29 Days of Kindness: Days 4 through 29

Well here we go.  Today I am 29 years old, and let's just say that I epically failed at successfully completing 29 acts of kindness in 29 days.  But I did the best I could, and it certainly helped me focus on the positive aspects of life, while hopefully reminding others that there is still good in this world.  I will state below some of the things I did (or at least what I remember doing since it's been so long since my last post), focusing on the ones that moved me the most.

- Paid for the person behind me in line at Chick-fil-A.  Now this was fun because the car behind me was actually two separate orders... so yes, I paid for both :) and I think that counts for 2 acts.
- Purchased items to go towards homeless care packages to keep in my car.  I hate when I don't have any cash on me, and I always want to do more than just give a homeless person a couple bucks, so once those are put together, it will be nice to have them and give them away.
- Signed up for a "3k color run" at my bosses' daughter's school.  I don't think I'll be able to actually run the color run, but the money goes towards the school.
- Picked up dog poop at my apartment complex that another resident didn't pick up.
- Got coffee for my technician after a rough morning of patient care.
- Brought cookies to the office to share.
- Spent time on freerice.com and donated around 500 grains of rice.
- Texted friends just to say that I was thinking about them and hoped that they had a good day.
- Checked in on a patient (who I actually consider a friend) who was being tested for potentially difficult diagnosis. All came back negative! YEAH :)
- Moved stuff from my neighbor's apartment and donated the items to Good Will.  She moved across country and couldn't fit everything in her car for the move, so she had to purge a lot.  She tried to sell things on Craig's list, but many items didn't sell.  I took them to Good Will for her so she wouldn't have to since she ran out of time.
- Donated to the NC Disaster Relief fund to help those who suffered any damage from Hurricane Matthew.
- Ran the Ardmore RAH (Run Against Hunger) 10k race on the day before my birthday and ended up running a great time, finishing first in my age group (25-29 YO female) with a time of 49:42. A single 10k registration provided 238 meals for the NC food bank. 


I saved my favorite story for last, since it's the one act of kindness that truly brought tears to my eyes:

I purchased two $5 Starbucks gift cards to give to the police officers who live in my apartment complex.  I knew we had a couple from the cop cars that are always parked outside, but I did not know which specific units the officers lived in.  I didn't feel comfortable leaving the cards under the windshield wipers of the cop cars, especially if it were to rain before they got to them.  I decided to bring them to the front office and have the manager e-mail the officers to let them know there was something waiting for them at the leasing office.  I walked in on a Wednesday afternoon I had off to give them to Patty.  I told her what I was doing, and she looked behind her at the business center for residents at my apartment.  There was one young lady sitting at one of the computers.  Patty turned back to me and said, "Well there's one police officer right there if you want to hand it to her in person."  What incredible, God-given timing! I was able to walk up to her, thank her in person for her service, and hand her the card myself.  Turns out her husband is also a police officer, so I gave her both cards to thank them.  I could barely keep it together when handing her the cards because a police officer's service means so much!  It was definitely a special opportunity to be able to give it to her in person.

Cards for police officers in my apartment complex. 

So that's a wrap.  And now begins the countdown to thirty.  Thank you everyone for your birthday wishes! xo

29 Days of Kindness: Days 2 and 3

Yesterday (Day 2) was so special.  I called my dad's mom.  I feel terrible that I'm always so busy, and I rarely pick up the phone to talk to her myself.  I usually only talk with her when I'm with my family and we call her together.  But yesterday, I took it upon myself to call her just to say hello.  She seems to be doing very well in her daily life.  My family gave her a digital display picture frame a while back, and she told me that it's sitting on her coffee table.  She absolutely adores pictures, and with the digital display, she gets to see multiple pictures in one frame.  We talked about my dog, my sister's kids, and work.  It was just a blessing to hear how happy she was to hear from me.

Today (day 3), I'm going to count something I've already been doing for a week and will be doing for another 14 days. The PTSD press up challenge. The challenge goes like this: you post a video to Facebook of you doing 22 push ups every day for 22 days straight to raise awareness to the statistic that 22 veterans commit suicide every day. Well, I want to take today to highlight the fact that it's not only veterans who suffer from PTSD. Any traumatic situation can lead to PTSD, and the recovery period can be long and brutal. My thoughts and prayers are with everyone who suffers - the struggle is real no matter how hard the struggle. The number of push ups and the number of days may represent a statistic, but the persistence that is required to complete the challenge mimics the persistence of someone suffering from this condition. You can view day eight of my challenge on my Facebook page. Peace to all the sufferers of PTSD and any other mental health struggle. Just like you, I am a warr;or. 

29 Days of Kindness: Day 1

Well. It has been quite some time since my last post.  I got out of the habit of writing in order to take care of me, but today, I am getting back into it, and for very good reason.  In 29 days, I will be 29 years old.  This is my last opportunity to make the most of my 20s.  To be honest, my 20s have easily been my least favorite decade.  More ups and downs than many; however, I am very aware that my life overall has been quite blessed.  I'm ready to round out my 20s with positivity, and I look forward to all that my 30s will have to offer.

I have been thinking about doing something big for my 30th, but with everything that's gone down, I decided to do it now instead of waiting a year in order to help me focus on the good instead of the bad.  The thing: 29 random acts of kindness for 29 days.  I know that is a lot to ask of myself, and I was definitely thinking of not doing it, but then this morning, God gave me opportunity number one on day number one.  Therefore, I decided to pick my blog back up and kick it off with a new series: 29 Days of Kindness.

Day 1:
This morning, I was walking back to my car from a friend's apartment downtown.  I had my dog with me, and I saw a lady walking behind me with a couple of large bags on her shoulders.  She approached me, asking for money.  She was obviously homeless and had a large wound on her hand that was covered with a bandaid.  She had glasses on her face that were visibly scratched on one lens.  I'm not normally one to give out money, so I usually don't carry any cash with me.  I had a small purse, and I opened it up to look inside, assuming I wouldn't have any cash, and would be able to prove to her that I didn't.  When I opened it, I had about $4, so I gave it to her.  All she asked for was enough money for a meal.  I know it wasn't enough, and I surely hope she did indeed use it for some food.  I have no way of knowing, but I did what I felt was right in the moment.  I wasn't even thinking of it as a random act of kindness in the moment, but later I realized that this was day 1 of the 29 days, and that opportunity came to me.  God wants me to see this one through.  I think it will be good for me.  I need more positivity in my life, so here we go.  There are no set plans, no set rules, and no set budget.  Stayed tuned for more updates, and may my goal of seeking out ways to make someone's day better make your day better as well.

Hand-Made Coasters to Match My Living Room

This is fun project number 3 for my home (the first was an awesome wreath, which I didn't blog about, but just put on Instagram: http://instagram.com/p/uSEVuhGtRb/?modal=true). I have now made coasters to match the color scheme in my living room/dining room. I have chosen to do a calming "golden forest" theme with blues, grey, greens, and golds. If you haven't made your own coasters before, it's pretty simple.

Step 1: Buy 4x4-inch white tiles from a hardware store. I got mine at Home Depot for 16 cents a piece!
Step 2: Cut your favorite scrapbook papers into 4x4-inch squares.
Step 3: Apply some Modge Podge to the tiles and place the scrapbook paper square on top of the tile. Let it dry for a couple minutes.
Step 4: Apply a very thin layer of Modge Podge over the paper on the coaster.
Step 5: Allow this thin layer to dry for 15-20 minutes.
Step 6: Apply more thin layers, allowing the Modge Podge to dry in between each application. Apply as many layers as you like for a good seal - I usually like about 5 layers.
Step 7: Place clear rubber bumpers or felt bumpers on the bottom to protect your surfaces from the scratchy tile bottom.

Voila - custom coasters!!! I would say these match wonderfully with my living room decor. :)

Have a great weekend y'all!

I Love Getting Crafty

That's right y'all! I'm your typical southern craft-aholic, and like most women who like to make a mess with glue, ribbon, vinyl, and paper, I wish I had more time to do so. Thankfully, I found some time today, which was wonderful. This project has been on my to-do list for quite a while, so I'm very glad that it finally got done!!! Basically, I've been wanting to use vinyl letters to label jars for baking items - sugar, flour, brown sugar, etc. If you've never done a project with vinyl before, I highly recommend it! It's super simple and can create custom works of art that look very polished. Here is what I did: 

First I downloaded the font I wanted. I recommend the site 1001 Free Fonts (1001freefonts.com). I have fallen in love with this website because (1) the fonts are FREE, and (2) they are organized by style! I chose a font called, "All Things Pink," which was in a group of fonts called "handwriting". I feel as though the handwritten font styles are so popular right now, and I adore them! 

Second I cut out my vinyl using my Silhouette machine. If you don't have one of these machines, you should put one on your Christmas list! They are amazing!!

Next, I pulled away the excess vinyl from the words, including all the tiny pieces inside the letters. Finally, I used transfer paper to lift the vinyl lettering from its backing to the containers. The transfer paper maintains the words' exact spacing. Below you will find a great 3 minute tutorial video! 

So yes, I FINALLY have my jars for all my baking goods. I like to think of vinyl as the classier version of the label maker. So for all you label obsessive men and women out there, maybe you should look into vinyl to give your labeled items a more fun and presentable look. 

I am in LOVE!

Thanks, y'all for stopping by! Happy Sunday! 

xo - Kim

The Most Obnoxious Household Pest

The award for Most Obnoxious Household Pest (in my opinion) goes to the fruit fly. They multiply before your eyes, get in your face, and are impossible to kill due to their small size. I just recently moved into a new apartment, and who knows how the first few fruit flies got in, but they did, and now I have a borderline infestation of red-eyed nuisances. Quickly I turned to the coveted Pinterest to uncover a way to get rid of these flies, and thought I would share with you an affordable method I discovered that has worked to kill 7 fruit flies so far (it's sad to think there were that many in my house, not to mention the near 10 I killed on my own!).

Here is what you need:

1. Mason Jar(s) - multiple jars if the problem has spread to multiple rooms
2. Apple Cider Vinegar
3. Dish Soap 

That's it! So chances are if you haven't just moved into an empty apartment like me, you may already have these things on hand, and if not, these things are super cheap to come by!  All you have to do is pour some apple cider vinegar and dish soap into the mason jar and mix it together - simple, right? Anyway, there's tons of other methods out there, and some relatively decorative jars that make fly trapping quite discrete, but if you're looking for something quick, cheap, and easy, the apple cider vinegar and dish soap trick is pretty handy! Another fun find for y'all!

Happy Friday everybody!

My doctor says I need glasses... so I drink wine!

Great pun from an eye doc, right?

As I sip on my delightfully tasty wine (that was delivered right to my door), I need to share an amazing find with you guys: Bright Cellars! This website is such a brilliant idea that came from the minds of wine lovers out of MIT. The concept: use science and chemistry to match quality wines to your taste preferences. You see, I've never been much of a wine connoisseur. I tend to stay with what I know because it's safe, and I don't have to worry if the wine in question is too much of something (too dry, too bitter, too sweet, etc.). However, I have always loved the idea of branching out. Bright Cellars, in my opinion, has the BEST method for trying new wines. So how does it work, you ask? Well, think of it like a cross between Pandora Radio and a wine club, but way cooler!

Basically, you get started by taking a quiz about your preferences on food, drink, and social activities. Based on your responses, the website will generate four wines that you would probably like. The four wines get shipped to your door for $15/bottle - which is a steal for quality wines from France and Italy (No Barefoot wines here!). After you have received your wines, you can go onto the website to rate the wines and write comments about them. Based on those responses, you will receive four more wines the next month that you would probably like (now do you see the Pandora Radio analogy?).

I have attached some screen shots below that will give you an idea of how the website works. If you're interested (which how could you NOT be?!) visit www.brightcellars.com to get the full experience yourself. I guarantee you won't regret it. Happy sipping ;).  

How do you like my NC State web browser?! ;) Don't forget to stop by www.brightcellars.com if you are intrigued.