The zoo at 2.

Okay, so say your family is coming to town from out-of-state for a week, and you get an email from one of them.  It has an attachment to an excel spreadsheet.  Laid out on that is a blow-by-blow plan of their (and in large part, your) proposed schedule for the week.  Every activity is budgeted in, to make sure they don't miss a thing while in your lovely part of California, or wherever.  Beach? Yes, twice, both Friday and Saturday at 11:00.  Visit the mission? Yes, Wednesday at 3.  And don't worry, you'll get to the zoo, on their last day here, at 2.  

Do you...

A) get excited!  They are obviously looking forward to the visit and 

want to pack a lot of fun stuff in, as do you.  You're glad they are prepared and know what they want to do, and the schedule will just make it easier to make sure nothing is missed and for everyone to know what to do when.  You might have even done the same thing if you were visiting them!

B) think... "really?"  It all has to be planned out? Aw.  I kinda like going with the flow, since you never know what will come up.  Does anyone else feel slightly stifled?  What if I'm not in the mood for the zoo at 2 that day?  What if I just really want to kick back at Brophy's for some shrimp cocktail?  

The split was immediate and kinda funny today in small group.  You can probably guess who got stoked on her family's excel sheet plan, like the strong J that she is.  Anna and I were totally option B, which made sense as we are the   P preferring ladies of the bunch.  Not like we can't stand schedules ever or anything, or all J's love Excel to structure their leisure, but you can often predict someone's reaction to certain things by knowing their preference.  

My Hood.

My new neighborhood is darling. Since I moved it I've been wanting to take some photos of my favorite houses nearby and post them, and kept not finding the time. Finally, although the lighting at sunset isn't ideal for my little camera, I just did it on my walk a couple evenings ago. So pardon the brightness in some of the photos, but I introduce to you now some of The Cutest & Nicest Houses Within 3 Blocks of My New Place... Pick your favorite. And maybe one of them is the one that has my studio attached to it in back. ;)

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9 ~ This house has a mailbox that matches the house itself to scale, see both photos! Didn't get a great shot of the life size house though.

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So cute, all of them. The kind of neighborhood that makes you want to get out and walk around.

Here's one more of the neighborhood and one of the gorgeous purple jacaranda trees that surround me too...

...to have plenty.

..."for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty."
-Paul to the Phillipians

I wrote it so many times in my college prayer journals... also in those anonymous prayer notebooks during my every few month visits to the little prayer chapel at Westmont. "Please grant me joy and contentment." I was aware of my repetition... like, I'm praying for this again? What's my deal? It wasn't like I didn't have joy or never felt content, those years were a total blast, but the unknown and the disheveledness and stress weighed on me at times. I couldn't seem to relax.

No longer do I feel the urge to pray for joy and contentment. I believe this is due to two major lessons I have learned since those good ol' college days.

Numero uno, that my choices and timing aren't God's, and that His are better. I think I have a good grip on this concept by now, after having seen it in action again and again. "Dead set on being an RA in Page?" He says..."Nah, you're going to be in Clark and it's going to be amazing and give you lifelong friendships." "Oh, you wanted to keep that job? Nope. Here's a better one." "You like that house you live in? Well it's going to catch fire and you'll learn how to take advantage of unforeseen opportunity and find a more awesome one."

Numero dos, that joy and contentment aren't just granted to you, and you certainly don't get it from being sure about where your life is going. I realized, with some divine guidance of course, that it comes from knowing yourself and taking action accordingly. What things can I do, habits can I form, people can I spend time with, thoughts can I think, hobbies can I keep up with; that lead me to feel joyful and content no matter what circumstances are swirling around me? Oh, and that's just it, the circumstances are what surround us, but they do not make us. We are only to do the best with them that we can.

Here are a few things that I make a part of my life regularly to keep me "content whatever the circumstances."

*Walks on Hendrys (sometimes Butterfly) with music during sunset.
*Commitment to my soccer team. Wednesdays and Saturdays used to sound like too much of a commitment, til I realized how great it is for me and how it makes a difference to the team.
*Intentional friend time...be it Wednesday morning small group, dinner with my old neighbors, a weekend in Orange County, or Thursday nights watching the Office, if I make it a frequent thing and do my best to even it out with all those dearest to me, I can get through anything, whether I am in need or have plenty. (and I know that I am lucky right now, as being in SB grants me plenty of good friends in proximity)
*Making the best of Daylight Savings. It couldn't have come at a better time this year. More chances to get over and see the sunset after work.

Summing up most of these things, here are some photos from Sunday, when after a long fun weekend with lots of friends, Meg, Josh, Anna and Shane and I hit up Leadbetter for a sunset picnic.




What keeps joy and contentment in your life?

Update & Miscellany

On the job front...
I am going to be working with another agent as well as Mary starting next week! Bruce is a top agent here at Prudential and I will be working with them each half-time. I'm excited about this change, especially because it gets me moving forward on one of my New Year's goals ahead of my deadline. I had wanted to alter my work schedule somehow by the end of February to be making more money and be more challenged. Done and done. I wasn't sure that the change I was seeking would still involve real estate, but I think this is the right thing for me. I'm lucky to get to live in a city I am in love with and work in a job that indulges one of my passions - people's homes. For fun, here's a photo of one of my current favorite properties listed in Montecito (not our listing!)... it's just around 7 mil and sits on Hot Springs Road.


Tutoring tales...
I have been tutoring a regular client of mine, Page, for almost 3 years now. As time goes on, she gets smarter, and me...well, I try. This girl is in high school now, so one subject in particular is really starting to fry my brain. Raise your hand if you're familiar with congruent triangle postulates or linear equations or parallel line theorems. Right. I never planned on tutoring in Geometry but the past couple months have found me doing it anyway, and it's some of the most challenging and rewarding ways I'm spending my time. Page and I busted through the afore-mentioned concepts and more this week as we prepared her for her final today. I would have done way better if we were working on an literature paper or Spanish exam, but I have to toot my own horn and say I did a decent job this week. There's nothing like having to relearn a math concept that you last looked at a decade ago and then explain it on the spot. No money I've ever earned felt as deserved as this, and no job has tested my intelligence as much either.

Mid 20s...
Googled this favorite phrase of ours the other day and found the exchange below on a blog.

A two-sentence post:
"I used to be in my early-mid 20s, but as of now I'm in my mid-20s. No new post today while I'm figuring this out."

Comment on the post:
Scott said...
"I'm currently in my early 30s and let me tell you- ENJOY THAT SHIT."

*************************
Well, Scott, I am.

Madly On.

Heard on Gossip Girl the other night (an unusual place to find inspiration, I know)...

"Sometimes you need to step outside to clear your head and remind yourself of where you're going and who you want to be."


"Stepping outside" is very important to me. I am very easily distracted, and I try to be intentional about doing things and going places that help me gain a refreshed perspective on myself and my purpose. Around Christmastime every year I've made sure to spend a few quiet minutes late at night up at Westmont just looking at the Christmas lights in front of Kerrwood and the tree on lawn all lit up. I'm lucky to still live in Santa Barbara and easily be able to get up there to do so. I did it once again a couple days ago. The effect is mentally and almost physically refreshing. I grabbed a photo of the lights (camera isn't the most powerful) and also of the path I was standing on, a path that I used to traipse down with Zac on winter nights 5 and 4 years ago.


I think forward to the future so much; the promise and possibilities of next week, next summer, 5 years from now, are irresistible. I enjoy the present well enough, as anyone who knows me can attest to, but I do have a hard time being grounded in it. As for the past, I hold it very close to me. But I've never really written out a "year in review" before for myself...maybe because until now, no medium was as conducive to it as a blog. So here was 2007, kept simple; just stand-out moments, lessons learned, things accomplished.

*Dyed my hair dark dark brown. People at work were asking Mary where I had gone, and who was this new brunette working with her.

*Andrea settles into San Andres (after moving in late '06) and becomes one of the world's greatest finds from Craigslist ever.

*We threw a Nautical Party at San Andres. Most fun theme yet.


*Saint Patrick's Day, when we covered the town with green shamrocks.

*Zac moved to Santa Monica/Brentwood. 1 hour & 20 minutes never felt so close.

*Got better at keeping in touch with friends and family out of town over the phone, mostly due to the several drives to and from LA every month.

*Came home from work on my half-birthday to our beautiful house on fire and a half dozen fire trucks hard at work to save it. Most of our stuff was saved, but the house was ruined for occupancy indefinitely. Our hearts break.

*Next-door neighbors/friends take me in for the next two months until we have found and can move into a new place. Such generosity without expectations or hesitation is one of the biggest gifts I've ever been given.

*Learned that it is not possible to be perceived as perfect and blameless in others' eyes, and I should stop trying to control their perception, because I'm not.

*Saw John Mayer, The Fray, and Snow Patrol in concert, not to mention numerous other small venue concerts, fulfilling my 07 resolution to go to see more live music.

*Camping with my dad in Santa Ynez.

*Went up to Fremont with Zac to see my mom graduate with her B.A. Fun to see your parents' dreams come true.

*The Housewarming Party, 07-13-07, at our new estate. Was one for the ages.


*Started a blog to get back into writing, a longtime goal. Got Google Reader, which changed my life and everyone else I know who has it.

*Fiesta, primarily attending the free Mat Kearney concert on the grass with Emily. Was one of my most favorite concerts ever, and afterwards turned into a spontaneous dance party under the stars for a primarily 20-something crowd when a dj took the stage.

*Hit up the summer events in town, like SB Museum Nights, another goal for the year.

*Wedding fun, including Chap & Katie and Occy & Lauren. There's nothing like a Westmont wedding for an amazing time.


*Zac's birthday in Vegas with his family.

*Meg and I start a small group. Another goal for the year. Getting up early for coffee for the first time in my life.

*Took the CA Real Estate Exam and passed. Hooray.

*Turned 25. One of the best bdays ever... had a bonfire and wine-tasting party, Zac surprised me, went and sat in on a Rhetoric class and had lunch with Spencer, layed out by the pool with friends, and went out to dinner at Zaytoon. Love my friends.

*Halloween Party. The roommates have always wanted to do one, and it turned out sweet and spooky. Being a geisha was maybe my favorite costume yet.

*Zac comes to Fremont for Thanksgiving. We hang out with approximately 5154 family members. A terrific time.


*Soccer team winds down fall season undefeated for the first time in my 3 1/2 years with them. We are scored on once.

*Executed a diligent and somewhat organized Christmas season. Complete with a spiced apple candle purchased to put me in the mood during the entire month. In my opinion this makes me for sure (well, almost) an adult.


Already realizing some things about myself with what I chose to include on the list. Was a great year, all in all, and definitely an interesting one what with the fire. But from the ashes we rise, right?
I have high expectations for 2008. Stay tuned.