http://www.globalrichlist.com/


Most links are cheesy, but i love this one

Quiet in the Mornings

This morning i woke up a little on the early side, to enjoy the quiet.
There isnt much quiet around here, but i have discovered that a little bit of quiet comes out in the mornings. If i choose to sleep in , then i miss the quiet...because it hides the entire rest of the day and most of the night.
From my window the street looks like its working in slow motion. Homeless people are moving on the slower side, because they have just woken up. They seem calm and quiet. If they were to ever have a moment of epiphany, a moment of "aha!", a moment of "what am i doing?", i think it would happen in the morning.
Two mornings ago, i ran into two homeless friends of mine. The two of them pretty much flagged me down at a stop light because they were so excited to talk to me. The morning was still pretty quiet. People were still calm. They explained numerous plans of a hopeful future and goals they had set for the day. I was glad to hear them talk about such things, but i took it all with a grain of salt.
Yesterday evening i saw them eating dinner at the Rescue Mission. All the hope that I saw in their eyes in the morning, was drained out. Nothing may have come of what they were so excited to tell me. But I still remain glad for them because i know that they had a small moment of change that morning.

Weekends

Last weekend my cousin Victoria, Cory (Victoria's boyfriend/Roberts best friend), and our friend Chris, all came for a visit to the city! Side note: you are probably thinking, wow, how convenient that Victoria is dating Cory. Tiffany's cousin, dating Robert's best friend. And yes, you are right, it is very convenient and also enjoyable. Anyways, Chris had never been in San Francisco before, so we made sure to do a few touristy things...drive across Golden Gate, dinner at Fisherman's Warf, going down Lombard Street etc. These are things that we never bother to do, so it was really nice to take a day to enjoy the beautiful things that the city has to offer! But i must admit, i was so exhausted!The weather was basically perfect for all the things that they wanted to see and do!This past week Robert completed a project that he was working on...building our LOFT BED!
Our loft bed is pretty much the coolest thing we own. From now on, i will refer to it as "the bird nest". Robert spent a week building the bird nest. He picked out the wood, drew a plan, cut all the wood and build the bird nest! Now that our bed is elevated, we have a lot more space in our tiny room. Here is a pic of the completed bird nest! Robert also cooked a great dinner for some of us up here on the third floor!This weekend has been very relaxing so far. I slept in really late and then took off for a walk to the farmer's market. With a Peet's coffee in my hand, i walked through tons and tons of different organic fruits and veggies, as well as freshly baked muffins, toasted nuts, cheeses, and many breads. The place was packed with people, but somehow i felt like i was in my own little world.
The farmer's market takes place every Saturday at the Ferry Building at the Embarcadero. Most of it is outside, but there is much goodness inside as well. Before i headed back home, i sat at the water and allowed the sun to soak into my pasty white body, while watching the sail boats go by under the bay bridge.
Though the day was beautiful, i am ashamed to say that i spent the rest of it indoors, in my sweats, and mostly in the bird nest watching movies. Ok, thats a lie, i am only half ashamed.
We are all entitled to a day of just mole-ing around every once in a while!

The Old Woman

This is "old woman" who stares at me

from the complex across the street from ours.
Sometimes we eat lunch together, dinner together,
and have staring competitions.
But most of the time, she just scares me, because i will
start to get dressed and realize that i didnt close
the curtains....and there she is! Huge amounts of awkwardness.
I practiced yoga the other evening, and she watched the entire time.
She is super old, so some days when i dont see her at the window, i get really worried.
But she always comes back eventually.

We went on a field trip to Lafayette Reservoir with the entire school. I put sunblock on the kids
but they kept asking me what a sun burn was. This was a very fun day for everyone! The kids went wild!
The little girl on the left is highly into fashion. She lets me know when my outfits are not matching or when my shoes are not matching my purse. On the Reservoir day, she made a special point to wear all camo.
And when i showed up with my huge brown bag and black hoodie, i definitely got a "Mrs. Clark, why are you wearing that purse"?

Last weekend i got to see Melody!!! She was in town so we had a few hours on Sat to see eachother.
We realized that its been over a year since the two of us have been able to hang out and talk.
And talking is exactly what we did! So glad you came over Mel!!!!

Robert and I are doing pretty well. We feel very settled now. Very much at home.
On Fridays I teach a "Purpose Driven Life" class to the homeless. If anyone is interested in donating
copies of Rick Warren's book, please let me know!! I have received 10 so far, but i could use a few more.
Please keep this class in your prayers!

CHANGE

Its an interesting thing to see 100 homeless people sing worship songs together.
Its an interesting thing to see numerous addicts sincerely sing to God.
Its an interesting thing to see the mentally used-up stretch their hands to heaven.
Its an interesting thing to see a man pray for healing, and then gain feeling throughout his body for the first time in years.
Even the ragged, despaired, stuck, and horrendously swallowed up, are aware that there is a higher power.
Beautiful.
For a moment my heart believes that a change can happen.
I want to always feel like a change can happen.
Lives can be renewed.
Addictions can be broken.
Minds can be set free.
Poverty can die and quality of life can begin.

Tonight I can tell myself to sleep.
For this moment my heart believes that a change can happen.

Pictures are coming soon......i promise!

But for now i need to get coffee and try to survive

wardrobe

I get dressed multiple times a day. In the morning i need to look semi professional.
By lunch time, i have to change into something more casual. In the evening im ready to throw on sweats, but if im going out, i change again into a different none working outfit. And by night im dying to put on pajama pants.

I wont lie, today i thought i looked pretty good. Until...... while i was working in the homeless
department, some visiting volunteers offered me dinner and a brochure on a drug rehab center!!!

I laughed as i informed them that despite the fact that i look 16, and now apparently like a homeless person, i am in fact the resident staff.


I guess ive been looking a little more cracked out then i realized!