Cleaning up shop

I woke up Saturday inspired to clean up a little bit and donate/recycle the things that I've thrown in the back of my closet for the past year. I love days like that! I'm happy {and a little sad} to say that I gave away an entire car full of clothes and goods. I'm not sure when I became such a hoarder but I'm feeling a full car load lighter.

While looking up where I could donate an old printer and cd player I came across a great article from WWAY with information about where you can recycle electronic goods around Wilmington. Knowing from experience that sometimes the best information is in the comments - I found this little quarral that made me laugh. Everett Hervey, whoever you are, we can be friends.

Back Home

Returning from a flippin' sweet weekend in western North Carolina to ring in the new year. Lots of hiking. Lots of beautiful scenery. Good food. Good company. Life is good.

{from}

Watching 180 South thinking about this message - 

The best journeys answer questions that in the beginning you didn't even think to ask

Wishing you as exciting a 2012 as I hope my own to be! 

What's something you should never waste?

What is something you should never waste? Another blog I follow {Happiness Is...} hosts a weekly question to ponder. This particular question challenged me and I wanted to take a shot at answering for you. I would love to hear your answer back (insert plea for people to comment on posts so that I know you're out there!!).

There is an Emerson quote hanging in my office that connects the dots between this question and my outlook on life in a pretty little sign - it states - Live in the sunshine, Swim in the sea, Drink the wild air. For me, the things I believe we should never waste are unique natural and social experiences. These experiences could be the tipping point in one's life or something that you may never get to share with anyone again. And for me, that's what life is about.

I have many moments that I know have shaped who I am on many different levels. Some good experiences, some bad - but all unique and I wouldn't want to take any of them away. Some experiences have challenged my ability to understand goodwill in people, others have shined a light on how much care and thoughtfulness a person can have. To have seen both sides creates a balance for me in a world of good and evil.

Nature has always been a draw for me as well. Experiencing natural phenomena in our lifetime is a gentle reminder of how much larger this world is than ourselves and the incredible amount of power behind it. I remember as a kid growing up in rural Maryland, my mom used to wake my brother and I up late in the night to watch meteor showers or when I started diving, seeing large schools of fish swim by in a hurry. These experiences have instilled a respect for the environment that I hope I can empower in others.

It's important to me to continue to experience things and never stop wanting to learn something new or try something I've never tried before. These are the things that make us who we are and connect us to others and empower to do things that are bigger than ourselves. It's unfortunate for me that I am a terrible story teller as one day I hope to have so many stories to tell. These stories are the things we should never waste.

Christmas Gifts

Earlier in the year in an effort to be a part of supporting local businesses and feel better about the gifts that I give, I vowed to reattempt to purchase only locally sourced or handmade gifts. I pride myself in trying to be as thoughtful about gifts as possible, often showing my appreciation this time of year by using my own talents to make something for someone who has shown me support and love throughout the year.

There has been a lot of talk the past two months or so about the scam that Amazon is running - to have consumers go into local shops and take a picture of what they might purchase locally and then get a discount for the item for purchasing it directly through Amazon. I don't agree with what Amazon is trying to do, but its a smart marketing tool for sure. I've blogged before about the 3/50 project and truly believe that supporting local businesses is something that we all should do when possible. My argument in the past is that it's not always possible to support locally as typically things cost more or what you need is just simply not available, but that doesn't discount the importance of thinking about it from time to time. Hell, even Seth Godin thinks it's a point worth pondering.

Back to my point and not just my rant, I tried this year to make local purchases or handmade gifts and mostly succeeded. At least better than last year, as when I started to run out of time I went straight to the big boxes and finished out my Christmas shopping.  So I've kept track of my shopping and figured out the percentages of gifts I gave that fall into each category. Out of the twenty total gifts I gave this year throughout the holiday season, sixteen of them were either handmade or locally sourced. That's 80%! I'm feeling proud of my accomplishment. Looking at the things that I did either order online or purchase through big box stores - I really could have purchased them locally. It would have taken a little more money and some time finding exactly what I was looking for but I think I could have made it happen.

I think it's easy to fall into a habit of convenience and the only way to truly challenge yourself to support local/handmade is to look beyond convenience. My key to success was truly trying to make a map of what I was looking for. I think I started back in October thinking of ideas of things I could make that would be fit for the person that I wanted to gift something to. Had I of waited I would not have been as successful.

So, I'll ask.....did you give gifts that supported local businesses (the best gift you can give to a small business owner is patronage!!) or maybe made an expression of your own talents to those you hold dear? I would love to hear some of the gifts you gave along these guidelines. Here are some of mine -

• Flower magnets (made by me!) for the girls at work to brighten up their cubes!
• Massage and locally made sundries from Down to Earth for me mere.
• Music Mix CD for my stepfather
• Calendar for my Poppop full of pictures of my family over the past year
• Watercolor paintings by me (I'm still learning, but I think they turned out okay)
• Knitted headbands (made by me)

The Art of Letter Writing

If you have known me for any amount of time, you probably already know how much I love writing letters (and receiving letters). My best friend will tell you that when we were in 5th grade (or somewhere around there) I wrote her a letter for every day that she was gone on vacation. She recently reminded me of my letters and it amazes me how long I have truly appreciated the art of letter writing. Letter writing for me is a time to organize my thoughts and feelings, construct them on paper, and express them to another. With life spinning so fast, it takes a deliberate action to sit down, process, and write for a short amount of time and one that doesn't happen often enough.

This NY Times Op-Ed sums up my feelings towards letter writing much more woefully than my own words can describe. An excerpt from this article that particularly speaks to me:

A good handwritten letter is a creative act, and not just because it is a visual and tactile pleasure. It is a deliberate act of exposure, a form of vulnerability, because handwriting opens a window on the soul in a way that cyber communication can never do. You savor their arrival and later take care to place them in a box for safe keeping.

And yes, I save every letter or card or quick note that someone leaves me. I like to look back at moments captured in time and space through these letters to remind me of the amazing people that have been a part of my life.


I recently stumbled upon this stop motion video of a miniature letter writing set. I wonder if I can find some use for something like this because it's absolutely adorable.

World's Smallest Post Service Kit - An Introduction from Leafcutter Designs on Vimeo.

Please also listen to this beautiful song that fits so perfectly -

Peace, Love, & Awesomeness!

Sami

Failure

As a future Peace Corps Volunteer, I can not help but sometimes wonder if the work I will do will actually make a difference. Sustainability is a hot topic for Peace Corps and is something that should be at the forefront of anyone in the development sectors' mind.

I stumbled upon this TED Talk that highlighted many of the problems with development/aid groups. The speaker mentions a really cool forum for talking about (and learning from) failed projects. Check out the website here: http://www.admittingfailure.com/. It's vital to the success of projects to think in a systems perspective - how will my project sustain itself when I leave. As well as, learning from those who failed before us. Integration into the community, pairing you with a counterpart, and (hopefully) working on projects that are already an interest to the community are ways that Peace Corps enables volunteers to work on sustainable projects. Of course that is all easier said then done, but a good framework for success. Soooo...here's the video:

Here is another cool video and a neat project the speaker mentions. If you are interested in learning a new language and contributing to the increased access of information on the world wide web through language translation you should sign up to participate!

Desperately Dreaming Of Distant Destinations