Warning: This Post is Rated PG-13. Proceed w/ Caution.

Ahhhh . . . nothing like a little ^%$ fragrance to freshen things up a bit.

OK, so, I saw this picture and, I am ashamed to say, I laughed out loud.  I don’t know why . . . I know it’s totally silly, and not even really THAT funny.  But nonetheless, given the mood I am in today, it made me giggle. 

Question #1: Is laughing at something like this a bad thing?

Question #2: If so, how bad is it?

Question #3: Is posting something like this on a blog and propagating it for others to see a bad (or even worse) thing?

Question #4:  Can I giggle at stuff like this and still feel good about myself? 

Question #5:  How much light-mindedness is too much?

Question #6:  Does Paul’s counsel apply here?

Question #7:  Am I just another victim of the ‘Simpsons Generation’?

I don’t mean to over analyze . . . I’m just curious what others think.

Olivia Takes a Look at Bolivia

A recent exploration of the Bloggernacle* brought me to a site called LDS Cooperative, and one of the posts there caught my eye: “Can you be a Mormon and Wealthy?” by Kate Kelly. 

The principles recounted in this essay truly inspired me, and after reading it several times, I resolved to giving more and giving more often.  I would encourage everyone to give it a read and think about ways to help those in need.  (Hey that rhymes.  Sweet.)

Continuing my exploration, I also found at LDS Cooperative a link to Kiva.org, an excellent non-profit, person-to-person microcredit organization.  With my desire to help others rekindled, I signed up (for free of course) and began looking over all of the profiles of people who are looking for a leg up.  I found the experience both humbling and invigorating.

Kiva is a very bare-bones website.  There’s no-over-the-top marketing compelling people to lend, Sally Struthers doesn’t jump out of the screen and cry all over you until you pull your wallet out.  It’s really just a basic interface that lets you make loans from your Paypal account to people all over the world who are trying to build up their businesses – farmers, tailors, merchants, construction workers, mechanics, etc. – each with a very basic profile of their situation and needs.  There’s no return on investment at Kiva, and there’s no guarantee of repayment either (although repayment rates are generally above 99%).  But read Kate’s essay and you will understand that ROI should not be the goal, and that’s fine by me.

So, for family night last week, we sat down with the kids and looked over a huge map of the world.  We talked about living conditions in various places and some of the basic reasons why some countries are very poor.  We then dialed up Kiva and looked over some of the profiles from South America, Africa, East Asia, Middle East, Eastern Europe, etc..  And when the kids made their choices we marked on the map the countries where our loans were going.  Olivia chose a tailor in Bolivia who needed money to buy a new sewing machine to keep her business running and Audrey chose some ladies in Uganda who want to open a clothing store. 

The lesson was very simple: we should always be looking for opportunities to help others, be they across the world or right next door.  This was a very good experience for all of us and I am looking forward to continuing it for years to come. 

jph3

* FYI – ‘Bloggernacle’ is a term that refers to the many LDS-themed bloggs out there.  But beware, some are good, some are not.

Saving the Planet One Sheep at a Time??

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’ve been paying some attention to all of the modifications I have made to my environmental behavior over the past few years.  Admittedly, the list is not as long as it should be, but I had to chuckle when I saw these hilarious cartoons that mom sent me (along with many more that I have posted in Funny Fotos). 

What’s interesting is trying to sort through the real reasons why I am making any changes in the first place.  Why did we trade in our humongous SUV for a much more fuel-efficient mini-van?  Why will I be riding the train to work more this year?  Why am I swapping out light bulbs?  Why am I letting the grass grow a little longer before mowing and watering?  (Well, that’s probably just laziness.  But hey, it’s better for the planet, so I suppose I don’t have to feel guilty about being slothful?) 

And so, I wonder.  Is it economics or environmentality?  Is it the EPA or the ROI?  

Is it ok to have both motives in mind as we all shift our behaviors around to one degree (harhar) or another?  Or, are all us “johnny-green-lately” types really just paying lip service to the planet cuz now it makes financial sense? 

Any thoughts???

PS: As I’m thinking through this, I’m setting aside the debate of carbon’s role in actually warming the planet, and focusing on more of the conservational aspects of environmental stewardship.

A Public Service Annoucement From All of Us at the JPH3 House

We had a fantastic time kayaking down the Provo river on Saturday.  Good family & friends, good food, good fun.

A big thanks goes out to the Kellys for such a great time!

And though my children were all soaked to the bone (due to our turbulent run-ins with those darn bridges), I was fortified with the knowledge that these “public-service instructions” have imparted upon me. 

So, you will all be relieved to know that I resisted the urge to toss my kids in the dryer before we headed off to see WALL•E (which was awesome, BTW).   Phew, that was close.   Thank goodness for good parenting instructions.

Oh, and guess what, despite what you may have heard, it actually is OK to dunk your Blackberry in the Provo river several times.  I tried it on Saturday, and it was only broken for a couple of days – now it works just fine.  Must be that fine Chinese construction.

Sweet!

PS: I’ve added the full set of these funny little signs to the Funny Fotos section as a public service to anyone looking for good parenting advice.