http://www.onedaywithoutshoes.com/

What I love about this is its ‘no frills’ approach. Simply spread the word and take off your shoes for one day to help raise awareness about the importance of footwear (something we often take for granted). Milions of children around the world go without shoes on a regular basis, exposing them to injury and illness, among other things.

If you want to kick it up a notch, you can download the *free* DIY kit (signage, etc.) and give the event even more real world presence. KONY 2012 folks, this is how it’s done.

It won’t cost you any money.

It may be a bit uncomfortable (I recommend being prepared with groceries, gas in the car, etc.).

But it will help you live one of my mantras: do something every day to be part of the solution (Anne Lamott).

http://www.brandcampblog.com/how-to-help-orphans-in-india-by-cleaning-your-cl…

I’ve followed Kristen for a number of months and am excited she is taking the proceeds from her “Becoming” class and following her dream to meet and help orphans in India. I had the privilege of taking the class and it lead me to my next big personal project: becoming a more-skilled amateur photographer.

The items above are some of what I’m planning to send Kristen (my husband, Paul, is terrific about gathering hotel and airline toiletries to donate). I hope you can help, too!

Remember to send your in-kind donations by January 1, 2012!

Haunani Kekuna
1587 Promise Lane
Allentown, PA 18106

The primary project days will be December 9th and 10th. You can work alongside other community members, Full Circle Farm crew, and Nvidia volunteers to help build new horse barns that will be used as farm stands, an educational outdoor kitchen, and a produce-processing facility.

According to Full Circle Farm, two Amish horse barns will replace the current yellow farm stand tents. The barns will be built by Project Inspire volunteers. Inspiring murals will be painted on two sides of the barns to welcome visitors to Full Circle Farm.

Project Inspire volunteers will build the educational kitchen, a place where students, families and community members can gather, learn and eat. Just like the new farm stands, volunteers will create murals in the kitchen. Steel girders, shipping containers, new floors, shelving, sinks and a new cooler will be installed in the Produce Packing Shed.

To sign up, please contact Full Circle Farm at (408) 735-8154 or info@fullcirclesunnyvale.org.

http://www.fullcirclesunnyvale.org/

Help-Portrait 2011 (December 10th) is an amazing opportunity to share your talents and give to those in need. It may seem rather simple: photographing people and families then giving them prints to keep. But it helps instill a sense of pride in self, in family and in being a member of our community.

How many snapshots do most of you take on a regular basis? Probably a lot, like me. Imagine not having family photos because you lost everything and are living on the street? Or having only a few precious mementos because there is limited space in a temporary shelter? A photo is a record of your unique self and it’s something many of us take for granted. I sincerely love the spirit behind this type of movement and am happy to give up this Saturday to make a difference in someone else’s life.

Won’t you consider joining us? There are many ways to help! If you wish to contribute financially, please follow the link below:

https://help-portrait.donortools.com/my/funds/43959-Help-Portrait-San-Francis…

If you want to join me in Berkeley, please leave a comment in the space below.

I’m so excited we made over $5,000. This was the goal my co-chair, Jo Anne, and I set for ourselves and the sponsors, bakers, and attendees made it happen. You all rock!

Are you curious about the cakes? I would be from the teaser photo above (by the enormously talented Leila Hauck…wait till you see the rest!). You may view Leila’s photos on her website: http://leilahauck.com/flash/index.html (click the Clients button, then go to the Cake4Kids Fundraising Event gallery).

By the way, the cake above was submitted by my husband, Paul. He did not win the “Ultimate Chocolate” category but scored major style points with the judges (and his wife) by donning a thrift-store tuxedo and setting up a vignette that included 30+ year old single-malt scotch. The slightly unbuttoned shirt I suggested may also have had something to do with his popularity!

But seriously, it was his generous heart that really won people over. You’d think he’d be a shoo-in for the “Fan Favorite” category since we had over 80 friends in attendance. As it was, he tied exactly with one of the kid bakers, Allison Clark. Jo Anne and I weren’t sure how to award the prize but Paul swept the envelope from my hand into Allison’s, insisting she enjoy the full amount ($100). “That’s why I married him!” was all I could get out (I was pretty emotional by this point).

Our sons made me really proud, too. Dane and his pal, Kyle, served as door hosts, handing out napkin-wrapped forks and plates. The compliments we received on his politeness made my heart swell. And, Tate? Well, he literally took the cake. Not only was he an adorable and thoughtful “Kids Category” judge, he had excellent insights into the strengths of many other cakes, much to the bemusement of my friend, Tanya, and her foodie friend visiting from Seattle. They followed Tate and his mini entourage around the room, noting his amazingly accurate appraisals and tasting accordingly.

I want to give a shout out to my darling family who came to support me in this endeavor. Thank you very much, Mom, Dad, Lori, David, C.C., Jackson and Alexa and family friends, Denise and Sandy, for giving us so much positive feedback. You made Paul, Dane, Tate and me feel great! And to our friends who entered cakes or bought tickets just because I was doing this: THANK YOU SO, SO MUCH!

I am knocked out by the creativity and support of my amazing co-chair, Jo Anne Alvarado-Dominguez. Jo Anne, I can’t wait to do another event with you in the future!

Our sponsors and judges deserve extra special attention. Not only did they help fund such a fun, seemingly effortless event, they threw themselves wholeheartedly behind Cake4Kids and pitched in wherever they could.

First of all, the event would not have happened without the generosity of The Domain Hotel, who provided the perfect venue. Tina Walters and Tania Bain were absolutely incredible to work with (they thought of everything!!) and the hotel is a gorgeous gem right here in Sunnyvale. I highly encourage you to take advantage of a location like this for your next corporate or private event.

My sincerest thanks to Dr. Michael Leong, (Kids Category Sponsor) and his darling daughters, Head Judge, Michele, and co-judge, Sarah; Mike Klein of State Farm Insurance (Ultimate Chocolate Sponsor and Head Judge), and co-judges, Silicon Valley Leadership Group CEO, Carl Guardino and Ultimate Muay Thai Kickboxing Champion, Jenna Castillo; Marie Kuykendall of Kuykendall’s Auto Repair (Best Decorated Sponsor) and her granddaughter, Head Judge Kelli, along with co-judges, S.J. Councilmember Sam Liccardo and Terry Doyle, CFO of Unity Care; Benito and Kirstin Solorzano of Benito’s Cleaning Service (Gluten-free Category Sponsor), Domain Hotel General Manager, Erin Gilchrist (Head Judge) and co-judges, Deborah Olson (of C.J. Olson Cherries) and Susan Hamilton (Perfect Balance); and Kathleen DeManti of A Spoonful of Sugar (Best Tasting Sponsor and Head Judge) and co-judges, food blogger and author, Anita Chu and French Culinary Institute chef, Stephany Buswell plus our amazing in-kind sponsors: Pine Press Printing, Nothing Bundt Cakes/Sunnyvale, K’s Crepes and Cafe and Alice Rapcencu, illustrator extraordinaire (creator of the darling Cake-Off event logo).

Lastly, to all the folks at Cake4Kids, particularly the incredible bakers who came out to support at-risk youth, it’s been a pleasure working with you this year and I wish you all the success in years to come!

P.S. If you like this idea and want to put on your own version, please contact me. I am happy to provide “how to” guidance as needed.

Presented by Made in San Jose magazine, http://www.facebook.com/madeinsanjose the event will feature live music, art, dance, UCSC Master Gardeners, incredible food and more…

Tapestry Arts began in 1976 as part of the country’s bicentennial celebration. The annual Tapestry Arts Festival is a two-day celebration of visual and performing arts. It was previously held in downtown San Jose, however, this year will be at a new location, History Park San Jose at Kelley Park. Proceeds from the festival help fund arts education programs in elementary schools, community centers and other venues throughout the Bay Area.

For more information, please visit the official event website at http://losgatosstudios.com/TapestryArts/ – tickets are $5 each; children 12 and under are FREE.

Just a quick recap of a few things: Saturday’s fundraising coffee for Support Sunnyvale Schools / Measure B netted $500 in donations… way to go friends and neighbors! I am especially grateful to a dear friend (she prefers to remain anonymous) who matched the actual Saturday take, $250, with a $250 donation, giving us such an impressive overall total. Girlfriend… YOU ROCK!!

Thank you again to everyone who participated and/or generously donated.

The Measure B phone banks officially started last night and went very well, according to our team.

I was occupied with our first “Successful Strategies for Middle School” event and it was an interesting, informative evening. The panelists were incredibly candid about the joys and challenges of raising teenagers; the packed crowd seemed to appreciate the insights offered by veteran middle school parents.

I am working on follow up activities today, including a post-event survey and finalizing the notes for the evening. If you did not attend and are interested in the handout (Panelists’ Top Five Parenting Tips/Strategies for Middle School Age Children plus a few extra parent education event notes), send me an email (kathy@dirtandsunshine.com) and I will send you a link to the PDF.

And you have a lemon-themed gift to say “thank you” for participating in our parent panel. The bag contains Meyer and Eureka lemons (from my garden and my friend, Tanya’s), a delicious lemon ‘Bundtlet’ from Nothing Bundt Cakes (officially my new favorite place for something sweet), and a handwritten thank you note. I have no budget left for any remaining parent education events this school year (having spent most of my $ on the “Conversations with Great Teachers” event in January), so I had to get creative in thanking my parent volunteers.

What do you think?

• Pick up coffee beans at Red Rock (Friendo Blendo – the best!)
• Purchase several gallons of milk
• Figure out what to serve pastry or coffee cake-wise – bake or buy
• Gather nametags, sign-up sheets and other informational materials
• Last minute clean up of house!!!

Following the AM coffee, I am teaching a baby food making class to 8 women. I offered this class for auction at the Heritage Home Gala, “Sipping for Diamonds”, last year and now it’s time to dust off my baby food making skills (it’s been at least 10 years) and prep for the event. My current ‘to do’ list includes:

• Get cellophane bags at Michael’s to wrap goodie bags (copy of my book + Boudreaux’s butt paste)
• Defrost homemade chicken stock
• Buy and peel sweet potatoes, carrots, etc. for demo
• Gather olive oil, pepper grinder and Cuisinart to take with me
• Create cute baby food labels for participants
• Print out copies of baby food making instructions
• Purchase lunch stuff at Trader Joe’s for Dane and Tate (as they will be making the own hot lunches tomorrow)
• Write reminder note about bringing camera bag (!)
• Etc (don’t know what this means right now…)

Here’s hoping I pull it all together in the next 8-9 hours… wish me luck!

Responding to Friday’s emergency cake request from Cake4kids, I whipped up two layers of chocolate cake for a boy named Raymond last night. I had posted a Facebook request for chocolate frosting recipes and got great suggestions from friends Jill, Ricardo and Puja (thanks all!). However, I was busy and stressed this morning and wasn’t sure I could pull off any of their directions in my super-short time frame: 45 minutes to make frosting AND decorate cake.

Since my last frosting attempt – vanilla cream cheese – was so tasty, I decided to Google “chocolate cream cheese frosting” in the hope of finding a fast, easy recipe.

Voila! I found the Cupcake Project (beautiful photography, great ideas and clever writing to boot) and Stefani Pollack.

Guess what her all-time favorite frosting is? Yep. Chocolate cream cheese. It couldn’t be easier and it was SO good! I followed the directions to sift the powdered sugar and (yeah!) no lumps this time. It was also the right shade of light brown to go with my desert/succulent/lizard theme. If you want her recipe, please go to:

http://www.cupcakeproject.com/2008/04/my-favorite-chocolate-cream-cheese.html

I highly encourage you to check out her ten favorite frosting recipes… I will be working my way through them one way or another!

*Flower arranging always makes me feel like a French girl; I used my Le Jacquard Français dishtowels to wrap his ‘n hers Valentine’s flowers (photos tomorrow), then enjoyed a quiet cappuccino with the newspaper, did some brisk walking at the park with Scout, then put an EmersonMade beige fabric flower on my black cotton cardigan and headed to the Farmer’s Market with Paul, Tate and my chic black Reisenthel tote (gift from Gabriele).

UPDATE: Here is the feedback I got from the social worker about the chocolate cake I baked for a 12-year old named Raymond.

Thank you so much for being able to provide a cake for one of my families at such short notice. I had informed the family that it may not happen. I met with them on February 15. Raymond was present and he was soooo excited about having the cake delivered.  According to Mom and Raymond, the decorations were great, the cake was the ” best he ever tasted.” The other children are looking forward to receiving their cakes. Thanks again for making this birthday a very special one for Raymond.

It doesn’t get any better than that, does it?

To make a difference in the life of a child is truly a gift for the giver.

Kudos to the Committee to Support Sunnyvale Schools – nice article in the Sunnyvale SUN today!

You may read the full text at http://www.mercurynews.com/sunnyvale/ci_17356245?nclick_check=1 – if you’re inspired, please become a fan on Facebook… thanks!

In case you hadn’t heard, there is only ONE WEEK left in cake4kids.org’s donation drawing… anyone who makes an online donation (via PayPal) will be eligible for a Valentine’s cake baked and decorated by one of the amazing cake4kids volunteers. I’m in… how about you?

To donate, please go to http://www.cake4kids.org/Home.html and click the “Donate” button. Please note that you need to donate at least $50 in order to be eligible.

I had tea with Libby (the founder) this morning and came away so impressed with her plans for the future. The money raised in this current effort will go towards applying for 501 3(c) – [non-profit] status so Libby can go after corporate donations (and your future contributions will be fully tax deductible). This is one of the most FEEL GOOD things I’ve ever done and I highly encourage you to get involved.

Thanks for listening to my PSA today… have a great weekend! My darling brother is in town and we are going to spoil him rotten for a few days!