.: Cabin Time :.

I should have posted this one a while back but... oh well.



(P.S. Thanks for your help w/ this Austin!)

.: August Rush :.

This is amazing....



My favorite part of this movie.

.: Dear Mr. Sir :.

First off.... this blog is solely for the amusement of Amanda Mackay (and, apparently, maybe Jenna... and Adam?).

The reply that would have been sent if only, if only...

"Dear Mr. Sir Lloyd,

Clearly, you are on crack. I sent the email to my own personal email address, and it worked fine (not to mention that no one else reported having an issue with this "jibberish" you speak of; by the way, if you are referring to the email's content, consider yourself excommunicated from the community entirely). You should plan to update your obviously crappy system immediately to prevent further delay of important (and dare I say well-written) information.

Thank you, have a nice day.

- Amanda"

.: Mr. Lewis :.

C.S. Lewis never fails to surprise me with some little nugget of wisdom.

On my Google homepage (get one, you won't regret it), I have a widget (I think that's what they're called) that gives a C.S. Lewis quote every time you log in.

Today's quote:

"Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: What! You too? I thought I was the only one."

I love this for a variety of reasons. Several friends lately have blown me away with similar stories/experiences/feelings that I thought no one would really understand. It amazes me how God can bring two people together at any given moment to share life and enjoy each other's company.

.: Daylight Saving Time :.

This observance is probably my least favorite thing about calendars. We should all be like Arizona and Hawaii and just say forget it. The following are reasons why DST should not exist:

1. Confusion.
- "Spring forward, fall back" - sounds simple... not so. Try adjusting a small child's sleep schedule to an hour time difference. Then there's always those conversations that go something like...
"Wait... spring forward... so we gain an hour, right?"
"No, we go forward an hour, we lose the hour."
"So when it would be 6:00 AM, it's now 7:00 AM, so I have to get up earlier... but when it's 8:00 PM, it's really 9:00 PM, so I need to go to bed earlier?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
(side note - the only legitimate fight my mom and I have been in was over DST.)

2. Lack of sleep.
- "Just go to bed earlier the night before," they say. Not that simple. We stress so much about whether we set our alarm clocks right that we don't sleep well for half the night, then go into a deep sleep and over-sleep...

3. (I feel like there should be 3 reasons, but the first 2 are good enough for me.)

.: Recap :.

Dang, it's been a while. Recap:

January:
- It's been too long and I don't really remember.

February:
- I re-joined YoungLife.
- I turned 23.
- I LOVE going to the snow. Cabins are amazing. I have some pretty rock-awesome friends.
- Men's groups (those from churches who attend retreats at MH that I have worked with) can be surprisingly high-maintenance.
- High winds can lead to javelin-like branches shooting through ceilings and into closets.
- I discovered that my cell phone has a calendar feature, which reminds me of important things I need to do.
- I have a mentor - she is amazing.

March:
- I discovered that I quasi-enjoy dancing.
- I have sworn off drinking (again).
- I really do have some pretty amazing friends - they are totally a gift from God.
- Wild Oak's front lawn is pretty much one of my favorite places on earth.

More to come...

.: Back :.

So... I moved back to this Blog from my Wordpress one... it was too fancy. I like this one better. :o)

.: Goodness :.

So, there are a lot of things I have been processing through today. This is all over the place, bear with me.

The day started off well, with a really good conversation with a friend I haven't really talked to in a long while. I had no idea what to expect from our coffee date but it became obvious very quickly that God brought her and I together for a specific purpose. In talking with her, several things came up that I realized I have never really processed through, and that lack of dealing with these things is making current situations difficult to work through.

Rainy afternoons are good for doing laundry, making cookies, and being with people you care about.

Young Life. Some things will never change, and some things will never stop changing. I actually have no idea about anything, I haven't been consistent with it at all, but I just have thing feeling about it...

Church. God is good. I have been taking the Spiritual Life classes at Faith Community Church in Santa Cruz and it has been an amazing experience. Passion is contagious. It's one thing to go to church and listen to a message and sing songs; it is quite another to talk with your pastor and hear his heart for the change he wants to see in our community.

Friends. I am so blessed to have such amazing people in my life right now.

I am overwhelmed with gratitude for the sovereignty and wisdom of the Lord our God.

"Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all the is in the heavens and the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, and you are exalted as head above all." - 1 Chronicles 29:11

.: In the Drink :.

Funny Story Time!

Last night after work, I decided to go to Taqueria Vallarta in Felton for dinner (always a good choice, right?). The conversation in my head went something like this:

"Um, I don't really need my purse, I'm just going in for a second."

(I proceeded to put my keys in my purse like I always do, and shut the door. I went inside, ordered my dinner and went to leave...)

"Oh crap! Well I have a spare set of keys at my house... I'll just start walking and call people on the way to see if someone can give me a ride back... I'll cut through Redwood Camp, my house is really close if I go that way."

(I walk to Zayante Road, then realize that there is no shoulder on this road and it's really dark.)

"Oh well, it's a short stretch of road..."

(I make it to Redwood Camp and then realize there are no night lights on because we don't have groups in, so it was REALLY dark and I kept hearing things so I just started running. I made it across the new bridge (almost home!) and it was pitch black and I could faintly see the yellow leaves on the ground. Then all of the sudden...)

"OH CRAP!"

(I fell in the creek, about 8 feet down off the trail. I was soaking wet as I crawled back up the side of the trail and (very carefully) made my way home. I called Rachel up at the Front Desk at Mount Hermon and she gave me a ride back to my car after I got my keys from my house.)

And there you have it. :o)

.: Disneyland, Take 2 :.

Oh my gosh. I LOVE Disneyland at Christmas (or any time, really)!

Check out my pictures, they are here:

http://ewu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2019249&l=47e6b&id=44502649

Have a great day!

.: Nothin' Better To Do :.

"Mama said, idle hands are Devil's handy work
Oh, the trouble you'll get into
When you got nothing better to do..."

- LeAnn Rimes

.: Thanksgiving & Christmas :.

This is easily my favorite time of year. Not necessarily Thanksgiving Day, or Christmas Day... but that time in between, affectionately known as "Christmastime." Highlights?

Wine Tasting with the Girls

(Cheryl, Ingrid, Sara, Gretchen, Me, & Brenda)

(Sisters)

(Gretchen's cute little house)

Thanksgiving with the Browns

(Andrew, Hilary, & Joshua)

Thanksgiving Family Camp at Mount Hermon

It was SO WONDERFUL to hang out with my Child Care friends and the kiddos - I miss them all!

(Bethany... I miss this lil girl!)

(Landon came to Child Care!)

(America - she's precious!)

The day after Thanksgiving - as tradition since I moved to MH - we decorated for Christmas!

(My Christmas Tree!)

(Home Sweet Home)

Probably One of the Sweetest Things Anyone Has Ever Done For Me...

After community night at my house this week, my AMAZING friends made paper snowflakes and tried to sneakily (I caught them) string them up in my window so I would see snow when I woke up in the morning - all because they know I really miss the snow! :o)

(Mark, Eric, & Heidi - my heroes!!)

(Snowflakes outside!)

(the next morning...)

Decorating Day at Mount Hermon!

A few of us were recruited to decorate a specific room/area at the Conference Center - I had Youth Memorial (meeting room where the continental breakfasts will be served during MH's Christmas Concerts & Buffets). Afterwards, we headed over to help Sara in the dining room.

(Youth Memorial Fireplace)

(Marci!)

(Me!)

(Youth Memorial Christmas Tree)

(Landon in his adorable hat...)

(Sara!)

(Rec Crew - Dan & Jon - stringin' up some lights?)

(This would be a good Christmas card - Jon (Recreation Supervisor) and Sara (Dining Room Supervisor), strung up in harnesses in the dining room. Fabulous.)

(Danny Kern - on the "outdoor lights" crew)

(Scotty Gullick - He made the majority of those white bows - he's a pro!)

(One of our trees in Ivy Dining... Fabuloso!)

All in all... it has been a great holiday season so far. I love Christmastime! :o)

.: Holy Buckets :.

(That's a phrase I have heard a lot of lately, and I really couldn't think of another name for this post.)

Now, please tell me, what is more ridiculous than this article you are about to read?

Thieving monkeys 'out of control' in northeast India

Sat Nov 17, 12:12 PM ET

Troupes of monkeys are out of control in India's northeast, stealing mobile phones and breaking into homes to steal soft drinks from refrigerators, lawmakers in the region have complained.

"Monkeys are wreaking havoc in my constituency by taking away mobile phones, toothpastes, sipping coke after opening the refrigerators," Hiren Das told Assam state's assembly.

He said the primates were "even slapping women who try to chase them".

"It is a cause of serious concern in my area, with more than 1,000 such simians turning aggressive by the day," fumed Goneswar Das, another legislator representing Raha in eastern Assam.

Assam's wildlife minister, Rockybul Hussain, said the state government has formed a panel to study the problem.

Because of shrinking forest cover, monkeys have increasingly moved into cities elsewhere in India as well.

Last week, around two dozen people were hurt after monkeys rampaged through a New Delhi neighbourhood.

Last month, the deputy mayor of Delhi died when he fell from his balcony after being attacked by monkeys.

Efforts to drive out the animals is complicated by the fact that devout Hindus view them as an incarnation of Hanuman, the monkey god who symbolises strength.

True story. From Yahoo! News. http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20071117/od_afp/indiawildlifeanimalmonkeysoffbeat_071117080843

.: New Blog :.

Not to be a traitor or anything but...

I have a new blog. Check it out -

http://carolanncallahan.wordpress.com/

.: Just a Ride :.

Apparently, the songs written by many different artist throughout the course of history (or at least the past 30 years) can pretty accurately describe my mood/outlook on life at any given moment. Seriously. Have you ever noticed that no matter what you are going through, there will be a song that totally sums up your feelings? It's kinda cool. Here's today's -

"Just a Ride" - Jem

Life, it's ever so strange
It's so full of change
Think that you've worked it out
then BANG
Right out of the blue
Something happens to you
To throw you off course
and then you

Breakdown
Yeah you breakdown
Well don't you breakdown
Listen to me
Because

It's just a ride, it's just a ride
no need to run, no need to hide
It'll take you round and round
Sometimes you're up
sometimes you're down
It's just a ride, it's just a ride
don't be scared
don't hide your eyes
It may feel so real inside
but don't forget it's just a ride

Truth, we don't wanna hear
It's too much to take
Don't like to feel out of control
So we make our plans
Ten times a day
And when they don't go
our way we

Breakdown
Yeah we breakdown
Well don't you breakdown
Listen to me
Because

It's just a ride, it's just a ride
no need to run, no need to hide
It'll take you round and round
Sometimes you're up
sometimes you're down
It's just a ride, it's just a ride
don't be scared
don't hide your eyes
It may feel so real inside
but don't forget it's just a ride

Slowly, oh so very slowly
except that
there's no getting off
So live it, just gotta go with it
cause this ride's, never gonna stop

Breakdown
Don't you breakdown
No need to breakdown
No need at all
Because

It's just a ride, it's just a ride
no need to run, no need to hide
It'll take you all around
Sometimes you're up
sometimes you're down
It's just a ride, it's just a ride
don't be scared now
dry your eyes
It may feel so real inside
but don't forget enjoy the ride

.: Only in Santa Cruz - Part 2 :.

Only in Santa Cruz will you find Ukulele-ists playing down by the beach in their Hawaiian shirts every Saturday morning - and today one was dressed as a clown.

.: Personality :.

It seems like people are on a never-ending quest to learn about themselves. Today at work the Myers-Brigg Personality Test, one that I have heard of and probably taken a few times, was brought to light. The discussion went as far as "Googling" said test and taking an online version.

Here's what I learned about my personality today...

INFJ

Introverted (vs. Extroverted) - how I relate to others

(introverts need time alone to "recharge their batteries" while extroverts feel more isolated when alone)

iNtuitive (vs. Sensing) - how I take in information

(intuitive people look at the "big picture" while sensing people evaluate the "here and now")

Feeling (vs. Thinking) - how I make decisions

(feelers base decisions off of emotional connections while thinks look at the facts of the situation)

Judging (vs. Perceiving) - how I order my life

(judging people approach the outside world with a plan where as perceiving people approach it as it comes)

The Portait of the Counselor (INFJ)

The Counselor Idealists are abstract in thought and speech, cooperative in reaching their goals, and enterprising and attentive in their interpersonal roles. Counselors focus on human potentials, think in terms of ethical values, and come easily to decisions. The small number of this type (little more than 2 percent) is regrettable, since Counselors have an unusually strong desire to contribute to the welfare of others and genuinely enjoy helping their companions. Although Counsleors tend to be private, sensitive people, and are not generally visible leaders, they nevertheless work quite intensely with those close to them, quietly exerting their influence behind the scenes with their families, friends, and colleagues. This type has great depth of personality; they are themselves complicated, and can understand and deal with complex issues and people.

Counselors can be hard to get to know. They have an unusually rich inner life, but they are reserved and tend not to share their reactions except with those they trust. With their loved ones, certainly, Counselors are not reluctant to express their feelings, their face lighting up with the positive emotions, but darkening like a thunderhead with the negative. Indeed, because of their strong ability to take into themselves the feelings of others, Counselors can be hurt rather easily by those around them, which, perhaps, is one reason why they tend to be private people, mutely withdrawing from human contact. At the same time, friends who have known a Counselor for years may find sides emerging which come as a surprise. Not that they are inconsistent; Counselors value their integrity a great deal, but they have intricately woven, mysterious personalities which sometimes puzzle even them.

Counselors have strong empathic abilities and can become aware of another's emotions or intentions -- good or evil -- even before that person is conscious of them. This "mind-reading" can take the form of feeling the hidden distress or illnesses of others to an extent which is difficult for other types to comprehend. Even Counselors can seldom tell how they came to penetrate others' feelings so keenly. Furthermore, the Counselor is most likely of all the types to demonstrate an ability to understand psychic phenomena and to have visions of human events, past, present, or future. What is known as ESP may well be exceptional intuitive ability-in both its forms, projection and introjection. Such supernormal intuition is found frequently in the Counselor, and can extend to people, things, and often events, taking the form of visions, episodes of foreknowledge, premonitions, auditory and visual images of things to come, as well as uncanny communications with certain individuals at a distance.

Some famous INFJ's... Mohandas Gandhi, Sidney Poitier, Eleanor Roosevelt, Jane Goodall, Emily Bronte, Sir Alec Guiness, Carl Jung, Mary Baker Eddy, and Queen Noor.

So, that's probably more than you ever wanted to know about me... you can take the test for yourself - leave me a comment stating your personality type and so I can know you better too!

Take the test at - http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes2.asp

.: Only at Costco in Santa Cruz :.

Last night I went to Costco. This is exciting enough, but wait - it gets better!

I was walking back to my car, groceries in hand, when something caught my eye...

This kid (couldn't have been more than 16 years old) bolts out the main door of Costco holding a Costco-sized (aka huge) bottle of Jack Daniels. The kid was running for his life. Close behind him was a (pretty hot) Costco employee guy. The kid drops the bottle of Jack (which shatters - sad day) and keeps running, only to be tackled to the ground by hot guy.

Now that's something you don't see every day ...but I do. (<--- That's a Disneyland joke and if you don't get it you're lame.)

.: What! :.

Shocking discovery of the day - Justin Chambers (aka Alex Karev from Grey's Anatomy) plays Mossimo in The Wedding Planner.

.: New Phone # :.

Hi there... I have a new phone # ... it is 509-834-9630 :o)