reaching across the aisles

why am up at 5:20am on this president's day holiday? i'm getting ready to go to tahoe, that's why! i'm heading up there with my brother and his buddies, and i figured while i wait i'd make good use of my time by blogging about my experience at mass yesterday.

i've been going to a new parish since we've moved to hayward, and i must say that it's the first church i've been to since interfaith where i've felt inspired, moved, and enlightened each time i attend mass. after we celebrated epiphany, my church decided to embark on this 6-week series of talks about different parts of the mass. at each service, the priest would "highlight" one part of the mass to explain and describe to the congregation. it's so informative that lately i've been taking notes during the homilys! (by the way, what's the plural spelling of "homily?")

yesterday, the priest spoke about the importance of the sign of peace and it's history. he said that during the sign of peace, we are encouraged to reach out and touch the people around us. the importance of human physical touch is so important and an act of love. this extends to more than just those few moments before the consecration. he asked and challenged us to reach across the aisles in our daily life -- to touch those around us who are the outsiders in our society.

it was a beautiful thing seeing the congregation get out of those pews during the sign of peace. i hope to try and do the same.

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snow, here we come!

enjoy!

here's a treat for all you crafters out there! but, then again you probably already knew about this. :) anyways, hope you can use it.

slow down!

have you ever felt like life was just going way too fast?

my life is literally flashing before my eyes. i swear that christmas was just yesterday, and yet here we are in the middle of february and so much has already happened since then...


my sis, friends, and family threw the most awesome party of my entire life -- david and my engagement party. it was the biggest, baddest surprise i've ever experienced and i enjoyed every minute of it. it makes me emotional every time i step back and realize just how many beautiful people i have in my life. i truly am not that deserving. the party even continued for a few days afterwards as the ol' crew became our first official house guests! though our time together was short, we had some wonderful conversations that took me back to our college days. again and again i was reminded of how God shows me His love through the people around me. we haven't had our house officially blessed by a priest yet, but i felt like after that weekend, our house became a home.

it has been quite the adventure trying to get used to living across the bay and all the other odds and ends that come with having a home. there are new "issues" david and i have come across regarding our home together, and we've been slowly (very...slowly...) working through them all. i never realized how much work a house is! there's just so much more space to take care of, to clean, to maintain!

i took my class on our first big field trip of the year -- our annual state capitol visit. it was a huge trip to plan, but it was so much fun. i had a lot of help, too, as many parents wanted to come along! the kids learned so much from the trip, as did their teacher. last year i wasn't able to enjoy the field trip at all -- i was too busy disciplining kids and making sure none of them escaped from the group. this year was so different. i was able to just sit back and watch as my students soaked in new information about our state government. it made me really look forward to taking them to washington, d.c. later this year.

interestingly enough, wedding planning has taken a back seat to everything else that is going on right now. i know, this is not good. most of our save-the-dates have been sent out lately, though they are a couple months late! our guests will be getting the invitations very soon after the std's...not ideal, but we can't help that now. there's just so much to get done, and everyone has been so nice about offering their help. however, if the bride can't get herself organized, how are people going to be able to help her? i'm so overwhelmed...

but, it's ok. everything will work out. i know it will.

oh, and i went to vegas last month with some fellow coworkers and had a blast! it was so much fun. during that trip i decided to sign up for the avon breast cancer walk in july. at first i wanted to do the sf marathon with david and derrick, but i realized that i do not like running -- especially long distance running. plus, the breast cancer walk is for a great cause! we are walking 52 miles over 2 days...pretty intense, eh? i think it'll be fun, though, and i'm looking forward to getting in shape with all the training we are going to do until then.

i want to say that i'll update soon, but who knows given my recent track record. oh well...until next time, then!