dan the man

feb 18th-20th

matt's boyfriend, dan from boston, came for a visit to sunny california. many adventures included malibu hike, bj's pizza, yogurtland, beach, hollywood, in-n-out, pepperdine volunteer center bbq, etc. it was great to have him out here but once we dropped him off at the airport, both matt and i shed a few tears. we hope to see him really soon!

concrete jungle where dreams are made of

spring break feb 27th-march 6th NY, NY

my last project serve took me to new york. i had an wonderful time working in ps 30 (bronx public school) and hanging with 12 of my favorite people!

the week included eating way too much (magnolia bakery, butterfield bakery, hot & crusty's, juniors, way too expense sushi, lombardi's pizza, etc.), going to broadway to see the phantom, riding subway 6, skating at the rock, going to church at st. patrick's, going to BUSTIN skateboard shop in brooklyn (www.bustinboards.com), shopping at soho *japanese store*, walking down 5th avenue and my favorite working with some sweet kids in ms. cosme's 3rd grade classroom.

we all worked at PS 30. i had a wonderful experience working with all the kids (helping with classwork, breaking up fights in the caf, losing my voice, eating cafeteria pizza gross, reading with an accent to the class, trying to be gangsta, etc.) i would love to go back and work in the school full time, maybe one day!

extracurricular activities with some of my favorite people:

last PVC retreat

feb 20th

mr. davie rowie planned an amazing pvc spring service retreat to MEND = Meet Each Need with Dignity.

it is an amazing organization. at the location we went to they had doctor's offices, dentist offices, a clothing store, library, child care center,etc all under 1 roof. everything is offered to help the surrounding community. here is a little bit about MEND:

"In the early 1970's, MEND (Meet Each Need with Dignity) opened its doors in an effort to transform the lives of the neediest residents of the San Fernando Valley - poor children and their struggling families. Starting as a small group of volunteers working from a garage, MEND has grown primarily by word-of-mouth into one of the leanest operating non-profit organizations in existence. More than 94% of the support and donations received by MEND, now the largest poverty agency in the Valley, provides emergency food, clothing, medical, vision and dental care, job skills training and job placement assistance, English as a Second Language classes, youth activities, and a Christmas program. In 2008, we served over 368,969 individuals."

visit: http://mendpoverty.org/about.html to learn more and how to volunteer with MEND.

at MEND they have a huge warehouse full of lots and lots of food

(rows and rows of food)

half of the pvc went to the garden down the street to pick weeds, and the other half worked in the warehouse preparing food packages for families

after volunteering we went back to pepperdine and had a yummy bbq with family and friends

Thank you davie rowie for a wonderful retreat and christina for being an amazing paparazzi

making a return (a month is a long time)

I'M BACK! sorry it has been forever since i have blogged. it has been a crazy month with friends, family and coming closer to the end of the school year (tear,tear)i am going to get in the swing of things again. so the next few blogs are from this past month.

fresh.produce

so i have been saying for quite a while that i wanted to start a blog. finally on a thursday afternoon in the PVC, i decided to get the courage to actually begin one. many have questioned what i would blog about. i say anything! food, shabby chic, life, love, friends, family, social justice, cupcakes, websites i am obsessed about, etc. so hold on tight, keep your eyes peeled and your hearts open.

trying to figure out a name for this blog i spoke with my bffaeae, mr. davie rowie. both of us were thinking since it seems to be my signature (at least on my emails) and it is something i strive to do everyday (though it is quite hard and feels sometimes impossible), that a blog titled "do.good.anyway" would be perfect! one of my heros, the fabulous and always chic mother teresa wrote this poem that inspires me each and every day. enjoy!

Mother Teresa's Anyway Poem

People are often unreasonable, illogical and self centered;
Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies;
Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you've got anyway.

You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and your God;
It was never between you and them anyway.