The Rest of Fall Break

The rest of Fall Break was fantastic! Andrew, Chelsea and I went thrifting (one of my favorite things to do). I got two cute pairs of shoes (note the cute yellow ones which were $1.49- the others were $0.98) and a cute pair of jeans for $1.98. All looked brand new. Gotta love good deals that are also sustainable.


Then on Saturday, Andrew and I went to the Memphis Flea Market to check out the vendors. I got a great used Field Guide on Insects and Spiders of the US and North America. I've already read quite a bit. There wasn't a great abundance of craftiness though which was a bit disappointing. All the same, it was still fun. That night we hit up the Memphis Grizzlies game courtesy of some free club level tickets so that was a lot of fun.

After the weekend in Memphis, we headed home and Andrew kept on movin' towards school. Monday, Dad and I went to the Big ATL to see Sam in a scrimmage game at GT and spend some time with him over dinner. It was wonderful! I really miss getting to spend time with him and I have to admit, I was really proud of him playing out there on the big field (starting shortstop for the Gold Team). (Proud sister.... can't help it) There he is #31 up to bat. I love seeing the skyscrapers over the fences of the field. That night we drove home, spending some quality time chatting in the car. Great memories :)

The next day, Mom and I met for a tasty lunch at Cafe Calypso, which is always oh so tasty! And then went to look for bridesmaids' dresses and FOUND ONE that is perfect. It's a bit nontraditional and pretty fantastic and it's also a secret so you should come to the wedding to find out what it looks like. Mom is very good luck for such things apparently. We both picked out the exact same dress in different parts of the store and both ran over to show the other at the same time. Pretty great! :)

In other news, Rhodes is writing a news story on my sustainability and simple living class that is going to go out on a national level! Pretty exciting since I am so passionate about such stuff. They are sending a big photographer and such to the class to take some pictures and I have been talking to a reporter at an advertising firm somewhere far away. Hopefully the story really will be published and I will let you know details when I can. The class itself is really going well as well. Though it's not a Christian-based group, I hope it helps teach people the ideas that Jesus lived out and helps to challenge and strengthen their own beliefs. The other day a student came over after class and said, "You know Allison, I think Jesus has to be the ultimate example for simple living and for this class." I was happy in the least to hear that the connection was being made. Jesus was all about the simple living.

Taco Salad and Fall Break = Fabulous!

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Yummy taco salad for dinner.

Chels and Andrew set the table. Bridget slices the avocado.

This weekend is the start of Rhodes' Fall Break. Andrew's fall break overlapped a bit so he made the long trip to Memphis to hang out :) In honor of the start of fall break and Andrew's arrival, the rooms and I along with Andrew cooked up some tasty tacos and taco salads for dinner. They were very tasty if I do say so myself.

This is his satisfied with dinner face. :)

My Final Photo Project

Today I turned in my photo project using the photos I posted below. I had two series that were very similar, both below. I did a bit of photoshopping to the ones I already posted so I thought I would post them again, but my file sizes are too big so I need my computer-savvy fiance to come do something about that :). I actually crinkled up a piece of paper, scanned it into the computer, and added it as a back layer to the photo. I think it really added some nice texture. It was a lot of fun. Our next series is photographing people which I am super excited about. I will have to keep you posted. In the meantime, I will be enjoying a wonderful Fall Break with Andrew. He is coming here so I'm sure we will have some fun times exploring Memphis. He is also really excited about photography so we will probably start working on my project together. Yay Fall Break! PS- please check out my last post and help if you can! $10 will go a really long ways. We've already won $1000!! Thanks for your support!

GlobeMed Help Please!

Hey All,

I wanted to tell you about something I do at school. I'm not sure I've told you all about GlobeMed, a student organization that I am deeply involved with at Rhodes. Our chapter at Rhodes is working with a non-profit organization called AMOS in Nicaragua. AMOS is a community-based, grassroots organization that seeks to create health care equity in Nicaragua. They do this through providing sustainable resources to communities in Nicaragua. For example, we are sponsoring a Health Promoters Conference in which members of AMOS train members of rural communities in Nicaragua about basic health care (wash your hands, basic first aid, etc). Right now we are participating in a fundraiser in which you can donate through Facebook. Every dollar goes to our project and we have the chance to win more. I just gave $10 online for the project -- would you consider matching my donation? $10 is all it takes!

It'll only take you a few minutes to donate online at http://www.imagine2030.org/donate/. Thanks for your consideration and support so much! Let me know if you have any questions.

Peace and prayers!

Frog and Lizard

My frog and lizard have become quite the friends lately. I find the frog, Marcello, sitting on top of the lizard a lot like they are best buds. It makes me smile. One of my cats used to always sit on top of my dog on the porch when it got cold outside. Silly how animals do. Have a blessed week!

GoodShop for Harvest Hands

I don't know if you've heard (because I've been telling everyone I can), but there is this awesome site called GoodShop that gives a small percentage of your online purchases to the charity of your choice as long as they are a member. Harvest Hands, the place where I work in the summer, and a place that is very near and dear to my heart is a member so I wanted to tell you about it.

If you ever shop online, first before ordering, go to the GoodShop website. There you will see links to almost all of the major and not major online stores (ebay, amazon, target.com, jcrew, etc, etc). Select "Harvest Hands Community Development Corporation (Nashville, TN)" under the "Who do you support?" box and then click on the link to the site on which you would like to shop. It will take you directly to the online store and a percentage of your purchase will go directly to Harvest Hands.

It's especially great for all of you that frequent online purchasing and for those who will be doing so in the upcoming holidays. It is also great if you purchase things online for work because it's no extra cost for you! Let me know if you have any questions! It is safe and secure, easy, and most importantly, benefits Harvest Hands. We've already raised about $120 so it really does work. Thanks for your support!

Bedding

Since Andrew and I will be needing some bedding once we get married, we have been looking around at some bed spread options to get an idea of what we like. I found this fabric on etsy.com see here for the listing and LOVE it. If not for a bed, then for something because it is gorgeous and light-hearted and wonderful. Do you like it Andrew and everyone else? Too summery/springy for the whole year? (PS- I think we will have a wooden bed frame, not an iron one.)

Ghost Hunter

My photography class is going really well. A few of you have asked so I thought I would share some of my photography adventures thus far. Right now I am working on a project that I am entitling "Ghost Hunter." Though the photos below aren't in their 100% final stage, they are pretty close. I didn't use any PhotoShop on the actual blur of the ghost. It was produced with a very very slow shutter speed, a handy tripod, and a loving roommate. (Thanks Chels!) I am going to exhibit them in a beat up brief case with some tools that look like they would be needed for ghost hunting. The idea behind this first series is that the ghost hunter is capturing a ghost on the move and then the ghost sees him and runs up to the camera. (Unfortunately here they are in backwards order. The one at the bottom of the post is the first in the series and the one at the very top is last.) Recognize the ghost? It was a lot of fun to do and I should be doing another series to go along with the overall project. Anyways, enjoy.

Walden Farm Trip

This past weekend I went home to see the fam and celebrate mom's birthday which is today...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!

(She's turning 25....)... and to see Andrew. Andrew and I had a lot of fun on Saturday visiting a local farm out in Nolensville that sells pumpkins and showcases their animals for petting every fall. Basically it was a lot of children under the age of 7 and me and Andrew pushing them out of the way to get to the animals :) It really made us long for a small farm of our own one day. Here are some pics from our day which included getting some pumpkins, eating tasty homegrown treats, petting/feeding lots of cute animals, and listening to some live music.

A Simpler Way of Life

Tonight was the kick-off of my first class on issues of sustainability. In my opinion, it went really well. We did some getting to know each other, made some journals for note-taking during the class (or whatever we wanted) with recycled materials for which I have been dumpster diving for the past couple of weeks, and talked about some of our preconceived notions of sustainability. Then watched a pretty good video clip from ABC about a family that strives to live a simple, sustainable life. It's worth the 8 mins it takes to watch. Check it out here. Then we talked about how this video affected our views. I wish we would have had more time to chat because I could talk about this stuff all day, but I really do think it went well. I will keep you all updated on how it goes and let me know if you have any ideas!