I hosted this year’s graduate students dinner because the normal grad student left for the holidays. I had 4 days to plan. :O BUt all went well and people without families had a good time and good food.

I blogged for 24 hours on My Tail Hurts From Wagging So Much as part of a blogathon to raise money for an epileptic boy whose family is trying to buy him a service dog.

In February, I fostered a blind, unsocialized cat who had been in a cage at the local no-kill shelter for over a year. With a little time, patience, and OK, quite a few treats, she turned into a really sweet, affectionate, and wonderful companion. I adopted her, and it’d be hard to say which one of us has done the other more good.

I became vegan

I try to do as much as I can for the Earth and the environment every year. I recycle, compost, buy local, and try not to use my car. I also create recycled art and paint organic t-shirts. But, the best good deed I’m doing for the Earth is to teach my daughters to do the same. Stella, my youngest who is 7 yrs old, volunteered with me on Earth Day this year. Planting trees and clearing out invasive species of plants at a nature preserve. My oldest, Marie who is 9 yrs old helps with our composting and recycling – often rescuing things from the trash and repurposing things whenever she can. I’m so proud to be teaching my girls not only to follow in my footsteps, but but to care about how lightly we tread on the Earth every single day.

adopted the older lady living downstairs as our grandmother and all our lives are fuller with eachother in it

I bought a hybrid car, limited travel, and bought less. Spent more time in the garden and hiking. Rescued a sick Sea Gull and made a visit to my local wildlife rehabilitator.

1. volunteered at a local food bank throughout the year
2. volunteered to be the official picture taker at ThanksVegan in Tampa
3. donated the majority of my belongings to shelters and libraries before I moved 1,400 miles, taking only what would fit in my little 2-door car

I find many creatures both alive and dead on my daily beach walks. We have many types of seabirds here. The Common Murre nests on the cliffs and rocks by the thousands. When the chicks reach a certain age, they dive off the nest into the sea where the father bird waits to teach them how to get food and avoid predators. They are still flightless at this stage and can get tide-stranded. I found that I could gently herd the tide-stranded chicks back into the ocean where they belong before the tourists and their dogs got to them. I was careful not to touch them in case it caused them further difficulties. I was able to save several birds from dying on the sand. Alas, not all.

Well, where do I start. This was my eco year, I buy clothes from Thrift shops, I recyle many bottles, cans, plant my own garden, walk the dog and pick up trash, use only eco friendly products, do not drive a car, but take the bus everywhere, use cloth bags for shopping (no plastic or paper please) separate all trash for easy re-cycling. The list goes on and on and I am hoping by everyone I know see’s what I am doing and it rubs off onto them. If I do buy anything outside the normal deal, I make sure the product is either bio-digradable, or earth friendly not to harm the earth. I usually try and make my own homemade products for cleaning, with help from the internet.

I’ve made so many vast improvements to my life and my imprint on this earth this year and, I’m really proud of this. I do feel that I’ve made a positive difference thus far and look forward to my continue improvement in 2011.

I have become completely reliant on my reusable bags and will carry stuff in my arms rather then take any plastic. I have pretty much gone vegan, and when I do eat seafood, I make sure it’s sustainable and caught responsibly. I strive to only consume organic on everything as much as I possibly can (hello weekly farmer’s market!). And, I have made a consciousness decision to only purchasing clothing from indie/eco designers or buy second hand/vintage. In addition, I have completely made my skin/hair/beauty routine 100% organic.

Most importantly, I am a monthly double platelet donator and have been able to truly help save lives. This fact alone more then makes that big needle in the arm worth it!

I donate as often as possible to animal charities. Usually to organizations that have found injured/neglected dogs (most often but not always pit bulls), and are trying to raise money to help with medical expenses or the costs of fostering/finding homes.
I don’t drive anymore and take advantage of the public transportation or just walk on pretty days.
I make all vegan food for my carniverous boyfriend (which he loves!)

AND thanks to my encouragement my best friend is raising my Godson as a vegetarian (and hopefully vegan later!).

This year I have tried to share what I’m learning about eating well with friends and family to help educate them to do the same. However what I consider my most thoughtful action of the year was simply to bring joy to someone else. I know some parents of special needs children who often feel the impact of society not understanding, but they continue to share their experiences and knowledge to assist others in similar circumstances as well as to educate the general public. Their constant positivity and perseverance in the face of adversity has taught me a lot about life in general over the past year or so. My gratitude prompted me to score an autograph from one of their favorite musicians that I sent to them with a letter explaining what a positive impact they made in my life. For people who are often viewed as “broken” they were overwhelmed to know that someone saw them as a positive influence.

In addition to working for PETA, I volunteer my time every chance I get to protest various animal wrongs around the NY area. Every Sunday I protest the horse drawn carriages. I have been in several anti-foie gras protests and have been successful in having the dish removed from the menu from a few restaurants. I work at a vegan restaurant and take any leftovers to homeless people. And that was all today! (just kidding)

I convinced two of my friends to go vegetarian!

I had a garage sale for a rescue group.

This year was of rescues for me. My husband and I found a dog in a busy road and where able to catch him. We already had our own 4 dogs plus another street rescue with horrible seperation anxiety, but we brought the new dog into stay with us to avoid the kill shelter. After a month a rescue finally agreed to take him, and he was adopted soon after

I transport dogs who are pulled from high kill shelters to their foster and forever homes.

My husband and I started doing volunteer work at our son’s daycare center during family day and holiday gatherings. We both work, but started making an effort to attend all of the events. When we see the excitement on our son’s face, it’s the best.

I recycle my water bottle and plant my own flowers in the front yard as well as recycling my plastic bags for other useful things

i helped serve and prepare a thanksgiving meal for needy families in my community

i hosted a dog themed party for my 2 year old son that included a veggie hot dog bar. instead of presents people brought dog food, treats, beds, and lots of money for the local animal shelter. there is a picture of my son sitting in the middle of all of the gifts for the dogs. it was a great day!

I donated clothing and households goods to our local thrift shop, and also participated in the Animal Farm Sanctuary Walk to raise awareness about the treatment of farm animals. I also switched to a refillable aluminum water bottle for when I go on trips or out for the day, instead of buying plastic bottles. In my home office, I reused old pads I had, and used strawberry contains for office supplies like business cards and paper clips.

Bought locally sourced and organic groceries more than I have any other year. Donated items to the local food pantry. Volunteered for a week of helping kids during Vacation Bible School at my church.

I’ve spent the past 5 years “greening” my life, so I spent this year helping others get on the same path… I raised $950 for the orphanage that I work with in Nepal. I first visited this orphanage in 2006 while traveling through Asia. While in Nepal I helped for a couple of months, but when it was time to come home I knew I had more work to do. Between 2006 and 2009 I raised about two hundred dollars, which goes a long way in Nepal but I still wanted to do more… I did this through hosting a concert, selling jewelry that I make from natural materials, donation jars, and vegan bake sales. Once I reach my goal of $2500 I will return to Nepal to help set up an organic garden and teach the children to compost, and I will use the money raised to purchase solar panels for the two buildings that house the children.

I turned 25 this year and celebrated being vegetarian for half of my life (and vegan for five years now), best decision I could have made when I was 12 1/2.

We started eating organic. I did it for my kids. I try to buy all our dairy, veggies and meat organic. It was a big adjustment but I feel better than I ever have. I feel so much better about what I am feeding my kids.

I change the world everyday. I’m a high school art teacher and work in a high poverty public school. This week, one of my special needs art students won a nationwide t-shirt design contest and $500. It definitely made her world a better place. Her smile this week is worth all the money in the world.