Question: January 8 - What Song is Stuck in Your Head?

Oh, I'm a Gummy Bear
Yes, I'm a Gummy Bear! 
Oh, I'm a Yummy, Chummy, Funny, Lucky Gummy Bear.
I'm a Jelly bear, Cuz I'm a Gummy bear, 
Oh I'm a movin', groovin', Jammin', Singin' Gummy Bear


Oh Yeah! 


(Gummy Gummy Gummy Gummy Gummy bear) [Pop! ]


Bing ding ba doli party
Zing bing ba doli party
Breding ba doli party party pop


Oh, I'm a Gummy Bear
Yes, I'm a Gummy Bear! 
Oh, I'm a Yummy, Chummy, Funny, Lucky Gummy Bear.
I'm a Jelly bear, Cuz I'm a Gummy bear, 
Oh I'm a movin', groovin', Jammin', Singin' Gummy Bear

Question: January 7 - How Are You Lucky?

*giggles* After yesterday's list, the question book decided to force me into thinking positively. Ok, I'll give that a try. I'm going with the list again.

1. I have a wonderful husband that loves me and cares for me, and is working his tail off to make our life better.
2. I have a home with a bank of windows and a view of the snow covered peaks of Mt. Tomori.
3. I have a couple of amazing friends that I love dearly, and that are always there to talk me though my down days.
4. I have no indoor pets. After house sitting for my parents for a few months this summer and caring for their little dog, this is a really great thing. No more pee.
5. My husband made me some really yummy curried potatoes, green beans, and chick peas today. Mmm.
6. We have electricity, almost always. This is something many people take for granted, but in Albania it's a rarity.
7. Hubby got a new student for private English tutoring, which will bring in a little more money. For food. :)
8. I have a tiny Christmas tree in our bedroom that I refuse to take down. It's cheery.
9. Hubby is letting me wear his warm winter hat with the pompom to bed, which is keeping me very warm.
10. I'm not out of hot chocolate mix YET.

Question: January 6 - Today Was Tough Because...?

You shouldn't have opened this can of worms. Here I am trying to avoid complaining, and you throw a question like this at me. Okay fine, if you want to know I'll tell you. I'll write a list.

1. It's been raining forever. Like, two months.
2. It's incredibly cold. And will be for like, another two months.
3. We don't have heat. Of any kind. My water froze solid on my bedside table last night.
4. Our kitchen is leaking. There is a mini waterfall down the side of the wall and a flood on the floor.
5. We only have running water for an hour a day. This is not just today, this is always. Welcome to Albania.
6. We are so low on money that we have literally gone without eating for several days in a row.
7. We're almost out of hot chocolate mix, which is one of the only happy things in my life right now.
8. I think I may have a cavity from all the hot chocolate.
9. I've lost a lot of weight (in spite of the hot chocolate), and now my wedding ring seems to be getting loose.
10. My clothes are also starting to fall off me, and we can't afford to get new ones. So I look like a scarecrow.

Ok, I'm going to stop now before I drive myself off a cliff. Happy Sixth of January. Pshh.

Question: January 5 - What Was the Last Restaurant You Went To?

Avatar. It's a funny little place on the edge of Berat with a giant billboard out front ripping off the movie Avatar.

When you walk in the gate, you find a cartoon windmill standing fifty feet tall, a tiny door in a hill that looks like a hobbit house. There are ceramic mushrooms sprouting a couple feet tall around the lawn, and peacocks wander freely. You can eat outside under canvas canopies, or cross a wooden foot bridge over an artificial creek to eat indoors, next to a wall mural of the restaurant.

Once when we were having dinner inside, a flash of brown fur darted under our table. I thought it was a puppy, and wondered what it was doing inside the restaurant. I reached down to pet it and felt horns - it wasn't a puppy at all, but a baby goat. In one quick bound, the kid leaped into my lap and made a move for my salad. The waiter quickly removed the animal to outside the restaurant, but as soon as the door opened with the next customer it was back inside and hunting for a real meal.

If this all sounds too ridiculous to be true, come visit Albania. Everything here is just a little bit wacked.

Question: January 4 - What Was the Best Part of Today?

Today wasn't the greatest day. It was drizzling, bone-chillingly cold, muddy, and dreary.

I spent most of the day curled up in bed with a winter hat on, shivering and feeling sorry for myself. I don't think I ate, at least not a real meal. I think I ate crackers and my gummy multi-vitamins.

But there was a bright spot. It happened when my husband opened the door to our bedroom, holding a cup of steaming hot chocolate. He set it down on my bedside table (actually its a bucket turned upside down with a slab of leftover floor tile on top... we still can't afford furniture), and then climbed into bed with me. He curled up around me, wrapped his arms around me, and whispered "I love you".

Question: January 3 - What Are You Reading Right Now?

I adore books. They are practically my life blood. It says in my bio that my ideal day is finding a library sale with dozens of beautiful, hardcover, non-fiction books on sale for nickles. The very thought makes me shiver with excitement.

But during our move to Albania, our poor books had to be left behind. We could take just two suitcases each, and even though I managed to cram a couple favorite volumes into those bags, my love for shoes held me just a little bit stronger. So our enormous, fantastical library sits carefully wrapped in tissue and secured in boxes in a closet in central Florida, waiting for the day when I can come release them and open them once more.

So in answer to the question of the day? Nothing really. I have dozens of blogs I frequent, but somehow I don't feel it truly qualifies as reading unless you can hold the book in front of you. But if I have to pick something specific, I'll go with one very special and beautiful blog. Kelle Hampton's - Enjoying The Small Things. www.kellehampton.com

Go find it, read it, bookmark it. It's full of glittering gems everyday.

Question: January 2 - Can People Change?

Can people change themselves? Yes and no. There are some things people can change about themselves - their appearance, their attitudes, their behaviors. A habit can be formed in just 30 days. But can people change their core being, their real self? No. Not alone anyway.

That takes the power of Someone stronger. It takes a total transformation at the hand of One who knows no limitations. So yes... people can change. If they relinquish their will and hand over their life to be transformed by the renewing of their mind.