What You Never Thought You'd Know

This is one of my favorite photos. We were at the Forbidden City in Beijing and when all these Chinese students saw us, they would all start shouting, 'Hi!' So we got almost their whole class together (their teacher is on the left) and took a picture. My sister (she's in the back, towards the right) was VERY popular and half the kids asked if she could come with them for the rest of the day.

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Facebook is rife with silly surveys. Secretly, I like filling them out...but re-posting them on Facebook is always a little weird for me. So instead, I'll just put it on here and you can re-post it if you want. ;)

Here are 25 'facts' about me:

1. I hate red delicious apples and blue pens. I refuse to use/eat/touch these items. I avoid them at all costs.

2. I do voice-over work for MTV.

3. I have a few secrets that most people wouldn't consider secrets...I guess it's a left-hand not knowing the right-hand issue.

4. I've been to 18 countries.

5. I will have been on 5 continents by the time I'm 25 1/2. Which isn't too shabby!! :)

6. Spongebob Squarepants is probably the funniest show I've ever seen. And I watch it almost daily with my husband.

7. I play rhythms in my head when I get bored and do repetitive motions to go along with those rhythms.

8. I go into my own little world quite often. If you talk to me and it doesn't seem like I listen, shake me.

9. I want to live internationally for the rest of my life. Hell, if I could be digging wells in Vietnam or teaching English in Cambodia, I would consider my life a success.

10. I have a fixation on serial killers and murderers. I read a lot of stuff on the Crime Library; I can't understand how you could do that to a person.

11. I've been on the verge of an eating disorder for most of my life...but I think I'm finally getting over it.

12. I'm a different kind of sentimental. I get rid of things that I don't need anymore, but don't lose any attachment when they're gone. (My friends thought I was nuts for giving up my wedding dress...)

13. There are three words I positively HATE: Moist, Succulent, Naughty

14. I've bungee jumped off the one of the world's highest buildings. I've been skydiving too...but now I'm debating on skydiving in South Africa. :-D

15. My husband and I name rats that we see in the subway and then create story lines for them while we're waiting for the subway.

16. I taught my brother Shakespeare when he was three years old.

17. I could eat sushi for every meal for the rest of my life. HA! Well...except maybe breakfast where I would need cinnamon raisin peanut butter on bread.

18. I spell my first name wrong more often then I should.

19. I still can't sign my last name. I get H-U-D...and then the rest is squiggles.

20. My favorite movie is Pulp Fiction, especially the end part when they're discussing miracles.

21. I want to adopt children instead of having my own. Every child deserves to be loved.

22. I talk to pigeons when they walk in front of me.

23. I still have two baby teeth.

24. I like to imagine myself as a wonderful dancer. I'm really not.

25. I still don't understand how football works.

I Wish I Had My Tuba

I was a first-class nerd in high school.

Not only did I play the tuba and marching sousaphone (it's the same thing. But easier to swing and jump with), I played the trombone, baritone, AND was the band president.

BAND PRESIDENT.

And, as weird as this sounds, I am considered a legend to the Northwest High School Marching Band. I have mellowed out considerably since high school and I haven't really dyed my hair (blue) since then either.

But today, I sincerely miss my tuba. Like a whole lot.

The tuba is not a great musical instrument. It's mainly in the background for most songs, relegated to a bass line. BUT I MISS IT.

I miss Tuba Christmas and I miss jumping around, killing my knees with my sousaphone. I miss cleaning out thrown pixie sticks from the bandstands.

Is there something you miss? A random, general, possibly irrational missing of something?

UPDATE: I went tuba shopping...I had to. The cheapest one is $4,000. Boo! I'm going to look into renting one...

For Richer Or For Poorer

This is my friend Rachel. I'm her matron-of-honor in her wedding this September. When she and her fiance came to visit us, I was talking about how much I wanted to get chocolate soft-serve and as SOON as I finished talking, the ice cream truck went down the street. Rachel and my husband ran outside to get me chocolate ice cream. I love her!!


I know that tomorrow will be a brighter day. But today is still a little sad. Steve and I have tried to support a number of different organizations and...we just can't anymore. So I just canceled all of our upcoming donations and it makes me feel a bit sad. We don't want to abandon any of our children, so we're going to continue supporting them. I shouldn't feel so down about it, but I do.

How are you today?

This Is How We Roll

I have found a great love for the East Village. It almost makes me want to live there (and stay in NYC). If it wasn't so expensive, maybe we'd live there.



This is a Morning Jersey at Crif Dogs in the Village. It's a hot dog, wrapped in Taylor Ham (it's a Jersey thing) with cheese and a fried egg. and it is DELICIOUS!!!!!



This is my husband checking out a Chocolate Bacon bar. Yes, we got it. It is a chocolate bar with bacon in it...and it is better than you'd think. ;) Vosges Chocolate had them. Sweet and salty! We also got an Indian curry bar, a ginger/wasabi bar, and a 'red fire' bar with ancho and chipotle peppers. :)

How's your weekend going? I have more pictures and I'll try and update soon. :)

I just finished reading 'Night' by Elie Wiesel and it's something you just can't shake, you know? At the end of the book, there are excerpts from his Nobel acceptance speech. And I felt like it was really appropriate, not only for the Holocaust, but also for the Cambodians, the Rwandans, the Darfuris, and the Ugandans.

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December 10, 1986

I remember: he asked his father: "Can this be true?" This is the twentieth century, not the Middle Ages. Who would allow such crimes to be committed? How could the world remain silent?

And now the boy is turning to me: "Tell me," he asks. "What have you done with my future? What have you done with your life"

And I tell him that I have tried. That I have tried to keep memory alive, that I have tried to fight those who would forget. Because if we forget, we are guilty, we are accomplices.

And then I explained to him how naïve we were, that the world did know and remain silent. And that is why I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Sometimes we must interfere. When human lives are endangered, when human dignity is in jeopardy, national borders and sensitivities become irrelevant. Wherever men or women are persecuted because of their race, religion, or political views, that place must - at that moment - become the center of universe.

What I'm Good At

I was talking to my husband about going to get a chocolate bar made with applewood bacon.



When he said something that is very spot on with me.

Steven: you are very good at finding very odd places

And I am! It's kind of a past time for me. I've been to a 30-foot-tall statue of Mary with a base that's shaped like the Statue of Liberty.



I was even able to locate a giant fork in the road in upstate New York.



So now I have a small list of things that I would love to find when I go to South Korea. All of them are food and they are all AWESOME!!!

The Tornado Potato:


The Fry Dog:


and spaghetti in an ice cream cone:


I will let you know about my success in a week or two. :-D

Thankful Thursday!

Thank you, Sonya, for Thankful Thursday! Here are the things that I'm thankful for. There's somewhat of a theme to it, I guess. This has a been a week of compromise, but I'm okay with that. :)

1) While my husband has finally put a stop to my shoe buying, he did let me buy 9 pairs of shoes for 'my kids.' So that made me happy. Though I just found the CUTEST camo Tiny TOMS...(Update: He let me buy one pair!!)

2) While I have to put the Teaching English As A Second Language Certificate program on hold (we just can't afford it), I am able to go on many wonderful trips that I know I'll always remember. And that I'm already planning WAY too far in advance. :)

3) I have just about two weeks before I get to see my family!!! I only get to see them twice a year, so I'm really excited. Hong Kong, here I come!!

4) Though I'm DEFINITELY not losing weight, I'm working on loving myself the way I am. I'm not overweight...but I'm still not buying a bathing suit. I'm just proud of myself for purchasing shorts. I haven't worn shorts in 6 years.

5) Though my job isn't ideal, I still have one, so that's good!

6) Though we don't have a lot of money right now, we still have enough to give to people who need it. God has provided so much to us and what are we going to do with most of it anyway? Nothing that important. We can't take it with us. It may as well go to other people. As long as we can pay rent and eat, I think we're doing pretty good.

7) Though there has been some crazy shiz this week, all my friends are okay and no one appears to be hurt. I love you all!!!

Win $25,000 For Charity

Kenneth Cole is letting 3 people give away $25,000 to the charity of their choice. Here's what the website says:
In tough economic times, those who need the most are often the ones who receive the least. For that reason, we've created the BIG CHANGE GIVEAWAY.

You could be one of three people to direct $25,000 each to a charity of your choice*.

If you go to the link above, you can enter for a chance to win. They're going to announce the winners on September 1st. Only one promotion per person. And submitting from other e-mail addresses doesn't count (I already looked!).

If I win, I want to give it to Project O!

Picture of the Day

Here you go. I haven't added enough photos lately, so here's my photo for today.

Skydiving in Ohio :)

Friend-Makin' Mondays

So it's been awhile, but I like this friend-makin' monday!! This one is being hosted by No Ordinary Moments because Kasey is still on vacation. Here are the questions!

1. Tell us about the best {or worst} vacation that you've ever taken.

2. Tell us FIVE places/vacations that you would like to take at some point your life. It doesn't have to be next year...maybe it's the vacation of a lifetime or somewhere you just dream of going years from now.

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1) The best vacation that I've ever taken...that's hard! I've been to so many fun places: England, Scotland, Hong Kong, Japan, Cambodia...but if I had to pick, I think I might have to say that it was Thailand! Thailand was the first vacation that my family took together after my parents and younger brother had moved to Hong Kong. We rode on elephants, saw so many places, ate one of the BEST Thai meals I've ever had. And it was all so new! I loved it. I'll have to add some photos when I get home.

Our worst vacation (is this bad to say?) was Hawai'i. We went to Honolulu and it just...I mean, it rained every day and the luau we went to was...weird. Full of grandmas and nothing what we hoped it would be. We drank our two coupon drinks and laughed the whole time. I mean, it was great to see my parents for Christmas, but I think we decided that our vacations needed to be more well-planned after that one. :)

2) Five places and or vacations that I would like to take...

Okay. I'll admit. I'm spoiled. Or lucky :) Twice a year, I get to visit my family in Hong Kong. And each time, we go somewhere else for a few days and then come back to Hong Kong. I've been so luck to see so many places!! There are a few places that I'd love to go to (and some that I get to!)

1) South Africa. I've always wanted to go and now I get to!!!
2) Brazil. I'd love to see the giant statue of Christ, but there are a few things that turn my husband and I off about Brazil. We don't really go to the beach and we know that it's dangerous. So we'll see on this one.
3) Russia. I REALLY would love to go to Russia. We were SO close to going last November, but we were told Russia is beautiful in ALL months...except November.
4) Australia. :) Just because. Maybe I'll go bungee jumping again there.
5) India. Not only would I love to meet some of our sponsor children, but India has always captured my interest. At the same time, people almost always get sick there from the food. Hell, I'd still be up for the adventure.

HAPPY FMM EVERYONE!!!!!!!!!!!!

Globe Trotting

That's me! Over Macau. It's the world's highest bungee. I'm going to try to add more pictures. Whether they make sense or not. :-D

I'M GOING TO AFRICA!!!! I could pee myself. In May 2010, my husband and I are going to go to South Africa and Ethiopia. South Africa to meet my blogging friend Vashti and her charity Project O and then to Ethiopia to meet our sponsor child there (which I am totally stoked about!!!). I wish I could say 'No Sleep Til Africa' but that's almost a year away.

There's only one sad thing about going to Africa. Then I don't know if I'm going to see my family for Christmas that year because of the time we'll have already taken off. That's okay though! It'll give Steve and I time to start some traditions of our own.

I'm going to Hong Kong in a few weeks to see my family. It'll be the first time in about two years that it will just be the core family (no boyfriends, husbands...). Then we'll be going to South Korea for a few days. My goal is to find mushroom chocolate bars. I guess you can find them along the Demarkation Zone and I'm interested.

THEN for Christmas THIS year, we're going to the Philippines to an island for a "beach vacation." That's fine...except I don't do the beach. Is that bad? I always feel fat in a bathing suit and I don't tan, I get red splotches that look like an allergic reaction to the sun. But I bought some shorts and I'm going to buy a floppy hat, some board shorts, and f- every thought I have of how "fat" I am and I'm going to enjoy it. Dang it.

Do you have any summer plans? Are you going anywhere soon or later or whenever?

Gives Me Hope

So I'm off from work today because I'm sick. I was at work yesterday and everyone has infants or is pregnant and why should I make them sick? So here I am, watching Maury. I'm just waiting for Judge Alex.

I was just searching the internet yesterday and found an AWESOME website. Have you ever heard of F My Life? So it's when you have awful things happen in your life and you submit it to the website. Here's an example.

Today, my girlfriend broke up with me because I didn't call her in the last few days. I tried to explain to her that I was out at my grandfather's house in a remote place with no cell service to stand by him on his death bed. She thought I was making excuses and called me a lying bastard. FML

BUT I found a GREAT website called Gives Me Hope. It's pretty much the same thing, but it's even better. I found some of my favorites and I wanted to share them.

The other day, I went to the grocery store to pick up a few things. While walking through the parking lot, I noticed a man stand on his shopping cart, and give a few good pushes before jumping on. He smiled and laughed the entire way, loving life. He was about 50 and wearing a business suit. GMH.

When I was a little kid, I was sitting on one of the rocking rides waiting for my mom to finish shopping. A man walking by saw me, put a quarter in, and then walked out of the store. I still haven't forgotten that day. GMH.

Today in the Walmart parking lot I saw an older couple, not exactly what you would call fit, leaving the store. The woman was carrying a bag and the man leaned over and took it from her. Thats when I saw him whisper something in her ear. Suddenly she broke into a run, as did he. She won the race to the truck. Her prize was a kiss. GMH.

Today, I stopped at a local used book store that is located on a pretty bad street in my neighborhood. Bringing my books to the front of the store, I met the owner, a quadriplegic man who asked me to put the money for the purchase into his front pocket. He has ran the store for 3 years and never once been robbed. GMH.

I think it's a really great website. I love all the ones about true love and such. Here's the website, if you'd like to see it.

www.givesmehope.com

Friend-Makin' Mondays

Oh my gosh. It's been forever since I posted. So I'm going to do this NOW. Friend-Makin' Mondays is being hosted by Dandelion Wishes. So if you want to join in, feel free!!

The thing is to name 5-10 of your favorite things. These things can be things that have changed/revolutionized your daily life. I think I'll just have random ones too. :)

1) Jesus. Can I tell you how much He's been changing me? It's kind of cool. It's also making me realize how selfish and d-bag-ish I can be. But I try to remember Him and love Him and know that I want to trust in Him. My faith journey is pretty new (though I've been a Christian my whole life), but I'm excited for it.

2) TOMS Shoes. I LOVE TOMS shoes. And I have been purchasing them left and right. LEFT AND RIGHT. I think I've spent a good amount of money on them. All sorts of them. And I've been stalking the website to see if they have youth sizes yet.

3) My husband. Steve is...beyond good to me. He loves me for who I am, even if who I am hasn't shaved my legs in a month, wants to play tic-tac-toe with a chicken or search for a giant wooden elephant in New Jersey, and who wakes him up at 8:30am on Saturdays.

4) My friends. Be it bloggy people who I seriously want to come visit (Vashti, May 6th-20th, 2010?) or my friends in Ohio, they've been there for me and they really make me happy.

5) Our church! We've become really involved and we just love it. It really is a community. I never thought I'd find a place like this. We've become really involved.

So much feels like it's happened! I'm finishing up my application to New School for my Certificate to Teach English (as a second language). If I get accepted, I'm hoping that MTV will pay for it. :-D And that I'll be done by next summer (if not earlier) Steve has applied for his CPA license. We've decided that we're not going to live life like it's in limbo (which we have been for awhile). So I'm happy.

Anything new with you? It's been awhile.

Long Weekend, But Not Long Enough!

So it's been a little while and I apologize for that. How was your July 4th? Ours was good. Went put-putting and had a champagne tasting in our apartment for my friend's wedding!

Steve and I have decided that we are no longer motivated. So I'm finishing up my work, going home to unplug the cable cord from the TV (and hide it), and going to the gym!!

I hope you get the motivation you need today too. :)

Who I Am

I told my co-workers that I had to run out last night because I had Bible study. One of them laughed until he realized I was serious. The other asked what you do in Bible study.

He asked me, 'Are you really religious?'

My response was 'kind of.' But I didn't explain myself.

There's a reason I say, 'kind of.' Because when you say you're religious, people get this idea in their head. You hate gays, strongly oppose abortion, and think you're better than everyone else.

I am against abortion, but I wouldn't tell a hurting woman who'd had one that she was wrong. I'd want to be able to try and love her and help her heal.

Jesus called us to love all people and, honestly, I think if Jesus had come back in our time instead of ages ago, I think he would have hung out with gay friends, because he always showed us how stupid we are when we decide to ostracize a group of people. He would have hung out with Susan Boyle way before anybody else would have.

I don't know all the answers, but I really appreciated what my pastor said to me when we were talking about homosexuality and the church. She said, "I don't know. But when I go to stand before my Maker, like we all will, I want to tell Him that I loved people with everything I had."

I'm trying not to think that I'm better than anyone else, because I'm not. It doesn't matter what I do in this life, the bad will always outweigh the good. But God has given me so, so many more chances then I've ever deserved.

I just wish I could explain it at work when people ask!!