The Last of My Twenties

This pretty much sums it up.

Happy 29th Birthday to me!

PRESENTS, POLITICS, and OPINIONS

Well guys... believe it or not, birthday month is already here! It's crazy how fast time flies. Dave's going to be well over 30 now, I'm turning 29 and will be soaking up the last of my fabulous twenties, and Dan is... well, Dan is going to be my favorite age so far: 27 (that's how old I was when I got married).

So lets talk presents for a second. I'm just going to say upfront that you don't need to get me anything for my b-day. Dave, we'll be celebrating b-days by hanging out and drinking a lot (thinking of you guys the whole time, of course) which is more than I could ask for from you and Sarah. I will say though--and this is mostly for the parentals--that Jeff and I are asking everyone who feels inclined to by us presents for birthdays AND Christmas to stick with giving us straight cash so we can put it towards our big Nicaragua/Costa Rica trip at the end of the year. As always, you don't have to stick to that suggestion, but know that any cash gift will go towards another fabulous burrito and fish while overseas.

I don't have too much of an update on life right now. Jeff is in Pittsburgh for a youth conference, so I'm keeping myself busy and even managed to talk the in-laws into taking me out for some delicious sushi tonight! In general, I've been keeping my schedule pretty open cuz I'm soaking up my last few months of freedom before I start my pre-reqs for nursing school in January. That is, IF I get into the classes I need. I will register December 1st, so I'll know then if I made it in. If I do, Christmas will be my last week at Starbucks so I have more time for school and studying. I'll still stay at the church 20hrs/week because I get paid more there, but I have to admit I'm pretty sad to leave the bucks. Mostly because of the sweet discounts I get (I'm a sucker for hook-ups), but also because of the relationships I've built while working there.

Jeff and I are doing well and super excited for this holiday season! I have to say, the brand new Thanksgiving Blend coming out at Starbucks on Tuesday (election day) has something to do with it. Not to mention our new Gingersnap Latte and Espresso Truffle we're going to offer! You guys have NO idea what you're in for. BRING ON THE WINTER LAYER!

Sooooo, who are you guys voting for? Come on... we can share. We're family, right? I'm voting for McCain mostly because I can't ethically vote for someone (obama) who supports late-term abortion. I don't really like McCain either, but what do you do? There are other reasons, but I hate political debate so I'm not saying anymore right now. Does that sound like a double standard?

I will end with sharing how crazy it is in California with the Proposition 8 debate going on. If you don't know what Prop 8 is, it's the prop that, if passed, will end the gay marriages. It is a HUGE source of tension every where right now. Those voting NO have made it into this 8 = hate and rights issue. Those voting YES are saying it's to restore traditional marriage because they don't want their children to be taught about gay marriages in schools (which is what will happen if prop 8 doesn't pass, and this will spread over the entire nation and then what happens to our religious freedom? This is currently happening in Massachusetts). I've wrestled a lot with how I'm going to vote, and I've decided to vote YES on prop 8. To restore traditional marriage. Why? Because for me, it's not a political issue. It's not about giving gay individuals their rights. It's a moral issue, and as a Believer, I profess to live by the Bible. The Bible says that God created marriage for a specific purpose, between a man and woman, and I can't vote against that. I love gay people, I have a heart for them (I hate the sin, but I love the sinner). Dad, I know you think being a homosexual is mostly genetic, but I disagree. I believe it's a temptation like any other temptation. Some are tempted by it, and some aren't. As with any temptation, you can give into it, or you can choose to fight it.

I know our country isn't even close to being as horrible as the Romans were before they fell. But, it's definitely scary to think of the direction our country is heading, whether in my lifetime or our childrens' or our great-grand childrens'. Jeff has a great historical fact that I believe is so true: Every great empire's downfall began when the family broke down (or something like that).

And there you have it! My opinions.

The Year of the Rats

Jeff and I have decided to give this past year the title
"The Year of the Rats"

Last night we killed what would be the 6th rat in our home in one year. Sure, two of them were caught in the attic, but you try going to sleep at night hearing them scurry around in your vents. Not so sweet. We have officially killed 4 rats in our kitchen alone. Our KITCHEN! And yes, I'm using the word kill very intentionally here. I feel a little guilty about that part of the whole process, but only until I picture one of the giant, disgusting, bacteria-infested creatures pawing my kitchen counter and digging their yellow teeth into my butter dish. Oh yes. It has happened. And who knows how many times we used that butter until we saw the teeth marks.

Lets just say we're almost done with living here. The rats have almost successfully driven us out. I think what did it was the last rat "situation" where one of them was nicked by the rat trap but escaped, leaving a trail of blood on our carpet and smeared one whole section of our kitchen tile with its blood. You should have seen Jeff's face when I realized, as we were looking for the half-dead rat (this was all right before work by the way), that the rat had come out of hiding and was laying right in the middle of our kitchen floor. It actually looked cute for a second. But it wasn't so cute when it bit the rat guy through a bag 2 hours later. And it was even grosser when we realized it had been hiding underneath our brand new dishwasher (the blood-smeared path revealed that little rat secret).

Jeff and I have decided that if we catch ONE more rat, we're out. The rats will have won.
I can't handle wondering if I'm going to see another rat jump around beside me while I'm sitting at the computer, or if I've left the front door open for a minute too long and our pantry is no longer safe.

And did I mention that we had to spend almost $200 fixing our car because a rat chewed one of the wires in half (but to the rats defense, this happened in our church parking lot, not at our house)?
But still..... this is why it's
THE YEAR OF THE RATS.

CO Girls reunite

You have no idea how significant these pics are. I don't even know if explaining it will give it the justice it deserves. But of course I'm going to try.

Pretend you're me. Take yourself back to 2003....
Your life has just been turned upside down. You now have a broken engagement on your hands and no idea what your life is going to look like. So you do what any other girl with a broken heart would do. You pack everything you own (or at least attempt to) into your Daewoo and drive to the West coast with 3 of your closest friends to live. To dream. To become you again. To discover passions and gifts you didn't know you had.

You experience the most significant 2 years of your life.

Now fast forward to 2008. You're married to the man of your dreams. You have lived in Colorado and now are back in Cali. You're still working at a coffee shop (some things never change). The girls you lived with 4 years ago are still your soul mates. They know you like few others do. They fought for you, reminded you of who you were when you had forgotten.
It's July, and you all reunite in the random town of Grand Junction. The CO girls are together again. Things are the same and yet different. New. One of us just had a baby.

And life goes on.

My Dad's engaged!

I took a trip to Grand Junction and saw my Dad and his fiance Diana. Just yesterday they summited a fourteener where they became officially engaged. I am so happy for both of them.

Here is a pic from our time together. This was after they had taken me to get Palisade Peaches and wine tasting. Here we are at the brewery in Palisade. Next we went to the Palisade Pilsnery. I was feeling mighty fine on the plane ride home.

I can't remember the last time I've seen my dad this happy.

Quote of the week

"Knowing oneself loved by God is not a matter of knowing about God's love. It's not a matter of saying the right words or even claiming the right beliefs. It's about something that happens on a deeper level than words and ideas and knowledge and thoughts. It's something that gets inside one's soul and never leaves." -Lynne Hybels

Present Obligations

I'm not talking about the present. I'm talking about presents (the English language has always been so weird to me... what were we thinking by creating many words that are spelled and pronounced the same but have completely different meanings?)

Back to my deep thought for the day:
Have you ever noticed that there is more of a present buying obligation during Christmas than on people's birthdays?

WHY IS THAT? I mean, that's really messed up, right?!

Think about it.