walking the red carpet

Last night, Gloria, our social worker, organized a costume contest and it was a blast! I am impressed by these creative and ingenious costumes, most of which were made with whatever we had laying around the house, in craft baskets or storage areas. Gloria acted as the evening's MC, while Rachel, Justin and I were the judging panel. Five prizes were given out: best of younger kids, best of the middle-aged kids, best of the older kids (there was a tie here), and best of the tios/tias. Enjoy!

The red carpet

Judges' table (behind the counter) and MC podium

Justin modeling a traditional Salvadoran dress. Red is definitely his color!

Rachel/Jack Sparrow. An uncanny likeness.

Gloria/Morticia Addams

Winner, younger kids: a firefighter. How cute!

Policeman

Giraffe

Cheer Bear

Belle

a Hula Girl

Dracula

a Pastor

Dinosaur

Batman

Winner, middle-aged kids: Indian - if we left him to his own devices, this is exactly how he would turn out.

Fred & George Weasley

Jesus

Shahrzad

Winner #1, older kids: Friday Addams. She was the spitting image; her stare is the creepiest!

Butterfly

Winner #2, older kids: the Mad Hatter

Hermione Granger

Little Red Riding Hood

Winner: Tia Mila/she apparently looks exactly like a character on a Mexican soap opera

Tío Julio/John the Baptist

Mama Kathy/Soccer Player

Tia Ana/Cleopatra

Tia Carla/Cruella de Vil

Tia Yessenia/Witch

Cowgirl - my entire outfit came from Gloria except the jeans and sandals. Cowgirls wear sandals, right?

what I'm loving wednesday #2

And this time it's actually Wednesday!

I'M LOVING the beautiful, sunny weather and that it's only been raining at night!

I'M LOVING the present my "amiga secreta" gave me. 

 I am touched and honored by the verse she added to the card:

"Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all." ~ Proverbs 31:29

I'M LOVING this colorful blanket - only $8.00 at the indoor market in San Salvador!

I'M LOVING today's mid-afternoon nap. So refreshing!

And finally, I'M LOVING my plans for next week...we are going to the beach 

on Monday, and on Thursday, I am road-tripping to Honduras to visit a friend!!!

What are YOU loving today?

salvadoran driving rules

a.k.a. TEN REASONS WHY I REFUSE TO DRIVE IN EL SALVADOR

1) Every driver has the right of way, every single moment of every single day.

2) If you feel the vehicle in front of you is going too slow, feel free to pass it, anytime, anywhere.

3) Turn signals are optional (and rarely used).

4) Truck beds are perfectly acceptable places to be a passenger, sitting or standing.
                     
5) Following distance = 1/2 a car length.
     Stopping distance = 2 inches.
     Passing distance = 1 centimeter.

6) If you need to stop the vehicle to drop someone off, be like Nike and Just Do It, wherever,
      whenever (on a highway ramp, in the middle of a two-lane road, whatever suits your fancy).

7) On-coming traffic? No need to wait; go ahead and back-out of the driveway!

8) Stop signs are just a suggestion.

9) Speed limit? What's that?

10) As long as no one was hurt, it wasn't really an accident...

      

love. hope. go the distance.

A post from Love & Hope Children's Home blog. Please also read Mark Zimmerman's Facebook notes (links at the bottom of the page). I haven't met this man, but he inspires me. I am grateful for his love and dedication to our kids.

*Side note: These funds were raised for a new truck, but if our precarious financial situation continues, we will have to ask permission to use them for operating expenses instead (which will get us through another month at the most).
=======================================================================

July 19, 2011

"Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us." Hebrews 12:1

On July 16, 2011, Mark Zimmerman ran the Buckeye Trail 50k as part of his Love. Hope. Go the Distance. campaign for Love & Hope Children's Home. His goal was to raise $10,000 to replace our aging Toyota T200 pickup truck. He not only completed the race, but raised 107% of his goal: $10,736.03. He went the distance. And then some. Mark raised $214.72 with every kilometer he traveled.

During the race Mark kept us up to date on his progress as he passed through the various aide stations. He'd quickly grab his phone and tap out some short messages so we could follow his journey. 
  

04:59 AM: 0mi. Oak Grove... it's time.

06:27 AM: 6mi. Snowville rd. Feel good. Pace good.

07:44 AM: 11.5mi. Boston store. Pace good. Feel good. Lotsa fans! :)

09:02 AM: 15.6mi. Pine lane...turnaround...pace down legs rubber

10:13 AM: 19.7mi. Boston store 2x hanging in... hanging on... thanks jim

02:53 PM: 8hr. 42min. Been there, done that, got the tech shirt & the medal. All I want now is the 100+%! Thanks for the prayers! Thank you fans! Thank you Jim & Gary! I will be out to cheer for you next time...blessings.

You can read more about Mark's preparation and journey here:

• 7 days makes one weak
• The Reason Why
• Lissette... ("...let me tell you a story.")
• "Adventure Starts Here"
• Grinding.

Very soon we will be out looking for our new truck. And next time he's in El Salvador, I think we'll let Mark drive it home from the airport.

¡Gracias Señor Marcos!

"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith." 2 Timothy 4:7

52 books in 52 weeks

Living in El Salvador provides me with more time and freedom to do things I want to do, instead of only doing things I have to do. I am more involved in self-care activities - exercise, reflection, prayer, writing (blogging and journaling), reading - than I have in the past few years.

Growing up, reading was one of my greatest passions; I think I read a book a week (or maybe two or three) without trying. Unfortunately, after high school this rate greatly slowed down, and at times came to a grinding halt. Now that I have more time, I have been reading, but not as often as I'd like because I am too easily sucked into the virtual world (e-mail, blogging and Facebook). So, in order to be less attached to my computer and to re-ignite my passion for reading, my new goal is to read one book a week for the next year. 52 books in 52 weeks. To be fair, I stole this idea from another blog, but it's a good idea and should be shared.

I have twelve books with me and have already read two (A Wrinkle in Time, Madeleine L'Engle and The Power of Half, Kevin & Hannah Salwen), which I won't count as part of the 52 books in 52 weeks. That leaves me with 10 books (that I don't have to beg, borrow or buy). I will be here for approximately 21 more weeks, so I will have to find 11 more books to read.

Here's my list for the first month:

I would LOVE  suggestions for future reads! And I wouldn't object if you wanted to mail me a book or two. ;)

UPDATE: Now that I have figured out how to make multiple pages on the blog, you can follow my progress on the page 52 Books in 52 Weeks.

what I'm loving wednesday...

In the blogging world, "What I'm Loving Wednesday" is a popular weekly post.
I think it's a great way to remind yourself, and others, of life's blessings,
so I'd like to hop on the bandwagon, albeit a day late.

I'm loving my parents for spending an enormous amount of time and energy running a
two-day garage sale and donating all the proceeds (around $800) to Love & Hope! 

THANK YOU Mom & Dad and to others who contributed to this event!

I'm loving the package Aunt Dianne and Uncle Shawn sent me:
Double-Stuffed Oreos, bubbles, Nutrigrain bars, books, Uno, a deck of cards,
ear plugs galore, and a picture of Shawn and my "cousin" Sadie.

So glad it finally arrived; it really made my day 

- THANK YOU, Auntie Di & Uncle Shawn.

I'm loving the U.S. Women's Soccer team for making it to the World Cup finals!!

Go USA!

I'm loving that Harry Potter and the The Deathly Hallows, Part II comes out tomorrow! 

On the other hand, I am sad that:

a) it's the last movie;

b) I won't be able to go to the midnight showing with Adam
(our plan before I decided to go to El Salvador);

c) none of the Americans here is as big an HP fan as me, 

so I am not sure if anyone will go see it with me...

I'm loving McDonald's Oreo McFlurry. 

 

It's so much better in El Salvador because it has Oreos, PLUS fudge and carmel sauce.

And last, but not least, I'm loving the kids of Love & Hope.

They accept and trust me more and more each day.

Aly & me on the way to the beach

What are YOU loving today?