Huge Klutz

I’m embarrassed to admit this, but I am a huge klutz. Mostly in the realm of spilling stuff on myself and others. It got so bad at one point that Mr. would make me stand/sit at least two feet away from him if I am drinking a colored liquid.

Exhibit A:
This morning, not even five minutes after I sat down at my desk, I managed to spill coffee all down the left side of my dress.



Which is why I always carry this:



Yes, my trusty tide pens! "Tide To Go" definitely takes stains out, but on some fabrics it leaves a water spot ring. Better than a stain, but still not optimal.

Are there any klutzes like me out there? Anyone have any good advice for how to get out stains on the go?



PS- I’ve been lazy, but I have great pics and stories from our Easter weekend in San Diego. Check back tomorrow for those!

Good Friday and Easter Plans!

I’m so excited that it’s Friday! I have a really fun weekend plans coming up -- Celebrating Easter and seeing lots of friends and family that I haven’t seen since Christmas!

Friday Night – Good Friday gathering at Parkcrest Church in Long Beach. I’m looking forward to meditating and reflecting on Jesus and the cross. Then the Mr. and I are driving down to San Diego afterwards. We're definitely gonna need a starbucks run in there someplace!

Saturday – Hanging out with my parents and some friends in San Diego. Then going to Petco Park for San Diego Padres vs. San Francisco Giants. And guess where our seats are? Behind Home Plate. Like RIGHT there – three rows behind home plate! Yup, I have the ticket hook up! Look for us on TV if you watch the game!

Sunday- Sunrise Easter Service on top of Mt. Helix. I think its going be a beautiful experience --watching the sunrise while celebrating Jesus rising from the dead -- very symbolic. Then big Easter dinner with our closet family friends in Scripps Ranch.


What are you all doing for Easter Weekend? Traveling? Staying home?

Oh and PS – Mom, if you’re reading, in my Easter basket I want more of this:


And less of this:


I’m trying to diet! Hahaha! Love you!

Drenched! My Beach Baptism

Easter is about re-birth.

We celebrate Easter in spring -- when flowers bloom and animals come out of hibernation. We celebrate Jesus’ death and resurrection – dying so our sins could be forgiven and so that we could rejoice in a new life with Him.

There is tradition that Christians observe that really illustrates rebirth in Christ – Baptism. “For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead.” - Colossians 2:12

Because of the re-birth symbolized by baptism, I wanted to share my baptism story with you before Easter.




I’ve been baptized twice. Once in 1983. Once in 2006. I obviously don’t remember the first time.

My Mom and Dad baptized me Catholic as a baby. I am eternally grateful to my Mom for getting me baptized, taking me to Sunday School, and going to Church with me throughout my whole young life. And I respect my Dad immensely for being so supportive of me choosing my own beliefs and path, even at a young age.

Despite my Catholic/Agnostic background, at age 21 I began attending a Christian Church in Los Angeles and for the first time in my life I fell in love with Jesus. I was irrevocably moved by His love, His message, and His purpose.

And one night after Church, alone in my bedroom, I prayed to God that I believed in Jesus and that I wanted to be a follower of Christ.

I knew that although my Mom so lovingly had me baptized as a baby; that was more about her faith than about mine. And I wanted to make a public declaration of my faith. Baptism would be that declaration.

So tried to get baptized at a Church event, but because of a “miscommunication” that baptism did not happen. I was very sad, in fact, heartbroken. I was SO ready to get baptized. I felt thwarted. Soon I realized it was God who did not let that baptism happen, because he had a better much plan for my baptism. (isn’t it funny how that happens so often?)

So I began making plans for a baptism that was much more “me”: A baptism at the beach with all of my friends and parents present.

My Small Group Leader, Joe, agreed to baptize me.

I bought supplies for the post-baptism cookout/bonfire.

I invited friends from San Diego, Gamma Phi Beta, USC, and Mosaic Church. I figured that most people wouldn’t want to come….

They ALL came. Including my Mom and Dad.

Here I am with Sorority Sisters and Childhood friends from San Diego:


After everyone had arrived we headed down to the water’s edge. Joe talked about the meaning of baptism and we prayed. It was beautiful – the ocean crashing, everyone I love praying with me. It was a moment only surpassed by a few others, like my wedding.


Then we headed out into the icy pacific.


My baptism was in early Spring. It. Was. COLD.


Joe asked me “you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, and have you accepted Him as your Lord and Savior?” I said “Yes”.


And under the water I went. “For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized.”


Joe lifted me up, hugged me, and we ran to shore. “And with Him you were raised to new life.”


Can you tell I was excited?


I changed out of my wet clothes and then rejoined my friends and family for hot dogs, s’mores, and sunset on the sand.


My Mom and my best friend:


Look at the short-haired Mr.!





We have been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit. -1 Corinthians 12:13

Working from Home?

I've been traveling for work a lot less lately.

(Thank you, crapola economy!)

Which means I can work from my LA office or I can work from home. I went into the office yesterday, but today I am here:


Where is this?

No, this isn't my own condo unit.

It's the "Conference Room" in our Condo Building. Wi-fi, polycom, and a white board without leaving the comforts of my own building? I'm in Heaven. (And in yoga pants)

When is Picture Perfect Too Perfect?

Thank you all for the recommendations on magazines! I’ll definitely pick up a bunch of the recommended reads and report back.

I was looking through my post and I couldn’t help but notice something that most of the magazine covers have in common…ridiculous photoshopping.

It made me think of Jezebel’s critique on Faith Hill’s Redbook cover. You have to check out that link and let me know how far your jaw dropped.

In fact Jezebel has a whole group of pictures they've lovingly titled “Photoshop of Horrors”. Which includes this gem of Jessica Alba:





I mean, seriously? She was already tiny! In the retouched photo she lacks a ribcage. Which is, in fact, vital to life... at least last time I checked.

When I did my Boudoir photography shoot last summer, I found a really awesome God-honoring studio called Woman Captured to do the pics (note: the pics rocked!) Their goal is have a positive effect on the way our society views beauty and bring it back from its current state of distortion. They had a great video posted on their blog. It seriously worth a look:


It’s part of the Dove series.

What do you think about the rampant photoshopping? Love it? Hate it? Over it? Jealously wish you could get all your own photos professionally photoshopped?

Magazine Quandary - Help Me Find The Perfect Perfume-Scented Read?

When I was in Middle School and early High School, I read Seventeen magazine religiously.


Then by the end of High School had graduated to Cosmopolitan Magazine and Glamour Magazine (I look back and now think, “wow I was wayyyy to young to be reading those”, but that’s another whole topic). Cosmo and Glamour were my staples throughout college.


After college, my life changed dramatically and actually quit reading Cosmo/Glamour-type mags (again, another whole topic). I was pretty into celebrity gossip and had a People Magazine subscription (don’t get me wrong, I still love the occasional People as well thesuperficial.com, I just try to limit it now).


Then I got engaged and Modern Bride and Martha Stewart Weddings were always in my travel bag or by my bed.


Then I got married. No more beautiful glossy pages of Vera Wang and Wedgwood for me. (Note: I know that some of you married ladies still read wedding mags, but I just can’t bear to do it. It makes me sad that I don’t get to have 18 weddings so I can do all the fun ideas! Is that crazy?)

So on my Honeymoon, I thought to myself... "what should I read now?"

I tried to go back to old faves, Cosmo and Glamour, but those magazines seemed so empty. Plus I don’t need tips on how to snag a guy at a cocktail party or how to tell if he’s “into me”. He’s into me. He liked it. He “put a ring on it.”


I tried Vogue and some of it’s cousins, but I feel like I’m not into fashion enough to love them.


I’ve tried home and decorating magazines, like Real Simple. Which is great! But not enough on relationships, fashion, and travel.


I'm still searching.

I feel like I may be in a magazine demographic gap here. I’m not old enough for my Mom's More Magazine yet. But too old for Cosmo.

I think this could be a "Sign of Adulthood."

So now that I’m at 25-year-old, happily-married, girl-next-door, what magazine should I read? What magazines do you love? Subscribe to? What magazines would you recommend for me?

Maybe that’s why I like reading all of your blogs so much. A little bit of relationships, a little bit of fashion, a little big of fitness, a little bit of travel. It's perfect! But I want something that I can read on the airplane!

You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby

I LOVE photos. I always have. I've made bulletin boards, scrapbooks, and collages out of my photos for years. I love the sense of history that they provide.

Before our wedding, I managed to scan 70 photos of my childhood and have them printed up on kodakgallery.com. And the Mr's Mom scanned 200+ baby pictures of him, sent them to me on a disk, and I had a bunch of those printed up.

Here is a look at a few of my favorites side-by-side at age >1, age 3, age 5, and age 17 (I'm always on the left)

{click to enlarge}

Can you tell what our future children will look like? :-)

For our wedding I ended up making three poster boards of Photos to put on easels at the entrance to the reception. One featured us as babies/kids, one featured pictures of us as a couple, and one featured our Parents' Wedding Photos. I love the way they turned out and I think the guests did too.



I'm not 100% sure what's going on here... but I think the bridesmaids liked the photos as well:



We ended up framing this one and hanging it in our condo's main hallway:


The rest we dismantled and put into single frames and albums.

Do you have family photos and childhood photos in your house? Is it hard to just pick a few?!