Just say no to SOPA/PIPA!

I am not a habitual blogger (YET!) but I do want to express my solidarity with the SOPA strike today. I don't know how to black-out or temporarily take down a Blogger blog, so I am just telling you: NO SOPA/PIPA!

Millions of Americans oppose SOPA and PIPA because these bills would censor the Internet and slow economic growth in the U.S.

Two bills before Congress, known as the Protect IP Act (PIPA) in the Senate and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the House, would censor the Web and impose harmful regulations on American business, freedom of information and expression. Millions of Internet users and entrepreneurs already oppose SOPA and PIPA.

The Senate will begin voting on January 24th. Please let them know how you feel. Sign this petition urging Congress to vote NO on PIPA and SOPA before it is too late.

https://www.google.com/landing/takeaction/

Stop F*&^ing Yourself Over

I'd never heard of Mel Robbins before, but I saw this post tonight and man: she nailed it.

Mel Robbins - F--- You: How to Stop Screwing Yourself Over

Geek Girl

Things that I found amusing today:

14 Punctuation Marks That You Never Knew Existed

English Pronunciation

Pokey Stix at Home

I Want To Go To Belize.

This evening I was reading the Alternatives to Violence Project International e-mails, and it turns out that they're looking for facilitators to go to Belize for three weeks in February/March to help train local facilitators.

Anyone want to sponsor me? (And help me find a new job when I get back?)

Single-handedly Keeping The Post Office In Business

Okay, that's a little hyperbole, but I just bought $246.40 in stamps!

My purchase includes:
10 sheets of Garden of Love (Forever) Stamps

10 sheets of Edward Hopper (Forever) Stamps

10 sheets of Go Green (Forever) Stamps

That's 560 stamps, folks. I see a lot of letter-writing in my future! I may have gone a little crazy with the quantity (although, they're FOREVER stamps, and rates go up January 22), but I think it's a good investment.

I'm sure that I will end up using some of those stamps for professional or other non-personal correspondence, but the intention behind buying a ton of stamps was to try to find ways to stay more personally connected with people.

I was really touched last month by the notes that I got in the holiday greeting cards, and it reminded me that a little 'thinking of you' note is a million times better than a note on your Facebook wall/inbox, a text message or e-mail. There's something about going to the mailbox and getting something that *isn't* a bill, junk mail or a request for donations, and knowing that someone took the time to handwrite your name and address onto an envelope and enclose a little message.

I've attempted to be more of a letter writer in the past, and have always gotten hung up on trying to actually sit down and write a giant missive to 'catch them up' on all of the stuff going on in my life and find out what's going on with them. This year, in the 'less is more' and 'progress, not perfection' spirit, I hope to be more connected, more low-tech, and more willing to just put a little note together and drop it in the mailbox.

I'm not giving up my technology, but I am trying to be better about discerning when it serves me vs. being a slave to it.

Friends, send me your snail mail addresses: I'm updating my address book!

2012: The Year of More

Laugh more.
Love more.
Play more.

More music.
More theater.
More creativity.
More movement of all types.
More adventures.
More joy.

I am declaring 2012 to be a year of abundance, letting go of the old and making room for the new.

More living in the present, rather than worrying about the future or beating myself up for things done in the past.

I am making this a year of progress, not perfection, as too often I have let perfection be the enemy of the good, or abandoned a goal because I didn't think I could do it perfectly, or because I said I'd do it by X date/time and that was totally unrealistic, so why bother? They say that the only time you truly fail is when you quit (or don't begin), and I have had many failures.

This year, I am going to allow myself to be where I am, and to break the habit of always needing to control or plan everything.

Let's see how things unfold.

Early to Bed, Early to Rise

Makes a girl healthy, wealthy and wise. It also makes her want to go to bed early again.

This new sleep schedule/wake schedule/work out schedule is going to take some adjusting to, but I can definitely see the benefit of it. It feels good to knock out some of those important to-do items before you head off for the work day.

TurboFired up the day this AM, and it felt good.

Now, to sleep, perchance to dream.