Over the past few months, along with a few friends, we have been intentionally giving each other a weekly challenge. It’s a simple challenge, one that pushes us to think outside of ourselves and consider others. It might be as simple as, “Offer to carry groceries for someone this week,” or “Offer to clean a friend’s bathroom.” At the beginning of this exercise, everyone was invited to put a challenge into a bowl. The kids added their ideas, the moms and dads did too. This week we were challenged to, “Be open and aware of the needs of others and offer to help.”
This simple, weekly challenge has been so good for me. It has given me a tangible, intentional thing to do for a neighbor. This week, we found out that one of my husband’s new workers had a wife that went in for surgery. They have a slew of teenage boys and I can totally relate to the challenge of keeping them fed. Yesterday I whipped up a large lasagna, enough to feed their family as well as our own. It was a little thing really. I was making dinner for my crew as well. I just made a little extra.
It wasn’t a gourmet meal, but it was homemade. My husband picked up a pre packaged bag of salad and a loaf of garlic bread on his way home from work. He delivered the meal to them.
When we sat to eat our meal last night, I couldn’t help but think of them and realize it doesn’t take much to show a little love to those around us. #justonething
- 1 lb of lasagna noodles
- olive oil
- 1 small onion, small diced
- 6-8 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 lb of Italian sweet sausage
- 1 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce
- 1 can of fire roasted diced tomatoes
- 2 eggs
- 1 lb. of ricotta cheese
- 2 tsp. dried basil
- ½ tsp. salt
- ½ tsp. cracked pepper
- 4 C shredded Italian mixed cheese
- Cook lasagna noodles to al dente. (Approx. 10 min in simmering water.)
- Drain cooked noodles in a colander and toss with olive oil to keep from sticking.
- Heat 2 Tbls. of olive oil in a saute pan, add onions. Cook 4-5 min.
- Add 3-4 cloves of garlic and cook another 2 minutes.
- Add crumbled Italian sausage and cook until no longer pink.
- Add jar of spaghetti sauce and can of tomatoes and cook until hot.
- In a bowl, combine eggs, ricotta cheese, basil and salt and pepper and stir to combine.
- In a large lasagna pan (I used a 10x15 pan) place a thin layer of tomato sauce on the bottom of the pan. Then add a layer of lasagna noodles. Add half the ricotta mixture and spread evenly to cover the noodles. Add half the sauce over the ricotta. Sprinkle 2 C of shredded cheese over the sauce. Repeat the layers again.
- Place tin foil over the pan and bake in a 350 degree F oven for 45 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 15 minutes.
- Serve half to your family and share half with a neighbor.
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Recently we were given pints and pints of blueberries. There were so many blueberries! We gave many boxes away but even then, were left with many more boxes. Teapot wanted to help me make blueberry pie. A few months ago I had picked up small, disposable pie tins. I said, “Let’s make mini pies and LoveBomb* our neighbors!” She was all over it! She got out the aprons, put one on Little Man and we all got to work.
We made a mess, but we had so much fun!
*LoveBombing is an act of preparing and serving a meal or a morsel with a friend, unexpectedly and in unexpected ways. And if you get the chance, to pull up a chair and enjoy a bite with them, taking a moment to listen and be a friend. We’ve LoveBombed skaters, women in recovery, neighbors and strangers.
And there is nothing like LoveBombing with your kids!
Team “Blueberry Pie”
We wrapped up our pies,
tied them with a ribbon, added a personal note and headed out.
We LoveBombed Ms. Betty, our neighbor who has a house full of cats she calls, “Kitty Angels”.
We LoveBombed Ashley from Our Daily Chocolate. The pie was for her, but she said she did share a bite or two with her kids.
We LoveBombed our neighbor who had had a rough week.
We LoveBombed Little Man’s friend. It was her birthday.
And a good friend, who happened to not be feeling well.
LoveBombing is so easy to do! One of our friends even turned LoveBombing into a full blown Operation #LoveBomb. We were LoveBombed by her with homemade preserves. It is such an easy way to meet your neighbors, thank your librarians, show a moment of kindness to a stranger. It gets you out of your comfort zone and places you in the path of people who may just need a moment of kindness. And usually, the LoveBomb effects the receiver as well as the giver.
If you like this post you may also like these LoveBombs.
Unexpected LoveBomb to Strangers
LoveBomb-ing Boys @Ridge
LoveBomb Thanksgiving Dinner
No, that’s not a typo. It’s meant to say Smashed not Mashed. There are some meals where the culinary stars line up and ingredients meld together to deliver a feast that’s a gift to the giver as well as the recipient. This past weekend, Devon cooked up a meal that was too good to keep to ourselves.
I haven’t LoveBombed in a while. Life has been too crazy. But, this weekend, I was reminded how important it is to take time out to share a meal and a moment with someone.
Devon cooked up amazing Espresso Romano Filet Mignons (in the GE Advantium) and served them with Smashed Potatoes and grilled asparagus.
We had one plate left, so I decided to take it across the street to my neighbor.
She has LoveBombed me in the past, with her homemade Crab Cakes.
I caught her in her back yard while she was doing chores and watching her kids swim in their pool. She didn’t even hesitate. She sat down and tore it up. She yelled over her shoulder, “You kids don’t get a bit of this!” It was for her, and her alone. She is one of the most generous people I know and for her to say that, well, I knew she was enjoying this meal.
This LoveBomb was a moment…she cleaned that plate in less than 10 minutes. I had to get back to my chores and she to hers. I’m so glad I took the time to walk across the street, with the gift of meal in hand, instead of just waving to her from my porch.
Smashed Grilled Potato Recipe
steamed potatoes (we used a potato medley with red, white and purple potatoes)
truffle oil
kosher salt and pepper
1. Cool steamed potatoes.
2. Gently “smash” them with the palm of your hand, carefully so they stay in one piece.
3. Heat up your grill.
4. In a bowl, gently drizzle them with truffle oil and sprinkle them with salt and pepper.
5. Put them on the grill and cook, on both sides until a bit crispy.
LoveBomb: This is the act of preparing, serving and sharing a meal or a morsel with someone you wouldn’t normally. We’ve LoveBombed skaters with bacon cheeseburgers, women with cupcakes, a homeless couple with breakfast sandwiches and even a neighborhood with a good old fashioned bbq. We’ve seen others LoveBomb and in fact, opened our door one morning to one being dropped on us.
Who would you like to LoveBomb? Or have you? We’d love to hear and share your story!
Have you seen our upcycled Skateboard Servers? These pieces were chosen because them reminded us of our year LoveBombing the Skater Boys.
Upcycled Skateboard Servers
A bunch of us are gearing up to #LoveBomb at Safe House of Hope‘s Drop In Center in Baltimore, Thanksgiving week.
We will be preparing, serving and sharing a meal with women who are victims of sex trafficking. We are still looking for volunteers to serve on November 23, 2011 from 11am-1pm, or to prepare food.
Here are the details:
When: Nov. 23, 2011
Time: 11am-1pm
Place: 901 Hollins St. Baltimore, MD 21223
If you can’t volunteer time that day, but want to help out, we need the following food items:
Menu THANKSGIVING DAY (50 people)
Turkey-3
Stovetop Stuffing-2 trays
Pineapple stuffing-1 1/2 tray
Gravy-
Green bean casserole-2 1/2 tray
Cranberry Sauce-1 tray
Mashed Potatoes-1 1/2 tray
Candied Sweet Potatoes-1 tray
Dessert:
Sweet potato pie
Pumpkin pie
Brownies/cookies
Drinks:
Coffee/tea
Ice tea/lemonade
Water
Cream and sugar*
*Items with a line through them, have already been donated.
Safe House of Hope’s mission is to help victims of domestic sex-trafficking become an active part of a healthy community through education and training, and to provide support for the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual needs of these victims. The drop in center is open two days a week with hopes to be able to open more often in the future. This is the only drop in of it’s kind in Baltimore.
I served as Vice President on the board at Safe House of Hope last year, which was also it’s first year. This is a new organization who is already very active in the community. They are called in by police when an under-aged girl is found in a brothel, to counsel and help the victim find help. They run regular training sessions for anyone who wants to join one of their three street teams that go out weekly distributing food, hygiene products and support to victims. Their ultimate goal is to open a safe house for girls under 18 where they will offer counseling, healthcare, education, job training in a loving and supportive environment.
My eyes have been opened to how rampant and devastating the sex trafficking industry has become. Here are a few facts that blow my mind:
*The average age of girls who are forced into this industry, in Baltimore, is 11.
*This year, the sex trafficking industry is expected to surpass the drug industry in sales.
*Domestic sex trafficking in Baltimore is now three generations deep in some communities.
If you have ever wanted to learn more about this industry, or want to get involved, there are many opportunities. Email [email protected]
If you want to volunteer, please leave a comment and I’ll get back to you through email.
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Yesterday I mentioned that I was LoveBombed by Wendi of Bon Appetit Hon. Well, it turns out, I was the first of many. Last week on facebook and twitter there were messages popping up all over from people who had received a LoveBomb from Wendi. We invited Wendi to our table today to share the inspiration behind her Operation #LoveBomb.
Operation Love Bomb would never have happened if it weren’t for Kristin and Chris Ann. The Love Feast ladies introduced me to the concept of LoveBombs with their posts about reaching out and sprinkling bits of love in the community. To paraphrase the official Love Feast Table definition, a LoveBomb is an act of appreciation, an act of making someone feel special, a gift of a meal or morsel shared unexpectedly.
Sounds easy right? And yet, it requires you to go past the limits of your comfort zone and take a risk. Risk being rejected or ridiculed. How many of us say that we value random acts of kindness? How many of us put those words into action and how many of us let the fear of falling flat on our face keep us from reaching out to another person in even a small way?
I let the fear stop me. A lot. I justify it by saying “if I were a better person I would….” And not just in doing something unexpected for someone else. I let fear of being turned away creep into the small cracks and crevices of my life. I let people in but I also keep them at an arm’s distance…the little voice in my head saying “I’ll let you in just as much as I have to but not enough so you can hurt me”. Just writing those words I realize that I have chosen to exclude so much of the joy that lies beneath the surface because of fear.
Recently, I’ve been admitting to a lot of truths about the fears that I carry on my back like a shell. These truths that I have always known quietly but never said out loud. Because in my mind, if I said their names then I would admit to their existence; while if I never uttered the words then I could pretend that they held no power over me. Ironically, by denying their existence, I gave them complete and unchecked power and control of my life.
I say that The Universe gets me to the places I need to be at the exact moment that I need to be there. I may not even realize in the moment that something profound is happening. Or there may be an awareness that washes over me that I need to pay attention. I may not know why, I just know that I do. And at a later time, the why makes itself known.
It wasn’t until I was surrounded by fellow members of the food blogging community at Big Summer Potluck last month that all of these pieces came together into a clear picture for me. I was there to connect with people that I mostly “knew” through blogs and tweets. But what ultimately happened is that I connected with myself.
My cell phone was put away. I wasn’t checking email or tweeting. I made a conscious decision to be in the moment…to give up control. I was listening to Shauna Ahern speak. As her words reached me I heard her telling me that it’s ok to be vulnerable, to face my fears, not to let myself get in my own way of finding happiness and success, and to show the “messy” parts of my life to others. That sometimes there are things that you absolutely have to say and trying to ignore them will simply give them more power. In that moment, I knew why I have struggled with finding the words for BAH. I have been trying to ignore the words that needed to be said because they scared me.
It was being out of my normal routine, away from the usual barriers that I put up to avoid these “truths”, that I finally acknowledged them. There was no laundry to do, no dishes to wash, no food to cook. Once those were stripped away and I was surrounded by these people who valued me for me that I could finally have the courage to admit to my own profound sense of loss for the imperfect relationships in my life. With my family. With my friends. With myself. It was powerful in a way that I could have never anticipated.
I had made a comment during one of the discussions that for me, that day would be pivotal in my life. That I would look back years from now and see that something important had happened to me during the Big Summer Potluck experience. It didn’t take quite so long for me to see this change unfold.
At the end of the day, back at the hotel, I finally pulled out my phone. And I saw a string of missed calls and messages from family members. And I knew that whatever had been said in those messages was not good. Both of my parents were terminally ill. One was in hospice care and the other had recently undergone another round of treatment to try and prolong the inevitable. It was merely a question of which parent it was.
It was my mother.
To say that our relationship had been difficult would be an understatement. I had drawn a boundary over the years. I could not reconcile my sense of empathy for her as a person with my sense of disappointment for the pain that she had caused me as a parent. From the outside it looked as though I was cold and uncaring. But I protected myself…I carried too much hurt at her hands. I thought that her death would merely be a physical end to the emotional relationship that I had walked away from years ago. I expected it to be easy. I expected it to be a relief.
It wasn’t.
In as much as I place my faith, whatever it is I have, in The Universe, I knew that I was where I needed to be to get that news. And in the first step of facing my fears, I reached out to people and showed the messy side of my life. I reached out to my community and they gave me unconditional support.
I took another step in facing my fears when I returned home. I wrote about what had happened and I posted it on my blog. For all the world to see and judge me by. I talked about feeling conflicted and about the letter I got after her death. It felt right to finally get it out, to let those words live, to set them free.
And once again, this community of mine embraced me. Through emails and comments and tweets they let me know that I was not alone. Their act of reaching out gave me the security to be and feel and sort through all of the changes that were swirling around my world. Their care and concern told me that I was special and valuable and worthy.
The Pantry Poet was a recipient of Operation LoveBomb
As I began to write thank you notes to as many of these people as I could get addresses for, the notion of sending out LoveBombs took hold. I wanted to do more than just say the words “thank you”. I wanted to put them into action. I wanted to communicate to each individual that I value them and that my world is a better place because of them. So I did what I knew best. I used food to connect us.
I did not announce my plan. I just put it in motion. I measured and mixed and baked. I packaged and stamped and sent. And as these LoveBombs landed, my heart filled with joy. The simple act of taking a moment made someone else feel special. Made them feel valuable and worthy. Reminded them that despite whatever struggle they are facing, they are not alone.
Every day since my mother died, I have asked The Universe to help me face my fears and better understand how to live a life of compassion, humanity, and grace. And maybe that’s all a LoveBomb is.
We want to thank Wendi for joining us at the table today. If you are inspired by her Operation LoveBomb and want to drop your own, feel free to grab a badge HERE and make sure you stop back and share with us what you did! We’d love to hear.
LoveBomb: The act of preparing, serving and sharing a meal or morsel with someone.
We’ve been intentionally LoveBombing people for three years now. It started with a bunch of skaters at a self made skate park called Ridge. A group of us would show up with a grill, burgers and mountain dew and make them food. As they ate, we’d listen to them, ask about skating, their lives…listen some more. Then we’d go home. It was nothing more than a LoveBomb, an act of kindness, no strings attached, no agenda, other than to spend some time with those boys.
Over time, others have caught on. Just a few weeks ago, I had just stumbled out of bed, still in my jammies and trying to make my way to the espresso machine. There was a knock at the door. I opened it to find Wendi from Bon Appetit Hon standing there with a gift bag in her hand. She handed it to me. I mumbled about how I just woke up, rubbing the blurriness out of my eyes and off she went. I have to be honest, it was sooo pre-coffee, I’m not even sure what I said. I went and made my Americano and sat down at my dining room table to open the gift. Inside were four jars of homemade jams, butters and syrups. My eyes popped open and all my thoughts began to line up and make sense. I had just been LoveBombed! My heart did a little jump. What an incredible act of kindness! Then it dawned on me, I was such a rude recipient, I never asked her in.
I quickly twittered her hoping she wasn’t too far to turn around and come back. She was. She was also understanding.
I went in to wake my husband, Devon up and tell him what had just happened. He propped himself up, listened and said, “Let’s make breakfast and try them out.”
That morning, we lingered over breakfast…him with his espresso, me with my Americano and we savored every nibble and morsel that Wendi had put her love into making.
LoveBombing. It can be a simple act, like sharing a muffin with women who are working hard to start a new life. It could be a breakfast sandwich served up to a couple sleeping on the streets. Or it could be a full out #LoveBomb Operation that someone (not naming names yet) launched as a way to say thank you to bloggers who supported her in a time of grief. She’s going to tell her story…tomorrow, here at our table. So come back. LoveBombing is one of our favorite EXPERIENCES to dish on.
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Last fall we took a him in. He’s a good kid who had too many curve balls thrown his way. He needed a break. We hoped our home would be the break he needed. Our kids quickly opened up their hearts and rooms to him and let him in. Little Man calls him his brother. Drama Boy calls him, “His brother from another mother.”
Recently he turned 18. We helped throw a party for him. Wanting to honor his passions without belittling him with youthful decorations, I came up with this.
Throughout last year, when we LoveBombed him and his friends at the skatepark, I collected the broken decks. I have stacks of them under my porch. We turned some into tables. But, I have many more ideas in mind…now all I need is a little time.
For his party, I put a piece of chalkboard painted plywood on the center of my table. In graffiti style, I wrote Happy 18th Birthday. I just layered broken skateboard decks and put purple votives on top and around them.
Keeping with an urban theme, I pulled out bottle caps we had and put them around a candle.
Sometimes with tablescaping, less is more. I wanted to show him we cared about what he cared about, without going overboard and trying too hard. I wanted the evening to be edited and yet thoughtful.
He requested steak and shrimp. So, we fired up the grill…
sauteed shrimp with beer and Old Bay…and enjoyed the evening with his family and friends.
Who would’ve thought we’d still be LoveBomb-ing these boys in our own home…welcoming them completely into our lives. Happy Birthday Brother.
]]>We know it’s Fancy Friday. But, today we are not feeling so fancy. Bloggers Ever Ours and and Utterly Engaged teamed up to organize a blogger’s day of silence For Japan With Love.
Our hearts break for those people whose lives have been devastated and turned upside down.
We are standing with our fellow bloggers and asking you to send support to Japan through Shelter Box. Send a LoveBomb to Japan.
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LoveBomb=The act of preparing, serving and sharing a meal or a morsel with someone you normally wouldn’t. This is an act that takes you outside of yourself…usually involves a little bit of courage…and rewards you in ways that are hard to express.
We have LoveBomb-ed with burgers, cupcakes and even breakfast. But, because apples are plentiful this time of year…how about making an apple pie, galette or bread!
Think of a neighbor or a teacher…the librarian or guy at your local coffee shop who serves you your latte every morning…make a morsel. Take it to your soon-to-be-friend. Cut a slice for each of you. Ask questions and listen. Listen to their story.
Savor a LoveBomb…then come back and tell us about it!
We are on a mission to start a LoveBomb-ing revolution! What is a LoveBomb? It is the act of preparing, serving and sharing a meal or a morsel with someone you normally wouldn’t. It could be a cookie to a local librarian, or a five course meal for teen age boys! It could be bacon cheeseburgers for a bunch of skaters or muffins with moms who are trying to get back on their feet.
LoveBomb-ing is about stepping out of your comfort zone and coming to the Table to listen to others stories. It doesn’t matter how old you are, if you live in the city or the ‘burbs or if you’re a mom or a young single guy…anyone can LoveBomb!
We recently had an artist we love…(she’s Fancy Friday worthy)…Kelli Murray work up a design for LoveBomb that we can slap on stickers and T-Shirts…or on facebook! This facebook group is for you! We want to hear your LoveBomb stories! If you write a post about a LoveBomb, please share it on the group wall! But, be forewarned, we may ask you if we can post your story here, as well!
So, plan a LoveBomb for someone! Or allow life to throw you an Unexpected LoveBomb! Share a LoveBomb with them! Listen to their story! Share their story on here! Twitter #LoveBomb!! We promise you’ll be hooked!
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