Day 94: Be Honest

I could have got quite a haul from a new store yesterday for free. I went and checked out the new Latitudes gas station/bistro today and needed to grab a few libations for the football playoffs while I was there. When I went to check out the deal that was listed for the beer I was buying did not ring up, so the lady took my word and typed it in for me, as we were chatting she mentioned what a good deal the drinks were for that price and I finally realized I had grabbed a 30 pack instead of an 18er, that is why the wrong price rang up and why she thought it was such a good deal. Now, it would have been the easiest thing in the world for me to just keep mum, it was already scanned, changed to reflect the new price and I had already been carded but instead I apologized for my mistake, ran to the back of the store to return the wrong pack and started the checkout process again with the right amount drinks. Honesty is always the best policy.

Day 91: Let Someone Go in Front of You in Line

Today for my Good Human Act when we went to the Post Office to mail something out to my mother-in-law we let a lady go ahead of us that was in a rush. My little guys and I had nowhere pressing to be and we were happy to quicken the trip for someone else, especially since I have been there :) I know a few times we have been at the grocery store just grabbing a last minute thing or two and people with full carts have let us go ahead, it is really nice when people are so courteous!

Day 87: Give Food to Homeless

Today, on our way home from a friend's house there was a man standing on the corner with a sign that said Hungry, anything helps. We had a bunch of snacks in our car so I quickly organized them, found a bag to put them in and gave the guy the food for our Good Human Act. A friend of mine suggested, a while ago, to keep a few food items in the car for occasions like today and that would have been a great thing to have. I am going to put a bag with some food in my middle console today so I will have that available for next time.

Day 82: Neighborhood Litter Patrol

I know I have cleaned a road before and cleaned up trash in my neighborhood before, but after 2 days of large cardboard and lots of styrofoam being in the road of our neighborhood I broke down and cleaned it up today. I kept hoping someone else would do it so I could get an original Good Human Act for today, but I couldn't drive past it another day and pretend to not see it, or not stop to clean it up. So, on the way to run errands with my family today I made my hubby stop the car and let me pick it up. Since we were going to the grocery and they have a huge dumpster we were able to drop the trash off without any extra stops, which made it really convenient and the road looks so much nicer again!

Road Cleanup.

Day 79: Turn Stuff into the Lost & Found

 It was such a beautiful day today we just had to get out of the house, so I took the 3 little guys to the zoo. We all had a wonderful time, the boys were in great moods, the weather was perfect, most of the animals were out... it was a great zoo trip. The kids favorite parts didn't have much to do with the zoo animals though. They adored feeding the ducks the bread and popcorn from home and they loved just playing in the big open space with all the huge trees and tiny sticks. I got shat on while we were in the big open area by an unseen bird bomb, and even that didn't make a dent in the day's funness:) We even got a Good Human Act done while we were at the zoo, which is just the cherry on top of a delicious fundae. While we were playing we found a tiny SD card for someone's phone by the ducks and we found a forgotten cooler while the boys were playing hide and seek in the big open area, so on our way out of the zoo we took our finds to the front office lost and found. I hope they find their way back to their owners!

My arm got shat on :)

Feeding the ducks!

Day 76: Donate Old Eye Glasses

I just picked up my new pair of glasses! It has been a while since I got an eye exam, I think I am in denial that my vision is slowly getting worse. It is still not that bad -1.25 on each eye with a slight astigmatism, but still it's bad enough that I need to be wearing them daily to drive. When I got to the Dr.'s office to pick up my new frames I brought my old ones in hopes that they would have some sort of recycling or donation set up and fortunately they did! They donate all the glasses they receive to the local Lion's Club who then in turn donates them to people in need of them throughout the world.

The local NM Lion's Club website allows you to find a drop off place for your donations near you and helps people to contact them if vision assistance is needed. Here is a bit more about the Lion's Club International:

Lions Clubs – Ready to Help, Worldwide

Whenever a Lions club gets together, problems get smaller. And communities get better. That's because we help where help is needed – in our own communities and around the world – with unmatched integrity and energy.

We Give 100 Percent

Our 46,000 clubs and 1.35 million members make us the world's largest service club organization. We're also one of the most effective. Our members do whatever is needed to help their local communities. Everywhere we work, we make friends. With children who need eyeglasses, with seniors who don’t have enough to eat and with people we may never meet.

Day 71: Help the Older Generation with Newer Technology

Yesterday I didn't get a chance to post because it was my birthday (yay 30!) and I tried to stay away from the computer :) It didn't stop me from doing my Good Human Act though! My son Keston and I went to the grocery store to pick up some Papa Murphy's Pizza (yum!) and a movie and while we were waiting in line to use the Red Box machine an older lady was before us and just couldn't get it figured out. Technology changes and changes fast today and lots of people struggle to keep up with it, myself included. But Red Box I get so, Keston and I helped her through it and we all had a good laugh about how far society and entertainment have come. It was fun to help and Keston loved that he got to help too. I can't wait to see what technology stumps Keston someday, he is such a whiz already it will have to be some mind boggling stuff compared to what's out there today.

Day 67: Hold the Door Open for Others

A small act that I try to teach my boys to always do it to hold the door open for others. Today I was able to do this at my gym. After the class I was taking was a Silver Sneakers class, which is geared towards older exercisers, and as I was leaving both the classroom and the gym I was able to get the door for many folks coming into the gym or the room for the class. Sincere thanks and small talk passed quickly and it reminded me of how simple a Good Human Act can really be. I know that having a door held open for me, on many occasions has been an incredible help or just a reminder that there is simple kindness in people everywhere.

Day 65: Tip & Thank Hotel Room Cleaners

We didn't use the daily Hotel cleaning services while we were staying in Durango the last few days, to save time and resources for the hotel. But we knew that because of that they would probably be in as soon as we left and a bit worried. This time they shouldn't be :) we cleaned the place up as much as we could and left a little thank you/merry christmas note and a small tip for our Good Human Act today so the people who clean the rooms knew that their services were appreciated and that the work that they do everyday doesn't go by unnoticed.

Day 63: Help Kids Pull Snow Tubes up a Hill

We are in Durango, CO for our family Christmas trip!! YAY! It has been just beautiful here and so fun! Yesterday we went snow tubing, which we loved but it was quite a bit of work to trudge up the hill to go tubing. The snow was fresh so there wasn't much traction or any premade paths so the kids had quite the time just getting up the hill, not to mention pulling their tubes up. So, for a small Good Human Act I helped pull tubes up the hill every time I went up. I always had at least one tube for my family (usually filled with one of my boys) and another one or two for other kids trying to get up the hill for a fun time. It was quite the workout, but it was a blast and I was happy to be able to help!

Day 52: Tip Well

Today for my Good Human Act when I went and got my hair cut I tipped really well and genuinely thanked my hairdresser for her time and skills. It is easy to go places and just pay the minimum tip to save a bit of money or forget to thank people because it is "their job" to help us, but they are choosing to be of service to the rest of us and for that I am grateful. Service jobs are not the easiest ones out there and it is a great season to spread the love (and maybe a bit of money) to let them know they are appreciated.

Day 47: Chat With Strangers in Line

Tis the season to wait in lines, especially at the post office and waiting in line can be down right frustrating. So, today when I expected to be in line for 5 minutes then quickly realized it would be a lot longer I decided that instead of texting or emailing on my phone I would chat with the people who were waiting in line too! It made the time go much faster and it was fun learning a little bit about someone new. One older gentleman I was standing next to was sending a package to his son he hasn't seen in 10 years because he is a busy GI that has been stationed everywhere you can think of for the last decade. Iraq, Afghanistan, Germany- he couldn't even remember all the places his son has been but he was more than happy to stand in line to send his package out letting him know that he is loved and appreciated. It was wonderful experience and made waiting much more enjoyable and meaningful!

Day 41: Help a Stranger

My two little guys and I had to run to the store this morning to get some supplies to make some Hand Scrubs for a Boutique we are attending this weekend. On our way in an older lady, who seemed a bit distracted, started loosing a big bag of bird feed from the bottom of her cart, she didn't even notice and I am going to say she wouldn't have even if it had completely landed on the ground and got left behind. Instead though my middle son, Calon, said "look mom" and pointed to the fallage and we were able to stop the lady, grab the bag and lift it up to a safer place in the cart. It was just a small Good Human Act, but I love that my son's are really getting in on them!

Day 5: Rental Clean-Up

Today was our last day in Colorado for our vacation :( We had a great time, that was accentuated by the fact that we decided to stay in a rental house instead of a hotel. With three little boys, unless we rent an expensive suite we have found that staying in a hotel room is really hard for us, and can make vacation a bit frustrating for all 5 of us. We need space for the boys to run around and would love separate "parents" space. So, for this trip we decided to see if we could rent a house in the area we wanted to be in and pay a reasonable fee. And man did we luck out! We got a 2 bedroom house/duplex, fully furnished, in a really nice little area for only $100 a night! And it made the trip so wonderful, I mean I am now a vacation house rental convert! Anyway, I am babbling about some irrelevant stuff...for today's act of being a good human before we left the rental house this morning, while the kids played, I cleaned the house as if we had not been there, I'm talking sweeping, vacuuming, glass cleaning, surface sanitizing, the works. Yes, there was a cleaning fee that we paid, but I felt like it was least I could do to give back for such an amazing experience. And in case anyone is wondering we found the vacation rental on an awesome website a friend turned me onto called VRBO, which is vacation rentals by owner- it worked great for us!

Day 4: Compliment a Stranger

I just noticed that all these posts I am making are going to post with today's date, that is because unfortunately our rental's internet had some issues and we have been webless for a while. The bugs have been fixed and we are back online today, YAY! Today we spent our day around Downtown Denver. There are a ton of things that can be down to help others, especially in a downtown area, but my husband challenged me to do something that didn't cost any money. It took me  quite a while today to figure what I could do for free. I finally came up with a most basic plan. I complimented, sincerely complimented, 5 people. That may seem like a walk in the park for some people but I tend to be quite reserved when it comes to talking to new people and quite tight lipped on the compliments even when I know someone super well. This was such a great step outside myself and I really enjoyed it. I was able to, by noticing something small about someone, start little conversations and fill my bank of smiles up a little. It was something that I will  personally be trying to do much more often. I loved learning that Nancy got her purse from her daughter for mother's day and looks forward every year to getting a new one to sport proudly and that Bill loves walking his dog Gracie and letting them both get daily fresh air.