I have come across a fair trade organic tea company that is fabulous. May I suggest the coconut chai or egyptian mint. Of course I have a list of teas I'd like to try but I am resisting the urge to order any until I drink most of the tea I have. Enjoy!

FYI, the "today" referred to below was not actually today, but due to a strike I have been on I couldn't post this. I give up on this strike, we actually won over one person and I'm super psyched that she shared. It was awesome, especially since I never see you! The other, I fear, will never blog so I have little energy to keep my hopes up to someday read what is happening in her life. Maybe you could just send me an email instead :). I mean at least I get some of it from Amy's blog. Miss you!

Sometimes all it takes is an idea. If the idea grows to 16% percent of people, then it reaches a tipping point and spreads to the rest of the population. Hopefully, the video I saw today will get to that status. This came to me in a listserv as a response to a discussion that has been occurring for about a week. It seems as though many fields talk about the disconnect between academics, practitioners and citizens. I have been part of several of those conversations myself, and often think that we should just quit talking and act. The video that has since spawned a movement brought me to tears in my office today. That doesn't happen very often (unless of course I'm in trouble with Rob, haha j/k). This is one of the most inspiring things I've come across in a while. Peace can happen. Working together is possible. Loving your neighbor may be the most difficult yet also the most rewarding thing you do. I believe we need to "play for change." A family that plays together, stays together. We can be one family, we are one family. Go and be part of your own tipping point.

As per the fearless lead of Melissa Guthrie, I am hereby on strike from blogging until Rachel and Erin both post a real blog. You heard us, no fake ass blogging just because we are on strike. Real life ladies, we have all been waiting to hear your wonderful wittiness for over a year.

A week ago my mom and I drove my niece and two nephews across the south to visit Clemson. My sister joined us half way through the week and stayed through the weekend. Highlights of the super busy week are:

Fish Hatchery and Sliding Rocks

Do you ever feel like there is some part of you that makes you the one chosen last, or possibly left out and not chosen at all. Maybe you are too tall, too loud, too quiet, maybe you are not fast enough, maybe you are not funny enough or cute enough, etc. Maybe you are a dancing penguin when you are supposed to be a singing penguin. Or maybe you are Aunt Annie, one 11 african penguin chicks that hatched at the Georgia Aquarium. African penguins mate for life, so when there are 6 females and 5 males, the odds were against Annie, not to mention she has a few ruffled feathers (and has for years).

I'm sure there are times when we all we all feel like the odd bird out. Try to recognize those moments in others. These are the times when they may need you the most, and you never know how truly blessed they may feel by your acceptance and love. Be brave, welcome them/us into your life :).
PS: the penguins aren't really out in an exhibit, we were chosen to be taken back to see them in the middle of the aquarium, that was the highlight of my trip!

Madalyn and I held our first fund raising event last Friday night. We put on a coffee house and silent auction, and as far as we are concerned it was a success. I think both of us were overwhelmed at trying to plan and implement a concert and silent auction because she has started a job at camp and I had family in town the whole week, and have been out of town every weekend since I can remember. I was in Clemson a total of one day the entire week of the concert.
That being said, the coffee house and silent auction would not have happened without the generous help, support and donations from multiple people and businesses. Thank you Sarah for your ideas, help, love, and photography. Thanks to starbucks for providing all the coffee, cups, creamer and sugar. I'm sorry to the manager who was not informed that I would be picking up the coffee day of and really appreciate your willingness to make coffee immediately. Super huge thanks to Knox, Alex, Haley and Chris and also to Erik for running sound. Amazing music!
To all the local businesses and everyone else who gave, especially Lori Morrow, The Resident Chef, Dan Anderson, Christine Drais, Carla Mora, Kirby Player, Kandace Terry, Teresa Tucker, Brian Krohn, and Brianna Clark. Your friendship and mere generosity helped us to raise about $1,400. This money will help save the lives of many currently suffering from blood related cancers. Not only that but we intimately touched the life of one girl at the show.
After Madalyn and I told a little about why this race is important to us, a girl came up to us and introduced herself. Alex was invited by Knox, just another chance to come hear him play. She had no idea that this was a benefit concert until she came upon the poster hung on the door. Alex told us that her mother has been battling leukemia for about 6 years, and she was so happy to be spending her evening there with us. Not only that, but there is a chance Alex will be joining us in this journey. In my mind, Alex's story made the evening a success. We were able to touch the life of a stranger in ways that we never knew could happen and no money in the world could replace that feeling.
And one more highlight is that my sister, niece and nephews were in town. If you click on Sarah's name above you will see David with the delicious cookie. More photos of their visit will come soon.

I just closed my laptop and apparently shut my iphone cord in it. picked up the laptop and flung the phone across the room and it hit my nalgene bottle. guess you could say it wasn't a quiet sound in the same room where my nephews are sleeping. woops! I think I'd be better off in bed right now. thank goodness tomorrow is a new day. be brave says my friend juli!

So here's a peek at my day...

• Started off well, had a good 3 mile run in the gardens. It was my first time on hills in over a month
• Dentist appointment-apparently I have a cracked tooth that either needs a new filling or a crown. Lets hope for the former, otherwise I may just walk out of there with a hole in my tooth, at least until I can save some money
  
• my nephew almost fell out the tree in my front yard. just about gave mom and I a heart attack, but good thing another branch caught him. Here's perspective, john slipped off the branch above him and fell onto the huge branch behind and below avery
• got a little work done when mom and the kids went to walmart, then I had to leave to go take big bird out of the foot bath he was soaking in. no offense but if sesame street suddenly cancels we all know why
• 3/4 of the way there I realize I left the foil at my house
• Mom met me there with another roasting pan just in case big bird (23lbs) didn't fit in monica's roaster. I got my weight lifting in for the day. good thing it was arm day
• Avery and John found two eggs on the ground that a bird had laid. I told them to put the eggs back because some birds nest on the ground, no sooner than saying that John drops the egg. I tried to hold in how upset I was. It was pretty sad to see and we had a chat about how important it is to leave things alone, good news is that if big bird wasn't filling at dinner, we could have cooked that little sucker.
• went to mellow mushroom for lunch, ordered a small greek salad and received a small caesar
  
• went to hang signs about the coffee house and silent auction only to have my therapist tell me the date says 4-12. Excuse me, but OH SHIT! I spent half the afternoon thinking of all the places that already had signs and took my black sharpie to mark out white letters on a dark purple background. yes I taught program and event planning for 3 years, and no I honestly did not pay attention to the date when I looked at the sign. my worst fear is people won't show up to the event and now I've just made it all the more difficult on them. way to freaking go Carin! I did get an ice cream out of the deal, desperate times call for desperate comfort food
  
• We went to ace hardware and the kids did not act well while we were in the store. I did get a steal of a deal on jalapeno plants, 6 for $1
• mom suggested we needed to go back to walmart for a few things. it was 4:30 and dinner (aka the big bird) was at 7:00, so we opted to go home and bake the sesame bread and sweet potato souffle
• mom got to work on the bread and suddenly I found more evidence of mice in the house. I can't really win around here. had to completely gut a drawer, realized that there was plenty of space for a mouse to hang out. It's war now!! But we had to focus on cooking food for dinner
  
• turned the oven to 400 to heat up (already have had the thing fixed once), about 5 minutes after the timer went off I opened the door and it was just barely over 200. I turned the thing up to 500 to heat, then back down to 400. opened the door 10 minutes later and it said 350. needless to say the bread was undercooked
• put the potatoes and butter in the mixer, turned the thing on and the butter flew out of the bowl, smacked me in the chest and fell to the floor
• finally got everything in the bowl, turned it up and flung potato all over things
  
• left the house at 6:50 with undercooked bread and uncooked potato souffle, luckily there was time at monica's to cook it
• it took every ounce of everything in my being to go to dinner. all I wanted to do is curl up and hide from everyone. if mom and the kids hadn't been here I wouldn't have done it. It was tasty but I was definitely in my own little world
• here's what we let rachel eat. and of course the leftovers! and yes we did eat some turkey tonight
• got home and focused on the mouse drawer, it was in the kitchen this time. had to get stuff cleaned and vacuumed in order to set the trap. then mostly cleaned up the kitchen, the house is still a wreck with crap everywhere. I can't live like this, at least my crap is somewhat organized
  
• opened up the drawer below the stove and found more evidence of mice. for the love, really! so got everything out of that drawer and set another trap. I better catch me a mouse tonight!! that's all I got to say about that!
• so now it's 11:00, what I needed to get done today was the methods and results section of a journal article. I have my tables done. I'm supposed to meet with Rob and show him what I've accomplished. I think what I need to do tomorrow is check myself into a home because it's really not possible for all of this to happen to anyone else in one day
• ok, well venting on the internet is good fun, gotta get to work now