Christmas at Disneyland

YESSSSS! FINALLY I got to see an ENTIRE fireworks show at Disneyland, and this one was worth it! Complements of Captain Jack Sparrow, Steph, Kaelyn and I spent the evening in the Magic Kingdom. To our surprise (and great delight) we didn't have to pay for parking, either! We grabbed some dinner in Tomorrowland and claimed a spot at the Main Street Circle, right in front of the castle. Kaelyn was pretty suspicious of the loud noises and plethora of bright lights, but seemed saddened by the end of the show. Immediately following the fireworks, it SNOWS on main street...and that, Kaelyn enjoyed immensely!

Circuit City to the Rescue!

The day started with mud baths in Corona, and ended on the side of Sunset Blvd with a flat tire.

Let me explain.

My friend, Christi, turned 30 yesterday, and had a spa-day celebration with a few close girlfriends. About 8 of us spent the morning/afternoon at Glen Ivy Spa in Corona, CA. The admission cost gave us access to ALL the pools (Roman bath, saline pool, mineral bath, indoor jacuzzi, and warm water shallows) AND the infamous mud bath. YES, I was apprehensive about the mud, but my skin is super soft today and I attribute that in part to the mud! It was pretty hilarious. It would have been very helpful had the weather been just a tad bit warmer (imagine how unpleasant stepping out of a jacuzzi can be in cold weather...) but I'm grateful for the opportunity nonetheless. I indulged in a massage as a spa service- the "stress reliever" focused on my back, neck and shoulders. Apparently my piano playing and constant typing has taken a toll on my shoulders, so much so that my masseuse exclaimed as I was leaving, "good luck with those shoulders!" Oy.


Following the evening service at Revolution, the girls and I continued our adventures by seeing a Burlesque Show in Hollywood.

(I'll pause while you read that sentence again.)

Yes, it's true, but let me clarify...Cheri's friend dances with this show, and it was a Christmas/Comedy routine that was really quite tactful and very entertaining. We enjoyed tapas before the show (an assortment of appetizers) and were impressed by some of the cirqe-de-soleil happenings all over the room. At one point, Christi was pulled up on stage- how's THAT for a 30th birthday memory?!



(Steph and Bridget enjoying the show...)


What I failed to mention is that once we hit the Hollywood freeway in Cheri's car, we seemed to run over something- were momentarily stunned and then quickly forgot about it. When we returned to the car post-burlesque, something was not right. We made it about 2 blocks before stopping the car and finding a flat tire. Assessing the situation was a bit disconcerting, being that we were 4 girls stranded on the roadside after midnight in Hollywood. However, God was on the task, and he sent two extraordinary gentlemen (who work at Circuit City) to fix our tire in a jiffy. Being that the flat tire was on the street side of the car, our job was to block the lane from traffic so our electronics-selling friends could live to see Christmas. We watched as once, twice, three times the Hollywood Sheriff's dept drove right by us, FINALLY stopping to see if we were okay. It was an interesting conversation; first they asked if we knew these guys, to which we responded that they were being very helpful. Since they weren't offering to help us block the lane or give us a flare, we asked if it would be okay if we stood in the road to deflect traffic. The "helpful" officers responded, "yeah, if you want to get hit!" We defended our position by pointing to the two men laying next to the car helping us out...to which the officers responded, "better them than you." Thank you, helpful Hollywood police. They were clearly enjoying this banter, but seeing as they were of no use to us, we excused them with a "Merry Christmas." We were very grateful for our helpers, who did a good job of fixing up the car for us. A little roadside humor to keep us warm.

Our traffic control was outstanding, though our methods were a bit unconventional.

Harmony...

I took a quiz today to find out what kind of Care Bear I am...the results are as follows:



You are most like Harmony Bear. Harmony Bear helps others get along. This peace loving bear knows our differences are something to be celebrated, not something to keep us apart. When differences are brought together in harmony they create something beautiful. That's the meaning of her symbol a smiling flower with different colored petals.
Her Caring Mission is to help others overcome differences and get along. Her smiling flower symbol shows the beauty and happiness that comes from getting along with those around us. Her Personality is open and friendly. Her Character Quirk is that she's got a beautiful singing voice that seems to magically help calm others when they're upset. Her Color is Lavender. Her Best Friend is Friend Bear. Her Relationship Challenge is with Champ Bear. He can be so competitive sometimes. Motto is Good times get better when we get along together.

(For the record...I would take Champ Bear DOWN in a heartbeat!)

OFFICE PARTY!

Not MY office. The Office. Tonight at 8:00 p.m...a special one hour episode! Last year, it was a game of Yankee Swap gone awry. Who knows what kind of antics Michael will pull this time.

Favorite quotes from last year's show:

"Well, Happy Birthday, Jesus. Sorry your party is so lame." -Michael Scott

Michael: "How is Paintball better than an ipod?"
Dwight: "I never said it was."

Festive Recreation for the Cerebellum

Just for fun...can you guess the names of these Christmas songs?


Quadruped with crimson proboscis_______________

5 p.m. to 6 a.m. without noise___________________

Miniscule hamlet in the far east __________________

Ancient benevolent despot ______________________

Adorn the vestibule ___________________________

Exuberance directed to the planet ________________

Listen, aerial spirits harmonizin _________________

Monarchial trio _______________________________

Yonder in the haystack _________________________

Assemble, everyone who believes _________________

Hallowed post meridian _________________________

Fantasies of a colorless December 25th _____________

Tin tintinnabulums ____________________________

A dozen 24-hour yule periods ____________________

Befell during the transparent bewitching hour ______

Homo sapien of crystallized vapor ________________

I merely desire a pair of incisors __________________

I spied my maternal parent osculating a fat man in red__

Perambulating through a December solstice fantasy ____

Aloft on the acme of the abode _________________

(Shout-out to Keith D., who earned 100 % easily, as well as Michelle L. Woot, woot!!)

The Colony Cafe

Alright, I don't normally throw down shout-outs to food establishments, but this one has earned a place in my heart...WASSSUP Colony Cafe! Cheri, Lori and I were looking for a low-key place to grab some coffee in Beverly Hills, and maybe a bite to eat. We got more than we bargained for at this place. First of all, it's ADORABLE, like a front porch you'd find in New England, minus the horrible weather. Secondly, this is JUST the place you want to go if you want a reasonably priced meal in Beverly Hills/West L.A. Third, I cannot express to you adequately my new love for the shoestring garlic fries. WOW! Next door is a small frozen yogurt/coffee shop called Papa's Porch, the perfect end of the evening treat.

COTW Visits Biola

Shaaaaaame, shaaaaame on me for not blogging for so long. Don't lose faith in me, folks. I just had a lapse of temporary insanity, but am ready with renascent vigor to bring you munificent musings on life.

Friday was such a COOL day! First, one of my freshmen students came to my office and gave me a gift bag with a cookie and a small ornament that she had deocrated, along with a card that said, "Thanks for being so helpful and absolutely wonderful! You are a gift from God." I soooo appreciated this, since Credential Analysts aren't the first ones to get recognized on the gift list... It's a big shift from my days of teaching Second Grade, when I had to make several trips to my car just to load all the goodies I got. This was just as special.

Second, I got a visit from Christa and Mikey Hahn, along with all of the children from COTW! (The picture above shows them in front of the famous Jesus mural at Biola...it amuses me because it looks like Jesus is about to drop The Book on them. I guess if you're going to get hit with something, it might as well be a giant Bible.) This was my first time meeting the new group of children. I got to show them around Biola a bit (somehow they are under the impression that I run the place, so let's keep that going....) and Christa visited my office in the Education Department. We had a couple faculty on site over the lunch break, so I thought I'd take them out into the Biola quad to sing a bit for them. As soon as the kids started singing, a crowd of at LEAST 100 students began to gather around. People were stopped everywhere in eyesight of the choir. They did just a couple portions of songs, but could be heard all around campus. (Our students erupted in applause when the children started singing "Take the Shackles off my feet so I can dance"...and boy, can they EVER dance!) Following their performance, they spent some time talking and playing with our Biola students, who seemed as if they haven't seen children in a long time and were ready to PLAY! I was so proud of how welcoming these students were! Below are some pictures from the event...


COTW draws a crowd!




Hammin' it up with the laaaadies!

O Christmas Tree

It smells like Christmas! Jenny and I put up and decorated our Christmas Tree on Saturday- it looks amazing (if I do say so myself).

This Song Sounds Familiar...

Published by CCLI in August, this is the current list of the 25 Most Sung Choruses in U.S. Churches. Are any of your favorites in here??

1) HERE I AM TO WORSHIP (T. Hughes)
2) HOW GREAT IS OUR GOD (C. Tomlin)
3) BLESSED BE YOUR NAME (M. Redman)
4) OPEN THE EYES OF MY HEART (P. Baloche)
5) COME, NOW IS THE TIME TO WORSHIP (B. Doerksen)
6) SHOUT TO THE LORD (D. Zschech)
7) FOREVER (C. Tomlin)
8) YOU ARE MY KING (B. Foote)
9) LORD, I LIFT YOUR NAME ON HIGH (Founds)
10) HOLY IS THE LORD (C. Tomlin/L. Giglio)
11) GOD OF WONDERS (M. Byrd)
12) BREATHE (M. Barnett)
13) YOU'RE WORTHY OF MY PRAISE (D. Ruis)
14) TRADING MY SORROWS (D. Evans)
15) WE FALL DOWN (C. Tomlin)
16) THE HEART OF WORSHIP (M. Redman)
17) YOU ARE MY ALL IN ALL (D. Jernigan)
18) I GIVE YOU MY HEART (R. Morgan)
19) DRAW ME CLOSE (K. Carpenter)
20) ABOVE ALL (L. LeBlanc/P. Baloche)
21) BETTER IS ONE DAY (M. Redman)
22) LORD, REIGN IN ME (B. Brown)
23) BEAUTIFUL ONE (T. Hughes)
24) DAYS OF ELIJAH (R. Mark)
25) GIVE THANKS (H. Smith)

Who Wants to Learn English?

I came across this poem in some old college paperwork of mine...can the English spelling system be as complicated and illogical as it appears in this poem?

"HINTS ON PRONUNCIATION FOR FOREIGNERS"
(T.S.W.- only initials of writer known)

I take it you already know
Of tough and bough and cough and dough?
Others may stumble but not you,
On hiccough, thorough, laugh, and through.
Well done! And now you wish, perhaps,
To learn of less familiar traps?
Beware of heard, a dreadful word
That looks like beard and sounds like bird,
And dead: it's said like bed, not bead--
For goodness' sake don't call it "deed"!
Watch out for meat and great and threat
(They rhyme with suite and straight and debt).

A moth is not a moth in mother
Nor both in bother, broth in brother,
And here is not a match for there
Nor dear and fear for bear and pear,
Just look them up- and goose and choose,
And cork and work and card and ward,
And font and front and word and sword,
And do and go and thwart and cart-
Come, come, I've hardly made a start!
A dreadful language? Man alive.
I'd mastered it when I was five.


(Who says teaching is easy?? If you made it through this, THANK A TEACHER!)

My Spiritual Hangover

I was honored to play alongside the current worship team at CrossWalk last Sunday. God is rad- I love the presence of the Holy Spirit that fills that place. Seven Sutton, my successor, is super organized, which makes "stepping in" easy and fun. Randall drove all the way in from San Francisco to join us, also! Always busy when I visit the old digs, I ran over to "big church" during the second CrossWalk service to watch the Baby Dedication of Rylan and Kinley Park, daughters of good friends Jen and Kyle. Babies always lend an aire of anticipation on stage, as you never know WHAT is going to happen. It's like working with animals, except not. : )

Following church, we had a great lunch at Garlic Brothers on the Delta with the whole gang. It was straight to the highway after lunch for a 8-hour drive home to Long Beach. Thanksgiving traffic....ugh. Make sure you don't need a bathroom break, and PACK A MEAL (for future reference).

Days like that leave me walking away thinking "wow...what just happened?" A whirlwind of activity, conversation, noise, energy, reverence- it's enough to make anyone pass out! Enter: the nap.