Monday, July 17, 2017

Saturday Adventures {Meal Packing, Dog Swimming, Maxing & Relaxing}

Although Saturday was a rest day, it seemed we did everything BUT rest (don't worry, we were able to get in a little maxin' and relaxin' by the end of the day). I thought since we had so many adventures I'd share them with the class ;)

A few weeks ago I had seen a note in our "Hot Sheets" at North Coast (think of it as a church-wide bulletin) about a large volunteer project that was going on in the community. It mentioned an organization, Friends and Family Community Connection, was trying to get folks together to help pack upwards of 300,000 meals for underprivileged families in San Diego and overseas in Tanzania. Well, I looked at our calendar and saw we were free so signed us up.

Source

Other than "wearing comfortable shoes since we'd be standing for our volunteer shift", I didn't know what to expect. I have volunteered at Feeding San Diego in the past and have helped pack lunch bags for underprivileged students, but wasn't sure if this would be similar or not. Whatever the case we packed our "servant spirit" and made our way over to Hunter Industries where the event was being held. (It was running from 8am until 4pm, but our shift was 9-10am.)

Love that they help folks not only globally but locally as well!

She looks so stoked!

Once we arrived, we checked in (FFCC used EventBrite so when you signed up for your shift you were sent "tickets" and when checking in, all you had to do was show your bar code so they could scan you and mark you in). EASY PEASY! Then we were given name tags (have you ever noticed being called by your name instead of "hey you" makes you feel known and part of the group?) and hairnets.

We're bringing sexy back...

This wasn't their first rodeo and with a goal of 300,000 meals packed they needed to keep everything moving as smoothly as possible. When you were checked in and ready to go, you got in line and sort of like at Disney, they called out how many people they needed. Ryan and I were teamed up with four other folks and sent to a packaging table.

The process was one person grabbed an empty bag and put it on the bottom of a funnel. The next person put in a packet of vitamins, followed by a scoop of veggies, then a scoop of soy and topped with a scoop of rice. The final person was the runner - taking the bags off the funnel and putting them into a plastic bin. Once the bin was full, they would then run the box over to the next station.

We were too busy during our shift to take a picture, but this is a
volunteer demonstrating to a new group how the packaging is done

Those filled boxes were then run to a station that would weigh the bags (making sure they met the standards) and then go to the sealing table where they'd be vacuum sealed. Once the bags were ready to go, they'd make it to the final table where someone was counting and putting them in boxes (36 bags to each box, and each bag had 6 servings in them).

Signed, sealed, delivered...

No one at our table counted how many bags we filled, but we were cruising. Ryan was the vitamin guy and I, of course, was the runner. They had the system down to a science and it was pretty impressive to see how efficient it all ran. Once our time was up, they had us put our name tags on the completed boxes - sending a small piece of ourselves with our hard work to those in need. I thought it was a cool gesture, especially since they'd normally end up in the trash.

Once they get a full pallet, they wrap it and get it on the truck!

And as we were getting ready to head out, they surprised us and said that a Mrs. Frostie truck had just pulled up and all of the volunteers got a free mini cone for helping out! Shoot doggy! It's never too early for a cherry dipped cone.

I hadn't had a cherry dipped cone in AGES!

Ryan and I both had a great time and said we'd both go back in the future to help out! There is so much need in the world (locally and globally), so the best thing to do is help... Help however you can, whether it's with your time, your resources, your talents. No matter how big or how small, everything we do matters! #DoGood

After the first two shifts we were already making a dent in the
shipping container!

On the way home the hubby suggested we take Walt the Wiener Dog over to the lagoon to let him 'cool off' (we've been having some pretty humid/ sticky weather lately). I chuckled because Walt normally HATES the water, but since the hubby wanted to do it, I jumped on board (I'd say I took one for the team, but I really think it was Walt who took it ;)).

We went to an inlet by the house. Apparently a few weeks ago some kids tried to go out to the sandbar that's created at low tide and got caught in the current, so they recently posted "No Swimming" signs and had a security guard there. We decided to chat him up and see if he'd let Walt go in (we knew he wouldn't go in very far and he'd be "over it" in less than 5 minutes). He gave us the go-ahead as long as we kept him on a leash and didn't go deeper than our knees.

My guys!

As I suspected, Walt did NOT enjoy himself (although the hubby thoroughly did ;)). Ryan would wade out in the water, then plop the pup in and let him swim to the shore. It lasted all of maybe three or four attempts before we called it a day.





I think Walt extra hates it because he knows that when we get home it means he has to get a bath (which he also does not enjoy), but at least he looks cute in his life vest ;)

Can you tell he hates it (and us) or what?!

After lunch and a doggy bath, it was finally time to get in some chillaxing. Ryan and I made our way down to the pool for a little reading and relaxation. It's crazy, but we had the place to ourselves! Everyone must have been at the beach...

Yup, I may be a nerd... I have an autographed copy of this book!





We capped off the day with some pizza and pistachio flavored Halo Top ice cream. #winning


Although we didn't get a ton of stuff accomplished (read that as our STD {stuff to do} list is still ever growing), we did get to spend some quality time together giving back and having fun. We will consider it a pony WIN!

How was your weekend? Did you get a lot done?

2 comments:

Unknown said...

I had Halo Top this weekend too! I tried the Birthday Cake flavor for the first time. Pretty good but Lemon is still my favorite. What a great weekend you had!

Terra Heck said...

I just heard of Halo Top ice cream for the first time last week. Might just have to give it a try.
Kudos to you for your generous spirit. I love when I see or read about people helping others. The world needs more people like it.