It's just life sometimes

So I know I still have many posts for the last month that I have not put up yet, and I promised pictures of Texas and trips and festivals. I will be getting to those. I will. I am still playing around with my new toy that I got for school from my oh so nice da-da, so be patient with me as I get everything set up on the lap top.

In the mean time, here is a random update, I figured maybe it was time for a new post since it has been almost two weeks that I last posted.

And we all know how much we like lists........

1. School starts in a week, for me. Since I am only going once a week, class will be every Thursday night, for five hours. I knew getting a Master's would be time consuming, but just how much, well, here's an idea for you...6 chapters, 2 articles and 1 paper due by the 2nd week of class. But hey, I love to learn. And I really don't mind reading, even though sometimes the topics aren't always that interesting. At least it gets my brain going, and will be more educational than the books I am reading now.....

2. I have been working the 4-ten hour shifts for almost two weeks now, and though I can definitely tell I am getting less sleep and will continue to do so, I actually really do like it. I was for it in the first place, mainly because I am not married and don't have kids. Plus I live less than five minutes away from work, so sleeping in until the last possible minute is an option for me due to the lack of driving time I have. The only day that may not be so much fun is, again, Thursdays, due to the fact that I will be up and running from 5:30am til 10:30pm. That's a loooong day.

3. Kelli and I are getting a new roommate at the end of the month. Yay! Now that Sarah and Arturo are married, she has moved out, and Michelle S. will be moving in. She is a really nice girl that works at the gym I go to, she actually has trained me before, and also is an avid church-goer. She goes to Alpine right now and also works there. Plus she is super good at volleyball, I mean like touring Europe good. She is tall and slender, totally a volleyball chick. I am excited for what the new presence will bring to our lovely little place.

4. The music industry is going well. Chas and I have had a lot of gigs scheduled in the last month, which makes for less practice time when you have work, school, personal life, etc. But we get it done either way. You just have to make time sometimes. But here's just a small run down of what we have coming up:

~Over the Mountain Festival- Chas actually put this one together (with help from yours truly of course) We are holding it up at Hunstville Park on August 30th. We have 4 local acts, including us, and then a guy named Chris Heifner from Nevada coming to play as our headlinder. He has played at WHBC before and seems to be well-liked by many of the church-goers here, so hopefully he will stir a crowd. Plus we have TONS of cool stuff to raffle for. Music, entertainment, and prizes, sounds enticing to me.

~Salt Rock Coffee Performance on September 13th- We love this place and are actually doing a paid show here for the first time! We are still deciding who to have open for us, but we have a couple people in mind.

~We are planning a trip up to Seattle sometime in October. When, I can't say. It's somewhat of a surprise at this point. But I will be able to give more details after.

~November there is this Musical Poetry\Songwiriters Experience that we will be doing, unsure on the date and time right now. But it is going to be a cool little pre-Christmas performance where we get to interview and talk about the making of some of our songs, plus do some Christmas songs. Sounds very festive.

~December 6th we will be performing at Zoo lights! It will be freezing cold but fun to provide some music for the people coming to check out all the lights.

We are keeping our eyes out for other shows that we can do, so if you see\hear of anything, send it our way!

5. This last year has brought many changes, healing, doubts, strength, and most of all hope. Hope for me in a sense that though things are very different than what I expected, they are also wonderful. In the area of relationships, this was something I told myself I was never going to experience again.

But God thought differently. And so he has blessed me with someone absolutely wonderful that I love spending time with and honestly at first did not think I would be able to love as much as I do. But I do. Feel free to ask me about it. I would love to tell you. :)

Chop Chop

After two loooong years of growing my hair out to donate to Locks of Love, yesterday was finally the day that it was all cut off.
Rosangela (Jose's older sister) and her daugther Lauren were in on the deal too, only they didn't need nearly the time I did to let their hair grow long enough to donate. We met yesterday at Bleach Graffiti where Stacie and Dezi worked their magic and made us over.

At the salon before the big cut. It was also Lauren's 7th birthday, what a great way to celebrate by getting a new do.

Here it is before the chop, total Stacie ended up cutting off 11 inches. Yikes!

And the front, lots of layers in there and no color after growing it out for the past 2 years. My hair is in serious need of damage control!

And the cut shots! Stacie had priviledge of cutting mine and Lauren's hair, I only say that because we have some pretty thick mops! Especially Lauren, that girl has some hair!

Lauren's pony was just a little bit longer than mine. She was ready and willing to go by the time her appointment came up. She didn't even flinch.

Rosangela had the most hair to donate out of all of us, look at how long that braid is! She even let Dezi cut a little bit more than the 11 inches.

And here we are after! I had decided that since my hair color isn't exactly the prettiest ash brown color, I would redden it up a bit. Ok, a lot. But I love it!

Lauren decided that she wanted her hair to be wavy, and you know what they say about the birthday girl....she pretty much gets whatever she wants! It is a cute bob on her when it is straightened. She really likes it.

I loved, loved, loved! the way Rosangela's cut turned out. She looks a LOT more like her younger sister Ana, which she took as a compliment, the fact that her new hair makes her look younger. And she has the gorgeous jet black hair that is so shiny and soft, she is a beauty!

Stacie did a really good job helping me pick out a style and color for my hair, I was really glad she worked her magic. I will admit that I was a little afraid at first, only because it has been so long since I have had short hair. But really I do like it!

We took Lauren and her friends bowling after for her birthday, and of course little Christopher was running around like a little mad man. The lights are kind of low here, but in the sun the color of my hair is a very shiny almost copper red. So pretty!
It was such a great day to get to see Rosangela and Laruen and celebrate birthdays and remember Jose and do something in honor of him. The sad news is that they will be moving to San Diego at the end of the month due to her husband getting a really good job down there that starts this month. I will miss them so much, but I am planning on visiting for sure (besides I love San Diego!) and yesterday was such a great way to get to spend with them as part of saying good-bye.

One year ago today

" If you give up your life for me, you will find it" Matthew 10:39b

"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." John 15:13

Jesus was the greatest example to all of us of what it looks like to lay down your life in order that others may gain. He lost everything for our sake.
Sometimes, people come into our lives who provide a reminder of this, when we may seem to forget because life gets busy, just how much this means.

Jose was one of those people, to a lot of people.
He was a reminder of just how great love can be, how much God can use us for his glory. And now, Jose has been with Him for a year. I wonder how that year has gone. I am jealous for him, not of him.

Happy spiritual birthday Jose.

Today was the day you were brought to life with Christ for eternity. What a glorious place to be.