Holy Monkeys!

never underestimate the power of a good book

2012-02-15T11:56:00.005-08:00

after a day of "auditioning" kids, teaching music class, running lines with my drama stars, making several unsuccessful attempts of getting in contact with the embassy (i mean seriously. what are they here for?), and having boys tell me that i'm not fair and they don't like me when i am too tired to play with them after school (to which i must admit i kind of laugh at... i'm terrible, i know), i curled up on my sofa, chatted with my parents (who mocked me with their condo lanai and perfect florida weather) and my sisters (who's locations where not quite as enticing, though missed deeply), and then spent the rest of my evening with my old friends in mitford.

is that seriously only one sentence? whoa.

in high school i first started reading jan karon's mitford series and fell in deep love with the characters of this beloved, quaint, and quirky town. for christmas my mom sent me the first book on radio theater put on by focus on the family, and just like pavlov's dogs i began to salivate over the thought of reading the rest of the series. so low and behold this week i received a care package by mom (she's a good one) with book #2! my heart is happy.

just typing

2012-02-10T10:05:00.000-08:00

hanging around school after hours is probably one of my favorite things to do. most of the kids have left and those who have stuck around are either playing futbol, cleaning classrooms, or just hanging out. it's laid back and peaceful and i love it.

it's also when i feel like i get the most "connect" time with the kids. we're able to sit and talk or run through lines for the play or sing songs we've been learning. it's fun.

i've never been very good in the midst of human chaos. most anyone who knows me knows that being surrounded my a lot of people will almost always majorly overwhelm me. (this does not include events like concerts or games... cause those are fun) it's during these times that i tend to get irritable and snappy.

unfortunately when you're in the business of working at a school with over 200 students human chaos quickly becomes a consistent part of life. i'm trying to learn to deal with it with grace. i don't always succeed but it's a learning process. a process that i'm trying to give myself grace through as well. something i've never been terribly good at.

but more than anything, this is why after school hours at school are cherished. the children are few. the conversation is meaningful... or at least personal. and i don't feel like i'm doing quite as badly at this whole living-in-africa thing as i usually do.

praise the Lord for moments like these.

*so i wasn't sure what i was going to write but decided i needed to actually update this thing and writer's block was just going to have to get over itself for tonight. so i started typing and this was what came out. take it however you like.

love like tea

2012-01-06T01:55:00.000-08:00

today when i got up i grabbed a cup of coffee, my computer, journal, Bible, and guitar excited to have a morning of quiet to pray, think, write, and listen to some stellar-soul-filling music. ahhh.

and then the boys came.

they do this often and i'll be honest, i don't always handle it very well. they know to come in the afternoon and instead show up at the window in the morning when i'm trying to work and want to have these great and meaningful conversations that usually include questions like:

"can i play mario cart?"
"can you borrow me some cards?"
"can i teach you bemba?"
"what are you doing?"
"can i see what's on your computer?"
"ipad?"
"angry birds?"
"cartoons?"

to which i reply:

"boys, i love you, but go away. i need to be left alone right now."

to which they reply:

"no."

to which i reply (in sheer frustration):

"fine," pick up my computer and march into my room as voices of, "okay! sorry! bye!" are called after me.

5 minutes later i peak out of my room and at the sign of no boys i happily sit back at the table to continue with my morning.

pretty soon they show up again. ezron hands me a note but before i can read it they continue to talk, this time asking for bandaids.

sigh. "fine. come to the front."

bandaids on. lecture on respect and obedience. boys gone. leslie irritated.

and then i read the note.

an ode of love and thankfulness ending with:

"i love [you] like a cup of tea"

oh man. i guess i kind of like these kids after all.

it's true. laziness can be totally justified

2012-01-05T02:28:00.000-08:00

so i did it. i took the easy way out. i slacked. i allowed laziness to rule. i looked work ethic in the face and declared in victory, "not i!"

yep. i found an easter play online (or rather a friend found it and emailed me the link. thanks rachel!) and no longer have to stare at my computer wondering how on earth i'm going to write one. yes. i said write. am i crazy, you ask? not anymore cause i'm buying a play online! (did i mention that?)

look out lifesong students. this semester we're learning how to rap! (one of the great things about this play) it makes me giggle a little just picturing little norman beatboxing (sadly i don't have a picture of him, but trust me. it would be adorable)

ah. life is good. now i just have to figure out what to teach in music and art before monday and we'll be good to go.

score.

(now, let's just hope it's actually good. oh well. $20 is worth the possibility of not losing my sanity)

not a christmas post... at all

2012-01-03T12:32:00.000-08:00

i was going to post something christmassy last week but the lack of internet (oh africa) kind of stole my thunder. so instead you get just a very non-christmassy, pictureless (because a friend is borrowing my camera, which i was wasn't smart enough to download the pictures off of before she took it) post filled with nothing super great except some random thoughts. which aren't really great either, i'm super honest.

are you excited?

random thought number 1:

while africa has definitely been good, it has also provided it's share of non-awesomenesses. for example:

1. water that sometimes decides to spit out of the faucet instead of flowing happily into the sink. i often feel like i'm getting attacked by our sink and sometimes (more times than not) almost counter attack with a swift punch in the nozzle. thankfully my common sense kicks in and i realize this would inevitably hurt me way worse than the sink which probably couldn't care less about how mean my jab cross is.

2. the not-completely-but-consistent-enough-to-be-annoying-lack-ofs, such as... water, internet, and power

3. heat. i mean seriously, who likes it anyway and why on earth would a girl who hates summer move her sorry self to africa? these are the thoughts that plague me.

4. the inability to complete a task... any task... without being interrupted with (many) someone(s) asking you for something they "need" (which really just means "want" but you get suckered into thinking they "need" it simply because you are more privileged than they are and that in itself is enough to guilt you into doing way more than you would ever consider doing in the states)

random thought number 2:

i wonder what francine is doing right now. (oh look! a picture! i didn't mean to lie. really i didn't)

this is the elephant i tried to touch and failed and then named when we went to a game park resort where the food was amazingly good... enough to cause all my clothes to feel super uncomfortable and tight.

random thought number 3:

how in the world am i going to pick out a design and fabric for my chitange suit... and where is this so called kitchen party anyway (i'm thinking it's at the farm and they just forgot to mention that we're hosting)?

mitzi and i have been invited to a kitchen party, which is like a kitchen shower for a bride we've never met only it's a way bigger deal and we're supposed to wear chitange suits which are basically traditional dresses made out of traditional zambian fabric. so tomorrow we will go to the market and meet with the tailor and figure out which design for a suit we want and then go to the chitange booth where we always buy our chitange (though we may be daring and go somewhere else) and pick out a fabric and then go back to the tailor and get measured and order our very first traditional zambian attire. the whole thing sounds terribly overwhelming and super fun all at the same time. how is that possible?

random thought number 4:

in exactly 6 days this non-teacher will officially be teaching music, art, and drama. crazy. i was asked the other day by my new friends at the immigration office what my plans for the new year are. i said, "teach?" and then realized i was serious and suddenly felt a little frightful of the year to come. hmm. maybe i should start planning now... eh, i can do that sunday night.

my new (well, actually old, but newly put into words) motto (which i'm convinced the rest of this country shares with me):

"why plan for today what you can stress out about tomorrow."

and on that note i will leave you to contemplate the many words of wisdom that were not shared in the previous paragraphs.

happy new year!

christmas in zambia part 1

2011-12-26T06:06:00.001-08:00

This year Christmas looked a little different for me, but it was equally sweet in its own way. Since I haven't posted in a time resembling forever, I will do my best to recap the past month of holiday festivities in 3 posts over the next few days. Welcome to part 1.

PART ONE (Thanksgiving and the All School Christmas Play)

1. Thanksgiving was spent with all the Americans (plus a few other nationalities) gathering together for probably the biggest thanksgiving feast I've ever been a part of, complete with turkey, (I have no idea where they found one of those in Zambia) stuffing, mashed potatoes, crocodile tail, (yes I tried it) many other yummy foods I can't recall right now, and pies galore. The night ended with a Skype call home to my family in the states... Something I was afraid would make me feel homesick but instead it just made me feel blessed.

2. On the day after our last day of school we put on a whole school Christmas play.

can you stand the anticipation?

With only six weeks of preparation (with some frustration, late nights, crankiness, a nasty cold and a few melt downs thrown in for good messure) we successfully put together a crazy amount of costumes (Mitzi informed me I should host my own show called "making costumes on a budget") created a stage area out of an old pool and pool house, and memorized lines and songs galore. We had over 120 parents and caretakers come and ended the whole show with everyone singing and dancing in true Zambian fashion. Here is part 1: (I finally figured out how to load it online, but it takes a super long time so you'll have to wait for parts 2 and 3.

stay tuned. there's more to come...

day 19: something orange

2011-11-10T05:28:00.000-08:00

okay, so the whole thing is not orange, but it's got orange parts so i'm counting it. now you might think this folder is all fun and silliness on the outside but on the inside it's all business. in fact, without the contents of this funny little folder i would very likely get kicked out of the country. yep. that's what we call serious.

day 18: your shoes

2011-11-09T06:34:00.000-08:00

the rainy season is a-coming!

5 in 1

2011-11-08T00:56:00.000-08:00

well, life has been slightly busy here in zambia, but have no fear. today we're playing make-up... again.

day 13: yourself with 13 things... i absolutely love the smell of colored pencils and these babies are some of the best. love my prisma colors!

day 14: eyes... ah, my boys. hehe. so you can't necessarily tell here, but ngosa (r) is seriously one of the best lookin' kids around. no lie. oh if i were 15 years younger (eek! that statement made me sound old... and creepy)

day 15: silhouette... ok so not super creative or grandiose but if gets the job done. me in front of my window

day 16: long exposure... ok so these aren't great either but i kind of like them cause i look like a ghost... not sure why that makes me like them... but it does.

ok, and this one just makes me laugh. i call it the "floating excessively happy head"

day 17: technology... this one i call "living sacrificially for the sake of orphans" well, either that or "good grief, are we seriously that american"

and there you have it. happy tuesday, everyone!
now i got to get back to my video games... ahem... i mean work.

day 12: a sunset

2011-11-01T15:05:00.000-07:00

a few weeks back we went to an old boating club... one built back in the day when england was settled throughout zambia. this place is super cool.

as i looked around at the old buildings, pool, and exercise equipment i could just picture the grounds scattered with british gentlemen and ladies strolling about in period swimsuits or dresses and hats... or rowing out through crocodile invested waters (yep... for real).

suddenly i felt like i was in the middle of an agatha christie novel. needless to say was pretty content.

washed in the (blue) water

2011-10-31T14:48:00.000-07:00

ok so the water might not have been blue per say, but close enough. this sunday i experienced my first zambian baptism. what a sweet experience to see some of our boys at lifesong school make an open commitment to follow Christ. it made me cry.

we invited some of the boys' school friends to come along and after church had a celebration of yummy food and made-from-scratch cake (thank you, mitz!). a very good (long) and powerful day. thank you, Jesus!

so to complete challenge number eleven here's to a very special "something blue"

loaded up to head to the river:

waiting for the baptisms to start:

number 1:

hugs from his "foster momma"(such a big day for nicodemus and rosemary... their oldest son and 2 "foster sons" taking the plunge)

number 2:

number 3:

i love this father-son moment:

they threw flowers on the heads of the newly baptized. it was cool. kind of like a wedding.

if you want to see a video of the day, go to mitzi's blog HERE.

days 8-10: playing catch up

2011-10-28T03:42:00.000-07:00

so i've been gone the last couple days to lusaka, where we bought a couple necessities (and a few non necessities) and picked up mr. luke (as the kiddos call him) who (happy me!) brought with him a sweet bag full of goodies from my dearest mother for yours truly.

since i haven't been able to contribute to tami's photo challenge, i'm playing catch up and posting all three challenges here.

day 8 a bad habit:

unpacking... or the lacking to do so. i have a tendency to not pack for about 2-4 weeks after i get home from a given place. don't worry. this mess was promptly moved when it was time to go to bed... to the floor. yup it's that bad.

day 9 someone you love:

in the bag of goodies from my mother (whom i also love!) i found this letter from her mother, my grandma b. so sweet. grandma b is quite the woman, let me tell you. she had her own dress shop back in the day (and ran it quite successfully) and raised a pretty stellar family to boot. she is a woman of supremo class and integrity. and she's fashionable too!

i have terribly fond memories of holidays and sleepovers at her house... her cedar chest full of dress-up clothes, her basement store room full of old dress shop (turned play) items and toys, her archie comics, her house's wonderful smell, and her book reading before bedtime.

she is an example of a strong, Godly woman and has the kind of spunk that is required in a true kindred spirit. her last words to me before i left for africa were

"hold close to God and He will hold close to you!"

i love you grandma b and am so proud to be called your granddaughter.

day 10 childhood memory:

something else super sweet that was found in my bag of goodies... psalty cds!!! i used to love sitting on our living room floor listening to these on record. yep, that's right. record. i would study over the back cover picture of all the lucky kids who got to sing with psalty and dreamed of someday being one of them. sadly they don't make new psaltys anymore. oh well, i enjoy the memories, anyway.

day 7: fruit (red is for strawberries)

2011-10-24T22:43:00.000-07:00

so i live on a farm here in zambia... but not just any farm, my friends. i live on a strawberry farm. oh yeah. that means i can have strawberries whenever i want... that is when the workers don't strip the plants dry to sell them... blast.

here's my little roomies being crazy in the field:

and this... well, this is my dear friend, liness:

(that's "lee-nus" if your me and "ly-nus" if your everyone else at school) i adore this girl.

the other day i asked her why everyone calls her 'ly-nus' and she calls herself 'lee-nus'. she got all shy and smiled. she said her family named her 'lee-nus' but everyone at school calls her 'ly-nus' because it's a more common name. i asked her what she wanted to be called. she said she wants everyone at school to call her 'ly-nus'.

i said "so do you like keeping your name special by having only your family call you by it?"

she said, "yes. but i want you to call my 'lee-nus'"

so apparently i'm officially in. saweet (like strawberries)!

how i spent my first holiday in zambia

2011-10-24T11:40:00.000-07:00

today we celebrated zambia's independence day... which means that we got the whole day off... minus a short choir practice in the morning, at which the kids did awesome.

i used this opportunity to take a shot from a low angle (per tami's photo challenge) to show you how i spent my holiday:

i like to take my naps on the floor when i can cause it's cool and everything else right now is so dang hot!

there you have it. tomorrow no naps for this girl. i got errands to run, classes to teach, and visas to renew. here's to not getting kicked out of the country.

happy monday!

day 5: from a high angle

2011-10-21T04:13:00.000-07:00

it's day 5 of tami paige's 30 day photography challenge.

today's challenge (to take a picture from a high angle) was taken during a tea party with z and kg. i love these kids' imaginations. this was no ordinary tea party, my friends. this was a jedi tea party. attended by princess leia, obi wan, and (yours truly) padme.

kg preparing our meal of lions and tigers and fish (oh my!)
(these actually represent hamburgers and grilled cheese)

z taking his turn as chef (oops! this one's from a low angle)

kg just being silly... a very familiar occurrence.

love my new little roomies!

something green

2011-10-20T11:42:00.000-07:00

our very own lemon tree! who knew lemons look a LOT like limes...

for more of tami's photography challenge click HERE.

clouds

2011-10-19T06:00:00.000-07:00

this cloud not only makes me go into instant dream mode during the day, but it also keeps me malaria free at night! that's what i call a twofer.

check out more from tami paige's 30 day photography challenge here!

what i'm wearing

2011-10-18T11:16:00.000-07:00

this...

is what i'm wearing today. as a part of my dear friend, tam tam's (who's pretty awesome, by the way. just check out her blog and you'll know what i'm talking about) 30 day photography challenge, i am taking a picture of what i'm wearing... it was paired with a skirt earlier today but at this point is paired with a pair of worn, painted, and snagged exercise capris.

this fun little challenge started yesterday. sadly i missed day one because:

a. i'm a little slow (don't believe me? check it out)
b. i like to procrastinate
c. my faithful camera's battery was sucked dry before i had a chance to take one i liked. i'm in africa, ya'll, and my chargers in america. not a cool situation.

the fun thing is that some of the kids at school were asking me about my shirt and none of them knew what bowling is. so i gave them a little demonstration on how to bowl (in perfect form). they were totally impressed. i think we're going to actually set up a little make-shift yard bowling for them. they're pretty excited. so am i.

trust me. this event will be documented with pictures and quite possibly video. stay tuned.

meet eleanor rigby

2011-10-17T04:45:00.000-07:00

yeah. she's pretty cool... and a little dirty thanks to the rainy season giving us a few sneak peak performances.

we're great pals. she even has a cd player... or so she says... though i have yet to find it. hmmm... i guess i should have brought those old cassette tapes after all. bummer.

but it's all good because she has a radio... that plays awesome music that i can dance to. and we all know how this girl loves to boogie. (i could teach these zambians a thing or two... ha... that was a joke)

plus she has successfully taken me to town and back 3 times with no incidents and even stopped for cupcakes!

oh eleanor. i'm so glad we found each other.

the big BAD mr. M

2011-10-11T08:30:00.000-07:00

sunday night i started feeling slightly ill. nothing major just a little nausea and back pain. being in africa my tendency is to immediately imagine the worst and then talk myself out of believing anything is wrong because i don't want to overreact.

yesterday i was feeling worse. i blamed it on the fact that i wasn't getting enough sleep so i stayed home and took a 4 hour nap. yep. 4 hours.

when i woke up and as the night continued on my back pain turned into full body aches and my nausea turned into having pretty much no appetite at all.

um... surely this is nothing at all right? i mean no vomiting. no diarrhea. no fever... well... until around 8:00 i grabbed that ol' thermometer which read at a nice 100.1 degrees. that's not too high. probably it's just from it being hot out, right??!!!

today we went to the clinic and someone (ooh, it's me!) got a little prick on her finger. then bing-bang-boom and...

negative. phew!

yeah. it would appear that certain malaria meds have some interesting side effects. these are the common ones. the ones i was experiencing are in green.

diarrhea
dizziness
drowsiness
headache
lightheadedness
loss of appetite
muscle aches
nausea
stomach pain or upset
strange dreams
tiredness
trouble sleeping
vomiting

never a good thing when the medicine you're taking to prevent a disease causes the exact same symptoms as the disease.

so it's officially time to say goodbye to the big bad mr. mefloquine. on to doxycycline.

hangin with the girls

2011-10-10T10:06:00.000-07:00

last saturday mitzi (my new bff/sister/mother... aka: the missionary with whom i live... along with her hubby, shane, and 3 kiddos z, kg, and e) and i invited some girls from lifesong school to our house. it was a sweet day of checkers, scooters, and finding out just a little bit about their lives... like who they live with at home, what they like about school, things like that.

i can't wait to learn more as i get to know their characters... as i see the good, the bad, and the ugly unfold in all it's glory. one of my major prayers during my time here is that i will remember to be available, particularly to these girls. that i never lose sight of why i'm here. that i actively show love to these beautiful girls.

Um excuse me. Where's the nearest Mac store?

2011-10-05T13:54:00.000-07:00

so my uberly blessed computer (yes the same one that completely crashed 3 times last year) is having internet issues. sad. looks like i'll be posting from the trusty ipad (which has yet to crash thank you very much)

other then that less than blissful news zambia has been sweet (like freshly picked strawberries sweet) but since typing on this thing and not knowing how to post pictures slightly lessens the joy of blogging i'll just leave you with a quote from listening in on my 3 and 5 year old roomies playing "star wars":

3-year-old: "you underestimate my power!"

good grief i love these new little friends of mine.

by the way, tomorrow i pick up my brand new used zambian toyota car! whoop whoop!

talitha cumi

2011-08-20T14:30:00.000-07:00

it means, "little girl, get up."

Christ said it to jairus' daughter when He raised her from the dead. i like to think of Him saying the same to me in times when i'm fearful or tired.

when life feels too overwhelming and i need that extra urging from my Savior to "get up."

a few weeks ago my parents had me over for dinner along with some of the guys who i'll be working with in zambia. (for those of you who are not aware, i'm moving to zambia for a year on september 23rd!)

we talked a little about the ministry there and what i should expect. then they asked what kinds of things tend to irritate me on a regular basis. you know... my pet peeves. not that i don't have any, because i certainly do, but being put on the spot i couldn't think of anything. thankfully my dear sweet mother came to the rescue and informed them that i don't like it when people do things that i see as "stupid"

NOTE: she's probably not thrilled that i'm telling the world this... then again, i'm not thrilled that it's true.

you see, i have this tendency to get really impatient with people when they use (what in my mind is) absolutely no sense and then i get frustrated... and sometimes even (dare i say it?) mad! but i know this about myself and am trying to learn how to respond better when things don't go exactly how i think they should.

so that night i was a little (actually a lot) troubled. i couldn't sleep because i kept thinking "i'm going to be angry all the time... at everyone!" and "those poor kids are going to be afraid of me because i'll be really mean!" and "everyone's going to hate me and i'm going to hate everyone back!"

dramatic much?

the next morning i was in much need of truth (and sleep!) so i opened my Bible to daniel 10, where daniel tells about one of his visions. in this particular vision an angel is speaking to him and he is so terrified he is unable to speak or move (boy could i relate!). this is what happens:

while he was speaking to me, I looked down at the ground, unable to say a word. then the one who looked like a man touched my lips, and i opened my mouth and began to speak. i said to the one standing in front of me,

"i am terrified by the vision i have seen, my lord, and i am very weak. how can someone like me, your servant, talk to you, my lord? my strength is gone, and i can hardly breathe."

then the one who looked like a man touched me again, and i felt my strength returning.

"don't be afraid," he said, "for you are deeply loved by God. Be at peace; take heart and be strong!"

when he spoke these words i suddenly felt stronger..."

man i love it when God does that! He didn't have to, you know. He could have let me stew over my own insufficiency... but instead He chose to reassure His child that she is "deeply loved" and encourage her to "take heart and be strong!"

so watch out zambia... this girl is getting up. she is taking heart and being strong... and all to the credit of the deep and powerful love of her God.

i said i would NEVER do it again...

2011-03-24T08:15:00.000-07:00

anyone else out there ever find it hard to stay focused?

*NOTE* this picture has nothing to do with anything...

which totally makes my point

if you ask my mother ( or my dad or sisters or friends or anyone who knows me, for that matter) you'll find that i specialize in this area of expertise... unless of course the thing i'm focused on is low priority and slightly ridiculous.

this would explain why last night i found myself setting my alarm clock for 12AM so i could take a quick nap before i braved those hours where night blurs into morning... all to finish a project for work that went out this morning. yep... leslie does not like to focus until it is absolutely necessary.

the best part is that not 5 hours earlier i said with vigor and conviction to a friend who happened to be within earshot, "i will never pull an all-nighter for work again. i don't care if i'm behind. i won't do it."

but the sad reality of the situation is that i did... and i will again. we all know it. why try to pretend otherwise. i have been known to be called "the queen of procrastination" a time or two, but thought that as i grew up i'd mature a little. nope. it seems i'm only getting worse.

so the question is what can i do about it?

scratch that... i don't want to know... truth be told if i open up the comment box and see a bunch of helpful tips on how to become responsible i might (will) end up slightly (totally) bothered (annoyed) and wonder why no one understands that this is just the way i am!

oh boyza, i'm sounding more immature by the minute... oh well. i guess it's just the way i am.

the gift of healing

2011-03-11T11:35:00.000-08:00

this:

is "the last of a long line of" drano bottles used on

this:

my sink.

are you on the edge of your seats yet? well, let me start at the beginning ("a very good place to start"... wow, 2 random quotes and this story hasn't even started yet!)

about a month ago... actually over... february 1, to be precise, my dear and faithful kitchen sink developed a clog in the drain... a nasty clog indeed.

so what did i do?

i poured 1 bottle of drano down the drain... did it help? nope.
i poured another bottle of drano down the drain... did it help? nope.
i poured 3 and 4 and 5, yes 5, bottles of drano down the drain... did any of it help? nope.

so what did i do?

i prayed.

and this was no ordinary prayer either... this was a desperate, laying on of hands, "Lord, please heal my sink" kind of prayer. seriously. i put my hands on that sink and i prayed a prayer that went something like this:

"Lord, i feel really stupid doing this, but i'm just gonna do it anyway. so Lord, please heal my sink. i NEED you to heal my sink! i know You can do this. i believe You can do this. and if you don't that's okay, but PLEASE heal my sink. i can't afford a plumber right now. i can't afford to keep buying drano right now. so in the name of Jesus, sink, you be healed!"

then i stood back, took a deep breath, and turned on the water.

no dice.

so what did i do?

i went to indiana for the weekend and forgot about it. and when i came back it was still there.
then i went to tennessee for the next weekend and forgot about it. and when i came back it was still there.
so i went to ukraine for 2 weeks and forgot about it. and when i came back it was still there.

do you know how annoying it is to have your kitchen sink clogged for over a month? i do.

but this wednesday, march 9th, something happened. i was talking to my friend at my kitchen table. the sink was full of water because i'd braved doing the dishes even thought draining the sink would take no less than 2 hours.

suddenly we heard this massive GULP come from my sink. i went over to let the rest of the water out and to my astonishment the entire sink emptied beautifully.

"erica!!!! my sink just emptied!!!"

she didn't seem to grasp how amazing this was. i turned on the water and let it run for a few minutes... no clog!!! it just kept flowing down that beautiful beautiful drain!!!

"erica!!! God healed my sink!!! He healed my sink!!! He just waited a month, but He did it!!!"

i started jumping around my kitchen like a complete crazy and have been kind of giddy ever since.

so if any of you have any appliances hanging around the house that need to be healed feel free to give me a call. it might take a month, but i have this feeling that i've uncovered a gift here.

what do you think?
(ooh, maybe i shouldn't ask!)

spaseebo. ameen.

2011-03-09T13:51:00.000-08:00

we were about to eat dinner and they asked me to pray. this had happened before, and every time I had responded with, "you want me to?" to which denis would reply "yes, we let women pray here." which would then result in a heavy eye roll from yours truly.

of course, we still went through the same "pre-prayer" routine but this time when i opened my mouth to pray i decided to forgo the whole english thing...

"dorogoy Nyebyesnee Otets,

spaseebo.

ameen."

boy did that get a reaction. i only said "dear Heavenly Father, thank You. amen." but i like to tell myself they thought i was pretty cool from that point on... then again i was wearing sneakers in the middle of a harsh ukrainian winter... but that's another story for another time.

me n my homeboy

2011-03-03T13:46:00.000-08:00

yesterday i flew home from ukraine. 1) i didn't have access to my car and 2) i really didn't want to think about cooking or buying groceries so...

i called my sis to see if she could pick me up and let me hang out at their place for a while (aka for dinner). then i fell asleep on her couch at 9 and have been here ever since. do i sound lazy? oh no. i call it jet lagged.

about a half hour ago she had to run to pick the girls up from school so she gave Hudson the option of going with her or staying home with aunt leslie, to which he responded,

"i want to stay here with aunt leslie so she's not all alone" aww. how sweet.

so we passed the time playing with photo booth... a great hit, let me tell you.

oh hudsy boy. i love you.

3 little fairies

2010-11-03T14:54:00.000-07:00

so around a month ago i had a little conversation with my 7 year-old niece, paige. it went something like this:

p: this year for halloween i want to be a rainbow fairy
me: that sounds cool
p: do you dress up for halloween?
me: i did last year... you want to know what i dressed up as?
p: what?
me: the burning bush
p: (uncertain grunt)
me: you know what that's from?
p: yeah, the Bible story... how'd you do that?
me: well i made it out of stuff.
p: you MADE it? could you make mine?
me: (uuuuhhhh...) sure
p: (voice getting more excited) okay, so i want a LOT of colors, because it can't be plain, otherwise it wouldn't be a RAINBOW fairy and i WANT it to be REALLY colorful.
me: i think i can do that.
p's mom: you want to make them for her sisters' too?
me: (evil glare) sure

now, before my sister comes and slaps me with the truth stick, i have to admit... there was no evil glaring. i was actually pretty excited... but no story is complete without a little conflict, right? gotta love that artistic license.

anyway, a week goes by and i received this little number in the mail (fyi: my name is not spelled like that)

funny girl. so, knowing the expectations where high i slaved and i sewed and i sewed and i slaved and i turned my nice clean upstairs into, well, a...

not so clean upstairs.

but the end result turned out to be worth the energy... plus raely kept saying "your the BEST, aunt leslie!" which is almost enough to get me to do it again.

i love how the pictures totally show their personalities

the youngest fairy was sleeping during the other two's debut, but i was able to get this quick shot as she was awaiting the arrival of her cousins...

i am in love with a man...

2010-10-28T10:05:00.000-07:00

...a man named, dan computer-fix-it-man (i don't know his last name, so "computer-fix-it-man" will have to suffice)

oh we had a rough start... our relationship was broken and fragile (at least my computer was)

for weeks he left me hanging... waiting by the phone with not so much as a "hello" to ease my mind.

but now... oh now things are good! things are divine!

issues have been resolved, the brokenness is mended (plus he gave me FREE updates!!!)

oh dan, fear not. all has been forgiven and restored. it's time to look to the future, not dwell on the past...

(and hopefully that means i won't be gracing your doors for a very, very long time.)

here's to you, dan.

was it worth it?

2010-10-27T19:36:00.000-07:00

who would have thought this:

could turn into this:

i still can't believe it. i can't believe that i drew that many pictures! i can't believe i'm still sane(kind of). i can't believe i still have friends after a month of absence.

but here's what i can believe:

i believe in what lifesong is doing in the lives of thousands of children worldwide. i believe that their "adopt an orphanage" program can be a valuable addition to any church. that's why i also believe all the frustration, late hours, multiple do-overs, and loss of any kind of social life where worth it.

i know most of you have seen this video, but if not, enjoy!

if you want to know more about how your church can participate in this program click here

welcoming myself back to blog world with a somewhat random post...

2010-10-25T21:02:00.000-07:00

when i was in jr. high i wanted to be a doctor. not sure why, but i had it in my head that this was what i was destined to be.

i knew it would require work... lots of work.

i knew it would require good grades in math and science... no problem because these happened to be two of my favorite subjects (some of you aren't believing me right now, but it's true... really it is!)

so i decided to prepare myself for the years of dedication and studying that lay ahead, and committed to reading through the entire... (wait for it) ... family medical guide.

that's right, starting on page one of this little beaut...

i began to read... and take notes, for that matter.

never was i so diligent... never was i so faithful...
then it came time to start chapter 2. and it was even longer than chapter 1! ugh...

ah, well. some dreams are better left on the shelf... right next to that big ol' family medical guide with a sheet of note paper tucked into chapter 1 by an ambitious (albeit easily distracted) 11 year old.

welcome to peru

2010-06-23T23:57:00.000-07:00

here are some long overdue pics of the sights around iquitos, peru.

pics of the kids still to come.

this last one is a picture of the only piece of wallpaper in my hotel room... perfection.

facing my fears

2010-06-23T15:33:00.000-07:00

this year, for fathers day, i decided to treat my dad to a date night... a little tennis and dinner at one of his favorite restaurants that i kind of hate. aren't i a good daughter?

... ahem, until you consider that i missed father's day cause i wanted to visit friends out of town. but we won't talk about that.

anyway, i thought it sounded like a nice gift... and so did he... until he came up with a "better" idea.

dad: how about instead of tennis and dinner you come over and help me redo our deck

*insert sarcasm*
yeah-ha! what fun!

but, what the hey. it's for father's day... which i missed.

plus i like myself some hard core construction (really, i do) so bring it on!

one problemo.

it was covered in thick, nasty spider webs!!!!!

oh goodness. we kept ripping up boards to reveal thicker and bigger webs. gag!

thankfully there were only a few spiders, and not terribly huge ones. but just knowing they had been there and were probably coming back made me want to cry.

did i mention i'm slightly afraid of spiders?

but did i do it? yes i did! even after dark!!!

and did i scream?

the whole way.*

nothing like facing your fears with style.

*that's an exaggeration... still, the amount of screaming/whimpering was considerable

news alert!

2010-06-11T08:09:00.000-07:00

i found my keys... in my PURSE!!!!!!

oh woe is me and my overloaded brain. i think i need a vacation.

am i alone here?

does anyone else, like me, "go a little [crazy] sometimes"*?

if so, please share... misery loves company.

*psycho quote... fyi

what happens when you have too much going on?

2010-06-10T10:28:00.000-07:00

you lose your keys, that's what.
well maybe you don't, but i do.

and then after you've missed a dr appointment because you're running around your house looking for little shiny things that magically get you places you need to go you call your sister, who happens to be meeting a friend who brought her starbucks and when she comes to take you to work she shares her blessed drink and even gives you the rest to take with you!

*let's stop and let that last part sink in a bit*

then you find the key your employee so generously drove to work earilier to drop off so you could actually get into the building since your key is...well... lost... and then you continue your day in the normal fashion. no craziness here. just an average day. move along. move along.

big shout out thanks to jami lynn, you dear thing, you, and nicole for buying the coffee that would eventually make its way to me.

how i'm feeling today...

2010-06-04T20:16:00.000-07:00

my kind of multitasking

2010-06-02T12:13:00.000-07:00

today i took a walk while reading a book.

there's something terribly poetical about simultaneously wandering through paths in this world and the imagination.

and then

it rained

on both my person and my* book.

delightful.

did i mention i love rain?

* actually, it's my sister's. don't worry, mego. your book is no worse for the wear. i hunched over while i walked to shield it as much as possible.

peru in a (really big) nutshell

2010-05-27T09:55:00.000-07:00

saturday

1. flew into iquitos
2. went to visit a little village by the river, got some interviews and pictures
3. saw the church/kid's club/rachel and josue's(the directors) home (it's all in the same building)
4. ate dinner at "texas" (this place is awesome... it's run by a true texas man who apparently likes to decorate with marti gras and sports themes... oh yeah)

sunday

1. helped out with kid's club in the morning
2. went to the invasion in the afternoon (the invasion is basically the projects and a lot of their kids live there)
3. watched the kids play soccer... they have a little "field" in the back of the church.
4. went to church in the evening where instead of a service they made dad and me give a 30 minute concert... hmmm. the funny thing is, of all the songs we sang the ones we forgot the words to were the only two we sing together regularly. ironic. oh the joy of standing in front of a room of strangers in awkward silence when beautiful melodies are supposed to be flowing off your tongue... yeah it was an interesting night, but fun. after the service the kids thought it would be fun to dog pile me... twice.
5. went out for icecream with josue's family... it was his brother's birthday (fyi, his whole family is involved in ministry... his dad is their pastor and his mom and brothers and their wives help with kid's club)

monday

1. went across the river (yeah, i was on the amazon...) to visit another village where we ate really good fish they had caught earlier that day and yummy hot soup... in 90 degree weather... and then played frisbee.
2. said goodbye to dad and jon.
3. helped put together bunkbeds (i ended up not sleeping on the floor after all... no complaining, here)
4. watched peruvian futbol
5. stayed up way too late talking with rachel... josue couldn't figure out what we could talk about for so long. he obviously doesn't understand women.

tuesday

1. had wonderfully yummy homemade cappacinoee drink for breakfast... not sure why it tasted so good... but it did
2. went shopping with rachel for supplies and groceries
3. taught a group of the kids how to paper mache animals.
4. interviewed 3 sisters who are in kid's club... the oldest commited her life to Christ just that sunday!
5. got a guitar lesson from josue's brother jonathan.
6. watched "blind side" ...which i'd never seen and it's pretty darn good

wednesday

1. hehe... so i can't seem to remember what we did until evening, but i'll update it when i do... hehe... awkward
2. interviewed mama luc and shirley... who mama luc took in a year ago because she was being abused and now (in her late 50s) is raising this 13 year old as her own daughter... amazing.
3. watched the fantastic mr. fox... which was... fantastic

thursday

1. went to a butterfly farm across the river where they also have a jaguar and monkeys that steel your stuff and cool things like that.
2. ate a semi raw fish "salad" for lunch... a well loved peruvian dish... good thing i love sushi!
3. went back to the invasion to interview a brother and sister in kid's club
4. taught second class where we painted the animals we made... the kids did absolutely awesome.
5. it finally rained! which was divine because the heat was getting a little... well... hot
6. went out to eat at a really cool pizza place... yummy!
7. gave jonathan a singing lesson(payment for the guitar lesson) ... no i do not know how to give voice lessons... yes i did fake my way through the whole thing... but he seemed happy.

friday

1. spent the morning chillin with my Bible... bliss.
2. ate lunch at a tiny cafe where i ate my third truly authentic peruvian meal of the week... it was my fav
3. rachel treated me to a pedicure. something i never get in the states and i must say, i feel a little strange having flowers painted on my toenails.
4. said many goodbyes... got globbered by a group of my new little friends.
5. met mama luc and papa jorje(i don't know how to spell names in spanish) at the airport where they prayed over me for safe travels home.
6. met a peace corps volunteer at the airport in lima who was heading home. we didn't sit together on the plane but spent the hours between our flights hanging out. long layovers when your traveling solo can be well... long, so it was such a God send to have her to talk to. if you're reading this, heather(which you're probably not)... thanks!

sorry this got kind of long. if you're still reading... i commend you.
there will be pictures... sometime soon.

peru, here i come!

2010-05-04T20:25:00.001-07:00

*note* the following post is in rainbow... consider yourself warned

well folks, it looks like i will be happily spending a blessed week in peru...

... playing with some kids

... making some movies

... meeting people who get to be Jesus' hands and feet to the locals

... experiencing some south american culture

... and then getting left there by myself for an extra 3 days...

yey!

... just thought you'd like to know.

*another note* okay, so technically i won't be "by myself" but i will be left by my fellowtravel mates to stay with the couple down there upon who's floor i will be sleeping... HOLYgoodness i'm so excited! (i just squeeled a little bit there)

i did it!!!

2010-05-03T18:55:00.001-07:00

well kind of...

eh, not really...

i mean, i finished my book... 2 days late.

... although a friend did say i could technically give myself 2 extra days since the conference left me virtually timeless... (and i'm not talking timeless as in "not affected by time"... i'm talking about the "less" as in strictly lacking)

yeah, we'll go with that excuse.

see this?

2010-04-28T08:00:00.000-07:00

this is my determined face...

why so determined?

i started this book in january on my way to zambia, and let me tell you, i really like this book...

however...

i have this habit of starting multiple books at the same time and so i never finished it... shocker.

well, folks, the time has come.

a while back i gave you all a run down of my new years resolutions (see here) one of which being to read 1 book a month. not hard, right? well for this chica... yes. yes it is.

but...

at the beginning of this month i got a little fire in me to read like a crazy lady, thanks to the book "crazy love" (see here)

i also turned 26 and i'm thinking that must be the age that i officially became an adult because suddenly i'm super disciplined and hard working! (don't laugh, family! i'm not comparing myself to YOU... i'm comparing myself to ME... ahh, see? now you understand)

anyway...

just a month ago i was 0 for 3 books for the year...

and now?

3 for 4!!!

now i just have to finish this blessed and brightly colored (which makes it way more fun) book within the next couple days and i will be 4 for 4!

wow! it's been quite a month...

i also have a 7 hour drive to a conference that will take up the remainder of this month as well...

i might just have to risk car sickness and read on the journey... though i'm guessing my travel mates would not be terribly thrilled with me...

we'll see!

what happens when leslie tries to get organized...

2010-04-21T14:01:00.000-07:00

yeah... i think i started this project... 2 weeks ago?

ridiculous.

long over due

2010-04-20T14:39:00.001-07:00

this was supposed to get posted a little closer to easter, but here it is anyway...

... dum-du-dum!

my first attempt at an easter egg cake (don't think this is easy on my pride... cause it's not)

and don't let the clever camera angle trick you. here's a more accurate shot...

yes, yes... we won't mention what this really looks like... though my family didn't seem to mind mentioning it... repeatedly.

farewell pride... for now.

breaking the pattern

2010-04-06T07:50:00.000-07:00

okay, so we all know i'm a really slow reader, right?

well, let me tell you right now that this weekend i found a book worthy of finishing with some fury. that's right, i finished the book crazy love by francis chan in (what?) 4 days! whoop whoop! can you believe it? this testimony on it's own should prove that this is a book worth reading.

... plus i like the cover (see below)

granted this book is under 200 pages, but still! and it's the first non-fiction book that i can ever remember finishing at all! in high school i remember reading no compromise about keith green (really cool book) but i had to do a book report and was running out of time so i stopped with only 2 chapters left... you know, once he dies there not much more to tell, right? oh brother.

let me also say that reading this book over Easter weekend was one of the best things i've done to remind of the unbelievable truth behind the holiday. hmmm... it was soo good.

my sister told me i should write a book review but that sounded to much like a book report and well, that felt really hard. so instead i bring you this book endorsement.

read crazy love! you'll love it! and trust me if i can read it... anyone can.

cool...

2010-04-03T17:32:00.000-07:00

i just broke my guitar pick while playing a song.

does that make me a bona fide rocker?

... i hope so

lovely rita, rita mae...

2010-04-01T09:41:00.000-07:00

guess what i did tuesday...

i jump started my car... twice

thankfully, now she is running (semi) smoothly.

big thanks to callie and clint for the use of their cars and to clint for those handy dandy jumper cables... glad i didn't burn down your house in my attempt to be self sufficient.

bad poetry anyone?

2010-03-31T13:07:00.000-07:00

it is a beautiful day today.
i am at work with the door open.
the kiln is running in the back producing great amounts of heat.
that door is closed... which helps.
i turn on the air so it will not get too hot.
the front door is still open.
but now it is too cold.
i turn off the air.
already i can feel the heat creeping in like an unwelcome friend.
dare i close the door?
no, that would just be sad.
dare i turn the air back on?
not unless i want to freeze.
oh the trials of a beautiful spring day.

just thought i'd share some negative perspective on an otherwise positive day with a non rythmic, non rhyming, non poetic peom.

the time has come... really

2010-03-30T10:08:00.000-07:00

sorry to those of you who tried to open this post at any point last week. after a frustrating battle with blogspot... which i lost... i ended up deleting the whole post and opted to start over with less pictures and MOOORRRRREEEEE words. aren't you so glad.

anywho, here's the great info of my life for the past month...

paneling... painting... puttying... nailing... more painting... pulling out really annoying carpet staples... more painting... and all in the name of finishing a room with a fireplace so i could enjoy it this... spring? oh well, i got a couple good uses out of the fireplace last week thanks to a very slow moving winter (thanks, pal) and now i can reveal the fruits of my labor.

are you ready?

you sure????

ahem...

before: (notice the 2 varying carpet colors... mmhmm... and around the corner in the great unseen room lies another shade of bright red... which was actually kind of cool because it felt like walking on a cloud of happy crimson dreams... (sigh)

as cool as all that was we parted ways, many tears were shed... because of all the dust from tearing down walls and rank carpet... yes, this was the beginning of a new era)

after!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

before: (ugh... why yes that is a banister made of crudely nailed 2x4s, funny you should notice... see the red carpet! see it! i really kind of miss that old friend)

after!!!!

before:

after!!

before:

after!!!

the end...

now i just need to steal back my table from lifesong's waiting area... yes it was mine first... i even made it... uhuh... so i think i have ownership rights...

and then maybe clean that tile around my fireplace... for those of you who didn't notice, God bless you... and for those of you who did, well you're most likely mothers so i suppose we'll let it slide.

will they stay or will they go?

2010-03-10T09:26:00.000-08:00

every year i love to make a plethora of new years resolutions. i start planning in advance and get so excited about the prospect of challenging myself to either give up an bad habit or try something new.

and then it hits, sometimes as early as march... sometimes as late as october... that overwhelming desire to put away this trying of new things and giving up bad habits... i mean where's the fun in that!

well, since it is the beginning of my window of resolution-giving-up-opportunity, i thought i'd inform all of you on where i stand with each resolution... i know, doesn't the thought of it just excite you to the bone! (i'm sorry, but i'm hard pressed for good blogging material, so this is what you get)

ahem...

#1 resolution: no candy for 2010!
this one was inspired by my dear friend who gave up chocolate all of last year! i thought, well, that sounds fun, except chocolate wouldn't be a challenge because i don't really care about it (yes, shocking i know) so i'll give up something i can't live without, but must if i don't want to be become diabetic by the age of 30... candy! and folks, i'm still going strong.

#2 resolution: learn to play the guitar...well.
so i have been taking lessons as of the beginning of february and i will tell you i have improved greatly (not hard to do considering where i started) and i love it and i think that means that so far i can consider this resolution a success!

#3 resolution: read a book every month.
okay so for you bookworms out there don't judge me too harshly that i consider this a challenge, because 1. i have add (this is not confirmed but i'm pretty sure if they diagnosed things when i was a child like they do now i would definitely qualify) and cannot sit still very long... unless, i'm sad to say, i'm in front of a television. but that's a whole other story... 2. as history can testify (see here) i am very slow. not joking here people. this is serious. 3. i have lots of other things i've been working on... like a house, room makeovers, scripture memory, (church class for kids i've started helping out with... so much fun!) and let's not forget work where i write my much loved blog posts. there you have it not much time. however, while i have not technically finished a book this year i am currently in the middle of three... if i finish them by the end of march (which i won't) does that count?

#4 resolution: no computer games for 2010!
whooiee! this is a tough one, considering it is how i am able to waste the most time... but let me just say, i have stood firm on my conviction to give this time waster up!

#5 resolution: read the bible in 1 year
okay so technically this was a resolution for 2009, but i have officially decided that if i finish before a year and a half passes i will round down and count myself successful... ooh, i can feel the disapproving looks from here!

#6 resolution: write a song
i used to do this and i've been wanting to do it again, but have been inspiration less. so i'm giving myself a good year to muster up as much song-writing-inspiration as i can! we'll see...

#7 resolution: learn to golf well enough that it's not embarrassing
golf is something i absolutely love to play, but have never been good at, which i'm convinced is only because i don't play often enough. so i want to take lessons this summer so i can play with my brothers-in-law and make them jealous of my awesome skills... this i'm pretty sure won't happen, but i'll settle for not making them wait for me at every hole.

so, i would say that my success rate for this year is better than any other, which is good, but we'll see as the year goes on! oh can you bear the anticipation... yeah, so can i.

check it out

2010-03-05T21:35:00.000-08:00

this was soooo fun!

i know what it's like to...

2010-02-23T14:02:00.000-08:00

(in no apparent order)

1. hit my sister squarely in the stomach with a head of lettuce from a sitting position across the room

2. travel to more than half my age's worth of countries

3. fit a tambourine around my waste... and get it stuck there

4. have my neighbors busted for dealing cocaine

5. drive through a massive puddle, flooding my car with 2 gallons of water

6. spend months... no years working on a cd with my dad, finish it, and from that moment on be unable to listen to it because i am so sick of the songs... and my voice... (gag)

7. watch the first four seasons of lost in 2 weeks

8. have my best friend attempt to drown me repeatedly (it's okay we were little... somehow that makes everything excusable)

9. walk 5.5 miles (with that same friend) in heels and a dress along the highway, until a nice lady picked us up and gave us a ride (we were not quite as little... but littler than we are now)

10. lock myself in my bedroom with mace when i was home alone... just in case there was a prowler

11. create an elaborate plan to run away from school... don't worry i never actually did

12. be told by my 4 year old niece that i can't get married yet cause i'm still a kid, but when i grow up, then i will get married... well, praise the Lord

12. be just bored enough at work to write a random blog post about... nothing

impressed or appalled?
...you decide

update

2010-02-18T09:35:00.001-08:00

just thought you would all like to know that my guitar is happily fixed and my teacher's guitar is happily in no need of fixing.

phew! i made it!

...though, i did have little scare when i was walking with it and rammed it into the wall... yeah, now you understand my fear in the first place.

happy thursday, y'all
(i think all this gueetar talk is bringin out the country in me)

oh dear

2010-02-15T09:53:00.000-08:00

today i had my second of hopefully many guitar lessons. i am very excited about this new addition to my life and how it will affect my impressing-those-around-me skills.

anyway, my teacher and i were strumming away at a song i practiced for this week and suddenly my guitar made a happy (well, not so happy) "ping" sound.

i assumed i had just done something wrong and was about to continue when my teacher in a very panicked tone (well not really panicked, but adamant) said "whoa, whoa... stop!"

"what happened?" i asked dumbly

"um... your guitar just broke"

yep, right there approximately 5 minutes into my lesson i had a broken guitar. thankfully we were in the back of a music shop so he took my baby up front for them to fix it and let me use his... saweet! and they still don't have it done so he let me take his home until mine's fixed! i know!

so now i'm kind of freaking out that i will somehow ruin his guitar by merely looking at it, and am determined to practice super hard so his guitar lending is not in vain. yes, i see the irony.

apparently he has never had a student's guitar break mid lesson. so i think it's pretty cool to be the first... you know... make a lasting impression.

i hope this doesn't freak out my family

2010-02-09T11:08:00.000-08:00

do you ever feel like your life is very small... i do.

i mean i've had the opportunity to do many things, but when it comes down to it, my life is virtually free of any great risk, and sometimes i wonder why.

am i too comfortable with where and what i am?
am i afraid of what risk could signify, afraid of disappointing those i might have to leave behind?

i feel restless and extremely tied down, like a boat tied to the dock while the current is desparately trying to free me.

the question is, am i waiting for my Captain to untie and guide me on a great adventure... or am i refusing to let go of the dock?

i honestly don't know.

i don't really expect any answers. just trying to iron out my own thoughts... and since i don't write in a journal, you all get to partake in my soul searching. take it for what it's worth.

my favorite card... ever

2010-02-08T11:09:00.000-08:00

so in zambia there is this boy named haggai. (you can check out his story here)

when i saw him i recognized him from the video linked above, but didn't really have an opportunity to interact other than a smile here and there. on day three the lesson was encouragement and the craft was to write an encouragement card for a staff member or someone you appreciate. coincidentally a few americans got some too (we really didn't tell them to do that).

anyway, after the craft was over haggai walked up to me and handed me this:

which is [a poorly taken picture of] a card with animal stickers on it

i thought it was so sweet! so i put my arm around him, thanked him, and then opened the card to read:

Dear Leslie

I love you so math

God bless you Leslie

Haggai

...yep, i think i will keep this card forever.

right now...

2010-02-06T20:08:00.001-08:00

i am eating an apple while drinking apple juice...

...just thought it was interesting

mom, are you proud of me?

2010-02-06T06:32:00.000-08:00

hello all my faithful followers.

it is official.

i am a real live bonafide blogger.

"why?" you ask

well... i am guest blogging on someone else's blog. wow, i feel just like lysa terkeurst saying that. granted our blog readership combined totals somewhere around 10, but i like to celebrate my little victories.

so for those of you who are interested, tyler (who went with our group to zambia, and who by the way is still there) has been blogging about our trip and i volunteered my memories of our last day with the kids.

so here it is...

Friday was our last day to spend with the kids and when we got to the school we did the usual songs before breakfast. It was fun to see how well the kids knew some of our american songs after only 4 days of singing them. I was still lost on their songs, but I pulled off a pretty convincing “watermelon, watermelon…”

After the singing John told the kids that the Americans were going to go hide and then they would find us and we’d have a special “talk.” I think this made our whole team a little apprehensive. I immediately had flashbacks of a Ukraine trip where we had a scavenger hunt which involved tieing the american boys to trees in the woods. One of our guys was tied for 2 hours before his team found him! (continue here)

what does malaria feel like?

2010-02-03T10:33:00.000-08:00

i have made a decision.

i either have malaria(which takes 2 weeks to show it's sly little head so i won't know till next week for sure), a parasite(because i am constantly so hungry i could eat my hand... this wouldn't be the wisest of solutions i realize), or hypochondria.

let's just say the adjusting to coming home has been a little uneasy on the stomach area and my head continues to spin.

other than that, however, i have been greatly inspired since stepping foot on american soil and am excited to try out a few new things regarding my future.

yes, i know. the suspense must be killing you, but i feel it would be imprudent to tell all my plans before the time is right.

at this point i'm just dreaming and getting very excited along the way!

a question of ethics...

2010-02-02T12:29:00.001-08:00

my mom came to help me out at the shop today because i am feeling severely jetlagged...

so currently i am sitting happily in blog land while she faithfully shelves new inventory...

hmmm... does anyone else feel there's something amiss about this picture?

just wondering.

let's get real

2010-02-01T06:44:00.000-08:00

this past week i had the great privilege of spending time at lifesong's school in zambia. i would post pictures but

1. i took maybe 2

and

2. my camera is extremely dead and the charger is extremely lost

good news? taryn from imagine artists was on the trip and faithfully documented everything! don't know for sure how this helps you, but it really excites me.

so what did we do? basically we sang some songs played some games and smothered some lovin on these kids.

and what did i take away from this trip? ... i am very selfish and very small

like how i make the whole trip about me? yep, like i said... selfish.

seriously though, this is kind of how i view it...

let me just start by saying i'm all for the 1 week mission trip. i think it's great for spreading awareness and enhancing your view of God and his children. that being said i'm not sure how affective they are for those we're going to "help"... (too harsh?)

take this with a grain of salt because i'm still trying to work it out in my own mind, but this week i was continuously struck with the smallness of what we were doing. i mean we came for a week and taught God's word (which is really good) and we loved these kids who needed it (which is really good) but when i comes down to it, this is a very very small part of the picture.

if these kids somehow by the grace of God Almighty break through the vicious trap of disease and lifestyle that is in their culture it will not be because of anything we did this week. It will be in great credit to, God first and foremost, and the staff at lifesong and what they do... and let me just say they are doing an amazing job!

so i feel selfish...

i feel selfish for coming for one week and showing these kids that people who love you will still ultimately leave you

i feel selfish when i am supposed to be shocked at how little they have but instead am just disgusted at my own wealth.

i feel selfish for traveling thousands of miles where it's fun to give when the need is great but not nearly as fun where i am at.

it makes me want to do more, though i don't know what or how.

praise the Lord, He takes my selfish attempts to matter and what little i have to give and still graciously uses it.

oh brother!

2010-01-06T09:59:00.000-08:00

here's the deal, folks.

1. i am technically challenged.
2. i am money illiterate.

so when it comes to my business i let my mother (thanks mom) take care of the accounting computer money programs and i stick with my strengths... art and customers.

this, i know, makes me very spoiled as a business owner and many people, namely telemarketers and sales persons (and maybe my sister), don't understand when i say i'm an owner but don't deal with any of the money matters so thank you very much, but i'm not interested.

all this to say that i had a very interesting visit this morning at work. a lady happened into the shop with a binder under her arm... my first indication that she was not here to paint any pottery. boo!

she began to explain she was here to meet with me to talk about credit card transactions and how i'm probably overcharged and how she can fix that. so i (very sweetly) said,

"i'm sorry i don't deal with these kinds of things and the lady who does isn't in the shop on a regular basis, so i really just don't think we're interested."

to this she sighed defeatedly and said, "well i have to call and let them know that i made my appointment so i get credit and they will probably want to ask you a few questions. is that okay?"

"well sure" (oh so very sweetly)

soon she handed me her cell phone and this woman (and when i type woman i mean it to be said with some irritated umph... wo-man) on the other line started all over with a sales pitch. so i proceded to tell her exactly what i told the other lady, who was now awkwardly glancing around the room. then she asked me that question that i get so often by sales persons who are frustrated that i'm so totally ignorant about what they are trying to sell me.

"you're the owner, right?"

as if that one tiny detail automatically means i should know exactly what i'm spending on credit card transactions and gives me no right to turn down her amazing offer! well, maybe it should indicate the first part, but i am here to proclaim on behalf of all ignorant small business owners out there... I DON'T KNOW EVERYTHING OUT MY BUSINESS! goodness, i hope you still respect me. please don't tell my employees.

so i simply said, "yes but i don't deal with that aspect of the business"

so she quickly changed her tone from indignant to super sweet and said, "how about our representative gives you just a 10 minute presentation to explain things to you and then there's no obligations and you can shake hands and part ways. how does that sound?"

"i'm sorry, ma'am, but i'm really not interested"

(no more sweet) "but it's only 10 minutes!"

(getting irritated) "i'm really not interested"

(raising her voice) "how can you say you're not interested when you don't even know what deals we're offering you?! it's only 10 minutes!"

(raising my voice) "look... i don't appreciate you speaking to me like this and...(sigh)...

now pay attention because this is where it gets good. i looked at the lady standing awkwardly by my side, handed her the phone and said "could you hang up on her for me?"

poor thing was taken a little off guard. but this is what happens when you bombard a young innocent female with too many sales persons who don't respect her or her time! she get's mad that's what. and makes one sales person hang up on her co-worker, or worse yet, superior. good grief.

there you have it. may your never be forced to have someone else hang up on someone for you...

(it takes all the fun out of it)

happy christmas eve!

2009-12-24T12:23:00.000-08:00

today i got to spend the first part of Christmas eve at work.

as i looked out at my half lit up little christmas tree and an empty shop i started to feel well... bored... and sad that i couldn't just go home.

so...

i wasted a little time on the computer, and...

... pouted, and...

wasted more time on the computer... till i thought i would fall asleep! but then...

my dear dear friend, tami, came with all sorts of treasures just waiting to be wrapped! so...

we had a little gift wrapping party in the back... well, i wrapped while tami painted... she got a little distracted.

thanks, tam, for making this Christmas eve just a little more special and a lot more fun!

Merry Christmas, everyone!

a sure sign...

2009-12-22T10:27:00.000-08:00

...fall is gone and winter has arrived

(i think i waited too long to carve my pumpkin this year)

"what porcelain lamps?" you say...

2009-10-23T11:11:00.000-07:00

they're works in progress...

and for some happy finished porcelain product...

here are some vases that have been sitting unfinished on the shelf for months! so happy to have them done. and they actually turned out pretty nice!

more pictures will come when the lamps are finished. i just got a little excited and had to share.

rain is my friend

2009-10-22T12:45:00.000-07:00

"oh let the rain fall down and wash this world away. oh let the sky be gray. cause if it's ever gonna get any better it's got to get worse in a day."

as i was at my little shop today (mmm... still there, just not being productive) this 'bishop allen' song came on over the ipod air waves and made me smile. it was one of those moments of pure bliss.

a customer was happily painting at her table, while i was creating porcelain lamps (no easy task let me assure you) and bopping my head to the happy tune. and yes, the rain was literally falling.

i told kara (one thing i LOVE about my job is being on a first name basis with my customers and creating real relationships with them)

*side note*: the other week one of my customers stopped in to pick up some things and when she saw me gave me a big ol' hug just because we hadn't seen each other in a while. it kind of made my week.

(continuing on) that this was the perfect song for the day, and how it made me happy. she laughed and told me about how she grew up in seattle and "trust me" rain is not fun after you've gone more than a few months with no sunshine. point taken.

well... now the song is over, kara has gone to pick up her kiddos from school and head home, and i sit here with a table to clean and porcelain lamps to finish... but the rain is still here keeping me company.

anyone out there?

2009-10-20T13:50:00.001-07:00

hellooooooooo!

it's been long time, folks, and i'm kind of curious to see if anyone will read this considering the time lapse since my last post. we shall see.

here is what i've been doing...

1. bought a house

2. worked tirelessly (amidst many food and dance (yes i said dance) breaks) on that house

3. moved into that house w/ my roomie and pal, miss jo

4. left for ukraine

5. 2 days later arrived in ukraine (thanks to a missed flight and detour to london...not a terrible thing)

6. 2 weeks later came home from ukraine

7. started a small group study on God's truth (big thanks to focus on the family and dr. del tackett

8. continued to work on my house

9. started a project at work where i make 32 ceramic pieces by nov 1st (this deadine has been moved back a week...and might get moved back further...boo)

10. tried desperately to catch up on this little goal i call read the bible in one year. something i am WAY behind on.

11. tried and failed to mow my lawn before it gets horrendously long...bother

12. finished 3 vases that i may or may not post a picture of later...how's that for commitment :)

13. tiled my kitchen backsplash...one wall at a time...from 11pm-1am...3 nights about a week apart from eachother...yeah i like to linger in my unfinished projects...i still have yet to grout

14. sewed halloween costumes for 1 neice and 2 nephews

15. planned out my own halloween costume (sarah i might give you a run for your money this year...nah probably not)

16. started reading a book this morning for a study tonight that's on chapter 6...

well there you have it...my life in 16 bullet points...is that sad? that last comment sounded sad.

you know i could have put more, but didn't for the sake of the you (whoever you are)...not because my life is only worth 16 bullet points...but because i thought it might be overwhelming to read my life in 2000 bullet points...smart, right?

yeah, smart...not sad at all.

two tales, one tail

2009-06-17T20:51:00.000-07:00

and over a month later...goodness! why does it get so stinkin hard for me to post on my blog...i just don't know.

anyway, i promised an ethiopia story and two ethiopia story i shall tell...i'm feeling very generous today.

story number 1.

third day in ethiopia, becca's (who i went to visit) landlady wanted to put henna in my hair...you know the stuff they draw with on your skin and it's like a rust color. well, being the free spirit that i am, i said sure without a second thought.

exhibit a of why being a free spirit (aka. foolish...second thoughts can be very very wise) is not always a good idea:

yeah i know, great pic, but what can you do. look at the cute little coffee cup! okay, so this totally does not do it justice, but let me point out one thing. that lovely little purple scarf is very discretely covering the brightest of the bright, which in this picture would look more like the brighter of the not so bright, but oh well. here let me try to give a more accurate depiction of what i actually looked like...

now we're talking...

okay, so when i got home i promptly scheduled a hair appointment to professionally color my hair...where i proceeded to throw up halfway through the dying process. yeah, i'm pretty sure i had malaria...but i'm better now, just suffering from a little wounded pride is all, but now, my hair is on the mend, slowing working it's way back to my natural color (of course i found out that henna is about the most temperamental thing you can put in your hair...go too light and you'll be pink. yey!)

story number 2.

one night becca and i were in a hotel (note, if your picturing something as nice as motel 8, take it down about 50 notches and you're there) and i suddenly heard scratching behind the headboard. not a good sign. the whole scene played out something like this...

me: becca! there's something scratching! what do i do! (consumed with mind numbing fear)

becca: go to sleep i'm sure it's fine (completely not caring)

later...

becca: now it's on my side! (surprised but not at all afraid) oh well, just go to sleep.

me: are you sure? (still consumed with mind numbing fear)

becca: yes

later...

becca (quickly sitting up): it's in my hair!!!! (very surprised but not at all afraid)

me (seeing something dark fall out of her hair and scamper across the floor): what was that!?! (paralyzed with mind numbing fear)

becca: i don't know...it's fine just go to sleep (flops back down and falls asleep)

me: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (shaking and hyperventilating as i proceed to wrap my hoodie as tightly around my head as possible and cover the rest of my face with my hand so nothing, absolutely NOTHING can touch my head!)

needless to say i didn't sleep that night, but here's a picture of the room with me blissfully unaware of what's too come...

by the way, we later decided that the perpetrator was probably a little mouse...let's hope

back and no sign of swine...yet

2009-05-03T21:43:00.000-07:00

so these past couple months i've been out...of the country...of the state...of the blogosphere...of my senses...of my mind...

but fear not! i am back and newly equipped to take this world by storm. a few things about me that have changed since we were last bloggily acquainted:

1. my hair had a severe case of the raggedy ann reds (big thanks to becca's landlady in ethiopia...which refers back to the "out of the country" part earlier)

2. my hair was rushed into emergency therapy as soon as i got home and changed from a tacky red to a sweet dark reddish brown...much more sophisticated!

3. i have started excising a lot...i'm talking over 6 times a week a lot! (out of my mind) and i'm loving it! oh the things i thought i'd never hear coming out of my mouth...

4. (out of my senses) i have started going to bed earlier and waking up earlier too! this is even crazier than #3. seriously! who am i?

there's more, but i'm officially brain dead since it's after 11:30, which is my new normal bedtime...i know! let me tell you, one and all...no one is more shocked by this radical new me than yours truly.

but another time, same place, i'll give you all my many little stories from

1. 9 days in ethiopia

2. 3 days in dallas, tx

3. all the in between

peace out, loves!

if the first one didn't convince you, maybe this one will...

2009-02-20T11:03:00.000-08:00

...yes? ...no? ...maybe so?

what do you do for valentine's day when you don't have a man?

2009-02-17T17:17:00.000-08:00

you have a collective date with gilbert blythe!

yes it's true. this valentine's day some friends and i decided it was high time we had an "anne of green gables" marathon...minus "the continuing story" which was a bitter disappointment! i even lit some candles to create atmosphere. (it was very romantic without the man...or as i like to call it, rotic)

it was a wonderful 9 hours (yes, i said 9) with some dear friends that i rarely have the pleasure of hanging out with...and some girls that i don't know very well at all, but had so much fun with! our list of events went as follows:

5:30 - started "anne of green gables: part 1" (green hair and all)

7:00 - started "anne of green gables: part 2" (oh matthew! *tear*)

9:00 - ZUMBA! (we couldn't very well spend the whole time watching movies w/out a little exercise! unfortunately i didn't think to capture this with my camera, but rest assured it was quite a sight)

9:30 - started "anne of green gables, the sequel: part 1" (that jen pringle is just plain creepy!)

12:30 - started "anne of green gables, the sequel: part 2" (ahh...that blessed bridge) complete with ice cream sundaes! (kudos to tara!)

the evening ended at a very late, but very fulfilling 2:30am. as i flopped into my comfy pillow top i felt very happy indeed with visions of a simpler time and words like "tragical" filling my sleepy head. goodnight miss anne with an e.

some pics of the evening

2009-02-17T11:09:00.001-08:00

don't the memories just come flooding back! "...in dark foreboding, languid tones. he fervently stroked her alabaster brow..."

romance!

oh, gil! (actually, for the record, i never really cared all that much for gilbert...i fear i just made a few enemies...but in the spirit of the night i got a little carried away)

the gals (minus me and kimberly)

oh beloved website of ideas!

2009-02-16T13:22:00.000-08:00

i found the most prettified(i thought i made that word up, but apparently spellcheck considers it valid...interesting) website/blog of all time! i love it! it's basically a compilation of photography, recipes, fabrics, decorating ideas, clothes, pretty shops...anything that stirs visual inspiration. in fact, i have it set to my favorites at work so i can use the ideas in my shop. smart, eh!

check it out at www.jubella.com

i look like a brit!

2009-02-10T13:09:00.000-08:00

apparently, i've found my movie star clone, a british actress by the name of charity wakefield... i love that name, wakefield. it sounds so... so... british! i've always felt a strong connection to england, and now i know why!
*
cindy at mom and dad's office proudly informed me that she and her family have been watching bbc's version of sense and sensibility and they all agreed i look exactly like marianne. i haven't seen it yet, but am excited to see how good of an actress i am.
*
okay, i realize i'm taking this whole thing a little too far, but i've never looked like someone famous! well i guess i've been told i look like reese witherspoon before, but i don't think i look like her very much. besides, amber looks a lot like her, and it's never as fun to look little like someone when you have a friend who looks more like them. don't worry amber, i harbor no bad feelings towards you!
*
what do you think? is it a match? can you tell which one's me?
i'm sure mom and megan are rolling their eyes right now at how i took this so far as to pose like her.

painting for the children

2009-02-10T10:35:00.000-08:00

yesterday i spent a good portion of my day at the all women's gym my dear sis used to be an instructor at. no...i was not exercising. for those of you who don't know, this gym was suddenly closed last fall (very sadly) and recently two of the old instructors decided to buy it and re-open it, new and improved (very happily)! if you want the full scoop go here and here.

anyway, i was asked to add some whimsy to the childcare room by painting something on the walls... anything. i agonized over what to paint and finally after surfing anthropologie's website for the bazillionth time i found some inspiration in the form of a pillow. i simplified it down a few notches and then headed on my merry way to the gym yesterday afternoon.

as usual, what i estimated to be a 3.5 hour project turned into a 6.5 hour project...funny thing, no matter how long i think something will take it always takes double! i think i should start guessing lower.

after i took a dinner break i headed back to the gym with snack, diet pepsi, my laptop, and 'road to avonlea' in tow. (what i good is painting if you don't have a miniseries to go with it!)

well, about a half hour later sweet miss eren (one of the new owners) showed up with a key so i wouldn't have to call her at who knows what hour of the night when i left and a snack in case i got hungry. what a dear! thankfully she is a lot healthier than i am. lets do a little compare and contrast here...

her snack.... my snack...

thank you, eren!

after all my work was finished i was pretty excited about the final product. it actually turned out better than i thought it would! so, i decided to share a few images with anyone who's interested...

DOWN with motivation!

2009-02-09T10:51:00.000-08:00

does anyone else feel like their motivation abandons them just when they need it most? i have had the hugest lack of motivation to get just about anything done lately...to eat healthy...to exercise...to study my Bible...to clean my apartment...to clean my shop...the list goes on and on! and i'm sick of it!

so mr. motivation (don't know why i associate that word with a male) this is to you...

we're through! from now on i will pay you no heed! you've burned me one too many times and i will no longer let you determine whether or not i get something done! you will rue the day you ever messed with me! i am determined to live how a see fit and you no longer have the pleasure of being any part of my success! haa!

....hmm, i wonder if this constitutes as a form of motivation...

on this journeeey...to the paaast!

2009-02-05T21:15:00.000-08:00

this story goes back a few months...right before a period i like to call the blogging dark ages...

it was november, a cold one at that, and my father and i decided to go for a weekend road trip to the music city (aka. nashville, TN) to finally finish the long awaited journey on cd. (most of the time if people compliment me on this project, the one thought that goes through my head is, "yeah, thanks, i'm soo glad it's done!")

well, while we were on this trip i decided to take a few pictures of all the glory for those of you out there who wonder what it's like to be involved in an exciting recording project. well, let me preface this by saying it's not very exciting. mostly it's a lot of tedious work...fun tedious work, but tedious none the less.

anyhow, these pictures are long overdue their original intended post date so without further ado, i present you with...

A JOURNEY THROUGH A NASHVILLE STUDIO TRIP IN PICTURES!

here's dad still working into the wee hours of the morning on "twilight." seriously folks, we had just finished like a 10 hour day (that might be an exaggeration cause i really can't remember) we got some chinese food, watched "get smart" and then phmm! he was back in the chair with the head phones. i couldn't believe his stamina! once i left the studio i was done. no more music for me! it was starting to make my head hurt!

This is what i spent that time doing...

like i said, a recording project requires a lot of tedious work.

NEXT DAY:

this is me sadly LOCKED outside the sound room! see the tears forming in those pitiful eyes? all alone without a soul to turn to! no friends...no comforts...EXCEPT....

COFFEE! and in a tennessee mug with hearts all over it none the less! seriously, this mug and the blessed contents within made my weekend... most of which i spent slightly shaky. oh, the bliss of caffeine.

they finally let me in so i could take this nifty picture of the mighty men hard at work in their wheely chairs. i resumed my spot on the sofa (where his picture is taken from) and continued to read my pal, ted dekker...you know, in between all the recording, opinion giving, and decision making.

see...here's me at work...scrutinizing over the details of something though i don't remember what...probably "twilight". hmmm. everytime i say that word i think of the vampire movie, which is really sad because the actual song is pretty stellar and inspirational. kudos to you, shaun groves! notice:

1. i'm shoved back into the kitchen. i smell sexism!
2. mr. heartsy tennessee coffee mug!

all in all, it was a good, very long, and very productive weekend. on the way home dad and i listened to "showdown" on cd...yes, it was a ted dekker filled weekend. and strangely enough, about a week after we got home i started going through recording withdrawal and told dad we should do another cd. i think for now, though, we'll just enjoy the fruits of our labor.

oh, and can anyone tell me what the title of this post is from? if you can there might be a special reward...