Haiti Donations May Carry Special Tax Breaks for 2009!!

How awesome is it that when you donate for the Haiti Earthquake victims, you are not only helping them, doing something good for ppl, but now you might be able to get a special tax break for your 2009 returns!!

USA Today reports that if President Obama signs the bill, you should be able to deduct it on your 2009 tax return, as long as you substantiate the donation and if you itemize!

So...Donate!!!  Check out my prior post for all the cool charities working hard in Haiti!!

Calleigh Turned One!!!

This weekend, Russ and I went to Calleigh's one-year bday party.  She's really cute; she's totally independent; she loves sweets; and her bday party was Hello Kitty themed!  That's my kind of girl!  ;)
Calleigh was roaming around with her wagon and crawling everywhere!  Super independent!  Of course, in true Jeanne form, I forgot my camera!!  Even after I told myself to remember it!  I blame it all on Russ!  He kept trying to update his FB profile pic and I kept trying to comment on his status updates!  ;)

So, my pics are taken from my iPhone.  Thank goodness for the iPhone from Russ!!  =)  Here's Calleigh getting ready for her big moment:

 

As you can see, she's thrilled at seeing a giant cake w/ tons of frosting on top!  And do you see the Hello Kitty table cloths?  Super cute!!

Now, here's Calleigh, attacking her little cupcake and Chase playing with his alligator balloon!  Oh!  This really cool balloon guy showed up and he was totally awesome!  I mean, he made a T-Rex, a dino, a teddy bear, a turtle, elmo...  And he was just really great at interacting with the kids!

Here's more of Calleigh and her cupcake attacking skills!  I wish I was little again!  I would eat all of my cakes like that!!!  ;)

 

 

Calleigh even had Hello Kitty plates!!  Lucky girl!!  Happy Birthday Calleigh!!!

Our Ceremony Musician

After months of thinking about what we wanted to do for our ceremony, we finally decided on a ceremony musician!!  YAY!  I was on the verge of just letting our DJ do it.  ;)

Our ceremony musician is Jason Sulkin.  Check out his website and you can hear some of his music.  =)

Help The Haitian Earthquake Victims...

It is unbelievably heart-wrenching to hear about and see the images from the earthquake in Haiti.  What's totally awesome is that aid arrived in Haiti really quickly and that they continue to find survivors.  Also, there were many groups already in Haiti, that were ready to mobilize immediately after the earthquake and confirming that their staff and family members were safe.

The LA Times has some aftermath photos that will break your heart.

Some groups that I found that were already in Haiti are:

UNICEF  - I think only 1% goes to admin.

Save The Children - I heard the CEO speak on GMA on how they're helping Haiti and the plans they have....Only 4% of the donated $$ goes to admin; another 4% goes to fundraising; and the rest goes to helping ppl.

World Vision - GMA was in Haiti and they interviewed a group leader from World Vision.  She said that since their staff and family members were safe, they were immediately able to implement rescue efforts in Haiti.  Amazing.  5% is for admin; 8% for fundraising.

Doctors Without Borders - 1% for admin and 12 % for fundraising.

Tzu Chi - Here's a link to their press releases.

If you want to help, check out these sites above.  Or check out this list of charities to help the Haitians.

A Return to Wedding Planning...

With the Holidays, we all took a break from wedding planning!  But now that there is a new year and all the Holidays are over...it's all about wedding planning again!

I ordered the BM dresses (finally).  Kelley has been brainstorming with Steven about some e-session ideas and we're super excited to implement it!!!

Meanwhile, I've been researching cakes!!  yum.  During my random researches and blog-reading, I found this super cute post and thought I should share...  It's from Axioo photography and their e-session shoot w/ a Breakfast At Tiffany's theme.  Enjoy!

Happy 2010!!!

For NYE, we went to Bodega with some of our friends.  It was a ton of fun!!!  It was also probably the cheapest NYE celebration also.  =)
At the beginning of the night:

 

After midnight:

 

 

 

Happy New Year!!