On Making Others Happy

I work at Maddox Ranch House, I'm a waitress there.

I had the chance to wait on this one lady one day. Thinking back on it, I tried as hard as I always do with each table. I always genuinely want to do good and make everyone's experience as great as it can be. At the very end she made sure to thank me, calling me by name; and continued to write this sweet note at the top. 

I was thinking about it, and how much time or effort do you think this single act of writing, "Well done Caitlin" on her receipt took her? When I opened my black book to find it, it definitely put a smile on my face, and helped me keep a positive attitude throughout the day. Someone noticed that I was trying and made an honest effort to let me know they saw that and appreciated it. 

Just yesterday I was waiting on another table, and they were so kind. At the end an older man that was at my table was walking out, grabbed my wrist kindly, looked me in the eyes and said, "the only thing greater than the food, was the service. Thank you." 

I just wanted to write this post with a purpose of letting others know how grateful I am to them and their little kindnesses they give others each day. I kept that receipt even after that day, because it's not just a compliment on a paper to me, it's also a reminder. I want to be someone who lets others know that I am thankful for them, and that their effort doesn't go unnoticed. 

I want to help make others happy. I think that when you can make that your focus in your life that's when you can become truly happy as well. 

Those are my thoughts for today. Happy Sunday.(:

The good, the bad, and the lovely..

So I just have to say how excited I am, I've been a member of Influenster since February, and have been anxiously awaiting a VoxBox ever since. Just a short little plug for this website, for all you ladies out there who love makeup, fashion, food, basically anything; this is the place to be. You become a member and what you do is you go review different products that you've used, take quizzes, surveys, etc. The more you do, the higher your badge score is. When your badge score is high enough in one area, (mine was the makeup-beauty one) you are able to be considered for a VoxBox. This is basically a box full of free samples of whatever your badge was in.
SO.... What's the catch? 
I was wondering that too. It's basically too good to be true. Give your opinion and take quizzes on things you actually like to talk about, and get sent free things? Well yep. That's basically it. Go check it out. The only thing that you get to do is talk about what you get. Blog about it, (the point of this), tweet about it, Facebook, Youtube, you name it. And hey, I don't mind that. Definitely worth it.
So I must tell you what I got. A Mary Kay VoxBox full of makeup. It included their larger poudre brush for blush and bronzer, it also included the bronzing powder (light-medium), shy blush mineral cheek color, cream eye color brush, apricot twist cream eye color, translucent loose powder, jet black gel eye liner, an eye liner application brush, and some nourishine plus lip gloss in the color Mango Tango. AH. I was so excited. The first time I tried the lip gloss I was pretty hooked. Also, when you are wearing all of the makeup I listed and the lip gloss, it's a light enough look that the lip gloss adds a color pop to it that fits right into this beautiful Spring season that is upon us.
Another thing that is my favorite so far is the cream eye shadow, it isn't greasy like other cream eye shadows I have tried and the color stays good, for such a long time! It's a gold apricot color and it looks so pretty on.
Something that I haven't made my mind up on quite yet is the mascara. I am kind of a mascara snob.. my absolute favorite that I've tried so far is They're Real! from Ulta. So.. I'm going to take a break from that and wear the Mary Kay and see how that works.
Anyway.. just some of my thoughts on the new VoxBox I just received. And seriously, go check Influenster out. You won't regret it. (:
Till next time! Thanks for reading!

THIS IS A SPONSORED POST; INFLUENSTER PROVIDED MARY KAY SAMPLE PRODUCTS TO ME AS A MEMBER OF INFLUENSTER.COM

A broken down car and a week full of exams

Sounds fun, doesn't it? What a week it has been.
It was a crazy busy week to begin with, having two exams on Thursday, and work on Wednesday. That left me with Monday and Tuesday to cram in some studying, one of them being for a midterm. In short, I felt like I had to learn half a semester's concepts in two days. To top it all off, my car ended up breaking down on Tuesday. I had problems with it a couple days earlier, but my dad and my sweet boyfriend thought they had it figured out. Turns out Tuesday afternoon as I'm driving it to the repair shop because my battery light was still on, it dies on me, but at an intersection. Perfect, right? I was pretty terrified, and basically just grumpy in general.
All I could think about was how stressed I was because I needed to be spending this time studying, and I didn't have the time OR money to deal with this right now. But I was so lucky to have Justin come help push my car out of the intersection and some other random guy who saw we needed help. Later there was an older man who saw we were in trouble as well and he ran to AAMCO (where we were originally headed) and talked to the workers there. He explained that we were literally two blocks away, and they said that they would come tow my car for free to their place. What. a. blessing. Like I hate to keep mentioning this, but I really am such a poor college student, and just the thought of paying for a tow truck to move my car, AND a repair almost sent me into an anxiety attack.
So this terrible experience ended up making me SO grateful for the Lord's tender mercies for us. I am so thankful for random strangers that are so generous with their time and effort to help others out, I am constantly astounded at how good people are. (:
So I still am cramming in studying, but I know things will work out.
Forever grateful for my family, boyfriend, the gospel, and for how much happiness all of this brings me.
Thanks for readin. Hope you have a wonderful day!

Ready or not..

So this girl right here, is training for a half marathon. Believe it or not, as soon as my 12 pack of Mtn. Dew is gone, I'm going to even try to be done with carbonation to help me out with this task. I'm also hoping that by writing a blog about it, it will help me stick to it more.. We'll see how it goes.
This right here, ladies and gents, is my training schedule. I started out today! Hooray!

Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun
Week 1 off 3 miles 3 miles 3 miles off 3 miles 4 miles
Week 2 off 3 miles 4 miles 3 miles off 3 miles 4 miles
Week 3 off 3 miles 4 miles 3 miles off 3 miles 5 miles
Week 4 off 3 miles 5 miles 3 miles off 4 miles 6 miles
Week 5 off 4 miles 5 miles 4 miles off 3 miles 7 miles
Week 6 off 4 miles 4 miles 4 miles off 4 miles 8 miles
Week 7 off 4 miles 6 miles 4 miles off 4 miles 9 miles
Week 8 off 4 miles 6 miles 4 miles off 4 miles 10 miles
Week 9 off 4 miles 6 miles 4 miles off 3 miles 11 miles
Week 10 off 4 miles 5 miles 4 miles off 4 miles 12 miles
Week 11 off 4 miles 5 miles 4 miles off 3 miles 6 miles
Week 12 off 3 miles 5 miles 3 miles off 2 miles 13.1 miles!

In my institute class today, we had a lesson on balancing the mental, physical, spiritual and social needs in our life. Now this wasn't the only reason that I decided on this, but it definitely got me started. I had been planning for quite a while to train for one, but I kept letting stupid excuses deter me. "I'm sick.." or "It's too cold outside to go to the Fieldhouse". And finally today I just decided it's now or never. I have a goal to work out in some way at least every day, and be running five days a week. Not only am I excited for the end result, but I'm excited to get fit again. This winter has really just had me feeling "bleh". I'm completely aware that's not a real emotion, but I feel like if you're reading this you get me, I'm more than ready for it to be warm again. I notice that when I'm consistently working out, I am in general a happier person. So here it goes! Wish me luck! I'm gonna need it.
Until next time. Thanks for readin.

When life gets rough

A friend and I were talking a while ago about growing up and going to college. I don't know if it's just her and I, but as soon as we moved out and "grew up" in a sense, life just dumped on us. Trials, problems, and heartbreak.
Do you ever just have those times in your life where NOTHING is going right? My life has seemed a lot like that lately. Where every turn and corner there are let downs and disappointment, and I seriously just can't seem to catch a break. I experienced quite the tender mercy however, I stumbled upon an article talking about how the Lord WILL give you trials you can't handle, because He wants you to turn to Him. And that is certainly what I have learned to do, with the Savior as the focus in our lives we can truly be healed and find joy.
Instead of venting about how life can be so hard sometimes though, I have really realized some important things through these trials, one of those being how important people are in your life. For example, a random girl whom I didn't know very well at all from my ward noticed I didn't look very happy; she then preceded to give me a hug (no doubt prompted by the spirit in my opinion) and asked if I was alright. I'm sure she had no idea how much that meant to me, but it had a huge impact on my day.
Another thing that has always been a constant in my life is my family. I could not be more grateful for such a support system. I don't think I thank them enough, but they mean so much to me. Just another little thing, my mom found out that I had just barely gotten sick, and before I knew it she came up to Logan with my Dad with a bunch of cough drops, dayquil and nyquil, AND a 12 pack of Mtn. Dew. The best remedies to a cold, right there folks.
I really am so blessed, and so it helps when I have rough days, weeks or whatever, to notice the blessings in my life. I have so much, and I would be ungrateful if I didn't list a couple of them.
Have a wonderful rest of the week! And if life has got ya down, take a second to count your blessings.
It really does help. (:

Some things that I've learned lately..

Hey, so I'm Caitlin if you don't already know, and I decided to re-start up my blog because I had some ideas on what I wanted to write about. Just a quick introduction of me if you don't know, I'm 18 years old, and currently a Freshman at Utah State University. Right now my declared major is Elementary Education, however the verdict is still out on that as to whether it's what I want to spend my whole life doing yet or not. Holy cow! That's a long time when you stop to think about it. I guess that's why I'm so indecisive, and this first post is kind of about that.. In a round about way.
It's interesting to me, the idea of "growing up." I remember in High School thinking that I couldn't WAIT to get out of there, but at the same time I never wanted to actually grow up, if ya know what I mean. Not only did that mean extra responsibility, but added stress onto what I already stressed about as a High School student. Now I honestly look back onto my High School days and almost laugh at the dumb stuff I stressed about. Looking back, I realized how much fun I had, and reminisce on memories that are basically only unique to being in High School. For example, Region for Rockettes is coming up, and I remember how stressed I would get about that.. At this time of year I didn't even stop to enjoy it because I took it so seriously. Now I would almost give anything to go back for a day and be a part of that team again and compete with some of my best friends out on that gym floor, doing what I love the most. Anyway, GOOD LUCK to the Rockettes this weekend, I love each and every one of them and I know they'll kill it. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my life now, but I guess if I could go back and tell myself one thing, it would be to stop, and just enjoy where I am in my life. Cliche, right?
Another thing I have learned lately.. Is that "growing up" is almost a side-effect of trials in our life. In general, moving out, being on your own and trying to figure out how to pay for college and housing and living.. it can all seem so overwhelming. I know I was overwhelmed at first, but I also learned how to rely on my Heavenly Father in times of trial. That is a skill that I hope to keep practicing, because I find myself to be the happiest when I put my life in His hands, putting all my trust in Him that things will work out.. And hey! They usually do, even if they aren't in a way you want them to at the moment. I have gained a testimony of this by enduring through some pretty rough trials which in the end, have refined me into a better person. So that's another thing that I've learned, that the Gospel ROCKS! I mean, I knew that before, but I definitely took it for granted.
So this is my life, and I sure do love it. There are so many ups and downs, but that's the best part of this roller coaster called life, right??
Thanks for readin. Have a great night. (: