2/7/13 Muir Woods Earth Day Photos!

Go out and make a difference in your community. You don't need endless time and perfect conditions. Do it now. Do it today. Do it for twenty minutes and watch your heart start beating. - Barbara Sher via The Ripples Project

M-, one of the Senior Volunteer Coordinators at The Golden Gates National Parks Conservancy, emailed me a link to the Muir Woods Earth Day 2013 photos! Here are some to share, and a link to the rest of the photos on Flickr.

The warm welcome.

All of the tools, waiting to be wielded by brave, hardworking volunteers!

There I am mulching all of our newly planted greenery. As a group of 11, in 4 hours we planted over 900 seedlings! It was freezing that early January morning, so I was wearing TBF's Oregon sweatshirt (and my SF Giants hat).

TBF was too manly to wear gloves while he planted. He looks cool in this picture, but he had little splinters and thorns in his fingers at the end of the day.

Volunteers also weeded out invasive species.

Painted curbs.

Flossed and swept the decks.

And built new redwood fences.

A huge hand to all of the great volunteers out there. Together, we made a difference!

XOXO

Nature Shawna

2/6/13 The Ripples Project

I recently signed up for The Ripples Project, which I was turned onto by my former professor, Dr. H-. (Thank you, Dr. H-!) Paul, The Ripples Guy, sent out an email last week with a link to a YouTube video "Pep Talk from Kid President" which I found so inspirational and cute that I had to share.

Please watch, enjoy, and share with your friends and family! This little guy made my day, and I know he will continue to make others smile.

XOXO
Pep-talked Shawna

Good Deeds 28-34

"Spell check and proof read before you send."

I have been emailing a lot of non-profits about volunteer opportunities. For companies that are asking for free labor and time, non-profits are quite intimidating! They ask for credentials, work resumes, volunteer resumes, references, etc. So believe me. I have been spell checking, proof reading, crossing my T's and dotting my I's before sending applications out. All I want to do is good in this world, but I need to get past the gatekeepers first! In the past week I am happy to announce that I have been able to sign up for 5 more volunteer days through San Francisco Performances and Jumpstart. I am very excited!

"Share some good news."

My friend A- is a writer for Xaxii, an online fashion magazine. She posted on Facebook that they were looking for new writers, so I contacted her about a part time writing position. She set up an interview for me with her boss, and I shared the good news with my coworker L- and TBF. I had the interview already and am happy to announce that they are taking me on!

"Tip your barista."

I went to Peet's Coffee & Tea. It was a beautiful morning, I was in a beautiful mood, and I tipped my barista after she made me a beautiful large cup of green tea. Unsweetened and beautiful!

"Take a deep breath. Now take two more. Repeat."

I've been really wearing myself thin between work, weekend events, stresses associated with family and friends, etc. so one evening last week I literally sat on the couch and did nothing but eat and watch T.V. I can't confirm that I necessarily felt accomplished or extra relaxed afterward, but it was nice to take a breather and force myself to be "in the now". Ironically, the movie I watched was The Family Man featuring Nicholas Cage - all about how one's career shouldn't come before family and happiness.

"Strike up a conversation with the person working the cash register."

One of my coworkers, P-, is having a baby! So, on the way to work, I stopped at The Nugget to buy tea and a congratulatory card. At the register, I couldn't hold in my bubbling excitement, so of course I shared the good news. Everyone loves to hear about babies, right?

"Add money to an expired meter."

Last Saturday, TBF and I participated in the 15th Annual Sacramento Museum Day. I love Museum Day because the majority of museums are free or discounted and it's a great way to get together with friends and family and get immersed in science, art, history, and animals! We ended up going to The Crocker Art Museum and The California Museum, which were both phenomenal. The Crocker Art Museum has three floors of amazing artwork, but the California Museum was the  best part of the day.  We had the pleasure of being guided through an exhibit on WWII Japanese Internment Camps by a gentleman named M- who had actually lived through the experience. M- was in 8th grade, just about to graduate and embark on the adventure that is high school, when one day he stepped outside to find a flyer on the wall stating that he, along with his family and every other Japanese American family in the area, was to be deported to an internment camp. He was sent to the largest internment camp, Tule Lake, which had around 18,000 people at the height of its population. M- described the departure for internment camp - how pets were left with heaping bowls of food and water to fend for themselves. He described the interment camp conditions - temperature, education, art. And he described relocation and the eventual presidential apologies, as well. If you have time, I highly recommend going to the California Museum and walking through the exhibit with him!

Back to my good deed of the day... Parking, as you can imagine, was absolutely hectic on Museum Day, but we were lucky enough to find prime spots about a block away from each museum. On the way back to our car, I noticed the car next to us only had 2 minutes remaining on its meter. A lot of the folks at Museum day have strollers and kids, so I threw in some change buying them time to get back to their parking-ticket-free car.

"Look and listen."

Superbowl Sunday was a sad, sad day for 49er fans. Luckily, I'm only a bandwagoner. However, I did my part in watching the game and listening to the commentary, etc. Dedicating my whole afternoon to football was my good deed of the day. We had a group of 10 (or was it more?) over to watch the game, so the fabulous company and the huge amounts of food helped, of course!

XOXO
Good-willed Shawna

1/29/13 I Bought Something

I bought a pack of nylons and I feel so incredibly guilty, even though I knew in advance while writing the rules for this challenge that I would need to buy some eventually since I always tear holes in the godforsaken things. I only spent $4 and some change, but I still feel horrible about it!

For those of you who are just tuning in, for the entire year of 2013 my goal is to not buy any material objects (within reason) instead dedicating that time, energy, and money to doing a good deed per day and experiencing new and exciting adventures.

Willpower and Window Shopping 2013 Rules:

1. For an entire year I will not purchase a single thing that I do not need. This means that I will not buy a shirt or a dress or a jacket or a scarf or a pair of jeans or a sweater or a bag or a pair of gloves or a piece of jewelry or a pair of shoes or a swimsuit or a hat or socks (maybe) or even underwear (maybe). The only two items that I actually may need are pantyhose, because I always rip holes in them, and business attire - since, really, when is the last time I wore or purchased business attire. If I attend a very special occasion that may require a new outfit, purchasing may also be admitted.

The rest of the rules can be read at the original post, here.

XOXO

Unnecessarily Guilty Shawna

Good Deeds 24-27

"Put a little cash in your savings account."

After my first paycheck of the new year with no shopping, I had some extra funds left over in pocket money category, so I put an extra $100 in my savings. The plan is working!

"Find two days this year when you can donate your time."

TBF and I signed up for Rebuilding Together Sacramento. There are two building days, one in April and one in September. I encourage everyone to sign up and volunteer with us!

"Plant flowers where someone else will enjoy them."

On Saturday TBF and I volunteered at Muir Woods Earth Day 2013. As part of a team of 11, we planted over 900 plants in an area near the visitor's center. It took us about 3 hours on our knees with gloves and pick-axes, but it felt so rewarding to know that in a couple years that area will be all green due to us.

"Stop and pet a dog and say hello to the owner."

Today TBF and I met up with my friend H- who was in town from D.C. for the weekend for a wedding. We went to afternoon tea in The Mission, and there were two girls with an incredibly soft and fuzzy looking lab puppy so on our way out we stopped to pet him and chat with the girls for a couple seconds. So nice!

XOXO
Volunteer Shawna

So Many Good Deeds! Week 17-23

I am so sorry for slacking on writing about my good deeds for the last week. Between being sick, the long MLK weekend which was filled with The Monterey Jazz Festival On Tour in Berkeley (which was phenomenal!), the 49ers and Sharks games, and ABC Family's Disney movie weekend, then President Obama's Inauguration, celebrating 4 months with TBF, writing an article to get a side job as a fashion blogger for Xaxii, etc. - things have been really hectic on my end and I have struggled to find time to sit in front of my laptop and write. But here are last week's good deeds, numbers 17-23, for all of you who have been anxiously awaiting them. Don't worry, I hadn't given up on my resolution so soon!

"Leave a treat on your coworker's desk."

I overheard a coworker, J-, asking around to see if coworkers had candy because she was craving something sweet. I slipped by her desk a little later and left a Lindor chocolate truffle on her desk when she was on the phone and not looking.

"Set the road rage aside, and let someone else merge."

I tend to have pretty bad road rage, so this was a big one for me. While in bumper to bumper traffic on the Bay Bridge during rush hour on a Friday, on my way to my sweetheart, I let a car in the lane to my right merge in front of me. They had had their blinker on for quite some time, so I was feeling extra empathetic I suppose.

"Watch the movie that your significant other wants to watch."

TBF wanted to watch The Black Swan, so we watched The Black Swan. I have always been mildly interested in the movie since it was so highly acclaimed when it first came out, but it was just too weird and creepy and dark for my liking. I'm a strong proponent of the idea that horror and dark movies are bad for the soul!

"Be quick to apologize."

I was very grumpy with TBF on Sunday but after being grumpy for about half an hour I realized that I was being stupid and quickly apologized. It saved our day!

"Put a love note in a loved one's lunch."

In order to be extra sneaky, I actually slipped TBF's lunch note into his wallet, assuming he would buy lunch. He loved it, and added it to his little pile of notes at work.

"Don't take offense."

I wore these absolutely gorgeous, brand new PLV dusky rose suede heels to work. Along with many compliments, I had one coworker, A-, look at them, laugh, and say, "Those are some funny shoes!" Instead of taking offense, I gritted my teeth, bit my tongue, and laughed along. How are those beauties even close to being funny!

"Be on time all day today."

Since TBF had to leave at 5:15 A.M. for the city, suffice to say I was up and at 'em and on time all day!

XOXO
Shawna

Good Deeds 15 & 16

"Make an effort to mend a rift in a friendship."

One of my biggest regrets since graduating college is the deterioration of one of my best friendships. I met R- on move-in day at the dorms. Bounding into my dorm suite, I eagerly introduced myself, "Hi! I'm Shawna!" only to have R- respond, "Hi! I don't think you live here!" I was mortified but R-'s outgoing personality and laugh, and my complete and utter enthusiasm for all of college's firsts, let the moment pass quickly. We went to our first welcome week party together that night and we were inseparable from that moment on.

R- and I are similar in so many ways. Our parents are married with two kids, and R- and I are the older daughters. We were both International Relations majors with dreams of traveling and a love for packed social agendas. R- and I took classes together. In between classes, we gossiped over coffee and CoHo food. We went to parties and fraternity cocktails together. We participated in similar sports; R- was a rower on the women's crew team and I was a coxswain on the men's crew team. We went to Aggie pack events together, pulled all nighters together, did Picnic Day and Whole Earth Festival together. Everything was together. We were two peas in a pod, connected at the hip. In fact, it almost seemed like things went wrong on the rare occasions when we were apart.

When I had a 105 degree fever freshman year of college, R- drove me to the hospital and stayed with me in the emergency room. When I went through an incredibly difficult break-up, R- was there for me, crawling into my bed with ice cream and chick flicks. In return,  I was her translator when she had one too many adult beverages and wanted to speak in fluent Spanish - even though I had never studied the language - because as her best friend I could naturally read her mind. I was her partner in crime, her conscience at times, and her unwavering support. R- and I were best friends for years. I anticipated R- would be a key player in my life, from being at my wedding to my baby shower to my retirement party.

Unfortunately we grew apart toward the end of college. R- went abroad to England - and I was so happy for her. She was thriving in the international scene, drawing, working, experiencing life and pursuing happiness. I was able to visit her over Thanksgiving before I started my full-time post-graduation job, and she was in her element. Once the funds ran out, though, she had to return home and she experienced heavy reverse culture shock. Struggling with her job search, family, honestly struggling with things I was unaware of that R- didn't share with me, R- seemed to turn inward. She seemed to lose her drive, her spark, and she resorted to unhealthy coping mechanisms that ultimately led to a rift in our friendship. I was so worried about R- that it was taking a toll on my mental stability and I had to distance myself for my own sake. I tried to talk with her first, but she was unwilling to discuss whatever was bothering her or unable to confront her demons. To this day I don't know exactly what she was having to deal with. I still wish I knew. Maybe I wasn't persistent or pushy enough.

R-, if you are reading this, I'm sorry I didn't push you to share what was going on. I should have found a way to do more and be there for you more and I sincerely apologize. I hope you can forgive me.

Since then, R- has gone back abroad and I am sure she is thriving once again. I wish her all the best, but I also wish we were still as close as we once were. We were not speaking for several months, but have begun to speak again infrequently, and I hope our friendship is on the mend.

"Play hooky."

I'm sick so I don't know if it really counts as playing hooky - but today I stayed home from work. I watched numerous episodes of Alias - remember that show? - and spent a lot of time cuddling my cat. I wish I had a little more energy to clean my room and run errands, but I gassed up my car and that always seems to be a horrendous feat, so I'll call it a good day.

XOXO
Sick Shawna