Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Lindsay Likes that People Care: my update on OKC
Dear Friends,
I want to thank everyone for their calls, texts and emails checking on my friends and family in OKC. First let me say that they are all ok. My family lives North of where the tornado hit. Immediately, in the moments before the tornado hit and afterwards I worried about some of the people that work at my Dad's office that live in Moore. It took a long time to get details but we found out their homes survived and everyone in their family's is ok.
However, Minde who works at my Dad's office has two elementary school children that attend Briarwood Elementary one of the schools hit my the storm. Luckily, earlier in the afternoon they were picked up from school early to go to daycare. The daycare located just across the street from Briarwood had a shelter. Sherry, who ran the daycare made sure the children were safe in the shelter. She helped save Minde's children but unfortunately lost her home and two cars.
Today, the UPS man that visits my Dad's office daily told them that another UPS man that works in the area just down the street lost his wife in the tornado and has a child in critical condition. My Dad's office is about 10 minutes from Moore.
The devastation is far reaching and has touched so many lives. How thankful I am that so many people are ok and how very sad to know that others were not so lucky. Some people have asked me if there are specific ways they can help from afar. Here are two ways to help out locally.
Send a donation to the Jewish Federation of Oklahoma City. They have set up a fund and will distribute the money to local organizations in need. To donate send a check indicating it's for the "Oklahoma Disaster Fund" to:
Jewish Federation of OKC
710 W. Wilshire, Suite 103
OKC, OK 73116
( you can email or call too:office@jfedokc.org or 405-848-3132)
Or if you prefer to help a family directly you may send a check to my Dad made out to Jerry Bendorf for funds to be given to Sherry and her family. Please include a note that the check is for Sherry and send to:
Jerry Bendorf
PO Box 95638
OKC, OK 73143
Gratefully,
Lindsay
"Oklahoma is the heart, it's the vital organ, of our national existence." Will Rogers
PS: I'm donating all of my Stella & Dot commissions for the rest of May to the disaster relief fund for OKC. If you need gifts this could be a great way to help out while taking care of a gift you need to get anyway.Stelladot.com/lindsaybendorf Also, if you would like to host a shop for a cause event supporting those we can help in Moore please let me know. You can donate all hostess rewards to women that could use a little sparkle.
Thanks for all your caring.
Lindsay Likes that People CARE!
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Lindsay Likes Keeping Spirits Up
When it's gloomy outside or when it's sunny but things going around us are gloomy what happens? How do we keep our spirits up when things aren't going so great? Things start to go wrong, people say things we don't want to hear, we miss out on the fun and we somehow keep being part of the gloom and doom. At times we have no control over what's coming our way and what happens. But how can we keep ourselves in line and feel like we can maintain who we are when life happens without asking our opinion?
We find a way to keep our spirits up so who we are can go on despite all the forces around us. We continue our routine, find things to do for others, find new things to do for ourselves, pursue things we once put aside; we look to "our people" to keep ourselves busy and to hang around. We do, we think, we go, we act, maybe more slowly or less efficiently but we remember, like Theodore Roosevelt said to "...do what you can, with what you have, where you are."
Let's spare each other the details of the particular gloom that has befallen us or may come upon us and say that no one has it easy all of the time. From minute to colossal everyone faces obstacles and challenges, but it's how we face them that shows our character. We can choose to be pitiful or we can choose to be strong. We can complain about our lot or find the best it has to offer. Sometimes what happens around us doesn't go our way. It's a fact. For me, I try to keep the spirits up and to make it a mindset of mine to remember to do this.
We can be wounded birds or be the strongest versions of ourselves, and we still live in the same world. If we choose the first, we get the life we think we deserve, but when we choose the later and act with both toughness and a bit of sweetness too, we open ourselves up to an endless possibility of outcomes and experiences. Our strength in the gloom and doom inspires others while continuously fueling our passions, interests and self-development. Our own "oomph" allows us to grow and to help and to encourage others to do the same.
I think we keep our spirits up because we are responsible for more than just ourselves. Keeping our spirits up allows us to offer all we are meant to be. We keep our spirits up by doing what we need to do for ourselves. There's no formula, just a means to exude our toughness, to be the antithesis of a wounded bird. Certainly, we have to let our emotions run their course and to feel how we must. When we choose to live our best lives despite the gloom, this doesn't mean we forget how our spirits dipped or why they did. Instead, we use what happens to propel us another day, to do our part to make the world go round. We use our experiences, both the happy and those that are rather sad, to teach us and to mold us into better versions of ourselves.
No, I'm not advocating for 24/7 "Brady Bunch" smiles. Nor am I saying we can just snap out of it. I'm just saying I like to keep spirits up...mine...yours...ours.
Lindsay Likes Keeping Spirits Up.
We find a way to keep our spirits up so who we are can go on despite all the forces around us. We continue our routine, find things to do for others, find new things to do for ourselves, pursue things we once put aside; we look to "our people" to keep ourselves busy and to hang around. We do, we think, we go, we act, maybe more slowly or less efficiently but we remember, like Theodore Roosevelt said to "...do what you can, with what you have, where you are."
Let's spare each other the details of the particular gloom that has befallen us or may come upon us and say that no one has it easy all of the time. From minute to colossal everyone faces obstacles and challenges, but it's how we face them that shows our character. We can choose to be pitiful or we can choose to be strong. We can complain about our lot or find the best it has to offer. Sometimes what happens around us doesn't go our way. It's a fact. For me, I try to keep the spirits up and to make it a mindset of mine to remember to do this.
We can be wounded birds or be the strongest versions of ourselves, and we still live in the same world. If we choose the first, we get the life we think we deserve, but when we choose the later and act with both toughness and a bit of sweetness too, we open ourselves up to an endless possibility of outcomes and experiences. Our strength in the gloom and doom inspires others while continuously fueling our passions, interests and self-development. Our own "oomph" allows us to grow and to help and to encourage others to do the same.
I think we keep our spirits up because we are responsible for more than just ourselves. Keeping our spirits up allows us to offer all we are meant to be. We keep our spirits up by doing what we need to do for ourselves. There's no formula, just a means to exude our toughness, to be the antithesis of a wounded bird. Certainly, we have to let our emotions run their course and to feel how we must. When we choose to live our best lives despite the gloom, this doesn't mean we forget how our spirits dipped or why they did. Instead, we use what happens to propel us another day, to do our part to make the world go round. We use our experiences, both the happy and those that are rather sad, to teach us and to mold us into better versions of ourselves.
No, I'm not advocating for 24/7 "Brady Bunch" smiles. Nor am I saying we can just snap out of it. I'm just saying I like to keep spirits up...mine...yours...ours.
Lindsay Likes Keeping Spirits Up.
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Lindsay Likes..to SPREAD GOOD
Thank you to all those who have told me to start writing Lindsay Likes again. The problem at hand with my writing is that I think of things to write late at night just as I'm falling asleep. Sometimes I get up and write notes and other times I just shut my eyes and let the thoughts mix with so many others floating around in my head. My goal starting this Spring is to allow myself the time to write down these thoughts and not to leave them in my mind. With that being said, last week I wrote down a stream of consciousness between the hours of 1:00 and 2:00am. Below is my unaltered notes from that night covering a topic that I come back to over and over. This will not be the last time you see this theme in my writing because it's one of the backbones of what makes me tick. Read on and I will work on bringing some life back to Lindsay Likes...
Recorded on my notes app on my phone at 1:43am, March 12th, 2013:
We all want to spread good and we can. Acts of goodness do not have to be big. In this busy world where many people want to help others, many believe they just don't have the time. But even a thank you, a smile, taking a few minutes of the day for oneself-even these can impact others positively. When we take time for ourselves we are happier, more patient and more giving. When we say thank you maybe we remind someone else to do the same.
There are endless ways to spread good. Truly, there's something for everyone to do to make it happen. And, this is what people need to understand. It's not always about how much or how often, but the act of doing something good at all. Once we do good we can't get enough; we want to do more. Spread good by doing what you do best. What's your calling, your signature trait, your hobby, your profession, your greatest accomplishment, your routine-there's a part of you that's already spreading good. Just realize what it is and spread it. You will shine and by that, you will give others the confidence to shine too. It's not some time-consuming thing to do. It's taking something that's already part of you and sharing it, actually spreading it around.
Every act matters and every person too. I promise it's simple and really quite effortless. I want every person to believe they can make a difference and I want them to know the simple ways in which they can.
Lindsay Likes to Spread Good
Recorded on my notes app on my phone at 1:43am, March 12th, 2013:
We all want to spread good and we can. Acts of goodness do not have to be big. In this busy world where many people want to help others, many believe they just don't have the time. But even a thank you, a smile, taking a few minutes of the day for oneself-even these can impact others positively. When we take time for ourselves we are happier, more patient and more giving. When we say thank you maybe we remind someone else to do the same.
There are endless ways to spread good. Truly, there's something for everyone to do to make it happen. And, this is what people need to understand. It's not always about how much or how often, but the act of doing something good at all. Once we do good we can't get enough; we want to do more. Spread good by doing what you do best. What's your calling, your signature trait, your hobby, your profession, your greatest accomplishment, your routine-there's a part of you that's already spreading good. Just realize what it is and spread it. You will shine and by that, you will give others the confidence to shine too. It's not some time-consuming thing to do. It's taking something that's already part of you and sharing it, actually spreading it around.
Every act matters and every person too. I promise it's simple and really quite effortless. I want every person to believe they can make a difference and I want them to know the simple ways in which they can.
Lindsay Likes to Spread Good
Friday, May 25, 2012
Lindsay Likes...To Remember
The house I grew up in was recently torn down. I drove by the lot and found nothing left. Not a tree in sight. Nothing but a large patch of Oklahoma red dirt. From a distance I could see the backyard and I could almost see myself playing there in my fort or on the green swing set that my Dad had made from pipe. In just a few seconds, I can remember so much that happened at that house on Blue Sage Road.
Some of my memories of the house are the birthday parties like the Dress Up Like Mommy one, the holidays, the time my sister and I spent playing make believe when I was her little Piglet, or playing with our gerbils in the sun room and the pac-man machine in the garage. Then there was the bike riding in the driveway, the time I looked in the hall mirror and discovered my eyes had suddenly changed from blue to green. I can also remember sitting at the dinner table, taking bubble baths in my parents' bathtub and bumping up and down the steps(no Mom we didn't fall through the cracks).
My memories of the house on Blue Sage include so much more than the stones and beams and walls of the home. But remembering the house for me keeps a part of the past somehow more present, if that even makes sense. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I like remembering things. Often we take for granted our memory because it seems like our past is almost present. We can recall images and feelings; see pieces of our own histories play out in our minds and be reminded with just a thought of someone we once knew. When we want to and our health allows us we can figuratively take a walk down memory lane with almost no effort at all. It's like magic to me.
Of course, remembering the past can for some people be both a blessing and a curse. Things may happen that would be better forgotten. Or, without even realizing it a person can let their memories constantly navigate the present. This talk gets me confused really. For me, remembering even a small fraction of my past makes me who I am today. There must be some reason I can remember eating french fries from Church's in the backseat of my grandmother's Cadillac or putting my tooth under my pillow for the fairy.
Isn't it intriguing what we remember and how often we recall things from the past all while living in the present? Again I'm confused.
I like to remember... while still going ahead.
"Blue Sage"
Some of my memories of the house are the birthday parties like the Dress Up Like Mommy one, the holidays, the time my sister and I spent playing make believe when I was her little Piglet, or playing with our gerbils in the sun room and the pac-man machine in the garage. Then there was the bike riding in the driveway, the time I looked in the hall mirror and discovered my eyes had suddenly changed from blue to green. I can also remember sitting at the dinner table, taking bubble baths in my parents' bathtub and bumping up and down the steps(no Mom we didn't fall through the cracks).
My memories of the house on Blue Sage include so much more than the stones and beams and walls of the home. But remembering the house for me keeps a part of the past somehow more present, if that even makes sense. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I like remembering things. Often we take for granted our memory because it seems like our past is almost present. We can recall images and feelings; see pieces of our own histories play out in our minds and be reminded with just a thought of someone we once knew. When we want to and our health allows us we can figuratively take a walk down memory lane with almost no effort at all. It's like magic to me.
Of course, remembering the past can for some people be both a blessing and a curse. Things may happen that would be better forgotten. Or, without even realizing it a person can let their memories constantly navigate the present. This talk gets me confused really. For me, remembering even a small fraction of my past makes me who I am today. There must be some reason I can remember eating french fries from Church's in the backseat of my grandmother's Cadillac or putting my tooth under my pillow for the fairy.
Isn't it intriguing what we remember and how often we recall things from the past all while living in the present? Again I'm confused.
I like to remember... while still going ahead.
"Blue Sage"Saturday, April 14, 2012
Lindsay Likes...To Take Breaks!
I know it's been forever. I think of things I want to write all of the time but somehow my words don't make it onto this blog. What can I say, Lindsay likes to take breaks.
Check back soon! I think I've had enough time off!
Yep I'm not lazy or unmotivated but I do like a nice long break!!
Check back soon! I think I've had enough time off!
Yep I'm not lazy or unmotivated but I do like a nice long break!!
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Lindsay Likes...to be Reminded
Some days I don't check off a single thing from my "to do list." Some weeks I may accomplish one thing and that could be paying a bill. While other weeks I may decide to completely clean out my closets, sweep out the garage, write two blog entries, make several appointments and plans and workout five days a week. The point is I like my to do list and I like the sticky note reminders in my messy purse telling me what I have to do, what I should do and what I might just want to do. And, besides the dumb to do lists and sticky notes that seem to creep up everywhere, I like when other people remind me of things.
Oh no, I don't like to be told what to do, I just like when things are brought to my attention. It's very nice to have someone catch me when I get all serious and intense and forget to smile or when I unconsciously raise my eyebrows and and open my mouth in disdain, horror or suspicion for a reason that doesn't call for such a big reaction. Maybe these qualities are just part of me and aren't supposed to be changed but regardless I like to learn more about myself. Don't we all lose sight of the kinds of actions and reactions we play out each day. The things we do and say and the way we act are often so routine someone else has got to remind us of the parts of ourselves we don't even see.
Of course, over the years we learn who we are and what we are like as we live, mature and experience new things. During this process, we develop our personalities, our strengths, learn to recognize our weaknesses and perhaps even face our fears. We may not need someone to tell us who we are, but it never hurts to be reminded of what we forget or what we fail to see. I like to be reminded to not worry, to stand up straight, to be confident and decisive. And, I like it when others remind me that I'm nice or loyal or cute! Don't we all need to a little pick me up here and there.
For me I also like to be reminded of how my actions effect others. Because at the end of the day how we act does make a difference to other people. If we take the time to say hello to someone we haven't seen in a while or to offer a helping hand to a friend in need, don't we all like to see a smile on the other person's face or to be embraced with a appreciative hug. Sure, we like to be reminded that our presence, our friendship or our time are meaningful to others.
Everyone sees themselves in a certain light; some think of themselves more highly than others. Some see themselves as something they are not and some of us constantly see different versions of ourselves. I like when people remind me of the stuff I know, the stuff I don't, and I especially like when people remind me of the things I forget!
I remind you to smile, to laugh, to be confident, to learn, to do the things that make you happy and to always remind others of the things they forget (and I don't just mean their car keys)!
Write it on a sticky note, tell me to my face, or show me what you want me to know because I like to be reminded.
Oh no, I don't like to be told what to do, I just like when things are brought to my attention. It's very nice to have someone catch me when I get all serious and intense and forget to smile or when I unconsciously raise my eyebrows and and open my mouth in disdain, horror or suspicion for a reason that doesn't call for such a big reaction. Maybe these qualities are just part of me and aren't supposed to be changed but regardless I like to learn more about myself. Don't we all lose sight of the kinds of actions and reactions we play out each day. The things we do and say and the way we act are often so routine someone else has got to remind us of the parts of ourselves we don't even see.
Of course, over the years we learn who we are and what we are like as we live, mature and experience new things. During this process, we develop our personalities, our strengths, learn to recognize our weaknesses and perhaps even face our fears. We may not need someone to tell us who we are, but it never hurts to be reminded of what we forget or what we fail to see. I like to be reminded to not worry, to stand up straight, to be confident and decisive. And, I like it when others remind me that I'm nice or loyal or cute! Don't we all need to a little pick me up here and there.
For me I also like to be reminded of how my actions effect others. Because at the end of the day how we act does make a difference to other people. If we take the time to say hello to someone we haven't seen in a while or to offer a helping hand to a friend in need, don't we all like to see a smile on the other person's face or to be embraced with a appreciative hug. Sure, we like to be reminded that our presence, our friendship or our time are meaningful to others.
Everyone sees themselves in a certain light; some think of themselves more highly than others. Some see themselves as something they are not and some of us constantly see different versions of ourselves. I like when people remind me of the stuff I know, the stuff I don't, and I especially like when people remind me of the things I forget!
I remind you to smile, to laugh, to be confident, to learn, to do the things that make you happy and to always remind others of the things they forget (and I don't just mean their car keys)!
Write it on a sticky note, tell me to my face, or show me what you want me to know because I like to be reminded.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Lindsay Likes...Quotes
I like inspiring and uplifting quotes. They appeal to my "deep side" - the reflective, analytical, creative part of me that shows up some days more than others. On many a restless night I've pulled out my personal book of quotes, a collection of some of my favorite words. When my head gets stuck on some senseless tangent or moves in too many directions late at night, I open my book of quotes and a sense of calmness comes over me.
On a few occasions over the years, unbeknownst to people, I've taken their wise memorable words and written them down in my little book. For the first time I'll share them:
A friend once told me, "High hopes can kill morale if not adjusted to fit the reality of now."
"Enjoy learning, but always leave room to play, thus the soul needs that too." ~Mom
Words my grandmother remembered her mother-in-law saying, "Thoughts are things-when you think good things, good things happen." ~Granny Leibs
I used to collect quote books and would enjoy reading people's words. Some I even know by memory:
"Character is doing what is right when no one is around."
"We are what we repeatedly do, excellence, then, is not an act but a habit."
"I'm a slow walker, but I never walk back."
I like words that have depth and meaning and I'm sort of the same way with people. The right words can offer encouragement, a new perspective, a reminder, or even be that voice we don't want to hear. Sometimes someone else's words (even a person we may not know) offer something we cannot find elsewhere. Perhaps a little pick me up sans the caffeine or maybe even a reminder to think about things that matter and not dwell on the things that don't.
I like quotes...maybe because I like words (but that's another topic).
On a few occasions over the years, unbeknownst to people, I've taken their wise memorable words and written them down in my little book. For the first time I'll share them:
A friend once told me, "High hopes can kill morale if not adjusted to fit the reality of now."
"Enjoy learning, but always leave room to play, thus the soul needs that too." ~Mom
Words my grandmother remembered her mother-in-law saying, "Thoughts are things-when you think good things, good things happen." ~Granny Leibs
I used to collect quote books and would enjoy reading people's words. Some I even know by memory:
"Character is doing what is right when no one is around."
"We are what we repeatedly do, excellence, then, is not an act but a habit."
"I'm a slow walker, but I never walk back."
I like words that have depth and meaning and I'm sort of the same way with people. The right words can offer encouragement, a new perspective, a reminder, or even be that voice we don't want to hear. Sometimes someone else's words (even a person we may not know) offer something we cannot find elsewhere. Perhaps a little pick me up sans the caffeine or maybe even a reminder to think about things that matter and not dwell on the things that don't.
I like quotes...maybe because I like words (but that's another topic).
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