Battling Sadness

I believe that sadness is part of life.  Sometimes we are sad.  Bad things happen.  Hard things happen.  Disappointment happens.  Being sad and hurt and angry are all natural emotions and come with the territory of being human.  That said, my natural inclination is to dwell in that hurt and sadness far longer than I should.  I ruminate on the mistakes I have made.  I blame myself for not predicting what would happen and for not stopping it before it made me or someone else sad.  I worry.  Over the years I have learned ways to keep the overwhelming darkness that can sometimes settle over me at bay.  I have incredible friends that care deeply about me. I have a fulfilling life and work.  I have invested time in things that matter.  All of that has helped but a few years ago, when I first started this blog, I realized the thing that was most useful to me in staying positive and in keeping my face towards the light - it was actively reminding myself of the beautiful little things in my life.  Actively taking time to feel blessed at the daily wonder in my life helped me shift my whole life.  It made a profound difference in how I felt about myself and the world.  Over the last 3 years, I have been able to make significant and important changes to my life.  These changes have been made through very small baby steps and that is what I need to remember.  I need to continue to remind myself that the big things are made up of thousands of little things.

As darkness peeks at the edges of my mind, I find myself again needing to remember the ordinary wonder and awe that is found when we live our lives.  I need to reflect on the daily heroics that come from regular and often unnoticed kindness.  This was the original purpose of this blog.  It was my attempt at being fully present in my own life and of sharing myself with anyone willing to take a moment to read the ramblings in this blog.  

So, yes, sadness and pain and anger and hurt and disappointment and frustration are part of being human.  That is true.  But what is also true is that beauty and love and laughter and joy and awe and wonder and kindness and care and compassion and empathy and hope are also part of being human.   And I believe in in hope and I believe in love and I believe in kindness.  I believe there is more good than bad in the world and  I believe there is more things to be inspired by in the world than there are things to be disappointed in.  We just need to be willing to see them and find them and share them.  It is the only way I know to battle the sadness, escape the darkness, and be fully present in the light of my own life. 

Here we go again...

Medium French Vanilla Ice Coffee - Light & Sweet

From Dunkin Donuts.  Love them!

Today I had my first iced coffee of 2011.  It is funny how things like that can bring back all kinds of memories.   Whenever I drink a Dunkins iced coffee I think about high school and my dear friend LB (although, I guess she is LM now).  We would spend hours and hours in the Dunkin Donuts near my house.  It was open 24 hours and we would hang out there at night and play cards.  Don't judge...lol.  We weren't wild and crazy kids.  Drinking caffeine at 11pm was our big adventure.  LM would smoke a cigarette but freak out and put them out whenever she saw someone that we knew.  Man, we were young.  We used to have such a great time.

Today's trip down memory lane brought to you by Dunkin Donuts. :)

Things that sound dirty but aren't...

I will admit that there are many times that I have the brain of a 12-year old and I find it hilarious when people inadvertently say things that sound dirty but aren't.

I am sitting in Panera working and one of the employees said to the other - "you have to do it with short, fast strokes." 

My brain immediately went "DIRTY" and I laughed in my seat. 

Chobani Greek Yogurt

This Monday morning's post goes out to Chobani Greek Yogurt.  It is creamy.  It is delicious.  It is healthy.  It starts my day off wonderfully.

I like the raspberry and blueberry flavors the best.  I like to slice up a banana and mix it into the yogurt for some extra fruit goodness.

When it is cold, snowy and grey outside...Chobani adds some sunshine to my belly.

LOL

Oh goodness, I am making myself laugh.  But seriously.  I really like it.  Try some!

Self Care: New Years Resolution Version

Everyone is going on and on about new years resolutions.  I don't really have a new years resolution but rather a continuation of this joy/self-care journey that I have been on.

1. Floss my teeth at least once a day.
2. Make sure there are no dirty dishes in the sink when I go to sleep. 
3. Put lotion on to keep my skin from getting dry and cracked during the winter.
4. Do one thing to pamper myself a week. 
5. Laugh more than 5 times a day.
6. Schedule time for reflection.
7. Forgive myself more.
8. Celebrate myself more (This one is from my friend FS.  He asked me about my resolutions and I told him number 5 and he said that he thought I should celebrate myself more.  He is correct!)

Those are my current steps to self-care & joy. Slowly making little bitty changes to make my life more joyful, more meaningful and more full of gratitude and love.  

Start with the small things...

Free Parking

Today I went to park in a metered parking.  I parked the car.  I walked over the meter to pay and get my ticket.  A woman pulls up next to me and says, I have a ticket that is good until 5pm, would you like it and save yourself some quarters.  I said "sure".  She handed me the ticket, said Merry Christmas and drove away. 

It was a really nice thing.  It was a small and random act of kindness.  I appreciated and it put a little bounce in my step. I will remember to pass it on.

Hotel beds

What is it about hotel beds that make them so much more comfortable than our beds at home?  Is it because I don't have to change the sheets?  Is it all the extra pillows?  Is it because I pay money to stay here? 

I am in Tampa for a conference called the Leadership Educators Institute and staying at the Hyatt Place.  I have a beautiful room and the bed made it very difficult to get up for the conference sessions this morning. 

Google Forms

Google forms may be the COOLEST thing I have ever used.  I know that some people have been using them forever, but I haven't been.  I am truly amazed and impressed by them.  It is so easy to make them.  They have pretty background options.  It provides me with a wonderful excel spreadsheet.

I have made 3 google forms in the last 30 minutes.

I am a nerd.  These make me happy!

Little Mermaid

One of my favorite movies (animated or not) is Little Mermaid.  Here is a clip that I found today on a friend's blog of the song "Part of your World" in Dutch.  It has the dutch and english subtitles.  The words to this version are incredible.  I have never really thought about how the words would need to be changed to keep the idea of the song but to meet the tune as well.  That translation must be very complicated.  They seem to mostly get it  - although there are some strange phrases.  I do appreciate that they use the word rebuke.

Enjoy

It is only 8:28am....

and here are the great things about today so far.

1. It is rainy outside.  Doesn't sound great.  But I like the rain.  
2. Yellow - I am wearing yellow.  First, I look pretty nice in yellow.  More importantly, it makes me feel nice.  yay to yellow!
3. Chobani Greek Yogurt - delicious, raspberry-flavored.  Um...yum!
4. exercise - day 2 of waking up and exercising.  It always makes me feel better during the day but sometimes I just want to stay curled up in my bed.
5. Hilarious phone message from my long-time friend DRN.  He and I have been friends for what seems like 4-evah, since our first year of college in the "new dorms" of East Wheelock.  (note: this makes us very old because EW is no longer new)
6. The songs "teenage dreams" and "Forget you" sung by the cast of Glee - Is it wrong that I like them more than the originals.  
7. Ceiling fans - when it is too cold to open the window but too dang hot in the office, the ceiling fan regulates the temperature
8. Seeing my BFF first thing in the morning.  I usually see him at least once a day - but rarely is he the first person I see.  It adds a special joy to the day when the first person you see is someone you love so dearly and loves you.  yay to friendship.

And now it is 8:35am.  I have had my yogurt and cup of coffee and it is time to get down to business.  

Board games!

I love board games.  I have for as long as I can remember.  Growing up we didn't necessarily have a lot of stuff,  but we always had games.  From Candy Land and Chutes & Ladders to Sorry and Trouble to Trivial Pursuit and Pictionary - games were a huge part of my childhood.  I wonder why I don't play them more often these days....

Hmm...Maybe I should organize a game night?  New favorite games of my adult life Boggle and Bananagrams.  :)

That said, I ran across this picture on another blog.  I agree with the author, I adore books and want a giant library full of them....but this would be pretty damn cool too.

Twizzler straws

If you bit both ends of a twizzler off, it creates a straw that you can actually drink with.  Awesome!

It makes me chuckle and makes me happy.

Dear Snuggie

Dear Snuggie,

You are an incredible creation.  You are a blanket with arms.  As the weather gets cold, you keep me warm.  I slip my arms into your sleeves.  I curl my legs under the blanket.  I can type and still be completely warm.  So simple...so genius...I can not believe that I didn't think of you myself.  Thank you snuggie for keeping me cozy.  I like you so much I wrote you a haiku.

my snuggie is red
all warm in the cold weather
a blanket with arms

Love,
Liz

P.S.  I know that many people that read this will laugh at you snuggie.  Let them point and let them mock.  You know how wonderful you are and they will also if they just tried it.  Those who laugh would then be warm.

Fancy, Gilmore Girls & handwritten letters...

What do those three things have in common? 

1) These things all make me happy.

2) These things all make me think about my dear friend LS that moved away to Boston.  LS is a lovely Georgia peach.  She is hilarious and spunky and absolutely incredible.  I miss her terribly.  Boston isn't very far but somehow I never, ever manage to get down there.  LS was part of the original Karaoke Krew at the Kave! 

This brings me to the first thing on this list.  The song Fancy by Reba McIntire.  I have loved this song for a very long time. I worked very hard to get LS to get up and sing this song at karaoke...and finally she did.  Not only did she sing this song but she yodelled and she auctioned.  It was incredible.  

LS and I also bonded over our love of the television show The Gilmore Girls.  I have watched the entire seven seasons of the show about 4 times.   I really want the series on DVD but doesn't seem like a reasonable thing to spend my money on.  It comes in a lovely carrying case with a handle.  It kind of looks like a barbie clothes case that I vaguely remember having as a small child.  I think I stored my barbies and my GI Joes in it.  I also think that LS and I were both very much in love with Luke Danes (see image).  I know that we both cried when Lorelai sang I Will Always Love You and when they kiss on the season finale I know we both cheered. 


Finally...LS and I have agreed to write handwritten letters to each.  I LOVE snail mail.  I have been working hard on sending letters to friends.  If you want one, send me your address.  There is something so personal about handwritten letters.  It makes me feel more connected to the person I am sending a letter to.  Don't get me wrong.  I adore facebook and gmail and all my other technological gadgets and gizmos, but there is something so beautiful about a handwritten letter.  There is something about the time and care it takes to write the letter and mail it.  I know it isn't instant communication.  I also know that most times I have already communicated with the person I wrote the letter to and have told them everything in the letter.  Still, I take great satisfaction in sitting down and writing my thoughts in the moment.  Please also feel free to send me letters or postcards or small gifts.  I really like mail.  


Ah...LS...thank you for being in my life and for inspiring this joyful post.  Can't wait for our phone date.  

Little reminders...

Right at this minute I should be sitting in Marshfield, Massachusetts at a training for SLTP.  I have been having a series of unfortunate car events in the last year or so and today was no exception.  Instead of being there, I am here at home.  I will admit that I was decidedly bummed about missing the meeting.  

I decided that it was time to clean my house from top to bottom.  Clean out the drawers and sort through clothes, etc, etc, etc...

In my cleaning I discovered a book hidden in a pile of books on my nightstand called "On Joy".  It is one of those books full of quotes and bits of wisdom.  I flipped through the book and realized that I had at some point even marked certain quotes or statements.  It was a reminder of the promise I had made to myself about finding joy even when, or especially when, I'm upset or disappointed. 

Sometimes life sends us little reminders....

Here is one of the pieces I had marked:

"Never be ashamed of laughter that is too loud or singing that's too joyful."

I couldn't agree more!

The approaching winter

What I love about the approaching winter, and up here in NH it is approaching quickly, is that when there is a beautiful unseasonably warm day everyone takes advantage of it and gets outside.  

Yesterday was one of those days that was warm and sunny and reminds you that summer existed but winter is coming.  It was a day when everyone went outside to play and bask in the glow of the sun.  

I love fall in New Hampshire.  The days are warm - high 60s or low 70s - which for me is the perfect temperature.  The nights are cool.  It is the time when layers become necessary and we get to start wearing sweaters.  I like when it is cool enough that I need to pull out my scarves but not my coat.  I love scarves and gloves and hats but I dislike coats.  I don't know it is one of those strange things about be.  

Fall is my favorite season.  

Flirting

I like to flirt.

It makes me laugh.  It makes me twinkle just a little bit.

Shhh...don't tell anyone.  ;)

Markers, a cappella & stolen palmtrees

I am a woman that takes pleasure in small things.  (No, that is not what she said).

Taking on the commitment to notice the little amusements in life, I am finding lots of them.  

Today, I was writing on the giant dry erase calendar in our office.  I went to the bowl that contains all of the dry erase markers and I discovered that new colors had been ordered.  We had purple and orange and green and yellow... They had the chiseled edge that allows me to write nice and neat on the board.  I was, and still am, very happy about this new discovery.  I have written numerous things on dry erase boards today just so I could use the many different colors.  

I ran into a student on the street today.  CH is one of my favorites, so running into him is  in and of itself a joyous moment.  That is not what I want to write about though.  Instead, the content of our conversation is what made me laugh.  CH informed me that the a cappella community (we have 10 different groups) think I am the world's biggest a cappella fan.  The reason this new moniker has been bestowed on me is because during the recent orientation showcase, I was in the front row and I was bopping along to the songs.  This is a showcase that is run by our office.  I am the advisor to the a cappella organizations.  I love music.  Truth be told though, I do not really enjoy a cappella all that much.  What I do appreciate is how hard they work and that they are talented students.  Seems like my excellent audience participation was read as full-out fanatic.  Better that they believe that than otherwise.  Still it makes me laugh.

During tonight's event (which turned out just fine) I watched as a student grabbed a giant inflatable palm tree and started to walk out the door.  Before she could leave the building I stopped her and asked her why she was stealing the decor.  Her response was that it matched her room. I thought about the space needed to store such an item in our closet.  I thought about the absurdity of wanting one of those giant things in your room.  I thought about the sheer audacity of simply walking out of an event with the tree.  With all those thoughts whirling in my mind, I turned to her and said  - next time you want to steal decor, just ask.  Then proceeded to let her have the palm tree.  I hope she enjoys it.