Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Winter Wonder Slam!

A couple weeks ago my amazing friend Victoria and her best friend Angela came in town from Chicago to visit, tour Nashville, and go to the crazy huge Winter Wonder Slam tour with Toby Mac, Family Force 5, Relient K, and a new guy named B. Reith! It was one INCREDIBLE show!! It was so crazy being in the crowd and having to wait in line...I guess I'm somewhat spoiled in that area with touring with my cousins so much. But it's good for me to be a normal citizen! lol;)
Anyways...here are some pics from the show! We were in the sweet "dance party" section and I didn't want to get crushed in the mosh pit taking pics...so that is why there are people in some of them... but it's a nice effect;) If you haven't heard of some of these artists seriously check them out! They are UNREAL! Especially my favorite...Family Force 5!
I love you all!! Hope you are having a beautiful holiday!



Relient K!!
B. Reith rocking it out!! A little mix of John Mayer, Jason Mraz, and funky rap! It's incredible!

Shonlock, Gabe, and Nirva from Toby Mac's band.

Toby: I have NOOO clue how he still does this...let's just say he was probably graduating college when I was born!



Angela, Victoria and I after the grand finale! What a night!!

Monday, December 29, 2008

Twitterific!!

Well....I decided I should finally post about one of the loves of my life...TWITTER! I have been "Twittering" now for awhile and absolutely love it..although..you can probably blame this love of mine for the major lack of posts on this blog! That is now my mini blog where I post about different fun or normal things that are going on in my day! I post about 3 times a day or so just 150 characters from my phone or computer...it's EASY. Which is definitely what I need right now!! Sooo if there is ever a major lul on this blog and you are wondering where the heck I am...just look on the left sidebar of this blog under the Twitter section and there I am! Still alive! :) You can also follow me at twitter.com/sarahbarlow and get your own too so I can follow YOU! :) YAY!

Thursday, December 25, 2008

Twas the....

....night(morning now) before Christmas, when all through the house

Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse(hopefully we got rid of all those!);

The stockings were hung by the chimney(how did they possibly build this house without a chimney?) with care,

In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there(I better head to bed...I might scare him away!).
Although it looks like he already arrived!!!
JUST finished last minute shopping, cleaning up, and wrapping all the presents!! Ready for a BEAUTIFUL day tomorrow(today...) of gifts, food, friends, and family! I flew home to Chicago on Sunday and am seriously loving being here!! I've missed the constant noise, back rubs and loving! It's a crazy place here but I love it with all my heart! Here is a perfect example of why....this was right after telling them a "story out of my hand" about when I was a little girl...that's their favorite thing right now!! I LOVE YOU ALL so very much! Have a verrrrry Merry, Happy, Joyful, Healthy, and Safe Christmas!!!

Monday, December 15, 2008

Rocky CMLXXXVII


Well my friend and old intern Jamie Delaine is in town for a fun visit and she just got in last night and we've already accomplished so much including the latest installment of Rocky! Yes. This is normal, you should see us when we are actually crazy!

We just finished a 3 mile run out in the what we thought was just 40 degrees but ended up being 30 and freezing rain! FUN!

Friday, December 12, 2008

Christmas Action.

The past couple years around Christmas time I always start thinking more and more of how I want to do things differently.
We save up money, get BIG bonuses, get more credit, max everything out, wrap everything up, tear it open, look to see if there are any more gifts under the tree for yourself...all in the name of Jesus' birthday...hmm... Doesn't quite seem to match!
Don't get me wrong! I LOVE all the traditions and stockings and shopping it's amazing and so much fun to give, but also through it all remembering and NOT just remembering but actually HELPING and giving to those in need! At my church our pastor is asking for us to cut back on what we typically do for Christmas and give out!! This video is a wonderful example! But not just here...I'm sure there is someone within a mile of you that could use time, love, a meal...just anything! What can you do to change someone's Christmas...and life??

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Warm and Cozy

After spending a couple days here in Nashville before Thanksgiving...my family and I road tripped to one of my favorite places, Chattanooga! My aunt and uncle live in a house right on the lake out there and it is seriously breathtaking! I never want to leave! We had about 25ish people all sleeping in one house for a couple nights and boy was it an adventure and a half! I was assigned the room with 10 kids.... surprisingly I even slept in! The days were spent cooking, playing apples to apples, everyone hanging out on their laptops, singing, and great conversations!! Ohhh how I love the holidays!!

The view from the kitchen, just part of the family praying, Natalie and I, my uncle and grandpa high fiving for the CUBS!! :)



Jules....ahh how I love her!!!

I hope you all slow down a little to just take in how wonderful this time truly is!! :)

Tuesday, December 09, 2008

The Christmas "tree"

Well I've debated, thought, fasted(between meals), and prayed hard about what to do about a Christmas tree....so here it is! hahaha!


Monday, December 08, 2008

Roller Skating for Dummies.


Over Thanksgiving my family came in... now for any normal person that would consist of a couple people coming over for some Turkey and to stay a couple nights.... well mine was a little different! My WHOLE, think 8, family got in around 2:30am to crash at my place!! You couldn't see the floor as it was all covered with air mattresses and blankets! One giant slumber party! It was SO hilarious and wonderful at the same time! I seriously missed my family so much and it was great to have our super frequent "family meetings" again(basically everyone happens to be in the same room so someone calls a family meeting....just to talk...or talk about cleaning...or just hang out)...lol! I love it! They were here for a full week but after the first night we spread out a little more between me and my grandparents house so my neighbors wouldn't call the cops;) lol!

We went roller skating one of the days and it was umm...an experience. I have NEVER been roller skating..only roller blading....and I most definitely won't quit my day job...it's not really going to work out for me..especially since I had to hold onto someone most of the time! ha! So we reverted back to taking pictures most of the time...OF COURSE! 
I seriously needed this time with my family as I hadn't seen them in 2 months! And the comfort of family is something I can't even explain! I loved it! Tomorrow I'll post a little more about the time!:)

Sunday, November 30, 2008

FINALLY!!!!

After A LONG time of editing my interns blogs my sad blog has finally reached it's turn for a facelift!! I am going to be in town a lot more in the next couple weeks so I should be able to post some more fun things coming up and MORE OFTEN too!! :) For the time being...enjoy the refreshing new look!! :)
ALSO...for future reference...you can also access this blog by www.sarahanneblog.com!!

DUH DUH DUH.....

CHECK back here in about 1/2 an hour to see some miracle renovations to this old blog!!

EEEEEE!!! I'm sooo excited!!!!!!!!

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Just incase...


...you need a back up groomsman for your next wedding you now know where to go.....
www.backupgroomsman.com

LOL....a friend of mines buddy just started this site apparently as a spoof...but I think it may go somewhere;)

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

The cry....

If THIS doesn't get you revved up I don't know what will!! My pastor down here ended the sermon this past Sunday with this little side note and it was a MAJOR wake up call to me I almost started jumping up and down! Check it out "HERE" it's only a couple seconds....
Here we just brush these people off as killers, thieves, and liars yet they haven't been raised up in their purpose and THAT is why they are succumbing to this... which sends them down an even farther spiral away from their purpose... thankfully their is still hope... BUT their is even greater hope for those not yet in that!! Who can we inspire purpose in TODAY??? :)

I've been having THE most amazing time the past 2 weeks....like I said earlier...I'm on a sabaticle right now seeking a lot of direction and thankfully God has come through so faithfully and shown me SO many things that I'm REALLY excited about...and I'm REVVING to go and do...yet I have 3 days left and I know that I'm to continue to sit and rest as He's laying a steady foundation in me before I hit the ground running! I love how He works! It's exciting!! I love you all so much!!

Friday, November 14, 2008

Down time.


Back in the spring when my schedule started getting super filled with everything for the year... I started getting really concerned that I didn't have any down time whatsoever...UNTIL...I saw November...sweet beautiful November with absolutely nothing on the agenda! I at that moment blocked out the entire month on the calendar with DO NOT BOOK. I am so sooo glad I did now! In December everything kicks back into full gear heading into the new year! Earlier last week I started putting all my biz plans together for next year and building websites..ect..and God stopped me in my tracks and was like...What are you doing?? I'm like...I'm trying to figure out next year! He then revealed to me that I haven't gotten away with Him!! That before David went and fought Goliath or Esther went before the king there was a preparation time first. They had personal victories before they had public ones! Sooo...I dropped everything and set aside the next two weeks until Thanksgiving week...as mine and God's time! To just sit, read, think, dream, pray, and prepare! Not doing any work, Facebook(yes, I'm still on...just deactivated the account for 2 weeks fo those of you worried;), blog reading, you tube or anything distracting that has been pulling my time! I started this past Tuesday and it's been one of the most incredible times ever! I'm learning sooo much, getting all rested up, and SO incredibly revved up for the next season!!! I love you all!! Take some time in the next couple weeks to just get away and get quiet...and find out what God has for you next! Especially before the holiday season! It will pay off sooo much in the future!

Friday, November 07, 2008

Jackie & Adam ::: Wedding

I headed out last Thursday to Washington DC to visit my amazing friend and former intern Kristen Leigh and to help her shoot one of her weddings out in Pennsylvania...it was a wonderful excuse to come out and visit... plus my intern Beth came out to so it made it even MORE fun!! I'll post more about that soon...but onto Jackie and Adam's wedding! I drove out to Philly on Saturday morning for their gorgeous wedding! It was the first time I had met both Jackie and Adam and they both made me feel like just another one of their friends at their wedding! It was wonderful! The love that these two had for each other was so refreshing to see! The excitement was contagious all day! I really loved especially how involved the whole family was throughout the whole day! With Adam's dad marrying the two of them...and his 3 sisters as bridesmaids and even his little brother as best man(I thought he was the ring bearer almost the whole time!!) and Jackie's sister as the maid of honor! It was such a special day!! Congratulations Jackie and Adam!! God bless your amazing future together! :)








Check out the slideshow here!! :)

Thursday, November 06, 2008

Hugging my computer.

Noooo I'm not THAT in love with it...yet at least...lol!
Technology is just THE best these days...whenever I need a family fix I just pop onto Skype and there they all are! It's pretty much the best invention since...well since Al Gore invented the internet! ;)
Tonight I got webcam hugs and kisses which will just have to do until Thanksgiving when they alllll come down here to my place to stay! :) Yep...the first night they will all be in my apt.. but of course it will be a BLAST!
Oli asked me tonight if I can move back home after thanksgiving! And Jules thinks I live at the airport! Classic!
To be honest...I do REALLY miss my family...but....being down here is one of the most incredible things for me ever! I have really grown so much just even in the past couple weeks I feel...just in my relationship with God, knowing who I am more, and taking care of everyday things that my parents would always do! It's one of the most amazing feelings ever!
A lot of people ask if I get lonely especially living on my own and if the transition was sad...strangely enough NO!! I really have been so all encompassed with traveling, business, time with God, and getting established down here that I haven't had the time to be lonely or sad about leaving! God really has His grace on this I'm sure..because I definitely thought after two weeks I would call home and say..okkkk I'm ready to come back! But nope! I know this is EXACTLY where I am supposed to be right now and this is the only place I'm going to thrive to my full potential right now! I'm excited to see what the future brings!!! I love you all!!!
Just thought you might like an actual personal note rather than just pics all the time:)

Wednesday, November 05, 2008

World Changing Time!!

Heyyyy everyone! Well I know you all may not have exactly the same beliefs as me in this election area(I really hate politics...it's too dividing..but I know it's still very important to vote...I think us as people making change is SO far better though;).....but to be honest I'm am SO giddy excited....watch the video to see why... especially if you are considering moving out of the country! :)

LOVE!!!

Monday, November 03, 2008

Denveraholic.....

Well...a couple days ago I got back from my 3rd trip of the year to Denver! I simply LOVE that place with close to all my heart! My former intern Laura and I headed out last Thursday for a quick little trip there to chill, take a million pictures and attend a Western Elegance Fundraiser for Volunteers of America! It was an INCREDIBLE trip...I was pretty much freaking out the whole time with the beauty of the mountains, the shopping, and the art scene....each time I go I experience a new side of this place! I love it!Back in January, if some of you remember... I headed out with 6 of my favorite photographer girls to Denver and Vail for a week long retreat...to relax, get to know each other more...and to give back to the community! The first two days we documented Volunteers of America's - Denver projects! It was one of the most inspiring and eye opening projects that I've done! I left knowing that THAT is really what it is all about! A couple weeks later as I had the assignment of slideshow maker for the group I put a little slideshow together for VOA to see and use if they would like....well....did they USE it!! :) They've been distributing it to a lot of their big donators and such.... which was incredible in itself! A couple months ago though...Jim White one of the directors over at VOA who we had worked on the project with contacted me saying that they were planning on showing the slideshow at their biggest fundraiser of the year and that he wanted to fly me out there to see it in action! WOW. I was sooooo honored to attend.... definitely a highlight of my life as there were probably around 2000 people there all watching the show, crying, and being moved so much to donate that I heard later on that is was the biggest response they'd ever received after the show! Gosh I was crying! It's incredible sometimes what we take for granted as just a simple little project becoming something that makes SUCH an impact! My amazing friends are really what brought this whole thing together....Jenna Walker, Shyla, Liana, Crystal Goss, Amy Nave, and Jasmine Star!!! I am so proud of everything that they've done! If you haven't seen the show check it out here
....and here are some fun pics from our adventure this time!Above are some pics from where we stayed and around town....Laura's awesome friend Amie lives pretty close to downtown Denver in this really artsy area, walking into her house was like walking into an Anthropologie ad! I LOVED it! The first morning we had to get up SO early to catch our flight that once we arrived we were ravenous...we found the best little retro breakfast place called Snooze!
How awesome is this sign that I saw on the side walk....just a random DEAD cigarette laying right there perfectly too! ha!
Laura and I had really NO clue what to wear to this "western elegance gala" that we were going to! Thankfully Amie's roomate Virginia was a big time vintage dress shopper and let us use whatever of her clothes we wanted!! I think we were pretty much the epitome of western elegance and a tad bit...little house on the prairie;)
Some country singer was there named Dierks Bentley?? I'm not really sure who he is...but Laura and I thought he was quite attractive so we decided to take pictures to kill some time....
Here is while the slideshow was playing....afterwards they brought up a childrens choir to finish singing the "Go light your world" song from the slideshow! It was UNREAL! I can't believe that this is part of my job!

Ok....I gotta run...still in my PJ's...and running shoes are calling me!! Plus I should probably be a nice friend as I'm in DC right now hanging with my OLD intern Kristen....more on THAT coming soon...but I may just wait a week to post that... just to add to the excitement...;)

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Time to take a stand!


If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14
I've been in the last couple weeks just talking and worrying about the next election until I realized that, one...that doesn't help anything...two...I haven't been praying for the election or the next president! What a concept! This election is one of THE most important in probably the history of our country....I challenge you guys to reallly spend some time praying that God's will over this entire process will be accomplished! Prayer brings His perfect will here into the earth! Let's get working and not just worrying!!!! :)

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Time of my life!!

These past two weeks have been some of the most fun and monumental weeks of my life! It's been so crazy at times...but non-stop hanging out with people I guess is what I thrive on the most.... living by myself has made it twice the fun since I don't always experience it anymore! Last weekend my life long friend Angela came for a visit from Chicago! We completely grew up together going to the same church until we were about 14....so we had a lot of reminicing to do....but mostly laughing and talking waaaaay to late into the night! My friend Sarah who lives down here was also part of our "group" when we were little so she came along for the fun a bunch of the days! It was waaaay to much fun...I don't think it should've been legal! ha!
Here is Angela and I after finding out we had matching outfits....classic...just like old times!

Angela, Sarah, and I went out to Franklin, TN...one of my favorite little towns to shop, eat at a crazy unhealthy..yet yummy restaurant and take pictures, wave at cars, and throw things off a huge bridge that we spent two random hours on top of! I just love spontaneity and not having anything better to do than enjoying each others company! Someone asked me the other day if I was dating anyone because of how much fun I sounded like I was having....with all my status updates(HAHA)....nope...just enjoying life to the WAYYY full!!! :) I love it!
Right after Angela left my cousins headed out here for a day of interviews and a concert the next night! It was SOOO wonderful seeing them as they are my VERY best friends and I hadn't seen them in almost 2 months which totally wasn't right!:(
Here is their first interview of the day....this is pretty much what it looked like the whole time...laughing hysterically:)
My cousin Lauren and I every time we get together HAVE to do a photoshoot....it's kind of a knowing now...well this time I planned the shoot....buying Vale sweatshirts while I was out in New Haven earlier this month! I just love that neither of us have been in college....so that is why we HAD to do a college themed shoot...I think next time will be prom inspired since we never did that either...I know...so deprived I tell you!!!;)


Ahhh gosh I love my life...I seriously today have just been soooo thankful for everything God has given me and everyone He's blessed me with! I love you all!!!
PS...I have WAY more to post about...my cousins concert, my trip to Denver that I JUST got back from...so exciting!! :)