what are the odds?

1. bstudy last night.
how often is it that you get to have a scientific discussion on the overwhelming evidence of a Creator God? rachael and danae are so awesome. and wow, God is so incomprehensible.

2. class canceled.
how often is it that class gets canceled and you get to sit in starbucks catching up on reading and eating a chocolate croissant and a latte? :]

3. art movie tonight.
how often are you required to watch an art documentary for class with kathryn, one of the most wonderful girls in santa barbara?

4. [hopefully this will come to fruition] late night $1 taco's @chino's w rachel and franklin. :]
now how often does that happen?

family.

1. iron man 2 w daddy.
i love pepper pott's clothes :] check out that awesome twist in the front of that polka dot shift dress! it's so beautiful, it should be art.
and they mentioned barnett newman by name! (an artist i learned about this year in contemporary art history)
and it was great. dare i say even better than the first? well, i liked it more because pepper had a bigger role.

2. dodgers v. detroit.
great seats: behind home plate, row L!
and i just looove watching the dodgers win whilst enjoying a dodger dog + peanuts!

3. robin hood.
i really did like robin hood, too, although others apparently did not. i didn't think it was slow and it didnt seem long to me either.

4. chicken dinner.
recipe by julia child. pretty much says it all.

5 should be the LOST finale, but it was unsatisfactory, so i'll say:
-1. LOST finale.

in the bag.

andy's bag.

something i love for whatever reason is looking at the contents of someone's bag. lol

this was probably born from looking in my mom's purse to find gum or chapstick or something. but i really REALLY like knowing what other people have in their purses. so much so that i have a little collection of images on my external hard drive of photos of what's in people's bags.
maybe it's the way magazines photograph products like real simple often does with their make-up layouts. or maybe it's my need to have things organized and the way i lay all my things out on my bed before i pack it up. probably all of the above.

i love her purse pic.

do you seeeeee all the things in there? i want a bag like this. it's like a survival kit in a bag - disposable toothbrushes, contact case, fold-up scissors, mini nail files, tide to go, and antibac. we've got a wallet (and separate coin purse), a checkbook, a coupon book, a paper notebook and calendar, anddd a keyring with those mini gift card/frequent buyer cards. she is super prepared. down to the 5 back-up pens to the pencil and a sharpie for those moments when a pen just doesn't cut it.

sophia coppola for LV.

hanneli's bag.

hanneli's is my absolute favorite. from the proenza bag to the canon to the ysl wallet. and all the lovely grey colors. :] i love grey.

these just make me want to gather all my things together. good thing, too, because i'm going to need to start packing for camping!

silver lining.

trying to go back to the good things:

1. despite the no stove/oven, no microwave, no toasters, etc. i've had enough milk and cereal to suffice as meals.

2. after staying up real late working on a 7-page paper that i was pretty sure was just a string of jumble words ending with a period, jon flores offered to edit my paper for me and he really did a good job. i am soooo appreciative of that boy. and i did indeed [hand]write him a thank you card. (im trying to bring those back. lol)

3. ya gotta love these prints. they're cheeky and simply delightful. and i want to decorate my future house with them :]

one of my absolute faves.

this reminds me of relient k now.

the laker colors is what made me really like this print.

and this is just great.

procrastinate now.

@830 am - woke up.
@9 am - breakfast.
@10 am - researching blog hosting sites. bc i'm thinking about doing a diff blog for japan.
@11am - decide i should shower.
@1110 am - alona's in the bathroom. decide i'll just be gross so i change out of my jammy jams.
@1120 am - decide that i really should shower. shower.
@12 pm - decide i need coffee to start writing. go to sbucks for my favorite toffee nut latte :] and it's so good
@1220 pm - decide i need music to write. proceed to dl nick jonas + the administration bc i realize i don't have it.
@1230 pm - decide i should warm up to the writing by blogging abt my schedule. also, made a paper writing playlist appropriately titled "paper two soundtrack."
@1 pm - start paper.

condition christine.

by army of freshmen.

Lost my troop my parachute
Through neighborhoods in hot pursuit
I landed on little league fields
Now no more war games this is real
Hopping fences parking lots
Their blaring sirens firing shots
I crawl through woods through poison oak
The rendezvous points up in smoke

Three more miles to go

Christine I'm in no condition
To be put through this science fiction
Welcome to your rescue mission
I am here to save you

Do everything the message said
When hell breaks loose under the bed
If you hear screams and cries downstairs
No matter what don't go down there
If there's footsteps in the hall
Don't make a single sound at all
And when the doors thrown open wide
Just pray it's me on the other side

[how much does this sound like that scene in taken ??]

One more mile to go

Christine I'm in no condition
To be put through this science fiction
Welcome to your rescue mission
I am here to save you

Mayday mayday fading fast
I'm shell shocked from the mortar blast
I'm on the edge of your backyard
I think I can distract the guards

D day D day here at last
Soon this will be in the past
If I don't make it out alive
At least you'll know how hard I tired

Christine I'm in no condition
To be put through this science fiction
Welcome to your rescue mission
I am here to save you

Christine I'm in no condition
To be put through this science fiction
Welcome to your rescue mission
I am here to save you
I am here to save you
I am here to save you
I am here to save you


i think this might be the best song yet with my name in it.

conversations.

im writing my paper -well, let me be honest- i'm supposed to be writing my paper for my new testament literature class. and it's killing me slowly. i'm so distracted right now. and i feel terrible because i'm reading scripture for my sources and i dont know why, but i just feel like im slighting God by not really wanting to do this or read any of the gospels right now.

instead, i'm just having the same conversation with God over and over. like in a 5 minute loop. and it goes something like this:

Me: Lord, why do you put these desires in me? Why are they there? What are they for if I'm not supposed to act on them?
God: Christine -
Me: And why can't you just let me know about the future? What does your plan look like? Am I even close to getting it? Because I know what I want and I hope that what You want looks a lot like what I want. I just want to know...
God: Christine, you don't need to know.
Me: Oh, right. Duh. I'm sorry, I'll let You be God. You're better at it anyway.[pause]
Me: So, wait. When you say I don't need to know...etc. etc. etc.


update.
the convo has changed to become:

God: Do you love me?
Me: Yes.
God: Do you love me more than everything else?
Me: Of course.
God: Do you love me more than anyone else?
Me: I really want to...Lord, I want to loosen my grip on this idol in my life. But I'm afraid You'll take it away.
God: Do you trust me?
Me: ...Yes.
God: Then let go.

(my favorite part is jasmine's skeptical face right after this.)

surprise surprise :]

so i came home this weekend and my mom told me we were going to do something friday night, but that it was a surprise and i'd need a cocktail dress and heels.

my cousin tracy arrives and we get ready for the surprise while i change like 5 times. then my parents come home and we drive to the mysterious restaurant. turns out, it's a tapas restaurant and they are famous for their sangria - as it was described on the menu, an "especialty drink" lol so of course, we order some and it was very sweet and delicious. after dinner, we get back in the car and drive around looking for our next destination which wasn't apparent until we pulled into the driveway: the magic castle!!! [no pictures bc there's no photography inside]


we arrived @730, just in time for the 8 o' clock "big" show. david deeble was our hilarious emcee and entertainer with some "face juggling" of a billiard ball and a ping pong ball. he really likes to balance things on his face. like flaming marshmallows. lol jason andrews performed with a silent act set beautiful music. it was just so enchanting. he was followed by trevor watters and lorena who did lots of slapstick comedy magic.

then we went to see our family friend, jason tong perform close-up card and coin magic. it was so great to see him work and he's so quick i still can't figure out how he did the tricks! :] after that, we went to see another show but was stopped at the bar by magician george millward who did quite a few tricks for us with cards, coins, cups and balls, and a glass. he was very good. i was just across the counter from him and his sleight of hand got me every time. haha

george finished right when a show was starting so we got to sit for that, too. two magicians, bruce gold and dave cox, collaborated to come up with this evil twins routine that was very funny, but also required a lot of audience participation so that made tracy and me quite nervous because we absolutely did not want to be up there. by the time that ended, it was past midnight so we called it a night, but not before running into a group of friends from church!

maybe i do like surprises now!

life's little quirks.

these things just make me SO happy!

matching laptops w my roomie

peanut butter cookiewich with coffee ice cream. :]

and best of all, my screensaver!

"do ya like caaats?"

i totally forgot to post these pics from our cats don't dance night! rachel and i went over to summer's to watch a childhood fave complete with a cheesecake and a dessert wine and a wonderful sleepover :]

my friends call me whiskers + cats don't dance

our special reserve label: la fantasia

our designated zones

far longer than forever.

is how long this weekend should have lasted. :] after feeling so attacked in the friendship area, after this weekend, i know for sure that i'm back on solid ground.

5/16-- that's what i wrote when we got back, and now i'm going to finish this post by transcribing all the memories from the moleskine:



FRIDAY

drove down.
-our soundtrack: princess & the frog, legally blonde.

del taco for lunch. (well really for the shakes)

target!
-spotted: lauren english's ring that we all wanted (i still do) & a claddagh ring! who knew they had those at target? rachel also bought the nail polish of the weekend: snappy "sappy" sorbet! so we all had friendship nails, including sam! :]

whilst waiting for the boys to arrive, we watched glee, ellen, and friends - faves.

jake and stephen arrive.
-house tour

sunset.
-sat on fence and had a photoshoot whilst we waited.
-laid in street like in "the notebook"
-sam and i kept popping our heads up bc no one else was watchin out
-yelled "car!" and everyone jumped up and scattered
-then the car pulled into a driveway before it came to us lol

back at the house.
-set up tents, get supplies - pizza, s'mores fixins, gran spumante
-"mushrooms? for savory s'mores?" - and stephen stole my line
"the hot tub" + pool time.
-w/the "graaan spumaaantee"
-allll the "would you rather?"s
-"summer, don't eat the poop." -rachie lol
-marco polo
fire time.
-stephen made the fire!
-s'mores and more talk talk talking until 530am
tents.
-jake & stephen more mini tent into big tent haha
-stephen does harry caray [snl] right before we drift off to sleep lol

SATURDAY

wake up late.

have a chat w sum's dad
-he made us a pancake breakfast!

swim time! :]
-and left-over cold pizza. yum!
-the "a little bit colder now!" & elmo story is told
-soundtrack: switchfoot, roonie, and the jo bros make for sum good background music
-"this is what we do" [we cry]
-loquats! from sum's neighbor's tree
-pinching ea other
-rachel & the legs lol
-rachel as scuttle hearing sum's heartbeat - soooo great. "yes. good."
-whirlpool, link elbows, "this is a what," and the human knot...pretty much all at once
-stephen & jake's songwriting - "lookin like a fool with ants in your pants" haha
-"that's huggable."
-"one for the moleskine."
-"why don't you like that?" led to "you like that...?" [in a creeper way]
-"doorbells" [snl]
-"friends?" "yes" - trying to guess where the reference is from
-oh and summer attempting to save us from drowning :]

bbq.
-turkey burgers, corn, watermelon! mmm :]
-soundtrack: colbie caillat perfection
-word of the moment: "mellow"
-stephen does harry caray for sam
-lakers win! 3-0 :D

bjs.
-our theme song: "far longer than forever" in car - rachel cries, i'm pretty close
-pazookie platter! and the smooooth root beer! so delicious.
-our server for the night: weird shane, "here i am" lol
-stephen aka debbie downer
-the boys pay - "wait, is this a date?" haha
-sit in the toasty toaster and play "far longer than forever" for the guys - naturally, i cry this time

drive home.
-reminisce and reflect on how crazy we are. "we're all mad"
-so tired. "we're so drunk!" [friends]
-soundtrack: gavin degraw, the fray
-what if....the guys met our future boyfriends? it would go something like this:
-"so what did you guys think?"
-"a little bit duller now"
-"let me ask ya one question: do ya like caaats?"
-"why don't you liiike that?"

EPIC love.

i have no pictures of these things, but it was one loooooong, good night. one might even say it was epic. :]

it started off with the EPIC boys making a grand sister appreciation dinner for us gals. it was really something and there was plenty of food for everyone! the guys even got all dressed up in ties and some sweater vests :] those boys got style.

then we headed over to russell's house to visit bc he couldn't come to EPIC w his torn mcl/acl, so we came to him. and prayed over him like a family should. best part of that was kathryn parking in this amazingly teeny spot. but she did it! and we had a fun time trying to get out. w albert laughing at us and nicky waiting for us to pull out.

afterwards, nina, kathryn, and i went to the plex to watch the newest glee, complete with a cameo by olivia newton john!

and then we gathered our studying materials (bc we all had a midterm the next morning @930) and pancake supplies and headed to the dorms to bless the API floor of san nic with midnight pancakes. it was so wonderful that even tho most of us had midterms the next day, we still came out to make pancakes for freshies in the middle of the night. and we tried to study together whilst welcoming people. but by the end of the night, we were way past delusional. kathryn kept saying "i love strawberries" randomly throughout the night. she was tiiired.

best moment:
nicky was being all nostalgic toward the door of the rm grant and jt shared freshmen year, but every time we stopped by it, the guys who lived there were either outside, lookin at us funny, or just abt to open the door. hehe

cabin time.

[5/16 - wow, i tried to finish this post, but i really couldnt remember what we did...but something is better than nothing, right? this really does the weekend no justice]

went to ashley's cabin for the weekend with rachel, shea, gaby, sarah gasca, and of course ashley. such lazy fun!

FRIDAY
claimed our rooms - rachel and i shared the toy room complete with a train and a lion on my bed just like the lion my grandma had at her house lol
then we had our family-style dinner of pizza and spaghetti while gaby and i watched the lakers win against the thunder. such a crazy great game and i wanted to text someone about it, but we had no internet or cellphone service. so i just had to keep my love of pau gasol to myself.

SATURDAY
next morning i slept in and had some crazy weird dreams. then we got ready for what ashley didn't really consider a hike.


we had some goooood hiking time complete with silly poses with icicles and the waterfall and the small stream of snowmelt. shea and i reenacted paintings we just learned about in class.


how great is that? we took so many good pictures along the hike! and it was so beautiful although challenging on the way up. oh! and we crossed a mountaineer woman yodeling on the trail. that was different haha
after hiking, rachel and i did some studying in the room and later that night we had some more pasta for dinner and some cheap gross wine. ick. but we made up for it later with s'mores and a great big fire. then we popped some popcorn and decided to watch american pie by process of elimination bc it wasn't scary. then bc it was only 10 when the movie ended, we watched the sequel, too. o man what gross and terrible movies.

SUNDAY
we cleaned everything up, took a bunch of pictures of the cabin and then wrote in the guest book and said our goodbyes.

what dreams are made of.

for a couple weeks now, i've been getting terrible sleep. well, lack of it really. i've been having that fitful sleep you get when you're anxious and you wake up every hour or so. but i haven't been that anxious about anything.

i've also been having very vivid dreams that manipulate my emotions because daniel's been in every one of them. and in the dreams we're always still dating and holding hands. but the dreams end either happy or bad because we get in a fight and i wake up angry. in both cases, i wake up in a weird mood.

last night, alona and i talked about it and i found out she had been having nightmares, too. so she suggested we pray for our sleep before bed (now i'm realizing why its traditional to pray before bed).

and our prayers were answered. we both still had odd dreams (mine still had daniel in it), but neither of them impacted how we started our day. and i slept through the entire night! super restful sleep. thank you Lord!

story of my life.

kendra: i'm going to go on a diet, starting like right this second. ooh! look! a candy store! can we go there??? i want candy.


i've recently realized i've developed a post-boyfriend layer of softness around my middle. that's what you get when you use food as a coping mechanism. [enter friends reference here.]
so not ideal.

btw, i wrote this whilst eating hot cheetos and drinking a coke. im making abt the same effort as kendra up there.

passion and purity.

"There is no ongoing spiritual life without this process of letting go. At the precise point where we refuse, growth stops. If we hold tightly to anything given to us, unwilling to let it go when the time comes to let it go or unwilling to allow it to be used as the Giver means it to be used, we stunt the growth of the soul." - Elisabeth Elliot