the thoughts, ideas & random ramblings of christina sharp
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The bathroom remodel is complete and the bedroom furniture arrived Friday. Now, the inside of our house is completely done. We started this project January 2005. It truly has been a labor of love (right honey?!)
Next: Time to tackle the backyard!!!
 To see the final bathroom, hallway and bedroom pictures click …
Dean made some really great progress on the bathroom over the weekend … here are the pictures to prove it!! (He starts tiling today.)
Oh and we now have a tankless water heater. Tankless water heaters last twice as long, consume half the gas, and never run out of hot water. They’re good for the environment and in the end they save you money. Just one of the ways we are trying to live more green!
This is what a tankless water heater looks like:
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Come on … let’s hear some shout outs!!!
June 9th
Jason graduated from high school. He was asked to perform one of his original songs and we wrote a speech that we shared with him in front of everyone!
This was our speech …
In our home we’ve given you much good and also some bad. It’s our own incompleteness as parents that mixes the bag. You have our permission to take the best, and leave the rest behind.
Learn from our mistakes. Don’t repeat them. Go and make new mistakes, so when you fall, you fall forward.
Remember that living a great life is not worrying about being normal. You can’t stand out by trying to fit in.
Nor become dangerous by playing it safe. Risk. Don’t settle. Dare to dream with no regrets. The greatest failure is not trying.
Know yourself, love others, and love God. Dare to let Him make you fully human. Follow your dreams, set goals, make plans, but in the end, fight to remain flexible and fluid. Follow the Wind. Enjoy the journey.
You always have a choice before you to bring light or darkness into the world. Choose light. Fear will come, but hold to courage. Remember that courage is not the absence of fear, but the realization that some things matter more than our fears.
Lastly, know that we have always loved you, will always love you, and in our hearts you will always find “home.�
There was a nice candle lighting ceremony
All the girls were given bouquets and the boys were given a devotional
Because we were graduating our last child we (and several other families) were honored and given “parting gifts”
June 10th
Today we moved Aaron into his first apartment in downtown LA. He is starting FIDM (Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising) next month.
A view from his new place (FIDM is white the building with the curves)
We even painted!
June 10th - Evening
Jason performed in a Battle of the Bands at the Ventura Theater. So we raced from LA to Ventura to hear him!
Sunday, June 11th
The big day finally arrived. My Johnny married the beautiful and sweet Valerie!
The wedding party
My Johnny
My mom and dad
Mikey and Kristina (my next future sister!)
Noah (Val’s brother) and Jessy
Luke (Val’s brother) and me
Val’s nephews - Caleb and Jacob
Val and her daddy
Kristina, Jessy, me, and Val’s sister & matron of honor, Eva
Peter and Jason performing during communion
Mr. and Mrs. John and Valerie D’Attile
Staci and Robert (Kristina’s son and my soon to be nephew!!!)
My son, Aaron and his lovely Chelsea
Tim and Greg being their wonderful selves!
Um … excuse me! Only trashy girls do that! (ok .. bad joke j/k)
Jason giving the toast
our dear friends
Another toast
Look at the way he looks at her … God, I love it!!!
Jason and his new cousins
Jason sang Val her favorite song, Beautiful Warrior, and then we wished them off!
OK so that was a weekend of once in a life time moments!
Thanks for sharing in the memories with me!!
or at least what we did for Val’s bachelorette party!
Yet another story in pictures ….
We went “clubbing” at Universal City Walk
First, we had dinner and drinks (Jessy, Kristina, Val)
Val, Staci, and me
The bride and the bridesmaids
Club #1 - BB Kings
Crazy lady who wanted to dirty dance with all of us girls … yikes!
Guy and crazy lady trying to dance with Jenna …
Jenna was nice and danced briefly … then we rescued her!
Chrissy showin’ us her awesome moves!
The night was still young … we posed for a group shots on our way to Club #2
Club #2 Saddle Ranch Chop House … dancin’ on stage!
The girl in shorts (on the right) actually pushed me because
I was stealing her lime light … tough room!
My favorite pic of the night. It was almost 2AM and everyone still looked great!
Here is a photo story of the VOX Cafe Thousand Oaks (www.thousandoaks.voxtropolis.com) manifesting in Pasadena at Origins 2006. Before any more time passes I want to document this special moment in time.
It’s just the beginning!
We have a very special team of people! We couldn’t have done it without each and every one of you!!
Special thanks to:
The IMN (International Mentoring Network)
Dean (my amazing husband, visionary and ‘fire starter’. I love you!)
Dave (hard working, generous, environmental designer and protector)
Jenna (diligent, faithful, hardworking manager)
Staci (team builder, supporter, hardworking lover of people!)
Lindsay (hard working, patient, cashier extraordinaire)
Coffee Boy - AKA Andrew (fun-loving, coffee guru. Thank you for driving so many miles each day to be there for us!!)
Christina Graf (our massage guru and nurturing soul! You light up my life!)
J Graf - AKA DJ Flood (your tunes shaped the ethos of the entire experience. you have a gift my friend!)
Jason Sharp (my son. my joy! keep singing and bringing the Light to our world. thank you for defusing the school issues. you re-created the environments so nicely!)
David and Theresa (you jumped right in and helped. never complaining and so hard-working. THANK YOU!)
Lindsay G. (I was surprised to see you and the first thing you did is offer to help! Thank you!)
Alex and Niza (our friends, our family, our partners. you are incredible, amazing people. I love you!)
DoSul (you are so talented. the night life rocked because of you!)
… And our friends from Thousand Oaks that drove out just to hang with us!
BEFORE VOX invaded …
AND AFTER …
How it all began …
Taking a break to say hi to our cyber friends in the flesh!
Staci (stacijoy), Deana (obahsomah), Steve (breathefire), and Max
From the moment we opened we were packed … here we go ready or not!
What was going on outside while we worked inside …
Stolen moments …
VOX (Free) Wi-Fi internet lounge …
Christina Graf offered free massages!
VOX Cafe Night Life …
Just another ordinary day for Dean …
… until my brother marries the beautiful, fun-loving, silly and sweet Valerie Shepard!
Today we hosted Val’s bridal shower.
Take a look …
The girls - Kristina, Jenna and Cheryl
They worked so hard to make everything
so nice for Val
————————————
The Menu:
Chocolate Chip Scones
Egg Salad Tea Sandwiches
Chicken & Walnut Tea Sandwiches
Cucumber & Mint Tea Sandwiches
Fresh Fruit Salad
Fancy Pastries
Cake
Cheryl’s Homemade Hot Chocolate
Staci’s Homemade Lemonade
Iced Tea
————————————
Kristina (bridesmaid and Val’s brother’s fiance)
made yummy strawberries with chocolate & whipped cream
My mom, grandma and Kristina decorated!
It looked so pretty!
My grammy and my mom
The lovely Jessy. Bridesmaid and photographer!
Jenna, Kristina and me
Me, Staci, and Kristina
Jenna, me, Kristina, Cheryl … food time!
Randyl, Lindsay, and Marcy
This was the wrapping on one of the gifts … cute!
Gifts!
Lot of gifts … she felt so very loved!
oh yeah she got some sexy stuff!! hee hee
Games!
Helping Grandma Grace pin the bouquet on the bride!
Cake - Chocolate cake with chocolate butter cream frosting
filled with custard and chocolate chips … it was gooood!
Oh boy the bachlorette party is gonna be fuunnnn!
My sister!
This month marks one full year of remodeling the house. Today, I looked back at some pictures of our progress. It is amazing how far we have come! So, we decided to finally paint so that this phase of the remodel could truly be complete.
We self imposed this last week as our deadline to finish because we are hosting an open house for Shawna and the kids this Thursday night. So, why not paint the house!
Yes, that’s right, the Snows are coming home for a visit!!!! They arrive in LA in today from Amsterdam. It will be their first visit home since they moved last summer.
So, We spent the last 6 days working day and night (and into the wee hours of the morning) getting the house painted. We painted the dining room, kitchen, family room, office and entry way. But it is a small house so I figured we could be done in a few days … but oh no … it took 6 looooonnnngggg days!!!
And, in classic Sharp style, just 15 minutes after we put the last piece of furniture back in place we opened the doors and welcomed Lindsay G. and a house full of college students. It’s Lindsay’s 21st birthday. So without skipping a beat the freshly painted house was buzzing with life. It was great. (Of course we wouldn’t let a little remodeling ever stand in the way of a house full of people!)
Thanks to Dean, Jason, Jenna, Dave, Staci, Tim, Lindsay R., Lindsay G., Cheryl for working so hard!!! You guys are amazing!
(And thanks to the lady who showed up a week early for the Snow’s open house. She brought amazing crab dip and crackers. We ended up with a great appetizer while we worked. How cool is that!)
PS I have a painting tip.
TIP: If you are using paint rollers and will be painting with the same color over the course of several days, you don’t need to wash them out each time you stop. Take the roller off of its handle and place it in a large ZipLoc bag. Store it in the refrigerator. When you get back to painting the roller will not have dried out and so you are ready to keep going.
Jason caulked all of the base boards. Then, we changed our mind.
So, Jason un-caulked all of the base boards. Thank you. I love you!!!
Jenna worked day and night! I love you!!!
Cheryl taped off everything.
Dean came up with the beautiful faux finish. He is amazing!
Our one red wall.
Lindsay G and Jenna painted the whole kitchen ceiling! Jenna was our crew chief.
PARTY TIME! Happy Birthday Lindsay!
Good food, good friends, good laughs
Jason and Kunal being … ummm … Jason and Kunal!
Our first chance to enjoy the fruits of our labor!
Lindsay, me, Staci (my sweet sisters!!)
Kunal, me, Staci (I love you guys!!)
Pictures are great … they tell all sorts of stories. I pulled together the following to give an idea of how I do and experience life …
My life is full of friends and family. We journey together and each of us has a story to tell. We are all wonderfully unique yet we share common visions, goals and causes.
I want to live my life well. I believe in following your dreams and setting goals. Don’t settle and don’t think that anything is impossible. Take risks. Being scared is normal … push through! Most especially I am and encourage others to pursue kingdom living. I think it is vital to be honest with self and others. I often say …. live in reality and don’t spin things to make yourself feel better or to avoid doing the hard work of self growth.
My home is a hub of community and a safe haven to anyone in need. I wouldn’t have it any other way because to me material possessions are entrusted to each of us so that we might be more generous and giving.
I am constantly learning how to love better. Especially those who are different from me. I am in a phase of life right now, too, where I am throughly enjoying parenting my son, Jason. He is just 18 and I am learning to adjust expectations and accommodate his need and desire to be independent. I have been given the unexpected surprise of learning more about myself as I let him make his own choices and mistakes. It’s hard and challenging but it is sooo good for me! Who knew that parenting would be as important for my growth and development as it is for my children’s!
I think all of these random thoughts are flowing out of me because as Easter approaches Dean has given us the challenge to write our own eulogy. So, forgive my incomplete thoughts and I hope you enjoy these random stories in pictures …
Our business venture and subversive plot to save the world.
Our friends. Our partners. — J Graf, Niza, Alex
Jenna, Me, Staci … my friends, my sisters, we are a great team!
And they are my diehard workout partners (stair master anyone? haha)
Tim and Josiah … my friends, my brothers.
me sleeping and J. hanging …
yeah, just another evening at the Sharps
Taco and J.
My Toby
My fragile and sweet Phoebe
Dave - my faithful & constant brother
and Chrissy- my twin sister …
(yeah, that about sums it up)
putting a new collar on Taco.
My Dad, My Mom & My Sons (Aaron & Jason)
– Jason’s 18th Birthday
Sweet and Beautiful Chelsea
(Aaron’s girlfriend) and Toby
Aaron & Chelsea
Chrissy and Jenna … hahaha yeah, that’s my Chrissy!
My brother Johnny and his beautiful and sweet Fiance Valerie …
they are getting married June 11th YEA!!!!
Kristina and Valerie plotting crazy stuff involving
a pair of flowered underwear and a Yo! Daddy!
at Jason’s Alpine show. Yeah, good times!
Kristina’s baby and my first nephew, Robert! (Kristina is
going to marry Val’s brother!) Robert falls asleep every
night to Jason’s music … ((((sigh)))) how cute!!!
Me straightening Kunal’s hair before the big show at Alpine (Kunal is the
bassist in the band). I was so sad because he chopped off all of that
beautiful hair right after the show!!!!
Here’s Kunal sans hair the day after the Alpine show.
The boys playing CLU the day after the Alpine show.
The boys
(Andy-guitarist, Mike-drums, my Jason-vocals/guitar)
Jason doing what he loves!
Dean and I in Florida helping to open the first VOX Hot Spot.
Lindsay with us in Florida
(I love this picture)
Me with my homeless friend, Melissa. I have cared for her for almost a year
now. She lived with us for 5 months. And, now, FINALLY with my mom’s help
and some hard work we have found her a more permanent place to live. I
am so excited!!! It took a long time but when you deal with the government
everything is hurry up and wait and lots of paperwork to fill out!
Chrissy coloring my hair. She is responsible
for all of the crazy and wonderful colors!
Me smoking hookah for the first (and last) time. Call me naive but I didn’t
realize it was bad for you … umm, like actually “smoking”! Yikes! I am
miss fitness and nutrition so, yeah, that wont be happening again …
but it was fun … thanks Staci!! (no wonder Dean and Dave wounldn’t
touch the stuff … man I am dense!)
So, this is my ex-fiance, Greg, with his boyfriend,
Chris … yeah, that was a surprise. We recently
reconnected (after 10 years) through MySpace.
I spent some time with Greg and his family on
Thanksgiving. It was nice to visit. We have some
good memories.
Dean looking oh sooo handsome. He did a
photoshoot for a website called Sacred Ink.
Our good friend, Chukk Gerwig, has launched
a website about Jesus and Tattoos. Check it
out if you want … http://sacredink.net/
Dean and Shea. Our friends, the Snows, moved to
Amsterdam last year. We visited them in Dec/Jan.
Shea and Dean have a special bond.
Our bees! Yup, we have bees … the honey is sooo
good! (below are a few more shots of what it’s like
when we collect the honey)
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Ok, that’s it!
So, what stories do you have to share?
These pics were taken February 4th. I would have posted them sooner but shortly after they were taken Dean and Alex headed to Miami…Dean took the computer with him so I couldn’t post! AND NOW, Alex and Dean are headed to Missouri tomorrow! (OK Niza, what are you doing this time while our husbands are jet-setting around the US? 
)
Anyway, I digress…
So, the Mcmanus Family and Dave Bart came over to indulge in Dean’s yummy BBQ ribs. (Of course they also came over for the good conversation too!) So, after gorging ourselves on carnivorous delicacies we decided to walk off our full bellies … and what better than a trip to Starbucks.
This is what Dean and I spent our weekend doing! (No more concrete floors … yea!!)
For anyone who doesn’t know … we have spent the last year remodeling our home. If you’re interested, you can check out our website to see before and after photos.
