Pay it Forward

This morning on my way to work, I finally did something I've been wanting to do for quite some time. I paid it forward.

When I was a student at Benedictine College, one of the fun (and only) things to do was visit Daylight Donuts, a doughnut shop that opened at 2:00am.  I'm not exaggerating when I tell you that it was one of the only things to do, the college is located in a very small town. Wal-Mart was the mecca of entertainment for those too young to get into the bar, it's that small of a town.

Anyway, it was I not unusual for Daylight Donuts to be filled to capacity at this unusual hour, even during the week. One night during finals week, I headed there with a friend since we were still awake studying for our Chemistry exam at 2:00am. Naturally, most of campus was still awake studying as well and the place was packed.

We must have looked like we could use a break, because two very cute guys had already paid for our doughnuts by the time we'd reached the front of the line. Or, we'd prefer to think it was because they thought we were pretty. Not that it matters, since I was already dating my husband to-be at that time. We were an hour apart, at two separate colleges, but we saw each other every other weekend (sometimes every weekend).

Anyway, that was my first experience with the kindness of strangers. Since that time, I have heard several stories of people experiencing the kindness of others, particularly during the holiday season. So, I wanted to do something nice, but I didn't want to be cliche either.

So, on this random Monday morning in February, I asked the drive-thru attendant if I could pay for the order behind me as well. She seemed a little surprised, but not terribly so, which leads me to think that people have done things like this in the past. And that is great! I liked the idea of making someone's Monday morning just a little bit brighter.

Not only did it make that woman's day brighter (I'm hoping that it did anyway!), it made me much happier as well. It felt very good to do something nice for someone without expecting anything in return. If I had a larger budget, I would do things like that more often!

I have been crossing all kinds of things of the list in the last few days! I'm liking this forward momentum I have been building, I hope it continues in this direction!

As you already know, my Saturday got off to a lazy start.
The rest of the day, however, was actually incredibly productive.

After Joey got home from helping his sister move, we decided we'd like to go to lunch and run a few errands. We waited it line (somewhat) patiently for some Oklahoma Joe's barbecue, the delicious restaurant located in a gas station, which has been discussed in a previous post.

Then, we headed off to run our errands. We started at Hobby Lobby, where we purchased silk flowers to put into a vase we were given as a wedding gift. The vase is lovely, and has our names and wedding date engraved on the front of the vase - but it's not in our budget to constantly purchase fresh flowers and it's a shame to not being able to display it all the time. So, I tried to get back some of my skills from working at the flower shop, and made an arrangement using silk flowers.  I'm fairly happy with the outcome, but keep in mind that I haven't worked in the floral industry in almost four years! I'm a little rusty, but glad to finally have this project completed.

After leaving Hobby Lobby, we decided to cash in an unused groupon we had purchased a few months ago at the Three Dog Bakery. If you've never been to the bakery, it's an adorable small shop on the Country Club Plaza that sells baked goods for dogs including cakes, brownies, treats, bones/bully sticks, and their own line of homemade dog food. They use all natural ingredients, and we've always had a great experience. The groupon was for $25, so we now have one spoiled pup! We came home with a brownie, a bully stick, and some grilled cheese and tomato soup flavored treats. We chose the boxer brownie, since Draco is a boxer - and he loves it! Here is a photo I snapped of all his goodies before he proceeded to demolish them. 

And, since we were already on the Plaza, we decided to go on over to the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art. While we've been to the museum on several different occasions, our last trip was for Valentine's Day a few years ago. It was snowing that day, in fact I remember the roads were terrible and it had resulted in a 20 car pile-up on the other end of the city. As a result, we didn't brave the weather to go outside and walk the sculpture garden, which is really the heart of the museum in my opinion. It turns out there is a brand new edition of the sculpture garden, and we choose a warm (for the season) February day to check in out. It is made entirely of stainless steel, and really quite beautiful. We talked the museum for a few hours, focusing mainly on the newer section which houses the contemporary art and photography collections. 

Then, we ended our day with a trip to the grocery store. For dinner, we still weren't terribly hungry since our lunch was so amazing, so we made a snack recipe from Pinterest. We made low-carb pizza bites, which I've had at a work pot-luck, but I had never made them myself. Since I also had a goal of trying 10 new recipes, I guess this can kick off the start of researching that particular goal! 

So, all-in-all, it was a busy (but fun) Saturday! Today, I did a lot more lounging around to make up for it. Now the Oscars are over, and it's time to go to bed! 

Lazy Luxury

It is finally Saturday morning. I'm propped up in bed by several pillows, have a hot cup of coffee, and an incredibly cute doggie laying on my feet. The only thing missing is my husband, and he woke up entirely too early to help his sister and her boyfriend move into an apartment. If I had been able to drag myself out of bed, I would have been helping as well. Instead, I am having a morning of lazy luxury.

I like my idea better.

In 2012, I have read 10 books. The extended winter break (my class doesn't really begin until we leave for Italy) has been a huge help with the reading goal since I haven't had to read any textbooks or do any homework yet.

While I'm well on my way to reaching my goal of 75 books in one year - I haven't tackled the more specific reading goals. Until today.

I have always had a huge level or admiration and respect for Nelson Mandela. His character and lifetime achievements are beyond words. I've written a few papers about him, both in undergraduate and graduate courses, but I've only read excerpts of his autobiography and memoir. This makes Mandela the perfect choice to complete the item on my list that requires me to read an autobiography. The book I've started reading is titled Conversations with Myself.

Conversations with Myself is a collection of personal documents of

Mandela's, which mostly includes letters written to friends and family while in person, his personal journal, and portions of an unpublished sequel to his autobiography.

I've only started reading, but it's quite obvious from the start the Nelson Mandela is a remarkable man. Even in his private communications, he maintains such a level of morality and character it is truly amazing. At 93 years old, he is lived a more fulfilling life than most people can even imagine.

You know the question - if you could meet any famous person, dead or alive, who would you meet? I would meet Nelson Mandela.

Stay tuned - more items on the list will be completed very soon!

Quarter Life Crisis

Well, we're almost two months into 2012. I've got both good and not so good updates.

I turned 25 last month. It was a fairly uneventful birthday, and since the first three weeks in January are one of the busiest times at work, I wanted it low key! I just wanted to relax. I didn't have a "quarter life" crisis, which is apparently a thing now. From what I've read, it exists because many people use 25 as an arbitrary age by which they hoped to have achieved certain life milestones - marriage, career, education, etc. I have a job I really like, I'm over halfway done with a masters degree, and I'm happily married. Although I didn't expect to be married at 25, so I was way ahead of the curve on that particular milestone, considering I actually got married super young (21 years old). But he's pretty great, and when you've known someone since you were twelve, you pretty much know what you're getting into by marrying them. :)

I suppose I can see why people may get down on themselves if they aren't where they expected to be at age 25, but it is still so young! Please, kids, don't freak out until you're 30. I think that's when I'll start getting disappointed in myself. I'd like to own a home and be back to healthy weight, so if I have not done those things by 30, I imagine I'll find myself disappointed. Luckily, I have 5 years before any such meltdown will occur. :)

Did anyone have a quarter life crisis? Or maybe you at least did some reflecting on your life and goals? Let's hear about it.

In other news, we finally get a second car! We've been a one car household for quite some time now, and while it was nice only having expenses for one vehicle, it just wasn't sustainable in the long term. Especially since Joey is getting some additional responsibilities at work, he will be working extra hours. And my hours will be changing as soon as I'm out of training for my new position.

That's right - I got a new position at work! I am currently on the first floor of the building I work in, and I'll be moving to the second floor - so I'm making a HUGE move. :) I'll be doing similar work to what I've been doing, but assisting a different student population. I've been training for past week, but I won't fully transition until I get back from Italy.

Which brings me to...Italy! I leave in less than a month (March 10th). I've known about the trip since last summer, and back then it seemed entirely too far away. Now, it's practically here! I can't believe how the time has flown.

So - new car, new job, and a trip to Europe. So far, 2012 has been fairly good to me.

We've also had our share of not-so-great things happen this year. My cousin Vernon was diagnosed with liver cancer, and while he fought bravely, he lost the battle with cancer only a month after his diagnosis. While I am sad to have lost him, it is a comfort to know he did not suffer long and he is now pain-free.

Joey's paternal grandfather was also diagnosed with prostate cancer, and while it was quite scary, he is doing very well and at this point the prognosis looks good. His maternal grandfather is in the hospital with pneumonia, but doing well.

So, as you can tell, we've had a lot of things crammed into these last two months!! I haven't done very much at all as far as the list is concerned, but I bet I can get some of my reading goals accomplished over the very long flights to Europe!

I've dumped lots of information on you (as if anyone actually read this thing!), and I know I should just blog more often - then you wouldn't be subjected to these super long posts and maybe some people would actually read about my life and my list.

I think I will really start trying to accomplish some of my movie related items of the list next - any suggestions? I'm not counting anything I've already seen, so sadly, The Wizard of Oz is off limits.

For those that don't know, this is sad because The Wizard of Oz is my favorite film of all time.

Now, we're off the hospital. Leave some comments!