Holiday Giving

I often wonder if I am the only one in this life to find myself trapped in clichés, the current one being, “The Holidays are a Tough Time of Year.” I always think about that exchange between Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan in When Harry Met Sally, where Sally says in simple annoyance, “Yup. A lot of suicides.” Ha! I don’t know why I find that to be so funny. Is there something wrong with me?

I actually love the holidays because I get to see friends and family. (Two weeks off from work doesn't hurt either.) But the frenzy of activity, and the number of things that don’t get checked off my To Do List, send my stress level to uncomfortable heights. I find it all enjoyable when I remember, (and here comes the next cliché) that it’s all about giving, and gratitude, and love, in all of its beautiful, strange and often messy forms.

With the giving portion in mind, it is once again time for Nathan Bransford’s Heifer International Fundraising event! For every comment you leave on this blog post between now and Christmas Day, I’ll donate $2 to Heifer International. Super easy! Head over to Nathan’s blog as well to see who else is participating and leave them comments to raise even more money.

Giving, people. Giving! (It will make you feel good. I promise.)

Update 12/26: Thank you for all the comments, everyone! With 17 comments, plus a few from Facebook and Twitter, I made a $40 donation to Heifer. I went for sheep this time because right now with all the cold and snow, I am really appreciating wool! We sponsored 1/3 of a sheep. Nice work, you guys!

The Memory Tree and Giving Cows

In my household, I get accused of being a pack rat. My husband gets accused of being wasteful. It's all a matter of perspective I suppose, but one thing is true for both of us: We each have a shoebox full of various items that hold memories - things that don't really seem to have a place to live, but definitely warrant keeping.


Many of my items look something like this:

See anything familiar in that stash?

Andrew's box is mostly full of ski passes, which, when 11 years worth are laid out in order, show the beautiful passage of time. Like school pictures for grownups. 

Last year, in an unusual fit of Christmasy nostalgia, we crafted all our items into ornaments for our tree. A tree full of memories. A new holiday tradition!

For race medals, I cut the ribbons off or tied them into decorative bows, and then added a hook for hanging. Voila:




Marathon PR from a loooooong time ago!





Andrew and I won this race together. And if you don't think canoe races in Northern Minnesota are competative, you haven't spent much time Up North. Apparently winning with a girl on your team was previously unheard of.



Some people like to make funny faces for their ski pass pictures.

Some medals don't require additional ribbons or adornments.

The Memory Tree

Something else we did last year, which officially qualifies as a tradition since this is now year number two, was join Nathan Bransford's Heifer International fundraiser.


Heifer is a great organization! In their own words, “Heifer International is a global nonprofit with a proven solution to ending hunger and poverty in a sustainable way. Heifer helps empower millions of families to lift them out of poverty and hunger to self-reliance through gifts of livestock, seeds, and trees and extensive training, which provide a multiplying source of food and income.”

Last year, we raised enough at Daily Adventures to donate two flocks of chicks!

Here's how it will work: For every comment on this post between now and midnight on Christmas Eve, I'll donate $1 to Heifer International. You can tweet and share to help get more comments. I'd also encourage you to visit Nathan's post and comment over there (His deadline is 6:00 PM Friday.), as well as check out the link list of other writers involved in the fundraiser. (And while you're over at Nathan's, read this post from Monday on "How Art Changes With Us" because it's completely awesome.)

In your comment here, tell me your name, where you're from, and your wish for 2011.

That's it! Thanks for helping to support a great organization. Happy holidays, everyone!