Sherry?

Goodbye 2009, Helloooo 2010!

2010-01-13T00:22:00.000-08:00

HELLO 2010!!! May you bring happiness, stability, and not as much craziness that 2009 gave us.

This year is already off and running and I'm trying to catch up to it. I was happy as could be that I was able to ring in the new year with my family and best friend, Kristen. I was sad to see all my family leave a few days later :(. This past week I enjoyed the last week of winter break hanging out with Kristen before she went back to school as well as other friends while I wasn't working.
So far my least favorite part of 2010 is that school started yesterday. I will be taking 2 classes online so I am still able to work full time. I am looking forward to U.S. History, and I have been dreading Physical Science since I signed up for it.

Best parts of 2009(in no particular order)
1. My brother Kevin eloped with Lupe in January!
2. Living with my sister, Tara and her family in Folsom, CA for the first half of the year
3. I felt like my family got a lot closer over the course of the year
4. My sister Christine married the love of her life, Richard, in July!
5. Lake McClure trip with the LAFD boat and ski club
6. Being a counselor with my church's high school group in August at Hume Lake
7. Promotion to food runner at The Cheesecake Factory
8. Going to see Mew at the Troubadour with my brother, Patrick
9. Being employee of the month in December :)
10. 3rd annual trip to San Francisco in October for the Nike Women's Half Marathon with my sisters + Anneliese

(Welcome to the family Richard and Lupe- love you both!)

Why I am looking forward to 2010(also in no particular order)
1. Possible Hawaii trip in May with my best friends family(if I can gather enough $$)
2. I will become a server at The Cheesecake Factory in a few months!!
3. Going to either Cal State Northridge or Cal State Sacramento in the Fall...oh wait am I really looking forward to that?
4. I am hopeful this year will bring good things and I will seize opportunities that are given to me and I will take nothing for granted.
5. If I can afford the time off work, another trip to Lake McClure(yay!)
6. 4th annual trip to San Fran for the Nike Women's Half Marathon in October with my sisters
7. Moving out of my parents house
8. RUNNING REGULARLY, NOT SPORADICALLY
9. Experiencing what God is going to do this year
10. Growing my relationships with God, family, and friends

Oh, 2010 may you be a year to see God moving and peoples hearts opened and changed. May the corruption, deceit, and filth of the world lessen and Your love and mercy spread and grow uncontrollably. And please protect the lives of my precious family and friends.

<3Sherry

Thanksgiving

2009-11-23T23:42:00.000-08:00

I still can't believe that it's already November...almost December. Where did this year go???? The other day at work my brother was signing and dating a paper for me and he put the year as 2008 instead of 2009...we were both like ah! It's almost 2010, and we're not even used to writing 2009! Yikes.

Anyways. I love Thanksgiving. I get to see my family & friends, and we get to eat really good food...what more could I ask for? This year my whole family won't be together :( but me and my brother Patrick are going to our sisters house in Folsom for Thanksgiving. I am thankful to be able to spend the holiday with my big sister, her husband and my 3 amazing nieces! I have been working a lot lately, and I'm thankful for the 4 day break I get!! Also, my best friend Kristen is coming home tomorrow night for the rest of the week; I can't wait to see her!!!
[I'm also thankful that I don't have to work on Black Friday :)]

I thank God for my amazing family, friends, job, health, and the little things he blesses me with each and every day.

L.O.V.E.

<3Sherry

A So Called "Easy" Run

2009-11-16T16:02:00.000-08:00

I went for an "easy" 3 mile run this morning. It wasn't as easy as I was hoping it would be. While running I got quite angry and discouraged because I couldn't understand how 4 weeks ago I ran an entire half marathon, but I could barely run 3 miles today. I know it is all mental. Completely. But I wish it wasn't! I guess I'm just feeling frustrated...

I have a mental block and I am determined to break through it.

I'm hoping tomorrow will be better.

<3Sherry

Just keep running, just keep running...

2009-11-15T00:16:00.000-08:00

WHY. Why is it so hard to have motivation to run? I guess if it was easy then everyone would do it. I'm pretty sure I stole that quote from someone. But it totally makes sense to me. I am training for my first marathon. Week 2 of my 17 week training schedule starts tomorrow. The big day is March 7th 2010 -woo hoo!!! I am actually really nervous about it, and I keep thinking of excuses of why I shouldn't do it. But luckily, none of them are legitimate. So, I am determined to run this marathon. And I am determined to train for it. Training, so far has not proved to be my strong point. The last 3 half marathons I ran, I signed up for each promising to run...and kept putting it off...and then oops, race day came. But I made myself run the whole thing anyways. I know that I won't chicken out of this marathon, but I would really like to do it in the least possible painful way. And that will come from training. The other day my alarm went off, I was so close to resetting it for the time I really had to get up for work. But instead I got up and went for a run, doing what I had told myself so many mornings before that I would do. I was not only proud of myself for going, but I was also happy I went.
"If you want to become the best runner you can be, start now. Don't spend the rest of your life wondering if you can do it."

L.O.V.E.

<3Sherry

New Layout

2009-10-27T19:12:00.000-07:00

Thanks to my awesome big sister, Tara, I have a new layout!!! She surprised me today by making this whole new layout. She is amazing because she made it perfect for me and I love it! Shout-out to Tara!!!! Holla.

P.S. Here's her blog: barraganfive.blogspot.com

<3Sherry

Under Construction

2009-10-26T23:53:00.000-07:00

I am figuring out html codes and trying to format everything how I want it...so excuse my messy blog while I figure it all out!

October, Oh What A Month!

2009-10-26T00:54:00.000-07:00

Alrighty, so I did warn you guys that this blog could possibly be sporadic, and so far it kind of is :)

This month has COMPLETELY flown by, I've been busy busy busy! Last weekend I went to San Francisco with my sisters and our friend[who is practically a sister :)]. We used the Nike Women's Half Marathon as an excuse to get away for the weekend. And it was such an awesome weekend!!! I feel so incredibly blessed to have such great older sisters in my life. Even though I have only known my sister-in-law Lupe for about a year, it feels much longer than that and I love that she is as much of a sister to me as my other sisters! I am grateful to my brother Kevin for bringing her in the family :). My older sisters are such good role-models for me and they are each in different seasons of life, which is cool for me because I can learn from their mistakes and from the things that they did right. I love you guys all so much!
It was also a special weekend for us because Tara made signs for us to pin on our matching race outfits that said "Running for Grandma Rosie." My Grandma has been really sick lately and we don't know how much longer she has, so it was really cool to be able to honor her because she really is such a special lady. We love you Grandma Rosie!!

This past Friday night we did a video scavenger hunt all over the city we live in with the Evfree high school group called "The Great Pumpkin Chase" it's exactly like it sounds...there is 1 staff member who dresses up as a giant pumpkin and if your group finds the pumpkin, you get a TON of points. Somehow I was nominated to be the pumpkin this year and after the kids took off in their vehicles, I took off with my posse of a few other leaders to keep me company. At the first location we went to, a group of boys found me and I took of running(it was a chase) and I ran at least a quarter mile before they caught me and took a picture with me. 2 of the groups that night actually tackled me to the ground, but I had a lot of fun running around malls and getting strange looks from people. A giant pumpkin being chased by a bunch of high schoolers was probably a funny sight. I love hanging out with my high school kids doing crazy things and having fun. God is doing some amazing things in the kids and I love being a part of it and seeing God change their hearts.

A couple weeks ago at work I was given a promotion to be a food runner! I have been waiting for this for quite awhile, I am so happy it is finally happening! I know food running isn't the most glamorous or money making job at The Cheesecake, but it makes more money than being just a host and I am looking at it as a stepping stone to being a server. To be a food runner you have to attend the 5 day server class and learn the whole menu(which I am scared about!). My class starts tomorrow morning, and I am really excited for it. I am really happy about it too because one of my best friends at work is also going to the class to be a food runner also! The one thing I am not looking forward to is the all white uniform :( luckily I found cute white jeans on sale at Levi's!

I am trying not to stress out about life's curve-balls and just take them 1 at a time. A good friend who I haven't talked to in a while called me today and it was such a blessing being able to chat with her, she is such an encouragement to me and always there for me. I feel truly blessed to call her my friend, or as my family would say "OMG we're just like sisters!" It was also a reminder that God is orchestrating everything perfectly and placed that phone call at the right moment when he knew I needed it the most. God is so good.

One last thing- I am on the fence about doing the Napa Valley Marathon in March. Anneliese(our friend/sister who came to SF with us) and my brother-in-law Jesse are registered for it already and are trying to talk me into running it also. I keep getting really really excited and I go to the website to register and then I psyche myself out and I don't register! And I have already persuaded 1 of my friends to do it with me and half way persuaded my other brother-in-law Richard too! AH! I just need to do it!!!!!!!!

Love, Sherry

Living Well

2009-10-20T22:50:00.000-07:00

I had the opportunity to go to bed early to catch up on some much needed sleep, so I took advantage of it. I laid in bed for an hour or so and had no luck falling asleep. I decided that I needed to clear my head a little and thought this would be a good time to update my blog :)

During my hour of sleeplessness I did a lot of thinking. I was thinking about how I will be turning 21 in a few months, and after that 22, then 23 and so on. For the first time ever I thought "I'm getting old!!!" Which isn't true yet, but it did get me thinking about how short this life really is. If I do live to be for real old, I don't want to look back on my life and think that I wasted any part of it and didn't take advantage of enough opportunities. I want to be intentional in the way I live. I want to influence and help others. I want to live each day as if it's my last because it very well could be!

The future is open wide. That is amazing!! Anything can happen and as much as that scares me, it excites me even more. Life truly is an adventure, and I am determined to make the most out of this short life God has blessed me with.

<3sherry

"One way to get the most out of life is to look upon it as an adventure."

-William Feather

God is Great.

2009-10-11T11:39:00.000-07:00

God has really been kicking my butt lately, so I thought I would share a little bit. I tend to be quite impatient sometimes and this week I have been focusing on praying about EVERYTHING. As soon as I wake up, I pray. Throughout the day while I'm driving or just have a spare moment, I pray. When something bad happens, I pray. When something good happens, I thank God.
A lesson that God is re-teaching me is to wait on his timing, which goes along with becoming a more patient person. God really does have my best interests in mind and all I see is a little piece of the picture, but God sees the whole picture! So I trust God that everything will happen when it's supposed to, which is awesome for me because then I don't have to waste my time worrying or stressing out about things. And then I can be better used to reach other people because my thoughts aren't focused on me, but rather on God. (Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.)

I focus on one day at a time and surround myself by prayer. God is taking care of me.
I am so thankful to have a Saviour. And even better, a Savior who LOVES me!

I pray that you all have a blessed Sunday and enjoy God's beauty and creation.

Praise the Lord, all you nations;
extol him, all you peoples.
For great is his love toward us,
and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.
Praise the Lord.
-Psalm 117

<3Sherry

Dinner Tonight!

2009-10-09T16:05:00.000-07:00

One of the girls I am nannying this week, told me about a hamburger recipe she saw on Food Network called the "Juicy Loosey" I love hamburgers, so I was interested and we decided to attempt making them tonight!

I will let you know how it goes :)

A New Found Love...

2009-10-07T11:53:00.000-07:00

I am on the 4th day(out of 9) of this nanny job...I now fully understand the need for caffeine!!!!!! I went looking for the coffee/coffeepot yesterday...I couldn't find it anywhere...then I realized that they don't drink coffee :( I couldn't even find caffeinated tea!!! I did stock up on Dr. Pepper yesterday afternoon, and after taking the youngest to school this morning, I went to Starbucks...Thank you Starbucks- I love you!

Besides that though, tonight is small group. I am on staff with my churches high school group, and I am co-leading the Junior girls small group. Tonight is only the second meeting, and I am so excited to see these girls learn and grow into women who are in love with God. We are going to be studying the fruits of the spirit and also a couple of the lies from the book "Lies Young Women Believe" by Dannah Gresh and Nancy Leigh Demoss. I am so looking forward to what God has planned for these girls!!!

Heres a song that I have really been loving lately: Please Come Home by Dustin Kensrue

Being a Mom

2009-10-06T15:51:00.000-07:00

So this week I took a job nannying 4 kids while their parents are in Europe. I don't know the kids very well, so the first few days have been a little weird. It is going well so far though. I wish that they were my own nieces, or at least kids that I knew really well. I think it would be a lot more fun for both the kids and I! I do feel so mom-ish though. Taking them to school, picking them up, making dinner, homework help, and reminders to do chores and take meds. Normally I stay up really late, and I never go to work earlier than 10:30, so I rarely have to get up super early. I have to get up at 7am to get the kids ready for school which has been one of the hardest things. I am quickly learning that I need to go to bed early so I have enough energy to get through the whole day haha. 6 more days...

On a different note, I bought my sister-in-law her running skirt today :) now her outfit is complete! Yay for Lupe. I am getting even more excited about our girls trip next weekend :)

Oh and I went for a walk today with one of the little girls I am nannying, and it makes me so happy that fall is pretty much here! Christmas time is SOON!!!

L.O.V.E.

Half Marathon Training?

2009-10-02T15:02:00.000-07:00

Sooo the girls in my family started a tradition of doing the Nike Women's Half Marathon, which is held in San Francisco every October. It's almost that time again!! ...the bad part is that I told myself I would actually train this year, but unfortunately I kept putting it off again. and again. and again. I have 16 days left until the race! I will still try my best...and I keep telling myself that there is always next year :)

^^^ Some good photos from last years trip :)

I am looking forward to spending a fun weekend with the girls in San Francisco. Oh! And this year, we have 2 new members: Lupe-my new sister; and Anneliese-our friend from Folsom! I am really excited that they are coming!!! And I am proud to announce that both legacy runners will be returning this year (Tara and myself haha).

On another note, Starting this Saturday, I am nannying 4 kids for a little over a week while there parents go on vacation...I am a little nervous, but I know that Tara will be on phone stand-by at all hours for me too call for advice when the mom in me fails haha. I am looking forward to it though, it will be a really good learning experience for sure!

New Beginnings!

2009-09-28T22:18:00.000-07:00

This is my first blog and I hope that I will actually use it! Tara and Lupe inspired me to start my own since I love both of their blogs so much.

Tara~ barraganfive.blogspot.com/

Lupe~ lulucakes.com