bliss – Page 4 – Cairn by Cairn

Tropical Bliss

I found out last week that I needed to fly to Miami on Saturday and stay through Tuesday night. It sounds like a lot of fun to jet off to a tropical hot spot in November, but the reality of it was that I’d had a nice quiet weekend planned. I was going to have lunch with an old friend, scrub the house down, do my Thanksgiving shopping and just generally chill out. Unfortunately, in today’s economy when duty calls you have to go because decent jobs are tough to come by.

My flight from Chattanooga landed about 6:00 pm on Friday so I had enough time to run out and do my Thanksgiving shopping, do my laundry, and repack my bag before it was time to fall into bed. Saturday morning I headed off to pick Sean up at school. We had a nice lunch together and then he dropped me off at the airport. Once I was in the air, I had time to reflect upon how this might not be such a bad thing, after all even though we were working there should be time in the evenings to hang out and chill out and just relax. I’d done my research on the hotel and found they had a pool and a great patio with inviting looking sofas so maybe I could spend a few hours hanging out by the pool and reading or writing.

Those fantasies were not to come to fruition until Tuesday morning. My new boss had most of his new team on the ground and together for the first time and he wanted us to hang out together and get to know each other. I like my new boss and I like my new coworkers, but I also love my me time and heading into the holidays I knew it was going to be in short supply and that sofa on the patio looked so inviting.

My me time finally arrived on Tuesday morning when I arrived downstairs 45 minutes before we were supposed to head to the office. I didn’t see any of my coworkers at breakfast so I didn’t feel guilty

heading outside to claim one of the big comfy overstuffed chairs for my own. I leaned back, took a deep breath of the warm tropical air, closed my eyes and listened to the fountain. I felt all the tension ease out of my body as I enjoyed my brief tropical respite. After a few minutes of relaxing, I called a friend and enjoyed a good gossip session about all the insanity happening at work. Once our gossip session ended, I pulled out my trashy novel and spent 20 minutes soaking up the sun and reading.

Although I didn’t get all the me time that I’d hoped for, that 45 minutes of tropical bliss was more than enough to recharge my batteries and give me the boost I needed.

Self Directed Bliss

The economies in the toilet, people are losing jobs all over the place, and every indication is that it will be a long while before the economy recovers and companies start hiring again. A lot of my good friends have lost jobs due to the economic downturn and several of them are looking at it as a blessing instead of a curse.

One of my very best work friends was let go in August from a job he’d had for about 18 months. He’d spent the last several months in a situation that was uncomfortably close to mine: a younger boss who was clueless who felt threatened by his talents and his ability to build relationships. It seemed that nothing he did was right and every time he turned around he was getting dinged for some minor infraction of the unspoken rules (i.e. his boss didn’t like him and was out to get him). After the hell his boss put him through he was feeling relieved when the ax finally dropped and he was let go. He was also fortunate in that he’d just come into an inheritance that would sustain him and his family for a while.

I saw him for lunch a few weeks ago and rather than being upset and depressed about being out of work, he was choosing to see it as a positive and was investing time in his family, volunteering at his church, and working on his investments. The turn around in his bliss level in just three months was amazing. He was relaxed, confident, and back to the old joking self that I’d come to appreciate.

Another friend of mine works in the Miami office of my company and she’s been notified that her last day with the company is 3/31/09. I was amazed when I saw her this week and found that she was amazingly happy and up beat. She’s making plans for a future that doesn’t include corporate America. She’s been prototyping jewelry for the last few months and is working on creating a web-based business selling her designs. The happiness flowed off of her as we talked and I felt happier just being around her and listening to her plans for the future. She told me that she was looking at her release from her current position as a sign that she should follow her bliss (okay, my word and not hers) and work on creating her own reality. Like my other friend, she’s fortunate in that she has the financial resources to live without a “real” job for a while.

Basking in my friends happiness, I almost wished that I’d get laid off so that I could work full time on creating my own bliss instead of spending 40 to 50 hours a week working for the benefit of a company. Unfortunately, I’m not in the position to do that, but the lessons in bliss I’ve learned from my friends is that happiness comes from following your dreams and being master of your own time and not slaving for someone else. Applying that to my own life means that I need to draw boundaries around my work life and home life and spend my own time working on the things that are important to me.

Cuban Bliss

Three days in the semi-tropical paradise known as Miami made me believe that Latin Americans really know how to cook. In the three days we were there, we gorged ourselves on awesome Cuban, Brazilian, and Peruvian food. I missed Texas de Brazil the first night in town, but my team is pretty congenial so two of my teammates took me out for a late Cuban dinner and I had beef with onions and black beans and rice, the food was incredibly tasty and even though it was late out, we indulged ourselves in a little Cafe Cubana.

I’m not a coffee drinker, but I will always swill down the incredibly sweet, rich coffee favored in Cuba. It is made like expresso but with sugar added to the brew and it is potently rich. It is usually served in very small cup or shot glasses and it is meant to be savored. Drinking it fills your body with a very intense rush of caffeine and more than one cup will give you the jitters and a serious headache. One of my friends and I both made the mistake of downing three shots of Cafe Cubana in less than an hour and although we both suffered for our over indulgence, it wasn’t enough to make us give up the Cafe Cubana.

We headed back to the Cuban restaurant for lunch the next day and indulged in a feast fit for all of our senses. I indulged in flank steak with chimichurri sauce, ceviche, and plantains. Chimichuri sauce is a mix of parsley, olive oil, and red peppers that is drizzled over the flank steak to create the most amazing flavor. I’d first discovered Chimichurri sauce in Chattanooga of all places and I’d been a fan every since. I often make my own and drizzle it over steaks, but it’s never quite as good as what you get in restuarants. Ceviche is fish cooked in lemon juice and it becomes the most amazingly tender fish you’ve ever put in your mouth. I’ve learned to love certain types of sushi, but I loved ceviche from the first bite I put in my mouth. Plaintains are to Latin America what potatoes are to Ireland and they are served in a variety of ways from mashed like potatoes to fried to cooked with a little brown sugar. We indulged ourselves in sampling all the different ways that plantains were cooked.

Our food fest continued throughout our visit to Miami and on my last day in the land of sun and cigars, one of my good friends took me out to a Peruvian restaurant and we enjoyed a feast. We had Peruvian corn, which has much larger kernels than typical US corn, a wonderful cheese sauce with potatoes, and ceviche. The food was all fresh and tasted delicious and while we were at lunch we talked about life, love, and the wonders of self discovery.

All in all, the food, the fun, and the sun were all blissful in Miami.

Welcoming Bliss

I’ve been traveling the last two weeks and arriving in Chattanooga this week, I was fortunate enough to witness a father’s homecoming. I had no idea how long he’d been traveling or where he’d been, but I did know that he was loved and honored because after he cleared security, two little girls screamed Daddy and launched themselves into his open arms. Homecomings are played out hundreds of times a day at airports, train stations, and homes across the country and despite their similarities, each one is special and unique.

Witnessing these two little girls welcome their daddy home, got me to thinking about how wonderful it was to come home and be welcomed with open arms. To know that someone loves you unconditionally and is really glad to be reunited with you. Reflecting, I realize that I take homecomings for granted and don’t acknowledge how fortunate I am when my loved ones come home to me or when I come home to them. My daughter flew home from DC several weeks ago and I didn’t take the opportunity to tell her how glad I was that she’d gotten to have the experience of going to JEA and how glad I was that she came home.

As the days tick down until the holiday season, thoughts of family fill the air and I realize how lucky I am to have a husband and two kids who love me and who are glad I’m home. I might not get the cliched homecoming, but I know I have folks who love me and are glad I’m home and in the end that’s really all that matters.

Comfortable Bliss

Old shoes may not be glamorous, but it is sure comfortably blissful to slip your feet into a pair of shoes that have molded themselves to fit your feet perfectly. Sometimes in our search for bliss, we assume that bliss is something to be found and not something we already have. There are so many blissbringers in this world that bring bliss precisely because they are comfortable. Here’s a list of my top 10 comforting blissbringers:

Snuggling back into the covers on a cold winter morning when you realize you have 10 or 15 minutes before you absolutely have to get up. I can’t sleep in a hot room, so I generally leave the window open as late as possible into the fall so that the bedroom is a little bit chilly at night. This morning I woke and realized that it had surpassed chilly and was downright frigid. I hustled out of bed to shut the window and then climbed back beneath the covers that were still warm from my body heat. I snuggled under my microsuede comforter that I got from Goodwill and just relaxed and let my mind wander.
Friends that you can pick up the phone and continue a previous conversation with without having to regroup and bring them back up to speed.
Inside jokes. I work with people from both our plants and headquarters and the folks at one of the plants play buzzword bingo when they have meetings with us and tick off the buzzwords as we say them. They consider me one of their own so they shared the game with me and now when I’m in a meeting with both corporate and plant folks, ever so often I’ll send a text during the meeting saying “bingo” and we all understand what that means.

Old shoes that fit perfectly and feel as if they were made for your feet.

Spaghetti with tomato sauce and Parmesan. This isn’t some fancy pasta dish, it’s just pure comfort food that reminds me of being a kid at my grandmother’s dinner table and the pure heaven that her pasta brought.
Snuggling in front of the fireplace on a cold winter’s day. Watching the flames is highly hypnotic and can put me into a snuggly warm state.

Days without running errands, chores, or playing taxi driver. Every so often, I will be lucky enough to get a day that I get to spend at home without having to go anywhere. Those are perfect days that are lazy and fun and very relaxing.

Soaking in a hot bathtub with music playing and no responsibilities.

Chocolate pudding eaten while it is still sorta warm and not quite set up yet.

Snuggling with my husband. I feel so safe when I snuggle up with him as if nothing could hurt me and as if I’m safe from all the cares of the world.

My blissmakers are comfortable and satisfying and bring complete happiness.

Tech Bliss

Technology gets a bad rap as you hear everyone talking about how we’re disconnected from our fellow human beings because we’re so wrapped up in technology. How we’re texting during conversations, how we’re talking on cell phones all the time, how we’ve become isolated by technology. However, what everyone fails to mention is that at the other end of those texts and phone calls is a real live human being that we’re connecting with. Personally, I feel more connected than ever because technology lets me share my experiences as I’ve having them, versus after the fact.

Caitlin is one of the biggest Beatles fans in the world and I was fortunate enough to be able to visit Abbey Road two years ago and due to technology, I was able to call her from Abbey Road and share the experience with her as it was happening. If I would have had a camera phone, I could have snapped a picture and sent it to her instantaneously. That is the power that technology has to connect people.

I connected with one of my oldest friends from outside of Koldinghus castle in Germany. It was incredibly cool to call her from the castle and tell her all about Denmark and share my experience with her. Because I usually end up traveling alone, it is wonderful to be able to share my experiences with people as I’m having them.

Technology also keeps me connected to my kids as they travel. Caitlin is in Washington D.C. this week and we’ve been getting text messages from her all week updating us on her trip. We’ve also texted her and when we ran into one of her friends at a restaurant we texted her and said, “Vlad says hi.” At first she didn’t believe that we’d actually run into him, but once I snapped a photo with my camera phone and sent it to her phone, she said to tell him hello.

Sometimes when you’re out and about you see something that makes you chuckle and you want to share it with someone. I was out the other night and came across a copy of the book, “Things Drunk People Say.” It made me think of an associate of mine who has a penchant for calling people drunk and saying stupid things. I was able to snap a cover of the book cover and send it to another friend with a note, “Does this remind you of anyone?” Maybe it was mean, maybe it was catty, but it was real and genuine and it let me and a friend share a virtual chuckle.

I agree that some of us are addicted to our Crackberries and spend way too much time checking our work email, but there is true bliss to be had in technology to connect with our loved ones and share what’s going on in our world with them.

Twenty Blisses

I’ve got the Blues again and rather than make you all sit and listen (okay, I know you really don’t listen, but indulge me) to me whine, I figure I’ll do a quick list of 20 Blisses to see if that makes me feel better. A Bliss list is kinda like a gratitude list, but it’s really all about the things that make me feel good and calling it a bliss list lets it be all about self indulgence instead of the things that “I should” be grateful for. So here’s my list of 20 blisses for the day:

My “Together We Can” plaque that was presented to me by the first KUDOS class in the history of the world. Looking at it makes me remember all the fun we had getting together and learning and playing together. It also reminds me of the incredible things I can accomplish when I put my mind to it.

My drawing from Amsterdam that I picked up at the flea market. It reminds me of the beautiful day I spent in Amsterdam cruising the canals, indulging in good food, and seeing Europe.
My wonderful daughter who is so grown up and smart. She’s on her way to DC today for a Journalism Education Association Conference. I’m so proud of how independent and smart she is.
My smart and witty son who is living independently and working very hard to make his way through college.
My loving husband who loves us and is always there for all of us. And who goes out with my friends even when he doesn’t really want to.
Chester and Amedeus, Caitlin’s piggies are adorable and I love the little “wheep wheep” sound that they make. We moved them to the living room while Cat is in Washington, DC and it’s kind of fun to have them down here.
People who believe in me and go to bat for me even when other people are trying to cut me down and keep me from achieving my dreams.

Being able to afford to put our kids through college and send them on excursions like Cat’s trip to DC.
Living in a free country where we can speak our minds, choose the lives and loves we want, pursue happiness.

A beautiful house that keeps us warm in winter and cool in the summer.
Getting to see my buddy Alison today. It always makes me incredibly happy to see her and hang out with her.
the Internet. I know it sounds incredibly shallow, but hanging out on the Internet makes me happy.

The ability to create Websites, write books, and generally be crafty.

Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate…’nuff said.

Old friends and new who are there to listen and be there for me.

Awesome TV shows like Glee that make me laugh and cry at the same time.

Fires in my fireplace that make me feel warm and cozy inside and out.

Luke, my Aussie/Collie mix who is always happy to see me.

The fact that I got the chance to see London and visit the Tower of London and the rest of London’s treasures.

A job. That sounds really lame, but in today’s world I’m happy I have a job to go into that pays the bills.

Despite the crappy start to my day, the fact that I got the opportunity to reset my day to a more blissful ending by taking some time to think about the things that bring me bliss.

Jambalaya Bliss

Growing up we were a meat and potatoes kind of family with little experimentation in the kitchen. Once I got out on my own, started traveling the World, and watching the Food Network, I realized there was more to life than meat and potatoes and started exploring with the tastes of many nations. I’m still fairly conservative around food, but I am getting more adventuresome and will go for sushi on my own and absolutely love ceviche.

One of the dishes I’ve discovered is Jambalaya. The mixture of meats, spices, and vegetables is tantalizing. I’d never eaten jambalaya in a restaurant, but I’d heard about it and wanted to try it so when I found a Rachael Ray 3o minute or less recipe, I ventured onto the wild side and gave it a whirl. My son and I fell in love with Jambalaya over that very first pot (Caitlin loves the taste, but as a vegetarian, I have to make her veggie only jambalaya). Over time, my recipe has evolved a little from Rachael’s into it’s own dish.

My Super Special Jambalaya

2 cups cooked white rice
2 tbs butter
2 tbs olive oil
1 lb chicken breast cut into bite sized pieces
3/4 Andouille sausage diced with the skin removed (you can make this with chorizo, but Andouille is best. They sell it at Whole Foods)
1 small onion diced
2 stalks celery diced
1 green pepper diced
14 oz diced tomatoes in sauce
14 oz chicken stock
2 to 3 tbs of flour
6 oz (1/2 bag) of frozen okra (fresh works too, but frozen is easier to find)
1 lb shrimp (I use frozen cooked and take the tail off)
Red pepper to taste
Cumin to taste
Salt to taste
Cayenne pepper to taste (optional)
Creole seasoning to taste(optional)

Melt the butter along with the olive oil in a large pan (frying pan with a lid works best) on medium heat. Once the butter is melted, cook the chicken until it is browned and then add the sausage. Cook together for five to 10 minutes or until the sausage is cooked.

Add the onion, celery, and green pepper to the pan with the chicken and sausage. Cook for about five minutes until the vegetables are soft. Sprinkle the flour on the pan and cook for three more minutes.

Stir in tomatoes, broth, and spices and cook about 4 more minutes. Add the shrimp and okra and cover. Let cook until the shrimp and okra is cooked (5 to 10 minutes).

Serve the jambalaya over white rice and enjoy a little bit of Louisiana bliss.

Bliss 100

A little over five months ago, I posted my very first post on balance and bliss. At that time, I had no idea where my life was going to take me or what I was going to find on my journey, but I knew that somehow I had to make a concentrated effort to find bliss and balance in my life. I had asked the Gods in China to “help me find my bliss,” but I never made a concentrated effort to seek out bliss.

This is my 100th posting on bliss and my life has changed over the past five months and I’ve realized that the more focus I put on bliss, the more blissful my life becomes. A lot has changed over the last five months and I attribute a lot of that to my focus on becoming more blissful. There was a period of about two weeks when I wasn’t blogging on a regular basis and my life was out of balance and I was more unhappy than I’d been in a long time. So looking back over the past 99 post, I’d like to share with you some of the ones that have meant the most:

Sixty Days of Bliss–I still haven’t quite finished all of my thirty blissmakers, but what I realized as I focused on accomplishing each of them in turn was how much pleasure those simple things really brought to my life. Spending time with my family, a good massage, traveling, all of those things make my life richer and fuller and the pursuit of bliss added bliss in unexpected ways.

Bliss Tea and Strawberry Bliss–Reminded me of amazing times I had discovering the foods of the world and how simple things when savored can bring tremendous amounts of bliss.

Seventeen Blissful Memories and BatBliss–Reminded me again exactly how lucky I am to have two such amazing children. They are both thoughtful, loving, and intelligent and they make me proud every single day.

Bliss Mountain–This was one of my all time favorite posts as it detailed an amazing journey I took with my daughter through the Blue Ridge mountains. It was an incredible trip as we had no real agenda and just drove where ever the road took us. I felt like I learned a lot about my daughter and about myself on that trip.

Twenty Nine Days of Bliss–This chronicled my trip through the 29 days of giving and I still haven’t assimilated the lessons learned and determined how if anything the 29 day challenge changed my life.

Overall, my blog has added a tremendous amount of joy to my life as I’ve found myself focusing on the people who matter and on bringing joy into my own life. The one thing I do know that I need to keep focusing on is building my relationships with my family and on prioritizing my life so that they take center stage.

Twenty Nine Days of Blissful Giving

I stumbled across the site 29 Days of Giving and as I was reading the stories about how giving could change your life and make you think about others instead of yourself. I decided that I’d participate and reflect on whether or not the 29 Days of giving changed my life. My list of 29 gifts is below and I’ll write a seperate post to about the impact the 29 Days of Giving had on my life.

Day 1 (10/4)–I made homemade beef stew and homemade chicken soup and boxed some of it up for my son Sean to take back to college with him. It made me feel good to know that even though he’s away at school, he would still be enjoying Mom’s home cooking.

Day 2 (10/5)–As I was getting into the elevator this morning, another lady got on with a beautiful green and blue blouse on. I complimented her on her blouse and although she did the typical, “This old thing” denial, I could tell she was pleased by the compliment as she got off the elevator with a smile on her face.

Day 3 (10/6)–It is three days before payday and hubby is out of cigarettes. I scrounged up (okay) borrowed some money and went out and got him cigarettes. I’m not sure this really counts as a good deed or not as smoking isn’t good for him, but it was something that he wanted and I went and took care of it for him. I also got the dog ice cream on my way back.

Day 4 (10/7)–I took my dog for a walk today. That doesn’t sound like a big deal, but although my dog loves to walk, he is the worst walker in the world and it is a huge chore to walk with him. I know that the more time I spend walking with him the better, but it feels like a battle royal every time I take him. It was worth it to see how happy he gets.

Day 5 (10/8)–My son came home from college (downtown Chicago) to get some books and I drove him back to school rather than make him take the train. It was actually nice as we got a chance to talk about life, school, and a bunch of other things.

Day 6 (10/9)–I bought cinnamon bread at the bakery my daughter works at and took it in for the folks at work. This was a twofer as I was helping out a local business that has been very good to my daughter and I was making the people at work happy.

Day 8 (10/10)–Caitlin is a very independent young lady and since she has gotten a job, she’s been very good about paying for her own extras like haircuts, dances, etc. Her homecoming dance was this weekend and decided to treat her to a haircut and to the ticket to the dance. It felt good to know that she was going to have a little extra money to spend on something else she wanted and I made sure she knew that I did appreciate her taking care of the little things.

Day 9 (10/11)–I gave myself the gift of reading brain candy for a few hours. I’ve been working really hard at getting my book put together, my site set up, and everything else so I decided to take a few hours off and escape to another reality.

Day 10 (10/12)–I took time to help out a coworker who was trying to dial into a remote training session. It wasn’t my training session, but since I was at HQ and she was in Chattanooga, I was able to get to someone who could help her.

Day 11 (10/13)–I held the door for a lady who was maneuvering a big stroller out a small door. That’s a really little thing, but I know from when I had kids that it is a little thing that can mean a whole lot.
Day 12 (10/14)–I wrote a blog entry about what a great mom my mother was and took the time to dig through our photo albums to find photos of her pre-child so that she knew I recognized her as a person and not just an extension of her family.
Day 13 (10/15)–I blogged about ways to save the planet and how my family and I are green. This is a way to share my knowledge with other people and hopefully will inspire other people to do their part to save our world.
Day 14 (10/16)–A friend of mine asked me to do some shopping at our corporate merchandise sale today so I took care of getting her things and getting them shipped to her.
Day 15 (10/17) –I let a lady go in front of me at the dollar store She walked up and had her arms full of goodies. I know what it’s like to go to the store for one or two things and end up walking out with an armful of stuff. She was genuily appreciative and thanked me several times.
Day 16 (10/18)–I let the dog eat the leftover roast beef. He’d been so patient waiting for us to eat it and sniffing around that I decided he deserved a treat so I gave him what was left of the meat and potatoes. I also took myself and the dog for a walk tonight even though I was exhausted and really just wanted to go to sleep.
Day 17 (10/19)–I bought Cat coffee and a breakfast sandwich this morning even though I’m broke until payday AND she hasn’t cleaned the upstairs hallway like I’ve been asking (read begging) her to for weeks. I was rewarded by a candid conversation about lies one of her “friends” has been telling her.
Day 18 (10/20)–I went to the chiropractor and got my back cracked and my muscles massaged. I’m trying very hard to get in shape and to actually take care of my body. This one counts as something I did for me.
Day 19 (10/21)– One of my best friends is going through some tough times and I spent some time writing a blog entry about how much he means to me and how much he’s helped me through the years.
Day 20 (10/22)–I pulled together training for one of my friends because he was scrambling to get it done in time to meet his deadline and he didn’t have anyone to do it. I spent a couple of hours doing the research and developing the training for him. I also did some dat a dumps from SAP to facilitate a project he was working on.
Day 21 (10/23)– I found this really cool recipe to make Batman Soap online and I made Batman soap for my Batfiend and, as a bonus, I made my mother some really awesome body butter.
Day 22 (10/24)–Someone I knew was in the line at the grocery store and didn’t have enough to cover her charges so I rushed forward, whipped out my ATM card, and felt like Wonder Woman as I rescued her. She offered to pay me back, but I turned her down because the awesome feeling I got from helping her out felt way better than getting my money back.
Day 23 (10/25)–I let Caitlin drive home from work. She just got her learner’s permit and she hasn’t yet driven with her instructor yet, so I’m still nervous about letting her drive. However, today I took the plunge and let her drive. She did very well and I’m sure that as she gets more confident she will do even better.
Day 24 (10/26)–I took John to the doctor this afternoon and filled all the forms out for him because he hurt his left hand so he couldn’t write.
Day 25 (10/27)–I took Luke for a walk tonight. It is amazing how much he loves to go for a walk and how excited he gets by the simple things in life.
Day 26 (10/28)–I went to my chiropractor tonight and let myself relax and enjoy the manipulation and the heat that went on my back. It felt really good to just lay there and let the heat and stim do their job on my back. This was a way of giving back something good to myself. When i as at the chiropractor’s, I noticed that one of the nurses had on a beautiful set of scrubs with lace embroidery on them. As we talked, she said that she’d bought the one set and hadn’t been able to find another pair. Someone suggested looking on line and she said she hadn’t had time. I took the time to search online and send her some links as to where she might be able to find them online.
Day 27 (10/29)–I went out with some people from work tonight and when I was done, I came home and made Jambalaya for our food fest tomorrow. This was an act of giving of myself to those I work with as I thought about how nice it would be to build a sense of community with my team mates.
Day 28 (10/30)–Every Halloween my family reads the “Dead List” to pay tribute to those who have gone before. Part of our tradition is remembering people from the past who have influenced us or touched our lives in some way. The people we remember are often people who had no voice when they were alive and who were the victims of genocide, violence, or intolerance. By remembering them, we remember their lives and pay tribute to their sacrifice. We also teach each other a lesson by promising to do what we can to stop intolerance and violence in our world.
Day 29 (10/31)–The last day was the absolute easiest of the giving challenge because it was Halloween so we were giving out candy to children all evening long.