Word Of Mouth

New Blog

2010-11-02T18:42:00.000-07:00

I am recently into re-crafting and re-purposing furniture, fabric, spare bike tubes, and pretty much anything else I can get my hands on. I have decided that with my new interests, I am starting a new blog as well. Please follow me as I make another attempt at staying on top of things and posts will come as I complete projects. Check out my new blog here.

My Bag!

2010-10-23T16:59:00.001-07:00

This is the bag I made of spare bike tubes! I gave it to my friend for her diaper bag for her new baby and even though I wanted to keep it, it will be very useful and was much appreciated! Here it is (Rupert's checking it out...):

and it has pockets:
If you know anyone who would like to get a bag like this, let me know! Who knows, maybe it will be my next profession!

I'm Back!

2010-10-17T13:45:00.000-07:00

It's been exactly a year since my last post-how weird! Clearly, the whole consistent updating is not my thing but I'm giving it another try. This post is about a few projects I've been working on recently. I went to a thrift store not long ago and got these chairs and this old sewing table.

We've been needing a few new chairs for our kitchen table and the sewing table was so neat that I had to get it. After sanding down the chairs, re-staining them, adding a little paint and gloss, they now complete our kitchen table set!
The dresser was a little more time consuming. I sanded it all down and wanted a red color stain so I could still see the grain. The top was also a little difficult so I ended up turning the hinges around so the wings hang at the side. I stained it red and then found some tiles at the Habitat Re-store for the top. I wasn't thrilled with the stain so I ended up resanding it and painting it again, this time blue and with some white knobs, this is the (almost) final project. I need to get knobs for the top drawer but need longer screws because the wood is thicker than the other drawers. Re-doing things may be my new favorite past time!

Benefit

2009-10-17T13:31:00.001-07:00

Life has been pretty busy out in Sacramento. I've been working 2 part time jobs, one with Clean and Sober and the other with El Hogar. El Hogar provides mental health services for individuals in Sacramento and I'm working as a service coordinator. I've been there for about 1 1/2 months and will be going full time in November. I'm staying with Clean & Sober through the annual benefit, where there is a silent auction and dinner. I'm excited about it this year because Kevin will be out for it. Kevin and Brian are both coming to visit this weekend, but Brian won't be here until Friday night. After the Benefit, it'll be nice to have some time to relax and hang out with Kevin and Brian. If only Stephanie could come out too!

Meghan's site

2009-09-07T20:28:00.001-07:00

I'm putting in a plug for my old roommate's current endeavor. Meghan is a registered dietitian who I lived with my first year of volunteering in Sacramento. Her site is below and also with the links on the side. Check it out!

http://www.dietitianmeghan.com/

Yosemite

2009-09-07T19:42:00.000-07:00

For Labor Day weekend, I went to Yosemite with my roommates and a guest from Friendship park at Loaves & Fishes. We went up Saturday and then Sunday went hiking. The guest from Friendship Park has a lot of experience rock climbing and is well known in the climbing world, even with his own website. He had lived in Yosemite for a while and knows all the ins-and-outs. The climbing world is interesting, almost like a whole different culture. We met some of his climbing friends and then hiked up to the base of El Capitan. We didn't do any real rock climbing but managed to get pretty high up on the mountain to see some beautiful views. The whole trip was pretty good. I was a little stressed because the trip wasn't very well planned and I usually like to have everything ready before I leave. It worked out well though and we all had a good time.

El Hogar

2009-08-28T21:06:00.000-07:00

I have recently started a new job! I was hired part time at Clean & Sober as Program Assistant which was fortunate because I wasn't quite ready to leave yet. I just love the people too much. Because it is only part time, I was looking for another part time and got lucky! A friend of mine out here works at El Hogar and is returning to school in September so he is now working part time. I'm picking up the other 20 hours!

El Hogar is a mental health clinic where I will work as a Service Coordinator. I have a shared case load of ~80 people who I check in with, meet with and help out whenever necessary. I have been there two days so far, training under my friend. Monday will be the first day that I'm on my own which I'm excited for but I still have more training to do. It's a job through the county so there is more paperwork and general rules to follow so I'll be learning a lot over the next few weeks-months. As I learn more, I'll update more!

Tomato Plant

2009-06-18T23:19:00.000-07:00

I came home the other day and checked my tomato plant on the way in. I was so excited to see two baby tomatoes, about the size of a small marble. When I move next week, the tomato plant will be coming and have more room to grow. When the tomatoes are large enough to be seen in a picture, I will post a picture.

Happy Birthday Stephanie!

2009-06-16T20:47:00.000-07:00

It's not actually until tomorrow, for us but because she is in Hong Kong, it's Stephanie's Birthday today! Hope you're having a great time, Miss you!

Transition retreat

2009-06-07T08:28:00.000-07:00

I've decided to announce that I will no longer commit myself to writing on this blog. Every time I say that I will be better, I'm not so I'm thinking that maybe by not making myself write, I'll start wanting to. So I'm not ending my blog, I'm just not promising that I will write often (not like I do now so it won't really be a big change).

I'm in Philadelphia for transition retreat. It's a little repetative, as I was here last year for the same thing but it's a nice break from Sacramento. Also, tomorrow after I'm done here, I go to Philly for the night to visit Rye, my long lost roommate from Villanova. I'm very excited to see her as it has been far too long. Then Tuesday I return back to Sacramento.

A brief update, a few weeks ago, I went home for Kevin's graduation from UMass. Congratulations Kevin, you did it! Things at Clean & Sober have been good but busy. We're doing a running club with some of our residents which is great. We meet two mornings a week and it's really inspiring to see some of our guys (and maybe girls in the next session) train for something and then complete it. We did a 5K at the end of May and everyone crossed the finish line.

That's about all for now, I'll write more on the job front when I return to Sacramento and hopefully figure things out a little more.

dog sitting

2009-05-11T08:31:00.000-07:00

Over the past few weeks, I've been dog sitting for two separate people. One has a rescued dog named Norton. He is very hesitant to let anyone near him because he was abused so badly but he's very sweet. The other family has two dogs, both little dogs but not the type that you put in a bag to tote around. They're actually cute. I really like watching dogs. It gets me out of my house for a few nights and they're so much fun to take out for walks. The only drawback is that I'm allergic to dogs but not bad enough to keep me away. I will definitely get a dog as soon as I am able.

Camping

2009-04-26T20:16:00.000-07:00

Last night, Cara and I decided to go camping. It was very spur of the moment. We both needed a little time out of Sacramento and had been talking about going camping so last night, after packing the car at 8PM, we left for Rollins Lake. Rollins Lake is where the camp out is for Clean & Sober each year so the only time I had been there was with 1200 other people. Last night it was great. We got up there and set up the tent and started a fire and just hung out. This morning, I walked around the lake and then started another fire for some oatmeal. Around 11AM, we headed back to Sacramento. It was a very quick trip but really nice to get away for a little bit. The picture is of the log Cara found for the fire last night. We hadn't brought any wood and it was the only one she could find in the dark. It was very amusing, although not very effective.

Parents Weekend!

2009-04-22T21:15:00.000-07:00

On Saturday night, my Mom and Dad came to visit! They got in late Saturday night so I dropped them off at their hotel and then Sunday, we went flying. One of my Dad's fraternity brothers lives out in this area and has a 6 person plane and offered to take us up. It was great. We flew over Folsom Lake, which I've biked to a few times and it was beautiful. I have lots of pictures to put up later so you can all see the views. Monday, we went shopping and then to dinner. Both my parents ended up getting a few things for themselves, and I got blamed for their extra spending:) They left Tuesday morning so it was a quick visit but a lot of fun. If anyone else wants to come out and visit, you are more than welcome too!

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T17:25:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter everyone! I hope everyone had a nice day. My Easter was nice and relaxing. After going to church and cooking up a big brunch with Cara and Andrew, I went to a park nearby for the Clean & Sober cookout. It was a lot of fun. A lot of people came and there was tons of food and fun. There was an Easter egg hunt for the kids and then one for the adults (the eggs for the adults had $). It was really nice seeing the kids of the people I work with because before now, I had only heard about them. After getting back from the cookout, I went to a park near my place to read for a bit and am now getting ready to grill some food for dinner. Happy Easter!

GO NOVA!!!

2009-03-29T13:49:00.001-07:00

Villanova has advanced to the final four in a great game last night against Pitt. Let's hope they can keep going!

...

2009-03-29T13:41:00.000-07:00

I think that some people may believe that I am making this up but I am againnnn without a computer. Mine crashed, again. The third time in as many months. I brought it in and should be getting a brand new one in the next few weeks. They will junk out the old one because I reached the magic number of repairs. Right now, I have Andrew's computer because he was gone this weekend but he's getting back tonight so it's my last day with it. In two weeks, I'll be better with posting.

I know...

2009-03-02T10:35:00.001-08:00

I know, it has been a while since I last updated my blog but again, I am without a computer. My computer that I got right after Christmas kept crashing and then wouldn't start up so I had to bring it to Best Buy. They, in turn, had to mail it out to have the repairs done so I have been without my computer for 2 weeks. I've had a somewhat busy two weeks too! Work has been crazy, which is why I haven't been able to update my blog from work. My free time has also been busy. For starters, Sean is visiting. He came on the 19th and unfortunately leaves tomorrow. It's been a really nice visit. We've gone to the movies, rented movies, eaten (a lot) and played games. I've been working the whole time which has worked out fine. Sean just comes in when he wakes up and hangs out in the park, where he worked last year. It's been really nice having him here.
I've also been busy with my "community." Because I have no real community, I've formed one with some past volunteers or staff from Loaves and Fishes. We have dinner every week, alternating houses and generally hang out on weekends. So although I've been very busy recently, and without my computer, things have been very good!

Happy Valentine's Day

2009-02-14T11:58:00.001-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day Everyone! I hope you all have a wonderful day and get to be with the ones you love!

Rock Climbing

2009-02-07T20:57:00.000-08:00

Friday Night I went rock climbing! Not outside or anything too intense but to a rock gym right in Sacramento. It was a lot of fun. I had been once before with my brothers and remembered liking it but I think I only did one climb. This time I did a little more but not by too much. I climbed one whole path and my arms were burning by the end. I tried a few others but didn't make it all the way. I need to work on my arm strength before I try again. It made me feel weak.

Tahoe and snow shoeing

2009-01-31T20:39:00.000-08:00

Today, I went to Tahoe with Cara and we went show shoeing! It was a lot of fun. We were up early because we brought Heather to the airport who moved back home to New Hampshire. We got to the sno-park around 12 and walked to the beginning of the trail. I had never been before but had heard it was pretty difficult. It certainly was. It took a little bit to get used to the snow shoes and the whole area is very hilly. We got a great workout and also saw some beautiful views. It was nice to get out of Sacramento for the day and get to see some snow! The day of snow was enough for me though, I wouldn't want to be back home in multiple feet of it. Here are some more pictures of our day.

A New Bicycle!

2009-01-27T18:31:00.000-08:00

I got a new bicycle! I've been thinking about getting one for a while now but just hadn't done it yet. The final straw came when I was driving the car and it stalled. This is normal for a manual car but I drive an automatic. I'd been driving the past few days because I've been really sick. Not just a cold sick but double ear infections and strep throat sick. I don't know if I'd ever been so sick. I even ended up in the hospital because I almost passed out in the shower and scared myself. I'm feeling better now but because I've been sick, I haven't been riding my old bike as much and have been using the car. Seeing that the car isn't so reliable, I would have to use my bike. This is what I had.
It's hard to tell from the picture but it is a mountain bike. It is extremely heavy so difficult to get to my second floor apartment, the tires are always somewhat flat, no matter when I put in air, and only the front brakes worked. I decided that a new bike would be a very good investment so this is what I now have.

Again, hard to tell from the picture but it's teal and black, super light and...both brakes work! It rides really smoothly and I have a feeling my ride to work will be cut down quite a bit. It certainly helped me cheer up after being sick for so long.

Lazy Weekends

2009-01-11T12:33:00.001-08:00

The weather has been wonderful out here! Yesterday, I went for a run (the first in waaayyy to long, which I am now paying for) and then went to Starbucks to use the internet. For my birthday, Heather, Cara and Andrew took me out to dinner and then out for drinks. It was a lot of fun to just hang out. It was a pretty low key night where I got to play Yahtzee! It was on a computer thing at one of the bars we went to and because it's my new obsession, I had to play.
This morning has been really nice as well. I went to church this morning, after biking all over Sacramento because I got the times confused at different churches. Then I went to the local art museum to see an exhibit on Warner Bros. It was cool to see how each character was created. I didn't realize however that they stopped making Warner Bros. in 1969. Now I am again sitting in a coffee shop using the internet. It's nice to have the weekends to do whatever I want...although I will be heading home soon to clean my apartment for the housewarming with the Sisters of Mercy on Tuesday night.

Overdue update...again

2009-01-10T15:25:00.001-08:00

So I went home for 2 weeks for Christmas and had an awesome time. The first week was busy, doing some last minute shopping and catching up with everyone. Christmas came and went pretty quickly. We had family over for dinner and dessert and it was really nice to see everyone. On the 26th, the four kids took Mom and Aunt Nancy to the Boston Pops symphony Holiday show. First we made them dinner at Stephanie's house and then went to the show. Afterward, the four kids went out in the city for our annual kids night. We went to one bar and then to another where we played pool. It was a pretty laid back night but fun to just hang out. The next day, our whole family went bowling, another annual tradition and had a blast. I bowled a 109, which I think is my best score ever and then went downhill in the next two games.
On the 28th, my birthday, we were having Wooden shoe (our traditional birthday breakfast) when Stephanie came in, with my birthday present! My family had flown out Sean from Cleveland as my present! It was very exciting, I hadn't seen him since August! The rest of the next week flew by. Sean got the tour of Boston, hitting all the tourist sights and we had a nice New Years at Stephanie's in Boston. On Friday, Traci came from NY for a visit. It was great to see her again. We went to the art museum during the day and then dinner in Porter Square. Saturday, after running some errands, she headed back home, while I began packing. My parents took Sean and I out for dinner Saturday night where the restaurant sang him Happy Birthday, an event he had never before experienced. We caught a movie after dinner and then headed home to pack some more. We got about an hour of sleep before heading off the airport to return home. It was a great trip home, although it went a little too fast but it's also been good being back in Sacramento.

Advent Calendars

2008-12-14T16:15:00.000-08:00

This year, while shopping at Trader Joe's one day, I found an advent calendar in the check out line. It's one of those kind that has chocolate in each door so each day, you get a little piece of chocolate (not very good but still fun). Even though it's such a little thing, it's been fun opening the door each day and getting a little piece of chocolate. This may be something I start doing again each year!

Change

2008-12-11T17:20:00.000-08:00

Life on the West Coast has been busy, busy, busy recently. I'll start back at Thanksgiving, because I haven't written since then. I cooked at my house and Cara and Andrew came over. After dinner, we went to Manny's sister's house which was a lot of fun. He has a big family and they were all very entertaining. The weekend after Thanksgiving, I moved...again, the 4th and final time! I'm now in a single bedroom apartment downtown. It's great, it's a lot closer to work and to people I know and it's really cute. It's all just redone so it's nice that I'm the first one to live in it. I'll post pictures later but I want to get it all set up first. It's almost there but I've been moving a few things around.
December has been good so far in the new place. It's getting colder out here to the bike rides to work in the morning are a little rough but I still like to be out in the fresh air. Nothing else too exciting has happened in the past few weeks, just preparations for the holidays at work and unpacking/rearranging at my place. This week we'll have a Christmas party for Clean and Sober and then for Loaves and Fishes the following night. Then Saturday, I go home for Christmas! I can't wait to be back home for 2 whole weeks, it'll be so nice to see everyone and hopefully see a little snow while I'm there!

Truckee

2008-11-18T09:38:00.000-08:00

This past weekend, I went to Truckee with Heather (an old JV), Andrew and Angie (also an old JV). We stayed at the house of someone who works at Maryhouse which is absolutely beautiful. It's in a ski resort area so it's right near the ski slopes and there's also a recreation center with a gym, pool and jacuzzi. It was a very relaxing weekend, nice to get away from Sacramento and see some snow. It was a much needed weekend after this past week. It's been rough since my mom left, it's been lonely living in my house by myself. I'm trying to stay busy but it's hard being unsettled, knowing that I'll be moving again soon (hopefully December 1st). I'm trying to stay positive so the next few weeks will be easier so send me good thoughts and wishes!

Computer-less

2008-11-13T11:33:00.001-08:00

I haven't made a post in a long time because I have been without my computer. I had to send it in for some repair work and just got it back recently. Unfortunately, it wasn't fixed and instead they are buying out my contract so I'll start looking for a new one sometime around Christmas. For the time being, it still works so keep your fingers crossed that it will continue chugging along.

I have a lot to update now that it has been so long. The major thing is that Traci left. She decided that she wasn't meant to be out here serving at Maryhouse anymore so she went back to New York. Again, it's been a difficult transition time but I'm doing my best at staying busy. Meghan came up from LA Halloween weekend and we had a really good visit. She has also decided to return to the East Coast so it was nice to see her before she leaves.

The following weekend, my Mom came out to visit! It was a lot of fun and good to have someone around. I'm still in the three bedroom house until the end of this month so it gets a little lonely at times. My mom and I had a nice visit, going to the zoo on Sunday and doing a little shopping on Monday. We also cooked gnocchi on Sunday and went to Ruth Chris Steakhouse on Monday night for two delicious dinners! It was a really great weekend and I'm now even more excited to go home for Christmas and see everyone!

Camping!

2008-10-24T11:21:00.000-07:00

Traci, Cara O. and I went camping last weekend! We left Friday night and got to the campsite around 9PM...we were a little late in leaving. After setting up the tent and getting a fire going, we made some hot dogs and then s'mores. It was really nice and peaceful where we went and it was far enough from the city that we could see the stars really clearly.
Saturday, after a breakfast of hot dogs and s'mores, we went for a nice long hike. It ended at University Falls which was an area of beautiful waterfalls. We climbed all the way to the bottom (well Cara and I did, and it was no easy task) and then scaled the rocks with a rope that was attached. It was so nice to get away from Sacramento for a while and be out in the nature. On the way back, we stopped and got some lunch and then made it back to watch game 6 of the Red Sox vs. Rays series. It was a very nice and relaxing weekend. Here are some pictures.

Apple Picking!

2008-10-16T21:31:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, I went up to Apple Hill with Traci, Heather and Andrew. It's about 45 minutes away and has about 20 apple orchards, maybe more. We first went to the orchard we went to last year but they didn't have a lot of good apples left so we moved on. We ended up at the third orchard shortly after and finding that we had gone too late in the season, we "picked" some apples out of some bins. It's not quite the same, although we did wander in the trees for a while looking for apples but they taste just as good. After "picking," we went to get some Cider donuts. They were delicious. We stopped for l-inner on the way back at this burger place not too far from us and then returned home. It was a really fun day and we got plenty of apples...next come the pies!

Los Angeles (kind of)

2008-10-06T20:56:00.001-07:00

This weekend, I went down to Loma Linda to visit Meghan. Loma Linda is about an 1 1/4 hours south east of LA so it was a 7 hour drive from Sacramento. I left on Friday afternoon and got there late Friday night and then we ended up catching up for a while before going to bed. Saturday, we had a nice slow morning. We slept in, made breakfast and then ran errands. We went to a few thrift stores to find some furniture for Meg's apartment and then we went to the grocery store. Around 4, we went back to her place and watched a movie before going out for dinner and drinks. Sunday, we drove into LA and went to the Museum of Tolerance and then drove around for a bit, catching the Hollywood sign. We stopped at IKEA on the way back and got Meg a new dresser and bedside table, which we then spent the rest of the night setting up. Her apartment is now coming together, bit by bit! I left this morning for the long drive back to Sacramento so I could get some things done before going back to work tomorrow. Despite the long drive, it was a really great weekend and really good to see Meghan.

Nice Weekend

2008-09-28T20:17:00.000-07:00

This weekend was just what I needed. It was very relaxing, as I had purposely not planned anything. Saturday I woke up kind of early and made some pancakes and read a bunch. Saturday night I went to Tina's and watched her baby for a while with Traci and we watched some movies while we were there. Sunday, we biked to church and then got some dounuts on the way home. It was beautiful out so I went over to the park near us with a book. There was some thing going on for state employees and they had live music. It was great. I just laid out for a few hours, got some sun and got a lot of reading in. It was a nice and relaxing weekend!

Tamale Festival

2008-09-19T11:45:00.001-07:00

Another September means another Tamale Festival for Clean & Sober! We created the World's Largest Tamale again, this year's 2 feet longer than last years and over 1,200 pounds. This year was a little more exciting, although a lot more tiring, because I got to participate in the making of the tamale. It was fun to see how it all came together. We started with banana leaves that had to over lap over each other and the grill. Then we put down masa, which is like cornmeal, about 1 inch thick over the whole thing. Then came the meat and then more masa. Then we wrapped the whole thing up with the banana leaves and tin foil and started cooking it. It took around 4 hours to cook and then we started serving it up. Like last year, we sold out pretty quickly but this year, I managed to snag a plate. It was delicious! There ended up being a part that we couldn't sell because the health department said it didn't come up to temperature fast enough, so I ended up taking some home! Don't worry, it's completely healthy, the grills had just gone out under a small section for a little bit so the tamale cooled down a little bit before anyone noticed.

Around 4:30, we all started cleaning up the park and around 6:30, we all started leaving. I had arrived at 6:30 in the morning, so it made for quite the day but it was fun anyway. I just used the next few nights to catch up on sleep! I'll post pictures when I get them from Dana, it might be a little bit though so don't hold your breath.

The New Place!

2008-09-09T19:56:00.001-07:00

First, I apologize (and I feel like this is a common theme) for taking so long to get these pictures up. The past few weeks have been a little trying in terms of community transitioning and I haven't been able to find the time to blog at all. We are now down to a community of 2, just Traci and myself as things didn't work out for Gwen. It has been a tricky experience but we have all learned and grown as a result. Here are some pictures of the new place. It's a little nicer in some ways than the last place and not as nice in others. The picture of the outside patio will be updated as I was recently motivated to get rid of some of the overgrown vines but the project is not yet completed so those pictures will come later.

Get rid of Wrinkles without the botox

2008-08-27T19:30:00.000-07:00

This title may seem a little strange but there is quite the story behind it. 6 weeks ago, Meghan and I moved into a new place so there'd be room for all three of us this year. Our landlords seemed a little intense but that turned out to not even be the half of it. The second day we moved in, the satellite guy came over to install the satellite and our neighbor and then our landlady yelled at me (because I happen to be the one who opened the door) about not making any changes. This was a huge deal for a little while but after seeing that the new holes in the roof weren't big enough for rats, she calmed down. Then last weekend, we had them over for a meet and greet along with some of our neighbors and some of the sisters. This was the first problem for them because they thought it was going to be all business. They were both rather rude the whole night, even pulling the three of us aside to go over part of the lease. Conveniently, the husband had brought air filter to change (6 weeks early) so he went into each room. After doing this, he found pictures hanging on the walls...God forbid! and they both had a big problem. We weren't supposed to make any changes without talking to them first. Saturday, I was lucky enough to see the woman again because the lawns were looking a little brown so she came to see the sprinklers. Apparently, without knowing at all, we had unplugged the timer so again, I got yelled at. Then they wanted to set up another time to go over the lease so we agreed on Sunday night. They came over, as did Sister Bridget and Dorothy (some support people) and we had a long discussion. In the end, it was decided that it would be best for us to move. We didn't foresee the situation with the landlords getting any better so we found a new place and will be moving out on Saturday. Although it's not much time to prepare and I'll miss this house, it's definitely for the better. How does the title relate? The name of our landlords is Wrinkle and one of the sister's found an add with the same wording as the title. Very appropriate timing!

State Fair!

2008-08-25T10:26:00.000-07:00

Saturday, Traci, Gwen and I went to the California state fair. It was a lot of fun. We spent more time there this year than last year so we got more of a chance to walk around and check things out. We saw a bunch of animals-cows, goats, pigs and piglets and got to eat some good fair food. I had funnel cake which was delicious. At night, we watched the Gary Allen concert and got to see some fireworks on our drive back home. It was a fun day and a good community building experience.

Big Transitions

2008-08-15T10:11:00.000-07:00

These past 2 weeks have been full of big changes. I went to orientation and during that time, most of the JVs left as did Meghan. When I got back on Sunday, I had two new roommates and most of the other people I knew were gone. I was thinking that staying on for a second year would be easier than getting another job in a different location. I think that in many ways, it is easier but the change in community and surroundings is making the transition much harder. It's been interesting getting settled with my new roommates but I think that it will be a great year, I just need to be more open to changes. Yesterday, I dropped Sean (one of the JVs and my boyfriend) off at the train station to go back to Ohio. It was a very emotional day, especially because I haven't gotten much sleep in the past week or so, and it made me think about all the recent changes and acknowledge that they were upsetting me. After doing that and getting a good night's sleep last night, I am doing much better this morning and more prepared to deal with this transition.

Orientation Take 2

2008-08-08T12:02:00.000-07:00

I've spent this past week in Pennsylvania at orientation for Mercy Volunteer Corps. It's been a long but interesting week. I've met my future community mates and the rest of the volunteers and have had fun. I'm a little sad because most of the volunteers in Sacramento are leaving this week so I had to say an early good bye but we had a bbq on Friday before I left so I had the chance to wish everyone well. I'm looking forward to getting back to Sacramento and starting this new year, I'm sure it will be wonderful! If you'd like to support me in this second year of service, click here to make a donation! I don't have a picture of my new community yet so I haven't posted a new one yet but in time there will be a new picture.

Giants Game

2008-07-30T10:40:00.000-07:00

Sunday, we went to the Giants game in San Francisco. A friend of mine was nice enough to give us some tickets so we headed down there Sunday morning to catch the game at 1:05. We drove to a bart station and then took the bart to the city which worked out very well. The ball park was really cool and the view from the seats of the Bay was beautiful. Unfortunately, the Giants lost to the Diamond Backs but that's ok, I'm a Red Sox fan anyway. After the game, we walked around the city some and then headed back to Sacramento. It was a nice end to a great weekend (minus the loss of the wallet:()

Tahoe

2008-07-30T10:33:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was very eventful. Friday I took the afternoon off and went up to Tahoe for the night. I had never been there so I was excited to see it. It took a little longer to get up there than planned as the car overheated on the way up but it all worked out ok after pulling over on the side of the road for an hour. It was great not having any set plans because we were able to stop wherever we wanted on the way there. We found a cute art and craft show and stopped at the Nevada border to walk around. The weather was beautiful and there were lots of fun stores to look in. We even went to the casino to play the slots! We eventually headed up to our campsite to set up our tent and then walked down to the Lake. It was so nice, the water was a little cool but it was beautiful. Saturday we spent most of the day at the Lake and ended up very sunburned. Four days later, I'm still a little red. I guess that our travels were meant to be eventful because on the drive back, we stopped for a very long lunch where we were forgotten several times by the waitress and then when stopping at the gas station, I lost my wallet. I have yet to figure out exactly how this happened but either way, it's a real pain. I'm trying to remain optimistic however and remember that things could have been worse. Overall, it was a great trip and I really enjoyed Tahoe. I will certainly be making a trip back there at some point.

The Big Move

2008-07-20T15:42:00.000-07:00

The most interesting news of this past month is that Meghan and I moved. Next year, there will be three volunteers instead of just two so we had to move to a bigger place. We now have a house that's a little farther away from work but closer to Sacramento State, a lot of stores and other fun places. I'm really happy with the new place. It's a three bedroom, two bathroom house with a garage and a yard! The yard is one of my favorite parts as we didn't have a yard at the last place and I've already spent lots of time outside. The house also has a lot more sunlight and space. The apartment we were in last time was very open and with the exception of a few doors, all the rooms were one big space. It was hard to be in the kitchen without waking up the other person but here, it's easy to do. There are plenty of doors and the kitchen and tv room are separated from the bedrooms. My bedroom has almost it's own wing. There's a door that goes to the backyard from the room and I have my own bathroom. It's very nice and I will enjoy the privacy. Below is a picture of our backyard (perfect for cookouts!) and here are some others of the house.

Quick Catch Up

2008-07-20T15:37:00.000-07:00

First, I apologize for going so long without posting anything. I'm going to do a quick summary of this past month and then hopefully get back to my quasi-regular posting. Father's day weekend in June, I went on an Narcotics Anonymous campout with work. There were around 1200 people there and it was an amazing experience. There were meetings throughout the day, a lake for swimming and fishing and all sorts of other activities. I went fishing for my first time and caught a fish! It was a very busy and exhausting weekend but lots of fun.
The 4th of July was a fun weekend. Friday we had a cookout and then went to see some fireworks and then Saturday there was another cookout. Other than that, not too much has been going on. It's been interesting getting ready for another year volunteering while Meghan and most of the JVs are wrapping up their time here. Next year will be an interesting transition.

Happy Birthday!

2008-06-17T08:05:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday to the most wonderful sister in the world! Hope you have a fantastic day and fun celebrating!

Congratulations!

2008-06-09T08:05:00.001-07:00

Congratulations to Stephanie for getting into her school program! I'm so proud and happy for you, now you can relax!

Home

2008-06-03T20:32:00.000-07:00

After a long trip from Sacramento, I am home. I left early Saturday morning and flew from Sacramento to LA to Cincinnati to Philadelphia, stayed in the Philadelphia airport for the night, then to Manchester on Sunday morning. I was a little tired after all of the traveling so I took a nap and then started to get ready for the surprise party we were having for my Mom. My Dad organized the whole party so all I really did was pick up some of the food and set it up once all the guests arrived. The party was a lot of fun, my Mom didn't suspect it at all and it was good to see everyone who was able to come.

Monday, my Mom took the day off from work so my Aunt, my Mom and I went into Boston for the day. It was a very relaxing day as we didn't have any plans, we just walked around, going through the park and into some stores. Today was another nice day, relaxing by a pool for a while and catching up with friends for dinner and drinks. My time is certainly going fast but I'm enjoying myself while I'm here.

Red Sox and the Zoo

2008-05-26T19:21:00.000-07:00

This weekend was very busy. Friday night, I drove down to Oakland to see the Red Sox play the A's. We went there and back in one night so it was a little tiring but a lot of fun. Unfortunately, the Red Sox lost that night, and then the next two games also. I didn't go to the Saturday game but I did get to go on Sunday and because the A's beat them all three games, a bunch of Oakland fans had brooms out because of the sweep. It was still fun to go down there though even if the Red Sox didn't win.

On Saturday, I went to the zoo which was a lot of fun. The weather was pretty good, a little overcast but it didn't rain and it wasn't too hot. Because it gets so hot in Sacramento, the summer's aren't the best time to go to the zoo because the animals don't come out but Saturday was good weather. Today, I enjoyed Memorial day by going into work in the morning and then napping and watching movies the rest of the day. It was nice to have a down day after such a busy and fun weekend.

Bad News

2008-05-22T18:49:00.000-07:00

Today, I went to the dentist because the back right side of my mouth had been bothering me for a few days. Manny recommended the dentist to me and he was very nice, except he told me that I needed to have a root canal. He hoped that I would have it tomorrow but because I'm going down to Oakland for the Red Sox game, I had it scheduled for next Tuesday. I have a feeling it will be a rough day.

Plans

2008-05-20T18:33:00.000-07:00

It's official, I will be spending next year volunteering at Clean and Sober again. A lot went into this decision and after a lot of thinking and going back and forth, I have decided that volunteering a second year is the best decision for me right now. It was hard to decide to stay out here again, away from my family and friends for a second year but it's the right place for me to be to continue to grow and learn.

Bike Ride

2008-05-18T19:49:00.000-07:00

Today, I went out for a bike ride with the intention of finding a spot along the river to lay out on. I had planned on biking for a while and had an idea of where I would stop but...it didn't happen. The one place I had planned on stopping wasn't that nice so I turned around and was going to stop at a place I had seen earlier but I couldn't get there. It was across the river and after biking in circles, without realizing it at first, I gave up. It was a little too warm, over 100, to be biking around in circles so I ended up going home. Despite being a little sweaty, I felt good having biked ~20 miles! We'll see how good I feel tomorrow however when I try sitting down. Also, today my Mom graduated from grad school, Congratulations!

Visitors!

2008-05-06T11:57:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, Erin came to visit! Erin is another Mercy Volunteer who Meghan and I met during orientation. Ironically, Erin also went to Villanova and graduated the same year but we had never met until volunteering. She got in Thursday night and left Sunday morning but it was a lot of fun having her here. She got to see where Meghan and I both work on Friday and meet the JVs that we hang out with. We went to Joe's crab shack on Friday night and then to an outside concert (for about 5 minutes) then to the JV house. Saturday, we went to McKinley Park for a while and then to a cookout at the JV house. Then she left Sunday morning, which was sad but it was great having her here.

The rest of May is also looking very busy. Meghan has a lot of visitors coming, including her parents, sister and friend and then I go home at the end of May. It should be a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to meeting new people.

and done.

2008-05-01T09:36:00.000-07:00

So the raw diet lasted for about two days. Last night, I went to a dinner where they had restaurants all around the area serving foods. As soon as I walked in, the diet was over. I just like food too much to only eat raw stuff. I may consider being a partial rawist but all that means is that I'll be eating more fruits and vegetables and less of the other stuff...basically just healthier. Maybe one day in the future I'll try again but I don't anticipate it happening soon.

Raw Diet

2008-04-30T13:51:00.000-07:00

Meghan and I have decided to try a raw diet out. This involves eating only raw food, including fruit, veges, grains (uncooked), legumes, beans and other such things and the goal is to do this for a week. It's supposed to be very healthy, all the research I've done so far says that your energy increases and stabilizes, you can lose weight and it's healthier overall. This is the second day we've been doing it and I must say, it's not very much fun. I'm tired (and this may or may not be because of what I'm eating) and I really want to eat some real food. I love fruits and veges and can see making them a greater part of my diet but there's no way that I could do a totally raw food diet for more than a week. Last night for dinner, we ate rice that had been soaking in water for 12 hours. It was supposed to be softer but it wasn't at all like rice is when it's cooked. This will either be a very rough week or I'll be ending this diet a little early.

Yosemite

2008-04-28T20:44:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, my parents came to visit! They flew in Saturday night and Sunday morning, we left for Yosemite. It was an interesting 5 hour drive and we got there around 5ish. We drove around the valley and then headed to our hotel to get checked in. We stayed at the Wawona the first night which was very cute. It was old fashioned and very pretty but the walls were very thin and our neighbors weren't exactly quiet. Our room was also pretty cold so after an interesting night, we ended up switching to the Tenaya lodge for the second night. Monday, we took a bus tour through Yosemite Valley and then walked around a bit and did some hiking. It was beautiful. It wasn't too crowded because it's still cold but the waterfalls were flowing so our timing was perfect. We ate dinner at the Tenaya lodge restaurant that night and it was very good then we got a good night sleep in a warmer hotel room. Tuesday morning we went to Mariposa Grove to see the Sequoias and this turned out to be quite the walk. The road was still closed because of the snow so we ended up walking 2 miles on the road to the trail and then another mile or so on the trail. The trees were really cool and absolutely huge. We headed back to Sacramento after seeing the trees and the rest of the visit was very nice. We walked around Old Sac and they got to see where I work. It was so nice to have visitors out here, more people should come out! Here's one of the trees, that's me inside the trunk.

Spring's here!

2008-04-16T18:12:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, the weather was absolutely beautiful. Friday night I went to the JV house and hung out. It was a lot of fun. I hadn't seen many of the JVs in a while so it was a long overdue visit. Saturday, I went to the park with a few of the JVs and Jenny and I laid out in the sun while two others played tennis. It was well over 80 which was great for a while but after getting too hot, we went to the store, got Popsicles and then headed to the JV house for a cookout and some tape ball (like baseball but with a ball made of newspaper and tape due to limited space). Sunday, I was outside all day again, playing softball in the morning with work and then going on a nice bike ride and short swim in the river later on. This weather is most certainly motivating me to stay out here a little longer although we'll see how fun it is in July and August.

Advice?

2008-04-08T20:49:00.000-07:00

I am right now trying to figure out what I want to do next year and I'm having a rather difficult time. I know it's a decision that I ultimately have to make but I thought that maybe some input from others might help. I could volunteer again (most likely the same place because I've come to really like it out here, plus I'm already trained), I could get a job in mental health out here, which I could get pretty easily, or I could move back East and work on finding a job out there. There are pros and cons for each decision which is why it is so difficult right now. Any help out there?

Parade

2008-03-29T12:17:00.000-07:00

Today, as I was laying on my couch watching a movie, I heard all this music outside. I looked out the window to see a bunch of cop cars and my interest piqued, I got up to check it out. There was a parade that went right by my house for Caesar Chavez day. Here's a picture taken from my front porch, pretty cool that I didn't even need to go anywhere to see this.

Blond

2008-03-29T12:16:00.000-07:00

Here's the picture of me as a blond. It's not very good but it was the best I could do with the lighting and all. I'll put one up later of my hair as it is now.

Fix Up

2008-03-27T12:40:00.000-07:00

So I still have to post pictures of myself as a blond but I have now changed my hair color yet again. I couldn't quite get used to the blond so I decided that I would just dye it back to dark brown. I was still at work when I decided this so I couldn't do anything about it right away, however, I had started talking about it and two of the residents decided that a third resident should dye his hair. They even went so far as to go and buy the dye, which ended up being platinum blond. I helped him dye it and it came out pretty well, although he might not be leaving it in for very long. I ended up taking the left over dye with me so I could attempt some highlights again.

I got dye on the way home and did the initial dark dye when I got back. It covered most of the blond, although it wasn't as dark as I would have liked but it was much improved. Then I did the highlights, which also came out okay but the problem was that I had to wash the highlighting dye out of my hair, which in turn washed some of the dark dye out. Now my hair is mostly light brown/reddish with some reddish and blondish highlights. It's going to be this way for a while though because I'm afraid if I keep dying it, it will just all fall out.

Whoopsies

2008-03-25T22:29:00.000-07:00

There are two reasons for the name of this post. The first is that today at work, I was playing wiffle ball and when I swung at the ball and missed, I said "whoopsies." I immediately was made fun of for using a word that apparently hasn't been used since 1959 (or so I was told). I replied saying that I was bringing it back, to which I was told, "Bring it back to Boston, not Sacramento."

The second reason for the title has to do with my hair. I have often been rather impulsive when it comes to my hair, deciding in a minute that I should cut it, by myself, which doesn't always turn out well. I've decided to grow it out a little bit however so instead of cutting it, I decided to add some highlights. My hair gets natural highlights with the sun, which have already started coming out, but I was ready for a change and wasn't feeling very patient so I went and got some highlights. They were supposed to be chestnut and with my hair color being rather dark, they shouldn't have been very noticeable, just a slight change was all I was looking for. After washing the dye out however, I found that my hair was a little blonder overall. In the past, my hair hasn't taken very well to dye, with the exception of an accidental black hair dye incident but apparently, the highlight dye is a little stronger. Oh well, as Meghan pointed out (and she has yet to see my hair so her opinion may change a little) I might as well do this now before getting a real job. I'll post a picture later so you can all see me as a partial blond.

Easter

2008-03-25T22:27:00.000-07:00

This Easter was the first year that I was away from home, kind of like Thanksgiving. It was a great day anyway even though I still missed being home with my family. New Start had a cookout/Easter egg hunt/softball game that quite a few people ended up going to. I played softball for a good chunk of the day, ate a hamburger for my Easter meal, and met the families of some of the residents. It was a lot of fun!

Lent

2008-03-21T07:11:00.000-07:00

Lent officially ended yesterday, on Holy Thursday. I had given up junk food so naturally, all I ate yesterday was junk food. I started the day with a chocolate chip cookie (one that had been frozen from a package I had so luckily received) and then continued eating cookies for the rest of the day. I don't have an exact count but I definitely ate more than 20 cookies. Quite disgusting really. There were points in the day where I thought I was going to be sick and around 1PM, I was crashing from my sugar high. It goes to show how much sugar does to your body. I will begin exercising some more self control after yesterday's experience.

Shamrock'n Half Marathon

2008-03-16T18:01:00.000-07:00

This morning, I ran a half marathon! I was very proud of myself. It was over in West Sacramento, which I had always heard was a little sketchy but the run went through a really pretty part of the city. I had been training some but it was still a real push for me to finish but I did it in 2 hours, 26 minutes. It's a little slower than my time from the 10-mile race I did last year but I'm still very happy with it!

Wiffleball

2008-03-13T19:25:00.000-07:00

The weather out in Sacramento has been great. 60s-70s and sunny almost everyday. Because it's been so nice out, I've been spending a lot of time outside at the programs. We play a lot of wiffleball and plastic horseshoes. I'm not so great at horseshoes but it's just nice to be doing anything outside. I'm so excited that it's only March and it's already beautiful weather. It should make for a great spring/summer.

2008-02-28T10:21:00.000-08:00

Work has been very busy recently but it's been fun too. I've been hanging out at New Start 2 where they only have one manager right now and I'm getting to know everyone out there. This morning though was great. Tina was out of the office and I was doing an intake. The phone rang and it was this guy who comes in a lot and is basically just a big pain. A little background, he is very arrogant and thinks he knows everything about everything and likes to lecture everyone about money and the likes. He's clearly not all there. For example, he has been in the program a few times and the last time, he got arrested for public drunkeness and while arguing with the managers about why he shouldn't have been kicked out, he was rolling a joint in the office.

So this morning, I talked to him for a minute the first time and he was asking for someone to go get him from the hospital. I told him that we don't do that but he kept talking so I put him on hold. He called back after hanging up and started talking again. This time he was a little angrier that he had been cut off and I told him that I couldn't talk that I had to do an intake and hung up. The next time he called back, he told me that he wished I would f*ing die and to that I said, thanks! He's such a pleasant man and it made a great and entertaining start to my day!

Karakoke

2008-02-24T19:42:00.000-08:00

Last night, we went to dinner at Andrew's house (the ex-MV) and then out to Pine Cove, a little bar near us. We like this bar because it's not too far from us and it's usually a good age group, not too old but not really college age either. Pretty much our age which is great. We went there on Valentine's day also and Jenny, a JV, sang karaoke. I was going to but got to nervous so I didn't then but last night I sang Man, I feel like a woman by Shania Twain. I sang it with Jenny because I was still to nervous to do it myself but maybe next time it will be just me. I'm moving forward with little steps.

Mercy PRN

2008-02-21T09:39:00.000-08:00

Last night, I went to a dinner with some Sisters of Mercy for the Mercy Perinatal Recovery Network. The program works with women who are either pregnant or have young children and are addicted to either drugs or alcohol. It's a great program and the night was fun. They had people singing and impersonating more famous individuals, the Sacramento Ballet performed and there was this artist named David Garibaldi who made two paintings in the matter of just a few songs. It was great to watch and made what could have been a rather slow night very exciting.

Babysitting the Baby!

2008-02-17T18:06:00.000-08:00

Last night, I got to babysit for Tina's baby. Tina hadn't been able to go out on Valentine's Day so she wanted to celebrate and I said I would watch the baby. She's so cute. Her name is Katt and she was really good for most of the night. She laid on her little play mat and talked to herself in baby talk. The last 20 minutes of the night however, she just screamed. Luckily it was only the last 20 minutes and it was a combination of her tummy hurting and her nose being stuffy. After being attended too by her parents, she went back to being the cute little baby again. Here she is.

Flowers and McKinley Park

2008-02-16T14:14:00.000-08:00

This morning, I picked up some donations from Trader Joe's for work. They generally have flowers for us but because it was Valentine's this week, they had tons so after bringing them to the programs and into the dining room at Loaves and Fishes, there were some for me too. I put them in a few vases around our apartment and they look so pretty. They really just brighten the whole place up and they smell good too!

On another cheery note, I went running at McKinley Park today. This park is great! It's about a 1 1/2 miles from our house and it has everything. There's a dirt path that goes around the whole thing, about a mile around, which is where I run. There's also tennis courts, a baseball field, large open fields, a great playground, a duck pond, and even a library. There's also a pool, which I went to once in September. It costs a dollar for adults to go and it's pretty big so it's great to do laps or just lay out around. I can't wait for the weather to get warmer so I can hang out at the pool or just at McKinley Park.

Dinner

2008-02-15T19:38:00.001-08:00

Today at New Start 1, one of the resident's brothers, who owns a restaurant, brought a bunch of food over for dinner. It was a bunch of delicious Mexican food and although I couldn't eat a lot of it (because I really try not to eat meat on Friday's during lent) it was still delicious. It was a great community event and lots of fun, especially because I was lucky enough to be invited:)

Happy Valentine's Day!

2008-02-14T23:28:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! Today I was in the spirit with my pinkish-reddish shirt and my heart socks. Tonight, we went out to a bar nearby to watch some karaoke. A fun day overall, I hope everyone else had a good one too!

Egg whites

2008-02-12T15:22:00.000-08:00

While in Chicago, I was told that I don't post enough stuff on my blog. I said it was because I didn't have anything interesting going on to which my sister said, neither do I, I just post random things. This will be the beginning of my effort to post more often, whether anything is really going on or not.

As for the egg whites, last week, I was making breakfast and I had cracked some eggs. I crack eggs into a cup because we have lots of cups and not many bowls so it makes more sense. Unfortunately, this particular morning, I was not completely awake and was trying to do several things at once. I went to drink some of my orange juice but instead, took a nice gulp of raw egg whites. It was terrible, the texture and taste are both revolting and had I eaten anything that morning, I would have definitely thrown up. Luckily, the eggs were my breakfast so there was nothing in my stomach but it was still a completely disgusting experience.

Back from the cold

2008-02-12T15:16:00.000-08:00

Last Wednesday, my Uncle passed away so I went to Chicago on Saturday for the services. Both the services were really beautiful and I was glad that I could make it out there. Despite the sad circumstances, it was really nice to see the Chicago part of my family. We don't see them very often (like once every 5 years or so) and it was good to be able to spend some time with them. We decided that we will have reunions more often for no reason at all, just to get together. Despite having a nice time in Chicago, it's good to be back in Sacramento, if for no other reason than the weather. Chicago was freezing, I think the high was 4 degrees when we were there. Today, I flew into a nice 60+ degree day. Hopefully, the weather out here will continue to be so nice!

Back from retreat

2008-02-03T13:23:00.000-08:00

This weekend, Meghan and I went down to Moss Beach for our Mercy retreat. It was a pretty good weekend but had I not been sick, it would have been much better. We left Friday afternoon where I moved from my bed where I had been laying with a fever into the car, where I spent the trip down trying to sleep. When I got to the house, I got back into bed and slept for a few more hours. I made it down to some of the activities on both Friday and Saturday but this morning was really the first day I was feeling better. The house was beautiful though, right on the beach and I had the chance to go down to the beach for a little bit this morning before leaving. I'm now feeling better, although it still feels like someone is kicking me in the head so I'll be taking it easy for the rest of the day. The superbowl starts in just an hour and a half so I'll be parked on the couch watching that. Go Pats!

Much needed weekend

2008-01-20T13:41:00.000-08:00

This weekend has been nice and relaxing, and it was much needed. The past week has been a little crazy. I wasn't feeling great in the beginning of the week and then worked a 14 hour day Thursday and a 10 hour day Friday. The managers out at New Start 1&2 have been sick so Thursday, I was at New Start 1 so the managers could sleep. I ended up staying there until 10 (curfew) and then finally going home. Friday was an early morning as I went to court with one of the residents and we had to leave at 7:30. After having a late night the night before and not sleeping very well, it was rough waking up. Then Friday afternoon, I was at New Start 2 so those managers could rest up. There was a lot going on at New Start 2, and being already exhausted and having people asking for stuff (most of which should have been taken care of) got me even more frustrated. After finally getting home at 5:30, I went for a much needed run and got out a lot of my frustration.

After running, we went to the JV house for dinner which was really nice. It was both of the JV houses so there were about 17 people altogether. Then I went to bed nice and early. Saturday, I went for a run then spent the day cleaning and organizing our apartment. It's much nicer now, it was starting to stress me out before. Today, I woke up early, went to church, ran and now am sitting on the couch for the rest of the day watching the Patriots! Maybe after the game, I'll even take a nap...who knows:) After this relaxing weekend though I'll be ready to go back to work in better spirits than Friday.

Update

2008-01-13T11:24:00.000-08:00

So no news on what happened behind our house. It was apparently just some sort of take down that unfortunately happened very close to us so all excitement associated with that is over.

My time since being back has been good. It was hard to leave home but nice to see everyone out here again, they made my transition back a little easier for me. Other than that other night, life has been pretty uneventful out here. Tina is back in the office after her maternity leave so I'll be doing some different stuff. Probably spending more time at the programs but I'll be trained to do assessments and be able to get more information out of people. It should be interesting and I'm excited for what's to come.

This weekend we went to the Pinecove bar with some of the JVs. It was a lot of fun. Then Saturday I did laundry. I know this doesn't sound very exciting but I haven't been able to do laundry very easily recently because the washer we usually use broke. I have done it at the programs a few times but it's kind of hard so it was nice to have the day to do all my laundry that I had.

Sketchy Happenings

2008-01-09T22:20:00.000-08:00

First, I apologize for having out of order posts here but this just happened so I wanted to get it in before finishing up my catch ups. I was sitting on the couch in our apartment when I hear sirens go by. Not really anything new but these were really close so I opened the shade to see them go right by our corner. Then Meghan came out of her room asking if I had heard "that." I said that I had seen the sirens and she said no, there was someone behind our house yelling "get down on the ground now." We went into her room and pulled up the shade just enough to see out and heard more yelling. We couldn't see anything because of our fence, thank goodness, but there were 8 or so cop cars on the street right near us. I'll take a picture tomorrow so it's easier to understand but it was definitely a little more than sketchy. I'm going to keep checking the news online to see if anything comes up.

Home for Christmas

2008-01-09T21:51:00.001-08:00

Wow, it's been quite a while since I last posted but here's the beginning of a few day catch up. I was home for a week and a half for Christmas and my birthday and it was great. I got home the 19th and surprised my mom by going into her classroom where I met all her students. The next few days I worked on cleaning my room. I had left it relatively clean but while I was gone, my parents redid the carpet and as a result, had all my stuff dumped in my closet and on the floor. Christmas eve came before I knew it and after reading the Night Before Christmas, we all went to be to wait for Santa! Well he came so I guess we had all been good! I got some good stuff but the best part was seeing all of my family.

The 26th, I went out to do some shopping and got a new phone for my birthday! That night, we went bowling and out to dinner. I didn't do too well bowling but it was a great time. I'm going to have to start going more often to get some practice in.

The next night, Stephanie, Brian, Kevin and I went out to Cleary's and then the Bee Hive in Boston for our sibling night. It happened to be my birthday at midnight so they sang to me in the bar. It's great now that we're all over 21 so we can actually all go out together. When we got back to Stephanie's, we had some delicious cupcakes that she had made earlier.

Friday night, we went to my Uncle's for another family party and it was great to see everyone who hadn't been at our house for Christmas. Overall, it was a great time at home and it was definitely a little hard to leave.

Busy Busy

2007-12-13T13:27:00.001-08:00

This week and next week are looking very busy. Tuesday night we had dinner over at Chris and Dan's (the ex-nun, ex-priest founders of Loaves and Fishes). That was a fun night, the JVs were there along with other volunteers our age from Loaves and Fishes. Yesterday, we had Sister Libby and Dorothy over for dinner which was also a fun night. Tomorrow, we have to go speak at some dinner for people who will hopefully donate money to Loaves and Fishes. Saturday, the JVs have their famous Christmas party and then Sunday, we have some concert during the day and then dinner with Sister Bridget. Next week, there's a party at transitional with New Start 1 & 2. We're going to have games, prizes and karaoke! I'm going to make some of Stephanie's sugar cookies and decorate them at New Start for the party. It should be a blast. After all this busy-ness, I'm going home! I don't anticipate a very relaxing vacation while I'm home but I'm very excited to see my family and friends, it's been 5 months!

Mouse!

2007-12-07T08:42:00.000-08:00

So that nice little mouse that we caught behind the paper shredder and let free down the street came back. This time, it made a home in the copier machine. I copied a letter for someone and it came out on a half eaten sheet of paper. I opened the drawer to check out the situation and when I took the paper out, I could see the body of what I thought was a dead mouse. Manny happened to call at this point and I told him it was in there but that I wouldn't get it out. He called someone and had them come get it and when they lifted the part it was trapped under, it ran away! I'm finding that mice apparently don't die easily and I'll continue to have near heart attacks when they start moving. I'm just going to have to start assuming they're alive and until proven otherwise.

Fangs

2007-12-06T10:38:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, someone came in the office to do an intake and had fake gold teeth, a grill if you will. The front top teeth were all gold which was creepy enough but the two teeth on either end, where normal incisors are, are fangs. They extend much further down than normal teeth should so he looks like a gold toothed vampire...quite creepy.

Softball

2007-12-05T09:51:00.001-08:00

This weekend we had another softball game with New Start. It was New Start 1 vs. New Start 2 and I played for 1, who ended up winning (clearly because I was on that team:)) Although it was a little rough in the beginning, everyone eventually relaxed and ended up having a great time. The game was close for most of it so there was some good spirited competition and then afterwards, some people had a cook out (even though it was a little cold). Overall it was a fun day!

Christmas Spirit

2007-11-25T17:06:00.000-08:00

Now that Thanksgiving has passed, it's time to get in the Christmas spirit. Meghan and I put up some lights today as well as our fake Christmas tree. I wrapped the door in a red table cloth and put some ribbon on it and we're going to make some snowflakes later to decorate inside (keep in mind we are on a budget hence the homemade decorations). We have Christmas music playing now and will until we go home in just over three weeks! Here are some pictures of our apartment.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2007-11-22T19:38:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Today was quite the day. It was my first year away from home for Thanksgiving so it was a little sad but I still really enjoyed myself. This morning, Meghan and I went to the Run for Hunger in Sacramento. I did the 10K which was a great way to start the day off. I didn't feel quite so guilty eating so much. When we got home, we started cooking! We had decided to make our own Thanksgiving meal and invited Dana, her sister, friend, Andrew, and Mike over. Neither Meghan or I had ever cooked our own Thanksgiving meal but we were all ready for the task.

Meghan made a grasshopper pie while I peeled potatoes for mashed potatoes. I got the turkey going in the oven and made some squash. Butternut squash is my favorite but they didn't have it in the store so I ended up with carnival squash. It wasn't quite as good but it worked out. I also made my dad's famous biscuits. I had never made those before but they came out pretty well, although not as good as when my dad makes them. Around 5:30, our feast began. We had delicious turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, squash, corn, green beans, biscuits and stuffing. Then we had apple pie, chocolate strawberries, and grasshopper pie for dessert. It was a lot of fun having everyone over and having successfully made our first Thanksgiving feast. It was an acceptable second best to being home.

SOA

2007-11-21T09:03:00.000-08:00

This past weekend, I went down to Georgia to protest the School of the Americas. Up until Sister Maria invited us to attend, I had never heard of it before so I did some research. I learned that individuals from Central and Southern America trained by the SOA have been responsible for many acts of human rights violations. We left bright and early on Friday morning and arrived around 4 PM for some teachings about the SOA. Some of the other Mercy Volunteers who we had met during orientation were also there so it was really good to see them. Saturday we attended some talks in the morning and then went over to the gates of Fort Benning later on in the afternoon. Saturday night, we attended a mass with everyone who was there which was really nice.

Sunday morning was the main part of the weekend. 25,000 people gathered outside the gates of Fort Benning to stand for a few hours and then we began a slow procession. All 25,000 people walked up to the gates and put a cross up on the fences in memory of someone who had died as a result of the SOA. All the names were read out of those who had lost their lives and the entire procession took over two hours. It was very moving, especially when those who had died could not be identified by name or age but were simply identified as "child." Overall, it was a very interesting and eye opening weekend and I'm glad I could be a part of it.

Game Night

2007-11-11T12:21:00.000-08:00

Last weekend, we had a party/game night at our house. We invited one of the JVCs houses and a few other people and played Apples to Apples. It was a lot of fun, it was nice to have a kind of relaxed night where we didn't have to get all ready to go out and we could all just hang out. We decided we're going to have game nights more often.

The Car Wrapping

2007-11-11T12:16:00.000-08:00

It was Andrew's birthday last week (the old MVC) so Meghan, Dana, Erik and I decided it would be a good idea to do something special for him. We wrapped his car in saran wrap! We got it from the dining room at Loaves and Fishes and then we added on some stuff that was in Dana's car. There's a picture of the final result below...I'm just a little nervous for what may happen on my birthday.

Pumpkin Carving!

2007-10-30T19:41:00.000-07:00

Tonight Meghan and I carved some pumpkins! It was great, the pumpkins smelled delicious, we roasted some seeds and our jack-o-lanterns are great. Mine is pictured above, it has hair and everything and below, mine and Meghan's are on the front porch. Here are some other pictures I've recently uploaded from my past adventures so you can all catch up!

Halloween Weekend!

2007-10-28T20:00:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, Meghan and I ventured down to San Francisco again. The initial reason was because Brian was visiting some friends there and I was going to meet him for dinner. It just so happened that the JVC house in San Jose was having a Halloween party on Saturday night so it worked out really well. Friday night I met Brian at the BART and we took it into the Mission for dinner at a place called Range. It was a restaurant that he liked to go to when he was still living in San Fran and I provided an excuse for him to go again. It was really nice to see him-I miss having family around a little-and the food was delicious!

Saturday I spent the day poking around San Francisco. Meghan, Mike and Mike's two roommates and I walked a lot around the city just exploring. We climbed some big hills and got nice views of the city. Saturday night we headed down to San Jose, all dressed up as pirates! It was a fun night, good to meet some other JVs and just hang out. We came back this afternoon so we'd have some time to get ourselves together. It will be an early night as we didn't get much sleep this weekend.

Here's a shout out to the Sox too! The series is looking good, although it would be a little more exciting if the game right now was closer but GO SOX!

The Benefit!

2007-10-28T19:54:00.000-07:00

So after weeks and weeks of planning, calling radio stations, picking up donations and the like, the benefit has come and gone...and successfully! There were about 400 people there altogether and everyone had a great time. The benefit is really a time for Clean and Sober to raise some money by having a dinner with a silent auction and raffle. It's great for the residents because it gives them the opportunity to "shine." Tuesday, we went shopping with some of the residents so they could find outfits for the big night. Everyone gets all dressed up so they look wonderful, feel wonderful and have a great time. It was really nice to see everything come together after having worked on it for a while now. A few people made speeches about their stories and how far they have come but my favorite part was the count down they did at the end. My boss started calling people up by the amount of clean time they had so starting at 12 years and going all the way down to 1 day. It was really great to see everyone up on the stage together forming such a strong community. All the work that went into the Benefit was definitely worth it.

Apple Crumb Pie

2007-10-19T19:07:00.000-07:00

So I kind of forgot about my blog recently so here's a quick update. I got married but don't wear my ring to work, Meghan got a mouse in a bar, and I made 12 apple crumb pies within the last two days. Okay, so only two of those are true. I didn't really get married but Manny started that rumor so people would leave me alone at work-not that anyone was really bothering me too much.

Meghan did get a mouse in a bar the other night however and I did make 12 apple crumb pies in the past two days. We went to this place called the fox and the goose and Meghan sat at this table where there was this computer mouse. She kind of looked at it funny and picked it up when the guy next to her was like, "oh yea, I brought that out in case anyone wanted it." Kind of odd, but we thought it was a clever way to pick people up so we may be trying it one of these nights.

As for the pies, we went to Apple Hills this past weekend and went apple picking. It was a lot of fun, there are a bunch of different orchards all in one area so we picked apples and had some apple donuts. Later that day, I was at New Start picking up a basket of food and mentioned making some apple pies so they loaded me up with 13 bags of apples and then told everyone that I was making them pies. I said I would not make them pies but would come over and make pies with them so that's what I did. I was at New Start II yesterday and New Start I today and made a total of 12 apple crumb pies. They got very good reviews but the sad part is, I didn't try any! I will definitely be making some more this weekend however so I can try some of my dad's famous recipe!

Costochondritis (the end of catch up)

2007-10-10T20:36:00.000-07:00

So as my ankle was starting to feel better, I reduced my intake of advil and my chest started to hurt. It was just the right side and I had noticed it bothering me a little but without advil, it was killing me. Monday night, I barely got any sleep because it was hurting so badly so I decided I'd go get it checked out at the doctors. I have Kaiser insurance out here which after going to for my ankle, I had decided that I would go there as little as possible but of course, I had to go back almost right away. I managed to get an appointment for Tuesday after convincing the nurse that I was OK and not having a heart attack. After poking around a little bit, the doctor diagnosed me with costochondritis which is a swelling of the cartilage that connects my ribs to the sternum. There's no real cause, although sometimes it is linked to a virus so there wasn't too much the doctor could do except give me some extra strength pain killers. It certainly feels better with the drugs and I slept a little better last night. It's a very interesting thing though-if anyone has unexplained chest pain, you too could have costochondritis!

Hiking (the middle of catch up)

2007-10-10T20:31:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, Meghan and I went with Sister Libby up to the foothills to do some hiking. It was absolutely beautiful with all the leaves changing (although nothing compared to home). It was really more of a walking path rather than hiking which was good for my ankle, I don't think it could have handled too much rough terrain. We had a nice picnic by a little stream and it reminded me of the path that is at the end of the street at home. I was thinking about how Stephanie used to take us all down there and we'd hang out by the stream, making little boats and floating them around. It was a fun day.

Also, a belated Happy Birthday to Mom and Kevin-who is finally 21! I'm excited to go out at Christmas with all the siblings!

The move (the beginning of my catch up)

2007-10-10T20:27:00.000-07:00

So New Start II is almost completely moved. Last Wednesday-Friday the bulk of the move was really done and I spent a lot of time driving people and their stuff around, building beds and going to the dump. Luckily, no one had their bed fall which was great because I would have gotten the blame and when driving Manny's truck, I managed to only drive over 5 nails! (This wasn't really my doing but I have gotten the blame, oh well). The flat tire was an improvement from the last time I drove his truck as I backed into a cement barricade at the dump (but I didn't really do any damage then either so it was okay). Everyone has all of their stuff over at the new place and seem to have settled in well. Now people who are on the waiting list will start going in which is very exciting for me because since I've started, there haven't really been any new people.

Mice!

2007-10-10T09:40:00.000-07:00

Today at work, I went into Manny's office to do some stuff on the computer. I happen to glance over at the mouse trap and low and behold, we had a mouse! I went to get a paper towel and bag so I could take him out but when I went back and moved the trash can, he moved! I just about had a heart attack and ran out into the hall meeting Erik who asked what was wrong with me. Lance came in and took care of the mouse but my heart is still beating a little faster even an hour after it happened.

Jubilee Day

2007-10-01T12:47:00.000-07:00

Saturday was Jubilee Day. The Sisters of Mercy had a mass and then the unveiling of a statue in Capitol Park-a huge deal seeing as how it is a religious statue on government property. It's there to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Sisters of Mercy. Saturday night Meghan and I went with the JVs to get frozen yogurt at this place called Big Spoon. The place is sweet, you can make your own ice creams and then they just charge you by weight. Afterwards, we went to their house and watched Animal House (the first time I had ever seen the whole thing:0)

Sunday was a relaxing day. I got some stuff done around the house and finished reading Fried Green Tomatos. I was excited when I found it in the library a few weeks ago because I love the movie and I enjoyed the book just as much. I got a few new books at the library yesterday as well. It's nice having time to read for pleasure rather than just school-it's a new thing for me and I'm enjoying the time.

Sprain:(

2007-09-29T17:58:00.000-07:00

So I went to the doctor's this morning to get my ankle checked out. On Wednesday, I tripped and landed on it funny and then when I was running on Friday, I stepped off the curb funny and felt something pop. There was no break or any fractures but I do have a nice sprain which is unfortunate. Not only am I walking around funny with it all wrapped up (no crutches for me at least), but now I can't run until it's better and I just started a challenge on Nike.com with Stephanie. Don't worry though Stephanie, I'll catch up, it'll just be a late start.

Our Talk...and my new shoes!

2007-09-27T20:19:00.000-07:00

Our talk at Mercy High School went pretty well. We spoke for about 40 minutes and then answered a bunch of questions. We got some interest going for Mercy Volunteer Corps and it was a good experience. Last night we went and saw the movie Once which was very interesting and has a great sound track. I recommend it although I don't know how much longer it will be in theaters. Afterwards, we went out to a few bars in Oakland which was cool. Oakland is much busier compared to Sacramento and it was fun to see a new city and hang out with Mike and his roommates Julie and Rachel.
On our way back (which took forever because traffic was so bad) we stopped at the Vacaville outlets and I finally got some new running shoes. I needed new shoes really badly because mine are about 2 years old and my legs have really started to bother me. I have had a new pair in between my old ones but didn't bring them out here with me (I had pretty much run them into the ground). Anyway, because you're only supposed to put 300-400 miles on a pair of shoes and I've run about 350 just since Easter, I decided it was definitely time for new shoes. I spent a lot of time looking for some and finally found ones I liked today...and the best part was they were only $32!

Catch Up

2007-09-26T14:45:00.000-07:00

I realized I hadn't written in a bit so I decided I'd get right on that. This past weekend was nice. Meghan went to visit her boyfriend down in Oakland and I decided to stay home and hang out. I caught up on all the Real World's online and Friday night hung out with the JVs. We went to a bar/restaurant for a bit but mostly just hung out at their house. Saturday was great. I woke up around 11 and went for a run then got back home, showered, put on sweats and stayed in them all day. I had planned on getting a lot of reading done but ended up taking a nice nap instead. Then I watched City of Angels for my first time. It was a good movie and I can't believe I hadn't seen it before.

Sunday we went up to Auburn, CA to the mother house for Mercy Day. The house is really nice and very large. It was a good day, there was a mass and then a lunch afterwards. Monday and Tuesday have been relatively uneventful. I went to a fair on Tuesday and Wednesday for Clean and Sober where I hang out and pass out information at work places in the hopes of raising funds for Clean and Sober. Tonight, Meghan and I are driving down to Oakland for the night and then to Santa Clara tomorrow morning to speak at a school about Mercy Volunteer Corps. It should be quite the experience speaking to an entire senior class of girls. We'll see soon enough.

Larry King Live!

2007-09-21T12:11:00.001-07:00

Today a guy named Larry King came into the office. He's an old veteran who is homeless and comes in every once in a while to get some food or other things he needs. He has a very touching story and has even been written about in the paper out here. He sustained some injuries from the war and isn't quite all there. He gets around $1,000 a month for having been in the war but gives it all to the home that his wife lives in. He basically chooses to remain homeless so his wife can get the care she needs. He's a very sweet man and it's stories like this that help me get through some of the hardships every day. For example, a 16 year old came in today looking for help so we sent him to a more appropriate program for his age group. This reinforced for me how lucky I have been in life and things like this that happen every day help me realize why I'm here for this year.

Mexican Fiesta!

2007-09-21T12:08:00.000-07:00

Wednesday night, we had a bunch of the Sisters of Mercy and some people from work come over for a potluck Mexican dinner. There were about 15 people all together and the food was delicious. I had never eaten a lot of Mexican food before and didn't even know what some things were so it was good exposure for me. I'll gradually be building up a strong liking for Mexican food. Last night, we went over to the JVC house for dinner. They made chicken, mashed potatoes and risotto and we brought salad. It was nice to hang out with them again and very nice of them to invite us and save us from cooking.

Tamale Festival

2007-09-16T19:10:00.000-07:00

Today was the Tamale festival at Caesar Chavez Park. It was quite the day. People arrived at 6:30 AM to start setting up and making the tamale. For those from the East Coast who may not know because I sure didn't, a tamale is usually corn husks wrapped around corn meal (masa) with meat and stuff inside. Today, Clean and Sober was in charge of putting together the worlds largest tamale which ended up being 44 feet long! It is now in the Guiness Book of World Records. It was a great day, I had a lot of fun hanging out and getting to know all the residents a little more and I think that everyone had fun working together to accomplish such a great feat.