floral obsession...

ok...here it is. My obvious floral obsession

Mom's Yard

And that my friends, is why I do not need to buy plants at the store. I love my mama and her green thumb and was lucky enough to have inherited it.

But there's no V in Coconut!

My son is 5.5 and is learning the about the letter "Vv" in pre-school this week. Determined to have some mommy time with him on my day off I decided I would take him on a "Vegetable" field trip. After the trip, I found myself with fruits and veggies that I had no idea what to do with. Enter Whole Food's Iphone recipe applicaqtion. Have you ever wondered what to do with the three or four items you do have on hand? I simply typed in Kale, Collard Greens and Viola! A recipe! A really good recipe. Would you believe I just so happened to have a fresh Coconut on hand? What luck!

So tonight we were introduced to Coconut Milk Braised Greens (Kale, Collard Greens and Onions) and I loved it! Next time I'm going to add almonds and garlic, YUM!

funny shirt

is not crating the dogs in an effort to sleep past 6 a.m.

Remember November 6th Project - Progress

You should read the "little things make a small difference" blog post below for this to make sense...

44 oz of mountain dew, 4 hours and $376.00 later I have been able to purchase:

8 Twin Comforters
10 Curtain Panels (5 windows)
10 Pillows
2 Twin Quilts
9 Twin Sheet Sets

for the Goodwill Family Shelter!! I still have $223 to spend out of a $600 (two double room) donation from one organization - the Independent Insurance Agents of Evansville.

With the help of two great friends (Angie and Alita) I was certainly able to put a dent in our list tonight. Jet came along too. He was as patient as a four-year-old could possibly be while shopping for bedding and curtains at four different stores for four hours! Mommy bought him some play dough for his help.

I'll keep you posted. Meanwhile, if you want to help email me at bellof76@gmail.com.

Little things can make a big difference

November 6th, 2008 marks the third anniversary that an F3 tornado traveled 41 miles through Vanderburgh and Warrick Counties in Southwestern Indiana, killing 25 people. Alongside several hundred other volunteers, I helped to clean up the devastation left in it's wake. For those that survived that fateful night but lost a child or loved one, the pain is still very much there.

The Remembering November 6th Committee is reaching out to help others in need this year by refurbishing The Goodwill Family Shelter in our city. We have several rooms sponsored so far and the donations continue to exceed our expectations. If anyone is interested in helping please email me: mandy@lynnbrookeins.com.

We have spread the word and several kind-hearted businesses in town are rallying the troops! Several organizations are giving of both their time and money. We are encouraged to have support and are looking forward to helping preserve the mememories of those that were lost while honoring them on November 6th with the work we are doing at the shelter.

I will be posting pictures of our progress at the shelter and as usual will be giving the play by play on twitter!

November 6, 2005

I was watching it all on TV, waiting for my husband to get home so that I could go check on my grandmother who lived a block east of Angel Mounds. Angel Mounds is a stone's throw from the mobile home park that was nearly completely destroyed. They had said it was headed straight for her. My husband came home from work around 2:30 am, and went to check on her (he would not let me go!) Our son was almost 2, and sleeping soundly at that time of the morning.

It took several hours to reach her but my Grandma was ok. She had slept through the entire storm. Houses were completely destroyed just blocks away.

The next morning I felt so helpless...I just knew I had to do something, anything to help. I fully expected to hear from the non-profit I was working for at the time but they never called. Instead, I called two girlfriends and we hopped in my husbands truck. Cell phones and phone books in hand we just started calling businesses and they were more than willing to help. We called Papa Johns in Village Commons (truck load of pizza), McDonalds on Main Street(truck load of cheeseburgers), and we filled up the back of the truck with warm food for the relief workers several times over. Panera Bread on Burkhart kept the coffee flowing and donated untold gallons. Walmart on Burkhardt loaded the back of our truck with as much water and snacks as it could hold several times. We distributed the food to the Eastbrooke mobile home park and to the CVS in Newburgh, where the firefighters and rescue workers went for breaks. I actually hauled Firefighters in my truck form the mobile home park to various relief stations.

Here is the special section of the local paper dedicated to the victims of the tornado:
http://www.courierpress.com/photos/galleries/2006/nov/06/tornado-coverage-gallery/767/
I just wanted to share my memories and to let others know these businesses are remarkable, they said "How fast can you get here," "We'll make as many as we can," others said "Please come and get whatever you need." I am proud to have these businesses in my community.

I read something at the holocaust museum in Washington DC while in college that changed my life: Never doubt that a small group of committed citizens can change the world. Indeed it's the only thing that ever has. - Margaret Meade

Never feel too small, little things can make a difference.