I’m back in the Christmas card saddle, after a year, interrupted~ I worried some people it seems... no card from Randy... there must be something wrong. But, no cause for alarm, I had taken a teaching sub assignment covering a teacher on maternity leave. And whew, what a load of work that was! It took up most of my time, pushing my photography due dates back and allowing very little time for Christmas and all that it entails. Much calmer this year, however. The tree is up, and the house is a mess with Christmas once again. So, hello Christmas card friends! I’ve only received 4 cards, so I figured I better send this out lickity-split. You know, you get dropped from the A list if you don’t send out cards... but most of you know the protocol. There are rules, after all.

So, let’s catch up! The kids are older, and so are we. Carmen, at 16, is not actually driving on her own (as falsely pictured on the card — and hello - they aren’t in Narnia or the N. Pole either) but, she plans on getting her license in the beginning of 2009. She’s already taken her SAT, and she’s collecting pamphlets to as many colleges as she can. Hard to believe my little baby will be going to college soon... one more year of high school and then she’ll be heading off somewhere... I’m not quite ready for that. Carmen wishes that I could note in my news-letter that her braces are off (cuz you know that’s SO how I’d begin this letter), but alas, she has to wait until the last day of the year. Almost 3 years of metal in the mouth is enough! Besides her orthodontic history, she’s still doing great in school, and she’s still active in Girl Scouts. She earned a silver award, doing a project with children at a local shelter, and now she’s trying to squeeze in the time to work on her Gold award. She’s been on the swim team for the past 2 years, and won the MVP for her team this year. She’s a little bullet in the water, swimming the 200yd freestyle in 2min,22sec. OK, so the time may not be Olympic-worthy, but we think it’s cool. That’s probably enough bragging, but hey- just stating the facts. Oh, and she was a lifeguard this summer... she guarded lives!!

And then there’s Grace. Note the hair in the photo. I don’t think there are enough hair-care products on the market for her. She’s all of 13, soon to be 14. She too, has a metal mouth. We decided that she changed the most these past 2 years. She fancies herself a You Tube personality. For those who don’t know what You Tube is, it’s an online video share (best way to describe it). Mostly Grace blogs (talks) for the camera. She only has a small following now, but don’t be too surprised if you see her on Oprah one day. She’s very involved with dance jazz & hip-hop), and is also still in Girl Scouts. I wish I could say that she’s a great scholar, but it seems that Jr. High has not proven to be her best performance in school. We’re hoping that she’ll turn it around in high school. If not, be looking for her when she makes it big on You Tube. On the creative spin, she did win the Art Award given to one student in her 7th grade last year. A chip off the old block, yes indeed...

John and I are still doing the same things. J. works at Equinix, preferring the graveyard 12-hour shift. That shift may seem like nuts to many of us, but he really likes getting 3 days off. In his “spare time” he still works dispatch at 911. For kicks, he fixes computers and works on his massive CD/DVD collection. We celebrated 21 years together this year. Whoa. And me - well, I turned 50 this year, and I think that’s worth noting. But, this is the last year I mention my age, you’re on your own from here on out. We threw a little party with friends and I danced. It was lovely. I’m still shooting weddings, portraits and doing the subbing circuit. I even had my very own class over the summer, teaching kids with learning disabilities at a private school. I somehow found myself head of our locaEGirl Scout Association this year. Y’know, it’s not that my hand is in the air, they just come and find me now. Yeah, I have a hard time saying “no”. My recent slogan is, “The world is run by those who show up”. It’s better than, “Someone’s gotta do it”.

Did we do anything interesting, or travel anywhere? Of course not. Well, OK, we stayed at a gorgeous beach house in the Aptos area during Easter with my mom and my sibs (and we hope to do the same thing this year), and we did a few days in Tahoe with my dad over the summer, and that was about it, HOWEVER... next year will involve a lot of travel. Carmen is going on a tour through the Deep South (Sojourn to the Past) for 10 days in January. She’ll be meeting people who were part of the civil rights movement, and go to the places where it happened. Grace & I will be going to Wash. DC in March with a school-sponsored tour program. You can anxiously anticipate news on that in next year’s letter.

Yes, 2009 does look promising. OK, the economy is scary, we have a new presidential admin., and that can be scary... but I think it’s all going to work out just fine. Well, my saddle’s getting cramped. It’s time for a fresh cup of Joe and then start getting these cards in the mail before they get stale. Until next year...