Redacted Statement

How many times have you seen the moon and thought: how lovely. Right? How many times have you seen the moon and thought: that's a waxing gibbous, it rose at about 3 pm?

. . . You don't think that?

Well, I do and I guess I shouldn't have to apologize on my own blog for being a nerd.

When I see the moon I'm sometimes a little O.C.D. about identifying the phase it's in and thinking about what time it rose and when it will set. Yes, it's embarrassing but I really am just that nerdy.

*Alert* *Alert* *Alert*

This blog is about to get even nerdier. Nerdier that it has EVER been. Ever.

My sister's husband was watching Star Wars last night. As I wandered into the room and looked at the screen I saw this scene.

Being a nerd who loves moon phases. (As previously discussed). I quickly saw a problem. This is a sunset. The moon on the right of the screen is clearly a waning crescent.

I stood there thinking for a moment and said to my brother in law: That planet and its moon must rotate in the opposite direction of earth.

Quick refresher on moon phases: A moon like that would only be visible in the early predawn, rising a few hours before the sun and then disappearing as the sun gets brighter and brighter. By the time the sun set the moon would have set several hours before.

I walked out of the room thinking this was just one more reason that no one should ever watch those new Star Wars movies.

Just to reassure as well as recap:

Reasons to watch the original Star Wars

1. Han Solo

2. Princess Leia

3. Chewbacca

Reasons to watch the new Star Wars

1. Ewan McGregor

2. no other reason exists

So as I was driving home from their house I started thinking about what that would mean for Earth if she were to rotate in the opposite direction. What that would do to the coriolis effect and ocean currents. How the western side of continents, instead of the eastern side, would be

greener. The sun would travel across the sky in the opposite direction and the moon would wax from left to right.

It was a very satisfying thought process and dialog inside my head. Then my thoughts wandered to the southern hemisphere and I began thinking how the sun would travel across the sky from left to right (as it is normally observed in the North) instead of from right to left as it does now. When it struck me that I had overlooked the most obvious explanation of the movie scene. Coruscant rotates in the same direction as Earth but Obi-wan Kenobi and Qui-gon Jinn were in the southern hemisphere. Duh.

You'd think someone who lived in New Zealand for a year wouldn't suffer so acutely from hemisphere prejudice. I still suffer from an acute case of don't-watch-the-new-star-wars but I can't cite that they got the wrong moon phase as evidence to support my argument anymore.

Good thing the internet was quickly able to confirm my realization that I am not as smart as I think I am. *sigh*

Taken from this website.
From the southern hemisphere the moon looks like this:

Instead of like this:

In other news this little beauty has been hanging in my room all week, delighting me to no end:

A lovely Christmas present from my friend Jen. Get your own from here.

Merry Christmas from Middle Earth

I'm so excited for this movie!

Christmas!

I don't know when I've been as excited for Christmas as I am this year. Maybe it's because I started listening to Christmas music the weekend of Thanksgiving and never stopped. But I bought my first tree ever and decorated it. It's a sad, sorry little tree that doesn't stand up straight because I bought a tree stand for a much bigger tree. But I cut it down MYSELF. With my very own little muscles. With a saw. By myself. I know, very impressive.

I only had three ornaments, so I bought a bunch of chocolate Santas and tied them on. It's festive and has a future promise of delicious snacks on clean-up Christmas day. There are enough lights for air traffic control on the top and none on the bottom 1/3 because I didn't plan very well. But I keep resisting the urge to fix it because it cracks me up.

Also the star on top is a mirror ball because stars are spherical.

My tree reminds me of myself: cheerful, hopeful, and just glad to be along for the ride.

Also, this:

May your days be merry and bright and your nights silent and holy.

It's Easy Being Mean

Ok, so here's how it went down. I brought some liquid nitrogen to school. And right now I know the 8th grader in your soul is jumping up and down with excitement and interrupting me already so let's pause the story right now and answer the questions:

1. Yes, you can buy liquid nitrogen.

2. I don't know if they sell it to kids, you might have to take your parents and convince them to buy it for you.

3. It's free if you have connections, you just give them a $600 deposit for the container and they give you your money back when you bring it back.

4. No, liquid nitrogen is not radioactive. It's just nitrogen, but really, really cold. That's why it's liquid.

5. I know, right?! This is going to be so cool.

6. Ok kids, put on your safety goggles.

I started by pouring some liquid nitrogen into a styrofoam container and put a balloon in it. It deflated immediately but when I pulled it out with tongs it inflated right back up. It was pretty cool.

Then I tossed some mini marshmallows in and after pulling them out with the tongs, I crushed them up with a hammer. Everyone was delighted by this. Then I popped one in my mouth and when I opened my mouth "smoke" came billowing out. Everyone had to try this, so that took a few minutes. I could have ended it right there and been the best science teacher ever. But I had a few tricks up my sleeve; up my glove actually. Literally. Seriously.

I had a hot dog stuffed into the thumb spot of my glove. As I was setting up the next demo I let my “thumb” drop into the liquid nitrogen; it starting fizzy and bubbling and boiling away and freezing the hot dog solid. I made a few comments about how cold it was. “Oh wow, I can’t even feel my thumb anymore, it’s completely numb!”

So I pulled it out of the Nitrogen and set my hand on the counter. Then I picked up the hammer and sort of pushed it against my thumb and continued to exclaim that I couldn’t feel anything at all. Then I raised that hammer up into the air and smashed it down on the “thumb” and all heck broke loose. The glove and bits of frozen hot dog exploded into the air and rained down out onto the counter and floor around it. Before I even smashed it down though I was laughing and smiling and as it was smashing I was already saying things like it’s just a joke, it’s not real. I think only about 10 of the kids thought it was real and only for about 2 seconds. But it was AWESOME. Also, super mean.

I quickly won them over when I pulled a carton of ice cream mix onto the counter and made chocolate ice cream. I certainly wouldn’t say every day of science is this exciting but we have a good time in there.

Here's a pic of me mixing the ice cream with a flat butter knife, I tried to use a spoon but it didn't really work because the top froze solid when I poured the liquid nitrogen into the ice cream. I was using the knife to poke holes into the ice to get down into the liquid ice cream below. It took a second dose of nitrogen and a lot of stirring but it tasted great. Very smooth and creamy.

Fan Car

Although I enjoy being a teacher, I dislike going to teacher development trainings. Usually I am bored and keep thinking of all the other things I need to be doing in my classroom. Or in my life. Or just trying to stay awake enough to not annoy the presenter.

Last Friday I went to a science teacher training and was not as bored as usual. They gave us science equipment to play with, which dramatically increased my interest level. They had good snacks which dramatically decreased my grumpiness level.

Here is a fan car we were instructed to make:

But I made this:

Faster. Smarter. Better.

The fan on the left side had a slightly stronger battery or perhaps a faster motor than the other side so the car had a slight rightward veering motion when it was fully operational and cruising around the hallway.

I’m not going to lie to you, the rest of the training was pretty typical and uneventful, but this one bright spot made the other 7 hours not quite as tedious. Go Science!!!

A Perfect Smile Every Time

Favorite part? Seconds 35 through 41. I have a crush on Beaker.

Saturday Morning Cartoon

I was just thinking about how I wanted to reread the tripod books. This cartoon kind of delighted me.

This is not a cooking blog...

...but I have to write about these cupcakes I made yesterday.

Some of my sibs and I planned this awesome surprise party for our parents to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary. A dessert party. The best kind of party.

I was supposed to bring cupcakes. So I bought the foil cupcake liners and Hersey kisses (foil wrapped) all to complement the theme of a Silver Anniversary. My thought was chocolate ganche frosting with a Hersey kiss on top (still wrapped, so be careful). But I thought a white buttercream with the silver liners would be prettier. Seriously. I actually had this conversation with myself in my brain. What to do??

I made the cake part of the cupcakes and stressed about this agonizing decision while getting ready for church. Ganache is the clear winner in the taste department; buttercream the frontrunner on elegance. But without some kind of serious boost, buttercream was never ever going to take the cake. Elegance or taste? Which one should be compromised?

I COULD NOT DECIDE.

Then it struck me: Coconut. This is the answer.

I decided that I could smash coconut on the top of the buttercream covered cupcake and it would be awesome.

YAY, BUTTERCREAM WINS!

It would be like a hostess snoball. And who doesn't love the coco/choco combo? My parents would both love it. I knew this was going to be a hit with them and I felt like the best daughter ever.

So I whipped up the buttercream. But it just tasted blah. I don’t have any vanilla, didn’t want to use almond extract and knew that coconut flavor in the buttercream was the only thing I wanted. But alas, I did not have any.

As I stood in front of the mixer staring down into that bowl of lost dreams and dashed hopes the heavens parted, and an idea so amazing, so wonderful, and so perfect that it can only have been whispered from a more celestial sphere floated down and struck my grateful heart.

i …c …e ...c …r …e …a …m

I had a half eaten pint of coconut ice cream in my freezer. Totally normal.
I melted in and mixed it into the frosting. Not as normal.

YAY, IT TASTED AWESOME!

The cupcakes were perfect. They were elegant and beautiful. My parents loved them and they rivaled ganache in the flavor department.

The moral of the story is this: always have ice cream on hand. It is the often overlooked pantry essential.

My parents are pretty amazing; they deserved amazing cupcakes.

Mom and Day,
Congratulations on 25 years of happiness.
Wishing you many, many more.
Love, me.

Grrrrr

Dear Mrs. Teacher,
I am sorry for punching [boy2] in class. I know it got u very angry and I won't do it again. What I should have been doing is sitting paitiently.
[boy1]

* What he should have been doing is getting his lab equipment, not wandering about that classroom punching [boy2] for fun. sigh. I was very angry.

Dear Ms. Teacher,
I am sorry for lightly punching [boy1] in the arm. I now understand that any form of horseplay is unacceptable. I will never do it again.
Sincerely, [boy2]

*"lightly"? Does this sound like an apology to anyone or an excuse?

And it's at least within the realm of possibility that at some time, some place someone would have mentioned "don't goof off” to him before. He is writing this as an epiphany that was serendipitously explained to him for the first time. Ever.

---

In addition to this little bit of rascality that sent two students to the hallway for 20 mins, a girl blew a burning candle that was attached to a note card across her desk and into the head of another girl.

8 graders + fire = grumpy Ms. Teacher

good news: no one had to stop, drop, and roll.

I need some chocolate.

Peaches. LOOKOUT!

The production:

The product:

The punk rock version:

Star Gazing

Last summer my roommate and I drove 1,210 miles to watch the Perseids meteor shower. It's true that you could watch it any place on Earth but we wanted to go where there was no interference from moisture, air or light sources. We drove to Great Basin National Park and watched the show from Wheeler Peak at 9,886 feet.

It was unbelievable.

We saw over a hundred meteors in a little over an hour.

This year the moon was full and ruined any chance of real excitement. Those meteors were out there and they were igniting oxygen in the atmosphere but who's going to notice with the moon stealing the show? Other than an astronaut taking pictures from above?!

So cool. Picture taken from here.

But luckily my life is full of fellow lovers of science and one of my friends invited me to watch the Delta Aquarid meteor shower which peaks on the same night that the Perseids are just begining to ramp up, sans the moonlight getting in the way, making a double combo event. We headed out to Snoqualmie Pass in the SUPER early hours of Saturday July 30th and watched the shower from 1 to 3 a.m.

We forgot to count but we saw more than 30 an hour.

We got back to Seattle around 4 and headed straight to Beth's Cafe because we were starving. My english muffin had easily 1/4 cup of butter melting out of it leaving behind this dangerously delicious puddle of butter for my hashbrowns to soak up.

Last week I went to Girls Camp (!) and they let me teach a star gazing mini lesson to the campers. We had fun laying on our backs staring into the sky and soaking in the beauty above us. Of course the moon was approaching it's fullest phase (waxing gibbous for those of you who know a thing or two about the moon) so we didn't see much; and for half of the time there were large clouds obstructing our view. But we did see two amazingly bright meteors which is always a delightful surprise.

Star gazing is one of those experiences where every human eye and heart can feel the awe and amazement that, to me, testifies of a Creator.

Charlotte Brontë expressed it well when she wrote, "We know that God is everywhere; but certainly we feel His presence most when His works are on the grandest scale spread before us; and it is in the unclouded night-sky, where His worlds wheel their silent course, that we read clearest His infinitude, His omnipotence, His omnipresence."

The following is a video I came across that captured both my attention and the essence of what I think Charlotte Brontë is saying. Certainly, if nothing else, it echos my own heart.

Blastoff!

. . . for the last time.

Atlantis final launch.

7-8-11

Drill, baby, drill!

Last night I went to Home Depot with one of my roommates. Yeah, it was friday night at 10 p.m.. Don't judge. This time we weren't both wearing high heels so we didn't get anywhere near the same attention as last time.

So we were walking around, and we discovered a board covered with screws and a line of power drills waiting to be tested! Awesome. Just awesome.

Also, for any of the dudes out there looking for a handy girl: my roommate knows quite a thing or two about power drills. She was explaining about torque adjustment of hammer drills, which settings worked best for different drills, which brands were best. One drill that was making all this noise and flying off the screw--she switched some buttons and dials, and voila! perfection.

Where are the Donuts?

Yesterday morning I left Seattle with the commuters, but not to go to work (yippee!). I came to visit my sisters and their 9 (almost 10) kids. I showed up and was greeted with enthusiasm.

"Aunt Karen's here!"

"She is?!"

"Yay!"

"Where are the donuts?"

Uh?

So I looked into their shining expectant faces and said, "Oh, I stopped here first so I could find out which ones you wanted".

Correct answer.

"YAAAAAYYY!"

My Dad is Rad

Some things you should know about my dad:

• He has a gentle soul and loves people easily
• He is dorky on the coolest level but gets uber geeky about gadgets: cooking or computer
• His cheerful temperament and ready sense of humor has been a blessing in my life

Cool things I loved about my childhood with my dad:

• Pancakes on Saturday morning. He made them from wheat that he'd grind up for the occasion. I still remember being woken up on Saturdays from the insanely loud noise of the wheat grinder. That is the best sound to wake up to. I remember him pouring batter in the shape of a K sometimes too. That's a tricky letter to turn into a pancake. So delicious.
• The wheat grinder played an important role in my childhood memories with my dad apparently because when I think of the pancake breakfasts I also remember his homemade bread with a lot of fondness too. He used to make little fried scones with some of the bread dough. I remember my first Puyallup Fair scone as a severely disappointing experience because I was expecting my dad's scones.
• Being pushed REALLY high on swings.
• Advice he gave me when I was 12 about how to recover faster from a surgery so I could be released from the hospital. Something like: "You can decide if you want to stay here and feel sorry for yourself or stop moaning and go home. Bravery is a choice." I still remember it anytime I feel myself starting to freak out about blood and doctors. I try to think--how would my dad want me to handle this?
• Discussions about science and eternity. Deep stuff.
• Teaching me how to play checkers.
• Loving me even when I was 17 and knew way more than him. Thanks Dad.

Things I learned from my dad

• Perpetual motion is impossible.
• You can change your own oil, but it's easier to let someone else. Just be sure you change it!
• Being nice to people is a pretty awesome way to live your life.
• If you take care of your Teflon pan, it will take care of you. Never put it in the dishwasher. EVER.
• Loving your family is a full time job. It involves sacrifice, tenderness, consideration, compassion, and loyalty. But we're all so glad he is so good at it.

I don't understand how I got so lucky in the parent department but I am grateful that I did.

Happy Father's Day to the

best

dad

in

the

world!

Thank you so much Dad.

Freaks of Nature

I got attacked by a swarm of Aphids as I ran into a branch on the way to my car this morning. Attacked might be a bit of hyperbole, but whatever. I've always been fond of these bright green little bugs. I had to brush myself off before getting into my car though, because my affection does not nullify my repulsion at having 25 or so bugs riding with me to work.

I used to call them Algebra bugs because they always seemed attracted to the bright white paper of my Algebra text book as I did my homework on the lawn of my high school. I guess since I was fond of Algebra, I became fond of them.

But let me reassure you, they are truly strange little weirdoes. I don’t know what, if anything, you know about Aphid reproduction cycles, so welcome to science class.

Sometimes during the seasonal life cycle of Aphids they reproduce parthenogenetically; instead of laying eggs they give birth to a tiny little clone of themselves. This means that most of the time the population is entirely female.

Weird?! I know, right?

It totally gets better. Sometimes a little baby aphid clone will already be growing its own little aphid clone BEFORE IT’S BORN! Thus, the mother could be giving birth to both its daughter and granddaughter at the same time!

Hope you can keep your breakfast down while reading this.

You’re welcome.

If you, like me, have an opposite reaction to all this fascinating science you might consider reading the following:

Herding Aphids: How 'Farmer' Ants Keep Control Of Their Food
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071009212548.htm

The Aphid Life Cycle
http://www.backyardnature.net/aphid_lc.htm

Wikipedia article on Aphids
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aphid

HOMEWORK: Write a 5 sentence paragraph describing why you love summer vacation and what you are planning to do. Extra credit if you include learning something cool about your favorite freaky animal.

Last day of school countdown: 9 school days!!

I heart Summer

Summer!!! It's almost here. After this weekend I'm ready to gather it in with open arms.

Additional news: I have eaten three pieces of cake so far today and feel a little sick and chubby. Ugh. The first slice I ate for breakfast. I made a cake last night; funfetti with buttercream frosting---the frosting was sensational. Butter, sugar, lemon curd and love. With sprinkles on top.

Then at work today we were somehow celebrating National Bosses Week (I guess that's a thing?) so I had a slice because I had already eaten the piece I brought from home for breakfast so I was out of cake. The frosting on this cake was not as nice. It has that weird bitter aftertaste of overly processed food. I guess everyone else has a better sense of self preservation because most of it is still sitting uneaten in the staff lounge where I just was, slicing off another little chunk . . .

So that brings the total to 3!

P.S. I may or may not have eaten a brownie before I left my house . . .

Baked goods are my nemesis.

Boyfriend Rumors

One of my students was humming Eye of the Tiger. I told this kid that that same song had been stuck in my head since Saturday when some friends of mine had been playing it on Rock Band. Of course this put the whole class into an excited state. You could almost see their electrons jumping into higher energy bands. "You play VIDEO GAMES?!" "Who were you playing with?" "Do you have a cat?"
Not sure where that last question came from...

Earlier in the class period one of the kids showed me how someone defaced the Algebra Book and had drawn a goatee on one of the authors. This particular author, Dr. Burger, has recorded several short videos for each section of the book which we sometimes refer to when I want to walk around helping kids but want everyone to keep learning. Because learning is awesome!
In response to the goatee I said, "Oh no, not our beloved Dr. Burger"!

So . . .

Here's the latest rumor: Dr. Burger, who is my boyfriend, and I play rock band on the weekends when we aren't doing math.

. . .

Seriously, I can't think of a better way to spend the weekend.

Happy Mother's Day

Often in this life we get something different than what we thought. No one mislead us. Things are just different. I sat in all the same Mia Maid lessons and Laurel classes as everyone else. I went to all the same early morning seminaries and firesides. I believed at 15, and still at 25, that 35 year old Karen would be the proud (and tired) mother of a little family of babies. Not so.

Little Karen was equally shocked when her world crashed into a mess of confusion at her mother's death.

Some might say I got the short end of the stick. Maybe a stick with two short ends.

I can't help but disagree.

We'll call it the bran muffin/cupcake analogy.

Before each of us the Lord holds an amazing cupcake (mine is chocolate, yours is whatever) and do we walk away from it? Do we say no thanks, I'll have that bran muffin instead? This analogy might not work for you, you might be crazy and like bran muffins more than cupcakes. So come up with your own analogy.

My point is this---in MiaMaids when they taught us to prepare to be mothers, no one ever talked about being an Aunt. No one ever explained that the relationship with my siblings children would be the joy of my life. No one ever told you you would weep like your heart had broken in half at the death of Sweet Monique or the surge of pride you'd feel when Brielle won the Science Fair. I don't think anyone anticipated the pure joy that comes from Callie singing along to the Black Keys or holding Will for a couple of hours in the middle of the night so his mom can sleep for 1 solid hour. Was Harry Potter ever as much fun as when Tyler called me after reading the 6th book so we could discuss it and try to figure out where those missing horcruxes were? Does anything warm your heart as much as wandering into Megan's room and seeing a framed picture of yourself on her dresser? I could relate countless stories of love, joy and pride; all involving my favorite little people on this planet.

How is it that I'm surprised by this? Didn't I know at an early age that love between a parent and child can exist where no such biological bond does? My own Aunt loved me like a daughter (maybe a sister?) either way, I have a huge pile of letters that sustained me through the hardest times in adolescence. My step-mom has always been my fiercest and most loyal supporter. Her love, compassion and wisdom knows no bounds and has no end. I cannot even begin to explain how her example has blessed my life and created in me the woman I have become.

Sherri L. Dew, a leader of the Relief Society shared these thoughts at a General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in October 2001:

"Have you ever wondered why prophets have taught the doctrine of motherhood—and it is doctrine—again and again? I have. I have thought long and hard about the work of women of God. And I have wrestled with what the doctrine of motherhood means for all of us. This issue has driven me to my knees, to the scriptures, and to the temple—all of which teach an ennobling doctrine regarding our most crucial role as women. It is a doctrine about which we must be clear if we hope to stand “steadfast and immovable” regarding the issues that swirl around our gender. For Satan has declared war on motherhood. He knows that those who rock the cradle can rock his earthly empire. And he knows that without righteous mothers loving and leading the next generation, the kingdom of God will fail.

When we understand the magnitude of motherhood, it becomes clear why prophets have been so protective of woman’s most sacred role. While we tend to equate motherhood solely with maternity, in the Lord’s language, the word mother has layers of meaning. Of all the words they could have chosen to define her role and her essence, both God the Father and Adam called Eve “the mother of all living” —and they did sobefore she ever bore a child. Like Eve, our motherhood began before we were born. Just as worthy men were foreordained to hold the priesthood in mortality, righteous women were endowed premortally with the privilege of motherhood. Motherhood is more than bearing children, though it is certainly that. It is the essence of who we are as women. It defines our very identity, our divine stature and nature, and the unique traits our Father gave us.

President Gordon B. Hinckley stated that “God planted within women something divine.” That something is the gift and the gifts of motherhood. Elder Matthew Cowley taught that “men have to have something given to them [in mortality] to make them saviors of men, but not mothers, not women. [They] are born with an inherent right, an inherent authority, to be the saviors of human souls … and the regenerating force in the lives of God’s children.”

Motherhood is not what was left over after our Father blessed His sons with priesthood ordination. It was the most ennobling endowment He could give His daughters, a sacred trust that gave women an unparalleled role in helping His children keep their second estate. As President J. Reuben Clark Jr. declared, motherhood is “as divinely called, as eternally important in its place as the Priesthood itself.”

Nevertheless, the subject of motherhood is a very tender one, for it evokes some of our greatest joys and heartaches. This has been so from the beginning. Eve was “glad” after the Fall, realizing she otherwise “never should have had seed.” And yet, imagine her anguish over Cain and Abel. Some mothers experience pain because of the children they have borne; others feel pain because they do not bear children here. About this Elder John A. Widtsoe was explicit: “Women who through no fault of their own cannot exercise the gift of motherhood directly, may do so vicariously.” Click here to read the whole article.

Mother's Day is the day we celebrate the women who have nurtured us. It is the day we rejoice that we have a loving Father in Heaven who sent us these angels. It is the day we give thanks for the love that sustains us in this life when we are parted from Him. I raise my voice in praise to His infinite benevolence and say a grateful prayer for the cupcake I never even knew was an option. It is delicious.

Mother's Day Cacure studio from Paparalla on Vimeo.

Escalator Escapade

I went to Target last night to get some pens so I could grade Algebra tests. Which are, by the way, sitting here next to me still not graded. First I checked out the chocolate and cold cereal isles. And let me assure you that if health and good nutrition could be maintained consisting on a diet solely of these two favorite food groups I would never eat another piece of lettuce in my life.

Eventually I realized that I needed to get down to business and find some pens so I hopped on the escalator heading downstairs. As I'm riding it down I see the pen isle above me on the floor I was just on so I turn around and try to run back up the escalator. And, wow, that was hard. This escalator was moving like it meant business and I was sprinting in place. At some point it occurred to me that if I didn't make it to the top I was going to look foolish (more than I already did) so I gave it everything I had and overcame that speedy staircase of DOOM.

There's this weird sensation that happens to your legs when you're running backwards up an escalator and you finally get to the top that manifests itself as a very pronounced stumble.

I caught myself, balanced my traitorous legs, turned to the watching couple and declared victory. They politely acknowledged the crazy person that was clogging the escalator and I bought some pens.

Happy New Year

It's interesting that at this time of year many of us are thoughtful about who we are and what our goals are for the next year.
2010 is over, 2011 is here.
And to celebrate we greet eachother with a blessing. I kind of love that.

May 2011 be truly happy.