'tis the season in apt. 10

One of the benefits of living by yourself is that no one can tell you that you put your Christmas decorations up too early. Which is precisely why my decorations may or may not have already been up in my apartment for weeks. Don't judge!

 Apparently I have an 8 foot tree AND 8 foot ceilings. Sorry angel, you'll have to stay in the box this year.

Still my very favorite ornament!

This has been around a while and I still love it - thanks, Aunt Evelyn!!

zooooooo

Wow, a week in Nebraska flew by! It was nice to have a long trip and not have to smoosh everything into a weekend. But before I knew it, I was truckin' back to Denver with my car filled with clean laundry, homemade Christmas gifts, a coffee table, craft projects, and ginger bears (can't forget those - yum!). It is amazing how much smoother the drive is when you car's tires are aligned properly (thanks, Dad)!

I'm way behind on blogging partly because there was no internet at Mom and Dad's (OMG! Stone age!), and partly because I was just enjoying myself too much to be bothered. But of course I did take about a million photos at the zoo - but don't worry. I've narrowed them down. A little.

It was fun to spend some time with the little kiddos, and Katie and Mason joined in and we met Lori's friend at the zoo, too. I was the odd one out without a stroller...

I have to say that the jungle is still my favorite! Abby-gab and I checked out the rope bridge. 

Lotsa cute babies.

Mason is skeptical.

Hi, E!

Jungle love?

Animals schmanimals - bring on the leaves!

Gotta have a photo on the lions, of course :)

Mason is still skeptical. 

E is not to be left out.

SUCH a great trip home, and topped off with Christmas decorating - one of my favorites. Can't believe it is the holiday season, already!

I hope you all had a fantastic Thanksgiving, too - much love from the Rockies!

retro

Retro Christmas craft projects call for truly retro rick-rack, which was sold for .08 and .10 cents it it's day, apparently. Good thing Mom has a stock-pile  :)

India Update

Hello hello! I've received a bit more information on my India trip, and you can see the updates here: Jill's Be The Change Fundraiser. The show of support has been truly amazing!

And yes, I am in O-town for the week - NOT checking my work e-mail and spending lots of time with good friends, good food, and kiddos. About 25 zoo pictures to come soon :)

Much love from Nebraska!

Help me Be The Change in India!

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world." ~ Ghandi 
                      Let's be the change for the children of Bihar, India!

Let me introduce you to a village in Bihar, India. Bihar is the second most underdeveloped state in India, and there is a high level of abuse of child labor practices due to low education and literacy in the area. Locals in this community are determined to make education a priority and have been working to build a school for the past two years. After two years, the foundation is finally completed.

Some of the children in the village!

Now let me introduce you to an organization called Be The Change Volunteers. Established in 2007, Be The Change is a non-profit, non-governmental organization existing by the philosophy that education is a human right. They have worked with communities and community leaders to help build schools in Kenya, Guatemala, Tanzania, Papua New Guinea, and many more areas around the world. (Watch their awesome video here! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5M8kfVIPZI)

The community leaders in Bihar submitted a request to Be The Change for assistance completing their elementary school. After extensive research by organization, the project was approved and recruitment for the volunteer team began.

A meeting in the village

Now to my part of the story. I've long had a passion for non-profit work and have been fortunate enough to be involved with such organizations as Water For People, the Elias Fund, and Project Education Sudan. Always doing what I can to help... from the comfort of my home / coffee shop / desk / library / couch. That all changes in February when I head to India as a part of the Be The Change volunteer team. To meet the people, stay in the village, and ultimately, turn their elementary school dream into a reality in two weeks' time.

I'm very blessed in all areas of my life, and you, as my friends, family, loved ones are a huge reason why. So now I'd like to humbly ask for help. Help for me to help the children of Bihar. I'll be spending two weeks in the village with the team of volunteers as we help the local community complete the vision that began two long years ago. Have I built a school before? Of course not! But why not now, right?

The time/prep/investment that goes into a project like this takes countless hours. Luckily, Be The Change has organized a lot of it for me. My list contains things like, apply for India visa, obtain vaccinations for Hepatitis A, B, and Typhoid, and of course, book plane ticket. A portion of the "fee" for this project goes toward building supplies for the project. And this, my friends, is where I would like to ask for your help. Each donation I receive I will put directly toward the building supplies and my plane ticket. Any additional funds raised will be donated to Be The Change for additional building supplies (if needed), or to a future project. You can learn more about the organization and the project at www.bethechangevolunteers.org

How can you help?

A donation of ANY size is greatly appreciated! To help these children I need to ask for help myself, and each and every dollar is MUCH appreciated! There are two ways to donate:

     1) I've set up a fundraising account on YouCaring.com (a non-profit online fundraising platform). You can find my project at Jill's Be The Change fundraiser, and you can make a donation online that will transfer automatically to my PayPal account. (PayPal does take a 2% fee per donation for using their services. I'm not sure how to get around that!)

      2) Donations can also be sent directly to Be The Change Volunteers (via check or online payment), and will then be eligible for a charity tax write-off. You can donate directly on their website at www.bethechangevolunteers.org, or you can mail a donation to their office at:

Be The Change Volunteers
503 East Nifong, #230
Columbia, MO 65201
Attn: India Project - Jill Muegge

I am so excited about this opportunity to help the children of this village! I am truly grateful for all of the support my friends and family have provided me through all of my whirlwind adventures, and I look forward to sharing this one with you, too! Of course details, photos, and stories will be updated here in due time. This will be a life-changing experience for the children of Bihar and volunteers alike - BE THE CHANGE!

Much love from the Rockies!

The local roads...

They have the foundation completed! Now to build the building! 

A [quasi-] public thank you

I would like to send out a huge thank you to my parents. For so many reasons, but basically for being kind, level-leaded, generous, respectful, and all around great human beings, and for instilling those values in me.

When I speak to students' parents in my job I often think, "Is this what my parents thought/did/said/wanted to say when I studied abroad?" Regardless of the bumps we hit in the road, I'm fairly certain they did not call and berate the manager of my study abroad program. I deal with quite a few unhappy parents, but today was especially trying.

I spoke with the grandmother AND the mother of one of my students today on two separate occasions. The grandmother was fairly harmless, though a test on my patience. The mother, on the other hand, called and introduced herself as "the annoyed mother of [student]." Great start.  The general point of concern was the cost of the program. In the next 25 minutes or so this mother called me rude, judgmental, misleading, unhelpful, disrespectful, uninformed, oh, and let's not forget "a rich girl that must have come from money". Until she had apparently had her say and then refused to speak with me any more because "I obviously can't help her." Right you are, ma'am.

Money is always a touchy subject, especially in our field when the experience we are selling is costing thousands of dollars. I get that. But remember, ma'am when you accused me of inappropriately judging and stereotyping your son? Well, didn't you just do the same to me?

I am lucky, I get it. My parents were great enough to help me have the experience of a lifetime. However, I DO get heated when strangers on the other side of the phone assume that my mommy and daddy paid for everything, and the underlying tone is that I am a spoiled, ungrateful, b**ch. The saying rings true, you can say what you want about me, but don't you dare bring my momma into this. (Cue white-girl head bob and finger snaps.)

So here is a giant thank you to my parents for NOT being "those parents". It may have taken me ten years after my study abroad to appreciate it, but I sure do, now :)

(And yes, I dug out your wedding photo. Someone also taught me that it is easier to ask for forgiveness than permission!)

Much love from the Rockies!

Chi-town Celebrations

I had such a great time in Chicago visiting Spooze for her birthday! She claimed that she "knew no one" in Chicago, and that there wouldn't be anyone around to celebrate her birthday. The 35+ people who showed up to her party on Saturday prove contrary :)

Commence photo-blog:

Friday night - out to dinner at Carnivale! Even the drink menu is political...

Group shot complete with birthday flan!

Out dancing after dinner. Are we to old to be here? 

 Pre-party shopping and coffee in Lincoln Park!

Aaaand the prep begins.

The early crew

"We need to get a good picture together so I can put in in a frame!" says Suz. This is the result.

Eileen love olives.

Mountbatten Love. 

Time for dancing! Dancing up on the benches? Why not?

Shortly after this we met a group of men on a bachelor party, complete with Jeff Samardzija, Chicago Cubs pitcher. Ya know, no big deal. We also met an entire lacrosse team from Colorado, and a few questionable characters. All in all, a good birthday night :)

And, the aftermath...

Sunday was spent lazing on the couch as one of our party-goers had come down with a stomach bug. Said stomach bug got Suzie on Sunday, but was nice enough to wait until I arrived back to Denver on Monday to hit me.

Mom does truly know best because when we were talking on the phone when I got back to Denver I said that I felt fine, but I was worried I may come down with the bug later. She recommended I buy Gatorade, soup, and crackers just in case. And man, was I glad I had that today :(

Spooze, thanks so much for hosting us all for your birthday! I was so happy to celebrate with you and can't wait until next time!