Happy Easter

This weekend, a friend and I went to the Crystal Cathedral to see "The Glory of Easter". It was well done with live animals and angels flying through the air. We also went to Corona Del Mar Beach and Laguna Beach this weekend.

It Finally Arrived

I ordered a friend a gift pack of three non-alcoholic drinks from Navarro Vineyards in Napa Valley. The items were supposed to be sent out February 18th, but as I never received the confirmation that it was sent, I thought maybe it was on back order. As the person was moving and still hadn't received the package, I thought I better contact them to have the items sent to the new location. They had a confirmation that the items were left on my friend's porch on February 20, so they said they would resent it and contact UPS for a refund. Today the juices finally arrived at my house, so I ended up delivering them in person.

New Californian

On Sabbath, a friend and I drove out to Palm Springs and went to church. It was a beautiful day, so I wore a summer dress. The hills are a lovely green right now and look beautiful. On the way back through the pass it started raining, then sleeting and finally
turned to snow and 33 degrees (compared to the mid-70's in Palm Springs. It snowed for a couple more hours (without sticking), then the sky turned blue again. If you double click on the house picture, it will get larger and you can see the snow coming down.

Red Rock Canyon State Park, CA

Today, I went to Red Rock Canyon with an old friend from TN. What unique scenery.

Weekend in Washington

On Sabbath afternoon, my friend took me out for a boat ride on the sound. It was a beautiful day and the sky was so blue and clear. We were even able to get a view of Mount Ranier. On Sunday, we went for a great brunch at a place called C. I. Shenanigans that was right on the water in Tacoma.

A Walk to Beautiful

Tonight, my mum and I went to Redlands and watched "A Walk to Beautiful" at the Crosswalks Church. It is about women in Ethiopia. It was very touching to see the dedication of doctors to improve the lives of women who are injured due to the lack of sufficient medical care during childbirth. It was interesting to see how little the country had changed from when we lived there 25 years ago.

70th Birthday

My parents arrive from FL last night. As it was my dad's 70th birthday today, we went down to Rancho Cucamonga to eat dinner.

New Painting

My new painting came today that I bought last weekend. It's here just in time for my parents arriving on Tuesday.

Newport Beach, CA

A friend and I went to Newport Beach. The sun was setting and it was really beautiful. After it got dark, we stopped by a little family owned Italian restraunt called Mama D's. The food was great and the service was very friendly and helpful. We also went shopping as I needed some furniture. We stopped by the art store to see the two paintings I had ordered for my stairwell last weekend. I'm really excited about getting them delivered.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Went to church at LLUC with a friend, then we had lunch with Ovi and his kids. His wife Stephanie was out of town visiting family. In the afternoon we went to Kimberly Crest and walked around.

On Sunday, drove down to San Diego to the Seaport Village waterfront, then on to Balboa Park. On New Year's Eve went to Santa Monica Pier, then went home, watched a couple DVD's and toasted in the New Year at midnight.

Car Crash

This evening I was headed home from work and had been stopped a couple minutes at a red light. Out of the blue, a SUV rammed into the back of my car and pushed my car forward into another SUV. My car was totaled and had to be towed away. The police gave me ride home, then Ovi drove here and took me to the pharmacy to get some Tylenol for if I was in pain. Thankfully, I walked away without a scratch and with very little soreness. My angels were really taking care of me.

Seattle, WA

This weekend I went up to Seattle, WA to visit a friend. On Sabbath, we went to church, then drove around Olympia. We saw the capital building, but as it was snowing heavily, we didn't walk around. In the evening we went to Cheesecake Factory for supper with some friends, then we went to a concert. On Sunday, we went to a Victorian fair and walked around.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today, I went and had Thanksgiving Dinner with Ovi, Stephanie, Lauren, Gabriella and all their Romanian Family. They are friends of a friend, so I had never met them before. They were really nice.

How Amazing!

This Sabbath, I went to the visitors lunch after church. I sat next to a couple ladies, then one of the ladies daughters came and joined us. She was called Suzanne too. Then another visitor called Deborah came and sat next to me. She went to Southern, just like me, then finished at AUC...just like me. She told me that she lived in the center of three houses next to the gym, so I told her that I lived in the brown house. She was very surprised and said that she lived there before moving into the house. We knew so many of the same people. Later in conversation, I remembered another person that she might have known. She told me that she had dated that person and the he had asked her to marry him (but she didn't). She was a widow at the time as her husband had died at the young age of 26.

I told her that last Sabbath I had gone to a conservative group for one service and a contemporary group for the second service. At the contemporary group, they had a room with artifacts from Ethiopia. She said that the week before she had met a friend there and her friend had shown her around the room because the friend grew up in Gimbie, Ethiopia. I asked her name as my family lived in Gimbie. She said that her friends name was Wogensh. Now it was my turn to be surprised as we had someone that came to our house to help that had the same name. Deborah said that Wogensh was 47 and told her that she used to help the missionary families. That would have made Wogensh about 14 when she worked for us. Later that night, I told my parents the story and asked how old Wogensh would have been when she worked for us. She said, "About 14". I'll be sending Deborah a couple of pictures of Wogensh from years ago to see if it's the same girl.

The Most Beautiful Rainbow

As we grow up, we learn that even the one person that wasn't supposed to ever let you down probably will. You will have your heart broken probably more than once and it's harder every time. You'll break hearts too, so remember how it felt when yours was broken. You'll fight with your best friend. You'll blame a new love for things an old one did. You'll cry because time is passing too fast, and you'll eventually lose someone you love. So take too many pictures, laugh too much, and love like you've never been hurt because every sixty seconds you spend upset is a minute of happiness you'll never get back. Don't be afraid that your life will end, be afraid that it will never begin. Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God.