Friday, January 3, 2014The Year in (Alexis) Review
Of all the things I ponder late at night when I should be sleeping, the most frequent topic that occupies my mind is the question of what things Alexis will remember when she's older. Most of my childhood memories pick up right around age 7, so I can't help but wonder what is sticking in that little noggin of hers.
Will she remember that time we let her watch too much TV?
Or will she remember standing on a chair stirring soup, chatting about her day?
What about the time we traveled here or there? What parts of the trip will stand out?
Sometimes I ask her, kind of like I did tonight when I asked her what her favorites moments of 2013 were. Interestingly enough, some of the moments were things I blogged. Others weren't. In no particular order, here are the five things Alexis liked best about 2013.
"It was SO much fun," she said. She recounted how everyone got to have their hair done, how much fun she had playing with all of her friends, and how much she loved her cake.
She went on and on about how great it was, which I am sure has nothing to do with the fact that I'm currently working on her next birthday party. Keep kissing up, kid.
The time we ran into a friend at Kennywood.
The thing I didn't mention in that post from this past summer was that we didn't plan on finding a friend. It was a weird totally unplanned coincidence, but it was a good one because it meant Alexis had a partner in crime while she rode The Phantom Menace entirely too many times.
Sometimes the best days are the ones that aren't planned.
Something unblogged: When we went to see Miracle on 34th Street.
It was a recent excursion that involved a little drive, but we ventured across town to see Miracle on 34th Street on stage. While it's always a good show/movie, the main reason we went is because we had friends who were in the production.
Alexis has been begging to be in a musical ever since.
Even though that part of things hasn't quite worked out for her (yet), she recounted how fun it was to sit and watch. Sometimes it's not all about the big over-the-top productions, I guess.
But sometimes it is, because another thing she listed was another Something Unblogged: The time we went to see The Nutcracker.
This was also (obviously) a recent trip, but it stood out to me because it's the only things she listed that didn't involve other kids. It was just me and her, all dressed up and fancy as we ventured to the show and then a fun dinner. She says she has always wanted to see The Nutcracker. Although she was surprised there was no singing (OMG! How can there not be singing!), she loved every second of it.
The time we ran off to Indianapolis for a wedding.
The last thing that Alexis listed was easily the most obvious. She loves a good party, and that wedding was definitely a good party. She loved the music, the dancing, the part where she got to dress up fancy, and she loved watching other people all through the ceremony.
2013 was a pretty darn good year, if you ask Alexis.
The Year in (Christmas Crazy) Review
Christmas Crazy started five years ago, and it started because of you. It started because the readers of this site asked for a way to help some kids after a contest went awry.
I find it very fitting that in the fifth year, Christmas Crazy is still very much so a success because of you. This year the total came in at just under $7500. At first, that makes it sound like this year was less successful than last year, but FALSE! IT WAS NOT!
This year was more successful.
The reason why is simple -- there were no corporate sponsors this year. There were no businesses involved, no large deliveries of toys from one place of business, none of that. The $7500 was 100% reader contributions.
I don't know about you, but I find that mind-blowingly awesome.
I've been doing this blogging thing for a long time now, so long that I've been around to watch as the definition of "blog success" was has evolved to where it is now. Now it seems to be measured by sponsorships, advertising, and corporate involvement. Yet, here I am. I'm declaring Burgh Baby more successful than ever because the readers of this site came together and changed the lives of dozens and dozens of kids without any sort of corporate help.
Thanks for that.
A special thanks goes to a few people who went above and beyond. Some did it by giving a generous donation (you know who you are), some did it by giving the couple of bucks they could spare (you know who you are, too), and then there were a few who did something just a little different.
Thanks, Michelle, for the laptop. That brand new, absolutely fantastic laptop brought tears to the eyes of the shelter staff when I handed it over. I learned a little bit about the young lady who received it for Christmas. It is absolutely in the right hands and will absolutely provide her with a little something she can use to make her future brighter than her present.
Thanks, Benjamin, for once again donating all of your birthday gifts to Christmas Crazy. Three years in a row you've done something amazing for people you'll never meet. It's fantastic and amazing and you rock. In every way.
And thanks to all of you. There were donations from 14 states in the US, plus donations from three other countries. All around awesomeness.
In the end, we delivered $6500 worth of toys and gift cards to The Center for Victims. Another $1000 in gift cards was sent to Alle-Kiski Area HOPE Center. Based on the "Thank You" emails I received from both agencies, it was all very much appreciated.
And it was appreciated by me. So ... thanks for helping to make Burgh Baby as successful as ever.
