Everything is Unfinished

It’s high time for me to get back on the ol’ blogwagon here. Various events over the past 4-6 weeks have kept me from it, but I’m back, baby! If you haven’t heard about our trip to Orlando last week, Johnny has some highlights over on his blog. I have to say that even though I’m a Disney lover, I too thought that Universal Studios kicked the mouse’s ass. Consider this: I don’t like roller coasters, but I rode every one of them at Universal (except for the Jurassic Park water ride). The Incredible Hulk ride is now my favorite coaster ever, edging out The Outer Limits at King’s Island. Ooh, but I forgot about Face/Off at King’s Island. Hmm, it looks like I need a list!

Amy’s Top Five Roller Coaster
5. Raptor at Cedar Point
4. Dueling Dragons at Universal Studios Islands of Adventure
3. The Outer Limits: Flight of Fear at King’s Island
2. Face/Off at King’s Island
1. The Incredible Hulk Coaster at Universal Studios Islands of Adventure

Now, it may seem odd that someone who doesn’t like roller coasters could have a list of 5 favorites. The thing is, I don’t like hills. No thank you. I even get a little fluttery in my stomach on log rides like Splash Mountain (which is why I sat out the Jurassic Park ride - that hill was way too big for me). Inversion, however, is my cup o’ proverbial tea! That’s what originally got me on the Raptor at good old Cedar Point: lots of loops and twists. And I learned an important lesson on that ride too - if there’s nothing under my feet, I’m ok. So even though the Raptor has that one big hill to get you started, I do pretty well with it. Then I met the Flight of Fear. It was one of the first coasters to use electromagnets to shoot you off, so you didn’t need a big hill to gain speed. That’s a coaster I can get along with! So on my list, 2 of the coasters do that (Hulk and Outer Limits) and the other 3 are hanging.

That’s right - last night, Johnny and I bought some goats. Two, to be precise. Luckily, we won’t be keeping them at our house: we bought them for a family in Rwanda. Last night I was surfing around to my usual websites and on The Rainforest Site (part of The Hunger Site network) I saw something called a Rwandan Goat Kit. I was intrigued - was it a kit to make a stuffed goat? A goat seed to grow your own goat? I checked it out, and here’s what it said:

Goats for Rwandan Families Kit
Rwanda, the mostly densely populated country in Africa, is small and poor, with an average per capita income of only $1300 a year. Lacking in natural resources and industry, Rwanda remains a nation of subsistence farmers. The devastating genocide in 1994 when 750,000 were killed further impoverished many people. We sell baskets and ornaments from Rwanda which are made by an artisan women’s group as a way to provide income to Rwandan women, many of whom were widowed in the civil war. These baskets provide an additional source of cash income, and an opportunity for both Tutsi and Hutu to work together.

We believe we can do more for the families of the 400 women that make our baskets.

You can help one of these families — not just for one day or one week, but for years to come — by providing a pair of healthy adult goats to help the family’s nutrition and income.

This project, exclusive to The Hunger Site Network, will provide a family in rural Rwanda with two goats (one male and one female) plus instructions and training on goat care.

• Goats are a valuable asset for families and communities around the world, but many people cannot afford them.

• Goats can graze even on poor, dry land unsuitable for other livestock.
• Goats can supply a family with several quarts of milk each day — important nutrition for undernourished children.
• Extra milk can be made into cheese or yogurt and sold to make extra money for the family.
• Goat manure can be used to fertilize gardens and fields.
• Goats often have two or three kids a year, enabling families to start small dairies.
• With their earnings, families can afford food, education and health care.

An average per capita income of $1300?? We spend more than that each month on things that aren’t even our rent or bills. And the pair of goats was only $49.95. I know to some people, that’s a lot of money to be giving away to someone on the other side of the world. But hell, we spent $50 yesterday just on food and some shopping, so I felt that we were in a good enough financial state to do this. Plus, as an added bonus, by buying these goats through the Hunger Site network store, Gear that Gives, we also saved 6870 square feet of rainforest. It’s a win-win situation!

If you’re interested in buying some goats, the info can be found here on this page. You can also buy sheep or cows but they’re a little more expensive.

Oh, and I can’t forget, Happy St. Patrick’s day! I can’t wait for corned beef and cabbage tonight, yum.

I’m still here. Feeling much better over all, but things are busy at work where I usually do my posting. Just wanted to see if there was something screwy with the layout here? Wendie says the left column is overlapping the main column, but it looks fine on my home and work computers. Anyone else see anything amiss?