PIck of the Week: Amani Ya Juu

Amani Ya Ju means "Higher Peace" in Swahili. It is a project to help African women improve and lean skills in sewing, marketing, fashion design, buying and bookkeeping. It is based in Nairobi, Kenya and my friend Lynn Windmeyer was been working for the last year. When I was in Kenya in July, we took a tour of Amani, to see Lynn and the ladies she works with. When we arrived, we were met with singing, and greeted with a hug and a kiss. All of it together, the warm welcome, seeing Lynn in her work, the colors of the fabrics, and the grace and beauty of the Amani women was all but magical. The clothes are beautiful. Lynn has done an amazing job coming up with designs and finding new colors and the Amani ladies bring it all together in the art of excellence. To learn more about Amani Ya Juu and to see the beauty they create go to

http://www.amaniafrica.org/index.htm

Windmeyer Wedding

Our friends, Tim and Lynn got married this weekend. It was beautiful and really fun! Lynn designed and made all the bridesmaid dresses as well has her own wedding dress. Tim was in the wedding so we stayed in the block of rooms reserved for the groomsmen. Most of them were Windmeyer's friends he has made while working for Sameritan's Purse in Africa for the past 4 years. Liz and I made fast friends with the girls who were there from SP. They are such an amazing group of friends.

Jon and Liz shared a hotel room with us. Our room was a wreck the whole time. I love how comfortable the four of us are together in such small living quarters. Brushing our teeth next to each other, Tim and Jon tying each other's ties. Liz and I sharing make up and jewelry. You don't have too many friends like that in your life.

Guests came from all over the world to celebrate Tim and Lynn's life together. The new Mr. and Mrs. Windmeyer have had such a beautiful and generouse impact on us all. On the night of the rehersal dinner people, including me and Tim, stood up and told stories, funny, touching, scary, loving, all of out Windmeyer and Lynn have touched our lives. We laughed a lot, and ate together and cried from being happy and cried a little from being sad. It was hard to say good-bye knowing that this group of people would probably never be gathered in the same place again. It was a great weekend that will not be quickly forgotten. We were loved well, and will in turn know how to love better because we have been a part of these people's lives.

We Live in the Most Beautiful Place On Earth

I never really understood why people got so attached to their neighborhoods or their houses. Now I understand. We live by a beautiful park and in a magical little house that is perfectly suited to us, me and Tim. It is an old neighborhood, and a 95 year old house. The trees are big and the sidewalks are cracked, the houses are brick and gardens and the park are two blocks in either direction. I am overcome with the beauty of it all and sometimes when I'm walking through the park, I feel like I'm in a fairytale where pixies and unicorns exist. Here are some pictures to show you what I mean. Tim and I took King for a walk a few weeks ago, under the tuning of the trees and changing of the air.

Baby Horn

Congrats to our friends Jon and Liz Horn on finding out they are going to have a baby! We love you guys and can't wait to meet the kid who who is going to have the curliest hair in the world! You can see more info about Baby Horn on Liz's blog.

http://hornaction.blogspot.com/

Pick of the Week: Online Reputation Clean Up Firms

Whenever it was that I joined the ranks of the whole online, facebook, myspace, blogging craze, I noticed a lot of embarrassing stuff that people posted to their sites. Not embarrassing maybe to their friends, but definitely content, that they wouldn't want parents or say, future employers to see. So I wrote a blog about it. In more words I basically said that if you wanted a money making idea, come up with a business to clean up all the online images of our future business leaders of America. All the jr. high and high school kids of today putting everything up for public display might find that a hindrance to gaining employment when they start looking for jobs.
Well, those businesses are here. The NPR link below has a great look at these online reputation firms. It gives statistics like, "In a recent survey, one in 10 hiring managers say they rejected candidates because of things they found out about them on the Internet."
It highlights points like, "Even when you delete images from the Web, they sometimes live on search-engine files." These firms aren't making millions today, but from the looks of the sites I've seen lately, in a few years, the image clean up business will be booming.
It makes you think that what you are putting on your profile now, might cost you hundreds of dollars to get rid of in the future.


http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6462504

Pick of the week: Silver Clouds

This weekend, Tim and I went to Saint Louis University’s Museum of Contemporary Religious Art. The display? Andy Worhal's Silver Clouds exhibt. It was magical. A room with floating silver pillows gliding all around us. The "clouds" bushed and swirled past us, making me giggle in delight. We stood and sat, walked and layed under the blanet of shiney, bouncing balloons. We watched the clouds dance while standing on the outside of the silk curtains. it reminded me of being under water with the sunlight slicing through the surface. Soothing, classical music ribboned its way thourgh the whole experience. We thought for sure that this would be an amazing party theme, and speculated on ways to pull it off. I was so sad that I didn't have my camera, and vowed to return several more times. So simple and so beautiful. Everyone should see this exhibit.

http://www.slu.edu/readstory/more/7183

Pick of the Week: LINDBERGH

This week goes to this great band called Lindbergh. I’ve know John Baker for a few years and every song that comes out impresses me more than the last. Currently residing in Chicago, Lindbergh originates from St. Louis. They have come a long way from when I first heard Baker play over 4 years ago. Their sound is edgy and clean, with impressive vocal ranges and intuitive lyrics. You want to put a mix together for your next road trip, party, or dare I say, to dance by yourself with one hand waving free? You can see Lindbergh live at Cicero's on the U City Loop December 21st at 8:00. For a full bio and to sample their sound and style check out their MySpace page.
http://www.myspace.com/lindberghband