Well....more of a dance, really :-P
Last night, I went to a formal at my college which in an of itself was an AMAZING event...I mean, I can count on one hand the number of dances I've been to in the past 8 years: Junior Prom, Senior Prom, First Year Formal, and now this one. Fact is, I don't really like to dance for a number of reasons.
Just in general, it doesn't seem all that fun, plus a lot of dancing among high school and college students is WAY too hands on, up close and personal considering that I'm dancing with some random stranger or acquaintance. They actually canceled dances in my high school for 3 solid years because too many people were *ahem* making love on the dance floor. Ummm, ew....that's just gross! I avoided dances except for contra dances after that. My high school aversion to dances stretched into college and I didn't really go to dances here either. Aside from that, I also just feel kinda awkward dancing. I don't dance very well and I know that shouldn't make a difference, but I do feel self conscious when dancing in front of other people.
Anyway, so tonight was the first time I went to a dance (and actually ended up dancing) in 8 years (somehow managed to avoid dancing at both proms, go figure)...and surprise, surprise I actually enjoyed myself! The dancing was pretty tame and most people (like my friends and I) just danced in a big group together and had fun. I even wore heels which is generally a once-a-year occurrence for me. My feet are teeny (size 6) and heels hurt a lot. I danced in my heels and didn't fall over, stub my toe, or break a foot which is a major accomplishment. Boy, do my legs hurt today though!
Apparently...
Saturday, February 14, 2009
I'm a British citizen...in addition to being American! Who knew? I just found this out a few days ago when I emailed the British consulate. Even though I was born in America, because my dad is British, my parents were married in England, and I was a legitimately born child, I'm automatically British by descent. This means that I can just apply for a passport and be able to work in England and/or attend graduate school in England for $4,5oo/year. Which is about 20K to 30K less expensive than going to school here AND the program I want to attend is in England anyway.
....And so, partly for the sheer irony of it, I'm applying for a British passport right now and using my U.S. treasury tax refund to finance the application.
....And so, partly for the sheer irony of it, I'm applying for a British passport right now and using my U.S. treasury tax refund to finance the application.
D'oh!
I submitted resumes last night for 14 resume books which will be submitted to hundreds of businesses....and this morning I woke up tossing and turning, hit by the sudden realization that I forgot to put my coursework in SPSS and advanced statistics on my resumes. Y'know, the stuff that actually makes me employable. D'oh!
Job Applications
Friday, February 13, 2009
I just submitted my first job application for a post-graduate job position. Yay and, ummmm, eek!?
Taxes: a fun way to spend a Friday night
Friday, February 6, 2009
And no, I'm not being sarcastic! I actually don't mind doing taxes. My parents have been having me do their taxes since I was 14. My dad's self-employed, so that more or less means him handing me a trash bag full of receipts and a copy of all his bank statements, then telling me to figure out what he earned and what he can use as deductions from that. When I started having to do my own taxes a few years ago, they seemed like a breeze in comparison! Plus, if I get a refund check out of it, then I'm more than happy to do my taxes :-P It only takes an hour or two, and I managed to file both Federal and State taxes tonight.
Italy, Day 6 (Roma)
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Day 6, our last day in Rome, included a celebrity appearance! That is to say, the entire choir attended a Papal Audience. Pictured here is St. Peter's Basilica, shortly before we enter Vatican City.
In order to get to the Pope or St. Peter's Basilica, it is necessary to go through metal detectors and all bags are checked. Sometimes, the lines are long. Here is a picture of my friend Laura and me horsing around outside of the check-in because we got bored waiting :-)
The best part of Vatican City - the Swiss Guards. I'm pretty sure these uniforms haven't been changed in several hundred years.
Sadly, they aren't allowed to take pictures with tourists, presumably because it would distract them from their jobs. I was able to take a picture of the guard, though. Look at his smile, though. I think he knew exactly what I was up to.
Finally, we got to see the Pope. If you click on the picture, you'll be able to see just how close we were!
After we heard the Pope speak, we (briefly) left Vatican City for lunch. I couldn't resist taking this picture of me with my feet in two countries - Vatican City and Italy.
We toured St. Peter's Basilica and even got to see the Papal Tombs. Inside the Basilica is the very famous statue, the Pietà by Michelangelo. I've been longing to see it for years and it is just beautiful.
More Swiss Guards.
Because Vatican City is its own independent country, it has a separate postal service, special stamps, and its own postmark. I made sure to mail a couple of letters from there.
After Vatican City, we went and visited the Colosseum.
After the Colosseum, we walked over to the Trevi Fountain where it is traditional to toss a coin into the fountain over the left shoulder and using the right hand to toss. At the same time, you must make a wish and according to Romans the only "true wish" you can make is that you will return to Rome. If you look closely at this action shot, you can see my coin still in midair.
Two carabinieri, Italian police, in full regalia.
Mmmm...gelato. You can't go to Italy without eating gelato. At this place (near the Trevi Fountain) I had hazelnut gelato and it was SO GOOD!
On the Spanish Steps, shortly before we climbed them and performed a couple of songs on the plaza at the top. Fun fact: the Spanish Steps form the longest staircase in Europe.
That night, we went to a final dinner at a restaurant in Rome. We pretty much had the place to ourselves which, as it turned out, was a very good idea. Picture 43 singers with a little wine in their system being egged on by an enthusiastic piano player and 2 opera singers hired to serenade us and you will get a very loud singalong lasting well into the night. I think the restaurant breathed a sigh of relief when we left.
Because that was our last night in Italy, all of us stayed up late. My roommate and I invited some of our friends to come to our room where we chatted, sang, and joked into the wee hours. Even though my roommate and I were the only two people meant to stay in our room, the room was huge and had 2 twin beds plus a king size bed! Therefore, we had a slumber party with a few people and it was so much fun. Who says you can't be 22 and still have slumber parties?
The next day, we flew back home to America in an epic 9 hour flight. I slept for 8 of those hours, and seeing as I hate flying, this was fine by me. We finally got back to the college and I promptly unpacked, then went to see a friend. I was so jetlagged, however, that I fell asleep on a chair in her room and she had to wake me up :-P
In order to get to the Pope or St. Peter's Basilica, it is necessary to go through metal detectors and all bags are checked. Sometimes, the lines are long. Here is a picture of my friend Laura and me horsing around outside of the check-in because we got bored waiting :-)
The best part of Vatican City - the Swiss Guards. I'm pretty sure these uniforms haven't been changed in several hundred years.
Sadly, they aren't allowed to take pictures with tourists, presumably because it would distract them from their jobs. I was able to take a picture of the guard, though. Look at his smile, though. I think he knew exactly what I was up to.
Finally, we got to see the Pope. If you click on the picture, you'll be able to see just how close we were!
After we heard the Pope speak, we (briefly) left Vatican City for lunch. I couldn't resist taking this picture of me with my feet in two countries - Vatican City and Italy.
We toured St. Peter's Basilica and even got to see the Papal Tombs. Inside the Basilica is the very famous statue, the Pietà by Michelangelo. I've been longing to see it for years and it is just beautiful.
More Swiss Guards.
Because Vatican City is its own independent country, it has a separate postal service, special stamps, and its own postmark. I made sure to mail a couple of letters from there.
After Vatican City, we went and visited the Colosseum.
After the Colosseum, we walked over to the Trevi Fountain where it is traditional to toss a coin into the fountain over the left shoulder and using the right hand to toss. At the same time, you must make a wish and according to Romans the only "true wish" you can make is that you will return to Rome. If you look closely at this action shot, you can see my coin still in midair.
Two carabinieri, Italian police, in full regalia.
Mmmm...gelato. You can't go to Italy without eating gelato. At this place (near the Trevi Fountain) I had hazelnut gelato and it was SO GOOD!
On the Spanish Steps, shortly before we climbed them and performed a couple of songs on the plaza at the top. Fun fact: the Spanish Steps form the longest staircase in Europe.
That night, we went to a final dinner at a restaurant in Rome. We pretty much had the place to ourselves which, as it turned out, was a very good idea. Picture 43 singers with a little wine in their system being egged on by an enthusiastic piano player and 2 opera singers hired to serenade us and you will get a very loud singalong lasting well into the night. I think the restaurant breathed a sigh of relief when we left.Because that was our last night in Italy, all of us stayed up late. My roommate and I invited some of our friends to come to our room where we chatted, sang, and joked into the wee hours. Even though my roommate and I were the only two people meant to stay in our room, the room was huge and had 2 twin beds plus a king size bed! Therefore, we had a slumber party with a few people and it was so much fun. Who says you can't be 22 and still have slumber parties?
The next day, we flew back home to America in an epic 9 hour flight. I slept for 8 of those hours, and seeing as I hate flying, this was fine by me. We finally got back to the college and I promptly unpacked, then went to see a friend. I was so jetlagged, however, that I fell asleep on a chair in her room and she had to wake me up :-P
Italy, Day 5 (Roma)
On day 5, we drove from Sorrento to Roma (Rome). The trip took most of the day, so we didn't really do any sightseeing. That night, we did our concert at the Church of Santa Maria di Trastevere, a church from the 4th century! I was totally in awe to be in a place that nearly 1700 years old. The church was gorgeous, as you can see from the paintings and mosaics below. The concert went beautifully - I think we were inspired by such an amazing church - and none of us wanted to leave that night.
Italy, Day 4 (The Island of Capri)
We took a boat from Sorrento to Capri on day 4. I'm usually pretty good with boats, but this was an intense boat ride. You know how on a roller coaster you get butterflies in your stomach? This happened ever 3 seconds on this boat because the water was so choppy. I went and stood in the back of the boat where I got wet and salty (my favorite part of boat rides anyway) and things were a little calmer.
The island of Capri, just as we were landing. Unfortunately, we didn't get to go to the Blue Grotto because the weather was too bad.
Instead, we went to Villa San Michele in the village of Anacapri, located on top of the mountain on the island. This is Paolo, our local guide. He was wildly attractive and in no time had all 43 choir members giggling and madly in love with him. I guess that's what you get for agreeing to lead a tour of 43 college-aged girls! Also, EVERYTHING he was wearing was Dolce and Gabbana, including his manpurse and shoes.
Here he is, explaining something or other about the table while 43 young women surreptitiously took pictures of him :-P
A view of the paths leading down to the ocean. The water is even bluer than it looks in the pictures.
Another view of Capri and the water.
For lunch, I wandered into the nearest sandwich shop, looking for something authentic. I ended up ordering a Panino Caprese (which is native to the island, don'tcha know!). The sandwich was simply tomatoes, fresh buffalo milk mozzarella, olive oil, and salt. It was so simple, and so delicious. I also got a couple of Italian pastries at a pasticcheria.
After lunch, I found a bookshop. Below is a picture of my "disappointed face." I absolutely hate the Da Vinci Code and was sad to see that it had been translated into Italian and was being sold in a bookstore. Also, note the curls in my hair. Whenever the air is damp or I've been sailing on the ocean, my hair springs into little curls like this. By the end of the day, my hair was even crazier.
Me with my favorite kind of truck, the three-wheeler. See how tiny it is? To give you an idea of the size, I'm 5 feet, 2 inches tall (and that's rounding up to the nearest inch).
The island of Capri, just as we were landing. Unfortunately, we didn't get to go to the Blue Grotto because the weather was too bad.
Instead, we went to Villa San Michele in the village of Anacapri, located on top of the mountain on the island. This is Paolo, our local guide. He was wildly attractive and in no time had all 43 choir members giggling and madly in love with him. I guess that's what you get for agreeing to lead a tour of 43 college-aged girls! Also, EVERYTHING he was wearing was Dolce and Gabbana, including his manpurse and shoes.
Here he is, explaining something or other about the table while 43 young women surreptitiously took pictures of him :-P
A view of the paths leading down to the ocean. The water is even bluer than it looks in the pictures.
Another view of Capri and the water.
For lunch, I wandered into the nearest sandwich shop, looking for something authentic. I ended up ordering a Panino Caprese (which is native to the island, don'tcha know!). The sandwich was simply tomatoes, fresh buffalo milk mozzarella, olive oil, and salt. It was so simple, and so delicious. I also got a couple of Italian pastries at a pasticcheria.After lunch, I found a bookshop. Below is a picture of my "disappointed face." I absolutely hate the Da Vinci Code and was sad to see that it had been translated into Italian and was being sold in a bookstore. Also, note the curls in my hair. Whenever the air is damp or I've been sailing on the ocean, my hair springs into little curls like this. By the end of the day, my hair was even crazier.
Me with my favorite kind of truck, the three-wheeler. See how tiny it is? To give you an idea of the size, I'm 5 feet, 2 inches tall (and that's rounding up to the nearest inch).
Italy, Day 3 (Amalfi, the Amalfi Coast, and Positano)
We drove along the Amalfi Coast in order to get to Amalfi and Positano. The road is walled in on one side by a sheer cliff going straight up the side of the mountain. On the other side of the road, the road drops straight off another sheer cliff and the ocean is directly below (a drop of about 100-200 feet). We had to cram into a much smaller bus to do the drive because the government limits the length of buses allowed to drive along here. After a few minutes, I could see why - one false move and the entire vehicle falls onto the rocks/into the ocean. Below is a picture of my roommate and I just outside of Positano.
Along the roads were many little model villages and/or nativity scenes. If you click on the picture, you'll see that not only are there tiny houses but also tiny boats floating in a miniature ocean.
Here's a fountain I found in Amalfi. Again, click on the picture to see tiny people and boats swimming around in the water.
Because I make paper and bind books for my workstudy job, I was super excited to discover that Amalfi had a paper mill (still in operation!) that had been going strong for 800 years! This isn't it (we weren't allowed to take pictures there), but here's another paper mill. The amazing thing about the paper mill in Amalfi was that it was still water powered.
Another picture of one of the mini-villages.
Here's the only picture I got of the inside of the paper museum/paper mill. To get to it, I had to do about a 20 minute hike up the side of the mountain. When I got there, I discovered that it was closed for renovations. But hey, do I ever take no for an answer? I simply knocked on the door until this man answered it. I explained (in Italian, of course) that I desperately wanted to see the paper mill and had come all the way from America. He said he'd do the tour for me and my friends, but he only spoke Italian. Because I'm the only person in choir who speaks anything even resembling fluent Italian, I agreed to translate the entire tour. As we negotiated, more and more of my choir friends arrived. In the end, I led a tour of 20 people! About 10 people from choir showed up after the tour, too.
I must admit, I had my doubts about whether I could accurately translate everything. As it turned out, no problem! Because I have experience with paper making, I was able to translate and explain even the more idiomatic or complicated terms. The equipment was amazing - the paper mill was located in a cave hollowed out of the mountain and still ran entirely by water power. They had beaters (for making pulp out of cotton rags) that were several hundred years old and were the kind used 500 years ago. You know, the wooden mallets run by a water wheel. Even their "modern" beater looked to be nearly 100 years old. They made gorgeous paper and I ended up buying some along with a gorgeous "flower" paper which had dried flowers arranged in a bouquet and laid into the paper fibers, then dried.
By the end of the tour, the guide was my new best friend. He kept on giving me free paper made at the mill in thanks for translating the tour as well as (presumably) bringing in about 1000 euros worth of sales on a day that the museum/mill was technically closed. As a final gift, he gave me a bottle of spumante, a fizzy Italian white wine, that he'd made and bottled himself. I was incredibly touched by his generosity. Below is a picture of the guide inside the museum.
After we left Amalfi, we went to eat lunch in a restaurant high on top of the mountain. Below is a picture of Paolo, the proprietors' son. He was so adorable and was madly in love with the entire choir. Isn't he cute? He loved taking pictures with peoples' cameras. I ended up translating for him too and promptly realized that it is HARD to translate for a small child for 2 reasons. Mainly, because they don't articulate as well as adults do, but also because you can't ask a 3-year-old to rephrase something :-P
Here's a picture of a special rock on the Amalfi coast. It's supposed to look like the Virgin Mary according to local lore. You'll be able to see it better if you click on the picture.
My roommate and I in our hotel room back at the hotel Michelangelo. Both our names begin with the letter M, so we were very amused by the huge wooden plaque above each bed with a very adorned letter M.
Here's the church that we sang in while we were in Sorrento. The church was literally 20 feet from the beach and the ocean. We learned that in Sorrento, the rich people live higher up the side of the mountain while the working-class people live right on the water. This concert was PACKED with tons of parishioners who were all fisherman or day laborers. They were our best audience by far and they were such a "tight" congregation. Everyone knew everyone and they gave us a standing ovation after each song. Afterwards, they sang a village song for us and then proceeded to (unexpectedly, I might add) feed us large quantities of food that they'd cooked especially for us. They also gave us pictures of the Virgin Mary and a sculpture of the Holy Family. I was so touched by their hospitality and love and I will never forget our visit to their church.
All in all, day 3 was definitely my favorite day on tour!
Along the roads were many little model villages and/or nativity scenes. If you click on the picture, you'll see that not only are there tiny houses but also tiny boats floating in a miniature ocean.
Here's a fountain I found in Amalfi. Again, click on the picture to see tiny people and boats swimming around in the water.
Because I make paper and bind books for my workstudy job, I was super excited to discover that Amalfi had a paper mill (still in operation!) that had been going strong for 800 years! This isn't it (we weren't allowed to take pictures there), but here's another paper mill. The amazing thing about the paper mill in Amalfi was that it was still water powered.
Another picture of one of the mini-villages.
Here's the only picture I got of the inside of the paper museum/paper mill. To get to it, I had to do about a 20 minute hike up the side of the mountain. When I got there, I discovered that it was closed for renovations. But hey, do I ever take no for an answer? I simply knocked on the door until this man answered it. I explained (in Italian, of course) that I desperately wanted to see the paper mill and had come all the way from America. He said he'd do the tour for me and my friends, but he only spoke Italian. Because I'm the only person in choir who speaks anything even resembling fluent Italian, I agreed to translate the entire tour. As we negotiated, more and more of my choir friends arrived. In the end, I led a tour of 20 people! About 10 people from choir showed up after the tour, too.I must admit, I had my doubts about whether I could accurately translate everything. As it turned out, no problem! Because I have experience with paper making, I was able to translate and explain even the more idiomatic or complicated terms. The equipment was amazing - the paper mill was located in a cave hollowed out of the mountain and still ran entirely by water power. They had beaters (for making pulp out of cotton rags) that were several hundred years old and were the kind used 500 years ago. You know, the wooden mallets run by a water wheel. Even their "modern" beater looked to be nearly 100 years old. They made gorgeous paper and I ended up buying some along with a gorgeous "flower" paper which had dried flowers arranged in a bouquet and laid into the paper fibers, then dried.
By the end of the tour, the guide was my new best friend. He kept on giving me free paper made at the mill in thanks for translating the tour as well as (presumably) bringing in about 1000 euros worth of sales on a day that the museum/mill was technically closed. As a final gift, he gave me a bottle of spumante, a fizzy Italian white wine, that he'd made and bottled himself. I was incredibly touched by his generosity. Below is a picture of the guide inside the museum.
After we left Amalfi, we went to eat lunch in a restaurant high on top of the mountain. Below is a picture of Paolo, the proprietors' son. He was so adorable and was madly in love with the entire choir. Isn't he cute? He loved taking pictures with peoples' cameras. I ended up translating for him too and promptly realized that it is HARD to translate for a small child for 2 reasons. Mainly, because they don't articulate as well as adults do, but also because you can't ask a 3-year-old to rephrase something :-P
Here's a picture of a special rock on the Amalfi coast. It's supposed to look like the Virgin Mary according to local lore. You'll be able to see it better if you click on the picture.
My roommate and I in our hotel room back at the hotel Michelangelo. Both our names begin with the letter M, so we were very amused by the huge wooden plaque above each bed with a very adorned letter M.
Here's the church that we sang in while we were in Sorrento. The church was literally 20 feet from the beach and the ocean. We learned that in Sorrento, the rich people live higher up the side of the mountain while the working-class people live right on the water. This concert was PACKED with tons of parishioners who were all fisherman or day laborers. They were our best audience by far and they were such a "tight" congregation. Everyone knew everyone and they gave us a standing ovation after each song. Afterwards, they sang a village song for us and then proceeded to (unexpectedly, I might add) feed us large quantities of food that they'd cooked especially for us. They also gave us pictures of the Virgin Mary and a sculpture of the Holy Family. I was so touched by their hospitality and love and I will never forget our visit to their church.
All in all, day 3 was definitely my favorite day on tour!
Italy, Day 2 (Pompeii)
We spent most of Day 2 in Pompeii. I've been wanting to go to Pompeii since I was 5 because - fun fact! - when I was in kindergarten I wanted to be an archaeologist. It was so amazing! The photos rather speak for themselves, so I won't post a description of each. If you've ever been to Pompeii, you will notice that there are a few things I'm not including. For instance, pictures of the interior of Casa Lupare. Yes, I did go see it, but no, I'm not going to be putting up pictures of the wall paintings inside "The House" as our guide Ettore called it. If you don't know what I'm talking about, Casa Lupare was a house of ill-repute with wall paintings depicting acts of intimacy in great detail. An interesting archeological site, but not something I'm comfortable plastering all over the internet where a kid could accidentally see it. I also am not posting pictures of the body casts...it seems disrespectful to post pictures of Pompeiian's bodies. Perhaps most heartbreaking of all of them was the pregnant woman who had curled up on the ground in order to protect her unborn child from harm. I cried after seeing that one. However, enjoy the pictures I took of the buildings, the bakery, and the gardens!
Italy, Day 1 (Sorrento)
Here are the pictures from Italy - I was there on tour with my college's choir. We did a few performances as well as touristy stuff as well. Enjoy!
Here is a view taken from the plane just before we arrived in Napoli (Naples). We'd flown from Boston to Roma (Rome), then from Roma to Napoli.
When we landed, we started driving to Sorrento where our hotel was. Everything looked so different! I'd kind of imagined that all big cities in the world look the same (more or less), but Italy is very different.
Because we were so far south, oranges and lemons grew on every tree. You have no idea how excited I was about this. I've never been in a place warm enough to grow fruit like this. Also, even in the big supermarkets a lot of the produce, cheese, and other food items are local. The lemons still had the leaves attached, something I'd never seen before! There were also olive trees everywhere, though most of the olives had already been picked. 
Below is one of the three-wheeled mini-trucks that are ubiquitous in the Sorrento area. They're tiny, cute, and I really, really, want to drive one.
Anyone who knows me will know that I love anchovies. I will seriously eat them straight out of the can. The very first thing that I ate upon arriving in Sorrento was a salad of fresh, marinated anchovies. I was delighted to discover that not only were the anchovies fresh, but that in Italy they serve them with the tails and scales still attached. That means more anchovy to eat and more to love. Yum!
Here is a picture of a wall in Sorrento, one that is over 500 years old. I was wandering randomly around Sorrento when I found it.
I found a cameo shop in Sorrento called Ciro Bimonte. It's a family-owned independent business (my favorite kind) with hand-carved cameos painstakingly made by members of the family. I bought this one because it was too gorgeous to resist and I wanted to support their business.
That night, choir had dinner at the hotel which was ok, but not as fantastic as the anchovies I'd had for lunch earlier that day. I hadn't slept in about 36 hours at that point, so my roommate and I swore that we'd go to sleep really early (by 9pm). However, a couple of our good friends came by our room and we were up chatting and hanging out until midnight. That's ok, though! We had a lot of fun and fortunately our wake-up call for the next day wasn't too early.
Here is a view taken from the plane just before we arrived in Napoli (Naples). We'd flown from Boston to Roma (Rome), then from Roma to Napoli.
When we landed, we started driving to Sorrento where our hotel was. Everything looked so different! I'd kind of imagined that all big cities in the world look the same (more or less), but Italy is very different.
Because we were so far south, oranges and lemons grew on every tree. You have no idea how excited I was about this. I've never been in a place warm enough to grow fruit like this. Also, even in the big supermarkets a lot of the produce, cheese, and other food items are local. The lemons still had the leaves attached, something I'd never seen before! There were also olive trees everywhere, though most of the olives had already been picked. 
Below is one of the three-wheeled mini-trucks that are ubiquitous in the Sorrento area. They're tiny, cute, and I really, really, want to drive one.
Anyone who knows me will know that I love anchovies. I will seriously eat them straight out of the can. The very first thing that I ate upon arriving in Sorrento was a salad of fresh, marinated anchovies. I was delighted to discover that not only were the anchovies fresh, but that in Italy they serve them with the tails and scales still attached. That means more anchovy to eat and more to love. Yum!
Here is a picture of a wall in Sorrento, one that is over 500 years old. I was wandering randomly around Sorrento when I found it.
I found a cameo shop in Sorrento called Ciro Bimonte. It's a family-owned independent business (my favorite kind) with hand-carved cameos painstakingly made by members of the family. I bought this one because it was too gorgeous to resist and I wanted to support their business.
That night, choir had dinner at the hotel which was ok, but not as fantastic as the anchovies I'd had for lunch earlier that day. I hadn't slept in about 36 hours at that point, so my roommate and I swore that we'd go to sleep really early (by 9pm). However, a couple of our good friends came by our room and we were up chatting and hanging out until midnight. That's ok, though! We had a lot of fun and fortunately our wake-up call for the next day wasn't too early.
The Reed Family Adoption
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Hey everyone! If you look to the right hand side of this page, up at the top, you'll notice that I've added a new button. The Reed family, my absolute favorite blogging family, has committed to adopting another son, a darling boy by the name of Alexsey. If you'd like to donate to this wonderful family and help them out with their adoption costs, just click on the button and it'll take you to a family sponsorship page. Donations are, of course, tax deductible, and will help the Reeds get their son Alexsey home as soon as possible.
On a personal note, the Reed family holds a special place in my heart. I've been reading Christine's blog for the past year and a half and through reading it I've learned so much about God, love, family, and adoption. The Smiles and Trials blog has completely changed the way I think about these subjects - I now know that I want to adopt when I start having kids and I'm no longer arbitrarily limiting my family size to 2 kids. I have learned that with large families, there is more love to go around, not less. Perhaps best of all is what I've learned about God. Since that could take up several pages worth of posting in and of itself, I'll leave that for now and I promise to post more on that later. Suffice it to say, Christine, John, and the entire Reed family are shining examples of their faith. They are so full of love, faith, and devotion (both to God and to each other) that one can't help but be inspired by them. I know that my money can never thank them enough for the way they've touched me, a person they've never met, but I know that it can, at the very least, help a sweet little boy come home to the family that already loves him so much. Won't you join me in helping them out?
On a personal note, the Reed family holds a special place in my heart. I've been reading Christine's blog for the past year and a half and through reading it I've learned so much about God, love, family, and adoption. The Smiles and Trials blog has completely changed the way I think about these subjects - I now know that I want to adopt when I start having kids and I'm no longer arbitrarily limiting my family size to 2 kids. I have learned that with large families, there is more love to go around, not less. Perhaps best of all is what I've learned about God. Since that could take up several pages worth of posting in and of itself, I'll leave that for now and I promise to post more on that later. Suffice it to say, Christine, John, and the entire Reed family are shining examples of their faith. They are so full of love, faith, and devotion (both to God and to each other) that one can't help but be inspired by them. I know that my money can never thank them enough for the way they've touched me, a person they've never met, but I know that it can, at the very least, help a sweet little boy come home to the family that already loves him so much. Won't you join me in helping them out?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Cooking, College, and More Copyright © 2009 Designed by Ipietoon Blogger Template for Bie Blogger Template Vector by DaPino
