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Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Tacoma Dreamin'.

We just got back from Tacoma yesterday morning. I wish I had enough space and eloquent words to describe the experience. I'll post pictures tomorrow, but I couldn't resist telling you all about it!

Thursday night: We got into Seattle at close to 10:00 pm. We were greeted by a caravan of loved ones (meaning Doug's phenomenal friend Brian and his sister Susanne, who is equally phenomenal). After much hugging and high-pitched proclamations of excitement, we made for Tacoma in style. Brian's car is more of a house on wheels. I'm pretty sure I saw Barack Obama traveling in the same model of vehicle when he was in CO Springs.

We went to Susanne's "Favorite!!!" place to eat, Pacific Grill. After sitting at a table for about 35 minutes, we were informed that the kitchen was closed. :( Boo! But how funny.

We stayed at Brian's gorgeous (I mean, Jaw-On-The-Floor) apartment right off the water. It (the apartment) and the view were breathtaking. We were met at Brian's place by our friend Seth, who drove over 6 hours to meet us. Doug is so blessed to have such godly men in his life.

Friday: We ventured to Susanne's casa, which is only a block away from Stadium High School. WHAT FUN! We met her darling roomie and friend Melisa, who is so similar to Talitha that I couldn't believe it. They would be kindred spirits. Melisa works at Tacoma Art Museum (I learned not to say, "THE Tacoma Art Museum"!) and teaches young kids to find Jesus through the arts. Isn't that amazing?!

Together, Susanne and Melisa are such a dynamic duo. From there, Susanne, Doug, Brian, Seth, our friends Jess and Amanda, and myself made out for Pike Place Market. MY GOSH! What a day! We went to the original Starbucks, ate at a restaurant on the water, purchased yummy pumpkin butter and some of the most beautiful flowers I've ever seen, and had an overwhelmingly good time.

Afterwards, we had a barbecue at Susanne's place where I met some more friendly and unique people (and ate WAY too much chips and salsa). After THAT, the lot of us saw Wall-E (which is the cutest movie since Finding Nemo).

Saturday: I may be mixing up days here. I think Saturday was the day when I visited Hello, Cupcake! This was one of the best parts of the trip. I had a velvet-with-buttercream frosting cupcake. There are no words.

We also saw lots of Chihuly glass (side note: I love Chihuly glass. Who doesn't? And Tacoma is full of it because Chihuly himself went to Stadium High School!) and walked around the U of W campus at Tacoma, which was a really fun experience.

At the end of the night, we visited Susanne's church, New Song. Oh. Man. Is the Spirit moving there or what?! I don't want to cheapen the experience, so all I'll say is that the Lord is doing mighty, mighty work in Tacoma through these people.

After that, we went back to Pacific Grill and-- whaddya know?!-- they could ACTUALLY feed us! The food was great, and the conversation was even better.

Sunday: Methinks Sunday was the day when we walked around Gig Harbor and I bought some awesome artwork. This might have also been the day when I went to a baby shower and met the most welcoming women ever. I got to see Susanne in an arena where she really shines. She co-hosted this party, and is so gifted at making women come together. We played some Spades and went out for ice cream, which is my idea of fun.

Monday: We had to say goodbye to Seth on Monday. :( It was so good to get to know him better. He is astonishingly witty and has the quirkiest sense of humor. I'm so glad Doug is friends with him.

After that, we spent the day with Susanne and Brian, lounging around and eating (of course). We had a HUGE breakfast at Susanne's "FAVORITE!!!" breakfast place, which turned out to be a ton of fun.

Susanne took me to a clothing store called Romy, which is her favorite (yup!) and is quite honestly my favorite, as well. Susanne bought me some tank tops from there for Christmas, and I really wanted to go while we were visiting. I left the store after making a hefty dent in our spending budget.

When Brian had to leave us for work, the remaining three went to ZUMBA! Have you all heard of this? If you have it in your city, TRY IT! I've never had a more intense workout, and it went by in the blink of an eye. Doug was way better at it than I was, which you can interpret however you want. :) The night ended with a heartfelt conversation over dinner at Indochine, which is MY new favorite restaurant simply based upon the one night and one dish. We talked and talked. It was wonderful.

Tuesday: We left for the airport at an ungodly hour and arrived in DIA at 9:ooish in the morning. YIKES! Despite operating on a minimal amount of sleep, we went to Water World in Denver. :D Doug is burnt to a crisp, but it was sooo satisfying!

I'm sure I'm not doing justice to this experience. I truly felt like we were engaging in authentic fellowship. Doug and I were immediately welcomed by so many people, and I left feeling like I had made several new friends. :)

I can't wait to post pictures. Until then!

M.

Thursday, July 17, 2008

'Ello Yellophant!

I've just finished writing a children's book called 'Ello, Yellophant!
It's about a yellow elephant named (of course) Ella, who is precocious and has a hard time using her inside voice. I will let you know when it's ready to be viewed.

Glee!

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Dairy Shmairy

I have recently stopped eating things containing gluten and dairy. Yikes! What a switch. It's not permanent (I hope). I had to stop eating these foods because I was having an allergic reaction to something and didn't know what. This means that I'm not eating breads, most things dairy (with the exception of eggs), candies, carrots (THAT is a bummer) and chocolate (which is driving me insane). However, the benefits have already been great. Since making this switch, the rashes on my hands have gone away and my legs and other extremities are not nearly so itchy. Also, I'm already feeling way more energetic. I am happy with this change because it's causing me to become more creative about meals. Last night I had a sauteed onion, some zucchini, and chicken with lemon pepper. It was very, very good. So, in honor of this, I decided to make a list of the yummy foods I've discovered since desisting in my diet of coffee, granola, and candy.
1. Cashews! These are so yummy, I can't stand it. I've burned through over half a tub in two days. I need to learn moderation in this area.
2. Green tea. I've never much liked it, but it's grown on me. Tea without sugar of any sort, for that matter.
3. Snap peas. These have sugar in them, which I should be avoiding, but it's such a small amount and they're so good that I can't help myself.
4. Sunflower seeds. I don't even need to explain this.
5. Bacon. I never would have consumed bacon before (as a matter of fact, I think it's been about 4 years since I've had bacon...), but when your diet consists mainly of protein, bacon is a delicious treat now and then.
6. Avocado! Mmmmmmmmm. Put it on almost any meat and it's a great substitute for condiments.
7. Bran. It kind of reminds me of being a little kid, even though I never ate bran then...
8. Water. Who knew water was so refreshing?! Sometimes I go the entire day without drinking water. Now that I'm drinking it more, I'm not even craving diet soda anymore.
I know this is a short list, but I'm still testing this out. Kayla always gives me FABULOUS recipes for baked chicken and tilapia and the like. I'm trying to encourage her to make her own cook book. I'll post some of those yummy recipes later.

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Lately I feel bombarded with missles aimed at my pride and I'm torn between wanting to defend myself at any cost and taking the hit.

Tacoma in four days!

My friend Erica is a brilliant singer and songwriter. She had a show tonight and sang her song " Charles Wallace," the most poignant song I've heard in a while.

Snap peas are nature's candy.

If manna tastes anything like naan, sign me up for time in the desert.

Friday, July 11, 2008

What? Do you think money grows on trees or something?

You may think this dog is cute, but that's bullshit. This dog is a deadbeat that doesn't pay its Verizon bill.

(From a link Doug sent me. :)