I'm a Weiner!

Hey!!! I won something!!! Thank you to The Semi-Desperate Housewife!!!! She sent me the most loverly package of chocolates, a paper and pencil set, face mask, and fancy-schmancy tea! Observe!



She mentioned that it took longer than usual to get the package out b/c she kept eating the candies - don't feel bad! If these babies make it through the night, it'll be a freakin' miracle. They're YUMMY!

SO.... this means I have to start my own contest! This will be my very first one, so be gentle with me. Hmmm, what to do....?

I know! I made a compilation CD the other day out of things I downloaded from iTunes. It has 20 songs on it, and they, for the most part, are pretty embarrassing. For instance, I have Mmmm-bop by Hanson, If You Change Your Mind by ABBA, Candy by Iggy Pop and that redhead chick from the B-52s, and Stayin' Alive by the Bee-Gees. Embarrassing, no? But I love them, every one. They're happy, peppy songs that make me feel awake. There's one song on there, however, that is SO BAD that DH actually turned to me in the car and said, 'You have THIS on there?!' Anyone who guesses what song it is, wins! If no one gets it right, I'll pick a person at random and we'll still have a list of funny songs. You have until Friday! Go! (Hint: It's an early 90's thing.)

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In other news, we went to a picnic at our chuch last night in honor of a visit from the head of the orphanage our congregation runs in Zimbabwe. It is one of several orphanages sponsored by various countries that together make basically a town of their own, with a school, medical care, etc. Most of the kids there are AIDS orphans, and are elementary school age, although there are a few infants and kids as old as their early twenties. It was wonderful to listen to him talk, both because of his beautiful accent and because he had wonderful information on the program, which is going exceedingly well. I have read a lot about Sudan, Zimbabwe and Sierra Leone in the past few years, and have been wanting to get involved in the orphanage project for a long time. I don't know why I didn't, really, other than my own lack of initiative in finding out who I needed to talk to to do so. Last night at the picnic, there was a table there explaining exactly what I needed to do, with friendly people sitting behind it, so over I went, and I am now the proud sponsor of a little girl named Miriam! Miriam's mother drowned while trying to take her children across a river to avoid fighting, and Miriam and her sister were taken in by her grandmother, who soon passed away. The girls were then taken in by another grandmother, who had several other grandchildren she was trying to care for as a result of the AIDS epidemic. That grandmother passed away as well, and the children were taken in by an aunt, who couldn't care for them all, so she contacted the orphan's village, which took in Miriam and her younger sister.

I can't begin to imagine this kind of life, or the terror that these girls must have felt, or the abandonment they have suffered repeatedly, but I'm thrilled that I can help her from now on. Even children who aren't individually sponsored are cared for in the same way that the sponsored children are, just out of a general fund, which also provides them with letters and holiday gifts that the sponsored children will be getting from their sponsors, so none of the children see a difference.

I know this is a small thing I'm doing, comparitively, but it still makes me happy. So, I win here, too. :)