Children living with no clean drinking water or sewer system!

Ladies selling mud pies to those needing ANYTHING in order to stay alive!

MANY HAITIANS DIE WHEN THEIR BOAT SINKS TRYING TO MAKE IT TO A MORE PROMISING LAND!

Sadly many Haitians lost their lives trying to put the pictures you see above behind them! You can see the story and video here! This post isn't to depress you, or guilt you into helping, it's simply to make you aware. Aware of the fact that millions of people in Haiti every single day live with EXTREME poverty, poverty that is impossible for most of us to wrap our brains around. The kind of poverty that sends you to bed hungry, that doesn't allow for medical care, that keeps your children from becoming educated and strips you of any kind of human dignity!

The people that lost their fight for survival on that boat were simply trying to find hope. The kind of hope that would bring them work. Work where they could make enough money to feed their family and possibly give their children a chance for a better future. The hope that maybe they too could go see a doctor when they are sick, or live in a home that provides shelter from the elements. And maybe they even DREAM BIG, something like the picture below. Maybe they dream about having a piece of something we all have. A safe home, food on our table, educated children and hope for a bright future!

IF ONLY THEY TOO COULD HAVE THIS! IF ONLY!

ON THE ROAD TO RECOVERY!

PUTTING THE SECRETS OF SIMPLICITY TO WORK!

As some of you may remember I am working on simplifying my life. I blogged a while back about how Target is a strange "fix" for me. I go there, get a Starbucks, grab a cart and begin loading it with needless items for some kind of unhealthy and unexplainable "high." I've been reading Secrets of Simplicity and actually put some of my training into action today! My friend Kendra told me how she started going to Target w/ cash only, no debit cards, credit cards, or checks in sight! I tried it for myself today, and low and behold, I'm still here to talk about it! It didn't send me to an early grave, or even give me near the anxiety I had anticipated.

I left my house with my list, my list contained only 5 items. Part of me did really debate if it were worth going to Target for only 5 items. After some thought about having to actually wash the dishes by hand if I didn't get dishwasher detergent I quickly decided a trip was most definitely in order!

I CAN'T lie, I did get a Starbucks, I actually didn't even tell my self I wouldn't since there is only SO much one trying to recover shop- aholic can pull of at any one time!! But I did leave my house w/o a debit card, or check book (we do NOT use credit cards, and haven't for more than a year now!) I stood in line for my coffee and thought about how quick my trip to the store was going to be today. I also realized I didn't even need a cart! That was a strange feeling to me, as I am very accustomed to getting the cart, moving slowly through the aisles and loading various non essentials into it. I grabbed a basket for what I believe really has to be the first time! It could not have taken me more than 7 minutes to get my 5 items and be standing in line. Goodness, I think I had only taken a sip or two of my coffee. Another "aaahhh" moment came over me! If I continue to go to Target w/ a list, and only cash to spend, why would I waste my money and precious calories on a Starbucks coffee? I don't even get the satisfaction of drinking it so, so slowly as I ponder what foolish item to put into my cart next??

I CAN NOW GO TO TARGET WITHOUT GETTING A COFFEE! People this is huge!

THANK YOU KENDRA! Now that I have blogged this, I must keep it up, here is hoping Target trip #2 w/ cash goes as well as trip #1!

Read more about CNN's Black in America 2. CNN will present tonight & tomorrow night it's second part to the documentary done by Soledad O'Brien on being black in America.

I encourage you all to tune in, as "this is not programming for black Americans, this is programming for all Americans!"

There are ill's in today's society from disease, to lack of education, to marital woes, to crime. And while these things are disproportionately experienced by black's in America, they are by NO means a uniquely black problem. These are all very real American problems!

While this programming focuses on blacks, I hope that we can all see our roles in changing the direction of America. It's yet another reminder that we are truly in this together, as we are ALL American's and regardless of our skin color, we need to present a united front. No matter where we came from or how we got to where we are, or where we still need to go, the fight to conquer today's issues needs to remain "all American!" It's clear to most of us already and if it isn't this documentary will help you see that life in America has certainly not been fair or easy for black's. But life in America is changing for ALL of us, and those of us that are from the white privileged set are now realizing what so many others have already known for so long! There is of course no easy answer, but uniting, rather than continuing to separate has to be more right than wrong!

Crested Butte, Colorado is laidback, rugged and simply beautiful!

We just got back from spending a few glorious days in Crested Butte. According to us there is no better place in the entire state! Crested Butte which is located in the South Central Rockies remains one of the most historically authentic and captivating ski/summer fun towns in Colorado! The small downtown which is a national historic district just oozes charm, with not a single chain store in sight! The number of excellent restaurants is very disproportionate to it's population! While here we always enjoy a few "bests!" The best pizza, the best coffee, the best views, the best outdoor exercise and the VERY BEST OF ALL.. the best nothing to do; but soak it all up!!!

Yes the town does get it's influx of "I have way too much money and I want everyone to know it" type, but somehow they just can't take away from the "I love nature, insanely hard mountain bike trails, restaurants with weird themes, yet great beer & living life to it's fullest type!! The Butte is hip and hippie all rolled into one outstanding package of glorious beauty and acceptance! We love Crested Butte in the winter for it's amazing skiing on a mountain that has something to offer all types of abilities, that never seems to be over crowded or infused with the fur wearing type. We love the snow, more snow and "oh my gosh it's snowing again" factor! We love Crested Butte in the summer for it's bike trails, hiking trails, incredibly warm, with only a light breeze, no bugs in sight evenings. In general we just love the fact that the locals ride their single speed "townies" everywhere. They ride them in the rain, the snow, the sunshine of course and to pick up several lattes for friends from Camp 4 Coffee! We love the idea of allowing our kids to "roam" the town. Really there is nothing that could go very wrong in this place. Hand them some money, or better yet just let them tell the folks at Camp 4 Coffee that mom and dad will be by later to settle up for the hot chocolates they ordered (yes you can really do that here!) It's an all American small town with a heartbeat and zest for life big enough to keep any world traveler happy, engaged, full on good food & drinks and certainly plotting to do it all again!

HERE IS THE PILE OF THE 125 PIECES OF CLOTHING THAT I CLEARED FROM MY CLOSET TODAY!

This chore was on my list of summer tasks! I got around to tackling it today. It was kind of fun really. Brielle helped me and her and I laughed about some of my "What not to wear" fashion choices! She made me try jeans on, and then I had to hear how really NONE of them were "right!" I also heard a lot of "I remember when Tyler and I used to laugh every time you wore that!" Or, "how come you used to wear your jeans so high, I didn't even know they made jeans that could go that high!" It feels like I got rid of the majority of my wardrobe, of course according to the 17 year old helping me that needed to be the case!

But as I was loading the pile into three large lawn bags I realized I felt a huge sense of relief! This lovely warm feeling come over me, the knowledge that I will no longer need to walk into my closet and find myself completely overwhelmed with what to put on! I NEVER like what I have anyways, so now that I have a much smaller pool to choose from, I won't have to hate as many things!

We've all read those wonderful fashion articles or even seen on Oprah how you really only need 10 basic pieces of clothing in your closet. Click here if you are truly interested in how to turn your dysfunctional closet into a functional one! According to that article I could have at least 32 seperate outfits w/ those 10 items. Now what more does a girl need? Of course I won't wear the black suit, or black dress, but yeah that has to leave me at least 20 outfits, or am I allowed to swap those items out for something more "me?"

And People Stil Think That Racism Is No Longer A Problem!

SUMMER FUN! I GUESS IT ISN'T FOR EVERYONE!

http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/Pool-Boots-Kids-Who-Might-Change-the-Complexion.html

Some of you may have already seen this else where on the web. But in case you haven't run across this gross injustice thought I would post it here.

It's pretty obvious that when the pool was booked for the day camp, the manager "assumed" the children would be white. I would also venture to guess that the non minority children swimming that day at the pool would have accepted their peers w/o question. It seems it was a parent that didn't like the "complexion" change!

Congrats to a fellow adopting family

We are so happy for our fellow adopting family at http://5frozenchamorros.blogspot.com/ they are on their way today to bring home their precious boy from our orphanage in Haiti! We can't wait to see the homecoming pictures! They have waited a very long time for this day, and we are all hoping that his brother will be on his way VERY soon!

IS SHE A QUITTER? "YOU BETCHA!"

Sarah Palin announced she was quitting her job as Alaska's Governor the end of the month. In yet another rambling and confusing speech, where she gave multiple analogies that make no sense what so ever she said she was leaving her post due to a "higher calling."

YIKES! I'm scared we will be seeing the Sarah Palin show on Fox, right after Huckabee!

Is it really a "higher calling" she seeks? Or is she possibly running from the 15 separate ethics complaints that have been filed against her and her office?

This woman scares me much more than the non-stop Michael Jackson clips we have been subjected to. If given the choice between listening to Sarah Palin speak or watching scenes from the Thriller video over and over again, I say bring on the corpse!

I'm not into slamming Sarah Palin because it's "in" or because she is an ultra-conservative Republican and I am not. I think she is a hard working mother, she loves her children even when they make tough mistakes and I believe she does love our country. But I find her to be completly laking intelligence and character.

Sarah, since you love sport analogies so much, I'll use one on you. You can't change the game if you get out of it! Please do us all a favor & don't come off the bench, stay home in Wasilla, raise your family and attend as many hockey games as possible. Oh, yeah, maybe kill a moose or two while you are at it!