And it’s not over yet! :-)

We have had a really busy yet fulfilling weekend! Yesterday evening Paul and I went to see Prince Caspian. More on that later, but we loved it! :-) Then today I woke up early to help our friends move to their new house! Let me say, we LOVE their new house. Paul and I helped them move a few loads last week, and we both commented after we left that it was exactly the kind of house we’d love to have. Sometimes you don’t know what you are looking for until you see it, you know what I mean?

Paul had to work this morning but I was able to help out. I helped load and unload boxes all morning, and had some nice social time with a bunch of people from our Sunday School class. I remarked to Paul that I feel we’ve gotten to know everyone better in the past few months, versus last fall. I think with the changing weather we’re all itching to get outside and it certainly is lovely. We are both enjoying the friendships we’re making.

I got home about the same time as Paul, so we got in the car again and headed to a nearby state park with a bunch of hiking trails. We went there for Easter Sunday and hiked 5+ miles, but today we only did about 3 or 4 miles. The vegetation has thickened since March, and at times we had trouble seeing the river we were walking alongside. We spotted an abandoned snakeskin, a cute little chipmunk, and an empty bird’s nest on the ground. Despite the fact that I was so tired from moving all morning, I felt really invigorated in the fresh air and sunshine and we both really enjoyed ourselves. When we went camping last, we went ahead and bought an annual state park pass for our car in hopes it would force us to visit this place more often! (last time we scrambled around trying to find enough cash for the parking fee, and I must admit that fee was preventing us from returning)

After that, neither of us felt like going home, so we decided to drive around a little. I wanted to check out an area of town that I was interested in looking at houses. We drove around and I fell in love. Then I learned that houses seem to start around $300k in that area. (And we didn’t even go in the neighborhoods that had the nicely manicured lawns and big houses!) It’s all location, location, location… and to tell you the truth, I’m sold. I would definitely buy in that area if I had the money! We’ve been talking a lot about long term where we want to end up living (even if we rent for many more years before buying). The more we talk about different areas of Atlanta, the more I realize that Paul doesn’t want to retreat to the suburbs but rather stay close to the city. To be honest, the best way to have both worlds is to live near (within 10-15 minutes driving) a train station. So it’s exciting to narrow our search somewhat, but also frustrating because the neighborhoods are either SOO expensive or areas that I really don’t want to raise a family – there is no middle ground. Go figure!

Anyways, we enjoyed driving around nonetheless and now my heart is sold on a new area of town so I’ll put my Internet skills to work and see if I can find a place for us to live. :-)

Tomorrow we have our last Sunday School class until the fall, and we also have a barbeque luncheon after church. After that there is a seminar at our church that Paul and I are taking, and then finally we’ll get a chance to relax. ;-) A busy weekend, but really fulfilling in my mind. I also am excited that I exercised so much this week, between working out three times, then moving all morning, then going on a hike. I feel so much better if nothing else!

So let me tell you a story.

There is this person I have been interacting with recently. Let’s call her Patty. She’s really nice, but she says some things that leave me slightly offended and mostly chuckling about her ignorance.

A few weeks ago, I overheard Patty talking to a girl who looked hispanic. The girl was trying to lose weight for her upcoming wedding. Patty (who has a background in nutrition) told her that she needs to eat better, and lay off the tortillas and rice. It annoys me that just because someone looks hispanic, people automatically assume they pig out on tortillas and rice. Did you know in Peru you couldn’t even buy tortillas? They were as unheard of as Mountain Dew!

It also annoys me that people assume, just because I have a Spanish last name, that I’m hispanic. Anyways.

So fast forward to today. I was talking to Patty again, and she was asking me about Paul. I told her that he was a stick – 5’4″ and only weighing 105 lbs. (aren’t you jealous? I am!). She was surprised, and asked me why he was so thin.

“Because he’s Mexican,” I told her.

“Oh!” she said. “So he works outside all day?”

JUST BECAUSE HE’S MEXICAN DOESN’T MEAN HE’S A DAY LABORER. But I didn’t say that. I said nicely, “No he works in an office. Mexicans and Latins in general have smaller statures.”

“Do you eat his food then?” At my blank look she added, “His culture’s food?”

“No…” I started and was about to explain that he’s a fourth generation Mexican-American, but she continued on.

“I see all these hispanic women who have trouble losing weight because of the food they eat. All that rice and beans and tortillas! I’m always telling them to stop eating so unhealthily.”

Okay – break here – tortillas?? Since when are they the super unhealthy food? I must admit my blood pressure rose a bit here.

“You know, I grew up in Latin America and when I moved back to the States I was shocked by how fat Americans are. In Latin America, in general people are very small and thin. They eat these huge meals for lunch and dinner, and yet they are so thin.”

We went on to discuss this – I explained that they were so much more inclined to walk and exercise, as we Americans are lazy (hehe). They eat these huge meals, but it’s all from scratch – no processed foods. I just think it’s so interesting that she typecasted hispanic people as being overweight, because that’s the opposite of what my impression would be! I told the whole story to Paul when I got home today and he just laughed, especially about the day laborer part.

I’m not saying a diet of rice, beans, and tortillas is the best, but I can’t imagine it being as bad as she was making it seem like! Aren’t beans really good for you? And brown rice? I honestly think she was reacting because it’s just different. Oh well, hopefully I was able to make her think. I like to do that, especially when it involves hispanic stereotypes (maybe I should have told her my husband was not an illegal immigrant?). Hehe.

So apparently it’s getting quite stressful for parents to name their child. I think I’m going to go into business of naming people’s children – sounds like fun, don’t you think? I could work from home, and develop a special numerology test thingy to prove that I’m worth their money. Oh yeah.

All sarcasm aside, what about you? What kinds of names do you consider when choosing a name for your child? Do you go for unusual and unique, or something more common and easy to spell? Do you discount names you like just because they are popular, or vice versa? Does the name’s meaning play a role in your decision? Do you go purely on how it sounds? Do you pull names from your family/relatives? Do you prefer biblical names? Do you come up with the name on your way to the hospital, based on a whim? Or do you put hours and days of thought into the subject until you find that “perfect” name?

Do you like to let other people have a part in your choosing of names? Or do you discuss it only with your spouse and that’s it? Do you like nicknames? Shortened versions of the names you pick? Do you like naming children after parents? (My brother, for example is Andrew Jr. – AJ) Do you like ethnic names? Names in other languages? Common names but maybe a different spelling? (Erin or Erynn?)

Would you ever name your daughter “River”?

What external factors affect your name choices? Do you let a friend or acquaintance’s name for THEIR children affect your decision? One of my fears for if and when I have children is a close friend “stealing” the very awesome name I have my heart set on. So should I pick a different name if that happened? Or should I just deal with there being two kids with the same name? What about the influence of movies or books or celebrities? If your last name is Potter, and you’ve always loved the name “Harry” would you go ahead and choose that name, or pick something else?

These things have been on my mind because I have so many different friends who are expecting right now (and two more I can’t link to due to no public announcements yet!), and I’ve been discussing names. One of these days I’m going to convince someone to name their daughter Ashley. ;-) Until then… I look forward to hearing your opinions!