O Holy Night! The stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of the dear Saviour's birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining.
Till He appeared and the Spirit felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Fall on your knees! Oh, hear the angel voices!
O night divine, the night when Christ was born;
O night, O Holy Night , O night divine! 


Get the flu.
That's it.  Simple.

I'm sick.
Like siiiiiiiiiiiiick.
The kind of sick that makes you sort of long for a night in the hospital, if just for the drugs and sleep.

But that's a bit crazy, right?

So I have two more sleeps to kick this junkyness or else I won't be crawling downstairs for Christmas.
I really want to crawl downstairs for Christmas.

But what it is doing, is making me ditch all of the to-do list and in a way that is incredibly freeing.
No stressful, hurried, rushing around.

Just laying around watching Christmas movies and nonsense videos with my cute family.

Planning what kind of cake we will make for Jesus' birthday.  The current request is cheesecake.  Yep.

Nite nite. for now.


Can't handle the awesome that is in this video.


What does it say about me that all I wanted for my birthday was a day alone.

Sad right?
Or dreamy?

Or is it the introvert in me?
The introvert that loves her family.  Loves her friends.  Loves having her house full of people and her calendar full of events.

But the introvert in me that has been desperate for quiet.

While my dream was to go to a hotel, armed with a stack of books, magazines, my ipod and Starbucks giftcards,  with the thought of going to the movies alone,  but mostly with the possibility of sleeping uninterrupted, perhaps even past 6am...  A cute tiny human has other plans for me.  Plans that require I be gone no more than four hours away from him at all times.

So my husband, the epitome of an extrovert, knew what I needed.  Even though he doesn't completely understand it, and frankly thinks it's pretty weird...

Sent me off with a new pair of Toms and money with strict instructions to spend on myself.

By Yo'self Day was born.

I ate lunch alone.
And liked it.

I wandered shops alone.
I made some returns.
I did a little Christmas shopping.

Uninterrupted being the key word here.
I bought some treats.
I wished I could buy some other treats.

I came home a better wife, mother and friend.

It might have been the best birthday ever.

In a weird sort of way.

If you had a By Yo'self Day, what would you do?

I'm already dreaming of the 24 hour version come 2012.  I don't care if the hotel faces the freeway.  Just as long as it has blackout curtains and is within a mile of Starbucks.


{Printable made by the rad Mel.
Feel free to right click, save and share.}

You did it!
You spread the word.
You donated.
You funded a well.
A hope and a future for a community an ocean away.

Thank you.
So very very very much.

We are overwhelmed and our hearts so very happy.
{Erin, this is so perfect!
Just like your post.}

Like on a date with fake Ryan happy.

Although many of the giveaways have drawn the lucky winners, the campaign is open through February.
Why stop at one well, right?

***********************
(If your donation qualified for a bonus treat, please get your screenshot and mailing address to me by Wednesday December 21st, so I can send out all packages before Christmas.
charity:water doesn't send me donor email addresses, so I have no way of contacting you otherwise.)

I wanted to make another vlog to share my thoughts (getting crazy), but I have a crummy head cold, it hurts to talk and I can barely form a coherent sentence.  
But I did leave Photo Booth open when I skulked off to the kitchen to stress bake cookies.

Someone might have made a dozen crazytown videos.
Someone might be a big fan of Biz's Beat of the Day.
This is life with Lucy.
Love that wacky kid.  Not sure where that accent is from...  but to translate, she starts it off by saying
"Thanks for getting the money for the well."
Yes.  Just like my strange accented daughter says...

THANKS FOR FUNDING ANOTHER WELL!

Unicorns and sparkles.







I'm the girl who can be cry laughing about Handmade Ryan Gosling one second, and crying about the world's problems the next.

I'm the girl who wants to just sit quietly and pin pretty things on Pinterest one second, until I come across a pin like this one, and wants to turn everything we are doing upside down.

I'm the girl who has a pity party about ridiculous rich people problems one second, and wants to get rid of everything I own the next.

I'm the girl who is a people pleaser who loves happy things, sparkles and unicorns.
But I have had my heart shattered.  Opened up to much more than my beautiful, abundantly blessed, lovely life.
A heart that can't ignore.  Can't pretend.  Can't just sit at her Apple computer, drinking clean water, in her Starbuck's cold cup, while her much longed for children sleep safely upstairs.

I want more than this world has to offer.

I want to make a dent in the world's water crisis.

I want to use my words for good.
I want to use my blog for a purpose.

I want to see all of us fund another well.

I want to see a community changed.  Given a chance at life.

It's not much.
But it is everything.

Everything that we cannot even begin to imagine.
Because imagining it is too scary.  There are no sparkles and unicorns in unsafe water.

Donate now.
Every penny of every single dollar you donate goes directly into the field.
Every penny of every single dollar has the ability to save a life.

If Ryan Gosling could give you a hug I bet he would.
I would too.  But he is much hotter.

Change the world.  With me.  With Fake Ryan Gosling.

Unicorns and sparkles.

{More rad giveaways have linked up.
So much goodness out there for water!
Check them out here.}


Things have been a little rough over here in La Casa de Carson.
Tiny ugly germs,
insomniac baby,
over-full calendar,
MBD's (mental breakdown days... read this book, you won't be sorry),
general chaos...

Sometimes I just need to laugh like a Jr. Higher,
then do some stress induced cookie baking,
with a little bit of eating of feelings on the side.

Enjoy.
Because who doesn't love them some crafty Ryan Gosling.
Mmmmm.  Ryan Gosling.

Random side note:
How I wish I could put him in a time machine, and cast The Notebook era Ryan Gosling as Peeta in The Hunger Games.  Yes.  Please.  The boy with all the right kinds of bread.







You are totally cry-laughing right now aren't you?
Right?

It's okay.  So am I.

{All images from Handmade Ryan Gosling,
brilliantly sent to me by the lovely Laura who always makes me laugh.}


Are you ready to build another well with us?
Are you ready to tangibly change the face of an entire community half a world away?

My darling friends have come up with some amazing prize bundles, full of happiness and awesomeness.

Each $10 donation to the Project 320 campaign page is good for one entry in one of the prize bundles.

Lovely generous crafters, shop owners, bloggers and just plain rad humans, have dug down deep and donated to be a part of something bigger than themselves.

Think of how just $10 can give one person water for ten years.  Try to wrap your mind around that.
Think of how you can donate.  Perhaps forgo a gift or two and give water instead.  We even have a pretty printable on our Facebook page to assist you in gift giving.  How easy and meaningful is that?

When I was thinking of what I could do in terms of putting together a prize bundle, I came up with a slightly different plan.  I want to support and augment the other generous giveaways.  I want everyone to have a chance to win.  So I computered, powertooled, painted, sanded and sewed.
For water.  For you.

With a $30 donation you will give three people clean water.
Plus two giftable, happy, lovely and joyful, 8x10 printables.
As well as three entries to the prize bundle or bundles of your choice.

With a $60 donation, you will give six people clean water.
The happy printables.
Plus a versatile Days Until countdown sign (shipping included).
As well as six entries to the prize bundle or bundles of your choice.

With a $120 donation, you will give one dozen people clean water.
The happy printables.
Plus a rainbow set of ten Pretty.Messy. flower pins.  Ten for you?  Or ten gifts...
As well as twelve entries to the prize bundle or bundles of your choice.

Want to see what the prize bundles are?
{New ones are being added each day.  Yay!}
Visit each giveaway by clicking the thumbnails below.
After you have donated, send a screenshot or forward your Charity Water receipt to

project320blog {at} gmail dot com.

Thanks for your heart to help.
To share what you have to save and change lives.

All of us from Project 320 love and appreciate you being a part of our passion and dream.

Lets fund this well.
{Bonus treats applies to all donations made by Monday December, 19th.}


It cracks me up to see the little 4 ounce cinnamon sugar containers in the spice section of the grocery store.
Seriously? 
As if it is some tricky thing, that needs to cost $4.00.
That little shaker would last maybe a week in this family of cinnamon toast lovers.
We put it on so much.  It is so yummy.
My little bakers use it in place of plain sugar in cookies, waffles, cupcakes, monkey bread...
They also love to make a new batch.
Have at it.  Save mama money while you are at it.

(We like light cinnamon.  Add more to your taste preference.)


I am pretty sure that on more than once occasion I said that I would never do one of these.
But I did.
In artsy black & white.  Because everyone is cuter in artsy black & white.
With my new glasses.  Which are not sunglasses, although they look like they are.  That would be weird.
Weirder than me in my new hipster glasses.
Because given the choice between Sarah Palin professional woman glasses or nerdy hipster glasses, I obviously chose the latter.
Back to the vlog...
In which I talk about some stuff.  In my not-sunglasses-glasses.



Visit the Project 320 blog here.


This post brought to you by PackIt. All opinions are 100% mine.

 

 

What is my perfect day?

Sunshine, hoodies, sand, my family, and a picnic.

 

 

Made easier by radtastic (why didn't I invent it?) PackIt lunch boxes

The ice packs line the actual pack, so there is more room for food and drinks.

More room for food and drinks, means that I no longer have to haul down our big cooler, and let me tell you, less to carry to the beach is a great, wonderful, save the day, kind of thing.  

Plus, since the ice packs surround the food it stays cold up to ten hours.  Gogurts?  Stayed frozen!  Chicken salad?  Stayed super cold, which is the only way that I will eat it.  

I wanted to cuddle this icy little wonder when we were done.  It is that brilliant.  Brilliantly invented by two moms who wanted an easier way to keep their kids lunches cold.  Moms invent the smartest stuff.

My second favorite feature?  It folds flat and stores easily in my freezer door.  Seriously.  Why didn't I invent it?  Genius.  Genius.  Genius.

 

 After our picnic, someone crashed out,

and the girls set out to find heart shaped rocks.

 

Pretty much a perfect, lovely, sunshiny day.

 

Visit the PackIt website and take advantage of their buy one get one free offer.  Pretty sure they would make a great and practical Christmas gift.  What if you filled it with picnic ready food?  Hello!  That is something I would love to get! 

 

What would you use your PackIt for?  Have any favorite portable recipes that you'd like to share? Advertisement

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