Thursday, February 17, 2011

Give Back!



Today a Facebook friend asked if anyone had any volunteering ideas for her children. Volunteering is something I have always love to do whether it was just helping someone out or actually volunteering my time to an organization.

Our first volunteer experience began when my oldest daughter, now 14, was around five years old. We volunteered for a program that raised funds for the the AIDS Council of North Eastern New York.




"The AIDS Council’s Help Fight AIDS Through Books & Music project is a completely volunteer-driven program that sells new and gently-used books, music, and movies as well as entertainment books and plush animals to raise money to support the AIDS Council’s client Services Emergency Fund. Now in its 18th year, Help Fight AIDS Through Books & Music has raised more than $500,000 in net funds to support people living with HIV/AIDS. For more information, log on to: http://www.helpfightaids.com/. "

This experience was really rewarding because we do have a loved one that is an active client of the program. We need to do what we can to raise awareness and teach our youth about this disease that is devastating to our communities.

We have also been involved with feeding the homeless and feeding the community. We plan to do 7 acts of charity throughout the year and we will keep that updated right here.

Here are a few other options for youth volunteering:
  1. Volunteer Match
    Volunteer Match is an online recruitment tool. Organizations are able to list the services they need assistance with and volunteers are able to search and find the volunteer opportunities they are interested in.
    "VolunteerMatch is a national nonprofit dedicated to strengthening communities by helping good people and good causes to connect. Its award-winning online service, http://www.volunteermatch.org/, makes it easy to find a way to make a difference by location, expertise, or availability. VolunteerMatch provides many of the nation’s most recognized businesses and organizations with Web-based solutions to
    facilitate and track volunteer engagement at local and national levels."


  2. Youth Volunteer Corps of America
    Youth Volunteer Corps of America allows young people work together
    to make a positive change in our community. The program has allowed yuth from ages 11-18 to serve their communities since 1987.

  3. Youth Assisting Youth
    Youth Assisting Youth is a non-profit charitable organization that provides a peer mentoring service to improve life prospects for at risk and newcomer children. YAY matches children aged 6-15 with trained and dedicated Youth Volunteers aged 16-29 who act as positive role models. Since 1976 YAY has helped more than 20,000 young people.

  4. Do Something
    "DoSomething.org is one of the largest organizations in the US that helps young people rock causes they care about. A driving force in creating a culture of volunteerism, DoSomething.org is on track to activate two million young people in 2011. By leveraging the web, television, mobile, and pop culture, DoSomething.org inspires, empowers and celebrates a generation of doers: teenagers who recognize the need to do something, believe in their ability to get it done, and then take action."

  5. United We Serve
    United We Serve is a nationwide service initiative that helps meet growing social needs resulting from the economic downturn. Serve.gov is your online resource for not only finding volunteer opportunities in your community, but also creating your own.

These are all some really great organizations. Check them out and see where you fit in. I have two organizations I want to work with this year.

The first is Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation. Their Mission is to raise money and awareness of childhood cancer causes, primarily research into new treatments and cures and to encourage and empower others, especially children, to get involved and make a difference for children with cancer. Please visit the website to learn a little about Alex's story.

The second is Keep America Beautiful's Great American Cleanup.


"Keep America Beautiful's Great American Cleanup, the nation's largest community improvement program, takes place annually from March 1 through May 31, involving an estimated 3 million volunteers and attendees. The hardworking volunteers donated more than 5.7 million hours in 2010 to clean, beautify and improve more than 33,000 communities during more than 30,000 events in all 50 states and beyond. Activities included beautifying parks and recreation areas, cleaning seashores and waterways, handling recycling collections, picking up litter, planting trees and flowers, and conducting educational programs and litter-free events. "

What will you do this year to give back? Feel free to leave a comment! Best Blogger Tips
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If you arent familiar with Swag Buck go and check it out! Best Blogger Tips
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Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Giveaway-Guidecraft Nesting Sort & Stack Cubes and Cylinders


Guidecraft toys has these really amazing nesting blocks. They retail for around $20 but you could have a chance at winning them. Thanks, Mail Carrier and Guidecraft are giving you that chance. Hop on over to Thanks, Mail Carrier and enter the giveaway. Hurry, your chance ends on March 11th at 11:59pm Central. Best Blogger Tips
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Sunday, February 13, 2011

Whip My Hair

OK, so I have started this page for all things Natural Hair. I am a big time lover of being natural! Over the summer I took down my one year old locs. They were horrible, because my hair was so curly it sometimes curled and then loc'd that way. I had some short, some long, some loc'd, and some not, it was a huge mess. It took me 5 months to take them out (I know thats a long time, its a long story I will discuss later) and once I got them out that super long hair I had was no more. It was still very long but it was nowhere near my behind like it was before.

One of the big problems I encountered after "the takedown" was breakage and dryness. My hair was also super tangled but I think that was related to the dryness. I would wash, condition, and style and it would look great. The very next day it would be dry and horrible to manage. I dont know about anyone else, but I dont want to spend an hour combing my hair.

I am on a journey to finding the best natural hair products. I am also looking for products that wont break the bank. Who wants to have their hair looking gorgeous but cant afford to go out to show it off. No more of those $30 jars of hair products that we skimp on using because we dont want to run out. Half of these products are for natural hair but arent completely natural themselves....How about that? Yeah I said it! There are products out there that work great for our hair and dont cost a fortune. There are also great recipes for products you can make right at home with some of the things you already have in your own kitchen.

For all those of you that wanted to know whats with the hair type numbers? Whats a "prepoo"? What products should I use on my hair? And... How can I grow long hair? I am going to explore all of that right here. And for all those with locs, I havent given up on them. They are not for me, but most of my children are loc'd. I will demonstrate to I maintain their locs as well as how I style them.

Once I find what works I will begin a hair regimen that I share with my readers. Please feel free to share as well! Best Blogger Tips
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Thursday, February 10, 2011

Almost done

Well as you can see the blog is almost done! I am so excited! Its not exactly what I wanted but its getting there. I figured as long as it was presentable its fine. I haven't put the page links or the drop down menu yet but its coming!

So I said this blog was going in a new direction. I still plan to post coupon deals but I will also have some tutorials on how to coupon shop. I will also be doing coupon webinars so stay tuned for that as well.

Now for the new stuff............................................

I have been a homeschooler for 7 years now and have gathered quite a bit of info over the years. I follow blogs of some of the most awesome homeschoolers I have ever seen. I also have friends on Facebook that all have shared some really great info with me. So I want to give that to my readers as well.

I will be including curriculum I have created as well as links to other great resources. And because I'm a couponer I know how to find a great deal so be prepared to find some of the best homeschool bargains here.

My blog will also share recipes especially awesome vegetarian recipes as I am making the transition from pescatarian to vegetarian to vegan. I will also be trying out some great raw food recipes and reviewing a few cookbooks along the way.

If your a lover of natural hair or thinking about making the transition check out my blog. You will find everything from product reviews to tutorials right here.

There is so much more that will be available just stay tuned. I am updating this blog daily.
So please click the follow button and join me on the wonderful journey. I am so glad to be back! Best Blogger Tips
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Friday, February 4, 2011

Still Under Construction :(

Ok so I have decided that I need to stop neglecting my blog. I learned so much about blog design but got frustrated with all the mistakes I made so I gave up. Now I have forgotten much of everything. I guess I didnt really feel like going through the whole learn blog design process. But if I can post on Facebook I can post here. So being that I am a homeschooler I have decided to make it a lesson! My teenage daughter and I are going to make this blog beautiful. I will make a lesson for each aspect of this blog design process. This is great since she is an artist. So stay tuned.....Oh and this blog is going in an entirely different direction. Best Blogger Tips
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