Archive for September, 2009
Just Can’t Get Enough of this Guy
September 16, 2009Atlanta, Who Not to Assault, and a Welsh Road Sign
September 15, 2009This weekend, J and I went to Atlanta for a weekend getaway. This trip was inspired by the fact that we had $600 worth of airline credit that was going to expire in 3 weeks. Atlanta was the only place we could go while staying in this budget as it is the hub for the airline in which we had this credit. Now, today is supposed to be a ‘laugh’ post so I won’t tell you how we got the $600 credit because it is definitely not a laughing matter. But if you are curious, I’ll post the letter I wrote to the CEO of the airline in question in order to get this credit next Monday. I wanted to say ‘click here to read the letter’ but I’m not techie at all. Not even techie enough to make a little link to my blog so I’ll have to post the letter later and hopefully get a blog tutorial soon (Cliff and Teresa). I would never name the airline as I wouldn’t want to slander or speak negatively of anyone or anything on my blog but it might rhyme with Smelta, Felta or Melta. Since I didn’t tell you the name of the airline, I’ll say that now that we have expended our $600 credit, I hope I never set foot on a Smelta, Felta or Melta airplane again.
J and I had a wonderful time as did the kids who were at home with Nane and Dede- a real treat! We ate out, slept in and went to the Falcons/Dolphins game. The game was a blast. It was great to be in another place, removed from everyday life, just enjoying one another’s company. 
This was a low-budget trip, as with everything in our life these days, so we took MARTA, Atlanta’s metro instead of renting a car. The sign on the wall inside of the MARTA cars gave us a good laugh.
In case you had trouble reading the sign, it begins with “In any MARTA train station it is unlawful to:” and ends with “Assult MARTA Employees“. Who knew it was unlawful to assault MARTA employees? I’m so glad they said something. Before reading the sign, J and I had just been saying, “Hey, I’m in the mood to assault a MARTA employee. Wanna get one on the way out of the station?” I’m really glad they let us know that this was unlawful before we got ourselves in a heap of trouble.
Seeing this sign reminded me of a post I read on friends Scott and Abby’s blog a few months ago, regarding this sign, posted in Whales: (Again, I wanted to have a link to the story but because of my technology challenges, I nabbed the picture off the news site instead.)
![welsh-sign[1]](http://willing2riskready2go.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/welsh-sign1.jpg?w=450&h=270 "welsh-sign[1]")
Evidently, all signs in Whales are translated in both Welsh and English although not everyone knows Welsh. When the government official needed translation services for this particular sign, he wrote off to the translator for a translation. The response? An all too familiar auto response “I am not in the office at the moment. Please send any work to be translated”. Which is exactly what appears on the sign. To read the whole story, go to: http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2008/11/welsh-road-sign/
I’m inspired by this funny sign thing. More signs to come in the days ahead….until then, don’t go assaulting any MARTA employees, ok?
Shameless Rug Plug
September 14, 2009We sell handmade Turkish rugs. We have been doing this for about 2 years. We are in love with the beauty and intricacy of this amazing art. With 100 to 300 knots per square inch, these rugs are heirloom quality, durable, and each one is uniquely different.
Let me explain why you should buy one:
Turkish Rugs are….
VALUABLE- Rugs hold or increase their value over time. They are an investment you can pass down to your children. That brings me to the second reason you should buy one.
DURABLE- With such a tightly woven design, they are virtually indestructible. They can be used for several generations without showing wear. To clean them, you simply scrub them with soap and water and hang them to dry. No need to treat them as something as fragile as their intricacy may lead you to believe. My son once dumped an entire liter of olive oil on our rug. We took it outside, scrubbed it on the porch and let it dry in the sun!
NATURAL DYES= Because the dyes in these rugs are natural and made from materials available in different regions of the country, each region has a unique color scheme. Natural dyes also mean that the rug will never fade. My husband once saw an 800 year old rug dating back to the period of the Ottoman Empire that was torn and worn, but the colors were still vibrant reds and blues.
Now, all this being said, the real reason why you should buy a Turkish rug from us now is the price. We are partners with a 3rd generation rug salesman in Turkey. Whether they are sold in the Grand Bazaar or in some shop in the middle of nowhere, all the rugs in Turkey come from a handful of production centers. Because our partner, Mustafa, is a 3rd generation salesman, his relationships with these centers run very deep. This allows us to sell the same rugs you would buy at the Grand Bazaar for a much lower price. Also to your benefit is the fact that Mustafa’s rug shop is not in the Grand Bazaar which allows him much less overhead- savings to be passed on to customers like YOU.
Lastly, buy now because it may be your last chance to buy this quality of rug at this price. Mustafa is coming to the States in the middle of October for a nationwide tour where he will personally sell his rugs. Whatever inventory we haven’t sold by the middle of October will be sent with him on his tour. We hope you will take advantage now because we aren’t sure if we will replenish our inventory as our life has taken a new direction.
I know you are just dying to click on the link to our web site but I must say one more thing. All the rugs on the site are currently in the US and are available for immediate sale. There are no prices listed on the site. The reason for this is that interior decorators use our site as a sales tool. They show the site to their clients and then mark up the price from the price we give them to include their own commission. Prices can range from $70 to $6,000. Something for everyone. If you would like to see the price list, email us and we can send it separately.
If you know you are interested in buying, consider hosting a show in your home. Invite a handful of friends. We will bring the entire inventory of rugs and do a presentation similar to what you would see in the Grand Bazaar. We will include a history on rugs and a lesson on the different types and how you can tell the difference. We will even bring Turkish appetizers and tea for everyone to enjoy. In exchange for hosting us in your home, we will give you $100 off any purchase you make. Our schedul permitting, we will travel anywhere in the state we live in during September and October so email us today!
Now, the moment you have been waiting for…. www.oostahrugs.net Go now. Don’t delay. Your life will be forever changed. Your living room forever enhanced. Your children forever grateful. Our Law School debt forever minimized!! Go.
Do You Listen to Your Underwear?
September 11, 2009
This week, I heard the following conversation take place between my son and my husband:
N: “Baba, I’m mad at you.”
Baba: “Why, N?”
N: “You was wrong about somethin’ .”
Baba: “What, N?”
N: “Batman DOES fly. I saw him on the back of my underwear!”
I laughed out loud. Then I thought to myself, “I sure hope there comes a day when N believes his father over what he sees on the back of his underwear!”
As I thought more about N’s accusation and their exchange, I realize how often I, too, like N, believe the back of my underwear over my heavenly Father.
The things we see each day- TV advertisements, magazine articles, interactions with friends, general life in this culture all stir up a desire in me to be thin, have beautiful skin, have a perfectly decorated home, drive a nice car, wear the trendiest clothes, send my children to the best school possible, make sure they are in sports at the earliest age so they will develop that cutting edge, give them the right friends, vacation in nice places…..
You wanna know the truth? Batman really doesn’t fly. I know Wikipedia isn’t always the most reliable source, but for today’s case in point it will suffice. Wikipedia states that Batman, “ Unlike most superheroes, does not possess any superpowers; he makes use of intellect, detective skills, science and technology, wealth, physical prowess, and intimidation.”
Just as N needs to believe his earthly father in the nuances of superheroes, I desperately need to believe my heavenly Father as he has so clearly spoken directly into these struggles. I just have to choose to believe Him.
Ecclesiastes 1:14 “I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.”
John 6:63 “The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.”
Psalm 49:12 “But man, despite his riches, does not endure; he is like the beasts that perish.”
Cool Whip Finger Paint
September 10, 2009One of my favorite activities as a child was ‘cool whip finger painting’. It was a must at every birthday party. This week, Uncle J surprised Aunt L by kidnapping her from work to take her on a fun weekend getaway that included a stop by our house. We wanted to do something special during their short visit so cool whip finger paint it was!
Cover your table in some type of disposable or machine washable plastic. (The cool whip is greasy and hard to remove from any surface.)
WASH HANDS. Ok. I forgot this step and didn’t remember until everyone was generously covered in cool whip. Oh well. I’ll do better next time.
Give each participant a dollop of white cool whip.
Let them each choose colors as needed by dropping drops of food coloring directly into the cool whip.
Provide bowls of cereal and other edible treats that can be used for decorating artistic creations.
Lastly, don’t stress about the mess. When everyone is done, just throw them into the tub (except Uncle J and Aunt L 
)!!
Uncle J is an art teacher- look at his masterpiece! He's also a hero for taking his wife on such a cool surpirse weekend getaway!
J's final creation
N's ocean turned race car track
Petra
September 9, 2009
Washing Delmar
September 8, 2009Last week, N and J spent the better part of an hour playing house together. Delmar was their only child. He is Baba’s Cabbage Patch doll; passed down to N but mostly cared for by J. They changed his diaper, rocked him to sleep- Central Asian style swinging in a blanket, changed his clothes and even put him in ‘time out’. It was really cute. Cute, until they got quiet. Quiet is always, always bad. I went upstairs to see the damage.
They were in J’s room, washing Delmar’s hair. Delmar was covered in a layer of soap. Suds everywhere. They were working so dilligently that I didn’t want to interrupt them, until I remembered the mess I was about to have to clean up. Here are the parents, busy at work:
The next day, I overhead J in her little raspy voice say, “Hey N, wanna play soap?” He responded, “No, I don’t want Mamma to spank my bottom again.”
Success.
Where Cultures Come Together
September 7, 2009
Last week, we visited the Central Asian Cultural Center, here in our city, for the first time. After receiving a tour and describing all the activities we could take part in, the center’s president typed J’s cell number into his personal phone. He said he would call but we thought it was just a cultural formality. This week we got a call from him. Could we come to dinner tomorrow or the next night? It is Ramadan now, the time when Muslims fast from sun up to sun down. He invited us to their fast-breaking meal to start precisely at sundown.
We have learned that eating at sundown means a late night. It also means we need to feed our small children at their regular dinner time before we go so that they aren’t hungry. It also means we can not, under any circumstances, be late as this is extremely offensive for someone who has fasted all day.
We left our house 30 minutes early for this very reason. We got lost. We were driving in circles on a tollway, repeatedly paying the toll but we didn’t even care. We began to panic. What do you do when you panic, even if you’re 32? Call Dad. My dad graciouslypulled up our location on the internet and guided us through every turn. We arrived one minute early! Did mention I want GPS for Christmas? Thanks again Dad- you have to admit, I haven’t called you for directions in awhile
When we walked in the door, we were absolutely shocked. You would have thought we were in a time warp and had intered the Central Asian country we left almost a year ago. The decorations and furniture had all been shipped over. The women were covered so that only their hands and faces showed. As soon as we walked in, we took off our shoes and J was ushered into a private room, just for the men, where he remained all night. There was a curtain between the formal dining room (men’s room) and kitchen so the men couldn’t catch even a glimpse of the women working in the kitchen. We ate separately. The women in the kitchen and the men in the man cave. The kids ran freely back and forth between each group as they wished and didn’t eat dinner until they decided that they were done playing at about 8:30. Thank goodness my kids had eaten already!
Poor N didn’t know how to comprehend all that was going on around him. It was an overload for this 4 year old as all of his scenses brought him back to his life in Central Asia. He heard the language that he used to use to play with his friends. He tasted the foods seasoned in ways only Central Asians prepare. He asked for more. He smelled the tea. He saw the furniture, decorations and women’s heads covered. It was too much. He asked me to take him to the restroom where he melted into my arms and began to cry.
He knew that it takes long hours of travel and ardent preparation to go to this land that we love. He knew that seeing his friends there isn’t an option, for the time being. How then, could we walk through a door and suddenly be back in Central Asia. Time warp? Twilight Zone? An episode in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe? It was too much for him to comprehend. We sat on the floor for awhile as I explained where we were who these people were. We prayed together and even I felt a layer of heaviness lift. When we walked back out, he was ready to play with the other kids.
What a night. Everything was as expected, even down to not getting home until 11PM. How me miss this place and love these people. Now that we know we can just walk through a door and be back in Central Asia, we will have to do it more often!
A Recipe Worth Keeping
September 3, 2009We had to make everything from scratch when we lived in Central Asia. No cake mixes, cookie mixes, not many canned goods, seasoning packets, not many frozen items- everything from scratch. This mostly meant we ate lots of beans.
It also lent itself to humor, like the time I was prengant and so sick I didn’t want to eat anything. I made the mistake of saying I thought I could eat some tomato soup. When the ingredients were nowhere to be found, my amazing husband grated tomatos to make soup. It was pink. It wasn’t too great. Ok, trying to eat is made me sicker than I had been before the soup. But, it was a tremendous act of love on J’s part and I will never forget his effort. It ended in us both cracking up laughing across the table and dumping the soup in the trash!
I learned to cook other things out of necessity. We got used to from scratch lasagna, cinnamon rolls, maple syrup, soups, muffins and cakes. I know my family is spoiled now from all the from scratch food. Too bad. We live in America now and I’m all about opening a can of spaghetti sauce and pouring it over the meat. All of the previous recipes have quickly fallen by the wayside, except for the Hot Roll Recipe. This is a keeper. A dough you can mix up in a large bowl and leave in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. From this mixture, you can make rolls, cinnamon rolls, sticky buns or any other type dough like concoction your heart desires. Great for large groups. Also, you don’t have to wait for anything to rise which means you don’t have to plan ahead. But, if you are in the planning ahead mood, you can make the cinnamon rolls up to two days before and leave them in the refrigerator until you are ready to put them in the oven. So, here are- go create… Hot Roll Mix.
Hot Roll Mix- No Rise
1 tablespoon yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup oil
2 cups sour milk, milk, buttermilk, or yogurt
1/2 cup (or less) sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
5 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
5 cups (or more) flour
Dissolve yeast in warm water with 1 tablespoon of sugar (approx. 5 minutes). Add remaining ingredients. Mix and knead well. Place in Greased container. Refrigerate. The dough will keep a couple of weeks. When needed, remove desired amount of dough and make in to rolls. No need to rise. Bake at 425F.
Rolls: Shape as for regular yeast rolls (crescents, bowknots, spirals, hamburger buns, etc.)
Cinnamon Rolls: Roll dougn into rectangle, Spread with melted butter and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Roll, slice and bake as individual rolls or put win pan with sides touching. Mix together 1 C. powdered sugar and t T water. Drizzle over hot, fresh rolls!
Almond Sweet Rolls: Roll dough into rectangle. Mix equal amounts of butter and icing sugar and 1/2 t. almond flavoring. Spread on dough. Roll and slice as for cinnamon rolls. Bake individually.
Bread Sticks: Roll small amounts of dough in long strips about the size of your finger and 8″ long. Put on cookie sheet. Brush with egg whites. Sprinkle with sesame or poppy seeds. Bake at 400F.
Pizza Dough: WIth greased hands, flatten dough to fit greased pizza pans. Bake 5 min. Fill as desired and bake.
Doughnut Holes: Make small balls and drop in hot oil. Drain. Make glaze of icing sugar, boiling water, 1 t. vanilla or maple flavoring. Let drip on rack.
Sticky Buns: 5 T. Butter, 3/4 C. brown sugar, 1/4 C. water, 1/2 C. chopped nuts. In a 9X13 pan, melt 5 T. butter. Stir in brown sugar, water and chopped nuts. Roll dough into a rectangle and spread on 3 T. melted butter. In a cup , mix together 1/4 C. sugar and 2 t. cinnamon. Sprinkle cinnamon-sugar on top of dough. Roll, slice and place in pan. Bake 20-25 min. at 375 F. Invert onto plate.
From Our Best cookbook.
Bath Time
September 2, 2009
