Motivational Monday

This is so true. There are approximately 7 billion people on planet Earth and 319+ million in the United States. What are the chances that you or I will be the best? I'm not putting me or you down, but statistically the numbers are stacked against us.

But, can we be better than we were yesterday? Last week? Last month? Last year? Hell ya! That's doable. We can learn more, give more, be healthier, run faster, lift more, be happier than ever before. Those are within our control.

So today, figure out what you did today that was better than yesterday - did you start a new book? Volunteer some time? Pay it forward in line at Starbucks? Run half a mile longer than you ever have? Picked carrots over potato chips? Made your bed before being told to? That's being a better you than yesterday and that's what makes us our best.

What can you do today to make you better tomorrow?


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Go for it!

What things do you want to do, but you're too scared to go for it? Do them now!

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Motivational Monday

Have I used this before? Maybe. But, it's true. I am thinking more and more that I need to focus on things that make me happy and less on what I think I should be doing.

Case in point - I love riding my bike. Two years ago hubby and I would ride almost every Sunday afternoon for miles. We had a blast, saw some pretty sites, participated in some trail rides with the city, and burned lots of calories. Then winter came and it was too cold. No biggie.

The following year I bought a new hybrid bike. It's pretty spiffy and I was excited to ride it since my other bike was 20+ years old and heavy. Then...we didn't ride. The bike sat in the basement all summer. I wanted to ride it, but we never did.

This year we got the bikes out and have started riding again. We had a fantastic ride yesterday going south on the local Rail Trail to areas we'd never been before. They were gorgeous areas with streams and flowers.

Riding this path is so peaceful.

Why did I not ride my bike at all last summer? I love it. I think it's fun. It makes me happy. Sadly, I didn't get the bike out once. This summer the bikes have been out twice and I'm happier. I'm looking forward to my next ride. I want to find ways to sneak in bike rides in between the weekend ones we plan.

I need to take this one example of happiness and bike riding and write it large. I need to continue doing the things that make me happy, not just what I think I need to do. I need to change my mindset that doing the things that make me happy is permissible and desirable. It's not just something you get to do because you earned it, but you get to do because you are you.

Losing weight makes me happy. Which means I need to eat better and workout.

Learning makes me happy. Which means I need to dedicate time to research.

Writing makes me happy. Which means I need to spend time writing and finding an outlet for it.

Photographing makes me happy. Which means I need to take photos, share them, engage others in them, print them.

Traveling makes me happy. Which means we need to go out into the world, even if it's just day trips exploring the areas around us.

Supporting local businesses makes make happy. Which means I need to buy local more and concentrate on local restaurants and stores.

These are just some things that make me happy and are easy to do. They are not things that I need special skills or lots of money to do. I can do these things everyday or at least every week. They make me happy and that is the goal - to find what makes me happy and concentrate on that. 

What do you do that makes you happy? How often do you do it? Are you actively trying to find ways to incorporate into your life?

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Unintential learning

Thank you Tiny Buddha for the inspiration!

This hit me like a ton of bricks {if not more}. I've been spending the past 6+ months trying to "pursue happiness." I've been trying to determine what happiness is and what happiness can be for me.

Instead, I have been happiest when I create it. When I read, I'm happy. When I took a calligraphy class, I was happy. When I go to our local farmer's market, I'm happy. When I buy a bouquet of flowers, I'm happy. When I spend time with friends, I'm happy. When I make decisions, I'm happy. When I do research, I'm happy. When I take photographs, I'm happy. When I try new things, I'm happy.

It seems like it took me 6+ months to figure this whole happy thing out, but I think I finally did. I need to stop looking at it theoretically and just start doing!
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Motivational Monday

I picked today's image and quote for one reason - because it has a camera and taking photographs makes me happy. I have had a camera for as long as I can remember. I have photographs I've taken from when I was a child. When I went to England I took 8 rolls of film {because it was all I could afford!} so I could get photos of England and my cousin's wedding.

Since the digital age, I have had multiple cameras and currently am working with a Canon 7d {which I am in love with!}. It is an amazing camera. I love the images it takes and all the possibilities contained within it. I have drooled over this camera for years {since it came out!}, but with a price tag of $1,799 it was well out of reach. In order to afford it, I took a chance on a used one through Amazon. By doing that, I acquired my camera for half price and so far so good!

Why am I talking about this on Motivational Monday? Because two weeks ago I photographed my friend's wedding reception and this past week we went to San Antonio for a college friend's wedding and at both I took my Canon 7d. It makes me happy taking photos and sharing them with others. I've already edited the wedding photos for my friend's reception and she loved them. This makes me happy. I was able to make her happy with the images I took. {Full disclosure, she paid me to take her photographs that day.} I have also edited the images I took at the San Antonio wedding and just need to do some more from the other adventures we had for our college friend.

I need to remember to do the things that make me happy more. It doesn't take much to go out and take photographs. To learn how to use the camera better or how to use my editing software. These things all make me a happy person. I absolutely enjoy these things and if I want to be happy, I should start focusing my time on things that make me that way.

What do you do that makes you happy? Working out? Reading? Bird watching? Sitting on the beach? Go do it! It will increase your happiness 100 fold and will carry on even after you stop.
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Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful for love. This sounds sappy I know, but here's why. I am attending the wedding of a college friend this evening.

Lately, we have been attending a good number of weddings. Last September my husband's co-worker celebrated their wedding in Philadelphia. My cousin married her long time boyfriend in New Jersey. My lovely friend Stephanie eloped in March, then we partied at her reception in June (which I had the honor of photographing) at her parent's home in Gettysburg.

Today's wedding is in San Antonio, TX at Bella Spring. Our friend has always dated a good deal, but never could find one girl that was the one. Well, now he has and we are all going to celebrate them starting their lives together.

To finish off the year of weddings, we have another wedding in the Philly area in September of another college friend. Then in November, we finally get to attend a local wedding of another college friend. Next August another set of friends will be marrying after 20 years together.

So, today let's be thankful for love and finding that special someone to spend our lives with whether you marry or not. A lifetime of being with the person you love is a wonderful thing.


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Thankful Thursday

This week might seem a little generic, but I am thankful for what I have. I have a house with three bedrooms, 1.5 baths, a living room, kitchen, dinning room, basement, attic, and 1.76 acres of land. I have a car {and so does hubby} that runs and I can get fixed when it doesn't. We have three cats {and two who have passed on that we were able to afford their medical treatment when necessary}.

I have a t.v. with cable. When my laptop got all wonky, I had the option of repairing or buying new. All of my rooms have furniture. We have a riding lawn mower to cut the yard. We have a snow blower to help snow blow our gravel driveway in winter.

We have just about finalized the plans to build a deck in our back yard. We have a table with chairs for it, a grill, chairs and a table for reading, etc., and a small bar area already.

We have a room in the house dedicated to workout equipment {weight bench, treadmill, NordicTrack, and elliptical}. I have boxes and boxes of Christmas stuff so I can decorate the house all pretty come the holidays.

I am lucky enough to feed my passion for photography with two DSLR cameras - a Rebel and a 7d. I have lenses for these cameras. I have extra memory cards. I have camera bags. I have a smartphone {though recent} and a Kindle.

So today, as I've been stressing myself out for a week about things I cannot control, I am thankful for the "things" in my life. I know that may sound selfish, but I know I am damn lucky to have what I do. I can stress over what I don't have {as we all do}. Or, I can take the time to remember I am extremely lucky. I have the disposable income to make my life comfortable even if I may wish for things I do not have.

What are you thankful for today?

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Motivational Monday

This happened to me this weekend. A friend who convinced me to run a race I didn't want to, so we could run a race together, bailed on me. I saw him a few weeks ago and he was all excited we would be running this race together. I got a text yesterday asking if I was excited about running this race. I answered and asked if he was, then nothing. I never heard from him again.

So, I ran the race alone. Hurt, confused, and sad that someone I trusted to follow through on his promise didn't. When I was visiting in May, he kept saying how I was so important to him as a friend.

What does this mean? It means after today, I think no more about it. I make no more effort to put myself out there for this person. I do not do things I don't want to do just because someone else wants it. I know that sounds awful, but this isn't the first time I've gone out of my way to do something I didn't want to do, then got stood up. It's time for me to stand up for what I want and who I am.

If I want to be happy, I have to be true to myself.

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Motivational Monday

I so hope this is true! Doesn't it sounds wonderful that while we may (or may not) be seeking happiness, it is out there just waiting for us to find it? Or better yet, it working it's way to us? LOVE this idea!

So today, let's find ways to bring us closer to our happy whatever that may be. For me, I'm going to get my butt back to writing. I have been slack on doing my research and it's kinda hard to write a book on an historical event without research!

What are you going to do to bring you closer to your happy?
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Motivational Monday

There is no better time of year to fully comprehend this statement from Ann Frank than spring (at least in the Mid-Atlantic). The grass is starting to grow, the leaves come back to the trees, the flowers come up, the sky is a gorgeous blue, and the world seems renewed. This is a tree I saw blooming on my way to work last week. Had to take a pic!

Beauty truly can make one happy. I know when I see a beautiful flower, a gorgeous piece of architecture, a well composed photograph I smile and feel good. Beauty is something we should always have in our lives...no matter what that beauty means to us - a hike in the woods, a sunset on the beach, a well tended garden, lightening bugs on a summer night, little children running through a sprinkler...you name it!

Let's concentrate this week on the beauty around us, what we might miss because we are so busy in our lives. Beauty is all around us, if we only chose to see it.
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Motivational Monday

Yup. This. Why do we do so much that does not make us happy? I say this after having a funtastic weekend. I spent Friday night with a college friend who now lives in NYC and only get to see a few times a year. I didn't get home until 2:30 a.m. LOL! Saturday, we spent the day with friends who showed hubby how to brew beer while I sat around chatting and having a few cocktails. It was a lateish night - 10:00 p.m. (considering we got there at 2:30 p.m., 10:00 p.m. seemed lateish). Then Sunday, we ran the Baltimore St. Patrick's Day 5k with another friend from college. It's my favorite race of the year and we always have such fun with our friend.

All of these things make me happy. Sure, it was a weekend and it's so much easier to have fun in our own time rather than when we need to be responsible adults, but why? Why are we not doing things to make us happy the majority of the time? For people who work, do we enjoy what we do? I mean, if we hate what we do, there are x number of hours a week where we are unhappy. I'll be honest, I'm not 100% happy with what I do for a living, but you know what? I really like the people I work with. It's what makes it workable (heehee!). I also enjoy when I find an interesting death certificate (I pull death certificates most of the day), when I pull a box of materials that sound fun (I ask the researcher what they are doing, always neat), or when I learn something I didn't know before (which pretty much happens on a daily basis. Working in an archives will do that!). Sometimes we just have to look past the crap and find that one (or two or three...) things that make work bearable.

Outside work, what makes you happy? Reading? Writing? The beach? Trying new things? Animals? Working out? Being with friends? Music? Theater? Things I have no idea exist? These are the things we need to concentrate on when not working. These are the things that make up life. And I for one am trying hard to incorporate them better into my life. I have signed up for a class on calligraphy, because I taught myself as a kid, but I want to know how to do it right. I am working on reaching out to friends more either by spending more time together or at least letting them know I care about them via email/mail/etc. This is making me happy and honestly, it's addicting. I'm finding ways to do this for more and more friends. LOL!

So tell me, what makes you happy? Are you doing things that let you feel happy or are you wishing to do these things? If it's a wish, how are you going to make that wish a reality? Tell me! I'd love to know.


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Motivational Monday

Does anyone else do this? I know I do. I constantly look at the things that didn't work out, the things that I failed at and focus on those to the exclusion of other things...things that a normal person would think overshadows the disappointments.

But, I know I have been blessed with abundance. I have a good family, good friends, a roof over my head, food in my kitchen, a job that pays my bills, intelligence to make good decisions, a body that overall is healthy, and opportunities I don't even know about yet. These are the things I need to focus on rather than those things that didn't happen the way I wanted.

So today, let us start counting our blessings. Not cheesy like the song (though I do like White Christmas), but honest to goodness looking at what is good in our lives. Focus on what we are fortunate to have and let that overshadow the things that didn't work out the way we hoped. Here are just a few things I am blessed to have:

A fabulous husband

A loving family

Fantastic friends

Adorable kitties

An inquisitive mind

A warm home

Abundant food

A working car

A paying job

A healthy body

What blessings do you have in your life?

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Motivational Monday

Happy Motivational Monday friends! I know you may think that this quote is only applicable to people with cats, but no. I've thought this through. Replace "cats" with "kids," "dog," "spouse," etc. and now it applies to all!

Today's quote is inspired by Higgenbaffum the cat. It is his 16th birthday today. It is bittersweet in that his brother Pooka passed away in July of 2013 and this year we do not get to celebrate with him. It is also bittersweet because in January Higgy was diagnosed with cancer and due to his age and type of cancer, the decision of all involved was to make him as comfortable as possible rather than put him through chemo. Honestly, when we were given the diagnosis I didn't think Higgy would be here to celebrate his 16th birthday. But, here is he. Celebrating with us today. We grabbed a party hat and he will enjoy cake and ice cream, plus special chicken stew cat food.

Higgy the kitten in 1996

Why is this Motivational Monday? Because we all have those things we take for granted, we assume will be there but then they go away. Maybe it's a friend we were oh so close to that decides you aren't worth it anymore. Maybe it's a spouse that finds someone new. Maybe we don't live each day with our children and all of a sudden they are off to college. Maybe we realize we didn't spend as much time with our grandparents as we should have before they pass on.

Today, we need to remember that happiness is in the simplest things ~ petting a purring cat, play fetch with a dog, reading a book to a child, having tea with your grandparents, a phone call to a good friend. Today, I am going to celebrate Higgy the cat knowing that (sadly) this is his last birthday with us. I am going to make sure he has yummy food, including cake and ice cream. He enjoys some cat nip. We take lots of pictures and we cuddle him lots. Happiness is in the little things and today I am celebrating them to the fullest!

What small thing can you do today to make happiness a priority?
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Motivational Monday

LOL! How can Cookie Monster not make you smile? I read this and it just made me laugh and with that, it got saved because that's what this is all about. What makes me laugh? What makes me smile? What makes me happy? Sure, Cookie Monster is a Sesame Street character, but I can't help but smile when I see those furry creatures.

With today's motivational quote, I'm not advocating eating as a way of dealing with unpleasant situations/people/things, but I am advocating letting them go. This is something I need to work on for sure, but I think Cookie Monster is on the right track here. Live in the moment, enjoy what life is offering us, but when things aren't going well, when we are unhappy with how life is going we need to step back, look at it for what it truly is and make changes. Life does not get better if we keep going in the same direction that makes us unhappy. We need to determine what is making us unhappy, determine what we need to do to make us happy with the situation, then take action - whether that's changing jobs, changing friends, changing habits - but do what will in turn make us happy.

So what is unpleasant in your life? What are some steps you can take right now, today that will make it better? They don't have to be huge steps. They can be cookie size steps, but make one today! Let's take a step towards happiness!


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Happiness to me

The other day I said I would think about what makes me happy. Here are a few things I came up with.

Brian ~ Higgy ~ Pooka ~ Elizabeth ~ Domo ~ Strax ~ Going new places ~ Trying new things

Reading ~ Research ~ Writing ~ Crossing the finish line ~ Helping people ~ Surprising people 

Phillies baseball ~ Traveling ~ Listening to music ~ Snow ~ Photography ~ Stitch ~ Friends

Philadelphia ~ Baltimore ~ Biking ~ Roses ~ Daisies ~ Christmas trees ~ Green ~ Apples 

Purring ~ Zoos ~ Having a cat sit on my lap ~ Playing with cats ~ Finishing a craft project 

Baking ~ Beach ~ Ocean ~ Fire in a fireplace ~ Taking a great picture ~ Minions ~ Teddy

Eeyore ~ New nail polish ~ Cross stitch ~ Vacation ~ Jamaica ~ London ~ Pizza ~Air

hockey ~ Ski ball ~ Boardwalk ~ Fluffy ~ Smell of the dryer ~ Olympics ~ Pens ~ Rainbow

That's just the start of the list I want to make. What makes you happy? Have you ever thought about it? Have you ever written it down?

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Motivational Monday

Oh so true. It's hard to be happy when you don't feel good about yourself. I'm starting to see that believing in myself is one of the most important aspects of being happy.

I can pinpoint a time in my life that I was completely happy with where I was - spring/summer of 2012. I was on a streak of racing personal bests, I had been hired part-time permanent at my job (which I believed put me on the fast track to being able to move up), my weight was at the lowest it had been in my adult life, hubby and I had all sorts of fun plans for the summer, and we went to Las Vegas with friends that summer.

I've thought about that summer and why I was happy. It seemed as if everything was going my way and yes, in a way it was, but it was because I believed I could do anything. Race PR after race PR made me think I would PR on my next race. Going from volunteer to full-time contract, to part-time permanent in a job that I was excited about made me believe that my career was on the right track. I was completely on track with my eating and working out and was 12 pounds from my goal weight. My summer was chock full of fun stuff and we went on a great vacation with friends!

Then it slipped away. I don't know why. I came back from vacation and couldn't get out of my "I'm on vacation and can eat anything I want" mode. I got injured in September (shin splints) and had a bad training for the Atlantic City Half Marathon in October. As I worked in my position it was becoming clear that what I thought was the perfect move in terms of job might not have been (and it is now been confirmed).

Now? I don't have that same confidence in myself. I've gained 35 pounds since then. My races have been awful honestly. I'm unhappy with my job (though I still really like my co-workers! They are the reason I'm not worse off in my work thoughts.).

We've gotta work on what we believe about ourselves if we are going to be happy. We have to know we deserve being happy and worth doing the things that make us happy. It's not an easy thing to wrap the brain around or allow ourselves to do. We are taught to think of others first and their needs (at least women are). It's not wrong to think of yourself. In order to be true to others, you have to be true to yourself - meaning believe you are worth the effort to be happy.

This week I am going to work on defining all the things that make me happy and find a way to incorporate them into my life more often. When you believe you are worth the the investment, then happiness will follow.

What do you believe you are worth? Do you believe you are worth the investment? Do you believe you deserve to be happy?

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Motivational Monday

This is me. 100% me. I am so hard on myself it's not funny. I don't necessarily consider myself Type A or a perfectionist (though I know others who disagree with me), but I know I have a very negative inner voice.

I am very supportive of my friends. I totally believe in my friend's ability to conquer any goal they set for themselves. With so many of my friends spread around the country (world), this usually means texts, Facebook likes/comments, blog comments, cards, emails, etc. If a friend sets a goal, I'm all over helping them stop the negative talk and bolstering up their confidence to achieve it.

Oddly enough (or maybe not so odd), I am the complete opposite when it comes to me and my goals. I set them, then become my own worst bully. "You can't do that." "You're too fat to look good." "You're too slow to run that race." "Your friends don't really like you, you're just convenient." "You're not as smart as you think you are." Yea. These are all thoughts that have gone through my head.

I have a hard time reconciling the person I am for my friends and the person I am for myself. I need to work on being the same person to me as I am for them. I don't think I keep myself to a higher standard than I do my friends. I honestly believe that my friends can achieve anything they set their minds to. They are a font of possibilities, but me? Not so much. I don't have whatever it is they have. I believe they are better than me.

This has to stop. I am just as capable as they are. I have the same innate abilities that allow them to reach their goals. My goals may be different, but I have the skills and knowledge to reach them. I need to stop the negative talk and start the positive. It won't be easy being it's been part of my being for 35+ years, but it's possible. I've overcome other things I didn't think I could do and believe it or not I did them - earning a Master's degree, running (yes, just running!), changing careers. Those are pretty big things. If I can do those, I can change my mental attitude, right?

Do you have a negative mental self-talk? How do you stop it and find a way to be positive?

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Motivational Monday

The month of January has not been kind to us. So many little and somewhat big things have just not gone right. Hubby and I have been sick, my Higgy cat was diagnosed with cancer, my car has been acting up and is currently in the shop. With a goal of being happy this year, the universe sure is putting me to the test!

But, I am trying to find the things that make these "trials" into lessons. A way to make them work in my favor. I'm not really sure about us being sick. I'm just leaving that one and I'm going to be happy we are healthy (for the most part...stupid lingering cough!) again.

As for my Higgy cat, nothing can be happy about losing a loved one. Too many people know what it's like to lose someone they love to cancer, but through my tears I am focusing on the fact that I have time with him. His brother passed away suddenly in July and we had no time to spoil him. Higgy at least gets to spend some time with us getting spoiled rotten! We've bought him his favorite foods, we share our cheese, we bought him yogurt and vanilla ice cream, and treats. He is getting cuddled and I'm taking lots of pictures. So while his diagnosis is horrible, I am trying to remember that we still have some time with him. I'm going to milk it for all it's worth!

Higgy the cat

As to the car problems, I just have to remember that I am lucky to have a car and that hubby has one too. There are so many people who do not have a vehicle and struggle to get places via public transport. While my car may be in the shop and I may have an oh so lovely car bill coming, I am lucky to have that car. I have had my own car almost continuously since I was 17 (when I got my driver's license), not everyone can say that. While it's inconvenient to be without mine right now and the bill is not something that makes me happy, I need to remember how lucky I am to have it. As the hashtag says, #firstworldproblems. I'd even go so far as to say #middleclassproblems in the #firstworld.

How are you going to look at the challenges you are facing to get out of the negative and see them as learning experiences or the chance to see how lucky you are?

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Motivational Monday

Isn't that the truth? Happiness seems to come and go. It seems to rely on events or people rather than an inner decision to allow ourselves to just be happy in the moment. Rough when so much of our time is spent with our own thoughts and yet we rely on others/events/things to make us happy.

Well, I want that to stop for me. I want happiness to be a state of being, rather than being in a state of eh and only being happy when looking forward to something to happen, being with certain people, doing certain things that have an end time/date. Life is too short to live in a state of eh. I want to live in a state of happiness as often as I can. Sure, it's not going to be 24/7/365, but I'm no where close to that now.

For today, it's been a mostly happy day. I got up and followed through on my training plan. Day 1 of The Love Run half marathon training. I didn't have a great run, but it was what I thought it would be and I'm happy that I did it, that I followed through. Then I came home and have been playing or just watching my little orange tabby Strax. He's just so silly that he makes me happy when he sits and chirps at the birds or when we play with his string and he jumps and leaps into the air. How that little ball of pudge jumps so high is beyond me, but it sure is fun to see!

Strax and his string. :)

It's these little things that make me happy and I am going to concentrate on those because it's time to be happy again. No if, ands or buts about it!


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What makes me happy

This year I am focusing on becoming a happy person. I decided to write down all the things that make me happy. I am going to do this periodically this year so I know what I should be focusing on. What makes you happy?

Brian ~ Higgy ~ Pooka ~ Elizabeth ~ Domo ~ Strax ~ Going new places ~ 

Trying new things ~ Reading ~ Research ~ Writing ~ Crossing the finish line ~ 

Helping people ~ Surprising people ~ Phillies baseball ~ Traveling ~ 

Listening to music ~ Snow ~ Photography ~ Stitch ~ Friends ~ Philadelphia ~ 

Baltimore ~ Biking ~ Roses ~ Daisies ~ Christmas trees ~ The scent of pine ~ 

Green ~ Apples ~ Purring ~ Zoos ~ Having a cat sit on my lap ~ 

Playing with the cats ~ Finishing a craft project ~ Baking ~ The beach ~ 

The ocean ~ Lighting candles in the fireplace ~ Taking a great picture ~ 

Minions ~ Teddy ~ Eeyore ~ New nail polish ~ Cross stitch ~ Vacation ~ 

Jamaica ~ London ~ Pizza ~ Air hockey ~ Skee ball ~ Boardwalk ~ Fluffy

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