Happy Halloween!

Now streaming on Netflix, my favorite quirky, funny, spooky Halloween movie, Donnie Darko.

November is coming!

Yes, my birthday month is just around the corner. But it turns out November is not just about me (and my husband, sister, and brother-in-law...), but it is also a month of challenges! There's the original National Novel Writing Month, commonly known as NaNoWriMo, where the goal is to start writing one's 175 page (50,000 word) novel on November 1 and finish by midnight, November 30th. My amazing sister-in-law is undertaking this challenge and I can wait to hear how it goes.

For the rest of us, there are some other challenges you might be interested in, if you're not already participating. There's National Blog Posting Month (NaBloPoMo), which started as a response to NaNoWriMo and after doing it for a couple of Novembers, the members decided to branch out into other months and make it a year-round affair.

There's also wonderful Leah Piken Kolidas and her Art Every Day Month, which one can also participate in year-round as Creative Every Day. I thought I'd include this great video of Leah talking about Art Every Day Month because it also has a very helpful (at least to me) discussion of the creative cycle and how to keep one's creative muscles in shape even when inspiration isn't striking.

video for Spring! from Leah Piken Kolidas on Vimeo.

Personally, I think I may actually officially join NaBloPoMo for the month of November, since that's my goal anyway and I'm all about the easy these days. But I'm so glad to know about Art Every Day Month and I may try to participate in that next year... Any other challenges you're participating in during November? Let me know - I'd love to come by and support you!

8Things: Superpowers

I recently discovered Magpie Girl and my life is definitely the richer for it! Rachelle Mee-Chapman posted a fabulous list of her superpowers yesterday and invited her readers to join in, which I was quite delighted to do. And so in no particular order, here they are!

-Fearless Explorer of the Back Road
-Hardcore Appreciator of Beauty
-Imaginative Creator
-Practioner of Radical Gratitude
-Reliable Procurer of Groceries and Runner of Errands
-Enthusiastic Singer and Dancer for Profoundly Small or Nonexistent Audiences
-Dogged Seeker of Truth
-Friendly Smiler at Strangers

Care to join in? I'd love to hear yours!

(Many thanks to my dear hubby for the use of one my favorites of his photographs)

A Three Dog Life

One of the many wonderful things about working in a library is being exposed to lots and lots of books I wouldn't otherwise know about. I found my new favorite memoir that way, when I was sending A Three Dog Life out for a patron and saw

"The best memoir I have ever read. This book is a punch to the heart. Read it." ~Stephen King

on the cover. It should be no surprise that upon reading these magic words "memoir," "heart," and "punch" I immediately placed a hold on it. When the book was finally ready for me I had forgotten or perhaps never really understood that the book is about the author's husband's traumatic brain injury - something I can intimately relate to. And yes, of course I loved this book, especially passages like this that speak to the mysterious poetry and heartbreak of life, love, and loss:

Last week, as he struggled to make sense of the world, unable to find words, my youngest daughter, Catherine, came to visit. "Do you know who I am?" she asked, and he peered at her intently. "Do you eat field mice?" he asked, a strange question we thought, until I realized that the first three letters of her name spell "cat." Perhaps this was a glimpse of how the mind pieces things together after an assault, trying to rewire itself. "The goat's mouth is full of stones," he said one day, and I leave that as it is, a mystery. During the days when it is impossible to communicate in words, I get into his bed and we hold hands. Nap therapy. This is a familiar posture, something we can do without speech, without thinking.

A year later...

Monday was actually the one year anniversary of my first post here and it's been great fun to take a walk down memory lane and read over some of that early stuff. I was reminded of it because I was looking out of the window at work recently and saw that same little tree with its leaves all lit up with fabulous red fall color. It looked just like the photo I took and I wondered when that was taken. Very fun to be reminded of the cycles of life.

The thing that sort of surprised me when I looked over some of those early posts is how despite the fact that I often feel like I'm constantly changing interests and am sort of all over the place, that over the span of a year I really haven't changed that much and I've actually accomplished some things. I totally fell in love with David Whyte's work after that initial introduction on Liz Lamoreux's blog, read Crossing the Unknown Sea, listened to What to Remember When Waking, and am currently reading The Three Marriages. I finished that crazy quilt, flew to California, and plunked my new little nephew right down on it. Heck, I even went to Squam and met the amazing Jen Lee.

I will admit I had a little epiphany when I realized this. I may be the last one to get this, but I'm seeing that there's something really powerful about writing things down. In the past I haven't been one to keep a journal, which is really mainly what Enjoy and Love is for me. Writing things down in a notebook has always been a challenge, in part because of my insane handwriting and also it just wasn't that visually appealing. Now, on the other hand, being able to include photos and videos and music, etc. - that's very appealing. And then being able to share with family and friends and maybe even meet some like-minded folks - oo-la-la!

So thank you all for joining me here! It's a pleasure and an honor to get to share what I enjoy and love with you. I can't wait to see what unfolds over the next year!

Creativity habits

This week's Spring into Action prompt is How do you make creativity a habit?

Initially I thought I'd have to pass on this one, because I don't really see myself making creativity a habit in terms of activity. In other words, I don't make time on a regular basis for creative pursuits, a.k.a. "making art," at least not in the same way that I get up at a certain time every day or do the laundry and shopping at set times on specific days. To me those are habits.

Now, I will say that because I have strong habits around things that need to be done, I do have spaces in my life to fit creativity in, so my creative activities probably do benefit from my being a creature of habit. And now that I think a little more about it, making a commitment to try to post something here each day also helps foster my creative habits to some degree.

However, in terms of my mental state, more and more I see that I approach my life with a lot of creativity. I think it is becoming a mental habit - probably somewhere after fear:) When I'm confronted in my life with something new, maybe initially I'll be delighted or excited, then my old friend fear is almost guaranteed an appearance, maybe then good old debilitating perfectionism, but I'm kind of on to these guys these days. More and more I catch myself and reach into my toolbox and there is curiosity, there is openness, there is imagination, there is play, in short, there is creativity.

I'd have to say that's how creativity is showing up as habit in my life these days. And I'm damn grateful for it.

Monday's Inspiration Celebration

Loved getting 12 hours of Lis's day at Dandelion Seeds and Dreams this weekend! She invited us to share 12 hours from our day and it inspired me to be more creative than I've been in a while. I took TONS of pictures and even made a little monster in part so my photos weren't all of me goofing off on the internet all day:) Thanks Lis!

(clockwise from top left: 7am, 8am, 9am, 10am)


(clockwise from top left: 11am, 12pm, 1pm, 2pm)


(clockwise from top left: 3pm, 4pm, 5pm, 6pm)

I know, I know

I know this is a lot of videos lately, but honestly, I can't encourage you enough to find 10 minutes today to watch this. I really believe that our souls need stories like this.

Opening Our Eyes - The Trailer from Gail Mooney on Vimeo.

You can read more about the project and Gail Mooney's journey here. And if you feel moved to support Opening Our Eyes, you can do so here.

Have a beautiful day!

More delightful dancing

Yesterday wonderful Kind Over Matter included this video in their Friday's Lovelies:



And something about it really made me smile. So I went to check out this fabulous Blaine Hogan and there I found more dancing amazingness. Apparently the Steward family so enjoyed Blaine Hogan's dance videos that they decided to make one of their own - and ended up doing (at least) two. Hopefully you'll find them as fun and charming as I did. Love to see a family having such a good and silly time together!

Blaine Hogan's original video:



The Stewards' beautiful responses:





"I’m talking about the art of risking in order to create risky art that soars. I’m talking about personal risk, vulnerability. Are you willing to look foolish? Are you willing to fail? Are you willing to put it all on the line in the hopes that it will change things for the better?"
~Blaine Hogan

Six word story 16

I relaxed into the birds' songs.

Oooops!

Well, I guess that's the risk you run when you're pre-posting in a hurry - you can put in the wrong date and there goes all your good stuff at once. I figure I subconsciously wanted you all to know my amazing Style Statement as soon as possible:) In any case, today I promise not to overload you. Here's some fun for the probably about three people who haven't already seen this video (thanks Jen Lee!):

Dancing with Myself from Andy Ross on Vimeo.

Genuine Imagination

I've been pondering my Style Statement for the past couple of weeks and I'm delighted to say that I think I've settled on a statement that feels true: Genuine Imagination.

Genuine

SPIRIT: Authentic & real, Genuine wants to be fully itself & deeply appreciate people & experiences that are free of hypocrisy or dishonesty. Sincerity is sweet music to their souls. They gravitate to those who are down-to-earth & unpretentious. They are expert at sensing the discomfort & needs of others, & so excel at putting people at ease, drawing on their humor, good manners, or tenderness to do so. Genuine has a knack for taking the best & leaving the rest. They want the facts. They rarely suffer fools, & don’t make much time for situations that go against their grain or distract them from their goals. It’s fairly easy for them to walk away from situations that aren’t serving them. Genuine’s motto tends to be “Live & live.” Ironically, Genuine can struggle with balancing outer image with its inner desires &, for better or worse, will fake it to make it. They have a special fondness for originality & appreciate things that last & endure as well as people & principles that have stood the test of time.

LOOK & FEEL: Comfortable & comforting. Strong craftsmanship, standing the test of time. Almost anything goes with Genuine’s fashion as long as it feels right. Genuine adores tried-&-true brands & things, & places & people steeped with history & character.

Imagination

resourcefulness, ingenuity, creativity, powers of invention, vision, inspiration, inventiveness, mind's eye, thoughts, imaginings, dreams, fancy, mind

Part of what makes it feel right is that there's something a little contradictory about it. Also, that it makes me think of this classic song from my childhood:)

Some mid-week inspiration

I don't know about you, but I could use a little inspiration pick-me-up. I'm so grateful to one of my lovely Squam cabinmates, Nicola, for introducing me to the very inspiring Seane Corn! As it says in the Omega bio for this video:

"Seane Corn is an inspired communicator, spirited vinyasa yoga teacher, impassioned public speaker, and global servant. Named the National Yoga Ambassador for YouthAIDS, she is cocreator, with Hala Khouri and Suzanne Sterling, of Off the Mat, Into the World®, a program that trains leaders of activism. She is also creator of the yoga program at Children of the Night, a California-based shelter that houses and educates adolescent prostitutes.

"Corn's work continues to evolve and is deeply influenced by many of the great spiritual traditions. Her commitment to make spirituality accessible and inspiring to all is reflected by her own willingness to deepen her personal understanding of the mysteries and her desire to share all that she discovers along the way."

Creativity surprise

This week's Spring into Action prompt is Have you ever been surprised by your creativity?

In my case, I'd have to say that while I've never been surprised that I'm a creative person (it would be much more surprising to find I was athletic or the life of the party), I have definitely almost always been surprised by the things I've created. To me the creative process is almost like giving birth to something which has a life of its own. I'm one of those people who definitely believes she has a muse:) Almost every project I've worked on has surprised me in its finished state. I tend to work really instinctively and have very little mental image of what a project will end up looking like. The same goes for creativity in my "mundane" life, where I call on openness and play to help find solutions I might otherwise have been blind to. I love that surprise!

Monday's Inspiration Celebration

I've really been enjoying the Monday Inspiration Celebrations over at
Dandelion Seeds and Dreams, but since I'm taking a break from making anything for a while, post Squam Art Fair, I haven't participated yet. Well, I decided to jump in this week with my own celebration of things that I've found inspiring in the past week, even if I have nothing to show for it but a happy spirit:)

You all know about how moved I was by Father Gregory Boyle's incredible Tattoos on the Heart, so I will spare you that:) But amazingly enough, the next book I picked up was equally dead-on:


"I wonder if that's what we'll do with God when we are through with all this, if he'll show us around heaven, all the light coming in through windows a thousand miles away, all the fields sweeping down to a couple of chairs under a tree, in a field outside the city. And we'll sit and tell him our stories, and he'll smile and tell us what they mean."
~ Donald Miller, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years



Also, I mentioned that I was participating in the online version of Pema Chodron's retreat in California this past weekend, based on Chogyam Trungpa's powerful book, Smile at Fear. It was full of such helpful wisdom! I can't share a video from that retreat (at least not yet), but here's another great video you might enjoy:



Thanks, Lisa, for encouraging me to think back over the past week and feel so grateful for all the wonderful, inspiring things I've experienced and to get excited about all the fabulous things in store for me this week!

Rules of (Tom) Thumb

(Billy admiring my Joseph Cornell artist's retrospective in a public place many years ago)

My dear friend, Billy, recently shared this amazing list of his "Rules of (Tom) Thumb" with me and kindly allowed me to post them here. He made this list for me in response to reading my personal commandments, which came out of a conversation we had about the power of living with a broken heart. I'm so delighted that he agreed to allow me to share them here. He'd love your feedback if you have anything to say in response!

1. Know you're alive. Chances of it are more than a trillion to one against. You made it. You're one of the elite. Between the endless night before and after someone cracked a window. Breathe.

2. Embrace everything, or as much as you can. There is nothing that is not life. There is no "other".

3. Take the pain. It is not against you, it is part of you. It means you're here.

4. Practice radical gratitude. You could have been born a worm, a lizard, a squid, or a slug, or [into much tougher circumstances as a human being]. The fact that you weren't has nothing to do with you. It's a gift.

5. Accept yourself completely at the earliest possible age. Don't dwell on your parents or on early childhood or adolescent experiences. It's the stamp that let you into the dance. That you are, not who you are, is what's important.

6. Stop caring about the outcome. Duality is implicit in everything, the universe cares only about balance, earth water animal man blood all going around in circles - you can't know what maintains the balance or where you are on the wheel.

7. Don't confuse your words with your music, your story with your song, your mind with your body.

8. "You behave 'as if' something were true - then you make it happen." - Gurdjieff

9. "Let the cowboy ride." - Van Morrison

10. Don't forget to boogie.

Smiling at Fear

Looking forward to experiencing some of Pema Chodron's Smile at Fear retreat today! Oh, how I love, love, love this woman. So grateful to the circumstances that brought her into my life and my wise and amazing sister who made the introduction:)

Rootabaga Stories

Thanks to my sweet dad, I grew up on these fanciful, beautifully read stories by Carl Sandburg, surely influencing my love of language and poetry. If you haven't heard them before, you are in for a treat. Enjoy!

Surrender

I'm so grateful for the amazing wisdom people share. And I've really been struck by the meditations on surrender I found on a few of my favorites blogs in the past few days. This is a topic I've been thinking about a lot since seeing Thirteen Conversations About One Thing a while back. So I thought I'd share some snippets here and possibly introduce you to some amazing women.

"Drawing on this stillness is the same practice no matter what situation I am confronted with ~ no matter what disappointment, frustration, opportunity, vision, or circumstance. And that practice is about trust, about knowing ~ not just believing ~ that my life is going to unfold on a daily basis in ways I cannot predict, and so instead of resisting that and trying to shape it into what I think it should be, I can let go and simply take the best possible care of myself in whatever situation I am in."
~Christine Mason Miller

"Just like that. Poof! As if I’d sprayed funk-be-gone all over my psyche. And I realized that, indeed, you’re sometimes better off accepting certain situations rather than fighting like hell. It’s all about channeling your inner Kenny; know when to hold ‘em and know when to fold ‘em, folks."
~Jeanine Caron

"Things were not okay. And yet, when I finally stopped fighting the questions and the sadness and allowed myself to simply be sad and confused, I realised that actually everything was okay. Even when things are not at all okay in the way I wanted and expected them to be okay, they are still okay."
~Marianne Elliott

Six word story 15

Who's stepping on my head? Me?

(This was one of my favorite sculptures at the Storm King Art Center when we visited recently. You can learn more about Three-Legged Buddha by Zhang Huan here and here.)

Holy Moly

I wonder what it means that my two favorite books this year, The Spiral Staircase and Tattoos on the Heart, are by a former Catholic nun and a Jesuit priest. Maybe I'm going back to my roots:) All I can say is that every word of Tattoos on the Heart rang true deep into my soul, like this passage:

There is enough strained obligation in what we think God asks of us that our mantra might as well be "The Lord is nothing I shall want." But the task at hand is only about delighting - with joy at the center. At ease. We can all relax. John 3:16 is displayed on big signs at every sporting event, "Yes, God so loved the world..." Yet the most electrifying, wholly affirming, life altering word in the entire sentence is "Yes." It's about alignment with God's own "yes," deciding to actually be there, all the time, when delight happens. So, as the letter of James ends, "Let your yes mean yes."

~Father Greg Boyle

Creativity in everyday life

Well, it looks like for me one way to use creativity in everyday life is to make my own banner for this week's Spring into Action prompt, which for some mysterious reason became important to me and managed to take up almost all the time I have for this post:)

So how about a quick list? These are some ways I use creativity in my everyday life:

-what I wear
-what I eat
-what I look at and how I look
-what I listen to and how I listen
-what I say
-how I think
-how I move
-how I delight
-how I love

And you?

Pass/fail

Yesterday as I was alternately dilly-dallying and rushing to get to my CSA pickup before noon (bless the new farmer's market pickup and that extra hour!) I realized that I was grading myself on my tardiness to pick up the veggies. Apparently I have a grading scale related to when I get to our farm pickup. This was news to the rational part of my mind. On my strict scale, anything before 10am is an "A" and it goes downhill after that.

Now, I can assure you that our farmers do not care when I come by. I think that they do care if I come by:) And I will tell you that yesterday when I scurried up at about 11:50, they appeared to be delighted to see me, greeting me with the same warm reception that I enjoy and appreciate every week. We talked about the deliciousness of fresh, still starchy, not too sweet, still curing sweet potatoes. We talked about the amazing alternative farming techniques of the late Fukuoka. We did not talk about how I have to get my life together and get to the West Nashville Farmers' Market before 10am every weekend.

So I'm shaking things up around here. I'm taking away the grading scale, and this is across the board. If I get dinner on the table after 7:30, there is no grade to go down. If I don't serve a farm vegetable with dinner on Saturday night, there is no grade to go down. If I don't have anything to say and have a great video to post here, there is no grade to go down. (The list could go on...) We're going pass/fail and everyone who shows up passes. And that's that!

Sad Happy Birthday

John Lennon would have been 70 today. Hard-core Beatles fan that I am, I have to admit I'm still heartbroken by the loss.



We also lost my dear father-in-law five years ago today. October 9th has become sort of a tender day for me. Be kind to yourself today (and every day). Maybe we all just need to sit and watch the wheels go around for a bit and feel grateful for the love we have in our lives - past, present, and future.

Tattoos on my heart

Several months ago I posted a video about Father Greg Boyle and the financially troubled Homeboy Industries. After a long wait, I'm finally reading his amazing book, Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion, and it is wrecking me in the best possible way.

I'm a collector of stories about the power of love to heal and transform and this book is brimming with them. As Father Greg writes in his preface, "Clearly, the themes that bind the stories together are things that matter to me. As a Jesuit for thiry-seven years and a priest for twenty-five years, it would not be possible for me to present these stories apart from God, Jesus, compassion, kinship, redemption, mercy, and our common call to delight in one another. If there is a fundamental challenge within these stories, it is simply to change our lurking suspicion that some lives matter less than other lives. William Blake wrote, 'We are put on earth for a little space that we might learn to bear the beams of love.' Turns out this is what we all have in common, gang member and nongang member alike: we're just trying to learn how to bear the beams of love."

This book will do you the priceless service of breaking your heart, increasing its capacity to love.

Gold for you!

After my last post (and thanks so much for all the nice comments - so fun to see how that resonated!) I think you're all probably wondering how you can spend time with the extraordinary Jen Lee, right? Well, lucky for you she's been dreaming up an amazing weekend: Integrate Retreat in the Rockies. Here's more about it:

Integrate Retreat in the Rockies from Jen Lee on Vimeo.

And the fabulous thing is that they've recently secured some scholarship money. If you'd like to request a scholarship or find out more, just email Jen Lee at: jen at jenlee dot net.

"Trust me, it won't be the same without you." ~Jen Lee

Soul Care Studio

A while back I really enjoyed a post on Jen Lee's blog about how when her friends come to visit her they say they're checking into the Soul Care Garage. You may remember that I took Jen's "Care and Keeping of Creative Souls" workshop at Squam a few weeks ago. During our day together she told an amazing story about a time when she was feeling like she didn't have much to show for her life professionally since college. Her friend (another wonderful woman, whose birthday is today, Jen Lemen) said to her, "You have been tending your soul the way most people cultivate their careers, and what you have to offer is gold."

Wow! Did that story speak to all of us. We all rushed to write that quotation down in our lovely little journals we'd been given for the class. And the idea of tending one's soul took root in my own. I believe Jon Bernie advised tending to the present moment in one of his recent podcasts, although darned if I can find it now. And that word "tend" is amazing. It makes my whole body listen. It turns judgement and striving right off for me. I start to dance with the moment.

How would my life be different if I started valuing tending my soul, tending to the moment? (Are these things different? I suspect not.) And so in my goofy little mind I've come up with a "place" for this, which is really of course just in my attitude. I call it the Soul Care Studio. And I make funny little infomercials for it in my head or while I'm driving, like "Here at the Soul Care Studio we look at the way the light hits the autumn leaves" or "Here at the Soul Care Studio we appreciate the value of delicious, healthy food." When I'm in a situation where I don't know what to choose, I've started asking myself what they'd do at the Soul Care Studio and it all becomes much clearer to me.

Would you like to know what the Soul Care Studio looks like? Here's an exterior shot:


(Photo by Donna Gors)

And an interior shot:


Do you think that looks a little like Squam Lake and Dia: Beacon? Well, you may be right:)

Lovely and Unfinished

Yes, along the same lines as my current love of repetition of Joy Harjo and Van Morrison's poetic music, I find I cannot stop reading accounts of struggles and challenges in people's lives. And I just finished two more wonderful books, This Lovely Life by Vicki Forman and An Unfinished Marriage by Joan Anderson.

What does the story of two babies born tragically early have to do with the musings on a couple rekindling their marriage in the second half of life? I think it has to do with the lack of trying to look good each of these authors braves. They're out to tell the truth, the good, the bad, the ugly, and the lovely. And honestly, that's all I have ears for these days.

Musing on creativity

As I've mentioned here before, I really enjoy the Spring: Inspiration in Bloom project and all the wonderful women who participate. And during October they've invited their readers to Spring into Action and participate in answering some questions relating to creativity. Sounds good to me!

The first question is "What's your definition of creativity?" In the past I'd have seen creativity in my life as defined by the many art projects I've been obsessed with over the years. But right now I'm starting to think about how I can apply my creativity to the "problem" parts of my life, my sometimes desperate attempts to balance the abundance that is my life. Today, while trying to get back into the flow of my work after a wonderful weekend away I could feel the stress strangling me. And then I thought about one of my strengths being creativity - the ability to see things from new perspectives, to play with all the possibilities.

Instead of allowing my work to overwhelm me to the point where I lose the larger perspective, my challenge to myself as I focus on some new, big projects will be to apply my creative skills to them. To look at all the options, not to rush, to allow plenty of room for flashes of inspiration, not to forget to play, to dream really big, to encourage collaboration, to accept the possibility that the results of these projects could be way more interesting and powerful than anything I could perceive through the perspective of fear and a desire to just get them done.

Wonderful weekend of love

"When there is love in your heart -
in your eyes, in your blood, in your face,
you are a different human being."
~Krishnamurti

Back from a wonderful weekend of love in New York. We flew in a day early and spent Thursday at Dia: Beacon where I was practically in tears the whole time with delightful art overwhelm and then on Friday we made a leap of bravery and took off for the totally impressive Storm King Art Center, despite the rain. We were rewarded with almost 2 hours of clear weather in which to take in much of the grounds before it started drizzling again. And then we had the honor of attending a dear friend's wedding to a beautiful, talented, lovely woman - congratulations again, Scott and Rose! Thank you so much for sharing your big day with us!

The Role of the Mind in Managing Emotions

I've really been enjoying my dear friend Jon Bernie's new videos. I'm thinking a couple of you may not have seen this yet, so I thought I'd share it here.



So sorry about the goofy picture... It's totally worth it, though.

Vote for Lily!

Karen and Lily at Squam, photo by Donna Gors

Here's a message I recently received from one of my amazing Squam cabinmates. Her marketing company is in the running for a grant to develop a free program to help 4 non profits with their marketing materials and training. They need as many votes as they can get this month, so if this interests you, read on...

"As some of you may know, in my every day life I have a marketing company (read me & my business partner) and we've teamed up with another company (read 2 more people) to try and win a grant to develop a free program to help 4 non profits with their marketing materials and training. They are all fairly small and desperately need our help to tell their stories so they can do what they do best - make our community a better place. We also want to start an ongoing training workshop series to help even more non profits down the line.

"So, we will be in the running as of October 1st on www.refresheverything.com to win a $50,000 grant. But we need votes - daily votes - and lots of them. We truly have no idea how many votes it will take to get in the top 10 so please, please, please consider voting for us every day. By getting the funding for this project, it will also help me personally cover the costs of another personal project I'm running in October and throughout the year called InfertilityEClass.com. It's a free e-class I developed to help women, like me, to deal with the emotions of dealing with infertility. Consider it the silent 5th non-profit.

"If you'd like to learn more about this project and watch our entry video, please visit: www.DoGoodForIndiana.com or check out the attached sheet. We are offering a free short daily e-mail reminder, if you'd like to sign-up here just for the month: http://www.dogoodforindiana.com/VoteForUs.html"