he says it so well...

"Grief is like a long valley, a winding valley where any bend may reveal a totally new landscape...Sometimes the surprise is the opposite one; you are presented with exactly the same sort of country you thought you had left behind miles ago. That is when you wonder whether the valley isn't a circular trench. But it isn't. There are partial recurrences, but the sequence doesn't repeat....

...On the contrary, every horizon, every stile or clump of trees, summoned me into a past kind of happiness. But the invitation seemed to me horrible....I find that I don't want to go back again and be happy in that way. It frightens me to think that a mere going back should even be possible...

...I was wrong to say the stump was recovering from the pain of amputation. I was deceived because it has so many ways to hurt me that I discover them only one by one..."

A Greif Observed ::: C.S. Lewis

i miss the hanson kids...

Video 1

Video 2

they live in Oman....

As a social worker in Dallas county for 3 years now,

I never knew of this resource.

I'm gonna use it - and use it up -

for all my clients walking through homelessness.

Vogel Alcove

What's funny is that I literally got excited when I found this resource tonight!

How things change ...

i got to make my first arrangement today at Avant Garden! so much fun...

first friday of january...

image from holly hunt

::: some day :::

we just received the new pottery barn catalog in the mail and i saw this nugget inside. and its on sale! oh how i am excited to have my own room in our {future} home. i will paint the room a bright, fun color to spark creativity, hang inspiring images, and sit in an antique chair staring out the large, open windows daydreaming. and, hopefully, i'll have a cool piece like this to organize my crafts and things in :)

::: one year :::

Scott and I just celebrated our one year on Sunday!

Can't believe its been a year already, and am so excited to start the next one.

hawaiian vacation

all the good things about hawaii as are seen below:

hula pie

surfing

sun

family

ocean

relaxing

ALSO big news is that my dear teen friend went to her non-blood relative grandparent's. I took her there about a week ago. Will I ever see her? Will she ever call me? Who the heck knows. Will she want to? I have no idea. It's pretty terrifying that I don't have direct access to her, or the phone call a day from her.

Anyways, December was a whirlwind of extreme emotions, but in the end ... where she is, is the best of the two evils. I can never say that foster care is best for anyone. Is she protected? Is she being loved? I don't know. All I can do is pray.

I must not worry. Neither should you.

The day has come. I'm prepping for my internship this Spring, which begins tomorrow. To all my friends, I'll see you in May. I just decided I'm going to plan a phatty trip, preferably road trip this summer. Nothing beats the road, unless it's a short trip to another city in Texas. I'm talking state border crossings .. and many of them.

Anyways, I'm interning for the CEO of the Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance. Apparently, I'm assigned to assist him in writing plans to end homelessness in Dallas, for women and children. These next four months, I want to make those around me aware, just like I'm becoming aware of homelessness in Dallas. I've had maybe 2 cases of homeless children. One was heartbreaking and of most recent. The mother had been sleeping in her car for days. She came in crying - beautiful young mother, with her two boys. Broken, lost, and straight up broke. A week before Christmas ... too. With the help of a coworker, we got her several bags packed of food, clothes and blankets, found her a shelter, and I filled up her tank all within an hour. I think I cried that day.

Apart from those two cases, I have no relationship to homelessness. North Texas Food Bank's marketing strategies triggers the population with sayings in the realm of "We are all one pay check away from being homeless" or "In July, he was a full time employee and by September, he was on the streets - hungry, homeless" SO TRUE. I hope to work hands on with an individual that is homeless, and I guess.. expand my abilities and write some planning for Big Dallas and homelessness. I feel unprepared for this avenue of Social Work, but looks like I'm not calling the shots.

Some facts, as I study:

• Women and children are the largest population that are homeless in Dallas
• DISD has enrolled over 4100 new homeless children in 2008 - 2009 (ugh/tear)