As Coach Herman Says, A Time For Prayer and Reflection

If a tree falls in the forest...

My favorite movie of all time is Remember the Titans. There are many life lessons to be learned from that movie. I also love football and Denzel Washington.

2012 was a great year. As 2013 approaches, I must reflect on some of the crazy, great things that happened in my life.

My theme for blogging is food, fun and wine, and letting those three things guide your life. For some, that just makes no sense at all. For me, it makes all of the sense in the world. I love to have fun, I love to eat, and I love the art and science of wine making. I also love things that matter.

I Pledge Allegiance To The Flag - Turning 50 is a big deal!

Turning 50. OMG. That is a big one. You realize that each day is a gift. There is no guarantee for a tomorrow. There never was a guarantee, but the morning you wake up 50 years old, it is like a big old sock in the nose. Make the most of every day and every minute. Also take the time to celebrate with all of the people that matter. Don't forget your high school girlfriends.

My House Wine Bike Photo

This past year I learned a little about a camera and taking pictures. That was both fun and frustrating, It was fun for Chris and me to go out and shoot. I like to say "go out and shoot." I learned that you need to take at least 10,000 photos before you can even begin to think that you will take a good photo. I am nowhere near 10,000, but maybe one day. I do, however, have a lot of pictures this year to remind me of the great fun I had.

Roasted a chicken for the first time ever this year.

In 2012, I ate a lot of good food and drank a lot of good wine. I can say that with certainty because I weigh more today than I did on my 50th birthday. I worked really hard to be at my lowest weight since childbirth, and then obviously forgot how hard it was to do that, as I celebrated that wonderful accomplishment by eating great food and drinking great wine. I have one month to try to rectify that.

Husna and Mwana - I love you two so much!

I went off on my 35-day Tanzanian Adventure. Greatest experience of my life. I love the people of Babati, and I love what they stand for. They are simple, happy people. If I could wish for anything in the world, I would wish to live in a world where all people live like Tanzanians.

Kellen

Kellen is in his senior year at Macalester and will graduate in May. Life as we know it will soon change. It warms my heart so much to see what a hard-working, responsible young man he has become. He will probably never work as hard at a job as he has worked in college. There is just nothing that that boy can't accomplish. I am so proud of him.

Adi, the best dog ever.

Chris took the photos and made the posters for the high school soccer and basketball teams. He really likes doing it. I am his assistant. I don't think I do much to assist, but he keeps telling me I do, so I keep going. It is always so fun to see his photos around town. He is very good at it, and it is a really nice thing for him to do for those kids. Also, Chris has become the new Cat Photographer for the Humane Society. He went out to give some money at Christmastime, and offered to take photos for them if they ever needed any taken. It turned out they had just lost their Cat Photographer, and he was hired on the spot; hired as a volunteer, that is. He is very excited to start. He is also allergic to cats, so we will see how that goes. Maybe he can work his way up and become the Dog Photographer. He would probably like that a little bit better, no offense to cats and cat lovers. Sometimes, though, you have to start at the bottom to appreciate the top.

A Christmas Story

Another great Christmas at the McManus Cabin in Neihart, MT. Always fun. Always crazy. Chris and I hatched what we thought was a great Christmas idea on Friday, December 21st: A Christmas Story, Daisy Red Ryder BB Gun for everyone! We dispensed hunter orange stocking caps and protective eye wear to everyone and insisted they wear them. We set up a target outside and took turns shooting. It gives a new meaning to "let's go out and shoot." It was a lot of fun. Now we are trying to figure out the best way for our kids to get the guns on the plane and back home. Chris also helped me put together a DVD to give to my family members that highlighted the last 26 years of our lives. I had a lot of fun making it, and I got to see how much time and effort Chris puts into every DVD that he has made for me, our family, and our friends.

The highlight of our Christmas, though, was being able to help out our little friend, Carla, the 5-year-old angel that was blessed this Christmas season with a new heart, as she blessed the hearts of so many people across the country. Cousin Joely and Mike delivered some Christmas money to the family out in Seattle. We are so happy for the Wright family and will be praying for them every day.

2012 was a very good year!

As Coach Boone says, "I don't scratch my head unless it itches and I don't dance unless I hear some music. I will not be intimidated. That's just the way it is."

A good motto to live by. Do things that matter and don't worry about what others think. Cheers to the new year, 2013. ~ Stella

The Reason For The Season

Happy Holidays!

"Are you ready for Christmas?"

The question asked over and over all month long.

I think a more appropriate question would be: "Have you done anything thoughtful and kind for someone less fortunate than yourself that warms your heart?"

Isn't that the real reason for the season?

My sister and I try to find a someone-less-fortunate or a cause that we care about. Last year, Kristi hooked up with a Title 1 elementary school in Great Falls, which means it has a lot of children that live in poverty, and had a coat drive for them. That was really a lot of fun. She collected tons of coats all around Great Falls, and I collected some from Helena. Many people donated money, so she was able to buy a lot of new coats as well. Our gifts to each other were money to buy more coats.

In the end, there were hundreds of children that got a warm winter coat. Something like that makes you feel so good, brings tears of joy, and also warms your heart.

Carla, the Rock Star

Speaking of hearts, this year we want to raise money to help a beautiful 5-year-old girl that was born with half a heart. She was on the heart transplant list. The middle of November 2012, she got the good news and got the new heart. She is in a Seattle hospital still today as her fragile little body tries to make sense of it all. She has good moments and bad moments, ups and downs. She is incredibly strong, though. The last few days have been really good! We want to help this family have one of the most awesome Christmases ever, a Christmas to remember.

Anyone interested in donating to Carla and her family, please got to ourlittlewrightfamily.blogspot.com and you will find a donate button. You will also get the most awesome updates from Carla's mom, Jen.  As Sheldon's mom (Big Bang Theory) says, God doesn't give you more than you can handle. Both Carla and Jen are an inspiration to all!

"There is no ideal Christmas; only the one Christmas you decide to make as a reflection of your values, desires, affections, traditions." ~ Bill McKibben

Oh, To Be Thankful

This is the Sinai Primary School kitchen.

Today is Thanksgiving Day. The holiday season has officially begun. I am taking a break from the kitchen.  I don't have much time before my timer goes off, so I better get moving.

My year has been completely over the top with food, fun, and wine. What I am most thankful for are food, fun and wine. Just kidding. While I am thankful for those three things, I will always, and have always, been very thankful for friends, family and good health. There are a lot of things, though, that get overlooked because most of us are just too busy to remember that we should be thankful. Period. That needs to change.

Yes, it is really an underarm perspiration stain. 

I am incredibly thankful for a job that demands a lot of me at times, but also gives me the freedom and flexibility to get my work done, morning, day or night, which leaves me time to do the things I love.

Trixie's

I am thankful for a boatload of girlfriends that love to do the things that I love to do. That would  be eating, drinking, being merry, getting pedicures, and shopping.

Grandma Zella Supervising the Making of Shortbread

I am especially thankful for having 50 great years with my Gram, the Best Egg Ever. She lived a good long life, and I plan to follow in her footsteps.

Husna and Mwana

I am out of this world thankful for the WaterPowerPeace project, the Kahembe family, the Mason family, my family of friends in Babati, and my family of friends in New York.

Now for the good stuff.

Our Matching House Wine Bikes

I am thankful that my sister challenged me to wash my hair every other day. She told me once I got used to the feel of dirty hair, I would love it and never go back to washing it every day. Guess what? I have washed it every other day, or less, since New Year's Day 2012. Think of the money I have saved on expensive shampoo and water and electricity. It is true, you can fix your hair so much easier when it is one day dirty. Thank you, Kristi.

I Love My TOMS

I am thankful to have finally learned that you can wear something and not automatically have to put it in the wash. For some reason, that just seemed wrong to wear something twice. Africa does not lend itself to a never-ending supply of water, so you wear the same clothes until wash day. You use water only when you absolutely need to. If you don't have the water, you are obviously not doing laundry two times a day, which frees up a lot of time. It is liberating. Thank you, Babati.

Kellen Playing The Piano

I am thankful for the direct flight from Minneapolis to Helena. It is so easy for Kellen to come home, and we have now discovered it is just as easy for Chris and me to go out there. We have driven the 15 1/2 hour trip for the last 3 years, two times a year, because we usually were hauling Kellen's things out or bringing them back. Not anymore. Kellen has a car now. He can pick us up at the airport, drive us all around, then return us to the airport. Thanks, Delta, and thanks, Kellen.

Lastly, I am very thankful that I have people that actually go to my blog. When I sit down at the computer, I first go to My Audience to see how many people have visited my site. I realize that some get there totally by accident, but, hey, it is still someone that visited my site. When I wrote my first post, I was scared to death to hit publish. I was afraid that people would read what I had to say and think I was an idiot. It didn't take long to figure out that they very well could, and probably do, think I am an idiot, but who really cares? I like to sit down and write about silly things that make me happy.

Happy Holidays! Hopefully we will all have some good food, fun and wine to guide this holiday season.

"May the true spirit of the season find you and fill your heart with happiness." ~ author unknown

Life 101

Whenever there is a life lesson to be learned, my brother-in-law, without fail, turns to "Life 101" to make his point. When you think about it, it really makes sense.

Most of life's challenging moments can be dealt with using good old common sense. A lot of people over think things and believe a challenge in life needs a complex solution, no matter how big or small the challenge.

Now that I am 50 and have lived in Babati, Tanzania for 35 days, I realize I don't have the time or the energy for complex solutions to life's (mostly simple) challenges. At this age, remember, every day is a gift. It is time to enjoy what life has to offer and stop worrying. Once you do that, many of those challenges will disappear.

As we all wander through this thing called life, I really don't think there is any situation that can't be made better, unless maybe we are on death row. I would call that a very complex life challenge that requires a very complex solution and some really good lawyers, or an outgoing governor with a big heart.

So what are some of life's simple challenges?

Can we serve red wine with fish? The wine snob may say no. I say whatever you want to drink is fine. If you drink red wine with your fish, who will know and who will care? So if you are having a dinner party, serving halibut, fretting about the wine to pair it with, stop fretting. Buy some red and buy some white. If your friends find it in poor taste, they don't need to come to your house for dinner anymore. Common sense.

I used my mulligan on the first hole. Can I take another? Of course you can. You paid for the round of golf, you can do whatever you want. If you don't want to keep score, don't keep score. Common sense.

Should I get a dog? I don't have a job and I don't have any money. Of course you should not get a dog. Common sense.

Seriously, though, if life's challenges are getting you down, stop, breathe, figure out one simple thing that you can do to make your life more simple.

"To be simple is to be great." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

What's In A Name?

What's in a name?

Some wines jump out at you, all because of the name. Why is it we respond in such a way to such a simple thing? Good example: Mad Housewife wine. Why is it so alluring to be a mad housewife? Drink the wine and live up to the name, right? I, of course, tried it. In my opinion, it is not very good wine. Sure fun to look at the bottle and laugh about it with your girlfriends.

Another one is Bitch wine. It has a pink label. Not sure why that grabs our attention, but I am sure many of us have tried it. Also, not very good wine. Again, a lot of fun to look at the bottle and laugh about it with girlfriends.

As a side note, there is nothing more fun than trying different wines. For a lot of people that is a scary thing to do. Some  find a wine they like, then are super scared to try anything else. If that is you, go to Great Falls and see Tronny. Wines By Wednesday, Tronny's wine store, is a cool little place attached to his printing business. He likes wine more than he likes printing, so guess where you will find him. He will help you find a different wine that you will like. He will also sell you some really great cheese. A win/win, as I like to say.

Moving on to steak. Petite Sirloin; Flat Iron; Hanger; Skirt. All words that we relate to in a positive way. Who doesn't love a fun new skirt? Who doesn't appreciate a really good flat iron these days; we all need one? Who doesn't love good hangers, one that keeps the clothes from falling off? And who doesn't want a great tasting meal that can be associated with being petite?

We all know that everyone loves a tenderloin because -- duh -- it is tender. Everyone loves the flavor of sirloin but wishes it was a little more tender. Chris and I recently discovered the skirt/hanger/flat iron varieties. They are thin and juicy strips of meat, dying for a little marinade, wanting to be quickly grilled, then cut thinly across the grain. I have no idea where it comes from on the cow. Many of the cooking shows are using these cuts. It works well for fajitas, or you can just eat thin slices next to a bed of mashed red potatoes with horseradish, sour cream and gorgonzola cheese. It would also work well in a daring Vietnamese meal.

Meat Man Dennis

Unfortunately for us, our favorite grocery store doesn't always have skirt, hanger or flat iron steak on a regular basis, even though I throw out subtle hints that they get it in and keep it in. I can't be the only person in Helena that thinks this cut of meat is great. But the meat manager is kind of a grump and must think it bad for business to cater to his customers. Go figure. Yesterday, however, Meat Man Dennis (not the grump, the fun guy) had some flat iron in the back, was willing to walk five feet, fire up the meat saw, and cut off a strip. Yeah Dennis! Chris and I had a fabulous dinner.

If you simply love the flavor of steak, this one's for you; juicy, tender and packed full of flavor.

Grilled Flat Iron Steak

marinate steak in olive oil, red wine, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, salt and pepper
refrigerate for a few hours
as with all beef, take out of fridge and let come to room temperature before grilling (about 1/2 hour)
on a medium grill, cook 3 minutes, turn over, cook 3 minutes, turn over, then cook 2 more minutes
tent for 8 minutes

(adjust time for desired doneness - this will be somewhere between medium rare and medium)

Cheers!

If God didn't want us to eat steak, he wouldn't have given us teeth and dental floss. ~ Stella

Is There Such A Thing As Too Many Friends?

Friday afternoon I turned the TV on, just in time to see some lady talking about her "project." She was originally from Manhattan and had moved to Chicago, or somewhere, I can't really remember. She seemed to be having some sort of midlife crisis and needed change -- big change. She was an artist, but her day job was something entirely different. Reason # 1 not to become an artist. Most artists don't make enough money to live on, and usually end up settling for some meaningless job to pay the bills.

So she got to Chicago and realized she had one small problem: She did not know anyone and had no friends. No problem. Go out and make some friends. That is where the project begins. She set out to meet and connect with one new friend every day for one whole year. She took a picture of each new friend, then took a picture of all of her pictures of friends at the end of the year. Some days she made more than one new friend. It turned out to be about 400 new friends. Out of 400 new friends, about 40 have become good friends. How cool is that?

Well, I am thinking about copying her. I want to meet one new person in Helena for a year. I am uncertain whether to tell the new friend they are part of a project. In a way, it seems rather offensive. It may come across that I really don't care about the person, just about acquiring a new friend. Some people may be intrigued by the notion. I don't know how it will shake out, but I am willing to give it a try. Maybe it doesn't need to be a project, just something fun to do. While in Babati, I made it a point to greet every person that I walked by, and some of those people did became a friend. I think it will work in Montana just as well. Tanzania reminds me of Montana. Simple people, simple fun. I will keep you posted.

When you're in jail, a good friend will be trying to bail you out. A best friend will be in the cell next to you saying, "Damn, that was fun." ~ Groucho Marx

What's Up With The Girl Scout Promise?

Happy September. I think I am now settled in at home and looking forward to a change in the weather. Fall is probably my favorite season. There is something about kids going back to school, the excitement of them seeing old friends, new school clothes, beautiful fall colors, better air quality, holidays just around the corner; it all makes for an exciting time.

Home Sweet Home

If you read http://stellasguidetoliving.blogspot.com/2012/08/home-sweet-home-montana.html, you may have wondered why I ended the post with the Girl Scout Promise. Or maybe you just read that I was planning to serve God and my country and didn't really put the two together. My husband, unfamiliar with the Girl Scout Promise, read the post and asked, "What's up with God?"

While on my trip to Tanzania, I learned of some really great, inspiring work that Mrs. Mary Kahembe, with the help of LTT, is doing for Tanzanian women; creation of the Manyara Region Chapter of Girl Guides of Tanzania. Ladies of Babati, you are very lucky to have Mary Kahembe in your community and in your lives. If you embrace her and what she stands for with all of your might, you will be stronger and better equipped to get through this thing we call life.

I had never heard of Girl Guides. I was a Brownie and Girl Scout and knew what that was about, but the term "Girl Guides" was foreign to me. Well, it turns out they are the same, but different names for different countries. The mission of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts is to enable girls and young women to develop their fullest potential as responsible citizens of the world.

To my simple way of thinking, that means we educate and empower women (young and old) to stand up for human rights and women's rights. Stand up for what is right. What does that mean in Tanzania? The same thing it means anywhere else in the world. Females are just as deserving of an education as males. Females are just as deserving of good employment with equal pay. Females deserve to own businesses and prosper. Plain and simple, gender equality. And by the way, Tanzanian women are not alone in this quest. There are many women around the world in need of Girl Guides. One day, one woman at a time.

As Chris and I learned about the Tanzanian culture, learned a little Swahili, learned the needs of schools, communities and the great people of Tanzania, we made a promise to each other that we would do a little more. I so enjoyed my visits with Mary as she explained to me what she saw Girl Guides doing for the young women of Tanzania. This is something that I want to support. Women of the world, unite.

"Great opportunities to help others seldom come, but small ones surround us every day." ~ Sally Koch

Out of Africa

Given that I started blogging earlier this year (2012), you probably don’t know much about my first trip to Africa. I was there in February of 2011. I took a lot of clothes, shoes, makeup, hair care products, nail polish, coats, jackets, UGGs, etc.  You name it, I had it. I did not want to be caught offguard. Lesson learned: Lots of things add up to a lot of weight; take only what you need.

Today I am on my second trip to Africa. I don’t need many clothes.  I don’t need gobs of shoes. I don’t need much makeup. I don’t need hair care products. Cheap shampoo will do. I do, though, need one bottle of nail polish.  Painting your toes is both uplifting and something to do, not to mention, a bottle of polish doesn’t weigh much.

             

The Definition of Need

What do I really need while in Africa? To say, “What does one “really” need?” means one doesn’t really know the meaning of the word need.  

I need two pair of quick-dry travel underwear, a few skirts, a few shirts, a couple pairs of shoes, Deet and malaria pills. “Need” is a word that gets thrown around a lot in the US. I am here to tell you, unless and until you go to a far away land (third world country) where “need” has true meaning, you should not be tossing the word “need” around very often.

Well, today I discovered that I truly need more Kleenex.  I have somehow come down with a really awesome cold (or allergies, or maybe malaria) and with the very fine dust in the air, since it is the dry season, it is all I can do to breathe. My nose runs non-stop. I brought what I thought would be enough to get me through 35 days, but I am now thinking my calculation was off. Fortunately, Mr. Wiseman’s Grocery Store, right across the street from our guest house, carries all kinds of things. So far I have seen baby wipes, candy bars, Kili beer baridi (cold) Pringles, bread and soap. I am very much hoping they carry Kleenex. I do mean Kleenex brand Kleenex. I do not mean any old generic. This is a job for Kleenex. I will check it out in the morning.

Tomorrow is a day of rest, which means we will wander around Babati and, once again, be exhausted at the end of the day. One of the reasons we are so exhausted by the end of the day is bikes and motorcycles and cars and delivery trucks expect you will get out of their way. They also drive on the wrong side of the road. Put the two together, it is hard work to walk down the street and also stay alive.

Back to need. I also discovered that I need Raid, or the Tanzanian equivalent.  We have encountered the most amazing, gigantic (kubwa), blood-sucking mosquitoes that one would ever experience in a lifetime. They are buzzing around the room like crazy. While you can’t always see them, you can always hear them. Chris smashed one between his hands, and about 2.4 liters of blood began dripping down his arm. We do have a mosquito net in our room. After day #3, and many kubwa, itchy mosquito bites, we started putting the net down at night. We are also taking malaria pills. Rumor has it that malaria pills don’t prevent malaria. The sole purpose of the pill is to facilitate a successful treatment. Without the pills, one could possibly experience death.

We think we need a simm card and international phone card. We probably don’t need it; however, we would like to be able to get in touch with someone in America in the event of an emergency and not be paying $4.99 per minute just to let someone know we are possibly dying. While dining with Julian and Sophie (our LTT friends) at the Quick Bite, they alerted us to the fact that there was, indeed, a way to have cheap communication back home. Supposedly, there is a little shop next door to the guest house where we can buy an inexpensive simm card for my Droid phone, then buy an international phone card, and we will be in business. 

Well, the next door that I went to was the hardware store. No simm cards there. Just another example of me not listening very closely, as no one said anything about getting a simm card next door. They did, however, have Raid. They had a kubwa can for 3500 Tanzanian shillings, or about $2.30. Rock Hand Hardware would have charged at least $8.99. What a bargain, and it may save our lives.

P.S. I found this in my draft posts. Better late than never. Cheers.

Home Sweet Home Montana

Hello, everyone. In case you think I may have left the country, I did. I am back. Africa was out of this world. Literally. Internet was a little tricky, but mostly incredibly slow, so I was not able to keep you posted on my travels. Boy, do I have some stories to tell.

In my five weeks, I experienced a lifetime of experiences and emotions: a death in the family; the birth of a baby by one of our new Babati friends; sad; glad; happy; overjoyed; frustrated; inspired; disappointed; excited; frightened; elated; and lastly, incredibly humbled to be a part of a community so grateful for each and every day, as they do not seem to know or mind that they have so little.

Many Tanzanians want to know if all Americans are rich. My answer: Many Americans are rich monetarily, most have more money than Tanzanians, but most Americans are nowhere as rich as Tanzanians in what matters most: happiness. Never did I hear one single Tanzanian complain of anything. I knew that from my trip before, but for five straight weeks, I was constantly reminded of that fact.

On my honor, I will try: To serve God and my country, to help people at all times, and to live by the Girl Scout Law -- and I will absolutely give it my all to be more like Tanzanians. Cheers to a fabulous trip!

What Does Your Employer Do For You?

The Rickshaw Travels, Ltd.

So what is the big deal? Well, I will tell you the big deal.

Rickshaw is the guide transportation service that transports us to and from the airport and gets us to the places we need to go.

Mr. Deepak is the regional manager. He is originally from India. We met him when we stopped by the office with our driver, Martin, to settle up and go over our plans. Mr. Deepak offered to make contact with the businesses we would be visiting so as to alert them of our arrival. As long as we were there, we thought we would interview him, take some photos, and learn a little bit more about the company responsible for our lives. Hint: If you have ever been to Mexico and ridden in a taxi, you know what I mean.

Here is what we learned:

Fact #1: Rickshaw was formerly located in the center of Arusha in close proximity to reasonably priced restaurants for its employees.

Fact # 2: Rickshaw relocated its business to the outskirts of town.

Fact #3: The nearest restaurants for its employees to eat were in the hotels, which were far from cheap.

Fact # 4: Mr. Deepak decided it would be a good idea to plant a large fruit and vegetable garden on the new Rickshaw grounds so his employees could have affordable (60 cents a day) organic food to eat during the day, instead of going to the hotels or home for meals. One of the employees is cooking the fresh organic food for the whole crew.

Fact #5:   At the modest rate of 60 cents per day, per working employee, the garden is turning a profit, which will then be used to do more things for its employees. Mr. Deepak thought it would be nice to maybe buy a ping pong table for employee recreation during break time.

Fact # 6: Resourceful businesses can do really creative, innovative things to help their employees, which is a sure way to help improve business. Yeah, Rickshaw!

If every human on this planet thought of one little thing to make the world a better place, just image the world that we would live in.

Best Egg Goes to Gram

My Grandma Zella was the best grandma a person could ever hope for. She passed away a few days ago. I left for Africa July 18^th knowing that I had very likely said my last good-bye the night before. I got word on July 21^st in Babati that her journey had ended. She had been admitted to the hospital from the rest home on July 16th, and it was decided that no life support measures would be given. She had lived a good long life, and it was simply time. Her mind and body were both worn out. She had dementia and was nothing but skin and bones.

Enough of the sad. Here is the happy.

My grandma was very special to me, and she made me feel tremendously special to her. I loved her with all my heart, and I was incredibly lucky to have spent 50 years with her. She was one of the most caring people I know and did a lot for the people around her.

As a result of the dementia, Gram would sometimes say the craziest things. She never lost her sense of humor through the confusion. Whenever she would talk about someone that she cared about, she would always say, “He/she was a good egg.” That was something you could count on.    

Well, today I announce to the world that my Gram wins the award for Best Egg Ever. I miss you, Gram.

Thanks A Lot, Al Gore

What would the world be like if Al hadn't invented the Internet? Remember when he claimed that he had? It was a strange claim, but who am I to say he did or did not? Imagine no UPS packages from Amazon, no Wikipedia, no Facebook; hard to imagine.

I have been in Africa for all of three days. I have spent more time worrying about getting an Internet connection than worrying about my restricted rice diet for the next 30 days. What a sad admission. My computer says I am connected when I right click on that little icon on the bottom right corner of my computer, but saying you have it and actually getting to Facebook and your email would be two very different things.

Our last trip to Babati was 10 days. We never were able to connect. That seemed okay at the time for that length of time. This trip will be for 35 days, and I don't think I can survive without it.

The Kibo Palace Hotel had free WI-FI, but it was a little hit and miss. It worked well enough every 159 minutes, so I guess I should stop complaining. Chris always wonders why I seem to be mad at him when I can't get the dang thing to work. The reason is simple; he is the only one there. I certainly couldn't get mad at Emanuel, the bartender, or Lawrence, our food server, could I? Sorry, Chris, you're it.

For the next 30 days, I will try to be a litte more patient, and I will try to do a better job of understanding how the dang thing works. I will soon be transformed into Babati Penny; and trust me, that is a good thing.

I am in the internet cafe in Babati and the P and L don't work very well on my computer. Sorry for the misspellings, but time is limited. It might be more entertaining without a P or L.

Babati Bound

Today we are on our way to Babati; so much preparation; so little preparedness.

I have been absent from Stella’s Guide to Living far too long. Blogging has turned into something that I really enjoy. I feel obligated to write something on a regular basis. I am afraid if much more time passes without a post, my five followers will go find someone else to guide their living. 

These past few weeks, I have been consumed with work, laundry, planning, list making, figuring out how to change my message on my work phone, and arranging for people to mow, water and get the mail.

As I try to imagine what it will be like to be away from home for 5 weeks, I start to panic. I am excited to go and be gone, but I am also a little worried. I have no idea what is in my what-turned-out-to-be 48 pound bag. Actually, that is not true; I packed the bag, so I do have an idea of what is in it. I just don’t know if what is in it is what I will need. Too bad I couldn’t have crammed 2 more pounds of stuff in there. The big container of wipes and the bag of wheat thins were left behind for fear our home scale was off. It turns out that our scale weighed the same as the airport scale. Oh, well, I probably don’t need any wheat thins. I probably could have used the wipes for my hands, though. Hopefully, I won’t be sorry. If I am airlifted out of the country with some horrific intestinal difficulty, I will probably be sorry.

Chris and I had breakfast at Axel’s Bonfire in the Minneapolis Airport. Great choice.  I had a breakfast quesadilla served by the lovely DeeDee. She was a nice smiling face. Our morning started at 3:30, so our faces weren’t as smiley as hers. Our moods, though, are picking up. 

There is a lot of talk about the turkey sandwiches on the Delta flights. Maybe they should pass through the metal detector before being loaded on the plane.

I am very hopeful that there will be an internet café in Babati. You will be the first to know. It is three hours until we board the plane for Amsterdam.

Bon Voyage. 

“Writing and travel broaden your ass if not your mind, and I like to write standing up.” – Ernest Hemmingway

Put It Back On The Shelf

Have you heard about Skinnygirl Cocktails? Skinnygirl Wine? Skinnygirl Vodka? Supposedly, it is a new line of drinks for the health conscious 30-39 year old woman worried about her weight. I must say, I am not 30-39 but I was interested in finding out about this new invention. The vodka and ready-made cocktails are in my liquor store, but not the wine. They are working really hard at getting the wine in as fast as possible. It is the latest craze. As with any craze, you don't want to be late to the party. The craze could very well be over before you know it.

Skinnygirl cocktails were created by Bethenny Frankel. Helpful Bethenny was having a margarita one day and was appalled at the high number of calories it supposedly had. She became determined to make the world a better place by creating and selling her own lower calorie alcoholic beverages, says some blogger I found on the Internet.

So what is so great about the wine? I am not too interested in the greatness of the vodka or ready-made cocktails, as I am not too interested in drinking them, no matter how many calories they may have. The wine, though, has piqued my curiosity. Off to do a little Internet research

Fact #1: A 5 oz. glass of Skinnygirl white wine has 100 calories.

Fact #2: Your typical glass of white wine with the equivalent alcohol content has about 100 calories.

Fact #3: Skinnygirl wine contains something called E211, an additive linked to aging and cancer. 


Fact #4: Skinnygirl wine costs about $15 a bottle. Maybe they charge extra for the cancer causing additive.


Here is my free advice to you:  Forget the Skinnygirl wine. It is nothing more than a gimmick, invented by, of all people, Bethenny, one of the real housewives of New York City, preying on 30-39 year old women who like to get together for a glass of wine but also want to stay (or get) skinny. 


As a real housewife from Montana, I suggest that you get some exercise, continue to drink the wine you normally drink, but cut out bread and cookies. There.   


"Be moderate in everything, including moderation." ~ Horace Porter


(In case you don't know Horace, he was an American soldier and diplomat who served as a lieutenant colonel, ordnance officer and staff officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War. I had no idea who he was.)  

Where Is The Fun in Fundraising?

$$$$$$$

Good news: We are done fundraising. IndieGoGo officially closes today. We raised some money to put into the project and feel like we have contributed in some small way. We gave it our best. Time to pack and fill the malaria pill prescription.

All the way back to when I was a Brownie (the little Girl Scout, maybe age 8), there has been a requirement to go out and raise money. We had to sell cookies. Girl Scout cookies really sell themselves, but you still have to go door to door and beg people to buy them. Elementary students today have to sell wrapping paper, candy and a bunch of junk that does nothing but clutter someone's house. Arsenal soccer was all about selling cookie dough. High school sports was all about selling Bruin and Bengal cards, which was nothing more than a $10 donation, as there was nothing on the card worth using. Fundraising is a way of life if you are involved in any activity.

Fundraising, though, can be fun. If your approach is this is absolutely dreadful, it will not be much fun. If your approach is let's get in there, get the job done, there is fun to be had along the way.

The fun for Chris and me, we met some really great people we never would have met. We were out and about in the community every opportunity we had. We saw old friends around town that we hadn't seen in years. That was really quite fun. 


It is pretty hard to fundraise without the support of local businesses. They get hit up all of the time, but somehow they manage to keep on giving. In return, please support these businesses when you can. They are all really great people and care about what is going on in the community, as well as the world.

Staggering Ox
Brewhouse
Blackfoot Brewery
Lewis & Clark Brewery
Luxury Nails
Sole Sisters
Starbucks
Bear's Den
Sandy Mac's
M-T Glass Liquor
George's Distributing
Mountain Country Distributing
Cinemark
Lucca's

And these are our great friends that donated items and helped us out:

Wanda White
Jim and Sherry Tolan
Keith Clevenger
Nicole Woody
Amber Hartman
Kitty Brown
Kristi and Gordie McManus
Haylee

Another great piece of fun for me was the fact that my sister was the successful bidder (actually, the only bidder, and she kept bidding herself up) for the House Wine bike in our silent auction. We now have matching bikes. That would never have happened had we not been fundraising. We had matching bikes when we were young. I don't remember the style name, but they had a flowered banana seat and a basket. It was a trip down memory lane when we rode around the block on our new House Wine matching bikes. What a great thing to happen the year you turn 50.

The best news of all: I am putting the fundraising topic to bed for good. No more bracelets, auctions, donations. My sincerest apology for putting you through that. Back to food, fun and wine. Cheers.

"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them." ~ John F. Kennedy

Your Friends Are What Will Matter In The End

Well, tonight we had our fundraiser for WaterPowerPeace at the Staggering Ox.

All I can say, we have really great friends, new and old. Chris and I are so grateful for all of your support.

From the purchase of wristbands, to liking and sharing our project on Facebook, to sending donations, to showing up at the Staggering Ox on the first really nice Saturday of the summer and bidding on our auction items, we thank you so much.

In the end, you, our friends, are what really matter. Thank you.

Reunion - It Does a Body Good

50 Is Our Friend

Last Sunday I headed out to Chico Hot Springs for three days to meet six high school girlfriends for a 50th birthday celebration/reunion. Oh, what a celebration/reunion.

My husband asked if it seemed weird to be meeting up with friends that I have not seen very often in the last 30 years. For some reason, it did not. Maybe because we are now 50 and life has sort of worked itself out. Maybe because I had a blast with all of the friends meeting up way back when. Maybe because I wanted to go to Chico Hot Springs, one of my favorite places in Montana, and I would make the most of it no matter what. Who knows?

The answer: All of the above. We did not miss a beat. We looked through old photos, year books, props from drill team, cheerleading, listened to '80s music for 72 hours straight. Quite simply, we picked up where we left off. We laughed non stop. Everyone got along. There was not one moment of tension. The trip was the perfect length; not too long, not too short. Some cooked. Some cleaned. Everyone had a grand time. It was truly the perfect reunion.

As I have told you many times before, once you turn 50, each day is a gift. Make the most of each day. We will not be waiting to turn 100 for our next reunion. Next June we are headed to Coeur d'alene, Idaho to pick up where we left off. Stay tuned.

I love you all. ~ Stella

50 Years Young

Keeping with my food, fun and wine theme, and also the reason I became a closet blogger in the first place, turning 50, I am headed to Chico Hotsprings tomorrow morning to meet up with several old high school girlfriends for a 50th Birthday Bash. This trip has been in the works for quite some time. Some are flying in, some live in Montana. It started out as possibly a trip to Las Vegas or Phoenix, somewhere warm, where we could bask in the sun, eat, drink and be merry. Too hard to coordinate. Chico, here we come. Good food, great fun, and don't forget the wine. We also have some beer drinkers for this trip. Some are bringing pink Solo cups and the official rules for beer pong. Should be entertaining. Stay tuned for photos after I return home.

As girl trips go, this one has been incredibly low key and easy. Usually, my girl trips are quite labor intensive; many emails, planning menus, you bring this, you bring that, what time should we leave, do we have enough wine? Not this trip. Show up and have fun. How refreshing. It sort of reminds me of I Heart Neihart. Simple.

Can't wait to see everyone. Cheers.

"Good friends are like stars....You don't always see them, but you know they are always there." ~ author unknown

House Wine Will Do Just Fine

Do you order house wine?  I do. Not always, but a lot of the time.

Do you know people that refuse house wine just because it is house wine? Some house wine should be refused, but I think a lot of house wines are very drinkable, and some good. I don't think I have ever had a great house wine, but I do not expect it to be great, and I do not need great wine all of the time. If I want a great wine, I will go to the wine store, carefully select the wine, then enjoy it in the comfort of my own home or some special spot with special people. Also, a great bottle of wine in a restaurant is -- sorry to say -- expensive. The exception is Wednesday nights at Lucca's. They have half-price wine on Wednesdays. There you will always have great food, a great atmosphere, and great wine at half-price. You will never be disappointed.

House Wine took on a new meaning last Thursday. Chris and I decided to head out to sell bracelets. Are you getting tired of hearing about the bracelets yet? I hope not, we just placed an order for 200 more. $5. Just let me know how many you want. As usual, we ended up at the Brewhouse. Unbeknownst to us, the going away party for Jackie, a long-time server at the Brewhouse, was in full swing Downstairs. Kitty brought in a band,  and all of the employees and regulars were there to see Jackie off. There was also a silent auction.

Well, how can we expect anyone at the Brewhouse to support our cause if we don't support theirs? You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours. Great motto, by the way. It really does work, and a lot of great projects get funded that way. If anyone has ever done anything for you, never forget to reciprocate.


Kitty, the manager, is also a photographer and had some really great photos in the auction. Woody, a great server, artist, and one of the most talented, creative, delightful people you will ever meet, had one of her paintings in the auction. Amber, another great server, cute as a button, made a whole bunch of great jewelry for the cause.  

The one thing that caught my attention was the House Wine Bike. I am sure you've all seen the really fun, trendy, cool, retro, one-of-a-kind bikes that different cool companies supply and have drawings for in local beer establishments. Fat Tire has one. Red Hook Brewery in Woodinville had one hanging from the ceiling. Cool colors, cool logos, old fashioned big fat tires, one speed, back brakes, straight handlebars; one of life's simple pleasures.

I wanted it. My husband said, "You don't need it." Well, when you turn 50, you start to look at life differently. You realize that each day is a gift, and "you don't need it" goes right out the window. First of all, I do need that bike. It says "House Wine" on it. It doesn't get any better than that. I thought I would buy it as a piece of art, hang it on the wall in the wine room in my basement that isn't finished yet, and it would look awesome. I also have a really cool whiskey barrel that is waiting for its spot in the wine room not finished yet. And there would never be another House Wine Bike. The two items would go quite nicely together. The whiskey barrel came from Tim, the brewer, at Blackfoot Brewery, and it was free. Thanks, Tim.

I was the successful bidder. Yeah! I have ridden my new bike every day since I got it. I really hadn't planned on that. Exercise; what a novel idea.

I sent a picture of my new bike to my nephew in California. He asked if it was a fixie and told me I was a hipster. I had never heard the term fixie so I Googled it. I don't know if it is truly a fixie, as I did not find a good definition, but I am going with it. My very own House Wine Fixie.

Tonight, my husband and I rode our bikes over to the high school where I proceeded to complete my photo assignment; a portrait type photo that you would hang on your wall. Well, I now have a portrait type photo of my new bike at sunset out in a field that I will be hanging on my wall tomorrow.

As I like to say, a win/win for everyone. I got something really cool, helped somebody along the way, and also got my assignment done. Life is good.

"No one has ever become poor by giving." ~ Anne Frank
(So go buy something at a fundraiser that will make you smile.)

WaterPowerPeace Bracelet Anyone?

Yesterday, my husband and I decided it would be a great day to head out to the businesses that we regularly frequent with the goal of selling as many WaterPowerPeace bracelets as we could. We typically run into the same people on a Saturday, and we were hopeful that some of those people would be willing to part with $5 and buy a bracelet.

WaterPowerPeace, you may recall, is the Tanzania water project that we have been working on. We are going to Tanzania in July and are doing our best to help raise money. In case you missed it the first time around, www.indiegogo.com/waterpowerpeace is our project donation site. My motto: If you never ask, you will never receive. By the way, if you go to the site, click on "updates", you can watch a 21-minute video that my husband made of our trip to Tanzania last year.

Or better yet, watch it right here: http://vimeo.com/42737919

For starters, neither of us is any good at asking for money. I really don't know how people do that for a living. But, the project is very special to us. If we are going to ask people for money, this is as good of a cause as you will find, helping to provide clean water, sustainable food, and books to gobs of children. Can you think of anything better?

Off we go. We started at the Brewhouse for lunch. We would stay there until 2:00. From there, we would head to Bert & Ernie's, then the Blackfoot Brewery. We figured those places would be packed since it was kind of a crummy day weather-wise. Wrong. Apparently, no one cared it was cold out, and it appeared to us that everyone in town had gone camping or somewhere else for the weekend.

Lunch was great, but we were a little disappointed by the lack of people and afraid we weren't going to come close to meeting our pre-established goal of 20 bracelets, since at 2:00 we had only sold three. Thanks Aaron, Matt and Amy!

Next stop, Bert & Ernie's. Fortunately for us, Toby was there. Toby is a giving kind of guy, always willing to help out a good cause, and he bought five. We're on a roll now. Thanks Toby!

Next stop, Blackfoot Brewery. We really thought the regulars would be at the brewery. Wrong. There was hardly anyone there, and no one we even knew. Flannery and Cash were working. Once again, a little disappointed that there weren't more people. Not to worry. Business soon picked up, and we were finding the courage to just come right out and ask anyone if they would be interested in buying a bracelet. I spotted a lawyer that I know, so I took off to sell him one. Bonus: two other lawyers that I know were with him, and another friend of theirs that I did not know, but he wanted to buy two. The day is looking up. Then Gerry and Stacy showed up and needed a place to sit. Sit with us. They bought two. Twelve sold at the brewery. Thanks Kelly, Flannery, Gerry, Stacy, Oliver, Joe, Charlie and Jerry! We can't go home just yet, we are really on a roll.

Back to the Brewhouse. As long as we are there, we may as well eat again. We are sort of getting the hang of this. Ten more. Thanks Jen, Wyman, Riley, Chase, Rachael, Skip, John, Kelsey and Al!

We ended up selling 30 for the day, 10 more than we had hoped for. Life's simple pleasures. The good news is $150 goes a lot further in Tanzania than it does in the US. Every dollar really does count. What a fun day.

Smile

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.

When life gives you rain, take a picture.

As you know, my husband has been giving photography lessons to a select few. I am one of the select few. I don't think that I am taking really great photos, but I am taking photos and, most importantly, I am paying attention to everything around me. If I never take another picture in my lifetime, I have learned a valuable lesson: pay attention, look, and actually see what is around me.

Yesterday I was complaining about the weather. It was cold, windy, overcast and raining intermittently. As I was driving to work, I looked up the hill at the Fire Tower, and it was such a beautiful sight. Three months ago, I would have been (maybe) watching the road, playing with the radio, probably not have noticed that there was even a landscape, driven on to work, driven home, gone to bed, still ticked off that it was nasty weather, and the 3-day weekend would be ruined.

But yesterday my brain registered that: a, the lighting would be killer with the cloud coverage, b, the vibrant green of spring would contrast with the gray beautifully, c, the Fire Tower is an iconic structure. Put the three together, the perfect photo opportunity. I quickly pulled over to the side of the road, positioned myself so as to miss the power poles, power lines, and other icky items that will ruin a great photo, and started snapping away with my Droid phone. My husband always says you need to use your phone camera more. It is something that is always with you. The quality is great for a blog photo. It keeps you paying attention to your surroundings. The perfect photo is usually not the one you plan for; it is the one that just happens when the right subject presents itself.

Well, here is the funny part. I just inserted that really great picture. It is so blurry that I can't (won't) use it. I am going back today with a different camera, as it is supposed to be cold, cloudy and raining. Wish me luck.

Two Days Later - Rain Turned To Snow - Memorial Weekend In MT

May - The Circle of Life

"From the day we arrive on the planet..."

Our Wonderful Graduating Friend, Katie

May is a tough time for a lot of people; kids and parents. It is time for kids to leave elementary or middle school top dogs; come fall they will be mere underdogs. It is time for high school students to graduate, leave moms, dads, friends, a supportive community, embark on a new life in a new world. College graduates will leave what has become a replacement home, forced out into the world to do what is expected of them: find a job, no matter where it may take them.

By the way, over and over, I keep running into magazine articles that emphasize the need for students to pick fields of study that actually have jobs available to them when they graduate. Hello! I think that is really, really good advice. You may not want to listen to your mom, but listen to me.

So, I have experienced the transition of my little one from elementary to middle school, middle school to high school, high school to college.  I wouldn't trade any of those experiences. They were all great. But here is the real scoop: it is bitter sweet. We so love our little people. We don't want them to ever change or leave. And, yes, they still seem little, even though they are now our size or larger. They have rocked our worlds. I always say each and every age was my favorite age; and there was nothing terrible about the terrible 2's. Yes, I really say it, and I really mean it.

My little one (21) will be a senior in college this coming fall at Macalester College, 16 hours away from Helena. He has been there for the last three years. I think he is pretty ready to tackle the world. He is one of the very fortunate college juniors to have been selected for a "paid" summer internship. I emphasize the word paid. Not all are paid. As I say, he is very fortunate. He has worked hard, and that hard work has paid off. It would seem he has the world by the tail. I also realize that after this next school year, his life will change yet again; some parts happy, some parts sad.

Some may think of that as the beginning of the end. It is certainly the end of summer vacation as we all know it. Summer is supposed to be a time to sleep in and do only fun things. If your take on life is "the cup is half empty", maybe it is the end. For those of you that think "the cup is half full", it is only the beginning; the beginning of a new chapter.

Summer Fun (and my glass is really half full)

So pony up, and get ready for the ride. It is time to start thinking in terms of "the cup is half full".

If you have young kids, you may be thinking, "Yeah, I have better things to do than read this crazy lady's blog post." If you have a high school graduate this year, you probably have a lump in your throat. If you have a child that graduated years ago, you know way more than I do, so I will defer to you. I am just sitting here in this mom of a junior (life is great) headed to senior (things are going to change) mode, but I am a "cup is half full" person, so it is just the beginning. I welcome the new chapter.

Each end has a new beginning. For every door closing, there is a new door opening. For every person that dies, there is a person that is born.

The circle of life.

By the way, the Lion King was my son's favorite movie. And Elton John is my hero.

"I like circles, and I love life. A match made in heaven." ~ Stella