Today Momma Allstar steps outside her comfort zone. During her travels to St. Louis for a training that Momma Allstar lead with her boss and the President of her company she allowed her roots to shine! In the hustle and bustle of the airport with hundreds of people around Momma Allstar saw a soldier sitting alone in uniform at BK. She walked right over to him and 'Thanked him for his service". Doesn't seem big right? Wrong it was huge..#1 not one person in the airport had approached him the entire day, #2 as Momma Allstar got within feet of the soldier she realized he was just any soldier he was a SGT Major. Anyone that knows rank in the military he has been in the military quite sometime and most likely could of been our Dad. ha-ha SGT Major thanked her for coming over and thanking him. Random act and very couragous of Momma Allstar because she is not one to interrupt anyone and certainly not a SGT Major.
Some are not aware that Momma Allstar is prior military with over 10 years of service and has never once and let me emphasize NEVER ONCE used her prior service to get ahead. People that know of her past always try and get her to tell stories or examples during her training sessions in her current position about her military service. But to her she did what any other soldier would and is doing serve their country. Until today....so Momma Allstar I say "Thank you" for making this RAHKed possible and "Thank you" for your service!
Don't let our Soldiers have a Silent Night this holiday Season...Adopt a Soldier
http://www.adoptaussoldier.org/index.php
You've been RAHKed is a holiday challenge for RAHKer's to share random acts of holiday kindness and spread smiles everywhere. This blog is a way to pass those smiles on.!
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Kind is Easy, Random is the Hard Part.......
Well the lesson so far here has been the RAHKers are naturally kind people. I mean if we see you fall down nine times out of ten we will help you up and then laugh. If you run out of something and we have extra, we will share. If you ask for us to do something generally the answer will be yes.
Here's the problem, the challenge is RANDOM acts of kindness. This really requires you to put yourself out there. Zee-wife learned that as she offered to help a disabled lady load her groceries in her car. The lady jumped in fear which in turned scared Zee-wife and made her feel uncomfortable. Zee-wife is a bitty thing at 100 pounds so if she is mistaken for a robber can you imagine what one of our tough guys will go through? They could possibly be arrested.
Also RANDOM requires acting exactly at the right moment, a stall in time and the moment is lost. Once for whatever reason a lady's debit card wasn't working and she was trying to get gum and a soda. I watched as the cashier tried a couple of times. I wanted to just pay for the lady but I couldn't get my mouth to connect to my brain. It is like we are so trained to mind our own business that before I could gather my thoughts enough to say add it to mine, the moment past and she was gone empty handed.
I guess there is that fear of rejection that comes along with our good intentions. I think it is hard for some people to except well meaning kindness at times. Maybe that is what has stopped some people from offering, is fear of embarrassing the other person.
Any suggestions on how to make random more natural?
Here's the problem, the challenge is RANDOM acts of kindness. This really requires you to put yourself out there. Zee-wife learned that as she offered to help a disabled lady load her groceries in her car. The lady jumped in fear which in turned scared Zee-wife and made her feel uncomfortable. Zee-wife is a bitty thing at 100 pounds so if she is mistaken for a robber can you imagine what one of our tough guys will go through? They could possibly be arrested.
Also RANDOM requires acting exactly at the right moment, a stall in time and the moment is lost. Once for whatever reason a lady's debit card wasn't working and she was trying to get gum and a soda. I watched as the cashier tried a couple of times. I wanted to just pay for the lady but I couldn't get my mouth to connect to my brain. It is like we are so trained to mind our own business that before I could gather my thoughts enough to say add it to mine, the moment past and she was gone empty handed.
I guess there is that fear of rejection that comes along with our good intentions. I think it is hard for some people to except well meaning kindness at times. Maybe that is what has stopped some people from offering, is fear of embarrassing the other person.
Any suggestions on how to make random more natural?
Monday, November 28, 2011
Taking it Back Old School
For today's RAHK the AllStars took it back old school, get this with an old fashioned letter. You know using, pen, paper, envelopes and a stamp. We sat down as a family and put on paper some lovey-dovey feelings for our out of state family.
It was a nice time for us to talk about how much we miss them and hopefully when they get the letter, they will feel the love come through. I did lay down the rule for Big Brother AllStar to make sure he didn't speak in all acronyms. I didn't want anyone to have to refer to urban dictionary for a translation.
This RAHK is also a proud moment for the AllStars because up until last week Momma and Daddy AllStar was convinced Nikoli was writing in an undiscovered ancient Chinese dialect. Now that we can read his writing we are ready to share it with the world!
Not every RAHK is going to be a home run but this small one sure feels nice! What is the last small thing you have done that has made someone smile? We would love to hear about it and it would give us ideas also:)
It was a nice time for us to talk about how much we miss them and hopefully when they get the letter, they will feel the love come through. I did lay down the rule for Big Brother AllStar to make sure he didn't speak in all acronyms. I didn't want anyone to have to refer to urban dictionary for a translation.
This RAHK is also a proud moment for the AllStars because up until last week Momma and Daddy AllStar was convinced Nikoli was writing in an undiscovered ancient Chinese dialect. Now that we can read his writing we are ready to share it with the world!
Not every RAHK is going to be a home run but this small one sure feels nice! What is the last small thing you have done that has made someone smile? We would love to hear about it and it would give us ideas also:)
Sunday, November 27, 2011
That which wasn't so random turned random!
Ok I know that I told Momma Jay RAHK that her ongoing project with Synergy Services did not count because it started before our challenge but I was totally counting on the Survival 11 Event with the Care of Poor People to count. I admit our attendance was planned prior to the start of the challenge but the event itself and there for the act took place yesterday, after the start of the challenge, opinions please? Should this or should this not count?
While you ponder that thought let me tell you about our day. Momma Jay RAHK, Momma AllStar and Big Brother AllStar headed out to volunteer at the Care of Poor People Event. It was a pretty chilly, rainy and windy morning but we were dressed for the weather and ready to do good things. It was our first time going to this event so we did not know what to expect, only what I have heard from people and what we saw on the website.
We got to the site and there was a lot of hustle bustle from all the volunteers sorting the many donations, cleaning the rain drops from the table, arranging the seating area, preparing the food. We were not really sure what to do but we just jumped in with both feet and were assigned to the food prep area. Momma AllStar is not known for her cooking skills so this is actually quite a mismatch......................until she is presented with the task of opening the large cans of food. This was right up her alley, manhandling large cans of beans and vegtables! Momma Jay is a domestic goddess and loves that crap, she was in heaven making cheesy potatoes like it was her job and she was in a bake off! Big Brother AllStar had the job of delivery the pans to the grill master, he only wore a half a pan of beans, winning!
We put in about 2 1/2 hours there, the whole time even in our gloves our fingers were freezing, our toes were stinging from the cold but we pushed through. Once we finished the food task we left, as we were leaving we saw the line of people ready to attend the event already starting to form, 45 mins early, in the cold windy weather. I instantly felt a pang of guilt as the last line I saw like that I was in for Black Friday shopping, not for a meal, reality check! We walked to our car and Momma Jay remembered the blankets we had in our car from our Black Friday adventures. We drove over to the line and she got out to give a couple of little girls some warm blankets to cover up in while they wait. Those blankets she gave without thinking twice about she loved but that is what this challenge is about! We also took off the gloves we had on and she passed those out too.
So while going to the event was not random, it did lead to an oppurtunity for a Random Act of Holiday Kindness, thank you Momma Jay RAHK!!!!
While you ponder that thought let me tell you about our day. Momma Jay RAHK, Momma AllStar and Big Brother AllStar headed out to volunteer at the Care of Poor People Event. It was a pretty chilly, rainy and windy morning but we were dressed for the weather and ready to do good things. It was our first time going to this event so we did not know what to expect, only what I have heard from people and what we saw on the website.
We got to the site and there was a lot of hustle bustle from all the volunteers sorting the many donations, cleaning the rain drops from the table, arranging the seating area, preparing the food. We were not really sure what to do but we just jumped in with both feet and were assigned to the food prep area. Momma AllStar is not known for her cooking skills so this is actually quite a mismatch......................until she is presented with the task of opening the large cans of food. This was right up her alley, manhandling large cans of beans and vegtables! Momma Jay is a domestic goddess and loves that crap, she was in heaven making cheesy potatoes like it was her job and she was in a bake off! Big Brother AllStar had the job of delivery the pans to the grill master, he only wore a half a pan of beans, winning!
We put in about 2 1/2 hours there, the whole time even in our gloves our fingers were freezing, our toes were stinging from the cold but we pushed through. Once we finished the food task we left, as we were leaving we saw the line of people ready to attend the event already starting to form, 45 mins early, in the cold windy weather. I instantly felt a pang of guilt as the last line I saw like that I was in for Black Friday shopping, not for a meal, reality check! We walked to our car and Momma Jay remembered the blankets we had in our car from our Black Friday adventures. We drove over to the line and she got out to give a couple of little girls some warm blankets to cover up in while they wait. Those blankets she gave without thinking twice about she loved but that is what this challenge is about! We also took off the gloves we had on and she passed those out too.
So while going to the event was not random, it did lead to an oppurtunity for a Random Act of Holiday Kindness, thank you Momma Jay RAHK!!!!
Saturday, November 26, 2011
The Big Reveal
No crap, there we were, sitting around the table, Thanksgiving day. Our bellies were full of good food, our spirits were full of family joy and I was there to spread the news about RAHK! I had my captive audience as I knew they were to fat and happy to leave. I just didn't know exactly how they were going to take to it and how I should spring the news on them.
I decided direct was best and started with, "Listen up folks, this is what we are going to do. Either you are with me or you are with me"
I did get some initial push back from a couple of the guys but because I smartly chose to make the women the team captains they quickly handled the push back. I did have to clarify how we pronounce the name, it sounds just like rockers for the record. After it was all said and done, even if it was unspoken I think everyone is actually excited to be a part of this project.
We did get the little RAHKer's involved in decorating the cards. This was a test of my self control because one, I let them use my GOOD scrapbook stickers. Two, I had to go with their uneven placement of said stickers. Three, I couldn't get upset when the placement of the stickers covered some of the information.
Here are some pictures of the little RAHKer's in action:
and then that in which too much time with my GOOD scrapbook stickers turns you into zombies:
Come back tomorrow to hear about our first RAHK!
I decided direct was best and started with, "Listen up folks, this is what we are going to do. Either you are with me or you are with me"
I did get some initial push back from a couple of the guys but because I smartly chose to make the women the team captains they quickly handled the push back. I did have to clarify how we pronounce the name, it sounds just like rockers for the record. After it was all said and done, even if it was unspoken I think everyone is actually excited to be a part of this project.
We did get the little RAHKer's involved in decorating the cards. This was a test of my self control because one, I let them use my GOOD scrapbook stickers. Two, I had to go with their uneven placement of said stickers. Three, I couldn't get upset when the placement of the stickers covered some of the information.
Here are some pictures of the little RAHKer's in action:
and then that in which too much time with my GOOD scrapbook stickers turns you into zombies:
Come back tomorrow to hear about our first RAHK!
Friday, November 25, 2011
Meet The RAHKers Part 3
You have met the AllStar RAHKers and the Zee RAHKers, now it is time to meet the Jay RAHKers. I need to mention again that I came up with the names of the teams but Jay RAHK is kind of already a family name in this case, term of endearment of sorts.
Daddy-Jay is a mans-man, hear me roar type of guy but I have seen him cuddled up with a teddy bear in a princess bed with his daughters. I know he will be able pull through for his team!
Momma-Jay raises the stakes in this game, she is always doing these types of things. In fact she has a huge project going with Synergy Services but since that was prior to this challenge starting, it don't count as one of your 25 RAHKs, Jay RAHKers!! Momma-Jay can be a bit scattered with everything she piles on her plate but she has a way of bringing it all together in a nice precise, organized manner.
Diamond is next on the team, she is their 6 year old social butterfly involved in or participated in every activity under the sun. Diamond is not her real name for the record, just a name she picked out for herself. We are hoping that if it is a stage name, it lands her on the right stages of life!
Pearl rounds out the Jay RAHKers team, she is the cutest 2 almost 3 year old around. So funny and sweet, I'm sure her cuteness will be a huge help. If not she has the muscle to make it happen, you don't want to make Pearl angry!
Now you have meet the teams, time for the RAHKing to begin!
Daddy-Jay is a mans-man, hear me roar type of guy but I have seen him cuddled up with a teddy bear in a princess bed with his daughters. I know he will be able pull through for his team!
Momma-Jay raises the stakes in this game, she is always doing these types of things. In fact she has a huge project going with Synergy Services but since that was prior to this challenge starting, it don't count as one of your 25 RAHKs, Jay RAHKers!! Momma-Jay can be a bit scattered with everything she piles on her plate but she has a way of bringing it all together in a nice precise, organized manner.
Diamond is next on the team, she is their 6 year old social butterfly involved in or participated in every activity under the sun. Diamond is not her real name for the record, just a name she picked out for herself. We are hoping that if it is a stage name, it lands her on the right stages of life!
Pearl rounds out the Jay RAHKers team, she is the cutest 2 almost 3 year old around. So funny and sweet, I'm sure her cuteness will be a huge help. If not she has the muscle to make it happen, you don't want to make Pearl angry!
Now you have meet the teams, time for the RAHKing to begin!
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Meet The RAHKers Part 2
You have already met the AllStar RAHKers, now it is time to meet the Zee RAHKers. First I must give a disclaimer. I named all of the teams, they had no choice in the matter. I mean if they absolutely hate the names we will go back and change them but really I don't think they can deny I did a kick ass job with coming up with team names!
First on Zee RAHKers roster is Zee-Hubby. He works with the public and will face many oppurtunities to RAHK people everywhere. Plus he knows every yutube video ever posted so I am sure he has random act of kindness ideas just flowing from his brain!
Next is the Zee RAHKers Captain, Zee-Wifey. She has a heart the size of Texas, is that a country song or is this project channeling my inner Tayler Swift? Seriously though Zee-Wifey loves doing good, one problem, Zee-Wifey doesn't like zee-stage or zee-spotlight. Getting over that issue will be her only stumling block and I know she will be out there RAHKing many!
Next on the line up is Zee-Dog. Yes, their dog is on their team and yes it is fair. They have a weimaraner, it is the size of a human, is treated like a human and acts like a human so he is on the team! I'm not even a dog person but I love Zee-Dog. Zee-Dog loves me, he shows me by humping me everytime he sees me. Have you ever been humped by a Weimaraner, it is hard to fight off! Seriously his first RAHK could be buying some self-control, consider it Zee-Dog!
Their last member is Zee-Granny. I'm not saying we wanted the teams to be made up of 4 and so she got shoved on this team but it does equal things out a bit. Zee-Granny does a lot of things for a lot of people so this will be an easy task for her, I can't wait to see what she comes up with!
Next time you will get to meet Jay-RAHKers, come back soon!
First on Zee RAHKers roster is Zee-Hubby. He works with the public and will face many oppurtunities to RAHK people everywhere. Plus he knows every yutube video ever posted so I am sure he has random act of kindness ideas just flowing from his brain!
Next is the Zee RAHKers Captain, Zee-Wifey. She has a heart the size of Texas, is that a country song or is this project channeling my inner Tayler Swift? Seriously though Zee-Wifey loves doing good, one problem, Zee-Wifey doesn't like zee-stage or zee-spotlight. Getting over that issue will be her only stumling block and I know she will be out there RAHKing many!
Next on the line up is Zee-Dog. Yes, their dog is on their team and yes it is fair. They have a weimaraner, it is the size of a human, is treated like a human and acts like a human so he is on the team! I'm not even a dog person but I love Zee-Dog. Zee-Dog loves me, he shows me by humping me everytime he sees me. Have you ever been humped by a Weimaraner, it is hard to fight off! Seriously his first RAHK could be buying some self-control, consider it Zee-Dog!
Their last member is Zee-Granny. I'm not saying we wanted the teams to be made up of 4 and so she got shoved on this team but it does equal things out a bit. Zee-Granny does a lot of things for a lot of people so this will be an easy task for her, I can't wait to see what she comes up with!
Next time you will get to meet Jay-RAHKers, come back soon!
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Meet the RAHKers Part 1
To truly appreciate the challenge I think it is important that you know the teams but first how clever was that title? Meet the RAHKers? Get it? Funny stuff here people and I promise the laughs keep on coming!
The first team in no particular order is The All Star RAHKers, there are four members on this awesome team.
We have Daddy AllStar. He is a computer techy/nerdy guy or as I refer to him, my intellectual badass. His first RAHK will be to help me jazz up the place around this blog. The only problem with that is his techiness is so much deeper than my simple taste so it is hard for him to stick to my request with out taking it over and making it a completely difficult operation that I no longer know how to operate! I'm just looking for butterflies and fairy dust with some swirly words please. Daddy AllStar will be responsible for leading all the snow shoveling RAHKs, or at least I think that is a great idea since along with his brains he also has the biggest muscles on the team!
The next team member is Momma AllStar, that's me! I'm self appointed team captain. I will organize ideas, make sure the liitle AllStar RAHKers understand the meaning behind what we are doing and probably be responsible for all the documentation!
Next we have Big Brother AllStar, he is 11. He is really into reading, video games and playing kickball. We believe it is never to early to put them to work so we expect to get a lot of the labor intensive RAHKs completed by him:)
Rounding out the ALlStar RAHKers is Nikoli, that is his alias he gave his self. He is our little firecracker that is full of jokes and personality. He already sees himself as a fashion icon so I'm sure his sense of style will bring something great to the RAHKs. It might be in the form of a wizard hat and wrestling mask paired with a ninja suit but the power alone can accomplish lots!
There you have it, AllStar RAHKers.
Comeback later and you will meet other RAHKers!
The first team in no particular order is The All Star RAHKers, there are four members on this awesome team.
We have Daddy AllStar. He is a computer techy/nerdy guy or as I refer to him, my intellectual badass. His first RAHK will be to help me jazz up the place around this blog. The only problem with that is his techiness is so much deeper than my simple taste so it is hard for him to stick to my request with out taking it over and making it a completely difficult operation that I no longer know how to operate! I'm just looking for butterflies and fairy dust with some swirly words please. Daddy AllStar will be responsible for leading all the snow shoveling RAHKs, or at least I think that is a great idea since along with his brains he also has the biggest muscles on the team!
The next team member is Momma AllStar, that's me! I'm self appointed team captain. I will organize ideas, make sure the liitle AllStar RAHKers understand the meaning behind what we are doing and probably be responsible for all the documentation!
Next we have Big Brother AllStar, he is 11. He is really into reading, video games and playing kickball. We believe it is never to early to put them to work so we expect to get a lot of the labor intensive RAHKs completed by him:)
Rounding out the ALlStar RAHKers is Nikoli, that is his alias he gave his self. He is our little firecracker that is full of jokes and personality. He already sees himself as a fashion icon so I'm sure his sense of style will bring something great to the RAHKs. It might be in the form of a wizard hat and wrestling mask paired with a ninja suit but the power alone can accomplish lots!
There you have it, AllStar RAHKers.
Comeback later and you will meet other RAHKers!
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
And RAHKers were born
Surfing around the internet I have read stories of people that have completed random act of kindness for various reasons, various challenges. Some have been for birthday milestones, weekly challenges and the days of Christmas. I always admired their work and thought wow what wonderful people they must be, they must have a lot of extra money laying around, with a lot of extra spare time and are in the right places at the right time in order to make this stuff happen. I often promised myself that one day When all of those things fell into place for me I would do it too.
Well then I realized life is always going to be busy, I can always find ways I would rather spend money on and everywhere you look there are opportunities to do random acts of kindness. I took those ideas I have read of others doing, combined and molded them into Random Acts of Holiday Kindness. Then I wrangled my family into completing my challenge. I think I sold them on the idea by letting them know that they would from here on out be referred to as RAHKers, I mean who wouldn't love that?
The challenge is for us to just make someones day a little better, a little brighter and spread a little joy by doing random acts of kindness throughout the holiday season. It can be something as small or as big as the RAHKer can come up with, we are looking for imginations here people. If you are lacking in the imagination department there is always google, no excuses for not getting the job done!
The first season of RAHK is between Thanksgiving and Christmas; 25 RAHKs are required by each team/family (you will get to meet the teams in later posts). We will do going our best to document as much as we can on this blog. This means we will take pictures when possible, tell stories often and share links of events!
There you have the nitty gritty of RAHKers
Well then I realized life is always going to be busy, I can always find ways I would rather spend money on and everywhere you look there are opportunities to do random acts of kindness. I took those ideas I have read of others doing, combined and molded them into Random Acts of Holiday Kindness. Then I wrangled my family into completing my challenge. I think I sold them on the idea by letting them know that they would from here on out be referred to as RAHKers, I mean who wouldn't love that?
The challenge is for us to just make someones day a little better, a little brighter and spread a little joy by doing random acts of kindness throughout the holiday season. It can be something as small or as big as the RAHKer can come up with, we are looking for imginations here people. If you are lacking in the imagination department there is always google, no excuses for not getting the job done!
The first season of RAHK is between Thanksgiving and Christmas; 25 RAHKs are required by each team/family (you will get to meet the teams in later posts). We will do going our best to document as much as we can on this blog. This means we will take pictures when possible, tell stories often and share links of events!
There you have the nitty gritty of RAHKers
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