Wishing You a Charlie Brown Christmas

Harry recently reminded me of an old Christmas standby and the tree that still makes me tear up.

"All it needed was a little love."




The Gospel according to Luke:8-14 (from the KJV):

"'8And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. 10And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 11For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. 12And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. 13And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, 14Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace and goodwill towards men.'"
"......That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown."

Sending love and assurance of what Christmas is really all about.

Thankful

This is the first Thanksgiving I've had with my family in two years and though absence makes the heart grow fonder, I found that this year I was even more aware of how much I have to be thankful for. I am thankful for:
1) My parents laughing together, just the two of them
2) The fabulous cinnamon cucumber pickles it took the neighbor two whole days to make and seconds to enjoy (she's in her eighties too--we bought six jars from her this year and she nearly burst with pride)
3) The fact that the English language is ever increasingly accepting of the sentence that ends in a preposition "I have a lot to be thankful for."
4) Spontaneous home manicures with my little cousins
5) That cars provide a tropical microclimate against the single-digit temps outside as we go over the hills and through the woods
6) Not finding any spiders bigger than a dime in my room all year long
7) Family members who zone out the conversation because the pie is so good
8) Overhearing my aunt trying to make a legitimate case for "team Edward" to another adult
9) Memories of last year's urban family thanksgiving in Cali where the mixed group of bohemians shared tofurky, gluten-free rolls, and home-brewed beer
10) Family and friends who love me better than I deserve, mean more to me than they can possibly know, and the great God who supplies them

Here and There

This is where I lived, La Jolla, CA.

In a post coming soon, I'll show you where I live now.

Cheers!

Home Again

New place of residence: Lincoln, Nebraska
Duration of stay so far: 14 days
Accomplishments:
1) Unloaded 40 boxes of my earthly belongings and settled into my space in the basement of my parent's house (what can I say, no one could compete with the rent)
2) Helped my mother acquire a puppy for my father (name: Daisy)
3) Have worked manically since the day I got back and haven't missed any deadlines yet
4) Have been slowly making my way back into Lincoln society
5) Spent some great quailty time with a couple of friends
6) Have been honored by invitations to join three separate book clubs already, thus, I consider myself a successful fraud in establishing myself as an intellectual reader (I know many greater readers than myself who take far less pride in their literary conquests)
7) Signed up for a 5k and got some friends who have never done one to come with

What I have yet to accomplish (got all day?): Have yet to...
1) Train for said 5k race or acquire gym membership
2) Finish unpacking completely
3) Read books for said book clubs
4) Make comprehensive list of goals and aspirations for my "new season" in Lincoln
5) Secure a permanent position work wise
6) Keep in touch with my S.D. people and remind them how much they mean to me
7) Potty train said puppy

When I got back to NE, I was completely overwrought. I don't know the last time I felt so run down, but between a completely frenetic work schedule, packing and moving, emotional good byes to friends, poor eating habits, and a general lack of sleep spanning three weeks, I was pretty much a grumpy, out-of-control mess. Now, after two weeks of plentiful sleep, good home-cooked food, and (finally) being unpacked, I am prepared to take on this new season with much fervor.
Spring is almost here and I am delighted to be back home for a real, actual change in season. Rain is expected all week and I relish the clouds and the barely perceptible green peaking out from the brown, damp earth. It's going to be a very good year and I am so humbled already by how things have worked out so far.

Happy to be home again, in short.

COMING SOON: new blog look and more regular postings! Thanks for your patience!!

One Month

One month left of residency in California. How I will miss it.

Head's up; might not be posting as much due to living it up in my beautiful city. Or, conversely, perhaps I will need to post more to cope...we'll see.

Sending love from La Jolla.

Home, Home on the Range

Alright, so despite the fact that we have a Lincoln, NE office, my coworkers have been drilling me on what I'll actually DO in the state of Nebraska. They can't believe I'm "vacationing" there. I shrug and respond that I'll probably go ride my cow, Husker, eating a cob of corn as I sit on her back. Then if things get a little hog-wild, we may go down to the ole' pond and listen to the frog, locust, and wildlife symphonies of the countryside while throwing back moonshine. I promise to bring back some steaks and the ever-popular cosmetic "Udder Balm" for everyone so the Californians can be as supple as our bovine...
Most of them aren't that gullible, but I've definitely gotten a this as a response to my "travel plans", "Heh heh heh...really?"
See you all soon.
http://www.originaludderbalm.com/ This post was unofficially sponsored by UdderBalm

La Jolla ~ The Jewel

These are some pictures of my lovely part of town. I'd love to say I took them all, but my mother definitely deserves the credit for some of these too. Thanks Mommy!

Being more pacific...

Hello from sunny San Diego! I've been in San Diego for almost a week now and will start my job tomorrow. I confess, I'm pretty nervous to go to work, my editing skills are well below par as I've had a summer and a semester away from my training in that field but I'm prepared for a real challenge (finally, since last semester proved arduous though not stimulating).
I hope this entry finds you all well and off to a great new year so far. Know that I miss you all very much.
Posted are some shots of my apartment as taken with my webcam on my mac, so you'll have to excuse the quality. I left my camera cord in NE so once retrieved, I can post some quality photographs.
Today I'm going to make my way down my lengthy to-do list, catch some sun (it is SO beautiful here, it feels like the very best pre-summer day at 68 degrees and breezy) and settle into a cozy seat at the Starbucks located about 100 yards from my doorstep and write some long overdue thank you notes to family and friends for all their support and generosity this winter season.