We're still a little over an hour until the new year, but I thought I'd post early.

Wishing you all the best in 2009.

Frankly, my 2008 sucked, so I'm looking forward to a much happier year. :)

More later . . .

Here's something cool, if you're an astronomy geek. :)

I'll probably miss it . . . I don't think I can wake up that early. Haha.

I got home from a very pleasant time at my aunt's house yesterday to read this. So sad. Pray for those injured and for the families affected.

Wishing you a Merry Christmas from me and Milo!!!

With tears in my eyes, I read Mary Beth Chapman's Christmas letter. I can't even imagine how hard this Christmas must be for her as the first one since Maria's death. As I read the letter, I knew that this mother misses her beautiful little girl every day. I also noted how blessed this family is. They are a family full of love for God and for each other, and they've been amazing to watch through this whole experience. The letter is really sweet. Take some time to read it and let me know what you think.

I got another couple of emails from Ferragamo and had to share.

First up, this shoe, which costs almost $1K. It's such an odd shoe but strangely intriguing. I would never wear it, though. Would you?

Then there's this shiny bag, which is really cute and costs ONLY $1350. Really? Does anyone really need a $1350 bag? But it is pretty, isn't it? :)

If you've paid any attention to me in the last year or so, you know that I volunteer at the Downtown Women's Center in the Skid Row area of Los Angeles. It's a truly amazing place, where lives are changed daily. I'm a member of Birthday Guild, which is in charge of monthly birthday parties for the residents of the center. We welcome creative and/or willing people who like parties. Let me know if you're interested in coming to a party with me.

DWC is a flurry of activity during December. This means that there are many more volunteering opportunities available. Last year I helped with the gift wrapping, but this year I have to work both nights. *sigh*

Here's a copy of the holiday wish list . . .

Gifts Wish List*
last updated November 12

For Residents

29 bath towel sets
45 clock radios
15 bath robes
45 Christmas stockings

For our Day Center Ladies

114 backpacks
120 wallets
120 pieces of jewelry
48 scarves (for neck or head)
71 make-up sets
120 perfume sets
120 gift cards (Ralphs, Starbucks, and Subway preferred)
21 fleece throws

*We respectfully request new items for gift giving.

We ask that all items be received by December 16 to ensure that we have time to festively wrap each gift.

Party prep for December Birthday Guild is TONIGHT (12/9),and the party is on December 30th! Let me know if you're interested. :)

So, I get this newsletter from the National Council of Churches of Christ Eco-Justice Programs. I'm still not sure how I managed to get on the email list, but it's interesting to read through every so often. One of the things that was on the most recent newsletter was a list of 12 low carbon things that people can do for Christmas.

I've copied it here, in case any of you is interested. I won't say that I'm up for all of these, but it's an interesting read.

The Low Carbon 12 Days of Christmas This Christmas
Let’s Keep Coal Out of Our Stockings!

1. Send Electronic Christmas Cards: Sending your Christmas greetings electronically is good for Creation because it saves trees. If you want to send a personal Christmas greeting to close friends and family, use recycled paper to make your own Christmas Cards.

2. Make Your Own Decorations: This can become a wonderful family tradition. Use recycled materials or natural materials like pinecones, leaves, vines. Making your own Christmas wreath out of materials you collected is carbon neutral and positively fun!

3. Buy a Living, Local Christmas Tree: Start a tradition of planting your Christmas tree in your yard or on your church grounds after Christmas. You can even put a message in a bottle underneath the tree thanking God for the year’s blessings. Your planted tree becomes a Christmas gift for creation and a living family memory for years to come!

4. Use LED Christmas Lights: These lights use around 90% less energy than incandescent Christmas lights. Look for lights that are Energy Star approved. Remember to conserve energy and not to leave them on all day or overnight.

5. Do Your Christmas Shopping with Reusable Bags: Less plastic bags means less energy is used to produce them, and therefore less carbon is released into the atmosphere.

6. Give Responsibly: Buy gently used gifts like books and toys or nonmaterial gifts like a national parks pass or event tickets rather than products. If you are good at making crafts, consider making gifts for your loved ones.

7. If you buy traditional gifts, minimize your carbon foot print by purchasing Local and energy efficient gifts that are minimally packaged. Click www.nccecojustice.org/greengifts.htm for ideas.

8. Use Reusable or Recycled Gift Wrap: You will save energy by reducing the need to produce wrapping paper and help reduce global warming pollution.

9. Practice Alternative Giving: Donate to a charity in a friend or family member’s name.

10. Limit Your Travel: If you need to travel to be with family ride with other friends and family to reduce the per person carbon emissions or take the train. In general, driving results in fewer carbon emissions than flying, especially when driving a moderately fuel efficient vehicle at or below the speed limit with properly inflated tires.

11. Serve Local Food for Christmas Dinner: Consider serving a locally raised main course, but if a local ham or turkey is too pricey, serve a few side dishes made with local vegetables. This is a tasty way to reduce the number of miles food has to travel to get to your plate, which in turn helps reduce carbon emissions.

12. Remember Why We Celebrate! Christmas is a time to celebrate God’s gift of Jesus Christ, a savior who will bring peace to Earth (Luke 2: 11-14), through whom all things came into being (John 1:3) and through whom God reconciled all things (Colossians 1:19).

Comments, anyone?

I was not at all surprised by the results of a study recently conducted by the Josephson Institute. You can read about the study here. According to the study,

In the past year, 30 percent of U.S. high school students have stolen from a store and 64 percent have cheated on a test.

Sadly, this is not news to me. After all, I DID used to teach high school.

These days, I spend a lot of time emphasizing how paranoid test administrators are about people cheating. My students are always amazed at all of the restrictions and hoops that they are made to jump through in order to minimize cheating. I guess GRE and GMAT administrators have a reason to expect cheating?

So sad . . .