Give something away everyday

  So many of you know that last year I attempted to use up a lot of residual toiletries and ribbons and odds and ends and not buy anything new, for one year. It was pretty amazing to see just how long I could survive on the surplus of "stuff" I had laying around the house. But unfortunately... I didn't get rid of as much "stuff" as I had hoped. The year ended June 1st. I headed straight to Target to get some much needed conditioner and a few other items but it was quite anti-climatic... The choices were overwhelming, my credit card was soon marred from all the added swiping at the cash registers and I didn't have you all to talk to about the "challenges" and insights I was having.

 It seems growing up in Iowa where "stuff" isn't as easy to acquire, I became very wary of just buying something I would use or wear once.  Therefore... I became just as wary of giving it away. Unless my clothes were worn out (even then there were always patches that could be added) they were "perfectly useful" according to my mother. It probably didn't help that my love affair with overalls, umbros and anything in shocking neon colors was, usually, a bit of a stretch to reproduce, and so I hold onto....
 a lot...

  "Ann, are those the same overalls you insisted on wearing when we were in college?"
  "Ann, I can't believe you still have those earrings I gave you in 8th grade..."

 I learned that if you wait long enough, things come back. And in the meantime, when they aren't "in" you never have to worry about someone showing up to an event in the same outfit... right?

 Well, I also have a small obsession with thrift stores. I'm always on the lookout for a gift that has "meaning" - usually comedic in nature, but one that someone will always look at, shake their head and smile, remembering it came from me (or so I hope).

  If you saw my house you'd see that my "office" - if you can call it that, is continually the unfinished project... Making decisions about my own "stuff" is unbearably hard, and therefore always a procrastination point for me, but finding the perfect gifts for others... is something, I even spend my nights dreaming about.

  So... I've decided that this year I'd like to give something away everyday. I'm not a millionaire by any means, which is why most "gifts" are finds from thrift stores or creations I've dreamt up and then attempted to create, but that's where they find "meaning"... I think. Either way, the "somethings" will likely vary considerably. I've even decided that when I'm on the road, and may have a little difficulty giving something away per se, I could fill the day with a handful of compliments, maybe some hugs or a candy bar? ha! I'd like to think it will just bring to the forefront of my mind the idea of putting someone else first, if only for a moment, each and every day.

  But do I need to create a new name for the blog? and more importantly... would you read it?

two olds make a light

Happy New Year! 

This morning on the Today show they were talking about trends for 2012. I'm not big on "trends". Typically I'm a committer.

(I committed, long ago to overalls. I think they're functional, cute and I have them in varying lengths and colors... and I wear them. Every once in a while I'll get someone joking with me that "overalls are back" alongside a picture of some model at Fashion Week wearing a pair. 

Doesn't faze me. I'm loyal to my khaki, white, and jean.... short and long sets of overalls no matter what the magazines say. It only validates my longstanding relationship with overalls :) and gives me a good chance to wear them proudly in front of all those naysayers)

Back to the point - one of the "trends" which I hope won't be a trend, but a way of life... is to "unplug". Meaning, every once in a while, turn off all the electronics and just exist, in this moment. Without feeling badly that your second grade nemesis just bought a house and you're still renting, or that your coworker just signed up for their 20th Marathon and you're still working on getting up the courage to run the local 5k - Who cares? 

I think there is a healthy amount of competition that keeps people striving to do better, but then there's the unhealthy obsession that keeping tabs on your 2000+ facebook friends and trying to keep up with Joneses is somehow going to actually work. The best way to keep up with the Joneses...is to be the Smith's, the Vannatta's, the Buffett's. Make the world MORE interesting by being yourselves.

Do you think Warren was inspired to be awesome because his friends on facebook were showing him up? I think not. Enough of my rant... but I "unplugged" for the holidays - in case you thought I fell off the bandwagon! ha

The holidays were an interesting one for me - with this whole nothingnewforayear thing. I was very much aware that the rest of the world was getting a lot of new things that I wasn't... I was also uber aware of the fact that the gifts I would be giving people were not on any of the most sought after gift lists...

 Luckily I had a lot of things, people wanted. Despite being slightly used, people were surprisingly happy with their gifts. An ode to the fact that, newer isn't necessarily better. My mother got me a new vacuum for Christmas, and so I gave away both my regular vacuum and my Shark to some good friends, and everyone won!

 After the new year, I took a look around and decided I needed a little sprucing up at the house. Just because you aren't buying anything new doesn't mean you should look dull or your house! My mom used to always say that just because you're poor doesn't meant you have to be dirty... it doesn't cost much to be clean. She also said when you're fasting - you shouldn't LOOK like you're fasting. (Matthew 6:16)

She was right. There was something I could do to liven the place up! And so... I was on the hunt. 

I'd been scouring websites of other peoples living rooms to get ideas, but wasn't coming up with much. Swooped in to a Goodwill I'd never visited and there it was... an awkwardly bulging, turquoise lamp without a shade. For some reason I felt for it. For a couple of bucks I brought her home and tried her out.  She's a rather large, loud lamp and so I thought it probably best not to tame her with a cream colored lampshade I already had. Nope. She wasn't a trend setter, she had waited patiently on that Goodwill shelf  to find her home and her perfect match.... A bright red shade from a forgotten lamp...

Isn't she a beaut?? 

And the table she's on... found her in the backyard buried under some overgrowth. 

Merry Christmas to me :)

Ironically enough, I looked up that bible verse she always quoted and not far from that verse, was this one... 

"Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand, where it gives light to all in the house."

Matthew 5:13 

Appropriate I'd say - and... I'm plugged back in.

Revelations

Revelation #1 :

Since I can't buy it, I want it, even though normally... I wouldn't...?

So I contemplated concert tickets. I haven't been to a concert in quite sometime. A few YEARS in fact.  It's very hard for me to justify paying a lot of money to go to a concert, only to watch the performer like they're an ant. I know live versions of some songs are better, but if they're that good they inevitably get recorded and we get to hear them. (Garth Brooks added verse to Thunder Rolls, Eric Clapton's live version of Tears in Heaven, etc)


Don't mistake me, it's not that I don't appreciate a great performer, because I do... but I'm not exactly in a position to pay thousands of dollars to sit in the front row, and I'm not so lucky to win them it seems either. I've done the... mom calling from the house phone, dad calling from his cell phone, the neighbor on her cell phone, and me on my cell phone trying to win tickets on the radio and so far my track record is... Zero.

And yet... today as I was driving I caught the last few words of a  DJ announcing some performance "this saturday night and your chance to win tickets in 10 minutes!" I pulled the car over, parked and waited - 10 minutes. Am I really getting sucked into this again? Yep.

The emotions waiver between...

"maybe this is my chance... Maybe it's a sign!"

to...

"Hello, are you seriously going to sit in the parking lot of 7-11 and wait??? The phone lines are always busy..."

... it ended up being tickets to the wrong concert anyway. So yes. I wasted 10 minutes hoping this time would be different. And yes, I got the message. Concert tickets count as something new, therefore, get over it Ann... you should be spending that time rolling out your IT band anyway. ugggh.

You see there are very few performers who are worth driving and parking in chaos for... although I admit I would be willing to go through it for this particular individual. But of all the people... I think she will understand why I won't be there. I don't know her personally, but from what I've read, seen and heard, I think we'd be good friends :) So I'll just listen to the CD while I go for a run later and imagine.

Revelation #2    It's important to NOT become a Hoarder - even though you can't buy anything new for a year...

This means using the hotel toiletries while in the hotel... but NOT stealing more from the housekeeping cart :)

Just because you can't buy anymore clothes, doesn't mean you should KEEP the clothes that have clearly NOT made the cut. I wore a pair of pants this weekend that suck. Plain and simple. They shrunk in length, they don't stay up well, and they're not particularly attractive. They must go away.

Caveat: Just because certain styles are "in" doesn't mean you should toss the things you love that are "out" like Umbros :)