Visitors!

Last weekend our friends Will and Orla visited from Boston! It's a fun treat to have people we know so well from somewhere else come visit where we live now. It was also a great reason to stop and be still over the weekend and just live in the moment with friends.

We went to the DeGrazia Art Gallery, one of my favorite places in Tucson. I've probably posted photos here before from there, but I love it so much that I'm going to post them again. :)

Outside the gallery, what also used to be Ted DeGrazia's home:


Outside the Chapel:


Inside the sanctuary:


We hiked the phoneline trail in Sabino Canyon. I never knew the leaves changed color in AZ, but we learned they do!...beautiful golden leaves decorated the taller trees in the canyon.

It's True!

For my birthday, Ryan took me to get my nose pierced! I've been wanting to get it pierced for several years now, but just never quite had the courage to do so. The guy who did my piercing told me that if I've ever had my eyebrows waxed, then I've experienced far worse pain that what it would feel like to get my nose pierced...such a lie...it hurt big time!

Pacing as my jewelry was getting sterilized...


I feel like piercing and tattoo parlors have such a bad rap for being dirty, but it's just not true. I actually would dare to say that this place was cleaner than most dentist/doctors offices...not sure what that says about my dentist/doctor, but it's true. Everything was super sterile, I wasn't allowed to touch anything, everyone used gloves, etc. I was very impressed with the cleanliness.

Before...


After...


I must admit, I love having my nose pierced! Walking around the grocery store, doing laundry, etc...I don't know what it is...but I'm enjoying it. The funny thing, is though, is that NO ONE says anything about it. At first I thought that it was because a.) they didn't like it, or b.) what do you say anyway? But, I'm realizing (through people telling me) is it's because it's not very noticeable...a good thing in my opinion. I didn't want anything big, just a little sparkle, and I think I succeeded in getting just that.

The Great Cover Up!

There is an annual 3-day musical happening in Tucson every year called The Great Cover Up where local Tucson bands take the stage covering other mainstream acts. Ryanhood is participating for the first time this year...their disguise? Flight of the Conchords! I've included a youtube video of one of their performances...if you haven't heard/seen them before, have fun...they're fun...



In preparation for this event taking place tomorrow night, Ryan has been growing a beard, and we bought a wig to try to get the hair looking just right. In the picture online, the wig looked PERFECT for Ryan's character, however once we got it...it looked like a total clown wig. So, to the Hair Tree we went to try to get it cut/straightened/real curled/etc.


This morning when he tried on the wig though, he thought it still needed some trimming. So, it was my turn to cut away. The one thing that I didn't take into consideration when I offered to cut it, was that Ryan comes from a beauty salon family. (His mom owns a salon, his grandma used to cut hair, etc.) I was quickly getting requests for jagged cuts as to not make it look to straight...to thin it out...and to put layers in it...I did my best. :) It was fun, and the wig looks rockin' now!



If you are in Tucson and want to come...Saturday night (Dec. 13)...10pm (please note the time change)...Club Congress.

200!

Well folks, this is my 200th blog post since it's conception in March of 2006. I originally had thought that I'd do something fun and list my 200 favorites...but to be honest all I have time for is a short post. :) A couple of friends have had this video on their blogs, and well, I like it...so I wanted to share it with all of you!

Hike!

Ryan and I went for a hike last week on the Finger Rock trail in the Catalina Mountains. It's a beautiful place to hike at sunset. We got off to a bit of a late start so we didn't get to hike as far as we had hoped to...yet the view was still breathtaking.

Happy Birthday Vitale!

Today was Vitale's first birthday! Having Vitale and all of his family in our life has been such a joy! I have been wanting to go to Africa ever since I can remember, and I am soo excited that we'll be heading there in a few weeks!! But, Ryan brought to my attention today how cool it is that God has brought Africa to us by means of having wonderful friendships with people from there all around us. It's true, if it weren't for God sending Liz to my doorstep (literally) 5 years ago, we wouldn't be going to Uganda this month. And if it weren't for God urging us to the ESL camp this summer (that we were so on the edge of not attending), we wouldn't have met our friends from Congo! It's been a gift to be apart of their vibrant community, and we got to see an even bigger picture of that today at Vitale's birthday party! The church community that Bienvenue, Elodie, and Vitale are a part of was having a house warming party today for a place they were just able to purchase to hold community gatherings, ESL classes, etc in...and it just so happened to coincide with Vitale's birthday, so they threw a party in celebration...this was the first traditional American birthday party that any of them have ever been to! Bagimba, the pastor the church, is from Burundi and just came to the States 18 months ago as a refugee...he has accomplished sooo much in such a short period of time, it humbles me. He has started this entire church which now has over 100 people, mostly consisting of refugees in Tucson...it just goes to show what a need there was in Tucson for such a gathering place.

Here is a video of some of the music that was sung at the party...


Prayers for Vitale...


Birthday cake...


Piñata...


Onlookers...


Candy Gatherers...


Presents and Vitale's acceptance speech (he was a man of few words)...


Sound asleep...


While at the party, I saw some great ways to carry babies...can't wait to have some vibrant colored fabric and a baby on my back!

Happy Baby Shower Melissa!

On Saturday Melissa's sister, Valorie, and I had a baby shower for Melissa at our house. It was a wonderful gathering of girlfriends sharing in tea, food, crafts, laughs, and hugs. We are so excited to have Baby Giambelluca join our community of friends and family in Tucson!

Thanksgiving!

Sorry I am a little slow with blogging lately. We have been thoroughly enjoying our time at home in Tucson. This afternoon we are planning to have lunch at one of our favorite little spots downtown and then go for a hike in the Catalinas.

We had a wonderful full day of thanksgiving last Thursday! I ran a 5k cross country race in the morning with Ryan's Uncle Terry. It had rained earlier that morning so the typical water pit and hay bale lain course was also covered in mud and rain-filled washes...it was a sloppy adventure...luckily our car wasn't clean so we could get in without any worries of dirtying it any more. :)


After the race we went over to Grandmo and Grandpo Green's for brunch! Ryan has a lot of cousins on that side of the family, so it was fun to be able to see a lot of them and have a non-turkey meal to start out the day.

Lori hosted a wonderful Thanksgiving meal at her house with Grammie, Sara, and us. Having just a small group was really nice to get to chat with everyone and have some meaningful time as we shared what we were all thankful for.

And then in the evening we went to Chris and Melissa's to celebrate with friends!

Matt and Abby making the mashed potatoes...


Ben carving the ham...


Elodie and Vitale...


Marie...


Filling plates...


A wonderful celebration with friends!

Lessons from Congo

I just got home from an absolutely wonderful 3 hour visit with our friends from the Congo. I love that every time we go over there, no matter what time of day, it is as if they are just waiting for our visit. They are not pre-occupied with other things that they need to get done, they are not worried about how clean or dirty their house is, they are not concerned if they are in their pajamas or newest clothes, they are just so thankful to have company to sit and visit with. They live totally in the present...such a great reminder for me today!

Bad News Blues...

Yesterday morning I had my 6-month check-up at the dentist office. I am one of those that actually likes going to the dentist. I think this is because as a child I had a funny hygienist that always joked around, and at the end of the appointment I would always get my photo taken for the "No Cavity Kid" wall after I picked out my toy from the treasure chest.

Yesterday's appointment once again started out with smiles and laughs. My hygienist told me it looked like I had been doing a great job brushing and flossing. Then my dentist came in, took a look at my x-rays, told me I had perfect teeth and that I should thank my parents for those genes (thanks mom and dad!). One look and two pokes with the sharp metal thing in my mouth though, and the mood changed. The dentist told me that I have not one, but TWO cavities!! I felt like I was such a disappointment to both the hygienist and dentist since they had just been praising me...I guess looks really don't tell a person anything. Now, these cavities might not seem like a big deal to many, but these are my first cavities in my adult teeth! I guess if I hadn't reached adulthood before, this is officially my entrance into this next stage of life.

Home!

We have made it back to Tucson safe and sound. From 9 degrees in Fargo, ND to 80 degrees in Tucson, we don't have too much to complain about. :)

Our last couple of tour days were spent in Boston and NYC! We finally got to meet Ellen Mueller, and spend some time visiting with her parents, our friends, Claire and Peter. Claire is from France and only speaks in French to Ellen, and Peter is from Germany and only speaks in German to Ellen...and we only spoke to her in English...tri-lingual baby, watch out! :)


It was great to see other friends in the area...as always we wish our visit could have been longer and we could have seen EVERYONE we love in the area, but I guess there will be a next time.

My roadtrip home to Tucson was made wonderful with the company of my friend Heather from Tucson! Who knew we had 50+ hours of conversation stored up? Sure enough, we did! and the entire trip home was filled with chatter and laughter...thanks for turning what could have been a long exhausting drive into such a great roadtrip Heather!


Visiting Heather's family along the way...
Grandparents and family friends in Indiana:


In-laws in Missouri:


Heather's brother-in-law's farm (where we got hormone/antibiotic-free, free-range, local, fresh meat from for dinner!):

Back in Beantown

We are back in Boston for a few days before Ryanhood's shows on Thursday and Friday. Just a quick plug...if you are in Boston and free on Friday night, Ryanhood is playing with Owen Plant at Club Passim, 7pm and 10pm, tickets available at the venue or online, www.clubpassim.com. Without a question, Club Passim is by far the coolest venue that I've seen Ryanhood play at, or have seen any concert at for that matter. It's a 50+ year old folk club and vegetarian restaurant. People who go there love music, and are ready to go along for the ride and laugh, listen, sing,...it's great...you should come. :)

Or, if you are in NYC, Saturday night at The Underground Cafe, 20 Murray St. at 8pm is the place to be. :)

Okay...onto being back in Boston. I LOVE this city! It's starting to get cold and when taking public transportation and walking everywhere, there is definitely the need to wear a hat, scarf, mittens, etc...but I love it! I love walking past cute shops and restaurants, I love waiting for the T, riding the T, reading The Metro on the T, I love the eclectic assortment of people on the sidewalks, I love the recycling containers on the sidewalks, I love how big the natural & organic section is at the grocery store, I love the memories we have from living and visiting here, I love the friendships we have here, ... Visiting Boston puts me on a bit of an emotional overload I suppose you could say. :)

We are staying with our friends, Lisa and Stace, and their kids, Abby and Cameron (fun pick of names, eh?) in Porter Square. Last night we had a wonderful dinner by candlelight, and then this morning the house was bustling with their friends over for breakfast. Ryan and I went to the ICA (Institute for Contemporary Art) in the South End, and for lunch at Flour Bakery and Cafe (YUM!). Ryan and I have determined that Contemporary Art is definitely our favorite art to see in a museum. There was a great exhibit going on by Tara Donovan using all common materials in large quantities...have a look...


Paper plates folded:


Toothpicks that were in a large crate and emptied out...not glue or adhesive used:


Foil paper:


And, my favorite...Styrofoam cups!

Working with a couple of hotties...

I am in a very fun position to work full-time with my husband. I do the booking, mail out the promo, and do all of that fun stuff months before the show, and then at the actual show, I sell their merchandise: cds, shirts, posters, etc. It is a very humorous position because most of the concert-goers have no idea that I have any connection with the band, let alone that I am married to one of the band members.

Some fun moments have included:

**(said to friend also at the merch table while looking at posters), "Oh my gosh, they are so hot...who do you think is cuter, Ryan or Cameron?" ... "I'm totally going to hang this [poster] over my bed."

**(said to me by two effeminate gentleman after a show), "Are you their manager?" Me:"I do their tour managing and booking." Them: "The guy who stands on the leftside of the stage [Ryan] is soo hot!" Me (unable to keep a straight face): "I think so too...he's my husband." Them (said while giving me high fives and hugs in celebration): "Oh giiiiirrlll...you get him...you get him...girrrlll!"

**(said at merch table before a show to a girl buying a ridiculous amount of merchandise before even seeing them play), Me: "Have you heard Ryanhood play before?" Girl: "Ummm...my friend like knows them personally." (I had no response to this one...I wish I knew who her friend was so I could have an in with the band too.)

**(At a past NACA conference while handing out neckties to students in our expo booth, a girl was asking Ryan for his personal necktie when I interrupted), Me: "Wow, he's going to give you his own tie?" Ryan: "Well, she said she'd bring it back to me by the end of the conference." College girl: "It's because he's totally in love with me". (Ryan and I then look at each other with a laugh in our eyes...if only she knew..). :)

More embarrassing moments...

We are in Hartford, CT this weekend for another NACA (National Association of Campus Activities) conference. Once again, thousands of college students in a small space where no embarrassing moment goes unnoticed. This time though, it was Ryan blushing instead of myself. We were all on the "up" escalator going to the ballroom for dinner, when Ryan decided to have a fun childhood-like moment and sit on the moving handrail...a fun balancing game of sorts, I suppose. Although, the game did not last more than 2 seconds, as the escalator started beeping and jerked to a halt...with everyone turning around to look at us to say, "Who did that? Who just got on and made it stop?" We followed suit and turned around to look who was behind us that could have possibly made is stop...the only problem is that there wasn't anyone behind us to pass the blame off to, so we just looked dumbfounded as if we had no idea why the escalator stopped. So, we all had to climb the escalator stairs, which by the way, why is it so much harder to climb escalator stairs than normal stairs?? After dinner, as we were on the "down" escalator we noticed that the "up" was still out of order with someone working to fix it...oops!

Yes We Can!

I've grown to absolutely love the above slogan. It has so much hope. So much positivity. So much enthusiasm. Watching the news as the polls closed and then Obama's acceptance speech last night was absolutely moving. I'm so excited and hopeful to be apart of a country where any child can dream of being the president, where I can go to another country and not be embarrassed to say that I'm an American, where I can afford to have health insurance, where there is an end to war, where I--and hopefully others--have a little less fear to bring a child into this world because of the previous two reasons, where poverty is addressed, where our children's education is valued...the list goes on.

The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even one term, but America – I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you – we as a people will get there.

One Home Many Hopes

'One Home Many Hopes' is a home for abandoned and orphaned street girls in Kenya that was founded by a friend of mine from Boston, Thomas Keown. He saw the need for such a home when he visited Kenya and was shocked by the sight of children foraging through trash piles for food just to stay alive.

Today, One Home Many Hopes is providing shelter and education for 35 young Kenyan street girls. Thirty-five girls who once ate flea-ridden scraps from trash piles, will today have cooked meals. Girls who once slept cold in the mud of Mtwapa's streets, will tonight curl up in clean sheets. Girls who had no hope and no future will spend nine hours in school tomorrow. These 35 girls who were once known to nobody, right now know that they are loved.

One Home Many Hopes was selected as 1 of 2 small non-profits to be filmed raising $20,000 in 30 days for a documentary. They have someone who is willing to match up to $10,000...so their personal goal is to have 1,000 people give $10...the need now, is to find 1,000 people to give $10...in the next 20 days! If you are interested in learning more about One Home Many Hopes, please click here. If you are interested in giving $10 to go directly toward OHMH, and also achieving the goal for $20,000, please click here.

Yooper Time!

Flat Stanley traveled with me from Tucson to Wisconsin last week to join back up with the guys on tour.


We had one show in Oshkosh, WI and then headed north to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan where we stayed with my friend Megan's mom, and Megan and her kids who came up from Chicago for a vacation! I had been to the Upper Peninsula before, but the last time I was there, it was February and I was so cold, that I don't remember too much. This time was different though. The fallen fall leaves, the lake, the sunrises...it was GORGEOUS! I just love the stillness and peace that comes with life lived surrounded by nature. The smell of the bonfire, the sound of the leaves crunching beneath our feet, children laughing as they breathe in the crisp air, and the taste of home cooked meals. It was a wonderful time spent with friends!