Comings and Goings

Goings....


Yesterday was bittersweet. I dropped off a very excited Jonathan for his missions trip to England. We were so very blessed that the Lord made it possible for him to go. It was lead by pastor Brian Broderson and a great team of leaders with 75 teenagers from Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa. They met in the parking lot at Calvary Chapel then boarded 2 buses and on to LAX. Today they arrived at Heathrow at 11am boarding buses for an approximate 4-5 hour drive to Woolacombe.

Tomorrow (July 26) they will have an outreach in Exeter all day.

July 27-31 Outreach/preparation/set up for "Creation Fest". This is basically a concert of various rock musicians...both from Jon's team and local Christian artists, with testimonies and a Evangelical message.

Aug. 1-3 CREATION FEST EVENT

Aug. 4 Tear down of Creation Fest

Aug. 5 Drive to Kingston University (just outside of London)

Aug. 6 London

Aug. 7 Fly out of London Heathrow arriving at LAX at 7:30pm.

Comings....

And Christian is back from his mission trip with the jr. high group. He had lots of stories to tell me about and felt he could have stayed there longer. They traveled to a place called "Rainbow Acres" in Flagstaff, AZ. It is a functioning ranch run by mentally disabled adults who live and work on the ranch. Christian said that he and the jr. high group did various chores and duties with the sole intention of serving the ranchers, who were "amazingly awesome". His favorite person was "Matt" who loved to talk and was fun to be around.

For a suprise treat for the kids, the Calvary staff took them to a natural water slide place in Sedona where they had fun in the water and a picnic. And to think he didn't even miss his wii or his ipod! Will wonders ever cease?

Wonderful Girl's Getaway

We headed out on our road trip Thursday morning and headed up to San Francisco and Napa by way of highway 5. After we came down the Grape Vine I started to notice something very strange! I didn't recall tract homes on the 5...we're they new??? Then to my horror I noticed that we were actually on the 99. I have done that drive a million times, how is that possible that I got on the wrong fwy and ended up in Bakersfield? After stopping off to get directions back as to the fastest way to 5, we were soon on the right track again. 4 1/2 hours later we were happily in SF at our hotel, the Galleria Park. We then met Nancy's sister, Marcia and her husband Walt for a delicious dinner at the Fog City Diner. The highlight for me in the city, however, was the trip to the open market at the Ferry Building on Saturday morning....Amazing! We were happy girls...especially when we got our tarts at the Frog Hollow Bakery. I am truly still dreaming of that place. Thank you, Nance!! After that awesome experience we headed up to Sonoma. We carbed out at a great local little Mexican place called the Hacienda right by our hotel in preparation for our 1/2 marathon the next morning.

Race day started out chilly....I hated having to part with my flimsy little jacket that I checked in before the start. But knew it would be long forgotten after the first extremely steep hill right at the beginning known as the "butt burner". The race was awesome. The Lord definitely shines his face down on that part of the world...beautiful. Needless to say,I ran the whole way stopping a few times to take a few sips of Gatorade. By mile 12 I was in serious pain....where the heck was that finish line???

We did it! What is quite comical is that not only do you get your finisher metal, but your commerative wine country 1/2 marathon wine glass and all the wine you want....after running 13.1 miles wine was the last thing I wanted, especially at 9:30 in the morning!! We opted instead for the free 10 minute leg and foot massage that we had to stand in line an hour for. That afternoon we hung by the pool, had awesome pedicures at the hotel, ate dinner in our room and watched a "chick flick" then it was lights out. The next morning was our long drive home. One perk to that was that we stopped in San Francisco and had breakfast with my long time friend, Steven Oliver, who I have known since my college days.

We had great weekend. We will most definitely do this race next year, and will have to add on another day to the trip.

Which is your personal favorite?

My latest obsession has been frozen yogurt. I try and try to restrain myself, but I do indulge every few days. My numero uno favorite is Pinkberry...oh, I know about the law suit and all that. They're not really a yogurt because their a culture short of being legally called "yogurt" or something like that. Sorry, but do regular people really care? There are so many other things to worry about these days...sigh. I love the original plain with or without topping. If I am feeling nostalgic I most certain will get it with carob chips. That brings back memories of my youth when frozen yogurt first came out and the only toppings were pretty much fruit, carob chips, peanuts or granola. I guess nobody had thought of putting Oreo's, M&M's, cookie dough, gummy bears, etc...yet. What's your favorite?

I am heading up to Sonoma tomorrow with my best friend, Nancy. We're running the Napa to Somoma 1/2 Marathon! Pray for us two "old gals"!!!

I Married a Car Fanatic

Does anyone have one of these? I have literally lost count on how many little cars suddenly appear in my drive way. The majority of these are vintage Porsches. My husband drove home a couple of days ago in a little white 912 which means the brown one will be leaving shortly. He thrives on this. Today we're going down to Dana Point and staying the night at the Marriott. There is some big vintage Porsche extravaganza going on this weekend to which Jeff is heavily involved in. He has made it worth my while as he is springing for a 50 minute massage for me at 1:30 and dinner (with 20 other vintage Porsche fanatics) at one of my favorite restaurants, Jack's in Dana Point http://www.jacksdp.com/. Tomorrow morning I plan on getting up early and running on the Beach and then catching the second service at Capo Beach Calvary, where Peter-John Coursin is the teaching pastor. After church the Porsche car show should be in full swing on the front lawn of the Laguna Cliffs Marriott. I will pretty much be on my own on Sunday as Jeff will be directing traffic, organizing, solving people's problems and going a 100 miles an hour. Hopefully, I will be able to pin him down for lunch at the catered buffett and then I will head home making a quick stop at Plant Depot in San Juan Capistrano (just to look, of course)....and then back home to normal routine. I do love doing short little weekend trips like this. Well, better go pack!

My baby is back from Camp

We picked up my sweet boy, Christian, Saturday evening from his week at camp. And just as we thought, he had no money, he was exhausted, had a really interesting odor to him and had the time of his life! He immediately jumped into the shower which I am sure was 35 minutes long. After that he gave me a blow by blow account of his wonderful week of being up in the mountains in the midst of fun and frolic with his friends. His counselor was his Jr. High school pastor, Josh, who Christian views as pretty much the most awesome person on the planet! He roomed with some great boys from church and in his view all got along great including his best friend from babyhood, Joe F. I am so glad that he loved it. When asked why he never bothered to call home, he merely answered...."Why"?

Who needs Daphne's?

Okay, here is my latest lunch obsession. First of all, besides Mexican food I absolutely love Greek/Mediterranean food. Bring on the hummus and Kalamata olives! Besides loving food I am always trying to look for ways to cut calories and fat. Daphne's Greek Cafe has this amazing chicken sandwich in a pita that I can't seem to stay clear of for very long. But when I looked at the nutrition guide on this particular item I fell off my chair...well, not really but close. I then decided to make my own version of this. Checking out pita breads was my first challenge. The best one in my opinion is the Western Bagel Alternative Pita, being very low in calories and fat, and really high in fiber. I then smear Tzatsiki sauce from Trader Joe's (cucumber and yogurt sauce) on top of the pita, then place cucumbers, tomatoes, red onions, a few Kalamata's, and avocado slices on top of the sauce....Delicious and filling!!

Alison and Paul's Fun Party

We went to my friend, Alison's annual 4th of July party yesterday afternoon. Great people and great food, which are very important mainstays in having fun in my book. I stayed far from the water balloon toss which I have learned gets out of hand with the teenagers...usually my son, Jonathan, leading the way. Cute Jennie W. taught me how to put pictures on my blog. That's why there is a picure of a toucan on my first post. I think I will keep him there.

Anways, back to the great people and great food. The desserts were amazing. Barrie K. makes these bar things that are heaven...I don't want the recipe because I will make them, hide them and then eat them. Alison snagged 4 or 5 of them and put them up in her cupboard...you go, girl! Julia C. brought something called a Texas sheet cake...that was lucious. Chris C. brought brownies with or without nuts. I kept looking for Lorraine's Banana Pudding dessert, where was that? I brought Ina Garten's Coconut Cupcakes from the Barefoot Contessa's Cookbook...to which Cheri S. said "Completed her". You know, it's really about the simple things in life!

Fun July 4th

Okay, so I ran my 10K yesterday morning with my trainer and friend, Lesley, who is 28and adorable! She, of course, finished way ahead of me. Her time being 48 minutes and my time being 1 hour and 2 minutes. I am quite satisfied with my time, don't get me wrong because I did my best!! My husband, Jeff and son, Jonathan, were there to meet me at the finish line. We then went to a great breakfast at Arthur's where I happily dove into my french toast with gusto! We tried to at first get into the Original Pancake House, but the wait was over 30 minutes and I was literally starving! I am normally not a breakfast person. I really prefer a piece of fruit or cereal with my coffee and then I am good to go until lunch, but there's something about eating a great meal after you've given your body a workout.

Happy July!

Bible Study this morning was great! We started a new Precepts 40 minute Bible Study last week at my house and we have a wonderful group of women. As my friend, Patty, said this morning, "What a great way to start your day". Even though the book says it's 40 minutes...it really should be called the 90 minute study for this group. We had great sharing and insights from everyone....I can't wait for next week.

I picked up my chip for a 10K I am running in on July 4. The goodie bag was a little weak....Where's the Luna bars??? There was a coupon for 20% off a chiropractic evaluation, a couple of flyers for realtors and an advertisement for some physical therapy place...oh, and a no.2 pencil. Oh well, I'm over it.