Touring Israel

So we arrived in Tel Aviv just as the sun was setting, having seen sunrise over the Atlantic just a few hours before, which was pretty strange. It was a couple hours by bus to the kibbutz where we're staying, and even though it was morning at home, I was exhausted and went to bed as quickly as possible.

The next morning we set out on a tour of the Galilee. I was amused by the title on the side of our bus - "Nazarene Express". It made me think of the Pony Express, and I had a bizarre mental picture of Jesus zipping by on a galloping donkey...

Anyway, it's about 20 minutes from the kibbutz, by bus, up the side of the mountain, and then it's a 15 minute hike up to the top from there. We saw lots of interesting things - mine field warning signs, tomb-caves, a sarcophagus, and the remains of a Roman road, which took us into the "downtown" part of the city.

Anyway, this is one of the ruined churches on Hippos, and behind it is the hall where we eat breakfast - it's a more modern structure that was built by the Israelis sometime in the last century.

Tomorrow I'll post photos of the section of Hippos I'm digging in - I'm too tired to even dig out my camera at the moment!

After our tour of Hippos, we went to Kursi, which is a site that commemorates the casting of the demons into the swine. Said event may or may not have happened there, but a monastery was built there, and is now an interesting set of ruins. Kursi is also home to the largest aloe vera plant I've ever seen...

Then we went on to Capernaum, which is mentioned in the Bible quite often. There is a church there built over ruins of a church built over ruins of what is supposedly St. Peter's house. Again, that may or may not be the case, but it's a beautiful site right on the lake. We ran into a few hundred Anglican tourists there - part of a conference that was happening in Jerusalem. It was crowded, but pretty cool to see so many Bishops in one place!

After that we went to Tabgha, which is the site that commemorates the feeding of the five thousand. There's a church built around the rock that Jesus laid the loaves and fishes on... I don't know about that, but the church has beautiful mosaics and was really interesting to see

For our last stop we went to a more modern church which is built on a hill overlooking the lake, and it commemorates the sermon on the mount. It was pretty windy up there - my hat took off and I had to go chasing after it. That was pretty exciting... Then we went back to the kibbutz, and was starving, so I ended up going off and finding dinner on my own. I've never been overseas before, never mind navigating a foreign restaurant all by myself, so that was an adventure. You know how when you go to a lot of places they give you bread or something to tide you over till the food comes? I was served bite-sized peices of deep fried pita, and wasn't even sure was it was at first...thanfully the waitress' English wasn't too bad!

Today we got up at 4 am and heading up for our first day of digging. I did kill a scorpion - without any screaming, I might add... I also found some pottery shards, bruised my hands using a big hoe, got to know some pretty cool people, and went for a swim in the Sea of Galilee with said cool people. It's been a good day, but I am all done in...time to read and possibly nap before an evening church service by the lake...awesome!

Arrived

Yay! We made it to Tel Aviv - it's just after 7:30 pm here, but according to my internal clock it's not even lunch time yet. We're heading out to take a bus for 2-3 hours to the kibbutz, and then hopefully to bed ASAP. We're touring the Galilee region tomorrow - looking forward to that! I don't know when I'll have internet again - hopefully Sunday or Monday.

Tomorrow

I can't believe I'm leaving tomorrow already...ahhhhhhhh! I've got a ton of stuff I need to do, and quite a few things I just want to do as well - hopefully I can fit it all in. I just need to get through a few more hours of work, and then I can focus on all the other stuff I need to do. When I blog again, I'll be in Israel! Yay!

Ladies...do you like bathing suit shopping??!!

http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/arts/story.html?id=3cba0f93-93cb-40d9-be7a-db81d5acae84

I absolutly loathe it - my goal in life is to find a comfortable, modest, yet nice-looking, bathing suit that will actually stay where it's supposed to when you jump into a pool. So far that holy grail of bathing suits has eluded me, but I found this news article that gives me hope...this might just be the solution!

http://www.canada.com/topics/lifestyle/style/story.html?id=a52dba18-e9eb-4926-a24f-3c56aa445815

Sink or swim

Calgary custom swimwear maker lessens the horror of bathing suit shopping

Shopping for a bathing suit has always been a special kind of hell, real or imagined, for most women.
Every woman -- unless you're a supermodel and, let's face it, even they have issues with their thighs, tummies and butts too -- hates shoehorning herself into an itsy, bitsy and then checking herself out in a teeny, weeny dressing room lit with hideously unflattering fluorescent lights.
Worse than the realization you will have to actually wear the offending item in public, finding a great swimsuit that fits well all over and is flattering seems like mission impossible. And with many of us fleeing the frozen north for sunny destinations such as Mexico and Hawaii in the next few months, the pressure is on.
That's where Calgarian Chelsea LaBossiere can help.
Inside her basement suite in northeast Calgary, the seamstress lessens the loathing of Lycra. While she can't do anything about stretch marks or cellulite, LaBossiere, who makes custom-made swimsuits, eases the pain of buying a bathing suit. "That's a big thing for me -- making people comfortable," says the 32-year-old small business owner.
LaBossiere's company, Caba Fashions, has been in Calgary since 2003, when she bought it from her former employer in Grand Forks, B.C.
With LaBossiere's help, customers first pick out a bunch of bathing suits to try on from her sample rack that contains more than 60 suits. Mixing and matching is strongly encouraged. She can whip up every kind of swimwear, from tankinis, triangle suits, halter tops and bandeaus, to boy shorts, string bikinis, sports suits or lounging-by-the-pool confections.
Customers can also bring in magazine pictures of their favourite suit for LaBossiere to work from.
Need more coverage on the bottom, but like a higher cut at the thigh to lengthen the legs? LaBossiere can do it. She has about 100 different patterns and stitches together the suits on her four commercial sewing machines inside her sewing room.
Once a style has been chosen, LaBossiere pulls out her swatch binder and customers flip through dozens of different fabrics, all of which she has on hand.
She has seen every kind of suit on every kind of body and that experience helps her counsel customers on the best style and fit for their bodies.
"I am honest with people," she says.
She's honest, but gentle in her appraisal of what looks good. (To be honest, it felt a little like therapy, a bathing suit breakthrough, of sorts for this reporter who sampled LaBossiere's wares. And the resulting swimsuit turned out great.)
LaBossiere's mantra: Make her customers feel a little more confident and happy in their suits, as best she can.
"It's the smallest piece of clothing you will wear in public. It's important to feel comfortable in it. . . . It's like going outside in your underwear," she says.
The average custom-made suit costs $60, but prices range from $42 to $80. Don't, however, expect instant gratification.
Sewing is LaBossiere's passion, but it's also her night job. She works full time as an advertising assistant Monday to Friday and fits sewing in on evenings and weekends.
Depending on how busy she is, LaBossiere takes two to three weeks to make suits. (She also sews gymnastics and skating wear.) It only takes her an hour to actually make a swimsuit, but she often has a backlog of orders.
For more information, e-mail caba2003@telus.net or call 244-8255.

Dig Info

Here's a link to the official site for our excavation...
http://www.virtualdig.org/index.htm

It has links to the blogs of other people on the team, bios of everyone going, information on Hippos, Israel, archaeology, past seasons of digging - there's lots of interesting stuff there - check it out!

15 days to go - I can't believe how fast it's coming! I still have a ton of stuff to do...I had my tetanus shot on Monday, and my arm is killing me. It was at it's worst yesterday - I couldn't even carry my medium steeped tea triple triple back from Timmy's without it hurting. I bet they don't have triple triple anything in Israel...eeeek...

Bizzare...

I was just in the photocopy room, looking for a binder to put this client's financial disclosure into, my mind totally on tax returns and credit card statements and such, and I had the strangest conversation...

Co-worker: "Do you mind if I ask you a question? Don't be offended, but you're so quiet. Are you LDS?"
Me: (mishearing and thinking LSD...) Pardon?
Co-worker: LDS. It's a church I belong to - I have it on my resume. You're so quiet and I heard you mention your church once, so I wondered if you belonged to the same one.
Me: (realizing she mean Mormon) Ummm, no, I'm Lutheran.
Co-worker: Oh, yah, that's a good church too.
Me: (smiling politely as I back slowly out of the room)

How weird is that? Not only is she so NOT a quiet person, I never associated being quiet with any particular religion. And why on earth would you put your religious affiliation on your resume? That's just opening the door for all kinds of trouble! It was so strange...

Calgary Philharmonic LIVE

I'm a big fan of the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra (the CPO). If you've never been, you're missing out! They're good - billed as one of the best in North America, and they don't just do classical stuff. This upcoming season has such a good line up - I'm SOOOO excited. If you order your tickets in bulk before the season starts, you get a discount. I'm going to place my order before I leave for Israel (24 days!!) - do you want to come with me to any of the shows? I'm going to:

• Swing, Swing, Swing on Saturday, September 13, 2008 at 8 pm
• Christmas with Natalie McMaster on Tuesday, December 9, 2008 at 8 pm
• Stairway to Heaven - the music of Led Zeppelin on Friday, January 30, 2009 at 8 pm
• Vivaldi's Gloria on Saturday, February 7, 2009 at 7:30 pm
• The Andrew Lloyd Webber Experience on Saturday, March 14, 2009 at 8 pm
• Vivaldi's Four Seasons on Saturday, March 28, 2009 at 8 pm
• Three Worms and an Orchestra - the Arrogant Worms in concert on Wednesday, April 22, 2009 at 8 pm
• We Will Rock You - the music of Queen on Saturday, May 9, 2009 at 8 pm

Let me know by June 17 if you want to come! Depending on which show it is, ticket prices range from $25 for the Arrogant Worms to $35 for the others listed here. If I order enough, we'll get a 15% discount. Those are the cheap, cheap seats without the best view, but it still sounds good from there. Hope you can make it!

Photos!

I haven't updated my web album in ages...not since Survivor in November! I uploaded a bunch of stuff last night to make up for it. :)

http://picasaweb.google.com/michelleheumann

We have the youth Halloween party from October - there's some fun stuff in there.

There's Heather's visit in December - we went to Heritage Park, and I threw an early Christmas dinner that was lots of fun.

In February I went down to Medicine Hat to visit Barb - I didn't take many pictures there, but there are a few here that I like.

Teresa and I went on a walking tour of historic Inglewood (Calgary's oldest neighbourhood) earlier this month - it was a beautiful day and I took some pictures I really like a lot.

On the May long weekend Trevor and I went for a hike outside the city - almost out to Canmore. There was still ice on the creek and that make for some really cool pictures. And I took a few in Nose Hill that weekend as well.

Enjoy!

New Sisterchick Book!

I really enjoy this series of books - I think my favourite one was the first book, but there's a new one out now that's on my "to read" list. I don't really know what genre they belong to - maybe "Christian Chick-lit"? But they're fun and I really like reading about other places. Christian Pub is going to be closing at the end of August - they'll probably have really good deals on books at their closing sale! :)

Much Special-ness

So we're looking for a new place to live (in Calgary) for a bunch of reasons that are just too involved to go into here...and in our searching we found this place that looked just too good to be true, but in our budget and the area we're looking at, so Trevor sent an email to the contact person.

This is what he got back (without any editing by me!):

On Mon, May 5, 2008 at 12:33 PM, pertty loves wrote:
I got your email and Thanks for your interest in my Apartment , i want you to know that my Apartment Flat is still available, The Flat is fully with All Necessary Document registered, I am Glad you response to me on time, i want you to know that i am My wife are very happy and EXCITED that we have finally FOUND a person for our FLAT, i want you to PROMISE us that you will take very good care of the FLAT because is a LOVELY place to stay with FAMILY, Kids,Visitors, E.T.C Actually my Wife and I got relocated to the Corona, New York on a Working Trips work in Corona, New York, we are here for Working trip from the State We used to live in State, but since we left for the Working trip we have to bring the Flat Document papers of the House because of People Who are willing to have the Flat for Rent, And as you asked For, so right now all the House Papers Document are with Our Lawyer here in the Corona, New York, We Just Got a Lawyer Here in the Corona, because we are New to the Country, and we are not Yet a Citizen Of the country, so we really need to get a Lawyer for Back-up, in which we will be staying in Corona, New York for 1-3 Yrs in which all our house Papers Document of the FLAT in State is With the Lawyer Because, We have been Provided a New Flat, Accomodation, feeding , here in the Corona New York, by the Church who brought i and my husband to the Corona,
If you are interested in our lovely Apartment,get back to me with your
FullName---------------
Full Address ----------
Phone number--------
City-----------------------
State----------------------
zipcode-------------------
Occupation-------------
Age------------------------
Sex------------------------
Religion------------------
email Address---------
Fax Number------------
marriage Status-------
Picture If Available----
How many months deposit you will be paying for--------------------

And Let me Know How many Month or Years You are Willing to Rent my Apartment--
So that i can Forward all your information Directly to The Lawyer and the Lawyer will Get in touch with you, In the Paying of the Flat Fee, Agreement of Month or Years You are Willing to Stay and the Sending of the Document to you for you to have the Flat, the Document will be scan to you and also be Fax to You, if you have a Fax, and the Document will be Shipped Down to your Home Address Door Next-Day By Via EXPRESS DELIVERY, for you to have the Document at Hand, so you can move into the Flat, we really need a Good Decent Person for The Flat. And i Hope you are Decent And Respectfully Person, I have includedyou The Pictures of The Flat for you to View, If you are interested, get back to me with the Information Below as soon as possible Hope to read from you soonest
Thanks And God Bless You

So Trevor emails them back and asks for photos of the place so we can see what it looks like. They replied with some photos and:
email me back so that i can get you the details for payment to move in the apartment asap reply bac with the application form fill

Trevor's having a lot of fun with this, so he sends them another email:
Thanks for the pictures. I'm wondering if you have a picture of the Deck and the Stone Fireplace (which were listed in the ad we originally saw). We really like the idea of the fireplace and a private wood deck, but would love a picture to know what it is actually like. Also, is the pool and hot tub for our use also or is it shared with someone? And is that a big hill right behind the house, it looks nice.

I'm wondering how long it's going to take the scammers to realize that Trevor's just stringing them along for fun now, but I'm very interested to see what their response is going to be!

Poor duckies... :(

Five hundred-ish ducks died after they landed on a polluted pond...sad day! I really like ducks - makes me very sad to think of so many of them dying so horribly.

http://www.metronews.ca/calgary/local/article/47312

Hot Mama!

My mom got a new haircut...check it out! Hopefully I still look that good when I'm...well, that 'old'. :)

Book Review "Escape"

I just finished reading "Escape" by Carolyn Jessop, former multiple wife of Merill Jessop. It's the story of how she left the fundamentalist branch of the Mormon 'church' shortly before Warren Jeffs moved them all to the YFZ ranch in Texas, which is big in the news right now because of the recent raid on their compound.

It's a horrifying book - I can't believe it took the government so long to do anything about this cult. The abuse that goes on in that group is staggering. Speaking of the US being so worried about the Taliban's oppression - something just as bad has been going on right in their own back yard for many, many years.

I'm not sure who I feel more sorry for - the women like Carolyn Jessop who recognize that they're in an abusive situation but can't find a way out, or the ones who are so brainwashed and beaten that they believe the hooey that they're taught. The men in authority in that place are simply power-hungry control-freaks. If you're interested in reading more about her story, there's a link below to an excerpt from her book.

I saw a movie on TV a few months ago - unfortunately, I haven't been able to figure out what the title was - but it was based on a true story about a woman in a FLDS compound who's little daughter is almost molested by a young man in the community. The man blames the little girl for being a temptress, and says that he should marry her. I can't remember how old she was, but definitely younger then 12. The woman's husband actually contemplates doing this, so the woman sets fire to her house, and in the ensuing chaos escapes with all her children and heads for social services, hoping that they can help her. The husband lures back the oldest daughter (who's about 16 and his step-daughter) with the promise that he'll let her marry the boy she likes, but when she gets there she finds out that she's actually to marry her step-father. It was a ghastly story!

In my research in the last few days I've found a lot of stories of women who've escaped abuse at an FLDS compound. If there's so many of them, with stories that are so similar, why hasn't anyone in authority DONE anything about it before now? And I'm not even sure that the way they're going about it now (taking 400+ kids and putting them in a shelter) is the best way to deal with the situation. I really feel for those kids - they don't understand that they've been abused and brainwashed, and most of the women there don't realize they've been abused and brainwashed either. I can only pray that something good comes out of this situation!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/femail/article.html?in_article_id=559132&in_page_id=1879&ICO=FEMAIL&ICL=TOPART

79 days to Israel!

The plane tickets have been bought...at a grand total of over $2500 each way...EEP! I can't think of anything I've ever spent that much money on before!

Leave: 26 June, AC 1132 (dep. 4:10 pm)

Come home: 15 July, AC 117 (arr. 10:12 am)

Here I come! Woot woot!

Law Firm Games

Don't get me wrong, I love my boss, I really do. She's easy going, got a good sense of humour, pretty low maintenance, gives good Christmas presents, and she often buys me chocolate. What more do you need? But some of these 'games' below eerily echo reality. :)

It's funny how these things are facts of life in an office - everyone knows it happens or that they do it, joke about it, and then go and do it! Number 2 and the last one are particularly apt in my lawyer/assistant relationship! haha...so funny...



These popular games require only two players, though more can play. They are not sold commercially. If you are interested in participating in any of them, your first step is to work for an attorney.

HIDE AND SEEK
Object of the game: To locate the missing attorney.
Attorney: Do not tell Secretary where you're going, why you're going, or when you'll be back. If possible stay away all afternoon. To score additional points, arrive late the following morning.
Secretary: Telephone attorney's home, favourite club, golf course, doctor, dentist, the local bureau of missing persons. If unable to make contact, bluff your way through the afternoon. If attorney has not arrived by next morning, repeat procedure of previous afternoon, telling callers, "I expect him any minute."

LOST AND FOUND
Object of the game: To have everything in its place (somewhere).
Attorney: Go over the days mail, important papers, things to do. Then throw in a heap on desk. Later, ask, "Where is so and so? I'm sure I gave it to you this morning".
Secretary: To bolster attorney's self-confidence, pretend to search through your desk and files. Then, while attorney tries to stall client on the phone, walk around him, picking up and examining every paper on his desk, on his credenza, and in his desk trays. When you find the elusive document on his desk, penalize yourself ten points if you say: "I knew all the time it was on your desk".

ESP
Object of the game: To read each others' minds.
Attorney: When you dictate or instruct, leave as many unknowns as possible. (when dictating, mumble and cough into the transmitter to make the game more competitive) If you play back the tape to check for points which need clarification, you are not a good sport.
Secretary: Run and rerun the tape, searching for a clue to the missing word. When uncertain of a word, fill in the gap and hope you're right. If you're right, expect no commendation from the attorney; if you're wrong, look for another job.

AGAIN AND AGAIN
Object of the game: To carry on a battle of wits for perfection.
Attorney: Dictate, revise, dictate insertions, revise again, get in final form, and redline. Then call attention to errors. Be certain to make additions to page one which will require reformatting the entire document. An entertaining diversion would be a last minute decision to require all spellings to conform to second preference spellings in Webster's Unabridged Third Edition.
Secretary: Use precious last minutes to go back and correct, praying that you still have it ready by the time the client walks in. Score five extra points if the document is completed in time. Score fifty extra points if you tell the attorney exactly how you feel about his endeavour for perfection.

BEAT THE HEAT
Object of the game: To file a court paper no more than five minutes before the courthouse closes on the deadline day.
Attorney: Don't dictate pleading or brief until late the day before. Require Interoffice conferences and numerous changes before finalizing one hour before deadline. (Remember, you're cheating if you finalize sooner!)
Secretary: Type, type, type and type. Xerox correct number of copies, assemble, staple properly, draw check for costs, if any, get pleading signed, send copies to appropriate parties, locate law clerk to file it, arrange for courier, or file it yourself. (If you are ready to collapse when finished, you know you have played the game according to rules.)

Sad day...

"Further to your application on the above-mentioned competition, this is to inform you that the panel has recommended that another candidate be appointed to this position."

Soooo...not going to be moving to Kelowna to work for the Ministry of Agriculture! :(

There and back again

March is a travelling month for me...

Last Friday and Saturday I was in Edmonton for a bit. I'm on the planning committee for the next Alberta/BC District Youth Gathering, in July of 2009, and we had our first meeting. It went really well - I'm super excited to work with this bunch of people and see how things take shape. It's going to be SO amazing - I just love youth gatherings. And we got to see a bunch of people we know while we were there, and I had the most amazing lemon doughnut from a place in Red Deer, so it was a good trip! :)

On Monday I flew to Kelowna for the day, for a job interview with the Ministry of Agriculture. I'm not really sure how it went - I felt really good about it right after, but the more I think about it, the less sure I am, so I'm just trying to let it go and not to worry. If it's the job for me, I'll get it, and if not, there'll be something else. They paid for the flight, and I picked up some of my favourite wine while I was there, so it won't be a total waste if I don't get it! :)

And this weekend I'm going down to Medicine Hat to visit my friend Barb - we've been friends for so long I have to stop and count...14 years this fall! Definitely my most enduring friendship - I've kept in touch with a few people from even longer ago, but not in the same way. Of course, it helps that she's also in Alberta and people from 15+ years ago are in Nova Scotia... :) I did recently re-connect with someone from more then 15 years ago who I'd lost touch with, which was pretty cool, and thanks to Facebook!

Anyway, things here at work are INSANE, so I should get back to it...thank goodness it's Friday!

Totally awesome!

http://dvice.com/archives/2008/02/han_solo_desk_m.php

Alberta Provincial Election

I've been thinking about for whom to vote...

The Conservatives...well, let's face it, they're due to be switched out. They've been in power for way too long, and it's time to get a fresh perspective on government in Alberta. So that leaves the Liberals (I'll vote Liberal when pigs fly... :), the Green Party (too much of a one-horse platform), the NDP party (no comment) and the Wildrose Alliance.

The Wildrose Alliance is the new conservative alternative. I like their platform, I like their website, I like the candidate in our riding, I like their grassrootsyness, which reminds me of the early, glory days of the Reform Party, which was pretty my life for a few years there. :)

The leader of the party is Mormon, which is interesting, because while there are a lot of nutty Mormons out there, they also have a lot of the same family and ethical values that Christians do. I'm sure they won't do well enough for us to end up with a Mormon premier, so I'm not worried, but it would be really awesome if they ended up as the opposition party.

Dad says I'm throwing away my vote if I go with them, because the Conservatives are just going to win anyway, but if you're going to vote with an attitude of fatalism like that, that's totally the wrong reason to do it!

Why should you vote? Because you can!!!

People fought and died so that you could live in a democracy and have the right to have a say in who makes the decisions for this country and our provinces! You should vote because you want to let your voice be heard and so you can make a difference in your land and for the future! You may say that one vote won't make a difference...did you know that last provincial election, just 44.7% of eligible voters actually voted? Can you imagine what would happen if those people took the time and effort to make a decision and get out and vote? It could change the whole course of Alberta's future!

So, spread the word! Vote for the Wildrose Alliance Party! Get out there and make a difference! Remember...only you can prevent voter apathy!

I was just reading an article in the Globe and Mail, and this paragraph caught my eye and made me laugh...

"Don’t think we’re getting carried away here: The Wildrose Alliance will not win this election. It will not come close to winning this election, and it will be lucky to get more than a handful of seats. Still, clearly, things are changing for Mr. Hinman’s party. His Alberta Alliance party’s merger with the Wildrose Party lacked any real meaning, but symbolically, it gave the Alliance, which had earned something of an oddball reputation over the years from its eccentric founder and former leader, Randy Thorsteinson, a new brand. The name isn’t great, but at least replacing “Alberta Alliance” with “Wildrose Alliance” makes it sound less like the kind of group that might be led by Stockwell Day and more like an organization of arborist activists."

Ashley, who sits at the desk next to me, calls it the flower party, which makes me feel more like a hippie then an arboreal activist lol

Anyway, that was my civic duty rant for the day... :)

This year in Jerusalem?

I MIGHT BE GOING TO ISRAEL IN JUNE!!!! We've still got a few details to see fall into place, but there's a group of Lutherans going to the dig at Hippos for two weeks at the end of June/beginning of July, and I'm trying to go with them!!!



http://www.concordiasem.ab.ca/academics/hippos_excavation.php



I can't even tell you how excited I am - I've wanted to go to Israel for as long as I can remember, and Trevor's being really great about helping pull this off, so if everything works out, I'm going to send in my application in the next couple weeks. Just think...I could be swimming in the Sea of Galilee where Jesus walked on water! Words couldn't even begin to describe how excited I am just thinking about all the things I could see and do. I'm really praying about this one - I so hope it works out!