Random Acts of Kindness Week 2018

It's Random Acts of Kindness week.  This is one week out of the year that is dedicated to performing as many random acts of kindness as possible.    

If you haven't made a New Year's Resolution, maybe this is it?  Random Acts of Kindness!   This would also be a great challenge for your girl scout troop!  I'm sure there is a fun patch that the girls can earn.

Are you up for the challenge?

Well, here we go! 

Here are some ideas of kind deeds that you can perform this week.

The Challenges:

Smile at 25 people

Slip a nice note in your friends' backpack (or kids lunch or spouse's briefcase/purse)

Compliment 5 people

Pick up 10 pieces of garbage on a walk 

Make a new friend

Tell a joke and make someone laugh

Be kind to yourself and eat a healthy snack

learn something new about your friend, co-worker, spouse

Draw a picture and give it to someone

recycle your trash

hug your friend

Cut out 10 hearts and give them to friends

Entertain someone with a  happy dance

Make a kind poster for cafeteria helpers

Say "Good Morning" to 5 people

Make a wish for a child in another country

Say "Thank You" to a crossing guard

Invite a new friend to hang out with you

Send a Thank you to your Superintendent

Offer to help your custodian

Sit with a new group of people at lunch

Read a book to a younger child

Give an Apple or a Note to your Teacher

Step up for Someone in need

Make and Display a "Kindness Matters" sign

Carry your friends books

Make a bookmark for a friend

Hold the door open for someone

Thank a bus driver or car pool driver

Write a "Thank You" on a Band Aid for the Nurse

Whisper "Thank You" to the Librarian

Help Someone up if they fall down

Learn to say "Hello" in a different language

Bring a flower to the office staff

Say "Thank You" to a volunteer

Make a friendship gift for someone new to you

Create your own kind deed

Add some kind deeds of your own.  I challenge you to perform as many kind deeds as you can this week.  Check off your kind acts as you go.

What a great way to start the week!

How many kind deeds will you do this week?

Girl Scouts - Valentine's Cards for Seniors

Every year our Girl Scout Troop makes Valentine's Day cards for the seniors.  Making Valentine's Day cards for Seniors is a tradition for our Girl Scout Troop.  We have been doing this since the girls were Daisy's.  In fact, the girls look forward to this tradition.  It's a happy occasion, with the girls putting their best effort and a lot of love into the making of each card.  There is talking, laughing and singing that goes along with the card making, too.

Once at the Assisted Living we visit, the girls set out to deliver all of their handmade cards.  Some of the residents get two or three cards.  The Seniors are always happy to see the girls and end up hanging out in the lobby so they can watch the girls in action.

Once all of the cards are passed out, we break out our song books and start singing.  Here is a link to some of the Valentine's songs we added to our singing list.  Check under the Girl Scout tab for more song links.

Vegan Diaries - Thai Coconut Curry Soup

I saw a picture of Thai Curry soup on Instagram.  I had it in the back of my mind that I wanted to try making it someday.  Of course, when I went to look for the post, I couldn't find the picture or recipe anywhere.  So, I searched online and I found this Thai Curry Coconut Soup recipe here.   I thought I would give it a try.  I think it came out pretty good.

Here's the recipe:

Thai Coconut Curry Soup

ingredients:

2 cups Coconut milk (I used lite Coconut milk)
1 1/2 tsp curry powder
1/4 red chili powder
2" Ginger, sliced into 4 pieces
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 cups vegetable broth
1 cup water
2 cups sliced mushrooms
3 cups grated carrots
1 cup sliced red pepper
2-3 TBSP soy sauce
2 cups broccoli
1 cup sugar snap peas, halved
2 stalks green onions, finely chopped
1-2 TBSP lemon juice
1 lemon zest
1 pkg firm tofu, drained and cubed


directions:

In big pot, heat 1/2 cup coconut milk until boiling (about 3-5 minutes).  Add curry powder, red chili powder, ginger and garlic and cook for one minute.

Stir in vegetable broth, water, mushrooms, carrots, red bell pepper, soy sauce and remaining coconut milk.

Heat to boiling, then reduce and simmer for a minute.

Stir in broccoli, sugar snap peas, green onions, lemon juice and lemon zest.  Discard the ginger.  Cook for 3 minutes.

Stir in tofu and cook over medium high heat for another 3 minutes.


*I used ginger powder and all was well.
*I cooked the broccoli a little longer so it wasn't crunchy.
*You could throw some spinach in at the end, too.

If you decide to make the soup, let me know how it turns out!

Enjoy!

Cadettes - Budget Patch

Our meeting time is one hour (no snack).  We have discussed some of these topics over the years, so we did not have to go into tons of details.  This is just a basic outline.  Hope it helps you out.


Discuss Wants vs. needs
Clothing, food shelter - needs
concert tickets - want

Budget:  

Monthly Income - Expenses = Discretionary Income 

Discretionary Income = save this for something else, or use now

Monthly Budget*

Go through some of the lines on budget.*

 This is a type of budget that a lot of adults use so they can stay on track financially. When you decide to move out on your own some day, you will use a budget similar to this one.

Several of the line items are a fixed number (mortgage/rent, insurance, car payment) and some of the items may vary month to month (water, gas, electric).  

Note the Savings Goals.  

Maybe there are bigger items that you are saving for (concert tickets, fancy boots/shoes, computer, car, house)  Always good to keep your Savings Goals list where you can see it. Makes you think before spending all of your extra money.

Troop Budget:

*Create a troop budget

Our income is $1 per box of cookies sold

Make list of things we want to spend our money on this year (include charity giving, too) (we had to help the girls with the cost, they did the math to figure out total cost for our troop)

Figure out cost of things we want to do (field trips, donate to charity, fun, etc.)

How many boxes do we have to sell to achieve these goals?

Vote on what we would like to do with our cookie money.

Also:

The cookie moms were adding up the number of boxes that the girls sold, so we had a total dollar amount for our budget.  (we have an idea how many boxes we will sell at the cookie booths we will be doing in the next couple of months so we added that number in, too)

*monthly budget:  I printed this one out for the girls to look at:

https://www.thehappierhomemaker.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/monthly-budget-printable.jpg

I tried to pick a simple budget plan.  If you can make one, or have one that you use,  that works, too.

Supplies needed:

Paper and pencils

Super Bowl Snack Ideas

It's that time of year!  The Super Bowl!  Great time for lots of snacks and desserts!

Need some ideas for today?  Check out these recipes:

Avocado Jalapeno Hummus
Guacomole
Hummus
Meatballs
Pretzel Bites
Vegetarian Chili

Sweet idea's:

Bacon Brownies
Brownies (Vegan, Dairy Free)
Chocolate Avocado Cookies
Energy Bites (Vegan)
Nutella Cookies 
Butterscotch Chip Cookies
Peanut Butter Bars
Peanut Butter Raisin Bran Cookies
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Sugar Cookies
Trail Mix
Vanilla Pudding Cookies 
Yummy Cupcakes

For more ideas, check out my Recipes page!

Valentine's Day Crafts

Thought I would put up some links to Valentine's Day crafts to get you into the February love mode.  Some of these crafts would be great to do with your Girl Scouts.


Valentine's Placemat (children't craft)
Valentine's Day Bookmarks
Pallet (he)art
Homemade Valentine's Day cards
Felt Heart Pin or Barrette
Valentine Photo Book
Valentine Love Picture
Valentine Love Frame

Groundhog Day

Have you ever watched the movie, Groundhog Day?  Where Bill Murray's character relives the day over and over and over until he gets it right?

I can relate to the movie during the holiday season at work.  I end up working everyday for about 5 weeks.  Each day starts out the same:  Brush teeth, exercise, breakfast, shower, drive to work.  At work it's ringing up customers, wrapping gifts, bagging items (gifts), helping customers find stuff.  Drive home.  Change clothes.  Make dinner.  Do a load of laundry.  Get ready for the next day.

After a couple of weeks, I'm on auto pilot.  I really don't have to think because it's the same thing day in and day out.  The only thing that will change slightly is the obnoxious (or crabby) customer.  It's almost like I'm in a fog.

Have you ever had a Groundhog Day like experience?