if for some reason i do not get
to blog very often you can
probably find me on one of
these blogs.
i will try to keep everyone in the
loop and blog regularly, but i
cannot make any promises.
brianne: brinnas.wordpress.com
meghan: nyc75.wordpress.com
kari jo: karijo.wordpress.com
[this is so late. i needed to post
this weeks ago. but late is better
than never, right?! i will get caught
up on this blog one day, i promise!]
so, i’m back in new york.
the cates’ door was decorated me and all my things in brianne and
just for me. meg’s apt.
the first week was full
the water faucet was turned on
full blast!!
i flew into town with just enough
time to hug brianne and meghan,
change clothes, and get myself
to the 5pm service at redeemer.
hello cates!!
hello julia!!
here’s week one in new york:
monday-
in the am brianne, me, and meg
met and stood in life for free
tickets to shakespear in the park.
last time we did this was just over
a year ago. the sitting in line part
was twice as fun as the actual show.
we met 2 guys from denmark who were
funny and picked up on farkle quiet
well. this year was a bit different.
no denmarkians (as we called them),
or anyone else interesting to join
our games.
i read to them from espn the mag,
we played cards, and sheltered
ourselves from the rain.
oh brianne, how i’ve missed you! oh meghan, how i’ve missed you!
9:30am-1pm in line for these tickets
was so worth it! we met erica, kari jo,
and cory for the show.
hamlet was great!
Ophelia was played by the same
actress who ROCKED juliet last
year. she’s fabulous!
i got some SERIOUS love from meg.
so much love that maybe i couldn’t breathe well.
kj had to leave early to relieve the
sitter. she left before anyone had
the chance to die tragically and/or
accidentally. the stage was littered
with bodies, as i’m sure you all know.
meghan, brianne, erica, me….back together again!!
tuesday-
philharmonic in the park.
we did our usual: carmines take-out
(great italian) and a blanket.
notes for next time:
*bring candles for after dark
*look into getting a small table
*bring an extra blanket…it gets chilly
*practice finding your friends who
plan to meet you there. we saw
several methods.
a. balloons (overdone, so unoriginal)
b. waving you baby in the air (my favorite)
c. tennis racket roped to a pole hoisted in the air
d. waving objects that glow in the dark (only effective after dark)
e. good ol’ arm failing (no equipment needed)
the best part of the philharmonic…
the F I R E W O R K S at the end!
do you see how a table is so useful…and cute?
as estimated 60,000 people attended
the park trees, the city lights, then F I R E !
it’s amazing to see! just so beautiful!
wednesday-
idena menzel concert with meghan.
it was a city hall,
a venue i’ve never been
to before. so beautiful!
she was great!
she originated the role of
elphiba in wicked and morene in rent.
she was so nervous at first, but later
relaxed and rocked our faces off!
we sat next to two guys who i thought
were going to pass out or hyperventilate
when she came out on stage. the guy next
to meg held her hand and cried the entire
time. i’m SO not kidding.
idena writes beautiful music.
i was impressed.
defying gravity encore
no day but today from rent
where do i begin skip to the minute 3:21.. there is lots of unnecessary talking
at the beginning.
devorah
thursday-
my first day back at work with ezra.
i’m working for one family as a private
duty nurse in their home. i worked for
them part-time when i was here before.
ezra is five years old. i care for him
over night. the family is great and it’s
good to be back with them.
friday-
julia and i watched the cates children
so kj and cory could go out on a date.
faith joined us for thai take-out and a
girly movie after the kids went to bed.
saturday-
brianne and i went to the ballet!
we ate sushi outside at a place
right across from lincoln center where
the nyc ballet performs. we ate
“brianne and lisa style”…as we like to
call it. this means ordering more dishes
than can fit on the table. we order
different and new foods and share it all.
it’s the best way to dine!
correction: we did not eat sushi this day,
that was another day. we ate at a fabulous
little place called penang. malaysian food.
it’s so good and so hard to describle. don’t
worry we did eat brianne and lisa style, like
always.
lincoln center
the ballet is on the left and the Met Opera house
is on the right. it’s gorgeous!!!!
the ballet was wonderful!!!
the costumes in the second half were
designed by ocsar de’la renta.
AMAZING!
the first half was accompanied by only
one pianist. it was about 1.5 hours long…
and very good. brianne and i tried so
hard to “get” what the choreographer was
trying to say, but it was lost on us.
maybe next time.
sunday-
i’m to sunday again!! it was a
full and wonderful week.
and i didn’t even get to tell you
about all the trips to the park i
made with the cates children.
here are a few pics to tell you
for me.
betsy, lydia, and caroline
sweet sisters silly faces!!
the cates girls found the prettiest girl on the
playground to play with… of course.
she had two or three necklaces, and at least
three pretty bows in her hair. she was a doll
and besty and caroline adored for… a time.
nathan and henry at central park
besty keeping dry in the rain caroline helping with the flowers for nathan
and henry’s school teachers.
unknowingly
walked down the street
with the
price tag
hanging out of the top of
a new shirt with the price
facing outward so everyone
can see what a good deal
you found?
i met brianne at our designated
meeting spot and she said,
“do you mean to still have this
tag on?”
HOW EMBARRASSING!!
my phone convo with julie
last night made my weeK!
oh, how miss you, friend!
one thing she informed me
of was a new flavor of oreo:
banana split!!
what?!
she said it might be better than
the strawberry milkshake oreos.
how is that possible?!!
i don’t know,
but i do know that there is no
walmart or homeland
around here to find this gift
and treasure of an oreo!!
the fantastic, yet fancy, markets
on the
upper west side of manhattan
have done me only good…
until now.
one day a pack of these oreos
will find their way to me…
one day.
and when they come i’ll let you
know about how wonderful they
are!
julie really knows how to put a
smile on my face.
barely know you
from the album
enter the worship circle, fourth circle
it’s been on repeat in the apt
today, and i can safely say
it will be tomorrow as well.
this song is exactly where i am
i don’t understand you,
but i love you.
i cannot explain you,
but i love you.
i barely know you,
but i love you.
i love you
i love you
i love you
i think of you,
or as much as i can
handle.
i can’t believe how much
you love me.
when things are messy and
painful, and i don’t know what’s
happening, i know one thing:
that i am
loved deeply
by my Father…
and
i love him back.
p.s. this album is so very very
good! i highly recommend it.
clap
clap
clap
clap
deep in the heart of texas!!!
i went to houston for five days
right in the middle of my time
in okc.
nancy carr lives in houston.
she is one of my most beloved
friends on the planet.
her guest bedroom is my fav
place in texas…besides
her kitchen.
it’s sweet and comfy
and right between her boys’
rooms. i love jake (15yr) and
joe (18yr), her two youngest
boys. i’m a big fan of all her
boys really. dave (24yr) and
nathan (28yr) are solid guys.
both married to great ladies,
amanda and sarah.
(p.s. her boys are the best trash
talkers i know. i try, but i just
can’t hang!)
nancy and i try to do girly things
when i come to town, things that
her boys won’t do.
so this time we went blueberry
picking. it was a perfect day!!
i’d never been fruit picking
before. i heart fruit picking!
to get to the blueberries we
took a nice ride out of houston
and into a small texas town.
17 lbs of blueberries
6 jars of fresh salsa
2 jars of mayhaw jelly
a bunch of hydrangeas
a delicious lunch
and peeking into some antique stores…
made these two girls happy!!
this is anne. she sold us the jelly and salsa. nancy thinks she doesn’t photograph well
she showed us around her house and garden. so i have a hard time getting pictures of her.
she gave us as many hydrangeas as we could i think she is crazy!
hold. she was a good hospitable texas woman!
we took our berries home and
made jam. less than 6 hours
from bush to jar. you can’t
get any fresher than that!!
my first night in town nancy
and i went for dinner at the
eubanks.
mr. eubanks is practically famous
for his pecan smoked burgers.
the hamburgers were all they
were hyped up to be…
better!
nancy and i chomped in awe
while our mouths danced
with delight.
*family pics everywhere
*tomato plants in the backyard
*beautiful house with a beautiful view
and the best thing of all…
*mrs. and mr. eubanks themselves!!
they are fabulous people!
bj and phill eubanks
we enjoyed ourselves immensely.
after our blueberry picking we
took some of our fruit to the
eubanks. we had to share our
blueberry abundance…
and it was an excuse to visit again.
they picked a box full of sweet
delicious tomatoes for my mom.
(who loved them and ate them
like candy!!)
i hated to say goodbye to them.
they are just lovely!!
my last two mornings with nancy
we got up early (i mean, early for me
7a) and walked a few miles through
her neighborhood, which she does
regularly.
it was dreamy.
working up a good sweat with
someone you love over good
conversation is so satisfying!
one thing i gently demand from
nancy when i come is that she
make egg salad and pimento
cheese sandwiches for me.
i only eat nancy’s pimento cheese.
it’s the BEST!!
you can always count on good food
at the carr house. this time it was
melt-in-your-mouth blueberry scones,
granola, fresh fruit smoothies,
and fajitas!
i am never hungry at nancy’s house.
oh how i love nancy!
my trip to texas was filled with
blissful happiness and joy as
i spent time with some quality
people!
at the end of this trip, as well as
my ok trip, i was full of thanks
and gratitude toward the Father
for so graciously filling my world
with such wonderful people that
love Him and show me parts of
Him i would not have seen
or understood had i not known
them.
remember jill?
i saw her in oklahoma last time
i was there. she was planning
a wedding.
she was married on july 5th.
i ran back to okc for the wedding.
i was there just over 24 hours!
it was so sweet
so simple
so perfect for her and james.
it was such a blessing to be
there and to be a part of their
covenant union.
i always always cry at weddings.
especially weddings of those i
love and treasure like i do jill.
the bride
the groom
the picture of our covenant
with jesus…
it makes me weep!
jill and james met in east asia.
jill worked at a hotel there.
so they decided to show their
wedding over the web live!
the pastor gave a welcome in
english, then an old teammate
of jill’s gave the welcome in
chinese to all those watching
on the other side of the globe.
it was just like james and jill
to be so thoughtful and
inclusive. they are people
that love and care for the needs
and lives of others. i am so
excited for their new life
together.
blessings, grace and peace
to you james and jill!
p.s. i got to see julie after the
wedding for a few short hours,
as well as some sweet mom
and dad time.
it was a HAPPY trip!!
oklahooooooooma! yeah!
are you singing the last few words of
the oklahoma state song?
if you are an oklahoman, you are!
i spent 8-ish days in oklahoma.
it was wonderful.
i love being home.
there is always a rush of activity.
i started off my time in okc with
some quiet time curled up next
to my dad and mom. oh, yeah,
my dog snickers was somewhere
in the mix.
sleeping in was high on the list
of things to do. …check!
lunch with debbie clem at a french
place one day.
dinner with carol and steve.
lunch with jana at a new cafe
the next day.
dinner with the ‘rents (my parents)
that night.
i saw my mom’s new business,
a message studio.
elements
she’s the boss.
she doesn’t do the messaging.
but you know what that means for
me, right!!
messages
messages
messages
she’s a great boss and runs a
tight ship!!! props to you mom!!
i went to visit my dad’s shops
next. his mechanic guys are
always polite to me.
golf with my popi and julie.
this was the first time we’ve
played together. my popi is
pretty good! he smoked both
me and julie. we chose to drive
a golf cart. he laughed at us
and walked. he’s old school.
afterward we had a cold drink in
the clubhouse and went back to
his house for a visit with omi.
i had a wonderful time!
*target run
*visit with christy brown
*and coffee with jill
(i went to texas in the middle
of my oklahoma time. more
on that trip later)
when i got back from texas
JOY CAME TO TOWN!!!
one of my best friends from college.
we were friends almost instantly.
we lived just a few doors down from
each other in the dorm our freshman
year at obu (go bison!!!)
i have a confession:
i was driving while taking
these pictures. (not the
last one…that would be
dangerous)
she was in town for four days,
which means lots of laughs,
silliness, and some major
catching up to do.
some of the things we did:
*lunch with an old college friend, jason elliot
*messages at my mom’s place
*pedicures, like good girly girls
*lots of good food
*lunch with my grandparents
my grandparents are great! i love them.
my popi always has something to say.
he is quick and honest, like most
grandfathers. omi is always able to
graciously handle whatever he dishes
out. they are great together! both
joy and julie enjoyed the time and
conversations had with my grandparents.
*bowling
did you see my score? i got a turkey!! it’s
the best i have ever played or ever will
play again. i usually don’t break 90.
*sushi
*breakfast with my dad and popi
okay, i know my eyes and my popi’s eyes are
closed, but i still think it’s a decent picture.
*bbq at my house!!
silly faces or smiles?
we need to work on the silly faces.
joy, christy, jason
don’t you just love this picture.
it’s me, joy, and jason.
it was so good to see joy.
you know those friends that
are dear and precious to you
and no matter the time that has
lapsed since you saw her last
it feels like only a moment?
you pick up right where you left.
joy is that kind of friend.
she is loyal, positive, and real.
she can always make me smile.
we are good together.
saying goodbye was not easy.
but i’ll see her again at the end
of september.
other things i did in ok:
-dinner with the clem family.
i LOVE the clems! they have
become increasingly dear to me
over the past two years. debbie
is a treasured friend that sees and
knows my heart. and i want to be
just like the clem girls when i grow
up!!
julie, debbie, sally, jenny. aren’t they beautiful!!!
-another dinner with carol and steve.
also indescribably dear to me.
steve cares for me as a daughter.
he and i are freakishly similar in
some ways. i give them first
dibs on my time when i am in
okc.
-a surprise visit with the hubbard
family. they are a sweet family
from my days at northwest baptist
church. the four lovely children i
used to babysit and love are now
almost grown. it was a glorious
reunion. and the time spent with
them was sweeter than ever!
-more golf with my dad and popi.
my dad is now in on the golf action!
he got clubs for father’s day and is
getting lessons from his cousin
every saturday.
if you squint your eyes the lake in the background
almost looks like an ocean.
we spent some relaxing and very
happy moments in the back yard
chipping golf balls into/near a pot,
dodging snickers, and talking to mom
sitting on the tree swing.
happyhappyhappy
-i did get to see julie a few times.
i still need a steady intake of julie.
angie, julie, kelly, lisa
summer of 1996???
this is an old picture that julie found
and brought to me. i think this was
luau night at a church camp we went
to in highschool. so funny!!
where did i get that shirt and how is
it hawaiian?
the last night i was in town i went
to her house and she surprised me
with a song. on the piano she played
the theme song from the anne of
green gables movies. she played
it as a girl and recently found the
music.
we then went to sonic for not one, but
TWO drinks. (i had a shake and a cherry
vanilla limade) we proceeded to stay up
late at my house until the very last
minute. saying goodbye is not fun.
a short four-ish hours later me and
dad got up to go to the airport.
(my flight left around 7am)
i had a wonderful time back in ok.
it went so fast.
here are a few regrets.
i did not get to:
*see jenny friend
*see all the babies my cousins
have had recently.
*eat at ted’s cafe escandido
*have a sonic drink every day
at happy hour.
our last week in hawaii was
bitter sweet.
lots of fun times
a
n
d
lots of goodbyes
since this was so long ago,
and i need to just get these
posts up so i can sleep at
night, i’m going to give you
a mini slide show of pictures
with some brief (ha!) commentary.
i guess that’s what most
of my blog posts are like
anyway…who am i kidding?!!
me, ashley, and julie went
for one last golf game.
the hawaii kai public course
is beautiful. and what’s more
fun than a par 3 course for
girls who can’t drive the ball
very far?!!
the essentials were in place
1. lookin’ cute
2. speedy golf cart
and what a great time we had!
i almost tipped us over in the cart.
no one was hurt… really. though we might
have pulled a stomach muscle laughing
so hard.
we made sure to go to the
beach as much as possible in
our last two weeks. we got
good solid tans and i tried to
store up the sound of the waves
and color of the water in my
mind. to help myself out a bit
i took this video to pacify my
longing for a hawaiian beach
when i need it most…
on a gray cold day in new york city.
turn your sound down a bit…it’s pretty windy.
we already sent heidi, mikey,
and james away. so julie and
i were able to spend a good
amount of time with our dear
friends rob, jared, matt, and ashley.
one night we made jared drive
us all over town until we found
the right 7-11 with all the icee
flavors we wanted. he’s a good
friend and brother like that! we
sort of got ourselves addicted
to icees and convenient store
junk food!
oops.
oh 7-11, i will miss you!
last stroll on the carter unit.
goodbye carter unit!!!
last game of ultimate frisbee.
and it was a good one!
goodbye sing and vj.
we will miss you!!
my last sunday at trinity was the
first sunday of the month…
you know what that means!!!!
the Lord’s Supper… Communion!
it was the perfect last sunday.
i was able to be still, worship, and
participate in a holy sacrament with
my beloved brothers and sisters
at trinity presbyterian church.
then we moved the celebration to
a nearby beach for lunch, games,
and beaching. it was a lovely last
sunday. i had great closure with
lots of sweet goodbye hugs and
well wishes from my church family.
i will miss the community there!!
keikilani lyons. she’s been a sweet friend and
sister to me since i’ve been at trinity. mark,
her husband is always good for a hug and
some intelligent insightful conversation. i do
love the lyons family.
our last night in town we decided to
go out to dinner. we chose a place
right on the water in waikiki with a
great salad bar. you season and grill
your own meat! we sat next to an
open window and watched the waves
roll in as we ate our delicious meal.
it was pretty dreamy:
*the bright crisp moonlight reflecting
on the ocean ripples
*the warm tropical breeze
*the hypnotizing singing of the waves
crashing on the shore
*the sound of sweet friends laughing
and telling funny stories around me.
it was a prefect night.
then it got better.
julie and rob sang a karaoke
duet on the stage near the bar
of the restaurant. it’s julie’s
dream to sing a whole new
world at karaoke.
and it came true!!
julie also sang killing me softy
with ashley. it was great.
p.s. rob is NOT the “love of julie’s life”.
us girls thought it’d be funny to see rob
sweat, but he didn’t. not at all. i tried to
make julie hold his hand in the middle of
the song, but she wouldn’t.
after one last icey run (i think i spell
this differently every time) we
returned to our apt for
some last minute packing…
and paper shredding.
rob and julie needed all of their body
weight to close julie’s suit case.
i’m packing up fozzy for the trip.
he complained about being stuffed in
my carry on, but i told him that if he
wanted a seat of his own he has to get
a job and pay for the ticket. i hate to
be so harsh with him.
back to the shredding…
you see, we tried to dispose
of our papers with personal
info on it… to keep our
identities safe. we were
initially unsuccessful.
we tried to burn it.
jar with a small opening… a no-go
clay pot when it’s raining… also a no-go
the pic on the right is our apt
a couple of days before we left.
so we took our identities to rob’s
for some late night shredding.
then off to bed in hawaii for
the last time. we awoke at
the crack of dawn (literally)
and got ourselves ready to
go.
jared, gilbert, and rob, came
to meet us and pack up my
little poni.
this is the view of our place from the
driveway. we live on the bottom level.
the pic on the right is the last glimpse
of our old apt.
like i said, the crack of dawn.
isn’t it beautiful!!!!!
matt, joy, roger, and eunice
met us at the airport. they
helped get me and all my
bags checked in.
i WIL NOT tell you how much it
was to get my stuff to okc, but
i will tell you that i could have
got my iphone out of lay-away
with the money i forked over
to hawaiian air for my overweight
and extra bags.
(p.s. do you think apple really does
lay-away? that’s something to look
into.)
i handed my little poni over to
matt for safe keeping and tender
care, then they circled up and
prayed for us. my eyes were
a bit moist as the amen was
said by jared.
the formal exchange of
the poni.
getting to the gate was a gong
show for me. i remembered at
the last minute that i had a knife
in my bag. i wanted to peel some
mangos as we waited to depart.
i gave it to my friends waving us
off at the gate. then i wanted to
take a picture, but was rudely
denied the opportunity by the
guard in the security chick line.
THEN we got to our gate area and
had to go through an agriculture
check.
THE MANGOS
they had to go.
and the guards couldn’t even
enjoy them. to the trash they
went!
so sad!
the flight back was so very
delightful. julie and i laughed
the entire time.
4(or less) hours of sleep the night before
+
4(or less) hours of sleep the night before that
+
julie
+
lisa
=
good times on a plane!!
no sleep for us… only laughing
talking, and more laughing.
on our last flight into okc we
had to finish anne. the last
book was almost done. we
read it aloud to each other.
what a perfect way to end.
doesn’t this title sound like a title
from a nancy drew book?
as you know, julie loves capri
sweatpants. she’s rubbed that
love off on me…
enter fozzy, my bear. mom
got him at a baby shower, the
baby shower she was at when
she went into labor with me.
he’s been a beloved friend
since my birth.
julie and i decided that he needed
some sweat capri pants.
now let me tell you about julie.
she is an expert doll/stuffed
animal clothes maker. she was
the craftiest (i know… i made
up that word) little girl you’d
ever meet. all her animals had
handmade clothes, and her
parents had marvelous gifts
for anniversaries and birthdays.
she was creative and artistic
with all her book reports and
school projects.
now, fast forward to adult julie…
20 something more years of
honing her creative abilities.
she came up with the idea.
living in hawaii we did not
know where to go for the
material we needed for sweat
capris.
this is where clint comes in…
after mentioning our material
dilemma to him he graciously
gave us two pair of marine corp.
sweatpants.
we couldn’t have hit a bigger
jackpot!!
when we got the pants we
immediately went to work.
(and by we, i mean she. i sat
close by to offer my encouragement
and support.) we had to make
a STAT trip to walmart for some
sewing materials.
(p.s. we decided to spend some
extra money to get the
GLOW IN THE DARK
thread. one day when i loose
fozzy in the night it will be
totally worth it!)
in no time julie had fozzy
sporting his pants. the
next day she
FREE HANDED
the marine corp. emblem onto
fozzy’s tiny pants. it was so
good, so accurate that i thought
she’d printed it on a transfer and
ironed it on. nope.
julie+paint=beautiful magic
we cut off our pants to make
capir pants, then used the extra
material to make fozzy’s.
you know what that means…
matching pants for all!!!
story time:
here is where nancy drew comes in.
imagine me with a notebook, pencil, and
magnifying glass.
(p.s. don’t ever see that movie…even
if you have kids. julie and i wasted
one dollar each on it one night at the
dollar movies.)
when i got to new york kari jo helped
me unpack. at the end of the night she
took fozzy, in his lovely pants, and
placed him on my bed.
later that night when i went to get into
bed fozzy was gone. caroline decided
that she wanted to sleep with fozzy.
i’d never had to share him before and
this was not a pleasant sensation. but
i pushed it away and went to sleep.
in the night she woke up crying,
“bear! where is bear?!!”
i calmed her, laid her back down,
and tucked fozzy up close to her.
laying back down in the darkness
of the basement room, i thought to
myself, “she can cry for the
bear, but i cannot?!! adulthood!!”
the next morning i went to get fozzy…
NO PANTS!!
i tried my best not to freak out,
but did an ill job of it.
we looked high
we looked low
we looked everywhere
no pants. they had to turn up
somewhere!
where could they be!?!?!
two mornings later i came upstairs
and there on the floor were the
pants!!
hoorah!!
the pants are back!!
i decided not to put them back on
fozzy since he is well loved and
played with here at the cates house.
two days after i found them, in the
midst of a quiet moment, sweet
caroline asked,
“did the bear find his pants?”
