Monday, July 27, 2009
So since my last post, life has been filled with non-stop adventures! Gotta love that right? But that means LOTS of pictures (as usual)! So I guess the first announcement might as well be the biggest… Weight Loss – So I’ve lost a total of 27 pounds as of today! Better yet, I’m able to fit into jeans I haven’t been able to wear for over two years! I love it! Oh and I have lost a total of 27 inches all over! Yup, I feel great! I’m so close to my first goal! I’m proud of myself. And I have no desire to falter or cheat. Ok so there are those days but they haven’t happened in a while. I want to lose the weight at a healthy rate. And, I haven’t been working out as consistently as I would like to but I’m still very happy with my success! In my last post I had to run off and didn’t finish explaining the wedding and the busiest day of the month last month. 6.19.09 Terrance & Holly’s Wedding - I can’t share the pictures of the wedding because I haven’t given them to the bride and groom yet. I’m waiting on them for something so I don’t like sharing until they have access to them first. So it should be sometime next week. 6.20.09 Toni Michels Funeral – Well there is nothing good about funerals. I will say it felt like a reunion of the old Aspen Street Crew, though I wish it was under different circumstances. Toni had a big impact on my youth. It’s hard to imagine I won’t see her, on this earth at least. Steve had written his thoughts out because he knew he wouldn’t be able to make it through talking about it. His brother read it for him. The one statement that stood out to me is that every time he goes to bed and wakes up he will feel the sorrow of her loss the most… Wow! How true and real is that? I went to school with Shawn and I got teary a lot during his talk, but it wasn’t until his oldest daughter got up to speak that the tears flowed. She talked about how her Nana always said she loved her more then the universe and broke down in the middle and Shawn had to finish for her. It was so tender... She ended it saying "Nana, I love you more then the universe". Yeah, not a dry eye in the place. She passed away from Breast Cancer so the entire family wore pink of some sort which I thought was fitting. The women wore brown dresses with pink ribbons in the pattern. The guys wore black shirts with pink pin stripes and pink ties with a breast cancer sweat band on their forearm. All the grandkids wore pink of some sort as well. After the service I got a chance to talk to the family and it was an emotional morning. Toni will be missed. 6.20.09 Sasha's Going Away Party - I left there and had to rush to get lunch and head down to Sasha’s going away party in Yucaipa. Here are a couple of my favorite shots. It was a nice time. I didn’t get to hang out with Sasha that much but it’s always so relaxing at the Clements’s home.        6.20.09 and Poet Sky @ Old Towne Pub Pasadena – I made my way out to Pasadena to make sure I would get there in time. The drive was relaxing. I was looking forward to the show and the venue has so much character I was looking forward to taking more pictures there again. I had a great time that night! Poet Sky was on fire! Their last show at this venue was a bit of a disappointment for them but this one I think more then made up for it. And it was a late night!      6.29.09 Laguna – My sister and I had an appointment in Irvine again. And since we were both going down together for once, we decided to spend the afternoon at our favorite beach afterwards. I love Laguna! I found it difficult to just sit and relax. I wanted to be exploring, taking pictures or walking around. Heidi on the other hand enjoyed reading and lying on the beach.     I posted a status update on Facebook and a friend called me and had a recommendation for where we should eat for lunch, Sun Dried Tomato. I was laughing but he took care of everything! Made the reservation and even suggested what we were to eat and where to sit while we were there. And we got there and decided against outdoor seating only because it had gotten chilly and we also decided against his food recommendations because of the day’s specials. It was yummy! All-in-all a great day!    7.1.09 Monthly Worship Concert – My church, The Place, is putting on monthly concerts the first Wednesday of every month. This was our very first one and I am thrilled to say it was a success! We even had a hotdog cookout because it was so close to the 4th of July. We had a great time! I’m looking forward to the next one!                7.4.09 4th of July – I normally don’t get out to the fireworks but was happy to be able to this year. We met up with some family friends and I was impressed with the show.           7.10-12.09 Santa Cruz – My sister was hired to do makeup for a wedding up in Santa Cruz. They paid for the cost of her travel, her hotel room as well as paid for her time. Since I don’t have a lot going on, she asked if I wanted to join her. Of course I said yes! How cool is it to experience a trip up the coast at no cost to me other then food!? So, we decided to take the scenic route which was the 101 to the 1 since we were leaving Friday and had the time. It was such a great time with Heidi and I, we had so much fun being silly and listening to great music.          It was such a beautiful drive! I had a hard time not stopping every few minutes to take pictures!           Saturday was the day of the wedding and while Heidi started work on the bridesmaids I had made arrangements to meet up with my friend James. James and I have been friends for years (10+ easy)! He usually has to come down to Southern California for us to hang out so this time I was actually able to meet him up in his territory! We’d always ended up at Santa Monica Pier when he’d come down and he’d always say it was nothing like Santa Cruz Boardwalk. And sure enough he was right! I loved it there! We had a great time walking around, talking and catching up and of course me taking lots of pictures!      I got back in just enough time to get ready for the wedding that evening. James stuck around so that after the ceremony we went back to the boardwalk and then went to Downtown Santa Cruz and walked around. It was a great day.         Sunday we took the boring route back down the 5 Fwy because we were on a time crunch. My brother’s band, Poet Sky, was playing and we had decided to be the hard core fans and drive 5+ hours to go see their show in Pomona that night. 7.12.09 Poet Sky & AMP in Pomona – Before the show I wasn’t sure I had the energy to make it through but as usual once I start snapping pictures I was energized! The show was originally supposed to be in a bar but there was some confusion and luckily they were able to play out in a courtyard which I thought worked out better!           It was a long crazy weekend but nothing compared to what was coming the following weekend! 7.17.09 Camp Schultz Practice – Andy had asked me if I had time to go take pics of his band while they practiced for their show the next day. It was a short practice and early enough that I was able to stop by for about an hour and take some shots. I was pretty happy with how they turned out.       7.17.09 Club E (a Gothic Event) – My good friends Joe and Erica had put on a big Gothic party for Erica’s birthday. They wanted me to take pictures for it and were generous enough to pay me for my time. I had a great time shooting pictures and enjoying the nostalgia of my old wannabe Goth days just out of high school. It was a bit of a reunion as a lot of the people there were friends from that time.             7.18.09 Pasadena Photo Walk – The only bummer about my late night out was that I had already agreed to be in Pasadena the next morning at 7:30! Yeah I got like 2 hours of sleep, but I don’t often get out there and take artistic shots of random places. But that was the point of the event and I took advantage. Sadly we were all supposed to meet up after a couple of hours but the location they set wasn’t opened for another hour so everyone just kind of went their separate ways. I was looking forward to checking out what other people shot. Anyways, we got done and with the lack of sleep and being out in the hot sun, I was definitely losing it. I needed sleep bad! I got home and took a nap for a few hours and had to get ready for my final shoot of the weekend.      My friend James had been the one to invite me to the event and we stayed close while taking our pictures through Old Town Pasadena. We plan on going back out on our own August 15th and we’re going to invite anyone who wants to go to join us. If you’re interested let me know. 7.18.09 Camp Schultz and others with CJ Ramone – So Andy and Chris were pretty excited about their show with CJ Ramone who was going to be playing all the old Ramones songs. My other friends, Voting with Bullets, were there as well so I knew a lot of people at the show.                At some point in the evening I lost all gumption. I believe it was the lack of sleep catching up with me because I got unreasonably moody. I struggled to even want to be there. I felt like I knew everyone but that there was no one there that I could hang out with. Everyone I knew was in the bands playing so they were too busy. By the time CJ Ramone came on I just wanted to leave. Mike from Camp Schultz convinced me to stay because when was I going to get a chance like this again? I was glad I did stay but I didn’t close out the event, I stayed for about half the set. Job Hunt – So I had a pretty big let down this week. I interviewed for an Admin II position for the Pharmacy at Kaiser in Victorville on Monday. I felt good about the interview and sent out my thank you letter as soon as I got home. I found out Friday that they went with someone with Pharmacy experience, which makes sense but I was pretty down. She told me I did great in the interview and thought the thank you letter was definitely a nice touch (thanks Russ!). I have another job I’m still waiting to hear back from but it’s been dragged out because of some issues beyond their control, so I’m not sure when that one will be confirmed one way or another. So it’s taken me over a week to complete this post! Hopefully it won’t be this long before I can post again. I really need to start writing less or posting more often. Not sure. Labels: A Chair's Photography, Inspiration, Photography, Photoshoots, Pictures, Rambling, Random, Travel, Updates, Weigh In
posted by Charity at 7/27/2009 10:46:00 PM
Friday, May 15, 2009
I've had a productive week. Actually I've been pretty busy the last couple of weeks, but I consider productive as doing the things I've had on my To Do list! Since being unemployed I've struggled with the constant battle of keeping a positive attitude and being motivated. I've failed at times. But this week I've been pretty successful at keeping a positive and upbeat attitude. I'm going on 3 months being unemployed. It sure doesn't feel like it though! Movies (And my reviews of them hehe) - In the last few weeks I've been going to a lot of movies. I have been really excited to see X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Star Trek and Terminator Salvation. I will say I was slightly disappointed in Wolverine. I wouldn't say it was a bad movie just not as good as I had expected. I can't say enough about Star Trek! I've seen it twice in theaters! I loved each of the characters. I am hoping that because of the fact that it's an alternate universe they are going to continue making the series with the group they have now. I have a huge crush on Zachary Quinto as it is. And he was an excellent Spock! Yup, one of my favorite movies recently! I've had only two friends say they didn't think it was that great but most of my other friends agree with me, it was an excellent movie! And Terminator Salvation obviously hasn't come out yet. So hopefully that one won't disappoint. I went to a couple other movies at the request of other people. My mom invited me to go see Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, and not that I had any expectation of the movie to begin with, I wasn't at all impressed. I felt the concept had been done too many times for it to be interesting. You knew how it would end. And it just wasn't that funny. I left thinking "eh..." and that's it! One movie that did surprise me was 17 Again. On Mother's Day it was decided that the girls would all go to the movies and let the guys stay home and relax. Megan really wanted to see the movie since it had Zac Efron whom I've never thought much of. But I was highly surprised and quite entertained. Even if the concept had been done before there was something redeeming about the movie. It's possible that because I had absolutely NO desire or expectations of liking the movie that I was pleasantly surprised but I've heard good things about the movie since I went to it. My favorite character is Ned Gold the rich geek best friend! So there ya have it. The movies I've seen recently and what I thought of them. Missing Alliance - This last weekend I realized how much I miss my old job. I had lot of conflicts with the people, but towards the end, I'd say even a year ago I was well on my way to LOVING my job and the people I worked with (well with maybe one exception lol). At the end I was thoroughly enjoying the challenges being brought before me. Sure studying for my AAP was a lot of pressure but I find that I like that. I miss it. I miss the people I worked with, even though we all do our best to keep in touch, it's just not the same. It's hard to imagine where I'll work next. The Future - I've been taking a personal inventory. I went to my parents and my old supervisor and asked them what they saw as my strengths and weaknesses. It was interesting the feedback I got and helpful on the personal side but I also need to use it for the direction of my future career. I feel I'm at a cross roads. Really I have a lot of different directions I can take in my life. The question is what direction do I feel God is calling me to? He's given me my strengths and interests for a reason. Now how can I use that to my benefit? Every job I've ever had I've just kinda landed in. I finally heard back from the Pasadena job, they can't afford me and I'm not willing to settle for less especially since they expected me to move down there. So we'll see what God has in store. A Chair's Photography - The other side of this unemployment is that my photography seems to be going somewhere. I took pictures of a wedding May 2nd and was asked for my business card a few times. I didn't have any made so I should look into that. The other thing is I've had to borrow my friend Ludek's equipment because I don't have some of it to make shooting easier. Until now, with some of the money I got from my last wedding shoot I bought all the items I'd been borrowing! An external flash, diffuser, an extra battery and a tripod are all on their way. I got a great deal. Everything was A LOT cheaper then I had anticipated. My next big purchase is a new lens but that will be a while before I can afford something that pricey. Here are a couple of my favorite shots of the wedding on May 2nd for Brad and Randi at the Redlands Temple, reception shots are in someone's backyard in Apple Valley             Jesse - So the 3rd anniversary of Jesse's death was Wednesday this week. He's been on my mind quite a bit. I've actually been reading the blogs I've posted (listed below) of when it happened. 5/13/065/14/065/17/06I wonder at times what our friendship would be like if he were still alive. I know I let go a lot of the pain and resentment of our relationship at the funeral. I have gone to Disneyland a couple times in the last few weeks and I couldn't help but think of him. We had season passes when we were dating. I really miss him. Disneyland - So yes, I went to Disneyland back on May 4th (with Andie) as well as May 14th (with Ron)! I had a blast both times. I love Disneyland! And with the passes you can enjoy a fairly cheap day of entertainment! Andie and I have a lot of the same interests at Disneyland so it's always fun with her. It was the first time I went with my friend Ron and was amazed at how different my Disneyland experience was! He showed me sides of Disneyland I had never even heard of! It was fantastic! I can't wait to show Andie! :) Mostly it was performers but I was thoroughly impressed. And on top of that I learned of a new talent of his! He plays the piano phenomenally! My jaw dropped to the floor when he played three of my favorite classical songs beautifully! And then he shared a few of the songs he's written himself! ... Amazing! It was great to get to know him better. And we're for sure going to Disneyland again after my blockout dates have passed. So here are a couple pictures of my two trips.            Santa Cruz - Heidi has been hired to do makeup for a wedding I believe the second weekend in July up in Santa Cruz. She's asked me join her. The gas and hotel are being paid for by her client, which is freakin awesome! I'm soo happy she invited me! I can't wait! And I will get to finally visit with my good friend James in his neck of the woods. :) All at relatively no cost to me! :D And I'm so excited for a new place to take pics! So that's it for now. Enjoy the pics. Labels: A Chair's Photography, Disneyland, Photoshoots, Pictures, Rambling, Travel, Updates
posted by Charity at 5/15/2009 10:30:00 AM
Monday, September 08, 2008
Fender Bender - So I got into an accident this morning. Luckily the damage was minimal and to my car only. I met Mike at Starbucks this morning and was backing out. There was a delivery truck in my way so I was being careful to not back into it. Sadly this girl was on the side I wasn't watching as carefully. I barely bumped her but she was a total bitch about it. I guess she honked but I wasn't able to hear her because of my music. And honestly it wasn't that loud! But I felt horrible. I looked and her car was perfectly fine. I saw a slight scratch on mine but she said she could feel something fold so she checked her entire front end. She was exasperated! It ended up that my bumper got pushed out of place. I was totally shaky. She wasn't very nice about it even when she realized I had the only damage. I pulled back into my spot and Mike checked it out. He knew it was something he could push back into place. Mike agreed the lady was a little oddly pissed off considering I had the damage. I felt a little better but honestly this was the first accident I had gotten into in YEARS (I got into one a year or so after I got my license but it was the other guys fault) and this was the ONLY one that was my fault! I think that's what made it so hard to let go. I knew I looked from all angles before backing up but I was so cautious about that delivery truck and the idea that I couldn't hear her honking really bothered me. So it took me a few hours to let it go. Anyways there's a lot to share! So I will probably just give quick updates. My Birthday - My birthday was pretty awesome! On the actual day I was so surprised at how many people made an effort to wish me Happy Birthday. :) I felt totally special! I went to work and after work went to my parents for a special birthday dinner.    Saturday, September 6th BootieLA- I went out to dinner at Red Robin with my sister and Andie. Rachel sadly couldn't make it because she was sick... I mean REALLY sick. I felt so bad. And I was bummed she wouldn't be apart of my birthday celebrations like she has been pretty much since we became friends in Jr High. After dinner we drove down to pick up Russ and made our way to Echoplex for BootieLA. Yet again I had an absolute blast! I love that event! I will be going again soon!     AAP Conference in Vegas September 8th - 11th - This was my first business trip and I was oddly nervous about it. But it was actually A LOT of fun! We got to Vegas at about 5pm and my friend Debbie met up with us and we went to dinner. After dinner Debbie and I decided to go hang out and catch up.  Tuesday I was able to sleep in a little since my first class didn't start till noon. I was one of the only people in my class taking the AAP test this year and so the teacher called on me a lot. I was happy to say I knew all but one question he directly asked me. After the class they had a reception dinner. It was interesting to be able to talk to people who have taken the test. I felt more comfortable. After the reception dinner I called Debbie to come meet up with me again and we just hung out at the hotel. We ended up hanging out at Toby Keith's bar in the hotel. It was pretty rowdy and they had a band playing country music, and normally I would say that wasn't my thing, but I was highly entertained by it all.    Wednesday was my long day in classes. It was a lot of information but I was able to talk to more people about the AAP test during our breaks and in one session we broke into discussion groups and at lunch one of the people in my discussion group said I seemed knowledgeable! lol that made me feel pretty good. :) And the end of the day I just wanted to get out of there. My brain was fried. I went to dinner with Jody and my friend Armando met me at the hotel at about 9 and we went out to bowling and then to Freemont Street. He kept asking if I'd done different Vegas things, most of them I hadn't. He was bummed we hadn't been able to hang out before that night but that's how it worked out.     Thursday I was able to sleep in a little because my teleseminar didn't start until 10am. I had to be packed before the teleseminar because as soon as it was over we had to check out. We left Vegas and stopped off at State Line to grab some lunch. I didn't get home till about 5pm. But was thankful for all the information I got and also for the opportunity to go! Photoshoot - So my friend James came up with this cool idea for a photoshoot. It wasn't the first time I had heard of the concept and thought it was a great idea for a photoshoot. Basically it's been said if you take a fluorescent light and stick it in the ground under power lines it will light up. There are a few different factors that we knew by the article James read. So we decided to test it. We met out in the Oak Hills area and we stopped at a spot and stuck a fluorescent light into the ground and sure enough it started to glow! We decided to try another place that's a little further out that James remembered off the 395. It seemed brighter and we made the choice to set up a photoshoot, but there are a lot of technical things we need to work out so I'm not sure how soon this will be happening.  Labels: Birthday, Car, Photoshoots, Pictures, Rambling, Random, Travel, Updates
posted by Charity at 9/08/2008 11:34:00 PM
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Well I'm sitting on my bed, typing this blog. This is a different feeling... I have a laptop. It's mine. But it's a hand me down. A rather nice one too. Only problem: No battery life, it always has to be plugged in. Not much freedom in that is there? I guess I can always go get a new battery right? Ok so too much to babble on about to be rambling about the laptop. The move is complete! I won't say we're settled just because unpacking is going to take a while! And with my schedule it might take longer then I would like. Tonight is my last night in the new place till Monday night! Tomorrow my sister is going in for surgery to fix her Otosclerosis (a progressive degenerative condition of the temporal bone which can result in hearing loss) and the doctor's have stated that she should not make the trip back up the Cajon Pass during the first few days after her surgery. The surgery is to take place in San Bernardino. And Sam's mom was nice enough to offer to let us stay at their place in Yucaipa after the surgery. I should be packing but this is the first time I've had internet since Saturday. Of course at work I can connect but things have been a little hectic there and I haven't had a lot of time to spend on the internet. Tomorrow morning I'm going down to Pasadena for a compliance class in place of a girl that quit this week. I guess it's safe to say that I have gotten a promotion. They haven't figured out the title to give me as I will be dealing with my normal duties but taking on the compliance issues as well. This also means a raise. woohoo! I have a lot to learn but they are willing to pay for my training. There is a test in October that if I can take and pass will make me AAP Certified (Accredited ACH Professional) and will be something I can take with me. Yesterday was the 2 year anniversary of Jesse's death. It hit me last night as I grabbed a box and saw Orenthal Wantsomemore (a stuffed arrangatang that Jesse bought me when we were dating). I am sad. I've thought about him quite a bit in the last couple of months. I mentioned it to Joshua at work today and he asked if it still hurts me. I'm not sure what I feel. I know he's in a better place. I know he and I weren't the best of friends when he passed away but I always knew he would call every-now-and-then and we'd talk, joke and laugh. I miss his constant impersonations. I miss him. Also this weekend is Turtle and Amber's wedding reception which I am taking pictures of. I'm really looking forward to it! Well it's my bedtime. I have an early morning and busy schedule ahead of me. That's all for now... Labels: Rambling, Travel, Updates
posted by Charity at 5/14/2008 09:58:00 PM
Monday, December 03, 2007
I’ve had a fairly productive weekend. Saturday I was able to clean the kitchen (which really needed it), do the photo shoot of Misty’s family and the shoot for Poet Sky. I hadn’t done laundry since before my trip to Montana so I caught up on that. Today after church and a much needed nap, I cleaned my bathroom and organized the pictures from the photo shoots so that I can give them the best shots. I still need to clean my room and decorate for Christmas but I figure that can be done little by little during the week. I am still not 100% which is part of the reason I desperately needed a nap, I felt I was overdoing it a bit. Alliance Christmas Potluck - Tomorrow we’re having the Alliance Christmas Potluck. We opted out of a Christmas party this year since we were told it meant more money on our bonus checks if we didn’t. I will make sure to take pictures. The office was decorated last week and it looks really nice. If I don’t get any decorations up at my place I won’t feel bad cause I have plenty of twinkle lights at the office to make up for the lack at home. And pretty much I spend more time at the office then I do at my own place! Montana - Man I want to share about my trip to Montana but I’m just not sure I have the energy to go into an obnoxiously long post. I’ll do my best to sum up. I wrote about getting to my Cousin Joey’s place in Colorado at about 2am Tuesday night (or I should say Wednesday morning). 11.21.07 - The next morning we woke up at 7 to get back on the road. We got on the road at about 9am and got up to my grandparents place around 6:30pm. There was one section of road that was pretty icy. I was with my cousin Joey and her girls and my sister was driving the truck with my brother and her kids. She lost control and spun out. It was pretty freaky and amazing that no damage was done! They turned completely three times and ended up on the outer bank of the frontage road facing the correct direction and were able to just start driving again. The amazing thing is within a couple of miles my cousin and I saw (no exaggeration!) 15-20 cars unable to recover from their loss of control on the ice! God was definitely watching over Heidi. It was quite the site to walk into my grandparents place and see all the great grandkids running around playing. It was the epitome of chaos but it was awesome! (The once-in-a-lifetime kind of chaos) I was so thankful to see Shawn and his family there. After our hellos and hanging out for a bit we were assigned the locations we were going to be staying. Brian and I were going to be staying with my cousin Clint, Joey and her kids were joining us. Heidi and the kids were staying with my cousin Kerri. Shawn and his family already claimed my Aunt Darlene’s place. And my parents were going to be staying with my grandparents. 11.22.07 – Thanksgiving Day – My cousin Joey had arranged for she and I to volunteer at a soup kitchen but they had enough volunteers for serving food but needed people to deliver meals, so she and I went as planned but Kerri and Heidi joined us to keep us company and because Kerri knew the location better then Joey. It was quite an interesting experience and if I felt like it I would go into our experiences at a couple of the drops. We made 9 stops and were back to Clint’s place in perfect timing for dinner. Clint’s place was the only place big enough to fit all the family and I know he wanted to show the place off! Rightfully so, he has a great place! I was thoroughly impressed he was able to decorate himself! It’s not the typical bachelor pad at all! We had great food. Even had snowball fights. Brenda pointed out that Shawn seems to enjoy picking on me. He got me pretty good. When everyone started to head out, the girls were planning how to tackle the shopping the next morning. I’ve never been one to do the day-after Thanksgiving shopping but it’s a tradition for them so I tag along for the ride. Either way we were going through the paper and all the different specials and planned our route. I didn’t get to bed till midnight but Joey and I were told to be up and ready by 4:45 am! 11.23.07 – Day after thanksgiving shopping – It was Kerri, Heidi, Brenda, Joey and myself all packed into my grandpa’s Jimmy as we took off for our first stop. Even being there when it opened wasn’t enough. The main item on our list was already sold out. But without boring you all with details our shopping didn’t take as long as we expected! The lines were reasonable and the stores organized. The longest wait was at Target. We were done with our shopping by about 10 or 11am! We decided to stop and get brunch. Sam’s Call - After brunch I was shocked to see Sam on my caller id. He called to tell me he had proposed to Sara. I was immediately thankful he called me! In one of our chats I had asked him to tell me so I wouldn’t find out by someone else. He told me the details of how he proposed. I was genuinely happy for him! I knew it was a matter of time and they seem like a great fit. The call was pleasant and I kept feeling so grateful that our friendship has stayed intact to this level. It wasn’t till I went back to the table and told my sister I could use a hug that emotions started to arise. I wasn’t sure where they were coming from. I got teary eyed. I know I gave a part of my heart to Sam, and I believe that part was mourning. I didn’t have time to address the emotions because we were on the way back out. I expected that I stuffed the emotions and would have to revisit them later. When I took the time revisit them, I was surprised that I wasn’t emotional. And if I think about it, 4 hours of sleep and a hectic morning might have been the only reason tears of any kind were shed! I mean even now I am so very happy for him. Heidi’s job - After we got back from shopping we had no time to relax and catch up on much needed sleep. Heidi was set to do everyone’s hair at Darlene’s place. The house was full and busy but it was good. I got my second wind and had a fairly decent night. 11.24.07 - Portraits - I was able to sleep till a normal time this day. I took my time getting ready since we had to be dressy for the family portrait. Clint, Brian and I just had to be down at the coop by noon for pictures and the surprise party was immediately afterwards. I helped my aunt finish up some of the last minute stuff for the party when I got there. A couple family members were late so the pictures didn’t start on time. The photographer noticed my camera and apparently I had a better model then he had! Hehe He seemed impressed and even asked to take pictures with my camera as well as his. He said my camera was the Cadillac of cameras and his was a cheaper model. I can’t remember which car he referred to his as, something like a dodge neon. So we got a family portrait. 36 of us total! Crazy! Grandpa’s Surprise 90th birthday party – The party was a John Deere theme of course. It was setup where we took our pictures so all my grandpa thought was that he was going to the coop for pictures but once he got there he saw the setup. Because of the late start with the pictures people were arriving before we were done. The party was a success and I could tell my grandpa felt special. After the party and the cleanup we went back to my grandparent’s farm to watch him open his presents. The sun hadn’t completely set so I rushed around to get some shots of the farm. My grandparents have been talking about moving into an assisted living place for the last couple of years and we’re not sure how much longer they are going to be at the farm. Once we got through the gifts we realized grandpa needed some rest and it was our last night there so we decided to go to the movies. The kids all wanted to see “Enchanted” and I can’t lie, I actually thought it would be interesting to see. Joey, Nate and Bailey chose to go see Fred Claus but the rest of us went to Enchanted. It was cute. Again I got to bed at midnight and had to be packed and on the road by 4:30 am! 11.25.07 - Brian and I were on the road by 4:30! I was impressed. We had to drive over to Kerri’s place to pick up Heidi and the kids. We were 1 mile from our exit when a deer jumped out from the left and we hit it! I remember it feeling like both sets of tires ran over it. It happened so fast! I could hear something dragging and I was afraid to find out it was part of the deer. So we pulled over and Brian went to check it out and I stayed just in case it was a bloody mess… Brian’s mouth dropped open when he looked at the damage and told me to come out. I tried to open the door but it was jammed shut! We weren’t sure what to do so we drove the couple miles to my cousin’s place to come up with a game plan. I crawled through the driver’s side and saw that the wheel well was what was dragging as we drove. The whole front right side was totaled! And no sign of blood but a tiny little bit of hair. We got inside and Brian decided to try to get in touch with his insurance company and also the highway patrol so they could write up a report for insurance purposes. We weren’t sure if we were going to be able to drive it home or what! My cousin Joey and her family stopped by on their way back to Colorado and said they couldn’t see a deer anywhere on the side of the road. Nate is a mechanic so he checked out the truck and said it looked drivable. We slept on and off waiting for call backs from the police and insurance people. The police ended up not coming because we left the scene. Brian’s insurance wasn’t available since it was Sunday. So my dad, grandpa, and Uncle Tom stopped by to help clean up and make it drivable. Before we knew it, it was noon! At about 2:30 we decided to go visit our grandparents. Brian and I were talking and decided that it might be best to leave that night. Our only concern was that with only one headlight we would be more likely to get pulled over. Brian not having a valid driver’s license meant I would have to pull off the night driving. I’ve been on long road trips but not usually behind the wheel. I felt confident so I agreed to do it. We got on the road at about 7:30pm. I was a little panicked for the first 3 hours of the drive because we were in prime deer area and I kept reliving the deer that morning jumping out with no time to react. I only had one headlight but the sky was clear and there was a full moon. I could actually see the deer grazing which helped in some ways, in others it just made me more paranoid of them jumping out at me! Hehe Apparently hitting the deer impacted me because I started to see things after a while. But in the prime deer spots I would just pray in my tongue the whole time. I had a bit of tense driving through Yellowstone. The temp got as low as 5 degrees and the roads were icy in spots. I got pulled over twice. After I explained the situation they were cool. One guy in Idaho said I was also speeding, going 73 in a 65 zone. Luckily he was cool and didn’t give me a ticket. I drove straight through till 2:30am and then asked Heidi if she could take over for a little bit so I could rest my eyes. She was only able to pull 2 hours before she had to have me take over again. So I got back on the road at 4:30 till about 6:30 when the sun was coming up and Brian took over and I slept. Heidi took over from Vegas on and we got home about 1pm! There you have it… Our adventures to, from and in Montana! It’s late. I have more to write but I really need to get to sleep, and besides this is already a long post. Night! Labels: Colorado, Parties, Rambling, Thanksgiving, Travel
posted by Charity at 12/03/2007 12:07:00 AM
Monday, November 12, 2007
So my extended weekend came and went. I’m sitting at my cluttered desk. I am doing some laundry, did some dishes, and have taken the earlier part of the day easy. Brian and I went to see American Gangster down at Victoria Gardens earlier this afternoon. It’s a decent movie, pretty stinkin long though! My friend Jerry didn’t think Denzel played a convincing gangster, I thought he did alright. I should be cleaning my desk and working on some graphics for Jason. Maybe I’ll get to it later tonight. It feels much later then it actually is. Drive to Montana - Right now my brother Shawn is chatting with me about our trip to Montana. Turns out he and his family are driving up from Texas to Colorado Saturday, spending the night at my cousin Joey’s and then making the rest of the trip up to Montana. I can’t afford to take any more time off work then I already am. This means I can’t leave till Monday night after work! So I think I’ve mentioned that I’m going to be driving up to Montana with Brian, Heidi and her two kids. We did this back in November 2005 and it was not easy. But it’s my grandpa’s 90th birthday and the flights were just too expensive. It was originally going to be just Brian and me but Heidi was able to make it and to our surprise the kids are coming too! I’m excited she and the kids can come but it does make the plans a little more complicated. Either way, Shawn originally wanted us to drive through Colorado and meet up with him and we’d all caravan. But now that he’s going up earlier we’re trying to calculate what the best route is. If we don’t go to Colorado Brian is saying we have to make the full trip without stops. I’m trying to convince him to still meet up with Joey in Colorado and finish up the rest of the trip together. Joey wants me to keep her company on the drive from Colorado to Montana (her husband Nate will have to fly out Friday after thanksgiving). My niece and I could go with Joey and that would leave more room in my brother’s truck. It’s a thought. And I’m pretty sure I have Brian convinced that the extra tank of gas is worth it to be able to stop and sleep. I’ve also found out that they are planning a family portrait… A HUGE family portrait since we’re ALL going to be there! This is the first time my entire family, including my brother and his family are going to be in Montana at the same time! Actually the first time we’ll all have been together since the family picture we took on Easter 2005 in California! I’m excited. Also my cousin Joey asked me to join her in volunteering at a soup kitchen in Billings, MT. Thanksgiving morning. Yup, the drive is going to suck no matter what and I just need to accept that. But the trip itself should be good. I can’t believe it’s only a week away! PMS sucks! (Pardon the topic male readers) - I realized the emotional rollercoaster I went through Tuesday was the precursor to the dreaded "monthly bill". The rest of my week went fairly well. No major complaints. What I dislike is the emotional instability during a period. Most of the time I don’t feel as hormonally challenged as I have this month. I feel bad for women that experience the emotional stuff this bad every month! Last week – I had a busy week last week. This week should be mellow. We all know my Tuesday sucked. Wednesday was the complete opposite. After work I went to mid-week service. Thursday I went to dinner with Jerry. We talk on the phone a lot but our schedules rarely allow for us to hang out for very long. Last Sunday I was supposed to go down there and hang out, go to the movies or something, but I misunderstood the plans and we had to reschedule for a weeknight which never leaves for much time to hang out since we both commute. But oh well. We always figure something out. Friday I went over to David and Erin’s to have pizza and watch Ratatouille. It worked out great because I was able to catch up with them and skip the holiday weekend traffic! Saturday I slept in, watched tv all day! My Pampered Chef stuff came so I went through and put everyone’s orders together and washed all my stuff so I could use it! Mike came home with Jerret from unloading his storage unit and putting his stuff in our garage. He and Heidi were celebrating their 1 year anniversary and he was running late so I told him I’d take Jerret home so he could go take a shower and take Heidi out. Apparently this won me some brownie points with Mike. Hehe Jerret ended up keeping me company while I baked cookies for a church meeting the next day. We had a good talk. I’ve pretty much adopted him as my little brother. Sunday was a full day of church. I went to church in the morning and we had a meeting at my parent’s place at 3 and I didn’t leave there till 7. My Dad’s book - I have my dad’s book! It looks great! I haven’t finished reading it. This is the first edition. He signed it for me, wrote a little dedication too. There are only about 100 printed so far. He has some minor technical errors he wanted to fix and then the publishers will send it in for a reprint which at that point it will then be available at Barnes & Noble and Amazon in time for Christmas orders! I’m excited for him and so very proud of him! New Hair – I got my hair redone last week. I loved my hair the day my sister did it. She styled it and everyone that has seen the picture of it just loves it! I also have a picture of how it’s usually styled. It’s definitely darker but it’s more my natural color. So far I’ve had only positive reactions to it, accept for my mom. She says she’s so used to my blond hair it’s taking her a while to get used to it. It’s not that she doesn’t like it. I really like it!   Link to Alliance Halloween Potluck Pictures Link to Poet Sky's Reformation. Basically pictures of them practicing at my place on Sunday afternoons. :) For those of you that have seen a lot of the pictures posted to my blog, well those were the few from many and now ALL the pictures of those events have been posted to my online Album. I haven't updated my album since Easter of this year. So there are a lot of new pictures. Go check them out… My 2007 AlbumLabels: Links, Pictures, Rambling, Thanksgiving, Travel
posted by Charity at 11/12/2007 08:00:00 PM
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Bright Eyes 9/29/07 - So I'm listening to a random selection of their songs as I'm composing this and catching up on laundry for the week. My brother Brian and I had a great time at the show at the Hollywood Bowl. Having the LA Philharmonic Orchestra performing with them was a pretty cool experience. We had awesome seats and it's a great venue, that was my first time there. Scarlett Johansson was sitting a few seats away from us. When I saw her I immediately looked around for my brother who had gone off to get a drink. She was just as pretty in person. Surprisingly when Brian found out she was so close he was like, sure enough, that’s her. But after the show he admitted that if she wasn’t “Scarlett Johansson” then he wasn’t sure if he’d give her a second look because there were so many other hot chicks there. Haha Gotta love my brother. Anyways, I really enjoyed hearing them live. I know the lead singer is an acquired taste but you can't deny his ability to express through words. I'm gonna have to say they are one of my favorite bands at the moment. So here are a couple pics and I'm attempting to upload more then just this one video... blogger couldn't upload the other 2 files because it was too big so I'm testing out Google Video, if it works I'll post them.      Big Bear 10/8/07 - Monday I had the day off so I took a drive up to Big Bear and back... I needed to get away by myself and it's a beautiful drive so I packed a picnic lunch and my cameras and took off. It was absolutely gorgeous up there! Here are some of the pictures I took throughout the day...        Random Thoughts - I was chatting with my friend Tracy. He was lamenting about being out on the dating scene again. I told him I have had a lot of guys interested in making a go of something in the last year but they never keep my interest very long. And the guys I find myself attracted to are either older or set in their ways = not interested enough to make any effort, or even worse they are married. Then it hit me, maybe I don’t want a relationship if I'm only finding myself drawn to unavailable men. They are the safe ones because I know it will never go anywhere and I'm not likely to get hurt. Hmmm.... Interesting... But speaking of being drawn to someone I discovered something rather amusing. I have recently gotten to know this guy that intrigues me more then I would have ever expected him to. I say 'recently gotten to know' because I met this guy last year but didn't really get a chance to talk to him much. As things go, circumstances can bring you closer to an individual, even if it’s only to get to know a couple more details about them. So that being said, anyone that knows my taste in guys knows I like ‘em to have a bit of "geek" to them. Not sure what it is, but a guy who knows his way around a computer, well that just gets me all excited. ;) (Please note the slight sarcasm in the excitement) Either way, this individual has some geek to him. Now also be aware there is a BIG difference between geek and nerd. hehe (refer to "White and Nerdy" video by Weird Al) But he also has tattoos; Interesting combination. Not sure why this intrigues me so much. I drove home Friday I realized that I was drawn to this guy. I laughed when I realized it started when I saw he had tattoos! WTF?! haha Then it hit me! He represents both sides of the spectrum of my two long term serious relationships. Jesse, the "bad boy", full sleeves, kids, ex-wife and played drums in a hardcore band. Then Sam, the "geek", computer guru, total sweetheart and my first true love. I'm guessing that's why I'm drawn to this guy. Not necessarily in the desire to have a relationship with him, but just would love to get to know him better. But knowing he fits both of my "types" I think I'll let it be. :) Grandparents 10/10/07 - So Wednesday night I drove down to Westlake Village with my family to have dinner with my grandparents who are visiting from Minnesota and staying with my cousin. (Sadly I never really get to see my cousin, we've never been that close.) Either way they flew my grandparents out so they could see her new baby. Well last night was the only night we could all meet up with them because the rest of their visit is planned out. My mom, brother, sister and her kids met my dad and I in Ontario and my brother and I took my car out there and the rest of the family drove in my sisters car. I haven't seen my grandparents for at least 8 years! We met at Claim Jumpers for dinner. Here are some pics from the night. I actually let my nephew, Bailey play with my camera and he got some great pics!                        Labels: Pictures, Rambling, Travel, Video Clip
posted by Charity at 10/13/2007 11:52:00 PM
Saturday, August 11, 2007
*Ok so this post was ready last night (Friday the 10th) but FTP was wiggin and I couldn't upload all the pics till today (Saturday the 11th)* So I think I'm finally off of Fiji time. It took a few days to get back on a normal sleep schedule. I came back Monday and couldn't sleep till 2am and slept in till noon Tuesday. Tuesday night I forced myself to climb into bed at 2am but twiddled my thumbs till 4am and got up for work at 7am Wednesday! So Wednesday night I expected to crash early but I ended up talking to Mel up in Washington till almost 11:30! So much for going to bed early, but in the end I think that helped me switch my sleep mode. I came back from Fiji and hit the ground running. Tuesday I ran errands all over the place. Wednesday I went back to work and had bible study that night. Yesterday I met Jerry at Starbucks after work and we talked till about 10 or so. Jerry was surprised I didn't bring my pictures to share, some day I'll get a laptop and won't have that issue. Tonight I went straight home after work and vegged. Tomorrow I plan on cleaning cause the house desperately needs it. I have agreed to go on that "date" tomorrow evening. I don't really know the guy so I'm feeling a little bit awkward about it. Benefit Dinner - I came back from Fiji feeling the heat about getting everything ready in time for the benefit dinner. The trifold isn't completed but my friend Leonard will print them at his cost but it'll take 7 business days to get back. I'm trying to keep everyone motivated but there were some issues that arose with certain individuals when I was gone that I am not sure how to address or whether I even need to. Also the church has fewer people to help out with the projects so people have to take on more then they had to for the last dinner. But I just gotta keep it up in prayer and God will take care of the rest. It's hard not to get overwhelmed at times. Fiji - Fiji was absolutely amazing!!! It was gorgeous and an absolute blast! I remember taking pictures thinking the shots didn't do it justice, but now I look at the pictures and see only beauty! So just imagine even the best shots didn't capture the true beauty of the place! I had a hard time leaving! I had to remind myself that I was living in luxury while I was out there and that if I stayed or lived there it would not be as glorious as my time out there was. Shawn and Brenda made it all possible. They paid for everything! The room, the cab rides, the food! All I had to pay for was the ticket to fly out there and the souvenirs I brought back! I keep asking myself how I'm ever going to show my appreciation to them for helping me experience Fiji! I've been trying to figure out how to explain the trip and show a portion of my 1500 pictures! I can't post all of them obviously and it would be too hard to pick through them. I think I'll pick a favorite or two from each day and throw in a couple showing the highlights or where I stayed etc. Friday July 27th - My parents picked me up from work at about 6:30pm and we made our way to LAX. I'd been sick for the last few days and that day was no different. My parents and I sat in a row together. The flight was oversold so no luck on getting a row with an empty seat. :( I had intended on reading Harry Potter but was too tired to focus on reading it. I had a hard time sleeping though. But slept on and off and watched a portion of The Shooter. Saturday July 28th - lost somewhere over the Pacific Ocean. :) Sunday July 29th - After a 10 hour flight we landed in Nadi (Nandi), Fiji sometime before dawn. I walked down the outside terminal and was blown away at how beautiful the moon was! We were greeted by a group of Fijian's playing their island music. Apparently a lot of flights from LA arrive at the same time. It took a long time to get the luggage. Shawn, Brenda, Amber, Sierrah, Jackson and Gabriel were all there waiting! It was Sunday so all the shops in Nadi were closed. It was quite odd and looked a bit like a ghost town. But we did get some veggies from the small open market and I had the best cream buns ever at a store called the Bread Kitchen which was also open! I learned that "bula" (Boo lah) was how you say hello and "vinaka" (vee nah kah) was thank you. According to Google though the pronunciations I was taught are incorrect... hehe oh well. After the few stops we made our way out to the Yatule (yah too lei) Resort at Natadola (not ten doh lah) Beach. I was lucky enough to get my own Bure (boo-ray). I met High Chief Ratu Osea Gavidi who was the connection that got us the beautiful bure's at the Yatule Resort. He was a totally sweet, down-to-earth man. As soon as I got in my room I changed into a bathing suit and got into the ocean. It was beautiful! Natadola Beach is ranked one of the top 10 beaches in the world! I could see why! Remember my pictures didn't capture its true beauty.         Monday July 30th - I woke up early to try to take pictures of the moon setting on the ocean. I spent the day enjoying the beautiful beach, I did some snorkeling. I spent most of the daylight in the water, took pictures of the sunset and hung out with the fam in the evening.        Tuesday July 31st - I took another try to get pictures of the moon setting, spent the day in the ocean and took more pictures. It was a bit cloudy but still beautiful. We left Natadola Beach and made our way to the WorldMark Resort which is apart of Denarau Island Resorts. Denarau Island Resorts was home to a lot of luxury resorts and WorldMark was on the far left. Port Denarau Layout/Masterplan That evening I was shocked I didn't go exploring. I just stayed in the room and tried to relax.          Wednesday August 1st - Brian arrived in the morning around the same time our flight came in. It was raining so we (the girls = my mom, Brenda, Amber, Sierrah and myself) decided this would be a good day to do our shopping in Nadi. It was great to experience the town. I spent lots of money. My favorite store was Jack's. We went out to eat at Nando's for lunch. Good grub! That evening we spent time as a family. This was the night that my brother Shawn decided to tickle-wrestle me to the ground! He was in a mood for sure! He kept pestering everyone! It was quite funny and Brenda got a video of it and I felt like I was a kid again, wrestling with my big brother. hehe        Thursday August 2nd - I spent some time swimming in the pool, walked up the beach. The Denarau Island Resort complex had what they called the Bula Bus that stopped at every resort and made a full circle of the complex. It was about a 20 – 30 minute ride total, or you could catch it just right from the Sheraton Resort next to The Republic of Cappuccino and it would hit only two resorts before WorldMark, catch it wrong and you went in the complete opposite direction and it would have been faster to just walk. Amber and Sierrah went with me to The Republic of Cappuccino and we met up with my dad and two brothers. They offered free wifi internet so this was the first time I actually touched a computer since the Friday I worked before flying out! And I wrote a bulletin on myspace and a quick email and I was done. I had no desire to be on more then that! Shawn and Brian did their email communication for their work, and my dad was writing more of his book. That evening we decided to go out to dinner at the SeaFront Restaurant which was at our resort and on the beach. Later we just played cards.           Friday August 3rd - Considering I took 1500 pictures during the trip clarifying that I took pictures each day is kind of counterproductive, so yeah I took pictures ALL the time! But I had gotten a little too much color on my upper thighs the day before so I avoided sunbathing but took the opportunity to get some shots of the family enjoying the pool. I also took some pictures around the resort and was able to meet Isei the security guard who had been on duty each day since I had gotten there. He and I hit it off and we decided to meet up and walk down the beach later in the day. I found out during our walk that he wasn’t really allowed to go off with guests so he said if anyone asked he was escorting me to some photography spots. We laughed and had a good time. He said he was going back to Suva to spend time with his family for the weekend but wanted to meet up Sunday night if at all possible. (I never got a chance though). After I got back to the resort we watched Amber's performance as the cowardly lion in her last school play. She’s awesome and definitely needs to stay in drama!           Saturday August 4th - It was Brian's birthday this day. I went down to a timeshare meeting with Shawn, Brenda and my parents. I got free breakfast with Repeka, who was trying to sell me on the timeshare concept (She and I had a lot in common, being the same age and loving to travel, both being interested in older men, her being Methodist and having family members in church leadership). At first I was thinking it was insane but by the end of the presentation I ended up signing up for a WorldMark timeshare! I got a gift certificate for Jack’s so the girls decided to all go shopping again but we discovered there was a Jack’s closer to home and didn’t have to take a cab drive into town but instead just take the Bula Bus to Port Denarau. As we were on our way we met Brian and Shawn who were going out to lunch for Brian's birthday so we decided to join them. We went back for the boys because we discovered a pizza place Mama's Pizza at Port Denarau too! And we had wanted to get pizza for Brian's birthday dinner so it worked out perfect. And as an added bonus they had Fijian Fire Performers in the center of the shopping area. All-in-all it was a great day!             Sunday August 5th - Brian had wanted to go kayaking for his birthday but since our timeshare meetings took so long they rescheduled to kayak this day. I had thought it was just going to be Brian and Shawn but Shawn came back up and told me to get dressed because they were 2 man kayaks and they wanted me and Brenda to join them. I wasn’t sure how I felt about it. I’m afraid of the ocean. I was shocked I got in further then I could touch the bottom out at the Natadola beach but some of the best experiences are when you are spontaneous and don’t think too much about it! I had a good time. I was a little uneasy on the kayak but still enjoyed myself. My brother Brian was the mellow one, Shawn kept trying to get his kayak to ram ours! Stinkin older brothers! Then I was told they were going on a 4 person catamaran and wanted me to go. I loved it! We only had an hour so my turn with Brian was only a short 10 minutes but we rented it again for later in the day and so I went and enjoyed the pool while we waited. It was windier then it had been all week so you could say it caused for a more interesting experience sailing. When it came my turn again Shawn took me out and we were pretty far and then he told me to take over the sail and rudder! We switched spots and he directed my steps. It was cool! I was nervous but could feel the control I had over the catamaran! It was an awesome experience! The closer we got to shore the water just got sooo choppy and I got a little panicked and made my brother take over. After we all showered from our salty experience on the catamaran we made our way back out to Port Denarau, because my dad had discovered the “best pot pies he’d ever had” at the Bread Kitchen next door to Mama’s Pizza. When we got back to the resort we watched a family movie and I went to bed knowing it was my last night there and became a bit melancholy.      Monday August 6th - My last day. Amber, Sierrah and I went to the Republic of Cappuccino to check the girls email and I popped onto myspace to let everyone know I was heading home. We caught the bula bus but it happened to be going the long way around and well we weren’t in a rush so we decided to enjoy the ride since this would be my last opportunity. When we got back to the resort we convinced everyone to come together for a family picture, once we were done with that I walked the beach one last time and was very heartbroken about leaving this place that I experienced so much out of my comfort zone and was all so positive! We said our farewells and on the cab drive to the airport my eyes started tearing up. It was definitely an experience of a lifetime! My Fiji experience with (most of) my family will always hold a special place in my heart.     Once at the airport we found out our flight was delayed and then completely moved! We had three flights combined on one huge plane. (My dad would be able to tell you what plane it was and how many times he’s successfully flown one on his flight sim game hehe.) Either way it made for yet another full plane and this time I was in the window seat and it was an uncomfortable flight home. We landed in LAX on Monday at 1pm. That was quite the oddity since we didn’t leave Fiji till Monday night at 11:50pm! It took us forever to get through customs and Mike was there to pick us up. We had to drop my parents off first which really sucked but I got home to my place at about 8pm. Yeah LONG day. So there you have it! A (not so summarized) summary of my trip to Fiji! Labels: Benefit Dinner, Fiji, Inspiration, Links, Pictures, Rambling, Travel
posted by Charity at 8/11/2007 02:15:00 PM
Friday, July 27, 2007
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Lalalalala! Yes this is the kind of mood I am in! It's been an interesting week, emotional to some extent. I was in a funk for some reason. I know part of it was holding onto something I needed to let go and I did that Thursday night and Friday I was doing great! Should I actually be surprised? Probably not, but I still am. hehe So none of my local (Ontario, Ca) friends were available to hang out Friday night to keep me company so I could avoid "Vegas Traffic" so I went to Lane Bryant to buy some crops and shorts and light t-shirts for Fiji. I bought a lot of clothes but I desperately needed them. I also bought a bathing suit for a trip to Indio I was gonna go to with a bunch of girls the same weekend I'm now leaving for Fiji. So I've already got that taken care of. :) Fiji - Now that I know for a fact Fiji is happening I'm getting more and more excited each passing day! I've been checking weather reports, finding out about the electrical outlets and what I can use out there with my electronic stuff and of course blow-dryer and stuff, though with the humidity blow-drying my hair might not happen unless it’s a nice dinner out in the evening or something. I hear my brother is setting up for us to stay at a resort! I seriously can't wait to get out there! I need a break from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. And like I've been saying, I can't wait to take pictures! Harry Potter - So I got to see Harry Potter! Not only did I get to see it, I was able to see it a few hours before the people crazy enough to go to the midnight showing! My friend Russ works for EA Games and his work apparently rented out a theater for a private viewing for their employees and their friends. I was at work on Tuesday when he messaged me and asked if I wanted to go. Sure I had to drive to Marina Del Rey but I was all for it! But I didn't head out till 5pm and the movie started at 6:30 and I knew there was traffic. I only missed the first 20 min of the movie but as soon as I sat down I knew exactly where they were in the book. I liked the movie, though I felt like I had seen it before. I think it was because Sam sent me a link of some screenshots from the movie. I ended up getting the audio book for book 6 Friday night and hopefully I'll be up-to-date for the final book to come out next weekend. Oceanside/Vista Ca. - Next weekend Rachel and I are going down to Vista Ca. to stay with my friend Holly, Rachel's sister-in-law for the weekend. We're going just because we never get to hang out with Holly and I guess we're also going to the horse races. I've never been so it should be an interesting experience and a fun time with Rach and Holly and of course I'll be taking pictures. Benefit Dinner - So the planning for the African Benefit Dinner is fully underway! I've been trying to stay on top of everything and I feel like I'm losing ground. I've lost focus on the deadlines and timelines. I was supposed to have the tickets printed and ready for distribution today and haven't completed them yet. I have the paper to print the tickets on and have a numbering system to keep track of the ticket sales. Being in charge means that yes, I delegate but I feel unorganized as far as keeping everyone on track with their assigned tasks. But I'm sure in the end it will all come together like our last event did. The only difference this time is I'm in charge of this one and I really do want it to go smoothly. The benefit dinner is on September 15th, only two months away! We booked the same venue as the last event but this time the chef has actually worked with us to design a menu with an African theme! We will have some fairly standard food, but we wanted to make something special and he's all for working with us at no additional cost!!! I'm really excited! He's even testing the recipes before the event itself. We've defined that it's going to be a black and white semi-formal affair. Now I'm not requiring the guests to wear black and white but those who are involved will all be in black and white. I'm even hoping to get the men into donated tuxes like the last event. My next task is to make sure the people in charge of getting donations for the raffles have their lists of businesses that donated last time and understand their deadlines. We're still looking for a band to perform during the dinner. I need to see if I can get some of my prints from the last trip printed either on regular photo paper or canvas and we'll be raffling them off. I'm not sure how to locate someone that does prints on canvas but I think that would look nice. We had an artist down the hill that specialized in African art that allowed us to display his paintings and I'm hoping to get his pieces to display again. Sam and I were responsible for the photo part last time. We set up a display and I took pictures and he printed them on the spot for me and we handed them out to the guests. We're hoping to do the same thing and I have a professional that has said if we pay for materials she would donate her time. I think that would be awesome but I just have to book her and make sure the church can afford to pay what she's asking. There's so much more, it's a large undertaking and I'm doing my best to keep on top of everything. Men - I think I've come to the conclusion that I want a guy to ask me out on a date. Yes, a real date. Not just a hang out, but "hey, can I take you on a date?" What's with men? hehe When I went down to see Harry Potter with Russ we talked a while afterwards. We talked about all sorts of things but we touched on why men don't do much of the pursuing these days. Now I didn't say they don't "hunt" as their animalistic personality’s posses them to. But I realize that "hang outs" are just dates with another label. Think about it! Men have less pressure to ask a girl to "hang out" then "go on a date". The thing is I'm the kind of girl that would like to be asked out on a "date"! I'm fine with the concept of being friends and hanging out and having those hang outs possibly turn into a more romantic thing. And to be honest I have very rarely been asked out on a "date"! Most of the guys I have dated have started out as friends and turned into more, and believe me I'm all for that! But I also know that I have met a few guys and noticed (probably more then ever) a mutual attraction between us but none of them have yet to ask me out. Why is that men? Help me out here! :) Well I know I said I’d post pictures of the 4th of July, but those will be posted another time. I have to get ready for a leadership meeting where I have to give a status report on where we’re at with the benefit dinner. Labels: Benefit Dinner, Fiji, Inspiration, Rambling, Travel
posted by Charity at 7/15/2007 04:22:00 PM
Friday, July 06, 2007
Rough days - Yesterday was a rough day. Someone read my blog and somehow felt the need to misrepresent what was written. Not sure if the person who read my blog did it or the person they told, who then used it against me. Either way, I felt attacked and kind of taken back that either party felt it was their responsibility to hand out accusations about me without actually *reading* my blog correctly! I thought about clarifying what was actually written but then wondered what the use would be, they obviously read what they wanted to read and therefore would only hear what they wanted to hear. I kept going back to what my friend Jason reminds me "what you think of me is none of my business". That's a tough one for someone who is a "people pleaser" through and through. But this is something I've had to learn. It's more like it's been a "rough week" then just a rough day yesterday. Yeah I did have a week off from work. But there were other dramas going on in my life. But I think yesterday was the straw that broke the camels back. I lost it on my drive home. I was hurt and angry. I felt very alone and kept thinking how can I be so down? Why do I feel so rejected and abandoned? An incident between two close friends happened last weekend that impacted me probably more then it should. It was the attitude of one of them in particular as he took something further then he should have and wouldn't back off even when I asked him to. I was pretty down about the whole thing. I have been hurt by him before. It's sadly a cycle we've been through twice and this last time I had been, what I thought, extra cautious not to get too involved. Unfortunately even though I was careful I still felt a sting. Great Friends - God reminded me (as I drove home last night with anger and disappointment at the people that I felt I could trust) that though some of my friends may have let me down, there were other sweet people that have been there for me this last week. It's odd, the people I didn't expect to let me down did and the ones I didn't think were really friends came through for me when I really needed them. Half of them not even knowing how much their actions meant to me. On the 4th of July my friend Armando from Vegas texted me. I was debating on whether or not I wanted to go out in the heat and go to a BBQ. I found out he was home so I got online and we had a nice chat. We haven't had that many opportunities to chat. He was the one I was gonna go with to the Roger Waters show in Vegas. It was nice to chat with him. He's the only person I've really done video chats with well other then Sam but Sam and I don't talk very much anymore accept the occasional catch up chat while at work. Either way, Armando is a cutie and is always so flattering. Jerry called me last night as I was almost home from my rough day. I wasn't sure if I should talk to him in the frame of mind I was in. But it proved to be a good thing. It's always nice to talk to someone and get your mind off your troubles. He's a sweet guy, very uplifting and encouraging and always has been since I've gotten to know him over the last few weeks. He seems like my own personal cheerleader. :) "If Charity can't do it, no one can!" hehe Shortly after I settled in for the evening my friend Peter called and had me laughing so hard I was crying! Peter is from Washington and I know him through work. He's flying down to visit his friend in Santa Monica and we're all gonna meet up and go to Disneyland or something. He's a great guy, very considerate and sometimes trips me out because his many voices and tangents sound very much like Jesse and I'm usually rolling the whole time begging him to stop so I can catch my breath! But I thanked him and told him that he had no idea how much I needed his call and he said God works in mysterious ways. hehe How very true. As I talked to him, I realized how blessed I was to have such great friends. And that I didn't need to feel alone. Today has been quite the opposite of yesterday or even the whole week! I have a lot of events coming up. Fiji - And remember how I mentioned there *might* be a possibility of me going to Fiji... Well it's official. I will be going to Fiji! I can't wait! The pictures! Think of all the beautiful pictures I'll be able to take! Yeah this is an opportunity of a lifetime. Again the financial burden is going to be tough to swallow... I may be gagging for quite a while afterwards, but honestly I've decided to accept that! I mean I could have possibly waited till I could afford to go to Fiji but it's highly doubtful I'd have the whole family there to enjoy it with. My sister is not able to make it. We're all hoping for a miracle because it would be a bummer that she would miss out. I'll be leaving in the evening of Friday July 27th and coming home early morning August 7th. Wisdom Teeth - I'm sure some of you are curious as to my experience. I had written a post Saturday because I was feeling so well but never completed it and then took a turn for the worse Sunday. So here's the bulk of my experience and I'll add a little more to the bottom. *the below was written Saturday June 30th*Well I survived! Hehe (Like it’s a rare occurrence huh?) My wisdom teeth are out. My jaw hurts. I’ve got chipmunk cheeks and it’s hard to talk for any length of time. But honestly I’m feeling great today! So here’s the lowdown of my experience with getting my wisdom teeth pulled. I got there at 8 am and wasn’t brought back into the room till about 8:30. The doctor’s assistant put something over my nose and just told me to tell him when I started to feel weird. Turns out it was laughing gas. I told him when I started to feel it but also that I didn’t like the feeling. He turned it down and told me to breath out of my mouth. He hooked me up to an IV and asked a few normal questions. I could hear my monitor beeping. My doctor came in and I liked him immediately. He was funny. Most people make comments about my name, but he said he liked it, and I told him I liked it to, and he was like, ok… I’ll let you keep it then. He also got on my good side when he didn’t believe that I weighed what I weigh. Haha And then he asked the typical health questions. Asked if I’ve ever smoked pot, I told him no. He didn’t seem to believe me, he asked in another way, so when was the last time you smoked pot. When I told him I haven’t ever he decided a horror story would get what he thought to be the truth out of me! Something about how the hallucinogens in the stuff they were giving me would be affected by how much pot I’ve had. When I told him the only time I’ve ever been exposed to pot was being hot boxed in the nosebleed seats at a concert I think he finally believed me. He was a great doctor. I don’t remember having to count to three. I just remember him walking away and hearing them setup around me, but nothing more until mid-surgery. I woke up slightly and felt him working on my lower right jaw. I moaned a couple of times and then I heard him say, up her 5 more cc’s and that’s the last thing I remember till they told me it was time to wake up. I walked to another room and my mom came in. They told me then I couldn’t go back to sleep till the evening, which really sucked because that’s all I wanted to do. My mom pulled the car around back and I got in. I hated the feeling of driving. I’ve never been one to get motion sickness but I did… All the turns and bumps made me want to puke. I actually had to have my mom pull over once so I could. We got to her place and I knew I needed drugs asap so I had a couple bites of yogurt so I could take the meds, but that didn’t stay down so I just took the meds on an empty stomach. The nausea went away after that and I stuck to the rules of icepacks 5 min on one side and then 5 min on the other. Today I STILL have chipmunk cheeks! Who knows what would have happened if I didn’t use ice! I hated the taste of blood. And my tongue was numb and still is! I asked if this was a normal side effect because I didn’t read anything in the post-op side effects but they said I could feel numbness in my tongue for up to a month! That sucks! *end of post written Saturday June 30th*Turns out they disrupted (the word they used) a nerve on the bottom right side and it affected the feeling in my tongue. So now they say that the numbness can last from 2 weeks to 6 months depending on how "disrupted" the nerve was in the process of extracting the tooth. So it sucks... I can't stand not being able to feel the whole right side of my tongue. I've bitten it so many times its all red. I'm just hoping the healing will be closer to 2 weeks then the 6 months! (haha ya think!?) But I had my post op appointment and they said everything is healing fine. I can't stand the bad breath but of course they say that’s to be expected as I have a wound in my mouth... (Yeah 4 to be exact, still doesn't make stinky breath ok) I've been chewing gum but like I said, I've bitten into my tongue so much I chew gum as carefully as possible these days. Well I'm off to go hang out with my friends David and Erin. I'll post a blog about the 4th of July and show some of the cool shots I captured with the slow shutter and the sparklers. :D Labels: Dentist, Fiji, Inspiration, Rambling, Travel
posted by Charity at 7/06/2007 06:07:00 PM
Thursday, June 21, 2007
*Pictures will be posted tomorrow sometime* **Did I say tomorrow? ;) I meant whenever I get around to it!! haha Sorry it's been crazy busy and I actually tried to upload pictures the next day but blogger was having issues uploading. And well I have a moment since our phone systems at work just blew up. hehe And since you've been patiently waiting I think I'll post WAY more pictures then I should to make up for the delay! Enjoy!**Life is good isn’t it?! Right now I’m at work and I don’t expect that I’ll have a lot of time to write up this post. But I have a moment to spare so I’m going to at least start it. We’re understaffed today. One girl is on vacation and another had to leave early because of some flight issues. And later today I have a training class. Once all that is done, I honestly hope things will mellow out some. Birthday - So my friends must love me! Rachel called me this morning to see if I was free September 8th. I told her yes and then asked what for. Apparently she and Andie have planned a surprise day out for my 30th birthday! I’m excited! And I feel special! So all I know is that I need to be ready by 8am and expect to be out till midnight. I’m looking forward to it! You guys rock! Well like I said I didn't think I'd have enough time to finish a post at work. I’m now at home. Man today started out so dismally and now things are so different! Lots of great things are in the works! Fiji - The main thing is the possibility of my entire family going to Fiji! Can you imagine!? Well my brother Shawn who lives in North Carolina is moving to Texas but has a lot of work to do in Fiji over the summer and he's decided to pack up his family and let them hang out in Fiji with him over their summer break before making the move to Texas. So it was mentioned that it would be great if we could all go out there! I thought for sure it was just one of those passing thoughts that never come to fruition but apparently today I was asked to put some serious thought into going. Financially it would be a burden. The tickets are pricey. My brother has connections so he’s going to see what he can do about getting cheaper tickets. But if it came down to my family going out there whether or not I could afford it, well I couldn't afford to miss the opportunity really. This is FIJI we're talking about here! One of my first thoughts was being in 7th heaven taking pictures. I have seen some of the shots my brother has taken and I know what I could get! haha Cool huh? I may have another place to mark on my map of visited places. Passions - Lately God has been showing me a lot about myself, especially my passions. You’d be surprised as much as I love photography I’m realizing my passion is not completely in that, which may change. But right now my passion is people! I *love* people! I enjoy meeting new people, learning more about them, laughing and interacting with them. I’ve been putting some thought into how I can use these passions in a career. I know my current job is not the career choice I had in mind. But I genuinely LOVE working with the customers. I find myself laughing more and more with the customers. I’m not sure what type of career to get involved with that allows a lot of interaction with people. I don’t think there is a lot of money in customer service/support. At least not that I’ve seen. I know there is joy and pride in the work I do with my customers. I just honestly can’t afford to keep working for what I get paid and I’m just not sure what to do about that. I would really enjoy being able to interact and take pictures of people but I find that I’m not a good portrait photographer. At least not that I’ve seen in my current collection of pictures. So, I’ve come to the conclusion that though I may realize that I have a passion for people, at this point I have no idea where God is going to take me in that. Luau Aftermath - So I survived the luau! If you have myspace you’ve seen my pictures. If not then sorry it’s taken me so long to post any! It was an amazing night! Non-stop craziness but oh so much fun! I can’t wait till we do a whole church one! It was a great time with all my friends. I was snapping pictures all night. I ended up staying over at my parents till about 12:30 in the morning talking to my friend Andie. We haven’t hung out in a while and its funny cause we always seem to be experiencing similar things at the same time. But really it’s hard to explain the whole evening so I’ll just let you see the pictures (which will be coming soon).                             Vegas Aftermath - I stayed up later then I would have liked for the luau but I still got up early for my drive to Vegas Saturday morning. I was on the road by 8:15 but had to stop by my parents to pick up stuff I forgot over there the night before and then had to fill up with gas and was actually on my way by 8:45am. I was shocked how easy of a drive it was! I remembered it being so long the last time I went. But honestly that was before I had gotten accustomed to a 45 min commute to and from work daily and 1 ½ hour commute on Friday nights because of “Vegas Traffic”! I’m just glad I didn’t go Friday night! It was smooth sailing when I went Saturday morning. I got up to the Jeska’s place at about 11:15. So it only took 2 ½ hours!    It was so nice to hang out with the Jeska’s. They have a nice place and I found myself easily relaxed there. The weather was gorgeous! Debbie and I went and ran a few errands and decided to go to a mall out there. It’s kind of crazy because we haven’t really hung out since we were kids! But we seemed to click and we had no issues keeping the conversation going. Hehe Later we ended up hanging out with her parents discussing all sorts of things! We didn’t end up getting ready to go to the strip till after 10pm! But I didn’t really have any desire to go gambling or anything. I just wanted to see the fountains… We stayed in front of the Bellagio for about an hour or so and then went back.           I got up the next morning and slowly made my way out the door. It was a bit more crowded on the roads so it took a little longer then 2 ½ hours but not too much and I even stopped to help someone on the side of the road! Father’s Day – I made back in town Sunday at 2pm and looked over my pictures. I went over to my parent’s house to spend some time with my dad for Father’s Day. I ended up going out to Best Buy to get him the 5th season of Seinfeld. I started to get them for him but stopped at season 4 so I now have a good idea of what to get him for the next few gift events, his birthday, Christmas, etc. hehe I was happy to see he’s still really into the Microsoft Flight Sim X game I got him a while ago! Well it’s actually later then I’d like it to be. I have to get up early for work. I’m supposed to be at work between 7 & 7:30 because we’re understaffed and need the phone coverage so I was asked if I’d be willing to come in. And well I am… It’s Friday. It shouldn’t be too bad. Just means I should be in bed right now! So goodnight and I’ll post pictures tomorrow. Labels: Birthday, Fiji, Parties, Pictures, Rambling, Travel
posted by Charity at 6/21/2007 10:21:00 PM
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Meet Kyle and Michael... Two men that made all the troubles of my day melt away!  Ok so today's been a bit draining. I had to take care of some personal matters so I called into work to let them know I wasn't coming in. I was running all day till about 3pm and then only had a couple hours before I had to drive down to Irvine for my laser appointment. I drove down and noticed my cell was already low on battery because I'd been on it more then usual. Let me start a little further back. I was talking to my friend Jerry about the stresses of my day and he knew I was on my way to Irvine and he said I should stop by the beach to reward myself. At least I'm pretty sure that’s what he said. If he didn't, it didn't matter because that's what I heard and the idea stuck with me. I knew I'd be done with my appointment at 7pm, sunset was around 8pm and I knew Irvine was close to the beach so I made the decision to stop by the beach before heading home. As I made this decision I realized I would be needing help to get there as I had no clue what freeways to take (I'm horrible with stuff like that), but since my cell battery was dying and well I was going to be making the trip up to Vegas I thought a car charger would be a wise investment. Once I got to my laser appointment I asked if they knew where the nearest Best Buy was. The girl was cool enough to do a search and print up directions on how to get there. I was getting my laser treatment done when I asked the girl how far the beach was from where we were and she recommended that I take the 133 all the way because it dumps me right at Laguna Beach. I was familiar with the 133 because this is how I get down to Irvine to begin with. And this makes the return trip all that much easier to find. Anyways, as I suspected I was out of my appointment at 7 and made my way to Best Buy and got myself a car charger. That put me behind schedule a little but the sun was still up but not for long. On the way I kept thinking to myself oh please make it before the sun sets, oh please. But then it hit me, the adventure was me even making the drive. I chose to then enjoy the trip itself because it was the experience of it all that makes it special! I made it to the beach and was glad to find out that this is the same location we went for my birthday last year and I was fairly comfortable with where I was at. Everything went great! I parked and found that the parking meters stopped metering at 7pm. So no extra expenses to make this trip. I found a great spot and got out of my car quite honestly surprised at how easy of a trip this had been and how I couldn't believe I haven't been making this extra side trip EVERY time I've come down to Irvine, which happens to be every 4-6 weeks! And when I got there I was blown away by the beauty of it. The rocks, the view, it was breathtaking! And there are so many great photo opportunities! And yes, I could have slapped myself for not bringing my camera. I was stuck taking a couple snapshots with my cell. Here they are…     Then I met Kyle and Michael. Both were just jammin’ with their guitars and welcomed me to join them. They played a few songs, but Kyle sang and played “No Woman, No Cry”, and Michael picked a song he said was just for me “Am I Dreaming”. It was such a cute little song and he really did sing it * to* me… I was smiling ear-to-ear being serenaded to for the first time! I stayed as long as I could but it was only about 20 minutes with my new friends. I climbed back up to my car and as I put on my sandals I looked back to see Michael looking up at me and I waved goodbye thinking to myself, stuff like that doesn’t happen every day! It wasn’t till I got in my car and I started thinking about the whole day and how this moment, this special 30 minute window, felt like it was God’s way of saying “I love you Charity”! I was overwhelmed with gratefulness. I started getting choked up because today really had been a difficult day for some reason and it was an awesome way to end it! First with me doing something completely spontaneous and independent, then meeting those guys and enjoying my short time at the beach! It was awesome! I do plan on going back to the beach every time I make that trip to Irvine but this visit was special. Just thought I'd share my special moment. :) Labels: Inspiration, Pictures, Travel
posted by Charity at 6/13/2007 12:14:00 AM
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Updates are pretty scarce these days aren't they? I've spent a relaxing day working on the Assemble Fiji site, watching tv, doing laundry and being a lazy bum all at the same time. hehe Not sure how that works. I guess sleeping in till 10am will make you feel like a lazy bum! It was amazing though! I wore comfy clothes, no makeup and only left the house for dinner and came right back. I took my time working on the Assemble Fiji site and still felt like I accomplished a lot! I just finished watching Superman Returns. Good movie... I bought it when it first came out on dvd and I hadn’t sat down to watch it. A friend referred to a line from the movie in a chat the other day so I decided to watch it. I’m currently waiting for a load of laundry to be done so I figured it’s time for an update. So I turned in my prints to the San Bernardino County Fair. I opted to volunteer on a Saturday for a couple of hours so I got a free ticket and parking pass. I guess I'll be going to the fair for the first time in years! I think the last time I went to the fair was with Jesse. (Speaking of which, the anniversary of his death is coming up and he's been on my mind quite a lot. That and running into his brother at Starbucks the other morning didn't help. It's a bit hard to realize someone so close to me is gone and has been gone for almost a year.) For those of you who don't know, I entered my first ever photo contest. It was quite process let me tell ya. I entered just in time and wasn't sure what pictures I wanted to enter so I picked 2 divisions and 2 classes each that I knew fit my style of photography. This proved to be more difficult then originally planned. I had my friend Leonard help me print up the pictures I picked. He was a Godsend! He helped me crop and print at the best quality. He opened up his own business called Cracked Egg Graphic Design Studio. I met him on a web/graphic design job quite a few years back, he was working at a printing place at the time. Anyways, we’ve kept in touch off and on through the years but I was happy to hear from him a little over a month ago and we met up so I could check out his studio and when he heard my dilemma with getting my prints done he offered his services. Anyways, here are the four I turned in... Top left - Color Misc: Desert Sunrise. Top Right - Black and White Nature: Cherry Blossoms. Bottom Left - Black and White Misc: Journey. Bottom Right - Color Nature: Tears of a Flower.  A Chair's Photography - Having entered the photo contest my friend Jason encouraged me to get at least a bit of a splash page up before I turned them in so that whoever saw my prints (which have my url along side my name) would be able to check out my site. So here it is everyone! www.achairsphotography.com ! A work in progress but something is actually up. I got a bit of a vision for what I want to do with the site and surprisingly enough it’s going to go away from my personal sites look and feel. Assemble Communications - As I stated above, I worked on the Assemble Fiji site today. Yes, they have commissioned me to do more work for them. It’s been hectic but I’m thankful for the extra cash that it will bring. Dentist - I had a dentist appointment last Friday and found out my referral for my wisdom teeth extraction came back approved! In some respects I’ll be glad when it’s over, but right now I’m like a little kid that hates the dentist! The idea of being put out scares me and of course because my teeth are impacted they want to put me completely out. Not sure if I’m more afraid of what I’ll say as I’m coming to (I’ve heard embarrassing stories!) or just the thought of actual surgery… in my mouth of all places! I remember what it felt like when they took out some teeth to make room when I got my braces on. Not a good memory. Anyways, I have almost two months to fret about it! As the oral surgeon isn’t available till June 28th! Oh joy! Travel - I talked to my friend Stephanie up in Oregon the other day. She wants me to come up for a visit. I think I need/want to! I have been trying to figure out where to go for my birthday. Maybe this is what I should do. But I also want to go visit family in Montana as there are a lot of events that are taking place there. One: A family reunion on my mom’s side. People I’ve never met in the entirety of my life! This has already been set as lowest priority to the other events. Two: My grandpa’s 80th birthday! What a milestone! Definitely want to make it out for that. Three: grandparents may be moving and will need our help. But we’re trying to not have this happen as my grandparents have lived on the farm since I believe they were married. So the family is trying to figure out a way for them to stay there. But going back to the decision to go to Oregon, the decision is made, it’s just a matter of when. April 7th - Jason's Play and dinner: my long time friend Jason called me or I called him. I can’t remember. But he had a play he was in for Easter and wanted me to go and he wanted to hang out afterwards and catch up. My friend Andie and I went. It was a great play! I was impressed. Jason didn’t have a main role but he did well in his performance. Afterwards we hung out at Red Robin with his uncle who was also in the play. Here are a couple pictures.    April 8th - Easter and makeup: Easter was mellow. I went to church, got to test drive a 2006 BMW 325i!!! Holly and Daniel came to church and they are Rachel’s in-laws. It was Holly’s new car. I was lovin it! Here are a couple pics from church.   After church I went over to my parents’ and had Easter dinner and then watched the Passion of the Christ and of course cried. I have a hard time watching that movie and not tearing up. After that my sister wanted to use me as her canvas for her makeup class. And I was quite shocked at the difference but here are some pictures! What do you think? Hehe    April 10th Tax return! - I went over to my dads the week taxes were to be turned in. Nothing like procrastinating to the last minute! I knew I was going to owe because my severance package from linkLINE was not taxed and neither was the money from the work I did for Assemble. So I was dreading another bill I had to figure out how to pay. My dad helps review what I’ve already entered and helps me answer the questions I wasn’t sure about on turbotax and in our review he noticed I hadn’t claimed my tithe. I told him I never claimed my tithe and he asked why I hadn’t. I guess it was because when I was younger he told me I didn’t make enough for it to matter and well now that I’m older and making more money it is enough to matter… So since he is the keeper of the tithe records and turbo tax allowed me to go back to 2001 I was able to claim the exact amount I’d paid in tithe every year. I got a little over 1,200.00 back!!!! I’ve never gotten more then 600.00 since I’ve been doing my taxes! This was such an unexpected surprise! Of course it’s all gone to pay off debt but that’s the way it should be right? It’s just a bit of a bummer I couldn’t use that money to do more for my business like get equipment or something. But that’s ok… It was a huge blessing and I was never more grateful that I tithe! Haha April 21st - Hector’s Surprise Birthday Party: Hector is a guy I work with at Alliance. Keith had invited me to his surprise birthday party for Hector’s 40th birthday. It was a hoedown theme. I had a good time. Got to see my friends Jess and Marc who drove from Wisconsin to be there! I leave you with a bunch of pictures from the day.                   Labels: A Chair's Photography, Assemble, Dentist, Parties, Pictures, Travel
posted by Charity at 4/29/2007 01:00:00 AM
Sunday, March 04, 2007
Labels: Travel
posted by Charity at 3/04/2007 08:58:00 PM
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