over anyway!" That's what I love about favorite friends. They totally know they can stop by at any hour, because seeing them trumps sleep any day! 

Mandy came with baby Judah and husband David. And I had plenty of warm soup ready for them, just as a good hostess should.

Also of note: hearing someone will be arriving at your house in five minutes sets you in a whirlwind streak to clean up the house. Before I'd even gotten off the phone, Chris had made the bed and hidden the laundry. We got all the dishes done and took the recycling to the garage, and even had time to light warm pumpkin spice candles (as a good hostess should always have lit when guests are coming). 

Next time on the blog: The kittens meet a baby for the first time.

Thanks, Mandy, for giving me something to post about!

This look here? This is the, "Chris, don't you just totally want one of these adorable little guys?" look.

Just when I was lamenting that nothing exciting was happening around here, bam! Impromptu old roommate + husband + recent baby addition stopped by for a late night Christmas visit!

(And only about half the pictures we took of the visit consist of the kittens staring in awe at baby Judah.)

Mandy Anne Cordelia gets married

Mandy is one of my favorite people, and roommate from 2005-2007. She is seriously the most awesome person you could possibly hope to meet. 


The 'Anne Cordelia' part is not actually her name. It's a nickname given to her by the Master of Nicknames, Sonia-Monique-Saenz-Breuninger, and is a reference to Anne of Green Gables. Because Anne always wanted to be named something romantic like Cordelia, and Mandy always wanted to be just like Anne of Green Gables. So Mandy Anne Cordelia was born.


Over the years Mandy Anne, Sonia, and I have had many discussions about boys. From all the way back in the day to the Cobblestone apartment, when we stayed up late waiting for Sonia to get home from her first date with Paul Breuninger, to the Rancho apartment, when we all received copies of Captivating, to when we were no longer roommates and we were meeting at Starbucks at 9:30pm to hear all about this David guy from Minnesota. It's been quite a ride.


Yesterday Mandy's dream came true in the form of her wedding day. And the event was pretty true to who Mandy is: orange accent sashes on the bridesmaids, Indonesidan food, a letting-the-bird-fly-out-of-a-wicker-basket-while-carrying-a-spear-for-show tradition, the father/daughter dance where both Mandy and her dad were attempting jump skips, and, after the final song, when everyone stood in a circle around them, Mandy announcing, "We did it! It's over, and it was awesome, right?"


I love Mandy.


It was hard to get a good shot at the wedding, so I've only got this one: the triumphant "We did it!" before walking down the aisle.

And I managed to catch warrior-Mandy out in the foyer, pre-bird tossing. I didn't get to ask what tradition this is, but you should all know that Mandy grew up as a MK in Indonesia. So maybe that's where they carry spears and throw birds from baskets after a wedding? Anyone Indonesian out there who can clear this up?

And then we're on to the reception. Chris and I sat at a table with Sonia and Paul, Jenna and Mallory, Dr. White (our English professor in college) and his wife, and Glen and Ashley (from camp).

And my baby sister was there! Now that she's all grown up, she keeps getting invited to the same events as me. Which will be a little weird when those events become bachelorette parties (her best friend was at Mandy's!), but for now it's just weddings and New Year's parties, so it's cool. She and the rest of the girls in Mandy's small group were helping out as servers all night. And then she got down and boogied like the fresh-faced college student she is. ;)

Mandy's wedding cake, which she described on Wednesday as, "The cutest thing you'll ever see- it's got elephants!"

I would've thought for sure that at Mandy's wedding there would be some cake smushing, but nope. Tame as always. When is someone really going to get into it at their wedding?

The garter! They played Mission Impossible while David "searched."

The girls weren't so into catching the bouquet (which Mandy threw directly to her sister! Rigged!) But the boys? They were out for blood.

And then the dancing got crazy!

One of the bridemaid's bouquets.

At the end of the night, for the last song, we were asked to gather in a circle and hold hands while David and Mandy danced. (That's my sister on the left. She's always on the lookout for me pointing my camera at her.)

Crazy Mandy running around the circle for high fives. David's just along for the ride. 

The last dance. Pure joy.

And the only picture I got of Chris and me all night. Sonia snapped this while we waited for Mandy and David to make their run for the parking lot. The OSF looks so good in dress clothes.

And the final picture, what would be my picture of the day if I was continuing it in 2010 (haven't decided yet). Our official roommates-at-a-wedding picture. Three down, two to go. Who's going to be next, Jordan or Jenna? ;)

Then. And now.

Once upon a time, there were five roommates. And one of them got married. And we took a picture together:

Then

Two and one quarter years later, we met again to celebrate the upcoming wedding of another of the five:

Now.

Missing Mandy

I miss Mandy.

I miss sleeping in the bunk underneath her.

I miss late nights in the living room at B22; she's the one who got me started on my late night laptop haunts, you know.

I miss her bursting into the apartment with a huge grin on her face, ready to sink into the first open chair and regale anyone in the room with the amazing things going on in her life.

I miss her hugs.

I used to miss her amazingly poetic blogs. But she's back now, so I don't have to.

http://livelaughgrow.blogspot.com/

Enjoy.

Today I...

Went to Coronado with Jenna for an impromptu beach day,

Went to work for the rest of the day and rocked out to my Spring Awakening album,

Got picked up by that cute OSF to meet the others at Ryan's house,

Was told I was feisty (and that he liked it),

Went to El Torito's for Johannah's not-so-surprise dinner party,

Forgot my camera,

Found out Rachel Bunch, from the old camp days, has a cute five month old who loves to flirt,

Was "sneaky" with Chris in the backseat on the way home, to Ryan's chagrin,

Hit up 3 McDonalds' for coca cola glasses,

Finally backed up the 2009 photos from my new computer,

Watched 3 episodes of season one NCIS.

And now I am going to sleep. See you all tomorrow.

Balance

I've spent the majority of today trying to catch up with the mundane things in life. It seems lately I've been taking my goal-part-one-word-for-the-year, FUN, a little too seriously, and have been slacking in other areas. Like laundry. And vacuuming my room. And finishing making the transfer of files between my old beloved laptop and this new to-be-named-later guy.

So today was a day to get caught up, and as I sit here now, 8:30pm, with the living room full of various friends playing Mario Party (before the ice cream social starts), I'm happy to say I was able to clean my room, wash my bedsheets, towels, and miscellaneous clothes, and even reorganize the kitchen cabinets to make more room for the glasses and less room for those twenty coffee mugs, of which only four get regularly used.

That's the kind of balance I like.

And in spite of working on all these little tasks, I was still able to throw in my fun factor: The OSF came over for a couple hours and we got lunch (In'N'Out and McDonald's - for the rad coca cola classes they're giving out with their meals!) and watched an episode of Veronica Mars. (I've got that boy hooked!) We also came up with a great plan to organize the pots and pans in the kitchen; the way they're thrown in the cabinets now makes me want to cry. Well, not really, but it makes me super irritated sometimes, so I'm stoked to see how this projects plays out. That OSF boy sure has some good ideas. I think I'll keep him around.

And now for bonus fun: Brittany's planned an ice cream social at our house for tonight. She's been going crazy lately with homemade ice cream, and tonight is her chance to share it with the world... er, our friends. Details and pictures sure to come.

Update, Update!

No.: 144

Katelyn's graduation party. She graduated from the nursing program at Biola last weekend, and after a month hiatus in her home state of Oregon, she'll be moving down here permanently. Not with us though; her new home will be wherever Sarah and Adam's new house is. I just hope it's close by, so we can keep up with our pseudo-roommate's antics.

No.: 145

Memorial Day! The OSF and I went and played miniature golf for a couple hours, then off to a short stop at Jessica and Mike's for burgers, a fifteen minute shift at Youth Venture (not my fault no kids were there), this cute little market, Vons, and then back to his house to make delicious tequila lime fish tacos. I tell you, that guy's a good date.

Now if only we could master the one-armed picture...

No.: 146

Not sure what was going on here... I think I just needed a picture of the day, and these were my three willing subjects. Love how Russ is just surrounded by food and pillows.

Mornings and Evenings

I can pretty much always count on Jen to be sitting at the kitchen table when I come stumbling down the stairs around noon each day. (I know, I know- noon! I'm getting better though, I promise!) Whether she's got her Bible and devotion books spread out, or just talking on the phone like this morning, it pretty much never fails that she's there to greet me as I grab some juice and head off to work.

.

Evenings over at the good ol' apartment have become interesting, with new friends and old finding themselves at our place in the last few weeks. Seems like there's always something going on at night. Tonight, Wednesday, we watched Once, one of the OSF's favorite movies, with Jen, Russ, Brittany, Trent (kind of for awhile), Chris, and me. Our movie night was complete with delicious popcorn and quick-cooled (read: stuck in the freezer for half an hour) hard lemonade (original, of course). While I can't say the movie's going to go on my favorite's list, it was definitely a good watch, and I really liked this one song that Kris Allen ended up singing a few weeks ago on American Idol. It's still kind of stuck in my head. :)

Adventures of Two TGO's: Coming Soon!

Well we're off now to meet Lea Michele! (Hopefully.) We've planned a few hours to hang out at Disneyland on a quiet Monday, perfect for trying out fun photos, and then on to Santa Monica for the Glee screening. Our Spring Awakening books are packed. Our rebels are packed. And I've packed some extra cough drops, because despite what Sonia says, I think I am getting sick. No bueno before her wedding... especially because she's staying with us starting tonight!

Peace out, girl scout.

This one's for you, Katelyn!

Perfect lighting + willing friends (er, maybe not so willing in Brian's case) = fun in the backyard!

And, because Katelyn likes my "picture memory things" I made one for her. :) Here's a compilation of some fun shots from our impromptu backyard shoot.

Has anybody seen my clothes?

I did some laundry over the weekend. I meant to actually take my stuff out of the dryer sometime Sunday night, but instead I went to bed early. And then it was Monday, and nothing ever gets done on Monday if you're me. So today, Tuesday, as soon as I got home from work, I rushed to get some things done before meeting Ryan for Coffee Shop Tuesday.

I made a quick dinner.

I washed the cookie sheet I'd used the night before.

I washed everyone else's dishes in the sink. (I am such an awesome roommate.)

I went out to get my laundry.

...

No laundry.

Not even another roommate's laundry in the dryer and my laundry on top. Absolutely nothing.

Okay. So maybe someone threw it in their basket to drop off in my room.

Went up to my room. Nothing on my bed. Nothing on the floor.

Went to the other room. Laundry baskets galore! Chalk full of clothes! Surely my laundry must be here.

Nope. I searched everyone's laundry baskets. Then I searched the floor. Then I went back downstairs and looked in the dryer again, just in case my laundry was playing some dirty trick on me.

Did I mention that this particular batch of laundry had my sheets and pillowcases? My bed is so lonely looking.

Grumpy Bear is not happy about this current situation:

Dear readers, particularly of the roommate persuasion: If you have any knowledge of the whereabouts of a pile of laundry and bedsheets, please let me know. Or at least tell Grumpy Bear. He lives upstairs in the southside room, on the bed currently devoid of color.

It's...

Summer time!

Finally!

I LOVE SUMMER TIME SO MUCH THAT THIS DECLARATION GETS OBNOXIOUS CAPITAL LETTERS!

Today was GREAT. I slept in/lounged in bed as late as I wanted to without feeling guilty. Then I went out to the pool to read my newest Karen Kingsbury book in the perfect sunshine, while also starting on this summer's tan. (My goal this summer is to be as brown as Sonia and I were when we lifeguarded summer 2004. That was the best tan EVER.) I talked with some of the apartment kids who came out to swim, including one little girl dressed all in pink who thought it was the coolest thing that I also had a pink cell phone and pink keychain. I just love little kids. :)

While I was reading, I came up with new ideas for my story, specifically a great plotline to tie two characters together later on. I love it when things like that click. I also discovered how to physically characterize all my blue-eyed characters. Because in a story where most of my characters are either blondes or redheads, a good portion of them come out with blue eyes. So as I was daydreaming out in the sun, I realized that Character J has fierce blue eyes (cuz she's got a fiery personality), while Character A has warm blue eyes that sometimes show a little green (because she's got a lot of compassion, but is also very passionate about certain things), and Character T has piercing blue eyes (because he's pretty intuitive. And he's hot.)

Sorry if that makes no sense to anyone else. It was a great revelation to me. :)

Then I really, really wanted to go running. Even though I thought I hated running. But it was so beautiful, and just starting to cool down a bit, with a nice breeze blowing, so I went back inside, yelled hi to Jenna studying at the kitchen table, laced up the sneaks, and took off.

It was glorious.

And apparently my only problem with running is that I don't like doing it when it's cold. Go figure. It's just so much more interesting when it's all warm outside and you can run in your bathing suit, tank top, and soccer shorts. And then when you have to pause and walk off a cramp or something, it's still just a beautiful stroll on a gorgeous day.

Oh, and I've also discovered I love running in the middle of the street. I think it's a throwback to the days when my mom wouldn't let us cross our own street until we were like eleven. (Ha. Take that, Mom.)

I had mapped out a 1 mile route from our apartment, one that didn't involve going down the specific scary street that always makes me feel like I'm going to get thrown in the back of a van or get my ipod stolen by a fourteen-year-old with a knife. (You scoff, Brian Reames, but it's freaky being a girl and seeing their eyes follow you as you go by. Or hearing cars slow down and glide along the curb next to you. Ew. It's giving me the creeps right now.)

Anyway, as I was running in the street outside the cute little junior high, I decided since I was practically there, I'd add an extra half mile and go up to the spot where we went geocaching after Jenna's birthday party. We didn't find anything that night, but it was dark, and we were depending on flashlights. So I figured maybe I'd go by and see if I could find the cache.

And I totally found it. All by myself.

No, not really. I looked in the bushes for a couple minutes for that camo bag, but nothing stood out from all the leaves and dirt. That camo is good. Oh, but I did see a baby bat hiding in the brush.

No, not really. But I just realized my day probably wasn't really all that exciting to anyone else, so I've got to spice it up somehow. Just trying to keep you guys on your toes.

I came home and Jenna demonstrated some yoga moves she learned at a class she took at the gym. I'm intrigued with yoga now. We decided to get our hands on a yoga DVD for the roommates to exercise in the living room. Sonia, Mandy, and I used to do that back at the old Cobblestone Apt. #11. It was one of our first roommate bonding moments. And then we'd have anorexic popsicles afterward.

Anyway, Jenna decided she wanted to go study at Starbucks, and lucky for me, it was one of those times when she wanted a buddy. (Jenna distracts herself too easily when she studies, so sometimes she has to go alone.) Starbucks was closing in an hour, so we went to Cosmos instead (yay!) and snagged the couch facing the street ouside, which was all lit up in pretty La Mesa Blvd. fashion. A guy was performing that night, but otherwise there were very few people there, so we got a lot done.

We took a trip to Wal-Mart to get me a new cooler for the start of soccer season. While we were there, Jenna lamented how sometimes she just wants to buy things for the sake of buying things, because she hasn't bought anything for a long time. And then she commented on how practical I was with my money and how I never let the temptation to buy unnecessary things overcome me.

Worst. Jinx. Ever.

Because then we walked through the clothes section. And I saw they'd replenished the rack where I'd bought this really cute and great fitting shirt a few weeks ago. And now there were MORE!

And I ended up breaking my no-spend pledge.

Curse you, Jenn-ay, and your terrible jinx.

After that, we came home, made cookies, and got back to work at the kitchen table. And then on Facebook I got an offer from one of my aviation buddies to go flying sometime. He suggested tomorrow morning, but I'm going to need a little more time to get used to the idea. I've never flown before, after all. And I don't like heights. Or small, cramped spaces. All of which pose a problem for flying.

But this is the year for fun and risk-taking, right?

(Now that I'm done with it, I realize this is the longest. post. ever. And it's pretty irrelevant to anything. I blame the endorphins from running and being out in the sun. Exercise makes me talk really, really fast about random things. Hmmm... maybe I should save that for my next confession.)