Last year, we teamed up with Pal-o-Mine Equestrian, a therapeutic horseback riding stable on Long Island. We heard about them through a friend of ours who has a son, Jonathan, with Mowat-Wilson Syndrome. Since her son started working with Pal-o-Mine, he's made great strides in some of his movement and sensory issues. 
This past October, my boyfriend, Jack was on a horse for the first time. Growing up as a city boy, he never had any experience around horses, and he was quite afraid. He was nervous that the horse would bite him or make a break for it. Jack went trail riding in Moab, Utah where John Ford and John Wayne filmed their Westerns. I didn't want to tell Jack that the horses are so trained that they would walk the path even if Jack was sleeping, but I did tell him not to worry. After the brief ride on his horse, Jack came back more centered and at ease. Perhaps it was living the life-long dream of becoming a cowboy, or maybe it was the horse himself.
I have something to declare - my sister, Jessica Arinella, is a champion for Honey Bees! I'm not sure when it started. Maybe she saw a late night documentary while suffering from insomnia. Or maybe it was when she first read the quote that Einstein may or not have said - “If honey bees become extinct, human society will follow in four years.”
And what about honey? I'm a big champion of it's delicious stickiness. I suffer from terrible headaches and once allergy season kicks in, I know I'm gonna be down for the count for at least a month. But by eating honey, you help your body deal with it's allergies by ingesting a small amount of the pollen. (The honey has to be local to your area, so you're getting the right plant pollens). They're not even that scary. A very dear friend of ours has a bee colony. She says it's a lot of fun, not intimidating, and we reap the tasty rewards. Those boys do some great work.
Today, I'm a little embarrassed. When we first produced our video to "Adopt a Soldier" through Soldier's Angels, I wanted to sign up right away and sponsor one of our service members overseas. But I didn't. Months went by, and I didn't sign up. Why, you may ask? I wish the reason was better. Ultimately it was fear. In order to adopt a soldier, you have to agree to write one letter a week and send one care package a month. I was worried that I wouldn't have the time. And frankly, I think that's crazy.
"Modern slavery – be it bonded labor, involuntary servitude, or sexual slavery – is a crime and cannot be tolerated in any culture, community, or country … [It] is an affront to our values and our commitment to human rights.” – Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary of State
If you're anything like me, you get junk mail. Piles of junk mail. So much junk mail that one day, you find a note in your mail box that says - "Dear Miss, please clean out your mailbox, thanks your mail man." (This was an actual note. I got it last year when I was away for a long weekend).
So driving to Massachusetts yesterday, Jack shouted the expletive "Holy #&%, gas is now over $4." This gave me pause. First of he interrupted my performance of Thunder Road with bad news, WTF? Second of all, will songs like "No Particular Place to Go," "Drive My Car" and "Fun Fun Fun" become obsolete becuase people won't know what joyrides are? And third and perhaps most important, why are we all slaves to the pump?
Allen has always described himself as “a person who sets out to achieve his dreams." After receiving the devastating diagnosis of terminal prostate cancer, Allen has realized that he must “seize the day” by achieving one of his final life dreams: “to feel the freedom and enjoy the view from a hot air balloon ride." He would like to take this ride “before his level of function decreases and this goal becomes physically impossible." Allen’s dream will grant him the happiness and hope he needs to continue on with his difficult journey.
This blog is hard for me to write.
So I finally did the fridge test. Takes about ten seconds. Honestly, I've been putting it off all this time because I was pretty sure I would fail. And FAIL I did. The paper came out easily from both the fridge and freezer doors. Uh oh. I wonder if the faulty seal is the reason why it doesn't work as well in the summer months?
We've heard the John Galliano rant; we've seen the UCLA student's youtube clip against students on her campus. And I wonder why? What is it that makes people do such hurtful things? We've talked about this around our office. What makes someone go to the racial place? Why did Michael Richards rant against his hecklers with racial slurs? Why did Mel Gibson explode with a fountain of anti-semitic remarks? What takes someone from being angry to attacking someone because of their gender, their sexual orientation or the color of their skin? 
Water. It's one of those things that we take for granted. Turn on the tap. It's there. Need a pit stop in the middle of the night? No problem. Want a early morning cup of tea? We're covered. But what if you had to walk miles to get water? What if that water was contaminated? 
I've always been a subscriber to magazines. I used to love Sassy. Remember that one? Though my reading material might have changed since growing up (I've now added Gluten Free Living, Eating Well, The New Yorker and Fine Cooking to my subscriptions), the casing hasn't. I'm still a fan of magazines. But what do you do with them when you're done? You can recycle them, of course, or you can pass them on. 
We found Doorways for Women and Children outside of Washington DC. One of the things that made us choose this shelter was the fact that they have a wishlist on their website, so patrons can know what items are of greatest need to Doorways at a given time. When I decided to add this to my 46 day challenge, I revisited their website and I found that Doorways now has an Amazon Wishlist to make it even easier. Simply click on the item that you would like to purchase, and Amazon will package and ship directly for you. One stop shopping as they say. 
It's so simple really. Probably the easiest thing to do when it comes to saving energy. Turn off your lights. Turn off electronic devices when you're not using them. Turn off your power strip to prevent phantom power. 
Today, I decided to become a Micro Mentor. I am already signed up for the Boston University alumni program. It puts my name on a website and allows BU grads to contact me to ask questions about the entertainment industry or starting out in New York. I decided to sign up for that program because I wouldn't be where I am today without the generosity of a few women who helped me while I was starting out. They took the time to meet with me, allowed me to ask questions and helped guide me in the right direction. I was raised with the knowledge that it's important to remember where you came from and to give back when you can. I thought that the Micro Mentor program through Mercy Corps would be a great fit. 
During my one-month, one-minute challenge, I knew that I wanted to adopt an animal, but which one? I've long been interested in endangered species. In fact, growing up, my bedroom door featured a giant poster of many of the world's endangered species. As I went into my room, I'd pass their faces and get outraged that the wolf, the elephant and the manatee were looking back at me.
When we were deciding on our topics for last year, we knew that we wanted to address issues concerning the elderly. We felt that they are an often overlooked group, and we wanted to highlight ways to help them, as well as cater ideas for them to help others. 
Just about everyone has an old pair of glasses lying around. I'm sure if you go into your junk drawer, you'll find an old pair with an outdated prescription from a few years ago. 
Just think, in sixty seconds, you can "give the value of 1.1 cups of food to the hungry," "help another woman in need get a free mammogram," "give the value of 0.6 bowls of food to a rescued animal," "help a homeless and hungry veteran get a free meal," "provide a child with livesaving health care," "help give a child in need a book to read and treasure," and "help protect 11.4 square feet of rainforest habitat for widlife."
So I've decided to do a What You Can Do challenge of sorts. Throughout the next 46 days (when did lent become longer than 40 days?), I will take on a different What You Can Do one-minute action each day. Should be pretty easy to do, in a way easier to do than stopping my mouth or resisting a hot fudge sundae. 