Ashland Farmers Market

My little town, Ashland, is getting a Farmers Market! Yay. Last year, Cory and I joined to committee to bring a Farmers Market to town. This June will mark our inaugural year and it has been a lot of fun working with local citizens to create what I hope will be an exciting, healthy, and fun meeting place for members our our community. Here's a link to our website. Come check out the market starting June 9th!

The Monthly Give- May 2011

This month's give will benefit Birthday Wishes whose goal it is to celebrate every homeless child's birthday in Massachusetts. Let's try and assemble some Birthdays-in-a-Box which include the following items:

• Cake mixes


• Cans of frosting


• Packages of juice boxes


• Disposable aluminum cake pans


• Disposable cameras

I will deliver the goods the first week in June.

Happy Earth Day 2011

Do something good for the earth today. Turn off that water while you brush your teeth, water a plant with that last gulp of water in your (BPA-free) water bottle, cut up those cereal boxes to make coloring paper for your kids. And get your free shampoo sample.

Here are some more ways to do good on this green day.

I am hoping Origins will do an Earth Day promotion again this year. I love their stuff.

UPDATE: Origins is doing their promotion again. You can “trade in” any one of your existing skin care products, regardless of brand, for a FREE Origins high-performance, paraben free cleanser (while supplies last) at Origins retail stores and department store counters! You will have the choice between two full size award-winning products – Checks and Balances Frothy face wash OR A Perfect World Antioxidant cleanser with White Tea ($20 value!)! All cosmetic packaging collected will be recycled or responsibility converted to energy through the Return to Origins Recycling Program. And Starbucks is giving away a free coffee if you bring in a reusable mug.

March Giving and Belated Birthday Wishes

Here are the girls getting their bake on for this month's give. Lilli had to keep reminding Beatrice to not lick the batter. My girl is a true Portuguese girl, so not scared of salmonella. My family is famous for the move where you bring some kind of perishable item to someone's house and they ask, "Should I refrigerate that before we eat." We never give it a thought "No, its fine." Cheesecake, potato salad, whatevs. It'll be fine.

And on an unrelated note, Happy Belated Birthday, Kristen. I have a feeling that 32 is going to be a spectacular year for you!

The Monthly Give- September 2010

This month's give comes via my friend, Allison, via her brother who is in the Armed Forces. He has a friend who is stationed in Afghanistan. Here is the message from her brother:

Please help support our troops in Afghanistan. Joe is a good friend of mine and we served together in Iraq in 2008-2009. He is a Marine reservist and he is also Fireman in the FDNY. He was a first responder in 9/11 and he could use a card, a care package or anything that he
can share with his Marines. He just had a son a few months ago and is recently engaged, show him that what he is doing is well worth it, you are the reason he is there.

Some suggested items include: baby wipes, socks, playing cards, candy, small items for the soldiers to give to the local children, personal care items, paperback novels, puzzle books, phone cards, snack foods, and thank you cards. Please email me or leave a comment if you'd like to participate. I plan on sending packages at the end of the month.

The Monthly Give- March 2010

My friend, Kathleen, is collecting goods for the St. Francis Annual Baby Shower. They are seeking unwrapped baby supplies/donations to be distributed to St. Mary’s Parish in Lawrence for those in need throughout the Merrimack Valley.

They are looking for the following:

• Baby clothes sized 0-3 m and 3-6m
• Bottles
• Newborn or size 1 diapers
• Diaper bags
• Blankets/sleepers
• Baby bath items
• Pacifiers
• Crib sheets
• Socks

If you are interested in donating, please leave a comment or email me. I will need the items by 3/22. (Sorry for the short notice.)

Time Banking

I heard this really interesting story on NPR the other day about Time Banking. Basically time banking is a regional Web site in which members log hours and choose from hundreds of services. So you could offer and perform an hour of computer help for someone, bank that hour, then exchange it for an hour of someone coming over to clean up your yard. I think this concept is really innovative, especially given the rise in unemployment. It's also a wonderful community builder.

I don't quite know what services I'd offer... commentary on useless reality programming? Or, as my sister suggested, I could offer to go into people's refrigerators and condense their leftovers (see Non-Facebook 25ish Things list on the left hand nav bar.) So many talents, so little time.

What would you offer up to others?

The Monthly Give- January 2010

Trying to start off the year with a renewed sense of charity. I am collecting dresses for Donatemydress.org. I have been meaning to go through my closet and pull out all of the formal dresses I won't have occasion to wear again (or will never be able to squeeze my ass into again) so this will be my chance. If you have dresses to donate leave me a comment or email me and I'll arrange to pick up from you. I plan to deliver the dresses in early February.

Re-Wired

Cory forwarded me this really interesting article.
Speaking of which, we are almost done with the final season of The Wire. I will miss it sorely.

My First Power Lunch

I am taking part in this literacy program at a local South Boston school. My new friend is an 8 year old third grade girl. We meet every other week to read books and eat lunch. Today was our first day. We got to talking about Halloween costumes and she told me she's going to be Madea. Fantastic.

When it was time to leave, she went to the door to line up with her buddies and I turned around to start packing up our books. Then I felt two little arms wrap around my waist. Without a word, she hugged me lightly, then got back in line. I think I'm in love.