So This Is Christmas.....

Just a couple Christmas tunes running through my head! ;-)

Last evening for some reason was one of those evenings when I just felt overwhelmed. Not because I've been going non-stop, and not for any real apparent reason. I think I just needed a bit of silence and space from the stimulus of the season, even with how steadily I've been avoiding the commercialism. I think that moment arrived in the midst of our candle lighting ceremony at the Christmas Eve service last night. With the entire sanctuary lit by only candlelight, and Silent Night being sung by the congregation, peace settled upon my soul. How fitting that the rain dropped down gently upon the roof at the conclusion of the song, as if God himself was sending applause in response.

I may have written about this last year as well, but the Christmas Eve service always leaves my heart aching for several members in our church family. One family lost a college age daughter to a battle with liver cancer a couple of years ago, and quickly after that one of the fundamental women in our church lost her own lengthy battle with breast cancer. Beyond the candle lighting ceremony, I was touched at the special music offered by the husband of this incredibly vibrant woman. This woman left behind an incredibly caring, soft spoken husband and an even softer spoken son-just now in his final year of college and getting ready to become an officer in the military. Never have I seen this husband share his musical gifts beyond the safety of the choir, yet last evening he did just that in the form of a duet. A duet he sang 22 years ago for the the baptism of his son. I may have been mistaken, but from where I sat, it appeared that his son was moved to tears, just as many of us in the congregation also had misty eyes. However it reminded me of how truly we are surrounded by the gifts and blessings that the individuals who can no longer be with us impart upon our souls, and how important it is to share our love with those who are still here with us in this life. How blessed we've been for knowing those we've lost, and yet how fortunate we are to know that with the celebration of the season, we WILL see them again one day.

This morning my parents and I all slept in and stretched into the day slowly. While we still have stockings and just a few presents from my granny under the tree, it generally takes us all day to get around to opening it all. By 1pm when my brother and his wife arrived, the three of us had made it through our stockings. (And I have to admit, as much as I'm not a huge fan of gifts these days, I was pretty stoked to see my sander from Santa, especially with the desk still waiting to be finished.) We spent the afternoon just chit chatting, reading, knitting, and enjoying tasty goodness, before Mom and I finished preparing Christmas dinner. A lil' family Wii fit competition time, and then surprisingly my father joined my brother, SIL, and myself for his first trip out to see the major holiday light display on the shore, making it one of the more special trips I have yet to take out there. Five years ago, he had less than a 5% chance of even still being here himself, how grateful I am for every moment he continues to be here with us. Here are some pictures from the light displays this evening:

The puffins are my favorite. The display is pretty spectacular and this year they primarily used LED lights for almost all of it (which includes 250,000 lights).

A simple day surrounded by family, with texts arriving from my dearest friends, and phone calls from family that are farther away, I truly felt that I already have the greatest gifts of my life. It's been the perfect, simplistic Christmas that I always hope for each year, even as I think of those that have so much less than I. I hope for simple joys and blessings in their lives and that we all may reach out a hand to those in need regardless of the season. I hope that you, too, were encompassed in a most satisfying day. MERRY CHRISTMAS-Peace and happiness to you and yours!

Christmas Eve

I think I deserve a F for Failure with how well I've kept this blog up in the last year. However the last few days/week have found me spending much time with friends that are in town. It's always nice to know that while we are all spread so far and thin, at least once a year during the holiday season, we all can come back together and connect for a few days or a few moments. And there's something about this town that pushes all differences aside. Rather than agreeing or disagreeing about how people have changed over the last few years, it's more about enjoying people for who they are and where they are. However, it is always interesting to see which ones are still concerned about keeping up appearances and touting off exactly how prestigious they think they are. I think in the last two days, I've said about 10 times that "money isn't as important as you're making it sound." There are moments when I keep my thoughts to myself and moments when I also go ahead and share them.

All that being said, I haven't been making very good headway on my goals lately. I haven't worked on any of the stuff for my job or school, but I guess I recognize that it will all get done one way or another. And it's been nice to take the time to really just relax. I've been able to keep up my swimming and running which has felt great, although I'm planning on taking these two days for Christmas Eve and Christmas off.

On Sunday evening, I joined a group of members from my church down here at the local mission where we sang Christmas carols with the homeless individuals who are staying there. While my fellow church goers have the best of intentions, it always strikes me somewhat sad and ironic that rarely do my fellow church members sit at the tables where the guests of the mission are seated. I tend to show up a few minutes late, so for the past two years have had the pleasure of meeting lots of great individuals who just happen to be going through some rough times. This year there were some adorable little kids there and lots of laughter was occurring throughout the event. Yet again, I was moved to watch one little girl in particular being so content to play with a naked doll with a broken baby carriage.....something that most other kids may have considered not playing with because it wasn't perfect. But life on this planet, in this society, isn't perfect...it's broken. And sometimes I feel I learn more about life from the broken non-perfect moments, things, and people than I do in most other situations. Because truly we all are somewhat broken.

And on that super cheerful note :-) I will leave you with a wish for a most Merry Christmas! May you be surrounded by your loved ones and many blessings-for we are so very blessed.

Another Good Day

Steadily making it down the to-do list.

Today I was dropped off by my mother at the grocery store on her way to run another errand, where I bought the missing ingredients needed in order to make my soup. I filled up my little tote bag, bundled up, and walked home for the return trip. In my jaunts around town, I get lots of strange looks, but I'm getting to the point where I really enjoy the strange looks just because I'm walking. I want to give strange looks just because they are driving. Especially to our neighbor who lives up the street, who I kid you not, we have seen get in his truck and back it out across the road in order to get his mail....

I spent a good portion of the afternoon looking into organizations to donate to for Christmas gifts for my remaining niece and nephews:

I chose a larger donation at Save-a-Manatee for two of my brother's kids. In exchange they will also get a quarterly newsletter throughout the year and a calendar. Something that is both environmentally supportive and educational for two of the boys. Since we used to live in Florida, I figure it makes a nice segway for my brother to also share some of what he knows with his kids.

My brother's other two children and my sister's eldest son sponsored donations via World Vision, which is a Christian organization focused on alleviating poverty and injustice throughout the world via a sustainable development model. My eldest nephew sponsored art & music instruction for kids (he's a musician), my youngest nephew sponsored two ducks for a family, and my niece (just entering that cheerleader/tween fashionable age) sponsored a contribution for clothing and other basic needs for kids in poverty stricken areas of the world.

I had looked into donating via Unicef USA which I feel is a very worthwhile organization, yet I was fairly unimpressed to see how much corporate America has infiltrated the donation process of that agency. I definitely think it's great to raise everyone's standard of living, but I don't know how much corporations need to be hawking their wares on those in poverty either.

Through all my research it appears that 8% of most organizations' expenses go toward fundraising. An annoyance for most of us that already give, yet other research is showing that it's one of the only ways to continue to get donations from individuals...by harping on us to continue to do so. However for World Vision, I specifically sent a follow-up communication asking that they do NOT contact me or my sponsored donors via mail and minimal email if they want to continue to receive donations....we'll see if they follow through. I don't need them spending my donation on postage and on wasting more paper. However an additional nice thing about World Vision and the Save a Manatee organizations was how readily accessible their financial information was in order to see exactly how much money goes where and to who.

While a donation might not be the same as having an actual gift under the tree, I hope my niece and nephews can truly understand the difference they are creating in the world. They are positively impacting other people and the planet, and that is the best gift of all.

In the midst of my donation research, I chatted with my sister online, who pointed out this posting on Down to Earth, which led me to this posting, which led me to this website for Handmade Toy Alliance, which led me to write to Representative Blumenauer, Senator Wyden, Senator-Elect Merkley, and to sign the petition...all to try to save a crafters right to construct healthy toys, clothing, and diapers for infants in the USA without hefty regulation costs. If you read this and live in the US, please look into this! It's really not that hard to send a form email to your elected officials, although I generally try to include a request at the bottom that if they choose to respond they should do so via email and not via a form letter that will just waste more trees and CO2.

After finishing my hemming and hawing and tailoring of donations, I finally got to chopping up vegetables for the soup. I like to think of my soup making as "everything but the kitchen sink." Tonight's soup included: red potatoes, broccoli, peas, celery, onions, garlic, carrots, a bit of white wine, two cans of vegetable broth, and some spices thrown in. Cooked all of the veggies down before adding the wine, seasonings, and then broth......then whirred it up in the blender. Served with some warmed french bread and waa-lah....a nutritious meal! I always make a large batch so I can freeze the rest for future meals.

Last evening I was able to get the hemming of my pants done and one of the shirts fixed. I had found the pants at Goodwill and just needed to re-hem them to the right length. The shirt was one I've had for years and wanted to take the arms off of to create a sleeveless black t for summer. Now tonight I hope to make some decent headway toward finishing up Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. So far a pretty decent read! Definitely makes me want to focus on buying local!

Hope everyone has a had a fabulous Hump Day!

Winter Break Happenings

It never fails to amaze me at how much more relaxing life is down here. I could have the same things to do in both the city and on the coast, and I would automatically be less stressed taking care of them due to being on the coast. I haven't decided if it's due to just a general slowness about small town life, the protective factor of physically being back in my parent's house, or maybe a mixture of both or something else. But whatever it is....it's always a nice feeling.

My computer has been reformatted. (Warning: Be careful using jump drives in numerous computers as there is a nasty virus transmitted through them!) We erased everything off the hard drive and used the restore CD to get the basics back that I needed. Yesterday, Dad and I up and downloaded a few more programs that I generally use, erased programs that I don't need that came with the restore CD, and transferred over a bunch of the pictures and documents. Today I just transferred the rest of the files back over to my computer via the external hard drive and then re-saved everything to the external hard drive so that everything is up to date. The two best things are that I don't think I lost anything with this computer issue and that my computer is running a million times smoother than it ever has. Sometimes everything in life can use a good cleaning out in order to truly get back to just the necessities.

Yesterday I was able to finish shopping for the two kids I selected from the Giving Tree per request of two of my nephews for their Christmas presents. I was able to get a game for both kids and warm jackets as well. Now it's focusing on what to do donation wise for the rest of the kids and for my parents, although I have some things in mind.

Since being home, I've also been able to be more active which has been great. Mom and Dad have been using the Wii Fit for a while now, and although I have mixed feelings about using a video game for exercise, it really does create a work out and get people moving. The last 3 days I've been 3 days I've been back I've been able to do at least 45 minutes a day on the Wii Fit and two of the days have walked 2 miles a day also. I think I have months of pent up physical activity that is ready to burst out. I'm still walking everyday to the MAX and from the MAX to campus in Portland, but obviously it's not enough. So it's been a great feeling to get more movement back into my life.

It's nice to slowly be making it down my goal list and spending good quality time with my parents. The weather this week has been crazy throughout the state, with snow in the valley and very cold temperatures for Oregon in almost all locations. No snow yet on the coast, but more snow is predicted for the valley tomorrow and again on Sunday. If you are not acquainted with Western Oregon, then you must know that even a few inches of snow is enough to send most towns into a tailspin. Schools and businesses shut down for the day, as the roads tend to become treacherous with lots of ice as the snow melts and refreezes. There have been numerous accidents throughout the state, as people on this side of Oregon tend to not know how to drive in these conditions. But in some ways, a few extra days off during this season are good for most. A few more days to enjoy the beauty that surrounds them, a few more days to enjoy the tasty treats and family togetherness. However it does create a mess.....

Off to deliver the Christmas packages, to go for a walk, and to make some homemade soup for dinner. I hope that each of you is having a beautiful and productive day!

Home...So Refreshing

Home again, home again, jigitty jog,
Maybe this means I'll have more time for my blog! ;-)

Whoo. Spent Friday evening with my granny, visiting, and making sure things were in order for her for the coming winter weather. My house mate had walked me through making my first home made soup the night before Thanksgiving and my granny wasn't a huge fan of the jar I had brought her because of the spices we had used. So in preparation for my trip south, I made a second soup of my remaining vegetables and seasoned with primarily just oregano. Hopefully Granny will like this one better!

I headed over to the town where two of my siblings live in the morning, after multiple cautions from Granny to drive safe (we're in the midst of some unusual snow/cold spells here--however bear in mind that on this side of the state 2 inches of snow on the road is enough to send people into a tailspin). My eldest nephew had a swim meet, which I missed him swimming but at least got to chat with my sister's family for a couple hours. And he had done great in his meet! We come from a family of swimmers, so it's nice to see him doing so well at it!

From my sister's I headed over to the family beach house to meet my father. (The roads over there are probably a mess to drive by this morning, as there was some snow visible on the sides and tons of water on the road. Add freezing temperatures to that and you've got a mess on your hands the next morning.) Originally I was going to spend the weekend over at the beach house but with the crazy weather, we decided to shut the house up for the winter instead. So I helped Dad load the unfinished desk into the back of his truck, load some extra boxes he'd brought into the attic, clean out the gutters, work on a leaky window issue, clean out the fridge, and then he taught me how to properly winterize the house. I feel like I'm learning new things all the time!

From there Dad and I drove in tandem down the coast, where we discovered gas for $1.41 (I can't remember the last time it was that cheap!). I had called my mother to let her know what time we'd be home and that we hadn't eaten, and I was shocked when we arrived home to see that she had actually made pasta sauce from scratch! Yum! A lil' family Wii Fit time, some unpacking, and a good sleep later and now it's Sunday morning.

Off to walk to church in a few minutes, but gosh it's great to be home. I plan to get the computer issue resolved today as I discovered an easier way to transfer files to my university network so I don't have to burn numerous CDs of files that won't ever be used again. If I can focus on setting this week up like a work week, then I can probably have the remaining time to just relax without having deadlines looming. What a great concept!

Hope everyone is well! Have a great Sunday!

Going-On Disappearance

Disappearance...it always happens on this blog, but especially at the end of the term. I completed my last final yesterday, motivated by a fellow classmate to get it done early, and the need to have my own academic stuff completed in order to focus on research items before being able to head home to my parent's house. Saturday will be a happy day-time visiting with my granny, siblings, and nephews before heading home the rest of the way. Although there may be an evening stop at the beach house to attempt to tackle that desk project again. Yet, as much as I'm looking forward to relaxing on the coast, there is much to get done during these "off" weeks also. Internship paperwork and article writing for university related stuff. Computer reformatting and all that comes with it for virus killing stuff. Plans for walking and swimming to rid myself of the extra pounds that have gained ground due to a bit more stress, a bit more sitting, a bit more fatty food, and a bit less walking. Friends to see, books to read, and family moments to relish. And somewhere, somehow I'm hoping my head just clears a bit.

There have been some great moments in the last few weeks that I haven't been able to share about including a beautiful Thanksgiving affair full of the warmth and love that only family and good food can bring, the crispness that has finally arrived signally that winter really is here, the numerous fun and interesting conversations I've had on the MAX with random Portlanders who need an ear to hear or a smile to share, the times I've been able to stop in the midst of it all and gab with coworkers and friends, a weekend full of fun with my house mate, and an all important football watching day with the baby who brought me hope for the future.

Random thoughts have also entered my mind such as: how incredible it must be to be a construction worker and know that what you are creating is something that will mark the landscape for many, many years to come; why is it that we are stressing about what to buy aunt X for christmas when the headlines share that so much of the world is suffering in need (case in point: Zimbabwe); why has no one developed a faux-fleece bra for the cold?; why in the world do people feel the need to hose off sidewalks when a broom is probably more efficient?; etc, etc, etc.

Last night to mark the introduction into a few weeks of somewhat freedom, my house mate and I took a walk around the neighborhood to enjoy the lights. Things have been going well between us and I feel that we are actually really benefiting each other. We've just settled on a new "yellow let it mellow" rule in the house to try to reduce water usage and she's just started working on some scarves for homeless around town. After our walk, I caught up via phone and made a plan to visit a friend of mine who lives close but out of state. And then I started the lists of what is left to do before Saturday as a means to clear my mind. Things to pack, books and DVDs to return to friends, books to loan to friends for break, scholarship thank-yous to write, emails to respond to, and general organizing of items, schedules, bills, etc that need to occur before the next term starts.

It is my hope that over the next few weeks, I'll be able to regroup and write a few more frequent posts, especially as I'll be reading some interesting books. However until that occurs, I hope each of you is enjoying an especially fulfilling week and remembers to take the time to stop and notice the little joys of life along the way. Blessings to you and yours!

December Already

It's already the second of December and how time speeds up the older one gets, I'll never know. About two weeks to go until a bit of vacation, and I'm ready for it to be here. I'm ready to drive home to my parents house, to visit with old friends, to read the stacks of books piled up around my rooms, to sit in the pews of my old church and sing Christmas hymns, to gaze out on the waves crashing into the shore, and to just have time to visit with Mom and Dad. Life back on the coast just slows down and everything relaxes. I know that once I'm done with grad school, I'll have to readjust to less vacation, so I plan to relish this last one even more. Although I can't help but hope that some day the United States will actually work less and relax more.

Yesterday brought good news into my life. It's interesting to me that this year has brought opportunities that count as items on my lifetime goals list (over on the sidebar). Last year I finally read the entire Bible. And this year I have had two opportunities to potentially be published in a couple of different ways. Yesterday brought one of these opportunities, as it looks like I will co-author an article based on the research project that I am involved in. While I don't plan on pursuing a PhD at this point, nor am I entirely sure what the future will hold, the opportunity to be published in the major journal of our profession is very rewarding. I can't help but feel that sometimes we really do receive what we ask for.

I also felt that yesterday was good on the political front as well. Obama's choice of Hillary for Secretary of State was one that I was glad to see. Clinton is an intelligent woman with experience and plans for how to move this nation forward. But more than anything I was glad to see that two individuals that had been major rivals were able to step forward into their own partnership. Now if we can just repeat this same practice throughout the world, this would be a much better place.

Hope your December has gotten off to a good start!