kindness

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So, I’m not exactly what I would call a kind person. It’s something with which I have struggled for some time. A big part of it is that I just don’t think before I speak sometimes. My goal this year is to become a kind person. So, my word for 2008? Kindness. In honor of that, I made this little canvas to hang on my wall, with Hannah’s help. It’s still a work in progress, but so am I, so I felt like it would be okay to post a picture of it right now.

It’s kind of symbolic in a way. As the year goes on, I hope to evolve into a kinder person, just like I hope my little canvas evolves into just a little more.

Thanks, Hannah, for being such a great example of kindness!

ETA: How funny. I just noticed that my canvas goes perfectly with my blog. Huh. Apparently I’m totally into these colors right now.

pennies

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One of the speakers at church on Sunday asked the following, in reference to receiving answers to prayers:

Are you paying pennies for dollar answers?

This made me think about how many things in my life I want and whether I am making the effort necessary to have those things. It was a fascinating exercise in self-analysis…and apparently, when it comes to my life, I am a bargain shopper.

If only that were true of my shopping habits.

rex lee run

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This morning, Bre, Hannah, and I all met up to run a 5k in P-town. It was Hannah’s first 5k and she did so great!!! I really must admit that I love being with people for their “first” race (be it ever, or the particular distance, just any new experience in running). I’m not sure why that is. Maybe it’s because I so appreciate my coworker, Dianne, for introducing me to running and being with me for my first race. Maybe it’s that I think that I am a good person to start with because I’ve been running for a while and I’m still pretty slow, so I imagine people feel pretty comfortable running with me. Maybe it’s because I love being there to see the look of accomplishment on a face after finishing (it’s kind of an exhausted look, but you can see the good feelings coming forth from within). It’s probably a little of everything. In any case, it was so fun to run with Bre again and be part of Hannah’s first race experience. And I loved that her cute husband, Lincoln, her mom, and her youngest daughter were all there to see her finish. You could tell Lincoln was so proud of her. I loved it!

As far as my personal experience with the race, I must say it was quite different than last week. I left the Nike+/iPod at home and decided to just run. I can’t stand not having it on my training runs, but with people all around me, there was plenty to look at and enjoy. I really was more in tune with my body (and just how out of running shape it is…yes, I realize I ran a half marathon last weekend, but that doesn’t mean I’m in shape, I promise). I paced myself based completely on how I felt, rather than what my screen was saying, so there was no pressure to run faster coming from my iPod. It was just about me and my body and my running. I didn’t even think about my time, I just knew I wanted to keep running. I was quite pleased with myself; I ran all but about 50 meters (I got this wicked pain in my hip and had to stretch it out for a bit) and was able to really push it to the finish.

Such a great way to start a Saturday!

*Side note – we had about four people offer to take our picture when we were attempting our self-portrait. They all thought we were a little strange when we turned them down, but it wouldn’t be an SP if someone took it for us.

penelope…the other one

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Just a little fun for the weekend…I’m so out of the t.v. loop (I don’t have cable, and even if I did, I don’t have time to watch it, and I don’t have DVR…yes, I’m kind of behind), so I just discovered this skit from SNL (thanks to my friends who are the opposite of my lame technological ways).

in the mail

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This week, the mail has been my friend. Normally, it brings bills and information about any number of business schools that I won’t be applying to, but this week was different. Sure, it helped that I ordered a few things online, but I was so surprised how quickly they all arrived.

So, here they are (and remember, we all choose to spend our money in different ways…don’t judge me).

  1. A letter from the IRS stating that I will be getting an additional $600 back from Uncle Sam.

  2. Cute, white shoes (not the easiest find in March) for working in my church’s temple. I spend five hours there one evening a week, and I’m on my feet a good portion of the time, so I felt it was worth a little investment to get shoes that were comfortable. They are amazing. Seriously amazing. I actually ended up ordering another pair (in a different style and color) because they are cute (okay, maybe not the latest trend…but still cute) and comfortable. Not the norm for me, I know.

  3. A nutrition scale. I actually used to have one (probably still do buried in the depths of my storage unit), but after spending five hours looking for it one Saturday, I decided that maybe it didn’t want to be found. I was just going to order the same one, but as with all things technology, some advancements have been made since I purchased my original one, so I ordered this one instead. It arrived on Monday. I am in love. (Is that possible?) It is amazing. I can add multiple ingredients and it keeps track of everything and will store it. No more guessing when I’m trying to calculate points. No more asking, “Is that 1.5 cups of whole strawberries? Sliced strawberries?” I can just put things on the scale and know immediately. Yes, yes, I think I really am in love.

  4. My new passport. My old one was going to expire in April and with a possible trip out of the country in May (I will be posting all about it soon), I really needed to get the new one before the old one expired. Not to mention the fact that I was taught by my mother that you should always have a current passport as you never know when you might need to leave the country unexpectedly. Ha ha ha. As in, sometimes there are deals on air travel that you just can’t pass up. It’s interesting. I haven’t been out of the country in seven years (which is a long time for me), and yet I think if I didn’t have a passport, I’d feel trapped. I mean, I love my country, but there’s something comforting about knowing I can leave it at any time.