Bibliosphere

In high school, I took a number of semesters of poetry with Ellen Kort. She was a former poet laureate of Wisconsin, and she was a wonderful teacher. One of the most supportive teachers I've had. She passed a few years ago, but every so often, I remember this poem, and it gives me at least some hope. " Advice to Beginners " by Ellen Kort Begin. Keep on beginning. Nibble on everything. Take a hike. Teach yourself to whistle. Lie. The older you get the more they'll want your stories. Make them up. Talk to stones. Short-out electric fences. Swim with the sea turtle into the moon. Learn how to die. Eat moonshine pie. Drink wild geranium tea. Run naked in the rain. Everything that happens will happen and none of us will be safe from it. Pull up anchors. Sit close to the god of night. Lie still in a stream and breathe water. Climb to the top of the highest tree until you come to the branch where the blue heron sleeps. Eat poems for breakfast. Wear them on your f...

 So this fall I did decide to move ahead with the Community Board for CureSearch in my area. We're really getting into it here in the new year (some of which is my perspective having not attended a board meeting prior to January). Our first big event (outside of our walks & the Ultimate Hike) is a hockey game with the Utah Grizzlies! We're taking to the ice on February 22 and we not only are able to provide several families with free tickets, but we're also raising money for CureSearch! If you're in SLC area, and want to attend a hockey game while supporting a good cause, join us February 22 in section 117, purchasing tickets here or at the QR code below. Not only is it a discount, but 20% of proceeds will go to CureSearch as well!

 The other day I finally organized my yarn. I finally took this mess, with my excited helper, and spun it into neat balls, sorted and packaged into bags, and carefully placed into my yarn box. I'm sure I could say lots of deep things here, about how I sorted my mind like my yarn, but I'll leave that for your imagination.

We are collecting donations at work for my upcoming event: Girl Scouts Give Back Day! You can donate Birthday or Hygiene materials that will be used to make these kits through the linked Amazon wishlists. What is Girl Scouts Give Back Day? Well, it is an annual, state-wide day of service in my council. This is the second one I've organized, and it's the second year that it has been in this form. It's aimed to get Girl Scouts into their community & doing service.  This year, we are making kits for Utah Foster Care: teen hygiene kits and birthday kits (all ages). We're super excited to be offering this all over the state! So, if you are looking to help us make an impact, you can donate Birthday or Hygiene materials through Amazon!

 Guess what! My role with CureSearch has officially started and we held our first event recently! We went to a holiday market (hosted by the French community, a surprise to me) and I was able to share about our different projects and opportunities with CureSearch. I'm excited to see where this takes me next!

  It seems odd that four years have passed again, since I last checked to see if my vote had been counted. When it's a local or state election, I hope for the best, but presidential? Even though I know which way my state will go, I vote, for every race, even pulling up the judge reviews to carefully select who I wish to retain. If you are eligible, if you can, please do vote. While the deadline has passed to register in some states, many allow same-day registration, like Utah. Learn more from Vote.org .