Granted, this is from Glamour magazine, but I still thought it provided some useful ways to give back for the holidays or all year 'round. . .
1. Buy a holiday turkey for a family in Baton Rouge (home to thousand of Hurricane Katrina evacuees) for $25 @ brfoodbank.org
2. Offer snow shoveling services to an elderly neighbor. Excellent exercise & there may be cocoa in it for you.
3. Support the troops with warm socks , deodorant, CheezIts: find their wish lists @ anysoldier.com
4. Donate new blankets to kids in homeless shelters @ projectnightnight.org
5. Buy funky gifts @ thrift stops that give back such as Out of the Closet; sales help support the AIDS Healthcare Foundation. For locations, see outofthecloset.org
6. Before you shop online, go to goodshop.com. Then buy from participating retailers and the site donates a portion of your purchase to the charity of your choice.
7. Give manicures @ a local nursing home.
8. Spend an hour or two a week helping an immigrant learn English (check out literacy volunteers.org)
9. Help protect half an acre of rain forest in South Central America with a $25 donation at rainforestalliance.org
10. Donate old cell phones to victims of domestic violence for emergencies (go to ncadv.org and click 'donate').
11. Vaccinate 50 people around the world from deadly diseases such as meningitis, measles or polio with a $50 donation at doctorswithoutborders.org.
12. Provide a month of care for a woman or child rescued from sexual slavery for just $30 at sharedhope.org
13. Get friends involved. To find group volunteer projects, go to thevolunteerfamily.com.
14. Clean out your closet! Then donate old glasses (neweyesfortheneedy.org), shoes (shareyoursoles.org), and even wedding gowns (makingmemories.org).
15. Find projects that help people in your very own zip code at dosomething.org.
16. Make a $10 donation to freethechildren.org and a special matching-funds program will turn it into $100 worth of medical supplies for kids around the world.
17. Mentor an at-risk teen online at icouldbe.org.
18. Volunteer - inside or out - at a national park (nps.gov)
19. Play the Mozart concerto you've (almost) mastered for seniors. For local programs, see volunteermatch.org.
20. Help an aspiring student pay for college at scholarshipamerica.org.
21. Send aDVD or video game to hospital-bound kids via childsplaycharity.org.
22. Tutor a future J.K. Rowling @ 826national.org
23. Staying home for the holidays? Donate frequent-flier miles to injured solidiers' families @ heromiles.org
24. Look at your medical history, then donate to a cause that could help your loved ones, be it the American Heart Association (americanheart.org), Susan G. Komen for the Cure (komen.org) or another charity.
25. Loan money to a budding entrepreneur in the developing world @ kiva.org.
26. Train your pooch to be a therapy dog for nursing homes and hospitals @ tdi-dog.org.
27. Sell gifts you don't need through eBay's Giving Works program (givingworks.ebay.com), which earmarks a percentage of sales for the charities of your choice.
28. Give to donorschoose.org; a small donation can help create cozy reading nooks for underfunded classrooms.
29. Upgrade your laptop; worldcomputerexchange.org will send your old one to a child in one of 61 countries.
30. Give blood (to find out where, go to givelife.org). What better reason to stop and lie down for 10 minutes?
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Can't Get Enough
So much good music out there right now: Feist's The Reminder was listed as the best album of the year. yes, yes & yes. John Mayer just released Say. Tori Amos' American Doll Posse. Alicia Keys As I Am only 2 weeks out and an inevitable pick for a 2008 album of the year. All of it therapy for the soul.
Speaking of John Mayer & Alicia Keys, a you tube video is circulating of John Mayer performing Alicia's No One. Love watching John Mayer live, like a long string bean with guitar in hand. I've seen him 3 times in concert and each time he's kept me mesmerized. He's a musician because he has to be, the music is just within him, it just spills out. Brilliant.
On that note, music i can't stop listening to:
Destiny/Zero 7/Simple Things
Bouncing Off Clouds/Tori Amos/American Doll Posse
Apologize (featuring OneRepublic)/Timberland/Shock Value
Long Ride Home/Patty Griffin/1000 Kisses
Car Crash/Matt Nathanson/Some Mad Hope
Until the End of Time/Justin Timberlake & Beyonce/FutureSex Lovesounds Deluxe Edition
Say/John Mayer/Say - Single
Like A Star/Corinne Bailey Rae/Corinne Bailey Rae
I Can't Make You Love Me/Bonnie Raitt/Luck of the Draw
In the Margins/Ani Difranco/Reprieve
Back to Black/Amy Winehouse/Back to Black
Lesson Learned/Alicia Keys/As I Am
Killing Time/Jonah Smith/Jonah Smith
Sea Lion Woman/Feist/The Reminder
And in honor of christmas: River/Sarah McLachlan/Wintersong
Speaking of John Mayer & Alicia Keys, a you tube video is circulating of John Mayer performing Alicia's No One. Love watching John Mayer live, like a long string bean with guitar in hand. I've seen him 3 times in concert and each time he's kept me mesmerized. He's a musician because he has to be, the music is just within him, it just spills out. Brilliant.
On that note, music i can't stop listening to:
Destiny/Zero 7/Simple Things
Bouncing Off Clouds/Tori Amos/American Doll Posse
Apologize (featuring OneRepublic)/Timberland/Shock Value
Long Ride Home/Patty Griffin/1000 Kisses
Car Crash/Matt Nathanson/Some Mad Hope
Until the End of Time/Justin Timberlake & Beyonce/FutureSex Lovesounds Deluxe Edition
Say/John Mayer/Say - Single
Like A Star/Corinne Bailey Rae/Corinne Bailey Rae
I Can't Make You Love Me/Bonnie Raitt/Luck of the Draw
In the Margins/Ani Difranco/Reprieve
Back to Black/Amy Winehouse/Back to Black
Lesson Learned/Alicia Keys/As I Am
Killing Time/Jonah Smith/Jonah Smith
Sea Lion Woman/Feist/The Reminder
And in honor of christmas: River/Sarah McLachlan/Wintersong
Friday, November 9, 2007
Unemployment
We wait for the baby to arrive; for gasoline prices to drop; for retirement; for the moment and the money to buy a new house or the latest technology; kids wait for christmas just like their parents wait for date night; wait for that acceptance letter to our 1st choice college; wait for the promotion or the job of our dreams; single girls wait for the large diamond ring to be slipped on their finger; wait for a honest politician to finally take office; wait for wars to be over and peace to rule; wait for the ball (and the other one too) to drop; wait for happiness to come because we are tend to taught that it's more of a physical state than an emotional one.
And sometimes we wait for the inevitable.
This was one of those things that was inevitable, I just didn't want to see it that way. It's hit me harder than I thought or would have ever wanted.
One month in, life throws us a curve ball and declares the honeymoon over.
"ok," you say with eyes set forward, "on to the next best thing." I know you you're not broken- up about this (stressed, yes, but not broken hearted), hated that crummy ass job, with its loads of paperwork that made you stuck in a cubicle day after day. I know you hated being treated like a puppet, always under the direction of someone else. I know you anticipated this day, anticipated what you forsaw as the inevitable. FEMA was a way to delay it.
I on the other hand kept my head down, denied the obvious, didn't want to feel or think or even make a hypothetical out of all this. So I didn't, I charged forward believing that paperwork meant safety; that people, out of the goodness of their hearts, would spare us; that happiness can/should be compromised for a paycheck.
And for that i am deeply sorry.
I'm also sorry that you're comforting me. Reassuring me. Having to be the strong one when it was your job. It should be the other way around, I know that. But, no matter how hard i try, i just can't be that person today. Not even tomorrow. But I hope I can soon. For you.
Where to now? What next?
One big question mark.
And sometimes we wait for the inevitable.
This was one of those things that was inevitable, I just didn't want to see it that way. It's hit me harder than I thought or would have ever wanted.
One month in, life throws us a curve ball and declares the honeymoon over.
"ok," you say with eyes set forward, "on to the next best thing." I know you you're not broken- up about this (stressed, yes, but not broken hearted), hated that crummy ass job, with its loads of paperwork that made you stuck in a cubicle day after day. I know you hated being treated like a puppet, always under the direction of someone else. I know you anticipated this day, anticipated what you forsaw as the inevitable. FEMA was a way to delay it.
I on the other hand kept my head down, denied the obvious, didn't want to feel or think or even make a hypothetical out of all this. So I didn't, I charged forward believing that paperwork meant safety; that people, out of the goodness of their hearts, would spare us; that happiness can/should be compromised for a paycheck.
And for that i am deeply sorry.
I'm also sorry that you're comforting me. Reassuring me. Having to be the strong one when it was your job. It should be the other way around, I know that. But, no matter how hard i try, i just can't be that person today. Not even tomorrow. But I hope I can soon. For you.
Where to now? What next?
One big question mark.
Thursday, November 8, 2007
When It Rains, It Pours
strange how hard it rains now
rows and rows of big dark clouds
when i'm holding on underneath this shroud
rain
strange how hard it rains now
rows and rows of big dark clouds
when i'm still alive underneath this shroud
rain rain rain
from rain/patty griffin/1000 kisses
rows and rows of big dark clouds
when i'm holding on underneath this shroud
rain
strange how hard it rains now
rows and rows of big dark clouds
when i'm still alive underneath this shroud
rain rain rain
from rain/patty griffin/1000 kisses
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Tuesday Update
The dog has finally tuckered out. Only after chewing a whole box of paper and forcing me to throw a ball for him only, huh, a gazillion times.
I think i'm ready to give up on technology. N and I (ok, mostly him) have been trying to fix a glitch in the audio of my computer for about a week now. We bought an external hard drive because the memory on my computer was so low and we thought that that might be a contributing factor, however, $90 later it has not made a lick of difference. Poor N has really been beside himself with the whole ordeal, I think he's tried everything under the sun to try to fix it but the problem persists like a bad headache. Itunes has just not been the same since . . .
In good news, we get our brand new Samsung 26" LCD HDTV today via Amazon. We will finally be able to watch our beloved Netflix in style and retire the 12" that i've had for about 10 years. The new TV marks a milestone for N, it's the first TV he's ever bought. Watch out, there will be plenty of pictures to come at the time of installation and well, celebration!!
Speaking of pictures, I finally posted a few pictures from the Halloween party @ A & H's. In case you were wondering, N & I went as Miami tourists, hence the gray wigs and capri pants with cherries (they are my mom's and she still thinks they're pretty hip!). N is wearing a Florida Key's tee-shirt which ironically enough was purchased @ Goodwill in Michigan. And if that isn't insipiration enough to click on my flickr than maybe this will: a (fuzzy but equally hilarious) pic of N comparing bellies with our friend who is 6 mo. pregnant.
Enjoy!
I think i'm ready to give up on technology. N and I (ok, mostly him) have been trying to fix a glitch in the audio of my computer for about a week now. We bought an external hard drive because the memory on my computer was so low and we thought that that might be a contributing factor, however, $90 later it has not made a lick of difference. Poor N has really been beside himself with the whole ordeal, I think he's tried everything under the sun to try to fix it but the problem persists like a bad headache. Itunes has just not been the same since . . .
In good news, we get our brand new Samsung 26" LCD HDTV today via Amazon. We will finally be able to watch our beloved Netflix in style and retire the 12" that i've had for about 10 years. The new TV marks a milestone for N, it's the first TV he's ever bought. Watch out, there will be plenty of pictures to come at the time of installation and well, celebration!!
Speaking of pictures, I finally posted a few pictures from the Halloween party @ A & H's. In case you were wondering, N & I went as Miami tourists, hence the gray wigs and capri pants with cherries (they are my mom's and she still thinks they're pretty hip!). N is wearing a Florida Key's tee-shirt which ironically enough was purchased @ Goodwill in Michigan. And if that isn't insipiration enough to click on my flickr than maybe this will: a (fuzzy but equally hilarious) pic of N comparing bellies with our friend who is 6 mo. pregnant.
Enjoy!
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Maybe I Should Just Become A Music Promoter
It's been out a while now, but if you haven't picked it up and added it to your collection, it's defintely worth it.Amy Winehouse / Back to Black
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Uncertainty
I've walked over many unstable bridges in my time. There's the one in the nature preserve around the corner; clumsily built with logs that laid nearby. That bridge has deteroiated over the ages, from the hundreds of hiking boots that have crossed to the yearly spring rains that drench it and cover it for a spell. i've walked that bridge a hundred times, always with bated breath even though the river raging underneath it is only a mere 2 feet deep.
There was the bridge at camp when I was a kid. A suspension bridge that swung underneath my every footstep whether i willed it to or not. It covered only a small marsh but i always grew nervous that somehow it would sway too much and i would be somehow catapulted into the unknown. I never was, my feet always reached other side, despite the best efforts of cousins and a big brother, who stood at each side jumping up and down making my traverse just a little bit more scary.
I have watched others cross similiar bridges. Some of them constructed only of thick rope, draped over vast canyons of stone. Some cross quickly motivated either by excitement at what lays at the other side or by nervous energy that their foothold will give out. Some cross these bridges lazily, gazing at the views above and underneath them, not faint of heart. Others looking for more adventure, jump and move these rope bridges as they cross, living for the thrill of the ride rather than the belief that it maybe unstable or worse yet, unsafe.
I've never been a risk-taker. I've always been an over-thinker. I forge my path only after analyzing the best laid plan. That plan often being the one that has the least amount of risk and therefore ensures my "survival." Just crossing a small footbridge i analyze the angle that i should attempt it. If it leans to the right just a little too much i will make sure i'll lean to the left and avoid the wet spots that might cause me to slip. I just don't jump onto it. I just don't jump into anything.
Often times I associate risk with faith. Faith that little in this life can actually kill us. Faith that survivial is inevitable because we make it so. Faith that our own abilities will not allow us to falter.
I sometimes wonder if i'm not a risk taker simply because I lack so little faith in my own abilities.
Recently, I started job hunting. The yearly migration back to Michigan means that it's time to pull the yellow highlighter out of retirement and brush up on my bs skills for all those cover letters. So i did so. Not because i wanted to, truth was the thought of it both made me scared and sick, but because i thought that it was expected of me. If i'm not following N around with duffle bag in hand, than I certaintly must be working a crap job that painted a bleak future.
N stopped me dead in my resume-submitting tracks this week "You don't have to. I like you taking care of me. I like that you play and take long walks with the dog. I like you're happiness. Why don't you try doing something that makes you happy?" Like writing? Like blogging? Like upcycling? Like photography? Like going back to school? Volunteering at one of the museums?
I can do that? I can pursue that and it would be ok?
"It'll be ok." he said.
So i've sat on it for the last couple of days. Let that feeling digest in my stomach. And time and time again i've had the same feeling of panic that cuts my walk short any time I get to an unstable bridge. What if N gets laid off? What if my arts driven personality means no second income? What if i don't actually follow through? What if the fear of failing is too great? What if i don't take that step, what if i don't cross that bridge?
What then? Back up plans were thrown up into the air and whisked away by the wind long ago. That's what it means. And i've never been one to forgo a good back up plan.
So, I think for now i'll keep highlighting, keep putting stamps on pretty envelopes and crossing my fingers as I dump them in the mailbox. But i might be more selective the 2nd time around. Find something that appeals to me; that may only be part time so I can pursue all those other venues of my life if i so choose. So if some day down the line I become I brave enough to step on that bridge without calculating the angles, only with a deep breath and the belief that i'm strong enough to get to the other side by my own innate powers.
There was the bridge at camp when I was a kid. A suspension bridge that swung underneath my every footstep whether i willed it to or not. It covered only a small marsh but i always grew nervous that somehow it would sway too much and i would be somehow catapulted into the unknown. I never was, my feet always reached other side, despite the best efforts of cousins and a big brother, who stood at each side jumping up and down making my traverse just a little bit more scary.
I have watched others cross similiar bridges. Some of them constructed only of thick rope, draped over vast canyons of stone. Some cross quickly motivated either by excitement at what lays at the other side or by nervous energy that their foothold will give out. Some cross these bridges lazily, gazing at the views above and underneath them, not faint of heart. Others looking for more adventure, jump and move these rope bridges as they cross, living for the thrill of the ride rather than the belief that it maybe unstable or worse yet, unsafe.
I've never been a risk-taker. I've always been an over-thinker. I forge my path only after analyzing the best laid plan. That plan often being the one that has the least amount of risk and therefore ensures my "survival." Just crossing a small footbridge i analyze the angle that i should attempt it. If it leans to the right just a little too much i will make sure i'll lean to the left and avoid the wet spots that might cause me to slip. I just don't jump onto it. I just don't jump into anything.
Often times I associate risk with faith. Faith that little in this life can actually kill us. Faith that survivial is inevitable because we make it so. Faith that our own abilities will not allow us to falter.
I sometimes wonder if i'm not a risk taker simply because I lack so little faith in my own abilities.
Recently, I started job hunting. The yearly migration back to Michigan means that it's time to pull the yellow highlighter out of retirement and brush up on my bs skills for all those cover letters. So i did so. Not because i wanted to, truth was the thought of it both made me scared and sick, but because i thought that it was expected of me. If i'm not following N around with duffle bag in hand, than I certaintly must be working a crap job that painted a bleak future.
N stopped me dead in my resume-submitting tracks this week "You don't have to. I like you taking care of me. I like that you play and take long walks with the dog. I like you're happiness. Why don't you try doing something that makes you happy?" Like writing? Like blogging? Like upcycling? Like photography? Like going back to school? Volunteering at one of the museums?
I can do that? I can pursue that and it would be ok?
"It'll be ok." he said.
So i've sat on it for the last couple of days. Let that feeling digest in my stomach. And time and time again i've had the same feeling of panic that cuts my walk short any time I get to an unstable bridge. What if N gets laid off? What if my arts driven personality means no second income? What if i don't actually follow through? What if the fear of failing is too great? What if i don't take that step, what if i don't cross that bridge?
What then? Back up plans were thrown up into the air and whisked away by the wind long ago. That's what it means. And i've never been one to forgo a good back up plan.
So, I think for now i'll keep highlighting, keep putting stamps on pretty envelopes and crossing my fingers as I dump them in the mailbox. But i might be more selective the 2nd time around. Find something that appeals to me; that may only be part time so I can pursue all those other venues of my life if i so choose. So if some day down the line I become I brave enough to step on that bridge without calculating the angles, only with a deep breath and the belief that i'm strong enough to get to the other side by my own innate powers.
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