Pay It Forward

Someone on Facebook recently posted something about random acts of kindness and paying it forward.  I have a couple times been on the receiving end of random acts of kindness and it sure does feel good.  I try to be kind to others, but I know I can do more.  Doing things for strangers sometimes makes people uncomfortable unfortunately. I once tried to help an elderly woman put her groceries in her car, but she declined me. I understand that though since we have learned that so many people are just out to hurt others and benefit themselves.

Here is the Facebook post:

2013 Creative Pay It Forward! The first 5 people to respond to this post will receive something from me during 2013. A gift - a book, maybe some baked goods, perhaps something crafty, a surprise! There will be no warning. It will be done when the mood strikes and will be a surprise. The catch? Those 5 people must also post this on FB and do the same.

I quickly responded to it from the person I saw post it thinking the 5 spots would go fast, but they did not.  I posted it  on Friday and I have 3 people so far.  I guess it's not really a random act of kindness if you ask people to do the same.  Either way, it will feel good to do nice things for others. Someone once reminded me that you do not need to do grand things to be kind, sometimes just smiling at someone is enough to make their day. 

Biscuitfest

Who knew there was such a thing?  This might be better than National Donut Day.

Biscuits & Salad

My appetite has been really weird lately.  I'm happy to say I do have an appetite again after being so sick and nauseous for most of the winter and summer.  I went for a while where I didn't want to eat meat.  Now all I want to eat is salad with low fat ranch dressing (extra croutons) and biscuits with butter and honey.  For one day over the weekend I really wanted to some meat, but then once it was on my plate, I didn't want anymore.  Not really sure what each day will bring, but I need to go to the store and get some more biscuits.

High School Reunions

Seems like quite a few people I know right now are attending their 15 or 20 year high school reunions...something I have no desire to do.  Other than on Facebook, I think there is only 1 person (who is a loyal blog reader!) that I keep in touch with from high school.  And I don't think Facebook really counts.  Either way, I don't think I would remember very many people if I were to go to a reunion.  I wonder why so many people I know do want to go to their reunions, but I don't?  Maybe this is because high school wasn't the happiest time for me?  I don't have many fond memories of high school and was happy when it was over.  That first day of summer after I graduated I left most of high school completely behind me right away, except for a few friends.  I do like knowing what people are doing or what they look like now.  Facebook is good for that, but no reunion for me.  

Did you or are you planning on going to a reunion?  What made you decide either way. 

Finally a Good Tan!

I have finally found a good way to get a fake tan! Before I went on vacation I really needed to get some color since I was so pasty white. People probably don't believe this, but my skin does tan and I used to be tan as a kid. Now that I live in a cubicle farm under fluorescent lights all day I rarely get outside so I burn easily. I am aware of the harm of the sun as I don't want skin cancer or (more) wrinkles (JennK...we are only 3 years from our Botox agreement after all). Years ago I tried the spray tan booths so I would be tan in my wedding pictures. I felt awkward though since my hands and feet looked so weird after it since they get darker. Anyway, I found a place called Fairy Tale Tans that does the airbrush spray tan by hand instead of in the booth. I have to say I really liked it! My hands and feet didn't look funny at all and she didn't make me look unnaturally dark. The picture in the post below shows my fake tan. It's too expensive to do all the time, but I'll definitely do it for vacations.

Just Because

It's not any kind of holiday, but I just wanted to say thank you to all our troops and their families.

Barbie's Dreams Downsized

When I was a kid I loved Barbie and always wanted her Dream House. Today I was in Target and saw the Barbie Dream Townhouse. Poor Barbie, her dreams have been affected by the recession as well and now she just gets a townhouse.

A Sign of the Recession

Is J.Crew having hard times? Couldn't they have photoshopped the hair on this swim suit model's hairy man arms??? The arms just don't match the rest of the body.

Snuggie

I always have a blanket on me when sitting on the couch at home no matter what the temperature is. I just have different blankets for different seasons. Blankets gives me comfort for some reason. I am sure everyone has seen the infomercial for Snuggie, the blanket with arms. My husband teases me that I should get one, but I'd be way too embarrassed. Who knew these things would take off! They have sold over 4 million Snuggies!!! Now people are starting Snuggie Pub Crawls which I think is a brilliant idea! This is perfect for people who want to go out with friends and be comfortable and don't really care how they look. My friend and I were recently talking about how we wish there were separate dance floors in clubs for people looking to hook up and people who just want to dance...can't imagine that would be very popular though. Wearing a Snuggie to a bar would definitely give the message that you are not on the prowl.

Yum! I Want This!

Between a couple days of snowy/icy weather and now stressing over my job, I could sure go for a big bowl of this baked ravioli.

History in the Making

The inauguration events are going on right now about 20 miles west of here. It's very quiet at work today...not sure if it's because kids are off school, people are at the events, or they took the offer to work from home to avoid traffic. Regardless, I feel like I'm missing something. As much as I hate crowds, and the cold, I now kind of wish I was there.

It's Official

We are in a recession and have been for a year. Duh. This really can't be a surprise to anyone.

$1.99

I saw $1.99 gas today. It's nice to know that something is coming down in price since everything is going up. I think we are all still getting screwed at the pump though since at the height oil was $147 a barrel and now it's about $50 a barrel.

$10,000 to Witness History

My brother lives in Washington DC and said people are desperate to find a place to stay in DC for the inauguration events. He said people are paying up to $10,000 for a place to stay! He is considering renting out his house and staying with me for a few days. I just can't believe people are willing to pay so much. I know it's history in the making, but that is a lot money for a place to stay for 3 or 4 days. I hope he does it though because he may give me part of it.

Get Out and VOTE!

I'm Back!

I'm back from Vegas and my Yahoo email is working again! I'll post an update on my trips soon.

No Email!!!

I am home for a bit in between trips and I cannot access my email! I use Yahoo and it says I have a bunch of messages, but I cannot get to it! I looked up the error I get online and it says Yahoo has to fix it for me, so now I wait...

It Finally Arrived...Well, Almost

I ordered a new Dell laptop almost 4 weeks ago. When I ordered it I was told there was a 12 day delay on the battery, but that was ok with me since my only other option was to upgrade the battery for $169 to get it sooner, which didn't seem worth it to me. Well, I didn't realize a 12 day delay meant it wouldn't ship for almost 4 weeks. I think it arrived today, but I wasn't home to sign for it. If all goes well at work tomorrow I will come home early and work from home the rest of the day so I can sign for it. I'm a little worried if I will like it or not since I ordered it in pink...which upset my husband who believes he cannot use it because it's pink. I just hope it doesn't look bad or I will feel stupid.

Summer Vacation

School is out in my neighborhood and the kids are on summer vacation. I really miss the days of having a summer vacation. I have been working for 12 years now and look forward to my two or three weeks of vacation spread out throughout the year. My summer vacations as a kid were great. My mom stayed home until I was about 10, then when she went back to work my brothers were old enough to watch me so I did not have to go to any camps or programs like many kids do today who have working parents. I also spent a lot of time at my best friend's house. Sometimes I would stay at her house for 2 or 3 days at a time without coming home. Her mom was home and they had a pool so most of the summers were spent outside in the pool or playing in the yard. I rarely wore shoes in the summer and after an early summer sunburn I would be tan the rest of the summer. My friend's sister was eight years older than us and was always by the pool tanning. She is also the person who taught me to swim. My mom took me to swim lessons when I was 5 years old, but I was too scared of the large Hawaiian man who was the instructor. My friend's sister taught me in just a couple days. I was always bored though by the end of the summer and ready to go back to school. I think I mostly wanted school to start so I could get some new clothes and school supplies because after one day back at school I wanted to be back on summer vacation. I would love to have three months off now, but that is just not possible. I know kids don't realize how good they have it and that is part of being a kid.

A Triathlon and a Power Outage

What a morning! I was woken up early this morning by a whistle and people cheering. I looked to see what time it was and the clock was not working. Turns out there was a "widespread" power outage so I found my travel clock and it told me it was 7:30am...way too early for me to be awake on a Sunday. The cheering and whistles continued and we tried to guess what it was from. There is a park about a quarter mile away that has soccer games, but it was way to early for that and it sounded like the cheering was in our back yard. Turns out it almost was. Our house backs to a street and there was a triathlon on it this morning so a bunch of people were out there cheering on the athletes. That's great and all, but they woke me up so I was not happy. The whistle was from a police officer directing traffic so the bikers could get through the intersection. I decided to go watch with them, but I got bored after a few minutes and went back inside. I was just hoping the electricity would come on soon enough for me to be able to take a shower and dry my hair since I had plans to meet friends at 11:30 to see Sex and the City. Luckily the power came on at 10am so it all turned out ok...and Sex and the City was great!