A letter to my California friends

Dear people who think rain is awesome (I'm speaking to you, Californians),

Once upon a time I loved the rain. I loved waking up in the morning to the sound of pitter-patter against the roof and windows. I loved being at work and watching the rain pour down, falling and glistening off trees and into puddles. I loved being home at night, watching a movie and eating popcorn while the rain pounded down outside -- while being all cuddly and warm inside my house.

Then I moved to Seattle.

There are certain things I love about the rain. But I've grown a strong loathing of rain as well.

For the past 7 months my life has consisted of:

• Rain boots
• Layers
• Hoodies
• Jackets
• Windshield wipers
• Warm drinks
• Running from cars to buildings
• Strategically placing umbrellas in multiple locations: car, work, house, purse.
• And...more layers.
  

And after 7 months of (almost) consistent rain, I'm still surprised when I wake up in the morning and see rain. I'm not sure when the shock of this weather will wear off, or if it will at all. So, for all you Californians who "love the rain," I challenge you to spend 6 months in rainy Seattle, then restate that phrase. Until then, enjoy your beautiful sunshine, I'll enjoy my tanning salon.

Bitterly Yours,
Ange

Loving CS Lewis

"For my own part I tend to find the doctrinal books often more helpful in devotion than the devotional books, and I rather suspect that the same experience may await many others. I believe that many who find that nothing happens when they sit down, or kneel down, to a book of devotion, would find that the heart sings unbidden while they are working their way through a tough bit of theology with a pipe in their teeth and a pencil in their hand."

- CS Lewis, Introduction to St.Athanasius on the Incarnation

Caffeine-Free-Ange

I began a 7-day caffeine cleanse on Tuesday, currently on day 4. So far it's been bearable...but challenging. I realized it's not only tough on my body to go cold-turkey on something I've been drinking for 15 years, but it's also the normal reaction to get caffeine whenever I want. Including:

- the gut reaction when I'm yawning @ work is to grab a coke. No more.
- the normal routine I have in the morning to make coffee. No more.
- the normal drink I order @ a restaurant is coke. No more.

I've had a headache since Monday, not sure if it's entirely caffeine-free related since I didn't start until Tuesday. I have 3 1/2 days to go...I heard after day 4 it gets easier. We'll see.

In the meantime I am enjoying water, 7-up, and lots of ideas from friends on alternatives to my caffeine-addiction.

However, this morning I realized it was a lot easier to wake up than normal. Could it be because I fell asleep earlier than usual because of the lack of caffeine? Or could my body actually be responding in a GOOD way to the lack of a highly-psychoactive-stimulant?

Either way, I'm up for this challenge, and potentially pro-longing it. Not for too much longer though.

Bon appetit!

I would consider myself a decent baker, but not a cook. I love to bake pies, cookies, brownies and just experimented with truffles a few days ago. I love creating something and having a finishing (and delicious) product. However, I also love reading cookbooks; I love the idea of cooking a feast of goodness that includes roasted chicken, mushrooms in a port wine sauce, garlic rosemary mashed potatoes, and asparagus bathed in butter and olive oil...yum.

Last night my mom and I watched Julie and Julia, and wow -- am I inspired! I loved every minute of this fantastic film, and decided that I desperately need to get her books. Considering I'm half french, I feel I could potentially master the art of french cooking :) As I type this, my first stab to judging my cooking potential is in the oven: boeuf bourguignon. Okay fine...that hyperlink isn't the exact recipe I used...I modified this one (I think Julia Child's version is a little too advanced for me at the moment!)

I love the idea of having something consistent in my life. So much of my life is inconsistent...in fact, for some time I've quoted this theme for my life: "The only consistent thing about my life is being inconsistent." This has to do with my career choice, my need for controlled chaos, and my love for unpredictability and spontaneity.

However, I do have a desire for some level of predictability. I'm inspired to be more aggressive in discovering what this means for me. In the meantime, I'm going to attempt at cooking new recipes on a more regular basis. Bon appetit!

I Love the Food Network

Love love love: I love every show on the Food Network. I love Iron Chef, Dinner Impossible, Diners, Drive ins and Dives, Chopped, etc etc etc. I am always surprised how many new shows are created, and always surprised how much I love every one of them.

Guess what? I'll never get tired of cake competition.
Guess what? I'll always be stressed when it comes down to the final seconds of competition.
Guess what? I always look into cooking classes when I'm watching shows.
And guess what? I think the British judges are always unnecessarily harsh on the competitors.

The past few months whenever I travel I always look in advance to see if there are any Diners Drive ins and Dives, I've been to several and am always in love with the food. I think Guy Fieri and I would be great friends.

I love the ambition of chefs; I love their creativity, their competitive nature, and how talented they are. Maybe later on in life I'll take on the (intense) hobby of competitive cooking.

i love google logos!

My Most Favorite Christmas Movies.

It's iPhone Picture Friday!

Things I Love.

In no particular order:

1. Gnomes (normandarchie.blogspot.com).
2. Owls.
3. My iPhone.
4. My books...reading reading reading.
5. Watching movies cuddled up in my PJ's.
6. An ice cold coke.
7. Cheese. Feta, mizithra, brie and manchego are some of my fave's.
8. Baking.
9. Giving gifts.
10. Traveling.
11. Going someplace, any place, new.
12. Kit kats from the fridge.
13. Goldfish from a bowl.
14. Boots.
15. Singing outloud in the car.
16. New pillows.
17. Christmas.
18. The color pink.
19. Lord of the Rings. *More specifically, The Two Towers.
20. Donald Miller.
21. Twitter.
22. Angry Birds.
23. My yellow house.
24. Animals.
25. Apple cider.
26. Fingerless gloves.
27. Doubling up on scarves.
28. Orville's Tender White popcorn.
29. Looking at clouds and the moon.
30. World maps.

It's iPhone Picture Friday!

Irrational Fear #8

I have an irrational fear of getting stuck in a revolving door.

I'm afraid that when I'm in mid-turn, someone is going to shut me in. Or I'm going to trip and fall while in mid-turn and the door is going to keep going. I'm a little claustrophobic, so that also has something to do with it.

I don't like these doors. I will avoid them at all costs. I would rather walk around an entire building to find another entrance or exit than walk through these doors.


See previous irrational fears here.

Choosing, Identifying, Eliminating

Choosing the people you want in your life is so important, actually -- the word 'important' is an understatement, I would go as far to say it's imperative for your life. Choosing who you want to invest in, who you want to spend your time with, and who is vital to growing who you are is so important.

I was home in OC last week, spent 10 glorious days with friends and family and my schedule was super packed. It's not because I'm popular, it's because I wanted to spend time with the people I love and miss.

Every time I see someone I haven't seen in a while the questions are always the same, "How's Seattle?" "How's your work?" "Do you like the weather?" -- very "reunion-ish" if you will. I don't mind it -- I actually love it. But it's after the reunion talk that I love the most...just talking about life, getting past the small talk and having intimate, deep conversation.

Proverbs 27:17 says, "Iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another."
1 Corinthians 15:33 says, "Do not be misled, bad company corrupts good character."

Choosing who you want to sharpen is important.
Choosing who you want to sharpen your character is important.
Choosing which friends you want to influence and shape who you are, is important.
Identifying the "unnecessary" relationships and allowing them to fizzle is important.
Identifying the negative, bad influence, discouraging and drama people in your life, and intentionally cutting them out may seem harsh -- but obviously important.

Whenever you say "yes" to spend time with someone, you're essentially saying "no" to someone else. The important thing is that you identify the people in your life that aren't challenging you, helping you grow, or have your best interest at heart. We all need people in our lives who encourage us to become the person God intends us to be, who lead us down the right path.

Identify who those bad influences. Eliminate them from your life.
Choose people with strong conviction, good morals, and place a high value on learning, loving, and leading -- bring them into your life and cherish their friendship.

Your identity is dependent on you identifying the right people, the wrong people, and the missing people.

It's iPhone Picture Friday!

There is a fine line...

...Between entitlement and pride.
...Between love and lust.
...Between confidence and arrogance.
...Between annoyance and hate.
...Between fake smile and real smile.
...Between adoration and love.
...Between complaints and gossip.
...Between exhaustion and apathy.
...Between admiration and jealousy.

I believe it's the logical side of you that reveals reality and helps you understand which path to take, and help define which side of the "line" you should be on. However, I also believe it's your heart that instinctively tells you which path to take, sometimes without rhyme or reason. It's the "heart" concept I have always struggled with.

I consider myself a very logical person: I think in advance, consider all the options, and develop a logical plan that is best suited for all parties involved. This can be a good and bad thing. Luckily, I have enough people in my life who are opposite -- and can continually stretch and challenge me to follow my heart opposed to my pro/con list. For example, I may or may not have once made an excel pro/con list for a guy I dated. Filled with characteristic listings and a priority numbering system. Too much?

There is a distinct line between thinking with your heart and thinking with your head. I don't think one is better than the other -- it's all about determining the balance. Personally, I'm still searching for that balance...

Official WA Resident

It's official: I am no longer a resident of California. I now officially reside, vote, and pay taxes in the state of Washington.

Washington: the home of recycle and compost Nazi's, the home of overcast and drizzle, the home of Pearl Jam, Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain, Soundgarden, Sir Mix-a-Lot, Rainn Wilson, Bill Gates, and Starbucks.

After getting my license and new plates this weekend, I feel a sense of relief (because I've been putting it off for so long...and I think that's illegal), and a sense of peace. It's funny how simply admitting something outloud can bring peace to a situation, and making a decision (even if you have doubts that it's the right one) can relief so much pressure.

Welcome home, Ange!

Falling in Love with Fall

I am amazed everyday when I see these crazy beautiful trees here in Washington. Growing up in SoCal we don't really have "fall" -- just "chillier than summer." So I've been falling in love with Seattle (finally) as fall has started to set in.

What do I love about it? The gorgeous, stark colors of the trees. The crispness of the air. The drizzle rain. And the anticipation of holidays!

If you've never experienced a Pacific Northwest fall, I suggest you plan a trip asap.





And as you're flying up here...you get to look at this crazy beautiful too!

I don't like Halloween.

I don't like being scared.
I don't like people celebrating evil.
I don't like seeing people dressed up like ex-Presidents.
I don't like creepy jack-o-lanterns.
I don't like creepy things like spiders, cob webs, blood seeping from mouths of "dead people," skulls and red flickering hearts exposed through mannequins.

Last year on Halloween I was flying to Florida for work, and the flight attendants kept making spooky noises over the intercom -- it was quite hilarious. But, if it was during a red eye flight I probably would've tripped them as they came down the aisle.

This year, I will be in Florida again (random) for work. Most likely my co-workers will also be making spooky noises all day long.

What DO I like about Halloween?
Harvest Parties.
Candy.
Dressing up in ridiculous (not scary) costumes with friends.
And of course, the wereworf bar mizvah.

The question is always:

What's next? What will be the next big thing in my life? Where will I travel to? What's my next goal? What's my next project?

I always seem to be asking these questions. I'm always working on really cool projects, trips, working towards goals I accomplish -- but immediately following completion I seek out what's next. But I'm constantly pulling myself back in and reminding myself to be patient and just let God do His thing.

God's timing is perfect, and when it's time for the "next big thing" to happen it'll just happen. God doesn't need reminders. God doesn't need me to "activate" anything through questioning or begging -- He just needs me to be obedient.

I'm the first to tell you that I'm not perfect, very far from it. I make mistakes on an hourly basis. Patience has always been a big struggle for me, it seems as though it's a struggle that a lot of us deal with (hence why God mentioned it so many times in the Bible.) A lot of sin derives from being impatient, but I believe the root cause is pride. It's the pride that lives in our hearts that provokes our selfish desire to put our personal timeline on what "should" happen in our life.

A few weeks ago I was having lunch with my good friend, Ryanne, and she wisely stated, "entitlement is the new pride." I couldn't agree more. It seems as though entitlement is an unsaid trendy characteristic that a lot of people from our generation are developing. It's within this sense of entitlement that breeds impatience.

Impatience is linked to pride, and our sense of entitlement gets in the way which shows our immaturity and lack of faith. Let's be honest, God has it under control and He doesn't need our help. He just needs us to shove aside our control issues and insecurities and dive into His plan for our lives.

Easier said than done, I know. But if diving in will squash my impatience, then I'm in.

It's iPhone Picture Friday!

It's iPhone picture Friday!