Random Acts of Kindness

     My family is experiencing a financial hardship.  Things I used to buy and take for granted are now major expenditures.  Bills that used to be paid on time and without effort, are now late, partial, or unpaid.

    This weekend, my daughter's dance studio was in a competition.  I couldn't afford the entry fees.  The Dance Company, Tremaine, gave my daughter an honorary scholarship, so that she could go.  This meant so much to us.  My daughter was feeling pretty badly since she was the only one from the studio not able to go.  Then a family at the studio, invited Katie and me to stay with them.  They understood that we couldn't afford to pay anything....and they let us stay anyway!  These are good people!

     Grandma and Papa gave us the food money we needed.  This too was so appreciated!

     I'm also thankful that the bulk of dance was paid for before we experienced the financial difficulties.  My daughter lives for dance.  She'd have been miserable if she had to quit now!

     These acts of kindness really mean so much, especially since so many people in today's world just seem to think about themselves.  I hope to someday be in a position to pass this kindness forward!

Embrace your Inner Wild Chick

I read it's a Chick Thing.  Now I'm working on reading all of the suggested readings, watching the suggested movies, and listening to the suggested songs.  Now if only I could actually do some of these activities ....but due to my job, not a good idea!

I miss the old times when you could be a person and not just a job.
I miss the old me, who didn't give a damn and did it all anyway!

Addictive Personality!

I recognized, at a very early age, that I have an addictive personality.  That's why I've never tried smoking, don't do drugs, and rarely drink.  However, I own more books than a library and I've read them all multiple times.  I also visit the library a lot.  I truly read at least one book a day.  Even when that inner voice is shouting, 'put the book down and clean your house or put the book down and pay attention to your family' I can't seem to stop.  Now it's 6:30 a.m. and I'm supposed to be getting ready for work, but I'm sooo tired.  Why did I stay up most of the night reading?  Why can't I recognize that the book will still be there tomorrow?  Why do I keep doing this?

My Favorite Body Part

I read a magazine article today about appreciating your own body.  You were supposed to think of a body part that you really liked and tell why.  I really appreciate the functionality of my body.....but I would like my body parts to be more attractive.  If I had to pick one part, I guess I'd say my lips.  They've got good color, I don't ever need lipstick.  They're shaped well too...although I enjoy seeing them on my daughter's young face more (she inheirited them).  I guess a good goal for me is to get in shape enough to actually like an additional part.  Now if only I could get motivated...

Playing Basketball in the Rain!

Don't you hate it when old friends aren't friends anymore, and you really don't know why?  How come the memories you share of growing up together aren't enough to make whatever problem there is between you fade away? 

Whenever it rains that warm kind of rain that makes you want to go outside, I remember being sixteen and playing basketball in the rain with my sister, my friend, and of course, a bunch of hot guys. I remember the intoxicating freedom of going places in her car even though she didn't have a license.  Dancing at the Red Caboose, listening to Neil Young at the Cortland Street Fair.....the tight jeans we passed around and had to use pliers to zip!

Today, it's snowing and not raining, so why am I thinking about this?  I guess because everyone needs the "I've seen you with braces and bell-bottoms" friend...and I miss her.  I miss knowing the kind of friend she'd be as an adult....since somewhere in college and in our twenties it faded away. 

Old friend, if you read this....

Bees, killer or otherwise!

I seriously believe in karma!  I try to think good thoughts about people, so karma can't turn around and bite me in the butt!  However, I've become good at thinking positive thoughts with just a little twist.  For example, a co-worker said she wished that the boss would get totally stung by bees.  I told her that Curses like Chickens come home to roost, instead she can hope that he gets a great new job.....conveniently located by bees!

What's my problem?

I really want to spend some time scrapbooking.  A part of my brain thinks about it almost constantly.  I've got several journals that are filled with ideas for scrapbooking....with the journaling parts all finished.  All I've got to do is sit down and make the pages!  Yet when I actually have a second to myself, do I scrapbook?  Nooooo.  I clean, or catch up on work, or get on the web.  What is my problem?  Steven Miller gave me homework.  He says I need to make five pages by Friday.  I'm going to do it too!  Tonight...at least one page.  The responsibilities are going to have to wait!

It Takes a Village to Raise a Child!

I'm lucky.  My village is my husband and me, our parents, my daughter's dance teachers, my two closest friends, and one co-worker.

I'm thankful for all the help that they give!  Especially getting my kids where they need to be!

My Boss didn't go to the School of Positive Reinforcements

If I were a boss, I would build my employees up at every opportunity.  I would only call them in my office to discuss the positives.  I would trust them to have good reasons for the things that they do.  I would treat them as important human beings.  Any concerns I had would be addressed informally... as problems that we could solve together.  I would be flexible.  What would I get in return?  Employees that would go the extra mile for me because they would know I would do the same for them.

Why don't many bosses embrace these ideas?  Why do so many of them only focus on the negative?

Clean your room?

Yesterday, Katie called and asked me to bring her an outfit when I came to pick her up at dance since she was spending the night at a friends.  I walked into her room, saw a basket overflowing with recently folded clothes and grabbed the jeans on top, a tank, and a tee.  I get to dance, show her what I picked, and watch her wrinkle her nose.  The jeans have cheese on the leg from spilled nachos at a school event.  She looks at me like I have two heads; how could I not have noticed?  I look at her the same way, because who puts a pair of dirty jeans on top of a basket of clean clothes?  My boys' keep their rooms a mess too.  Oh, they all clean them if I tell them too, but if they could just choose, they'd be walking around and over stuff constantly.  I vow to make them clean their rooms today.  Then I wake up this morning early to go grocery shopping, and  I run into a friend who now has grown children.  I ask about them, and she randomly mentions how emotional she gets every time she walks by their "clean" empty rooms.  I guess that was my wake-up call for the day.  I'd rather have my kids and their messy rooms at home, then think about them grown up and gone!