TINA BROWN TRAVELS .... you're not in Kansas anymore!

U.S.A.!!!! U.S.A.!!!!! Olympics baby!

2010-03-17T21:05:00.000-07:00

Sunday, February 14 I was celebrating my gorgeous 14 year old niece's birthday at a Red Robin talking to my brother-in-law about the Olympics and how cool some of the events were that I'd been watching. Particularly Apolo Ohno. Out of nowhere he says, "We should go! The Olympics are never going to be so close, and the kids would love it! Could you go?" I'm like, of course!! So, we both searched the internet (Craigslist) for Olympic tickets while munching on Red Robin fries. We parted ways and when I called my sister later that night to figure out what the plan was, my brother-in-law said she was asleep but would call me in the morning.

Well, she did. At 8:15 am she called me and said "wanna go to the Olympics today?" I raced around the house looking for red, white and blue clothes and within 2 hours we had met up and my son & I had hopped in my sister's van and the 8 of us were in route to CANADA! My sister was busy on the laptop finding a hotel room for us. After a stop or two along the way for food, drinks and bathroom breaks we were in another country.

That night we took the subway to downtown Vancouver and walked blocks and blocks enjoying all of the Olympic excitement. The patriotism all over the city was so thick it was tangible. Every country was represented. It started to rain but that couldn't dampen our spirits. We made our way to the Olympic Torch but I have to admit I was a little sad there was a big cyclone fence around it, sitting a couple hundred yards away from the torch. Seeing it though sent chills down my spine.

The next morning we left our hotel room (about 45 minutes away from Vancouver) and drove to a subway station where we left the van and headed downtown. My sister exudes patriotism and just pure fun! She was busy on our subway ride painting our faces. Flags, stars and USA were artistically splattered on our faces. My niece Megan's face was covered with a flag, it was awesome!

As my sister & I waited with the boys for the others to get the tickets, we waited on the steps of a big building. As I was checking out my painted face in a small mirror a man came over and asked if he could take pictures. I said sure and seconds later he had a ginormous camera with a zoom lens the size of a cannon pressed up against my face clicking away like I was 80's Cindy Crawford. It was for Canada's largest paper, or so he said. Although, I couldn't find a picture on their website the following week.

We arrived at our event.... MEN'S USA HOCKEY V SWITZERLAND!! My niece had her picture taken with a young Swiss woman with a flag on her face and big ole flag. They were so cute. The stadium was packed and we had fabulous seats. Amazing since we had just got them the day before. The game was so fabulous and luckily we (USA) beat them 3-1.

I was hoping the kids would have an experience of a lifetime, but it was just as exciting or maybe more for me.

USA!!!..................... USA!!!...................... USA!!!

I'm still alive........

2010-01-18T00:25:00.001-08:00

So, it's been a LONG time since I've posted anything. Where does the time go? I guess my son, Luke said it best a week or so ago. I'm driving and he says from the back seat, completely out of nowhere, "You know Mom, I think the reason time seems to go by so much faster when you're younger is because like say you're 40 and we're talking about 2 years, well, that's 1/20th of your life, but for me, I'm 8 and 2 years is like 1/4th!" Well, it actually confused me, but maybe that's cuz I'm getting old.

And, that takes me to my last bit of travel. Last month IT happened! I knew it was coming, but there was nothing I could do. No matter how hard I tried I still turned..... 40!

But, I did it in style. I thought what better place to be for someone who 'never wants to grow up' than Disneyland. On my birthday Eve I flew to California, actually returning to the scene of the crime, since I was born in sunny Southern Cal. We stayed in a super cool hotel next to Disneyland. Having a couple of drinks before hitting the rides gave it a whole new experience. I love the Indiana Jones ride and the final drop on Splash Mountain seemed so much steeper even though my head was down and my eyes were closed. I hadn't been to Disneyland in the Winter in years, especially at Christmastime when the castle is covered in gorgeous bluish white icicle looking lights. And, then came the fake snow blown down on all of us and the gasps from the true Californian's..... "Oh my gosh, it's snowing! It's beautiful, I'm gonna cry!!" Wow people, you really should get out, or head North. The non-fiction weather at Disneyland was absolutely perfect and for those few hours I felt 7 not 39 & 364/365ths. It was....magical.

The next day, my official birthday we flew to VEGAS!!! The pilot, of course, announced my birthday and then a bag was delivered to my seat with mini bottles and some not so mini bottles. We stayed at the brand new Aria, which is part of City Center, a city within a city. Located right on the strip, next to the Monte Carlo, it had only opened 3 DAYS before we arrived. I'm thinking we were the first in our hotel room, woo hooo! Our room was absolutely fabulous!! When you walk in and enter the hallway to the bedroom the huge floor to ceiling wall of plush curtains across from the door slowly starts opening. What lies behind the curtains is a grand view of the Las Vegas strip. There are these little mini computer things, I'm sure there is a technical name for it, next to the bed. With one touch you can control the heat/air, open and close the fancy curtains, control the t.v. and radio, room service and more. You probably could order up anything you wanted. It was so cool and I usually don't care about that kind of stuff but this was.... AWESOME! The colors of the room were super classy in dark browns and taupes with a ginormous Superior King bed and big, tufted headboard. The big, flat screen t.v. even personally welcomed us when we entered the room.

I'm not a very subtle person, people were saying happy birthday wherever we went, maybe it was because of the big birthday cake sunglasses I sported all over town.

We did the usual Vegas things, had some drinks, gambled and did a lot of walking. If you have to turn 40, which most of us do, this was the way to do it. A weekend of laughs, rides, Mickey and Elvis. Forty is pretty darn fun!

TomaTINA !!!! TomaTINA!!! Spain's got nothin on us!

2009-08-31T20:24:00.001-07:00

If you're lucky enough to be in Bunol, Spain on the last Wednesday of August, you can participate in the world's largest tomato fight, possibly the world's largest food fight. This tiny town sees red in an explosion of tomato seeds, pulp and guts! And, who could ask for any more fun?! Over 90,000 pounds of tomatoes are available to be hurled, chucked, flung, flicked, rubbed, smashed, grinded, catapulted, heaved, pitched, propelled, jerked, tossed and lobbed at your nearest neighbor whether it be your best friend, mother or stranger. I've had this Festival on my Bucket List for a couple years now and with the economy and my own personal economy I couldn't afford to make this year the one.

So, my dear sister thought if Tina can't go to Tomatina we'll bring TomaTINA to her! And, boy did she! This past Saturday 20 of us gathered at my sister's property armed with plenty of goggles and a sudden fear of tomatoes. My sister, the Master of Ceremonies, cited The Rules thru her megaphone before we began. Your basic food fight rules, "You must smash the tomato in your hand before chucking it at someone, if you step off the tarp no one can throw a tomato at you and you as well can't hurl one at someone on the tarp. No one leaves with a white shirt (o.k. that one wasn't on there). And, when the siren blares you may begin and again when it blares you must cease fire."

To kick off the onslaught of tomatoes Isaiah, the winner of "guess the amount of cherry tomatoes in the jar" contestant, was able to pick one person to pour a can of tomato sauce on. The innocent Kobe was desecrated! And, with the quick blare of the siren we were off!!!

We all dashed for the kiddie pool in the center of the tarp overflowing with juicy tomatoes and the battle was on. Having large hands came in handy on this beautiful, sunny, Saturday. Scooping up handfuls of mushy tomatoes I hugged friends I hadn't hugged for a while, even patted them on the head. I mashed tomatoes on my son's head, chest and tummy. Why not? The shirt we had made for him said TomaLuke with a bulls eye on it! The barrage of vegetables, or are they fruit, lasted about 20-30 minutes, longer than one might think. At the end, before the siren, we were all moving in slow motion, gathering up whatever energy we could to make sure no child was left behind, left behind with a white shirt.

After the battle, the rope came out. It was time for tug-o-war in the tomato mush! The girls beat the boys and had them soaking up more of the red slop!

Some hiked back up the hill to the house, others rode ATVs to the hose showers awaiting us. A delicious spaghetti dinner was waiting for us. Followed by Bianca's famous cupcakes!

It was such a wonderful, fun day, we plan on making it a tradition! Tomatina has nothing on us!! Thank you sis!!

Costa Rica ...... no wait...... Dominican Republic anyone?

2009-07-11T12:08:00.000-07:00

I have been a complete blog slacker the past few months and I apologize. It's not a lack of things going on, there are always things going on. Just enough to keep me running ragged and to keep the hair dye industry in business. But such is life, right?

I started this post almost three months ago when I returned from a lovely long weekend in the D.R. Russ had been planning a trip to Costa Rica for a month or two, I think it ranks in the top 3, maybe top spot on his Bucket List. So, he asked me to go, I contemplated it for a couple weeks. But, in typical Tina fashion (not that I am usually a procrastinator) the night before, yes, literally the night the trip I decided YES I would go!! I packed my bag which included a few bikinis, a few cover-ups, some capris and t-shirts, the usual zip lock bag with all of the 3 ounce bottles and tubes I could cram in it and I was ready to go.

We raced to the airport, always racing, just practice for the Amazing Race. And, about 4 steps from the car at the airport Russ realizes he has left the tickets on his fridge at home. UGH! We race back to his place, get them and race back to the airport, missing the plane by 10 minutes or less. We hemmed and hawed for a while at the airport, looking at other options and decided to Plan B would be Dominican Republic.

We landed in Puerto Plata without a hotel or a clue about where we were going to go or what we were going to do. I was excited about that!! We walked out of the aiport and were approached by a few taxi drivers speaking in Spanish, of course, the language of the island. Neither Russ' or I speak Spanish, at least not well enough to impress my grandmother. Russ knew of a good town not far from the airport and asked them to take us there. They asked which hotel and Russ said, "I don't know, a nice one" and I bark "pero barato!" I'm not sure but I hope I'm saying, "but cheap". They nod in agreement and we hop in the taxi. Driving along the coastline of the D.R. is gorgeous. White sandy beaches, palm trees blowing softly as if to be slow dancing and beautiful splashes of color against the blue sky from the numerous kite boarders.

Soon we are in the town of Cabarete and pulling up at at this hotel, chosen by our taxi driver, after our lengthy Spanish conversation, not really. A beautiful hotel, absolutely perfect, right on the beach with an infinity pool reaching into the warm, Atlantic Ocean. Big suites with all the amenities you could ask for. The only amenity I was really hoping for was a lounge chair near the pool & ocean, depending on my mood. You know what mood I'm talking about, do I want to be sandy? Do I want to walk more than 4 feet to cool off? The result was a chaise almost in the pool. They even had gorgeous cabanas around the pool. Can life getting any better? I'm pretty sure not.

Russ had always wanted to learn how to kite board and this was obviously the place to learn. We meandered down the beach, stopping in the beachfront shops and lesson sites. He arranged to meet Sammy, his instructor the next morning. The next three days Russ underwent a pretty extensive training for kite boarding and within a few hours was mastering it. Being completely buff, a surfer, a snowboarder and everything else doesn't hurt. I didn't have much desire to learn. Well, honestly, I would love to learn, but the chaise lounge chairs & cabanas screamed my name MUCH louder than the grueling, sweating, exhausting lessons did. Maybe next time. After hours of being bashed by waves and kite boarding Russ joined a couple games of beach volleyball. Does this man ever stop?! And, how can I be so exhausted from lying in the sun, drinking Diet Coke and the occasional dip in the pool?

Each day I would flop out of bed and roll out to the pool for more sun and relaxation and every night we would walk down the main street finding a new restaurant to try. The restaurants all have indoor and outdoor seating where your seats are often bean bags or wicker couches halfway buried in the sand. So cool! Beautiful twinkling lights or funky Japanese lanterns hung from the palm trees and the only thing to worry about was trying t make it to every restaurants Happy Hour.

There are a couple casinos near or in Cabarete, so we found ourselves at one steps from our hotel and found that we were the only ones there! We quickly lost some money but were saved once some more kiteboarders came and joined in.

The speed of the island, or at least Cabarete is perfect. Not the speed limit for cars, but the speed of the people, the lifestyle. It's nowhere as slow as Roatan, Honduras, where I had to beg for a young woman to take my order at a Popeye's Chicken while doing her make-up. And, yes, she worked there! And, not the quick, hustle and bustle of ..... New York City. It was so relaxing and beautiful and I can't wait to return!

GOING OUT ON A LIMB....

2009-06-13T21:34:00.000-07:00

Most of my vacations consist of about a month of planning, sometimes a week and even last month, one was less than 24 hours. But, last August my sister and I decided to "branch out" and made reservations for a couple of tree houses at a one-of-a-kind resort built in the trees where long term planning was a must. Out 'n' About Treehouse Treesort in Southern Oregon was a totally unique adventure that was the center of many fabulous, family memories.

A few days ago my sister, her husband, their four children, my son Luke and I headed South, to the very bottom of Oregon. Stopping at our favorite, Rice Hill for ginormous ice cream cones. Arriving to this B & B in the trees Luke and I headed up the 40 stairs or so to our sweet wooded escape, Peacock Perch. It was very cute, small, but it is a treehouse. A double bed and a smaller (half twin) sized bed as well. A small fridge and sink are in the room too. Getting to my sister's treehouse was a different story. Several spiral staircases later and 2 long suspension bridges, which made you feel like locals were going to jump out of the woods and start shooting arrows at you (Indiana Jones-esque) and you were finally at Treezebo. The highest treehouse floating at 37 feet up in the air. When the wind blew the "house" swayed in the breeze. Faaaa....reeeaaaky!!!! The swaying wasn't for me, so I quickly exited the branches for solid ground.

Centered in the compound is a campire for everyone's use, also a building with a couple of bathrooms (including showers) and a kitchen. Outside the kitchen were bbq grills and camp like stoves. In the evening other tree campers bbq'd, boiled, grilled, roasted and even sautee'd their dinners along side us. There was a stage that was just finished being built, it had a beautiful mural on it and temporarily held a foosball game. Around the treehouses were a couple of rope swings. They were usually in use with kids doing their best Tarzan. Also on the grounds was a volleyball net, horses (for horseback riding), horseshoes (the game, but probably also on the aforementioned horses feet) and the lodge. In the lodge, were you check in, there is a t.v., internet access, books and board games. Breakfast is included and was WONDERFUL! All you can eat cereal, oatmeal, quiche, waffles one morning (french toast the next), toast, juice, coffee and more. Plenty of seating inside and out; we sat outside on a deck enjoying the beauty while fueling up for the morning. The only warning is to watch out for the Hamburglar, one of the resort's boxer looking type dogs that will snatch the food from your hand if you're not looking.

We arrived Friday, settled in, looked around, played some volleyball (I have almost professional volleyball playing teenage neices) and then had dinner. The next morning we awoke, had a big breakfast, played around a bit, lounged by the morning campfire and realized it was only 9:00. I was quickly reminded of the slow crawl of time that occurs when you are camping. So, after a short discussion we decided to head to the Oregon Caves. Only 30-45 minutes from the tree houses and a destination none of us had been. We arrived at the Caves after a stomach-upsetting curvy ride. We joined some others for a 90 minute tour through the caves. Over 500 stairs and areas where you must duck down to a 45 inch height. Not too hard for my 43" tall nephew Josh. The caves were truly beautiful, gorgeous marble walls and some that look like whimsical delicate sand castles dripping from the ceiling. It's amazing! We all had a great time! We stopped for mexican food in Cave Junction before heading back to the resort for some dare devil activities.

Our sign up for zip lining was for 4 possibly 5 people. Laura hadn't decided and I frankly wasn't sure I would be doing it. After my fearless neice Megan was suited up for it she started in on me, "Tina... you just got to, come on, you'll love it, you just have to do it, you said you would, pleaseeee........". What could I do, my 13 year old neice and my 11 year old nephew were ready to fly through the trees I guess I could. Within a couple minutes I was sporting the army colored nylon diaper harness, leather gloves and a small white helmet (not very attractive but if it protects my noggin). There were 4 or 5 others from another family joining us. Kyle, our young and very pierced instructor quickly taught us how to steer, how to stop and how to scream. Oh wait, no, I got that one on my own. There were three runs, that's what I'll call them. The first one we climbed up a wooden ladder to a platform about 20 feet perched in a tree. The instructor there would hook the metal clamp that was dangling from my body to the line and when I thought I was "ready" he let go of me. It was a blast! It was across a meadow and not too far off the ground. The more you weigh, the quicker you zip, so I was pretty much a bullet on a zipline. I felt like Chevy Chase on Christmas Vacation when he sprayed his sled with butter spray and flew thru the snow. When the first run was over we were instructed to follow the path thru the woods to another platform. This one was cool, it was right in the center of a very wooded forest. There was though a gap in the trees that we would be sailing thru. Wheeww!! When the 3rd instructor (a young woman) said, "You'll be zipping thru the woods, and when you start to come out of the woods you'll see Kyle on a platform on a tree, you'll need to stop there". Wait a second! Should I seriously have been paying attention to the breaking and steering instructions. I have to land myself on a platform with a guy on it?! Yep! As I shot thru the jungle at about 60 mph I cleared the woods and saw Kyle standing on this itty bitty platform 50 feet off the ground. You've got to be kidding! I have to stop on that. I was sure I was going to plow Kyle off the platform and just plunge to my death, our deaths. But, for some reason I was all of a sudden an expert and landly perfectly on the platform. Two more people joined us on the placemat sized platform in the sky. I was terrified, even though I was now linked to the tree. That still didn't comfort me as I struggled to find a place to stand or as Kyle said, have a seat. Finally, it was my turn to leave this napkin sized platform in heaven. You couldn't just step off the platform either, you had to shimmy down the side of the tree, stepping on sawed off branches.

You see, I have a real problem with getting down from places. I'm much like our cat Snoopy we had growing up. Several times he found himself 40 feet up a large Douglas Fir tree only to be brought down by the local, bored fire department. Just 2 months ago I was at my sister's house and was admiring the tree house my brother-in-law had started. After climbing the "ladder", I sat on the platform, about 15 feet off the ground, I realized I couldn't get down. The three options I had weren't really options for me. I couldn't back down the ladder, The huge nails poking in one huge branch wouldn't hold me and the rope, well, I'm not a fireman so I can't slide down a rope. After much help and encouragement, my neice Megan helped me belly crawl down the trunk of the tree. Several years ago I was on the roof of our house painting the second story. I had easily climbed up the roof and had wisely brought my cell phone with me. After several attempts to climb down the ladder I called my sister and her and the kids came to "talk me down" from the roof. This time, if there hadn't been a wire leading me to the ground, I think I might still be up on that platform.

After I was safely on the ground and a ziplining expert we had the option of doing the Tarzan swing. Still wearing the army diaper you can chose to be linked to a rope that with the help of a golf cart pulling you up, you are hoisted 50 feet up a tree. They let you go and you free fall for a second before swinging out over the rest of us, who are too chicken to do it ourselves. It looks horrific and it's hard to believe we pay to be tortured for things like this. But, Megan (my neice) and Carson (nephew) did it. So, their dad had to do it as well. His voice seemed to change as he swung thru the air. I think it was the sound of fear.

That night we baked potatoes and corn-on-the-cob on the grill and o.d.'d on watermelon before perfecting our s'mores.

We zipped thru the forest, crawled thru caves, lived among the chipmunks in the trees and ate s'mores til we were sick; it was the perfect getaway!!

WILL IT BE YOU ......?

2009-05-13T21:31:00.000-07:00
Will you be my 2,000th visitor? The prize for the 2,000th visitor, well, it's a secret. But, let's just say it's BIG!! What will it be? Lunch? A brand new car? (I didn't say who got the new car).

Thank you all for visiting and thank you for your support. I know I have been very lame, to say the least, in my "travel" writing/journaling/blogging. Sort of hard to do when you're not traveling much. But, don't worry, whether I travel physically or just mentally, I will soon be sharing again.

Ciao!

ONE GOOD DEED PER DAY!!

2009-04-29T12:49:00.000-07:00
So, I've made a decision. I try to do nice things often, but decided why not make it a goal. Sort of have it on a mental "to do list". Every day I will do one good deed, random act of kindness, whatever you want to call it, whether it be tiny or huge or somewhere in between. If everyone did one good deed per day can you imagine the world we would live in? I'm pretty sure it would be like Oz, or heaven!!

So, for today... hmmm.... I'm not sure what I have to report yet. I will work on it. But, I will try and post daily or maybe weekly my good deeds.

This week:
Monday - consoled an older, crying woman at work
Tuesday- made cookies (Mon night) delivered them to the neighbor, friends at work and others

working on today's. Be careful .... kindness is catchy!

Let it grow.... let it grow... let it grow!!!

2009-04-18T22:27:00.000-07:00

Today I rented an awkward, enormous machine that was a cross between a jack hammer and hardwood floor sander. It was ridiculous! Oh, it was a rotatiller. I thought I ordered the small one, I can't even imagine what the bigger one is like. It dug in to the ground but yet still pulled me along so quickly I felt like a cartoon character who's feet weren't on the ground, but straight behind me. After several screams and killing it a half dozen times I got the hang of it and had my garden area completely tilled. I am so proud!

Next came all the seeds. I'm not much of an instruction type girl. So, I glanced at the back of the packets and then thought ehhh.... they're just seeds how hard can it be? So, we'll see what happens over the next couple weeks/months.

In the garden Luke and I planted corn, two types of green beans, a bunch of romaine lettuce (add a little Quizno's cesear dressing and cheese!), tomatos (not for me... make Luke eat these), potatos (I'll be eating these!), onions (red and yellow), carrots, watermelon (oh yaaaaa) and cantaloupe (for Luke).

We will be planting our 2nd and 3rd blueberry bushes tomorrow along with three apple trees. At least I think they are apple. I stopped at a sale the Lions Club was having today on bushes and trees and the prices were RIDICULOUS!! They had huge, tall, gorgeous trees, like Weeping Willow pink flowery things and just amazing stuff for like $5 a tree but I didn't have a vehicle for them. So, I bought the 3 smallest trees, they didn't have tags, so we're guessing they are some kind of apple. Three trees for $6!!

Today was 70 degrees and tomorrow is suppose to be in the mid to high 70's. You can't ask for more for Oregon. I will post more pics as the garden progresses. Here is stage one.

Happy Easter!!

2009-04-11T22:25:00.001-07:00
He has risen!!! He has risen.... indeed!

LUKE.... LUCAS.... LUCIUS... LUCANIA .... LOUKAS.... LUCIAN.... LUC... or...LUCA

2009-03-23T20:17:00.000-07:00

Whether it's said in Greek, Latin,Italin, French or just plain old English, Luke means: bringer of light, morning. And that is exactly what my Luke is. A bringer of light and.... joy! Not a day goes by that I don't thank God for the wonderful little man he brought me 93 months, 16 days and 1 hour ago. Simply put.... I'm blessed!

UGH!!!

2009-03-03T12:06:00.000-08:00
Well, although I have complained about my "day" job a lot over the years I have still been grateful to have one. And, over the past few months as those around me have lost their jobs I've counted my blessings even more. I have had Fridays off (voluntarily) to spend more time with Luke; lunch with him, recess, etc. But, last week we got the news at work that everyone is required to take 16 days off between now and the end of June, for everyone else that means no work on Fridays. Great, you're thinking... Tina doesn't work Fridays, perfect. Nope! Now, in addition to that time off I will now have to take an additional 6.4 hours off a week (20% off, like the rest). This is NOT GOOD! So, I will basically be working 3 days a week. Which equals..... not enough money.

I'm quickly looking for a second job, even though I will continue to do Ebay at night and on the weekends as much as humanly possibly. But, I'm looking for a no brainer (server/bartending type) job. Not that I'm saying servers don't have brains or have to use them. I just don't need some job that I have to learn a bunch of crazy, technical smart stuff. I have to admit I'm FREAKING out just a bit. I know it will all work out and God always seems to provide. BUT, it's always scary waiting until that moment he... saves me. So, please pray something perfect comes along.

Just thought I'd share.

Gidday mate!!

2009-02-23T18:20:00.000-08:00
So, what do you think? Can you picture me lounging in an oversized hammock, slathered in tanning lotion, in one hand - a drink with a colorful umbrella bobbing in it, in the other my hot pink ipod cranked listening to Rihanna's Live your Life song? I can, oh wait, maybe because I've been there and done that. And frankly, I think I'm pretty good at it. I make it look easy, when really, it is a gift. It is something that takes dedication and true committment. Children at home, please don't attempt it.

Did you hear about the Best Job in the World advertised over the past 5 weeks? The Queensland Tourism Board promoted a job for one extremely lucky person to live on Hamilton Island, in the Great Barrier Roof and "take care" of it. Exploring the island, feeding the fish, cleaning the pool and blogging about it are some of the "job duties". These are my kind of job duties, unlike the duties I have now .....Occasionally (translated into several times daily) deal with angry, confused customers, hours and days trapped in a cubicle, etc.

So, naturally I applied. And, in Tina fashion, at the very last minute. You know me, or maybe you don't. But, I could very well be a procastinator. There's probably a more positive term than procastinator, like... very last minute puts things together-er. Either way, I did my video with about 8 seconds to spare. Hey, if you don't have any pressure than where's the fun? They are reviewing the applications now, all 34,000 from over 200 countries and will narrow it down to a mere 50 applicants. Thirty four thousand.... psshhhhhhhhh!!! I laugh in the face of that! Not a problem. They only need one person. They will go thru the motions, narrowing it down and a couple of rounds of interviews in Australia. And then I will start the job July 1. Luke will of course be coming with me. I will keep you posted.

I'm .......baaaackkkkk!!!

2009-02-09T20:43:00.001-08:00

O.k. so I was only gone two days. I flew down to Southern California Friday afternoon and came back last night and had a fabulous time. A quick little family bonding moment. I was able to spend 48 hours with my Grandma, Aunt and cousins. We played cards, watched movies and just spent time hanging out. It was just what I had hoped for. I have the coolest cousins, I wished they lived closer, or I lived closer. Taylor's pictured with her boyfriend and making us dinner. Kevin pictured with Coo Coo, he got all dressed up for me. I didn't get a picture of Kelsey, although she was around and played cards with Coo Coo and I, a total sweetheart. Coo Coo is bundled up in the pictures since it got down to a chilly 65 degrees. Pictured are 2 of their 4 totally cool dogs: Nala and Simba. Can't wait to go back! Good times.

I'm headin back to cali

2009-02-06T09:41:00.001-08:00
I'm off in a couple hours to Southern California to see my Grandma, Aunt and cousins. It should be a wonderful weekend of good ole fashion family fun. My Grandma is 90 years young but can still beat the pants off me in any game we play. Have a great weekend everyone!

did you ever stop and think...

2009-01-27T22:03:00.000-08:00
Did you ever stop and think... is this really my life? Is this as good as it gets? Isn't there more? Is this what I want? Is this what I've worked so hard for? Is this what I envisioned for my future way back in high school? The whole, "where do you see yourself in 10 years, how about 20 years" When we would be "grown-ups"? What if this is as good as it gets.

What if I was given 6 months to live. Would I be doing what I do, be where I am, feel what I feel? No, I don't think so. No, I haven't had some horrible diagnosis, but spent a bunch of this weekend with sharp chest pains. And it got me thinking. What am I waiting for? No one is going to make things happen the way I want them to, except me. If I could replay my life, or replay just today, a "do-over" if you will, would it be the same? It seemed to be for Bill Murray in Groundhog Day. Until he realized he was doomed to spend each day the same. Then he made changes. I'm not doomed to spend each day the way I do, I chose it. And, apparently I continue to chose it since I continue to live the life I am living. I'm not saying it's bad. It's a wonderful life. Maybe I'm getting this way because Groundhog's Day is coming up this weekend. Maybe if I saw my life over and over on the big screen like Bill then I would make changes.

There are a million sayings that come to mind. Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but by the moments that take our breath away. Live like there is no tomorrow.

If I had 6 months I would.... love more, laugh more, live more. The thing is, I do have six months, I hope. I mean, we all do. What if I lived as if every 6 months was my last 6 months? Why shouldn't we live that way? If I lived as if I only had 6 months to live what would that life look like? Is that one little word... only... really keeping me from making changes. I mean seriously, do I need someone to tell me I ONLY have 6 months to live? The definition of that word, only: at the very least, and nothing else or more, with the final result. Final result!!? At the very least?! Yes, at the very least I should be living life to the best of my ability!

I just got to thinkin and thought I would share.

UNEXPECTED CHANGES......

2009-01-26T08:32:00.000-08:00
Unexpected changed are opportunities in disguise.....

Out motto for today. This morning, Luke and I got ready for school and work: racing around, fixing lunches, making eggs and ham and jelly toast for breakfast, feeding Mish and brushing teeth (not Misha's, ours). We fly out the door, the usual "We're going to be late, hurry, shoes on, grab your sweatshirt, grab your backpack, let's go!!"

I decide to drop Luke off at the curb rather than park and walk him in since he'll be late if I take the time to park. I drop him at the curb, kiss him goodbye and then slowly drive away. As I'm driving away I notice one of the other 2nd grade classes lights are off, and then the next window I can see the chairs all still stacked on the desks. Hmm..... there aren't that many cars in the parking lot. I circle the parking lot to see the reader board, as I'm reading "January 26 .... NO SCHOOL" I hear and see Luke flailing his arms running at the car ready to plaster himself to my windshield, "MOM! WAIT!! There isn't any school today!" ha ha!! Ummm..... my bad. I have no idea how this happened since I'm pretty good at keeping track of school days and stuff.

So, he hopped in, we drove the mile home, changed back into jammies, made a fire in the woodstove and are ready for a day of games and movies.

YEEE HAWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

and finally......I SAY MACHU.... YOU SAY PICCHU!! MACHU....... ??.... hello ?

2009-01-17T21:53:00.000-08:00

Well, number one on the Bucket List has offically been crossed off. Machu Picchu, Peru!! More breathtaking and truly more unbelievable than I ever could have imagined. It's an entire hidden city right smack on top of the world, well, not hidden anymore. An American explorer was led to it by a local 10 year old boy in 1911. Estimated to have been built in the 15th Century, a 100 acre complex of temples, warehouses, houses, irrigation terraces and stairs still remain.

So, there are a couple ways to get to Machu Picchu. There is the 4 day trek for those with plenty of time and who are seriously in excellent physical condition. Obviously we went with Option B, we'll say it's because we didn't have the time to trek for 4 days, but who are we kidding, we all know I am not in any kind of shape for that.

We took a bus for a couple hours from Cuzco to Ollantaytambo and then hopped aboard the Backpacker train to Aguas Calientes.

Aguas Calientes is a fun little surprise town nestled at the bottom of Machu Picchu. Those who don't do the trek, stay the night in Aguas Calientes so you can catch a bus up to Machu Picchu early in the morning and spend the day there. That's what we did.

Aguas Calientes has several hotels and even more restaurants lining the steep walkway that runs up the center of town. As you walk up or down this path you are approached by a person from every restaurant showing you a menu and reciting their specials. The town's hotels and restaurants lie on one side of the river and on the other side, over the bridge is a fabulous outdoor market. Dozens of stalls with everything a tourist could dream of. We spent a couple hours here and perfected our bargaining by the end. Well, I'm not sure how well we perfected it, but we were able to save at least 50 cents per item!

So... we got up early..... AGAIN! But this time there was no question it was worth it. It's Machu Picchu for heaven's sake. We caught one of the first buses and made our way up the winding road to the park. The fog was thick but not as thick as the anticipation and excitement I felt. I stepped out of the bus and in to the park still not knowing what I was in for. We quickly made our way across the terraced hill to the opposite side where you need to sign in so you can climb Huayna Picchu (or Wayna Picchu) which is 8,922 feet above sea level. Only the first 400 people who check in can climb. We chose the 10-11 a.m. hiking slot.

As we walked around in awe of this "Wonder of the World", my mouth hung open and our cameras were burning up. Just walking around this place was a workout and the thought of the Incan people building this, so high up, is unfathomable. The fog hung for another hour or so and as it started to lift we looked up and saw a big mountain. Russ pointed out that there were people climbing it and we decided it must be Huayna Picchu. I was a little freaked out at the thought of climbing it, it was huge. We walked around with our Frommers guide book in hand trying to figure out what was what.

And then it happened! The fog cleared in a place that I didn't even realize it was and there it stood.... HUAYNA PICCHU! A gargantuan, huge, gi-normous mountain reaching to the heavens. It took us a while and then again Russ said... "Are those people?" Sure enough, there were tiny specks of color hanging off the side of the beast. I couldn't believe it, I couldn't wrap my mind around the fact that I had gotten up early, raced across the park and signed up to climb Mt. Everest, o.k. not Mt. Everest, but it might as well be. Seriously!? .... Seriously!? I was in complete shock. I could feel my stomach up in my throat, begging for my throat and mouth to form the words .... "no! nevermind!" It was like God was playing a sick joke on me. I really should have gone to the YMCA more than 3 times. (the huge mountain pictured in the background is Huayna Picchu).

We were on the opposite side of the park at 10 a.m. when it was our time to start the trek. Russ noticed the time and suggested we head over to the entrance. I suddenly was hungry and wanted to stop for a break, maybe go out of the park and go to the bathroom too ? He's smart so it didn't take long before he said, "Hey wait! Are you trying to get out of climbing Huayna Picchu?!" Uhhh.... YEP! Seriously, I just couldn't see it in my future. I don't think building one of those gondola like trams up the side of it would distract from it's beauty. It's something to think about. But, for now, there was no ride, just my legs and a little bit of courage.

You know it's going to be a bad hike when they have you sign in, print your name and the time you enter. Of course you have to sign out if you make it, they need some way to keep track of their victims. We started and the path was 4 or 5 feet wide and actually quite manageable. I think I might even smiled at one point. Then the path narrowed, became not so much a path but a jaggedy stairway of rocks. Practically vertical with steel cables drilled in to some of the rock for the worst areas. Parts of it were completely exposed and we had to take a deep breath and suck it in while people passed us on their way down. If someone were to sneeze or stumble they could have easily pushed me clean off.

I was surprised with each step that I was still breathing, I was still stepping, I was still alive! I could do this, I could really do this! And I did! I started asking people passing us on their way down if we were close, "how much further?" I would say. Oh- you're close, only 10 minutes. Another 10 minutes I would ask again, still... 10 minutes they would say. And again 10 minutes later...... only 10 minutes. WHAT?! Are you kidding me!? Am I on candid camera? Finally a woman said, Oh you're close! Only 5 minutes! Best news ever! I think I told her I loved her. When we reached the top I swore a "S" appeared on my chest. I couldn't believe I had done it. I have to say, besides giving birth to Luke, this was my biggest physical accomplishment. Maybe you're thinking, wow! that's it?! One hike and she's all braggy. But, I'm not a "marathon" type girl. So, this was my marathon, this was it!

The view was stunning, absolutely breathtaking and in a lot of areas you are teetering thousands of feet up. Machu Picchu looks like a tiny garden from way up there. When I thought we'd climbed to the very tip top I realized there were more steps with huge rock slabs leaning against eachother making a cave you have to climb thru to get to the highest summit. I don't know if I have ever been to the summit of anything before. It was peaceful and gorgeous. We stopped and had lunch at the top. The prettiest picnic I've ever had.

The walk down was almost as tricky sometimes you had to turn around and climb down like you were climbing down a ladder. We signed out and I realized that signature wasn't just to note who had come and gone but a way of autographing that accomplishment. When all was said and done, it can be said that ..... I'M A ROCK STAR!!!!! You know what I mean.

Machu Picchu was more than I could ever have hoped. There is a reason it was number one on my Bucket List and a reason why it is the 4th Wonder of the World. It is truly spectacular!

CUZCO ...... God sees it all...... and for a minute, so did we

2009-01-12T22:35:00.000-08:00

After planting our second Geo Cache in Nazca (at the edge of the slums) we grabbed our stuff from our hotel and made our way all the way across the street to the bus station.

It was the same big, luxurious bus and I was excited this time when we realized we had the 2 front seats on the upstairs level. The huge curved window gave us a panoramic view of the beautiful countryside and an even closer view of our impending death. Are you kidding me!? Seriously people!! It was pitch black, no street lights, just the headlights shining down on the treacherous cliffs below. Every once in a while I could catch my own reflection in the window, it looked like I was doing my best Janet Leigh (shower scene- Pyscho). Huge, jaggedy rocks lunged at the bus as we winded around the mountains. The driver swung so far out to the left when turning to the right (and every turn was to the right) that the tires would leave the pavement, crossing both lanes and bounce along the gravel shoulder. For a while I had to watch, wanting at least to scream and throw my arms in the air like we were on a roller coaster as we flew off the mountain, but it was too painful. My stomach was in knots and I was wearing the carpet thin under my right foot from slamming on my non-existent brakes. I closed the curtains, took my contacts out and prayed it would end. So much for the best view in the house.

We arrived in the morning around 10 a.m. exhausted from the ordeal, but thankful to be alive. In our usual fashion we were greeted by ...... never quite got her name, just decided to call her Liar instead, I'll tell you about that in a second. We grabbed our bags and hopped into the cab. The woman (liar) asked us which hotel we were going to and we said Los Ninos. Which, I have to say I was very excited about. She hmmmmmm......'d and finally said, "this hotel is not safe, dark small street it is on, (don't know why I'm making her sound like Yoda) and drunk people you will see". Blah, blah, don't EVEN try this one on us. I already had the whole bait and switch or taxi/hotel switch-aroo happen to me in Greece. She continued with, "I take you to nice hotel that is safe for same price". She even has the taxi driver take us to this "safer" hotel and asks if we want to get out and see it. Uhhh.... NO! We insisted on Hotel Los Ninos.

We arrived at Los Ninos and I was thrilled! It was more beautiful than I expected. The story behind the hotel is what drew me to it. A German woman moved to Peru in 1996 and adopted 12 children (12 boys). Shortly after she opened a hotel, Los Ninos, to help support her family. The family grew and she adopted more than 20 more children that live with adoptive parents and are supported by her successful hotels (she also added Los Ninos 2). The organization feeds 500 neglected Peruvian children a day, provides medical, dental, homework help, sports and hot showers. An absolutely amazing woman and I knew I wanted to support this family, this organization, in this tiny way.

We stayed at Los Ninos 2 where all of the rooms are named after one of the adopted girls. We were told Los Ninos' rooms are named after the boys. We stayed in "Carolyn" our first night and returned a couple days later and stayed in "Laura". The hotel is gorgeous with a Martha Stewart (non-felony Martha) shabby chic style. Well, not too shabby, more just chic. Lots of white, white painted wood floors, huge, tall vaulted ceilings with hanging lights wrapped in rope. Large cheery artwork hung above our bed. I say our bed, since there were several beds in each room. Our room could have held a family, with 3 beds. A clean, new looking tiled shower and plenty of hot water. The courtyard boasted vintage glass bottles with sprigs of white flowers and Adirondack furniture for lounging in the sun. Small white painted round tables to sit and journal at, if you had the time. In the lobby... more pretty white furniture, books and games stacked on a shelf across from a fireplace that was always burning.

Both Los Ninos hotels are located in Cuzco and I would go back to Peru just to stay at these hotels. Here is their website. http://www.ninoshotel.com/

We quickly set out for a day of sightseeing and with the GPS in Russ' hand and Geo Cache instructions in mine we headed out on to the completely safe, narrow, cobblestone streets. He positioned himself and pointed simply saying, "just 3/4's of a mile straight ahead". Hmm....... what was wrong with this picture? The only thing straight ahead of us was a GI-NORMOUS mountain. The clue said something like, "God is looking down on you". As the clouds parted, my 20/400 vision strained to see the mountain and sure enough there was a huge statue of Jesus standing on top of it, looking down on Cuzco, looking down on the entire world! NO WAY!! The 3 or 4 visits to the gym before coming to Peru apparently weren't kicking in. Who were we kidding. I'm as out of shape as a new contestant on The Biggest Loser, WEEK ONE! I was huffing and puffing like a nasty, old smoker (minus the fact my lips have never touched a cigarette) and at one point I'm pretty sure a sloth passed me. Russ was practically skipping but kindly and ever so patiently waited for me.

When we reached the top we had to decode numbers on the back of the statue to figure out where the hidden "cache" was. Wouldn't you know it? The cache was under a pile of rocks that two little lovebirds were making out on. Of all the places to canoodle. We waited, for a while quietly. We stood about 20 feet behind them and then started coughing and talking loudly. It started to rain, finally Russ went over and said excuse me and dug in the rocks and grabbed the old peanut butter jar.

The view from where Jesus stood was breathtaking and even though I complained and whined like nobody's business it was beautiful and would do it all over again.

Here's that sand video....beware

2009-01-05T22:00:00.000-08:00

Here is the sandboarding video I mentioned in my blog a few entries ago. You might not be able to see it but I really did lift my feet up halfway down. Well, at least at the bottom.

PERU .... day 4..... alien landing site or Incan brilliancy?

2009-01-03T11:45:00.000-08:00

We emptied the sand from our shorts and had a bite to eat in the oasis town of Huacachina. Shortly after Ramon returned and was taking us back to Las Dunas Hotel where we would lounge by the pool, play a game of huge chess (o.k. I didn't play, Russ taught me) and then get back on our big bus. A short 2 hour drive and we had arrived in Nazca (Nasca). A city made famous by the the mysterious and ancient drawings, a series of geometric and straight lines in the earth.

We sat with our bags at the bus station for a while, watching the t.v. and looking for a person holding the expected "RUSS MONZON" sign. Finally, the bus attendant behind the counter asked us who we were waiting for. We told him we were waiting for our ride to the Hotel Alegria. He pointed out the window behind us and said, "the hotel is right there!". ugh! How embarassing. Well, at least we hadn't waited too long. A great hotel for $35 a night with a big outdoor pool. We went out for a late night, delicious steak dinner at El Portono, where a local band did their best Ricky Ricardo for us.

The next morning, yes..... another early morning. Grrrr...... The driver was scheduled to pick us up at the hotel at 8 a.m., as we waited outside on the street we watched as a food cart vendor (a woman) smacked a belligerent, drunk local trying to take something off her cart. She wailed on him good with a rolled up paper and he persisted until he lost his pants and suddenly there was a full moon in the middle of the street.

We were driven to the small Nazca airport, where we quickly were ushered to a counter to pay an airport tax. We signed our names and then once again had our names called out and were escorted to our tiny Cessna. At least that's what I think those miniature planes are called. Small enough that I could make out the size of shirt the pilot was wearing less than a foot infront of us. And, let's not forget I have bad vision. There was another victim, oops, I mean passenger in the front seat, we'll call this Asian tourist the co-pilot, then the middle row with Russ and I and finally another equally tiny row with a Spanish young woman and her mother behind us.

Taking off we were looking down on beautiful lush, green vegetation and within 2 minutes were flying over dry, brown, arid desert. We wore those big, bulky head/earphone things so we could hear our pilot, Benjamin announce each drawing. Apparently he repeated "Condor..... condor...... condor..... condor....." in the microphone/earphones several times in a such a low, monotone voice that I didn't even hear it or tuned it out. BUT, Russ heard it and like the teacher in Ferris Bueller's Day Off I was reminded me thru out the rest of the trip, ".... Bueller ..... Bueller .... Bueller.

There are simple, formed triangles, trapezoids and lines stretching for miles. Others are complicated, intricate designs representing animals; a 540 foot long lizard, 270 foot long monkey with a tightly curled tail or a condor with a 390 foot wingspan. The lines were "etched" by the dark topsoil and rocks being removed to reveal the lighter ground beneath. The lines have been a mystery for years and have been thought to be extraterrestrial landing sites, astronomical calendars used for agricultural purposes or land art that held secret messages for the gods. It's unfathomable how these lines were constructed, especially because they are only discernable from the sky. They are absolutely amazing and must be seen when you are in Peru.

We went back to the city of Nazca and had the best lunch at a restaurant called Plaza Mayor II, almost directly across from our hotel. We continued down the main street, following the bus stops with Nazca drawings etched in them. We reached the main plaza, Plaza Mayor, where dozens shortly became hundreds of people. A parade soon began. We stood and smiled, I waved and took pictures wondering what the parade was for. A man walked by in what I thought was a big beer can. Women walked by in nurse costumes. Only after an older man walked up to me and put a handful of small condoms in my hand did I realize that beer can was actually a condom!

We were in full Geo Cache mode by now and Russ defied all rules (and laws for that matter) and hopped over the short chain fence surrounding the plaza landscape. He planted a Cache right smack in the middle of the square filled with hundreds of people. Rebel! As we walked back thru town we made a few stops. Stopping in a grocery store, we bought rice, bread and cookies. Then a huge bunch of bananas at a fruitstand. We walked back to a "slum" just on the outskirts of Nazca, that I had noticed on our drive to the airport.

Small panels of woven banana leaves leaned against eachother to make a "home". We walked along the dirt road alongside the slum until a small girl and boy came out. They waved, we asked if their mother or father was there. They repeatedly said no. We handed over the bags of food to the young children. We took their pictures and showed them on the digital camera their own faces. They were quiet and shy and calmly went back into their house as we walked away. A second later an eruption of screams filled the air. It was such a small thing, but felt so big. The girl pictured at the top of my blog is that young girl. She has replaced my young Africa girl, for now.

We planted another Geo Cache at the top of the slum with a clue for others to hopefully bring food to these unfortunate Peruvians. Adios!

I'VE GOT CABIN FEVER!!! I'VE GOT CABIN FEVER!

2008-12-23T11:43:00.000-08:00

Another couple days and I may have to eat Luke, wait! What am I saying? First Mish. O.k. seriously, the snow is gorgeous and it's so fun to look at and have crammed in your ear (thank you Lucas), but there's only so much you can take. We're so lucky though, we haven't lost power, like my dear sis and her family and my mom. It's absolutely gorgeous and the snow flocked trees look like a painting where somebody got too white paint happy.

We have about 18" of snow, 2 feet in some areas and even 3 feet in others, where the wind has blown it against the house and driveway wall. Yesterday it snowed all day, finally around 4 it let up and we made a mad dash out in it to play. We don't have a sled, poor planning. And even if we could get to town to buy one I heard from the neighbor they are sold out (the town). I have the best neighbors. The couple up the hill from me has called a few times and made sure we're o.k. and will be bringing me firewood if our electricity/heat goes out. They also invited Luke and I up for Christmas dinner. The neighbors below have invited us down the hill to go innertubing tomorrow.

I live on quite a hill, a very serious hill and then my driveway is a serious hill in itself. So, IF I can make it out of my driveway I still have the challenge of sliding down the main road. Most people have parked their cars down below our house at the bottom of the hill in a parking lot/turnaround. Which is smart, but since I didn't do that ahead of time I have my car stuck here at the house, with chains on it. The chains don't make a difference.

Luke and I have had a blast playing games, I taught him Yahtzee and I keep saying it's beginner's luck that he beats me every time. What's up with that?! We've been watching movies and made a snowman late yesterday. Actually, it's a snowman trying to swim away from sharks. I also had plenty of snowcone flavoring left over from the Alien Parade where we sold snowcones. So, we have fresh Rootbeer snowcones. Feel free to stop by for one!

We're suppose to celebrate Christmas tomorrow at my sister's in Silverton, but that hour drive seems near impossible. I've decided I'm going to have to believe in Santa and quick! Otherwise there will be nothing for Luke to open Thursday!

Think he'll notice if I re-wrap one of his old toys? He has enough, he probably wouldn't remember. Hmmmm.......

Can't rely on the mailman to deliver any presents for Luke from relatives since I watched the mailman (actually, mail-lady) delivering the mail below our house and then turn around when she got to the bottom of our hill and drive away.

It can be pretty frustrating, this snow. But, when I admit defeat and just enjoy it, it's truly beautiful. So incredibly peaceful. But, that's not to say I won't try and flag the snowmobilers down the next time they fly by my driveway.

Merry Christmas to all!!!

PERU ... day 3 .... Sand in Your Shorts isn't just a drink at Red Robin

2008-12-21T19:28:00.001-08:00

I'm not a morning person so when mornings happen, which seem to happen almost daily, they are usually done with a bunch of moaning and in a panic because I'm late! This morning wasn't any different, except the "OH NO! We're late! Quick!" was accompanied by a knock on the hotel door... "You're taxi's here!" in a thick spanish accent. UGH! Racing out the door at a time only fishermen should be up at, we headed to the bus station where we would take a big double decker. Really nice with big soft, reclining seats, drink and meal service, movies and the entertainment of wondering if you were going to live when the bus clung to the edge of each cliff. This ride would be less terrifying than the trip we took later that night. This was a flatter stretch of drive with some city and countryside with slum like houses.

The bus stopped in Ica, Peru around 10 a.m. and as we sat wondering which stop in Ica we should take a man came upstairs in the bus and said "Russ and Tina? Come with me, there is someone waiting for you." Rock stars again!! A man, Ramon, was waiting and took us to a hotel, Las Dunas. A large Mediterranean style hotel spread out with rooms and apartments. He took care of our bags and then took us to a taxi where Margarita, our driver was waiting. A short 20 minute drive and we were in the desert. I half expected to see Bugs Bunny or the Road Runner come running around the corner since that is the only place I've seen a desert with a huge oasis in the middle. Absolutely amazing!

We were quickly introduced to Jesus, our quiet but friendly dunebuggy driver. We joyfully jumped in our bright yellow dune buggy ready for some sandy adventures. We were OFF!! Headed up the large dune overlooking Huacachina, the oasis town. We took a 10-15 minute ride over one huge dune after another. It felt like we were in the middle of nowhere, most of the time you couldn't see any other form of life for miles. It was a warm, sunny day and my pale, chubby arms were happy to be getting a little sunburnt.

Jesus finally brought our buggy to a non-screeching halt at the top of a large dune and in broken english told us this is where we would sandboard. I thought he was kidding. Seriously I said, can't we find a small hill first? As I looked up and down the dune and across the ridge of it for an area that wasn't so steep I explained in English and Spanish that I was chicken. I knew that word..... pollo! He wanted me to go first, but I explained I needed to see it done first. Russ went first, standing of course, like a total pro. His first time and you'd think he does it for a living. Me, on the other hand, Jesus showed me how to do it on my stomach. I laid down on the board and he showed me how to hold on to the straps. When I asked where the brakes were he pointed to my feet. Well, THANK GOD! Finally my huge Ronald McDonald feet would do me some good. Just point them down into the sand when you want to slow down. So, as you will see from the video my feet were basically plowing a field the whole time. Well, not the whole time, but in the video they were since that was an extremely steep hill and well.... mi pollo! Russ went a few times, standing the whole time. Me, not so much, I went on my belly every time. I tried standing, but it wasn't steep enough, so I didn't go anywhere.

When we planned this trip to Peru, about a month or so prior, I discovered sandboarding in Ica on the internet and I put it on "the list". I'm so glad we did. It was one of my favorite parts. It was a fabulous, unique adventure!

PERU.... day one & two

2008-12-19T00:18:00.000-08:00

Just your typical Thanksgiving. Spent with my favorite people, stuffing my gut with turkey and mashed potatoes and then boarding a plane bound for Peru. The first leg of the trip was Portland to New York. We pretty much had the plane to ourselves since we were flying ON Thanksgiving. Nobody is flying at midnight on Thanksgiving cuz they are already to their destination. After a lovely 5 hour flight we were in New York and hopping a plane to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Another 3 hours and we were in sunny Florida. Going to the Spirit Air counter we quickly had tickets to Lima, Peru and paid $50 roundtrip plus taxes!! Can you beat that?! $50 to SOUTH AMERICA!?! $50 to the number one place on my Bucket List!? Life is good.

We expected to take chicken buses when we were in Peru, not TO Peru. Our seats were cozy to say the least and our neighbors were not the type I would be exchanging email addresses with. The lady infront of us was hopping up and down out of her seat like she was at a Catholic wedding. She was with her 4 or 5 year old son BUT wasn't sitting next to him, the rambunctious boy had the window seat, she had the aisle and some poor, completely unrelated shmuck had the center seat. He was so patient as the future Ritalin patient thumped on him, laid across him and kissed him. The next 6 hours felt like 6 weeks. But, I can't complain, we were on vacation.

Arriving in Lima we were greeted with a big RUSS MONZON sign. How cool is that?! See.... that's how we roll, total rock star style. A taxi was soon taking us to Miraflores, a nice section of Lima. Russ had prearranged a hotel for us so we wouldn't be homeless our first night in Peru. Greeted at the outside gate and led to our room, we were both pleasantly surprised to see we weren't sharing a room with 4 Uber German, backpacking vagabonds. At least I was. This was my first time staying at a hostel. I always thought you had to share a room or at least share a bathroom or pair of pajamas at these places. Not true. We actually had a set of bunkbeds, a Queen bed and a bathroom with hot water, to ourselves! Ahhh....... paradise. O.k. maybe not paradise, but after 25 hours of traveling or so any sort of horizontal surface would suffice.

The next morning, ahhh..... who are we kidding, the next afternoon we were leaving our room when we were approached by a couple women in the dining room asking us if we had plans or if we needed travel arrangements while in Peru. I was skeptical at first and thought we didn't need them, we could do this on our own. But, within an hour we had tickets, hotel, bus and plane reservations and an itinerary for the whole week.

We soon set out to see Lima, to do some souvenir shopping and Geo Caching. After walking about 20 minutes we came across some sort of religious processional. There were 10 or more guys lifting a huge ceremonial casket type/chest that looked like it weighed no less than 3 tons. With their backs bent and hernias in full swing they set off down the street at no less than 1/4 mile per hour. There were guys walking behind to beat the band, oh wait, no, they were the band. Never did find out what it was, I'm not Catholic so ...... your guess is as good as mine, or actually better than mine.

We stopped off for some lunch and neither of us, feeling quite daring yet, ordered cuy (guinea pig) it just doesn't seem right, seems to close to me eating Popeye (our hamster). We went with the chicken and fries. Pretty harmless, tasted like chicken. After we were fueled by grease and Pisco Sour, Peru's drink, we dove into an outdoor market across the street and started our weak attempt at haggling. Basically, when someone quotes us 40 soles (Peruvian dollar) for an item, we were soon paying 60. Wasn't it suppose to go down? We did eventually get them down in price and in 6 short days I had mastered haggling and was saving myself 33 cents!

With souvenirs in hand and darkness upon us we briskly walked down the streets of Lima, headed to the beach. Russ looking down, then up, down, then up at his handheld GPS saying, "1/4 a mile, 300 feet, 264 feet, turn right, 8 more steps, rub your belly, pat your head......." It's really quite fun, but one should always look at the instructions on each particular Geo Cache for things like "Not recommended at night". And one should really heed these instructions. We didn't.

So, once we arrived at Lover's Rock, or whatever it was called we started digging around in the dirt and moving bushes around. Both of us nearly lost an eye with these gargantuan razor sharp cactus branches jabbing at us in the blackness. We both hated to give up, but after a dozen lovers watched us fumble in the dark, we admitted defeat and headed to the next Geo Cache just 1/2 mile down the coast. Oops, another Cache that said, "Don't do in the dark", but who are we to read the fine print. Down some long, winding sidewalk towards the beach below, we came to a bend with a rock wall and 4,823,651 rocks piled around it. "You will find the small, medicine bottle under some rocks along the walkway?" read the clue. Under some rocks? Under some rocks!? Are you kidding me!? We dug and dug, in the dark of course. When muggles would walk by we played it cool as to not spoil the treasure. Finally Russ yells, "I found it!" Too cool! We signed the log, grabbed a Travel Bug that was in the bottle to take with us and leave behind at another Geo Cache. Ate a victory Snickers I had tucked away in our backpack and headed back to our hostel.

Headed in the completely wrong direction, we ended up in a bustling area of Lima with American restaurants. Stopping in at a TGIF, although it was Saturday we had a couple drinks and then caught a cab back.

Our next day would be an early one, like the rest of our days in Peru. There are some vacations where the alarm clock rings at 5 a.m. and some that you roll out of bed at 5 so you don't miss Happy Hour. Five p.m. that is. This was an alarm clock vacation.

ahh.....Leavenworth!

2008-12-17T14:33:00.000-08:00

My Christmas holiday season wouldn't be complete without a weekend in Leavenworth, Washington for the famous Christmas lighting ceremony. If you haven't been you need to put it on the list and do it. It's amazing! A tiny, Bavarian style village nestled in the mountains of Washington is the center of Christmas. Voted by The Travel Channel, HGTV and Good Morning America (or was it the Today Show) as the #1 place to spend the holidays in the COUNTRY. It far exceeds this title. I will post a couple videos of part of the Lighting Ceremony and a bit of our sleigh ride ride, I'm so sorry about the singing, maybe you won't have speakers on your computer, if you don't, count your blessings.

We rented a great house less than 10 miles from Leavenworth that was toasty warm and the perfect spot for a snowball fight. Not that we couldn't do that here. But, there is something much more special about Leavenworth. Besides, it has the only store that I've seen a bouncer controlling the crowds, the HAT STORE. Almost overwhelming with so many fabulous absolutely crazy hats. Every year I get a hat, this year.... well, I'll post a pic of this year's hat. It's not the red one pictured, that's a few years old.

With Santa, Father Time (I think), Christmas carolers singing in the gazebo, kids sledding down the hill and so much more, you feel like you've just stepped into a Normal Rockwell painting. It was actually snowing during the festivities.
This year my dad and his wife joined Luke and I. It was their first time. It was a great time had by all.

Ya, ya, I know I still need to post my Peru pics and stories, I will. Just thought I would share Leavenworth to get you in more of the Christmas mood. HO HO HO!!!!

a tiny preview ......

2008-12-09T23:23:00.001-08:00

So, I haven't had time to write about our adventures, but wanted to share a couple pictures. I'm back to work and am going to Leavenworth, Washington on Friday morning. I will try and write soon.

Check these pics out though!

MACHU PICCHU ROCKS!!

2008-12-06T07:03:00.000-08:00
So, I've made it back, almost. We're in New York City, waiting for a flight to Long Beach, California where we'll catch another flight to Oregon, tomorrow. Back in the States though and loving the ability to communicate with people without sounding like a complete idiot and loving Diet Coke with ICE!!!! Gotta love this country!!!

We had an absolutely fabulous time and I will be posting the trip in pieces. Maybe each day separately since we did so much each day. Machu Picchu itself was so gorgeous, the pictures don't do it justice. But, I will attempt to share it with you thru my pictures and video.

Can't wait to get home, but of course, can't wait for the next adventure.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING DAY! GOBBLE GOBBLE!!

2008-11-27T10:40:00.000-08:00
There isn't enough room to share all that I am thankful for. But, let me try just a bit.

I'm so thankful for my son, Luke. I'm thankful for our health, our safety (even in our car accident Tuesday night). For God, my freedom, great friends, my sister and her family, all of my extended family, my job (can't believe I said that), my house, car, food, clothes, ability to travel, new President and so much more.

Have a fabulous Thanksgiving!

Give thanks!

Not a good time to get rear ended!

2008-11-26T12:15:00.000-08:00
Well, last night Luke and I were rear ended on our way home from Salem. The woman said the lights on her car all went off. So, I guess she freaked out and didn't realize there was a car stopped at a light right infront of her, although my lights were on, my break lights, the signal was red and there were street lights. Anyway, Luke and I are o.k., for the most part. My lower back hurt shortly afterwards and Luke said the back of his head hurt from jerking back and hitting the headrest. There was not much damage to either car. Her fender is cracked and mine seems o.k.

I ended up going to the doctor this morning since my back is hurting more. They gave me an anti-inflammatory prescription in case it gets worse in Peru. Then I called to make sure Luke was o.k at the day care place and he said he just got done being sick, feels light-headed and his arm really hurts. I picked him up and am taking him to the doctor in a couple hours.

Not the best timing since I am heading to Peru in 36 hours, but I'm still thankful on this Thanksgiving week. It could have been much worse or could have happened tomorrow.

Apparently just joining a gym doesn't make you lose weight!

2008-11-21T08:50:00.001-08:00
Well, I'm proud to say I re-joined the gym I've supported for almost 2 decades. They've added a lovely new wing with my dues. But, apparently just joining the gym doesn't automatically make me lose weight. Why is that? Because I can be within 50 feet of a Snickers or Reeses Peanut Butter Cup and gain 3 pounds without even eating it, but just paying a membership or walking by the gym on my way to eat pizza doesn't make me lose weight?? Go figure.

About a month ago I decided to lose at least 15 pounds before going to Machu Picchu. I didn't want to be hiking around the top, completely exhausted, fall and roll down a 1,000 foot hill. But, since I've only lost 4 pounds and I leave in 6 days it looks like I will need to cut off a limb to meet this goal. So, what do you think? Which limb is roughly 11 pounds?

Let me know soon, I'm running out of time!

DO YOU HAVE A BUCKET LIST?!

2008-11-16T20:50:00.000-08:00

11 DAYS TIL MACHU PICCHU!!

For those of you who know me well, you know what's numero uno (sorry for those of you non spanish speakers, that's number one) on my Bucket List. But, for those of you who don't, it's MACHU PICCHU!!!

First let me get back to the question at hand, do you have a Bucket List? Long before Jack and Morgan did The Bucket List I had created one. I admit their name has more of a ring to it, a bit better than mine..... "44 things to do before I turn 44, (o.k. actually 62 things)". Whatever you want to call it, if you don't have a list than shame on you! I admit, being the baby in the family, the whole, Peter Pan, never wanting to grow up, completely disorganized and spontaneous creature that I am, makes keeping lists a bit out of character. But, to keep me on track I must. So, keeping a list, of significant things I want to accomplish seems appropriate. And number one on that list, right before dog mushing, is Machu Picchu. And it's happening baby....

In 11 days I will be boarding a plane for New York, yes I know, that's Thanksgiving, but it will be at midnight, so I won't miss out on Thanksgiving. Anyway, boarding a plane to New York to catch one to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida to hop another to Lima, Peru.

There is a lot on the itinerary and nothing that includes work, boring, mind numbing, soul sucking work. Ugh! I hope my boss isn't reading this. But, it shouldn't come as any surprise how I feel about work. We are in for some goooooood times!!

What's wrong with kids these days?!

2008-11-08T19:39:00.000-08:00

Well, let me preface this conversation (entry) with I am not saying something is wrong with Luke. Nothing wrong with that boy except for maybe being too cute or too wonderful.

So, a week ago Luke tells me that his dad has given him permission to punch some kid at school. I'm like.... WHAT!?! Are you kidding? He goes on to tell me this story about this 4th grader (Luke's in 2nd grade) who bullies all the younger kids. This kid and a couple friends decide to lead Luke off to a corner of the playground. He explains their style as if Luke was being arrested, with his hands behind his back. All the while Luke is saying everything he is suppose to, "Please stop! Please don't take me, please let me go, I don't like this, I don't want to do this". They take him to a playground cement crawling tunnel and won't let him out of it. If he tries to get out the jerk shoves Luke back and keeps pushing him down. Finally they let Luke go. This isn't the first incident with this .... punk! Luke reports these things to the supervisor (it's during the after school program) and they have had alot of talks with this bully. It doesn't seem to make much of a difference though. They've also talked to his mom, but that too has no impact (surprise! surprise!). When Luke was telling me about it, he said, "I know Mom that he probably has a bad life at home, but......". I'm like, that doesn't justify what he's doing. He's such a great kid!

A couple days later Luke was really sad and said, "I don't have any friends, no one hangs out with me". He was quite depressed over it all and I really started to get depressed too for him, I was so sad. He said he was walking around at recess by himself looking for someone to play with him. I thought more and more about it and talked to Luke's dad and we realized that he doesn't have much interaction with other kids outside of school. Luke's not doing fall soccer and we hardly ever do play dates. We realized we were in such a routine, every night after picking him up from school, we go over homework, have dinner, do his back exercises, read books and the night is shot. The weekends we have our Friday night movie night and somehow the other 2 days disappear. It's especially harder since he's an only child. We love playing with him, but that isn't the same. He needs that social interaction and bonding of friendships.

So, yesterday since I don't work Fridays I went to Luke's school for recess, before lunch. Luckily he was playing with a friend, which was great to see. Within 2 minutes we had 5 or 6 other kids running around with us playing good guys/bad guys and climbing on a play structure. As we walked in to the cafeteria kids were climbing all over me and Luke begging to come over for a sleepover or for Luke to go to their place. I wanted to cry. I was so happy. Last night we had one of his friends over for a slumber party. They had a great time. Playing with Legos, sword fighting, making our own pizzas and watching a movie. We've got another play date planned for tomorrow with a couple different boys. And, we're having a slumber party planned for next weekend with a bunch of those boys. I was thrilled to see how quickly this heartbreaking problem could be fixed. We're still working on the bully issue, but at least his "no friends" problem has been wiped out!

NEW YORK!! NEW YORK!!!

2008-11-08T11:28:00.000-08:00

Two weeks ago I went to New York City for a refresher travel writing class. As I sat in the cold university room waiting for the teacher I surveyed my fellow students. Young, some old, some obviously foreigners, a couple guys. An interesting assortment. Who really caught my eye was Eva. She wore a hot pink sweatshirt over her dingy blue top. The dark rimmed glasses with granny chains that hung around her thin, wrinkled neck were a slight distraction from her thining greased mohawk. Greased only from neglected hygiene. Antique, silver rings decorated her bony fingers and her black flip flops she was wearing on this cold New York morning didn't surprise me. She was truly a character that reeked of experience. I later would find out she had been a nurse for 54 years. I wanted to know more about her.

Soon an Administrator from the school came to our room and announced our class had been cancelled, our teacher was quite ill. Moans escaped my comrades before hearing our options. We received a refund and the option of joining another class in progress. I made my way to Article Writing along with 5 or 6 fellow Travel Writing refugees. Luckily the class hadn't started yet. We waited, we waited some more. The teacher, an older, distinguished bloke with a British accent entered explaining his tardiness was no fault of his own but rather a lack of subway connection and then a clueless taxi driver. He further went on to explain the School would be refunding us for this inconvenience. Eva looked over at me and shot 2 fingers up mouthing, "Two free classes!" It was a rough start, but finally it began.

The teacher was like a champagne bottle bursting of information effervescence. His credentials, if printed, could wallpaper my house. I was in awe and learned so much in such a short amount of time. After the class, as I waited in the hallway for Russ (who was taking another class), the Professor (no, Mary Anne wasn't with him) came down the stairs where we discussed his class and my future in writing. He asked me to join him for a drink and I told him we needed to wait for someone. Soon, Russ appeared and the three of us headed off to a nearby nondescript bar. We talked for a few hours exchanging adventures. I felt honored to spend more time with this wise and worldy man.

Besides the class the weekend was quiet, well, as quiet as a New York City weekend can be. On Saturday morning, long before I usually pry my eyes open we rushed down to get stand-by tickets to Saturday Night Live. Arriving a few minutes later than the recommended time we hopped in line and waited. Across from us people were starting to gather outside the Today Show windows getting ready to scream their "Hi Mom's!". The line sluggishly moved and finally as we reached the front, with just one group left infront of us, the ticket guy holds up a ticket and screams, "I've got one ticket left, anyone here alone, single ticket?" ugh! Seriously!?! I could have been sleeping!

Now, I can't be quiet any longer. Hopefully my dad doesn't read this because I went against everything he had ever taught me, about safety anyway. Russ took me to Canal Street. And for those of you who've been to NYC, you know the rest of this story. But, for you NYC virgins, this is what happens. You're walking along Canal Street where there are a ton of street vendors and small stores, the size of my closet. Amongst the noise of your fellow shoppers you can hear them. The illegal purse and watch sellers. Quietly leaning into you saying "Coach, Prada, Gucci?" I had already heard about this must-do tourist attraction but admit I didn't quite believe it. I gave the nod to a man after he tempted me with those three words and we walked quickly into a small store, more of a kiosk. Purses lined the beadboard walls, our guide looked around anxiously and quickly opened a concealed door that was camouflaged with "average" purses. We walked in and up the stairs in to a attic space with dozens of counterfeit Coach, Prada, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, D & G purses and more. It was overwhelming and daringly exciting! We didn't buy here although we liked some purses. Instead I thought we should tempt fate again. Within seconds of returning to the street we were quickly bumped into with more "Prada, Gucci, Louis Vuitton" hushes. I have to admit this is the kind of adrenaline rush I could get used to. Wait! Did I just say I could get used to a life of crime? Is it really a crime though? I'm helping these underpaid workers who are just trying to make a living, and a knock off! The last couple places we went were a bit of a nail biter. O.k. maybe the last three. I remember going thru a locked gate, down a 75 foot long, dark hallway, up blackened stairs where I'm pretty sure I started dropping business cards in case we didn't make it out. But, like a light from heaven, the doors at the top opened and there was a room Carrie Bradshaw would have danced in. I'm guessing though that Carrie buys real purses.

Another small kiosk/store and another secret door, Russ and I wedged our bodies into a space not more than 4' X 4' with a small Asian woman. A couple minutes later when it was time to open the trap door, the woman got on her phone and did her best Charlie's Angels, her phone was now a walkie talkie and did I mention we were completely in the dark?! No lights whatsover and no window of course. Taking a deep breath and calling out "hellloooo!?!" she finally thrust the door open and we tumbled out. Falling to the street, enjoying this regained freedom I pressed my lips to the ground. Alright, I really didn't. But, I was glad to be alive. We returned to the first closet and bought the purses we had seen originally. I can't wait to go back!

Russ had arranged for us to stay in an apartment right in Manhattan, talk about doing it right. Just what you would want a New York City flat to be: tiny, with a brick wall, bathroom down the hall and oozing with culture and "the city" feel. I loved it!

There are a lot of things you can do in New York City for free and walking across the Brooklyn Bridge is one of them. I admit a little bit of me wanted to since Miranda and Steve reunited there in the movie (Sex and the City) but the view from the bridge is also truly amazing. When you get out far enough you can see the Statue of Liberty. There were a lot of people walking, and quite a few riding their bikes. So much diversity, so many different languages being spoken as you stroll down this Historic Landmark.

Our last day we walked thru Central Park and watched a roller blading party/event/skate off, whatever you want to call it. I didn't realize Peter Pan, The Incredible Hulk, the Scarecrow, Spiderman and Jack Sparrow were all friends, and that they all knew how to roller blade. A trip by John Lennon's Memorial (Strawberry Fields) in Central Park and then a rush back to our apartment to pack and return to our "reality".

New York, the city of greasy, delicious pizza, palm readers, Broadway, the Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty, Central Park, Rockefeller Center, "Friends, Seinfeld and so many more", Times Square, Ellis Island and the city of dangerous purse shopping!

WE'VE LITERALLY GONE NUTS!!

2008-10-22T19:57:00.000-07:00

Nothing quite says the Fall like burying yourself in a huge pile of nuts, swinging like a monkey from a rope swing or getting lost in a corn maze. Just a few of the things we like to do at our favorite "pumpkin patch". Who goes to a pumpkin patch these days for pumpkins?

After an afternoon of crazy shananigans we were all tuckered out. Feeding the animals, exploring the creepy, haunted, old school bus, getting locked up in the Crooked Jail, rolling down the hill in a huge farm pipe, digging thru dirt for army men, riding down a gi-normous slide, doing the ring toss to score 21 (isn't this too young to be teaching kids Black Jack!??) and then finding our way thru the corn maze so we can get to the actual pumpkin patch. We were finally ready for real pumpkin gathering at our wonderful neighbor's yard. We have the nicest neighbors .... EVER!!! Besides being wonderful, their yard is to die for, well, not their yard, their dozens of acres. I keep waiting for Better Home and Gardens to discover them and fill their magazine with pictures of their place. It's absolutely dreamy. I keep wishing I was just a little smaller and a LOT younger so they would adopt me. Ahhh... who are we kidding? A lot smaller too! Anyway, she invited us down to pick out some pumpkins and let me tell you, these pumpkins didn't even come close to the green, sad looking, mushy ones at the "pumpkin patch". They were huge, extremely orange and in all different sizes.

Well, I'm off to New York City tomorrow night for the weekend. I'll let you know if we hang with Chris and Rihanna again!

California here I come, right back where I started from.....

2008-10-08T00:02:00.000-07:00
Yep, off to California Thursday night. Taking Luke and going to celebrate my Grandma Coo Coo's 90th birthday. Yep, you read right, Coo Coo. Long story. She's not really crazy, well, no more than I am.

Then, I'm totally excited I'm headed back to New York City in a couple weeks for a refresher Travel Writing class. And if we cram in a Broadway musical/play even better. But, have no fear, you will get details.

The thought for the day...... Unexpected changes are opportunities in disguise.

THE BIG BEACH CLEAN UP!

2008-09-25T21:33:00.000-07:00
Arghhhhh matey!!! Last weekend, Luke and I went to the Oregon beach for our semi-annual SOLV Beach Clean Up. What better day to go than National Talk Like a Pirate Day (9/19) since we would be digging for "treasure". At our hotel, Siletz Bay Lodge, we were greeted like the regulars we are, "Hi Ms. Brown, how've you guys been the past few months?" That's what I'm talkin 'bout. The hotel is undergoing a remodel and we were given a newly remodeled room. It was beautiful. After Luke quickly grabbed a movie from the hotel lobby, we were in and out of our room and hit the beach for a quick walk in the sand and search for....... anything super cool! Luke of course found it. First it was just a little crab leg, but then the jackpot, a whole dead crab! Sweeeeeet!!! Into the side of the camera bag it went with another amazing find, a red oddly shaped glass type object with some weird paper like thing inside. Very cool and very unusual. Probably some sort of secret message from across the ocean, probably Japan! After our quick hunt we were in the car and headed for a big ole Mexican dinner. Once we'd stuffed our guts we returned to our hotel for the movie. I rented a movie too (well, didn't really rent it since the desk clerk guy likes to give us movies for free). My movie was one of the Bourne ones, Bourne Ultimatum or something. But, as son as Luke's ended we were both sawing logs. When we woke in the morning Luke rushed to the window hoping for a re-run of this Spring's clean up (when he eyed several glass floats from our hotel window). "Hey!! They are already cleaning up! People are picking up garbage!" Cheaters!! We quickly showered, dressed and hit the breakfast/restaurant area downstairs and had our usual big waffles. With our gloves on, tummys full and eyes peeled for garbage we were off. We came across a log gingerly lying across another log, perfect teeter totter!! Like the spring, we didn't find much garbage, those darn cheaters who started early must have snagged it all. We should be happy that our beaches are clean and beautiful, but it is still fun to find some good, clean garbage. An hour and a half a bag of garbage later we turned in our garbage bag and grabbed our castle making equipment from the car. We played on the beach and made a castle right out of Harry Potter. With sand in our shoes we were back in the car planning our afternoon. Now, in order to get a seven year old to thrift and Outlet shop there must be negotiations and ....... compromise. So, we both chose 3 things we wanted to do and alternated them. First stopping at the Old Navy Outlet store (yes, that would be my choice), followed by a stop at a candy store (red jelly beans for Luke), then Gallucci's for pizza and video games and our traditional picture booth shots (this stop was on both of our lists), my favorite the Elks Thrift store (Darn! It was closed), the arcade at the casino for Luke and finally Goodwill for me. Everyone's a winner!! I cherish these mother/son beach weekends with Luke and hope he doesn't tire of them soon. I know I won't.

WHERE IN THE WORLD??

2008-09-19T11:44:00.000-07:00

I've decided to go somewhere, I know, big surprise! But, I don't know where. I plan on flying to New York and then asking the ticket counter at Jetblue where I should go? I am going to pack swimsuits and sweatshirts. I can go wherever Jetblue flies and why not do that? But, I am not going to make plans or reservations but completely wing it! ugh!! I'm totally excited! I don't know when I'll do it, but probably in the next few weekends or maybe later in October. I am going to California with Luke the second weekend of October to celebrate my Grandma's 90th birthday. But, other than that I'm free for a few weekends. Maybe I'll just take a list of where Jetblue flies and poll people as I walk around the airport. Or maybe I'll just go wherever there is a flight that has open seats. We'll see. Stay tuned!

ARUBA.... BAHAMA..... COME ON ..........

2008-09-12T19:41:00.000-07:00
Well, It's official. I have decided that I need a change of occupations. I always knew I did. But, this trip confirmed my thoughts. I've decided to be a PHT (professional hammock tester). Although I would want to test each one for at least 3hours. Last Thursday night Russ and I went to the Portland airport to fly to New York City to then go on to Aruba. The flight was full and when they said full they truly meant full, like not one tiny little seat for my not so tiny booty. So, we slept for 3 hours and then drove to Seattle to catch a 8:00 a.m. (or maybe it was 9:00) flight to NYC. We arrived in New York City at 5:00 p.m. which means we had a night in NYC before catching the morning flight to Aruba. Night in New York, fine by me!! So, we went to a great, happenin mexican restaurant (Gonzalez y Gonzalez) on Broadway, next to Soho. After a huge meal and a couple drinks we were off to walk the city streets. I finally got my nerve up to have my palm read, always thought it would be fun. The first Palm Reader I stopped at was busy and told me to come back in 15 minutes, guessing from the food on her face and chewing she was doing she she was eating dinner. A few blocks later more neon was lighting up the sky boasting to predict my future. We separated, I didn't want her to see me walking with anyone, a fresh clean slate of information. I went in and we sat at the bottom of the stairs to her apartment. She ran down my options, $10 to read my face, $20 for my palms, $50 for something else and I think $100 for tarot cards. I settled on the palms. She started in and how freaky was that?! She was pretty much dead on except for a few small things. She said I would be going somewhere warm, south, very soon, I said, "like Aruba in 8 hours". She then told me my #2 chakra was completely out of whack, basically broken. Hope you're sitting down, my #2 chakra (my sakral or something like that) is my love/emotions thing. Apparently I have problem connecting with people and allowing love to happen. That was a waste of $20!! But she did say I would have twins. hmmm....... I like that one. She warned me of 3 different men, one that starts with a J and another that starts with a M and finally in an accusing voice, "who is this black guy?". She was staring at my palm and quickly I looked down at my hand, was I really expecting to see a tiny black man on my hand? I don't know. I felt like I got caught with my hand in the cookie jar, I mumble "really, seriously there isn't anyone!". She said, "well, there will be, and stay away from him, he's trouble!". At the end she offered to fix my #2 chakra and my #4 that is a bit off too for the small price of $200. Uhh.... no! I told her no and almost asked her why she asked if she could actually see the future she would have known that I was going to say no. hmmm..... maybe she isn't that good afterall. It was fun though. I ran across the street to a quaint little restaurant/bar where Russ was waiting for me. Sitting right inside the door at the bar, I joined him and within a couple of minutes two gargantuan black guys walked in. I was so busy telling Russ about the psychic's prediction of the black guy that I didn't realize who was sandwiched between these beasts. RIHANNA and CHRIS BROWN!! Seriously! It was a tiny restaurant that only had two other small groups. I nervously fondled my camera wondering how I could get their picture so I could sell it to the People magazine, I was ready to retire on this paycheck. Finally I got my nerve up and approached the burly men and asked if I could take Rihanna and Chris' picture. In a gruff voice he told me no, they wanted a private dinner undisturbed. Darn! I did walk by them to go to the bathroom and both of them looked over at me. Haaa!!!! We totally had eye contact! During our time of partying with R & C Hurricane Ike or Hannah or something had hit NYC. The rain was coming down like nobody's business. And as Rihanna and Chris walked out, coming within a foot of us, I stared at her gorgeous huge diamond earrings dripping from her ears. I quietly whispered, "You'll need an Umbrella, ella, ella....." She didn't hear me. As they walked out the paparazzi attacked while they hopped into their black Escalade. HEY! I didn't know that was allowed! I quickly jumped up and ran outside snapping away with my tiny camera. Being prepared to run with my camera and eat the film if necessary, wait, it's a digital, no film. Anyway, my pictures.... are CRAAAP! (said with a British accent). So, you'll have to believe me. I was going to shout out, "Hey! We have the same name! Chris Brown". We ended up wandering for blocks in the pouring rain without an umbrella, ella, ella, ella... getting completely soaked. Good times. Within a handful of hours we were up and boarding our plane to Aruba. Leaving behind the pavement and taxis of NYC for the gorgeous crystal clear blue water and sand of Aruba. Ahhh..... Aruba. I absolutely love Aruba. There is something about this beautiful piece of heaven that makes my heartbeat slow. The water is a perfect 75 degrees and you don't feel the heat, averaging 90 degrees, because of the breeze. Our daily routine included getting up LATE catching the boat that picked us up in the lobby of the hotel to take us to the hotel's private island. Once you arrive at the island you can chose either the Adult or Family side. We chose the Family side. I didn't need to see anymore 'clothing optional' people, I got enough of that in St. Martin. You can rent foam mattresses to float on, snorkeling equipment, lay on a chaise or live in style and lay on a huge hammock on the end of a strip of sand. With my ipod cranked, I occasionally would lift my heavy eyelids to watch the pelicans dive for fish and to greet our waitress bringing lunch and drinks. Seriously! Could life get any better?! I don't think so, except maybe doing this monthly. At night we hit the casino that is part of our hotel and met a wonderful couple from Texas. Hi Tom and Wanda!! They were so much fun! I learned how to play Poker, actually, I didn't really learn the real Poker, this was Caribbean Stud, I mean afterall it's the Caribbean. There is not much thinking involved and luckily no Poker Face needed since I'm guessing I'm not good at that. I got a Full House, which I quickly learned was a good thing and my $5 turned into $175! Gotta love this game! On Monday we rented 4-wheelers and explored the island. There was an amazing strip of beach that was so rocky, looking a lot like the The Burren in Ireland. We stopped to look at the spooky rock formations up and down the coast. People started forming these devotional towers in 2002 in which they pile rocks, adding sticks, garbage and shoes? For a moment the Blair Witch Project popped into my head, were there even rocks in that? Pretty freaky and quite cool. We made our own rock art and then made a wish. Afterall it's called Wish Rock Garden for a reason, right? Maybe because people wish they will survive this eerie rock graveyard. Back on our ATV's and charging thru foot deep muddy puddles, o.k. lakes of water taking a full mud shower in the process. Hey! People pay big money for mud baths, I'm just saving some money and time. We race back to return our wheels of fun to quickly shower and change for a surprise dinner. Shedding the 4-wheelin brown capris and donning a black dress I'm quickly ready when the large golf cart arrives at the front of our resort to take us ..... somewhere. It leads us to a beach where we are delivered to the sandy beach behind a resort where small leaves with candles line a walkway to a table for two in the sand. Spectacular and the ultimate in romance... a sunset beach dinner. Our waitress, Elizabeth, who calls herself the island's Jennifer Lopez quickly brings us our drinks and first course. As if the setting isn't enough Russ has made special arrangements calling ahead a couple times to change the menu from the usual mushroom soup and seafood entree. Oh! This guy is a genius! Well, extremely considerate and thoughtful. So, out comes rolls, cesear salad, delicious mouth watering steak and potatoes and then a beautiful, decadent heart shaped mousse with shaved white chocolate and some sort of sauce. Amazing! I felt like a princess, but I've started to get used to it. I don't mean, I've come to expect it, I just mean this man seems to top himself all the time with fabulous, over-the-top thoughtful gestures and secret events. We ended the night at the casino having one last fun time with Tom and Wanda. The next day we raced to the island, o.k. not really racing since we didn't arrive til after 11. One last hammock lounge. Jumping back into the boat for a quick ride back to the hotel, our driver, George, took pictures of us and had us driving the boat. He was the same one who let me drive in January. He's hilarious! An hour later we begged and pleaded with the airline ticket woman to let us on the plane even though we were too late and the ticket counter was closed. Sensing the desperation or maybe she had heard how we hang with Chris and Rihanna she gave us tickets. A few hours later we were back in New York and spending one more night in that crazy city. No trip to NYC is complete without pizza from Dani's in Kew Gardens. A quick train ride to Times Square to walk around looking at the lights and buy a counterfeit purse. It's truly an adventure sifting thru the pile of Coach, Gucci, Prada, D & G and Channel bags that are cradled by a fitted bed sheet. The nervous purse seller is busy holding the edges of the sheet saying, "I don't care, just buy, I don't care, quickly, quickly!" as they watch for police. When the police drive by and slow the purse guys grab the edges of the sheet and run. We managed to get a bag before they took off. I love New York City and can see why it got this slogan. I wish I would have thought of it myself. I can see why people live there. It gets under your skin, unlike the 2" scampering cockroach I saw dive into the street grate. It's a beautiful city, yes, I said beautiful. It's beautiful with the culture, architecture and endless amount of activities and events. And I love big cities where you can stand still and hear 10 different languages and accents within a couple of minutes. What a country! Stay tuned for more adventures. I added a "Where is Tina Brown now" poll at the top right of my blog. Feel free to guess where my foot is in the picture. I will be changing it every couple weeks. They won't always be current pictures of where I am at the moment, but could be older archived pics.

GIRLS RETREAT!!

2008-09-02T20:57:00.000-07:00

Boy have things changed. So, ten years ago, even just last year a weekend watching my sister's kids wore me out and required a couple days of recuperating. Not anymore! It's the exact opposite. This past long weekend I packed up Luke and headed over to my sister's. My neices and nephews are absolutely amazing! I mean downright WONDERFUL people! I can't believe I'm related to them. It was a great weekend! The girls and I spent hours playing LIFE. There is an updated version, different from when I was a teen. I'm proud to say Brittany and I chose to go to College (in the game) which comes along with $100,000 of loans!! And Megan just scooted on by us foregoing college and getting a career instead. She get some fancy career and then you pick a salary separately and she's making $90,000 a pop!! I draw the "entertainer" as a career card. And a lovely $20,000 salary. Whatever! But I went to college!!! Then you can buy a house. I get the only piece of junk house that is on a quake line and has ripped in half. So annoying! But, I guess that's life. After some chips and dip and hot fudge sundaes we were soon playing Horse-opoly. Yes, it's true. There is such a thing. I quickly acquired the Clydesdale and stacked haybales (not hotels) on them. So, maybe all that college in LIFE paid off. Cuz I beat the pants off those girls!!!

My sister's estate/farm is so cool and there are more animals than most petting zoos. Sheep, cows, a gazillion goats, horses, of course miniature horses too, a llama, dogs, cats and I'm sure I'm forgetting something. We walked down several acres to their track where we rode 4-wheelers and Carson rode his dirt bike. Too fun! Luke even rode a 4-wheeler by himself. We then crossed their creek and looked for the missing cows. I'm sure it's just a matter of time before the poison oak sets in.

The girls and I painted our nails and removed our polish and painted again and again. It was so much fun! We've been doing that together since they were 3 or 4 years old. I've got pink and dark purple polka dots on my toes thanks to them. I felt like I was at a spa, not babysitting! Meg, the zebra-aholic has gorgeous zebra striped fingernails.

After totally gorging we headed to the trampoline to work off some pizzas and for a game of "Dead person" or something like that. Sort of like Marco Polo but much, much different.

I admit I totally ignored the boys. Well, maybe not ignored, afterall I did toss food in their cage, I mean room ocassionally. But they were having so much fun playing with legos, for hours and HOURS! They got along so well and had so much fun! The boys and I did have a fun night together alone when the girls went to a church sleepover. We stopped off for snacks, they each got to chose one snack of their own and sheesh!! I didn't realize what a big decision that was. Then we had our own movie night.

Living in the boonies brings about more than just their farm animals. I stepped on several dead mice (the dogs and cats like to catch them and leave them lying around, outside) and the kids even found and caught a snake. EWWW!!!

All in all it was an extraordinary weekend, except for when Luke woke up at 4:40 a.m. Monday and said, "Mom, I have strep throat again". He can totally diagnose himself after having it so many times. So, I packed him up and we went to the Urgent Care Clinic, yes, on a holiday! We weren't the only ones there! And right before we arrived he announced, "I'm going to throw up Mom!" Once again, he was right. Luckily I had an Old Navy bag handy in the car. After a couple hours the doctor gave us the verdict: strep throat. After some power drugs he's feeling great BUT can't go to school for 2 days. So, he missed the first day of 2nd grade today, and will miss tomorrow.

I'm so glad my neices and nephews still like to hang out with me, or at least pretend to. They are amazing!

PAINTING, MORTAR-ING, PAINTING AND THEN SOME MORE PAINTING!

2008-08-28T20:54:00.000-07:00

So, I've had people asking what happened to me since I haven't written in a while. Well, I've been busy people! Busy with life. Let's see since I got back from Virginia I decided I can't ignore my house anymore. I think I've been home 3 weekends this whole summer and two of those were the last two. Pretty much I decided my living room needed a serious makeover. Two large walls were a deep dark red. I decided to change my living room colors to dark chocolate brown and white. So, I've gone a little crazy with spray paint. I got a gorgeous color of chocolate brown for the walls, it's called Swiss Chocolate, I think. Luckily it was darker than my red walls so I didn't prime it. I'm not a fan of priming. I want it easy. Although the ceilings reach 15 feet or more in some areas so I haven't reached those yet, next to the moulding. I'll get to that. I painted my gi-normous pewter framed mirror white, also my dining room table (the legs and even the top), also some accessories, candle holders and more. Also spray painted another intricate empty frame that I have to find something cool for. My favorite thing is a rattan couch I have, I spray painted that white too. It had nasty, ugly cushions that I'm going to recover with vintage white matalesse fabric. Then I found 3 cool antique wood chairs that had padded upholstered cushions that I am spray painting white and will recover those cushions with the same fabric too.

Oh- and I really hated my 80's brick wall behind and under my woodstove so I got some mortar/concrete and mixed it up added a little taupe color to it and slapped it on the brick. I was going for sort of a faux stone thing but it didn't turn out like I wanted. So, I have been looking at river rock thinking I would put that on the fireplace. But, after looking at more brochures and stuff online I don't think I like the river rock, it's sort of too round and bubbly. So, I think I want field stone. I priced it at a local stone company. It's about $375 for the fake stuff which is much lighter and easier to put up since it comes on slabs you put up and you don't have to pick and choose the right size stones and placement. Then I found out I can get some field stone up near Detroit with just a $10 permit. Although I'll need a truck and a really strong man!

Tonight I went to Wilsonville and got a fabulous deal on pebble tile. I got 10 boxes to re-do my master bathroom. My shower, well, don't even get me started. But, a few months ago I put my foot thru my tile wall in my shower. I've had a cookie sheet over it, I know, I know, probably should fix that. I am! I got beautiful light tan colored tiles that are made up of dozens of small polished pebbles. I can't wait to put them in. I have to figure out how to do that, but my bathroom will be much different soon!

That's about it for me. This long, holiday weekend I will be watching my sister's 4 kids while she goes on a short vacation for her anniversary. So, me, 5 kids and about 62 animals! Should be fun! Then Tuesday is the first day of school for Luke! I can't believe I'll have a second grader. Where does the time go? He's such a big man! I started crying tonight while he was talking, just watching him. He's so grown-up, so smart, so handsome, so kind and so stinking funny! Where did I get such an amazing son? I'm so blessed!

Next Thursday I'm off to Aruba. I love Aruba! Sun, sun and more sun! Hammocks in the Caribbean, can it get any better? I don't think so! I'll be there 4 or 5 days.

Speaking of doing nothing and laying in the sun, I did go to the dermatologist yesterday. I'm good. No problems. Just a skin check, but it's so important to do. After a fabulous friend of mine was diagnosed with skin cancer 4 years or so ago it has made me realize I need to get checked so I can deal with any problems if they are there. But the dermatologist did freeze two spots on my face, one was a sun spot, I know, I know!! And the other possibly a scar from a bug bite. It stung but will hopefully be worth it.

Oh! My sister booked a short but fabulous vacation for next summer and I joined her. It's so cool! You have to book almost a year in advance. It's called Out'n'About Treehouse Treesort. It's a bunch of tree houses you get to stay in. They have zip-lining, horseback riding, a pool, fire pit and more. Luke and I have our own treehouse and my sister and her family will be up in the highest treehouse. Here's their website. http://www.treehouses.com/ They are already booked for most or all of next July and August. I discovered it in one of my travel magazines as one of the top 10 best/unique resorts in the WORLD!!! Right here in Oregon! Anyway, it will be a blast!

And that's it for me. I've also got back in to selling on Ebay, need some more traveling money. Oh- I was able to go out with friends last weekend and also went to Multnomah Falls with Russ and his kids. I'll attach some pics. I'm sure I will have plenty of fun stories from my good times with my neices and nephews this weekend. Until later..... Wheresoever you go, go with all your heart!!

Lucy....... will she ever be Lucy Brown?

2008-08-18T22:14:00.000-07:00

There were several people that teased me while I was pregnant saying I should name Luke - Charlie. Charlie Brown. I laugh when thinking about how funny it would have been if I did that and then was able to adopt Lucy. Wasn't Charlie Brown's sister, Lucy?

Well, while we were in Virginia for my cousin's wedding I received an email from Joshua (that we stayed with in Africa). He said he was meeting with Lucy's guardians later that day and would be making clear my intentions of adopting her. Her guardians are her father and stepmother. Within a few hours I received another email that he had met with them and here is what he said..." I have just finished a meeting with Lucy's guardian it has been successiful, he has accepted heartedly for you to adopt Lucy, I can now talk to the lawyer." I am thrilled! But am trying not to get my hopes up too much. I have heard that the law changed in April, 2008 where you can't chose the child you adopt, you simply apply and they give you a child. Not specifically Lucy. Also, that I must live there for 3 months prior to finalizing the adoption. A couple of roadblocks that could easily be overlooked with the right attorney or money, or simply if it's God's plan. So, I've left it to him. I would love to be Lucy's new mom and to see her happy and living a happy, worry-free childhood. Maybe not completely worry-free, afterall she will actually be a teenage girl in a few years with all those crazy hormones and feelings going on. But, worry-free of HIV/AIDS, starvation, poverty and all of those incredibly horrific things no 9 year old child should have to consider.

I will be talking to a friend of my mother's this weekend who has adopted 10 children (I think it's 10) from several different countries. Two recently from somewhere in Africa. Maybe she can give me a little insight on these dreams I have.

Goodbye for now.

MY FAMILY ROCKS!!!

2008-08-15T14:05:00.000-07:00

O.k. I have to admit since I live so far from my cousins and extended family I forgot just how cool they are. Yes, we've got our usual family craziness going on, but good crazy. I have the coolest cousins!!

And how about that bride!?!? Gorgeous and amazing! If you're trying to catch up with what I'm talking about, my sister and I flew to Washington D.C./Virginia last weekend. My cousin got married. The wedding was absolutely beautiful with the prettiest setting. An old manor house on a hill with rolling green hills, a lake with, of course, white swans, a boat house type thing that was ...... Daniel Boone's? or was it Abe Lincoln's? Indiana Jones'? Someone famous, not to necessarily group those people together. The weather couldn't have been more perfect, sunny with a breeze. No rain!

The bride's 2 sisters were in the wedding, more beautiful cousins and her handsome brother too. My aunt, mother-of-the-bride looked like she stepped out of a Miss Universe Pageant (gorgeous!). The wedding was black and white with some traditional and some fun, crazy twists. Good food, music, dancing and tons of fun! At the end we all had long sparklers to raise up in an arch for the bride and groom to run under as they hopped into their getaway car.

After the wedding reception a bunch of the cousins met back in the empty hotel restaurant/lobby to play cards and chat til 3 a.m. It was tons of fun!

The next day, Sunday, my sister and I found out our flight was full (which matters when you are flying "stand-by"). So, we changed our plans a bit. We hitched a ride with my cousin and her son to New York, well, New Jersey. Arriving around 11 p.m. we then caught a subway to NYC!

The next day we had some authentic New York pizza and then seriously insane desserts at the famous Serendipity restaurant. After that we headed to Ground Zero since I had never been there. We called our cousin (who gave us a ride) since she works right smack dab in the center of Manhattan. From the 39th floor we had a view of the entire city including overlooking Ground Zero and the construction going on there. It was amazing! I am so proud of my cousin, she is a Superwoman to me. Single mom, put herself thru law school and then landed an awesome job at a top notch law firm. She ROCKS!!!

Another crazy weekend covering 3 states in 4 days! Congratulations to Erin and Kyle, may they love eachother more tomorrow than they do today.

A PRICKLY DOG!

2008-08-05T22:21:00.000-07:00

So, last night I started in with my nightly rituals. When I got to the part where I open the front door and yell, "MEESH!!! MEEEEESHHHHHHH!!!!!" I heard a familiar sound. Misha is racing down the driveway, nails scratching across the pavement, barking, basically ..... trouble. If you haven't had the pleasure of meeting my dog, let me tell you, she is actually the coolest dog that ever lived. When other dogs meet her they soooo want to be her. They are jealous of her beautiful black furry coat, her sweet dark eyes, her spunk, her curled tail, her attitude, her sense of humor and most of all her black tongue. But there is only one Misha Fuhrmann Brown. She'll be 12 years old next month but you'd never know it. You'd think all she drinks is Red Bull.

Anyway, so, I yell and I yell. I do the whole, "Misha, don't be bad!" which usually gets her and she comes running in. Not tonight. So, I leave the front door open while I go finish getting ready for bed. I know, you're thinking what about the moths? No, front porch light wasn't on, I'm not insane. Not this mottephobic woman. I take my contacts out, which for those of you who don't know, my contacts are seriously required. Not an option. I go back to the front door, feeling my way down the hall and Mish comes running in past me. I notice her face is white, that's not right, she's a black dog, right? Hmmm...... I squint and get down near her thinking OH NO she found a neighbor cat and has eaten it! I rush to the bathroom and put my contacts back in. I look at Misha (also nicknamed Beast, The Beast, Beasley, Meesh) and sure enough she has a nose full of porcupine quills. UGH!

I tried pulling out a couple with my bare hands, nope. They aren't budging. I run to my handy dandy computer telling Mish, hold on sweetie. I google 'dog porcupine quills' and get a bunch of sites telling me how to remove these sharp little buggers. I need pliers, a muzzle and white vinegar. Pliers? Pliers? I'm digging thru my junk/tool drawer frantically searching for pliers? Wrench? nope, hammer ? nope, pliers?! Finally.... pliers! Muzzle? nope. I'm looking around the room, looking at Luke's toys, hmmm.... could I use one of those masks as a muzzle? hmmm......... I race out to the car, get rope out of the glove compartment and cut some off making a muzzle. Now to catch her. She's circling the living room and kitchen, she stops every few feet and paws frantically at her nose. I grab her and shove her between my legs, wrapping one hand around her nose and the other aiming those pliers at her quick moving face. After a couple attempts I get the first quill out. She escapes my grasp, runs around the room, I grab her and repeat the process again and again. She runs in to Luke's room, I think because she thinks I won't turn the light on in there and won't make any noise so I won't wake Luke. Wrong. I flip the light on and get her out. A few minutes later Luke wanders out to the kitchen wondering what's going on.

I brief him of the situation and tell him I read on the computer that he needs to soothe Mish by talking calmly while I'm plucking at her face. He quickly goes to the fridge and is asking Mish if she wants roast beef or cheese. Reminding him that she has a rope around her muzzle and also doesn't speak English, he chooses the cheese. I pull out the next quill and Luke is tossing a slice of cheddar cheese at her. We repeat this again and again. She is running around the room between yanks but still comes back to me since she really wants me to help her although it hurts. I pull one out and as I'm getting ready to go for another Luke snaps, "WAIT MOM!! Let me give her some cheese, you can't skip the cheese between plucks or she'll think we're trying to rip her off!"

It is approaching 1:00 a.m. and as I go for the quills that are deep in her fuzzy lip I yank them and blood starts dripping fast. I can't get the last two quills that are so far in there isn't enough to grasp with my pliers. Somewhere in the middle of it all I read on google that I should toss some white vinegar on them to loosen them up. I try that but end up getting myself covered in vinegar which doesn't smell that great and am slipping on the kitchen floor.

Finally I give up and decide it's as good as it's going to get. She is grateful, I can tell. And the three of us head off to bed.

I have re-evaluated my complaining about her getting "skunked" every few months. I'll take a stinky dog anyday over this!

LAST DAY BUT NOT LAST TIME TO AFRICA.... (SUNDAY, 7/6/08)

2008-07-24T19:47:00.000-07:00

Today we rise, rested, but not really. I'm anxious, ready to go home, sad to leave and exhausted. It has been a wonderful couple weeks and we did all the things I had on our list but they were much grander off the paper, in real life. I guess I hadn't put down details like ..... #12) be charged by a ginormous elephant or #42) be rock stars at the school, o.k. everywhere we went.

Luke and I got ready for church and headed downstairs for breakfast. Most of the children were already gone since Joshua was making several separate trips to the church in the rental car. They don't have their own transportation and this creates a huge obstacle for them daily. They generally ride the public transportation (buses and mutatus) but even that adds up quickly since there are so many of them. Anyway, soon Joshua is back from one of his trips to church and picks a few of us up. I am armed with a couple hundred more pens since I had promised the dozens of children last Sunday if they came back to church this Sunday and WENT to Sunday School then I would bring pens for them.

We arrive and the church is packed!! More adults than the week before, but tons more children! There are pews and pews filled with kids. Catherine leads us to the front row again. I glance at the other front row and see our missionary friend Todd and the teenage girl Amber who joined us on our adventures to the village earlier in the week. Also a visiting pastor, Albert from Canada, I had met yesterday in our home. He's friends with Joshua. They all smile and wave, I feel like a regular.

The service is already going and the singers are already up singing and moving to the music. Similar to the week before a few different leaders of the church get up and lead the singing and praying. This week there is a leader, a man (his wife is the female singer that shouldn't try out for American Idol) he is praying in Swahili and in English and I can barely make out the English. I think.... this is English, right? I hear "glorify" and "thank you Jesus" at least I think that's what it is. Or maybe I've finally learned Swahili and am translating everything myself. Either way this man is seriously animated, he is all over the place, pacing back and forth with such power right in front of us, his mouth is so close to the microphone that Luke looks at me and whispers, "he's growing like a bear". I agree, it is quite bear-like. His voice is deep and he closes his eyes and is standing an arm's length away infront of me. How do I know it's an arm's length? Because he puts his arm out! AND, he still has his eyes closed. But, I don't! I'm watching and he starts waving his arm around (the other one has the mic up in his mouth) and I totally dodge his hand. I look around to see if anyone has noticed and just see eyes of the children watching me. The rest have their eyes closed. Luke snickers and we continue praying and singing.

I make fun of these people, with you, with their unusual, animated way of praising the Lord but only because it's different and fun. When it comes down to it, we are all the same, we all love the Lord and are all there for the same purpose (o.k. maybe not the children who really just want pens and maybe their picture taken with a Polaroid camera). These people need God, well, all of us do. But, they need to call on him during their struggles, which most of them are filled with.

They call Todd (the missionary) up to speak, sure, easy for him, he's a missionary. He talks for about 7 or 8 minutes and it's wonderful. Then they ask Amber, the teenager, she even has a good message. Finally, it's my turn again. This time I tell them that Luke and I had prayed for a couple months before our trip asking God to show us where we should go and who we should help and that God lead us there. I tell them that the Oyaro family has taken us in and treated us like family and they are now our family, for life. I tell them that no matter where you are, and no matter what language you speak, we are all calling on the same God, we are all leaning on him during our tribulations and thanking him in praise. And I will never forget them. One man calls out, will you please come back? I tell them yes, we will. Hopefully soon. I was very choked up. They have touched my soul.

Albert is the guest speaker and does a wonderful sermon on friendship. I'm glad it's in English. Soon, well, not soon, but an hour or two later, church is over and I ask them to announce to the children if they want a pen they will need to form a "que" (a line) outside. Within 8 seconds dozens of children are standing outside in a que hand out, smiling that smile. I stand next to Luke and pull out bundles of pens. He is handing them out with cute little comments to each one, "here you are", "o.k. here is one for you, next", "would you like a pen?", "how old are you? are you in school yet?". He loves this type of thing. He feels so Santa Clause-ish. I don't blame him, it's fun. After about 10 minutes he has handed out probably 100 pens and we try and step back from them. They are still approaching us with their pens behind their backs, pretending they don't have one. I stare at each one thinking didn't they already get one? I can't remember, but then when I question them they show me the pen behind their back and say, "one for my sister please", how can I say no? I give out more, the rest.

We are soon taking more pictures, digital and I'm recording some. Amber, the young girl from Colorado starts taking pictures with her digital camera and showing them their faces on the screen. It's so much fun to see their reactions to looking at themselves on a camera or video. They love it! I love watching them!

A leader of the church approaches me while we are waiting for Joshua outside and says, "this is the most children we have ever had at church". It's because of our pens they have come. Is bribery wrong for church? Whatever gets them there right? I mean, they had to sit thru the service first anyway.

We are soon back in the car heading back to our house. We get home, I go up and finish packing, Luke is busy playing with the kids. We eat lunch, pack more and then Joshua and I set off to the Cyber Cafe. I work on their website that I'm attempting to create, www.rhemahousekenya.com and we set up a Paypal account and email address for their house/business. I want so much to help get the word out about this family and the needs they have. They are trying so hard and struggling. They love their children, all the children, the orphans they have taken in and their 3 biological. Catherine has been approached by others to take in more children but they don't have the room or finances to do so. She hates to turn anyone down. I don't blame her.

Soon, we are eating our final meal with them. Aileen, the youngest, Luke's friend, is sitting next to us during dinner. She can't eat, she says she's too sad. She doesn't want her friend, Lukenya to leave. He gives her a hug and says we'll come back.

We are hugging all the kids now, saying our goodbyes and some of them are crying. I whisper to Beth she'll make a great doctor and to Virginia she'll be a fine pilot or musician. These young people are so beautiful, so wonderful, so sweet and have so much potential but have so many obstacles to overcome to reach their goals. We are in the car finally and head to the airport.

They drop us off, Catherine is looking for Danstone who is working at the airport tonight and should be meeting us. Finally I tell her to go ahead and go, that we'll be o.k. We hug our dear friend Catherine goodbye.

"Can I adopt your stepdaughter Lucy?" (7/5/08)

2008-07-22T18:38:00.000-07:00

So, I've been back from Africa for almost 2 weeks but I still need to finish logging my adventures, or I guess blogging.

I left off at the end of our safari, 7/4. Most of my friends and family were home celebrating Independence Day, we were celebrating LIFE, that we still had it and had survived our encounter with the huge elephant.

Sometime in the middle of the night, Friday night, I got up to go to the bathroom, but I must admit I wasn't going to go all the way to the "toilet" a couple hundred yards away. Instead, I grabbed my toilet paper and was going to sneak out my tent and squat a few feet away. For those of you who are blind like me, being without your contacts can make things pretty tricky. And without my flashlight, it was even more challenging. As I stepped out of the tent I saw a flash of light coming towards me and stood like a deer caught in headlights. Squinting, I barely could make out the red of a Masai blanket. Finally a voice, "do you have to go to the toilet?", "ummm....... yessss......" sort of wondering why this was his business and then he offered to walk me to it. So much for squatting around the corner.

Saturday morning we woke up early, had breakfast and packed up our bags. We were out of the park around 8:30 and headed back to Nairobi. I reminded Joshua and Catherine I had pens to hand out if we saw some children along the road. A few miles later we were pulling into a school for the local Masai children. But, with 1,300 children at this small school there weren't enough pens to go around. We met the Principal and gave him a couple hundred pens.

Back on the road we are quickly waved down by a young Masai man looking for a ride to a local Saturday market to buy 20-30 cattle. He's dressed in what looks like a cheap tablecloth and sandals. He settles in the back seat after Luke scoots to the middle. Once again I find myself staring at his long earlobe, this one not draped over the top, but hanging for all to see. Between his dark, skinny legs rests a bulbous club. Communication in the car is comical since this young man only speaks Masai and well.... none of us do. They seem to sort through a few things, enough to find out where he's going and why. I keep expecting us to pull over, I mean, he was going to walk there himself. So, it can't be far. But, the road continues and we are headed full speed down it.

We finally stop. But, not to let him out. Instead Joshua and Catherine decide to buy some charcoal. This is a daily necessity for cooking. And apparently it's half the price for a bag where we are, opposed to back in the big city. But, our trunk is filled with our bags from camping. The bags of charcoal are HUGE and I figure we're getting one. Nope, they get two. The bags together are exactly the same size as our trunk. With our bags on our laps, between our legs and between the seats we are soon back on the road. While Joshua and Catherine were out negotiating the charcoal the Masai man was attempting to say something to me. He kept patting his head and repeating the same word, which nobody how slow or how loud he said it I still didn't understand. I still don't speak Masai. I didn't know if he was talking about our hair, saying his name or explaining the word white in Masai.

Another short 30 miles and we drop our friend off. When all was said and done, he would have walked about 40 miles. Actually, HE WILL walk 40 miles with his 30 head of cattle back to his home. It will take him 2 days and nights. Amazing!

The car is doing something different today, it's shaking so hard from side to side and I can't help but mention it. He hasn't slowed down and continues going over 60 or 70 mph on a road that resembles a dirt bike track. Joshua claims with so much confidence that it is the road, but when I remind him that we were on the same road 2days before and the car didn't do this he pulls over quickly, mutters something in Swahili to Catherine and soon she is out of the car walking around, inspecting it. She's back in the car saying she didn't see anything. What did he expect her to see? Inside I'm thinking he might want to slow down but I say nothing. Within a few more miles we are climbing a large hill, no pavement for miles, just big rocks & dirt like a sandstorm. With my window open we finally hear it...... a flat tire. Joshua barely pulls off the road but I'm surprised that he stops right where we are, a couple hundred feet from the top of the big hill. Again I say nothing.

Twenty minutes pass. Unloading the charcoal, looking for the jack and finally figuring out how to work it. He's slowly jacking the car up when I finally suggest maybe putting rocks behind the wheel and how about that emergency brake? The car slides off the jack and starts to roll as he jumps in and sets the brake. A man on a bicycle is walking up the hill and offers to help. It turns out he is a mechanic and within a few minutes the tire is changed and we're back on the road. Catherine gives him 200 shillings before we leave. Luke had been leaning against the dirt wall with my sweatshirt covering him in the heat, not to protect him from the sun but to shade his D.S. video screen.

I'm gazing out the window admiring the beautiful scenery and as I turn to take a picture feel my hair moving, all on it's own. Or at least I hoped, maybe a big breeze? No!!! A lizard flies out of my hair and is on the back of my seat frantically wondering where to go. I'm as much in the front seat as someone can be who's strapped into the back seat. Catherine and Joshua laugh and say, "Lukenya has a pet to take home". NO!!! I don't think so!! But, this is nothing to them and he continues to drive.

As we approach the top of the Rift Valley we see dozens and dozens of locals sitting on the mangled guard rail. I had noticed the rail on the way to our safari cringing as I looked down the valley imagining a dark long hand reaching up and snatching cars from the cliff. We pull off to see what all the hullaballoo is about and sure enough a large truck had sailed over the guardrail and was laying with it's smashed cab disconnected from the rest of it. People are scurrying up and down the hill to the accident, not to help the driver, but they are stealing large bags of whatever supplies this truck was carrying. I glance around at the crowd watching and am not surprised to see a police car with a couple of officers talking to locals while others are making off with the goods, I'm guessing they are getting a bag too.

A couple of miles later we are back in Nairobi. With no time to waste we head straight to Lucy's orphanage/boarding school for our second visit and a very important one. We had heard it was "Visiting Day" which only comes once every 3 months. Lucy's stepmother is there visiting with her. We pull up to the school and the courtyard is filled with parents and relatives (referred to as guardians here). I hardly make it out of the car when Lucy runs up and is hugging Luke and I. Tears come quickly as I am so excited at this reception. She is beaming and is wearing one of the pink shirts we gave her, underneath her uniform and of course the necklace.

We are taken back into the Principal's office, away from the stares of the visitors. Lucy's stepmother is there and I'm confused that she has one since I thought she was an orphan, as in - without parents. The young mother explains in Swahili Lucy's story. Lucy's mother and father had 4 children, Lucy being the youngest. (I had heard this and often wondered if I adopted Lucy would I need to adopt her 3 siblings too, so to not separate them.) Her mother died when she was 8 months old. As with the custom, her father married one of Lucy's mother's sisters, an aunt. Then they had 4 children. Lucy is the only one in school, fortunate to be "sponsored" so she can get an education, be housed and fed. Then we find out that Lucy's 3 siblings have all died, recently. Not the 4 half siblings, but her three older ones. I'm shocked since I had recently read about her 3 older siblings. This is heartbreaking but at the same time a relief since Lucy has survived since she is in a safe place being taken care of. Lucy's father is still alive and lives with his wife and 4 children. They live in one of the worst slums of Nairobi.

Catherine is translating everything Lucy's stepmother is saying while Joshua, Luke, Lucy, the Principal and I listen. Catherine and Joshua start doing a lot of the talking and I'm not sure what's been said. There is a pause, the Principal is smiling and looking a bit tearful while staring at me. I quietly ask what has been said and Joshua tells me he has just told her that I would like to adopt Lucy. I now understand the awkward silence and wonder if everyone else in the room can hear the thumping off my heart. I ask what it was she said in response and they tell me that she said o.k and she will ask Father. HOLY COW!! They are going to ask Lucy's dad if I can take her home?!! Are you kidding me!?! If only it were that easy. Inside I'm doing backflips and somersaults and ....... even a flyaway back salto with a one half twist!! I take a few deep breaths and ask Catherine to translate for me that I have developed a connection, a bond with Lucy since Luke and I pray for her so much. It's as if we know her. Also, that I only want what's best for her. Her stepmother says she wants Lucy to have the opportunity of a good education. I tell her we have great schools and she would have very good medical care. Then I ask Catherine to ask Lucy what she thinks of what is being said and if she's scared. She is quiet and has not said anything while these grown-ups discuss her life, her future. Yes, she is scared. Of course she is.

Our meeting is quickly over and we are leaving the school. I have my Polaroid camera and Joshua takes a picture of Luke and I for the stepmother to take to Lucy's father so he can see these strange Americans who want his daughter.

We arrive back at the house, our last night. I'm overwhelmed, I'm exhausted, only mentally. Luke runs off to play while I go up to our room to decompress..... who are we kidding..... to cry. The thought of having Lucy live with us, it's so exciting, such a dream. She is lucky where she is and the school is very good. And Lucy is doing well there, but it's not a home. Since they are taking care of so many hundreds of children they can't give them individual love and affection, not like a home. I want to hug her every day. I want to play with her, make dinner for her and sit and ask her what her favorite part of her day was. I want to celebrate her birthday with her, give her gifts, shower her with love, every day.

It's been a long day since we left our camp. We gave a hitch hiking Masai warrior a lift, I got a head rub from a lizard, we saw a bad wreck and I tried to adopt a child. But the day isn't over. It's only 4:00 p.m. The kids are all excited to see us back from our safari and are full of questions. And soon Catherine calls for me to join her and a few of the older children in the front yard as they grab my "thank you chicken" and put it in a bucket. Armed with a large knife Catherine tells Luke and I to watch and that it's not that big of deal, all of her kids can kill a chicken, even the little ones. I have my camera, I really don't want to see this. I am standing about 15 feet away holding the camera out and looking the other way. Clicking and clicking assuming I'll get some of it on film. I glance back a few times and it isn't a quick HACK! It's a slow sawing like she's going thru different threads in a rope. Blood is spurting and I'm thinking maybe I shouldn't have given those village folk that food, then I wouldn't be watching this chicken meet it's slow death. Finally the head is off and is flung into the dog's pen. The dog is thrilled to have this dinner, the beak is so crunchy! Catherine holds the chicken's body down in the bucket while the blood drains out and it does the whole 'chicken with it's head cut off thing'. The older girls join in the plucking and I excuse myself to consider being a vegetarian.

Just another day in Africa!

NEVER! NEVER APPROACH A MALE ELEPHANT BY HIMSELF! (7/4/08)

2008-07-10T22:09:00.000-07:00

WOO HOOO!!! It's safari day!! We get up about 7:00 am and have a big breakfast of eggs (I discover they are more like omelettes since I find some sort of vegetables in mine, I think peppers?), sausage, toast and orange slices. Let's see...... camera .. check .. camcorder .. check .. snacks .. check .. sweatshirts .. check .. water .. check .. binoculars .. check .. READY TO GO!! We hop in our cool dark green Land Rover, that I sooo wish I could take home. There are 3 rows of seats, the front with our guide, Sumari, second row for Joshua and Catherine and the back row for Luke and I. Each row has a separate roof that has been removed. We open the windows but soon realize we don't need to, since we'll be standing up in the roof, and standing on the seats for an even better view. We stop off at a gas station, if you can even call it that, it's a couple of small little shack type buildings, a tiny hole-in-the-wall store and gas pump. Sumari makes sure our spare tire on the back is full too. We drive less than 3 minutes and we are at the gate to the park, one of the gates to the Masai Mara National Park. There is a small discussion about the price to enter, since they are now telling us it's $40 per person and we must pay for 2 days, $80 for Luke, $80 for me. I question them since we're only going to be there 1 day and they give me some story about staying 2 nights, but I say, we aren't staying IN THE PARK?! I feel like I'm back in the Masai Market haggling over souvenirs. I think they realize I'm not falling for this and that this muzungu has learned a few things here in Africa. I give them a minute to discuss things while I take Luke to the bathroom after reminding him several times that this would be the last actual bathroom facility and it may be hard to 'do his business' amongst the lions. When I return I'm told I will still pay for 2 days but not pay anything for Luke. Either way you say it, I'm back to the $80 total I was quoted, which is fine with me.

We are off and driving in the park. A huge park, consisting of 1,039 miles!! Soon after entering we see the dogs and cats of a safari: zebra and wildebeast. And then a variety of gazelles and a lone buffalo. We get close to this large beast and his horns shine in the morning sun. He seems bored with us and then after a few minutes with his head down he starts walking towards our parked car, we decide to leave. It's an absolutely gorgeous day, the warmest day since I've been in Africa. Perfect for a safari. Not a cloud in sight! Our guide reminds us that we probably won't see lions, leopards or rhinos since they are rare and hard to spot. Within minutes we are parked next to a couple lions lounging in the grass. A big male and a female who has rolled on her back, like a house cat. We are so excited and I snap dozens of pictures. "Sowa, sowa" I finally say, which means o.k. in Swahili and we are back on the "road". Driving thru herds of zebras, wildebeasts and more gazelles we turn the corner to see the few other safari vehicles all stopped watching 3 lions on a rocky hill. They are a few hundred feet away with their camcorders and cameras working hard. Our driver has no fear and drives us up the back of the rocky mountain where we are within 50 feet of these beautiful animals. We make a stop at the gorgeous hotel that is in the park for a bathroom break and air pressure check. Luke is begging to stay at the hotel, who wouldn't want to. It's beautiful. So I ask their price, I'm curious. It's $350 a night, for a Standard room. Maybe someday.

Back in our car we are not joining the rest of the tourists by going to the river, we are headed another way, where Sumari knows we'll see some action. A minute later a passing guide tells us there are lions hunting their lunch. We drive and drive, how Sumari knows where to go is beyond me since there aren't really roads, he's driving in fields. We come across a large herd of giraffe. They are beautiful elegant creatures with Angelina Jolie eyelashes! There are 4 big ones and 4 babies. The babies are so cute!! They run but it's like it's in slow motion. Absolutely fascinating to watch. "Sowa, sowa" and we're off again. After a few more hills we see another jeep stopped and pull up to see what they are watching, a couple lions in the grass, but I don't see them. They ask if we saw the lions eating their lunch yet? Nope. They point to another hill and we head over.

There is another jeep parked and we pull up alongside to see a pride of 9 lions chowing down on a what we think was a wildebeast. Two more lions are 10 feet away under a tree, already full. And one more lion is resting in the shade of the other jeep, it's body is actually touching the tires. It's amazing and I feel like I'm in some National Geographic show. The lions are growling and fighting over the best pieces, I assume the white meat. Occasionally a wildebeast leg pops up amongst the lions paws and jaws and Luke screams, "cool, a leg!" and, "check out the rib cage!". After about 10 minutes of watching them we hear a loud firecracker whistling sound. Sure enough one of our tires is going flat. Not the best location for a flat. If you can peel out on grass, we did. Sumari got us about 3 miles away to a place to change the tire, a place where they do hot air balloon safaris. We were there over an hour while they repaired our flat and gave us another spare tire, since apparently the spare that Sumari had filled prior to arriving at the park had also gone flat.

We're hungry and ready for lunch so we head to the river where there is a picnic area. I spot a gi-normous crocodile by the water who is pretending to be a rock. We're the only car at the lunch stop and we hop down out of the vehicle and sit on a log lying on the ground under a tree. Sumari hands out tupperware containers with individual lunches packed for us. Inside is a sandwich, piece of chicken, pineapple, boiled potatoes and juice box. Luke unloads some of his lunch and is eating when a monkey flies out of the tree above us and within 2 seconds has grabbed Luke's juicebox and is 50 feet away sitting in the road drinking it, FROM THE STRAW!! He mocks us as we watch him. Soon all his relatives and friends are closing in on us and Joshua starts throwing some scraps of food to them. They are gutsy and quite conniving, while we're distracted with some of them another one has crawled in the window of our car looking for food. Sumari chases him away, luckily my camcorder and camera don't taste good.

We head back out and stop along the river to watch the big, noisy hippos in the water and look for crocodiles. After a couple minutes we are back in the car searching for .... elephants, rhinos and leopards! Instead we find the biggest, darkest gray clouds I've seen. The blue sky from before is nowhere to be seen now. It starts to sprinkle and Sumari pulls over to put our roofs on. He can't, they are stuck. We laugh, it's fine, just a few sprinkles. Minutes later we are in a rainstorm like the one we watched last night at the campground. Only this time we can't escape it and my linen pants have turned into a sponge. Sumari pulls over again, desperate to cover us. He gets our roof in the back closed but the middle one is hooked on to the back of the car under the spare tire, it will not come off. Joshua and Catherine are getting a little wet, but Luke and I, who are still in the back seem to be getting most of the water, it's coming in totally sideways. Another van on safari had passed us when we pulled over and 10 minutes later, they are back to save us. Catherine, Luke and I jump into their van out of the rain. And join them on safari for the next 45 minutes. There are 3 women from Israel and a Japanese guy in the van, with a friendly guide/driver that is so welcoming. They all love Luke and are asking him lots of questions. We tell them we still need to see elephants! We all continue to look, but don't find any. It has stopped raining and is sunny again. Soon the van stops and we join Joshua and Sumari in our car again.

Finally I shout, "AN ELEPHANT!" after seeing a HUGE elephant a 1/2 mile away on a hill. We rush over and see our friends, that had saved us, parked at the bottom of the hill, on the road watching the elephant. We wave and drive right on past. Since Sumari has no fear we drive thru the grass up to the elephant where we are within a couple hundred feet, but it feels like 5 feet. We watch this mighty giant ignore us and continue to eat grass. He's absolutely gargantuan and has tusks about 10 feet long! We're standing up thru the roof, filming and taking pictures, when all of a sudden he stops eating, stretches his two back legs out (like a male horse, ready to pee) and calmly stands there. I ask what he's doing and Sumari turns the vehicle while he says, "he's thinking". I don't have time to ask what he's thinking because two seconds later there is a sound like none other and this mighty beast is CHARGING US!! His ears are flapping forward like wings and his trunk moving up and down while he trumpets loudly! So many things are going thru my mind like, did I tell my mom I loved her? did I make my bed? Am I wearing clean underwear? I was before this started. We all hit the deck and were screaming, "DRIVE! DRIVE! GO!!!" and, "I DON'T WANT TO DIE!!!" This would have been a good time to film, but that was the last thing on my mind. Glad we didn't have a Blair Elephant Project where people would only find my video later. He seemed to chase us for miles. As I looked thru the back window he was still coming. Our exhaust fumes in his face didn't slow him down. Finally he tired of the chase and we started to breathe again. We came down the hill approaching our friends, they yelled, "That was great! We got some good pictures!". It was the scariest and funnest part of our safari!

Our next sight was a family of friendly elephants. These were the ladies and a couple of baby elephants. They had a much better attitude than the Big Daddy that we just met. They scooted out of our way and there was no charging involved. From there we drove a few miles and were out of the park. Our adventures were over, well, for the day.

Back at camp we had a great dinner and laughed as we recounted our near-death experience. But, soon we were visited by large flying insects that they call termites. They are approximately 2 inches in length with 4 large wings sticking out on the sides. Catherine reached up ever so casually plucked one out of the air and held it. She pulled the wings off and popped it in her mouth. They are better fried for about 10 seconds she said. Joshua explained that these insects can smell their loved ones scent for up to 8 kilometers! Why does that matter you ask? Because within a couple minutes the room was filled with these flying little appetizers. EWWWW!!! Luke was soon swatting at them with his stick, but Catherine kept saying, "no Luke don't kill them". She plucked off their wings and let them crawl on the tablecloth. She continued to add more and more termites to the table where they connected like a little nasty termite train. What a day!!

headed to our safari (7/3)

2008-07-08T19:59:00.000-07:00

Today we headed to the Masai Mara National Park for our safari. Only 270 kilometers (162 miles) from Nairobi but on Kenyan roads that's about 5-6 hours drive. In a rented car (sort of like a Honda CRV) we loaded up; Joshua, Catherine, Luke and I. A stop in Nairobi for gas and snacks and we were soon back in the car. Shortly after leaving Nairobi we turned a corner for a gorgeous sight, the beautiful Rift Valley. Essentially a 6,000 mile crack in the earth's crust. It's amazing although there is fog settled at the bottom on this morning. We stop at a view point for pictures with a souvenir shop (curio shop) with tons of souvenirs grossly overpriced whether you are a muzungu or not. I only have to tell Luke 7 times that we are not buying souvenirs here, we already did at the Masai Mara outdoor market.

The road is ridiculous! The potholes are so bad it's often better to drive off what's left of the asphalt and in the dirt of the side instead. We are bouncing around in the back seat like rubber balls and I cringe each time I hear us bottom out, thinking that one is gonna flatten the tire. Every once in a while I let Luke play his new Nintendo DS. I figure 45 minutes of game playing out of 6 hours is fine. We come across tons of zebra on our drive, different types of antelope and finally a couple enormous, graceful giraffes stroll across acting bothered that we are using their road.

As we pull off the main road onto a dirt road we slow down and a Masai guy jumps into the backseat with Luke and I. Joshua explains this is our guide and he introduces himself, Sumari. He's draped in 2 or 3 traditional Masai blankets of mostly red, each with different patterns and colors, and draped in different directions. I can't seem to take my eyes off his long ear lobe that he's got wrapped around the top of his ear (I think his way of trying to hide it). Does he think I don't notice his ear? It's like when you see someone who's covered in tattoos but they are trying to hide them for some purpose, like church or a business thing and they have a long sleeve shirt attempting to cover them. Instead he's got his ear wrapped up around the top and I hear my inside voice saying, "don't stare Tina, it's not a Rubix cube you have to figure out".

We arrive at the camp just 1/4 mile infront of the famous Masai Mara National Park where we will safari in the morning. Our guide runs the camp and shows us to our tents. Luke and I are sharing a tent, but I can hardly call this camping since it has 2 cot/twin like beds in it. When I was in Africa before, in 1999, we camped, for a month and it was on the ground in sleeping bags, old school style. This seems like cheating. But, I'm up for some cheating. I'm excited that I'll have my own bed since sharing with Luke the past 8 days has gotten a little old. But, Luke asks, "can we please sleep in the same bed mom? I'm used to it now". I tell him he's got to be kidding and within a few minutes he's got me promising to share a bed again. I'm such a sucker!

I lay out our pajamas, find the toilet paper in my bag and put certain items in easy places to find. Why you ask? We don't have a flashlight. We soon head to the covered dining area where we have tea (I don't drink tea though, or coffee, so they send someone "out" for cocoa for me.) We are soon trapped at our tea party when a huge torrential downpour sweeps thru. Just part of the experience. Dinner is served shortly after and it's great; rice, stew and vegetables. We then head to bed. Notice I said bed, not beds!? Ugh!

We need our sleep, we have some animal searching to do tomorrow!

spoiled American (7/2)

2008-07-08T19:56:00.000-07:00
Nairobi is Third World at it's worst. I wonder why it isn't as hard on me as I thought it would be, maybe because the faces are a blur from my privileged car window. For when we stop and I see them or worse they see me, it is then that I feel all those emotions...... guilt, sadness, empathy and embarassment. Why was I born into the world and circumstances I was, but the women around me are watching their children starve to death. I feel greedy.

my dinner is noisy in the trunk (7/2)

2008-07-08T19:07:00.000-07:00

I talk to Joshua and Catherine about wanting to change the schedule we've made. I cancel a day at their children's school, we visited once already on Monday. And instead go to a village in the country so Luke can see that side of Africa.

Todd, Michelle, Amber (the 16 year old visiting from Colorado) and Moses (their 18 month old Kenyan they are adopting) pick Luke, Catherine and I up at 7:30. A two and a half hour drive thru the beautiful countryside, we see a herd (is it a herd? group?) of zebras. We stop at a grocery store in the last town before the village. We fill a grocery cart with large bags of rice, cornmeal, vegetable fat, sugar and more. Back in the van, the roads become smaller and smaller until I could feel myself take a deep breath as both sides of our van scratch thru the brush.

Luke informs me on the drive that he has to go to the bathroom (the sitting down kind), we are in the middle of nowhere! Todd pulls the van over when he sees a "choo" toilet in Swahili, it's an outhouse in the middle of the country. It is a small wood shack with a hole in the ground, of course no actual running water. A large lizard and huge spider have made a home in it. It stinks so bad and I've learned to travel with my own toilet paper in my bag. After some coercion Luke steps inside, I snap a picture (I know, I know, bad mom!). After he is done I go pee behind the house. Luke says, "I didn't know that was an option! Why did I have to go in the outhouse!?" I told him it stunk too much.

We get to the "village" we are visiting. It is the small village Catherine grew up in and consists mostly of her remaining relatives, her mom, uncle, sister and their children. The village is just a few mud/cow dung huts. The people come running to see Catherine (and us). They start bringing chairs and a bench out for us. I give Luke things to hand out to the children. There are twin 2 year olds and a 6 year old boy. A few other small babies on the backs of some of the women too. We give out crayons, jumpropes and more.

I ask if I can have one of the beautiful baby girl's strapped to my back, to see how it feels. They wrap a blanket with little 8 month old Elizabeth on my back. She's so cute. I am reaching back and rubbing her, walking around the camp. She is still on my back while Catherine introduces everyone (us, the guests and all of her family and their relationships). As my back turns warm I turn my back to the group and ask ".....uhmm........ is there something different about my back?". The crowd erupts with laughter since Elizabeth peed down my back. A couple of the women race over and remove her. I laugh, I wanted to experience what they do.

They bring us lunch which consists of beans and corn cooked together. It wasn't bad. They are sweet to feed us since they obviously don't have much. Then Todd brings out the large box of food we bought. With Catherine helping to tell me what to give to which families I hand out the food. They are so grateful and appreciative. They are so grateful I am caught off guard when Catherine begins to explain what is happening. They have me stand up and bring me a shrieking, squaking chicken hanging upside down with it's legs roped together. Her wings are flapping and Catherine explains as a thank you for all I've brought they are giving me this live chicken! Umm..... no thank you?? I don't say that though, because I don't want to offend them. But really, it's too much. I feel bad taking such a generous gift. I take the chicken and bite my lower lip as it flails about in my hand. Finally they take it from my nervous hands and lay it down next to me. They give one to Todd and Michelle too. Soon we are all piling up in the van with our shrieking chickens behind me.

I wanted Luke to experience the village life, this is it.

Mumba Village & Maasai Market (7/1)

2008-07-08T18:33:00.000-07:00

Today Todd & Michelle (Pacific Northwest missionairies that have been living in Kenya for 5 years) pick Luke, Catherine and I up to go to Mamba Village, Mamba is crocodile in Swahili. We see dozens of crocodiles, of all different sizes. They are behind cyclone fences. We get to feed ostriches weeds.

We stop in Nairobi on the way back from seeing the crocodiles for us to go to the large outdoor Maasai Market. It's only held on Tuesdays and this is the place for us to buy souvenirs. It's insane! I've been in large outdoor markets and flea markets in several countries, but like the roads and driving here, this one ranks up there in total mayhem! They see the color of our skin and because I'm a muzungu, a white person in Swahili, the prices more than triple and in some cases is ten times more. I ask the price for a mask, since I collect those, and am told 10,000 shillings. At 60 shillings to the dollar, I finally calculate that he's asking over $160!?! It's insane. THEN, Catherine walks up, it's sort of a game I'm playing, I get a price first and then they see I'm with a local and the price changes. She starts negotiating with them in Swahili and says, "Come on, I'm a Kenyan, no way! 10,000! Noo..... I'll give you 500." I just stand back, gripping Luke's hand tightly telling him not to take anything from anyone. The people selling their goods are quick to put something in Luke's hand, a small wood carved elephant, a necklace, whatever, once it's in your hands it's very hard to get them to take it back, they lower the price over and over and finally I find myself just lying it back down on their blanket since they won't take it back in their hands. I finally join in on the mask bargaining, or should we say haggling. It's fun, he speaks some English. I find a mask I want that has a hole in the face and the nose looks like it's been run over. I like it though, it gives it more character. It has rope for hair. I start in "What?! 5,000!?! He has a hole in his face! His nose is smashed, it looks like he tried to cross the street here in Nairobi! Come on! I'll give you 1,000!" Finally I agree to 1,500. Proud of my bargaining talent. Still probably 1,000 more than I should have paid, but..... this is Africa!

I'm an obvious target. A young woman with a baby strapped to her back and small toddler standing next to her sees me and the word "sucker" on my forehead. She is begging me for "little something, some money ma'am for me and my baby, my baby is hungry". Ugh! I bite. I reach in my coin purse and I think she sees my 1,000 bills. I pull out a 200 shilling bill and give it to her. Instantly her voice changes and she is screaming for someone or someones. I am scared all of a sudden and tell Catherine that I've just given a woman 200 shillings. She can't believe it! That is a lot! She grabs my hand and tells me to quickly walk with me. I am pulling Luke's hand even harder and we are racing thru the market towards our waiting van. I look back and see several locals running after us. What is going on? Are we going to be attacked, did they see my 1,000 bills? Or was giving her 200 a signal that I'm a sucker and she's got her friends coming for more? We race thru and finally get to our car. When we get back in, where Michelle and Todd (the missionaires) are waiting, Michelle is crying. She is a wreck since while we were shopping she had women with their babies begging at their van window for money to feed the children. But, the women had glue bottles shoved up their sleeves that they were sniffing. Glue is the drug of choice here. Todd and Michelle got out and got bananas for them and saw the women eating the bananas themselves while their babies were crying. She got in their faces and told them to give some to their babies.

church (6/29)

2008-07-08T18:03:00.000-07:00

Today we went to church. Church is good. It's about a 25 minute drive to a small section of a slum type building with a large room for about 10 wood pews. Three people lead the singing which is mostly in Swahili. The lead singer woman sings in Swahili and then switches to English, in either language she shouldn't have a microphone. It's not good. It's out of tune and it's deep and it's just not good. But, she sings and sings and sings. There is no stopping this woman. She repeats the same chorus for about 15 minutes, ONE SONG! Luke looks at me like 'are you kiddin me?' and I can't blame him, I whisper to him that they shouldn't have given this woman a microphone and we have a little chuckle. People randomly get up and speak, giving their short "sermon" or testimony. They call on me to speak, ugh! I'm not a preacher or even a speaker for that matter. No John the Baptist here. Luke and I get up and basically just introduce ourselves, no sermon for me. Catherine, our hostess, gets up and speaks. She speaks in English and has a good message. The the assistant pastor speaks, I keep telling him he's almost done, any minute, a couple minutes, hold on, I'm sure he's wrapping it up now. Just a second, o.k. after this prayer, right after this song, I'm sure this person will wrap it up. Then another song, almost over, I'm sure. And then Joshua (our host) gets up and speaks, about 20 minutes while he keeps saying "I don't want to waste any more time". Then more singing, tithe baskets are brought out and then finally a closing prayer. All in all it's just over 2 hours. As church ends I offer to take a Polaroid picture of groups of children. I group them as siblings so they can take one picture home together, not enough film for individual pics. I get the pictures of the kids done and the adults start coming up asking for theirs to be taken. Then I reach in my bag and ask Luke if he wants to hand out some pens. There are only about 10 kids and I've brought about 70 pens. The kids act like we're Santa!! They are grabbing and reaching saying "me? me? and me?". We hand them out and suddenly the 10 children have turned into 45. The word has gotten out apparently. I promise to return the next Sunday with more pens if the children go to Sunday School first. Then I start taking digital pictures and showing the kids their pictures. Their reaction is priceless! It's one of the best things to experience. The squealing, the excitement of seeing themselves. Then, I break out the camcorder!! If you thought the Polaroid or digital was great, a movie of themselves?!?! Forget about it. They are ecstatically screaming, laughing, jumping up and down.

A sign on the wall in church reminds everyone what Isaiah 60:1-5 says, it is: "Please switch off your mobile phone" (also in Swahili).

this is Africa ?? (6/29)

2008-07-08T17:50:00.000-07:00
This is a different Africa from what I new before. Before I mostly just saw the countryside with small villages and beautiful scenery. This is the City. And what a huge one, with the slums, so many slums. And the city center, so huge, people everywhere. I'm surprised at first as we drive around, that there are so many people, people lying in the grass in the medians, sleeping. People standing around, people jumping in and off mutatus, these crazy small buses (vans) with dozens of people crammed in.

At first I am disappointed by this "Africa" because I feel Luke is being deprived, o.k. maybe deprived is a bit of an overstatement, but I want him to see more of a "village" life. But, I do realize he's just seeing a different version but one that needs to be seen and addressed.

Nairobi ....... watch your window (6/28)

2008-07-08T15:43:00.000-07:00
Four million people. Four million people. 4,000,000 people. That is only the ones that are registered and accounted for. Not those in the slums. Four million people just in the city of Nairobi.

There are several areas where we are told to roll up our car window. Too dangerous. People will reach in and grab your things; camera, wallet, sunglasses, jewelry, whatever they can get. I'm scared sometimes I have to admit, although Luke would never know it. When we are walking thru the city my hand clutches his tighter and he says, "Mom, we are the only white people here, why?". I had already been acutely aware that our faces were much lighter than the hundreds jammed around us on this busy city street. Much like New York, except much, much different. I explain to him that we are minority here, this is their country, their city.

The driving and traffic is absolutely nuts and I close my eyes several times when I'm sure we'll wreck. Somehow we don't. Without lanes painted what should be 1 lane each direction is now 3 or 4 lanes each way. This isn't my first time in cities that scare the pants off me; Guatemala, Mexico, New York, City, even some in Spain, but here....... we brush up against people crossing the street while we are going 60 mph! I could easily reach out and touch the cars on both sides of us. This is insane! We do end up seeing several accidents while we are here. Big surprise!

the soul, (6/27)

2008-07-08T15:36:00.000-07:00

His eyes were warm and looked at my like... Africa. There is something about dark brown eyes and these people here. Not everyone. Some look at me and I see fear, despair, pain and anger. But for many the look is hard to describe. It's as if you can see their souls, or maybe they can see mine.

Kids, kids, kids

2008-06-30T07:24:00.000-07:00
Today, Monday, 6/30, Luke and I went to the children's school. The children we are staying with. There are 1,300 children in a school consisting of 3 concrete buildings. There are 90 students per classroom!! The Principal, a quiet, very professional woman is shocked and shakes her head. She is trying to get funding to build more classrooms so she can get it down to 50 students per room. We visit 5 different classrooms. Two 3rd grade rooms, 4th grade, 5th grade and 8th grade. We have brought a backpack filled with pencils, erasers, pencil sharpeners, chalk for the teachers and about 250 pens. The teacher in each classroom introduces Luke and I and then proceeds with their lesson. But it isn't long before mayhem erupts! Each student who raises their hand and gets an answer right is rewarded with Luke delivering a pen or pencil to them. After the first "present" is handed out they are jumping out of their seats screaming "chr chr!!" which I finally realize is teacher. They are staring and giggling. Finally they ask us to talk.

Luke and I get up to speak, Catherine (our hostess) interpretes in Swahili. I tell them where we are from and that I did well in my studies and graduated from high school so I could have a good government job, blah, blah, blah. But, they buy it. Then Luke tells them how old he is, they are shocked since he's the size of most 10 year olds here. He tells them that he likes soccer (football) and baseball. Then come the questions. You can tell their age by their questions. In 3rd grade, we get "what do you eat? what games do you like to play? how cold is the snow?" and in 8th grade, "is there corruption in the U.S.", obviously this boy has never seen world news. And how many years of schooling does it take to be a Judge? One girl asked if I built my own house and if I have livestock. I wouldn't call the deer that Misha chases in the yard livestock.

We take a break for Luke to go to the bathroom but he has chosen the worst time to ...... how do you say...... poop?! They give us a key to unlock the padlock on the bathroom at the school and Luke and I go in. There is one small stall with a hole on the floor. He yells, "you've got to be kidding!" and I look in to laugh at his situation. Of course there isn't toilet paper either. Hmmm...... third world country I guess. I explain the whole squatting thing and he finally does it, not at all impressed. Oh- I remembered the cleansing wipes in my backpack.

Back to the house for more rice, a pepperoni stick (in our room) and warm Diet Coke, I mean Coca Cola Light.

Each day we realize more and more the luxuries we have, that one wouldn't consider a luxury. I'm so grateful for this experience for Luke. He is such a trooper and appreciates everything we have so much more, mission accomplished!

Danstone came over again today. He is the brother-in-law of the Salem connection I have, that connected us with the people we are staying with. He is a sweet man that loves children and has been developing Rhema House II. We are staying in Rhema House I. His project is in a very remote village 8 hours drive from where we are. So, we won't have a chance to see it. I'm so disappointed, although I'm not sure I could handle it. All of the children that he has taken responsibility for (20 of them) are HIV orphans. None of them have HIV themselves, luckily. There is no house though for Rhema House II. He provides clothes, some food and school supplies/uniforms for the children. His dream is to buy an acre there in the village and build a school/orphanage. Also, have enough room for livestock and vegetables. He tells me the price of property, 150,000 to 350,000 Kenyan shillings, which I discover is $2,500! It's insane! I could buy an acre with less than one paycheck!?! I'm disgusted with myself! The wheels in my head are turning, how can I help these people? How can I buy property? I could help house 20 orphans or more? If I cut out my Diet Coke fix every day I could build a house in Kenya? Ugh!!!

I need to sign off again, I've come to the internet cafe by myself, the first time they have left me out alone. It's getting dark and I need to walk back. Maybe run. Until later.

Ahhhh....... AFRICA!!!

2008-06-29T08:31:00.001-07:00
The days seem to run together like the mystery soup we have been eating. We are worn out and pass out in our less than standard twin size bed every night before I can even wrap the mosquito net around us. I dare not complain about the "soup" or the other foods we are given, or about the tiny bed that Luke and I share knowing that there are children in other rooms on tattered foam mats on the floor and children in our home with less food and not given this "meat". Luke is amazing as usual with his politeness, always faking being full at every meal and then sneaking up to our room to chow down on Pepperoni sticks or cereal bars.

Africa...... this is a different Africa than I knew from 9 years ago. It's beautiful, but not the scenery this time. We are in the City this time, in a suburb of Nairobi, which is home to 4 million people. Resembling Mexico with cardboard homes but yet much worse than Mexico. My burning lungs have now adapted to the constant taste of burning tires and my eyes to the dust always scraping at my contacts. So, why am I still smiling? Why do I love this place? Surrounded by the worst poverty, seeing children literally digging thru the garbage along the roadside, waking up to two large cockroaches hovering around my suitcase wondering if I will find the rest of their family in my underwear, but yet I am still in love with Africa and contemplate moving here. Not Nairobi, but Africa.

We spent three days getting here, starting our journey in an unscheduled manner, not the Portland- New York planned journey, but Portland to Oakland to Los Angeles (spending the night there), then Long Beach to San Jose and finally to New York. Then New York to Dubai to Nairobi. Starting Sunday at 4:30 p.m. and arriving in Nairobi at 2:30 on Wednesday!

The family we are staying with consists of the parents and 9 children, one other one is off at "Secondary School" (high school). The children are finally opening up more and are so sweet. They, like all children I've encountered in Africa LOVE to have their pictures taken and to look at them on the digital camera. I have taken a Polaroid picture of each child individually and they are nicely placed on the mantle. The only pictures they have of themselves. So well behaved, the children help prepare the meals, do all the dishes, wash the laundry in a 3 bucket process in the yard and other chores. We have still found time to play games, do puzzles and Luke has taught them how to play his D.S.

Yesterday was WONDERFUL! We met Lucy!! She is so sweet! Prettier than her picture with those eyes, those soul piercing eyes. She is so shy, scared at first. Who are these people and why are they here for me? She doesn't understand us very well speaking primarily Swahili. Sitting between Luke and I she doesn't say much.

First we give her the large bag of gifts we bought her, she is quiet and smiling. I take things out separately naming them "colored markers, pencils, stickers, wallet, etc...." Then comes the back of clothes, she stands up and is smiling as I hold the pink shirts and dresses against her to see if they will fit. They will, perfectly. She is petite like the caseworker described in her letters. She is 9, but we bought size 6 and 7 clothes that fit just right. Finally, I bring out the necklace that Sheila made. It has a picture of Lucy on one side and Luke & I on the other, she is shocked and confused at first. She stares, smiling (which seems rare with this beautiful girl) and I ask if I can put it on her. She nods and says "yes" in a very quiet voice. I place it on her and she holds it in her hand staring down, just staring. My stomach hurts, that hurting knot feeling like ...... this is amazing..... I am wearing my matching necklace with the picture of her showing. She is so beautiful.

I ask the head Sister for a tour of the school/orphanage and Lucy leads us to the girl's dormitory where she sleeps. It is two large rooms stuffed with 35 bunk beds or so in each room. The smaller girls have to share a bunk. She shows me her bed and her trunk where she keeps her things. We ask her about net ball, that she wrote about in her letters. She explains it quietly and points to the field where she plays. We continue walking to a classroom with older students in class where we interrupt and a teacher talks to Luke infront of the class. The girls all giggle and oooooohh and aaaahh over him. This isn't the first time people have stared and have petted Luke because of his light hair. He's a very popular boy here!

As we walk I hand Lucy a pack of Spiderman fruit snacks. She is so sweet to offer to share them with Luke and he is equally sweet and declines saying there aren't many, you have them. I'm so proud. Proud of both of these children, although Lucy is not mine. I feel as if she is. I long to take her home and love her til she's sick, o.k. maybe not sick. She is beautiful and her eyes show her love, her heart. She's afraid to hug us goodbye as we leave, painfully shy and a hundred kids are watching and giggling as we say goodbye. I don't want to leave her....

2008-06-22T11:34:00.000-07:00
Oh- you can also check out my blogging from Africa on the Statesman Journal's website. You can find it by clicking on "blogs" on the sub-title bar and then "Reader's Blogs" under that. Love you all!!

12 HOURS TO GO (TODAY! 6/22/08): Jambo!! (Hi in Swahili) Definitely starting to freak out! The bags are so full and I haven't quite finished packin Luke's clothes. Waiting for his dad, who has him today for last minute "together time" to bring some of his clothes over.

Other than that, we're good. Four gi-normous bags all at 49 or 50 pounds each. Our carry-ons are overflowing with all of our snacks, games for the flights, drawing paper, hand sanitizer, cameras, drugs (anti-malaria), passports, immunization records, visa pictures and applications and anything else I could find.

Oh- my sister and her husband, soooo generous. They bought a laptop for me to take to the family I am staying with. I had heard they wanted one that they will use for their church (that he is the Pastor of), their school, their home (the Rhema House I) and everything else. I'm sure it will help get the word out about their house and needing funding to continue supporting all the children they do. They not only have at least 10 children living with them but they are also like a mission from what I understand, helping other children with food, clothes and school supplies. It's a tax deductble organization and you can make donations locally to: WoMen of Purpose, Int'l, PO Box 596, Newberg, OR 97132 or email Pfeatherstone1@juno.com

I can't wait to meet the children there and see Luke with them. I'm sure he will make wonderful new friendships. As will I.

Alright, I am signing off and will post from the other side of the world shortly. Kwa heri! (goodbye in Swahili)

24 HOURS TO GO (6/21/08): Big breath, hold it, hold it, HOLD IT ....... and release. Things are starting to come together. Well, I guess they should be, we leave in 24 hours. I'M FREAKING OUT!! This morning Luke and I packed our second bag. Which means we had 2 bags left. So, I looked at the stuff left on the floor and thought, wow it looks like we are going to have a bunch of extra room, we need more stuff. So, I went back to the thrift store where I find the best deals ever and Walmart for some camcorder tapes and other stuff. I realized I didn't have any boys underwear, only girls and one pack of men's. So, I got 3 packs of boy's. I also got some snacks for the flights & in between time.

So, I got home and started packing, apparently I did have enough stuff. Two bags, the ones we packed first, are pretty much just filled with school supplies, toys, books, toiletries and clothes. The third bag has mostly clothes for them (what I bought today) and a layer of bundles of pens and some of the beads. The fourth bag is our clothes. Along with Lucy's bag of gifts and Lucy's clothes. It's really hard keeping it down to 50 pounds per bag. My lower back is killing me from standing on the scale balancing while holding each suitcase to check it's weight. It doesn't seem to work right when I try and put the bag on the scale by itself. But, I'm really getting sick of being reminded how much I weigh. Hopefully though a couple weeks of rice and beans and the offer of chicken feet as our meals will help with this winter weight I haven't shed!

I had to take out the camouflage shorts and t-shirt I had packed for Luke and my favorite camouflage hat. I'm not sure it's safe to wear camo, you are forbidden to wear camo in Zimbabwe, not that we're going there. But, it's only an inch or so away on the map and I don't want to chance any political/military problems with wearing camouflage. Not worth it! I was going to bring my cowboy/summer hat, but ...... think any cowboys will be offended and want to cause problems?

2008-06-21T23:44:00.000-07:00
24 HOURS TO GO (6/21/08): Big breath, hold it and release. Things are starting to come together. Well, I guess they should be, we leave in 24 hours. I'M FREAKING OUT!! This morning Luke and I packed our second bag. Which means we had 2 bags left. So, I looked at the stuff left on the floor and thought, wow it looks like we are going to have a bunch of extra room, we need more stuff. So, I went back to the thrift store with the deals and Walmart for some camcorder tapes and other stuff. I realized I didn't have any boys underwear, only girls and one pack of men's. So, I got 3 packs of boy's. I also got some snacks for the flights & in between time.

So, I got home and started packing, apparently I did have enough stuff. Two bags, the ones we packed first, are pretty much just filled with school supplies, toys, books, toiletries and clothes. The third bag has mostly clothes (what I bought today) and a layer of bundles of pens and some of the beads. The fourth bag is our clothes. Along with Lucy's bag of gifts and Lucy's clothes. It's really hard keeping it down to 50 pounds per bag. My lower back is killing me from standing on the scale holding each suitcase to check it's weight.

I had to take out the camouflage shorts and t-shirt I had packed for Luke and my favorite camouflage hat. I'm not sure it's safe to wear camo, you can't even wear camo in Zimbabwe, not that we're going there. But, I don't want to chance any political/military problems with wearing camouflage.

So, by the time I get back Rocky will have multiplied. Rocky is the raccoon living in my air vents. Seriously. He's really cute. He crawls up the solarium on the front of my house, on to the ledge outside my living room windows and walks by each night looking in to see what I'm watching on t.v. Then he laughs in my face, crawls under the ledge and I can hear him clawing and scurrying in the vent or somewhere under my living room floor. Meesh (my dog) goes nuts. She's heard him, o.k. maybe Rocky is a girl, and she stands at the vent, clawing at it and barking and barking. I don't think she's ever seen him, only heard him. I know I really need to get rid of him, I went outside and down below my house today to board up the hole that I know he's getting in but there were a gazillion holes. So, I will do what I do best, ignore the problem and fix it later.

Alright, I didn't mean to go off about Rocky. Part of the joys of living in the wild, like the mouse in my glove compartment. Oh- speaking of wild and crazy animals. Two nights ago I went out to get Misha to come in for the night and I see her and hear her barking and then this loud thumping as a deer is charging at her. I raced in to get my camera and since I'm blind as a bad I stood out in the yard waiting to see the deer. But, it was too dark. I snapped a picture and when the flash went off I could see the shine of the deer's eyes. It raced up the hill towards Misha and me. I flew into the house screaming like a little girl, you'd think it was a mountain lion chasing me.

O.k. I'm going to bed, I've got a big day tomorrow, after all, we're going to Africa!!

Oh- check out the pictures of Luke on the Statesman's website, you can click on Multimedia and then Photos. Also, I created a blog on the Statesman's site. You can probably find it by typing in Tina Brown. I will try and keep the blogs going while we're there.

Talk to you soon!

2008-06-20T19:43:00.000-07:00

CHECK THESE OUT!!! My artistic genius friend Sheila made this beautiful charm necklace for Lucy. Lucy on one side, Luke & I on the other. I know she's going to love it!! My sister said it's just like Annie and her locket from Daddy Warbucks. Sheila also made one for me too. I am so excited to give it to her. I will get pictures of her getting it. Thank you Sheila!! You are ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!

2 DAYS TO GO (6/20/08) ARGGGHHHH!!! I'm really starting to freak out! Two days! Two days! Today was my last day at work. So much to do there! I was gone 3 days last month and it was quite a mess on my desk when I came back. But, luckily, they've split my work up and have different people doing my work. Yay!
After work, I grabbed Luke, he was with my sister all day and her kids, having the time of his life. And then we grabbed a movie and McDonalds (yes, I said McDonalds, doesn't happen too often, but sometimes I break down). We're watching Shrek 3 right now and I bundled the rest of the pens. I asked the guy that sold me the pens to throw some extras. I'm thinking he threw in another 1,000 or so. I lost count on the bundles somewhere after 1,500. I'm so thrilled to be taking those. I will be packing more tonight when Luke's in bed. I've gotten a few things done on my TO DO LIST, but there are still quite a few. Including picking up prescriptions, stopping the mail, clean Popeye's cage, pick up extra contacts, confirm flights, email friends/family itinerary, buy tapes for camcorder, buy more camera SD cards, call neighbors about being gone, buy first aid kit, get x-ray bag for Polaroid film, etc..... Sheesh!

3 DAYS TO GO (6/19/08) Tonight after work I picked up Luke and we went to the Dollar Store. We bought a bunch more supplies, since Catherine (the woman we're staying with) emailed me with some specific requests. So, with a cart full of toothbrushes, women's pads and a few more small toys. After Luke went to bed I packed one of our bags. The packing with the Statesman guy here wasn't real, since we were tossing stuff in, including inflated soccer balls. So, I deflated the balls, took all the pencils out of their packages, and the erasers, the sharpeners, the glue sticks, toothbrushes and tons more. Then I started in on the pens. I put the pens in groups of 20 and rubber banded them together so they could me shoved in areas but not be loose.

I was surprised at how much I could get in one bag. I got the bathroom scale out and put it in the kitchen. After weighing myself (don't want to talk about that), I got on with the bag, it was 52 pounds. I took out some clothes and pens and then it was 48. Much better. Each bag can be 50 pounds. And we can have 4 bags, total. I will work on the other bags tomorrow.

The photographer from the Statesman called and asked if he could donate some Polaroid film. WOO HOO!! So, he met me at work and brought me 40 more prints. YAY! I am thrilled! I was thinking of buying more but had put it off. It was so nice of him.

4 DAYS TO GO (6/18/08) What a day! I was browsing for fun stuff at Walgreens like anti-diarrhea medicine (I know, I know, that's hot!) when I get a call from a guy that says he's a photographer for the Statesman Journal and is running late to come to my house to take pictures. WHAT?!? Late for what?! I didn't think he was coming, at all. He said, "I'm in West Salem," I said, "No! I'm in West Salem!" So, I race out of Walgreens, literally running. Speed home and he arrives about 2 minutes after me. He took pictures of Luke and I packing our bags and of Luke and I sitting on the couch. He was a nice guy and helped me figure out my Polaroid camera. There should be an article about our trip in the paper on Tuesday, 6/25. Although we'll be arriving in Kenya that day and won't see it.

2008-06-17T21:59:00.000-07:00

5 DAYS TO GO (6/17/08): I'm starting to freak out! Holy cow! It's getting close. 5 DAYS PEOPLE! 5 DAYS!! ARE YOU READY?! I'm not! Let's see. Tickets... check.. passports .... check.. place to stay... check.. camera... check.... camcorder... check... a TON of supplies...check.. clothes to give-away... check..shots... check.. So, what am I forgetting? Why do I feel like I'm so unprepared?

Didn't get much done today for Africa, had to work, then lunch with Dad, sister and beautiful nieces and nephews (late Father's Day). Then Luke's final t-ball game, pizza afterwards and trophy presentation. Oh- I got the beads today! They are awesome!! And took our last anti-Typhoid pills. Start the anti-malaria ones tomorrow.

6 DAYS TO GO (6/16/08): Today was good. I worked and then met Phyllis for dinner. She is the local connection I have that formed the Rhema House, the house in Nairobi where we'll be staying. They have taken several children in and also support other children with their schooling, food and other necessities. I am so excited to be a part of this. She answered a lot of my questions and relieved some of my fears. She has been kind enough to arrange transportation and so many other things. I asked what we might be eating while staying at their house. For those of you who know me, you know I could be classified as a somewhat picky eater. So, when she gave me the option of chicken feet or rice and beans there wasn't much of a decision to be made. Chicken on a bone is bad enough, but chicken feet? There's not even any chicken meat on feet, (I'm sounding a bit Dr. Seuss-ish) it's purely bone wrapped in skin, with some nasty ole toe nails. No thank you very much! I'm loving rice and beans.

She also gave me some supplies to take with us and a large International size suitcase to borrow.

I ordered beads today. I'm so excited to get them. I ordered over 1,100 beads (same amount as pens!). Being able to provide something to the women and children that they can use to make some income after we leave is so satisfying. Knowing our visit isn't just a tiny little bandaid, one of those little fingertip circle bandaids, but more like the smaller knuckle bandaids is wonderful. I got great charms for the necklaces that hopefully will have the tourists buying them quicker than they can make them. Gold giraffes, dark gray elephants, black and white zebra striped ones and my favorite... silver charms in the shape of Africa with little cut outs, of people, animals.

Phyllis' son joined us, who went to Africa with his mom 2 years ago, he was 12 and he had some good suggestions of toys to get the kids. Bouncy balls, jump ropes and cards. Also, Spiderman and Batman (t-shirts) are big with the kids there. So, after dinner I stopped at a party supply store. I got bouncy balls, hacky sacks, pick up sticks, jacks and balloons. Then went to Target to get a cheap camcorder. Can't go to Africa without a camcorder. I also got more underwear (on clearance), a cute little girl's wallet (for Lucy, also on clearance). I'm going to put a picture of Luke and I in it and a few coins.

Alright, off to bed now.

2008-06-15T22:23:00.000-07:00
7 DAYS TO GO (6/15/08): Today I went to Portland and bought a Polaroid instant camera and film (35 pictures worth).

But, today was a very different day, a very hard day. My former mother-in-law called me and said what I would classify as the worst things that anyone has ever said to me. I couldn't have come up with these awful things if I tried. She yelled at me for over 15 minutes saying how selfish and stupid I was for taking Luke to Africa, because of the danger. And what if he gets his head chopped off with a machete or hopefully- my head! Along with horrible things about a deceased uncle of mine (that she never met) and ended it with the most painful comment ever. Her voice was different and she was so worked up and angry it was hard to even comprehend. In the beginning she thought I was recording the conversation because the noise from the traffic going by (my car window was open) freaked her out. The way it started is just crazy, Luke spent the night with her last night and as the usual custom he got sick from eating A LOT of junk food with her. He was telling me on the phone about how sick he felt and it all comes down to her being defensive about him getting sick while with her. She felt guilty that she allowed him to eat so much bad stuff. I hadn't even talked to her about any of it and hadn't said a word about him being sick or eating junk. But she overheard him telling me he was sick. It was a really horrible day. It took a few minutes after our conversation for everything that she said to sink in. I got pretty upset and cried most of the day and was sick to my stomach. Which I really hate that she has that affect on me, since I know what she says isn't valid and I have to consider the source. But, it was really, really cruel things and trust me I've heard some nasty things. Luckily Luke wasn't around for it, so he didn't hear any of it.

8 DAYS TO GO (6/14/08): Hit the jackpot today, I went to a thrift store, St. Vincent de Paul, in McMinnville. It was absolutely perfect, I always find good stuff there, usually though to sell on Ebay. But, the special for the day was ALL CLOTHING $1 EACH!! WOO HOO!! So, I filled the cart, tons of good clothes for Africa, they mentioned they needed clothes, youth sizes 7-14, so I got tons of it. Great stuff. Hopefully I can fit all the stuff I've bought. Also, we went to Walmart and got 8 balls (5 soccer, 2 football, 1 basketball) and a pump. We're going to deflate them and hopefully they won't take up too much room. ALSO, I got the box of pens that I ordered off Ebay. HOLY COW! 1,000 pens is A LOT!! And the seller threw in extras. Well, that's what he said, I'm not about to count them.

9 DAYS TO GO (6/13/08): Didn't get much done for Africa today. It was still Friday, which makes it Friday night movie night for Luke and I. We watched Evan Almighty, very cute.

2008-06-12T22:49:00.000-07:00
10 DAYS TO GO (6/12/08):
I'm feeling a little better. Maybe there is something to be said for water. I always just figure that there is some water in Diet Coke, but apparently it's not quite the same. I just need a catheter now.

Today I saved about $149. I did my usual stop at 7/11 for a Diet Coke (hey now, I did also drink water, you don't expect me to go cold turkey do you?). And the guy infront of me had a huge green Slurpee and a couple snacks. I was thinking, sheesh! Who drinks a green Slurpee for breakfast. As I stood there with my 44 oz pop. His debit card came up declined and again and a 3rd time. Finally he said I'll run out to my truck, in a not so convincing voice, and look for change. The boss man, that's what I call the owner, said, at least $1.49 (since the Slurpee had been poured, can't quite put that back!). I got my pop and bottle of water and went out to my car. I sat there watching the man fumbling around on his dashboard, looking quite nervous. As he walked by, I leaned out the window and said, "Want a dollar?". A big grin covered his face and thankfully and humbly he leaned over and took it.

So, tonight on my drive from work to Luke's t-ball game, I was chatting away with a friend on the phone while speeding a tad. A car infront of me hit the brakes and a half second later I did the same, as I watched a State Police car coming in the opposite direction towards us hit their brakes and jerk off the side of the road. As I saw the patriotic flashing of lights behind me I kept repeating, "Oh please no, oh please no... please, don't, oh, please, please...... YAY!!!" The patrol car flew by me as I sat pulled over in a farmer's driveway. A half mile down the road I saw the lights and a car pulled over, only to see the Trooper step into the road and wave me over too. NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!! You've got to be kidding! IT WAS HER!!! The State Trooper from h-e-double-toothpicks!!! Isn't one victim enough? I felt like it was some sort of Reno 911 joke with a hint of slasher horror film. What movie was it where the police officer is like haunting someone? Whatever it is, it was my life today.

So, the trooper had two of us pulled over, bouncing between the two of us like a ball in a pinball machine. She did her robot voice, "I clocked the driver infront of you at 72 and you right behind her at 71, what is your justification?" Seriously, in the past year has she not come up with some new material? Same exact line, your justificatin? So, I say, "reallllllyyyy? I didn't think so, I thought it was more like 61" to which she replied, "Do I have a reason to lie to you?" well, we all know option 2 will not work, telling her that I think she's a big fat liar and likes to write tickets, particularly to women, especially those with slightly more personality than she has. But, I go with option 1, "of course not! You know I'd like to thank you, because last year you pulled me over and gave me a ticket and I did a traffic safety course online and I learned a lot". She smirked an evil smirk behind her dark sunglasses hinting at a tad bit of personality. Asking for my Registration. I fumbled thru the glove compartment apologizing as shredded napkins poured out and even a pair of underwear (I was going to return those). She said she'd return and gave me a minute. I watched her talk to the car behind me, mumbling under my breath about this robot needing to get a life when she appeared back at my window. I handed her my Registration, that looked a lot like a doilie. You see, I have a mouse living in my glove compartment, no joke. It's been eating it's way thru napkins and apparently my Registration. As I explained the reason for it's holes, she said "you have quite a problem don't you?" umm....... durrrr...... you're in my life right now. She told me the road I was on, her road, had already claimed 5 lives, she took such responsibility for this asphalt. I told her since the online course I had really tried harder to not speed and be more careful. Somehow it worked and she said, "Ms. Brown, be more aware!" It was hard not to salute her and tell her I liked her hair or that she looked good in blue with an octagon-ish shaped hat, but I was just so thankful. I was 20 minutes late for Luke's game but as I see it, that $1 good deed in the morning was paid forward by a warning by Trooper Robot. Not a bad day.

And in regards to Africa, I didn't get anything done except exchange emails with the woman coordinating our stay in Kenya.

2008-06-11T20:42:00.000-07:00
11 DAYS TO GO (6/11/08) Today was all about survival. Not in the wild, but this crazy cold/sinus/gland thing going on in my body. I feel like people are staring because of my Schwarzenegger neck. It is huge and throbbing. And, the worst part is that I can't go to the doctor to get antibiotics because we're taking anti-Typhoid medication (that can't be mixed).

So, on the Africa front, I went and got our Yellow Fever certificates (didn't get them last night), ordered more contacts (can't chance tearing a contact and not seeing the kids or animals) and getting our anti-Malaria pills and bug repellent.

I'm heading to be bed now to fight this bug. And yes people, I'm desperate enough to get better I've given up my Diet Coke for water (at least for today).

2008-06-10T22:00:00.000-07:00

12 DAYS TO GO (6/10/08) Well, today was Luke's Field Day, bunch of outdoor school stuff for you non-parents. And after tug-o-war, the 50 meter dash, slingshots (really bad idea with first graders, we're talking 6 injuries), the long jump, dunk tank, crawling in boxes in the gym (it was actually pretty cool) and snack time we were finally done. Came home, had an interview with the Statesman by phone, about our trip and then raced to Salem for our shots. After much discussion with the doctor we opted for only ONE shot for Luke. So, I should say we raced to Salem for shot, not shots. He only needed Yellow Fever, I don't, the one I received nine years ago still works (for another year). Malaria and Typhoid we got prescriptions for and will be taking by mouth. He does need another Hep A, but we'll go to our doctor for that. He was very brave for his shot and only after we left the doctor's office did he cry, always such a brave man infront of others. So, I rewarded him by taking him to MY favorite Mexican restaurant, Los Baez. Hey now, he likes it too. My friend Tony, who works there, made Luke a special big drink, like a Kiwi and Raspberry Slurpy with whip cream. So, all in all, it wasn't a bad experience, easy for me to say since I didn't get the shot. I reminded him that when my sister Laura had shots, as a child, it took 2-3 adults chasing her and finally cornering her to give her shots.

Now I'm watching "I dreamed of Africa" with Kim Basinger. Well, I'm not watching it with her, she's in it. And she is just like me, oh wait, I'm just like her. She is a divorced mother of a 7 year old boy who was feeling restless and that she hadn't done much right in her life, except her child and meets a man and moves to KENYA. Sheesh! Could be my twin, right? Minus the man and the moving there part. Anyway, I'm going to get back to the movie. I'll let you know what happens tomorrow!

Kwa heri! (goodbye in Swahili)

2008-06-09T21:50:00.000-07:00

13 DAYS TO GO (Monday, 6/9/08): Bought medical insurance for Luke and I. Found Polaroid camera and film on Craigs list, spoke to owner, will arrange pick up. Researched shots needed versus oral vaccinations, preparing for tomorrow's doctor visit. Researched beads on Ebay and at the big store in Kirkland, Washington. Might head up there this weekend. I need a lot of beads to take with me. There is a bunch on Ebay, but I think I could save by going to the biggest bead store in the world in Washington. Maybe not though, with gas prices.

14 DAYS TO GO (Sunday, 6/8/08): Bought a bunch of supplies. Bought more notebook paper, packs of pencils, erasers, pencil sharpeners, drawing paper, stickers, math flash cards, big laminated charts for the classroom (numbers, alphabet, multiplication, etc.) some recorders (flutes), small puzzles, bibles, dictionaries, sports watches (yep $1, from the Dollar Store, wonder how long they'll last), hand sanitizer (for us), lots of girls underwear and more. Also, two large rolling duffel bags. Bought 1,000 pens on Ebay, talked seller into donating more.

Alright, bear with me here as I attempt to make a countdown here, I'm typing it in opposite order so when I add days they will appear in the right order. So, 13 days til we leave for Africa. A lot of things are falling into place, well, not quite falling, since that makes it sound like they are just happening on their own. Follow along with me as we count down to THE TRIP!

ALRIGHT FOLKS! TIME FOR PENS!

2008-06-03T20:13:00.000-07:00
Well, I started writing about my wonderful trip to Ireland trip but there is so much to say and so little time so I will get back to the Ireland stuff later and get to the Africa stuff today.

Some of you have asked what you can donate for our Africa trip. So, now I think I can tell you. I would love to take A LOT of pens and pencils. Also other school supplies like paper, erasers and fun stuff like stickers. Emphasis on smaller items though. Pens and pencils don't take up much room and these are vital. I already have some stuff. But would love to take as much as I can (we are allowed 100 pounds each).

I would also love to take a polaroid camera and take pictures of the kids and people for them to have. Most of the people there have never seen a picture of themselves and mothers and fathers have never had pictures of their children. I can't imagine not having a picture of Luke or 8,000!!! BUT, polaroid film is outrageously expensive! Also beads. I'd like to take beads and wire/string to give to the women and children to make necklaces for income after we leave. Also, chalk (last time we were there the only thing in the classroom was a chalkboard on the wall, no tables, no chairs, no books, no paper and NO CHALK!) And toothbrushes with those little covers for the toothbrushes. Luckily the Dollar Store has a lot of these things.

We plan on packing lightly when it comes to our stuff and leaving a lot of clothes with them when we leave.

Thank you for all of your support and friendship. I'm getting so excited for our trip.

THEY'RE ALWAYS AFTER ME LUCKY CHARMS!

2008-05-21T20:55:00.000-07:00
Some of you already know, but for those of you who don't, I'm off to Ireland tomorrow night. Well, New York first, play around in NYC on Friday then off to Ireland Friday night. Am I living the life or what!?! I'm thinking so!

I've been working on my Irish accent, pretty much all I got is "they're always after me lucky charms". We come back Tuesday night. We fly into Dublin and stay there on Sat, then head South or West. Hope to make out with the Blarney Stone again and see the Cliffs of Moher. Also get lost in a tiny car on the wrong side of the car and the wrong side of the road. I love that!

Oh- I might finally book our tickets to Africa tonight. I've been putting it off, a little nervous and plopping down that much money. But, it has to be done. And then today I signed Luke and I up for our shots. Ugh! I think the price is more painful than the shots themselves will be. It's ridiculous! I think I need to sell another 300 snow cones to cover just our shots. They're about $600! But, I decided we're going to scream, "I've been shot!" or "You shot me!" when they give us the shots and flail about on the floor.

I looked at getting our VISA's (not credit cards, although I'm thinking now I might have to get one of those too) for Kenya and Tanzania and they are about $100 per person per country. OUCH AGAIN!

Oh well, this is a trip of a lifetime and I'll just sell a few more old leather jackets on Ebay.

Talk with you after Ireland!