Days 3 + 4 - Without a sink

Coffee/caffeine have not really been on my mind the past few days, but here's something that has...

My dad came up to visit for a few days this week and he noticed that my bathroom sink was breaking under its own weight. It had become a safety hazard. I had to fix my sink. I got into my car, drove to the nearest Home Depot, grabbed my cart and walked to the "bathroom" section of the store. Before me was an entire aisle of bathroom sinks. I strolled the aisle and found the one that would fit best. The best part, it was only $70.00. Sink, cabinet, faucet and matching mirror. Great deal.

We drove back, adjusted the pipes and and slid the new cabinet into place. A few hours went by and we discovered .... I had a leak in my new sink and we didn't have the fitting we needed to fix it. Which meant .... no sink. For the past two days, my kitchen sink has worked double duty.

As of 10 o'clock this evening, I have a brand new sink that works perfectly ... for under $100.00.

According to Charitywater.org, "In Africa alone, people spend 40 billion hours every year just walking for water. Women and children usually bear the burden of water collection, walking miles to the nearest source, which is unprotected and likely to make them sick."

For the past two days, I would walk the additional 15 steps, to use the sink in my kitchen. In comparison to what 1 billion people do everyday just to have water (not even clean water), is astonishing. Charity:water works to build wells for entire communities to have clean water, within every village.

Check out Charity:water - sponsor a well, to learn more!

Day 2 ....

....Honestly, I would have settled for either. I never mind an early morning, especially with a Starbucks stop thrown in. Today, began at 3.45am, without the usual pitstop.

- Team 2 back on the road for a 2 week East Coast tour as of 5am

- Last minute final details with our first PA stop around 7.45

- In the Summit office by 8.30

- Take the car to the shop at 11

- Back to the office at noon

- Off work by 5

- Short time babysitting my favorite little neighbors

- Writing a blog at 12.10a

I love what I do. I only wished for coffee about 3 times ... okay, maybe 7. It's amazing when you give something up for a short time - it's the one thing you want the most. Yet, if I didn't have clean water, I might be one of the one billion people today who wished for water.

We are blessed to have clean water whenever we want. Check out charity:water and see how you might share the wealth.

10 Days Without .... Day 1

Water is just coffee that hasn’t reached its full potential.

10 Days Without ... Caffeine.

As my co-worker, Daniel, goes 10 days without shoes ... I’ve decided to go ten days without caffeine. I know what you’re thinking ... “So what? It’s not like coffee is a big deal.... ten days? that’s nothing!” Sure, that’s what I thought too.

I realize, that means no Starbucks, no via, no espresso, no lattes.... No french press, no keurig, no seattle's best, no blue bottle. You see, I. LOVE. COFFEE.

Every morning, I walk into the office with my 20 oz. mug of “whatever I brewed that morning,” or my grande decaf macchiato that I managed to pick up at my local Starbucks on my way in. I have a Starbucks Gold Card, my baristas know me by name. New employees ask me which Starbucks I work at. It’s not an obsession, I just love coffee.

I decided to take a 10 day break from all caffeine. This means coffee, tea, coffee, chocolate, and coffee. One reason is for my own health, somewhat of a fully body caffeine detox. The second reason is to take advantage of the one thing we take for granted ... water.

Did you know that “one in eight people drink water that will likely make them sick?” Charity:Water works to bring safe drinking water to developing nations. 100% of donations go straight to bringing clean drinking water to those developing nations.

If we give up 4 lattes, we can give one person clean drinking water. If you’d like to join me in this cause you can donate here.