listen to your heart.

it's hard.

"and it's hard.

it's much harder than I thought it would be,

but there's more good than bad.

and you don't just give up."

-the story of us

unless.

"unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot,
nothing is going to get better, it's not."
-dr. suess

completely crazy.

i've been a little bummed recently because a ton of my
friends are leaving off for these spectacular adventures this
summer and i'm stuck at home doing nothing.
my friend allison is interning in germany,
robin is at field school in ohio being an "armature archeologist",
my sister is going to language school and volunterring
in guatemala (read about her adventures here), and my friend
kelsey is moving to vermont for the summer.
while everyone else is taking off to do these amazing things,
i am here at home doing everyday, mundane things
like cooking, working, running, and being with family and friends.
but when i started to think about it, my summer is going to be
anything but boring; in fact it's going to be completely crazy.
i have four jobs and i'm taking an online class (or maybe two, i'm
on a wait list). last summer i worked two jobs and did nothing else,
but was still busy, so adding two more and classes is going to be
insane. i'm also training for a half marathon, which hasn't been
too hard to find time for over the past few weeks, but when my
other jobs start, it'll be difficult. and i've been having a bunch
of doctor's appointments recently which seem to be like another
job in themselves haha. add to that seeing friends, doing chores,
walking my dog, keeping in touch with my friends on their adventures,
trying to read books on my long list, and finishing up a couple
projects, and the summer is going to be gone in a second.

i'm looking forward to being a division director and cabin
counselor at camp cherith this summer, working at concerts
at darien lake (including blink 182!!), nannying for 3 weeks,
working at frontier field for red wings games, taking a
sociology of family class at MCC (and maybe a spanish class),
and all the other fun things i have on my calendar.
this summer is going to be insane and i hope i have time for sleep!!

slaves.

i've been slacking recently on my posts.
they've mostly been pictures or things i've been cooking.
mostly because i've been home from school and not
doing much besides working, training for the half marathon,
and spending time with family and friends.
but i've still been reading!
i picked up the book disposable people by kevin bales
from the library last week and it is sooo fascinating.
a teacher of mine had recommended it as one of the best books
on modern day slavery, so i added it to my list of books to
read months ago. the most important thing i've learned so far
can be summed up in this excerpt...

"although the direct value of slave labor i nthe world economy may
seem relatively small, the indirect value is much greater.
for example, slave-produced charcoal is crucial to making steel in brazil.
much of this steel is then made into the cars, car parts, and other
metal goods that make up a quarter of all brazil's exports. britian alone
imports 1.6 billion in goods from brazil each year, and the US significantly
more. slavery lowers a factory's production costs; these savings can
be passed up the economic stream, ultimately reaching shops of europe
and north america as lower prices or higher profits for retailers."
pg. 23 of disposable people by kevin bales

this was so crazy to me when i first read it! when we buy something
that is significantly cheaper than a top brand of the same item
sold somewhere else, it may not just be because you got
a good deal or the quality is less. it could be because somewhere
down the line of production, innocent people were being exploited.
obviously, this would be almost impossible to discover because
a consumer can't trace an item back that far to know.
there are more slaves now in the world than ever and the types
of slavery being used now are different, more profitable for the
slaveholders and more destructive to the lives of the slaves.
the first step towards freedom for these slaves is raising
awareness and becoming educated.
the more people that know, the more who will step up and
try to stop it. another book that my sister recommended to me
is not for sale. i hope to read that next.
i've posted on here before about sex trafficking which
is a type of the new slavery that kevin bales discusses.
also, i wanted to share a quote that i've posted on here before when
talking about the prisons in america fits a little with this topic
and makes you think about imprisonment in a different way...

“in the face of the largest prison buildup in the history of civilization, with two million citizens in prison, and one in every three black men under judicial constraint, we start to wonder what good the thirteenth amendment is if slavery is illegal unless a person is convicted of a crime.” (152, the irresistible revolution by shane claiborne)

another huge thing i've realized is that even though i am
completely disgusted with the people that are directly
involved in modern day slavery and i cannot understand
why they would do this, God still loves them and cares
so deeply for them. and honestly, i should too.
also, even though most aren't directly involved in slavery, almost
everyone is indirectly involved and has the responsibility as a human
being (and a christian, if you are) to do something.

from the kitchen

homemade veggie pizza and homemade chex mix
which was sooo easy.
i've also been making lots of fish and omelets and
roasted zucchini.

be still.

kiss.

what if.

mmm

today for mother's day (and my first day back home for
the summer) i made my mom and family a delicious
mushroom and zucchini lasagna.
it was pretty tasty. :)

interesting...

this is probably the most interesting donating opportunity
i've ever come across...
donate your used bras
check it out :)

from my kitchen :)

homemade peanut butter eggs for easter.
these were so good and so easy!
i wanted to dye some purple, but we didn't have blue dye. :(

homemade apple pie made with my friend, carley.
(we store bought the crust though. i mean were baking
in a dorm, we had no other choice, haha)

carrot cupcakes me and carley made for easter.
we dyed coconut green to make "easter grass" and used
egg shaped jelly beans and peeps to decorate.

not yet discouraged.

"every new child comes with message
that God is not yet discouraged of us"