thanksgiving was a great time to spend with the johnsons, friends whom we met while at spu, who has really become more than just friends. they’re family.  i was super excited to share the thanksgiving holiday with the johnsons and my in-laws.  russ and judi drove down from marysville to olympia to hang out with my ‘other’ family.  it was great to have everyone together (minus my folks in hawaii, though my family back home is so big they don’t even miss us-kidding!).

and time at the johnsons would not be complete without:

1. homemade marionberry pie

i had to fight jen for a piece. these puppies are in high demand. note homemade cinnamon rolls too. hmmmm.

2. mounds of mashed potatoes (most of it was for michelle)

14 lbs of potatoes. and we ate them all.

3. cheeseball.  need i say more?

cheeseball for breakfast.

4. yoshi’s famous candied yams!

just like how mom makes it.

5. can’t go without settlers.  we played 2 games on thurs. 3 games on fri. and 1 on sat. whew!!

the guy with his thumb up was named john. none of us knew him other than blake. he ate ALOT. he almost ate the johnson's out of house and home.

6. wii.  so it’s a new tradition, but after seeing aunty linda and aunty jan lose control over mario cart, we have a pretty good feeling this is going to become a reoccuring theme along with settlers.

if only there was sound attached to this photo.

it was a great to also just sleep in, take naps, read, sleep and really relax.  i  think it was just what my body and mind needed before the holiday’s kick into high gear. we hope you all had a great thanksgiving with friends and family wherever you were at.

ciao

i meant to post this sooner but time slipped through my fingers!! courtesy of aunty claire.

A young man named John received a parrot as a gift. The parrot had a bad attitude and an even worse vocabulary.

Every word out of the bird’s’ mouth was rude, obnoxious and laced with profanity.  John tried and tried to change the bird’s attitude by consistently saying only polite words, playing soft music and anything else he could think of to ‘clean up’ the bird’s vocabulary.

Finally, John was fed up and he yelled at the parrot. The  parrot yelled back. John shook the parrot and the parrot got angrier and even more rude. John, in desperation, threw up his hand, grabbed the bird and put him in the freezer. For a few minutes the parrot squawked and kicked and screamed.
Then suddenly there was total quiet.  Not a peep was heard for over a minute.

Fearing that he’d hurt the parrot, John quickly opened the door to the freezer.  The parrot calmly stepped out onto John’s outstretched arms and said “I believe I may have offended you with my rude language and actions.  I’m sincerely remorseful for my inappropriate transgressions and I fully intend to do everything I can to correct my rude and unforgivable behavior.”

John was stunned at the change in the bird’s attitude.
As he was about to ask the parrot what had made such a dramatic change in his behavior,
the bird spoke-up, very softly, “May I ask what the turkey did?”

tonight we celebrated one of my best and dear friends, michele, before she heads out to colorado. we had an amazing spread of mexican food and homemade sangria (some of the best i’ve ever had). it was great to meet folks through all parts of her life that she has impacted and vice versa.  thanks to meg rahn for all her help with the “conspiracy.”

gluten free. vegan free. red velvet cake.

here’s some super fun photos, including 10 things she would need to help get her through the winter months of snow, chill, and ice.

1. ugly sweater (particularly for the ugly christmas party)
2. house slippers
3. gloves
4. ear muffs
5. colorado guide books
6. snow scraper
7. lotion
8. dog bowl for her “new” dog.
9. rei gift card
10. onesie

my favorite was the last one.  apparently was chele’s too.

apparently putting a onesie is a bit challenging.

chele really liked the ear muffs too.

another way to wear a onsie.

i met chele when i joined world vision vision again in 2007.  she was a spunky, joyful gal with tons of energy and a huge heart for the Lord. she helped me get acclimated to the new team, survive drama on the new team, help me maintain my sanity through the new website launch and just in general, a blessing and wonderful person to call a friend.  i’ll miss her terribly but know CO and the 30 hour famine team will be gaining one valuable and amazing person.

chele, here’s to:  onsies, pedicures, senor taco and chai tea latte runs.  may there be many many many more.

cheers!

i love this girl.

in the last several weeks, i’ve come across some very odd but yummy things.  for example:

1) HUGE GRAPES.  by HUGE, i mean HUGE.  they were twice as large as kyle’s thumb.  but delicious.

2) gummy bears but with a twist.

check out the gummmy bear model showing off its swirly cool 'skin.' also take note of both PLAID pj pants.

3) two words:  cheese ball.  the odd part is how excited AND obsessed this group is with cheese ball.  you just need to trust us on this.  it’s worth obsessing over.  well worth it.

the last authentic cheese ball. not odd, but definitely delicious.

4) new salads.  i’m branching out.

my first attempt at roasted beet salad with red and golden beets. looks gross, but is actually really yummy.

if you have any other interesting things to suggest, feel free to send them my way.

hungry,

jacks

if only that were true.  right now life seems to be a massive tidal wave in a little washing machine.  there is SO much going on i don’t even know how to manage it.  mostly because i think i just realized how chaotic my life truely is, thanks to my intern for pointing it out.  

however, amidst the choas it was quite refreshing to hear from our pastor this morning about being a “prisoner of Christ.” the sermon focused on acts 24-26 and the injustices and delays in paul’s life, which ultimately led to his execution in rome.  as many of you know, i have been struggling with this concept of justice for over a year now. 

- why do good people have to endure horrible things?
- why do we as Christians have injustices happen to us?
- how do people get away with injustice acts and even seem to be blessed by them at times?
- if God did exist, why does allow these injustices?

 1) God’s intention is for a perfect and just world. that’s what we are moving towards (Isaiah)
2) Christ’s reign has begun but is not complete. until Christ’s reign is complete, the world will continue to be unjust. 
3) what is my response when I’m the victim of injustice?

#3 really hit a chord with me.  what should my response be?  typically it’s been anger, resentment, me wallowing in pity, frustration, etc.  should it be any different? the answer was yes. 

dahlstrom went on to provide a slew of christians who have been persectued, held captive, even exceuted through unjustice.  marting luther king jr, victor franco, deidrich bonhoeffer, paul and even Christ all had unjustices done against them.  however, the difference between their response and mine was just that.  their response was not one to wallow in self pity.  but to respond in a way that said “you can’t take away a person’s freedom to respond even though you have taken away their life, their possesions, their job, etc” (paraphrase from Victor Franco). 

a good example is looking at paul’s life inacts 24-26.  through the delays and injustice, he goes through it all without complaining.  his approach is not trying to change his circumstances (which is my normal and typical reaction) but rather to ask what the “RIGHT” thing to do in the moment?

the interesting thing i found through all of this was how these people did not have bitterness or resentment.  how could they NOT?!  it was, as dahlstrom put it, “people find themselves in the stream of God’s activity.”  and only by being in the stream of God’s activity do you realize that you can conquer anything and in the end it’s through God and God alone that justice will prevail. (romans 8).

and finally the challenge for me (as if everything else dahlstrom said wasn’t enough of a challenge) was that even with delays in “our” plans, we must stop saying “my life will begin when ____ happens.”  if i wait for my life to be utterly free of injustice and challenges, i’ll be waiting forever.  and to be honest, i’m far too type-a to be sitting around and waiting forever.  i might as well jump in the deep end and have God pick me up and carry me downstream where the “action” is.  i hope you will join me there soon.

Friday:
1.  date night on fri night. pad thai and red mill for dinner (the former for her and the latter for him)
2. eating the #1 while watching macgyver.
3. going to bed at 8:33pm

Saturday:
1. spin class w/ kyle at 8am. joined by a woman with a big bird mask on.  happy halloween.
2. hitting up the “restore” in ballard for xmas presents
3. shopping at jcrew and crate and barrel for xmas presents
4. lunch at burgermaster
5. massage with manita
6. studying for the GMATS
7. smoking out the apartment while making dinner
8. chicken with mushrooms and polenta for dinner

Sunday:
1. getting an extra hour of sleep. i love day light savings
2. awesome sister-sister time at ladro and hales ale for coffee and lunch. thanks yoshi for treating. 
3. church and actually being able to sit in the main sanctuary as opposed to the “overflow area”
4. finding the LAST matching lampshade at target for the new one i just burnt. oops.
5. i love after holiday candy sales. its time to load up.
6. going shopping with rach at the outlet malls and indulging at jcrew. gosh, that store is brilliant.
7. doing “undercover” xmas shopping for the hubby. shhhhhh.
8. making african chicken soup

so as most of you know i’ve been traveling a bit recently.  portland. new york. california. three cities. three weeks straight.  let’s say i’m i a little tired. by body is a little tired of it too.  it was great to see rachael and nate finish the portland marathon.  i honestly was a bit jealous that i was on the other side of the fence. but, hey there’s always next year right! the kullbergs were gracious enough to let us crash at their house while they were out of town for the weekend.  it’s always nice to have a home away from home.  that’s really what they’ve become to us- a second family.  immediatly after we returned from p-town, we unpacked and i started re-packing for new york.  i left the next day.  arrived in ny that evening and flew out the next evening to return at 12:30am on tues night/wed morning. whew.  let’s say i know that i wasn’t in new york to give new york a chance. especially since i was in albany. but at least i’ve marked another state off the list of places i’ve been to for work. california was well, california.  i’ve been there so many times for work that its just another quick trip- there and back. but each time i am there i’m reminded of how much i love their drivers and how much i hate their interstate signs.

other than traveling, i’ve been entangled in a two month battle against a cold that starts to come and then dissapates and then changes its mind, it’s been quite frustrating.   i’ve also been studying AGAIN for the gmats. i unfortunately have to take it again because i didn’t score high enough on the math portion.  verbal and essay- yes! but, seriously folks. who remembers stuff that we learned back in the day. and you can’t tell me its critital reasoning and logic. there’s an entire section devoted to that stuff.  nonetheless, i forked over the $400 bucks for a math prep gmat class. you read that right folks. math ONLY. someone shoot me and shoot me now.  honestly, its also been a bit embarassing to tell folks that i need to retake it but i’ve finally decided, “who cares?” i’m the only one who is embarassed. it’s tough test and i may need a bit more help than the kaplan book. so seattle university, here i come. 4 days devoted to math. bring it on.

and you know that you’ve been gone for a bit when you go to get gas at 7:30 in the morning to find a slutty barista stand in your gas station. WTF?! when did this happen?! i thought that crap was for the everett folks.  ballard. seriously. i’m disappointed. i thought we were above that.  i won’t even post the name of the stand since 1) i refuse to market something that disgusting and unethical 2) it’s blatantly inappropriate. but through my scowl i did observe that all the customers, were men in their 30-50s, alone in their car, and refused to look anywhere else other than straight ahead. i wonder if they’re feeling a tad bit guilty. perhaps i’ll find another gas station to offer my loyalty that does not include lingerie, perveted men and inappropriate naming conventions.

welcome back jack. welcome back.

with our redecorating! check out before and after photos here. and since you’ve all been waiting patiently for this i figured i’d include photos. we hope you enjoy them as much as we do!

living room 1

living room 2

living room 3 and kyle

the finished shabby-chic end tables we redid ourselves

so back in highschool i met a gal named leslie.  i can’t recall how we met. neither can she. but nonetheless, we hit it off and were best of friends.  the years have past but the friendship remains.  i sheepishly admit i lost touch with her over the years but every time we do talk (maybe once a year) it’s like we’re back in maui, just chillin’ and having a grand ole time.  considering it’s been 9 years since we last saw each other, it’s quite a blessing that we can pick up exactly where we left off.

she helped me ditch my very first time, EVER, from school to grab lunch off campus.  she let yoshi and i drive “The Bus” aka her van during highschool, since we didn’t have our license and mom was a bit too busy to let both of us drive on the weekends. we took AP government and politics together while yoshi suffered in AP chemistry and i joined her in photography when i saw a kid with a gun and was transferred out of ukulele class immediately. thanks mom. we used to do taco bell runs, bakery runs, jack in the box runs, all while not really ‘running.”  we would go to polo beach ALL the time and change in the hotel next door ALL the time. we made a mix for graduation that got played throughout the state of HI and were basically inseperable…the three musketeers.

well, considering how type-A i am.  you’d think i’d remember alot of things….like when your best friend from high school is visiting seattle. ha!  nope. i got a text message on friday morning (she sent it thurs night) that she was in town and to give her a call. oops. praise the Lord my work trip to MN got cancelled.  i was free!  so we spent the majority of the weekend doing toursity things….it reminds me of how much i love the city. sigh.  her friend noah gave her the majority of the tours- underground, space needle, pikes place, original starbucks shop….we made sure she got to visit the most important places.  1) thaiku for awesome food and yojhitos 2)kings hardware for a dark and stormy 3) cupcake royale 4) THE troll 5) gasworks 6) kerry park 7) our newly redecorated apartment.

well, i remembered to bring the phone out for some of the lovely excursions.  everyone, here’s leslie. leslie, here’s everyone.

friends are friends forever.

cupcake royale. i couldn't resist. i had to take a bite first.

trip to gasworks at sunset.

shilshole. shithole. same thing. only in ballard.

it’s been real. it’s been fun. it’s been real fun.  can’t wait to see her again soon.  hopefully next time, i’ll remember to plug the dates into my calendar and we can go camping.  welcome to the great Northwest. nothing else like it here les!