Mormon Helping Hands....Manual Labor La Jolla Style

So, yesterday was the State of CA Mormon Helping Hands day. Each ward was assigned a park to clear out. My ward, the La Jolla Singles ward went to town on our project, which was the removal of Arundo (bamboo like plant) from a creek bed. It had choked up the creek and there was trash and yucky stuff stuck in a forest of this stuff. Our mission: to remove the plants, leaving a 6-12 inch high stalk, which will be chemically killed later. Operation helping hands is a go!



and some pics of the event:

in the arundo forest


the size, this was just one end of the forest, we actually went down the path to the other end and worked from there to be closer to the dumpster.


the work crew

what will the mail deliver today?

Today, I went to pick up the mail downstairs in the basement of our building, like I normally do everyday. Over the last few days, there have been different mail persons there to help me. Yesterday, was a new guy who wanted to see my ID so he'd be sure he was giving the mail to the clerks office. Not a bad idea but the other guys know who I am and we don't have to go through this procedure.

Today, the mailman was a very LARGE man. It was a sight. He was late first of all, but then his shirt was only buttoned halfway up, not what I wanted to see today. Next, I sign for the certified mail and he says, "L Christensen, you don't live over in North Park do you? I deliver mail in that area to an L Christensen." Luckily, I could truthfully say, nope I don't live in that area. And, sorry Mr. McCreepy, but why would I confirm where I live to a US postman who can't seem to fully dress himself?

The last fun event was going through the mail we received today. I found a letter that actually had been misdirected to the Clerks office, should have gone to IRS. But the sender put his address on the back of the envelope as, "I live under the bridge in La Jolla, near Genessee." It was sad to see that, but of course then I wondered how this mail would get back to the gentleman, if it had been misdirected. Maybe I should have asked the postman in the mail room what he would have done in that situation and had a good long conversation about where everyone in San Diego lives.

A whole lot of shaking goin' on!

So yesterday about a 1/2 hour after general conference, I guess nature decided to pipe in with it's own power:) A pretty good sized earthquake struck about 120 miles away from San Diego in Mexico. Luckily, here in SD all we really experiences was about 30 seconds of shaking and rolling. It was actually more like rolling, like being on a boat going over waves. It was a weird sensation. In any case, we are fine here. I came into work this morning and our lights were out, apparently the earthquake had shaken connections loose in the whole federal building, our elevators were down and out for the count and our courthouse annex in El Centro, about 30 miles from the epicenter was damaged so court from out there moves here today. Good times.

I have to say, after watching conference this weekend, I did come away with a greater sense that I need to DO more. So if the feeling wasn't enough, the earthquake was a jolt to do. I am purchasing more food storage and water this week. I have my 72 hour kit in my car and will rotate that food out this week too. I am going to purchase water for my car. Maybe it's a little extreme, but after watching my bosses and others in the federal court go into emergency mode to make sure our El Centro folks are okay and that the normal processes can go on, I am impressed by their calm and quick manner to DO something. So I will follow, don't need to shake me twice!

The new niece!!

I needed to post about my new niece!! I haven't seen her yet but plan to! Here she is. Her name is Sydney Olivia Keogan. Looks so cute!

The balancing act called "Life"

>These last few weeks have been a growing experience and not always in the most comfortable way. Work, church, friends, family and personal time have all collided to become a votex of spinning choices and priorities. Where do I put the greatest priority, my most time, my most attention. I'm sometimes not so sure what to do and I know I've missed out on choosing "the better part" in some decisions. I'm not sure how to fix it and if I ever will be able to totally balance out everything that goes on in life.


I've also learned that communication is, really, the most important trait, in ANY relationship. Between friends, between coworkers, between family. What does communication mean? It includes expressing your own opinions as well as LISTENING to the others opinions. It included understanding where the other person is coming from and trying to find out what they really mean by listening. It included expressing your own opinion back by using what you have learned from listening to them. It's a pretty important trait. And most people don't have a talent for it. I'm not saying I'm one of those who do. I have certainly figured out that I don't always understand what others mean. It's a hard thing to develop and it's been stretching me. It's late and that's been my life lately. All I know is, I'm tired at the end of the day!

Sweet Dreams...one option

There seems to be a craze going around the country... from Nashville to San Diego. A few friends and I want to jump on the cupcake craze wagon. Yes, we want to be one of those crazy bakers. So in order to get this idea going, we are testing cupcake recipes out on folks to find the best ones-best flavor, best texture, best frosting, etc. Tonight, I made the strawberry shortcake cupcakes. I think they look nice. I will be taking them to work tomorrow to be tested by multiple subjects(I love the built in system:). It's my first attempt and making a "pretty" cupcake, so they still require some work. But maybe in the next year, you won't be hearing about "GiGi's" anymore (though still really good), you'll hear about an as-yet-unnamed bakery here in San Diego. We hope to get some great recipes finalized, along with a name, and start hitting up the Farmer's Market circuit down here to see if we can sell anything.

So, if you can think of a greatly creative name, that is most appreciated:) We have a list of some we like, but we're looking for something that would just roll off the tongue or at least sound tasty enough that you HAVE to go there to partake of the tasty confections!

Frosted cupcakes


with added strawberry goodness

She's here!!

My sister had her baby! Niece Number 2 arrived tonight, looks like she has a Christensen trait, lots of hair! Congrats to B & G!