congrats ariel!

^we all went out to sullivans for everyone's (except me) first $5 sullivan burger! delicious :p. congrats ariel on graduating :)

^lina made her first request at sullivans! haha, she was very nervous. the guy (pictured above) DID play the most beautiful version of white christmas i have ever heard though. we have a video of it if you're interested!

hospitality baking Christmas cookies for AACM's last large group

matching :)

dress-like-grace day

i'm dreaming of a white christmas

thank God that i finished all my finals on saturday! i dont know if i did good or bad this year but i guess i'll find out when santa clause comes to h-town. hehe, get it?? :p

speaking of christmas, i'm not really doing christmas this year. usually around this time i would be frantically writing christmas cards, decorating, and thinking of THE perfect gift for my friends and family. but this year, i'm just relaxing and not worrying about the hustle and bustle that's involved with christmas that seems to be taking over everyone's lives and their true "christmas cheer." i like to say that i'm "practicing advent" - whatever that means. haha. im trying to learn and figure out a way to celebrate Jesus' birthday that's not so commercialized and "of the world." i'm asking myself, how will i want to celebrate christmas with my future children? do i want to decorate the house with extravagent decorations, bake cute christmas cookies, spoil them with awesome gifts or do i want my kids to celebrate the joy and hope Jesus brought to earth through his birth? and if i want the 2nd way, how would i do that? what would that look like? so far, the only idea i've thought of is asking my kids to give away something to a friend that means a lot to them. any other ideas?

yes, i know, i am thinking way too far ahead with this how-to-raise-my-children business but this is just one way i figure things out and process. promise :).

this is also my first year to really think about "the true meaning of christmas" and how to celebrate christmas. i definitely havent figured it out and i even did some fun christmas-y things this year like decorate a tree in 207 and going to trail of lights - which i dont think are completely bad things to do. it's also probably easier for me to do this since i'll be partying it up in EUROPE during christmas this year :)! woohoo!

a 21-days devotional set evfree provided in our bulletin that leads you through passages in the old testament that prophecies Jesus' birth has also been really helpful. i've been reading some pretty neat stuff through these devotionals! if anyone's interested, let me know. i can make a copy for you :).

anyways, i hope everyone has a VERY merry christmas doing whatever it is to celebrate the birth of our savior. merry christmas!

thoughts?

Tourist attraction focuses on Katrina destruction

3-hour tour includes Superdome and devastated neighborhoods

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- For $35 per person -- $28 for children -- a New Orleans company is offering bus tours of some of the city's most misery-stricken spots, including the Superdome, the Convention Center and neighborhoods ravaged by Hurricane Katrina.

Residents disagree over whether the tours are crass and morbid exploitation, or a good way to help people grasp the enormity of the disaster and keep public attention focused on New Orleans' plight.

The three-hour tours, called "Hurricane Katrina -- America's Worst Castastrophe," were announced last week by Gray Line New Orleans, with the first one set for January 4.

"It's a catastrophe that happened here and I just think that people need to be a little more considerate," said Nakia James, who lived in the devastated Ninth Ward.

But restaurant owner Roland Adams, tearing up the ruined oak flooring from his Lakeview living room, said it is great that tour guides have been told to explain the origins of the disaster, including deficient levees and other human errors.

"It's like an awareness program," he said.

The buses will start at the edge of the French Quarter, then drive past the Superdome and Convention Center, where thousands suffered in the heat for days without food or water. The tour also may include the destroyed marina and neighborhoods like the flooded Lakefront, Gentilly and eastern New Orleans areas.

Company vice president Greg Hoffman said he intends to show "the utmost sensitivity" to those whose homes were destroyed. After all, he said, they include about 60 percent of the company's 65 pre-Katrina employees, including himself.

The company will give $3 per ticket to Katrina-related charities, he said. The tours will use major thoroughfares only and employ minibuses rather than big tour coaches, Hoffman said. Smaller streets and the Ninth Ward will not be part of the tour because "that would be too intrusive," he said.

Hoffman said he was less than enthusiastic when his wife and tour guides suggested a Katrina tour: "I said, `No. It's morbid. We're not trying to satisfy the desires of people who want to come here for the sake of looking at devastation."'

But, he said, he came to realize that news coverage cannot fully convey the damage.

"Congressmen and people from outside this area, they only understand it, they only get it, when they see it," Hoffman said. "If we're going to help New Orleans rebuild, we want people who visit New Orleans to see what happened, to see what devastation it's caused."

New Orleans resident Christopher Colley agreed with that: "Film and media only go so far."

need a study break?

http://www.xanga.com/CEOLoserClub/

gl on finals, everyone!

totempole-fun

chestnuts roasting

vision team went out for lunch today at whole foods (did you know there's an ice skating rink on top of whole food!? too bad it's TINY.). anyways, i really love these guys. i always have fun, enjoy being in their company, and leave them feeling empowered, encouraged, and challenged. i especially love it when we all hang out together and not have to talk about "business" (although business can be fun at times, too :p). i also cherish these times together because i know most of them will be graduating and our team will no longer (literally) exist next year :(. so here are some pictures from today... cheers! to great conversations about gender segregation, guy/girl friendships, women in leadership, breakups, christmas, our breaks, high/lows, God, etc.



...o yeah, during lunch, there was this extremely potent sweet smell of some type of pastry or dessert or SOMETHING. i think i concluded it to be chestnuts roasting... mmmm, smelled DELICIOUS :p. (<-- that's me explaining the title of this post, not being random >:O)

ps. thanks steph for the m&m's! :)

let it ice, let it ice, let it ice

laura, who goes to school in cleveland, got a kick out of the fact that UT closed 1.5 days due to the ice-y (no snow, just ice.) weather. woohoo for no classes! here are some pictures of us sledding on lunch trays and skating on top of jester garage...

^ keeping warm!

^ ready, set, sled!

^ before the fall :\. glad she's ok :)

^ peace!

my discoveries for today

i found out 2 random and surprising things today...

1. laura mengheang did not know that i am "officially" dating. and the saddest part of it is that she found out through facebook, which i NEVER update but recently did just because there was a short 2 hour phase of my life where i was obsessed with the new photo album option found on facebook. i seriously felt really sad when laura and i were talking :(. SO, this blog is dedicated to those out there who i do a terrible job of keeping in touch with. am i a bad friend??? :(

2. tiff is in seattle looking for apartments. she called me from a sonics game just to say hello and that she loves me. very sweet, but it still deserves a "what the heck" reaction.

thanksgiving

^ i'm beginning to appreciate leaves that change colors more and more :). and to think i had a tree like this in my own backyard to enjoy while at home!

^ wednesday we went to this turkish resturant that laura recommended by rice. the person on the right is shu and she's an exchange student from china. she stayed with us during thanksgiving break so we pretty much showed her around houston most of the time.

^ rice university! and yes, that is me on the left. no one seems to be able to recognize me... do dorky overalls and shoes make THAT big of a difference? hey, at least this means i usually dont dress dorky ;)

^ tall, big, and REAL christmas tree in baker's common area! if only jester could get one :)

^ hot pot at night

^ thursday: thanksgiving dinner! delicious! fav dish was probably the ham, green bean casserole, and very buttery mashed potatoes :p

^ i love how my parents are so open, welcoming, and hospitable to other people coming into our home. i think this is one thing that makes our home really warm and special. i hope to do the same when i grow up :)

^ friday morning i went to the eye doc and i got these new soft contacts by oasys! before this i was wearing hard lenses so these oasys things are amazing! my doc said they keep your eyes SO moisturized that you can even sleep in them if you get too lazy to take them out!!! man, i love anything that supports laziness. also had brunch with tiff at le peep and a little bit of shopping at the galleria. black friday = crazy.

^ friday night, uncle jeff and auntie maryjane took us to kemah. we ate A LOT - had TWO dinners at flying dutchess and aquarium :x. good dinner convo about china (socialism, history, economy). i crave conversations like these.

bulls eye

before i went to church today, i told God that if i didnt learn anything at church then i was going to go look for another church because i havent learned anything the past 6 sundays. maybe that was a little irrational and bratty, but i was seriously in need of some hearty teachings. i even have to admit that i was kinda dreading going to church when usually sunday mornings is something i look forward to. SO, church actually turned out to be EXACTLY what i needed to hear and i totally left feeling refreshed and encouraged. the speaker talked about haggai and even though he wasnt a "dynamic" or "engaging" speaker, i could seirously tell that he was teaching God's word and that God was using him. pretty cool stuff.

recently i've been wanting to give up on following jesus because it's just really hard sometimes and i wonder if it's really worth it. i also find myself really discontent with the relationships i have and just life in general. i dont really have an amazing realization about this but yah, that is an update. i really like singing this song even though it's hard to fully (really) mean it...

I'm giving you my heart, and all that is within
I lay it all down for the sake of you my King
I'm giving you my dreams, I'm laying down my rights
I'm giving up my pride, for the promise of new life

I'm singing you this song, I'm waiting at the cross
And all the world holds dear, I count it all as loss
For the sake of knowing you, the glory of your name
To know the lasting joy, even sharing in your pain