31 July 2008

Humanitarian Project

31 July 2008
With a lot of help from Christina Smith and a R.S. Group in the states, the YW were able to complete 25 beautiful "island style" quilts for the new Hemodialysis Center.

It was sweet to walk through the current Dialysis Unit while some of the patients were being treated. I wish we would have stayed and chatted with them, but we were just walking through, quilts in hand, and while doing so we heard a soft but excited voice ask, "Are those for us?"

Click here to read the Saipan Tribune article. And here for the Mariana's Variety article that appears on their home page.









25 July 2008

Bah!

25 July 2008
I don't think anyone likes to hear people complain, but, unfortunately, it's just been one of those months so I think I've earned a venting post. Maybe, to lighten things up, I'll follow every negative with a positive.

Here's the month we've had.

1. Bought a car for better gas mileage. A cherry red Toyota Echo. I like Toyotas, but I won't comment on the color & model. However, with gas prices at over $5/gallon, I was willing to make the switch. Sadly, the small, round, bald man who sold us the car failed to mention 1 tiny detail: the car needed a new TRANSMISSION.

So we thought we were getting this great deal - about $1000 later - we're not so sure. $300+ of that was loan interest/fees, on a loan that we paid off in less than a month! Grrr.

Ok, on a more positive note, we did sell our Pathfinder.

2. These power outages are making us crazy! 2-4 hours a day.

On the bright side, at least the outages lower our obnoxious utility bills.

3. Power Outages = Eric's laptop getting repeatedly fried.

But at least I've learned from his loss, and I've been more diligent in my backups.

4. Still no camera (hence, the disappointing blog posts)

On the bright side, I am experiencing no buyer's remorse.

5. Eric would like me to insert a recent loss in his life. The court, like everyone else on this strange island, is cutting costs everywhere they can which means no more internet or generator at the office after 5 PM. Eric is actually really productive after 5'clock (when the court is empty) so this was bad, bad news.

Overall, July has let us down.

At least Dark Knight was good.

10 July 2008

Hope to see you soon!

10 July 2008
It's official. We're bound for the mainland this Christmas. I just bought our tickets today and Eric and I both will be there for almost an entire a month so we hope to see as many of you as possible.

Our travel dates are 12/9 - 1/7. We'll mostly be in Boise, but we're also planning to spend at least a week in SLC to spend time with the Nellies.

I think this calls for a list of what I'm looking forward to (in no particular order)...

  1. Mom's cozy home and yummy smelling candles
  2. Shortly after arrival, girl's movie night (Twilight, 12/12). You're all invited.
  3. Snowball fights and building snowmen (and snowwomen) with the wee ones.
  4. Watching Christmas Classics (Christmas Story, Elf, Little Women, etc.)
  5. Stephen's Gourmet Hot Chocolate - Mint Truffle, with whipped cream
  6. Snuggling by the fire - with either Eric or a good book. :)
  7. Sledding (although I'm not sure how I'm going to come up with winter clothes)
  8. All of the lovely restaurants I've been missing. Def. going to Cafe Rio when we're in Utah.
  9. Meeting "Little Miss" Patalie!
  10. Temple Square Christmas lights
  11. This one's obvious, and really it ranks as #1 on the list, but seeing friends and family (in Boise & Utah)
  12. Strangely enough - not sure what Eric's done to me - but college football bowl season
  13. Swimming in John's Hot Springs while it's snowing
  14. Playing silly games (Ticket to Ride!)
  15. Having some free time to work on my digital scrapbooking

And so much more! Now I just need to get through the next 5 months...