Starting Early

So, I am too excited to wait for my next 30 day project, so I am starting now! I will still keep doing my 30 days of service until the 10th of November, but now I am adding "30 days eating Raw"! Okay, so that doesn't mean I am eating raw meat or anything. I am going to try eating a "raw" diet. My cousin Emily got me so excited about this! She is so amazing and healthy and she still eats yummy stuff! Basically I am eating a lot of salad! I have to eat 1 lb. of raw veggies, 1 lb. of cooked green veggies, one cup of beans (I'll come back to this in a minute), 1 serving of starch or grain, 4 fresh fruits, 1 tbsp. of ground flaxseed, and an ounce of nuts or seeds a day. That is actually a lot of food! The yummy stuff comes in the form of "raw" cookies....Oh my goodness! I made my first cookies today and they were delicious and super sweet! I used cashews and oats as the base with vanilla, coconut oil, and agave nectar. Then I made my own chocolate chips with cocoa, nectar, coconut oil, and vanilla. Totally healthy and yummy! The kids even loved them! My cousin says she makes her own raw girl scout cookies, cinnamon rolls, oreo's, anything you can think of! My main goal is to get more veggies back into my system and to get healthier. I've kind of let myself go while I was running and now that I can't run as much, I need to get eating better.

Back to the beans...I'm going to need some help with this part. I am NOT a bean person! I really don't like them or even know how to cook them! If you have a good recipes-I can't eat any animal products or salt, so keep that in mind-please let me know! I will let you know how I feel over the next couple of days. I started today and I am feeling great so far! Tomorrow will be harder though.

I'm here-Really, I am!

I have not blogged in about a week and I know that is bad!! I have been busy and I have been gone. We had to go back to Utah to pick up my daughter Audrey who got back from Albuquerque with my parents. I did service this week though! I made plates of goodies for my neighbors and my visiting teaching ladies, and I deep cleaned my grandma's house for her this weekend. I am going to be in full force this week because I know I am getting close to the end of my 30 days of service. Please call me if you need some help this week so I can finish strong!

* Meanwhile, I am gearing up for my next 30 day project! I have one thing already picked out that I am going to do, but I would like to learn to do something else at the same time. If you have any ideas of what I could do, let me know!

Day 17- WoW!

I can't believe I am past my half way mark! It's been amazing to do service everyday! Yesterday was Day 17, and I was very productive. I took Kathryn with me and we did some Major Shopping! It was great! One of my service's yesterday might not seem like a service, but believe me it was a huge "gift" for the person. Let me start by saying, I have road rage! Kyle can attest to that! I have no problem rolling down my window, leaning out and yelling at someone for cutting me off ( I actually did that in the church parking lot on the 4th of July!), so yesterday, as I was driving down the parking lot lane- minding my own business and following the rules- this lady decided to cut across all of the lanes and just drifted right in front of me and took my parking spot...."Oh No You Didn't!" ( imagine my head swerving like a black girl!). My blood pressure instantly rocketed and I was all ready to give the girl a tongue lashing when I got out of the car....but instead, I decided to leave it alone. I could tell she was stalling in her car. She knew what she had done and she could see me coming, so she wasn't getting out of her car. When she finally did, I walked right past her and into the store. That might seem weird, but to me, I gave her a huge service! I'm sure she was grateful that I didn't yell at her.

This morning when I was reading scriptures with my kids, Nephi is asking the Lord to help him to not make any room in his heart for anger against his enemies. 2 Nephi 4:26-35 is so wonderful! I truly feel the same desire. I pointed out to my kids that at the time, Nephi's enemies were his own brothers! I would hate for my kids to feel like they were enemies. It must have broken Nephi's heart. That lady at the store is my heavenly sister, and I need to love her and not allow any anger in my heart towards her.

This quest has made me think of service in a different way. I'm not getting any comments from anybody! Is anyone else doing service? I want to hear about it!! I'll blog about Day 18 later tonight.

I'm Back!

After a whirl-wind trip, I am back! I had so much fun being with my parents again. I miss them like crazy and I love spending as much time as I can with them. They are now on their way to Albuquerque to see my brother and they took my daughter Audrey with them. She was so excited to go! I missed her this morning when I was dropping the kids off at school. I bet she is having fun though!

So, I bet you all thought I wouldn't get any service done while I was gone.....Wrong! It was funny, because my services were not planned whatsoever and yet, I had many opportunities to serve my family and even a total stranger! I'll start with the stranger:
On Saturday morning, I had to go to Wal-Mart to get some groceries and as I was in the produce section, there was a woman in a wheel chair who asked me to help her. There weren't any produce bags in the containers that she could reach and the only ones left were way up high. I gladly helped her get 5 bags so she could continue her shopping. As a short person, I understand how frustrating it is to not be able to reach something, but at least I can climb up to get it! I can't even imagine how hard it must be to be in a wheelchair at the store and not be able to reach something that you need! Think about every time you need to get up on your tip toes to get something and then think about that woman at the store who HAD to ask for help to do something that for many of us is so simple. That would be very humbling to me to have to ask for help to do even the simplest of tasks.

For my other services, I helped my grandma make her delicious spaghetti sauce - it's hard for her to even lift the cans of tomato juice to pour them into the pot- and I made two lasagna's for her 80th birthday party. I also helped my Aunt Karen by cleaning all of the dishes on Sunday after we ate our delicious meal! I also did dishes at my grandma's, vacuumed her car, washed her car windows, did laundry for her, and picked my parents up from the airport.

Here is my moment where I get to toot my own horn for a bit...First of all, my grandma makes the most amazing spaghetti sauce you have ever tasted! Even better than mine! On Saturday she made the sauce and then made us her amazing spaghetti and meatballs! I didn't have ANY spaghetti!! It was so hard! I love spaghetti SOO much! Sometimes Kyle thinks I even love it more than him! He really helped me though. He made sure I had plenty of meatballs and salad instead. I am glad that I was able to resist! Did any of you do any service this weekend? Please share it as a comment!

Weekend

Just so you know, I am going to be MIA for the next few days. My parents are coming back from Cambodia for my grandma's 80th birthday, so we will be out partying with them until Monday. I will keep working on my service while I am gone and I will blog all about it when I'm back!

* I have a picture of Natali because my service for Friday will be making copies and binding math books for Natali's school class! I'm glad I can go and help out in her class.

Day 11- Salad

Today's service was fun! One of my neighbors had a baby 3 months ago and I had taken her spaghetti and a salad. Well, her husband LOVED my salad dressing and yesterday she asked me to come over to teach her how to make it. After Emily got home from school, we packed up our ingredients and went over and made a salad! It sounds simple, but she said her husband hasn't stopped talking about it and she tried to make it herself and it turned out super bad, so she was excited to make it for him. I also use the same recipe to marinate my chicken in..It's delicious! Here's my dressing/marinade recipe:

Salt, Pepper, Garlic and Onion Powder, Basil, Parmesian Cheese, Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar.

Just start sprinkling the ingredients in and then taste it and see what you need to add more of. I always go a little lighter on the garlic and a little heavier on the cheese and vinegar. Add a cucumber and you are set! Oh! I also put this on my pasta salads! Add broccoli and some feta cheese...YUM!

Day 10- Grasping

I know I'm grasping at straws here, but here are my services from yesterday. I wrote a letter to my best friend and I helped a friend find some quarters for her sons quarter collection that she accidentally spent! This is WAY harder than I thought it would be! Would you let me in if I just showed up at your house? I don't know if I would let someone come in and help me if they just showed up. I guess that's where we all need to change! I did get my service done for today. I exercise at my friend Susannah's house every morning and when I got there, she had saved her dishes from last night for me to clean. I was actually excited to do her dishes!! We had fun talking while I did it and I'm glad I can help her. She works at the library every night, so I'm sure there are nights when she comes home and just is too tired to do anything but crawl into bed. I know I have felt that way and then I just have to do them in the morning. I'm glad that I could do them for her!

Days 7, 8, and 9

Well, I know I am playing catch up, but I haven't had anything to blog because I can't get anyone to let me into their homes to serve them!!! Come on you guys! This is ridiculous! Sunday and Monday were No Service days! That means I need to do 3 acts of service today. Please say Yes when I call you or just show up at your house!!!

I am going to count my phone call with my mom this morning as one of my acts. I am ordering her some dance shoes, tights, and leotards that she can't get in Cambodia. I was on the phone with her for over an hour trying to get all of her items ordered. I'm glad that I can help her. I will blog later today and let you know how my 2 other acts of service go.

Day 6- Saturday is a special day

My Saturday service was a little closer to home. Today I served my husband. He was cleaning out the garage and insulating it, so I thought I should help him. It ended up being a much bigger project than I thought it would be, so I'm glad that I helped him. I also kidnapped him and we went on a date. He works so hard for our family all week and this week seemed especially rough on him. I told him we were going to a friends house for dinner and when we got there, I asked him to go get my purse. As he was opening the car door, I ran out and jumped in the drivers seat and told him to get in. Then we went and picked up his "boyfriend"(seriously! They might as well be boyfriends! It's really just his best friend Brian) and his wife and we went to Cafe Rio for dinner and then to see Captain America. It was a great night and Kyle was totally surprised! Thank you Missy for babysitting my kids, Thank you Brian and Sharla for going with us, and Thank you Kyle for all that you do for our family and especially for me! I love you!

Day 5-Temple

For my service today, I babysat for my friend Missy so she could go to the Temple. Missy is getting ready to have her 4th baby and I had to beg her to let me watch her kids so she could go. Missy is one of the most stubborn people I know! She never let's anyone help her, but she is continually helping others. She has helped me and my family in more ways than she could ever imagine, so today was my way of paying back a fraction of the debt that I owe to her. Plus, her kids were great and they played with Kathryn all morning!! Thank you Missy, for letting me serve you and expect another call soon! I owe you big time! (I will post the picture of my service later. I have to find my cord to hook it up to my computer)

**Tomorrow is Saturday! I know everyone has cleaning, yard work, laundry, etc. to do! Let me come and help you! PLEASE call me or say Yes if I call you!!!

Day 4- Callings

Today was a different day of service. While reading scriptures with my kids this week, we have been talking about the difference between Laman and Lemuel vs. Nephi and Sam. I believe the only difference was their hearts. It consistently says in 1st Nephi how hard Laman and Lemuel's hearts were. If they would have only humbled themselves and gone to the Lord and asked Him, they would have had their answer and their hearts would have softened. We have also talked to our kids about becoming more like Nephi when we are asked to do something, especially at church. We have all been called into the Bishop's office and asked to accept a calling. Sometimes it's the calling of our dreams, but most times we come out of the office thinking, "What?! Why would I be called to that calling?" I know that I have felt that way, but I was taught to answer like Nephi....I will go and do. I bet you are wondering what this has to do with my service today. I hope this all makes sense since I have a hard time putting my thoughts into words.

As women, we are all given the Calling of Visiting Teaching. I know that I am guilty of forgetting that it's a calling. I have a woman that has been on my list for the past two years and I haven't been able to contact her once. She's actually my next door neighbor and I think I see her once every 3 weeks. I have been praying and fasting to know how to reach her. I really had no idea what to do. Every time I thought about her, I would just draw a blank..... Until, I listened to Pres. Uchtdorf's talk during the General Relief Society Meeting a few weeks ago. The last part of his talk gave me the chills! Here is what he said:

"Forget not that the Lord loves you! You are not forgotten. No matter how dark your days may seem, not matter how insignificant you may feel, no matter how over-shadowed you think you may be, you’re Heavenly Father has not forgotten you. He loves you with an infinite love! You are known and remembered by the most majestic, powerful and glorious being in the universe. He, who created and knows the stars, knows you and your name. You are a Daughter of God."

It was so powerful and I felt like my neighbor needed to here that message. I knew I needed to get it to her, but I started to feel insecure about how she would receive it and I kept putting it off. Today I finally did it. I wrote her that message in a card and put it in her mailbox. Now I can only pray that she will actually read it and hope that she will allow it to touch her heart like it touched mine. If anyone has any ideas on what my next step with my neighbor should be, please let me know.

Day 3 continued

This is my friend Sharla! I have known her for just over 7 years. When I got home from canning apples this morning, I was thinking about how I was going to do my second act of service for the day when I suddenly thought of Sharla. I called her up and asked her if I could come over and help her.....with a slight hesitation, she said Yes! She was having her carpets cleaned and the cleaner came early, so she wasn't quite ready for him. I was able to help her move beds, pick up rooms, and vacuum. I also helped clean up her kitchen and wipe down her counters, chairs, tables, microwave and dishwasher. The whole time she kept saying "I'm so sorry that you have to do this!" Why do women (and I'm talking about myself as well) feel bad when we have to ask for help?! That is what friends and family are here for! That is why Heavenly Father gave us them! To help us! I know that when I ask for help, I feel guilty. I don't want someone to come and see my dirty house and clean it for me. I feel like I should be able to handle everything on my own. The truth is, some times we need help. We can't do everything on our own. Even though Sharla felt sorry that I was there helping her, we ended up having a lot of fun!! Because I was willing to share my time to do service today, I got to help and spend time with two very dear friends and I had fun! I encourage you to find someone to serve today and if someone asks if they can serve you, please say yes!

Day 3-Canning

SOOOO, yesterday I did NOT get to do my service because I couldn't find anyone who would let me do something for them. That means I need to do two acts of service today. I already did one this morning. I went to my neighbors house to help her can some apples. It was fun, it took half as much time as it should have because I was there to help and I learned how to can! Now I want to ask for canning items for Christmas! This is a picture of our finished product and my friend Susannah's hands....she didn't want to be in the picture. Do you see how much you all could get done with me helping?! LET ME HELP!!!

As for my second act, I am on the look out and I will be calling someone to let me come help them. If you need any help, Call Me! -For those of you in Utah, I don't live that far and I'm coming down to Utah two times this month, so let me know if I can come and help you while I'm down there.

I was talking to my brother about my blog and we both came to the conclusion that I am Addicted to noodles and cookies. It's really bad too! I think that I am going to have to go off of them for longer than 30 days. So far I am doing great though. I'm just surprised how much I LOVE noodles and cookies....Does anyone else have a weird obsession?

Day 2- Searching

Yesterday's service went really well. The kids were fantastic and we all had a great time! I realized that I should have taken a picture of them to post on here. I think I will try to take a picture of the people I am serving and maybe tell you a little bit about them. My friend Karin, who's kids I watched yesterday, had to go help her husband at work. Earlier this summer, her husband was in an accident where their horse rolled on top of him and broke his hip. They had just purchased a tree trimming business and he couldn't work for the next two months. She had to basically do his job for him! She is amazing! Anyway, it was an honor to watch their kids for them so she could go and help him out.

This weather is making my "cookie" free days harder! When it's cold outside, all I want to do is bake! Am I the only one who feels that way? I was good though and I didn't make anything.

As for today, I was surprised to get onto my blog to fine NO comments! I have basically offered myself as a slave to all of my friends and family that are within my reach and No One has any service for me to do for them??!! I just can't believe it! There has to be someone with a dirty toilet SomeWhere!! So, today's blog title is called "Searching" because I guess I will be searching for my service project today and you better let me in if I show up at your house!

Day 1 - Service and Sacrifice

Today's service actually fell into my lap. My friend Karin needed to go help her husband at his work and I am going to watch her two youngest kids for the day. I can say that babysitting is not always my favorite form of service, but I love all of my friends kids and I actually do enjoy having them over. I have found that when I babysit, I actually get more freedom from my own kids. They are happier and have someone to play with and I actually get a lot done! Sometime's I feel like it's not easy to ask someone to watch your kids. You feel like you might be intruding on their plans for the day or that your kids might be too big of a burden. I know I have felt that way, especially since we don't have any family around us to help. I'd like you all to know, that your kids are always welcome here and I will watch them anytime you need me to! (Especially now that we have grass and I don't have to worry about them bringing mud into my house!)

I'll have to let you know how I do without noodles today. I know it sounds funny to give that up, but I really do have them at least 4 times a week! They are so easy to make for dinner or lunch, so it's going to be hard. I need some new recipes...any suggestions?

First Projects

Today is the day I begin my first projects! It's exciting to begin something new, but I know that it's not easy to keep up my motivation. That's why this blog is really for all of us! We can all do it together and keep each other motivated!

Okay, so here are my projects for the next 30 days.

First: I have been feeling the need to do more service. I have had so many wonderful people help me and my family that I really want to give back. So, thus begins 30 days of Service. I'm going to do an act of service for someone everyday. I serve my family everyday, so I would like to serve someone outside of my home and get my kids involved. If you have anything that you need done, and you don't want to do it, Leave a comment and I'd be glad to come and do it! (Really! I love cleaning other peoples houses, so please let me come and scrub your toilets for you!)

My second project came to me this weekend. I was reading a book of poems to my kids and I came across this poem and it spoke a little too near to my heart.

Oodles of Noodles

I love noodles. Give me oodles.

Make a mound up to the sun.

Noodles are my favorite foodles.

I eat noodles by the ton!

That poem must have been written for me! I have a slight obsession with noodles.....okay, you can say a HUGE obsession with noodles! I love them any way I can get them! I am also a cookie junkie! Just call me the original Cookie Monster! Unfortunately, my waistline doesn't like my obsessions! So, for the next 30 days, I will be noodle and cookie free! I can tell you now, this is not going to be easy! Do you have an obsession with something? Can you give it up for the next 30 days? Let me know and we can help each other through it.

About the Blog

When I was a little girl, my mom would give me my birthday spankings, determined on how old I was, and she would always end it with "A pinch to grow on". Since the growing stopped a lot earlier than I wanted (I'm only 5'3"), the "pinch to grow on" doesn't really do anything for me in the height department. With my 30th birthday approaching, I was thinking how the "pinch" could help me grow in other ways. Thus, the birth of this blog!

There are so many things I would like to learn and do! Staying with the 30 theme, I'm going to do or learn about something that will help me grow either spiritually, physically or emotionally for 30 days. Once the 30 days is up, then I will start on a new project. I will blog my way through the 30 days and share how I have grown.

Here's the thing. I am going to need your help to pick my new projects! I am open to all suggestions, so please don't be afraid to be creative! I am probably going to do two or three things at a time, so I'm going to need a lot of suggestions! If you feel like doing any of the projects with me, Please join in!