pass it on...

...that's what they always say about good deeds. There's this commercial that illustrates this perfectly. A man holds a door for another person, and because of the impression that good deed has on that person, s/he helps another stranger out; someone sees this and is impressed to do likewise, and so on. You get the drift. Well I saw a kind deed today and though I am in general a kind person, it sorta reminded or nudged me to do something nice today. I hope sharing the small deed illicits a similar response in you.

This morning while walking in to work I saw a man come out of a coffee shop with 2 cups of coffee/something hot, and surprise the homeless guy laying on the street by handing him one. He looked so surprised and grateful. I can just imagine how much he needed something hot...some of us can't function without our morning coffee or tea. I think we all should try to do something kind anyway, but hopefully this encourages us to really make the effort to do a good deed. Even if it's just a smile...the person scowling next to you may need it :)

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"Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see." Mark Twain

"If you haven't any charity in your heart, you have the worst kind of heart trouble." Bob Hope

My last whenever in review...

Consistency is overrated.

Anyhoo, after having the worst grapes and strawberries of my life from my new nearest supermarket which I will not name, I have gained a new respect for my Super Stop&Shop in Dumont. I don't get fruits there regularly - I use my local farmers market - but if I ever do, they are yummy. These were horrid. In addition, my Stop&Shop has better prices.
Made my hair appointment. The snowstorm of last week and my bum hip threw a wrench in my plans to spruce up my look, but nothing's stoppin me now!


Midterms are in the air. Tomorrow and next Thurs. I am afraid, very afraid.

Weigh in is coming up. I am going to start back my exercise, & eating right regimen.

If you are squeamish and hate talk about women's issues, go read about my newest fun neighbor in my previous post.

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Don't let curiosity get the best of you
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CAN I JUST SAY I AM HAVING THE WORST PAIN EVER???? Oh my ovaries! What did I do to you??????? *holds deathly still in hopes my body will forget I'm here* I think it is angry at me for taking those Tylenol. I absolutely cannot stand the pain associated with my monthly. It is so bad I think something has to be amiss. At the stern instruction of Nic, I'm off to the Dr. this month.

Although I can't laugh - too painful - here you go. You deserve to laugh at my current situation since you did read my vent:

manners

There are levels of rudeness & my reaction varies based on source and intensity.

But let's begin with the positive. A well-mannered person will always get a pleasant response from me.

A rude stranger will almost always be ignored by me. There's a good chance I won't see or speak to you again so who cares? If I do have to speak to the person, it will be short and a mite cutting.

A rude aquaintance gets a biting response or a 'look.'

A rude friend, I'll call out in private. No agreement or response, then I adjust my interaction with that person.

A rude family member who isn't necessarily a friend, gets placed at arms length. Minimal interaction.

I never argue, yell, or go beserk unless the situation is dire. In that case, call the medics.

In all this I try to remember some people may be having a rough day or life though I'll admit I rarely do account for that. There is little excuse for being plain rude.

Current situation? We have a rude neighbor who threatened to call the police which in actuality became a call to some manager/superintendant (who we assume told her to shut up lol) because we were moving after 9 (for 50 minutes) despite this being the fault of the management AND this was explained to her in more detail than necessary. People move once a year at most and it wasn't our fault anyway as we took the day off to move but the management was delinquent and ill-prepared. My reaction to offense 1: I sent a letter to management describing the interaction. I remain open to affable communication in the future. I honestly think she blows hot air and is trying to waste my time. I am not the one to get started with, as she will soon gather. I am highly reactionary and can get cornstarch-y. I plan to wait her out (silent treatment). The other half, kinder half in this instance, plans to kill her with kindness...good mornings galore for the lady. This tickles me some. In truth he senses some lack of purpose and loneliness in an older lady. I empathize and so my letter to management isn't as harsh as it could be.

Anyone else with the consumate neighbor, office mate, or family member? Feel free to vent.

REMINDER TO SELF: BE KIND :)

winter blues

I know there are some people just loving the snow we've been having. I'm sorry, as one who shovels after each storm, I can officially say, IT BLOWS! Where is spring & can she please be taken off probation? I'm freezing here.

More snow Wed *sigh*

why, thank you fashionista!

I got some love from my well-dressed pal over at The Fat & Fab Fashionista

There's a song I know that goes..."love is something if you give it away, it comes right back to you. It's just like a magic penny, you put it in your pocket and you don't have any. But if you spend it or give it away, it comes right back to you..." So, I'm sharing the sunshine (if you live anywhere in the Northeast you're probably desperate for some right about now).

The rules:

1. Put the logo in your post or within your blog.

2. Pass the award onto 12 fellow bloggers.

3. Link the nominees within your post.

4. Let the nominees know they have received this award by leaving a comment on their blogs.

5. Share the love and link to the person who gave you the award!

Since I'm new to this public blogging thing, I don't have many blog friends (or followers) so you folks get twice the love...

1. Right back atcha, Nic-poo

2. Rach

3. Cucumber Juice

4. The Journey

5. Salfrico

6. My Life in Brazil

No you may not!

No, Ren, you cannot play in the playplace! Such a child at heart. Having intentions to go jam in BK's playplace with the 4 year olds hahaha

be a sweetheart!

So, it came to my attention that not all things sweet are tasty.

I was watching a popular show that had an entire chocolate room done by Godiva (yummmo!) and I've always wondered where on earth their chocolate came from because I know there is no cacao trees in Belgium, or Europe for that matter. Just curiosity. Color me surprised (not quite) when I found out most of the high end chocolate is from the birthplace of the cacao bean, the Americas, and the bulk of chocolate, 50-70% is from West Africa (think the more popular, cheaper, American brands). No surprise there. Of course, in the typical way of the world, most farmers of cacao (six major providers - Ivory Coast, Ghana, Indonesia, Nigeria, Brazil, and Cameroon) don't receive anything near a fair price for their goods, many of the workers are underage - don't do it to the children, pleeeease :(, some work in slave-like conditions, and most have never tasted chocolate.

Now I have little to no money but I think that supporting fair trade vendors is more important than buying my favorite Hershey bar, or Mars bar (Milky Way *long sigh*), or Nestle product (me love some Milo). Maybe when I see the prices of Whole Foods chocolate I'll eat less. Good idea all around. Soon, I'll be broke trying to eat and dress fair (yes, I am going to go there one day *sigh*). I know we all can't stop buying cheaper, more affordable food or clothing but we can make small changes where we can afford to...so next time you have some chocolate, try to make it as sweet as possible by supporting free-trade chocolatier. Be a sweet tooth with a heart.

Read more... and more

Of course I spent some time making sure that Catch chocolate was fair trade...click here for that info

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"We must become the change we want to see." Mahatma Gandhi

"Every mickle mek a muckle." Jamaican saying.
Translated: every good effort, no matter how minor, can amount to something meaningful.