Pinterest Inspired Wednesdays - Valentines

This week, I am joining Suz from 30 Before 30 List for Pinterest Inspired Wednesdays!  If you are unfamiliar with Suz's blog, you should definitely check it out.  Hers is one of the first blogs I began reading, and I have always found Suz's writing to be both insightful and motivating.

Last week as I was browsing through pins, I came across this depiction of the bible verse Romans 12:9-10.

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This lead me to what turned out to be a delightful blog called Homegrown Hospitality.  The author, Stephanie, had posted a PDF file of a Valentine card to print on cardstock and attach to treat bags.  I instantly felt the need to create Valentine treat bags for all of my co-workers, so I started by printing the card on both salmon and white cardstock.  Several days later on Monday evening, I visited my sister's house after work and took my nieces to Wal Mart to help me pick out candy for the treat bags.  Naturally, I agonized over what to get (it's the perfectionist in me), and I ended up with five bags of candy.  Surprisingly, we could not find any treat bags throughout the many isles of Valentine's Day paraphernalia.  Just as I was about to admit defeat and simply purchase sandwich bags, we found clear treat bags in the Wilton isle.

Yum!

Upon returning to my sister's house, my nieces began distributing the candy to each of the treat bags and closing them with the provided twist ties, while I cut out the Valentines. As with any creative project I undertake, this was much more of an ordeal than it needed to be. I obsessed over cutting out the Valentine cards with perfectly straight edges, and about making sure the candy was evenly distributed between the varying types. Luckily my nieces know how to handle me and I was running short on time, so I was able to force myself to go with the flow and not focus on everything being perfect.



The Sun Chips were for the facility supervisor,
who is diabetic. 

At this point I needed to head for home, but not before giving each of my nieces and nephews a treat bag, along with my sister, her husband, and my sister's friend that was visiting.  The next morning when I arrived at work, I punched a hole in the top of each of the Valentine cards (a hole punch was the crucial tool we were missing the previous evening), and tied a card to each of the treat bags with the hot and light pink curling ribbon with which my oldest niece had provided me.  All that was left was to distribute the bags!    

       

Putting together holiday treat bags for family, friends, and co-workers used to be a regular festivity for me, but it is something I have not done in several years.  I had forgotten the joy of putting a smile on someone's face and brightening their day through such a simple act.  While I do not envision myself assembling treat bags for each holiday as I have in years past, I do plan on making more of a conscious effort to celebrate and honor those people in my life who impact it on a daily basis.

Don't tell anyone, but I kept all of the Milky
Way Midnights for myself!  (They're my favorite.)

Fab Five Goals for 2012.

For the New Year's Eve service at church, members and guests were asked to come with a list of their top five goals for 2012.  Below is the list I created.

FAB FIVE GOALS FOR 2012

1.  GOD

• Strengthen my commitment to and my walk with God. Discover His purpose for my life and start living according to His will.
• Develop and strengthen my prayer life.
• Take the new members class at New Life Worship Center and begin serving in a ministry.

2.  FINANCES

• Educate myself about money management and apply the principles to my life.
• Reduce my personal financial debt by at least 1/4 this year.

3.  HEALTH AND WELLNESS

• Develop and maintain a healthy lifestyle, by exercising regularly and making a conscious effort to reduce junk food and eat nutritiously.
• Get to a healthy weight by the end of 2012.
• Develop and strengthen my thought life.  Write in a journal regularly.

4.  ATTITUDE

• Count it all joy in 2012.
• Learn to live life each day with a spirit of gratitude.
• Learn to respond to disappointment, frustration, and other negative emotions with grace.
• Fill my heart with love, faith, patience, courage, kindness and joy.

5.  RELATIONSHIPS

• Commit to making relationships with family and friends a priority in 2012.
• Strengthen existing relationships and actively pursue new relationships.

What are your goals for 2012?