college.

 

I am a procrastinator.  Ask anyone in the pictures above and they'll tell you.  Last week, week 8, was all about catching up, and while I did(ish), I didn't write about it.  So here you go:  The friends above are all my college besties.  The ones who have enough stories to fill a book, enough evidence to get me in big trouble, and enough patience to still be friends with me now.  I seems like we used to be able to always be together.  There was always someone free to hangout, and wandering into an apartment or bedroom to watch t.v. or talk happened at any and every hour.  Now there are husbands, and babies, and dogs, and jobs, and suburbs.  Mostly, there is just life, and sometimes it gets in the way.  So Monday, I spent the evening at dinner telling stories, catching up, and having a good time.  I love these girls.  

what's new. 7

I feel a little guilty writing a wrap-up of a week that I didn't really blog about. (unless you count random pictures of a rented house and a bunch of oranges blogging.)  I will say though, for whatever reason, my week in Montecito turned out to be the least stressful work trip I've taken to date.  I'm still trying to figure out why so I can do the exact same things next time I have to travel.  Some of you might say, 'Well Shannon, it's probably because you left two feet of Chicago snow for sunny 65 degree weather'.  While that is true, warm weather doesn't always equal an easy time.  As evidence: the trip I took to Bermuda where I wanted to pull all my hair out, or the 'Mexico stress fiesta'.  My job is not easier done on the road, and I am easily overwhelmed when not in my 'normal' surroundings.  Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful I have the opportunity to see such beautiful places, and to experience so many new things, there is just usually at least one tearful call to my friend Megan every work trip.  However, Montecito was the amazing exception.  Whether or not it was because I made a conscious effort to stay calm, or because so much of my time was spent working- but unscheduled, or because after 2 feet of snow, grass might as well be gold, is unclear.  It is safe to say that I am back relaxed, and ready for week 8.

what's new. 6

So, If you're keeping track, you know I'm a million miles behind in my posts.  However, I'm also back in Chicago, with internet, thank the sweet baby Jesus!  I'm going to spend today attempting to catch up* and bring you at least a few of the blog posts I owe you.  For now, I'm super excited to share the wrap-up of my week of living philanthropic and what I learned.

-I am overwhelmed with the generosity of all of my friends!  Most of my donation requests came in the form of random texts at 3a.m. Chicago time, with minimal explanation, and each and every reply I received was an enthusiastic yes!

-I really love being a 'micro philanthropist' and am figuring ways to incorporate it into the blog, possibly weekly.

-Many of my friends, not just the ones mentioned in the blog posts, are interested in being micro philanthropists.

-All I had to do was ask.  Simple.

-Micro Philanthropy is totally do-able, and sometimes all it takes is figuring out a few great places to make a donation.

-Drum roll please... So the one you've all been waiting for, I've tallied all the donations and in a little over a week with the help of some amazing people, 52 weeks donated:

$170.00 !!

Thank you again so much to everyone who helped out with this week, whether it be donating, suggesting charities, or checking out the organizations that we donated to.


*on the subject of catching up.

Przygoda.

I was going to add this one into my what's new of week 6, but it made me so happy, I decided it deserved it's own post. If you've been checking out the blog, you know that last week was actually when I was supposed to Live Philanthropic, but I got a little behind on my posts and have been trying to catch up. A few days ago I sent a message to my friend Mike who among many things is a most talented musician. I asked if he had a music-y or arts-y charity that I could donate to, and if he wanted to donate as well. Now, Mike is a busy guy, and I wasn't sure he would have time to help me out. When I hadn't heard back from him in a day or so, I assumed he wasn't interested... I was wrong!

Mike got back to me today, and actually recommended Barrel of Monkeys where he is a company member. When I let him know I had already donated there, he said he would still make a donation because he believes in the work they do. This is big to me for a few reasons: 1. Mike is a friend, but not one of my 'have to' friends*. He doesn't have to talk to me on the phone for hours if I break up with someone. He doesn't have to come see every show I'm in and tell me I was the best part even if I wasn't. And, he certainly doesn't have to bail me out of jail at 3 a.m., so him helping me out is awesome. 2. Mike is giving back to a place that he already gives his time and energy to, just because it's a great cause. I mean, would you give your boss $10.00 because you were proud of the work he did? 3. This all just reiterates how cool Barrel of Monkeys is, and what good work they do!

www.barrelofmonkeys.org

Charity: Barrel of Monkeys
Mike donated: $10.00


*A big thank you to my 'have to' friends for their willingness to do all the things I just mentioned, and still wanting to donate with me this week(ish)!

Stillerstrong.

Today's charity is Stillerstrong, and today's guest philanthropist is my good friend Becky.  You probably know Becky from when we went to Zumba, or our cannoli adventures, but besides accompanying me on my blog shenanigans, Becky is also a teacher for the most confusing and dangerous students ever recorded... junior high students.  Without Becky's tireless efforts, these kids would be a lot less socialized, and as a public we may actually have to deal with pubescent pre-teens roaming in the wild city.

All jokes aside, every kid, Justin Beiber loving or not, deserves an education.  Stillerstrong, Ben Stiller's charity on crowdrise agrees with me.  Ben is raising money to build schools in Haiti, and Becky and I both think it's an excellent cause.  I also wanted to wrap up my week of 'Living Philanthropic' by donating to a charity featured by my friend Carlo.  Please take a second to consider donating to Stillerstrong, or anyone of the charities Carlo has supported in his year of living philanthropic


Charity:  Stillerstrong
I donated:  $10.00
Becky donated:  $10.00

total:  $20.00

fender music foundation.

My guest philanthropist today is my friend Jessie.  She and I met last year while we were working on a show together in Chicago.  There are scores of reasons why I like Jessie, but here are just a few:  She’s super talented, plays guitar, drives a hybrid, is wickedly funny, laughs at my jokes, is a great teacher, and she’s cool.  When picking today’s charity (which I also think is really cool) I immediately thought of Jessie and asked her to join me. 

The charity for today is The Fender Music Foundation .  The FMF ‘was created to provide funding and resources for music programs across America, so that kids and adults alike will have an opportunity to experience the joys of music’.  Fender is essentially trying to make music available to everyone they can through music education, media initiatives, and financial support.  In a time where arts programs are suffering and the state of music in schools is in limbo, FMF is coming in guns blazing to make sure music is available to everyone, not just those privileged enough to afford it.  You should definitely check them out, consider making a donation, and use their website as a resource on why funding the arts is cool.     

Charity:  Fender Music Foundation

I donated:  $10.00

Jessie donated:  $10.00

total:  $20.00

today was weird.

Today was weird. I spent a good chunk of my day at the coffee bean and tea leaf blogging, researching, and just generally hanging out. At some point during my coffee break I realized there was a semi-crazy woman sitting next to me. I talked to her for a little bit, and it was only after I heard her mention to a friend she 'wasn't going to call Carnie, because she was on the war path' that I realized it was Chynna Phillips. She was apparently having a business meeting while drinking tea, eating some brownish green health sludge, and talking about Ian Zeering, herbal supplements, and of course Billy and what he was up to. I'm not quite sure why I'm sharing this with you, it was just so odd. Then while I was walking home I happened to see Andrew Firestone of bachelor fame... Apparently his family's business is near by. It begs then question- Is Montecito where C-List celebrities go to fade into the sun set?

p.s. The pictures are of the rest of my day (who really needs a c-list celebrity picture anyway?)