alrighty, it's been WAY too long since i last updated...
and i forgot to bring my USB cable home to Texas so i can't upload any new pics
but i hope Christmas was very Merry!!
mine included some relaxing, a wee bit of family drama, and a LOT of EATING...!!!
will update more about the holidays next time...

but for now, this is all old stuff: lessons learned in early to mid December:
-having guest lectures in class is awesome! H came and taught my 4th graders about her work designing satellites and my kids *loved* it!! i need to get more of my friends into my classroom...

-LA is beautiful!

sunset on my way home from work...

sunrise on my way to work...

-serving communion is so neat! i loved being able to love my church family that way...seeing people face-to-face during worship put a huge smile on my face.

-swallowing pills w/o water can be PAINFUL! one tiny pill got stuck in my throat for a couple days and did a fair amount of damage...even a week afterwards, i was still feeling the effects of inflammation and scraping inside my esophagus. *ouch!* i couldn't swallow anything except water and rice porridge, it hurt to breathe, i couldn't sleep laying down, and my back muscles ached from being slightly hunched over all the time. yikes!

-but God works in mysterious ways... =) being so low energy from that darn pill proved a blessing to my high school best friend. i spent the 2 days before her wedding w/ her, and she had been a bit nervous about the possibility of me completely wearing her out (i'm a high-energy chatterbox, she's not. heehee) but since i couldn't do much except sit very still, everything worked out great!

me & the beautiful bride...

-i'm funny! haha! i was kinda surprised, but i gave a toast at the wedding and got quite a few laughs (some unintentional) out of the crowd. =)

my family @ the reception
it was neat being at a wedding w/ my whole family - we hadn't all been dressed up and out together in years...

-& last but not least, gingerbread construction is *fun*! esp. w/ the right (and special) partner who doesn't mind your control-freakiness =)

it's been a fabulous december!
and i think i'll be on a plane when 2008 rolls around, so Happy (early) New Year!!