Tanzania Day 1& 2

Day 2
After a total of 4 plane rides I am now in Tanzania. We stayed in Dar Es Salaam for one night but our flight was a little delayed so we didn't get to do much there. The next morning we boarded yet another plane to get us to Kigoma which is the village we are staying in for the rest of our trip. This plane was a little charter plane and a few of us got sick  once we finally got off. I never get sick on the plane but this was pretty rough. from there we were transported to our first distribution. I cannot tell you how amazing these kids are and how grateful they are that we came. This school that we went to was actually on summer break but several kids stayed behind to meet us & receive shoes. This place had no electricity and one of the girls had brought little flashlights to hand out and the kids loved them  The conditions there were not the best so the kids were thrilled to receive their new Crocs! After their feet were washed & they had their new shoes on they gathered around to sing a goodbye song to us. During the song they would call out one of our names & bring us into a circle to dance with them. It was so fun! We bonded with them even though their English is not that good. We also have learned several words in Swahili. If you want to ask someone their name you say "Jina lako nani?" and if they ask you your name you say "Jina langu Brandy" we have also learned "thank you "ahsante" and when greeting someone you say "jambu."  One thing that i think is funny is when the person from their school was introducing us to the kids and they aren't sure what America is he tells them "Obama" and then they all clap. I also have seen two boys with Obama shirts on. Every time we leave a place the kids run along side our bus which is heartbreaking because they don't want us to leave. More tomorrow!

Dubai!!

After a very long plane ride I made it to Dubai!!! So far the trip has been amazing & I have no idea where to start so I'll just start from the beginning. 
I got in to New York and met up with some other trip members for dinner. It was nice getting to know a few people in advance even if it was only for a few hours. We had to rise and shine pretty early and meeting the rest of the group at the airport was a little overwhelming. But everyone seems super friendly and I think we have a good bunch of people. We took Air Emirates to Dubai which I highly recommend. I was really impressed w/ the service we got & even the plane meals weren't too bad. Everyone tried to get some sleep because we had a million things planned for Dubai but the movie selection was tempting so i don't know how much sleep everyone got. We arrived around 8ish, checked in to our rooms, freshened up a little and a group of us met in the lobby to go to the gold souks. We shopped around there for a little bit but everything was pretty expensive so I didn't buy anything. We could have stayed there all day looking at stuff but we had booked tickets for the observation deck at the Burj Khalifa. The Khalifa is the worlds tallest building. I took some pics of the buildings below & they look like a model you would do in architecture class.
After that we jumped back in our cab to head back to the hotel to be picked  up for our desert safari. our cab driver had stayed with us the whole day and kept taking us the long way so we could see evertyhing.  We saw the Sheiks palace and the atlantis hotel. Everything is so clean & they have great buildings to check out. 
We got back to our hotel just in time for the 4x4 drivers to pick us up. About 12 of us ended up going so we had to take 2 cars. It was so fun!! We picked the best driver too. We started toward our destination & had to make one quick stop along the way so the driver could let some of the air out of the tires for better traction on the sand. It was insane how we would literally slide straight down the dune sideways. That was our favorite part. We were out there for about 45 minutes and he let us stop a couple of times to take pictures. One girl in the other car got sick but she was a trooper & got back in! Once the dune bashing was done we headed to e camp where they had a huge BBQ for us along w/ drinks. There were so many cool things to do at the camp and I knew we wouldn't get to all of it so we went straight to the camel rides. So funny! Some of the girls got henna tattoos but since I had already done one before I passed on it. They had a tent where you could try on the traditional dress but it was to hot that we all passed on that too. By the way I don't think i mentioned that the temperature in the desert was a balmy  116 degrees. Once we were all settled down for dinner a whirling dervish performed. I had never seen done and it was so cool. The guy didn't stop spinning once! The food they had for us was really good and there were a lot of choices. After dinner a belly dancer performed and then we al Ed it a night. At that point we had been awake for about 30 hours so needless to say we were all tired. Oh one funny thing that happened was that our 4x4 driver loved one of the girls in our car & he basically proposed to her by the end of the night. We all had a very good laugh about that!
So that was day 1 of the trip. Not sure when I'll get to post this but I wanted to write it out so that I don't forget anything! And if there are typos in this don't think i have bad grammar, I'm typing it on my ipad which isn't the easiest thing to do!

Tomorrow is the Big Day!!!!

I am finally leaving on the journey of a lifetime!!

When I signed up to do this trip with Soles4Souls in January it seemed like it was so far away and now it's here. There are 25 people on the trip and I've been emailing with several of them in the last week or so. We are all very excited to be embarking on this journey where we will wash the feet of children and fit them for shoes that will protect them in their everyday life. Of course we have some playtime scheduled too. I am bringing a bunch of little gifts for the children and I can't wait to see their faces when they get their new shoes.

I head to New York tomorrow where I am planning to meet up with some of my travel companions for dinner. We leave for Dubai early Wednesday morning. We already have several fun things scheduled for Dubai including a ticket to go up to the observation deck of the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building. That night we have booked a desert safari where we will get to go dune bashing in 4x4's, take camel rides, get henna tattoos, and have dinner while the sun sets over the desert. It's going to be a once in a lifetime experience and I can't wait to share it with everyone!

Then it will be on to Tanzania where we will spend one day/night in Dar Es Salaam before heading to Kigoma which will be our base for the remainder of the trip. Everyone keeps asking me if we are sleeping in tents and the answer is no! We will be at a hotel with running water and a bathroom....thank goodness!

Packing has been a little bit of an experience. I thought I was a good packer until I had to get my bag down to 33 lbs. But I finally managed to do it and I have extra pounds to spare which means I can bring back some goodies!

I think I'm totally ready so tonight is just all about relaxing and waiting. I'm sure I won't get much sleep because I'm going to be so excited to get to New York and meet everyone.

Don't forget to check back throughout the week. I'm hoping we have an internet connection and if so I will blog! If not I'll do a detailed post when I get back!

Thanks again to everyone for their donations, encouragement, prayers, and excitement. It means a lot to me and I can't thank you enough!

Crazy Candy Cookies

I've been testing out new apps for my iPad over the last week or so and decided to test out The Food Network magazine on Zinio.  I had never bought the magazine before but they offered 3 free issues so why not?  I sat down to read it and was pleasantly surprised at how many things I found that I wanted to try. First up was Adam Gertler's Kid's Candy Cookies. Who wouldn't want to try those on the name alone? But as I read through the ingredients I was lured in by the thought of salty, sweet, warm, gooey cookies. So I jotted down the ingredients to pick up while I was at Target yesterday. Unfortunately they didn't have everything I needed and I had already gone to the grocery store on Friday so I decided to just make some substitutions. I got a little creative when I found something in the baking aisle called Caramel Bits. I had never heard of them before but they are just little balls of caramel so how could I go wrong? The cookies are amazing! The original recipe is below along with my substitutions. Try them and let me know what you think!

The Original Recipe
2 1/4 Cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk
1 cup Pretzel M&M's
3 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup toffee pieces
3/4 peanut butter chips

Preheat oven to 350.
Whisk the flour & baking soda in a bowl.
Cream the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar on low speed until incorporated then increase to high speed and beat until light and fluffy.
Add the salt, vanilla, whole egg and egg yolk to the mixer; beat until thoroughly combine. Add the Pretzel M&M's and beat for a few seconds until slightly crushed. (I have a stand up Kitchen Aid but if you are just using a hand mixer I would suggest crushing these before.)
Gradually add the flour mixture, mixing on low speed until just combined. Mix in the bittersweet chocolate, toffee pieces and peanut butter chips.
Roll heaping tablespoonfuls of dough into balls and place on baking sheets about 2" apart. Slightly flatten with your fingers.
Bake until the edges are golden brown. 11-13 minutes.

For my version I substituted 1/2 cup chocolate chips for the bittersweet chocolate, 1/2 cup chopped peanuts for the toffee, and 1/2 cup of caramel bits for the peanut butter chips. That was just the right amount of everything for me but if you like more of one thing than the other just play around.  The result was delicious!

Reverse Bucket List

Yesterday one of my Facebook friends posted a blog where someone had created their Reverse Bucket List. It is a list of things that you have done instead of things you want to do. I really love the thought of celebrating all of our accomplishments and remembering what we have done rather than dwelling on what we want to do. I couldn't get the thought out of my head so I started creating my own. I realized after putting it all together I've done a lot of really cool stuff. I wanted to share it and hopefully inspire all of you to do your own! Plus this will allow me to add to it as I go so here it is in no particular order:

• Signed my name to the Wall of Tolerance at the Civil Rights Memorial in Montgomery, AL.
• Saw Rent on Broadway
• Did a private tour of Buckingham Palace and had champagne on the patio.
• Stood on the Cliffs of Moher in the pouring rain.
• Kissed the Blarney Stone
• Had a beer (or several) in Temple Bar in Dublin
• Visited Stonehenge (also in the rain)
• Partied in the Infield of the Kentucky Derby (while it was pouring down rain...see a theme here...still a blast.)
• Delivered pizza to, and hung out on, a band's tour bus.
• Had backstage passes.
• Been put on the guest list for a concert by randomly meeting one of the bandmembers at work.
• Whale watched in Alaska & attempted to take pictures.
• Saw a bear and several moose in the wild.
• Drove through the Yukon.
• Stood in the sun and looked at Emerald Lake which was the most beautiful body of water I've ever seen.
• Saw the Midnight Sun
• Sat in the studio audience for a taping of Friends as a guest of Courtney Cox
• Attended a Home Run Derby and an All Star Game
• Visited the fish market in Seattle
• Quit a job I hated without having a new one.
• Seen the Military Tattoo...twice.
• Completed the book 100 Years of Solitude (which you know is a great feat if you've ever read it)
• Attended games at 11 MLB stadiums and one AAA stadium with more to come
• Flew to New York 3 weeks after 9/11 & saw the aftermath of Ground Zero firsthand
• Visited 23 states.
• Listened to a bagpiper in the Scottish countryside.
• Took a glass blowing class
• Had someone tell me I inspired them
• Saw Loch Ness  (but not the Loch Ness monster)
• Returned to College after being out for many years.
• Saw a double rainbow in England
• Toured Alcatraz during the day and at night.
• Drove to Destin and back for a friends wedding
• Partied on Beale street
• Cruised the River Thames at night.
• Attended a World Series parade
• Held a snake
• Won 3rd place in a National Essay contest in 7th grade.
• Won 4th place at state in softball in 8th grade.
• Reconnected with friends I lost touch with.
• Climbed the Giant's Causeway in Ireland
• Went to a Lakers game & saw Jack Nicholson
• Rode a boat under Niagra Falls
• Sat on a jury and got justice for a child.
• Took a limo down the Vegas strip and....wait..what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.
• Cut people out of my life that I thought were friends but actually weren't even though it was hard to do.
• Sat in the 2nd row at The Cure.
• Saw Mt. McKinley on my last day in Alaska
• Been inspired by a friend and by a stranger
• Visited the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis
• Stood up for what I believed in
• Defended a friend when everyone was turning against them
• In the words of Elle Woods from Legally Blonde, "Saw Cameron Diaz at Fred Segal." That really happened but I didn't talk her out of buying a sweater.
• Bought a stolen Gucci purse in an alley in LA. (I was young and I really wanted it...don't judge.)
• Toured England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland in their entirety. (Including Northern Ireland)
• Got stuck in the mud with 5 of my good friends in high school....not once but twice...and had to walk miles back in to town.
• Saw the place where the Titanic was built
• Visited the place where W.B. Yeats is buried
• Drank cider in a small Irish pub
• Said a prayer in St. Patrick's cathedral
• Said a prayer in the Crathie Parrish Church which is where the Royal family attend service in Scotland
• Crossed the Yukon Suspension Bridge
• Saw the Book of Kells
• Saw the Crown Jewels of both England and Scotland
• Walked on the campus of St. Andrews University
• Toured the ruins of the St. Andrews Cathedral
• Toured the University of Kentucky basketball museum
• Helped refugee kids who had relocated to St. Louis practice their English
• Helped their parents practice interviewing for a job.
• Attended the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh
• Took an African-American literature class which turned out to be my favorite class ever.
• Played with a new litter of sled dogs.
• Learned all about how the altitude in Colorado can affect your alcohol tolerance the hard way & suffered my first concussion as a result.
• Drank whiskey w/ an old Irishman in Scotland
• Attended the Great American Beer Festival in Denver
• Experienced an earthquake while on a train in Alaska
• Toured the Alamo
• Tried to be a great aunt
• Had a valet driver at a hotel drive us to Taco Bell at 2 AM in Omaha, NE
• Drove to Sioux Falls, SD and back for a friends wedding
• Saw the falls....you aren't missing much.
• Attended an Underground Dinner
• Ate at one of John Besh's restaurants
• Read all the Harry Potter books
• Watched Lost from beginning to end in real time and learned to love the ending.
• Learned how to twirl a baton, roller skate and ride a bike (swimming is another story)
• Became a great speller & learned to love words because of my 5th grade teacher & all the dictionary pages he made me write for talking too much
• Went to see the Citadel parade.Stayed out til the sun came up talking with great friends
• Went up in the CN Tower, the Space Needle, and the London Eye
• Saw Billy Elliott in the West End
• Spent a day drinking in Pacific Beach with friends
• Toured the Imperial War Museum
• Watched the sunset on Manhattan Beach
• Had Jamie Cullum sing to us during his concert
• Stopped telling everyone what they want to hear
• Tried Haggis while in Edinburgh
• Experienced the temperature of 40 below.
• Signed up to distribute shoes to kids in Africa without knowing anyone else going.

Fiesta!

This past weekend I went to San Antonio for a quick little trip with my Mom. It turned out to be kind of a strange trip because they had a big festival going on called Fiesta. No one could seem to tell me what it was they were celebrating but there were 3 parades in 2 days...none of which compared to any parade in St. Louis.
Anyway, despite the weird vibe I was lucky enough to meet Edson Enriquez and purchase a piece of his awesome jewelry from his Limbo line. I can't say enough about how pretty his jewelry is or about how pleasant he was to talk to. He's been making jewelry for 5 years and has a studio in Austin. Everything is very simple but makes a statement at the same time. The necklace I bought isn't available on their site but the Lotus Flower is very similar (in fact I almost bought that one instead.) My mom bought the Angle Rings necklace which is very delicate and pretty. He also provides a 12 month warranty on all his jewelry and free shipping online. I can't wait to buy something else but I can't decide what I want!

Check out his designs and let me know what you love!

Thank You!

I just wanted to say that I'm really really lucky to have such great friends & family who support me in everything that I do. I've gotten a lot of encouraging messages since my last post. I definitely wasn't trying to make it sound like my friends didn't appreciate what I was doing...they totally do. So thanks to all of you who have given me words of encouragement, donations, and prayers. It really means a lot to mean and I hope you will continue to do so! Can't wait to share this amazing experience with all of you!