"Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does." William James

The Hubs loves NPR and KPBS, so much that if you are in San Diego and see a red 4Runner with a "I'm a KPBS member" license plate frame, you could honk to the tune of Beethoven's 5th symphony and he'll probably be able to tell you what it was. Who better is there to tell you about the beauty that is KPBS? This is what he had to say about February's charity.

Hello everyone, my name is Guy and I'll be your guest blogger tonight. I'm here to tell you about a cause very near and dear to my heart (and ears): public radio.

I started listening to public radio at night, where my job had me locked in a room by myself. I would listen to classical music on the program Performance Today, which is actually part of American Public Radio. One of my favorite parts of Performance Today is the Piano Puzzler, by Bruce Adolphe (here's a choice selection.) Now that I commute, I listen to the news portions of public radio, most often from NPR, because it provides a balanced perspective across a wide spectrum of topics. My favorite secret about public radio is during Marketplace, they list on their website all of the great music played during the bridges -the ~15 second clip of music between stories.

February's Charity is: KBPS Public Broadcasting & National Public Radio (NPR) & American Public Radio

Who are they and what do they do? KPBS is a public service of San Diego State University (SDSU) that produces high quality, unbiased stories about San Diego area news, as well as distribute news created by the NPR and American Public Radio network. They broadcast via radio, television (with PBS) and the web. In times of emergency, they provide invaluable details, such as what areas had to evacuate in San Diego County during the 2009 wildfires.

How do they do it? Using a combination of funds from individual donors, corporate sponsers, government grants, and funding from SDSU. They deliver unbiased investigative reporting with a network of public new stations tied together though NPR.

How can you support public radio? You can donate to KBPS, American Public Media, or your local public broadcasting station. When discussing the news around the office water cooler, mention what you heard on NPR- spread the word.

"I'm leaving on a jet plane. Don't know when I'll be back again..." - John Denver

We love Colorado and some of our very favorite people live there which makes it even better. In fact we love it so much we've already booked plane tickets back. Here's part 1 of our January trip recap.

Los Angeles International Airport, Approximately 6 AM

We left out of LAX on only an hour and a half of sleep. Harper was getting over a cold and we were worried about the change in cabin pressure but she just laughed and laughed on takeoff and then I nursed her to sleep, which is pretty much how she remained until we were waiting for our luggage at the baggage claim.

Guy's BFF, Garrett and his mama, Kathy picked us up for the airport and showed us around downtown Denver. We ate sandwiches on croissants and played in the approximate .5 inches of dirty snow before piling into the car for our journey to Colorado Springs.

And when we got there, Cookie was waiting to babysit so we could go out on the town but we decided we'd stay in and have beef stew. We took her (and Kathy) up on their offer another night.

Kathy's house is full of really cool vintage stuff that inspires me to spend some time sifting through thrift stores.


While we were there we went to this really cool penny arcade where they had...


and


an Elton John pinball machine! And everything was a quarter or less to play.

More to come soon! :]

“I am not afraid of tomorrow, for I have seen yesterday and I love today.” - William Allen White

I have so much in the works right now. Look for the following things coming up.

1: Colorado Trip Review
2: Cloth diapering tips
3: Recipes I love
4: Giveaways including another $35 gift certificate from CSN. (Don't know who CSN is? They sell all sorts of stuff from baby supplies to corner tv stands and have free shipping on almost everything.)
5: And an all new series featuring etsy artisans and all the awesome handmade stuff they make (some of which will include giveaways and reader exclusive discounts).

"No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted." - Aesop

This year, I decided I will choose 12 charities (one for every calendar month, although this first post is late, per usual but it works out this time because it's Save the Whales Week!), feature them here and donate something to each of them, be it money, time or material goods. There are many charitable endeavors that I keep close. The earliest I can remember being specifically emotionally invested in is animal rights. As a child I would bring home stray animals and keep them in our backyard. I'd nurse them back to health and find new homes for them. When Free Willy came out in 1993 a new form of animal activism was born. I have been very vocal in the past in regards to my research driven perspective that cetaceans do not belong in captivity, especially as pawns for human entertainment and I am not the only one who feels this way. The Orca Project recently highlighted a manuscript presented by two former Sea World trainers (both who have their PhD in related fields) that outlines why Orca captivity is unhealthy for Orcas and people alike.

No aquarium, no tank in a marine land, however spacious it may be, can begin to duplicate the conditions of the sea. And no dolphin who inhabits one of those aquariums or one of those marine lands can be considered normal. - Jacques Yves Cousteau


Credit: WDCS Flickr

January's Charity is: The Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society

Who are they and what do they do? The Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS), is the leading global charity dedicated to the conservation and welfare of all whales and dolphins.

They defend these remarkable creatures against the many threats that they face;

• Hunting
• Captivity
• Chemical and noise pollution
• Ship collisions (ship strikes)
• Entanglement in fishing nets
  
• Climate change

How do they do it?
They utilize donations to spread the word about threats to whales and dolphins all over the word. They work with lawmakers all over the world to protect natural habitats such as feeding and breeding grounds, fight against cetacean captivity, educate people about the dangers of polluting the ocean, abandoning fishing nets and driving boats recklessly. It also sheds light on the numerous whaling incidents that happen internationally on a regular basis.

How can you help end whaling and other forms of abuse?
1: Donate monetarily to WDCS
2: Adopt a Whale through WDCS (I did this when I was a kid and think its a great way to get kids involved and keep them interested)
3: Spread the word on your blog//twitter//facebook