I have a NEW virtual home!

Hello everyone!

This was kind of a spur of the moment decision, but I'm tired of dealing with Blogger. I want more design options and I honestly miss the days of Wordpress. I had Wordpress for a while and then I kind of let that blog die. I shouldn't have, but at the time it wasn't affordable. Now it is, what with my full-time job of awesomeness! Ok, so the new home will be setup SOON, but not yet. The domain needs to get itself ready for visitors and I need to tweak some things. I am going to attempt to import my previous posts, but I don't even know if that will be possible. I'll keep you posted. Promise!

The new home will be exciting and official, hopefully for a long time. I look forward to seeing you all over there. Until then, enjoy this little VEDA video I made for Day 9...HOPES AND DREAMS PEOPLE!

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/IWD-JeDtG9E" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

*skips away*

VEDA 2013 | Day 6

Hello lovelies!

It is day six of VEDA and I have a video to share with you all.

I hope to be posting the video I record each day, here on the blog, in addition to uploading it to Youtube. That way you have direct access to my videos each day. Also, it helps to get me back in the habit of posting here on the blog, which I have not done a lot of lately.

So, enjoy!

Hello, VEDA 2013!

Do you know what time it is?

It's time for VEDA 2013! 

That's right, I am participating in VEDA this year. What is VEDA you ask? Well, head on over here to read more about it. The short version is that you vlog every day for a whole month, specifically the month of August. Each day you are given a topic to vlog about and from there you are supposed to post your video, view and comment on videos that other participants have uploaded. It is a wonderful way to meet new people. Also, vlogging every day for a month is challenging, more so than you would think.

If you are interested in viewing my vlogs, check out my youtube channel here. You'll find them all grouped under VEDA 2013 Playlist.

I will try to post each video on the day that I upload it. You may see two at a time if I fall behind at some point. It's possible...

One of those days.

Yesterday was one of those days. You know, the kind where the day doesn't move fast enough and all you can think about is that in x number of hours, it will be over with and a new day will begin? Yes, that kind. Yesterday was stressful. I had knots in my stomach all day and anxiety ate at me like a pack of wild dogs. I really don't know if I want to talk about what caused all of this because a) it's embarrassing and b) I'm not ready. Maybe I'll feel braver tomorrow? Who knows...

For now, I'm just going to admit to having a bad day and try to focus on the one at hand. I'm hopeful that this one will be better than the last. I'll do everything I can to make it so and that's all I can do.

I hope to have happier news tomorrow. :)

No words.

I really don't even know where to begin this post. Right now, I feel as if my whole world has been turned upside down, like I'm Alice, suddenly tumbling down the rabbit hole, headed straight for Underland. This isn't the first time I've felt this way, but this is certainly the biggest shock I've had in several years.

To clarify slightly, I just found out about something that changes my entire outlook/perspective on my childhood/adolescence. I realize that this is beyond vague, but I'm not even sure if I am ready to share everything. My mind is totally and officially BLOWN right now. There is just nothing that can be done, except to mull over the information I've been given and try to figure out exactly what this means for me.

Has something like this ever happened to you? Have you ever been told something or discovered something about someone you know and love? Something big? Have you ever had to re-examine your whole life from this new perspective, to rethink absolutely everything? That is what is happening right now...

Thoughts on a Wednesday.

I just wanted to check in, since I have the time - or rather, I don't have the time, but I am avoiding my work, so there. If you didn't know I was an accomplished procrastinator, you do now.

I am working on a creative project from home today. My usual work environment is not really suitable for creative projects. I need the quiet of my own home, where I can bask in the absurd amount of natural light that streams in through our windows. Thus, I sit at the kitchen table trying to find the motivation or inspiration to do my work. To be fair, I made some progress this morning. I spent an hour doing research for the project, but after that I hit a wall. I'm not sure if it was a food wall or creative wall, but it was most definitely a wall of some sort.

How do I usually solve these creative conundrums? Well, I don't. I have found that they tend to solve themselves. I realize that sitting and waiting around for your creativity is not very productive, but it is what it is. All I need to do is find a little source of inspiration that can tempt the creative well enough to start flowing once more. Sounds simple enough, right. Wrong. Creativity has a will of its own. When it flows through me though, it is simply amazing.

I think I may need to go outdoors to find the kind of creative spark I am looking for right now. It might involve grabbing some lunch or coffee. I just need a little bit of nature's beauty to solve this one.

The artist in me.

Over the past several months, I feel as if I have lost the artist inside myself. This is not for any reason in particular. Work just tends to take its toll after a while and I become bogged down by stress. Each day I travel to work, stay there for about 8 hours, leave work, eat dinner, and catch up with my Husband. By the time I finish doing all of these things each day, I'm exhausted. Who wouldn't be, right? The wear and tear of the every day has caught up to me and I feel as if a change is in order. So I'm developing a plan. This plan involves taking a little bit of time each day to exercise my creativity.

The best time to start is now, but I doubt that I will be used to a new routine by tomorrow. So I'm using May as a starting point, of sorts. Each day I will do something creative. The best part is that I get to choose and it can literally be anything. I could chose to embrace my inner child for a day and color a page in a coloring book. Or perhaps I want to practice my wire wrapping and create a new piece of jewelry for my shop. Either way, my brain will get some exercise in being creative each day.

I mean, you exercise at the gym to keep your body in shape right? You probably care about what you eat or what goes into your body. Well, what about mental health? Sure, I read books and watch the news, but how often do I exercise my creativity? Not as often as I should really.

I think that my brain may need a little exercise in creativity. Won't you join me?

Post a photo from your daily creative activity or share a tweet. Suggest creative activities for everyone to try. Let's be creative!

Gearing Up.

I cannot believe that we are halfway through the month of April already. Seriously, where did the first half of the month go? Before you know it, summer will be over. (No, Sara Bareilles pun intended - I swear.)

I just find it weird. Last time I checked the calendar it was March. March, people. Now it is April and temperatures are finally rising, the pollen has hit full force, and everything is practically in bloom. Don't get me wrong, I love the spring and seeing everything in bloom. There is a riot of color everywhere you look and that is truly one of my favorite things about spring. However, what I don't appreciate is the pollen. But hey, let's not talk about that evil stuff. It doesn't deserve the attention.

What does deserve some attention is the plethora of art and craft festivals that will be starting up this month. There is one in particular that interests me, the Marietta Artist's Market, which I believe I have mentioned previously (well - last year, actually). It is a small craft fair that takes place in downtown Marietta Square, a lovely little place, and is filled with some of the nicest people. There are quite a few artists who do the market each month, some of which I've gotten to know a little, and so I look forward to seeing them again. Meeting and talking with fellow art/craft enthusiasts is awesome. Truly it is!

I think that I will be partaking in the May markets, so if you are in the area, feel free to stop by and visit me! I'll post the exact dates and locations as we get closer to the day of the actual market.

Year One.

It has been a while since my last post, but I thought I would poke my head in and check on things. Not much has been happening recently. Since I began working full-time, I've had a severe case of computer-itis. Computer-itis, for those of you who are unfamiliar with the term, is basically aversion to using your computer at the end of the work day. I've been spending a lot of time on our computer at work, therefore the absolute last thing I feel like doing when I get home is dragging out my laptop, despite its portability. I mean I could use it while lounging on the couch, but I just have very little motivation. When I get home, I usually reach for a nice glass of wine, cozy up to my husband, and then we get to talking about our days at work. Oh, we also tend to scrounge up whatever we can for dinner, especially since I have not been in the cooking mood as of late.

However, tonight I had some bills to pay. Sad, but true. So, I thought I would see if I could suppress my computer-itis and update you all on life. Well, the most recent happenings. About a month ago, Husband and I celebrated our one-year anniversary of marriage. I still can't believe that we've been married for a WHOLE year. It just boggles my mind. I've heard from many friends and family members that this is a good thing. It feels like a good thing. We've had some minor ups and downs over the course of our first year of marriage, but we have come through stronger and wiser. I love him just as much as the day we got married and am looking forward to our many years ahead.

We celebrated our anniversary by taking a trip to Asheville, a place we have been many times and fell in love with long ago. It was also our honeymoon spot. We stayed for a little less than a week and as usual, our stay was wonderful. We had lots of good food, did some shopping, and enjoyed some of the local micro-breweries. That last one was mostly for the Husband though. He loves his beer. I love my cheese. Enough said.

In our second year, we plan to tackle some more house remodeling projects. This will be a test of our strength as a couple, I'm sure. We are going to remodel our two main floor bathrooms, merging them in order to create one really nice bathroom. There is just no purpose in having two tiny bathrooms - and I do mean TINY. Beyond that we might update our kitchen some and add some more storage in for clothing and other random objects that seem to float around our house. Oh and paint. Good lord, we are finally going to paint. Hallelujah.

Shield your eyes and ears, because here comes the mush.

I wish I could express just how wonderful my husband is, but words just cannot describe how I feel. All I can say is that I am truly grateful for all that we have shared together and delight in the fact that we will share so much more. He chose me to be his wife and I chose him as my husband. There is no question that saying yes to him was the right decision. There could not be a better choice. It is the single greatest choice we have made so far. Being his wife is a blessing and something that I will always strive to appreciate. I never want to take him for granted. I hope to be worthy of him and his love for the rest of my days, whether they be long or short. I will always love him.

Saturday Mornings.

Saturday mornings are for...


incredibly strong coffee.

listening to the birds.

perusing Pinterest.

watching Pretty Little Liars.

quiet time.

snuggling with my marshmallow.

doing absolutely nothing.


Feeling at peace this morning. It's amazing what a few quiet hours and a cup of coffee can do for your mood. I don't normally get to sit down and just enjoy the morning during the week. I'm usually rushing off to work in the morning. I recommend you take some time to sit down and enjoy that cup of coffee this morning and think of how you want to spend your day. It might help you to stretch out that weekend and improve your mood.

How do you spend your Saturday mornings?

Starting Fresh.

I haven't written anything in ages. It feels a bit weird, foreign even. I took a break from internet life and focused on things at home. It felt good. I know I didn't really say anything about it, but I really didn't feel the need. I knew I would return, eventually. I just didn't know when, so why bother with a specific date or time, when it was unknown? It just didn't make sense.

A lot has changed since then. My last post was in October, yes I had to look it up...no judgements, please. The post was about my job and the wonderful lady who trained me. She was my mentor, for all intents and purposes. I miss her.

I am still loving my job. My initial role and responsibilities have changed, or rather morphed into something better. I've taken on many new challenges and am slowly, finding out that I am capable of a lot more than I ever believed I was. I cannot tell you how satisfying it is to know you can do just about anything you set your mind to. It's just amazing. Period.

Work hasn't been the only part of my life to change, my home life has also changed drastically. Husband and I bought a house. Yes, a house! It's our first home and I love it. It is a brick ranch style home with three bedrooms and bathrooms, a modest yard, a full basement, and lots of potential. I'm talking about move-in-ready with the potential for change down the road. It isn't really a fixer-uper by any means. But, oh the potential!

The packing and moving process was awful, though this is kind of standard, from what I hear. We learned that we have way too much crap, not stuff, crap. Most of it needed to be thrown out or donated. But, at the end of the day, we have a home. It's ours. It is our safe haven, where we can relax and make our own rules. That might sound childish, but those of you who have spent most of your life living with roommates will understand, especially when you are a couple. I am beyond grateful to have a place to come home to at the end of the day. A place where I can just be with my Husband and mischievous, little cat. It's totally enough for me.

Dearest Kathy.

I always fret over what to title my posts. So, I am just going to write and hope that something comes to me by the time I'm done. If the title ends up being jibberish, you'll know why.

I've been at my job for about three months now and a lot of things have changed. Starting on Monday of next week, I will be the go-to girl. The brilliant lady who trained me, Kathy, is leaving and so everything is essentially passing to me. It's a little nerve wrecking, but I know I'm fully capable of taking on the task. Kathy believes that I'm ready and I know she wouldn't say that unless she truly believed it. That's just the type of person she is.

I've come to love Kathy like family. It may seem odd, since I've only known her for a few months, but she is an amazing woman and that is just the kind of impact she's had on me. I feel as if I've known her my whole life and though I know she needs to embark on a new journey, I will miss her dearly. She's a kindred spirit, the type of person who can walk into a room and make everyone feel loved. She lights up the studio in the morning, every morning, and I will miss that. I consider myself lucky to have spent these past three months with her. She has given me endless amounts of advice and I hope that she will continue to do so. I wish her all the happiness and luck in the world as she takes on life's next challenge. She has made my heart feel light, joyous, and full these past few months. May she feel the same going forward.

Just a sweet little note this morning, as I attempt to return to blogging. Baby steps, so I don't feel pressured or overwhelmed.

Have a lovely and wonderful Friday!

Hello, Friday.

It's Friday, that happy day that comes but once a week, marking the end of the week and the beginning of the weekend. We all rejoice in the weekend's glory, knowing that Monday will come too soon, forcing us back into our usual routines. I mean, there's only so much time to do everything. Most of us are just trying to make the most of our time.

I'd like to say that I long for Friday afternoons, but I don't. Well, not the same way the rest of the world does. Friday isn't very different for me. Sure I appreciate the weekends, like most people. I especially appreciate them when I can simply relax and just spend time with my husband. But that doesn't happen very often. Instead, we spend our weekends tackling all the chores that we can't seem to find time to do during the week.

This weekend will probably prove to be no different. At the very least though, I get to work alongside my husband, while we tackle all the domestic chores. Who knows, perhaps we will find the time to go out to a movie this weekend, just the two of us. There are so many that we've been meaning to see lately.

To the good man, the one I wish I'd known better.

Sometimes, the things that we least expect to happen, actually do happen to us. I lost one of my cousins within this past week. His death was very unexpected. I am sad to say that he chose to take his own life. I wish he hadn't, but I have to accept his choice.

I wish I could say that I knew him well. I wish that we had been closer, but we weren't. I know the kind of pain it would be causing me right now, but I would rather have that pain. Unfortunately, I only have vague memories of him, a select few memories from my childhood. I am especially grateful to have those memories, as I could easily have none. What I remember is a road trip we took, once upon a time. I don't remember when or where, but I remember it happened. I also remember how he used to babysit for me and my little sister. He was the kind of older brother that I would have wanted to have. He was a good man. I didn't make an effort to learn about the kind of person he had become and I will always regret that.

I am proud to say that the service this weekend was lovely. There were so many people that came to honor him. He was loved by many. A few people spoke about him, sharing some of the memories and experiences they'd had with him. I was amazed when my Uncle rose, to chronicle his life, among other things. I got the chance to learn about who he had become and I will be forever grateful for that. 

There was a terrible bout of storms this weekend. These storms began the night before the memorial service and raged on for several days after the service was over. He was there that day, listening to the service, comforting us all, as each of us realized we had to let him go. While I am not particularly spiritual or religious, I truly believe he was there. I could feel it somehow. It is tough to explain, but it's what I felt. Those storms were his doing. It was one of the things I learned about him this weekend, that he loved storms and all that came with them. He could not have picked a better way to communicate with us all. He will be forever linked to storms in my mind.

I met his little girl, Morgan, this weekend. She truly is the spitting image of my cousin. She is beautiful, smart, and definitely from my father's side of the family. I would explain what this means, but it would take too long. It pains me to know that she will never get to know her father firsthand. But I have hope that she will get to know the rest of our family and the kind of person he was.

With everything that happened this weekend, I am most grateful for the time that I spent with my family. Honestly, I wish, with every fiber of my being, that we'd had a happier reason to get together. I mean, there were family members that I had not seen in over ten years. It's sad, because there really isn't a single, good reason for why we all stayed apart for so long. Before everyone went their separate ways this weekend, back to our daily routines, we all vowed to gather once a year, at the beach, in honor of my cousin. I sincerely hope that we can make that happen.

You were loved by so many, dear cousin. I promise to remember the good things, not the bad.

On removing blogging burdens and guilt.

So, over the past year or so, my reasons for blogging have changed. At first, I blogged because I found it cathartic and I usually had something interesting to say. Now, all I feel is the pressure to blog regularly and produce worthwhile content. The thinking behind this being, “I should be the same as a lot of other bloggers out there.” While I would love to have supremely interesting content, content that makes me well known in the blogging community, I do not want to sacrifice my own happiness in the process. That's primarily why I have been absent for so long now. I would like to make a change though, which I have said numerous times, no doubt. If I remove the source of stress, namely, forcing myself to blog, then in theory I might want to blog more often. I do not want to offer up excuse after excuse for why I chose not to blog on a particular day. There is no need for that.

I do not want to call it quits, that is to say, remove my blog. It is a place that offered me great comfort, once upon a time. I plan to try and bring back that feeling of comfort before I call it quits. That is the plan.

The plan may also include watching the Big Bang Theory while I write my posts. That never fails to cheer me up or motivate me to do something.

On a lovely afternoon.

Lately I've been in a bit of a funk. I am not completely sure of how I got there, but suffice to say it has been mildly irritating. Last night though, I finally broke down and had a good, long cry. It always amazes me, how good I feel after I've let go and let myself cry it all out. That probably sounds odd, but it is absolutely true. I am one of those people who bottles their emotions, without even realizing it sometimes, and it always magnifies the feelings later. Magnified feelings = not so great.

But I am happy to state that the funk is gone. Score one for me! I had the loveliest afternoon today. Husband and I spent it in the park, celebrating a close friend's birthday. All that crying must have done some good, because it was wonderful and relaxed. Sometimes I feel like I forget to live in the moment. I love to be in control of everything, especially my emotions, and I will be the first to say that I have the hardest time relinquishing that control. Nick usually has to pry the control out of my fingers, because I totally have my emotions in a death grip. But that's one of the things that I am working on with my Happiness Project.

Speaking of the Happiness Project, I haven't mentioned it in a while. Or my progress for that matter. Needless to say that I have been quite bad about holding myself accountable. I'm working on that too, as you can imagine. It is a very long list and it takes time. But, I do want to share something small. This is just something that I've been taking the time to incorporate into my daily routine, simply because I take pleasure from it.

I love to sing, always have and probably always will. I sang for Nick at our wedding, because I know that he loves when I sing and to say thank you for loving me. It was a little present from me to him. Now, whenever the mood strikes me (and I'm not in public), I whip out my phone and shuffle through a playlist of songs that I love to sing to. It never fails to fill me up with happiness. And the things is, the songs don't have to be entirely upbeat or happy themselves. I am a sucker for lovely lyrics and sometimes, lovely lyrics come in the form of more somber songs. Here is what I've been listening to lately.

What have you been listening to lately? Please do share! I love to discover new music that I can play endlessly, annoying everyone in my household, including the kitten. Just kidding, sort of.

And then I changed my name.

I'm married. Wow, still getting used to saying that. It isn't that it sounds odd, but I've been waiting and dreaming about it for so long that it seems unreal at times. Unreal in the way that I finally get to say, I married the love of my life and hey, "this is my husband." Yeah, I'm having a moment here.

Yesterday I drove all around town, to various government buildings, in order to file the paperwork that's necessary when you want to legally change your last name. I began my morning in the probate courts, where you can not only request a copy of your marriage license, but a firearms license as well. Interesting how those two windows are right next to each other. Nick and I both found that amusing. Anyways, I paid for two official copies of our marriage license, the second being out of paranoia of losing the first. The lady handed me two very official looking documents that she happened to notarize right in front of me with her little magic notary device. It would have been magical if I hadn't walked through a security checkpoint and seen a smile somewhere along the way. From the probate courts, I paid a visit to my local social security office. The people there were oddly friendly, and within the hour, I had my receipt stating that I was now a Mrs. After the social security office, I decided that I might as well just go ahead and drop by the local DMV offices. Bad plan, very bad plan. Not only did I think that I was going to die there waiting in line, I took the world's worst photo for my new license. Seriously. Let's just say that I will be going back, paying the small fee of $15 or $25, and retaking the photo when I don't look like a hobo. Otherwise, I will be forced to hide my license (out of shame) for the next ten years. That's a long time.

I suppose the thing that surprised me the most about my whole journey, was that the process was not as hard as I feared it would be. Actually, with all things considered, it was virtually painless. Each time I walked into a different office, all I wanted to do was to tell everyone (and their mother) that I married the most amazing man on the planet. It's just something that I thought everyone should know, because I am so unbelievably proud to call Nick my husband. And it's odd that our relationship could deepen even more after our wedding, especially since it was so wonderful beforehand, but it has. Being tied to the person you love the most, legally speaking, has an effect on your relationship. I love him more with every passing moment and know that my love will continue to deepen with every day, month, and year that passes.

At some point, I will have some wedding photos to share with you all. Our photographers said that it usually takes about 2 or 3 weeks to process through everything, but I'm hoping I hear from them sooner rather than later. I am literally bouncing in my chair with anticipation.

SIDE NOTE: As a side note, I would like to draw some attention to the little badge sitting in my sidebar, on the right-hand side of the screen. (look to your right, below the blurb about me). I recently submitted a design for the annual Minted T-Shirt Challenge and would love for you to go vote. Of course, I would love you to vote for me, but please pick YOUR actual favorite. May the odds be forever in the best designers favor, as we might say if we actually lived in the world of the Hunger Games. Can you tell that I am excited to see the film?

Savoring those little moments.

Yesterday was a bit rough. I still wasn't feeling well and that meant I was not able to be as productive as I would have liked. Today I feel better, happier and even more motivated to finish a couple of the tasks I began before I started to feel sick. For instance, this morning I plan to finish tackling the guest room filled with all of my useless crap. Seriously, there are plastic containers in there just filled with things that I will never use. So, I will finish going through each container and make a donation pile. Nick is going to have to help me with the donation though. There's a lot to donate. But I'm feeling very good about it.

Last night was a little rough, but Nick and I managed to finish a few more wedding tasks and were able to cross them off our to-do list. That made the day seem a little better. And I tell you what, crossing items off a to-do list can be oh-so satisfying. Furthermore, I am pleased to announce that we have officially booked our honeymoon to Asheville. I may have talked about this before, but we decided to visit a place that was special to us, since we are on a tight budget for the wedding. I'm quite excited about going back to Asheville. We will get to visit our favorite spots and hopefully discover a little more this time. It isn't a luscious, tropical vacation like most honeymoons usually are, but after we've saved some money, we will do plan to go somewhere more tropical. It was our compromise for the time being and a good one at that.

So, I talked about my adventures in the bookstore in my last few posts and I have confession to make. Well, a confession of sorts. I am a sucker for journals and notebooks. Who isn't though? They are just so lovely and inviting, just waiting for you to fill their blank pages with words of wisdom and special moments. Ok, I'm exaggerating a bit. As usual though, I browsed the selection at the bookstore, where the best ones seem to be these days, and came across a journal about gratitude. It's one of those daily journals with prompts (total suck for prompts, right here). It intrigued me, so I picked it up and read through a few of them. The prompts weren't mind-blowing or earth-shattering, but there was something to the idea of expressing what you are grateful for each day. It makes you reflect on your day and the good moments. For instance, the last one I reflected on was about savoring the little moments in your day. Those few extra moments you spend in the shower, sipping your coffee a little more slowly, or lingering in the car to finish singing along with one of your favorite songs (which I do a lot). Needless to say, I bought the journal. Each night I've tried to make a habit of writing in it. It seems to calm me down and let me release the bad moments from my day, in addition to relieving a little stress about tasks that still need to be done. I mention the journal and the prompts because you will most likely hear about them in the future. I'm bound to want to share all of the really good ones with all of you.

I've been reading a little slowly, I admit it. I tend to read about a chapter a day from the Happiness Project, not because I can't read more than that, but I like to really reflect upon each discovery that Gretchen makes. Yesterday was about the novelty of a new activity or purchase, as well as happiness as it relates to work. In order to feel happier, some of us feel the need to buy things. This seems to help in the short-term, but long-term it only makes you feel worse. I mean you are left with less money, a pile of things you didn't actually need, and a soon-to-be-spouse who is less than thrilled about the bedspread you picked out. I've experienced this first hand and it's one of the reasons that I've chosen to de-clutter my life and hold myself more accountable for the things that I purchase. It makes me reflect on the things that I would really want to have (mostly books, food or new music), especially since Nick and I are on a tight budget as soon-to-be newlyweds. I ask myself, "do I really need this?" It doesn't always work as well as I intend for it to, but it does help. Determining what you value most seems to be a recurring theme for my happiness project. Does that mean I've reached a truth, much like Gretchen did in the second chapter? I'm not sure, but the novelty of this project hasn't worn off yet and actually seems to be working, even though I've only just begun.

Work. Hmm, how do I approach this subject? It's a tough one for me because I don't currently have a full-time job. Gretchen talks about the importance of loving what you do and the idea of personal or professional growth. We love to tackle challenges and get upset when we become complacent in a job. She thinks this stems from the fact that we are no longer growing when we become comfortable. I don't know about you, but I do love to be challenged. But I kind of wish that she had applied this in the broader sense, because I believe this applies to the unemployed as well. I am thrilled to be able to spend my time as I see fit during the day, but at the same time I miss having a daily routine or regimen, which often comes with having a job. So it's like being caught in this little whirlpool of not knowing how to feel. I've applied for so many jobs that I've lost count at this point. I have also had a few interviews, but none of them have resulted in an actual job. That's a daunting and depressing realization right there. Just last night, I found out that I wasn't selected for a job that I really wanted. It was disheartening to say the least. I was over-qualified for the position, which I was aware of, and the employer thought I would leave after just a short period of time. It's not what I would have done, but I understand the employer not wanting to take that risk, not really knowing me very well. It forced me to dust my shoulders off and begin the search once more. Just one more task that needs to be done, but I'm hoping I find the right job when the time comes. This could simply be a lesson in not settling.

Learning to set goals.

As I read through the introduction of the Happiness Project, I came to realize something. Setting goals for yourself is important. Not just long term goals, but short term ones as well. I have been very focused on my long term goals over the years, but not my short term goals. Why is this? Short term goals are just as important as their counterparts. In fact, for me, they might be even more important. I struggle with long term goals, mostly because of the fact that it takes time to see the results of your labor. I feel as if short term goals go unnoticed. They are virtually invisible because I don't give enough credence to them in the first place. Accomplishing the simple tasks of everyday life does in fact take effort. I know that in my case, doing the laundry and making sure I fold it afterwards, is a serious task. I hate to fold the laundry. But at the same time, I hate to see it sit in the basket and I curse like a sailor when I cannot locate a particular item.

So, one of the first goals I plan to set for myself, as I continue to read, is to make short term goals. Little goals or tasks for each week that will help me build that sense of accomplishment, especially while I'm job hunting. That in itself is emotionally draining. Over time, I'm hoping that repeating these tasks and getting into the routine of doing them will make them less taxing. Because at this point, that's exactly what each one feels like, leaving me less inclined to do the next task at hand.

Seems appropriate to start small. In essence, these are the types of daily tasks that just grow slowly until they become too overwhelming for me to handle. For example, the first item is washing out my coffee cup. If I am not active in doing this, I eventually get a crowd of coffee cups on the table - as if the table is hosting a small porcelain party to which I am not invited. Who wouldn't be sad after not being invited to a party? Truth be told, I realize that none of these tasks are earth shattering or life changing, but when lumped together I imagine they can and do make a impact on my mood each day. That's what I want to change.

Before I bid everyone goodnight, I would like to invite all of you to join in on my little happiness project. Or perhaps you are in need of your own happiness project? Whatever the reason, feel free to join in on the comments and write your own posts as I go along. The journey is bound to be different for each of us, but I welcome you to share. Let's build a little community, shall we?

Adventures in the bookstore.

Wow, January? Seriously? Ok, I can work with that.

I want to tell you all about the past several weeks, how everything has been so busy and out of control. But, that tends me send me into a not so happy place, so let's not talk about all that right now. Instead I want to talk about books. Yes, those crisp, aromatic pages that send me into a place of ultimate comfort. Too much?

The book I want to talk about is called the Happiness Project. Heard of it? I found it on a self-help table in my local bookstore. The cover intrigued me, as did the title. So, I picked it up and read the back cover. You know, after I had stared at the front for a little while, but that's not the point here. The book chronicles the author's quest to be happier and find her ultimate sources of happiness. Sounds helpful, right? As I stood there staring at the book, I tried to be honest with myself. I could certainly use a little help in learning to be happier. I mean, things have been a little rough lately. What did I do next? I bought the book, of course.

While I was in the bookstore, I did venture over to the self-help section. I started to peruse the various titles, some of which were quite amusing. However, what I was looking was a book on mindfulness. Essentially, you learn how you process your thoughts, find your inner balance, and be mindful of the way that you view the rest of the world. Sounds a little hippie, doesn't it? I know. But I know someone who has been working through the process and she feels like it actually works. Learning to process my thoughts differently could be good. It's something that I struggle with on a daily basis now. But it's kind of funny, while I was in the self-help section, I thought for sure that I would feel self-conscious of myself. For instance, people would stare and wonder why I needed self-help or if there was something wrong with me. Those are the kinds of thoughts that are irrational and only inflict pain on me. Or so they tell you in learning to be mindful. So I plan to give it a shot. I don't really have anything to lose. If it works, I plan to share it. Maybe it will help others who are on their own journey to being happier in life. Who knows? The future is uncertain.

And with that I'm going to go enjoy some piping hot pancakes with some of my favorite people. We decided that going to iHop this morning would be fun. In fact, I think I dreamt about it last night. It has been so long since I've been there! I promise that there was no drool though. Scout's honor.