Preparation.

In one month, my husband and I will be here.

We will be staying at an orphanage, visiting hospitals and generally diving into the lives of anyone who will let us.

(Sidenote: we are traveling with fifteen high-schoolers and staying overnight in an airport. Let's call it an adventure and move on.)

While we've known about this opportunity for awhile, it wasn't until last week that it began to sink in for me that this is really happening.

As with all foreign travel, I have a mix of nerves and excitement, but mostly excitement.* First time to stamp my new passport! First time traveling abroad with my husband! WARM WEATHER!

(Yes, I will be sweaty and blistered and probably sleep-deprived but again, ADVENTURE!)

I'm not usually one to give things up, even for Lent, but for some reason, my thought pattern yesterday went a little something like this:

I drink too much caffeine (SHOCKER)//I don't like that about myself//I should stop drinking pop nearly every day//I need something to motivate myself//oh hey! I'm going to the DR soon//I am seriously worried about getting caffeine headaches on said trip//That will make me fussy.//That is stupid.//I should give up pop in preparation for the DR!

So there it is. Instead of getting a fussy wife for a week in another country, my dear husband gets a fussy wife for one month leading up to the trip! EVERYBODY WINS!!!

It's semi-lame to make this public but also, I need accountability. So friends, keep me accountable!

Also, please note that I did not say I am giving up coffee soooooo LOOPHOLE!

Finally, if you are interested in supporting our travels (and live in Kansas City), we are collecting a few items for donation to our friends upon our arrival.

Those items are:

• Black shoes for school (new or gently used, all sizes)
• Vitamins
• $30 baggage fee donation (the airfare for one suitcase full of supplies)

You can donate now through March 12.

p.s. Am I a fussy person? ...don't answer that.

*I know this is soooo 90's but I can't help immediately remembering that part in Armageddon when Owen Wilson is getting strapped into the rocket and says:
"Great, I got that "excited/scared" feeling. Like 98% excited, 2% scared. Or maybe it's more - It could be two - it could be 98% scared, 2% excited but that's what makes it so intense, it's so - confused. I can't really figure it out."

Color me happy.

Some bold colors to brighten a gray day.

A heart crying out for SPRING SPRING SPRING!

And many reasons to celebrate life as it is.

(messy kitchen, pretty yellow lilies, unused gym membership, random compliments on my thrifted $6 sweater! and all)

Image cred.

Give love. Not Hershey's.

Hurry! Quick! Go here and send your favorite people a super cute e-valentine! DO IT!!!

Now please continue reading my Debbie Downer message about Hershey's.

Occasionally, you should stop and remind yourself it is Friday so you don't get too depressed. --Also, that in one month it is OFFICIALLY SPRING and HOLY CRAP I am ready.

*****

So, okay, I know we all do our own thing on Valentine's Day. Personally, we aren't super into it at the Robertson abode, but I do like a day that makes chocolate a priority (as well as love, diamonds, making guys feel like crap for not being original, blahblah).

Okay, if I'm being honest, there is a teensy (not so teensy) part of me that dreams Hollywood dreams for this day...but then I remember I'm uncomfortable at fancy restaurants, I'd rather save our money to travel and that fresh flowers, wine and a great husband are waaaaay better than a day o'consuming all things red and sparkly.

(Oh, hi. I've pretty much spent the last week sequestered to our one-bedroom apartment so if I'm not making sense it's because I'm just SO. EXCITED. TO. SEE. YOU! Please don't go.)

Ahem.

So, anyway, chocolate.

Ever since I've been looking into the issue of fair trade, it seems my ethically conscious consumer senses have been heightened. Which is a good thing, I think, except the sirens have been going totally crazy when it comes to a company that I've done (more than) my share of supporting to feed my choco-love...and that company, as you may have guessed, is Hershey's.

It started when a friend of mine (hi, Chrissy!) sent me this article and told me she stopped buying Hershey's products altogether.

It continued as I've received several emails from Free2Work, an organization Liana mentioned.

It blared as I did my own research and found several sites calling for Hershey's to step up and make some changes.

Why Hershey's? Good question.

According to change.org, Hershey's has received increased pressure to release their corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies and practices, which it finally did in 2010. This is actually a good thing, as corporate watchdogs (and regular ol' consumers) are calling for serious changes to be made in the cocoa industry, which is rife with child labor, human trafficking, and very dangerous working conditions.

Change.org also points out that while Hershey's is by no means the sole offender in said atrocities, Hershey "stands out as the only company that has no policy in place to trace its cocoa and ensure and independently verify that certain standards are met."

Further, as explained by Awakened Aesthetic, "Hershey, which has the largest market share in the US at 42.5%, gets the majority of their chocolate from – you guessed it! – West Africa."

So, Hershey's has released that it gets its cocoa from the region in West Africa that is known for the above offenses...yet they will not release any specifics regarding their cocoa, which allows them to fly under the radar in regard to accountability.


(Except actually it's just making a bunch of people really mad so they should just get with the program, be transparent and deal with the consequences.)

Something to keep in mind in this season of cocoa consumption. 
Or as some would say, food for thought (yuk yuk yuk).

You can take action, and learn more about Hershey as well as other chocolate companies by visiting Free2Work's company ratings here.


HAPPY WEEKENDING!




Note: I have to point out, and perhaps this is my unwillingness to let go of my beloved Reese's or Hershey's dark chocolate chips (when baking...OKAY OR BY THE HANDFUL. Judge me!)...but one thing that is frustrating/confusing for me, the novice at this kind of thing, is that the very corporate rating system that seems the most active (Free2Work, as mentioned several times above), ranks Hershey's as a C-.


However, other companies that are not under the axe as much, are given WORSE ratings. (Dove=D. Godiva=D-.) What is up with that?

Things I'm not going to tell you:

1. How many episodes of Ugly Betty I've watched this week
2. How many of these brownies I had on my sick day (went with 1/2 c cocoa...and did not regret it)
**edit: Adam highly suggests a bit of Nutella on top of the brownie. I fully support this idea.**
3. The last time I cooked dinner, cleaned the bathtub or cut my hair
4. How often I wish all my favorite people lived within walking distance
5. How very blessed I feel living the life I do with the man I have beside me (scrapes, bruises and all)*



*lest you puke.

Image cred

Killjoy.

Winter is not my favorite season (UNDERSTATEMENT) and though my husband may object, I really have been trying to squelch my tendency to complain about the weather nonstop from November-March.

I mean, sometimes it really does just slip out because seriously, no one can possibly enjoy a temperature that makes you clench your insides so tight your ribs are touching just to brave the walk to the car, during which your damp hair freezes and your body falls to helpless convulsions while crying, screaming, pleading for spring.

--Okay, so it's a work in progress.

Anyway, last week I was finally able to participate in what becomes the teacher battle cry all around the world in these Midwest winter months and makes the winter a bit more bearable and perhaps even a blip of joy-yes, in some bizarre twist of fate, I got not one but TWO snow days.

My husband, a teacher, has enjoyed four of these glorious days and while I enjoy celebrating his good fortune, it really was wearing to watch him dance with glee as I bundled up for my horrendous walk outside, knowing my husband would get a day of coziness as I begrudgingly toiled and slaved...and walked uphill BOTH WAYS!

So imagine my surprise! My delight! My GLEE when I got that first beautiful, beautiful text at 5:00 a.m. saying "Due to the weather, we are closed for the day."

Closed. Closed?! CLOSED?!

Oh happy day! Oh happy, happy, wonderful day and glittering, gorgeous snow and I love everyone and everything and the world is all SO RIGHT! AMEN!

And I dart into the bedroom, where my sleeping husband lie dreaming snow day dreams and squealed, "SNOW DAY! I GET A SNOW DAY! ME! I GET A SNOOOOOW DAAAAAAAAY!"

And he mumbled, "That's awesome."

And before I knew it, the very next words tumbled out of my mouth, in a helpless horror of TOTALLY UN-SNOW DAY TALK which should be limited to fresh-baked cookies and sweatpants and books and movie marathons...and NOT:

"I think we need more toilet paper. Also, we are out of stamps and rent it due."

Fair trade update: Thanksgiving.

Just wanted to say a big, heartfelt THANK YOU to all who have commented, emailed, read and/or responded to my recent posts about fair trade.

I am learning a lot and feel so supported and encouraged, even amidst all the surrounding questions and overwhelming nature of such a large (and oh-so-complicated) issue.

I don't have any concrete answers to offer or any new fabulous info to share with you today.

I just wanted to take the time to spread some warm fuzzies and say hey, you, all of you, thank you.

Thank you for reading.

Thank you for caring.

And thanks for giving me a chance --and the accountability--to explore the world with all of you.


(This is where we hug and cry and go eat chocolate.)


Enjoy your weekend, friends.

Recipe: Snuggly, Savory Sweet Potato and Sausage Soup

Perfect for snow days, stay-in-sweatpants days, and do-not-brush-your-hair days.

Or really, any day that you need a little comfort in your tummy.

And these snowy days, who doesn't?!

(Plus, sweet potato=SUPERFOOD...which totally off-sets the many chocolate cookies consumed after. Okay not really. But please nod in agreement anyway.)

Bon appetit!

Recipe: Snuggly, Savory Sweet Potato and Sausage Soup

*Shout out to Amy for submitting this to my work recipe exchange!*

Note: If you did not get a snow day (or TWO snow days in my lucky case), I sincerely apologize and offer my condolences. I can't pretend it wasn't glorious, but I do know how not-so-fun it is to be trudging through the muck when much of the world is snuggled on the couch watching Netflix. I suggest you treat yourself to a latte and make your lucky other half make dinner. Also, pedicures do wonders for the attitude. Even when done at home while sitting on the cold tile. --Just make sure you wear socks asap because my b-f-f has gotten frostbite (YES, FROSTBITE!) on her poor toes by merely walking on her cold floors. PSA, you're welcome!!!

INGREDIENTS

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 10- to 11-ounce fully cooked smoked Portuguese linguica sausage or chorizo sausage, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices (Spanish chorizo can be substituted)

2 medium onions, chopped

2 large garlic cloves, minced

2 pounds sweet potatoes peeled, quartered lengthwise, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices

1 pound white-skinned potatoes, peeled, halved lengthwise, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices

6 cups low-salt chicken broth

1 9-ounce bag fresh spinach

DIRECTIONS
Heat 2 tablespoons oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add sausage; cook until brown, stirring often, about 8 minutes. Transfer sausage to paper towels to drain. (I poured off some of the oil in the pot at this point, but the original recipe doesn’t think this is needed.) Add onions and garlic to pot and cook until translucent, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Add all potatoes and cook until beginning to soften, stirring often, about 12 minutes. Add broth; bring to boil, scraping up browned bits. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until potatoes are soft, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes. Using potato masher, mash some of potatoes in pot. Add browned sausage to soup. Stir in spinach and simmer just until wilted, about 5 minutes. Stir in remaining one tablespoon oil. Season with salt and pepper. Divide among bowls and serve.