Living Blossoms

Actually, it's only 9 hours till we leave Jax, and 12-13 till we get to San Salvador. It is absolutely insane to me that it's time already, and also that it's been a year since we went last time. Anyway, we are all packed and ready to go. We hope. Hehe. I guess we'll find out if we forgot anything once we get down there.

If you're wondering how you can pray for us, here are a few things: safety and good health (it has been about 10 years since I had a tetanus shot, but I completely forgot to make an appointment. All I know is that I last got one when I was 15, but that may mean I'm a month overdue or still have 10-11 months left. So obviously, I would like specific prayer that I will not get tetanus!) for the team (there are 12 from my church), great opportunities and open hearts,  and knowing what to say, if only through a translator. Pray also for team unity and good attitudes, as it will be HOT and buggy and humid and everything down there, and the food gets monotonous. And pray that we'll have a blast. Which, unless I get tetanus, I am pretty much guaranteed to have, 'cause last year was amazing, and this year I know quite a bit more Spanish and we have a real puppet stage. I'm excited.  =o)

Now, I'm off to bed, because I have to wake up around 5:30 tomorrow morning. Have a great week, all!

Throughout the day I think of so many things I want to tell you guys, but when I actually sit down to do so, they fly right out of my head. It's kind of annoying. Perhaps it's the scent of the Crock Pot Italian Roast Beef wafting through the house that's distracting me. It smells heavenly. I can't wait to taste it!

I bought the roast at the grocery store this morning and amused Isaac by calling him to ask him where one might find bay leaves. Having never heard of them until I read that recipe, I didn't know what they looked like, and I (wrongly) assumed that they were in the produce section. Heh. I then also had to hunt for a rump roast. I figured I was just not seeing it because I wasn't 100% sure what to look for (my mom has made roasts before, but I never saw them pre-cooking), but when I finally told an employee I couldn't find any, he responded, "That's because there aren't any out here right now." Now you tell me. But he brought me one from the back and told me to come back and tell him how dinner was. Hehe. And since I began cooking, the house has smelled fantastic. I'm sure it is a very unhealthy dinner, but it may well be worth it!

The Kutless concert on Thursday night was so good! We went with David and his girlfriend Jenna, which was a lot of fun. It was the least acoustic-sounding acoustic set I've ever heard though, LOL. Somehow they managed to make acoustic guitars sound more rock-like than ever before. It was at a small venue, so we had a great view even though we got there late. (I went up to the front for part of Kutless' set, though, in the extremely calm mosh pit.) It was cool to see them in a more intimate setting like this acoustic tour. They explained the reasons/stories behind a few songs, and interacted with the crowd more. I thought it was funny that the (very few) parts they yell/scream on the CD versions, they whispered on the acoustic tour. Screaming, unplugged. Hehe. Also, we were sitting near the sound booth and saw their playlist... including their "spontaneous" encore a few spaces below the rest. Ha!

The first opening act is much better on his MySpace songs than he was live. The second, though, was awesome! Their name is Esterlyn (named after one of the guys' nieces, who was adopted from China) and they're great. Similar to The Swift, Everyday Sunday, Switchfoot, etc. I bought their CD that night and have been listening to it in my car ever since. So, this is me recommending it to you. =o)

The LJ strike was fun because it made me feel like one of the Newsies. Hehe. It was funny though, how knowing I couldn't go on LJ that day made me think of going there more often than usual. Silly subconscious.

Did you have a good Easter? I hope so. Friday night we had a really nice Good Friday service at church. My Sunday didn't feel very Easter-like, apart from church. We were in a choir for a few songs, which was fun. I think that's the first time Isaac has sung up front at this church. Crazy. After that, we went to Mom & Dad's for lunch, but AAAC were still sick, so it was just us, Mom & Dad, and Seth and two of his friends who are on spring break. While we were at their house, I put some ringtones I had made for Mom on her phone. (They were the theme from her all-time favorite TV show, The Big Valley, and "My Girl" by The Temptations.) She was thrilled. =o) When we got home, we finished up watching the 2001 Word of Life Passion Play video, which is the one we were in and during which we became best friends. It'd been several years since we watched it, so it was really cool to remember that. Being in that show changed both of our spiritual lives as much as our physical ones.

Sunday afternoon I took one of the youth girls from church to what I think is the first thrift store she's ever been to. She ended up finding a cute J. Crew dress for her sister for $2. I think she's hooked on thrift stores now, hehe. When I got back from that, Isaac really wanted to go lay around at a park (sounds weird phrased like that, but we love to go down by the river, lay out a sheet, and just chill). Chill we did, though, as it was quite cold. We didn't stay very long, but it was pretty while we were there.

Yesterday we went to the Cheesecake Factory for the first time, because we had a gift card. It was really good! I got the Herb Salmon and Shrimp Scampi with steamed broccoli. The salmon was fantastic, but sadly, the shrimp was fried. I can't eat fried seafood. =o/ The broccoli rocked, because it was in the lemon juice from the salmon and the garlic sauce from the shrimp. Amazing. And I saved some to eat for lunch today. We also had to get cheesecake, since, hello--Cheesecake Factory! To see what kind, check out my latest Project 366 post. =o)

Isaac had a great idea for raising money for El Salvador. We're going to see about setting up a small photography gallery of pictures I've taken and those that another photography enthusiast in church has taken, print out 8x10s or 11x14s, mat them, and put them up in the foyer at church, and then sell them. Assuming people buy them, we could raise a lot of money that way. That would be great, since Isaac and I are hoping to raise all our money for this year's trip.

Our body fat scale has definitely bit the dust. Today it told me that I have gained 2% body fat since I started working out. Yeah. I'm doubting that.

Haha, I guess I managed to come up with plenty to write after all. Well, keep in mind I haven't written since Thursday afternoon, and you can forgive me. Right? *puppy dog eyes* ;o)