Help Fight Hunger!

As the holiday season rolls in this year, more and more people are struggling to make ends meet. A lot of people have been faced with the choice of paying the rent/mortgage, or buying food. As reported in the Los Angeles Times:

The [...] crisis confronting local food banks struggling to keep up with demand that has surged more than 40 percent since last year, according to Los Angeles Regional Food Bank. New to food lines are middle-class families--including some that until recently earned $70,000 a year.

"We're used to seeing low-income people and seniors on a fixed income coming in. Now we're seeing more and more middle-class people coming in--people who just lost their job, are trying to pay their mortgage, or are tapping into their 401(k) because of the huge financial losses," said Darren Hoffman, a spokesman for the regional food bank.

I know that the recession is causing everyone to tighten their belts a bit; I can tell you that as a massage therapist my income has severely decreased as people aren't flocking to the spa to drop $100+ on a massage- but I urge you to take a few dollars and donate to a food pantry. If you have never gone hungry for a day, a week, or longer please PLEASE make the effort to help, even if it's only $5.

I am hosting a Virtual Food Drive through the Los Angeles Regional Foodbank. You can donate money online, and if you're feeling really inspired join my team to help me raise more money for those in need! For every $1 donated, $5 worth of food can be distributed.

This is way better than buying a Starbucks (red) ... so please help.

My very good friend Sean works at the Oregon School for the Blind. He emailed me this wonderful story today, and I felt I had to share it.

Hi Everyone!

 

      I just wanted to share a moving story that I was able to witness firsthand.  We have a student, Chris, who used to attend the Oregon School for the Blind.  Unfortunately, he was not able to return to school this year due to tumors found in his brain.  The attack on his body and subsequent treatments have left him extremely weak and it he probably only has a short time left in this life.

     Chris is a huge country music fan, and has always loved Toby Keith.  He wanted more than anything to have a phone call from him.  Chris' family tried to accomplish this via the Make a Wish Foundation, but found out that the foundation would not assist in making his wish come true because he is too old.  He is 19, and the Make A Wish Foundation provides "wishes" for children up to the age of 18.

     When Chris' mother passed along this information to the school (she calls frequently and keeps us updated on Chris' condition), the staff decided that they would jump into action.  Based on the "six degrees of separation" theory (any two people on the planet can be linked by a maximum of six aquantinces), they figured they could contact Toby Keith.  Sure enough, after a relatively short search, the staff was able to have someone contact Toby Keith and explain the situation to him.  The singer willingly obliged the request.  Chris was SO EXCITED to receive a phone call from his idol!  Toby talked with Chris and his family for a while, offering words of encouragement and comfort.

     The simple phone call meant so much to Chris that he immediately used the magic of music to express his gratitude to the star.  Chris wrote a song and dedicated it to Toby.  Chris plans to perform this song himself at a surprise party he is throwing for the staff and students at OSB on December 9, 2008.  (The surprise is for the students)  I don't know if Toby has heard the song himself, but I was deeply moved by the lyrics.  It is a simple, sweet song that truly expresses Chris' feelings.  I am forwarding Chris' song on to you and hope that you too are moved by it.

    Thank you, Toby Keith, for taking the time to grant the wish of a wonderful young man.  It truly makes you a hero in at least my eyes.

 

Sincerely,

 

Sean Southworth

Oregon School for the Blind

 

P.S.

   Feel free to forward this story on to help brighten someone's day!

***

November 26, 2008

For my friend, Toby Keith

This song is by me. I hope you like it.

My Shinning Star

When the stars come out at night, I'll be thinking of you.

The smile on your face and the things that you do.

I'll remember the day that you rushed from your flight

to call me and mama and "make it all right."

The time that we spent just talking on the phone...

Your presence with me.. so I didn't feel so alone.

The words that you spoke were so real and so kind.

You are the finest example of what is good in mankind.

You are a shinning star in my life...that will always be true.

Thank-you for reaching out to me and making my greatest wish come true!

Love,

Your friend,

Chris

Wishing you Happiness, Peace and Joy

Recent Happenings

Thanksgiving was a very fun, satisfying day! Sam and I slept in, had a bagel breakfast, got some coffee, and drove to Simi to visit my mom and family. It was also Papa's birthday, so I wanted to make sure to see them. It seems like most Thanksgivings in the last few years I've spent with my dad ... I can't remember the last time I was at my mom's! They are always very casual with dinner, and it was just the immediate family plus Sam and I. I made the stuffing (Stovetop, and it's actually very delicious) and we were watching Sleeping Beauty in the background- my favorite Disney movie! We ate early, around one, and then we were off to Sam's parents house for our second dinner! We had about 25 people at Sam's parents ... totally packed! I did finally get to meet his Aunt, Uncle, and cousin Danny, of whom I've heard a lot about from Grandma ... they were all really nice and funny. After another huge delicious dinner we sat around reading Trivial Pursuit questions to each other.

Unfortunately I didn't get to see my dad or that side of the family this year. My dad loves to camp and the last few years they've gone out of town, either to the Malibu RV Park (GORGEOUS view of the ocean) or up to Flying Flags, in Solvang, which is where they were this year and last. Last year Sam and I drove up for the day and it was very nice ... if you've never had a camping style Thanksgiving you have to try it! Of course, the weather here in So Cali is usually sunny and warm which makes camping at this time of year that much easier. There is also the fact that RVing is very different than tent camping- you have a full kitchen so making dinner isn't much different than it is at home. I can say though, nothing compares to having a wonderful turkey dinner outside in nature, watching the sunset over the ocean, or just being outside in the sunlight all day- that's what makes me thankful to be alive!

This weekend was also busy at work! Work has been so slow lately- traditionally this is the slowest time of the year, but combined with the economic crisis and trying to cut back hours at work (as opposed to layoffs) I'm practically unemployed. Friday was my first fully booked day in months, literally. I was pretty happy about it! Of course, Saturday had slowed down again, but maybe things will improve after the holidays. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

As we roll into December, finals are coming on ... I have two this week and four next week (one of my classes has a two-week final) ... so unless you want to talk about Points or Herbs I'm afraid I'll be unavailable until December 11th!!

Gobble Gobble

Thanksgiving! It's almost my favorite holiday (second only to Halloween) ... why, you may ask? It's cozy. It's autumnal. It celebrates the finer sentiments of family, togetherness, harvest and, most importantly, thankfulness. We live in such a busy, hectic, fast paced world ... when is the last time you actually stopped to think about everything good you have in your life?? Though we may not be Pilgrims fresh off the boat, in a strange new world, close to starving, making a tentative connection with the Wampanoag tribe, and being thankful to simply be alive ... we still have plenty of reasons to give thanks now, and every day. Happy Thanksgiving!

Evolution of a Couch Potato

When I was renting a room, I didn't spend a lot of time watching TV. My roommates had cable and I had a small TV/VCR (yes, VCR!!) in my room, but I only got the most basic channels and I didn't watch any of the shows my roommates liked ... so I just stopped watching. When Sam and I got the apartment we decided that we didn't want cable, since neither of us watch much television, and we used my tiny combo to watch movies. Eventually we decided the old 13" wasn't cutting it and we got a bigger TV, placed on a rolling cart, since we didn't want to orient the furniture around a TV. We also got an Apple TV so we could buy the few shows we do watch on iTunes, and rent movies too.

When we decided that we wanted to stay in this apartment until May we felt compelled to rearranged our furniture. It felt so temporary, and we wanted to feel at home for the next six months. The room used to be wide open, with all the furniture pushed up against the wall. We decided to turn the couch to "float" in the middle of the room, and the TV moved off the rolling cart and into it's permanent place. We got a new bookcase, cleaned up our desk areas, and ditched the mini-fridge, all of which lent a sense of permanence and homeyness the the apartment. I mean, nothing says temporary like rolling the TV out every time you're going to watch a movie! We were still ok without cable ... and then most of Southern California caught on fire (again) and we found that the internet news we usually rely on wasn't very up to date on the local fire info, and had NO INFORMATION on freeway closures, causing me to be late to work and my chemistry midterm ... so we've caved. We got cable.

They installed it this morning. I'm already in love with the HD HGTV channel ... I like home improvement shows. I don't think this will change much. Having a DVR always increases hours spent watching television ... of course, I'll always prefer the company of a good book!

Stop and ... take in the sunset!

The last few weeks have afforded some gorgeous sunsets. Partly due to the Los Angeles smog, partly due to toxic smoke from our recent brushfires, and partly due to low lying clouds on the horizon ... but all beautiful! Since moving out of the 'burbs I have noticed that it takes a lot of effort to stay connected with nature. Every day there is a sunrise, a sunset, a moon, trees, flowers, and everything that makes the world beautiful ... but how often do we really stop and take it all in? If you have not had time to really enjoy a lovely sunset, here are some of my latest photos, taken over Simi Valley.

He'll kill me for this ...

... but I don't care!

Happy Birthday Sam!

(I know I'm biased, but I think he's quite fetching.)