i knew i should have posted right when i got home from california...i'll just let the pictures do the talking. my trip was incredible in every sense of the word. i really don't know how to describe it. the time with friends was refreshing and i was spoiled in every way imaginable. thank you thank you thank you to matt, mark and amy! i have been in a state of depression since i've been back because it really was as close to paradise as i have ever been. however, i will not be sorrowful for long...i have accepted a job out there! haha. to those of you just now hearing that, surprise! i'll be working with chick-fil-a on their west coast team...changing it up a little bit...education to marketing. i'm leaving in june and as of right now, i'll only be out there through september. i'm really grateful for this opportunity for many reasons, but one of the biggest is the fact that i have finally seen the lord's purpose in other closed doors in the past few months. it's been one of those times where i know he is working out something, but i couldn't see it. i'm so excited about the challenge before me and that it doesn't involve 20 five year olds on a daily basis for 8 hours straight!! i am so burned out...i come to work everyday knowing it's going to be a hard day, but hopeful that i will somehow be strengthened to do it well and i leave defeated every afternoon. i am a monster in the classroom...i swear it's not me in there. i have no patience and seemingly no self-control. it's amazing what kids will teach you about yourself. i'm not cut out for it...okay, i'm being a bit dramatic because i do love kids a great deal...anyway, enough of that.

how did i go from talking about my amazing trip to that? oh right...because i'm moving to california!!! i can't say it enough times to make it sound real. maybe because i'm not overly excited about it. being there, yes...the job, yes...but leaving here? i love where i live...i love my church...i love my roommates...i love atlanta...i love being near my family...i love familiar! but there's always this urgency in me to throw myself into something unfamiliar to see how quickly and how well i can adjust. why is that? i'm a dreamer, i've known that for a long time, and although i wouldn't classify my life as one full of adventure, i definitely feel the pull toward it. and every step i've taken into something unknown has proven to be a rewarding one. so i'm going for it...

in other news...i'm recouperating after an AMAZING birthday weekend!! i have the best friends in the world!! suzanne and emily came up which made it that much more special. we laughed a lot...ate a lot...and watched rent. who could ask for more? we also braved twisted taco for some karaoke after dinner.

2006 can go down as the year of many firsts (and it's only march!!) i will attempt to make a list of all the "firsts" i have crammed into this year (not all of them were experienced this weekend, just so you know)

(in no particular order)
1. first blind date
2. first time in a gay bar
3. first time seeing celebrities
4. first time doing karaoke
5. first time drinking wine out of a cup
6. first time paying $40 for lunch
7. first time ordering lamb at a restaurant
8. first time seeing a west coast sunset right on the horizon

okay, i got bored with that list...in fact, i'm bored with this post...

i know you're reading this and it would be way more fun if you would make comments every now and then. be an active reader, not a stalker...

i started thinking about the whole idea of a blog. i'm not overly vulnerable when i write on here, so it doesn't really bother me, but i truly have no idea who reads this. actually, i can think of maybe five people who do...

show some love.

this calls for a picture post...

buckle in for a trip down memory lane via my last trip to california...i was going to take the time to make clever captions, but since this is the third time i've had to upload the pictures, i decided to relinquish that brilliant idea. you just need to know i spent thanksgiving '04 with jill and william in pasadena when jill and i went to visit william at school...the girl in the pictures who is not me is jill and the guy is william. we worked camp together at ridgecrest in 2004 and i had a great time with them.

looks like someone heard my plea for springtime weather! the past two days (the whole week, really) have been so wonderful! it really baffles me how weather can have such a dramatic effect on my day. i extended my class' outside time to two hours (from the usual 45 minutes) and we enjoyed our lunch out on the picnic benches. it made me so happy to see them enjoying that time...i really would move our entire school day to the outdoors if it were possible.

and the lovely weather was the last push i needed to commit to my 'spring break' plans of making an appearance out west in southern california! on march 14-20, i will be joining five of my favorite people on an exciting trip to visit our friends out there. it is so nice to have something like this to look foward to because, prior to my full commitment to the trip, i was envisioning a week of working (with the typical frustrations that brings) only to do it without my roommates and to have the reminder that they were off work and livin' it up out there. so now that the airplane ticket has officially been purchased, i can relax and enjoy the anticipation. any suggestions for the 'must do' things in LA will be welcomed...though we've already worked 'stalking adam brody' into the itinerary.

california...california...here i coooommmee! (you know i had to do it...)