Category Archives: Mondays Matter

06.03.13

Make Monday Matter....thank a firefighter

Posted by Christina // 8 Replies

Hope your weekend was amazing! If it wasn’t then go enter our giveaway and maybe that will make it better. Heck, even if it was amazing….go enter.

This Monday, I wanted to do something very near and dear to my heart. I hope maybe my story may move you to join me in this Monday’s Challenge. A few years ago, I went through a series of events that forever changed my thinking. One of those major events was when my gramma passed away in a fire. I was unbelievably close with my grandparents and it still hurts my heart to think about her last phone call to 911. She knew she wouldn’t make it out alive.

Three months earlier, we had a fairly casual conversation regarding adding steps to her back porch. I had helped my grampa build the porch nearly fifteen years earlier. By “helped” I mean brought him lemonade and handed him nails in between dance breaks, but the one thing we didn’t build on that porch was steps.

During that simple conversation, my gramma confided that she was terrified of a house fire because she knew that there was only one way out of the house. If she went anywhere but out the front door, she would be trapped. Painful, painful memories now. Oh how I wished I had built those steps.

My gramma didn’t head towards the front door, I would assume the smoke disoriented her and I pray she just fell asleep. Then I get to the really horrific part, the part no one talks about, the thoughts that I bury deep inside. The thoughts of fire eating me alive. Do you ever think about that? Is it something you are scared of?

Did you know that there are people who actually run into fires? I am sure you did, but did you know that almost 73% of them are volunteers. They don’t even get paid to run into something I am completely terrified of.

My gramma was one of 3,430 people that died in a house fire that year, and every year over 100 firefighters are taken. To say it is dangerous work is an understatement. Not everyone can be saved, especially in a rural area, but there are thousands of people saved every year thanks to firefighters.

When was the last time you actually thanked a firefighter? Have you ever? This week I am sending a card to the brave men and women who ran into my grandparents house, who tried to save my gramma. I am also sending a card to our local firehouse, you know getting on their good side!

Do you know a firefighter?
Ever been affected by a fire?

05.27.13

Make Monday Matter....Learn CPR

Posted by Christina // 4 Replies

Hopefully you are relaxing by a body of water, with a cabana boy bringing you mojitos and waving palm leaves over you.

We are in our own kind of paradise, cheering on our hometown baseball team.

Where ever this holiday is taking you, I hope it is full of laughs….the kind that make your belly hurt. The kind that leak out a little snort-chuckle. The kind that might-maybe make you drool a little. Those are the best kind.

Today’s MMM Challenge is a little less laughtastic, and a little more life-saving. Don’t want to scare you but 95% of sudden cardiac arrest victims die before reaching the hospital, and after only 4-6 minutes the victim will experience brain death. Now imagine if that is your spouse, or dad, or child. Sorry I said I didn’t want to scare you. Puppies and rainbows, and colorful unicorns. Better?

So I want you to take a very simple step, a class that could save a life.

I got CPR certified about a month ago, the whole class only took a couple of hours and it was a workout. Seriously, I worked up a sweat trying to bring that dummy back to life. If nothing else, just do it to burn calories. Kidding of course, but CPR was a lot harder than Wendy Peffercorn made it look.

Apparently, they have recently changed the technique so if you haven’t been in a while you should get on that. Call your local hospital to find a class, and bring a friend. I mean what if it is you that needs CPR, right?

If you aren’t convinced already, I will leave you with this nugget of information…CPR can double a victim’s chance of survival. Double it.

Are you CPR certified or are you planning on getting certified?
Anyone else worried about how exhausted they were after one minute of CPR?
Would you ever get a Squints tattoo?

05.20.13

Make Monday Matter....pick up butts

Posted by Christina // 2 Replies

Monday Funday….

Doesn’t quite have the same ring to it, huh?

When I was a wee little lass my grampas neighbors used to invite me over to hone my entrepeneur skills. We made a deal that for every cigarette butt I picked up out of their yard I got a nickel. That was big money for a seven-year old back in the day. Especially since back in the 80’s people really knew how to smoke em. I could usually pull together at least four dollars, enough for a new Troll doll so I was thrilled.

Today, I am doing it for free. The annual cigarette butt litter, end on end, measures more than 2 million miles. That is 337 round trips from Los Angeles to New York. Most people who would never consider throwing a piece of paper on the ground have no problem flicking a butt out the window.

I am not trying to hate on all y’all smokers ok, you made me a good living back in the day. All I am saying is that cigarette butts are ugly, they cause over 25,000 fires each year, and they take decades to decompose.

So today, don’t flick your butts. And if you don’t smoke, try picking up a couple. I know picking up a strangers cigarette butt seems a teensy bit nasty but just think of the baby bird that won’t end up with it in their belly.

Remember when cars had ashtrays?
Are you a butt flicker and proud?
How did you make money as a kiddo?

05.13.13

Make Monday Matter....nineteen

Posted by Christina // 10 Replies

It should be pretty obvious that we love our pets. Whether it is our perky little fish, lovable dogs, the duck Tim won’t let me have, or a bird that calls our porch home we have a spot in our heart for all of them.

Sometimes though, it is very easy to get wrapped up in the busy day-to-day schedule and skip those afternoon walks. Or water changes. Or building birdhouses. There are days we feel like the worst pet parents in the world. When we are glued to computer while our pups and fish cause a ruckus. Today we are making time for all of our animals (except that duck, sigh). We are taking the pups to the park, making an extra special treat for our underwater friends and maybe even putting a piece of bread out for our bird friend. You may in fact call that last one a bribe so that once there are babies in the nest I don’t get dive-bombed.

With everything that our animals do for us, the least we can do is make today a little extra special for them. Tim has laid down the law though, no one is allowed anymore toys. Something about no dogs should have three “toy boxes” and a closet, or whatever. I’m just trying to keep them happy so they can go all Lassie later and call 911 when I am in trouble and then we can go on the Oprah show and win dog shows and junk.

Do you have any animals?
How do you pamper them?
Any advice on bribing birds?

05.06.13

Make Monday Matter....eighteen

Posted by Christina // 8 Replies

Those margaritas were sure tasty going down yesterday. However, the ache in my head tells me I regret them. Even though I feel like my head is in a vice grip, I’m going to keep a smile on my face today.

Smiling leads to happiness and I am trying to spread happiness all over. Just call me Johnny HappySeed, or not, I can’t tell you what to do. But I do think you should smile today…. a lot. People won’t expect it on a Monday, trust me. Did you know that children laugh about 400 times a day. Take a guess what that number is for adults. Go on guess, I will tell you a little later. Let a number settle in your brain.

People who smile are judged to be more pleasant, attractive, sincere, sociable, and competent. Those are all things that I want to be. It seems so simple, the more you smile the more people like you. Unless you are creepy, then your smile just makes you creepier Gary Busey.

Smiling is contagious and besides it keeps you from getting sick, or so I am told.

You know something else, no matter where you go or who you meet a smile can never be misconstrued as a gang sign. In India it is offensive if you shake with your left hand because that is the hand you use in the restroom if you catch my drift. These are the things I remember from college.

Have you guessed how many times a day the average adult laughs, did you guess four? If you did you are way off and need to smile more. The actual number is fifteen. The average adult laughs only fifteen times a day. That means kids laugh twenty-five times more than we do. Let’s make an effort to change that, at least for today.

Are you a smiley person?
Know any weird cultural customs?
Think Gary Busey is awesome?

04.29.13

Make Monday Matter....seventeen

Posted by Christina // 4 Replies

Hi ho, hi ho…that weekend went by too fast, no?

We had a completely exhausting weekend full of trying to sell all our junk.
Who forgot to tell me how exhausting garage sales are? It was fun, but it didn’t leave room for any crafty projects or bathroom remodeling time.

Now that all our leftovers are packed up in donation boxes, I have been thinking about more major donations. Every day eighteen people die while waiting on a transplant. That’s almost the whole Duggar family, insert sad face right here. There are over 97,000 people in need of one or more organs right now and 300 new transplant candidates are added to that list every month.

When I was growing up I had a really close friend whose mom was in need of kidneys, we collected soda tabs to raise money and I said a prayer for her every night. I often sit and imagine all those families and all those prayers that could be answered just by signing up to donate organs.

I have had the organ donor box checked on my license since I was sixteen, thanks in part to watching everything my friend had to go through. There is no age limit on who can donate, and I always figure that there is no reason for two lives to be lost. In fact your organs could save multiple lives…if that isn’t giving you a warm fuzzy feeling I don’t know what would.

Sometimes it is not enough to just check that box though, you should let your family know that you wish to donate your organs too. Then there is no doubt should anything happen.

Are you an organ donor?
Know anyone that has received an organ donation?
How do you feel about those Duggars?