Fruits of Today's Labor

Well, the baby might have not gotten out of her pj's today, but at least something was accomplished. Mmmmm, strawberry freezer jam.

Tori as the Jam Fairy.

of better days and a van full of cans

This week was rather dreadful. Lame days overpowering the good ones. But Friday turned out to be so nice. School was out, so Kristi invited us to come over to play, and that fixed the rest of the weekend. Nice friends will always make it better.
So here is my question: why do I insist on feeling bored and lonely, stuck in a place I don't like, when I have some nice friends with whom I could be sharing more of my common life? My days mixed with others' might become 100% better. So...
I should leave my awkwardness behind (well, at least ignore it) and just find the friends that are willing to share with me a little part of the day. I know for a fact that everybody has been given talents to bless each others' lives and that cannot happen unless we all get together at some point.
So here it is to Tiffany and our Project Fridays and whoever wants to come. Maybe I'll have someone come cook with me. I don't know. But I've got to appreciate the beautiful ladies around me and learn and laugh with them.
Saturday evening we had our friends Becky and Alexander with their kids over for dinner after a long absence. We made really yummy pizza (you should really give spinach and feta cheese a try) and had Becky's delicious cream puffs. Talked and talked, and then played a board game (a must). I hadn't realized how much I missed them. Here's to more dinner with family friends too!

On a whole different topic now...
Saturday I finally took can mountain to the recycling place and sold them for $89.66 . Nobody is getting rich, but it is $89.66 that we didn't have, and added to the cash contributions we got, it will make a nice contribution to help the Chilean people who are still suffering from the devastating earthquake that shook our country on February 27th.

Behold, 164 pounds of cans.


A BIG Thank You to all those who contributed cans, cash, and prayers for those in need.

Yes, we CAN

As I posted before, the devastating earthquake in Chile left me feeling helpless and quite lonely. And since we had donated money to the Haiti relief, we saw ourselves with very little to donate to my homeland.
So we started an aluminum soda can drive. Something we have done with the girls before to fill the endless hot days of summer and raise funds for a good cause at the same time.
This time, we only gave ourselves one week and hoped for the best.
At first, the response was slow. Then, we announced it at the girls' school. Still, not much. That is because I was looking for the donations in the wrong spot. At the end of the week the girls told me that the can donations were being collected in the lunch room, so we went to see if there was anything for us to take home and WOW! did we ever!
Oh, how happy I felt! I was no longer alone in the world, instead, I had all the families that cared to send the cans to school, the school ladies that helped us get it done and the other families that gave me their donations directly. Thank you world for showing me that caring is easy to do and it makes a huge difference.
I shall post a picture of can mountain soon.

What a Week!

2 birthdays, 1 recipe exchange, 1 fifth grade maturation program, 1 birthday party with 6 fifth graders, 3 cakes, tons and tons of aluminum soda cans.

Sara turned 11 on Tuesday. Eleven. How time flies. What a beautiful, smart, cool girl she is. I wonder where she gets it from because I certainly was not like that at her age. Maybe her dad? mmmm.




We got her a cruiser bike. Bought it used (we are commoners after all), and hope to eventually take it apart and paint it a sassy color. We decked it out with a great basket and a bell. I checked her out of school to go out for lunch at the Great Harvest Bakery. We had a lovely time, just the 2 of us. I love my Sara.



Damon turned 36 on Wednesday. I have known him 13 years out of his 36. And I get to spend the rest of forever with him. Yay!

Thursday I went to the recipe exchange. This month it was meals under 400 calories per serving. Everything that looked good to me was over that, so I had a hard time finding a recipe. I ended up making rice and beans and enjoyed a good evening with great ladies.







Friday I got to join Sara at the Maturation Program for all the fifth grade girls. It turned out to be enjoyable, especially since we had already gone through that conversation. I asked Sara if she had learned anything new and she told me "I didn't know it happened EVERY month!"

Friday evening we had a little party with Sara's friends. I felt so lost planning it. When your oldest one turns 11 you can't do a princess party and decorate it all pink. Not anymore. That is so 10 years ago. I did not know how to approach it. We wanted to play blindfolded musical chairs but I was at a loss about what music to play that wasn't Hannah Montana or the what's their name? Brothers. We would like, after all, to teach our kids what good music is supposed to sound like. Then Elvis Presley came to the rescue. Of course! he can make any party cool, hip and happening.
So they played blindfolded musical chairs, pictionary with chocolate pudding as finger paint, freeze dance, and other games, all to the beat of The King. What fun.

About the cans, that's a post of its own. Read on.

and now, for something lovely

I don't know if there is anything lovelier than little girls having a tea party.
Yesterday, given that Jo insisted on screaming while seated in her high chair, making it hard for Sara to do her homework, she decided to play tea party with her baby sister.

Tiny cups + Water = Magic, smiles and a happy afternoon.

Feeling the Earth Move

Saturday, February 27th 2010, 3:37 am. Santiago, Chile.
A 8.8 earthquake has hit my home country. The 6th strongest earthquake ever registered in world's history. All of that followed by tsunamis hitting small coastal towns.
My brother David who lives in England called me at 7:17 am my time that morning to inform me of what had happened and tell me that he cannot contact our parents' home. I gasp. The next half hour is as slow as it could ever be.
Last month Haiti had a 7.5 earthquake and the images of the devastation are still freshly engraved in my mind. Thoughts quickly filled my mind, making my heart race: will I have to go there? would it be possible to go? what will I find? what has just happened?
Through facebook, a kind friend and surprisingly via skype, we were able to contact my brother Ricardo who was at my parents' house with his daughters and aunt Carmen. They were all well and the house hadn't suffered any damages.
Sigh of relief you say? oooh my. YES.
Finding out about my father's side of the extended family took until Sunday afternoon. And thanks to another most kind friend, we found out that they were all well. Thank goodness everyone was OK.
But only if that was all that mattered.
My beautiful country. In shambles. My people suffering.
And I am so far away, alone among people who don't seem to understand my pain.
I have had a knot in my throat since then.
Watching the news and pictures on the internet makes it seem so surreal. Could this really be happening? all the destruction and desolation. People in despair. Some hopeless. Some of them in such an alternate state turn to theft and looting.
Entire towns gone.
But I know my country will emerge from this with a renewed determination to become a better nation. We'll pull together and help each other out. I know God is mindful of all his children, and that along with a trial, he gives them the strength to overcome them and grow.
And this, shall also pass...