Me & a bunch of people

I can't believe it...my trip home is already over...and I also can't believe that I've thought about the fact that "home" is something I can't put my finger on right now. Maybe I'm actually making my trip home tomorrow. So, the past few days have been filled with more sweet times with my precious Corpus Christians! These pics have me in all of them, and I decided that's okay because, well, it's MY blog. :)

Me & Marcy

The O'Callaghans (minus Eamon)

Cameron (Caitlin's boyfriend), Caitlin, Brian, Kieran, Katy, and me

Me & my Katy

Me & Hayden, Chrissy's ADORABLE nephew

Me & Esther

Me & the Espinas

Mark, Duke, Michelle, Nicole, Papa Espina, Mama Espina, Chris, Chrissy, me, Nick and baby Hayden

Me & my Aama

The Dillards

Faith, me, Esther, Bob, Gabby

Kieran's mohawk scares the schnikes out of Hayden

Ashley, Chrissy, & me

Ash is one of our dear friends from high school who's now in her second year of residency in Birmingham...don't we look like an M.D., a Fulbright scholar, and a Ph.D. student?

Now we look smarter (or at least not crazy)

Tomorrow, Chrissy, her boyfriend Nick, Wilbert and I embark on our trip back to Seattle. Chrissy and Melissa are moving there, so we are meeting up with Mels in Amarillo Friday night, then driving to Bakersfield, CA, on Saturday, then on to Seattle on Sunday--just in time for New Year's Eve!

Merry Christmas!

It's Christmas! I started the day with the O'Callaghans morning brunch 'n' gifts...so much fun, this family! Then I floated off to my grandma's for my family's Christmas--my dad's roommate and her son joined us and I was so glad--the more, the merrier. We had a great time and I was chosen to bless our Christmas dinner, what a privilege! I am so thankful for Jesus' birth and the reason why we celebrate Christmas! I ended the day reuniting with my precious heart friend Marcy, who you will remember was my companion on the 3 day drive from Texas to Seattle back in August.

It's been a whirlwind trip to Texas--I can't believe I leave in just 2 days! I've been only quasi-faithful to take pics...I have seen friends like Deborah, my best friend from 6th-12th grade, Vanessa, a close friend from 3rd grade-high school, and Cookie, one of my home group girls from Denton last year...and did NOT remember to take a picture with any of them!

But, I did remember to take some...

Mexican food at Acapulco

Katy, me, Esther, Beth, Chrissy

I've had Mexican three times...just enough to get enchiladas, quesadillas, fajitas, and a taco salad

The Bowling Bet of 2007

I blogged before about Team Pegole (me & Nicole, Chrissy's sis) beating Team Crick (Chrissy & Nick) so that the losers had to tie their shoes together for their next bowl...

Benjamin Michael Gage
While in Austin, I visited with my high school friends, Misty & Tara. Misty had her first baby, Benjamin, in September and I got to meet him for the first time. I told her this kid would never be on Jerry Springer b/c a paternity test will never be needed...this kid looks EXACTLY like his daddy. He is SOOOOOOOO cute.


I played with Benjamin for 2.5 hours and we were both very happy with the arrangement. Misty said Benjamin never let them put him on his back like this...I just had the magic touch, I guess. :)

The reunion

L-R Misty, Benjamin, me, Brooklyn & Tara

Josh & Amy's
I was actually in Austin to hang out with BFF Amy and retrieve Wilbert, who Josh & Amy graciously took care of the past 4 months

Amy sneaks a bite of peanut butter while we baked Christmas cookies...unlike me, Amy is amazing in the kitchen and was glad to have someone around who would bake cookies with her (Josh wasn't a willing participant, thanks to his recent Wii purchase--what's with guys and their Wii's?)

So we baked...and ate batter. Mmm, batter.

Me & Ames

Gender separation...the boys (and dogs) watched Superbad while...

Amy & I holed up in the bedroom watching The Nanny Diaries and eating cookie dough ice cream...I can't lie, I love being a girl! (Amy, don't be furious I'm putting this pic on the internet!)

Family photo...Amy's bro & my honorary bro, Stephen, Josh, Wilbert, Amy, Maggie & me

The O'Callaghans

Shockingly, no pics of Katy up yet, stay tuned...but here's a couple of the O'Cs...

Caitlin & me

Kieran & Zoe sharing some Christmas morning bacon (anyone else thinking Lady & the Tramp?)

Christmas in Texas

Left Seattle yesterday morning and sat next to a nice man from India on my flight to Dallas. I always want, but rarely get the nerve, to strike up a conversation with the person sitting next to me on the plane. I'm afraid of invading their precious personal time away from the pressures of their everyday lives and that they would prefer to stare dreamily out the window, read their Dean Koontz novel, or snore loudly than talk to me. However, India Guy seemed happy to chat and we had a lovely conversation that made the 4 hour flight fly by (no pun intended).

My flight from Dallas to Corpus Christi put me in reflective mode as I thought about all the loved ones that I hadn't seen in 3 or more months and would soon be joyfully reunited with.

Six dear friends greeted me at the airport, which was a wonderful surprise. Esther started waving her arms around, so I figured I'd go for the dramatic and ran towards the group with arms wide open. It was great fun.

The first question, of course, was "What happened to your head?" I can see I will be retelling that story at least 10 times a day for awhile.

Arrived at the O'Callaghans house, where I have taken up residence in their lovely loft. Big hugs all around.

Jet-lagged and excited to be home, sleep did not come easily or peacefully.

This morning, Katy & I had our traditional breakfast at My Favorite Muffin. How I've missed this amazing woman who has taught me so much about God, life, love, marriage, friendship and everything else.

Lunched with Daddy. Had a fantastic conversation that God orchestrated, and then fell into a blissful afternoon nap.

Had much needed girl time with Chrissy in the comfort of the Espina's house, one of my second homes.

Celebrated Uncle John's birthday with orange cake (gross) and Grandma trying her hardest to work her camera...I thought it was entirely possible we would be waiting for her to take the picture until NEXT Christmas. Bless her heart.

Went bowling with Nick, Chrissy & Nicole. It was Team Crick (that's Chrissy & Nick) vs. Team Pegole (Peggy & Nicole), which turned out to be a quite even competition. We had decided that whichever team ended up losing the first game would have to: a) wear their bowling shoes sans socks (EWWWW), 2) wear the left shoe on the right foot and the right shoe on the left foot, and d) tie the shoes together. Team Pegole won--MWAH HA HA.

Oh and it was 78 degrees and sunny today.

It's good to be home.

Lovely weekend

This weekend started with a final Christmas shopping trip to Pike Place. Definite success, and I felt like a local, knowing the shops & some of the shop owners.

I've already posted about Saturday afternoon's head injury while setting up for Jonathan's birthday party. We had such a great time that evening that I can honestly say it was worth getting my head smashed by glass.

Josephine & I partied it up Asian-American style

I wonder if Jonathan knows how lucky he was to have such hot mamas at his party...Josephine, Greta, me, Deborah

Seriously, I've known Greta for about 72 hours...we've decided we were separated at birth...here's our "Why weren't we born of the same womb at the same time" list: Swedish, brown hair, blue eyes, freaking hilarious, likes to par-tay, eats dessert anytime anyplace, can talk about dessert for 30 minutes w/no other topic mentioned, likes to extract splinters from people's feet, both 5'7", and get this: Greta and Peggy both mean "pearl."

Jonathan gave me a good hug for sacrificing my head for his party...

Don & Jen...Don is the first person I've met here who has lived in Texas AND in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire

Partway through the party, Josephine helped me reapply healing measures

This is Joe, and in case you can't surmise for yourself, I will tell you he is CRAZY FUN

Janet & Brendan are in my community group. They just got married and are the ones that I mentioned a few posts back who had the wedding idea I plan to steal one day of having all their friends out on a boat that tours the Puget Sound

Joe's not only CRAZY FUN, but a songwriter and guitar player...he wrote a birthday song for Jonathan on the fly

Sunday consisted of church, lunch with Josephine at a fabulous cafe (anyplace that serves beet salad is on my list), cleaning & packing and cleaning & packing, and a lovely pasta dinner mixed with good conversation with someone near & dear.

And now, it is 10:50 am and I am headed to the airport where I will fly to Texas and spend two glorious weeks with people I dearly love.

A whole new meaning to "heads up"

In 2002, our team arrived in Cote d'Ivoire. Our Mali teammates came with us because there was a conference, and Robin & I were grateful for their company. Our team was like a family and constantly hung out together. One day, we decided to play basketball on the neighbor's driveway.

Chris was a wee bit competitive (okay, we all were) and was not about to allow a ball to get away from him if there was any chance he could keep it in bounds. So he goes for the ball...and we all hear a loud THUD and look to see Chris lying on the ground. I thought the basketball had hit the low roof of our neighbor's house, and the noise scared Chris into diving to the ground. Nope. It was Chris' HEAD that hit the roof. So I say, "Chris, are you okay?" And he says, "Yeah," and keeps lying there without moving. I said, "Okay, why don't you lift your head?" So he does and blood POURS out onto the driveway, which freaks Chris out.

Everyone on our team sprung into action, according to personality. I was nearest to Chris so I ran over and attempted to stop the bleeding by applying pressure to his head. Jodi started pacing the driveway, saying "Okay...okay..." while Daniel was yelling for someone to do something. Robin ran upstairs where Alison found a towel and brought it back down. Then we took him to the ER. A few hours and stitches later, it was decided that Chris would live.

Fast forward to the Head Wound of 2007. I went over to Jonathan's place to help him get ready for his birthday party. My task: the kitchen. And indeed, it was a big task...some might say impossible. But I conquered...any of my roommates can testify to the fact that I have mad kitchen cleaning skills. So about 2 hours later, I was drying the final dishes and putting them back in the cabinets. I was trying to find a place for an odd-shaped jar and decided to open the top kitchen cabinet. When I did, the door hit the not-so-well-screwed-in light fixture which came loose and landed on my head.

Smashing glass. My forehead. What a combo.

Blogging Like Paula II

Had a productive meeting with Michele. She always helps me see things in a new way, very refreshing.

Went into work for the last time this quarter. FINALLY finished a big project, so got a major sense of accomplishment. And seriously, couldn't have been better timing since the project had to be done TODAY...I love cutting it down to the wire; there's nothing like the rush of a high-pressure situation.

Ran down the bus. I saw it coming as I was turning the corner, and knew if I missed it, I'd be sitting at the bus stop for another 30 minutes so I RAN like a track star and got there at the same time as the bus. It was ridiculous how out of breath I was...must...have...water...now.

Went to the Starbucks near my place and saw the group of African men hanging out that I see nearly every time I'm there. For 3 months, I have wanted to ask them where they are from but always chickened out. Well, today, I finally asked. They are from Eritrea, just north of Ethiopia and bordering the Red Sea. While I was mildly disappointed they weren't from West Africa, I was still excited to be around anything Africa again. Teddy was the one I ended up talking with, so I'm hoping to continue getting to know him & his buddies as we all frequent the Starbucks on Northgate Way.

Went to the Argosy Ship Christmas Lighting with Edwin & Veronica. It was cold and wet, but definitely got me into the Christmas spirit! We capped the evening with a delicious mud pie dessert. Mmm.

In 72 hours, I'll be in Texas...home sweet 80 degree home.

Blogging like Paula

I just found out dear sweet Paula keeps a blog. She has a unique way of doing it, posting each day with little snippets from the activities of her day. I rather like her style, so I thought I'd copy her for today.

Woke up and thought I should make a birthday cake for Jonathan's birthday...seeing as how he's the community group leader and his birthday happened to fall on the day our group meets.

Went to QFC, my Seattle grocer of choice, and bought the needed items. Got into a banter with the cashier and customer behind me about how I am SO not a baker and hoped I could handle the Betty Crocker mix. I chose a spice cake w/cream cheese frosting. Yummy.

Held text conversations with 3 different people before 8:30 am. Rare.

Met up with Gina & Melissa at Pike Place for some Christmas shopping. Had quasi-success finding gifts, but will need a return trip before I go to Texas on Monday. I heart Pike Place--it is SO Seattle. I can't believe I live in a city, and only 20 minutes from a place, that people literally fly across the country to visit. Melissa knew one of the local musicians, Jimmy, who gave us the specially designed Pike Place Christmas 2007 pins.

On the way home, talked to Chrissy about our road trip back to Seattle from Texas on Dec 28-31st. Yes, I'm making that drive again. Call me crazy.

Returned home and made aforementioned spice cake. I mixed the batter and it seemed there was too much batter for the pan size indicated I should use on the box. So I used a smaller one. I remind you: I am SO not a baker. The cake started rising in the oven and I could see it was going to go over the edge of the pan, so I took it out and poured some of the batter out. Ghetto. Put it back in the oven and kept an eye on it. It survived without overflowing the pan, and I learned to trust the box next time. Seriously, I am hopeless in the kitchen.

Headed to work for a couple of hours, and thankfully Val was on her way out the door so I got a lift from her on her way to the East Coast for the break instead of having to take the bus. Good thing since I was lugging the following: old clothes and purses to donate to the Washington flood victims, books to loan Ashley & Jonathan, birthday gift for Jonathan, and the precious spice cake. Not ideal for the bus...and did I mention it was raining? Good ol' Seattle.

After work, Jonathan picked me up for community group. CG was so much fun tonight--I made a new BFF, Greta. She was a newcomer but whatever...I have no concept of a newcomer so we're hanging out Saturday. At CG, we talked about the concept of play...does God want us to play and have fun? Do we see what Jesus' concept of fun might be in Scripture? I think so...

Wow, all that happened in one day. Thanks to Paula for being my inspiration to see all that can happen in a day!

Merry Christmas to all...and I mean, to ALL

Living in Seattle, I have found that the general population values civic responsiblity, volunteerism and giving to the less fortunate HIGHLY. My friends have inspired me by their awareness of the needs and willingness to take action.

In that light, you can go to Kari's blog to see the many, many ways you can help spread Christmas across the world. She's located some fabulous opportunties through reputable organizations like WorldVision and Heifer International that will allow you to bring the joy of Christmas to those who may not have one otherwise.

I am writer. Hear me roar.

I began writing in a notebook as a collection, and found this piece that I had written as a preface.

"This is a collection of my writings. I write because I enjoy it. It is my creative outlet. I have thought of pursuing a career in writing, contemplating seriously enough to track down MFA Creative Writing programs with a nonfiction track. Those programs are precious finds (the nonfiction track part is difficult to locate) and so tempting that I very nearly picked up and moved to New England, Boston to be exact.

Being a writer, living in the Northeast, most likely in a log cabin in Vermont. It is a foggy dream of mine, one that is most likely better left as a dream. Perhaps when I retire, though I am not yet thirty so this is a distant idea, I will go. I will leave all material possessions and simply write.

In the meantime, I intend to still write. I love to take my personal experiences and turn them into colorful, witty pieces that make my and the reader's day better.

I picked up a book called Your Life as Story. The author seemed to understand exactly what kind of writing I enjoy, which seems to be a rare type. It's not fiction, or poetry, or journalism. It is the genre best described as "my life as story."

I find that in person, verbally, I am not quite as witty and entertaining as I am on paper. In written form, people understand me and I understand myself. I am optimistic, finding the humor and lesson in even the most painful experience. I am emotional, more able to connect to the heart. And I am the life of the party, able to captivate. Even the men love me on paper.

I am writer. Hear me roar."

The proof is in the pudding...or the Pad Thai

I finally have some proof of my friendships here in Seattle! Edwin & Veronica have been a HUGE part of my life (and my GETTING a life) here in Seattle. They are my next door neighbors in the condo building, who without hesitation, reached out to me and invited me to their church. Then, being the socialites they are, they introduced me to EVERYONE at the church, including a community group leader who, just as quickly as E&V had invited me to the church, invited me to attend his community group. So, I did. Two months later, I have finally taken some pictures of these fantastic people that God has brought into my life and astounded me with the blessing of authentic friendship. E&V had a Christmas party, featuring Thai food, last night so I took the opportunity to actually use the camera that's been shelved since September. Enjoy!

Me & Josephine...I already told you a bit about Josephine in a recent post, but I can't get over the instant click we've had...people have asked us how long we've been friends b/c it really does seem like quite awhile when you're around us. :)

Me & Jonathan, my fearless community group leader. I already said a bit about him in a previous post as well, but again, can't get over the blessing he's been in my life in such a short time. We've both realized we connect in a way that we don't with many people that we've known for years and years. Isn't it a gift when that happens?

Josephine is allergic to alcohol so she had cranberry juice instead...but looks like wine, doesn't it?

Me & Annie--I HEART Annie! She has one of the sweetest spirits ever. She has a heart of service and is always ready to give any way she can. I got to spend 3 evenings with her this week, and was so blessed each time. Annie's love for Jesus leaves me speechless...she is so authentic in her faith and constantly inspires me!

This is our first attempt at a group picture...we did some karaoke and couldn't get Jonathan to release the microphone. Can you tell he's a middle child and needs attention? ;)

Our second attempt was much better...so L-R, we are Jonathan, me, Jason, Brian, Annie, Josephine, Veronica and Edwin

E&V's favorite thing to do when they have guests is karaoke. It took awhile to get the rest of us going, so they started us out...I'm pretty sure this was "Lost In Your Eyes" by none other than my 7th grade hero, Debbie Gibson

Me & Veronica...to brag on her for a bit, Veronica has reached out to me more than just about anyone ever has in my life. Veronica is one of the most loving and caring people in the world, constantly looking for ways to serve those around her. She's also ever cheerful! :)

Edwin was our chef for the evening...here he is cooking up some Pad Thai and peanut sauce (I can't remember what that dish was called). It was YUMMY. Edwin has been such a joy for me; I know anytime I'm with him, there will be a good laugh and that is always needed! Edwin also has the gift of encouragement...he is constantly affirming others and letting them know how they have impacted him...words we all need to hear!

So the ladies got a wee bit silly, posing for the camera...

And then after that, we got a wee bit sillier...

And then finally we got serious...

After a bit, Brian & Annie were ready to take on the karaoke...here they are singing "Summer Nights" from Grease (with the guys helping--"wella wella wella uh" and the girls helping--"tell me more, tell me more"); Brian is Annie's husband, in case that wasn't clear yet, and I hadn't really gotten to talk much with him until this week. Amazing what can happen when you talk with someone--we found out we have very similar experiences in our struggles with faith and the church. It was really encouraging for me to talk with him and hear about someone else sharing my struggles, makes me seem more "normal" (okay, we all know that I'm anything but normal, but whatever)

And yet more karoke, this was the scene for awhile...Jonathan didn't need a microphone (he's quite loud on his own) and Annie & I were feeding off each other's energy quite nicely. This could be any song from "Footloose" to "I Will Survive" or even "Bohemian Rhapsody"

We got out our crafty side and made snowflakes at the end of the evening...what's Christmas without snow (says the girl from South Texas, where it is currently 80 degrees)?

And here you have it, the Snowflake Class of 2007