to the barista at starbucks...

To the barista at Starbucks:

Thank you.  Your act of kindness yesterday touched me more than you know.  What a pleasant surprise to have you "take care" of my drink because you said I am always "so nice."  (Even though the fact that you can recognize me in the drive thru might point out that I need to work on my Starbucks habit.)

What you couldn't see in the few seconds I looked at you really funny and began exclaiming, "Oh my gosh! Thank you so much! You just made my day!" were the tears that nearly sprung up behind my sunglasses and the fact that you really did make my entire day.  Maybe even week.

For a lot of different reasons, life has been really difficult lately. Being "consistently nice" - another phrase you used - isn't a trait that I feel I often display, let alone hear from someone else.  Self esteem can be a huge struggle for me, yet you took the time to point out something in me that was of value to you.

Thank you.

Thank you for the reminder that we never know what someone else is going through, so we should always be kind.  Thank you for encouraging me on a manic Monday morning. Thank you for lifting me up when I was feeling down.

And most of all thank you for the delicious Cinnamon Dolce Latte and the smile it brought to my face.

SJ

march-april bucket list update

Greetings, friends.

My oh my... life has been a little wild, and my bucket list has suffered.  Nevertheless, I think it's waaaay past time for an update - however bleak it may be.

 My 2014 Bucket List:

1. Establish an 8:00-4:30 workday… January and ongoing…

This hasn't been terrible - or I am just fooling myself.  I don't always make it there at 8:00 and I don't always leave at 4:30; however, in the past couple of weeks I've been more on-top of work and have been bringing less home overall.  I have gotten to the place of thinking before I leave, am I really going to work on this tonight?  If the answer is "no," I leave it at work.  So although it's not technically part of the bucket list - I am calling that a success!

2. Compile addresses into an address book… February

Did it! 

3. Complete a 7-day cleanse… March June/July

This just did not happen.  I wanted to do this cleanse over Spring Break... but our Spring Break was cut short to make up snow days and I ended up spending part of the week at my parents' house eating steak.  Still want to do this, but want to make sure I can devote the time, energy and preparation that this will take.  It may end up being only a 3 day detox... and that would be okay with me.

4. Do a 30-Day Plank Challenge… April May

I did start this one on April 1st - no joke!  And then I got a nasty cold that would. not. go. away.  It's hard to plank when you cannot breathe.  I will restart this one... TODAY!

5. Plan one date per month… 

I did plan a "date" in March!  David and I drove up to Saint Louis one afternoon to meet his mom and sister for dinner while they were in town.  It was fun!  

6. Organize and Deep CLEAN home… June 

I've been "pinning" a lot of ideas for this one... I am officially done with the school year on June 12th, so I am hoping I can utilize the remainder of the month for the Deep CLEAN.  If I need to stretch it into July, that will be okay too.

7. Complete all started and purchased for crafts… July

8. Go to Pilates at least three times per week…

And this one is a bust.  In addition to the nasty cold that would. not. go. away, I had quite the unfortunate kitchen accident in early March.  I ended up cutting my wrist with the handle of a ceramic mug and wasn't able to go to Pilates for a few weeks.  I'm back in the game now and it feels awful awesome.

9. Have three designated “quiet times” per week… 

This is actually going pretty well at the moment - it certainly hasn't been perfect by any means, but I have been making more time lately.

10. Create and update a monthly budget…

Bust.  I don't even know.

11. PAY OFF DEBT… (30-40K goal)

We paid off an additional $700ish in the month of April.  Unfortunately we found out some not-so-great-news regarding insurance, but with our income tax returns, all credit card debt should be paid off at least by the start of June, which is HUGE!

12. Christmas presents bought and cards sent by 12/1/14… November

13. Blog twice per month…

Obviously a fail.

Have a wonderful day, friends.  Enjoy this beautiful weather we have been blessed with the past couple of days!