The Harwick Hubabaloo

Random Acts of Kindness Week - Feb 15-21!

(Image source unknown)

In case you didn't know this week is Random Act of Kindness Week!

This is the perfect time to show friends, coworkers, family and random strangers a token of kindness!

Here are some ideas to get you started:

1. Send someone a hand written note of thanks.
2. Make a card at home and send it to a friend for no reason.
3. Buy a lottery ticket for a stranger.
4. Put some coins in someone else’s parking meter.
5. Buy a coffee for the man on the high street selling The Big Issue magazine.
6. Cut your neighbour’s hedge.
7. Walk your friend’s dog.
8. Give a compliment about your waiter / waitress to his / her manager.
9. Send someone a small gift anonymously.
10. Stop and help someone replace their flat tyre.
11. Let someone jump the queue at the bank.
12. Pay for the drinks on the next table at a café.
13. Treat a friend to the movies for no reason.
14. Give a huge tip to someone when they least expect it.
15. Hold the train door open for someone rushing to get in.
16. Give up your seat for someone, not just an elderly person.
17. Write notes of appreciation at least once a week.
18. Talk to a homeless person and have a “normal” conversation.
19. Pick up some rubbish in the road which would otherwise be lying around.
20. Compliment a work colleague for their excellence.
21. Recommend a competitor to a potential client.
22. Give another driver your parking spot.
23. Give a piece of fruit to a delivery person.
24. Help an elderly neighbour carry the rubbish out.
25. Tell all your family members how much your appreciate them.
26. Leave a copy of an interesting book on a train / bus.
27. Buy an inspirational book for a friend.
28. Send a thank you note to a person who has helped you in the past.
29. Smile a lot.

In honor of Random Act of Kindness Week I am going to randomly give away a $25.00 Gift Certificate to Croppin Paradise to one blog reader. All you have to do is to leave a comment with your favorite "kind" quote or saying and I will enter your name into a drawing at the end of the week!

Even better, pass it on.. offer up some kind of random act of kindness on your blog and then link me back for a second chance to win!

Ready? Go!

 

A Valentine for You Daddy!

Please excuse the regularly scheduled blog posting (um, ok, I would have to post more regularly, but I am getting better!) for a Public Family Announcement.

The kids were bummed that Daddy could not be here to celebrate Valentine's Day, so we decided to send him a message - so Daddy, this one's for you:

Happy Valentine's Day! We cannot wait for you to be home with us!

(50 some days and counting!)

xoxo

The kids
 
 
 
 

Croppin Paradise Conversation Hearts Crop Challenge - In Love with Sketches!

Hi Everyone!

This post is dedicated to the Conversation Hearts Crop blog hop at Croppin Paradise. If you are just hearing about our crop from this post you can go back to the beginning by following THIS LINK, where you will find Challenge #1 and can hop along to each of our fabulous Design Team Members' blogs!

Today is a special day! -Happy Valentine's Day to you all!

One Valentine's Day we celebrate all the things we love.. our spouses or significant others, kids, parents, friends and.... scrapbooking! (LOL!)

I know one of the things I love about scrapbooking is a good sketch, so today, my challenge is to create a layout inspired by the sketch below:

Here is the layout I created for some inspiration:

Have fun!

Make sure to link up your creation to THIS THREAD by February 20, 2010 at 11:59pm. There will be a winner for EACH challenge (so a total of 9 - and you can be a multiple winner) so get to work! (There are lots of new CHA releases landing in the CP Store everyday!)

xoxo

Trish  

Rubbing Elbows with the Famous!

Remember THIS POST???

Well, I was shocked and honored to be in the Top 25... and pretty sure that given the amount of sheer talent on that list that I would not be receiving a call from Leah - so imagine my surprise when I visited The Nook  and received a Private Message from Leah saying "did you know that you didn't put your phone number on your application?" - so I quickly PMed her back with my phone number and jokingly told her she could call to chat anytime she wanted (meanwhile smacking myself in the head for being such a dolt and forgetting!) Next thing I knew.. the phone rang... I answered it.. and guess who???

Yes! Leah!!!

I was invited to be a Member of the Design Team at The Scrapbook Nook! I am still in shock! (I keep waiting to wake up to find it was a dream or for Leah to tell me that she got the wrong girl.. LOL! - and so that is why I haven't shared it here yet..well, that and some Typepad technical difficulties!) Of course I said "yes" and proceeded to chat poor Leah's ear off for the next million minutes! (yes, I need more adult interaction!)

I am joining a ridiculously talented group of ladies - Congratulations to them as well! (I am hoping some of their greatness will rub off!)

Amy Coose
Stacey Michaud
Camilla Ekman
Jenny Svensson
Nicole Martel
Susan Lui
Lady Grace Belarmino
Zarah Peterson
Celeste Smith
Becky Williams
Lori Mancini
Tanya Tahir
Leah Killian

If you haven't checked out The Nook , you should! Their kits are AMAZING and the forum is a friendly, no drama place to hang out and talk about our favorite hobby and share your life!

Here is the February kit:

This kit contains:
13 sheets of Basic Grey Origins double sided paper
1 sheet of Origins Stickers
1 Bella Boulevard Alphabet in Carla Bell Pepper Yellow
1 yard of pale yellow grosgrain
1 package of Bella Blooms
1 yard of Black velvet
Maya Road Chandelier pins
1 Basic Grey Origins "Writer's Block" tablet
1 yard of Prima lace

I hope to see you around!

xoxo

Trish

 

Stress Baking and Other Things..

Life has been pretty stressful lately around the Harwick household. Aaron has been gone for approximately 285 days -  

Lately, Hannah is pretty weepy, Hailey continues to refuse to stay in the car unless I am in it too (i.e. when I pump gas), Brody insists that Daddy is still at the store and Holly continues to think she is the only child in the house and is shocked and dismayed to find out each and every day that she is NOT! In addition, Brody has begun to call everyone an "a**" - which is funny, but not at his parochial daycare!

Work has been no better. Kids, kids, kids, everywhere! And I don't mean your average run of the mill "I am hunting for wabbits" kind of kids.. I am talking about kids with major issues... I might be back at SECEP (a job I left exhausted and swearing that I would never use my SLP degree again!)..

Typically, I stress eat.. and not healthy stuff either.. I am talking about cupcakes, cookies, muffins, chocolate bars... if the counters in my kitchen were made of chocolate, I would eat them... My love of eating sweets has led to a natural love of baking. I love combing the cookbooks and internet (sites like: Bakerella) looking for things to bake. Trouble was - I had this cruddy mixer (that smelled like it was going to blow up everytime I mixed anything thicker than gelatin)

and I had a limited audience... limited in that I would bake a batch of cupcakes, eat one, give one to each little person and have 20 left.. now, it just wouldn't be fair to leave those cupcakes uneaten, begging to be "good enough" to eat.. so I would eat them (I would like to blame my second chin and arm chub to this phenomena, but that would be only part of the truth! LOL!) So, I sat back, baking in my mind... dreaming of cookies and cream cupcakes, smooth, decadent cheesecakes and delicious cookies...

Then, Christmas came... I baked my traditional sugar cookies with the sad, burnt up mixer.. cursing all the way and swearing that I would be going on strike until I could find a way to get a real mixer! - and then Santa answered! My Mom was so sweet to get me this monster:

Let the baking begin!

At first I started baking because I wanted to play with my new toy.. and then I realized that the baking was quite relaxing and stress relieving! I could stir, crack and taste my stress away, for a fraction of the calories... trouble was, I needed to find a way to unload the goods! - What to do with 36 cupcakes? I could eat them.. I could let the kids eat them, but let's face it, I am already carrying 25 extra pounds or so and the kids need their teeth. 

Then, a lightbulb moment.. I had an audience.. I work at a school, a place full of premenstrual, postmenstrual, menopausal, happy, grumpy, fun and stressed WOMEN!  Even better, I figured that if I bring them the spoils of my experiments, if I stuff them full of sweets - they will get fatter, making me appear smaller  in comparison.. LOL!

Since receiving the Great White Miracle I have made more than my fair share of sweets! I have made:  

 
shortbread (this is fabulously delicious - melts in your mouth YUM!)

 
Smores Cupcakes  from Bakerella's website

Cookies and Cream Cupcakes  (omg.. these are FABULOUS - especially the icing!)
 

I have also tried and recommend these recipes (no pictures.. they were so yummy I forgot!)

Chocolate Chip Cookie Cheesecake Cupcakes

Dangerous Brownies (as I like to call them) 

Peanut Butter Cupcakes

and

Cake Pops  

Most have gotten rave reviews from my co-workers... or at least they are leaving the containers empty at the end of the day and I feel relief.. sweet relief!!

xoxo

Trish