The Charity Table

We went out for lunch over the weekend, and the restaurant had such a great idea for charity that I had to share.

We were about to be seated when I asked if there was a window seat available. She said there is one table open by the window, but it's the charity table.

The what?

The charity table is a 6 person table by the window. It costs the party $5 to sit there, with the $5 (tax deductible, of course) going towards a local kids' charity. It's also the only window seat they'll take reservations for. We said we'd be quite happy with that, so we got a nice view, a semi-private table (it's slightly walled off, decorated with pictures of the kids it benefits), and gave a little extra. Not bad!

I thought this was such a brilliant idea. $5 sounds like such a small add-on when you're going out to a restaurant, especially if you're at a table with 4-6 people. What an easy, quick way to raise money for charity!

Quick Update on the Oprah Puppy Mill Show

You've caught me watching Oprah again, but it's OK because this time there was a short update on the Puppy Mill Show.

A shelter or rescue (not sure which) in Richmond, VA, reported 330+ spay/neuter appointments were made immediately following the Oprah show. They also adopted out 30+ animals. Oprah said that show got the most feedback of any show in the past 2 years.

Good news! :)

Being Happier at Work (and In General)

I watched another Oprah show last week. The episode was about people who hate their jobs, and Marcus Buckingham, a guy who's considered a job guru. This one just happened to catch my eye because it was supposed to help people feel more happy and satisfied with their jobs. I don't hate my job, but I'm always open to finding out how to improve any situation.

Doesn't it always seem like the secrets to all these things are just common sense? And yet we still don't seem to figure it out? A lot of what Marcus Buckingham seemed to talk about was finding your strengths...not just what you're good at, but what makes you feel good when you're doing it. I hope I got that right, anyway. An example he gave was when your kid comes home with a report card with 2 As and 2 Fs, what do you focus on? The answer is the As. You shouldn't ignore the Fs, but you should encourage and focus on the subjects that received As.

So what do you do when you're one of the majority of people who hates their job? Marcus Buckingham had these little notebooks where on each page you wrote what you loathed or what you loved about things that were within your control, not things that you couldn't do anything about. People were able to see ways to take control of their jobs, when they should change jobs, and how to prioritize.

You can participate in Marcus Buckingham's online workshop for free and at your own pace here. Apparently it's also available on iTunes.

heaven under our feet

Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads.
-Henry David Thoreau


I hope everyone had a lovely Earth Day!

Of Course I Did Gardening This Weekend

Due to a cold I was fighting and some weird weather, I didn't do much gardening this weekend, but I still did some. The hubby finished the paver patio we'd be working on with the help of a friend. It looks quite nice! The reason I mention it is because I put some magenta, blue, and white petunias in a nice new planter to frame one side of it. ;P I also added some soil, fertilizer, and grass seed in front of the patio area to fill in some empty patches. I also added some more grass seed to that big empty bed (from moving the roses)...we'd already put some down but I want it to be nice and thick with lawn rather than weeds. ;P Hubby mowed the lawn too! What a nice guy! Now I think 99% of my focus will be that veggie garden. Oh! And my sweet peas are sprouting! :)

I also got another kangaroo paw - this time it's a yellow one. It didn't have a tag, so I'm not sure of the variety. I think there's one called "Bush Gold" - that may be it. They're pretty cool looking plants!

Today we saw a blue jay attacking a squirrel. I don't know what that squirrel did to deserve that! Got to close to a nest, I assume.

How's everybody else's gardening going?

Doctor Who Extravaganza!

This was a Doctor Who weekend! The season finale on BBC America was on Saturday, yet I didn't bother watching it. Why? Because it was on the Sci-Fi channel the week before. What was the Sci-Fi channel airing this week? THE NEW SEASON!! :) Friday night's episode was the Christmas episode for the most recent season (already aired in the UK). The episode was bad, to be honest, but it starred Kylie Minogue in a cute but dorky role and IS THE START OF THE NEW SEASON!! :) For all you Doctor Who fans, it's on Sci-Fi on Friday nights at 9pm Eastern. This Friday, the 25th, is the first "real" episode of the season, and we'll be seeing the return of Donna (Catherine Tate) from the previous Christmas special. I'm really looking forward to this season.

Not only did we have all kinds of Doctor Who goodness, but The Doctor himself, David Tennant, was on The Graham Norton Show on Saturday. He and Jo Brand were hilarious.

But it doesn't end there!

The Sci-Fi channel has also started airing The Sarah Jane Adventures, a spin off of Doctor Who. This is the first season of the show, and it has already aired in the UK. Sarah Jane Smith was an accomplice of The Doctor in the 70s. She's now an adult and looking after a teenage boy whom she adopted. I missed the first episode, so I don't know much background other than that. After watching Friday's episode, I'll definitely keep watching. The show is pretty tame without being TOO cheesy, focused more on the teenage characters and fighting aliens, so I think it could easily be a family show (though don't hold me to that! ;P). I guess it's a nice break from all the crime dramas and shows like Torchwood that I watch.

Lost Ramblings Just Because

I've been blanking a bit when trying to decide what to write about next. I have a few topics in mind, but they would take some effort to write about and I'm sick AGAIN and feeling very meh AGAIN. Just sick enough to be annoying and make me grumpy.

So today I thought I'd just ramble on a bit about Lost. Less than a week till its return! Yay! I've seen some spoilage, and I have to say, I think the next episode will be really good and really exciting. I won't spoil anything for anyone else except to say that there's a SNOW GLOBE involved. Kidding!

I'm dying to learn more about Daniel Faraday, like why he has a caretaker and what his job is for this whole freighter mission. If the people behind the freighter have bad intentions for the island, I think it's interesting that they bring someone along who seems to see what's 'weird' about the island right away - and he doesn't seem to be entirely lacking morally, so who knows what he'll decide to do with what he learns.

Let's see...what else...I'm also looking forward to learning who was in the coffin. It's funny because other mysteries on Lost make me curious and exciting, but for some reason I've been DYING to know who was in the coffin. That's one mystery that just really gets me. I hope we learn more about Libby too - she's way to involved between the sailboat stuff and the mental institution - there's got to be more to her.

I really couldn't care less who Kate chooses. That love triangle is the least interesting thing on the show for me. Not because it's a romance - I like other pairings and romances on the show - but Kate's character annoys me and it seems like all she cares about is Jack or Sawyer, Jack or Sawyer.

I'm curious how much Penny and her father know about each other's searches...and how much Widmore knows about Desmond's whereabouts. (Or if he made that happen!)

Anybody else have anything they're looking forward to or hoping to see?