a winter wednesday...

sipping pumpkin eggnog...

outside it's cold but no trace

of snowflakes or fog...

sunshine on my face

thinking of what to blog...

Birthdays and Christmas Parties...

It's been a busy weekend so far. Yesterday our office went out for lunch to Carinos to celebrate Terri's birthday. We always have a good time together. Today my Grace Group from church got together for our Christmas party at the Rolle's. Everyone brought a different dish which made for a delicious dinner. After opening our gifts we brought to exchange (the bronzed dolphine made a reappearance!) we all joined in together and sang some carols. I am blessed to have such wonderful friends in my life!

Speaking of wonderful friends, my dearest and best friend Emily's birthday is tomorrow... Happy Birthday!! I love and miss you!

The holiday season has begun!

Today especially I can say that "it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas" as Biola held a Christmas lunch for all it's employees. The food was really tasty, especially the risotto and the veggies. The theme this year celebrated Biola's 50 years in the neighbourhood of La Mirada. President Corey did his best Mr. Rogers impersonation and the carolers entertained us with their songs. I am so glad to be able to work here and have great friends to work with too!

A Happy Thanksgiving

On Wednesday afternoon with my pies baked and safely stored in the cooler Grace, Jon and I loaded up my truck and drove down to Imperial. We caught a little rain along the way but otherwise it was a nice drive down only hitting some bad traffic on I8 as we were leaving San Diego. It is so wonderful to be able to get together for this special day! I think this was the first time in 18 or 20 years that we were all having Thanksgiving together. What a blessing! Also joining us for dinner were Frank, Jon's parents, Greg's mom, Monica's friends from Georgia. The grand total was 24 =) From ham & turkey, to the green beans and mash potatoes we all had a delicious meal. After dinner we took a nice walk around the neighbourhood to a little park. The kids (and kids at heart) had a fun time playing together at the play ground. Later we all played some card games and dominoes and had round two of pie and ice cream. Friday morning the Martins and Lozanos took off for San Diego for the day and Grace, Jon and I headed on to Yuma for the weekend. We had a lot of fun hanging out, eating, playing pool and enjoying each others company. After the kiddos were in bed the adults played some Poker. (My first time!) So there I am trying to remember what all the hands are and all the rules and some how I ended up winning every ones chips in the end! I don't know if the boys liked that too well ;) Saturday morning I went with Greg and Donna to watch Alyssa do a small performance of her part in the Nutcracker. She is dancing the part of Clara which she did beautifully. I am looking forward to seeing the whole thing in a few weeks when I return. Sunday was the first day of advent. The pastor spoke on the meaning and importance of keeping the perspective and meaning of the season in our hearts as we get ready to celebrate Christmas. When I woke up Sunday morning there was a song going around in my mind... "T'is so sweet to trust in Jesus". I think this has been one of the best Thanksgivings I have had. I am so thankful to the Lord for my family and friends who give me so much happiness and love. Click here to see all the pictures!

On Sunday, November 9 we took a "Water Taxi" to the islands of Murano, Burano and Torcello. They are about 40 minutes away from Venice. Murano is famous for it's glass factories. Unfortunately because we were there on a Sunday the factories were closed but we enjoyed walking along the canals looking at shops and ate a wonderful meal. The it was off to the island of Burano which is famous for it's lace and very brightly painted houses. It is an amazing sight even in the waning light of the late afternoon when we arrived. After watching the sunset we took the boat again to go to Torcello. This is a tiny island that is inhabited by only 20 people. It was very eerie to get there after dark and walk around a completely desolate island. We didn't see a soul! The old church has some ruins in front of it that date back to Roman times. After walking around we hurried back to catch the boat. Christine who was always walking ahead of us made it on board but the rest of us got left behind. So we had to wait about a half hour for the next one and hope Christine was not "lost in Italy"! We didn't want to get stuck there since there was an transportation strike scheduled for the next morning =) Needless to say we made it safely back to Venice. Click here to see all the pics!

Visions of Venice Our next stop on the trip... beautiful Venice. We had a relaxing train ride through the countryside. There nothing like this city surrounded by water. The first thing you notice is that there is no noise coming from cars or motorcycles. It is a little more laid back. After a grueling long walk from the train station dragging our heavy luggage up and down many steps and little bridges we made it to our lodging place, B&B Corte Campana. Our wonderful amazing friendly host Riccardo was there to welcome us with a big smile. The place is beautiful and is 600 (?) years old and very close to Saint Mark's Square. After settling in we walked over to the square and and enjoyed a nice walk along the water. So many things to see this week... from the Basilica and bell tower to Doge's Palace, San Zaccaria Church to the Naval Museum our days were full of great history and awesome sights...and of course gondolas around every where. I'm hoping to get more pictures up soon. In the meantime you can enjoy some picture albums here: http://chiarapics.spaces.live.com/ Pictures of our day trips to Verona, Murano, Burano and Torcello coming soon!

Rain, rain, go away... please come back some other day. Today we spent the day all about Florence in the rain. Sometimes it was hard and other times just a drizzle. Navigating through a sea of colorful umbrellas we went early to the Duomo Museum and saw the Pieta (Michelangelo's final sculpture) along with other pieces that used to adorn the facade of the church and baptistery. It was very interesting to see some of the art pieces and columns that date back to early 800 B.C. I kept thinking how insignificant that makes our own country's 232 years seem! We caught a bite to eat on the go near the Accademia where a group of little Italian ragazzi were lining up for their field trip. Can you imagine going on a field trip to some of the major art museums when you are in kindergarden?! They were too cute in their little raincoats hlolding hands two by two. After lunch the girls went shopping while Jon did the laundry and tried to catch up on some school work. It's been another long full day in Florence... I can't believe we have been here a week already!

Today we spent the day in Siena. It was a nice ride through the countryside. Siena is unique and has a more medieval feel to it. Of course we saw the main piazza where they hold the Palio (horse racing at neck braking speed) every August. The city is divided into seventeen districts all of whom become "mortal enemies" come palio time. We visited the Duomo, baptistery and crypt. It's late and tomorrow we have lots more to see... I'll try to post some more pics soon!

In and around Firenze...

After a day in the Tuscan country side and a visit to San Miniato last night we began today by visiting Pitti Palace. It is huge and reminds me a lot of visiting the chateaus in France. Very large and ornate it is also surrounded by the Boboli Gardens. The weather has gotten warmer and the rain seems to have passed. By the time we got out it was so warm we had to go change into something cooler. After lunch we went to Santa Maria Novella and then to Santa Croce (my favorite). The leather school is adjacent to the church. It has been a good day! We are going to go out to dinner this evening to a restaurant right on the Arno River near Ponte Vecchio. Ciao!
Click here for pics

A Day in Beautiful Tuscany

I've posted some pics on Facebook. I will try to get them all up on Flicker soon!