Here’s an excerpt:

A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 2,400 times in 2011. If it were a cable car, it would take about 40 trips to carry that many people.

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As a mother of 5 I have answered the question ” Is Santa real?” several times. As my children grow into young ladies, they have all gone through the transition of a childish belief in magic and fairy tales to an understanding of adult-like reality. The reality that magic only happens when we make it happen. So my answer to the question has always been “Yes. Santa is real. YOU are Santa.”

We keep the spirit and magic of Santa a reality by sharing and giving to others. As each year passes and holidays come and go I always look for ways that I can be Santa in my community. By coming up with ways to include our children we teach them to keep the magic alive as well. Just this past week my littlest angel volunteered her time to sort Holiday Cards for Heroes at our local Red Cross. It was such a wonderful thing to watch as she and 12 other volunteers made a difference in the lives of 2000 soldiers as they got the cards ready to send to soldiers who may not be in the most festive of situations this year.

Being a part of a volunteer organization is a great way to be Santa in your community. If there is one thing that I would wish for all my fellow humans it is that each and every one of you find that warm fuzzy, magical feeling, that comes from sharing kindness with others. Try it…you will see it’s as addicting as the spiked egg nog.

Happy Santa Season to you all…may the new year bring you peace and courage to make positive changes in your lives and those lives that surround you.

One week later and the pantry system is getting to be habit. Grocery shopping with the hubby today was not painful. It was actually pretty quick. I had the list pre-made from the meal cards this time with a little help from the Middle Angel, so we were in and out in a flash with all of the items for the coming week.

I got a fabulous compliment from the Teen Angel as she helped clean up the kitchen after we ate home made pizza and garden salad. “I love eating at home with my family” she said.

I second that.

So…off my coupon rant. I was very proud of my purchases for the week. Not only does my pantry look tidy and organized, I bought food for 7 dinners, 7 lunches and 7 breakfasts at an average of $9.00 per meal. Not Per Person…thats for a family of 5 for 5 days and then 7 this weekend! With NO coupons! One trip to the store this week, except perhaps on Friday, I may have to grab another 2 gallons of milk. We have 5 kids…so it goes fast.

I think this is going to work out just perfect!

Pantry Before

Let me introduce you to my pantry. Every week we go through the same thing at our house. Complete disorganization when it comes to dinner has become the norm. I run to the store 3 or 4 times a week to grab something quick or we just end up eating out because the idea of trying to figure out what to have AND cook it is overwhelming.

During one of these crazy runs to the store I had a Pantry Epiphany! What if the pantry was so organized that it told me what we were having for dinner AND it went to the store with a list, and all I had to do was cook. That would be AMAZING! So I decided I would make it happen…and it was so.

Here is my DIY Pantry makeover.

What you will need:

Tools – Hot glue gun and scissors or paper cutter

Stackable Crates – The number of crates will vary depending on how large your pantry is. I bought 7 but ended up using only 6. Each one of my crates holds two days worth of dinner supplies plus one for school lunch foods and one for breakfasts.

Note cards and a card box for unused Meal Cards  - Have your family help you come up with about 20 meal ideas. On the front of each card write the main course and side dishes. On the back write the grocery list for that meal. Include anything special you need if from a specific recipe, like spices or flour etc. 

**As as side note you can also add self laminating sheets and a package of dividers for your box of cards if you like. I laminated the cards so they would stay flat and pretty for a long time.

Clothes pins – I bought a package of mini pins in the office supply area at Wal-mart. Use the hot glue gun to attach the pins to the crates. Each crate will have a clip for each set of meal supplies it holds. Mine have 2 each.

Once you have all the supplies and have gotten your meals planned out you are ready to get things organized.

Each week I pick out 9 cards. One dinner for each day of the week and 2 for Saturday and 2 for Sunday. (Lunch and dinner) Take your cards to the grocery store with you and you have a pre-made grocery list. by having a separate crate for breakfast items and school lunch items it’s easy to take a quick look and see if I need cereal or treats and chips.

Here is how it will look when you get it all together.

Pantry After

If life were fair he would die for killing her.

If life were fair children wouldn’t lose their mother.

If life were fair he would die for taking her from them.

If life were fair accidents wouldn’t happen.

If life were fair natural disasters wouldn’t kill.

But life’s not fair.

Fair is a place…and tragedy happens there too.

Because we can...

Remember that song? “This is Dedicated to The One I Love” Yeah…It’s not really my thing. So how about this one “You Light Up My Life“. Ok crap that’s not right either. I found this one,”Never Take You For Granted” maybe a little closer, but still not right. Where are all the love songs these days? I just want the perfect song to tell my husband how much I appreciate him.

“You and Me” Thanks Dave Matthews! That’s the song I dedicate to the one I love.

Those of you close to us know that The Boy Nigel was in a very bad motor vehicle accident while he was at work on the ambulance. I don’t know how many of you think about the dangers our public servants face every time someone calls 911, I know I think about it a lot more these days. I think about it everyday since July 8, 2011. For those of you who may not have caught this news, you can read about the accident here.  Ambulance vs.Dump Truck …I have one thing to say about this. PAY ATTENTION PEOPLE! Lights and sirens are supposed to save lives!

When I got the call that my husband had been in an accident and that he was being airlifted to our local hospital, my heart stopped beating. My whole world stopped right there in that moment. My brain was struggling to comprehend what I was hearing. He goes TO the accident. He’s not supposed to be the victim of an accident. He is the paramedic that saves people in accidents.

Only when I heard the words “he’s alive” did I resume breathing. I am so very thankful that those were the words I heard that day. The last month has been a constant reminder to me just how thankful I am. You see…I had not been thinking about how much I appreciate my husband. I took for granted all the things that he did for me every day.

What has changed? Everything.

He can’t drive, so he can’t run the Teen Angel to work or pick her up at midnight. He can’t go to the bank for me, or take the dogs to the vet. He can’t run to the store or go pick up his daughters for the weekend. He can’t lift heavy things for me or open the pickle jar when the lid is to tight. He can’t walk without a crutch and a knee brace so that takes up the use of his right hand when he is upright. He can’t open or close a door by himself. He can’t tie his shoes. He can’t mow the grass or run the vacuum. He can’t take a load of clothes to the washer. He can’t fold the laundry. He can’t sleep longer than 2 hours at a time because of the pain in his arm, so that means WE can’t sleep. He can’t hug me with 2 arms.

As he gets better and stronger I can assure you that I will never take for granted that he is so helpful to me. That he really is the husband that all the girls dream of. He’s not perfect, but he is perfect to me. Yes…he is domesticated and romantic ladies. Sorry honey, your secret is out.

This accident has changed him as it has changed me. Some things will go back to normal and he will be back behind the wheel, running me around. Other things are changed forever and as he gets better and stronger I will support him in what ever path he chooses to take at this crossroads in our lives. Life is to short to take each other for granted. Appreciate the hugs…that’s the part I miss the most.

** A special thank you to all of our friends and family who have been here during this difficult time. I appreciate you all so much!**

So I put together my “Bucket List”, more like half a bucket really, of the 10 big things that I want to accomplish before 2012. Here are mine. What are yours?

10. Take my new Jeep Liberty somewhere that I have to use the 4 wheel drive.

9. See The Foo Fighters live in concert.

8. Watch my oldest daughter swear in with the US Air Force.

7. Take a boat ride… to anywhere.

6. Go for a walk with my husband…minus the leg brace and crutch.

5. Go to a fancy party, with fancy people and wear fancy clothes.

4. See my Favorite Band: CAKE

3.  Get a special tattoo.

2. Make a “Mac-Scrapbook” of 2011.

1. Celebrate my 4 year wedding anniversary in Chicago with my handsome hubby.

See you soon friends! And that’s a promise.

During the last few days we have found ourselves smack dab in the middle of a really nasty disaster with the tornado that hit our neighbors in Joplin and I have found myself volunteering more full time than just a side-thing. Though it might seem small to me, I’m glad it’s something I can do to help; passing information along on the social media highway has become one of the fastest ways to communicate. It can make things happen…quickly.

I want to share with you something that is hitting me pretty hard. I am seeing so many people who want to physically help or who want to give items and the compassion for our neighbors makes me proud to be part of this community. It’s amazing to see! It’s also very hard to tell people that they need to contact the correct agencies before they just make that donation or jump in a car and drive the few miles over to help. I would never for a minute want to sound ungrateful for the outpouring of help that is incoming during a time of need. So here is my answer to the question I have seen at least once a day. Why can’t I help?

You can. The need is not going to end this week, next week, or even next month. The need won’t even end this year. I speak not only to this disaster, but to others as well. You can help and all it takes is being prepared and being patient. I have a badge with an ID number that says I have been through the classes and systems to become a Red Cross Volunteer. I am only trained in the administration areas, but they will train you in other areas. There are classes that happen on a regular basis so that when a disaster occurs, there is a Disaster Action Team ready to deploy. These people are trained to be first on scene and set up shelters. There is a very specific set of needs that are met by The Red Cross, as you can see on the American Red Cross website. If you are ready, you will be called based on your area of training and the needs to be met. I encourage you all to contact your local chapter and find out how you can become Red Cross ready!

So if you are not affiliated with an agency currently and you want to help, here is where the patience comes in. Speaking specifically to the need in Joplin, this is going to be a long term recovery project. The community will still need you next week or the week after. The agencies that organize the help can be found all over the internet, and those agencies are asking that you contact them and wait to be called. One of the best resources I have found is from FEMA, as it is really clear cut and easy to understand.

Do not be discouraged if you don’t get a call right away. There will be plenty to do. In the meantime if you are willing and able to do one thing, make a donation. Find a legitimate source to give even $10.00 and know that you helped make a difference. Click here to donate to disaster relief with Ozarks Red Cross.