Jubilee in autumn

Bridge to the garden

Fall has been a really busy time here. Since I last updated, we had a harvest festival complete with hundreds of pounds of sweet potatoes, a 90th birthday party, impromptu dance parties in the kitchen, a protest at the School of the Americas at Fort Benning, a huge Thanksgiving celebration, new refugee families, many visitors and lots and lots of English classes.

Coffee, celebrating her 90th birthday

Eating groundnut stew at the harvest festival!

Making sweet potato biscuits... you can put sweet potatoes into literally everything.

Sometimes it feels like all the leaves fell off the trees at once and summer suddenly disappeared, but when I think back to all the things we’ve done, I know that can’t be true.

 

Carlton visits. I'm hilarious and this picture proves it.

 

 

Carlton came to visit for Thanksgiving this past week, and it was nice to see this place through the eyes of someone new. Even though I’m still very new on the spectrum of people who live here, it is easy to take things for granted, and so it was nice to see him getting excited about things.

The Karen Choir singing at the Thanksgiving service.

It was also good to show him all the things I’ve been talking about for three months, and I think that he wasn’t disappointed. Plus, along with the traditional Thanksgiving celebration which brings many former volunteers and refugees back to Jubilee, this year marks the 30th anniversary of the community’s founding, so there were even more people here than usual. I think the total ended up being about 260 guests, and we couldn’t have asked for a more perfect November day for everyone to come celebrate and give thanks.

The line for Thanksgiving lunch going into the k-house.

With less than one month to go at Jubilee, the reality of leaving is starting to sink in, and even writing this has made me nostalgic for things that just happened. Today I started panicking thinking about grad school applications, finding a job and moving. Normally, I’m kind of prone to that sort of thing, but it is much less common since I’ve been here so it is more notable I guess.

There are so many parts of this life here that I want to take with me, it would be easier just to stay, but I know that’s not an option for me right now.

Hands, hands, hands, thank you God for hands...

For more information…

More of my pictures

School of the Americas Watch

Making sweet potato biscuits

The Jubilee Partners October newsletter

Hello from Georgia!, update from Jubilee Part 1

The partners, volunteers and refugees before a family leaves for Atlanta. Minus me, taking the picture.

I’m writing this on my laptop during a mostly silent, spiritual retreat at the Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Conyers, Ga. It isn’t that there isn’t time for me to blog at Jubilee, there is, and I feel nagging guilt every time I do something else besides blog.. read, sew, hang out, etc. But, I know my “readers” aren’t really expecting me to write much, and so maybe my guilt is just coming from myself. I think a month and a half of not writing has probably been the longest I’ve gone since I was in middle school, at least.

Anyway, so maybe getting the blog ball rolling again will help me to update more. There are lots of interesting things going on here. A brief outline that might help me fill in the blanks later:

These are two of my first students, Mu Cris and Neh Reh, and two of their children, Pray Meh and Nga Meh.

Since I came to Jubilee Partners at the end of August, I’ve started teaching English to Karenni refugees and learned more about Burma, the struggle of refugees and other displaced people, understood better the dilemmas that come along with refugee resettlement in America, realized how much harder it is to learn a language if you can’t read it (so, I really feel as though I have no excuse not to learn Spanish now, and feel very humbled by my students who learn so quickly compared with me, who has only learned about four Karenni words).

Leslie and Amber, two other volunteers, with kids in childcare.

I’ve also had the joy of learning about other social issues while here, such as the moral questions surrounding the death penalty during discussions here and a death penalty forum at the Open Door Community in Atlanta, Ga. The worship aspect of Jubilee is structured in some ways, but is very open and non-traditional in others. We have time for devotions almost every day before lunch, but that can mean time for reflection, time to talk to your “partner pair,” a half-hour of singing different songs by request, traditional services and also time to discuss issues as they are related to Christianity.

I think the last one, along with other sessions that we have each week, is probably my favorite because it gives me time and space to think about things that I think I’ve always cared about, but never spent much time thinking about, issues like social justice, what peace really means, how to be nonviolent, immigration issues and Latin America, development in other countries, etc. It has also confirmed my feelings of what the teachings of Jesus mean for us today. (Hint: It’s about love, love, love and more love. The answer is almost always love.)

This is the K-House where some of the volunteers live, and everyone has common meals and devotions.

Not only have my students shown me a different culture, but also the partners (permanent Jubilee residents) and other volunteers have opened my eyes to different ways to live. The group ranges in age from 20 to almost 90, and from all over the country and world. Each week, someone tells basically the story of their life to the group. I was one of the first to go, and I’m not sure how interesting or exciting my story was, but I have really enjoyed hearing everyone else’s. It kind of makes you want some kind of version from everyone you meet, because these have shown me that you really can’t know where most people are coming from unless they tell you.

Giant sweet potato attacks baby sweet potatoes.

While here I’ve also… worked some in the garden, which I thought I would be much better at, but after a few fire ant encounters, I’ve realized it was more of a idealized view of gardening I had in mind than one based in reality. Like, in my perfect garden.. there are no fire ants and no spiders waiting on tomatoes to jump out and scare me.

I still like the idea of the garden, and have a deep respect for the people who work in it, especially those who love working in it. The farming here is based on sustainable methods and using the plants/animals to make the system work. (I’ve been reading the Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma, and Pollan talks at length about agriculture, good and bad. The farming at Jubilee falls into the “good” category.) The community works in the garden together once a week, so I do it. I’m just not very good at it.

Ina stirs a pot of veggie chili to take to the Welcome Center.

For all those who thought I would be going away to eat rice and beans each meal (including myself), you are mistaken. There is so much food here, and it is good tasting and mostly healthy. I’ve been warned as winter approaches that sweet potatoes will become a prominent feature of every meal, but I like sweet potatoes and I probably should be eating less anyway. I guess I didn’t do a very good job of describing the community here before I came, but living at Jubilee isn’t about living in poverty by any means. Living here means opting out of the “Shiny-New” culture, but when you learn about real poverty, you realize this doesn’t come close.

Happy donkeys protect the happy goats in the field.

And actually, I feel so blessed to be able to stay here. It is really beautiful, and there is space and time and people to listen and good food to eat and new things to learn. I miss lots of people, and I’m always excited for visitors (My mom visited a few weeks ago, and I think she really liked it.), but I don’t miss many other things. Life is very full here. I would encourage anyone interested in farming, processing food, social justice issues, refugees, Christianity, living in community, peace keeping or service work to come visit.

Babies!!

Ok, that is long enough for my first foray back into the blogging world. I’ve had lots of people asking how they can help, and so here is a list of the things Jubilee asks for new donations of: One-subject spiral bound notebooks, simple ball point pens, pencils, umbrellas, flashlights with batteries, socks, underwear, winter hats and gloves and walking shoes . Here are things that are OK gently used:  pillows, wallets, dish towels, dish cloths, backpacks, bicycles and bicyle parts.

Links/Resources:

More pictures at my facebook.

Jubilee Partners

With Our Own Eyes, by Don Mosely, a book about the founding of Jubilee 30 years ago

Jesus for President: Politics for Ordinary Radicals

Deadline, a dvd examining the death penalty in one state, but good for brining up a lot of different issues.

The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michal Pollan, a book about the real cost of cheap food

The Burmese Come to Houston, an article from the Houston Press about the lives of refugees much like the ones who come to Atlanta from Burma

Ok, and now that I’ve started, I’d like to keep updating so that I don’t feel too overwhelmed once I leave and forget things. So, if you have any questions or suggestions that you want answered and addressed, you can leave me a comment here or facebook or wherever.

Omg! This is really happening!

So, yesterday I said goodbye to the Morning News..

But not before one final ad decided to mess up on me!

It was sad to say goodbye to everyone, but we had a nice lunch at Redbone Alley and German chocolate cake, so all the noms kind of made it  little easier.

This was the second take. I swear the first one had a frowny face, but this one just turned out better.

Last night Carlton came to help me clean my apartment. Having a black cat for a roommate makes for a very impressive collection in the vacuum cleaner filter. But, seriously without him, I would probably still just be sitting in the middle of the floor looking around at all the things that needed to be done, saying stuff like “Holy crap! Look how much I have to do!” over and over again. Actually, that was kind of what I did today, but we somehow managed to get it all done.

I’m back in Fort Mill for the night to unpack all my stuff from Florence, and then repack my stuff for Comer. I am afraid when I show up tomorrow it is going to be like one of those sitcoms where the woman always has 10 bags on vacation and the guy has nothing. Except, I’m going away for four months, so it seems justifiable. And, honestly, I blame my over packing more on not having a washer/dryer for two years, more than actual need. I needed to have a lot of clothes I could wear in Flo-town because I only had time to take them to the laundromat every couple of weeks.

Also, I’m not sure what the protocol is for buying new things so I have small stockpiles of some absolute necessities like bug spray. Lizzie + nature – bugs spray = freak out. Anyway, I just hope I don’t horrify the people there tomorrow rolling up with too much stuff.

But, anyway, after a few days filled with sad goodbyes, I’m looking forward to some  Hey-There’s and Nice-to-meet-you’s.

So, to whoever it is reading this blog, this is the last installment in the madcap Adventures of Lizzie for now. I’ll try to update my twitter if anything interesting happens. Or if I just think if funny things that nobody around would appreciate, kind of like I do now.

In the meantime, if you are bored until I get back (this is for you Katie) here are some sites I recommend to pass the time:

Slate, Salon, Jezebel, You suck at craigslist, Double X, MARU!, SmittenKitchen,and The Happiness Project.

So.. what exactly am I doing? A FAQ.

Before I begin, I would like to share a few of my favorite pictures from my birthday week..

Moneen is wearing the latest in plus-sized, couture cat fashion, the vacuum sponge-thing.

For anyone wondering, Moneen is now back to living with her “Dad” Carlton. I miss her everyday when i get off work and don’t have a little fur ball waddling to the door to greet me, but I know she will help keep him sane during his last semester at ECU.

This was what the Other (my old roommate's) Cat had stashed under the couch when we moved it to clean. Moneen wasn't very interested, but she did like guarding it.

Carlton came to spend the week with me before his school started and I left for GA.

Some of the fun people who came out for my birthday dinner in Charlotte.

We stayed at Katie’s uptown in Charlotte and had fruit tart for birthday cake and gourmet burgers for dinner. It was really fun, and it was awesome to see everyone before I leave. We also visited my grandma for her birthday and my Aunt Frannie from Missouri and Barry were in town, so we got to see all lots of fun people in a very short time frame. Carlton is a saint for letting me drag him up and down the interstate on the Tour Du Lizzie.

And now! For what I started writing this blog about..

This is probably the most simply I’ve lived in… well, ever. I’m sitting on the floor of my empty apartment with a tv, a few small boxes, my lap top and a laundry basket. I wished for a simple life, and I inadvertently got it sooner than I realized.

At first, after taking the last big truckload back to my Dad’s house in Fort Mill on Sunday, I was a little bit lost. But, I got over that pretty quickly. Looking at all that “stuff” and thinking about having to pack it and transport it two hours away was making me stressed. Plus, having a tv and my laptop helps tremendously as far as my need for constant stimulation. But, these are things I won’t have come Sunday.

I keep remembering that I haven’t officially written in my blog about where I am going or what I’m going to do. I kept putting it off until I was in the middle of birthday/packing/etc.

So, officially.. as of Sunday, I will be living and working at Jubilee Partners in Comer, Ga. From my understanding, the bulk of my time working will be spent teaching English to the groups and families of refugees who come to stay at the community for about two months when they get to America. According to their Web site, Jubilee Partners has hosted more than 3,000 refugees from 30 countries since they began 30 years ago.  In addition to my time spent teaching, I will also be part of the community and help with “in cooking, cleaning, child care, maintenance, office work, gardening, etc.”

One of the things I’m most excited about it is the large garden where much of the food for the community is grown. When I lived at home, I wasn’t very interested in gardening, but since I’ve lived in apartments for six years I’ve become very jealous of people who grow their own food. (And everyone knows my composting-envy that I have.)

I’ve read some other accounts of people’s time spent at Jubilee Partners, as well as the monthly newsletters form the community, and everything seems so … joyous. Even in hard work people seem to be filled with something that I’m not sure I’ve ever really experienced.

And so for some FAQ.. (because I’ve gotten a lot)

So, what will you be doing?

I will be teaching English and working to help out around the community. For more information about the volunteer program, click here.

How long will you be gone?

I will be there from Sunday until Dec. 23. I’ll be back home for Christmas.

How did you find this place?

I had been looking for a long term volunteer project, both at home and abroad. Many of the programs require a lot of money, which I didn’t and don’t have. While I would still love to work abroad, I think that will have to wait until I have someone who wants to brave Africa and South America with me and when I have more money. My mom suggested that I look at projects the Presbyterian church offered, and I found Jubilee Partners listed on their site. Jubilee Partners is a Christian community, but not a Presbyterian one.

Will you have internet access?

I will have very limited access. I won’t be taking my laptop, and while I’m slightly terrified of breaking my blogging and email addiction, I think it will be good for me. One of the reasons I am trying to shrink my online presence is so that people don’t think I’m ignoring them. If anyone needs me, it will be best to call, text or email if it isn’t really urgent. I should be able to check it sometimes. Also, my eye doctor said I had the eyes of a 30 year old from staring at a computer all day, so hopefully I’ll give my eyes a chance to rest too.

Where do the refugees come from?

I’m not really sure who will be there during my stay. From the newsletters, it seems like there have been a lot of Karen refugees from Burma in the past few months. But, like i said before, there have been people from literally all over the world there.

What are you going to do when you get back?

That is the million dollar question! I’m not really sure, and I know that isn’t the greatest answer. The up side is that I am free to choose from a lot of different options. I would really love to go to grad school for Public Health, and right now that seems like the most likely plan for my future.

But.. wait, won’t you miss everything?

Yes, I will. But the people in my life understand why I’m going away. And all the tv shows, blogs and movies I’m going to miss will be there when I get back. And, even though there isn’t any air conditioning, eventually it will cool off.

No air conditioning?

Yes. You read that correctly.

Are you nervous?

The short answer version is No, for once in my life I’m not nervous. I’m very excited!!

And, the long answer is ..As a person who is extremely high strung and full of nerves almost always… I can honestly say that no, I’m not really nervous. Since I began the application process, I’ve felt extremely confident that this is what I am supposed to be doing at this moment in my life. Honestly, I don’t think anyone who has known me for very long should be terribly surprised.

For one, I always do things other people probably wouldn’t do because I want to give them a chance, and I’m blessed in my life to be able to take chances. And second, I’ve always wanted to do something to help people, but I’ve just been slow on figuring out what I have to give.

So much of what Jubilee Partners stands for lines up very closely to what I also believe, in regards to love, respect for the earth, simplicity and joy. Most of my issues with religion are based in the fact that so many people want to tell you what is right and wrong, but so few people actually want to live their lives with love and faith as their guide. I was never raised to believe that religion was meant to tell you who to hate or what to destroy, but just the opposite. I hope that one day, the most vocal religious leaders won’t be the ones who are the loudest and most hateful. And, Jubilee Partners has helped me restore my faith that there are people who want to live Christian lives to improve the world, rather than just to critique it. Just like in good journalism, show, don’t tell.

“I thought about one of my favorite Sufi poems, which says that God long ago drew a circle in the sand exactly around the spot where you are standing right now. I was never not coming here. This was never not going to happen.”

— Elizabeth Gilbert

24 things I’ve learned in 24 years

birthday noms!

I wanted to write a blog that was kind of birthday-inspired without having an(other) entry just totally devoted to celebrating myself. I mean, as much as I know everyone wants to read that.. I decided I would write 24 things that I’ve learned in my 24 years. One lesson a year is probably not a very good record, but some of these I’ve had to learn multiple times, so somehow that all evens out to making me a very wise 24-year-old. Or, maybe not. But either way, for what it is worth..

1. Just say “yes.”I don’t consider myself a brave person, but I have made brave decisions just by saying “yes” when the nervous side of my personality really just wants to say No. Sometimes, it comes down to thinking “What’s the worst that can happen?” Most of the time I think fear of being awkward, bored or lonely is the only thing keeping me from trying something new. So, just say yes to random road trips, yes to first dates, yes to impromptu dinners with old friends, yes to new jobs, yes to new foods, yes yes yes.

2. And other times, just say “no.” No to work that you don’t love, no to a second date you`re not excited about, no to toxic people, no no no. I think sometimes people feel like they need to give big explanations when they say no, but sometimes a simple “No” is just enough.

3. Eat your vegetables!And fruit. And whole grains. And things that make you feel like going instead of stopping. I didn’t start eating vegetables until I was in college and started preparing them myself. There are still some I won’t go near (greens, bleh), but I’ve learned to really like them. And if I can, anyone can.

4. Don’t take book recommendations  from someone who says they “don’t really like to read.”

5. I cannot keep a secret.

6. When in doubt, go to the beach.

7. You can get away with a lot more from strangers and aquaintences if you smile a lot when you talk to them or ask for favors. This works less with people who know you.

8. Don’t drink tequila or anything else that makes you want to barf.

9. Take a lot of pictures. You’ll never regret it. Unless you`re involved in some kind of scandal. In which case, see 9b. Do not be involved in scandals!

10. Get a rescued pet instead of one from the pet store or a breeder. Rescuties need love too!

11. Working out is the closest thing to a cure-all that I’ve found.

12. Being kind of  a dork is better than being kind of boring. The coolest people I know are closet-dorks.

13. Read the news. It gives you something to talk about, makes you better informed and helps support journalism which is critical for democracy.  No readers means no journalists and no journalists means nobody asking questions. Aaaah! The downward spiral! Plus, my journalist friends need jobs.

14. The best choice is usually the simplest one. I use this one at work a lot, finding that my favorite pages I’ve designed are usually the ones with the cleanest, simplest design. But, it works for almost all other areas of life too. Clothes, food, explanations. When have you ever thought, “I wish I had lots more appointments, meetings and chores today!” or “I wish this wallpaper was busier!”? Thats right, never.  Start simply and then add on more of whatever as needed.

15. People with stuffed animals or any other purposely placed decorative hats/knick knacks/nativity scenes/etc.  in the back windows of their cars are typically scary drivers and to be avoided at all costs on the road.

16. And generally, take driving seriously.Wear your seatbelt, don’t speed, don’t drink and drive and don’t drive distracted! My parents always told me about tragic situations that happened when people came into the emergency room after wrecks. For my own version of that, I’ve spent two years reading about gruesome accidents, and I think people mostly underestimate the importance of driving safely.

17. Be diplomatic, not dramatic. I’m still kind of a drama queen at times, but I never said I was perfect!

18. Say thank you. Even when things are awful, there is something to be thankful for. In fact, when things are really, really, terrible, figuring out where the bright spot is can be a good distraction.

19. I am horrible parker. That doesn’t mean I don’t judge other drivers’ parking jobs, but its good to acknowledge your flaws. In fact, I feel more entitled to judge other people’s parking jobs because I’m the bad parking expert.

20.  Apple electronics, Honda Civics and Canon cameras are all products that have proved themselves to me and are worth spending a little bit more on.

21.There are some things that I might never like, and that’s ok. Ex: Carrying heavy things up the stairs, running for exercise, home video comedy or blooper shows, interacting with insects, people whistling and jazz music.

22. Only argue about things you know for sure, or things you really, really care about.

23. Cats are not cleaner pets than dogs. Especially not my cat, who has a once-a-day barfing habit.

24. If you think you already know everything, you obviously don’t.

Things I will miss about Florence

So, in about three weeks I will be heading to Georgia, after living in Florence for two years. I’ve whined a lot about being in Florence, mostly because it is a few hours away from most of my “people” and also because I’m just really, really good at whining. Despite that, there are lots of things about Florence that I will miss.

In no particular order, and by no means a comprehensive list:

-  My coworkers current and former from the paper. You can see all their profiles’ on our facebook page, if you want to get to know them a little better. However, I am lucky to have been embraced so quickly and easily at The Morning News, and despite all the issues and chaos that sometimes happen in the newsroom, I am honored to have been able to work with such a smart and funny group.

The Drs. Bruce and Lee Library

Of all the places I’ve lived, the library here is by far the most impressive. It makes you want to read. Dargan Street, where the paper is also located, is kind of a study in contrasts. I’m not sure how much the MN building does to counteract all the shadiness, but the library definitely commands respect even if there are people in yellow spandex body suits riding a Rascal down the middle of the road.

Townhouse, an average dinner for Michael and I

Townhouse greek salads are the best

Because of its close proximity to the paper and the tasty greek salads, I’ve probably been to Townhouse the most of any restaurants around Florence.

Which brings me to another thing I will miss,

My lunch dates with Michael

Out for my birthday dinner at Dr. Fishbones

Sweet potato fries and crab cakes at Dr. Fishbones

And, so of course after all those dinners…

- I will miss the McLeod Health and Fitness Center. I’ve been spoiled by gyms in the past six years. First it was the Strom at USC, and since I’ve lived here I’ve gone to McLeod. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a gym in Florence, especially for the group fitness classes which run the gamut of being fun to being totally butt-kicking.

I’ll miss living an hour from the beach and Columbia, two hours from Fort Mill and three hours from Carlton. Florence’s prime location on I-95 means that it is pretty easy to get places.

And, for something that I will not miss:

Living in Spidertown, USA. Maybe it is just my apartment, but there are so many of these creepy crawlies that it drives me crazy. This guy was outside my door when I came home last week, and I could just imagine trying to open my door the next morning and being overwhelmed by web and this killer spider!!

I wish I could update more since I’m going to be without reliable internet for several months, but it has been very hectic lately trying to fit everything in.

Stuff everyone likes… Music

Picture of Atmosphere performing at Cat's Cradle, stolen from Tisha.

In high school and into college, my friends, especially Katie and I, spent a lot of our free time going to shows and concerts. After we turned 21 and had more weekend and nighttime options, we started doing other things with our time.  Over the last few years, even after moving away and graduating college, we’ve still seen a few shows together and it always reminds me of how much I enjoy live music.

In particular, we’ve traveled hundreds of miles to see some of our favorite acts like Atmosphere and Eyedea & Abilites, who we saw Tuesday night at Cat’s Cradle in Carrboro, Sage Francis, POS, and other hip hop artists. Nobody really ever comes to S.C., which explains all the driving.  

Going to concerts always reminds me of my younger days, but there are some things that are different. Namely, as you can see from the pictures, we were not up at the front of the stage. One of my biggest concert pet peeves is that no matter where I stood, there was always some big, smelly dude who was taller than me who would elbow his way in front. I’m only 5′4, so it doesn’t take a lot to be taller than me. And for future information, big anger comes in small packages.

Atmosphere at Cat's Cradle

So, this time, instead of trying to fight through the crowds of sweaty people, we found a higher spot that wasn’t so congested. I guess that is a sign I’m getting older. Which, speaking of, my birthday month begins Saturday. So mark your calendars.

I thought about cropping myself out of this picture, but oh well! Here I am making a confused face anyway.

Before the show, Slug from Atmosphere was outside shaking hands with people in line. I thought that was really nice, even though I was very nervous and obviously incapable of not looking like the slow friend. It’s ok though. The upside of liking musicians who don’t exclusively go on tour at massive venues, is that you often have a chance to meet the people you came to see.

So, for blast from the past.. some of my favorite concert pictures I took when I was still willing to be the angry girl at the front..

Sage Francis on the KnowMore.org tour in 2005

Solillaquists of Sound on tour with Sage Francis

Sage Francis (I'm not sure when/where, but it was a show with Atmosphere) Solillaquists of Sound on the KnowMore.org tour in 2005

Jared Paul on Non-Prophets' F- Clear Channel Tour in Charlotte, forever ago

 

Abilities at The Room in Charlotte, forever ago

Eyedea & Abilities at The Room in Charlotte, forever ago

POS, either in Carrboro or ATL, forever ago

Moneen’s bad day

I haven’t updated much lately because I’ve been busy packing and moving some of my stuff, studying for the GRE and working. Also, I was afraid to update before the GRE because I didn’t want to blow a fuse in the writing side of my brain. It sounds stupid, but I have to read and write all day at work, and extra writing plus writing for an exam just seemed like too much.

Anyway, the writing part of the GREs were fine, I think, but I won’t get those scores back for a few weeks. My verbal score was decent, but the math part was torture. I feel the need to defend myself by saying that I got an A in calculus, but I haven’t had algebra and geometry since I was in high school, and those just aren’t skills that I use every day. I’ll probably take it again when I get back from Georgia, after brushing up on my math skills.

And on to the blog entry… I’ve been putting off Moneen’s bath because she hates it so much, and I know she doesn’t really mind if I “forget.” And so.. in the spirit of “50 Animals Who Hate Baths” and “Drama In The Tub” .. I bring you.. Moneen’s Bad Day.

This is her preferred bathing style. Dry and in the Buddha position.

Blurry, but true.

Escape attempt No.1

When I first “met” Moneen, she was much harder to bathe. She was a rescue cat, so when Carlton first got her, she wasn’t as laid back as she is today. Today, she clearly hates the bath, but she doesn’t scratch or go crazy like some cats do.

Escape attempt No. 2

Resolved, but unhappy

The final escape!

Moneen adds to the stress of her day by hopping on the scale.

No more pictures, please.

Now that I’ve gotten past the GREs, I’ll be updating soon with more info about what I will actually be doing in Georgia.

St. Augustine highlights

I know that other people’s vacation slide shows aren’t usually very exciting.. but this is my blog and since I disappeared to Florida, I think it deserves a recap.

My mom and I were looking for a place we could go for a few days this year, and we decided we wanted to go somewhere we hadn’t been before. I wanted to go to the beach because I always want to go to a beach, and someone she works with recommended St. Augustine.

I don’t really know what I was expecting, but as someone who has been to a lot of beaches in the south east, I recommend it. We got a good deal on a hotel that would probably be way, way over priced this time of year at Myrtle Beach, and the crowd there was pretty mellow.

Also, it seemed like there were no chain restaurants in the St. Augustine Beach area and the historic downtown. I like being able to eat a new places on vacation, so we had a lot of opportunities to eat at locally owned places.

A trio of different kinds of tacos from Playa Choc-Mool.

Some kind of fish dish Mom got from Playa Choc-Mool. She said it was very limey.

Sweet potato skins topped with tomatoes and mangos from Mango Mangos.

Pulled pork tacos with salsa verde and cabbage from Mango Mangos.

There were lots more good meals, but those were the only ones pretty enough to photograph. We spent a lot of time on the beach, which I was excited to learn you can park on.

The beach!

We spent one rainy day touring around historic St. Augustine, aka The Oldest (continually occupied European) City in America. It is really beautiful downtown even though many parts of  its history are kind of gruesome, although I would imagine thats probably true for most stories about conquerors.

Trolley mom

Magnolia Street

It was stormy, but..

..luckily we had ponchos! Stylish!!

There were also lots of little stores that sold candy, hippy clothes, and..

things like this

We also visited the Memorial Presbyterian Church, which is modeled after St. Mark’s Cathedral in Italy. It was really pretty, but as you can see, I didn’t get great pictures.

Memorial Presbyterian Church

Memorial Presbyterian Church

Memorial Presbyterian Church

Memorial Presbyterian Church

Memorial Presbyterian Church

I love stained glass windows.

I will probably upload some more photos to facbeook, but for now I think that’s a pretty good overview!

Raw, lactose-free banana soft serve

I’ll put up some photos from the trip later, but I’m lazy and need to get to the gym so my quick update will be… banana ice cream! I saw this “recipe” on KERF who got it from Choosing Raw, and I had some bananas I wasn’t going to eat before they went bad, so I stuck them in the freezer and forgot about them for about a week.

I’ve never been a huge banana fan, but I’ve been a convert since they are so cheap and I’m on such a tight budget and i don’t feel as guilty for not buying them organic.

So, with my frozen bananas peeled and chopped, I popped them in my mini-food processor and voila..

Raw, lactose-free banana soft serve

Raw, lactose-free banana soft serve