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Last weekend I flew home to Kentucky to be with my youngest brother, Sam before he ships to Afghanistan. Sam and his wife Tiffany flew in late Friday, and I was so glad to spend as much time with them as possible! I flew in Thursday evening, and Dad and Steph met me at the airport and took me straight to Cracker Barrel! I had to get me some sweet tea and biscuits-and quick! Friday I was stuck at my sisters house, since I didn't have a car and she had to work. I got to sleep in (thank goodness!) and then we met my grandmother for a late lunch that afternoon.
For whatever reason, the three hour jet leg REALLY gets to me! I know it's lame, but hey-I'm lame! And I'll continue to use the "I have no car" excuse to sleep in. I'm ok with that. :)

Saturday morning began the insanity...we picked up my brother and his wife and went to visit my older brother, Scott. It was SO good to see him, he is doing so well. I'm very proud of him. I can't waitto see him the next time I'm in town! After getting back to Louisville, it was go time. We all split up to run various errands for the going away party that evening. We were able to pull it all off and it looked fantastic! I even got "camo" balloons!


Sunday we made the obligatory trip to the Shepherdsville Flea Market, know out here in Cali as the Swap Meet. We saw the usual, old men smoking, mullets, fried foods, wedding dress retailers, you know-the usual. :) Gotta love Kentucky! Sunday night we hung out at my dads and got take out. There's just something about that last night of a trip that you need to relax. Maybe it's just me, who knows. Monday morning came all too soon, and I was headed back to California. While I loved seeing my family, I was so ready to be back in the sunshine and warm weather!

Today I'm feeling trapped.

Not in a negative sense, but in a I-have-dreams-what-is-holding-me-back kinda of trapped. I've always joked that I was born in the wrong country and the wrong century, but we all know that we have purpose and destiny for where we were created to be. That said-I want to travel abroad!! I have a burning desire/passion to visit Europe, and I have specific countries in mind. I'm constantly looking up airfares, train fares, ferry fares...you get my point?

I know I am here for a reason, I do. But in this moment, I'm looking to my future and wondering where I am to be. Will I stay here? Will I live in England? Two summers ago, my dream was to be living in London by the 2012 Olympics. Who knows if that will happen? Will I still be single? Will I be married? Will I have a family? I don't know what is prompting these thoughts, but they sure are running through my head!

Before I moved here, my dear friend Jenni reminded me about scuba divers. Scuba divers change drastic environments while still breathing the same air; but they learn to breathe using an alternative source of the same air. So that's what I'm doing. I'm still adjusting to my new, drastic environment; but learning to breathe.

Inhale, exhale.

Repeat.

See, here's the thing. I hate to run. I loathe it, actually. You would think I would not mind it at all, seeing as I played soccer for years and years. Somehow, someway, I began to hate it. So much so, that when I work out, I avoid it at ALL COSTS. Interval sprints, cross training, you name it; I'll do it.

Just don't make me run.


Ever.


And then I saw these.



And then I wanted to run a 5k.

What? Who? (Looks around nervously) Me? Ok, yes. I really want to run a race. I really wanted to run in the Camp Pendleton Mud Run, but it is already full when I went to register. So, I googled around, (since when did google become a verb?!) and found two similar races in Orange County in April. I'm signing up and running my little heart out! Best part about these races? They are MUD RUNS. As in....running in mud. Translation: you don't have to run the entire race! Just kidding. A little. Maybe. Through obstacle courses, over walls, you get the point. I think it'll be a lot of fun, and I'm hoping to get some friends to run with me or at least come out and cheer me on!

Why am I telling you all of this? Well, see, to RUN the race means I actually have to get out and RUN. My absolute favorite thing, remember? (See above. Pay attention!) In addition to my regular workouts, I added running. Oh, running. I started out small, charted a 5k course, walked it, ran intervals, walked some more, and wanted to call it a day. Well, on Monday, I busted out the old faithful tennis shoes (which have since been shunned since I fell in love with the shoes above) and started my walk. What I DIDN'T anticipate was running about 85% of the course flat out!! I came home, baffled, face red, legs on fire, just standing in the driveway. I brushed it off as a mere coincidence and went about my week.

It's Wednesday. Running Day again. Instead of walking, I started running, and running. I didn't stop! Well, ok. I stopped twice because my right calf muscle was KILLING me! Just a 30 second stretch, don't worry. I wasn't slacking. Same thing, I ran home, stopped, stretched in the driveway, and shook my head. I ran..let's say...93% of the course. What the heck?! While a 5k may seem insignificant to others, it's a milestone for me. After years of knee pain from my soccer addiction, I had two surgeries and years of physical therapy. I thought I'd never run again. And here I am, running my little heart out-pain free. Now that's a miracle.

But I still hate running.

It's boring.

Friday night I had a hankerin' to do something outside of the Orange County bubble. So, I called up some friends, (Phillip, Melissa, Heather and Manny) and we headed to Los Angeles for the night. Our main goal was to see the LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Arts), and have dinner at Cafe 101.

Well......

LA traffic is a force to be reckoned with.

LA traffic and I do no get along.

LA traffic...you get my point.

After fording through the traffic, we picked up Manny in Hollywood and headed over to the LACMA. Although, of course, my GPS in my iPhone took us the wrong way (shock of all shocks!), so we had to backtrack and wade through some traffic AGAIN. By the time we got there, we had about 45 minutes to peruse through the museum. Luckily, one of the floors was under construction; so we only had two floors to go through. They didn't allow photography in the museum, or I would have some awesome photos to put up. Thankfully Heather took some great photos of us all in the Lamp post exhibit outside of the LACMA.

After the LACMA, we headed down the street to see the La Brea Tar Pits. I've never seen them, and for whatever reason, am not a believer. Who knows, maybe I'm wrong but...actually I'm pretty sure they are for real. But for whatever reason, they looked totally fake to me. The link to their website is above...check it out sometime!

We did make it to Cafe 101, thankfully, and we were able to recharge before heading back to the OC. It was a late, late night, but so very fun and worth it! I had a blast!

After last weeks torrential, continual downpour, I am SO welcoming this week long sunshine! Today was blue skies, sunny, and 75; and I took every advantage of it. I took the kids I nanny for to feed the ducks and play at the park. During their nap, I took twenty minutes to soak up some rays in the backyard. I do believe I got my first tan of the season! So odd that the "season" is starting in January. NOT normal for me!

This evening instead of going to the gym, I ran outdoors. I had enjoyed the day so thoroughly, I couldn't be indoors just yet. I was running, running, running, and then I just stopped and turned around. It was as if I needed to, and I'm so glad that I did! The sunset was beyond beautiful, and completely breathtaking. It seems as if the Lord has been showing me more and more of Himself to me through the Great Outdoors as of late. How incredible is this? I know it's just an iPhone photo, but it still captures some amazing goodness.

Speaking of running...and just be...different (ok, weird)....here's my running playlist for this evening:

Spaceman-Dave Matthews Band
She'd Be California-Rascall Flatts
Pickin' Wildflowers-Keith Anderson
Viva la Vida-Coldplay
You Give Love a Bad Name-Bon Jovi
Separate Ways-Journey (don't hate!)
Fireflies-Owl City
Super Massive Black Hole-Muse
Lovers in Japan/Reign of Love-Coldplay
Set Me Free-John Legend
Straight Away-Mat Kearney

and...because I loved it so much, I ended my run with
Lovers In Japan/Reign of Love-Coldplay--again. It's amazing.

Yesterday my dear sweet friend Julie arrived in Orange County! She's here on business, but I get to keep her for a few days at least! Last night I picked her up, and we headed straight for LA to meet up with Manny. We all used to be interns and on staff at the same church in Nashville over the past six years or so. We made it to LA in RECORD time for Friday evening traffic! It only took me about an hour or so from the O.C. to Hollywood, where Manny lives.

We decided on a restaurant (or so we thought...) and set off on the adventure of the night. We drove around in circles for about and hour, with two guys in the backseat driving me CRAZY with their lack of knowing where they were! Julie and just laughed and laughed, but I'll admit; I was getting a little frustrated! After changing our cuisine many times, (Mediterranean, Italian, Brazilian, Vietnamese, Israeli..) we finally met up with the others and decided on a little Thai boutique place in Silverlake. It had a great vibe, the food was the best Thai I've EVER had, and we had an absolute blast. Laughed and laughed..got to know one another, it was so fun.

The not so fun part of the evening was losing my wallet! For anyone who knows me, knows that I don't lose things. I'm a very particular person, and normally keep account of my belongings. We searched and searched, to no avail. I was confused, because there had been no fraudulent happenings on my accounts, but no wallet to be found. After returning to the gas station this morning, and calling every place I can remember; I was giving up. Then, this morning I was at the farmers market and I received a phone call from my bank. My heart sunk. I thought for sure she was calling to report fraudulence on my account! Oddly enough, she was calling to say that whoever found my wallet, called the bank!! She three-way connected me to Fred, a dear sweet soul who picked up my wallet last night. I was SO very thankful that an honest person picked it up, and not some thief! Thank GOD! He was definitely looking out for me, that's for sure.

So, an eventful last twelve hours, but the sun is shining, my sweet friend is in town, I see snow covered mountains, and my wallet was recovered. What else could I ask for?

Oh yeah. A date. ;)

Katie, Jenni and I spent the weekend in San Diego last weekend and had a BLAST! They flew in a few days before I was able to drive down, but once I got there it was go, go, GO! Friday evening we had fun in Old Town, then drove downtown for dinner. We stayed at the fabulous Hotel Indigo right in the Gaslamp District. It's a new, cute, quaint boutique hotel that even had a water fall wall in the lobby! So very cute.



I won't see my sweet friends until May, but at least this was an awesome trip, and hopefully will tide us over until Preston's wedding!

My friend from Nashville, Colin Benward, made it through the Atlanta auditions and onto Hollywood week! To see his interview, click here.

He is such a great guy, has a great voice, and most of all, a true passion for the Lord. I hope he makes it far! Good Luck Colin!!

I usually don't post about my personal spiritual life. Not for a lack of wanting...I just, don't.

Tonight was our weekly small group at church, and we had a great time of discussion. It was a little uncomfortable, but very revealing and left us in a place to build one another up. Afterwards, I was talking with our small group leader, Bryan. Somehow we got to talking about my past, the things that I've walked through this year. I was crying, sharing my heart; and he says "Can I stop you right there? Do you pray for them?" I lost it again. The feelings of injustice, deep heartbreak, and misuse of trust were suddenly right in my face, staring me down. I've been so hurt, so wrapped in my own pain that I've failed to do my right as a believer. To forgive. To give it wholly to Christ.

So tonight on my way home, I shut off the radio, rolled up the window, and took back my place in the Kingdom. Where I've been robbed, where I've abdicated my role, I've now done my part and reclaimed it. He has given me a new song, and I will not be silent!

Today I received news that my youngest brother Sam, would be joining our troops in fighting the war in Afghanistan. He deploys in March with the 10th Mountain Division of Fort Drum, NY.
I'm finding it hard to put words to how I feel. One moment I'm scared, sick to my stomach, anxious, and worrying about his future; the other I'm proud, and stand a little taller knowing someone who is fighting for my freedom. For the most part, I'm sad that my younger brother will experience far more life that I ever thought he would at 19.

So tomorrow, I'll be purchasing a large amount of yellow ribbon, a new yellow ribbon magnet for my car, and a new American Flag. It won't come down until he comes home.

Here's to our troops, veterans and enlisted, who serve bravely, with honor, duty, strength and courage. Now I know how it feels to send a loved one to war.

My two week Christmas/ New Year vacation is coming to an end. While I'm sad to see it go, I'm very much ready to return home to California. Warm weather, sun shining, my job, my routines. I'm a fairly structured person, I like to believe. I love new years, new months, new weeks to start fresh and crisp.

The past two weeks have been packed with family, friends, tons of food, and an abundance of laughter. I started my trip by visiting my dad in the city (Louisville, KY that is). We spent the week just relaxing, seeing movies, shopping, Christmas Light looking, etc. It was a great time. We saw Sherlock Holmes on Christmas Day, and I have to say-I LOVED it! I knew that I would, I've been looking forward to it since the first day I saw the trailer for it. If you haven't seen the trailer, click HERE.

My dad and I got to visit my oldest brother, and that was so rewarding!! He is doing so well, and I can't wait to see what 2010 has for him. I also got to visit my youngest brother, Sam. We thought that he wasn't going to be able to be home for Christmas, but the Army came through and there he was!! He is doing so well also, and I'm so proud to have a brother in the military. We'll find out soon where he is to be stationed next; I'm looking forward to know where he'll be! I can't wait to go visit he and his wife, Tiffany.

From Louisville we drove down to Gatlinburg, TN to the cabin that my mom and her husband rented for us. We had so much fun just chilling by the fire, making tons of food, laughing, playing games, and warming up in the hot tub! Saturday we went shopping ALL DAY. We had so much fun, and I scored some awesome sales at the GAP outlet. Sunday we visited Ober Gatlinburg and went snow tubing, rode the alpine slide (I thought I was going to die!!),the chair lift to the top of the mountain, etc. The alpine slide is this fiberglass slide that is almost 2,000 feet long; down the side of a mountain. You get in this "cart" of sorts with wheels, and you go flying down the mountain!! It was so much fun, but I was scared I'd fall off! It's so high up, you have to take a ski lift to get there.

All in all, we had a blast. It was so great to be with family. My mom dropped me off in Nashville, and I met up with all of my different friends throughout the week. I'm staying with Katie, and so far we have had so much fun! We've been to all of our old "spots", Dan McGuiness, Blue Coast Burrito, 9Fruits Smoothies, etc. For New Years we got all dressed up and went downtown to the Flying Saucer. It's in the basement of my favorite hotel in Nashville, the Union Station Hotel. They had a live band, great food, darts, pool and the like. We left shortly after we rang in the New Year and called it a night. To get a good table, we got there fairly early, so by the time 12:00 came around, we were pooped! After taking friends home, we finally called it a night at 3:30am. SHEW! I'm just not that girl anymore!! New Years Day we rented movies, grabbed some food and stayed in most of the day. We had to recoup (as did the rest of the world) from the night before.

Today we are keeping it fairly low-key as well. Visiting my friends who are personal trainers is fun, but it makes you very sore! So we are heading to the YMCA for a quick, but hard work out. Then, hopefully we are going downtown to the Boot store to get my new cowboy boots!! A girl can't have too many. :) Tonight is a sweet friends wedding at the Cheekwood Estates, so I'm looking forward to celebrating with them.

I'll be posting my new years "resolutions" in the coming days-until then, have a fabulous new years weekend!

I was inspired to reflect on 2009, and to highlight the 'best-of's' parts. As most of your know, 2009 was the most challenging, heartbreaking, emotional year that I have ever had. But even through the hardships I faced this year, I am ending 2009 on a positive note! Even though I walked through some very difficult things this year, I have grown more as a person, as a Believer, and have truly come to know what it is to lean FULLY on Christ. He has been my Sustainer throughout every single intricate part of this year.
He orchestrated my move to Southern California, He directed my steps to find my new home church. He knew the specific friends I needed to lean on, confide it, and find healing within. He wanted to show me another side of the country, that He made just for me. He knew I loved the Great Outdoors; so He moved me to where I could experience yet another vast part of His creation.
He is wonderful.
He is faithful.
He is good.

Without further adieu, here is my list of my BEST OF 2009!! (I will not be numerically numbering these, how could I rank events in my life?!)

*Switching to an iPhone. I found cellular freedom!!
*Seeing the ocean on a regular basis.
*Getting my backbone back.
*Meeting new and precious friends.
*The pleasure in serving Him, to truly serve Him.
*Discovering a hidden talent for cake-creating/decorating.
*Seeing a dear friend find musical success. (Check out seabird.com!!!!)
*The joy of assisting in raising the two precious munchkins I nanny for.
*Seeing my youngest brother graduate from Army Basic Training.
*Seeing my oldest brother at the best point in his life.
*Moving to California.
*My 25th Birthday at Arrington Vineyard.
*Seeing dear, precious friends move around the world, pursuing His purpose in their lives.
*Dreaming again.
*Breathing again.
*Dave Matthews Band en concerto!
*Attending the CMT awards right before I moved.
*Seeing my first West Coast sunset.
*Hiking up to the Hollywood sign with my dad.


That's all for now.... a part two will follow soon!

Well, it's Christmastime. I wouldn't know, as I live in a climate that stays relatively warm year round. It's taken some getting used to; but being able to go outdoors in shorts on December 16th is pretty fabulous!

My dad came for a visit shortly after Thanksgiving-and we had SUCH a blast! We went everywhere. Hollywood and the Hollywood sign, San Diego, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, Laguna Beach, etc. He was quite culture shocked (as was I when I moved here), but had a wonderful time. I made him a fall-inspired birthday cake, complete with fondant leaves. He was so surprised!

I'm gearing up for my trip back to the South, and I am SO ready! I'm taking a two week vacation and hitting all the places I love. Nashville, Gatlinburg, Elizabethtown and Louisville. I'm super excited to spend some fun time with my family, and super, super excited to spend New Years in Nashville with my girls Katie and Jenni!

The list of places to go? I'll start with Nashville:
Ivey Cakes-BEST cupcakes-EVER.
BlueCoast Burrito-the best Naked Salad ever.
9Fruits-Fabulous smoothies, owned by two of my friends.
Opryland Hotel-what's Christmas without seeing the lights at Opryland?!


I've been baking up a storm lately, and have an exciting cake to share with you hopefully, this weekend. It's for a contest that I'm entering, and for my Christmas Party that I'm sharing it at! I can't wait, and I'm hoping it turns out as well as it is in my head!

Here's my list of things I want...in my dreams.

The new MacBook. My little iBook G4 has been chugging along the past few years; but I'm ready for an update.
These beaut's are Lucchese 1883's. I love Lucchese, because they are the same quality and hand-crafted as the Old Gringo's; but these are made in America.Do I REALLY need to explain this one?! I love MAC cosmetics. But, they are a little pricey! So, I make myself ration my purchases....

I've been so busy the past few weeks, I've totally neglected my blog!! Sorry. :)

Where to start...the Yankees won the World Series! WOO HOO!! I know in my previous post I was wearing an Angels hat, but I've since burned it and changed my loyalty to the Yankees. There may or may not have been conflict within my household that influenced me. Haha.

I've had a few different friends in and out of the LA area recently, and one whom I haven't seen in almost a YEAR! My dear friend Adam was in town rehearsing for his upcoming cruise. Yep, he's a cruise ship singer, and a very talented one at that! You can check out his music on myspace.com/adambastien.

I've taken a few trips into LA over the past weeks, and my confidence is growing. Yes, I admit it. I'm terrified of the city. I didn't grow up around any large city; so living in one is intimidating to me. I avoid it at all costs. Ashley and I spent the day in LA with Preston, who was in town with his band Seabird, playing a show. Check out myspace.com/seabird to hear their awesome music! We took the Metro and went everywhere we possibly could! It was a busy, busy, busy day, but totally worth it. We ate at a sketchy Taco Truck in Compton (hey, we had real deal Latinos with us, we trusted them!), got lost in Compton, ate breakfast in Compton...best part? We didn't even know we were IN Compton. Woops!The best part of this blog today will chronicling my trip with KATIE!! Yes ladies and gents, my best friend returned for another West Coast vacation! I was sooooo glad to have her visit, meet my new friends, see new sights, etc etc. We had a BLAST! I had to work during the week, so we braved the crowds and took the munchkins to IKEA. What a day! We spent entirely too much money, and watched as the kiddos slowly melted down. We were all sacked that day; I can't imagine being a real deal mama! Thursday we took the kids to Irvine Park and had a blast! Rode the train, fed the ducks (J was drawn to the peacocks...), and had an overall GREAT time.



Sunday was a day for relaxing...so that's what we did. After church, we went to Duke's on the Beach to watch the Titans take on (and DEFEAT) the 49'ers. What a great game! I was glad that a Titan game was airing on Pacific Time, was watching on the beach with my best friend. Who could ask for more?!

We were up and at em' early early EARLY on Monday for Katie to catch her 6a flight. Shew! Rough getting up that early. But, all the fun adventures we had the days before more than made up for it. I can't wait for the next time she visits!!

WOW! I can't believe this weather as of late! So beautiful! There have been hot spells well into the 90's-100's temps; but I still love it. No more Southern Humidity here in Southern California!

A few weeks ago I went with some friends from my new church to "Feed the Troops" at Camp Pendelton, near San Diego. We had a great time setting everything up, serving the guys, and seeing them DEVOUR the food. We served tri-tip steak, potatoes, corn, salad, bread, dessert, I mean the list goes on. The best part was that they had just returned (literally!) from a five day mission out in the fields. They were dirt-encrusted, smelly, faces painted, and shaking from eating nothing but MRE's (Meals Ready to Eat). It was so great to see them so excited for a home cooked meal!