Spring has Sprung!

It's technically been spring since March 20th, but this is the first week or two it truly has felt like spring here in Chicago! We've had consistently nice, warm days and I'm finding myself spending much more time outside. The thing I find fun about spring here is the world seems to suddenly come to life. The blossoms literally bloomed overnight this week! Just on Monday I was looking at all the bare trees, wondering when they'd bloom. Then Tuesday the little buds opened, and today the trees look like this:

I took a stroll around my block this afternoon and saw all these pretty colors:

I also found a little furry friend. I think squirrels are one of the cutest, funniest animals to watch!

Have You Ever...

HAVE YOU EVER...

(M=Melanie, J=Josh)
(commentary by Melanie)

() Swam with wild dolphins {no, but we kayaked with wild ones!}
(M J) Climbed a mountain
() Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
() Been inside the Great Pyramid {hopefully someday...do they really let people inside?}
(M J) Held a tarantula
(M J) Taken a candlelit bath with someone {ooh la la!}
(M J) Said “I love you” and meant it
() Bungee jumped
(M J) Visited Paris {Summer 2001}
(M J) Watched a lightning storm
(M J) Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
() Seen the Northern Lights
() Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa {they don't let you anymore or else we would have!}
(M J) Grown and eaten your own vegetables
() Touched an iceberg
(M J) Slept under the stars
(M J) Changed a baby’s diaper
(J) Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
(M J) Watched a meteor shower {for my 20th birthday!}
(M) Had an uncontrollable giggle fit in the worst possible moment
(M J) Had a food fight
(M J) Had a snowball fight
(M J) Seen a total eclipse {lunar and solar}
(M J) Ridden a roller coaster
() Adopted an accent for an entire day
(M J) Had two hard drives for your computer
() Visited all 50 states
(M J) Had amazing friends
(M J) Watched whales {at Seaworld :)}
(M J) Gone rock climbing
(M J) Midnight walk on the beach
(J) Gone sky diving
() Visited Ireland {will someday!}
() Visited Japan {will someday!}
() Alphabetized your CDs {I'm anal but not that anal}
(M J) Gone scuba diving {I need to go again}
(M J) Played in the rain
() Visited the Great Wall of China {will someday!}
() Started a business
(M J) Toured ancient sites
(J) Taken a martial arts class
(M J) Gotten married
(M) Been in a movie {I was an extra in Fred Claus, though I couldn't find myself when I watched it}
(M J) Made cookies from scratch
() Ridden a gondola in Venice {still regret that we didn't do this!!}
(M) Recorded music {I've been to a recording studio to play my violin on one of my dad's CD's...don't ever ask to hear it though.}
() Bought a house {also someday}
() Been in a combat zone
() Buried one/both of your parents
(M J) Been on a cruise ship {and got sea sick too}
(J) Spoken more than one language fluently {Josh speaks English and Spanish}
(M J) Walked the Golden Gate Bridge {we walked halfway across and back...does that count?}
() Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived
() Lost over 100 pounds
() Piloted an airplane
(M J) Touched a stingray
(M J) Helped an animal give birth {does a human count?}
() Won money on a T.V. game show
(J) Broken a bone {Josh broke his toe once}
() Had a facial part pierced other than your ears
(M J) Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
(M J) Ridden a horse
() Had major surgery
(J) Had a snake as a pet {we probably will sometime in the future too...}
(M J) Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
(M J) Taken a canoe trip
(M J) Eaten sushi
(J) Had your picture in the newspaper {Josh was for sports and for some medical research stuff he did at ASU}
(M J) Touched a cockroach {regretably}
(M J) Killed and prepared an animal for eating {a chicken, thanks to a pioneer trek}
() Been elected to public office
(M J) Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
() Had to put someone you love into hospice care
(M J) Dyed your hair {I do all the time, Josh dyed his goatee for HS graduation}
(J) Shaved your head {just his bottom half of his head}
() Caused a car accident
(M J) Saved someone’s life {probably more than we realize at work}

Rockford and Coronado

It's about time I introduce to two other members of our family. (I should have done this a long time ago but never got around to it.)

Meet Rockford:


and Coronado:



These cute little guys are box turtles. Rockford is a female and Coronado is a male. They may look the same but have very distinct personalities. Coronado is more shy and Rockford is the outgoing one. Coronado is slower to come out of his shell around people, but Rockford often sticks her head way out. She also eats more than Coronado!

They have belonged to Josh since he was in elementary school. We don't really know how old they are, and it's possible they could live long enough for us to pass them down to our children and grandchildren! Supposedly they could have a lifespan of up to 100 years.



They are very easy pets to take care of. This is where they live, it's just a shallow bucket with cedar chips. They aren't noisy, they just chill most of the time, and they don't even need to eat everday! They eat some fruits and veggies, and then we occassionally treat them with meat such as raw ground beef, meal worms, and the occassional cockroach or other bugs if they're lucky. We sometimes let them out to walk around the apartment, but they usually just run for a warm, dark corner to hide in.



We put them in the tub once a week so they can "drink up all the water and eat up all the soap" (ha ha, just kidding). But they do take a nice long drink and they like it. Then they try to escape from the tub. I sometime like to fill the tub up full enough so their feet can't touch and watch them swim. It's hilarious.



When the weather is nice we like to take them outside to play. We've taken them to the beach and to the park.



Rockford has her head sticking way out, and Coronado is safely tucked inside his shell.

They are fun to have around, and they keep us pretty entertained. Kids also love them! If you're looking to get and easy pet but don't just want goldfish, box turtles are the way to go. I think they're even easier than goldfish, and more fun. :)

My Fulbright Scholar

Josh received news last week that he has been awarded a Fulbright Grant to work in Ecuador! This is quite an honor for him to receive and I'm so proud of him! But it also means our life has the potential to change quite dramatically this fall. First, here's a little info on what the Fulbright Scholar program is (http://www.cies.org/about_fulb.htm):

"Fulbright grants are made to U.S. citizens and nationals of other countries for a variety of educational activities, primarily university lecturing, advanced research, graduate study and teaching in elementary and secondary schools. Since the program’s inception, approximately 279,500 participants—chosen for their academic merit and leadership potential—with the opportunity to exchange ideas and to contribute to finding solutions to shared issues."

About 800 people from the U.S. are selected to go abroad each year. As part of the application for the Fulbright Grant, Josh had to find, develop, and propose his own project to work on in the country of his choice. After spending a couple weeks in Central America two summers ago, Josh had met people that led to a contact at a health center in rural Ecuador. They desperately wanted volunteers, and Josh has had the desire to work in a rural setting in Central or South America for as long as I've known him, so this was the perfect project for him.

The specific place of this health center is in northwestern Ecuador, in the community of La Y de La Laguna, in the region of El Paramo. This place is so rural that it's not really even on any maps or internet searches! (The closest town you can see on a map is Rosa Zarate, also known as Quininde, in case some of you wanted to look it up.) Foundation Human Nature is the organization that coordinates all the projects and volunteers at this location. Their website gives a pretty good description of what goes on at this health center: http://fhnusa.org/

So....Josh has been accepted and we're excited, but the timing of things isn't the most convenient with a baby on the way in August! The beginning of September is when he's supposed to start. If we go, Josh would definitely have his start time pushed back a few weeks and I would go to Ecuador even later. Ok, I know that obviously we are crazy people for even thinking this would all be possible with a newborn in the first place!!! And I know most people wouldn't even consider it. But I guess I married a guy who isn't like most people, and I guess I can consider myself somewhat adventurous. Josh wants to do this so badly, and I've been the one being very cautious and hesitant but trying to be supportive of him at the same time. Before we knew he was accepted we got to the point where we avoided discussing the situation because it often turned into disagreements and arguments. But now that we need to make a decision we have to discuss it. We've obviously thought of all the pros and cons, and there are plenty on both sides.

It would be the adventure of a lifetime, we'd be living in a beautiful country, we'd be surrounded by great people, Josh would get to do medical care, he'd get to use his Spanish, it would give him so many opportunities and it has the potential to open so many doors, it's give him a needed break from medical school (he'd finish his last year of med school once we've returned), we'd get to travel to the surrounding countries and see lots of South America, I might learn a little Spanish. But we'd also be without so many luxuries and conveniences, we'd be far from family, we'd only have a small space to live in, transportation would be difficult, we'd be without or far from hospital access, we'd be living in a malaria zone, we'd have to boil all our water before drinking it, living in a "hut" (as I call it) in the jungle isn't an ideal place to raise a baby, I'd have to adjust to motherhood in a foreign country without friends and family around. Both lists go on and on.

We've been talking with people who have volunteered and who are currently volunteering there to get a better idea of what it would be like, what our options are, and how feasible it all really will be. They know we have a baby coming, and Josh proposed the idea of perhaps spending some time in an area that's not quite so rural. They mentioned that we could spend part, maybe even half, of our time in Quito, the capital of Ecuador. It's large with over 2 million people, and has all the modern conveniences of a large city. We'd even be able to live in a nice apartment (with a dishwasher perhaps!!). I, of course, love this option! It makes going to Ecuador with a baby seem sooo much more possible, and more exciting. Josh would still end up doing some time in the rural village, hopefully we'd be able to manage ok.

At this point us moving to Ecuador is probably 90 to 95% certain. The other 5-10% is dependent on me giving the final go ahead. So, wish us lots of luck! Here are some pictures of where we'd be. I took them from the blog of a girl who is currently living there, working on her PhD. (There's a link on the side of my blog if anyone wants to see more pictures of Ecuador.)

This is the health center.

It serves La Y de la Laguna, plus several smaller surrounding communities/villages.

The brand new volunteer house, still under construction. This is where we'd likely live. The bottom floor is an open area with kitchen and bathroom. The top has seven bedrooms.

The bottom floor of the volunteer house, completed.

A view of the village. Once seeing this you realize that the new volunteer house is actually quite nice.

The view from the volunteer house. Pretty!

We'd get to see gorgeous sunsets!

I'm sure we'd also get to see lots of waterfalls like this.

This is Quito. It looks like a beautiful city. It's surrounded by tall mountains, even active volcanoes!

Fantastic Finds

Today I went to Goodwill to donate some old stuff we had, and decided to take a look around for anything that might be purchase-worthy. I was pleasently surprised to find some great steals! This is what I found:

one maternity shirt- $4

a pair of baby boots- $5

two great cookbooks- $1 each
(one has 1000 recipes, the other has great tips on how to cook)

the book What To Expect When You're Expecting- $3

and my favorite find...the movie Savannah Smiles- $0.50
(see my previous post regarding my feelings towards this movie)

(someday baby boy will fit into these)

The Goodwill I went to was only a block away from Harpo Studios, where Oprah films her show. Since I've never been to her studio, I decided to take a walk around it. I also happened to have my camera and I was happy to be able to get a photo of the sign. I've been wanting to add this to my collection of Chicago pictures. I really really hope to be able to get tickets to a show during our last year here. They're just so dang hard to get!