“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?'” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

Happy Monday, friends! Just a reminder: if you try to go to the bank or post office today and find it closed, it is a federal holiday – Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. If someone were to ask you the above question, would you be able to answer? If you refer back to my first post of 2019, you’ll find I listed out several areas of opportunity when creating goals, including volunteering.

Volunteering

• What can you do to give back to your community?  Can you join a volunteer group at work, church, or on your own?  There are so many opportunities in the Houston area to work with kids, the elderly, rodeo committees, literacy programs, youth sports programs, and church.  If you don’t have available time, could you make a donation to an organization that is meaningful to you?

That is pulled from the post I published on New Year’s Day, and I want to spend a few minutes just going a little deeper into that. I felt that when setting goals for the year, it was extremely important in doing something that would help give back. I know we are all busy people with busy lives and sometimes it’s hard to find the time or money, but you should know there are plenty of ways to “give back” without having to spend a lot of time and/or money, including:

• Donate blood or plasma
• Visit a nursing home – the elderly love having visitors 🙂
• Donate old/used books to local libraries, schools, etc.
• Donate clothes to women’s shelters or organizations that help women search for and apply for jobs – I mean, it is almost spring time, which is perfect Spring Cleaning.
• Run a race in honor of a charity
• Employer gift matching – check with your HR dept to see what kind of gift matching is offered. The company I work for does a 2:1 match which is awesome!
• Cook a meal for a family in need – a family with a new baby, loss of a loved one, federal employee, a friend who is just going through a really tough time, etc.
• Volunteer to babysit
• Bring food to your local firefighters, police officers, and other first responders
• Coach youth sports/leagues
• Shop at stores that give back (Toms, Sevenly, Pura Vida, We Wood, Hand in Hand, etc.)
• Teach Sunday School at your church
• Pay it Forward
• Pick up trash whenever you see it
• Read to children at the local library
• Plant a tree
• Don’t forget about our four legged friends – volunteer at an animal shelter, foster animals, or adopt if you can
• Start a facebook charity event in honor of your birthday
• Help your elderly neighbor carry in his/her groceries
• Make a one time $10 donation to a local charity – just make that green smoothie at home this week or skip the Starbuck’s line 🙂

Healthy Work Habits, Part II

Hydration

Yeti, Tervis Tumbler, Camelbak – all faves of mine when it comes to drinking water.  The amount of water you should aim for daily varies by person, activity level, etc.  A good rule of thumb for finding the minimum amount of water to drink is to take half of your weight (in pounds) and drink that amount of water (in ounces.)  For example, a 200 pound person should aim at drinking 100 ounces of water in a day.  If you are working out, you should drink even more water. I am currently aiming for 100 ounces of water a day, which is four of my favorite Camelbak containers. Not a fan of regular ol’ water? Try mixing in some natural flavoring – lemon is my favorite, with lime at a close second. If techie things are your jam, try this DrinKup thermos. It factors in your height and weight and vibrates and flashes and does all kinds of fancy things when it’s time for you to drink up. Also, you could try sparkling or mineral water – who doesn’t love a good Topo Chico? This isn’t exactly work related, but when out for happy hour, try a one to one rule with alcohol. For every glass of wine you drink, have a glass of water. This is just good practice in general.

Because most people are reward driven, try rewarding yourself for hitting your water goals. If you hit your water goal every day for a month, maybe splurge on a fancy coffee one Friday morning before work. Say you hit your water goal for six months, splurge on a fun and festive water bottle/thermos/etc. You’d be surprised at how nice these things are (which also means expensive.) Of course the benefit of drinking water is in itself the reward, but who doesn’t want a little supplemental reward every now and then 🙂 Being hydrated helps with brain function, energy levels, digestion, and flushes out toxins – all good things in my book! Even being dehydrated by 1 – 3% can negatively effect your mood (reaching for water bottle now.)

Tip:  Leave a cup at your desk that you know how many ounces it holds.  Make a goal to drink each glass by a certain time, example – first glass by 8:30 am, second by lunch, third before you leave, etc.

I’ll leave the water convo at this: the more water you drink, the more you will need to use the potty, which means you will be up and moving around more, which means you will be getting more steps. It’s like killing two birds with one stone.

How To Shop My Looks

If you are looking at toasttopost.com from a computer or laptop, you will see a picture on the right hand side of the page that looks like this:

All you have to do is click on this icon and it will take you directly to where I have my outfits linked. If you are looking on a phone, this icon will show up at the bottom of the page.

Well, folks, that is all for now. I hope you enjoyed National Popcorn Day on Saturday and enjoyed some Netflix and chill time. Literally – chill. Because most of the country was feeling the extreme cold due to Winter Storm Harper – when planes are skidding off the runway and the governor of New York bans tractor-trailers and buses, you know it’s intense. And that Kansas City vs. New England game last night – omg too cold for me. I’ve been to one outdoor football game in Denver when it was cold and snowing, and I felt like a popsicle. Luckily, I was given some handwarmers at halftime that somewhat helped keep me warm, and I’m pretty sure it was only in the 20’s at that game. I’m also pretty sure I was so cold I slept with the handwarmers next to my body all night long.

I have several things I’m working on for you in the upcoming weeks – one of them being allllll the baby stuff I can think of that the twins have used up until now (5 months.) It is a pretty comprehensive list, and I want to make sure to get it right for you – so maybe next week it will be ready to publish. Also, my reading list (just started All the Light We Cannot See,) podcasts, continuing healthy office habits, Super Bowl Party ideas, desk decorating, and of course, more outfit choices.

And now we know who our Super Bowl contenders are: the LA Rams vs the NE Patriots. The Super Bowl will be on February 3, 2019 in Atlanta.

Have a great week and look for me on the gram – @toasttopostblog

Cheers – MP