Florida

MammaBean, I dedicate these to you!

Praise God for rainbows, a visible sign that He will never again destroy all earth with a flood. The calm, beautiful, and clear waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

Grammy and Olive Oil ridin' the waves!

It doesn't get much better than this:

When I went to the Dead Sea, there unfortunately wasn't their trademark sunset, but I think God gave us this one in Florida to make up for it!

Mass

One of the most moving experiences we had in Amman was going to the English language Mass. The church was located (I think) in Jebel Webdeh and it was gorgeous. What was so moving was hearing the mostly Phillipino members singing in accented English hymns that we sang as child in my church. My mom and I were literally moved to tears. Midway through the Mass, we could hear the call to prayer, which brought for me, a surreal quality to it all. I thought about the fact that here I was, from one side of the world, here the Pillipinos were from the other side of the world, and we were meeting in the middle to worship Christ! It felt like a glimpse of heaven.

Downtown Amman

Furs for sale, downtown Amman.


My family has several Jordanian connections. One of my mom's friends from work (they worked together even before I was born) is married to a Palestinian/Jordanian. Our hair stylist is married to a Jordanian and one of my mom's close friends from work, lived and worked in Amman at the Amman Heart Hospital for several years. And I have a friend who is Jordanian. Before we went, we got so much adivce. Regarding downtown, we heard two very different opinions. The first was, don't go alone. The second was, it's totally fine. Just go, and if you do feel a little odd, take a head scarf.
My mom and I are very independent. She might even be more independent than I am. This past year, she began taking Tae Kwon Do and her instructor/master showed her some self-defense before we went on our trip. So, needless to say, we ventured downtown on our own the second day we were in Jordan.
Before I left the US, I tried on a large scarf that I own. It's a cream color and I wear it nearly all fall-spring, especially at church where keeping my coat on is a little rude. I tried it on my head, not sure how to wrap it. Instead of taking the shock off of my very blonde hair, I looked even more shocking- picture Casper the friendly ghost! The scarf stayed at the hotel. I did wear pants and a sweater, as did my mom.
Ok, so back to downtown Amman. We asked the hotel to tell the taxi to "drop us off downtown" somewhere. To this day, I still have no idea where he took us, and we even went back to look for it. It was a Friday, so many of the shops were closed. I do remember seeing the Bagdad hotel, so I know were wer near there. We arrived just as prayer was getting out and the first thing that my mom and I noticed was that there were very few women around. I mean maybe 20, tops! So we began to just stroll along. Pretty soon a guy walked by me and purposely bumped into me. I know it was on purpose because there was no one else, except my mom on the street w/us. I did what I normally do in the US, ignore and shoot a dirty look his way. About five minutes later, he came by again and pinched me in the hip!!! This time, I shot him my most evil teacher stare (being a teacher comes in handy during the most unexpected moments)! He got the hint and ditched.
The funny thing- I told my mom, "That guy just pinched me!!" My mom, Ms. Tae Kwon Do, hadn't even noticed!
After talking to Kinzi- I realized that I had every right to make a big scene and yell/hit him. Now I dare anyone to touch me!!! GRrrrr.... Of course, it never happened again and this was the ONLY time anything like this happened in Jordan during our 2 weeks. We felt very safe there and we even would walk places at night and never feel unsafe.
We did make it back to downtown, this time accompanied by my friend. It was during the week and there were many more women around. We had a great time, stopping for knafe at Jebri too.
After the pinching, my mom and I took a taxi back to Sweifeyah. My mom experienced her first true falafel. The next morning, the first thing she said when she woke up was, "Mmm...I'm still thinking about that falafel...."

Jordan

I don't know where to begin about our trip to Jordan. I'm sure it will take many posts for me to really process and explain it all. The first day we met up with Kinzi (http://www.kinziblogs.wordpress.com/). She saw my mom and I walking back from Cozmo. Gee, Kinzi, how'd you know it was us? He, he. The same thing happened when we were meeting up with a friend that one of our family friends wanted us to meet. He called b/c he spotted us walking near his store. I guess two blondies are easy to spot:) It was wonderful meeting up with Kinzi and meeting her kids. They are extremely well behaved! We had lunch with a friend and got a tour of Amman (well, west Amman). We absolutely loved our hotel (thanks for the recommendation Kinzi). The people working there were extremely nice and helpful. The breakfast was tasty and the first day back, my mom and missed our Mediterranean breakfast! My mom also got a chance to eat her first Arabic meal at our friend's house. I've had some Arabic food in the States, but my mom had only had some maqluba (which I made, therefore it wasn't truly Arabic) and some felafel, which we bought mix for, therefore not truly Arabic.
Our first day impressions:
The people are really, really nice.
Men stare at blondes.
Driving is very scary!
The architecture of the houses is amazing.
The food is awesome.
There is a lot of trash everywhere.
In some ways, we don't feel at all like we left home.

It's a Small World Afterall

My family is a family of readers. We are always reading something new and we often share bits of what we read. Last year, my mom read this book called Holy Land, Whose Land? by Dorothy Drummond. The book doesn't attempt to answer the question posed in the title. Rather, it is a history of the peoples inhabiting the Holy Land. She said that the maps were excellent and when we decided to travel to the Middle East, she kept looking for the book. Well, I found it and bought it for her for Easter this year.
I'm home for Mother's Day this weekend, and today I picked up the book to begin reading it. At the front were many reviews, and right away I noticed that several were from Indiana State, Indiana University, and the Indianapolis Star. I thought that was a little odd. Then, I noticed that it was published in Terre Haute, Indiana. Very random. Well, it turns out the author lives in Terre Haute! It's such a small world, as I live only an hour and a half away from Terre Haute. The author is scheduled to be in Indy this month and I hope that I can hear her speak somewhere before we leave for Jordan. She is mostly widely recognized as being neutral (as much as one can be) regarding the politics of the area. Her first visit to Israel and Jordan was in 1958 and she's been back many times since.
This makes me think of a billboard that I pass on my way to my childhood home-
"It's a small world. I know. I made it"
God

Another Artistic Expression I Could Never Do...

My friend sent me the story of "Brown Dress" by Alex Martin; she made a brown dress and wore it for an entire year as a commentary on consummerism. It got me thinking, though I have to admit. My first reaction was that I was kind of grossed out. I mean, one dress, one year? Seriously, my clothes tend to reflect my mood and one brown dress wouldn't cut it. I'm also thinking- the gym (gross!), weddings (yikes!), dates (probably wouldn't be getting any in the brown dress). However, the more I thought about it the more I remembered the following:
1. The first 18 years of my life were spent in a uniform- grade school was a hunter green and navy plaid skirt and high school was a navy skirt. I actually liked/didn't mind my uniform. It represented my faith and my school (I always pretty much liked school).
2. I tend to own the same things in different colors. If I like something and it fits (sometimes a problem for petites) I will buy it in different colors.
3. Even when I buy different things, they tend to look like things I already own. I have a zillion white basic fitted T's, khaki pants, and anything black.
Who am I kidding, though? It would be very, very hard for me to wear the same brown dress to everything!
Anyway, I thought it was interesting, because I'd never think to conduct this type of experiment.
Here's the full article:
http://littlebrowndress.com/brown%20dress%20archive%20home.htm

To Royal Jordanian or not

Ok, so we've settled on where we are going to travel this summer. Now, the debate is what airline to take. We are working on a pro's and con's list.
Pros for RJ
$300 cheaper
direct flight from Chicago

Cons for RJ
doesn't look like we can pick our seats
when we asked a Jordanian about it-"noisy, lots of kids, person sitting next to you will ask a zillion questions why you are going to Jordan"

Pros for American Airlines
can pick our seats
maybe a more comfortable option
I fully admit this is a "teeny little pro" but they stop over in London and my all time favorite accessories store is in London (Accessorize) and they have one at the Heathrow Airport

Cons for American Airlines
more expensive
indirect flight (sometimes you just want to get somewhere)
maybe not as culturally enriching as RJ, besides I put up with (and enjoy) 50 teenagers everyday, what's 13 hours with a bunch a kids?:)

Suggestions?

Dog/Cat food warning

I will never again feel guilty for buying Solid Gold Brand holistic dog food for $9.00 a bag.

http://news.aol.com/topnews/articles/_a/rat-poison-found-in-recalled-pet-food/20070323113009990001?ncid=NWS00010000000001

I don't believe in the lawsuit driven society that often exists here in the US, but I think that if Lucy had died b/c of rat poison in her dog food, I'd be awfully tempted to sue.

Last Day Before Break- Give Me a Break

Ok, so we all know that teachers are not among the highest paid workers in America. Our jobs, however, do have some perks that money can't buy. The smiles of the kids, the way their faces light up when they learn something new, spring break.
Yes, remember spring break? The excitement, the better weather, and sometimes the vacations. That was spring break as a student.
Allow me to give you spring break as a teacher. Students, who otherwise speak in normal tones, shout no matter what they need to say. Energy comes bounding out their ears (really, you can feel it if you stand close to them). Giggles for no reason, escape from the mouths (when not shouting). No one can sit still, no one. Tap, tap, tap... What's that? Oh, that's the 10 kids tapping their pencils, or hands, or feet, or whatever else my angels get their hands on. Don't even get me started on the pen clicking... Not even the little Saint of my class can keep still.

Of course, this applies only to the students that are here. Many parents pull their kids out a day or two early to head South. Which, in turn, makes things hard on me, because this is an unexcused absence and any work done on these two days is a zero. So, even the kids who aren't here stress me!
Add to that the fact that we have already had an 'off' schedule this week for Junior Achievement. Thank goodness, our Kindergarten teacher's husband is volunteering for my grade. I think we would have scared off anyone else. Also, as if that weren't enough, Wednesday we had a soldier who is a nurse in Iraq come in to talk to my class(she is a member of our parish), followed by Stations of the Cross. Thursday we had 5 students out for the Regional Science Fair. We've also had the flu going around and had numerous kids out sick. Did I mention that report cards go out today? And (that's right- there's more) we had a huge storm last night and the ceiling of my classroom is leaking....
Spring Break- is it really worth it? I'm not sure, but I do know that I deserve it:)

Humility

When I entered the "real world" and got my first job, I realized that grown ups spend a great deal of time commuting. After about a year of a 25 minute each way commute, I grew tired of this "wasted" time. I began listening to books on CD. Then, about a year ago, I found some language CDs at the library. I checked out the Arabic CDs and my quest to learn Arabic began. I started as a surprise for someone, but I quickly realized that the nerdy side of me really enjoyed learning a new language. Basically, the speaker asks you how to say something and you say it or repeat after he/she says it. I'm hoping to grasp enough to speak some Arabic when we go to Jordan this summer.
What was unexpected, though, is that this has taught me not only a language, but humility. You see, I'm an English teacher. I have always loved grammar, reading, writing, and spelling. Yes, that's right, I love grammar. I'm not used to being wrong when it comes to English. However, I'm so wrong when I speak Arabic! It kills me that I might be speaking incorrect grammar, something that was taboo in my house. My Granny always corrected incorrect grammar, as did my mother, as now do I. Arabic has taught me to suck it up and do my best. My goal has changed from speaking perfectly, to being understood, and it has been humbling. It's funny how life's little lessons sneak into everyday activities.

Prejudice

What is it anyway? For whatever reason, this is something that I've been thinking frequently about lately.
I know that I am blessed to have grown up in the family that I have, as far as prejudice is concerned.
My grandparents are French (well, my Granny is Belgian but French Belgian- Walloonian). In fact, my Grandmother didn't even speak English until she went to Kindergarten. My grandfather's family is from Alsache, which through the years has been in Germany and France. My Granny's family, specifically, was very open-minded. They were, according to Granny, appalled at the racisim that existed in America when they moved here in the 20's. It would make sense; there are two national languages in Belgium, so they must be used to getting along w/those different from them. Whatever the reason, I was raised that all races are equal, each race and culture have people that are commendable and those that are not. I also know that all cutlures have their pros and cons. The trick is to look for the pros. If you look for the negative in something- you'll always find it.
One of the things that bothers me is when I hear people say, "Well, I don't have a problem with _______ (insert race or culture), but I wouldn't want my kid to marry one." Well, then you do have a problem with them, at least on some level. What is the person like? Are they kind and generous? Do they have the same expectations of marriage that your child does? How will they treat your child? Those are the real questions that should be asked. And for many, are they the same religion? Many faiths, including my own, support marriage of someone from the same faith (for Christians- we are not to be unequally yoked). But, to exclude someone solely based on their color or country of origin is prejudice.
I think we all have some presumed ideas about different races and cultures, but we really must try to learn as much as we can about each culture, and keep an open mind as well. One thing I like about where I work is that every afternoon, after prayer, we say, "Remember to give an honest effort and to keep an open mind."

Traveling nieces...

Last weekend, my baby niece came up to stay (ok, so she's not exactly a baby- she's four). This was her first visit by herself. It always amazes me how different my nieces are. The oldest is 16 and way too cool for family. She has her license and zooms here, there, and everywhere. Then there is the 10 year-old, Olive Oil (she's written a post before) who is practically inseperable from me. However, Baby Olive Oil, has always been a home-body. She begins Kindergarten next year, and now she's decided she's old enough to spend the weekend in "Emilyinapolis" (aka, Indianapolis).
She packed a week in advance and carried her suitcase all through the house with her! The good news is that she made it the entire weekend (she wasn't sure because she thought she might miss her mom too much). We had a "slumber party" Saturday night. I let her eat chocolate chip cookies and popcorn for dinner and we watched "Hannah Montana". Then, she put in her Hannah Montana CD and we danced the night away. I discovered that I can no longer eat junk and bounce around for longer than 15 minutes at a time- I'm too old and feel nauseous. We had a great time. During our dance marathon, Baby Olive Oil turned to me and said, "I'll bet we're the last people still awake at your apartment!!" I looked at the clock- it was 7:44! I didn't have the heart to tell her that probably most people were still eating dinner:) Poor thing, she inherited our early to bed syndrome. On Sunday, we met my mom, sister, Olive Oil, and Granny half way between our hometown and Indy to go shopping. As I was driving back to Indy Sunday night, I was so thankful that I can enjoy the alone time with my nieces. These are really the memories that can't be bought.
And not to be outdone, Olive Oil is on her way up here for the weekend as I type this!

Answered Prayer X Four

I am the youngest of three; my brother and sister are 6 and 7 years older. For whatever reason, I never wanted to be the youngest and I was always asking for another sibling. I don't know why. Many people relish their "youngest" status, but I just never felt like our family was complete. One year at Christmas (I was about 5), when Cabbage Patch Kids were the most sought-after gift, I told my mom that she could either buy me 5 Cabbage Patch Kids or have a baby for me for Christmas. I even added, "That's the deal. Take it or leave it." I ended up getting two Cabbage Patch Kids.
About that time, China began its one-child-per-family policy and orphanages in China were being overrun with baby girls. In Chinese culture, the family must pay a large dowery for the girls; consequently, families would put their girls up for adoption and try for a boy. This hurt my family deeply, as we love both baby boys and girls. To appease my desire for a baby, my mom told me to pray that God would leave a Chinese baby girl on our doorstep. So, each night when she came in to hear me say my prayers, I prayed for that Chinese baby. At the time, we didn't know anyone who was Chinese, which made this prayer all the more odd.
Years went by, and my parents didn't have another baby, nor did the stork drop one off on our doorstep. I had forgotten about my Chinese baby.
When I was 15, my sister began dating a new man, who happened to be Chinese. As their relationship became more serious, we were completely adopted into his family. We went to the Chinese parties, we ate at their family-owned restaraunts, and became bonified blonde Chinese. Well, one cousin in particular stuck out to us. She was in the 5th grade and her father had recently passed away. Her mom worked long hours, and we began to take her to her cheerleading practices, to friends' houses, etc. As the years went on, (and my sister married the man) this girl became part of my family. When her mom decided to move a half an hour away, she moved in with us. And....guess what! I got my Chinese baby!! Well, ok, so she wasn't exactly a baby, but I got the little sister that I had always wanted.
The cherry on top of the icing on top of the cake was that my sister and her husband have three kids, all girls. Not only did my prayer get answered, it was answered times four! When I feel like God isn't acting on something I am praying about, I just sit back and remember that not only does He answer- He often exceeds my expectations!
Happy Chinese New Year!

I LOVE it!

(INDIANAPOLIS) -- Smoking in passenger vehicles with children under age 13 would be against state law under legislation endorsed by an Indiana House Committee on Tuesday.
The House Judiciary Committee approved the bill 8-1 and sent it to the full, Democrat-controlled House, where its author, Democratic Rep. Charlie Brown of Gary, predicted it would pass. He said he was not sure how it would fare in the Republican-ruled Senate.
Under the bill, police could not pull over a motorist solely because someone was smoking with children in the car. The initial stop would have to be based on a suspected primary offense such as speeding.
The offense would be an infraction carrying a $25 fine for the first offense and $100 for any subsequent violations.
Brown said he understood that some people would view the legislation as government intrusion. But he said studies have proven that secondhand smoke was harmful to adults, and its effects could be worse in children whose lungs and other organs are less developed.
"We need to protect children who have no choice but to ride in cars," he said. "It doesn't matter whether windows are opened or closed, it's still a negative impact. It's best to look at prevention on the front side."
The bill also would make it illegal to smoke in mass transportation terminals such as airports or bus stations, or within 100 feet of their entrances.
(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Footprints

In all honesty, my words will never do this picture justice. It just resonated with me. My good friend from childhood, Sebastian, just recently visited South Africa, and this is one of his pictures. It is one of those shots that I wouldn't think of taking. Basti- there is a reason you are in marketing. Thanks for letting me use the picture.

Snow Day

My dog a few weeks ago in the snow. Looks can be deceiving though, she actually hates the snow. This morning, I opened the door, she looked at the snow covered sidewalk, looked at me, and walked away from the door! I had to force her out.

Well, today I experienced a new first in my life- waking up to a Blizzard Warning for my county. We knew that is was going to snow quite a bit today, but I guess with the high winds, my county and others north of it were put on a blizzard warning because of the blowing snow. Fortunately, I'm at the southern most part of this warning, so it doesn't look bad at all outside. Actually, it has begun to sleet. Schools are closed today, and the unexpected day off normally excites me. However, after being stuck at home sick last week, I have cabin fever. I also, foolishly didn't bring any work home, even though I have quite a bit of grading to finish. I decided that this must have been God's plan, somehow, so I've decided to do much prayer and catch up on my Bible study that I missed while being sick. For some reason, Lebanon is really on my heart for prayers. I woke up in the middle of the night and prayed for the country and I plan on spending some more time in prayer for the country today. Isn't it odd, that a country I've never visited, weighs so heavily on my heart? I have always felt an attachment to Lebanon. It's so beautiful and the people so warm. I know that an anniversary is tomorrow that has the possibility to bring violence to the area, and maybe that's why God is tugging my heart to pray. May God keep the Lebanese safe and may peace reign in the land.

American Idol (well, not really!)

My throat is healing. Food still tastes oddly different than it should and Diet Coke isn't as comforting as it usually is, but my throat is healing. I'm so tired, though. I tried to run errands, but only made it to one place. My voice sounds much better, and without realizing it today, I started to sing along to a song. It still kind of hurt, so I had to stop; but, it made me remember something that one of my students said to me this year. Before I say, I need to tell you that I do not have a singing voice. At all. I try. I sing in church, and I think God is pleased, but the only time I ever sang in a mic was at school Mass in the 5th grade and it was...well...ugly/funny. Ok, back to what one of my students said-
the scene- school Mass this year I was sitting next to the row of my girls
the song- Can't remember the exact title, but I think it's "Holy is the Lord" (there's a girls' part and a boys' part. The girls' is "You are Lord of Lord, you are King of Kings, You are mighty God, Lord of everything...") It's one of my all-time favorites.

The song ends. It was the last song of Mass. I was getting my coat...
student, I'll call her "Allie"
Alli- Miss _____, you have a really good voice!
me- Wow! You really think so, Alli? I've never gotten that compliment before!
Alli- Yeah, Miss _____, you really do!
me-smiling.. thinking...... Um Allie?
Alli- yeah
me- you're deaf in one ear! (she really is!!! she was born that way;) )
Alli- thinking... yeah, but you were on my good ear!

I laughed so hard! My only compliment ever on my voice, came from a student who is deaf in one ear!:)

Coxsackie B

Well, the title says it all- the name of the virus that I have. I thought it was strep throat, which I've only had once. However, I wasn't running a fever this time, and when I had strep, my fever was really, really high. My throat felt pretty much the same as with strep, like little men were jousting back there and their swords were piercing me each time I swallowed. I broke down Tuesday and took some Demerol that I had left over from a surgery a few years ago. I have a tiny, little pharmacy in my cabinet (Demerol, Vicadin, Phenegran, and Flexerol) The Demerol and Vicadin are both left over from having a non-cancerous tumor removed from the inside of my lip, the Phenegran, for nausea, is left over from mono three years ago, and the Flexerol I have a prescription for because I have TMJ, is a mild muscle relaxer.
Gosh, I sound like a junkie. In actuality, I have all of these left, because I'm one tough-cookie and never need all of the pain pills when I'm sick or have surgery. When I had my wisdom teeth out, I passed out a few days later from the pain and my doctor got really mad at me when he found out that I wasn't taking the pain pills. It honestly didn't hurt that bad, I thought I could handle it!
So, I knew something was wrong Tuesday, when I took two Advil for my throat and they did nothing to ease the pain. Then I took a Demerol and that helped a little, but in the middle of the night I decided to take a Vicodin. That finally helped! So, I took one more Wednesday morning and made a doctor's appt. My throat was really, really swollen by now and my doctor diagnosed me with the virus above. I'd never heard of it. She prescribed more Vicadin.
This is when the problems began. I hadn't eaten anything, because my throat hurt so bad. And the Vicadin made me start dry heaving at her office. So, I stayed there until I could drive home and then went home and ate some ice-cream and then got really nauseous and my body promptly got rid of it! Then I thought to take a Phenegran b/c that is for nausea. That stayed down for an hour, before coming back up! So, I had to call my doctor and she wanted to prescribe a.... suppository. NO WAY, JOSE! I was not going to have that. In the meantime, I tried to go to the pharmacy to fill my prescription, but starting getting sick there and had to leave before they filled it. So, I went home b/c I had 2 more pain pills left and I managed to get a graham cracker w/some peanut butter down along with a pain pill. Finally, it stayed down. Praise God! Because it was a vicious cycle- throat hurts, can't eat b/c it hurts, need pain pill, throw pain pill up b/c haven't eaten, throwing up hurts throat even more, so can't eat, and on and on.
What was the ONLY thing I could think about throughout all of this? I want my mom!:( I even called her and barely squeaked out, "Please come up." She might come up today, although now that the pain pills are staying down, I feel better. I wonder how old you have to become before you stop wanting your mom when you are sick?

Colts Rally

The team and coaches sat on a stage and gave speeches from it.

We were definately in the nose bleed section.

Aren't their jeans cute! They said they helped their mom make them.

Outside the Dome

Walking in the freezing temps to the Dome


Well, a friend and I braced the freezing temps yesterday to go the the homecoming rally for the Colts. I felt like I needed to show my support since I ditched out on watching the game. We went to a pub and I only made it through the first quarter when my allergies to smoke were just too much. When will they ban smoking in bars?? Probably never, but I have wishful thinking. I hate smoke- that's another post, though. It was eerie driving home during the game. There was noooo traffice. I mean, I saw maybe 30 cars the entire half an hour drive. It was so weird.
Ok, back to the rally. We left right after I got off from work at 3, got downtown about 4, and into the Dome about 5. The parade was origianally supposed to begin at 4, which turned into 5:50. The team go to the Dome about 6:40 or so. I said they were operating on Arabic time. The Dome was almost filled by the time we got there, and apparently people were being turned away by 4:45 or so.
My only complaints: there was no food (they could have made a killing as it was dinner time) and there was no security at the gates. For games, you nearly get patted down and all bags are checked. There was no one at the gates yesterday. I really am a post-9/11 child, because the first thing I thought was, "Ok. There are 36,000 people here and no one to check for bombs." My friend told me to stop having such morbid thoughts!
The great part was hearing Tony Dungy speak. He garnered nearly as many cheers as Peyton Manning. Whoever number 44 was, made me laugh, too. He said, "Wow! I didn't know this many people lived in Indianapolis." I need to Google him and find out where he is from. Overall, I am glad that we went.
The good news is that because of the cold temps, for the past two days we have had 2 hour delays for school! Yeah! Today we are supposed to get anywhere from 4-7 inches of snow, though. I like delays better than snow-days because we don't have to make them up on another day.

Hoopa!

Sometimes people wonder how my mom raised such a mulit-cultural family, given the fact that all of her children were little towheads. Well, one way is that she exposed us to as many cultural events as she could, given our small mid-western town. In college we began eating at a newly opened Greek restaurant in our town. That year, they decided to have a "Greek night". We went and had a blast. We could sample all of the food, break plates, and dance. Each year, they have at least one and we never miss them. The nights have grown so much and on Saturday night they had almost 400 people attending. Here are some of my pictures:
Look Mom! No hands!










Traditional Greek Dancing!

complete with napkins being thrown into the air!

What would a Greek celebration be without plate breaking? I don't know who thought of that, but it is so much fun and I'm sure glad that he/she did!

Another tradition- Ouzo. I didn't take any shots- I hate licorice. Notice the women trying to do what I call the "Arab Turkey Call". I have no idea what it is really called... but it just reminds me of turkey hunters.

It was a great night and we had a blast like usual. I really want to go to Cyprus now this summer. I think I'm actually Greek...

Class and Dignity

If I thought Thursday was a good morning in Indiana, I think today will probably top it! We are very proud of our Colts. However, I have to say that I am the most proud of Tony Dungy. He is a man of class and dignity that is unparalleled in the professional sports arena.
Why do I respect Tony Dungy? Did anyone hear his speech after the game? The trophy was first given to Jim Irsay, owner of the Colts. After the championship game two weeks ago, Jim accepted the trophy and said that even though the trophy shined and had a lot of glory, all of the glory goes back to God. I have to admit that even as he was saying glory, I braced myself. As a strong Christian, that is a term that I reserved for the Lord and when Jim finished his sentence and gave the glory back to God, I felt sheepish for having braced myself. Well, last night Jim Irsay said the same thing and then handed the trophy to Tony Dungy, who said that the Lord takes you through, but not always in a straight path and that the Lord was with them through all of this. The commentator said that this win also held special social significance (referring to the fact that he was now the first African-American SuperBowl coach). His response was so eloquent it brought tears to my eyes. He said that yes, it was important and he was proud, but he was more proud of the fact that he and Lovie Smith are strong Chrisitans and did it God's way. Need I say more? The man has class and dignity and he's our Coach!!


PS- I loved the Oprah/Letterman commercial!

A Good Morning in Indiana!

I wish every morning could begin the way today did. First, I have triplets in my class this year and out of the blue, one of them handed me a gift today. Inside was a.... Colts' jersey! I have been wanting one forever, but they are $50.00 and I just can't rationalize the spending. What a spurprise. My birthday was last week, but they just gave me this for absolutely no reason. I told them that the best gifts are the ones that you least expect!
The next wonderful thing about this morning actually began last night. I have the biggest Tyra Banks fan in my class this year. The girl wants to be "America's Next Top Model" when she's older and watches anything that has Tyra Banks. We are celebrating Catholic Schools' Week this week and we have a different theme every day. Monday was "Fanatic Day" and the kids could wear anything that represented something in which they were fans. I had everything from the green one-eyed guy from Monsters Inc. to Colts. However, my Tyra Fan, made a T-shirt that said, "I love Tyra Banks". I took her picture and began thinking...
So, last night, I emailed the picture to Tyra Banks along with a letter explaining what a great kid this girl is. Today, I got a response from Tyra... they are sending my student an autographed picture and a free gift!!! How kind is that! I didn't expect to hear back from them for a while, and they emailed me back within a few hours. If only government agencies were that quick!! I was going to wait until the picture came in to tell my student, but I only lasted 10 minutes and I pulled her out of class to tell her. She was soooooo excited! It just made my day!

So, a Colts' jersey and an autographed Tyra Banks picture- some days are just awesome!

Party of Many Colors

One of the babies who was Baptized

Two sets of my friends had babies this December. The couples are from my church and last weekend, they had a joint Christening, with a party following the ceremony. We joked that the babies are meant to marry each other, as one is a boy and one a girl. They looked so adorable in their Baptismal gowns next to each other. However, one of the most remarkable aspects of this party was the people from many ethnic backgrounds. The father of one baby is Lebanese. He came to America in 1982, after being sent to France during the Lebanese Civil War. His wife is American. The wife in the other couple is from Columbia. She came to the US for graduate work and her husband is American, but his grandfather came from Mexico. So, at the party were Lebanese, Columbians, Mexicans, and Americans. You could hear Spanish, English, and Arabic. And we all share one faith. It was beautiful.

A tradition from one of the families that I would like to adopt- The baby in the picture above is wearing a Baptismal gown made from his mother's wedding gown!

Room With a View

After teaching for several years in the inner-city, I have never lost appreciation for the view from my current job. Not everyone has the opportunity to see race horses from their work places.

The town is blue... (literally)

Before I lived in the Indy area, I really wasn't much of a football fan. I enjoyed watching my cousins play for their high school (and now college) teams, but as far as the NFL was concerned, I never really watched. In fact, my two friends from college were surprised when I said that I watched the games now.

However, the second year I lived in Indy, my roommate and I decided to get tickets to a Colt's game (this was before they were really that great and tickets were available the weekend of a game). I remember walking into the Dome and thinking, "Wow! This is where are the men are!" :) From then on, I was hooked.

We took my mom to a play-off game two years ago against the Broncos. After hiking up to our seats (yes, the nose-bleed section) my mom said, "This is sooo awesome!! Now, what color are we?!" Yes, she really did say that, in a stadium filled with.... Blue. I told her we were blue and she replied, "Oh good! I love blue!!" (Ok, so now that I'm typing this, maybe it wasn't odd that I never cared about the Colts before moving to Indy).

Regardless of liking the NFL or not, it would be hard to be living in Indy right now and not get involved in this season. Our town is literally blue. Our downtown buildings have replaced some of their lights to blue and put them in the shape of a horseshoe. One building has clips from games projected onto its side. Yet, it doesn't end there. Driving home from church last Sunday night, I noticed a house that had lights illuminating its front. I was thinking, "Mmm... They didn't have those at Christmas (I drive this same route to work every day)." It took me a few days, and I realized that those were for the Colts. Every Friday is "Blue Day" and many work places allow employees to wear their jerseys. Even my school allows the students to forgo the embroidered polos to wear jerseys with the uniform pants and skirts (tartan plaid skirts and Colt's jerseys do make quite a statement!).

So, however the game ends tomorrow (and I do hope the Colts win) I am glad to see our town come together to support something.

Go Colts!!

Travels...

I'd love to add some more this summer!
create your own visited countries map



I need to get out West more and to Washington D.C.
It's pretty bad that I've been to the capitals of other countries before visiting my own.
create your own visited states map

change

As Martin Luther King, Jr. day is approaching, I have had nagging questions on my mind. What causes change? What factors need to be present in order for change to take place?
I have just finished reading Jean Sasson's Princess Trilogy. She exposes life for Saudi women in these books at the request of an anonymous member of the Al 'Saud family. The author's hope is that by exposing this side of Saudi life, changes might be made. But what will it take for Saudi society to change its views, if it ever does? My mom says that educating women is often the catalyst for change. I believe this is true, but how do women become educated in societies that won't allow it?
I have never been so grateful about being born female in America before, but I also know that things weren't always so equal here. Which generates more questions in my mind. How did change come in America? Is it that our early settlers faced rough journies out West, and the women were integral in making the journies? As I recall, the Women's Suffrage movement began out West. Were our men more open to change for women because they saw how independent and indespensible American women were?
How did Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. effect change? I believe that he was the right man for the right time, but what made the time right for America? He faced much opposition, yet he also had much support. I thank him for his efforts at peaceful change, especially on his holiday, tomorrow.
Now, I know that things aren't perfect here in America. I taught in the inner-city and I know that minorities still face many obstacles, but I am also proud that American society has been able to evolve over the years. I just wonder how we did it.
Maybe I should have been a sociologist!

"I've Never..."

When I was in college, we used to play this game called "I've never..." The way the game worked was that you sat in a circle (each person w/a drink) and would fill in the blank with something that you had done- i.e. "I've never thought a teacher was cute." And if anyone else playing the game had done the same thing, they took a drink. So, basically it was along the lines of truth or dare, w/out the dare. If you had done something, you had to drink. Consequently, to be make the game interesting, you needed to think of really random things that had happened to you.
Fast forward, ahem, more than a couple of years and sometimes when something random happens to me, I often think, "That would make a great 'I've never...'" Yesterday, one such incident happened.
Driving back from spending Christmas break with my family, it was raining. As I was driving along the highway at about 60 mph, with my windshield wipers on, I heard a really sudden crash and saw a black object fly over my car. "Oh my, what was that?" It took me a few seconds (and a look in my rear-view mirror at the flying black object) to realize that my windshield wiper had literally blown right off my car!! Well, I was about 10 miles from the nearest town, so I called my mom to ask her to look on the internet to find the nearest AutoZone. She didn't answer. I got ahold of my sister (yeah!) and she found one; so I headed straight there. Thank goodness the driver's wiper was still intact. I got to AutoZone and asked the guy for a wiper for my car; he also offered to put it on. When we got outside, he said, "Where is your wiper?"
I said, "Somewhere on the highway..." I don't know if he believed me; he looked pretty shocked!

The Best Part About...

The best part about spending the night with your single aunt...

M & M minis and diet Coke for breakfast:)

2007

I would like to do a few things in 2007, although I'm not really a "resolution maker". My goals or ideas for 2007:
1. remember to write my lesson plans down- I did very well at this last year, but I majorly slacked this fall.
2. increase my charitable giving- Every year I'm trying (and succeeding) to give a little more so that I can reach that 10% I'm supposed to be giving.
3. Do either some volunteer work or travel this summer, but hopefully combine those two. The short list of places to visit, currently is Jordan, Cyprus, and/or Jerusalem.
4. Discipline my mind not to stress about things that I should be waiting for God to fulfill. Most single girls can identify w/this one!!

That's it. I think they're pretty attainable! Here's to a fabulously smashing year!!

The Ford Funeral

I don't know what it is about funerals, especially Presidential ones. They always choke me up with all of the traditions. Maybe it's the Catholic in me, because we truly have such beautiful funerals, filled with tradition and glory. I have heard a Protestant say, "Boy those Catholics know how to do funerals!" I'd say the government knows how to do them as well for the Presidents. I cried during the Reagan funeral a couple of years ago and I'm choking up as well during the Ford funeral right now.
Well, goodbye Mr. President. Thank you for your service to our country! You didn't expect to be a President, but you served anyway.

Sunny

This morning, I had to get up and moving pretty early, even though I am still on Christmas vacation. I'm at my mom's house this week to spend some time w/my family and on Tuesdays, her cleaning lady comes. Before you think, "Oh no, poor baby has to get up early to have the house cleaned!" let me explain.
When we moved into this house in 1997, it was a difficult time for us. My parents were getting divorced and my mom and I moved into the city from our suburban home. I was one week shy of starting college, and I was very against our having to move. I felt that my dad should have to move. But, God was so good to us. We moved into a much smaller house, but with a much larger heart of neighbors. I felt as if I'd gone back to the '50s and I loved it! Our neighbors on either side were both elderly. Dorothy, on one side was a widow w/out children to take care of her. Remembering that we are to "take care of widows and orphans" we used to do many things w/her, especially when she no longer could drive (due to an accident, which oddly enough occurred at the BMV:) ). Dorothy had a cleaning lady that came on Tuesdays, which we were always grateful for, b/c as Dorothy aged, she often forgot meds, etc. Sunny, the cleaning lady was so good to her. After Dorothy died, Sunny needed someone to fill the Tuesday spot, and we took her right away.
On to Sunny. Sunny is a gift from God. Truly- I know we all are, but I feel unworthy at times when she is over. Sunny has what, as a teacher, I would describe as being a very low IQ. She doesn't drive and has a horrible stutter. Yet, 5 days a week, she cleans a different family's house. Her husband drops her off at 7:30 and she stays all day until he picks her up at 4:30. In a country where Sunny could probably live off of disability, she works! And she is proud of her work. Today when I was trying to help her, she scolded me and said, "That's what I'm here for- to help you out." She buys gifts for us on holidays. Nothing extravagent, maybe just a pad of paper. If she notices that my mom is low on a cleaning product, she brings it the next time. She only charges something crazy, like $45 dollars! My mom is always trying to give her more, but she won't take it. I think she really just cleans, because she loves to help people. And I think about that. Do I do things for other people because I truly want to help them? Sometimes, but honestly not always. Sometimes I feel as if I have to or they want me to and I'll feel guilty if they don't. There is much to be learned from someone like our Sunny!