March 1, 2013 (February had to be rescheduled to this date due to conflicts)
Homemade macaroni and cheese, salad, rolls and cupcakes with chocolate frosting
February Reflection
Communication with Abbey: The girls had originally picked the week before, but had to reschedule because of conflicts that came up. I noticed we had been making brownies a lot and so I suggested that we try and find a different dessert for this time and she agreed. It’s almost impossible to get a hold of Roni after she comes to the meetings, so I told Abbey not to worry about it anymore. This project is a great experience, the girls always have a great time and it’s a very easy, fun way to fulfill their service requirements. If Roni chooses not to participate then it’s her loss; I’m trying to talk with her and see what’s going on but I’m having a hard time reaching her. I also talked with Megan and Rachel (the two sophomores) at the meal, along with Abbey, about them co-heading the group next year, since Abbey, Molly and Mackenzie will be graduating. We decided to talk about specifics next month and Abbey said she would give them the binder with all of the information and documentation she has kept so far. Rachel and Megan are both kind of shy, which is why I suggested they team up to head the project next year (they are also very good friends). I told them to start thinking of other girls that would be interested in joining the project next year, and we would talk more about it the next time we meet.
Communication with Mrs. Keith and Joyce: I again just updated Mrs. Keith about the meal we made and how the girls were working together, and plan to check in with her in late April to make sure the girls’ service hours are on track as the end of the year approaches. I found the source of our communication issues with Grace Place; Joyce had retired and they were in the process of getting a new head of the house. There are now three permanent live-in workers that are taking care of the house, and I met them all when we dropped the meal off. I spoke mainly with Maura, who was really sweet and helpful. We exchanged numbers and e-mail addresses and she said if I had any questions or we came across any problems to go ahead and call her personal number. I think communication is going to improve ten times over now, and especially since they have three people working together who will almost always be there.
Meal: I had told Abbey it might be a good idea to call Grace Place and see if they wanted a non-meat dish since it is Lent now; it was a good thing we checked because they said that would be great. When she did, she also asked for them to mark down somewhere that we were coming just to make sure the situation that happened last time wouldn’t happen again, which was a very smart idea. We had a small group this time; just Abbey, Mackenzie, Rachel and Megan but it was an easy meal so it wasn’t a problem at all. We each kind of focused on preparing one food item and talked about getting things together and organized for next year. We were done cooking a little earlier than usual but decided to take the meal when it was hot and tell them they could put it in the oven until they were ready to eat since it was all in oven-safe pans.
Reflection: I think that this month’s meal went really well; I’m glad we called to double-check about the no meat thing. In looking at the timeline I’ve been keeping, I noticed that we need to work harder on incorporating fruit into our meals and maybe try something different than the traditional sweets for dessert. I’m really excited to start talking about how to transfer this project to next year and hope it continues going as well as it has been with the new group.
Homemade macaroni and cheese, salad, rolls and cupcakes with chocolate frosting
February Reflection
Communication with Abbey: The girls had originally picked the week before, but had to reschedule because of conflicts that came up. I noticed we had been making brownies a lot and so I suggested that we try and find a different dessert for this time and she agreed. It’s almost impossible to get a hold of Roni after she comes to the meetings, so I told Abbey not to worry about it anymore. This project is a great experience, the girls always have a great time and it’s a very easy, fun way to fulfill their service requirements. If Roni chooses not to participate then it’s her loss; I’m trying to talk with her and see what’s going on but I’m having a hard time reaching her. I also talked with Megan and Rachel (the two sophomores) at the meal, along with Abbey, about them co-heading the group next year, since Abbey, Molly and Mackenzie will be graduating. We decided to talk about specifics next month and Abbey said she would give them the binder with all of the information and documentation she has kept so far. Rachel and Megan are both kind of shy, which is why I suggested they team up to head the project next year (they are also very good friends). I told them to start thinking of other girls that would be interested in joining the project next year, and we would talk more about it the next time we meet.
Communication with Mrs. Keith and Joyce: I again just updated Mrs. Keith about the meal we made and how the girls were working together, and plan to check in with her in late April to make sure the girls’ service hours are on track as the end of the year approaches. I found the source of our communication issues with Grace Place; Joyce had retired and they were in the process of getting a new head of the house. There are now three permanent live-in workers that are taking care of the house, and I met them all when we dropped the meal off. I spoke mainly with Maura, who was really sweet and helpful. We exchanged numbers and e-mail addresses and she said if I had any questions or we came across any problems to go ahead and call her personal number. I think communication is going to improve ten times over now, and especially since they have three people working together who will almost always be there.
Meal: I had told Abbey it might be a good idea to call Grace Place and see if they wanted a non-meat dish since it is Lent now; it was a good thing we checked because they said that would be great. When she did, she also asked for them to mark down somewhere that we were coming just to make sure the situation that happened last time wouldn’t happen again, which was a very smart idea. We had a small group this time; just Abbey, Mackenzie, Rachel and Megan but it was an easy meal so it wasn’t a problem at all. We each kind of focused on preparing one food item and talked about getting things together and organized for next year. We were done cooking a little earlier than usual but decided to take the meal when it was hot and tell them they could put it in the oven until they were ready to eat since it was all in oven-safe pans.
Reflection: I think that this month’s meal went really well; I’m glad we called to double-check about the no meat thing. In looking at the timeline I’ve been keeping, I noticed that we need to work harder on incorporating fruit into our meals and maybe try something different than the traditional sweets for dessert. I’m really excited to start talking about how to transfer this project to next year and hope it continues going as well as it has been with the new group.