Tell Me Your Thing, Please
If there's one thing I excel at, it's finding the good in a situation. I'm wired to view the glass half full. I am always that obnoxious person who looks at a disaster and goes, "Well at least..." because IT'S MY THING. I'm annoyingly optimistic about everything.
Except that at this very moment, I'm finding it incredibly difficult to find the happy in my day.
I'm trying. Really, I am. But DAMN if the past few months haven't sucked harder than a brand new Dyson.
In an effort to start shaking this thing, I hereby present Five Things That Make Me Happy:
1. I'm in no way happy that Meg passed away, but it has been interesting to see how the cats have reacted in her absence. Powder in particular is all HEY, I HAVE A PERSONALITY. His old butt has been playing with toys, claiming the couch as his personal rest area, and even snuggling.
SNUGGLING.
He hasn't done that since we lived in Ohio a zillion years ago. Apparently he stopped because the dogs (first Jasmine and then Meg) wouldn't let him. Whodathunkit?
2. I had a chance to catch up with two fantastic people today. Employed people don't get to spontaneously run out to meet friends!
3. Ramen noodles. I don't know why, but I think they are the bestest treat ever. Guess who has been eating them nearly every day for lunch lately?
4. BROWNIES.
5. This photo:
It hurts my head and makes me laugh all at the same time.
OK, folks. It's your turn. Help me out here and tell me something that makes you happy. Link me to a photo, a video, a blog post, or leave a short comment or do whatever it is that makes you happy. Just tell me about it.
THAT'S AN ORDER.
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P.S. I still have a couple of space available in the Getting Started with Your DSLR workshop. The details:
When: January 31st, 9:00 am to 1:00 pm
How much: $75
Course Objective: Upon successful completion of the course, participants will gain a basic understanding of photography fundamentals. Participants will learn when and how to change aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. They will also gain an understanding of how to critique an image in the interest of improving photography skills.
Main Topics: Understanding How Your Camera Works, Camera Settings--Automatic and Assisted, Manual Camera Settings, Composition, and Troubleshooting
Email me at burghbaby (at) gmail.com for more information or to register for the course.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Reader Comments (41)
Starting my own non-profit (well my own with a partner). Tonight we decided on a name, filled out our state charter for non-profit/incorporation paperwork, wrote a mission statement, picked members for our board of directors, and made a plan for writing bylaws. Love using my brain for something non-mommy related. Also, signed up for a CSA this summer and I'm excited to see how it goes and force myself to try new veggies - we are trying to commit to eating more local this year.
You've had a rough time. I'm so sorry. And you do seem amazingly adept at finding the positive. It will turn around.
I have watched this video a million times and it still makes me laugh!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uguXNL93fWg
Also, Funfetti cookies :)
Tomorrow I'm volunteering with Wendy's for what's called Dreamlift Day. 100% of the proceeds go toward sending terminally ill and disabled kids to Disney land for a day.
It makes me happy that these kids get to be kids, and they or their families get to shelf their worries about all the crap that usually weigh on on their shoulders. And I'm so proud to be part of this for the third year in a row.
Some less important stuff that makes me happy:
Makeup, yummy food, listening to the State of the union.
These two vidoes, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AN5YbfFszlI and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Azpr_qD-muU (it doesn't get good till about a 1:00 in). Everytime I see them I crack up. Also, I love starting new projects. Right now I'm determined to make a quilt for the first time ever. I like to think I'll be amazing at it and am already planning on the ones I'll give to my friends. We'll see :)
I have another one: The song "Chick Habit" by April March. It is so dang catchy that I want to dance every time I hear it :D
And here are a few of my favorite things...
http://mythoughts-mywords.blogspot.com/2009/09/these-are-few-of-my-favorite-things.html
I love nursIng my baby ( but would prefer not to do it at 1am & 4 am every nite for past 7 mos!)
Love ice cream the more peanut butter the better + choc raspberry truffle
Love doing anything outside my profession (like my job but doesn't fill my soul kwim?). Teaching kids volunteering images me happy
Love belting out a song with my daughters in the car (any song) even though I'll admit we are all slightly off key.
Thanks for this always helps to recall the little things that make me happy.
Raindrops on roses
Whiskers on kittens
Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes
Heavy Weather, Right Ho Jeeves, The Brinkmanship of Galahad Threepwood, Laughing Gas, Young Men in Spats, Do Butlers Burgle Banks?
A clear and clean sink. The smell of oranges and vanilla. Super-intense random hugs from my one-year old. Keebler Rainbow Chips Deluxe Cookies.
This video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyx6JDQCslE&feature=email (wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle)
for anyone who's moved a couch - "PIVOT!"......http://www.mylot.com/w/photokeywords/chandler.aspx
Scott was able to fix our dishwasher last night and I am very happy not to have to buy a new one. Unplanned appliance purchases are not a good thing.
Ruslan makes me laugh all the time, his running commentary on life is my favorite thing right now.
I finally found cheap leggings for Juliana to wear to school under uniforms instead of tights and bought 5 pair for next year.
Wyatt is a complete and total mama's boy right now, he wants me to be holding him all the time. I am trying to remind myself to enjoy the snuggles now because this stage will end.
Once this weekend I was in the bathroom for 2 minutes without any children, it gives me hope of peeing alone someday.
Being the 'cool' mom in your 15-year old sons eyes because you shag fly balls to him and his friends, The Princess Bride and pretty much any Monty Python (especially The Holy Grail). I've been down enough to know that things happen for a reason (even though I really dislike it when someone else tells me that). Here's to focusing on the good things in life!
Thank you for prompting me to focus on some good this morning. Why is it so much easier to focus in the negative that is happening in our lives?
And yay Powder!
This really made me laugh:
http://thebloggess.com/2012/01/how-to-make-your-husband-think-youre-a-witch/
Love your blog. Hope things start to pick up asap. You've been dealing with a lot. Hang in there. xoxo
barefoot late summer walks in the park while it is raining.
having someone else's crying baby settle and fall asleep in my arms.
going to the theater.
not being sick.
fireworks.
polar bears.
drinking with my boys.
free tickets to a pittsburgh sporting event. bonus if we win!
deep, passionate kisses.
sitting in my backyard with my feet in the baby pool and the dogs at my side.
dwayne the rock johnson.
autumn horseback riding. winter, too. oh hell, horseback riding as much as possible, whenever!
laughing so hard that my sides hurt. and / or i pee my pants.
skinny dipping.
finding that twenty in my coat pocket from last year.
bonfires.
rita's italian ice.
seeing the smile on a friend's face when they accept a sincere compliment.
snuggling on flagstaff hill while watching a free movie in the summer.
the three rivers arts festival.
you.
Here are 3 of my favorite things lately:
1. Feeling my baby kick. I’m due in early March, and feeling her kick/somersault/who-knows-what has been the coolest thing I’ve ever experienced.
2. CATS!
http://www.youtube.com/user/mugumogu#p/u/3/5qygukf6WNo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSEyjjDOgDY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzzjgBAaWZw
3. Starbucks Hot Chocolate. It costs an unGodly amount of money - but it is sooooooo worth it.
Cooking, uninterrupted. I love to cook and it's fun to have the kids in on the action. BUT, it's such bliss when I get the rare occasion to cook something, by myself, uninterrupted. Something that takes longer than 30 minutes to make. Crushing garlic with a large knife and mincing it with salt. Infusing olive oil with fresh herbs that didn't die in the freezing overnight temps. Browning and roasting.
I'm not much of a baker, so when I find a recipe like this, I hold on to it for dear life. My latest find for easy chocolate mousse: http://cafefernando.com/the-best-chocolate-mousse-of-your-life-under-5-minutes/
It's vegan, so my kids can have a fabulous dessert as well when I use vegan chocolate.
Pressing {Publish}. It's like giving my mind a good flushing.
Franck's Violin Concerto in A, New World Symphony, Onomatopoeia, Sunshine on My Shoulders, Mr. Blue Sky, Into Something Good, Sing Sing Sing, Stray Cat Strut, Whammer Jammer, Randy Scouse Git, Put Me Amongst the Girls, Snoopy vs. The Red Baron, In the Mood, There She Goes, Footloose, The House on Pooh Corner, Go All the Way, Suite for Flute & Jazz Piano
These boots. An extremely self-indulgent purchase, but I've been coveting them for SO LONG and last week they were half-off. The last two weeks have been absolutely horrific, but I'm wearing them today and I feel unstoppable.
Also? Cookies for breakfast. A definite Happy Thing.
Here's my thing(s).....
After 12 years, we still have fun. And I adore him to bits. I present the wonderful and talented
@drunkdude69 , my husband http://bit.ly/yo0o22
Also, I need my girls. These girls, in particular, are truly sisters to me. Dressed up in regalia for a Con http://bit.ly/xWkjRl (I look like a drag queen when I wear a blonde wig, apparently...)
You have every right to be all WHAT&!&@&!!##! about your life right now because. Dude. Suckage.
Things that make me happy right now: my two college friends/roommates & all their kids (3 preschool/toddler boys, 1 wee baby girl!) are coming to visit on Saturday. I don't think we've all been together since... my wedding? maybe? I've seen them individually but not altogether. So excited!
Hang in there, lady. Life has a way of balancing out eventually... it's just getting through the Suck that's the tough part.
I hope you get some more cheer very soon.
Some of my things:
Last night my baby girl fell asleep in my arms while I was nursing her. She is nearly 1 and starting to wean, so I don't get the pleasure of holding a sleeping baby as much as I used to. I will miss that.
The boy can be so sweet giving hugs and kisses ("krishes"). He's nearly 3 and can be quite a brat, but when he is sweet it is amazingly adorable. I love when the affection is directed toward me, but I'm moved even more when he proclaims his love for his sister.
Champagne (aka sparking wine). I like bubbles.
Brownies. Yes, clearly.
This oldie but goodie: http://www.badgerbadgerbadger.com/
"Ten Things I Hate About Commandments": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1kqqMXWEFs
One of my all-time favorite videos, discovered back when not everything was just on YouTube.
Hang in there! I love your spirit of optimism, even in this really trying time for you.
This video (the first 2:40 or so) -- http://bit.ly/tgiWCJ -- always brings a big smile to my face. One day, I want to be in a restaurant where everyone bursts into song like in the movies!
Today, this has been cracking me up (courtesy of my SIL, a former Burgh Baby):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgg60Kxn5SQ&list=UUXy7f-o2lGoF1PZ-FKeDtSg&index=8&feature=plcp
If the link doesn't work (because I am very, er, technologically challenged, search YouTube for Pittsburgh Dad).
And will you, by any chance, be offering a class called "How to Convince Yourself and/or Your Spouse You NEED a DSLR"? Just wondering...
Thnigs that make me happy today...
--my Nikon D7000 (my Christmas gift so it's still new)
--the photos from my Nikon D7000
--my oldest daughter's wedding coming up in June
--the 62 degrees it was here in Colorado today
--that the scale has been on a downward trend as I stick to my 'get healthy/lose weight' regime
Since August of last year, I lost my dad and my job, and sent my last child off to college, so I understand what you're going through. IT WILL GET BETTER! Hang in there. I believe things happen for a reason and that when one door closes, another one opens leading down an even better path! (I'm a glass half full person too!)
Amazingly supportive friends and family. I recently discovered I love to make jewelry and opened an Etsy shop. The amount of love it's gotten from my awesome friends is overwhelming!
Life always has a way of leading you up the mountain so you can look at the valley you came from. Stay positive!
Wait. You lived in Ohio?
Snow makes me happy.
Bad TV.
When my husband leaves me highly inappropriate notes. And when I say inappropriate, I mean inappropriate to blog since my MIL reads. But rawr.
Those two boys giggling nonstop.
Snow. Fluffy, chunky snowflakes drifting slowly to the ground like in a snowglobe.
Snowboarding. Especially in snow described above or bright sunshine :)
Becky's answer :D
I love to watch this montage of the Jane Austen series on PBS.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jA5aL2j2DTk
And if I have 6 hours to burn, I may just pop the BBC version of Pride & Prejudice in my DVD player. Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy cures all.
I read this last night and have been thinking all day for you. I've decided on the following:
Boo the dog on facebook, you MUST follow him
Maru the cat: http://sisinmaru.blog17.fc2.com/
Itty Bitty Kitty Committee: http://www.theittybittykittycommittee.com/
I can haz cheeseburger
The Pioneer Woman
The Bloggess: read about Beyonce the Chicken
Jersey Shore
and photos of my new niece
Hope that helps, and I'll send a couple good juju thoughts towards you!
Ok, I considered doing a list of things like "sending tweets with twenty consecutive exclamation points", but I'll actually take this a bit more seriously.
1. Long, like stupidly long, answers to simple yes-or-no questions.
2. Early Saturday morning in the Strip District. It's like an injection of liquid Pittsburgh to the jugular.
3. Learning something new. I've got a list of things I'd like to go back to school to study.
4. That moment when I could stop the project I'm working on and decide it will do well enough as is, but instead press on until it's absolutely perfect even if nobody else will notice any difference.
5. Discovering that the negative first impression I got from someone turned out to be totally wrong.
The pretty camellias blooming around here are awesome. And margaritas and Mexican with my girlfriends tonight. Oh and the baby pics I posted of K yesterday, even though she is no longer a baby. They still make me happy and smiley. :)
http://www.misselaineouslife.com/2012/01/thank-goodness-i-have-lots-of-photos.html
Mantra that has gotten me thru the ditches of life (husband's girlfriend preg) in the middle of infertility treatments for us.....and no I didn't know about girlfriend, but apparently the entire fricking universe did. 15 years later - I'm strong, madly in love, independent and him? not so much, but it doens't matter.
"It's hell in the hallway." By way of explaination - a dear friend told me this - when God closes a door, he opens a window - you just have to get from here to there. It's hell in the hallway, but you have to go down the hall to get to the window to look out and see what great things are in the future.
You're in the hallway, but once you get through it, things will be better and with the most amazing little girl and your talents and Mr. Husband, who despite being a hoarder, is a good man, then you will find the really good stuff in life, much of which is already around you....hang in there - you can almost see out the window to a gorgeous sunrise.
This video makes me happy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTAAsCNK7RA&ob=av2e
I bet it takes you and Alexis less than 5 re-watches to get the moves down. Gracie, Bee & I maaaaaay perform to this when we're having a bad night.
Go ahead - try and do it without dying of laughter!
I, too, am an incurable optimist, but this week I've had to look pretty hard to find the awesome. Thank goodness my kids are my constant happy place. When I need them the most, they just step up to the plate with generosity, kindness, and forethought. They've made me more proud than I can express. Based on this week, I fully expect them to wipe my butt when I'm old and incontinent someday. That, too, makes me happy. I think.
I feel your pain on the Meg thing.. Striker has been gone for a week and a half and I can't stop looking for him. I've been petting pictures of him because I miss him so.
I have an entire pinboard dedicated to adorable things that make me less sad.
http://pinterest.com/molly_c/adorableness/
the BEST video ever of sloths
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=6JTAtsHh-yc
and here are more:
http://pinterest.com/pin/205547170462467303/
http://pinterest.com/pin/205547170462460358/
(happy turtle)
http://pinterest.com/pin/205547170462490986/ (baby panda)
http://hellocute.tumblr.com/post/4194916694/baby-giraffe-closeup-im-going-to-die
This little girl is my 2-year-old niece. She makes me happy.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=884184929382&l=bda7ad76ce