Randon Acts of Kindness

Today started out like any other....a typical Thursday. As I was pulling into the parking lot at work this morning, I noticed that it was time for an oil change in my car. A couple others must have realized the same thing this morning as well because not very long after I got inside there was chatter about caravanning over to Firestone to drop off cars for service. As we were leaving Firestone about 9a.m. this morning, we decided that Starbucks would be a nice perk to an otherwise uneventful morning. So, with left blinker on and we turn into the drive-thru line. This particular morning the line was a few cars long and moving rather slowly....quite unusual for Starbucks in this town. They are usually known for their speed. But this morning, it was slow and we were getting a little irritated...the typical "We should've just gone in" and "the slow poke in front of us is taking way too long for just 1 cup of joe!" verbages were spewing out quite easily. We finally get to the speaker box to place our many orders (you cannot go back to the Kraft office having just been to Starbucks without the phonecalls to make sure no one else wants anything...and this typical Thursday morning, it seemed that everyone wanted something!). A few long minutes later when we pulled up to the window to pay, the excrutiatingly slow vehicle in front of us took even longer to pay....you might can imagine our frustration at this point. Maybe you've been there yourself in the "drive thrus of life". Well, as God typically does, He showed up in rare form about that time. As we pulled up to pay for our orders, the bright cheerful face at the window said, "I have some terrific news for you all. The car in front of you paid for all your orders. It was a random act of kindness." Boy! you wouldn't believe our surprise and humbled selves! Our $25 in orders were paid by a complete stranger...and one we were severely complaining about! Her $4.00 cup of coffee ended up costing almost $30....What sunshine to a rather typical day.

I remember an Emmaus talk given by a lady named Tamie and she urged us to show grace "even in the drive thru's of life." How fitting to remember that today.

I am also happy to report that we kept the kindness going and paid for the car behind us. They had only ordered a grande plain coffee that was $1.53. We all learned a lesson today...never underestimate slow lines, strangers, and random acts of kindness.

Pay it forward.

Birthdays

...used to be a DAY that I looked forward to with great anticipation each year. However, since moving to Arkansas, I have been trained by my friends that as an adult (now over the age of 30) birthdays are cause for a celebratory WEEK! No complaints here....growing older gracefully takes a lot of encouragement :)

My first day back to work after Sarah's wedding happened to be my birthday (Tuesday, June 10). You can imagine my exhuberation about that, but I was welcomed with a Inbox clogged with emails, projects awaiting my attention, and co-workers who had planned lunch with me as a surprise. Every cloud has a silver lining.....Later that day, I was gifted with a FRESH cookie cake from the ever so delicious Cookie Company. One of our summer interns shared my birthday, so it was actually for both of us.

Everyone wants to do lunch....lunch was planned each day this week by friends to celebrate my birthday. Turning 31 hasn't been as easy as I thought it would be, but my friends really stepped in and made it fun. It was great! Wednesday was lunch with my sales team, Thursday was lunch with the Shadow Valley friends at the Clubhouse, Thursday evening was happy hour with Gina, Friday was lunch with Sanna, Friday night was the talent show with Melissa and William Taylor (2 of the cutest and best kids I know!), and Saturday was a day of R&R with dinner that evening with Melissa and John at Herman's. It's been a terrific week. I am now rested and ready to get back in the groove with work and enjoy the rest of my summer.

Below are a few pics...I did not do a very good job of capturing each lunch/dinner group, but trust me when I say that I enjoyed every single minute! I have some of the best friends here in NW Arkansas...God has richly blessed me!

Lunch at P.F.Changs with the work gang...



Lindsey and I are gifted with a cookie cake on Tuesday afternoon....
Kelly and I drink so much diet coke at the clubhouse that the waiter brings us our own pitcher with a straw!
Two of the most talented kids in NW Arkansas! Melissa (Kindergarten) sang "Maybe" from Annie. She was the only kindergartner who did not have vocal accompiament, only instrumental. William was a jazz trumpet player in a James Brown rendition...he's got some moves!

WEDDING

Below is the link to Sarah & Elliott's wedding pictures:

www.deepsouthphotos.com
click on View/Order Prints
click on Sullivan-Stebbins Wedding
Password: sadie

The pictures are in a low resolution so that people will not illegally copy them....so do not be alarmed!

All in all, the wedding was wonderful! The ceremony was sweet and beautiful and the reception was rocking! The band, Southern Rain, was from McComb and they played from 8-12 p.m. As soon as they finished playing, Bart Jones got his guitar and played until 3:30a.m.! I believe that Mr. Pete Robertson and Wade Bass(?) played also....a very good time was had by all!

SATC Night Out

There has been a lot going on the last few weeks and I am quite behind on posting them....So, here is the first post of several to get you caught up....
Last weekend was the release of the MUCH ANTICIPATED S.A.T.C. movie. I went with one group of friends on opening night (May 30) and then with another group on Sunday afternoon (June 1). The picture below is on Sunday afternoon. It's just not possible to discuss anything regarding S.A.T.C. without a cosmo in hand......cheers! I won't tell the topics of conversation, but Samantha Jones would be quite proud of our "color"ful conversation :)

(L-R)

Kelly, Kara, Lisa, Julie, Jazmin, Rachel, Stephenie, Melissa, and Courtney

The Wedding Planner

On Saturday, May 31, my very first Arkansas wedding took place...as a wedding coordinator, that is. It was held at the Nadine Baum Studio in Fayetteville and was the perfect intimate setting. The room was all black and provided a blank pallette in which to work from. I learned a lot about technical lighting and all the many cool things that it can provide. In the pictures below, each table is under a spotlight with a peach colored lense. The only tangible color in the room were the pale pink flowers and greenery in the centerpieces. There was a silver shiny polyester material puddled in the center of each table and with the peach lighting, it had hints of pink in the fabric. There were 4 "chandeliers" outlining the dance floor that were made of cylinder Japanese lanterns with fairy lights inside. Catering was provided by Marketplace in Springdale. The main course was served Brioso style (meat shaved for each person off of a skewer). It was quite the event. The conversations overheard by the guests was of enjoyment in being served in such an unusual way!

The groom was Pennsylvania where cookie tables are traditional (in the place of a groom's cake in the South). 120 dozen cookies line this table (not all shown).