B.O.B.I.'s Business of Bliss & Inspiration

War Does NOT Stop Terrorism...

...it just feeds the Capitalist's who profit from us going to war.  Unless you have been a soldier who has served in combat and have seen what they have seen...you can not even begin to understand how War Does NOT Stop Terrorism!

Be Hope To Her 2010 Highlights

In April, 1500 people on 23 college campuses and in 3 city centers registered for Nuru's Be Hope To Her (BH2O+)experiential event. Participants walked a mile in the shoes of women and girls living in extreme poverty. The event raised awareness about the need for clean water access and funds for Nuru's work to end extreme poverty in Kuria, Kenya.

"BH2O+ is a powerful event because it enables passionate volunteers to contribute a direct and positive impact on Nuru’s holistic empowerment of rural communities to achieve self-sufficiency. Truly, the result of BH2O+ is greater than the sum of its parts."

-Kim Do,BH2O+ Event Director

WABI SABI Saturday

This past Saturday our HOA sponsored a community-wide Yard Sale and we decided to take advantage of it and clean-out our extra storage unit and to donate the proceeds to NURU International...this particular event particularly...BH2o

 

I was so excited to be part of this program and I ordred the t-shirt and kanga so that I could wear it and say... "I Am Nuru"...

So I spent the entire week getting ready...first I started cleaning out my storage by deciding what to keep and what had to go...and I posted about some of those things that I wanted to keep here.

I made up signs with foam board, computer generated, word art and modge podge...

 

...then I made up some flyers with great directions to our Love Shack...

...then I placed these flyers inside cardboard tubes that I attached to the signs that I hung onto metal mailbox flag posts.  I also posted this flyer on Craig's List and my Facebook wall!

On Thursday, and Friday, I put on my new BH2o t-shirt and went around and handed out flyers as I completed some errands.  People like...the teller at my local bank; the cashiers at the grocery store and at Barnes & Noble; the sales clerk at Kohl's; and, also to a few sales reps at some of the nearby apartment complexes.  BYW...I also learned that NO ONE has community bulletin boards anymore where you can post flyers...like WalMart/Food Lion/Target...what is up with that?

By Friday evening I had all my items cleaned up and ready for the sale...all the prices clearly marked with the great "Garage Sale" stickers that I had found at Wally World...

Friday night we made sure that we got to bed early...so that we could get up Saturday morning before the Yard Sale began at 8:00am...to set up our stuff and to strategically place the signs out in the neighborhood so that everyone could find us!

Saturday morning by 7:30am...MISSION ACCOMPLISHED...here is a photo of our Love Shack with everything all ready for the crowd to commence upon us...COME AND GET IT !!!

So here DH and I sat...hour upon hour...and NO ONE was stopping for our Yard Sale...talk about discouraging...I wanted to cry!  DH actually got in the car and drove out to the front of the neighborhood to see if there was anyone around...and he came back to report that...the front of the neighborhood was mobbed :{   OUCH...I guess that they just didn't want to 1.) either bother to try to drive around and find us, or 2.) they ran out of money in the front of the neighborhood!

By 11:30am we had a total of THREE people visit our Yard Sale...they were all actually our neighbors who were going somewhere and stopped to see what we were selling...and we made ONLY ONE SALE...that is it!  AND can you guess from this photo what it was?  It was that green Hidden Valley Ranch shaker  for FIFTY CENTS...

I was so bummed by then that I started picking up our stuff and we had it all loaded back inside of our storage facility by 12:07pm!  Then I came home and took a nap...which I sure was because I was tired fom all the running around I had done getting ready for the BIG event...but mainly it was because I was depressed.  I wanted to get rid of our stuff...for sure...but that was not really an issue because I'll just take it to a consignment store and donate the rest to our local Good Will.  The reality was that I was so sad because I had wanted to raise awareness and money for NURU International and BH2o.

I was ALSO trying NOT to take this personally...but I was failing miserably.  SO by Sunday, I decided that I wasn't going to try to FIX my mood and to just feel my feelings...ya know...lick my wounds and let myself get better in due time.  My way of doing this is to DO NOTHING...that is...not get dressed, not make my bed, not blog, and SIMPLY not do ANYTHING that I don't feel like doing!  I treated myself like I do when we go away on vacation and it's raining and you are stuck in the hotel room so you stay in bed and watch LAM TV, eat junk food, read romance novels and magazines, and take naps...yeah!  MY kind of vacation...a true escape from what ever ails you :D

SO during this PURGE...I happened upon this WONDERFUL article in my Woman's Day magazine:

Wabi Sabi: Making Peace with Imperfection and OMG...it hit me...GET OVER IT!  Hell...I am the QUEEN of  "BETTER DONE THAN PERFECT"...

After all...it is not the END OF THE WORLD...as I've been know to tell others...THIS TOO SHALL PASS!  This article was exactly what I needed to remind myself of what really mattered...

1.) that...I needed to clean out this storage unit and deal with my STUFF...and this impending Yard Sale event did just that...CHECK that off the list...and...

2.) that...DH already said that we'd give what we could afford to this charity...which is a minimum of $100.00 because that is what we are paying a month for the dumb storage unit...CHECK that off the list...and...

3.) that, I found a new philosphy in Wabi Sabi to continue on this journey that we have been on...in downsizing and simplifying our lives...CHECK that off as a double bonus to this entire experience :D

So from here on out...I'm making posts on Saturday's dedicated to finding and, more importantly, celebrating the wonderful imperfections in our lives...stay tuned for more WABI SABI SATURDAYS!

BH2H0+ Using a Kanga

So excited that my t-shirt and kanga came in time for me to wear them at my yard-sale this weekend!

 

Even more excited that NURU has posted a video to show how to use the kanga...

Using a Kanga from BH2O+ on Vimeo.

Do not think I will be using it on my head while trying to yard sale, but at least I will know how to use it in case anyone asks me about it...pretty cool...and love the color of my kanga...ORANGE...it just  makes me smile :D

BH20...What Happens at the Walk?

Last week while reading catalystspace's blogposts I learned about this wonderful, upcoming event:

BH20+ 2010 from Nuru International on Vimeo.

For those of you who are curious about  What Happens at the Walk?  you can check this out...

How Nuru Works from Nuru International on Vimeo.

Last year Nuru International hosted its first nationwide Be Hope To Her event to raise awareness and empathy for the daily routine of millions of women and girls in the developing world.  There were 11 colleges campuses that participated and that raised over $36,000.00 that changed thousands of peoples lives.  This year there are over 24 colleges participating and three city-wide events in Southern California, Seattle and Pittsburgh.  {Hey Kids...Are You Reading This?...love you ;}

Since I cannot be in Pittsburgh with my son to participate in this wonderful, Be Hope To Her event, then I'm motivated to do something here...no matter how small it may be.  The Pittsburgh event is scheduled for Saturday, April 17th...which just so happens to be the same day of our Community Sponsored Spring Yard-sale!  So I have decided that I am going to donate all of our personal yard sale proceeds to this very worthy cause.  Cool beans or what :D  I'm not trying to be a saint here either...we just have too much stuff here at the Love Shack...and I've already given away, to my friends and family, all that they needed or wanted.  So...in lieu of us spending more money every month on storing all this STUFF...we had already decided to participate in the community yard sale...so this makes me...really motivated to MOVE MY MESS! 

So please, will you help us out by stopping by, if you are in the area, and help us and help them...just leave a comment with your contact information if you would like to find our more about the yard sale.

AND...if One Man's Junk is NOT your Treasure...then you can always go to Nuru International to find out about other ways to participate or to donate to their many other worthy programs.  Thank You!

Nuru Year In Review from Nuru International on Vimeo.