Hey, it's ok!...

• ...to give more presents than you get at Christmas.


• ...to be an adult and wear colorful tights.


• ...to spend a little more money than you meant to at the craft fair.


• ...to say, 'No!'--to Uncle Scottie's gourmet smoked pork-whatever, another party, or coffee-after-dessert-after-Thanksgiving dinner-after-brunch with his grandparents.


• ...to not write a 'to-do' list for a day!


• ...to eat all of the cookie dough out of the ice cream but get upset if anyone else does the same thing...

Gifts that give back

• charitywater.org -> $20 = drinking water for one person for 20 years!


• oneacreatatime.com ->$50 = saves 200 sq.ft. of forest


• unicefusa.org -> $35 = 1 bike to get a health worker to remote areas


• survivors.com -> buy jewelry made by survivors of sex trafficking to support their rehab programs


• we-care.com & igive.com -> merchants donate proceeds to good causes


• roomtoread.org -> promotes child literacy in the developing world


• scaw.org -> $35 = the basics for a needy child


• womensbeanproject.com -> buy bean dips to support homeless women who are employed to make these dips


• mercycorps.org -> $70 = farming supplies and equipment for 2 families in Uganda


• malarianomore.org -> $10 = 1 insecticide-treated mosquito net (that will protect a child for years)


• modestneeds.org -> help pay a needy family's bill(s)


• dogoodchannel.com -> find out what non-profits in your area need specifically

These are all awesome ideas (courtesy of some magazine or another--I subscribe to too many to remember which!) that you can do as Christmas gifts--give a gift in their name! Whoever the gift is given to will thank them, too; helping someone in need is a much more beautiful gift than another pair of socks or even a cool new iPod.

Merry Christmas shopping/planning! :)

My paraphrasing of Ikea's guide to de-cluttering

1. Sort: by owner, frequency of use, if it can be donated/sold. The fewer the categories, the better.
   
2. Reduce: If you don't use it on a daily basis, seriously reconsider it's purpose in your home. Again, donate and sell it if you can!
   
3. Assign a home: Figure out what where and in what room everything belongs.
   
4. Count and Measure: so you know how much storage space you need!
   
5. Choose your storage: Of course, Ikea gives suggestions for their products (which is not a bad idea, people) but Wal-Mart works, too!

Looking forward to...

• Tomorrow morning (breakfast and "Bonnie", relaxing)
• Kickboxing!
• Thanksgiving in Bradenton (family is stressful but still fun)
• Completing all Fall Semester assignments
• Teaching on Tuesday?
• Bum's visit! (I am hopeful!)
• Saturday = Ybor Farmer's Market in the morning
• 11.21 = Art After Dark with Starbucks
• 11.22 = Villagefest in Carrollwood in the morning
• Christmas break (from school, there'll still be LOTS of work)
• The store during the holiday season = better sales, music, and decorations
• D'lites every Wednesday
• Blogs daily! :)
• Roadtrip Summer 2009
• Wedding 10.10.10

Guess!

These are some randomly chosen/popular/pleasant-sounding slogans found in American culture; how many of these can you guess? [answers at the bottom!]

• I'm lovin' it (we'll start w/an easy one!)


• Is IT in you?


• No rules. Just right.


• The style of your life.


• Your world delivered.


• Live your life.


• Save money. Live better.


• Characters welcome.


• An American Revolution


• Start a band, rock the world


• A new kind of family.


• Watch what happens.


• The object of your desires.


• Real Life. Drama.


• Chase what matters.


• Instinctively good.


• Follow the leader.


• imagination at work.


• Growing Ideas.


• Uncommonly good.

***********************************************************

• McDonald's


• Gatorade


• Outback Steakhouse


• Dillard's


• AT & T


• American Eagle


• Wal-Mart


• USA


• Chevy


• RockBand


• abc Family


• Bravo


• Blackberry


• A&E


• Chase


• Planters


• Garmin


• GE


• Weyerhaeuser


• Keebler

"You only live once, but once is enough if you live it right"

WHY I shouldN'T care what THEY/OTHERS/the freaking WORLD think of me:
[but it is hard for me to do this so a list of affirmation is in order]

• this is MY life, not theirs/yours/whoever's


• only GOD has the right to judge me


• very few people are special enough to understand me


• "If it makes you happy, it can't be that bad"


• being unique is beautiful


• i have ONE shot at life -- so I'd best not waste it on anyone/anything that is not worth it

they may be pointless to you [but they mean something to me]

*collections*

• Band-aids [favorites include pirate, hello kitty, and strawberry shortcake]
• Pressed pennies [from theme parks mostly]
• Postcards [haven't gotten too far on this one]
• Business cards [they're everywhere]
• Stickers [because you can ALWAYS use stickers]
• Journals [mmm. love.]
• Books [to build up a super extensive and impressive library]
• Bottle caps [to make jewelry]
• Magazine pictures/cut-outs [for collages, of course!]
• Charms & Lockets [& other adorable tiny things]
• Websites [because i am so easily inspired]