Show & Tell: Senior moment

Maybe it's the influence of my last post that triggered me to share this photo I took of a scene in Budapest many years ago.

Budapest was the consolation prize I mentioned here, which includes the bridge that first bonded me to Cassandra.


I wonder what the man is waiting for? What kind of life has he had? What has he seen? Has he loved and been loved?

The photo has been hanging on our wall for a dozen years, and the light has not been good to it. Still, I hope you can see the haunting quality in the image that I do.

See the cool stuff my classmates are showing and telling over at Mel's Show & Tell.





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Show & Tell: Malaprop

Roger and I came upon this scene one day while touring the Syrian countryside, circa 1997:

Roger speaks to some travellers about the plight of their bus, the Happy Jurney.

Clearly, when this vehicle was christened, much was lost in translation.

See the cool stuff my classmates are showing and telling over at Mel's Show & Tell.






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Show & Tell: Wild Dala Horses

If you've spent any time in a Swedish community, you may be familiar with these:


It's a Dala horse. Dalas adorn homes, Christmas trees, mailboxes, tableclothes, wrapping paper, etc -- all year long.

I spent last week in my college town. Lindsborg, KS has taken the Dala concept one step further -- a herd of wild dala horses has taken up residence in various locations!

I photographed some (and also borrowed other photos from Mike-Sheryl.com) to show you my beloved Lindsborg's whimsicality. The titles of these 11 wild dalas are as clever as the paint jobs.

See what my classmates are showing and telling over at Mel's Show & Tell. And show something yourself -- everyone is welcome.

Perfect Moment Monday: Retrospect

Perfect Moment Monday is about noticing a perfect moment rather than creating one. Perfect moments can be momentous or ordinary or somewhere in between.

We gather once a week to engage in mindfulness about something that is right with our world. Everyone is welcome to join. Details on how to participate are at the bottom of this post, complete with bloggy bling.

Please visit the links of the participants at the bottom.

Here's a perfect moment from my week. I hope you'll share yours, too.

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I took a trip on the yellow brick road down memory lane this week.

I returned to my college town in Kansas for a class reunion. This sign above the bar gave me pause, because I realized that people not even born when we graduated can now legally drink alcohol.
Let me say a little about my college. It's small -- there were 104 in my graduating class, and just under 1000 students altogether. It's tight -- after so many years, we alums greeted each other with deep affection. It's idyllic -- I hold thousands of happy memories. SO many memories in only 4 years. And the college is inextricably entwined with the town.

The town has remained at a population of about 3500 over the decades. It's a farming and artisan community -- highly welcoming of the transient student population who are invited to retain a claim on the place.

Each odd-numbered year, the town hosts Svensk Hyllningsfest, a Swedish harvest festival that coincides with the college's class reunions. The town has one flashing red light at the main intersection. No green or yellow is necessary -- just red. And even that is shut off during Hyllningsfest, for the parade and for the Swedish Dancers.

The day before the actual festivities (which I enjoyed immensely -- hello fellow Stuga-ites!), I spent time alone, wandering the town with my 80s playlist on, revisiting the scenes of past sins. Such as:

• with my roommate one night, moving a bench from City Hall and putting it in the middle of Main Street.
  
• with the same roommate, grabbing bread carts from behind the grocery store and racing each other in the parking lot.
  
• making out in the bandshell on my 19th birthday with Jim ("making out" is not a euphemism, mom -- I truly did not mess around with Jim).
  
• my pattern of going after the same guy my friend Kathy liked. Three times, we figured.
  
• stealing a couple of dollars from the till at my summer job, just because I could.
• "going to Nebraska," which was a euphemisms for, well, taking a trip of sorts.
• breaking a few hearts.

And the scene of past hurts:

• having my heart broken. More than once.
  
• being on the outside of girl groups. Or at least thinking I was.
• not being able to do the splits for my final drill-team routine. I was the only girl who wasn't that limber. Fail.
  
• two car accidents that claimed the lives of friends.

I got to revisit these scenes of teen/twentysomething angst with mature eyes. Even my imperfections were made perfect.

Fall sunflowers, to and fro.

Svensk Hyllningsfest 2007.

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Show & Tell: Color My World

Of course, meeting Chicklet for the first time was the highlight of my week, but I also enjoyed the flavors of Vancouver.

Here are 6 colorful scenes off my point & shoot I want to share with you.

See what my classmates are showing and telling over at Mel's Show & Tell. And show something yourself -- everyone is welcome.

Show & Tell: Geography

It's Show & Tell time!

I write this from beautiful western Colorado, where I'm visiting my sister, Sheri, and her family. My teen nephew, Jake (who last year helped me with my M&Ms review last summer), helped me research some of the stunning features that surround his home.

To the northeast is the Grand Mesa (panoramic view courtesy Wikipedia. Click for bigger image.)


One the left of the photo, you see the Book Cliffs, with Mt Garfield left of center. To the right is the Grand Mesa, the world's largest mesa, situated between the Colorado and Gunnison Rivers. Wiki says that much of the Grand Mesa is within the Grand Mesa National Forest, which contains more than 300 lakes. The Grand Mesa was created at the birth of the Rocky Mountains about 30 million years ago, about the last time the Republican party had a coherent message (I say that as a New Age Republican).

Book Cliffs and Mt Garfield (photo credit).

Grand Mesa Photo by Diamond Rose Ranch.

To the west of Jake's house is the Colorado National Monument.

Photo credit

Photo credit

Prior to about 100 years ago, people thought that the Monument -- now part of the National Park Service -- was inaccessible to humans.

Now humans regularly hike, bike, drive and ride horses through these breathtakingly gorgeous geologic features.

Jake and I hope you've enjoyed your armchair tour of Grand Junctions' natural beauty!

For more showers and tellers click over to Mel's Show & Tell.
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First Ten Words

Many years ago after a few major life setbacks, I took my 20-something self to Japan to teach conversational English in an industrial city near Osaka.

Years later after meeting and marrying Rob, we took a two-year leap of faith to teach at an international school in Aleppo, Syria. He taught high school English and I taught middle school social studies in a city four hours north of Damascus.

While I have yet to master any second language, the process of learning by immersion helped me grasp a culture more quickly than did learning in school.

So here’s my theory: the first words learned when landing in a new country speak volumes about that society’s values, outlook, and temperament.

First Words I learned when immersed:

in Japan

1. yes (hai)
2. please (kudasai)
3. excuse me (sumimasen)
4. thank you (arigato)
5. beautiful (kirei)
6. strong, well (genki)
7. where? (doko)
8. how much? (ikura desuka)
9. foreigner (gaijin) maybe (tabun)
10. cute (kawaii)

in Syria

1. whenever (insha'llah)
2. tomorrow (bukra)
3. oh well (maalesh)
4. no (laa')
5. good (kwayyis)
6. thank you (shukran)
7. where? (wein)
8. how much? (addeish)
9. coffee (ahwe)
10. I want (biddi)

Looking at the lists, what generalizations can I make about Japanese culture? The Japanese value agreement and politeness (yes, please, excuse me). And with several words for pleasantness (beautiful, well, fine), I confirmed what the guidebooks said about the importance of building agreement. Both language and everyday rituals grease the wheels in a society where people practically live on top of each other.

My first day teaching in Japan, I showed a photo of my family to my new coworkers, four bilingual Japanese women. My grandma was promptly declared cute, kawaii.

And so were my younger sister, a small pen I carried, and my shoes. Women used kawaii frequently both to describe and to build rapport through giggling.

And what about Arab culture? Like people in other Mediterranean countries, Syrians are laid back and speak their minds. There’s a joke in one of the guidebooks that to get by in an Arab country, you only need to learn “IBM” -- Insha’llah, Bukra, Maalesh -- because all you need to know is “whenever,” “tomorrow,” and “oh well.” Throw in the very direct (and non-Japanese) “no” and you’re set.

When will the school’s copier be fixed? Bukra – not a fixed point in time like our “tomorrow,” but a relative term meaning more like “not today.”

Will the landlord have our hot water heater working again soon? Maalesh – don’t worry, no problem. Be happy.

How long will it take to process my visa? – I really need my passport back. Insha’llah – God willing – you’ll have it back bukra. Don’t worry -- maalesh.

Common in Syria, ”no” and “I want” are considered too direct for the Japanese, who prefer more nuanced words like “maybe” and “please” spoken verbally and with finely tuned body language.

I often wonder which would be among the first terms a non-American-speaking visitor would learn in coming to live and teach in the United States. Credit card and carpool? Dow Jones and download? American Idol and American troops? iPod and YouTube? Speed limit and speed dating?

And what would this list say about our values, our outlook, and our temperament?

Do you have any immersion insights?

Show & Tell: the game table that's never seen action

(Originally posted at Baby Steps to Baby Shoes as part of the Great Blog Cross-Pollination.)

Awhile back I shared some souvenirs we brought back from the 2 years we lived in the Middle East. Today I'm showing and telling about the gift I got for my husband's birthday in 1998, from the souk in Damascus.

It's just a table.


That opens up.

For cards.

Or checkers or chess.

Or backgammon.

Mostly, it's a decoration. We haven't had time for such games in, oh, 7 years or so.

For more Show & Tell, check with Lollipop Goldstein our supercool teacher.

Show & Tell: Bonne 400th anniversaire, Québec

I'm in the lovely city of Quebec for a meeting. The fall is stunning, and I was able to take some time for sightseeing. Here are 7 city scenes.

(I particularly like the place to unwind at the end of the day, the Fou Bar.)

(If the slide show doesn't load, please click on **View all images. )

Want to see what the other kids are showing and telling? Visit Lollipop the Headmistress. Better hide those spit-wads!

Show & Tell: The scallop and my 300th post

This is an emblem on our front porch. If you were a Spaniard, the symbol above would be as meaningful and familiar to you as this

or this.

Many years ago (BK, before kids), Rob and I crossed northern Spain by car, staying in various paradores, historic sites converted to hotels with surprisingly affordable prices.

Along the way and every few hundred feet, we would see people walking west in the same direction we were driving. Sometimes singly, sometimes in small groups, but never seeking a ride. We realized we were at the peak season for the pilgrimage. All these people were headed toward a city in Galicia: Santiago de Campostela, or St James of the Field of the Star. From Wikipedia:

Legend holds that St. James's [the Greater] remains were carried by boat from Jerusalem to northern Spain where they were buried on the site of what is now the city of Santiago de Compostela.

[The route] was considered one of three pilgrimages on which a plenary indulgence could be earned; the others are the Via Francigena to Rome and the pilgrimage to Jerusalem.

So what's up with the shell? One legend says that the ship carrying St James' body was sunk in a storm and his body lost. After awhile, though, his body washed ashore undamaged and covered in scallops.

The scallop shell has become a metaphor for a pilgrim, with God's hand guiding pilgrims to Santiago. Also, the multiple lines converging at one point can signify the various routes that bring seekers to Santiago.

Even today, tens of thousands or peregrinos set out each year to traverse this route that is designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. For a few euros, they can purchase a credencial (Pilgrim's Passport) that entitles them to reduced rate or free stays at refugios (hostels).

The way, the hostels, the watering spots, the sites along the route to mark assistance for or welcoming of peregrinos -- these are all indicated by this.


Travelers whom I know from blogland are welcome in my home.

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More Show & Tell entries can be found at Mel's Place.

Show & Tell: Europe as a fertility consolation prize

We underwent IVF while living in Syria one spring many years ago. If I were to become pregnant, I was to spend Spring Break staying at our flat in northern Syria near the Turkish border.

I was not altogether pleased about this news from our fertility clinic. Our time in the Middle East was nearing its end, and I wanted to eke out all the gallivanting I could while living on that side of the globe.

So I set it up in my mind that if the transfer didn't work, at least I could have a vacation.

Maybe I subconsciously sabotaged my chances. We ended up spending that week in Vienna, Prague and Budapest. Just the two of us. And I enjoyed myself to no end. In a fit of escapism, I took a full-stop break from IF hell.

I was reminded of my consolation prize during last week's Show and Tell, when I saw a familiar-looking bridge at Baby Smiling. She, too, had a fertility-related memory at the Chain Bridge that connects Buda and Pest in Hungary. So I bring to you a photo I took that April, as a complement to hers.

(I am excited to report that she is sending me a lovely work of art, thanks to our shared bridge.)


Maybe Baby Smiling will bring her children to this bridge one day. Maybe I will, too.

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More Show & Tell at Mel's

Show & Tell: armchair tour of the Middle East

This morning I got a call from Dubai. Zaina is my "twin" (we have the same birthday), and one of the first people I met when Rob and I landed in Syria for our 2-year teaching stint there many years ago.

Zaina holds dual citizenship between Syria and Canada. She and her new husband just spent the summer in Calgary and Vancouver, but we had missed each other's telephone calls. They just returned to Dubai, where they now live and teach.

Her phone call coincides with Show & Tell. With the Middle East now on my mind, I bring you some of the souvenirs we brought home to remind us of the warm people, the rich history, and the varied culture we experienced in our vagabond years.

We got this print in Cyprus. It is a map of the world, which includes the prominently placed Garden of Eden at 12 o'clock. Nearby are Liban (Lebanon) Jordan, Judea, Babylonia, Armenia and Constantinople. Outlying areas include Anglia (England) at 8:00 and Scotia (Scotland) at 11:00.


These two prints were bought in Sefat, Israel, a center of Jewish mysticism. The first is the Kabbalah Tree of Life. Years later I referenced these in my Chakra series. The second are the Hebrew symbols alef, mem and shin:

Three Mother Letters Aleph Mem Shin in male and female Souls are
the head, the belly and the chest.
The head is created from Fire, the belly is created from Water
and the chest is from Breath that is between them.

Read right to left, the symbols form the word Shema, which means "hear" or "obey" and begins certain prayers.


Probably no need to state that this papyrus is from Egypt. I'm not sure about the depiction, but a good guess is that it's a pharaoh, a man-god, with his earthly accoutrements, which include his wife.

Finally, this is a carpet we got in the Cappadocia region of Turkey. It carries the "Bird of Happiness" motif.

If you ever come to my house, you will not step foot on it.

Because we have it hanging on the wall.

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See what other's are bringing for Show & Tell this week. Do you have something to share?

While I wine, my sister writes

Just a quickie update before I turn this space over to a guest poster.

I'm reporting now from Oregon's wine country because I'm on a Girls Weekend with Lucy and Cheryl, two women I met the year we all lived in Japan. Thursday I also got to visit with my cousin and explore themes in our unfolding lives as children, women and parents. It's been a weekend of reflection and rejuvenation, and I am having a marvelous time.

In my last post, I invited my sisters to share the path they took for their spiritual development. I've found it interesting that we three were raised the same way (in the Lutheran church) and ended up at the same place (what some would call New-Agey mysticism) but we took different paths to get there.

From my sister, Sheri:

I spent the first 30+ years of my life creating and living a life of illusion. I was following the path that had been laid out for me: college education, professional job, getting married, and having kids. As I took each step, it seemed like I was moving ahead, but in looking back, I realize that each step took me into a deeper trance-like state. It took the very emotional crises of divorce (which shattered the illusion) to get me to “wake up.”

This is when I discovered that I was very intuitive. This was the beginning of my “New Age” journey. Here’s how it happened:

The divorce left me feeling lost and alone. How could I be leaving my marriage? This wasn’t part of the story/illusion that I believed and yet it was happening to me. Out of desperation and curiosity, I heard about a woman who read tarot cards and scheduled an appointment. As she laid these foreign-looking cards on the table, she accurately explained what was going on in my life and how I was feeling. Through the reading, I found clarity and felt as though someone finally understood.

Although I didn't know her before the reading, we became good friends – even though we are polar opposites. She later told me that I had a gift of intuition and could read tarot cards. At first I didn't believe her, but we went to buy some cards for me. I hesitated, thinking that I would probably use them for a while and then they would sit in a box somewhere.

I found that I could read tarot cards and it helped me to get in touch with my intuition and my emotions. I wrote in my journal and noted what questions I had, what cards I pulled, etc. and I got pretty good at it.

One day I remember trying to communicate with a friend of mine. He couldn't put into words what he wanted to say, so I summed up what I thought he felt. I was right on...and both of us were amazed. I asked him, "Can't you tell what others are feeling?" He said he couldn't. I realized I had been doing this my whole life. I could somehow feel other people’s feelings and identify/describe them – some times better than they could themselves. It’s called being empathic.

I started reading tarot cards for other people. In the beginning, I didn’t charge because I thought it was no big deal. It was a cool "party trick." I was amazed at how accurate the cards were and how much people got out of a reading. Three years later I started getting paid to read cards. I did it on the side and didn't talk about my hobby very much for fear that it would not be accepted.

My business cards for tarot readings now hang in several locations and I read cards as part of my life coaching business. I have even started a class on how to read tarot cards. People want to get in touch with their intuitive voice and the tarot cards provide a great tool in which to do so.

Tarot cards and life coaching go hand in hand. Tarot helps people discover what's going on emotionally; life coaching takes their progress to the next level. As a life coach, I help clients move forward and keep them accountable and supported as they make changes in their lives. Life coaching is a bit more "main stream" and more generally accepted than tarot cards. Some of my clients prefer a mainstream approach, and with some clients, I use tarot cards as a tool. It just depends what feels right.

Before I “woke up,” I depended on my left brain to help me navigate through life. This would amount to listing pros and cons and trying to intellectually analyze what the right answer was in making a life decision. With the tarot cards and through my intuition, I have added my right brain into the equation. When there is a decision to be made, I pull out my tarot cards long before I even think about creating a spreadsheet to analyze the pros and the cons. I have found that my intuitive voice is much stronger and more accurate than my analytical, left-brained, logical side. Plus, it’s more fun to play with my intuition!

I guess the shock of the divorce, meeting my friend the tarot reader, and the emotional growth that came from the crisis of divorce opened my eyes to all of the possibilities. My empathic abilities and my tarot cards were the first steps on my intuitive, New Age journey.

Sheri writes a weekly column for her local newspaper, and I keep trying to get her to blog. If you think she should, shout it at her in the comments below.

Now, back to my regularly scheduled wine tastings...
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Diversions

Since my sore thumb is sticking out like a, well, you know, I've been lying low, trying to heal so that I can resume computer-related activities (i.e. work and blogging). All of the browsing and comments I've left the past few days have been done left-handed and clumsily.

Fortunately, there are worse places to convalesce. I am at a conference in St Pete Beach, Florida. I've been in meetings for two days, and it's been quite easy on the opposable digit.

I've had some free time, which I would normally fill with my two passions: reading and blogging. Because of the ban on the latter, I've found some other diversions.

The most fulfilling was meeting Joane, founder of the Forever Parents forum. Joanne has brought together a respectful community of adoptive parents from all types and stages -- pre-adoptive to parents of teens, international, domestic and foster/adoptive families, open and closed situations. There is a wealth of experience wisdom there, and I highly recommend this community for any adoptive parent, waiting or current.

Joanne was accompanied by her husband, Billy, and her two daughters. This is a family who thoroughly enjoys being together. I enjoyed basking in the love that flows among them. Here we are:

Billy is in the back with Jacqueline and Shawna; Joanne and I are in front.

After the meetings were finished this afternoon, I got a tented chaise lounge on the beach and relaxed. Just tuned into my iPod, smelled the air and felt the 80 degree breeze on my skin. Delightful. I can't remember the last time I did NOTHING.

Later I took myself out to dinner. It was the yummiest ahi tuna I've ever had, at a table overlooking the water. Complemented by a full-bodied Cabernet.

And nothing else. No chatting, no reading, no checking my Treo. For once in my adult life, I spend a meal simply eating. Maybe that's a normal occurrence for you, but it isn't for me. I am always bi- or tri-tasking. And rarely giving attention to my food.

Mindfulness is delicious.

Afterwards, as the sun began to set, I headed back to the hotel along the beach while listening to my iPod. I kicked off my flip flops and walked in the lapping surf, looking at the shells, the remnants of sand castles, and the beach birds. Here's the song that was on (good for those who like 80s music).



I have one question: does anyone else notice that Susanna Hoffs looks like a cleaned up Amy Winehouse?

Tomorrow I go home.

Snippets from a college reunion weekend

So if you read last week's post, you know I brought Tessa on a 7 hour drive to a small town in Kansas for the biennial Swedish Harvest festival and my college's homecoming.

Before I share random thoughts, I would first like to thank the zit that accompanied me. The last time such a sub-dermal chud erupted on my chin was several years ago, so it clearly had been saving up for this special occasion. Its timing was perfect -- at full bloom the day of the alumni parade. It made me feel not so lonely. Thanks. Really.

1. I kicked Tessa out of the car at a truck stop.
Tessa did well for about 10 of the 14 driving hours. But one time she got so upset (from boredom, in spite of the bag-o'-activities I packed) that she wouldn't stop wailing and complaining, which was really annoying to our fellow traveler and to me.

So I pulled over at a truck stop and did some Love & Logic. I got her out of the car, got back in myself and locked the doors. I told her she was welcome back in when she calmed down and was ready to be pleasant. It was 40 degrees and she was in short sleeves, so I thought it would be quick. But Tessa is nothing if not stubborn.

Every 3 minutes or so I'd crack the window and dangle her sweatshirt, asking if she was ready to calm down. She'd step away and glare. And then resume wailing.

It took about 20 minutes for her to say she was ready to be pleasant.

I held her for awhile, and she WAS pleasant the rest of the trip.

2. A former beau
On the way out, I stopped to see a guy I dated my junior year, Tim. I last saw Tim about 10 years ago. Despite the fact that I was (and am) happily married, at that time I imagined how my life would have been had things worked out between us. And I imagined he did, too.

But this time I didn't. My life is engrained now, grooved. It is what it is, and I realize now my life could be no other way. I imagined he felt the same.

I enjoyed catching up -- he's looking mighty fine. His daughter and Tessa are now BFFs.

3. Old insecurities
I watched the harvest parade with a group of alums. Most of them graduated 2-3 years before I did, and I didn't feel quite "in" with this group of about 50. I didn't anticipate feeling like an intruder, an outsider. Nothing anyone did made me feel that way -- just my old patterns.

This says a lot more about me than about anyone else, I think.

4. Aging
Everyone else looked so much older than I do! And I bet each person thought the exact same thing. Our own perceptions are so unreliable.

5. Another road not taken
I stayed with my dear friends Jen and Jake, two people from bigger cities who met and married during college and remained in Lindsborg. I got a glimpse of what it would have been like to build a life in this small town, a place where you don't lock your car or home, where you get just one TV station, and where it takes 20 minutes to walk a couple of blocks because you stop to chat with each of the neighbors you see. A place where your kids are safe from fast cars and strangers.

It was charming. I could see me doing it in another reality.

6. Twang.
When I lived in Lindsborg for 4 years, I didn't even notice the country twang. Like the extra Rs, as in "I was warshing my truck the other day." Or the drawn out cadence, as in "HOW ya LIKin' LIFE in DINver?"

7. Mean Mommy
The afternoon of the big football game, Tessa accompanied me to a wireless hotspot in the campus cafeteria for a brief check of email. But apparently I took too long because she slid into a tantrum. I packed up as quickly as I could, but she was too far gone. She wouldn't come with me, so I headed across campus to the car, knowing she would follow me and my rolling laptop.

She did, trailing and wailing at the top of her lungs, "YOU'RE A MEAN MOMMY!"

We made quite an impression, I'm afraid, on all the people heading to the stadium for the game.

And we missed the game in lieu of a nap.

8. Going unconscious.
It's interesting that I experienced homecoming weekend while immersing myself in Root Chakra (tribal) and Sacral Chakra (relationships) energies. For it allowed me to revisit a time when I was largely unconscious of my motivations at a time when I am becoming more and more conscious.

Still, though, I found myself falling into old habits. I hung back for fear that I would be judged and deemed too something or not something enough. I was more uncomfortable approaching a group of women than a group of men, because I naturally assumed the women wouldn't let me in. Haven't gotten to why I thought that yet.

I noticed a lot of posturing and in response I played the game, too:

Lynette: I left my tenured professorship 4 years ago to become a stock analyst at Hoity Toity & Associates.
Me: Really? I had a student from the Osaka Hoity Toity office when I taught in Japan.

Not to add to the conversation, but to show that I, too, had done something interesting with my life.

At least I am becoming conscious of my unconsciousness.

9. The real homecoming
It was good to come home. To Roger and Reed.

Taking Tessa to college (but it's not what you think)

After all, she's only 6. This trip is for me.

Every other October, my college town in Kansas celebrates Svensk Hyllningsfest, complete with parade and Swedish dancing, and coinciding with Bethany College's homecoming, a football game ("Go S'WEDES!!") and class reunions.

People who graduated a few years ahead of me are having a milestone reunion. Don't ask what number. I'm not saying what number because I can't believe so much time has passed and I still don't feel all that grown up.

Anyway, back in the day, I hung out with several girls and dated some of the guys from the reunion class. And I'm hoping to run into these people. With my daughter, my very adorable daughter. See, I'm a mom!

So if Tessa and I can make it through the 7 hour drive there and the 7 hour drive back, I think we'll have a grand time. I'll show her the bar where I used to work (which is thankfully No Smoking now). I'll show her my dorm room (but not tell about the times I got busted for having boys in it after hours). We'll walk by the bandshell where I made out with Jim on my 19th birthday. (But I'll leave out that detail.)

So indulge me here and answer me this. I've been having good hair days lately, and I lost 10 pounds over the summer, and I've been working on my posture and loving myself and...so why do I still care about impressing people who are really quite insignificant in the scheme of my life?

I may be out of commission for a few days, but I look forward to hearing about when you think we outgrow the need for approval from our high school and college peers.

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After six months, could Our Wait be almost over? Check out The longest weekend on Drama 2B Mama.

Post announcement post: The Seven New Wonders of the World

Results are in. With one vote cast for every 67 people on the planet, here are the winners, in no particular order:

• Macchu Picchu (Peru)
• Great Wall of China
• Colosseum (Rome)
• Taj Mahal (India)
• Petra (Jordan)
• Chichen Itza pyramid (Mexico)
• Christ the Redeemer statue (Brazil)
• Great Pyramids of Giza (Egypt)
  

When is seven eight? When the Great Pyramids are grandpharaoh-ed in. Egyptian officials indignantly asserted that as the sole remaining Wonder of the Ancient World, they shouldn't have to apply.

So I've seen half. Now I know what to do with the rest of my life.

New seven wonders revealed on 07/07/07

More than 90 million people have cast their votes for the New Seven Wonders of the World. Under consideration:

1. Great Wall of China
2. Colosseum (Rome)
3. Macchu Picchu (Peru)
4. Acropolis (Greece)
5. Chichen Itza pyramid (Mexico)
6. Eiffel Tower (Paris)
7. Easter Island
8. Christ the Redeemer statue (Brazil)
9. Taj Majal (India)
10. Petra (Jordan)
11. Great Pyramids of Giza (Egypt) -- guaranteed a spot, as the only remaining original seven wonders
12. Statue of Liberty (NY)
13. Sydney Opera House
14. Angkor Wat (Cambodia)
15. Kremlin (Russia)
16. Stonehenge (Britain)
17. Timbuktu (Mali)

Before kids, Rob and I traveled some. We've been to #2, 3, 4, 6, 10, 11, 12.

I just want to know why Carhenge in Nebraska wasn't under consideration.

Check new7wonders.com at 9:30 pm tonight, Lisbon time. (About 2:30 pm Denver) for the announcement of the seven.