Proffitteer

Anniversaries

2010-08-23T19:32:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday was an anniversary for my family, as is today. 6 years ago on August 19, 2004, my mom passed away. 6 years ago today on August 23, we buried her and celebrated her life.

I was not in the room when she passed away, but I came in immediately after. The family was crowded around her bed, and I was the last to walk in. My then 12-year-old cousin Dalton saw me and rushed over to me. He just latched onto me in this big bear hug and said, "Bree it's going to be okay. It's going to be okay." My 12-year-old cousin was the first to comfort my 20-year-old self. I still find that pretty remarkable, and I won't ever forget it. We were surrounded with so much family and so much love.
The next few days were such a blur. I remember my good friends Jennifer and Betsi went shopping and found me an outfit to wear to her funeral. It still hangs in my closet. I took my little brother to find some dress shoes to wear. I ended up finding a fabulous pair of hot pink stilettos. Pink was my mom's favorite color. So, I splurged.
I hate to call my mom's funeral a funeral, because it was unlike any memorial I have ever been to. Pastor Bo, who married Daniel and I as well as my Dad and Dawn, led the service. There were about 1200 people in attendance, and we celebrated her life. There was a full worship band, and we worshiped God together with songs of celebration. Two of Mom's close friends got up and spoke, and I will never forget when Beth said my mom was an oak of righteousness--she looked at me and my brother and said, "The acorn didn't fall far from the tree."
It was really beautiful, and my sweet momma was honored in the sweetest ways. Today and every day, I remember her.

She passed away on a Thursday, like it was this year, and we honored her on a Monday, like it is this year. 6 years later on August 19, 2010 I was at an outreach event where I was putting on a production I wrote that contains the gospel in song and dance. Today, on the 23, I went over to my Dad and Dawn's house and talked with Dawn for a few hours, got together with some friends, and worked on a song that we're getting ready to record in the studio. Life is so totally different now, and I imagine my momma knows what's going on down here--but she has a totally different perspective from heaven and probably isn't all that interested in what's going on down here because she's face-to-face with Jesus. But I still feel her presence so strongly in my life. She is part of me and I am part of her.
I am thankful for my life now and the way God has brought redemption to me and my family and has restored what was meant for harm. The Lord is my victory.

Proffitteer Road Trips

2010-08-09T15:15:00.000-07:00

Every year, our preteen ministry takes the 6th graders on a road trip as part of the closing of their time in the ministry. Daniel and I got to go this year, so we loaded up in vans and took 45 6th graders to Dallas/Fort Worth

We arrived at the church at 6:15 Friday morning (yes, morning) wearing our swimsuits so we could head straight to Hurricane Harbor and not skip a beat in hitting the afternoon sun. I have never worn my swimsuit for so long as an adult. And now I remember why. It is miserable being in a swimsuit that long! In a van, for that matter!

I'd never been to Hurricane Harbor--my days were Wet N'Wild--so I couldn't remember what to expect. But it was so much fun!
Note to HH: please, on days when it is 102 degrees, do something to make your concrete not so hot that it burns our feet. Don't you know people don't be swimmin' in their shoes?

I do not particularly enjoy being in a swimsuit, nor do I particularly enjoy being wet. But for this trip, I sucked it up, smeared on my spf 90 (yes, 90) and had a great time!

At the end of the day the rides were closed early due to an approaching storm. Then the downpour hit--and everyone was freaking out because "we're getting wet!" Wait. You're at a WATER PARK. Water. Park. Get it? So we huddled underneath a picnic area for about 20 minutes, until one of the employees asked us to move to a building

Wait, asking is an understatement. She came running by our picnic area screaming "everyone get to a building! Now! Hurry!" So now you have 45 kids thinking there is a tornado or something fast-approaching, and chaos ensues. We corral our kids (finally), decide we've had enough and run to the vans in the pouring rain. A fun day at Hurricane Harbor!

Next day: Six Flags. We got there at 10. We left at 10. 12 hours at Six Flags, high again of 102, and about a million people. The thing that really floored me was that there were families there with tiny babies--a few who couldn't hold up their heads yet. In the 102 degree heat. Pushing strollers.
Some of the families with babes I saw didn't even appear to have kids of the ride-riding age. That did not sound like fun to me at all. And put some sunscreen on those babies! Somebody!

Daniel and I and a few other leaders ended up with 12 kids we hung out with most of the day. 5 of those kids were terrified of roller coasters. Enter Daniel, my fab hubs.

Terrified kid: I'm not gonna ride this one. I'll just sit it out and wait for you guys.
Fab hubs: I'll make you a deal. If you ride this ride, I won't try to get you to ride one more ride the whole time we're here.

Every kid took his offer. Every kid LOVED the roller coasters and was then sprinting to the next one. These kids were overcomers, and I was so proud!

So we shut down Six Flags, and it was pretty awesome. I'm an avid roller coaster rider. One time Daniel and I took a marriage vision retreat....to Magic Mountain in LA. Too much fun. And pretty romantic as well!

The next day? Grapevine Mills Mall. Took it by storm. And it took all our cash in return. Afterwards we loaded up, headed home, arrived about midnight, and slept like wee babies in 102 degree heat at Six Flags.

6th Grade Road Trip, 2010. Whoop!

Cohabitation Shmabitation.

2010-08-03T15:25:00.000-07:00

Last night I was watching the finale of The Bachelorette (gosh, I'm a sucker for that show), and I really was proud of Ali and the way she talked to Chris before the final rose ceremony and let him know she was in love with someone else before allowing him to go through all the pomp and circumstance of the last ceremony. I appreciated that for Chris, and I appreciated Chris's response.
I do think he would make a great husband, though I hope he's not the next Bachelor because, after this experience, he doesn't seem like the kind of guy who would benefit from choosing between 25 women. I'm afraid his poor heart would get hurt again.

Anyways, I was happy that Ali picked Roberto, and was happy again when on "The Final Rose", Ali was still beaming, still wearing the ring, and still snuggling up to him during their interview. I really do hope it works out for them.

What bugs me is that Ali and Roberto talked about how they are moving into an apartment together in San Diego.
What bugs me even more is that this moving in together thing seems to be a growing practice amongst people of my generation (the 20 to 30 somethings).

My hubs Daniel and I were talking about this concept the other day. We come from the Bible Belt, where it's common for people to get married soon out of high school or around 20 or 21 and it's no big deal, and to start having babies right after that is no big deal either. However, when Daniel and I went to California, we were "too young to have kids...you're just so young"

We are 26 and 28. Too young to have kids?!

It's a growing trend in the world at large to wait to get married and to wait even longer to have kids. Honestly, I think that's fine. I am not ready to have kids yet, and there are a lot of people who genuinely are not ready to get married until later or do not meet their spouse until later or who are called to be single, and I think that is totally okay.

But I do think our culture promotes this idea of putting off marriage by putting a focus on "self" and a further acceptance of divorce. I hear terms such as "practice husband", and people having sex in order to "sample the goods before I make a commitment" and people moving in together to "see if it works out".

Well, how long to you "sample the goods" before you decide the "goods" aren't for you? And how long do you "see if it works out?" Until the first sign of unhappiness? Until something goes awry?

I call that Practicing Marriage. And I don't think it works. I understand that a lot of people are products and victims of divorce. And I completely understand how it would make someone hesitant to get married. I understand that. But I think practicing marriage further promotes our self-focused culture by giving people an easy way out. It's easy to get out of a relationship where you're living with one another because there's no real commitment there. There's no marriage covenant; you haven't signed any paperwork--easy. If you haven't signed any papers and there's no marriage covenant there, what's left to make you work on the relationship? What's left to make you work on yourself? I just think it's a set-up for a cop-out when the relationship hits a bump in the road.

All that from The Bachelorette...

Here's to Consistency

2010-08-01T15:00:00.000-07:00

Gosh, the last time I blogged was in January. My blog today is like my journal several years ago--sporadically timed and quite random. The journal has ironed itself out into some sort of consistency, but the blog, not so much.

In my journal, whenever I'd miss a few days or weeks of writing, I'd spend the next entry apologizing profusely (to myself, to God, to whomever I was writing at that point) for skipping those days. Like I had really let someone down. Really who I let down was myself.

But, with this Proffitteer blog, I shall not do that. I shall write, and if I miss some days or weeks or months, I will not apologize--unless for some crazy reason tons of people start reading this blog and then get upset when I am not posting consistently.

This summer for we Proffitts has been kind of ridiculous, in the sense that busyness has been the name of the season! When you work at a church, like I do, and when you work in children's ministry, like I do, your summer is consumed with finding things for the kids to do while they're out of school.
So what do we do? Camp! Each year we take several hundred kiddos to two camps--one in June and the other in July. This year we took a group of 5th and 6th graders to Bonita Park, NM and our 1-4th graders to Plains Baptist Assembly in Floydada. It was fun, I was exhausted in the best way, and there was a different type of spiritual maturity in the kids this year.

Between the camps, Daniel and I took a trip to California (our stomping grounds as newlyweds). We arrived on a Tuesday and stayed with our good friends Nathan and Jill and their newest addition to their little family, Selah Lucca (age 5 weeks). We had such a good time with them. They live in an apartment in Scotts Valley, CA, but it's no ordinary apartment. It sits in the basement of a split level ranch house on the edge of town, and it's set on a beautiful hill. So when you sit on their front porch, you look across a small valley neighborhood with beautiful redwoods AND open spaces (a rare combo). Jill had planted a garden outside the house, and we sampled some button carrots (is that what they're called, Jill?) and some sugar snap peas that put any grocery peas to shame! They were sooooo good.

One of the most interesting things to me was the chicken coop. Every morning the guys would go to the coop and get some eggs. I can honestly say that up until that point I had never had an egg so fresh, as in, straight out of the coop. I was thinking for some reason that an egg straight out of the coop would taste weird or different. It didn't. I tasted like a normal egg. How bout that?
Next to the coop was a place where some llamas were staying, and then there were the several neighborhood dogs that somehow made their way up to our house throughout the week.
It was so wonderful to just hang out, do whatever we wanted, and be.....just be. We went to the beach, we went to the farmers market (which does not compare to Texas Panhandle farmers markets. It just doesn't), we saw a movie, at some sushi at Mobo, the place for which our pup is named, and did a little bit o' shopping.

At the end of the week we went to Camp Hammer, where Daniel was going to spend a week as the camp speaker. I had to come back to Texas for our kids camp, so I left on Monday to fly back home as Daniel began his speaking week.

From Monday to the next Sunday, Daniel and I were unable to speak to each other--either he or I had no cell service for the rest of the week! It's one thing to be separated from your spouse by a few states, but it's another thing to not get to talk to each other! I was so thankful for his arrival home on Tuesday afternoon.

So now, we settle back home and get ready for school to start. We are working on our bathroom and the outside of our house.

Too many things have happened since January to recount them all, and this summer alone could cover 50 posts.

So for now, summer winds down a bit, and we Proffitts continue pioneering the Plains.

Here's to consistency!

To the roots

2010-01-21T12:46:00.000-08:00

Daniel was just recently out of town for 10 days. 10 very l..o...n...g days, might I add.
He went to Michigan for a residency program required by his seminary (Spring Arbor University) and did some intense training for his masters in Spiritual Formation and Soul Care.

When I tell people around here what Daniel is studying, usually there's a nod and a "hmmmm", before I ask "Have you heard of it or know what it is?" to which the reply is almost always "Nope. Never heard of that. What on earth is it?" To which I then reply...

Spiritual Formation is kind of like Human Growth and Development, except from a spiritual standpoint. It takes a deep look at our lives--the way we grow up, the influences in our lives both good and bad (parents, teachers, friends, etc...) the things that happen to us along the way that then shape the way we view God and relate to Him, other people near and far, and ourselves.

Example: A person, say, whose parents were divorced and the father was completely absent in their childhood might transfer the absence of an earthly father onto the type of Heavenly Father God is, causing them to view Him as absent, unreachable, distant, and causing them to possibly be afraid to get too close to other people for fear that those people, like the father, will abandon them.

Make sense? Good.

So the things we experience growing up in this wonderful/awful life shape who we become as adults, the truths or untruths we believe about ourselves and God--and these things we end up believing about ourselves and God are so deeply rooted in our past experiences that we can't even decipher that a lot of our beliefs we've clung to for so long are, well....jacked up.

Take me for example--somewhere in my life journey I began to believe that I should not cling to good things or hope for good things in this life because I am not worthy to have anything good, or for my dreams to come true--everything is too good for me...it led to a lot of devastation, not wanting to get too close to people, and plain ole self-condemnation...until I sought the Lord on this particular issue and He revealed to me that the belief I'd been clinging to about not being worthy of good things is rooted in my mom's death. She was an amazingly wonderful, good thing in my life, and she was taken away from me. Subconsciously I believed I must have done something wrong to have her taken away from me, so I was not worthy to enjoy something good--and if something looked too good, it must not be for me. I cannot have good things.

See? What a cycle. The even crazier thing is that while I'm believing this terrible lie, I am in the midst of experiencing amazing things--meeting my husband, being offered a super cool job, being blessed with an amazing family and friends...but still I feel not worthy and am terrified that somehow I will mess up and everyone will leave me.

It is only in digging up the roots of our issues that we will be able to plant in their place something beautiful and alive.

Now I am so interested in not only digging to the root of my own issues, but helping others pick out the right shovel to dig out theirs as well. It's not something someone can do for you, but it is something you can be guided to and through.

Oh, and it's not fun. It kinda hurts. Actually, it hurts a lot. But then when your flowers start to bloom and you see a new you emerging, you will look up and smile.

Remember that cute dog?

2009-12-07T07:31:00.000-08:00

In my last post, the dog had peed on the bathmat. That's okay--I can wash the bathmat, and it's not that great of a bathmat anyway.
This, I cannot excuse:

You are aware that winter (my favorite season) has descended upon us, and it is now really cold outside. Too cold for Mobo, our lovely pup, to stay outside. So she spends her days when mom and dad are at work, in her crate. We check on her at lunch, and she's super excited when we come home from work--it's really nice that the best part of the dog's day is when Daniel and I come home. Feels good, ya know?

Well, last Wednesday Mobo had spent time in her crate all day, and was going to have to spend more time in there because Wednesday is our long day at church. Daniel went home to check on her after school before he came back up to the church. He couldn't bare to to put her back in her crate again, so he chew-proofed the bathroom, put her crate in there with some toys, and left her.

I was the first to arrive home after church that night, and so I was the first to let Mobo out of the bathroom. I was also the first to discover the fun she had while we were gone!

Because our bathroom did not come with storage space, we keep our bathroom essentials in a brown wicker chest that has 4 drawers. Mobo decided that because Daniel had chew-proofed the bathroom, and because the toys he left her weren't good enough, that she needed to claw through the 3rd drawer in our wicker chest (yes, all the way through), drag out our hair dryer, curling iron, and CHI flat iron, and destroy them. Like, chew through all the cords. So I walk in to wicker shards all over the floor, and my 3 hair essentials in sad little pieces alongside the wicker. I didn't pick up the mess because I wanted Daniel to see what our beloved pup had done, and he appreciated it all even less than I did!

The best part was that it was 10:00 at night, my hair was on its last day before it majorly needed to be washed, and I had to wear my hair curly (which I do with my flat iron) the next day for a video I was shooting. And I had to be at work early. All things add up to me being super happy and thrilled about shelling out the money to buy new hair essentials.

I dug through some old stuff and found a curling iron from elementary school that still worked. So my dirty hair made it another day, and was curly. The hair dryer came the next day, and I found a CHI for really cheap as far as CHI's are concerned. It arrived 2 days later. All in all, it wasn't too bad, but Mobo spent a few days as "the dog" instead of "our cute puppy"

Sigh.

This week has been a little nuts. We had our first party at our new house--the worship and drama teams from Trinity came over and we had our annual Christmas white elephant gift exchange. It was fun! I ended up with a Snuggie for dogs. Slightly ridiculous, but hey--Mobo likes it. Our house is going to be a good "have company over" house. I was kind of nervous about that, but it was a success! More to come, maybe? ;)

In other news, the other day someone asked me if I was expecting. I said no, I am not expecting. He said "oh! Well, you kind of look like it, so I thought I'd ask." Oh, you just thought you'd ask, huh? hmmmm.....

I'm hoping it was the empire-waist tunic I was wearing that day. ugh.

Tis the Season?

2009-12-01T09:42:00.000-08:00

Yes, tis the season I believe. Today I got up at 6:15, went in the kitchen and got some oatmeal and some coffee, then talked with Daniel while he got ready for work (he has to leave at 6:45--the life of a basketball coach). After he left, I sat on our cozy couch with my cozy robe and cozy blanket, opened my Bible to 1 Corinthians 15, and promptly fell asleep. Until 8. I have to be at work at 8:45 on Tuesdays.

Mobo (the puppy) must have realized I needed to sleep, because she laid quietly in her bed until I woke up. That is not the norm.

When I bolted off the couch at 8, I debated taking a shower. I took one last night, but I didn't wash my hair. When did I wash it last? Can't remember. Could I just pull it back and it would look fine? No, not today--my bangs were on full stand-on-end alert.

Into the shower I go. I have no choice these days but to be a fast shower-er, because our water heater keeps us accountable by promptly running out of hot water when it thinks you've been in there long enough.

I get out of the shower to find that Mobo has peed on my bathmat, and she also needs to be fed before I put her back in her crate--it's too cold today for her to stay outside, and the garage is full of wonderful things she'd love to chew on and or/digest. I need to be out the door at 8:35. I got 10 minutes to feed and water the dog, take her outside to potty, dry my hair, find something to wear, and throw some makeup on.

I succeed. The dog chowed down and made it to the crate, my hair is a little flat, my makeup is most definitely thrown on, and my sweater is really old. And I don't even care. I have made it to work, and I have some hot coffee and a few Hersheys kisses.

Some day I'd like to think that I'll be able to get up and stay up, and sometimes I can...but boy, it's hard. My couch invites sleep. But I really really like sitting on that couch! Some day I'd like to think that putting my makeup on in the car on the way to work is a rare occasion instead of the norm. Plus it's not that safe.

Some day I'd like to think that I will have it all together and all my problems will be solved, but there is some comfort in knowing that will not happen in this life--it's an eternal process.

Well, off to work. Today's tasks include finding fun Christmas songs to do in service, practicing my guitar, sending gobs of emails, putting together set lists, and other fun things. It's a hard job, but somebody's gotta do it!

A New Place to Sit

2009-09-15T19:09:00.000-07:00

In our house, we have 2 living areas-- the "living room" and the "den"...The living room is the "formal" living area which houses most of the furniture we had in our California living room--a "couch" ( ok, it is a couch, but not a typical couch. It's a West Elm couch that looks cool but is small and uncomfortable) and an entertainment unit. That's all the furniture we could fit in that living room. It was pleasantly small. So we move into our new house that has these two living areas, and we decide we want to put the California furniture in the "living room" (formal) and have the "den" be the room we spend the most time in (TV, big comfy couch, etc...)

The problem was that we didn't have any furniture at all for the den. But we still wanted to spend most of our time in there! So a lot of that time was spent on some big floor cushions we have, and when Daniel felt like dragging in a chair from the living room, one of us sat on a chair and the other one sat on a cushion on the floor (which is HARDwood, by the way).

Enter the day awhile ago when we stumbled into Ashley furniture and stumbled even further onto a great couch we kind of fell in love with...

But you (and my banker dad) will be happy to know that we did not impulse buy the couch that day, even with their 0% financing, no-payments, no-interest blah blah blah stuff they were pulling. We decided we would actually SAVE (what a concept) for the couch and buy it when we had the money! I know you are thinking "how novel. I'm so proud of the Proffitts".

Thank you.

So Friday, the day our money stash equaled the price of the couch, was a glorious day, and Daniel's parents helped us move or new couch into the lonely, furniture-less den.

I so do wish I had a picture to show you, but at this moment I do not. I don't even know if I'll be much of a picture taker when I have kids. Maybe we'll leave that to the grandparents.

But this couch is a soft chocolate brown microsuede, modern and contemporary yet cozy and comfortable. And just fabulous. I don't even know if I care what it looks like, actually. I sink into it, and that's what matters.

It was nice that when my parents came over Sunday night, they had a comfortable place to sit (you should have seen my dad trying to sit on West Elm couch--comfortability was non-existent)

Okay okay. A redeemable quality of West Elm couch is that it does turn into a remarkable twin bed.

Every day since Friday, when Daniel has asked me what I want to do, I usually respond with "Let's sit on the couch!" with a girlish squeal and a big smile. He obliges. He is just as excited about this couch as I am.

Oh and you can forget those "don't eat on the couch" rules you had to follow when you were a kid. There will be much much eating on this couch. We will try to keep our messes to a minimum, of course, but still--there will be eating.

So now I sit here on the couch typing this blog while Daniel folds my laundry. That may seem kind of backwards to some of you out there, but that's what I get for marrying an amazing guy.

Why do I do this to myself?

2009-08-10T16:53:00.000-07:00

So I create a blog, then I write on the blog consistently for a few months, only to neglect it for several months...I then reprioritize my life, find that the blog should be a priority, and begin the vicious cycle again.

This is one of those reprioritizing times. Or, actually maybe it's that I have the time to blog for the first time all summer. Let's go with that.

It's been the craziest summer ever...maybe even a little bit crazier than the summer we spent at Camp Hammer in the redwood mountains (wait, wasn't that just last summer?!) For a lot of people with children, summer is a time to relax and play outside and have fun as a family...and when you work in children's ministry, it's time to plan all sorts of fun activities for children while they're out of school. So it makes the life of a children's pastor a little more hectic.

Our summer schedule in a nutshell:

End of May, Daniel and I go on a mission trip to Nicaragua. Amazing. We get back June 6.
June 10, we close on our house.
June 26, we go to Xtreme camp
July 1, we move to our house.
July 7, we start Kindercamp.
July 9, worship team auditions
July 14-16, camp rock
July 24-28, kids camp

When I said crazy, I mean crazy! But now we can breathe, and I am coming off of this summer stretched, challenged, and grateful.

I don't know what this next season holds, but hopefully it will be a good season. I am believing this will be the best year of my life :)

End of blog. I decided I will quit blogging when I no longer have things to say. That, for today, is now.

More Consistency

2009-04-21T13:42:00.000-07:00

I'm not even going to start by apologizing for not keeping up with this blog since January, and I'm not even going to promise that I will do better and blog more often, because then no one is disappointed when I don't, and there are no unrealistic expectations, so when I do end up blogging more regularly, everyone is happy :)

I just got home from Trinity's women's retreat in Santa Fe. I'm still processing the weekend, but I can tell you off the bat that it was amazing to get away for several days and go to the mountains and get snowed on (actually, it was more like sleet-snow. It accumulated, but it stung my face) and eat good, comforting mexican food and just relax! I don't know if the processing of the retreat will make it to the blog, but I'm sure I'll be better for the processing.

Recently at Trinity, our senior pastor had all the staff take a strengths-finder test. In case you haven't ever heard of strengths-finder, it's a book that comes with an online test (you have to buy the book to take the test), and it basically outlines 34 different strengths people have and how to build those strengths within yourself...he asked us to take the test as a staff so we would gain better understanding of our colleagues as well as ourselves. I have to say, it's pretty eye-opening, and I'd highly recommend it! The test takes almost an hour and it comes out with your top 5 strengths. then in the book is a description of the strength as well as how to capitalize on that strength and work with other people who have that strength as well. My top 5 are:

Woo: stands for "winning others over." You enjoy the challenge of meeting new people and getting them to like ou. Strangers are rarely intimidating to you. You are drawn to them. There are always new people to meet, new rooms to work, new crowds to mingle in. In your world there are no strangers, only friends you haven't met yet--lots of them.

Communication: You like to explain, to describe, to host, to speak in public, and to write. Ideas are a dry beginning. Events are static. You feel a need to bring them to life, to energize them, to make them exciting and vivid. You want your information to survive.

Belief: If you possess a strong Belief theme, you have certain core values that are enduring. Your work must be meaningful; it must matter to you. And guided by your belief theme it will matter only if it gives you a chance to live out your values.

Significance: You want to be very significant in the eyes of other people. In the truest sense of the word you want to be recognized. You want to be heard. You want to stand out. You want to be known. You feel a need to be admired as credible, professional, and successful. Likewise you want to associate with others who are as well. And if they aren't, you will push them to achieve until they are. You want your work to be a way of life rather than a job.

Strategic: The Strategic theme enables you to sort through the clutter and find the best route It is not a skill that can be taught. It wis a distinct way of thinking, a special perspective on the world at large. You cull and make selections until you arrive at the chosen path--your strategy.

After I took this and read these, I was like "wow"--I felt like they kind of hit the nail on the head with me!! Some of these things I've seen in myself but never really thought of them as strengths before, so now it's about viewing them as strengths and figuring out how to grow them more. And I"m really looking forward to hearing what the rest of the staff's strengths are. It's so interesting! I'd encourage you to get the book and take this test. You'll learn a lot about yourself.

That's about it. Go Miss California USA.

New Everything

2009-01-01T15:18:00.001-08:00

Hello friends. I realize it's been more than a month since I last posted, but considering the month the Proffitteers had, you will forgive me. Or else :)

So, we now live in Texas. The glorious Panhandle of Texas, where the wind comes sweeping down the plains (at 100 mph) and you can see all around you for miles. Glorious!

We are settled in to our apartment, and enjoyed a fabulous Christmas with both the Proffitts and the Wells....

Now, here we are!
I started my first day of work on Monday. It was incredibly strange to get back into the working world, and I don't know that I've totally entered the working world yet because I haven't really done anything. Really at all.

I'm not even sure what my title is. I think it's Associate Pastor of Children's Worship. But, ?

Anyways, transition has been happening for the last month it seems, and I feel like we're only just beginning. I have no idea what life in Texas holds for us as a married couple, but it is so nice to know, in the midst of it all, that God loves us and wants to bless us indeed. And it's also nice to know that we have such an amazing network of family and friend support here that there's no way we're alone.

So, I don't know what to expect, really. I realize that God's path is through the water, not around it. But I know that He will walk with me through it and carry me when I need him to. I just have to make the choice to walk with Him in it.

Thanksgiving: Taken by Storm

2008-11-28T16:32:00.000-08:00

I think that would be an accurate movie title, if there were to be one made about the way our Thanksgiving went yesterday.

This being mine and Daniel's first Thanksgiving married, and also our first away from our families, pre-move, we knew it had to be special. So we decided to spend it with our dear friends Nathan and Jill, also transplants from far away and unable to connect with family for the holiday.

A few days before the grand event, Jill calls. Keep in mind that none of us have ever cooked anything "thanksgiving-ish" before. (this is the reader's digest version of the convo):

Jill: "So, what's our plan for Thanksgiving?"
Me: "I dunno...we've always had traditional turkey, cranberry, stuffing, etc..so I'm not sure what else works for turkey day"
Jill: "So you wanna go easy, or do you wanna go for it?"
Me: "I'm up for going for it. You wanna go for it?"
Jill: "I wanna go for it"
Me: "Ok, let's go for it:
Jill: "Ok!"

We decided to go for it. By the end of our phone conversation, I was in charge of the green bean casserole, the stuffing, the mashed potatoes, and the bread. Jill took the turkey, the cranberry sauce, and the salad. Oh, and the house. We had it at their place :)

So yesterday arrives. The night before I had spent an hour in the kitchen doing "prep":

3 onions, chopped. (Daniel cried like a baby, and I was the one chopping the onions)
12 corn bread muffins, baked (for the stuffing)
lots of groceries, including 3 cartons of heavy cream (yay clogged arteries) bought.
recipes, in hand.
supplies, packed and ready to go.

Thanksgiving, here we come.

We arrive at our destination at 11:30 am and come across Nathan and Jill having a hands-on turkey education class. There is a metal "thing" buried deep into the turkey legs holding them together or something, but we need to get it out to clean the turkey and it's not coming out and what do we do? We get pliers. Nathan and Jill get salmonella all over their hands. It is nasty. But in the end, Nathan and Jill prevail over the metal turkey-leg-holder-thing.

Immediately afterwards, we send the husbands to the store for extra supplies. Jill's cranberry chutney had almost a million ingredients, and we needed some bleach cleaner to get the turkey nasty out of the sink. Men out of the house, Jill and I sit down to plan out the day. Our goal? Eat around 6:30.

11:45, turkey in the oven.
12:45, walk to the beach to play frisbee, get lunch
1:45, check turkey, baste if necessary
2:00, eat lunch, commence "Speed Scrabble"--so fun. And I also discovered that eating pomegranates is my new favorite thing. It's so satisfying picking the little juice ball things out of there and eating them. Great. Man, I wish I could post pictures now. They are glorious.
3:30, start the cranberry chutney. More onions chopped, along with 2 apples and some ginger root. Jill is putting in the other million ingredients. Then the chutney simmers.
4:00, start the stuffing and green bean casserole
5:00, everything goes in the oven, start the mashed potatoes and bread.
5:00, is the turkey ready? Check the thermometer. Nope, not ready yet!
5:30, the turkey is ready. It needs to sit awhile.
5:31, the husbands stop playing their carcasonne game and do the dishes. Such lovely husbands.
6:00, rolls go in the oven, casseroles come out. Commence chopping for salad.
6:15, turkey is carved, casseroles on the table, bread in the basket, salad, done!
6:21, everything is not only out on the table, but so are the utensils and plates, our glasses of premium wine provided by nathan's brother Brian, and we are holding hands for the prayer.
6:23, Jill and I pause and look at our table and spread and think, "wow, we did that. WE DID THAT!" but wait, we haven't eaten it yet. Will it taste good?

6:25, we all take our first bites, and immediately think "OH YEAH BABY! THIS IS SOOOOOO GOOD!"

I'm sorry but Jill and I beamed. The green bean casserole was supreme. And it was not the recipe provided on the Fried Onion Strings container, thank you. The mashed potatoes, so creamy, the stuffing, divine. Turkey? Juicy, tender, and the cranberry chutney? A perfect compliment. And it just so happens that Brian is a wine connoisseur so it complemented everything perfectly.

After the initial 'goodness' shock, we then proceeded to stuff our faces. Completely full. It was ridiculous. There were surprisingly little leftovers, but we will enjoy those for dinner tonight. After we had eaten rounds one and 2, we sat and played a game before the turkey lethargy set in. And set in it did. Daniel and I arrived home around midnight and fell asleep with full bellies and happy hearts.

Happy Thanksgiving to all. Next year let's have it at my house!

The Dentist's Chair

2008-11-13T16:03:00.000-08:00

I had a dentist appointment today. The dentist is not a huge deal for me, now that I've reached my adult years, but it for sure has been in the past.

You know the hygienist who asks you questions the whole time...not yes or no questions, but "What's your biggest fear?" type questions.

And you know the hygienist who takes the big metal hook they use and pretends you are the fish she's just caught for dinner, yanking your mouth around and tearing through your gums...

You know?

Well, enter Mavis, the dental hygienist from heaven. This woman did not cause me one ounce of pain, and she probably gave me the most thorough cleaning I've ever had. And she taught me how to floss properly.
Did you know you're actually supposed to brush your teeth for FIVE minutes twice a day? The average person brushes for a minute and a half.

And on top of that, Mavis gave me a $5 Starbucks card. She told me to go get a Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate....I believe I will, thank you very much.

And for being a new patient, I got a mug filled with chocolate. From the DENTIST!!! How cool is that? I can't eat it of course, per our no-dessert regulations, but I mean, a dentist that will hand out chocolate to his new patients is definitely worth a second visit...or even a third.

So all in all my pearly whites are even more pearly than they were before, and I highly recommend Mavis. If we weren't moving next month, I'd want to see her again.

Speaking of moving (how's that for transition?) Our house is now in boxes. And we've still got about 3 weeks to pack, so that's good....wait a minute...we're moving in THREE WEEKS!!! That is so weird! It's going to fly by. Really quickly. We are trying to figure out, currently, how we are going to move across the country. We're selling one car, so we'll have our suv and a truck with our stuff. It looks like Daniel will take the truck and I'll take the Kia and we'll go it separately....all 23 long hours. great.

Daniel is in the process of beginning to look for a job, and he's already begun school, which he is super excited about! If you know of anyone who would like to offer Daniel employment, let me know :)

Well, that's the latest from Proffitteer land. It's amazing how excited my trip to the dentist made me today. I'm telling you, a good dental hygienist is worth getting excited over. My gums are grateful for Mavis :)

If I May Have Your Attention Please

2008-11-06T08:49:00.000-08:00

Well, folks, there's no easy way to say this except just to say it. So I'll say it and then give you some background:

At the beginning of December, Daniel and I will be moving to Texas.

What?! You ask?

In July, about 4 months ago, I was approached about a job at Trinity, the church I worked for before Daniel and I got married. The job would encompass everything I am passionate about and want to do with life----leading worship. At the time we were in the middle of summer camp and were not looking to move back to Texas, though we imagined we might end up there at some point in the future. Needless to say, we were a little caught off guard by the possibility of a job I would love to do and a possible invitation back to Texas, home to both our families and a church that we both love.

Over the next 3 months, I kept in touch with the church as things continued to develop with the position. As Daniel and I were praying about the job and what to do, I realized I really wanted the job...and not only that, but to be back in Amarillo. And I really felt like God was saying "This is what I have for you. Go"....all the while recognizing my own desires and dreams to go and fill this position...

In October, 3 months after we initially were approached, Daniel and I sat down with a few Pastors at the church, and they offered me a job...a different job than the one I had originally been approached about, but one that still encompasses what I love and feel called to do--lead worship!

And it boils down to the tons of things God has been doing in both me and Daniel, together and separately, and it boils down to where God has called us to be.

So I have accepted the job at Trinity as the children's worship pastor (not sure exactly what I'll be called), and we will be moving after the first week of December, and I will start work after that.

Our time out here in California has been amazing, and I wouldn't trade it for anything. It has been a defining part of mine and Daniel's first year of marriage, and I am thankful for the opportunity we've had to be apart from the world, out here by ourselves, working together and learning about each other---while at the same time being in a community of people out here who have loved us and been true friends. For us as a couple it is a closing of a season of life in the mountains and the beginning of one on the plains...uncertain and yet exciting, and one that we've been being prepared for. We know God will take care of us, and we know we've got friendships out here that will continue for a lifetime.

For those of you out here in Cali, we will miss you a lot. For those of you in Texas, we've missed you a lot.

If you have questions, let me know!!

love love

Notes on a Breather

2008-10-08T15:30:00.000-07:00

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...........

That is the sound of me exhaling a tad.
It is wonderful.

We finished Future Life, season 1 (not a tv series, but real life), and we finished well. Our last retreat was 4 days long, and that, for me equals a lot of leading worship. 6 full-blown sets to be exact. I am tired, but my voice is still intact, which means (hopefully) all those vocal warmups and practicing is really paying off!

Now, we are back to the pre-summer nothingness...except this time it's a little different. I still have no job, but I am at least more comfortable in my surroundings and therefore, am able to venture out and find things to amuse myself with. I still am in a little disbelief, that at 24 and a newlywed, I am able to have no job and live in California, and support my husband. It's a rare, but somewhat challenging treasure!

For the next few days the boys (the husbands of camp) are off debriefing the summer and fall seasons, so we wives shall play. I'll let you know what 'play' means after we've actually done it. Because right now I have no clue what we'll end up doing. Probably eating and watching movies. Those are pretty girly things to do, right? My toes are already pedicured, so that's out of the picture...we have coffee at home, so Starbucks might have to wait....so I dunno. But believe you me, it will be fun. And it will be playing.

Speaking of playing, did I tell you about Daniel's birthday last week? Talk about fun. He's 26 now, which means he's getting up there, so we had to do some things to make him still feel like a kid. I made breakfast (a casserole--recipe courtesy of Daniel's mom--thanks Paula!), and while it was in the oven I went and woke Daniel up with 2 presents, both of which were some of his favorite beverages. One was acai green tea (it's pronounced ah-sigh-ee), and the other was Oregon Chai. He chose the green tea. So, we ate breakfast and had tea, and then we went over the hill (to San Jose) where we shopped around and looked for him some birthday presents...we didn't find any.....why?
It seems that anything Daniel finds in person that he likes, he is determined not to pay full price for it because "I can find it somewhere online for half that price." Actually, even if it's on sale he will still go and look for it cheaper online.
The funny thing is...he ALWAYS finds it cheaper online.

Anyways, so we shop. We go to dinner at this place called the Loft. It's a really cool bistro. One of the things Daniel wanted to do on his day was go to a restaurant we've never been to (one of his fav. things). I took it upon myself to pick the restaurant, and I chose well. Funny story:

I order the "Panko Crusted Chicken Breast" with garlic mashed potatoes, vegetables, and honey mustard sauce.

When it arrives, I am in shock at the large portion. The chicken was HUGE!!! It had to lay across both the potatoes and the vegetables. Granted, it had been pounded really thin, but it was still quite large. So I've got a lot of food on my plate.

I eat maybe half the chicken, a little potatoes, and half the veggies. Daniel eats all of his plate as well as the rest of mine. So we're both sitting there with empty plates, when the waitress walks back up, takes a look at MY plate, and goes "wow, you stuffed?" WOW, YOU STUFFED?!

What on earth is that supposed to mean? Daniel and I laughed so hard, and then we started coming up with other ways she could have said that....none of which would have been any better:

"Geez, you sure put that away"
"You must not have eaten at ALL today"
"Gonna go for a run later, huh?"

We still gave her a generous tip. And had a laugh. But really, that is ridiculous.

Anyways, moving on. After dinner, we went to the Cheesecake Factory.
Hold on: you may be thinking "Cheesecake Factory AFTER dinner can only mean one thing: dessert. And aren't you guys boycotting dessert for a year?"

Yes, yes, yes......but remember, we make our own rules. And our own rules include a clause that says "on your birthday, you must eat birthday cake"And because we pigged out on my birthday, it was only fitting that we at least let the man have some cake!

We got Chris's Outrageous Chocolate Cake. See entry from June 14th.....same cake. In case you missed what is in this cake, let me tell you:

It is the size of a brick.
It is 8 layers:
2 chocolate cake
2 fudge brownie
1 coconut cheesecake
2 german chocolate ganache
1 fudge ganache
Then the whole thing is drenched in chocolate ganache, with more ganache, and more chocolate, then it's rolled in chocolate shavings. And topped with whipped cream.

When you haven't had any dessert in 3 1/2 months, Chris's Outrageous Chocolate Cake is heaven on earth.....we ate the whole thing and felt so sick...in a good way. We of course, didn't feel sick enough to not get birthday ice cream on the way home. Ben & Jerry's Cookie Dough, and Moose Tracks. It was the little tiny cups. Don't freak out.

Our stomachs rumbled all day the next day. Not pretty, but TOTALLY worth it. I, however, do not want to think about dessert for about 8 more months. Which is fitting.

We rang in Daniels' 26th birthday with lots of style and pizzazz, and lots of food...how else should you ring in a birthday?

We head to Texas in 2 weeks! I cannot wait. I need it, big time. Til then you know I will keep you updated on the happenings in Cali.

Miss you all!!

I took my husband out on the town!

2008-09-18T14:48:00.001-07:00

"What did you do when you took him out on the town?" you might be asking.

Let me fill you in.

When I heard about the Joyce Meyer conference going on in San Jose this weekend, I thought "Wow, Daniel would LOVE to go to that." And when I heard that Darlene Zschech from Hillsong would be leading worship, I thought "Oh man. If we DON'T go to the conference, Daniel will probably be so upset that he missed it. It's in his best interest that I suck it up and take him to the conference."

So, being the lovely wife that I am, I suffered through the Joyce Meyer conference for the sake of my husband's utmost happiness and enjoyment.

Something tells me you're not buying all this...am I right?

Okay okay. So I like Joyce Meyer, but when I found out that Darlene Zschech was going to lead worship, I was like "oh my gosh. I HAVE to go to this conference!" And I'm kind of hesitant to ask women to things of this nature because I've found that a lot of women don't enjoy conferences. So I thought I'd take Daniel. I am exposed. He graciously went with me to the conference last night...it was so good he actually suggested that we come back this morning, which we did!

Like I said before, I like Joyce Meyer. But this weekend I was thoroughly impressed with her, actually. She did an amazing job of speaking practical, simple truth and entertaining her audience as well. She's really funny and fun to listen to in person.

And I was soooo interested to see how Darlene Zschech leads worship. She's a female vocalist worship leader (no instrument), which is how I like to lead worship as well and did at Trinity. I've never gotten to see another female worship leader lead as just a vocalist, and I was so excited to see how she does it. I did notice a lot of things about her that I believe are important in a worship leader, and probably the thing I noticed the most about her was that she wasn't performing. She was worshiping. And there is a huge difference. And she invited the Spirit into the room and created an environment that made it easy to feel the freedom to worship as we chose. It was really amazing. I've never worshiped like that in a large arena full of people and felt like it was so intimate. God was definitely in that place!!! It was the same thing this morning as well. I was so thankful for the opportunity to go and I was also grateful to Daniel for coming with me---and it blessed me that he wanted to come back!

And Joyce did say she welcomed men at her conferences....Daniel was a little afraid he'd be the only guy there. Not the case. And his masculinity is protected :)

Afterwards, I had the biggest craving for the Quesadilla Explosion salad from Chili's. Weird, huh? It's so good and I hadn't had one since Texas. It was a Chili's night. For those of you who get sick of Chili's, don't take it for granted. There will come a day when all you'll want is Chili's.

So, that's our newest news...I must run to the kitchen at camp. We have a group up here and it's pasta night! It doesn't really matter what it is, actually. It's free.

Magic Band of Mountain Brothers

2008-09-11T11:32:00.000-07:00

Are you confused by the title of this post? Well, don't be. It's merely a compilation of the newest things going on in Proffitteer-land.

Daniel and I went on a marriage vision retreat this past weekend--Marriage Today has a vision booklet and encourages couples to go on a vision retreat once a year. In honor of our 6 month anniversary of marriage (woohoo!! ha) We went on our inaugural retreat.

Now, normally when you think of "retreat", you picture a serene setting, like the woods maybe, and a small cabin or a hotel or whatever....someplace quiet.

In case you are unaware, Daniel and I live in the woods at a retreat center. But were we going to stay perched in our cabin in the woods in order to maintain the quiet stillness that is typically a retreat?

no way jose.

We went to Six Flags Magic Mountain! It's down south on the outskirts of LA...I knew early on in life that I would need to marry a man who enjoyed roller coasters as much as I do. One time when I was in 7th or 8th grade, my dad and I caught a red-eye to Dallas and spent the day at Six Flags riding roller coaster after roller coaster...then we flew home that night. SOOOOO FUN! That's one of my favorite memories.
Now fast-forward 12 or so years to married, grown-up, mature Bree and her mature, grown-up husband Daniel.

When we woke up on Magic Mountain morning, we could hardly contain ourselves. And by the time we got to the park, I was getting antsy because too many people were taking the Magic Mountain exit, which meant there would be competition for the amazing AMAZING roller coasters. And by the time we got through the gate and the clock struck 10:04, I was anxious because the park was supposed to open at 10 am SHARP. It said it online. And you should have seen Daniel and I sprint through the gate to the premier ride of the year...the X2.

It's a roller coaster that is supposedly 5 dimensions. Not only are you corkscrewing and flipping like a normal roller coaster, but your individual seat is also flipping. So really you have no idea what's going on. AND there are speakers by your head so you get to listen to a commentary the whole time, and at one point the ride shoots flame and you feel a burst of heat radiate across your face.

There was a lot of hype about this ride. It was cool, but not my favorite.

The amazing thing was that because all the people in the park spent their whole day waiting in line for the X2, there were no other people on any other roller coasters! So the rest of the day Daniel and I spent riding coaster after coaster in the blistering heat. We were sweaty, we were tired, and it was glorious.

Now you may be thinking that sounds like fun and all, but what about the retreat? Don't worry...in the booklet it specifically says "have fun"...so we did. But we were very intentional about sitting down and writing visions for our marriage in every area possible, from finances to children to housework. And it was exhausting, but incredibly beneficial.

Since we were so close to LA and I'd never been there, Daniel took me through his old stomping grounds during grad school.

I have to say, TV makes LA look pretty good. LA makes LA look really gross.
There was trash and graffiti everywhere, and the haze was so thick you couldn't read the names of the businesses occupying downtown. It amazes me that it's such a hotspot for entertainment and seems so glamorous, because it doesn't have a glamorous package. Plus, on Sunday afternoon all 6 lanes of the freeway were jammed with people...ALL SIX LANES. It was stressful!!

From there we drove on up to Santa Barbara. Talk about a glamorous package: Santa Barbara is beautiful! It was a lot slower-paced than LA, and it was clean and well-taken care of and just...well, beautiful! We stayed there one night and then headed back on Monday afternoon! It was a really great weekend--great to see things I hadn't seen, ride roller coasters, be away with camp, and create more vision for our marriage!

So that's the first part of the strange title. Get it? Magic Mountain.

The second part is what we've been doing in our wind-down time after the Future Life Retreat is done for the day....we've been watching Band of Brothers. If you've never heard of it, it's a miniseries HBO did about the 101st Airborne during WWII--more specifically, E-Company of the airborne. It's sooooooo good. I'm not usually a war-movie buff, but this is an actual true story of the Normandy invasion and beyond during WWII. It's kind of graphic, and really long--there are 10 hour-long parts to it. But if you haven't seen it or heard of it, net-flix it, buy it, borrow it, beg for it, don't steal it though. But get it. And watch it. It's so good.

So, that's where we sit currently!

In other news, I've been leading worship for the retreats going on up here. In case I didn't say it already, Future Life Retreats are 6 fall retreats where private Christian schools bring their kids up for a few days and we run them through a camp-like program. It's been so refreshing to be back leading worship. It's so different---I've had to learn to set up all the sound equipment and run sound (NEVER done that before) and I type up the power points and get them ready (never done that before either). That has been interesting. I thought I knew a lot about power point. but it turns out that's a lie. ha.

I've really really missed leading worship though since I've been out here, so it's amazing to get back into it. I really do feel the most alive whenever I'm leading worship. I just love it and I love creating an environment where people are able to freely worship God. I love to worship God and I love inviting people to do that with me. Did I mention I just love it? And it's interesting because in the last 6 months of transition and really discovering more of who I am, I feel I've become a different worship leader--more myself, more vulnerable, more purposeful. Those things make the difficulty in transition more powerful, because I realize how beneficial it's been....

Anyways, that's what's new in our world! Daniel's birthday is coming up. He'll be 26! That's so old. It's also his first birthday since we've been married. He really went all out for mine. I don't know how I'm going to top that, but believe you me, I will try.

lots of love!

and...we're...done...sort of.

2008-08-23T17:25:00.000-07:00

The camp season has come to a close here at the Hammer, and it's as if my body knew it before my brain. I still can't believe that tomorrow we aren't getting new campers, that I actually can clean my house and it will stay that way, and that I can cook my own meals once more. My body, on the other hand, feels like lead. It's like it's just been waiting for camp to be over so it can collapse into a pile of sleep for hours upon end.

I'm not gonna lie, I like the sleep part.

What's next, you ask? Future Life retreats. They start next week, and so we'll have private schools bringing their students up for a few days and we'll run them through a camp-like program, only with about a third of our staff. Nifty! I'm looking forward to it, though. It looks like I'm going to be the worship leader for FL, which will be really fun and a cool opportunity in an environment I can't say I've ever lead worship in before.

So, that's where we sit. There are other things going on in life that I will not comment on, but in which your prayers are greatly appreciated as these next few months reveal themselves....

a short blog, I know. But dinner calls. woohoo!!

I am slightly overwhelmed by the amount of calls I need to return from the course of the summer. So please be patient with me and give me some time. It's still not my first nature to be a 'phone person', but I do want to talk to you :) So be waiting by the phone for that call. k?

love love,

Wharf to Wharf

2008-07-29T20:24:00.000-07:00

There is an annual race in Santa Cruz called the Wharf to Wharf. Where you run, well, from one wharf to another. It's a 10k, which means it's a little over 6 miles. Last year was the first year the Camp Hammer summer staff ran the race as a group, complete with designed t-shirts.

Daniel didn't run it last year because he injured his foot in a bike accident. Instead, he and I had one of the biggest fights of our relationship during the wharf to wharf as he drove the camp van around to the finish line to pick up the runners at the end. I don't remember what exactly we were fighting about, but we were sure fighting. For a really long time.

This year, more than half the staff signed up to run the race, including myself and Daniel. Lori and Andrew, another couple at camp, signed up too. Lori and I run together, so we decided we'd run this particular course together as well. And Daniel and Andrew ran together. Isn't that cute?

From the very start, Lori and I decided we were not going to put the unnecessary pressure on ourselves to run the entire more-than-6 miles of the race. We were going to do our best. On average, these days, when we run, we do a good solid 3 miles. The most I've EVER run is 5 miles and that was in college, back in the day :)

Oh, and also, I haven't run in a long time...maybe twice since camp started. The only real time to do it is before breakfast, and you're so exhausted at the end of the day that you (well, me and Daniel) want to hit the snooze at least 5 times before you actually HAVE to get up.

But I still feel like I'm in good (maybe better than ever) shape. The no-sugar thing plus walking around camp all the time, going up stairs and hills (the camp is built into a mountain) every day is exhausting! But I feel good :)

So, race day. The race was on this past Sunday, which I thought was interesting. But, oh well.

The Camp Hammer staff shows up at the race. We have car-pooled, and it is early. We are all wearing our "Hammer Stache '08" tank tops. "Stache" is really "staff", but most of the male staff has been growing out mustaches all summer, so it's "stache" on the tank. Daniel does not sport the 'stache. It was not my doing, either. He said "no stache" and I said "okay!"

Some of the girls have drawn blue staches on their upper lips with eyeliner someone has. It's funny. I opt for no 'stache. I can only imagine the sweat mixing with the eyeliner and my stache is only then blue gunk smeared from nose to chin. Ew.

The race begins. There are at least 15,000 people in the race, and more on the sidelines. So when the gun goes off, it's another 8 minutes before we actually get to the starting line!

Lori and I take off and play a fun game called "people dodging"--it is played just like it sounds. you dodge the people going slower than you and look for escapes through the crowds in order to set your own smooth pace.

Mile 1 is pretty hard. I think "great. This is not fun" but I also recognize that the first and second miles are the hardest. We push past.

At mile 3, I'm feeling good. So is Lori. My knee hurts somewhat from an old injury, but I am going to push past it. At mile 4, Lori and I look at each other and say "we are soooo going to run this whole thing!" At mile 5, it's a "Yes!!!!!!" (There are large balloon canopies that mark every mile. It really helps with morale, I believe. Those balloons kept me going). And then there was only one more mile left, and we were running hard. Our breathing was steady and uniform, we were not huffing and puffing. In fact, we may have been flying that last mile. We crossed the finish line, hi-fived each other, and shared a proud moment.

I ran an entire 10k. 6 miles! I never thought I'd be able to do that. But I did. And it was great.

I came home and immediately crashed into a power nap, and the next day my body was aching. And today I feel sick. Throat, body aches, you know. But the Wharf to Wharf was conquered by the Hammer Stache. It was a lot of fun. And it makes me want to do a half marathon, if my knees could take it. I'd definitely have to train pretty hard.

Oh! I also got a hair cut yesterday. Daniel and I went in on our day off to try a new place. I love my haircut. It's pretty short, just below the chin, and kind of spunky. The bangs I had are now side bangs. They were driving me crazy down in front. Daniel got a haircut too. It's still long, but now the boy's got style!

I am flying to Amarillo this weekend for my dear Lenna's wedding! I'll be singing in it, so say a prayer that my throat gets better. I know she doesn't want a frog croaking as she walks down the aisle :)

Only 2 1/2 more weeks after this one! I can't believe it.

Hasta,

Mrs. Proffitt

ohhhhhhhhh Camp.

2008-07-23T16:47:00.000-07:00

Apostle 3 already...only 1 more to go after this? It seems strange that we spent months preparing for this program, and we spent more time preparing for it than we've actually been running it.

I had a similar feeling not to long ago----oh yeah, it was my wedding! 5 months of planning crammed into 5 hours of party. Wonderful, yes, but short? yes, yes.

We are still doing well...the other day a mountain lion was spotted chasing 2 bucks down the road from camp, so we're all on mountain lion alert. Not freaking out, but on alert, yes.

This weekend most of the camp staff is running a 10k race in Santa Cruz. I haven't run in awhile, so wish me luck.

In other news, I actually went to Texas a few weeks ago. My great-grandmother (Granny) passed away at the age of 93. What a life!!! I was amazed that I actually got to come to Texas for the funeral--if you didn't know I was in town, don't feel bad. I didn't tell anyone and it was a really spur of the moment trip....and I spent most of it with family, which was fabulous. It was a really great time of celebration and love, and remembering a beautiful life. The whole trip was a blessing...and it came at a much-needed time. I needed to get out of camp for a bit, needed to see my family, and I needed to be able to express the things I'm learning up here with them and have them accept me in it. so overall, it was really great and restful.

I'm sorry i'm a terrible summer-camp blogger. I have to run.....duty calls!

Freedom, Love, Connection, Value, Stripped.

2008-07-04T10:52:00.000-07:00

I believe that, as humans, those are all things we really need to function.

I've realized these last 2 weeks that I am fully human and therefore, desire those things.I need those things.

We are on our last day of our first Apostle. For the last 2 weeks, we've been showing these kids what it looks like to be disciples of Christ. Not just believers or Christians, but disciples--discipleship: the intense, never-ending journey of being like Christ. It's hard!

I'm learning myself that I'm not quite sure I know who I am in Christ and in my journey of being a disciple. I know bits and pieces, yes, of who I am, but the whole of who I am I'm beginning to think I am just now starting to dissect and discover.

I think that comes with being stripped of everything I once found pieces of my identity in. Everything from my clothes to my job to the reputation of my name. I don't think clothes, job, and reputation are necessarily bad things to identify WITH, but I wonder if I found my identity in those things. Now that my clothes have had to change with my environment, my job has been nonexistent for the last 4 months, and I have a new name, I realize that when I am bare and insecure, who I am shines through. I'm not sure I really know that person the way I would like to.

So now I am on a journey to know myself--not in relation to what I wear or what my name means or what my job is, but who I am behind all of those things. I think I know some things, but I also think there is a ton I don't know--and a ton more I will never know. Stay tuned.

In other news, we Proffitts are tired but blessed to have a great staff to lead these high schoolers, and we are hopeful that God has and will continue to use us to minister and lead and reveal Jesus to these kids in ways they've never seen or imagined.

I have been leading worship for Apostle, which has been good/interesting. It's been about a year and a half since I've lead worship with just me and my guitar. So in this area, I am stripped as well. It's interesting to see how I've grown and changed since the last time it was just me and my guitar in college. But it's also very scary. I feel very inadequate. "That's just where God wants you" you say...Yes, I know. But that doesn't make it any less scary!

In still other news, it turns out if you want to get ahold of me, it either has to be every other Saturday or at 6:30 in the morning my time. I occasionally can e-mail, like right now I have time, but the Internet is extremely sketchy and annoying. Again, stripped :) On Mondays, Daniel and I have off but we try to take that time to really invest in each other since we're running around all day at camp and not getting to connect like we would like to.

In still other news, Peanut Butter went on the "dessert" list. I found myself eating gobs of PB, in a subconscious (I believe) attempt to compensate for the lack of sugar. But, I don't crave sweets and it's not hard to say no. I also feel TONS better. My body feels better and I feel better in my clothes, which is nice. I know, everyone says "I can't do that. I could never give up dessert"....I was one of those people. But it's not that hard. And I am surrounded by dessert every day. It's like Christmas year-round here at camp. If i can do it, you can too. I know we've only been at it for 3 weeks, but i've NEVER gone 3 weeks in my life without dessert, and I feel confident about continuing!

Okay, I must run. Our kids right now are discovering the 9 Sacred Pathways, which are dispositions towards worship. This is my favorite activity. I could devote a whole blog to it, so maybe I will one day.

Know that even though I'm not talking to you, I love you!

Mrs. Proffitt

Hi, this is Bree...Camp is Underway, so

2008-06-17T15:42:00.000-07:00

You will just have to leave a message for about the next 2 months.

Orientation started yesterday, which means there are about 50 more people at camp now between the ages of 18-24, and Daniel and I are now working on communicating the logistics of Apostle to our counselors. We are hoping they'll catch the vision of what we've been working on the last few months!

I also realized that it's CRAZY now. Permanently. I have been home only to sleep since yesterday morning, and the only reason I'm on the Internet now is because I hurt my knee running trails yesterday and am not able to hike out for some training. I am okay, so don't worry. Just a little sore!

We are having fun thus far, but meeting 50 people in one day is exhausting!
I've already told the story of how Daniel and I met 3 times. The first kiss story--twice. The "how we found the ring" story--once. I've been talking a lot!

I must run, really...but I wanted you to know that now summer has officially begun, which means it will be difficult to communicate with me. I will try to update the blog as much as possible. Just don't be offended if I don't read your blog or call you back for awhile!!!

You have been informed :)

Much love from Cali,

Simple. Tristan. German. Reef. Robot. Love.

2008-06-14T00:58:00.000-07:00

Romance: displaying, expressive of, or conducive to love

Romantic: my husband

I woke up at 4:30 in the morning on my birthday. I couldn't sleep because I was so excited.

What, am I 10 years old or something?

One of Daniel's favorite things is surprising me, and I knew he'd been up to something!

Daniel left for work at 7, and I had been laying there (so exhausted, but unable to sleep and feeling ridiculous because of that), so when he left I got up and made my way to the kitchen for some oatmeal and bananas (my new favorite.)

On the couch was a copy of Real Simple magazine, and a note saying I'd be getting a copy every month!

If you do not know what Real Simple is, please jump in the car, go to Wal-Mart or something and get a copy...it's' amazing.

I had mentioned in passing to Daniel that I love that magazine and if I was going to subscribe to one, that would be it.

Afterwards, I do Pilates. I write in my journal. I play guitar. I talk to Jesus...extremely relaxing, wonderful, peaceful morning.

I meet Daniel at camp, and we go up to the kitchen to say "hey" to some staff who's arrived already...

While in the kitchen I am bombarded with a song, a "happy birthday" wand, a hat box full of chocolate (everyone knew it was our last day of sugar), and a homemade 4-layer German chocolate cake, made by our resident Culinary Arts major Kelli...she makes amazing everything, and cake is no exception. They're even really really pretty. She needs to open a bakery or something. And she's 18.

I am thrilled!!! And also there is a fabulous Starbucks mug (all my fingers fit in the handle, which is key in a mug) from dear Lori and Andrew.

As you can probably guess, I am soaking all of this up.

When we get to the car, I find a gift in my seat--a new CD I had mentioned in passing to Daniel that I was really excited about getting when it came out.

This is time number 2 Daniel has been really perceptive and given me gifts he knows I've been wanting. Amazing.

We drive into San Jose and stop at a cafe for lunch. We take the cake and chocolate with us (you know we're pigging out all day on chocolate), and we eat cake for lunch. Sooooooo good.

Daniel hands me another gift, and when I open the piece of cloth in the box, he takes it and puts it over my eyes. I am blindfolded!

He leads me to the car (a very funny spectacle) and we drive...

Time out: when my parents were here last month, I had mentioned to them and Daniel in passing that all I really wanted to do before camp was stay in a hotel and watch tv.

Can you guess where we're driving to?

I don't know we're at a hotel until we reach the carpet on the 2nd floor...then Daniel takes me to our amazing room with a huge bed and bathtub and all this good stuff. Amazing!!

Time number 3 Daniel has really been paying attention to me.

He hands me a gift. It is 2 seasons of a cartoon we watched every single day on our honeymoon. A ridiculous, and ridiculously hilarious cartoon. He has brought a dvd player so we can watch it!

Time number 4.

The rest of the day is ours. Of course I want to shop. We're in San Jose! So, we shop. I get running shoes, and reefs, and some comfy summer dresses.

Aren't they cute?

We grab dinner to go at Cheesecake Factory, along with Chris's Outrageous Chocolate Cake. (chocolate, coconut, cheesecake..mmmmm)

This is what was left of Chris. We ate the rest later.

We spent the rest of the evening sitting in our king size bed watching Robot Chicken and pigging out on chocolate.

It was the most amazing birthday. I always knew Daniel paid attention to me, but he showed me in new ways this weekend how he really pays attention to me, my personality, my wants, my needs....and all the things he did for me were things I mentioned in PASSING. Details!

That is why my husband is romantic. He pays attention to me. Simple as that.

So when I woke up today, I was thankful for my amazing husband, I felt a tiny bit older,

and I feel ready to begin our year of no dessert...all that chocolate and cake yesterday kind of made me sick :)

Just Call me Oodalolli!

2008-06-12T10:25:00.000-07:00

Once a month or so here at camp, the year-round folks get together at the Facility Director's house and eat dinner and play Bunco. I will not go into the details of Bunco, but if you have not played, you are missing out on some serious fun! It gets pretty intense. Last month I actually bled a little bit. And it's a dice game. so you can only imagine...

Anyways, so last night was Bunco night, with a little extra fun--our first camp Naming Ceremony! For those of you who don't know, at Camp Hammer, we don't go by our real names during the summer. Your first summer at camp, you are given a "Camp Name", and the goal is for the kids to go the whole week without knowing your real name. It kind of adds to the magic of camp, I suppose. For example, Daniel's name is "X"...so all summer kids and staff will call him that! It's really fun.

Alexis (Daniel's sister) is spending the summer up here and got into town on Tuesday night. Alexis nor I have camp names yet, so last night at Bunco it was decided that we would get our camp names before the rest of the staff arrives (for a number of reasons)

So...we eat dinner, and then we all gather in the living room (about 20 people). Then, Eric the Camp Director comes out of nowhere dressed up as a Texan-ish mechanic, and he has morphed himself into "Vern"--the mechanic who doesn't really know about cars, has a handle-bar mustache and a bald head. "Vern" then begins the naming ceremony. This is how it happens:

Those being named are first asked to sit in a chair at the front of the room.
That person gives a "Minute Memoir", introducing themselves and sharing all they can in one minute.
Then, the floor is open for naming. Anyone who has a good name can throw it out. BUT, the name has to come with a story about why that name is perfect for that person. The story can be 100% true OR 100% false.
The idea here, when you're trying to name someone, is to come up with a really good story and build up all the way to the end, when you say ....."and that's why we should name her..........(INSERT NAME HERE)!!!!!!!!"

If others like that name, they chant the name loudly. If you don't like it, you "ching" it, and make clawing fingers and say "ching, ching", etc.

Are you following me, here?

If the majority is chanting the name, that is your name. If the majority chings it, then someone else has the opportunity to tell a story and try to name that person.

Now that we got that out of the way, let's talk about last night.

I sit there and give my minute memoir. And that wasn't hard for me because I like to talk about myself. I told how I just got married and like to play the guitar and was a pastor and like to run and all that. My minute was up really fast.

So then, the floor was open. Andrew (as in, from date night the other night) stood up and says he'd like to sing a song. It goes like this:

(sung to the tune of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star)
a b c d e f g, h i j k l m n o p....q r s, t u v, w x Y....and starts chanting "Y! Y!Y!Y!"

He wants to name me Y because Daniel is "X"...He thinks it's cute. I don't. :) Neither does anyone else, because he was immediately chinged. I don't think he really wanted to name me that, I just think he thought it would be funny.

Then someone else tells a story and then wants to name me "Swoosh"....he gets chinged too.

THEN Sarah stands up and starts talking about how I'm a Pastor and I like music , and Sarah, Lori, Frannie and I all go running together and we call ourselves a posse....and so she talks about that and how I'm in a posse and all that. So then she said she'd had Robin Hood on the brain and thought about naming me Friar Tuck b/c I'm a pastor, but that wouldn't work. So then she said she thought about Little John since he was in a posse with Friar Tuck...but that didn't work either. Then she got up and said she had a little song to sing:

I think you know it. It's the one that goes "Friar Tuck and Little John walking through the forest
.......and then it goes "oodalolli, oodalolli, golly what a day!"

and then she said "And that's why we should name her "Oodalolli!"
And everyone chanted it and it won, and now at Camp Hammer I am forever known as Oodalolli!

Cute, huh?

Then when Alexis got up there, Ellibella, Sarah and Eric's daughter, said "well, because she is going to be our nanny, and because there was a very famous nanny named "Mary Poppins", I think we should name Alexis "Poppins!"

So Alexis is Poppins. That's cute too, huh?

And now we are named....

In other news, it looks like I am kind of disconnected from the world from this point on for awhile.

Several of you have tried to call me, and I have been in camp all day since Monday. I don't know when I will be able to call you back, but I will....just give me some time!

In still other news, my birthday is tomorrow! I love my birthday.
I don't know what the plans are, though...Daniel is up to something, I just don't know what. He won't tell me, he won't let me look at the bank account online, and he won't let me in his office until he's given me the all-clear signal.

Look forward to a birthday blog.

Anyways, gotta run. Got some more work to do! Orientation starts on Monday. It's CRUNCH TIME!

love love,

Oodalolli

The Namesake

2008-06-10T10:20:00.001-07:00

The Namesake is a movie we got on Netflix the other day and watched last night and this morning...it felt like the thing was about 4 hours long, and then when it was over, I looked at the package and it said it was an hour and 45 minutes. What?!

I don't think movies should be like that. Moving on.

I don't know what my bloggings will look like as the summer begins and also utter craziness, but do know that I recognize the faithful bloggers out there need to know what's going on, so I will try my hardest to keep the communication lines open.

Oh! So fun. Last Wednesday, Daniel and Andrew (the Program Director at camp) had to go to a church youth group to give a presentation about camp, and it was in San Jose. They invited Lori (Andrew's wife) and I along. I wanted to go, to get out of camp and I love San Jose, but I wasn't so much excited about the whole presentation thing. But, being the loving, caring, wonderful wifeys we are, we decided to join them.

Here is a run-down of the events of the evening:

4:30--Lori, Sarah, and I go running.....the hard core king. We ran 3 miles on trails through Big Basin. So fun. And soooooo hard-core.

5:30--We are done running and head home super-fast to shower.

6:00--The Proffitts meet the Bradfords and we head over the hill.

6:20--We get on Bear Creek, the windiest road in the mountains, but a faster road to San Jose.

6:25--All of us are car-sick. We have worked out hard and have empty stomachs.

6:45--Still car-sick, but we reach San Jose. Andrew says there is a Starbucks he wants to stop at before we go to the church. A good thing, considering we all are about to throw up. We need something in our stomachs.

The Starbucks happens to be in one of the most amazing malls around here. The eating place thing is right on the edge of the mall, so you can park and go to The Cheesecake Factory or PF Changs...much like malls in Dallas or Houston, for those of you who live in Texas.

6:50--We are driving around the parking lot of the mall aimlessly, trying to find a parking spot. But everyone else in San Jose also wanted to go to the mall. We have to be at the church at 7 aand it's still almost 10 minutes away. It seems hopeless. But Andrew is set on getting his Starbucks.

6:55--Still driving around. I'm thinking "we're definitely going to be late, but if you guys aren't concerned about that, then I'm not either". I say nothing. Lori doesn't either.

6:56--we leave the parking lot and go to the parking GARAGE (even farther away) to find a spot. On the 2nd level. We are now a million years away from the Starbucks and are walking there with 4 minutes until we are supposed to be at the church.

6:56--I am starving.

6:57--We are walking to Starbucks and we pass PF Changs. I look at Daniel and say "wow, that sounds soooo good right now." He goes "I know, doesn't it?". Andrew and Lori are leading the way, and then Andrew turns and heads towards PF Changs. I'm thinking "Um, Starbucks is the OTHER way"

6:58--We walk into PF Changs. Lori and I are like "what?" and Daniel and Andrew say "Actually there is no presentation. We just wanted to take you girls out to dinner!"

6:58--"What? Are you kidding? No way! Seriously? etc, etc...." (me and Lori)

7:00--We sit down to a wonderful dinner date at PF Changs!

The night wasn't over then, however. We then went and played miniature golf at the coolest course I've ever been to, complete with one of those windmill barn things. You know what I'm talking about?

Anyways, it was so fun! Then we went and got coffee/dessert and headed home. It was sooooooo much better than a presentation, and I have the best husband!

So, that's my fun story of the day.

Well, I am off to the pool. It's really hot here today, and I've been working with Daniel on the Apostle program all day...and I can't stand to stay in my house for very long right now b/c it's soooooo HOT in there, even with the windows cracked and the shades drawn.

Happy sun-tanning!

2008-06-04T15:36:00.000-07:00

The picture is of the t-shirt my lovely friends made at my bachelorette party in Santa Fe. They staged it so when we walked into J-Crew, it was on a mannequin. Then I wore it. All day long.

It says "I love Dan the Man"

I do love Dan the Man...

Oh, but you can't call him Dan the Man.

Alicia was the first to call him that, and she is like, the only one who is ever allowed to utter those words. Per request of Daniel. Not Danny or Dan, but Daniel. Thank you. Not a reprimand, just raising awareness.

It has been super-fun to hear your reactions to mine and Daniel's no-sugar venture. Thank you for your comments, suggestions, and overall thorough support, regardless of what you are really thinking in your heads :)

We are still getting geared up for summer and are putting the finishing touches on "El Program de High School" otherwise known as Apostle. It's coming along, but it seems like every day Daniel comes home with a new thing that's come up and needs to get done before summer starts. There's just not that many days until summer starts, so things have to quit coming up!

In other news, last night I wanted to make bread. I wanted to make Challah bread. I bought all the ingredients and was really excited about it.

The yeast never rose. Never.

The bread turned out flat! But it still tasted really good, so that was okay. And Challah bread is Jewish, so we kind of likened it to Unleavened Bread, and had ourselves a Feast. The Feast of Unleavened Bread. I'm so punny.

But I still feel okay about it because it still tasted good, and then I consulted my good friend Lindsey, who is great at baking and cooking in general, and she said it more than likely wasn't my fault--she gave me a list of things that could have gone wrong (the yeast was bad, the weather wasn't right, etc etc...) so I have come to the conclusion that it was NOT my fault the bread didn't rise, and my efforts weren't completely wasted. Challah bread, you have met your match, mister!

Yesterday for lunch though I did make a successful meal: Corn Chowder. Soooooooo good. We ate it for lunch and dinner yesterday, actually. I'm telling you, I'm really in to this whole cooking thing. All I want to do is bake and cook. Weird, huh? It's going to look a little different once summer starts and this "no sugar" thing kicks in. We shall see. It will cause me to put my creative abilities to the test, I'm sure!

As you may know, Daniel and I are doing Netflix, which is wonderful. Last night we watched ANOTHER documentary (it's like they magically appear on our list, per Daniel, and then they magically show up at our door and we have to watch it before we send it back) Actually they've been really really interesting. We are not filling our minds with useless rubbish, but we are seeing different sides of things. Last night's documentary was entitled

"THE CORPORATION". DUM, DUM, DUM............

Complete with a creepy girl-narrator voice and thriller music. Wonderful.

It just gave background information on Corporations (where they came from, what they do now, etc.)

Did you know that corporations, by law, are considered a PERSON? Like, they have the same rights as people.

Did you know that in some foreign countries, corporations have bought rights to water and air, privatizing it?

And did you know that we are able to patent living things? (Like the breast cancer gene)?

It was really interesting. Afterwards, Daniel related his experience of working for Sam's Club, and he was surprised at how many of the things the documentary noted that he personally experienced while working for a corporation...like the overwhelming push for profit. Not Proffitt, but profit.

If you have Netflix, maybe try a documentary next time. You might be surprised. We haven't changed our opinions based solely on the view of a documentary, but it is nice to see the other side of things and to get different viewpoints.

Anyways, I must run. Literally. There are 4 of us camp wives up here who exercise together. This is what we do:

Bike 1.5 miles down to Big Basin State Park Headquarters.

Run 4 or 5 loops around the headquarters trail (.6 miles/loop), so on average 2.4 miles

In between loops, we do pyramid pushups and situps, or we just run the thing.

Ride back 1.5 miles.

It must be noted that although the bike is not far, it is really really hard on the way back because we have just busted our butts on the trail and on the sit-ups and the ride back is all up-hill.

It's quite a work-out, actually. We do that on MWF. On TTh, Lori and I do Pilates. It's amazing. If you have not tried a Pilates video, you must.

Off I go! Today my legs feel sort of like lead.....not good.

3 Months!...and my resume.

2008-05-29T12:08:00.000-07:00

Daniel and I were driving into camp early this morning and I said "It's our 3 month anniversary!" and we shared that special moment together in the car. And then I kind of ruined it a bit by saying "Man, sometimes it feels like so much longer!" He said, "well thanks!"

I really didn't mean it the way it sounded--I meant that it feels like I've known him my whole life, and a year and a half really isn't that long to have known someone, and 3 months of marriage is only like, what, a 1/4 of a year?

So, Daniel and I have been married 3 glorious and seemingly VERY SHORT months :). We aren't going to be crazy about the anniversaries...I just like to acknowledge every '29th', because when February rolls around, our day's going to be skipped for the next 3 years. Which, as most of you know, is not a problem for us because it just means we'll celebrate on both Feb. 28th AND March 1!

In other news, this morning I have been putting together my resume. The last time I had to put one together was approximately 2 years ago, and it was in definite need of an update. Some questions that have been posed in my brain about it are:

What activities from college do I keep on my resume? Which of the organizations I was in still provide me with impressive resume additions, and which ones make me look like an entry-level college graduate? My guess is I should definitely take "Fish Camp Counselor" off the list...I live in Silicon Valley now, people. I'm thinking that anything with "Fish" and "Camp" will not impress the execs at Google...

I think I'm also going to re-format the whole thing and not just do a chronological "education, work experience, skills and abilities" resume. I will spice it up a bit. I'm not quite sure how, but I will, mind you!

That about covers today. Other things going on at camp include:

There has been a group of intravarsity college students here for the last week doing some sort of week-retreat thing. What that means for those of us who live year-round is...3 free meals a day every day for a solid week! That is a major plus for the grocery budget, and the camp food here is healthy, good-for-you stuff. Well, minus the buddy bars (huge, thick peanut butter bars covered in a layer of chocolate frosting) and the chocolate chip oatmeal coconut cookies that rank among the top desserts in LIFE. Not kidding. So it's been a really good food week.

OH! But, in other news...Daniel and I have decided that we're going to make a pretty major life/health change. Starting June 13th (my birthday), we are going to cut out all refined sugar for an entire year.

pick your jaws up off the floor. It's true!

Those of you who know me know that I have an extremely sensitive sweet tooth. I love anything chocolate, cookies, brownies, dessert, ice cream, goodness, etc....and of course yummy things like cinnamon rolls and things of the like. I do think all of those things are fine and good in moderation...which is my problem. I think I could LIVE on dessert and dessert alone if it wasn't so bad for me. And I've found that I am an emotional eater--I eat junk when I'm stressed, when I'm happy, when I'm sad, when I'm bored, all of the above. I want to take that emotional eating and channel those emotions into something better for me!

Daniel and I are going to do this together--we just want to create a healthier lifestyle for ourselves, and we are excited about the discipline that cutting out sweets for an entire year is going to take...and we know the challenge will not be easy, especially in the first months.

So, don't be upset when I turn down your cookies, don't order dessert with you when we're out eating, and don't try to force it down my throat--it's not gonna happen :)

Don't feel like I'm telling you that you need to cut out all dessert from your diet. I think dessert is the best! But I am recognizing I need to focus on putting good things in my body, and I also recognize this is not for everyone!

All in all, what Daniel and I will need from you is encouragement. Please don't say "what? you're crazy! You can't do that!" or "why? you're not fat! that's stupid" or anything along those lines. But, feel free to eat dessert in front of us....just because we're cutting out doesn't mean you have to!

We also recognize that we'll go a whole holiday season with no junk. And that is okay with us.

And we are starting AFTER my birthday. I will eat cake. Probably a lot.

love love,

Santa Cruz, San Jose, and "San Fran"

2008-05-23T14:12:00.000-07:00

Greetings! I know it's been approximately ten days since I've written about the life and times of the Proffitts, but we've been extremely excitingly busy!

First of all, we painted our kitchen. I haven't taken pictures of it yet, so hold your horses. Plus, you haven't even seen our living room (the first room we painted) so maybe you should see that first:

Cool, huh? Notice the orange walls and the really low couch and the big sitting cushions...

Next up is the entertainment unit. Thank you, Ikea! This is the view from the low couch....we really like it. We don't watch TV much, and when we do, Daniel has come up with a creative way of rigging the TV so we can watch movies in bed with popcorn and chocolate and root beer. That is the best way to watch a movie!

Exciting, huh? Our kitchen will be posted next...it's blue with darker blue stripes! Really cool. And there may not ever be a time again when I'll want an orange living room and a blue striped kitchen. So why not enjoy it while we still can?

Moving on to the even more exciting event of the last week or so. My parents, (D&D, as they are so called) came to town to visit! And we had a blast. Before they came, Daniel asked me what I thought about them coming in and if I felt like the dynamics would be different. I'll admit, I was a little anxious--not in a bad way, though. I just wanted to make sure the house was in order and that we had a game plan for while they were here. We were really looking forward to them being our guests and getting to treat them and show them that we're not just "playing house", but we really are a married couple who's doing great!

They got in last Friday evening and we drove the hour from the San Jose airport to our lovely abode in the Santa Cruz mountains...maybe the best part was that we hid dreadful traffic on the way home and it was 95 degrees outside with no wind and, get this, no air conditioner! But Dad & Dawn were troopers and did not seem to mind that their shirts were sticking to their backs and sweat was running down our foreheads. Yes, disgusting.

On the way back, we stopped and got Dad his first Jamba Juice smoothie, which he did enjoy and thought they should open one in Amarillo...they really should! And when we started getting into the mountains and the amazing redwood trees that hover on either side of the road, I could tell D&D were really excited/surprised at the beauty in which Daniel and I live.

We took them out on our deck that night and we just sat and cooled off and talked, and then Daniel grilled some salmon and we made stuffed zucchini and bread and all sorts of other good stuff.....I had to show my parents my excellent new cooking skills, and if I do say so myself, they were very impressed.

The next day was....shopping day! Dawn and I had female bonding time at the humongous Valley Fair Mall and had a hay day along with the other zillion shoppers in the mall, and Dad and Daniel went and had some male bonding time....such a great day! We ate some mexican seafood on the coast that night and split some amazing death by chocolate cake. We had a good food weekend, that's for sure!

On Sunday we headed up to "San Fran" to see the sights and sounds of the city and eat some more good seafood on Fisherman's Wharf as well as TONS (literally) of chocolate at the home of Ghirardelli...you would not believe the chocolate stuff they have in that factory. I'm serious.

And of course, if you're in San Francisco, you've got to stop at the Golden Gate Bridge. We did just that!

Me and Daniel, of course.

Dad, with the bridge...love this pic.

We tourists, taking a leisurely stroll.....towards seafood!
Some small fishing boats parked on the pier...

So, we Proffitts and Wells had tons of fun touring the city and stuffing our faces with lots of food and Ghirardelli fudge.

We were sad to see them return to Texas, but we were and still are so thankful for the weekend we spent together. I needed a taste of home, and it was really amazing to discover my parents in a different light--as a fellow married couple who also happen to be amazingly fun, caring, incredible people. Daniel and I were looking forward to blessing them while they were out here, but D&D ended up knocking our socks off with blessing after blessing. Daniel and I were amazed and so grateful...

Oh! And during Daniel and Dad's bonding time, they went and got Daniel a brand new grill!! The one we had grilled salmon on Friday night had been a gift for Daniel's HIGH SCHOOL graduation and was the teeniest thing I'd ever seen...not conducive for any kind of grilling, actually. So Dad blessed Daniel with a new grill.....Here it is in all its shiny glory! We bbq'd chicken on it the next night, and man, it was good.

And did you know that California people call a grill a barbecue? I dont' agree with that. It's called a grill, and you barbecue ON it. It's not called a barbecue. So feast your eyes on this bad boy:

So, life in California continues as usual......

The California transition keeps on, and every day brings new emotions. I am constantly being challenged to be more Christ-like, and I'm being challenged to figure myself out in ways I never thought I would. I do know I am surrounded by the people and things and experiences I am for a reason, and every day a little piece of that is revealed to me. I am learning things I would not be able to learn if I wasn't right here, right now, with my husband. So, ultimately it's good. Hard? Yes. Have I cried? Many times. But we keep on keepin' on, and so we keep on.

Love and blessings to you!

Scramble Cakes

2008-05-13T11:55:00.001-07:00

We went camping this weekend. With some friends. In tents. And if you know anything about me, you know that is a miraculous thing.
Ahh, the camp fire. Typical element necessary in camping.

Don't forget the tent! Here is Daniel lounging on the front porch of our spacious Eddie Bauer version.

We roughed it, let me tell you. I'm serious, too! We slept on the ground and froze, people. And in the morning, I woke up with the aches and pains of a person in their 100s. Seriously.

We were also roughing it big time because we were surrounded by people in their huge bus RVs. We could see them in their cozy lit windows in the evenings enjoying warmth and television while we shivered and wrapped ourselves in hundreds of layers.

Okay so maybe I'm exaggerating a little bit :). We did sleep on the ground and it was cold, but we went to the beach and walked around and layed out, we ate like kings and queens, and at one point we got in the car and went and got a latte. So we weren't "roughing it" unless of course you count the people in the RVs. We were definitely roughing it if you throw them into the mix! Oh, and in case you were wondering, "scramble cakes" are when you're camping and attempt to make pancakes over the portable propane griddle you brought, but you also don't have a spatula (which is necessary in pancake making), and the pancakes turn to scramble cakes! Still good though.

You want to see our house? Okay! I remembered to load the pics onto my computer this time.

Brace yourself. Drum roll, please!

This, my friends and familia, is our deck.

View from the back door. This is also the view from our kitchen window (they're on the same wall). So I wash dishes and look at the redwoods. Not quite the view from California you were expecting, huh? Don't worry, the beach is not far.

And....the Internet won't let me upload anymore pictures. However, I think this whole "you must wait to see the pictures because the Internet is dumb" thing keeps the suspense in the air. Because once I post the pictures of the house, all we might have for awhile is typing! And it's good to break up the typing with pictures.

All in all, it seems a good thing for all parties involved.

So that's our weekend camping. This weekend my parents are coming into town for all sorts of shenanigans! So maybe we'll take some fun pictures then that can be posted on here probably around 4 months from now, when the Internet maybe stops being lame, but probably not :)

I will also post pictures of the bicycle I just got. I have not ridden a bike since I was like, 12. But riding a bike is like, well, riding a bike. And you pick it back up pretty fast. Especially when you have an amazing mustard-yellow vintage commuter bike with a cute rack on the back for holding all of my "bike-ish" things....stay tuned.

So, life in California is still an adventure, for sure. I'm learning a lot about myself in this time I'm not working. I'm also beginning to wonder what on earth i'm going to do after summer is over and I have to get a job...

we'll think about that later....Daniel and I are about to go on a bike ride. Isn't that a cute, newlywed thing to do?

Retiring the Muffy

2008-05-07T10:15:00.000-07:00

No more "Muffy" for awhile, people. In case you missed it, "Muffy" is a bran muffin in a coffee mug. Amazing. However, we shall retire it for awhile because:

1) I ran out of batter and don't want to buy more ingredients.

2) It sticks to your hips. And if you ask me, concern for the size of your hips greatly outweighs the amazing-ness that is "Muffy"

We took pictures of our house last night so you all can see where I live, and now I am at a coffee shop where the Internet runs freely as long as you buy a drink...so I thought I would take this opportunity to post some of those pictures. But no....I forgot the memory card at home. Lame, I know.

So, honeymoon pics will have to suffice. We ate a lot of good food on our honeymoon, and each day we allowed ourselves one "treat". My favorite "treat" was a caramel apple that also was dipped in chocolate. Pretty sinful, if you ask me. But it was amazing, and I will show it to you now:

Mmmmm, it looks really good, doesn't it?

Just so you know, Daniel and I alternated taking bites. I did not eat the whole thing myself.

And that, my friends and family, is one of the highlights of the honeymoon--except of course all the mushy gushy stuff you're supposed to do on your honeymoon. So!

You want to see more from the honeymoon? Okay!

Daniel made steak one night. It was really good.

There are other pictures of me making the dessert, but I am still in my pajamas, so I will not post them here. Rest assured, however, that the dessert was really good.

I suppose I could show you all the things you're supposed to show people from your honeymoon--like the "amazing view from our cabin" and "all the sight-seeing we did" or things like that, but I think caramel apples and Daniel cooking steak is much more fun.

Hopefully I will not forget my memory card next time, because I know you people just want to see my house. I will post the amazing pictures of the view from our deck and the woods and all of that. I promise. Just give me a little more time.

Chocolate makes the world go 'round,

pictures?

2008-05-06T11:11:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I know it's about dang time something got up here, and this photo is quite outdated, 2 months outdated to be exact, but anyways, here's a glimpse.

On our road trip out to Cali, Daniel and I ate the following: David brand sunflower seeds, in BBQ, Ranch, and Pickle, Peppermint Crunch Junior Mints, Diet Coke (Daniel didn't actually drink this, but every time I got one he would try it...every time he thought it was disgusting.), and oreos...Oh! And, I also had my first experience at In-N-Out Burger....it's all the rage out here, at least for the people who eat meat...

I will post more soon. I'm probably going to have to wait though until I can take my computer to a coffee shop or something. it took me almost an hour to get those two little pictures up. The joys! But I have much more to share, so....until then,

toodloo!

I know, I know..It's about time

2008-04-24T20:07:00.000-07:00

So it's taken me a bit to get some pictures up here and loaded onto something. I've actually never done a blog, but I figured it might be the best way to let the masses (whom I know are DYING to know what's going on in Proffittland) in on all the wonderful things I'm doing an experiencing as a newly-wed woman...well, maybe not ALL of the wonderful things, but you'll get plenty, I promise.

Well, let's just start with the obvious: I live in a completely different state, with a boy, in the mountains. It's pretty great, actually...especially the "living with a boy" part. We are pretty low-key, and for me it's the first time in my life that i've been low-key and okay with it. Just to give you an idea of what low-key means, here you go. Our days, thus far, consist of the following:

6:45--said "boy"'s alarm goes off

7:30--boy gets out of bed, to me asking "what do you want for breakfast?" His reply is usually "a muffy"

Time out: a "muffy" is short for "muffin in a cup". A dear friend of mine is a fabulous cook and has a recipe for these amazing bran muffins...only you don't make the muffins. in the morning, you take out the batter, fill half a coffee mug with the batter, stick it in the microwave for a minute, and then you eat it with a spoon with all sorts of good butter and stuff in it. It's so amazing that I no longer buy breakfast food. We eat "muffy" every single morning. And when it runs out and we don't have more supplies on-hand to make more, it's a sad morning.

Time out: I came up with "muffy"...Daniel would not want to be associated with calling something anything cutesy that ends in 'y'.

8:00--Daniel goes off to work. I send him off in my pink robe and fuzzy slippers, and then I either a)go back to sleep or b) eat muffy myself and have a quiet time and then start on the excitement of the day.....

laundry.

dishes.

laundry.

grocery store.

play guitar.

laundry.

read book.

12:30--Daniel comes in for lunch. We have sandwiches or leftovers.

1:30--Daniel goes back to work.

laundry.

talk on the phone if i can get reception when someone calls.

play guitar.

run to town to....get new driver's licence, go to post office, etc.

put Netflix in the mail.

make bed.

find something to do with all the picture frames we got from the wedding.

4:30--go get Daniel at work and we go running into the state park for about an hour.

5:30--what's for dinner?

7:00--we eat dinner. And, mind you, i have become quite the cook. i'm not kidding, either.

Meals we've had:

Basil Chicken with Coconut Curry Sauce

Stuffed Zucchini

Rosemary Chicken Pasta

Mediterranean Cous-Cous Salad with Spiced mini-burgers

and things of that nature. We don't mess around, people.

One of the most fun meals, we had, though, was when Daniel and I made pancakes for dinner and experimented with several different kinds of pancakes:

Symphony Bar pancakes

Strawberry Pancakes

Apple Cinnamon Pancakes

Orange Zest Pancakes

Honey Bunches of Oats Pancakes (not good)

Honey Oat Pancakes (better)

It was so much fun. We were just grabbing things out of the pantry and making pancakes with them. We're going to perfect it one day and then open up a pancake shop and only serve pancakes. They are my favorite food, you know....

So anyways, a little blurb about food for you....food is very important. Apparently it's the way to a man's heart.

As you can tell, we are settling in to married life, only to be unsettled again once summer starts. I"m going to be working with Daniel on the high school summer program he's in charge of. I'm going to be "lead girl" beside Daniel, and we'll each have 2 counselors that we're over, who in turn are over the students. The kids come for 2 weeks, and they spend one week in camp and one week out of camp in the woods in tents (um, yeah. in the woods. in tents.) But i'm really excited about it! I'm going to lead worship for the group (it's called Apostle), and it's going to be really hectic, but really good. Right now I'm just really enjoying being a housewife and learning to cook and having some time to myself during the day. I also really enjoy keeping up the house and making it the way Daniel and I want it (i'll post pictures of the house soon, I promise)

Okay, I just tried to upload some pictures of our trek out west, but one of the perks of living out here is that the Internet is a lil slow, and the pictures won't upload. So, they will come the next time I blog. I hope you read this anyway, because it took me a long time to type it out.

love love love,