Tiffany & Robert

Getting out of the city

2008-07-05T19:05:00.000-07:00

I went away......to a huge house 4 hours north along the coast....

Relaxed....

Eric & Cameron cut the fields....

We went on daily walks...

pulled some massive weeds...

Then i remembered that we were in the middle of nowhere and I freaked out for the remaining 5 days....

So we had evening photo shoots

I feel pretty strongly that Tyra Banks would consider this one "Fierce"

Last Day of School

2008-06-22T19:34:00.000-07:00

Last Day of School and Kindergarten/8th grade Graduation!!

The boys dressed up and transformed into little men

reaching an understanding

2008-06-12T21:18:00.000-07:00

You know you have reached an understanding with the local cockroaches when....

I am putting cookie dough onto a baking sheet while watching a cockroach drink water
from a tiny puddle next to me on the counter.

I open the hot oven to bake my cookies, and a dozen cockroaches fall out of the oven door and into the bottom of the oven...still alive despite the 350 degree heat!
(my cookies are still safe to eat...)

Siblings on 3rd floor

2008-05-28T22:08:00.000-07:00

My brother Eric recently moved into the room right next to ours, up here on the third floor!
He is the new official summer intern here at "City Impact"!
And the most magical part of it all is that the wall which separates our room from his, is actually a door...not a wall. So, in the mornings i can tap on the "wall" (door) and talk to him (without even shouting) while i get ready for my day or inform him that we have coffee brewing in our room. Absolutely magical.
Last night while we were SLEEPING, Eric decided to knock on our door a few times. Then he proceeded to call us on the cell phone. We thought maybe it was an emergency so we answered.
All he wanted to know was if the two of us were on a bike ride.....AT 11:00 AT NIGHT!
Again, magical.

Robert and I spent Monday at the ocean! We took a drive along the coast through Pacifica and Half Moon Bay. We stopped at the lighthouse and walked around the beach. We found some colonies of hermit crabs in the rocks and we found a lot of other creatures in a cave. The tide quickly came into the cave and Robert had to put me on his back and run through the water to get us out! I spent the rest of the day in my sweats and relaxing. It was a great extra day to our weekend.

2008-05-09T08:15:00.000-07:00

http://www.globalrichlist.com/

Most links are cheesy, but i love this one

Quiet in the Mornings

2008-05-07T08:22:00.000-07:00

This morning i woke up a little on the early side, to enjoy the quiet.
There isnt much quiet around here, but i have discovered that a little bit of quiet comes out in the mornings. If i choose to sleep in , then i miss the quiet...because it hides the entire rest of the day and most of the night.
From my window the street looks like its working in slow motion. Homeless people are moving on the slower side, because they have just woken up. They seem calm and quiet. If they were to ever have a moment of epiphany, a moment of "aha!", a moment of "what am i doing?", i think it would happen in the morning.
Two mornings ago, i ran into two homeless friends of mine. The two of them pretty much flagged me down at a stop light because they were so excited to talk to me. The morning was still pretty quiet. People were still calm. They explained numerous plans of a hopeful future and goals they had set for the day. I was glad to hear them talk about such things, but i took it all with a grain of salt.
Yesterday evening i saw them eating dinner at the Rescue Mission. All the hope that I saw in their eyes in the morning, was drained out. Nothing may have come of what they were so excited to tell me. But I still remain glad for them because i know that they had a small moment of change that morning.

Weekends

2008-05-03T22:14:00.000-07:00

Last weekend my cousin Victoria, Cory (Victoria's boyfriend/Roberts best friend), and our friend Chris, all came for a visit to the city! Side note: you are probably thinking, wow, how convenient that Victoria is dating Cory. Tiffany's cousin, dating Robert's best friend. And yes, you are right, it is very convenient and also enjoyable. Anyways, Chris had never been in San Francisco before, so we made sure to do a few touristy things...drive across Golden Gate, dinner at Fisherman's Warf, going down Lombard Street etc. These are things that we never bother to do, so it was really nice to take a day to enjoy the beautiful things that the city has to offer! But i must admit, i was so exhausted!The weather was basically perfect for all the things that they wanted to see and do!This past week Robert completed a project that he was working on...building our LOFT BED!
Our loft bed is pretty much the coolest thing we own. From now on, i will refer to it as "the bird nest". Robert spent a week building the bird nest. He picked out the wood, drew a plan, cut all the wood and build the bird nest! Now that our bed is elevated, we have a lot more space in our tiny room. Here is a pic of the completed bird nest! Robert also cooked a great dinner for some of us up here on the third floor!This weekend has been very relaxing so far. I slept in really late and then took off for a walk to the farmer's market. With a Peet's coffee in my hand, i walked through tons and tons of different organic fruits and veggies, as well as freshly baked muffins, toasted nuts, cheeses, and many breads. The place was packed with people, but somehow i felt like i was in my own little world.
The farmer's market takes place every Saturday at the Ferry Building at the Embarcadero. Most of it is outside, but there is much goodness inside as well. Before i headed back home, i sat at the water and allowed the sun to soak into my pasty white body, while watching the sail boats go by under the bay bridge.
Though the day was beautiful, i am ashamed to say that i spent the rest of it indoors, in my sweats, and mostly in the bird nest watching movies. Ok, thats a lie, i am only half ashamed.
We are all entitled to a day of just mole-ing around every once in a while!

The Old Woman

2008-04-17T21:42:00.000-07:00

This is "old woman" who stares at me

from the complex across the street from ours.
Sometimes we eat lunch together, dinner together,
and have staring competitions.
But most of the time, she just scares me, because i will
start to get dressed and realize that i didnt close
the curtains....and there she is! Huge amounts of awkwardness.
I practiced yoga the other evening, and she watched the entire time.
She is super old, so some days when i dont see her at the window, i get really worried.
But she always comes back eventually.

We went on a field trip to Lafayette Reservoir with the entire school. I put sunblock on the kids
but they kept asking me what a sun burn was. This was a very fun day for everyone! The kids went wild!
The little girl on the left is highly into fashion. She lets me know when my outfits are not matching or when my shoes are not matching my purse. On the Reservoir day, she made a special point to wear all camo.
And when i showed up with my huge brown bag and black hoodie, i definitely got a "Mrs. Clark, why are you wearing that purse"?

Last weekend i got to see Melody!!! She was in town so we had a few hours on Sat to see eachother.
We realized that its been over a year since the two of us have been able to hang out and talk.
And talking is exactly what we did! So glad you came over Mel!!!!

Robert and I are doing pretty well. We feel very settled now. Very much at home.
On Fridays I teach a "Purpose Driven Life" class to the homeless. If anyone is interested in donating
copies of Rick Warren's book, please let me know!! I have received 10 so far, but i could use a few more.
Please keep this class in your prayers!

CHANGE

2008-03-23T22:56:00.000-07:00

Its an interesting thing to see 100 homeless people sing worship songs together.
Its an interesting thing to see numerous addicts sincerely sing to God.
Its an interesting thing to see the mentally used-up stretch their hands to heaven.
Its an interesting thing to see a man pray for healing, and then gain feeling throughout his body for the first time in years.
Even the ragged, despaired, stuck, and horrendously swallowed up, are aware that there is a higher power.
Beautiful.
For a moment my heart believes that a change can happen.
I want to always feel like a change can happen.
Lives can be renewed.
Addictions can be broken.
Minds can be set free.
Poverty can die and quality of life can begin.

Tonight I can tell myself to sleep.
For this moment my heart believes that a change can happen.

2008-03-20T19:21:00.000-07:00

Pictures are coming soon......i promise!

But for now i need to get coffee and try to survive

wardrobe

2008-03-06T22:57:00.000-08:00

I get dressed multiple times a day. In the morning i need to look semi professional.
By lunch time, i have to change into something more casual. In the evening im ready to throw on sweats, but if im going out, i change again into a different none working outfit. And by night im dying to put on pajama pants.

I wont lie, today i thought i looked pretty good. Until...... while i was working in the homeless
department, some visiting volunteers offered me dinner and a brochure on a drug rehab center!!!

I laughed as i informed them that despite the fact that i look 16, and now apparently like a homeless person, i am in fact the resident staff.

I guess ive been looking a little more cracked out then i realized!

We Moved

2008-03-03T20:21:00.000-08:00

"Scarlot the Harlot" welcomed me to the city

Lexi tried on some of Sarah's new baby clothes

Baby Shower Planners

The pregnant one!

Her first lottery tickets!

Robert and his Dad decided to walk through the water tunnels!

Walking up north

Survival mode while driving up the 5

Darren and Crystal helped us move!

Goodbye Precious Moses

Hope you enjoyed the pics. Not in order because it was too difficult. They will make sense as you read.

We have officially moved from Southern CA into San Francisco! FINALLY!
Once we reached the bay area, we had about a week to visit with family and relax.
We spent some time up north a little further in Auburn to visit Robert's family.
Just in time to celebrate Dan's(father-in-law) Birthday! There was a big storm going on the first day we were up there...which made watching the Oscars in my pajamas even more enjoyable!
A couple days later, i made it back to the bay area in time for Lizzy's 18th birthday!
Her and i ran to buy her first lottery tickets later that night. We saw some people that we knew, but we decided to hide from them because we looked so bad and were in our pajamas! Actually Liz looked cute. hahaha.
We had one more celebration that week....Sarah's baby shower! So fun!

Saturday was our move-in day. We have been unpacking for a couple days and tomorrow we are starting our typical work day. Our little room faces out to the street we live off of, so we "get" to hear and see everything that goes on. So far, i already feel like I am friends with the people in the complex across the street, because i can see them so well. And we have also been entertained by a "protest", which included a small marching band, a handful of prostitutes, a handful of trannies, a handful ofrandom women who didnt know what to do but just feel the need to protest, and the lovely leader that i might have a picture of. Apparently her name is Scarlot Harlot. The mini protest filled our street with music as they marched on!
Chanting "Reject Bush; not my bush". I will let your imagination clarify what that means.
The point of the protest was to support all sex workers.

More pics of our place and details coming soon.

creatures of the night

2008-02-15T00:03:00.000-08:00

What we do in the middle of the night when Robert
is asleep....

2008-02-10T18:58:00.001-08:00

I found these pics tonight of Moses' escape.
Only took him 10 minutes to eat his way to freedom

No one is as cool as Moses.

My Husband is super Great

2008-02-05T09:38:00.000-08:00

This morning precious Robert sped off to work on his new car replacement!
Hopefully he wont attempt to use this very often in San Francisco.....

The Magic Potato

2008-01-29T18:14:00.001-08:00

I am cooking dinner for some friends tonight. I bought a bag of potatoes from Trader Joes which were red, white, and purple. Purple? Yes, purple. I thought nothing of it...until i actually cut into one! BRIGHT PURPLE POTATO. I screamed all alone in the kitchen. I have never seen this before. BRIGHT PURPLE POTATO=MAJOR ENHANCER TO MY DINNER!

The Shane Claiborne Encounter

2008-01-16T10:46:00.002-08:00

Last night We drove to L.A to attend a large gathering at Bel Air Presbyterian Church.
The place was packed with young adults. We were all there to hear Shane Claiborne speak.
I have been keeping track of Shane's traveling schedule for two years, waiting to be able to attend one of his meetings. It finally happened!
He is the author of "The Irresistible Revolution; living like and ordinary radical".
And he is the starter of an inner city ministry in Philly called The Simple Way. Shane is an awkward, tall and skinny, dred-lock sporting, natural weirdo. And i guess i forget the part in his book where he talks about being from the South, because i was so thrown back and horrified by his major accent! But after ten minutes, i didnt notice anymore because i was so distracted by his out-pouring of knowledge and life experience.
When i read his book two years ago, i knew i had finally found a person and a book that openly expressed and lived out the things that go around in my mind on a regular basis.
I knew that Robert and I just had to go to this, and the timing couldnt have been more perfect.
Listening to some of Shanes thoughts and ideas was so inspiring to us as we are getting ready to move into San Francisco next month. After the program was over, Shane had some time to take a handful of people into a room and just talk. So we sat with Shane for an hour...and that hour was priceless. We didnt get home until 1:00 in the morning, but we left feeling so encouraged and ready to live out the thoughts that swim around in our minds.

Here is a link to his website thesimpleway.org

Exercise as medicine

2008-01-13T16:39:00.000-08:00

Me and Robert...hahahahaa

This morning was very enjoyable. Robert and I had a few hours to spend time together before he went off to work. Robert made a special breakfast of scrambled eggs and coffee and we watched a movie together...."Across the Universe". Slightly magical and slightly weird, and definitely way too long. It was really sunny and a little warm outside today, which really pissed me off because its only January and i believe it should still be freezing. But i stayed in my pajamas and wrapped myself in a blanket and pretended it was colder.
Robert decided to ride his bike the whole way to work, instead of driving. A great idea! After he took off on his bike, i had a moment to sit alone and really tune in to how i felt...depressed.
Only one month until we move, but i wish it were now. Too many dumb things and current circumstances were trying to get the best of me. I knew i had to act fast to get rid of my bad mood, so i decided to work out. I did yoga for an hour. Which isnt actually very long.
But, about half way through, i started to feel really good, really positive, and really inspired.
What a wonderful thing physical exercise can be for us! Taking some time to exercise throughout the week gives us physical, mental and emotional well being. This is why Robert rides his bike regularly and why i practice yoga consistently.
My day has ended up being extremely productive and its mostly because i chose to re-charge myself through yoga.

2008-01-05T20:25:00.000-08:00

Good bye Lame Year. Go away

CHRISTMAS

2007-12-26T21:56:00.000-08:00

Christmas has come and gone. Lots of driving, lots of family, and lots of stuff.
Yes stuff. Stuff took over our car while we made the 7 hour drive back to our apartment.
And now the stuff is taking over our living room. I was laying on my couch tonight (enjoying season 1 of "Weeds" on dvd...thanks Ben!) and i exhaustedly i scanned the stuff with my eyes.
"Ive got some nice stuff," i thought to myself. Two minutes later...."Im such a bitch, did i seriously just pat myself on the back for this stuff?"For a brief second i contemplated taking it all out the the dumpster. Liberating and wonderful, but im currently too vain. I tuned my mind back into "Weeds" and allowed myself to be overwhelmed by the stuff. So it still remains in the living room. What a mess. I love this stuff. I hate this stuff.
How come i can live without this really pretty stuff, but im choosing to keep it? I dont know.
In two months i will move. And half of this stuff will be put into storage.

Christmas was wonderful and weird. Every year, wonderful and weird. I love it.
However, my stomach is not loving the fact that i majorly strayed from my usually natural and plant based eating habits. Thank God i only receive internet access while im in the bathroom....so convenient right now!

I cant leave out a major highlight....receiving the largest starbucks card i have ever received in my entire life. This truly is the gift that will keep on giving.

Is anyone else wondering what Lauren Conrad did for Christmas?

The Bathroom Connection

2007-12-09T21:02:00.000-08:00

Some of you are probably not aware of the fact that I can only access the
internet from in our bathroom. Yes, its true.convenient in some ways, annoying in others. This makes my internet connectionvery unstable and unreliable. Because of this, i am not very dependable with my blogs.

There is so much to catch up about. And tons of great pictures to post...non of which will be posted
tonight due to my lame internet connection.

Im sitting in my bathroom huddled on the floor, wrapped in a big blanket, exhausted, extremely sore, and bloated from pms. How attractive. But this is all for a good reason. This weekend i spend two days doing an intense "Yoga Teacher Training". Which means i went through 18 hours this weekend of yoga and teaching, and now i am a certified yoga instructor! And even though my body feels like its dying, i am so glad that i decided to
go through with this!

I have lots to say about Thanks Giving and pics! But dont worry, sooner or later i will have to use the
bathroom again!

2007-11-12T10:45:00.001-08:00

MY DRUG

I will gladly say yes to coffee at any point during my day.
If i dont have my travel mug in my hand each morning, i feel greatly thrown off the entire
rest of my day. I almost never allow this to be the case. No one in our apartment complex has ever seen me walk out my door in the morning without a travel mug in my hand...this i can assure you. On certain days there is nothing better then sitting outside a coffee shop in a sloppy outfit(preferably in a Mary-Kate Olsen kind of sloppy) while drinking a latte and writing in my journal. By the way, why is she so cool? And why cant i seem to get over her? This deserves a picture.

With this said, today i am feeling a little disturbed. Actually, very much so. Therefore, i will turn to my drug of choice for comfort and at the end of the day i will be shaking like a moron. Im ok with this. And im ok with liking coffee this much. And im ok that Robert tells me im "addicted".
So im off to find a small amount of comfort in a cup of coffee (or maybe a latte) and my journal.

This is a little dramatic, but who ever said that i wasnt dramatic?
I should be writing about more important things, but not today.

2007-11-03T22:13:00.001-07:00

I was looking up on google a picture of a latte, to put on a new blog post.
And much to my enjoyment, these two little friends showed up!
Meet "Latte" and "Mocha". My blog post will have to wait because I think these
two deserve a post of their own!

my birthday and almost catching on fire

2007-10-29T20:11:00.000-07:00

First of all, thank you to President George Bush, for gracing us with your presence during our Southern Ca fires. Because we really needed him to come here for no beneficial reason what-so-ever. Im really sure that having him stand here and make a speech really helped to put our the fires. Did he come over and pick up a hose and start squirting down the flames? Then what was the point of him being here at all? To Bush; if you are reading this, please just stop being the president and a noob, as soon as possible and just go be a humanitarian to Iraq.

Enough of my tangent.

This past weekend was my 24th birthday. Pure magic.
I would have to say the best part was Elise and I bought matching valor jump suits. O yes.
We went in the morning to buy them, took them out to the van, and changed into them.
And the second best part would have to be the fact that we actually
went into a tattoo shop while wearing the matching valor jump suits.
Talk about self inflicted humiliation. We should have known our doom.
No, i dont have my new tattoo yet because according to the artists i have"tiny ass wrists" and what i want doesnt fit. But it will be on me very soon.
Robert made me a delicious ice cream cake. (Im about to have some left-overs right now!)
He also jump-started my birthday with a HUGE pumpkin latte in the morning.
Just what i need....lots of sugar and caffeine. (as if im not already a spaz) He also gave me an amazing book.
"crazy, sexy, cancer". I am in love with the woman who wrote it, and who also made
an incredible documentary this past year. Im a freak. Whoever knows me, already knows this.
So just go with it.

Since im now 24, i have exactly one year until im 25. And 25 is the age that i have always put as my goal age. Meaning, i need to be really doing what im in love with and serious about by the time a turn 25. It will happen.

Did i mention all of Southern CA was on fire last week? Arnold said we were in a "state of emergency". O, and also, Bush declared the same thing the very next day. Thank God, because we might have forgotten from the day before when Arnold said it. I could hardly be outside. The sun couldnt even break through all the smoke on some days. At night i could look out and see multiple fires burning off in the near distance and surrounding our valley.
Im trying to sound cool , but i cant lie....i felt extremely trapped and panicky.
There were two personal plus sides to the fire disaster.
1. We had amazing sun sets and bright orange moon
2. Every day i was reminded of Africa because of the smell in the air

The end

Our Anniversary and beginning of Fall

2007-10-16T22:45:00.001-07:00

Robert and I just spent the past three days with no work and no schedules.
We first started out our long weekend by spending Sunday night carving pumpkins and making hot cider with Cory and Victoria. In the morning we went to the "pumpkin patch" and each picked the best pumpkins we could find! By the way, why are pumpkins so expensive?

We, of course, had to do our Fall photo shoot with Moses. (above) Please note, we did not color coordinate on purpose....we are just that good. (ew).
I love Fall. Its my favorite time of the year. The weather finally gets cold. We can use our fire place. Pumpkin Spice Lattes are in season at Starbucks. The word "pumpkin" is used a lot...which i think is a wonderful/funny word. Everything outside changes color, all of which happen to be my favorite colors. I can start wearing sweaters again. And its the start of the holiday season! This time of year screams use more scented candles then normal and run your gas fire place until you get the outrageous bill in the mail and go into shock! I love it.
Robert and Cory's are so much better!

Last night and today, we celebrated our 2 year anniversary!
We started if off with reservations at a cute Italian restaurant last night.
And today we woke up and went for a drive to San Diego to the "Wild Animal Park".
(we have year passes). We had so much fun spending time together and watching the animals.
I even made a little friend....as you will see in the picture.
The weather was cloudy and cold, but we loved it and our huge lattes helped a lot!
It was actually cold enough to enjoy a fire when we got home while we made dinner together and watched the video of our wedding. It was a great day.

Our three days off have been so good for us. Celebrating our anniversary, officially realizing that its Fall, and eating more food in three days then i have the past three weeks.
But its back to the real world starting from the moment my alarm goes off at 7:30 tomorrow morning.

Hope each of you get a chance to take a break from "life", welcome the new season and weather, eat good food and enjoy each other!