Joy

This Christmas season has been full of mixed emotions for me. I have felt great joys & deep sorrows. As I sit here now, on Christmas Eve, I reflect on my blessings & the things that bring me the greatest joy & peace. It is truly through my Savior, Jesus Christ, that I have peace of mind & heart. I am grateful for Him and His example and His succor at this time.

And as I think about this Christmas season of 2008 - there are 3 things that have truly filled my heart with joy. In no particular order, here they are:

1. My Little People. I love my role as favorite auntie & work hard to retain the title. :) Here are a few pics from this month. With little Jack (Heather's) and Sassy Miss Sage and little Maggie (Melissa's). So fun!

2. The Bell Choir. It sounds dorky - but playing in the bell choir has been such a treat! I have loved learning how to play, learning the music, growing friendships & performing in several Christmas concerts. Of course I'm not in this pic b/c I was taking it, but here you can see the bells lined up. Too bad I don't have video!

3. Caroling with the Lang Gang. This happened just a few days ago on Sunday night. My bro Jake & I headed out with the Lang Gang to spread some Christmas cheer. The pictures speak for themselves... it was so fun!

Friends...

A few weeks ago, my dear friends Jamie & Nick blessed their little baby Andrew. It was a fantastic day. So many of our old friends got together, it was like a little reunion. And it was really wonderful to attend their ward & feel such joy in family & friends. That's what life is all about - joy in our posterity & dear ones.

This month I also had another mini-reunion with some old Berkeley friends as we celebrated Jerry's 30th birthday. Congrats Old Man Hsieh. :) It was fun a night out for dinner in LA. Unfortunately I didn't get a pic of the whole group, but here is me (with my new short hair!!), Jerry & Michelle.

Football...

Okay. That last post got too long, so I split it up. But the fall always means one thing... football season! The sad reality though - I was so busy that I didn't attend a single Cal game all year. So sad! And I only watched 1 on TV. That alone says how crazy things have been.

But for local sports, I'm still loving my role as our ward sports director. It was flag football season for the guys. Here are a few pics of my guys... they look like a motley crew, but we didn't do too bad. We actually won the league, but lost in the first round of playoffs. Way to go guys!

Now on to basketball season... my favorite... :)

A Busy Fall... Prop 8, Football & Friends

Hi Friends - So I've definitely been a blogger slacker lately. So sorry. As usual, I've been running in a million directions. And since I'm the worst journal-writer of all time, I thought I'd recap, if for no one else other than myself.

So after the September fun of my high school reunion, my dear friend Heather's wedding, my birthday & a dozen of my favorite peoples' birthdays... I thought I'd catch a break in October. Wrong!! I immediately was called to head up the Prop 8 effort for all singles in our region. Let me just say, it was complete madness. Just a few of the highlights:

- Early morning sign waving

- Fundraising for the local newspaper ad

- Nightly calling center

Here's a pic of some of our faithful singles at early morning sign waving. Of course I'm not in the pic because I was taking the pic. But here it is:

But more importantly, here are a few of the strengthening realizations that struck me as part of my involvement:

- A renewed & fortified testimony of the Prophet of God and His role as watchman on the tower.

- Although we were mocked (literally & physically) for our beliefs, it was strengthening to stand on the Lords side and defend the family & the God's plan.

- An overwhelming feeling that the world is polarizing.

- A sadness in seeing many, even those who know the plan, who were ashamed & would not rise to the occassion.

It is hard to truly describe how involed I was and what an impact this fight has had on me. And although I always supported the Prophet & his position, I actually hestitated to jump in right at first (or was too distracted by the events in September). But I know it was with purpose that I was asked to get involved & lend my talents (side note - if this were olden times, I definitely would have been a shepard. I am great at herding masses of people into doing things that they often don't want to do.) :) And it certainly stretched me, strengthened me & has better prepared me for whatever future fights may come.

A few more reunion pics...

Back in Black... '98 Reunion Success!

Ahh... the sigh of relief... the reunion is over & it was sooo fun! Seriously - after all of the work & stress, I almost wondered if I would even get to enjoy it. But I totally did. And I think everyone who attended enjoyed themselves too. We had 100 attendees. The place was decked out in everything black & gold. The food was delish. And everyone was totally into my cheesy games. I love it! Success!

And before the pictures, I must acknowledge my amazing & talented friend Angie. We were senior class Co-Presidents. And have been a total team on this thing from the start. I have loved reconnecting with her & in the world of "being-stuck-doing-reunions-for-the-rest-of-your-life", there is no one I would rather be stuck with than her. Love ya Ang!!

Here are a few pics:

Arizona is hot.

Arizona is mega hot. But the wedding was fabulous. I just love my little Heather. And it was fun to have a bonding time (albeit a very rushed 1 day) with my Mom. Here are a few pics.

Me & Mom

Beautiful Heather

Happy Birthday...

September was filled with many birthdays - my Mom, dear mission friends Lisa & Anne, my best friend Lindsi, my close friends Dominique, Rene, Julie and then me! Here are a few pics of some birthday celebrations...

Birthday girls - my sister Kelly (8/19), my Mom (9/6) and me (9/19)

Birthday dinner with friends at Picanha, a Brasilian BBQ restaurant. Yum, yum!

Thanks everyone for the phone calls. I definitely felt the love. It was a great day. Thanks!

I'm Running in Circles...

Hi friends. Just wanted to say a quick hello & give a brief update. Yes - I've been a blog slacker lately. I'm just buried these days. July & August totally kicked my butt - so much so that I don't even want to recap.

September has likewise been busy so far. I was involved in a stake choir production. I was coach for our ward men's flag football team (which has been cancelled now due to other stake commitments). My 10-year high school reunion is less than 2 weeks away (and of course I'm in charge of the whole stinkin' thing). So right now I'm seeing everything in black & gold (school colors). Not to mention that virtually everyone I know & love has a birthday in September. And my dear friend Heather is getting married next week, so I'm fitting a short trip to Arizona in the mix as well.

Anyway - all is well. I'm alive & breathing. And have many blessing to be grateful for. This month I have reflected on the pride I feel to be an American and the freedoms that we are so blessed to enjoy. And 9-11 happens to be a day especially close to my heart. Not only did I reflect on the national events, but it also was my 6-year anniversary from the day I began my mission (yep - my report date was 9-11-02). It was overwhelming to pause & reflect on what a tremendous impact my mission has had in my life. Boy am I blessed!!

Well friends - I hope life is treating you well. Congrats on all of the new babies who have come along. And to all of those on their way. Thanks to my dear ones who have kept me sane as I've over-booked lately. And hopefully I'll have pictures & updates soon...

Loves!
Maren

What a mess!

Okay. So a few of you know that I spent part of the weekend out in the Palm Springs area. Sounds great, huh? But the real story is my family has a little rental property out there (it's a long story... don't ask) and the renter totally took off & trashed the place. I mean - trashed!! I was so apalled & cannot believe how people can live like that.



So here are a few before shots. And the pictures don't show how truly dirty it was - spills & trash & dog hair everywhere. And finger prints all over the walls. And grimy nasty bathrooms. Yuck!!

And after hours of some serious elbow grease - here are some after shots:

Thank you to the angels who came out & helped me. I couldn't have done it without you!!

Allan's Baptism

Just wanted to share some great news. Many of you know my dear childhood friend Shannon (we've known each other since we were 4). Well - her sweet husband Allan got baptized on Saturday. (after about 1.5 years of investigating the church & many personalized "discussions" from Maren). It was a wonderful service & the Spirit was really strong. Congratulations Allan! And I'm going to miss you guys when you move!

Summer Wedding Fun...

Just a few pics from Julie's wedding this weekend. She was beautiful & it was a fun evening with great friends. And just so everyone knows - Tonnette caught the bouquet so she'll be on the wedding lineup soon. :)

Go Dodgers!

What would we do without Mormon night at Dodger Stadium? It was an awesome summer evening - beautiful weather, fun with friends, love the 8-part harmony on "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" during the 7th inning stretch (thank you Mormons!), skipped on the $100 dodger dog (seriously - $8 for a hot dog??), but enjoyed peanuts & cotton candy. And even though the Dodgers lost - good times were had by all! (we weren't there for the game anyway!)

Rene & Domi and Me & my bro Jake.

Maren & Domi

Johnny Tsar - the entertainment for the night! :)

Nadia making the gang sign for LA.

All of the friends.

Family Bonding

Last week Jake & Kelly were both in town, which made us a complete family for the first time in over 2 years! Jake is home from BYUI for a few weeks in between semesters. And Kelly was down just for a week to visit & play. We had an awesome time together! Here are a few pics of the 4 kids at our trip to the Body Worlds exhibit at the USC Science Center.

The Summer Wedding-athon Continues...

Hi friends. Sorry it's been a while, life has been hectic. Here are just a few photos that I wanted to post. These are from a bridal shower that I threw on Sat 7/26 for my friend Julie. She is super smart & sassy and has been a dear friend to me lately. It was fun to celebrate with her. I threw the shower along with her co-worker Sandy. And the division of labor was perfect - I did the cheesy games & she did the food (which was fabulous!). Thanks Sandy! And congrats Julie!

The Final Vote: 7-0 Approval!

Okay. So most of you know what I do... sortof. I am the Project Manager for a Civil Engineering Firm. That means we handle all of the land development (pre-construction) for our clients, who are usually developers or private land owners. We do all of the site plans & maps, grading plans, street plans, sewer plans, water plans, etc. My job (since I'm not actually an engineer & don't design the plans) is to handle the process with the public agencies - cities, counties, caltrans, environmental groups, etc.

So on Monday night I had an important project go before the Planning Commission at the City of Lancaster for approval. It's a small commercial site. My boss has been out of town, so I attended in his place. Well, turns out the architect couldn't make it either. And my client doesn't like to speak in front of people. So that left me... yep, yours truly... to take the heat & speak on behalf of the project before the Planning Commission. And please note - this is a newly appointed commission (only their 2nd meeting), so they are still trying to "earn their places" in the eyes of the public & therefore are scrutinizing everything!

Anyway - after 1 hour & 30 minutes at the podium, answering endless questions, trying to be quick on my feet with the answers & sweating like crazy, the project was APPROVED, 7 to 0. Yay! Victory!

So if you're dorky enough, you can watch the video of the meeting on the City of Lancaster's website. Here is the link: http://www.cityoflancasterca.org/index.aspx?page=570. And just click on the video for the Monday July 21st Planning Commission Meeting. We were number 10 on the agenda, so if you want to skip ahead, I am up at exactly 1hr 10minutes into the meeting. And I'm up there for an hour, but it gets boring after a minute or two. But you can get the jist.

Disclaimer: I didn't know I was going to have to speak, so I'm dressed pretty casual. And I look totally chubby (the camera adds 10 lbs right?). Plus I had a raging ear infection, so I'm not feeling my best. So please don't be too critical. But you can get a glimpse into a "day-in-the-life-of-Maren". :)

The Real "27 Dresses"...

Okay. So the guys I work with actually tease me almost every week when we say to each other on Fridays, "Any plans for the weekend?". That's the typical line of questioning for everyone else. But the guys usually ask me, "Another wedding to go to?".

I am the real life woman in the "27 Dresses" movie. It's true. I love weddings. But I've been to about 5 million of them. I have helped plan about half a dozen of them. I've thrown somewhere between 10-15 bridal showers. I've done doubler-headers (yep, 2 in 1 day). I've done flowers, done hair, painted nails, assisted photographers, taken video, served food, cut cake, done set-up, done clean-up, heck - I've even held up the dress while the bride pees. It's all true. And I've done it. Yet... I still love going to weddings (although I hate going alone, which is usually the case. But my love life is another blog topic altogether). It's just so great to be there to witness someone's special day. And I love flowers. And I love cheesy romantic music. And I love cake! So... bring on the weddings. :)

Last night I went to the reception for Ryan & Brandi Wooden. Ryan's sister, Rachael, is one of my best friends. The event was fabulous. It was a perfect summer night. Here are a few pics: