This is really cool – and really sad

Saw this on the Today Show yesterday morning – was really impressed with the photographers vision.  Enjoy (but be sad too).

NBC TODAY Show - Pollution Photographer Sees Art in Waste

World Malaria Day

Today is World Malaria Day.  Malaria kills more than 2,000 innocent children every day.  EVERY DAY.  Heartbreaking.  To find out more about World Malaria Day and how we can help to reduce the number of children threatened– visit www.endmalaria.org

It’s Earth Day!

Happy Earth Day, friends!  Of course, not all households celebrate this day (I can assure you the Zamzows in Michigan are not! :) – not because they don’t appreciate the earth’s beauty – but because my dad would say it’s too “left” and only for “environmental wackos” – love you poppa!) – alas, he was given a daughter who is an environmental wacko.  And, we Dallas Wallaces LOVE Earth Day!  To celebrate we’re heading to the Zoo with my sister-in-law Jen, and the young Zamzow boys!  Best place in Dallas to appreciate all of Earth’s beauty (in my totally unbiased opinion!).

So, my suggestion for your personal celebration of Earth Day – get outside and enjoy the beauty.  Maybe use less water while thinking of those who don’t have access to clean water.  But, be thankful and be amazed.

“Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul.”  -John Muir

Yellowstone, one my most favorite places in the world

Joshua Tree Natl. Park – REALLY want to go there

Channel Islands – destination Wallace Anniversary 2009

Beauty close to home…

High Fructose Corn Syrup – No More!

(Well, no more this week!)  Donald and I have realized that we are addicted to sweets.  You think I’m kidding – I wish I were.  Unfor. it’s true!  We LOVE sweets.  And I think more than the average “yum, I think a brownie-sounds-good” type of person.  We are trying to break that addiction.  We’ve tried before – and sadly, failed pretty quickly.  But, we’re starting small and hopefully building up to something that is a much healthier way of living.  We’re canning High fructose corn syrup from our diet.  This week we won’t be consuming it.  I am SO curious to see if we feel really different come next Sunday evening.  It is bizarre to see what has HFCS in it – even rice krispies do!  But, here we go…

(Also, I have read a few articles saying that if we all consumed less HFCS we would have a much healthier planet too!  Haha, I’ve got to get my plug in for that as well!)

Grandma’s Rolls

I have the sweetest, most wonderful Grandma.  If you met her; you would say the same.  She is the picture-book version of what any great Grandma should be.  And she is a fantastic baker.  I tried to bring a bit of our Grandma down for our Easter Celebration Dinner with my brother and his family.  Big (well, actually quite little) shoes to fill!  I decided to make my Grandma’s delicious rolls (I actually found out that my Great-Grandma made these rolls too, which made the experience that much more sweet).

Using live yeast – quite intimidating!  Rise once, beat down, rise again…here they are during their 2nd round of rising:

The finished product – not near as good as my Grandma’s, but she’s got sixty years on me!  I don’t know if they’ll every be as tasty, but it’ll be a sweet tribute each time that I make them.

Indeed

¹²But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? ¹³If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. ¹⁴And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. ¹⁵More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. ¹⁶For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. ¹⁷And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. ¹⁸Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. ¹⁹If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.

²⁰But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead.

Happy Easter, Friends!!

Good Friday

Yesterday is definitely a day where I have so many emotions.  The full spectrum.  I think that is probably how we’re supposed to feel.  Read this on Desiring God Blog – it is encouraging to me.

CHRISTIAN:

Hello, Death, my old enemy. My old slave-master. Have you come to talk to me again? To frighten me?

I am not the person you think I am. I am not the one you used to talk to. Something has happened. Let me ask you a question, Death.

Where is your sting?

DEATH, sneeringly:

My sting is your sin.

CHRISTIAN:

I know that, Death. But that’s not what I asked you. I asked, where is your sting? I know what it is. But tell me where it is.
Why are you fidgeting, Death? Why are you looking away? Why are you turning to go? Wait, Death, you have not answered my question. Where is your sting?

Where is, my sin?
What? You have no answer? But, Death, why do you have no answer? How will you terrify me, if you have no answer?

O Death, I will tell you the answer. Where is your sting? Where is my sin? It is hanging on that tree. God made Christ to be sin—my sin. When he died, the penalty of my sin was paid. The power of it was broken. I bear it no more.
Farewell, Death. You need not show up here again to frighten me. God will tell you when to come next time. And when you come, you will be his servant. For me, you will have no sting.

O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.
But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory
through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:55-57)

A mental picture to laugh at…

This is fast blogging – this just happened about 15 minutes ago, and I’m still laughing, so I thought I’d blog about it.

The culprit: 

There has been this little black cat (NOT a kitten – just so you don’t think I’m a jerk later) around our house all day today.  Saw him this morning, and I’ve seen him this afternoon.  Well, he strolled right up on our back patio and sat in the corner.  Oslo, since he’s got a lot of territory to cover, HA – each window – didn’t see him.  So, I thought I’d help him out.  (Side note here – while I love animals, I love no cat as much as I love Oslo, and I also love animal interactions).  I opened the deadbolt – which sent Oslo sprinting to the backdoor.  Black cat: just staring at me intensely.  Next – I opened the door.  Oslo didn’t even see the cat – what a dummy.  So, the other cat took off (hooray for being intimidating, Oslo!) and Oslo ran after him – but only to the fence line, where he then rolled in the dirt (gross!). 

Then I did it – I closed the door.  It was slow-motion agony, because I realized as I was closing it that I hadn’t unlocked the actual handle.  And of course, Abi is sleeping.

OK – be calm, go next door – Todd & Anne have a key – of course, not home.  Alright – call Donald’s parents – yep, out of town.  Donald will be home before they could get back from Florida.  AHHHHH!!  I just sat down and started to get a bit panicky – and then I remembered, when I got home I had opened one (only one!) window to get some fresh air in the house.  HOORAY.  So, I ran to the front of the house, yanked the screen off of the window.  And then the funny starts.  The window is about 3 1/2 feet off of the ground.  And I was wearing pants that still don’t fit me the same since abi.   I prepared myself, swung my leg up over the ledge, and heard a rip.  Now, I’m hanging out of our window with half of my body inside and half out – with cars driving by (just one or two) and laughing.  Then I pulled myself in – and the old window sill breaks away from the dry wall a bit – gotta love original woodwork.  Awesome.

BUT, I’m in.  And Abi’s still sleeping.

More

When I let myself I can dream up a pretty outstanding vision for our future.  I can imagine an amazing existence in which we want for nothing and spend our time joyfully helping our fellow man and making others well.  I visualize a beloved vocation (still changes quite a bit as to the specifics) where my skills and expertise quickly become unrivaled and are so valuable.   And in this castle in the sky our family is always humble, grateful, and happy.

And yet, the God who equipped us with our imaginations does not intend to compete with them.  God doesn’t promise a host of specifics as to what our lives will be, he simply says He’ll do more.  I felt a strange sense of peace this morning at church on these thoughts.  As sweet as my “castle in the sky” seems to me it rests on my ability and depends on my steadfastness.  What a treasure to have found a hope that is not only “more”, but that is secured by him who is true, loving and capable.

Sadness and Laughter that only Zoo folks would understand

Abi and I were waiting outside my friend’s apartment complex before we drove her to the airport today.  We were sitting on the curb (abi was going to have a bit of time in the car, so I needed to take advantage of the time to stretch her legs!) and looking at all of the flowers – when I saw what appeared to be a very large bloom of a plant at the front end of our car.  We went to investigate.  BOOO, it was a beautiful little bird.  Abi and I talked about how sad that such a beautiful little bird would be found at the end of our car.  It was really bizarre because it just looked like the bird was tired and decided that the end had come.  It was a perfect little specimen.  But, I couldn’t identify the bird – so we just waited for Jenna.  Jenna and I used to work at the Zoo together until she got recruited by the Audubon- now she’s a bird expert!  So, Jenna ID’d the bird as a Cedar Waxwing.  Then Jenna said that this was such a perfect specimen that it would be silly to waste it – she really should collect it and save it for work.  This, of course, got me laughing.  And of course, Abi was laughing while trying to reach for it – my gross, little animal lover.  In the end, Jenna actually got the managers to hold the bird in a basket until her boyfriend Michael could come by and pick it up for her – all while potential leasers were watching.  I can only imagine what they were thinking.

But, a little biofact for you:  The cedar waxwing is vulnerable to alcohol intoxication and death after eating fermented fruit.

Freedom

I haven't "blogged" in a long time... maybe not at all this year.

But now, thanks to the fine people at Bank of America, I am free to blog whenever I want. Also, I am quite confident that all have missed my witty and interesting comments. Sure, no one has said anything to me about this specifically, but there has been an unmistakable "feeling".