the afghan women's photography class

I have a friend who is working in Afghanistan as a reporter.  She is posted in a remote area and does amazing things for the women in that area.  One endeavor she is heading is to teach a photography class just for women and girls.  She gave me permission to share the following e-mail and photos.

Enjoy!

"December 25, 2009 - Even though today is Christmas, we still held our photography class for Afghan women. Last week we gave the girls their cameras and sent them away with an assignment to photograph people. We gave them no lessons in photography, just some basic camera operating instructions. We just wanted to see what kind of photos the girls would take. I am blown away by the photos taken by one of the girls in particular, Nadia. This is a girl who lives a sheltered life in an extremely remote and rural corner of Afghanistan. Since women are not allowed out without a male relative, the three girls came to the PRT today accompanied by one of their 10 year old male cousins. I have attached six of Nadia’s photos to show you what she produced with no photographic training, and probably never having held a camera before, other than during the disposable camera project we ran through Loyalist College. I am so impressed already, and we are only just beginning to teach these girls. What is also wonderful, from my point of view, is that these girls are able to show us inside their world, a world normally closed to outsiders. Nadia was able to catch the personalities of her subjects so well because they were comfortable with her. They did not see her as an outsider. Once again, Merry Christmas to all."

100

image from: cbc.ca

the top 100

100 movies

100 classic quotes from oxford

100 songs

100 notable books

100 influential people

100 carats

100 diamonds

100 kisses

what you might get if you give the above

100 tubes of chapstick

what you'll need after receiving the above

100 acres

100 steps

100 numbers

100 seconds

100 times

100 years

what the below felt like

the first 100 days

way over estimated and reported

100 colors

100 light years

only 270 stars are this close to us

100 cm

100 m

100 recipes

100 sit-ups

100 push-ups

ouch!

100 lbs

100 calorie snacks  :)

100 pennies

$100

100 miniature portraits for benjamin franklin

100 stupid things to do at walmart

100 colors

100 letter word

Bababadalgharaghtakamminarronnkonnbronntonnerronntuonnthunntrovarrhounawnskawntoohoohoordenenthurnuk

100 posts on my blog

thanks for reading and commenting.

it's been fun to write and share my life. 

i promise to do better this year.

strengthen

strengthen is my theme for 2010.

this has been in my thoughts for several days as i have considered who i really want to become and how i can work towards this during this new year. one of my biggest frustrations with myself has been feeling weak and uncertain. my hopes are that by focusing on strengthening myself this year i can feel stronger and more certain about myself.  but most of all i want to feel His presence more fully in my life.


i will strengthen...

 - my relationship with God
Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. (Isaiah 41:10)  

- others
Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees. (Isaiah 35:3)

 - myself physically
Yea, all things which come of the earth, ...are made for the benefit and the use of man, ...to strengthen the body and to enliven the soul.  (D&C 59:18-19)

 - my financial well-being
That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man.  (Ephesians 3:16)

God is my strength and i rely on him for so much.  i want to be a better steward of the blessings he gives me.  i want to truly feel strengthened in him.

I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. (Philipians 4:13)

image from: bodegabayheritagegallery.com

after the after

On New Year's Eve I threw a Party.

Maybe threw isn't the right word--I hosted a game night with goodies on the side.
We ate.
We played Uno Attack.
We ate more.
We watched the ball drop and toasted in the new year with fake champagne.
We played Apples to Apples.
We ate some more.

Okay, maybe I did throw a Party.

Amazingly, with all that we ate I still had
so much leftover food. 

Today I hosted the After Party.
In church it was Fast Sunday, so we re-convened to break our fasts at my house to polish off the leftovers.
We ate and ate.  
I even invited the missionaries over, because I figured they would be the sure-fire cure for leftovers.  I mean male 19-year olds eat a lot, right?

I still have a ton of leftovers. 

So, tomorrow evening I'm hosting the After-the-After Party,
i.e., Family Home Evening
to polish off  the rest of the leftovers. 

Seriously, I didn't think I had made that much food, but with all the food everyone else brought with them it turned into a veritable feast.

We had:
meatballs in a grape jelly and chili sauce sauce (no, it's not a Utah thing!)
bruschetta
herbed grounay
garlic hummus
chived cream cheese
assorted crackers
toasted baguette
crudités
spiced raisin oatmeal cookies drizzled in white chocolate
candy cane brownies
an assortment of SS's mom's homemade Christmas cookies
jalapenos stuffed with cream cheese wrapped in bacon (divine!)
chocolate mousse cake (yum!)
pasta (only for the after party)
mini crabcakes
mini quiches
cheese twists
salsa
guacamole (my specialty)
whole grain tortilla chips
and
assorted Italian sodas.

Who knew this would turn into a three day event?

Here's to leftovers!

image from: toonpool.com

quietly surprising

The year 2009 was a surprising year for me.  I wasn't sure what it would bring, but the one thing I knew for sure was that my life this year would be completely different from my life in 2008.  And it was.  Although, not so surprising since I spent the majority of 2008 wearing ACUs and living in Afghanistan.

This was the year of not being in Afghanistan, enjoying the simplicity of life, doing things only when I wanted to do them and being content with myself and my life.  I also tried to figure out where I wanted to be, and thought long and hard about leaving DC for a smaller town and a quieter life.  This took up most of the year, and in October after turning down an oppurtunity in Malta, I finally discovered that I really did want to stay in DC and that this was where I belonged for now.  And I moved out of my friend's lovely, wonderful house and into my own apartment, which I absolutely love.

So, for the first time in over seven years I'm living on my own, and for the first time ever in my life I'm truly setting up house, surrounding myself with things I love, and truly enjoying the soul filling solitude of single life.  This has been the first year as an adult, that I've truly enjoyed being single and been content with where I am in life.

In keeping with the spirit of not being in Afghanistan, I wore skirts and dresses to work almost every day this summer.  It was so fun to feel so feminine and pretty every day, which was completely different from how I felt wearing ACUs.  Trust me when I say that ACUs are not intended to make a female feel very feminine, although they are very comfortable, and there is a certain freedom in not worrying about what to wear every day.  However, this year it has been fun to worry about what to wear.

I spent the beginning of the year at home with my parents, and traveled to my brother's house in Washington state for a weekend of winter fun with my nieces and nephews.  And thus began the spring and summer of traveling to Italy, Malta and Kenya for a month, Wilmington, Delaware and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with my good friend KGB, home to Paradise, Utah twice for long summer weekends with my family, and Ames, Iowa with my brother Rob's family for Independence Day.  By August I was traveled out, and was surprisingly content to spend the fall months quietly in DC.

And now as 2009 came to a close, I am quietly surprised at just how happy I am with my life and myself.  Granted I am fully aware of my shortcomings and rooms for improvement within myself.  However, on the whole I feel I'm making progress in the areas in which I want to become better. 

All in all life is good.  I'm expecting great things this year.  I plan on doing more of what scares me, enjoying quiet and not so quiet times, becoming stronger, more content, more at peace and more secure.

Here's to 2010.  May bring it bring a fullness of life, love and laughter for you and for me.  M-wah!

i love technology

i just web cammed with my family for the first time ever.
it was fun to see everyone live and in color.

my nephew lane blew me kisses and said he missed me.
"you need to come here right now," he said.
"i can't, beccause i live too far away," i said.
"why?" he asked.
(i've been asking myself that a lot this week too.)
he told me to stick out my tongue so he could see it.
then he stuck his tongue out too, so I could see it.
eee-eww!

my nephew brodee picked his nose and ate it, while his dad was talking to me.
it was hilarious. 
apparently, it tastes good, because he went right back in for another one.

my nephew ghent said hi.
he was too busy doing other things to say much more.

i watched my brother rob give the nephews horse rides
and
wrestle with them.

my mom and dad look older, but still the same.
they like this webcam thing.
i gave them a tour of the living room of my new apartment.
(i know, i know.  i owe the rest of you photos.)

i saw my nephew garrett's long-ish hair.
his voice is suddenly so deep.
gotta love puberty.

i love that the tech guru in the family is my sis-in-law, nick.
rob couldn't get the video call up and going,
but nick did, right after i downloaded the update.

i saw my sister, becky's, very blond hair.
it now matches her youngest boy's hair color.
very cute, but i like her better with her natural color.

i missed seeing my nephew miles, 'cause he was sleeping.
it was great to see jon & jeny though.
jon was reading books to the nephews and jeny was listening.
i wanted to be there to listen too.

technology is amazing.
it's so cool to think i was sitting here in dc
watching my family in UT
and they were watching me
in real time.
okay, there was like a three second delay, but still...

i love technology.

image from: carollingineurope.files.wordpress.com

i looked out the window

i looked out the window and what did i see?

four missionaries singing carols to me.

i have a soft spot in my heart for the lds missionaries.

i promised them christmas goodies, 
if they would stop by to serenade me with carols.

they're such great young men
with such a bright light in their eyes and huge kind spirits.

they had me laughing and singing with them,
and remembering when i was missionary myself in chile.

they saw the ornament on my tree
with my little brother chris's photo and asked me about him.

they listened as i described him,
and talked about the miracles
that happened in our family the year he died.

chris wanted to be a missionary too, and now

when i see missionaries i think of chris
and imagine him as a missionary.

i also think of chris's comical side and how he made me laugh.

it's that unique sense of humor that only young men have.

yep, it's definitely unique to them.

so, if a pair of young men in suits and ties happen to knock on your door

and tell you they're from
the church of jesus christ of latter-day saints,

then you should tell them you've heard they know how to sing

and ask them to sing their favorite hymn for you.

they might look at you weird,

but they will sing.

and you'll have a smile on your face

and a warmth in your heart.

i do.

photos by me

lights!

Tonight my good friend Pam called and invited me for an outing

to the Washington, DC LDS Temple Festival of Lights.

I love Christmas lights, so I was excited to go.

Temple Square Christmas in Salt Lake City, UT is the best, but this was almost as good.

Pam and I posing in front of the Temple.

Pam is one of my best friends here in DC.

I've been assigned as her visiting teacher for almost four years

and we have so much fun together.

Over 500,000 lights light up the gardens surrounding the temple and visitor's center.

The lights on the ground in the shape of flowers were my favorites. Flower lights!

Even the pussy willow trees were decorated for the season. So pretty.

I loved this blue tree.

Such a beautiful building with all the lights.

Christmas lights symbolize to me the light of Christ, which help keep Him at the heart of the season.

I hope you felt His light and love this season.

photos by me