Day 8

Today I decided to write some thank you notes online for a postcard swap that I was in. There are a few more that I didn't have any sort of address or contact information for so I will have to mentally thank them, but for those who's art I did receive with some sort of contact information I tried to thank them and let them know I appreciate all that I got!

Day 7

Today a friend of mine and I decided to go to the gym and give it a try. We had a good time and laughed and worked out a bit on the treadmill and then afterward we were both starving! I decided to pay for dinner tonight as my act of giving. We went across the street to Wendy's and got something quick for dinner and then went home and ate it. My friend is always helping me out with things like preparing food for parties or picking up the dog on the way home for me... she's a great friend and dinner wasn't nearly enough to pay her back for all the little ways she helps me out!

Day 6

So for Day 6 I guess I am just counting something that I do all day at work... I helped a patron! I work at the library and honestly every day I'm helping people... but today I'm counting it for my act of giving. Sometimes at work I can help someone and not have time to get into everything or go very deep at work, but today I had a more relaxed day and I got to help a patron at work who was very pleasant and was willing to pay for a book that she thought she had returned. She was very nice and I took a few extra minutes to search for the book before she actually paid for the fines and I ended up finding the book on the shelf. Of course she was delighted and I was apologizing for missing it in the first place. She was very sweet though and it made me glad to make a little extra effort at the time. I do appreciate working in a job where helping people is a big part of my day. I actually like helping, although it's so much easier to do when you are helping someone polite or pleasant than someone crabby or someone ungrateful for your assistance. Today I'm glad to give to people at work!

Day 5

UPDATE--Sounds like Harley has a home--she's living with the family for now. Thanks for helping though to anyone who asked around!Okay so it's Day 5 and I offered to give my friend's dad's dog a bath. This is her--her name is Harley and she's a Basset Hound with a wiggly little tail and a bit of spunk! She was super cute, but smelled awful because she lived in a house with a smoker. Unfortunately her owner just passed away and she's kind of in a state of Limbo right now... looking for a home... if anyone knows someone who might be willing to take in an older dog--she's about 10 and has some issues that come with old age--like Arthritis, deteriorating eyesight, and hearing loss--but she is house trained and shows affection ALL the time! Um, and you can't look at her sweet eyes and not want to pat her cute little head! Especially if you could see how her little short, stubby legs turn outward when she stands there and her floppy ears almost hit the floor she's so cute! Oh, and don't try to stop her tail from wagging!

In a funny note to those of you reading though, Harley gave me a gift of her own, she actually ended up showing me that an old dog isn't as feeble as you might think. After getting her bath I let her out to go to the bathroom without her collar on thinking she was an older dog and wouldn't go far.... um, she wasn't happy with the bath apparently and she took off down the sidewalk. She's got some spunk in her when she wants to show it and she took off running (or hopping on those funny little legs) and we both ended up tripping and falling in the neighbors driveway! Um.... glad the neighbors weren't out because that would have been terribly embarrassing--the neighbor girl wearing a pair of shorts and a tank top with a coat on top is chasing a short, old dog down the street and wipes out! Argh! Totally embarassing! But she certainly taught me arthritis is no match for her when she's on the go, she taught me to have a good laugh at myself and the situation, and she taught me that you are never too old for an adventure!!! So go lopping down the sidewalk if you need to and see what happens!

Day 4

So it's Day 4 of the challenge and I did a couple of things today. I listened to someone vent their frustrations about a work situation, and then afterwords I actually just agreed and changed the subject so we could both be encouraged to do what we can to make things better. This is a big deal for me and this particular work situation because it's one that frustrates me a lot and I was able to allow someone else to get out their issues with it and not get stuck in that angry frustrated mood afterwords. Hopefully it helped both of us to know that someone had similar issues and that we weren't floating around alone. I enjoyed my day which was a great way to prove that you can have some impact with a positive attitude and I guess that was honestly my gift for today... having a positive attitude in the face of frustration!

Best Wishes!
Michelle

Day 3

Fell off the wagon today. Don't you have days where you get so overwhelmed by everything going on that you don't end up doing what you want and need to do? I thought about fibbing and saying that I gave more to a patron at the library than normal or that I helped out a friend or something, but honestly I'd be lieing to myself not to anyone else... and if there is one thing I try not to do it's lie to myself! So I'm telling you truthfully that I missed a day and that tomorrow I'm starting over again... and maybe I'll just consider it a redo of day 3 and get myself back on track! Here's to tomorrow and giving it another shot!

Michelle

Day 2

For day 2 of the 29 day giving challenge I sent a letter to my Grandma. I haven't talked to her since around Christmas and I wanted to tell her thanks again for her support when I bought my house a year ago. It was great to have family and friends supporting me so much and she gave me just a bit of seed money to help with a down payment which was a great relief! Actually I used part of the money to put in new carpet, which was wonderful!!! It felt nice to look back on something I had given thanks for over a year ago and remind someone that I'm still grateful for the impact it made. So thanks again Grandma and thanks to all of you who helped me paint, strip wallpaper, remove carpet, and do all the moving and packing and cleaning necessary to start a new home--a home of my very own! I can't tell you how happy this house has made me this past year and I'm glad to have all of you around to continue to share in that awesome, wonderful feeling!

Best Wishes!
Michelle