Happy Spainiversary!

Tomorrow, my sister and I are headed down to Oakhurst, CA to visit one of my very best friends, Tori, for a celebration we call "Compostella Day." January 28th, 2007 I completed a 500 mile pilgrimage with these two women in Spain: the Camino de Santiago. It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life and I'm going to spend the next two days reminiscing about it. If I haven't ever told you about it (which is unlikely) please ask! I love sharing the stories. For now, Buen Camino a todos!

Resolve (or lack of)

So. New Years. Everybody makes resolutions, right? Come the end of December, I was actually feeling pretty negative about making New Year's resolutions. Alison? Being negative?! Yes, it can happen. So, there I was looking forward to a new year and thinking about how pointless it generally is for me to make resolutions. I just break them after 3 days anyway! And then I'll adopt a new resolution or two, and that'll last about 5 days and then I'll get lazy or busy or something and that'll be the end of that. Plus, why for New Year's? What about the rest of the year? I make resolutions every other week, so why should I make them especially for January 1st?

That's how I was feeling. But usually I'm able to see the bright side and as I thought about it more I was able to appreciate the beauty of New Year's resolutions-- the symbolism of a fresh start. So, I decided I might make a couple of my own! I resolved, first, to get to work on time. Ok, so the process is on-going. Resolution 1, part B is to not abuse the snooze button as much as I used to. Yeah, about that... My second resolution is to make myself a budget. Hopefully I'll be more successful than the government of California. We'll see. It's a New Year!

A Factoid, to start the year off right!

Many months of the year have Roman origins for their names, like August (after Augustus Caesar) and October (after Octavius). Did you know that January has Roman origins as well? January was named for the Roman god, Janus, who had two heads-- one that faced forward and the other which faced backward. It seems very fitting for the first month of the year, to reflect on the year that has past and to look forward to what the new year might bring.

But actually (?!), March was originally the first month of the year, because this was the time when planting began and it was time to go to war (March being named after Mars, the god of war). So why did it change? The Romans decided that instead of inaugerating their new consuls in the busy month of March, why not the boring, uneventful month of January? So there you have it, another way the Romans shook things up that still prevails in Western society today.

(Source: http://ngm.typepad.com/pop_omnivore/2009/01/how-january-wen.html)

Merry Christmas Eve!

Here is my gift to all of you who read this blog. Happy Holidays!

Love Is Like...

Yesterday at church the sermon was called "Following a Star to Love," it being the Sunday we light the Love Advent candle. Love, I think, is one of the most important Christian messages and it speak volumes about who God is and how he relates to us. The scripture passage used for the sermon really spoke to me. It was 1 John 4:16b-19:

"God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because he first loved us."

I added the italics, because those are two points that especially speak to me. First, I have felt in the past that I fear a great many things in this life. Fear causes me to be paralyzed and stagnant; I don't grow because I fear what might come with change. I fear people's disapproval and I fear being disliked or alone. But! There is no fear in love! I know that there are people in my life who love me, and I know that God first loved me, so in this knowledge I try to fear a little bit less.

My pastor also made a great point. He said, "Love is like oxygen." This immediately caused me to want to sing! I know he meant that without love we can't survive, but all I was hearing for a minute or two was, "Love is like oxygen/ You get too much you get too high/ Not enough and you're gonna die..." If you're not sure what I'm talking about, just watch this!

When Life's Getting You Down

Do this!

Cozy Time

I know Fall is almost officially over but I just had to share some thoughts about it. While Spring is my favorite season of the year, Fall comes in at a close second. Fall is one of the reasons I like Northern California better than Southern California. Fall is a magical season. It's the season of bounty, of harvest, of thanksgiving. It seems slower and more thoughtful-- days get shorter, the weather gets chillier. It's a time to stay inside and curl up with a blanket in front of a fire with a good book. Fall is a family-oriented time of the year. But what is my favorite thing about Fall? The colors! And yes, for those doubting Thomas', Sacramento does show fall colors! We're no New England, but there are beautiful pockets of color that pop up all over the place. And when it's foggy or rainy the colors just become more saturated and more beautiful. I love it when the leaves change color, but I hate it when they fall off. And they are mostly gone now. That plus my growing circumference tells me that Winter is fast approaching.