Reaching Goals

I'm excited to share this fundraising project in Malawi.  I was contacted a few weeks ago through my Etsy shop about a sale of some of my necklaces.  The necklaces are to be given as thank you gifts for donations made to a school construction project called The Beehive School in Malawi in Africa.  I was commissioned to make a quantity to send on its way and was so excited to do so.  I love stuff like this!  The cause, the giving....the making of jewelry for something bigger.  The exact reason I started Morning Sparrow jewelry.  The best part...the sale of these has allowed me to make my first Kiva loan through Morning Sparrow!  I was getting antsy that I hadn't been able to make a loan yet, so this is very exciting stuff to me and is inspiring me to get busy in these next few days and weeks and get some more pieces made for my Etsy shop.  Right now, all my jewelry is at Fashionista Exchange & Boutique in Overland Park, KS for holiday shoppers.  So, I have my work cut out for me to get busy and get some pieces back up on my Etsy shop to keep raising funds.
   
Check out the Beehive School project:  https://www.facebook.com/notes/beehive-school-project-mzuzu-malawi/beehive-school-malawi-holiday-newsletter-2011/10150472858886202

Morning Sparrow's first Kiva loan went to a group of women in Uganda that own a shoe store business.  These funds (combined with other lender's funds to reach the target loan amount) will assist this group in growing their business and paying for school fees for their children.  Here is info about their business and loan needs: http://www.kiva.org/lend/362924.  If you are interested in contributing to this loan, it just takes $25 to get started in lending.

It's refreshing to see my original goals of my jewelry designs come to life.  It's been almost a year since I started this and at times I was overwhelmed with all the other responsibilities & projects in my life , but now I see how much balancing it all means.

Blessed

As I was sitting on my porch in the 60 degree weather on this Thanksgiving Day, I became so overwhelmed with gratefulness I thought I would burst. My family was on it's way to eat up the deliciousness that my husband was busily preparing. I had a moment with my son to gather my thoughts and send my daily thank yous out to the world. I am thankful for so much I don't know where to begin. I say my thanks to all that is every day, but today I felt especially blessed.
For the big things... the roof over our heads, our health, our business. The important things...our son, my husband, who hit the floor running bright and early this morning and prepared the majority of our Thanksgiving meal...he is amazing! He does so much for me by just being in my life. For the little things...the sunshine today, the smells of the house, the music of the wind chimes. It was a perfect day. Everyone got along (!!) and Josh's cooking was amazing. That's all we needed. Great weather, delicious food and each other's company. Happy Thanksgiving to you all. I hope you had a moment to be filled with happiness and good company.

Rush Hour

Two days a week I have become part of rush hour.  It's a mini rush hour in this little town of mine, but rush hour all the same.  I don't like the traffic, the noise or the disgruntled faces that pass, but on Monday all I could see and feel was the sun set.  It drowned out the rest of the chaos.   Then, I remembered that it happens every day.

Cutting It Myself

All day yesterday my hair was driving me crazy.  It was just too much.  Long and all over the place. I called up my stylist and then remembered they are closed on Mondays.   Plus, getting in takes a few weeks.  I couldn't live with my frizz o' rama head for that long.  So, I decided to try and cut it myself.  Not really a trim, but restyling all of it kind of hair cut.  I've been known to do some daring things with my hair over the years.  I've colored it and permed the hell out of it so badly one time that it felt like rubber and started breaking off instantly.  I had to cut it all off and then twisted it all up into trendy little Gwen Stefani knots and refused to take it down for a good 6 months.  I'm not lying.  For about the first 6 months Josh and I dated, he never saw my hair down.  I even slept with those silly, little knots.
Then, there was the time I just hacked it off after getting into an argument with my husband.  I was just annoyed and wanted something to change, so I just cut about 1/2 of my hair off.   It was sort of a movie moment...you know, when a woman just chops her hair off in a stubborn "I'll show him" movement.  What the hell was I showing him?  That I'm an idiot?  It was a choppy, hasty, "Girl, your hair does NOT look good" kind of a hair cut.
So, when it comes to my hair...I kind of just jump into it and then thank my genes for having fast growing hair to make up for the disaster.
Yesterday's experiment was a different tune.  It turned out quite good, I have to say.  I cut out a lot of the thickness, reshaped the style and added a lot of layers.  Thank god for You Tube!  I just got on there and searched for a few tutorial videos and then scurried off to the bathroom with a few weary looks from my husband behind me in the dust.  30 minutes later...ta da!  New hair.  Saved me $50!  Now, if only the hubby will let me cut his hair.  I've been dying to do so for years.  Mainly for the pure fact he trusts me enough to really do it.  I'm quite excited about this new found skill!

Look at that!  It's just so, well...ewwww.  That sums it up.

Layers!  I could see myself getting pretty carried away with some layers.  Gotta pace myself!

Birthday Sun

This early darkness greeting us is always a hard adjustment.  I want to ignore daylight savings time and not conform.  I want to wear my pajamas more often.  I think I will.  Just as the season's change, I will make this pajama season.  Today, instead of the gloom that's greeted us, the sun is shining this morning.  Today is going to be a great day.

 Today is Oliver Gadisa's birthday.  2 years old.  He is still asleep and I was going to sneak his present in his room so he would wake up to it, but creaking floor boards were giving me away so I aborted the mission.  His birthday is bittersweet for me.  I'm happy for him.  I'm happy for us, but across the ocean I can only wonder what the emotions are on this day.  He is growing so fast, they wouldn't even recognize him.  Happy Birthday to my favorite person that I've ever met!

Weekend Inspiration

Words To Live By

-shared from Kindnessgirl.com

Have a great weekend!