Our first 24 hours

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We had to go upstairs to an office to get our student ids and our one roll of toilet paper for the month. Yes, one roll. Toilet paper in Poland is a luxury and what they supplied us was more like crepe paper. In fact, I cut off a strip and put it into my journal. We were to carry this one roll of toilet paper each time we went to the toilets. There would be no toilet in there lest we should forget. And towards the end of the month when the rolls were gone, we would find magazines and newspapers left in the toilets. Fortunately, I never had use them.We settled in a bit and had to go to dinner. The Polish students took us to Old Town for pizza. Well, what they think pizza is. It was a dark sort of charming restaurant in the original city walls. The pizza, well, it could best be described as belgium waffle with ketchup and a spot of cheese. Pizza happens to be one of my favorite foods and this was an extreme disappointment. The next morning the Polish students brought us breakfast. Hard dry bread covered with ketchup, cheese and olives. And tonic water with the flavor of the month which happened to be lemon lime. Have I mentioned that I hate ketchup and olives?On to university where we meet our professors and more students. The Polytechnic is in a large old building with large studios full of life. Several of the students knew me by name. I guess they had been previous exchange students.Lunch time came and we were starved. We walked through the snow to a cafe. It smelled good inside and warm. We saw a man eating at the counter and we wanted what he was having. Even though the students' english was great, not everything is easy to translate. Our meals came and we happily dug in to what we thought would be pieces of chicken and mashed potatoes smothered in gravy. I took one bite and knew it was not chicken meat. And if I had not been so hungry after 2 days of airline meals, Polish pizza and breakfast, I would never eat those chicken livers. But they weren't bad, the potatoes were real and the gravy was good. Lori and Teré were not so open minded and would barely touch their potatoes let alone the chicken livers. Needless to say, they bitched and moaned the rest of the day.

sneakers

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• called them tennis shoes though we never played tennis.
• first pair I remember were red canvas with rubber tipped toes. I was proud that they weren't blue like Nancy's but red, which is my favorite color. They were probably keds.
• going into the 9th grade the first time I asked for a brand name. They were addidas and my mom bought them for me grudgingly. I wore them just about everyday and wore them out. I had duct tape wrapped around them for awhile before I got a new pair.
• Tretorns were pretty popular in high school. I was fond of my whiten with plaid detail.
• Reeboks in college. I took them to Europe and wore them out in 4 months. They were plain white shoes, not high tops.
• K-swiss was my next addiction. They were comfortable. Then they got popular with the hip hop crowd and this white nerd had to stop wearing them.
• Keds Slip-ons. I had to have them ordered to fit my huge feet. I got them as long as I could.
• New balance was my next choice. I loved that I could find them in many stores and didn't have to worry about the width. But then they got popular and found cheaper places to make the shoes. They no longer fit consistantly so I stopped buying them.

I got tired of ill fitting shoes so I went to a local running store. I had to take off my shoes and walk around. The verdict: I have flat feet and over pronate. The shoes to help: Brooks Beast. They stabilize the foot and ankle. They feel good. I had never paid so much for a pair of sneakers but they are worth it. So much that I bought 2 more pairs when the former pair wore out.

032709-shoes

I tend to wear out the footbeds before the shoe looks too bad. I knew I needed another pair because my ankle was hurting so much. I hated spending the $120 and put it off for a long time. I finally got to looking for a deal, or at least free shipping. I made a mistake and tried a different shoe. Brooks Addiction is similar to the Beast but made for walkers. Oh and they are $20 cheaper. I ordered a pair and about a week later they arrived. I tried them on but didn't like them. Crap! One of the downfalls to ordering online. I sent them back but have to wait 2-4 weeks for a refund. And I ended up spending an extra $15 on shipping, here and back, so I really didn't save anything afterall. I ordered The Beast and they arrived yesterday. I wore them today and they felt good. No ankle pain! I have to remember to buy a new pair every 6 months, or when the ankle pain returns.

lenten promise & itunes wish list

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How is your lenten promise going? I am doing OK. Actually, as far as not buying whole albums, I am doing great! I am starting to listen to the singles I have downloaded and realize that I don't really some of them. This is good because I didn't buy a whole album that I might not enjoy. $.99 seems like a decent amount to pay to try something out.


Being at the bookstore was hard. Seeing all those books in real life, wanting to be touched and picked up. But I was good. No purchases for me. Not even a magazine.


Did you know you can set up a Wish List in iTunes? It's not an official Wish List but one you can throw in some songs to think about and perhaps purchase later. The first thing you do is open iTunes. Then set up a Playlist and title it Wish List. OK, you can title it whatever you want, but if you want a Wish List this seems like the most logical thing to do. I'm just saying.


Next, go into the iTunes Store and search for some music you want to buy but can't afford right now. Click on the title and drag it into your Wish List playlist. Now you will have that sample in your library. It's only 30 seconds long which is all they can allow without having to pay a royalty. When you are ready to purchase this track, you can just click the BUY NOW button. If you no longer want a track, just delete it.

hank is gone for another season

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032409-hank

My dad left yesterday to go back home in Michigan. He will stop in Georgia to stay with my sister for a couple of weeks. He will head to Kentucky to see my nephew and take him to dinner. Then he will go to Indiana to see his family. Finally, on to home. His goal is be back in Michigan by April 9.

Every time he leaves, he seems more frail. It really bothered me yesterday. He was torn between staying and going. I'm sure he would love to have his family around with his all the time. But then where would he stay in the winter? ;-)

We worry about each other. I worry that he is eating enough and not doing too much. He worries about our general welfare and my finances. I admit, I am not good at this money thing. I didn't have good examples. I have little willpower.

I read this quote on a blog and it struck home.

"There are two types of people...those who ask for directions and the others who find their way. Both may reach the destination but the satisfaction of the other kind is far greater." Dominik Silver


But I can't ask for help. I want to do it myself. And my dad is the same way.

So we worry about each other.