Surfrider Beach Clean-up

Why is protecting the oceans so important... Here are a few reasons:

• The diversity and productivity of the world’s oceans is a vital interest for humankind.
• Our oceans are the largest ecosystems on Earth.  
• We need healthy oceans as they are the Earth’s largest life support systems to prosper. 
• You may not be aware, but our oceans generate half of the oxygen people breathe (so don't just thank the trees).  
• Ninety seven percent of the world’s water resides in oceans. 97% (wrap your head around that).
• In addition, our beautiful oceans provide a sixth of the animal protein people eat. 
• They’re the most promising source of new medicines to combat cancer, pain and bacterial diseases (the.most.promising.source.). 
• Living oceans absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and reduce the impact of climate change.

So the next time you are on a beach take a moment to say thank you to that sweet ocean, and not just for the memories that you are making while playing in it, but for all that the ocean does for you, your children, and your future...

If you are interested in things that you may do to save the oceans, National Geographic has a nice list.

Today our group volunteered to do our part in helping keep our oceans and beaches clean with the Surfrider Foundation. The Surfrider Foundation is a grassroots nonprofit environmental organization dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of oceans, waves and beaches through a powerful activist network.

With our fabulous children we spent the morning picking up debris at the gorgeous Tourmaline Beach, in La Jolla, CA. The kids found: a Christmas tree, treated lumber, rebar, pots, aluminum cans, pizza boxes, plastics, and decaying marine animals (this was a surprise to us but we encountered multiple animals: a seal, octopus, large fish head, and two dead birds).

It was a nice opportunity for the kids and parents to do something small to help. Every Saturday through-out the year in San Diego county the foundation organizes beach clean-ups. Many individuals volunteer and there are no special requirements or age limits to participate. I highly encourage you to participate if you are able and willing.

Thanks for making a difference.

Acts of Kindness with your Children

I just found a great list of acts of kindness to do with kids. Some are not ones you might do in March but they definitely get the ideas moving along.

1. Leave bubbles on a family’s doorstep.
2. Record a video love-note and text it to grandparents.
3. Send dessert to another family at a restaurant.
4. Pay for the drive-through order behind you. (Something about this makes kids giddy.)
5. Leave a note and candy or microwave popcorn on a DVD rental machine.
6. Help someone load their groceries into their car.
7. Visit a cemetery and tidy up overgrown headstones.
8. Go outside when the garbage truck comes and wave your little hearts out. (A toddler favorite!)
9. Tape change to a parking meter, or run around looking for any that are about to expire and buy the driver more time! (Be warned: Once you do this, your kids will want to do it every time you’re near parking meters. Not a bad thing, though…)
10. Dry the slides at the park after it rains.
11. Take in a neighbor’s trashcans—or the whole street of them!
12. When a sales rep knocks on your door, always give them something to leave with (even if it’s not the sale!). Think: bottles of water or Gatorade, a sleeve of cookies, a travel-size tube of sunscreen.
13. Pick up trash in your neighborhood or at the local park.
14. Take your child’s teacher a box of tissues or a bottle of hand sanitizers. (Teachers can never have enough of either!)
15. Offer everyone in a line a stick of gum.
16. Invite some children over for the evening so their parents can go on a date. (What child doesn’t love the excuse to hang out with friends in their jammies?)
17. This holiday season, buy a living Christmas tree. After you enjoy it indoors for a few weeks, your family can plant it outside. One less tree chopped; one more tree providing you clean air.
18. Bury treasure at the playground. A mason jar filled with small toys or goodies is sure to light up a child’s eyes sometime in the future.
19. Offer to pick fruit from an elderly person’s trees. If you see a tree laden with fruit and know your neighbor can’t attend to it, offer to pick it for them. Bonus: fruit for them and fruit for you!
20. Sponsor a child. Your monthly contribution covers medical and school fees, healthy food, and more. You can also send and receive letters from your child, which makes the experience much more real for children and adults alike. (We have made a commitment to sponsor two children and we would like to think that it is just as impacting to our children as it is to the two children we sponsor).
21. Trade your close-up tickets at a sporting event with a family in the nosebleeds.
22. Decorate the inside of your mailbox, so your mail carriers smile every time they open it. (We've left thank you notes for our mail service workers before. http://thankfullyinspired.blogspot.com/2012/03/mr-recycle-man.html)

I tell you this list is after my own heart.

You can find the more on the list and the original author here:
http://kidsstuffworld.com/2015/02/22-kid-approved-acts-kindness-can-week/ 

Compassion International Experience

Last week my kids and I went with some friends to a project that travels around the country: Change the Story, the Compassion Experience.  

We were able to experience the reality of children living in poverty at Change the Story, Compassion's new, interactive traveling display. 

We took in the sights and sounds of a poor, developing-world by walking through replicated rooms of two children's lives (one from the Philippines and the other from Kenya) and listening to their stories on audio. 

It was a wonderful experience that made a lasting impact on our lives. 

Animal Center

My daughter collected items for a local animal shelter for her birthday. Although this wasn't a Thankfully Inspired group event many of our members contributed to cause.

She was so proud. Her donations filled the bin and helped many homeless cats and dogs.

Our First Project. Operation Christmas Child

This past November we decided to participate in Operation Christmas Child. With our families we packed 37 boxes to be delivered across the world to children in need.

reborn

Life gets busy and blogging gets put on the back burner...

That's okay.

Life happens and I am not going to beat myself up over it (I know. Why in the hell would I beat myself up over that?! Yeah, well. I did.) .

For many months I would come here to post and I'd stop because I didn't know what to say or where to start. I haven't stopped being grateful nor have I stop reading quotes that inspire me. I just felt like I was leaving too much out. To me, blogging six months, 12 months, or even 24 months later was like watching your favorite book on film. It's never as good. Parts are always missing and people are never as hot or as tall as you imagined.

I digress.

Anyway, I'm back and have added a new spin the blog.

The spin off came about five months ago when I emailed some of my friends in the area (some of the most inspiring women I know, with hearts of solid gold) and asked them if they would be interested in joining a group that I wanted to create.

I invited them over, sweetened them up with red velvet cake and wine, and pitched my idea.

I wanted to create a group that did outreach projects with our families (mom, dad, brother, sister, cousin Joe, etc.). I felt like my kids didn't really see what we were doing to help others and I wanted them to participate in acts of caring.I wanted my children to see the world through honest eyes (life isn't always perfect; children are sick, people are homeless and hungry, the ocean is filed with waste, elderly are lonely, and animals have no homes). I wanted to create a community of people that would help me plant seeds of compassion in my children's, and their children's, hearts.

They agreed and the group was formed.

At first I didn't know what to call it, to call us. I tossed around a few names, but soon realized that the group had a name all along.

Thankfully Inspired was reborn.

Thankfully Inspired.
grateful hearts. helping hands.