It's Nice to Be Met.

Today, I made cupcakes, which I have posted on my Tumblr. They are cute and curly and amazing. And honestly, it took all afternoon. But it was so worth it. It's like a way for my mind to detox. Then at 5, I drove in town to a place called PATH (people assisting the homeless) and made dinner for the people there. PATH is different than other homeless shelters, it's actually more of a stepping stone than a shelter. There is an application process and commitment/rehab depending on what your story is. A lot of the people there were people who had had jobs, but lost them recently and had been trying to find a new place. I know what you're thinking, because I was too. What about their families? Honestly, I don't know. With the woman that I talked too, it seemed like she was too proud to accept help, but I guess I know how that goes. She doesn't want to put people out all the time, and that is understandable. But I think that the real factor is that their families are lacking real love. I'm currently reading and studying 2 Timothy chapter 3, and I've been praying about the "without love" part. I read it last night, and I thought of how empty life is without it. My prayer was and is that God would use me to change that. Today, I think He started. :) We can't be a people without love. We can't be a people without love.

I met a man named Bobby too. He was the first person I introduced myself to. I said

"Hi, I'm Anna."

"Hi, I'm Bobby."

"It's very nice to meet you Bobby."

"It's nice to be met."


He truly said that. Sometimes, it's just nice to be met.

love someone today.

loveyoubunches.
Anna

Call me Sentimental.

I started a new creative outlet. :)

bellaamore.tumblr.com

It's just snippets of my day that I get to share with you. It's a lot more artsy and me :) Call me sentimental. And hopefully, you'll be able to see a lot more of this city that is slowly winning my heart. There is so much to do here. I went on a hike over the weekend- 3 1/2 miles up, 3 1/2 miles down. (thats 7 miles, yall) It was amazing- something I've wanted to do since I got here. So with that, in addition to taking more pictures for you to see, I'm going to research outdoor things to do here. I want to spend as much time out in this beautiful area as I can. Pictures to come:)


loveyoubunches :)

Anna

So, let's do this again sometime.

I'm talking to the mountains. The ocean. Today, I went hiking. And I've decided that from now on, I am taking pictures everywhere I go. Los Angeles may be a dirty place, but California is not. You need to see how beautiful it is. We hiked from the bottom of the mountain to the very top, and back down again- A total of 7 miles. It was wonderful; I love being outside. In addition to being able to soak up sun and God's beautiful creation, I met some beautiful people with beautiful dreams. Molly was my hiking buddy for most of the trip, and we got to talk about how God has given her a passion for the Earth, particularly the oceans. She loves reefs and research. I'm exited to get to know her, and others, a lot more.

For dinner, I grabbed some Sushi with my roommate and her (and my new) friend Jessie. We had such a great conversation, about things that are really important. To us, the world, to you- things that matter. It was lovely.

Today was inspiring.  I pray that your days ahead will be filled with awe and wonder. That you wouldn't be afraid to ask the big questions of your life, and in this life. That you would be challenged, questioned, and encouraged. Live like you were meant to. There is a whole lot out there- a whole lot more to live for.

loveyoubunches.

Sprinkles.* :)

First things first- I am no longer homeless, and finally have a place. I'm writing from the couch as I watch RENT for the very first time. Talk about buzz kill. But today was still a good day. :)

I went to Sprinkles today. It's a famous cupcake shop in Beverly Hills. I got one for the girl I am staying with now, and one for the girl I stayed with last week. (and of course one for myself, and coffee, always coffee. :) ) If you don't know this about me, you're about to hear one of my lifelong dreams. I've always wanted to open a bakery. It would be super cute, and white, and clean, and everything would be classy and petite and organized, and the cupcakes would be so cute that you almost wouldn't want to eat them. :) I wouldn't have just cupcakes though of course. I'm an almost-pro/wants-to-be-pro cookie maker :) And there would be cakes, and maybe salads. And Coffee. Always coffee. Now, all of this is really only possible if I somehow inherit a ton of money or make a lot of money and see the bakery as a good investment. I'm not really planning on making as much money as this business would cost. Although it would be nice.

But its fun to dream.

Until now, I'll stick with occasional trips to cupcake places across Los Angeles. Any other suggestions other than Sprinkles?

loveyoubunches!

Anna

this post had a lot of smilies. maybe i should get cupcakes more often, i think it's good for my soul.

:)

Cartoons, Cereal, and Eating Out of a Mug.

Currently what I'm doing right now. I've probably said it before, but the only way to eat cereal is out of mugs. And my favorite way to start out my day, besides maybe a run, is to watch cartoons. I write this as I'm snuggled up in my new Transformers blanket. No shame. :) I'm also writing this from an apartment from a friend I met, only a week and a half ago. I'm moving from one place to the next, into homes of people I barely know, and mastering living out of a suitcase. I had a place secured to move in at the end of this week, but got an email from her yesterday saying that it wasn't going to work out.

And then I realized.

Besides the 3 or 4 weeks that I was home for Christmas break, I've had no home of my own since the beginning of November. After coming back to Boston from a weekend in State College, I was greeted with a letter from management saying that if my once upon a time roommate didn't pay rent, that I would be evicted. Well, it wasn't going to be paid, so I had to move all of my things down the street about 3 blocks to my friend Sarah's place, who I miss like crazy. I lived out of one really big suitcase then, and I'm using the same one right now. I have been basically, homeless. I mean, not actually homeless, because I have a couch to sleep on or a place to crash. But there is definitely something that God is trying to teach me.

We'll see where I am in a week. :)

loveyoubunches.

Anna

My Favorite Time of Year. (besides Christmas) :)

The Grammys, ladies and gents.

For as long as I can remember this has been my favorite thing to watch on tellevision. I feel like no matter what age I am or will be, I'll always watch the screen like a kid in a candy store, glossy eyed and dreamy. But this year was different, a little. :) I usually wait around for the good performances and the "big ones" like album of the year, but this year, all I wanted to do was find out who won what awards. Beyonce and Taylor Swift collected more awards in one night that I can imagine in a lifetime. Crazy, absolutely crazy. You know, I'm not sure what exactly the Grammys does to Los Angeles as a whole, but I can tell you that E!'s music department is rather sparce this morning-only one of 3 supervisors is in, and then every other cubicle that is normally full is empty. So it's me, Nick (my boss) and Sarah, the other intern. But I'm writing this aren't I? So it can't be too terrible ;)

So a while back I wrote about what God has put on my heart for Pop culture. Well, I must say, as passionate as I have become about seeing revival in a dark place, working for E! has hit me hard with the reality of the emptyness of it all. It's all about fashion, and lights, and glamour, and celebrities, and causing hype, and just....life that isn't real. So many people watch hours of tellevision and search the web about their favorite celebrities and what they were wearing last night, or who they were with, and it's just really discouraging. I don't think that being at E! is coincidence. This company is pretty much as worldly as it gets. It is nothing but the surface of things. Sometimes I feel like pop culture is so long gone that I'm not going to be able to do anything about it, but then, as we know, I may be small, but I certainly don't think that means I'm made for small things. I've been reading "Forgotten God" by Francis Chan. Honestly, it's a potentially life changing book. I think he totally has it right- We have forgotten the power of the Spirit. I mean, imagine what life would look like if we really lived knowing that the Spirit was in us every day. And then on top of that, what God has been encouraging me towards lately, is praying with expectations. Put believing in the Power of the Spirit and praying with expectations and I think you have an unstoppable force. This Sunday God showed me what praying with expectations looks like, even if it was a small request. He answered my prayers about connecting at church way beyond what I thought, and I am now super involved and invited to multiple events within the next couple of weeks. It may seem small, but its the result of really believing what I was praying for. In addition to all of this power of prayer business, I've been reminded multiple times over the past week that I'm not understanding certain things and directions because I'm not asking for them specifically. I'm praying really broadly, on a "possible" level, but God can make the impossible, possible. We don't recieve because we don't ask, right? To put icing on the cake, yesterday at church, the speaker mentioned how we need to ask God for the impossible, and believe that He can do it. I've been overwhelmed with the Spirit this week, in the most wonderful way possible.

So with that, I know that I'm supposed to be believing and asking boldly in prayer, but I'm still unsure of what it is exactly that I am supposed to be asking for. I guess I'll just have to start moving, becasue going in circles isn't nearly as fun.

loveyoubunches!
Anna