"Lest my way of life sound puritanical or austere, I always emphasize that in the long run one can't satisfactorily say no to war, violence, and injustice unless one is simultaneously saying yes to life, love, and laughter. To what end do we work if, at the end of each day, we cannot find the strength to raise our eyes above the mud?" - David Dellinger (Yale class of 1936 fiftieth reunion book)

india on my mind... embracing the chaos of my other hometown, and a short list of things to love about south asia...

here is a powerful investigative article about sexual abuse in amish families. it's not an easy topic to read about, but i think it needs to be heard. sexual abuse is one of my passions, and it's found in every kind of family...

You Are Ariel!

Headstrong and fiesty. You have a mind of your own that's full of romantic dreams about the world around you. Exploring exotic places is your ultimate dream, and although you can be a little naive you'll realize that there is something to be gained from your family's wisdom.

Which Disney Princess Are You?

we have snow - a lot of it. it's the kind of snow that is so frozen i can walk on top of it. franklin county is in a level two emergency, which sounds kind of cool, but really just means "be extra cautious when driving." drive we will, when my husband gets out of bed and we finish packing for our trek to pennsylvania. i'm excited to have our first christmas with my entire little family, blaze included. i know that we have two families to celebrate with now, but i'm glad that this year is with the eversoles. christmas is the one time of the year that we're all together at the same time. i love christmas morning, opening our gifts in pajamas and drinking fair trade coffee, grazing all day on whatever special cookies mom has made for the year. and scrapple! scrapple is the best reason to eat meat. we're also planning a little exploration of philly. any recommendations of places to go, particularly on south street? it's still blowing outside. i suppose it's time to shower and start the car now...

hmm. someone from hamilton-co.org is reading this. is it one of my old coworkers? speak out! i am so tired tonight. content, but tired. and my stomach feels funny. one more short day before i can celebrate the holiday...i have a feeling it will be a long day, though - i have to take a drive in the morning that usually takes just under an hour. the powers that be, however, are predicting 5-9 inches of snow and ice on the roads, so i'm allowing myself two hours. i think i'm already starting to feel tense. but on to happier things. today i drove to chillicothe, which is about 1 1/2 hours south of here. the roads were clear and the landscape turned hilly. i have to admit that i was tempted to follow the sign that said, "cincinnati, 81 miles," and drive along the ohio river...i resisted, though, so that i could come home to my husband-who has been very kind and patient today. he's taken the dog out three times! today i got to send a cocaine baby to his aunt's house. she was so excited to be able to care for her two week old nephew. it was worth working a little late to see her face...

to counter the recent slew of posts all about me, here's a great (and short) interview with gary haugen and david ngure of the international justice mission, the group that sent me to india. it's worth a listen.

PC185546
Originally uploaded by amy joy.

in honor of this morning's glorious snow, here's a shot of my brother and i bundling up in each other's winter wear...i know the chances of all of you thinking we're as cute as i do are slim, but i've been feeling nostalgic lately, so there you have it!

i very rarely do these kinds of questionnaires, but leigh has put out the challenge, so here i am...just make sure you read the whole way to the end in case you're mentioned... Three names you go by: amy, amyjoy, smiles Three screen names you have: i really just have one - amyeversole@mac.com is my aol name... Three things you like about yourself:  the people i choose to surround myself with, my sense of compassion, my faith Three things you hate/dislike about yourself: lack of discipline at times, crooked bottom teeth, occasional need to control everything Three parts of your heritage: mennonite, appalachian, german Three things that scare you: wet highways in the dark, lions, hurricanes Three of your everyday essentials: coffee, laptop, national public radio Three things you are wearing right now: fleece vest, glasses (i lost my last contact), nose ring Three of your favorite bands/artists (at the moment): U2, ani difranco, kasey chambers Three of your favorite songs at present: not pretty enough (kasey chambers), o holy night, that christmas song from "love actually" Three things you want in a relationship (love is a given): laughter, patience, intimacy Three things you want to try in the next 12 months: running regularly, get an article published, visit another continent Two truths and a lie: i love beef, i've only been to four countries outside of the u.s., i have scoliosis Three physical things about the opposite (or same) sex that appeals to you: eye contact, thick hair, quick smile Three things you just can’t do: sing loudly, dance well, recognize obscure movie quotes Three of your favorite hobbies: reading, talking, eating Three things you want to do really badly right now: take a road trip, eat some indian food, get into a hot tub Three careers you’re considering: therapist, human rights lawyer, mother Three places you want to go on vacation: south america, eastern europe, british columbia Three kids’ names: ella, elijah, asher  Three things you want to do before you die: live in another country, become fluent in another language, write a book Three people you’d like to take this quiz now, or die a painful death (just kidding about that last part!): deb, sharon and...my brother

hammock

hammock
Originally uploaded by amy joy.

one of my favorite things about christmas is getting to see my brother.

does anyone else get that little feeling of self-satisfaction when you get most of the literary references on the gilmore girls?

baby, it's cold outside! everyone is calling today the first real snow of the year. there's none on the ground, but it was nice to drive to work with actual flakes hitting the windshield. now i have new glittens to celebrate official winter. (**glittens: those half-finger gloves that have mitten flaps; gl(ove) + (m)itten = glitten) somehow, it seems i can never keep a pair of gloves for more than one season...my other major purchase today was knitting needles - i'm ready to take the plunge beyond crocheting. but i'm a little intimidated by having to figure out how to use two needles at once... on to more important topics...according to blogpatrol, la chica gozosa has had 49 visitors today, and more than that the past several days. oddly enough, not one of those visitors has left a comment. am i simply getting boring?? it's time for drastic measures. i'm now officially opening up my comments for topic suggestions. what do YOU want to hear from me? stay warm tonight. snuggle with someone soft.

today marks the feast of the virgin of guadalupe, the virgin who appeared to the poor, and has become a powerful symbol of revolution and justice. let me introduce her.

what kind of girl is amy joy?

She is a hybrid of: Progressive Girl Indie Girl Click on the pictures below to read more: Take the 'What Kind of Girl Is She?' quiz at CookingToHookup.com

well, daniel is off with fez, finding a storage space for our new pipe organ. i'm not quite sure how it happened, but fez found an extra organ somewhere for free and it now belongs to us. he seems to have a knack for finding things, and an unmatched generosity. so. no we have a pipe organ AND a hammond organ. it's a good thing we'll have a basement in a month. our very own music mayhem room! last night we went to the annual buckeye ranch holiday gala, complete with a magician and blackjack tables - and real play money with which to play blackjack. i opted to enter my play money in the prize raffle, and got sent home with a lovely heated foot massager. (although it should probably be called a foot vibrator, since it does more of that than massaging...) despite winning prizes, the real highlight of the night was going out afterwards with new friends - a new girl at work and her boyfriend turned out to be a great match for daniel and i - i love all of my coworkers, but it's really refreshing to have someone around who isn't another 24 year old sorority girl. thank you, megan! tonight is for another new friend and anyone else who wants to join us at the movies. see you there!

this is worth listening to. be sure to watch the video as well. and i think that this just might be the one organization in the world that totally blends both daniel's talents and mine...

did you know that in columbus, a female crack addict with no insurance (and seriously, how many crack addicts have medical coverage?) only has one place to go for detox and entering treatment? that particular place has no beds right now, so women who want help have to call every morning to see if a spot has opened up. my coworkers and i have at least three moms trying to get in right now. that requires a lot of patience and initiative from women who, by the very nature of their disease, lack the structure and discipline to effectively follow through on much of anything. i met one of these moms this morning. we've had custody of her child (my favorite!) since july, and she finally showed up today so that i could meet her for the first time. small miracles do happen. but now that she's taken the steps to talk to me and to try to find help, i'm afraid she won't be able to hang in for a few weeks until a bed opens up for her. i love my job. i have a lot of addicts right now, though, which is a little new. in cincinnati, all of my cases were sex abuse, and the issues are different. at least there, i usually knew where my parents were at all times...still, though, i will reiterate that i love my job. this is a field that you either very much succeed in, or very quickly move on to something else. i love that i rarely spend eight hours at my desk, and that every day is full of the unexpected. i love that it takes me everywhere, from court to homes. i love that i get to see people make changes, albeit small ones. it would just be easier if there were less crack in the world.

saturday night fever what: garden state, i heart huckabee's, bad santa where: studio 35 how much: $6.00 for the entire triple feature when: this saturday, 7:00pm who's with us?

just a cheerful reminder...

blaze
Originally uploaded by amy joy.

that getting a dog can be one of the best decisions you ever make. it's a bit cheaper than therapy, too.

maximum city today on fresh air, terri gross interviewed suketu mehta, who just wrote a book about bombay, "the largest city on the planet"...funny - in the six months i lived there, i never realized that it was actually THE largest megacity in the world. i was fascinated by the interview, and i think you may find it interesting even without my personal bias toward india. it's worth it to listen just for his accent. i've been going through a stage of homesickness for mumbai recently. i don't doubt that it is related to the fact that daniel and i are leaping into home ownership, which means that we'll be building some form of stability in columbus. i always thought that i would be a wanderer, with no real geographic roots. but i think that maybe putting down roots could possibly be the riskier calling...yadda, yadda, yadda. i may be craving real samosas and overcrowded commuter trains, but there's also a huge part of me that can't wait to have a real home that's large enough for all of our friends, and has room in the backyard for a communal garden. AND, we're getting the closest thing to my ideal neighborhood that central ohio has to offer. still, someday we just might make it to a city where we can get rid of our car.

need a date on friday? oy. i had a post up last night and this morning about human rights day, but it seems someone has hacked into my blogger and made it disappear. anyway, on december 10, 1948, the united nations general assembly adopted the universal declaration of human rights. for a simpler version, go here. this is so, so important, in my humble opinion, and encompasses so many of the things we have a responsibility to shout out about. (sorry about the dangling preposition!) to mark its importance, would any of you like to join me on friday night to observe the day? maybe we could watch a couple of films, write a few letters, step outside of ourselves for awhile. any other ideas? anyone up for it?

we're not really doing christmas presents this year. but if anyone ever has any other reason to get me a gift, this would be quite lovely.

it's been so long since i've actually written anything substantial here. i've been finding myself hungering for deeper thoughts than pictures of our house and details of our lives. the blog phenomenon continues to leave me in a bit of conflict - i know that our families like to hear the details, and it makes it easier to keep in touch on a regular basis. but i also started blogging originally to provide discipline for writing. so. i guess i have little choice but to keep trying to strike a balance. ;-) daniel and i finished a 5K today - the jingle bell run. it isn't nearly as impressive as it sounds - we walked most of the way and finished in 48 minutes. but we did have a chance to brainstorm ways to improve our health and general fitness, which we've pretty much been neglecting for months. so, we are officially attempting to cut most refined sugar out of our diet, and are beginning what i will call "the great pack your own lunch experiment." as for our mental health, we're also putting into motion the "we will only watch non-fiction and foreign films dvd's for the next month and see how many more brain cells we can kick into action," experiment, right after we finish watching the movies we got from the library yesterday. one of those is the original "alfie" with michael caine. i highly recommend it, but be forewarned that it will most likely leave you analyzing the impact of ultimate selfishness on one and everyone in one's world... in the name of stepping out of selfishness, let me introduce you to write for rights, amnesty international's annual letter writing marathon. it takes place next week, so please take a few minutes to at least educate yourself on what's happening around the world right now, and just maybe take a few minutes more to send an appeal. well, it's time to shower and then take off for advent with our lovely columbus family. happy sunday!

thanks to angie for pointing me to this quiz, which made me very happy... Take the quiz: "Which American City Are You?"

San Francisco
Liberal and proud, you'll live your lifestyle however you choose in the face of all that would supress you.