What's in a Name??

I must confess…I love thinking of baby names. NOT that I’m planning on having a child any time soon…I just love thinking of names. One of my friends thinks I should just sign my future children up for therapy right now because my taste is a little out of the ordinary. I don’t think they’re that bad, though. Here are some of my ideas:

Girls
Ireland Poe
Scout Emerson
Harper Finn
Liesel Rain
Kirsten Jo
Charlotte Grace
Lucy Belle
Lilly

Boys
Wyatt Huck
Eli Drew
Dorian Wesley
Nolan Bennet
Ronan Cody
Ian Wesley
Liam Luke

I don’t think these names are too weird, do you? To keep strangeness to a minimum, there are a few rules that I do like to follow when thinking of names:

1. Make sure names are obvious to pronounce; they should sound the way they’re spelled. Phonetic ambiguity is not good. (The only examples I could think of were people I actually know, so I will not give any, but this is self-explanatory.)

2. Do not spell names in a ridiculous manner. There is no need to complicate simply spelled names for the sake of creativity or cutesyness; find a less permanent outlet for that. Examples: Chymberlee/Kimberly, Leighsa/Lisa, Tiphanie/Tiffany, Rhyon/Ryan, Jaxon/Jackson, etc.

3. Frivolous punctuation such as hyphens and apostrophes should be avoided. Omit needlessness. Examples of how to NOT rock punctuation in names: Sha’awn, Ky’Lee, Jaz’Myne.

Name ideas that I think are cool, but need to be moderately followed:

1. Place names. Dakota, Winona, Montana, London, Phoenix, Brighton, Indiana, etc.

2. Presidential names. Madison, Reagan, Monroe, Kennedy, etc. (I think many of these work better as middle names.)

3. Names that reflect one’s heritage (only when above rules apply). I love strong German names like Kurt, Heidi, Gretel, and Han.

4. Alliterative names. Lisa Leslie, Jack Johnson, Peter Parker, Amy Adams, etc.

Once I marry and possibly become a more sensible person, my taste in names might change. Until then, it’s pretty fun thinking about them!

I Suck At Golf

Jimmy and Dave took me to the driving range on Sunday night. I am now convinced that golf is the most difficult sport on the planet. I have not been that humbled in a looong time. Why am I so bad at golf? Beginner's bad luck? Maybe it was because I wore the glove on the wrong hand (I just wanted to wear one and look cool). Maybe it was because I wore Rainbows (very un-golfy). Maybe I just used the wrong club. Maybe I just naturally am that bad. But it was fun!

Action shot! Great job, Dave.

Jim is ridiculously good at golf.

You don't hold it like a baseball bat? Wait...what?

Plaid to the Bone

I'm still not quite sure how it happened, but I ended up at the Scottish Festival at the O.C. Fairgrounds with Andrew on Saturday. And I'm still not sure if it was one of the coolest or nerdiest events I've ever been to. (I'm thinking it's both.) Anyway, it was TONS of fun! Here are just a few things you can do at the Scottish Festival:

See the band "Bad Haggis" in concert. They are awesome! Seriously!

Listen to beautiful harps.


Cringe at distasteful T-shirts.

Buy a sword.

Shoot arrows. (This was really fun!)

We were pretty good, if I do say so =)

Watch the caber toss...don't mess with these guys!

Get a picture with this guy...I have never seen so much plaid and so many kilts in MY ENTIRE LIFE! And I must say...kilts are HOT! Seriously, these guys really knew how to rock a kilt.

Watch a sheep herding demonstration (very entertaining).

Buy a kilt, obviously.

Listen to a cool drumline.

The Scottish Festival was great. I really wished that I played bagpipes or had a cool kilt or could do Scottish dancing or play the fiddle. Scots are awesome! I'll definitely be back here in 2009.

Great Ikea

Let's face it: Ikea is just a really fun store. I love looking at all the books that they've filled their Billy Bookcases with. I love the different configurations of rooms they come up with. I like the fun patterns and designs and lighting. I love how cheap their little candles and stuffed animals are. The kids' rooms are adorable. I lay down on every mattress I see to test its comfortability. Generally speaking, their furniture is reasonably priced. You could seriously just go there for a day, get lost, and have a good time.

But the best thing about Ikea is the cookies! These Ballerina and Singoalla cookies are, literally, like a dollar. They're Swedish, obvi, and they're so delicious! You'll feel like a criminal for paying so little for so much goodness! At first I was a Ballerina fan...the chocolate hazelnut cream is fantastic. But the pleasure that the Singoalla cookies bring to my mouth is even more enjoyable...it's the texture of white cream filling, raspberry jam, and crunchy cookie. Did I mention they're A DOLLAR?

You are seriously missing out of you don't snag a few rolls of these babies next time you're at Ikea!!

Who's with me?

October 24th...let me know if you want to join me...

Very Creative Writing

My friend Hayley is almost finished with her first year of teaching high school English and sent me a list of actual analogies and metaphors found in high school essays that were collected by teachers from across the country. Here are some of my favorites:

1. Shots rang out, as shots are wont to do.

2. He spoke with the wisdom that can only come from experience, like a guy who went blind because he looked at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it and now goes around the country speaking at high schools about the dangers of looking at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it.

3. She grew on him like she was a colony of E. coli, and he was room temperature Canadian beef.

4. She had a deep, throaty, genuine laugh, like that sound a dog makes just before it throws up.

5. Her vocabulary was as bad as, like, whatever.

6. He was as tall as a six-foot, three-inch tree.

7. The revelation that his marriage of 30 years had disintegrated because of his wife's infidelity came as a rude shock, like a surcharge at a formerly surcharge-free ATM machine.

8. From the attic came an unearthly howl. The whole scene had an eerie, surreal quality, like when you're on vacation in another city and Jeopardy comes on at 7:00 p.m. instead of 7:30.

9. The hailstones leaped from the pavement, just like maggots when you fry them in hot grease.

10. Long separated by cruel fate, the star-crossed lovers raced across the grassy field toward each other like two freight trains, one having left Cleveland at 6:36 p.m. traveling at 55 mph, the other from Topeka at 4:19 p.m. at a speed of 35 mph.

11. They lived in a typical suburban neighborhood with picket fences that resembled Nancy Kerrigan's teeth.

12. He fell for her like his heart was a mob informant, and she was the East River.

13. Even in his last years, Granddad had a mind like a steel trap, only one that had been left out so long, it had rusted shut.

14. The plan was simple, like my brother-in-law, Phil. But unlike Phil, this plan just might work.

15. The young fighter had a hungry look, the kind you get from not eating for a while.

16. He was as lame as a duck. Not the metaphorical lame duck, either, but a real duck that was actually lame, maybe from stepping on a land mine or something.

Loving Narnia...

Saw an advanced screening of Prince Caspian on Tuesday night. Disney hooked everyone up, let me tell you...free digital screening of the movie, popcorn, soda, and a poster. Thanks Disney!

The movie was so entertaining. I'm reading the book right now so I don't know how loyal the movie is to the book, but it was such a fun movie. Great battle scenes, creatures, and castles. Lots of suspense and excitement. And...Jesus is there if you look for him (that's so like him!). I'd say it's as good as the first one. And let's be honest, Prince Caspian has GREAT hair =) Can't wait to see it again!!

Atlanta: The World of Coca-Cola

What's a visit to Atlanta without hitting the World of Coca-Cola? Coke was invented in Georgia in 1885. The company's headquarters are here and every restaurant in the area serves Coke...no need to ask about Pepsi products...YES! Coke is SO MUCH BETTER than Pepsi!

You'd be hard-pressed to find another product as universal as Coca-Cola. Coke is sold in over 200 countries! And it's a registered trademark that should always include the hyphen.

Here are some Coke products from around the world. Coke wasn't canned until 1955. I've loved old movies since I was a kid, and all I saw in movies were Coke bottles. So for my birthday parties, my parents would buy Coke in glass bottles for me and my friends and it was the biggest deal to me.

John Pemberton, who invented the first Coca-Cola recipe, claimed that it cured many diseases, including headaches and morphine addiction. Actually, I can vouch for the headache claim.

The 4D show here, "In Search of the Secret Formula," made me realize that except for the Muppet 3D show at Disney's California Adventure, I am not a fan of shows that require 3D glasses. I do not recommend the show here. (Oh, and what is 4D, you ask? Shaking, jolting chairs, wind, and water squirting in your face. Not cool. NOT cool.)

If this advertising doesn't make you want to drink Coke, I don't know what will.

My favorite part of the World of Coca-Cola was a special Pop Art exhibit with original Andy Warhol works on loan from the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh. I LOVE Andy and seeing his art always makes me so happy =)

At the end of the tour, you can taste weird-flavored soft drinks from all over the world (DON'T drink the one called "Beverly," whatever you do! Disgusting!), as well as tons of different flavors of Coke. Then we grabbed our bottles of Coke and went on our merry (and caffeinated) way. YaY Coke! YaY Atlanta!!

Atlanta: The Braves Game

After the conference ended on Friday, we hit Turner Field to watch the Braves shut out the Reds, 2-0. That's Ben, Tina, Ricky Z., Jim, me, and Allie. Turner Field is a beautiful stadium, with a great view of the city.

There is no place I would rather be than at a baseball game on a hot summer night...I always get teary-eyed when the National Anthem is sung (I feel so American!), I love baseball food (peanuts, Cracker Jacks, pizza, ice cream...what's not to like?!), and I always sing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" loudly and out-of-tune during the seventh inning stretch! Baseball is just so great!

One thing we noticed is that the young men of Atlanta have a "look" to them. This "look" consists of cargo shorts, an Abercrombie T-shirt or polo (usually striped), maybe a charm necklace on a leather cord, and shaggy hair, sometimes covered with a baseball cap or even a bandanna. Don't get me wrong, it's a good look: It's the Georgia Boy look.

Another thing we learned is that there are GIANT KILLER grasshoppers that will attack you mercilessly at baseball games. They were flying all over the place. Seriously, it was a plague...the air was thick with bugs!

WE LOVE CRAVE! Jim and I had to represent Crave in Atlanta so here we are sporting our shirts.

After the Braves' victory there was a great fireworks show, choreographed to AC/DC songs. What a fun night at the ballpark!

Atlanta: The Conference

Last week the Small Groups Team flew to Atlanta to host WIRED, the Saddleback Small Groups Conference. If you ever wanted to know anything, anything, about small groups, you should have come!

The conference was held at Victory World Church, which was gorgeous. Here's a pic of the early crew from Saddleback with Catherine (left), Victory's director of events, and Pastor Richard Mace (right) with his wife, Jenny, in front of the cross at the church. The staff was the most friendly, hospitable, helpful group of people I have ever met in my life. I was so thrilled to have served alongside them, and the Saddleback team, for the week.

My role at the conference was production assistant. At the beginning of the week, I was given a minute-by-minute schedule of the conference, which changed, oh, EVERY MINUTE! (Note to anyone ever involved in a conference: STICK to the schedule! Haha.) I was grateful for a challenging role and even though it was stressful, everyone involved really worked together and there were only a couple minor glitches.

The coolest thing was hanging out with the young people involved with the Masters Commissioning program, a discipleship program with a huge commitment level! They weren't on staff at Victory, but volunteered their full days, for three days, just to help us out. What great servants! I also enjoyed hanging out with Russ Lee (above), our worship leader at the conference; the band, and all the conference speakers. (Being a P.A. means you get to hang out in the green room all day and meet great people!)

The conference week was super busy but we've gotten great feedback from many of the attenders. After the conference ended on Friday, Tina and I were able to stay through the weekend to have some fun! More on our activities to come!!