Only a week late...!

Last weekend after mom left, I made an impromptu trip to San Antonio with Alexis and Sean. This was partly because I wanted to get away and partly because they needed a "chase car" to follow them since they rode their motorcycles. The entire point of the trip was to go to four different Hooters (I kid you not) to gain stamps on "passports" for some sweepstakes Sean's entering. For some reason, we went the entire weekend without taking any Hooters pictures (how is that possible?!) but here are some pictures of San Antonio.

This is the view from the room, and the sunset over San Antonio. You can't tell, but we're right over the Riverwalk.

Here I am with Sean (who kinda looks like a chipmunk here!) and Alexis at dinner on Saturday. I think we were all pretty tired by then.

Sean and I in front of the Alamo. Lex and I took a picture as well, but we used her camera and she didn't like the one of her so she didn't send it to me! Note to self, Sar: bring your camera next time!

This past Thursday, Alexis and I drove to a little place called Briggs, TX to look at Beagle puppies! I went for the drive and the excitement of holding puppies (but not having to bring one home)! Lex picked out a sweet boy who she named Cooper, and he is a delight! Lex is definitely excited to be a mama to Cooper, and I am quite content with Auntie Sar!

Here I am with baby Cooper...isn't he adorable?!

So that was my week!

Gratitude Attitude #20: The Avenue Q Original Off-Broadway Soundtrack. Not only is this soundtrack ridiculously funny, it's also highly inappropriate and enormously entertaining. I could listen to that CD on repeat and be completely content. For those of you who are unaware of Avenue Q, I'll leave you with these lyrics: "I'm not wearing underwear today, no I'm not wearing underwear today! Not that you probably care much about my underwear, still nonetheless I gotta say, that I'm not wearing underwear today!"

Finally, an update!

The past two weeks have been entirely too much fun to update, as I spent as much time as possible with mom while she was in the same state as me! Now that she's gone, however, and school has started, I can finally update!

Mom's visit was eventful! It started off with a trip to the local grocery store (aren't moms great?!) on Saturday, the day she arrived. On Sunday, I took her to Church Under the Bridge where she met Benny, Cindy, and Bill (my three "regulars" that I visit) and then to First Presbyterian for a famous Jimmie Johnson sermon. Then Sunday afternoon we drove to Shreveport, Louisiana, which for those who don't know is on the upper left-hand corner of the "boot" that is Louisiana (their slogan is "Louisiana's Other Side") and right on the border of Texas. We wanted a mini-road trip (it's about four hours away from Waco) and we'd both never been to Louisiana so we figured, why not?!

Here's mom on Sunday night at dinner, before we checked out the Shreveport casinos. Isn't she adorable?!

Here's an artsy picture mom took of me with my amazing cosmo in the casino lounge. We heard there was a band so we went to check it out, and they were actually quite decent! Their name was Sugarfoot, and they were full of energy.

Then mom and I went back to our hotel room (which didn't have a mini-fridge, so we improvised), watched Sweeney Todd, and drank our pink lemonade Mike's Hard.

On Monday, we decided to go shopping at the local outlet mall that was less than a mile away from our hotel. We also went for cocktails (which is the picture below) and then saw 500 Days of Summer while our toenails dried.

Me and my best friend.

Yup, I actually let someone touch my feet. Here are our pretty toes!

On the drive back through East Texas, we actually got to see some beautiful sights! Look at this...yeah, it's actually Texas! Can you believe it?!

Last week was full of mom-time; so full that I didn't get anymore pictures than the ones above! One week wasn't nearly long enough, that's for sure. Feel free to come back anytime, mama! :)

Gratitude Attitude #19: The accessibility of flights from Washington to Texas such that I am able to see the people I love the most. Miss you, mom and dad!

Mom's Here!

Gratitude Attitude #18: MOM'S VISIT! I'm so grateful for the fact that she's able to get off work and fly here to spend an entire week with me, and that I have time in my schedule for her visit. I'm super excited to get some family time with my own family instead of my adopted (albeit wonderful) families here in Texas.

Best Bachelorette Party Ever

This entire week I decided to dedicate my blog (and my Facebook profile picture) to one friend or group of people I'm grateful for, whether they are current friends, past friends, coworkers, colleagues, or family.

Friendship Gratitude Attitude Day 7: The attendees of Brittany Fuch's bachelorette party. A few days before she became Mrs. Lavalleur, we all went out and celebrated. Nobody knew the entire group except Britt, but by the end of the night, we were all close friends with some hilarious memories. I still actually keep in touch with all but one girl (and the one who I don't, she had to leave early and so I didn't really get to know her). I've never had a more fun time going out with a bunch of strangers (literally!) that became such good friends, and I am so glad to have these quality people in my life. To Sarah, Brittany, Stephanie, Britt, Amanda, and Devin: Thanks for being so gorgeous, hilarious, accepting, and FUN!

Here's the group after Devin took us to dinner on the 71st floor of the Columbia Tower (Private Club, VIPs obviously).

Me, Britt, Brittany, Stephanie, and Amanda at bar #2, a usually hoppin' place that was completely empty.

On the way back from our night in Seattle! This is Brittany, Britt, and me.

I also lent a hand (along with the bridesmaids) the morning of the wedding to make Britt's day perfect! Here I am with Brittany, Britt, Stephanie, Amanda, and Stephanie.

I Miss High School in General!

This entire week I decided to dedicate my blog (and my Facebook profile picture) to one friend or group of people I'm grateful for, whether they are current friends, past friends, coworkers, colleagues, or family.

Friendship Gratitude Attitude Day 6: The high school friends I still keep in touch with (Shayla, Shannon, Shai, Ashley S., Lauren, Brittany, etc.). I was close to an amazing group of women during high school and am blessed to still keep in close contact with the majority of them. Although we don't live close to each other anymore, every time we get together we can catch up like nothing has changed. To those that I am still lucky enough to have in my life, I love you!

Some of the old crew at our lockers, back in the day.

Nicholas Paul Sandy, Acoustic God

This entire week I decided to dedicate my blog (and my Facebook profile picture) to one friend or group of people I'm grateful for, whether they are current friends, past friends, coworkers, colleagues, or family.

Friendship Gratitude Attitude Day 5: Nicholas Paul Sandy. I'm lucky to have a few people who I consider my best friend, but I'm pretty sure Nick takes the cake. Nick has, for the past two years, been my biggest supporter, my constructively-critical conscience, and my heart. Nick has never sugar-coated anything and has always been completely honest with me, which is more than I could ever ask in a best friend. He's also extremely loving, willing to talk to me any time I need it and sends me random text messages just to tell me he's thinking of me.

Another cool thing about Nick is that he is the most amazing singer I know. He sings with passion and wants others to hear his music hoping that they can relate. He'll also sing me songs and send them through the phone, so I can hear rough cuts or just listen before I go to bed. He also just signed to a record label, Maurice the Fish Records, and is currently part of three bands (plus himself, I think...the list continues to grow because everybody wants a piece of him).

I'm grateful for Nick in my life; for who he is at all times and for his love to me. Love you too, Nick.

Day 4: PLU Athletic Medicine

This entire week I decided to dedicate my blog (and my Facebook profile picture) to one friend or group of people I'm grateful for, whether they are current friends, past friends, coworkers, colleagues, or family.

Friendship Gratitude Attitude Day 4: PLU Athletic Medicine. For three of my three and a half years at PLU, I was part of an amazing work environment. Not only was the PLU training room filled with inspiration and devotion to prevention/rehabilitation, it was a family. I loved going to work to get paid to have fun, watch talented athletes, and learn/teach to friends. Not everybody has been part of such a wonderful and skilled group of people, and I miss each and every one of them dearly!

Christmas my first year of training. Clockwise from top left, Jenny, Lauren, Kristie, Katie, Casey, me, Dan, Andy, Sarah M., and Liz.

Formal picture for the website, this is also fall 2004. Clockwise from top left, Kaylie, Jen, Andy, Liz, me, Andy, Gary, Casey, Sarah M., Kristie, Jenny, Lauren, and Katie.

This was fall of 2006, Callie, John and I. You can see our athletic tape Christmas stockings in the background! Lutes, you can also tell this was before the renovation!

Katie, Liz, and I playing with black athletic tape.

Here I am with Melissa, Liz, and Katie for our annual Christmas dinner fall of 2006.

Group picture of some of the most amazing people I know, fall 2006. From top left, Kaylie, Lauren, Gary, Jen, Jon, Amanda, Katie, Kim, Melissa, Liz, me, Callie, Erin, and Kiera.

Friendship Gratitude Attitude Day 3

This entire week I decided to dedicate my blog (and my Facebook profile picture) to one friend or group of people I'm grateful for, whether they are current friends, past friends, coworkers, colleagues, or family.

Friendship Gratitude Attitude Day 3: Kyle Nowadnick. Kyle started out as a coworker, moved to boyfriend, then was my mortal enemy for about two years, and now he's one of my closest friends. Kyle's moral support throughout the past year has been unwavering and rock solid, which is why I'm thankful to have him. Kyle is not the same person I dated more than three years ago, but I'm happy about that because he's a better guy. I like to pretend like I'm the reason that Kyle has matured over the past three years, but he's also helped me tremendously in becoming the loving, caring, nonjudgmental person I try to be. To Kyle, thanks for being you. :)

Kyle and I, New Years 2005/2006

I'm pretty sure this was right before school ended in spring 2006, but I can't quite remember.

Fall of 2005

Thanks for being such a strong support in my life, Kyle, and thanks for getting over your two-year jerkiness. :) Kidding! Maybe...

Studal Peeps (and blog post #100!)

This entire week I decided to dedicate my blog (and my Facebook profile picture) to one friend or group of people that I'm grateful for, whether they are current friends, past friends, coworkers, colleagues, or family.

Friendship Gratitude Attitude Day 2: The 2005-2006 Studal (Stuen and Ordal) RAs. I owe each and every one of them a thank you and a big hug! I had a great experience during J-term 2005 learning how to be an RA in Hinderlie, but I'd say that my love for the Resident Assistant job and on-campus life in general was fostered (ha!) with the Studal staff's loving support, graceful teaching, and amazing humor. Looking back on my years as an RA, my favorite memories have to do with having such a tight-knit, dedicated staff that was able to push each other and be supportive at the same time. In alphabetical order:

Allison- Your loving personality was perfect for anytime I needed a hug or someone to talk to, and your ability to have fun and make silly faces has provided me with some amazing pictures and great memories! Ha. Ha ha. Ha ha ha!
Amber- You were my saving grace, the one who would always bring a different perspective with a smile. I'm grateful to have had you as a leader; our fearless RAAD and loving friend.
Blake- My first floor buddy, thank you for letting me sit in your room late at night watching random Will Ferrell movies or Boy Meets World. I loved that we can talk about anything with no judgments. You bring amazing beauty to my life through your smile and your photographs. Thanks for being you.
Brett-Brett- Your "awkward" voice and woman troubles have given me some of the best conversations I've had. I love how supportive you are and how easily you and I have stayed friends (proximity helps!). And congrats on the lack of woman troubles for the past year and a half; too bad 'cuz we had a great time gossiping about you. :)
Carly- Your tenacious personality and spontaneity brought some great memories (remember our adventure with Max?!). You also put on some of the greatest programs that made residents want to get involved.
Emma- I'm appreciative of your laughter and love for life. I don't think there's anybody in the world who isn't completely in love with you and who you are, and I'm lucky that you were such a wonderful part of my life.
Lindsay- Your perfectly timed humor brought security to our staff meetings, and your perfectly timed hugs brought friendship to my life. Thank you for the great talks and lots of giggles!
Max- I am thankful for your openness, as you're always willing to explain something to me and teach me the way. I love how honest and straightforward you are, and I'm glad you were able to lend your heart to me on multiple occasions. I'm also grateful for your amazing Miss Lute performances; who doesn't love those?!
Pat- If I ever need to know a zip code in Montana, I'm coming to you! I miss your songs, as they brought lots of smiles to our staff meetings!
Sara- I'll always remember the Christmas present you got me as my Secret Pal (!!!) and how you were the big sister to everybody on staff. The two Sara(h)s were unstoppable!
Sean- I'm appreciative of your alternative perspectives to situations in Ordal, your ability to get your residents involved in anything, and your presence around the hall. I'm also grateful that you brought your amazing girlfriend into my life! ;)
Sumerlin- Out of all of the leaders that I've come across during my years at PLU (and now at Baylor), I respect you the most for a multitude of reasons. I'd say it's mostly because your honesty and support, but also because of your friendship and caring personality. Thank you for being so willing to back us up!
Tiffany- My other first floor buddy, thank you for suturing pigs feet in the Ordal kitchen (I have no idea why I remember that) and your support during my training for the half marathon! You brought inspiration to my life and I'm grateful for that.
Troy- You were always pushing us to think in different directions, making sure that we were considering all the possibilities. Thank you for your diverse background and also for your stilt-walking, 'cuz that's just downright cool.

I noticed I used the words "love" and "amazing" about a million times in the passage above, but I can't think of better descriptors for my Studal peeps.

Sara, Lindsay, Emma, and I doing our "We Can Do It" pose! Strong women, right here.

The Studal staff at RA graduation in August 2005.

During a retreat on Harstad Island, the entire staff (you can barely see but Sara is on the floor) fit into the shower.

My wonderful first floor buddies, Blake and Tiffany.

And one more silly photo of us after RA graduation in August 2005. How could I not love these people?!

Thank you for all the memories; I love and miss each and every one of you.

Friendship Gratitude Attitude Day 1: Paikai

This entire week I decided to dedicate my blog (and my Facebook profile picture) to one friend or group of people that I'm grateful for, whether they are current friends, past friends, coworkers, colleagues, or family.

Friendship Gratitude Attitude Day 1: Jake Paikai. Jake and I met his freshman year when he moved into the first floor boys' wing of Ordal. The three first floor RAs planned resident programs together and Jake was always willing to participate. In fact, during our biggest program of the year, Jake alone cooked an authentic Hawaiian dinner for forty Ordal residents, three professors, three RAs, and an RD.

Jake is an intelligent, loving, artistic, passionate, fierce man. He maintains a rockin' college GPA (3.85) while being extremely involved at PLU. Off of the top of my head, he was or currently is a Diversity Advocate, editor of Saxifrage (PLU's literary arts journal), an editor of The Mast (PLU's weekly student paper), resident assistant in the international hall, and the Student Involvement and Leadership web and print design intern. Jake also is passionate about social justice, helping to raise over $600 for the local GLBTQ community center through PLU's advocacy organization Harmony.

Jake is big on campus, in presence and physically. Jake is morbidly obese, weighing over 500lbs but with a huge personality to match. He comes from a low income family and does not have any health insurance, and he was genetically predisposed to obesity. I've seen Jake start exercise regimens and eat healthier, but at 6 feet tall and 500lbs it is almost sure that his life will be over in 10 years if something bigger doesn't happen. We tend to forget that others' bodies aren't like ours and assume that they "deserved" to become fat due to bad eating, poor exercise habits, or being lazy. Knowing Jake and knowing how much he has struggled and has tried to overcome this genetic disease, I can't think of anybody more deserving to receive help.

Jake's roommate-cum-best friend Dmitry started a website MyBypassSurgery to use social media to help Jake (and then once this goal is reached, to help others like Jake). Please check it out and donate if you can; I did.

Please read more or donate at MyBypassSurgery.

This is Dmitry, the roommate who started the website and Jake's inspiration (and vice versa; they're a great team).

Jake and me at my surprise birthday party my sophomore year of college!

Jake participating in an Ordal program to celebrate fashion and watch the finale of Project Runway. You can't quite tell, but he's walking down the "runway" of the Ordal lobby. :)

And this is Jake, love of my Ordal life, drinking some Hawaiian punch he made for the Hawaiian program he helped us with (errr, okay, cooked the entire thing).

I've also included the website's press release because it sounds more formal and professional than my plea.

Pacific Lutheran University students, staff come together to save lives

In the U.S., one in every 50 people is morbidly obese. It is a very real, very dangerous trend—a leading preventable cause of death that threatens millions worldwide. However, gastric bypass surgery offers hope to those who have none. Jake K.M. Paikai, a senior at Tacoma’s Pacific Lutheran University, is fighting for his life in his pursuit to raise money for his own gastric bypass procedure. Beyond this, Paikai and his dedicated group of colleagues hope to raise awareness of obesity and its risks, and offer hope for those one in 50 persons who face death without radical changes. Together, they have launched MyBypassSurgery.com.

“Big problems call for big solutions,” the website reads. “For some obese persons, diet and exercise can provide enough help in order to maintain the health and safety of that person. It is rarely the case, however, that excessive weight is the only health problem an obese person faces. Further limited by physical disabilities, injuries, and lack of stamina, diet and exercise are not always enough and can ultimately fail to provide a long-term solution.”

Paikai lives what many would consider to be a hectic life—a heavy academic course-load, regular submissions to on-campus publications and performances in drag shows to help raise funds and awareness for queer issues. On top of this, Paikai is also a stringent social advocate, a lover of film and of language and a vocal presence in many issues on- and off-campus. Paikai manages all of this despite his 600-pound weight, but his health issues are beginning to take their toll, and he estimates that, without this procedure, he will die inside of 10 years.

“Help me to save my life,” Jake writes. “Gastric Bypass is a chance to radically alter the system—forcibly restarting behaviors in the morbidly obese person. This gives me the chance to lose weight and begin the process of building good diet and exercise habits, without being limited by other compounding factors. It is not for everyone—but for those facing slow, yet certain death, it can be the only life-saving intervention.”

Paikai, who does not have medical insurance, hopes to raise the $60,000 needed for his procedure through this website, which features videos, written testimonials and frequent blog entries chronicling the journey thus far.

“Please donate,” Paikai writes. “Every dollar helps.”

San Antonio, jump on it!

Although central Texas has it's downside (far away from quality oceans, mountains, family, and friends), I've met some pretty amazing people. One of those amazing people is a PsyD named Alexis who, despite her dry sense of humor (going to West Point and being in the army will do that to a woman), is one of my favorite people here. Now that I think about it, instead of "despite," I should have said "because"! She's completely nonjudgmental and full of quality advice, which are two of the many things that draw me to her.

Yesterday, she gave me a call and said that she had to make an impromptu trip to San Antonio, which is about three hours away from Waco. She had to be at a hospital in San Antonio at 8am to get an ID badge and parking pass, and because it is just far enough away from Waco to make the drive seem a bit too long in the morning, her clinical program paid for a hotel room. We left her house at 3:30pm on Thursday and spent three and a half hours (there was traffic in Austin) talking about politics, religion, Kenneth McDuff, capital punishment, life at West Point, past relationships, future relationships, and just about everything in between.

When we got to San Antonio, we dropped off our belongings in the hotel room and then headed down to San Antonio's River Walk to find something to eat. I didn't get any good pictures of the River Walk itself because we arrived after dusk and the lighting wasn't conducive for a good overall picture, so you're just going to have to believe me that it's gorgeous. The river flooded in the 1920s and so the city built up a plan for future flood control. After forty or so years of planning and funding, the River Walk construction was started. In the 1980s, the Hyatt hotel built a pedestrian walkway to connect both side of the walk, and ever since then, the dammed portion of the river has been known as a tourist attraction. The dammed river isn't very wide, but the architects did a fantastic job at commercializing the portion such that you can walk around in a large circle and see both sides (and the upper and lower levels) of the river.

We ate at Dick's Last Resort, an apparently famous chain of restaurants that have waitstaff who are rude, obnoxious, sarcastic, or a combination of the above. We sat on the end of a long picnic table and received a philosophy lesson about life from a 41-year-old man named Mike who sat next to us. We ate these amazing fried green beans (my favorite fried food) and ordered ribs and BBQ chicken to split. We then walked around the River Walk, ate some Ben & Jerry's for dessert, and had a good time admiring the San Antonio culture.

Here is Alexis and me at Dick's; one of her eyes is closed and she looks drunk, but I promise we both didn't drink! It's the only picture I have of both of us besides the one below!

Waiting for Alexis to get done with her ID badge/introduction stuff at the hospital!

The drive home was a lot of fun because Alexis and I stopped at her friend Sean's house to pick up his dog. You might remember Sean as one of the people I sponsored last Christmas in Iraq! Alexis is doggie-sitting for the weekend and Sean's house is on the way home, so we made a quick detour to grab Spencer.

Here I am with Spencer and Alexis!

Gratitude Attitude #10: Quality complimentary hotel breakfasts. I love when hotels have an extensive breakfast set up in their lobby, complimentary to guests. I woke up, went downstairs, had an amazing Texas-shaped waffle (they're everywhere in TX!), some strawberry yogurt, and a little bit of eggs. When I went back upstairs I grabbed some coffee to go, complete with a lid and straw. I'm just thankful that I didn't have to starve while Alexis was busy, or bring my own food, or have to eat stale cereal and 2% milk because the hotel had a wimpy breakfast. I'd definitely recommend a LaQuinta; if not for their comfy beds, their amazing complimentary breakfasts.

27(?) years and counting...

Gratitude Attitude #9: Parents who are still married and ridiculously in love. I was blessed with two amazing parents who have never been anything but supporting, loving, and encouraging in my short life thus far. They hold hands and take long drives together. When apart for more than two days, one always says that it "is a nice break, but I miss your mother/father." I always joke that I get my witty humor from my mother and my stupid humor from my father, which I think explains my affinity for punny jokes. My mom once told me that someone told her to buy the book "Dealing with the Strong-Willed Child" when I was younger, and she said that she's always taken that as a compliment: she and my father raised a woman who questions authority, strives for knowledge, and can feel at ease in almost any situation. My mom says that she has nothing to do with how I turned out, but I beg to differ: both my parents together, in their loving relationship, made me who I am. And I'm damn proud of it.

I read stories online or in the news about single parents or celebrities with large families going through divorces, and I thank my lucky stars that I was given two perfect (errr, almost perfect) parents to raise me. Their marriage may not be completely flawless (Dad spills coffee in their car, Mom's bossy) but I couldn't imagine two better people to show me what love truly is. :)

Oh, and 10 pts. if you realized that "punny" was on purpose.

SYTYCD!

Gratitude Attitude #8: So You Think You Can Dance is my favorite summer show, stemming from a summer with no cable in Tacoma and a rabbit-ear antenna that only received channel 13. That was four years and four seasons ago, and I haven't stopped watching since. I can remember season one in my Tacoma second floor bedroom sweating profusely; season two finale with Lauren and Kaarin in their living room; season three at home or at Clare's watching a DVR'ed copy and gossiping about our favorite dancers; all of season four with Christopher, scheduling dates and family time around the show (to give me a little credit, it started out as my love and turned into a Sar-and-Christopher obsession); and now season five, watching alone but text messaging Clare about our favorite dances and watching in the memory of the man I love. Not only is the show full of amazing talent and wonderful people, I am also grateful of the many memories I have resulting from watching the show. America's Favorite Dancer #5 is announced tomorrow, and although I'm hoping it's Evan or Jeanine, I'm glad that I have the memories of the entire show to live with for the rest of my life.

*Snap*

Gratitude Attitudes # 5-7: Digital cameras, cell phones that take pictures, and Mac's Photobooth. Any way to stop and capture the moment, whether it be beautiful, hilarious, or breathtaking, is important to me. Looking back and showing my children my youth, I want them to say, "Wow, mom, do you know where the delete button is?" instead of "Where are all the pictures?"

Last week of July

Is it just me, or does anybody else think that THIS judge kinda looks like Anna? It's from a website called Awkward Family Photos, and the horrified face at the kiss looks like Anna's fake-shocked face! It brought a giggle to my morning.

Lindsay from youth group turned 17 last Sunday, while Joanna turned 21 last night (yay for not having to worry about if Joanna can get into the bar anymore)! Here are some pictures from last week's celebrations.

Lindsay and her talking card at her birthday dinner.

Angie, me, and Kara at coffee on Wednesday, celebrating the fact that they're SENIORS now!

Me and my First Pres senior ladies, Lindsay, Mary-Catherine, Angie, and Kara. Four of the most gorgeous women I know, both inside and out.

Joanna's birthday celebration at Ninfa's, a delicious Mexican restaurant. This is right after they sung her happy birthday.

Then onto the celebration at home complete with cake and ice cream. Here is Carrie presenting the cake, Joanna giggling at the presentation, with Shane (left) and Jeff (her boyfriend, right) watching.

M's vs. Rangers game tomorrow...pictures and new post soon!

Gratitude Attitude #4: My Texas "family." My mom always said that friends are chosen family, and although I've been blessed with amazing blood relatives, I'm thankful for the people who are in my life by choice.

First Pres peeps,

My acquired friends,

Stanford lab colleagues,

Classmates, participants, lab students,

First year (err, second year) grad students,

Family and friends of the above who have "adopted me,"

Thanks for being you. I'm grateful to have you all in my life.