25 Acts of Kindness

I hope you all enjoyed a fun and relaxing Labor Day weekend! I spent a few days on the Cape with friends, taking it easy and avoiding the craziness that is Boston's prime moving weekend.

I started writing this post a couple of weeks ago and finally want to share it...

Every year around the second week of August I start hearing the inevitable question, "What do you want to do for your birthday?" And every year when I'm asked that question my answer tends to be, "I don't know," "I don't care" or "I don't want to make a big deal out of it."

Yes, I'm an often overbearing type-A planner who jumps (often too quickly) at the opportunity to plan things for others, but when it comes to planning something that leaves me as the center of attention? No thank you, I'll pass.

Awhile back I read an article (I couldn't find it to share with you, but found a similar one here) about a woman who celebrated her birthday by committing as many acts of kindness as the number of candles on her birthday cake. It was such a fun message, and since I'm a sucker for a good life lesson, this year I decided to try it for myself.

1. Pay it forward. I paid for the man behind me in the drive thru at Dunkin' Donuts last weekend. It may sound odd, but I've done this a few times (mostly around the holidays) and it always makes me smile thinking about their face when they're handed their free coffee and told to have a great day. 

2. Be appreciative. I bought simple flowers for my wonderful roommate/best friend, who outdid herself planning my birthday festivities as a reminder that I think she's awesome.

3. Kill 'em with kindness. People who leave stingy tips at restaurants bug me. You never know what someone's story is or what kind of day they're having, so even if you don't get the greatest of service - kill 'em with kindness. I had a less than impressive waitress at a restaurant a couple of weeks ago, and instead of reflecting my disappointment in her tip, I chose to be generous... and left a smiley face on a napkin. 

4. Reward goodness. On that note, I had an awesome waiter at a different restaurant last week. He was incredibly thoughtful and helpful and just genuinely nice. I love nice people. We left him a great tip as well and thanked him multiple times for making our experience such a great one.

5. Speak up. I sent a card to a friend who I haven't seen in far too long, but have been thinking about a lot lately, just to say hello and let her know I miss her.

6. Acknowledge those who inspire you. I donated $25 to Chase Your Dreams Now, a wonderful foundation that was started by a close (and awesome) family friend to honor his sister and nephew by supporting kids in the pursuit of their dreams. 

7. Find ways to give back through your passions. I finally tested out the Charity Miles app, which allows you to raise money for charities just by completing workouts.

8. Be a source of love and support. I picked up some things to send to my little sister who just moved into college for the first time. I learned while I was home last weekend, however, that she's pretty set with care packages at the moment, so I think I'll save this one for a later date!

9. Donate what you don't need/use. In my cleaning spree a couple of weeks ago I donated two bags of clothes to goodwill. 

 10. Round up. I clicked 'yes' on the option to round up my total purchase of Duck Tour tickets and donate the change to charity. More and more businesses are doing this, and while it may only be a few cents added to your purchase - it all adds up.

11. Help a stranger. In the age of smart phones and hand-held GPS technology this one doesn't happen as often, but I helped two people who stopped me on my walk home from work and asked for directions.

12. Promote brains (and crayons). While I was shopping for care package items for my sister, I picked up some school supplies to donate to a local program.

 13. Remind those you love. I cooked a nice dinner for my boyfriend, just to remind him that I think he's pretty special.

14. Just add sprinkles. I followed up aforementioned dinner with homemade cupcakes, since he had been claiming that I never bake for him (lies).

15. Share inspiration. I've shared a few quotes in the past couple of weeks, but this one from my last Thursday Thoughts post is my favorite.

16. Sweeten someones day. I baked blueberry banana muffins for some awesome people I'm lucky enough to call my co-workers.

17. Spread the word. As a Marketing professional, and as a consumer who utilizes reviews on a daily basis, I know how important recommendations can be. Thus, I took some time to write glowing reviews on five of my favorite restaurants on Yelp. 

18. Teach. I helped a woman at the laundromat learn how to operate the washing machine. 

19. Donate more. While wrangling up old clothes to donate, I also collected and donated a bag of old textbooks and other books that were just taking up space. 

20. Give a smile. I sent a card to a friend of mine who has been pretty sick lately, just to reminder her that she's loved. 

21. Spread the love and discover. Few bloggers will argue that they'd prefer not to get positive comments on their posts. In an effort to spread some kindness, and read some new blogs, I went on a blog comment crawl, clicking through from blog to blog and leaving nice, positive comments. 

22. Don't be a jerk. I consciously made an effort to be a nicer driver, let people in and stop being so impatient. I live in Boston, people. This is difficult sometimes. 

23. Spread some sunshine. I also made a conscious effort to smile at strangers and say hello. This, I like to think, is pretty normal for me, but is sometimes harder to do after a long day. Instead of imposing your exhaustion, stress and frustration on others, make someone smile or laugh. You'll be amazed at how much better you feel.

24. Put away the technology. This is something I constantly battle, I'm always connected. But I've made an effort to put the iPhone, laptop, etc. down and just enjoy what (and who) is around me. This is one I'd like to continue to work on.

25. Say thank you. Like many other things on this list, I'd like to think that I do this on a daily basis, but I know it can get lost in the shuffle of life. I've tried to say thank you a lot more in the past couple of weeks. To my family, to my friends, to the people who make my coffee, even to the waitress who's service was less than impressive. Oh, and thank you to you. If you're reading this, you're pretty special in my book.
 
Now, I don't usually solicit birthday presents, but if you're feeling really generous today and want to join the celebration...

Do something kind. Share it with others, feel good about yourself, and let it make you smile. 

Leave a comment and tell me about it! I'd love to hear about an act of kindness you did for someone else, recently or in the past. 

Have you every been the recipient of a random act of kindness?

A Tired Birthday Girl

Three days later, I'm finally getting a chance to sit down and scroll through the many Happy Birthday wall posts that so nicely graced my Facebook page on Saturday. Truthfully, as much as I appreciate the social media love, my weekend was as far removed from the wonderful world of the web as it has been in a long time... and I'm OK with that.

In the few seconds that I feel like I have had to myself in the past several days, I wondered how I would write this post. Recapping a weekend packed with 25th birthday celebrations and time spent with family celebrating the life of my Grandmother and Uncle. I can't say that those were two events that I was looking forward to pairing together, but it wasn't about me and I was grateful in the end to be surrounded by the people who mean the most.

So, for now, I'm choosing not to write any lengthy recaps, and leaving you with a simple birthday photo and a promise that I will share more soon. For now, this tired birthday girl is getting some much needed sleep and enjoying time with her family that doesn't involve plans scheduled down to the minute.

 

Thursday Thoughts & Blueberry Banana Muffins

1. Lately I've been having trouble falling asleep, which seems to have made waking up in the morning that much more painful. No, but really, those first few minutes after my alarm goes off, I kind of feel like the world is ending. I know I don't help my cause by pressing snooze 10,000 times, I just can't help it. I need to fix this, and fix it soon, since it's clearly not going to get any easier in the next few months once it's totally dark outside until at least 7am.

3. I came up with a new business plan idea! Recruit handsome men for runners to hire to help them stretch out after workouts. Anyone want in? Seriously, I think this has potential.

2. It's back to school season. This terrifies me. Not only does it bring back those nostalgic, "I remember when I was packing up to head back to school" feelings, it also brings a nice slap in the face of, "Hey Sarah, you're an adult. Get your butt out of bed and go to work." That abuse I consider tolerable, but chaos throughout my beloved Target? No, thank you. Aisles lined with massive cardboard bins filled with items to be snatched up by desperate college students who don't even realize that no, you don't actually need purple toaster for your dorm room.

4. Today begins a weekend filled with birthday festivities! Yes, it's true, I turn 25 on Saturday. I've been brainstorming ways to get out of it but haven't come up with anything good yet. I'm pretty excited though, since I'll be spending my time celebrating with lots of people that I love - including Kenny Chesney and Eric Church who so nicely agreed that Countryfest should be held on my special day. Aren't they thoughtful? Tonight I kicked things off with a fantastic mani/pedi after work, followed by dinner with a handful of my favorite people. I have the best girlfriends, they seriously make my world go 'round.

5. I made you guys muffins! Well, kind of. I made muffins and am sharing the recipe with you so that you can return the favor. This recipe is based on one my Dad has used for years and is one of my favorites. Simple and yummy. Enjoy!

Blueberry Banana Muffins
yields ~18 muffins
 
2 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup vanilla or plain Greek yogurt
1 egg
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 medium ripe banana (mashed)
1 cup+ blueberries (+ if you're ambitious, or like me and just love blueberries)

Combine flour, sugar, milk, oil, yogurt, egg, baking powder, salt and cinnamon in a medium mixing bowl with a whisk until incorporated. Add banana and blueberries, mix well with a rubber spatula.

Spoon batter into lined muffin pan until cups are ~3/4 full. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.

Bake at 400* for 20-25 minutes, or until the tops are lightly browned and a toothpick comes out clean.

Are you a morning person? Any brilliant tips/tricks to get out of bed?

Something you brought to college with you but never actually needed?
I remember convincing my step dad that I needed a tool kit (like, hammer, nails, screwdriver, bolts, etc.) going into each school year. I might have used the screwdriver once, which is debatable. 

Progress, America's Birthday and Thankfulness

I had the nicest blog post written up to recap this weekend. And then my computer ate it. No, but really, one second it was there and the next... POOF. Not what you want to experience on a Monday night, but hey - I guess it happens.

As a result, you get my lovely long weekend recap in photos: 

... I know, I slacked on photos this weekend big time too, but you get the jist. Awesome run progress, delicious cookies and BBQs with friends to celebrate America's birthday and Cape time with the family.

This past Saturday also marked a year since my big step-sister, Sarah, passed away. Yes, we shared the same name. Thinking back on the past twelve months, I can't believe a year has passed. I spent the majority of Saturday morning feeling guilty that I wasn't home to spend the day with my Mom's side of the family, remembering Sarah and celebrating her life. 

Me and my step-siblings, Tim and Sarah, when we were little.

Truthfully, I've spent a lot of time feeling guilty in the past year. Guilty that I didn't spend more time with her, guilty that I didn't reach out as much as I could have, guilty that I never got a chance to say goodbye, and then guilty that I was grieving when I felt as though I didn't deserve to... if that even makes any sense. I can imagine these often come along with coping with a loss, but they certainly aren't easy feelings to dismiss.

If there has been any particular lesson I've learned in the past year, I'd say that I've become that much more of a thankful person. Thankful that though Sarah passed, she passed peacefully. Thankful for my amazing family and friends who love me unconditionally and who I love right back. Thankful for my job, living in such a wonderful city and being able to support myself. Thankful for the little moments and things that often go unnoticed but mean so much.

"Life is short. Break the rules, forgive quickly, kiss slowly, love truly, laugh uncontrollably, and never regret anything that made you smile."

I hope you had a wonderful long weekend, full of things that made you smile.

What's something that reminds you to be thankful?

Thursday Thoughts

It's the most wonderful time of the week! I actually look forward to writing these posts. Primarily because I've forced myself into at least one weekly blog post (structure is clearly lacking here), but also because I can write whatever I want - even if it makes no sense at all. Lucky readers, you.

1. So this happened:

...see that?! That's a treadmill! I haven't seen one of those in MONTHS! My PT surprised me on Tuesday with an interval assignment. I'm fairly sure my face lit up at the thought of running again, so she immediately killed my vibe with a, "Don't even go there, Sarah. Think of this as a task you need to complete - not a RUN. You've got a ways to go before you're in the clear." ...party pooper. Truthfully I'm glad she did because it's so easy to think you can just jump back into things full force and potentially ruin the progress you've made - cough, what I did with my last PT, cough.

Anywho. Intervals at the appt. Tuesday were 1 min walk/2 min run x3 for .8 miles total. Intervals as homework yesterday were 1 min walk/3 min run x 4 (plus 10 min walking warm up) for 2.15 miles total. Intervals at the appt. this morning were 1 min walk/5 min run x 3 for about 1.8 miles total. It's frustrating to have to reign myself in, although slightly easier since it's glaringly obvious how out of shape I am vs. even 3 months ago. I can still feel tightness start to develop in my knee toward the end of the workout, but not the same sharp pain I was feeling before. Baby steps to greatness.

2. My gorgeous cousin had a beautiful baby boy this morning! I am so thrilled for her and her husband, as well as the rest of my blonde-haired, blue-eyed Jacksonville family. Tripp is the first great-grandchild for my grandparents as well which is super exciting, and I can't wait to meet the little nugget ASAP.

3. What's up with this weekend's forecast, Boston? Not cool.

4.  I spent the latter part of this past weekend on the Cape with my family for a belated Father's Day celebration. We ate fresh seafood, went out for ice cream, played mini golf and went to the beach - all packed into about 24 hours. It was a bit hectic, but I loved every minute.

Sisters at sunset!

Nutella and black raspberry ice cream w/ rainbow sprinkles

Marylou's ice coffee - famous on the Cape (and YUMMY!)

Gorgeous day for the beach

Sister & I locked up - clearly these stocks were not made
for tall people. Rude.

5. Remember when I confessed that I'm lucky enough to go to a LOT of concerts during the summer? Yeah, this weekend we'll be seeing Tim McGraw. He puts on a great show AND has great opening acts this year in Brantley Gilbert and Love and Theft. Totally pumped, minus the fact that the rain will probably put a bit of a damper on our tailgating festivities.

Finally, I'm not ready to talk about what happened earlier this week regarding a certain Cup. Yes, I'm heartbroken. Yes, I cried. Yes, I cried again watching this video. Oh man, what a season. I'm certainly not wishing summer away but I cannot wait to have hockey back. Thanks for the crazy ride, Bruins.

I hope you all have wonderful weekends planned, some of you hopefully with a bit better weather than is expected to grace the Boston area!

Favorite ice cream flavor and topping?
Flavor is a toss up between anything chocolate (shocking) and black raspberry. Topping is most definitely rainbow sprinkles... in case you haven't noticed.

Favorite family pastime? 
Mini golf always seems to be a part of any family vacation, but I'd say wiffle ball is up there too. My family is only slightly competitive.

Happy Father's Day

Slightly delayed, but better late than never.

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there. Thank you for your constant love, generosity, protection and support. Whether you're a biological father, adopted father, grandfather, godfather, uncle or other special person in a child's life, your presence is undeniably appreciated and felt. 

As some of you may have seen via my message yesterday on Instagram, I'm a pretty lucky girl to have as many father figures in my life as I do...

My awesome stepdad

My amazing grandfather

My hero, lifelong cookie-dough stealing partner...

...and biggest cheerleader, who I am so blessed to call Dad.

...and I hope they realize how very loved and appreciated they are not just on Father's Day, but each and every day.

Easter 2013

I meant to post this early last week... oops. I've been out of town, having spent the last few days in Tampa for a work conference. We spent 98% of our time in meetings and in conference rooms, but it was nice to enjoy the warmer weather here and there during breaks in the busy schedule.

On to the original post...

In the midst of hectic work schedules, pending changes, frustrating running setbacks and the general craziness of life itself, it's nice to step back sometimes and (attempt to) let go of those things that are out of your control. I'm a big believer that everything happens for a reason, and that even when you feel the most helpless and vulnerable there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

I was blessed enough to spend Easter weekend with people that I love, and even though I couldn't make the trip out to western MA, I still spent my holiday with family.

I hope you all enjoyed your weekend (and now week...and another weekend), whether you celebrate Easter or not, indulged in some sweets and spent time with people that you care about!

Knee update: Still hurting. It's frustrating, I'm annoyed, and I could seriously use some thought-clearing run time enjoying the warmer weather. I've been behaving ridiculously well - stretching, icing and foam rolling, and my workouts have consisted of biking and strength training (yawn). Walking is fine, but every time I try to run the pain immediately comes back. Roar.

St. Patrick's Day Weekend

2013 is the first year since living in Boston that I've been in the city for St. Patrick's Day. I can't tell you how many times that made people gasp this past weekend... "What do you mean you've never been in Boston for St. Patty's celebrations?!"

Regardless, this year I was excited to be in town and embrace whatever small fraction of Irish I might have in me. Although, I would like to petition for new holiday colors. I don't own a whole lot of green, which makes it kind of inconvenient to fully embrace the spirit. Don't worry, I'm only half kidding, please don't stone me.

I started the weekend early, embracing Pi Day on Thursday with a 3.14 mile run. Don't let that lap pace fool you, that was my sprinting effort to get home and warm up. That whole changing-up-my-apparel-to-embrace-spring thing was a little premature. I don't actually run a 7:43 mile.

Birthday celebrations Friday night were followed by a Saturday morning 7-miler, Wrentham shopping adventures, Big-East Championship games and a Sunday full of Southie St. Patty's shenanigans with friends.

 

How did you celebrate your St. Patrick's Day?

Life Lately

Clearly things have been a little hectic since I haven't posted in ten days. Such is life, and it has been busy in the best ways - filled with snow, love, birthdays and, of course, chocolate and pavement.

So here's a quick photo update of life during the past week or so.

Here's to a productive week, a good taper and getting excited for the Hyannis half next Sunday!

Goals for 2013

2013 is off to a great start! A delayed gym session last night meant that I didn't need to fight any resolutioners for a treadmill and got in a great run. This is actually the longest I've run since Philly, oops? Back at it.

Like 99% of the population, I've been thinking a lot lately about what goals I'd like to set for myself in the new year. I enter every year with some sense of what I'd like to accomplish, but I've never written anything down.

My general goals for 2013 are more so guidelines on how I want to live my life, whereas my running goals are a bit more measurable.

General

1. Be healthy 
Pretty simple. Sleep more, eat clean, improve fitness and drink more water.

2. Be fearless
I am a totally risk-averse person. I think things through to the point of over-thinking them, am not good with surprises, and plan everything. I want to let go of this a bit in 2013 and just enjoy life and all of its adventures. Baby steps.

3. Be happy 
One of my greatest joys in life is making other people happy. That may sound odd, but let me clarify. I'm a people pleaser. I love the feeling I get when someone enjoys something I cook, when I can help someone out, when I give the perfect gift, when I make someone smile, etc. This can be great, but it can also seriously suck. I can't say no, and that often leaves me open to being taken advantage of and getting hurt. In 2013 I want to spend more time focusing on the things that make me happy and doing the things that I love. 

4. Prioritize  
This kind of relates to all of the above. Since I have such a hard time saying no, I often over-commit myself. I want to, and try to, do too many things at once. This leaves me burnt out, exhausted and no fun for anyone to be around, including myself. I want to spend time this year better prioritizing the things that mean the most to me and recognizing that it's OK to say no. It's all about balance.

Running

I like to refer to 2012 as the year that I officially fell in love with running. During a year where so much felt like it was out of my hands, running was something I could control, and something that could offer me peace. As a result, I have some pretty lofty goals for 2013.

1. Run a sub-2 hour half marathon 
The half was my first love in running, so 2013 is going to have a few 13s. This one is a pretty big goal, since I'll need to shave nearly 12 minutes off of my current PR, but doable. The last half I did was pre-marathon, and training for Philly proved to me that I'm much stronger than I think I am.

2. Run stronger, faster, smarter 
The morning after Philadelphia, my running buddy and I escaped our friends and family at the hotel to drive and hobble into Dunkin' Donuts for coffee. What had been "OMG why did we EVER think this was a good idea?" the day before, quickly turned into "OK, next time we need more of...". 2013 will be all about running stronger, faster and smarter. Incorporating more strength training and other fitness workouts, falling in love with the track and speed workouts and taking what I learned in 2012 and applying it in 2013.

3. Run another marathon
Call me crazy, but I want more.

4. Volunteer at a race
I can't tell you how much respect and love I have for the people that dedicate their time and energy to ensuring that races go off without a hitch and that runners have the resources that they need. It's hard to show your appreciation when you're running past them, but if I could hug each one of them I would. Seriously. As a result, I want to volunteer at at least one local race this year and show my support for the sport from the other side. 

5. Have fun
After training for Philly this past fall, I was burnt out. Running isn't easy for me. It's hard. I don't naturally wake up every day and want to go. In fact, more often than not it's the opposite. But I love the sense of accomplishment it brings and the way that I feel after I run. I love being able to do something that most people won't. Yes, I have running goals for 2013, but mostly I just want to have fun and continue to love the sport.

So there you have it. I've already started working hard on these, especially being fearless. My face arrived unknowingly on a holiday card from my parents in the mail last night and I didn't even flinch! Probably because my little sisters and puppy are so cute.

Bring it on, 2013. I'm ready for you.

New Year's Eve 2012

I've never been very enthusiastic about New Year's Eve. I get the goodness of it, it's just never been a priority of mine.

I've done the staying in and ordering Chinese thing, I've done the open bar thing, I've done the house party thing, I've even done the oops-I-passed-out-long-before-midnight thing. So this year, I didn't really know what my plans would be until the day of... totally fine.

So here's the short run down of NYE 2012. Half day of work followed by a quick last-run-of-2012. First Night in Boston with the roomie and her family for the parade and fireworks. Dinner, champagne and a relaxing night in with the boyfriend.

Boom. It was a great one. The perfect mix of excitement and relaxation, and the perfect way to say goodbye to 2012.

I hope you all had a wonderful New Year's Eve and I wish you an even better New Year!