Author: Anna Blankenheim

26 Random Acts of Kindness Revisited

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Let me start by saying this is a hard post to write because I really don’t want to come across sounding like I’m tooting my own horn. That was not my intention in blogging about my random acts of kindness at all… I was hoping to inspire others to do the same as well as get some press for some of the good causes I donated to. I actually found that the hardest acts for me to complete were when I came face to face with the person I was doing it for. There’s something really fun about leaving something for a stranger and then wondering about it.

I think that moving forward I’m going to try to do something like this more often, maybe even when I’m having a bad day. This whole exercise taught me just how easy it is to do something kind for someone else and made me more aware of the kind things people were doing for me, even if it was just holding the door open when my hands were full. It was also really neat to see how my acts of kindness impacted the people who helped – from the friend who gave me the clothes for the convalescent home to the barista who was touched by my note to the person behind me at Starbucks. I was tickled pink to have a friend tell me the other day that she and her husband were inspired to do their own twenty-six random acts – they’re spreading it out over the year. It just goes to show how something good almost has a ripple effect. I know there’s no way to erase the horror of Sandy Hook, but I hope in some small way that I made a difference in these twenty-six different acts.

Over the course of just under one month, these are the twenty-six random acts of kindness that I completed:

  1. Charlotte Bacon – taped a dollar bill to a vending machine
  2. Daniel Barden – left a Starbucks gift card in conference room
  3. Rachel Davino – bought stamps left for a stranger at the post office
  4. Olivia Engel – bought Starbucks for the person behind me at the drive through
  5. Josephine Gay – donated food and toys to the animal shelter
  6. Ana Marquez-Greene – left two movie passes for the next people to buy tickets
  7. Dylan Hockley – donated food to the local food bank
  8. Dawn Hochsprung – left a Cheesecake Factory gift card for the janitor at work
  9. Madeleine Hsu – left a Trader Joe’s gift card on a desk at work
  10. Catherine Hubbard – left a gift card for a free lunch in the cafe in a random place at work
  11. Chase Kowalski – bought In-N-Out for the person behind me at the drive through
  12. Jesse Lewis – donated three meals to Drive to End Hunger
  13. James Mattioli – donated to the Alzheimer’s Foundation
  14. Grace McDonnell – left a Spa Finder gift card in a mailbox
  15. Anne Marie Murphy – bought a stranger a dozen donuts
  16. Emilie Parker – left lottery tickets in a mailbox
  17. Jack Pinto – left a gift certificate for the next person at the garden center
  18. Noah Pozner – left quarters in the sticker machine at Safeway
  19. Caroline Previdi – bought a large pizza for the next person at the pizza place
  20. Jessica Rekos – paid for McDonalds for the next person in the drive through
  21. Avielle Richman – donated clothes to convalescent home
  22. Lauren Rousseau – gave a fern to the next person in line at Safeway
  23. Mary Sherlach – bought frozen yogurt for the next person
  24. Victoria Soto – left money for a gallon of gas at the pump
  25. Benjamin Wheeler – donated clothes to Goodwill
  26. Allison Wyatt – donated $26 to the Grace Foundation

Random Act #26: Allison Wyatt

Anna Blankenheim Random Acts of Kindness , , ,

Random act #26 is one that is very near and dear to my heart and combines both my love for horses and my wish to do some little bit of good in the world. Many of the children killed at Sandy Hook had a love for animals, so I think this one is really a great deed. I hold a special place in my heart for animals who, like children, cannot defend themselves. It breaks my heart to see the terrible things people do to animals. My own Shadow was neglected, as was my sister’s Lilah and both have shown nothing but love for us and our families.

The Grace Foundation is an animal rescue and rehabilitation ranch here in Northern California that provides care to abused and neglected horses. I had the pleasure of doing some volunteer work there a couple of years ago and fell in love with the animals and the Foundation’s charter. They take abused, neglected animals and rehabilitate them. They then use those horses as rehabilitation animals for disabled and at risk youth. It creates a sort of perfect circle – the animals helping the children and the children helping the animals in return:

Since its founding in 2004, The Grace Foundation has been dedicated to saving the lives of horses and other animals. Grace provides critical care and rehabilitation for abused and neglected horses, livestock, dogs, and other animals.

Many of these animals are then utilized for equine-assisted learning and therapeutic programs for youth and children. Since its inception, The Grace Foundation has helped thousands of kids who are at-risk or have suffered from abuse and neglect themselves.

Grace also offers programs for people of all ages that are struggling with autism and other physical and emotional challenges, as well as a variety of youth leadership programs and life science classes.

Sadly, the Grace Foundation had to close its doors to the public this last October due to an ongoing battle with the banks over funding. They are working to reopen their doors on February 1st but need the help of the public. I donated $26 to the Grace Foundation in honor of the Sandy Hook victims to try in some small way to help these animals. Click here to make a donation of your own – any amount helps and it all adds up!

Please share this with your friends, family, and coworkers. This is one of those truly selfless causes and your money goes directly to the care of the horses and upkeep of the ranch.

Random Act #26: Allison Wyatt
Random Act #26: Allison Wyatt

And just like that, my 26 random acts of kindness are done. I’ll post a recap in the next couple of days with some reflections along with what I’m doing going forward. Stay tuned!

Neurotic Eating

Anna Blankenheim Critters, Things That Make Me Go Hmm... , ,

Sometimes I really do wish my dog could talk. Those of you who have labs know that they’re notorious chow hounds. As in some people have to get special bowls to slow their dogs down.

My dog, on the other hand, thinks a little more about his food. He’s always done it. When Mike was working at the fire station and gone for several days in a row Shadow would go on a hunger strike. Sometimes he takes bits of food, carries them to a random part of the room, spits them out, and eats them later.

This is what his bowl looked like when I left for work this morning… I swear, I did not touch it at all. That’s right, he ate it right down the center. I wonder what he’s thinking!

Neurotic Eating
Neurotic Eating

Does anyone else out there have a dog who does this? Do you have any solutions? I don’t even know if it’s something that necessarily needs to be fixed – he’s healthy and happy, but I feel terrible when I leave for work and he hasn’t eaten all of his food!

Random Act #25: Benjamin Wheeler

Anna Blankenheim Random Acts of Kindness , ,

Today I completed random act number 25. One more to go! I donated some clothes and shoes to Goodwill… I had wanted to do a local women’s shelter that I’ve volunteered at before, but they have really weird hours/days that you can donate, so I went with Goodwill.

This act is in honor of Benjamin Wheeler, a six-year-old who loved swimming, soccer, and his big brother Nate.

Random Act #25: Benjamin Wheeler
Random Act #25: Benjamin Wheeler

Saturdays with Shadow

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I’ve decided to start a new segment on my blog called “Saturdays with Shadow”. Every Saturday I’m going to post a picture or funny story from the week about him. Since I now have the camera and Photoshop, expect to see more pictures… I’m having so much fun playing with both of them!

This picture is from the first day I had my camera… Shadow was in his pen and I took a zillion pictures. I was playing in Photoshop this morning and was able to crop and add some effects. I still have a lot to learn, but I like the result!

Shadow's Portrait
Shadow’s Portrait

Random Act #24: Victoria Soto

Anna Blankenheim Random Acts of Kindness , ,

Random act number 24 was to leave $5 on the pump at the gas station. This was in honor of Victoria Soto, a young teacher who died trying to save her students. You know how every now and then when something terrible like this happens, you sometimes find one person in that event that really touches you, maybe because you identify with them a little more than the others? Well, Victoria was that person to me in this tragedy. I don’t know what it is, but I found myself drawn to her story in all of the news reports. There is now even talk about naming a new elementary school after her!

Victoria
Victoria

Random Act #23: Mary Sherlach

Anna Blankenheim Random Acts of Kindness , ,

My 23rd random act of kindness was to buy frozen yogurt at work for the next person that came up wanting one. This is in honor of Mary Sherlach, the school psychiatrist at Sandy Hook Elementary School. She sprung into action when the gunfire started, running towards danger in an attempt to protect the children. Mary was known as the voice of reason, calm, and comfort in her circle of friends.

Random Act #23: Mary Sherlach
Random Act #23: Mary Sherlach

Creamy Tomato Pasta

Anna Blankenheim Cooking, Recipes , ,

Last night, in the midst of crazy crock potting, I tried a new recipe from Pinterest (click here for the original). It was a bit of a juggling act as it feels like you’re making two separate sauces, one of which needs constant stirring. It was fun to finally use my immersion blender! This was delicious, especially with the bit of fresh basil in it. Yum!

Creamy Tomato Pasta
Creamy Tomato Pasta

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds fresh tomatoes (about 9 medium)
1 small onion, finely diced
3 garlic cloves minced
1/4 cup minced fresh basil
olive oil

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 teaspoons flour
3/4 cup whole milk
1/4 cup half & half
2 garlic cloves peeled and crushed
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 pound farfalle or other short cut pasta

Instructions

Bring a large pot of water to boil for the pasta. Start the tomato sauce. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Score the bottom of the tomatoes, blanch in the boiling water for about a minute, cool and peel. Discard skins. Roughly chop tomatoes and set aside. In a small saucepan, sweat the minced onion and garlic in about a tablespoon of olive oil over medium low heat for about 5 minutes, until soft. Add the tomatoes to the onion and garlic. Blend the sauce with an immersion blender to make it thinner and to break down the tomatoes. Cook about 15 minutes until thickened.

While the tomato sauce thickens, add the pasta to the boiling water and cook according to the package directions.

While the pasta and tomato sauce are cooking, make the alfredo sauce. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour until smooth and cook about 2 minutes, until brown. Whisk in the milk, half & half, and garlic and season with salt & pepper. Continuously whisking, bring to a simmer and cook about 2 minutes until thickened. Fish out the garlic with a slotted spoon and discard. Whisk in the parmesan cheese. The sauce will be very thick, so add 1/3 cup of the hot pasta cooking water to the alfredo sauce to thin it out a bit. Remove from heat.

Drain the pasta and add to the alfredo sauce. Mix the basil into the tomato sauce and add the tomato sauce to the pasta. Mix well.

Random Act #22: Lauren Rousseau

Anna Blankenheim Random Acts of Kindness , ,

Today I completed random act number 22. I was buying the groceries for my crock-pot-a-poloosa and I saw this great little fern. I took it with me to the register and asked the checker if I could pay for it and then have her give it to the next person who came through that looked like they were having a crummy day. This is in honor of Lauren Rousseau, a thirty-year-old teacher who had recently become a permanent substitute teacher and died shielding her students.

Random Act #22: Lauren Rousseau
Random Act #22: Lauren Rousseau

Crock-Pot-A-Polooza 2013

Anna Blankenheim Cooking

A long, long time ago on Pinterest, I pinned a “recipe” for crock pots. Basically, this girl had pulled together five of her favorite crock pot recipes and “cooked” them ahead of time. The idea is that you do all of the work ahead of time, then freeze what you would put in the crock pot in gallon freezer bags. Then, you pull a bag out the day before you want your meal, let it defrost in the fridge overnight and then plop it in your crock pot in the morning.

I followed her directions and labelled and laid out all of my bags:

Bags Laid Out
Bags Laid Out

Then I started with the tedious part – the chopping of the veggies. I wish I would have taken a picture of them all laid out on the counter… it was impressive! Once I had the veggies chopped, I added the meat and spices to the bags. Then I sealed them up, squished out all the air and laid them flat in the freezer.

Completed Meals!
Completed Meals!

Pretty impressive, isn’t it? In total, it took me about an hour and a half from start to finish – not bad to have ten ready-made meals! I wrote on each bag the name of the meal, that it was meant for the crock pot, today’s date, and anything that needed to be added in the day of (more broth, water, etc). I’ll post the recipes as I try them… I don’t like to post them on here until I can give an honest review. Everything looked and smelled good though! If you want to see her blog, complete with recipes, click here!