From A Terrace

I consider myself lucky to have the friends I do. I look at my life and where I've been and I look at those who I have pushed away, and those who refused to be pushed away. I look at those who have held me in the tough times, and those who have peed their pants from laughing with me so much. 

To those who have been such awesome friends that you would willingly cup your hand over my mouth to prevent me from releasing a resonating
laughter in a library—I thank you. Sometimes I forget about my surroundings.

I write all of this down because like you, I have bad days and lose sight of the great things I have in life. I have forgetful days. I have busy days. I have days where I just want to throw my laptop across the room because my alarm is going off at an ungodly hour . . . but of course I don't, because well let's get real—I love my Mac too much. Also, in the same vein of IF YOU GIVE A MOUSE A COOKIE, if I throw my laptop across the room, I'm going to cry for hours.

and if I cry for hours, I'm going to want some chocolate
and if I get some chocolate, I'm going to want some coffee
and if I get some coffee, pretty soon I'll just start crying espresso . . .

You know how it is.

(you do, right?)

Anyway, I just wanted to share with you all about 2 of my friends who are doing some great creative stuff right now.

Chris Hair
I met Chris years ago through another friend and have stayed connected over the years. Right now, he's pursuing his passion in music and has been posting some new songs, as well as some cover songs, on his YouTube account. But, if you'd like to add to your Christmas music collection, you can head over to his Noise Trade page and download his free cover of HAVE YOURSELF A MERRY LITTLE CHRISTMAS.

Here is one of his songs, ONE FOOT IN FRONT OF THE OTHER:



Joshua Curtis
I met Joshua during my 1st year as a student in MCA and we have been friends ever since! He is by and far my best guy friend ever! He has always been one of my biggest encouragers and never fails to make me laugh. He is also an amazing photographer! Recently he spent a long time living in Africa, serving the community there alongside some great people in Days of Elisha Ministries. Here is some of his work:

 ^ i actually own this one and it's hanging up in my room ^

As a side note: If you (or someone you know is) are looking for a great gift for the holiday season, you can buy an 11x14 print of his PHOTOS for $25 each. Simply click on the images below to enlarge and see which one you would like:

And then send him an e-mail at joshuainafrica@gmail.com. In the e-mail, let him know the number listing of the photo you want, along with your mailing address. He'll work out payment with you over e-mail.

I really want to spend this holiday season celebrating others who have meant so much to me, so I think I'll be posting more about fun stories, photos, and projects that my friends and I are working on and just celebrate good times as we head into 2011!!

And just so we're clear, it's gonna take me
all of 2011 to get used to saying, "2011."

Pink Champagne

Yesterday, I got to witness one of the coolest things EVER . . .

No silly, not this fish!

Well, I mean, I did see that too.
But you just never know what you'll see at the market. ;)

Sunday afternoon, I headed over to Pike Place Market and got some fresh fruit and food, and of course, some of my favorite Mac 'N' Cheese from Beechers! (Deliciousssss)

But truthfully, all the great stuff happened after the market and I made my way over to Memorial Stadium at Seattle Center. That was the site for the Puget Sound 3-Day Walk for the Cure Closing Ceremony. I got to watch as the green field was covered with people dressed in different shades of pink, all united to help fight breast cancer. Having lost a relative to breast cancer, and knowing what a serious disease it is, I felt a sense of pride and hope as I watched my friend Alisa walk into the stadium with her team, The Dancing Sheep, having completed the 3-Day walk. I'm lucky to have friends with such big hearts that do phenomenal things that bring joy and peace to my heart.

Alisa with one of the crew members who
had helped her along the walk

The crowd gathered and everyone in the stadium took time to congratulate all the walkers and to honor those who have died from breast cancer. We also rejoiced in celebration for those who were breast cancer survivors! It was a great time, and I walked away with so much love, peace, and hope for the future of women who are battling such a vicious disease.


Afterward, I got to hear Alisa share stories from her time on the walk, and it made me wish that I was good at giving massages . . . because she totally deserved one! The flowers I had picked up for her at the market all of a sudden seemed so puny compared to what I really felt she, and ALL the women there, deserved for their sacrifice. They are truly champions!

American Honey

She grew up on the side of the road
Where the church bells ring and strong love grows
She grew up good, she grew up slow
Like American honey
Steady as a preacher, free as a weed
Couldn't wait to get going
but wasn't quite ready to leave
So innocent pure and sweet American honey

Having an abundance of friends with children, I get to learn a lot about different parenting techniques and I get to spend time with their kids, watching their imaginations run wild. This past weekend, I had an incredibly unique experience.

The Children's Ministry Coordinator at my church has a daughter who is 10 years old. I call her daughter H.Stubbs. Well, for the past few weeks now, H.Stubbs has been asking me to come over for a sleepover. Her mother, being an amazing and daring parent, threw out some dates for me to come over and have a sleepover with H.Stubbs and her little sister, E.Stubbs. At first I thought, "Well that's kind of out of the norm. I mean, I'm 28 and I'm going to a sleepover, but I actually think it could be really fun! I haven't had a sleepover in years . . . unless you count friends coming in to town and staying the night. Which, I guess does count. This is gonna be SO cool!" Fast forward a couple of weeks and the sleepover date finally arrived. When I got to their house, her mom told me:

"She's been telling everyone that her best friend is coming over to spend the night. But the funny part, is that she never even mentioned that you weren't 10 years old. And they've already made it clear to me that you're here to see them, not to hang out with me."

We both laughed, and I felt complete awe and wonder at how (1) she called me her best friend, and (2) friendship knew no age limits to her. It was a great feeling. We had a blast too! We swam in their big pool in the backyard as we pretended to be mermaids, Olympic swimmers, and pirates! We spent most of our time in the pool, and I gave them dolphin rides around the pool and showed them how to do the "Wayne's World Fish Face." After swim time, we headed in to the guest bedroom that their parents set up for us. I got a huge bed for myself, H.Stubbs had a large mattress on the ground, and E.Stubbs got to sleep on the couch. We watched Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs and laughed so much at all the shenanigans in that movie. I told them I needed to get a ratbird of my own. ;)

After the movie was over, their mom came in and told us it was time for bed. The girls talked her into letting us watch 2 episodes of the Power Puff girls before we called it a night, and so we did. After that, we turned off the TV and had a full-on pillow fight! During our pillow fight, one of the girls said, "Oh no, I think I hear someone coming!" And I said, "Quick!! Get in bed!!" The other sister said, "If she comes in, let's just pretend to be asleep, okay? So you have to pretend to snore!" So we did, and it turned out to be nothing. We continued the pillow fight, and from time to time one of the girls would hear something so we'd jump back in the beds. We finally decided to head to our beds (for real this time) at midnight and E.Stubbs exclaimed, "This is the latest I've EVER stayed up in my WHOLE life!" We congratulated her and then turned in for the evening.

At 8 a.m. Sunday morning, the Smashmouth song, ALL STAR blasted through my laptop speakers to wake me up . . . yes, I actually DO need that kind of motivation to get going in the morning. ;) They woke up as well, and immediately pounced on me singing along and tickling me. Their mom came in a while after to let us know that she and her husband were going to head in to church, as I had told them I would take the girls in with me later so everyone could sleep in a bit. She brought them their clothes and made me a cup of coffee. Then they left, and our morning fun began! We all got dressed for church, had breakfast, and put on makeup. My favorite part was reassuring the girls that they didn't HAVE to put on a ton of makeup to look beautiful because they were already naturally beautiful. We still had fun with lip gloss and blush before we realized it was time to head out ourselves.

On the drive in to church, I played a mix CD I had made for myself and it included the song, AMERICAN HONEY, and after that song played, the girls both requested that I put it on repeat. We drove the entire way to the church (about 30 mins.) blasting that song with the windows down, belting out the words (as best as they knew) at the top of our lungs! I kept looking over at H.Stubbs and thinking, "I hope you never lose sight of the sweet innocence you have now. You are an amazing example for others!"

I got to talk to her grandmother before the service and she really encouraged me to treasure those moments and reminded me that even though my sleepover with the girls might seem preposterous to the world around us, it means THE WORLD to those girls and they will hang on to those memories and those little life lessons for years to come—they needed it as much as I did.

After the church service, we had an all-church BBQ. I ate and connected with friends and then decided I needed to head to Home Depot to pick up the primer so that I could start getting the new youth room painted. H.Stubbs knew I was going and begged me to let her come with me and to help paint. After getting her parent's permission, she made the trip to and fro with me and helped me tape and prime. Throughout the day she kept saying that she needed to find a way to spend more time with me. It was truly one of the sweetest experiences ever—and not just because of her compliment—I was lucky enough to be encouraged by her imagination and her innocence that didn't see me as the full-grown adult that the world tells me I should be. For a day, I got to remember the sweeter things in life, and enjoy spending time with one of the most wonderful friends! And she even made me a super sweet thank you note!

Reach For The Sky

You know that moment when you get a gift from someone that comes at just the right time, and it's so beautiful that you just fall in love with it, and you wonder what you ever did to deserve such an amazing support system of friends??

Yeah, me too!

Monday I blogged about my incredibly bad day and how much that entire situation sucked. Tuesday blew Monday out of the water!

I got this little message on my Facebook wall on Tuesday:

I sent her the address and I knew she was up to something, but I wasn't sure what it was. After helping out at VBS during the morning, I headed in to work and a little while later, I got a call from the downstairs office saying I had a delivery. I went downstairs and was INCREDIBLY surprised with . . .

STUNNINGLY BEAUTIFUL FLOWERS!!

From Matthew Fox.

Just kidding. They're not from Matthew!
I know, I know, you TOTALLY thought they were ;)

They were from Alisa, which, in my humble opinion, is EVEN BETTER! I first got to know Alisa last fall when I started going to her small group. Through our small group meetings I got to know her more and once LOST came back on for the final season, I would go over to her house every week to watch it with her and her husband and a small group of friends. It was SO great to be part of another fun group of Losties. Over time I got to hang out with Alisa more, and every time I'm around her, she is a breath of fresh air. Her sweet, honest, and gracious personality is truly a comfort to me. She inspires me so much in her relationship with the Lord and in her relationships with others. I really am INCREDIBLY honored to know her and to get to spend time with her.

When I got the flowers, I laughed so hard because she did something incredibly thoughtful, but she did it in a super funny creative way! It was especially fun explaining to all my co-workers who Matthew Fox is! And I'm sure they thought I was nuts, the way I was blabbing on and on and on about how ridiculously good looking he is, and what a great actor he is, and about the funny comments I would make about marrying him when we would watch LOST. As I carried the flowers up to my office, I couldn't help but get emotional once again and start to tear up with tears of joy over the love and comfort and care that I felt from one simple gift from Alisa. It made my heart so happy and made my life feel so much fuller to know that I wasn't just carrying flowers up to my office, I was carrying a friendship with an amazing woman and all the encouragement, grace, and honor that is contained in Alisa's heart.

And now the flowers sit on my desk and I look at them and smile and feel the warm fuzzies all over again and count myself blessed to have such amazing friends!

We Were Made For Each Other / You Can Breathe (Vacation Recap)

A friend accepts us as we are yet helps us to be what we should.
- Anonymous

I would have never guessed how much my life would change when I made friends with this seemingly shy girl from Baltimore ten years ago. But after getting to spend 5 days together sharing laughs, memories, and new adventures as if we'd never skipped a beat, I consider myself one of the luckiest people on the planet. She has, in a pretty major way, helped me become the person I am today. She shoots straight with me and isn't afraid to speak the truth in love to me while still being my biggest fan (next to my parents). She isn't afraid to be silly and she has an attitude just as fiesty as mine! Being around her was a breath of fresh air as she encouraged me so much and just reminded me what it means to have a best friend.

The hardest part about the vacation was saying goodbye. The best part was deciding to make my trip back to the east coast for the 4th of July weekend an annual event! I've been blessed enough to weather the toughest storms and soar above them with a soul sister always at my beck and phone call/text message/email and I look forward to more worthwhile adventures with my bestie!

Here are some pics to conclude the trip journal:

Anytime I'm given anything with whip cream or frosting,
it's pretty much just gonna end up on my face.
Sarah's dad knows this, hence his "oh this is normal" pose.

Other things that are pretty normal:
Sarah joining in the fun!

When we were in NYC, Sarah bought us best friend keychains
(the Big Apple & the License Plate)
We're equal parts cheesy and awesome! ;)

I bought us best friend "Fun Socks!"

A best friend never lets their friends forget to eat Chick-Fil-A

While we were there, Adam and Stacey White
(I was on staff at MCA when Stacey was a student)
joined us for lunch at CFA and it was SO great
to catch up and share some laughs.

Bonus Plus!
I got Sarah's dad to let me take a pic of him
modeling a bra in the middle of Wal-Mart!
Who could refuse me such an honor? ;)

When I left for the trip initially, I started reading this book,
SUMMER AT TIFFANY, about two best friends who spend a summer together living in NYC and working at Tiffany's. It was great to continue the story after having just spent some refreshing quality time with my best friend ever on the planet!

We Are Family (Vacation Recap)

Make new friends, but keep the old;
one is silver and the other is gold.

There is a song I learned in Girl Scouts called "Make New Friends (But Keep The Old)" that I got to sing to my friend Sarah on her birthday this past Saturday. It was hard to sing it without getting all choked up because she seriously has been one of the biggest pieces of my heart. We've been best friends for the past 10 years and have been through a lot together. We push each other to be better and we comfort each other in tough times. No matter what life has thrown at us, we have been constants for each other and our friendship just continues to get stronger and stronger.

I got to spend this last weekend in Baltimore with her and her family and it was such a refreshing time. We seriously are two peas in a pod. Over the next few posts, I'll share some pictures from our adventures and some fun stories.

I flew out on the red-eye last Wednesday night in order to spend the MOST amount of time with Sarah and her family as I could. They are just another extension of my blood relatives. They make me laugh, make me feel valued, and teach me the power of love by the way they live their lives. When I got in to Baltimore, I was greeted with a giant tackle hug from Sarah!

When we got to her parent's new townhouse around 6:45 a.m., I sat around in the living room with her family as we all enjoyed some delicious coffee and we caught up on all the latest that was going on in each of our lives. Then around mid-morning, the jet lag started taking effect and as much as I tried to fight it, I couldn't. After my little nap, we decided to go grab some lunch at Don Pablo's. The Warners also invited their friend Liz to meet us up for lunch because they really wanted us to meet each other. I can totally see why now—she's AMAZING and such a wonderful new friend!

If you know me, you know that I'm silly and I enjoy being spontaneous and making others laugh. The great thing is, the Warners are the same way! Our lunch date was full of jokes and randomness. Here are just some of the shenanigans that went down:

Hoping this frog turns into Ben Affleck

Sarah's Chip Face

Ms. Shelley's Chip Face

We got to spend a fun day together just hanging out and catching up. And then they surprised me by throwing me a surprise Half Birthday Party! It was so clever and so much fun!

We spent the evening playing a fun new game called QUELF. It's seriously the funnest, most random game I've ever played! All through the game you pick cards that correspond with the color block you land on and you have to do what the card says. One of the things I had to do was randomly pretend to be Frankenstein throughout the game. I couldn't let others know what I was doing and I had to stay in character. It caught everyone off guard and made us laugh so hard through the night. There were times I seriously had to cover my eyes so I wouldn't look at them because it would make me laugh and break character.

This is a picture from a part of the game where I had to find some random material in the room and make it into a tie to wear around my neck. I had to wear this trash bag tie the ENTIRE game! If I took it off, I had to go back 3 spaces. It was such a fun game night with my extended family!

I consider myself incredibly blessed to have a friend like Sarah and a family like the Warners. They are seriously pure gold in my life!

You're So Vain

So originally I was going to write a post about my new haircut that I'm absolutely in love with! However, last night was filled with all sorts of Twitter shenanigans and I'd feel like I was cheating everyone from truly enjoying all the best parts of my life if I didn't feature it today.

So I'll just let you know that last night I got my haircut at VAIN here in Seattle (for $15!!) and I'm in love with my hair!



And now we'll get on to the real highlight—cause let's be honest, my hair will be cut again, but the conversation you're about to peek-in on won't be repeated. I mean, maybe it could, but that would just be silly. In any event, enjoy these shenanigans!

I've been lucky enough to make some awesome friends on Twitter. So much so, that I have a tentative meet-up planned as soon as my travel dates for my Baltimore/NY trip is confirmed. :D Two of my newer friends are @Pandabear2442 and @parachutefancom! They are both fellow fans of Parachute and one of them runs one of my favorite sites ever: PARACHUTEFAN.COM! So, Parachutefancom asked me this question on my Formspring yesterday:

(click image to enlarge)

I then tweeted about it (via Twitter—for those not familiar with the lingo) and then the shenanigans ensued!

(click image to enlarge)

And that link leads to this>

And so we carry on . . .

Then all of a sudden, my web browser crashed!

And for the record, I really DID submit this form just as you see it here

Jenny's link>

Jenny knows the perfect way to cap off the night!

And what's better than a funny Twitter conversation? Enjoying it the next morning!

Who knew indeed? ;p

Osmosis Land

Wow. I just realized I haven't blogged since Wednesday. Life just seems to have picked up at ridiculous speeds. So I figure the best way to catch everyone up on my latest shenanigans is to do a little recap post.

It's kind of like when you watch a TV Show and they say,
"PREVIOUSLY ON _____"

Well, here you go . . . PREVIOUSLY IN AMANDA'S LIFE:

Thursday:


I got to hang out with Alisa and her kiddos! After eating dinner and running around the house, we got to go have ice cream at one of my new favorite places: PEAK'S FROZEN CUSTARD. It's a frozen custard shop that also has awesome coffee and free wi-fi. I mean, really, what's NOT to love about all that? The kids loved it and Sophia was introduced to her first Troll doll. Man, I hadn't seen one of those in years, but the toy shelf at Peak's had a bunch of them all lined up. It was great. I got to have some great conversation and just chill time with Alisa, who is one of the most amazing women I know. I think back to the short amount of time I've known Alisa and I just smile because being her friend is just one huge gift!

Friday:


I spent the evening with Cindy J. and her kiddos! Well, mostly with her and Juliana, but it was still wonderful! I had my first ever Bruin Burger, which is a fried burger, found mainly at fairs. It was something new and fun! We also ate some brownies with fresh strawberries and whipped cream. Afterwards, we went to KENYA NIGHT at Westside. One thing I absolutely LOVE about my home church is their involvement with a church/organization in Kenya that is dedicated to feeding children and providing micro-financing resources for women to be able to make money necessary to feed their families, as well as providing help and hope for those living with AIDS. We got to see some pictures and hear stories from one of the teams that recently got back from Kenya and got to learn more about the ministry going on over there. It was hopeful, inspiring, and gave me a greater passion for people. I will say though, the highlight of my night was when Cindy dropped me off at home and the kids requested that I have THEM all over to my house for a playday! Gotta make that happen!

Saturday:

Saturday was by far my busiest day, but it was just as fun as it was busy!

The first thing I did was enjoy a wonderful brunch with Amanda Stubbert and her daughters. I can't even understand why her kiddos love me so much, but I'm incredibly honored by it. I feel that I'm especially close to Hannah. Every Sunday morning she runs up to me and gives me the biggest hug and doesn't want to leave my side. It really blesses me.

In fact, side story: One Sunday morning, I was INCREDIBLY tired and had gotten to the church early, so I decided to catch a nap downstairs in the Kingdom Kids room. Hannah decided to join me:


So it's always a highlight to hang out with Hannah. But I rarely get to actually hang out with Amanda, so it was really a TREAT to enjoy her homemade Dutch Apple Pancakes and great conversation as Simon & Garfunkel played in the background.


After brunch, I headed home to get ready for my softball game.


Great news: WE WON!! It was a good game, but it was tough cause we were down a player, so we had to take an automatic out. But it was still nice to come out on top!

THEN, I capped off the night at Karli's performance with her A Capella crew at the University of Washington: UNLEASHED! A CAPELLA. They did sooooo good! My favorites that they sang were "Killing Me Softly," "I'm Yours," and "Proud Mary."


Afterwards, I got to join them for dinner at The Ram in U Village. We enjoyed burgers, fun conversations, and a rousing rendition of The Proclaimer's 500 MILES song as we all sang along to the overhead speakers.

Sunday:


Westside celebrated it's 12th birthday as a church by having a fun picnic. Originally it was supposed to be at Salmon Park, but in true Seattle form, it rained and we moved it to inside the church. And I dunno about you, but a bounce house inside a church sanctuary is pretty awesome! I even got to jump in the bounce house!! It was good food, good hangs, and just a fabulous day!

Now I'm primed to watch the MTV Movie Awards and call it a night!