Slacking

After hearing from some avid readers of my blog, who have been disappointed at my lack of writing (yes, I know, it has been months), I've decided that I'll try to get back in the swing of things with this blog.

Here are some good things in my life from the last few months:

• Singing the '12 nights of Solstice', especially cheering the rising sun!
• X-country skiing with Katie
• Playing FIFA World Cup Soccer with Mike on his new XBox 360
• Christmas cookies
• My office pet Malaay (Malaay='fish' in Somali)
• Finishing grad school applications and then getting into one!
• Road trips
  

The best things in life are free...

I'm working on mastering the art of acquiring free stuff. Here's a partial list of what I've managed to get recently without spending a penny:

-A Queen sized mattress and box spring (Thank you Elise!)

-Fresh-made at the table in front of my eyes Guacamole for two...

-The coziest, well-worn flannel pajama pants

-A heavy-duty metal sauce pan

-Used to be small, but with some water it's now large house plant, which was free with the purchase of a haggard $1.50 coffee table at a garage sale in Minneapolis.

-Plastic floor mats from the car dealer

-1 lb. peanut butter fudge

And now, for the morals of my story:

1) When you need something, tell people. They might have what you need just lying around or know someone else who does. You've heard it before: One person's junk is another one's treasure...

2) If you are an unhappy consumer, write a letter! You just might get some free fudge or an $100 flight voucher.

Good luck and happy savings!

Beach

One of my favorite photos--A beach in South Africa which we stayed near on our way to Umtata.

World Cup Fever!

The World Cup has now been going on five days now and has it ever been fantastic! Close games, near upsets, fantastic footwork, and loud drunken fans--could it get any better?

I don't know what you are doing reading my blog--you should be tuned to your nearest television set on ESPN or a foreign network for excellent soccer coverage. If (sadly!) you are like me, and have no TV reception of any kind, you can always tune in over the radio airwaves!

I was listening to AM 1440 in Minneapolis for live World Cup coverage in Spanish. It was Germany v. Costa Rica and the fans and commentator were cheering so loud, I kept having to turn my radio down. When Costa Rica scored their second goal, the commentator yelled: "GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO..." and then my radio cut out and then cut back in "OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLL".
It was by far the best radio I've heard in a long time.

AIDS Walk

Mike and I will be volunteering at the MN AIDS Walk coming up this Saturday May 21st at Minnehaha Falls Park in Minneapolis. We will be marshals wearing shirts that read "Obey Me" so come by and find us on the route as you walk!

Also, if you are not walking but interested in pledging money, let me know!

I'll be walking/volunteering in honor of Pinkie and her ten-year-old daughter Busiswe, two South Africans who are HIV positive and have lost their husband/father to AIDS just months before I lived with them.

Boundin'

There is a great short film by Pixar called Boundin'. (You can find it on the DVD version of The Incredibles) I was just thinking about this fantastic rhyming story last Monday when I was at the YWCA at a fitness class called Rebound. Basically, each person has their own personal trampoline where you bounce for 45 minutes. Don't laugh--it's great cardio! While I was jumping around with 15 other ladies in the class (including Sarah Wanless!) the whole time I was thinking of part of the short which goes: "Bound, Bound, Bound and Re-bound" It's quite a wonderful jingle. Then of course after the class we had to go borrow the movie and watch the short 5 or 6 times. If you haven't seen it, stop reading, and go watch! It's amazing and only 4:20 minutes long. My new favorite quote though, is from The Great American Jackalope and goes "Pink, pink, well what's wrong with pink? Seems you have a pink kink in your think!" Isn't that just a nice rhyme?

The Dusty Statue

I've started to notice at work that I sit for such a long time, that dust settles on me. Seriously! My black blazer gets dusty as I sit behind the desk. At first I thought it was dandruff or food crumbs, but it finely covers my entire blazer, and I've even noticed dust all over my the jackets of my coworkers. Thus, it has been determined that I am officially, a fixture at Children's.