#26 Acts Update: Keep on Giving

 

I haven't updated on my Acts of Kindness in about a week.  Christmas and New Year's threw me off.  I am back to acting though, even though I'm having trouble coming up with free acts.  Somebody on twitter said to smile at everyone you see through the day, but I already do that so I can't treat that as my act of kindness. 

My Act # 11 was to give blood, and I attempted to do so on Thursday at work.  I was sorely disappointed that my iron level was 11.1, and you have to have a level of at least 12.5 to give.  The nurse even had the other nurse prick my other finger, but my iron level in that finger was a measly 11.3. 

She looked at me and said, "Girl, you need to be eating your leafy greens!"

I said, "I do eat my leafy greens.  I just don't really eat red meat."

She said, "That's your problem then!  Go get yourself a tshirt.  You tried."

So I sulked off to the break room, disappointed I could not give blood, and a man in there tossed me an Alabama Blood Donor shirt. 

I said, "Um, this looks like an Alabama shirt."

He said with a huge grin, "That's because it is."

"Can I have Auburn please?"

"You mean I have to touch that?"

Ha!  So I didn't give blood, but I did get a pretty cool Auburn Blood Donor tshirt.  One of my friends at work said I should still count that as my Act #11 since I tried, but I can't, so I'm scratching it. 

So instead on the way to work the other day, my co-worker and I stopped at Chick-Fil-A and I bought chicken minis for my department.  That was my Act #11!  They were much appreciative of the special breakfast treat.

And yesterday, I completed my Act #14 too.  I work in loan processing, and we have people who help us process in other locations.  I had a problem with a loan, and this one lady had to stay late to get my documents corrected and reprinted, and she had the BEST attitude.  She even called me to make sure I received it.  She got everything fixed in a matter of ten minutes!  So, yesterday I went to Subway for lunch, and I picked up a $10 gift card for her.  I sent it interoffice mail, so she should get it Monday!  What a great way for me to show some appreciation to someone who works really hard. 

Doing these acts of kindness makes me realize how easy it is to be a thoughtful person and help other people, spreading joy, happiness, and a sense of community to those around you.  Not only does doing a simple act of kindness make you feel better, but it makes the other person feel good as well.

Live Your Life by Constantly Giving to Those Around You, and It Will Come Back to You in Ways You've Never Imagined.    

Sleep, oh Sleep

I woke up with great intentions to run this morning, but Darling Daughter woke up at the same time too.  I cannot keep the child in her bed.  I decorated her room, and it is adorable.  I mean, I'd like to have her room as my room.  I love her so much, but she is so super attached to me.  She follows me around all day when she's awake, and she likes to sleep right next to me.  Right now she's laying on the couch, in need of a few more hours of sleep, watching Dora.  I need suggestions on how to get the child to stay in her own bed.  Cry it out does not work for her.  She'll generally fall asleep up there, but join me in my room at some point in the middle of the night.  I know I just need to get up from my sleep and put her back, but I get so little sleep that I value every minute of it!

And speaking of sleep, one of my friends told me about this SleepCycle app for the iphone.  I downloaded it for .99 cents.  It was the first app I've ever spent money on (yes I'm that cheap!). 

Here are my graphs for the last two nights:




When I look at these graphs, it's blatantly obvious to me that I'm not getting enough deep sleep at all.  The first night, I spent the majority of the night towards awake.  The second night, I began waking up around 1:00 until finally my alarm clock woke me up at 4:58. 

Oh, that's another neat thing about this app.  If you set a wake up time for 5:00 AM, it will wake you up at the lightest stage of your sleep when you're closer to awake than deep sleep from about 30 minutes before until your latest wake up time that you set.  So, on Thursday it woke me up at 4:38 AM and then today it woke me up at 4:58 AM.  This supposedly leaves you feeling more rested during the day then being woken up during a deep sleep phase. 

I've always thought I was a light sleeper, but these graphs confirm it. I now know why I don't wake up rested very often.  I need to figure out how to get better quality sleep.  Maybe get Darling Daughter out of my bed?

Weight Loss Tips #9: Taste the Rainbow

I've been thinking about food a lot the last couple of days, as I try to readjust my diet after the holidays.  Unfortunately, there is still a huge, Costco-size bag of Cape Cod chips in my pantry.  They are my downfall!  I swear, I could eat that whole bag in one sitting if I wanted to. 

Nothing taste as good as skinny feels, right?  I don't know if that statement is totally true, because the cheesecake that's sitting in my fridge right now taste darn good, maybe better than skinny.  Maybe it should be nothing taste as good as healthy feels.  But talking about taste, there are some food choices that can help you lose weight without feeling like you're depriving yourself. 

• Add Color to your Diet, Lots of It:  Not food dye coloring.  Add natural blues, reds, blacks, yellows, greens.  The more colorful your diet is, the better and more natural foods you are eating.  Some great-for-you and tasty bright foods are: Blueberries (wonderful antioxidants), Cranberries, Mangoes, Bananas, Apples, Tomatoes, Avocados, Blackberries, Oranges, Brussels Sprouts (seriously, if you have avoided these your whole life you need to try them roasted!).  Colorful, natural foods are usually beneficial foods.  They provide certain vitamins that can help you have more energy to get moving. 

• Go Nuts for nuts!  I eat a lot of peanuts, but I'm slowly learning to love other nuts like cashews, pistachios, pecans, walnuts.  I mentioned in a previous post that I make a little bag of trail mix to take to work most days with nuts, raisins and a few chocolate chips (just for that bit of sweet!).  Nuts are a great source of protein, so they'll curb your hunger.  Plus, they've been shown to fight against coronary heart disease. 

• Oats Aren't Just for Goats: I need to listen to this one, because I don't eat oats often enough.  Oats are so seriously good for you.  Not the processed packaged oats that I buy for my kids, but the oats that come in the cylindrical box with some old man's face on it.  Ding Ding Ding, those are the ones!  Oats are a great source of dietary fiber.  They expand in your stomach making you feel fuller in the morning, plus they get your digestive track moving, which is great for your overall health. 

• Reduce the Processed Food: Does anyone remember that Breyer's commercial, where the six year old is trying to read the ingredients off the other brand?  He's saying things like riboflavin and mononitrate, and wondering what the heck those things are.  Does anyone else wonder what the heck those things are and what they might be doing to your body?  Well you should!  Last I checked, an apple was just an apple and organic beef is just beef, without added processed chemicals.  Reducing processed foods means you have to get creative with lunches, if you're like me and work.  Make yourself a sandwich, eat tuna, take leftovers. I am not an all natural eater, though I would love to be, so I do allow myself one frozen meal a week.  Remember that processed food has a lot of other stuff in it that can hurt your weight loss attempts. 

Think before you eat.  Before long, you'll start gravitating towards the good choices instead of the bad, and you'll notice that it will make a change in everyone around you too. 

 

Check Out Last Week's Edition

Goals for 2013

I just pushed a button on my phone, setting a huge GOAL for 2013 for myself.  My goals for this coming year are similar and different from last year. 

Here they are, in no particular order:

• Run 315 miles this year: I set a RunKeeper goal to run 315 miles.  This is slightly over 2 miles 3 times a week.  Basically, this means I have to run on all my Taekwondo off days, plus maybe on a few Taekwondo on days.  I'm sure I can do it.

• Run a 5K: I'm setting a goal to run ONE 5K.  I actually hope I can do this somewhere around March or so.  I'm also doing a training program with RunKeeper, to get me prepared.  Now if I can just get over this cold and hit the pavement a little bit more.

• Finish my Novel: This is one of my biggest goals this year.  I should be done in the next month or so, I'm guessing.  I've already reached the climax and my main character is just floundering right now in between two large life decisions.  I need to get her settled and then put it away, returning to it to edit.  Some of you may be lucky enough to read the first draft!

• Start working on Short Stories: I've never been a short story writer, but I really think they are the key to getting novels published.  If you can get some short stories published, then you'll have recognition that will help you with a longer piece.  So I'm going to try my hand at it.

• Keep the Weight Off: Clean out my closet of all the too-big clothes and keep the weight off.  I'm going to do this by maintaining my healthy diet and incorporating exercise in my life every day (see above). 

So those are my goals this year!  I'm psyched to accomplish them and to see what 2013 holds!