2004 has been an eventful and memorable year for val, as evidenced in the comeback of her top 10 list:
10. Val dyes her hair: It was kinda red, kinda unnoticeable, and I kinda stained my bathtub! Oh well, it was a fun roommate experience and only $5!
9. Piercings: Yep, my first piercings ever...my ears!
8. Yummy...I've expanded my food repertoire to include calamari, giraffe, ostrich and crocodile!
7. Biggest purchase of the year: Tuition! Holy moly, graduate school is expensive! I never thought I would write checks for that much money.
6. My own room: I've always shared a room with Julie or my roommates, so now that I'm at home and Julie's away, I can be as messy as I want! Haha, j/k. But actually, my room really is messy.
5. Teacher Tests: I have to say that elementary school teachers are super smart! These tests to become a teacher are REALLY hard! Ok, sure the CBEST is known for being easy, but the others are crazy challenging. Oh man, what a relief it was to pass the CSET this year!
4. Extravaganza!!!: Woo-hoo! Ok, so we were planning a fun night for our youth group, but we didn't expect over 100 people to show up! It was a really really really incredible evening! This is also when we discovered how fun Jenga is.
3. Pomp & Circumstance: I'm a UCLA alumna! I was so sad to end my college years! Seriously, it was the best time of my life! Sigh, but I'll always be a Bruin fan!
2. Val can DRIVE!: Talk about life-changing, eh? I can come visit you now!
1. Ubarikiwe: Going to Kenya is hands-down, the best memory of 2004, if not my entire life! I swam in an African waterfall, I cut down two trees in a forest, I played with the cutest kids in the whole world, I gave a sermon, I worked up a sweat during worship time, I almost got charged by a rhino...basically, the best missions trip ever!
Happy holidays everybody! | 
<------(heart of gratitude)