Peace Day 2010

According to my calendar, Tuesday September 21st, 2010 is Peace Day.

"Peace" can mean a lot of things.
 World Peace. Inner Peace. Tranquility.

Maybe you have a coworker who pisses you off. Take tomorrow to try and not let them get to you. Maybe your To-Do list is getting out of hand. Take tomorrow to get some of the smaller things checked off so you can relax a little. Maybe you want to bring peace to someone who is struggling. Give them a hand tomorrow. Or maybe tomorrow you'll find that you just really need a nap. Take one.

What does Peace mean to you, and how are you going to bring a little peace to your life for Peace Day?

Spread the Love Week - Day Five

I had a pretty busy day, so I'll be honest- I didn't get my goals accomplished for Spread the Love week. But I did give a friend a ride to work, and I gave the teller at the post office one of my Spread the Love cards. So that's somethin, right? Well, since I didn't do much today, I'll spread the love in another way. I found a bunch of sweet quotes about love and kindness that I found fitting, so I'll share some of those with you now. <3

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When you are in Love you can't fall asleep because reality is better than your dreams. - Dr. Seuss

If you haven't any charity in your heart, you have the worst kind of heart trouble. -Bob Hope

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To the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world. -Heather Cortez

The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart. -Helen Keller

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It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice. -Author Unknown

Never look down on anybody unless you're helping him up. -Jesse Jackson

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You come to love not by finding the perfect person, but by seeing an imperfect person perfectly. -Sam Keen

Treat everyone with politeness, even those who are rude to you - not because they are nice, but because you are. -Author Unknown

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Have a lovely day. <3

Spread the Love Week - Day Four

Day Four of Spread the Love Week has been pretty fun. I had a friend come over and we watched the movie "I Love You, Man," which is pretty hilarious.

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At work, in honor of Spread the Love Week, my friend Alyssa gave me a couple really great mix CDs of Hanson. Yes, that Hanson. They're so much more than MMMBop! They're still playing music and they're petty great.

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And she gave me this aaawesome friendship bracelet!! Look it has little hearts!! AA! So cute!

And! And and and! ... It glows in the dark! *squeels* My friends are the best. <3

Also, in honor of Spread the Love Week, I listed my Sarang heyo - ("I love you" in Korean) bracelets in my etsy shop. And they're Pay it Forwards. That means that they're only 20 cents. They're not listed to make money, just to Spread the Love.

And I wanted to say that lately the news has been making me sad. I've been hearing a lot about people committing hate crimes against other people based on their religion. That breaks my heart.

LOVE THY NEIGHBOR. Despite the color of his skin. Or the culture he was born into. Or who he prays or doesn't pray to. Or what he wears or what country he lives in. We're all in this together. Let's hug it out.

Spread the Love Week - Day One

Day One of Spread the Love week was a success. (And yes, as you can tell by the picture, I'll be wearing love-themed clothes all week.. because I'm dorktastic like that.) ;)

When I opened my eyes this morning, first thing I thought was, "Wasn't there something I was supposed to do today..? .. .. OOH! Spread the Love!" So I hopped out of bed (around noon.. I LOVE summer) and started working away on making friendship bracelets to take to work.

 
Probably like 90% of my good friends are my co-workers. It makes it so much easier to go into work, knowing that you love all the people there like family.  After I got a little sun out back, I came in to make cookies. I found this recipe that looked pretty simple, with normal ingredients that I already had.

As it turns out, after I mixed the dry ingredients together, I plopped by butter in the bowl and went to put in the sugar. .. .. I WAS A CUP SHORT! AAAH! So I had to get in the car and drive to the store.. When I got back, I was finishing up the cookies and went to grab the last ingredient- vanilla. .. WE WERE OUT OF VANILLA!! WHO THE HECK RUNS OUT OF VANILLA?? Seriously though, you never use more than a spoonful at a time- a bottle last for like, years.. *uugh* (and I don't say these things in an angry tone- when things like this happen, I just throw my hands in the air and laugh) Aaanway, when the cookies were FINALLY done, I brought them to work to share with my lovely friends. And the cookies were delish, if I do say so myself. ;) Hard work and frustration paid off.

While I was at Hobby Lobby, dropping off my cookies and bracelets, I got a little something for my kitty cat. She loooves pom poms. She has about a million scattered around the house already, but she likes them best when they are fresh out of the package. (I know, I know, spoiled. and kind of weird. But hey, what can you do?) Normally, I wouldn't have gotten these for her, since she really doesn't need them, but I thought, "You know what, it's Spread the Love Week."

And check out this picture. Action shot. lol

Also while I was there, I got this little wallet card for my Ex. Him and I broke up a year ago, but we have a long history, so we stayed friends. And we are both much happier that way, just for the record. But I wanted him to know that I'm there for him, even though too often in his life, he feels like everybody is against him.

So that's it for day one. I wonder that tomorrow will bring. <3

shoe inspiration

Alyssa, a good friend and co-worker of mine, took a plain pair of white Tom's and made them awesome. Check it out. Oh, and if you aren't familiar with Tom's shoes, you should really check them out. For EVERY pair of shoes you buy, Tom's donates a pair to a child in need. It's pretty great.

She used fabric dye and Sharpie markers. Aren't they cute?!

the little things

i love the little things in life. here are some things that are making me super happy right now:

a random customer who checked out through my line at hobby lobby gave me this little puppy card. i thought it was super nice. :)

purple pig watering can! :)

this little birdy mirror was a gift from melissa over at oh my darling. :)

this mini journal i keep in my purse. and a pink kneaded eraser! :)

still waiting to see if i'm going to be moving to a bigger house. i already bought this awesome fabric to recover the dining room chairs if we get it. :) *i like to live optimistically*

"aha!"

About a week ago, I went to Dayton to record my Aha Moment for Mutual of Omaha. A lady from Mutual of Omaha had seen my blog and invited me to participate. I blogged about it here.

An Aha moment is kind of like an epiphany. It's a moment of inspiration that changes your life. For me, my life changed when I heard the quote, "dress for the job you want, not the job you have." it made me realize that there's more out there than the little mediocre life I was living; I could be anything I want, but something would have to change.

click here or the photo to watch my video on Mutual of Omaha's site. and please forgive the fact that my face was still a little swollen at the time, from having my wisdom teeth taken out..

this is my Aha Moment

i finished my owl painting! isn't it cute?? :) i'm gunna list it on etsy as soon as i get my mac back from the shop so i can edit the photos. i made it as a prop to take to the interview for mutual of omaha's "aha moments" campaign. honestly, i think i did a poor job at the interview. a lot of blanking out and not being sure if i answered the question that was asked. oh well. not gunna dwell on it. here is what i would have LIKED to have said:

My name is Angie and this is my Aha Moment:
A few months ago, I was feeling really down on myself. The clothes I was wearing didn't make me fell pretty. My free time was spent doing nothing but watching TV. I felt like I was in a rut. One day I was sitting in english class, listening to another student read her essay out loud. She used the quote, "dress for the job you want, not the job you have," and hearing that really inspired me, not only in my wardrobe, but in my life. I've taken that quote, and stretched it. Why not, "live the life you want, not the life you have?" In doing so, the life you want becomes the life you have! 
I used to sit around and say things like, "Oh, I wish I knew how to sew, or crochet, or cook. Someday, I'll learn." One of the things I had always wanted to do was to open an online business, where I would sell my handmade goods and art. I had wanted to do pursue this goal for years, but I always had the "someday" mentalily. Why not make someday today? After hearing that quote, I decided to go for it. Making jewelry and art and crafts really gave me a sence of accomplishment. I had a feeling of pride when I would finish something new. It was such a good feeling. And checking the site to find that I've sold something?? SUCH a great feeling.
The possitive feedback I've gotten from my customers totally brightens my day. I'm a detail oriented person, and they notice that. I put care into making my jewelry and crafts, right down to the packaging, and I've gotten comments from people saying, "Not only did I love the necklace you made, but opening it felt like I was unwrapping a present." And that makes me feel really good.
From opening my online shop, I've learned that I really can do anything I want. I've learned that when you get stuck in a rut, the only thing keeping you there is yourself. You just need a little push; it could be an inspiring song, a movie, or in my case, a quote that I made into my own. That little push is your Aha Moment, and it will change your life.

My friend Amber gave me a ride down to Dayton, since i'm a terrible driver. i have a phobia of driving places i'm not familiar with. seriously, i freak out. so it meant a lot to me that she spared me that terror. (although learning to drive to new places is something on my "the life you want" to-do list) and she gave me this adorable little book called "good friends are hard to find." it's filled with pictures of cute baby animals and friendship qoutes. i love it. :]

"I can only think of one thing greater than being happy and that is to help another to be happy too."  

- Jim Thomson

After the interview, we went to Panera, where I got a GREAT bowl or broccoli and cheese soup. then we decided to make a girl's day of it, went shopping at marshall's where i got a pair of jeans and the world's best sweatshirt. <3 and here is a photo of my cat, just for kicks. and she normally has both her ears; one of them is just under her face at the moment.