daily dose of kindness

#77

2010-11-07T17:00:00.000-08:00

Last night I attended a benefit/fundraiser for William A. Jackson Jr. He is the beloved son of my boss/friend who was diagnosed with cancer recently. I saw such an outpouring of love and support from my community. I was in awe. As I left the event I was overcome with tears as I walked out to the parking lot and saw even more autos filling the huge, packed, snow covered lot. I saw more and more people braving bad weather and coming in. Many people coming in to give, to share, to express their love and good will. And while all were gathered there in his behalf, William was dying last night and finished his mortal test and today the snow has not stopped falling for him.

#76

2010-11-07T16:56:00.000-08:00

Brenda does so much for dad. Every day she cares for him in immeasurable and selfless ways . I know he loves her so. He told me over and over. We all love her so.

#75

2010-03-10T02:49:00.000-08:00

What a month of car-trouble-hell! But, I'm very thankful for the help rendered by many. Thankful for CARTS the only public transportation of sorts available here. Thankful for the service our beater with a heater has provided us this past year and only hope it can be revived soon.

#74

2010-03-03T22:11:00.000-08:00

I like the previous bus driver post...

I've experienced many kindnesses lately. Words of love and warm wishes, great gifts, and thank yous. Smiles. People needing a listening ear and people giving one. It's out there every day if we look for it.

haiku of the day~

Your potential reached
in helping others find theirs,
a world changed for good.

#73

2010-03-03T10:40:00.000-08:00

I observed kindness today on my 12-minute commute to work. A woman was a good distance away from the nearest bus stop and had obviously noticed the quickly approaching bus because she was running, purses and all, to the stop. She clearly would not make it in time.

The bus driver pulled over, picked her up, and then drove up to pick up the rest of the passengers at the actual bus stop. It literally took him 5-10 seconds and probably saved this woman from having a rough morning.

#72

2010-02-25T08:41:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I was picking up a beveredge at 7-11 on my way to work. When I got up to pay, I dug through my 80lb purse to discover I had no method of payment. At all. When the cashier realized I didn't have $1.58 he laughed and said, "It's okay, come and pay me tomorrow."

#71

2010-02-24T12:30:00.000-08:00

Yesterday our company had a service project for Haiti, they had quilts set up so you could come tie during your lunch or breaks. In the afternoon I helped tie a quilt for 20 mins or so. I also edited/rearranged a friend's school presentation for their entrepreneurship class.

#70

2010-02-19T11:51:00.000-08:00

So, yesterday someone did something nice for me! Hilary and I wanted to catch up and she suggested grabbing dinner together. I agreed but told her I needed a low budget dining experience. She immediately said, "No! I will cook you dinner instead!" So, HoJo joined us, we had homemade mac and cheese, stinky (onion and blue cheese, yum) salad, and cherry cobbler with icecream. And then she let me borrow her ski jacket, gloves, and cute pink goggles for skiing tonight. (I ruined my jacket a couple months ago, lost my gloves in Jan, and just though the goggles were stinkin cute.)

Basically she fed the hungry and clothed the naked. Hypothetically of course.

#69

2010-02-18T10:41:00.000-08:00

I took Dazia, my little, to the Planetarium last night. We checked out how much we would weigh on other planets, lifted moon rocks, and saw Space Pirates (I wanted to see the movie about The Nile, but I let her pick, I'm sooooo kind.)

#68

2010-02-17T16:28:00.001-08:00

A couple of days ago, I happened to be at the right place at the right time. I was walking home from school and in front of me I could see my neighbor strategically trying to balance 2 big loads of laundry with her toddler in her stroller. I offered to take her laundry upstairs to her apt.

Today I helped a lady open her mailbox for the first time, and showed her the "tricks,"- they are very old and a bit confusing little suckers.

#67

2010-02-16T23:44:00.001-08:00

I was a editor last night for a cousin and a friend. I reviewed a cover letter and application essay and provided feedback, even though it was late!

#66

2010-02-11T09:42:00.000-08:00

Last night, I stopped by a friend's house who had just had a major root canal and crown done. I brought her a baby teething ring (clever, no?) and a bucket of goodness.

#65

2010-02-11T09:40:00.000-08:00

A random person was walking past my desk to a nearby conference room, when she blurted out to her friend, "Dang, I forgot a pen! Let me run back downstairs, save me a seat!"

So I jumped in, "Hey, you can borrow one if you need." She thanked me like three times and ran off to her meeting.

#64

2010-02-06T11:41:00.001-08:00

I took back heating pads and treats to a friend.

Also, my office is matching personal donations to Haiti relief efforts. I have to admit, our company is pretty generous sometimes.

I held the gas station door open for the guy with yellow shoes and arms full of snacks.

#63

2010-02-03T16:09:00.000-08:00

My coworker has been overloaded with a new huge client and was getting stressed. I helped by doing a bunch of tedious tasks she had been accumulating.

#62

2010-02-01T08:34:00.000-08:00

Today was kind of a pay it forward type of day. I got a cute new cookie cutter in a box from my mom, so I made sugar cookies for my office, my roommates, and the friend I almost killed snowshoeing.

#61

2010-01-31T15:19:00.000-08:00

Yikes, I have been neglecting this too!

Quick nice acts from strangers: I was at the grocery store, arms full, and on my cell phone. When reaching for a red pepper I dropped my ziplock bags. I balanced the pepper and attempted to squat when nice guy hurried over, grabbed the box, and balanced it back on top of my pile. Same grocery trip, I had checked out and was heading out the doors when man ran up saying "m'am you forgot your bag!" It wasn't mine, but probably the groceries from person before me in self check out. I told him thanks anyway but that it wasn't mine. How nice!

#60

2010-01-31T10:24:00.000-08:00

I should be writing here daily. I love my family and appreciate all they do each day for me and for one another. I can't thank everyone enough. I can't ever seem to make it up to you.

Cottonwood Clinic has helped me this month and I am grateful. Penny went beyond the extra mile to assist me personally in my needs this week; like a solution the same day. She told me to thank God, not her. Only in Alaska.

#59

2009-12-16T21:55:00.000-08:00

December is always busy. Too busy at times. I've had many nice things happen that I want to express gratitude for. Gifts, goodies, people helping push our car, friendly people, loving family, and safety.

#58

2009-12-07T09:48:00.000-08:00

I recieved a nice little bag of goodies from my visiting teachers yesterday. It was full of study aids including tissues, excederine, pencils, candy, and kashi bars. Perfecto!

#57

2009-12-05T20:22:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I volunteered at the Festival of Trees as a host. Basically I walked around a designated area protecting the trees from people walking by and reading the oh so sad stories as well. Fancy/Cool trees were donated by different people and organizations and then sold to profit Primary Children's Hospital.

#56

2009-12-03T10:34:00.000-08:00

So the holidays were pretty busy with a Vegas trip and all. Although there aren't any blogs, kindness has ensued all over. This blog I'd like to highlight some niceness of other people:

Brenda made a huge, delicious dinner for everyone and then spent the rest of her weekend taking care of and visiting Grandpa in the hospital.
Uncle John played golf with Bassie for hours.
Jessie listened to me complain and has tried to be uplifting even though I refuse to talk to her via my anger strike.
Grandma gave me some cool kitchen stools and a mirror for my house.
Annie & Greg coordinated a tasty sushi dinner and big bonfire and didn't complain even when we were late (for both.)
Holli & Melanie helped me pick out a Christmas tree, haul it, and decorate it on Monday.
Dazia (my "little sister") let us leave the lame Big Bros Big Sis Christmas party early last night and get Mexican food instead.
Mom listened to me on the phone and didn't call/text too many times over the weekend.

Thanks.

Quote

2009-11-24T10:03:00.000-08:00

"I absolutely believe in the power of tithing and giving back. My own experience about all the blessings I've had in my life is that the more I give away, the more that comes back. That is the way life works, and that is the way energy works."

--Ken Blanchard

(PS Ken is an amazing speaker and pretty dang good author. If you get a chance to hear him via seminar or leadership conference, I highly suggest it.)

#55

2009-11-24T09:58:00.000-08:00

There is a lady at work who always brings treats for other's birthdays, holidays, baby showers, etc. Today is her birthday so last night I stayed up late making banana nut muffins to bring in today.

Also, another woman at work was lamenting about the cost of Christmas presents. I, randomly, have a supply of little picture frames in gift boxes and brought in 10 for her today to gift out.

#54

2009-11-24T09:36:00.000-08:00

The local computer guy (Steve) downloaded a disc for me that fixed my problems with my computer that I've been sad about for many months.

I go the extra mile at work to help customers.

#53

2009-11-23T14:06:00.001-08:00

I took my "little" Dazia to the New Moon movie yesterday afternoon. I'm not into Twilight and this was my second time watching it this weekend, but she really wanted to see it. Talk about sacrifice!

#52

2009-11-20T10:00:00.000-08:00

I forgot to do an update on the Thanksgiving boxes we were collecting for the Road Home. This Monday, we gathered, sorted, and sent out over 200 full Thanksgiving dinners in a box! Not to mention extra cases of storable goods and such. It was kind of cool to walk down the halls of our company with boxes lined on either side, floor to ceiling.

#51

2009-11-19T23:32:00.000-08:00

I cooked breakfast for dinner and took some to my neighbors.

#50

2009-11-18T09:39:00.000-08:00

It's been so long, I am sucking at updating this. Here is a re-cap of a couple good deeds from the past couple days.

I took Dazia to Ice Age. I filled in for a co-worker's missing Bonko team member (this ended up being a fun one though.) I helped a friend edit the custody section in her divorce papers so she wouldn't have to pay her lawyer for an additional review.

#49

2009-11-18T09:26:00.000-08:00

I love my dad. He has always been a great example of Christlike love to me. He always loved me unconditionally even when I made terrible mistakes. When I had bad dreams as a child, he would hold my hand and every fear vanished. I remember a time when I was eight years old, my dad and I were fishing alone on a stream in Montana and it was the day I fell in love with the earth and saw my dad as the best dad in the world. Lush greenery, mountains, huge sky, the sound of the water, and sunshine on a dragonfly that I had convinced myself was a fairy. Dad was there and I wasn't afraid of bears or anything. And the list goes on in my mind and I will be forever thankful for the daily doses of kindnesses from my father.

Today I wish and pray for him to feel better. I believe in the power of prayer and I ask others to pray for him as well.

#48

2009-11-15T21:55:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was a "pay it forward" kind of day. Dave took me to work and Mike helped Dave and Alex all day with a big project. Bill helped Mike with our tires and on the way home Mike saw a guy walking late at night on the highway in sub zero temps and picked him up. His car had broke down and he was walking home.

#47

2009-11-14T23:19:00.000-08:00

This past week:

We received a Thanksgiving card that I was very thankful for.

We saw Dr. H. and I could see the genuine caring and relief in his face for Michael.

Dave gave me a ride to work at -8 degrees.

Gail got me a pumpkin spice donut.

I shared a bottle of pomegranate jelly.

Bill helped us with some car troubles.

I listened to a lonely girl.

#46

2009-11-11T02:15:00.001-08:00

So I've been pretty cranky lately because I haven't been dealing well with school stress, but today after coming home from taking a midterm, I opened our apt. door to my husband intensely vacuuming our couch. He had vacuumed the floors, "swifted," and organized some things in our room. It was quite cute and very thoughtful of him, especially since he knew that I was having another stressful day.

#45

2009-11-10T13:12:00.001-08:00

Today I brought all the stuffing for our teams Thanksgiving food drive. I also let someone into my lane in traffic this morning.

#44

2009-11-09T09:27:00.000-08:00

Yesterday's kindness was small. My visiting teacher sat a couple people away from me at church. I could tell she spent extra time getting ready for church and so on the way out, against my typical wishes, I stopped and complimented her and asked how things were going. She was excited that someone had noticed her hair and I'm glad I stopped.

Quote

2009-11-08T21:33:00.000-08:00

"I am only one; but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; I will not refuse to do the something I can do."
- Helen Keller

#43

2009-11-08T14:41:00.001-08:00

So, this is my first time at this, but here we go:

The other day I was walking home from school about to go down what we all like to call "the sidewalk of death," mostly from all the ice that accumulates there in the winter months added to the very steep slope. On my way down the street, I saw a man in a wheelchair rolling himself towards the hill. I assumed at first that he was going to the Pike house or the apartment complex at the top of the hill, but he kept going onward and downward. I had the impression that I should speed up and offer to help this man, however, I talked myself out of it because he seemed to know what he was doing. He started picking up speed and about halfway down the hill couldn't stop and fell over and out of his wheelchair. I and two other people ran up to him. Fortunately he wasn't hurt. We got him back in the chair and talked to him as I wheeled him down the rest of the incline.

Apparently he lives in the island, about two miles away and down some more steep hills and was planning on wheeling himself all the way there. I took him down to our house and gave him a ride back to his. We had a good chat. I'm glad I was able to save him from an hour or more of pushing himself across town. Next time, though, I need to learn to listen in the first place.

#42

2009-11-07T20:22:00.000-08:00

I met someone who just moved to town today at my work. I spent some time visiting with her and her family to try to make them feel welcome.

Kati gave Nessa flowers today to wish her well at an audition.

#41

2009-11-06T09:30:00.000-08:00

As much as they are a stretch for me to write, I love receiving nice notes of thanks or encouragement. I have one friend who systematically sends them out and I give him a hard time for being so pragmatic about it even though I secretly love getting every single one.

A couple days ago, I needed to borrow a note while at work and my cubie neighbor gave me one (she keeps a box of them in her desk, great idea, no?) So this morning, I picked out a couple of my favorites from my personal collection and left them on her desk to add to hers.

I also saved one to write a get well card to one of my clients who had knee surgery yesterday. This client drives me nuts sometimes with work related things, but she is a nice lady and we have fun conversations occasionally. Besides, it's always great to get mail when you are feeling crummy.

#40

2009-11-06T08:50:00.000-08:00

So taking my "little" out has become more of a pattern than an actual act of kindness. But, last night, after some rigerous Fat Catz bowling, it was still fairly early in the night. I was tired, but could tell she wasn't quite ready to go home. Instead of dropping her off and going to bed (like I wanted) I headed north for the kind of adventure I liked when I was 13. We drove past all the huge houses to a vacant lot at the top of capitol hill and walked out to the edge to soak in the night view. It was freezing, but she was chatting up a storm and pointing out all the places she knew and had been before.

#39

2009-11-04T21:31:00.000-08:00

Tonight I made dinner for a girl in my ward and her husband who just had their first baby about a week or so ago. This was a struggle for me to be brave enough to volunteer because I'm super self conscious about doing things like that, but I'm glad I did it, and they were very grateful.

#38

2009-11-02T14:18:00.000-08:00

For Thanksgiving, my company collects boxes of food for The Road Home. I volunteered to be the representative from our team or organize our collection efforts and encourage donations. We are shooting for 10 complete dinner boxes from our department!

#37

2009-11-01T23:30:00.000-08:00

Pearl gave me her old moo moos today...

I read IF ONLY I HAD A GREEN NOSE to two groups of children at church today and taught them that "you were made unique for a reason and that there is One who will always help you be you--- wonderfully you."

#36

2009-11-01T08:21:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, Halloween, I did two acts of kindness. First, I started the day by joining a group of 10ish other people from my church to clean the chapel. This is something I always mean to do when they ask for volunteers, but never have before.

Also, I went up to Park City with a group of friends for some Halloween fun. As the DD, I naturally had to bring a couple of the drunk people home with me who did not want to stay at the hotel in Park City. I pulled over to let them puke, bought waterbottles for everyone before we headed down the canyon, drove super slow and gentle so no one would get sick, and dropped them off at their houses (making sure they got inside) even when they gave me the wrong coordinates, a.k.a. address, several times.

#35

2009-10-31T09:43:00.000-07:00

On Friday I gave a little something from the heart....

#34

2009-10-30T09:44:00.000-07:00

Last night, I took Dazia to Crazy Corn a corn maze on the westside. It was fun but freezing so we ran the entire time. We then got hot chocolate and talked and talked. I tried to be "cool" but give advice at the same time. Afterwards we roamed around Barnes & Noble for a while.

#33

2009-10-30T09:27:00.000-07:00

Brenda and John took Dad to get pomegranates and to visit family and friends.

Quote

2009-10-29T08:27:00.000-07:00

It's not so much how busy you are, but why you are busy. The bee is praised; the mosquito is swatted.
-Marie O'Conner

#32

2009-10-29T02:18:00.000-07:00

I've lost track, haven't been so nice, tried to help the lady I work with by leaving work to go to where she was broke down/jumped the battery, didn't start, gave her a ride home, took her to daycare the next day and to pick up her car the next, It was nice to spend time with her away from work even if it was spent in the traffic. B

#31

2009-10-28T23:47:00.000-07:00

My boss often does nice little things for me.

I took a cab to work today and the driver said he appreciated my positive attitude and he remembered me from months ago for the same demeanor. That was a surprise.

#30

2009-10-26T23:43:00.000-07:00

Tonight a friend invited us to her place down the coast for dinner. It was lovely. She is such a gracious hostess.

And last week I forgot to post that we got a tasty treat of German chocolate in the mail!

#29

2009-10-26T14:14:00.000-07:00

Yesterday after church we went over to a homebound elderly lady's house to give her the sacrament. She was 91 years old and pretty sickly. We visited a little too and she perked up when telling us about homesteading in Alaska in the 50's.

#28

2009-10-26T10:48:00.001-07:00

This weekend I also saw some kindness in action: I was at the park curled up with a blanket reading and these four people came up with Starbucks carriers full of coffee and hot chocolate. They offered and said they were just giving it away at the park that day because it was cold. How nice is that?!

#27

2009-10-26T10:47:00.000-07:00

I have a new visiting teacher who has tried to reach out to me four different times this month. I don't love visiting teaching and just keep ignoring her. Sunday morning, I sent her a text message inviting her to come over and listed several dates and times. She and the other girl came over that evening and it actually wasn't bad at all. They were nice and I felt bad for blowing them off before.

Also, I'm not super social at church, sometimes borderline stuck up. I helped a new person find the classes (and let her know which teachers were best), I got hymnbooks for our row in gospel doctrine class, and I had a conversation with the girl next to me in between classes. (She wants to be a speech pathologist too, Annie!) It was a stretch for sure, but I think I was in a better mood because of it.

#26

2009-10-24T09:52:00.000-07:00

I have a friend who, whenever I spend time with her or talk to her, always says rude things and hurts my feelings. Sometimes it is hard to remain friends with this person for that reason. Friday, when she reached out to me, I wanted to be mean and tell her she is not a good friend and a host of other mean things. I was even in a bad mood and feeling justified doing so. But I DIDN'T. And I'm glad I didn't now. Our interaction was actually better than usual and I was reminded of all the reasons she might feel miserable and mean. I realized, even miserable people need people to talk to sometimes, and sometimes, I need to be that person.

#25

2009-10-22T10:27:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I took Dazia to Gardner Village for the witch display. One of the bakeries has a scavenger hunt where you find certain witches and write down which store they are near. A completely filled out list earns you a chocolate chip cookie (if you are a kid.) She was funny and we photo-documented the witches.

#24

2009-10-20T21:01:00.001-07:00

Last night I was in a real bind needing a ride to work today and a friend was willing to help which saved me a hefty taxi fare. I made the friend coconut caramel brownies before work.

#23

2009-10-20T15:12:00.000-07:00

Today I worked on my small acts of kindness. I made a special effort to smile at anyone who I walked past and say hello and to hold the door for people the few times I used a door on hinges. I also only swore 4 times at work.

An act of kindness to me was that the girl I was covering for this week brought be back a Minnie Mouse pen from Disneyland! It all pays off.....

#22

2009-10-19T08:13:00.000-07:00

Today I woke up early, early, early and couldn't fall back asleep. So, I made zucchini bread and brought it into work warm and fresh!

#21

2009-10-19T00:07:00.000-07:00

On Friday my co-worker Gail included me on doing something nice for Boss's Day which I appreciated.

Today we met with our church friends for our monthly potluck for the "empty nesters" and everyone there is so loving and positive and encouraging. I received and gave several smiles, kind words, hugs, thank yous, handshakes, etc. It was like a PDA Fest. Just nice. Uplifting. And delicious!

#20

2009-10-17T17:43:00.000-07:00

To start off my kind deed, I'll like to do a little shout out:

Thanks family for your help this week,

thanks to everyone who keeps adding to this blog!

Yesterday, my little and I made "almost" Halloween cookies and distributed them to our neighbors. The quotations are because it's not quite Halloween, not because they were not quite cookies. She was so funny...apparently they don't make homemade dough at her house and she thought my eggs were rotten because they were brown! It was fun to watch her decorate them and obsessively roll out the cookie dough. There were tons of cookies and I sent her home with three plates of her own.

Dazia's perfect pumpkins

#19

2009-10-15T21:22:00.000-07:00

Thank you with all my heart for the help today.

Quote

2009-10-15T10:51:00.000-07:00

Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.
-Plato

#18

2009-10-15T09:34:00.000-07:00

Does anyone else feel like it is harder to be nice during the weekdays? Maybe it's just me.

They give out free flu shots every year at my office. A bunch of people from my team were going down to wait in line. One of the older guys on our team is petrified of needles. I hate, hate, hate getting shots or blood taken - why injur yourself? But this guy gets pale, sweaty, and lightheaded at the thought of it. His partner gets mad at him for getting sick and has insisted that he get the flu shot for the past 7-8 years which he dutifully does.

As we got closer to the actual shots he asked if he and I could go at the same time so I could distract him with my wit. So, the two of us went to the nurses simultaneously. I was so busy trying to be funny and distracting, I hardly noticed the needle jab me in the arm. I know, I know, this is kind of a stretch for a kind deed, but I think I was blessed for trying to help a co-worker out!

#17

2009-10-14T23:59:00.000-07:00

Today I finally got up enough nerve to call Dr. H's office about Michael's follow-up care and he is willing to do it and just add it on to our enormous tab that he knows will take 30 years to pay off. I really believe Michael ended up here for a reason, for several reasons.

#16

2009-10-14T23:41:00.000-07:00

Another shop owner in the building where I work has a man who is handicapped come by and water her plants in her store every few days to earn some extra cash. It is endearing to watch their interchange.

#15

2009-10-14T21:47:00.000-07:00

You are all so amazing, I feel inadequate. Marsha and Dennis are so generous and have always gone out of their way to help others, even those that they don't know. Their gift of a house boat trip to our family as well as the many other things they do that are so over and above make us all thankful for them. Glenna and Mike are equally wonderful giving people, Glenna never forgets us, sends cards, gifts and shares her wonderful talents; Mike gives so much to his students not to mention all the free haircuts over the years, they are extraordinary people. Our kids are all the absolute best and so good to others. I love to hear your stories and Danielle is such a good example, she puts herself out there in life to show us how to be charitable, wish she were in Vegas to show me how to make pie crust.

Fixed dinner for Dad's home evening group and Kathy's family on Mon, she's home from the hospital. She's so used to being the selfless giver, she is having a hard time being on the receiving side; her daughters are taking turns staying with her. Dad bought me herbs to improve the joints, of course he makes sure that I take them, 3 a day!

#14

2009-10-13T09:13:00.000-07:00

With 24 of my own needy clients, I usually try to steer clear of taking on extras at work. However, between lots of last minute vacations and one motorcycle accident, we are short a couple people in my office. I ended up taking on another girl's clients while she is out for the week. Yesterday, a couple graphic design pieces she had requested came back unfinished due to some lacking initial leg-work she missed.

I thought about sending the information back to her so she could re-submit this all when she returns. But then I thought how I would love it if someone would help me out in a situation like this. I contacted the consultant and designer. One overnight delivery, some finagling, a couple hours last night, and I think we may be able to have this all fixed by the time she comes back!

#13

2009-10-13T00:31:00.001-07:00

I can't even begin to list here all the kindnesses and help that I've received from my family. Not just this past year but always and in so very many ways. I've been on the receiving end for far too long and how I wish I could make it up to all of you. Please know that you are loved, admired, and appreciated for all your examples and goodness.

#12

2009-10-13T00:23:00.000-07:00

There is a lady here who plays the piano and the organ for us at church and she recently had back surgery and is really quite crippled up. Still she diligently hobbles her way up to play for us and does so beautifully and with much feeling. I wrote her a note to express my gratitude.

#11

2009-10-12T22:32:00.000-07:00

D & I were in Flagstaff today. A gentleman came up to us at the gas station, staggering a little, telling us some story....wanted money. D said, "no and it seems like you have been drinking" and he walked off. We finished and thought it over and drove over to where he had gone. Asked him if he was hungry and he said Del Taco (which was right there) would be good. D took him in and bought him dinner. "You never know", and it's hard not to judge. We'll try harder not too.

#10

2009-10-12T22:19:00.000-07:00

D told me of a young man (10th grader) that was struggling socially and needed to make some money as he isn't old enough to get a job after school. D picked him up Saturday and he came over and helped with the "weeds" in our yard and we took him out to lunch and then to watch a fun scouting event out at the lake. The younger scouts make boats out of cardboard and duck tape and ride in them around a small course on the lake. I hope he enjoyed it, you never know.

#9

2009-10-12T17:18:00.001-07:00

Although I need to catch up on my daily doses of kindness, last friday Wolfgang and I donated a few cans of food to a disaster relief fund put on by our university for the victims of the natural disasters in Western/American Samoa, Tonga, and the Philippines. Although it was a very small contribution, I'm glad we were able to help out a tiny bit.

Quote

2009-10-12T09:47:00.001-07:00

We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.
-Winston Churchill

#8

2009-10-12T08:26:00.000-07:00

A friend let me borrow her apple corer/slicer/peeler to take control of some of the apples in my yard. She is one of those people is outlandishly nice to everyone she meets and is always sacrificing her time and or wants to make other people happy. I sent the apple thing back with a nice note and then yesterday I came over to their house and made dinner.

Sunday usually is the day she cooks dinner for a group of people, then cleans up, then makes a treat for them as thy all hang out and watch tv/movies. I let her chop up a pepper (she wouldn't NOT help) and then she went and read a book she had been trying to finish while the homemade apple pie and veggie chili cooked. Dinner was good and it's always fun to share even if it means I get less chili.

The unbaked pie, en-route to Sue's house.

#7

2009-10-11T15:19:00.000-07:00

~My dad has made hats, beautiful stocking caps from yarn, for many many people. He recently sent me an infant one for a friend I worked with last year who had a baby this fall. It was very special and appreciated.

~Michael makes the bed before I even get a chance to each morning.

~Last night we saw a girl looking sad and lonely sitting on a bench and we stopped to ask her if she was doing okay and if she needed a ride or anything.

~We have a friend who is a doctor and I secretly overheard and saw him leave church today to make a voluntary house call for someone who is ill. He is a good man. He helped Michael in his time of need as well.

#6

2009-10-10T12:21:00.000-07:00

I heard about the cool basket Danielle & sibs sent to Marsha for her birthday, so thoughtful and kind!

My friend Kathy had a birthday before Marsha's and couple of days after Dad made her a bag with his fig/raspberry jam and we added a bread from great harvest, she is always happy to get Dad's jam or jelly and appreciates his thoughtfulness as her Dad has been gone for years now. Dad is hoping cousin Charlene is coming by after the temple today so that he can share the goodness with her also.

I am the recipient of the kindness of others, been wearing my tee-shirts from my sweet sisters; shirts from Alaska & Hawaii, people think I travel, ha!

Please check out Rebel's face book, she posted videos and pics of the big horn sheep in Boulder City, we took her with this past week; Dad was kind enough to take us all to lunch and we checked out the view of the new bridge at the dam; amazing.

#5

2009-10-10T09:25:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I bought a special pumpkin spice donut from the cool bakery next door for myself and my co-worker because I wanted to cheer her up.

#4

2009-10-09T10:03:00.000-07:00

Okay, this isn't a very big one, but it was my act for yesterday.

At my office we have a cafeteria staff. They are pretty fun and outgoing and very social with eachother. There are a couple people who work in the cafeteria who are a little more reserved, one being Calzone Man. He typically can be found sitting at a separate table alone or taking his breaks far away from the group. My conversations with him have been thus limited to calzone flavors and friendly waves, but yesterday I noticed him eating his lunch alone and stopped over.

Nothing amazing transpired, just a 1-2 minute conversation. He smiled and was chatty and I only hope he welcomed the gesture rather than felt uncomfortable/annoyed!

#3

2009-10-08T18:07:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago my sweet kitty was so sick. Deathly sick. I was her doting nursemaid for several days. Today I wasn't feeling well at all and she was my constant companion. She sat by me, on me, watched me, and followed me every step I took.

Oh, and on Tuesday my boss ordered lunch and offered to get mine as well. Mmmmexican.

#2

2009-10-08T09:47:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I luckily had a built in kindness project. I volunteer with Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) and had a scheduled "date" with my little. We picked out some pumpkins and carved jack-o-lanterns! She was grossed out by the pumpkin guts but we had a fun time carving and creating masterpieces. We roasted the seeds and talked about all sorts of teenage woes. She was pleased with her 27lb jack-o-lantern and I was pleased when I watched her proudly display in on her doorstep before she went inside.

#1

2009-10-06T14:14:00.001-07:00

Today, I sent a card to the Bishop and his wife for the church that I attend sharing my condolences for the untimely death of their 24 year old son.

I had to use tissues when writing the message. They are wonderful people and it breaks my heart.