Tuesday, January 12, 2016

Small Things

Figured I'd share a few small things that really have made me happy in the last week.


First, as part of my new year "straightening out" phase, I accomplished a major thing:  a clear(ish) desk at work!

(Just ignore that massive stack in the upper right hand corner, which is my paper in-box.  For a "paperless" company, there are still a ton of paper records that I end up receiving, and unfortunately, all of those pages need to be reviewed and summarized...)

Previously, I had papers from about 5 matters spread across the top, and even though I rarely referred to them, they took up a lot of space and I wanted them accessible.  I went ahead and just stacked them up in alternating directions, and now my desk surface is totally clear except for that stack!  (Well, clear except for that stack and the in-box, details, details...). 

But my desk didn't stay clear long.  Happily!  One blog I read all the time, Running on Lentils, posts frequent running clothing reviews.  My running wardrobe is OLD.  I'm one of those "if it ain't broke" people (and generally as cheap as $hit unless it comes to travel money), and aside from making the move to tech fabrics in about 2006 when it became all the rage, I've basically just continued to wear a lot of the same stuff, with some additions over the years from Christmas gifts, race shirts, and the occasional purchase.  But I think some of Jenn's blog is rubbing off on me -- I sometimes read one of her reviews about how much she likes quality pieces and why, and I think, gee, I'd love to have a pocket for a key in my running capris!  So sometimes she convinces me to look at a Lulu item on sale and if it's in my size, it's on my desk before long. 



Of course, step 2 is that I should purge an old pair of running pants from my current collection to make room for these, but I'm actually low on pants, so I probably won't (plus the whole "hoarder" thing...).

My other big office thing... finally fixing my water bottle.  I've had this water bottle from The Lyons' Share that I use a lot of the time (the other bottle is a generic Aladdin one from Target that I use when I'm washing my regular one). 

Well, a while back, I dropped the lid when I was refilling it, and the cap to close it actually broke off, so I've been using it like this: 




The second picture shows it better, but that's basically nothing between water and my laptop and my work papers if I tip the bottle over.  After I broke the lid, there was no way to close it (but, not a wide opening, so less fatal that it could be I guess). 

Well, at boot camp last week, I finally told Megan that my cap was broken, and she replaced it! 






Isn't it lovely?!  Honestly, makes a big difference in my days though -- I can keep the bottle closer now since it's spill-safe, so I drink more!  And that nagging worry that I'd knock it over is gone (along with any nagging fear a co-worker thought my broken topped bottle was ghetto...). 

All three of those things have made me very happy.  Sometimes it's just the little things, right? 

10 comments:

  1. It really is ... and I can totally see how those would make you happy :)

    I did a bit of cleaning on my own desk at work and it is very refreshing ... unfortunately aside from my dual large monitors and iPad Pro I also have a stack of post-its with 'to be transcribed' experimental notes, a microscope, and several boxes of parts from our current experiments. so it looks ... busy, but the stuff I cleared off was SUCH a load off my brain! :)

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  2. Oh - and another reminder of how awesome Megan is! :)

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    1. Indeed! In fact, perhaps I shall post about that tomorrow. Seems it might be a good day for it! ;)

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    2. Too true ... might need to visit Amazon tomorrow morning :)

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  3. Ha, rarely do I buy new running clothes! Besides Coeur stuff from when I was an ambassador (and it is nice quality and my favorites by far), I have mostly race shirts, Wal-mart bras, and Wal-mart leggings!

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  4. All good things! (What did you get???) It's interesting. I was just telling a fellow activewear blogger that I think that not spending money on activewear is unique to runners. I know SO many runners who think that race shirts are free so they have no reason to spend money on anything else except shoes and bras (some races give out shorts). It seems like the yoga and crossfit crowd are much more into activewear. Maybe that's because they see the same people at their studios and gyms often enough that they don't want to be seen wearing the same thing? I guess with running, no one knows what you wear if you run by yourself (and unless you take daily pictures like I do, ha ha).

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    1. They're the pink with a little bit of grey speed tights, don't know the real name but it might have violet in it? You've posted pics of them a couple times. I think I bought them when you did. You're such a good influence on me!

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  5. it really is the little things! no picture of what your new fancy lulu pants look like?

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  6. It's definitely the little things. I keep telling myself I will invest in some new running clothes when I finally lose those 10 pounds I gained back over the last couple of years. It should be a great incentive, but now that my current running clothes are becoming just enough uncomfortable I think I'm ready to take myself up on that offer. Checking the sale pages of the more expensive brands is a great idea. I do that with Athleta because I love their summer dresses. How do you like the new Lululemon pants? Great water bottle! I also need an upgrade on water bottles.

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