True Friends

I get made fun of for all the friends that I have on Facebook… I think I’m over the 500 mark at this point. (And in all honesty, I actually DO personally know 95% of them. It’s true! The other 5% of course are a few bands & musicians I will probably never meet.) I will have to tell you though, the good ‘ole F’book has helped me rekindle friendships that I never would have otherwise, I’ve learned of marriages, births, engagements, happy times, sad times, and all those in between moments in life. I don’t really consider myself a socialite although I do like to remain social; Facebook has certainly allowed me to do that, much more than I ever have, in fact. I know, it’s not face to face contact, but when you have friends that live in Nashville and D.C. this is about as good as it gets! I boldly confess that I spend way to much time at the computer but it has certainly benefited me for the better. I know who my true friends are.

Here are a few highlights from the past year, attributed 100% to Facebook:

One of my best friends from high school, who has grown up to be quite a lovely lady of God, got married and moved off to D.C. a couple years ago. I NEVER would have known this if we hadn’t connected through Facebook! Last September, she and her hubby came to the Bay Area for business and again, thanks to Facebook, we got to meet up and hang out for the evening. She continues to be one of my closest friends and is a constant source of love and encouragement for me! I know that if I ever need her, she’s only an poke away. Thanks Heather for being one of the best friends I’ll ever have! I’ll send you a drink later

I have taken on the exciting yet difficult task of planning my high school reunion. Next year, will be 10 years. First of all, I am now officially a grown-up… 10 years already?! Whoa… Secondly, without Facebook, I certainly would not have been able to gather contact info and catch up with the majority of my classmates. I am now looking at an 85% completion of my contact list for my graduating class! Now if I could only just hunt down the remaining 15%…

Facebook is also a fantastic way to shamelessly promote music and business. So, we have done exactly that with Otterball. It’s a really laid back way to introduce and update your product and keep your fans enticed. Thanks F’book for thinking about the business owners out there! We have loved the interaction that it has provided us thus far with the www. Are you a fan?

Another really great friend of mine from high school and I met up on Facebook just before I left Houstonin 2007. Come to find out, she had been living 30 minutes down the road from me for the past year and half and I had no idea… until Facebook. How awesome and yet somewhat sad is that all at the same time?! So, when her hubby had to come to the Bay Area for a job interview, she came along and you got it, we spent the day together! Lisa, hope to see you around these parts again soon! Or, maybe I’ll catch ya in H-town.

Last but not least, a great friend of mine from many years ago has made a gold mine for himself! He recently placed 3rd on a little show with a big name called “The Next Great American Band.” His band is amazingly talented and you should all go out and buy their cd right now! Thanks to F’book (and his wife for setting up the account for him), we’re gonna be hanging with my cool cat Denver and the Mile High Orchestra next month in Napa (and that’s spelled with one ‘P’). All I need now is the t-shirt!

Sooooo…. how has Facebook helped you rekindle friendships once lost?

Oh the stress of life…

Please pray for us! Our lease ends March 31st and we have no idea where we’re going to move to! We are looking for a house/condo/townhome to rent instead of an apartment. We’ve submitted 2 contracts already both of which have fallen through. Both of which were fantastic places! I hate to even talk about it but we may have to compromise and live in yet another corporate apartment complex. I hate the ‘C’ word when it comes to your living arrangements. ARG!

So here’s the main issues – we HAVE to be close to the Caltrain so that Jason and/or I can ride it to get to work. We also have to have a place that takes both of our dogs. The last place that fell through was ONLY because the Home Owner’s Association only allows one pet to live there, which, honestly, is a bunch of poo. And of course, it’s got to be in our price range.

Please please please pray for us. We’ve put in our 30 day notice and we have to be moved out at the end of the month and it sure would be nice if we knew where we’re going! Pray that God will literally open a door for us.

Green Living the REALSIMPLE Way

REALSIMPLE 

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Help New Orleans

We cannot forget…

 

In an effort to help re-build the parts of New Orleans devastated by Hurricane Katrina, Ellen has joined forces with Brad Pitt’s ”Make It Right” Foundation. Ellen has created a special Team Sponsored Home and made an initial donation. She wants you to join her. Go to makeitrightnola.org to become part of Ellen’s team. You can contribute cash, or adopt a part of the house — ceiling fan, refrigerator, kitchen tile, etc. Ellen thanks you and the people of New Orleans thank you.        



Help Ellen raise money to support the New Orleans rebuild project “Make It Right” by buying this t-shirt for $24.99.(It also comes in black and white. http://www.ellenshop.com  


           

Love

I’ve really been thinking about love lately but mostly the love of a mother. I know this best because I have a mother who loves me so much. I also have a mother-in-law that no matter what, she looks past it and loves. It is the most wonderful thing to have two women in my life that are so loving and accepting of me and my faultsThe love they have is unconditional. It’s that kind of love that no matter what you do, even if they are really mad at what you’ve done, you know that they still love. You can talk to them about your joys and your sorrows. You can be vulnerable or angry. You can count on them to love you through it. It’s a safe love, it never shuns you. It comforts, it doesn’t discount your feelings. It’s cherishes, it gives you the best they’ve got. It gives you hope for the future and forgiveness for the past. It’s all these things and so much more!I love this kind of love. I hunger for it. I’m so lucky to have two people in my life that I get it from! God gave this gift to them and I hope that he has given it to me too. Maybe someday I will be able to bless my child and show them the love that I have received.I wish all people could know this kind of love… and give it.

You know you’re getting older when…

… you start buying things you never thought you’d buy. My latest purchases have been:1. What my mother calls a night gown… others call it a piece of lingerie. I call it comfort. 2. A hummingbird feeder. I saw one on a neighbor’s porch and thought, ooo! that could be fun to watch. So I bought one. Here’s my first hummingbird (that I’ve seen) partaking of the Jones’s nectar. I hear it’s pretty sweet! I’ll keep you posted on future old lady purchases.’Til then,Making Mom Proud

Rain

Rain. If you get to much of it, you never want to go outside. You get depressed because it’s cloudy all the time. Your hair gets frizzy. You hate the way it smells, etc. Welcome to Houston.

If you don’t get enough of it, you pray every day for it. You wonder why God is punishing the land. You spend lots of money on watering your yard. You get depressed because everything is dying no matter how hard to try to keep it alive. Welcome to NashvilleMe? Well, I’m neither. Welcome to Northern California. Does it rain here? Yes. But when? Well, yesterday, I experienced the first real rain. We’ve been here almost 6 months now, and we just got the first rain. It was great! A light sprinkle. Oh and the smell of rain – just amazing! I didn’t realize how much I missed the smell. Ahh…Evidently, we’re entering into the rainy season. It will sprinkle on most days and then clear up. It’s slight colder here now, getting up to about 60 or so. It’s nice but I’m sure most people look forward to it being over. I think it will be this way until February. So, if you want to visit, wait until March. It’s gorgeous then!

Making Old Friends, New Again

Sunday night, I had the greatest pleasure of getting to hang out with a dear friend of mine from high school. It had been almost 7 years since we’d seen each other last and just about that long since we last talked. Life took us both by the arm and whisked us away! What a whirlwind we’ve both been through in the last several years.We met back up about 3 months ago on Facebook. I love Facebook by the way. It’s SO much better than Myspace. I’ve actually rekindled friendships because of Facebook which never really happened via Myspace. Sorry Tom. I just like “the Face” better. Anyway, I emailed her, not believing that I had actually found her and I told her that it’s been like forever that I’ve been trying to catch up with her!”Funny,” she said. “I’ve been talking about you for years!”"Really?” I said.Then she went on tell me (both in her email and even more indepth Sunday night) what a crucial part I played in her coming to Christ. You need to know that she went on to work for Campus Crusade for Christ both of which we were actively involved in in college. She talked about the devotional I gave her our senior year of high school and how that really spurred her on to dig deeper into Christianity, to how I prayed for her, helped her with questions she had, and how I was her friend when others turned their back on her. I mean I sort of knew all this but I guess I didn’t know just how much it changed her. It was very touching, I nearly made an idiot of myself at dinner but I did good held back the miles of tears. Since then, she’s led bible studies and college groups with Cru and every time she’s shared her testimoy, she reads from the devotional I gave her and talks about me like we’d never lost touch. Like we were still the best friends.Gosh, humbling huh? What a mediocre life I lead and to hear this! WOW! I just couldn’t believe it! God used me in her life and now I see what He has done through me! What an honor. Thank you Lord for using me! Thank you for blessing someone elses life through mine and thank you for blessing mine again!Heather, I am so proud of you! It was great to see you, and I can’t wait ’til next time! Wish you guys were here so you could be our Joe and Janice! Much love always girlie!

Shopping Carts

So, as most of you know, I’ve moved to the Bay area. What I’ve learned about this community is that most people rely on 2 forms of transportation – public transit (ie. Bart, Caltrain, SamTrans, etc) or their own two feet.

The specific area that I moved to is within walking distance to many things: Safeway, Starbucks, Walgreens, and Office Depot just to name a few. It’s great! I love being able to just walk down the street and pick up a few items and coffee. Now, if I’m doing some heavy shopping I drive down there and fill the car up with groceries. Other people, who do not have cars drive their shopping carts home. That’s great and all but PEOPLE take your darn cart BACK to the store you got it from! Geez! Yesterday I counted 6 shopping carts in one spot on the corner of my street about, oh, 100 yards from the store they belong to. I mean seriously, how disrespectful is that? Not only does it make the neighborhood ugly, it could be considered theft! The nerve of some people.I’ve also learned that the people out here do whatever they want and they certainly don’t care what you think about it. So, nevermind… no one cares anyway.

Staying Home…

I hope everyone had a great Labor Day weekend. It’s always nice to relax and my extra extra long weekend was just that. I did nothing. No, not nothing, nuttin‘. Absolutely nuttin‘. It was nice, almost to the point of tears. Actually, I was completely bored to be honest. I could have gone out, done something fun, but I didn’t. I stayed home, not able to come up with anything. It was nice outside, but did I go out – no. Why? I haven’t got the faintest clue why…I did have one very good revelation though. If and when I am a stay-at-home mom or wife, I must with a capital M-U-S-T have a hobby… other than watching the cooking channel all day. Anyone got any ideas? I like the outdoors but I’m not outdoorsy. I like art, but I’m not artsy. I love trying new foods, but I certainly don’t want to make a hobby of that. Help!!!!

Newbie!

Hello everyone!So, I’m not really one to blog much, or at all for that matter. This is in fact, my first official blog on a blogging website of sorts. I’ve done the Myspace thing, and posted notes on my Facebook page, but never really got into the swing of things. Recently, in exploring this new area I live in, I have come across things that I wish I could share with other people besides my normal comrades – Jason and Mama. Things like – why do I have to have a coin to use the restroom in the city? Can’t I just go to the potty without announcing it to the cashier? Anyway, I’ll get into that at some other time. So, it’s nice to be officially part of a blog. I’m ready to start typing. I’ve stretched my fingers. Here we go…!