Aubree and I, on the town; single & minglin! :)

Aubree, a beach BBQ, and birthday party #4.

Celebrating my birthday at our beach BBQ, with Lyndsay

Andrea, Alanna and I at the Shout House!

Celebrating Alanna and my birthdays at the dueling pianos bar. Alanna got on stage & sang a song!! It was awesome.

Some of the ladies at dinner. Happy Birthday to me!!

Me and Aubree on my birthday!

Andrea came down for my birthday!! She was the best birthday present ever! :)

On the ground safely, with my HOT skydiving instructor, Patrick. :)

We got a discount off our jump if we dressed up in costumes. Britt was "Butterly B" and I was Jem, from Jem & the Hollograms. Bringin' it back, y'all! ha

This image says it all. Pure exhiliration!

I was SO EXCITED to jump!!

Britt and I, ready to jump

Alanna, Cynthia and I (with my new blonde hair!) at Lyndsay's engagement party.

We're so serious.... LOL

Alanna; one of my two Valentine's dates. HA

Singing at "Shimmer", the women's ministry event at the Rock.

Singing back-up for Sylvia Lange

If I ever cut a country album, this will be my cover. ha ha ~More photoshoot fun!

More from the photo shoot

Photoshoots with Brittany & Cynthia - on the beach in October. Need I say more? :)

Quite a start to the new year...

Well a lot has changed for me in the last few months. A LOT since my last blog. I thought my friends around the country and the world deserved a life update from me. So here you go...

I am still totally in love with San Diego. That never changes. I miss my family more every day, but I am enjoying this season in my life. I have decided that I will probably move to Colorado one of these days, but I'll put in a few more good ones out here by the beach until I'm ready to make that move. If it were up to Paula, I would be moving to Minneapolis. We'll see. ;)

Music: I have been leading worship for SISTERS in Christ, the women's ministry at the Rock (www.therocksandiego.org), and really enjoying that and the amazing group of women I am singing with. Such a family. I did a Christmas tour with Sylvia Lange that was really fun; we did 9 gigs in 12 days, all over the city. It was a total blessing, and I hope to sing with her more in the future! (www.sylvialangemusic.com) I am currently picking out some songs to put on a demo album. I'm hoping to record a demo record sometime in '08, just to get my voice out there, and maybe start a small business singing for weddings. We'll see; the details are all still up in the air.

For the record, NO, I am not auditioning for American Idol. ha

Life: I moved into a cute little one bedroom condo in February, so if you need my new address, ask for it! Moving was stressful, combined with everything else going on my life. I'm so glad it's over. I broke up with my boyfriend of a year at the end of '07. That was one of the hardest things I've ever done in my life. I still care for him very much and we remain friends. So now that I am single and minglin', I have been spending a lot of time with my single girlfriends, namely Aubree and Alanna. They are my "crew", and the girls I'm usually hanging out with on the weekends. :) I have 3 really good friends getting married this year in San Diego, Oregon & Sonoma wine country, so I have been planning bachelorette destination weekends, helping with the wedding arrangements, and I am singing in two of them. So it's going to be a fun summer of singing and celebrating!

Family: The little bro is graduating in three weeks from the U. of Iowa and heading to law school. I am really proud of him! :) Mom & Dad spend their time traveling between home, Colorado, Canada and the occasional trip to San Diego. I miss them terribly! I have been keeping in touch with my super cool and adorable cousin Sydney, and she is the biggest blessing to my life!

Fun: I recently went skydiving for the first time, and let me tell you, THAT was the coolest thing I have done in a while! It was on my life check list of things to do before I die, and I am really proud of myself for doing it! (Mom don't read this part): I already have my second jump planned for this summer in Lodi, CA. I'm hooked! I'll post pictures on here, and the video at a later date. It's pretty hilarious.

I have become hooked on working out lately. I am a new fan of Pilates, and take classes at least once/week. I go rock climbing with my friend Cynthia at her rock climbing gym, and get dragged to the occasional kick boxing class with my friend Nadege. ha I'm trying to stay active and get myself into hard core shape this year. I'm determined. :)

In conclusion... I'm still working out, spending time getting to know the Lord, still singing, still looking for Mr. Right, and always, always enjoying the ride. Check out my pics to follow for skydiving & birthday fun! :)

Recommended books & my recent reads:

Ordinary Women, Extraordinary God by June Hesterly & Sandy MacIntosh
He's Just Not That Into You by Greg Behrendt & Liz Tuccillo
For Women Only by Shaunti Feldhahn
Every monthly edition of ELLE Magazine. :)

Okay I'm going to see how this works... my friends Andrea and Nicole have been doing this cool blog thing for a while now, and it's a neat way to keep up with the "happenings" in each other's lives. So here's what's up with me right now...

Living in San Diego (LOVE IT!) and welcome any and all visitors. Moving into my first one bedroom apartment all by myself at the end of May and can't wait to be alone. I have a view of the ocean from my bedroom, which is pretty cool for a girl from Iowa. :)

I am dating a wonderful guy named Andy. He is a sweetheart and I am very excited about our future together. He leads worship with me at church, and I have sung with his mom before also. He's an amazing man of God, and I am very lucky (and very happy!) to be with him. I'm sure I'll post some pics of him. :)

I have started singing back-up for a recording artist in San Diego named Sylvia Lange. She is a member of a four-woman group called Crimson Bridge, but also has her own solo career. I will be singing some local San Diego/LA gigs with her, and I am very excited and feel very blessed for the opportunity. I'm still working for the marketing company I started with 3 years ago and it's going well. My job provides lots of fun travel opportunities, so it's good for now.

Can't think of anything else to report..... I can't wait for the summer to start so I can lay out at the beach all day and relax. I need some R & R! Oh, and by the way - that's my best girl Paula from KU - I went down to Austin, TX to visit her a few weeks ago - yee haw!

Hugs

Carrie