The Kingsburg coffee pot and our dala horse. You can find these dala horses all over town. If you haven't guessed it already, Kingsburg is a town founded by Swedes and we uphold many Swedish traditions, customs, and architecture. It's a really cute little town in the heart of CA. If any of you ever want to go home with me, let me know. You are always welcome. (And I know many of you are from there or have been there already.;)) 

The "welcome" sign to Kingsburg.  

Hey everyone…hope your Thanksgiving was great.

My last week just flew by. I went to CA on Tuesday and came home last night. It was a whirlwind and I’m sorry I hardly got to see any of you. I just had so little time and really needed to spend time with my family. But, I will be home for quite a while in Dec. so I will definitely be catching up with all of you then!! Can’t wait!

But, my time home was good. It was warm and that was so weird for me compared to cold NJ. (It snowed here on Thanksgiving…I was glad to miss it!!) I loved seeing all the flowers blooming, fruit growing and all the time I got to spend outside. Cen Cal is so great. It’s always nice to be home.

Now I am busy, busy, busy. This weekend I have winter camp and then I have the big move. In the midst of that I have so much office work to do and tons of kids I want to hang out with before we break for Christmas. Yikes! It’s good to be busy and I am trying not to stress.

School (PBU) is awesome! I can’t believe the semester is almost over. It went by so quickly. I wish you all could go through this program. You would love it. I just got done reading a book (one of many) for school entitled Objects of His Affection by Scotty Smith. I HIGHLY recommend it!!

The pic above is of my parents and Mille. I took this the morning of Thanksgiving. OK, I am going to try to get myself to bed. I need to get back on EC time!

Hey – anyone want to go to a hockey game with me?

I'm in CA and having a great time. Just wanted to let all of you know I made it safely since some of you were concerned considering the weather. Crazy that it is snowing in Jersey and it is warm and flowers are blooming in CA!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I stayed up until 2:30 this morning to watch State play USC. Although I was sad to not be there in person (my whole family was) I was there in spirit by watching it on TV. (I was, however, there in 1992, the last time State was at USC.) It was quite a game! Even though we didn't win, the Bulldogs played their hearts out. It was one of the best games I have ever seen!!
It made national headlines - here is one such article...

What a game!
Bulldogs come oh so close to knocking off the No. 1 Trojans in a 50-42 stunner.
By David White / The Fresno Bee
Fresno State played USC tough despite the turnovers. How will this game impact the BCS, the AP? Where do you think the Bulldogs should be ranked?
LOS ANGELES — Could you see it?
The toppling of the unbeatable USC football empire in the throes of the mighty Los Angeles Coliseum.
An anticipated burst into the national top 10 for just the second time in school history.
An invitation to a Bowl Championship Series game, such as the Fiesta Bowl that, though a wild long shot, was still a tempting one at that.
It was all so teasingly close for 16th-ranked Fresno State, only for the Bulldogs to watch the two-time defending national champion Trojans dash away with a 50-42 victory before 90,007 fans Saturday night.
Just like that, the Bulldogs went from would-be world-shockers to USC's 33rd straight victim.
Fresno State is left to resume its quest for its first outright Western Athletic Conference title under coach Pat Hill. Beat Nevada and Louisiana Tech the next two weeks, and an invitation to the $1.35 million Liberty Bowl on Dec. 31 in Memphis, Tenn., is likely to follow.
"Yes, we're going to invite them," said Liberty Bowl executive director Steve Ehrhart, adding that details must be worked out with the WAC office before anything is made official.
"That's why I'm here. They're our team."
That news will be of little consolation to a Bulldogs team that had all the makings of an upset in the first half and as late as the fourth quarter.
Fresno State led the Trojans 21-13 at halftime, and pulled to within six points late in the third quarter. The Bulldogs got to 41-34 with 9:59 left in the game and later took a 42-41 lead.
The Bulldogs weren't able to close the deal, but hardly hurt themselves

Here's my answers to Jen's questions...
1. How tall are you? 5' 41/2"
2. Do you own a gun? No. But I know several people who do.
3. Rehab? Yes -lots of counseling from my fellow students in my current grad classes.
4. Have you ever killed an animal? Yes-although unintentionally!
5. Are you Irish? Absolutely! Anyone who knows anything about me knows I am.
6. What do you think of hot-dogs? They're OK. I agree with Jen though, corn dogs are yummy -especially Fresno Fair ones.
7. What's your favorite Christmas song? O Holy Night
8. What is (are) your favorite sound(s)? certain people's voices, classical piano, the ocean, my dad laughing
9. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? I don't handle food or drink all that well in the morning so preferably nothing.
10. Do you do push-ups? Um, do push-up ice creams count?
11. Have you ever done illegal drugs? No.
12. Have you been shot? No, but dreamed that I have before.
13. Have you ever been hospitalized? Not overnight, no. PTL!
14. Do you take painkillers? I try not to. Ever since I worked for a DC I really have come to believe in natural medicine approaches, but believe me I do give in from time to time!
15. What is your secret weapon to lure in the opposite sex? I wouldn't want to do anything to lure them. That's mainpulative and I have been on a soapbox about that lately!
16. Do you own a knife? Yes but they are all in my kitchen.
17. Do you have ADD/ADHD? No.
18. Do you love the pain a tattoo brings? I'll find out in the near future.
19. Name Four Drinks You Regularly Drink: Water, wild cherry pepsi, apple juice, caramel apple ciders from Starbucks
20. What's in your CD Player? Chris Tomlin
21. What's under your bed? a whole bunch of crap
22. Current Hair? brown as always, nothing to get excited about, although it does have highlights
23. What are you wearing? slippers, jeans, brown turtleneck sweater, white puffer vest, and LONG JOHNS!!
24. Current Worry? getting this paper done
25. Current Love? at the moment it is my heater which is now working. I LOVE being warm.
26. Current Hates? papers
27. Favorite Place To Be? I have many favorites...anywhere with friends or family.
28. Least Favorite Place To Be? traffic jam when I am running late
29. If You Could Play any Instrument? Well, I play the piano and clarinet - but I would love to be able to play the piano on a professional level or play guitar at any level!
30. Favorite Color(s)? Red.
31. Person(s) From Your Past You Wish You Could see again? I never met my grandfather.
32. Where Would You Like To Go To College (University)? I love the school I am currently attending and all the schools I attended in my past (except FCC ha!).
33. Where Do you want to live? Anyone who knows me knows that. But only the Lord knows where I will end up.
34. Favorite food? Italian
36. Number of pillows you sleep with?-- 1
37. What do you wear when you go to sleep? PJs of course!
38. What were you doing at 12AM last night? At a hockey game in Philly...and I got to go down on the ice afterward -AWESOME.
39. What do you think you'll be doing in 10 years? Hopefully being a wife and mom.
40. Are you paranoid? Can be, yes.
41. First piercing and/or tattoo? My ears when I was in the 3rd grade.
42. Last person you yelled at? In person I don't know??? I think I had a bad dream recently where I yelled at someone, but I don't want to post it and then make that person feel bad.
44. Last thing you ate? Food at Ruby Tuesdays in P'burg with Hannah.
45. If you could be a pirate, would you? Of course. I would want Carrie to be a pirate with me.
46. Do you have an iPod? Not yet...too cheap.
47. When, why, and where did you last vomit? I honestly don't remember but I've come very close on several occasions lately.
48. What's in your pockets right now? Nothing, maybe a hair band?
49. What color are your walls? white
50. last thing that made you laugh? The Fresno State/USC game.
51. Any pets? I claim Mille even though she is in CA. I would like to get a dog someday.
52. Do you have any piercings? Yes. Two in my right ear. Three in my left. One in my nose.
53. If you were a crayon what color would you be? Burnt Sienna
54. Have you ever won any awards? Yes.
55. How many TV's do you have in your house? Two.
56. Have you ever sprained/broken/fractured a bone? Yes- WAY too many times.
58. Who do you tell your dreams to? Lots of people. I'm blessed with good listeners in my life.
59. If you could pick one living person to meet who would it be? The president. I like him.
60. What do you think of the person who sent this to you? Jen is a true and caring friend who has a gentle spirit. I love and miss her.

10 Favorites
Favorite Color: I am on a red kick lately
Favorite Food: Italian or lately I always want cheese sticks.
Favorite Band/Singer: Any of my friends who are talented in that way.
Favorite Hobby: Traveling w/ fun people!!
Favorite Movie: So hard to choose! Maybe You've Got Mail??
Favorite Flower: Holla for Gerber Daisies!!
Favorite Season: Fall for sure!
Favorite Day of the Week: It changes every week.
Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: Mint Chocolate Chip
Favorite Time of Day: Late afternoon or night, definitely not morning.

9 Currents
Current Mood: kinda bored, but that will change in like 10 mins.
Current Clothes: jeans, brown shirt, pink puffer vest, and don't die of shock, I am actually wearing make up
Current Underwear Color: I have to check I can't remember...lol...pink
Current Desktop Picture: a pic from The Village
Current Nail Color: none and they look pretty darn bad, it's embarrassing
Current Time: 4:25 P.M.
Current Surroundings: my office
Current Annoyances: knowing I still need to go run errands for club - what a procrastinator
Current Thoughts: nervous about club talk tonight

8 Firsts
First Best Friend: my mom
First Screen Name: my only one. represent! amp4yl
First Pet: English Springer Spaniel named Heidi
First Tattoo: no tattoos yet - but soon
First Crush: 1st grade in Texas...Tim Green
First Music Owned: How embarassing - I loved Lionel Ritchie's Dancing on the Ceiling. It was my first "tape!"
First Car: 1992 Toyota Tercel on my 16th bday

7 Lasts
Last Cigarette: hmmm...sometime in 1998.
Last Drink: wine at Carol's party a couple of weeks ago
Last Time on Drugs: never
Last Kiss: from who, I have to narrow it down ya know!;)
Last Movie Watched: Wedding Date - it was OK
Last CD Played: OK, I am a sucker for Christmas music even if it isn't Thanksgiving yet. Clay Aiken's Christmas CD

6 Have You Evers
Have you ever dated one of your best friends? yes
Have you ever broken the law? Yes, more then I should (i.e. speeding)
Have you ever been arrested? no
Have you ever skinny dipped? no
Have you ever been on television? yes
Have you ever kissed someone you didn't know? no

5 Places You've Been
Canada
Sweden
England
Mexico
Netherlands

4 People You Can Tell Anything To
God
Suzanne
Jane
Kristin
And many more. I am blessed with awesome friends and many people know way too much about me whether they want to or not anyway;)

3 Things
3 things you can hear right now:
music on stereo
My typing
footsteps

3 things you can't live without:
God
love/relationships in every form
laughter

3 things you do when you're bored:
my blog...lol
take a nap
go for a drive

2 Choices
Black or white: white
Hot or cold: cold

1 Thing You Want To Do Before You Die
that's tough...I can't give just one!! Among other things...get out of debt!

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (Nov. 14) - Make us a slogan we can't refuse, the state of New Jersey said. We got your slogan right here, the people replied.
A push to come up with a new slogan for the Garden State has become an excuse to crack New Jersey jokes. Among the not-so-serious entries:
"New Jersey: You Got a Problem With That?"
"NJ: How You Doin'?!"
And "Most of Our Elected Officials Have Not Been Indicted."
The search yielded nearly 6,200 possibilities in all, many of them attempts to sum up the land of Bruce Springsteen, "The Sopranos" and smelly interstates in one pithy phrase. The deadline for submissions was Monday.
"We're really pleased with the response and proud that New Jersey residents take so much pride in their state," said Kelley Heck, a spokeswoman for acting Gov. Richard J. Codey.
The program began last month after Codey rejected a consultant's recommendation - "New Jersey: We'll Win You Over" - as too negative. That slogan, developed as part of a $260,000 contract by global image consultants Lippincott Mercer, was shelved a day before it was to be unveiled.
Instead, the state opened the process to the public, establishing a Web site and telephone hot line to receive suggestions, which included the lyrical ("The Ocean, The Motion, The Magic") along with the satirical.
New Jersey, which once used "New Jersey and You: Perfect Together," has not had a new marketing slogan in four years. "Get Away, Without Going Far Away" has been used in the interim, but tourism officials say it does not resonate with out-of-staters.
"We have the opportunity to craft a new message for our tourist literature to reflect the pride we have in our many parks, open spaces, farmlands, quaint villages, boardwalks and beaches and our exciting cities," Codey implored would-be slogan writers on the Web site.
The governor and the state Commerce, Economic Growth and Tourism Commission will "pare down the suggestions and go from there," said Karen Wolfe, a commission spokeswoman.
The state's musical legacy - Frank Sinatra called New Jersey home, Springsteen still does - led one person to suggest "From Ol' Blue Eyes to the Boss: Jersey Is Singing Your Song." Another entry: "Born to Fun."
Others found New Jersey's reputation for mobsters, toxic waste sites and lowbrow taste fair game. "Bada Bing! Choose New Jersey" was one suggestion.
The campaign was run by the state, but newspaper columnists, talk radio and "Saturday Night Live" got into the spirit, too.
"New Jersey: It Always Smells Like This," one Philadelphia Inquirer reader suggested. "New Jersey: Come Glow With Us," another said.
Codey and his staff will evaluate the slogan proposals and within two weeks pick five or 10 that will be put to a public vote, perhaps in the same way the suggestions were collected.
The governor, who is filling an unexpired term, expects to announce the new slogan by the time he leaves office in January, Heck said.

OK, this is procrastination at it's finest...lol I would rather do almost anything then write a paper...;) Anyway, this is probably more interesting to me then anyone else...but it is always fun to learn something new about yourself and your ancestors. So now that I know this, this "little wolf" better get some writing done.

Oh...another interesting fact is that Phelan pronounced fay-lynn means that one is catholic. Phelan pronounced fee-lynn means that one is protestant. Yes, I know that I am protestant and still pronounce it fay-lynn but my brother and I are the first Phelans in our line who are. We come from a large catholic line. Anyway, it cracks me up how some people can never seem to pronounce my name correctly here. (Although more people do get it right when first saying it due to the large Irish population on the EC.) Even people who talk to me on a daily basis still say fee-lynn and I don't want to hurt their feelings by continually correcting them. That's OK though. I'm sure some of you can relate with hard to pronounce last names!!

Ó Faoláin is the name of an important Irish sept prominent in the southeast of the country. The name is derived from the gaelic word "faol" meaning a wolf, "faoláin" being a diminutive form (little wolf). The original Faoláin from whom the surname is derived, was nineteenth in descent from Fiacha Suidhe, a younger brother of Conn of the Hundred Battles, who reigned as High King for thirty five years until his death in A.D. 157. This makes the O Faoláin sept of the same origin as Commisky and Ó Bric. It is said that the Irish names Ó Faoileáin and Ó hAoileáin (Hyland) are simple variant forms of the same name that arose as members of the sept spread beyond the original territory.

Many Irish names have been anglicised into a wide variety of forms and this is true of Ó Faoláin. The earliest anglicised forms were Felan and Faelan, with many similar variants. This evolved into Phelan mainly in Waterford, Kilkenny and adjacent areas and Whelan, also in these counties, but spreading into Wexford and Carlow. Whelan is the most prevalent form in modern times. It alone stands seventy-ninth in the list of the hundred commonest names in Ireland; with Phelan added the name takes forty-fourth place, with an estimated population of about twelve thousand persons. In the last year for which such statistics are available 214 births were registered for Whelan and 93 for Phelan. Eighty per cent of the latter belonged to Counties Waterford, Kilkenny and adjacent areas while Whelans extended further into Wexford and Carlow. Many, of course, were born in Dublin, but in considerations of this kind the metropolitan area can be disregarded, being populated by persons from every part of the country from early times.

It is natural that the present day representatives of the sept of Ó Faoláin should be found in the places mentioned, because their chiefs were Princes of the Decies, in west Waterford, before the arrival of the Normans.

Aryan speaks of them thus: "Two gentle chiefs whose names I tell, rule the Desies. I affirm it. O'Bric the exactor of tributes, with him the wise and fair O'Felan. In Moylacha of the fertile slopes, rules O'Felan for the benefit of his tribe. Great is the allotted territory, of which O'Felan holds possession".

By the beginning of the thirteenth century, most of their traditional lands and titles were lost to the Le Poers (Power) and other settler families in the wake of the Norman invasion.
A branch of the sept was settled a little further north in the southwest part of Co. Kilkenny, mainly in the barony of Iverk. One of these, John Phelan, was Bishop of Ossory at the time of the Catholic resurgence under James II.

The gentleman who styled himself "O'Faoláin, Prince of the Decies", a claim not allowed by the Genealogical Office, was born Whelan; the well-known writer Seán Ó Faoláin is the son of Denis Whelan. Another distinguished Whelan was Leo Whelan, R.H.A. (1892-1956), the portrait painter.

Of those using the form Phelan the best known are Edward Joseph Phelan, the Director-General of the International Labour Office, of Co. Waterford, and Frederick Ross Phelan, a distinguished Canadian soldier. In the United States, Phelans have been prominent, notably James Phelan (1824-1892), Laois-born pioneer, and his son James Duval Phelan (1861-1930), senator and mayor of San Francisco.

Heraldry

O'Faelan, O'Faoláin, Felan, Phelan, Whelan, Whalen (A sept in Munster derived from Faelan, chief of North Decies) Arms: Argent four lozenges in bend cojoined Azure between two cotises of the last, on a chief Gules three fleurs-de-lis of the first. Crest: A stag's head Or. No motto is recorded.

Last night was our annual celebration and fundraising banquet. PTL that is went very smoothly (for the most part) and that it is over!! The Lord totally provided and while we still have more fundraising to do (will it ever end??;)) it was a terrific evening. I wish all of you could have been there.

From the left - Terry, Carol and Marie. They are all on my committee and "checked" people in.

The "receiving room" at the country club with more picture boards and info brochures about YL on the coffee table.

Pat, a committee member, made the decorations. We wanted to keep it very simple because instead of buying centerpieces we donated money to hurricane victims. So, she designed these candles that had that message on the transparent paper and when they were lit it was very elegant and appropriate. She is super talented and owns her own graphic design business. She also did the "thank you" chocolates you see scattered around.

This is a close-up of our tables. Pat also did the programs. 

We got all these mums and gords (sp?) for free. PTL! Lynne, a committee member, decorated the stage. Can you tell we had a fall theme? 

Carol, one of the committee members, made these boards and then we put pics up from the year. Totally cute!! 

Janell left yesterday.:( She was here for two weeks. Here are pics from each place we visited. I don't have any Philly pics up yet but will post those soon. This is what you can see if you come visit me in Jersey!! (hint hint)

Janell took this pic. It is the most photographed place in Jersey. It is about 15 mins. from me. In fact, I might be moving there! 

It is a new tradition...if you go w/ me to NYC we HAVE to go to Serendipity's! 

It was freezing in NYC. It even snowed on Saturday!

Beautiful Lancaster County, PA. 

Kiss lightposts in the town of Hershey, PA. It literally smelled like warm brownies outside. It was awesome! 

Hershey World! We are such kids at heart. 

Janell took this pic of my favorite house in Flemington. 

This pic cracks me up. 

Three hott girls in DC.;) 

Our footprints at the Jersey Shore. 

Janell in front of Princeton. Princeton is about 30 mins. from me in Flemington.