Little Things

There are days that are wonderful because of big events like getting married, a vacation, a baby being born, or meeting Channing Tatum (so I imagine), and then there are the days that are wonderful because of small things and the people surrounding us.  Last Friday was one of those days for me.  I took the day off work to take advantage of one of Mr. C’s last days off for awhile and it was one of those perfect days. 

Mr. C was at Target by 7:45 to ensure that he didn’t miss out on Mario Kart 8, which we’ve been anxiously awaiting for about five years.  Apparently it was just him and a high school kid with his mom waiting, so there wasn’t much of a mad dash there.  I guess he thought it was going to be more like the apple store on iphone debut day.

When we got home we played Mario Kart and were both so excited about our new game that someone could have confused us for five year olds with a new toy.  So far I’m pretty horrible with racing actual people online, but I do great with the computers!  Working on that one….

We went to Postinos for lunch and if you’ve never been there (and you live near Phoenix), then you need to drop whatever you’re doing and get yourself there.  A friend had been telling me to check the place out for months but I underestimated how much I would love it.  We ordered bruschetta, apparently THE reason to go.  It comes with 4 selections, each cut into 4 slices.  It was so good that I didn’t think to snap a photo until we had devoured almost everything.  My favorite was the fig spread with brie and sliced green apples, but all of them were delicious.  They also have a huge wine selection for $5 a glass.  Need I say more?

Mr. C forced (lol) me to go across the street for ice cream at Churn, the cutest ice cream shop I’ve ever seen.  It has a vintage hometown feel and the ice cream is made on site with natural ingredients.  I sampled the coconut ice cream and was sold on the first bite.

Later we headed to the X-men movie.  We had a little marathon of movies earlier in the week so I could get caught up since I had previously only seen the Wolverine spin-offs.  Going to a movie in the middle of the day is a luxury to me because it means number one that I have an afternoon off, and number two that I actually get to enjoy that same afternoon off doing fun things instead of grown-up/productive things.

The day was full of “normal” things, but it was one of the most fun and relaxing days I’ve had for awhile.  It’s hard to just focus on the moment at hand sometimes and forget about all the things that need/should be done.  Most things can wait but we can never get back the times we failed to laugh, be silly, enjoy God’s creations, and forget our worries.

I hope you take some time this weekend to enjoy the little things!

My Happiness Project

Lately I’ve been feeling (because it’s true) like I’m spending way too much time watching TV while texting on my phone and playing games on my ipad.  At the end of the night/weekend I’m not sure where my time has gone and I feel “blah” because that much screen time isn’t good for anyone. 

The weeks become so busy with the usual grind that it’s nice to take a break, but spending so much time online wasn’t energizing and at the end of the day I’d be frustrated because I didn’t really accomplish what I wanted/needed to for the day.  Perhaps you can relate to feeling like this:

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One day I decided that I needed to make a conscious effort to cut back on screen time and spend my time doing something productive.  I kept seeing “The Happiness Project” book by Gretchen Rubin and finally I decided to check it out. 

I haven’t finished the book yet (not even halfway through actually), but I loved the premise of the book.  The author embarks on a one-year happiness project aimed at increasing her happiness by identifying small changes that lead to big results.  I think we just take on too much sometimes and neglect ourselves, our hobbies, our relationships, and the little things that make us really happy.

I’ve since decided to do my own mini happiness project.  For the next 6 months I’ll be focusing on one aspect of my life that I believe could use some extra attention.  Everyone’s “happiness project” would be different because we all have different areas to focus on, however the author focused on “Energy” for her first month and I agreed that was a great place to start.  She picked energy because she felt it would set her up for the following months.  It’s hard to be happy and productive when you’re tired and distracted.

I’m beginning today, June 1^st and will focus on a different theme for the next 6 months.  I’ll be tracking and blogging about my progress and I’m so excited to get started! 

What exactly does the theme of “Energy” cover?  For me, it’ll focus on:

•  Sleep – I rarely get enough sleep so I’m challenging myself to get 7-8 hours a night.
• Working out – I’m already consistently working out but I want to vary and expand my workouts.
• Better food – I eat a lot of fruits, veggies, and lean meats, but I want to challenge myself to find new recipes to try, and focus on the quality of the food (organic, gluten free, whole foods) as well.
• Organizing – I feel so much better when things are organized and I have a few areas I’ve been avoiding because they seem overwhelming, but when I go into these areas (closet), it’s not currently a good feeling.  I’m going to tackle some of these because I know it’ll make me a calmer, happier person in the end and organized spaces mean I’ll be spending less energy trying to keep things picked up.
• Cleaning schedule – I have a cleaning schedule and it’s pretty easy to follow, but I just haven’t been following it.  When I do clean now I’m doing some things more than I should and others not enough.  I created a cleaning schedule to simplify things and I need to get back to using it.

I’m really excited to get started and will be checking in along the way.  I'd love it if you'd start your own happiness project with me and perhaps we can both look more like this:

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