I found the bed of my dreams

This is the bed that I want:



I'm moving soon. Do you have any boxes?

Snow Day

We got a snow day today. It was the answer to my prayer.



My snowy street.

Something's Coming

Today the sky looks ominous... like something is about to happen. It's kind of cool and spooky at the same time.



Whatever it is, I hope it brings some snow along with it.

Listening to: Madonna's Bedtime Stories
(and no, I didn't put the image in upside down)

What's the difference

Here's a conversation I had with my sister recently:

Kellie: I know you can't eat in the cafeteria because you're anti-social...
Me: I'm not anti-social, I'm xenophobic !

***************************************************

I've been working on a web form for two days straight. I really love a challenge and this really is one. I haven't done .asp code in a year and now I'm having to reach deep into my back pocket for code that has been long forgotten. Working on this project has made me want to take an .asp class. But...

I made this promise...

"No more classes for two years"

*sigh*

Listening to:
Lenny Kravitz - "My Little Girl's Eyes" from his album "5"

Nobody Not Really

I feel myself slipping. I need a spanish class, specifically conversation. And even though I know that signing up for a class would've caused me a mound of stress, I need that interaction. I find myself having conversations with myself in spanish in the car. I feel like the crazy lady down the street.

Me: "Who are you talking to?"
Me: "Nobody, not really."

Today, I had a productive day... sort of...
It was sort of like this...


Look at the comic

No pain, no gain...

I let some of the girls talk me into getting my eyebrows waxed in Cuernavaca. It was a new experience for me. But I trusted my girls...

Well, let's just say that today was painful. But my eyebrows look good...


Check out my eyebrows.

Saturday January 9, 2005 (en espanol)

Ok, time for a spanish journal entry. This is from Sunday January 9, 2005


Hoy fuimos a la Basílica de Guadalupe en la cuidad de México y las pirámides en Teotihuacan. Salimos a las ocho por la mañana y regresamos a las 7 por la noche. Tengo muchas impresiones de los dos lugares.

Primero, la Basílica de Guadelope es muy histórica por que fue construida en el año 1521 más o menos. Mucha gente va a la basílica para pedir milagros a la virgen Maria. Ví a gente que venia de muchas partes del país que espera que la virgen pueda ayudarles. La gente, la mayoría, Católicos, hace todos que ellos creen la virgen quiere para recibir un milagro. Algunas de las cosas que ellos hacen me aparecen muy estrictos a mí por que yo no he visto eso tipo de fe nunca. Yo creo que su fe esta muy fuerte pero esta lo mismo que yo.

Imagino que hay diferencias sobre la fe de católicos americanos y católicos mexicanos. Puede ser fácil para ver la influencia de las religiones indígenas en la cultura mexicana. Es muy difícil para mí separar la cultura y la religión mexicana. Para mí, la religión es muy importante, más importante que la cultura. En mi familia, nuestra cultura no influya nuestra religión. Entonces, hoy, cuando yo vi a la gente, tenia respeto para su fe aunque yo no estoy de acuerdo.

Teotihuacan
Hoy fuimos a Teotihuacan, para mi estaba la tercera vez. La primera vez no entendí nada. El guía hablo solamente en español. Yo pensé que las pirámides eran bonitas, bellas, y muy grandes. La historia de los Teotihuacanos fue extraños para mí. Hoy entendí más. Los Teotihuacanos fueron muy inteligentes. Vivieron por un milenio, del ano 300 BC al 700 AD. Nade sabe la verdad de la gente porque nadie lo se descubrió desde los Aztecas vinieron. Pero los templos y casas, y pinturas y todos indican que los Teotihuacanos fueron muy modernos porque usaban agua eficiente, y construían muchos edificios sin metales.

En este caso, hay cosas culturas que indican la creencia en muchos dioses. Hay dioses por el sol, la luna, el agua, lluvia, etc. Yo creo en un único dios. Entonces, estaba difícil para mí entender algunas partes de la vida de los Teotihuacanos.

Fue un buen día, aunque, me dolían los pulmones y la cabeza. La experiencia estaba interesante. Y cuando llegamos a casa, mi maleta ha llegando. Ahora, necesito a dormir porque mañana es el primer día de las clases.

Forward thinking

If I could write the forward to my friend's book, it would go something like this...


Traveling is something that I aspire to do when I’m older and have no need for a 9 to 5 job. To experience a new land, its tastes, smells, people, culture, terrain is a lesson that can’t be taught in a classroom.

I have had the privilege to travel a few times and I’m always amazed at the questions people ask about the places I’ve visited. Did you go here? Did you go there? Did you take in the beaches? Did you do a lot of shopping? But there’s so much more to traveling. There’s the culture shock, change in time, the change in foods, the change in language. You soon realize that the natives don’t need to learn English. You need to learn their language. These kinds of stories can be just as colorful and sometimes more interesting than the view at the popular tourist traps that you inevitably end up visiting.

It is that experience, the everyday getting around town that fascinates me. I want to know about buying a loaf of bread, getting a taxi, the lodging, day-to-day activities that make or break a trip. I am so fortunate to have a friend who is ultra observant and who has the ability to see things in the most ordinary situations that others don’t see. She also has the inability to go without getting on the computer for more than a day at a time. So when she goes away, she sends me email updates telling me about her observations. That’s what this book is; her observations in email form. This book is divided into four sections, each corresponding to a different trip that she took in 2004.

Now, let’s get one thing straight right in the beginning. She didn’t give me permission to compile this book. In fact, when I told her that I wanted to put all her emails in a book form, she told me not to do it. But I love reading these stories because they make me feel like I was right there with her smelling the different aromas, meeting the people, living the life of a world traveler.

Do I think she’ll be mad? Maybe she will; but only for about an hour. She can’t stay mad at me for too. But just in case she kills me, someone will have to call my job to tell them I won’t be in for a while.

Enjoy these stories. I sure did!

Julie
a.k.a. Shirley
(I don't know why her husband thinks that's my name.)

En Espanol

I've decided to post my spanish journal entries from Mexico. I mean after all, if I don't use some spanish, there are those who might doubt that I really went to school. I don't want to be the center of controversy, so here's the first entry:

Sábado el 8 de enero

Tomamos dos exámenes a la escuela, uno fue oral y el otro fue escrito. Hice bien y pienso que la clase vaya ser buena para mí. Espero que Jami sea en clase conmigo por caso voy a tener alguien para estudiar conmigo.

Después de los exámenes, caminamos a Superama. Compre jabón y pilas. Caminamos mucho y hacia mucho calor. Cuando regresamos a casa, cambia la ropa. Mama cocinó comida para nosotros y luego nosotros dormimos.

A las cinco y media fuimos al Zocalo. Es lo mismo que yo recuerdo. La misma gente, huelas, tiendas, todo. Para mí, era como sea en casa. Me encanta Cuernavaca y su gente. Todo el mundo es familiar pero nuevo en el mismo tiempo. Esta familiar porque conozco algunos caminos y lugares. Pero esta nuevo porque hay diferentes personas en nuestro grupo y una mamá. Y en este año, quiero hablar mucho más que los años pasados. Tengo muchas palabras y quiero usarlas.

Mañana, vamos a la cuidad de México y Teotihuacan. Quiero montar las dos pirámides. Voy a tomar fotos y voy a escuchar al guía de la historia de Teotihuacan. Pienso que este año puedo entenderlo. Vamos a ver.

A week later...

I have been home for a week from Mexico and I've had some time to reflect on my trip. On the way down to Mexico, one song stayed in my mind:

"Well He put me smack dab in the middle of paradise
In the heart of the city where my dreams come alive
and everything I have and everything I see
Is just another reminder that God's been good to me."

-Keith Urban -"God's been good to me"

I feel like this trip was a blessing from God. I learned so much; much more than I planned to learn. I learned the language, of course, but I learned patience and humility, and that I have so much more to do with my life.

As I boarded the plane on January 7th, I read a card given to me by a friend. I was afraid to read the card because I didn't want to get emotional if the card was sappy. In part the card said, "Let yourself develop language attennae and steep like a teabag in the language and culture. Enjoy this time out of time above all."

This friend had told me a year ago "Go to Paris". She didn't mean it in the literal sense. But what I took it to mean was that I needed to do something for me. I needed to take some time for myself and leave the stress and problems behind if only for one moment in time. Going to another country is rare experience for me and I really wanted this time to have meaning and to serve a purpose. Of course, I wanted to learn spanish, but for what reason? I want to use it for something good. After all, if you have knowledge but don't apply it, you'd might as well not have it all.

So I decided that I would learn spanish for the ministry. I want to increase my share in the ministry, so why not take it a step further. Last year, at our district convention, we kept hearing about the need for people to learn another language in order to widen out in the ministry. So I decided that I would continue my spanish with that goal. It has been much harder than I thought, but that's ok. I have to be patient. I learned that in Mexico. I had to be patient with other people, but also myself. I went to the spanish speaking congregation and I really had to be patient with myself in trying to understand the things I was being taught. I couldn't communicate at the rate that I am accustommed to speaking. That took patience and humility. But I got through and now, I feel more prepared to obtain my goal. I don't think I'll move to the spanish congregation this year. But one day I will.

I'm home

So, I'm home. I'm really happy to be home. I missed my family, my bed, my car...

Want to see my photo album?

More reflection tomorrow... too tired now