Success

To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Finally

The ends are woven in.
The buttons are sewn on.
My personalized tag has been stitched in.

Ladies and gentlemen, I have completed my first sweater.
Hallelujah, it's done, complete with little duckie buttons and everything. That's right, I knit a sweater for a baby. And it's adorable. The baby shower is tomorrow afternoon, and I am including four knit baby hats, in four different shades of green :)

Pictures of my creation will be posted soon!

Roomie

My beautiful Roomie (a.k.a., Sara) is coming home from Brazil in one week!!! I cannot wait to see her at the airport and attack her with a huge hug. And two weeks after she gets back, we head to Michigan together. Yay!

Look Out World, Here She Comes!

A HUGE congratulations is in order for my dear friend Andrea, who, as of today, is the one and only costumer designer for the Grand Rapids Ballet!! Yeah, Andrea!! And I must also mention (a.k.a. brag a little) that Andrea didn't even apply for the job - rather, G.R. Ballet called her so many times, begging her to interview, that she finally gave in and went, just to shut them up! And low and behold, this job is perfect for her, and she took it! Yay!!!!

Here's a picture of Andrea and I at Cran-Hill in '02, at the 80's Prom she organized:

From Hiroshima to Hope

Today is August 6th, the day that the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, in 1945. I went to Seattle's annual traditional Japanese lantern-floating ceremony tonight. "From Hiroshima to Hope" is Seattle’s annual peace event honoring the victims of the bombings at Hiroshima and Nagasaki and all of the victims of war and violence. In Hiroshima, they float paper lanterns down a river, the same river that carried bodies out to sea. Thousands of people showed up at Greenlake tonight to make wood-and-paper lanterns and fold peace cranes. There were all kinds of traditional Japanese flute music and men and women dressed in komonos. The Toro Nagashi lantern floating ceremony on Green Lake is the largest lantern floating ceremony outside of Japan. The evening emphasized peace and the hope that nuclear weapons would never be used again.

Links Added

I've added two more links to my sidebar. First is the link for the Christians for Biblical Equality website, which I find fascinating. They have some really good books on clearance at the moment that I am restraining myself from buying! The other link is to the Responsible Shopper website, which is another very good site. On it, you are able to either type in a company name or choose one from their list, and read up on how that specific company does in regards to environmental issues, social justice issues, ethical issues, pollution, discrimination, sweatshops, etc. It also lists any lawsuits that company has been in, as well as all the other companies it owns - e.g., Philip Morris owns Kraft and Nestle owns a ton of other companies. Two of the best companies I've found so far are good ol' REI and Whole Foods :) The worst - Nestle and Wal-Mart. Shocking.