Karma in Practice

I'm taking "you get what you give" to heart this year. Having already resolved to "be more conscientious" in 2015, I'm adding some goals, admittedly stolen from inspired by Kelsey Gryniewicz's post "15 Ways to Start 2015 with Kindness".

I'm not going with all 15 ideas, because let's be honest, change takes time and that's just too much kindness in one shot ;). I whittled it down to nine that really spoke to me, two of which will look familiar (and I've kept up with!!!).

1. Year of Kindness Box - the idea is to fill up the box with things like thank you notes (Who writes those any more? Sadly, hardly anyone), compliments received (I can't believe I already have something for the box), moments of kindness witnessed or done, inspiring quotes, etc. Then I get to review at the end of the year or any time I'm having an off day. (side note: hello artsy-crafty project!)
2. Create a Gratitude Journal - well you've already seen this on my resolutions list. I'm glad I went with doing a weekly journal instead of a daily, because I've already failed on my other daily aspirations. Much easier to set aside 5-10 minutes once a week, instead of a few minutes every day. I know, lazy me.

   

   Simi's Weekly Gratitude Journal - 2015

3. Three Compliments - Compliment the first three people you talk to. If I stuck to the first three, it would always be my family. I think I do this any way, but it won't hurt to be more conscientious about it.
4. 52 Thank You Notes - Write a thank you note every week to a different person. I've "missed" the first two, but I'll definitely be doing this all year. And no email business. I picked up cute thank you cards from Target (a lot of them!) before I even read about or considered this "challenge." Thank you fate.
5. Daily Positivity - Every day, think of a random person. Send them a positive positive message (text, email, social media post, phone call, letter, etc.). This is another one of those I'm sure I do this every day without thinking about it, but, again, it'll be good to put some real thought into it on a daily basis. Putting positive energy in the world should only mean that positive energy comes back, if Newton was really, really right ;).
6. Volunteer - Another one that had already been on my list. Now to figure out how to accomplish this.
7. Smile - Smiling is all sorts of good for you: release of endorphins, boost your immune system, and more. Say cheese!
8. Self-Kindness - Do one kind thing every week for yourself - enjoy a treat you love, exercise, do something you love and rarely have time to do. For now, this is going to be my Art/Craft project of the week. If and when that becomes a part of my routine, I'll move on to something new. 

Now, to figure out what my bad habits are and which one to break. Introspection is hard! Who's going to help me with this one? ;)

Christmas Shopping with a Purpose - Top 5 Places to Turn to This Christmas

There's nothing better than piles of gifts under a Christmas tree. The rush of joy, the excitement, the happiness, are unbeatable. Except. They are. What's better than a pile of goodies? A pile of goodies that pay it forward!

There are many ways to make a difference in our communities, especially around holiday season: volunteer at a soup kitchen, donate to Toys for Tots, make a donation to your charity of choice.

You can also shop to change the world around you. Here are some places you can shop for both your Christmas list AND to help pay it forward. (And just in time for Cyber Monday!)

1. International Princess Project - a company that is "creating pathways to freedom for women escaping sex slavery" in India. Not only is IPP helping end human trafficking, it creates an opportunity for more than 150 women and girls to learn a trade (sewing beautiful "Punjammies") that help sustain a new hope and a new lifestyle. I'm all for shopping for "fashion that takes a stand against human trafficking" - the pajamas and shirts are truly beautiful and unique, and will be appreciated by any mom, sister, wife, girlfriend, daughter...

With a sweet deal on #CyberMonday (40% off + free shipping on orders over $50),
they definitely have a spot on my Christmas shopping list.

Twitter: @Int'lPrincessProject

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2. Three Avocados - this one's for the coffee lovers (that's right, nothing to do with avocados). It's a non-profit that puts 100% of its net earnings to clean water in Uganda. Clean water is a global problem, especially in developing nations. There are many initiatives that are working toward providing sustainable clean water resources. The perk with buying directly through Three Avocados is, you're guaranteed that 100% of your money is going to be used to make a direct impact.

Having actually tried the coffee, I can confidently say it's delicious! A rich, warm coffee that makes you feel good for all sorts of reasons!

Coffee for a Cause - packaged just right for Christmas! :)

Twitter: @ThreeAvocados

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3. Blanket America - it isn't just about blankets. It's about all sorts of bedding, and towels, and window treatments. And helping. Most importantly, it's about the helping: "generating automatic donations" with every purchase, and helping the company's commitment to "ending extreme poverty." This "buy 1, give 1" model doesn't just help make a direct impact for the American community. It also contributes to disaster relief in Haiti and Blanket America's Choose Haiti mission.

Beautiful bedding and blankets under your tree,
an end to poverty in the US and disaster relief in Haiti.

Twitter: @BlanketAmerica

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4. Toms Shoes - a very straight-forward one for one company: every pair of shoe you buy means a free pair of shoes for children in need around the world. Toms has expanded to "providing prescription glasses, medical treatmetn and/or sight-saving surgery" for every eyewear purchased by you. Over 10 million pairs of shoes and 150,000 visions restored because of purchases made by us. Toms has a lot of other cute products as well - really, a little something for everyone! Every purchase leads to the delivery of provisions, healthcare, opportunities, education, and training for hundreds of thousands of people around the world.

$10 off $50 purchases, free shipping through December 2, AND a holiday gift guide - Toms has you covered!

Twitter: @TOMS

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5. Warby Parker - a pair of stylish glasses for you or someone on your list means funding and/or glasses to VisionSpring and other non-profit partners, training for low-income entrepreneurs who are looking to start their own glasses-selling business, affordable glasses for communities across the globe, and lives that are bettered from your purchase. Warby Parker takes the "buy 1, give 1" and takes it a step further: the company doesn't just provide a product to the customer and an individual from the developing global community, it creates a community of self-enabled individuals and a chain of success stories - that's over 500,000 lives touched to date.

A sweet new pair for you can mean vision for the first time for someone who was struggling before.

Twitter: @WarbyParker

Of course, your shopping at these sites doesn't have to be limited to the holiday season. These make great gifts or shopping experiences year round. The satisfaction of having paid it forward just can't be beat!

(This is not an exhaustive list of companies that follow a one for one model or support shopping with a cause. Some other social good companies are listed in this shop with meaning article. I'm sure there are many other companies - google is your friend!)

Crafty Projects: DIY Solutions

The bedroom needed some TLC this weekend, and since I was in the mood, I started rearranging furniture and reorganizing everything that caught my eye.

As I dug through my half-forgotten to-do bits of projects that were scattered around the room, I was "inspired" to finally sort through what was doable and what could be shelved indefinitely.

Can you guess what sort of crafty things I might be up to with these things? ;)

Hopefully this will break me out of my work and school rut and get the creativity flowing again ;)

So, what are you guesses? Your ideas just might spark a new project :D

10+ Blog Post Ideas for the Busy Bee

Can you believe half a year has finished? Where did 2013 go!? And what happened to summer? Thankfully I'm usually indoors courtesy internship, so I've missed most of the shit weather. But would it kill the weather gods to give us a sunny day or two?

Since I can't seen to find the time to finish a blog post (I've got 7 in various draft stages), I'll just give you a list of posts you can expect in the second half of 2013. You can let me know what you're really looking forward to reading about or suggest other post ideas.

1. Internship experience and Johari Window
2. Recommend people from _____? (insert category)
3. Clothes haul
4. Respond to madame noir article (first verify)
5. List 10 writing prompts
6. The benefits of workshopping
7. My writing "process"
8. Review an ipsy product
9. Finish "writer/label" post
10. Finish/post $ store decorating post
11. Finish/post "handy resources" post
12. My beauty/skin care routine
13. Bubble bath post
14. $ store craft ideas
15. My dream shoe at a dream cost
16. This to that

I do love my lists ;)