india blog

Everyone keeps asking me why I set up a separate blog for India. Here is the answer: We needed several thousand dollars to purchase our dental equipment that we were to take with us to Rising Star Outreach. David Archuleta got on board and raised thousands of dollars for this purpose! We were not only able to purchase all the equipment with the money he raised but the thousands of extra dollars left over is going towards the building of a new portion of the school there for the children among other things there at Rising Star. I was asked by several of David's fan sites to set up a blog of our experiences there at RSO so that David's fans, especially those who had donated, could feel a part of the whole experience. I didn't want to post to my personal blog as I didn't really want the entire world of David's fans having access to it so thus I set up a completely separate blog for our Rising Star Outreach experiences.

What is Rising Star Outreach? It is a school, like a boarding school really, that was started by an LDS woman from Atlanta, Georgia named Becky Douglas. The children of RSO have parents who have Leprosy. These types of children in India are denied education because of the horrible social stigma of Leprosy. If a parent has it then the children carry that stigma for the rest of their lives, and they usually end up getting Leprosy as well, leaving them destitute and begging on the streets. So the cycle continues - no education, Leprosy affected, begging, dying. Their lives have no hope. That's where Rising Star comes in. The purpose is to stop the cycle. The children live there at RSO, are cared for, and are given a good education especially in English. If these children know English by the time they enter the work force their earning potential goes up 500%.

The children there had never seen a dentist before, so we went in and spent a week there at RSO doing dentistry on all 160 of them. We saw so many miracles that week. Just the fact we got through every single child was a miracle of it's own! Our hope now is that other dentists will also go in and continue the work. We left our dental equipment there for that purpose.

It was the most amazing life experience that I could never put into words.

I continue to post to my India blog so again here is the link:
http://rsoindia2009.blogspot.com/
(or you can click on the link on the upper right)

privacy, please.

The time has come to make my blog private. If you would like keep following along then please email me or leave your email address in the comments.

Also, it's true...I have finally posted to my India blog! I hope to post daily for the next week or so. It's a daunting task since I took over 1500 photos while I was there!
http://rsoindia2009.blogspot.com/

america the beautiful

About 3 hours ago we were driving down the street in Delhi, India. It happened to be the street on which a lot of the embassies sit. As I watched out the window, looking at each embassy as we passed it, suddenly there it was; the American flag. It sat on top of a big white building, and on the side of the building was the Seal of the United States. As I looked at that flag and that seal, I was filled with emotion, filled with such a great love for my country. My country. The land that I love. I have never in my life felt so much love and appreciation for America as I do right now. That is what two weeks in India has done for me. Words cannot describe how very blessed I feel to live in such a glorious land. My time here in India has been amazing and surreal and I would do it again in a heartbeat, but what an eye-opener it has been. A most humbling experience to say the least.

I sit here now in the Delhi airport, waiting for our 2 a.m. flight. I'm coming home to my beautiful America. I'm coming home!

I can't wait.

India

I am headed to India and I have set up a blog specifically for my India trip. I will try to post while I am there but there are no guarantees. It may have to wait until I get back, but hopefully not. The internet connection (I will be at a Leper Colony) will be spotty at best, and we are sure to be exhausted after each long and HOT day. I can't even explain how excited I am for this! It's sure to be a life-changing experience.

http://rsoindia2009.blogspot.com/

i ♥ new york

I know. I KNOW! It's been 6 weeks since our "girls' weekend in the Big Apple" and I'm just now getting around to posting some of my pics.

That's how it appears, however it's not entirely true. About 4 weeks ago I spent countless hours over two days (TWO DAYS, PEOPLE!) posting my NYC pics to my blog.

Yes, my blog.

But little did I know I was posting it all to the wrong blog! I know, duh. So I, in vain, desperately tried to move all that I had posted to the wrong blog over to the right blog. That should work, right? Cut. Paste. Voila!

It didn't work.

This sent me into deep denial and a bit of, well, depression over the whole thing....."How many ffffflippin' hours did I spend on those DANG pictures and it was all for not?!?"

So here I am, over one month later, feeling the pressure to try it again. I am off to India soon and surely will have 586,342 pictures to post when I get back so I either get these NY pics up now or it will never, ever happen.

John's sister Nancy decided to turn forty in May, so we decided we needed to celebrate. New York City was where the 3 day party took place.

So, let me start out with food. Yes, the food. The highlight of my weekend. The glorious New York City food where no bad food is to be had. Anywhere, anytime.

Pommes Frites. As far as I know this is the only place in the U.S. of A. to obtain European style french fries. (Actually, to call them french fries is, well, a bit of an insult.) Definitely worth the subway ride and the walk. Even worth the extra walk we took of getting completely getting lost - (2nd Avenue and 2nd Street - aren't they the same thing? No Virginia, they aren't. Two totally different streets in two totally different locations. Now we know.)

Julie and Judy enjoying their Pommes Frites with a variety of dipping sauces.

This picture makes me want to cry.
Almost as much as the next picture.....

Europan. Can I just say.... I. Love. Europan. They have a panini sandwich that I crave daily, each and every day of my life. It is lovely. Spinach, fresh mozzarella, basil (fresh, of course), and look at that, Julie - tomatoes (long story that only Julie will understand)!

Julie with her panini and Jana with her Vegan.....something.

My panini. Even the pickle was delicious! (No bad food in New York, remember? Not even bad pickles.)

Oh baby. There's nothing quite like fresh dumplings in Chinatown!

I must admit that when I found out that New York City has not only one, but many PinkBerry Yogurt shops, well, I couldn't sign up fast enough. I first tried this amazingly scrumptious frozen yogurt in Hollywood. I have dreamed about it ever since. And this was the bonus of eating it here, in New York City- I didn't have to share with anyone. Not one kid. Not one adult. Not one husband. I got the entire thing to myself. See me there, crouching down on the left, holding my little cup of heaven? I ate the whole thing. By. My. Self.






Nuts. Roasted nuts. Roasted, candied nuts. What would New York City be without these famous nuggets fragrantly roasting on every other corner? Mmmmm..........

And corn, roasting at a street market.

Riding bikes in Central Park......

Picking up our rental bikes a few block away from Central Park. We then had to ride IN the road WITH New York traffic to get to the park. A red-knuckle experience indeed.

A picturesque lake in Central Park. See the big building on the top right? With the 3 towers on it? Our tour guide told us that's where Jerry Seinfeld lives, and he reportedly paid 16 mil for his apartment. Sheesh, some people just have a lot of money.

I don't recommend trying to take a picture of your fellow bike-riding mates while you yourself are trying to ride your own bike.

Here is our tour guide guy pointing out where the "Frick Museum" is. However, that's not what he called it. One of the best quotes from the trip was from this guy -- "Over there is the Freak Museum. But I don't know why they call it the FREAK Museum......it doesn't really have anything freaky in it."

He was serious.

Me and my bike. I liked my bike.

Our bikes, taking a break.

You never know what can happen when you get a bunch of women together in NYC. Just look at us, showing off our legs. This is proof we went crazy - livin' life on the edge!
Need more proof? Just look at the next picture of Julie, striking a "woman on the loose" pose in Times Square.

Need I say more.

Guys and Dolls -one of two Broadway shows I saw. The other was The Lion King (completely awesome!).

Apparently, you are not supposed to take pictures inside the theater, and I can't remember if I took this picture of the stage right before the guy told me "no pictures mam, please put your camera away," or if I took it right after he told me. I think it was after. Ya, I'm pretty sure if was after. But what a great low-light shot of the stage!

The subway. The only way to get around NYC (that is if you can figure it out! We actually only went the wrong way once, thanks to me, and this was right as I made the confident declaration that "we are doing so great figuring out this subway system, it's really not a big deal!" Little did I know I had just put everyone on the wrong train going the wrong way. That's what happens when one gets a little too confident in oneself. I was quickly put in my place (thanks Jan) and have since humbled myself).



The whole gang riding the rails, with Nancy's family (the birthday girl) who joined us from Pennsylvania for the evening.



Julie was just SO exhausted that it looks like she fell asleep on the subway! Must have been all that "fun" she was having in Times Square (see previous photo).

I love the tile mosaics in the subway - so retro!

Flat Iron building. Always wanted to see this iconic building, finally got to!

Pedi-cabs....

Jan and Jana ready for their pedi-cab ride.

The three of us, Nancy, Julie, and me squished into a pedi-cab built for 2 people.

Passing Park Avenue.

Our guy taking us through the street of new York with Carol and Judy ahead of us.

Jan and Jana.

On the steps of the Met Museum (my blog header picture was taken in the lobby of The Met). This pic was taken just after we had descended upon a street vendor selling men's ties. I think in total we must have bought 50 or more ties. What do you expect from a bunch of Mormon women? Little did this guy know when he woke up that morning that it would be his lucky day! Seven Mormon ladies = good business!).

Our Bed and Breakfast....which wasn't really a "breakfast" at all. I like what Julie called it, a "Bed" which is more appropriate since there was no breakfast included. HOWEVER, it was a glorious place! The name is "1871 House." It is a brownstone built in 1871 (hence the name) and is nestled on a darling street full of other brownstones right near Central Park. This place is full of charm! For this I will forgive them for the lack of breakfast.

Me, Julie, Nancy, Jan, Carol, Judy, and Jan in front of our brownstone.

And a few inside shots of the rooms. Aren't they darling?! I would stay there again in a heartbeat.

Looking down the staircase with Carol and Jan.

There was a wonderful corner flower shop just down from our brownstone. I had to get a pic of this sign. At first glance you may think it says "Peony and Lilac." However, if you look closely you can see what it really says...."Peony and LIRAC!" (Apparently someone was having issues with their English.)

Oh, another picture to make me CRY! (Why does good food make me cry?) This is Jan, gazing at the delectable confections at our favorite bakery/cafe, Le Pain Quotidien. Oh my cow - that stuff was so yummy! I even brought a stash of it home for my family. We rationed it for days after I got home.

Julie and Jana doin' some damage to their pocketbooks in Chinatown!

The ladies in Chinatown.

I hate to end my post with such an odd picture, but I just had to include this one. It's not everyday that you find a cut-off chicken head in the gutter (along side a few cigarette butts).

Only in New York City.

Sorry Nicole, but you asked for it!

This is what remains un-eaten as of 3:52 p.m., Mountain Standard Time, Friday, June 19th. The size of the pile changes every 1-2 minutes. Can I just say.....the Star Bar IS. THE. BOMB! Actually everything you see is the BOMB (except maybe the Turkish Delight - that one is a little questionable). Once you sink your teeth into English/European chocolate you will forever shun the thought of a nasty Hershey's Kiss. Ew.

she's baaaack.....

..and with a suitcase full of Cadbury and Galaxy chocolates. That's my girl!

time

Time is such a perplexing notion.  The future always seems so far away but before we can even realize it, the future is here.  But only briefly, for in a blink of an eye the future quickly becomes the past.

18 years ago we welcomed our second daughter into our family.  I can't say it seems like it happened yesterday because it really does seem like it was a long time ago.  But back then, to think of her graduating from high school and going away to college, well, it seemed something that was just so far in the future.  That time would surely never arrive.

Yesterday, as I sat next to Raegan on the sofa of a sister I visit teach, I looked over at her and with amazement could not believe that my own daughter, my baby girl, The Nerf Baby as she was so affectionately called, is now my visiting teaching partner.  It seemed surreal.  She looked different to me - I saw a woman - a woman who was just starting on the journey of the rest of her life.  A journey that will be quite different than the one that she has known up until now.   One that I hope will be everything she has hope for.  

*sniffle, sniffle*

Okay, on to the next subject....I have a new blog - one that I set up so that I would have some place to stick some of the millions of photos I take!  I've posted some more of Raegan's Senior pics.  You can check it out if you are ever really, really bored.  

http://maryannespixels.blogspot.com/

(You can also click the link at the top right with the pic of the Sacred Grove.)

she did it!

one more