$20... check!

I just crossed another thing off of my list and it was the easiest thing ever. One of the things on my list was to give away $20 to someone in need. I originally thought, "I'll just have a gift card ready and when I see someone in need I'll give it to them." Easy enough... 1. I haven't gotten a gift card yet. (I'm a big fan of giving gift cards to McDonald's or somewhere so someone can get food rather than giving straight up cash which can be used for... whatever.) 2. I live a pretty sheltered life and haven't really been around someone in need lately. (I'm not proud of that. I need to get out more.) So, I decided to find somewhere online that I could give to and I remembered this organization I had heard about called Kiva.

Kiva, to use their own words because it's more eloquently put than I could ever put it, is "a non-profit organization with a mission to connect people through lending to alleviate poverty." Basically, the organization sponsors people who need loans to start businesses, get their feet under them, etc. You loan them $25 (which joins with a lot of other people's $25), and they actually repay the loan, and when you get the money back you have the option of withdrawing it or reinvesting it in another loan. So great, eh? I chose to donate to two different loans: one was for a woman from Rwanda named Dativa who needed money to buy "foodstuffs" which she sells in her store. She's hoping that her business succeeds enough to buy a home some day. The other was for a woman named Blanca who is trying to expand her wood pallet recycling business here in the United States.

Anyway, I just thought the organization was pretty cool so I encourage you to check it out! Also, I thought I'd give you an update on my list. I have 20 days including today to go. Here are the things that are yet to be done:

-Spend at least 10 minutes a day for a whole week trying to learn how to play the guitar.

-Make a pretty cake.

-Send someone flowers.

-Spend an evening in a coffee shop having a "quiet time."

-Learn how to use my gosh darn camera.

-Write a song.

-Lose 5 pounds. (Let's say I gained a little, or a lot while on vacation, but I did lose some last week...)

-Read 4 books. (I have one left to read.)

-Make 3 funny/encouraging/ridiculous videos for people's Facebook walls. (One left to go.)

-Write down the beauty of the day every day until my birthday. (Working on it...)

I've got some work to do!