When is too much candy a problem?

NOTE: This was actually written 5 days ago. It is taking me way to long to fit in some fun time for blogging or much Facebook but life is still good.

This morning was quite productive. I was focused, staying on tasks until completion rather than my regular routine of starting something only to noticed something else and then something else. . .until I finally make it back to the original task a few hours later. Well I should say I was focused until it came time to put away the dishes. I opened a cupboard that has been an eyesore for a while. As I started to pull out the bags that were shoved into various corners I was amazed at what I found. I found bags of leftover Halloween candy, Christmas candy and Valentines candy. Why was I considering purchasing some Easter candy with the coupons I clipped this morning? The existing bags of candy have obviously not been a draw for me and the kids have clearly forgotten about it, thank goodness. [ok so I forgot to move it off the kitchen table, from the photo shoot, before they got home so that is outdated - they were like "WHAT IS THIS!!!!!!!!]

I never remember having leftover candy as a kid other than the gross stuff and then you usually traded it with someone else. If I tossed it I’m sure I would have buried it and felt terribly guilty for being wasteful. So, I would LOVE to know what happens in other’s homes with holiday candy. Does it actually all get eaten up? Does it get thrown away? Donated to a class? I have tossed bags like this in previous years but I’m looking at this stash and thinking. . .I can’t toss this it’s wasteful. But I have no desire to have it around. ALL of us will be much better off not having it. There is TOO MUCH!!! What an absolute waste of money. If I had a dime for each piece of untouched candy I could pay for several individual Founding Memberships for the Mt Pleasant Discovery Museum.

So this is when candy becomes a problem, when it sits around for months untouched creating a waste. I need a candy recycler who will turn it into cash for me! Anyone?

Mt Pleasant Discovery Museum

My regular routine, if you can call it that, has been slightly altered the past few weeks. Nick and I became aware last fall of a children’s museum in the works here in Mt Pleasant. This was an extremely exciting thing because this is something that I spent the first year living here (2007) dreaming about, doing some research and finding out what it would take to start one. I determined that although a great idea and I knew this area would be a perfect location, it was WAY too much work for me to start on my own. I tucked the idea away and every time we passed an old building in need of help or vacant space I would say, now THAT would make a great place for a museum.

So last fall when I learned that a friend from church was involved with a group that was making progress on the same basic idea (only much more creative than I even envisioned) I indicated a willingness to help. They were in need of someone who could advise them on some technology and get a basic website going. Nick and I came as a package deal. What part I lack in Nick has the expertise. What little part he lacks I am there to fill in.

A community meeting was planned for February 25^th creating an automatic deadline for much of what needed to be done. We mostly put the website together in the last 2 weeks before the meeting. OK so its not the fanciest site in the world but truly a miracle that it came together. I also became involved in helping with formatting some documents and getting some forms put together. The culmination of so many hours/months and almost a full year of work from the board and our additional help turned out to all be good. It has been very exciting to be a part of something like this. I guess the long hours of assisting the board made them decide to vote me on the board. I couldn’t resist saying yes to the idea since I have had some strong feelings about the need for something like this in the area. I feel so lucky to be a part of the group as the original four board members are each very talented and together they make a great team.

Other help that has come to pull things together so far is a great artist and instructor here at CMU (Jonathon Russell) who designed the logos to be used. The cool thing is the silhouettes used in the artwork are actually some of the children from three of the board members, so they all have names. We have an attorney on the board as legal advisor and is helping with all the paperwork, getting nonprofit status etc. There is also a CMU student on the board who is the grants coordinator. She is putting together the first wave of grants to try and obtain funding that way.

Our meeting on the Feb 25^th generated some amazing support with volunteer services offered in so many helpful areas! If you are on Facebook you can see the list here. We all feel like this is really meant to be. It would be a huge boost to the community and be a bright spot for children to learn hands on in a fun environment with their family.

I could write so much about this but I invite you to check out the website: mpdiscoverymuseum.org. It’s not fancy but it serves the purpose for now. Someday I envision that our original website will go away and be replaced with something bigger, better and interactive (and done by someone with more expertise). So if anyone has noticed my lack of blogging, email or Facebook activity the last couple of weeks it is because I have fully jumped into this project, working hard to help make progress.

If you would like to see a slideshow of some pictures from our community meeting click here.