Superbowl Sunday!

You know, I realized why my sister loves Sunday's so much today. I woke up this morning to a quiet, sleeping house, opened up my book, and read for a while. This is one of my favorite things in the world. The little bit of cherished quiet time I get Sunday mornings. My brother will probably sleep until one unless I wake him up... but why would I do that, now? My mom is with my Dad at his office. She cleans it for him every Sunday. So here I am, queen of the house. Snuggled up by the fire with a fresh cup of coffee. Ha, just kidding! But close! Laptop in lap, blueberry Greek yogurt with granola on top by my side, accompanied by a chilled glass of orange juice. And not to forget my fuzzy new blanket I got from my teammate, Ally. All of this goes quite well with my bed head in my opinion. Don't worry, Dad, I took my vitamins this morning. He's very good at keeping me healthy. I have my big State swim meet next Friday and Saturday. And I know I owe a lot of what I've accomplished to him. Not only does he make sure I stay healthy and get sleep, but he's my biggest fan. I love swimming a race and breathing to the side where he's sitting in the stands watching him wave his hands frantically motioning me to "GO! GO!" Even when I have my bad swims, he still has words of encouragement for me. I'll admit, half the time I don't want to hear it. I would rather sulk in self pity than reason to myself that what I've been training for is the state meet, not the sectional meet that took place this weekend. So thank you, Dad. I really do appreciate all the support you've shown for my sport. I love you!

So part of my assignment this week was to share a website that I enjoy browsing. I decided that this would be a good one. It's called Paper N' Stitch. The whole website is a collection of handmade crafts, ranging from clothes, to dishes, to jewelry. As I was surfing, I came across a few pieces of jewelry I like, the best part: all of the things on this website are priced very reasonably! Here are a few of the things I liked, hint hint Mom and Dad!!!

For only $7.00 you can buy these for me, parents! They're brass plated in yellow gold. And on the right, for only $12.00 these 14K yellow gold plated roses are such a steal!

And there goes the peace and quiet. My brother just woke up and turned the t.v. on and now he feels the need to comment on everything that happens on the show. So I guess I'll doing my reading log and go find some quiet space else where in the house!

The Kite Runner By Khaled Hosseini Pages: 125-152

Last time we left off Amir and Baba were fleeing to Pakistan. Suddenly the book skips to them living in Fremont, California. Baba has a job at a gas station, a large step down from running many of his own successful businesses in Afghanistan. He struggles adjusting the the uptight American lifestyle. In Afghanistan, everyone trusted each other. In America, Baba is kicked out of a gas station when he puts his hands around the owners neck. He is angry that the owner, even though he comes there every week, asks to see his license when he tries to pay. After Amir settles him down, Baba shouts, "Does he think I'm a thief? What kind of a country is this? No one trusts anybody!" Amir suggests that they return to Peshawar, but Baba refuses saying that Peshawar was good for him, not for Amir. Baba refuses to take charity from people although they are struggling to adjust to their new lifestyle. The eligibility officer offers them food stamps. Baba won't take them, " Thank you but I don't want. I work always. In Afghanistan I work, In America I work. Thank you very much, Mrs. Dobbins, but I don't like it free money."

In the summer of 1983 Amir graduated from high school. Baba was so proud he cried at the ceremony. Amir told him he planned to go to Junior college the following fall. A few days later, Baba surprised Amir with a car, saying that he would need it to go to school. He would take his new car out and drive around some days. He saw the Pacific for the first time and cried. I really liked this passage Hosseini wrote:

Almost two years had passed since we had arrived in the U.S., and I was still marveling at the size of this country, its vastness. Beyond every freeway lay another freeway, beyond every city another city, hills beyond mountains and mountains beyond hills, and , beyond those, more cities and more people.

Long before the Roussi army marched into Afghanistan, long before villages were burned and schools destroyed, long before mines were planted like seeds of death land children buried in rock-piled graves, Kabul had become a city of ghost for me. A city of harelipped ghosts.

America was different. America was a river, roaring along, unmindful of the past. I could wade into this river, let my sins drown tot he bottom, let the waters carry me someplace far. Someplace with no ghosts, no memories, and no sins.

If for nothing else, for that, I embraced America.

The last part was the part I really enjoyed, but I felt like the first two paragraphs needed to be included to give some background. I really like how he sees America as such a fresh start. Although what he's forgetting is what he did to Hassan, the way he sees America the classic America Dream outlook.

Alright I just took a break to go to swim practice but now I'm back. So anyways, the next thing that happens in the book is Baba trades in his own car and buys a Volkswagen Bus. Amir and him would drive around on Saturdays to yard sales and on Sunday's take everything they bought and sell them at the Flea Market. The markets were full of Afghans with buses. This is actually where he meets a girl named Soraya. Baba and her father, General Sahib, were friends in Afghanistan. Amir falls in love with her at first sight, but doesn't have the nerve to talk to her for months. Finally, he gets the courage to talk to her one day when he sees General Sahib leaving their post. He goes over and asks her where her father is, to make small talk. Each Sunday he came back and did the same thing. Her mother, Khanum Taheri , also joined their conversations. One time however, the General came back and caught them all talking. He pulled him aside and as he walked him away from their booth he reminded them that people will start rumors that Soraya and him are courting if he comes around more, and General Sahib doesn't want that.

Well, I really need to move on to my other homework now. It's Superbowl Sunday and I'm going to a family party! I hope all of you have enjoyed the snow and have a great time watching the game tonight with family and friends! GO COLTS ;)