I made a YouTube Video of Kansas City!

By chance, Rotary International asked me to compile some Kansas City area photographs for a project for them.  It has been fun to review pictures I have taken over the last several years of our field trips.

I asked Dave and Carol Tallant if they would like to join in the fun, so some of Dave's work is in here too.

I thought since they are all collected together,  why not make a video of them for the YouTube? 

Mr. Jonas, my high school photo teacher would be very proud of me.  Shout out to you JJ!

I hope you enjoy it.
Valsy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRwMg6Qjhhs&feature=colike

Bob the Builder Award: Jon Bon Jovi

Who knew that this guy.....

would grow up to look like this guy....

Who would go and do this....

I remember the first time I saw Jon Bon Jovi.  It was Fall 1986, Friday Night Videos and he was singing "You Give Love a Bad Name."  I was with my boyfriend, D, and we were at his house with some friends.  I remember it like it was yesterday because it was the first time D had allowed me to wear his coveted yellow Genera sweatshirt I had begged to wear for months.  Stellar night I will tell ya.  Been a fan ever since.  Of Jon and that yellow sweatshirt.  I don't know if Genera is even still a company anymore.  But Jon is still around, and I read about him in all places last week...my Heifer International magazine.

The Soul Kitchen  is located in a former auto body shop (hey Dave, I know what you can do with the building after you retire....).   It is a pay-what-you-can food kitchen restaurant for the hungry.

There are no prices on the menu.  Customers simply leave what they can in an envelope on the table and if they cannot pay, they can bus tables, wash dishes or do community service instead.

"I worked hard to make sure the restaurant doesn't have a soup kitchen feel.  Tables are set with linens and silver.  An herb and vegtable garden are right outside to provide fresh ingredients for the entrees, which include offerings like grilled salmon and chicken with homemade basil mayo." 

This is the latest of the projects Jon's foundation has worked on.  He has also help build 260 homes for low-income families.

Jon, here's to you Bob the Builder.  You give love a great name.  :)



The Six Word Memoir

I read about the Six Word Memoir a couple months ago.

It intrigued me. 

Wanna know more?  Go here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six-Word_Memoirs

So, last month, a bunch of friends got together on a Monday night for some sloppy joes and a little church talk (commonly known in the LDS world as FHE--Family Home Evening...a custom active Mormons have been doing for about 100 years now....before the commercial gimmick by Parker Brothers for Family Night of Games to schlepp a bunch of over-priced games etc...)

We did the Six Word Memoir activity.  It was very revealing.

It's simple.  Write a six word sentence that defines yourself. Whatever you want it to say.

This is what the Anderson family came up with. 

I was so moved that I printed them, framed it and it is in the family hallway.

I am sure if you know us, you can guess whose is whose.

But I like details and backstory, so you get both.

Mr. Fun wasn't bothered by the Six part of the memoir, so he went with four.  Being the detailed girl that I am, I added the "A" to the "calm in the storm" so that he is one word closer to following the rules.  He usually is a rule-abiding man, except in speed when driving, and apparently memoir writing.
I made his font as practical as possible, in grey...to match his eyes. 

I of course have a lot left to see in this world.  And I like a fun font.  It is in teal, my favorite consistant color of my life.

The Girl was a no-brainer.  Star Wars font.  Red.  Art.

The Boy follows his father's suit in not following the "six" part of the rule.  If you know his health history (I wish it was history...flaring up again this week), you can see what he means.  His is in a light blue, to match his lovely blue eyes.

Maybe you won't be sitting around sharing stories with your LDS friends when you do this, but I hope that you do take time to do it.  It is a nice piece of family history.

Bob the Builder Award: Little Libraries

Want to start out your week with a yummy feel-good story?

Go here:  http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-02-21/little-libraries-lawn-boxes-books/53260328/1?fb_ref=.T0uIamDVS1w.like&fb_source=other_multiline

Thanks Natalie for sharing!

Bob the Builder Award: Being prepared

Can I give a "Bob the Builder Award" to my own church? 

Sure I can!  It is my award (my made up award!)  :)

Actually, the Wall Street Journal last week wrote an article about the church's "welfare system." 
Read about it here:
http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB10001424052970204792404577227173888056682-lMyQjAxMTAyMDEwNzExNDcyWj.html

If this story interests you, you can read more in depth (although the numbers and some text will be dated) the story of the LDS Church Welfare program in a super great book called "Pure Religion."

James 1:27 King James Version (KJV)

Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

It is a great book, a great story, and great to be a part of this great work.  :)

An open letter to George Lucas aka "The Maker"

(This is for my mother, at work, so she has something to read during her lunch break--can you read this font Mom?  It is kind of small...put on your glasses)
Dear George Lucas:

I am not writing to "Thank the Maker."

Our worlds have collided one too many times. 

And it is time we talked.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
How is it that some 68 year old guy from Modesto has taken over my life?

We have nothing in common really.

True, we are both white.  And we both have a lot of facial hair on our chins.

And it is true we both speak English.  How do I know that?  Because I have seen you do it.  On the documentary about you, starring you.  Which I have seen.  More than once.

And we both know a lot about "Star Wars."

You, of course, know it from somewhere inside your right side of your brain.  Me....well, let's just say that I know a couple folks who have jumped feet first into your world.  The world you came up with while filming your first true feature film of recognition:  American Graffiti.  (yeah, I learned that from the documentary too)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fast foward to 1973:

I grew up with the American Graffiti soundtrack that my parent had on vinyl....see picture below....I always wanted a tiny waist like the woman in black pants. I didn't know what a car hop was because I was in Alaska and nobody 1) looks like this chick and 2) who has heard of a car hop in Alaska? 
(by the way, about the waist....nope.  Too many German genes)

And it always made me want to go roller skating...which is hard to do in a place with gravel roads and no sidewalks.

For whatever reason, George, you and I have been inexplicably connected since 1973!

That means you came in to my life when I was four years old.  Four!   

Dude, do you know what I was doing when I was four years old?  I was packing my Barbie suitcase with five undies and two shirts and running away to Mary Ann's house down the street. 

I was learning how to hooky-bob from her brother, Brad.

I was waiting for my brother, Brian, to be born. 

And I still had longer hair (now you know how REALLY long ago that was!).  See below:

One of the last few days that my brother

was actually smaller than me

That record moved with our family from Anchorage to the booming metropolis of Soldotna, where records and record players were hard to come by so I listened to it a lot.

I knew all the songs by heart and would wear my skirty outfit (see below) out in the driveway and sing all the songs like I was at the hop...

It was the closest thing to a poodle skirt that I owned.

And look, I still had some hair.

Little did I know I was singing songs to a movie that YOU wrote.  Playing American Graffiti out in the driveway to a movie that YOU made.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fast foward to 1980:

I had just turned 11 when "The Empire Strikes Back" was going to be released.  I think I had seen the first one, which of course, is really the FOURTH one but I can't remember.

Mr. Fun had his "Star Wars" moment (which is like the moment people converted to the story) when he was turning 8 (1977).  He lived in Washington DC and his mother let him go to the movie theater without adult supervision and watch "The New Hope" for 24 hours straight!  You had him hooked at the first laser blasts.

My "Star Wars" moment was one summer day in 1980 when I was reading one of my mom's "chick magazines" on the porch in the sunshine.  It was talking about the movie and it was sharing part of the dialog.  It was months after it had been released, so they were not "spoiling" anything.  I remember reading that *spoiler alert* Darth Vader was Luke's dad!  I couldn't believe it.  I remember jumping out of the lawn chair, running into the house to find SOMEONE to share the news with. 

George, you had me at "Luke, I am your father."  I could be a fan of some story where the evil War Lord turns out to be your dad! 

I met my natural father when I was an adult, too.  He was no evil ruler of the galaxy, thank goodness, although he does seem to have a problem with having a road put into his hidden Alaskan house and is sure that the fall of modern-day society can be clearly pinned on Chuck Norris.  Clearly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fast foward to 1995:

When our daughter was born and got a little older, Mr. Fun thought like all children who were raised in the 1980's and are now parents, that we had some sort of contractual obligation to buy her a Star Wars (doll)  action figure.  Well, you might have guessed I had something to say about the fact there were NO girl figures. 

No Princess Leia?  What's up with that?  

I know (from the documentary) that you are some marketing genius and figured out early on that the real money is the branding of underoos and Happy Meals and that YOU are the war lord of all that.  So, where is Princess Leia?  A major player! 

I was so annoyed that of course I called Mattel or whoever was on the back of the box of the male figures, some of which are real losers.  They did not connect me to your office in Modesto, but they did tell me that there was no female figure of any kind to be bought because (and I quote) "there is no demand."

Now, I have been on this planet long enough to know a couple things. 

Females, make up half the Earth's population.  More than half I think, actually.

Females like strong role models in media.

And females like to play with dolls action figures.  See where I am going here?

Well, I see that now that The Girl is almost 20 that has been remedied. There are female action figures now!  Some even get to hold their own guns!  :)

Glad you finally boarded THAT ship, George.

In our world,

the Red Royal Guard is a girl....

that is why she is holding hands

with Darth Vader

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fast Forward to 2005:

Add The Boy and a best friend name Tom to the Andersonville mix. 

Tom was recently going through a divorce, and one evening we were all talking about some of his new life goals he was establishing with such a change. 

He mentioned attending a "Star Wars" convention.

He was a fan.  A big fan.

I had, of course, never heard of such a thing but The Boy was about ready to run and pack his bag right then.

Being the good friend that I am, I said "Mr. Fun and The Boy will go with you."  :)

Which lead into, well, it is going to be in Indianapolis this May, which is only 8 hours away and you have never been there Val and we should all go.....including The Girl.

Now, The Girl thought it was THE lamest, worst (and to use her favorite word of all time) stupidest idea of all time.  "NNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" could be heard throughout the Northland when she found out we were making her go with us.  Kicking and screaming.

Of course, they reeled me in with "you have never been there, Val"....you know I can't say no to somewhere that I haven't been.

So that May, we packed up the kids, us and Tom and took a field trip.  That was before the four cats, and it was easier to get away back then....:)

This is what I think of my first Star Wars Convention....pardon me, Celebration III:

Too many fat Princess Leias in slave girl costumes.  What are they thinking?

Why did we have to wait in line for five hours for a talking Darth Vader doll?  And I mean doll.

I liked the M and M costumed mascots

I did NOT like waiting in line for 2 HOURS in the rain just to get into the event arena.  Do you know how wet we were?  Here, look at this:

Look at their hair and pants!  We were soaked. 

 

I liked how by the 4th day (yes, you read that right 4 DAYS) that the stormtroopers had chapped thighs from the plastic costume rubbing them and were all walking very gingerly.

I loved the opening music of movie.

And my favorite part of all....the Star Wars Tattoo contest!  My winning choice?  The man that had his entire back tattooed....

I am glad I went so I could say "Hey, I went to a Star Wars Convention once."  And once was plenty enough.

I thought I was done with you and your imaginary world that week, George.

I was Wrong.  With a capital "W."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fast foward to 2010

Tom is diagnosed with terminal cancer on the way to the rest of his life, and decided that he needed to pay homage to Darth Vader and Darth's naughty friends.

see the Tye Fighter?

This type of tattoo is called a half-sleeve/leg

Learned that from the master artist, J Monk

 

He decided that he wanted his last trip to be a family trip.  You know where he took them...you guessed it.....Celebration 5.  A Star Wars convention. 

He had invited us to go along.  We stayed home but surprisingly, this time it was our Girl who went, but she sure wasn't kicking and screaming....she wanted to go.

They had a "blast"er of a time

(Boba Fett blaster...get it?  a little Star Wars humor)

Tom got sicker.

We decided to have a "going away" party of sorts for Tom a few months before he passed away.  It was one of the coolest things I have been to. 

Read about the party here:

Before Party and pictures: 

http://www.visitval.blogspot.com/2011/02/life-is-beautiful-by-nikki-stixx.html

After Party and pictures:

http://www.visitval.blogspot.com/2011/02/primary-sources-in-this-very-room.html

 

The party wasn't the end. 

Tom so impressed the Star Wars costumed folks that came to the party that they had a star wars figure made of him. 

He was so happy with it that we buried it in his casket with him.

And my kids were so impressed with the costumed actors that they have now followed Darth Vader's request of Luke to join him in his work in "the Dark Side".  I know all about the 501st....I have seen that documentary, too.  More than once.

My girl is now an official member of your "501st Legion:  Vader's Fist" world...which, of course, is what all good Mormon moms raise their babies to grow up and be.  :)

If you want to see what that looks like on any given weekend around Andersonville, read all about it here:

Story and Pictures:
http://www.visitval.blogspot.com/2011/10/wanna-take-field-trip-lets-go-star-wars.html

And because I am "that mom,"  this summer the kiddos and I are DRIVING to Florida for what's that you said?   Yep...

Celebration 6.

Why drive? Because their costumes are too wacky to try to take on a plane. Too bulky. Too fragile.

So, you and I might even be able to meet and have some hot chocolate and a bagel together in Orlando and reminisce about our long history together. 

You will notice me.  I will be one of the only women there NOT in a Princess Leia costume.  Speaking of which, did I mention that we have a pair of cats (the cats formally known as Tom's)  Princess Leia and Luke.  And our Luke whines just as much as your Luke does in the movies.

George, I guess my point of writing this letter is it appears that you and I will continue to be connected to each other, perhaps for the rest of our lives. 

The Girl is already planning which Star Wars figures she wants at her wedding reception someday.  The Boy is anxiously awaiting his 18th birthday so that he can join Vader's Fist.  We currently enjoy everything Star Wars in our house.  Art, figures, ships, more art, clones, and movies on video, regular dvd and blu-ray.  I drew the line at the brainstormed idea of entire scene drawn out on The Boy's bedroom wall.....I am NOT "that mom" when it comes to permanent things like that.

I want you to know I think of you often, George.  Even when I don't want to.

I am now privy to conversations that include phrases like "my light saber is the wrong color,"  "my robes stink like sweat," "Dad, will you take At-At to India?" "No, we are not trekkies," "Mom, I met a cool guy in a snow trooper costume when I was speed dating at the Star Wars convention," (that was the scariest sentence out of her mouth....speed dating at a star wars convention)  and my all time favorite "Darth Vader lives in Sedalia." 

Darth Vader lives in Sedalia?  Now that....I do believe.  Have you met some of those folks from Sedalia?  :)

May the Force be with you, George
Valsy

The Sisters Are Doing It For Themselves

The feeling is coming to me that I should be going to Calcutta, India to visit the Indian widows that we have been sending money to the last year.  We have collected about $5,000 US and I believe that it is making a difference.  I also believe that if I can go there, see and spend time with the women, photograph them in their work, that I can come home and do more for them.  As that song says, "The sisters are doing it for themselves."

Last year, my two friends, Cheryl and Kathy, and I paired up with the Calcutta Rotary Club to send money to widows who are completely disinfranchised from Indian/Hindu culture.  If you want to see our blog:  http://www.indianwidowproject.com/

Meet Madu B. from Calcutta, India. She is a Rotarian with the Calcutta Uptown Rotary Club. Her club is the presence "on the ground" as people who work in non-profit work say here in the West. That means that she is there working with the widow women in the empowerment process and helping to assure the monies are going where they need to be going. She and her fellow club members are invaluable to the success of this project.

Isn't she beautiful?

There is some question on how a microloan program works. Here is some history to the concept:

In 1971, Al Whittaker resigned as president of Bristol Myers and established Opportunity International’s first US office in Washington DC. The first loan was made to Carlos Moreno in Colombia to expand his one-man spice and tea business, cited in The Economist as the first "micro-loan". Opportunity International provided opportunities for people in chronic poverty to transform their lives by creating jobs, stimulating small businesses, and strengthening communities. Small loans ranging from $25 to $500 helped poor families lift themselves out of poverty with dignity.

Example: I donate $5.00 (US dollars) to the Charitable Fund of North Kansas City Rotary Club. The NKC Rotary will send me a $5.00 tax receipt for my charitable donation. The Rotary will then send a $5.00 check to the South Kolkata nari Jagriti Rotary Program--the financial arm of the Calcutta Uptown Rotary Club (this is the legal way of donating money to India). Indian Rotarians like Madu and those who work with her (all volunteers), go to the villages and dispurse the monies. They monitor the ladies as they work the program. The money is then repaid over a three year period back to the program. Then that same money will be loaned to another woman living in poverty. Just to be clear, the $5.00 I donated originally will NOT be returned to me. It is the same principle if I donated $5 to my church tithings or to another non-profit organization.

Regarding the widows being served in this project, here is the outline of how the loans work according to Madu:

"Our club's Rotary Community Corps is South Kolkata nari Jagriti. After a survey by SKNJ on which women who require loans for income-generating activity like goatery, duckery, cows, poultry, dairy, and aquaculture. We disburse the loans to a group of 10-12 women. These women are illiterate and poor. Loan amount is $50-$100 depending on the kind of business they wish to. Literacy programmes are held and our club ensures that girl childs goes to school. Health and sanitation awareness programmes are also helping. The women will repay the loans at 8% interest yearly and peer pressure is there to guarantee the loans along with interest amount is repaid."

You can now see the value of having trustworthy folks like Madu on the ground when you are dealing with money and projects in a foreign country that you are not able to have direct contact.

 

Yet.  :)