I'm Too Full... No More Food Please!

[nightfall8705]

I'm too full... no more food please!

 

A saying that I am familiar with day to day because as long as I have working wifi and a means of logging in, those words are the last things my Neopets say to me everyday. It's just part of being a good owner.

 

Sometimes, it's hard when funds are low, expenses are high, and those in your household are far from saying the above... at least until the beginning of the next month. It hurts to the core to realize the reality of going without, but it hurts even more to know that there are children and adults around the world who would practically worship you with gratitude if you gave them a speck of bread or some fresh water to drink.

 

This month, my cup (board) is still runnething over from the major blessing I received last month regarding food. I have shared with those whom I know were less fortunate than I, and even now I am still humbled. I try to help people around the world as well, the best I can. The humanitarian in me just refuses to let me sit still.

 

Now, I know I spoil my Neopets in every sense of the word... I also try to do that in my real life. Giving my little brother all that he needs as well as my two fluff-balls. And sure, sometimes they get spoiled too. I have known the feeling of needing, and also the feeling of giving back.

 

So, if you take anything from this post, just take it as a means of expressing gratitude. If you think your problems are bad, consider those who will starve today, and those who did not wake at all this morning. If you are alive, healthy, educated, with couch change in your pocket, full, with clothes on your back and a shelter over your head, then you are richer than most of other people in this world.

 

All this aside... today is Friday. I was spoiled with a great (BIG) lunch today at Dot's Kitchen (the soup kitchen I go to regularly to help elderlies and chat with some youth; sometimes I stay for lunch too.) and my gosh, I walked out of there today (they insisted I eat with them today!) feeling more bloated than Sandrea if she were a giant marshmallow. My brother came to eat too, so I was glad for that!

 

Today's menu was - a beef stew with vegetables, barbequed pork chops, great northern beans flavored with pork, sweet green peas, brussels sprouts, vegetable wild rice, cooked baby carrots, toasted bread, cake with pink lemon flavored icing, fresh green and red grapes with fresh cherries, yogurt, homemade chocolate ice cream, milk, and tea.

 

It has been thundering and raining all day today, which is my favorite weather, and after lunch, I got to spoil my babies. Friday is a special day in my house. I call it "Friskies Friday" because every week, I religiously treat the fur-babies to a treat for weekly good behavior. Now, they have their "Friskies Party Mix" brand kitty treats, but they also love the canned "Friskies" brand wet food, so I let Sydney and Sherbert share a can on Fridays. It gives them something to look forward to, and believe me, they don't let me forget "Friskies Friday."

 

The way Sydney cuddles up with me after her "Friskies Friday" and licks her whiskers makes me smile. When she eats, she closes her eyes, as if she can't believe it tastes so good. And usually after, she's ready for a nap. She cuddles with me and purrs herself to sleep. So in a way, "Friskies Friday" spoils me too.

 

Today, I caught Sherbert feeding herself with her paw. I took a poor quality video, but I couldn't upload it from my phone, but I thought I would share a video I found of a cat doing what she was doing as watching her do it was pretty funny and entertaining at the same time. Here's the video I found:

 

 

Aren't cats smart and funny?

 

Anyway, I feel spoiled, and thankful, and I wanted to share that with everyone, just to remind you all just how lucky you are to have what you have, and to be happy, because others don't have the luxuries we all take for granted every day.

 

<3 <3

[dawnshine]

This post made me happy, and made me feel a lot more grateful for everything I have going for me although I thought I was having a pretty cruddy day and week. Thanks for sharing. (:

[nightfall8705]

Aww, you're welcome, Dawn! I'm glad it made you happy. I hope your week gets better!

[KyokoHateshinai]

I feel grateful for everything I have, and to a certain extent I feel guilty for what I have. Sometimes when things don't go well because I feel like I haven't tried my best I feel really down. I volunteer because I feel like I want to give something back for giving me so much. But (not) surprisingly...most people do indeed take it for granted. It makes me really angry to see how people treat things/food in general. Sometimes I have too much food and I have to throw it away because I don't want to eat myself sick. But people ordering wayyy to much because they want the best price for their AYCE? I hope people realize that for each and everything there's a lot of people who made that happen. A Starbucks coffee has people making the cup, cultivating beans, etc...we are more intertwined with the world that we like to believe. I feel like this is going off topic haha but more than anything I hope that people realize that there's a lot of people in our lives who contribute to us but we may never meet them. Understanding is the first step to being grateful :)

 

P.S Your cat is ADORABLEEE <3

[nightfall8705]

Kyoko, I completely agree. Wouldn't be something to meet the people who grow your coffee beans? That's the same reason I would prefer to shop at farmer's markets rather than big chain grocery stores. There's so many farms around me, why not support them? I don't mind if the price is a little higher. It's no different than a neighbor or friend growing in their backyard. That's essentially a farmer, no?

 

Thanks for the compliment, but that video wasn't mine. I couldn't upload mine, but I found one in which the cat was doing the same thing Sherbert was doing, lol. She's a smart one, that Sherbert!

 

I really don't like throwing out food. I feel like wasting resources, especially food is wrong. Do you know how much food restaurants waste every day? It makes me mad. Sometimes I get a little huffy at buffets (that I hardly ever go to!) because people go in there and stuff themselves silly, and all that food gets contaminated and wasted. It's also the same reason I can't stand Adam Richman and that Man vs Food nonsense on tv that glorifies gluttony.

 

Instead of watching one overweight man try to eat 10 pounds of food that could feed 5 or more people, I wish we could see people here at home getting fed. The USA is one of the richest countries on earth, yet more children go hungry here every day than a person really realizes. One out of every six Americans go hungry every night. And people forget that, which was one of the reasons for my post. To remind people to be thankful for what they have, even in abundance. <3

[Sinvanor]

Kyoko, I completely agree. Wouldn't be something to meet the people who grow your coffee beans? That's the same reason I would prefer to shop at farmer's markets rather than big chain grocery stores. There's so many farms around me, why not support them? I don't mind if the price is a little higher. It's no different than a neighbor or friend growing in their backyard. That's essentially a farmer, no?

 

Thanks for the compliment, but that video wasn't mine. I couldn't upload mine, but I found one in which the cat was doing the same thing Sherbert was doing, lol. She's a smart one, that Sherbert!

 

I really don't like throwing out food. I feel like wasting resources, especially food is wrong. Do you know how much food restaurants waste every day? It makes me mad. Sometimes I get a little huffy at buffets (that I hardly ever go to!) because people go in there and stuff themselves silly, and all that food gets contaminated and wasted. It's also the same reason I can't stand Adam Richman and that Man vs Food nonsense on tv that glorifies gluttony.

 

Instead of watching one overweight man try to eat 10 pounds of food that could feed 5 or more people, I wish we could see people here at home getting fed. The USA is one of the richest countries on earth, yet more children go hungry here every day than a person really realizes. One out of every six Americans go hungry every night. And people forget that, which was one of the reasons for my post. To remind people to be thankful for what they have, even in abundance. <3

 

This is a very interesting topic. I would like to note though that things aren't that rosy when it comes to big business. You would not want to meet the people cultivating the beans in big chain places because they are not paid nearly enough to survive on, but cheap labor is what makes big business thrive and all countries and big companies do this to one extent or the other sadly.

 

I live in a country where supporting local farmers isn't as needed because the food is really well regulated as well as very strict and country wide policies make things mostly sustainable and treat the animals well. In fact, good animal treatment has been around since 1882 and laws have been around since about 1945 to make sure that the animals are killed as humanely as possible and mistreatment of pets is just not remotely ok.

 

Waste of food and resources is the price so many pay for convience. However, even farmers have to let go of a lot of their food if it goes bad or is unsellable. The reason many grocery stores get rid of so much food is due to the regulation of expiration dates. Better to waste food then get sued for massive food poisoning from consumers.

 

I've had an incredbily hard time in my life recently andI'm very grateful for all the oppertunities I have and what I've been given. It's helpful though to recognize that even if someone does have it much worse or better then you, they can still suffer or be unhappy with things and it doesn't make their suffering less or more important. Unfortunately the human brain isn't built to stay stagnated on happiness, and so we easily get accustomed to our surroundings and end up wanting more and no one is immune to it either. :/

 

I think gratefulness and harmony with others has a LOT to do with culture. People in poor countries where they aren't bombarded by fear (from the media, towards eachother etc) are much more giving and easier going people. They are willing to share food with strangers because they're more curious and welcoming then the entire western side of the world is very closed off and believes everything is personal and private. When people who have nothing to eat in Africa, widely considered one of the worst continents to live on for various reasons, are willing to share an apple with someone whom they do not know or even if they did know has more then enough, you know something is really wrong with the way we think in the west.

 

I think things should be a balance between understanding safe caution toward people you don't know, but also not jumping the gun and thinking "Omg he's gonna kill me, she's gonna rape me, he's gonna mug me, she's gonna steal my credit card" and all the things people are trained to subconsciously think when they see a person they don't know :/ There are those who want to harm others, usually due to mental disorders such as narcissism and sociopathy or were corrupted by something, but on the whole, most people are the same and just want to live in harmony and I think we'd do much better and appreciate things and each other more if we try to remember that.