Jacked up!

So my purse got stolen this week. I went to my gym (which is actually in the richer area of Long Beach) around 9:30am Tuesday morning and left my purse in the trunk as usual. I came back at 10:30am to realize that my trunk was now empty and the driver's side door was unlocked. I specifically remember locking it. I was also using Mom's car which is much easier to break into.

I'm actually fine - I canceled my debit card, copied new keys and asked everyone I could for their information. Mom was being somewhat overprotective by telling me to completely cancel my debit and start fresh. I know she does it out of love and I appreciate her telling me the truth but it can be annoying - but sometimes moms can be like that and you still love them.

Tonight I went to Sephora with some of my friends. It reminded me of Mel because I know she loves that store. Overall, its been a good week.

The In-Between Times

Lately, I've been thinking about my family and how much I miss them. I miss not knowing what's going on in their lives. Although I LOVE the occasional phone call when things are pretty rough or some big event, I wanted to find a way to still be connected to them during the in-between times. And since everyone's lives are so hectic or people live far away (Kuya), I decided to start my own blog. (I was definitely inspired by my cousins, Ate and friends who have one).

Let me know how you're doing too. I'd love to hear it all.

So where can I begin?

Long Beach (my new home) -

Although I love Long Beach, it was a hard transition from Gardena. Moving out was literally another grieving process that Mom and I went through. In many ways, it did feel like losing Grandma again. But now that its been about 8 months, Long Beach is starting to feel like home. If I had a camera, I'd show you pictures of the apartment. Its a cute 1 bedroom - everything is brand new. Mom sleeps in the room while I'm in the living room. We have an OVEN! :) I've also been trying to make an effort to show Mom around Long Beach more. There's this cute mom and pop restaurant called Bake and Broil that I took her for breakfast. I gave her a tour of 2nd Street and showed her around the Pike. Next stop will probably be Shoreline. Because I live downtown, I literally live in the city and its so different from Gardena. People actually walk here (not just to jog around but to actually go places - haha) and parking is ridiculous sometimes. But I'm excited to be a Long Beachean. I really feel like God has placed us here for a reason. This is where we're suppose to be.

School -
This is my first semester in Long Beach City College. Its actually the first college Mom went to in the US. There are two campuses, one on PCH (this one's closer to where we live) and the other near Lakewood. I scheduled my classes to be at the PCC campus. So far, its been good. I'm taking Political Science, Cultural Geography, Speech and Early American History. I decided to not take any Childhood Ed classes because I registered so late. My Political Science has been interesting because of the election. I'm fascinated by my Cultural Geography class because I love cross culturalism - possibly something I would want to get into.

Church -
Well, as most of you know I work at my church. I work as a secretary/event planner/whatever needs to be done. I was the music director for a wedding once. (Its nothing fancy. I just like calling myself that. haha) Working there has been really fun. Not only do I enjoy working here but my relationships with others in the office has grown. Its been very encouraging. Its also stretched me - I hate talking to strangers on the phone or even leaving messages. Slowly but surely, I'm building my confidence in this area. Another transition is our church was just approved to be an Angel Food ministries distributor. Basically, you can order A LOT of groceries for VERY cheap and its all high quality stuff. Its open to anyone. You just have to place your order and pick it up during the distribution day. If you wanna check it out: www.angelfoodministries.com. I'm responsible for the administration area of AFM. I was anxious at first about it because I felt like I didn't know what I was doing, but it worked out.

In the past, I've been pretty involved in the Children's Ministry at my church - basically teaching Sunday School and making and directing plays for the holidays (kinda like what I did in Kids Club with the cousins). I'm part of a team called Mobilizers, who organize, plan and encourage those who want to involved in any activity/event at church. As a Mobilizer, I was assigned to encourage and support those in Children's Ministry. But after a LOT of prayer, I realized my heart is not in it as much as it used to be. I felt called to be more involved in the Women's Ministry. My small group (a group of six or less girls who meet to support and encourage each other in our relationships with God) and I hosted a camping retreat this past Labor Day Weekend. For our first try, I thought it went pretty well but hopefully next year would be better. I hope we go backpacking! I've also been singing in our Worship Team more.

So, this is just a general overview of my life right now.

Some things I thank God for:

• For you - just your role in my life and the relationship I have with my family.
  
• Showing me ways to stay connected to my family when we're not close by.

Some things you could pray about for me:

• Mom's been sick with a cough for a couple of weeks now. She's getting better though.
  
• Good night's rest and time for myself - not only has my schedule been hectic but I've been randomly waking up in the middle of the night.

Thank you ahead of time for praying and please let me know if there is anything I could be praying for you...I'd love to hear it.