Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

I have not blogged forevah because I've been enjoying the week at my parents' house. We had relatives in town from Portland and Orange County so our house has been full and lively. My highlight from this past week:

Yes, the nephews. They get cuter and cuter every time I see them. Samuel is a year and a half and Judah just turned 4. For Christmas, I got Sam one of those Say and Speak toys. Judah got a frisbee and Cookie Monster slippers.

Side note, this is true:

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and happy (early) new year!

muppet sing-along

This is what happens when we get bored at work.

Intern Scott was here!

I had a wonderful intern for a year and a half when I was leading the college group at my church. On this blog, he is affectionately referred to as "Intern Scott". Intern Scott moved to Florida in late August to become a middle school and high school pastor at a church. But this weekend, he came back to visit! We had a great time.

Friday night we (Scott, myself, and our friend Grace) went ziplining through the redwood forest at nighttime at a nearby camp. There are Christmas lights everywhere in the trees and on bridges. It's called "The Twinkle Tour" and it was very fun (but cold).

Saturday a group of us got up early and drove 40 minutes to the nearest IMAX movie theater because Scott really wanted to see The Hobbit on an imax screen. We also watched it in 3D. I am a total LOTR nerd, so I enjoyed it very much. I don't think it's giving away too much to say: 1) it has a different feel than the other LOTR movies. It's lighter, has funny moments, and focuses mostly on the dwarves (instead of elves, men, or even hobbits). But there's still some great action scenes. 2) It is LONG (go to the bathroom before you watch it). 3) I love Martin Freeman (Bilbo) and Richard Armitage (Thorin Oakenshield). There are also some familiar faces from previous LOTR movies. This is our friend's son who dressed as a hobbit (minus the furry feet).

Saturday evening we had our house's annual white elephant gift exchange. Those are always so great. Amongst this year's offerings, we had a 90's care package (including a Beverly Hills 90210 soundtrack and gold MC Hammer pants), men's soap/lotion called "Fresh Balls" (gross), and the scary 70's Jewish Tootsie librarian painting made an appearance for the 3rd year in a row. Eck.

Sunday we had a college group reunion at a local diner. Everyone loved seeing Scott. And I loved seeing everyone! Since I'm not leading the college group anymore, I miss seeing them consistently every week.

And then to put a big red bow on the weekend, our church does a big Christmas concert. This year had a Celtic theme so there were Riverdance-type dancers, Scottish bagpipers, choirs, violinists, penny whistles, a full orchestra, and a drumline. It was fantastic.

 

 Come visit us again soon, Scott!

meaning

Last year I wrote a blog post about what Christmas means to me. If you would like to read it, click here.

Happy December

Happy December to you all.

If you've been wondering why my blog posts have been so few and far between, it's because life is pretty good and consistent right now. There's not much to blog about. And to be honest, I am really enjoying this season of not having a lot going on.

I have officially been at my new job for 3 months. (If you're new to my blog, I ran the college group at my church for 7 years. Now I have a different job. We have an alternative service on Sunday mornings that meets in another building at church. We have our own worship band and watch the sermon through video feed. The room is smaller - it can hold 200 instead of 1,000 in the main sanctuary -  so it has a more intimate feel. I help run it and do all the behind-the-scenes stuff to make the service happen.)

The first month of the new job was a blur. But the last 2 months have been wonderful. I am still learning a lot, but I feel like I'm finally settling in. I love my team and the volunteers we work with. I am loving only working 30 hours a week, instead of 40. LOVING IT. I don't ever want to go back to 40 hours. I used to come home from work so tired and drained. I didn't want to do anything or see anyone. But now I come home and I have a life. I go running, I read, I go to coffee with friends. It's like a whole new world. I guess when you're in the middle of a high-stress full-time job, you don't realize how unhealthy it is. I mean, part of that is my fault for not being better disciplined and not setting better boundaries. But I can look back and see how all-consuming my job was. And now I don't feel that way. I feel good and healthy and more well-rounded. I can feel my anxiety and stress slipping away. It's amazing. Don't get me wrong - I miss my college students and seeing them every Wednesday night. But I am loving the freedom of not having the weight of a whole ministry on my shoulders anymore.

I am still going to trivia every Thursday night with my roomates and friends. We always have such a good time. And I feel smart when I know random answers. (ie. What amendment allowed women the right to vote?) Something fun I will be doing next month: scuba diving lessons! There is a scuba place about 10 minutes from my house and I've thought about taking lessons and getting certified for awhile now. I finally contacted them and I'm going for it. Along with the 4 weeks of classes we get to do 3 or 4 dives in Monterey by the Monterey Bay Aquarium. I'm really looking forward to it.

I had a wonderful time in southern Cal visiting my adorable godson the week before Thanksgiving. And then I had a great Thanksgiving with my family. Samuel, my 18 month old nephew, is just as cute as ever. He's walking and saying words and is such a lover. My nephew Judah turned 4 and for his birthday I bought him Lite Brites. Do you remember those? So fun. One of my highlights from Thanksgiving was sitting on a bed with Judah and watching "Busy Busy World" videos with him. He snuggled into me and it was just perfect. I love being an aunt.

And now it is December. I am looking forward to many things - the Christmas concerts at my church, getting our house Christmas tree and decorating it, having our annual white elephant gift exchange party, having Intern Scott come visit from Florida (where he is a youth pastor), seeing The Hobbit and Les Miserables, and spending more time with my family.

That's kind of my life in a nutshell. I am doing well. I feel healthy mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually. I am very thankful for that. Happy December!