2012 Pick of the pics

Here are a few of my favorite pics from 2012. Look around and let me know your fav.

Parent and child in Nicaragua waiting to be seen by

TCC Nursing students.

Flowers soaking up the morning sun at
TCC's Northeast Campus in the spring.

Goose on the loose at TCC Southeast Campus.

High school FFA student at Northeast Campus

in her fashionable kicks.

TCC employees showing off their team spirit before making phone calls
 to encourage students to file for graduation.

Grads from TCC's Physical Therapy Assistant Program say "hi"
to a skeleton in the new PTA clinic.            

                           

A horse head at the Veterinary Technology Building
on the West Campus. Reminds me of a certain
scene in a certain film.....

I love this picture of the people in Nicaragua getting care
from TCC Dental Hygiene students. Students said even
though it was terribly hot, they had limited equipment,
and patients sat in lawn chairs, none of the patients complained.
Even though their teeth were severely neglected. Even the children. 

Reminds me of the holidays......

Top five reasons to give hand-made gifts this year

We've all been there. The holidays are approaching, and you've got $100 to spend on gifts for 20 people. Life is expensive, so it's difficult to buy something wonderful for every special person in your life for the holidays.

I believe with some planning and creativity, you don't have to spend a fortune to give gifts that are insightful and meaningful. Here are some tips to get you thinking.

Top five reasons to give a hand-made gift versus a store-bought gift for the holidays:
1. There isn't a chance that you will give them something they already have.
2. If you put the recipient's name on the gift, you can pretty much guarantee they won't regift the item.
3. Store-bought may make your recipient feel you just grabbed the first thing you saw.
4. Hand-made may make your recipient feel you spent a lot of time, thought and energy into the gift. Even though the gift could be something that took very little time to create
5. It's less expensive, and you are a college student so every penny counts!

Here are some ideas I like:
1. Pour dry ingredients (flour, sugar, etc.) into a Mason jar or paper sack with a little recipe card attached with a ribbon. The ingredients could be for homemade cocoa, cookies, brownies, etc. Use your imagination! Put enough dry ingredients in each jar to make 5-10 servings. The gift recipient just has to add water, eggs, etc., and bake! Example
2. Buy a ceramic plaque and paint the name or initials of the gift recipient on the plaque. Hobby Lobby has some great ones that start at $2.99 a piece, and some of them have holes at the top for hanging. Example
3. For the guys in your life, why not make home-made coozies? These are so cute and cheap, and he will appreciate your thoughtfulness. Example

If you have other hand-made gift ideas, please share!