with a little help from my friends

After high school and college, it gets harder and harder to have all of your closest friends in one place at one time. Therefore, I've tried to make it a priority to set aside one weekend a year to make this happen. So last March was the first annual "Davis Girls Weekend" where the five of us (me, Ashley, Kate, Amy, and Susan) all congregated down in Orange County to stuff ourselves with cupcakes, do some shopping, and catch up on each other's lives.

The 2009 girls weekend destination was switched to the Bay Area, since 80% of us live up in NorCal now (woot woot), and I became the self-designated planner for our activities. The weekend was fabulous fun and here are some pics to prove it!


We began the weekend by lunching at the Ferry Building, where I experienced the gloriousness that is the CowGirl Creamery shop (it's like cheese heaven!). We also saw Meredith from "The Office" and we tried to get her in this picture (she was buying coffee at Peet's) but we just missed her.


When then went to check in at our amazing hotel in Fisherman's Wharf, where I got an unbelievably good deal on Travelzoo: $99 for a night versus the normal $250 a night. The nautical theme was a little over the top, but it was a very posh hotel that included a free wine reception hour, which we all gladly took advantage of before heading off to dinner in North Beach.





We then took a pleasant stroll over to Little Italy and ate at what I think is the most delicious Italian restaurant in the city, Mona Lisa. I have a long history with this place (we went there the night David proposed! ) and it just hits the spot for any kind of pasta creation you could imagine. After dinner, we were walking down Columbus Avenue to our next destination when I run into two friends from college, Kristen and Brad! It was a hilarious moment where in disbelief I shouted out "Excuse me?! What are you doing here?" not realizing that I probably sounded really rude to the other people in front of me...haha. But really, what are the odds of running into two friends at the exact same time on the exact same street in a large city? I love life's little coincidences.



Kristen gave us the name of the bakery she works at in the city, and I promised that we would try to come see her the next morning for breakfast. We then began what turned out to be a mini-trek to our next stop, the Red Devil Lounge in Russian Hill. Unfortunately, Kate thought that it would be a good idea to wear new heels, and on our walk to dinner she already had several nasty blisters in the works. Using her wonderful iPhone, I tried to find the closest MUNI stop and realized that even with taking MUNI, we would still need to walk 6-8 blocks uphill. The rest of us were in comfortable walking shoes, but poor Kate was limping along. It truly was a group effort in trying to ease Kate's pain.....Ash gave her piggy back rides and I let her have my socks, while Amy and Susan offered up words of moral support. All I have to say is argyle socks and zebra heels make an interesting combo.





After we got a little lost (even with the iPhone), Kate and Ashley gave up on walking and hailed a cab. But me, and Amy, and Susan forged on...mainly because we wanted to walk off what was a very filling dinner. So finally, by car or on foot, we all arrived and our night of dancing began.

Since a night out with the girls is rare now that I'm an old married lady, I had done some research of a fun place to go dancing. Fortunately, through the wonders of Google, I found that Wonderbread 5 was playing in SF on the night that we were there. They are a cover band that play hits from the 80's and 90's, which is definitely more my scene than some ultra trendy club playing electronica and trance.

We got our dance on and moonwalked to Michael Jackson , shimmied to the B-52's, rocked out to Journey, and even tried to rap to Vanilla Ice (I have to admit, I have forgotten the words). It was a most excellent time.








We made an early morning stop at the Fisherman's Wharf In-N-Out before heading to bed and two creepster guys in line asked Amy and Ash "Are you two here for pleasure?" Seriously? Is that supposed to be a smooth pick up line? If only Amy or Ash had thought to respond "No, actually we're here at In-N-Out for a 2 am business meeting."

The next day, we made good on our promise to pay Kristen a visit at La Boulange, the super cute French eatery where she works. The weather was gorgeous and we enjoyed another sunny walk in the city. I got what I think was the best omelette of my life: goat cheese, avocado, and bacon. It was a perfect Sunday brunch meal and was made even more perfect when Kristen snuck us some free pastries, which included a banana caramel muffin, a raisin custard croissant, and a sugar bun....scrumptious!

As if we hadn't had our fill of sweets, we made a stop at Kara's Cupcakes in Ghiradelli Square before checking out of the hotel. I agree that it is a little ridiculous to pay $3.25 for ONE cupcake, but you only live once right? After laboring over all the choices, I went with one Kara's Karrot and one Meyer Lemony lemon cupcake...and resisted the temptation to buy more. We then made a brief stop at the ocean for a photo op and headed down to Union Square.



The rest of the day involved a really fun makeup consultation at Sephora, a delectable Thai dinner in Walnut Creek, and a nostalgic viewing of an awesome movie from the late 80's, "Troop Beverly Hills". The next morning, we all woke up a little dazed from staying up late talking but Kate made sure to feed us a healthy breakfast of whole-grain toast, fruit and oatmeal before we left for Davis. I am so blessed to have so many great memories with my friends and I look forward to next year's girls weekend!

food soothes the soul

I found two great recipes in Cooking Light that I used last night and wanted to share them with any readers I have who like delicious food (hopefully that's everyone).

The first recipe is a SUPER easy and quick black bean soup. It took me about 20 minutes from start to finish, including prep! Take that Rachael Ray! This soup is also very high in fiber, which is a nice health benefit. And it goes really well with tortilla chips or even better, fresh tortillas.

Ingredients

• 2 (15-ounce) cans no-salt-added black beans, undrained
• 1/2 cup bottled salsa
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 (16-ounce) can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese
• 5 tablespoons low-fat sour cream
• 5 tablespoons minced green onions
• 2 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Preparation

Place beans and liquid in a medium saucepan; partially mash beans with a potato masher. Place over high heat; stir in salsa, chili powder, and broth. Bring to a boil. Ladle soup into bowls; top with cheese, sour cream, onions, and cilantro.

The second recipe is for pecan pumpkin bread. I love anything pumpkin, and wanted to make a snack to bring to our bible study tonight, so this recipe presented the perfect opportunity! I haven't actually tried it yet (although I was so tempted to after it came out of the oven) but after our study meets, we'll see if it passes the taste test.

Ingredients

• 3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour (about 15 ounces)
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup egg substitute
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
• 2 large eggs
• 2/3 cup water
• 1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin
• Cooking spray
• 1/3 cup chopped pecans

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 6 ingredients (through allspice) in a bowl.

Place sugar, egg substitute, oil, buttermilk, and eggs in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at high speed until well blended. Add 2/3 cup water and pumpkin, beating at low speed until blended. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture, beating at low speed just until combined. Spoon batter into 2 (9 x 5-inch) loaf pans coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle pecans evenly over batter. Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pans on a wire rack; remove from pans. Cool completely on wire rack.

that's entertainment

This blog is in need of a light-hearted post, so here it is! This is a random smattering of what kept me most entertained in 2008:

Reading:














Watching in a Theatre:
















Watching in My Home:



























Listening:

what no thief can steal

Death is always unexpected, even if you know it's coming. I know that sounds like a paradox but it's true. I woke up this morning knowing that my grandma could die at any moment. She had been in the hospital since Christmas Eve with a case of pneumonia that turned fatal and for the last week her lungs have been slowly filling with fluid, making it hard for her to breathe. She has been on 'comfort care' the last few days, meaning that she was taken of all the machines and medicines that were prolonging her life---and she was put on a morphine drip which would help her to die more peacefully. I have been praying the last few days that she would die sooner than later, so that she could escape her pain.

Before David and I went to go be with the rest of my family at the hospital this afternoon, I still had one grandparent left. Four hours later, I left the hospital grandparent-less. This now means my parents, aunts, and uncles are the new oldest generation of my family. which is strange to think about.

The most surreal moment was seeing my grandma take her last breath. I'm still unsure of how I feel about watching death occur, but this experience brought several thoughts to my mind. I thought about how she was born in 1920 and how different the world was then and how much she has seen it change over the span of her lifetime. I thought about how blessed she was to die in a warm hospital room with her family surrounding her, unlike so many others in the world who die cold and alone due to their circumstances of poverty. I thought about how it is SO true when people say you can't take anything with you when you die and that in the end, material possessions and wealth are so meaningless. I thought about the finite time we all are given here on Earth and how that makes time the most valuable gift.

After my grandma peacefully passed, a chaplain from the hospital came into the room and asked if she could read us a poem titled "Psalm from the Dying". There was one line that struck me in particular:


And all I take with me as I leave is your love
And the millions of memories of all that we have shared
So I truly enter my new life as a millionaire.



Rest in peace, Granny.

525,600 minutes

As David mentioned on the car ride home today after realizing that our beloved Woodland Costco has been open for nearly a year, "the days are just flying by". I once thought that you had to be at least 40 to start making cheesy comments about the rapid passage of time. But ever since graduating college, I've found myself reflecting much more frequently about how another week, another month, another year has sped by.

At first glance, it is hard for me to define the year of 2008 in one short sentence, like 2005 (the year we got married) or 2006 (the year we bought our house). It seems like there was no large defining event for 2008 in the life of the Sholers. But digging a little deeper, there are several milestones for 2008 that come to mind.

This was the year that David and I both realized what career dreams we'd like to pursue (finance for David and career counseling for me). And then we researched how we could possibly make these dreams a reality (grad school). And now we're in the process of applying and hopefully both starting school in the fall. After a few years of uncertainty, it's a liberating feeling to have a sense of what I'd like to do with my life...even though I know it might mean 4 long years of going to school and working full time. How different things could be for us this time next year!

This was the year that Threshold, the post-college ministry at our church that I help coordinate, really grew in numbers and became a thriving community. After almost two years of wondering if there would ever be a steady base of people, me and others on the planning team were getting weary. However, God gave us the spirit of perseverance and I am so overjoyed to now see new people every week join the group and find a community of other people with whom they can celebrate, laugh, pray, and discuss life's hard questions.

This year was the year that I was reminded of the importance of having a sense of wonder of the world around you. This reminder came through our two trips: DisneyWorld and Costa Rica. Both of these experiences had their awe-inspiring moments---watching the Magic Kingdom fireworks at 17 stories high, standing on a beach with monkeys howling in the trees around you, or seeing scarlet macaws in flight-- and these moments make me remember that our Creator has such a vivid imagination and created us to LIVE and soak in as much of His creation as we can, no matter where we are.

And finally, this year was a year that I had a small stirring of desiring to have kids. It's not that having kids was never in the picture and now it suddenly is, but I've come to a place of thinking that if it were to happen sooner than we plan (we'd prefer to wait until we're both done with school), I would be content with that. I've never really been a maternal person and since being married, there have been actual feelings of dread at the thought of having a baby, terrified at how it would change our marriage and how I could handle a little being that screams, poops, and depends on me for everything. But now, after three of my sorority sisters either gave birth or became pregnant this year, I see their joy and get excited at the idea of extending the Sholer clan. However, unless God has other plans, this likely won't be for another several years so don't expect birth announcements anytime soon!

So it's obvious that 2008 is not a year that can be summed up easily, but it definitely was a memorable year full of new places, people, and experiences. Here's to 2009!

Merry Christmas 08

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

In the last week I've been determined to get a decent blog post on here updating about different life events---mainly, our trip to Costa Rica---and I've succeeded in failing to do so. Although Fridays are usually a somewhat slow day at work, tomorrow I have the honor of going to an ALL DAY faculty retreat as the advising office representative. However, the word "retreat" in this instance is deceptive---I'm not going to some luxurious spa to get away from it all; instead, I will be in a conference room with 15 faculty members and some head honchos from the dean's office trying to figure out how to solve the Design program enrollment crisis (i.e. the number of students in our major has gone from 320 to 600 in the last 4 years and yet the amount of faculty and sections we offer remain close to the same).

So my quest to write the perfect blog summing up our experience in Central America will have to be postponed. However, here is a quick update of random things that are catching my interest at the moment:

Harry's new Christmas CD:




Ingrid's new song that she played when I saw her in concert last month:




I started this book on our trip and am almost finished with it. Amazingly true story of one person's determination to solve public health problems in developing nations.


Finding that perfect holiday baking recipe

venturing to ferngully

On Sunday, we leave for Costa Rica. I feel a little ridiculous that we are going on another vacation only 2 months after getting back from DisneyWorld. The way I justified it several months ago was this: since our plans for possibly doing a big 3 week Europe trip this summer were foiled due to the horrible exchange rate between the euro and the dollar, why not take two 10 day trips instead and seize the day?

So we booked DisneyWorld and we booked our tour to Costa Rica within the same week. And now I feel kind of silly because I know that so many people rarely have the opportunity to go on a vacation once every five years, and yet we're doing two vacations in one year. But I realized that instead of feeling guilty, I need to embrace this current blessing we've been given of having the financial ability and the time off work to be able to do something like this. However, the key is to never take this blessing as a given, as something I'm entitled to have. I don't believe in the Joel Osteen version of the gospel---where if we grow in favor with God, God will then prosper us financially. There are a lot of good people that are poor. And a lot of evil people that are rich. Rather, my view is that God gives and God takes away (and this doesn't depend on how 'good' you are) and I pray I can recognize the blessing in each situation----through financial security and financial hardship.

Anyway, that was a long-winded introduction to this post, but I needed to get it off my chest. So yes, in two days David and I will be headed to one of the most beautiful places on Earth (so I've heard)! Ever since watching "Ferngully" as a child, I've always been intrigued by the rainforest and now I'm actually going to one! Pictures will follow upon our return, but until then....have a wonderful Thanksgiving, complete with lots of turkey and sweet potato casserole, and I'll catch ya'll on the flip side!



We'll be seeing lots of these guys:

election night thoughts

Almost two years ago, when his candidacy was first announced, the thought of a Barack Obama presidency seemed unreal to me. Going into the voting booth this morning and bubbling in Obama's name on my ballot felt unreal to me. And now, after the election is over and Obama has been declared the next president, it still seems unreal to me. I can't believe it's all over (finally!) and that what seemed like a distant dream is now going to become a reality.

However, despite my sentiments above, I am not an Obama fanatic. I know he won't solve all the country's problems and that he will make mistakes that will let me down. Like my fellow blogger Dan said:


"He is after all, merely a man, though extremely gifted and talented, and the challenges facing this land are of such a great magnitude. He's bound to disappoint and perhaps sooner rather than later. If you are looking for the Messiah, I believe he's already been here and is still at work but he's not running for President."

What inspired me most about today was not that my candidate won, but rather that the citizens of America were so interested in this election (no matter what side they were on). People were EXCITED again to participate in the process of democracy! Maybe this interest will last and people will become more involved in the political process of finding solutions to the problems that affect us all in some way: education, health care, and energy. That's my hope anyway. And I'm pretty sure it's hope that has got us to this result on election day, so it can't be such a bad strategy....

Here's to a new page turning in America's history.

A quarter century of living

My birthday always makes me very reflective. So last night around midnight, I had the sudden urge to look through some old journals. I enjoyed reading entries that show the person I used to be and how that person has shaped me into who I am presently. Reading through different things I wrote, I had varied emotions. In some ways, I'm so glad I've matured in certain aspects of life and find myself wiser in these areas than I was during college. However, I also realized that in the day to day grind of working life, I have lost some of the idealistic passions I used to have several years ago, when life seemed less complicated as a college student.

Going forward into my second quarter century, I have hope that I will come closer to finding the balance between the reality of life and achieving my dreams. Five years ago, my lack of life experience led me to compartmentalize my dreams into different areas. For example, I had my dream job (working in the music industry or as an event planner) and my dream relationship (marrying David). I soon came to realize during my senior year of college that pursuing my dream job wouldn't mesh with pursuing my dream of marrying David (for various logistical reasons) and this is where I began to discover a more holistic approach in how to be fulfilled in life instead of thinking the key to fulfillment was simply pursuing all my dreams in all the different areas of my life. But this was just the beginning of a long discovery process.

Then last fall, I read The Irresistible Revolution and another piece of my life puzzle fell into place. I had the great ephiphany that I was created simply to love. To love God and to love people. It was at this point I realized that it didn't matter what career goals I pursued, since I could love God and love people in whatever job I had. This was a liberating discovery that freed me from my pride and allowed me to fully embrace the position God gave me working on the UCD campus.

A month later, I was given the opportunity to work as a student adviser, a position that is in high demand on campus. Now I look back and see that God had been priming me for the last several years to get to this point in learning how to be content and not worry about status or what job title I had before presenting me with the student adviser position. I love God's irony sometimes.

I am so thankful for my current job in student advising and am even looking into two possible grad programs that would help me to pursue this career path even further. However, I know now that it doesn't matter whether or not I have a grad degree. If going to grad school doesn't work out, that just means there's another road God wants me to take. He's led me this far, so I figure I'll keep on driving, with my stereo on full blast, and see where my life road signs take me. Wherever I end up though, I'll still have what I need for any life journey: Jesus, my husband, my family, and my friends. And hopefully those four things will always my top priority in life, no matter what birthday I'm celebrating.

Just enjoy the show

I dare you to not smile while watching this:

an obvious epiphany

I've been pondering a lot of things lately. Last week I was feeling very melancholy, like there was a grey cloud over my head just floating around. Work was unexpectedly stressful. And, actually, life in general was a little overwhelming. Then there was all the coverage of the financial crisis, which got me to worrying about my parents and their financial security. Then on top of that, I started thinking about all the people I knew experiencing some kind of pain---physical, mental, or emotional. Basically, last week was one large ice cream sundae of worry and fear and stress.

But luckily, this sundae melted. I had a realization last Friday and it was quite simple really. Embarrassingly simple. I realized that DUH, God never promises us that life will be easy. However, I have grown so accustomed to life being easy that when life becomes a little tumultuous I freak out. But there is the choice we all have, to dwell in the fear or to move forward knowing that our hope in God will guide us through the fear. The only promising option is to choose the latter, and so now this week I have a renewed sense of optimism. Not because everything suddenly got better---uncertainty and stress and all that fun stuff is still there. But as Corrie ten Boom said, once you "trust an unknown future to a known God", everything seems much easier to handle.

Today's moment of zen

Ingrid and Sara....my two favorite female singers...on one stage. I'll be seeing them on separate stages this October and November, but maybe one day I'll be fortunate enough to see them both together. Or better yet, can they please come out with a duets album?

it's the truth, it's actual, everything is satisfactual

Disneyworld Vacay 2008

I've been a Disney fanatic every since I went to see "The Little Mermaid" in theaters as a wide-eyed six year old in awe at Ariel and Prince Eric. From that point on, pretty much anything Disney had my seal of approval (ok, there are a few exceptions but I won't go into that now). Well spending the past 8 days at Disney World has only increased my admiration for the pure and simple vision that Walt Disney possessed: to make people smile. I witnessed so many great moments during our trip: from little kids coming out of Star Tours for the first time exclaiming "Mom, we just went to SPACE!" to seeing so many newlywed couples proudly wearing their Mickey and Minnie "bride and groom" ears, to getting a picture with my childhood heroine Belle, to watching the Magic Kingdom fireworks with my husband on our 3rd anniversary. All of these moments and more equaled a trip full of many many smiles and Disney magic.

FAVORITE RIDE: It's a tie: Expedition Everest @ Animal Kingdom and Rock N'Roller Coaster @ Hollywood Studios

FAVORITE LIVE SHOW: Finding Nemo: The Musical at Epcot

FAVORITE UNEXPECTED EXPERIENCE: David and I volunteering to participate in the Backlot Studio Tour as "movie extras" in a fake movie scene they were filming where we had to wear waterproof suits and boots and pretend we had torpedoes being fired at us

FAVORITE "INTERACTIVE" RIDE: Toy Story Mania @ Hollywood Studios

FAVORITE LUNCH SPOT: Wolfgang Puck Express @ Downtown Disney

FAVORITE MEAL OVERALL: Our anniversary dinner at the California Grill at Disney's Contemporary Resort--best dining experience of my life

FAVORITE EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE: "One Man's Dream" exhibit at Hollywood Studios showing Walt Disney's life

FAVORITE NOSTALGIC RIDE: Space Mountain or Splash Mountain

be our guest

Time for vacation!! This time the destination is Walt Disney World and I am so so excited! We had hoped to maybe do a Europe trip this fall but that idea totally crumbled after we kept seeing the dollar doing worse and worse against the euro and airfare continuing to go up and up. Oh well, Europe will always be there. And hey, the Epcot park has a world showcase with lots of different countries, so that can maybe make us feel like we went somewhere international.

I'm looking forward to eating myself silly at all the amazing restaurants, going on all my favorite rides, spending our 3rd anniversary watching the Magic Kingdom fireworks, and just taking some time to hang out at our resort to read and relax. Some people have given us confused looks when we tell them we're spending our vacation at DisneyWorld (especially when they find out we aren't taking little children with us). But I don't care, I'll forever be young at heart!


Where we'll hopefully get some rest and relaxation:

Well said

First of all, I read something funny on a blog yesterday:

Jesus was a community organizer, Pontius Pilate was a governor.

Secondly, Obama responded at a news conference to the 'community organizer' ridicule:


Look — I would argue that doing work in the community to try to create jobs, to bring people together, to rejuvenate communities that have fallen on hard times, to set up job training programs in areas that had been hard-hit when the steel plants close, that is relevant only in understanding where I’m coming from. Who I believe in. Who I am fighting for, and why I’m in this race.

The question I have for them is — why would that kind of work be ridiculous? Who are they fighting for? What are they advocating for? Do they think that the lives of those folks who are struggling each and every day, that working with them to try to improve their lives is somehow not relevant to the Presidency? I think that as part of problem, may be why they are out of touch and do not get it, because they haven’t spent a lot of time working on behalf of those folks.

Full response here:

Politics as usual

Since fellow blogger Kassey has labeled me as her "music and politics" friend on her blog roll, I thought that I better live up to the latter half of this title, especially since it's been a little while since I've posted on anything political.

I watched most of the Democratic National Convention last week and felt that most of the speeches were "fine"---not oustanding, but not horrible either. The most anticipated (i.e. over-hyped) speech was obviously Obama's and I think his speech was ok, but not as inspiring as some of his other speeches. I laughed when he promised to end our dependence on oil from the Middle East within 10 years: this isn't a realistic promise and it sounds like very idealistic thinking. I also didn't like how he was vague on his proposals of how to fund the government programs that he would like to enact. However, here's a section from his speech that resonated well with me and found a common ground that I think most everyone can agree with on some level:

"...we must also admit that fulfilling America’s promise will require more than just money. It will require a renewed sense of responsibility from each of us to recover what John F. Kennedy called our "intellectual and moral strength." Yes, government must lead on energy independence, but each of us must do our part to make our homes and businesses more efficient. Yes, we must provide more ladders to success for young men who fall into lives of crime and despair. But we must also admit that programs alone can’t replace parents; that government can’t turn off the television and make a child do her homework; that fathers must take more responsibility for providing the love and guidance their children need. Individual responsibility and mutual responsibility - that’s the essence of America’s promise."

Then there's the Republican National Convention. I told myself that I would be fair and watch some of both conventions in order to hear why each side feels they are better equipped for the presidency. And I realize that at any political convention, the opponent is always going to get slammed and criticized. However, watching some of last nights speech's, I found myself becoming angered at comments that were mocking and disrespectful-specifically the comments belittling Obama's previous experience as a community organizer. Rudy Giuliani's speech took the first swing at Obama's community organizer days (go to 5:20 on the video below to get the full effect)). His tone was so condescending that it made me cringe. Then Sarah Palin, who proved that she is a sharp and energetic speaker, took another punch at community organizers by saying:

"I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a 'community organizer', except that you have actual responsibilities."

Ouch. Apparently community organizers just sit around and twiddle there thumbs and contribute nothing to society. Also, In both of these speeches, I heard not much regarding what John McCain will actually do for America, just what he has done as far as serving in the military and being a POW. These are honorable things, but let's get to the issues.

But the more I read about what's been happening the last few days, the more I see how this election on both sides might follow the same tactics as the 2004 election: distract people with fanfare instead of provoking people to think about solutions to issues. I hope in the next 60 days this doesn't prove to be true, but only time will tell.


Rudy's speech (go to 5:20 to hear him scoff at the community organizer occupation)

second night

There's only a handful of movies that I've ever seen twice while in the theater. Today, The Dark Knight was added to this short list. I first saw it a month ago with my brother and my parents while David was gone backpacking. I was worried that all the hype had heightened my expectations too much and that on some level I would be a little disappointed. This was not at all the case....it met every expectation and then some. After the credits started to roll, I knew I would be seeing this movie once more before it left the big screen.

This afternoon, I finally took David with me to once again see what I think is definitely the best movie of the summer, if not the year. Seeing this film twice has now confirmed for me what a masterful work of cinema it is. The plot is full of non-stop action AND intelligence --two characteristics that don't usually go together in a movie. The tone of the movie sucked me completely into the dark and mysterious atmosphere of Gotham City. And I know that Heath Ledger's performance has been praised ad nauseam, but I'll do nothing but add to that praise: I strangely look forward to every scene the Joker is in because Ledger has created a character that is mesmerizing to watch.

There's already a lot of talk about whether Christopher Nolan will sign on to direct a third "Batman" movie. However, I could understand if Nolan is somewhat hesitant...because how do you top something as amazing as this?

two completely unrelated items

One thing I like:


Fiber-One bars have changed how I view granola bars. My dear friend Rachel Blaine informed me of the existence of these wonderful food items a month ago, and after hearing her endorsement of these fiber-filled delectables, I rushed to Costco and bought a box. She wasn't lying, they truly are a healthy granola bar that tastes like a candy bar! And they come in a variety of different flavors, which I was pleased to discover while strolling through Target the other day. I seriously look forward to having one at work each day. Scrumptious.

One thing I don't like:

Focus on the Family, a Christian group I'm growing more and more disappointed with, asked their supporters in a YouTube video (which they now have pulled) to pray for rain of "biblical proportions" when Barack Obama gives his acceptance speech outside tonight at Mile High stadium in Denver. What's ironic to me is that today is also the 45th anniversary of MLK's "I Have a Dream" speech, a historic call for respect and unity within America. Forty-five years later, it doesn't really seem like some of the Focus on the Family folks understand this message.

of challah bread and a Savior

To avoid getting stuck in a 'reading rut', I made a list of different fiction and nonfiction books I wanted to read this summer, and I finished the first book off that nonfiction list this weekend--"Girl Meets God" by Lauren Winner. Winner chronicles her unique spiritual journey in this memoir that is a very approachable and interesting look into her former life as an Orthodox Jew and her conversion to Christianity. I knew next to nothing about Orthodox Judaism before reading this book, so in addition to having fun reading it, I also learned quite a few things as well. Winner puts a fresh spin on several Christian traditions like Advent (that have become routine to me) because she reflects on the meaning of these events both from her Jewish and Christian perspectives. I would definitely recommend this book, it was thought-provoking without being overly theologically dense and I appreciated Winner's authenticity in sharing her struggles and triumphs in her process of conversion.