Every Ending Comes From Some Other Beginning’s End

As 2012 came to a close — everyone got a little pensive.  The new beginnings bring resolutions, and hopefully no regrets.  Since we survived the Mayan calendar catastrophe, there seems to be an infinite amount of time to accomplish the things in life that you set out to do.  Until the next natural disaster or health scare, we feel safe and young.  I’ve heard many folks over 50 use the phrase “youth is wasted on the young.”  My only resolution for 2013 is not let that apply to me and my life.

So for the new year, of course I have goals and aspirations.  I sat with my dad for breakfast one morning and went over all the countries we’ve been to and the next five that we want to visit.  In previous blog posts I’ve scaled out the details of some of my past trips, and in this one I shall reveal my next excursion: GREECE!

I’ll be taking two full weeks off from work in August and heading to the Greecian island of Evia with some of my best buds.  I am beyond excited to take this adventure and I’ll surely have lots of pictures to post when the trip is finished.

Total Unexpected Topic Change:

Being a bartender (on Sundays only) gives me a little flair at the end of a busy week.  Last night was no exception.  I met Jack.  Jack is an 85 year old man from Chester County who worked for the Campbell’s soup company for 50 years and has been retired as long as I’ve been alive.  The reason why this guy struck a cord with me is because he was the happiest dude ever.  Was he blind in one eye? Yes.  Did he have to get his friend Al to drive him to Carrabba’s because he’s blind in one eye? Yes.  Did it still make me feel good when he told me I was pretty, even though he’s blind in one eye?  Yes.

So Jack had some sound advice for me.  He told me that it was OK to not be married at age 28 because, and I quote, his “first wife turned out to be a total bitch.”  So he seems to think if I wait it out, I’ll skip that first horrible husband and end up all set.  He assured me, the second time he got it sooooo right.  He was bringing food  home to his wife who was not well.  He said the saddest part of her being sick was that she misses out on all of the small things, like getting take out on a Sunday, or going to the movies.  Brokenhearted yet?  Don’t be — Jack was stoked to be able to pick up some grub and head home to spend dinner with her.

He told me to slow down when I talk because, although most women talk too fast, he was having trouble deciding what kind of meal to order because he was lost.  He told me to stop rushing thru life, speak slowly, and only say nice things.

He also told me that I had a great personality and that if he came back to Carrabba’s it would be 80% because of me.  When I asked about the other 20%, he said because he thinks he’d like to try the rest of the entrees at some point, but he didn’t want to say 100% because he wouldn’t want me getting a huge ego.

Jack made me want to  pay more attention to the people I meet.  Some of them might just make your day.

Today’s music comes as a throwback:

Semisonic – Closing Time

Enjoy,

xoxo

shu

What to Pack : FIREFLY FESTIVAL, Dover, DE

So in preparation for the upcoming Firefly Festival in Dover, DE from July 20-22nd, I figured I’d make a quasi informational blog to contain my excitement. Since we all know how much I am obsessed with planning and making lists, this will be great therapy.

After attending Bonnaroo in 2010, it became apparent that people are not mentally or physically prepared for such festivals.  You must come to terms with a few things:

• You will be transformed into a dirty hippie for 3-4 days, if you aren’t already.
• There will be strange people everywhere.  Babies pooping on the floor, experienced life hippies, rainbow umbrellas, overly friendly strangers, and parrots.
• Water is your friend.
• You will need to read this blog so you know what to pack.

There are a few things that saved our lives at this festival, and I figured I’d share, so you too can be less miserable in 97 degree heat with no air, power, or sleep.  Why do we do this to ourselves again?

• Case of FROZEN bottled water.  You can use this as ice to cool the things in your coolers, and then take them into the festival with you as long as they are SEALED and then it will slowly melt so you can slowly stay hydrated and cool!
• Empty water bottle – the venues will have free clean water inside, so bring your empty containers and fill up when you get in, stay hydrated!
• Portable fans, maybe with a spray element, are fabulous.  But be careful not to catch your hair in them (Gillian…)
• Bug Spray/Suntan Lotion/Hat – self explanatory
• Pavilion tent and sleeping tent.  You will want a place to hang out during the day in between bands, so a Pavillion tent is a MUST.  Rain or shine — you’ll want a covered spot that isn’t your muggy tent.
• Hammer.  We used a hammer about 5x more than expected.
• Baby Wipes
• Hose – a lot of the festivals have a barnish thing with sinks that have a grooves to hook up a hose.  This was the single best thing we brought.  It’s so hot, you will want to shower 3x a day, but the showers cost $5-$10 and are not all that clean/refreshing.  This way, you can stand there in your bathing suit and shower as many times as you want.
• Towels.
• Medicine – there is a medical tent, but bring whatever you need as there aren’t facilities to purchase medicine at the venue.
• Plastic wear : plates, cups, paper towels, forks/spoons etc.
• Mini Grill / burgers / hot dogs / buns etc — Food at these festivals can be really pricey!  Bring PB & J and a lot of foods that are non-perishable since you will run out of ice quickly.
• If you’re a beer drinker — BRING PLENTY.  The venues usually sell ice and beer, but it’s like $80 a case.  So come prepared!  Firefly does have an air conditioned Brewery with moderately priced beer, and the vineyard.

Here are some pictures from the Firefly Instagram page to get you amped about the show!  Make sure you download the FireFly Music Festival App so you can create your own schedule, get a map to all the hot stages, restrooms, custom TOMS painting (ahhhhh).

Today’s music comes from one of the festival artists, Cold War Kids!

♫ Hang Me Up To Dry – Cold War Kids http://spoti.fi/IY52UY #Spotify

enjoy,

xoxo

shu

Post Color Run

A few weeks back, I posted about the upcoming Color Run.  Sunday July 8th, the race ran thru Philly with just under 23,000 people in participation, making it the third largest 5k in the entire United States!

Being that this was my first 5k, I didn’t really know what to expect.  Maybe it was being surrounded by friends and family, maybe it was anticipation of the next color zone, or maybe it was because it was 630am and I wasn’t fully awake yet, but this 3.1 miles FLEW by.  Below are a few pictures from the event.  If this race runs thru your city — make sure you sign up!  Below is just a small sampling from the event.  I stole some pictures from friends.  The event was basically one big photo opp.

To set this goal and accomplish it with the support of everyone was an amazing experience.  Can’t wait to keep going!

My next conquest?

http://runforyourlives.com/

The ZOMBIE RUN!!!!  October 27th, 15 of my closest friends and family will be helping me evade brain hungry zombies as we plow thru a 5k/obstacle course with hurdles, blood pools, mud, cargo nets, rivers and many possible other combinations of torture.  Benefits go to the American Red Cross.  The website is hilariously witty and I cannot WAIT to finish this race.

Today’s music comes from the Swedish House Mafia.  If you’re looking for a motivating running song — this is a great track!

♫ One (Your Name) [feat. Pharrell] [Radio Edit] – Swedish House Mafia, Pharrell http://spoti.fi/Jf3jLA #Spotify

enjoy,

xoxo

shu

Technology in 2012

Last week, my friends and I were chatting about technology and youth.  I never wanted to be the person that started a sentence with “when I was your age….,” but, well, I am.  It really is amazing the way things progress in a lifetime.  Age 17, I got my first credit card and my first cell phone.  Mainly because I was driving and my parents wanted me to have these things for emergencies.  How would they know I’d be eating a hoagie and crash into the bumper of a three-day-old car 4 feet from our house?  Because they are planners, and for that, I thank them.

I was at a family event a few months back, and my 11-year-old cousin pulls out her cell phone and starts text messaging her friends from school.  ELEVEN.  At that age, I was just worried about not poking someone’s eye out with a snap bracelet, or regretting the POG trade I just made with the kid in my homeroom.  Now, 5th graders are doing their homework on iPads, they are being taught not to text and drive, cyber bullying is an everyday term, and disc-mans are a thing of the past.  It really opens up a whole new world of problems for America’s youth.

I can even remember thinking my dad was pretty cool because we had a car/bag phone.  So when we saw accidents, we were cellularly obligated to pull over and call the police.  A phone, in a bag, in the car?!  Ironically enough, my father is still on the RAZR phone, so I guess his technological advances peaked in 95′. (Love ya dad!)

This got me to asking myself a lot of rhetorical questions.  How did parents keep track of their children without these marvelous devices?  You just assumed your kid was where they said they were.  And just WAITED to hear from them on a land line?!  Seems crazy.

Not to mention the apps.  How did people know how far they were running without the Nike + iPod app?  How do you pick a place to eat on the weekend without Urban Spoon?  How did people know when to use the bathroom during movies without RunPee?  I don’t have the answers, but I’m glad I have access to these glorious life assistants.

In the words of my grandmother “it was a different time.”  Life must seem like a foreign planet to her.  She is from the “we don’t lock our doors, let the kids walk to school alone, it was 30 cents to see a movie” era.  In a way, I’m jealous.  Now I have to be concerned about bath salt snorting crazies eating my face, people knocking my iPhone out of my hand at the train station (Leah) and having to live with NOT drinking and taking naps at work (Mad Men).

Can I say I miss the days of AOL?  The sweet sound of the dial up as it connected and you prayed for e-mail?  The ability to tape music right off the radio and make mix tapes for your friends?  Having to watch TV live when it airs because TiVO/DVR didn’t exist yet?  Maybe a little, but then I turn my house lights off thru my iPhone, and I’m over it.

I came across this image and it made me laugh, so I’m sharing because it’s SO TRUE!

Today’s music comes from LP — the song is Into The Wild.  There is whistling — that’s a thing now, yes?  Listen now, you’ll see it in a commercial shortly, of this, I am sure.

♫ Into The Wild – LP http://spoti.fi/L31i46

Enjoy,

xoxo

shu

Jobs

Howdy.

I was thinking today about how much I would hate to work for a credit card company.  People call to complain, to tell you they’ve lost their card, or to complain.  I have had a series of jobs and they were all so great for various reasons.

My first job was at TCBY when I was 15.  Earning a sweet 5.25 an hour, I handed out assorted frozen treats for the community.  My boss was a total donkey.  I had Orioles tickets (yes.  Orioles.  Which seemed extremely important to me at the time) and he wouldn’t let me off from work.  He said, “If you’re going to do this to me, then I’m going to have to let you go, I’m just too short staffed.”  Oh, I see.  You’re too much of a donkey to hire enough staff to run your ice cream parlour, so I, the poor little 15 year old gal should suffer?  Needless to say, I didn’t get to go to that game, and as soon as I turnd 16, I quit.  He went out of business shortly after and the building has since been turned into 4 chinese restaurants, a greek place, and now I don’t know.

My next job was at Issac’s.  It was a cute little deli in Frazer that sold sandwiches named after birds.  The management was mega creepy and felon-infested.  Somewhere down the line, friends came in to visit.  I may or may not have offered them a free Fudgy Wudgy.  And Carol, came all the way down from the trailer park, to put me in my place.  I was terminated at the end of my shift.  All the fuss over a delicious $4 fudge indulgence.  This remains the one and only job that I have ever been “terminated” from.  I’m pretty sure I still have my pink termination slip.  I also received an oversized card from my friends that said “You know what’s worse than getting fired?” (open card)  “Getting your best friend fired, sorry!”  I still have that card too.  What ever happened to Carol, you say?  Turns out Carol was stealing money from the restaurant.  She got canned and the place went out of business shortly after.  Seeing a trend?

Next, I headed over to Anthony’s.  A sweet Ma and Pa Italian restaurant in Malvern.  When I say a Ma and Pa, I really mean there were grandmothers rolling meatballs in the basement.  The food was phenom.  My parents still order pizza from there most Friday nights.  Here, I fell in love.  I think I was about 17 at the time and there was a boy named Jason who was like well into his 20’s — maybe 24.  Which at the time seemed mega old and now seems like the glory days.  I followed this boy around like a lost puppy dog with hopes that the fact that he could drive, drink beer and get a real job would go unnoticed.  At the end of my time at Anthony’s, Jason moved off to California and I never saw him again. HEARTBREAK HOTEL!  I don’t even know his last name, but Jason/tall boy/wears glasses/I think I saw you at the YMCA last year — CALL ME!

What is the worst job you’ve ever had?

After that I had a few brief stints with a small CD shoppe and a catering company.  All in all, I just really think that everyone should spend a year of their life in the restaurant business.  If you haven’t had the opportunity — I just wanted to share some learnings with you:

• Don’t think that we don’t recognize YOU as the 12% tipper and give you service accordingly.
• Don’t walk in and say “are you still serving” at 9:58p.  We post the hours on the door for your convenience.
• Don’t eat your entire dinner, but tell me it was too salty.  Because I’m going to ask you why you ate it and failed to mention until now.
• Don’t ever act like you know the menu better than I do by saying things like “you guys used to have this.”  I work here, you just come here too often.
• Don’t get sassy with me.  I won’t be any more efficient with your condescending suggestions or snotty tude.

Hope these tips help!

If it wasn’t for the need to make money, what job would you choose?

Me? Professional blogger, concert reviewer, and doggie daycare specialist.

Don’t forget to keep up with my FlickR as I photograph a year!  Honestly, this forces me to do something interesting everyday and really pay attention to my surroundings to ensure I get a good shot every time!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/shueyface/

Today’s music comes from Edward Sharpe (who will be in PHILLY May 11th)

#NowPlaying Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros – Home on #Spotify

Enjoy!

xoxo

shu

2012 projections

I really feel a lot of pressure to make this year a great one, mainly because it’s our last on earth.  Right?  Isn’t that what people are saying?  Some sort of life altering change is going to occur because our planet is over populated, we are running out of natural resources, and there are far too many stupid people on Earth.

Don’t get me wrong, 2011 was one of my best years.  I adopted a puppy dawg, got a promotion, had an amazing summer full of live music, friends and cold beers!  But people say age 27 is a pinnacle year.  You start to find your way in your career, start to settle down and figure out exactly who you are.

I’ve always said happiness is having something to look forward to, and I’m definitely in for a happy year.  Now that I have my 2012 desk calendar fully marked and ready to go, I can share my future endeavors with you all. 

February – Dia Frampton at the Note (from THE VOICE, Blake’s lil protegé), visiting Colleen, Jenni and Matt in DC to eat jumbo pizza slices on the everlasting escalator’s in the metro, Allison Wenger’s birthday, and the last three-day weekend until summer.

March – St. Patrick’s Day! Green beer, irish potatoes and drunk firefighters.  Also Shannon Colley’s bridal shower!

April – Traveling to Paris and Dublin for 10 days with two of my best friends!!!! AH even writing it I’m freaking out with excitement.

May – A fun filled month for sure.  Shannon’s bachelorette party in AC is over CINCO DE MAYO followed my Channon Lucas’s bdizzle at the end of the month, a bar crawl, and … oh yea …. THE FIRST BEACH WEEKEND OF THE SUMMER!

June – Kicking off the month with Shannon’s wedding in CT followed by a “mico” wedding the very next Saturday!

July – 4th of July has always been one of my favorite holidays and since graduation, I’ve been splitting my time between our beach house and Rhode Island.  I’ve taken a few years hiatus from RI/Chris/Courtney, but now that they have Lenny, I think I’ll resume the tradition.  HA, but really it’s like a wonderland of summer fun.  I’m gunna let Bentley run in the lake and he’ll be “ruined for the rest of the day.”  I will have to save some time for the beach because my mom and g-mom have the same birthday, and it also falls in this gloriously humid month.

August – Always a solid month since it’s my BIRTHDAY!  I may be a planner, but this is where my planning stops.  I think I have some time to figure it out 😉

Now that I’ve outlined my social calendar, mainly for me so I have it writing, I can focus on other things.

Today’s music comes from … the 90’s.  During my ride to Hershey PA this weekend, we revisited some great tunes that got me all nostalgic

Listening to Stay by Lisa Loeb #nowplaying #tunesday http://tinysong.com/of3y

Listening to Father of Mine by Everclear #nowplaying #tunesday http://tinysong.com/HECh

Listening to Torn by Natalie Imbruglia #nowplaying #tunesday http://tinysong.com/TToo

Don’t forget to keep up with my Flickr page as I photograph the year.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/shueyface/

xoxo

shu

Places Traveled, attempt 2.

I consider myself a very lucky 27-year-old.  In my lifetime, I have been surrounded by good friends, good family and good fortune.

One of the questions that came up in Start Something That Matters really resonated with me.  If you didn’t have to worry about money, how would you spend your time?  Without hesitation I thought to myself, I would travel.  To anywhere and everywhere.  I want to see the hick towns in northern Texas.  I want to see the biggest brightest cities, the festivals, the monuments, the museums, and the sports games.  I want to have a conversation with the homeless wizard that sits on Venice beach in California.

I was speaking with my father one afternoon, and he told me that he had been to EVERY state in the U.S. except for Arkansas.  So when he planned his cross-country bicycle trip, he made sure to pass thru just to check it off the list.  He had one rule to this travel game, you must spend the night there in order for it to count.  So layovers, train stations, pit stops are all out of the game.

I printed out a map and I keep it handy to check off the places as I go along.  I’d like to remember one specific thing about each place, but as anyone that knows me can tell you, my memory never serves me right.

I found these really cool maps on a few sites.  They are scratch off maps!  Much like lottery tickets, you scratch off each location and the color underneath is in contrast the original map color.  I’ve included links below for purchasing in case you are interested.

http://www.uncommongoods.com/product/scratch-map

http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/urban/catalog/productdetail.jsp?id=19391663

This really beats my blank Word document with a list of places I’ve been, and a list of places I want to be at some point.

Going by my father’s rules of travel, I’ve been to 19 out of the 50 states.  Not too shabby.  (They are California, Washington, Oregon, Iowa, Tennessee, Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Delaware, Maryland, Connecticut, Arizona, Texas, Illinois, Florida and Virginia in case you were curious). Last year my college roommates and I went to Chicago to knock it off the list, great city, highly recommended (especially the Wiener Circle around 1:30am).  We’ve vowed to take these small trips here and there to places we’ve never been.

In Europe, I’ve seen Italy, Spain, England, and Belgium.  I just booked my trip to Dublin and Paris for this April!! 

Planned excursions:  Greece Summer of 2013 in the Colley/Rountos estate haha and perhaps a trip over to Brazil for the World Cup 2014.

With unlimited time off and unlimited funds, I’d be a well-traveled cookie.

Where would you go?

Don’t forget to follow my photography blog as I chronicle a year in my life:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/shueyface/

Today’s music comes from the new Black Keys album El Camino.  This is the new single off the album called Little Black Submarines.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_JvY9xeVNM&noredirect=1

Enjoy!

xoxo

shu

Hot topics of 2011

So as 2011 comes to a close, I got to thinking about all the major events that happened this year.  With smart phones, social networking sites and the internet, it has become easier than ever to get news from point A to point B.  I’d say that I find out more big news thru Twitter or Facebook, than I do from television or (ancient) radio.  Bar arguments can be settled within seconds with smart phones and Wikipedia to prove everyone wrong (or right in my case…always).  Our generation has grown up with technology at its peak.  In 5th grade, we were playing the Oregon Trail video game in the computer lab.  In 8th grade, we were told that our book report could only have one “online” source in the bibliography (tragic).  Spelling errors in Word documents are a thing of the past.  In college, Facebook took over the world and has remained a huge part in the social networking movement.  Advertisers have coveted this new outlet to personalize their ads, reach their effective target market, and seek out niche groups.  Twitter has narrowed the gap between public figures and celebrities to the everyday social networker.  Stars are able to break news, respond to fans, and market themselves in a whole new way.  Just when you think they have thought of everything, they think of something else, and I LOVE IT.

I did a little time line here of what I would consider major events of 2011.  I put some pop culture stuff in here, and some historical events.  Fun for everyone!

Feb. 10 — Rebecca Black’s song “Friday” is uploaded to YouTube and now has over 15 million views to date.  There are several parodies circulating YouTube as well.

March 7 — After a public spat with creator of Two and a Half Men, lead actor Charlie Sheen got fired from the show.  Then went absolutely insane and everyone, myself included, loved it.

March 11 — A massive 9.0-magnitude earthquake strikes northern Japan, triggering an even more devastating tsunami. More than 10,000 people are killed or missing and the Fukushima nuclear reactors are damaged causing radiation leaks and long-term evacuations.  This picture is courtesy of National Geographic.

April 29 — An estimated 2 billion people watch the wedding of Price William and Catherine Middleton at Westminster Abbey in London.  Also, Pippa’s caboose was revealed to the world in a hip hugging white dress.

May 1 — After a nine-and-a-half year manhunt, American commandos find and kill Osama Bin Laden in a compound north of Islamabad, Pakistan.

July 5 — Casey Anthony’s verdict comes back NOT guilty causing mutiny amongst case followers.

July 13 — Harry Potter releases it FINAL movie from the 8 part series, ending over a decade of hype.  The films generated $7,706,147,978 in box offices worldwide.  I went, and then felt empty inside when it was all over.

July 23 — Amy Winehouse is found dead in her apartment due to a drug overdose at age 27.

Aug. 5th — One of my best friends Christy gets married!

Aug. 20 — Kim Kardashian gets married and chronicles the entire experience on her reality show, Keeping Up With the Kardashians….then gets divorced 72 days later.  I hadn’t even had a chance to watch the wedding on my TiVo before it was announced that they were splitting.

Sept. 11 — Family members of 9/11’s approximately 3,000 victims finally see the official memorial — two reflecting pools set in the footprints of the original Twin Towers — in New York City on the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks.

Oct. 3 — American student Amanda Knox is released from an Italian prison after being acquitted of the murder and sexual assault of British student Meredith Kercher, ending her four-year legal battle to prove her innocence.

Oct. 5 — Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple Inc., and its long-time CEO, dies at age 56 from pancreatic cancer.

Oct. 21 — President Barack Obama announces all remaining U.S. troops will leave Iraq by the end of 2011, ending a war that deeply divided the nation, left almost 4,500 American soldiers dead and cost more than 800 billion dollars.

Nov. 18 — Demi and Ashton split

Now I’m sure some will be disappointed with this list.  I know I missed a few events, but I have a job.  I can’t just be making a timeline of every event of this year.  That is what WIKI is for — go look it up, you bum.

I leave you pondering this; when the world ends next December, will there still be internet?  I hope so, otherwise things could get weird.

Today’s music comes from R.E.M.

Seems appropriate:

listening to It’s The End Of The World As We Know It … by R.E.M. #nowplaying http://tinysong.com/AtA5

Enjoy,

xoxo

shu

Flex Watches and Talented Friends

So I was thinking about all of my talented friends.  I think I have a friend who is really good at just about everything.  Some are photographers, some videographers, some craft geniuses, some great shoppers, a few rocket scientists, a fitness guru here or there.  Leaves me thinking, what is my true talent?  I’ve dabbled with crochet, pottery, and cake baking classes, but nothing really sticks as my ONE thing.  After little thought, I realized, that’s kind of what I like about myself.  Being able to be half decent at several things, instead of being an absolute pro at just one. 

Just a few quick shameless plugs to showcase my amazeballs friends:

Read is a Rhode Island born and bred photographer with an amazing eye for rural beauty.  Check out his blog and website below:

http://readmckendree.blogspot.com/

http://www.readmckendree.com/

Courtney is pretty great at pretty much anything she tries.  Her latest project has been sewing.  She is currently taking a much needed breather, but check back in case she posts some other glorious DIY projects:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/LennyOnRhode

And, naturally, I’m obsessed with her blog:

http://mystrawisglass.wordpress.com/

And if you need fitness tips, one of my dearest friends Shannon has a FB site set up for her amazing fitness regime.  She also offers classes in CT:

http://www.facebook.com/Fitnesse

And for special occasions, cakes, cookies or cupcakes, My friend Amy does amazing work – here is her website for all things baked:

http://www.thepetitecupcake.webs.com/

Phew, the talent.  MAROON.

SOOOO Charities.  I’ve been meaning to blog about them, and just got inspired yesterday when I discovered a new organization that targets younger folks. I feel like everyone sort of has a tie to some charity based on their life experiences.  My dad, for instance, dedicates a vast majority of his time to the National Arthritis Foundation because his mom had the disease and he watched it debilitate the later portion of her adulthood.  Some people show loyalties to breast cancer, ALS, clean water projects, etc etc.   I do consider myself a charitable person, but haven’t been able to find just one charity that warrants my devotion.  There are SO many amazing organizations out there spreading relief both locally and internationally.

My feature charity today is FLEX!  http://flexwatches.com/

I’m sure you’ve seen some of the ads on MTV, but the organization is targeting the 18-24 year old range by selling these colorful watches.  Their gig is 10/10/10.  10 colors, 10 charities, 10 percent.

Each color watch represents a certain charity.  Below is a brief explanation of each color:

 

(Orange)

The mission of the St. Bernard Project is to create housing opportunities so that Hurricane Katrina survivors can return to their homes and communities.

(Yellow)

The country’s largest grass roots organization serving the Parkinson’s community. It is a 501 © (3) not-for-profit organization and receives no governmental or public funding. Each year APDA contributes more than $2.5 million for research and another $2 million for direct patient and caregiver support through the generous support of individual and corporate donations. 

(Green)

The Be Perfect Foundation is a non-profit organization founded by the Hargrave family to assist Spinal Cord Injury victims that do not have the financial means to cover the cost of recovery. Within its first 20 months the foundation has been able to keep SCI friends in recovery, purchase wheel chairs. 

(Blue)

Nika water brings a voice to the worlds poor who suffer without clean water and simple sanitation. 100% of all profits are donated to support clean water projects in impoverished countries. Nika Water strives to end the cycle of poverty and create awareness and knowledge to get people involved in bringing clean water to poverty-stricken countries. http://www.nikawater.org/

 

(Pink)

Worldwide, breast cancer comprises 22.9% of all cancers in women. In 2008, breast cancer caused 458,503 deaths worldwide (13.7% of cancer deaths in women). Breast cancer is more than 100 times more common in women than breast cancer in men although males tend to have poorer outcomes due to delays in diagnosis.

 

(Purple)

It is our hope that we can improve the lives of young adults with cancer by offering whitewater kayaking and other outdoor adventure sports. These experiences significantly increase self confidence. Self-confidence empowers people affected by cancer to regain control of their lives. First Descents is not just giving young adults with cancer their self confidence back, we’re also connecting a largely disconnected population.

 

(Grey)

Imerman Angels carefully matches and individually pairs a person touched by cancer (a cancer fighter or survivor) with someone who has fought and survived the same type of cancer (a Mentor Angel). Cancer caregivers (spouses, parents, children and other family and friends of fighters) also receive 1-on-1 connections with other caregivers and survivors. 

(White)

Life Rolls On Foundation is dedicated to assisting and inspiring young people affected by spinal cord injury and uses action sports as a platform to demonstrate infinite possibilities despite paralysis. Its signature program, They Will Surf Again, empowers paraplegics and quadriplegics to surf with the assistance of adaptive equipment and dedicated volunteers. In addition to providing unique quality of life programs. 

(Black)

Imagine being around 20 years old and suddenly waking up one morning and realizing you’ve lost your central vision in one eye. Then in a month or two losing central vision in the other eye. You’re now legally blind, and you’re told there’s no treatment and no cure for the rare genetic disorder that has taken your sight.

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Rojo Gomez is a small community in Mexico where Mariners Church as partnered with Lo Mejor Del Trigo church to help serve the physical and spiritual needs of the poor in Mexico. The statistics prove the need: 40% of the population in Mexico lives below the poverty line. The average income per family is $80 a week.

 

I think it’s very cool that MTV has teamed up with this company to try to get young people to get involved and start to find their cause early on.

I just ordered the white watch.  It was tough to pick a color because all the charities are so great, so I just went based off of color, and color alone!

My 10% will be going towards:

Life Rolls On 866-We Will Walk | 400 Corporate Pointe Suite 525, Culver City, CA 90230 www.liferollson.org Life Rolls On Foundation is dedicated to assisting and inspiring young people affected by spinal cord injury and uses action sports as a platform to demonstrate infinite possibilities despite paralysis. Its signature program, They Will Surf Again, empowers paraplegics and quadriplegics to surf with the assistance of adaptive equipment and dedicated volunteers. In addition to providing unique quality of life programs, Life Rolls On fosters spinal cord injury awareness and offers outreach to individuals and their families at the onset of injury.

What have you done today to help someone else?  Boom, that’s deep.

Today’s music comes from my girl Dia Frampton.  She will be at The Note in WC on Feb 8th — tickets are $15 on ticketfly — get there!

#NowPlaying Dia Frampton – Don’t Kick The Chair on @Spotify Feat Kid Kudi
http://open.spotify.com/track/6YCAhzuOqzDk9fBHE06AyB

Enjoy,

xoxo

shu

Life on Other Planets

A co-worker passed along this article the other day, and it really got me thinking.

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2011/dec/05/exoplanet-kepler-22-b-nasa-earth

 

 The possibility of moving to another planet, once we’ve utilized all the resources on Earth, is BLOWING MY MIND.  Imagine if Kepler 22-B wasn’t 600 light years away.  Imagine they do a lottery and choose a million people to go populate another planet.  What would you be able to bring?  Would it be like Lost with “others” already living on the planet?  What if we get sucked into a black hole on the way there? Would Bentley be able to come?  To start fresh in a place with no electricity, no animals, no cars, no roads, no maps, no fruit snacks, no homes, no trees, and no stores.  As exciting as this all seems, it would take decades to get the planet up to speed with what we’re working with here on Earth.  I’ve seen the construction workers on 202.  There are ten of them that have been watching ONE guy do work for the past year and a half. 

 

Ever since we learned about the solar system in 5th grade, it really makes your world so small….and confusing.  To think that each little thing about the way the Earth functions is dependent on everything else functioning the way it should.  Did I just become an astronaut?  But in all seriousness, I think I’ll just ride it out here on Earth.  Kepler 22-b sounds great and all, but this isnt 1492, and I’m not Christopher Columbus.

 

With the holiday’s approaching, I did a little reading in my FAVE magazine — FOOD.

The Christmas issue is my absolute favorite, so I wanted to share some great websites that have cute, unique and fun gifts!  Get serious — you only have 12 days left, so you better finish up!

 

WestElm.com

Ikea.com

ModCloth.com

Vat19.com

ModernTribe.com

OliveandCocoa.com

RedEnvelope.com

FredFlare.com

 

Happy Shopping Everyone!

 

Today’s music comes from Bon Iver — because you peeps need to relax while you’re reading.  Sometimes it’s nice not to know the words to the music so you don’t get distracted singing and dancing at your desk (guilty).

 

#NowPlaying Bon Iver – Skinny Love on @Spotify
http://open.spotify.com/track/0zP8BJOamm7Q9aNMwCby55

 

#NowPlaying Bon Iver – Holocene on @Spotify
http://open.spotify.com/track/5bGd0OxvxZSATIf2eEkmTD

 

Enjoy!

 

xoxo

 

shu