KONY 2012

So if you haven't heard of KONY 2012 yet listen up. Above is a link to a 30 minute video depicting the Invisible Children Organization's effort to bring public awareness to the world about Joseph Kony.


 Joseph Kony is head of the LRA, (Lord's Resistance Army) an Ugandan guerrilla group who steals children from their homes and forces them to join Kony's army. The girls are turned into sex slaves and the boys are forced to fight in war where they often have to kill their own families and partake in facial and genital mutilations. 


Besides bringing awareness, the video has a clear intention of encouraging activism as well as for the end goal of capturing Kony in 2012. 


Now if you don't know this about me, I love little nuggets, (nugget is my term of endearment for children) I have dedicated most of my adult life it to becoming an educator to enrich the lives of little nugs everywhere. So you have to know how physically sick I feel about Joseph Kony. After watching this video I was upset, (were talking tears people) I was angry, and mostly I was confused. How had I not heard of Joseph Kony before!? 


 I had first heard about invisible children when I asked my friend Jimmy about a sweet hat he was sporting one summer that had an image of Africa with a heart over Uganda. He gave me a quick run down of what it was and it was a real eye opener but at the time I didn't really give it the research it deserved.  Then in 2009 I was cast into Springfield College's production of the Vagina Monologues ("Vagina Motherfuckers") and that year's spotlight was on Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) which gave an inside view of the violence and atrocities being perpetrated against women and girls in DRC. (The three rebel groups that have caused the greatest destruction in the DRC in the most recent years have been the LRA, the National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP) and the Democratic Liberation Forces of Rwanda (FDLR).) 
So even after having two direct real life experiences dealing with the LRA I still did not know who Joseph Kony was, that was until I saw that video. 


So he is now famous to me. I will not forget his name. & because this blog is my way of communicating to the world outside of my social network, I feel the need to let you know who he is.  So I got to thinking. Since the launch of Rhinestoned Adventures last month, many people who I have ran into out and about on my own adventures have asked me to see my nails & I have happily showed them. So I decided to become my own activist. 

So not to get into too much detail on how to do this because that's not what this post is really about, but I used the same technique for the nail art that I used in the valentines day post. so you can use your imagination ;)

So whether you share the video with your friends and family, 'like' a link, tweet a hashtag, donate to the cause, buy a bracelet or action kit, call your senator, or paint your nails, spread awareness of this cause because it has the best of intentions. 

Do it for the nuggets. 

On a side note,I posted this on my facebook when I had just about had enough with all the people jumping on the jaded negativity bandwagon.  "just throwing it out there to all the naysayers flapping their lips about the invisible children organization: last month when you were gobbling down your girl scout cookies, did you give two thoughts about where your money was going, because looking into that you would see that most of the money doesn't go to the actual girl scouts. But you still ate your cookies with a smile and felt good about yourself right? So quit your bitching, no organization is perfect, eat your cookies and spread some damn awareness about child abuse. No child deserves to have their innocence ripped away from them. KONY 2012"

I am also posting a link to a post by Lorin Ashton aka Bassnectar who I think summed it up best.

on pinterest? repin here, or here, or here!

Can of Doughnuts?

Ok as much as I like to play the healthy game, I can not deny my sweet teeth (yes I know its suppose to be 'tooth', but lets be real, all of my teeth want to have deliciousness all up in their business, not just one). So when I found this super easy doughnut recipe I just had to give it a go. Now I know spring break is just around the corner and some of you will be in a bikini on the beach, so I apologize for tempting you with this wickedness.... but to play my own devil's advocate, you can have 3 of these tasty little doughnuts (toppings included) for around 220 calories (that's basically a bowl of cereal) so spice up your Sunday brunch & live a little! 

 what you need: 

Ok so your going to want to gather a large skillet w vegetable oil w a plate covered with some paper towels w tongs w an apple corer w & a can of biscuits. 

Now when I say can off biscuits, I'm not talking GRANDS biscuits, no no friends that would be a giant doughnut, I'm talking about a regular sized biscuit, the can should be significantly smaller then a 'grands' can. 

For your toppings you can use a simple glaze, which is made out of 1 & 1/4 cup confectionery sugar and 3 tbs of water or milk. (you can also substitute a fruit juice if you want to give it a flavor or a dash of vanilla) Which when combined is 1tbs of equals about 31 calories.
You can also use a cinnamon and sugar mix, using 1/2 cup of granulated sugar, and 2 tbs of cinnamon.

 & sprinkles are always fun. 

Ok to begin, cover the bottom of your skillet with vegetable oil (I would say I filled mine up so it was maybe a 1/4 of an inch - 1/2 an inch thick) & place on the stove top at a medium/high heat. While you let that heat up, pop open that can & separate the biscuits onto a plate. 

Take your apple corer and punch out the center of your biscuits. Use your finger to gently push out the center bit. You can save these little centers and make doughnut holes with them!

By the time you've punch out the centers of all your doughnuts your oil should be hot enough to begin frying. Test out the oils heat by placing in some doughnut holes in the oil, you should hear the nice sizzle sound and they should begin to bubble around the outside. Once you see that it's hot enough you can begin to add in the regular doughnuts.

You will see the doughnuts begin to brown up on the bottom in the oil, that's how you know it's time to flip. I would say total time in the oil is about 1 minute per each side.

(fyi: you should be using your tongs to do this)

When your second side starts to brown, use your tongs to remove the doughnuts from the oil and place on the paper towel plate to cool. The paper towel will help absorb any extra oil that may be on the doughnut. 

Let your doughnuts cool for a few minutes & mix together the toppings in separate bowls. Dip the doughnuts into the cinnamon & sugar mix, top off with just glaze or spice it up with glaze & sprinkles.

I found the cinnamon sugar mixture to be the most delicious! Once your done dipping it's time to dig in! Best served when they are still warm!

Enjoy!

On Pinterest? Repin Here!

Shamrock Sparkle

Ok so before I even get going on this let me take you back... (cue fuzzy flashback sitcom waves)

The year is 1994. Robinson Elementary School's 1st Grade St. Patrick's Day Assembly is upon us. Mrs. Reedy has thrown the gauntlet down to her 1st grade class that we will be singing in front the entire school as well as all of our friends & families for this assembly.
 Just as I am about to squirm out of my desk with excitement, Mrs. Reedy pulls out the most beautiful piece of head wear I have ever seen. A green plastic top hat dripping in green craft glitter.
"we..wE GET TO WEAR THOSE!?!" Mrs. Reedy smiled & replied in her teacher voice "Not everyone will get to where these hats, these hats are for my special performers, the ones who can show me their best behavior & practice their hardest this week." 

....game changer. I now have to compete against these nuggs? Not an issue. So on my way out to lunch I casually make a pit stop at Mrs. Reedy's desk, just to.. you know.. say 'hello'. "I'm Irish you know?... Yeah well my Papa is Irish, so that makes me Irish....just thought you should know..." (look up subtle in the dictionary; you'll find a nugget sized picture of me tap dancing with a white feather boa on the coffee table) I had planted my bait, now all i had to do was outshine everyone at practice. So for the remainder of the week I did everything in my nugget power to earn 1 of the 3 green glitter bombed top hats. I even confirmed with Mrs. Reedy that my Irish Papa was coming to the assembly & then asked her if he could sit in the front row (simply because he was Irish and would appreciate the assembly to its fullest potential. duh.) 

Then the day arrived. Mrs. Reedy came into class holding a cardboard box filled with plain plastic hats, (umm.. WHERE ARE THE SPARKLES?) then she pulled out a smaller bag that had been tucked away in her desk. She began passing out the plain & special hats.  I knew this was the moment. Butterflies filled my stomach, my palms began to sweat, & then the moment came that she presented me with the emerald city of all hats. My 6 year old life was complete.

So these nails are a tribute to my famous Irish grandpa, Mrs. Reedy, & of course green glitter I hope you enjoy.

What you need:

Essie Navigate Her w Funky Fingers Tinsel Town w Sally Hansen Ista-Dri




I chose to do a base coat of Essie Navigate Her because the Tinsel Town glitter polish has a undertone of blue & I wanted to really showcase the green in this look. I found that Navigate Her really makes the green pop! 

Next thing I did was start progressively adding thin coats of glitter polish. Let the coats dry before you add on the next. All in all I put on 4 coats of glitter. The first coat starting at the base of my nail, & the last coat at the edge of my nail like a french. This will give you the 'ombre'/ 'gradation' effect (without having to add white)

Finally top off with with a nice helping of top coat to even out the layers and voilà your nails will be ready for Irish adventure.  

On Pinterest? Repin Here!

(Disclaimer: this glitter gradation effect does not work with every glitter nail polish out there. I've tried it  a handful of times mostly ending in a blur of glitter and a bottle of nail polish remover. So don't get discouraged if you try it and it doesn't come out right, it could just be the polish. Explore different polishes till you find the right one, it will be worth it!)