I'm ed-u-ma-cated

Classes at UCD began today. The round-abouts are full of amateur freshmen bikers, the Quad is lined with sandwich boards urging people to "rush this" or "join that", and the CoHo is back to being incredibly crowded. Another school year has begun, folks. And it's weird that I'm going on my second year of not being a student. However, I am posing as a student on Tuesdays/Thursdays from 12-1:30, where I'm auditing a US history class. I'm doing this for several reasons:

1) I realized that I miss the opportunity you get as a college student to learn about a specific area of study every quarter

2) I had terrible history teachers in high school; therefore, I want to become somewhat educated about our country and actually know about important things like the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights Movement

3) I'm just a big dork.

In other news, we're about 2/3rds moved into our new house! We've unpacked the kitchen and the bedroom and we've got all of our furniture moved in. Now we're left with the fun part of cleaning our apartment. We spent our first night at our house last night and it was just weird. I think it will take a few more weeks of settling in for it to feel like 'home'. I continute to be overwhelmed with this blessing and I can't wait to share it with other people (in other words, come on over!)

Can I break the spell of the typical

Key-tars are cool

Went and saw the Mute Math show with my brother last night at The Underground. They are definitely one of those bands that make the crowd feel like they are part of the show versus just singing to the crowd. Definitely rockin'.

I first heard of Mute Math in Relevant Magazine about a year and a half ago and they seemed like just another Brit-rock band wannabe. But as we know, first impressions aren't always right and that was exactly the case here. Not only are the guys from Mute Math not at all British (they're from New Orleans), they're not wannabes of any kind---they have a unique sound that mixes rock, electro-pop, and new wave. And the lead singer plays a key-tar! I mean honestly, how nerdy cool is that? Anyway, if you're intrigued and interested to hear their CD, shoot me a line and I'll hook you up. To get a sampling, go here.

In other news, I'm working on a fall mix....stay tuned!

your love is better than chocolate

Nostalgia hits hard tonight. One year ago, around this time, David and I were leaving our wedding reception and heading off into the unknown world of married life. I remember being terrified and overwhelmed, excited but also melancholy. I think I felt that all the events that occur on a typical wedding day were just too much to swallow and process in just a few hours. It's like I needed a 24 hour debriefing session immediately after the wedding so I could pause a minute and reflect on what just happened. But one isn't usually afforded this opportunity, you go straight from the reception to your honeymoon with some goodbye hugs and a trail of bubbles being blown. I think the melancholy emotion I felt came from two things. One, realizing that it would be a while until there was another chance to have all our closest friends and family together in one place again. A wedding gives you the best reason to have this happen, and there aren't many more reasons that come up in life where you can have the excuse to rent out a reception hall and fill it with 200 people who have shared life with you. Secondly, I think I was just plain scared of the uncertainty of what was ahead of me.

I describe all these muddled, somewhat sad feelings that I had leaving our reception because if I had known how incredible the next year would be, I would have left jumping and dancing with joy. I don't know if I have laughed more than I have this last year (my husband's a frickin stand-up comedian folks!). I've had so many memorable experiences over the last year and most of them would not have happened if David and I hadn't been married. Not like it's been a total breeze all the time, but being married and living with my best friend has definitely raised my 'happy' quotient in life. Couldn't imagine it any other way, really. All I can say is I don't know what the next year holds, but at least I know I'll be sharing it with with him, and in the end, that's all that matters anyway.

Dazed and content

More to come later, but just wanted to say we had a fantastic time down in SoCal this weekend hitting up lots of people: David's cousin, husband and their adorable 20 month-year old daughter, my aunt and uncle in Huntington Beach, and of course, Ashy and Mark and Kate and Chris. David went to his first modern dance performance (Ashley was awesome!) and I had my first experience with Indian food (delicious....can't wait to have it again). Also, exactly one week ago on Labor Day, I had quite an experience canoeing 10 miles down the Russian River with Rach, Kassey, and Jessica. Who knew it was in me? Haha, I sure didn't.

Oh yes, and we have our FINAL house walkthrough on Thursday. We are 'this close' to having our keys......I really can't believe the Sholer Shire is almost ours =)

Goodnight, and good luck.

Songs that I can't stop playing: 'How to Save a Life' by the Fray and 'You Are My Joy" by the Reindeer Section

hit the ground running

After 2,000 miles of driving, we returned back to Sacramento last Saturday. Included in those 2,000 miles were Nevada, Idaho, a bit of Montana, and Wyoming---not to mention several hundred bison, picturesque mountain views, a restaurant called Bubba's, and a lot of wide open spaces. To be honest, it wasn't necessarily a vacation I would have chosen on my own, but I'm so glad David suggested it back in June because it turned out to be a much-needed chance to unplug--from the Internet, my cell phone, and just life in general. It was nice to stop and enjoy the simple things like having s'mores at our campfire and watching the different birds on our hikes.
Now it's back to the busy life----we're moving into our home in less than a month! Before then, we'll celebrate both my mom and dad's birthdays (my dad is hitting the big 6-0!), go down to SoCal for a weekend to see Ashley dance, celebrate our one-year anniversary (crazy...), and see a Mute Math concert with my bro and a John Mayer concert with Aubrey. Sheesh. Seems like summer is winding down and the chaos of fall begins...bring it on =)

Tryin to fit the world inside a picture frame

Some pics from our trip:

Hoping I'll see the world with both my eyes

Just wanted to let you all know the view that I will have in just a week. It will be so nice to get 'unplugged' for a week from everything, jump in a car with my honey, and experience the divine glory of being in nature. Yellowstone and Grand Tetons, I look forward to meeting you!

So here's a brief overview of my life lately in survey format:

Last book read: Velvet Elvis:Repainting the Christian Faith by Rob Bell

Currently reading: Blue Shoe by Anne Lamott

Last movie watched: The Killing Fields

What movie do I want to see next: Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby

Who I've been listening to recently: Snow Patrol, India Arie, The Tempations

Last meal I made: Navy bean soup with ham (I love our crockpot!)

Looking forward to: taking a week off work and going to Yellowstone (we leave in two weeks)!

My latest guilty pleasure: Watching "SuperNanny"

My current mission: to read more and to convince my parents to get a dog!

This will be an everlasting love

We went to our last wedding of the 2006 'wedding season' (unless there is some huge surprise that I don't know about). Katie and John tied the knot, and it was definitely a memorable event. The bridal party ceremony recessional was set to the music from "Star Wars", Katie and John entered the reception on John's motorcyle (SO cool), a plane flew over the reception site with a banner attached that said "John loves Katie", and they had a photo booth (like the ones they have in a mall) so people could receive a film-strip of 4 pictures as their wedding favor ---I loved all these unique elements of the wedding. Then there were also the normal elements that I love about weddings in general--seeing so many people I haven't seen in a while, watching the older couples bust out moves on the dance floor, the slideshow shown during the ceremony, and watching how the bride and groom look at each other during their first dance.
I'm sad that we have no more weddings to go to this year because weddings are like a shot of pure joy, and it's not that often you experience that kind of celebration in everyday life. However, I'm pretty sure that next year will hold many more weddings (I won't make my predictions public however...). So until then, I'll look back fondly on all the weddings I got to take part in this year and in a few months, I'll be celebrating my very own one year wedding anniversary! I can't even believe it....

Voyage to India

Just thought I'd share some of my favorite lyrics from India Arie's latest CD...I love it!

I wanna go where the mountains are high enough to echo my song. I wanna go where the rivers run deep enough to drown my shame. I wanna go where the stars shine bright enough to show me the way. I wanna go...where the wind calls my name
~India's Song

There's hope
It doesn't cost a thing to smile
You don't have to pay to laugh
You better thank God for that
~There's Hope

Let’s shake free this gravity of judgment and fly high on the wings of forgiveness
~Wings of Forgiveness

Sometimes I’m alone but never lonely
That’s what I’ve come to realize
I ’ve learned to love the quiet moments
The Sunday mornings of life
~Private Party

Music to my ears

CD's I'd like to hear:

Keane's "Under the Iron Sea"
India Arie's "Testimony: Volume 1, Life and Relationships"
Dashboard Confessional's "Dusk and Summer"
Guster's "Ganging Up on the Sun"

I think I'll stop by Best Buy tonight and pick up the new India Arie CD...I feel like I owe it to her to actually buy her album this time since I've burned her last two. Her music is just so uplifting--I look forward to hearing her new songs!

feels like home to me

Here's another update from the Sholer Shire. We did the frame walk-through last Friday, which is basically walking through the house to get a good look at it's innards before they put the sheetrock on. It was really surreal going through all these wires and pieces of wood knowing that in a few months, we'll actually be living in it!

Mid-September is the estimated move-in date they gave us. That would be perfect, considering our lease at our place ends October 1st.

I'm so excited to decorate our house!! It's weird, but taking trips to Home Depot are now fun because we get to look at all the possibilities for what we could do to the backyard, kitchen, bedrooms, etc.

I ramble on...

My random ramblings are as follows:

-I love love LOVE making CD compilations for people. And this weekend I was definitely productive in my CD mixing. I made a new "catchy songs" mix of all the songs currently stuck in my head for myself, a Father's day mix for my dad, and a summer rock mix for bro to send to him in Santa Cruz. I've said this before, but if there was a full-time job making specialized musical mixes for people, I would be in heaven. I'd like to think of it as my artistic contribution to the world---so please don't hesistate to ask for me to create a playlist for you!

-This weekend was another wedding, Mindy and Cory's. It was fun and ADX dominated the dance floor (see picture above for example). Another one bites the dust, folks.

-So in our bible study, we're going through the book of Mark. We only go through about one chapter each time we meet, so that there's enough time to discuss the meaty questions. Well this week, we read the passage of Mark 26:36-74 and then split up into two group to discuss. Our group ended up being all the girls in our study, and two guys: Bill, the international ministries director at our church, and Frank, the post-doc from China who just became a Christian last fall. Frank immediately wanted to talk about the part of the chapter where Peter disowns Jesus three times.
You see, Frank is going to go back to his job in China soon. His job working for the government---the Communist government that isn't so keen on Christians. Frank wanted to know what he should tell his boss and his co-workers when they asked him if he became a Christian during his visit to America. It's a tricky thing, because if Frank answers 'yes' to this question, he has the strong potential of losing his job. And by losing his job, he wouldn't be able to be an example of Christ's love to his co-workers. And it's not an issue of Frank being ashamed of being a Christian because he is so desperate to share Jesus with his peers in China. But he was just openly asking if it would be the equivalent of disowning Jesus if he didn't give his co-workers a direct 'yes' when they asked if he was a Christian.
Bill had an interesting view on the whole scenario. He asked Frank what the members of the Chinese Communist party think of when they hear the word "Christian". Frank, in his broken English, said that Christians are viewed as a large organization. Bill asked if this 'organization' was seen as a threat to the government. Frank replied that the government thinks it could be a threat and that Christians want to overthrow the Communist party. Bill then asked if Frank wanted to overthrow the government and the answer was a definite no. So Bill then concluded that it wouldn't be wrong for Frank to say he wasn't a Christian, because the concept of a Christian in China isn't what Frank resembles. Rather, Frank is a Jesus follower--no religions or organizations involved.
This conversation prompted me to think of how in similar, yet different way, the term "Christian" in America has so many organizations, people, and doctrines associated with it that it has become a distorted term to label people who actually just want to follow Jesus. Plain and simple. I wonder how someone's reaction would be different if they asked you if you were a Christian and you answered, "Actually no, I'm a Jesus follower." Even though this would be redundant, since the term Christian translates into 'disciple of Christ', I think people would react differently. It would maybe clarify things ("Oh, so you want to try and love people like Jesus did?") instead of distorting them with an inaccurate term ("So since you're a Christian, that means you hate gay people and always vote Republican, right?")
But despite whatever we say we are, it will all mean nothing if we don't follow through with our actions. So I guess the best thing I can hope for is that people know I'm a Christian, or a Jesus follower, or whatever you want term you want to use, by how I act and not by what I call myself.

And thus completes my random ramblings. Peace.

every new day

Today was a good day, plain and simple.

First, we went to Knights Landing (a small town of about 800 people 10 miles outside of Woodland) to help Cody and Diana paint their house. This couple is ambitious folks---not only are they painting the entire exterior of their house, they are ripping out a few walls in the bathroom, redoing the flooring in their bedroom and living room, and converting a small storage shed behind their house into a guest cottage. Holy crap, I'm glad we're buying our house new because I'm just too lazy and impatient for a bunch of house projects. Anyway, they treated us to a meal at the local Mexican restaurant, Los Yaquis, and I got a delicious burrito with marinated pork...mmmmm.

Then David and I took a trip to Trader Joe's, which always brightens my day. We hadn't been in a while, so we ended up buying a good amount of things we needed, but mostly things we didn't need but really wanted. The Cuban Mojito Simmering Sauce sounded too yummy to pass up. And I had to buy another box of the Vanilla Cake mix because honestly it is the best tasting white cake I've ever had. Throw in some tomato/basil hummus, Frenchberry lemonade, gorgonzola gnocchi, and butterscotch morsels, etc. and we finally dragged ourselves out before we did anymore monetary damage.

Later in the evening, I went to Mindy's bachelorette party and it's always fun to see a random assortment of ADX girls. I can't believe Mindy will be Mrs. Champagne next weekend!

So all these things together amounted to a great day. And now, on to what the next day brings...

the sholer shire

DAVID AND I ARE BUYING A HOUSE!

That's our big news. And yes, it's ridiculous that I'm just posting this here now since we reserved the house in April, but better late than never right? To make a long story short, we were not at all expecting to buy a house this soon. We were thinking that we would start looking for a house maybe in a couple years. But David just happened to be at the KB Homes sales office at the right time, learned of a cancellation of a house in our price range, and we decided to snatch it up since it was such an amazing deal. Seriously, this was a toal God thing, such a blessing. I still can't even fully believe it. Like when we had to go to the KB home studio to pick out countertops and carpet and tile, it didn't feel like we were picking out things that were going to be in our very own house.

So the specs on the house....3 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, a combined living room/dining room area, a good size kitchen, an attached garage, and a cozy (aka tiny) backyard. It's located in east Woodland, where all the new housing developments are going up, so that will make both of our commutes shorter...a huge plus. I'm just excited to be able to have more than 6 people over without feeling totally crammed. I'm excited to have a guest room to offer people to stay in when they come to visit us. I'm excited to have a separate room where we can put the computer in, so I can be online while David is asleep. And most of all, I'm excited to have a place of our own.

As the house goes through it's different building phases, I'll be posting more pictures. Here's a few pics of what our house looks like now!

Truly, madly, deeply

Kate's wedding was beautiful! It was so awesome to celebrate another one of my closest friends tying the knot....her and Chris were absolutely radiant the entire day, despite the rain. Of course, that would be the one day it would rain, but the photographer was great and got some really artsy shots of us with umbrellas! It was also really fun to get to know the rest of Kate's bridesmaids. The night before the wedding, Kate wanted to have 'girl time', so the six of us all cuddled up on a bed under a blanket and talked for hours, like we all grew up together (even though I had just met some people for the first time that weekend). It was something straight out of "Little Women". Overall, it was a fabulous weekend. David and I took a quick tour of downtown Santa Barbara and had one of the best meals we've had in a long time at Pascucci on Friday, we had a wonderful bridal luncheon and rehearsal dinner on Saturday, and of course, the wedding on Sunday. Pictures of the Kate and Chris Schwass weekend below:

Who would've though we'd all be married within one year of each other?

Some of the bridesmaids

Chillin with Mark and Ash at the rehearsal dinner
Awww, Kate is such a gorgeous bride!

Goin to the chapel

Kate's wedding is only a few days away! She got engaged right before my wedding, and it felt like her engagement was dragging on forever...and then the last two months flew by and she'll become Mrs. Schwass on Sunday--I'm so excited for her!!! David and I decided to make the occassion into a mini-vacation down to Santa Barbara, so we leave tomorrow and will be back on Monday. It'll be good to see Ashley and Mark, Amy, Susan, and of course, the newlyweds! Here's a pic of Kate and I from my bachelorette weekend in Laguna Beach last August (back before I was married and she was even engaged):

Slip slidin away

I went to ADX meeting yesterday, and it was a good time. But it does feel like the group has changed so much in a year, just with new faces and all. It's weird that in just a couple years, there won't be anyone in the group that was part of ADX the same time I was in the group....it will be a whole new era.

So after meeting, Laeya and Laura tried to convince me to participate in the "slip-n-slide" activities in their front yard. So after debating for a minute about whether I should go to the gym like I had planned or if I should ditch the gym for some slip-n-slide fun, I went with the most logical choice. The Walmart slip-n-slide of course!! I don't have the pictures yet, but until i get them, here's what we looked like (sort of, not really at all):

i heart harry

It's here! Two of my favorite things: Harry + broadway showtunes!

Sing us a song, you're the piano man

I first started playing piano when I entered 1st grade. I think that's where my love for music was born---playing "Hot Cross Buns" on a Casio keyboard. Several years later, my piano teachers would suggest that I train to play professionally, but I never wanted piano to become a job or an obligation. I just loved to play. So while several of my friends learned to play difficult classical pieces through the Suzuki method, which emphasizes repetition and memorization, I just played whatever I wanted: classical, new age, jazz, songs from Broadway and movies, etc.
I think just having the freedom to learn and play songs in my own way, instead of following a certain technique, really allowed me to connect with the music.
I stopped going to formal lessons in high school, and I definitely didn't play as much in college, since I was more into playing the guitar. But occasionally, I would get the urge to revisit certain songs, so I would get out the books of sheet music and start playing and realize that piano will always be my first love musically.
Now I'm waxing nostalgic here for a reason--I'm usually not this much of an emotional sap. My parents decided to sell their piano, and like Joni Mitchell sang "you don't know what you got till its gone". I mean, it makes sense, I didn't really come over to play that much and my mom wants their to be more space in the living room where the piano was. But now knowing that I won' t have anywhere to go play, when I do get the urge, is kind of sad. Fortunately, my parents were generous enough to give me the money they made from the piano...unfortunately, I think they under-sold it on Craigslist for $300. However, my parents said they would give me the money if I promised to put it towards a nice digital piano when David and I eventually move in to a house. So until then, maybe I'll just have to sneak into music stores with my sheet music and play a few tunes.

Here's a picture of the piano we had since I was 6: