Strength to Fall

Found one!

supakitteh — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 05:27:24 +0000

I know not everyone likes Barbie and what she stands for, but I do. I think this is a great idea and if I had a Barbie I would so be on my way down there. Dressed up as a princess. You know, like every Saturday.

Recycle Barbies for a Good Cause
by The Arizona Republic

Families with little girls are invited to bring previously loved Barbie dolls to Walmart stores from noon to 3 p.m. Saturday in the Valley for a special one-day Barbie Cares event.

For every doll received, Barbie will donate a new doll to a local children’s hospital. Up to 100,000 new Barbies will be donated to children’s hospitals across the nation. This Barbie Cares event is the latest Barbie initiative to explore toy recyclability and a fun way for families to contribute to a more sustainable future. Girls will also be able to meet Barbie herself in select Walmart toy departments.

Participating Walmart stores include 4747 E. Cactus Road and 2501 W. Happy Valley Road, both in Phoenix; 15355 N. Northsight Blvd. Scottsdale; 21655 N. Lake Pleasant Parkway, Peoria.;5605 W. Northern Ave. and 18551 N. 83rd Ave. both in Glendale; and 1380 W. Elliot Road in Tempe.

Customers are encouraged to bring a digital camera and dress their girls in princess attire to take pictures with Barbie. Attendees will be given a coupon for a free photo. Other Barbie-themed giveaways will also take place, while supplies last.

This event is free to the public

Information: http://barbie.everythinggirl.com/barbiecares.

Seriously, folks…

supakitteh — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 04:25:17 +0000

I haven’t been posting because I can’t find any happy news in any of the main news outlets. I searched AGAIN today hoping against hope that I would stumble across a story about kittens or heroic firemen or a couple who had been torn apart by war only to meet one day 50 years later in a coffee shop in Debuque, Iowa discovering that their love had never really died, but had only grown stronger over the tormenting years of utter loneliness and rejection… gasp, sigh. I didn’t find any of these, sadly. Though wouldn’t it be cool if I did see the one about the war torn couple in love tomorrow? Creepy. But kind of cool, too, I guess.

Anyhow, I did find this. That’s good news, right? Right!? I’m off to search some more. Hopefully I can post something legitimate tomorrow…

Angels do exist. And they attend property auctions, apparently.

supakitteh — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 03:02:50 +0000

I first heard this story on the radio and thought it was so sweet, I should share it with all of you… I’m not sure I would have the faith in someone I don’t know to do the same. That’s what makes this such a great act of kindness.

On a Whim, Woman buys Foreclosed Home and Gives it Back to Owner
Associated Press

DALLAS — A Texas woman went to a housing auction distraught about the prospect of watching strangers bid on her foreclosed home.

Then one of those strangers bought it back for her.

Now Tracy Orr can return to her Pottsboro home, making payments to the woman who unexpectedly and impulsively bought it for her.

“It means so much to all of us,” Orr told Dallas television station WFAA. “It’s not just a house.”

Marilyn Mock said she was acting on instinct on Saturday when she decided to buy a house she had never seen for a woman she had never met. Mock was at the foreclosure auction to help her 27-year-old son bid on a house when she struck up a conversation with Orr, who was crying about losing her home.

Orr had bought the house for $80,000 in 2004 but fell behind on the payments. She lost her job a month after taking out the loan, and earlier this year she lost the house. On the spot, Mock decided to buy it, eventually bidding $30,000.

“She didn’t even know if I had a job or was a nut case,” Orr said in a story for Wednesday’s online edition of The Dallas Morning News. “She didn’t even see a picture of the house.”

Mock told a crying Orr she could stay in the house, making payments to her instead of a bank.

“She needed help. That was it,” Mock told the newspaper. “I just happened to be there and anybody else would have done the same thing.”

Orr said she hopes others will do as Mock did.

“More than my house, she gave me something inside, and that’s more important than material or financial things,” she said.

The two are waiting on final approval from Fannie Mae before visiting the home.

Mock’s son also got a home at the auction.

I’ve always liked the name Mikela…

supakitteh — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 02:46:46 +0000

Hawaiian Girl Returns $1000 Found in Richard Simmons Videotape
AP

HONOLULU — The best bargain at the Salvation Army thrift store in Kailua-Kona was a Richard Simmons videotape.

But Mikela Mercier, 11, decided to pass up the chance to buy the tape for a few coins after she found a surprise inside: $1,000 in $100 bills.

Mikela says that when she discovered the money while browsing through the used tapes, she immediately looked for her mom who was inside the dressing room and told her they needed to turn it in.

Store manager Jimmy Thennes put out a news release on the discovery, praising Mikela for her honesty.

Her mother, Jodi Mercier, says she is very proud of her daughter who she says knew it belonged to the Salvation Army so the agency can help more people in need.

Positive Influence

supakitteh — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 03:41:24 +0000

So, I’ve given it a lot of thought and I have decided how I’m going to proceed with this blog. At least for the next 30 days. As I said in my last post, I wanted to do something more utilitarian, something more than just posting my random thoughts and feelings every few days weeks.

What I’ve come up with is kind of more for me than for anyone out there reading. You see, I’ve traveled far over the past year and no, I’m not talking about literal physical distance. I’m talking about more metaphorical traveling than point A to point B type movement.

About a year ago most people would have said I had found my calling. Shoot, I said that. I was happy, hopeful, light on my feet, smiling and sickeningly inspired from sun up to sun down. At least most of the time. I did have down moments, but I’d say I was up 90 to 95 percent of the time. Ugh. I think about how I was back then and I want to slap that woman. I don’t know how people tolerated her. I may be being too hard on myself, but either way, I’m not her anymore.

I’ve lost that up-ness about me. I’m more down than up these days and I’m certainly not feeling inspired anymore. That sucks. Period. It just plain sucks. While I don’t want to be little miss chipper again, I really don’t like me as a downer either. I’ve decided that what I need is some Positive Energy. Yes, I’m borrowing that phrase from the me of a year ago… all that energy woo-woo stuff. Despite my less then exuberant attitude these days, I do still believe in some of that woo-woo stuff and the concept of Positive Energy is one of the things I learned that I’m not letting go of anytime soon.

In an effort to increase the amount of Positive Energy or Inspiration Quotient as I’ve heard it called, I will be posting one story per day of something positive going on in the world. It could be a story about a dog saving kittens from a house fire (totally true and ADORABLE) or it might be about some kind soul profiled in the news for their humanitarian efforts in Africa. Little or Big, cute and cuddly or serious and shocking, I want to surround myself with good stuff. My days can be sucky, quite frankly, because I work in a very high stress environment so I decided I needed somewhere to revel in goodness. And since I don’t have a room made of soft pillows where kittens and bunnies roam free, this will have to do.

So, on to the first story of the day…and it’s local, at that.

Gilbert Kids Give Up Recess for Green Goals
by Emily Gersema

The second-graders who attend Gilbert’s Sonoma Ranch Elementaryare thinking green these days.

About 40 to 60 children in that grade have volunteered to give up their 15-minute morning recess, once a week to focus on keeping their school orderly, the grounds green and their Earth a better place. These meetings are a core part of their new environmental club.

Each Wednesday, the children meet during their morning recess with their sponsor, Angela Dixon, who is a social worker, and a school counselor, Nikki Boeri.

Sometimes the children spend their time discussing ways to improve their environment or cleaning up the campus. Other times they color with crayons in a coloring book that urges green thinking.

Some of the first students who came up with the idea of an environmental club were kids who at home are determined to keep their homes tidy and litter-free.

Kate Ruffley, a second grader, said she and several of her other friends rallied together to start the group.

“We really wanted to. We were like ‘Can we start an environmental club?’ Because we really want to clean up,” Kate said.

Dixon recalls the girls came to the office nearly every day for almost a week before they got approval to start their green group.

Kate looks after her 4-year-old twin sisters at home, who sometimes drop or leave trash. “I always pick it up,” she said.

Kaia Williams, another second-grader participating in the club, said she loves to clean at home. “I like to clean up our yard, our house, the bedroom, and my sister’s bedroom.”

If she could, she’d plant tomatoes and other garden vegetables at the school. But Kaia said planting some trees would be a good idea.

Dixon noted the parent pickup area gets very hot at the beginning and end of the school year, and children stand in the sun, sweating while waiting for a parent to drive up.

“If we had more shade, that would be a lot better,” she said, pointing to the sunny drive-up area.

Dixon hopes the group can either apply for funding or somehow raise money for trees.

Isn’t that great? No, really. Think about what these kids are doing for a minute. They looked at the world around them and thought, “Huh, we should so something about this. We CAN do something about this.” They never thought, “No, we’re too young, too small, too weak. We don’t have any money or authority. We can’t even drive or vote.” No, they looked at what they could do right then and there and they did it! They campaigned for a week until someone finally gave in. They started locally. Good job kids, may you go on to inspire more of the same.

new stuff

supakitteh — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 01:43:43 +0000

I’m going to be trying some new things out on this blog over the next few weeks so bear with me. I am going to see what it would be like to make this a more focused site. Something more utilitarian. I’m not sure what angle I’m going to take quite yet, but whatever it is, it’s gonna be awesome.

Stay tuned… new stuff arriving soon.

One of my favorite things about this place…

supakitteh — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 03:16:31 +0000

That was the sound of my head exploding.

supakitteh — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 02:59:06 +0000

Future plans…

supakitteh — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 03:16:44 +0000

I’m home sick tonight. Michael went to a friend’s house to do guy stuff like watch “the fight” and play poker. I was going to go, but then thought about the fact that I may be contagious and asked him to turn around and take me home. So here I am, watching Kevin James’ standup (very funny, btw) and doing some random surfing online. I decided to look for some green home ideas. Here is what I found…

Pool…

Living Room…

Kitchen…

Bathroom…

Bedroom…

Patio…

Thoughts?

Something quippy

supakitteh — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 04:53:14 +0000

I decided tonight to start journaling again. I was at Barnes and Noble looking for a book when I wandered over to the blank notebook section. Journal books are my weakness. I would own a hundred if I could justify it to my checkbook. They’re magical and so pretty. Covered in pictures of birds and butterflies and neat asian prints. Instead of buying this really great one with a cool Indian design and elastic page holder, I came home and wrote in one of the many that have been languishing unused.

That’s right, I said “languishing”.

So, anyhow, I’m in the middle of an entry right now and needed a distraction because I started thinking too much, over analyzing what I was writing. I’m gonna go look at my fish now, see if I can catch my mind off guard again.