Silly Cali

Cali is my friend AJ's dog. She and I are friends, too, and she spends quite a bit of time hanging out at my house. A couple of weeks ago, I taught her how to roll over. I was very proud of myself for teaching her something new! Today I decided that she should learn another trick: how to shake hands. The only problem is that whenever I get out a treat and tell her to sit, she immediately sits, lays down, rolls over, and pops back up, all in one motion! Apparently I did a good job with the rolling over thing. Obviously, she thinks that she deserves the treat for that. I tried a number of times to get her to stop at the sitting juncture and shake before giving her the treat, but it was a lost cause. After a number of failed attempts, I gave in and gave it to her anyway. I mean, who could resist this face???

Why I Love...

Sari Bari

It's been a while since I have written a "Why I Love..." post (and it may very well be a while before the next one comes), but I thought this was a good way to share with you about Sari Bari. Sari Bari is a ministry of the Word Made Flesh field in India. In Kolkata, the WMF staff serve women in the red light districts who have been exploited in the sex trade. Sari Bari offers their friends an opportunity for new life and employment in a way that seeks to restore dignity and promote freedom. The women are trained to bring new life to old saris by turning them into beautiful blankets, bags, and scarves. Each piece is marked with the name of a woman who now has the opportunity to choose freedom and new life for herself.

I love the Sari Bari products.

I love what they represent.

I love the name labels.

I love that name of Jesus is being proclaimed in the red light districts of Kolkata.

I love the staff that serve those precious women there.

I love my Sari Bari blanket and bag.

I think that you would too!

The Makings of a Good Saturday

1. Wake up around noon. (In my defense, I did work 3pm-3am and go to bed around 5am...)

2. Have a yummy cup of coffee (courtesy of roommate) with peppermint mocha creamer. Mmmm...

3. Lounge around in bed for a while longer video chatting with friends. (I have a new love for video chat! One of the many reasons that I love my Mac!)

4. Go for a run. (Not my most favorite activity, but did leave me with a sense of accomplishment.)

5. Treat self to pink Gerber daisies. Favorite!

6. Enjoy late lunch, consisting of salad with feta, sliced almonds, and chicken with Greek seasoning. (I am mildly obsessed with Greek seasoning. I think it is good on everything. I have my mom to thank for that one.)

7. Get called off from working Saturday night shift! (A small miracle, since staffing on Saturday nights is always bad. It may only end up being for 4 hours, but I will enjoy it while it lasts!)

And, just think... Saturdays are only going to get better since college football starts next weekend! So excited! Go Gators!

Meet Aimee (and go buy her stuff!)

This is my roommate, Aimee. You've met her before, remember? She's a great girl, and oh-so-talented! She is also quite thoughtful. She made me these welcome home decorations recently:

As I may have mentioned before, this girl has many talents. Many. Most of them of the crafty/creative genius variety. She has recently been working hard to get her business up and running. She has an Etsy site and another one, too. She is focusing on design layout (like for wedding invitations, save the dates, business cards, logos, etc), but also has some jewelry (mostly earrings), handmade journals, and crocheted masterpieces that are/will be available. You should go check them out!

Exhausted.

That's how I am feeling tonight. How about you?

New Project

I am working on a new project:

These are the chords that I have learned so far:

Too bad I don't know how to strum yet...

Here is my (very patient) teacher:

August Prayer Letter

My August prayer letter can be read online here.

Goodbye...

...black blob of death!

Hello...

...shiny new MacBook! So excited!

Just for you, Mom

It seems that it's been a little while since I have updated. Apologies to the few of you who have been checking for new posts (especially you, Mom). And, since it's getting late and I am getting tired and have to wake up early in the morning, I should probably keep this short. So, I thought I would just give you a quick update on where I've been and what I have been up to...in picture form. (Please ignore the fact that the pictures aren't edited.) So, I guess I'll start where I left off...

Back in June (has it really been that long ago??), my friend AJ and I decided to head out west for a road trip. We had been planning to drive up to Niagara Falls, but at the last minute decided that flying out West and driving to the Grand Canyon sounded like even more fun. Then we decided to throw in Lake Tahoe and Yosemite, too. It was an amazing trip! I had very good intentions to post details about each part of the adventure, but, well...that hasn't happened yet. AJ, however, is a much more committed blogger and you can check out her posts about the Grand Canyon, Lake Tahoe, and Yosemite (and you can even read about the in-between here) if you'd like. Here are a few of the highlights:

I got back in town in time to work a few shifts before heading to Asheville to celebrate AJ's birthday! Then it was off to Nebraska for a 10-day Word Made Flesh staff gathering. It was great to get to meet and spend time hearing stories from the North American staff from fields all over the world. It was also super exciting to get to see my friends from Lima again! Overall, it was a really encouraging time. I was thankful to be able to get away, listen to the Lord, and get to hear awesome stories about how the Kingdom is coming to the ends of the Earth from some of these folks:

I managed to fit in a few more (really long) shifts at the hospital before spending this past weekend with my friends AJ and Lauren in Chicago. AJ ran her first half marathon there on Sunday. She did an amazing job, finished with an amazing time, and earned the title of running rockstar in my mind. Before and after the running, we managed to eat lots of good food and have lots of fun in the city:

And that, friends and family, is why I have not had much opportunity to blog lately. Well, that and a decrepit computer that only comes on when it wants to (which is when the power cord is held into the back at the exact proper angle). But, I am excited to report that my new MacBook came in the mail today!! I am super excited about it! So, maybe that will give me a little more motivation to keep you updated a little more often. I make no promises...