Great Christmas Gift

Guess what I got for Christmas? You remember that new stove I got? Well, there is a fellow at our church who is an amateur chef and Dan gave me some cooking lessons from him. He cooks at our church for special occasions and his food is amazing. Now I don't need cooking 101, so I am thrilled to have instruction in my home, with my new stove/oven, and learn those "secrets" to great cooking. We are starting next week with cooking from the Mediterranean. This is in prep for our trip to Israel. We had a planning session yesterday and I will share ideas and tips as we go. I am so very excited about this perfect gift :) Hint: I will be ordering some lamb...

January- Happy New Year

OK! I am up to date! Tonight I am headed for Jay's house. He is going to help me reformat some of this blog and maybe come up with a surprise or two. Stay tuned :)

December

December was full of holiday fun with family, neighbors, and friends. My family came to visit in SD as well as Dan's brother Dave, his wife Patti, and their kids-Jenna and Scott. We were able to do many of the "tourist" things including Disneyland and the USS Midway that has been converted to a museum. The picture depicts the view from up on the bridge. The planes are tethered to the deck of the ship. It was an interesting trip. One thing that made it extra cool was that Dan's youngest brother joined us and he spent many years as a ship builder for NASCCO here in SD. He worked building and repairing many navy ships and could give us all kind of little known nuggets of information. The ship is enormous and if you have the opportunity to take this tour it is well worth the $18 even without "Uncle Ron's" extra tidbits.

The New Year was brought in at Dan's mom's home with the Ohio relatives, Ron, and us. Jay and Heidi decided on a quiet evening at their home. We ordered in food and played Wii. We almost made it until midnight, but came home about 11:45. Actually we walked in the door in time to see the "ball drop" in Central Square, but what a bummer-no ball drop anymore. Singing New York, New York was a huge letdown.

Dan and I are preparing for our next adventure. We are going to the Holy Land in early February. There is a small group of us going from our church as a part of a tour. There will be about 16 of us all together including some extended family members of our hosting couple. We will be gone for 10 days. Of course I will update you on the trip when we return.

November-A most significant event

It was with great sadness that we had to put Auggie to sleep. We did it just before our trip to Chicago. In August he celebrated his 15th birthday and we had a party. Little did we know it would be his last birthday. Despite being blind, deaf and suffering from some dementia, he would occasionally get up and sniff around for something of interest. He never sought out the sunshine to sleep in or played much with his beloved ball in the last months. Mostly he slept. Car rides were scary for him (and he had to go to the office everyday, so it was tough). He was having "accidents" frequently and eventually had no control while sleeping. We discussed his issues thoroughly with his long-time vet and it was decided that when "we" were ready, so was he.

So, sadly, we took him in one evening and the staff was amazing. While Dan and I did not want to be present for the final procedure, all 6 of the gals working said they would be with

him and hold him. It was a day off for one of the gals that had known him the longest and she came in to be there for him. Before they took him away, they each told us their fondest memories of him over the past 15 years. Three of the gals had known him since he was 3 months old, so they had lots of silly stories. Their actions and stories were very comforting to us. The next morning we left for Chicago, which was good because we were busy an around others, so we couldn't dwell as much. We still miss him even now. He was such a cool little neurotic doggie who was loved by so many.

October

Early in October I did some substitute teaching at Cabrillo and managed to get a "cold" from one young third grader. Little did I know that between the cold, subsequent viral encounters and a grueling work schedule, I would comedown with pneumonia. Fortunately, I had a mild case...I would hate to see what a moderate case was like because while I worked for the first few weeks (not knowing how sick I was) I eventually went to urgent care for the diagnosis. I had to completely stop working and then resumed at a minimal schedule for the next 4 weeks. Everyone was understanding, but it took a good 6 weeks to get my energy back...just in time for the holidays.

In October Dan and I began working with a designer to do some remodeling of our home. Primarily we are focusing on the

kitchen and bathrooms, but will do some minor changes to the rest of the house. The home is a good 60 years old and very dated. Remember the

small aqua tiles of the 50s and 60s? Well, we have it if you need to come see it and reminisce.

I really want to update the kitchen as I love cooking and Dan loves cleaning it! We had to purchase a new dryer, microwave and refrigerator as they were either broken or on their

very last leg, so we went ahead and bought the washer, and stove.

Thank heavens Sears was having a terrific sale. The only appliance we kept was the dishwasher. Now as we remodel, the new appliances are in and we can build around them. The stove is just to die for! Despite the new washer and dryer (which are big enough to launch the house into orbit), I still hate doing laundry. They are very nice and are the low energy/water ones type.

We are working on the plans for the house right now, but will not start the work until August after Jay and Heidi's wedding. Speaking of the wedding, I had the honor of being invited to try on the wedding dress! She made her final selection. Her mom and matron of honor went too and

then we went out to lunch. It was so cool! I'd love to show you a picture of Heidi in her dress, but I have been sworn to secrecy. I can say she looks stunning in the gown.

September

September marked the beginning of another school year and I am working with another set of elementary schools wishing to have a K-2 Nurturing Scholars Program. Basically, I train teachers with strategies to help foster higher level thinking in young children. It is very rewarding and with a few exceptions, the teachers are excited to be participating in the program. I work almost every day anywhere from 2 hours to 8 hours. The sites are all over the city, so my car gets lots of mileage. My home base is still Cabrillo Elementary. I love the staff there and continue to admire the work the teachers are doing. Now that I am gone I am able to step back and see the extraordinary work they are doing for children. I take groups of teachers going through the training process on a tour of Cabrillo's hallways to see samples of student work and they are so impressed and inspired.

I am also working with 2 middle school sites offering training and small group planning in the humanities. This really stretches me as I am a primary teacher. I love the work even though I get a little anxious at times.

This September I also was "nudged" or given the opportunity to lead a women's bible study on Wednesday nights at our church (Clairemont Covenant). This was a huge step for me as I had never done anything like it and I certainly am no bible expert. We started with 12 ladies and used a little workbook put out by InterVarsity Press. One of the challenges was the blending of three distinct groups...a group led by our pastor's wife who had moved on to teach a couples study with the pastor...a book study led by another woman in the congregation who wanted to take a little break...and new folks to the concept of adult bible study or new to the church. The two previous groups consisted of gals who had been together for 3 years or more. Integrating the three groups was the most challenging to me. As humans we tend to migrate to the comfort of those we know and I needed to form one cohesive new group. I'll jump ahead a few months to just say that I think we have accomplished that goal.

I am very blessed to have these opportunities.

Where has time gone?

WOW! I looked back at the last post and saw that it was in August. So much has happened in the past 5 months. I will try to give some highlights and resolve to stay current this year. Maybe what I will do is give an overview by month so you only have 5 entries to read...