50 yard line

We have officially hit the 1/2 way mark and I can't believe it! I have mixed feelings about only having 6 more weeks but I don't like to think about it. So, I will think about what I have done for the passed few days. It has been a fun few days filled with shopping, shopping, tap taps, and art. Our friends Geoffrey and Stephen got to make a guest appearance for a couple of nights and they brought a friend, Shelley with them this time... and the fixings for a great chips and guacamole party. You can't have a Mexican themed evening without Tequila! Ash and Stephen were the mixologists and did their best with the tools they were given. Bravo to our tequila beverages with a drop of mango juice. Halloween hadn't ended for us. Shelley brought pumpkin candies to the rescue and we finished off a bag within the hour. It was a great way to relax and enjoy an evening with friends and family. Another friend arrived on Friday, Rob. To celebrate the arrival of Rob, we indulged in California Pizza Kitchen frozen pizzas. Next time, I hope they also bring the CPK Cobb salad. A girl can dream, right? Friday came and our adventurous side came out to play, along with the need for some dresses for a cocktail party. After we fed the kiddos lunch we strapped on out mud boots, followed our fearless leader KC to the tap taps, and we were off. We were on a mission, purchase cocktail dresses at a reasonable price and ones that we would wear again. Oh yeah, don't forget about shoes. We got off in Petionville and walked to New York. Who knew you had to go to New York, in Haiti, to buy dresses. New York held up to its name. We turned to our left and stepped down some mud stairs to be led into New York. This place was a perfect metaphor for New York City. There were different alleyways, people calling for you, and plenty of clothes. The clothes were hanging on racks and extension cords. This place was like a Goodwill gone wild. It felt like it never ended. It was chaos, hustle, and bussle. I am not a good shopper, number one. Number two, I get overwhelmed and need to process my potential items before I purchase them. I am that girl who walks around the store with two different watches on to decide which one is more practical. When clothes shopping, I hold onto the clothes for the duration of my time in the store questioning if I really need it or do I really like that color. This was not my cup of tea. All I can say is thank God for Ashleigh. She went right to a rack of clothes and flipped through. Went to the next rack, flipped through, pulled out a few and saying, "This looks like you, Katie." Her lively spirit gave me energy and excitement to dig in, literally. I found this great dress that was American Eagle (what what!!). I was sold. Look no further, where do I try this on? Oh, right in the middle of the dirt floor with people bumping into me, of course. So I ripped off my shirt, my top shirt that is and slid it on over my undershirt and shorts. I started to zip. Oh no, it wouldn't finish zipping, actually it barely started zipping. I had about 4 inches to go until latching at the top. Heartbroken and crestfallen I was moving to take off the dress and the sale's woman wouldn't let me give up that easily. She was bound and determined to make this sale. She called over her friend and they yanked and tugged and unzipped and rezipped. I tried to contort my body and held my breathe. We lost the battle. I told the ladies it's okay and thank you. They unzipped me with the look of despair on their faces and I got color back to my face and air in my lungs. The sun was going down and so were the ladies and their clothes. They were packing up shop. Crunch time folks. We made it to the back of the maze of racks and got to the last chance rack. I quickly grabbed a brown, green, black printed dress threw it on over my clothes in a hurray saw it fit and purchased it. We got out of the obstacle course called New York and made it back to the streets. As we were walking to a tap tap meeting area, Ashleigh's eyes was caught by a typical Ashleigh dress, multicolored, long, strapless dress. She was sold. Kerin bought some shoes from a street vendor that displayed his shoes by hanging them on barbed wire. Crafty. It was dark now and we caught one of the last tap taps to Fermerthe. We were 4 of the last people in the tap tap so we were in the back. KC took one for the team and was our spotter. She blocked the exit so we wouldn't tumble out. This tap tap was a standing and sitting tap tap. I started out standing but as people slowly shuffled out I was lucky enough to sit. I was grateful. When standing I had 5 points of contact, two feet that were so close together that I had a hard time balancing, one hand gripping the bar in the middle of the tap tap, another hand on the ladder on the outside of the tap tap, and finally my head and neck pushing against the bar in the middle of the tap tap. I tried to see this as warming up my muscles for skiing and kept my legs bent and went with the motion of the bus sized tap tap. We finally got back home and I hit the hay right away! I was pooped, all the adrenaline pulsing through my veins! I woke up on Saturday knowing that it was my niece, Brooklee Jane Fariss's 1st birthday! I was going to celebrate big by going to the cocktail party! Ashleigh, Kerin, and I went to a shop close by and luckily found some shoes. I then got to sing happy birthday to my favorite niece a couple of times. Skype isn't very consistent here, and plus she hung up on my a few times. It was such a treat to see Baby B and be able to celebrate in my own way. We went back to Pentionville and had to find an open copy shop but didn't have much luck. KC flagged down a couple of motos (motorcycles), and we hopped on. I was sandwiched between the driver and Ashleigh at my rear. It was my second time riding a motorcycle and still was as scary as the first time. It brought us to a coffee shop, Rebo, and we relaxed with jazzy music and I had a chocolate banana coffee drink caressing my lips. It was a nice decompresser after riding a motor and swerving in and out of trucks and cars. We got back to Saint Joe's and got dolled up! When I saw my dress, it was like seeing it for the first time again and all I could think was, "Man it looks different in the light, and I am lucky." We then went to the art gallery and we were social with some people from Hearts with Haiti and others. There is a first time for everything and this was my first art show. I was more interested in the cheese, crackers, and meat spread. However, moseying around acting like I was an art critic was fun too. We got back to Saint Joe's and were invited to eat some more great food and Kerin's favorite, cupcakes. Today, we went to church and had a delightful pizza party with the kids and some board members of HWH. Before the pizza party, we played games: bowling, ball toss, and grab the lollipop off the string. We painted faces, I tattooed Peterson with a lizard. Finishing off the activities with musical chairs. Everyone won! The most special part today was while we were consuming our pizza Lazar had a special surprise. His father and 2 brothers showed up unannounced. Lazar about fell out of his chair with excitement. He made sure that they met all of his best friends:Teddy and Fritz, and Ashleigh, myself, and his girlfriend: Kerin! They were so sweet to him and held his hands, laughed, smiled, and fed him pizza. Renee took some family photos and Lazar had an even grander smile than usual. Such a beautiful way to end the activity filled afternoon. We now wait in anticipation for the new visitors and to consume some more specially made food.