Flute lessons
I have four flute students right now--two on Mondays and two on Tuesdays. If it weren't for one of my Monday students, I would think that I am a great flute teacher.

Angela, the student I've been teaching the longest, is a diligent 12-year-old who has long fingers and a naturally good tone. She comes from a typical Orange County Asian family; I think her parents push her to do well in everything--tennis, swimming, flute, school, etc. I'm sure her room is always clean too. She has improved steadily since starting lessons.

Tosin is a man from Nigeria who is in the states for school. Although he is busy and sometimes cancels our lessons (well in advance), he is a good student. He practices a lot for our lessons, and he listens well (I'd hope so--he's 27). He's improving steadily.

Natalie is a new student--we've had just two lessons so far (tonight will be the third), but I will have fun teaching her. She is a freshman at a local high school, and she is intimidated by the [snobby] older flute players. Although she has a good sound, we're working on the fundamentals now (scales, reading notes) and on not getting frustrated/flustered when she messes up.

And then there's Annie-Jo. She is a 9-year-old from England living here with her family for 6 months. I have taught others as young as she is, so I don't think the issues stem solely from age. Annie-Jo talks incessantly--her stories start off sounding like they're related to what I've just told her about flute, but then they tangent off and keep going and going. It's hard for me to get a word in edgewise, and so I end up having to be stern with her. But it isn't just the talking. In the three months or so that I've been teaching her, I think she has made about three weeks' worth of improvement. I give her basically the same assignments each week because she either hasn't done them at all or she hasn't made any change/improvement. I do think she practices. Another problem: her mother. Annie-Jo's mom is also a beginner flute player, so I think she tells Annie-Jo how to do things; often, those things are in direct opposition to whatever I've told or assigned Annie-Jo. (Oh, and after talking with the mother a few times, I see where Annie-Jo gets the incessant talking from.)

I think it's time for a new teaching plan with Annie-Jo. Usually, I don't have to do much preparation for my lessons. I set up my flute, the chair, the music stand, and then, when the student arrives, I look over what I assigned him/her last week and start from there. Maybe Annie-Jo needs even more structure: a written out quiz she must start immediately upon arrival while I put her flute together for her (instead of her putting her flute together, which has become a time where she slowly puts together the flute while rambling on and on); a rule sheet with the number one rule of "no story-telling"; a requirement that she repeat my instructions to her after I give them... Look out, Annie-Jo!--you're about to be hit with Extreme Flute Teaching!

Thanksgiving
What a great weekend. Jon's parents and little sister stayed over, and Colleen and I did the traditional meal--turkey, gravy, stuffing, cranberries, potato casserole, squash casserole, green beans, sweet potatoes, and three pies. I cleaned the house, avoided shopping madness, and did most of my Christmas decorating (to be completed when we get a tree) on Friday. It was very nice to spend some extra time with Jon and sleep in. He and I went to dinner and a movie on Saturday night, and we talked about baby names for the first time. I think we whittled the choices down to 2 for a girl and 3 or 4 for a boy. We still have plenty of time to decide, of course, but this was the first time I actually pinned him down to talk about it. I think the whole thing (pregnancy, actually having a baby) hasn't really hit him yet. Will it ever? Maybe not until the baby's born. :)

This year, I am very thankful for
- my salvation
- my husband, his leadership in our home, his work ethic, his love for me, his gentleness
- my husband's job
- the miraculous little life growing inside me
- the abundance of food, shelter, clothing, and every necessity God has provided for us
- Scott and Kim and the other close friends God has blessed us with
- our families

ISFJ - "Conservator". Desires to be of service and to minister to individual needs - very loyal. 13.8% of total population.

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Weekend report
For some reason, I got very detailed today about my weekend...

Is it over already? We had a busy weekend. On Friday, we went to Bible study after eating dinner at Taco Bell. I held baby Sam during the study, and he fell asleep--I just love that. Bible study ended around 9:45, and Jon and I went with Neil and Casey to see a 10:10 showing of "National Treasure" with Nicolas Cage. It was entertaining but definitely not DVD-worthy. We didn't get to bed until about 2:00 this night, which is way late for us old married people. On Saturday morning, I got my hair done, and Jon and I went out to a delicious lunch at Marie Callender's after this. We sat in a booth and he sat on the same side as me--I love it when he does that (not too often). Back home, I decided to take a nap on the couch and asked Jon to wake me up at 2:10 so I could get ready to go to a wedding I had agreed to help with (I had to leave at 2:30). I heard Jon calling my name to wake me up, and I looked up at the clock: 2:25. Oh darn! My husband and I just don't share the same understanding of time! I rushed to get ready, grabbed an apple, and headed out the door by 2:35 (and I did make it on time, thankfully). I helped set up the ceremony and hand out corsages, etc., at the wedding, then drove to the reception site and set the whole thing up (centerpieces, candles, favors, table arrangements, seating charts, etc.). Not until much later in the day did I realize that, in my haste to get ready, I had not put on the navy blue dress pants I had thought I did, but instead I'd put on my black dress pants. I was wearing black pants, brown shoes, and a dark blue/white/khaki-striped shirt. I hope no one noticed. After I finished helping with the wedding around 7:30, I stopped by Taco Bell on my way home to an evening of relaxing while Jon was at a bachelor party. I also finished an editing job. On Sunday, we went to church (annual Thanksgiving service) then got a quick lunch, changed, and headed up to Hesperia to have an early Thanksgiving with Jon's dad's side of the family. And get this: it was snowing (in Hesperia)! Saddleback Mountain had the most snow on it I've ever seen. Saturday night brought some very strong winds (broke our fence in the backyard), and Sunday was uncharacteristically cold for California. We made it up to Hesperia just fine, though, and spent several hours with family (some of whom I knew, some I didn't. But a funny thing about this family is that no one ever says hello or introduces each other or introduces themselves if they know they don’t know you... Oh well). We started heading home around 6:30 and felt just exhausted by the time we got home. We didn't have much down time this weekend, so this long weekend coming up is especially enticing.

I heard the heartbeat today! It was at 160 and sounded kind of like water quickly sloshing back and forth. The rest of the doc appointment besides hearing the heartbeat was very routine. The doctor went over my bloodwork with me (everything's normal and good, and I'm not a carrier for cystic fibrosis), and she asked if I had any questions, and that's about it. Next appointment is in 3 weeks.

Several people have commented this week that I'm showing a little bit! They already knew I was pregnant, so they were "looking," but still, that is fun.

I'm cooking a good dinner for Jon and me tonight. I feel like we barely see each other during the week, and when we do, it's for a quick hello before one of us leaves for an obligation (music rehearsal or basketball or flute lessons or whatever) or a late-night dinner eaten in the living room. So tonight, it's meatloaf, potato casserole (two of Jon's favorites), and some veggies, with the last piece of pumpkin pie being saved for my husband (I even bought whipped cream--he is going to love it).

Pregnancy report
I'm now entering the second trimester! At 13 weeks 4 days, I'm feeling pretty good and am not as tired as I was a few weeks ago. My second doctor's appointment is tomorrow, and I expect it will be fairly routine, though I'm hoping/thinking I will get to hear the heartbeat. I have gained roughly 3 pounds, but I already feel like I've gained more. My waistline has definitely expanded, and most of my pants either don't fit or are uncomfortable. My skirts and shirts are all still fitting fine. A few days ago, Jon said I'm showing! That makes me happy. I want to look pregnant, not just tired/bloated/queasy.

If you would like to see my sideview belly pictures, taken so far at 8 weeks, 10 weeks, 12 weeks, and 13 weeks, please e-mail me or ask in the comments section here, and I'll send you the link to the album.

Evangelism: anytime, anywhere?
I went with several coworkers (most of our department, in fact) to a "motivational seminar" yesterday--an all-day snooze-fest with speaker after speaker attempting to get 12,000+ of us motivated by telling funny stories or telling us about how rich they are and that we can be too. After one of the speakers/assistant MCs interviewed Jessica Lynch (it was semi-interesting, but she is obviously not a public speaker), he got up and seemed to be transitioning to the next speaker. But he didn't. Slowly, he segued into the fact that we need something "spiritual" to really motivate us. He didn't use any "God" words at first. He said something like, "You just need to believe in something." I might have misheard that statement, but I do think he said that. Not 5 minutes later, he said that it does matter what you believe. "If I believe with all my heart, with all my faith," he said, "that this TV screen will fly me back to Florida tomorrow, all the faith in the world isn't going to make that happen. But if I have just a bit of faith that the airplane I board will get me home, it will happen." OK, I'm thinking, so what is the airplane? What do you believe? He still didn't say. Eventually, he worked in some "God" words and finally told us "the prayer [he] prayed in [his] heart 27 years ago"--Jesus, come in my heart, fill me up, make me into the person you want me to be (real solid). Then he had his wife come on stage, and they told the story of how they met and decided to get engaged "even though [they] didn't love each other. [They] felt God told them to get married."

While I obviously have some issues with the actual message this guy was giving (it was unclear/vague, inconsistent, and Scripturally inaccurate), I was offended (too strong a word? Maybe taken aback) by the sly, less-than-honest way in which it was offered. At our Friday night Bible study a couple of weeks ago, we talked about a book called Permission Evangelism, which, though I only read excerpts, gets a little too extreme for me but that advocates a less obtrusive, in-your-face, now-you-listen-to-me type of evangelism/witnessing. The author of that book would have definitely been squirming in his seat yesterday. At this motivational seminar for business people, we were given no schedule, no agenda, no list of the order of speakers or topics--no warning about this spiritual talk in the middle of "how to understand the stock market" and "the 40 questions to ask in sales." Then, after slowly easing his way into this very vague spiritual talk given to a very captive (and shocked) audience, the speaker then started using religious jargon ("evangelism," "I asked God to put her face before my eyes") that must have turned many off. If his talk were able to help turn one unbeliever into a believer (I say able because he never really presented the gospel and so if someone prayed his prayer for Jesus to fill him/her up and change his/her life, I don't think that does it; I say help because I know it isn't a person who causes another to believe), perhaps it would be worth it. It seems to me, though, that the talk did harm, putting believers like me into a state of dismayed awe, and turning off unbelievers and giving them another reason on their list that Christians are wacko fanatics ("We got engaged even though we didn't love each other because God told us to") who shove their beliefs down others' throats.

Eats, Shoots & Leaves
This book is hilarious. Nell got it for me for my birthday, and I read the first several pages last night. Author Lynne Truss describes me (and my kind)--sticklers--perfectly. She writes how sticklers have been "weeping friendlessly in caves" waiting for a book about punctuation to be written with a panda on the cover. In the first chapter, about the apostrophe, she writes of her meeting with a member of the (real!) Apostrophe Preservation Society (right now I can't remember if it's the Apostrophe Preservation Society or the Apostrophe Protection Society) and about how she was disappointed that the society doesn't have a militant wing to combat those who create signs like "CD's, MOVIE's, DVD's, and BOOK's" (what about climbing ladders in the middle of the night with apostrophe-shaped stencils and paint?).

I love it!

We had a great evening for Kim’s and my birthday last night. The guys took us to dinner at the Blue Bayou (the nice restaurant inside Pirates of the Caribbean) at Disneyland. We got up to D-land around 6:00 and walked to the restaurant for our 6:20 reservations. Kim ordered salmon, Scott got tri-tip, Jon got pork, and I got prime rib. It was all very good (mental note: order the pork next time--I tasted it and it was delicious). And then we ordered 3 desserts and passed them around--we were stuffed! Since the park closed at 8:00, we had time after dinner to go on one ride, so we went on the haunted mansion. Then we walked around Downtown Disney for a while. We all had a very nice time, and Scott and Kim enjoyed an evening together while Glenn and Kathy watched the kids.

I think this is the first year that we got a present for Kim, AND it’s the first year that they got a present for me--it was really cool how that worked out (I wanted to get something for Kim and didn’t expect they would get something for me, and they thought the same). I got Kim a pair of soft black-and-white-striped gloves and a khaki-colored reversible purse. She wore the gloves last night. And they got me a cute picture frame for a first picture of our baby--it is white and has little block ABC letters around the outside. And they also got me another Old Navy maternity top (my mom has already bought/sent me 3--I love them--and a pair of pants)! This one is really cute--here's a picture. It has a ribbon tie in the back too—made of the same fabric as the sweater.


Jon was such a sweetheart yesterday too… He had flowers sent to me at work (really pretty yellow, red, and maroon-yellow mix roses), and then of course he took me to dinner. When we got back to the car after Disneyland, there was a card on the passenger seat waiting for me, and that was very sweet. He had written personal/specific things next to each couple of lines of text. Then we got home, and after I showed him the gifts from my family that I had opened earlier, he took out the trash. When he came back in, he had gifts for me! I thought he was done with the gifts! He got me a really cute red-, blue-, white- and brown-striped purse (it’s reversible too to navy--in fact, it’s the same purse I got for Kim, just different colors! Jon didn’t even know this), and inside had 4 pairs of cute socks (he has noticed a lot lately how old and hole-y my socks are) and a new umbrella. He’s the best.

I had a wonderful day yesterday, spent with my husband and our friends, and couldn't have asked for a better birthday.

Weekend
We had a rather uneventful weekend, which was fine with me. After eating at Taco Bell (my first pregnancy craving! More later) with Scott and Kim, we went to Bible study on Friday night, and it was very good. Then I went to a bridal shower on Saturday, but out of the 30+ women there, I knew only the bride and one other girl, so that wasn't much fun. That evening, Jon and I went to see "The Incredibles," but it was sold out until 2 hours after the show we wanted to see, so we went to Blockbuster and home instead. We watched "Waiting for Guffman"--it has many of the same actors and is in the same vein as "Best in Show" and "A Mighty Wind." They're improv movies, meaning there was no script, and the actors were just given ideas about who their characters were and what the story line might end up being. "Waiting for Guffman" was the first of those three movies; I liked it, but I liked the other two better. We also rented "About Schmidt" but haven't watched it yet. Then Sunday was our usual wonderful Sunday--a terrific church service (Arch and Carolyn's 20th anniversary of being at the church!), food with friends at the mall, and naps and housework at home in the afternoon before Jon's basketball game.

My first pregnancy craving
I've been craving Taco Bell and Del Taco. On Friday, we went to Taco Bell, and then Jon took me to Del Taco Saturday evening for dinner, and then Sunday after church, we drove through Del Taco before meeting everyone at the mall food court. I think I would like a Mexican pizza at every meal, please.

In other news... my birthday
I turn 24 tomorrow. I haven't been thinking much about it at all, I'm sure mostly because I've been thinking more about being pregnant/having a baby. And anyway, what happens at 24? Nothing! At least at 25, I can rent a car without paying extra (we really felt this one strongly when we went on our honeymoon 2 months before Jon turned 25). What I do know is that I will have my first baby in my 24th year, and that's enough for me. :)

I told my boss yesterday that I'm pregnant (she was excited and I think tried to be chummy by asking me what our "future plans" are re: me coming back to work. I avoided that question), and then today at the end of the department meeting, she introduced a little "announcement" and I told everyone else. That was fun.

I knew, just knew, that coworker Lori would bring up the fact that my being due May 21 means I'll be out during our proposal busy season ("out" as in I'll be returning to work 6 or 8 weeks after the baby's born--no reason to clue them all in today that I won't be returning). Those were the first words out of her mouth in the meeting after everyone else's congratulations quieted down.

After we got back to our desks from the meeting, Lori said something like, “So, it’s so exciting!” and then she said that me being pregnant explains why I’ve been so testy and moody lately. Next, she said, “Because you’ve nearly bitten my head off a bunch of times in the past few weeks!” She says all this with her stupid smiling face and plays it off like she is half-joking but she really isn't.

That made me want to bite her head off now. My patience has just worn thin with her over the past few months--starting well before I got pregnant. However, I held my tongue and did not say anything rude or mad at her comment... I just played along with it like, "Yeah, so now you know why! Yeah, I haven't been feeling good."

Although her comments had me seething, and I'd still prefer not to have to interact with her (ever), they did point out to me that I haven't been acting correctly toward her. I have not "nearly bitten [her] head off," but I am impatient with her. I need to remember that I am the Christian here--and she isn't.

It's hard to deal with people you don't like.

Dreams
10/20 - I dreamt that I was Lorelai from Gilmore Girls. (Well, half the time it seemed I was Lorelai, while the other half I was a third party watching the events.) We were in some sort of old-fashioned, wood tavern or restaurant facing a river. Nothing major happened except that Luke and Lorelai kissed and, apparently, made their love public. I wouldn't have written this one down except that it was the second night in a row I had a dream (the night before was the miss-the-wedding-rehearsal dream).

10/24 - I dreamt first that I had to do some quick shopping at Ross, and two of my coworkers from my real work apparently also worked there. Debbie helped me find what I needed, and Lori kept bragging about how she had brought up the idea to get the store the automatic diaper cutter so that the employees no longer had to cut the leg holes in each diaper with scissors. Then the dream switched to me being in a big grocery store with Kim. We kept finding cool items and putting them in our cart, but I couldn't find peanut butter anywhere. We found Jif barbecue sauce. Kim found a different brand of peanut butter, but I specifically wanted Jif so I didn't take what she found. That's all I remember.

11/2 - This dream is a little more difficult to describe, because it was all over the place. I started off sitting in the living room with a mother and daughter I met the evening of 11/2 for a flute lesson consultation [they're very nice and I will start teaching the daughter lessons starting 11/16]. But that scene quickly changed to a restaurant and dinner party that included my dad. A demanding bride came in and started ordering me around, including telling me to go get her dancing clothes. Apparently, I was the reception coordinator. I ran through the restaurant and into a large lobby (of a hotel), with several children following me. We ran through lobbies and stairwells, passing some NBA players (mostly retired ones) posing for a picture along the way. I never did make it to wherever I needed to go to get the dancing clothes...

Election results
Excellent results this morning! I was able to stay up until they gave Bush 269 electoral votes around 12:15 or 12:30, but then I fell asleep. Jon was out of town last night (in Sacramento for one day), so he wasn’t there to keep me up. But I woke up this morning, and he still had 269! Looks like Kerry has made his concession call and will make a speech at 1:00 today. Woo hooooooooooo!

Some of the California propositions we didn’t want to pass did end up passing (of course), including the one providing $3 billion for stem cell research (the worst) and the one taxing 1% of all income over $1,000,000 for hospitals (darn, looks like I will have to turn down that $980,000 raise I was offered here at work). However, the one forcing companies to provide healthcare coverage for employees did not pass (good), and the one lessening the strength of the 3 strikes law also did not pass (good).

David Dreier, the congressman John and Ken (radio hosts) were trying to get out of office, still won his district at about 54%.

This was/is so exciting!

In other news...
I’m thinking about when to tell work I’m pregnant. I feel like I’m showing a little bit! But I don’t know. I wanted to wait until at least 12 weeks to tell, and I’ll be 12 weeks on Friday/Saturday. We have a departmental meeting tomorrow (but I would tell my boss before then and have her segue into any sort of announcement). What do you think--comments?

Election day
I voted this morning before work. Jon seems confident that our presidential candidate is going to win, but I'm not so sure! My presidential vote doesn't mean much in the state of California anyway, but I also felt it was very important to vote on the many propositions on this election's ballot, including ones on stem cell research, forcing companies to pay for employees’ healthcare (can you say, "Drive companies out of California"?), and lessening the strength of the 3 strikes law. I think there were 14 or 15 propositions, and I voted no on most, except for about 3 that had no fiscal impact. The only prop I voted yes on that will cost some money is on DNA testing for all convicted felons.

Also, I will be looking forward to seeing what happens with a little “controversy” ("Political Human Sacrifice") being stirred up by AM 640 talk radio hosts John and Ken--they’ve been trying to get Congressman David Dreier out of office because, even though he’s a Republican, he has a horrible voting record on illegal immigration. Dreier's district is very Republican, so it will be interesting to see if anything comes of that.

How deep the Father's love for us
How deep the Father's love for us
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure

How great the pain of searing loss
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the Chosen One
Bring many sons to glory

Behold, the man upon a cross
My sin upon His shoulders
Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice
Call out among the scoffers

It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished

I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection

Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom

But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom
-Stuart Townend