and the winner is... Sacrifice Saturday!

(I'm leaving at the crack of dawn tomorrow to watch Candy's daughter Caitlyn perform at a cheer competition and not sure what time we'll be returning, so I'm loading Saturday's post today..fyi.)

As you know, I have been wanting to work more on my philanthropy, reading the article about Rachel on Wednesday, and having one of my fav vamps (Ian Somerhalder) testifying in front of Congress today on behalf of some endangered animals, finally sent me over the edge into "do mode".  Before I get into this weeks Sacrifice Saturday deeds, I want to give you a little insight into where I stand on the whole saving the world thing, just so there’s no confusion with these posts. :) 

We all know there are several different categories people fall into when it comes to do-gooding. Tree Huggers, Heartless Bastards, and then there's me, somewhere in between. Obviously, we all have insane visions of the "hipster tree hugger" - some of which are most definitely true! And then there’s the heartless bastard who seems to actually be trying to ruin the world on a daily basis. Most of us average gals and guys fall somewhere in the middle.

Here’s what I do/don’t do on a regular basis, Sacrifice Saturdays will be in addition to these little guys:

I recycle most things I use that are in fact recyclable; bottles, newspaper, regular paper, and if I buy magazines or anything like that those bad boys get recycled as well. I use my awesome Fossil Ecological canvas bag for shopping trips; not just to the grocery store, but Christmas shopping and whatnot as well. I LOVE shower loofah’s that are made with recycled material! They are a tiny bit rougher and leave your skin feeling soft and smooth. I do not have a compost bucket (although I think they are totally amazing!) living in the country affords me the opportunity to simply through my “trash” pieces of fruit, veggies, breads, meats, basically anything except garlic, out for the deer and other cute animals to chow down on. I try to buy organic when possible (although again, small town living makes that hard at times). I’m not able to save in the form of walking to/from places or even biking to the store, country living does have some drawbacks. Annnnnd biking 10 miles to work in 100+ degree Texas weather is not an option, and public transportation here is severely lacking. However, I do have a Honda Civic, which gets great gas mileage! I always turn off lights, TV’s etc. when I leave a room. I turn down the AC before I leave the house so it doesn’t run as often. I do not liter, and can’t stand people that do.

I figure you can get a pretty good grasp on how I feel about things from this list. If you want to know something else please feel free to ask. Now, on to Sacrifice Saturday!

I only came up with the idea of Sacrifice Saturday on Wednesday so hopefully future weeks will include a few more good deeds. A big shout out to Candy for the name suggestion! Here are the deeds of the week:

1.  Took all plastic bottles and newspapers from the stockpile, aka recycle bins, to the recycle facility.
2.    Cleaned out some work clothes and made a sizable donation at Elite Repeat. I love making donations here because the items are not only sold to people who really need them, but the proceeds benefit the SAAFE HOUSE – an organization to help battered women and children in the surrounding area.
3.    I helped mom take some of dad’s old clothes to the COME Center. Which is another organization that resells clothing to underprivileged people in our community.

I believe a little research is needed to delve much further into helping out in this community. You would think that living in a small country getting involved would be super easy, like just walk down the street and see a sign or a person that will point you in the direction of someone or something needing your immediate assistance. This. Is. Not. The. Case. So, these first few weeks will definitely be a bit of an experiment on figuring out how to accomplish my philanthropy goals. Again, feel free to leave any suggestions or awesome deeds you’ve done (especially you small town folk) in the comments! I will totally give you credit, I’m no thief ;)

Hope you all decide to try a little philanthropy in your community as well!

xoxo,

kris

incredible.

I'm sure many of you have various news outlets you read/check on a daily basis, as do I. My go to's are always the drudge report, google, yahoo, click2houston, and the item for the local flavor. As I was perusing yahoo news earlier this afternoon, I read an amazing story written by Liz Goodwin...

"Nine-year-old Rachel Beckwith didn't live long enough to reach her goal of raising $300 to bring clean water to African villagers. She died in a 13-car accident on Interstate 90 in Bellevue, Wash., last week, the Seattle Times reported. Since then, hundreds of thousands of dollars have flowed into the charity page she set up shortly before her accident, with more than 9,000 people contributing $368,000 to Rachel's cause.

The 9-year-old told family and friends she didn't want presents for her June 12 birthday, only donations to the non-profit Charity Water.

"I found out that millions of people don't live to see their 5th birthday," Rachel wrote. "And why? Because they didn't have access to clean, safe water so I'm celebrating my birthday like never before. I'm asking from everyone I know to donate to my campaign instead of gifts for my birthday. Every penny of the money raised will go directly to fund freshwater projects in developing nations."

Rachel had only raised $220 by the time her birthday came, so she closed the page. But after the tragic accident, Rachel's pastor at Eastlake Community Church, Ryan Meeks, brought the page back up andpublicized it on the church's website. As news of Rachel's cause spread, more and more people found and donated to Rachel's page, many leaving personal comments about how touched they were by her selflessness.

"Thank you for your generous heart and for inspiring such generosity in others," wrote an anonymous donor who gave $45 to the charity. Another donor who left $9 wrote: "Say hello to my Jesse."

Rachel's mother Samantha Paul posted on Monday that she was in "awe" of the flood of support. "In the face of unexplainable pain you have provided undeniable hope," she wrote. "I know Rachel is smiling!"

Rachel was on life support after the accident, and her church is raising money to help the family pay those medical bills here. Rachel's fresh water donation page is here."

This article definitely brought tears to my eyes. At the tender age of 8, Rachel wanted to make a difference in the world; to help people she has never heard of, who live on a completely different continent. I don't know about you, but I know plenty of "grown" adults who wouldn't be able to fathom this concept of selflessness at 25, 30, or 40. Some people are simply born with an undeniable gift to influence and inspire the people around them, as little Rachel obviously was. Through her tragic death she has been able to spread her message to thousands, if not more, and hopefully ignite a spark in everyone who reads her story to get out and do something that benefits someone or something else. 

I truly believe if we all focus a little extra energy on one good deed a day or even week, we would not only feel better as individuals, but our world would be a better place. I'm definitely not trying to get on a soapbox about saving the planet; by world, I mean our individual "worlds" or communities. Little things can most definitely have an impact on the world at large, however immediate benefits from little things (daily deeds as I like to call them) can be seen in your local community. Rachel's story has definitely inspired me. I'm going to focus more on daily deeds for my local area (as well as the same larger organizations I take part in). To accomplish this goal, and hopefully motivate you as well, I'm going to create a weekly post about good deeds/philanthropy that occur during each week - think Music Monday, but with it's own clever title of course. If you have any suggestions you would like to contribute, feel free to leave comments and I will definitely add them to the posts!

xoxo,

kris

Want's, Have's, Need's

Want's, Have's, Need's by KrisLG featuring wide running shoes

Fergie pink leather jacket
krmaclothing.com

Frye shoes
$248 - zappos.com

New Balance wide running shoes
$145 - nordstrom.com

Sperry wide shoes
$85 - sperrytopsider.com

George Gina Lucy handbag
$225 - yoox.com

Kate Spade leather bag
$110 - nordstrom.com

Sapphire and diamond jewelry
harrywinston.com

Michael Kors rose gold jewelry
$195 - endless.com

Modstrom pink shawl
€30 - welikefashion.com

MICHAEL Michael Kors aviator shades
$57 - nordstrom.com

Headbands hair accessory
$3.97 - tillys.com

CHANEL CHANCE EAU FRA?CHE No Color 3.4 oz
$90 - nordstrom.com

Dogwood on Turquoise I Canvas Wall Art - Outdoor Wall Art - Outdoor...
$199 - homedecorators.com

Report: iPad 2 Will Have Two Omnivision Supplied Cameras, Faster...
$300 - cultofmac.com

Music Monday ... on a Tuesday?

If you're wondering why Music Monday is late, read the previous post, otherwise just deal with it. ;)

Duffy - stepping stone

Adele - set fire to the rain

Jason Walter - down

Again, if you have any music suggestions or just want to tell me who you're listening to at the moment feel free to leave it in the comments. I love finding new songs/bands! I do really enjoy music that may not be super popular at the moment (ie not from the Itunes top songs list) or something that may be a little older but just never received a lot of play. Basically whatever floats your boat!

not quite a face lift, just a nose job.

If any of you decided to take a gander at the old bloggity yesterday earlier today, I'm sure you noticed it was a little different. Yesterday afternoon I was trying to give this lady a makeover and she was just not cooperating. I deleted all the old code, but when I tried to add a new template the old one reared it's ugly head (aka symbol) in the top corner and left only a white background. After a good hour of trying to fix it, I gave up for the day and decided today to just keep the same background and adjust the color scheme/fonts. So, rather than a full face lift, the 'ol bloggity received a simple nose job instead.

I was trying to add a much more advanced template than the previous one, and from what I've read online blogger is not such a great site for the more advanced codes and whatnot. It's great for the fun backgrounds and simple templates, so I guess that's what I'll be sticking to for a while. Hope the new version isn't too plain and boring for you haha! If it gets too boring, I will definitely look into switching over to one of the more sophisticated blogging sites - for now, that'll do pig, that'll do.

xoxo,
kris

something might be afoot...

Some of you already know about a possible job change that could be occurring in the next couple weeks... Well, I had the interview today. I think it went pretty well, considering I hate interviews or talking about myself in general. There are 4 other candidates, as HR requires 5 interviews per job position. Mr. B said he would be making a decision over the weekend and notifying HR Monday. Fingers crossed boys and girls! Once the decision has been announced, I will post more information regarding the position and whatnot.

Today has been a long day. I am currently a part-time employee, so I usually leave for the day at 12:00PM. Candy had an appointment this afternoon so I'm working all day and taking off tomorrow to make up for the extra hours. I'm pretty excited about being off tomorrow. What for you ask? To sleep all day? Of course not! I'm going to get up and be off to the gym by 8:00AM so I can be ready to head south the do a little shopping with my Isabel. It has been way too long since we met up, and since I'm off and will hopefully be needing some new/better work clothes I figured a trip to the mall was in store. I'm also packing a pretty hefty coupon for New York & Company so hopefully I can find some nice crop pants - since it's so freaking hot outside! Marshalls surprisingly has some pretty cute things too, at times anyway, that can be used for the work environment. I typically just look for shirts there, and have found quite a few on previous occasions. Now obviously I will not be spending a ton of money tomorrow as I have not recieved the job yet, but my NY&Co coupon does expire Monday - so why the hell not?! :)

Next week will prbably bring another update on some stuff that's been going, but at the moment I don't have enough information to put on here. Hopefully by Tuesday afternoon I'll know more.

Hope you're having a great week, it's almost FRIDAY!

xoxo,
kris

Music Monday!

Today's Music Monday will feature two songs, unlike last week when I put up my entire playlist for the day. For future reference, most will contain just a few songs that I've recently discovered or just can't get enough of (today being the second option). Feel free to leave your favorites of the day in the comments! :)

Forever Young - Audra Mae

Hallelujah - Jeff Buckley

Just Another Manic Monday.

Hope you all had a great weekend! I know I did :)

Friday afternoon the cable guy came to fix my HBO which has been acting up FOR WEEKS! He was super awesome and hooked me up with some other cable stuff, although HBO is still not working correctly, which caused me to miss True Blood last night. SAD! I talked to him first thing this morning and he will hopefully be out sometime today to try something else with it. In the meantime, I have been avoiding several people on Facebook and Twitter so as not to read any spoilers. Anyhoooooo, the rest of my weekend was spent watching a movie, delivering a mobile and burp cloths I sold to a shower, a little pool time, watching another movie, and then.... watching the most intense/jaw dropping/awesome/inspiring/ soccer game I have ever seen on Sunday morning. The U.S. Women's team played Brazil in an elimination match to get into the top 4 of the Women's World Cup. Let me just say, I have never yelled at my television that much in my life! The referees were HORRIBLE, but justice was served in the end as we overcame 2 detrimental bad calls and won the game in a shootout. I'm still excited about it, and just typing this is making me super pumped again- think I'll go for a run after lunch :)

Was your weekend as exciting as mine? Just wait, our next match is Wednesday morning at 10:30am against France. BRING IT!

I'm going to try something new on here, we'll see if I can keep it up.... Music Mondays. Today is going to be a "playlist" of what I've been listening to the last few days. I was especially into this list on Thursday and Friday of last week while I worked on the mobile and burp cloths for Saturday. Future Music Mondays will most likely feature one or two songs and/or artists.

Kenny Chesney – Somewhere with you

Christina Perri – Jar of Hearts

One Republic – Secrets

Garrett Hedlund – Chances Are

Garrett Hedlund with Leighton Meester – Give into me

Digital Daggers – Head Over Heels

Chantal Kreviazuk – Feels like home

Eli Young Band – Always the Love Songs, Crazy Girl

Brooks & Dunn – She used to be mine

Roger Waters (The Departed Soundtrack) – Comfortably Numb (Pink Floyd cover)

One Republic – Good Life

Christina Perri – Arms

Blackhawk – Goodbye says it all

Travis Tritt – Anymore

Aerosmith – Dream On

Alanis Morissette – Uninvited

Alice in Chains – Rooster

Curtis Stigers & the Forest Rangers – This Life

Dashoard – Vindicated

David Gray – This years love

Paul Westerberg- Let the bad times roll

The Critic

I'm trying to accomplish at least one thing from my "summer to-do list", which means more posts on the bloggity! I know you are overcome with joy by this news. ;)

Last week I finished reading The Help. I debated about reading this book for a while, there had been several mixed reviews among friends and I just wasn't sure. I saw a preview for the movie and decided I should just bite the bullet and read it since I would probably regret having not read it when the movie comes out (which is inevitably what always happens). It was a little hard for me to get into, as I had to read some parts a little slower than usual. Each chapter has a different character narating, which in some cases required a little more scrutiny depending on the point of view. That being said, I did eventually get really into it and finished the book in just a couple days. Overall, it was a good book. I definitely recommend it and I'm really looking forward to the movie.

I also saw Transformers Dark of the Moon last week as well. Now for those of you who don't know, my childhood was spent playing "boys" games rather than "house" like most little girls. I grew up making G.I. Joe parachute from trees and playing with Heman and Thundercats in the bathtub. Transformers were one of my favorite toys and cartoons! I woke up every Saturday morning to watch Optimus and the other Autobots fight the good fight. So, when the first movie came out I was ECSTATIC! It was a great action movie, followed by the equally impressive 2nd film. The only thing I did not like about either movie was Megan Fox, and since I read celebrity gossip like it's occuring in my own little small town, I knew she had been replaced long before the trailers hit theaters. Going into this movie very optimistic it would surpass the previous two, made me a little nervous while I sat and waited for the previews to start. Let me just say, I was not disappointed! The Dark of the Moon is definitely my favorite of the three Transformer movies. It wasn't just another battle of good vs evil, between Autobots and Decepticons. We were introduced to a few new human faces, some of which were on the wrong side of the line between good and evil. There was more character development and a stronger plot than in the other two movies. Overall, I highly recommend this movie!!

Next up on the book list is The Book Thief. Dev is currently reading this one and said it's pretty good, and I found it for $9.99 at Hastings so I decided to give it a try. I also have another Elizabeth Gilbert book in the wings to read after that. She wrote Eat, Pray, Love - which I loved! For those of you who didn't read it, go buy it! The movie is okay, but the book is MUCH better. The new one I will be reading is called Committed. It follows Liz and her journey with the hard decision of remarriage. I will keep you posted on both of the upcoming reads. :)

Another thing I've been wanting to voice my opinion on is this whole feather in the hair thing. At first I thought it was rather silly and heard about places in California using real Peacock feathers...Which is disgusting! But, I digress, most of the places around here use fake feathers (I mean really, with a pricetag of $8 how could it not be fake?). After a while of contemplating this idea, I have finally decided to get one. I know, I'm a 20 year old right? I think the touch of color is awesome and just all around fun for the summer. So, at lunch today, Candy and I are going to go get clip on feathers! We decided on the clip on versions, since we aren't 15 and have jobs. The boss is out all week so we can wear them through Friday and then have them to just clip on whenever we feel like it. I'm leaning toward a solid, bright color. Maybe a blue, teal, green, or purple. I will definitely keep you posted on this venture.

Hope you all had a fun and safe 4th of July, and remembered the reasons we celebrate this great holiday!

xoxo,
kris

copycat.

If you read my last post, you know I'm poor at the moment. So, rather than being out with Whit and some other friends tonight I am sitting at home. I have become a thief and stole this blog from my Erin. Enjoy! :)

Age: 28
Bed size: Queen! and I love it, I sleep like a crazy person :)
Chore you hate: toilets. they are so disgusting.
Dad's name: Stephen/Steve
Essential start to your day: washing my face, I'm not fulling awake until this happens.
Favorite actress and actor: Sandra Bullock (I concur Erin!) and the boy is a tough one.. Heath Ledger was so freaking talented, Ryan Reynolds is freaking hot!, and I love almost all of Tom Hanks movies - I could go on and on for both genders really.
Gold or silver: Silver, although I have a new love of Rose Gold
Height: 5'4" ++
Instruments you play(ed): HA!
Job title: Administrative Assistant. or to those who need more clarification: total badass!
Kid(s): negative. I love kids, I'm the coolest Auntie in the world! Just don't dig the whole 24/7 thing.
Living arrangements: just me, in a shoebox.
Mom's name: Kathryn/Kathy
Nicknames: Kris, Kristi G, Kdawg, Krissy and many more that are much more embarrassing! haha
Overnight hospital stays other than birth: Well I was really sick when I was born so I stayed in the NICU for several weeks. Other than that, none.
Pet peeves: smoking, drunk driving, people who don't wipe their face when eating, leaving early from a sporting event (you never know what's going to happen!), people who drive slow in the fast lane - bad drivers in general.. many more.
Quotes you like: waaaaaay too many to list.
Right or left-handed: Both, although I mainly write with my right hand.
Siblings: 1 seester and 1 brother
Time you wake up: 6:30-6:45 weekdays and depends on the weekends
U[was missing, so i'll make it up!]rban dictionary your name and pick your favorite definition: "

a woman i know who is incredibly sexy and i love her so much. she is the most amazing person alive and if you dont think so you deserve to die. amazingly there are some people who actually dont like her. but thats just because they're jealous and they're all asses anyway so no one cares about them. Kristi deserves everything in the world and id do anything for her. ill never leave her side and i'll always be her best friend"

Vegetables you dislike: raw tomatoes, although I'll eat them cooked in just about anything haha!
Ways you run late: I'm pretty much the most punctual person I've ever met.
X-rays you've had: This is a long list, I should probably have radiation poisoning by now.... MRI as a baby, age 5 wrist, 8 elbow, 11 chest, 16 hand, 18 foot, 19 hand, 25 wrist, 25 MRI wrist, 27 shin. and obviously the teeth every cleaning.
Yummy food you make: I've been told I should jar my tomato soup and sell it with my homemade asiago cheese croutons, several pasta dishes, cake balls
Zodiac: Aquarius

What's the deal?

So, I know it has been way too long since my last post, which means I'm already slacking on my "summer to-do list". That being said, this past week was full of craziness that inevitably will cause further slacking in the to-do department...starting with Sunday night.

Last Sunday, the 26th, I was stoked to watch the season premiere of True Blood (one of my fav shows!) and then I proceeded to shower before bed after the awesome premiere episode. Let me just say, luke warm showers are not fun especially when they turn into cold ones. Yup, you guessed it, my water heater broke. Monday morning I did some research and made some phone calls and found out I was about to dish out a ton of cash to resolve this issue. So, after shedding a few tears, pulling out some major dough, and waiting on the plumber Monday afternoon I now have a brand new water heater.. and no money (which is the part that causes even more neglect to my "to-do list"). At least I'm clean though! ;)

Now I am seriously on the job search, not that I wasn't already, I just have a new found energy for the search at the moment. I applied for a position two weeks ago and found out on Wednesday I was chosen for an interview on Friday. I also passed a test for a full-time position within Sam, and sent that application in. Obviously, this would be my first choice job, since it is right down the hall from my current office, as well as it would not require as much training since I already know the computer system. On to Friday. I actually wasn't nervous at all leading up to this interview, just excited. Since this was for my #2 job choice, and I'm pretty positive about the #1, I just went in with the attitude of "let's just see what happens". And then 11:30 rolls around... I walk through the doors of this facility (I'm not going state where, so as not to offend anyone) and realize in about 2.5 seconds this is not the place for me. But, I've already been spotted and do not want to be extremely rude and walk out without saying anything, so I proceed to the interview. This building was old, and just felt dirty. Now, I realize not everyone shares in my distaste of cigarette smoke, however, this place REEKED of an ashtray. As I sit in the waiting area, before they even call me back to meet with anyone, I already have a pounding headache from the smoke. Annnnnd then the coughing starts. For those of you who do not know, I have asthma, which means other than just disliking smoke, it also makes me sick- literally. The two gentlemen call me back after about 5 minutes of waiting (again, with a pounding headache) and I proceed to initiate the shortest interview I have ever had. After they explain how the interview will go (about 1.5 minutes in) I ask if the position will be in the building we are in. The answer was obviously yes, therefore every question they asked was answered with as few words as possible and I had no further questions to add after they finished their part. I was basically out in about 8 minutes. Seriously, like I said the fastest interview ever. I highly doubt they'll call, but if they do, I will definitely be turning that one down. My #1 choice job will hopefully be interviewing in about a week, and I've had several recommendations from people within the building so I'm really excited about this one!

On to the 4th of July, which around here is kind of dull this year due to the lovely drought we're currently in. No. Fireworks. Makes. Me. Sad. I usually watch the fireworks with the seester, seester hubby and niece, so now I am at a loss as to what I'm going to do tomorrow night. I did have some major fun Saturday with Candy, Whit and some other peeps! We hit the pool for a few hours and then headed to Candy's house for a little bbq to celebrate the 4th and her hubby's finishing grad school. It was tons of fun just hanging out with everyone and eating good food. :)

Hope you are all having a great 4th of July weekend! Have fun, eat tons of good stuff, have some drinks, watch the fireworks, be safe and above all else, don't forget what this holiday is all about. Take some time to remember those who have served and are currently serving this great nation. I thank each and every one of you from the bottom of my heart for fighting for our freedom. Happy 4th of July!!