Posts

This is what is happening this week and next:
Monday packed for the move. (While whole family was sick)
Tuesday: Anya turned 3! I gave two finals, cleaned at the new house, waited for a fridge to be delivered, went to Anya's last t-ball practice, and graded all of the papers for my Social class. (Still not feeling great)

Wednesday: MOVING and finishing grading.
Thursday: Anya has a doctor's appointment, and we need to unpack.
Friday: Anya and two of her playgroup friends are having a combo birthday party during playgroup. I need to make the sandwiches and find where I packed the napkins and plates before then.
Saturday: I get a haircut and pedicure while Anya is at gymnastics, followed by two toddler birthday parties within 1/2 hour of each other.
Sunday: Nothing? Except of course, unpacking and getting old house ready to be rented.
Monday: Same as Sunday.
Tuesday: Same as Monday.
Wednesday: Drive down to SoCal for a trip to Disneyland and CMC 10 year reunion!

Anya started attending a local co-op pre-school a few weeks ago, and we both love it! At the end of her first day of school she threw a tantrum when it was time to leave. That was embarrassing, but also good to see that she really enjoyed her time there. Because the school is co-op I have to work in the class room ~3 times per month. Since she attends 3 days a week that means I work about one day a week. The time in the classroom is somewhat taxing, but my days off more than make up for it. Today after I dropped her off I had time for: a quick jog, a pedicure, a trip to fedex, a stop by a friends house to drop off donations for Easter baskets for local homeless children, and quick trip to Starbucks for a Venti iced tea. All with enough time left over to spy on observe Anya as she played outside at school before pick-up time. It was great! I can't wait until she starts "real" school!

Every Christmas I request books as presents from my mom and husband. I love seeing what they pick out. Usually it is something that I wouldn't think of buying/reading myself, but I always enjoy what they give me. The variety is fantastic, and all year I look forward to my Christmas books. This year was no exception. Chris picked out a number of great books for me, but there is one in particular I want to share with you because I think its story is so important.

This books is no literary masterpiece, but much more important that the quality of the writing is the true story that it tells of the amazing work being done by Greg Mortenson and the Central Asia Institute. CAI's goal is to, "promote and support community-based education, especially for girls in remote regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan". Mortenson strongly believes that peace is only possible through education. Children in poor and remote areas of central Asia are particularly susceptible to the propaganda spread when wealthy Saudi's come into their impoverished environs offering an education in the Wahhabi madrassas that their oil money builds.

My favorite excerpts from the book come from the section recounting Mortenson's pleas to Congress:

"People in that part of the world are used to death and violence, and if you tell them, 'We're sorry your father died, but he died a martyr so Afghanistan could be free,' and if you offer them compensation and honor their sacrifice, I think people will support us, even now. But the worst thing you can do is what we're doing - ignoring the victims. To call them 'collateral damage' and not even try to count the nubers of the dead. Because to ignore them is to deny they ever exsisted, and there is no greater insult in the Islamic world. For that we will never be forgiven."

"I'm no military expert, and these figures might not be exactly right. But as best as I can tell, we've lanuched 114 Tomahawk cruise missiles into Afghanistan so far [2002]. Now take the cost of one of those missiles tipped with Raytheon guidance systems, which I think is about $840,000. For that much money, you could build dozens of schools that could provice tens of thousands of students with a balanced nonextremist education over the course of a generation. Which do you think will make use more secure?"

I think that the work being done by the CAI is fantastic and I especially love their focus on education for girls. I was really surprised to read how open and even excited the vast majority of the conservative relgious leaders in Pakistan an Afghanistan are about the idea of education their girls. I think Mortenson is right, if you educate women, you change the world.

I highly recommend the book and I highly recommend that you check out the CAI and consider making a donation to their very worthy cause. Even small changes in these remote villages can have an impact on history and the world.

 
From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Some failures lead to phenomenal successes, and this American nurse's unsuccessful attempt to climb K2, the world's second tallest mountain, is one of them. Dangerously ill when he finished his climb in 1993, Mortenson was sheltered for seven weeks by the small Pakistani village of Korphe; in return, he promised to build the impoverished town's first school, a project that grew into the Central Asia Institute, which has since constructed more than 50 schools across rural Pakistan and Afghanistan. Coauthor Relin recounts Mortenson's efforts in fascinating detail, presenting compelling portraits of the village elders, con artists, philanthropists, mujahideen, Taliban officials, ambitious school girls and upright Muslims Mortenson met along the way. As the book moves into the post-9/11 world, Mortenson and Relin argue that the United States must fight Islamic extremism in the region through collaborative efforts to alleviate poverty and improve access to education, especially for girls. Captivating and suspenseful, with engrossing accounts of both hostilities and unlikely friendships, this book will win many readers' hearts. (Mar.)

You be the judge. What do you think this baby is saying at the end of the video?

UPDATE and Answer: Listen for "Islam is the light?" Do you hear it? What do you think, is the message really there or is the suggestion of the phrase enough to plant the thought and make us hear something that isn't really there?

You be the judge. What do you think this baby is saying at the end of the video?

For the second year in a row we hosted a toddler friendly fondue party for New Year's Eve. Once again it was a blast with 13 kids ranging in age from 8 months to 3.5 years and 15 adults, I think. The adults enjoyed many great appetizers that were brought to share and then dug into milk and dark chocolate fondues. There were an array of yummy fruits and AMAZING peanut butter balls to dip into the chocolate (thanks, calimama!). The kids had a great time with nary a dispute over toys (at least that I witnessed). Most people were home by 9 and we had the house semi-cleaned up and were in bed by 11:30!

Before:

Like Janette I also decided this year to record all of the books that I read. I ended up with 58 (mostly fluff), and 14 of those were audio books that I listened to on my commute and while at the gym. I started listening to The World According to Garp during my 1/2 marathon and now my memories of the race are irrevocably linked to that book.

I didn't start recording the date that I finished until July, but I think when I do this next year I will break it down by month like Janette did.

1. The Septembers of Shiraz, Dalia Sofer
2. Bowl of Cherries, Millard Kaufman
3. The Chinatown Death Cloud Peril, Paul Malmont
4. The Merlot Murders, Ellen Crosby (audiobook)
5. Brave New World, Aldous Huxley (audiobook)
6. Straight Man, Richard Russo
7. The Sound and the Fury, William Faulkner (audiobook)
8. Love Over Scotland, Alexander McCall Smith
9. On the Road, Jack Kerouac (audiobook)
10. Fresh, Mark McNay
11. Darkest Fear, Harlan Coben
12. Schuyler’s Monster, Robert Rummel-Hudson
13. Invisible Man, Ralph Ellison (audiobook)
14. The Postman Always Rings Twice, James M. Cain (audiobook)
15. The Year of Living Biblically, A.J. Jacobs
16. Twilight, Stephenie Meyer (audiobook)
17. Leave a Message for Willie, Marcia Muller
18. Bucket Nut, Liza Cody
19. Money to Burn, Katy Munger
20. New Moon, Stephenie Meyer (audiobook)
21. No Second Chance, Harlan Coben
22. Cinnamon Kiss, Walter Mosely
23. Eclipse, Stephenie Meyer
24. The Host, Stephenie Meyer
25. Plan B Further Thoughts on Faith, Anne Lamott
26. The Zygote Chronicles, Suzanne Finnamore
27. Wild Kat, Karen Kijewski (7/2/08)
28. Water for Elephants, Sara Gruen (7/4/08)
29. Loving Frank, Nancy Horan (7/12/08)
30. Murder Among Neighbors, Jonnie Jacobs (7/25/08)
31. Operating Instructions: A Journal of My Son’s First Year, Anne Lamott (repeat) (8/1/08)
32. Breaking Dawn, Stephanie Meyer (8/9/08)
33. Ultra Marathon Man: Confessions of an all-night runner, Dean Karnazes (8/18/08)
34. Slow Burn, G.M. Ford (8/20/08)
35. The Extra Mile: One Woman’s Personal Journey to Ultrarunning Greatness, Pam Reed (8/20/08)
36. Lolita, Vladimir Nabokov (audiobook) (8/21/08)
37. When You Are Engulfed in Flames, David Sedaris (8/25/08)
38. In the Electric Mist with Confederate Dead, James Lee Burke (9/6/08)
39. Misery Loves Maggody, Joan Hess (9/9/08)
40. Tattoo Blues, Michael McClelland (9/16/08)
41. Dirty Money, Steven Womack (9/22/08)
42. Deal Breaker, Harlan Coben (9/28/08)
43. The Final Detail, Harlan Coben (10/5/08)
44. Three Bags Full, Leonie Swann (10/17/08)
45. Will the Vampire People Please Leave the Lobby?, Allyson Beatrice (10/21/08)
46. Strange Brew, Kathy Hogan Trocheck (10/30/08)
47. I’m a Stranger Here Myself, Bill Bryson (audiobook) (10/29/08)
48. Madness in Maggody, Joan Hess (11/10/08)
49. Electric City, K.K. Beck (11/17/08)
50. While Drowning in the Desert, Don Winslow (11/21/08)
51. New Orleans Beat, Julie Smith (11/28/08)
52. The World According to Garp, John Irving (audiobook) (12/1/08)
53. Swine Not?, Jimmy Buffett (audiobook) (12/5/08)
54. The Lost Continent, Bill Bryson (audiobook) (12/8/08)
55. A Prayer for Owen Meany, John Irving (12/17/08)
56. To Live & Die in Dixie, Kathy Hogan Trocheck (12/21/08)
57. The Getaway Blues, William Murray (12/26/08)
58. The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini (audiobook) (12/29/08)

On Tuesday we made our annual trek into San Francisco for a holiday tea. This year we went to the Teddy Bear Tea at the Ritz-Carleton.

We had some time to kill before the tea, so we walked to Union Square and looked at the holiday windows. Unfortunately most stores don't do the amazing windows that I remember from my childhood anymore. Macy's did have some kittens and puppies, though, and that kept us occupied for quite a while.

The tea itself was great fun. Anya was most enthralled by the bowl full of marshmallows on the table for the hot chocolate. There was a near meltdown when I dared to suggested that she might want to eat some of her more nutritious food before consuming the whole bowl. As it turns out her tea food didn't have much more nutritional value than the bowl full of sugar and gelatin, and she turned up her nose at anything that wasn't completely processed and gummy.

The highlight of the tea was meeting the giant teddy bear and getting a hug. The Binky the gay (of course) elf was fairly entertaining, too. It turns out that the theme this year was "London Calling" so his show was an odd mixture of Christmas carols and 80's pop. It's somewhat disconcerting to hearing Jingle Bells morph into Karma Chameleon. Not really what I expected from the Ritz, but fun none-the-less!