A brief hiatus
How is everyone out there? Go ahead, let me know how you’re feeling. Just let it all out. No one’s judging.
Hey –randomness–check it: 
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bathroom confessions of an American Idol hopeful
Where has my brain been, lately? That’s the question I keep wondering as I skip around from topic to topic in most of my conversations. Perhaps it is the anticipation of Slayer leaving me this Friday! Friends and coworkers can barely keep up with my random comments and rabbit-trailed discussion. What to do with the nerves? What to do?
One idea I’ve had is setting aside some quiet time, each and ever morning, to spend reading and praying. Lately, I have struggled with anything other than getting up early and rushing out the door to walk to work and or running errands before the long work day at the office begins. And that means no time to be calm or listen to the quiet each day. This morning was, hopefully, the first of many succesful attempts to spend quiet time with God. 
And since I’ve had no iPhone {or any kind of phone, for that matter} in the past 30 days, there’s no Bieber mania to distract me from the opportunity for quiet. Yes, I may supplement my loss of Bieber tunes with the occasional five minute viewing of a Never Say Never clip but Justin Bieber, as I have said before is not the worst vice. Although some of you may argue otherwise. Speaking of music/tunes: This morning I was in the bathroom when I heard someone tapping their toes and cooing their way through some saucy vocal waves when she joined me at the sink area. I should have commented over her impressive vocal range but I did not want to disrupt the music. Perhaps she’ll try out for the upcoming American Idol season. I sure hope she does! Some very talented people work in my office.
This weekend, a group of young ladies and I got together to discuss/chat about this book. And Wendy made some lovely {apparently gluten-free} chocolate pumpkin muffins. The hang-out time made a perfect ending for a camping weekend with the youth {this I will re-cap in a post later this week!} Please stay tuned for more information about my recovery journey and a possible 365 day challenge proposal!
Have a Happy Monday ~ it’s off to the ball game with the office for me this afternoon! ~
the cinnamon challenge
Last night a group of us were discussing “the Cinnamon Challenge” … apparently everyone but me has heard of it. And though no one knew any such official cinnamon challenge rule existed, we found some on the internet, of course. It was fascinating to watch David decide if he’d rise to “The Cinnamon Challenge” under peer pressure. Check out his dilemma for yourself…
Have you tried the The Cinnamon Challenge? Have you HEARD of the cinnamon challenge?
family Christmas “2011″
We did not get to celebrate Christmas 2011 as a family this past year so we made up for that this past weekend!
There were not any stockings involved but we has such a nice time together!
Pinkies up everyone!
Dad got a sweatshirt from my work…
MaShelley got a box inside of a box…
…inside of a box…you get it 
Red, white and green represent!
Appetizers and tuna steaks for the main meal…nice marinades make a world or difference at Christmas time 
Merry Christmas to the grilling team!
We even watched Christmas movies and went for traditional family Christmas stroll around the neighborhood. Fun times! Merry Christmas from your family to yours! And a happy New Year! )and happy thursday 
)
toodle dee dee two thousand eleven
How will Jasper wave out 2011 and welcome in the new year? How will she say farewell to 2011 and howdy-doo to 2012? With a “tour of homes” on the small scale! A tour of Russell Home…absolutely stunning…
Isn’t Lauren’s home beautiful? From floors to chair rails to ceiling, she gutted and renovated the entire space herself. It’s a vision, is it not?
Then we did a little Izzy and Lauren photo shoot.
And we made oatmeal cookie -peanut butter- oatmeal cookie sandwiches!
Also, Lauren came across some carob powder AND carob chips to donate for my baking causes. Gladly, I accepted such charity from her!
Lauren made herself some hot cocoa while I made myself some carob goodness! Yum!
Then Laura came over to hang out for a lovely evening of warm drinks, cozy candle-lit fireplaces and holiday movies. What a wonderful way to wave out the year 2011…
So tell us, how will you be waving out 2011 and waving in 2012?
We would LOVE to hear! Please leave your comments below and have a happy new year!
christmas gift-making
This morning I shared some frustrations of mine with my good friend. Instead of her listening with reverent nods and smiles of justifying sighs, like my controlling behaviors would have imagined she’d please me with, she asked me objective questions that called me out on my selfishness. Within the hour, I felt deep gratitude for such honest friendship and accountability; however my gratefulness swam around in what is intense self-hatred. How can healthy reprimand for my bad attitude result in such painful feelings? In all this, I can see that the heavenly discipline (through God and my good little friend) did not CAUSE me pain, it’s the self-loathing and unhappiness deep-down on which a healthy attitude-check shed some light. So now what to do with the token of enlightenment? BREAK this cycle! It’s a gift, awakening slowly to the depravity of my condition. I will ask God to help me continue making amends with him for my sad choices and chose to do something kind to myself and the Spirit of life that lives inside of me today…there’s a world of possibility for this attitude of kindness and compassion right outside (and inside-of) my cubicle opening! Stay tuned for the outcome! And PLEASE leave some ideas in your comments below~ and have a wonderful day!
look-a here at some of the neato things we can do on picnik 
and here is some of the latest and greatest footage/still lifes of santa’s workshop this year! stay tuned! more to come! and thank you, Wendy for slaving over the computer in order to send me the photos!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
jasper’s in phila!
there will be more photos to come, however, I thought I’d create a cute little tribute to my traveling buddies! here ya go!
then go look at the cute little Wordle that I made for the two of them!
little secretary
So when I was a wee 9-yr old, my BIG DREAM was to be a secretary. Maybe I watched the movie Working Girl too much – I might add that no 9-yr-old should be allowed to watch, even the edited-for-television version of, Working Girl. Nonetheless, I’d set up my grandmother’s typewriter on our rickety, old, wooden piano bench and would break out the stapler and, occasionally, the adding machine, pen-cup and ruler (for good measure, of course ) – did anyone catch that ? Well NOW, that I just finished with my Facilities Management “Ergonomic Evaluation,” I realize that my childhood dreams have come true. Now all I do is run around trying to avoid the work I once idolized: a cubicle of my own and a copy machine to crouch over…yipppeeeeee?!
And I find friends at the office to whom I’ve come in to work dressing identically?! Freaky…: D…
senior photos
Perhaps one day I will actually WRITE something worth reading on this little blog of mine. In the meantime, I’d like to quote a little Ansel in order to justify my ill attempts to add written comments on my blog…
“All I can do in my writing is to stimulate a certain amount of thought, clarify some technical facts and date my work. But when I preach sharpness, brilliancy, scale, etc., I am just mouthing words, because no words can really describe those terms and qualities it takes the actual print to say, “here it is.” Ansel Adams
“Not everybody trusts paintings but people believe photographs.” - Ansel Adams
“You don’t take a photograph, you make it.” - Ansel Adams
“I know some photographs that are extraordinary in their power and conviction, but it is difficult in photography to overcome the superficial power or subject; the concept and statement must be quite convincing in themselves to win over a dramatic and compelling subject situation.” - Ansel Adams
“There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs.” – Ansel Adams
And there you have it, no one could have said it better than Ansel himself. When I read the things he said, I understand that the man was not a brilliant photographer, he was simply brilliant. So what do other photographers say? Are the ones that are taking all of the good photos, also, speaking inspiration when they speak? Hoping to find out…
weddings
Some of my favorite activities include taking photos at wedding events. Bridal luncheons, wedding rehearsals, dinners, ceremonies and parties – they are all wonderful. Matt and Ashley Wagoner were married on May 16th 2009 and made the day special for everyone. Thank you Matt and Ashley. 
girls gone wild
One wintery day at the beginning of this year, a few young ladies and I went out for a photo shoot. They all received CD’s with their little photos on them, but for some reason none of the CD’s worked. Such a convergence of events (none of the three girls’ CD’s working) led me to believe the error was mine. Eheh. I will try to remake CD’s for each of the young ladies. Soon…and after 10 months of putting off the task.
Here are some shots from the day. What do you think?
field of dreams
This past weekend I spent both days, all day, at the Reno Fernley Raceway.
How does one get there? Well, when I asked one of the sportbike racers for directions, he said “Drive to Las Vegas…and 400 miles before you get there, turn right. “It’s true! The raceway is in the middle of nowhere. Like a field of dreams for sportbike lovers. A desert of dreams, if you will.
The Sierra Sportbike Association is like a family. Fun, helpful and they all LOVE bikes!
On day two of my desert adventure, SSA instructors Steve, Eddie, Alan and even “team manager,” Luke, took me ’round Fernley’s track! On the front straight I went 135 mph…not nearly as fast as Andy Roddick’s new service record clocked at 155 mph!
I couldn’t even move more quickly than a tennis ball. Here is a photo of Alan and his wife. Alan is Scottish and his wife is super nice…and super hott…I’m quite sure all of the dudes are jealous of Alan. Cool people.
Here is a picture of Justin Macina. He races with AMF. Nice dude. Fast, too.
Most of the guys camp out on Friday and Saturday nights. Sport-bikers Chad, Josh and Harold took their sweet race-home to the track. I like to call it Chad’s trailer a “race-home” because, one, he only uses it for camping at the track and, two, each interior window awning is lavishly decorated with checkered-flag, felt curtains. I would describe the decor as “appropriate.”
Chad also takes his dacshund, Stan, to the track. Since Chad’s trailer is air-conditioned, Stan spends most of his time indorrs. Stan will come outside for lunch, though. Stan is fairly stubborn and Chad claims that “Stan can sit, lie down and roll over on commad,” but I do not believe this. I look into Stan’s etes while urging him to “sit,” but he will not. Chad says “it’s because Stan is so stubborn,” but isn’t it possible that Stan is just really unintelligent, not dispobendient? Harold calls Stan a “Nazi” because he listens to neither Harold, nor me…and both of us happen to be jewish-born. Who knows?
I wear this bracelet, a family heirloom, from my grandmother that has a hebrew inscription meaning “life” on it. It looks like a siezure bracelete and I tell people that if I have a seizure, people will know I am jewish. I digress.
I think Stan is a real cutie…just brainless…not a Nazi. I wish I had a picture of him for you! I’ll take one the next time I see him!
I hope Chad never discovers this blog, for I am about to comment on his biking leathers.
Many bikers chose their riding leathers according to aesthetic appeal (leathers can be found in different shapes, colors and sizes) and some bikers chose leathers for their pricing or quality. Chad rides a Kawasaki sportbike, colored with the make’s characteristicly bright-green shade. He also has riding leathers to match. We are talking inky-green, full-body riding leathers. If Chad has a girl friend, I can imagine his dialogue as such: “Babe, I am going to get bright green bike leathers. They will match my Kawasaki perfectly. All will call me ‘Green Hornet.’”
Funny, Chad’s handle on the Sierra Sportbike Association’s message board is “Green Hornet.” Awesome guy…just all green. I rather like the leathers. I promise.
outhouses
Last week, I was invited to dinner at Tové’s. I went for a run around Donner Lake before heading over to her house. And towards the end of my run, I realized a certain urgency for a bathroom. I mean, I had to go! Now, Tové is a very environmentally-friendly being. Perhaps some might call her “granola.” But when making my mental preparations for attending a dinner party at her home, I got carried away. ”I sure hope Tové doesn’t have an outhouse.” Can you believe I had that thought?! I am still surprised at myself. Hopefully Tové never uncovers this blog, for my thoughts are quite embarrassing. You tell me?
Tové has a beautiful home…but no outhouse. If she did, however, I am sure it would be lovely.
Actually, the previous owners said a chipmunk crawled into the downstairs bathroom last winter while they were on vacation. The little munk got stuck in the bathroom and attempted to gnaw its way out through the bottom of the beautiful solid-wood door. The little thing never escaped and only left a GIANT dent in the bottom corner of the bathroom door. The chew mark represents a descent soft-ball-sized amount of wood this pitiful chipmunk consumed. I giggle just a little bit when I envision the family returning from vacation to find a wood-stuffed chipmunk left breathless on the downstairs bathroom entryway. A wee tragic, really.
The night was lovely. Tové roasted this lime-red wine-mandarin orange-lemon-basil-stuffed chicken aside a wild rice pilaf with pan-seared button mushrooms and perfectly-crunchy onions. The chicken was more tender than butter (if butter can be considered tender) and I put this picture so you could see the chicken plus an amazingly artistic red wine-stained roasting dish in the backdrop! Yummy!
lake tahoe
My friends Tové, Shawni, JD and Beckham spent the day at Lake Tahoe on Friday. It was quite the adventure. Setting out at 10 am, JD and I, both, were driving and, together, realized we had left our wallets at home. There was no fuel in the truck and the faceplate that operates the on-board sound system was left at JD’s house. Nonetheless, we carried on. JD said that “it costs 10$ to launch the boat and we don’t even have our wallets…maybe Tové has money.” Come to find out, it cost 10$ to launch a boat into Lake Tahoe 20 years ago when JD was a kid! Thankfully Tové had cash, enough, for miscellaneous inspection fee and launching.
Beckham was not especially impressed with another cloudy day on Lake Tahoe.
Crystal clear, bahama waters welcomed us at Rubicon Bay. Lunch and tea house found us at Emerald Bay. One almost NEVER stops panting while swimming in Tahoe’s frigid waters! It’s beautiful! In the middle of the day, we swam in 500-foot deep waters where just 3 feet below the surface, nearly frozen waters chill your toes. The water is inky blue and sun rays dive down into the deep for days. I had to keep reminding myself that there are no sharks or fishes of unusually large size in Lake Tahoe. It is easy to think all that water below your feet houses ginormously intimidating creatures. Eek.
After lunch Tové and I hiked to the top of Fannette island in the middle of Emerald Bay. Miss Lora Josephine Knight built the Vikingsholm mansion and tea house, to match, in the roaring 20′s. Her sweet little tea house on would entertain guests after dinner parties. I can only imagine poofy, bustled skirts piling onto dingies that would carry them to the middle of the bay. And hiking to the top for some awesome views and sips of tea. It wasn’t so romantic hiking up in my flip flops and half-dry bathing suit. But it was deliciously fun!
You can barely see the little camoflouged tea house.
I overheard one family calling this cute retriever “Turkey.” He looked like he wanted to come hiking with me up to the tea house…not chill on his boat in the middle of Emerald bay. With a name like Turkey, you’ve got to be cool.
There were many dogs on Lake Tahoe. Here is Shawni soaking in the sun.
I got the operate the helm! It’s really a steering wheel on a power boat, but jut for the sake of pretending I was a sailing captain for the day, we’ll call it a helm. Driving a boat is not as easy as one may seem!
I told JD he needed to stop frowning so much!
No matter how badly one’s day, week, month or year us going…this view helps blow all cares away. You realize there are important wonders in life. Like watching water fly by from the back of a cute little power boat.
And Beckham swam in Lake Tahoe’s icy waters!
After a wonderfully lovely day on the lake, we headed home. In the driveway, JD and I commented how “successful and quite perfect” the day was. Just as we high-fived, a giant CRUNCH sounds as JD backed into his house! HAHA! He only ended up squishing a part of his vinyl siding. JD happens to make fun that his house is the only vinyl-sided one in Truckee, CA…I think it is, though. Now it is the only vinyl-sided house with a little crack where the end of our perfect day met it.
Here is a picture of Emerald Bay that I snapped from one overlook where I drove that evening to meet my Aunt Debbie. She was visiting Lake Tahoe on an AEG (Association of Environmental and Engineering Geologists) conference.
great music
Last week I was able to help out with a highschool youth group. Afterward, leaders and some of the students head to Buffalo Wild Wings to hang out. We had so much fun. Meeting news friends and sharing in laughs is all part of my experience in this new city, Reno, NV. Friends, Ursula, Ashley and Dan shared many funny stories about their year of living together last year. Dan said, at one point during our late-night snacking, that he had never seen Ursula “laugh [that] hard in a long time.” We were all in stitches just sharing stories. One time Dan, Ursula and Ashley were moving this couch into the house from the back yard and Dan made a funny noise when the couch hit his hand. The actual story wasn’t too funny, but Ursula, Ashley and Dan laughing about it had us all giggling.
At the end of all of these stories and laughter, I asked “why did you all have to stop living together.”
They replied, “the lease ran out.”
For some reason, this tickled me too.
I was asking all of them about good music that I should listen, for this crowd is into some really awesome artists. That night I went home and bought a Red Umbrella album per their recommendation and it is SO GOOD.
the Heisman
My friend has a real NFL football. Apparently the “K” on his ball stands for “kicker.” The pressure in these particular “K” NFL footballs is perfect for kicking. As he was telling me the story, I thought of one Halloween party while attending UNC-Chapel Hill. My friend Stephen Murphy dressed as a smurph for Halloween. Everyone called him “Smurph,” so he wanted to wear the part for that one night. We threw a party that included a turtle piñata. After pulveriing that piñata, the only part left was its head and the crowd thought it was fun playing baseball, basketball and football with the turtle’s disembodied head. The young men thought it fun to pretend they were the Heisman trophy. To many of our surprises, Stephen Murphy,-football-basketball-baseball-obsessed-Stephen Murphy COULD NOT recreate the Heisman pose.
Exhibit A.
It was quite laughable, Stephen’s little white smurph bum protruding, so obviously. He just ouldn’t keep it in. Will, who dressed as Rocky II for the evening, took it upon himself to correct Stephen. The Heisman pose seemed to come so easily for Will, as if he had studied the trophy for years.
Exhibit B.
For Will, unfortunately, the turtle head did not serve as his football.
After all of these years, I never did take a look at true Heisman trophy. So I found one. You tell me, who was closer to the real deal Heisman?
By the way, I was a giant set of teeth for halloween that year.
Kathryn Dawson is someone who has influenced me musical life very much. She always seems to listen to some nice tunes. One song that I learned to appreciate was “All the Single Ladies” by Beyoncé. Every time the song came on the radio, by chance, and every time Kathryn pulled the song up, by choice, on the internet, she acted surprised to hear it. Throwing her hand up the in air, she couldn’t help but move to the crazy beat. If anyone could do these sweet moves from seeing them repeatedly, it’s Kathryn. Seriously, this video is full of some crazy gyrating.
speech skills
There is this really cool group of high schoolers that I recently met! It amazes me the cool lives that can be found in just one small group. One young lady, Alice, is a homeschooler of many talents and interests. She calls herself a “competitive pianist” and she has won many speech competitions, is an accomplished guitar and bass player and shes quite friendly too! Tonight I had to miss one of the high school groups weekly gatherings and Alice texted me to say she missed me there. I asked her how the night went and if she helped lead the music. She replied “Yeah, it was super cool. I played bass when it was more picked up and keyboard in the slower parts. It was so much fun.”
“Wow, you described that so well, I feel like I was there,” I replied.
Modestly she replied “Haha, dunno. Probably the college level writing classes in fifth grade.”
I thought that was the FUNNIEST reply. Her innocent tone made it all the more ticklish to me.
tasty things
I am always thinking of things to eat and things to cook! This past weekend I was able to prepare a few neat dishes because I was cooking for John Davis. Cooking for others always helps inspire ideas and creates some pressure for making something nice or, at least, palatable. John Davis is very complimentary so it seems I could prepare a dirt casserole and he would say “This is delicious!…really good flavor!…really great texture!…I love it!…How did you do this?!…what did you put in it?!”
I made stuffed shells and grilled asparagus with fresh tomatoes, fresh spinach and six different kinds of cheese! (Asiago, Parmesan, Mozzarella, Romano, Caprino, Smoked Provolone)
I made a fresh vegetable omelette with a spinach and olive tapenade and freshly cut fruit. Also, I made blueberry pancakes. JD asked for a chocolate cake with whipped cream icing. My first attempt did not go so well but I will try again soon! The cake was nice, but the icing fell: I did not whip the heavy cream enough, so when I folded it with the buttercream, the whipped cream lost all volume. Oh well!
The night I was making the cake, JD’s friends Tom and Tally Brand came to visit. They are very special friends of his and very fun! I would not have been able to grill the sausage and whole grain buns (I keep getting these ideas about fresh tomatoes, fresh onions, chopped olives and dijon mustard on grilled sausage!) that I wanted to make for JD had Tom Brand not been there to man the grill. Really, I was clueless with the grill and JD would have gone hungry but Tom saved the night! Here is a photo of Tom after his finding JD’s grill set. The set included a chef’s hat. Baller.
Tom and Tally also helped straighten JD’s new clock. This clock is one of the few items decorating his house, making it quite the small talk item. Almost every one of JD’s visitors comments on the straightness or crookedness of the clock. I try to not pay attention to the clock, leaving me with little opinion or awareness of its straigh/crooked status. Tally thought it hung a little to the left and Tom thought it looked level. Tom hung the clock using a level when JD first moved in, so his opinion was a little less subjective than Tally’s.
The whole weekend, I thought of just a few of my favorite snacks. Funny, two of my favorite people in the WORLD introduces me to my two favorite snacks.
1. Miss Bria Cook: lovely, gorgeous, blonde, and legs for days introduced me to DRIED CHERRIES!
2. Miss Kathrn Dawson: funny, saavy, cute, and fashion guru introduced me to EMERALD COCOA ROAST ALMONDS!
I wish that anyone reading this could have been there the day I tasted a dried cherry for the first time. It was truly magical. My experience with dried cherries, still today, is cosmically magical. If you have never tried a dried cherry, please go get some and have YOUR moment. The flavor dances on your tongue and makes your heart and feet do a little jig. For the moment of bliss that a dried cherry is in your mouth, you’ll wonder why all tastes couldn’t explode and impress like this one. Not everyone likes dried cherries like I do, true, but one could always experiment. I’m convinced there is no other experience that quite captures joy in the way dried cherries. Perhaps you could eat a dried cherry across from a mirror while watching your face illuminate with happiness.
I can not WAIT to get get some dried cherries and cocoa roast almonds today so that I may upload a photo. Beware, the photographs might make your mouth water!
the Dawson family
There exist few families that are quite as generous, as loving, as caring, as funny, as excitable and as special as the Dawson family. They are so much fun and we have so much fun together! We can barely carry on one coherent conversation at family meals and “meetings.” And have you ever been in a serious conversation where someone begins to cry? In the Dawson family, as soon as Mrs. Dawson begins to cry, everyone laughs! hehe. Even now, I giggle. And everyone who is not a Dawson that is reading this thinks the Dawson’s are insensitive for laughing, but you’d get it once you’re family!
The cool thing is that EVERYONE has a chance to be family with the Dawsons. That’s how welcoming they are. You’re family when you are with them. And after that, you are always welcome into their family. I could write story upon story of all of the fun times with the Dawson family. Every movie night they hold is filled with popcorn, cozy blankets and bodies filling up their giant, leather, reclining sofa! I walk down the basement stairs, they pause the movie and all yell “NO TALKING, JASPER!!” hah! As if I would talk during a movie?
The Dawson think I steal things from their home. So whenever something goes missing I always get a phone call. Many times, I have stolen the item for which they are looking. HOWEVER, they misplace many things that I have NOT taken and I just happen to be a ready scape goat.
Elizabeth Dawson, my bestest little Dawson bud, who introduced me to the whole family (she was my “in”) said “I can’t remember life without you, Jasper.” She’s always saying nice things like that. She’s about the size of my pinky and super kind and goofy and funny. Below is a picture of Kathryn Dawson, the fashion queen and youngest Dawson, rockin’ out some sweet shades. The family was being silly, as always, while waiting to eat for my April 19th “birthday lunch” that actually happened on August 24th…for dinner.
Mr. Cook
I have very few people in life that have touched me as the Cook family has touched me.
Funny, I was just on the phone with Mrs. Cook yesterday while walking through the grocery store. She came to mind because I am always looking for this seasoning she used once called “Seasoned Grill.” Almost EVERY TIME I have gone into a grocery store for the last two years, I have thought “I really need to call Mrs. Cook so she can tell me where to find that seasoning again…” Sadly, I do not call her each time she comes to mind but, wonderfully enough, I called her yesterday as soon as I thought of her! Mostly I wanted her to tell me the brand name of the seasoning for which I’ve been searching in the past few years. I also love that every conversation with Mrs. Cook is filled with wonderful advice, love and fun, leaving you with an appetite for more. Well, yesterday was the day I finally called Mrs. Cook while on the spices aisle! She thought it was funny that “someone thought of [her] when remembering something ‘good’ or even, ‘tasty’ when [she] cooked.” Later I thought “I should have replied ‘but its your name.’” Hehe. Even now though, I realize that I should not have said it because it is not really that funny. Or clever really. Still, I’m giggling a little.
There is this picture that I would like to upload as an addition to this blog. It’s a picture of Mr. Cook, Bria and me that Bria found. I will ask her to send me a copy or scan it. Bria is the daughter of Paul and Debby Cook and one of my best friends. She is really special and I talk with her about most things! She has introduced me to many cool people, foods, way of caring for and seeing others and most wonerful things that are in my life. I have spent more time with Bria than with any other of the Cooks, but time spent with the Cook family is so flavorful! I love them.
One of the things, among many important ones (like laughter), that I have in common with the Cook’s is my love for God. My goal is to LOVE God with all of my heart and soul. Mr. Cook wrote the thoughts and desires that I find dancing in my head well into words. The following is one Mr. Cooks excerpts “On believing in God: Consider an analogy of God that has proven helpful for me: Believing in God is like standing at the seashore and looking toward the horizon. The water between the horizon and us is so immense that it defies even our imaginations. And in addition to what we can see, there is an invisible world beneath the surface brimming with life and full of mysteries. Though we cannot comprehend it all, we can taste the sea and discover its saltiness. We can sense its power as the waves pound the beach. In spite of all that we cannot fathom about the ocean, we know we can trust its tides and waves; we can ride on its surface and enjoy it. Similarly, we will never fully comprehend God. We can stand at the edge of God and discover things about Him. It may be that what we can learn about God is comparable to a small cup of water drawn from an immense sea. Yet, we rejoice in our small revelations and discoveries of God, such as the knowledge that God is love. We can trust Him and enjoy Him, much as we enjoy the sea…”
Don’t you wish EVERYONE knew the Cook’s?
One of my life goals is giving others the gift of meeting the Cook family.
new friends
After moving to Reno, NV, I met JD (John Matthew Davis)!! He had just come out of a procedure at the hospital so the first three weeks of our friendship was shared in rooms 217 and 222 at Renown South Meadows hospital. We watched Stepbrothers and shared many laughs, thereafter, quoting the movie. We ate sushi and all-natural hot dogs from Freeman’s Natural Dogs … http://www.fnhotdog.com. We listened to Reggae music…LOTS of Reggae music. There were hundreds of grody doves that congregated on one corner of the hospital’s roof that we could see from JD’s window and JD would only sing along to Bob Marley’s “Three Little Birds” if he could see his three little doves on the roof.
JD is hilarious and I am so very grateful to have met him. JD won two paralympic gold medals for downhill monoskiing; one gold in the ’94 Lilliamer, Norway Olympic games and one gold in ’98 in Nagano, Japan. JD told me about the movie “The Chariot Races” that he was in. He commented that “all of [his] cool movies are available on VHS…” and “thats how [I] know [he's] washed up, because none of [his] movies are on DVD.”
here is JD’s Coco-Cola commercial from the 90′s
I have one picture of JD in the hospital with his girlfriend Shauni and I will upload it soon! Unfortunately, I was not able to take any photos in that wonderful hospital room. We sure did have fun there!
my sweet friend
I know many wonderful souls in this world. A sweet young lady named Bonnie is one of them. She’s been the first person to whom I have told many things. I’d like to think we have so much in common. Lest people might not believe me, I will share the things we do not have in common:
- Bonnie is drop-dead gorgeous
- Bonnie is a champ with cats
- Bonnie is the most faithful little person
- Bonnie is so much fun!!!!
- Bonnie is the most wonderfully graceful ballerina
- etc.
- the list could go on forever
Bonnie will text all day long with me about nothings that I come up with to chat on. But her texting back about the “nothings” are so much more than somethings. Thanks Bonnie.
If we have anything in common I would like it to be this…that “[His] name and renown are the desire of [our] heart[s]. – Isaiah 26:8
the Bonniebean, the Beckster and me
Isn’t she ravishing?!?! the real Jessica Rabbit (I mean, who didn’t think SHE was tha junk? )
I took some photos of her and we named the album “snapshots”
