Spreading a little Christmas Cheer!!

The Holidays…a time when everyone seems to be in a loving and giving spirit. A time when families get together for laughs, memories, and pig out! As a child, the holidays was all that was mentioned, but also it was a time that my mother made sure we didn’t forget the less fortunate. Actually, my mom made sure of that all throughout the year! Because of this, I try to make sure I always implement community service during the year.

Even thought it seems like time is not on my side nowadays with me working full time, being a full time wife and mother, there is always an hour or two that can be taken out of a month, quarter, or year to give back to the community. You never know how that hour could impact someone’s life.

Around 2010 I started putting together small community service projects with a goal to eventually become an official non-profit organization which would allow me to expand on a larger scale.

The main project I started last year was to decorate a senior nursing home for the holidays. Seems simple right? You would think so, but unfortunately that is not the case. This year we went to a new location, and was still faced with the same challenges.

Getting volunteers was no challenge at all…
Getting decorations was no challenge at all…
Getting the cooperation from the housing complex…CHALLENGE!
Getting my decorations back after the holidays…CHALLENGE!

This year I was very blessed with 13 volunteers & so many donations of supplies that my Explorer was full to capacity!! I posted on facebook, craigslist, and sent out emails to spread the word that I was looking for volunteers and decorations for this project. I received overwhelming responses.

One generous lady responded to my craigslist post, and mentioned to me that she had a store in Redford but was bought out recently which left her with a lot of seasonal items! I met her at her storage unit in Novi where she loaded my truck with 3 boxes numerous of holiday items!

I also had to additional ladies respond to my facebook post. One gave a large 7 foot tree (with stand and bag), and the other provided a large bag full of porcelain Christmas items. All was quality items, ans was very grateful!

This year I also decided to incorporate activities with the seniors, and have a little party. OMG did they enjoy that! We had Bingo, Holiday Crosswords, and Christmas trivia. Thanks to all the donations, we was able to give away some awesome prizes!!

Upon arriving at the location I took a quick before picture, so here is what the Community Room looked like after we unloaded my truck.

Two volunteers working hard to put up garland and bows down both hallways.

Here is what it looked like after it was completed.

The wreath was a great donation! It was perfect for entrance right above the mailboxes.

This is the opposite hallway decorated with garland, bows, and snowflakes!

Here is my attempt to take a panoramic shot of the entire room. 

Here is a picture of that awesome tree that was donated.  As you can see it fit perfectly in the Community Room!

Some centerpieces we put together with the items that were still available.

And there is the picture of the entire group.  Everyone walked in, asked how they could help, and got straight to work!  When they completed their task they immediately began assisting others.  Now that's team work!

I lost track of how many "thank yous" we received during and after the decorating was completed.  The seniors were all smiles, and that is the exact reaction we were looking for!!  

So, is there some place in your area where you can donate a couple of hours of your time to help others? Soup kitchen? Nursing home? Children's home? Cleaning up playground? Neighborhood?  Whatever it is, I can assure you that your time spent will not be in vain.  

Time Tip: Prep Dinner in the Morning!

I know I know, the mornings are already insane!  I couldn't image having more than one child to get ready!  However, for me, if J stays sleep until about 6:45A, and if I wake up on time (no snooze), I am able to prep a quick dinner!  On this past Monday, which is a day J doesn't have to go to day care, I not only woke up, but also got up on time at 5:45A, and got ready a little early!

FREE TIME!!!!

What to do?!?!? Last week when I got ready early I ended up going into work early so I could get off at 3:30p instead of 4:30p!  That felt great!

Anyway, back to my free time this week.  I had about 20 min to spare so I began to brainstorm on how I could best use that time.  Then it came to me...DINNER!!  I decided to prep burger and fries.  We had a pack of ground turkey in the fridge which I dumped into a bowl, seasoned, and made them into patties.  I then pealed and sliced potatoes, and placed in a container of water so they wouldn’t turn brown.  Both were placed into the fridge for a quick and easy dinner after work!

It felt great to be able to arrive home to just place the patties on the grill, and dump the potatoes in hot grease.  That’s it!!! Minutes later…dinner was served!!

STOP! Don't be a Zombie!

I began this blog in January 2009 to try and document everything that was going on in my life. We can get so caught up in everyday life that we forget to stop and smell the roses. That quote really hit me when I was living in Chicago. I love that city! At the time, I was working for one of the "Big 4" in a high traffic area downtown. Sometimes in the morning I would go next door to The Sears Tower where my morning fuel lived...Starbucks!

This particular morning, I dropped my things off at my desk and headed out to zombie land! That is what I used to call the streets of Chicago during the hours of 7a-9a & 3:30p-5:30p Monday - Friday. During those times you find men and women briskly walking to their place of employment with blank stares in their eyes. I too have been a zombie, and in fact was one on the way to Starbucks. On the way back, I walked out of the Sears Tower, fell in line with a zombie pack that was walking by, and headed back to my office. However, as I reached the end of the block a light breeze went by which forced the smell of the beautiful flowers that were planted outside of the Sear Tower. That moment in time did I realize the the true meaning of the saying..."stop, and smell the roses". So simple, yet something that we rarely take the time to do. So, that is what I did. I stopped, turned around, and smelled the roses (actually they were just regular flowers, but you get the point).

So, that brings me back to the reason why I started this blog. I feel as though it will force me to slow things down, and take the time to actually document my journey being a woman, wife, mother, and friend. However, I still felt as though I was rushing through my post, and not really taking the extra time to proper document. I felt as though I was starting to be a zombie through blogging, and that was never my goal.

So, here I am again kind of starting over, and taking the time to smell the roses.

Date Night Needed!

I am in need of a date night with the hubby!  With our crazy schedules it seems like we are starting to miss each other more and more.  When I get up in the morning he is still sleep, and when he gets home at night I am running around getting ready for the next day, or SLEEP!  I must admit that when I cook, we do get a chance to eat dinner together at the table probably about 3 times a week, but that comes with the TV, and a 7 moth old fussing because he just ate and ready to get out of the high chair.

When things get crazy like this I feel as though it’s time to STOP and do something about it.  I just don’t like feeling distant from my husband.  It’s so easy to get caught up in everyday life especially with a little one crawling around, but it is so important not to every get so busy that distance builds between the two of us.  No matter way, there needs to be time carved out at least once a week that is just for the two of us.  How that is going to happen I don’t know, but it is something that should always be a priority!  I’ll have to chat with the hubby to see what we can work out...