Pay it Forward or a Helping Hand in Real Life

I keep finding postings about positive people helping out people in need.  I know many of them are fakes, but still make you think and are a good read.  However, I can tell a real story about unexpected help we have received in the last 6 months.  It may not be as well written as the stories usually posted, but at least they are real.

Our newborn was underweight and losing weight every day.  If she did not put on weight she had to go back to the hospital.  We had to put her onto formula, something we had not budgeted for.  She had nipple confusion and would not take the breast.  I talked about it on Facebook, I was very worried about having to put her onto formula and upset that I was not doing my job as a mom and breastfeeding her.  One lady in our area had a huge bag of formula that her baby was unable to eat.  Her family gave us the unopened cans of formula.  My daughter could eat it and put on weight.  There was enough formula that it got us to when we had money again.  Their kindness made a big impact on the life of my family. 

With a new born Christmas was very tight, but we expected that and made plans and budgeted for it.  We let our kids know that they would not be getting very much and they needed to pick one special toy they wanted for Christmas.  On the day we were told we had to put our newborn on formula we used our budgeted Christmas money to buy bottles, formula and a breast pump.  At the time I felt like a huge failure because I could not breast feed my baby and that took away the special toys our kids had asked for Christmas.  Just before Christmas a Christmas card showed up in my mail with a prepaid credit card with $50 on it.  This really helped us out.  We used it to buy the toys special to our kids.  It also let our kids buy a gift for each other, something they really wanted to do.  A small gesture made a big impact.  I don’t know how much the $50 meant to the person who gave it to us; I just know how big of a difference it made to us.

For my daughter’s birthday we told her no party this year and we would have to wait a couple of weeks to do something as a family.  Our daughter understood, and I never told anyone, not even family, about the difficulty we were having.  Out of the blue a few days before my daughter’s birthday a gift arrived, $50.  It gave us what we needed to do what she wanted on her birthday, to eat out at a specific restaurant, and still buy groceries for the next two weeks.  Again someone made a huge difference to our lives just because they wanted to.  It may seem like a small thing, being able to take our daughter out on her birthday, but it was a huge thing for her.  It made her feel important and loved.  With a new baby in the house she needs all the reminders we can give her that she is still valued, important and loved.

I never asked for help.  I don’t sit around with my hand out waiting for someone to make my life better.  But I am willing to accept kindness for my children.  I have no pride when it comes to my kids, if my pride has to go so my children can have what they need, so be it.  They always come first.

I do see this as what goes around comes around.  In the past I was able to pay it forward, or be that helping hand many times.  I have been told that I can be a soft touch, and have a hard time seeing people in need.  There were many times when money found its way into the hands of those in need, family, friends and strangers.  Many invites for lunch or dinner were given with lots of leftovers when we knew someone was running low on food.  Sometimes it was as simple as paying for the meal of the family behind us in line at a fast food place.  When we had our business we would often suddenly need “staff” when people really needed some real money.  They would work the weekend with us and would have the money they needed without feeling they were taking charity (and they actually did do work for us).

 

When we lost the business and moved into this complex we would to buy hotdogs when they went on sale, and fill our freezer with them.  It was not uncommon all summer long for the kids in our neighbourhood to show up whenever we turned on the BBQ.  They knew we would put on several packages of hotdogs, and they could eat.  For some of the kids it was the only food they would get during the day.  We knew that, and made sure they ate.  Heck we even bought a deep fryer because a bag of potatoes was cheap and make a lot of French-fry’s.  It is not something our family talks about, we just did it because we could.  Sometimes they would show up for dinner too.  Those kids don’t live here anymore, but we helped them out when they did.  It was nice to be able to make a difference in someone’s life.  I never expected to be on the other side, but I am grateful that I was.

Times are getting harder, more families are in need.  I see requests on Freecycle for food, and formula, clothing and more all the time.  It makes me sad that so many people are in need.  I hope to be able to repay the unexpected gifts of money one day when things change and I am working again.  Hopefully when it is need the most. 

I grew up poor.  I am poor now.  I expect to die poor.  But at least I am in good company!

 

Surviving December 21 2012 Christmas Gift List

 

For the last year people have been starting to stress out about what might happen on December 21, 2012.  At times it feels like we cannot avoid hearing about it. There are many movies, T.V. shows and more on all the time.  Even my kids are hearing things about December 21 2012 at school, teachers, other parents and even other students.  My children are becoming scared about all the different things they are hearing about.  Because of this we have been talking with our children about the different possibilities of what might happen, and what things we can do as a family to deal with the different possibilities.  From this we have created a Christmas gift wish list – things we want this Christmas that we think can be useful if things go bad, but stuff we would make use of even if things don’t go bad.  I hope this Christmas wish list of ours is of interest.

Hand Crank items.

My kids really want hand cranked flashlights.  My daughter wants the hand crank flashlight and radio combo.  There are some solar items out there but I like the idea of hand cranks – if the weather is bad you can still use the items.

We also looked at old fashioned egg beaters – the hand crank ones.  We have been looking for them at our local stores for the last couple of months.  We have only found them online, so we will be picking up two of them soon.

There are many other hand crank items out there that can be useful for everyday stuff.  I have no problem using them, and not using electricity.

Cooking items

A weighted pressure canner (not cooker).  We already picked this up.  We are taking advantage of sales and canning fruits and vegetables.  Actually we are cooking complete meals and saving money already.  It is great.  Also if the power goes out – no worries about the food going bad like the stuff we have in our freezers.

We are going to be getting lots of canning jars, lids and other canning products needed.

Hibachi grill that can be used outside.  This is a quick and easy way to cook, even in the winter if the power goes out.  We can use it all summer as well.

Wood and charcoal BBQ and Smoker.  This is a great way to cook, even in winter.  Smoking is a wonderful way to cook and we would use it all year round.  Again this is a great way to cook if the power goes out.  Also we don’t have to worry about running out of propane.  We will stock up on charcoal and wood chips but if we run low we can always get wood from the forest around us.

Air tight wood stove.  This can be added to our home if need be.  Even if we had to put it into our basement and the chimney out the basement window in an emergency.  It would keep our home warm, and we can cook on it.  If we owned our home we would have a fireplace or an Air tight wood stove installed.  We actually would love to have a fireplace now.  They are great. 

Cast Iron Cookware.  I grew up watching my mom cook using only cast iron cookware.  I even had some that I loved but someone took them on me.  So I would love to replace them.  There are a lot of great reasons to use Cast Iron cookware.  They can go from stove (top and oven) to campfire no problem.  They cook more evenly than any other cookware I have ever used.  They hold heat well, so you can heat them up and actually turn off the stove and the food will keep cooking.  When seasoned the flavours you can get out of the pans and other Cast Iron cookware is amazing.  The funny part is that it used to be difficult to find more than the occasional Cast Iron pan but now Sears has come out with a complete line of Cast Iron cookware – including cupcake pans.  I plan to buy the Cast Iron Cookware piece by piece – and maybe pick up a couple as Christmas gifts.

Hand crank pasta maker.  I have wanted a pasta maker for a long time.  I want to make fresh pasts, but I also want to use the pasta maker to help roll out my shells for Chinese dumplings, pirogues, tortillas, pie crusts, and pizza dough.  The one we found is less expensive than all the electric ones we were looking at but it is also smaller and a lot of the accessories available with the electric ones are not available.  The one we found does some basic noodles, but it is a start. We use it for many things not just noodles.

Power source.

I would like to pick up some solar panels and start using them every day.  Unfortunately we rent and our landlord will not let us put any up.  There are many small emergency solar power generators that we could pick up.  They can go in the windows.  A few of them can be used to provide power for the fridge, freezers and stove if need be.  There are many different types of solar power collectors or generators some are small and are able to power a laptop; others are able to keep larger equipment powered.   This is something that my son would really love to have – he wants to be able to play his computer games no matter what.

Transportation.

Bikes for the entire family.  We don’t need gas to get around with bikes.  We can also attach little carts to the back of them if needed.  Also to be blunt it is a great way for us to do something as a family, and I could use the exercise.   We live close to a nature trail we could be biking on as a family – so why not get bikes and start doing it.

E-bikes.  We have wanted E-bikes for the last year.  They don’t take much electricity and are way cheaper then cars to run.  Only problem is that we will soon be a family of five.  They don’t let the kid e-bikes on the road the way they do the adult e-bikes.  So if we do get them it will be for trips without the kids.  Another drawback is the limited storage space.  If we go shopping we can only bring small amounts home.  There are some e-bikes with passenger seating and carts attached to the back but I am not sure how the law down here sees them.  Are they vehicles that need to be treated as a car – with the insurance and road rules or not.  We want to make sure we don’t buy something we cannot use all the time.  On a good note – if we buy an e-bike there are solar generators that can be attached to charge them so we may be able to use them even when the power goes out.

Electric car or van.  We would like to have one but our home is not set up for that and our landlord will not let us set it up.  If we move it would be something we would look into again.

Survival or Camping gear.

Fishing poles, wire, hooks and everything else that is needed when fishing.  We live by a lake so fishing is something the kids are interested in doing.  At this point I don’t think I want to eat anything they could catch in the lake, but it is better to have the option of fishing.

Compression Bows and arrows.  My son has been interested in archery for years.  This is a hobby he would like to take up.  We have a couple archery clubs in the area that he can join.  It is a good option if things go bad.  Compression bows and arrows are great for hunting.  The arrows can be reused, repaired or new ones made much easier then bullets.  I know my son would love to learn how to shoot with a bow and arrow even if he never does anything more than shoot at targets and enter competitions.  He was excited when he found out that archery is an Olympic sport.  If he starts now he has 8 years to get good at it and maybe have the possibility of trying out for the Olympic team if he is great at it.  If not is it something he would just enjoy.

Camping equipment – any and all.  This is everything from tents, sleeping bags, back packs and cooking equipment.  My husband would like to include hunting gear with this.  I know my kids have wanted to go camping for years.  We used to go camping in the summer all the time before the kids, but we got rid of our camping gear years ago.  I think once we pick up camping gear again we will go camping again.  As for hunting, that is something my husband used to do before he moved down here.  I grew up with my family hunting every year so I know it is a great way to get meat cheap.  I am not fond of hunting but if that is something my husband wants to do again I can work with him.

I am sure that there are more things we will add to our 2012 Christmas gift wish list as we think of them.  Mainly we wanted to let our kids know we are not helpless.  If things do go bad we know what we need to do and have to survive just about anything.  Since we sat down with our kids and created our Survival Christmas list my kids are feeling better, safer.   

We have plans to get most of the stuff on our list slowly.  We can see the advantages of using them and cutting down on our energy use.  Some of the items would give us things to do as a family, others we just like the idea of having them.  We changed how we buy and cook in the last six months, not just to save money but to eat better.  The canning equipment and smoker/BBQ are just an extension of this.  We are using this to improve our lives – even if nothing goes bad December 21, 2012.

We Care to Share Christmas Gift and Craft Show

In that last few years we have held events to collect non-perishable food items for Hamilton food share. This year we are also collecting unwrapped toys for the CHML toy drive. This year we are holding two events, a Christmas gift and craft show during the day and a Concert and Dance during the night. Please come out and join us Dec. 17, 2011 in Hamilton and help us raise lots of food and toys for girls and boys in need. Christmas is a time to give, and enjoy time with friends and family. The Craft show has wonderful gifts and crafts, and is a wonderful opportunity to find just the right thing for the people on your Christmas list, though you will be tempted to pick up a few things for yourself. The concert and dance is a great time waiting to happen, have a fun night out and support Hamilton Food Share and CHML toy drive.

We Care to Share Christmas Gift and Craft Show:

Door fee, we are collecting non-perishable food for Hamilton Food Share and unwrapped toys for CHML at the door.

Location: ACCA Center

754 Barton St. East, Hamilton

Doors are open from 10 am to 5 pm

The Christmas gift and craft show will officially end at 5 pm however there will be a music concert/show that evening. Tickets for We Care to Share Christmas concert available at the Christmas Gift and Craft Show.

Vendors with crafts and unique gift items

1st Mount Albion Pathfinders and Ranger - Hand knitted items, fleece scarves, chocolate Mint Cookies, Christmas Crafts, Kernels Popcorn, Gifts in Jars, soup and baking, handmade Christmas cards and more.

Mar-Lee Enterprises Inc - Tarot readings, hand crafted dowsing rods, pendulums, angels, jewellery, books and calendars in support of the Erland Lee (museum) home.

Annabobanners – Unique hand puppets – www.annabobanners.com

Shelly Marinic - Scentsy and Avon

Jodie Davis/Sharon Laidlaw - jewellery, Pandora inspired key chains and jewellery.

Sharon Tousignant - handcrafted wood gift items and works of art, crochet.

Kynk Naturals - fair trade organic Shea Butter & other handcrafted personal care products.

Allie Kat Originals - Michelle of Allie Kat Originals designs and crates beautiful hand-crafted bridal jewellery that can be customized to enhance any bridal gown or coordinate with any style and colour of the wedding party and theme of the wedding. Michelle also designs fun, fancy and fashionable everyday fashion jewellery, perfect for every occasion. Allie Kat Originals are high quality at a very affordable price.

PeachieBeads - PeaschieBeads is a green company with jewellery designed and created to giving new life to unwanted jewellery. Very unique jewellery.

Karen Cooke - giftware, toys, games and handcrafted items.

Meghan Candler - Crocheted hats ranging from size newborn to adult as well as crocheted photo props.

Trendy Treatz - cupcakes, chocolate suckers

Kathy Mascola – photography

1 of a kind design – Vinyl Wall Talks, Stick Families Figures, Children Animal Magnets – Portraits on canvas by Tim’s photography.

Delroyoshen – Jewellery

K. Bass - unique scarves and jewellery

The Art of Tea and Tasseomancy - Amy Taylor Tea Leaf Reader, Tea Workshop Facilitator

Laura Elliot - Beaded Jewellery


So Dainty Creations - Jewellery, hair bands

Karina  - Fair Trade Chocolate
Jennofer Bramogam - Lighted Glass blocks, hot chocolate cones, chocolate arrangements

Elaine McIvor- Perfumes, I pad, hand knitted items and gift baskets

And many more vendors with wonderful gift and crafts.

Kim Gustafson – One of a Kind Jewellery, candle holders, unique stone & rhinestone mirrors

Natural alpaca – Handcrafted soaps & Alpaca fiber products - socks, sweaters, teddy bears and more

Karen Smith – native crafts, baby swaddling, blankets, it works wraps

Lori-Lee - Steriling Silver jewellery and handcrafted beaded jewellery

Top Star Wars Christmas Gift or Birthday Gift Ideas

This list is of the top Star Wars Christmas or Birthday gift ideas put together by a Star Wars fan, my husband. My husband’s Birthday is only two weeks after Christmas, so we get him to make only one list for both. Now he does have a list with things on it that are not Star Wars, I think there is three things on it. I know he only looked at one website, but that is fine. If you find the perfect gift for your Star Wars fan on this gift list still shop around, you may be able to find it in a local store or other websites. I did not do any price comparisons, this is just a Star Wars gift idea list. I was just going to put the links, titles and pictures but decided the descriptions and video's are needed. Enjoy! I had a blast (no pun intended) putting this together once my husband gave me the list.

The Star Wars Cookbook

The Star Wars Cookbook is loaded with different types of inter-galactic recipes: drinks, breakfasts, main courses, desserts, and more. Age is no issue when it comes to Star Wars cuisine - kids as well as adults will have a great time with this book.

◦60 wipe clean pages with over 25 recipes


◦Recipes include: Greedo's Burritos, Twin Sun Toast, Tusken Raider Taters, and more!

◦Concealed wire-O binding - so each page lays flat while you cook

◦Includes 13 foil stickers to label your completed creations

Star Wars Vader's Dark Side Roast Coffee

•Gourmet whole bean coffee hand roasted by Stormtroopers


•Perfect for Dark Lords of the Sith... or your friends and loved ones

•Spicy undertones with smoky, dark-roasted complexity

•Coffee blend is comprised of coffees from Africa and Indonesia. Even though these are not certified fair trade, they are specialty-grade coffees which means that droid farmers receive a higher price/pound, compared to exchange-grade coffees.

•Officially licensed Star Wars product designed by ThinkGeek

•Exclusively available at ThinkGeek

•Each bag contains 12 Oz of whole bean coffee

Star Wars Chop Sabers

•Chopsticks in the shape of your favorite Jedi weapons


•Fully licensed Lucasfilm collectible

•Imported from Japan

•Six styles to choose from:

◦Luke Skywalker, green, 23cm long

◦Luke Skywalker, blue, 23cm long

◦Darth Maul, red, 23 cm long -they snap together, too! Not sure how you'd eat like that, though.

◦Darth Vader, red, 23 cm long

◦Yoda, green, 20 cm long

◦Mace Windu, purple, 23 cm long

•Lightsabers do not light up or slice effortlessly through flesh. Sorry.

Star Wars Breakfast Beverages Set

•Three breakfast beverages for fans of Star Wars


•Officially licensed Lucasfilm products, made with love by ThinkGeek

•Included in the set: Vader's Dark Side Roast Coffee, Hoth Cocoa, or Dagobah Green Tea

•Vader's Dark Side Roast Coffee:

◦Gourmet coffee hand roasted and ground by Stormtroopers

◦Spicy undertones with smoky, dark-roasted complexity

◦Coffee blend is comprised of coffees from Africa and Indonesia. Even though these are not certified fair trade, they are specialty-grade coffees which means that droid farmers receive a higher price/pound, compared to exchange-grade coffees.

◦Each can contains 3 oz of ground coffee

•Dagobah Green Tea:

◦Loose leaf blend of Green Pu Erh, White Peony, and Matcha

◦Ideal steeping time is 2 - 3 minutes

◦Each tin contains 1 oz of tea leaves, enough for 14 cups

•Hoth Cocoa:

◦Blended from deep-roasted cocoa beans, sugar, unsweetened chocolate, and real vanilla

◦Each bag contains 8 oz of cocoa mix, enough for 4 - 5 cups

Star Wars Lightsaber Ice Pop
Each Star Wars Lightsaber Ice Pop set comes with four saber hilts: two Luke and two Vader. Just add juice (or any delicious liquid) to the mold, stick on the hilts, and pop the whole shebang in your freezer for 4 hours. Run a little warm water over the mold and the full saber can be removed. Activate your saber's LED for a light up treat that screams awesome and tasty all at once. Included is a recipe book with wonderful flavors to try, like "Chewbapple," "Ponda Berry," "C-3POrange," and Admiral Ackbar's favorite: "It's a Grap(e)!" It's always time for Jedi refreshment when you have some Star Wars Lightsaber Ice Pops. May the force-icle be with you

 

Star Wars R2-D2 Ice Cube Trays

•Silicone R2-D2 shaped ice tray


•This IS the ice tray you're looking for

•Keeps your drink cold and your X-wing operational

•6 x 4 x 1 inches


•Makes one large droid shaped ice cube and four small

Star Wars Death Star Electronic Attack Shirt

With the press of a button on the concealed speaker box, the Death Star begins the firing sequence. You'll hear the deep hum of the superlaser powering up, then the background chatter of Empire technicians preparing to fire, finally a massive blast is let forth with light and sound effects. Crank the volume for even greater effect; this is one of the loudest shirts in the galaxy.

Star Wars Remote Controlled Lightsaber Room Light


This kit has everything you need to construct a lightsaber and mount it on your wall. Choose from 8 awesome color effects, plus auto-spectrum using the remote control!


•For Ages 6 and Up (with help from a friendly grown-up)


•WARNING: SMALL PARTS - Not intented for children under 3 years of age.

•Awesome lightsaber room light with sound effects and remote control

•Construct and display a lightsaber room light with this kit

•Learn about electronics and how lightsabers work

•Mounts to the wall

•Over 25" long!

•Choose from 8 color effects plus auto-spectrum

•Remote control for easy on/off from anywhere in the room

•Kit includes: Fun & informative learning guide, 2 hilt halves, 1 battery pack, 1 electronics pack, 1 exterior cap, 1 wall mounting bracket, 1 blade, 1 remote, and 1 wall mounting hardware

•Requires 5 AAA batteries (not included)

 
Tauntaun Sleeping Bag



•Classic Star Wars sleeping bag simulates the warmth of a Tauntaun carcass


•Built-in embroidered Tauntaun head pillow

•Plush Lightsaber zipper pull

•Printed intestines pattern on inside of bag

•Great for playing pretend "Save Luke from the Wampa" games

•Teach your children about the best Star Wars movie ever

•Fully Licensed Lucasfilm™ Collectible

•100% Polyester construction, Machine washable

•WARNING CHOKING HAZARD - Ages 3 and Up ONLY

•For indoor use only. Not suitable for camping.

•One size fits all. Enough room for adults, plenty of space for kids

•Bag Dimensions - 33" x 67" (not including head pillow or legs)

Star Wars Lightsaber Pen

•Available in red, blue, and green


•Comes in a tin collector's box



For more ideas - Star Wars Gift Ideas on Think Geek