Ten more Peace Corps facts...

1. We may, or may not, have electricity and running water.

2. We may, or may not, have to bike up to 15.5 miles a day to our jobs over rough and rocky terrain.

3. We may, or may not, have live in a hut made of adobe brick.

4. We may, or may not, have to eat boiled rice, corn, millet and oh, simple sauces.

5. We may, or may not, have to kill and de-feather our own chicken for dinner.

6. We may, or may not, have to live in 115 degree weather ALL YEAR ROUND! oh, i guess it does cool down at night to around 80.

7. We may, or may not, have to learn two languages: French and Bambara( a native language).

8. We may, or may not, have to wear long clothing due to Malian culture. Remember the temperatures!

9. We may, or may not, have to boil and filter ALL of our water.

10. We may, or may not, be a days travel from Timbuktu. ( yes, this is a real place, we are going to the middle of nowhere)


At times we think WHAT THE HECK ARE WE DOING? And at other times these facts excite us! Ready or not Mali here we come!

27 months in Mali, West Africa

After almost a year of planning, Ashley and I have found out that we will be heading to Mali, West Africa.

Departure Date: July 7, 2008

Ashley's Job Title: University English Teaching

Joe's Job Title: Environmental Resource Manager

Fast Facts About Mali:

- 90% Muslim

- Official Language: French

- 4th poorest country in the world

WE ALL MADE IT!!!

Props to us all. Amy for her first race ever! Kristen for finishing with a goal of under 2 hours. Joe beat his last 1/2 marathon time by 4 minutes. And I finished my first 1/2 marathon. Go us!
What should we do next?





Hanging out at local BBQ place, who says BBQ isn't a great pre-race meal.



Keepin' Austin weird, on the UT campus with flaming torches.

We are pretty much rock stars!!!!

We are in Austin, TX preparing for a big race tomorrow. Joe, Amy(my little sis), Kristen(our friend from DC) and I are all running in the Austin 1/2 marathon. Here are some pics form the race expo today. KEEP AUSTIN WEIRD! (Austin city motto)

SHI-f-T Work

For those of you out there that have not heard Kenny Chesney's new song "Shift Work", you need to go to itunes right away and download it.

Joe and I have decided this song pretty much sums up our time here in Sewer City working for the Temp Agency. Joe is the king of shift work, he so far has worked at the local honey plant (Sue Bee Honey), moved furniture, loaded trucks with radiated cow protein(we are hoping he doesn't have cancer now), and put together displays at the local JC Pennys. Temp work is refining all of his handy man skills. I, on the other hand did not get my substitute license approved until today, because, for some odd reason, I had a red flag on my FBI background check....go figure. Maybe it was all the sketchy countries we tooled around in.....hmmmm. So needless to say, I have also run the gamut of odd jobs, only on the clerical side, where as joe works in the "light industrial" side of temp work.

The one temp job we were fortunate to do together was work for the Sioux City or Sewer City transportation department. This basically means we rode on the public buses all day long, asking people to fill out surveys and counting passengers that got on and off the bus. It was quite the day, I think I could make a million dollars if I were to write a book about it, let's just say the people who ride the bus are interesting. But the best story of the day is....after working for 13 hours riding the buses, Joe and I decided to stop at the grocery store to pick up a few things. As I am waiting in line at the deli counter, I hear a man yelling "Hey Lady, I know you," from across the store and I had this sinking sensation he was talking to me. The man had on boots like Napoleon Dynamite, swishy workout pants, a dirty sweater and he had no teeth. I recognized the man from the bus that I rode all day, and instantly wanted to disappear. He continued to yell that I should call up the bus depot and order him a bus to come pick him up, because he has to take a cab home and they are expensive because the bus doesn't run this late. I proceeded to tell him I was off duty so I couldn't help him, and walked away quickly. As I got back in the car I was laughing hysterically and had to tell Joe what had just happened. UNBELIEVABLE. Life in Sioux City, Iowa is UNBELIEVABLE.

We have decided that we are happy that we don't ever have to be apart of "Shift Work" and work for minimum wage ever again after our hiatus. I mean if we go to McDonald's to get an ice cream cone for the the both of us, they are worth a half an hour of pay, what a rip off. We now think of our purchases in how many hours we will have to work to pay for it. And when you are working for $7.25 an hour it doesn't go very far.

"SHI-f-T Work!"

Here is the refrain of Kenny Chesney's song, but don't just read the lyrics, you HAVE to listen to the song to get the full effect.

Talking about a bunch of shift work
A big ol' pile of shift work
Seven to three
Three to eleven
Eleven to seven

Saying Goodbye

Carlos Alatorre


Carlos Alatorre, 80 passed away at his home on Monday, Jan. 21, 2008.
Graveside services will be held on Friday, Jan. 25, 10:30 am at Glendale Cemetery, 4009 University with visitation at Hamilton’s Funeral Home, 605 Lyons Thursday evening , Jan. 24 from 6:oo to 8:oo pm.
Carlos was a WWII veteran and was a member of the American Legion Post 731. He was in the roofing business for over 50 years. He was a proud father and grandfather.
Carlos is survived by his daughters, Carla (Dave) Rose, Pam Hubert, Debbie Martin and sons; Simon and James Alatorre, and Doug (Pam) Evans. He also leaves behind two sisters; Lupe and Isabel and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Carlos was preceded in death by his wife, Bonnie and a daughter Mary Jean, also his parents, Simon and Carmen Alatorre and brother, Joseph.


This week was hard for my family as we put my Mom's father to rest, Grandpa Chuck. He was a hard worker, very personable, and loved people. He is the reason I can make homemade refried beans so well and a "mean" tostada. As he passed, we will have to carry on our Mexican traditions. :)

Home for the Holidays

Well, now that the Holidays are over and everyone is back to their normal routines of work and all, Joe and I no longer have anyone to hang out with. So we have to be adults and figure out what the HECK we are going to do. But before we do that, let's relish in the Holidays.

After we flew into Chicago we spent a few days in Appleton, WI with Joe's family and then we drove 24 hours to Fort Worth, TX to be with my family, with a stop in Sioux City, IA to pick up my Mom. The drive was long, but well worth it, being able to see our new niece for the first time.


My dad has always had the job of cutting the turkey, don't ask me why. It must make him feel that he has contributed something to the meal that all the ladies have cooked up in the kitchen.
One time when we were little, my Dad had come into the kitchen to yell at us kids for eating the turkey before the rest of the food was done. As we left the kitchen to avoid a spanking, he snuck a piece of turkey himself and began choking. Mom had to start giving him the heimlich maneuver while my older sister, Aubrey dialed 911. Luckly Mom was able to dislodge the turkey with her mad himlec skillz. Oh, the memories.



(left to right) My older sister Aubrey (Mom), my younger siblings Aaron and Amy, holding Trinity. She is the newest obsession of our family.



My brothers, Adam and Aaron, were addicted to this game along with my sister Amy. I believe it is called Guitar Hero.



Yes, Joe is actually holding a baby. Although he was a bit stiff, this is the 3rd baby he has held in his life. Hopefully next visit we can get him to try and feed Trinity. He thinks that babies are breakable, hence the stiffness.....ha ha ha.



I read Trinity an Eric Carle book and let me tell you she was quite attentive. I think that she loved to look at the pictures and all the colors, although I am not sure can really see them.

Sorry for the small pictures, I am not sure what happened, and am still not an expert at this whole blogging thing.