So Far Behind!

Rest assured I've been keeping up with my AOKs but am awful about posting them. Here's my recap of the last 12 days.
November 17: Me-5 minute guided meditation-loved it!
Others: Donated my 1 credit left on Paperbackswap.com to a needy elementary school. I got a nice note back from the principal of the school thanking me!
November 18: Me-made a list of my strengths
Others: Donated another coat to a local clothing bank.
November 19: Me-went window shopping to get some Christmas ideas. I loved the break away from the kids and got some great ideas, too.
November 20: Me-went out with my sisters to hear a band. I had a great time dancing and people watching
Others: Sent a compliment to one of my favorite bloggers.
November 21: Me-took a quick walk after church.
Others: Signed up on our church's volunteer sheet to visit one of the elderly residents
November 22: Me-okay, I admit it... Another candy bar treat.
Others: Sent a Thanksgiving ecard to a friend
November 23: Me-listened to my Susan Boyle CD on the way to work; I forget how much I love her voice.
Others: Stayed at a client's home for a few extra minutes to listen to her talk about what her family was doing for Thanksgiving.
November 24: Me-went to my sister's house to help make Thanksgiving dishes for tomorrow. Had a great time reminiscing about holidays past.
Others: made an extra pan of stuffing once I got home so everyone would have leftovers to take home.
November 25: Me-reflected on the many blessings I have received this past year.
Others: Wished everyone a Happy Thanksgiving of course!
November 26: Me-another quick walk to enjoy the sights and sounds of fall
Others: Gave my hubby unlimited time to shop on Black Friday.
November 27: Me-took the time to actually find the matching earrings and necklace I love but never wear. Wore them to my sister's post Thanksgiving party and got some nice compliments!
Others: contributed a bottle of wine dh had given me to the post holiday party.
November 28: Me-picked up a free cup of coffee at BK with a coupon I had.
Others: Donated some of my Pampers points to Toys for Tots.
Yeah, all caught up!!!!

Day 12

Tuesday. Finally caught up with my posts! I have the day free and need to tidy up the house after surfing the net for way too long. For my AOK for others, I went to freerice.com and played word games. "FreeRice is a computer "game" that tests your vocabulary and for every word that you get right, 10 grains of rice are donated through the United Nations to end world hunger." Today I donated 2620 grains of rice. And now I know the meanings of glister (sparkle), platyhelminth (flatworm) and parvenu (newly wealthy upstart). For my AOK for myself, I'm going to meditate for 5 minutes and try to relax the muscles in my neck and shoulders. It seems that all my tension gets stored there. Be kind.

Day 11

Monday. Today's AOK for others is to donate a coat to the local Coats for Kids drive. I am fortunate enough that my nephews pass down all their clothes to my boys. While I was looking through my middle son's closet, I discovered he has 3 winter coats. So I'm passing on one for a child who can use it to get through this winter. The other 1 will be for backup; he tends to get soaked playing in the snow. My AOK for me was to finally get a physical and my flu shot. My left arm is not feeling like it experienced any kindness but I'm glad to know I won't be getting or passing on the flu to anyone this year. Fingers crossed!

Day 10

Sunday. I went grocery shopping for the week and was able to donate some items I bought to the local food pantry. They have a donation barrel set up right at the door and it makes it so easy to give back to the community. If a store has a buy one get one sale, it's the perfect opportunity to donate without spending a lot. For my AOK for me, I took a short drive in the country and just admired the scenery. It really calms me when I can see nothing but hills and sunshine.

Day 9

On Saturday, I cleaned house. Literally. My AOK for my family was to catch up on the laundry and restore some order to the house. I wiped down the cabinets with a vinegar/water solution (trying to be kind to the Earth, too). Did 4 loads of laundry, vacuumed and dusted the downstairs, cleaned the bathrooms. Went outside and put the garden to bed. Lots of raking and carting dead plants to the woods. My AOK for me was to take some time to read. I love to read but tend to feel a little lazy if I'm curled up with a book. After all the physical activity today, I did not feel guilty at all.

Day 8

I'm a little behind in posting... On Friday, I took a walk on a local trail for 45 minutes. The weather has been unseasonably warm here in the Northeast and I enjoyed being out in the sun and doing something healthy. I realized that many AOKs for myself involve food and I need to treat my body more kindly. My AOK for another was to bake a cake for a fundraiser at my son's school. One of the paraprofessionals recently had heart surgery and needs help with medical expenses. Donating a cake was the least I could do.
Be kind...

Day 7

Hey, I made it one whole week! Today is Veterans Day and me and the kids are off. My husband, who is a Navy veteran, is at work. So my AOK for today is to surprise him with a thank you cake when he gets home. And if I see any veterans out today, you can be sure I will thank them for their service to our country. My AOK for myself today is to visit with 2 great friends who live about an hour away. I lived in a small city in central NY for about 12 years and then moved to our new house about 3 years ago. I really miss seeing my friends Julie and Dawn and am excited to spend time with them again. Added bonus-pizza at my favorite pizza place! Be kind to a veteran today!

Day 6

After working in the morning, I went shopping for an elderly friend I visit each week. After making the rounds of Kmart, Price Chopper, CVS, and the Dollar Tree; I arrived with all the items except the sugar free chocolate caramel Wurther's. We had a nice visit and I was able to program the universal remote I picked up for her tv. I started visiting my friend over a year ago through a local Faith in Action program. I am so glad I decided to volunteer through this program. I look forward to our weekly visits and really enjoy our friendship. I am actually finding it more difficult to plan AOK each day for myself. On my way home from CPR training, I picked up a cinnamon donut at DD. I've got to get better at this.

Day 5

It's Tuesday and back to work for me. No sick kids at home today! I have a staff meeting tonight and our agency is donating food for our local food pantry and also donating items to the local women's shelter. So my AOK for others today is taken care of. I went through my stockpile of toiletries and cleaning products and came up a grocery bag full of items.  I am a 'coupon queen' and was able to get most of these products for free or less than a dollar. I'm glad to be helping my community since our area has really been hit hard with the downturn in the economy. For my AOK for me, I finally opened a gift my sister gave me last year. It's a peppermint based lotion you rub on your temples that is supposed to reduce stress. I don't know if it was the lotion or the temple massage, but I did feel more relaxed at the end of a busy day.

Day 4

Spending the day at home with my nephew and son who both came down with a stomach bug. Ugh! I really need to do something kind for myself today! So I've been thinking of baking some oatmeal raisin cookies for me (no one else will eat raisins in my family). Maybe I'll make a raisin free batch for everyone else. My AOK for another today will be to iron my husband's shirts. I HATE ironing and buy clothing for myself that doesn't need ironing. My husband doesn't really have that option since he's expected to wear dress shirts and pants. He actually has figured out that he can dry his shirts for exactly 9 minutes and then hang them while damp to eliminate the wrinkles. I bought a Mr. Steamy thingamagig at the grocery store in the discount bin last week to test out. You fill this plastic ball with 4 oz of water and toss in your dryer and it is supposed to steam the wrinkles away. My husband's verdict is mixed; worked for some shirts but not others. So I'll iron the ones that are still wrinkled and make his day!

Day 3

Yesterday was so busy I forgot to post! My AOks for the day were taking my middle child to the pet store to see the animals and later to McD's for a treat. This counted as the kind thing I did for myself as well. I don't often get to spend one on one time with my kids and it made me happy to check in with my little guy. Plus I got fries! And I'm happy to report that I was the recipient of an AOK as well. A very nice woman posted an older Cuisinart food processor on Freecycle and I was the lucky one to get it. Thank you Molly!

Day 2

I have to say that I'm really enjoying this challenge already. Today's AOK for me was a little splurge at the Dollar Tree; some scented hand soap and my favorite treat-Diet coke and  a Snickers bar! On a more serious note, a person who is very close to me just told her kids today that she and her husband are separating. We are going to get some of the kids friends together with her 2 for a movie and pizza to help buffer the blow. So that will be my AOK for others today. Be kind.

Day 1 on my journey to make the world a better place

Welcome to my kindness journal. I've been thinking lately about how I can help make things better in this world. I give to charities, do some volunteer work, and consider myself to be a generally nice person. But I don't feel that I am very mindful of treating myself and others kindly. Back in the 90's when I was a young teacher just starting out, I had a bumper sticker that said Practice Random Acts of Kindness. I want to go beyond random and start making it a daily practice. As a married mom of 3 young children, I often put my family's needs above my own. When I do this too often, I begin to feel resentful--"why isn't anyone thinking about being kind to me?" Listen for the sound of the world's smallest violin playing in the background here... So my first act of kindness each day will be something done just for me! Today's act of kindness (AOK) for myself is starting this blog. I will also extend a kindness to someone else each day. I hope to keep these AOKs simple, low cost or free, and maybe even anonymous at times. Today's act of kindness for someone else is to send an ecard to my sister, who is recovering from surgery. I'm excited to start this journey and I hope to inspire others to join me as well. Be Kind!