It’s Finally Friday!!! (sort of)

I had the most amazing experience this past weekend at The Rock N Roll Resort: v3 Tiny Rager!

I highly recommend anyone who loves art and music to go next year.

Needless to say, it’s been a rough start to the week. So we’ll be skipping straight to Friday, while I give my brain some much needed downtime.

I promise once I decompress and remember how to string intelligent sentences together, we’ll be back to our regularly scheduled programming 🙂

Quote of the Day:

Climbing the Ladder:

In-box out of control?? How to keep email from taking over your life.

On the job hunt? How to stand out from the crowd.

Body Lovin’:

Tummy troubles got you down?? Try these yoga poses for improved digestion.

DIY:

Why wait years for Mother Nature to produce sea glass?? Just make your own!

Wine Me, Dine Me:

Hawaiian, Gluten-free, AND Paleo. Pretty sure they’re delicious too 🙂

Healthy pancakes??

Nesting:

Trying to decorate on a budget? Get thrifty AND creative!

Peace of Mind:

Master your fears and get happy.

Round the World:

I’m almost six monthes passed the 30 milestone but I managed to cross most of these off in time. And I can definitely fit numbers 30, 13, 6, and 2 into one epic trip 🙂

Inspirational:

In the wake of Monday’s tragedy it’s easy to lose faith in mankind. Here are 10 acts of kindness to remind you the world really is a beautiful place even if some of the people who inhabit it are not.

Giggles and Such:

Have a great week(end)!

Judgey Wudgey Was a Bear

And at least 1,347 of those tabs are open to something we said or did, we’re currently obsessing over not having gotten quite right.

You can meet the smartest, most successful woman on earth, but I bet you $1000 there are at least 3 things she thinks she’s done wrong in the last week, that she can’t seem to let go of.

The judgement of others can be harsh, but there’s nothing compared to the judgement we pass on ourselves.

I for one, am tired of the constant loop of let-downs I review in the wee hours of the night.

Why is it five years later I can remember in detail an off-handed criticism from someone I don’t even like, but the last compliment I received is a little fuzzy??

I would never speak to someone I love in the harsh, judgmental voice I reserve for myself late at night.

If one of my friends came to me obsessing over some slight or slip-up, I would help them look at the big picture.

Illustrate that while they may have messed up this time it does not define them as a failure.

So why can’t I be that rational, supportive friend to myself??

Sometimes it feels as though there are two different women who live in my head.

One’s a smart, kind, cleverly talented, rational woman.

The other is Judgey Wudgey the Bear.

And I’m not talking about some cute little bear:

Judgey Wudgey is a mean ol’ bitch:

And she’s always cranky!

I’ve been trying to find new ways to silence the snarky bitch.

Since coming out of hibernation, she’s been overly articulate and quite nosy.

Digging up the past like she’s foraging for food.

I haven’t really had much success in getting her to STFU!

Even as I write this I can hear her mocking me, “boo hoo, poor little girl got her feelings hurt”.

So I’m going to start writing her bullshit down.

Much like I list the things I’m grateful for each day.

In order to maintain an objective frame of mind, I will now also include the day’s top five judgements.

Maybe if I have to acknowledge them on paper, I can forgive myself my transgressions and move on.

Or maybe I’ll see how truly ridiculous and mean-spirited Judgey Wudgey is and learn to ignore her.

Wish me luck!

How do you let go of your inner critic?

It’s Finally Friday!!!

Quote of the Day:

Health and Wellness:

When’s the last time you scheduled a little “me” time?

Wednesday was National Walking Day. Did you miss it?? 5 reasons you should go for a walk today!

Climbing the Ladder:

10 things to do every workday.

Round the World:

What’s better than vacationing in a tropical local?? Vacationing in a treetop hotel in a tropical local!!

Nurture Nature:

How to spot Saturn in the sky.

Looking for Love:

I don’t need a man to bring my sexy back.

Wine me, Dine me:

Delish for breakfast, better for dinner.

Inspirational:

Practice kindness, acceptance and joy.

DIY:

Summer is coming. Make your own maxi skirts.

Giggles and Such:

If these pooches don’t make you giggle you might be dead inside.

Wicked Hard and Extremely Fragile

I’m not a trusting person.

Call me paranoid but I don’t take anyone’s word for it.

It’s especially hard, after someone you want to trust, has broken that bond.

How are you supposed to take that leap again?

There is no magic pill to take to guarantee a clean slate.

Old fears creep in and the most innocent of exchanges can feel like a plot against your happiness.

How can you truly trust if you haven’t figured out how to forgive?

And I’m not just talking about forgiving others.

I don’t know about you, but when my trust is broken, the person I blame the most is myself.

I should have known better!

How could I have been so stupid??

Why couldn’t I tell he/she was lying?

Trust is such a vulnerable bond.

Even when you have the courage to open your heart and trust.

There are so many obstacles, so many worries that can gnaw on your mind.

The fears and anxieties pick with vicious tenacity at your fragile trust until it has been shredded. Completely destroyed, only the fears and anxieties remaining.

Stop the fear!

The fears and anxieties cannot win if you fill your heart and mind with love.

As part of my Happiness Project I am making a conscious effort to be more trusting. To chose love over fear.

(For those of you who missed those posts – shame on you! Just kidding 🙂 You can check them out here and here.)

This is especially hard for me.

I have an overwhelming need to always be prepared (thank you Girl Scouts) and what may be the world’s most over-active imagination.

When these super powers combine they make me:

The Queen of the Worst.Case.Scenario.

You might be thinking, ‘well that doesn’t sound too bad.’

The problem lies in the thoughts.

If our reality is a manifestation of our thoughts, then being worried, anxious, and distrusting will just bring you more of the same.

And who wants that??

What about you guys?

Do you trust easily?

Or is trusting someone the hardest.thing.ever for you??

Everything, All at Once, Right Now!

I’m great at identify goals and the necessary steps to make said goals come true.

What I am NOT great at is maintaining the patience to achieve my goals.

I drive much like I live my life.

As fast as possible without getting caught by the fuzz 🙂

Reminding myself to slow down is a constant battle.

I remember when I was in high school, my Grandfather telling me, “don’t forget to stop and smell the roses.”

Come on! If monkeys can do it, so can you!!

I rarely remember to take a beat when I hit a milestone or an accomplishment.

Instead of giving myself a pat on the back and an “atta girl!”, I immediately begin to focus on the next hurdle, the next chance to hit it out of the park.

As part of my Happiness Project, I am going to start giving myself permission to celebrate the small victories.

Who cares if that small victory is only measurable by me.

It’s my victory, dammit!

I think we’ve become a society with such an expectation and focus on success that we’ve forgotten how to recognize the hard work it takes to actually achieve success and we’ve definitely forgotten how to make time to bask in that success.

This week I  challenge you to stop and smell the roses.

Yes, I know it’s February in New England.

So they will have to be metaphorical roses.

your metaphorical rose 🙂

But whenever you cross a finish line (no matter how small you feel it is), give yourself a little time-out to acknowledge your achievement.

I promise, it will alleviate that hamster-on-a-wheel feeling.

If only for a couple minutes…

Being Naked Makes Me Happy

I’ve been thinking a lot about vulnerability lately.

For those of you who don’t know me personally, as far as I’m concerned, that might be the dirtiest word in the English language.

However, I recently watched this amazing Ted Talk by Brene Brown and she has me convinced it’s the key to happiness.

I’ve been working on my own personal Happiness Project inspired by Gretchen Rubin and her best selling book.

If you missed that post – Shame on you! Just kidding 🙂 Check it out here.

While researching happiness, I discovered one of the biggest things happy people have in common is living authentically.

In other words, being vulnerable.

So in the name of happiness, I decided to perform two Acts of Authenticity.

The first was to tell a certain someone how I feel about them.

To be completely honest, I might have had a couple (a lot) in order to get the courage to open up.

I’d rather be locked in a room full of cats then talk about my feelings.

I’m extremely allergic to felines and in general not a fan.

While the conversation may not have immediately yielded the desired results, it opened a dialogue, and made me feel like a million bucks 🙂

My second Act of Authenticity was to go out and about bare-faced.

Now I frequently leave the house without make-up on but, not with the crutch of a baseball hat pulled down low or some over-sized sunglasses.

I didn’t go anywhere special, just some errands around town.

Nor did I run into anyone I knew, but it felt seriously liberating to simply brush my teeth, get dressed, and walk out the door.

Bare faced and beautiful 🙂

As someone who lives an overly scheduled, jam packed life, I also fully appreciated the efficiency.

In fact, if it wouldn’t give off warning bells that I’d given up on life, I’d go to the office sans make-up just to get an extra 15 minutes of sleep!

Despite being sick last week, I still felt like I was walking on sunshine, which I attribute directly to my two Acts of Authenticity.

So I’ll be looking for more ways to embrace vulnerability on my journey to Happiness. Stay tuned!

How about you guys?

Does the thought of being vulnerable make you break out in a cold sweat?

Do you feel you live an authentic life?

How so?