Let's see what put the sparkle into this week of summer weather!
- On Monday, I came home to a lovely surprise package from Timmi! And it included TRIFORCE SOCKS. How amazing. Just looking at them makes the Zelda overworld theme pop into my head!
- Coincidentally, I had been feeling pretty meh on Monday and had had a great text-versation with Timmi, who urged me to do more of what makes me happy in my free time. So on Tuesday morning, when I happened to stop for coffee in a neighborhood full of gorgeous flowers, I took full advantage! A warm sunny (post-therapy) morning, caffeine, and flowers?! Who could ask for anything more?! I was practically skipping! I got into work later than I'd wanted to, but I tried to remind myself that it was worth it to do something that put some sparkle into my day. (Also, I don't have set hours, so it's not like anyone cared what time I showed up at the office!)
This is totally what you picture when you think of Philly, right?
The iris patrol strikes again!
So many pretty pansies!
- Energized after prancing through the flowers, I finally decided to go to the Hall and Oates show in Philly next weekend. (I had been wrestling with this decision for at least a month. Crowds! Driving! PARKING! Oh my!) But I'm definitely going now! And I even found a friend to go with me!! And she is equally excited that the show is in the afternoon because we are two grandmas in a pod (or a retirement home)!
- You know how sometimes there's just one dumb show or movie that you really want to watch, but it's somehow not on On Demand, Netflix, OR Amazon Instant Video? And then it miraculously happens to come on TV exactly when you want to watch it? Oh right, that never happens... except that it totally DID happen last Saturday with She's Out of My League, and I was WAY too excited about it, haha!
The "Branson Bound!" shirts will never not crack me up.
- Finally, "Guac and Grey's" has become a Thursday night tradition in our house, so it definitely had to continue for last night's finale!
Guac, frenzied Mer, and Alex's 15 second cameo--what's not to love?
Hope you have a wonderful weekend! xo
High Five for Friday: May 12
CommentWhat a wing-ding wippie this week has been! Let's see what brought the sparkle:
- One of my oldest friends (since first grade at least!) turned 30 last Saturday, so a bunch of us got together at our grade school's annual carnival to celebrate! While it was weird to be back (and to see people DRINKING in the gym and to buy a funnel cake from our former principal), it was great to see everyone!
- I just happened to catch Beth Behrs promoting her new self-help/cookbook The Total ME-Tox on Kelly and Ryan last week and was shocked when she, stunning Hollywood starlet, started talking about her once very unhealthy and childlike diet. I too have the diet of a five year old, so I was intrigued. People like Pops (a known health nut) are always urging me to eat better, but I just can't seem to do it. It sort of feels like they're so far ahead of me on a path that I can't possibly get on from where I am. So the fact that Beth was once where I am now gave me hope, like, maybe a healthier, more adult diet is attainable, even for me. She also mentioned that changing her diet helped her anxiety, which I could definitely use! I had been looking for a lighthearted read anyway, so I promptly bought her book (thank you, leftover gift card from Christmas!), and I'm really enjoying her chill, funny, self-deprecating approach to healthy living--it's very encouraging and low-pressure.
- In fact, I made the pesto from the cookbook last weekend, and it's SO GOOD. I've eaten it with veggies, pasta, chips, pretzels... can't get enough. Any time I make something involving the food processor that doesn't turn out disgusting (like most of my attempts at smoothies, wahhh), I feel so fancy and accomplished!
- The one office I sometimes go to for therapy has a lovely garden, and it seems like something new and beautiful is in bloom every time I go there. Like this bunch of irises! (I had actually wanted to go flower creeping in my 'hood last weekend, specifically for irises, but didn't because the weather wasn't great... so I was doubly excited that the therapy garden came through for me!)
😍💜😍
- And an obvious highlight of my week was a reunion with my fuzzy bffl! I just love her so much, and she isn't even my cat! 😩😂😩 (So imagine how much I would smother a cat of my very own!)
Hope you have a great weekend! (Especially if you're recovering from last night's insane pre-finale Grey's, like I am!) xo
High Five for Friday: May 5
CommentA prelude to the sparkle: Yesterday morning, I got walloped with anxiety at work. Not because of anything actually happening at work, but because the thought of having to be there for eight hours practically had me hyperventilating. (This has happened to me, periodically, at every job I've ever had, unfortunately.) I managed to journal about it, and then, before I knew it, an hour had passed. And then, soon enough, I had survived the day. In the words of Walt Disney and Meet the Robinsons: Keep moving forward. The anxiety will pass, just don't give up. (This is a lesson I relearn on a daily basis!)
Now, let's see what put the sparkle into my week!
- As I mentioned in my Goals post, I went ICE SKATING last Friday night! By my damn self! Truly a momentous occasion! 🎉 For some reason, when I was at work on Friday, I felt like going ice skating, and because my therapist is urging me to pay attention to the things that give me energy, I didn't just push that impulse away as I normally would. I already knew of a few rinks near work, thanks to Pops' hockey coaching days, and one was having public skating on Friday night, so I went! And I was the oldest person there by about 15 years! (I was basically a chaperone like Miss Cuthbert in A League of Their Own--minus being called "a gorgeous stack of pancakes.") But I persevered and actually did pretty well! I didn't fall once, and the things I learned in my childhood ice skating lessons came right back to me!
One bad-ass girl was skating backwards like a champ and playing on her phone, whereas I had to come to a complete stop near the boards to take this picture. 😂
- This cranky gal graced us with her presence once again!
And on Wednesday, I followed up actual therapy with some cat therapy courtesy of Calico Pinky! She sat with me sunbathing for awhile, and I was obviously in heaven!!
- We also had a new and exotic visitor to our backyard this week:
A TOAD. My response to Pops when he sent this picture was just "WUT" about five times. We live in a very suburban area, so HOW IS A TOAD IN OUR BACKYARD?!? Sadly, I never got to see him, as he had moved on by the time I got home from work, but what a weird development!
- After reading Fran's rave review of it, I added Urban Decay's Subversion eyelash primer to my Beauty Insider sale order from Sephora last week. I was half doing it just to get free shipping, convinced that it would do nothing for me and I would return it, but damn if my eyelashes don't look crazy long and full!!
Ok, firstly excuse this face: 😐 But seriously. That's a layer of Subversion + freaking Cover Girl mascara. And no eyelash curling because that whole idea scares me. Like WHOA.
- And finally, instead of a Weird-Ass Song of the Week, here's a Weird-Ass Dance of the Week! Actually, David and Lindsay's "sci-fi salsa" is probably my favorite dance of this DWTS season so far!
Also, this may be my new favorite song! So catchy!
Well, that's a wrap! Hope you have a great weekend! xo
May 2017 goals
Comment
So fun fact: I think my depression came back a bit in April. 👎 But my recent therapy sessions have been really deeply helpful in addressing the negative self-talk that just crushes me and makes me want to hide from life--stuff that would make anyone depressed!
So with that in mind, here's what's on the white board for May:
1. Use my energy as a guide: I want to act more in response to my energy levels than my fears and feelings of obligation this month. When nearly everything is a "should," you're basically always forcing yourself to do things, and that isn't very fun. So I'm trying to change my perspective. Instead of forcing myself to be productive (which makes me want to rebel and be totally UNproductive), I'm going to try to notice what gives me energy and take cues from that. I've tried it a little bit already, and re-orienting myself from "Ugh I have to do this thing" to "I am choosing to do this thing" has been really helpful in alleviating anxious feelings of trapped-ness. And I don't have to plan five steps ahead if I know that I can just tune into my energy level at any time and see which available option I feel most excited about.
2. Revamp budgeting: Another fun fact: I made a real budgeting boo-boo last month. I'm still not entirely sure how it happened, because I even double-checked my account and confirmed that I had available spending money before buying approx one million things online, but in the end, I did not have as much fun money as I thought I did. Eek. In addition to that budgeting blunder, I tend to go through a deprivation-binge kind of spending cycle each month. I don't have much disposable income at the beginning of the month, so I don't really spend any money for fun, and then I go overboard in the second half of the month. So I want to see if I can find a different approach to spending that helps me to avoid that tendency.
3. AM routine: I've started implementing a few small mindful gestures into my morning, and I want to keep it up. Just a few gentle stretches, setting an intention, and drawing one of Doreen Virtue's online cards. I am not a morning person, and this has been helping to keep me from being Major Buzzkill all day, and it's also a small enough change that I haven't immediately rebelled against it.
4. Yoga: Keep going to classes.
5. Shoulder exercises: My posture is pretty terrible, especially re: my shoulders, and I tend to have a lot of shoulder and neck pain. Well, now that I've been doing yoga again, I can see just how frozen my shoulders are. Like, when we're instructed to stretch out long on the mat, I can't even do goal post arms. Yikes. So I want to try to loosen up my shoulders some this month!
And how did my April goals go?
1. Be curious about how things like sleep, diet, caffeine, exercise, water intake, etc. make me feel: Hmm... Honestly, I kind of forgot this was a goal! I mostly noticed how transitioning off of one medication made me feel exhausted. And I occasionally noticed that my questionable carb-centric eating habits made me feel sluggish or gross.
2. Keep going to yoga: CHECK! The morning hatha class continues to be my favorite, despite forcing me to get up at 6 AM. 😩
3. Try chanting as a way to practice my breathing: Nope. Any sort of designated breathing practice makes me reallllly not want to do it.
4. Pay attention to when I order stuff from Amazon: Check! As I said before, I tend to have less disposable income at the beginning of the month, and sure enough, I didn't order anything from Amazon until 4/15. I didn't think I went too crazy with my Amazon buys, but apparently, I spent over $100 on there last month (mostly due to one bigger-ticket item, but still). Hmm. It's also interesting that I largely avoided Amazon until I had money to spend. And that that first Amazon purchase on 4/15 was totally fueled by anxiety and wanting to shop it away.
5. Go out on the weekend: LOL I forgot this was a goal! Well, I went out to a scary shopping center! AND last Friday, I went ice skating! By myself! At night! At a place I hadn't been to in ages! Totally a HUGE accomplishment! (And really fun too!) This goal also ties in with my Word of the Year "Out of Hiding." (I did go out during the workday to Nordstrom Rack and to get a massage, but there was still a lot of hiding in April.)
Linking up with Nicole at Writes Like a Girl!
High Five for Friday: April 28
CommentHappy Friday! We made it! Here's what put the sparkle into my week:
- If you had any doubts about my childhood BSC obsession after last week's H54F post, behold:
Ok, ok, I did initially get one wrong because they repeated Kristy before cycling to Mallory. UGH MALLORY, STILL RUINING EVERYTHING.
- Spring is hurrr! Hooray! My neighbor totally busted me taking this picture of his gorgeous tree whoops. #worthit
- I may get into this more in a future post, but I have not been feeling great emotionally lately. Just really anxious and generally unhappy. Bleh. So on Tuesday, after a great therapy session in the morning, I booked myself a massage! It gave me a delicious break from the workday and was just what I needed. And then I pulled the following cards while sipping on tea post-massage:
I'm always blown away when I pick cards like these, as they always seem to be perfectly-suited to whatever is going on for me that day.
- In other self-care news, I went back to restorative yoga on Thursday night! I just felt like I needed alllll the calming influences this week. ❤️
- And finally, in this week's installment of Weird-Ass Song of the Week, the song that I've had on repeat in my car: Joe Cocker's version of "With a Little Help from My Friends." I hadn't listened to it in ages, but Pops was on a Joe kick last weekend ("Delta Lady" greeted me when I came downstairs on Saturday morning--welcome to our house), and then he started trying to figure out "With a Little Help from My Friends" on guitar. (Sidenote: how did I not know that Jimmy Page plays guitar on that?! I feel like a total fraud of a Zeppelin fan!) It's so so good... and not just because I loved The Wonder Years as a kid!
Hope you have a great weekend! xo