St. Simons

Last weekend we went on a trip to St. Simons! It was a lot of fun.  The island is beautiful and the weather was great.  We went to the beach, the marsh and, of course, shopping! I look forward to having my own house to decorate and I got many good ideas from the stores I went in to. 

Decorating Updates

While in Panama City I found this adorable antique store, Pieces.  It's got different vendors, each with their own items.  I got some great finds, including the glass bottle from a shipwreck, the coral, a few shells, a silver tray and the glass Avon shell bottle.  They were all great deals! I love that they are beachy without being tacky! But, I have one last item: a large seafan.  But I don't know where to put it. I need ideas! Help!!

Happy 4th of July!

Sunday night we had a fun time out in the country with friends and family.  We had some close calls with fireworks though! Happy Birthday America!

Ghana

 This picture is of a kindergarten class at the Morning Star Private School in Accra, Ghana.

 Here I am stamping my own Adinkra design on Kente cloth.

Our group with some of the children at the Kumasi Children's Home.  This was probably the most powerful experience of the trip for me.  

The Slave Castle at Cape Coast.  Its hard to believe that a place so beautiful holds such a terrible past.



As my trip to Ghana is winding down, I realize just how much I have learned.  Ghana has a wonderful culture, full of beautiful art and a cherished past.  The people here work so hard every day to survive, and they are very proud of their work.  The children are loving and sweet.  And yet this is a nation with serious problems as well.  The days that have impacted me the most are the ones where I see children and women struggling.  We went to the Kumasi Children's Home and these kids have nothing, because the government provides so little funding.  The people in charge do the best they can with what they have, but it is still a struggle.  I am so glad for this experience, and I hope I will never forget what I have seen here. 

New Camera!

I got a new camera this weekend--a Nikon L120.  I wanted a new camera for my trip to Africa.  I took some practice shots.  What do you think? Should I keep it?

One of my favorite things

Actually, these are two of my favorite things:  taking pictures and flowers.  Flowers are so beautiful to me, and they once represented love (or so I believed).  But now I just appreciate them for the detail and beauty.  I am trying to surround myself only with the things and people that make me happy, and this is one of those things!

Need Some Advice

Ok...so if you had to choose between me and an immature, irresponsible, crazy, dishonest woman, who would you pick?  Because I do not know if I should feel insulted and rejected that you chose her, or if I should feel relieved that you chose her.  I tried to have faith that you were a good person who just made a string of irresponsible decisions, but now I think you might be as immature, irresponsible, crazy and dishonest as her.  I do not want to be bitter, and I am no angel myself.  But I feel that my forgiveness and kindness have only earned me more pain.  How many chances does a person deserve?  There is someone out there who will love, appreciate and respect me, right?  Or am I the crazy one?  Be honest please!