International Women's Day 2010: Go see "Half the Sky LIVE" on March 4th!

My Dear Family & Friends,

In January I wrote about some of the books I read over the holiday break which included "Half the Sky" by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. It is now a New York Times bestseller and is in its 19th printing. I hope some of you have read it! Well, this blog post returns to the subject of women's rights and looks forward to International Women's Day in March.

First let me start at the beginning... Last year I ran across an advertisement for an International Women's Day event featuring a nationwide screening of the documentary film entitled "A Powerful Noise." The screening was sponsored by the human rights organization CARE International and featured not only the film screening but also a live panel discussion with humanitarian experts (Nicholas Kristof, president of CARE Dr. Helene Gayle, Madeline Albright, etc.) who discussed the importance of global women's rights and the significant role that women play in fighting poverty. I went to this event in the Twin Cities with my good friend, Anna. The whole experience was so powerful and inspiring that it is hard to put into words.

Then imagine my shock and delight when I discover that the taping of this year's International Women's Day film and panel will take place at NYU and will feature the book "Half the Sky" and its authors! So on the evening of Thursday, February 11th I headed down to the Skirball Auditorium at NYU to be in the audience for the taping of this amazing event!

The whole evening was a kind of surreal experience that is hard to describe. The event featured beautiful musical performances by India.Arie, Angelique Kidjo, and Diane Birch; the premier of a film directed by Marisa Tomei entitled "Woinoshet;" and a panel including Kristof, WuDunn, Helene Gayle, Sarah the Duchess of York (who was amazing!), and Rachel Mayanja, the UN Secretary-General's Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women. They addressed three issues from the book including sex trafficking, maternal mortality, and violence against women. Their overarching message is that empowering women is the key to making positive and lasting changes in struggling communities in developing countries. It was an amazing evening that brought most of the audience to tears but left us feeling hopeful and inspired to be a voice for women's rights.

Anyway, here's the most exciting part: YOU can go see "Half the Sky LIVE" in your local theaters on March 4th at 7:30 pm and see exactly what I saw in person! This will be a one night event going on across all of the United States and Canada (even the Sioux Falls Century 14 Theater!) I guarantee that it will be a wonderful and inspirational event--even if you don't know a lot about women's issues or human rights, I would encourage each and every one of you to attend. I plan on going even though I was there for the taping! Here's the link for details about the event: http://www.ncm.com/Fathom/OriginalPrograms/event/Half_The_Sky.aspx

So please invite your family, friends, and colleagues and go!

Who doesn't like Scandinavian food?

Laura with her delicious cornish hen and me with my amazing chocolate mouse dessert with hazelnuts!

Last weekend I was fortunate enough to have my dear St. Olaf friend, Laura, come for a visit! She is now living in Boston working for the Boston Symphony Orchestra (amazing, right?) and so she took the bus into NYC Friday evening and went back on Monday afternoon (President's Day.) Anyway, we had a great time watching the Olympics and catching up but one of the highlights of her visit was a lunch at the Scandinavian restaurant Aquavit for NY Restaurant Week! It is one of my all time favorite restaurants so I was thrilled that Laura wanted to go with me (she's a devoted foodie!) Anyway, if any of you ever visit I will probably want to take you to Aquavit. I guarantee it will not disappoint!

Winter comes East...finally

View out my window Wednesday, Feb. 10th!

New York isn't used to so much snow all at once but I loved it!

There were lots of children out with their parents building snowmen and snow forts. I was especially impressed by the perfect "snow wall" created just outside my front door by a man and his two children.

Last week we had a "snow day" on February 10th in NYC. Being from the midwest, however, this was really quite funny for me since they were forecasting nothing like the winter weather we experienced over Christmas or anything like what Washington D.C. was getting at the same time.

Anyway, the day before the public schools announced they were going to be closed because it "might" snow a lot. In total I think we got around 8-10 inches and while it was messy wet snow, it wasn't that bad. You should have heard how all the New Yorkers were panicking--they just aren't used to winter weather I guess! Public radio did a report that afternoon about how New Yorkers were "surviving the blizzard" by interviewing women at shoe stores who were buying boots (many for the first time!!) because they wore high heels and were unable to walk on the slippery wet sidewalks by lunchtime. Oh my goodness--I laughed so hard!

On a positive note, the NY parks service provided sleds and hot chocolate to children at some of the city's parks! Isn't that sweet? Overall it was a fun day because my class was canceled and it was just so beautiful to finally see the city covered in a thick layer of pristine white snow. It made me feel nostalgic for home in SD & MN!

Oscar the Model

Oscar loves posing for Alex.

Big yawn!

Ready to pounce...

Lazy cat.

These are a few of my favorite things!

I love the movie "The Sound of Music" but what I enjoy even more is being reminded of the simple joys in life that come from my favorite things. This may seem a little silly to some of you, but one of my most recent favorite things is my new flannel bedding! My aunt Liz, a quilter and sewer and all around creative genius, gave me these great red sheets for Christmas. What makes them special is that she appliqued a the beautiful flower pattern on the edges of the pillow cases and on the top of the flat sheet. They also match perfectly with my newest quilt I made this summer with my cousin Alison (ok, I'll admit that I still have to hand-stitch the binding on, but hey, I'm close and it still keeps me warm!) Anyway, thanks Liz for such a lovely and thoughtful gift! It is truly one of my favorite things!

We must be related...

I seem to have quite a few "like mother like daughter" moments and an equal share of "I am my father's daughter" moments. My dad and my Mom's family are especially good at making me aware of these moments (who is always the last one eating at the table? It used to be my mom and now it's me). Anyway, these shared family traits are not limited to my immediate family.

My cousin Alison has always been a kind of "big sister" role model for me and this last year has prompted me to reflect on her influence on me. A few similarities come to mind right away--she went to Luther, I went to St. Olaf; she was singer, so am I; she moved to NY to go to grad. school after college, I'm doing the same thing now. So call me a copycat! When I was little, whatever Alison did, I wanted to do (I've never told her this, but I'm sure it won't come as a huge surprise to her or the rest of the family). Here's a great picture of us (and her brother Mike) with the farm cats in Grandma Kelly's barn. Aren't we cute?



So, my most recent "Alison" moment occurred a few weeks ago when I started reorganizing the contents of my bookcase. Instead of organizing my books alphabetically or by subject, I decided to take a queue from Alison and arrange them according to the color of their spine. I'm an aesthete I suppose...most museum people are though. Note that Oscar has recently discovered how to jump on top of the bookcase.



Isn't it pretty? While it isn't the most practical thing I could have done, I like it anyway! We'll just have to see how easy it is to find things as the semester moves forward.

Alison also encouraged me to post a picture of it on my blog so here it is! My favorite response so far is my aunt Nancy exclaiming "Oh, dear God!" Thanks, Nancy--glad to have your support... :)