Celebration for Geoffrey and Navid

From Alicia): We also recently visited family in Huntsville to celebrate my brother, Geoffrey's birthday and my cousin, Navid's birthday. We had a fun, silly time at a Caribbean restaurant, Todi's!

Good times in Huntsville

Here are some pictures from a quick visit to Huntsville in September to perform (well, Brian, not me) some emergency repairs on my parents' cars. While there we went out on the town with my parents (a rare and lovely outing) and also a sherbert-filled night of fun at the Family-on-the mountain home. We were blessed to be joined by Katrina and Jameh.







Aren't they adorable!

The Summer Story

From Brian: Over the Summer I shifted gears from lots of studying to a more open schedule that allowed time for more things. The studying did continue in a smaller way, though, in the form of a review of quantum mechanics, but I had time for more important things: Alicia and I went camping on the Gulf Coast, in Panama City I had been eagerly awaiting that trip and I'm really glad we had the chance to go. We also visited family in Gulfport, Mississippi, and spent some nice relaxing days there. It would have been almost nothing but fun and relaxation all Summer if it weren't for two unfortunate things: 1. We both worked part time (I was teaching assistant for first-term general physics - definitely not as cool as the engineering physics I had taught last year - and Alicia worked remotely for the NEHA journal) - OK, well having to work is not that unfortunate...we need to eat and we do like working and I like having the chance help students!, and 2. Alicia got a bad sinus infection. I took her to a clinic, and afterwards she had to take anti-biotics for about a month. Neither of us has a lot of time for being ill and it's frustrating, but she bore it well, and I'm just glad she let me take care of her. Afterwards we found out that our AC/furnace unit had - no, not an old filter - it had no filter at all, and that must have been a big factor in the infection and in our overall health. We were unamused. The Summer Story will continue ...

Second year at Auburn...

From Brian: Physics studies have been going strong through the Summer and now are broadening also. Last year I essentially did the 'year of mechanics': classical, quantum, and statistical (meaning thermodynamics). So since I did motion last year, mechanics being the study of motion, this year I am doing the other main area in physics, electrodynamics. Hopefully this will get me ready for the qualifying exam I will most likely take Fall 2007! That exam is the main factor in being able to earn the degree. So electrodynamics, some quantum review, another math course, and teaching second semester intro physics as a TA are what I am doing these days.

Still playing catch-up

From Alicia: So...let's see...I turned 30 (aaaahhhh! But age is only a number, right?)! I don't really feel older or 30, whatever that's supposed to feel like. It is hard to believe the number though....it just doesn't feel like that much time has passed...but it definitely seems to go by quicker the older you get....let's see...what else...I have been suffering from a nasty sinus infection (resulting in chronic migraines, headaches, and face and head pressure-basically being bed-ridden fairly often) and from the side effects of the meds (more headaches, dizziness, nauseousness, disorientation) that I am on to hopefully combat the infection. It's been fun! (heavy sarcasm here)... Also, I just finished my first class (graduate level, Intro to Anthropology) as part of the Online Masters Anthropology Program with the University of North Texas. I don't know my final grade yet, but so far I have received full marks for discussion and all my assignments. It was a challenging class both from an intellectual standpoint and because I was ill and on meds for most of it. It was especially facinating to take part in the kind of virtual community that developed among the students in the class who range in ages from 25 to 56 and who represent a diverse mix of ethnic and economic backgrounds. I probably learned just as much from the other students as I did from the classwork and lecture notes. If this class is any indication of what the next three years will be like, then it will be an amazing experience and discovery process. On an entirely different note, Brian and I are hooked on Agatha Christie mysteries. Namely, we have been watching all the Poirot and Miss Marple mysteries we can get our hands on either through our local library or Netflix. Well, I think that's about it for anything significant...much like the rest of the U.S. it's been hot here as well so we try and go swimming whenever possible, both for exercise and recreation, and I am proud to say I have lost and kept off 10 pounds...not much, I know...but I'm working on it. Next week, I leave for the Texas heat as I will be attending Orientation for the anthro program at UNT. So...that's about it...other than celebrating my fabulous husband's birthday yesterday...it's just steady as she goes here in Auburn, Alabama.

Catching Up...

So much has happened since our last post that I hardly know where to begin. First, thank you all for your kind words and prayers on behalf of my family and my mother. Her was successful and she is recovering well. Of course, there is a five-year out waiting and chec-up period to make sure the cancer does not return, but her health is definitely improving and we are very hopeful.

After returning to Auburn, Brian and I took a short trip down to St. Andrews State Park in Florida for a little camping adventure. And, adventure it was. The site we had reserved had been flooded just days before our arrival from the tropical storm that passed that way earlier in the week and waterfront view we thought we were getting was actually the shore of the lagoon-not the beach! It was still plenty of fun and the water was so clear and beautiful and the waves were fun.

Though we probably won't return to St. Andrews unless we can get a beachside camping spot, we will definitely check out Henderson State Park near Destin.
Also, a very beautiful beach.




Unfortunately, I did pay a heavy price for all the fun at the beach-very painful and bad sunburn! Apparently, the sunblock I was using was no longer effective and I received what was probably 2nd degree burns on my back and neck. Pain and discomfort for a week afterwards!

We've also had a chance to visit my grandparents and other relatives down on the Gulf Coast. We surprised my father for Father's Day at the tail-end of our trip to Florida and then returned for July 4th weekend. Both were very memorable trips (pictures to come).

However, I am still amazed by the expanse of damage from Hurricane Katrina that is still so very evident !
This wonderful place that created for me such fond childhood memories will never be the same again.



Now, on to some happy news...while Brian chugs along with his program at Auburn (he's taking a summer course and teaching an Intro Physics class), I have decided not to attend Auburn. The program, unfortunately, doesn't really offer the depth and breadth of study that I crave and is necessary at this point in my professional and academic career. However, all is not lost. A couple months ago, I came across a program at the University of North Texas. "What? You're moving to Texas?," you ask. No. This is just one of what I hope will be many applicable, unique, and suitable aspects of the program-it is an online program with a very flexible schedule offering an interesting array of study from professors with diverse and fascinating backgrounds. Well, I applied and a couple of weeks ago was accepted to the Online Anthropology Masters Program at UNT, http://www.unt.edu/anthropology/onlinemasters/. I have to take a summer leveling course that started yesterday and that promises to be very intense and challening and then I begin full-time for three years in August. I am very excited. This program will, I believe, combine a lot of my interests and experiences, professional and personal, into a rewarding experience that will be very useful as I look to options for a Ph.D. program down the road. I also hope to continue my employment with the National Environmental Health Association. It is a valuable organization that has been very good to me and I find my work rewarding and applicable, in fact, to some of my goals and interests in Anthropology.
So...there you have it...that's about it for now...more to come...thanks for visiting!

Up to 6,817 steps today...

[Alicia] So, in the spirit of getting healthy and working to challenge ourselves and other family members to get healthy, I am working toward a goal of 10,000 steps a day. Right now Brian is definitely outstepping me and not just because his one stride is equal to three of mine. He's on his feet with school and teaching all day almost every day, but I found this nice fitness trail to aid me in increasing my daily dose of cardio when we don't have the opportunity to walk to and from the campus which is approximately 2.5 miles. Besides increased exercise, we are also watching our diet more by increasing vegetables (lots more greens for the Greens) and fruit and drinking at least the recommended 8 cups of water a day. This is alll especially important because of the news I received today.
As I have not had the opportunity, for a variety of reasons, to get my thyroid checked since moving here, I went in for some tests last week. Well, the results as in as of this morning and they're not good, but they're not untreatable either. My thyroid (or TSH reading) is almost as high as when I was first diagnosed with hypothyroidism. In addition, I apparently now have high cholesterol. The thinking is that my cholesterol will go down once my thyroid gets under control and with the aid of good diet and more exercise. The results were rather surprising. I expected my thyroid level to be off, but not that far off and I certainly did not think that I would have high cholesterol, especially considering that I eat fairly healthy and am only 29, but apparently it is not an uncommon additional problem to have if you are as hypothyroid as I am right now. BUT, I just have to stay positive and realize that this is all completely treatable and that this is just that much more of a reason to increase my focus on establishing a more healthy lifestyle. So...there you have it! Maybe you too should join the challenge - I challenge you...get a pedometer and start journaling what you eat and how much water you drink. I bet you'll be surprised!

Spring is here...

[Alicia] Yes, indeed it is and with Spring showers, er, and hail, and high winds, and tornadoes. We have escaped any real damage or harsh weather. We continue to see weekly forecasts for strong thunderstorms, but nothing serious down here and, in fact, it cools things off which is nice considering the hot, humid summer is just around the corner. Everything is in bloom down here which is quite lovely. So far our allergies haven't really been affected too much which is a good sign. I think actually Brian has a harder time with allergies than I do, but then we all know how sensitive he is - just kidding.
Brian continues to work steadily at his studies as finals are just around the corner (first week in May). The first year is almost over. It's hard to believe! It's been quite a year of adjustment for both of us.
I continue with my work for the National Environmental Health Association, part-time, and am working on getting my health issues under control and am continuing to investigate the best option for me with regard to my future endeavours in the field of anthropology.
For the immediate future, however, I will be moving, temporarily, to Huntsville for about a month and a half to help out my family any way I can. You see, my mother was just diagnosed with Endometrial Cancer and will be undergoing surgery in about 2 weeks. So, please keep my family in your thoughts and prayers as we journey through this challenge together. The cancer has been caught at a very early stage and we are very hopeful for a successful surgery and recovery. My mother is doing a great job of trying to get as healthy as possible prior to the surgery by walking several miles almost every day, eating better, and drinking lots of water. She also has an ever-growing support group outside of her family as we learn about other friends and co-workers who have dealt with cancer personally or know someone who beat it.
Well, it is now time to sleep perchance to dream and wake tomorrow rested and ready to make the most of the gift of life for one more day.

Happy Anniversary!

Today is a very special day for two of our favorite relatives - it's Davin and Jen's 14th Wedding Anniversary! Congratulations! You can check out their blog in the list of links to the right.

Yes, yes, I know...

I [Alicia] have been told (repeatedly) that we need to update our blog. Me aculpa, me aculpa. We've been a little busy with school and work what with mid-terms and loads of homework and personal projects and thus the delay in our attention to the blog. This is an even tougher semester for Brian and he is working hard on his constant responsibilities for the classes he teaches and trying to stay afloat with all the homework and quizzes and tests (He's lately been preparing for mid-terms in Quantum Mechanics and Statistical Mechanics.). I, with my one little class, have been kept busy with preparing for a mid-term last week that ended up being much easier than expected. I got a 56/60! :-) We also had a take home essay portion and I hope to receive full credit on that portion of the test resulting in an A for the mid-term. I could have and should have done better on the in-class portion, but I am grateful for the chance to test my knowledge and learn where I have room to grow. For the take home portion, I wrote a 2,000-plus word essay on Orientalism. It's a very interesting perspective about how the West views the "Orient" and its impact on foreign policy and popular opinion and attitudes during the post-colonial periods in Europe (specifically in France and England) and later in the U.S., and the resulting impact on today's popular perspectives of the Middle East in particular as arising out of an Orientalist perspective.
On a lighter note, the weather here is quite nice. Everything is blooming and it has been lovely. We've spent a few afternoons studying outdoors (I wish we had a camera so I could share some of the lovely blooming trees. One of my plants that blooms tiny little rose-like blossoms has been growing wonderfully and producing adorable little flowers. However, we (and by "we" I really mean mostly me) have to watch the fact that I sunburn easily - one afternoon of studying resulted in patches of sunburn on my left leg and my arms. :-( We just had a cold front roll through and temps dipped down into the 60s! Imagine - and they just had 4-5 inches of snow in Colorado! I think we had about a week of Winter down here. I am not complaining one way or the other, but I do miss the snow. Well, it is time to go eat...that's all for now.

Radiant Abuelita

We had to post this picture on our site since it's such a beautiful, radiant picture of my [Alicia] mother! We had the good fortune to visit Jameh (and Katrina and Nafeh) again in January. As you have probably been able to tell from his (Jameh's) web site, he's growing so fast and quickly developing more and more character in his lovely, little countenance. His birth was such an amazing experience for me [Alicia]. My mother and I had the blessing of being with Katrina throughout her labor. I have been graciously (too graciously, I think) thanked for my efforts in that process, but I can only offer that I would not have felt as confident in my own instincts had my own mother not been there. Her wealth of experience, love, and words of wisdom gave me so much strength and allowed me to truly connect with Katrina and be as much of a help to her as I could be. It was also such a blessing that so many family members could be there as well throughout the hours leading up to and after the birth (Katrina's parents, her brothers, her cousin, Navid, and my husband were all there during the labor-though not necessarily in the room during her hard labor hours as only a couple people were allowed to stay). And, then, fortunately, Nafeh's mother, Karen, was able to join us shortly after the birth. Other family members were also there in spirit, we are sure, if not frequently by phone. I only hope I am blessed to have so many family members surrounding us when we have our children. Then, the blessings of this birth continued as my mother and I were able to stay several extra days to help Katrina out during the critical days after the birth. We miss Jameh so much and can't wait to see him again!

I love this picture of Jameh and Brian! Just see how Jameh's fingers reach back for Brian's hand...so adorable!!

Everyone should get regular massages

Yesterday, Brian and I went to get massages at a local massage and aromatherapy center! So relaxing and so long overdue!!! Brian got a 1/2 hour Swedish massage and I got a 1/2 hour Hot Stone Massage. That was the first time I had ever gotten a Hot Stone Massage and it was wonderful! Whenever any of you come to visit, we will have to treat you to a massage at this place (see link at left). They are very reasonably priced and very nice people. We will definitely be going back. They also feature other types of massages, body wraps, facials, manicures, and the list goes on. Then, we went to Smoothie King and got some good antioxidant and detoxifying smoothies, water (a must-have after massages), and some really good health snacks like these chips from root vegetables and a Pistachio Pineapple Boomi Bar (gluten free). It was a day of health to be sure...now the real challenge is to carry over that same perspective on health every day...and we try.

Brian's Pirate Name - we didn't plan this!

My pirate name is:

Mad Sam Rackham

Every pirate is a little bit crazy. You, though, are
more than just a little bit. You have the good fortune
of having a good name, since Rackham
(pronounced RACKem, not rack-ham)is one of the
coolest sounding surnames for a pirate. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from fidius.org.

Alicia's Pirate Name - what fun!

My pirate name is:

Mad Anne Rackham

Every pirate is a little bit crazy. You, though, are
more than just a little bit. You have the good fortune
of having a good name, since Rackham
(pronounced RACKem, not rack-ham)is one of the
coolest sounding surnames for a pirate. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from fidius.org.

Movie reviews

Brian and I went to see Nanny McPhee this past weekend and WE LOVED IT! It is such a treasure of a movie and we highly recommend it! Emma Thomspon (who also wrote the screenplay) and Colin Firth are great-we're a little partial because they are two of our favorite actors. Nanny McPhee is just one of those movies that takes you back to the innocence of childhood and the idea of believing in magic and fairy tales and the fun of being mischievious. Our experience was made even more enjoyable by all the little children in the audience (I am pretty sure we were the only ones there without children.) and especially these two adorable little boys (about 3 and 5 years old) who giggled and laughed the whole time.

We also rented The Last Samurai from Netflix and watched that this past week. A great movie also...a real tearjerker for me. Some beautiful imagery, writing, and the historical aspects were fascinating.

Has anyone else seen these movies? What did you think?

Thru the Looking Glass: Amelia, Lucia, and Roya

As Amelia, Lucia, and Roya are away in Haifa, Israel, and cannot, sadly, be with us for many of these events (though they are with us in our thoughts and in our hearts), we think it is only fitting that they have their place on this blog as well. So we offer the photos below of the darlings out and about at cafes, walking the grand steps up the terraces on Mount Carmel at the World Centre, celebrating birthdays, and generally enjoying each other's company. (Of course, girls, this does not deprive you -or relieve you- of the responsibility of continuing to send us news and more pictures.)

Reasons for the time warp

[Alicia] You will soon notice that there will be more and more photos for the time being that were taken in the past. This is as a result of the plain fact that we didn't start this blog until this month and there are just so many great photos that we want to share and that shouldn't stay hidden. So...for the time being...you will pardon the fact that some of these photos will be a little dated.

Time Warp...Back to New Year's Day 2006

[Alicia] Brian and I walked in the mist along the remains of one of the piers in Gulfport (Cousin Cheryl in the background). The damage and destruction everywhere was amazing. There are many places I remember as a child visiting, when my family and I would go to visit family in Gulfport, that are simply not there anymore as a result of Hurricane Katrina. The destruction and remains looked particularly eerie this morning. (I'm not TRYING to look extra cool in my glasses...there was glare - I promise! Yes, there was!)

More images of the destruction that are neat, but that only really offer a small glimpse of the scope of the destruction.

Time Warp...Back to New Year's Eve 2005

[Alicia] It was a magical night - New Year's Eve at the grandparents in Gulfport, MS. I hadn't been back for that occasion in some time and Brian had not been at all. As much as was possible throughout the misty night, we sent fireworks soaring into the night sky (usually beyond our vision) that was most anything but clear and we danced and we laughed and we ate good food and played silly games like Mafia and Black Magic (They sound very sinister but are really rather fun and harmless.). It was amazing how much more room we all take up now that we are grown. Many of us couldn't really stay up all night and then when midnight came...we were so engrossed in the games we all only half-muttered a "Happy New Year" to each other and quickly went back to the silliness. Gatherings at the grandparents are always times to remember!

So....what else is new?

Well, we recently moved to a new apartment in Auburn. We are not all set up yet and largely without much furniture or we'd show you some images of the new digs. We are settling in, but getting moved in must also be tempered with the start of classes, travel, and other committments. Also, thanks to Nafeh's recommendation, we just signed up for Netflix. We haven't received the first movies yet, but the selection is amazing. A lot of good documentaries, classics, independent films, and television series you wouldn't find in your local Blockbuster or Movie Gallery. For example, we love mysteries so we already put Miss Marple and Inspector Poirot mysteries in our queue along with some great sci-fi like Farscape and Babylon 5!

We spoke of classes earlier and yes, we did mean classes for both of us. As you all probably know, Brian is now in his second semester of the Ph.D. program in Physics at Auburn and doing well as well as eating, drinking, and sleeping Physics. Our conversations have become quite interesting and enlightening if not increasingly silly from the strain on the brain. And, now, I (Alicia) will be joining him for lunch occasionally on campus as I started taking one class, Middle Eastern Societies, this Spring. Yes, I applied and was accepted to the M.S. (or M.A. - haven't quite figured out which) program in Sociology with a concentration in Cultural Anthropology. I will also be taking some core theory and methods undergraduate sociology courses over the summer. So, the balancing of time has become quite tricky, but we both have a lot to aspire to and are enjoying the challenge.

Welcome Jameh!

The most amazing recent event in our lives recently was the birth of our nephew, Jameh Tyson Fananapazir, son of Nafeh and Katrina Fananapazir, born Sunday, Jan. 15 at 3:11 a.m. We'd like to share some oh-so-cute family photos with you - basically because we can't get enough of the little guy!

You can go to http://www.nafeh.com/baby/main.php, to learn more about Jameh, the Fananapazir's and to see more cute family and baby pictures.


Katrina, Alicia's sister, presents Jameh to the world and vice versa.


Here I (Alicia) am with Little Jameh! Awwww! I could hold him all day long!


And...here's Brian with Jameh! Aren't they so cute!!


Awww...Abuelita and Jameh! Wait! What's that? Truly a blessed baby!


Awwww...three generations!!


And here's the Father-of-the-Mother-of-Jameh soaking in some rays!


Dad (Nafeh) and son!








Here's some more images...


Geoffrey and Jameh


Navid and Jameh


Brian (Tyson) with Jameh


Father-of-the-Mother-of-Jameh walking Jameh