Happy Birthday!!! and Get Well Soon.

Happy Birthday! to:

George Washington.

My Grandpa.

My aunt Kary.

My cousin Tammie.

My niece Katie.

That's a lot of people in my family being born on Washington's birthday, I think.

In other news, my younger brother (of course he's younger, I am the oldest.  All my siblings are younger!) is in the hospital.  Seems he woke up Monday feeling a bit under the weather and also in some pain.  It went away.  He went to work.

The pain returned.  But subsided, after it had his full attention.

When it returned hard and heavy for the 3rd time, HE DROVE HIMSELF TO THE HOSPITAL.

PSA - Please don't drive yourself to the hospital.  You could be having a heart attack (he was) and end up killing yourself and taking innocent people with you (luckily he didn't).

So my 40-something year old brother goes to the hospital and they said he was "having a heart attack".  I guess while they were watching and testing?  They went in through the femoral artery and put a stint in and things straightened right up.  Then he was moved to ICU and spent 24 hours or more there.

After that he was being moved to an intermediate care room and hopefully released today or tomorrow.

I gotta tell y'all that this is scary.  He is young, he is thin, he has a nice fast metabolism and seemed to be in good shape.  What business does a young, fit 40-something have going through this?  It scared the crap out of me.

Hopefully, they will give him some answers and he will make the necessary lifestyle changes.

In completely unrelated news, it is Ash Wednesday.  I have been thinking and thinking of what I am doing for Lent.  For the past few years I have been taking a small amount of our food budget and spending it on things for the homeless.  I make up little brown bags with a piece of fruit, a handi-wipe, some crackers or granola, different little items and usually a little note with something positive written on it.  I take 4 or 5 a day with me when I go run errands or go to meetings or whatever and pass them out.

Our city council in all its wisdom has decided to fine people who panhandle and also people who give to the panhandlers.  What dicks.  I am so pissed about this I can't stand it.

Needless to say, there are a lot of behind the scenes local politics at play in this and I am going to find myself down there raising all kinds of hell about this.

But back to the issue of Lenten giving.  I prefer to make my Lent observance something about giving to others from what I have rather than "giving up coffee, cheetos, wine, chocolate".  That's not very meaningful to me.  Of course I can go 40 days without whichever of those items, but what will I learn from that?  What will I take away from my Lenten experience?  I want to make it a little more impactful for me.

And in another turn of conversation!  Try not to get whiplash keeping up!  : )

My Rachel Pie may be the only person who finds my choice of cake pictures to be hilarious.  But honestly, what could be funnier than a My Little Pony birthday cake from Las Vegas?

So, the other day we were out . . . .

and we pulled off the side of the road to talk to this homeless couple that I see regularly.  They are on my route of regulars and I always have snacks, blankets, wet naps, $, fruit, or whatever for passing out to those in need. And I have chatted with them for years now.

Seriously, years.

Several years back it was obvious that she was pregnant and then I only saw him alone for a long time and I was afraid to ask what happened in case it was really bad and they had lost the baby or something.  So, anyhoo, we were talking and they brought up that their daughter is living with his sister and they don't get to see her very often.  And since they opened up that conversation I had to go there.  You know what I mean?

I said "well, at least she is with family and you get to spend time with her.  And that is way better than being in the foster system, isn't it?"  They allowed how they do get to see her some but not very often.  Then I asked, "what is your daughter's name?"

And they looked at each other and said "Well, we had named her Audacity, but his sister is calling her Diana."  Then he looks at me and says "can't imagine where she got THAT NAME."

This is where we all got the WTF???  look on our faces.  Yeah, can't possibly imagine where she came up with Diana, when they had the perfectly fine name of Audacity already.

It's a head scratcher, that's what I am saying.

Ash Wednesday

It is Ash Wednesday and the beginning of the Lenten Season.  40 days or so leading up to Easter.  It is traditional in different faiths to observe this time by giving up something, doing without, or just being extra mindful of what you have and how you can improve yourself.

In the last few years I have taken to cutting back on preparing one dinner a week and with the supposed savings I make little brown bags of things for the homeless.  I put little affirmations in them and a piece of fruit, a bottle of water, crackers, granola bars and a wet-nap.  That kind of thing.  I found some little toothpaste samples I am going to put in bags till I run out.

I will do this again this year.  I always have fun putting them together and carry around 5 bags with me every time I leave the house.  They get really good responses from the recipients too.

I learned about a blog challenge called 40 bags in 40 days that lots of bloggers are going to participate in and put weekly updates on their blogs.  It looks great.  I think I might start it as well.  Check it out and see what you think.

For me Lent is about stretching and expanding my spiritual self, finding new ways to put myself out there for my fellow man, not about "oh can I live without chocolate or chips for 40 days".  Of course I can.  But I want it to be about adding a new habit to my life that is meaningful.

How will you acknowledge the Lenten season?  If you aren't Christian, would you consider using these 40 days as a time to look inward and start some type of meditation or even doing the 40 bags and de-cluttering your house?

I am so far behind I can't even believe it!

I looked up at the calendar this morning and I am shocked.  Shocked, I tell you!  Do you realize it is two measly little months till Christmas?  That's 8 weeks.  That is nothing.  Nothing!

The whole being gone for almost 4 weeks has put me further behind than I already was to begin with.  I have not even printed up my Christmas list.  I haven't even begun my gift-making.  I haven't done anything of consequence, really.  Gawd, just typing this is making my shoulders slump and sag and making me feel the full weight of my slackerness.

In order to save my sanity and the sanity of everyone around me, I am here to publicly declare that I am simplifying my Christmas plans.  I will take a vow to the following:

1. I will do less decorating.  I will think of it as "tasteful" rather than half-assed.

2. I will spend less.  Less on cards, letters, new lights, gifts, items to be made and gifted to the neighbors.

3. Gifts will be smaller, useful and probably through Heifer or Kiva. I love both these organizations and let's face it, no one in my gift-giving and receiving group is in great need.

4. I will spend more time with people I love.  My gift will be the time I get to spend with them.

5. I will spend money on my holiday bags for my homeless guys.  They will receive no cuts in their bags due to my bad management of time.

Quick little aside, 2 days ago I was driving to go meet a new client and one of my regular homeless guys was walking on the median but towards the front of the line, and away from me. So I tooted my horn at him and waved.  He comes running back, and saw me.  Then he smiled really big and says "Hey, I know you!"  He accepted his usual donation of peanut butter crackers, raisins and $ with his usual "God bless you".  And it struck me that walking up and down with a little sign and watching hundreds of people refusing to make eye contact with you has got to just wear down your soul.  I can not even fathom how degrading that must be.

If you have been coming here and kindly reading my little blog for any time at all, you know that this is something near and dear to my heart.  Several years ago I heard on the news that some horrendously high percentage of Americans (like 70 or 80%) are 2 paychecks away from being homeless.  And with the mortgage crisis and the recession I can only think that that number is even higher.  I have no business  ever looking down my nose at anyone else in sad circumstances.  And so I try to give a helping hand, along with a handshake, just a little touch of human kindness and a smile and always, always eye contact.  This costs me nothing other than a few cents and some forethought to have items in the car at the ready.

So, this is my newly-revised and re-vamped Christmas plan of action.  It is through necessity and hopefully will all be done with love and joy in my heart rather than desperation and resentment.

How goes the holiday plans at your end?

Lent and the homeless

A year ago I decided to give up some of my food budget during Lent and use it to make brown bags of things for the homeless people I encounter.  I used little brown lunch bags and put an apple or orange in them along with a bottle of water and a small pack of nuts or granola or something.

I then started adding in a slip of paper with something encouraging written on them, kind of like a positive fortune cookie.  And then I added little handi-wipe things.  If there were sandwiches in them these bags would look pretty much like a lunch you would pack for school.  It was a way for me to try and impact the homeless directly rather than making a donation to the food bank or a shelter.

I got really nice responses from the recipients of these bags so I continued doing this,  giving either a bottle of water or a little box of raisins or just something that I would try to always remember to load up in my car.  Then for Lent again this year I revived the brown bags.

I am still giving packs of those cheese/peanut butter crackers, raisins and usually $1.00.  We really must have the nicest and most appreciative homeless population here in town, because they are always so nice and will smile and make eye contact with me when I give these out.

Anyhoo, I was cleaning out a cabinet in my bathroom and came across a little bag full of toothpaste samples.  Little samples like you get from the dentist, you know the ones.  And a light bulb went off above my head!!!  Add these dudes in to the homeless bags!  Yes!  I am betting they are really going to appreciate these things.

One of our city commissioners is trying to make it illegal to give a handout to the homeless.  He is not the commissioner from my district and I have already contacted my commissioner and made my views on this very clear.  It is an accepted reality that the majority of people are 2 paychecks away from being homeless. And it would behoove us to treat each other with a little dignity.

So I will go on doing my little part trying to help out, even if they do try to fine or ticket me.

When we lived in Chile I never saw homeless people.  They had some good policies to keep people taken care of.  But they had the worst problem with stray dogs and cats that I have ever seen.  The most scrawny, emaciated and sickly animals you will ever come across.  It was a disgrace.  I was known far and wide for being the person who carried giant bags of pet food, treats and bottles of water and lots of small plastic bowls in the back of my car.  We made the rounds to where we knew certain animals lived and did our best to keep them thriving and off the road and out of harm's way.

Any ideas of things I can add in to my little bags?  Things I should try instead of raisins?  Things I should leave out that are stupid?  And!  most importantly, what do you think of the little affirmation notes I was using last year?  Good?  Bad?  If you like the idea, do you have any little gems I could use on the notes?

Lent is over, Easter is upon us, how have you fared?

I couldn't start this with Happy Easter, Hallelujah, Christ is Risen or any other Easter phrase because technically it is Saturday and not yet Easter. Yes, I am being nit-picky about that, but that's okay.

Lent started with me intending to make Left-Over Soup once a week and using the savings from the meal I didn't make to give more to the homeless I encounter on a daily basis. What ACTUALLY happened is this: I pre-bought a big of mixed apples and oranges and some small bags of granola stuff and some nuts, bottles of water and brown paper bags. Then I typed up nice little affirmation things like "You are Loved", "You are a child of God", "Smile, and pass it on". I put one of each in a brown paper bag and rolled them tightly closed (because I found out if they are NOT tightly closed, they open when I brake and something will roll right under my feet and gas pedal, not good!). I carry about 2 or 3 of these every time I leave the house.

So I pre-spent the money I was going to save during Lent by making the soup. And several times the Left-Over Soup turned into some other Left-Over meal rather than soup. Some things just don't lend themselves to broth!! But I have to say here, my homeless crew loved their bags. They really loved their bags. Most especially, they loved getting a bottle of water. I hope they liked the fruit and nuts and the messages.

What I am taking from this Lenten season is that it is SO much better to give than to receive. And that it takes a very small effort on my part to make a difference in someone's day. I have a "station" on my kitchen counter next to the fruit bowl where I have the little strips of paper affirmations, the box with the little bags of nuts and the paper bags. When I leave the house in the mornings I just open a bag and put one of each in and then grab a bottle of water and then remember to roll it closed tightly! I found the nuts and granola in the clearance aisle at Target, the bags cost very little, the fruit is inexpensive and while I haven't figured out the exact cost of each, I know it wasn't very much.

My husband has started carrying extra bottles of water with him to give out as well.

I am calling my Lenten project a success even if it didn't go exactly as planned, but then again what really does?

Have a very happy and blessed Easter with your loved ones. Be well and don't forget to eat some Peeps!!

Lent Addendum

This is just a little follow-up to yesterday. I was talking with my sister (Hi!! waving up north at you) and she suggested that if I am going to be handing out item after item that I consider putting things together in small bags. I thought this was a terrific idea, which means I get to type the word TERRIFIC! Anyhoo, I found the cute brown paper bags (recyclable, re-usable, compostable, all round good bags) and the fruit and also a couple packages of almonds and granola stuff marked down at Target.

So I am putting together bags with a bottle of water, a fruit or a bag of nuts and I am making some notes with some great affirmations on them to tuck inside. Kinda like a fortune cookie. I am really excited about this terrific project. I hope it brightens the day of the receivers. At most I encounter 3 or 4 homeless people a day and somedays none, so I don't think this is something that will be a hardship for our budget.

I will post any follow ups or comments I get from the recipients. If you have any suggestions for the affirmations, please send then to me. And thanks in advance for that!
And also big thanks to my sister for the great idea on how to easily get all these items out the window before the traffic light changes! :)