lots of firsts...

since i've updated, i've been busy w/ a random assortment of activities
1) a 3-day field trip to Catalina (the week before it burned down!) with 45 fifth graders

we went to the non-civilized side of the island & did a bunch of water activities. i thought i'd be totally useless on this trip - no upper body strength, not a confident swimmer, never snorkeled before, etc... BUT, i was pretty proud of myself. i did way better than i thought i would!

the scariest part was night-snorkeling b/c it was pitch black in open water. but, not only did i not freak out (it helped that i got to keep a boogey board! that's me on the far left earlier in the day.), i was able to keep watch of the kids and encourage them, although most of them were a lot more adventurous than i. it was definitely worth it - there are these bioluminescent plankton that light up when they sense movement - so when i waved my hands and feet, it was like seeing pixie dust in the water. so delightfully amazing!

2) i broke out in hives. i've never been allergic to anything before but while at Catalina, i had red welts and bumps all over my arms and legs after each time i peeled off my wetsuit! eeek.

3) a field trip with my 3rd graders:

it was fun - we hatched grunions and saw some of the cool marine life near San Pedro. but not all of the trip was fun... a handful of my 3rd graders got booted out of the aquarium because they were running around! and i broke out in hives again... i started thinking, could i be allergic to field trips?

4) i baked a strawberry shortcake from scratch:

isn't it beautiful? =) it was for glo's bday.
actually, while at her bday dinner at a restaurant near the ocean, i broke out in hives again... was i allergic to the ocean? but how ridiculous is that? i asked my dr. friend and apparently, the most rational explanation is that my hives are stress-induced. it's so interesting to me that something mental could affect me in such strange physical ways.

5) i went to a k-pop concert at the Hollywood Bowl!

i went b/c i got some nice tickets from a parent at my school. in fact, they were the nicest seats i'd ever had at the Hollywood Bowl - i went more for the chance to sit that close than for the actual music. but i had a decent time...lots of good laughs at the Korean-ness of it all.

there were crazy outfits like the one above - what is he wearing?? but the 18,000 koreans there that night seemed to just eat it up!

thanks, J for accompanying me to this strange event. (and thanks to my roommate for letting me borrow her warm jacket)

6) i actually spent my bday money (normally i would just "save it" and never use it for anything fun). i bought a new high-tech camera...

i was playing w/ the zoom function and this is zoomed out...

and i promise i didn't move an inch...but this is how powerful the zoom is. crazy, no? this pic also shows my bad eating habits. and i know if you're not Asian, shrimp flavored chips sound like the most disgusting thing in the world, but try them...they're pretty good! =)

something that's not new is that i've been appalled at how much my identity and worth is still placed in other things besides God. this is the Christian walk, that i realize more and more how far from perfect i am...but sometimes it can get overwhelming and feel like i'm a hopeless case. thank goodness for friends and for the purity of the gospel that remind me i'm not beyond hope. that, in fact, this is the only way to grow closer to Him.