places

Hollywood... it's really not all its made out to be... Its crowded, dirty, and a bit unnerving. And the streets are very uneven, which makes it hard to walk in high heels. All this to say, as much as i don't enjoy this place, i had the greatest time there this week!

Thursday night a few friends and i went down to Hollywood to see Steve play a show. Steve is a great friend from Forest Home, and he lives in Florida. So, hearing that he was going to play a show so close to home, i HAD to be there. It was in a little upstairs loft type of area of the Rainbow Bar. Very tiny, but very comfortable. It was hard to hear Steve when he spoke inbetween songs, but he sounded great otherwise. What a great experience to be there and support such a close friend in doing what he loves most. After he was done we all just hung out till the place started to slowly empty. It was a great time, but way too short! Here's a picture from that night (minus Ashlie who is taking the pic).


Breanna, Scott (Steve's friend and touring buddy), Steve and I.











As i sat there and talked to Steve for the few hours we had, i was reminded of how great a friend he is! We worked at Forest Home together as "teaching partners" back in the summer of 2006. Being teaching partners forces you to create this incredible bond between the two people. You work together every day for three months... you pray together... you are held responsible for a ton of kids together... you know eachother's strengths, weaknesses, breaking points... its incredible. I hadn't seen Steve in almost two years, and as we sat talking it felt like i had just seen him the day before. This brought up such appreciaiton for the few years i had at Forest Home. What amazing friends i made... what great bonds... amazing memories.

Forest Home is one of my favorite places. The Lord has spoken to me there, broken me there, rocked my world there. I wish i could share the feelings of joy i experience there. Summer is starting up in a few weeks, and allthough my heart ACHES to be there, i know the Lord has other plans for me. It wont hurt as bad this time around, last summer i thot i would DIE not being able to be there. But i see myself visiting more this summer. I dont want to go another two years and forget the blessings God has placed in my life.

Here's to you, Forest Home!

Appliances

Yeah... here's the story.

I woke up early to get ready for another day at work... BLEH. And i simply did as i ALWAYS do... I got in the shower, did my hair, got dressed, did my makeup, poured myself a glass of orange juice, and put some tasty Pop-tarts into the toaster oven. I walked out of the kitchen and over to the mirror by the front door. I opened the door to see what the weather was like... i fixed my hair... i went back to the kitchen.

There was a fire.

I looked at our toaster oven and smoke was just billowing out of the sides of the glass door. I was shocked! So i quickly opened up the door to try and get the Pop-tarts out before it got worse... smart right? NO. As soon as the air hit the Pop-tarts they BURST INTO FLAMES! And im not really exagerating here. I mean, there were litteral FLAMES coming off of my poor, no longer very tasty, Pop-tarts. I kinda stood there for a minute thinking... "Now, what should i do? Let it burn out? No, the whole kitchen will catch on fire. Use the fire-extinguisher? I AM trained to do that... but no, i dont want to go through all the hassle.... I KNOW! I'll go get Kristin." So i go wake up my poor roommate saying, "Kristin? Um... my Pop-tarts are on fire. No really. Fire." So she got out of bed and we both stood in the kitchen thinking... "Now what." We ended up unplugging the fiery beast, closing the door and hoping the flames would suffocate and die out... they didnt. So we resorted to a cup of water being thrown on it... by now, the kitchen is filled with smoke and i am late for work. So, of course, we took some pictures. We eventually threw out that old toaster oven and our neighbor bought us a new toaster. Here is the proof that this story is not at all a lie... :)

Here is the toaster with the now, extra crispy Pop-tarts still inside...

This is me acting "scared" of the fiery pop-tart ruining toaster oven from the 70's!

And finally, we simply put the toaster oven outside for the day...
i kicked it everytime i walked by.

Oh, but now onto much happier tales of appliances.

We bought a new washing machine! I know, this sounds so silly to be so excited about. But it seriously is the best purchase of my life! The machine we were using previously was OLD and not so good at CLEANING. Plus... it would make loud noises, and rattle, and shake its way accross the floor and almost OUT of the laundry room. It was a joke. We even did about 3 million bleach washes when we first got it, in hopes of getting out the "Old water, mildew, and scum" smell... not so much. So this last weekend we bought a new washing machine, and they delivered it today! It's beautiful. And yes... i took pictures... just to share with YOU!

Jillian Elizabeth and Kristin Michelle would like to announce the birth of the newest member of their twisted family; Sydney Julia Rambaldi was born Saturday, May 24th, 2008. She was brought home today and is now finally here for us to enjoy!

oh geeze...

God has the best first-aid.
While sitting here, simply feeling CRAPPY... i started to listen to the lyrics of the song that was playing (on random) on my computer. Here are the lyrics... (I put the lyrics that were simply SCREAMING at me in bold....)

So you think love is only for the good enough
And one thing you're never gonna be worthy of
But there's a song being sung over you
By the One who breathes life into you

You are being loved
You are being loved
Right now at this very moment
You are being loved
You are being loved
Right now, you are being loved, loved, loved
You are being loved, loved

You ought to see the smile you're bringing to your father's face
You ought to hear Him sing His version of Amazing Grace
Cause that's the song being sung over you
By the God who breathes life into you

With every breath that you're taking
And every beat of your heart
Even while even this song is playing
Whatever you do, wherever you are
There's a song being sung over you


There's a song being sung over you!


Wow! Thanks God for the best band-aid my heart could need.

Zephaniah 3:17

"The LORD your God is with you,
He is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you,
He will quiet you with His love,
He will rejoice over you with singing."

my heart hurts

I am a Crush Slut... basically i throw my heart out there at anything with two legs and a Y chromosome. So, this week i fell for another stupid boy... seriously, it makes me sick to look at how many times i have done the same thing to myself. I get an OUNCE of attention from said Y chromosome and i'm instantly "crushing." I read into every little text, every little joke, ever little nudge at the movie theatre... and its sickening.
So then, when i realize the truth behind it all, my poor little heart just drops.
"You did it again, Jill! Dont you get it!?"
But, i DON'T get it! I think that maybe THIS time it will be different. This will be the one. This will be the one who is interested in ME and not a good drunken time. This will be the one who sticks around long after the guitar lessons and haircuts are done. This will be the one who wants to go to church with me every week... stand next to me during worship, and not think about ME... but think about our GOD! THIS COULD BE IT!
...but then its not... and im stuck on my couch on a saturday night... while everyone else is out with their "one"... and i am posting another sappy blog.



my apologies for sappyness...

my weekend... highs and lows...

Low: My tire went flat on the 30 freeway. When outside of my car looking at said tire, my skirt blew in the wind exposing my underwear to the commuters.

High: Sark. Here is the story...

Ok.. so did anyone watch the T.V. show "Alias" back in the day? Well... i am a new found fanatic of this show. My roommate, Kristin, and I will watch it every chance we get. Then we pretend to be Sydney Bristow when we are out and about (mostly at Disneyland) and we are on all types of counter-missions... We are ridiculous. Really. Well... K and i are SO wrapped up in this silly show that we find things like it everywhere... most recently at church. Yeah, i know, right... what a good place to be distracted by such "worldly" things such as Alias. hahaha. Anyway, while sitting in church on Sunday i looked across the rows of chairs and saw a guy that looked an incredible amount like my favorite bad guy character "Sark!" (hahahahah im CRACKING up as i write this!) I automatically write a little note and pass it across to K... "that boy is cute, he looks like sark" And that was the end of it... OR SO I THOUGHT! (still cracking up! ahahahhahaha) So... during the last worship songs, we all stand to join the band in song, and BAM! Sark looks at me... not a glance... a LOOK! (ask Kristin and Lisa... they can vouch for the whole thing!) So i laugh a little and go on with worship... then after church... BAM! Another look! I walk past him to leave the building... BAM! Again! Woah... i think my knees went weak. SO then Lisa and i turn automatically into Jr. High girls... its funny how that works... you know, since we work with them and all... its easy to conform. We came up with a reasonable excuse to go back inside and see if he would do it again (and also to look for his friend who L thought was cute... see... Jr. High) So we walk inside and from across the room... BAM! It happend so many times i lost count. Silly old me just looked the other way. Oh but if Sark and i should happen to cross paths again...

Oh thats enough.

Good morning...
I got up a little too early today to get ready for church... and now ive had a good thirty minutes before i have to leave on my sunday morning run to Starbucks.
Im excited about church. It really is the highlight of my week. I get to do the worship for the Jr.high/high school group and i LOVE it. Allthough the kids dont always sing, and sometimes i feel like they are just sitting watching me, it is still MY time to worship too! Sometimes its the best worship ive had in a while. After worship and a message from Mike, we get to do "Chill Time" which is like small groups. The girls stay inside and we just get to HANG OUT! Sometimes we talk about the message... sometimes we pray... sometimes we just talk about the upcoming Prom and the school projects they have to finish. But it is so neat... i LOVE just being able to sit and listen to these girls... and have them know that i am here for them. Its such a huge blessing to be a part of the group. My church is amazing, so many open doors, so many great people... I simply love it.

Other than church, not much is going on really... i work a lot this week... early mornings which in turn RUINS my sleep pattern and on my first day off i sleep ALL day. Its a bummer... but hopefully soon enough i wont have to do it anymore. I have an interview in two weeks for a clerical position for the local medical group. Not only would i get regular hours, a higher pay, better health benefits... i could wear real clothes! No more black pants/shirts/shoes/socks... AND i dont have to cover my tattoo! hoorah! So be praying for me on the 29th at 2:30...

Lastly... i want to get my hair sone again. Im thinking either blonde blonde again... or more colorful like the picture on this page... but im NOT cutting it... i want to be able to put my hair ina ponytail if i want.... its been so nice waking up at 3 am and just throwing it back... instead of having to wash and blow dry and straighten... So we shall see... If i ever figure out this BLOGGER... maybe i'll post some pics.

this wasnt a very artsy or thoughtful blog... maybe next time...
~jill

ahhhh!

I want to be content.

I crave it, really.

Tonight it got so bad that i was thisclose to writing Luke. What good would that have done?

I guess an empty house makes you crazy...

my new best friend....

Ana Sophia Cowen was born yesterday! I got to go see her today... and she is PERFECT!

I mean... getting to hold someone who isn't even 24 hours old yet... it was the craziest thing! Little fingers and little toes... it just makes you realize how AMAZING our God is!

It's so weird to think that yesterday afternoon, there was no little baby in a pink onesie... no burp cloths with spit up on them... Hannah wasnt even planning on going in untill monday! Surprise! Now there is a perfect little girl, in her cute pink outift, with a precious headband on her day old head... :)

Ana has this perfect blonde birthmark on the side of her head... mixed in with beautiful dark brown hair. It's so unique. What a fun gift from God birthmarks are... I have one on the back of my leg... its a wierd shaped mark with a ton of freckles in it. Matthew calls it "poop." God has such a great sense of humor.

Is it weird too, that this baby (and her older brother Matthew), have completely stolen my heart!? And they arent even family! Hahaha...

Ok, so that's all for now. Maybe once i figure out this blogspot stuff i'll post some pics of my new best friend Ana Banana. (pronounced AH-NAH BAH-NAH-NAH!)

Love.

oh my.

Ok... so im not super tech savy and i dont know how to make it so you can see the whole picture... Its a funny one too... :(

Oh well. hahaha

All you ever needed to know about me...

nataliedee.com

... can be found in Nataliee Dee cartoons. For Example: this one pretty much sums me up. That's all for today.

Grandpa Johnny

My Grandpa is dying.
It sucks, not just cuz he's going to die... everyone dies. But because his heart is hard. All my life our family has been telling him and my Grandma about Jesus. But they don't want anything to do with Jesus. To them, its all a joke. And it makes it very hard to be wround them during the holidays and other family get togethers. But nevertheless... my amazing dad has continued to tell them more and more about Jesus (whether they like it or not). I know this time just SUCKS for him. I can't imagine how much he hurts. I guess lately my Grandpa hasnt been sleeping, he gets woken up in the middle of the night and he'll just go out and sit in his chair. I pray that the Lord is speaking to him during those long nights... that he is reflecting on his life... all the things my dad has told him over the years... Anyway... Im working on a new song. Its about my grandpa.
Someday i'll post it.