Authentically Mine

Claudia from the blog Out on a Limb also has another blog called Everyday Kindness. It is on Everyday Kindness that she has started first thinking about acts of kindness for herself and then got a group of readers who also wanted to join in participating in acts of kindness. After reading her blogs I too decided I wanted to make this commitment. Specifically, the commitment is to try and perform at least one act of kindness toward another every day. I would like to think that I am generally kind to others. I hold doors, I say please and thank you, I let people cross the street, pick things up when other drop them, etc. but I want to do more. I want to challenge myself to do at least one extra act of kindness each day.

I mean really, what will it take? A few moments perhaps. Maybe an hour if I am doing something significant like offering to drive someone to the airport (a common request with my family)

I have asked Claudia what I need to do to make it "official" and sign up to be on her Kindness blogroll. Won't you check out her blog and think of joining too?

I’ve wanted to do something meaningful for a long time. Contribute, give back to society. Many times I find myself saying, “I wish I had…,” or “I really need…” In reality I have spent all 36 years of my life very fortunate, never really wanting for anything I truly need. In today’s society I think it is very easy for the lines between wanting and needing. To say I am “broke” is a astronomical understatement and not getting something I want is hardly anywhere near a hardship.

Being skeptical of sending money to anyplace, I did my research and ended up “adopting” a child from the Christian Children’s Fund. I decided that no matter what I am trying to save for or what bill I am trying to pay down in my own life, $24 a month really is not a lot to me and can go so far to help one of these children. After looking into it I felt assured that The Christian Children’s Fun really did have one of the best donation to child rations out there, giving 82-cents of every dollar directly to the child and their families (with the other 18-cents going to overall program administration).

I am sponsoring a 1-yeear old little girl in India and I will be getting all of her details and a photo in the next week or two, and it makes me feel better than anything I could have bought with that money.

A new pair of shoes yesterday and a new pillow today! As far as I am concerned it really doesn't get any better than that right?! Had a nice early afternoon with Janet, lunch and some shopping. Then had a productive later afternoon dropping the car off for service tomorrow, walking Marley, cleaning the bathroom and vaccuming. Cleaning may not be fun but it sure feels good when it is done. I think I have the same feeling about our kitchen painting adventure next weekend. I really don't want to do it, I could find 10 other things I would rather do on a Saturday, but I know I will feel so much better when it is done and I am sure we will have some laughs along the way.

The car needing to be serviced is another story. The short version is it seems that every time we bring it in for a simple oil change - we have to bring it back for something else that seems to always be caused because they were doing whatever it is they do under the hood. Not a big deal because they always fix it at no charge, BUT it means I have to take the *gasp* bus to work tomorrow. I so do not like the bus.

Well now that I got most of the chores done I can go relax for a bit before ironing for the week.

This morning felt like spring. The sun was out it was incredibly windy which made it feel like there was energy just spiraling around me as I walked Marley. I just noticed this week on our walks that I pretty much hear the same birds in the same areas of our walk. I also realized that you can easily mistake the coo of a dove for the hoot of an owl. Then there is the woodpecker…I wish he would figure out that the telephone pole is probably not as rewarding as if he moved 20 feet over to the real tree. It was a nice morning after a long night of tossing and turning.

I knew it would come, the part where it got harder as I started to taper off my medication. It started coming last night. I was up at 3:00 AM and tossed and turned until 6:20 AM when I finally got out of bed. The thing is, as much as I could not sleep I did not want to get up and read or do anything else either. So I would sleep in 20 minute spurts before tossing and turning again. Once I was able to actually drag myself out of bed, shower and walk Marley I felt much better.

A co-worker brought in her dog today and I am doggie sitting for a few hours while she is in meetings and I swear it really is so nice to have a dog laying at your feet while you type away – my Miss Independent Marley hardly ever lays near me when I am working on the computer at home. She much prefers the king sized bed. Go figure!

Simply put I had a wonderful weekend. A healthy dose of 2 friends I have not seen in awhile and some great food, combined with a healthy dose of DH time a more good food at a very small hidden away Italian restaurant in my town. From the outside I would not even think of going in but it was delicious.

Today was a lovely lazy day of doing nothing but going to church, reading and spending some glorious time relaxing while I got my hair trimmed and colored.

I am feeling more upbeat at the moment about coming off my meds - it is a day to day thing as to how I feel - I am still doing the 1/2 dose of .5 of Klonopin in the evenings and last night I took 1/4 off of my Trazadone. I had a little bit of trouble sleeping in the middle of the night but it was manageable.

Little steps, one at a time. Breathing and praying. Tomorrow night I meet with one of the two insulin pump manufacturers - one of the pumps will be the one I start using. The Omnipod one is newer - obviously and does not require and tube which is a drawback - but some reviews are mixed on the satisfaction users had with the limited placement options of where you can wear the part that you need to wear on your body --- of course this was told to me by the representative for the Animas insulin pump - the competitor. I have a friend who has been on the Omnipod for a few years and loves it. I am meeting the Animas rep. tomorrow night and going to the Omnipod information session next Monday (yes I know my life is thrilling!). I will have met with both reps before my appointment with Dr. Endocrinologist on the 26th. Hopefully then I will be able to hit the ground running.

I am looking forward to the appointment with Dr. OB/GYN this Tuesday - DH is coming and we get to ask all of our worrisome questions. I have been going to her for years and really like her a lot but more than that I trust her without a doubt.

So a busy week this week, and next too. Then I am slowing things down again because I want to get my ass back to yoga and spend more time taking care of my body and not frantically running around.

I do think I am going to sign up for my summer class this summer. I am just so interested and the Professor sounds amazing. I think I am going to go for it  - I go back and forth - on one hand I think it will be good for me to keep my mind stimulated intellectually but the readings seem more textbook can case study or biographical which is kind of a bummer. OK so maybe I am more on the fence than I thought, but for $40 I am going to sign up and if I change my mind before class starts in June, so be it.

Have a great week!