New Way of Saving

You know when you love something a lot and you just don't know what you are going to do with it but you know that eventually you will do something with it so you keep it? Well, I am trying to keep the "hoarding" to a minimum but I still keep certain things.

Well this is the story of one of those things...


My sister gave me a Christmas present in this awesome star shaped box. It's sturdy and is meant for keeping but trouble is that it's silvery and blue with snowflakes on it. It doesn't really fit with every season of the year. So I devised a plan.

I was going to make a piggy bank, without the pig. Yes, I have a real adult type savings account and all that jazz but I do like to keep my change forever and ever so that I can eventually bring it to Coinstar and make bank! One of my goals this year is to attend The Creative Connection Event and that isn't free ladies. Obviously what I save in a piggy bank won't get me there but it will certainly help with my meals!

So you are wondering now what I did to transform a Christmas themed star box into a year round savings bank? Well, take a look. Here is what I started with:

I cut a change hole so that I could... you guessed it! Put change in the hole! Yay!

Materials Needed in addition to the box?

• Pinking Shears
• Fabric Shears
• Tacky Glue
• 1/4 yard of Clearance Fabric
• Scrap of matching fabric
• Embroidery Floss
• Needle

Can you see where I am going with this? That's right, I am gluing the fabric to the box. I know, I know... I'm a genius! I used my fabric shears for precision then used the pinking shears on all the edges so that I could just glue and not have to worry too much about fraying.

Once I covered the entire box with fabric and had all edges glued down, I let my baby dry. While it was drying? I did a little hand embroidering with that scrap and came up with a little design for the top of my new piggy bank. My finished product you ask?

VOILA

OM: I'm a Giver but it's fun to be a Getter

So I have been home with way too much time on my hands... thinking... keeping animals apart to avoid a "cat"astrophe... har de har... recovering from my surgery (which by the way is coming along nicely). Anyways, my One Moment this week came when manfriend brought up the mail yesterday. He came in a dumped off multiple cards/packages for me and said "Happy Birthday" (of course it's not my birthday). Listen, any mail that isn't a bill is welcomed in my book.

So to give you a little background, I am usually the one who sends gifts and makes it her business to be on top of birthday cards. I sometimes beat myself up if I wasn't thoughtful enough and manfriend is constantly telling me that people aren't usually as conscientious as me, that I shouldn't get so upset. On the same subject, I will often get my panties in a bunch when people aren't thoughtful of others, aren't thoughtful of me. So that's part of my life.

Anyways, do you know how touched to the core I was that people were thinking of me? Just this week, my mom sent me a new pair of Dansko clogs, my friend Nathalie sent me a book on taking my hobby to the next level, my Aunt Nancy sent me a get well card, Alicia brought me some new earrings... and there is more but you get the idea.

What I am trying to say with all of this is that even when you don't think people are thinking of you, they actually are. They might not always send a gift or a card but you are in their thoughts, which is pretty important (in my book). So don't worry about it. I'm trying not to.

 

OM is a weekly meet up that promotes living in the moment. Whether funny, sad, ridiculous, or banal, actively looking for and sharing these moments will promote balance in our lives. 

Ima Smockin', Don't You Worry

So I decided to make a smocked cuff for the 6 gals that commented on my blog post about my new creation. I have been smocking all weekend and cannot wait to get the cuffs out to ma girls! So if you commented on my blog post, expect an email from me in regards to your shipping address! YAY!

Remember, once you get it, I would LOVE feedback! XOXO Amanda

Sea Lillie, a New Fave

I recently entered a giveaway at Olivia Carter's For Me blog (which adorable or check her out on twitter @oliviakcarter) and was so elated when I won the Flower Petal necklace by Sea Lillie. The reason that I am busting out this blog post is because I just received my necklace in the mail yesterday... and I.AM.IN.LOVE. This necklace is the prettiest most dainty-ish little necklace that I have ever put on. The picture does not even do it justice.

Anyways, the girls at Sea Lillie are just the lovliest and I surely intend on going back over for this gorgeous little creature (see below). My love of elephants and charitable goodness combines in the adorable Hope Necklace. 100% of the profit from this sale will be donated to The Give Life Project, an initiative aimed at giving help, giving hope and giving Life to those who are in desperate need in Zambia, Africa. Please visit their website for more information: www.givelifeproject.com

I have found a new favorite in Sea Lillie and am hoping you will check them out as well. I love to share when I have found a talent (well that is new to me).

OM: It's all a balancing act

A couple of weeks ago, I met up with one of my neighbors in the hallway. We hadn't see each other in awhile and started to chat. She sadly told me that I hadn't seen her because her and her husband had split up and she is back and forth between this apartment/ her new one. She went on to tell me all the heartbreaking stuff that is going on, including having to find homes for all of her animals. Her Ex took the dogs but her 3 cats needed to be placed. She had found a shelter for one and still had two. Immediately, the problem solver in me said, "Well maybe we could take one!". I instantly regretted the decision thinking that manfriend would be upset with me for not discussing it with him first. Surprisingly, he was very supportive and said "Let's give it a shot." We discussed taking the cat for a trial run this past weekend.

Oh how I wish I weren't so optimistic/ unrealistic sometimes! I already have a cat and a dog, who happen to be the sweetest little creatures known to man. Well... Now I certainly know how to piss those sweet little creatures off... it's called bringing in an outsider. I never realized how great my animals are,  how much I can trust them... until I can't trust them anymore. Our life was at such a sweet balance until we threw a wrench in it with a new animal. Now it's breaking up literal cat fights, assuring the dog that it will all be OK, giving each animal special lovin's, coddling everyone's egos...

My One Moment this week was the realization that life is always a balancing act, juggling all those balls in the air. It's easy to forget when you have been juggling the same balls for so long that you are, in fact, still juggling. I mistakenly expected taking in the new cat to be seamless. WRONG! It's obvious now that it's going to be hard work to bring peace to this home again. I know that we will get there though; I'm sure of it. I just gotta throw one more ball in the air and learn how to juggle it with all the others (and pray that these cats become best friends in the near future!). Anyways, it's always a balancing act... and I am sorry I said balls so many times in this post.

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OM is a weekly meet up that promotes living in the moment. Whether funny, sad, ridiculous, or banal, actively looking for and sharing these moments will promote balance in our lives.

My Smocked Cuff Creation and Giveaway!

So anyone who knows me knows that I am OBSESSED with smocking. I will smock until the cows come home. If I don't have a project that I feel like working on? I'll sit and smock like others knit. It's just something that I have found that relaxes me, that I am good at and that I am pretty proud of... and I have only been doing it for 6 months. Anyways, I have been trying to figure out how I can work my smocking into my creations. My first swing around the block, I came up with a smocked cuff bracelet. Let me know what you think!

I chose a fabric that I happen to really like. Peacocks! The feathers are awesome and I felt comfortable enough in my smocking skills to use a fabric that I care about.

So I took half a fat quarter and started working. I used this technique and smocked it in probably one episode of Top Chef haha. I liked the effect because this fabric is a little stiff and definitely kept its shape when I smocked. I then folded it in a half like a strip, steam ironed the fold down and hand sewed the sides together for a clean edge. I measured my wrist and how long I wanted the cuff to be.

 

I used a simple button snap for the, you know, snappy-ness. I hand sewed that as well. The button that I used for the decorative eye candy? That has no function but rather is a snazzy bit of eye catching loveliness.  Anyways, I am pretty durn proud. It came out pretty great.

I wore this out last weekend and had SO many compliments that my heart was filled! People wanted to know where they could get MY cuff! I told them I made it myself and they were amazed. It was quite the confidence boost that something that I made garnered the attention that it did. So here is what I want to do. I want to make one of these for someone so they can #1 Let me honestly know what they think of it and #2 Have a one of a kind Amanda of Prim and Propah creation! Holla! So here is what I propose. You leave a comment on this post between now and Monday January 24th and I'll pick someone random to make a cuff for. In your comment, be sure to let me know what color schemes you love and I will do my best to accommodate! Geesh, I hope I actually get some comments on this post!

The Creative

This Martin Luther King Day, I was most inspired by the following quote that was popping up on all of my social media platforms.

 

"Almost always, the creative dedicated minority has made the world better. " - Martin Luther King Jr.

Because I do make it my business to be dedicated to my creative endeavors, I decided to see if I could put this quote to work in my creative world, my online crafty community... in essence to see if it "stuck"... and it did.

Just in my creative world alone there are so many who are giving of their time and resources for something other than just "looking out for #1". Some would say well, MLK was talking about making the world better as a whole, big picture type of stuff but in my mind, there are no small "good deeds" or "nice gestures". A kind word can travel light years if met with the right recipient. One can never know how they will affect someone's life on any particular day.

I am going to give some examples of what I think some of my peers have done to make the world better. Some may tell me that these are not the type of things that could/ would "change our world"... but to them I would say that the world I want to live in is a world where these are the values that would make a difference in my equations.

Ok, so why not get started... I'll start with the good that I don't feel can be physically measured for the most part. One of my favorite things to participate in are blog hops. These are usually orchestrated around a theme ( my most recent? A Crafty Holiday and 2011 Creative Goals) and multiple bloggers participate with their take on it. I think personally the blog hop is an absolutely amazing way for people to be encouraged by their peers and also instill a sense of community/ camaraderie amongst like minded people. My involvement with blog hops has, no lie, made me more excited about what I am doing, who I am sharing it with and makes me want to bring more into this happy circle of friends. Encouragement will lead to more encouragement. People need to feel loved and supported. Friends will need our support and we will eventually need theirs.

Speaking of my circle of friends, check out "The One Moment Weekly Meet Up" from Linda at Alamode Stuff. It is something I try to participate in weekly if I am able. Every week, I find a touching story from one blogger to the next and have honestly taken some life lessons from other people's daily experiences. It sounds silly to people that are not involved but I dare you to "meet up" a couple of weeks in a row and NOT find some encouragement as you follow along. I sincerely believe that sharing these moments in our every day lives can and does help others.

OM is a weekly meet up that promotes living in the moment. Whether funny, sad, ridiculous, or banal, actively looking for and sharing these moments will promote balance in our lives.

Besides the blogger to reader effect of the One Moment, there is also the content shared that is the actual "act". Angela Flicker of The Artist's House shared her "One Moment" this past week; I think it is the perfect example of how we can touch and be touched by someone's life and maybe not even know it. Her Moment, " A Custom Made Quilt", touched me but more importantly she shares how this stranger ended up reminding her of something very special. The good that came from this interaction cannot be measured but I know in my heart that it was something crazy off the scale.

Not just for the "sharing is caring" attitude, I believe that the creative community with which I am involved has also changed the world by literally working with meaningful causes... so much so that I am sure that I could fill multiple blog posts with just the ones I can name off the top of my head. Have I peaked your interest? Check out the massive creative uprising to raise much needed funds for the flooding in Australia. All proceeds from auctions from this MASTER list of products go to the Queensland Flood Relief Appeal. I was TRULY astonished by how many participants that there were; truly astonished that so many would hop right to in order to help... but then thinking about it? I actually wasn't that surprised. Community is community and the creative community took action when they were needed. This type of act can be measured and in my opinion is making this world better for those who are suffering right now. (Thank You Above All Fabric for ensuring I knew all about this!)

zsx

Speaking of Above All Fabric, she is awesome. Melanie blogs under "Caring Communities" which is giving back with Above All Fabric. She sets out to help in her community with her craftiness. Great idea right? Why not give back and do something you love at the same time? Genius! Her ideas and projects have really inspired me, myself, to help out in ways I know I can as well. Take the Conkerr Cancer project with pillowcases. I know I can make a pillowcase. I am pretty sure you can make one too. Shouldn't we be making this as we go along? Simple as that, we have made a child happy, we have made our world a better place to live in. Check out Melanie's other great projects for different ways to craft/help out with good causes.

Ok, now I am starting to ramble here and this post is getting dangerously long ( so no one will read it) but I just wanted to show that I firmly believe that creative minds are changing the world all of the time, in even the smallest ways. I could list so many organizations that are out there, that need help (some below) but I guarantee you can find one in your own community or circle of friends, one that touches your heart and calls your name. Creative dedicated people are making a difference at every turn and that I can prove.

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Check out:

Quilts for Kids -Volunteer quilters transforming into patchwork quilts that comfort children in need.

Threads of Compassion- A Chicago based charity that works specifically with survivors of sexual assault. The charity supplies scarves to rape crisis workers who then pass them on to people who have undergone a sexual assault. 

Warm Hears- Warm Babies- They sew, knit, crochet, and quilt for premature infants and babies in need.

Heartmade Blessings- A world-wide group of volunteers dedicated to providing hand-crafted items to those people suffering a loss, tragedy, or going through a rough time that need to be reminded of the simple fact that people care.

Red Scarf Project-  Sending red scarves to orphans as a means of encouragement.

CraftHope- A great organization involved with many different causes.

Chemo Angels- A volunteer organization dedicated to adding a ray of sunshine to the lives of those undergoing IV chemo treatment.

Soldiers' Angels- May No Soldier Go Unloved

Yay for Quilt Alongs!

One of my creative goals this year is to learn how to quilt (among other things). So imagine how excited I was to hear that one of my favesters, Angela at The Artist's House, is running "A Quilting 101 Quilt-Along", which to me, one who yearns to learn to quilt, sounds like a fabulous idea!

I plan to update my blog with my progress once this party gets started on January 18th. I am pretty excited... so excited that I bought some new fabric for the occasion from Pink Chalk Fabrics (Yeah, it wasn't a tough sell. I'll always be willing to purchase new fabric). I decided to do reds, black and white with a sewing theme (see scissors, safety pin and sewing machine fabrics YAY!)

I'll surely keep you updated on my progress because I think it will be SO much fun, that I'll just have to share with anyone who might care to witness... my very first quilt!

OM: Regain that Composure, Girl!

After the horrific shooting of  Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and the shooting death of U.S. District Judge John Roll among 5 others, I just have not been sitting right this week. Even though I don't know any of the victims personally or live anywhere near AZ, I just feel helpless for them, for me, for everyone. My thoughts and prayers have gone out to those suffering because of this violence.

This post was pre-scheduled for my "One Moment" this week because on Friday, I will be laying in a hospital bed, God willing, recovering from a surgery undergone on Thursday. My family has been worrying about my surgery, obviously, because anytime you go to the hospital there is reason to worry, even if the issue seems small. My upcoming surgery and these shootings combined together have made me a nervous wreck this week, something I try to stay away from. I usually try to be happy/perky/positive but the hand I am playing as I write this, makes me want to fold.

You never know how something will affect you. I didn't know who Gabrielle Giffords was before this week. Maybe it's because she looks like a nice lady and she is married to an astronaut. Maybe it's because I am majorly pre-menstrual and therefore extremely sensitive right about now. Maybe it's because I am going to be on medical leave in a week's time and have a zillion things to wrap up before I'm gone when I should be more worried about the actual surgery... I don't know. I don't know why this act of violence has really rocked me to the core, when others might not have. I just know it has. The pizazz cannot be mustered like usual.

My "One Moment" this week is just, plain and simple, the fact that I realized that I cannot be super happy and chipper every moment of the day... I cannot even pretend to. Really and honestly, it is just not humanly possible... and that's OK. It's life, kiddies and "Life ain't fair". Life hands everyone some low blows but we have just got to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and regain that composure. As soon as I am out of the hospital (scheduled for Saturday), I am going to work on recovering both physically and mentally. It's been a doozy and I want to be chipper again!

OM is a weekly meet up that promotes living in the moment. Whether funny, sad, ridiculous, or banal, actively looking for and sharing these moments will promote balance in our lives. 

Stylish Blogger, What What?

Well a thank you very much Miss Angela Flicker of The Artist's House, you have very sweetly given me the Stylish Blogger Award! I have to thank Angela because I joke that she is my blogging mentor... her blog is one of the first creative blogs that I really took a shine to and LOVE to read. She also let me creepily befriend her via Twitter Haha ;so thanks Angela for being awesome! If you haven't checked out her blog, please do yourself a favor and hop on over there!

So this is how the award works.  Honorees do the following: thank and link back to the person that awarded them, share 7 things about themselves, and pay it forward to 15 recently discovered bloggers. This is a great way to make some hard working bloggers feel special! I know I work pretty hard to make my blog stylish and in the very least, decent to look at and read... ok, so let's get to the juicy stuff!


7 incredibly INTERESTING things about me, in no particular order:

• It took meeting my boyfriend to really believe in myself creatively again. Going to school for Business really took a lot of the creative juices out of me. He is the guy who gave me the push to be a "crafter" again and blog about it. He is the guy who encourages me even when he might not know what he is looking at. He is the guy who reads every single blog post. He is my biggest supporter.

• Some of my favorite people are actually animals. A Shetland Sheep Dog named Henry Winkler (after the Fonz) and a Calico named Sigourney Weaver (her mother looked pregnant with Aliens)

• I am a Bravo TV addict. No ifs, ands or buts about it. I will watch 99% of any programming on Bravo. It's probably pretty pathetic but I don't care. Real Housewives of Poughkeepsie? I'd watch it.

• Celine Dion has been one of my favorite people since I had her on cassette in the early 90's. Think Twice? Almost best song ever. I met her in person and she was dazzlingly French Canadian.

• I collect fabric like it's going out of style and in the process am probably collecting fabric that actually is going out of style... so all in all, I have a lot of fabric. 

• Human suffering, in any shape or form, even my own, keeps me up at night. I worry a lot. Even though I don't know you per se? I'll worry about you, so don't worry. 

• Despite my best efforts in NOT adopting some of my mother's less desirable habits? I now have a "sock" basket. ( This is a basket where socks are thrown when they come from the dryer. This basket acts as storage for said socks and often leads to pairs being separated from one another for extended periods of time and sometimes, GASP!... never reuniting. How sad.)

 
I really appreciated the Stylish Blogger Award. More than anything? I am really happy to have some great blogging encouragement out there. My blog just turned 6 months on the 4th of January and really, I cannot believe how far a little hard work and encouragement  has taken me so far. The online creative community is an amazing one and I am so happy to be a part of it, every little part of it.

Time after Time

So it's a new year and what do you need in a new year? That's right, a new calendar. Well I bought a "My Little Pony" calendar for the workplace (Juvenile? Maybe. Awesome? Definitely.) but I didn't want something like that in my home, mainly because manfriend would probably not want to look at that all year. Also, I wanted something where I could attached notes, business cards and such so it would be at my eye level. So I devised and conquered a plan as follows:

The idea spawned from Spoonflower which, if you haven't heard of them, is an awesome website where you can get your fabric designs printed, get others designs and enter contests and such. It really is a lot of fun. Any ways, one of their contests was a fabric design contest for calendars for 2011. You know what this meant? I had a TON of options to choose from (see here) for my 2011 Calendar. Once I chose my favorite? All I had to do was order a fat quarter and viola! It was a calendar printed on fabric. I chose 2011 Birdies by Cynthia Frenette.

 

Second, I got myself a regular ol' memory board type thing on the cheap at Micheal's (a thank you coupons):

Next, I took my pinking shears to those edges and made my Calendar fabric nicer to work with (buttered it up!). I then smocked the edges a bit to give them the effect of a fitted sheet.

You get where I am going here? That's right. I fitted that sheet right over the bed (ie the edges of the memory board):

And Yes, that is Henry sitting in a chair watching me intently...

Once I fitted it around, I took out some of my extra pins (because Lord knows I have extra) and am using them to attach the things I want to my calendar. Get it? Because there is a memory board underneath the cloth calendar... Genius!

Thrifting is a Joy!

I have recently joined an open blog for those of us out there who love to "thrift" ie get out there and rummage for treasures at yard sales, thrift shops, estate sales, vintage and consignment joints etc, etc and so on and so forth... That wondrous blog of blogs? Yes, it's The Thrift Collective. This blog is open to anyone and everyone who gets their thrift on and wants to share in their finds, is searching for that elusive piece or wants to create a Thrift Guide for their area (which I did for Boston and suburbs).

I love buying previously loved (and sometime unloved) for a multitude of reasons but my main ones are as follows:

*Buying used is a great way to find unique items that might even be one of a kind. Character is key for me. Thrifting? is great for finding some pretty funky characters.

*It saves me money! It's a great way to feed my shopping addiction without cleaning out my change purse.

*I love my crafting and with my crafting comes experimentation. Going to thrift stores often finds me coming home with great items to re-purpose, fabric to experiment with (sheets, curtains etc etc) and a feeling of creating something new out of something old. Hurrah!

*It's good for our Earth. If I can reuse, recycle, re-purpose, re-imagine, reconstruct something? Then I am not buying it new.

Do you love to thrift? Do you want to shout it from the rooftops? Join The Thrift Collective! You can shoot off an email to Ana and ask to join! They are on Twitter (and while you're there you might as well follow me), on Facebook (oh I am there too!) and Flickr (nope, I'm not there). I'd love to see as many people as possible sharing in their love of all that is thrifty!

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Uh Oh... Mom is getting tech savvy!

I work really hard on my blog and when you work really hard on something, you want to feel appreciated and/or adored. The most wonderful compliments often come from those we least expect it from. Enter my mother, who uses Facebook mostly from her phone (frequently posting status' by sitting on her Blackberry). She has mastered email. The woman, this week, taught herself how to comment on my blog. I nearly lost my sh!t when I saw Comment Posted by: Mom. She left a beautiful little blurb:

"Love, you are so inspiring and make me feel so fortunate to have you as my daughter! Happy New Year, see you soon!"

I totally didn't see that coming... but you know what? That made it all the more special. I encourage everyone to give a little "Good Job" to someone today. You never know how far it will go.

Candy from Candies Fabrics had a great moment this week as well. I love to hear that people feel encouraged about what they are doing. We all work hard and deserve some lovin'.
 

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OM is a weekly meet up that promotes living in the moment. Whether funny, sad, ridiculous, or banal, actively looking for and sharing these moments will promote balance in our lives. 

Pay it Forward a la Handmade

So yesterday, I was perusing my facebook and one of my friends through Crafting posted the following as a status:

Pay it Forward 2011: I promise to send something handmade to the first 5 people who leave a comment here. They must in turn post this and send something they make to the first 5 people who comment on their status. *The rules are that it must be handmade by you and it must be sent to your 5 people sometime in 2011.

Ummmm, Hello genius!  What better way to share handmade loving than through a handmade loving chain letter/package of sorts! I am super excited because I have already connected with new people and have the opportunity to share some of my "test subjects" with others, mayhaps getting their opinions? A Prim & Propah survey? My mind is spinning wildly out of control (OK, that was a tad dramatic).


I also thought about how I can take this idea and mold it into something bigger and bring in more of the handmade community; sort of like let's trade our goods then blog about how special they made us feel... Eh, it's still a rough idea but I really think I might be on to something really cool. I will take my time and mold the idea, then see who is on board!


First things first though? Paying it Forward a la Handmade. Can't wait to blog about the experience once I have created some treats for my buds! Hot Dog!


PS. OK, I have to leave you with this which isn't necessarily in conjunction with my post topic but is more so something I should look to on a daily basis. Ha. Love it. Truth.

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Family Rocks

Manfriend and I took a jaunt to North Carolina for our Christmas break and officially we are done traveling for awhile. We seem to have been on the road every other weekend for the last 3 months at least... and it's tiring! Finger Lakes, NYC, Colorado, NC, Starbucks... geesh we need to stay home and spend some quality time with our dog and cat (because they are pretty needy). Overall though? I would travel again next weekend if it would be that I was guaranteed some quality time with my family. I have a lot of friends in Massachusetts but family? Yeah, I am on bare bones in the Northeast. Love 'em and want to be near them but I know if I was near them, we would annoy eachother. Distance makes the heart grow fonder, so I am pretty fond of my family. I know I post about my family a lot but it's my way of showing them I care, in an unconventional way.

Ok, since you begged me. Highlights from our trip to NC are as follows:

I'm SO Proud!

I couldn't be prouder of my little sister. Not only is she SUPER smart but she is a crafter at heart! Not only does she knit but while digging through her room for stuff to borrow whilst there for Christmas (yes, I am allowed to borrow legally now that we are adults), I found her wire craft stuff. Yes, you heard me, wire craft. She likes to mold things and make little treasures out of wire. I am smitten with two that she did for my mother. Check them out. She rocks. She had better make me some soon. I was thinking a hippopotamus?

 

Happiest of New Year's, my friends

I thought that that a great start to the new year would not be to lay out my resolutions (one of which usually includes a post-holiday diet) but rather, I would lay out some charitable organizations that I either have worked with or would like to work with in the future... and vow to volunteer my time or donate as much as possible this year. So here I am sharing where I want to spend some of my extra time and resources this year. I hope you approve ;-)

Susan G. Komen for the Cure

I did the Breast Cancer 3-day a few years ago and have not forgotten what an amazing experience it was to walk 60 miles in the blistering heat (no lie over 100 degrees one day) for a mighty good cause. Please note: I was not being sarcastic. (See previous post about why this is near and dear to my heart). My goal this year is somehow to get involved again, whether it be to walk, volunteer or donate some sweet moola.

ConKerr Cancer

What an amazing cause for a crafty girl to partake in. You basically whip up some pillowcases but these aren't just any pillow cases... these pillow cases go directly to kids suffering from different life changing illnesses. That was my blurb but read the longer (and more inspirational) version here. They give you the tools, and where to get your charitable craftiness on, so I am thinking why not? It would be fun an fulfilling for sure.

The Special Olympics

I have always wanted to volunteer with the Special Olympics and even went as far as to work on planning a trip out to Boise for the Winter Games (unfortunately it was going to be WAY too much work for me at that stage in the game) but this year, I thought if I gave myself a goal of volunteering at one event and then maybe another, I'd get my feet wet and also get a lay of the land, so to speak. I looked up my Massachusetts chapter and already requested to be added to the volunteer database. First step, taken.

Big Brother/ Big Sister

I always him and haw on the morning of my once a month Big Sister opportunity but I ALWAYS feel great after completing that day's activity. I volunteer for the girls on the waiting list for a Big Sister. This is a way for them to get out and socializing while they are waiting to be placed with that special someone. It is a year long, once a week committment and I am honest with myself about not being able to do that. Truthfully though? For the most part, I make a new little friend every time I pick one of them up for skating, self defense courses, the museum of science and so on an so forth. I want to keep this up this year of our lord 2011.

And last but not least...

I need to be better about remembering to always buy something for the food pantry donation while I am at my local grocery store. As easy as it sounds, it's also easy to forget. I mean, they put the bin right there so when you check out, you can throw the canned goods or Rice a Roni right in there... but I always think of it when I see it and by that time, I only have my precious foodstuff collected on that trip. If I made it a point to donate every time I was in there? Do you know how much that would be from just me alone in one short year? A LOT! This will be a work in progress for me but I may start a count on the blog or something, mayhaps to keep myself motivated.

Anyways, I would like to give back as much as possible this year as I feel like I have been blessed with only the smallest of problems and the fortune of a Queen these days. MUSH ALERT: We should be thankful all the time for what we have and share what we have who are less fortunate for sure.