Hello! I'm alive and well!

Just wanted to drop in and say hello from an internet cafe on the other side of the world. :) I have so many photos that I want to update!! All coming mid-march (hopefully).

Hmm some quick updates:

• Something I have checked off my list of things to do: Go see the pyramids riding camels! It was not nearly as amazing of an experience as I had hoped... but I can say I did it!
• Happy Valentines Day - yesterday! My parents invited an older man they met at the grocery store for V-day dinner because he had no one else to celebrate with. I wonder how many times I have passed an opportunity to really reach out and make a difference in another person's life. I really hope to be more sensitive to the needs of others. My parents really do inspire me to love, and I am so grateful to have them.
  

2009 Resolutions.

The thing that bothers me about new year's resolutions is that it's only once a year that we feel like we have a reset button and can start anew. Once we fail to carry out our resolutions, we begin to condemn ourselves and ultimately give up on them. We await the next new year to roll around to reset. Although, I am bound to stumble and make mistakes, I wish that everyday I will be able to start again and work towards my goals. So I guess instead of a New Year's resolution, I wish for it to be more of a daily resolution? Does that make sense?

There are a few things I wish to do when I get back. Maybe these first few aren't exactly resolutions, but more of a to do list of all I've missed since I've been in Europe. :P This is what Michelle put together while we were in Venice to make ourselves feel more of the Christmas spirit, but I think I want a REAL Christmas when I get back.


*Cook a huge feast for a belated Thanksgiving/Christmas dinner. Potlucks can work too.
*Make gingerbread men AND houses.
*Eat Thai food (with Ken and Andy)
*Honey Pig!!

They aren't all food related, I promise. Moving along. And here are ones that are more resolution-ish.

*Visit a continent I've never been to.
*Make a new friend from a completely different culture, language, etc. Maybe learn to communicate well through body language. lol
*Learn German to the point where I can hold a basic conversation.
*Read more.
*Learn to cook more dishes and have people over... those who dare to try my experiments.
*Yeah... Just grow more in all areas of my life. Whatever that means. I'm sure I'll get more clarity as I go.

Simple enough. 2009, do your best!

New Year's Dinner

Meet our little friend.



We became quite fond of him.



May he rest in peace.




My new year's resolution list is slowly coming together. I'm posting it tomorrow. I don't think it will be as complicated as any of the previous years. Keepin' it simple.

It's going to be 6 in the morning here when the ball drops in New York and everyone is celebrating.

Baby, it's cold outside.

I just wanted to thank everyone who has sent me mail over Christmas and have been thinking of me during the Holiday season. It's been awesome getting to travel around to different places, but I've been so homesick this past week. I really miss home -- and all you people back in the States! I felt so blessed by these unexpected surprises I received in my mailbox... and just knowing that I haven't been forgotten even though I'm way on the other side of the world. :)

These were just a few things I got:




Going clockwise:

1. All the girly stuff I missed having like nice-smelling lotions and body wash in my package from Karis (my home church)
2. Card // Giftcard from Cho-mama. I'm going to have to wait to get back to the States before I can do a little splurging though. :P It will go well with my belated American Christmas dinner in April.
3. Chocolates and postcard from Switzerland from Tammy.
4. Earplugs... very helpful when in a room full of snorers. haha. I told my parents that the current foamy ones I have weren't working, and they sent me the ones you use at the shooting range.
5. All the spicy stuff that I've not been able to have AND my favorite... sour patch kids! They put all the stuff in ziplock bags so that they could claim them as used so that I wouldn't have to pay more taxes when it got here. lol For the sake of honesty, they probably ate a few so that it would be true. My parents can be very cute.
6. My Christmas present to myself: new CF cards to last me 2 and a half months while I am on the road. yay! Hopefully they will last me.

I think I'm going to try to blog a lot this week to make up for the 2 and a half months of not being able to access much internet. I know I am going to have a crazy amount of photos when I get back from traveling. It's painfully cold here in Germany, I'm excited to get somewhere a bit warmer.

*I also started reading the Lord of the Rings part I yesterday. I never really saw myself getting into these books.. lol but I'm actually enjoying it. I almost regret admitting this, because I remember telling people how much I could never see myself getting into it, but I'm already on Ch 5. Oh, Germany, what have you done with me?

Back from Venice!

Michelle and I went to Italy for the past week, but it's good to be back! The past week in Venice has been utterly exhausting. Not my idea of a vacation. If something could possibly go wrong, it did go wrong. lol Just one example of it is on Christmas Day walking from bus station to bus station to find a way into the main islands... and having to chase down a random bus (the first bus we saw in maybe 3 hours), take a tour of the wrong part of the city, then finally get to a stop to get on the right bus. That was a good story. Like they say... it's either a good time or a good story, and you're lucky if they are both. I guess we were lucky that we missed the flood, though.

The part that I did highly enjoy was the stay in Verona. Our couchsurfing friends, Damiano and Gabrielle were incredible hosts! Couchsurfing is an awesome way to meet people who love travel! You just have to filter through the creepy ones who are just looking for hookups. They seriously blessed our trip so much by taking us around and cooking for us. I think I could learn a thing or two about hospitality from them. :) They were amazing... I'm tellin ya!

Verona wasn't as touristy, and we got to the top of a castle and discovered the most romantic place with the most beautiful view!! *sigh I am in love with the place and definitely would love to come back to Verona. It's amore! We also met some really cool people all throughout our trip, that made it worthwhile. :)

Just a couple quick photos from the trip:






Added to the books I finished.

*Redeeming Love
*Screwtape Letters
*Scarket Thread
*Twilight
*Nights of Rodanthe
*The Father Heart of God
*My Father's Heart

Someone keeps telling me that the Hobbit is really good, but I haven't gotten into the Lord of the Rings or the Harry Potters yet...

I Heart Books?!

I have never been much of a book person, but I'm catching up on my reading... that I've missed all the years of my entire life. I never understood what it was like to leisure read until more recently. I used to have a habit of reading books more like textbooks, prepared with highlighters to mark all the important points. Could have something to do with Ga Tech. It all started with Redeeming Love, which is SUCH a great book, and I've been hooked since.

So instead of going outdoors and braving the cold weather in Germany, I've been staying indoors with my hot chocolate and reading more. :)

While I was in Dresden over the weekend, I couldn't resist picking up Twilight since so many people had recommended it. I just finished it maybe half an hour ago, and I had only started it two days ago. I must admit that it was really addicting. I couldn't put the book down... something I could have never imagined myself saying. Funny.

I hear the movie is out in the States?

Since mid-Oct till now, I've finished:
*Redeeming Love
*Screwtape Letters
*Scarket Thread
*Twilight

Now the dilemma. I have a habit of starting different books and not finishing. Which one to finish first?
*The Father Heart of God - I'm up to Ch 5
*Velvet Elvis - finished Ch 1
*A Woman After God's Heart - finished Ch 1-3

Then my friend has just swapped me Nights in Rodanthe for Twilight.

Cheb, Czech Republic

I know it's been a week since I've gotten back from Cheb, but I am still completely wiped out. This weekend is going to be a good time of R&R, and more celebrating of all that we're thankful for. :)

It was possibly one of the most challenging weeks I've had in my life, but has taught me a lot about myself, my faith, and who God is. Here's a slideshow and favorites showing small bits of our ministry and what we did during the week. I was very blessed to be part of the Cheb outreach team.