in which: we go to a lot of weddings

Well, as for my 2012 goals, the only ones that really held up were me learning to cook and growing something. I have a fig tree sapling that continues to get bigger & has a new leaf sprouting! Dori taught me to cook, although I still don't do it very often. 

This year, I want to be a better friend, learn more Spanish (the A's let me download Rosetta Stone for FREE!), begin volunteering at Last Chance Forever again & GET MARRIED. I think it will really happen this year, I can feel it. 

~

Speaking of weddings, our friends Jaime & Emily got married this past weekend!!

The reception was simple & fun. The cutest part was when we saw them off ~ everyone blew bubbles around them & they rode of on bikes! So. Cute.

And Jaime's grandmother made these beautiful hand painted wooden crosses as favors, along with bags of whole bean coffee.

something blue..

We had so much fun! The whole thing was sweet, well put together & totally stress free. Obviously, only good things come out of Fernandez weddings ;) {my love & I met at Jaime's sister's wedding}

Lisa, babe & me

This year is going to be the best one yet.

And to help keep track of my goals, I'm going to be using a site called MySubplot.com, which is an idea based on Don Miller's new book Storyline. It's awesome and lays it out so that you can write your goals out as a story. There's the goal itself, your ambitions behind it, anticipated conflicts and climactic points in the journey, etc. You fill in all the details! Very helpful and makes it so you can actually visualize what it will require to make them happen. 

I highly recommend! 

I am

Olli

in which: i can't make myself

I am getting to know my Father in a whole new light recently.

He is a force through which miracles are not only possible ~ but are HAPPENING.

I'm learning how to pray, how to seek first His kingdom, how to act on the faith He instills in me.

I had no idea what that looked like a few days ago. "Ok, 'seek first the kingdom' - NOW WHAT??"

Some things really are as simple as asking though. I realize now how often I sit and wonder and dwell on how to do something, over analyze it, stress about it, worry over it until... it's just easier to forget about it. 

Change is hard. "The Kingdom" sounds scary sometimes... so foreign. Sometimes I wish for the ignorance of a child; my conscience would feel so much better if I just didn't know about certain things. And yet, the books in bag this moment are about starving children in Africa and another on discovering a a life not under or even for God - but WITH God. 

I can't make myself close my eyes.

I can't rewrite a different upbringing.

I can't erase the terrible mistakes I've made.

But I can say, "What do you have for us today, Papa?"

I can pray for the lonely and hurting and fatherless. 

I can lay hands on the sick.

And the thing is, I don't have to be good at it for to matter!

What I can accomplish was never the point, but my merely making myself available ~ THAT is where miracles are born. I am an ordinary, white and westernized human being. I grew up in a household with a screaming father and fearful mother. I have "been in love" way too many times for it to be true, never make time for exercise and cuss a lot. I'm not that different than a lot of girls I know. 

God doesn't require for anything about us to be perfect, unique or clean.

By saying, "Here I am. Show me how. Show me where. I am willing. I will go." Within the heart of man and the love of God is where the world changes. 

God: such a funny, wild, relentless and wondrous lover. 

 Perhaps what has been reawakened in me lately is something I knew as a child...

I forgot... He was my friend. 

(this movie changed my life)

I am

Olivia

in which: it is 12/12/12

Forgive me dear friends! I have neglected you too long. The Christmas season is in full swing and if I'm not working, I'm either shopping for gifts or cleaning. I must say that the shopping feels a little easier this year and I think I have Pinterest to thank. Also, I'm trying to do more handmade gifts as well. Yay!

I've a candlestick burning a pair of cozy, striped socks on finally. A cold front blew in last night and I am oh so thankful. About time Texas!! I'm hoping it lasts through till Christmas. Usually "Winter" occurs about the time of New Years and through January. Sure wish we had snow though...

~

Thanksgiving with the Etheredges (babe's family) was so fun! Black Friday was my favorite part. Yes there was shopping, but mostly for the fun time I spent with Vanessa & Hannah, Peanut's sisters. Lots of laughing, hunting & coffee. We literally shopped for like 12 hours. Vanessa & I spent 3 hours at World Market alone! We also got to see some precious friends, like Shaffer, Travis, Jim & his daughters.

I love the people in Mobile.

~

As far getting to see AW during our stop in Houston... well, once again, it just didn't work out. Waa! She was planning on leaving that weekend to go be with her family in Pasadena for Thanksgiving. But as we were driving there, she had to leave rather suddenly for Pasadena right then. We were sad. But the letters continue and our friendship remains strong. Oh how I would love to see her though!

~

As for Christmas, it looks like I shall be spending it here between the A's and my grandparents. Perhaps even the Hernandez's. Peanutty will be driving back to Bama... is it terrible that it makes me a tiny bit happy he'll be sad without me? I may even be able to fit in a letter while he's away! I so love writing to him :) 

~

Well, it's off to dreamland for me. Need to be up early for coffee with Renata. PLUS - the date is 12/12/12! So many people are going to get married today. This day will never happen again... but then I guess everyday is like that. 

~

GOD, YOU ARE SO GOOD TO US!! WE LOVE YOU & PRAISE YOU FOR THE WORK ARE DOING IN US, FOR THE LIFE YOU GAVE FOR US & FOR THE REMINDER OF ALL WE'VE BEEN GIVEN... YOU ARE PRECIOUS & HOLY & LOVED. THANK YOU THAT WE ARE THAT IMAGE TO YOU AS WELL. MAY YOUR JOY ABOUND IN THIS SEASON & THROUGH ALL SEASONS!! HELP US TO SEE BEYOND OURSELVES & OUR OWN DESIRES. SHOW US HOW TO SEEK FIRST YOUR KINGDOM IN ALL WE DO, THROUGHOUT THE DAYS OF OUR LIVES. WE LOVE YOU, ABBA.

amen.

I am

Olli

in which: we embrace the road once more

So much to do before we leave town for Thanksgiving. Headed back to Alabama, this time just my love and I. Tomorrow we will head out after work and spend the night in Houston~ where I (mostly) grew up! Alicia Conn (a new friend) has graciously opened her home up to us as well as her boyfriend Matt's.

I'm hoping we will get to spend some time either downtown or in The Woodlands. Perhaps even Magnolia? Magnolia is where I lived before moving to Cali. Speaking of Magnolia... I will also get to see my love Ashley Ward!!! AW and I have written letters back & forth for a couple years. She is from Pasadena, TX and our churches (at the time) joined forces for a mission trip one summer. We didn't become friends then, but I did meet her, and the reason I remember that is because she & I snuck back into the girl's dorm during fellowship, broke open glow sticks and slung the neon liquid from floor to ceiling. The idea was that once the girls in that room went to bed and turned out the lights ~ the whole room would be aglow! It didn't work very well, but oh how exhilarating it was! My friend Colton had put some of the girls up to the prank and we were the only volunteers. A year or so later we began a friendship over Facebook and shortly after started writing each other and well... here we are now. Somewhere along the road she moved to Magnolia and began going to my old church. It's fun knowing the same people and places but at different times in each of our lives. Seeing each other had proved difficult and every time one of us makes plans things just never seem to pan out. Tomorrow, however, will be the first time we meet as friends. It's been years and I'm so excited for this opportunity!!! FINALLY!!

Can't wait to see these people :)

I am

Olli

Corey & Amy Powell

Amy's Mom!

The words to describe this past weekend...

The Powell wedding was probably the best I have been to yet. So many crazy and amazing people - so many FRIENDS! These people are my family. Each day was fun, full of growth and relaxing. Beautiful, does not begin to cover the ceremony, and Amy walked down the aisle to a classical piece from Pride and Prejudice (2005 version) that was absolutely perfect. She was like an angel.  Her brothers walked her down and when asked who was to give her away, they both heartily consented,

"We do."

>>>>><<<<<

The inside jokes and fun memories are too numerous to count.

All I know is this weekend has become one of my favorites.

Sebastian introducing Renata (my BFF & neighbor/his sister) to the game he invented:
BEEF SLAP!

Sebastian ~ Peanut's roommate

I am

Olli

NaNoWriMo - Day 5

Almost a week in and things are not going well my friends. 

Peanut and I are leaving Wednesday for Corey & Amy's wedding and there is SO. MUCH. TO. DO.

I need Ohana worked on, I need to buy gifts, I need to help Dorothy pack a little, I need to do laundry, I need to frickin pack MYSELF, I want to have dinner with my grandparents and need to do all this in between work. 

Oh yeah. 

AND I NEED TO WRITE A BOOK!! 1700+ WORDS A DAY!!!!

I still have hope that I can get most of the way through this month. I don't plan on winning at this point, but some progress is better than having done nothing at all. 

~

Another thing is that Peepaw (my grandpa) was in the hospital all last week. He suffered a minor stroke and although he and Meemo (grandma) are back home now, he is still recovering. So I have been much concerned over that. Also, I have a house to clean - part of my living arrangement here.  

SO. MUCH.

Say a prayer for me!

I am

Olli

in which: we will overcome

Been feeling kind of like this lately...

Still truckin though. Drinking Emergen-C like it's going out of style & gettin better since Dori's been feeding me Advil. Grasping the hang of things at Whole Foods and have one week left at Hastings. Beth is doing better and starts her first big day of Physical Therapy today! Meals and childcare are being worked out and I'll be glad to have more time to contribute once I'm back to working one job again. 

If you'd like to keep up with her progress, here is a link to the site Thomas (her husband/my pastor)is updating just about everyday:

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/bethhernandez/?ref=nl

~

I've been having strange dreams. Not scary, but frustrating. I think it's the fever and perhaps the Lord telling me something. Speaking of fever, I really need to go shower. Sweated through the night and now I'm all sticky! In other (more exciting) news, 

Fall is (mostly) here!!

More pumpkins

More hawk sightings 

More color

More FOOD!

God is so good. He turns all the bad into triumphant, glorious stories. I will get better, Fall will come, the worlds will keep turning, we will all keep breathing & Beth will walk again.

We will overcome.

Let our souls praise Him.

I am

Olli

in which: i am reminded

Exhausted.

Physically.
Emotionally.
Mentally.

In short, my dear friend and neighbor, Beth, was in an accident and has been in the hospital since Wednesday. Between two jobs and trying to be as available as I can be for the H family... I feel kind of in a fog. My body needs rest and it only comes in short spurts. When they are longer, my mind races.

Lord please give me sleep. Give Beth sweet, sweet sleep.

I have done my best to keep it together since I first heard of the accident; allowing a few tears to escape in private moments every day. Last night though... last night was like a dam breaking. My love held me and encouraged me to just let go. So I sobbed for a bit in the front yard of Beth's home. When I managed to "get a grip", he reminded me of a poem Beth gave me not to long ago about crying... http://thesoundofpsithurism.blogspot.com/2012/03/in-which-poetry.html

I laughed for a moment, thinking how ironic it was that she should happen to give me something that would later help me to get through all this regarding her. Then I fell into heaving sobs again. And again. And then a little more.

Father give me the food I need to live through today.



I gave Hastings my 2 weeks.



I am
Olli

in which: i have a job i jump out of bed for

Has it been a while or what?! Been so busy with my two jobs, moving in and sleep in between. Ah... sleep. So precious recently. Had orientation & register training for Whole Foods last week and let me tell ya...

IT. WAS. AWESOME!

I've never been a part of a company that was so FOR their customers. Some of their policies are just crazy their so cool. "This item isn't showing up in our system, no problem - it's on us! You have six of these you say? Great - their still free!" There's such an enthusiasm for people, our community and environment & loving what you do. And they value us (the employees) just as much as their customers. They kept reiterating that we were the cream of the crop and how important we were to this mission. 700+ people applied to this store; 400 got interviews and 168 were hired.

I feel so blessed.

Great discount, awesome food, free outdoor concerts, supporting local farms, supporting people in other countries and in my community... what more could a country girl ask for?

I feel my time at the book store may be coming to an end...

I am

Olli

{ps}

Finished Barnheart today. Been a while since I completed a book... felt great :)

in which: i'm here and gone again

Woke up at about 4am this morning. 

Took Bill & Dorothy to the airport, picked up milk at Walmart, then came home. 

My new home.

Yes, I miss the old one too. My room and the lush front garden and the secret room and the view from the hilltop at night. But here I have gained a new family that I loved before I even lived here. I feel so blessed. 

I won't be able to settle in just yet though; this evening Peanut, Lois & I will be driving up to Camp Buckner for our church's annual Family Camp. Ugh... I'm so tired of packing! We'll be gone until Monday and then immediately after I'll begin orientation and training for Whole Foods (my new PT job! Still at my current one too). This weekend Brian Emmet will be speaking which is really exciting because he is the pastor of the church Ashley & James go to in Boston! I think I may write a letter to send off with him :) 

~

Lots to do before we leave! 

More when we return next week.

I am

Olli

in which: i've a lumineer love

Nope... not a Turn It Up Tuesday. But I am digging these guys so much I can't help myself. Just bought the album (though I've been listening to them for months). Burning a copy for Ohana (my car) & I to jam out to on our travels. Do yourself a favor world... go have a listen. Your ears will thank you!

Also, thank you to babe for introducing me to them!

I am

Olli

in which: we room and we wait

Well, the answer to previous question ended up being no kitten after all. The day I was going to go buy him, I found out that Alycia & I weren't getting the apartment we wanted (they had jacked the price up $60 a mo. just as went to sign). BUT, that same day Alycia informed me of a friend of hers that was looking for roommates. And then there were three :) As the Lord would have it though, she has many allergies - one being cats. So that was that, I got my answer. But I am so much happier to have Rin (new girl) and a better apartment in exchange!

Rin 

So we found another place and find out today if we get approved or not for it. It's a 2bed/2bath in a really nice complex but definitely a higher price. Which is why Alycia found Sam - our newest future roomie.

Sam

And then there were FOUR! Olli, Alycia, Rin & Sam. 

Rin also discovered a great condo that I would be psyched to do if we don't get approved for this apt.

We shall see by the end of ze day.

I am
Olli

Turn It Up Tuesday: Moonrise Kingdom Soundtrack

Peanut, myself & some friends of ours went and watched Wes Anderson's new flick tonight: Moonrise Kingdom. Definitely one of my new favorites of his... although The Life Aquatic will always up there. Too tired to write and too much to tell. Three things I can say... GOOD MOVIE. The music was quite, QUITE good (I'll be purchasing the soundtrack shortly). And I want a pair of binoculars.

I am

Olli

in which: he's rarely early but never too late

So I decided to work another day at the cafe yesterday (a day over my two weeks notice). I thought about blowing them off, but I felt like God wanted me to humble myself and just help them out. So I did. 

Anyway, we have several regulars that come through the drive-thru every morning. One of them is Jennifer and her two little boys (aka) two large mocha frappes, one with whip, one without, both with chocolate drizzle. I don't even take her order anymore. Once I hear her kids through the ear piece I just say,"Morning Jen! Pull around!" so we have a little longer to chat at the window. Her husband also comes sometimes on his way to work and overall they've always seemed like a really sweet family. I've even wished I had an excuse to get to know them better, but we're usually too busy for me to really think of anything.

SO! Yesterday, Jen and the boys stop by and she updates me on how her move is going (they are switching to a new house in their neighborhood). So I asked her where she lives and where should that be but...   the neighborhood just across from where I go to church. "Oh wow, I go to church over there", I tell her. And this is very interesting to her because of course, they've been looking for a church... 

I invited she and her family to stop by sometime and we switched information. And maybe nothing will come of this or maybe something grand will but overall I felt so freaking good about it! Here I was thinking that me working here was just a mistake and obviously wasn't the Lord... but what a blind fool I have been... And here I wasn't even supposed to work yesterday! 
I've never been more excited to be wrong.




I am
Olli

in which: change is a comin

How busy I've been! Sleep was so good yesterday *blissful sigh*

A FEW THINGS:

I put in my two weeks at my cafe job - YAY!!

Ashley & James moved to Boston - BITTERSWEET.

Lisa's dog, Diamond, became ill and passed away last week - VERY SAD.

Our good friends, Corey & Amy got engaged!! So fast! 

Peanut is one of the groomsmen :)

I may have found a roommate!

Introducing the quirky and lovely: 

ALYCIA

~

I wish I had the energy to go into more detail or share more. The truth remains though that I am TIRED, and still have much to get done around here.

More soon though.

Pwomise.

I am

Olli

in which: i will...

2012

learn to cook.

learn piano basics.

learn spanish.

get through most of my book list.

grow something.

take my love to enchanted rock.

pray that God deepens & strengthens the relationships in my life.

get married.

I am

Olli