Monthly Random Act of Kindness - January

I did say that I would update you on my monthly Random Act of Kindness.

I'm finding that it's pretty easy to reach your goal of one random act of kindness a month.  This isn't my full monthly list.  I find that I'm pretty kind to people (I know, hard to believe, isn't it?).  It really isn't that hard to do.  I think having our week of the Great Kindness Challenge helped.  There are a lot of little things you can do.

I guess these would be my mini "RAOK's":

Give a quarter to someone for a grocery cart
Gave a coupon to the person behind me in line
Let someone go in front of me in line
Hold the door open for people (I do this a lot, not sure if it's "random" enough)

My one large RAOK for the month:

Shovel the driveway for my neighbor

How did your list for Random Acts of Kindness look this month?

The Great Kindness Challenge Spread Kindness to the World

The week is almost over!  How do you feel?  Have you been spreading kindness everywhere you go?  What kind deeds have you performed this week?

Today we are spreading kindness to the world.

Be kind to others by giving back:

Bring in canned goods or perishable food items to your local food pantry.
Bring in clothing to your local shelter (hats, mittens, gloves, scarves, blankets, etc.).
Donate items to your local pet shelter (food, towels, toys, treats, etc.).

Thanks for taking the challenge with me this week.  If you want more information, check out GreatKindnessChallenge.org for more details.

Have a great day!

The Great Kindness Challenge Thank You Day

Doesn't it feel great performing all of these nice deeds?  What have you done this week so far?

Today is Thank You day.

Write a little note to someone and thank them.  Maybe it was for a gift they sent or kind words they said to you.  Maybe they were an ear or shoulder for you when you needed someone.  Get out your pen and paper and start writing.   Remember, people love to get a handwritten note. :)

The Great Kindness Challenge - Super Star Random Acts of Kindness Day

See how many Random Acts of Kindness you can perform today.

Hold the door open for someone
Let someone get ahead of you in line
Say Hi to someone
Ask someone if they need help (and help them out)

You get the idea.  Now go!  And have a great day!

The Great Kindness Challenge - Community Kindness Day

Create a thank you card for your postal worker and place it in the mailbox for him/her today!  Do the same for the librarian, fire person, policeman, etc.

Have a great day!

The Great Kindness Challenge

Wear a bright colored shirt today and bring in the sunshine!

Be sure to smile at someone new today as well!

Have a great day!

The Kindness Challenge

Bella brought home a letter from school about The Great Kindness Challenge School Edition.  This is a campaign by KidsforpeaceGlobal.org and GreatKindnessChallege.org .  On the letter it says, "We challenge you to perform as many kind deeds as you can in one week.  Using the checklist below, check off your acts as you go.  Have fun!"


Take a look at the challenges on The Great Kindness Challenge.  Add some kind deeds of your own.  I thought this would be a great way to start off the week.  It makes me think of the words Bill and Ted (from "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure") would always say:  Be excellent to each other!

Here's a copy of one of the lists from GreatKindnessChallenge.org:

Smile at 25 peopleTake a treat to your local firefighters
Do a household chore without being asked
Pick up trash in your neighborhood
Take a board game to play at a senior center  
Read a book to a younger child
Say “Thank you” to a police officer
Entertain someone with a happy dance
Help an elder cross the street
Push someone on a swing
Pick up trash at the water’s edge (or anywhere)
Make a new friend
Write a thank you note to your mail carrier 
Walk a dog (or cat!)
Plant a tree
Say “Hi” to a homeless person
Learn to say “Thank you” in a new language 
Help clean up a park
Say “Thank you” to a lifeguard
Write a love note to your caretaker
Paint a picture and give it to someone
Host a lemonade stand and donate proceeds  
Recycle your trash
Hug your sibling or friend
Cut out 10 hearts and leave them on 10 cars

Donate needed school supplies
Thank a bus driver
Leave a flower on someone’s doorstep
Donate something to an animal shelter
Call your grandma or grandpa
Walk or bike instead of driving
Make a thank you card for your librarians
Thank an elected official for their service
Say “Good Morning” to 5 people
Be kind to yourself and eat a healthy snack
Deliver a special gift to a child in the hospital 
Draw a heart in the sand or dirt (or snow)
Send a card or gift to a military family
Make a wish for a child in another country  
Donate food to a food bank
Hold the door open for someone
Write a happy message with sidewalk chalk 
Leave a painted rock on a friend’s doorstep  
Make sack lunches for the homeless
Compliment 5 people
Make and display a “Kindness Matters” sign 
Call a radio station and wish them a nice day  
Sweep the sidewalk on your street
Help plant a gardenCreate your own kind deed 

They are pretty easy if you ask me.  (well, the sidewalk chalk here, in the winter, might be a little difficult).  Maybe we can add shovel someone's driveway.

Are you up for the challenge?

How many kind deeds will you do this week?

Turn up the heat

It's been a little cold here.  Nothing crazy.  Just -20F.

Oh, I feel the cold.  Especially when it's windy. But, sometimes, it doesn't bother me.  Sometimes I get real warm. (remember this post?)

I was on my way to one of Alex's basketball games.  My neighbor decided to hitch a ride so he can see Alex play ball.  About 10 or 15 minutes into the drive, I asked him if he was cold.  (sometimes I don't turn the heat on in the car because I'm so warm).  I told him that he could turn his seat warmer on.  He said that he was fine.

We watched the first game and then moved into the other gym for the second game.  We were about to sit down and that's when my neighbor said, "It's almost as cold in here as the car."  (he was joking) I told him I'm usually a warm person and felt bad if he was cold on the way there.  I had to leave the game early and he hitched a ride home with RT (who has the temperature in his car at about 100F).  The next game, my neighbor drove.  I think he was afraid of me freezing him out again.

Add that to the Resume

I changed the roll of toilet paper at work today.

I have a feeling that having this skill will help me do great things.

Gabby

Bella can be quite.......chatty.

I'm not sure if she talks just to fill up air time or if she really feels the need to say ALL that she has to say.

Like EVERYTHING THAT COMES INTO HER HEAD!

She doesn't give you time to think about your answer (or reply).  She just jumps in and does some more talking.

If you are trying to have a conversation with someone else, Bella has to chime in with responses, or, even better, correcting something that you are saying.  Sometimes her corrections are, well, not correct.

I can't remember the boys going through this stage.  They aren't that chatty.  The correcting stage is familiar though.  I get corrected quite often by teenage boys who obviously know a lot more than I do.  (They probably do, that's the scary part)

I don't want to discourage her chattiness.  It's just that sometimes I need to go hide somewhere quiet for awhile.

Organization and Decluttering Tips

I think every blog has their list of tips for organization and decluttering.  I thought I would do the same and share some of my thoughts.

Don't go out and buy a bunch of containers before you start your project.  Save that for the very end so you can find the right size box/container for what you are trying to store.  You might find that you got rid of so much stuff that you won't need any extra storage bins or you might already have something on hand that you can use.

Start small.  Pick areas to organize or declutter like a junk drawer, spice cabinet, under the (kitchen or bathroom) sink, night stand, etc.  These are projects that are small and won't take as long.  They are great for "getting your feet wet."  Once you see the results, it will motivate you to do more.

Take breaks.  If you are working on a larger project it's good to set a timer and work for 15 minutes without interruptions.  Sometimes it's good to walk away.  You come back with a clear head and more energy. (and you might get rid of more things).

When working in an area, make sure you have a few empty bins.  I had a box for Donations, a box for Recycling and one for "some where else" (stuff that belongs "somewhere else" that you can deliver when you are finished).  I also had a waste basket.  Make sure you have these in place before you start your project.

Sometimes you are going to have to make quick decisions.  If it's been sitting there in a pile, chances are you don't need it.  Get rid of it.  If you have more than one (and you only need one), get rid of the extras.

Don't get discouraged.  It's easy to feel overwhelmed.  Know when to stop and take a break.  Breaking down larger projects into smaller ones makes them easier to tackle.

When you are finished organizing or decluttering an area, remember to empty the trash and recycle boxes.  Also, make a trip to the donation center with your donation box so it doesn't make it's way back into your neatly organized room.  :)

Brownies - Give Back Badge

We worked with our girls on the Brownie's "Give Back" badge (patch).

Prior to our meeting, the girls looked up companies that give back (money, product, service, etc).  They brought their findings to our meeting and shared with the others.  We (leaders) also looked into companies that the girls would know and talked about them (it's easy to find:  search "companies that give back").  The girls also brought up our visit to the local food pantry (they give (food) back to people who can not afford to buy their own) and Feed My Starving Children (giving food to various people/places all around the world).

We discussed a giving goal.  How much money we would like to give back to help others.  We also set our cookie selling goal at the same time.  We had the girls do the math, figuring out how much we want to give and how many cookies we would have to sell in order to reach that goal.  Our girls chose two places to give money.   At this time, we also had the girls decide on something fun for themselves to do (a field trip).  This was also factored in to our cookie goal.

We practiced what to say to our customers when selling our cookies.  We wanted our customers to know exactly how the cookie money will be spent.  Knowing that the money they are spending on cookies is going to help (sick children, an animal shelter, homeless people, a women's shelter, senior citizens, etc.) makes the customer feel like they are helping, too.  (and might help boost sales :)  )

We also made sure that the girls know about the program where people can donate money instead of purchasing boxes of cookies (located on the Girl Scout Cookie Order Form).  This is great for people who have restricted diets, are on a diet or just don't need to buy any more cookies, but would love to help.

Finally, we had the girls write "Thank You" letters thanking their customers for purchasing cookies from them and telling them how we are spending the money we earned from sales.  Some girls drew pictures of cookies (we had them do this in pencil).  To make it more personal, we had the girls write "Dear ___________" We made photo copies for the girls and they wrote in the person's name and placed a letter in with the customer's cookie order.

Bella: So, I had a weird night. Alex told me to get in his room to kill a (teeny tiny) spider. When I got in there, he was standing on his bed with a belt and the spider was (on the other side of the room) on his desk. * Then I heard Dad yell, "I stepped in poo!"  And then you (me) laughed. 

*yes. The teeny tiny harmless spiders are quite deadly in these parts. 

Snowman Ornament

I forgot to post this before Christmas!

We made a Snowman Ornament with our Brownie Troop.  I found the idea here and thought it would be a fun gift the girls can make for their parents.   The girls got to practice their painting skills (they had just earned their painting badge for Brownies) and got to be really creative.

Supplies needed:
block of wood (we purchased pine at Michael's)
paint (we used a light blue for the background)
white paint (to make your snowmen)
Sharpies in different colors

Each girl got a block of wood and wrote their name and the year on the back.  Then they started to paint their block of wood.  Like I said, we used the light blue paint.  It looks like a nice sunny day with blue skies (minus the sun).  It didn't take long for the wood to dry.

I set up a station and went to painting the girl's hand with white paint (to make the snowmen).  Most of the girls wanted to have the same number of snowmen on their ornament as their are in their family.  This can be difficult since it's easier to just paint the four fingers.  We had them paint a pinkie a second time for a fifth or sixth person.  This seemed to work out well.  When painting their hand, make sure to paint the entire finger (palm side only) an paint a little on the palm right underneath the finger (that makes it look like snow under the snowman).

Once finished making their snowmen, the girls washed their hands.

A second station was set up with a hair dryer (to make sure that they dried in time).  We only have an hour for our meeting so we have to use our time wisely.

Once the plaques are dry, the girls were able to use the sharpie markers to personalize their snowmen.   Adding eyes, nose, mouth, hat, buttons and a scarf.  Some even drew little stars/snowflakes in the sky around the snowmen.  We hot glued ribbon onto the back so the ornament can be hung.

The girls then made cards (with paper and crayons).  This was a Christmas gift for their parents.  We brought some red and green tissue paper and tape and the girls wrapped up their plaques and taped the card onto the gift.

I would have pictures of the girl's lovely pictures, but they wrapped their gifts so you are left with my sample pictures.  :)

Brownies Painting Badge

The Painting badge (or patch) is one of the Legacy patches for Brownies.

To earn this patch we broke it down into two sections.

First we visited a local art museum at the local college.  Check around your area.  There are local art leagues in different towns that display some of their student's art work.   If you talk to the school, I'm sure they would love to have your troop visit and give a little talk about painting (and art).  The college we visited had a display of some of Ed Paschke's paintings.  I contacted the art curator prior to our field trip and asked when was a good time for us to visit.  She was very excited that our troop was coming to visit (we were the first girl scout troop to visit!) and wanted to be there to give us a personal tour.  I explained that we were earning our Painting badge.  She had no problem and was ready to go when we got there.  Our girls learned so much from the curator.

For our part two of the badge we finished up in a regular meeting.  We discussed the different styles of painting and showed some famous paintings (it helps to have your tablet with you so you can show the girls the pictures otherwise you can visit your library for some books with pictures of various styles of paintings).    Here are a few of the styles of of painting that we discussed:  Pop Art, Impressionism, Pointillism, Cubism, Murals and Street Art.

Then, we got down and dirty and decided to have the girls paint.  We set up a cornucopia (with fruit, acorns, leaves).  We did this right before Thanksgiving.  You can set up a vase with flowers or a bowl of fruit.  Maybe a few books with a piece of fruit?  Something related to the holiday that is coming up.  Use your imagination.  We had the girls lightly draw out in pencil what they wanted to paint.  This made it easier when they started painting.  Less "oops" and tears if they messed up.  

If a girl finished early, we let her have another piece of paper to paint whatever she wanted (in whatever style of painting she wanted to use).  

We also put our painting skills to the test once again when we painted our Snowman Ornament for our parent Christmas gift.

Hope this helps.  Let me know if you did something different.  I would love to hear your ideas. 

Organizing: Bonus! Dog Shelf

As I was finishing up the laundry room organization, Bella asked if she could organize the dog shelf.  It's where we keep all of the dog treats, pills, bones, brushes, etc.   I thought, why not?

Before

After

Great job organizing, Bella!

(The scarf was put away inside the box, but, Bella had to put it on Pippen...as you can tell, it didn't last very long)

Week of Organizing Day Seven: The Laundry Room (part two)

It's Day Seven already.  I didn't think I would make it through  an entire week organizing.  I picked some interesting spots in the house.  I know there are more that could use a little help.  Now that I have the organizing bug, there shouldn't be a problem.

So, today I picked the other half of the laundry room.  Well, it's one side of the laundry room.  RT has the other two sides (and he cleaned those up not too long ago).  I'm embarrassed to show this picture. It's another area of our house that I just shove things on the shelves.  This is what happens when you have space and shelves.  Well, this is a Scary Journey....so, here it is:

Before

Yikes!

What do we have on those shelves?  Lots and lots of stuff.  I recycled quite a bit of the newspaper (I save some for Girl Scout projects).  I figured we didn't need all of it.  I also got rid of some Christmas tins/boxes/bowls that we have acquired over the years.  We don't seem to use them, so, I thought I would donate them.  Maybe someone can put them to good use.  I straightened the shelves and tried to put like things with like things (school supplies, beach/summer stuff, food)

After

Much better, don't you think?  I can't believe all of the plates we have on hand!  We usually have Christmas Day at our house (we haven't done this for the last two Christmases) so we need the plates and cups.  Now we have an abundance.  I guess that means party at our house!  :)

Did you organize along with me this week?  How did you do?

Week of Organizing Day Six: The Laundry Room (part one)

Okay.  I'm liking all of the changes that I have made so far.  I'm hoping you are organizing right along with me.  I like company.  :)

Today I decided to attempt the laundry room.  I thought I would do this in two stages.  You'll see why when you look at the pictures.  Today is part one:  The laundry area (where we wash our clothes).

Before

I cleaned up the shelves a little.  I had quite a bit of containers that I had saved thinking I might need them for storage/organization.  The majority of them went into the recycle bin.  Okay, Okay.  I saved a couple.  I will get rid of them if I don't use them for any of my other organizing projects!  Wow!  Tough crowd!  Moving on....I have quite a few hangers, but, I use those to hang clothes to dry.  (and sometimes the boys need them for their clothes, instead of keeping them on their floor....)  I also organized my fabric and sewing supplies.  I think it looks a lot better.

After

I decided that I needed to put in some color to make it more exciting down here.  Something has to change.  It's kind of blah.  I think a fresh coat of paint would be nice.

That was tough.  There's still more to this room, though.  And that's going to be tomorrow's project.

Wish me luck.

Week of Organizing: Day Five: Desk/Mail Center

I like how my organization is shaping up.  I even look forward to tackling the next project.  (scary, I know!)   Ten minutes into this project today and I realized that this was going to be another tough day.

As much as I love paper.....I realize that I also hate it.  The school sends home so much paper.  A lot of it is unnecessary.  Sometimes it's so overwhelming that I just put it all in a pile and try to ignore it.   Unfortunately, the pile continues to grow and I have to start going through it.

Before

I decided to designate a cubby for RT and Nick.  Somewhere I can put their mail (or papers).  For some reason, I decided to put the cordless telephone in RT's cubby.  I am not a fan of the wires hanging, but, I was tired of seeing it on the desk.  (we shall see how long it lasts up there....)

I have an envelope for bills that need to be paid.   I put this envelope in the drawer.  I might rethink that and create a basket for incoming mail (but I want it to hang on the wall).  I will continue to look for something.  Hey, it's a work in progress.  At least I identified the problem.  Now I just have to find a solution.......that works for me.   :)

I went through the drawers and pulled out ALL of the folders and went through them with a fine tooth comb.  (lots of paper being recycled this week)

Straightened up the other drawers and went through all of the pens and pencils in my pencil cup.

After

I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.

 Now to keep it clutter free......

Are you organizing along with me?  Any tips you would like to share?

Week of Organizing Day Four: The Craft Cabinet

Now, this was a project.

We are at Day Four of our  organizing and today I chose the craft cabinet.  I would allow some time if you have an extensive craft supply collection.  I don't have a HUGE amount of craft supplies, but, I made sure that I had plenty of time to go through everything.

before

My pretty papers are already in containers and are stacked nicely in the office (under the printer).  My painting supplies are in the laundry room.  They are in a box on the shelves and will stay there.  Sewing supplies are also in the laundry room in containers and will stay there.  (the containers will not fit inside these cabinets)

The best way to start is to pull everything out of the cabinets and start sorting through your stuff.  I made piles of things that go together (glues, sequins, ribbon, washi tape, etc.) so I can store them together.  Makes it easier when I need something, I can go to one place and find everything that I have.....

I realized that I had A LOT of empty containers that I thought I would use to store craft supplies.  I recycled quite a few containers.  I also had items that were broken (tossed those), one or two of something (combined them and threw out any extra packaging).  All in all I think it was worth the time and effort.

after

What do you think?

Are you organizing along with me?  What have you organized this week?

Week of Organizing Day Three: The Cleaning Closet

We made it to day three.  Day two was easy for me since I had a helper.  Today, everyone has mysteriously disappeared.  There's probably a good reason.  I picked the Cleaning Closet today.  This is the one place I try to avoid.  It becomes a dumping ground for me.

"Where should I put this?"

"Oh, how about the cleaning closet?"

Before

Dubbed the cleaning closet because it holds cleaning supplies.  Vacuum, broom, dust mop, rags, cleaning supplies and a whole mess of other things that I have no idea how they ended up in there.  I was able to take out the items that don't belong.  Some of them were placed in a new home (where they should have been put in the first place) while others found a new home (donated or garbage/recycling).

after

Ahh.  Much better, don't you think?  I can get used to all of this organizing.  I might actually be able to find things now.

Are you organizing along with me?  What have you organized so far?  What is the strangest thing you have found in your organizing process?

You know it's really cold out when....

...you open the door and the dog runs back to his blanket and refuses to go outside.

Week of Organizing: Day Two: The Pantry

Yesterday went so well, I thought I would attack the pantry today.  It always seems to get messed up.  This might take a little longer than 15 minutes if you never go through your pantry.  Now is the time to check use by dates.   You might want to ask yourself if you are ever going to use certain items.   I try to go through our pantry quite often.  And, since I was sick for a week (and didn't go grocery shopping for about two weeks) a lot of the items mysteriously cleared out of the cabinet.

before

I was all set to pull things out when a little helper came by and decided to take over.  I don't want to discourage organization help so, I let Bella take over and organize the pantry.

after

I think she did a great job.

What you probably can't see: 

We put some items in glass jars (rice, dry beans for soups, craisins, etc.)

Bella organized the shelves:  cereal/breakfast shelf, pasta shelf, baking items

This is the bottom half of the pantry.  I quickly cleaned up the top shelves and straightened everything out so they match the bottom ones.

The top shelf is RT's personal secret storage spot.  That's where he hides his candy and coffee.  I guess it isn't a secret if I (and the kids) know about it, is it?

Are you organizing along with me?  What have you organized so far?

Week of Organizing: Day 1: Night Stand

I thought I would start off the year with a clean slate and a (somewhat) organized life.  I'm not the most organized person and with working so much last month, I think things were just getting put anywhere and everywhere.  I don't like the disorder and I didn't have the time or energy to fix it.  I thought this would be a great way to start off the new year.  Get organized and try to stay that way (so disorganization and messes don't happen).  And, what better place to start than:  the night stand.  Hey, it's the spot next to where you start and finish your day (well, if you sleep in your bed every night?)  And, we have to start somewhere, right?

I always wondered why it was called a night stand.  I had to search and find out.  Here is what wikipedia has to say:

A nightstand,^[1] alternatively night table or bedside table, is a small table or cabinet designed to stand beside a bed or elsewhere in a bedroom. It serves the role of a coffee table^[2] during nighttime hours, at a person's bedside.Before indoor flushing toilets became commonplace, the main function of a nightstand was to contain a chamber pot. As a result, early nightstands were often small cabinets, sometimes fitted with a drawer, and usually containing an enclosed storage space below covered by one or more doors. Another term sometimes given to such cabinets was commode.

Okay.  Just so we all know that my night stand is just to hold some essential items and that we have a separate indoor bathroom for all of that other stuff.

Okay...  Let's continue, shall we?

This organization activity should take you about 15 minutes (unless you plan on studying every. single. item.)  Go ahead, set the timer.  I dare ya'!

I have the essentials in the drawer.
lip balm
hand lotion
notepads and pen*
book mark (I had about 5 in there and pared it down to two)
Vick's nasal stick (just in case I can't breathe...you never know)

*to write down all of those great idea's in the middle of the night
I think I need a little light so I can see what I'm writing.

On my nightstand:
a sock owl (it's so cute!)
rose (from Nick)
a bee (from B, I mean Bella)
a coaster (for my water glass)

I should have taken the before picture.  For some reason I had blank note cards and a glue stick in my drawer.  You know, for those nights I can't sleep and feel like making pretty cards for everyone.  Doesn't everyone do that?

So, what did you find in your nightstand?

Vegetarian Hoppin John

Happy New Year!

Thought we would celebrate this year with a little Hoppin' John for good luck for 2015.

Hoppin' John is a black eyed peas and rice dish that they serve in the South.  It is a meal that is to bring good luck to you in the year when eaten on New Years Day.

I had a hard time finding a vegetarian recipe for Hoppin' John.  A lot of the recipes call for cooking with a ham hock or some bacon.  Not going to happen here, so, I decided to wing it and come up with my own Hoppin' John recipe.

Here goes:

Hoppin John

2 1/2 cups of Vegetable broth
1 cup of Farro*
1 small onion, chopped
2 Tbsp Sunflower oil
1 15oz can diced tomatoes
1 15oz can black eyed peas
Cajun seasoning

Bring Farro to boil in Vegetable broth and cook until done.

In a pot, cook onion in Sunflower oil until onion is translucent.  Add tomato, black eyed peas and Farro.  Mix.  Add in your Cajun seasoning.  Heat through.

*I used Farro instead of rice.  You can substitute rice (white or brown) for this recipe.  I just like Farro.

I didn't have any Cajun spice on hand, but, put some ground (cayenne) red pepper and some cumin.  I even added one clove of garlic.  You can even add a jalapeño!  Mmm!  Delicious!

Happy New Year!

Random Act of Kindness

This year I have decided to try to do something positive for someone once a month. Yea, I don't want to be nice too often, that would ruin my image.

I should probably explain. My positive experience would be a random act of kindness.

Taken from Wikipedia:

"A random act of kindness is a selfless act performed by a person or people wishing to either assist or cheer up an individual person or people. "

"Practice random kindness and senseless acts of beauty" (Anne Herbert)

Why not try to cheer up or help other people?

Not sure where I will start or what I will do for my first RAOK, but, I will certainly keep you informed.