Happy Birthday Dear Michael, Happy Birthday to You

In honor of Michael's recent birthday, on the 22nd, I would love to share 34 things that I love about him. Why 34? Hmm, you do the math.

1. Although he is not fearless, he always faces his fears/challenges head on.
2. He went to Barry Manilow with me and my parents for my 30th birthday.
3. His homemade "Hallmark" cards are awesome.
4. Cookbooks don't intimidate him.
5. He sails and loves to share this passion with his family and future sailors.
6. Michael gets Mehandis ready every morning before we leave for work.
7. He dances to Laurie Berkner with Mehandis and I.
8. I am not a joiner and he is... which allows me to reap the rewards of tagging along with him.
9. He looks like Tim Robbins.
10. Hosting events large and small do not make him nervous or grumpy.
11. He keeps up relationships with friends from grade school to college.
12. He has incredible ethics and acts as a great sounding board for someone who is more "gray".
13. He is not going gray.
14. Speaking of hair, he takes Mehandis to Gee's Clippers every 3 weeks.

15. He loves to get silly... and allows his wife to be too (old photo above BTW likely from '02).

16. He remembers all of the details that I now forget.

17. He is incredibly sentimental.

18. Michael and I almost always agree about the important stuff.

19. His family is way important to him.

20. He is a happy camper :)

21. He is generous with compliments.

22. Lies are not part of his language.

23. He has a hearty appetite for food and exercise.

24. He continues to try and get out the word on my Northwestern GPA.

25. He is proud of me.

26. Old sitcoms and movies make him laugh out loud easily and frequently.

27. He handles all of the bills and snow without complaints.

28. Michael loves to learn more and make a difference.

29. He gets a 6 pack every summer (abs not beer) from sailing.

30. He offers me a glass of wine when needed.

31. He doesn't whine.

32. Michael makes the bed every morning.

33. He is a fun and caring dad.

34. He is a great friend and husband to me.

An excuse to get a new dress?

I won a bloscar!!! One may ask, "So what is a bloscar?". Turns out today is the first I have heard of this prestigious award. Us "bloggers" typically regularly follow and get inspiration from one another's blogs. So this award is given by a fellow blogger to say "Your blog is fabulous!" Unfortunately there is no formal award ceremony or party to attend for this bloscar, but an acceptance speech is still to be expected.

I would like to thank the Academy, which consists of Jessica. I don't know how to make her name into a link, but here is the link to her great blog http://ourevergrowingfamily.blogspot.com/. I recently met Jessica and her husband Jud at a mutual friend's Winter Solstice Party. We had both read some each other's blogs prior to meeting and enjoyed getting to know each other in person. Sharing of good food and drinks also followed, thanks to Rebecca and Patrick.

Keeping this and the first blog have allowed me to not only share big events but have fun with celebrating the every day things as well. It helps keep the stressful things in perspective and make funny little things that much funnier. I am thankful for the chance to keep family and friends in the loop... sometimes I have less good stories to share since they have read them here. But if you know me, you already know I am not that good of a story teller when I am verbally speaking! Blogging has allowed me to form new relationships with acquaintances and even strangers. My world is bigger for it.

Here are the rules to receiving this award:

You have to pass it on to 5 other fabulous bloggers in a post.
Sherri D. - the first grandmother I know who blogs http://sherri-damman.blogspot.com/
Courtney V. - invite needed for her family blog
Erin W. - traveling and working in Mexico http://erin-keepingintouch.blogspot.com/
Michael W. (you have a work one right?)
Erika Y.- adventures in Iowa http://erikayfamilynews.blogspot.com/

You have to list 5 of your fabulous addictions in the post.
Using the elliptical at 5:30ish in the morning
Looking for "freebies" in the Sunday ad's (i.e. Walgreen's rebates or $10 for transferring prescriptions)
Snuggling up with Michael while watching PBS, Party of Five or The Office
Listening to Mehandis's laugh
My hair (being cut evenly, looking straight enough when I flat iron it, being wavy enough when I scrunch it)

You must copy and paste the rules and the instructions below in the post.

On your post of receiving this award, make sure you include the person that gave you the award and link it back to them.

CHSFS - Ethiopia Community Support

Mehandis was born in the Tembaro District of Mudula, Ethiopia. I remember getting this information at the time of his referral and then "googling" that area. The only thing that came up was a research paper on irrigation. So after reading our international agency's newsletter today, I was very excited to see not only photos, customs and demographic information of the area but also that there are improvements being made... related to our agency's humanitarian aid. The article follows below.

"We are excited to share the humanitarian news aiding Mudula Saturday January 24, 2009 was an exciting and emotional day for CHSFS staff and Tembaro District residents. CHSFS-Ethiopia donated an ambulance to the Tembaro District Health Center in Mudula and thousands turned out to see the ambulance make its way through the area. With a blinking red light on its roof, the brand new Nissan 4WD ambulance filled the air with its loud siren, thousands of people clapped and sang with joy. All of the them were happy that they finally have an ambulance that takes the gravely ill to hospitals found in Durame (37 miles away from Mudula), Areka (24 miles) and Hossana (60 miles).


In a speech, Chief Administrator of the Tembaro District, Abebe Haibano, said since Tembaro is further away from big towns, children and mothers have been dying for there was no ambulance to take them to hospitals. He said 15 children and 8 mothers died in 2008 alone because they couldn't be taken to hospitals in time. The chief administrator commended CHSFS for the donation that would save the lives of many people.

CHSFS staff member, Alan Bachman, was very happy to see the joyful people of Mudula. He said "I have never felt so much love, and so much joy, and so much celebration all my life." Alan Bachman stressed the need to use the ambulance properly and safely.

Gifts were given, in accordance with Tembaro culture, to Asnake, Tsewaye, Abraham and Alan, among others. They were blessed and fed spoonfuls of honey. They were also given handfuls of grass to remember their promise and to be successful in their future development endeavor."

I have been tagged!

Fun, I just read my friend Jessica's blog and realized that I have been tagged in a blogging game. This is my first time ever being tagged and am happy to join in on the chain. The rule is "You must post the 4th picture in your 4th folder". Fortunately I am at school and have some pictures on my network here... as our home computer's hard drive officially died yesterday (I do have ALL my photos backed up - thanks to the external hard drive from my parents).

So the 4th picture in my 4th personal picture folder is below. It is from a quick day trip to Chicago that Mehandis and I took when my Aunt Janet, Uncle Ted and cousin Branden were in town this past summer. You can see Lake Michigan and my cousin behind Mehandis and I. He was still pretty unsure of the swings at that time.


Okay, Erika Y. and Jill N. you are now tagged!

We are now number...

I just got a note from my mom, letting me know that by her "calculations" we are now #69 on the unofficial waiting list. The year of '69 is special to both of my parents since that is the year of their high school graduation. My mom had fun putting together a few fun facts from 1969. Perhaps she wore an outfit similar to the photo below?

Draft lottery was reinstated for the Vietnam War -- the first since WWII (my dad's # was 202 out of 366 -- lottery was based on the date of your birthday).

Astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first human to set foot on the Moon and uttered the immortal words "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."

The most famous music festival of modern times "WOODSTOCK" took place on a New York Farm on August 15th to August 17th with more than 400,000 avid music fans attending to see the Who, Jimi Hendrix, Crosby Stills Nash and Young and others perform live.

Average new house cost $15,550
Gas cost 35 cents

Richard Nixon becomes President of the United States.

Golda Meir of Milwaukee, Wisconsin , USA, becomes Prime Minister of Israel.

Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) Established
Sesame Street known for its Muppet characters, makes it's debut on PBS.

Wal-Mart incorporates as Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

First transplant of human eye

Seiko sells the first Quartz Watch

Internet USA invented by the US military ("Not Al Gore!", my mom jokes.)

Bell Bottom Jeans and tie-dye shirts become part of the teenage fashion scene (My mother proudly wore them both!!!)

Kick off your Sunday shoes

A new phrase has popped up in Mehandis's vocabulary... "Foot Loose". I actually don't know if this is really a compound word or phrase? Anyhow due to the fact that we still have our record player up and running, as well as a wide variety of records, we like to mix it up and throw on some "oldies". I picked out the Foot Loose sound track a few days ago and now Mehandis requests it by name. Below you can see Mehandis accessorized for the dance party and he then came over and asked "Foot Loose?".

The clap and cheer move -

Point your fingers and open your mouth move (this one he must get from me)-

Let's hear it for the boy (actually the name of the next song on the album)!

We will have to watch the movie soon to learn some more of Kevin's moves :)