My Birthday Wish!

     Isn't she a beauty? I think so. Her name is Cranbook Yogurt Debike II. Quite a long name for a bicycle, you might be thinking ... and you'd be right. Of course there's a story behind her name! My friend Gail loves a small "mom & pop" yogurt shop in San Jose called Yogurt Delite. Not too long ago, one of the larger chains "YogurtLand" opened down the street from Yogurt Delite. This made Gail very sad! In order to preserve her favorite small business owners, Gail *never* purchased from YogurtLand but always from Yogurt Delite. She even asked her friend Sharon if she would name her new beach cruiser bicycle after her favorite yogurt shop. Sharon wasn't super excited about that idea but Gail persisted. She even made a bicycle license plate for Yogurt DeBike, hoping Sharon would one day fall in love with the name! LOL.

     Fast forward a few months and I am on the phone with Gail telling her about my birthday wish! I have asked my family for gift cards to Wal-Mart so I can buy a beach cruiser bicycle that I have had my eye on. I know you will *not* be surprised to hear that I threw myself a Birthday BBQ! LOL. Gail asked me to consider naming my bike-to-be Yogurt DeBike since Sharon had not fallen in love with the name quite yet. Being the considerate girl that I am, I decided that Sharon should have first dibs on the name Yogurt DeBike ... but mine could be the II. When I bought the bike last weekend, her first name was displayed on the fender "Cranbrook". So, there you have it! I took Cranbrook Yogurt DeBike II out for a spin today to downtown Willow Glen, we had the best time! I'm hopeful I will ride CB to work as often as possible to preserve the life of my VW. Hoorah for California weather so I can do exactly that! :-)

     I wanted to show you the cute bike basket! My friend Tonya gave it to me for me for my birthday (hoping I would be blessed with Wal-Mart GC's). She added the darling orange gerbera daisies (my favorite color) to the basket for some "Lynda Flair". Is that not the CUTEST bike basket you have ever seen? She's such a thoughtful friend, I am always impressed with her gift ideas and her generous, sacrificial heart! The obnoxious polka dot helmet says "I love my brain" on the back of it. It's a good reminder for me when my vanity attacks and says "It's gonna ruin your hair!" LOL. Yes, I wear the helmet!!!

     I'm still lovin' my part-time gig at Achiever and I'm REALLY enjoying our Spring Break this week. Woo Hoo! I'm continuing to pray and wait for the offer from Achiever for next year (which would start in August). The principal and I are trying to figure out a salary that will work for both the school and me.  Thanks to many of you who have texted, e-mailed and called to let me know you're praying for me. I sure do appreciate it.
     All around the Silicon Valley, churches get together and sponsor a park location for an Egg Hunt on the Saturday before Easter. No agenda, no cost involved, just a way to reach out to the community and say, "We love you!" Church attendees donate the plastic eggs & candy, the youth groups stuff the eggs, and hundreds of folks volunteer to make it happen. Well, I have a bunny suit stashed in my costume box and offered to be the bunny rabbit (if they wanted one). They said, "Yes!" so I went to the park and hopped around for a few hours, taking lots of photos with the kids and passing out teeny plastic bunny rabbits with parachutes on their backs. You remember them, I'm sure. You toss 'em in the air and they slowly drift down using their parachute! LOL. God blessed me with a cloudy Saturday (it gets hot in that suit), but it wasn't chilly. Perfection! A good time was had by all! Until next time! TTFN.

Blogging From Paradise!

     Yes, it's true. My daughter Jenni and son-in-law, Johnny gave me the best birthday gift ever ... their frequent flyer miles! I left for the San Jose airport at the butt-crack-of-dawn on Wednesday morning and arrived in Hawaii at noon. My suitcase was filled with lots of wheat free/gluten free flours, pastas and treats which are *very* expensive and hard to find in Hawaii. Check out the treasures Jenni had waiting for me below (she's an uhhhhmazing hostess) as well as the loot I crammed into my suitcase. Jenni was beyond excited and could not wait to dig into the cereal mix from Gma! 

     Another birthday treasure I received was from Josh & Shannon who gave me with two hideous ceramic frogs and suggested I take them along. Jenni and Johnny were quite perplexed when I brought them out of my carry-on bag but played along and graciously took a photo with Josh & Shannon Frog.

     Since arriving, Jenni and I have enjoyed trips to the YWM campus, exercise, shopping, and she has  taken me to a *different beach each day* (Johnny had to work). The weather was overcast the first two days but today was glorious! It's been so relaxing and deeeeelightful. Tonight was the Welcome Luau Dinner for the new students. The outside courtyard was filled with an excitement for Jesus like I have never seen before! I wish that everyone who supports Jenni & Johnny financially could experience what I did tonight. It affirms they are right where they are supposed to be and your money is being used for Kingdom causes. So many students from all over the world, on fire and ready to change the world. I was *so* blown away with all that was going on around me that I forgot to take a photo! However, Johnny did take one of me and Jenni just after we scarfed our luau dinner (@ the YWAM campus).

     The second day I was here, Jenni & Johnny needed to go to a meeting so Johnny set me up with a moped. He gave me a few instructions, rode with me for a quick loop around the campus and then set me free! I drove around the campus by myself for about 5 minutes to get the hang of it, then I was off-n-running. I went into town and found a yummy yogurt shop (similar to Yogurtland in SJ). It started sprinkling and so I decided I should head back to the YWAM campus to meet J&J. For all of you who are wondering, I *did* wear a lovely white helmet the entire time I was riding the moped ... just didn't have it on while Johnny was teaching me.

     As many of you know, J & J are living with a family (the Byrd's) who are absolutely wonderful and amazingly laid back. The Byrd's have 3 kids (Asher - 6, Hadassah - 3, Rhema - 1 1/2) who are so much fun to be around. Sometimes Jenni french braids Hadassah's gorgeous blonde hair. Jenni has been telling her that I am the best french-braider ever ... and maybe when I arrived ... I would french-braid her hair. You know how happy that made me? It's been SOOO long since I have done it that I was a little nervous I might have forgotten how, but thankfully, it all came back to me. Here are a few pics of what my brother used to refer to as the "rope-a-dope" hairstyle (which used to be Jenni's favorite). I guess it reminded him of a rope? Who knows. LOL.

     I'm looking forward to spending the next few days with Johnny & Jenni. We get to visit another new beach tomorrow. Yes. Yes. Yes. I really don't mind blogging from Paradise, not one little bit. TTFN.