computer woes...

Sorry it has been so long guys. My laptop died - this time it is for real. It won't even turn on. So I am forced to use our old desktop dinosaur until I get the chance to go shopping for a new computer. And with 18 credit hours, volunteering 2 days a week, 3 kids, a home to keep up, and the Pine Ridge trip... I don't have time for shopping! Nor do I have the cash since 18 credit hours meant 6 classes worth of over-priced textbooks. Alas, here I am on the dinosaur. I shouldn't complain. I am healthy, warm, well-fed, and very blessed to have a back-up computer. Things could be much worse. However, pictures won't be posted until a new computer arrives. And I am hoping and praying that my old harddrive can be restored so I can retrieve the millions of pictures I had stored on it.

I have been volunteering from 9am-1pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays for the American Indian Center. While the AIC's main goals are to provide services and education for the Native American community in the Chicago area, they also run a food pantry out of the basement for the local people needing assistance with food, clothing, medical supplies, and so on. That is where I volunteer. I process donations of clothing and household items and help with paperwork on Tuesdays. On Thursdays I fill bags with the food items and pass them out to the community members. I am endearingly known as "Blue Eyes" by both the Natives that operate the center, as well as the community members that come to the pantry. I have made some wonderful new friends and actually look forward to going every Tuesday and Thursday. It has really changed my life. I think before I make every purchase, "Do I NEED this, or do I just WANT this?" I also have learned to look beyond advertising and packaging and consider who and what went into the process of the items I am purchasing and consuming: a farmer, a migrant worker, a factory employee, a truck driver, a grocery store employee... Therefore I have really started to make conscious decisions about what I buy, where I shop, and why I am buying certan things. Things like "fair trade," "organic," "locally grown," and "environmentally friendly" are all items I look for now. It is a little bit more expensive than what I used to buy, but I m trying to waste less, purchase less, and only buy what we NEED - not so much what we WANT. I actually felt guilty about all the stuff I had in my closets and on my shelves after my 2nd or 3rd day at the AIC. So I cleaned out all the stuff I never wear, use, or even remembered owning and will take it to the AIC for the people who come on Thursday. And I am asking my kids to do the same. To my surprise, they all came with no less than 5 good-condition toys within 10 minutes of my asking. And they promised to do more this weekend when they have more time to devote to the task. My goal is to reduce the amount of stuff we have collected over the past 12 years out of that American consumerism mindframe - that "He who has the most stuff is the winner" ideology. The LaFramboise's are going to live simply from now on. That doesn't mean we are going to starve our children, never buy them a gift, or never go on vacation. It just means we are going to reduce our materialism and make ethical decisions about each and every purchase.
And today - I have to really stop and debate an apple fritter at Dunkin Donuts on my way to class. :-)

Also, more good news...
The participants of the Pine Ridge trip have been announced.
1. Stephanie Weis
2. Taras Kozbur
3. Alicia Atteberry
4. Slavica Petrovic
5. Chris Walsh
6. (ME!)
We leave on May 15th for 2.5 weeks of service-learning at the poorest place in America. I can't wait. Seriously, it is growing more difficult everyday to contain my excitement. I think I am driving Slavica, Jamie, and Dr. Amick crazy.

Update on the kids:
Andrew tried out for the basketball team yesterday. He should know by next Monday if he made the cut. He is growing his hair out. He wants it to look like a surfer or soccer player, whatever that means. I don't mind as long as he combs it and doesn't ever ask me for a perm.

Sarah is the same as always. CRAZY about Joe Jonas and Selena Gomez. She will be 9 in a few weeks. That means I am old.

Simon will be 6 next week. He has strep throat and a double ear infection. Poor thing. But the yummy pink medicine has made him feel much better and his energy has returned. He even helped Jamie put together 2 bookshelves and relocate my monsterous desk to the master bedroom so I have a quiet place to study. He was "Handy Manny" and Jamie was "Bob the Builder."

That's about it for now. I have to get to Photography class soon. I am not sure how I feel about this class. It is not what I expected. But I will try my hardest to keep up and figure out what the heck the instructor is talking about. :-)

Have a good week,
Kelly