Happy Memorial Day. In remembrance of the men and women who have courageously stepped forward to serve our country, sacrificing their lives for the freedoms that each of us enjoys today and everyday.
WW2 Memorial at night in DC
Try not to forget the meaning of this important holiday today – no, it has nothing to do with hamburgers or lemonade – if you know a soldier or veteran (and don’t we all these days), express your thanks, give them a hug, appreciate their bravery. I am proud to know so many myself.
I must be the last person on Earth to have learned about Kickstarter, a community-driven way to fund creative-driven projects. You can pledge to ‘back’ projects with as little as $1, and many of them even offer rewards for doing so. Plus, you get to learn about the projects along with way with stories, videos, updates, and more. Each project must meet their funding goal before any of the money changes hands. It’s pretty neat!
I have only funded one project so far, Heritage Seed Co., but I’m pretty excited about it. One, because I think seed saving is not only fantastic but necessary – as many a documentary has told us, the agriculture industry is becoming dominated by a small number of very large companies who create genetically modified seeds to “commit suicide” after one season, forcing farmers to buy more each season, fining them if they find their patented seeds in their fields (often wind-blown from a neighboring farm), putting them in financial dire straits, not to mention sacrificing the integrity of food and the way it was meant to grow. These seeds are also bland, tasteless, and the crops are usually sprayed within an inch of life with pesticides. As a project backer, I got my choice of reward, and I chose a few packages of heritage seeds. Awesome! Watch the vid to find out more about seed saving & their project:
I love that every couple days I get emailed an update about their progress. It makes me feel like I’m a part of it, at least in some small way. So far they have 81 backers and are at $2,792 pledged. Their goal is $10,000 and they have 33 days to get there.
Learn more about Heritage Seed Co & poke around at the other many worthy projects!
I don’t usually ask things like this on my own blog, but I could really use a favor, you guys!
The animal shelter/sanctuary I volunteer for*, Kitten Rescue, is currently in the running to win $15,000 to continue their work rescuing/treating homeless kittens & cats – an overwhelming problem here in LA. If you don’t mind, pretty please take a second and vote for them. You only have to vote once, but please confirm your vote in your email or it won’t go through.
It would mean so much to me (and the cats, more importantly!) if they could get this money. It’s heartbreaking to see the volume and condition of the kitties that come into the shelter – but the tireless work of the men and women who volunteer their time to help them is inspiring. Running a shelter/foster organization is not easy, or cheap – vet bills, food, medicine, shelter, litter – it really adds up quickly. Under current conditions, Kitten Rescue adopts out over 1,000 cats a year – imagine how much that could go up if they were able to get this funding!
Thanks in advance to any and all who vote! It literally takes just a second – and this is a cause near & dear to my heart, as my own girls are both rescues and I can’t imagine what my life would be like without them.
* Actually, I am now one of their Volunteer Coordinators, which is super exciting news!
Photo: myself (that’s my pretty girl Pepper, who was found sick & alone in a ditch in Mississippi when she was only a week old! She’s now a month shy of her ninth birthday and healthier than ever.)
Still busy around here with various projects, but happy nonetheless, which is important! Here’s a little list of things that are making my days better:
really amazing visits with my little brother • a successful and super fun 24th birthday for Julian, with lots of food and friends! • red velvet cake from Doughboys … so good, you forget what ‘full’ means. no kidding! • drinking lemonade, which is my new favorite drink to order at restaurants • the smell of our laundry detergent (it’s method!) • long email chains with my sis • opening the curtains & windows in the morning and letting the sun & air flow in – one of my favorite parts of the day, hands down! • successfully fending off a cold • looking forward to the many beach days that are ahead of us this summer • going for evening walks around the neighborhood, like old people • Bridesmaids, the movie – so funny! • riding my bike to relieve stress • having two healthy kitties (Scout had a couple ailments recently, but she’s 100% again!) • the way she (Scout) wakes Julian up in the early morning, not me! her favorite tactic lately is knocking the (glass) candle holder onto the (hardwood) floors and then licking his face until he gets up and feeds her – such a brat • remembering to take photos when we’re out & about – and actually uploading them to Flickr! • the exciting/nervous/anxious/scary feeling about starting something new • successfully co-leading my first volunteer orientation at Kitten Rescue • our new bed, which is still really, really amazing… • getting totally into a new book – right now I’m reading The Road (finally) and am completely engrossed.
Oh, gosh – Google is great at so many things, and creating commercials that make me weep is just one of them. I love their latest, Dear Sophie – even if you aren’t a parent (which I’m… not), it will still make you all warm inside. I totally want to do this for my future baby.
I’m in one of those unavoidable phases where you want to update, but don’t, because you feel like you have too much to update about, and procrastinating seems like the easier option. That, and I’ve been busy since we got back from Hawaii! Two of my brothers came into town that weekend, one of whom is staying with us for over a week. It’s so rare that I get to spend this much time with my family, that I tend to block everything else out and just focus on that. I’m sure you’d do the same!
But:
- Hawaii was, beautiful. Relaxing. Very rainy. But all in all, amazing! Especially because Julian managed to lose his wedding ring in the ocean. Miraculously, a snorkeler found it. Can you believe it??
- There is nothing cuter than grateful, over-cuddly, purry cats after you come home from a trip.
- Julian’s birthday is coming up very soon (tomorrow) and I’m so excited to be able to celebrate with him! Last year we were in Berlin for his work, and the year before that he was in Nashville without me. Any fans of him that are reading this – be sure to wish him a Happy Birthday tomorrow!
- You have to read Unbroken, the memoir/biography about Louis Zamperini. I read it on vacation, and it’s earned a spot in my top 5 fave books of all-time. Even Julian, who does not read, is reading it and loving it!
- I’m in the process of ‘cleaning out’ certain areas my life to make room for a new venture. More to come about that…
- And randomly, have any of you ever had orange plums? We just got a big bunch of them from a local farm and they are absolutely delicious. They taste just like purple plums, but they have this gorgeous citrus color, just like the inside of a plum!
Isn’t this the truth. Hold onto the little moments that are constantly passing us by, and don’t be in too much of a hurry to be onto the next thing. Xo
See ya in a week, Los Angeles! This afternoon J Monster and I are taking off to Kauai, Hawaii for a week of fun in the sun and meeeega relaxing (oh yes, and celebrating our first wedding anniversary!). We’re kind of looking at it as a second honeymoon, since our first was very cold, foreign, and museum-y!
Things will be a bit quiet around here until we’re back… in the meantime, aloha!
doing load after load of laundry. buying extra cat food. getting sunscreen. mailing mother’s day cards. dropping off/picking up library books. getting haircuts. picking up paychecks. searching for and buying swim trunks, shorts, hats, flip flops, sandals, etcetera. shopping for mother’s day gifts. shipping said mother’s day gifts. hauling out suitcases. buying vitamins. squeezing in lightening fast meals. notifying the bank of our travels. arranging for the car to be moved. writing notes to the cat sitter. calling to confirm our flight. downloading apps for the plane. doing the rest of the dishes. PACKING.
Oof. Is this how everyone’s day-before-vacation is? Because it always seems to be mine. From the minute we woke up, signed all nine of our Mother’s Day cards, and split a granola bar whilst dashing out the door to begin the errand running, J and I have been going a million miles a minute to get everything done in preparation for leaving our home in LA for a week in paradise. It will be worth it, it will be worth it, it will be worth it…
Did I mention it was about 350 degrees in LA today? BECAUSE IT WAS. And no, we do not have air conditioning. My poor cats! Is it wrong to leave the fan running while we’re out of town? I know it will waste a lot of energy, but I am worried about them being trapped in a hot house with no one to leave the windows open at night and let all the cool air in. I think I’m gonna have to do it.
Wonderful, you found my blog! I'm Sarah, a writer, runner, RVT student, believer, lover of pretty things (and cats.) I'm also a newlywed, which I'm finding quite enjoyable. To learn more about me, just click here. I hope my blog brings you a little bit (or a lotta bit) of happiness today.
