Well hey, look at that. My birthday kind of surprised me this year (that might be a first). This is me at 9 days old. I still have that blanket. It is, of course, in perfect condition. I was born…
Category: Personal
The weekend before last I drove to Kansas City with some friends for the wedding that we now call “Lovefest 2008”, otherwise known as Andrew & Erin’s wedding. Here are some things that I learned: – You can’t rent a…
There are things to do. Decisions to be made. I’ve been home for nearly 2 months, and it has been a much needed break from the last few years of work (and before that, school). So…I’m working on that. Being…
There are so many stories. Too many words. There are literally dozens of emails that I have not replied to.  I want to, but am unable to write at the moment. I am having so much fun. Grandparents, family,…
Just a quick post to let everyone know I am home in Chicago. Turkey was beautiful, and I will write more about it later. I just walked in the door and I want to spend time with my family. Much…
I am here, at 1:30 am, with so much in my heart and so few words. After 18 months in the Holy Land, I leave to go back to the United States in a few hours. Desperately finishing packing (a…
A brunch, as I usually do, with several dozen pancakes, bacon, eggs, potatoes, and the like. A quick run up the mountain to take a picture. An afternoon of discussion, ordering dinner to be eaten with chopsticks. An evening with…
more than my molten eyes and sudden smile there are years behind what you see I am more than your assumption of me I am images across a screen I am scraped knees and willow trees I am dirt paths…
Yesterday I felt sort of miserable. And then last night it morphed into a full-blown virus of some kind.  These are a few anecdotes for you to enjoy: 1. I watched Season 6 of Scrubs. And half of Season 7….
I walked around the gardens, and picked up a fallen flower to hold close to my heart. I ran down a path in darkness and silently shouted to the palm trees and sky, a promise and a blessing. …
I am not a superstitious person, but recently things have been a little crazy around here…and now I am looking over my shoulder… On Saturday my flatmates and I were washing our balcony (spring cleaning!). We have a faucet on…
…dawn prayers, with the sun warming me as I looked out over the city, this drowsy and noisy place that is home. 4 hours sleep, but my soul was so alive that it was worth it. I’ve learned a lot…
A Saturday unplanned became a Saturday of relaxation and time with friends. I went next door for brunch, and six lovely ladies and I cooked and ate a large meal…eggs, bacon, pancakes, potatoes, coffee, tea…yum. Then I hopped on a…
There were boxes of old books in the parking garage today, marked “FREE!”, with that musty smell and slick dust feeling. We dug through them, hugging the discoveries to our chests. The tip of my nose starting twitching, the usual…
My heart is in a wistful mood, my tiny little sorrows shake the dust from my soul. My laughter has strong intention behind it. Music with piano and soft whispered tones reaches inside me, perhaps in 43,200 minutes words will…
I miss watching Star Trek: The Next Generation episodes with my dad. My mother used to encourage us to set traps and build fortresses in the basement on cold Chicago days…or any other day. 1/3 of the times I climbed…
I feel like…there is a soundtrack to my walk these days, a sort of thump-boom-crash; walking with 3 inch heels and narrowed eyes. Dance in every movement. At yet, at the same time, I fade into wallflower silence, my secret…
As of December 8th (tomorrow), I will have been in Haifa, Israel for one year. I keep writing little pieces of some kind of summary, but my words have been failing for a while now. I know I’ve changed, and…
I am frustrated. There used to be Baha’i songs, prayers, I was learning a new song every week in Chicago and there were people with rhythm around me. With no effort a voice would be raised in praise. Today someone…
I did a photoshoot a week ago with a friend who is an amazing photographer and is also serving here. He did some digital work on them…the space where we shot the pictures was very plain, but you wouldn’t know it from the photos….
Sunset last night was the start of Yom Kippur, which means that for 24 hours everything is shut down. I do mean everything. No one drives, so my flatmate and I went for a long walk….in the middle of the…
The heat has not been crippling this summer, and I work inside an office during the day, so I do not get the brunt of it. Maybe 15 years of Chicago winters went so far into my bones that I…
There are certain things that are meant to be done during daylight, or at least at a time when you aren’t asleep on your feet. Cleaning bathrooms, for example. First, I am not a person that likes to clean bathrooms…
Mojan tagged me, and while I usually don’t do memes on my blog, I thought it would be nice to give some of you a little glimpse of some of my quirks. 1. One of my biggest pet peeves is…
There is a richness in the colors and textures of roses that are unlike anything else. I see a bed of roses and my tired eyes are soothed. I want to play tag amidst the rich petals and thorns hiding…
I’d like to say, for the record, that while I love being lazy and staying home once in a while, a couple of weeks worth of being trapped in your flat can do weird things to your brain. I’ve started…
I am a little disconnected from myself right now. This is because I am taking cold medicine. I hate medication but in this case it is necessary. I’ve been coughing so hard the last few days that my stomach muscles…