Naturally Optimistic

A yearly tradition - although in the 3 1/2 years I've been paired with MariAnna, we've only managed to go to one of the games. Tonight was #2! We started the evening by eating a lot of Sammy's Pizza & having a great conversation. I also gave her her belated Christmas gift. I was quite proud of myself - using only what I had already in the house, I put together a fantastic collection of arts/crafts supplies! Supplies to make cards, scrapbook, whatever - including - card stock, ribbons, beads, stickers, patterned paper, envelopes, a glue stick, charcoal, pastels, paint brushes, clips, mini-tapes, cute post-it notes, embellishments, foam stickers, & a couple of penguin cutesy things (she loves penguins). See, I'm feeling the economic pinch and would rather spend time with her making things & laughing & chatting than buy her something that she doesn't need/want/won't use/will get lost in her house in 5 minutes, etc....so this worked very well. I also...

Me & Miss M Our 2nd Match of the Month! Here's the article: January is National Mentoring Month and Mentor Duluth would like to highlight a few of its outstanding matches. THIS WEEK, CONGRATULATIONS TO: Carrie and MariAnna MATCH BACKGROUND: Carrie and MariAnna have been matched through Neighborhood Youth Services for 2½ years. ACTIVITIES: Together they have tried many activities. They don’t ever seem to have a hard time finding things to do. Sometimes just hanging out together at Carrie’s house, eating dinner, baking, playing games, doing art projects or playing with Dahlia, Carrie’s new baby, makes the perfect evening. Carrie and MariAnna’s favorite thing to do is art of any kind. Art activities that they have done together include collages, card- making, drawing, painting and knitting. One of their favorite trips this fall was visiting the zoo and having a picnic. They also enjoy many other activities, such as going to plays, visiting parks, watching movies or going on hikes...

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