NaBloPoMo Day 5

Question: Talk about the last compliment you received.

Uhhh...this is awkward. I think the last compliment I received was related to my cooking. Nicole tried what I made for dinner and she was impressed. It was my first attempt at making green curry and I would consider it a huge success. Recipe, review, and photos soon to come on my other blog. Ironically, earlier in the day I received a compliment from a co-worker about a different recipe I'd given her to try and she enjoyed it very much. Food Network - here I come!

- David

NaBloPoMo Day 4

Question: If you were President of the United States, what would be your first act in office?

My first act would involve creating stricter policies and providing significant increases in funding and awareness regarding human trafficking, specifically sex trafficking. I believe the most important function of the government is to protect it's people and those who are being sold against their will definitely deserve protection. There are women and young children that are trafficked into our country from around the world who are being sold and passed around to be used as commodities and we must be a nation that refuses to accept this in any way. As the leader of the country, I would make a commitment to providing resources to eradicate sex trafficking in the United States and partner with organizations who are providing resources to victims of trafficking and promoting awareness to the general public about ways we can recognize and put a stop to this activity.

After that, I'd make it against the law for any Mexican restaurant to charge extra for chips!

- David

NaBloPoMo Day 3

Monday, November 5 - What are your thoughts about tomorrow's election in the United States?

I love to talk about politics but it will probably get me in trouble. Honestly, I think tomorrow's election and nearly every election is a complete circus that means very little. People act like picking a new president is such a big deal, but they don't even take the time to learn about the local amendments on the ballot, which will actually affect their day-to-day activities. Similarly - people think it's such a big deal to know where the presidential candidates stand on education but they can't even name one member of their district's school board. We all sit and watch the presidential debates and then let the media tell us what our opinion should be because we can't think for ourselves enough to make up our own minds. It's a shame and I find the entire process to be a colossal embarrassment for our society every two/four years. 

The political ads are nauseating, even more so when you read the research that says they are effective. We get frustrated with the politicians and the special interest groups that pay for these advertisements, but the American people are to blame. Shame on us for not demanding more. Shame on us for not taking the time to do our own fact checking. And shame on us for being puppets in the political game. We act like it's such a big deal to have the "Right to Vote!" In my opinion, we don't deserve the right to vote when we don't even take the time to understand what it is we're voting about.

One last thing - before you complain about how a political party in our country is leading us straight down the road to hell, spend time in a country where the citizens live in fear of their government testing deadly weapons on them. Or a nation where the military does whatever it wants, including raiding villages to rape the women and steal children. Or a place where the government leaders sit in their mansions while children are dying in the streets because of starvation, AIDS, and a lack of access to clean water. 

Now, ask me how I really feel.

-David

NaBloPoMo Day 2

Well, David was the one who promised to post more often back in September and then dropped the ball....but I can't say I haven't done the same thing in the past, so in honor of Thanksgiving, I'll grant him a little grace.

In fact, in honor of November and...new leaves...because they're falling from trees....I'm reaching here, but we are participating in NaBloPoMo, which basically is a prompt a day designed to inspire regular posting from those of us who are not so good at this. I like to think that means I am so busy with my accomplishments in real life that I don't have time for the cyber world. Let's be honest though, I'm just lazy :) Anyways, if you want to jump on the NaBloPoMo wagon, you can click through the banner on the right side of our blog and read some of the thousands of other participating blogs or see the prompts for the rest of the month so you can play along.

For Nov. 2, the prompt is: "If you could live anywhere, where would it be?"

Ahhh....tough one! There are a lot of criteria that would go into this decision for me, but the first place that comes to mind for me is South Africa. I absolutely fell in love with everything about the country while we were there. The real draw for me is the diversity, and I probably don't mean that in the way you are thinking. There are 11 national languages, mountains, oceans, 3rd world poverty, 1st world industry, Dutch accents, deserts, and safaris. There is an amazing history behind the country too, most recently around apartheid, and now (or "now now" or "just now") is an exciting time to be involved and a part of the changes happening.

Thoughts of November

For some fun, we've decided to answer a different question every day in November. We will probably switch off on which days we answer questions and there might be some days when we both answer. Thank you to NaBloPoMo for providing the questions.

Question: Tell us your favorite quotation and why?

"Life is a storm, my young friend. You will bask in the sunlight one moment, be shattered on the rocks the next. What makes you a man is what you do when that storm comes. You must look into that storm and shout as you did in Rome, 'Do your worst, for I will do mine!'"

This quote is from the movie, The Count of Monte Cristo. I love how it represents the importance of perseverance and overcoming adversity. Many times, we grow the most when we face the most challenging and difficult circumstances. This quote represents living your life in a way that isn't afraid of challenges, but instead looks at them as opportunities.

- David

Our Style

We've had a lot going on this week. Most importantly, we are working on our technique to perform the Gangnam Style video like Al Roker.

Weekend Update

It has been a while since we've posted any updates here, and we briefly considered letting it go completely. We both have our own personal sites we maintain and we usually devote all our attention/writing to those - Nicole's being Seven Ate Nine and David's being From Ballparks to BBQ. However, as we talked about it over the weekend, there is something unique about this blog. We started telling our story through this site before we got married, and many of our crazy, ridiculous adventures have been documented through many of these posts. For a time, this was the only way we could update you about what we were doing on the other side of the world. Other times, we would tell you about all the crazy things we ate over a weekend. This has been a place where we've been able to share parts of our journey with many of you and we really appreciate you coming along for the ride. And for all those reasons...we've decided to keep this blog going. We're trying to commit to posting once every week or so and we're going to alternate to offer some perspective from both of us.

For more of a current update, here are some of our photos from this past weekend. It was a busy weekend that was full of fun, random activities (the story of our life).

Nicole did a great job as a participant in the Marine Mud Run on Saturday morning at Green Hill Park. She handled the giant mud pit like a true champ and was probably the only one in the event who rushed over from Junior League to make sure she didn't miss the race. So versatile.

One of the best things about Saturdays in the Roanoke Valley is the opportunity to visit the various local Farmers Markets, especially the City Market in downtown Roanoke. The vendors feature some awesome local produce and homemade goods and we always find something to indulge in. This past Saturday, a table full of pumpkins helped signify the beginning of fall!

To bring some international flavor to our weekend, we stopped by the Roanoke Greek Festival on Saturday afternoon. The festival raised money for a number of local charities and was a great celebration of Greek culture. We couldn't resist sampling some Greek fare and tried an iced Greek coffee and gyro. Opa!

Thanks for reading!

-David