the bay lights

we drove home from oakland via the bay bridge (just a slight detour!) to catch a glimpse of the bay lights. i was completely spellbound, enchanted, dazzled, bewitched and giddily captivated by them. for sure the coolest installation art i’ve ever beheld – i was kind of freaking out. the lights sparkle and dance and twinkle and flit and it’s just magnificent.

those fifteen magical moments watching the bay lights shimmer over the bay bolstered my belief that sometimes, in the right way with sacrifices along the path, yes, i can have it all.

holy week

on sunday night brittany and i went to the cathedral of christ the light in oakland to see lamb of god, an incredible easter oratorio (kind of like a mix between a pageant and a concert) performed. i was excited to see the interior of this modern cathedral that i had noticed on the shores of lake merritt. the architecture was mesmerizing. and the performance was gorgeous and goosebumpy and resounding.

 

it was a great way to kick off holy week leading up to easter sunday.

then, tonight i went to an easter concert in stanford’s memorial church. i love that building with all of my heart. the musical performances were outstanding, and i was about to burst at the seams with easter spirit. at the end we all stood and sang redeemer of israel with the magnificent organ. all the sounds and faith were reverberating among the mosaics and the cherry wood and it was transcendent. i sang as loud as i could.

i’m grateful for this time of year that provides extra opportunities to think about the saviour – his life, death and resurrection. i’ve been thinking a lot about the holy week i spent in jerusalem, about what the atonement really means to me, about the blessings of perspective and hope and peace. jesus is alive.

{some other thoughts on easter from last year here}

this weekend i am headed to arizona to celebrate easter with my sister shawni and her family, and i am so so excited! i’ve noticed some concerned comments and just want to say – the boy is coming with me! he has been a little absent on the blog lately, but not in my life :)

an education conference and slumber parties

this past weekend was the silicon valley education conference. single mormons came to our neck of the woods from all over the country to learn, be inspired, network and have fun. it was a really great event. on friday night elder jeffrey r. holland [one of the twelve apostles] spoke to us, and on saturday there were lots of different workshops and presentations that were genuinely very educational and stimulating (and food trucks for lunch!). on saturday night i got to man a booth about exploring san francisco and the bay area at the fun evening event, which also included a photo booth…

steph, my dear friend from my city days, stayed in palo alto with me for the weekend so she wouldn’t have to drive back and forth. it was so fun to have her around and to have two slumber parties with her! we were overdue for some catching up and had some great pillow talk (one of my most favourite things!).

the main take-away for me from the conference was basically this – there is great power in sacrifice and sometimes we have to give up in order to not give up. i’m grateful for the perspectives i gained this weekend.

college friends

by some extraordinary cosmic luck, four of my dearest friends from college were in the bay area on the same night. we met at a cool restaurant in the city for a quick reunion. it was such a treat for me to see meilan (who lives in hawaii), margaret (who lives in new york city) and amethyst (who lives in austin), and of course josephine (who lives around the corner from me here in palo alto). it has been over five years since i left wellesley, but in a way when i am back together with these girls it seems like hardly any time has passed.

i had such a unique college experience, and i’m so grateful for that. with all of my comings and goings, these girls were true friends and huge blessings in my life. i really love them, and i am so inspired by the incredible things they are doing with their lives.

the gala

here are some more pictures from innosight institute’s 5th anniversary gala, the event that kind of consumed my work life for the past few weeks. everything worked out really well and it was such a special evening. i left feeling the weight of my privilege to be a part of something so, so great. i am tremendously honored to work for the (newly re-named) clayton christensen institute for disruptive innovation. we are changing the world.

i got to invite a couple of my favourite people to help with registration ^^ it was fun to have them around.

it was also so fun to see my aunt and uncle ^^ at the gala!

the panel discussion after dinner included clayton christensen, sal khan of khan academy,
scott cook of intuit and  jane clayson johnson as the moderator

the most incredible team of uber-smart people that i work with ^^

our education team ^^

sonoma coast

on sunday morning we serendipitously found a path off the side of the california 1
that led to spectacular views of the sonoma coast:
and we scrambled down the beach:

we stopped by bodega bay’s harbor:

and drove through the idyllic, pastoral, verdant hills of petaluma on our way back to the city:

i love northern california.

pygmy forest, jagged coast, redwood fern jungle, lighthouse and sunset at glass beach

picture overload from our saturday along the mendocino coast – it was outrageously beautiful!
we hiked through this ^^ to the pygmy forest boardwalk:

it’s amazing how the different soil type allowed for such different vegetation…

check out the contrast in the height of these trees ^^ to the ones along the boardwalk!

they call this giant sinkhole “the devil’s punchbowl” – the coastline had so many caves and fjords!
 
not a bad spot for a lunch picnic in the sun ^^
 
we went back into the redwood jungle to find a waterfall…
 
i loved the surprise color on the underbelly of the clovers along the path!
  
we frolicked through meadows overlooking the vast, vast sea,

and scrambled along the rocks and tidepools

a cute little seal came up to say hi!
 

we collected a lot of seaglass at glass beach during golden hour

and, after a series of unfortunate events, ended up in this icky motel 6 room in ukiah, california.

it was a grand adventure. i love those!