under construction

After nine years (with a couple breaks here and there in the midst of childbearing/raising) of this beautiful blog being my home I've decided to move to a new location... I hope you'll stay with me as I dig in deeper to all the wonderful things I am passionate about.  Connecting with people, creating beauty in this world (through diys, cooking, and learning new things) and yes, even coffee! What can I say? I'm passionate about coffee!

I'll be debuting on my nine year anniversary!

reoccurring

My most reoccurring dream, hands down, would be catching the train in Japan.

In my dream, I'm buying my ticket and I either am about to miss the train or I'm short the amount needed to make my purchase.  Last night the tickets came out like when you don't have the right amount of stamp currency needed so you tack on a 5 cent stamp and then a couple 1 cent-ers so that before you can send the letter it's got a long row of stamps on it. That's what my ticket looked like. A long row of 5 yen going some place and another 5 yen going further on.

I'm always going somewhere different and I'm always at a different station. Sometimes it's an actual station and sometimes it doesn't look familiar but I know the station.  Sometimes I'm even going to Tokyo Disney (seriously don't want to miss THAT train, now do I?).

I don't know why catching the train either. Maybe because it was the source of so many moments of exasperation but also jubilation.  I got on far too many trains only to realize I was headed in the wrong direction.  I once rode a train for 15 hours. A slow moving, stop at every stop train for 15 hours. I've fallen asleep on trains and I've stayed very vigilant on them so I wouldn't miss my stop.  I traveled to see friends, to learn the language and to live life.  The train in Japan was a part of my life there as much as taking off my shoes in the doorway and eating with chopsticks.  It was normal.

It's these dreams that keep me connected to a land I love and a place that changed me.  A place that I "grew up" in and made promises to grow old in with friends. "If our husbands die before us...." that sort of thing. I love my dreams.  I love that they connect me to a place where I can't travel physically to right now.  So as long as they occur, I'll embrace them, enjoy them and run like mad to catch the next one.

a tour...

Hello everyone!

I wanted to write and give a little tour of my blog so that if you are here and confused, you won't feel so unsure of navigating the pages, links, etc.

First off, is the "pages area"... If you click on any of the pages you will be redirected to those posts which can tell you a bit more about me and the series of Moms in Ministry.  I wanted to add the M.I.M. links in case someone was trying to find them all in one location. Voila! The pages section!

Next, we have the categories or "tags" from my post.  Hubs has told me in recent feedback that he thinks these are confusing.  For now, I'll just let you know what each tag means and hope that might clear up some confusion.


Inklings
This is where I share my deep thoughts and meanderings through life.  It's lovingly stolen from the literary group with the same name that met in pubs to discuss their own writings.  Members included my hero C.S. Lewis, fictional genius J.R.R. Tolkien and mystery phenomenon Dorothy Sayers.  Click here for more.

Home & Heart
I tag this when I write about things dear to my heart pertaining to the home.


Upward & Onward
Another Lewis reference.  In the book, "The Last Battle" those who have ventured into Aslan's Country to "move higher up and further in" or as I have taken the meaning to be "deeper into Aslan"... it's kind of my "battle cry" for God's spirit working in me and revealing things to me.


My Colorful World
Any post I consider colorful. Mostly pictures!


Over & About
My posts regarding Japan; either while in Japan or upon returning home and reflecting on my time spent there.


Life's Little Moments
Sometimes I write about the littlest things... laundry, baby moments, etc.  The little moments that if I weren't looking out for, might slip by and go unnoticed (and often do).


twenty.eight
When I was 28, I attempted to do 28 things.  And then I got pregnant (which was one of them) and did about 5. ha ha ha!! It's a list of things I gathered from myself, Hubs and family members encouraging me to do more.  I love the things I learned from the stuff I did do and let it serve as a reminder to continue trying new things.

If you look below that you'll find, Looking For Something... perhaps something you read on my blog? Enter a couple keywords here and hit search!

Then there are the blogs I love to read and people I Am Blessed to know.  If you like things you read here on Cultivating, you will love some of these.  They update and change order as the author updates their posts!

Finally, Subscribe so you can get updated when I update the blog. Since I've readily confused to being a sporadic blogger (oops, sorry!) I think this would be the easiest way to stay tuned in to read Cultivating.

Grab My Button! If you have a blog, go ahead and grab my button so you can let others know where to find me.  It's convenient, practical and just so darn cute!


Well, hope that helps you find what you might be looking for here at Cultivating and if not, don't hesitate to leave a comment below and let me know.
With love!

when i was a guest

I talk a lot about having guests in my own home and how it is my recent passion to have a larger home so that we can make rooms available for others.  The first post is here and the second post where I dive in deeper into this thinking is here.

But I've never written about my experience as a guest and so without further ado. I give you my thoughts on being a guest in one's home.

From December of 2005 to June of 2008 I was a guest of the beautiful country of Japan.  If you look to the right of this blog post you will see a variety of "labels" which link together all my thoughts on one particular subject.  The label titled, "over and about" is my label for those years living in Japan and the processing afterwards upon returning home. You should read some of them.  It's interesting to me how this blog got started as a means to communicate with my family and then turned into me processing a different culture and now it is ... a way for me to still process but in my own country to who knows who!?

During the first four months or so I was a guest in my "director's" home.  I use the term "director" very lightly because although that is probably his official title Mark and his family are more friends than co-workers.  Actually Mark always hated (at least when I was there) the official titles and such that our company gives us.  Aren't we all just staffers working together and having fun?

Living with Mark, Jin and their three kiddos was one of my favorite memories of Japan.  I. Loved. Every. Second.

Blessings
The blessings I received from living 3-4 months with my friends were:

• sharing a tiny room with my new teammate and growing to love love LOVE her, 
• my heart was bonded to my teammate (who was also new to Japan) Mary and the family I lived with, 
• it helped ease me into the culture, 
• sharing special moments like late night movies with Jin and Mary that were spur of the moment (and multiple viewings of Pride and Prejudice the 5 hour version... mostly starting at 10-11PM~ yikes!), 
• sharing an early morning cup of coffee, 
• getting to hear Mark's vision for campus life as he processed throughout the day, 
• feeling like I was a part of the family, 
• time with the kiddos, 
• and of course horribly embarrassing myself but being accepted for "who I was" just as I was.  I remember panicking at one point that I wouldn't be accepted when the team found out what I weirdo I was (am) but all that was put to rest by living alongside my teammates.  I fully FULLY believe that this was crucial for all the craziness that Japan would throw at me later on in life.  I was secure in my relationship with my teammates so much so that when life came at me and went tipsy turvy I had those relationships to help me get through.

Lessons Learned
A lot of these lessons have been learned as I processed and thought through afterwards.  I owe a huge apology to Jin for not being as aware now of what I should have contributed. Jin, if you read this, I'm sorry.
Three major lessons I learned are:

• keeping your area clean.  I can't decide how I feel about this.  I think as a host, if you have to understand that your guest may not have the same consideration for cleanliness as you do but then again as the guest, you have to remember that you are a guest in someone's home.  That they have graciously opened their doors to you and to treat their home as a gift and not like you're a sloppy college kid.  I'm sure I wasn't sloppy but I know I wasn't super clean either.  I like having my own messy space even in my home but I've learned with Hubs that my mess needs to have its boundaries and not go spilling into all areas of the house.
• servants heart.  This goes with the above.  As a guest I wish I had engaged and served my host family and friends better.  I wish I had seen how fleeting the time was and sat with them for more meals.  I wish I had left them alone for family time for more meals. I wish I had babysat more and let Mark and Jin get out. I wish I had cleaned my room. :) I wish I had cleaned other parts of the house that I didn't live in. I wish I had simply said, "Hey, I'd like to clean. Whats a job you haven't done recently or you hate doing and I'll do it?" and then proceeded to do it with gusto.  I wish I had served more.
• and last, I learned how to live and behave in a ministry home.  There were never moments of "lets all sit down so Mark can preach" kind of moments but in looking back I can see little wisps of wisdom that were passed on to me from both Mark and Jin as they moved around their daily life.  In fact, a lot of my most precious moments are from spending time with Jin in her kitchen....

I'd like to say that the time I lived there was "magical" but honestly it was just plain ol' every day life.  Except that there were wonderful people to share it with.

I hope someday I can open my door to guests to live alongside my family and when that day arrives, that I'll be as gracious and kind a host as Mark and Jin.

Undeserved

I have been the object of undeserved love.

Let me explain.

This summer has been hard for me... it's been super amazing and full of new surprises but not at all what I was expecting.  It's always always better for God's best to rule in my life but it always takes me awhile to let go of my idea of "best".

I know I've told you this before and so it seems to be a common thread for at least this season of life. 

Letting go.

Anyway, I let go of this summer and hoped at one point just to survive the tiredness and the swirly-ness that was me this summer.

Swirly like you put me in a salad spinner.

In my tiredness I realized I wasn't very kind or thoughtful.

So although I wanted to love my team and love the students in our club, I wondered if I was able to push through the muck and tiredness to get to the sweetness of Jesus' love.

Was I communicating mercy, love and care or just tiredness and crankiness?

I really struggled with this because when you are tired and you aren't getting long times with Jesus, my flesh becomes strong and I tend to react out of my feelings and emotions instead of out of Love and Truth.

Yet, tonight at our debriefing, I was the object of many compliments and a showering of love as my teammates affirmed me and my summer.

This ministered deeply to my heart and I realized that I do not always believe the best about myself.  I believe only what I can see and that is sin.

But the Truth is that sin has been relinguished and redeemed in my life.  The Truth about me is that there is no more darkness but only Light.

And living in that Light and focusing on that Light helps me to be a Light to others.

My teammates who helped me to remember the Truth.

The Truth is, I am lovely. I am valued. I am a Lover of people.  I am a Lover of the Lord.

And the Truth is that you are too! You are lovely and valued. You are restored and you are given a Light.

Let us all take off the baskets of lies that cover the Truth of our Lights.

Shine! Shine! Shine!

little train stations

In a little station stop outside of Shinjuku is the best and I mean the very best bakery!

Mitsuru Bakery

My good friend Chi works here and I'm sooooo glad she does.

At a little station stop outside of Chofu is the cutest coffeeshop and i mean the cutest!

My good friend Asako used to work there and I'm so glad she did...

or I never would have heard of this place and tasted their delicious chai tea.

(this is not a picture of Asako)

At a little train station outside of Shibuya is a Japanese ice cream shop.

No one I know worked here.

But our friend introduced it to Mikey and on a date he introduced it to me.  Yummy!

(the black spotted choice is black sesame ice cream~ actually very delicious!)

At little ice cream shop they give you a little pile of "konbu" or seaweed to break up the sweet flavor of ice cream with something salty.

Not my favorite.

Just give me ice cream and call it good!

At the little ice cream shop there was a little cup of tea...

and that tea was good

to the last drop.

Who knew these little train station stops had so many cute things?  Thank you to all our friends who know Tokyo's little hidden places!

why not climb mt fuji?

Let me tell you a tale... I struggled with the title for this tale because really it could have been a number of things...

Beastly Mountain Women (BMW)

Jo vs. the Volcano

The Question "Why?"

The Question "Why?" was the title I picked whilst climbing Mt. Fuji.

That's right kiddies, I climbed Mt. Fuji for my second total time. But that's getting ahead of myself...

because what I want to tell you is about the journey.

This is the tale of how everyone conquered Mt. Fuji together...

Some of our friends were more excited about climbing than others... seriously, Ninyo climbed the whole way in this Gachapi outfit.

All the friends started off together and there was a lively camaraderie between each other.
 

The scenery was beautiful! It's really unusual to be able to see clearly from Mt. Fuji.  Most days there is a thick cloud that covers all of Mt. Fuji and once you climb through it you cannot see below.  But not on July 10th.  We had wonderful climbing weather!!

 Oh my! When I see Mikey I feel like I'm in the clouds....
ha ha that's cheesy!
But seriously, I love this picture of my honey in the clouds!
(Jordan, Mikey wasn't wearing his camelback like this on accident.  He was also carrying my backpack!)

Now if the day was young, the weather gorgeous and I was climbing with the love of my life.  You'd think I'd be skipping up Fuji like Bambi during spring.  I should be a young spring chicken.
But. I'm. Not.
I think the hardest part of climbing was a. catching my breath  and b. the view when not looking out and down.
Because when you weren't looking out and down you were looking UP! Stinkin' up the whole way!  It was SO discouraging to see that your route was long, steep and awful! Emphasis on awful!  No offense sacred mountain but I'm not a fan of your steep upward awful route.
And this is where, my sweet little lambies, I thought of you.
I wrote a blog in my head that is semi this one you are reading although I titled it The Question "Why?"
And the question why is.... Why am I climbing this?  I have this terrible habit of mentally breaking down whenever I physically torture... i mean, exercise.  For instance, when I did my own and only (to date) half marathon I thought halfway through it, "Why am I doing this to myself?"
And so, it was with Mt. Fuji.  I kept thinking, "Why am I climbing this terrible mountain? Why didn't I just drive up to station 5, take a picture and then go home in time to catch a movie?"
But I didn't.

And in case you didn't notice, this sacred mountain is actually sacred lava gravel!
So at this point, my husband was probably wishing he had brought his ear plugs so he couldn't hear me huffing, puffing and chanting the line from the tortoise and the hare, "slow and steady" I'd say for my excuse for stopping at every switchback.  Then we'd make it a goal to go two more before stopping.
Who wants to be the tortoise? No one really. Everyone wants to be the hare but let me tell you something people.... the cocky little hare takes a prideful nap and loses!!
So the tortoise with her slow and steady pace, huffing and puffing, achy knees and cramping back is doing just fine.  Even though she'd wishes at points someone would just offer to carry her....

in the end, the tortoise knows with all her heart that she just had to find her own pace and go her own way and take her time.  And reaching her goal, no matter the time, would feel just as good as someone who takes a cocky rabbit nap.

Hmmm... am I rambling? Anyway, slow and steady won the race that day.  No, I was not the first to summit but I did summit.
5 hours from trail head to top!

And Mikey and I met up with Tomohito our dear friend and we got to finish the climb with him.  That is more satisfying than actually finishing is the journey with people.

And please excuse my silly expressions.  I was somewhere between elation and exhaustion!

point in case...
I'm pretty much in love with reaching my goal!
Climbing the mountain and reaching the top reminded me of my best friend Kelli and a talk that she gave one time about how climbing Mt. Elbert was like her life at that time.  She talked about how the false peaks would discourage her but that she kept her focus upward and onward.  Keeping her eyes on a goal helped her to get through the pain of the climb.
I can see her point and like to consider that practicing climbing or physically exerting myself will perhaps train me in other areas to hang in there and keep going.  We should keep our eyes on the prize and that will lead us onward and upward.
Is anyone else hearing Reepicheep in their ears?

Making the top was amazing butYay! We made it!
Joanna, Kylie and Monique

Burly Mountain Women (BMW)

Mikey's excited to be on the summit! But we had to hurry down before the sun set!

 Thank you Mt. Fuji for not letting me give up.  You did your best to beat me but I conquered you... for the second time.

And now I'm going to go ice my knees!

hard to know

It's been a pleasant surprise how much encouragement we've received from the Lord since we've been in Japan.  I feel like prayers are being answered... and possibly even prayers I didn't know I needed answered but God is fulfilling just the same.

The best part about Japan is the relationships we've started fresh from scratch and the friendships we have continued from where we've left off.

The hardest part about Japan has been the confrontation I've had with my own self.  I think in America I can ignore my faults and "respectable sins" more easily because I'm not constantly fighting off blasting humidity, cultural difference, food choices that I'm not used to anymore, people not knowing who I am, me not knowing people.... etc. etc.  All the things you've heard about life overseas.  But alas, it's not the things that truly bother me.  It's who I become when they bother me.  Super whiny! Super uptight (ew) and majoring on minors.  It's enough to make a grown girl puke!  All this to say... the hardest part of Japan is realizing that I don't respond to "uncomfort" in the best possible way.  It's been a battle raging within my heart to win for Jesus because usually I can just ignore my issues.  But here in a foreign country they flare up more. 

Feeling like a baby at 27 is humbling.  Telling students I'm 27 is humbling. But the encouraging thing about all of this is that God does not want us to remain where we are at.  I have sin.  I've been getting uptight more often (which is SO sad for me because deep down I don't care about the issue. I just make it a bigger issue because I'm in a different place).

*sigh* Don't you wish you could have those cool "hidden sins"? Where everyone thinks you have it all together?  Sometimes I think this way but then I realize that if I thought I had it all together, I would believe I have it all together then I wouldn't believe I have a need for Jesus to work in me.  So knowing your issues can be good.  Knowing your issues can mean knowing you have issues which means you have a need for mercy.  And Someone to be able to give you mercy who isn't full of issues themselves. So don't keep things hidden.  Let God work it out through whatever circumstance He has ordained whether it be spouse, foreign culture, co-workers, friends, traffic etc. and for God's sake (literally) don't ignore it.

Face your issues or guess what?

They'll come back to bite you!

Thank you Lord that you don't let us stay in our own self-centeredness. Thank You for the reminder that You are and always will be everything.  Sustainer. Provider.

funny how

It's funny how even though years have passed and memories have begun to fade that I can still be moved to tears. I was writing in my journal how I have not felt sorrow recently in leaving Japan... I wrote, "Is this my healing?"

But not ten minutes later, while working on my Japan memoirs, was I in tears, remembering all the friendships I had that meant the world to me.

Oh God, how I miss Keigo! How my heart aches to hear his jokes and watch him laugh. I'd give anything to be sitting across the Tully's table from him now. I'm missing him so much right now because I was reminded of how he came to see me....

It was after John had died. Our team was scattered; to Shizuoka for school and to America for trip preparations and John's funeral... and the Roods asked that I go to Utsunomiya in order that I wouldn't be alone.

Although I wasn't alone in Utsunomiya, there were times were I yearned for something more familiar... and then Keigo came to see me. He stopped by Utsunomiya on his way to somewhere.

And seeing that picture of us at Starbucks (with Natusmi) made my heart miss my friend so much.

It's funny how the memories can fade but the heart never seems to forget...

mood swing

Today I had one of the best days I have had in a long time. This weekend was just a fun time to be alone and be adventurous. I ventured out to the grocery store and Target all by myself (Target is no small feat my friends, I have to take the interstate *gasp*).

Today I was feeling pretty good. The cooler weather brightened my day. I got to wear comfy shoes and long pants (as opposed to the shorts I was sportin' a week ago). I worked out (hooray!), hung out with my Japanese friend who took my to Japan/America exchange night and I even spoke Japanese (sugoshii) and listening to Japanese was beautiful and... and I just had a good night.

But then I started thinking about Japan... and my mood crashed. Seriously crashed. It was the oddest thing. I was bawling at one point.... what is up?

I know that I'm supposed to be grieving and processing and changing and all that... but the sudden mood change was interesting tonight.

I'm in an okay mood now but I just feel sad.... again.

Mikey, poor Mikey~ he told me about this analogy of a tree and how it got cut down, but the stump was there and even though the person planted around it new flowers and plants, the stump was always still there.

I like my stump. But I miss my tree.

Back in the day...

Going through my Japan photos... has led me to some pretty fun memories... I love memories. Take for instance, the memory here. You may think "wow, three girls in their pjs" but really what was happening was that we had had enough of getting dressed up to go outside. The three of us girls (myself, Jen and Mary) had all been t-shirt and jeans kind of girls but once we got to Japan we realized that Japanese women get dressed up to go everywhere and do everything. Well, one summer night we realized. We had had enough. We wanted to wear our comfy clothes outside. And so we did. :) And that is a good memory.

Keigo and Kie's last day at Tully's... bittersweet.

Too much sugar plus not enough sleep.... one of my favorite memories with Mary, by far was this night. Chocolate fondue night...

Mary

And this hideous picture of me but I had to put it up because KK looks like such a little baby. Wow. Was this really her?

Good times.

More pictures to come... going through 2 1/2 years worth of pictures led me to some pretty hilarious photos of Mark, Jin and the rest of the Tokyo team...

hither to thy healing arms

i had a good day today.
seriously.
i got a letter from jennifer.
i talked on the phone to christy haley.

and i just had a sweet time with Jesus this morning.

all in all, i feel small pieces of hope and happiness filtering into my heart like little rays of sunshine through the dark and stormy clouds...

i feel encouraged. i decided to start going through all my old posts and categorize the ones that reflect my time in Japan... like this one is labeled "reflections of japan" and so are about 70 that proceeded it.

it was bittersweet to see the last two years...

one post i enjoyed and want to read more in depth when i have time is the post "certain in my heart" which talks about feeling life return to me after John Lee had died.

and after revisiting those old posts, i've decided to put them together in sort of a memoir. i know that sounds silly and who knows who would ever read it but I know it's something i need to do.

it's like going through old photos and memories of someone who has passed away... you decide which photos to keep and which ones to let go of... and maybe you look at those pictures every day for awhile, and then every week, and then eventually, Lord willing, I won't need my memoirs to keep me smiling... but life will be able to do that.

all AND nothing all at once

my friend Kyle looked at me and said, "Women are amazing. They are so complex. How can you feel numb and be feeling five emotions all at once. It's really amazing."

I could burst into tears, laugh my silly head off, have an outburst of anger, and sing with joy.

My friend at the navigators called me, "numb" and at times I feel numb because numb is at least easier to "feel" than everything all at once.

But isn't that funny? It's easier to feel numb??

I am seriously a complex and wonderful woman.

to be known or not to be known? does anyone ever choose the latter?

I've been thinking a lot about being known.

Specifically, having a history with someone... what is it with our desire to be known. Okay, first what do I mean by "being known"... because obviously my mailman knows me, my roommates know me, and even people who work at the local coffeeshop I frequent could claim to know me but what do I really mean?

This is my definition of to be known.... to be known is basically what happens when you sit down to tell someone how you are really, truly doing and you don't have to preface how you are doing with why you are doing how you are doing. In kindgerarten terms "being known" is like when you sit down with a friend and you realize you've battled some major battles, cried some major tears and almost peed your pants laughing with the person sitting across from you... and they GET YOU. They know where you've been and where you want God to take you. They know whether your answer to the question "Do you want to see this movie" will either be yes or no before they even ask... because they know you and know what your answer would be and know whether or not to ask it.

wow. did you follow that? it's a working definiton.

let me ask this...do you have a desire to be known? Or am I alone in this? Do you have ever have a desire to look across a table and see an old friend? To walk into a coffeeshop and order a drink FOR your friend because not only do they know you but you know them... do you ever have this desire?

What IS this desire? What's with our desire to be known? Is it a healthy desire or is this a gnarly desire that should be fought and put to death?

I'm NOT talking about the kind of "known" as in tabloids and television screen known... so don't misunderstand me. I'm talking about the kind of knowing between average people...

to make a long story short... i'm loving l.a. truly and deeply, i mean it. from the bottom of my heart. i could tell you stories about why my roommates make my life completely enjoyable. i am seriously digging the people i'm hanging with and "gleaning" from...

but just beyond that love... my love for this new adventure... is the loneliness for a familiar face to just sit across from me. that familiar face that tells me they know where i've been and they know where i would love to go in life... and that familiar face that just tells me all this ....stuff is okay. cause we've been through much worse together... and God has seen us through. i need a comrade, a padre, a friend whose fought the battle, been in the trenches, seen me survive before....

to tell me i'm going to survive again.

do you ever want to be known?

nobility

*But he who is noble, plans noble things and on noble things he stands.* Isaiah 32:8

noble: admirable in dignity of conception, manner of expression, execution, or composition.

When was the last time you did something noble? Or when was the last time you stood up for something that was noble?

A group of us hung out last night and we were going around sharing about work, love, and life... and surprisingly one of us had stepped down from a job that he loved and seemed to be flourishing in. There were compromises being made by the company that this man was not willing to make. So he stepped down... reminding me of another guy I know who took a stand to spend more time with his family, to say "no" to corporate money making America and "yes" to the nuclear family and building a home for his daughter and future children...

and this reminds me of a young couple I know who instead of trying to get as close as possible to the "physical line" of kissing, snuggling, and so on and so forth... are drawing the line closer to safety. Instead of trying to see how close they can get and still be "ok", the man in the relationship is leading in such a way that the line is further from danger and closer to Jesus.

Somedays I forget... that good things are still happening... but if I just take a minute and look at the beautiful people in my life... if I can just open my eyes, I can see Jesus around me. In the hearts and lives of people planning and standing on noble things...

when was the last time you or i did something noble?

Someday I'll do interviews....

I decided to "introduce" you to my new team here at UCLA. I know you can't fully get to know them until I do a proper interview... maybe I can slyly do it while Kristine reads the paper (papes as she calls it... she shortens every word!!) but I'll just post their photos so when I say "Drew" you can put a picture with that name...

The first is Kristine. Miss Kristine... my beloved teammate and roommate. She keeps me laughing and rolling through most days. She is deep but also light. :) She's totally in tune with all things hip and cute. :) She loves the Lord with her heart and prays with me about all things. She and I have similar personalities and issues. I'm really REALLY glad I have Kristine. (more on roommate numero dos Katie another time. We're trying to get some fun pictures of the three of us but we're rarely home at the same time and not in our pajamas. :D

The 2nd face you have to know is Jason Jew. Yes, that is his last name. I call him "jew jew" or "jas face". I once called him "jew" but I'm guessing that might not get a solid reaction from people who don't know his last name. :) Jason is a hidden treasure. Sorry to refer to my manly teammate in that way but I saw Jason and thought hmmm he's gonna be like "type a" and instead Jason is not only NOT type a (just an example) he's no type at all. This guy sings in the car although I thought he was shy. He laughs and tells jokes... he's incredibly personable and friendly and all the while trying to convince me he's "introverted".

ha! i snort at that. I think he's an extrovert in hiding.

Jason is also in tune with others around him. I'll casually mention I like something, like music, and next thing I know, he's playing my tunes on his ipod for me. Rock on, Jew Jew, rock on!

Third face you gotta become familiar with is Drew Garrido. Stellar man, hilarious and my new computer guru. Drew thinks and acts and processes on levels I've only heard refered to by increda smart people. Drew is muy intelliente. But he's not so smart I can't relate to him... in fact, just the opposite. He's also very "comfortable" to hang out with. He'll start a conversation and relate to you about almost anything you're interested in. Drew is athlete and runner-extradordinare. He and I jammed out to Nickel Creek... it was solid. He's so cool. He loves the LORD and loves people. He's pretty cool. I have a lot of respect for him and know he's transitioning through a lot right now. (born, raised and lived in Phoenix until a week ago...)

Fourth person you should know is Liz Tsang. (tsang~ like i sang a song!) Liz is a lot of fun for me because she is also from the midwest and even went to... you guessed it... ISU. Which is not my school but my hometown's school. Liz is incredibly down to earth and easy-going. She's also like little mother hen. She's caring and gifted to see and follow through with the needs of others. She has a huge heart for the women at UCLA. She's not only a great friend but she is going to make (and even makes now) a superb wife. She is married to James Tsang (below) and she has a deep desire to cultivate a faithful, lasting, loving, growing, healthy marriage with her hubby. Thanks Liz for being a woman who loves Jesus. (and for being from the midwest so we can do the "kankakee cheer"!!)

And last but not least is James "Jimmy" Tsang. (once again Tsang~as in sang as in "the bird sang a lovely little tune.") James is a "go to" guy. He has offered to help me with numerous little set-up things as I adjust to life around Westwood. He's ready to help me get settled and feel like westwood is "home". He's also a guy that will "get my back" if ever I need it. I had this awful situation with my bank that I just wanted to sweep under the rug and forget about but James advised me to go in to the bank and just let them know what was up... and he said, "Do you want me to go with you?" Even though I said "no" knowing that he would have come with me and would have helped me stand up for myself was so great. I can tell James is gonna be a lot of fun.

In fact, all my teammates are going to be fun.

I hope you enjoyed "meeting" my teammates. Stop by again for an update on Katie Lovely Lovas (roommate dos) and updates on life here in LA.

440

With a lot of time to fill, I've been monkeying with my camera. Here are some shots from our back patio here at 440.

The room outside of Kristine's and my door.



a comfy place to read.

our awesome patio furniture and fire pit.

fire pit.

the awesome furniture

and again but closer.

and just for fun, the paper parasols in our room....