It is easy this time of year to get caught up in the consumerism of the holidays. As I did my Christmas shopping, I found myself purchasing things for myself that I wanted, simply because I could. Recognizing that this was a little bit greedy, I decided to turn my attention to a good cause and make a donation that could benefit someone else.
As I debated what to do, I recalled a video that I watched a few months back on Ted.com from the creator of Kiva, a lending organization that empowers entrepreneurs throughout the world utilizing microloans. Here's the video:
Jessica Jackley: Poverty, money -- and love | Video on TED.com
Inspired by what Jessica had to say about changing our attitude towards philanthropy and service from one of guilt towards working together in a relationship, I created an account at Kiva(http://www.kiva.org/) and began looking through the different individuals and groups looking for loans. I ultimately decided to give my first microloan to Veronica in Kenya, a woman who runs her own beauty salon and is looking to grow her business. I was excited to be the last lender needed to fund her project. The cool part about Kiva is that when Veronica repays the loan, I have the option to re-lend my money to another entrepreneur, continuing the cycle of giving, while empowering additional projects. So cool!
While looking around on Ted.com , I also found this really great article about the new humanitarianism that is happening through social entrepreneurship. I find this really interesting, since the university that I work at does a smaller social entrepreneur program where students can give back to the community. Definitely worth checking out as you join me in considering ways to give back to the community.
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Bring on the Holiday Cheer!
Between work, homework assignments, and friends visiting in town, I have been missing in action for some time now. With weekend at home with just a few things to do, I decided to get a jump start on my holiday decorating. While I had out some cute fall decorations, I LOVE Christmas.
Decorating my tree makes me so happy. I love looking through each of my ornaments and remembering where they came from. This year, I was also hoping to put the tree up early so that I could test out how the new kitty would do. I put up the tree, and then waited a night before putting any lights or ornaments on. Here is the finished product.
It is a little blurry, but the best shot I could get with my phone's camera. I am the most proud of my tree topper - my first handmade bow!
I was also really excited about my cupcake ornaments, which are my absolute favorite, along with the kissing fish that Chris got me last year.
If you are wondering how the cats did - it only took about fifteen minutes before Snoopy was freed from his branch.
The following morning, he actually appeared in that tupperware. Stella has done pretty well though. She and Bucky both enjoy their time under the tree.
She is getting so big!
Bucky hasn't taken any ornaments off the tree...he prefers to wrestle with the mini tree instead.
After I was able to snag the tree away, I did get to finish decorating it too.
I did several new projects this year, including my advent calendar, which I created from a kit that I found at Archiver's. I put a different fun Christmas to do in each day.
I made use of another closet door to create a fun holder for all of the Christmas cards that I get. The 2009 cards are serving as stand ins until the 2010 cards arrive.
If you look closely, I covered the clothespins with scrapbook paper to make them more festive.
I also used the paper to create a flag banner to cover some accidental holes in the wall from a failed attempt to put up shelves.
I previously had up some fall print flags, and am thinking I'll make it a regular thing, rotating each season. They are pretty cheap decoration, since it's just scrapbooking paper.
Another cheap decoration item was a glass tumbler filled with present bows. I figure, if I need a bow while wrapping, they will be easy to access. I'm interested to see how many disappear...
Without a fireplace, the bookshelf was another great place to hold the stockings.
So that is how I have spent my weekend. Bring on the holidays...I am ready!
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