Send a Valentine to a child at Children's National Medical Center

I remember Valentine’s Day as a kid – long before I was concerned about having a boyfriend for the “Hallmark holiday”.  I remember going to the store and picking the perfect box of valentines, saving my favorite designs for my best friends, decorating a shoe-box, and then excitedly receiving a card (some with candy) from every single person in my class!

Imagine instead if as a child you were sick and had to spend Valentine’s Day in the hospital.  Please take a minute (probably only 30 seconds) and go here: Send your Valentine to a child in the hospital to send a valentine to a child at Children’s National Medical Center.  They hope to have 5,000 valentines to distribute by February 14^th. 

Update: As of Thursday, February 9th they have collected 1,400 and have less than a week to reach the goal of 5,000 for the children in the hospital.  

Why to search with Swagbucks instead of Google!

Like many people, I am concerned about the recent Google privacy changes (Washington Post - Google faces backlash over privacy changes).  The nature of being online is that most of our activities are being tracked whether we like it or not, but I use gmail for work and stay logged on pretty much all the time, and I don't really want every single internet search being connected to that work email address and stored in a database somewhere!

If you feel the same way, I wanted to let you know about Swagbucks

A site where you earn points through internet searches, games, polls etc. and redeem them for lots of prizes (my favorite are amazon gift cards). Without any effort I can make about $25 a month, but I've made up to $75 in a month!  That buys a lot of goodies for something that you are doing anyway.  If you sign up, leave a comment or send me an email and I can provide you even more tips and tricks. 

Books I Read in 2011...

Based on my Kindle, here are the books I read in 2011.  I know that I read some actual books, such as the Help, so I hope to do a better job in 2012 of keeping track of all the books I read. Most of the books were really good but I put a star next to the few "must-reads".

Do you have any recommendations for me to read in 2012?


The Red-Suit Diaries: A Real-Life Santa on Hopes, Dreams, and Childlike Faith
 
Facebook Fairytales: Modern Day Miracles to Inspire the Human Spirit

The Reading Promise: My Father and the Books We Shared

* Kisses from Katie

A Stolen Life by Jaycee Dugard

Innocent Spouse: A Memoir by Carol Ross Joynt

Stingray Bit My Nipple! True Stories from Real Traveler 

Growing Up in the Care of Strangers: The Experiences, Insights, and Recommendations of Eleven Former Foster Kids

* Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea 

Two Kisses for Maddy: A Memoir of Loss & Love

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

The Little Known

* 33 Men: Inside the Miraculous Survival and Dramatic Rescue of the Chilean Miners 
(Click here for my review)

Unbillable Hours: A True Story

Listen by Rene Gutteridge

The Potluck Club

The Naperville White House: How One Man's Fantasy Changed Government's Reality

New Lives by Kathleen Huggins

Mossy Creek by Deborah Smith

Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex

Stalling for Time: My Life as an FBI Hostage Negotiator

* Room: A Novel

The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates

The Confession: A Novel - John Grisham

The Hidden Magic of Walt Disney World

Committed: A Love Story - Elizabeth Gilbert

* The Flying Carpet of Small Miracles: One Woman's Fight to Save Two Orphans of War

* I am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced

* Little Princes: One Man's Promise to Bring Home the Lost Children of Nepal

The Man in the Rockefeller Suit

The Phantom Tollbooth

Secret Daughter: A Novel

Wench: A Novel

Kiva - Free donation!

I was debating what to get the relative that has everything for Christmas, after having already given Donor's Choose gift cards, and someone recommended Kiva.  This is an international micro-lending organization that since 2005 has given $271 million in loans!

If you haven't tried it out before, please go to this link ASAP: http://kiva.org/ladieshomejournal
and you will get to try a loan for free! 

There are so many projects to choose from, you could help a mom purchase a food cart in Ecuador, help a taxi driver in Uganda buy tires for his car, or help buy a refrigerator for a man who owns a small food store in Iraq, etc. etc.

This is free money - so please click on the link above it will only take a few minutes of your time and will really help someone in need.

Thanks! 

Operation Christmas Child

The organization Samaritan's Purse runs Operation Christmas Child every year.  This was the first year that I had heard of it, even though last year they delivered over 8 million shoe boxes filled with goodies to children around the world. 

I picked up decorated shoe boxes at Chick-fil-a (though you can use any box of a similar size) and went to target to buy some special gifts for a child who might not otherwise get a gift this Christmas.  I looked at information online before I went for suggestions on what to buy, so I thought you might like to see my completed boxes (for a 5-9 year old girl):

I was amazed with creative packing what I was able to fit into a shoebox!  The boxes contain almost exactly the same things:

A Barbie princess doll

Toiletries (toothbrush, toothpaste, lip gloss, and a plastic cup)

Candy!

Headband, barrettes, and socks

Coloring book, colored pencils, crayons, play doh, a puzzle, stickers, and a teddy bear! (The teddy bear, coloring book, pencils, and puzzle all came from the dollar spot at Target).

Now I just need to add a note for the girl. I printed off labels online and they are supposed to send me an email to let me know where my box is sent. 

If you are interested in participating there is still time - the National Collection Week is November 14-21 and you can search for the drop-off locations here.  They have great videos online of kids receiving a shoebox and I can just imagine how happy a little girl will be to receive these gifts.  I hope they make her feel special and loved!