i woke up this morning at 5am not feeling so good. but since i am on vacation all next week i had to go to work. so i dragged my self out of bed. however by the time i got to the shower i decided i could go back to sleep for 15 more minuets. so i headed back to bed. and awoke to parker's paw on my face. (when he wants to wake me up he lays he paw on my face, doesn't scratch me just lays it there) so i finally got up. which was a good thing because apparently i slept through my snooze alarm. so thanks puppy for waking me up. by the time i got in my car to go to work i was very crabby. it was dark, rainy, and cold, but as i headed to work i decided to turn my own day around. instead of complaining i was going to look for reasons to smile. heres how it is going so far.
there was no line at cafe ladro this morning
the gal there has my drink memorized (i like that, makes me miss uracco)
the gals at ladro got foam animals stickers and decorated my cup with them
i am listening to ingrid michelson at work
someone brought me chocolates
this is the last wednesday i have to work for 2 weeks
river (my fav. little boy who comes in the office) ran in to give me a high five, and after that he told me i needed we needed "pound it" he is two. how cute is that! and when he left he told me he loved me. that makes my heart smile.
it now has stopped raining
look for reasons to rejoice not reasons to complain. (this is what pastor mark has been emphasizing the last few weeks, and i like it)
***added side note: people are funny. this one patient went on our website and saw that i have curly hair. so came in and told me i look much better with curly hair, and how she would like to see it in person. so she told me to wear my hair curly on friday when she comes in next. i feel like i better do what she says. i just find it funny, sometimes people are just funny.
******second added side note: the crocodile cafe is closing. sad. i didn't even get a chance to see a show there. but i am sad. this situation does not have a sunny side.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Monday, December 17, 2007
the number pinned to her dress was 146...
In 2002, the co-founders of Love 146 traveled to South East Asia on an exploratory trip to determine how they could serve in the fight against child sex trafficking. In one experience, there was an invitation to change the world. to transform a reality that cannot stand. Our male co-founders were taken undercover with investigators to a brothel, where they witnessed children being sold for sex. This was their experience. This is the story that changed our lives.
"...standing shoulder to shoulder with predators in a small room. looking at little girls through a pane of glass. all of the girls wore matching red dresses. they stood, blankly watching cartoons on tv. they were vacant, shells. there was no light in their eyes, no life. to be missing this was shattering. this light has been stolen, this life has been stolen. she is raped each night. seven, ten, fifteen times each night. she is raped. she is thirteen, eleven, five-years-old. cigarette burns cover her back. scars we cannot see, cannot conceive of, cover her. everywhere. envelop her. there was one girl. one girl who wouldn’t watch the cartoons. number 146. she was looking beyond the glass. she was staring out at us. her piercing stare. there was still fight left in her eyes. there was still life left in her...
...all of these emotions begin to wreck you. break you. it is agony. it is aching. it is grief. it is sorrow. the reaction is intuitive, instinctive. it is visceral. it releases a wailing cry inside of you. it elicits gut-level indignation. it is unbearable.
…i remember wanting to break through the glass. to take her away from that place, to juggle as many of them as I could into my arms. to take all of them away. wanting to break through the glass. to tell her to keep fighting. to tell her that we were coming for her…"
To break through the glass would have been to react instead of respond. it would only have postponed their suffering. a temporary and immediate solution cannot address this crisis, this emergency. the reality is dark, it is global. the numbers overwhelming. the words of those who have survived, we cannot forget.
"I was in that brothel for 3 years and for 2 of them I never saw the sun. They never let me out. I was in a little room and there was no window.
I was only eight and my sister was four when we were sold into the brothel."
It was in Thailand, where our co-founders encountered child 146, that our work began. Our projects have since expanded to Cambodia, the Philippines, India and soon Sri Lanka. The countries within which we work are among the predominant centers of the child sex trafficking and slavery industry. The governments of these countries consistently fail to comply with minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking. Thailand is widely recognized as a hub of sex tourism; Cambodia is without a comprehensive anti-trafficking law, legislation has been in the drafting process for the last 7 years; The Philippines saw only one conviction of a trafficker in the past year; India is home to 2 million child sex workers between the ages of 5 and 15, it is estimated that an additional 500,000 children are forced into the sex industry each year.
The story of Love146 needs an end.
"...standing shoulder to shoulder with predators in a small room. looking at little girls through a pane of glass. all of the girls wore matching red dresses. they stood, blankly watching cartoons on tv. they were vacant, shells. there was no light in their eyes, no life. to be missing this was shattering. this light has been stolen, this life has been stolen. she is raped each night. seven, ten, fifteen times each night. she is raped. she is thirteen, eleven, five-years-old. cigarette burns cover her back. scars we cannot see, cannot conceive of, cover her. everywhere. envelop her. there was one girl. one girl who wouldn’t watch the cartoons. number 146. she was looking beyond the glass. she was staring out at us. her piercing stare. there was still fight left in her eyes. there was still life left in her...
...all of these emotions begin to wreck you. break you. it is agony. it is aching. it is grief. it is sorrow. the reaction is intuitive, instinctive. it is visceral. it releases a wailing cry inside of you. it elicits gut-level indignation. it is unbearable.
…i remember wanting to break through the glass. to take her away from that place, to juggle as many of them as I could into my arms. to take all of them away. wanting to break through the glass. to tell her to keep fighting. to tell her that we were coming for her…"
To break through the glass would have been to react instead of respond. it would only have postponed their suffering. a temporary and immediate solution cannot address this crisis, this emergency. the reality is dark, it is global. the numbers overwhelming. the words of those who have survived, we cannot forget.
"I was in that brothel for 3 years and for 2 of them I never saw the sun. They never let me out. I was in a little room and there was no window.
I was only eight and my sister was four when we were sold into the brothel."
It was in Thailand, where our co-founders encountered child 146, that our work began. Our projects have since expanded to Cambodia, the Philippines, India and soon Sri Lanka. The countries within which we work are among the predominant centers of the child sex trafficking and slavery industry. The governments of these countries consistently fail to comply with minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking. Thailand is widely recognized as a hub of sex tourism; Cambodia is without a comprehensive anti-trafficking law, legislation has been in the drafting process for the last 7 years; The Philippines saw only one conviction of a trafficker in the past year; India is home to 2 million child sex workers between the ages of 5 and 15, it is estimated that an additional 500,000 children are forced into the sex industry each year.
The story of Love146 needs an end.
Friday, December 14, 2007
you said i must eat so many lemons, cause i am so bitter
well, well, well friday is upon us again. i love fridays, especially latley. i have my first week vacation next week in over a year and a half in two weeks! i am pretty darn excited! i am just going to spend a good solid week at home. i am stoked to be home for christmas! the last couple of years we have been in spokane, and waking up on christmas morning there isn't the same. it is always so rushed. my favorite christmas mornings are the ones where you get to stay in your new pajamas (you got on christmas eve) all day. maybe shelton will have snow...maybe. or you know what would be even better? snow in the mountains! i have my board waxed, edged and all ready to go. i actually know some people who snowboard. so it will be nice to have people to go up with. i bet i am pretty rusty considering the last two years i had only gone up 3 times.
my 21st birthday is 15 days away, and i am very excited about this. no more.."oh i can't go to that show because it is 21 and over" or "sorry guys i am only 20 can't go". i am going out with my mom, lisa hinkle (my mom wanted a friend), my sister carissa, kristen, and kelsey. pretty much going to be a blast. i can't even wait. we rented a hotel down town so the out of towner's can stay. and since my birthday is on a saturday i get to bring everyone to mars hill on sunday!!
this weekend is also going to be fun!
tonight i have wyld life then i am going to see "i am legend" with some friends. (not my kind of movie...but i'll give it a chance)
tomorrow a group of us are going to pike place to get some christmas shopping done.
then i am going to wesley and kat's wedding reception. after that some of us of us going to see the blakes. one of my newest music obsessions. i absolutely love them. should be a fun night.
sunday the day of rest. i will do just that. maybe a run around green lake, (i haven't taken parker in a while and when he doesn't get enough exercise he is uncontrollable) . followed by some coffee at peets and church. hum. sounds like a good sunday to me. anyone want to join me?
***side note. i FINALLY saw across the universe! i fell in love. not only with the movie but with jude (the main guy). i almost missed it, because mapquest is dumb and the directions to the queen anne theater took me all over queen anne. (which i have a hard time finding my way around there anyway) anyway i am soooo going to go see it again. i bought the soundtrack and tried to play it at work, but it didn't fly. sad.
*****second side note. kate nash is coming to the states. but the closest she is coming is san francisco. anyone up for a rode trip?
my 21st birthday is 15 days away, and i am very excited about this. no more.."oh i can't go to that show because it is 21 and over" or "sorry guys i am only 20 can't go". i am going out with my mom, lisa hinkle (my mom wanted a friend), my sister carissa, kristen, and kelsey. pretty much going to be a blast. i can't even wait. we rented a hotel down town so the out of towner's can stay. and since my birthday is on a saturday i get to bring everyone to mars hill on sunday!!
this weekend is also going to be fun!
tonight i have wyld life then i am going to see "i am legend" with some friends. (not my kind of movie...but i'll give it a chance)
tomorrow a group of us are going to pike place to get some christmas shopping done.
then i am going to wesley and kat's wedding reception. after that some of us of us going to see the blakes. one of my newest music obsessions. i absolutely love them. should be a fun night.
sunday the day of rest. i will do just that. maybe a run around green lake, (i haven't taken parker in a while and when he doesn't get enough exercise he is uncontrollable) . followed by some coffee at peets and church. hum. sounds like a good sunday to me. anyone want to join me?
***side note. i FINALLY saw across the universe! i fell in love. not only with the movie but with jude (the main guy). i almost missed it, because mapquest is dumb and the directions to the queen anne theater took me all over queen anne. (which i have a hard time finding my way around there anyway) anyway i am soooo going to go see it again. i bought the soundtrack and tried to play it at work, but it didn't fly. sad.
*****second side note. kate nash is coming to the states. but the closest she is coming is san francisco. anyone up for a rode trip?
Friday, December 7, 2007
i stand corrected
so i recently posted a blog stating that my community group leader was leaving mars hill because he felt God was leading him into a different direction. i also stated that he didn't have a problem with the church, that he was just feeling called to serve God elsewhere. well after having coffee with him on monday i stand corrected. he is leaving mars hill because he has a problem with the church. with the recent controversy at mars hill some members left the church, taylor being one of them. my meeting with him was interesting and i was quite distressed when i left. i have been thinking about what he told me, how to digest and come to a decision with the information. i have been praying on it and i am not sure i have come to a full conclusion, but i am getting there. i talked to my dad about it and he helped me understand some of issues i was confused with. i am finished with my gospel classes and will start my membership interview process soon.
Thursday, December 6, 2007
free rice!
so there is this awesome website called freerice.com and you should go to it right now!
About FreeRice
FreeRice is a sister site of the world poverty site, Poverty.com.
FreeRice has two goals:
- Provide English vocabulary to everyone for free.
- Help end world hunger by providing rice to hungry people for free.
This is made possible by the sponsors who advertise on this site.
Whether you are CEO of a large corporation or a street child in a poor country, improving your vocabulary can improve your life. It is a great investment in yourself.
Perhaps even greater is the investment your donated rice makes in hungry human beings, enabling them to function and be productive. Somewhere in the world, a person is eating rice that you helped provide. Thank you.
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
nick-nameless
so tonight i went and hung out with this awesome group of guys, pretty much the funniest group of people i have been around in a long time. i have been having kind of a bummed out week, so colin decided i needed some cheering up. (which i did) and since all his high school friends are home for winter break we went to hang out with them, and played some pool (which i now realize i should practice more so not to humiliate myself again). at first i thought it would be awkward with me being the only girl, but nope i was treated just like one of the guys. and the guys decided to hang out in their "crew" i needed a nick name. apparently mandy just wasn't cutting it for them.
now the funny thing is people have never been able to give me a nick name. even in high school with my group of friends every one had a nick name except for me. there was alexis (alex), rossy (jessica), b-wizzle (brian), putty (david), spb or johnson (johnny). but i was just mandy. the three boys even tried really hard one evening to come up with one, and those boys are pretty creative so i thought if they can't give me a nickname no one can.
so tonight colin and his friends also tried to give me a nick name. they tried and tried, but nothin'. so here i am nick-nameless again. i find this funny. apparently they are going to work on a nick name and get back to me. i guess i will just have to wait see about that.
now the funny thing is people have never been able to give me a nick name. even in high school with my group of friends every one had a nick name except for me. there was alexis (alex), rossy (jessica), b-wizzle (brian), putty (david), spb or johnson (johnny). but i was just mandy. the three boys even tried really hard one evening to come up with one, and those boys are pretty creative so i thought if they can't give me a nickname no one can.
so tonight colin and his friends also tried to give me a nick name. they tried and tried, but nothin'. so here i am nick-nameless again. i find this funny. apparently they are going to work on a nick name and get back to me. i guess i will just have to wait see about that.
Sunday, December 2, 2007
gracie lou turns one!
my niece grace turned one this weekend, so i headed over the mountains through the snow and wind to help her celebrate! she loved all her presents but mostly loved being the center of attention.
gracie loved her cake and thought i wanted to try some.every time i see her i am amazed by how much she has changed. she is very into sharing right now. after she wakes up from her nap and you go to get her out of her crib she reaches into her crib and hands you every one of her stuffed animals. also one of her new discoveries is "touch-down". gracie loves to watch football with her daddy, and if you say touch-down she puts both her hands up like a touch-down. pretty much the cutest thing ever. i know next time i see her she will be walking and probably talking. i can't wait, i absolutely adore my gracie lou.
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