Arizona Day 3: Window Tint and Orange Lights

     I am thoroughly convinced that Arizona does not have yellow lights - they are in fact orange. In Cali I would have no problem going through a yellow light - most of the time you could 3+cars through them if you hit them just right... I have yet to find one of those yellow lights here. I don't even want to go through a yellow light here - the couple I've attempted to go through have been just yellow and before I get through the intersection the light is red! Therefore, they are orange lights.
     We also tinted our car windows today. It's fantastic. Why anyone here doesn't have their windows tinted is beyond me.

Welcome to Arizona!

     Hello Friends! Today is the 29th, which means that we have officially been in Arizona (I almost wrote Cali) for 3ish days nows -- and we got the internot set up so it's time for an update.
     We started our journey out to AZ at 330AM on Saturday morning - we were officially in the truck and moving at 4:02 and pretty much didn't hit any traffic the whole time.  It was a VERY smooth trip out to AZ and we arrived sometime around noon. Some "noteworthy" things on the drive out:

• The 91 freeway connector was closed when we needed to get on it - luckily there were WELL marked signage off the freeway and people to follow
• I had the priviledge of talking to the little munchkins (it was the highlight of the trip I believe).
• I ate a cinnabon for the first time -- and finished the WHOLE thing
• We found out that a school bus driver filling up at the Flying Jay station at the border (exit 1) drives 35 miles into CA to pick kids up and take them to school in AZ because it's the closest school to them! Craziness I tell you!
• The exit we needed in AZ was closed and the freeway turned into 1 lane - luckily JBenz was there to give us directions.
• I left my wallet in my car - which was 30 minutes behind us... not a big deal; but I realized I didn't have my wallet about 2 hrs into the drive and I knew it was in 1 of 2 places, the in-laws house or my car. I am very thankful it was in my car!

    Things have been good so far - but I'm exhausted! We were able to unpack the truck with the help of our AZ friends in about 2 hrs! We got to meet up with other CA friends who are now AZ residents and have yummy pizza for dinner with great company. On Sunday we attended church with our friends out here and really enjoyed it. I'm looking forward to finding a place to serve there...but want to make sure we're all settled in before I volunteer for anything. We visited Scottsdale for a bit on Sunday then later dropped off the parents (my in-laws) at the airport and I got to drive for the first time in AZ - visibility was difficult considering the height of the sun at that time - it was a learning experience. So far as I have noticed they don't really warn you about lanes merging on surface streets - that's a bit surprising when there's a truck right next to you and you have no where to drive aahahah!. We met one of our neighbors - who is pretty entertaining and offered us his patio set - which I'm pretty excited about that :) Yay for free furniture!

     I have my face-to-face interview on Wednesday, please be praying about that and then hopefully I will start my job on 9/6 :)

So that's all that has happened. We have a couple more bigger projects at home to do; but hopefully we'll be able to run errands tomorrow so we can get them started and done.

     I hope you're all doing well,
            S

Product Review Wednesday: Too Faced Shadow Insurance

     Hello lovelies! I'm going to try and keep up PRW again - even though we're in the midst of an out of state move, I anticipate having more free time and some of you have been asking for it to come back - so here it is and I'll try to be better at maintaining it. :)

    As a make up artist, I want my clients' make up to last throughout the entire day; not necessarily for only a few hours and in the past I noticed that my eyeshadow not only appeared a different color when I applied it to my own lids, but that it also wouldn't last the entire day - not something I wanted to run into with my clients. I recieved "Shadow Insurance" by Too Faced as a gift from Sephora and I absolutely love it! I usually apply it with either a clean finger or a clean small shadow brush - sometimes it appears stripey from the brush - but if you practice you'll find a technique that works for you that will get it applied evenly with a brush. (The faster, easier way is to use your finger though-ring or pinky work best). Shadow Insurance comes out in a beige color which helps the shadows true color pigmentation come out without the yellow or pink tones of your skin coming through. When using this product, make sure that you allow it time to dry a but before applying eyeshadow - the eyeshadow will not blend well if it's applied while the Shadow Insurance is still rather wet and it can also appear uneven/a little clumpy so give it a few seconds to set to avoid that and you'll get a truer color as well as lasting. It is FANTASTIC and helping your shadow last all day without it falling or getting lighter!

     This is one product that I consider a MUST HAVE for my kit; it really does make a difference!! 



5 days!!

We are 5 (FIVE) days away from moving! It still hasn't fully hit me...but I am SO ready to get out of a boxed filled apart and start putting things away :) I am definitely looking forward to the extra space out in AZ , but it will be hard (and sad) to leave all our friends and family....

Any ways, we have 5 days left (1 drs appt and 1 dentist appt left!) and they we get to enjoy Arizona... it's gonna be *hot hot hot!*  (anyone else dancing when they read that?)


--SC

Today was a good day!

God is SO good! He has provided so much for us and it is just amazing to see and be a part of!
Anthony has a job lined up, we have an apartment and I just received an e-mail expressing that the lady I had an interview with for a nanny position would love to have me work for them as long as we both still feel it's a good fit after a face-to-face meeting when we get out to Arizona!

On top of that, we FINALLY ordered wedding pictures for the scrapbooks we're making for our parents, some large prints for gifts for a couple people, and some large prints for ourselves. The W threw Anthony a "Bon Voyage" lunch party today with yummy food and I got to hang out with the ladies for a bit; I have 3 photoshoots set up for this week and next, we're almost done packing, and we're almost done with a few things we're making for our going away party and lastly, I got to talk to my Gramma and she might be stopping by our Going Away Party :). And of course, the only person we can say is responsible for this is God. None of the good things in our lives happen by our own doing; it's all because of God's grace.

It's so amazing to see how God is working in and through our lives and such a blessing to be able to witness how He is working through the lives of our friends, family and loved ones as well. There's nothing more beautiful than to see His healing power work in the lives of those hurting and to witness Him draw them to Him. I cannot express the joy God has given me in seeing the lives of others transformed. He is doing a great thing and my heart rejoices in Him!

Less than 2 weeks!!

Hello dear friends!
     As of this morning we are a mere 13 days away from moving to Arizona!! Wow! It seems to be going so fast. There are boxes all over our house and the walls are now bare. I'm finding cooking to be somewhat entertaining - apparently I want to make things that require things that we have already packed away. Smooth Sara, real smooth. :P
     I'm glad to say that I'm still not feeling anxiety about moving; and I can only thank God for that. He has guided us and been with us through this entire process and I know that He will take care of us because we are His children.
     Now all that's left really is packing away the things we use on a day-to-day basis and getting in more time with friends and family. Tomorrow we're going to Disneyland, thanks to my (former) boss, Maya and family. I'm so excited! :)

                 Have a great Sunday!
                       xoxo
                           Sara

Photoshoot Recap

     It was a beautiful, slightly chilly afternoon down by the beach. The rocky steps led down to a large, weathered tree which had obviously been visited many times by the looks of the marks on it's trunk. Leaves littered the ground providing the feel of autumn in the middle of the summer. Further down the rocky steps there let out a beautiful view of the ocean in the distance, while bushes, plants, and "weeds" grew wild - a perfect scene for an outdoor shoot. Walk down the pathway to the left, and you find a house in the background and some more trees, some brush, and a wrought iron gate. Follow the path down and you hit the beach just as the sun starts to set - painting the sky and leaving for a gorgeous photo opportunity.
     The photoshoot was last minute; I received a message around 2:30PM and was getting the models ready around 3:00PM for a 5:00PM shoot. I was blessed to have received some great lessons through this experience and I look forward to more opportunities to apply these lessons in the future. I also have a new found respect for photographers, their art, dedication, and passion.
     If you're looking for a great photographer in the South Orange County area, you should take a look at www.byAlexander.com.


          xoxo
             Sara

Giving to the Needy

     I was listening to a message the other day and it really rubbed me the wrong way. The over all gist of the message was to not give to the needy on the street because they will just spend it on drugs and alcohol or they're just trying to hustle people because they know they can make more begging for money than actually working. Instead, the speaker went on to say that the only way to really help people on the street is to give financially to an organization that can help them. The guy painted this picture of every person on the streets being there because they have a drug addiction or are there because they are just bad people wanting to scam others. It has really been bothering me.

     Don't get me wrong here - I believe there are people like that, but I do think there are people there who are genuinely in a tough situation; some may even be on the street because of what someone else did. I think that it's important to give to organizations that help the needy, but I do think that it's wrong to say not to give to people on the streets. Whatever they use the money for is their perogative, should we judge every single homeless or needy person based off of the wickedness of others? We are all wicked - that's evident in our daily lives. God commands us to give to the needy; that includes people on the streets. He also commands us not to judge others; but refusing to give to someone who says that he's in need because you *think* they may spend the money on drugs or alcohol is judgement.   There are other ways to give to the needy than straight up cash too. In the past, my husband and I have had $5 giftcards and bibles in our car; so when we drove by someone asking for something we didn't have to drive by them knowing that we have an abundance of stuff and not give them something. That's not giving them cash that can go to a bad habit, but it's still providing them with the means to get physical food and, more importantly, spiritual food.  I'm not saying that the guy was entirely wrong; I'm not so naive as to think that every single person who is homeless isn't there because of some addiction; but I'm not going to assume that everyone who is on the streets is there for that reason. Some people have just made some bad decisions and lost everything as a result of it - and it was done without being drug or alcohol related. Some times people just get in tough situations. Who are we to judge someone elses situation??
     It breaks my heart to think that other people are going to listen to that message and what they hear will be somewhere along the lines of "don't give to the needy you see on the street."

Matthew 24:41-45
⁴¹"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. ⁴²For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, ⁴³I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' ⁴⁴Then they also will answer, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?' ⁴⁵Then he will answer them, saying, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.'"