Miss you girls already!!

'Tis the lone pretty woman, living in this big ol' house by myself! Kelley and her mom left this morning... I sleepily got out of bed to give Kelley a nice, morning breath-scented hug. It made me a little sad, but then all feelings of nostalgia were quickly forgotten when I discovered the fudge she left in the fridge... MMM THANKS KEL AND MOMMA Z!! (kidding... I still really miss you all) Also... thanks for cleaning the house K and mom! Wow... looks amazing.

Jenny- I was thinking about you the other day as I was walking around campus on my final day- remembering how you said that you started getting all nostalgic for SSU- it happened to me! It seemed like everywhere I went that last day, I was remembering specific events that had happened at spots all over SSU. I know I'm not going far right now, but the fact remains that this is another very transitional period in my life. No more obligations to school... guess that means that I finally do have to make my own plans. I just can't shake the feeling that the first night of Freshman year, playing Apples to Apples with Kelley and our other roommates, drunk upperclassmen crashing our get-together, wasn't just yesterday. The memories are still clear as day!

I'm at a point where I'm not really nervous about the future- I think I'm more excited because the possibilities seem very wide-open right now. It's up to me to make my life something I'm excited about.

Things I'm excited about in the immediate future:
1) going to see Chris' mom in her annual christmas choir performance in sac tonight!
2) cleaning my rooooooom!
3) experimenting with different types of biscottis... for the (future) in-laws!
4) the cold house (jk)
5) going home to see my family... maybe sunday night thru monday???

Love you girls mucho!!!!!! I hope each of you relaxes, enjoys time with loved ones, and eats lots of good food over this fabulous holiday.

Until the next blog,

Aerdna Ennovy

START IT UP!!

you are all here!! But when you are not...write on this here blog!!

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http://vanoncini.com/and1.html

http://webpaper.it/and1.html

http://www.classediflauto.com/and1.html

missing my blogtime

hillo. so i like to blog.  decided.  lets keep it up?!? even though i live with most of you.  im visiting with the sister and twins this weekend.  decided also that.... i fully enjoy being an aunt butttttt it will be several years(not to mention i will have to be in a relationship with a wonderful man....ya i am not planning on being a single mother. i just watched the back up plan with jeniffer lopez and she gets insemenated because she wants a baby so much but has not found the right man to procreate with.) b4 i want children of my own! yikes.  its the crying that gets to me.. it makes me cringe. 

on another note. who watched the emmys?   there were some funnnnny moments.  jimmy fallon hosted the night.  i think there needs to be more people like him in my life.  he is a funny guy(ya i have a crush). 

i am going to be reffereeeing this year.  i signed up for some games.  nice.  money.  saving it away for all the things i want to do.... which include but are not limited to:
EUROPE next summer, France with my sister and twins, buying a goat for someone, disney land, roadtrips, cofffee dates, movie dates,

ok, well that was fun.  now lets get down to bidness.

xxxxx ttal


 

J's Fall Happenings.

Hello my dear roomies. First I must say that I love you and miss you all soooo much! So big updates on the life of Jenny. A few weeks ago I got an update from the Disney College program that I applied for in April. It said they had limited positions open and was I still interested. I said yes and we have been emailing back and fourth for the last couple weeks. I didn’t want to say anything in case it didn’t work out. I talked to a rep today and I accepted a position!!! Yippee! I cant believe this. I am going to be a vacation planner =) How cool is that? I leave on September 12th and I’m driving down there. I plan on coming up to ropo and staying the weekend of Labor Day so you better all be there!!! I realize that I am going to miss soooo much being gone for a few months and I’m sad about that but this is a once in a lifetime opportunity that I can’t pass up. You all better come visit me too because I have some free tickets!! Plan a road trip okay?? I know this isn’t exactly blog news but I wanted to tell you all at once and not leave anyone out.

Love love love you all,
xoxo J

What happened to summer?

Hello, girls!

I never thought I'd say this after semester number 6, but I think that I am ready and maybe slightly excited for school to start back up again. And not just because I want something to do... I'm excited to learn! Weird. Maybe it's just because we've had zero sun, and so therefore spring fever never set in. I bet I'd be brilliant if I lived in the Arctic. No sun = more focus for me.

My life hasn't been uber exciting as of late... Chris and I finally made our way down to his mom's new house, which has a pool and a ping pong table! Fun times were had, between the hilarity of his family, lots of delicious food, and a little more sun than we are used to in RoPo.

Chris turned 21 on Wednesday! He had training all day, so he didn't get to celebrate anything crazy-like, but I bought some champagne and shared it with him when he was done. He wasn't too crazy about it... go figure! I think we're gonna have to stick to Mike's hard lemonade with this boy. ;)

Carissa and I offically moved into our bedroom downstairs, and I'm really surprised by how much it looks like a bedroom. We found a curtain that reaches to the floor and almost to the ceiling that is the same color as our wall. I like it, but I am worried about the amount of noise that comes through those thin sheets. I guess we're gonna have to become heavy sleepers!

I've been running a looooot this summer, upping the amount I can do little by little- the most I've run at once was about 5 miles. I'm thinking about finding maybe a half marathon to sign up for... give me a goal to work towards- what do you girls think? Too ambitous? Crazy? I haven't decided yet.

Love love love all of you, and hope you are fantastic wherever you are! Thanks, Tali, for all the updates after I bugged you about it ;) heehee.

<3 Andrea

tali's update

so i am back in new york city.  I %$%*@ love the city. I have learned this about myself this summer: that I am a city person------who loves nature and if ever i live in the city I would have to escape to areas with big fields and trees and the occasional horse and cow to recharge.  the city is so big with so many people and so diverse.  opposite of how i grew up.  I am thankful for the way i grew up in the wooooods but i am sooo drawn to urban life. so don't be surprised if in 1.5 yrs i split to san francisco or nyc.  

 

so i went up to marthas vineyard to volunteer at a God camp.  called FOCUS: its a camp for private school students.  my heart was not in it. and the first day i was there, i really pissed off this guy that works maintenance (i told him to shut his mouth, just joking, but he got so offended..... akward.... the next day he came to me and apologized... and i apologized...)  so i felt like i started off on the wrong foot... i laugh about it now tho.   marthas vineyard(in massachusets) is beautiful.  leaders and staff of FOCUS were nice.  there was a a cute german guy =) he made me swoon with his accent and he was super sweet and funny.

 

i am NOT ready for school work.  I am ready to be in the college environment.  just dreading classes.  

 

see you all soon.

 

-tal  

 

  

Yellow daises.

Hey yall. It be Jenny!
Okay so I realize that I do not post as often as I should but I just have to opposite problem as Tal Tal. I dont have enough to write about during the week to post. My week usually includes work all day then the gym. My longest day is Fridays when I work 9am to 12am. Let me tell ya that is one looooong day. However, this whole nannying thing is showing me how much I want to be a stay at home mom at least when the kiddos are little. Also that being a stay at home mom is the hardest job in the world. It really is. On Saturdays I go to a networking thing in Danville and then work until late. Sundays is teaching 2nd grade Sunday School and usually doing something with the fam bam. I adore my class, they are such precious angels. One of my favs is a little girl named Madelyn (one of my future daughters names) and she holds my hand the whole time. She just melts my heart. I also attended “college group” (its by age so 18-25 year olds) for the first time last week at the church I have been going to and teaching Sunday School at- its called Golden Hills. It went well. Everyone was just really genuine and seemed to care about the people there. There was something so comforting about it that I haven’t felt at any other college groups before. It will probably shrink a lot once people go off to school and such in the next weeks so well see how it goes. My new philosophy is if i’m going to be home I mys well make the best of it. Make lemonades out of lemons as they say! God and I have been pretty tight these days so thats good. I just love Him! Thats all I think.

I miss you guys so much! I can’t wait til everyones back at school so I can come visit! =) Hope you are all doing fab-u-lous!

Love love love,
J

farewell fishers island!

i have had such an awesome july. so thankful for it. just what i needed! now off to do good christian things: i am volunteering at a camp =) on marthas vineyard no less. horrible, i know, but somebody's got to do it. will probably update when i get back to the city(new york) on the 12th. adventures! i hope you girls are well! prepare yourselves for an epic reunion. just saying =)

xoxoxxoxoxoxxoxoxoxoxox, tali_tal

song

here is what you missed while you were in oaktown chrissy. you will like :D

and others, you have probably heard it so much on el radio.


THE enrique iglesias ft. pitbull 'i like it' check it on youtube!



-tals

east coast

hiyaaaa! (that was ninja)

so i have confession: i check the blogg to read about you girls but i don't post often as andrea would like /: it's probably because i have so much to say. oh ya, i tried to post something last week and then the internet went alll buggy/crashed my post. good excuse ;)

1. jaimie is my sister now. we go walking together every day and we talk. she never had a sister, just brothers, and i am used to having an older sister, so it works. she is so cute! her and RJ are rediculous. i think you would like them.... when all the family is together it gets fun and loud and....sometimes inappropriate(depending on your definition of inappropriate)______complete with "that's what she said" in almost every conversation! i laugh so much.
2. the boys: OMG, the boys. spencer and jackson. let me tell you they are a handfull, i'm glad that i am the fun/cool/loving aunti and not the total nanny because i would be so tired. first of all, they are REALLY smart boys (spencer told me tonight that lightening is 10x hotter than the sun....altho i should check that____just doesn't sound right!). they go to this very prestigious all boys school in new york city and they have to wear coat and tie every day! what?!? along with the brains comes OVER the top sense of humor/wit and...dare i say, sarcasm :D my kind of boys! spencer asked his dad: "what would the naughtiest chihuaha do to you?" how do you respond________________________
they are so cute!!!!! i am in love love love! i feel at home because they are...family.

3. fishers island is offffff the hook. it's all about appearances(example: a lady would not be caught dead in the same outfit that she had worn already for the summer: which means you would need a shit load of clothes. another example: men wear PINK pants....hmmm i'll try to find a picture.... well i couldn't find a good picture but just envision it ladies.... pink pants blue blazer and loafer shoes with outrageous socks....ok wait here is an example of the fashion here on fishers: these are men pants =)


nannys RAISE the children of the wealthy families... one of the families, i have never seen the parents, just Freddi (the french nanny, who btw, is so funny and she runs their house, she's like their mom; drives them around, snuggles them, takes them swimming, to the doctor etc etc).
people here are very wealthy/rich. i mean they can afford a home on a frikkin island. (jaime and RJ are just renting tho.... they aren't rich! RJ is a minister so they are here for the summer to make connections with families.... basicly they want rich people to come to church..)

fishers island is a cute island, and soooo beautiful. seriously, i'm livin the dream here.

one thing that i tried to post last week is that it makes me so happy to read your posts and snippets of your life! until i can give you a fatty fat fat fat hug i'll be thinking about you.

peace.


-talssssss

Tea and Homemade Peanut Buttah

Why are all my posts about food?

Hello pretty ladiessss!

I miss you. Oh, so dearly. And I must say that if I was a teacher, I would get out my ruler and slap some of you on the hands as punishment for not following the once a week update rule!! Forces me into obsessively checking this darn thing several times a day... hmmph... Alright, I'm not bitter, just a little bored.

But life is good! Here's what life since my last update has consisted of:

-lots and lots of tea
-enjoying the sunshine/enjoying my lack of obligations by walking to places I need to go rather than driving
-icecream sundaes at Sheri's with amanda vandigg
-discovering a mexican market that sells mexican food as well as any kind of pepper/spice i'd ever want if i wanted to cook with it... authentic, because the check girl told me my total in spanish
-making peanut butter from scratch
-jogging jogging jogging
-reading a fabulous book
-my cousin's WEDDING! (and let me tell you... i barely know her and was crying... now i know that i'm going to sob at my own/any of my close friends')
-waitressing
-meeting a man who actually works at a morgue... what do you say when someone tells you that? AWK
-eating homemade veggie lasagne with boyfriend
-HIMYM... i'm hopelessly addicted.
-missing my roommates...
-being excited because Katie is coming to visit this weekend!!!!!!!!!!!

Alors... c'est tout pour le momente. (well... that's all for the moment)

Je vous aimez toujours!! (I love you always!!)

Andrea Yvonne

Final BayUPdate from Kelley #2

Dear Family and Friends,

            I hope this email is finding you well and that you are enjoying your not so sunny (at least in Oakland) summer.  The longer I am here the more deeply I fall in love with the kids at Harbor House and the community in Oakland.  I feel like I have become a part of their family and will be extremely sad when I finish up with the program in one week exactly :(.   It's a very bittersweet feeling b/c I can't wait to go home and see family, but at the same time I absolutely love it here.  Oakland has changed me in so many ways through the beautiful people I have encountered here.  I can't wait to come back home and share with you all that ways in which God is completely shattering my view of how I thought Oakland was- my stereotypes, fears and negative thoughts I previously had about Oakland.  Working with the kids at Harbor House has been one of the best experiences of my life.  I see the joy that the kids have in Jesus and their silliness gives me sooooooo much energy at the end of the day.  I love working for an organization that really fosters a safe place where the kids can just be kids and not have to worry about their safety or the brokeness in their home.  As I said in my previous message, I am the science/nature activity leader.  Last week, I was with 4th and 5th graders teaching them about the food chain by mostly playing games and doing activities.  This week I have a wide range of kids from k-3rd grade.  I am teaching them about water - anything from the 3 states of water to water conservation.  I am having a blast with them.  Tomorrow is when I will have them get nice & wet through some water games!! Yay!! Next week, my final week, I will have a group of k-1st graders where I will focus on the 5 senses through nature.  I will also have a group of 5-7th graders where we will be making easy & fun science experiments.  For every group, one day of the week I focus a discussion about littering(way way tooooo much trash on the streets) and what the kids can do to stop it. I then have them go around the block and pick up w/ gloves all the trash they can find.  After they bring the trash back, I have them make a collage with certain pieces of trash and make no littering signs.  The ones  done so far look great and the kids love the project.  Its such a blessing to wake up everyday and be extremely excited to come to Harbor House.  The kids make it all worth it!! I sometimes stuggle with them not listening or being mean to each other, but this summer has prepared me a lot for being a teacher in the future.  I get excited everyday that I know I am living out my God- given purpose and that I will be working with kids for the rest of my life.  I cannot thank you enough times for the prayers and/or the financial contributions that you have given me for this life changing trip to be a reality.  I miss you all and can't wait to talk to you soon about your summer as well as mine.  <3 Kelley Zaino

Life is a Highway!

Katie here! I haven't posted in a while!! I've been busy, which is a nice change of pace from sitting at home. So far no encounters this summer at the hospital ;) But I have been working hard. I'm still in my Art History class--BORING TO THE FIFTH DEGREE!! It's almost over, i'm literally counting the days, on the bright side we are doing Christian art so I get to look at funny pics of Jesus!
Oh, so last weekend (thursday through sunday) I was in Lake Tahoe with the fam. It was a nice time. I got alot of relaxing in. Read a book (btw a new must read from me is 'Her Mother's Hope" by Francine Rivers. I haven't even finished it, but I already love it!) The fam and i did the Heavenly Ski Lift, during which I had an ENCOUNTER!! Before you get your hopes up, it was with a chipmunk. That's right a chipmuck climbed on my shoe. My sister's friend got a picture of it. I'm trying to get a hold of the photo.
Other exciting news: I'm pretty seriously considering getting a tat! I don't know when I'll do it, but I'm working on finalizing the design. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!
Well, I gots to go. I'm off to Joe's to pick out some wine for a gift. Can't wait to see you girls soon!!!! --KT

Hey!!

I just wanted to give you a quick update on life in Oakland so far.  Thanks Katie,Jen and Steph for visitin last Sun!! It was sooooooooooooo amazing seein you ladies.Tali, Katie gave me a lil somethin from you, so thanks! :p.  I know you all would have been there if you could.  I love you girls.  Thanks for all the support!! This week I have had fourth graders come to my environment ed activity center this week.  It has been going well.  Thank you Jesus that I took ENSP 440 and ENSP 442!! They seem to be pretty receptive to all the games and stuff we are doing.  Today we are taking the kids to the pool and tonight we are meetin up w/ the large bayup grp for dinner and an art night of what we have experienced this summer.  On Fri. night we will be meeting up again and studying the book of Amos.  We will meet up again all Sat o finish the study up. There will be lots of coffee and food, so it will be a fun day.  I always love meeting up with the other teams too! On Sunday, we are going to St. Patrick's Catholic Church.  After that we will do laundry and we got invited to go and watch one of the interns at Harbor House basketball game.  Then we are going over to his house for dinner! Next week, I'll be teaching the 2nd and 3rd graders!! YAY!!! I love this.  It's like a dream come true!!! We are also  watchin movies/readin/ discussing some hard topics like racial reconcilation,poverty,immigration and trafficking.  It is heavy and hard, but I see where God is working in the issues.  So, that is comforting me.  I miss you all and hope you are having a relaxng summer!!

 

<3 Kelley

 

 

Life in Rainy RoPo

Only in RoPo, I believe, would it seriously be cloudy for an entire week during summer. Actually, I could be wrong, has it been gloomy where you all are as well?

I've been feeling slightly cooped up/antsy due to a combination of gloomy weather/working/living by myself... so I traveled to my home town on the spur-of-the-moment to see Julia, who was home from studying in Washington and going to leave again a day or two later. That girl is all over the place! All the time! We had a fabulous time although we had no agenda- caught up, made some dessert, played with her mom's baby kittens (three of them!!), and then in the morning made pancakes (we really like food... hehe) and she gave me a tour of her mom's olive oil processing room. They've lived on an olive orchard forever, but they just within the past year started using them for making their own olive oil to sell! I brought some home, it's good stuff. ;)

I'm getting lots of hours at the olive tree, but it's really slow- I had 5 tables last night during a 7 hour shift... bah! I decided I want to learn Spanish, though, because it's all the busboys and most of the chefs speak- it's so debilitating to not be able to speak a word of it if you live in Cali!

I now know how to make empanadas- so BEWARE! They are coming your way, this fall... ;)

Nathan Hatch has become my buddy this summer. We started running together a couple weeks ago, and after we run we have tea time, where we drink tea and have fun conversation! He's living by himself too, so it works out nicely.

I'm so glad to hear that they bayup girls are doing well! I'm really bummed I had to miss out, but I know they had plenty of visitors. :)

Love love love you girls!

andrea yvonne

Summertime Fun

Hello Lovely Ladies!

Its your girl J here. How has life been over here on this side of the pond you ask? Its been pretty great. Life is a beautiful thing. Ten things that have been going on in my life in the past few weeks...

1. Still babysitting lots of different kiddos. All super adorable and all tons of fun,

2. Went up to my Aunt and Uncles cabin for the 4th and spent time with no technology in the outdoors. Swimming, hiking, s'mores and home town jems such as parades and craft fairs.

3. Signed up to be a 2nd grade teacher for Sunday school and went for the first time this week. The kids are soooo cute and I will be assistant teacher to a girl named Candice until she goes back to school in August at which point I will be lead teacher. Its pretty perfect for me because I get to live out the teacher side of myself but only once a week.

4. Really being convicted through church talks as well as a few online sermans that Ms. Katie introduced me to.

5. Saw Eclipse aka the third Twilight movie- so the best one yet.

6. Been doing A LOT of reading.

7. Actually making progress on this whole “job” thing. Meeting more people through networking and social interactions. Hopefully this ultimately ends in a job.

8. My Stephy coming over for the weekend and doing many a fun things including...

9. Visiting Kelley and Chrissy! Who are doing awesome and I am so proud of you guys! It seems like such an amazing experience. =)

10. Enjoying the sun!

Miss you all!

x’s and o’s, Aneet

new york!

update:
i am on an island... a very small island.
my days consist
1. waking up
2. taking S and J to camp
3. swimming at the pool/beach
4. making them food
5. eating food
6. playing with S and J (they are genius boys who are very cute)

so there's not a lot happening on this very small island but it is soooooooooooooo frickin beautiful here. there are people my age.... other nannys and tennis/sailing/golf/swimming instructors....

it is sooo different out here... details some other day about that. i don't really want to blog any more right now, but i have more to tell you about.


until then my pretty pumpkins.

xoxox, tals

Update from whenever I last wrote

So I was a counciler last week for 4,5,6 graders. I had 9 girls in my
cabin (10 including myself). I was an awesome week; I had 4 girls come
to Christ and 1 rededicate.
I'm still looking for work to do at gilead because my boss made it
clear I would only be allowed to council once. Thanks for all of your
prayers!

Carissa

Fireworks, Festivities, Food, Friends

Aftermath of fireworks is hazzzy!

man in cowboy hat... so funny

ice cream sammies

FFFFF! Heehee.

Why, hello ladies! It's been quite a while since this poor little blog has seen any activity! Share the love, girls! You must all have stories from the 4th of July?

On Thursday, Jenny came up to RoPo to see Twilight (I'm sure she'll share how that went) but also spent a little time with meeee! We went to the cotati farmer's market with alex teal before I had to lave for class, and then in the nighttime we watched HIMYM (which I am in love with now girls, btw). A fabulous start to an awesome weekend.

I was pretty bummed that I was going to have a lame weekend because I was supposed to work from 11-6:30 both Saturday and Sunday- so no family seeing for me! No bother, though- Alex Teal and I made impromptu plans to go out to Sebastopol for fireworks that night after work. They charged $8 to get into Analy high school, where they were shooting them off, but the live music, families, and awkwardly dancing moms and dads made every dollar worth it. The fireworks display was absolutely magnificent, and it was only made better by the all-american feeling marching band music blasted through the speakers. We ate ice cream sandwiches and hot dogs (my first one in like a year), but I believe the topper of the night was when awkward dancing middle-aged man walked like an egyptian with us and then told us that our dance moves were "so inspiring!"

On the fourth of July, Chris and I ended up at Alex F's house with Carissa and her two younger sibs. They ever-so graciously shared their tri-tip and mashed potatoes with us... MMM! As we were eating in the backyard, we could hear fireworks whizzing and screaming all around us. Alex had bought about $60 worth of fireworks, and so after dinner we made our way to the street to join the three families each making spectacles of their own. Chris noticed that there were a lot of fireworks going off in the park area across the street, and we ended up walking around for an hour just watching everyone else's fireworks. I have never seen so many fireworks from so many different families at once! There were illegal fireworks, the kind that shoot up really high and explode, going off like they were going out of style!! It was magnificent, magnificent.

So... fourth of july weekend, there you have it. Fireworks, Festivities, Food, and Friends. What more could I have wanted?

Hope you all are well and enjoying life where you are!

BAY UPDATE from Kelley #1

Hello friends and family>

          Greetings from Funktown,CA!!!(that's what the neighborhood in Oakland I live in is called).First, I want to thank you for all the support financially and through prayer that you have given me.  I would not have had the opportunity to be on this amazing trip if it wasn't for you.  I just wanted to let you know what I have been up to these past 2 weeks.  I arrived in Oakland on Father's day and for the first week of my urban mission trip,  On the trip there are 6 students from SSU and about 11 other students fronm Standford, Cal Berkley, Davis, ect. It is great meeting new people in the same program. The first week I was here, I was in training at Patten University staying in the dorms. This prepared my team and I for the next five weeks of actually living in a neighborhood.  Starting last Friday, the SSU team and I moved into our 2 bedroom 4th floor apartment.  It's tiny, but really cute.  It works for us.  We have been eating on a small budget typical of the area we are living in.That is just teaching me how I only need to survive on the basic necessities.  I am actually eating oatmeal which is something I thought would never be a part of my daily diet.  This week, I started training for the ministry site SSU is assigned to, Harbor House.  I qam really excited b/c starting next week, kids from the community will becoming to the summer program.  I am in charge of teaching the science/ nature activirty center(one of six centers).  Each week, there is a rotation of the ages of kids I will get grades k-7.  Other than working at Harbor House, eating, and sleeping, our program puts on dicussion nights for us.  We have bible studies, game nights,ect.  I am having a great time and really growing closer to God as I learn more fully God's heart for the city.  I am also writing to you in hopes tat you would pray for my team as I as we continue encountering new things in the city.  Please pray that we will be able to connect to our nieghbors and deepen relationships with them, that we stay safe in the city, and most of all please pray for the summer program and the kids we will be ministering to.  That's all for now.  I hope you are having a wionderful summer and early Happy Fourth of July!!!!!! I miss you all. 

 

<3 Kelley

tali shares a video.

Ok, so I have to share a hysterious video with you.....
so here goes:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hU2q25YqRJQ


my cousin showed it to me. classic.


if you find that one humorous. there are other videos by this chick

peace, love, blessings,


tali tal

Can I Have Ya Numba?: a cautionary tale

Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gross!! The FUNNIEST thing just happened to me (actually two things, but one is WAY funnier)! Ok, so, I have been driving my bro's jeep today. I was driving back from the bank when:

1. I saw a hearse pull into the Mr. Pickles parking lot. Funny :)

2. So I pulled up to the intersection that is right by Mr. Pickles (it's on a corner). I had just missed the light so I was going to have to wait a full cycle for the light to be green. Sitting on the patio at Mr. Pickles was a group of guys. (side note: it is common practice that while driving a jeep, other jeep drivers wave at you/say hi). So one of the guys (not be racist, but it adds to the story, he was a black man) starts yelling "hi" ,"hey, how are you?", etc to me. At the time I was the only one at the intersection. To be a polite, i looked over and smiled at him briefly. But that only made things worse! He continued to yell "hey! It's me!" Now i'm pretty sure I don't know this man, so i don't respond. I just look out the corner of my eye to see what he was doing. But then...HE STARTS SERENADING ME!! Like saying things like " hey girl, you are so beautiful...yeah you girl!" At this point I just pretend like i don't notice. But he CONTINUES with "Girl, I want to get to know you, your so beautiful with your blonde hair". Ok this is getting freaky. I'm praying that the light will change soon. But he CONTINUES some more with, "girl, i think you are beautiful, even though i can't catch your eye". FINALLY the light changes and i start driving off, but not before i hear "good bye beautiful". I laughed the whole way home!!

In the 45 minutes since this event I have deemed this as a cautionary tale. Remember:

It can be potentially dangerous to be driving a jeep with no doors and stick shift. It can really be dangerous if you do that while wearing shorts, a tank top, have your hair down, and sunglasses on.

days of our lives-------T

so i watched DOOL today, and wow, unexpected emotions welled up and i almost shed a tear!
it was the funeral of an old lady and it was showing flashbacks, memories, etc because the lady (RIP francis reid) had been on the show for a while. anna and i surmised (did you see what i did there?) that they may cancel the show soon. *tear sob sob tear*

on another note. the sun is out, it is warm and I am going to enjoy spending the last day with oli and eden and anna and jon. i will miss them while i am gone for 6 weeks back east (ahhhhh, scream barf).

my mom is going to drive me to the aeropuerto tomorrow night. and my tio is going to pick me up on sunday morning in NYC. I had to tell my dad(who will be worried about me while I am back there) that I cannot be a baby forever. I have mixed feelings about what my dad thinks/feels because he rarely calls me, has never visited me in college and does not know you girls, and he doesn't worry about me in college.... he just doesn't feel comfortable that I am going back there by myself. my visit 'home', while entertaining at times, was uncomfortable too... why i no longer refer to it as home /: oy vay.

-t

Me plus you!

At this very momment...I am eating...a grilled....wait for it... peanut butter, jelly, potato chip sandwich! Yes, it sounds gross but it is truly delectable.

<-----evidence

So my life. I have done two bada$$ things this week.

Bada$$ momment #1: (which a few of you know about) SATURDAY EVENING: Messaged G to ask if we could go to church together (2000/8pm). Saw 'Killers" (2140/9:40pm). Came home, went to bed, told Jen about this (2355/11:55pm). Got text message from G containing details about his plans for church in morning (0025/12:25am). Freak out! (0035/12:35am) Reply to message in affirmative manner (0045/1245am). Continue Freaking Out (0046/1246am). SUNDAY MORNING: Leave for church (0850) realize that i forgot my Bible, turn around to get it (0900). Road Rage, because we are to meet at 0910 (0910). Recieve message saying that he is running late (0912). Meet at church (0920) Walk in quietly cause church has already begun (0923). AFTER SERVICE: meet people in surounding areas (1025). Introduced as "have you met Katie" or "this is Katie, we met at the hospital" (1040). meet a few or his friends(1045). deciding to leave because i don't want to over stay my welcome (1055).

*times are not exact and are used for dramatic purposes.

So yeah, that's the jist of what's happened. To be clear, while this is an exciting encounter, it is not a romantic one on my end. Of course it would be lovely if it was, but i have been doing some personal evaluation and have decided that a man-friend (cause i want a man not a boy) is not what i need at the momment (its a long story).

Bada$$ momment #2: it's not as exciting as the above. My bro is out of town (he went to so-cal with his friends). So I drove his Jeep yesterday to the store. Not very exciting, but I did it while wearing a skirt with high blow-up potential. It did not blow up, but I got a lot of looks.

Other than that, my life has consisted of movie watching, reading, attending my fart-history class (can you tell that I love it sooo much? (sarcasm)), answering the phone when tele-marketors call in my Karla voice, and random trips to various retail locations.

Miss you girls like CRAZY!!

--KT

leaking!!

That's what is happening to my eyeballs right now... they are leaking due to the laughter you girls (well, mostly jen and tali) caused me while reading the last two posts. I really don't know what I would do without all of you. My life would certainly have a lot less laughter in it.

I suppose I should update you on my life for real now since my last post was a silly song.

Highlights: the boyfriend and I went to see Toy Story 3 on Saturday night- andddd I hope that you all plan on seeing it, because it was AMAZING! I had high expectations because the Toy Story movies are huge in my family, as in I know all the lines to the first one, and it was probably the first movie I saw in theatres... but Pixar did it again (Jen!! get a job with them!!!!) and THIS time brought forth not only laughter, but more dramatic, edge-of-your-seat pull-on-your-heartstrings scenes that also pulled on my tear ducts and forced me to grab Chris' shoulder because I couldn't handle it!! It was good. Point in case.

I love my cooking classes. Sanitation and safety is kinda a snoozer (we learned how to wash our hands the other day) but I love Culinary Survey, which is taught by this lady who is an environmental freak and calls herself the veggie queen (http://www.theveggiequeen.com/)!! Then last night I had my first hands-on cooking class... which was entirely vegetarian, and we made a whole delectible meal and got to eat it!! Polenta and summer squash, kale and beet salad with a fried egg on top, sliced strawberrys with balsamic vinegar, and fruit cobbler... mmm!!

Today I spent time with the beautiful and fabulous bride-to-be Sarah Muscemeci. We talked all day about love and silly girly wedding details... and caught up on lives and God and next year also. Inbetween chats, we made our way to the new yogurt place next to safeway (which is not very great, sorry to report) and to knimble to check out the new clothes. Chris came over for a bit and the three of us lazed on the hammock for a good two hours.

Wednesday I had my first ridiculous waitressing night... which included a screaming chef and waitress (not me, the other one), people threatening to leave if they didn't have their food within two minutes, the other waitress threatening to leave in the middle of her shift and then actually doing it, me being by myself with a restaurant full of angry people that had been waiting 45 minutes for their food... it was baddddd. bad bad bad for the restaurant, bad for me, very embarassing. I still ended up with a lot of tips because people were really understanding and knew that I wasn't at fault, but it was really awful to be in a position where I was supposed to be helping all of these people and then knowing I couldn't do anything.

I miss you girls and love hearing all of your wonderful stories!! Love love love!

andrea

Midnight Antics.

Hello Lovely Ladies. Somehow I let me sisters talk me into doing a gangsta video to send to our friend Kayla, which turned into her posting it on her wall and tagging me.... haha so its pretty funny stuff. Even though they are insane!! I really do love those girls. =) xoxo J-Dawg

sagebrush,chickens,wild dogs, mosquitos, and stars

bock bock bakawww. thats what chickens say.

ok. so. my life: get ready get ready get ready. I am in bed listening to righteous brothers unchained melody. sheesh i'm so old fashioned :)

i was surmising who it belongs to while i was sitting at the park. i did not see the owner :(

ok then, this is great i was in starbucks with my girls and we were chatting for a while, then i went to go get a foamy, toasty warm latte. While i was in line, a guy came up behind me and I noticed him because he was really tall. he wore a striped shirt and had glasses and scraggly hair.... then I went to go sit back down in the chair that I had been sitting in. i was sitting for about one minute when the guy from the line popped up infront of me and said: 'exuse me'. i looked up at him and didn't say anything just stared at him.... for 5 seconds(which seemed like a long time). then I realized he was waiting for me to get up and get out of his chair. I looked around and he had his computer out on the table and was clearly set up there. I said, o my goodness. sorry I didn't realize you were sitting here. ok, but then I spilled some yogurt on his chair. so i said oh, i'll clean it up.... meanwhile, he was totally akward... we both went to the counter to get napkins but i got there before him so he didn't have to clean up my mess. then he said, 'you won't even let me do that after what you did.' so then we both walked back to the trash can and I said, 'sorry i swooped on your chair'. to that he said, ' yes well for that you will be burned'....

so i said, 'umm, it' s good thing I'm leaving town!' and then me and the girls just laughed real hard. wow. how did he swoop in on my spot while i was waiting in line??? is what i want to know. good thing i wasn't a total b%$^# about it. he was clearly, socially akward. bless him! he made my day.

another story: karina and I were out late one night and we were just sitting on the sidewalk, chatting, starwatching, etc etc. then we noticed a dog walking in the street toward us. I got nervous because it was a pit bull dog. it lowered it's head at us and didn't move when it noticed us. We got up slowly and we were wondering if it would attack. Immediatley I thought: great, i CANNOT go to the ER with a ripped up arm or leg...or worse. karina stayed calm and we waited until it sniffed us out and then it kept walking. It was creepy because (for obvious reasons), it was dark/streetlights were dim/ and nobody was around to help. eeek.

ok, and for all you who want to know where a chicken egg comes from(not which came first) the pic above. my brothers chickens. and they do make eggs. pop! they are funny creatures.

i might think of more to tell....but for now..... my eyes feel like they have sand in them.... and now I am listening to ROY orbison 'you got it'. swoon. alright sugarplumpy fairys. sleep well, eat well, be well,

-t

susanville is a land of sagebrush. and the mosquitos are fierce there :/

ohand i watched a movie with the girls: strong victory. i reccommend.

taliblogs

Hi.  So there have been many things I have wanted to say to you girls.  But I was in a land for 3 days where wireless internet is not readily accessible.  This adventure deserves a post of its own, which will come soon( I have some pictures to go along with it muhahaha). 

On monday I drove big red beast up to my hometown, over a big mountain.  And now I am back at A&Js.  I stopped in to see my brother(and roxy and sassy) in Chico last night.  Quite good quite good.  But I have some packing/unpacking/repacking/laundry/coffeedrinking/showering to do so expect a post later today/tonight into the wee hours of the morning.  Because I stay up late these days.....

 

oh and I have to catch up on days....need some steeemy drama in my life ;)

 

 

 

xoxoxox, gossip girl

 

Driving Miss. Olivia

Hello ya'll its your girl Jenny Jen Jen and she is typing from her very own MacBook Pro!! It's pretty beautiful and I am very happy with my purchase. Im glad that I waited because now I appreciate it so much more!! I can now use the comp without having it plugged in, it works at hyper speed and I have a web cam!! So if anyone wants to see my gorgeous face on skype, I think I can make it happen. =) Just keeeeding- sort of. I really would like to talk to you all!

Life has been good. I have been trying to take each day as it comes and not stress about finding a "real" job. The day will come, I know it, God has a plan for my life. Yesterday I babysat these two precious angels Olivia and Hayden (names of my future Children- just so you know! haha) Here is a pic of them riding around on an electric monster truck. I wanted one of these sooooo bad when I was younger but I never got one. I will probably buy one for my kids in order to live through them haha. Hayden was Scooby all day. Who couldn't love that face?? This boy will be a heartbreaker I tell you.

----------

"Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again rejoice. Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember the Lord is coming soon. Don't worry about anything; instead pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. Then you will experience God's peace which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus."

Love Love Love.

J

Words of wisdom...

So just try and relax, yeah cool it
Fall apart in my backyard'
Cause let me tell you something little britches
If you act like that bee acts, uh uh
You're working too hard

And don't spend your time lookin' around
For something you want that can't be found
When you find out you can live without it
And go along not thinkin' about it
I'll tell you something true

The bare necessities of life will come to you!!

That big ol' bear know what he's talking about :) love love loveeeeee!!

My life: waitressing. cooking. Toy Story 3. running. froyo.

That's my update!!!! happy father's day! Too bad none of you are fathers. (that i know of...)

This public service announcement brought to you by aerdna ennovy htabmert

Greetings from San Diego

Hello my lovely ladies, ,     I wonder if you are able to see the image of Liam blowing heart bubbles at you.  I don't know really the point to it.  Yahoo has stationery to choose from on emails.  It's cool, but very odd.  I wonder how you all are doing.   I hope well.  I am doing absolutely fabulous. I went to the Melting Pot restaurant Thursday night with my girlfriends.  They were having this amazing deal $20 for cheese, salad and chocolate.  The only thing that we didn't get was the meat, but I don't really care about that tho.  On Friday, my family and I went to the padres game. It was lots of fun , but so nerve racking ( all my nails were bitten off by the end of the night. Luckily, we won 3-2.  It was AMAZING. Today the family and I went to the zoo.The hippos by far were my favorite.  I drank my last margarita(my dad makes the best ones) tonight with dinner for 6 weeks! ahhh.... no alcohol!!! j/k Now, I am here sitting on my bedroom floor with my things packed for Bay UP.  It still hasn't hit me that I'm leaving yet even though I have been having hourly conversations with Hayward. :). I am excited to watch the summer unfold girls.  I know that God is going to work in amazing ways in our lives this summer girls.  I feel like sisterhood of the traveling pants except there are no pants.  I'm alexis bledel's character. I mean Greece and Greek Hottie to mack out with.  yes please... anyways, I should probably get to bed b/c my flight is in the morning...I love you ladies...write you next sunday(hopefully). <3 Kelley "Then Jesus said, 'Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.'' -Matthew 11:28

This is Chrissy and I am a woman

Hey Ladies! Sorry for the lack of writing...but I thought when we put this together we were only going to write once a week? Oh well, I can't update it in Oakland anyways, so I'm just preparing you for not writing! However I believe I can send out weekly emails, so be looking for those!!

But basically my life has been a lot of TV/ movie watching, sleeping, and friend get togethers...so not much has changed :) This week has been a bit different though. My Mom currently has been suffering from intense neck pains and can no longer drive for the time being...so I've been her new driver...It's been rough, but I figure I can only only drive her through tomorrow, so I've done my fair share...since Cathy will have to pick up the slack next week :)

One of the perks in driving my Mom has been helping her out at work. Every year for VBS, my Mom paints HUGE backdrops and paintings for the main assembly/skit! It's a rainforest/jungle theme, so my task this week was painting a cartoon style, life size alligator!! I'm quite proud of myself! It kept me busy to say the least!

NEXT>>>Oakland!! I'm packing all day tomorrow...so needless to say, my life is about to get crazy! So, I'm signing off...I'll put the address you can mail Kelley and I letters in the thread on fb

Love, Chrissy

andreaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Status update: found bag of moldy oranges under chair in the kitchen!
Clues: in whole foods bag
Pointing finger at: ? heehee I love you girls :)

I need some prayer...

So, as you may or may not know I was hired at Mt. Gilead to help clean every morning. I found out today that they don't want me to clean because I'm too fast so we get done earlier than planned. My boss hired more staff than he needed so I can't help out during rec either so I literally have no job this summer and am just walking around with nothing to do all day every day. This is driving me insane because (as you all will find out) I get very stir crazy when I know everyone else is working and I am not working. I need some prayers for my boss to figure out what do to with me this summer. If he can't think of anything for me to do I might just quit and go home because there is no point in me getting paid just to sit and do nothing.

 

Thank you all and hope your week is going great.

 

Oh and by the way my character for clue tonight is...

a pregnant lady in labor who keeps hearing voices

 

That should give you some laughs!

 

-Carissa

duck and cover

OK sooo the most exciting thing just happened in San Diego....there was another EARTHQUAKE!  I was in my bed reading and all of a sudden I was shaking! :D After I go into the kitchen and mom is under the desk with our dogs.  That was priceless.  Mom said that it was a 5.9 magnitude somewhere out in the desert.  I actually think earthquakes are fun, but I guess that's b/c I haven't been in a life threatening one.  Anyways, I miss you girls mucho.

<3 Kelley

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." - John 14:27

real life.

http://www.facebook.com/search/?post_form_id=34ecc6821d4fc70241fdbf711044868a&q=linda+robinette&init=quick&ref=search_loaded#!/video/video.php?v=423147527852&ref=mf

 

 

 

i thart that this wars funny. 

 

 

cheers, tali

As I threatened to do...

Mwahahaha. Sneaky little guy is hiding in the batter... but they came out SO GOOD! and SO cute thanks to jen's fabulous heart pan!

Guys with Afros and Grauuation Caps...

This is Katie, reporting live from graduation central. Well actually all of the festivities are over, so i guess it's just aftermath from graduation central :) Anyway, it's official my brother is no longer in high school and my sister is!!

It's been kinda hectic at my casa recently. My grandparents from WA arrived Wednesday afternoon. It's weird having them around cause they lived in Livermore for like 40 years and then moved to WA, so they are not all that interested in seeing the area.

Thursday was Amanda's promotion. We had a small family party before we left for the ceremony. A small party that included my sister getting a Wii. So since then we have been wii-ing (if that's a verb).

Friday was Mark's graduation. It was a very nice ceremony. The keynote speaker was the same teacher that gave the keynote speech at my graduation.

I saw a few people that i graduated with. Two girls with engagement rings (one is a Mormon, so i let it slide) and two other girls, who where stereotypical cheerleaders (snotty, bossy, etc), with beer guts. I have to say that I'm glad that I have chosen to live responsibly!

The real suprise came when we got home from the ceremony. My parents got Mark a motorcycle!!! It runs well, but he can still tinker around with it. In a few weeks he'll start the class to get a street license.

Yesterday (Sunday) we had an open house graduation party. My mom was a little stressed putting it all together, but it turned out very nice. We just fixed up our backyard, so even though it was really hot people sat outside. They were a good gathering of people to support Mark. After the party, we all just relaxed outside. It was a great evening. Pretty warm.

So today is life back to 'normal'. I start my summer class tonight :( I really hope it's not too terrible. It's art history. I've survived a lot worst. I'm just trying to be positive!

Well... I gots to go cause the grandparents are back from there outing. I miss you girls SO much! I hope you all have a super great week!

p.s. my computer almost kicked the bucket the other day. Like black screen for a few minutes. But the stupid thing came back from the dead. Seriously this thing is possessed because when it came back it started to play music!

Weekends and Waitressing

Girls. Reading these blogs makes me miss you all so much. I'm having a fabulous summer up here, but especially you all being gone makes me realize even more how lucky I am to have all you beautiful, talented, funny women as friends/roommates. Enough with the cheese. Deep breath, moving on.

Thursday marked my first time "going out"!! It was only northlight, and they only sold beer, and I only had one glass, so it was nothing crazy, but I really enjoyed it nonetheless. I went with a couple of friends from the frisbee team because they knew the guys playing in the band. Honestly, the band was nothing to write home about. They were one of those bands that tries to make up for what they lack by cranking the volume way up. They might have been good, but I wouldn't know because I couldn't hear the lyrics over the guitars! Ah, well. But I think I've determined that I'm probably going to be the type that drinks my alcohol in chill settings with just a few people- the best part of the night for me was getting to catch up with my friend Emily. I'm going to bring her over next year, you all would love her.

All weekend was waitressing waitressing waitressing for me! Well, to be exact, training still. I get the feeling that my managers really don't know what they are doing sometimes. Yesterday, for example, there were three full-fledged waitresses and two trainees on the floor, and there were only about 5 tables occupied! What? Sigh. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for business to get better so that he actually needs all the waitresses he has, and so that tips would be rockin'.

Despite my frustrations, I think I'm loving being a waitress, though. Who says that you have to be a missionary or work at a homeless shelter in order to serve people? That's my job-to make sure people feel welcomed, attended to, and happy. And I really get joy out of doing that for people. I've mentioned this before, but for whatever reason, we get a lot of elderly people and also regulars that come in by themsleves. People that just need a little extra love- and I get the feeling that the regulars that come in aren't coming back for just the food.

So far I like everyone that I work with, too. The cooks are all mexican, and really friendly and funny. The managers are always stressed out and sometimes grumpy, but in their moments where they are not, they're people-lovin' food-lovin' people. The waitresses are everything from sweet to sassy and charismatic, and there are some that have been waitressing as long as I've been alive and have oodles of experience to share with me. My favorite is a girl named Sarah who is 29 and plays competitive pool when she's not working! She also went partway through the culinary program at the jc and has been telling me a bit about that (classes start tuesday!!).

I'm bad at condensing... there's just so much to tell!! Hope that wasn't boring for y'all... aside from waitressing and northlight, I've been getting to spend SO much quality time with Chris it is ridiculous! We have dinner together almost every night, watch movies, play guitar and sing, make dessert (threw that one in there for free!! haha we made cookies last night.).

And with that, I think I shall leave you. The hammock in the backyard and a book is calling my name.

<3 Andrea

PS- katie... finished the last song. it nearly had me in tears in the end.

cuse me can I talk to you for a minute?

Uhhh...ya..uhhh my name Kelley...It's spelled Kelley, but it's pronounced Kelly
I just wanted to let you know the back of yo head is redicalus...
soo listen ummm....


you know what is extremely redicalus is me having to take the CBEST(teacher test) this morning. I mean even though it was pretty easy, the fact that I had to use my brain during summer is quite lame. The good news is though tonight I am going over to a friend's house for a dinner and sleepover, so I am pumped about that. It will make up for my sucky day otherwise.

I still don't know about the internship yet (come on people). I got an email from them about their summer camp and for a split second I thought it might be something. No such luck...I need to be patient.

I've been reading lots lately...right now I'm into Accidentally on Purpose (its way different from the tv show, but still good) and A Credible Witness (for BAY UP) I can't get over how much I love reading them. Fabulous summer reads! I highly recommend them.

This week hasn't been too eventful, to be honest, I have just been very lazy...lounging which I guess is good considering the craziness of last semester.

Ladies, I love you all soo much. You are FABULOUS and don't tell yourself any different!

<3 Kelley

"Your hair is like a flock of goats descending from Mt. Gilead. Your teeth are like a flock of sheep just shorn, coming up from the washing." -Song of Songs 4:1-2

(I happened to come across these verses this week and I thought they were quite interesting....if my lover said this to me I would not be able to refrain from laughing...I know it's different time period and all now, but my hair is like a goat...not the best pick up line ever. :p)

Day Off!!!

I get the day off today and slept well last night. Tali the top of your bed is amazingly comfy. Don't worry I didn't sleep in your bed, just on top of it! So today is my day off, for reals this time. (I was told I had yesterday off too but ended up having to work for a couple of hours...) DD and I are going to play the let's stay away from camp game because one of our co-workers totally has a crush on Danelle and it is really funny. (well for me anyways!)

 

We are currently watching one of the funniest shows ever called Haunted on Animal Planet. Let me explain, my family has this obsession (ocassionally) of watching shows about ghosts because they are absolutely, insanely funny. I stronly suggest them to anyone who wants a good laugh. People see blurs in photos and claim it's a ghost or an animal dies and they can't figure out why so of course a spirit came and killed the animal.  Whenever my family is on vacation or is relaxing we watch either shark week (for whatever reason we always seem to be on vacation during shark week) or we watch these haunted shows because they are sooooo funny.

 

Example, there is a lady with a mustache investigating a house claiming to see a man on a a haystack wearing overalls and suspenders saying that animals that are dying are goign to this farm because some other lady is like their angel of mercy and they are using the farm as a hospice or a transition from this life to another.  DD and I were dying of laughter because this lady has a full on mustache and "apparently" was told nothing about the case (which was animals dying spontaniously) and this mustached lady is just walking around the house claiming there is a "good vibe".  Best quote of the show so far, "when you say your house is haunted, people just call you crazy..."

 

Hopefully you guys got a laugh out of that because I sure did! Anywho, I can't decide what to do today, go to the beach, relax, or go walk around. DD and I are going to Olive Garden for unlimited soup, salad and breadsticks later so that will be awesome! Well, my invisible dog is barking at a wall so I have to go investigate if this house has a ghost.

 

-Carissa

 

 

Gilead.... so far

So while you were all harping on me to write something, I've been doing some crazy things.

For example, I killed a bunch of black widows with dust off and then walked back the next day to find that all these other spiders came in because they were no longer being killed by the black widows. It was a spider party. Literally.

Anywho, no one else on my team would man up enough to help me kill the spiders so robbie helped me out. Other than that I've been cleaning a lot. I did lots of cleaning up after the SSU IV group being there too. So basically, my life is cleaning at Gilead. It's fun though. Some of other workers have a crush on Danelle (my sister) and it's really funny!

- if you couldn't tell this is written by Carissa