twine EVERYTHING.

spending so much time working in front of a computer now

makes me itch for ways to get my hands dirty.

sigh
BRING ME BACK to school again,

when i had paint all over my clothes,
my arms,
the carpets

---

so this past christmas shopping season,
i went a little nuts at daiso (LOVE) buying gifts for coworkers,

and i also bought three rolls of twine..
which sparked a sudden obsession with wrapping and twine-ing:

"Secret Cupid" with the coworkers.

YESS, paint that trader joes brown bag.

^circa Christmas 2012

LOOK HOW FAR I'VE COME.

and last night's addition to the wrapTHAT, twineALL series:

so fun.

#showoff

Can't, WON'T.

Midweek reality check:

You can't please people.

You can't make them happy.

maybe for a day, but not forever.

whomp whomp, huh??

no, but really.

this has been a pretty tumultuous few weeks at work,

ups and downs, inside out, hanging on for dear life.

tumultuous in the sense that we've felt a little uninspired, restricted.

and it's really affected how our team's been functioning.

i'm sure everyone knows how that feels,

so i feel ok posting about this here.

i've been exhausted!

trying to figure out how to fix this.

how to be a "solution" to the problem.

since getting this job, i've really been praying

well...less praying, more wondering how "i can be a light" here in hollywood.

i really thought that meant smiles, happy faces and a really good attitude about everything.

WELL.

i'm incapable.

and i realized that yesterday somewhere along the 10,

when I finally surrendered this whole savior complex to God in prayer.

---

TWO THINGS:

1. this verse, ironically from our bible study just this past saturday.

"Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings,

or of God?

Or am I trying to please people?

If I were still trying to please people,

I would not be a servant of Christ."

Galatians 1:10

duh, Trisha, it's ALL RIGHT THERE.

2. this not-so-HIP, but totally happening song from the 90's:

Oh Holy Spirit, You're my comfort

Strengthen me, hold my head up high

And I stand upon Your truth

Bringing glory unto You

And let the peace of God,

let it reign!


ah, amen.

CALLING ALL BACHELOR FANS.

Nope, I don't know anything about Juan Pablo's season,

other than the fact that he's got an accent and a daughter?

Maybe this isn't something to flaunt. haha.

so I've watched select seasons of the Bachelor franchise,

but only if the people are kind of interesting.

ie. Emily Maynard

totally watched her entire Brad season because

she was from the south.

omgah, she met Dolly!

'nuff said.

haha.

---

anyway, in the midst of a pretty tough work week,

this was a really wonderful breath of fresh air to read,
also kinda from lala-hollywood-land.

Emily shares about her faith and how God redeemed her from her brokenness:

"...For so many years I have questioned why He would bring me through something like The Bachelor and eventually The Bachelorette, knowing all along I would meet my husband through church just a few miles from my house. Couldn't He have spared me so much heartbreak and humiliation? Well, as I was praying for Him to give me any excuse NOT to speak at church, I kept getting the same message: THIS was the very reason. I have gone through many storms in my life, only to have God bring me through to the other side and now was my chance to give Him all the glory."

from her blog.

and here's the church interview with Emily and her fiance.

heck, I don't know her. obviously.

but as a Bachelor viewer, I've been totally sucked into this lady's life 

and have been rooting for Emily's happiness since day one, haven't you??

and PTL, this happy ending and final rose is truly coming
from something bigger and better than reality tv,
Jesus himself!

yay.

That blogpost about blogposts.

Just spent the last hour trying to save my xanga entries

(xanga is ending??! something complicated?)

 and import them somewhere safe.

..like a folder on my desktop. 

hahaha.

omg. xanga.

that cyber journal that carried me from middle school through highschool.

which then led to my old wordpress,

documenting my photography ventures.

365 photo project, anyone??

some highlights, thoughts:

1. I still write/speak the same way, via blog.

2. I can't believe I've kept this up for so long.

3. This past hour just reaffirmed my blogging love and purpose.

hahaha.

deep thoughts.

but seriously, what a great way to dig through my past.

Maybe I have some ability to stay consistent.

I've got it in me!

anyway, a few fun entries I pulled from my wordpress:

1. My first Mt. Hermon experience

2. This wart I had for a good 6 months!

3. MH Design Impact Team

4. A pretty cute, endearing entry about my sister

5. When we had huge all church picnics

6. NEW YORK

7. and my dad, haha.

ah, so fun.

what a blessed life I live!

#tbt THAT HIKE

Pine Knot Trail, you fooled us.

We went into this hike thinking it was a 4 mile baby.

piece of cake.

hah. NO. NO CAKE.

but I would like an entire chocolate cream pie, please.

yeah, because I finished the 9 MILES it ended up being.

(i know, i'm a whimp..)

Good thing we prepped a bit with sandwiches beforehand and electrolytes throughout.

And good thing the weather was just perfect.

you know, like "April 25th...not too hot and not too cold" perfection.

and you can't complain with this company and these surroundings.

hiking has a good way of making you forget,

just focus on moving those feet.

and then maybe you'll see some of THIS:

#selfies

and #snowballs

isn't this beautiful?

let's not forget, 

we totally cheated while heading back,

 and took a shortcut that ended up not being a shortcut.

i felt like katniss, minus the brains and just the frantic exhaling

WHERE'S PEETA??!?!

and finally, the view up top.

what a treat.

I'm still feeling a sense of accomplishment

from this hike we took a good many days ago.

haha.

till next time,

my body says thank you, Big Bear, for kicking my butt 

and giving me something silly to boast about.

YES.

said Christine..

to starbucks, disneyland, and forever with Andy.

:)

I'm motivated by beautiful photos.

how cheesy is THAT line?

but really, Christine and Andy's proposal was documented SO beautifully...

I HAD TO DO SOMETHING.

so. I shall blog.

---

Andy and I grew up together in church, 

but he was always way cooler since he was a few years older.

BUT, we share the same birthday...

and birthdays trump age differences.

I met Christine because she started dating Andy.

I think we connected on the most unexpected terms:

feeling uncomfortable, out of place, too new.

Since then, God has used that kind of insecurity that we both felt individually,

allowing us to share some commonality,

opening our eyes to a new budding friendship that I'm pretty excited about.

---

anyway, thee proposal!

Christine's galpals whipped this entire thing up with Andy, 

seemingly effortlessly. I was SO impressed when I saw the site.

LOOK:

Andy asked me to create this customized starbucks "logo" for them,

a challenge, but pretty things can happen when you take out a creepy mermaid.

haha.

but what an honor to have this piece front and center of your proposal!

heck, your GRANDKIDS are going to see these!

All above images via the marvelous Margarette Sia.

And then there was my iphone:

hahahah, i love this girl.

yeeeee.

congrats! let the super organized wedding planning begin ;)

and so happy to have you "marry into" our church, Christine. hahaha!

kidding.

Another one bites the dust..

I'm in the blogging mood.

(can't you tell?)

This post will be more lighthearted than the previous one, promise.

---

2014 seems to be the year of
saying yes to diamonds and boys and budgeting and marriage.

who's with me on that??

still, such an exciting time. 

and i'm so happy and HONORED to know these secret happenings beforehand,

to have a hand in creating something for them. 

---

EMME & ERIC

Em and I grew up together.

She's been talking about weddings since I can remember.

Lavender and green used to be her colors.

Lavender has since shifted to a sweet, trendy coral.

but other than that, not much has changed.

She's still the same girl I grew up with.

same organized everything,

same determinaton,

same big heart for Jesus,

same size.

hahahah.

Anyway, Eric gathered a few of us (Johan + Fi, happy times)

and we brainstormed ideas, went a little pinterest crazy,

went on a shopping spree with Eric's credit card,

and with the help of many of Em & Eric's family and friends, 

managed to pull together a PARTAYYY to celebrate this exciting time. 

what an adventure it was, pulling off something that only seasoned event coordinators should tackle.

it was all super fun, tiring, and satisfying though.

proceed...

(obviously these are just the photos I snapped on my phone.

haha, but a glimpse anyway..)

gorgeous day, beautiful locale.

sweet proposal set up on a magic carpet.
cue *Aladdin*

and at the house..

SURPRISE success. we win.

easy party favor solution. pin it. pin it.

also, sidenote:

 DIY projects are totally NOT as easy as they look on blogs.

WHO has chicken wire, spray paint, and wood laying around?

The trip itself took away that one "easy afternoon".

k, venting done.

and behold, that DIY project in all it's fluffy, napkin glory:

TAG EMME.

congrats you two.

so glad you're part of my life.