I'm Excited About: 3rd Annual Clothes Swap

The clothes swap is tomorrow! The clothes swap is tomorrow!

There isn't one part of this event that doesn't excite me! I get to hang out with lots of great girls, shop for free clothes in my own home, eat yummy treats, and get rid of some of the 'stuff' in my life. Sounds like a heavenly day to me!

Here is a final plea (and invitation) to scrounge up your 'stuff' and head over to our house tomorrow at 12 noon. Just look at the list of great things about the event! How can anyone say no to that?

And a reminder that even if you can't come for the actual event, or if you can only come for 5 minutes - come anyway and dump your stuff! I'll happily take it to the donation center with everyone else's stuff. (And you can claim the charitable donation for yourself, I only claim the things that are mine, fyi)

I hope to see you tomorrow!

What Can You Give?

Through college, early post college, and even during our 'trying to live responsibly during law school' years I've found it challenging to find time and/or money to give to worthy causes. We've done our best to make church tithing a priority through it all, but beyond that it can be hard to find two spare nickels to give!

There are two things I've found that absolutely anyone can do, or at least try.

1. Donations of goods. I used to make runs to Goodwill on a fairly regular basis. Sometimes it would be just one bag of clothes, other times it would be four or five. Usually this would happen after a cleaning-spree when I'd decided that I didn't need half of the 'stuff' in our home.

More recently, Tina and I have begun a tradition of a twice-annual clothes swap and donation party. We've had two so far, and our third is scheduled for October 9th. The format is friendly and usually involves food, drinks, and a fun mix of friends. (consider this an invite)

By having our clothes swaps in April and October, we catch everyone during the time they are switching their summer and winter wardrobes out - a perfect time to get rid of things you didn't wear! The donation part comes after the party; once all of the clothes have been picked over, they are sorted and taken to Goodwill by one of the hostesses! It is a great motivator to clean out your closet, get some new-to-you (and free) clothes and accessories, and then have everything carried off to a donation center for you.

2. Give Blood. I'm O negative, also called a 'Universal Donor' meaning anyone with any blood type can be given my blood, so I've long felt a responsibility to donate as often as possible. During college, it was a way for me to give while on a shoestring budget! It takes almost no time, and once you are on a schedule it becomes a routine part of your life.

I'm not currently giving blood because of the pregnancy thing, but I plan to start back up again as soon as it is safe for me to do so.

I really encourage you to consider adding blood donation to your 'giving' plans. It is something that is of great need at all times, not just following major disasters.


What can you give?

Girls' Weekend

I had a girls weekend at my apartment this past weekend - Frank was in Canada for a bachelor party so we decided to have an old fashioned sleepover! Tina was my main cohort and we got started on Friday.

We made a delicious apple pie from scratch:

And then on Saturday we cleaned out our closets (Anna, too) and held a Clothes Swap at my place. Look at all of the clothes! It was fun to get a few things, clean out a lot of things, and of course the left overs are on their way to Goodwill today.

We're thinking about making this an annual event because we had so much fun!

All in all a great way to spend the weekend

Oh say can you see my eyes if you can then my hair's too short!

Some time a million years ago, Mom taught me that one line to that one song from "Hair" and ever since it occasionally runs through my mind. It is one of those memories that even Mom might not be able to recall, I don't think it was anything other than a passing thought in her mind while we talked about hair cuts or stages full of naked people, or something.

Anyway, if you've seen me recently you know that my hair is very very very long. I've been thinking about getting it cut and I really want to get a hair "style" and not just a cut. Now I've decided that I am going to wait a couple months more and cut off at least 8 inches to donate to Panteen's "Beautiful Lengths" program (similar to Locks of Love).

That still leaves me with the question of what to do with my hair!?! So, suggestions?