A hero inside us all?

I don't know about you, but reading the news during this recession period often seems to bring down my mood, so much of it is depressing!  So when I saw an article on the 2009 Carnegie Hero Awards, I searched for the link to read about their stories. I think what I liked best was that these are everyday heroes who rose the aid of strangers; these were not athletes, big shooters in the business world or Hollywood-types that we're so quick to give praise to, but then gossip about and tear down when negative news comes out on these same "rising stars".  Anyway, thought I'd share in case you needed a dose of optimism about your fellow man. http://www.carnegiehero.org/awardees_recent.php 
 
P.S.  To the man in the camouflage overalls who pulled over on I-96 in the winter of 1993 to help a teary-eyed young lady to manuever her car back onto the road in the dark and swirling snowy conditions - thank you so much!!!  I'm pretty sure I was way too flustered to even ask your name to properly thank you (I believe you simply nodded and told me to get on safely and got back into your truck and back on your way), but I have often thought of your anonymous act of kindness!

Living, loving, and learning

Today we're celebrating our 1st wedding anniversary, and I think we should take it as a testament to our marriage that we already feel like we've always been married and can't imagine life any other way.  Honey, here's to getting to know each other and putting up with each other for many committed years ahead!  :)  I love you dearly. 
 
P.S.  Not-so-funny fact: Prior to yesterday's victory, the last time the Detroit Lions won a game was before we were even engaged.  Yikes!  Go....team?!

A matter of perspective

I think this picture was taken when we were leaving the Boboli Gardens in Florence, Italy, and now I wish we could be instantly transported back (given that getting back on another long international flight isn't something that I would relish doing again right away!).  I've been telling friends and co-workers that our trip had its share of both relaxing moments and stressful travel incidents, but that we ultimately feel fortunate that we were able to go. 
 
But isn't it amazing how at any given moment we can sometimes wish we were somewhere else?  We wish we could be zapped out of a boring meeting, that we could be back at home in our own comfortable bed, that we could be on a tropical island sipping an umbrella drink - you get the picture.  So I guess the challenge is to "live in the moment" as they say, though that can be a hard pill to swallow for a planner like myself.  But also that there are so many things in life to brood over, personal tragedies that strike suddenly, daily ups and down.  These things make me grateful for all the relationships that I am lucky to cherish, so today I'm working on gratefulness! 

My new man

OK, not really, but the hubs did get some new sexy specs.   The smoky brown tortoise shell color doesn't really show well here, but I can confirm that they are super cute on him! :)

Birthday macarons

No, not the macaroons that we make in America, but the French kind, macarons, which may or not translate into "fabulously delicious" :).  We left Paris today for Brussels, and in the last 12 hours I've had the equivalent of two full ones in the form of 4 halves in 4 different flavors - so far my hands down favorite is the pistachio!  A slight crunch on the outside, chewy on the inside, and a sweet creamy filling.  Who needs birthday cake??  Bon nui, mon amis!

P.S.  Jodi's pad in Brussels is amazing, think of a spacious Paris apartment with high ceilings, crown moulding, and sweet party terrace.  Pictures later!

Lost in translation - part 1

I say part 1 because I'm guessing that there will be more "lost in translation" stories following our trip given that neither of us speak French or Italian, in fact because I know several basic Spanish phrases (though I should know much more as I took 6 years of it between high school & college classes!) and was able to utilize them during a trip to Spain a few years ago I am somehow overconfident that I can quickly learn some key phrases that we need by memorizing them on the plane off of these laminated cards that we got from Borders for $8 each.  Sounds like a plan, right??

So I wanted to see if we could still make dinner reservations for a restaurant at a hotel nearby where we are staying in the Loire Valley towards the end of our trip, and I decided to email my questions in French, and simply plugged them smugly into www.freetranslation.com.  I felt truly Parisian, and was delighted to see a quick response resting in my email inbox.  But I was crestfallen when I opened it up and realized that I in fact could not read a lick of the message, but after going back to the website and figuring out what he meant (and it said it was from the hotel owner, how cute is that?), I savored the first note in French that I've ever received, I'll post an excerpt here: 

 

"Chère Madame,

 

Nous vous remercions de votre message, nous serons heureux de vous accueillir à l'Auberge pour le dîner du Dimanche 13 septembre 2009 à 7.30pm.

 

Merci de nous reconfirmer le nombre de couverts souhaités.

 

Bien cordialement,"

 
Oui, oui, sounds good to me, whatever he said!  Never fear for those of you who can actually read that, I did write back and confirm the number and names within our party :). 
 
The second story has nothing at all to do with our trip, but just cracked me up.  Several weeks ago our nephew Kieran asked so many questions about me having a baby that I asked him if his mom/my sister put him up to it (both of them deny this).  And no, we are not currently trying to get pregnant, before I move on!  Anyway, these questions included where the baby would come from, how many there would be and what gender, and most importantly, whether he should go to the store and buy toys for them :).  Still more hilarious was his younger sister Tanith who just repeats what he says and pipes into the conversation by saying things like "you already had the babies?" as she looks down at my not-exactly-flat stomach - ha!  So Kieran concludes that it would be best for me to have two at one time, both boys so he can play with them. Oh boy. Then last week I made the mistake of telling him about my friend's new babies - that only served to confuse him.  I told him that our friends had two girls, but because they came out little they would need to stay at the hospital (my sister's work) for a bit to grow and then they could go home, but it would be fun to go to the store and buy them some presents.  Apparently he is a thinker like my husband and shares the same penchant for delayed processing :), because the other night he repeatedly asks my sister if they can go to the store and buy some presents for my babies.  She patiently explains to him that I don't have any babies, but my friend does, but he got quite upset and was insistent that I do already have them (where he thinks we stash them when he comes over to our house every weekend is beyond me!).  She was cracking up and he was getting upset that she didn't believe him.  Funny little guy, he is!
 
I'll leave you with those stories, and look forward to sharing more soon.  5 European cities in 11 days, here we come!!!
 
 

"Collecting Facebook friends is the equivalent of being a catlady"

OK so that isn't very nice, but it's just one of the lines in this article http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/016/256implp.asp?pg=1 that my friend sent me by a Facebook hater that seriously made me laugh out loud.  Oh, don't get all bent out of shape, it's a funny piece.  Go ahead, you know you want to read it...
 
My friend also mentioned to me that some Christian groups have suggested giving up Facebook use for Lent, which I think speaks pretty loudly to it's addictive qualities - yikes!
 
 

Searching for joy

"Remember to serve (J)esus first, (O)thers second, and (Y)ourself last", these were the instructions given to us by the volunteer coordinator at a back-to-school rally for Central Detroit Christian www.centraldetroitchristian.org this past weekend.  That catchy acronym was provided even after Pastor Harvey Carey from Citadel of Faith gave his own volunteer pep talk, saying that when we serve others we should turn our thinking from serving others in the name of Jesus to serving others as if we were serving Jesus himself.  Wow, doesn't that change the perspective entirely?? 
 
As part of our pre-marriage counseling we were asked to come up with some ways we hoped we could define ourselves as a couple in 5 years, and one of the things we chose was that we would have "servant hearts".  This could include serving God, our family & friends, our community, our marriage.  So nearly one year later as we prepare for a trip as an early celebration of our 1-year wedding anniversary that we've been looking forward to, it occurred to me that we should check back on each of these things and see how we're doing.  We'll make this one of our vacation discussions, but as with any personal goals, we could use a little prayer to help us focus on this, and the persistence to pick up and try, try again when we fall short. 

A member of our church passed away this week, and some video clips and his family blogposts have been going around, and as I was reading through some of his thoughts from some months ago, one of his lines struck me: "God is our anchor and we fully accept His plan for us."  This from a man who has now moved on from his short earthly life and leaves behind a wife and young children who are no doubt still reeling from their loss.  May his prayer also be mine and yours today...