Thursday "Art," Happy Thanksgiving, Internet! edition

Oh, just a little something Abby whipped up on a snow day last week.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, everyone!

The Care Package Project: November

We did something a little different for our November Care Package Project, because when an opportunity presents itself, you may as well go for it, right?

I did a story not too long ago for the newspaper about Operation Christmas Child, and while I could tell you all sorts of things about the organization, let's keep it simple: People fill shoe boxes with small gifts for a child in need in... I can't remember how many different countries. A lot. 

And P.S., "need" can mean anything from "living in a war torn country" to "suffering from some terrible disease" to "living in extreme poverty" to "dealing with natural disasters" to "homeless" to "orphans. Plus all of the above." It's kind of disheartening, really, because many countries don't have the safety nets we have here in the US--in our small town, we have food banks, an emergency voucher program, safe houses for battered women, a foster care system, mentoring programs, and a warming shelter for the homeless. That doesn't include Christmastime food and gift projects. Not that people don't still slip through the cracks... just that there are many avenues available for help. I (naively, I guess) thought every country had such programs. Apparently, not so.

And one more thing: most of the time, the kids receiving these gifts have never received a present before. In their entire lives. According to the woman I interviewed, giving gifts (especially to children) is unheard of in many parts of the world. It's hard to wrap my mind around that in the very consumer- and child-driven culture I live in.

Well, anyway. Because we have girls, we chose to fill a box for a girl between the ages of 10 and 14. Easy enough, since I have girls who are 9 and 15; I just went for things they'd both enjoy (namely: art supplies). Our Christmas Child program coordinators also provided a list of ideas, which was great--I'd never have thought to include personal hygiene or a sewing kit on my own.

WHY did I not take a photo of Johanna with our little offerings spread around her as she packed them into the box? I was distracted with putting away groceries, that's why. Totally missed an opportunity. But I can show you this:

Figure 1: The top layer. :)

Here's what we packed:

3 pairs of colorful socks

3 sparkly hairbands

Small notebook

Pencil pouch

Pencils

Colored Pencils

Pencil sharpener

Watercolor paint set

2 glue sticks

3 colorful erasers

Solar powered calculator

Small sewing kit

Washcloth

Bar of soap

Toothbrush

Toothpaste

Lip balm (in Mickey and Minnie Mouse tubes. Well, why not?)

...And $7 for shipping

Figure 2: All packed up and ready to go.

I didn't have to send it (which always seems to be the downfall of any of our CPPs), but I did have to get it to the drop-off site, one of our local churches, by a certain date. Whew! Made it!

So that's November. Our December CPP will also be a little different... but that's another post for another time. I'm kind of trying to decide if we're going to continue the CPP Revolution in 2015; it's super-fun, but stressful. :) Too bad I only look like I'm organized...

Project 333 month two round-up

Oh, that's just my closet.

Again, I say to you: It's way easier to dress with less in the summer months. I mean, I'm totally dressing with less now that winter has blown in with a vengeance (we went from the 60ºs to the 20ºs in two days, from beautiful blue sky and russet leaves to 7-inches of snow and... well, still russet leaves, which is a nice contrast, I think), but it's different. I'm editing my wardrobe weekly, it seems, because there are things that just do not make sense to hang onto now.

I'm a big fan of decluttering.

Like tank tops. What the hell am I supposed to do with a tank top in the snow? If our office had a heating system worth anything, maybe I could pull it off, but right now I'm wearing fleece-lined tights and long sleeve t-shirts under everything for extra warmth. I feel like a sumo wrestler.

Whatever, I guess.

Here's my original list; October additions are underlined, items ushered to my standing wardrobe to await warmer climes are crossed out, and those now languishing in my Goodwill donate bag are blue, crossed out and italicized. (Overkill?)

Pants: Jeans, black, grey, beige, dark beige
Skirts: Grey, denim, beige, multi-colored t-shirt
Tank tops: Navy, blue multi, orange multi, black/white
Blouses: Grey, black/white, teal, white
Long-sleeve t-shirts: Black, navy, nicer navy, light blue
Sweaters: Teal cardigan, grey turtleneck, grey cardigan, black cardigan, navy cardigan, blue pullover, black turtleneck pullover, grey sweatshirt, plum cardigan, grey stripped pullover, purple zip-up, brick pullover
Jackets: Denim, beige
Scarves: Red, navy and grey, navy and teal, orange, blue/black flowered, black
Shoes: Boots, ankle boots, Danskos, Cobb Hill cuties,Converse All-Stars, Cobb Hill flats
Outerwear: Coat, gloves and hat

So what, you might be asking yourself, is up with the bolded, underlined items?

Ahem. Well, I went shopping.

I know, I know. Look, when Eric went hunting for a week, I was sad, and I used it a an excuse. On the upside, my very black/grey/navy wardrobe has more color. I don't know what else to say about that. I'm not sorry, but I feel bad. Um, because I should be sorry, and I'm not.

I'm not sure where that leaves us, friends.

Moving RIGHT along. This month, I let go of my grey button-down blouse (which I am sad about because this thing is awesome, but the last time I wore it, I felt so uncomfortable and constricted. I just don't like button-down blouses) and my beige pants (which are actually fairly new, but they've shrunk so much that they're almost high waters, and I said goodbye to that era of my life circa 1993, when styles finally began to change for the longer).

Before I saw the list, I thought I'd gotten rid of so much more than I apparently have. Huh. Well, between the idea and the reality, as ol' T.S. and I are fond of saying. Maybe it just feels like more because I've taken out 10 things, except only half are gone forever.

So that's the State of My Closet. The end, I guess.

P.S. I know this looks like 39 items, but technically only 26 count, since I like to group scarves, shoes and outerwear together. Because I can, yo.