I'm still processing all the lessons learned from my recent trip to Haiti. Five of us Nashvillians traveled there to visit friends, find out a little more about the country and help out where we could. Don't get me started talking about how much I loved the journey. Just count yourself lucky all I'm doing here is posting a few pics.

Here we are after cleaning out mud from a school in the Gonaives area struck by September 2008's devastating hurricanes. After initial shyness, several of the village kids helped out in a big way and taught us a few things about swinging shovels.

We re-roofed a house damaged in those same storms. (And yes, believe it or not, there are shots of me successfully using a power saw without harming myself or others. In a skirt, no less.)

We met adorable children, who laughed at our bungling attempts to speak Creole. And while entertaining said children (one day, they numbered 300!) with tons of balloons, bubbles and soccer balls, we, by necessity, learned how to speak their language a little bit better.

Yes, we witnessed some great needs in Haiti. But we came away with memories of a lot more beauty than we ever expected.

To learn more about the work of the Haiti Water Project, one of the efforts we witnessed making a big difference in the everyday lives of people, take a minute to watch this video.

When Editorial Director Jamie Roberts isn't jet-setting around the globe, she can be found working on her organization skills and planning her next fabulous trip to some distant land. I snuck in on her today to ask a few questions about how a typical day goes for her.

What do you reach for when you need an afternoon pick-me-up?
I walk around the office stealing food from people. Sometimes I ask nicely.

What communications medium helps you the most during the day?
Yelling like I live in a barn. No, just kidding, I like the IM. And the email. And the InterWebs. Still, when I need to solve a bigger problem or figure out a challenge, few methods are better than picking up the phone or sitting down for a face-to-face.

What is the last thing you do before you leave the office every evening?
Four times out of five, I harass Ben to help me with a last-minute design project. He loves me.

How do you divide your time each day between projects? Do you set aside specific hours to work on certain things, or do you just play it by ear and see what needs the most attention?
I usually start my day with a neat little plan to work on certain projects, but a lot of time those plans get waylaid and I have to go to where the hot projects are. I aspire to be as organized as Barbara or Lena or Summer or Natalie or Julia or Lisa ... wait ... am I the MOST unorganized person around this place???

If you could pack everyone in the office up and take us to work (and play) in your favorite travel destination, what would it be? Why?
The people in this office are ridiculously talented and hard-working and creative. I think a team of us could make a huge difference on some important projects going on in Haiti. Then I'd take us all to Paris, London or Greece for a party. We also really know how to throw a party.

I first heard about the Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill near Lexington when American Spirit featured Kentucky in its travel section a few years ago. With the Shakers as the cover story of our May/June issue, I decided it was time to pay a visit to America’s largest restored Shaker community for a firsthand look at a utopian way of life.

The Shakers lived by the saying, “Hands to work, hearts to God.” But as one of Pleasant Hill's costumed guides remarked, their motto also could have been: “Work smarter, not harder.” Many of the artifacts on display in the living history museum (made up of 34 restored buildings in the middle of 3,000 acres of farmland) were labor-saving devices, which the Shakers did not patent, freely sharing with the world. (Although their claims to be inventors of the clothespin and circular saw are unlikely, their dumbwaiters and flat brooms and kitchen gadgets were models of efficiency.) Even some Shaker barns were built on slopes so that hay could be pitched downward instead of upward. Smart choice if you’ve ever shoveled out a barn!

The goods they sold to the “outside world,” from packaged seeds to classic furniture, were known for their reliability and craftsmanship. However … even though there’s evidence that their formula for house paint lasted more than 100 years, I’m not sure I’d like the idea of pulverized brick mixed with animal blood slathered on my walls. Pleasant Hill does a great job bringing the Shakers’ principles to vivid life. I was mesmerized by craftspeople demonstrating Shaker techniques, from woodworking to spinning and weaving to broom making. (Tip: always hang your broom so the bristles don’t get bent.) And the village farm, with its heirloom vegetables and historic animal breeds, offered a hands-on look at the importance of agriculture to the Shakers. Actually, the farm might have been my favorite part of the community: I loved that Percheron horses are still used to till the gardens, English sheep are still shorn for their wool and Dominique chickens provide the eggs served at the Inn’s dining room. (Ok, it made me laugh, but I didn't exactly love that one of the wily goats grabbed and ate half my map.)

Pay the Shaker community a visit if you’re ever up in bluegrass country. And be a pal and bring me back some homemade corn sticks and Shaker lemon pie.