It’s been almost two months since the last time I visited my parents’ house, and both this time and the last time I was here, my dad has been away on business trips because of natural disasters, first in Texas and now in Joplin, Missouri because of the devastating tornado. It feels like I haven’t seen him in ages and it’s totally weird to be in the house without both him and my mom.

My dad sent some of the most heart-wrenching pictures of the scene in Joplin, and while I can’t share them just yet, I look forward to sharing some of them here, hopefully to motivate you to donate to the American Red Cross and/or to volunteer with organizations such as Habitat for Humanity. In my dad’s own words on the phone last night, he said to me, “look down our street at all the houses and the high school next to the house…now imagine everything is gone and you can see almost to the next town over. There’s nothing left here but piles of debris; I’m walking down the street and I’m walking through peoples’ silverware, their clothing, and through where their houses used to be. If the trees didn’t get pulled out of the ground, they were stripped of their bark.”

The scene he described and I saw in the pictures reminded me of when I visited New Orleans a few years ago, five years after Hurricanes Rita and Katrina devastated the 9th Ward. The neighborhood there was still completely ruined, with only a few homes that people returned to, rebuilt. I volunteered during Ecumenical Work Week (which usually happens in August) with the Armenian organization I belong to, the ACYOA, to help rebuild houses down there. However, anyone can volunteer to go and there are several different organizations you can volunteer with. While most of the work we did was painting, the people there had the most amazing stories to tell us about their survival and were so grateful that we came to help.

What I can only hope is that five years from now, the people of Joplin, MO have their lives back completely, unlike the people who were devastated in New Orleans. Please take the time to donate to the Red Cross, you can donate by texting “REDCROSS” to 90999 to make a $10 donation, or visit their website to donate, give blood or volunteer.

There countless other ways to help the people of and organizations who are volunteering in Joplin. You can find all the details on how to donate or volunteer to/with AmeriCares, Convoy of Hope (which can also be done by text message), Feeding America, the Heart of Missouri United Way, the Joplin Storm Recovery Volunteers, Heart to Heart International, Operation Blessing International Disaster Relief Fund, the Salvation Army (can also be done by text message), Samaritan’s Purse, ShelterBox, and WorldVision (can also be done by text) by visiting CNN.com.

While I’m so devastated by what’s happened there, I hope I can find the time and a way to volunteer there; doing so in New Orleans was one of the best experiences of my life. And there are a few other lights in my life that make me happy…

The first coincidentally, are actually lights. I take the beauty of Grand Central for granted most of the time because it's always so busy and I'm always in a rush. Yesterday I got there about half an hour before my train left and I stopped to realized how gorgeous the chandeliers in the station are. How many other train stations do you know with that many huge amazing chandeliers just going to the food court? There aren't too many.

Purple Irises are apparently not a popular flower to grow in NYC, because I never see them, but they were always a favorite of mine growing up. I was delighted to come home and see a ton of them in my parents' backyard.

Miss Izzie. I haven't posted a picture of my precious pup on here in awhile and even though she's been a little bit of a pain in the butt today, I miss not having her around all the time. In this picture, apparently she thinks the fresh cut grass tastes good...some dogs will never learn!