Happy New Year, Part II

Happy New Year, year of rat! This is the Simpsonized me! I think I look better being a Simpson character. Doggie doesn't look anything like Santa's Little Helper; but, they don't Simpsonize pets.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! The brand new year welcomed us with blisteringly cold weather. Brrrr... It is nippy out there! We'll only get 2 days of really chilly willy weather, then it's in the 50's for the next few days. I hope the trees and bushes aren't confused again. Last winter, the cherry blossoms in Washington DC set out their blooms in January because we had a week or so of unseasonably warm weather. Enough about the weather...

It is 2008! I spent New Year's Eve roosting at home! I even missed the count-down and decided to go to bed with ear-plugs around 11! I much rather snuggle nicely in bed with a good book then sit in front of the TV watching a whole lot of nonsense. Currently finishing up Bill Bryson's "A Walk in the Woods". It's an account of his journey through the Appalachian Trail, a hiking trail over 2100 miles stretching from Georgia to Maine. He is a terrific writer, and his narrative is laugh-out-loud hilarious.

Today being January 2nd is my first day back to work after about 2 weeks break between semesters. The new semester doesn't start until January 14th (actually a week earlier this year). This also means the time to get the semester ready is shorter. So, as much as I savored each second of my break, it's good to be back to work today to be able get a couple of to-do list items checked off!

Happy 2008! May your 2008 be wonder-filled!

Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas, Everyone!
Here's wishing you all an awe-filled 2008!

Goodbye!

We bid farewell to "Silver" last Sunday. Silver was Mom's 240 station wagon. It was finally retired, at least by us. It is now in the possession of Purple Heart, and will hopefully get a second life after some repairs. It will now at least bring some money for a worthy cause, benefiting war veterans.

We sure had some fond memories in that car. We drove it down to Florida in 1991, to Pittsburgh and Chicago in 1993 (I was not on that trip... was interning in NYC that summer), to Cape Cod in 1999. It brought me back and forth from college and home. It moved me to West Philadelphia in 1997 and home again in 1999. M rear ended another car on the way to the airport picking up Dad. Among other trips in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland, it served us well. It was sad to say goodbye to it!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thursday is Thanksgiving! Being in academia, I got Wednesday through Friday off... a marvelous 5-day vacation! The semester is quickly coming to a close. Two more weeks after this break before the week of final exams. Then, it'll be Christmas break!

Thanksgiving is traditionally time to gather with family and friends and offer thanks to God for His many blessings. Although in the post-modern world, it's just gathering with family and friends and feasting on turkey. I will be spending my Thanksgiving with my family and friends and fitting in there giving Doggie a bath and raking leaves. I am thankful for my MANY blessings: family, friends (old and new), my job, my health, joy and contentment that could only have come from God above!

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Fall

We're in the thick of fall. It is finally getting seasonably cold. For most of October, the temperature had been relatively warm. So, just this week, the leaves have finally begun to turn the beautiful gold, yellow, and red colors. It is pretty! I, for one, don't like the fall as much as I love spring. With the leaves falling, animals disappearing, birds not singing as much, and no more crickets chirping, it's kind of depressing. It's also hard not to think about the deadness of winter that is right around the corner. Yes, snow is pretty but it is few and far in between. Now, spring is what I live for when the birds sings again, the leaves burst out in majesty, and the everything is green again. There's life! Everything is seemingly new again!

Chagrin

Chagrin [she grin'] n. embrarrassment and annoyance due to failure, diasppointment, etc -vt. -grined', -grining to cause to feel chagrin (Webster's Dictionery)

This is Chagrin Falls. It is also the name of a little town outside of Cleveland, OH. I assume the town was named after the falls. The falls were chagrin because this is it. A couple of friends and I were in Chargin Falls for the weekend attending the Truth for Life Conference at Parkside Church. The conference was most definitely NOT chagrin. It was a mountaintop experience to be fed from God's word via a pastor who isn't afraid to speak the truth even though it is very difficult to hear.

As for the little town of Chagrin Falls, it has a fabulous popcorn/ice cream shop. Yum!!

Sigh...

The Phillies road to the World Series has ended. The Rockies swept them to continue on to the National League championships; they will play the AZ Diamondbacks, who swept the Chicago Cubs. I'm not sure who I will root for now. I always root for the underdogs. In this case, I'm not sure who that is.

I am glad I was at the last game of the Phillies regular season to see them win the Division title. That excitement will stay with me for a long time!

In the meantime, I'm looking forward to going to Cleveland at the end of the week for a weekend trip to the church of my favorite radio preacher, Alistair Begg. He has invited his radio listeners to a "Truth for Life" weekend. I will be traveling with a couple of friends from church. It will be exciting! The Cleveland Indians are also in the playoff's, but they are in the American League. So, there's also lots of baseball excitement in that city!

They did it!

The Phillies won the National League East Divison! They actually made it into the playoff's! I am still so excited that I was at that last game of the season to witness this clinch! All the players celebrated along with the entire stadium of fans! For the first time in 14 years, they get to play more baseball and perhaps even compete for the World Series title. Of course, those New York Mets imploding helped out the Phillies a lot! The playoff's started today, for the National League championships. The Rockies are in town and they won the first game this afternoon. I think it's best out of 5. Keep your fingers crossed!

Baseball

This is the final week of the regular baseball season. Of course, living in Philadelphia, one automatically roots for the Phillies. This is also the team that is the most heart-wrenching to watch and follow. The Phillies are known for being "almost" there or "almost making it. Three or 4 seasons in a row now, they "almost" make it to the playoff's. They always seem to miss it by a game or two. Very frustrating.... This year is no different. So, in order not to get our hopes up and to have them shattered to tiny little pieces, it's best just to be indifferent. Maybe they'll pull out surprise. I'm not counting on it!