getting my second wind

From Design Crush …

Says about everything that needs to be said, huh?

It all started this weekend. The weather man began predicting ice and snow until the following Friday (for goodness sake). So, Saturday was pretty bad in the morning - or so I hear. I took the opportunity to hold down the couch, take long naps and read, rather than go out. But by Sunday, it was fine out - maybe a little slick, but nothing bad. Then Monday, the doom warnings started again; we were going to get slammed by ice up to an inch. Roads were going to be impassable, the city wouldn’t have enough salt to deal with the ice, be warned!

On the way home that night, it started to rain. It rained pretty steadily until around 10 and I even began to believe it. I mean, the news was going to start at 4:30 am just to keep us informed of the weather. Maybe it really would be bad. Uh oh, better stop and pick up something at the grocery store - coffee and bagels at the very least. I went to bed and dreamed of working from home in my pajama’s.

When I woke up, it seemed that the weatherman’s predictions had come true - every single school in the metro had closed. Every … single … school. Fearing the worst, I walked out to start warming up the car.

And guess what?

There was no ice anywhere but on my driveway. I didn’t even have to scrape any ice off of my car before leaving for work. I even drove to work at my normal-ish speed limit. But my god, you would’ve thought that the city had been hit by the ice storm of the century. Small business were closed, the radio kept giving up dates on the weather (no accidents yet, but we’ll keep you informed of the road conditions.) And then even at work, people kept talking about the bad one that was going to hit in the afternoon - that one, they assured me, would be bad.

Well, it did rain all day and I will say that I got home at 3:45 thanks to an all-staff meeting that got done early. and I know when it refreezes tonight it will be bad. But I feel that when it comes to winter, i live in a world of chicken littles. I don’t know if it bothers me more that everyone began psyching themselves out 4 days before the rain hit or the fact that I got all excited about working from my pj’s for nothing….

Anyhow, here’s a brief synapsis of a week in my life …

After all of the hype, all of the anticipation, the shopping excursion on Friday was a let-down. Yes, I went out, but honestly, I left more stores with absolutely nothing than I did with purchases in hand. I did manage to get some of the “hot deals” - a 2GB card for hubby’s camera for $15, a new printer for me (since the manufacturer of my beloved printer decided that a 2-year old printer didn’t need to be updated to work with the devil’s new OS aka Vista). But really, most of my shopping was done online this past weekend. (Yes, I love the internet - I think the presents I’ve gotten so far, ROCK! I can’t wait to give them out.)

Speaking of presents, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about what to get people this year. Now, to those who know me, this will come as no surprise, I love to shop. Well, I love the idea of shopping and the physical act of shopping - I really don’t have to buy anything to feel perfectly content with the day out. I love the colors, the sights, the people-watching aspects of it all. It’s a chance for me to get away from everything that I know I should be doing and just be. When I’m shopping, I’m in the moment - not thinking about what’s left to do or what needs to be done. But, this year, it’s been a little more difficult.

You see, I’ve been feeling overwhelmed by clutter and everything that surrounds me. I know that for most of my family, it’s the same. We all have too much stuff that has no meaning behind it. And then there is the environmental effect. Yes, I am well-aware that I need to be much, much more aware of the impact of what I buy and the absurd amount of packaging materials that come with everything. I want to give people gifts that mean something not just be something that adds to the clutter. I’d love to pass off some of the projects I have in mind to them, but honestly, I’m not sure that for some of them it’s not just another form of stuff that will end up being stuffed in a box and eventually (after many years of being moved around with them) end up in a landfill anyway. So, this year, I’m going to spend more time trying to find unique gifts that I think will merge what I think is a good gift with what the recipient will think is a good gift - gifts that will make them smile, think or create or that will fill a void or heck that will allow them to fill their space with the stuff they want to…

Good thing, I love shoppng, huh?

Totally, unrelated - well, except for the pretty part - after almost pulling my hair out over the marketing committee’s ideas of what the save-the-date card should look like - I think we’ve finally finished voting on our top choice. I like it (which is good, since I designed it) - simple lines, clear text and great colors…

what do you think?

Intrigued?

Go to: Free Rice - for every word you know the definition of, they donate 10 grains of rice through the UN to help end hunger. Be warned, it’s addictive - I forced myself to stop after donating 430 grains of rice. Most of the words bring back memories of the GRE or ACT tests - you know, remembering your latin. As an added bonus - if you know what the word pinnate means (without looking it up in a dictionary), I’ll make a donation in your name to my favorite charity. (Yeah, I had no freakin’ clue)

via How about Orange

Oh, here’s another time-waster that’s highly addictive and so much fun - You don’t know Jack

Have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Plumpy Nut. Say it a few times with me … Plumpy Nut. What a fun name for something that is going to change the world.

Every year, millions of children die from malnutrition. Most are under the age of 2. Plumpy Nut is a remarkable product - basically, peanut butter with powdered milk and vitamins. While it obviously doesn’t fill every nutrient needed by developing children, it fills a bunch. It’s rich in protein, fat, calcium and vitamins. It’s ready-to-eat - it doesn’t need water and the ingredients are locally available. (All of the things I preached about before, during and after living in Morocco. Local solutions to local problems.) Best of all, kids love it. Kids whose undernourishment has gone far enough that they now suffer from anorexia on top of undernourishment. (Heck, it sounds good even to me - for some reason I keep thinking of the peanut butter inside a Reece’s.)

My husband and I watched a special on it on 60-Minutes. It’s hard to describe how I felt watching it. For me, it brings up a lot of feelings and memories from Morocco. I don’t mean ever to imply that the children in Morocco are anything like the children seen in this video. There are few areas in this world where poverty is so … heart wrenchingly open. But there are many places where the malnutrition is less obvious but just as oppressive. Places where the death of an infant is seen as a fact of life, heart wrenching as it is.

That statement alone breaks my heart - that there are still places in our world where the death of a child is a fact of life.

Plumpy Nut isn’t going to solve the world’s problems - or to stop the death of children in developing countries - but it will make a huge difference.

Do yourself a favor and spend a few minutes watching the video. I promise you that while it’s incredibly sad, it also brings hope. And what a better way to start the holiday season than with hope?

okay, I admit it - I love this day. I know many people don’t and I can see why they don’t - over-consumerism, over-spending and the very cut-throatness (yes, i realize that isn’t a word) of it all. But, for me, well, it’s like getting ready for the Super Bowl. When I think back on the past few years, I realize that the reason I like it so much is because for me, it kicks off the holiday season. My family doesn’t really place a lot of emphasis on Thanksgiving Day. In fact, for the past few years, I haven’t even celebrated the day with my family. My sister usually goes to her husband’s family’s house, my parents celebrate with my brother down in Atlanta, and I usually go to my husband’s house. So, the holiday season kicks off with the shopping day - well, at least for my mom (when she’s home) + I. Traditionally, we head out bright and early - coffee in hand and hit the stores. My mom and I have usually finished by 10 or 10:30, go out to breakfast, then come home and take a nap. I believe that the secret to enjoying the day is to avoid going after the “hot ticket” items - you know, the Flat Panel TV for $199 - ’cause honestly, nothing will ruin your day faster than trying in vain to get an item when there’s only 2 for 1,000 people or having someone shove you out of the way, so they get there first or watching people stock up and buy 7 of one item (really, you know that they are not buying all of those gifts for their family. As an aside, I think all of those hot items should have a limit. Come on - share the love - buy one or two of those items and let other people get some too.) I usually buy several crafts items, cool holiday decorations, some new clothes, a few presents. Seriously, it’s a perfect day.

I’ll be hitting it by myself again this year - I tried to con my sister in allowing me to take my niece with me, but, alas, she’ll be at her grandmother’s house. (And, yes, I do realize that she’s just 5 - but she would enjoy it; plus she’s a morning child - really, she’d be the best kid ever to go on the sort of black friday trip I do) So, it will just be me. And that’s okay. I have lots of Christmas gift ideas that I’m thinking making this year. I don’t think I’ll be able to fullfill the handmade pledge (I have a couple of people that I can’t even think of gifts for), but I’m going to try for a bunch of them … I’ve already bought my niece’s gift …so be forewarned…