Congratulations!

I'd like to give two shout-outs to three of the most important people in my life: Mom, Dad, and Renee!

First, congratulations to Mom and Dad. In February, they were honored by the International Grocer's Alliance (IGA) as International Retailer's of the Year. They got these spiffy jackets and accepted their award at a ceremony in Miami. You can read the press release here. Sean and I weren't able to be there with them to celebrate (bummer), but if we would have been, we would have smiled like this and said, "We are so proud of mom and dad for so many fantastic years in the Grocery Business!"

So Congratulations to Baker's Foods for being the best of East Central Ohio's--and the world's--independent grocery stores!


Congratulations also to Renee, one of my best friends over the past eight years, who was recently accepted to University of Pittsburgh to pursue an MFA in Writing (Creative Non-Fiction). For those of you who know and love Renee, you know that this is something Renee has been building towards over her entire life. And--she just called me this morning to let me know she's secured funding for the fall! So! Congratulations to Renee, who will soon be on a Barnes and Noble bookshelf near you!

Anyone who gets a public shout-out of congrats on backroads-midwest-coast also wins one of these, hand-made from the world's best balsa wood...(you know...balsa wood...the kind of wood they use to make those never- work- right- when- you- get- them- home boomarang airplanes they try to sell kids from the mall kiosk?)

Tiptoeing Through the Tulips: Mount Vernon in April

I'm going to go out on a limb and clue you into an assumption you're free to make: if your out-of-state boyfriend flies up to Washington to visit you three times in three months, it's getting serious.

Clay came up to visit again this weekend, using some well-earned days off to tiptoe through the tulips with me. I'm not joking when I use that cliche...actually, as you can see here, Clay in particular did more than tiptoe:



Our weekend together began with an extremely intense game of Cranium with ten or so of my favorite Washington friends, in which all of the following truths were discovered:
1. adding hot water to Cranium clay does not make it pliable, even if the clay is being fixed by a man named Clay.
2. doodling while blind is not necessarily easier even if you're half-blind already.
3. trying to act out "mermaid" while on dry land more closely resembles bungee jumping or epilepsy that it does "scaled woman of the sea." (see MerEsther, to your left.)

Regardless, as is always the case in Cranium, a good time was had by all, and no one is 100% sure what the official rules of the game are. Thanks to Jade, Jed, Rider, Esther, Lizzy, Bethany, Zach, C, Becca, and Heidi for a fantastic game night.

Another highlight of the weekend was discovering that the Skagit Valley Co-op is one of the most amazing places in the entire world. First of all, their fresh-made sandwiches and soups are to die for, second of all, the atmosphere is killer, and third of all, Clay and I were able to sit in the upstairs mezzanine near the "Mercantile Shop" and read without distraction for several hours. It's pretty much the most fantastic thing in the world to realize I can shop local, get food I love, purchase coffee and chai, and have a great place to read all in the same spot. And Clay thinks it's the best place in the world to be also, so it's definitely convenient to be able to share it.

A definite weekend highlight was visiting the nearby tulip fields. Every April, the Skagit Valley (where I live) bursts out into full-colored tulips. This field we're standing in front of represents one of about 30 or so fields of tulips and daffodils that erupt every April. People go crazy for these flowers, hopping on busses to visit them, spending exhorbatant amounts of money on local tulip art. And--it's like an official rite of passage if you live in/near the valley you must get your picture taken in a tulip field. So--I am an official resident of the Skagit Valley as a direct result of this photo. And--I officially dedicate this photo to Renee, who has taught me 90% of what I know about what it means to be Dutch and what it means to celebrate the birth of tulips each spring.

We also finally watched Blood Diamond, which I'd been wanting to see for ages. Fantastic performances from Leo and Djimon Hounsou. Movies like this and The Constant Gardener have been reminding me lately how I do dearly love Africa and am definitely not doing enough to advocate for better approaches by the West towards Africa.

Both of these films are good introductory education for westerners on how African civil wars are impacted by the diamond trade and how Western countries exploit Africa for profit. Here's an article from the UN about conflict diamonds, which I strongly recommend you read through and educate yourself on before you purchase your next diamond. I've also heard recommendations from various sources to check into Canadian diamonds, as they are definitely conflict-free.

So. I hope you glean something in there that's good information for a Monday afternoon. If not, at minimum, here's some new wallpaper for your computer. I invite you to become a part of Clay and I's community of prayer as we tiptoe into figuring out how to share life and move towards a future together, whatever that's going to look like:

Bob's Island Getaway 2006 Highlight

Remember that time you voted on the best t-shirt for Bob's? Here's the highlight reel from that event, which took place last April...one of my favorite things about YD--Bob's Island Getaway...

Yoga: An Introduction

For the past two weeks, I've been doing yoga at the Riverside Health Club. I just got a membership there through GlobalFit, which is a rockin' good deal, if you desire a health club membership. (Basically, I qualified for cheaper membership rates through my health insurance provider.)

Anyways--I was excited to go to yoga class, because I do the yoga videos at home. And last week, I went and bought a beautiful red yoga mat. Over the past two years, I've developed a love of the movement of yoga, which so very nicely parallels my upbringing in ballet.

At my first yoga class, I discovered that all yogas are not created equal. Although I had come to love yoga, I did not love this yoga class. I have titled it "Super Slow-Moving Yoga," subtitled, "The class where we stand in place for a really long time, not moving, so that we can meditate on how painful it is to stand in place for a really long time." I didn't know until last week that standing in place could be painful.

It turns out that there are lots of kinds of yoga, so I was surprised on "Super Slow-Moving Yoga" day because I thought yoga was about movement. Renee told me there are different kinds of yoga, and that I probably prefer "vinyasa" yoga because it's about flow and movement and not about standing still for hours. Oh. Good information.

So yesterday I went back to try a new instructor and met yoga I was more familiar with: "Painfully Fast-Moving Yoga Day" subtitled, "Doing lots of complicated back-to-back movements so quickly that no one notices you're repeatedly averting falling on your face and/or cardiovascular failure."

I was in between two middle-aged guys the whole class, so it was pretty easy to feel like I was going a good job.

That's when I made another startling discovery: it's harder to touch your toes when you have long legs. I was beating myself up that all the middle-aged and retirees could touch their toes and I couldn't, until I noticed that my legs were easily 4-6 inches longer in comparion to most everyone else's. This led me to important yoga discovery two: in yoga class, comparison is futile.

I am, however, excited to be at yoga class 2-4 times per week, excited to be exercising, and excited about my new, red yoga mat. Please join me in this endeavor, so our inner lights can greet each other.

Namaste.

Naked!

I just want to take a moment to give a shout out to the amazing people who've brought us Naked Juice. Seriously. You people have done some incredible work, and you deserve to be praised for it.

I was first introduced to Naked Juice about eight years ago, when I purchased a Naked Smoothie at The Blue Bottle in Muncie, Indiana. I was impressed, but I found it hard to justify $4/bottle for juice.

Oh-so-many years later, I have rediscovered Naked Juice during my 40-day caffeine fast, and let me tell you...this stuff is worth every penny! Plus--as far as serving size goes, I find that one bottle actually suffices for two meals, so is actually saving me money, since the $2 daily morning Naked Juice has replaced the usually latte for $3.65.

In my heart of hearts, I am bonded to the Mighty Mango...(shown here.) This morning, I'm drinking "Blue Machine," which is definitely good, although it's no Mighty Mango.

So next time you're in the store, and you're tempted to pick up that 20 oz Minute Maid for $1.59, let me encourage you to set your sights on things more organic and pursue the benevolent joy the Naked Juice will bring you. It will change your life, I guarantee.

Heather vs. Online Ticket Purchasing...an epic battle

I've only recently entered the torrid battlefield known as "Online Ticket Purchasing." I'm talking about purchasing tickets to go see a show--a concert, a musical, a comedian, etc. Purchasing a ticket online for these kinds of events is no big deal really, as long as you want to go see a show that no one else wants to see, as long as the event's general admission, or as long as you don't care how much the ticket costs.

But--if you are trying to purchase tickets for a high-demand show, and you want a good seat for that show and you want it to cost what you budgeted for it--suddenly the world of Online Ticket Purchasing gets a lot hairier. (By hairier, I mean, likely to make you more apt to pull out your hair.)

Recently, I have had one Online Ticket Purchasing failure followed by two Online Ticket Purchasing successes. I would like to introduce you to this process so that you will become a master of Online Ticket Purchasing, as I recently have been.

Case Study One: The Brandi Carlile Debacle

This month, Brandi Carlile opened her spring tour with one acoustic CD-release event in Seattle. The venue had 200 seats available. Since I've spent the last six months falling in love with Brandi's music, I wanted to be there for her spring tour kickoff in a fantastic, intimate venue.

But unfortunately, I committed violated key to victory #1--take advantage of the pre-sale date. I didn't pay attention until it was too late that the pre-sale tickets were on sale. In Brandi's case, this required no specific memberships or passwords, so all I would have needed to do was be ready to buy the tickets at the time they went on sale, which I did not. Four days later when I realized this, all of the pre-sale tickets were gone.

So I marked on my calendar to be there on Saturday, February 17th at 10:00am to buy my ticket with the masses, but as soon as the link to "Purchase Tickets" was revealed, it stated that all the tickets were already sold out.

A small part of me believed I'd be able to get some off of Craig's List or eBay, but all of my check-in's since then saw the $25 tickets priced anywhere from $75 to $150. No way.

So because I missed the opportunity to buy pre-sale...I missed the opportunity to buy tickets at all! Bummer!

Case Study Two: The Brandi Carlile Victory

Last week Clay calls me and says, "They've added a Brandi tour date in Seattle in June." That's when I realized the importance of becoming allies with ticket mega-fans. This is the key to victory #2--get to know someone that's more obsessed than you are with getting tickets to a particular show. Maybe you want to see someone live, but you don't want to keep track of all the dates and how-to's...a mega-fan will do all of this work for you. It's pretty great. If you don't know this person individually, you can usually find them online at fan forums. Start at the band/musical/comedian website and work the links from there...or just google for "crazy fans of ____" and you'll usually find them. Crazy fans like to be seen and heard.

In the case of Brandi Carlile, this was the only way I would have even known in time that Brandi tickets were going onsale--because as a mega-fan, Clay received an email I didn't get.

And so--at the appointed moment last week, I got online at 9:57am and waited for the tickets to go onsale. This revealed key to victory #3--while prepping to buy tickets, refresh your page often. If you're doing this, you'll be prepped to buy tickets at 10:00am according to the site that's selling you tickets, as opposed to 10:00am at the time your computer says it's 10:00am. Those tickets are crucial, as shown in Case Study One, which revealed that sometimes tickets are sold out within seconds of going onsale based on whose computers linked them to the ticket sales the fastest.

Within a few seconds of the Brandi tickets going onsale, I had two seats secured in row three and just had to step through the rest of the process. That's when I learned of key to victory #4--register your login information with the online ticket agency before it's time to buy tickets. I did not do this--I waited to register while I was in the process of buying tickets. Do not do this! Take care of setting up an account and logging into the site (if possible) prior to the tickets going onsale. It is completely nerve-wracking to have those tickets being held for you in cyberspace with no confirmation that they're yours yet. In those precious moments while you're registering, there's an internal panic that says, "If something goes wrong and the system boots me out during registration, I'm going to lose my place in line and potentially lose getting seats this fantastic or seats at all!" It's very, very stressful.

In the case of Brandi, it all worked out well...and within about five minutes, I had successfully secured two seats in the third row of the Moore Theater for a concert in Seattle on June 1st. Fantastic!

Case Study Three: The Rent Debacle and Ultimate Victory

Following my own advice, months ago I secured my key to victory #2 in hearing from Renthead Miranda that Rent was coming to Seattle. I took extra caution myself by keeping track of the dates online and as we've neared the event and calling the venue to find out when tickets would go onsale. I knew it would be early-April, so I began checking the website for the venue and Ticketmaster weekly. Eventually, one of the sites finally posted that Monday, April 2nd at 10:00am was the pre-sale timeline. This might seem a bit manic, but I swear to you that the entire system of buying tickets is working against you going to the show...you have to fight it! You must embrace key to victory #5--do your research! If you don't know exactly when tickets are going on sale, you might miss the opportunity to buy them at all, because they might be gone by the time you find out at all.

So on Monday, April 2nd, at 9:50am, my phone rang while in the middle of a meeting to let me know that it was time to go buy the tickets. That's right--key to victory #6 is setting yourself a reminder to buy the tickets. If you get distracted and miss that 10:00am timeline, you might be waving goodbye to your tickets. Is that really work the extra three minutes of chat time by the copy machine?! Absolutely not! Program the alarm on your cell phone or in Outlook or something! Paste a note on your bathroom mirror. Anything to keep you from missing that 10:00am timeline! And in all of this 10:00am-ness, remember key to victory #7--make sure you're ready to buy tickets at 10:00am local time. If you're in Chicago buying tickets for DC, those tickets are going onsale at 9:00am your time.

So I had my reminder, and I had my refresh button ready...but...I had violated a yet-unknown rule. Which is--key to victory #8--make sure you have the pre-sale password. For Rent, I'm on a mailing list, I was checking multiple websites, but I'd never seen any details about a pre-sale password. So it slipped my mind...until I was into Ticketmaster, ready to buy five tickets, and told that I couldn't proceed without the password. Egads!

I panicked! I rechecked all the reference websites...nothing...I made up fake passwords of Rent-related terms...nothing...and I started hyperventilating...because there was only one possible night I could go see the show, and I needed five tickets (one for me and four for my four wise friends who ensured key to victory #1--befriending an OCD fan!)

So I did what any good mega-fan does--I began scouring the internet to find another crazy fan who would have posted the presale passwords on their blog. This was a good plan...but I could find passwords for shows in everywhere but Seattle. After a few minutes of internet research, however, I came across Fat Wallet, a site designed for fans to post pre-sale passwords to the masses. I ran a search on Rent Seattle, found the password immediately, entered it into Ticketmaster, and discovered I'd found the golden ticket of entry! Success!

The process was still stressful because of Ticketmaster's impossible-to-read security verification secret word box thing, and because I'd violated key to victory #4 and had old credit card information stored on Ticketmaster that needed updating.

But--regardless, I secured five tickets in the sixteenth row on opening night of Rent in Seattle. Two hours later I discovered I am a mega-fan when my Renthead friend Miranda called to let me know about the Pre-Sale password, and I told her, "I already got it. And I have tickets for opening night in Seattle!"



So I am gleeful this week as I successfully secured primo tickets to Rent and Brandi Carlile. I have been a victorious online ticket purchaser...and I'm very happy to share this gleaned knowledge with you so that you can can share the joy of being at the events that you want to be at. As I've commiserated with others over the online ticket purchasing (by others, I mean Dad), I've discovered that many people have knowledge to share from their font of wisdom. Please comment and share your own experiences/advice...from one manic fan to another.

Announcement:

Drew and Lisa, you have been promoted to the category "Nice Blog!"
Brock and Christina, you have been demoted to the category "Blog Slacker!"

Chris and Janelle, I'm still perfectly willing to recategorize you if you write an entry in 2007.

Run Away, Run Away! or not...

If anyone ever says to you, "Will you help me with my wedding?" your immediate response should be to kick the sympathetic nervous system into gear and run away, full speed! Run away! Run away!

You might say that's a jerky thing to do, but I'm pleading with you: Do it! Run away! If you do not run away immediately, something horrible will happen: you will buy into the beautiful romanticism of helping a friend with a wedding, and you think it will be FUN! I'm telling you--it will NOT be fun! Weddings are painted as romantic, life-changing, and perfect, but they are draining, tiring, humbling. Do not ever, ever help anyone with their wedding.

Okay...or maybe not...The "Running Away from Assisting with Friends' Weddings" school of thought will only assist you if you plan on having no friends...or if you plan on spending your entire life operating as an egomaniac...or if you plan to pull off the 5,972 details of your own wedding alone. So while running away is tempting and extremely attractive, I actually don't recommend it.

Maybe you can entertain a mental flight from the scene of the nuptials, but at a surface level, you must appear put together and smile at all times. Whenever anyone expresses an urgent need, you must say, "I will be glad to help." Even if you're so stressed by it all that moments before it's time for wedding pictures to start you're locked in your car sobbing on the phone to your boyfriend who's safely seven states away, you must wipe away the tears, regain your composure, and walk in the doors to the church to face the big day.

What is provoking this line of thought? The exhaustion I endured in helping my friend Corrie with logistical details for her really fantastic wedding this last weekend...which was somehow dissolved in the moment when she walked past my seat in the reception hall, a floating woman in white, put her hand on my shoulder and said, "You did a great job." Somehow--having a good friend dressed in radiant white giving you a compliment can negate two day's worth of blisters, tears, and rampant exhaustion.

Last night as I talked about the weekend exhaustion I endured in helping Corrie and Joe have an amazing and beautiful wedding, my friend Dawn said, "The only thing that can get you through a day like that is intense love for the person you're serving." And it's true. There were countless times through the day when I was carrying chairs in/out of the nursery, helping a tuxedoed preschooler clean smashed-up french fry off his pants or tracking down MIA groomsmen and grandmas that I thought, "I will leave...I will leave...and life will get better." But then I'd see Corrie looking beautiful in her dress and Corrie's parents who seemed so thankful to have me there, and I stayed. I stayed because I knew that I was shielding these people I love from more stress, and that if I left, their day would be less breezy--suddenly the mother of the bride would be on her knees removing smashed-up french fry from the ringbearers tuxedo pants. That is no place for the mother of the bride!

Not that I feel a compulsive need to turn everything in my life into a reflection about Jesus, but seriously...I wonder if that's what Jesus feels like...when we're running around stressed and distracted by mashed-up french fries, he's wishing we could just stop and enjoy the beautiful day that's before us. So he says, "Here...let me clean up that mess...you--just keep your gaze forward and upward."

Corrie and Joe's wedding was a beautiful day...I was exhausted beyond belief...and as far as I know...the bride was not at any time needed to move chairs, haul tables, or load her passenger seat with floral arrangements. So. For one afternoon I was consistently humbled by servanthood and got a strong reminder of how closely love and service are intertwined. And although the life lesson is strong, I must tell you that should you so desire my assistance on the day of your wedded bliss, I regret to inform you I'll be out of town...

Why is there not a better title for this entry than There and Back Again?

I've just returned from a formative trip--one that makes me feel like at the end of the trip, I've arrived back at the same place to find that everything is different.

My 9-day trip across the Southwest started last Sunday. It was preceded by a day of visiting with Hannah and Jon, who flew out to Washington on their spring break. We celebrated their visit by eating lots of good food, watching Arrested Development, and going to bed early.

Early Sunday morning I was off to Palm Springs, California, which is the brainchild of some creative capitalist who decided the best place for a bunch of green golf courses is the middle of the desert. Palm Springs is a nice town, though. On the way there, we enjoyed a breezy 2-hour drive from Ontario, in which we could intake all the beautiful graffiti that lines I-10 through San Bernadino.

My five days in Palm Springs were to attend the Christian Management Association (CMA) Conference. It was fantastic! I listened to great talks from Dr. Henry Cloud, Gordon MacDonald, Patrick Lencioni, and Priscilla Evans Shirer. I attended workshops about Financial Development and Marketing. And I enjoyed a lot of QT with the other YD leaders. In fact, beyond the info I was gathering, that was the best part of the whole week--the informal time with my coworkers, talking about the future of YD and the excitement and tension about change. I definitely got to know everyone a lot better, and a lot of trust was built. (As I like to say--relational equity.)

After five days of filling my brain with work-related brainstorms, I said goodbye to California and headed east to Arizona.

Clay met me at the rental car drop-off at Sky Harbor, and we went to visit Drew, Lisa and Justin, Taylor friends who live in Phoenix. We enjoyed a fantastic rooftop dinner at sunset in downtown Scottsdale...and if we would have desired to purchase a buffalo head for the living room wall, our dreams could have certainly come true. We enjoyed great food, fondue, and fun conversation. And I ate a lot of queso...which was so good to eat and so sad to say goodbye to after I'd eaten it all.

During our fantastic 24 hours in Phoenix with the aformentioned Drew, Lisa, and Justin, we also had coffee with my friend Laura from TU Admissions, and enjoyed a raucous afternoon with the amazingly talented Karaoke Trio of Tim, Jennifer, and Frenchy. (Apart from our visit highlight, which included Jennifer spilling gallons of Horchata smoothie all over the Gas Station Slushie aisle, we were introduced to SingShot, an online community for karaoke lovers.)

Then, Clay and I headed to Tucson so I could meet his life. During the three days in Tucson, I met lots of fun peeps from Clay's church, saw the sunrise over Tucson from a viewpoint on Mt. Lemmon, had my first Eegee, explored 4th Avenue and dined at Caruso's, drove past the US Air Force Airplane Graveyard, and saw a lot of the sun and cacti.

The weekend in Tucson was fabulous...I got a lot of confirmation about Clay and I's relationship just as a result of meeting other people who are friends with Clay...in fact, it was all so fabulous, that when I got off the plane in dreary Seattle yesterday, I began crying about stupid things. (Things like missing the airport shuttle the first time it came and forgetting to take the West Seattle exit.) I think this is a testament to missing the sun, having the letdown of coming home after a fabulous trip, being alone on the car ride home, and being really sad that after 5 days with Clay, I had once again said goodbye.

So I arrive home after nine days with a lot of confidence...I'm confident in my personal relationship with the Lord...I'm confident that I enjoy my job immensely...I'm confident that Clay and I belong together...and I'm confident that what this world needs is more online karaoke and Horchata smoothie.

Life is very, very good.

Californiaaaa and Arizonaaaaa

So I'm off traveling again starting this weekend. First to Palm Springs, California for the Christian Management Association's Spring Conference. At the conference, I will go to exciting seminars on Marketing, Fundraising, and Strategic Planning. (Do not read any sarcasm into this sentence. I am actually stoked about it!)

And then I will drive to Puh-ho-nix, Arizona to see Drew and Lisa, Tim and Jennifer, Laura, and boyfriend Clay.

Here are my anticipated highlights for next week:

1. Having my brain overloaded by exciting career information.
2. Enjoying time with my coworkers and continuing to build relationships with the YD Leadership.
3. Getting a tan.
4. Wearing my new "business casual" wear from Gap Outlet.
5. Spending four hours driving across the California/Arizona desert with my iPod blaring.
6. Seeing six good Taylor friends I haven't seen in awhile.
7. Drinking 14 gallons of water per day.
8. Applying lotion 6-10 times per day.
9. Applying aloe vera 2-3 times per day.
10. Visiting boyfriend's place of residence, church of employment, circle of friends, etc.

And my yet-to-be highlights from tonight:

1. Leaving work at a decent hour.
2. Buying new sunglasses and body wash from B&BW.
3. Preparing the homestead for a visit from Jon and Hannah tomorrow. (Hannah being my bestest friend from my time in Kenya during fall of 2001. She and husband Jon are visiting from Indiana before I leave on Sunday morning!)
4. Getting a smoothie on the way home.

It's the small things in life, you know. I will hope to post more of exciting California/Arizona revelations. Maybe even a torrid tale of running in the desert just before heat stroke. And a blog entry on meeting the significant other's significant others will surely transpire at some point. Please wait on the edge of your seats in eager anticipation.