What are the chances

You may have already figured out that I have a great amount of affection for the Pioneer Woman.  Her recipes are extraordinarily delicious, and are made from ingredients I can actually find in China.  Her wit and stories of farm life keep me entertained. And her photography assignments and tips keep me challenged.  Yesterday as I was browsing her site I found the newest assignment: “green”.  I must admit, I chuckled when I read that.  There is nothing green where I live (yet).  In fact, brown and gray are the dominant hues.  Gray cloudy skies.  Brown dirt blowing in from the Gobi desert.  Brown muddy ground drenched from large melting snow and ice drifts.  Gray coal dust covered remaining snow and ice drifts.

Mmmm…that’s what I’ve been breathing in all winter!  I bet my lungs are looking real good.  Consequently, for the current assignment I decided against hunting for a speck of green outside, and instead went scrolling through my photo archives.  I stumbled upon this picture that perfectly fits the bill:

This photo has got to be one of my favorites of my adorable nephew, who even more appropriately fits the assignment because he’s a Saint Patty’s day baby.  Like his aunt, his eyes change color with the shirts he’s wearing.  Blue shirt?  Blue eyes.  Green shirt?  Green eyes.  I can’t wait to get back to the States this summer to smother this little guy with hugs.  And to take hundreds of pictures.

On another note, also while on the Pioneer Woman’s site yesterday I decided to leave a comment to enter to win a Kindle.  I have left dozens if not hundreds of comments on her contests.  My grand dream is winning a kitchen aid mixer and having her pay to ship it to China.   Considering the fact that around 20,000 people enter most of her contests though, I gravely doubted I would ever win anything.  I’ve had mixed feelings about the kindle.  I love my books.  I love the feel of the paper, the smell of age, and the memories of where I got each one.  An electronic machine just can’t hold the same significance.  However, after lugging around 10 pounds of books on my back while traveling for six weeks I was a bit more interested in the Kindle.  I’m all about simplifying my luggage.  The grand sum of all these musings was the conclusion that while I probably wouldn’t buy a kindle, getting one for free (with $75 to spend on books) would be quite wonderful.

And guess what?  I won.  Yep, I beat the impossible odds and actually won something from the Pioneer Woman.  She should be happy she’s shipping a lightweight Kindle and not a heavy mixer across the pond.  Winning was wonderful, but what made my day even more wonderful was the fact that I didn’t need to wear long underwear (for the first time in months…excepting the time in Thailand) and I aced my Chinese writing quiz.  No abundance of gray and brown can squelch my mood!