Due to the faltering economy our college friends that visited us last year for New Years canceled on us, thus several positions still remain available to be our friends on New Years Eve!
benefits include:
-the comedic styling of Mick Nacey
-access to a car
-apartment w/ a view of fireworks
-snacks
-soda or pop whichever you prefer
-compensation negotiable
We'll even sign off on community service hours!
Despite the new camera and google phone very few pictures were taken of our 10 days in SLC...
we had the Macey family Christmas party where our branch wrapped up a witches head and dolls hands for the white elephant and Uncle Rex put them in Grandma Macey's apartment buildings tree!
Oscar looved the snow! He has been very sad since we have been home and will not let him touch the disease festering Chicago snow banks!
Nick did lots of this, with Oscar's help of course!
I had lots of fun with the Pi Phi's! Cafe Rio, shopping, getting ready togther, Annual Pledge Class Christmas Party, 2 am Village Inn!
and despite weeks of anxiety and a 2 hour delay Oskie was a great traveler we didn't hear a peep from him! If only you could slip babies narcotics and put them under the seat!
Eddie from season 2 of Bravo's Top Design has a blog! Although would I even like him if he didn't know Martha?
http://eddieross.typepad.com/eddie_ross/
After a week to the hour of being gluten-free I am feeling a little teensy bit better, each day I spend a little less time in the bathroom and less often and my daily headache and pains are a little less severe. Part of me didn't want to feel better because then it means I really do have Celiac Disease and goodbye gluten, but
Everything is relative, the time and energy I have gained back from not having to lay on the couch crying every night about how bad my head hurts is now spent in Whole Foods reading labels and the money we are saving on toilet paper and advil is now being spent on 4 dollars an ounce gluten free pasta!
I am hopeful, Nick and I went to the doctor today and he said based on what he saw on my insides if I am really good I should be feeling "normal" in 8 months!
But...If you come near me eating a REAL pretzel, cookie, or pizza IT IS ON Bad Girls Club Style!
p.s. I would post a clip from last seasons bad girls club for effect but Nicks family reads this blog
Have you watched Britney:for the record? Thoughts? Did you believe her? How about her dad not knowing the difference between Velveeta and Kraft singles? What about her eyes, uppers ..downers..lets discuss? If you need to watch it again its on our Tivo, as long as your bring a gluten free snack!
Hello Celiac Disease...Goodbye Gluten forever...more on this and my feelings about it later my boys and season 3 of Arrested Development await
Today makes a week since I had pieces cut from my stomach and duodenum and several biopsies taken from my colon and I am finally feeling a little better! I can eat a normal amount again, I am just a little hesitant about my choices and scared to drink my nightly herbal tea! Thanksgiving was no fun...food wise! The doctor told me the day of what it was (or looked like) and I have tried not to google it too many times and diagnose myself, so now we are just waiting to hear the test results! Please pray with me that it is something easy to treat and FIX and not a life long condition! I am very sick and tired of being sick and tired and want to have my life back! I want to make plans and not have to always cancel them because I have a horrible headache or am in the bathroom! My (our) list of things to do before we start to try and have children is very short; get me healthy, go to Africa, have a savings account in the upper five digits! The tickets to Africa are bought and now we just need to get me better and then save and save some more!
Happy Birthday to...
the boy who left a dozen roses outside my dorm sophomore year because i had a horrible boyfriend and he knew i deserved better!
the boy who sweat in a giant foam suit all night to be my shining white tooth!
the boy who danced with me at every pi phi and beta formal even though he didn't want to!
the boy who had to stand in front of a whole room of pi phi's and tell them how he proposed to me and sing the beta song to me!
and finally HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the man that I married and who makes my dreams come true everyday!
Nick asked the head of the school we will be volunteering at if it was okay if we bring things for the children and what types of things would be best. This was her reply, if you have any of these small items around please let me know, I will come to you!
Yes it's a good idea, but please do not bring anything that would cost a lot as we do not want the children to think they get a lot from overseas volunteers. Here is a list below of things that you can bring if you have them at home :
- Old blanket or towel for animals
- White board marker
- Any educational game (easy ones)
- Calculator (it's good to teach them how to use one !)
- Puzzle (easy one)
- Card game
- Any little present that we can give them when we do game and that they win such as :
- cheap watch
- sample perfume (given usually when you buy perfume)
- any small cosmetic
- any small little cosmetic bag or accessories for girls
- any hygienic stuff like small soap, tooth brush, body lotion ect....
- small packet of sweets
- any small kitsch toy that usually privileged children get (it must be cheap as we don't want to give expensive present such as computer game ect....)
Since I was a teenager I have wanted to go to Africa, and the main thing I wanted to accomplish before I got married was to do a service trip to Africa and Nick knowing this promised to me when we got engaged that we would go before we have children....and tonight he surprised me with the trip all planned out! The last two weeks of January we will be staying and volunteering at the Daktari Bush School and Animal Orphanage in Limpopo, South Africa!! My heart and mind are racing and thinking about all of that we can get together to take to them and raise for them and I am sure this trip will be all you will hear about from now on!
Namaste, Shalom, Ukuthula
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate/detail?blogid=14&entry_id=32216
I want to be friends with Barb Young, who knew.
This week I received updates on 2 of the 3 businesses I have given loans to in Africa. After another lonely week in Chicago it feels so good knowing that somewhere in the world I have a friend.
This is an update on your loan to Matale Lending Group 2 in Uganda.
Christine is pleased to report that business is great! Since
establishing her retail grocery and sundries shop over a year and a half
ago with her first loan from Pearl Microfinance, this friendly wife and
mother of 5 children has since expanded her product selection to meet
the demands of her village, purchased a cow so she can sell milk in her
shop, bought a refrigerator to preserve her milk, sodas, eggs, mineral
water and the fresh juices she prepares daily. Christine was also able
to afford a couch for the home she and her family rent. She’s used the
proceeds from the current loan to replenish her supplies and add new
items to her store. Operating this business has many challenges and
opportunities. Christine struggles to accommodate the customers, most of
whom are her friends, who want to pay on credit. Many times, she’s not
able to collect on this credit and it’s uncomfortable when she has to
ask. Eventually, she wants to apply her knowledge of retailing and
become a wholesale distributor. rnrnThis business has taught Christine
many valuable business skills. As a young housewife, she had no formal
business skills training before opening her shop. Now she knows how to
finance her business needs; plan and budget; manage and save money;
identify and purchase merchandise that her customers want to buy; manage
inventory and, of course manage her loan obligations - all great
entrepreneurial skills!rnrnChristine hopes to take out another loan
after this one to further expand her product selection. Her family hopes
to use the additional profits to buy a plot of land and build their own
home.rnrnWith the support of Pearl’s microfinance program, Christine
and her husband, an electrician, are able to provide 2 meals a day for
their family and pay for school fees. Her kids are attending better
schools and wearing nicer clothes. She’s says her life and her
family’s lives are much better off now. She’s grateful to Pearl
Microfinance and her Kiva lenders.
This is an update on your loan to Matale Lending Group 2 in Uganda.
Robinah is a widow and the single mother of 7 children aged 7-15, and
the sole wager for her household. Two of here children are her late
sister’s orphans. She owns and manages a Malwa bar, a local brew made
from millet (the author tried a sip and let’s just say it’s an
acquired taste and quite potent!). She used the proceeds from her August
2008 loan to buy bulk millet flour, firewood and brewing supplies.
Robinah has a couple of different varieties of Malwa. The style pictured
takes 2 weeks to produce and is best enjoyed in her comfortable and
pleasant café. The other variety requires over a month and is generally
sold in bottles. She started in business with her first Pearl microloan
as a Malwa reseller. Soon after, she learned how to make her own Malwa
and saw a significant boost in profit. Shortly after, with her third
loan, Robinah opened her café, seeing sales rise still further. She now
offers her bottled Malwa through local retailers in her village.rn
rnRobinah says Pearl’s microfinance program “has helped me so
much.” Without Pearl’s assistance, she would still be a peasant
farmer unable to support her children or pay for their school fees.
Without her loans, she fears her children would have to discontinue
school. And she would not have been able to afford the home they all
live in together because of her Malwa business.rn rnBecause her
customers continue to increase, Malwa believes her next loan requirement
will be 1,500,000 UGX to finance the purchase of larger supplies.rn
rnRobinah is grateful to Pearl and Kiva’s lenders.
My third loan was given to a father of 11 who has been a teacher for 30 years and heard about the loan process and thought it could help him finish the house he has been trying to build for his family for years, whenever he could he would buy steel supports and was always building bricks and now he can do it all at once. He has never been late with a payment, and it feels so good to help a man who has helped so many young people stay out of the violence in such a war torn country. My heart swells for the people of Africa, I am going to put together a package for Nick and I's 3 year old Zambian "daughter" Loveness today and dream about our trip there next summer, hopefully.
How hilariously true is this list? Every hipster or emo parent I know has named their child a name on this list! But what makes me nervous and mad is that three of my top baby names are on here, Harper, Silas and Orson and our dogs name, haha! Luckily our other top baby names are not on here Jude, Luka, Eleanor and Mila.
I have at least 12 posts to do but negative energy but funny story. So my job, in the mornings I take children out of their classroom and teach them phonics, math and spanish in small groups and in the early afternoon I go to different classrooms while other teachers go on their lunch break and their kids "nap" and later in the afternoon I either go home or go to a random classroom that needs another teacher. Well, the oldest class in the center the 4 turning 5 class is where I usually go from 1 to 2, and I absolutely hate it, I usually leave with my stomach and back in knots and call Nick on the verge of tears and/or dropping some swear bombs!
Well, today I had only been there for 20 minutes and I was in the semi-open air bathroom trying to help a boy change his pants after he pulled them up and "more pee came out all over, okaaay" so he could get out of the bathroom so another girl could sit down on the toilet because "the poop was already out of her butt touching her underwear." While this was happening one of the lovely blessings from heaven was standing on a bookshelf calling me a "poopy skeleton" while another one was standing on the computer desk calling the other one a "what the hell" and another lil blessing was jumping on his cot with his blanket on his head subsequntly waking up the two kids next to him I had just gotten to sleep! Oh, and two other teachers were looking through the windows laughing...to their defense one came in and helped me but only for a minute, which reminds me of a whole other story that the kids i work with ONLY listen to large African American women!!
Well after gaining an ounce of control and dishing out some consequences one of the boys looked at me and said " I am going to make a list about you tonight" and I said "and what will it say?" "NO MS. KRISTIN"..."AND THEN I AM GOING TO MAKE A SIGN FOR MY HOUSE THAT SAYS NO MS. KRISTIN ALLOWED!" and I said "Well, I am making a list of people who listened and it is going to say no ******" I hope he is at home right now asking his extremely strict latin parents how to spell Kristin and when they ask why he can tell them the whole story!
last Saturday I cut my hair (once again) into a short bob, and if I had showered today I would take a picture, here is a picture from exactly one year ago at our 2nd wedding reception in Pittsburgh when I had cut all my hair off! Although right now mine is much shorter, more a-line and less bangs!
and someone told me I look like the MOM from the movie The Sixth Sense, I had never seen the movie so I looked up the actress. Her name is Olivia Williams, she is British and below is a picture of her in Miss Austen Regrets. I guess I see it...do you?
Like every other week I have gotten the "you look like someone"......long pause...sometimes hours....."BABY from Dirty Dancing" Okay, this one I don't really see and take a little offense to because after the movie she got a nose job! Patrick Swayze is living next to the Summers maybe I should knock on his door and ask him if he sees it!
and my favorite! a chubby winona ryder!!
She obviously feels the same way.
The only one I find flattering is when people tell me I look like Snow White, in fact I am going to invest in a real Snow White costume and be her every Halloween for the rest of my life! When my kids talk about their mom I want them to say I look like Snow White and all of my gay boy best friends that I shop with and that do my hair will be my dwarfs and I already found my Prince!
Oscar's Father
if my checking account was bottomless i would buy everyone i know a pressie ( i can't decide if i like that word or not, do you?) from this company! they have beautiful and charming necklaces, rings and house blessing charms with such great messages! if only i was oprah and they would send me a truckload of them just for mentioning their name! Dogeared Jewelry!
for our first anniversary we were in SLC so we visited the church we were married at!
then drove to Park City, got massages, ate a fancy dinner, and spent the night on main street!
the next morning we went to the SLC temple, but we were locked out!
without writing an essay, i will say that I Kristin Nicole Coffey Macey am a registerd Independant and will vote for Ralph Nader each and every time he runs...legalize it, save the earth, etc.! However, I am also in favor of conservative government so I do not mind most Republican ideas and would vote for a leftie-centerie Republican if available!
Anyways, the point of this post is Sarah Palin....really? i mean really? go here to see her daughter taking after the bush girls...lets just hope these pictues were not too recent because she is 5 months pregnant! oy vey!
another reason to hate ... the hills ... i hate (and yes i know hate is a strong word but i am using it) the fake scripted reality show the hills but a once a week (i try to do it when nick is not home to save face) it is on our tv! its like they annoy me so much i just have to see what stupid thing they are doing this week! well my friend, he just doesn't know it, perez hilton, found out how much each one of them gets paid to have their "real lives" taped! they should invite the mormon girl morgan back on the show, but she is either married with two kids by now or in rehab getting off meth...or both!
Lauren Conrad: $75,000 per episode
Heidi Montag: $65,000 per episode
Spencer Pratt: $65,000 per episode
Audrina Patridge: $35,000 per episode
Whitney Port: $20,000 per episode
Brody Jenner: $10,000 per episode
Lauren “Lo” Bosworth: $10,000 per episode
Stephanie Pratt: $8,000 per episode
what an amazing preschool teacher I am, friday was a students last day because they are moving so they bought me a dooney & bourke purse to say thank you!
he was by far my favorite and i will miss him so much! he always made me laugh! even on tuesday after a child screamed in my ear for 45 minutes because he "didn't know where batman was and he missed him" not a batman toy or movie, the real batman and during this two turds ( i don't know a better word for it) had fallen on my bare toes!
as soon as I announce that I am pregnant, which I am not, and we are not trying to be at the moment! I would like someone to buy this for me and if no one does then you can Nick...love you!
riding bikes in mission beach make me love this bike ensemble..
and Nick and I have been researching what kind of trees/plants to get for our balcony that 1) can survive the constant love and attention of me and 2) can survive the chi-town winter. How fab are these garden clothes? 
we are meeting Nick's fam in San Diego next week! any of you non-commenters have any suggestions of something fun-to-do have-to-see?!
We headed out to the World's Largest Block Party last night; it's a fundraiser for Old St. Pat's Church. Two of our favorite bands were playing: Ben Kweller and Rusted Root.
Ben Kweller was on first, about 30 minutes after we rolled into town. It was disappointing how many people were there, but maybe only 100-200 were actually watching and listening to him play. He was great though, we're going to try to go when he comes in September.
After Ben, we decided we needed to get some new food to replace the nasty nachos we had purchased. Below, the "bucket of fries" that included nacho cheese, jalapenos and bacon; it was delicious!
Rusted Root was awesome. We had a great time listening to them, but decided to leave early because of my experience there last year (ended up walking about 3 miles home).
So, we went looking for a cab. Quite a few other people decided to go looking for a cab at the same time. After many false positives and a lot of cursing at people that ran in front of us, a limo driver pulled over and asked where we were going.
This is where the night takes a turn for the less-enjoyable. We got in the limo and headed for home.... (to be continued)
First of an ongoing series
As you may or may not be aware, I commute about 2 hours a day. Part of that commute goes through a part of suburban Chicago that has an interesting mix of white trash and hicks. As a result, I see a number of interesting cars sharing the road with me. Here are two examples:
This person had painted his car in a zebra pattern, with red racing stripes. There was also a remarkable amount of rust (not pictured).
Kristin will need to remind me of the name of the guy that ran for president of ASUU that was old and collected things in the back of his truck. Here is a guy that had everything in the back of his truck from a water heater to an office chair.
I look forward to continuing this series in the future.
Working a bit on the blog - things may look weird for the next little while. Thanks!
i think for the first anniversary the custom gift is paper but what about organic cotton? i think i should find the closest west elm and work there, chances are they get paid more then preschool teachers!
Nicks parents are coming to visit us on Wednesday and we are so excited, we have a few things planned but i wanted some more ideas of what we should definitely do while they are here.
we are thinking; boat tour, second city, bean, shopping on mich ave, wrigley stadium....any other ideas?
p.s. we have a serious lack in comments but google analytics says people from chicago are looking at this so please comment!!
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