At the Red House

My mom's internet recommendations are usually hit or miss.

Thank you, Mom, for this GLORIOUS recommendation.

Celebrity Photos: WTF Edition

There have been a couple celebrity photos that have caught my eye as of late, and not in a good way.

One: when did Robin Williams become homeless?

Even the Monsters aren't fans.

It appears the man has fallen on some hard times because I've only seen comparable beards on the derelicts who live along the creek near my house. I'd like to say he's taken on a role similar to his character in The Fisher King, but all signs point to "no."

Is it wrong to say I personally think he looked better playing a homeless man? I guess with Tim Allen's sitcom career being back on track (eye roll), he could always play St. Nick in The Santa Clause 4.

Two: when did Macaulay Culkin become anorexic? Or is he dying? Or is dying from anorexia?!

My hope is that he's spent the last year and a half starving himself due to pining after his ex-girlfriend Mila Kunis, which is, I think, understandable to most. However, I just get the drogas vibe from him. In conjunction with his pallor and sunken, hobgoblin eyes, the weight loss is not doing him any favors. 

Nor is that facial hair! Come on, MC, we want you returning to your healthy best (Richie Rich, circa 1995, obviously).

I feel I owe it to my readers to point out that the next available article on good ole Macaulay was titled, "Culkin Denies Dating Porn Star." Dude, if I were you, I'd just go with it. At this point, I think it's the only street cred you have left.

Interesting sidenote: you may remember a few months back when I talked about my favorite childhood celebrity crushes from the 90's. It has become my blog's most trafficked post, and not because of any Americans, god no! I'm pretty sure the length of my posts leave most US readers high-tailin' it for the hills. I get around 50 hits a week on that one write-up because France, Spain and Germany's Google searches turn it up for fans of Hanson, Macaulay Culkin and Elijah Wood... true story.

So what did we learn today? Only grow facial hair if your cheek bones can handle it. And make sure to eat food. Both good rules to live by. 

Happy Thursday!

Reflections on December 1st

First off, I've been thrilled at how many people have posted the video of Zach Wahls on Facebook in the last two days. If you believe in love and you believe in equality, what more is there to say, really? I'm happy I know many people who think this to be true.

Second, December 1st marks World AIDS Day. For the first nine years of my life, I was lucky to have a godfather, Chuck; we always called him our "fairy godfather". He'd send me and Ginny stickers in the mail just for the hell of it and would always call to ask about 'his girls.' I really, really loved him (and still do). He died of AIDS in 1993, and my sister and I talk about it now, how when you're a kid and you think you'll live forever, you can't empathize with your parent when she loses her best friend, which is what happened to my mom. It must have been awful for her.

In the early 90's, a lot of people were dying from this disease, and since huge advances in antiretroviral medication treating HIV have lowered death rates in our country significantly, it doesn't get talked about as much. To me, this day is always a good reminder that there are people throughout the world, men, women, children and babies, who do not have access to proper medical care, and die from it all the time. ALL THE TIME.

Finally, it has been an anxiety riddled week, which has bummed me out slightly because to me, this really is the most wonderful time of the year. December 1st (which is today, if you haven't had a chance to look at a calendar) is typically the day Kyle and I get our Christmas tree. I bake cookies, we listen to Sufjan Stevens' Songs for Christmas and decorate like chipper little elves (I may be the only one who resembles a chipper elf during this process, not gonna lie).

However, we're still only done unpacking half our stuff, and until we clear it out, we have to wait to get our magical tree. And start merrymaking festivities, of course.

So at this point I feel I should mention Kyle's mom, Cyndi. I have to say, I really hit the jackpot when it comes to mother-in-laws. She's a very thoughtful person and could tell how stressed I was, as well as bummed to not be enjoying the holidays in my usual style.

Lo and behold, she turned my frown upside down with a little gift yesterday:

Santa Gift Tags from Rifle Paper Co.

Red and white baker's twine (you can get it here).

Kraft paper

Cyndi surprised me with these goodies because (1) she knows how much I love Rifle Paper Co., (2) she also knows how much I love wrapping my Christmas gifts with kraft paper and beautiful twine and (3) she knew I needed cheering up and went out of her way to do so.

And truthfully, it kind of reminded me that at the core of the holiday season, it's not about decorating or music or elves or gifts...

It's about celebrating with the ones you love.

I haven't forgotten...

... about this blog!

And don't worry- there's still one more Africa post in the pipe, so get excited (or groan, if you're over hearing about it)!

A couple excuses (because they're always fun):

• Two Thanksgivings and a 90th birthday party for Kyle's Grams.
• Getting a new place and moving into it!
• Trying to finish this course before the end of December. 
• Preparing for a girls weekend (!!!!) with my sister in NYC this weekend.
• And, you know, life in general.

To keep myself from feeling like too much of a blog slacker, here's some Pinterest pinsperation for you while I attempt to not have a nervous breakdown.

This is all well and good, but my new house
is looking AWFULLY sparse without the things...

A little chaos currently at the new abode.

Has this claim been substantiated?

Can someone please tell my husband this?
The complaints I received for the amount of books I own
was a little ridiculous. This is not Fahrenheit 451, people!
And I refuse to buy a Kindle!

Not on the street corner or anything, but you know...

I need a pair of swimming pigs to call my own.

Bed is my mistress currently.

Apparently, Sheniqua is the one hustlin'. This made me L-O-L if you will.

If you love procrastinating on Pinterest as much as I do, you can follow me here.

Happy Monday everyone! I hope you all had a fabulous Thanksgiving filled with your nearest and dearest.

Africa Celebration Week: Day 2

Things are about to get a little confusing... I'm going to fast forward through our trip about five days and then back track tomorrow.

Why? Why do this to you? Isn't that foolish and completely counter-intuitive? Yes. Yes, it is.

Truth be told, after we returned from safari, we spent a magical couple days doing the following: dancing the night away, driving on the scariest road imaginable, cruising in Kasane and spotting a ridiculous amount of wildlife in a 3 hour period, border crossing from Botswana to Zambia, relaxing at Jolly Boys, white water rafting and risking our lives swimming to Devil's Pools at Victoria Falls.

Are you seething with envy?

Ze problem lies in ze fact that I've only accumulated photos from some of our adventures during this period. Where's the fun in hearing about shooting down class 5 rapids on the Zambezi River if you can't see the magnitude of the water and waves? I foolishly didn't buy the photos while we were there, and I'm still waiting to hear back from them as to whether or not they are available for purchase.

However, it's giving me the opportunity to talk about a day we spent while at our final destination in Zambia: Nandavu Community School.

I'm getting ahead of myself again. In order to talk about Nandavu Community School, I have to explain how we got there. We spent our last three days in Zambia at Jungle Junction and though I'm trying not to sound like a complete Valley Girl, it was rad. Really rad, you guys.

Imagine a small island covered in hammocks, huts and cushy pillows, completely surrounded by water and Africa's beauty. Heaven, c'est vrai? While there we were given the opportunity to participate in "activities." To be frank, I had no part in planning our trip to Africa (thanks, Trav and Steph!); it was literally show up and pay, and it was one of the most stress free trips I've ever taken. I literally did no research before we left aside from making sure I was up to date on necessary vaccines and triple checking that I wasn't going to be "that girl" who overpacked and took up all the space in the safari vehicle. Thus, when I read in a pre-vacation email that we could participate in "activities," I imagined volleyball and water aerobics.

I think it harkens back to our honeymoon where we went "bird watching" around the golf course of the very beautiful, if not completely isolated and slightly contrived, Four Seasons Costa Rica. Yes, I realize how foolish it is to imagine doing water aerobics on an African island, especially one surrounded by crocodiles and hippos, but it's genuinely the first thing that popped into my head.

Sue me.

Luckily, the activities ended up being able to help with the Nandavu Community School project that's working its way toward completion, as well as spending time with the kids and cooking/eating a lunch made by local villagers. Evelyn Roe, who helps manage Jungle Junction, has been heading up this project for a few years now and always gives visitors the option to participate since all funds from the day's excursion goes toward the school.

What kind of fun did we get up to? Oh, you know, donning them in our sunglasses and swinging them around like little elves.

It's about to be photo overload up in here because I can't resist these little faces.

After a quick play sesh, we headed over to the still-being-built school where we swept and painted a couple rooms.

Get it, Gurs!

Double broomin' it.

 

Ever the Japanese tourist...

Always time for checking out wildlife.

The exterior of the school in all its glory.

The school consists of two large classrooms and toilets, but in order to receive funding from the Zambian government's Ministry of Education, they need five classrooms total, toilets and three teachers' houses. 

Once work time was over, we got to play again, but not before poor Kyle stubbed his foot on a root and bled all over the place.

Have I ever mentioned Kyle's an Eagle Scout?
If this makeshift bandage he came up with doesn't prove it, I don't know what will!

His misfortune worked out for everyone else, because while he couldn't play soccer or Ring-A-Round-The-Rosie, he could certainly take photos of it!

I could die from the cuteness of this photo.

 

Gah, you know I have to include a couple more of these shining faces.

This kid is kind of a bad ass.

And I know some would consider it in poor taste to choose a favorite child, but I just couldn't help myself, friends.

She made my heart sing, I won't deny it. 

So, I'm hoping you're sitting at home seeing these children and wondering what you can do to help this project progress. I (somewhat foolishly) got excited about the idea of sending art and school supplies once I returned home, but quickly had the reasons why this wouldn't work pointed out to me: (1) The shipping costs alone would be astronomical and (2) even if shipping wasn't an issue, there's no real address to send things.

I'm imagining the address to look something like this:

Nandavu Community School
Somewhere in Zambia behind Jungle Junction (you know, that island with the hammocks)
Please deliver it, thanks.

Thus, it's all about the Benjamins, people. If you donate money, Evelyn can buy the supplies needed to finish the school and get it up and running with the help of the village.

Here are a couple ways you can stay abreast of what's going on at Nandavu, as well as how to donate money:

Email Evelyn Roe and get on the Nandavu Community School's newsletter mailing list. November's was chock-a-block full of photos and updates as to what's going on, and she lets you know what funds have been raised, built and what's left to do. The school's email is communityschool@junglejunction.info.

To donate money (and a little goes a long way, folks), use PayPal. The email address for the project is the same as above: communityschool@junglejunction.info and if you're in the US, you can use PayPal through Kalahari Peoples. Make sure to email megabie@gmail.com to let Megan Biesele know the money is designated for Nandavu Community School.

You can also follow Nandavu on Facebook right now. I realize it hasn't been updated in a while, but Evelyn mentioned that she will be starting a blog soon as well as creating a website, which would eventually all be linked through Facebook. Just another way of staying in the know about this school, their community and its children.

Phew, I know this was a long one today. If you're starting to flush out Christmas gifts this year, a donation to Nandavu in the name of one of your loved ones isn't a bad idea, yes? Yes?

Yes.