What I Think...

I feel like all around me people are questioning religion or deciding what they do/do not like about their religion (or lack there of). I wanted to share what I think. I don't really like religion (gasp! Cue the lightning bolt) :) I really really believe that religion has squandered what Christ is really about. It causes arguments, uncomfortableness, and separation between those around us. This is nothing that Christ stood for. I once knew someone who didn't like going to church because he felt he was surrounded by hypocrites because he knew what people were doing outside of church. Hello, we are all sinners. No one is perfect or can live perfectly. If you read about how Christ spent his life he was surrounded by "losers", prostitutes, the down and out. And why? Because God wants us to want him. Those people knew how lost they were. And they knew they desperately needed someone to help them through this life.

So, back to religion. I believe loving and trusting in God is purely relational. I do not believe it matters what you do or how many weeks in a row you make it to church. For the record, I haven't been to church in over two months, but I feel closer to God now than I did a few months ago when I was attending church regularly. I really believe God wants to know me inside and out, and walk with me each day. Contrary to the many people I have met, I do not think I am too small for God to care about me. I had someone ask me once, "You really think God cares if you have a good day?" YES! I truly believe he loves me unconditionally and I am so thankful for that! It is what helps me get through the really shitty days. Yes, shitty. I don't play by the traditional rules of right and wrong. I know what I believe and what matters to me and I follow my own rules.

This brings me back to Religion. I want to encourage all of us, Christian, Catholic, Mormon, whatever you call yourself to stop looking at the differences of religion and start realizing the core values that are the same. Love God, serve others, love and guide the people we bring into this world to be good, Godly people. I think we are all more similar than we let on. It's almost as if we want to divide ourselves and play the "I'm right and you're not" game. If you can look at me and say I know my father in Heaven loves me and I love him, then there is nothing for me to argue with you about. It's actually pretty simple. And, since we realized that, why can't we all just leave it at that. Do I need to be convinced that I should really pray to the mother Mary, or that Joseph Smith brought us the restored gospel? No... because at the end of the day I know how much the father I love, loves you too.

Now, if you don't know this amazing God I speak of, well then we should talk. He's pretty amazing and I can't imagine my life without him. I will introduce you to him if you would like. You can also talk to him yourself. He likes to be called, Jesus or God. :) A lot of his stories can be found in the Bible...

Well, those are my thoughts on the subject. I hope I didn't offend anyone. Don't really know if too many people read this, but for those that do please know this comes from a pure place. I also don't think it matters if you are gay, straight, black, white, cat lover or dog lover, I think everyone can know and love the God that I know. But I'm sure I'll rial some feathers with that thought. :)

Fun Weekend

This past weekend my good friend, Kate, came to visit Seattle. She left the rain for sunny California a few years back and now she has a great job and great boyfriend down there, so it will take a lot to get her back here. Kate and I have known each other since 8th grade. (And considering I only moved to Idaho half-way through 7th grade... that's a long time!) We went to church together, high school together, mission trips to Mexico together, college together...crazy all that we've gone through together. And considering we are VERY different us still being friends is pretty impressive to me.

Anyways... we had a great night out with our friend Krissy and some really good catch up chats (some arguments as well...I told you we were different! Don't worry, we are old enough to agree to disagree and left the weekend with our friendship in tact :)

We found this sweet new restaurant/club in Pacific place called Pink (I love it already). It's very New York... it had sleek white couches, a huge bar, great food (minus Krissy's salad... get the tacos, not the salad if you go!), and the best part a bar in the bathroom! I don't know why things like that are cool, because it is kind of gross, but still cool.

Then we had the most AMAZING chocolate cake at Icon Grill. Another good restaurant you should check out if you are in Seattle.

Kate, me and Krissy at Icon grill

On Saturday while Kate went to a wedding I went to my friend Marissa's birthday. It was at The Pink Door in Post Alley. They have a burlesque show but we didn't stay. Why? Because we were also celebrating my friend Nicole's little sister's birthday.

Here is gorgeous Marissa and me

Why is this guy so excited? Because he just bought Marissa one of the world's biggest shots. :)

Bottoms up! And...adios for the evening :)

After we left The Pink Door we headed to Amber. I love this bar because there are couches (I like couches in bars...maybe because I'm old and never wear heels unless I'm going out and my feet hurt so I want to sit down!) All the couches were reserved that night, though. :( We finally met some boys to talk to, so we weren't just 3 girls wandering around drinking. :) The only downside to the night was that Nicole had to "watch" her little sis because she may have celebrated her birthday a little too hard. :) But all in all it was a good night. And a great weekend altogether.

Here's one of the guys we met... pretty sure he's gay though... whatevs he was nice.

These girls make me feel very tall-Melissa, me and Nicole

And this girl I could not love more! She is so fun and one of the few who loves and accepts my weirdness and is weird right along with me. :)

This weekend I FINALLY get to meet little Liam (my friend Shakira's baby). She ended up in the hospital again last Monday when I was going to go visit (she lives an hour away), so I postponed my trip to this weekend. Luckily she is all better now and I can't wait to hold and love on this little guy! Pictures to come for sure! :)

This Past Weekend....

I used to hate going back to Boise... I dreaded seeing people I didn't like back in the day. I was sad to be in my room that was transformed into the guest room (I'm a guest now?) I was bored. All my "real" friends were in Seattle or away at college. Fast forward to today and I look forward to heading home. Recently, my good friend, Kristen moved back with her family and I could not be happier. We really weren't friends, but acquaintances in high school, but I am so glad to call her a friend today. You know those people you can talk to for 5 hours and it feels like 5 minutes? That's us for sure. I was so glad I got to meet up and chat with her this weekend. I definitely will head home more often just to get to hang out with her.

I also got to see my friend Annie. We were best friends in high school and I am so glad we've stayed friends since then! You just never know where people are going to end up after high school and especially after college. Out of my three closest friends right now, only one of them went to college with me, so I know I am blessed to maintain these friendships from high school. Annie and her husband have the CUTEST little baby now. He's such a smiley little boy. Even when he was fussing he was trying to smile. When I walked in he gave out this excited little laugh. I haven't seen him since he was 3 weeks old, so to see this little guy who could sit up and laugh was quite different and so fun! Annie is just the best mom and pretty much the nicest person you will ever meet. If you are blessed to know her I am sure you will agree.

The main reason I went home was to go to the women's conference at my mom's church. Carol Kent (http://www.carolkent.org/) was the speaker this year and she was A-MAZ-ING! If you have a chance to read any of her books... DO IT!!! She has an amazing story. I was able to have dinner with her and her husband and a group of people from church that night. She and her husband were some of the nicest, most genuine people I have ever met. They asked questions and you could tell they actually cared about what you said, instead of just trying to make conversation. I love people like that.

My mom's friend's daughter Molly was at the conference too. I've known this girl since she was 2 years old. I used to babysit her! And now she's a sophomore in high school! Crazy how fast time goes. And she is gorgeous now! (Not that she wasn't before, but she was cute, little girl cute). Suddenly she's this young woman who I feel like I want to tell boys to stop staring! :) She also has an amazing love for God and is turning into such a wise girl. I feel like she's smarter than I am now! :) I hope her parents are as proud of her as I am... I bet they are. :)

Well, I'm back home now and getting ready to start school in April. (Sorry to those I told it was in March, it's actually April 1st.) I am getting more and more excited and less nervous so that's good. I just finished accepting my loans (those will be fun to pay off!) and it is getting more real. I really hope I enjoy it and am not disappointed in what I am going to be doing. Oh yes, and the best news of all... my bestie Shakira had her baby boy Liam! He's so cute! I can't wait to go see him in person! She's still in the hospital b/c she had to have a c-section, so I'll have to wait till she comes home. He was her Valentine's day present this year! What a perfect day!

Randoms...

1. I got accepted to school... yay me. I start in March. Let's all say a prayer this year goes fast. :)

2. I'm working out again! Well, I've gone three times in the last week and a half, which is more than I've been in the last three months so it's a start!

3. I had salad with chicken and a baked potato for dinner. I wanted chips, but I'm on my way to eating healthy again.

4. I worked my shower into my evening schedule early so now I can relax all night.

5. I need to fill out the FAFSA but I can't find my 2009 taxes. :( I was so good about putting them in a safe place. My mom calls a safe place the place she put anything she can no longer find. I've apparently inherited this gene as much as I fought against it.

6. I am happily wearing my BSU booties tonight. :)

7. I love Big Love... this show fascinates me.

8. I have been having a super hard time at work. There is too much work and I'm trying to hire someone else, but my boss still wants everything done RIGHT NOW! Today was the first day I think she saw that I really do have A LOT to do and I am trying my best to get it all done. It's all I can do not to scream... PLEASE SEE THAT I'M NOT A SLACKER! APPRECIATE ME!!

9. I am hoping this is my year for love. :)

10. I stopped teaching Sunday school because I was feeling a bit burnt out.

11. I stopped going to counseling to save money as well as to see if I could do it on my own for awhile. Feel free to pray for that too! :)

12. I got sooo many good books for Christmas. I can hardly read fast enough.

That's pretty much all for now... here's the BSU booties I was talking about.

Oh, and although I have no real opinion on sports... I am a Wisconsin girl and no one is born in Wisconsin without loving their Pack... so I hope the Packers win the playoffs and go to the super bowl! Woohoo! :)

New Year's Eve 2010

This was the first year in a few years I was not celebrating the end of a horrible relationship... apparently my year off from men has had some good side affects. :) I went over to the Brems to see my best friend Shakira and hand out with her and her fam. I love them all so much. Her sister and husband and two kids just moved back from Colorado and I am so glad they are all here in Washington again. This is just the most fun family to hang out with... are you jealous yet? You should be. I don't laugh more with anyone else (except maybe my own fam) than I do with this one! We headed over to the Silverdale bowling alley... really didn't expect to run into anyone I knew there, but I did... sometimes this city is just like Boise, everywhere you go you run into someone you know. (Not a bad thing... it's just kind of funny!) Or maybe I just know sooo many people I can't help but knowing peeps where ever I go. Haha... I doubt it's that.

Anyways... bowling was fun. They had karaoke and Shakira's niece Kiana sang. She is the sweetest girl... I just love that she is back too. Probably the coolest 11 year old I know! :) Here's a vid of her singing. Apparently it's a Selena Gomez song, but I didn't know it. Too precious!

Here are the scores of our first game... notice my first frame... I was shocked to come out on top...although 94 is not exactly brag-worthy!

Here is a pic of me and Shakira... can't wait till little Liam is born in February!

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! I hope 2011 is fabulous for us all! :)

Christmas 2010

We went to church on Christmas eve as we usually do and then came home and took our annual Christmas pic. I was setting up the camera to make sure I had the right angle. I didn't think much of it until I went through the pictures later and here is what I found... I censored it for her protection.

Hahahaha... my mom sent this out to family and close friends with the caption... You know you're a redneck if...

Your mom's on the toilet in the background of your Christmas pic!

Oh I love my family! Here is the finished pic both with the animals and without. My cat does not like my mom's dog so wrangling those two was a bit of a challenge but we made it work!

We also really know how to entertain ourselves here in the Hintz Household... my mom can get her dog to howl if she does. I, of course, had to take a video which you can find below. Enjoy!

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you had a great holiday! :)

Christmas Cruise

The 'rents came up for Christmas this year as they usually do. I was SUPER busy and stressed with work so the first couple days were a little difficult, but once I was officially on vacay and we all talked about how we had frustrated each other life was smooth sailing again. It's hard having three people with very different personalities in my little apartment. We went on an Argosy Christmas tour... if you are in Seattle DON'T DO IT! :) You know those ugly Christmas sweater parties they have? Well, I always wonder who actually buys/wears these sweaters. All of those people were on this boat! :) Haha... they give you a box dinner which you eat on your lap b/c they have crammed soooo many people into one boat. After about 30 minutes, the allure of being on a boat passed and it just got a bit boring. Then they sing Christmas carols... that part was fun EXCEPT that they project the singing out to the shore so the microphones are super sensitive. You couldn't talk or move... my dad got the dirtiest look when he moved his drink and the ice shifted in his cup... geez! But then they had trivia and my dad won a free cruise in the sound! Honestly, the Argosy dinner tours are probably really cool, but the Christmas version is a bit cheesy. We all tried to make the best of it and actually laughed a lot on the trip.

Here are some pics of the cruise...

Here is us on the top deck... it was a really nice night, so that was a plus!

Here is my cute mom jingling her keys as they asked us to do while singing jingle bells... in her own words... "It doesn't take much for me to have fun!"

Boats followed along with us and they were all covered in lights... it was really pretty.

I was playing with my camera and got this pic... it's the moon and the houses lit up on the hills we passed.

Here is me and my step-dad on the back of the boat