Special Occasion Items...

Wow. It has been awhile since my last post. Shame on me. I came up with a million and one excuses and reasons why I have not had time to blog. But guess what? I am not going to do that anymore. I am not going to give excuses for why I don’t do things or haven’t got to things. The simple fact is that I have not been on top of blogging. Shame on me, and I will work at being better about it.

I was reading “The Happieness Project” last week and there was a chapter about spending. In this chapter they touched on the fact that it is okay to spend money on yourself without feeling guilty. It is okay to buy yourself the things you want. Just not to go overboard. It transitioned into talking about all the things that we buy and have, but we save them for special occasions. I, too, find myself with a lot of items that have gone unused because they are too special or amazing to use for everyday life or any ordinary occasion.

In the book, there was a blurb about a lady who had received this amazing art set when she was younger. She treasured it so much that she had never used it. It was too precious to use on any old project. So it sat around for years. Years later, she went to retrieve it and her mother had gotten rid of it because her daughter had never used it. She assumed that she did not want it.

Well guess who has an art set/kit like that? Yep, I DO! I have had said art set for at least 17+ years. Everything looks so nice, neat and lovely in the kit. I did not want to disturb it, mess it up and “ruin” it for any old art project. So it has sat nicely for all of these years, on shelves, in closets, in garages, and who knows where else. It currently resides in my home office on a shelf. The case is a lovely dark wood and matches my furniture in there. I realized I have been using it as a decorative piece instead of what it is intended for because I wanted to save it for a special occasion.

Had I not read this book, I probably would have gone my whole life without using my sacred art kit. This led me to discover and use things that I had not used before, or had used only on special occasions. Those lovely note cards I got as part of a bridesmaids gift package? I have only used one because they were so pretty; I wanted to use them for special occasions. Our wedding china has only been used once in the last five years! I even have undies that I do not wear that often because I save them for special occasions. Guess who is having a painting party on china in her undies this weekend? This girl!

Seriously though, we forget or overlook these moments that are happening right here, right now. These moments are just as special. Just as memorable. What if there is no tomorrow, or we do not make it to have that “special occasion” we have been waiting for. What then? I encourage each of you to get out those items that are wasting away because they are too precious. Use them. Enjoy them. Savor every moment while doing so. That is why you got them in the first place.

It's the Little Things

As Americans we tend to think BIG. Bigger is always better. But I have found that it is not always the case. With my realization that I need to shed a few pounds, I grew overwhelmed thinking about all the big things I needed to do. Cut out foods from my diet completely, join a gym, give up soda, etc, etc. While these are all great ideas, they were too big for me. Too much out of my comfort zone, too much at once. Most likely something that I would do for a few weeks and then jump back into my old routine and habits.

Instead, I started focusing on the little things that I could do that would contribute to an overall better and healthier me. I love sweets. I mean I really LOVE sweets. This doesn’t go well with the fact that I love to snack as well. During work, while watching TV, before I go to bed. So one of the little things that I have done was purchase almonds, grapes and happy cow cheese. I make sure that I always have one or another on my person. Instead of heading to the vending machine at work or making a trip to the local QT for some sweets, I snack on one of the healthier options.

It has also helped with my snacking on chocolate at home. Instead of going to the candy bowl (I know, it would be so much easier to get rid of the bowl, but I can’t…my husband is a mild chocoholic) I open the fridge and grab some grapes. Not as sweet and yummy, but I feel better about my choices after.

I have also started parking further away from where ever it is I am going. It does not have a huge impact, but it does add steps to my day, get my blood flowing a little more and, again, makes me feel better about my choices.

For those of you that do not know me, I am a Diet Coke junkie. I drink it first thing in the morning, clear until bedtime. I recently started just taking a limited number to work. Once they are gone, I turn to dreaded water. When I get home, instead of having regular Diet Coke, I drink Caffeine Free Diet Coke. Still not ideal, but having caffeine free vs. regular diet coke has allowed me to sleep better. I am not staying up as late because I jacked up on caffeine.

I know these are all little things and will not have BIG AMAZING EFFECTS, but these small things are allowing me to make healthy choices. These healthy choices can (and will) lead to additional, bigger healthy choices. It seems to be contagious. Once I do something that makes me feel even a little better, I want to do something else, and something else, and something else. So they were right when they said it’s the little things that count. What little things can you do, or are you doing to make a healthier you?

From Trash to Treasure

I got to spend my Saturday with two amazing ladies who I have had the privilege of being friends with for around ten years. My girlfriend Megan is getting married. What a beautiful bride she is going to make! She is one of the strongest, people I know. One of the things I admire most about her is her ability to stand by her beliefs strong and proud, no matter what. Megan, Amy and I took a day trip (a 2 hour drive one way) up to check out Megan’s venue. She is getting married in Cornville AZ (I had never even heard of this place until the trip). It is located near Cottonwood, Az. It was such a beautiful location and I can’t wait until her wedding day in May to see all of the ideas and hard work come together.

After the tour of the venue, we headed to lunch at a quaint local establishment, the Grasshpper Café. We were pleasantly surprised by the inside, the quality of service and the food. We walked over to the market next store and were greeted with wine tasting and small town hospitality. How friendly and amazing everyone we met were. I had no idea there were so many wineries in Arizona!

After our local market experience, we headed out to the party rental store, only to stop at a half dozen thrift stores on the way. Can you say JACKPOT! We all walked away with items, but I think I had the most amazing finds. It seems like out of town thrift stores are where all the amazing items are located! Some of the fabulous finds were my own and some were from Amy shouting my name across the store to come check out her find. Most of my finds were projects that I would need to work on to create a fabulous end product. My favorite kind of find!

For less then $20 I returned home with some amazing treasures! I found a punch bowl with 12 punch glasses, serving spoon and some other bowl that matches (not sure what the bowl is for), a fabulous frame, two glass jars, a fantastic fancy mirror, a tray of sorts and a $2 chair. The tray and the chair would become my afternoon/evening projects.

The $2 chair was a hunter green that had chips in it with a funky seat cushion covering and was super wobbly. I regret that I did not take a before picture of the whole chair prior to me starting my project. I was so eager to get started I forgot. Trust me, it was beat up and ugly! Once home, I took off the seat cushion, and spray painted the chair a matte black (I had this on had so it cost nothing). I went to Joann’s Fabrics and purchased a ½ yard of upholstery material ($17). Once home, I recovered the cushion and tightened all the screws to fix the wobbly legs. This chair is now AMAZING and it only cost me less then $20 (and I still have fabric left!).



















My fancy tray I bought was perfect for transforming into a elegant chalk board. The tray cost $4 and the chalk board paint cost $5 (and I have a TON left over for future projects). This super cool chalk board only cost $9 to make!




















So, considering I got to spend the whole day with to fantabulous ladies, AND I found some AMAZING deals, I consider this Saturday a huge success! I never realized just how fun it was to take something that is not so pretty and give it a make over! Especially on a bargain budget! The girls and I are already talking about when we can do this kind of a trip again to find more treasures!

Volunteering Abroad

Volunteering….one word can change a life, change someone’s views and change the world. Volunteering is something that EVERYONE can do, but not everyone chooses to do. Volunteering is one of the most valuable acts, yet it costs nothing, except your time. For a long time, I found myself thinking of all the great places I would like to volunteer, of all the change I would and could make, and then I would go about my business. I never signed up to volunteer; I never researched any volunteer opportunities. I just always thought “that would be a great volunteer opportunity” and then go on with my day. I guess I was satisfied with even just the thought of volunteering.

Years ago, when my husband and I first started dating, I had watched a show (maybe 60 minutes or similar) about Opera and all the great things she was doing in Africa. I told my husband that one day, I wanted to do that to. And again, it got swept under the rug and I went on with my life. I didn’t have “time” to volunteer, much less volunteer abroad. Who does that kind of thing anyhow?

It was a little over a year ago that I started looking at my life with a microscope. What had I done with it? What impact or mark had I made? Whose life had I affected? If I were to die tomorrow, what would be said about me? That I was a lot of fun and great to party with? That I lead a great life full of sitting on the couch, crafting and baking cupcakes? I really wasn’t pleased with who I was at the moment. Sure, I was a great person. I was considerate, caring, compassionate, etc. But I needed to be more. I needed to feel like a made a difference, that I touched and changed at least one life.

It was a week later that I signed up with United Planet, an international volunteer program. I agreed to volunteer in Tanzania for one month. Signing up for this program, I knew that one month wasn’t long enough to change the world, but it was all I could get off work, not to mention I was leaving my family behind. I was going to Tanzania to help teach English in one of their primary schools. I was so excited and nervous. I had no idea what to expect, so I left all of my expectations at home and went with an open mind.

WOW, is all I can say. I went to Tanzania hoping to change a life, make a difference and improve a life or two. I’m not sure what kind of impact I had on the children or people that I worked with, but I will tell you that I did change someone. I was able to alter someone’s perspective on life. I was able to give someone clarity and the ability to appreciate the simple things and learn how to put things into perspective. The person that I changed was me. Unintentionally, I changed. I didn’t bring this change on by myself. Every child that I came into contact with, every person that I converse with, people that I just sat back and observed….they changed me.

I’m not going to lie, I am sure that I made a small impact on one or two of the kiddos. I am sure I created some stories for them to tell featuring the “crazy white lady from America”, but those kids have given me so much more than I ever expected. They touched my heart, my mind and my soul. I could go on and on about what an amazing, life changing experience I had. I could share a hundred stories with you. But I won’t. Not in this post anyhow.

I just want everyone to know that volunteering abroad is an amazing thing. You touch the lives of the folks you come in contact with, but you also touch your own life. You improve yourself. You get to know yourself a little better. You get to see how strong you really are. You realize that you can overcome obstacles that you never thought you could. You are forced to try new things and look at new point of views. You are exposed to new cultures and ways of life. You are often outside of your comfort zone, but you learn how to accept it, deal with it and embrace it. You are able to make these discoveries though the people you meet during your volunteer work, through other volunteers and through experiences during your volunteer time.

I LOVED every minute of my experience and would do it all over again. I look forward to when I can do it again. For everyone that says they don’t have the time, or the money or the millions of other reasons why you could never do volunteer abroad, I want to tell you that is bulls*%t. You reconstruct your priorities, you save more and spend less, you figure out how to get your family involved with you if you cannot bear to leave them, you work it in around your vacation time. You put all the reasons aside why you can’t do it and focus on the reasons why you can! I guarantee you will not be disappointed that you did it!

For more information on volunteering abroad, you can check out www.unitedplanet.org or one of the many other organizations.

Some of my students

A monkey just hangin' out in the forrest

A monkey that came over to read my book and nibble on my postcards

The beautiful Indian Ocean

Lunch! Rice and cabbage

Some of my fav kiddos!