Cash for a Better Life

Did my subject draw you into this post? I'm hoping it did, but it might have given you the wrong idea - purposefully I admit. :)

Many of you have read previous posts of mine about how I help with The Ugly Christmas Sweater Party that benefits Operation Breakthrough. In this post, I simply want to tell you about that organization and how even a $10 donation can help them.

Put most simply and in their own words:

The mission of Operation Breakthrough is to help children who are living in poverty develop to their fullest potential by providing them a safe, loving and educational environment.

Operation Breakthrough cares each weekday for more than 600 children, ages 6 weeks to 18 years. More than 98% of the enrolled families live below the federal poverty guidelines, most far below them.

About 25% of the children are homeless or near homeless, living in battered women's or homeless shelters or transitional living programs. Often they sleep on the sofas of friends or relatives, sometimes even living in cars, rundown hotels or abandoned buildings. About 25% of our children are in foster care or other placements due to abuse, neglect or other family crises. The average income of our families is $9,400.

You can read more on their website. It truly is a wonderful KANSAS CITY organization that helps KANSAS CITY children who are dealing with a situation that is NOT their fault.

Our Gifts Make a Difference! $10 will buy a book for their library. $20 will buy new shoes for a child. $50 will buy groceries for a family of 4. $85 will cover a complete physical for an uninsured child. $100 will buy a pair of eyeglasses. $150 will cover care for an infant for a week. $500 will cover a field trip for 50 children to a museum or theater performance. $1,000 will cover 80 hours of individual therapy for a child suffering from abuse or neglect.

Personally, my "Skipping Starbucks" savings will be going to Operation Breakthrough again this year. My donation will probably be around $100. That simple donation could provide a child with the eyeglasses needed to do better in school. Or it could give 5 children new shoes for winter when they may otherwise not have correct apparel.

YOU, too, can skip eating out a few times this month or skip the expensive coffee or just skip a date night. Will spending money on any of those items make as big an impact in your life as these items will make in theirs?

If ten of us could each give $100 that combined donation could provide a child with the therapy needed to overcome a tragic event in their life. The thought that we could help a child so profoundly with such a simple gift truly moves me to tears and I hope it affects you too.

Please consider making a donation to them this season or at any time during the year. It does a heart good! :)

Conversations with Kids

RETIREMENT PLAN FROM THOMAS
A recent car conversation went like this...

• Travis: Do artists make a lot of money?
• Mom: Sometimes. Depends on what they paint or make.
• Thomas: Really? That could be good. I like art.
• Mom: It's a lot of work. And sometimes you don't become famous and people don't buy the art until after you die.
• (long pause where you could hear the wheels turning in their heads)
• Thomas: ok, I have it. I'll do a regular job and then when I'm 99 I'll become an artist really fast, get famous cuz I'll die soon and then my grandkids will have lots of money! Everyone should do this!

---

ACRONYMS WITH TRAVIS
Travis wanted to figure out the meanings to some acronyms that he's heard recently. Here's some of the best 8-year-old answers he gave before we told him the real meanings:

• SWAT = Sweet Weapons and Tactics (he knows it's Special, but he prefers Sweet)
• CSI = Criminal Science Animals (yeah, he can't spell very well yet...)
• NCIS = National Crime In Science
• CIA = Crimes In America
• NASA = No Air in Space Association
• USPS = Daddy's Work!
• KSU = K-State University (but he couldn't tell us what the K was for...)

Once we explained the K in KSU was for Kansas, we of course asked, "If K is for Kansas, what is KU for?" And this garnered our absolute favorite answer...

KU is for Suckers!

I kid you not, no prep or coercion. He just KNOWS! :)

Skipping Starbucks Challenge 2010

I hereby offer up the Skipping Starbucks challenge again (read this: 2008 Skipping Starbucks post). I think Skipping Starbucks and donating the cash will do more good than drinking there this month.

You say, "I don't drink Starbucks or any coffee!"? You can still participate! Pick ANY where you go regularly (at least 1x per week) and skip it this month. Then, select a charity and donate what you would have spent there.

Two years ago, my coffee consumption made for a $50 donation to Operation Breakthrough. That's approximately 10 times I skipped the expensive coffee and gave to someone less fortunate than myself.

Can you do the same this year? Consider the gauntlet thrown at your feet...

My Fascinate Score

I read a coworker's blog post with her Fascinate results and wondered what mine would be - now sharing them for the world. Nothing new here for me or those who really know me, but still interesting to see it in print. Only part that doesn't really ring true to me / about me is highlighted below (under Trust).

MEET YOUR TRIGGERS
Your primary fascination is LUST. (Nicely done, you.) Even without realizing it, you’re already instinctively applying this trigger when trying to persuade others. Your secondary trigger is POWER, and your dormant trigger (the one you’re least likely to apply in your personality and behavior) is TRUST.

PRIMARY TRIGGER: LUST
So lust is your primary trigger. [um, DUH] That means you draw people closer with a warm and open style of interaction. You’re expressive with ideas, communicate well in person, and probably have a strong creative streak. Even when you mask your emotions, you feel passionately about your opinions.

You’re intuitive with information, often making decisions based on gut instinct rather than cold intellect. While other personality types prefer facts, you’re more attuned to the nuances of attitude, design, and a certain indefinable je ne sais quoi.

Lust is a powerful form of influence because it creates irresistible messages that overcome rational resistance. When you dial up your primary trigger, you have the ability to create messages that are extremely difficult to ignore.

You’re remarkably talented in creating messages that lead to a powerful intellectual, physical, and emotional response. For instance, you like to share experiences with others, and in conversation, you draw people closer with body language and eye contact.

By applying these natural strengths to your work, you can build warmer relationships and more trusting dialogue. And by applying to your ideas, you can create messages make people say, “I want that now!

SECONDARY TRIGGER: POWER
While you’re not a power-monger, you are power-comfortable: an authority who likes to be in control.

Blindly following someone else’s orders? No, thanks. You prefer to actively lead situations, rather than sitting back and passively watching from the back row. You’ll follow other people’s rules, if needed, but you prefer to define a new set of rules on your own terms. You exude influence, compelling others to pay attention. Your strong opinions and bold action often spark reactions from others.

Your messages command influence, and your opinion carries weight. When you excel in positions of leadership, others look to you for cues of how to behave. At times, perhaps, you might come across as intimidating or even overbearing. When you expect others to obey your message, you define deadlines and demands of the alarm trigger to make them comply. By steering your use of power productively toward your goals, you’ll become more motivating and inspirational.

You’re a natural leader, and probably comfortable with authority. Next step? Hone your power trigger for greater respect, bigger audiences, and more loyal advocates.

DORMANT TRIGGER: TRUST
One thing’s for sure: You’re definitely not boring.

People who score low on trust tend to be thrilling, passionate, and intuitive. They live in the moment, and rarely plan very far in advance. [I really DO plan EVERYTHING as far in advance as humanly possible. Living in the moment doesn't really appeal to me much since my kids were born - it's just too hard with three kids!] As a result, they can be unpredictable, impulsive, and volatile.

Of the 7 triggers, trust is the most difficult to earn, the easiest to lose, and the most valuable to hold.

Perhaps you don’t need to sway opinion through consistency. Many people and brands, especially those unconventional few who delight in immediate gratification and avant-garde style, don’t rely on trust. However, this trigger comes with many rewards, so take a look at ways to increase trust in your message, without losing the excitement and edge of your other triggers.

OTHER TRIGGERS NOT IN MY LIST:

• Prestige
• Mystique
• Alarm
• Vice

TAKE THE TEST TODAY AND SEE WHAT YOUR TRIGGERS ARE. I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR ABOUT YOUR SCORES!

A Month of Thankfulness

For the month of November I'll be updating this post with a daily update of people, places or items for which I am thankful. I also have calendars printed for the boys to write out their thankful list throughout the month. So - what are you thankful for today? :)

1. My family. Specifically my husband who loves me despite all my faults, my two funny smart and sweet little boys and my beautiful sensitive step-daughter. I love you all!
    
2. Karate classes. It's great workout, good quality time with my boys and I'm actually learning something new, which is pretty rare these days.
    
3. Thanksgiving. Particularly, I am thankful for people, especially radio stations, who remember that Thanksgiving IS a holiday; it's actually my favorite one! No Christmas until AFTER November 25 please! :)
    
4. My Crazy Brain. No really, I'm happy I'm a little off-kilter. Because otherwise, there's no way I could be me or do all that I do if I wasn't just a little nuts.
    
5. Pro-bono Accounts. My job allows me to help such wonderful and worthy causes such as Back in the Swing, Treads & Threads, Jazzoo at the Kansas City Zoo, Red Ball for The American Red Cross in KC, HillOween, and The Ugly Christmas Sweater Party. Being the website project lead for these events is very soul-satisfying!
    
6. Football. I love football! I love how American it is. I love the autumn-ness of it. I love that my whole family plays fantasy football together. I love how my husband coaches - hard but fair. I love how my boys play it - with no butts but lots of heart. Plus, when it's on TV, it's a great time time to take a nap if I don't really care about who's playing.
    
7. Daylight Savings. I know most people dislike this, but I love it. Especially in the fall. I went to bed at 10:45 only to realize with the time change it was really only 9:45. And I slept until 8 am. And when I drive to work or drive home, the sun's not in my eeys as much. Let's just not talk about the spring side of this amazing deal...
    
8. Morning-able Children. My kids get up, get their own breakfast, brush their teeth, get dressed, feed the pets and even make their own lunches - at only 8 yrs old! They do all that with minimal reminders (or yelling) from me, most days. This allows me to get up later and get ready for work a lot easier. Now, on to teaching them how to cook, do laundry and drive the car...