Gratitude, how to beat the blues

Last Thursday I had an exceptionally excellent day and was feeling very grateful- so I was reminded that I had been meaning to write about gratitude for a while now.

There are days, and I'm sure everyone gets them, when life-for whatever reason- feels lame and slow. You feel stressed without a reason, or sometimes depressed. I have found gratitude to be the best cure for that awful sulking feeling. 

I had this friend named Rachel- at the end of each day we would cross out the day on the calendar to mark the passing of time. Only I marked mine with an X and she marked hers with words. At the end of each day she would 'cross the day off' with things she was grateful for that day. I've found that as I follow that example I'm a lot happier. I'm not as good about doing it daily right now- but on days or weeks when life feels bad I pull out my calendar or planner or whatever and write down things that I'm grateful happened that day. This can include the humorous, the terrible (because it will turn into memories that you will laugh at later), the happy, the delicious, whatever. 

Just taking time at the end of each day to be happy for your life can make you a lot happier with your life. Promise. :) 

Example page. My favorite ones looking back are "accidentally walked into men's bathroom but no one was inside" and "tripped and fell into bathtub before date"  

“Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you, and to give thanks continuously. And because all things have contributed to your advancement, you should include all things in your gratitude.” 
― Ralph Waldo Emerson

“True happiness is to enjoy the present, without anxious dependence upon the future, not to amuse ourselves with either hopes or fears but to rest satisfied with what we have, which is sufficient, for he that is so wants nothing. The greatest blessings of mankind are within us and within our reach. A wise man is content with his lot, whatever it may be, without wishing for what he has not.” 
― Seneca

So here are some pictures from lately of things I have been grateful for. 

The flowers at Thanksgiving Point

Minimizing- getting rid of clothes I never wear. I'm also doing this thing where I've turned all the hangers around backwards and every time I wear a shirt/skirt I can turn the hanger back normal. At the end of one year anything still left backwards goes. 

Free concert at the park...he's a one eyed one horned flying purple people eater...wearing short shorts.

All the roses blooming at work! I love my job. :)

Canoe trip day! There were these three boys in a boat, and the one in the middle refused to sit down...it was very entertaining.

I got these sweet pea seeds from someone's house in Idaho last October (I suppose stole would be the correct term), and this year I planted them. So far 9 are growing!! Exciting! 

Chickens and trampolines

Reading on the front porch. Right now I'm reading Oliver Twist and "Leadership and Self Deception"

I think my favorite banana bread recipe so far- the Lion House recipe

Another free concert in the park- this time it's dueling pianos. 

Dad- "They just ruined another one of my favorite songs" He's 'critically' enjoying himself. 

Mom- Singing and dancing along.

Caution...when carrying honey jars, make sure the lid is screwed on tight- can be very sticky to clean up.

Awkward and Awesome-nerd themed. But mostly awesome.

AWESOME!

-Some people know me too well. I couldn't even finish typing the song before she caught me. It was supposed to be hilarious.

-Speaking of wicked...shortly after we decided to listen to wicked songs...Ali was taking off her makeup and had it all off on one side and mascara smeared all over the other side. She did a duet with herself- covering up the different sides of her face to be the two different people. Guess you had to be there?

-When I'm having a bad day and blasting music in my ipod to escape from it all. I bet most people don't know that I'm blasting Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue.

-Walking around in my flats that click like they are heels. It's super annoying to put up with the click of shoes without the satisfaction of them being heels. But I love it because it reminds me of my mom getting ready for church when I was a little girl. Just the sound of fancy shoes clicking on the tile every Sunday morning. :)

-My Sociology teacher playing the guess-my-personality game saying he bet I was a "studious and prestigious student. I'd even go as far as to say you've never gotten a grade below an A". Well- very intuitive about the girl who sits in the front row and raises her hand to comment every 10 seconds...but  it's nice that I look like a smarty-pants. :)

-Someone in the math lab asked me if I was head of the math tutoring department. Wow. Didn't know I looked that confident and in charge.

-Dreaming about having a beautiful German accent and speaking fluently (sub-conscious wish?)

-Recently I've been reading my Book of Mormon in the mornings instead of getting ready for school. I swear that the simple act is like magic pixie dust on my whole day and I get everything done that I need to and I'm not freaked out and I feel like I'm in control. 

AWKWARD

-Watching a movie for science in the library...the main character was Matthew Mcconaughey....the looks people were giving me...I swear it was homework!

-I was talking to Ali and the conversation went a little something like "I haven't showered in 3 days...but you can't tell right?" and right when I was saying that first part (rather loudly because she was walking away) I ran full into some poor kid. I promise I'm not really nasty. 

-I have this fear of those storm drain things. Walking home from campus late at night and this LOUD NOISE comes out of it. I probably jumped 3 feet. To the side and in the air. 

-Every time I want to post a comment on someone else's blog...and this "prove you're not a robot" thing comes up. It LITERALLY. takes me 7 times. 7. And that's not an exaggeration at all. Put it's not that embarrassing right? I mean- who can actually get those right on the first try? But the 7th...? And it's happened more than once. Well...like more than 5 times.
but I mean...take this one for example. Does that second part not look like an alien wrote it?

first day of school ramble-rant

Here is my first day of college ramble-rant.

All the little freshmen boys look like they are 12 years old. The sociology professors are so chill and interesting I get all confused about what major I should be choosing- because I love what I have, but this is just so interesting to learn about. OOOOh the spelling mistakes I'm prone to notice in textbooks that have not been edited (self written by teachers, my oh my) and in the syllabus. Here's my favorite. And it's talking about plagiarism "Learning such behavior in school can lead to practices that would cause job termination, or even loss of life later in your career, so we will adhere to strict standards now." did you catch it? Because according to that word mix up, plagiarism is a DEADLY thing. After this very teacher scared all the good hopes of college out of my day this syllabus mistake made the day a little better. And then I went to my next class and the teacher was wearing a tie with skulls on it- foreshadowing probably- and all the expectations of that class were a bit intimidating. And I started to think why on earth did I think I could handle this many credits? Really.
And then I started doing homework that said complicated sciencey things which I wasn't understanding including "this is the scientific method you should remember from high school"

And I remember nothing of the sort. My high school science was a lot more simple.

But then I ended the day feeling fine because of a talk with my dad, my roommate saying she was equally scared of this science class and has the same textbook, and remembering this quotey thing....

and to avoid loss of life caused by plagiarism: credit given to here.

Modern day hipster rant

Maybe I'm wrong and I just have always had the wrong idea about hipsters, but I've had this rant running through my brain for quite some time now so I'm just going to ramble my thoughts about hipsters- modern day ones and the original ones. Because it's the original ones that I LOVE love love.
First off. Being hipster is like playing the game. You know, the one where if you think about it you loose. So like, if you're trying to be hipster, you're not. Urban dictionaries definition of hipster. I just think it's funny when they say "Definitions are too mainstream.

Hipster's can't be defined because then they'd fit in a category, and thus be too mainstream."

Correct me if I'm wrong (but actually probably don't really correct me because I want to keep thinking this) but the very essence of hipster was created by some uncool kids just trying to do their own thing. You know the type that started it all. Played in some garage band and at little college cafes, wore skinny jeans and old clothes which really no one should have taken out of the DI. And they may have been vegetarians and walked or biked everywhere, and shopped at the farmers market, and tried to be local and environmentally friendly and all that. They are artsy and deep and independent. And they seriously were just trying to find their own thing. And then one day people decided that they were cool. And so this whole style was created around the vintage look and forever 21 picked it up and everyone started wearing 70s clothes and nerd glasses and high waisted shorts and chuck taylors and called themselves hipsters. Which was an insult to the originals- which is probably why the true ones will never admit that they really are hipsters. The very essence of being hipster is being something that no one else thinks is cool- and they get made fun of a lot but it really is quite avant-gaurde of them. And anyways, the whole style was just started to try and save money for them- shopping at used clothing stores as they struggle to get gigs for their bands.
Anyways...long story short. Being "hipster" is too modern now. The real ones don't want to be associated with the word because it's too mainstream ;) but it's those original ones who have my heart. And they do still exist. So when I say I love hipsters and when I say I wish I was one and I try to be one...it's the original ones I'm talking about. It's like loving the true meaning of Christmas...but the true meaning of hipsters? Hipsterism is a state of mind, not a trend people.
This is getting to long. Thanks for tuning in.
Also. You just lost the game.

Six-word memoirs

All started by Ernest Hemmingway's "For sale: baby shoes, never worn."
People were inspired by writing six word memoirs about themselves and submitting them and then creating a book that I would read. A lot were sad, a lot were about homosexuals and sex-changers and wish-I-wouldavers...you know. But here are some funny ones I picked out. And a few of them are serious.

My self image is Indiana Jones.   Peed on White House floor. Really.   Stripper then, sexual abuse therapist now.    The best antidote? Spontaneous international adventures.  Made weird children- will die proud.    I should have killed her plant.    Can't reach top shelves, married tall.    Stricter parents could have saved me.    Thesis in cosmology; diploma typo: cosmetology.     Mug shot was a flattering likeness.   We would have named him Xavier.    As a toddler I ate tadpoles.    Desperate enough to read my spam.  That dumb dog sure paid off. (this was said, by the way, by the author of Marley and Me)    Yes, I still have Superman sheets.    Philosophy student still waiting for enlightenment.    Art therapist, more fun than doctor.     They don't know I know Spanish.


                                                    What would yours be?

Birthday Week

National Birthday week is officially over. From the 1st to the 8th (the week between me and Leah's brithdays) is non-stop celebration and excuses to do ridiculous things / whatever we want. I basically love it. So here...the week through pictures and a couple explanations in between...


It goes like this.
One crazy night we decided to try practically all the hair tutorials on pinterest. Turns out my mom's a pro...two tutorials from her. The first is how to tie your hair in a bow, the second is called the Gibson Tuck- love it.

Don't mind that the videos are super long and we're listening to Beethoven in the background...

Bought myself a denim shirt and pink skinnies. Finally.

On my actual birthday there was paddleboating at liberty park along with general exploring of the park, and then mint cupcakes with Andes on top and a movie.

 Do we really have to wear these ridiculous life jackets? I think not.

Needless to say we like taking pictures

Found these growing on a tree....whaaaaaaaat?

My sister goes to the store to buy junk food and this is what she comes up with...?

And this is what I come up with. I guess we're both a little weird?

Earlier in the week was hooligan stuff including "gold-fishing"...my all time favorite prank. 28 cent goldfish at walmart, doorbell ditched on someone's porch. Because they can't throw it away, especially if they have kids. Free goldfish for them. :) And also- we made this one up when we were feeling clever....paint swatching. Because when your local walmart is displaying paintswatches with names like "Furry Ottertail" "Sensuous Pear" and "Sunwashed Kelp".....(right?) how can you resist writing notes on them and putting them on people's cars. Including one of my favorite that we gave to some poor young couple making out on the street. I seriously almost ran over them in my car!!! Yikes. 

This is Leah's beaver face...I know. She's still needs to work on it a little ;)

And dressing up all Avant-Guarde like and going to the museum.

Leopard print shoes and polka dots. 

And is it kind of mean that I don't answer my phone on my birthday because I just LOVE getting the singing voicemails? Thanks to all those who called and sorry that I did not pick up, because I really actually didn't have my phone on a lot of the time. 

If you couldn't get enough of these pictures...more on Leah's Blog