Speaking of duty...

This is awfully late notice, but... you can attend a "walk in the woods" and get more info. on Kate and Peter's Treehouse tonight at 6:30 (run!) at the Frick Environmental Center. The group will meet at 6:30 and meet on the latest developments before embarking on the regularly scheduled walk. See Amy at Callapitter (my blog list!!!) for more info.

And... don't forget about Haiti. We have friends who are volunteering to help with clean-up down there now - one through a corporation - one through a non-profit AND I know two photographers who have been down there to document the horror. It is still awful and they still need donations - cities in ruin - orphans with nowhere to sleep.... You can always try here or my "go to", Unicef - though, there are other initiatives - like if you go to the band, The Arcade Fire's, fan site and donate, they will duplicate up to one million dollars in fan donations. Not too shabby. Google it all - I am in a hurry to post.

And ... see the chuckleheads pictured above (you've seen these girlies before)? They have decided that, tonight, they want to have a sleepover and get chinese food and eat it out of the containers like they do in the movies (and laugh, of course, and do Facebook Photo Booth AND talk about boys...). Know what I mean? Actually, that doesn't sound like such a bad idea....;-). Wish I was going :-).

Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice

Watched that movie over the weekend. Brought back some memories (Sue - if you're reading - we saw it together - reminded us of our funny friend, Steve, and his crazy behavior :-) - when we were kids....;-)... when I was just becoming enamored of Tim Burton and his talents.

I'm lowkey today so don't have much..... Some stuff interests me, like:
Modern dance choreographer, Martha Clarke, wins prestigious dance award... read here.

Watched The Next Food Network Star last night, and... I have to say, I think it is surpassing Top Chef for me this season in terms of talent and interest. Both worth a look....

England is OUT of World Cup big time. Hubby is pulling for the South American teams (being from Peru and all :-), so... I may jump on the Brazil bandwagon.

Had a lot to do yesterday... family stuff, household stuff.... so missed an ice cream party (where I'm told many free range kids would roam ;-) - and... despite all our camps, etc., I do embrace that concept otherwise. We snorkel in the bathtub, paint on the deck, race bikes down the street, wander to the neighbors, explore the woods, bake and cook a bit, really climb on the playgrounds, etc. - I allow some freedoms, space, rope ;-)... Anyway, hope everyone had fun (M and friends ;-).

Sat end of day last night, sharing a juice pop with Lil on the front porch while by boys tried to sleep on our hot third floor (and hubby dropped Olivia and friends at a birthday party - a high school boy... and so it begins...). The humidity is starting to get to me.

Photo: Feeling sentimental for last month and beyond. These are 8th grade grad photos. More sentimental downloads to come......

And - thanks, all, for comments, emails, etc. on my doctor rant. Got some good advice and do feel better about my odd experience.

Finally - some follow ups....

For the most recent movement / news on Kate and Peter's Treehouse (remember Amy at Callapitter), read and follow here.

And.... don't forget to keep donating to the Haiti clean-up / reconstruction effort. Many organizations still accepting donations / help, including this one.

QUICK fyi (s) ....

Remember to visit That's Church (again, see my blog list on this page) for more info. on how to help with the situation in Haiti - specifically, getting other orphans out ..... Power of the people type thing.... call, press politicians, lawmakers, etc. This is going to be a priority effort for a while. Please help.....

Also, have to mention our fantastic US snowboarders and skiers. Men's halfpipe yesterday was amazing - a must-watch sport, for sure. They are doing so much now - way beyond what you may have seen in the Olympics four years ago. Anyway, congrats to everyone but especially Shaun White who got gold and Scotty Lago who got bronze (nice show by teammate Vito, too). Go here for the remainder of the schedule (and some results) - both men and women. And, of course, congrats to our gold and silver medalists in the women's downhill - Lindsey Vonn and Julia Mancuso. Hope all those poor women who crashed yesterday are still doing fine - disappointed, for sure - just hope they are not too banged up. Great show.

And.... ads on my page gone for now (happy, readers? - I am ;-). I'm not so sure about this Google AdSense......

For now... pure joy at watching my two year old read "Don't be Pesky, Little Monkey" - with lift up flaps and cool pictures and different textures.... Lovely - going to be a brilliant day.... WHICH reminds me.... need to mention AGAIN.... visit That's Church - support Haiti in their time of need. Kids need us!

And in closing.... hubby stumbled onto this bakery in Shadyside a while back (since our family trip to Paris a few years ago, we have been on the prowl for French bakeries.... have a few local ones in mind....more on that later :-), but - for now...).... but here it is in Pop City (which is odd because my Lil just pulled the business card out of who knows where in the house, and... then it appears on PC.. hmmm..)... The French Tart... (kitschy and not too original but I'm loving that name.... like in the movie "Run Fatboy Run", one of the main characters has a bakery called "Libby's Sweet Buns" or something... love that too :-)... Time to go play Indiana Jones with Milo..... All in a day's "work"....

A "to do list" of sorts

Pressed for time today but have lots to say

So - continue to stay safe and healthy. We did not have school again today as our school follows the Pitt Public Schools and, shockingly, they called off today - probably because of the bottle neck nightmares and children left at bus stops or on buses yesterday due to the piles and piles of snow, half lane roads, etc. Ventured out today and can report roads OK in Sq Hill - much better in Regent Sq area - better than yesterday, but... Also - stay healthy. We have this monster cough circulating our house now, and it is not going away anytime soon - seems to be a culmination of many ailments.

Pay attention to That's Church (formerly PittGirl - remember her?) on my links list. Another plea for Haiti, which... I firmly feel that we should still be contributing to monthly to keep funds, supplies, support going and going (almost posted as much the other day then snow hit. My BAD in a big way :-). Have to throw in my two cents as usual - disagree, in part, that ONLY Pittsburgh would respond to the plea for help for the Bresma Orphanage in such a way as is posted on her blog. Thankfully, "'burghers" are very loyal to their native sons and daughters (Ali and Jamie are from the area). This country is full of "Pittsburghers" who still firmly believe that if it doesn't happen it Pittsburgh, it doesn't happen at all (I closely observe this group of "enlightened" Mt. Lebanon grads from years ago as an outsider and can report that they, in fact, will never "leave" Pittsburgh - some in body - some in spirit). Anyway, thankfully, these women were from the area, and Pittsburgh did, in fact, pull those orphans to safety. Having lived all over myself, I am hoping that other cities will follow suit.

Keep watching the Olympics. Sad for boarder Lindsey Jacobellis who missed a chance for gold redemption ....yesterday was it??? The men's skating is interesting - all emotional and talented guys... Nice diversion - these Winter Olympics - uplifting in a way :-).

Bresma Mission Orphanage ... still room for help.

For those following the Bresma Mission story (and the subsequent delivery of the children here in Pittsburgh) - who are getting a little confused about how to help... you can contact the organizers directly: BRESMAMISSION@GMAIL.COM

At this point, it is difficult to tell whether or not they are going to be quarantined or placed into homes immediately. I know there is a Facebook page with over 11,000 members (from the past few days!) - pages of pages of people willing to foster. As I said before, I know a family on deck to help, etc. Anyway - thus far, it is unclear whether or not they will follow protocol regarding certification and licensing to foster (I'm sure they will). The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that Catholic Charities is going to be handling placement here in the states. They are pretty speedy - provided the kids are healthy and ready to place. I believe, per the message that is sent when you do make direct email contact, that the children are not available for adoption (either already in progress or starting from square one, which, as someone familiar with the adoption process, I can understand), and they are all being eventually placed in group homes to stay together.

The response to foster and / or get them out of Haiti may currently be overwhelming to the organizers in terms of answering the calls to help. I know from a good source that the kids are being photographed for the possibility of a story in the New York Times. Granted, there has been a lot of media attention thus far, but... now that they are here, it could be wide open after the story and photos are out.

It might be worth a try to email directly and even offer help in the form of cribs, baby supplies, etc. (and I say that knowing that so many have offered monetary and other supply-related help). Again, per the message that you will receive when you make direct contact, they are not accepting money or supplies currently but are "not out of the woods yet" (which means, to me, to stay posted - the Facebook page is a good place to start.

Wow - so nice to see people pulling together.

Catholic Charities

It appears the orphans in Haiti will be boarding a plane for the US very soon. Catholic Charities will be handling placement of the children. I have to admit - I have a little soft spot for Catholic Charities. I, myself, was adopted through the organization YEARS ago :-). My Mom tells me that they had me all dressed up for my big arrival (the social worker and his daughter drove me to my new parents in their own car), but that they asked if my parents could change me into a new outfit because they needed what I was wearing for another baby. Shoestring budget, I guess. Donations to all these organizations go a long way :-).

Hopefully (semi) helpful Haiti update....

Regarding the earthquake in Haiti, I have been inundated with places to donate - where to help, etc. For example, I posted something about the Pittsburgh woman who has the orphanages in Haiti that were destroyed, and I think we all saw the PPG article on her; however, while the article was rich in info., I didn't give a lot of help regarding how to help - specifically. It's not that people are being negligent - it just appears that there is some holdup - particularly when it involves removing people from the area or reacting when not all info. is in (people located, not all relief money and supplies flowing yet....).

Now... back to my original statement that there are many places to donate, and... there are. Ask where, and you get conflicting (well-intentioned - don't get me wrong) opinions on where is best. Unicef is a good place to start (forgive me - I need to gather here - have a couple of donation options / pages / links) as are other groups that have a ground presence already established (our church / my kids' school has cited Catholic Relief as one of those). Anyway... I have received some recommendations from others and will post, as I said, ASAP. I figure you all checked out the first wave of recommendations - I will be part of the second :-), which.... as we learned with Hurricane Katrina - the aid needs to be ongoing (I mean - for that - we were sending school supplies in back packs well after the actual disaster - much to my daughter's chagrin - she wanted them to go out RIGHT AWAY, but... we had to wait). I'm listing this as "community" because, as we know, it is all part of our WORLD COMMUNITY, isn't it?

Thanks, all. I'm distracted but trying to help a bit.... Hope I sound helpful (even just lucid ;-).

Help for Haiti

I do plan to post some donation and information links that I have been made aware of over the past few days, but... in the meantime, check out two blogs on my page - Amy at Callapitter and That's Church (right up top - a new addition). Both are providing much better updates as well as donation information. Late-breaking details involve a Pittsburgh woman and her orphanage that was destroyed. Late last night, I received word that a friend may be fostering a child from Haiti (from an infant to a teenager - not sure yet), and I'm wondering if this is related (i.e. this is some way to help with that particular facet of this HUGE trajedy). When I get more details, I will post.