and i told you to be patient

why does time move so fast?

especially when you want it to move so slow as to savor ever sight, moment, and taste. capturing it forever in your memory. holding it so closely so as not to lose it.

i had the great blessing to have two weeks off in arow. a week in pittsburgh and aweek in denver.

two very different worlds. both places i call home. each moment was full of either laughter & love, or rest & relaxation. i loved them all.

2010 was a tumultuous year. trying to figure out myself. losing a job and our home. living in pittsburgh with love and support from our family and friends. turning 24. celebrating 2 years of marriage. moving out to denver, colorado. meeting our students, finding a job, connecting with a church. having family and friends visit us. soaking in the splendor of the west.

i smile thinking of 2011. and as much as i don't want to time to move so fast, i also look forward to it passing. funny, huh? i look forward to students returning to campus, going skiing, getting to know our friends better, returning to jamaica, winter giving way to spring, having more friends and family visit, turning 25, celebrating 3 years, going to cape may NJ, being part of my cousin jena's wedding.

.

wishing you an amazing 2011.

scars are souvenirs you never loose, the past is never far.

wow, i am so nostalgic.

sitting on my couch i just had a flashback to middle school. life was so different then.

not necessarily easier, just different.

i remember my obsession with teen movies from the 80s and my serious crush on john cusack. oh and let's not forget my revisiting of 80s music: Duran Duran, Tears for Fears, Howard Jones, anyone? then there was also the fact that i would waste hours playing "zelda: ocarina of time" on my brothers N64. oh and then there was also that shameful fact that Sailormoon (anime on cartoon network) was my more of my guilty pleasure tv show then say the oh so popular Dawson's Creek.

i also thought i was such a bad ass cause my friends and i swore like a sailors (i sadly still struggle with this believe it or not) and cause we listened to hard core/alternative bands like Korn, Silver Chair, and the Offspring (although i still secretly had soft spots for those soul searching people/bands like Jewel, Alanis, Pearl Jam, and Paula Cole). i remember how i thought i wanted to be an archeologist, mainly because i loved history and was obsessed with indiana jones. oh and i should also mention that i adored science fiction. i would watch the tv show Babylon 5 with my dad, and i was in love with Star Wars.

hahaha. a closet nerd as you can tell.

i remember "going out" for the first and only time (before my college years) with the guy i liked, and breaking up with him after a week cause i got scared of commitment. oh how silly, right? i also remember never having to travel far for holidays, all of my family was in pittsburgh, everyone was so close. i also remember my love for vampire novels (yes and this was WAY before twilight was ever written). oh and when i used to day dream for hours about that handsome prince who would sweep me off my feet someday. then there was also my crushes on numerous Pittsburgh Penguins (including Alexi Morosov *le sigh*). middle school was also the time when i met Jane Austen and entered the world of P&P and Mansfield Park. gosh, then i also learned HTML and web design (thank you PSP7) and created my own website; ha this is a little after i learned what the heck the internet was and after my parents got AOL. speaking of which i remember wasting hours on Instant Messenger. oh and no one but rich people had cell phones and they were still pretty large, and people relied on pagers! ha!

i also remember barely scratching the surface of what i believed in, and only barely understanding Christ's love for me.

hmm. sometimes it's nice to revisit those memories. i know i'm still so young, but its so funny to look at yourself when you were EVEN younger.

"let everything that i said i'd do,

like make the world brand new,

and take the time for you

i just got lost and slept right through the dawn

and the world spins madly on."

long time coming.

i know i haven't posted in a while. i haven't been in much mood to write.

i'm so ready for SPRING. the sun is out today, and the high is supposed to be about 60. i'm ready for long walks and nightly rollerblading. ice cream runs and reading books outside.

can i just say that i also just can't wait for june?! i'm going to be spending 3 weeks in pittsburgh. spending time with family and friends. plus it will be summer.

i contracted a stomach flu this past thursday, and spent the entire weekend indoors on the couch. better yet, debo was gone on a staff retreat. so luckily if my two friends hadn't stopped by to check on me when they did on friday and saturday i would have had no human contact for 3 days.

because it was that kind of weekend yesterday and today i just feel stir crazy. i'm ready for change.

i heart you.

1. cozy coffee mug. 2. heart decorations. 3. simplicity earrings. 4. heart crayons. 5. petite heart hoop earrings. 6. blooming red heart pillow. 7. pink love ring. 8. my little valentine. 9. bouton de rose hairpins. 10. red ruby glass ring. 11. my heart's in PA (card set of 3). 12. lotus flower print necklace.

with valentine's day right around the corner i guess i've got hearts & spring colors on the brain.

peace & love,

a day in pictures.

off to the pumpkin farm...

tall john and mocha.

nothing like making out in fake john deer tractor.

tall john and i picked the perfect pumpkins (for us)

going in for the stem.

taking off the tops.

debo, tall, and myself pulling out the guts.

hannah & i making pumpkin seeds.

still pulling out guts.

debo starting to stencil.

oh fussy.

the finished products. (mine is the warty pumpkin with the simple face)

the boys worked hard...and did really great for it being the FIRST pumpkin they have ever carved.

debo & i loving over the pumpkins.

i confess i was a bit smitten over marvin...my pumpkin.

random thought.

"it gains the more it gives
and it rises with the fall
so hand me that remote
can't you see all that stuff's a sideshow?" - frou frou

"everybody wake up." - brand new


hm. these lyrics just seem so appropriate in so many ways for me.

i love you my Jesus.

i love you Debo.

and i love you, yes you.

walk into the sun.

turn your head. look.
have some faith.
listen. love. even when you don't want too.
don't judge. don't criticize. don't tear yourself down.
hold. embrace. stretch. reach.

respond.

paint the silence.

how can you say your life is empty, so late in the day?
why would you stay another second? now your sight got in the way.
a combination of love and aggression, another second lived.
don't paint the silence black now save me,
don't leave it a day,
you got a right to stand or die so maybe,
you take chances all the same.
pain comes in stages
if we dont make it, nothing changes. ~ south "paint the silence"

this song is in my head. it reminds me of my freshman year of college. *sigh* ah memories. i listened to so much music that year.

i ran 5 1/2 miles today! it felt so amazing. debo and i are going to be running a half marathon this april so i'm hoping all my running will pay off, because although i'm sure i'll be walking some of the marathon, i'd like to at least jog a good half of the half, lol.

today is debo's birthday. i am making a funfetti cake, lol, i know i'm slacking i could do a homemade one, but the thing is he really loves funfetti cakes so i kinda wanted to do something he'd esp like. i also got him season 1 of Arrested Development, and a very nice and new power drill. he was very pleased.

the sun is shining here, i'm expecting some company so i guess i should get going. however i felt inclined to write something here as it has been a while. hopefully i'll have something more significant to post about soon!

twenty-five.

so i've actually been witnessing a lot of 25 random lists on both blogs and facebook. so i decided to follow the trend. here are 25 random facts about me.

1. i was born and raised in the inner city of pittsburgh. i will always be a city girl at heart, and pittsburgh will always hold a special place in my heart.

2. until i got married, i actually lived in the same house that my father grew up in, that his father grew up in, and so forth.

3. my favorite muppet is gonzo. i actually still own a stuffed version of him that i got as a kid and it sits on top of a speaker in our living room.

4. i would take one tulip over a dozen roses any day.

5. i love the caribbean and have been blessed with the opportunities to have traveled to the bahamas twice, aruba twice, and jamaica 3 times.

6. i absolutely adore the tv show: jon & kate plus 8. i love how real they are, i think there kids are adorable, and i tell debo that i'm sad are kids won't look asian.

7. i had a terrible skiing experience in high school. making me dread going back. however, my wonderful husband made me go (kicking & screaming as i went, lol) this past december and i truly enjoyed it.

8. i still sometimes have nightmares with dinosaurs in them because i went to see Jurassic Park in the movie theater when i was in the second grade. my mom immediately would regret letting me go when nightmares plagued me for weeks. i actually do love that movie though.

9. i love the colors green, gray, and brown.

10. when we finally live in a place that allows pets debo and i want a dog and a cat. we really like great danes. but i utlimately want to get both from animal shelters.

11. my parents were super open about their sex life. it ultimately made me super comfortable with talking about that oh-so-taboo subject. i'm honest and i don't think christians should be afraid to discuss it. it is something that all of us come into contact with (whether before or after marriage), and a lot of us struggle with (GIRLS, and guys) and i think struggles need to be discussed in order to encourage and support the body of Christ.

12. i never realized how selfish i was until i got married.

13. i love being married. i love how much debo and i are learning about each other. i love how much we laugh. i love working through things. and i love our ministry of working with college students.

14. i have always been into journaling and have journals far back as elementary school. it's hilarious reading them.

15. i took japanese in high school for two years. i had the best japanese teacher. we just called him sensei and he was my only teacher crush. ironically he was actually italian with bleached blonde hair and big blue eyes.

16. i have had various nicknames thru the years: laur, larenzo, leelu, la, lala-bean, lu-bean, and let's not forget LP.

17. i will always have a soft spot for the music of the early 90s. nirvana. gin blossoms. the verve pipe. collective soul. to name a few.

18. i love baking. cooking. spices. the food channel. cook books. eating out. ethnic food. tasting things. fresh bread. olive oil. hole in the wall places w/ amazing atmosphere & food. chocolate. eating healthy. eating w/ family & friends.

19. i love pomegranites. their color, taste, juice, everything.

20. i hate doing laundry, i hate folding and putting away clothes. however, i have no problem doing dishes and do them frequently.

21. i have 20 first cousins. most of us are close in age and close in general. my cousins sarah, jena, and clare were in my wedding. clare was my maid of honor. i love them dearly.

22. debo and i already have 5 weddings to go to this summer.

23. my best friend regina and i have our own language and voices. if you didn't know us any better you'd think we were crazy.

24. there is something about stationary that i just absolutely adore. i love getting and sending mail.

25. i am a summer girl. i was born in june. i love freckles and am sad that mine have faded through the years. i burn before i tan, and i don't really care about tanning that much. i love swimming and water. being outside. enjoying God's creation. flip-flops, sun dresses, and tank tops. *sigh* i can't wait for it to be summer again...or at least spring. :-D

quote worthy.

"the answer isn't in removing things from your life or adding more rules to follow. the answer is giving your life back to the God who created you. and he's every bit as real as flesh and blood, the earth, reason."
- francine rivers
an echo in the darkness