Date Night

My husband came up to me earlier this week and suggested we implement a weekly date night. We can each come up with something fun we want to do and we will find one night a week to go on a date and do whatever we've come up with. Tonight is our first one and we are doing dinner and a movie. I am so happy we've decided to do this. I think its really important to keep that romantic spark alive. It's so easy to fall into the routine of life and marriage and sort of lose yourself in that and lose that spark that attracted you to each other in the first place. I don't know if we'll manage to keep it up, but I really hope we do. I think its a great idea. If anything, its nice to have a change of pace and get out of the house and be together for things other than errands. So, I am really looking forward to tonight.

On a different note, things are looking up at work, there is a role I am being considered for which means I will be losing my current job but most likely won't be out of a job altogether. We shall see how that turns out, but things are looking positive. Also, I am really looking forward to seeing my family next week to spend Thanksgiving with them. I think I'm going to have a blast. And later this year I'm going to Italy with my sister. So, while 2009 started out on a bit of a sour note and has been a tough year, it may just end on a great note...We shall wait and see!!!

Life in Limbo

So - I haven't posted anything here for a while because I was waiting for some resolutions in my life which I was hoping I could then blog about. However, as my life has been for the past 5 months, I'm still in limbo. The areas I was referring to were my condo situation in atlanta (been trying to fight off foreclosure since early june) and my job(company is restructuring, letting lots of people go, and my role is impacted, just didn't know how)...The condo thing has dragged on and on, but we have been approved for a short-sale by the bank. however, per the bank we have to close tomorrow. I am hoping we will, but I still need to negotiate with the 2nd mortgage people so they release the lien on the condo and I haven't heard anything from my realtor. This situation has been dragging on forever and its driving me nuts...With work, I am also just waiting...the good news is they seem happy with me and want to try to find something for me, the bad news is, there is no guarantee we will find something, but we'll see how it goes...It's this whole being in limbo that just stinks...To make matters worse, two of my cousins have had some major health scares lately (major heart surgery and prostate surgery due to cancer)...Oh yeah and my Uncle passed away 3 months ago...This year has not been very kind to me, but its ok, we all have one of those years I think. 2009 will probably go down in the books for me as one of crappiest years ever...as it will for many people I suspect, considering the economic downfall the world as a whole has experienced...All things considered, I have it pretty good.. Never the less, I just needed to vent a bit...its been frustrating to say the least...Hopefully, things will turn out positively...Only time will tell...Tic,Toc...

Been a while...

It's been about a month since I last wrote anything on here. I didn't feel like I had much to write about. Actually, there are several things going on in my life which I am waiting for resolutions on and was hoping to have those and be able to blog about it, but I'm still waiting...Hopefully, things will work out and it will be a happy blog post, when and if I ever find out...

I don't have a whole lot to share at the moment. I read another article today about how women are mistreated in Afghanistan and it really angered me. I don't understand how it is possible for people to suppress 50% of their population. I can't fathom how they think its ok to kill someone who has "displeased" her husband, and oh by the way, she is only 15 years old, and oh by the way, she was forced to marry an older man at age 11...For heaven's sake, there is something seriously wrong with that picture and in my eyes it has nothing to do with the girl displeasing her husband...Shoot, I'd have been killed about 500 hundred times by now if that were law here, and vice versa...It's so sickening...This world is seriously, SO messed up!!! I just can't process it...Every day you read the news and its one awful, disgusting story after another...What is wrong with people??? NO ENTIENDO!!! That is the bottom line, i just DON'T get it...And the funny thing is, you hear about all this junk and think yeah its screwed up world, at the same time, I know SO many wonderful people. In my own life alone, my parents, my sisters, some of my friends, ALL amazing human beings who help others, are kind, good, warm, caring, just, I mean I could go on and on...How is it possible for the good and bad to coexist? I don't get how hard it is for people to just be good...why is that so difficult? I am feeling very baffled right now about the injustices of this world and the apathy of those "unaffected" and the inequality that exists...It's pretty pathetic, its the year 2009, you would think the world would have progressed further by now...

Time to make a change

My sister sent me a link to an article yesterday about the suffering women around the world go through and programs in place that actually help empower them, as well as, the impact it has to the world in general when women aren't held back. In reading the article, which is quite long, but quite interesting, I got to thinking about my own life. I have always known it, but reading these types of articles, reinforce the fact that I have led an extremely privileged life. I have complaints, as most people do, and think I suffer, but the truth is, it could be SOOOOOOOOOO much worse....I feel guilty for ever thinking I have suffered. My life has been a fairytale compared to some of the women described in the article. It's a joke. They don't have lives. It's ridiculous!!! I was talking to P last night and saying how crazy it is that some people have probably laughed very rarely in their lives because there really is nothing to laugh about. I can't even begin to imagine.

Reading the article just reiterated the fact that this world is desperate for change. Not the kind of change we humans bring about, because clearly we haven't succeeded in the way we should, but rather something only a Divine Being could offer. If you read the teachings of Bahá'u'lláh and see what the Bahá'í Faith offers, it truly is the Divine Elixir. The solutions are there, in His teachings, but it is going to take quite an effort before the world puts it into practice, for real, not just as a temporary fix. We each need to do our part, and its not sufficient to just "be good". I need to drill this idea in my own head and do something to make a change in this world; otherwise, my life is a waste. I think it goes beyond just being the change we want to see in the world, i mean that is great and necessary, but it needs to be systematic and reaching beyond just those in our immediate surroundings. It's time for everyone to wake up and smell the coffee. People are suffering and its NOT OK to just acknowledge the fact, think what a shame, and move on with our lives as normal...We need to stand up and help right an extremely, grievous wrong!!! The wheels in my head are turning. I need to be different!!!

Diary Entry

I've been back just under a week and its taken some adjusting. I find that its harder and harder to leave my parents, maybe because I know our time together is limited, maybe recently its because of the passing of my Uncle, I don't really know what it is, but I feel a hole not having them around. I don't like it. I don't like being so far away. There are definite perks to living in sweden, like the time off, but I am finding it really hard to be so far away from my loved ones. I am not happy about it.

Last night, I dreamt about Uncle John for the first time since he passed. It was nice to see him. He looked good in my dream. It was a strange dream, but cool to have that connection in the world of dreams.

Today was my first day back at the office(worked from home last week) and I find that I enjoy it. I like working, weird as that may seem. I think maybe I feel useful, not sure what it is, regardless, it was nice to be back in the office. I have a feeling its going to be very busy here over the next few months, so that will prob make time fly, which will be good. I need some distractions. I've had too much stress in my life recently, things that I can't control, I am ready for stress I can control(work related) to occupy my mind vs the other stuff. Last night, I couldn't sleep because i couldn't shut my mind off. I wish I knew how to do that, but I don't seem capable.

I bought an itouch, its awesome! I am really happy with my purchase. I also bought some speakers to plug it into and they are great...Think its one of my best purchases yet. Thank goodness for modern technology!!! It never ceases to amaze me!!!

The inevitable

It's been a while again since I have posted anything. A lot has happened since my last post. I flew home to visit my parents about a week and a half ago. Two days after, my uncle, my dad's twin brother, passed away. I flew to Canada with my parents for his funeral and memorial service. My sister flew in from Haifa. Both events, funeral and service, were beautiful. I am glad the whole family was able to be together during such a difficult time. It was almost unimaginable, at first, and even sometimes still, to think that my Uncle is no longer on this earth (physically). Entering his home, and him not being there, for the first time, was quite emotional for me, as were the events held in his honor the rest of the week. It was nice to see how many lives he touched based on the outpouring of love and condolences we have experienced this past week. My heart is sad for those of us left behind, but happy for him. I ache for the pain my father will feel, no doubt, when he feels like picking up the phone to speak to his brother and can't. On the other hand, I rejoice in the fact that my uncle suffered quite minimally, all things considered, and didn't go through a long, arduous decline in health at the end. We all know he is in better place, so again, I don't mourn for him, but for us.

I returned from Canada yesterday and have a few more days to spend with my parents in PR. I am grateful to have that time. Things are still uncertain for me, upon my return to Europe, as far as work is concerned, but somehow, I think things will work out. I will be happy to see my hubby. I have missed him a great deal. I am also looking forward to seeing my little Bebo, the cutie misses me and I miss him.

After this past week, I realized how lucky I have been in my life so far and I am sincerely grateful for all of it. I have a wonderful family, some terrific friends, and the greatest gift of all, I am a member of the Bahá'í Faith. It was so visible to all of us that the reason my Uncle dealt with his cancer with such grace and anticipated his death, rather than feared it, was because of his Faith. One of the last things he uttered while on this earth was how lucky he was to have been a part of a such a wonderful global community(referring to the Bahá'í community) and that is was thanks to a decision his parents made about 100 years ago...I wholeheartedly agree, thank you Mommy and Daddy!

Last few weeks

It's been a few weeks since I posted anything here, so here goes. The past few weeks have been rather uneventful. Weather is finally nice here, but let's see how long it actually lasts, hopefully it will be all summer. I have seen some good movies, particulary, "The Proposal", its awesome! I really loved it. Very feelgood movie. Tonight, I am on my way to see "Transformers 2", looking forward to that.

I am headed home in a few weeks for some vacation and am quite looking forward to it. I think it will be great to get time to take a break and just relax. I have had some stressful things going on recently, and just want to take a breather.

Don't have a whole lot more to update on really. Hope everyone is doing ok.