Life with Dylan

Month: June 2012

  • My Thank You Letter to the Ocean

    Dear Ocean,

    Today we celebrate you and all your beauty. From the blue-green waters of the Caribbean to the deep blue darkness at your depths. From your calm glassy surface to the rough waves you produce during a storm. You are an integral part of the earth and the ecosystem would be off balance without you. Covering 75% of the world’s surface, you truly are amazing.

    You provide a home to millions of fish, marine mammals, plants, and so much more. Your vastness can even make the world’s largest living animal, the blue whale, look small.

    Without the ocean, there would be no “happy place” for me. For you see, whenever I need time to think or to clear my head – I simple go to you. The sound your crashing waves make against the shore and the salty smell you give to the air give me serenity.

    Because I can never see where you end, you give me hope. Hope that there is something more to be discovered. Hope that one day you will not be used as a trash can, but rather respected as a home to other living creatures.

    In honor of you, I will share your beauty with those around me. I will never forget the power you have to give life as quickly as you can take life away. Tonight, I will get lost in the tranquility that you possess when I watch Disneynature Oceans – one of my favorite documentaries.

    Today, on World Oceans Day, I thank you.

  • Wordless Wednesday – World Oceans Day

    Maui, 2007 … the day Dylan fell in love with the ocean.
    World Oceans Day is this Friday, June 8 – How will you celebrate the ocean?

  • A beauty product that is good for my skin and even better for the environment

    Beauty doesn’t have to cost a lot, nor does it have to be in fancy packaging. In fact, beauty can actually be good for the environment, good for the animals, and good for your skin.

    I have been searching for a new foundation and have tried just about every organic, all natural makeup line there is without spending a fortune. Although many of these products looked good on the outside, once they came in contact with my skin I didn’t like it. Either the color was always wrong or the makeup caused my skin to breakout.

    Being a huge fan of LUSH Cosmetics and their wonderful bath and body products, I spent some time looking over the other products available. Well, what do you know – they make a foundation!

    Not just any foundation, but a colour supplement that works three ways. Dab on as a concealer, blend with moisturizer for a tinted glow, or use alone as a full coverage foundation. Last weekend I went over to LUSH Cosmetics at Fashion Island to check is out. The staff there is so friendly and always spends time answering all my questions. I never feel as though I’m rushed – like they need to move on to the next person.

    I was matched for my color and happily bought a jar of Colour Supplements in Dark Yellow (along with some other things). The price is reasonable, the packaging is recycled, it is mineral-oil free, and best of all … no animal testing or animal products of any kind.

    Infused with fresh rose petals to calm redness and a natural sunscreen, titanium dioxide, this is hands down one of the best foundations I have used in a very long time.

    I have worn it both alone and mixed with my moisturizer for 3 days now. My skin tone is even, no redness, no pigmentation, and I don’t even feel like I have makeup on. Kudos to LUSH Cosmetics for offering a beauty product that is good for my skin and even better for the environment.

    Don’t be fooled by fancy packaging and big name ingredients. Keep it simple. Keep it natural.

  • If I can make one person aware, then I have accomplished my goal

    When someone tells me I can’t do something, that what I am doing doesn’t matter in the big picture – well, that just makes me do it even more.

    People told me I was crazy to change my blog and stop doing the “blogger” thing. That nobody wanted to read about animals, conservation, the environment, or my beliefs toward these issues. I have been told that I am alienating my “friends”. Well, if these so called friends respected me and my beliefs, then they wouldn’t feel this way. Rather, they would support me.

    A little over a week ago, I tweeted this picture of Nola and Angalifu from the San Diego Zoo Safari Park with the caption “This picture shows 1/4 of the world’s Northern White Rhino population. Warning it may shock you”

    Yes, you did the math correctly. There are only 7 Northern White Rhinos left living in the world. These animals are critically endangered and will be disappear in your lifetime if something is not done to stop the poachers.

    Between my tweet, the re-tweets, my posting on Facebook, and the Facebook shares – over 20,000 people saw this picture. In fact, someone just re-tweeted this yesterday so that number has increased.

    That my friends is called creating awareness and making a difference. 

    I entered a contest and created a board on Pinterest called Pin It For Tigers to show how beautiful these animals are and bring attention to the drastically declining numbers in the wild. I became an advocate for the tigers. Once my board was named as one of the finalist, I had 20 new followers of that board and several re-pins.

    That my friends is called creating awareness and making a difference.

    When my 8-year old son decided to raise money for the tigers at San Diego Zoo Safari Park in lieu of birthday presents and a party, his friends began asking him how they could help. Third graders wanted to know about the plight of the tigers – and you know that they went home and told their parents about what Dylan said in his class.

    That my friends is called creating awareness and making a difference.

    When I share pictures of new babies born at zoos and aquariums, they make people smile. Who doesn’t melt when they see a picture like this? These people will then want to visit the zoos and aquariums, which are mostly non-profit organizations, in turn helping to support the animals and the conservation efforts made for them.

    Photo courtesy of Terri Haines, Aquarium of the Pacific



    That my friends is called creating awareness and making a difference.

    No matter what your passion is …

    No matter what your cause is …

    Regardless of your age …

    Never.

    Ever.

    Underestimate the power you have to create awareness and make a difference in the world.

  • We Pinned It For Tigers – and we Won!

    As you may know, about a month ago I started a Pinterest board to create awareness and spread the word about the plight of the tigers. This board was created to enter a contest put on by the San Diego Zoo Safari Park as part of their 40th Anniversary and Endangered Species Day. Little did I know that by creating this board I would find a new love for these big cats and spark a fire in my son’s heart as well.

    Dylan’s reaction to winning.

    Last week, the top three boards were announced on the San Diego Zoo Safari Parks Facebook page and we were one of them. Now it was up to the fans to vote and select a winning board. The grand prize was a Behind the Scenes Tour to meet the big cats of the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. Thanks to fan votes, we won the contest!

    I was so excited that I called Dylan’s teacher and asked if I could come share the good news with him during class. When I walked in the room, his eyes began to water. He knew why I was there. After sharing the story with his classmates, they all applauded and began asking him how they could help too.

    When creating my Pinterest board, I didn’t want just pictures of tigers – I wanted to show more. I found pictures of tiger cakes, tiger jewelry, artwork, and more importantly pictures that truly showed the plight of the tigers. These animals are being hunted by poachers in such a cruel manner. This is what I wanted to show, and in the process I was brought to tears. I found a new love for tigers that I was able to share and hopefully inspire others to share too.

    Our Pin It For Tigers Board

    Shortly after starting the Pin it for Tigers board, Dylan and I visited the San Diego Zoo Safari Park for Endangered Species Day. This is when Dylan found his love for tigers and decided to do his part.

    Together, Dylan and I will continue to share our love for tigers and all other endangered species – because we now know that even one person, no matter how old, can make a difference.

    Photo courtesy of World Wildlife Fund