God romances my heart :)

podcasts

I just started listening to podcasts again after a long hiatus.

They're so refreshing.

They're good to listen to while working out, driving for long periods of time, walking to class, waiting or while you're unwinding before you go to sleep.

I recommend the one by Mosaic.

Do you guys have any you recommend? :)

snailmail

In hardboiled a few weeks ago we went around and shared our guilty pleasures. One of the girls said hers was reading the magazines that other people in her apartment complex have ordered and then putting them back on the shelf of mailboxes after she's read through them all. At the time I didn't think much of it. Until yesterday when I saw 2 issues of Vogue and 1 issue of Elle magazine sitting on my mailbox shelf as I sadly closed my mailbox after finding no mail inside. Isn't it so exciting when you open your mailbox and you actually receive something that is not: bills, useless catalogs that you don't know how you got signed up for, other people's mail that ended up in your mailbox or small notecards from Bank of America reminding you that you overdrafted a week ago? (As if that would be helpful now, a week later, when if you think about it, you could have overdrafted a bajillion times more during that time? Email would be more effective!) No, I am not bitter about my $35 overdraft fee on a $3 cup of coffee..but anyway. Yes so I was looking at these magazines and was seriously considering Elaine's guilty pleasure when I decided to resist reading other people's magazines that they paid to subscribe to and read in a timely manner. I think that's one thing that kind of sucks about moving so often (I've moved apartments every year since 2007) With each new apartment comes a new address, meaning a new address to forward all the things you grew accustomed to having mailed to you. One prime example being my weekly Safeway coupon books and my jcrew/Urban catalogs. To be honest I only really had these things mailed to me because it was nice receiving unnecessary things in the mail with my name on it but now I miss having Safeway coupons and being updated on what's on sale. My roomates used to make fun of me for this, calling me an ajoomah for looking through it -- but you really never know what you can find! When you really want/need something and you see it's on sale, why wouldn't you make that extra effort to go and get it when it's cheaper, right? Anyway! Point is, I didn't steal the other people's magazines. Although I did think about it....

what are your guilty pleasures?

the small things

"the small things count" quote by Steven Lee who says he heard it from Joey.

They do.

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On another note, today was one of my worst nightmares come true. Maybe not a nightmare (because I am a drama queen, apparently..) but it was really quite embarrassing. I slept really early last night at around 12 after an impromptu phone conversation with Christine. I tried to set my alarm and wake up again in 20 minutes but instead I slept through the entire night...a good 8 hours. I never get to sleep 8 hours on a week night! I woke up this morning in a good mood, feeling good about waking up early and being productive with my time. But for some reason, when I got to my 3rd lecture of the day I was super tired. So unusually tired that I couldn't stay awake, I kept dozing in and out of class which is already bad. It wasn't even like the kind of dozing where your pen starts involuntarily moving everywhere on your notes, leaving you with a page full of illegible notes and random black streaks everywhere. It was worse. I literally couldn't stay awake. But after about 10 minutes of doing this, I straight up knocked OUT while sitting in the second row. It was one of those really good naps but I woke up feeling so happy about my nap that I was shocked to be in a lecture hall after waking up. I totally felt like I should've been in my bed and instead I was in the second row of a poli sci lecture with my professor going on about suffrage rights and the girl sitting next to me is stealing glances at me. At this point all I was thinking is "omg...I hope I didn't sleep talk" I slowly woke up -- trying to engage myself in lecture on the outside but inside all I was trying to do was figure out how long I'd been sleeping, if I'd sleep talked or done anything equally embarrassing...I couldn't really tell. Kind of at the point of giving up, I decided to just resort to taking notes again. Thankfully too much time hadn't passed since the slides hadn't moved. It was either that I didn't sleep too long or my professor just forgot to change it. The poor guy was pulled out of retirement so he could teach this class, and he wears a hearing aid. But he wears wayfarer sunglasses which I find adorable.

Professor, sorry I fell asleep in your class (and potentially sleep talked a little) I'll try not to do it again.

So, my question, why is it that I felt so tired when I slept SO much the night before? I'm so confused...someone once told me a long time ago that the amount of sleep you get in a certain night affects you not the day right after but the day after that. Is that scientifically proven? Hmm...

when you really like something

So recently I discovered the goodness that is the plain bagel with sundried tomato spread at Sack's Coffehouse. It's right next to our church, and so that makes it convenient. (Interestingly enough, I've always been able to find a good coffeehouse near every church I've been consistently going to. My past 2 home churches have all had really good Starbucks and now Livingwater has Sacks!) But anyway, I digress. So recently I found out about the bagel and have slowly been trying to convert my friends to it too (this past Sunday -- success!) But ever since yesterday it's been on my mind. I had it this past Sunday so that's only 3 days ago but yesterday I really started thinking about it again and how yummy it is. I tried going to Noah's bagel bc it's closer to my house but their plain bagel + sundried tomato & basil was not as good, I sadly admit. They spread way too much on there for you, and while I thought the basil would be a pleasant addition to the taste, I was sorely mistaken. And on top of it all, they don't cut the bagel for you in half which makes it very hard for me to eat. If you know me and how I eat my burgers, you'll know what I mean. So anyway, yesterday I had been planning to make my way over to Sack's to grab that bagel for lunch. OH! The other thing I really like about bagels is that it really fills me up for at least 4-5 hours which is the equivalent of an entire meal! And for only $2.75 that is not a shabby idea, at least for me (aka broke college student trying to save every buck I can) but unfortunately I got tied up and wasn't able to make it over to Sack's. So today when I woke up I was pretty determined I was going to get that bagel. I tried to get up earlier than usual and took the bus and got my bagel and a cup of freshly squeezed orange juice. The orange juice was kind of a splurge but I was on my commute to work so I thought I deserved a nice kick of Vitamin C.

So why am I posting this long post about bagels? Because as I was staring at my bagel on my desk at work, I had to laugh to myself. Why did I go the 5 blocks out of my way to work just to get this bagel? I really like it that much. You know you really like something, when you will go out of your way to get it, when you will move that extra distance in order to have it. And then it made me think, God came all the way over here to our world, full of sin & persecution, knowing full well what was in store for Him and yet He came all the way here, for us. Why? Because He loves us so much more than we can imagine....so much more than I love my Sack's bagel. Thank you Jesus, for coming that far, for letting us know we were worth it because you love us THAT MUCH.

Protect This House

Cambo 2k8: Protect This House.

Let's never forget Cambodia

Let's never forget the mission

Let's never forget the team

a different kind of cute

Today on my way out of Haas I overheard a guy leaving a voicemail for his mom. His message went something like this "Hey mom, so I interviewed for the position yesterday and I left feeling pretty good about it and today they called me and I got it!! (I insert exclamations cus he was really excited at this point) Thanks for asking about it, I'm really happy I got it. But yeah, just call me back when you get the chance. K, thanks mom I hope you're doing well too, talk to you soon" I don't really remember every single detail but it went something like that. And I realize I am kind of a creeper for listening to him, but it made me smile anyway because I think it's really cute when grown guys have good relationships with their moms.

I hope my brother will never forget how to treat my mom well :)

why?

I wish I wasn't this way, the way I am.

But then again You show me I am so in need of Your grace.

Again You show me I am worthless in this world without You and Your purpose.

Help me, to learn, to change.

Keep me from the ways I am prone to.

Instead lead me to the choices that please You.

confusion..

I was at the Chevron restroom today on the drive down to socal....on my way out I ran into a dude. It took the both of us a good five seconds as we tried to figure out who was the one confused and in the wrong bathroom. Thinking I was the one who messed up, I ran out of there and checked the sign. Thankfully, it was he who was mistakened and not myself.

I have bad memories of running into the mens bathroom by accident...

what i'm munching on these days

Sometimes when I pray I think I have to reveal myself in a certain light to God. It's funny to think of it that way, but that's the truth. Of all people, to God I feel like I have to be a certain way when I approach him in prayer, when He knows me the best. As if I have to have it figured out already when I go to Him in prayer, in fact I don't really remember the last time I prayed to God in frustration or disappointment. I am learning that God just wants me as I am, at that very moment. Not the way I think He wants me to be, but just me the way I am. These excerpts are from Richard Foster's Prayer:

God is perfectly capable of handling our anger and frustration and disappointment. "Lay before Him what is in us, not what ought to be in us" - CS Lewis

the offering of ourselves can only be the offering of our lived experience, because this alone is who we are. And who we are--not who we want to be--is the only offering we have to give.

christmas wish list

It cost me $5.50 and 3 hours to do 2 loads of laundry today. I don't know what the standard rates are, but that seems like too much money and too much time for me.

Anyone wanna buy me a clothes washer & dryer for Christmas? Thanks a bunch!

on another note:

it's a pretty awesome feeling when you try to pay for the parking meter and you find that there's already some time left on it! Sweetness!

on yet another note:

Fire, fire please leave our city alone. Fire, fire please go away...far far away.