Random Act of Kindness #1

Back in April, for my 21st birthday I decided that I wanted to spend my day doing 21 Acts of Kindness. Since I planned them before hand they weren't that random but none-the-less they were acts of kindness and they were a lot of fun! A lot of people think that these acts of kindness are expensive and thats not the case! acts of Kindness can be as simple as dedicating your time to help someone out. I will periodically be posting the acts of Kindness that I performed on my birthday and the ones I plan to do soon! But for now, here is RANDOM ACT OF KINDNESS #1:

Cards for Hospitalized Kids is an organization that lets you send uplifting general cards to kids that need a pick-me-up! Its an easy and great way to put a smile on someone's face that is going through a difficult time and needs to know that someone is thinking about them! All the cards that are received are evenly distributed to children's hospitals across the nation!

It's Your Turn! Here is 7 Easy Steps!

1. Get Your Supplies!

Get creative with crayons or go crazy with scrapbooking paper! We used some cards that are pre-printed on the outside but we jazzed up the inside! 

Cards for Hospitalized Kids asks that if you use glitter, stamp ink, or stickers to rub your finger across it to ensure it doesn't fall off. If it does, please don't send that card because it can be a health concern for some of the kids.

2. Time to Address the Card!

The cards will be distributed for you and are not going to a any particular child so please do not address the card. If you want to address it, make it generic. For example: "Hey there!" "Hey you!" or "To: a very specific person!"

3. Writing on/in the Card

The Hospitals request to please AVOID writing "Get Well", "Feel Better" or other illness related comments. 

PLEASE write UPLIFTING messages such as: "Stay Strong", "You are Awesome","You Rock", "Be Brave", "You Inspire Me", "I believe in YOU", "Never forget how amazing YOU are". 

Feel free to write your own positive message!

These uplifting messages focus  on the child as a whole, rather than their illness, which is important, according to Child Life Specialists.

4. Make sure you do not...

Give away any personal information, such as: phone number, address, email address ect. Hospitals will not allow us to distribute cards with this information.

Religious comments such as "God Bless" or "I'm praying for you". The Hospitals will NOT distribute cards with these type of comments. The hospitals treat patients of all religions, as well as patients that do not practice a religion and that is why it isn't allowed. 

6. Sign Your Name!

First names only please!  You can include your state! I wrote "Sarah, NJ"! You can also add your organization such as "Girl Scouts".

7. Most Important Part, Mail Out the Cards!

Cards for Hospitalized Kids

7290 W. Devon Ave.

Chicago, IL 60631

Lets Go To The Boardwalk!

Casino Pier, Seaside Boardwalk!

Sometimes you have to venture outside of your norm and have some fun! Living only minutes away from Jenkinson's Boardwalk, Point Pleasant Beach, it is quite rare that I would venture a longer distance to go the Seaside Boardwalk, but I'm sure glad I did!

       

The Musik Express has by far the most enthusiastic employees and you can't help but have a blast!

The Surf Shack reminds me of one of my favorite scenes in Grease! It is fun and unexpected!

         

 Like most boardwalks the rides can be expensive and crowded. I suggest going on Mondays & Wednesdays because those are Wristband Days! It is also during the week so it is A LOT less crowded!

Movies on the Beach!

School's Out for Summer! Want to do something with friends and family that is fun and FREE!? I do! Jenkinson's is holding movies on the beach every friday night! Come to Jenkinson's Pavilion Beach, starting THIS FRIDAY at nightfall (about 9pm) with a blanket and good company to watch a great movie! The movie schedule goes as follows:

June 27th - Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 (PG)

July 4th - Independence Day Fireworks (no movie)

July 11th - Frozen (PG)

July 18th - Despicable Me 2 (PG)

July 25th - Iron Man 3 (PG-13)

August 1st - Smurfs 2 (PG)

August 8th - Lego Movie (PG)

August 15th - Pitch Perfect (PG-13)

August 22nd - Planes (PG)

August 29th - Monsters University (G)

Father's Day!

Sunday, June 15th was a day dedicated to awesome dad's everywhere! Many dad's opened cards that most likely had a tie or bow-tie on it and unwrapped gifts that came from their favorite hardware store. My Dad, feel under this category for sure! But, I also wanted to surprise my Dad with something special...

Many of you are probably familiar with the Milton Bradley, two-player game, Guess Who?

This red and blue guessing game has been in the game closet of my house, since I can remember. In recent years, Guess Who? has been collecting dust and frankly we don't find it to be challenging anymore... well that's how we felt before I decided it was time for an upgrade!

 I replaced the cards with picture of my brothers and me! There are Halloween costume pictures, beach pics, and candids! We made it a rule that you can't ask if the card you have is Sarah, Darren, Brian, or Christopher. These cards make the game more advanced by having more in the picture then the original game. There have also been really unique questions like, "Are you squinting to the right like Clint Eastwood?"

This remake of an older board game was fairly simple. For details on how I did it, comment below!

Strawberry Harvest Festival

Family Fun & Fresh Strawberries!

The Strawberry Harvest Festival at Alstede Farms was an amazing experience and you can experience it too! The festival will be happening for one last weekend, June 21st and 22nd.  Pick your own strawberries! Explore their beautiful farm and all that it has to offer! Indulge in their fresh strawberry desserts! I recommend the chocolate cake with fresh strawberries! I got to check strawberry picking off my summer bucket list!

Children will have fun feeding and seeing the animals. My cousin, Callie even got to ride a horse! We saw the ducks, peacock, chickens, pigs and other four legged friends!

Rowan had fun picking the fresh strawberries and playing on the big hay stack!

  

Take a Trip to Alstede Farms!

http://alstedefarms.com/family-fun-nj/strawberry-harvest-festival/

Making a Difference On a Rainy Day

This weather has been utterly unpredictable. I awoke this morning and peered out my window to see a foggy Bay Head before me. I got up and brushed my teeth to only be drawn back to the window due to the loud pounding noise I heard outside. Within an instant the weather went from gloomy to down pouring. Unfortunately, this isn't the first time mother nature has demonstrated her moods this week.

 I don't know about you but when dark clouds roll in I roll back under my covers and a Netflix marathon ensues. I do venture out of bed every once and a while (usually for chocolate). However, this week of weather unpredictability and a source of motivation within me has caused me to clean my room!? I know it is shocking and no one is more shocked about this than my parents. But its true, I have been actively cleaning and organizing which lead to a discovery that has inspired today's post. Yes, all I have done is talked about the weather but I assure you it gets better. I discovered.....broken headphones...A LOT of broken headphones!

This might seem silly, and you may wonder why I didn't just throw them away. But headphones, like many things can be RECYLCED. In the grand scheme of things 5 sets of broken headphones in a landfill might not seem like a big deal to you but I want to leave this earth better than I found it. I want to get in the habit of RECYCLING or DONATING to charities instead of simply tossing something away...and I hope you join me!

Thinksound is a headphone manufacturer that has set up a Recylce Program with Universal Recycling Technologies to help keep more valuable resources out of landfills. How it works is you will fill our a recylcing form, mail it with the broken headphones (any brand) to their offices in New Hampshire. Thinksound will take care of the recycling of the headphones and you will be rewarded for recycling with a coupon to purchase Thinksound headphones! For the form, mailing information and any questions you may have visit http://www.thinksound.com/recycle.php

I am going to recycle my headphones, are you!?

All About Color Me Rad!

 Color Me RAD!!! I have participated in a handful of 5ks but never like this! This is a complete Fun Run from start to finish! This event brought together about 2,000 people with the common goal of giving back, getting colorful, and having some fun! There wasn't one person that wasn't grinning from ear to ear at this event! Teams, were instructed to wear all or mostly white, and pick up your race swag prior to the race. OR if you are me and totally forget to pick up the packet you can wait on line and pick it up at the registration tent! Inside our swag bag is your (1) Race Bib (2) Official Color Me Rad t-shirt (3) Awesome Color Me Rad Sunglasses!

Once you put on your race bib, you make your way to the starting line at the appropriate time. Due to the high number of participants you are assigned a time when you are allowed to Run/Walk/Skip the race. My Mom and I were in the 9:10 am race wave. As you can see all the people in front of us are waiting for their race wave to begin. When its time, there is a count down, and the man standing above everyone blows a cloud of color on the participants! Of course, when I got to the front the leaf blower that the man was using to make the cloud of color got jammed and we began without the epic cloud of pink. Just my luck!

As we ran around the PNC Arts Center complex we ran through these color check points! They were spaced out throughout the course and they had these color check points in so many different colors! It was awesome because you can see them as you went through the course and it was motivation to keep going because you wanted to be color bombed! Inside these checkpoints were Color Me Rad volunteers ready to bomb you with color as you went through! The last leg of the race there are volunteers that hand you color bomb packs that you get to use to bomb other people! I made sure to color bomb my mom as we crossed the finish line!

You might have noticed my RADiculous Jersey Strong cowboy hat! WOW and the Jersey Strong Foundation had a tent setup and were giving away some rad swag. With every registration to Color Me Rad a donation was made to the Jersey Strong Foundation. This public charity has a mission to connect us to people and communities throughout New Jersey. The Jersey Strong Foundation provides funding and resources to people, families, and communities in New Jersey who are healing from hardship, and were hit by Hurricane Sandy.

Here is my Before & After of Color Me Rad! Oh, and my Color Me Rad tip for future RADiculicous Participants is to use the clear zip lock that the Color Me Rad sunglasses come in to cover your iPhone while you race! I was able to take all the photos above with my iPhone 5c while in the zip lock!

And last but not least, Enjoy the after Party!

                                        

Color Me Rad

Saturday, June 7th I was lucky enough to get RADdiculous with my mom at Color Me Rad! This super colorful and awesome 5k fun run was an amazing way to start off my weekend! This event marked the first of many 5ks with my mom! On top of having color bombs flying and upbeat music playing as we went throughout the course we knew that our participation was helping the Jersey Strong Foundation! I love exercising but I love it even more when it helps out a great cause! Check back soon for a full wrap up of Color Me Rad!

No Weekend Plans? Now you do!

There are some awesome events that are happening this weekend! The forecast is sunny and in the 80's, there is no excuse for not being outside and enjoying the sunshine! Especially, when there are great free events going on in our own backyard! Here, is the list of events that I found:

1. Davy Jones Day

2. Summerfest 2014, Saturday June 7th from 11 am to 7 pm at the Community Park, Point Pleasant Boro

       

3. Keyport GardenWalk,                                4. Bay Head Historical Society    

                    

 June 7th and 8th,

 Keyport Waterfront Pavilion

Get Involved In Your Community This Weekend! I Know I Am!

Summer 2014 Bucket List

Hey, Everyone! I thought I'd share my Summer Buck List!

What's on your Summer Bucket List?

5 Things Every 90's Girl Played With!

Are you a 90's girl!?

The 90's was when we had play-dates and used our imagination to create magical lands to play in. The couches were often safe ground and the floor would be lava! We created forts in our living rooms to stay the night. The 90's were when we invited our friends over to play instead of both being logged online to play a video game together. The 90's were before iPads and Apps. If you are ready for a ride down memory lane, check out my list of 5 Things Every 90's Girl Played With!

1. American Girl

American Girl was released in 1986 by the Pleasant Company. They had growing popularity in the 90's which lead to Pleasant Company becoming a subsidiary of Mattel in 1998.

2. Betty Spaghetty

Betty Spaghetty was produced by the Ohio Art Company. Introduced into market in 1998.

3. Groovy Girls

Groovy Girls were made my American toy company Manhattan Toy. Introduced into market in 1998.

4. Madeline

Madeline toys were produced by Eden Toys LLC (now Learning Curve).  Madeline toys were most popular in the 1990's.

5. Polly Pocket

Polly Pocket was originally produced by Bluebird Toys of Swindon, England and their distribution was handled by Mattel in the early 90's. Bluebird Toys endured several hostile take-over attempts and were eventually purchased by Mattel in 1998.

Hope you enjoyed this blast from the past! Do you remember playing with these!?

Riverfest "Get Your Yum On"

May 30th- June 1st, Riverfest Food & Music Festival took place at Marine Park, Red Bank, NJ. Patrons, such as myself were able to taste the delicious culinary delights of local restaurants, festival caterers and The Big Bite Tour. The festival's energy was high with their non-stop entertainment performed by local and regional musicians. The awesome Rock the River Waterfront Stage was set at the bottom of a hill so no matter where you sat, you had a awesome view! As you walked around the festival you were able to shop for handmade items and artwork in Artisan's Alley. This festival was a blast for the kids, too! Children's Palace had rides, games and activities for kids of all ages! I made sure I stopped by the NJ Lottery booth to spin the wheel for my chance to win! I walked away with a great drawstring backpack! There were loads of freebies around the festival, my favorite were the Gummy Bears!

Before we left Red Bank we stopped at the Farmer's Market! I loved the vibe and design of theses two foodtrucks, so I thought I'd share!

Did you go to Riverfest?

June Core Challenge!

Do you want tighter abs?

Join Me! and 2.6 million others for the June Abs Challenge! (I know I'm a day late but the first two day workouts can be combined!)You may have seen your Facebook friends joining an event for a 30 Day Ab Challenge. This Facebook event was created by Robyn Gardner, a mom of eight, who needs motivation from others to follow through with work-out challenges. She started this challenge once before on her own but didn't see it through. Many women, including myself are more motivated to complete a goal, especially a fitness goal when I have the support of friends and/or family. My Mom and I are doing this challenge and we want you to join us! This challenge has 4 simple exercises: sit-ups, crunches, leg raises, and planks.You can join the FB event made my Robyn Gardner to be a part of the millions of people strengthening their core. The June Core Challenge is shown below, as well as, videos of how to do each exercise properly. I don't wait anyone getting hurt!

How To Do A Sit Up 

How To Do Crunches 

How To Do Leg Raises 

What Keeps You Motivated!?

Explore Asbury!

Do you drive through a town but never stop to see what it has to offer?

I am guilty of it and you probably are too! I have been to Asbury, NJ only a handful of times in my life but I have driven past it and used it as a point of reference many times. Yesterday, when the weather was overcast and the temptation to stay in bed watching a Netflix marathon was high, I chose to Explore Asbury! 

Not knowing where in Asbury, I wanted to go or where to start I enlisted the help of true photo adventurers. My brother, Darren, and his girlfriend, Haley, travel the tri-state area capturing the beauty that our Earth has to offer. They shoot with Polaroid, film, and digital cameras, but the quality of photos that they capture with their iPhones' is phenomenal. Darren and Haley are well respected in the Instagram community and even held an insta-meet this past march. You can see how they captured Asbury by following them on Instagram; follow Darren @darrenerbe, and follow Haley@thesecondgleam. 

Below, is a look into how I captured Asbury! You can also follow me on Instagram @AdventuresBHgirl.