cake balls and higher education

Today I borrowed a car and drove about 13 miles and entered an alternative universe. Some friends and I went to Eastern University to talk to the School of Leadership and Development about further education. It was really weird being on a college campus, especially one full of trendy Christians. That is something I don't see very often. The upside was getting a free lunch in the cafeteria. I never thought I would actually be excited about something like that, but Mission Year has completely screwed up my life in more ways than I can even count. Overall it was a good day that brought about thoughts about the future. More to come about that I am sure.

Other than that I just wanted to post some pictures of March, which has by far been the busiest month of my life. It has flown.

Because I have not the computer smarts, the patience, nor the energy to figure out why the pictures are out of order this is a backwards slide show of the past few weeks.

Brooke A. Cunningham came to visit. We saw most of what Philly had to offer, including Danny Bonaduce of Partridge Family fame.

We went to the art museum (free in Philly on Sundays) and spent a few hours looking at ancient art. We didn't walk around together because after many years as friends (almost 10) we have figured out that we are very different people, down to the way we walk around museums. Brooke is slower and more methodical, where as I am more of a skimmer, breezing through sections, not spending too much time anywhere.

The Liberty bell. After nearly seven months in Philly I still don't completely understand what the big deal is.

The weekend of the Gaines wedding in Texas! Target is fun. The dollar section is funner (i know it's not a real word). My friends from college are the fun-est. We laughed a lot. Thank you Bre for the valentines day episode of 30 rock. I will always think of you when I microwave a donut.

The Gaines. There was christian rap at the wedding. I danced a little more than was probably appropriate. Hot, hot, hot in the church.

Blue angels. Need I say more?

Lilly and I made cake-balls in Philly. It was a grand experiment. I saw the recipe on a website and attempted to replicate it without having it in front of me (no Internet at our house). The result was kinda tasty, kinda chunky.

My Mission Year team with our adopted mama Janet Samba. She gave me a small sequined purse. She knows the way to my heart. She cooks for us a lot, and has probably used thousands of gallons of oil in her lifetime frying things.

So this has been life lately.

cats?

It has been a long time since I have had time to post on this thing. My life has been pretty hectic over the past few weeks and I have barely had time to think straight. One of the things that has been keeping me busy is this video project I have been working on for the SWCDC. It is a project that kind of got thrown in my lap because none of the people that are actually employed there have the time/desire to work on it. The project is a community formed documentary about a garden that some ladies started in the late 90's a few blocks from my house. The idea of the video project is to involve to community in the film making process. So the people involved in the garden and the video project helped film, transcribe and edit the film. This might sound easy, but when you are working with 60-70 year old ladies with no prior knowledge of film editing (and why should they have this knowledge?) it is a challenge. Needless to say I have learned a lot about film making in the past few months. If you want to check it out this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjqwD5Mn49c should get you there.

On fat Tuesday I went over to the nursing home to visit because one of the residents told me that there was going to be a parade. I am never one to refuse a good time so I headed over and found all the residents dressed up with Mardi gras masks and beads everywhere. The social hall was decorated beautifully and they had hired two people to be singing old time songs for the residents. Everything was going good until the parade started. When it started all the sudden there were older ladies that worked at the nursing home dressed like cats coming around the residents and purring at them and getting up in there faces. I was pretty scared 1st. because they looked really creepy and 2nd because I was really confused why there were cats at a Mardi gras parade. My confusion was soon ended when more people started coming out dressed in outfits that were themed by famous Broadway musicals. Some of them were Phantom of the Opera, Westside Story, and South Pacific. If I could give more details without going on for way too long, I would.

Then last weekend I was lucky enough to get to go to Brenham, Texas for the wedding of Lauren Hall and Chris Gaines. It was a beautiful weekend with sweet time with friends. The wedding was really special and this had nothing to do with the fact that I had fake eyelashes on. Yes fake eyelashes. The make-up lady asked if I would like fake eyelashes and I thought, “Hey, I will probably never get asked this again” so I said yes. So for the night of the wedding I was sporting more make-up and accessories than have ever been on my face before. Special. The weekend was so good. I ended it Sunday morning with some of my closest friends drinking coffee and eating breakfast at one of my favorite College Station spots, La Bodega in short sleeves. I really love Texas weather.

Brooke comes to town on Friday, so I am sure I will have some more stories soon.

coming soon

(me this morning before heading out)


I have had this weird obsession this week with the myers-briggs personality test. My co-worker at catholic social services carrie and I were talking about it the other day and I was filled with this huge desire to know my type. I had tested this summer as, an ESTJ which is often referred to as leader, or overseeer. I was the only one in our Mission Year city to test this way, and I just wasn't sure that it was me. So this week I took the myers-briggs test roughly 10 times and came up with a lot of different things. I am a little crazy. The one that I think is it is actually ESFJ, extroverted (just slightly), sensing, feeling, and judging. Here is a little blurb about the ESFJ person.
"ESFJs are responsible, dutiful, observe traditions and follow rules. ESFJs have a deep concern for others and often end up as caretakers. They are sensitive to criticism and have a need to be appreciated for the good they do for others. ESFJs are understanding, generous, have a quick wit and a knack for composition and beautification."
I am not positive that this is me, but it is the closest I have gotten, so let the crazy obsessing end.

Next. I had a really good week with God. He revealed a lot to me, but mostly how I struggle so much with seeing myself I worthy. I had it thrown in my face this week, (in a good way) that God loves me exactly where I am at spiritual, physically, and emotionally. Last night at city-wide the guy that spoke talked about John 15, the vine and the branches. This passage in the past has always made me nervous about my fruit production and how I was doing on the works end of things. I actually didn't like it very much. But last night we talked about how the only imperative/command in that section of scriptures is to abide in God. Not to go and bear fruit. He doesn't tell us to bear fruit he just asks us to abide in Him. Thats it! The message translations actually says to make your home in Him. So that is what I am dwelling on, simply making my home in God. Mission Year can be dangerous because we 'do' so much. We volunteer and try to help people and it can get a little defeating at times when things don't go how you think they should, or if things go really good you start thinking that you are pretty awesome. This puts it in to perspective for me, and I needed that.

I wrote and article for our local paper this week about my team. I made up all the quotes because my roommates wouldn't give me any. Here is the link if you want to check it out. http://www.southwestcdc.org/pdfs/SWGlobeTimes.pdf. So speaking about my team, starting next week I am going to start doing video interviews of my roommates to post on this blog. I got a new computer for christmas and it has a web cam built in and I feel like I should use it for something. So after reading the articles if you have any questions for my rommates post them in the comments and I will ask them live, on my blog. I know it's a little nerdy, but I appreciate weird things like this and most of my friends so as well.

Peace out.

rebekah

LOVE part 2

I realize that when I titled my last blog post, LOVE, people may have thought that I was in love. But actually I am not in love. Not in love with a specific person. But there are lots of things that I love.

· I love natural peanut butter…I have been stockpiling three jars that I brought home from Christmas. Central market brand is my favorite.
· I love reading a book that will make me laugh out loud. I tend to not love the heart-wrenching serious stuff that makes me cry. For example I just read this book called, Belong to Me by Marisa de los Santos. It was yes, a little shallow with a predicatalbe happy ending, but I laughed so much that I looked a little crazy.

· I love when my best friend Brooke draws pictures that are hilarious and confusing at the same time and mails them to me. (i.e. a fairy with a semi-automatic weapon)
· I love snow days.
· I love dancing in my living room with my roommates trying to burn off the calories we just ate at dinner.
· I appreciate, and maybe even love a good cardigan, especially in this climate.
· I love good music, and finding good new music. Current loves are The Welcome Wagon, Fiction Family, and Feist. I love learning a CD and knowing where are the good lines and songs are.

· I love going to sleep when it is raining.
· I love a lot of housewifey things like baking, cooking, sewing, and crafting. I realize all of these are a little old lady-ish, but I actually do love doing all of these things. I also get a sick thrill out of cleaning out the refrigerator. Like taking everything out of it, scrubbing it, and then organizing it. I really don’t like to clean anything else.
· I love the book of Isaiah in the bible.
· I love discovering new books and authors. This year I have discovered Nouwen, Thurman, Manning, and Varnier.

· I love finishing a journal I have been writing in for a long time.
· I love my friends that I went to college with. The ones I lived with and the ones I didn’t. I had way too much fun, and I am only now realizing how lucky I was.

· I love and sometimes hate community.
· I do love my family as well…which is good because I will see them tomorrow!
I hope this post wasn’t too sickening.
rebekah

LOVE

I am happy to share with you all Mission Years February plug for funds. If you feel like giving, mission year is a completely legit organization that if a worth wile use of your funds. Think about it.

https://www.missionyear.org/love/rebekahwelch


I will write a real blog soon. Currently I am really tired though and I can't think straight enough to get any thoughts together.

love love love,

rebekah

Turbo Jam

The newest trend in our house is work out videos. I consider this trend to be good. Past 55th street trends were raw brownie batter eating, crocheting, and in general just eating/making sugary food. So since most of us in the house decided to be more 'healthy' this winter, work out videos seemed to make and appearance. It started when I got out my 20 minute pilates DVD from my senior year of high school. This was a good challenge for a few days. After that Tera pulled out her huge collection of Turbo Jam DVD's. I had never experienced Turbo Jam before, and lets just say that it is an experience, (especially for a coordination challenged person like me). So after a few 20 minute sessions every once in a while we went crazy on Sunday afternoon. Tera, Lilly, and I completed one 20 minute learn and burn work out followed by a 40 minute sculpt session and lastly a 20 minute ab session that was really painful. Climbing stairs and moving my stomach has been a challenge.

Other than obsessively working out (not really) things have been good. Amy and I got to see our favorite baby Rhianna the other day. Our neighbors babysit her every Saturday and I always look forward to seeing her. She is honestly the funniest baby ever. I can't wait till she starts talking.

In other unrelated news my family will be in Philly in a little under three weeks to visit me for the weekend. Then three weeks after that I will be traveling to Brenham TX to be a part of the wedding of Lauren Hall and Chris Gaines! After that a certain best friend is coming to visit me! So spring is going to be eventful no doubt.

That's all for now. I will try to encourage something funny to happen with the kids today in aftercare at Cornerstone. The funniest thing that happened yesterday, and its a little more creepy than funny was this kid "john" who is in kindergarten whispering "i killed a fat man" under his breath repeatedly while doing homework. Its always the small things that make me laugh.

p.s. Oh, I forgot to officially announce that I have been accepted to Eastern University for the MA program in Urban Studies with a concentration in Community Development! Whoop!

drama queen

I am officially not as good at east coast living as I thought I would be. I had this romanticized idea about winter on the east coast from christmas movies based in new york. I always just assumed I would automatically enjoy the brisk, cold weather and take to it quickly. Wrong. My body has gone into shock this week. I am wearing multiple layers of hats, scarves, and gloves and I am still shivering. I really try my hardest not to be dramatic, but I am acting a little like a drama queen in this weather. I completely understand why animals want to live in our house. I actually have a little (a very little) compassion for the squirrel that was living in our house. For those of you who haven't heard the story of the squirrel here is a quick synopsis.

On my last night in Philly before Christmas break my roommates and I discovered an animal in a closet. In said closet this animal had made a nest with Tera's clothes and pieces of paper and had chewed through a plastic laundry basket. What is the animal you ask. Oh, just a full size SQUIRREL. Sick. So we all flipped out and shouted profanities and cried and laughed and then we called the landlord. Thus the landlord sent over a man who when we answered the door was holding a big stick. He told us he was a redneck from Florida and that he was going to kill the squirrel. So then "Steve" we will call him had a change of heart and decided to try and catch the squirrel in a box. Bad idea Steve. The squirrel, who we thought was tired and half dead, was not. It ran into one of the bedrooms, then it ran up Steve's leg and arm and jumped into Sara's bed. We all freaked out. I jumped onto a chair, and then the squirrel ran downstairs and then proceeded to get stuck in our radiator. After a few more minutes of the squirrel freaking out and running around we somehow managed to chase it out the front door,crazy night.

Some in our house think that the squirrel has taken up resident in our house again. We have no way of knowing for sure, but for now there has been no concrete evidence.

This week has been good in other ways. I completed a tax training through the Benefit Bank this week. It was weirdly exciting to learn about filing taxes. I have no idea why I liked it so much. I made friends with one of the ladies taking the class and I picked her brain about working the non-profit world and living in Philly. She did better than me in the cold weather because she is from Michigan. Oh Texas, how you have spoiled me.

For curriculum we are reading Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning. I highly recommend it. It has always been one of those books that I have wanted to read, bought to read, borrowed to read, but never really did it. Big mistake on my part for waiting so long. It is excellent. I am most attracted to the way the Manning talks about why Jesus is so close to children, and those with childlike hearts. He mentions the incompetence of children and how they really don't have the ability to do lots of things for themselves, and how God longs to do far more for us than we allow Him to. A seemingly obvious thought, but still so hard for my mind to grasp.

I hope everyone has a great week.