Showing posts with label Holiday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Holiday. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

November Kindnesses...

Hey guys,
I wrote this blog post that I meant to post before Christmas but I was away from my computer for longer than I thought! So
here is the blog as I wrote it then and here are the kindnesses for...

NOVEMBER 2012

November 1: Iencouraged a friend who was struggling (online). I also made a cup oftea for both mum and a visiting friend. I also learned some newskills and made Australian Damper (in the oven, not over an openflame sadly), and Potato, egg and spinach salad. Very yummy andstuff I had never made before. I also bought a “Hello GreenTomorrow” cup from the Avon Cosmetics Company which arrived today, which means reducingthe disposable coffee cups that make it to landfill. PHOTO (still coming)

November 2:Today I went to a different post office to find “thank you water”and they didnt have any and I was devastated. I helped my sister handfeed and look after a very sick and egg bound chicken (who might notmake the night). I also managed to keep the peace between my nieceand nephew for an hour or two by letting my niece play computer gameson my laptop – which I was working on and had to find other thingsto do until she had had enough.

November 3: I lent some clothes to a friend for a dress-up party & acted as a skipper so my friends could drink and I could drive them safely to and from the party. 

me dressed as a student from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry from the Harry Potter world! :)

November 4:Ihelped a friend bring in her washing during a rainstorm and I gotabsolutely soaked but the clothes were dry (go figure). I also helped out with my sick niece when she was throwing up because bothher parents are sympathetic vomiters.

November 5: Ichatted with my neightbours, did some more gardening and planned todrop off an old bedside table to a friend who needs one (but outscheduled plans were postponed). I also made mum several cups of teaand hot water and spent time planning and promoting blogs for others.

November 6:Whilst shopping I helped a lady (who was amazingly shorter than me)get a product off the top shelf. Also, whist waiting in line noticedcheap fruit mince pies on display out the front and whilst the checkout-chick was processing payments for someone before me, I grabbed some of the pies to add to my trolley. The guy behind me inthe queue remarked about how good they looked so I went and grabbed some from him too.

November 7:Finally gave the bedside table to my friend who was without. I made conversation with our waitress at lunch and said thank you and complimented our delicious meal. 

November 8:today mum and I went through some box and sorted stuff to go to different people and different charities.

our car boot filled with goodies

November 9: I looked after myself by having a day in bed because I was sick and needed the sleep. I still supported a friend online who needed some encouragement. I also paid for a takeaway dinner for mum and I because I no energy to cook.

November 10:Today was another day in bed. I did push through the exhaustion and made lunch & dinner for mum and I even though I wasnt well at all. I also promoted Telethon on my Facebook Page! I rested today in preparation for my volunteering tomorrow.

November 11: I volunteered for Telethon in the phone rooms for 4 hours and helped collect some of the $16,800,000 that was raised this weekend. I also spoke kindly to actors who seemed frazzled and asked politely and gave stars the room to refuse a photograph. I also acted as skipper,so my friend didnt have to drive. 

Me(Left) with Tanya - the girl who got me into this! :)
November 12: I bought my neighbours rubbish bins in. I also made the effort to doseveral loads of washing for mum. I had thought I was completely healed by my body still needed a few hours sleep during the day to recouperate from “overdoing it”. PHOTO

November 13: I paid for mums lunch. I helped put chairs away for the craft ladies(which has sort of become a tradition now). I also helped sort, pack& stack chairs, playing card at the poker tournament.

November 14: I did lots. I helped the older ladies at church do the washing up and I stacked some chairs. I also invited a neighbour in for a coffee after she had had a rough couple of days. I also went to netball (eventhough I couldn't play because i'm still not 100%) and I did the scoring for the first 2 and a half quarters then a player hurt theirankle, so I sat with her, so it was elevated and I kept Ice on ituntil we had finished the game. I also let the injured friend use myphone so she could call her husband to let him know and prepare forher when she got home. Mum and I also bought a 2012 bear from K-martto go under the wishing tree (which is situated inside the store).PHOTO

November 15: I helped an elderly lady who was struggling to push her trolley up aramp – she was very grateful. I also drove part of the way to our holiday in Busselton/Margaret River so Tanya (Who had been awake from very early that morning) could rest and not need to concentrate as much. 
Tanya, Taylor and I on our weekend road trip! :)
November 16: Taylor and I made a delicious cooked breakfast for us all to enjoy. I bought water for my friends on our road trip and I also acted as skipper so my friends could drink on our tour of wineries and breweries.

November 17: I waited alone outside a brewery to secure a good table for us to havelunch at. I also told a guy where there were showers to cool off his feet after he burnt them running on hot tarmac. He was amused but grateful.

November 18: I washed the windows of the car on our return to Perth. I also gave 4 free tickets, to an estranged neighbour, because it was to an event being held in a location close to her daughters house. I also gave my mum lots of cuddles after not seeing her for 4 days.

November 19: today I helped out the Mothers Union group mum is apart of by helping some of the old ladies make no-cook Christmas recipes. I also drove across town to help a friend in desperate need – she had been told she had to leave her accommodation immediately. I picked her up,helped her pack up her stuff and took her and all her stuff to a safe place until shegets back on her feet and finds safe accommodation in the future.

November 20: I ran some errands for mum, helped clean & sort out my dads wardrobe (in his nursing home). I put away some of the heavy chairs,helped a friend prepare dinner for us and acted as “celebrity dealer” at a table poker tournament.

November 21:Mum, a stranger and I all helped a little girl who has lost hermother in IKEA. The three of us adults worked together to find staffand to talk to any mum along the way. We eventually found the littlegirls mum at the same time as we found a staff member. The girl andher mother were incredibly relieved to be reunited!

November 22: I wished an American I met in a specialty food store “HappyThanksgiving”. I also bought lunch for mum and made healthy dinnerfor us both. I also gave one of my neighbours some of my home growntomatoes and invited a different neighbour to share a coffee with us.I also supported a friend, when someone had been mean to her.

November 23: Imade a special trip to dads (Whilst I was sick) to drop off some newunderwear, mouth wash and de-odoriser (for his room). I also gave thenext two vine ripened tomatoes to a different neighbour to yesterday.I also sent a supportive message to a friend who had been struggling.

November 24: Igot up at 5.50am to take our washing off the line because it lookedlike the storm would hit at any minute. Mum and I drove a long way to see my nieces first ballet recital. I also swept the floor at my sisters house and bought the washing in off the back line before the storm stuck at my sisters house. I acted as the designated driver for two of my friends so they could drink safely and I bought a drink for a friend who was also acting as a designated driver.

November 25:Today I felt like a zombie but still managed to help my sister prepare for a party at her house by doing some tidying up, some sweeping and some organising.

November 26: I made the effort to thank a cleaning lady at our food hall who hadstealthily managed to take my dirty dishes from our table without menoticing. I also made the effort to return a trolley to the trolleyreturn because there were none near our car, with the closest onebeing a fair distance away. I also saved fuel and the environment by“running” to the large shopping centre so I didn’t have to drive or catch a cab or the bus.

November 27: I acted as a chauffeur for my mum and drove her to a doctorsappointment in the city. I went running in Kingspark and helped alost tourist find the DNA tower. I also bought 3 bottles of THANK YOUWATER and helped pack up after poker. I packed up and sorted cards,chairs, and tables. We had a new fill in Poker Organiser runningtonight’s event and she was really surprised and very grateful thatme (and a couple of others) made the effort to help her out. She told me that apparently at other venues people just sit back and watch as she packs up alone.

November 28: I had an allergic reaction over night so wasn't very well but I managed to make mum a cup of tea. I also managed to be a listening ear for a friend who is struggling with a relationship issue. I didn't do as much as usual but I hope it still made a difference.

November 29: I woke mum up this morning with a cup of tea in bed. I also took mumout to lunch and a movie (SKYFALL – 007). I also made small talkwith out waitress and was very thankful for her service. Mum and I also chatted to some other James Bond fans after the movie. 
Mum with the movie poster on our way into see the movie! So exciting! :D
November 30: Ibought “dinner” for mum and I and talked to and supported a friend whose relationship had come to the end. They needed a listening ear and a shoulder to cry on.

I hope you enjoyed this quick post. 

I will be away from the laptop for a few days. I am focusing on my family and friends. I hope you all have a wonderful christmas day and I shall see you all back here after christmas! 

Much love, thanks and kindness to you all! 
Luv Daena 

Friday, November 2, 2012

Busy time of Life...

Hey everyone,
I bet you are wondering what has been happening, as I haven't really had a chance to write much about whats been happening. So this is what has been happening... and here is what is coming up! :)

For the last three months or so, Mum and i have been volunteering and planning the community day at my dads nursing home. We have been making a whole range of crafts, baked goods, and decorated Lollies (Photos are coming up and i will include them as i update the monthly kindnesses, so you can see what we did along the way! I hope i took photos of everything though! :/

So last weekend was the actual Community day at my dads nursing home. Mum and I ran the cake stall (which also had preserves and decorated lollies). By the end of the day our stall had raised over $700! And the whole day raised about $3000 to help go towards extra equipment for the nursing home.

Table 1: The cakes, cupcakes, cookies, fudges, bananas in PJs, Candycane Reindeer, & Coconut ice and everything in between there too! More stuff arrived after this too... but i didnt have enough time to take a better photo! Someone also bought in Fresh Italian Canoli's (Oh My Goodness... delicious).
The 2nd Table: The Jams, Marmalades, Lemon Butter, Fruit cakes and everything in between!

I think there was only 4 jars of preseves left by the end of the day! And we ended up reducing it down to one table. Here is my nephew standing behind the table 
 
As the only family members who were part of the planning, we got thoroughly thanked with a bunch of flowers each and the WORLDS largest box of Chocolates. :) 1.134kgs of chocolate in a taster tray! But we had a lot of fun and were just happy to be able to do things we were both good at! Many of the families of other residents made and contributed in a HUGE range of other ways & there was all the paid staff that were amazing as planners and worked really hard for the Nursing home as well ... just don't want it to sound like it was all us! We only did a small portion! Our Kindnesses were Our time, crafts and cakes as they were all donations to the day and helped made it a huge success! :D

I also got to try out a whole bunch of stuff that I could make from the ideas I got from Pinterest! (I have a Pinterest page... so if you want kindness ideas I have some pins in a Kindness Ideas page- http://pinterest.com/daenamouse/kindness-ideas/ ). I will include photos later... and if you are really keen I can provide you with some web-inar links or pins for the things i have made! or just try and tell you how i made them... or something!

On a funny note, Dad is loving that we helped, because lots of the staff bought mums cakes and her delicious Jams and are telling him regularly how delicious they are... He is acting like a minor Celebrity! Its quite cute! :)

WHAT IS COMING UP:

NANOWRIMO - this is the National November Writers Month! They challenge you to write 50,000 words in the month. So I am going to be working hard to achieve this, both for this website and for a personal project I am currently working on.

Movember - okay, I'm not a man (obviously), nor a woman who can grow an exceptional Mustache... but funnily enough this is something I support regularly! I have several friends who participate and if it helps support Testicular & Prostate Cancer research and mens health in general.

Telethon 2012 - the weekend of the 10th & 11th of November. I will be doing something similar to what i did last year (Telethon November 2011). Last year I got to meet some awesome Sport, TV & Movie stars and had a lot of fun helping the Western Australian Children's Hospital Princess Margaret, and the Telethon Institute for Child Research! :)

Margaret River Holiday - That is right boys and girls, i am having a holiday! With some of my closest girlfriends! A well deserved one in a couple of weeks that should help me to relax! :)

Christmas -  Sorry to scare you but its only 2 months away! :)

TOP SECRET MISSION: I am hoping I might be able to implement a "TOP SECRET" event this year! Keep checking back for more details! :D


I hope you enjoy this update... and look forward to other things during this month! :D

Thanks guys,
Luv Daena x