So Shines A Good Deed

**Kleenex Alert**  

Here's a great little piece about a simple act of kindness. This high school kid has a heart of gold.

A Post-Christmas Post

YouTube user Spoonito posted this video capturing 25 years of his children coming down the staircase on Christmas morning.  The Charlie Brown music really adds to the sentiment.

She Was Born To Rock!

Found this adorable video via NeatoBambino.  Behold a future rocker!

Some Spelling Suggestions

This is a fantastic, graphical representation of common misspellings and how to avoid them.  For some reason, I've always been a stickler for this kind of stuff, but never before have I had this much fun reading about it!  (Hat tip:  The Oatmeal)

This Ginger Loves Gingerbread!

Hooray for 12 days of gingerbread houses! (via Mental Floss).

A Christmas Reading

Yet another holiday-related post.  I am really feeling the Christmas spirit this year!  Anyone familiar with the German movie director, Werner Herzog, will appreciate this parody.  Listen as the classic "Twas The Night Before Christmas" is completely ruined with his baloney, existentialist interpretation.  If nothing else,  it's worthy of an arrogant, film school student chuckle.  ;)

Let It Snow

A CNN reporter recently shared these beautiful photos of snowflakes captured on her family's camera. 

It's funny, but as a kid, I primarily loved snow because it lead to getting a day or two off from school.  No books, no lessons, no teachers -- every grade school student's dream come true!  But as I've grown over the years, snow has come to mean something entirely different to me.

Some people will look at these images and remove the sense of wonder they inspire.  They'll say there is a simple mathematical, nay scientific explanation for the intricate structure of a snowflake,  that it's not something miraculous. I smile when I hear this, as I can picture these same people participating in snowball fights and sledding down hills, both as young children and now as aging adults.

Snow has a way of bringing out the bewildered, innocent side in all of us, the side of us that wants to believe in and live in the moment, void of any mathematical or scientific influence.  Perhaps this is why we refer to snow-covered scenery not as a winter land, but as a winter wonderland.  To me, it's the wonder that makes all the difference.

A Little Off The Beaten Path...

There's no proper segue for this so I'll just say it: I desperately want to see The Fighter, starring Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale.  It looks like it has all the grit, guts and glory you'd want from boxing film, not to mention the fact that it has two of Hollywood's biggest hunks in it!  Who knew they had a sense of humor though?  Watch as they serenade an ABC News correspondent with kids show tunes.  Classic! 

So Long, Frosty!

There is much chatter over the internet today regarding a recent hit-and-run school bus accident in Illinois.  The victim?  A snowman!  Shortly after the incident occurred, the bus driver resigned, but nobody knows for certain why.  School officials and transit board members are tight-lipped over the situation, but many seem to think they are behind the resignation.  It seems to me this bus driver did the right thing in removing what otherwise could've been a fatal road block for a smaller vehicle.  In my book, this guy goes down as a hero and I hope he gets his job back. 

Fun With Pets

Ever wonder what your cat is thinking while you're busy on your computer?  This cartoon pretty much sums it up!

Also came across this fun little video, which is apparently the first ever film shot entirely by cats.  Enjoy!

Unique Wreaths

It’s December 9th, and in our household, that means the holiday decorations have already been up for well over a few weeks! I am truly insane when it comes to the decorating, but I can’t help it. I just love getting into the holiday spirit with all the ornaments, candles, poinsettias and of course, the Christmas wreaths! It’s time for us to get a new wreath this year (the glitter and faux snow glory is fading away on our current one) so I started some research online.

Though none of these wreaths tickle my fancy, I can appreciate the creativity that went into them.


Dad's old ties





Circuit boards

 

Recycled paper oragami

 


Buttons!

 


Classy bottle caps



Painted Star Wars figurines

 

Mother Nature vs. Mother Duck

I've never seen the wind blow ducks around like this!  Thankfully, no one was harmed.

Bag A Trophy

It's bad enough that bowling is considered a sport (sorry, bowlers), but now grocery bagging too?  Anything to work up a sweat I guess!   For a complete list of this year's champions, check out the National Grocers Association website.

Not Your Average Coffee Shop

Being the arts and crafts lover that I am, I was thrilled to randomly come across a review of Metrix Create Space on Yelp.  They describe themselves as "part tech shop, part hacker space, part coffee shop" and offer access to a plethora of equipment, including high-speed internet and computers, 3D printing, laser-cutting tools, sewing machines and craft supplies.  They hold daily events and workshops encouraging people of all ages to engage in their love of art projects.  They're centrally located in the Capital Hill district, which is a natural draw for artsy types, and their motto, simply put, is "Make something awesome."  What a great idea for a business!

Aidan's Art

Aidan Reed is an adorable five-year-old boy who was recently diagnosed with leukemia.  When his medical bills became difficult for his family to manage, he took to selling drawings he'd made while in the hospital.  After only a few short weeks, his artwork sales totaled $83,000! Here's a look at his Etsy store. What a courageous little guy!

Family Visit!

We were fortunate to spend this Thanksgiving at home entertaining my parents.  What a fabulous visit!

Mom and Bob having some wine 

Our Thanksgiving feast!

The happy hosts :)

Awkward, But So Interesting

The human body is capable of some pretty awe-inspiring things.  From the complexities of pregnancy to the routine fighting of the common cold, countless actions and subsequent reactions must be in-synch every single day in order for us to thrive. What's more, most of these actions happen on such a microscopic level that they're completely blind to us, which isn't such a bad thing.

That being said, it's most definitely a bad thing when the internal processes involved in something as harmless as making love actually blind you!

No Parking? No Problem!

Santa Monica has some of the busiest meter maids in all of Southern California so the idea of pulling off a stunt like this makes me all kinds of giggly.

Delightful Dolphins

I contemplated a trip to the mall this morning to participate in Black Friday, but fortunately, sanity got the best of me, so I opted instead to peruse the news online.  Among the more interesting things I found was this clip from CNN about the intelligence of dolphins. Such fascinating creatures!

Happy Thanksgiving!

This will be my first year preparing a turkey so let's just hope it doesn't turn out like this!  Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Lost and Found

This collection of lost and found flyers is sure to inspire.  My personal favorite is the hand-drawn one about the missing bicycle. 

Fun With Photos

I recently found this Flickr album by photographer Jason Lee.  It appears he primarily shoots weddings, but his two daughters certainly give him another creative outlet.  The photos he's set-up with them are spectacularly animated!  He’s turned every day, ordinary situations into something magical.  It almost makes me want to pick up a camera and start snapping away!

Breathing Blues

"Since my baby left me..."

Know anyone who suffers from asthma or other breathing-related issues?  Listen up!  Doctors in Baltimore have initiated a new form of therapy to help their patients with lung disease and surprisingly enough, it doesn't involve drugs or high-tech instruments.

Feline Ferocity

Most cats are good at two things and two things only:  eating and sleeping.  They may also occasionally busy themselves with empty cardboard box games and scratching posts.  Sometimes though, even this can be too much to ask, particularly for cats confined to indoor, laziness-inducing spaces.  Naturally then, I underestimate their capabilities. 

Well, I underestimate no more.  This video proves my stereotype completely wrong. Watch as this feline fighter takes on a pair of angry alligators -- and wins!

Putting Pen To Paper

Ever wonder how some of today's best-selling authors conceptualize their stories?  Well, I do!  [insert nerdy laugh here]

Here's a fun look inside the mind of famed Harry Potter author, J.K. Rowling, and her approach to story development.  We may live in a digital age, but good, old fashioned pen and paper never goes out of style!

Now THAT'S Dedication!

Hospital food? Zoinks!

File this one under bizarre.  Still, I can appreciate his focus and ability to prioritize during an undoubtedly traumatic experience.

Coolest Thing Since Sliced Bread

One of my favorite bands, OK Go, recently released a video for their new song, Last Leaf.   It's a romantic little ditty, cleverly crafted atop a very unusual backdrop.

While the tune may not be for everyone, it's inspiring to see something so simple transformed into art.

A Slice of Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is just around the corner, which of course is a time for both historical celebration and religious observation.

If you're anything like me, it's also a time to toss aside ridiculous diet regimens and pull the old elastic-waisted "fat pants" out of the closet in anticipation of joyous feasting.  It's all but guaranteed that the traditional fare of mashed potatoes, candied yams and turkey will be passed around our table once or twice...but therein lies the problem.

Why do I have to spend countless minutes passing tasty, hot, glorious dishes around the table whilst my own plate of food slowly cools?  This is valuable time that could be spent eating!  I've often wondered why somebody hasn't invented something that makes it easier to serve up all the holiday greats without all of this hassle.

So you can imagine my delight when I stumbled upon this little beauty of a recipe the other day.  In one fell scoop, you can enjoy all that Thanksgiving has to offer without said hassle.

Genius idea?  You bet!

Cheers to Cupcakes!

So I have a thing for cupcakes, but really, who doesn't?

This summer we went to a few weddings where cupcakes were used as an alternative to a wedding cake and over the last few months, cupcake shops have been popping up left and right all around our house.  This is both exciting and dangerous.  Very dangerous.  Still, it's great to see cupcakes growing in popularity.

How fitting then, that I stumbled upon this wonderfully creative way to make cupcakes more of an every day thing without all the indulgence.

Imagination

When you were a kid, sometimes an umbrella wasn't just an umbrella...

Welcome All!

Welcome to A Desire to Inspire, a blog brought about by one of the questions I'm asked most often:  "Where do you come up with this stuff?"

"This stuff" is entirely random in nature, but tends to come in the form of video clips, cartoons, photos, personal stories,  recipes, poems, articles, sound bytes,  etc.  The list goes on, but the one thing they all have in common is that they inspire me in some way so I share them.

Now through the power of Blogger,  I'd like to share them with you.  May you find "this stuff" inspiring too!