12 Months of Kindness Challenge 2010

We are going back at it again- our 12 months of Kindness challenge for the year.  We've kept a few from last year and added on some new ones.  As you'll notice, some of our months require some planning (November), some require support from our family& friends (March, July) and others require almost no time/money at all (June- we'll be saving money!)

I hope by posting our list it inspires others to challenge themselves to 12 random acts of kindness; 1 a month! 

January:  Donation to the Local Food Bank

February:  Valentine's Day cookies for the local Fire Department

March:  March Madness tournament (Proceeds to the PA Special Olympics)

April:  Plant a tree (in honor of our new baby..due April 21st!)

May:  Studer Scholarship for Conemaugh Valley

June:  One-car family  (i.e. take more walks, bike rides, learn  public transportation options)

July:  Studer's Invitational Beer Olympics (Proceeds to Make-A-Wish)

August:  "Local-tarians"  (i.e. Only food from the Erie Region- farmer's market, brandon's hunts/catches, etc)
-Also, learn to make homemade baby food :)
-Also, learn to make homemade jam

September:  Donors Choose

October:  Trick or Treat for UNICEF

November:  CV Alumni Turkey Bowl 2010

December:  "Adopt a Family"
-Also, Holiday cookies for St. Mary's at Asbury

Welcome to the fam: New puppy Bullet

Brandon and I decided not to buy each other any Christmas gifts this year since we just had so much happen in the last few months (new house, new truck, new baby coming!!)  So instead, we decided to take a trip down to The ANNA Shelter (http://www.theannashelter.com/ ) and pick out a new puppy!  We had been looking at their site for awhile trying to guess which dog we would choose and we just couldn't make up our minds.  All of them looked so cute and sweet in their pics.  So, we finally made the trip to the shelter (in the middle of a snowstorm) to pick out our new pup!  After seeing the dogs, we of course wanted to bring them all home, but there was one little guy that stood out above the rest.  He wasn't barking at all and started licking our hands as soon as we came up to the cage.  After playing with him for a little while and talking with some of the workers there, we were madly in love. 

Our new puppy, Bullet is a 5month Brindle Pit Bull and the biggest baby you'll ever see.  So far, he loves chewing on anything he can pick up off the floor.  His chewing destruction has reached:  a candlestick, a popped balloon, a Christmas card, Brandon's snuff can, and the numerous cat toys.  He was such a good puppy during our NYE party and everyone was in love with him. 

Since we have a babe on the way, it was really important to us to make sure we were getting a dog that would be good with the baby.  So far, everyone we have talked to who owns pit bulls and all our online research has shown that they don't deserve the bad rep that they have through the media.  Pit bulls are actually knicknamed the Amercan "Nanny Dog."  The dogs in The Little House on the Prairie and The Little Rascals were Pit bulls.  And from what we've seen from Bullet so far- he aims to please and loves everyone he meets:)

"Home" for the holidays

We had a great holiday in our hometown; Johnstown this past weekend.  We got to spend time with both sides of our families even though it was a little hectic. 

We love the holidays mostly for the good cooking, funny stories/pictures that come out of everyone being together, and the anticipation of Christmas morning. Even though I'm grown and not really crazy about getting presents anymore; the anticipation of waking up early on Christmas morning is so much fun to me. Having a little man around next year who is just as excited as me to wake up early and open presents is going to be so fun next year!