November 2011 Blog Posts (657)

Today my gift was for a friend who's been very supportive for myself and my husband with all we are going through but yet she doesn't know it was from me.  I hurried and got to the office before her this morning and I left this stone heart on her desk that hangs by a ribbon.  It had the word "hope" on it.  I don't know if she ever figured out who it was from.  I didn't leave a note and I had planned to ask…

One of my primary goals for this project is to identify my weaknesses and learn how to better communicate with those around me.  I figured that the best place to start is eye contact.  Not just in a conversation - but with strangers on the train, employees at the deli, co-workers at the copier.  Today, as an exercise, I made a concerted effort to make a visual connection, and I realized what a great amount of time during my day that I spend inadvertently avoiding eye contact.  Once I began…

Gift

While trying to think outside the box today, I decided to make a simple gift to the Earth. At work I get coffee from the break room 2x a day, 260 days a year, and every time I get a fresh Styrofoam cup, which adds up to 520 Styrofoam cups a year. So today I started to use a coffee mug. I've made myself a chart to keep me on track, and the end of today I washed out my mug and stored it in the break room so it will be ready for me first thing…

so i started the day a little later than i was suppose to,obviously being late to work.felt like today i gave the gift of listening and giving advice to a friend that stopped by that was having anxiety...something i had a couple days ago,when a special friend helped me.i sat in the room with her and took a minute away from working and listened to her problems,and gave her advice,she felt better when she left...at the end i told her what somebody told me...BE URESELF....!!!(btw that means…

Hahaha, I think today my gift was more of a curse than it was a blessing...



I'm a part of the school's academic competition team, and some friends and I were discussing philosophy. Suddenly, one of my friends mentioned something that was completely impractical when applied to society. I humbly pointed this out. He immediately shouted, "oh my gosh, you have just undermined my entire philosophy in less than 2 minutes. Wow. Okay!"



It was a gift because I know that he is an…

I was cognizant that today was my first day to give and so i made an effort to buy an actual present.  i have been wanting to buy my pilates teacher a plant for her studio but havent gotten around to it.  i was food shopping yesterday at Trader Joes and they were selling a whole bunch of small plants and i found the perfect small and festive poinsetta plant. i bought it and gave it to her when i got to class.  she was very happy and thankful.  i even got another text from her today thanking…

Today, as my 29th Gift in this 29 days, I made a small donation to the National MS Society... and bought a present for a friend... and a small gift for myself... by shopping this morning at the site Boutique.  Seems like the best way to close on the Challenge & to give thanks.  And I did add a few comments on other folks' posts when I hadn't done much of that along the way.

Wow!!! I really did do it.

It has been such a great experience in holding an open heart every day…

I can't believe I'm already on Day 21! Today, I left my change in the soda machine(again). I do that most every time now so maybe I shouldn't count that as a gift and try something else. It's kind of becoming an easy gift, and while any gift is good, I feel like I need to challenge myself to think of something else. I also helped out with some orders at work that I don't normally do anymore.

I have spent most of the evening working on our finances, and it feels very good to know where…

Today's gifts : hmmmm. First I went Wendy's for a cup of coffee and loaned my coffee card to the guy in back of me. I also helped some guy in the Giant Eagle who was looking for hair tonic. Personally, I had, and still have no idea what hair tonic is, but he and I searched the aisles for it quite diligently. And no, I do not work there. But then, people always ask me questions in stores ! I took Belinda driving again (my friend's daughter), and listened to her boyfriend drama. Then, for fun,…

Opportunities come in strange ways, sometimes. I'm still sore, but it was sunny, so I went outside for a bit (here, in the winter, the minute the sun makes an appearance, everybody goes out). I stopped by the coffee shop where one of the baristas looked kind of embarrassed and whispered at me, "Stop leaving us tips!" This both confused and amused me. Apparently I tip more than your average take-out bear. Anyway, it was very sweet, and it made me feel good - I guess I've…

My giving and creative muse, M, lead me to discovering this website and non profit charity after I saw her post re cookies for Marines.  Knowing myself well enough that I probably wouldn't get around to baking in order to meet the Christmas shipping cut-off, I checked out other websites and discovered this one: http://www.anysoldier.com. It doesn't…

I have been callingSilent Unity's prayer line for years, as well as getting their publication of Daily Word. They have been such a blessing to me, so today I decided to send them a small donation.

I am so excited.  I just got a wonderful receive.  As I mentioned in a blog a few days ago, my daughter in law had invited me to go to New Orleans with her in January, but I had turned her down due to the cost.  Well today, a friend of mine gifted me the points for my daughter in law and I to stay at her Time Share there.  So I will get to go after all. …

During the Christmas season, the Salvation Army has kettles in front of every store I shop, even the grocery store!  My routine is to put a quarter in the bucket each time (or whatever coins I might have).  Today I decided to put a $1.00 bill in the bucket, an extra large amount for me, but it really felt good! 

Mom and I went out to lunch today to discuss the prior nights events.  On our way back to work, we ran thru Starbuck's like we usually do for an Ice Tea.  I have her addicted to their tea's.  I bought her tea (no lemon) and lemon loaf to take back to work.

Gift 6 - refreshing tea and a lemon loaf 

I was just on Oprah.com and found one of those lists about what helps to make you happy, and I thought you would enjoy knowing that according to the top ten list I read there, there was one which #'s 8 and 9 were

Longevity

Using data from about 10,000 adults tracked over 50 years, scientists discovered that volunteering, especially for altruistic motives, can be a lifesaver. People who reported giving their time because they…

A different take on the Advent Calendar! 24 days of giving tasks!

Check out this wonderful idea... http://thislunchrox.com/2011/11/giving-jar/

Why is it so hard for me to just...'be'?

If I'm sitting down, I'm usually reading, working on the computer or eating. Seldom do I just sit, clear my mind and slow it.

It seems like that would make me nuts. But from everything I've read, if our brains don't get their down-time, nuts might be a great description of what they could become.

Getting to the Little Chapel yesterday was a challenge; the copywriting work jobs are piling up and I'm going to be a busy lady this…