donations Archives - Popcorn and Pandas

{31} Lately…

Lately I’ve been…

reading Still reading The Goldfinch. Didn’t realize how long the book was! I am actually enjoying it, but I have been pretty sidetracked with reading business development books and other things. I will eventually finish it!

writing I recently started freelance writing for the new parenting blog started by Mom365. They are a newborn photography company who specializes in hospital photos. Their blog has tons of parenting tips and advice from moms across the country and is an excellent resource, especially for new parents. I am so excited to be included in this new venture! Here is one of the more recent posts I wrote about taking baby outside in the cold.

listening Went to brunch over the weekend at a piano bar and heard amazing music from Dylan Meek. We ended up getting his CD and have been playing it while cooking dinner this week. So relaxing!

thinking How much I miss Nico’s curls. I held off getting his hair cut for SO long. People thought I was crazy as his hair was growing into his eyes and all, but I just thought it was adorable. I did have to admit, things started getting out of control, so we finally decided to go for a haircut. I’m definitely missing those baby curls on my little boy!

smelling The chicken dinner my husband prepared for us last night lingering in the kitchen.

watching Just watched 127 Hours, which was nominated for an Academy Award a few years ago. What an incredible survival story. It was tough to watch at times, but I’m so glad we watched this amazing account of a man’s will to live.

wishing We were back in Mexico enjoying that warmth & sunshine once again! Although my stomach probably wishes otherwise haha.

hoping For a good doctor’s appointment this week. We are going on Thursday to check on our little baby for an anatomy scan to make sure he or she is healthy. Please send us love, prayers, and good vibes! We will also be able to find out baby’s gender VERY soon! We are hoping to do a fun reveal in the next week or two (not only for you, but for ourselves as well!), so stay tuned!

wearing GREEN! In honor of my Irish heritage. Yes, I know it’s hard to believe, but I’m actually 50% Irish. As you can see from above, Nico is celebrating too. Happy St. Paddy’s Day to all!

loving Nico uttered these words this week… “I love you Mama.” I meeeeeaaannnn this pretty much just made my entire life! I think every mom waits to hear those three little words from their child. I admit, I prompted him to say it, and right now he loves parroting everything I say, but it was absolutely amazing all the same. 🙂

wanting One of these amazingly cool cartoon bags.

needing Support for my Lenten service project! My sorority sister, Brielle, and I decided to join together to run a family supply drive for the Thorpe Residences in the Bronx, NY. They provide food & shelter to families in transition. They are in need of everything from diapers, wipes, formula, baby food, to board games & toys for family game night. We created an Amazon Wish List that will be up until April 12th for donations, and we can also accept donations in person. Brielle and I will be hand delivering the items to Thorpe after the drive. We appreciate anything you are able to donate!

feeling How proud of how productive I was yesterday. I normally hate waking up early, but decided to force myself to stay awake (and not go back to sleep), get my workout in early, eat breakfast and get a jump start on my work for the day. I have to admit, it felt amazing, and I felt like I had so much energy to get things done.

craving A green smoothie…because it is St. Patrick’s Day afterall.

clicking Through beautiful houses in Deep Creek Lake, MD. Planning a bachelorette getaway for my bestie, Meg, and should be making a final selection on a place tonight! Whoo hoo!

On a final note, I would like to wish a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my niece, Brittany! Hope you have a great day!

What have you been up to lately?

XO,

Gina

***I was inspired by Tina of Like Ordinary Life to create this post, and she was inspired by Lauren of siddathornton, who started The Sunday Currently.

Feeling Grateful: Update on Andrea

This right here is a photo of my sister-in-law, Andrea, and her husband Tink a couple weeks ago. They went on a WINTER hike up a mountain that was covered in ice and snow. Yes, this is the same sister-in-law who I spoke about on my blog back in October. Then, she was anxiously hoping and waiting to have a life-changing brain surgery to rid her of the terrible Parkinson’s symptoms she was experiencing. Fast forward to present day and she is hiking MOUNTAINS! In the SNOW!

I want to first start out by thanking everyone who helped support Andrea in receiving this surgery. We raised more than enough money, and she donated the extra funds to future Parkinson’s research. She was incredibly excited, and didn’t even bat an eye about having to fully shave her head beforehand. We received a photo of her smiling with a big thumbs up pre-surgery. She was so happy and ready to go.

According to her doctor, the surgery went very well. I spoke to Andrea about how she has been feeling since the surgery, and these were her remarks:

My symptoms from Parkinson’s are gone. I’m able walk normally again, and I don’t have to worry if I will actually make it out of the woods if I go on a walk. I’m thinking I could walk endlessly. It’s been a incredible mind and body experience that still amazes me everyday I get out of bed and simply set my feet on the floor. And then, I think I couldn’t have had this chance without the help from everyone who donated. Living with gratitude is a wonderful feeling.

I have seen such a change in Andrea’s spirit and happiness since the surgery. She has been able to complete so many physical challenges, hikes, and all the outdoor activities that she used to love and couldn’t do for years. I love that despite this crazy cold weather, she is not waiting for the summer to get outside. She is that excited to get back out there, and the weather is no issue for her. It’s incredibly inspirational and a true testament to living life to it’s fullest while you can. Our entire family is extremely grateful for all of your help getting Andrea back to a life she can fully enjoy.

THANK YOU.

XO,

Gina

P + P Spring Closet Sale!

Hello there lovely readers!

You know when your closet gets so messy that you can’t even see the floor anymore? Things piled so high, so utterly disorganized, that you give up and just forego cleanliness and keep piling things on in heaps? No? Is that just me? Well, my closet had definitely gotten to that point, and this weekend I finally decided to do something about it with a little spring cleaning. I must admit, I have a little bit of a hoarding tendency. My husband is constantly getting on my case about throwing things away.

Zack: I mean Gi, do you really need to keep every birthday card, soccer trophy, and note you passed in 8th grade?

Me: YES HONEY I DO.

When it comes to clothing, I am not much better. I usually keep things around until they are unwearable. Clothes stick around in my closet waiting for a day when that trend will “come back in style.” I have sorority T-shirts that I don’t even wear anymore, but I cannot bear to part with because of all the memories associated. A dress that I didn’t wear all summer will sit there with the clear intent that I will wear it. Then that summer goes and passes, and the dress is still hanging by its lonely self hoping for the following summer to grace the world with it’s presence once again.

That being said, it’s tough to hoard in a two bedroom apartment with a husband and a baby. The things pile on and the clutter becomes absurd. Gretchen says de-cluttering is one of the keys to happiness, and I certainly agree that lack of clutter has eased my stress in the past.

So there you have it. On a quest to staying happy and relieving stress, I spent the weekend cleaning. And here is my first little online closet sale to show for it.

Here’s the scoop:

1) I created a Pinterest board with all the items for sale.

2) If you want to buy an item, write “Sold” in the comments section along with your PayPal email. If you don’t have a PayPal account, you can create one here.

3) Half of all proceeds will go to a Reader’s Choice charity. After you write your intent to buy an item, please cast your vote for your charity of choice. I will then randomly select a charity from the reader’s votes to make the donation.

4) Shipping is not included. All items will be sent standard USPS.

5) All items are final sale.

Happy Shopping!

XO,

Gina

Hurricane Sandy Relief

This past weekend, Zack, Zigi, and about 40 University of Maryland Terp Alumni went out to Staten Island to help with Hurricane Sandy Relief. I have to say, the pictures do not do justice to the amount of devastation out there. Although I had seen photos and TV news reports of the destruction, it didn’t really hit home until I was walking around seeing it with my own eyes and talking to people who had lost everything. Houses were completely destroyed, houses and cars were moved from where they had originated, pavement was caved in around restaurants, windows were smashed, the streets were still partly flooded, and there was still no power restored to the area. Seeing lower Manhattan get cleaned up so quickly, most people probably think others areas have been cleaned up as well. Let me tell you, this is not the case. There is still so much to be done.

Saturday morning we loaded up our car full of supplies (thanks to $600 worth of donations from friends and family) and brought it to a drop off location where there were local police and volunteers ready to gladly accept. I noticed there was an overwhelming amount of clothing, and people had been so generous. But the real work was up ahead. We literally demolished the inside of a house that had been completely water logged. Luckily the foundation of this particular house was solid (I cannot say the same for the two next door – I am pretty sure those will need to be bulldozed). The owner of the house we worked on will be able to reconstruct, but the inside had filled with so much water that everything inside had to be thrown out (including the drywall and insulation). We spent the entire day hauling old heavy furniture and trash bags full of soggy wet drywall out to the street for trash pick up. We shoveled and shoveled, and it felt like we would never be finished. I felt horrible for this poor family. However, I did notice that they had friends there to help as well as volunteers. You could feel a sense of camaraderie and unity in the neighborhood of everyone being there to help each other get through this tough time, and that was nice to see. I don’t think I have done that much intense physical labor in a long time, but it was all worth it to have the homeowners’ faces shining bright afterwards knowing how much we were able to accomplish. The entire University of Maryland crew was able to clean out about 7 houses total that day. That being said, looking around the neighborhood, there was so much more work to be done, and this neighborhood was only a small part of the destruction caused by Hurricane Sandy. They need a lot more help and volunteers for all the rest of the groundwork that needs to be completed. It makes me extremely sad, and I hope to volunteer again this week and as long as they need help.

If you are interested in helping with the relief, I posted some ways you can participate on my blog last week. Here is the link for your reference.