Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving dinner in 3 minutes? I wish!




A quick note to all you Black Friday shoppers:

First and foremost, be safe! This means looking out for your fellow shoppers, as well as yourselves. There is no need to run, push, shove, or yell. A $100 television is not worth putting your health or life in jeopardy. Keep an eye out for small children, the handicapped, and elderly. Alert employees immediately if you spot any potential hazards.

And speaking of employees: as a retail associate who will be working tomorrow, I cannot stress the importance of being nice! It's not the employees fault if they run out of doorbuster items within the first hour. It's not their fault if they don't have a specific item in stock. It's not their fault if the cash registers go down. It's not their fault if your credit card is declined. Please please please do not yell at, scream at, berate, swear at, or physically accost these people! They are working hard to get you in and out as fast as possible with exactly what you wanted. So before you freak out on the 16-year-old cashier because they don't have the item you want, take a deep breath and calm down. You're dealing with a human being, and it's never too early to start spreading holiday cheer!

Please enjoy this post responsibly

I'm always on the lookout for recycling projects that also make fun, unique gifts. For her birthday, my sister received these bottle cap magnets that I absolutely love:




They're simple to make, and depending on how/where you acquire the bottle caps, fairly inexpensive as well. Of course, if your gift recipient is under 21, you might want to opt for soda bottle caps instead. I even did a bit of brainstorming, and thought it would be fun to make similar magnets from Scrabble tiles or large buttons (Again, for the non-alcoholics in your life).

A photo of the complete collection is below. I need to ask Sister's friend how long it took her to collect all of these!

Happy Birthday

Today is my sister's birthday, and I volunteered to bake her cake. Since my mom, sister, and I have been doing the Flat Belly Diet for a few months now, I decided to try out one of their recipes.

The Super-Rich Chocolate Cake with Maple Frosting looked very yummy in the cookbook:

(Photo from Prevention.com)


Even though my attempt didn't look exactly the same, it came out quite nicely!




As for the taste: It was very good, especially for a low-fat dessert (And despite the fact that the cake recipe used canola mayonnaise as an egg substitute. I was a bit worried about that one). The best part was the maple frosting, which was very, very yummy! Our only complaint was the cake's texture. It was very dense and quite dry. I actually think the recipe is better suited to make scones.

I'm looking forward to trying more dessert recipes from the cookbook, despite being a bit let down this time around. There are some delicious looking Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip No-Bake Bars and Lemon Cupcakes with Citrus Icing I've been dying to try. I'll be sure to post if they were successes or not!

'Tis (Almost) the Season

The holidays are right around the corner, and if you're anything like me you're already writing gift lists and making budgets. As I've gotten older, my taste in gifts has changed, both in what I give and receive. In recent years I've taken to making gifts, or even baking goodies for family and friends. I love giving people a "one of a kind" creation, or satisfying their sweet tooth with homemade cookies.


Another fun "gift" idea I've stumbled upon is donations. Last year I donated $25 to the World Wildlife Fund, and sent a turtle to rehab* in my sister's name. As an animal lover, she absolutely loved this gift, and still has the printable certificate hanging on her bulletin board.


This year I'm considering donating some animals through Heifer International, which battles world poverty and hunger by educating communities about sustainable agriculture, animal well-being, and micro-enterprise. You can donate an entire animal or flock, or chip in with other donors to give larger livestock to needy communities. These animals become sources of income for communities worldwide, even within the United States.



Another great way to help those in need is through micro-lending. Kiva is a wonderful organization that makes small loans to entrepreneurs worldwide to start or expand their small business or repair their lives. Micro-loans have an incredibly high percentage of repayment, and there's almost a 100% guarantee that you'll get your money back. Once you receive a repayment you can loan to another person, donate to Kiva outright, or withdraw your funds. You can also join or create online Kiva communities, and have some fun, friendly competition! (Feel free to join the Stuff You Should Know Team. We're kicking the Colbert Nation's butt!) I've already made a $25 donation to Ben Sochoeurn of Cambodia. She earns a living by making clay pots and providing decorating services for wedding parties. It feels good supporting indigenous arts and crafts, as they are a wonderful way to preserve a region's culture and heritage.

I hope this post inspires people to really embrace the spirit of giving this holiday season! Please leave comments if you donate to any non-profit organization, and link to it so others can help as well.

*The turtles are injured, not drunk! However, I will admit that I donated to this program simply because I knew the idea of a sea turtle singing Amy Winehouse would crack my sis up.

One Awesome Road Trip

I've been neglected the blog lately due to my holiday retail job. The money and discount are great, but my art time has taken a bit of a hit. Still, it's nice having some extra moola lining my wallet this time of year.

One of the (many) things I'm saving up for is travel. While I'm primarily saving for some international travel, I love exploring places in the US as well. I've always wanted to visit more of America's National Parks, and photographer Ian Shive's work is definitely inspiring:




I hope to post again tomorrow with a whole mess of updates: sold items, Social Vibe stats, and maybe even a counter update.