When South Asia Met Allison

200th Post

2010-06-23T20:41:00.002+05:30

I just realized that this is my 200th post!!!

Sad news is that my computer crashed a few weeks ago and has been deemed unfixable. It's sort of hard to blog from someone else's computer, so this may be it.

Email me at pigasus12@yahoo.com if you need me. I can't get my other emails.

Peace for now!!!!

Sleepy City

2010-06-08T23:07:00.004+05:30

Today I was out and about in my old city and I was able to accomplish something I've wanted to do for a long time: take pictures of people sleeping!!! I didn't set out to take pictures of sleeping people, but I saw so many that I just started taking their picture. This city is insanely loud and I don't understand how people can sleep in it. It's the funniest thing to me.

I could have robbed the bank. Good thing I'm already rich. (that's a joke) My favorite part is that his shoes are off. This is the S. Asian eqvialent of strapping a kid in the mini-van to get them to sleep:

This is my favorite. The ice cream man on top of his stand. I guess this way no one will be able to steal from him.

I had so much fun taking pictures of people while they were asleep. It's sort of a rush not knowing if they are going to wake up or not.

Is this weird?

First Kurtas!!!

2010-06-04T23:14:00.004+05:30

A friend of ours is making a quilt out of all the kurtas (tops) of the girls she's worked with here. Abby and I were considering which ones we should give, and we figured we should give her our first ones. Here's a picture of us during our first week in S. Asia with our first kurtas on. I disliked mine then b/c I felt like an asparagus and I pretty much dislike it now. I'm not sure if I've worn it in public since this picture. I'm scared mine will ruin the quilt, so I may give up a better one.

Current Pics:

I'm rolling out of town tomorrow to pick up a newbie that will be w/ us for the next few weeks. I'm pumped for what's to come!!!

Yikes!!!

2010-06-01T21:22:00.003+05:30

I totally passed out today and fell on top of an old man!!! Last time I passed out and someone had to catch me was in high school and I ended up getting a prom date out of it. This time there were no perks just pure embarrassment and a bruised knee. That's about all the story.

Can't Sleep

2010-05-27T02:22:00.003+05:30

And all I can think about is the fact that I won't have a job when I get back!!! So, I've been in deep thought about how I'm going to pay the bills. Here's what I've come up w/ thus far:

1) About a billion of my friends back home have had kids since I've been here, so I'm considering opening a nursery. Ok, stop laughing out loud. I know it would be a disaster, but why not capitalize on my friends' fertility. (yikes, too much)

2) Cut grass. Pretty sure this one won't work out either b/c I don't own a lawn mover or any other equipment, and I think my parents wouldn't appreciate me jacking their tools all the time. Also, a ton of other peeps do this for a living.

3) I think this one is jack-pot. Somehow I'm going to convince people to let me go through their home and collect junk for a yard sale. I would organize everything then me and the homeowner would divvy up the profit, and what I couldn't sell at the yard sale would go on ebay. I read somewhere that most people have $3,000 worth of un-used goods in their homes. Lets sell that junk...Let me sell your junk!!! I love it. I'm a genius!!!

I'm totally up for other suggestions or job offers!!! I'm sort of just joking w/ this post, but I really can't sleep and totally have a meeting tomorrow morning. We still don't have water. PTL for baby wipes!!! The point of this is that if in a few months you see me on the corner holding a sign that resembles the one above...help a sister out!!! Seriously just kidding on that one. Mary Kathryn has already promised me that I could live with her and eat her food for as long as I needed!!! Gotta love big sisters!!!

Frogg Toggs

2010-05-25T23:24:00.003+05:30

Momma sent me one of these towels in my last package and I absolutely love it. Our electricity has been out the past few nights, so its been a little hot. These little things are amazing. You just wet them and wring them out...then it turns cold!!! It stayed cool throughout the night. Tonight thankfully we have electricity, but no water!!! Hopefully we'll get some tomorrow. Meanwhile its a chilly 82 degrees in my room w/ my fan on. Don't take that as a complaint. It's a praise compared to how hot it got in the Dirty D (my old city).

The French Open is going on now. Poor Andy Roddick barely made it through his first round match. But I get to see him play at least one more day, so I'm happy. Come on USA!!! Also, we've been able to watch the NBA Eastern Conference Final games. I want the Magic to come back. Mainly b/c the Celtics have no excuse for losing.

I knew you guys were wondering about cooling towels and sports, so I decided to update you.

Whoa!!!

2010-05-22T00:45:00.004+05:30

I guess its official now...I'll be home Aug. 4th at 4pm!!!! Well, I'll hopefully land in Charlotte at that time.

What in the world???

Please be pray for me!!! I'm going CRAZY!!! My thoughts are becoming slightly schizophrenic!!!!

No Shame

2010-05-20T00:51:00.002+05:30

I feel no shame in admitting I sort of really like this book. Don't judge!!! I hesitated to read it for a long time mainly because of the cheesy cover, but now I'm reading it for the third time! Well, that's mainly because it is one of the only books I have here.

Anyways, good news Redeeming Love fans....they are making it into a movie!!!!

It's Christian fiction and it's pretty much quality. If you read and like this book then you must read the Mark of the Lion series by Francine Rivers. The first book is A Voice in the Wind, the second is An Echo in the Darkness, and the third and my fav. is As Sure as the Dawn. I know they have super corny titles, but once again...quality entertainment.

Get to reading ladies!!!

Allie Goat

2010-05-14T23:13:00.002+05:30

Our friend named his 3 day old little goats after Abby and me. I'm the black one. He named the goat, Allie Goat.

This is our friend riding his donkey. He said I could, but I was too scared that the donkey would collapse.

Here are just some random pics from our recent trip:

We've been working w/ people from home and having a lot of fun. They crack us up. One of them pasted out on the side of the road b/c of the heat. It was only 95 degrees. Abby and I just reminisced on the days when it was 95 degrees in our bedroom while we were trying to sleep at night. But over all, they were troopers. I guess the heat did throw them for a loop b/c they knew they were visiting the Himalayan Mountains and seeing snow capped mountains while standing in the heat is a little odd.

Vacation Pics

2010-05-04T23:56:00.004+05:30

We rented one of these boats for the day:

They let me drive for like 5 seconds!!! Good call Captain.

The Team:

Towards the end of the trip it started to rain. We were all so excited b/c we rarely see rain and I love storms.

Fun Faces

2010-05-03T21:23:00.004+05:30

These are a few faces from our last trip. All of the kids in the pictures are Compassion International supported kids(except the baby at the end). Compassion is a super awesome and legit organization whose slogan is "Releasing Children from Poverty in Jesus' Name." You can sponsor a child my giving like 32ish dollars a month. I've been to two Compassion projects here and I definitely cannot wait to get back and start sponsoring a kid. Also, if I were a parent I think it would be a good way to introduce my kids to how other kids live. Click here to find more info about Compassion.

Last Vacay!!!

2010-05-01T20:23:00.002+05:30

I'm a little ashamed to admit it, but I've been on vacay for the past two weeks!!! I would have rather been here working though b/c vacay here isn't really vacay.

Here's one of many pictures that are to come:

Y'all know I love animals!!!

So Talented!!!

2010-04-15T23:26:00.004+05:30

Look at what Baby Heath can do:

This is the kid I saw when I was home. I'm not sure who my family is sending me pictures of now. He looks so different, but I guess that's what babies do; grow and change.

Anyways, I hope things are going well for everyone!!! I'll be traveling for the next two weeks, so I'll be back in May with pictures and stories of course.

Sickness

2010-04-13T00:18:00.005+05:30

#1- if you think too much about the word "sick" it sort of begins to look and sound funny

#2- when words start to sound funny, you just want to repeat them which makes your roommate think you've officially lost your mind

#3- yesterday I got over being the sickest I've ever been since being here

#4- when you're sick for 12 days (yeah, I was counting) you start to look for benefits such as weight loss

#5- no weight loss occurred over the past 12 days

#6- I'm no longer sick, but the meds I'm on make everything taste like you're chewing on a battery!!!

The team was over the other night for dinner and I said, "Sorry guys if the water tastes bad, I don't know what's wrong." Everyone responded, "The water taste normal." Earlier I had apologized for the watermelon tasting funny and they said, "this watermelon tastes great...where did you get it?" At that point, I realized things were tasting a little different to me. The entire day, I just thought it was the water I drank that morning that left a bad taste in my mouth. Eventually, I looked up side effects of the medicine and it said, "Could cause a metallic taste."

Norfloz TZ, you definitely left a metallic taste in my mouth!!! and I'm sick of it. haha, I used "sick." Yeap, Abby you're right, I'm losing my mind!!! I am blogging about a bad taste in my mouth.

There's really no point of this and no pictures, so it's a pretty lame post. I'll try again later.

Stupidness Thing Thus Far...

2010-04-11T00:09:00.003+05:30

Is when I paid to jump off of this thing:

It's the third highest bungee jumping bridge in the world!!!!

This is what I saw when I looked down:

Here's the bridge:

I know the pics aren't that great and they don't do it justice, but that's the best angle I could get. I have a video of me jumping. I almost chickened out, but they told me I couldn't get a refund, so I jumped!!!

New Camera

2010-04-10T00:25:00.000+05:30

That means the neighborhood girls now cover over for a daily photo shoot. This day they pranced around, posed in the garden and demanded that I take their picture. I took around 200 pics of them. Here are just a few:

Everest Pics

2010-04-09T23:58:00.000+05:30

These are pics from our Everest flyover:

A view of the Himalayas out of the window:

Here she is:

I'm not going to lie, I thought she would tower over the rest. She's the highest peak to the left that has snow blowing off of it.

Can you believe people actually summit that beast every year??? It takes around two months and a sweet deal of $65,000!!! Flying over it is enough for me!!! They say once you summit it, you can look down and see bodies of dead people that weren't so lucky. The bodies are left b/c no one can safely get to them...YIKES!!!

Our Travels

2010-04-07T00:25:00.003+05:30

I don't even know how to begin to write about our big adventure. The travel itinerary was as follows:

Day 1:

-4 hours down the mountain in a cab then

-4 hours on the train

Day 2:

-3 hour flight

-3 hour cab ride

-1 detour b/c of a road strike, so plus a few more minutes in a truck on a bumpy dirt road

Day 3:

-14 hours on a bus. One in which the seat in front of my was completely broken so I had a grown man fully reclined in his seat pressed against my knees for the entire trip. Abby and I both had bruises after that. Also my seat was broken, but instead of leaning back it leaned to the side. So on every left curve I was dangling in the aisle. Needless to say, but I'm back on caffeine!!! I don't fair so well traveling without it.

Day 4:

-Pepto is needed!!! Abby gets offered marijuana. I laugh; she doesn't. We get stuck across town b/c of another road strike, so we go native and walk for a few hours back to our hotel.

Day 5: We fly over Mt. Everest!!!...more pepto needed!!! Abby gets offered marijuana again!!!! I'm still laughing.

Day 6: Bungee jumping day...my pepto is out, so now onto Abby's. We get in a wreck on the bus. Don't worry guys I only broke a finger nail!!! Abby is fine as well.

Day 7: Abby gets offered marijuana and she goes off on the man. "Do I look like someone who does that stuff???" I'm nearly wetting my pants at this point.

The next days we repeat days 1 and 2 to arrive at home a few hours before Easter. Our internet is really slow, so I promise I'll put up more pics when I can.

Easter

2010-04-06T14:08:00.003+05:30

We had a great Easter here!!! I love Easter!!! ..."if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith." 1Cor. 15:14 Good thing He is Risen!!! Many people can die for a good cause, but I've never heard of any of them walking out of a tomb!!! Anyways, here are some pics from our little South Asian Celebration:

Egg dye was complimentary of Whitney. Thanks Whito, we had a ton of fun dying eggs!!!

These little kids kept finding the eggs before the hunt began, so naturally I chased them. They thought I couldn't find them behind this bench.

You know you are in the third world when the best egg hiding spots are behind trash.

I'm working on getting my bungee jumping video so you guys can view it. Oh yeah, I jumped off the third highest bungee bridge in the WORLD!!!

I'm Back...

2010-04-04T22:53:00.002+05:30

I'm back from our recent travels to a foreign land. Of course, I have tons of stories and cool pictures including ones of the tallest mountain in the world!!! So, stay tuned pics and stories will be coming this week!!!

I just watched the movie, "My Sister's Keeper." Bad idea, considering that I miss my fam and its Easter!!! I think I'll go to bed to "Little Women" to make up for that bad mistake.

Peace

Yikes!!!

2010-03-23T16:44:00.004+05:30

Hey guys,
I feel like I need to write a letter to the editor b/c she isn't doing a good job. The previous post was written a few weeks ago, but I just decided to post it for a friend(Julie). After she saw it I intended to remove it; however, I forgot and a ton of people saw it and I received some funny emails and maybe some sympathy.

I'm trying to say, now that all that nastiness is out of my system I'll stick to the topics you guys love: monkeys, travel pics, and stories of my collapsing house.

I'm heading out of town in a few days to a neighbor country, so hopefully I'll have some new stories and a pic. or two. Also, I'll pick up my power cord from the friends house I left it at, so I'll be back on my compu by Easter.

Can you believe Easter is almost here??? It's my most favorite time of the year!!!!

P.S. I've been off caffeine for 20days!!! I not going to lie, I picked a bad time to kick my addiction, but I'm resisting the bottle like a champ.

"You won't be young forever"

2010-03-11T02:35:00.007+05:30

For Julie:

Warning: I haven't had caffeine in 7 days, and I'm totally cranky!!!

I'm fairly sure nothing drives me up the wall more than when people say this to me, "You won't be young forever, so do it while you can." I actually think people are trying to support my decision to come here for two years. People see what I'm doing as a break from the "real world." Really??? As Americans we have no clue what the real world is like. I, Allison, have no clue what living in the real world is like. I'm not even going to start quoting the U.S. v. The World statistics.

It's 2:38am and I just had an epiphany. I'm living my life like its all going to end if I get married. (I feel like I need to clarify that I made that statement as if marriage is a tangible option, and it's not.) Are you following? I think I better visit here and there and do this and that b/c if I get married it'll all be over b/c I won't have the time or money.(I refuse to believe that though). Just a few minutes ago I started to wonder where I get this notion from, and I decided its from random people. Isn't that what the world tells young people?...to party it up while you can. Our landlord told me today that I needed to get married immediately when I reach the U.S. b/c I'm getting old!!! I AM 24!!! I wish I could say that was the first time I've heard that since I've been here. I've had multiple offers from people to arrange my marriage (including a custom's officer at the airport) and one proposal from an ATM security guard. Yikes!!!

Back to my issue, I understand that in marriage you have to give up a lot of personal wants and that its not a party all the time. I get that as much as a non-married person can. I understand that there are societal norms expected of me. I also understand it's completely natural for someone to as a college senior, "What are you going to do when you graduate?, to ask newlyweds, "When are we going to meet So&So Jr," or to ask a single person, "When are you going to get married?"

FYI: No one likes these questions!!!!

Literally asking a single person such as myself the marriage question is as senseless as me asking you, "When are you going to die?"

My problem is not people asking questions. The problem is how deeply I let ridiculous worldly pressure effect me.

I think this is all a result of me hitting the life panic button b/c I'll be home in 5-6 months and I shouldn't be dwelling on what I'm going to do, but I am. I have about a billion dreams and none of them make sense or fit together. Sweet mercy, I'm going to regret posting this in the morning, but for now I'm doing it. This is what happens when I'm up late at night and everyone in the states is at work, so I can't call them.

Maybe this insanity will help you pray for me. I'm not above soliciting prayer.

Where is Nigeria???

2010-03-09T12:39:00.003+05:30

Here it is:

This is a little random I know, but do you sometimes feel overwhelmed when you try to pray for the nations? Maybe not, but I do. I don't even know where to start sometimes. There are awesome books that lay out prayer plans for the nations, so over a year you'll pray for the specific needs of each country, but I don't have one of those. So I try to use what's available to me. The News!!! It has pretty good prayer request. Right? It shows us how to pray for our leaders and politicians. More importantly it gives us a glimpse of what's going on in other parts of the world and spells out ways we can pray for them. Today I came across an article about Nigeria that lead me to pray for them. Click here and read it and pray for our brothers and sisters.

I guess the point of this is to encourage/challenge you next time when you're watching the news or reading the paper not to complain about one of President Obama's choices or think I'm glad I don't live there, etc. but instead pray for the needs that are being presented to you.

Peace Guys!!!

Oh yeah, pray for Abby and me!!! We haven't have any water in our house the past three days!!! I'm glad you can't smell though the computer b/c...phew!!! Just kidding. Hopefully we'll get water soon.

Holi!!!

2010-03-05T00:16:00.001+05:30

It's a little game our neighbor's like to place once a year. It's actually a Hindu holiday, but I have no clue what it means. Our neighbors barged into our house and painted us. (I know this close up is a little scary.)

Neighbor girls; they are precious...sometimes!!! The smallest one is a mess for sure.

They even put the colors on the animals.

Yikes, after the doggie jumped on me!!!

Phase 1 of clean-up

Family's Road Trip

2010-03-04T19:53:00.006+05:30

The car we spent a billion hours in:

The kids getting pumped for American Idol in the hotel.

(The nicest hotel I've ever stayed in here; it had a shower head...my house doesn't even have one)

Pretty nice scenery:

Cow eating the trash; its a fairly common site. I like the bird in the picture.

Part of our road trip was cancelled due to a landslide, but they were working hard to fix it.

That's about all.

If I were home...

2010-03-03T19:38:00.001+05:30

I would sign up and go to this conference:

All you have to do is click here, sign up and take notes for me. It's going to be pretty awesome if you interested in reaching the lost in the South (our neighbors).

Quilting Equals Insurmountable Fun

2010-03-02T00:51:00.000+05:30

Here are pictures from my recent quilting endeavor:

Let's keep in mind this has all been done by hand and I've never sewn before in my life!!! I actually haven't even started the quilting process, so I still have a ways to go before its finished. I've got like 5-6 months, so hopefully I'll finish it. Also, this will be the one and only quilt I make completely by hand...I have no patience even though its the most basic pattern ever!!! I'm a little scared if Baby Heath spits up on it and Mary washes it in the washing machine that it'll fall apart. We'll see what happens.

Fav. Day of the Year!!!

2010-03-01T00:37:00.002+05:30

Valentines!!!! Just kidding!!! Actually it doesn't bother me at all. The thing that bothered me this V-day was that I spent 10 hours of it on a bus!!! Yikes!!! However, the next day I received a package from home...YAY!!!

These are the kids on the team. We were all pretty much pumped for cake mix and icing from the states. Cake from scratch doesn't compare to Betty Crocker. Also, I ate so much cake that I got sick. They next day we went out with our partners to teach and I could barely hold my head up. Thanks Momma and Mary for the package!!! The teammates and I love everything in it and I totally learned my lesson: cake for dinner and breakfast isn't cool!!!

Coming Home Surprises

2010-02-28T00:02:00.000+05:30

Nowadays I'm almost scared to come home after a trip. They are doing construction on the apartment next to us and I guess they beat the bordering wall a little too hard b/c they cracked through my bedroom wall.

After the next trip I came home and could see a pipe in my wall...

They finally fixed it!!!

The next welcome home present: wall art!!!

I don't even understand it. I've since pulled my bed away from the wall. I had a little trouble sleeping at night b/c of fear that my wall would fall on me.

It's Back

2010-02-27T19:51:00.003+05:30

My computer is back and is fixed!!! More good news is that I have some new pictures to share and a story or two, so over the next few days I'll try to update y'all.

This picture is was taken after dinner one night at our friend's house. After we ate a huge meal, they made us put on saris. Thankfully in this picture you can barely see the spandex, fuchsia little top they made me wear. It was horrible and hilarious at the same time.

I hope things are going well for you guys. I heard it snowed...a lot!!!! What in the world??? I live in the mountains and we've only had like 3 inches this winter. I'm not going to lie, I'm pretty much ok with that.

It's Over

2010-01-29T17:43:00.002+05:30

b/c I threw it off the balcony!!! Just kidding about throwing my computer over the balcony, but it's pretty much what I want to do. It won't turn on. Therefore, until I get it fixed I'll only be able to use my pigasus12@yahoo.com account and I'm going to sign off from blogging for awhile. So peace guys....and pray that I resist the urge to chunk my computer over the cliff!!!!

Random Fav. Pic.

2010-01-26T22:37:00.003+05:30

One of our volunteers last summer took this pic. I love it and just wanted to share it.

Fish!!!

2010-01-19T12:52:00.002+05:30

This is what my room smells like:

Raw Fish!!!!

I can't stand fish!!! I had a little electrical fire in my room and the result is the delightful smell of fish. Now my already sorry heater doesn't work and the smell in my room makes me gag.

Sorry for complaining!!! But thanks guys who have sent me candles in packages...I love them!!!

It Snowed and I Sneezed!!!

2010-01-17T20:34:00.003+05:30

Nothing goes as planned!!! The taxi couldn't make it up the hill b/c of the snow, so we hiked it to the bus stand. So this is a pic. of just another day on the job.

I wasn't too pumped. I kept sneezing b/c I'm positive that I'm allergic to cold weather!!!

Abby loved it!!!

Tibetan Prayer Flags

View from the Bus Stop

We had a great 5 days out. It was eventful for sure. One of the funniest moments happened when our cab driver was pulled over by a cop and while the driver reached back to put on his seat belt, he hit a pedestrian!!! It all happened right in front of the cop and it was awesome. Yes, the guy he hit was fine...after he got off the hood!!! Also, on the trip a new sister joined the family!!! The Man is pretty much awesome!!!!

Oh yeah, after I wrote about my computer about to kick it; it decided to work and hasn't messed up since. PTL!!! Thanks for emailing me at the other address. Now you can email me or either account.

Wedding Festivities

2010-01-12T01:13:00.004+05:30

These are pictures from the Pre-Wedding henna party that we went to today:

The bride's hands that are half finished. They still had to do the other side.

The Bride:

The best part of the party was the singing and dancing. Of course, they made us sing and dance too. We are pathetic. Well, mainly just me. I'm so thankful Abby can sing b/c she always has to carry us. They wanted us to sing wedding songs and all we could think of were "Going to the Chapel" and "Say A Little Prayer"(From the movie My Best Friend's Wedding). It was absolutely hilarious and pathetic at the same time.

These women danced for like an hour straight. It would be like the equivalent of Momma, Mrs. Anna Lynn, and Mrs. Deb all dancing together!!! It cracks me up just thinking about it.

The wedding is tomorrow, but I'm not going. I've got to prepare to meet the Dalai Lama. J/K, but we are rolling out near his hizzle on Wednesday. Hopefully I'll have some good pics when I return.

Compu Problems

2010-01-09T10:34:00.005+05:30

My computer works when it wants to and it's usually not when I need it to work. If you need to email me, its best if you send it to pigasus12@yahoo.com and not the other email address.

This might be my last post for awhile....I hope not forever though.

Here are some random pictures from Christmas:

These pics are from the party with our friends. Santa is handing me a candy bar in the pic. He's a little scary isn't he?

Picture of the best team in the world:

Oh yeah, are y'all freezing??? The weather here the past two weeks has been awesome!!! It's actually colder in South Carolina than here in the Western Himalayas!!! My teammates blame it all on me b/c I told them I've been praying for a warm winter. I said I can't help that God's favor is so evident in my life. Just kidding....Don't freeze guys!!! I'm sure our time for cold weather is coming.

Nail on the Head!!!

2010-01-03T15:17:00.003+05:30

I listened to a sermon last night and it challenged and encouraged me like crazy. This morning I woke up and listened to the sermon from the following week and it did the same. This cat, David Platt, he gets it. I listen to a ton of sermons from various preachers, but no one has ever spoke on the church and the world in this context so well.

You can download the podcast from iTunes or you can click here to go to the church's website.

The series that I'm talking about is called Global Gospel. I've only listened to One Church w/ a Global Gospel and One Life w/ a Global Gospel. I'm downloading the other ones now. I would say listened to them all in order, but if you only have time for one (that's a lie) then listen to One Life w/ a Global Gospel.

I like to listen to sermons while I quilt. Yeah, I've started to quilt!!! I'll post pictures later. I really want to encourage you guys find time and listen. Let me know what you think.

PEACE

Welcome Home Treat

2010-01-02T18:14:00.004+05:30

This is normal right? Coming home from 7 days away to a big rock in your house!!! I can't even explain how it happened b/c I don't know. All I know is that I hope the cats stayed warm while we were out b/c hair is all over over couch and blankets!!!

Some people would call my little trip a vacation b/c I wouldn't consider it one. This was the view out of one of our many hotel windows.(Over our 7 nights out we stayed in 5 different hotels). The best part of this day was watching the lady round up the pigs around dinner time. It was hilarious.

For New Years Eve we shopped and went to watch Avatar in 3D at the Gold Class Cinemas. Gold Class is the most awesome theater I've even been in. We sit in recliners and they serve us apple juice in champagne glasses; it's pretty much ridiculous. As for Avatar, I didn't get to finish it b/c it made me so dizzy watching it in 3D that I had to run out and throw up!!!! HOW EMBARRASSING?????

For many reasons, I'm fairly sure I'll never forget this holiday season.

It Never Stops!!!

2009-12-24T15:16:00.005+05:30

Currently I'm spending my Christmas Eve fighting w/ this little guy, baking cookies, and decorating ziploc bags. All of the girls spend the night at a friends house last night and are planning to do the same tonight. I had to come home to bake cookies b/c I told some of the neighbors I would. I got home a few hours ago and realized that I didn't have my cell phone. That causes a lot of problems but mainly b/c we need our oven to bake dinner tonight and everyone thinks I'm bringing it in a taxi later. So without my cell phone I have no one's number to call and give them a heads up. On top of that little dilemma this little guys showed up and won't leave, so I'm not scared to leave my house. Just watch the video and you'll see why.

The third dilimma is that I painted on the ziploc bags that I was going to put the cookies in with glitter glue that won't dry. You maybe thinking, just use the blow dryer...yeah, I tried that for 10 minutes and they still won't dry. Honestly that isn't the problem. The problem is that I painted on the only unused bags we have. Plastic bags are banned here so we have to get them sent from the states and we usually wash and reuse them. I can't give out cookies in used ziplocs!!!

The good news is that the cookies are yum!!!!

PEACE GUYS!!! and HAVE A GREAT CHRISTMAS!!!!!

I'm tired of looking at that cat!!!

2009-12-23T00:47:00.005+05:30

That's what my Mom just told me, so I decided that it maybe time for me to update. We've been insanely busy, so I'll claim that as my excuse for not updating as often.

If you've been wondering, we still have cat problems. Around 10 last night a cat came in and ate some of our bread that was out from dinner and he also clawed the butter that was next to it. We didn't know it was inside until I came downstairs and it ran past me up the stairs. Funny thing is that I didn't even see it, but my roommate Diana did and screamed. She jumped off the couch at chased it up the stairs while I ran and screamed to the other side of the house.

Also on our last trip out we saw a leopard walking on the side of the road. I'm not joking. It was insane and really pretty. It was about the size of my sister's lab, but shorter.

I know the picture is random, but its one of my favs of the guys. This was Thanksgiving morning and they were cleaning the chickens. I think touching chicken is one of my biggest accomplishments since I've been here. If you've lived w/ me you'll remember that in the past I would only touch raw chicken while wearing gloves. Now I'll touch it and cut it without gloves and without gagging. I feel like such a big girl.

Hopefully I'll post some more pics after Christmas.

Bible quote: "Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean. " -Matt. 23:26

Elf quote: "What about Santa's cookies? I suppose parents eat those too?" -Buddy

We had a cat fight...

2009-12-05T11:24:00.004+05:30

And I'm not talking about Abby and me!!!

Last night around 3:30am I awoke to cats screaming and hissing at each other. It was so loud I thought they were in my room. They were making horrible sounds; it was all around horrible. Of course, I was too scared to see where they were. Well, Diana wasn't as scared as me. Her room is downstairs and she said she got out of bed to see where they were b/c she heard them pouncing on the dishes in the sink!!! When they saw her they ran upstairs and out of our house. You maybe thinking how can they get outside from upstairs? Well, we have a huge gap in our roof that is covered by a tarp. It doesn't make any sense to us, but that's how our house is. We're just thankful it wasn't a monkey. One lunged at me this morning while I was trying to run it away from eating our trash. I'm not a big fan of guns, but I'm looking into my options.

I love it!!!

2009-12-03T14:12:00.003+05:30

I guess Baby Heath read my blog and saw that I was suffering from a little nasal congestion.

I nearly wet my pants laughing at this. I think my parents kidnap him to take pictures.

Here's one of him just being precious:

Fav. Scripture Quote of the Day:

J said, "Don't you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man 'unclean.' For our of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. There are what make a man 'unclean,' but eating with unwashed hands does not make him 'unclean." Matt. 16:17-20

Fav. Elf Quote of the Day:

"I just like to smile. Smiling's my favorite!"

The Bible and Elf...there is no need to ever quote anything else.

7 Reasons Why Marriages Fail

2009-12-02T00:19:00.002+05:30

I don't have a clue, but I like what Pastor Perry Noble has to say about it. You can click here to see what I'm talking about. It's short.

The Halls are Decked!!!

2009-12-01T21:15:00.005+05:30

Well our halls aren't exactly decked, but our fridge sure is:

This is my new manger scene that I bought in Thailand. That's why the people look a little different, but its also why I love it. They said it was child proof and I said perfect b/c I break just about everything.

I love decorating for Christmas!!! Hope you guys love it too!!!

When we get bored...we

2009-12-01T00:00:00.002+05:30

Have fun with a Neti Pot!!!! I'm fairly sure when my mom sees this picture I'm going to get a "I cannot believe you!!!" email. Yeah, I debated whether or not to blog about it, but we think its so funny I decided to share. I absolutely have no reason to ever wonder why I'm single. This picture pretty much sums it up.

Many of you may be wondering what a Neti Pot is. Well, since you're wondering its a nasal saline irrigation treatment. They help relieve sinus pressure in the nasal cavity. In the pot you mix a saline solution (salt and water) then place and tilt and it flushes out your nasal cavity. It goes in one side and comes out the other. Fun!!!, but don't laugh while you're doing it. It'll come out your throat!!!

I've been a little sick over the past few days and I was talking about how I wish I had my Neti Pot here. Well, Justin, one of the new guys, said his dad just sent one over. Sweet Justin shared his Neti Pot with me. It's team building at its finest.

You maybe wondering where you can get one of these miracle Aladdin lamps. I bought mine in Charleston at EarthFare, but I'm pretty sure you can get them at Walgreen's, CVS, etc.

Photo: Compliments of my faithful assistant Abby.

Breakfast Burrito

2009-11-30T11:26:00.004+05:30

Just in case you were wondering, this is what I had for breakfast this morning. I love these spinach wraps that they make here. They call it green roti and I call it green goodness. Our neighbor's house helper brought them over yesterday. They occasionally bring over various food items. Most of it I don't like.

This maybe really random, but recently I've been thinking about integrity. Specifically my integrity or lack of in same instances. The last time our neighbor brought over food, we didn't touch it and I threw it away. You probably would have done the same thing if you would have seen and smelt it. The problem is that when she came back to get the bowl, I told her I loved it. WHAT A LIE!!!! I know I'm not going to hell over it, but it is sort of a bad habit. In the South we hate offending people, well at least I do and I don't think its always right. I mean sometimes when our hair looks awful, we need a friend to lie and say it looks good b/c its one of those days. But overall we need to be honest...I need to be honest. Someone asked me the question, "Is it easier for you to be kind or to be honest?" I answered "to be kind." What does that say about me? These are a few of the scriptures that I've been praying for myself.

"Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing." -Prov. 12:18

"She speaks w/ wisdom and faithful instruction is on her tongue." -Prov. 31:26

I feel so far from these verses. I've got the reckless words covered, but my words bringing healing or having faithful instruction on my tongue, What in the world???? I wish!!!

I just want to mean what I say on all levels regardless of the subject on hand. If I don't mean it, I don't need to say it.

GET PUMPED!!! DECEMBER BEGINS TOMORROW!!!!! LOVE A LOT and EXPECT A LOT!!!

Pics from this Week

2009-11-27T16:57:00.006+05:30

Abby's Thanksgiving Plate:

Yeah, that's Honey Baked Ham and Turkey you see. Thanks Momma Kim for brining over the ham!!!! A volunteer brought over a Butterball turkey and the guys fried it...yum!!!!

Abby, Jessica, and a random man that decided to come lay down while we were taking pictures.

This is from our most recent trip out. We were sort of in apple country and this is a basket like the ones women use to bring apples up the mountain. They saw me put it on and ran over and put the their traditional head wrap on me too.

This is a pic of us w/ one of our fav. little guys from the weekend. His fuzzy sweater was awesome. Too bad I didn't get a better picture of it. It's was sort of like Where's Waldo meets the North Pole.

This is him the morning we left. His feet were cold so he tucked them in his mother's jacket. He's pretty much precious!!!

I guess its about the same for everyone...Thanksgiving was crazy!!!, but GREAT!!!! We had 5 guest at our house, two left today and the rest are leaving tomorrow. I'm not going to lie, I'm ready for some, I mean a lot of down time.

Welcome Home Blow Out

2009-11-24T23:36:00.003+05:30

Literally when we arrived home we had an electrical blow out. We had been out a few days and hadn't showered or had any sort of heat, so when we came home we cranked up our water and space heaters. Then we smelt something burning, but couldn't figure it out. So, we all concluded that it was coming from a neighbor's house. Then as I was getting into bed, I heard a loud crack and thud and saw a bright flash. I was sure Abby was hurt somehow. But no, our breaker thingie caught on fire and we no longer had electricity upstairs. The picture is the repaired box. When the electrician took the box down it was totally black and melted inside. Thankfully we have electricity now. Oh yeah, no one was hurt. I guess that's a positive too.

Just to let you know how cold I was on the trip. My feet are sore to walk on b/c at night they shivered the entire time. Anyways, we're back and it was one of the best trips EVER!!!! I'll try to post pictures if I can. Right now, we have two guest and three more are coming into town tomorrow. We can't wait for Thanksgiving!!!!

GET PUMPED!!!! and GIVE THANKS!!!!!

Going Festive!!!

2009-11-18T22:34:00.004+05:30

So, I decided to spruce up the blog page a little and I decorate it for Thanksgiving. At first when I saw the Thanksgiving options I thought they were so corny, but I caved. It sort of reminded me of kids having the option to have colored bands on their braces for Christmas, Halloween, etc. I think I can safely say after two sets of braces, once in the 4th/5th grades and again my senior year of high school, I never had festive colored bands on my teeth!!!

Anyways, enjoy the new colors!!!

P.S. THANKSGIVING IS IN 8 DAYS!!!! and Make your kids wear their retainers b/c having braces as a senior isn't cool!!!

The Great Khali!!!!

2009-11-17T18:21:00.005+05:30

Today was so much fun...Abby and I saw The Great Khali!!! I'm hoping not too many people know who he is. If you do, stop watching WWE Smackdown...it's ridiculous and you're a loser!!! I knew him as the 7 feet tall giant guy in the movie The Longest Yard. Anyways, the boys on our team found out he was coming to our town, so Abby and I decided to go see him. The boys are so jealous b/c they had to go out of town this morning. He was born in the state that I live in now so that's why he's visiting.

Here are some pics from this great day:

Just a few men showed up to see him:

(Guy in the bottom right was taking pics. of Abby and me the whole time. It's sad that we're used to it now. We might slide into a depression when we move back and men aren't whispering, "Gorgeous" in our ears as they walk by and trying to sneak pictures of us)

Here he is...Abby said he looked a little scary:

This is my attempt to be in a picture with him. Abby thinks its funny; its not my best for sure.

We got a fist pump from him. He winked at me too; its a shame I missed that picture.

I initially could have cared less about seeing his guy, but when we got there Abby and I got so excited. It reminds me of the time Whitney, Abbie, and I saw Andy Roddick play tennis in Charleston. We stood outside the stadium afterwards to see him up close and Whitney got pushed back and reprimanded by a security guard. It was hilarious b/c Abbie and I were the ones acting like idiots and pushing to get closer to him and Whitney was just standing behind us. Maybe you had to be there, but we thought it was hilarious.

Pictures!!!

2009-11-13T16:06:00.005+05:30

Here are a few pictures from last month:

This is us on the way to see South Asia's Largest Water Fall:

The Warning Sign:

The Mammoth Fall:

So, it's wasn't really South Asia's Largest Fall, but we still had fun.

My friend thought I didn't see her sneaking a picture of herself w/ my camera:

This is just a random picture of a cow leaving a liquor store...No, I wasn't visiting the store. My friends were shopping in the next store and I was standing out front and watched the cow walk in and walk back out of the store.

Hope everyone is doing well.

Food Crazy!!!

2009-11-10T00:00:00.000+05:30

I'm posting this because I just heard Abby yell from downstairs, "Oh my gosh!!! They're showing hot dogs on tv!!!" You know you're not in America when someone in your house yells that. We get a travel channel on tv and sometimes they visit the U.S. I guess they were at a restaurant that was serving hot dogs. That incident just made me think of our dinner conversation from last night.

Just about every night one of us cooks. Our menus are fairly limited b/c we have to make everything from scratch and we can only get chicken or goat. We stick w/ chicken though. Well last night at the table I asked the question if you could have one restaurant from the states in our town which would it be. We all pondered the question for awhile. Then these were our conclusions:

Diana chose a Japanese Steakhouse b/c she loves Japanese food:

Abby chose A Panera Bread

b/c she loves soup and sandwiches:

And I chose an IHOP! Do I even need to explain? Seriously I chose it b/c I love breakfast food and I think they have regular food on their menu too, I've just never tried it.

We're waiting for our cab to get here to take us to work for the next few days. It's been raining and I've been freezing. I have skied in less clothes than I have on now. I'm pathetic!!!

Tebster's 20!!!

2009-11-09T01:07:00.003+05:30

My little sister, Trudy, turned 20 today!!!

I talked to her today and told her that my gift for her was a ticket for her to fly over here and stay w/ me this summer. She didn't think it was funny. She's probably not going to think this picture is too funny either. However its a little payback for the "mug"shot picture she and Whitney posted of me on facebook. Hopefully not too many of you know what I'm talking about.

Hope you have a Great 20th Year of Life TEB!!!

Bear's A Believer!!!

2009-11-06T21:35:00.002+05:30

I'll assume most of you know who this guy is. He's Bear Grylls!!! The Man v. Wild guy. On Man v. Wild he's dropped in the middle of no where while and a camera crew follows him around as he survives with usually only a knife, rope, etc. He's pretty much my hero, especially now because I found out that he's a believer. They show all of the old shows over here and the other day, Will Ferrell accompanied him on one of his journeys. It was hilarious.

Abby, Diana, and I are thinking about starting a show called Girls v. the Wild. We think it would be a hit and super easy. We would just need a camera crew to follow us around. It would take much more than that.

Anyways, I just finished a good book called "Where Men Win Glory" by Jon Krakauer. It's about Pat Tillman's life. You know the NFL player that walked away from his million dollar contract to join the war only to be killed by friendly fire. Maybe you remember hearing about him. Well I thought the book was really good. I'll probably blog about it more tomorrow only b/c my roomies are tired of hearing me talk about it.

Once again...have a great day!!!

We've Got a Problem!!!

2009-11-05T14:35:00.003+05:30

He's Growing....

His handwriting looks just like my Moms.

My Momma sends me pictures about once a week of him and I promise every week I think he gains 5lbs. My blog may just become a photo gallery of Baby Heath. It's absolutely ridiculous how much you can miss a little kid you were only around for a week. My respect for career people living over here increases daily. I still don't understand how they do it.

Oh yeah, I got to watch the World Series live early this morning. I don't like the Yankees. I think its because they always beat the Braves back in the day. Isn't it ridiculous how much we can dislike a team, actor, politician, etc. without even knowing them? I was pondering that thought as I was watching them dance around on the field after their victory.

I've got one PTL...Jen found a great job!!!

Continue to have a great week guys!!!!

It's Getting Boring...

2009-11-04T13:53:00.004+05:30

Sorry guys, but I've pretty much let my blog become boring. Crazy things still happen almost daily, but I think I'm getting so used to them that I don't think to blog about them. The past few weeks have been insane as usual. Last week included 14 hours on a bus that concluded w/ me being as sick as I ever been here. I thought death was near. After many Meds that turned my tongue black, I was on the road back home two days later.

I'm getting super pumped about Thanksgiving!!! I know I've got awhile to go, but we're having 5 friends stay w/ us. Our team is planning for 25ish peeps to join us for Thanksaplooza. We've been planning the menu for the past two months. The challenge of chicken being the only meat available poses some fun challenges. I love allrecipes.com, though.

The weeks before Thanksgiving will hopefully be busy. Since we're in the mountains our travel is about to come to a complete halt due to weather. Hopefully we'll be back out twice before T'giving, b/c that will most likely be our only chance until February. P.S. I'm so thankful for spellchecker, b/c I always misspell February.

Anyways, I hope life is going well for you guys. I guess the weather should be changing. It already feels like January here. I'm always bundled up. Too bad on my last trip I left my new jacket somewhere!!! The funny thing is that I never wore it, so I have no clue how it got out of my bag. I have two other jackets though, so don't worry I'm not freezing...yet.

Peace Guys!!!!

New Kids on the Block

2009-10-25T20:38:00.004+05:30

I'm recovering from a great/crazy trip. Two new guys joined our team this week while we said goodbye to one of our teammates, so our team took it as a chance to head to a cabin to celebrate. The 4 hour mountainous car ride options were this little thing or another packed car w/ a two year old and a 6 month old.

I choose the little car. It's a decision I'm regretting b/c my back isn't feeling so swell.

Here's a pic of us doing a little s'more roasting:

I'm home for 4 nights and I'll be back out for a five days. I remembered being bored a few months ago. Definitely those days are gone and I'm definitely thankful. It's almost November!!! That's craziness!!!

Diwali Party

2009-10-18T12:38:00.004+05:30

I know I often write about the craziest day ever, but last night has to go on the list for one of the craziest nights ever. Yesterday was Diwali. It's sort of our equivalent to Christmas. It's called the Festival of Lights b/c they celebrate some god's triumph over another god by shooting fireworks and partying. Well we were invited to our neighborhood block party last night and it was ridiculous. We live in a colony with retired doctors, lawyers, etc. so these people have money. Once we arrived the alcohol had already been flowing a little and then I knew it was going to be a crazy night b/c fireworks and drunk people don't mix well. In the beginning it was nice: around 50 people were there, a good fire was going, good music was playing, and our neighborhood association leader, Dr. Gupta(in the pic on my right), was so drunk we were enjoying watching and talking him. Then the fireworks began. I love fireworks and it so cool to see them being set off all over the mountains, but when they are going off 30ft from you it's not so cool. This is when the evening got eventful. There's this one they call the "Rocker Launcher." Well a drunk person lit it and it fell over and hit another drunk person. The man's ankle immediately began to swell and something began oozing out of it. We thought, surely the party is over w/ now. Nope they continued and I began to notice that they were putting the used fireworks' boxes in the fire. I told Katelyn that if one of the rounds didn't initially go off, then it will in the fire. Sure enough one did a few minutes later and hit the injured man's wife in the forehead. At this point we were sort of fearing our lives, but we continued to stay. I think that one party took a few years off of my life. I felt like I was in the middle of a battle reenactment.

Anyways, if you click here you'll see a short video from the tv show, The Office, where Michael sings a song about Diwali. It cracks me up.

I'm on a blogging role huh? Don't worry next week I'm super busy w/ work stuff, so I won't post as much. Try not to miss my enlightening words.

Skating!!!

2009-10-17T19:50:00.004+05:30

Today we went skating to celebrate my supervisors' daughter's birthday. While we were there I think I fell in love. I couldn't resist this guys moves. It was love at first sight.

So maybe you don't think it is as funny as I do. This guy kept on flaunting his moves in front of my teammates and me, and we were dying trying not to laugh out loud.

Here's a picture of the girls:

October 16th!!!

2009-10-16T20:48:00.005+05:30

Oct. 16, 2008 was my first day here!!! To celebrate Abby and I went to Dominos. Try not to be jealous. I thought our relationship was tight until I got home and looked in the mirror and realized I had tomato stuck in between my teeth. Yeah, she let me walk around the entire afternoon like that. I started screaming from my bathroom that I wanted a divorce and she just laughed. She knew why!!! But that's why I love her and how we've made it this far.

Here are some pics from our journey so far:

This is from our first week here
Our anniversary party at Dominos

So when I signed up for this I never thought I would be carrying my oven into my bedroom to cook:

I definitely didn't intend to let other people dress and put their make-up on me

It never crossed my mind that I would need this man to literally pull out his sword to protect me

Didn't plan to sit on an elephant's lap:

But most importantly I never thought I would become the world's greatest aunt!!! Totally just kidding!!! I know enough w/ the being an aunt thing, but its another thing I didn't expect.

I just wanted to say THANKS to anyone and everyone who has supported and prayed for me along the way. I wish I had another way to say it, but I promise I couldn't do it without you guys. I know I've said that before...but I seriously mean it!!! Not that I'm counting, but have nine and a half months to go and would love your continued support.

Right now...I'm so thankful for my experience so far. A few months ago, I'm not going to lie, thankfulness was hard to find in my heart.

But now, I'm totally loving and believing this scripture:

"Praise the Lord, O my soul, all my inmost being praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits- who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies the desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's. The Lord works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed. He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel: The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him."

-Psalm 103:1-13

I'm also loving and believing this:

"Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast." -Psalm 139:7-10

HAVE A GREAT DAY!!!! and THANKS FOR HELPING ME THIS YEAR!!!!

The Nerd Herd

2009-10-14T22:52:00.003+05:30

My new roomies have me hooked on the TV show Chuck. I had never heard of it until last week and now I can't stop watching it. It's so stupid I'm not even sure its on the air in the US anymore. Anyways, I just wanted to give Chuck a shout out.

Monkey in my Trash!!!

2009-10-13T20:19:00.004+05:30

This little guy woke me up this morning after he threw the lid of our trash can down the stairs:

I took this video around 6am-ish from my upstairs bedroom window. Eventually I went downstairs to run him off, but he wouldn't leave. I didn't want to be too loud and wake up the other roomies and I was too scared to open our screen door, so I stood inside and stomped and tried to talk to him. Then I realized he doesn't understand English, so I politely asked him to leave in Hindi and he did. My roommate that stays downstairs said she thought that she has having a dream that I was yelling at someone. Anyways that's the latest monkey drama that I wanted to share.

I hope everyone is having a great week and nothing is trying to steal your trash!!!

I'm Back!!!

2009-10-11T00:45:00.003+05:30

And not much has changed here...it's still crazy!!! So, while I was home I had to go to the doctor b/c I had an ear infection...gross I know. It no longer feels like someone is putting a clothes hanger through my ear, so that's good. Anyways, I don't know if it was my ear infection or if I just forgot how loud it is here. I kept on asking my friends, "Is it loud to you?" They were like, "Allison, it's always like this; you were in America too long."

Just in case you haven't experienced it, jet lag is sent straight from the devil!!! It think it's affected me more since I've returned. I landed at 8am and had to meet/speak the new group of workers at 10am. There is no telling what I said...I cannot remember anything. They let me talk to them the next day too. Well the day after that, I asked one of my partners to book my train ticket back for me and to email it to me b/c my card won't work online. She did and sent it to me. Well I woke up, checked my email, saw that she booked my ticket, and proceeded to the train station to buy my ticket!!! I got there stood in line, then left to find an ATM, stood in line there, and then realized I remembered seeing my ticket in my inbox. At this point, I had spent 1 1/2 hours trying to buy a ticket I already had. So, I called my partner to confirm the time the train left and I realized I had 2 hours to get back, get my bags backed, and get a cab to the station. I made it to the station literally running to jump on the train as it pulled off. Which wouldn't be that big of a deal if I didn't have 3 huge bags with me. It was insane!!!

It doesn't end there. Once I was on the train and men helped me put my bags overhead b/c I couldn't lift them (I'm weak), I sat down and tried to relax. Well the older man in the seat beside me wanted to talk. I'm always weary of sharing my testimony and the gospel with people on train or plane rides b/c no matter how it goes, you're stuck beside them the rest of the journey. In this case I had four hours by this man, but the opportunity arose, so I shared. He was like, "That's great! The UFOs are really using you to make this world one!" What???? I didn't even know how to respond. I'm rarely short of words, but I was speechless.

Needless to say, that was one of the roughest/craziest days ever!!!

Tonight once I arrived back home, I took the bus out to eat w/ my teammates. Of course, it was packed and a man's behind was nestled on my shoulder the entire time. My teammates just patted me on the back and said, "Welcome Back!!!" Craziness All the Time!!!

Baby Heath!!!

2009-10-08T13:40:00.004+05:30

"I have found the one my soul loves..." Song of Solomon 3:4 Most peeps use that scripture on their wedding invitiations, etc...but I'm going to apply it to this little guy: This is the look he gives me before I pick him up:My sisters:

Heath's favorite Aunt (Center)

How can I stop him from growing while I'm gone? Please email w/ suggestions.

Signing Off

2009-09-02T19:53:00.003+05:30

I know I've been the worst blogger recently. It's not from lack of things to blog about, I'm just struggling to share. My past few journal entries have begun by, "God you've given me the craziest life ever, but I wouldn't change it for anything!" Over the past month, I've had extreme highs and other times have knocked me onto my knees. That's where I need to spend more time anyways.

My sister is due in 8 Days!!!!, but I'm moving into my new flat tomorrow and won't have internet for two weeks. When I get the call, I'll be running up the mountain to get internet access so I can skype my family at the hospital. Yeah, her hospital has wireless internet...how awesome is that?

Also, I'll be coming home for a visit in 3 weeks!!! I'm not sure if I'm ready for America yet or maybe I'm not sure if America is ready for me. I know for sure I'm ready for Wal-Mart!!! and to see my baby nephew!!! I think my excitement is equal for both. Just kidding. Baby Heath wins.

Anyways, I hope things are going well for you guys. I most likely won't post anything new until October, so don't bother checking this site. Hopefully by October, I'll be over my writer's block.

Peace!!!!

Pictures!!!

2009-08-25T18:50:00.007+05:30

I was scared to try the Banana "Pain" Cake

The devil bus...

The most fun kids ever!!!

This kid has character and I pretty much love him.

The result of my cliff dive...

You know, the usual...traffic

The death curve

The lady, second from the right, offered us chai so we said yes. She proceeded to milk her cow and then used it for our chai...YUM or not

Apple trees were everywhere. I carried around peanut butter so every time we picked them; I ate mine w/ pb. Nationals didn't understand why it doesn't taste like butter.

Sorry...I've been horrible at updating my blog. I'm staying at a guesthouse all week and I'm moving on Saturday. Once I move and we get internet, I'll update.

#3

2009-08-22T10:15:00.004+05:30

Today the 3rd wedding that I was asked to be in since I've been here is happening. Abbie and Allen are getting married. Abbie and I have known each other forever and I cannot believe I'm not going to be there. It's hard to believe its even happening. I thought prayer would be more beneficial that my presence anyways, so I decided to fast today. Well I just blew that...I made blueberry muffins last night and I just ate one. Geezz!!! Lord help me.

Anyways...Get Pumped Allen and Abbie you become official big kids today!!!! I love you guys!!!!

I'm Back!!!

2009-08-20T16:31:00.003+05:30

I'm back in civilization and I have a ton of stories. I'm still trying to put to words everything that happened on the trip.

One day all I could write in my journal was:

"It's was crazy but great day...after

5-cups of chai

2-near death bus rides

2-mountains climbed

2-trainings

1-demon possessed woman

1-bucket bath w/ a free electrocution treatment

1-bite of mutton"

I'll send out an email update once I re-coop.

Why Me???

2009-08-02T22:12:00.002+05:30

Is the question I get to ask because my bathroom looks like this:

Yeap, my toilet was there. Now my beautiful blue toilet is in two pieces.

This morning our landlords knocked on the door to inform me that the plumber was coming to fix the clog in my shower drain. I was ok with it, because I was tired of standing in water while I showered. Eventually Abby and I heard the man hitting the marble with a sledgehammer. Needless to say it was a peaceful Sunday morning until then. At first I was scared to look in my bathroom b/c I didn't want to know what he was doing then I was dreading it b/c I knew it was going to smell like sweaty man. Well it smelt like sweaty and smokey men by the end of the day. At one point I had four men working in there. The thing that really confuses me about the repair is where does the dirt come from? I live on the second floor...the ground isn't below me. I don't understand how you knock a hole in the second floor of an apartment and find dirt.

I wish I could say my bathroom is fixed but it's not. It still looks like it does in the pictures above. Abby's family arrived a few hours ago. She's totally pumped. They are great and fun people, so its going to be great. Now even greater since we'll all be sharing the same bathroom!

Getting Pumped!!!

2009-07-29T19:46:00.004+05:30

Listening to good/new music will get me pumped for just about for anything. Therefore, I sort of just splurged on iTunes b/c I need to get pumped to pack and clean up.

Here are my latest purchases:
On the Christian front:

NeedtoBreathe: Something Beautiful and Lay'em Down(love this one a lot) These are pre-released singles from their album coming out in Aug.

Waterdeep: Sweet River Roll

Fee: Glory to God Forever

Al Green: People Get Ready

Also, a few randoms off of Phillip Larue's latest album.

On the Secular Front:

Everything off of Still Time's newest album.

You probably could care less, but I like knowing what other people are listening to so I can find new bands I like. You're welcome to share what's on your current playlist.

I have the Best Friends EVER!!!

2009-07-28T22:57:00.003+05:30

Greatest Blessing EVER: my friends. I have recently been overwhelmed by your encouragement and love. I'm also one of the lucky ones that actually has friends in my family.

I don't like throwing out the L-Bomb ever, but here goes...I LOVE YOU GUYS!!!! Thanks so much for your support, prayers, and funny stories that keep me going.

I would send everyone a box of chocolates if I could.

Also, my move date has been moved up. I leave in a week. I can't wait.

The Mountains Win Again

2009-07-28T00:47:00.004+05:30

I'm moving!!! to the Himalayas!!! I'm not going to lie, I'm a little nervous about the weather. The city is 7,000 ft above sea level. Abby's is super pumped about the cold weather. I have a feeling every time I go out that I'm going to look like Ralphie's little brother in "A Christmas Story." We won't move until the end of August, so we have a little bit longer in this city.

Just in case you were wondering, "The Mountains Win Again," by Blues Traveler is one of my fav. songs and it will be our theme song during the move. Abby doesn't know that yet, but she'll love it.

Money and Church

2009-07-21T16:29:00.004+05:30

I could do in any direction w/ that title, but I was just wondering where you learned to manage your money? If you're close to me, you'll know I'm fairly bad w/ my money. My parents never sat me down and explained stock, mutual funds, IRAs etc., but they always drilled "Don't spend what you don't have." I'm fairly thankful for that simple rule. It's good because I don't put things on credit cards and I'm not in debt. My problem is that if I have it I spend it.

You're probably thinking...well do you give? I don't have a problem w/ that either. I hardcore think everything we have is from Him and whatever he asks us to give back we should do diligently. For some it may be 10%; others 10% to your local church 10% to a local non-profit, etc. I know of one man who has consistently reverse tithed. He supports his family off of 10% of his income and gives the rest away. Holy Cow!!! Isn't that awesome? I bet you just said, "well he must have an insanely large income." Nope, he just doesn't live to the standards of this world. He aligns himself with God's standards and its all that has ever mattered. I also hardcore believe God blesses our giving: "Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine." Proverbs 3:9-10. I could go on forever about giving, but I won't for your sake.

However, one area where I extremely fall short is saving. The Bible says, "Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in the summer and gathers its food at harvest." Proverbs 6:6-8 So save in surplus for what you may need later. Also, the Bibe says, "In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil, but a foolish man devours all he has." Proverbs 21:20 Yeap, I pretty much align with the foolish man there.

Anyways, the point of this entire post was to say I think churches should address money issues like crazy. I bet I could give some stats about how everyone is in debt and make a case that way but I'm not. I first learned about effective ways to manage my money form a seminar my church in Charlotte gave. Clearly, I have a lot to learn, but I was very thankful for that opportunity. Now, I think they have a financial advisor on staff to help people get out of debt. Not positive about that one though.

Another point I want to push is: I think we should teach kids money management at a young age. College shouldn't be the first time someone has to manage their own money. If your parents balance your check book while you're in college...get a life!!! That's crazy. I think I just stepped on some of my friends toes. Sorry guys, but that's ridiculous. What if you and your husband/wife have never been taught and have practiced proper money management? It would be a disaster.

I am by no means a master money manager. I'm actually fairly awful at it, but I'm saying there are great resources out there and that churches and parents should teach it. Dave Ramsey is a fairly famous Christian money guru. Click on his name to check out his site. Also, numerous churches have online resources including sermons on money. Well that's about it; I'm still wondering what made me think about this.

Have a great day!!!

Random Pics

2009-07-19T12:12:00.003+05:30

Our city is building a metro system than eventually will run throughout the city and will reach the airport. Parts of it are already running and it's really nice. Last week part of a newly constructed area fell. It's the second time since I've been here that part of a newly constructed area has collapsed. So there's the pic. Also, look at that blue sky. We don't always have color in the sky.

Here's a picture of a little cucumber seller. He was set up on the side of the street. If flies weren't on them and I had salt and pepper I would have eaten one. I just took his picture. He thought I was crazy, b/c I told him I loved cucumbers in Hindi and that's about all I could say to him.

School Time!!!

2009-07-16T19:38:00.004+05:30

School has started back over here which means the streets are covered with children in the afternoons. I love it because if I'm out in the market, they'll try to talk to me. Usually they just smile and after they pass me they say, "Hello, how are you?" I think it's the first thing they learn in English. Of course, I turn around and respond, then they run off laughing. I like the little game. Today we were out in a new section of town and took some cute pictures of school kids. Enjoy:

Those aren't kids in a cage,

They're in a school bus

Here's a loading zone:

School kids here are my heroes. Many of them leave for school by 6:30am and don't return home until after 6pm. Also, most schools don't have A/C. I cannot imagine trying to pay attention while trying not to pass out from a heat stroke.

Anyways, I hope things are going well for you. I heard it's heating up back home too. Drinks lots of water!!! Peace

Life Verses

2009-07-14T12:38:00.004+05:30

Many people have life verses. I remember hearing people say they "claimed" this or that verse and it always threw me off. I never knew what they were talking about. I thought, the Bible is for everyone, you can't claim scripture just for you. Let's keep in mind, I was probably 16ish. I still don't like using the "claimed" terminology, but now I'm starting to understand it.

It's usually a verse or two that really speaks to you. It can be a verse that challenges, motivates, or guides you. I've known parents that mediate on/claim specific scripture for each of their children, families that abide to life verses, etc. Single women for example, may cling to "Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4 Likewise, single men hold fast to: "It is not good for man to be alone." Gen. 2:18. Both of those are sort of jokes.

This is sort of on my mind because someone recently asked me what my life verse was and I didn't know how to respond. After prob 30 sec. of thinking, I came up w/ Psalm 46:10: "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."

The more I think about it, I think I have two life verses. The first being: "He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." Micah 6:8

And because I have a tendency to make rash decisions and confuse love with works, the Lord has given me my second life verse: "BE STILL, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." Psalm 46:10

Saying all of that, Parents can I bring him home??? He's three-ish(they don't know his exact age) and he needs a family...

Here is another picture of him. He watched all the kids ride on Wynn's shoulders and got so excited when it was his turn.

So, I know I'm being unrealistic. I cannot adopt him...yet, but I can pray for him and other few thousands of orphans in South Asia.

I'm so immature...

2009-07-08T21:54:00.004+05:30

Because this cracks me up....

The bad thing is that the man was completely bald. It must stink to have a year long sweater on your arms, but no toboggan. I hope no one is thinking...my husband is the same way. Yikes! I think this is my third post that includes a picture of hairy men, hence the immaturity.

Here's a picture of trip #3 to the Taj. By the end of my term, I'm fairly sure I'll be a certified tour guide. I'm not sure how well you can see it, but I think this little kids barber missed a spot. I'm not sure if its a religious thing or not, but I've seen a good many children and men w/ their hair like this:

Adventures in T'Land

2009-07-04T15:46:00.004+05:30

I Bungee Jumped!!!

Just kidding...but I did go Hamster Balling aka Zorbing!!! That's a picture of a random guy we met at the place. Sky diving is next on my list.

Here are our zorbing pics: (I'm in the white shirt)

At the end of the hill, we landed in a pond.

The hardest/funniest part was getting out of the water and then the ball. We had to unhook ourselves and literally climb like hamsters to get out. The tricky part was that the inside of the ball was wet, so we were slipping and falling all over each other. Some of the people in our group fell out through the hole into the water. My partner and I didn't have to, but we wore ourselves out trying to make it to shore.
Once we made it to shore, getting out took more effort than it took to get in.As usual, I do everything with grace. I finally got out with my hair still looking beautiful so that's all that mattered. That's a joke!

I'll update w/ some more pics later.

Thai-heaven

2009-06-25T21:14:00.004+05:30

I'm heading off to Thailand in the morning. Unfortunately I won't be seeing anything that looks like the picture. I'll be in meetings all week. I'm still super pumped b/c I'll be w/ my friends and did I mention it's Thailand!!! I love it everything about it...especially the absence of smelly men and honking horns.

I'll update when I get back. Try not to miss me.

Tricky Planks

2009-06-24T13:52:00.005+05:30

One question I hate being asked is "What is your biggest pet peeve?" I don't like being asked that question because I'm always afraid I am one of my own pet peeves. For example, I've heard someone say, "My biggest pet peeve is bad table manners." But I've known the person and I know they smack and put both elbows on the table, etc. How does this happen? How do we become the things we dislike so much?

When Jesus spoke against judging he said, "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye." Matt. 7:3-5

Those verses drive me up the wall, b/c they are so true. Anytime I've ever wanted to point out someone else's sin, I've prayed for God to reveal any planks in my own eyes. I'm not going to lie, I feel like God reveals a whole deck, not just a plank when I pray that. Most of the time, I've realized that I noticed my friend's sin only b/c it was in me. It may have looked a little different, but nonetheless it was sin.

You maybe wondering what got me on this pet peeve/ judging kick. Well, last night I was reading some else's blog and they were completely bashing a Christian leader I really admire, respect, and know personally. One believer posted his disagreements he had w/ this leader and it become a full out bashing fest. Other people began to comment and agree. One person went so far as to say they wished this leader would cheat on his wife, so his ministry would fall.

Bashing Christ's bride is one of my major pet peeves. However if you know me, then I'm sure you've heard me say negative things about churches. It makes me sick that I've ever said anything negative about specific churches and to think that my negative words could have brought someone else down too.

Unity, harmony, peace...why is it so hard for us? Why is it so easy for us to find fault and so hard for us to forgive? Love. Love. Love. Love should be our prayer.

I may have quoted this scripture a million times on this blog, but I cannot get over these words of Jesus: "By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." John 13:35

Let me just add, I don't think that means that if the truth isn't being preached in our churches that we should just sit back and claim we're promoting unity and not discord. I think there is a reason why the church in Berea is mentioned in Acts. Scripture says, "... for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true." Acts 17:11b

We can learn a lot from the Bereans...

Fish Pedicure!!!

2009-06-22T13:10:00.005+05:30

For the past month, two girls from California have been living with Abby and me. Yesterday was their last day here, so we did a few last minute things that we meant to do earlier. One of the things on the list was to get a fish pedicure. Over here it's the new and cool thing to do. As you can see from the pictures you literally stick your feet in an aquarium and let the fish nibble the dead skin off of your feet. You'll also notice than in both of the pictures below the women are holding our feet in the water. It was the weirdest feeling thing ever. I sort of screamed when I first stuck my feet in. Then they started going through my toes and it grossed me out, but the ladies wouldn't let us take our feet out for 15 min. It felt like forever. You can sort of see the fish in the second picture. The lady said, "Wow, they are really enjoying your feet." I considered it a compliment. I'm not sure if my feet are any softer, but it was an interesting experience.

The next thing on our list to do was get henna on our hands. It's very common for women to have henna on their hands and feet for special occasions or just because, but pretty much all brides get covered with it before their weddings.

I asked them to do the simplest design possible on my hands. This is during the process:

After they are finished w/ the design, we have to let it dry for a hour then we pick it off the top then the below picture is the result:

A tattooed hand isn't my favorite look, but it was fun and it's crazy how fast and precise these guys are. My friend had a way more intricate design on both hands, but I didn't take any pictures. Every time I see my hand, I think I have dirt on it and want to wash it. I think it will last for a week or two.

Last night the girls headed back home and this morning Abby flew out for her vacation before our meetings start next week. I think I'm experiencing "Empty Next Syndrome." I like having a lot of people around. This isn't cool.

Creative Music

2009-06-18T20:15:00.007+05:30

I've blogged about children's songs before and here I go again. I was looking on a friend's site and came across this video:

I think it's a cool song. There is a website called Seeds Family Worship that is dedicated to "Planting the Seeds of God into the Hearts of Families." They have some pretty cool resources and ideas to encourage family worship. Under the "Kids" tab they have scripture memory cards and a checklist that could be helpful in getting started w/ memorizing scripture. My friend listens to their CDs to help her.

So if you have kids or trouble memorizing scripture, maybe this will be helpful.

It Is Not Good for Allison To Be Alone!!!

2009-06-17T20:30:00.003+05:30

I had all my hair cut off today. I should never be left alone. I get crazy thoughts and I'm so impulsive I usually act on those thoughts. Since Abby isn't here, I had no one to stop me. I had it cut off last summer and it looked horrible; I was so upset and typically I could care less what my hair looks like. So this time I took a picture of what my hair looked like after the lady last summer cut it off and I asked my friend to not let it look anything like it did. Anyways, the good news is that it doesn't look like it did. Since I'm not a fan of taking pictures of myself, it may be awhile before you guys see the new cut.

On a totally different note, I'm going to Thailand in a week and cannot wait. While I'm there, I want to go Zorbing. The only problem is that I don't think I'll be able to find someone to do it with me. If you're wondering what Zorbing is the picture below should explain it. You roll down a hill in a big ball...that's about it. I seriously doubt I do it, but I hope I do b/c it would be so much fun.

Catching My Breath

2009-06-15T23:46:00.003+05:30

Today was sort of a catch up day for me. I've been going non-stop for the last few weeks, so I was looking forward to today. However, I found myself bored out of my mind, but I got a lot of reading done. While reading I came across familiar scripture that sort of hit me like never before. I've heard dozens of sermons based on it, but I never really understood it. I always felt like the scripture and preacher were saying that we're supposed to be miserable. But today it looked a little different. Here's the scripture from Matt. 16:24-25

"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?" (NIV)

here it is again, but paraphrased

"Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You're not in the driver's seat. I am. Don't run from suffering embrace it. Follow me and I'll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self. What kind of deal is it to get everything you want but lose yourself? What could you ever trade your soul for?" (The Message)

I was reading these passages because I was trying to understand how to love God and others. I wondered where loving myself fit in? I thought could you really love someone else if you don't love yourself? I'm not talking about loving myself as in being me-centered or thinking I should be a beauty queen, but thinking about loving and being content w/ who God has made me. Well the phrase, "die to self" kept popping up in my head. So, I tried to find it in scripture and what I came across the scripture above. I sort of stopped looking after that, but it does seem like something Paul would have said.

Anyways Jesus did clearly say, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself..." This is clearly Satan twisted, but I always read that and related denying myself to disliking myself or just being miserable. Being here hasn't been the easiest time of my life. I sort of started to justify my discontentment here to taking up my cross. I thought missing my family, not seeing Mary K. during her pregnancy, no Sonic, etc. is just a part of the cost so its ok to be miserable. But today I realized, that I'm still clinging to my life; I'm trying to save it. I don't want my friends and family to slip away. Then I sort of started to laugh at myself. Really Allison, your family is going to forget you??? Your friends, who you've known your whole life, will not want to remain friends when you return??? These are the lies I have been letting the devil feed me. God is so much bigger. I like the Message's version that says, "Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self."

Yeah, part of the cost for me was leaving those I love, but there's a reason for the cost. He has bigger purposes...His Glory!!! He's more than worthy of it.

Back to the being miserable thing. My conclusion is that just because I must deny myself doesn't mean I should to be miserable. In fact, I should live by His spirit, and the byproduct of life by the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (Gal. 5: 22-23) Funny how being miserable wasn't included.

Let me throw out something else...I'm not miserable, so don't start worrying about my emotional status. Just today a few things were revealed to me, so I wanted to share them. I figured you guys haven't had a preachy post in awhile so you got one.

Chicken Coop Crazy!!!!

2009-06-09T19:08:00.004+05:30

I've been hosting a few(12) friends this past week, so it's been crazy. Somehow I got on the subject of chickens with one of the volunteers and now I'm obsessed. She's from California and her parents had chickens. She said it wasn't that hard and they always had fresh eggs. I figure if peeps in California can have chickens, I can too. When I get back, I'm going to build a chicken coop. Just wait....it's going to be great.

I do have a funny story that involves one of the volunteers and eggs. One of the ladies is on a protein diet, so she was obsessed with being able to cook eggs in the morning. I took the group to the "grocery store," and she asked me where the eggs where. I pointed over towards the corner and she set off to find them. Well, a few minutes later she came back and said, "They are not in that corner b/c there is no refrigerated section." I started laughing. It blew her mind that they don't refrigerate the eggs or the milk. Maybe you would have to be here to think it was funny. At least Abby and I got a kick out of it.

Let's See How This Works...

2009-05-29T01:04:00.004+05:30

One thing I would like to do before my life ends is to go to all 4 tennis grand slams. Although I'm not that good, I really enjoy playing tennis, but I think I like watching it even more.

Every time I write on my blog something I like or miss, someone always sends me an email wanting my address so they can send it to me. I sort of like this game. Let's see what you guys can do w/ my dream of visiting all four grand slams.

The 4 are the Australian Open, The French Open, Wimbledon, and the U.S. Open. Right now, the French Open is going on.

And just in case you were wondering, Yes, Andy Roddick has made it into the third round.

Also, I'm joking about someone else paying for me to go to all four grand slams. I would never let someone do that...well, maybe if they were a billionaire and have already given millions away to charities.

Nadal is in the pic....look at those arms!!! They beat my hairy man's arms.

I'm a little busy w/ vistors from home, so sorry about not updating much. Maybe at the end of the few weeks, I'll have some good stories.

Hillsong United!!!

2009-05-21T13:13:00.004+05:30

My Favorite Worship Band...Hillsong United...is coming back to the U.S and are releasing a new CD. They are an Australian Band that travels all over the world raising awareness for social needs while rocking out for Jesus. Last year, I went to their concerts in Memphis, TN and Ocean Grove, N.J. I don't think Edgar knows about my New Jersey trip. I guess he does now. It was so worth it. I would do it all over again too. Their tour dates are below. There's going to be a concert in Atlanta, so that's sort of close. Click here to check out their website.

Not Good!!!!

2009-05-21T00:11:00.004+05:30

My laptop won't play my Pride and Prejudice DVD. I'm not exaggerating when I say, I watch it at least once every two weeks. The HP people are going to laugh at me tomorrow when my complaint is that my DVD player won't play Pride and Prejudice. It's my sleeping drug of choice. Some people need the sound of an ocean or whatever, I need Pride and Prejudice. Sad times...

Good thing is that if my DVD is the problem, Abby brought her P&P DVD too.

Amazon and Zappos

2009-05-20T17:31:00.005+05:30

I'm obsessed with both of them. They have everything you could possibly need besides fresh food. Zappos has free shipping on everything regardless of the price. It's not free shipping as in you'll get it in three weeks. It's next day shipping, so you'll receive your order w/in three days!!! Also, they sell everything from Lilly Pulitzer to Chacos. It's not just shoes. I've ordered several random things from them and have been completely happy.

Ugh, I wish Amazon.com was never invented. I was probably one of their loyalist customers. I'm thankful shipping to S. Asia is outrageous b/c I would still be buying books like crazy. This is sad, but now since I can't buy the books I want, I've created a Wish List. Instead of clicking the button that says "Add to Basket," I click on "Add to Wish List." It's like a registry for students, engaged couples, etc., but I like to pretend my book fairy receives the list and one day I'll get those books. Is this sad or what? Also, it's really easy to sell books on Amazon. I sold most of my paralegal textbooks on it and made way more than I would have if I sold them back to the bookstore. It's a great .com

Abby Went Under the Knife

2009-05-18T23:27:00.005+05:30

Maybe I should say, "Under the Laser." Saturday she had Lasik eye surgery. You're probably thinking...There??? Yeap, she walked a few blocks over to the hospital. A friend picked her up in a car and when arrived back at the flat she could see. She waltzed into our flat looking like Ray Charles b/c of her glasses. To greet her were three smelly plumbers that were pounding away at the drain in my bathroom. They left shortly after she arrived, but their stench remained in my room. Thanks to those who have sent candles.

I don't know if you've ever heard of "medical tourism." Medical tourism is when people travel across borders to receive cheap medical treatment. A study done by the University of Delaware found this:

"The cost of surgery in India, Thailand or South Africa can be one-tenth of what it is in the United States or Western Europe, and sometimes even less. A heart-valve replacement that would cost $200,000 or more in the US, for example, goes for $10,000 in India--and that includes round-trip airfare and a brief vacation package. Similarly, a metal-free dental bridge worth $5,500 in the US costs $500 in India, a knee replacement in Thailand with six days of physical therapy costs about one-fifth of what it would in the States, and Lasik eye surgery worth $3,700 in the US is available in many other countries for only $730. Cosmetic surgery savings are even greater: A full facelift that would cost $20,000 in the US runs about $1,250 in South Africa."

It seems to be the cost effective thing to do. However, I cannot imagine going to Thailand to have a hip replacement. The beach wouldn't be the same if you had to be wheeled out to it. My stereotypes of other countries would cause so much fear that I don't think I could do it. Not that I'm planning to, but if I wanted a facelift, South Africa wouldn't be first on my list to check out.. The thing is that most of the doctors in South Asia, South Africa, etc. were educated in the U.S. or U.K. They've been taught in the same schools and in the same techniques and procedures as our doctors in the U.S. It would still worry me. I'm going to stick w/ trying to avoid surgery all together.

P.S. Abby's eyes are doing great. She has a ton of drops to put in them so that's annoying, but she's not wearing her glasses anymore so that's good.

Just Watch It

2009-05-13T00:02:00.000+05:30

Where there's no Sonic...

2009-05-12T18:56:00.003+05:30

You make onion rings from scratch.
I'm not sure it's worth all the trouble. Last night at around midnight, I had a crazy craving for onion rings. So, today I set out to make them. I didn't have a clue what I was doing. I had to make everything from scratch including the bread crumbs needed.

As you can see by the two burnt ones, I'm not very good at frying things. I think the oil was too hot. Also, they sort of look like doughnuts. However, the ones I didn't burn were really good. I paid a fortune for Heinz ketchup and enjoyed them. Here's the recipe if you're interested:

Ingredients:
1 large onion, cut into 1/4 inch slices
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 cup milk, or as needed
3/4 cup dry bread crumbs
seasoned salt to taste
1 quart oil for frying, or as needed

Directions:
1.
Heat the oil in a deep-fryer to 365 degrees F (185 degrees C).
2.
Separate the onion slices into rings, and set aside. In a small bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt.
3.
Dip the onion slices into the flour mixture until they are all coated; set aside. Whisk the egg and milk into the flour mixture using a fork. Dip the floured rings into the batter to coat, then place on a wire rack to drain until the batter stops dripping. The wire rack may be placed over a sheet of aluminum foil for easier clean up. Spread the bread crumbs out on a plate or shallow dish. Place rings one at a time into the crumbs, and scoop the crumbs up over the ring to coat. Give it a hard tap as you remove it from the crumbs. The coating should cling very well. Repeat with remaining rings.
4.
Deep fry the rings a few at a time for 2 to 3 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove to paper towels to drain. Season with seasoning salt, and serve

Morning Prayers

2009-05-11T00:43:00.003+05:30

I'm not a morning person. Anyone who has ever lived w/ me or traveled w/ me knows that. I'm not mean in the mornings, I'm just not all together. I actually envy morning people. I wish I was someone who enjoyed waking up early and having my quiet times, running, etc. I've heard numerous sermons preached referencing Mark 1:35 on the need to rise early in the morning to spending time w/ our Lord. I've heard countless testimonies of people that spend hours w/ the Lord each morning. Upon hearing those things, I'm always felt feeling inadequate b/c I'm not like that.

Equaling the number of sermons or lectures I've heard on morning prayer, I've heard leaders encourage husbands and wives to pray together each night. I think they go off of Ephesians 4:26-27, "In your anger do not sin' Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold." They'll say something like, "It's hard to pray w/ someone you're angry at."

Even when we're little, we're taught to say our prayers at night. Everyone knows, "Now I lay me down to sleep..." I cannot remember anymore.

I think all of the things mentioned above are biblical and therefore good. I want to wake up in the morning happy to spend time praying and meditating on God's word. One day, I want to pray w/ my children and husband at night. But I cannot stop thinking what if morning prayers become a priority over prayers at night. We need a "Now I rise from sleep" prayer.

I prefer night QT's because they are convenient. I'm wide awake and together then. I remember when I was younger, mornings were crazy b/c I was always running around finding my homework I did last night or trying to decide what I was going to wear. So, maybe its not practical. Maybe it's too hard b/c husbands and wives get out of bed at different times, etc. Maybe its unreasonable, but I just keep thinking about Proverbs 22:6, "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it." I cannot get the potential out of my mind.

I'm not sure why this was on my mind. Maybe it has something to do w/ the fact that 6 of my friends are pregnant. 3 at home and 3 here.

Here are some morning prayer references:

Psalm 4- Evening Prayer

Psalm 5- Morning Prayer

Mark 1:35- J rising early

Here's one of many sites that have kids morning and evening prayers:

Little Disciples

I could kill

2009-05-09T17:50:00.003+05:30

I think Papa Iguana knows I hate him. He's on my ceiling watching me read and shaking his tail. I hate him. He seriously stresses me out. As soon as I get rid of this stupid lizard, I'll blog about something else. I just read that I could pour hot water on him and it would kill him, but I would scorch myself in the process. It maybe worth it. I've got to get over this stupid little fear or I'm not going to make it.

All I want is...

2009-05-07T17:28:00.004+05:30

A Pet Peacock!!!! Am I asking for too much? Let me explain. After the dirtiness happened on the shelf in my room, one lizard was dead. I wanted to wait and let my language tutor move it the next day, but I was scared it would start smelling. So Abby and I tackled it. I successfully scooped it into a box and Abby then threw it over the balcony. It was a great team building exercise.

Well the next day my language tutor said that I should get peacock feathers and put them in my room. He said that they are scared of the feathers b/c peacocks eat lizards. I don't want to chance it with feathers; I want a peacock!!! I have been thinking that I could keep it out on the balcony and bring it in when I see Papa Iguana. When we went rafting last weekend, we saw a wild peacock on the side of the mountain. Maybe that was my God given chance to capture it and bring it home w/ me. I'm getting ridiculous thoughts. The peacock is the national bird here, so it would roughly be equivalent to me having a pet eagle back home. I'm losing my mind.

A Sin to Confess

2009-05-04T10:53:00.002+05:30

I skipped my language lesson this morning. I called and said that I wasn't feeling well. It's partially true, but I didn't feel bad enough not to go. Well, God is punishing me in a crazy way. The mini-iguanas have taken over my bedroom. I was reading and out the corner of my eye, I see Papa iguana. Next thing I know he's on top of my cabinets and I hear a rumbling noise. I stand up on my bed so I can see. Well...you don't want to know what I saw. Let's just say Papa isn't alone. It's sick. I'm never skipping language again. I'm not posting any pics. w/ this post. This blog will not resemble National Geographic.

Holy Rowing!!!

2009-04-28T20:11:00.006+05:30

This past weekend, I went rafting on the Ganges River up north in the foothills of the Himalayas. For Hindus, the Mother Ganga is a holy river. They believe a lot of things about it, but one thing is that it will wash away your sins. When the guide made a joke about getting our sins washing away, no one laughed. It was hilarious b/c we were all believers. The water was the coldest water I've ever been in. It was like 100 degrees outside, but the water felt like ice. Also, a lot of my pictures look hazy because there were small wildfires on some of the mountains. I don't have any pictures of the fires, but it was odd to see fire on the side of a mountain.

Views from the bus:

Parents, meet your future son-in-law. One look at those arms and I couldn't resist.

This is taken from our campsite. You can see cows walking across the bridge.

A couple of our tents.

This is just a pic. of some of my friends

You can check my facebook page for more pics.

Hey Jealousy!!!

2009-04-23T23:49:00.005+05:30

How do you overcome jealousy? It's all over the Bible, but I don't think I've ever heard a sermon on it. It's ranked up there in the major "Do Nots." Galatians 5:19-21 says, "The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexually immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

That's refreshing, one of the sins I'm struggling with is listed along w/ orgies and witchcraft. Great!!! If you read that verse in context it's talking about living life by the Spirit. As in, if you're living by the Spirit these acts shouldn't be present.

I've read that jealousy is the fruit of a deeper problem. For me, I feel like jealousy is the driving force behind other problems. I think my jealousy is a result of me comparing myself to others. I could write down your name and beside it put several reasons why I'm jealous of you. I wish I were joking. The wise Jen, once said, "Facebook for girls is equivalent to porn for guys." I think its true. I know I easily can get caught up on it by looking at other people's pictures and comparing myself to them. People post pictures of their new homes, children, husbands, vacations, etc. and it does make me happy for them, but I walk away comparing myself. I wonder why I don't look like them or why do I have the things they do.

So what is the Biblical solution? Get rid of my Facebook account? Honestly I just used it as an example. My facebook account really isn't the problem. I just don't know what is.

I started writing this and half way through I decided I wasn't going to post it. I thought I would copy and paste it in an email and send it to one or two friends. However, I cannot figure out how to copy it and I'm way too lazy to retype all of this in an email. So, everyone is getting it.

Anyone is welcome to email me his or her suggestions or verses that have helped them in the past. Also, listening to the Gin Blossom's "Hey Jealousy" song doesn't help. I really don't understand its point.

Cheers to Jen!!!!

2009-04-23T00:38:00.002+05:30

Jen's graduating in a few weeks!!!!

I just want to give her a little shout out to remind her how awesome she is and how much she means to me, so I wrote her a poem:

It must have been cold there in my shadow, to never have sunlight on your face.

You were content to let me shine, that's your way, you always walked a step behind. So I was the one with all the glory, while you were the one with all the strength. A beautiful face without a name -- for so long, a beautiful smile to hide the pain.

Did you ever know that you're my hero, and ev'rything I would like to be? I can fly higher than an eagle, 'cause you are the wind beneath my wings. It might have appeared to go unnoticed, but I've got it all here in my heart.I want you to know I know the truth, of course I know it,I would be nothing with out you.

Did you ever know that you're my hero, and ev'rything I would like to be? I can fly higher than an eagle, 'cause you are the wind beneath my wings. Fly, fly, fly away, you let me fly so high.

Oh, fly, fly, so high against the sky, so high I almost touch the sky. Thank you, thank you, thank God for you, the wind beneath my wings.

Man...I'm cracking myself up. Seriously Jen, you're great and Winthrop and FCA have definitely changed for the better b/c of you. You deserve way more than a sappy Bette Midler song.

Abby's B-Day

2009-04-22T22:01:00.003+05:30

Don't you love the cake I made for Abby's B-day???....Just Kidding. I actually didn't get her a cake. I'm pretty much the worst friend ever. However, I did download, 50 Cent's "In the Club" and played it over and over to her while I danced. You know it's the little things that matter.

P.S. Did you know iTunes has increased the cost of some of their songs to $1.29? What's going on? I don't like it.