NO!!!

My weekend was pretty lazy, but one thing I did do was go to a self-defense class with Jenny. It was a pretty good one too. The teacher focused a lot on how to not get into trouble, but if trouble happens, she gave us the tools to get out of it. I now know how to break an attackers nose, foot, kneecaps, how to knock the wind out of him and how to severely injure his most um...well you get the idea. We're supposed to yell "NO!!" really loud to get attention while doing it. I must say, it feels pretty good to hit stuff (in a healthy environment where you're supposed to, of course).

Yesterday was a good message about husbands and wives from 1 Peter at church, and I taught the kids first service. We combined the 2&3 and 4&5 yr olds, so I had 10 little kids. Some of them are so wonderful and all of them were really well behaved yesterday. They'll come over and hug you or lean on you when they are sleepy. They're really a joy to be around (and I'm not just saying that because they're not my kids!)

October Sky

You know it's October around here when you see smoke in the air. It's something about this area of California that causes fires this time of year, and this year is especially dry. This picture is pretty much what we saw yesterday around 3:00 in the afternoon. It was really bizarre, with the sky all dark and people driving with their lights on. Hopefully the wind will die down today and it won't be as smoky and ashy outside.

My weekend was good. Here are some highlights: got my hair done (with highlights literally), had my good friend Kenna over Friday night to eat one of my Dream Dinners (www.dreamdinners.com), bought a freezer from Costco to house the Dream Dinners, did a little shopping with Jenny at Costco, bought Molly a new collar and leash, served at the church with lots of little kids, had a guest worship leader at church who was excellent (check him out at www.brentonbrown.com), and had lunch with my friend Barb.

Since it's been a while since I updated this blog, I'll mention the highlights of last weekend too. Mainly, it was a visit from my parents as they traveled through here on their way to and from San Diego to celebrate their 35th Anniversary! Yay Mom and Dad!

Rocky Mountain High

I spent the weekend in Colorado with my good college friend Jon and his glowing pregnant wife Katy. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. They are so much fun! See the Chapman's Blog link on the left for all their news.

Friday night, we went to another college friend's house. Dave, from the college Aero group, and his wife Elizabeth, have a baby girl named Elodie so we went over there to visit the new family. We had a nice dinner and visit. See the House's Blog link on the left for all cute pictures of Elodie. That night, we went home to watch "Music and Lyrics." If you've seen it, then you can understand how the songs from it will get stuck in your head. Especially since Katy bought the soundtrack and played it over and over....


Saturday morning, Jon, Katy and I decided to skip the gym and walk the dog instead. Then we went to Katy's niece's soccer game. After the game, we had lunch, talked about going shopping at Babies 'R Us, thought better of it, then drove up to Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park. It was beautiful up there with the fall colors. In this picture, if you squint, you can see elk. We didn't hear any elk bugles, but apparently, now is the season. Along the way, we had to listen to a little of John Denver and his "Rocky Mountain High." Later that night, we went out to eat some yummy Mexican food and went home to watch tv.

Sunday, Katy and I went to church, then Jon and Katy got up the courage to go shopping at Babies 'R Us. They aren't very fond of it these days as the novelty has worn off and the idea of having to buy all that stuff for a baby is just too overwhelming and annoying, especially from that store. Then to help Jon feel better, we went to Home Depot where Jon tricked Katy into buying "a couple things" for the bathroom remodel. Actually, they bought almost a whole new bathroom. (And from what I hear now, Jon did the demolition part last night...glad I left before that.)

It was a great visit with wonderful friends. They have a fun life filled with normal everyday family stuff, which in about a month, is about to get a lot more fun with a baby! I was glad I got to be a part of it for the weekend.

Shine Like Stars

"Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe." Philippians 2:14-15

My weekend was wonderful. My Grandpa and Aunt Joyce came into town Friday night. We had a nice dinner out that night. I also got to meet Joyce's new puppy, Zoie. Wow, what a puppy! She is everywhere, bouncing up and down all over the place. She took a liking to Molly and would paw at her face to get her play. Molly tolerated her quite well and I was proud that she didn't take a bite out of her.

Saturday morning, I took my little sister, Erin, and her little sister, Michelle, to the United Way/Big Brothers Big Sisters Day of Caring in the Park. They had all kinds of activities set up for the kids. They built a birdhouse, made ice cream in a Ziploc, made eclaires over an open fire, made keychains and bracelets, played frisbee golf, had lunch and got their faces painted (see below for the "Stars" of the day). They had a great time.

Saturday afternoon, we took my aunt and grandpa to the Reagan Library. They really enjoyed it. We were able to see almost everything there. I realized that I see something new every time I go. Afterwards, we were looking for someplace to eat. We ended up at Sizzler, which was yummy for all.

Sunday morning, I taught the kids at the first service at church. Then my grandpa and aunt came to second service with me. They got to meet my pastor and a couple of the people from my Bible Study. They liked the service and thought the message was good.

After church, we went to Ventura Harbor to eat at Andrea's. They all got overloaded with fish and chips, which is apparently easy to do there. Then we wandered down the harbor and got some ice cream. We also stopped to take some silly pictures. On the drive home, we stopped at the cross on the hill in Grant Park because it was such a beautiful day. In the picture, you can see the Channel Islands off in the distance. All in all, we had a great visit with Grandpa and Joyce.