Monument to Bush shoe-throwing shines at Iraqi orphanage

The CNN story - a must read.

Don't say I never took you anywhere.  ;)

~Ally

My Diet Post

QUOTE OF THE DAY:
“Does white or red wine go better with an entire box of fudge pops?”
- Dee Ann


All from Shoeboxblog, in honor of my New Year's Resolution diet. Going o--kayyy so far.
~Al

Looking Back and Looking Ahead

My Mom noticed the message on one of my coffee mugs the other day: "Don't Look Back." It's part of a Mary Engelbreit drawing of a girl walking down the road. At a fork in the road, one sign points to "Your Life" and the other sign points to another path called, "No Longer an Option." The girl in the picture has already started down her path.

I have spent the last few days in a spontaneous Facebook explosion of long lost friends coming out of the woodwork. I went looking for some of them, and others found me on their own or through mutual friends. Maybe this type of thing has happened to you, through your blog, or Facebook, MySpace, or another social networking site. The flood of uncovered memories and rediscovered friends (or acquaintances now labeled friends) can be a tad overwhelming. It can also be exciting to see how all those people turned out after years gone by. They are beautiful, grown up, with spouses and families, children and pets, careers and interests I never imagined. The slutty ones domesticated, and vice versa. The thin ones became pleasantly-plump (like me) and the floppy ones buffed up. The townies are still townies and the adventurers cannot be stopped.

Some of their stories make me sad, and others shock me or make my heart catch in my throat. I remember crushes, companionships, and shared dreams. It amazes me that some of these people were once so close to me, vital to the shaping of my life...and though distanced by time and space, we come together again on Facebook. I also have to realize that the roads not taken were not taken for good reasons, and there is no point in wanderlusting about "what if." What if...I lived the life I was meant to live and this is exactly where I turned up?

Life is so unexpected. It really is.

I need a little breather to take in all the new stimulation. But once the dust settles, I think I'll be glad to have reconnected and learned that these dear people are well and surviving in the grand world. I am glad to have known each of them. And I will be thrilled to see what new, unexpected friendships develop at this point in my life. I am ready for a new friend, Universe.

~Ally

Meet someone special today

at Rock, Water and Light.

You'll be glad you did!

Something to think about

from Marie's husband Todd:

"You could be sitting in a grass hut somewhere in the world right now, with a starving child on your lap, but you're not."

~~~

Smart guy you got there. I am thankful that today I have food, fresh clean water, milk, a comfy place to sit, friends and family who are surviving, and a warm bed to lie down in. Thankful to be alive.

~Ally

Hello Kitty

Nurses in the Hello Kitty-designed maternity ward, at the Hau Sheng hospital, checks on the newborns, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2009, in the southern Taiwan city of Chunghua. Hau Sheng Hospital, located 95 miles (150 kilometers) south of Taipei, is the latest destination for the cute feline with the penchant for pink, reflecting its owner's belief that mothers and their newborns will be soothed by the well-known Hello Kitty ambiance. (AP Photo/Wally Santana)

~

Amen to that!
-Kitty

Barack is wicked cool. Shaka right back at ya.

(photo from Web)

Wow

(photo from Web)

They seem so funny because it's so late

(from the darlings at Shoeboxblog)

quote of the day #1
“In heaven, all the potato chips look like celebrities.” - Bill


Songs By The Police That Should Have Indicated the Impending Breakup:
by Cat
* Don’t Stand So Close to Me
* King of Pain
* So Homely
* (Why Don’t You Go) Walking on the Moon
* Every Breath You Take Steals Air From People Who Deserve It More
* Shut Up, Sting, You Wanker


quote of the day #2



Cartoon by Dr. Dick (presumably for us writers...)




Things Not to Say Out Loud at the Gym:
by Renee D
* “Geez, that door is heavy.”
* “Great! A vending machine!”
* “I only come here for the whirlpool.”
* “Move it, Tons O' Fun.”
* “I can’t wait 'til March so I can quit coming here.”


quote of the day #3
“Work at home! Earn money! Believe anything!” - Tina

__________

Good times. :)
~Ally

Happy birthday, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.!

(photo from Web)

Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is one of the most impressive persons of the last century. I always loved learning about him and the peaceful equality and justice he sought, as we watched films and celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. Day, growing up in Chicago. Though there was terrible prejudice in our town, there was also an educational equality - our school, led by a black woman in the 1970's, chartered a path for blacks and whites (and Indians, Koreans, Hispanics, and others) to live together, learn together, and go beyond skin color to real heart-based friendship. It was a special time to live in the outskirts of Chicago, and I will never forget the lessons learned.

(photo from Web)

To celebrate the holiday, President-elect Barack Obama issued a national "call to arms," asking for us ordinary folks to offer acts of service in our communities. You can find a local event at usaservice.org.

Mom and I thoroughly enjoyed helping box food for low-income seniors, with the Community Supplemental Food Program in Concord on Friday. With about ten other volunteers, we bustled around a chilly warehouse making packages of 2 beans, 2 corn, 2 cereal, 1 dry milk, 1 macaroni...you get the idea. Those 135 boxes that we assembled in two hours will be delivered to local individuals and couples who need extra food to survive the winter. We got good exercise, made new friends, and it felt very good to help out.

Then today, I dropped off a bag of dry foods to Plus Time NH in Concord, which will donate the items to NH's Food Bank. This collection goes on all month, as do several of the events. So if you missed the chance this weekend, check Obama's link above for more events in which you can contribute.

It's wonderful to have a President that will keep us individually accountable for the health of our nation. It's wonderful to have a President who cares about the poor again. We're all in this together!

Happy MLK Day!

~Ally

(photo by Scott Snyder)

January, and i am what i am

i am . . .

i am: young and need to stop acting old
i think: i will lose weight this winter
i want: more romance in my life
i wish: there were 35 extra freebie hours in the week, like the 35 extra points WW gives you
i miss: Tip, oh, especially today - my feet keep "looking" for him under the coffee table and he is not there
i feel: a bit lost, as several of the normal fence posts of my life are missing
i hear: Randy Travis' "Worship and Faith" album and it takes me right back to Suthun' Baptist revival meetings and Texas summer nights
i smell: snow in the air (mmm)
i crave: affection
i search: the Web for appropriate local jobs
i wonder: when I will find one - ack!
i regret: wasting time on angry people
i love: giving gifts, especially the unexpected kind
i ache: in my hands today
i always: laugh at Robin Williams (did you see his latest 9 min Youtube from England?)
i am not: opposed to questioning my own opinions
i believe: we are each on a journey of self learning and enlightenment in this life
i dance: with my girlies and we laugh, we laugh
i sing: a song in my head most of the time - at night it comes in rhythms, as my feet tap themselves to sleep
i write: cards to my mother-in-law, because I like her and those letters strengthen our relationship
i win: the prize for most patient husband
i lose: time, daily...where does it go?
i confuse: the word "sunrise" with "sunset" b/c I don't want to know about things that happen before 6 a.m.
i listen: to the fridge gurgling and humming
i can usually be found: writing something, often a list
i am scared: by the pure deliciousness of Cheese Balls....yum
i need: a dog
i am happy about: O'Reilly the Cat and his wonderful enormous feet
i hope: to get my ailing computer fixed soon and see the movie "W"

(and for January, 2009)

i resolve: to visit the clubhouse exercise room!

Now you...
~Ally

Sensing the Light

"The presence of that absence is everywhere." ~ Edna St. Vincent Millay








Oh Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder
Consider all the worlds thy hands have made
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder
Thy power throughout the universe displayed

Then sings my soul, my savior, God to thee
How great thou art, how great thou art
Then sings my soul, my savior, God to thee
How great thou art, how great thou art.

(Stuart Hine)

~Ally

The Silly Monkey Shirt on the Silly Monkey

(photo by Laurel, his mom)

Happy New Year Bumbers!!

~Aunty Ally

Gookie Gookie

All right dolly, remember this? Well at long last, here is the recipe for yummy Susan's Brownies, an endless crowd favorite.

Susan's Brownies

2 cans sweetened condensed milk
12 oz bag chocolate chips
26 long* graham crackers (*long = 2 squares)

Crush crackers thoroughly (easy in a ziploc, using a rolling pin or can). Mix with milk and chocolate chips. Heavily grease a 9x13 pan. Spread evenly. Bake 40 minutes at 350 degrees (F), until top is just golden brown and starting to come away from pan. Do not wait until top is brown - by tomorrow they'll be hard as rocks! As soon as cool, cut and store in airtight container. Or, um, EAT THEM! ENJOY!

So easy. So delicious. And you heard it here first.

~Ally