spt

i topped off my tank on saturday afternoon. we're currently paying $3.53 for regular gas (at the cheapest station in town.)



to be fair, i had just about a quarter tank of gas already, so this could have been worse.



with some nice discounts, i could get a room for two nights at the hampton inn orem, UT for $58.00.

too bad i can't use my rebate to buy an airline ticket to get me there!! (i'm so sad to miss meeting all of you this time around! have fun!)

how did you *spend* your money?

spt - economic stimulus

i'm sure you've heard by now that the mailing out of the economic stimulus rebates have been fast tracked, meaning many Americans will start receiving their checks as early as next week. the intent here is that we will feel some relief from the rise of fuel and food prices as we continue to monitor a slumping economy.

it has been suggested that, "the rebates could trigger a spending spree. when the money reaches the American people, [they] will use it to boost consumer spending."

hmmmm. for me, realistically, my *consumer spending spree* will most likely be at the grocery store (after i stop off at the gas station.) but what if? what if i could take some of that money and spend it on myself??



your challenge this week? find your last receipt from the gas station (or if you are filling up over the weekend, make note of what you spend.) how'd you do? $35.00? $70.00? $100.00+?? what if you could take THAT amount and spend it on something for you?? to make it a little more challenging, let's just say that you can only buy ONE item, and the cost of that ONE item must be within $5.00 of what you spent at the pump.

don't let this challenge over *stimulate* you. have fun!!

so easy lelly can do it!

(i swear, it's my new mantra!)

in the year 2005 A.D. (that would also be known as the year 1 B.B. - before blogging), i thought i was a pretty creative person. in the short time since then, i have been exposed to so many wonderful ideas, i sometimes don't know what to do with it all!

for example, we are currently celebrating *national laundry & linen week* here at the hotel (i know you are all super glad there was no spt challenge to go along with this theme!) throughout the week, we give little treats to our team to let them know how much we love and appreciate them.

in the year 1 B.B., i would have reached for a handy basket, artfully arranged the treats, and been very proud of my creative self. now, in the year 2 C.I.P.M.T.T.A.C. (as in, Could I Possibly Make This Thing Any Cuter), treat giving has reached an entirely new level at the hampton.

for instance, who wouldn't be exicted to find chocolate in their Mr. Clean box?


popcorn and sparkling water and comfy shoe inserts in a hotel laundry bag? oh, yeah, i'm gellin'!!

i might need to rethink my marketing strategy

Your Slogan Should Be

So Easy Lelly Can Do It.

The Slogan Generator

i couldn't resist grabbing the slogan generator from lisa. what's your slogan?

wordless wednesday

spt

earth day here dawned as a fantastic spring morning. this is the best time of year (my opinion) to live on the mid-atlantic coast... no humidity, no mosquitos. just hours and hours of gentle breezes, cool mornings, play-full evenings. the perfect time of year to celebrate our great mother earth.

it was fun to go back to my post from last year, a datestamp for my *greenness* in the year 2007. what am i doing differently? have i changed my families ecological footprint? here's what i was thinking last year:

i can be doing a lot more. i feel my awareness is keen, my follow-through needs to be kick-started. (i know i shouldn't buy products encased in layers and layers of packaging. has that ever prevented me from buying something? no.) my town doesn't have curbside recycling, so i don't recycle. yet, i drive by the free recycling station twice a day!! i know i should buy local produce to cut down on the fuel and packaging it takes to bring california strawberries to my grocery store. we don't have farmer's market, but why don't i check out one of those local farmstands? or the farmer in his pickup on the side of the road selling silver queen corn??

unfortunately, the financial impact of going greener affects many of my decisions. right now, it is just plain expensive to execute my three R's. personal feelings about al gore aside, i applaud the fact that environmental concerns are FINALLY getting main stream attention. i think it's important for *hollywood* to spend as much money on global warming concerns as they do on darfur. or AIDS in africa. or breast cancer awareness. it's just as important!

it IS just as important!! and, while i can't check off every item from my reduce, reuse, recycle to-do list, i have made some small, but major, changes in my habits.



love. my. grocery bags. this variety is available at my local grocery chain (i think i paid $1 for each bag. PLUS, i get greenpoints every time i use them). for a long time, i talked myself out of bags, thinking i would never, EVER remember to put them back in the car after unloading my groceries(!) how long did it take me to develop this great new habit? approximately one week. the bags always go straight back into my car. *poof* - another mental hurdle overcome!!



one day this past winter, when jack was home from school (i bet you know why he was home from school!) he helped me setup a recycling center in our garage. last year, we weren't recycling at all, because there was no curbside pickup. again, the mental hurdle was proving to be an insurmountable stumbling block. now? now we recycle, and drop it off once a week. we have cut our family trash in half. in HALF, people!! PLUS... i no longer feel guilty when i'm driving by the recycling center twice a day.



we can do more. we WILL do more. this earth day, i am proud to be excited about the small steps we are taking now. i am a member of *the green generation* and it feels good!!

what about you?

spt - the green generation

every once in a while, there is the perfect opportunity to sneak in an spt public service announcement. how fitting that next tuesday is earth day!!

take a look back at last year's reduce, reuse, recycle challenge. the responses were all very inspiring to me - from the smallest suggestions to the grandest *green* plans, i definitely used that challenge as a springboard for some much needed action on my part.

this week, go out and plant a tree. carpool. invest in a good water bottle. at the very least, take a moment and figure out your ecological footprint.

if you participated last year, are you doing anything *greener* this year? if this is your first earth day spt, do you consider yourself a part of "the green generation?"

spt

yesterday, when jack told me his teacher had encouraged him to bring some tadpoles into school, i was less than enthusiastic about it: there were so many things to do yesterday afternoon/evening already, i just didn't feel like making time for tadpole catching, too. in my infinite wisdom, i suggested it would be easier to stop by the lake on the way to school this morning to catch the little critters.

"what was i thinking?!?"

so, what were you thinking this week?

cheese!

looking like the hockey player he thinks he is!

spt - [insert photo here]

i know you guys love an easy challenge, and i love a challenge that can go in several different directions! maybe we'll *see* some of you spt "strangers" next week!!

for tuesday, april 15th, the challenge is to provide a photo for the following caption:

"what was i thinking?!?"

c'mon, i know you ALL will have a great story to tell. have an awesome weekend!!

spt

it's not surprising that my spt this week is work related(!) i am tempted to one day set up a video camera that will follow me around to capture all of the crazy things that go on in the background of a hotel.

yesterday afternoon, i arrived at work amidst a flurry of monday *stuff.* mondays are especially busy for us, and since i had the weekend off, there were a lot of things waiting for my attention. the phones were insane, there were no less than 12 notes taped to my door (all urgent, of course), and i was trying to prepare myself for the long evening ahead. at some point, my chief engineer showed up, talking about *something*, showing me *something.* as i often do when i'm busy, i smiled and nodded in recognition, then went on about my other tasks. (this is a bad habit of mine... i really have to work at focusing on someone or something important when my mind is already abuzz. it's not uncommon for me to nod in agreement to something, only to claim totaly ignorance a week later. oops!)

it wasn't until this morning, as i was still wondering what to spt, when it clicked. i remembered what he had brought to my attention.




seems another family has moved in!!

i'll tell ya, i am truly thankful that i have a staff that acts as the eyes in the back of my head. somedays, i wish i could bring them home with me!

what did you *see* this week?

spt - if i had eyes in the back of my head

we've all heard that *mom*-like expression: "i've got eyes in the back of my head" (usually delivered as some sort of warning.) do you ever wonder what you would see if you actually DID have eyes in the back of your head??

when you are cleaning the kitchen, or sitting on the playground, driving the carpool, browsing through target...what's going on behind you? something funny? colorful? disturbing? tempting?



this week, the challenge is to look past the "self" in the self-portrait, and focus on what's going on behind you. this is a great opportunity to practice using those eyes in the back of your head!

spt

this was a fun spt for me. sometimes i get so rushed just trying to get a photo, any photo, that i don't really focus on the subject. to be able to spend some quality time with this particular subject, on this particular morning, was a gift.



i have grown so much through blogging, through the challenges of spt. i have made better girlfriends than i have had in a decade, and it doesn't even matter that i've never *met* any of you!! i feel i know your and your families like you were here going through this life dance with me. like you would be the ones who would ring my back doorbell.

i literally carry my word of the year around with me, and someday i might be able to compose a post that truly tells how choosing my word saved my life.



there are rough nights when i can't wait to blog the next day. there are rough days when i don't blog, but i travel the great blogosphere itself, gleaning words of hope and encouragement. it doesn't seem to matter that sometimes those words weren't meant for me, per se. i use them all the same!! i wonder at all of you out there with different talents than mine. and i wonder at myself and the talents i never recognized before.

so, about that whole "taking a break thing..."


















for me, there will always be time for blogging!! i may not have anything remarkable to say. i may be grouchy or tired. i may not comment, or i may comment out of context. but, i'll be here!!