Although Halloween is now a week behind us, I need to share a truly amazing, truly eye-opening and inspiring story from the holiday.

Now that I am no longer living in a high-rise with restricted floor access, I have all kinds of little people in crazy costumes ringing my doorbell again on Halloween. It's been a good 5 years since I've seen kids dressed up for Halloween and 5 years since I've had to pass out candy to trick-or-treaters. I admit, I missed it.

This Halloween my wife and I had plans to head over to a friend's house, and being the new family on the block we didn't want to be the jerks with the porch light off not answering the door; so we made the decision to be "that" house, the one with the bowl of candy on the front porch and a sign above it that reads "Happy Halloween, please take one". Knowing all the youngest kids hit the streets early we thought they would get first dibs at the candy and then the first group of older kids would clean us out and probably even take the bowl and punt our pumpkins.

Flash forward 4 hours later.....
We came home to in-tact pumpkins, a bowl still on the front porch and...get this...half the candy still in it!!!! Now tell me this simple little occurrence does not inspire as much hope in the future generation for you as it did me. It's the little things people....the little things.

Do something and do it now,

JD

TAGS: kids, halloween, candy, children, holiday, october, good

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I've read that not having kids is probably one of the best things you can do for the environment. Not bringing into this world another little human who
creates mass amounts of new waste which in turn creates even more CO2, is something people should consider even more so these days, especially with so many orphans out there that need parents and loving homes.

My wife and I got greedy and decided to have one anyway……

As I mentioned in a previous post, my wife is pregnant and I am about to be a first time dad. I am going to do my best to make sure that having this baby does not also have a huge impact on the environment and that she grows up with values which make her a good, aware, eco-friendly little person. There is so much to consider before she even arrives however.

Here is brief list of what we have been stressing over as of late:
• Buying baby furniture made from sustainable materials
• Buying diapers that don’t sit in a landfill for 50 some-odd years
• Making sure that as we remodel and decorate her nursery we buy eco-friendly paint and building materials.
• Buying baby products from companies which have the Earth in mind and make it part of their mission.
• Her dating jerks when she gets older…..oh wait, that’s not something I need to stress about yet, but I sure as hell am.

Like I said, I’ll be keeping you up to date on this interesting journey I am embarking on and hopefully you can help keep me on the straight and narrow towards my goal of a green baby. I am sure those days will come when I think to myself….”this is too hard, I’m taking the easy route”.

Do something and do it now!
JD

TAGS: baby, pregnancy, green, eco-friendly, children, green products, diapers, strollers, nursery

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The Library Project seems to think so, as do I.

The Library Project is an organization which donates libraries to underfinanced schools in developing countries in hopes that the educational tools they provide may help bring an end to poverty in these nations. To them, "education is change".

There are many ways to get involved with this organization. They love monetary donations (who doesn't?), you can adopt an entire library, volunteer by hosting local events such as a book drive or by introducing The Library Project to people where you work who are in charge of corporate donations and/or of facilitating employee volunteerism campaigns.

I think I may just organize a book drive here where I work. Salt Lake City is known for having a plethora of children running around and I am sure employees here have stacks of old kids books just gathering dust which they would love to donate to such an amazing organization.

Be sure to check out their Facebook Group and please spread the word.

Do something and do it now!
JD

TAGS: library, education, kids, children, learning, books

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Cheers to a wonderful 3-day weekend! 4-day for some lucky ones. =] There are many reasons to be happy today:

1. Happy Fourth of July! I'm glad I'm feeling better because I'm ready for some BBQ, time with friends, and want to watch some fireworks over the ocean. Please have good, safe fun!

2. I'm not sick anymore! I have been in bed all week. I usually don't get sick, but when I do I am a big fat baby. I tried teas and fluids and fruit and veggies (when I had an appetite) but nothing seemed to work. The only thing I wanted was phở, so after satiating that craving and watching Wall-E with a good friend I am feeling much better. =] Yesterday my roommate kindly gave me some medicine that I thought was non-drowsy. I misread it and, in my desperation to feel better, took it right before I went to class. I stopped by Starbucks for a Spinach Feta Wrap (SO DELICIOUS!) and couldn't even make it halfway to class. I stumbled back to my bed and fell asleep for a few more hours.

3. I'm going to see Coldplay in less than two weeks! I'm so excited! I absolutely adore their music and to hear it live will bring so much to life. There are many other concerts I'm excited about this summer and it's really nice to go to a show again. I think the last real concert I went to was John Mayer and that was in December! Far too long. I can't wait for Mike Einziger's special End.>Vaccum show either (he gives insight into the name of the project around 10:39)! Did you know he was accepted to Harvard to study music? I love that the members of Incubus don't just stop at creating wonderful music. They are incredibly philanthropic, eco-friendly and pursue the other loves of their lives. So many reasons why they're my favorites. =]

4. I have always had a fascination with surf culture and the peaceful feeling when at/in the ocean, so I'm really excited that the US Open of Surfing is coming up soon too. I look forward to helping out, watching competitions and meeting new people each year. Speaking of the ocean, I bought a really cool Twister beach towel at Target for only $10!!! They also have a Tic Tac Toe, Checkers and a few others neat towels. Pick one up!

5. I've had a few more opportunities presented to me to work with children in the coming school year and that really excites me. I love molding young minds and being a positive influence in their lives.

Okay I'll stop there, but make sure you follow my links. I love Google. I find some pretty random links through it. =] Okay--I'm starvin'!

Peace, love and good health to you and yours this sun-shiny weekend!

-Tiana

P.S. I caved and joined Twitter. Follow me!

TAGS: Sick, Pho, Wall-E, Fourth of July, BBQ, Coldplay, Surf Culture, Children

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1. School is out! Summer school starts in a few weeks for me, and I’m very excited! I was also admitted into an advanced poetry writing class in the fall AND I just found out I am also admitted to the advanced class in fiction! I had to submit work to each class and the directors select whom they work with, so I’m shocked that they see something in me! I’m REALLY excited for this upcoming school year! I get to workshop my writing under an award-winning author and poet. It’s nice to be able to take classes I love toward my degree.
2. It’s almost father’s day! I hope you all have a nice one. Take your dad out to do something he loves, or have a nice relaxing day in. ☺ Either way, enjoy it!
3. Design for Humanity is a wonderful charity division of Billabong and they recently had a fundraiser/concert/art/fashion show! I wasn’t able to attend, but I won a contest with their organization and the lovely people over at DFH sent me a bunch of goodies. They rock! Check them out sometime.
4. I have always worked extensively with children. I don’t necessarily want to become a full-time teacher but I love inspiring them as often as I can, and they often inspire me. I love their energy and uninhibited nature—they often remind us of things we forget as we grow older and they have no filter so they just say what they feel and I love it. This past school year I helped teach 3rd-5th graders poetry lessons. There was one girl in particular that I encouraged to go up in front of the class to read her work. She was soft-spoken and shy but produced wonderful poems, and slowly became confident in her writing. Toward the end she seemed very comfortable with her work and really came out of her shell. On our last day there the kids were running around, asking for all of our autographs and i signed their papers with little notes like "you rock!" "poetry rules!" "keep writing!" i think i told her "you're brilliant! keep writing!" then walked away to sign other children's notebooks. She came back to me, tucked a folded up piece of paper into my hand and gave me another hug. I opened it up once I had left the classroom and it said "tiana i will always rimember you!"

Talk about heartmelting! This is why I love what I do. I'm going to continue working with kids throughout the summer and school year, and I might even start teaching them art as well!
5. Last but not least, T.G.I.F. ☺

TAGS: Top 5, Tiana, Design For Humanity, Children, Father's Day, Friday

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