TheFATladyBlog

100 Gifts of Presence

In the past couple of weeks I answered two challenges at another blog: I compiled 100 Reasons for Gratitude and 100 Things That Make Me Smile. Both of those challenges were posted by Coach Joeann Fossland ... and I am reading a similar challenge in the subtext of a blog post she published today. I thought that this would be a good venue for another organic blog post challenge that has the flavor of the holiday. Presence vs. Presents. Hmmmmm.....

1. Volunteering in a Soup Kitchen on Christmas. This is something I have always wanted to do ... I will be in Tucson this holiday and my family is back east and in Texas, so I think that I will volunteer in a local soup kitchen for Christmas. I just did a Google Search and found one! Casa Maria! I will call them later.
2. Bread for the Holidays. I LOVE to bake bread ... I often make up to 10 loaves at a time. I will set a goal to make 50 loaves of bread each week and bring them to the soup kitchen. I will start today with a dark pumpernickel.
3. Soup. I LOVE to make soup. I will find out where some of the local homeless are camping out later this week and bring some soup ... back in Bethlehem there was a local homeless campout hidden away under a bridge near Burnside Plantation. If anyone can steer me in the direction of a homeless camp here in Tucson, I would appreciate the information.
4. Photo Albums.  I have tens of thousands of photos that I have taken over the last few years. I will assemble some special albums online for friends and family.
5. Calendars.  I got this idea from Joeann. She makes calendars for her family using digital photos ... I will do that this year after I find a program that lets me do that.
6. Laughter. There have been times of special challenge, friends and family with health crises, when laughter was prescribed and premeditated. Why not instigate some laughter in times of joy as well! Breaking the laugh meter on a regular basis is a VERY good thing! Take a serious moment and discussion and make someone laugh.
7. Discard Negative Words and Thoughts.  I found myself deleting whole lines in e-mails today ... a wrenched back brought me to a cranky place ... I even deleted whole e-mails because the tone was less than lovely ... some of them slipped through ... I will do better tomorrow and in the days ahead. I prefer that people receive communication from me as a warm embrace.
8. Sharing Inspiration. Paul Chaney is a friend in the Blogosphere who shared this gem on Twitter this morning ... talk about a nice way to start the day!!!
9. Photos of Houses Dressed for the Holidays. I did this in Bethlehem, PA. I took some nice shots of homes, posted them on a blog, and then made 5x7 prints that I sent to the homeowners with a handwritten note. I also attached an envelope with an invitation to the homeowner to send a gift to a local homeless shelter in the spirit of holiday giving. It was part of a "Pay It Forward" challenge that Joeann Fossland issued at a Business Planning Retreat (this lady conjures up some remarkable energy 8-).
10. Start and Manage a Philanthropic Blog. We started several blogs in 2006 ... will get back to work with them this month! (Here is info about the Inspiring Woman Blog.)
11. Launch a Blog Tour.  Earn money for your favorite charity.  Last year Real Estate Coach and Blogger Joeann Fossland went on a coast-to-coast Blog Tour for CARE and she ended up in the Andes! (I was with her for both trips.)
12. Start a Blog. If you do not have a blog yet, get a FREE blog at the best place in the Blogosphere at RealTown Blogs.
13. Connect With Family ONLINE! I have nine nephews and a niece. Most of them are online at Facebook or MySpace. I am not on MySpace, but I have connected with several nephews, their wives, and girlfrieds on Facebook. I even met my son's girlfriend on Facebook before we met in Columbus, OH, a couple of months ago. These kids and young adults are scattered from New Jersey to Pennsylvania, Ohio, Texas, California, and Japan. My in-laws are in Denmark and they are on Facebook, also! It is wonderful to share photos, snippets of thought, and good cheer via the computer! If you decide to take the plunge at Facebook, look me up and make me your friend! (And join our RealTown group!)
14. A New Suit of Clothes for Your Inner Child.  A pat on the head, a hug, a new indigo bag. When was the last time you had a chat with her? When was the last time you reassured your inner child that your intentions are loving? Be kind to the little one. Work to erase confusion. Eliminate doubt about your intentions. Be deliberately kind. Forgive yourself. Embrace her.
15. Take Your Temperature.  Are you feeling wonderful from the inside out these days? Does it make your family and friends happy to see you feeling terrific? The best way to get to terrific is self care. I feel pretty terrific but I really have to work on the weight issue -- my husband and I decided to share a membership in the Tucson Tennis & Racquetball Club as an early Christmas present. They have early morning water aerobics and cardio tennis .. just what I need!
16. Elicit a Smile. There are lots of ways to make someone smile. I was just looking at my blog statistics and discovered that someone found one of my other blogs with the following search: "things that make us smile a-z." A blog post I wrote last week ranked #6 on Google, drawn from 1,410,000 search results. How neat is that? That is a gift of presence for someone I have never even met! The same blog post ranked #4 for another search for "things that make people blush." (Blushing is good for circulation in your cheeks!)
17. Light Up Your Neighborhood for the Holidays. Some years ago I took several hundred Luminaria candles. I made small packages -- each with one candle, one white sandwich bag, two cups of sand -- and I distributed a package to each house in the neighborhood with instructions to place the sand in the bag, place in the front yard, and insert a lighted candle at 8 pm on Christmas Eve. I worked with other real estate agents ... we had another 10,000 candles in my garage ... several TONS of sand in my driveway that we scooped into plastic bags and stored in my house (my rugs were like the sands of Waikiki for months!), and we sold the candles in bags of 10 to raise money for United Cerebral Palsy during the holidays. We raised $10,000 and lit up neighborhoods all over town. It was a magical Christmas.
18. Acknowledge Someone Unexpectedly Online -- Send love from your blog to loved ones and associates. This thought was inspired this morning by my good friends Joe and Rudy at Sellsius. God, do I love the energy in the real estate blogosphere!!!

....this is an organic post ... I will add as thoughts occur to me.

Blog My Key to Weight Loss?

I need a new photo ... with all the blogs and social networking I am doing I need a good photo ... more than that I need a photo with a thinner face ... elongating a photo is one option, but weight loss is probably the best idea ... I have a feeling that attaching a diet regimen to a daily blogging regiment may be the ticket here! This is a new Day One!