reverie

One of my favorite things to do this time of year is to drive around looking at Christmas lights. While I am a fan of tasteful & fairly traditional decorations, few things delight & amuse me more than garish displays of holiday cheer. Here are a few of the Christmas highlights from my new neighborhood. giant inflatable Santa & penguin inflatable lighthouse with a snowman & Santa inflatable Noel with a snowman & Santa inflatable Santa riding a tractor! Nascar snowmen...if this didn't make me laugh so much I'd probably be a little sad. Santa being pulled by flamingos...uhh... most giant inflatable ever ho ho ho! dreidel, dreidel, dreidel! Merry Christmas Texas-style! I hope you are all having wonderful Christmas seasons! This can be such a fun & magical time of the year and I hope that the celebration of Christ's birth reinvigorates your life with a sense of awe, joy, and hope--all things for which God is the true source. Much love & merriness

It's been too long since I've stopped by here. It's ridiculously early in the morning & I should be finishing up packing for India & try to catch a few hours sleep, but I decided I'd rather stop by here instead since I will likely be without internet for the next 2 1/2 weeks. Much has transpired in the last month. Here are some of the more notable happenings. - was sick for much of my final 2 weeks in Los Angeles--the apex of which was a bout with tonsillitis. I'm happy to say that I won, but not before a trip to the worst doctor ever, $60 worth of Chinese herbs being pushed on me, tears of pain & frustration, and finally a prescription for an antibiotic which cleared things up almost entirely after only 2 doses. - moved from Los Angeles to Texas. Said goodbye to some of the most amazing people in the world and embarked on a new life chapter. I'm still kind of waiting for the full reality to hit me. Prior to the move there were 3 tear-filled mo

It may be a million degrees in LA right now, but I can say for sure that fall is here! Starbucks says so . . . the pumpkin spice latte is back! hazaa! :) Certainly one of my favorite yearly events. I enjoyed my first psl of the season tonight & many others will surely follow. mmm :)

I hope to never see Brad Penny in a Red Sox uniform again. What a pathetic excuse for a pitcher. There's absolutely no excuse for having a starter who can almost always guarantee a loss. So glad to be getting Tim Wakefield back this week. If you know me well, you know that's saying A LOT as I'm not particularly a Wake fan. That just goes to show you how absolutely terrible Penny is. Now let's just hope Penny is the one ousted from the rotation. In other Red Sox news, we took Yankee pitcher Burnett for a ride this afternoon! Few things delight me more than my boys beating up on Burnett. Not sure why, just really dislike him. And our baby starter--Tazawa who's 23 & was pitching in only his 3rd major league start--shut out the Yankees for 6 innings! This was a fantastic turn of events after losing all of our last 5 matches against the Yanks including last night's horrendous (hopefully last) outing from Penny. Let's hope that was our last loss to t

Nearly 4 years ago I had a dream about the frustrating dance that can be male/female interactions. A friend on whom I had a crush at the time and I were the starring players in this dream. At this point I don't remember many specific details save for the following as I had made note of it at the time. I was startled awake from the dream just as my friend shouted, "I'm in love with you and I'm terrified!" Quite a thing to try to wrap your mind around upon waking. Of course not having transpired in reality there's no particular need to parse out the meaning of such an exclamation. But now so many years later having run across what I had jotted down about the dream at the time, I do have thoughts on it. And guess what, you get to hear them! I know, you're feeling very lucky right now. ;) I genuinely desire that kind of love. A love that is so strong and amazing that it can also be completely frightening. And not in a bad or immobilizing sort of way,

In a perfect world football season would only be 2 months long and would not overlap baseball season. Actually in a perfect world football would not exist, but I'm being kind(ish) to my football loving friends. Is it just me or does football keep starting earlier & earlier every year? All I know is that it's not even September yet and we've got plenty of good baseball left, so football can just shut it & go away for awhile (or forever). Thanks.

If heaven had a flavor it would be Red Velvet Cheesecake . Wow. Get thee to a Cheesecake Factory & try some today!

As promised! To Shark Week with love, I have a sick fascination with you despite the fact that you FREAK ME OUT! eek! I'm pretty sure any nerves I had built up to consider trying surfing are now completely shot. d'oh! Still, I will continue to watch all week. It's messed up, I know. To MLB Network with love, you offer me a delightful daily dose of baseball. You wrap me in your arms when I arrive home from work & guide me around America's ballparks. If you were a man I'm pretty sure I'd have to marry you. To Twitter with love, okay I give in, I admit it, I love you. I tried to fight it, but I truly enjoy you. To 30 Seconds to Mars with love, your new album is tantalizingly close to releasing. It is long awaited & I'm excited to hear the final product as well as finally see you on tour again! I am giddy as I think about it. :) To chipotle peppers/flavored foods with love, you are yummy! My current favorite use for you is chipotle marinade o

Hey friends, I promise very soon to return to regular blogging here. For real! In the short meantime, though, feel free to check out my new political blog Boston Chai Party that I'm writing with Amber & Raj. Many of you know where I stand politically, but this blog is not about my or my siblings' opinions; it's about bringing news & information to the forefront for discussion so that people can form their own thoughts with a more complete idea of the facts, many of which are overlooked, ignored, or even hidden by mainstream media outlets. If politics aren't your thing, no worries, I won't be offended in the slightest, that's why we created a separate space for this, but if they are your thing I'd love to have you join us over there. Coming Soon: perhaps a return of to blank with love? We shall see...

Please excuse my long absence. Thank you for those who have requested my return. Truthfully I just haven't had much to say here. Perhaps it's Twitter's fault. Perhaps it's just too difficult to write about the things that have really been on my heart lately, whether because they are too joyful, too frustrating, or too complex. Still I find myself without much to say, but I decided I should write as I have locked myself in my room because my roommate is watching Twilight in the living room and I'd rather kill bunnies than have my eyes or ears assailed by anything related to that debacle, and I really love bunnies! But that's just how much I hate Twilight. It frightens & saddens my heart that young girls (and truthfully, sadly grown women as well) are reading this garbage and thinking that this crazy, gross stalker is dreamy & represents what love should be. It makes me want to puke. It's really no good whatsoever. Well sorry, but that's

5. wandered around Amoeba Records--one of my favorite places 4. went to a great Indian restaurant for dinner by myself. I was supposed to go with a friend, and though that fell through I decided I still wanted to go. 3. chatted a bit with my waiter and he asked for my number before I left. :) 2. saw Away We Go (for my 2nd time) with my good friends Dan & Amy 1. my RED SOX shut out the Yankees!!! we are now 6-0 on the season against them. this hasn't happened since 1912! here's hoping we can keep the streak alive!

Just had to share the little song I found myself singing on the way home from the grocery store tonight. pepper turkey, pepper turkey, pepper turkey I love some pepper turkey it's my favorite sandwich lunch meat! Guess what I bought for work lunches this week. ;) Yeah, I know I'm a dork. I'm totally okay with that.

In under 7 innings, Varitek (Red Sox Catcher & Captain) can hit 2 homeruns that gave us the win, go to bat (so-to-speak) with the homeplate ump on Josh Beckett's behalf, and take an ejection that otherwise would have likely been handed to the Ace. And of course Francona came out to protect Tek which landed him his own ejection. Settle down Ump Tichenor! Check this out . This was in the same inning that the Twins catcher and manager were also thrown out by Tichoner. I think someone needs to go back to umpire school and get off the power trip. Ridiculous. Yes, I know you can't argue balls & strikes, but give me a break. If both teams are that upset with you, your umping is probably made of fail. Oh well, at least we got the win. And we're on top of the AL East, so that part of the world is exactly as it should be! :)

Today was bookended by sorrow and joy. Upon arriving at work this morning, I learned that one of the beloved executives of the company had passed away unexpectedly. I had a brief cry over it this morning, but I know that once my mind fully comprehends the reality, tears will flow more freely. At this moment it still feels unreal. Conversely, this evening I was blessed to reconnect with a very dear friend whom I had not truly hung out with in 6 months! It's unbelievable how quickly time can pass & how a missed coffee date here or there can turn into half a year passing. But oh what delight there is in picking up as if no more than a day or two had passed and laughing & sharing about everything from tv shows about vampires to celebration & love. This friend, Maria, recently celebrated her 5th wedding anniversary with her wonderful husband James. And she sat there telling me about a love story & journey that has developed over and lasted far longer than 5 years.

Please excuse the wonkiness while I make some changes. I'll get things smoothed out within the next few days.

This first part in italics was written last week. The non-italicized part that follows is where I am tonight. Praise God for change. Lately I feel like a complete fraud. I'm not excited about church or p&w or truthfully even God. I sat in church last Sunday going through the motions, singing songs simply because I had them memorized, bored by the sermon, and overall feeling nothing. And it's scary & frustrating. I hope it's just fatigue with a sermon series that has dragged on for 3+ months, but honestly I'm not sure & that's frightening. I'm at a point right now where even though in my head I know I'm incredibly blessed in a lot of ways, I find myself measuring my life by what I don't have. And more frustratingly by what seemingly everyone else around me, with few exceptions, does have. I'm hurt and I'm angry. I'm in a faith desert & I don't like it one bit. Only I have no idea where to find an oasis. Blessed be

...because apparently they don't. So many conflicting reports are swirling around out there about guys: Guys are dumb. Guys are smarter than they let on. Guys like attention even from a girl in whom they have no interest. Guys don't know when a girl likes them. Guys know when a girl is into them. Even if a guy knows he'll often play dumb; it's an easy out. What's the truth? And who's going to invent the decoder ring to help us figure it out?? Actually scrap the decoder, I'm done trying to figure it out. 1) because I'm waiting for a guy whose signals I don't have to read, who will have the courage just to come right out & ask me on a date. and 2) because I think the truth tends to lie much closer toward the "guys are smarter than they let on" end of the spectrum than anywhere else and that should, and does as far as I'm concerned, require them to take on a little more responsibility. If you think a girl might be interested &

Last night I heard 1234 by the Plain White T's. It's a fun song that reminds me of this song from Square One TV. Yes, I'm a nerd; I'm pretty sure we've been over this! ;) That's probably my favorite thing from the whole series. Other fun numbers: 16-11 -- the final score of the Red Sox/Yankees game Saturday. It was INTENSE! But we pulled it out. 4:21 -- the time of both Friday's and Saturday's games against the Yankees 11 -- the number of games the Red Sox have won in a row including a 3-game sweep of the Yankees!!! and now we're tied for 1st place in the AL East! 400+ million -- what the Yankees spent during the off season to acquire some of the hottest free agents. How's that working out for you? I mean, I already knew we had CC Sabathia's number, but we were able to dismantle Burnett after he was gifted a 6-0 lead, and Teixeira's not looking too hot against us right now either. I know things can always turn around, but I must

This weekend bring the first Red Sox/Yankees match-up of the season, and I am stoked! The Red Sox are red hot right now and come into this series with a 7 game winning streak. The team has hit a stride. Papi tweaked his mechanics & has started producing. Back-up players are hitting 2 and 3 run homers. Veterans are in the game. A lot of our pitching is golden right now and when it's not, our guys have runs to back them up and a dynamic bullpen. This weekend should be exciting. Speaking of exciting--at the Sunday game of the Red Sox/Angels series a couple weeks ago I saw the benches (and bullpens) clear for the first time in person. Kind of crazy. Here's a shot with all the players on the field. Not really what's supposed to happen, but made for some cool photos. :) The homeplate ump called time late, and as a pitcher once you're in motion (as Red Sox pitcher Josh Beckett was) you have to continue or you risk career-ending injury. They are taught to just

I have had a great 4 day weekend. It was really nice spending the weekend with my sister, brothers, sister-in-law, and youngest nephew. It was also fun seeing the Red Sox for their 3 games against the Angels, even though we lost 2 of 3 games. (boo hoo hoo) Even though every game counts, I do have to remember that this is only the first week of the season and I need to be patient for them to settle into their groove. I always have such a hard time going back to work after time off, even just one day. I always pictured that by this point in my life I'd be a housewife/stay-at-home mom. As it is, I'm considering going back to school and completely changing my career path--a thought that really makes me sad. The idea of four more years of school and who knows how much more debt is nauseating & burdensome. I don't really know what else to do at this point. I started keeping a list of all the things I'd like to do in a given day or week to help determine what caree

Here's a rundown of all the awesomeness I have planned over the next 2 weeks. I'm STOKED!!! Tonight -- my film program roomie's birthday party Saturday -- girls' night at a champagne & dessert bar to celebrate my current roomie's birthday, should be completely fabulous :) Sunday -- lunch with my dear friend Jodi who is moving away soon, which is happy/sad. then rockin' some Cuban food for cafe, which incidentally works out perfectly as a jazz/latin combo is playing (didn't know that when I planned the menu) Monday -- more celebratin' of the roomie's birthday and also BASEBALL SEASON STARTS!!! next Friday -- not working! the brothers and sister and youngest nephew descend upon Los Angeles. Ravi & I head to Red Sox game 1 of 3 next Saturday -- we all head to Red Sox game 2 of 3 and then probably some Red Robin love and then the sister-in-law arrives next Sunday -- Easter, I'm glad I get to take all my siblings to my church even though t

1. As a point of further explanation on the potato thing in the earlier post--I read that eating potatoes at any point in the day helps with sleep as they absorb acids in the body that can interfere with the effects of tryptophan (you know the happy sleepy stuff found in turkey & dairy). This does seem to be true given non-fried potato sources, i.e. mashed potatoes or potato soup as opposed to say french fries or chips. Over the past week on days when I've had one or more servings of non-fried potatoes I've slept better to very well. 2. As it turns out pumpkin pie* helps with spiritual unrest. Okaaay it was probably actually the authentic prayers the night before expressing my frustration and the great conversation had over said pie, but hey the pie didn't hurt matters. ;) Thought these scientific/medical/psychological breakthroughs were worth sharing. * likely any type of pie, cake, or cheesecake will result in similar effects :)

I'm tired. Aside from physical exhaustion resulting from the fact that nights I wake up 4 or more times at unreasonable hours outnumber nights I sleep through by more than 10 to 1, I'm spiritually tired. I'm tired of being stretched and grown and going & going & going through the middle. There has to be something on the other side, right? There has to be an other side? Sometimes I feel like it's all going to be worth it and other times I feel like life is a neverending middle. And it's exhausting. The easy times and the moments of unadulterated joy seem much like the fully restful nights. Potatoes seem to be helping the sleeplessness. Not sure what to do about the rest.

A few weeks ago I went over to my friend Rachel's place to bring her food when she was sick. I stopped by the Ralph's by her place and discovered something delightful: vitaminwater10. That's 10 calories per serving! It only comes in 4 flavors right now, but one of those is XXX which is my favorite non-retired VW flavor. (rest in peace VitalTea...) Since then I hadn't seen VW10 in any other stores. But when I checked Target this week not only did I find this: I also found these! Two new flavors! Sorry I'm a spaz and just now realized that I photographed the ingredients side of tranquilo rather than the amusing story. D'oh! Oh well. I enjoyed both flavors, though tranquilo could have lived with a stronger flavor overall. I think I'll still stick with XXX10 most of the time, but I'm sure I will pick these up every now & again. In other photo news, the cherry blossoms at Lake Balboa are sort of blooming! Here are a couple of my favorite shots

The arrival of 2009 meant something far more lovely than just a new year, it meant a year with a May Day on a weekend!!! I am already planning festivities in my head and will be sending out an evite as soon as is reasonable! I don't think I can accurately describe how much I enjoy this holiday or how much I am looking forward to its celebration. My dream is to make this the biggest & best May Day celebration in the history of Azina--not tough I assure you as this will be the first time I host a May Day party, but exciting nonetheless! If you are in the area or are compelled to travel for the holiday, please do join me--May 1st, my apartment. :)

I watched Notting Hill for the first time last night in quite awhile. I had forgotten how much I love that movie. It's cute and it's quirky and it's what I want for my life. No matter how complicated and confusing things seem to be, in the end they work out. I want a man who realizes I'm worth racing through the streets of London for. And I want to stand in front of him and tell him that all I'm asking is for him to love me. And of course I want the violin playing goat. ;) I'm the last person who thinks life can/should be like a chick flick. But maybe it can be closer to that simple than we often allow it to be. Right? I hope so.

Happy Pi Day! Today is a day when you can appreciate nerdiness because it means you have a good excuse to eat pie! Not that you need one of course. And in my opinion nerdiness is appreciable everyday. :) Otherwise I might have to cry that I have Pi memorized to the 25th decimal...

I'm a music junkie. I love discovering new tunes, new bands, new covers. My tastes are highly diverse and highly picky though not snobbish or "refined." I just know what I like and skip over what I don't. A band/song/genre that I dislike will grate on me more than nails on a blackboard. I have about a dozen music blogs I check from time to time. I don't really tend to read them much, just go there for the mp3 samples and form my own opinions. Tonight I discovered a song that I totally dig so I thought, why not share some of my favorite music of late? Maria Taylor - Cartoons and Forever Plans the aforementioned song and the source of this post's title Depeche Mode - Wrong new song Anberlin - Feel Good Drag originally off of Never Take Friendship Personal, rerecorded for Surrender and getting a lot of play on KROQ Greg Laswell - Girls Just Wanna Have Fun great cover Flo Rida - Right Round I know, I know. It's fun driving music, though. Don't jud

Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. - Psalm 37:4 I've been meditating on this verse over the past couple of months. Not in a vending machine God sort of way--put in prayers, make your selection & get what you want (which of course doesn't work nor would it be beneficial), but rather the transformative meaning behind it. I really believe that this is about God changing our hearts, planting His desires in them, and then delighting us with the perfect plan He has set out for our lives. I was talking with a friend the other night about the small wonders that God gives us. We were talking about rainbows and how wonderful they are. God gave us something so beautiful as a reminder of a promise. He didn't have to do that. He didn't have to give us a sign, let alone one so delightful. Yet He did and does. He concerns Himself with bringing us joy even in small ways: a butterfly flitting past at just the right moment, a flower b

If you could capture bliss, liquefy it, and pour it in a mug, I have no doubt that what would result is chai. The real stuff, though, not what you get at Starbucks. I mean, the Starbucks stuff is okay and decent. But I'm talking about stove top simmered milk, tea & spices. Mmm. Tastes like bliss to me. :)

I am giddily, stupidly, exceedingly happy right now. It's been awhile & it feels good. And truthfully while I've been really happy, had really great moments & memories & life experiences, I haven't felt exactly this way in about 4 years. I'm not quite sure what to think about that. It's a good reminder & is reinvigorating. And I think that even if it doesn't turn out to mean what I used to hope & what I'm beginning to hope anew that it will at least mean I'll hold out for nothing less. It's indescribably exciting. I have no idea what puzzle pieces will take shape, but I do know that when I get to a place where I can look back and see more fully the picture that is currently forming it will delight my heart--as it always does. :) Tonight I went to the Sunday evening service at my church for the first time in over 5 months. I enjoy the morning service and had even come to believe that I liked it better than the evening ser

My sister got a new background for her blog so I decided to visit the site where she got it. I had only intended to browse, but then I saw the paisley design my blog is now sporting and I couldn't resist. :) Yeah, I'm a copycat, but I'm okay with that. Plus it's been over a year since I switched things up here; clearly it was time.

This piece was mostly written about the idea of a future someone, whom I do not yet know, though admittedly it was influenced by someone specific. Lately my thoughts have been dwelling on periwinkle dreams again and even on that specific man. Sometimes I wonder if God has been setting a plan in motion through everything that has happened in the 4 years since that writing. I really can't say for sure. My heart is very much in the habit of getting way ahead of me, so I'm trying just to relax and be patient and see what (if anything) happens. All I know for sure is that whatever and whomever God brings in my path, I trust that He will completely & delightfully surprise me. That's very exciting. :) Other thoughts have been dwelling on something my dear friend Shauna wrote in a lovely post over the weekend. The whole post is worth a read to be sure, but the part that's found itself bouncing about my head is this: Isn't that what we need to be for each othe

I got my nose pierced. :) Yeah, I know I'm a dork for taking this photo but I figure if painters can do self-portraits why can't photographers??

When people say something silly like, it was a red letter day they're talking about the kind of day I just had. I don't know where the phrase originated and why, nor do I care to look it up right now, but I can tell you that today my 27th birthday was completely delightfully, fabulously, wonderful. I'm really excited for this year in my life. Thanks to all of you who are a part of it in one way or another, you are truly appreciated. Pictures to follow, just too tired to deal with them now. I shall bid you adieu for the night and go to bed full of love, full of smiles, and full of great memories. :)

I emailed Frank, the owner of Doughboys to tell him how heartbreaking I found the story to be and to volunteer my time to help in anyway possible to help bring Doughboys back. He replied with the kindest email and news that reopening plans are in the works! I think this one is going to turn out right in the end and my heart delights in that. :)

The best place for Red Velvet cake in LA has closed. For your convenience, I've copied and pasted the story here. It's long, but worth a read I feel. Sometimes things go really really wrong. I have a hard time with that. What really happened to Doughboys (as posted on www.doughboys.net) I have heard many rumors about the state of Doughboys...what happened and why. But none of them even remotely accurate. I would like to set the record straight. And while it might seem a bit self- indulgent, it’ s my website, and if I can’ t do it here, where can I do it. It began as a wholesale bakery with an eye towards evolving into a café and retail bakery. I opened Doughboys in February of 1992 with 2 employees (both bakers) and myself. The front of the space was used to store flour, the rear was the bakery. We began with two customers. Towards the end of 1993, the restaurant adjacent to us became available. While I had no need of it at the time, I knew I would need it eve

so good! so good! so good! Inspired by Neil Diamond performing "Sweet Caroline" on the Grammy's tonight and my ever growing excitement at the nearness of Spring Training, I started putting together a Red Sox playlist tonight. Right now the only songs I'm sure will go on there are "Sweet Caroline" and Dropkick Murphys ' "Shipping Up to Boston." But I have found several lists of what songs each player requests to be played when he goes up to bat, so that will give me some ideas through which to sift. Have I mentioned how I love baseball? ;) Meanwhile, Manny Ramirez remains unsigned which is surprising to me. I'm really disappointed at how I feel (devil agent) Scott Boras is handling the negotiations. There's no reason why Manny shouldn't have been signed over a month ago with a greater contract than he has any hope of getting at this point. As much as I dislike how Manny acted toward the end of his time with Boston, I do t

wind whistles through the cracks of the old forgotten attic stirring dust from yellowed photographs the only reminders of lives long since passed and loves long since outlasted I feel like this is incomplete, but I've been sitting on it for 2 weeks without any idea of what it lacks, so there you have it.

This cycle never ends You gotta fall in order to mend It's a brand new day It's a brand new day For the first time In such a long long time I know, I'll be okay - Joshua Radin, "Brand New Day" This past week was one of the more difficult in the whole breakup/healing process for me. And the funny thing is that because of it, I'm actually getting to a better place. Finally. A lot has happened in my life over the past 2 years. None of which I could say I anticipated in the slightest. Some of it was amazingly wonderful. Some of it was fantastically craptastic. Because of it all, I've been thinking a lot about openness & honesty. At first I was planning on writing how honesty is always the best policy even when it hurts, but I've learned in this situation that the most hurtful honest feelings were the ones that were spoken and for some reason the most helpful honest feelings were the ones that were withheld. Sure, they would have had some sting

In my nearly 5 years of blogging, the only tradition I've kept well is my first day of February post. I'm pleased to bring you the 2009 edition today. Throughout the years I have posted several reasons why February is awesome. The only 2 that really seem to warrant mention at the moment are the quirky spelling and of course it's my birthday month! :) I'm pleased to report that February is off to a lovely start. January went out like an ugly, screaming banshee. Thankfully February is being far more congenial thus far. Today I was blessed to spend the afternoon with my good friend Jodi and reacquaint with her friend Sarah. We started off at a small bar just off the beach for snacks & the 1st half of the Super Bowl. I hate football, but enjoy the social aspect of the Super Bowl. At halftime we walked back to Jodi's apartment. We watched part of the 3rd quarter on the couch and then eventually ended up in Jodi's room, laying on her bed watching the sma

Thanks to my fabulous friend Shauna, I was able to take the Strengths assessment. My top 5 strengths are: *Connectedness: Things happen for a reason. You are sure of it. You are sure of it because in your soul you know that we are all connected. Yes, we are individuals, responsible for our own judgments and in possession of our own free will, but nonetheless we are part of something larger. *Empathy: You can sense the emotions of those around you. You can feel what they are feeling as though their feelings are your own. *Individualization: Your Individualization theme leads you to be intrigued by the unique qualities of each person. You are impatient with generalizations or “types” because you don’t want to obscure what is special and distinct about each person. Instead, you focus on the differences between individuals. You instinctively observe each person’s style, each person’s motivation, how each thinks, and how each builds relationships. You hear the one-of-a-kind stories in e

On the suggestion of my older younger brother, Raj, in a continued effort to answer, "what should I do with my life?" I purchased StrengthsFinder 2.0 tonight. My dear friend Shauna has long extolled the virtues of StrengthsFinder, so I knew it was worth checking out and figured it would prove somewhat more useful to my life than the suggested move to New Jersey. I fully intended to share with you lovely people my top 5 strengths, but alas my access code to take the online test seems to have been misprinted or hijacked despite the fact that the packet in the back of the book was unopened. I'm quite disappointed about that. So now I wait to see if the website's Help people are able to fully live up to their name; I hope so. In the meantime, I will share with you what I was able to learn from StrengthsFinder 2.0 tonight. Well, I'll let author Tom Rath explain: In 1998, I began working with a team of Gallup scientists led by the late Father of Strengths Psychology,

I had coffee with my friend Jay tonight. At what point did Starbucks stop teaching its baristas how to pull shots well? A good 50% of the time, regardless of what establishment that I patron, regardless of what city, the coffee tastes burnt. Ugh. (I do realize some baristas are good at what they do.) Anyway, Jay's insight on the what should I do with my life? question was, "you should move to Jersey!" Throughout the next hour he randomly tossed in a few compelling reasons why it was a good idea and I've decided to add some of my own. Now, I'm not seriously considering any of these, but figured they were worth sharing for amusement's sake. :) 1. I've never met anyone from Jersey I didn't like--of course I only really know like 5 people from Jersey, but 100% is still 100% 2. I'd be closer to Boston=closer to the Red Sox ! 3. it's cheaper 4. there are still places to snowboard 5. I like Princeton 6. it's not likely to be 80 degrees in

(for part 1 go here ) And here tonight while the stars are blacking out With every hope and dream I've ever had in doubt I've spent ten years trying to sing these doubts away But the water keeps on falling from my eyes And heaven knows, heaven knows I tried to find a cure for the pain Oh my Lord! To suffer like you do It would be a lie to run away So blood is fire pulsing through our veins We're either writers or fools behind the reigns I've spent ten years trying to sing it all way But the water keeps on falling from my tries - The Cure For Pain - Jon Foreman I am all too keenly aware that difficult times are character building. Sometimes though it'd be rather nice to have more mountaintops or plateaus even than valleys. While a lot has changed in the past 5 years and I like the woman God's been growing me into, sometimes it's hard not to think that for all the heartache not enough has changed. I still have days where I fight against the idea

the sun is unseasonably friendly allowing an early hibiscus greeting I begrudge this January warmth longing for chillier days and snow on the beach (though it never seems to oblige) but I do not mind the bold presence of this homeland flower hearkening to simpler times and spice scented air

If all goes according to plan, on that date I will be sitting at Angel Stadium with my youngest brother watching the Red Sox dominate. :) Last week as I was preparing my cafe schedule from now until the end of the summer, I checked it against the baseball schedule and was delighted to discover that the Red Sox are playing the Angels much earlier this season than in the past few years. I'm so excited! In other fabulous baseball news, the MLB Network launched the first week of January. That's right, all baseball all the time. Really few other modern marvels are nearly as exciting for me. I've now seen footage from the 1946 and 1956 World Series (game 5 was Yankee pitcher Don Larsen's perfect game, amazing!). I've seen the original incarnation of Red Sox Nation--the Royal Rooters. I've seen a Red Sox Memories special. I would say something silly like, "The MLB Network is the greatest thing since sliced bread," except it obliterates sliced bread.