Day 8: GIVE 100% tip

We planned in advance of where we would go eat and give our big tip. Back before Jordan and I ever had kids, we used to frequent a local Mexican restaurant near our house nearly weekly. We became 'regulars' and had our same waiter every time. Well, then we had kids and going out to eat now is considered a luxury. That restaurant moved to a new location in town this past year, so Jordan and I decided to hit it up again for old times sake. Low and behold, our waiter is still there, and remembered us! And to prove that it's a small world, this guy's brother works for Jordan. Crazy! Now we try to frequent this place every month or so on our date night. We typically chow down on lots of chips & queso/salsa, share some fajitas, enjoy several drinks, and finish off with sopapillas. Nothing fancy, but a great place that holds memories for us.

 

So, we decided this is where we would go to give our big tip to Oscar. (And we made sure to leave our tip in cash!) Thanks for the great service over all these years!

Day 7: GIVE to a local food drive

It turns out that Austin's Pre-K class at school is feeling pretty charitable this month as well, and is hosting a food drive for 3 weeks for a local food bank. I rummaged through our pantry to fill a sack of goods to send him with to school this week. Of course, he had to inspect the contents and asked if they were going to eat all that stuff at school today. I told him no, that we were bringing food so that the school could donate it to people who weren't as fortunate and didn't have as much money to buy alot of food. He seemed pretty happy with that response, as well as excited to carry them in this morning. ;)

Day 6: GIVE the car behind you a free meal

I have an addiction. It's called Cherry Vanilla Diet Dr. Pepper from Sonic. The boys and I frequent our local Sonic drive-in multiple times a week after I pick them up from daycare. On a rainy night, I figured it was a good night to also grab some dinner for the boys while we were there, and throw in the bill for the order behind us!

The bill wasn't nearly as much as I was hoping to contribute on my night of 'giving' but it was meant well and I hope the car behind us appreciated it!

(disclaimer...this is not MY Sonic location, but courtesy of Google since I failed to capture the night in a photograph :)

Day 5: GIVE a home-cooked meal to a family

I had to plan in advance for which night this would occur. It's quite the feat for me to get home from work and cook my own family a meal, let alone make enough for others! But I planned for a day when I would be working from home to allow myself some extra prep time. Then throw in a rainy day, a hubby working late, and a sleepy/cranky toddler. Yay! But we did it! I didn't necessarily get to document the dinner-making or the delivery with pictures like I planned, so I'll improvise.

 

I decided to treat our neighbors, the Maples, with a home-cooked meal. Since they moved onto our cul-de-sac 3 years ago, we quickly grew into a great friendship. And they have two kids as well, so it's easy for the kids to play together and/or for us to have one of our 'driveway drinking' nights. ;) They're also great enough friends/neighbors that we have garage door openers to each others' houses, so that when we go out of town for a night or two, the others can check on the pups. It's a win-win for all of us!

 

I love to cook and bake; that's no secret. Heck, my mom/sis/I put together a cookbook of our favorite recipes a couple years ago. Anyways, one of my easier dishes is baked ziti. Who doesn't love a good cheesy Italian dish?! Complete with some garlic bread, of course.

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Day 4: GIVE thanks/encouragement to a co-worker

When I first put this one on my list for the month, I didn't really have a specific co-worker I would acknowledge. Currently on my rotation at work, I work with team of ten people that are all spread throughout the country. While I often have the perk of working from home, I only get to actually 'see' my co-workers a few times a year at meetings. But we are constantly on email, conference calls, and IM with each other everyday.

We have such a collaborative team. In our role, we have to be innovative and problem solvers for the firm. And each person brings a unique perspective and background. Needless to say, I couldn't just send a 'thanks' to one of them; I had to include everyone. I like to think that my message brightens someone's day and made them realize that their hard work does not go unnoticed.

Overall, despite the cliche that KPMG was once again top-ranked in best companies to work for, I do in fact love my job and those that I work with. This new role I'm in has truly been a blessing!

Day 3: GIVE a monetary donation to a charity

I've been thinking the past few days about which charity I would give to for this project. (Don't get me wrong; I regularly donate to United Way, our local Helping Hands, and various other charities through work!)

My neighbor, and great friend, is participating in the Purple Stride next week, in honor of both her mother and grandmother who lost their battle with pancreatic cancer at much too young of an age. Last year, I just had to sit back and watch as this terrible disease ravaged her mother's body in just a few short months. Their entire family walks each year in memory of them and to help raise awareness on this horrible disease.

You can donate too at http://www.purplestride.org/

Day 2: GIVE encouragement to children

First off, let me be clear, that me 'giving encouragement to my children' is not a special occasion just for this Giving project. I give them encouragement everyday! But today was a lazy Saturday for us while Jordan was at work and I was trying to wrap up a million things for the big superhero party next weekend, as well as finish painting the house. Anyways, these sweet boys (at least 90% of the time!) of mine are in such a learning phase right now. We've been working with Austin alot on his handwriting these days and that kid loves to write, draw, and 'make comic books'. He's constantly stealing paper out of my office! Constant encouragement is what that kid needs right now, because he can get frustrated easily when he can't get his letters right.

 

Chase loves to draw as well, and is always asking for me to draw a piggy and a puppy for him. Then he draws one right by them. He's also big on #'s right now, maybe thanks to a few too many episodes of Team Umi Zoomi. The other day I bought a new clock and I sat there and watched him count each of the numbers over and over.

 

Encouragement goes both ways. By giving to them, they learn to dish it out as well. Last night we were moving the china cabinet so that I could paint the wall behind it, and Austin wanted to sweep up the dust/dirt that was revealed. I told him he was the best sweeper in the world, and he proceeded to tell me I was the best painter.

 

Love these boys to pieces!