Tag Archives: mail

fabulous friday #48

Posted on by

5

Happy Friday, friends! Hope you have some fun things on the agenda today and are enjoying the lovely spring weather!

Here are 5 things I’m loving right now:

1. My friends and family and all the love they bring into my life every single day. Losing Celine not only made me reflect on all the ways I am so grateful for her and how fortunate I feel that I got to be her friend — the loss has also made me more deeply appreciate all the people I love. This week specifically I am grateful for: phone calls from my parents and Greg; a Skype date with my friend Chidelia, who lives in China; a phone call with Ben {who actually met up with Greg when he was visiting NYC for a few days}; a phone call with Janet before she left for an amazing writing residency in Scotland; texts and emails with Holly; a dinner date with my sweetheart; and celebrating St. Patrick’s Day with Dana.

st pattys with dana

2. Later daylight hours thanks to Daylight Savings Time. There’s something about this time of year that always gives me so much energy and hopefulness. It feels like the start of new beginnings. I can feel the long summer days on the horizon. I love driving home from my tutoring appointments in the daylight and being able to watch the sunset out the window as I make dinner.

3. I had my first physical therapy appointment yesterday, and it went great! I’ve been having some pain in both of my legs, and wasn’t sure what was wrong, so I went to an orthopedist who recommended PT. The physical therapist was so knowledgable, helpful, and optimistic about my recovery, which made me feel SO good! She watched me walk {apparently I have a collapsed arch, which might be at the root of my problems} and gave me some exercises to do at home with this resistance band.

physical therapy

She also gave me a deep tissue massage to loosen up the tight, painful area on both my legs, and taught me how to do an ice massage afterwards. I’m also going to order orthodics for my shoes, which I’m hopeful will help.

Have any of you done PT before? My parents both have, and it really helped both of their issues {my mom’s knee and my dad’s shoulder.} I walked away from my first appointment feeling VERY impressed, and looking forward to my appointment next week! Thanks for all of your kind words and good thoughts. 🙂

4. Last week, when I was smack in the middle of a pretty nasty head cold, Allyn cooked me dinner and rented this movie I’ve been wanting to see, titled What If? It stars Daniel Radcliffe of Harry Potter fame, and Zoe Kazan who you may have seen in Ruby Sparks … I just love her. Anyway, the movie was one of my favorites I’ve seen in quite a while. Cute, funny, sweet, the right amount of quirky. I’d highly recommend it for your next date night rental!

5. One of my goals for 2015 is to work on setting healthy boundaries, something I’ve never been all that great at. I thought this article by Lissa Rankin was on point: http://lissarankin.com/can-you-navigate-love-with-healthy-boundaries. For me, saying no and setting boundaries is much easier said than done, but I’m working on it!

BONUS: If you’re looking for a great veggie dinner recipe, I made these butternut squash & black bean enchiladas the other night for Allyn and I, and we both loved them. They were also inexpensive, easy to throw together, and you can make them in advance and store them in the fridge until you’re ready to bake & serve.

enchiladas

Apologies for the bad lighting in this pic… but trust me, they were delicious!

BONUS #2: Major CONGRATS to my cousin Julie who matched at UCLA to become an OB/Gyn! So proud of her {and excited she’ll be moving back to California!!}

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Questions of the day:

  • What are you loving right now?
  • What are your plans for the weekend?

fabulous friday #47

Posted on by

3

Happy Friday, friends!

Here are 5 things I’m loving right now:

1. I was feeling really sad earlier this week about Celine… just missing her a lot. My sweetheart surprised me with beautiful flowers and took me out to dinner. He is simply the best.

flowers from allyn

2. Speaking of flowers… the amaryllis that Allyn’s stepmom Laurel gave me three weeks ago is finally blooming! It’s so pretty. And I’m thrilled that I’ve kept it alive and haven’t accidentally killed it! {I don’t have the greenest thumb…}

amaryllis

3. One of the little girls I tutor is selling Girl Scout cookies, so I bought a few boxes from her… and she delivered them to me in the sweetest decorated bag. How cute this this?

decorated heart bag

On the subject of Girl Scouts, Holly reminded me of something really awesome that Celine used to do: when she saw Girl Scouts selling cookies at a table, she would buy a box of cookies and then GIVE the cookies to the Girl Scouts so they could enjoy them while they worked. Such a simple, thoughtful act of kindness that brings SO much excitement and happiness to the girls! It is also the perfect solution for those times you want to support the Girl Scouts, but don’t particularly want a bunch of cookies hanging around your pantry.

20150227_121147

4. My thoughtful friends Shane and Lauren sent me cards this week. Always brightens my day to receive love in the mail!

wild things card

5. In the mail this week I also received copies of North Dakota Quarterly, a beautiful literary journal. I am honored to have my work published in the current issue, 80.2. You can read my short story online here.

north dakota quarterly

On my agenda for the weekend: tonight Allyn and I are going to dinner and to a play — a production of Part I of Angels in America, a powerful play I read and loved in college. I’ve never seen it onstage and am very much looking forward to it! Tomorrow, I’m teaching all day and then in the evening Allyn and I are meeting up for a double-date with Dana and Brad at this new-ish adult arcade place called Plank that looks really fun. I’m excited!

Should be a great weekend. 🙂 Hope yours is wonderful, too! Have fun and be safe out there, everyone!

Questions of the day:

  • What are you loving right now?
  • What are your plans for the weekend?

year of kindness challenge: week 32

Posted on by

9

year of kindness button

Hi friends! Thanks for stopping by. How is your day going so far?

I absolutely loved this story about a young man’s act of kindness that totally made a little boy’s — and mom’s — day: http://www.thearenaupdate.com/2013/08/the-mystery-man-at-miller-park.html?m=1

Last week’s kindness challenge was to send someone a postcard with a healing, empowering, or comforting message. I sent a California postcard to the nonprofit Traveling Postcards that will distribute it to a woman somewhere in the world who is working to overcome violence and oppression. I wrote out one of my favorite quotes, by Anais Nin. {If you’re looking for empowering quotations, this website has a great list!}

postcard

postcard back

The Week 32 Kindness Challenge is to plant something. Plant flowers, plant a tree, plant a herb garden in your windowsill. Here is a great article on the best plants to grow indoors: http://greatist.com/health/best-plants-to-grow-indoors. You could also take this metaphorically and plant seeds of friendship or forgiveness.

As always, blog about your experiences and include your links in the comments section below, or feel free to send me an email at dallaswoodburn <AT> gmail <DOT> com.

Have a wonderful week!
Dallas

—————————–

year of kindness archives:
– week 1 challenge: donate items to those in need
– week 2 challenge: leave quarters & note at laundry machine
– week 3 challenge: write & send a kind handwritten note
– week 4 challenge: give hot chocolate to someone outside in the cold
– week 5 challenge: do something kind for a neighbor
– week 6 challenge: deliver valentines to a nursing home
– week 7 challenge: donate to a food pantry
– week 8 challenge: donate toiletries to a shelter
– week 9 challenge: post a kind note in a public place
– week 10 challenge: do something kind for a child
– week 11 challenge: thank someone in a genuine & meaningful way
– week 12 challenge: deliver baked goods to a fire station
– week 13 challenge: give someone flowers
– week 14 challenge: donate books
– week 15 challenge: reach out and spend time with people
– week 16 challenge: smile at everyone you meet
– week 17 challenge: pick up litter/trash
– week 18 challenge: write a kind note to a mom figure in your life
– week 19 challenge: leave an extra-generous tip
– week 20 challenge: donate blood/join bone marrow registry
– week 21 challenge: visit a cemetery and pay respect
– week 22 challenge: practice a little patience
– week 23 challenge: call 3 loved ones on the phone
– week 24 challenge: do something kind for a senior citizen
– week 25 challenge: pay for someone’s public transportation
– week 26 challenge: volunteer at a food pantry or soup kitchen
– week 27 challenge: send a care package to someone in the military
– week 28 challenge: give at least one compliment every day
– week 29 challenge: do a favor for someone else
– week 30 challenge: scatter lucky pennies around a playground
– week 31 challenge: mail an empowering postcard

july foodie pen-pals reveal

Posted on by

1

Today is reveal day for July Foodie Pen-Pals! {If you’re interested in participating in Foodie Pen-Pals yourself, you can learn more and sign up at The Lean Green Bean. It’s a super fun way to “meet” other bloggers and try fun new foods.}

{Because of the Foodie Pen Pal Reveal date, my next “Mt. Whitney Wednesday” post will be up a day late — check back for it tomorrow!}

foodie pp july

Caitie J. put together such a great package for me! Here’s a description of the items, clockwise from bottom left:

  •  Caribou Coffee Mint Verbana tea: caffeine-free — so perfect for before bed!
  • Caribou Coffee Cinnamon Spice tea: Caitie calls this the “BEST. TEA. EVER!” and I have to agree, it is pretty darn good! I liked steeping it in milk for an extra rich breakfast treat.
  • Merci fancy chocolates: these were AMAZING! Caitie wrote in her note, “I came across these at a store in London & was excited to find them at my European foods store near my house. I just love them!” Not only is there a variety of delicious chocolate combinations, I also thought the little wrappers were adorable. 🙂
  • Biscoff cookie butter: the perfect creamy topping for toast, apples, crackers, pretzels … this stuff is addicting!
  • Twinings Classics Black Tea Variety Blend: I have been sampling these black teas for breakfast every morning and I think the Lady Grey and Irish Breakfast teas are my favorites!

Thank you so much, Caitie, for being such a wonderful foodie pen-pal! You can read my previous Foodie Pen-Pal posts below:
– June Foodie Pen-Pal reveal
– April Foodie Pen-Pal reveal
– March Foodie Pen-Pal reveal

Happy day, friends! What foods are you loving lately?

march foodie pen-pals recap

Posted on by

4

The Lean Green Bean

This was my first month participating in Foodie Pen Pals through The Lean Green Bean, one of my new favorite blogs! I had a ton of fun and am definitely looking forward to participating next month and into the future.

Here’s how it works: you visit The Lean Green Bean and enter your contact info to sign up for the next month of Foodie Pen Pals. Then the amazing Lindsay matches you up with two other bloggers or food lovers: one person to send a foodie package to, and one person who will send a package to you! Then you spend $15 putting together a box of fun, yummy treats for your pen pal, pop it in the mail, and eagerly await the arrival of your own foodie package!

Lisa from Lisa’s Lentils sent me a package this month. {Check out her great guest post recipe for vegan toffee bars!} She sent me a box filled with treats:

march foodie pp

  • 4 flavors of Justin’s almond butter, which I had never tried before but am now addicted to! So great spread on apples or toast or swirled into oatmeal.
  • a package of NanaCakes Oatmeal Baking Mix, which is a great base for pancakes, muffins, and bread.
  • Justin’s organic peanut butter cups — um, devoured these immediately after snapping this picture!
  • a pb&j flavored Lara bar: a great post-workout pick-me-up.
  • Chocolove Almonds & Sea Salt in Dark Chocolate bar … heavenly!
  • Celestial Teas Herbal Tea Sampler — I have loved pairing mugs of these teas with the rich dark chocolate. So satisfying!
I would encourage all of you to check out Lisa’s blog! And, if this kind of thing sounds fun to you, go sign up for April Foodie Pen Pals at The Lean Green Bean. It only takes two minutes and it is a blast to be a part of!
I’ll be back tomorrow with this week’s Year of Kindness challenge & recap post!

goals for the week of 11/25

Posted on by

0

Here’s how I did on my goals last week:

  • get up to 200 pages written of my thesis
  • start reading The Happiness Project for PBF Book Club {it wasn’t available at my library yet, but I did read 110 pages of This is Not Your City by Caitlin Horrocks, which is my book club pick for the month on here}
  • write Thanksgiving cards for loved ones
  • clean bathroom & vacuum
  • finish grading student work
  • post announcement for winter writing camp {www.writeonbooks.org}

And here are my goals for this upcoming week:

  • get up to page 210 of my thesis
  • submit online applications
  • finish reading The Happiness Project for PBF Book Club
  • wrap & mail Christmas presents
  • order Christmas cards
  • send Mike’s mom flowers as a thank-you for hosting us over Thanksgiving
  • use Groupons for Nature’s Pharm & Re-Usables
  • return items to Target
  • take donation box to Goodwill
  • get new windshield wipers installed on car
  • wash kitchen & bathroom floors
  • bake blueberry-oatmeal muffins

What are your goals for the week? Feel free to share in the comments below!