a to z, me

"getting to know you... getting to know all about you..."

any the king and i fans out there? when i was younger, it was my favorite movie. i loved sleeping over at my grandma's house because it didn't matter how many times we'd seen it; she always let me put it on again.and i, in turn, watched the golden girls with her. 

"you are precisely my cup of tea..." (:

it's the first week of classes of this academic year. my office is across the hall from a classroom where classes have been taking place yesterday and today, filled with first year students. i've overhead the professors start each class with a little "get to know you" activity or question. i usually think these things are kind of cheesy at first [ok, or i just get stressed about what i'm going to say], but then enjoy them as people start to open up and we get to know one another!

all that to say, i've seen a little questionnaire on a few blogs recently and thought it was fun to read the responses and get to know more about some lovely bloggers. i thought i'd do the same!

me and some total. legit. bedhead. (:

{a} age :: twenty-seven

{b} bed size :: double

{c} chore you hate :: killing bugs! [when you live in the country, it is a chore!]

{d} dogs :: none - though john and i talk about the dogs we want to have someday and i frequent this website and wish i could rescue all these pups :(

{e} essential start to your day :: coffee, followed by more coffee (:

{f} favorite color :: i love combinations. right now i'm loving turquoise, olive green, mustard yellow, and browns.

{g} gold or silver :: white gold

{h} height :: 5'9

{i} instruments you play :: i played the flute for 9 years

{j} job title :: communication and events administrative assistant

{k} kids :: none... yet!

{l} live :: western new york

{m} maiden name :: champignon [we've americanized it and pronounce it champion (: ]

{n} nicknames :: champ, sar sar, sarah beth [my middle name]

{o} overnight hospital stays :: none

{p} pet peeve :: people driving five miles under the speed limit and people tailgating me when i'm driving the speed limit or more [oh, driving... have i mentioned i'm from jersey?!]

{q} quote :: let love explode and bring the dead to life. let hope arise and make the darkness hide [daniel bashta - like a lion]

{r} righty or lefty :: lefty

{s} siblings :: two younger sisters, heather and laura

{t} time you wake up :: 6:25am [after my alarm goes off at 6, 6:10 and 6:20!]

{u} university attended :: malone university [it was malone college when i attended... 5 years ago. yikes!]

{v} vegetables you dislike :: brussels sprouts. i'm also fickle about onions and tomatoes.

{w} what makes you run late :: checking my emails, facebook and blogs

{x} x-rays you’ve had :: teeth and one foot

{y} yummy food :: so many to choose from! some of my favs include mexican food, biscottis, new jersey bagels, and ice cream

{z} zoo animal favorite :: elephants

your turn, friends! tell me something to help me get to know you better!

i'm loving musicals, thoughts of my grandma, and new friends!

on my heart :: friends

on my heart this morning are friends! two in particular -- let me introduce you to becky and lauren [or SAL, as i call her. another story for another time!].

aren't they lovely?!

i've known becky since i was four and lauren since i was 10 (or 11?). they are what i call lifelong friends. after two decades [two?! decades?! what?!] of life, we've gone through a lot with one another... high school, first boyfriends, breakups, college, finding the one, engagements, weddings, marriages... all while pondering the finer mysteries of life. we live in three different states right now, and we're very different people than we were as girls growing up in the garden state. but these two ladies have seen me through good, bad, and worse times. they know my heart. they love me for who i am, and they always have. they're the friends i can pick up the phone and talk to as though time hasn't passed. they've been my personal cheerleaders through so many times in life. and most importantly, they point and push me towards Jesus. 

there are a couple of other ladies who are a part of this lifelong group. all in all, we live in five states, and we joke that we only get to see each other for weddings and funerals anymore. unfortunately, that's been kind of true the last four years or so.

which is why i'm so incredibly excited for this weekend with beck and laur, because it's simply a girls weekend.two days of catching up on life, sharing our hearts, drinking wine, and enjoying the beautiful weather and landscape of western new york. it's going to be such a treat for me and my spirit. i feel so blessed to have these girls in my life and am so thankful to have this time with them.


now hurry up and get here, ladies! (:

once upon a time, i began to think of situations where i have introduced friends who didn't know one another or brought friends home with me to stay with my family and other similar occasions.

some of those times i worried about the two parties meeting. would they get along? would someone offend someone else or would one party not be accepting of the other because they were so different. what if person a couldn't believe i'd be friends with person b?

and so at this particular time i began thinking about why it was i got so nervous and where these concerns came from and what was it in my heart that would cause me to think such things.

and it was then that i realized something convicting...

i was casting the first stone of judgment.