Well, it seems that this time every year Southern California sets on fire from the Santa Ana winds and the lovely brush on the hills. It usually happens in a different place each year, but almost always sends that particular city into a state of emergency.
Schwarzenegger declared Santa Barbara, Anaheim Hills, Yorba Linda, Corona, Chino Hills, Brea and Sylmar in a state of emergency.
This is the first time that the fires have been in an area where lots of people I know live! Yorba Linda is about 10 minutes from my house and I know a lot of people that live in this city. The fire from Corona was pushed over to Yorba Linda and they believe that flying embers were the start of a number of house fires. If you watched it on the news all day long, you would have seen house after house after house being burned down. The odd thing was, it was almost kind of random. Certain ones were burning, but right next door the house was fine! It was like this all throughout the neighborhoods of Yorba Linda.
One of my good friends from the Canyon church was affected. Her family's house was completely burned to the ground. I know MANY more people who came VERY close and had to literally stay at their house and hose it off. They could see fires 500 feet away when they stood on their roofs. Pretty scary for them.
The sad thing was...there were no firefighters there to help in any of these house fires. Resources were so limited and the fact that there were like 5 other fires going on around the area did not help either. News anchors kept saying how frustrating it was to watch these houses just burn to the ground with no one in sight to help. But...those firefighters can only do so much. They may not have saved my friend's house, but I'm positive they saved a lot more people's houses from getting burned.
Anyways...please pray for the people in Yorba Linda/Anaheim Hills/Brea area because I know a lot of people in these cities.
We've been watching this pretty closely. Jason's parents are real close to the fires this time. I saw on the news this morning that a business in Savi Ranch burned and it was edging into Yorba Regional Park. That is a little too close for Jason's comfort right now! Very sad! I know the Mauney's have had to evacuate due to some houses burning in their s/d.
I know...this is so sad! We had quite a few people from Canyon church at our church this morning telling us about some of their members who lost their homes. When I was at school yesterday there was ash all over and I smelled like smoke. The air was awful and I'm sure its bad by you too!
“If we ever forget that we are One Nation Under God, then we will be a nation gone under.”
Ronald Reagan
"It is impossible to govern the world without God and the Bible."
George Washington
"And remember: the most perfect machinery of government will not keep us as a nation from destruction if there is not within us a soul. No abounding of material prosperity shall avail us if our spiritual senses atrophy.”
So I must say, I'm a pretty lucky girl. Working at Chapman does actually have it's perks because every year we get 10 days off for Christmas (and that's not counted as part of our vacation time). So last Christmas, my grandparents on my mom's side took all of the family on a Mexican Riviera cruise. It was so wonderful and special and I absolutely had a great time.
This year...my grandparents decided to do something a little bit different. This is where I will be, December 2008...
Mammoth
www.mammothcrookedpines.com
Jealous?? Ya I thought so.
I have never had a white Christmas so I am definitely looking forward to it. I am also excited because they have invited Kevin to go. So we will get to spend our first Christmas together.
Here's to drinking hot chocolate, eating Holiday food, playing in the snow, and waking up to a white Christmas!! Can't wait...
how fun!! that reminds me of my first white xmas last year with kacy's family in a HUGE cabin in lake tahoe! so fun!! i can't believe how rediculously hot out it is now! UGH! i'm ready for the cold weather for sure!
Well it's been a little while since I've posted. Last time I was on here I just got back from Katie and Keith's wedding. Seems like so long ago when I was out there, but really only a month or so.
Today I had an all day work seminar/workshop and I learned that I am 61% structurally minded. What does this mean? It means I am a practical thinker, I like guidelines, I'm cautious of new ideas, I'm predictable, and I learn by doing. I'm also 21% socially minded, 15% analytical, and 3% conceptual. So in other words, I am NOT imaginative, intuitive about ideas, visionary, I don't enjoy the unusual, and I don't learn by experimenting. I'm pretty straight forward and I like logic and step-by-step procedure. Looks like my job fits me to a t!
I started taking Portuguese. I must say, it's a lot harder than I thought. Every day of class the professor comes up to me and asks me a question in Portuguese and I sit there, frozen, going "uhhh". What's frustrating is that I have been studying! I made note cards and reviewed everything with Kevin. The problem is that once the professor starts speaking, he speaks so quickly I can't understand what he's even saying. It comes out like one long jumbled sentence. But anyways, I'm hoping to get SOMETHING out of this class. I would like to be able to have a conversation with my boyfriend's grandmother whom I've known for a year and half and have never said more than hello to.
On another note...I've been so happy for everyone that's been gettin hitched lately, but at the same time, it makes me think about how badly I want that in my life! I know I should not have this attitude because everything will happen in due time...but it's very hard when I know that one of the biggest things I want in my life is to get married and become a mother. I know this sounds so old fashioned, but those two things are what will provide the most happiness in my life. I know that it's in my future, but sometimes I wish I could fast forward time and get to what I really want. I'm trying to learn patience when it comes to this topic...but it sure doesn't make it easier when EVERYONE around me is getting married. I guess it's God's way of saying "hold on a bit, you'll get your turn." Anyways, this is just something that has crossed my mind a lot lately. I guess I don't want to get too deep into this topic though.
That's life for Lindsey lately. Things are still pretty much the same though. My boyfriend is great, my family is great, job is good, health is good, yada yada...
Hope everyone is doing well. I'm not sure if I will keep posting much on here when things start to pick up at work and such...but I will try my best.
I feel the exact same way about the future thing. I just try to keep in mind that every day brings me one day closer to having that, and then it doesn't seem so long or pointless! Good luck with your new language!! :)
I think it is so great that you are learning Portuguese so that you can learn about Kevin's culture and communicate with his family! =) I hope that the class gets better soon!
