my mo bro

my brother micheal is growing a mustache for movember.  it's slightly disturbing but super awesome, all at the same time.  here's a picture of how things are looking after week one:

pretty hairy.  after four weeks - who knows what will happen!!  anyway, i'm proud of him for working toward something that he believes in.  i think that movember is for a great cause and i am glad he is doing it!  i made a donation today and if you want to donate too, here's the link:  DONATE!

keep up the great/hairy work mike!!  i'm proud of you!! 

GO TEAM DIABETES!!

hey remember these two?! well, they are awesome.  and i want you to send all of your love, prayers, thoughts, energy and good vibes their way!  why??  because in jut 2 days, they will be running a full marathon in ICELAND for team diabetes!!!  they should be in iceland now, or shortly, resting up and getting ready to run.  i am SO proud of them and all that they have done in preparing for this race (including raising over $12 000!!!!!).

GOOD LUCK linds and phil!  i know you'll do GREAT!!!!!!  thinking of you!  and see you soon!  xxoxoxoxo

shoe love!!

i FINALLY got my shoes from TOMS today.  ok...so it only took a week and a day but i was getting really impatient!! 
ANYWAY, i got my shoes and i LOVE them!!  they fit perfectly, they look great and they are SUPER comfy.  i would DEFINITELY recommend them for ALL!  i am even considering ordering some more before i leave because i love them so much!!
here are the two pairs that i got:

i'm in SHOE LOVE!!!

p.s. even if you are not interested in buying a pair of shoes, check out their website for some cool info and things you can do to raise awareness, etc.

ART FOR ACTION - TONIGHT!!!!

well freinds, the SECOND ANNUAL Art for Action Vietnam takes place tonight!
fingers crossed for a great turn out and for wonderful donations!

i'll let you know how it goes! 

if you want more information about A for A, check out our blog...(more to come on there as well...)

http://www.artforaction.blogspot.com

APPRENTICE SPOILER ALERT!!!

YAHOOOO!!!
i am SO SO happy with the winner of celebrity apprentice this season!  mr. john rich was my pick from the very beginning.  he was playing for a great charity (st. jude children's hospital), he was composed, confident, and very talented in many capacities. 
YAY! for john rich and double YAY for st. jude's!  he raised $1 000 000 for them this season!
as a very wonderful person i know would say, "WOWEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

every little bit helps.

 so i've told you about my friends lindsay and phil before.  they are a wonderful couple who are raising money to support team diabetes and will be running a marathon in ICELAND this summer with team diabetes.  lindsay's sister has type 2 diabetes, so she is doing this for her.  

anyway, the reason i bring it up is because they are still looking for donations.  and with easter coming up, instead of buying a bunch of chocolate, why not donate to this AMAZING couple and cause?!  it's easy to do.  just click HERE.  type in Lindsay or Phillip Parkinson. 

AND, you can even do it anonymously!  this week, they received a very generous donation from an anonymous donor.  kind of fun and intriguing i think!  so GO AHEAD!  donate today.  it will make you feel great!  

 and who really likes that waxy bunny chocolate anyway???

the PERFECT valentines day gift

with valentines day only TWO days away, i'm sure that many of you are still looking for a gift for the perfect gift your sweetheart!  the good news is, i am here to HELP!  and you can help too!  

what better way to say I LOVE YOU than donating to a wonderful cause?!  these two sweethearts are raising money for team diabetes and will be running a marathon in iceland this summer with team diabetes.  i am sure that you know someone: a friend, family member, or colleague that is affected by diabetes, so why not help out?!  every little bit helps!  

show your SWEETEART that you CARE by donating to TEAM DIABETES this valentines day! 

all you have to do is click HERE and follow the instructions to donate.  do it for these sweethearts.  do it for me (come on - i'll be your sweetheart!).  and do it for your sweetheart!! 

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE!!!!

and THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

for more information about team diabetes, look HERE.

Ms. Money Bags

i don't think i've ever blogged about the currency here in vietnam but it is time people. the currency here is called vietnam dong (go ahead - laugh!) and it is worth approx. 19 000 VND for 1 USD right now.

so, this means that coming to vietnam makes you a MILLIONAIRE! literally! at any given time i have over a million in my wallet and it's nothing out of the ordinary to go to the bank and take out 2 or 3 million. it's pretty exciting actually!

the reason i bring this up is that with art for action taking place yesterday and teachers still purchasing "the goods" i am carrying around MILLIONS and MILLIONS of dong. it's kind of scary to think of it. "i'm pretty much the most important person i know" (please catch the napolean dynamite reference there lol).

a long time coming

I have been wanting to write this post and thinking about this post since Christa was here and we traveled to Hue for the weekend. I know, I know, I haven't even blogged about Hue yet but this is even more important. So, we were in Hue for all of an hour, and after breakfast we were off on our first walk of the day. In the elevator, I proclaim, "this is a NO SHOPPING weekend people!" Because after all, I had spent far too much the previous weekend in Hoi An. And my "friends" (yes that is right, the term is being used loosely here) are less than supportive in my attempt to save some money!

Anyway, we are walking along for about four minutes when we find it. The place that is sure to make me spend money! How convenient?! But when you hear about this place, you'll understand why I was quick to spend.

It's called "Healing the Wounded Heart Shop" - part of the SPIRAL foundation. And everything that is made at this shop is WONDERFUL. Why? You ask. Well let me tell you why:

1. Everything is made from recycled materials. We're talking chip bags, noodle packages, telephone wires, and more!
2. Everything is hand made in Hue, Vietnam or Nepal by disabled artisans. We met some of the Vietnamese artisans who are young adults who are mutes and are now able to be contributing members of society when ordinarily, their country would see them as a burden.
3. All proceeds go to fair salaries for the artisans, social and medical insurance for the artisans, and heart surgeries for poor children in Vietnam!

See?? Told you it was wonderful! So, here we are, learning about this wonderful organization and browsing the goods when the founder of the p0roject, Marichia, comes to tell us her story. She is Italian but lives in the U.S. and funded this project to give back after seeing the devastation of the was in Vietnam when she was a teenager. She was so passionate and wonderful that it made our shopping experience even more memorable. And needless to say, it was definitely not a NO SHOPPING weekend! I bought table runners, napkins and napkin rings, bags, bowls...all kinds of great things! And, all throughout the store there are pictures of famous actors, actresses, etc. that have also bought some of these wonderful goods. Even Johnny shops SPIRAL foundation ;) P.S. the bowl he is holding is made by this really cute Vietnamese guy, I would say early 20's who is a mute. He was very proud of his stuff! And it's made entirely of old telephone wires!


Anyway, if you want more information on this fantastic foundation, please check out their website: http://www.spiralfoundation.org

snow angels in vietnam?!

Every year (well for the last two years anyway), Curel (the mosturizer company) holds a fundraiser for the Children's Starlight Foundation (http://www.starlightfoundation.org/). The money from this fundraiser goes to seriously ill children and their families.

So, at CIS Vietnam, we wanted to help. All you have to do is take a picture of a snow angel and send it into curel. For every snow angel, one dollar is donated to the foundation. What an easy way to raise money for a great cause!

If you want to check out our pictures, go to http://www.curel.ca/, choose your language, click "learn more" and then "see all snow angels". When it asks for a keyword or email, type in Vietnam and all of the pics from CIS will appear! Voila!

Please enjoy! :)