DONATE A DOLL!!!

As the holidays rapidly approach, I am offering a way to donate to my trip, the children at AHOPE and come up with a holiday gift for the person who has everything. For $30 dollars, I will purchase a doll for a child at AHOPE, provide your friend or family member with a certificate announcing the gift and send them a photo of the children with their dolls in August!!! If you are interested, please contact me. Happy early holiday shopping/planning.

VOTING DONE!!!!

At 6:02, I left my house, walked across the street and got in line at the Priory. There were more people then ever at my polling place which houses three precincts. Thankfully, my precinct is the red headed step child of River Forest, so my line was pretty short. I voted, got my sticker and walked home in a total of 35 minutes. I hope you have all voted today. My principal even told us that if any of us were still stuck in line when it was time for conferences to not get out of line, but to stay and vote. Well, nothing else I can do, I have made campaign phone calls, knocked door to door, donated money and voted-- must get ready to go to Parent/Teacher conferences and just wait until the polls close this evening!
GO OBAMA!!!!!!!!!!

GET OUT THE VOTE!

Today, I went to Indiana. My friend Silvia and I went to the Michigan City, Indiana- Obama for America office and got our list of voters. We went door to door in a small, lower economic neighborhood, knocking on doors to see which homes had voted. If they had not done early voting, we asked them if they were voting on Tuesday, if they needed a ride and if they knew where their polling place was. Almost everyone was friendly and a bit amused by us. It felt good to do something other than simply watch MSNBC.

Postcard Project

Recently, a couple spent two months at AHOPE. They are now in the process of adopting a child from AHOPE. They worked with many of the children at the older campus and told us that the children loved learning about exotic places. They are requesting postcards from all around the world.

So what I am asking is that if each time you go somewhere or even from your own hometown, buy a postcard, write a couple of facts about the place on the back and send them to me. When I get a whole bunch, I will send them to this couple to take them to AHOPE and then I can take the rest personally when I go in June.

This is a great way for the kids to learn about the world while practicing their English and an easy way for us to help out!

Send postcards to:
Tiffany Jones
7213 W. Division, #1
River Forest, IL 60305

Just wanted to give a shout out to some recent donors.

Aunty Barbara and Uncle Bob
Darrell and Elaine Houmes
Ron Jones

and most creative: Silvia and Pat Shannon- I dog sat Gracie, and they donated what doggie daycare in OP would have cost! Thank you all for your support!

Fun Facts

Okay, so this is strange as I am new to blogging, but apparently once you've been tagged, you need to write 7 random things about yourself... that certainly is not a problem for me--- though Sarah dear, I know very few others who have blogs.

1. This love of the election started before I could vote. I did voter registration in my high school cafeteria, while I was campaigning for my friend's mom, who was running for some local office. She was going to save Lyman Woods from becoming a helicopter pad-- but alas I think the fact that she used to keep chickens in her backyard might have been the reason she lost.

2. I didn't eat cake on my birthday! Heck I didn't eat cake at all. I was the only 5 year old who had birthday pies. Birthday pies do not go over well with the rest of the five year old population.

3. I will stop whatever I am doing and watch the Anne of Green Gables movies on PBS. Yes there are several of them. Yes, I believe they were filmed in Canada, and are not terribly well made. But I loved the books and still get sucked into them whenever I see them. They are usually on during their fundraising telethon.

4. I spent a week canoeing in Arkansas. It was very "Deliverance" which we incidentally thought was a good idea to watch right before going. It was cold, and rainy, but my canoe never tipped.

5. I hate roses! Love most flowers-- especially daisies, lilacs and violets but I have this unnatural hate for roses.

6. I love Bon Jovi, I know that is an embarrassing thing to say, but I think I've seen him 5 times.

7. I am obsessed with Gale Gand. I know most of you are like who is that? She is a pastry chef and co-owner of Tru in Chicago. She is amazing!! I have all her cook books and I've met her-- she's funny and thinks you should eat what you make!

Andrea
Marianne
Nikki

Sorry I think that's as many as I know. And I'm not sure that I can now link you to their sites, but I shall try.

Hot, Flat, and Crowded

Okay, another book to put out there. Hot, Flat and Crowded-Why we need a Green Revolution and how it can renew America, by Thomas L. Friedman.
This was suggested by Claire on her blog- www.peepslovingbooks.blogspot.com and my friend Stephanie started it and insisted that I read it-- just started but needless to say, I believe it may become another obsession for me. Which might be healthy as I am becoming more and more wrapped in the election, as each day passes. I have CNN or MSNBC on pretty much from early morning to late night.. with NPR in my car.