let's all be like cabbages

What, you say?

I arrived in Botswana today and am here for a grand total of 4 days and 3 nights, for a technical meeting. I haven't had a good night's sleep in 2 nights owing to the trip and jetlag, and right now I am longing to go to sleep (it's a bit past midnight) but I have this document that I have to get ready for tomorrow that I was supposed to finish on the plane on the way over except that my battery doesn't last that long and it's taken way longer than expected...

Anyway, some of this document is quite interesting, such as these fun billboard slogans from Lesotho (and yes, the cabbage billboard really did have a picture of a nice big green cabbage on it-- I'll try to post a picture at some point)

Set an example, have one partner.
Lovers are like cabbage, they cling close to one another. Let’s all be like cabbages.
To have multiple partners is not a solution to one’s problems. Talk to your Partner. Get the most satisfying love making.
Refuse to have relationships with old men.
Refuse to have relationships with old women.
Don’t be like pumpkin, and spread your vines all over.

(But isn't it weird that vegetable terms actually are terms of endearment-- "pumpkin" in the US, "little cabbage" in French? Weird.)

New Year + Vermont getaway

I told J this year that I was purposely not making New Year's resolutions, because I knew I would just break them, and then feel bad about it. My life is already overflowing with deadlines and to-do lists, and my physical, emotional, and "energy" limits still so, well, limited. I am getting better, month by month, and for that I'm incredibly grateful. (Maybe I've never actually said on here-- after over a year of things being pretty out of whack, I finally got a diagnosis of fibromyalgia/chronic fatigue syndrome last fall.) Anyway, it's still a constant struggle to not feel like I should be able to do way more than I actually can. I try to remind myself that although I don't have nearly enough energy for everything I want to get done, I have all the energy I need for the things that God has called me to do. That's His promise. The trouble is knowing the difference between the two!

Anyway, one thing I want to do this year as energy allows is keep up with my blog a little more. 

Starting with our great trip up to Vermont, the first weekend of the year. We spent a week over Christmas with J's family in Grand Rapids, MI (I can't believe I don't have any pictures!) and it was a great time, but a lot of people and activity so not all that restful. Plus, we had major travel drama going through Chicago both ways. We were on different flights since I'd booked with frequent flier miles, and J actually got stuck in GR an extra 36 hours! 

A while ago we had decided to take a weekend getaway the weekend after the New Year, something we haven't done with just the two of us since we got married. J recently made a work trip to Vermont and instantly fell in love (I love it too), so Vermont it was. It is an incredibly beautiful, cool state. As I trolled the web looking at cute B&B after cute B&B one just grabbed me-- the proprietor (a man in his 70s) had a link to his blog, which was just bursting with a vital, dynamic relationship with Jesus. I thought, This is someone I would actually like to meet. So that's where we went!

It was a wonderful weekend. We had enough snow to make the world sparkling and beautiful, but not enough to make driving difficult. We were staying in Morrisville, which is part of a corridor (Waterbury to Stowe to Morrisville) that is not only a lovely drive but full of all sorts of good things to do and eat-- cute towns, great restaurants, a famous cider factory (mmm, apple cider donuts), the Cabot cheese company store (mmm, cheese samples), the Ben and Jerry's factory (which we didn't visit this time, though I've been before), and only-in-Vermont stuff like general stores that stock great old-fashioned kids toys. We ate in great little restaurants, we walked up and down quaint streets in the snow-white sparkly world, we had tea in front of the fireplace at the Von Trapp family lodge (yes, the Sound of Music Von Trapps-- they settled in Vermont after they fled Austria) and had a heart-to-heart about our lives, goals, and dreams, something that both of us rated as the best experience of the trip! 

And we spent a lot of time holed up in our room eating goodies from the enormous gift basket J had been given at work, and playing Backgammon. Ah, the latest obsession. We bought a great wooden old-fashioned looking board, Joel re-taught me the game, and the competition was on. We're both games people and really competitive anyway, but this was bad. J thinks the reason it's such a good game (and so addictive!!) is that it's a perfect mixture of skill and luck (most games are either mostly one or the other)-- I think he's right. 

40 Ugandan kids in need of school fees

Just a very quick post (after a long silence, I know-- most of my website energies have been going to this other website). Which I want to introduce here. After being in the "idea stage" for far too long, I have finally put up a website for the Ugandan orphans. More specifically, I am working on creating a non-profit organization (Seeds of Growth) to which U.S. people can give and which can then fund the orphan groups in Uganda. Here's the URL:

www.seedsofgrowthuganda.org

And there are 40 kids urgently in need of school fees for the school year that is starting in a week!