gratitude

Friday Five Things 10/29

~ kofriedery ~ Leave a comment

“Happiness never decreases by being shared.” – Gautama Buddha

This was one of those weeks that I can’t categorize as wholly “good” or “bad” because it was full of ups and downs. I have been making myself get out of the house more often and be social which has been great, but it creates a sharper contrast of how alone I really am most of the time. I am also acutely feeling the changing of the seasons and getting nervous about not being able to spend as much time outside this winter, so I just need to be intentional about it, right? Anyway…there were still some very bright spots to my week despite the sun going down so early.

  1. New window seat for cats. If you have pets, you know the feeling of buying something you are sure they are going to love, only for them to fully ignore it and never use it. Both of our cats love sitting in the window, but our window sills aren’t very wide. So I saw a cat bed that is basically an extension of the window sill. I bought it and for almost a week the cats were leaping over it to get to the tiny portion of the original window sill that was still exposed. So I figured it was a failure. Then all of a sudden this week Buzz has figured out that if he uses the new window seat he can lay down and look out the window. So now he spends a couple hours in the morning and evenings enjoying his new spot. As I type this he is just taking a little snooze there and it makes me so happy!
  2. Writing coach. A couple months ago at a silent auction I bid on a session with a writing coach and I won it. So this week I actually met with her and she was encouraging, insightful, and delightful. She gave me some great tips to overcome some mental challenges I’ve been having and it was also great just talking with another writer for a bit. I probably can’t afford to meet with her super regularly, but hoping to get a few more one-on-one sessions as I continue working through my first draft.
  3. Walks with Bama. Every day Bama and I walk for at least 1 mile around the neighborhood. I haven’t been hiking much recently, but these walks definitely fill that same need I have for daily movement and spending time outside. We skipped our walk on Wednesday because Bama wasn’t feeling well and we were both up quite a bit the night before. And while she snoozed on the couch, I decided not to go for a walk by myself because it was really windy. Man! I didn’t realize how important those walks are for my mental well being until I skipped that one and just felt off all day. So Thursday I made it a priority to go and I’m hoping we can (mostly) keep up the practice for the rest of the fall and into the winter months.
  4. Cozy socks. Something happened over the last couple years and I feel like all my friends started getting into cozy socks in their late-thirties, myself included. Tall thick warm socks that you can pull up over the cuff of your sweatpants or leggings. It’s not terribly fashionable, but man it’s comfy. I treated myself to a six pack of really soft ones from Costco recently and I wore the heck out of them this past week as it’s been chilly in the mornings. It’s like we’re all turning into Dumbledore (IYKYK).
  5. Hunger Games movies. Even though there are a million and two new shows and movies on my To Watch list, this week I decided to start the Hunger Games movies even though I’ve already seen them at least a couple times each. I kind of had forgotten how good they are! Very much enjoying the rewatch.

Friday Five Things 10/22

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“All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” – J.R.R. Tolkien

This week hasn’t felt very productive and that makes me antsy. But this morning I read an instagram post from a friend who wrote that when she starts feeling like her worth is tied to her work, she steps back and re-states her personal definition of success. After doing that for myself I realized that while I haven’t felt “productive,” I have actually had a really successful week. And here’s why…

  1. Visiting with a close friend. Over the summer, a friend and I would take weekly walks on Monday mornings. We had to stop when she went back to work (she’s a teacher). So I see her less frequently now and we have to be intentional about scheduling time. Last night I was able to go to her house and just sit and chat for a couple hours. It was lovely.
  2. Snuggling with my pets. With the weather getting colder, everyone in the house is feeling a lot snugglier than usual. So pretty much any time I sit on the couch I end up with a dog next to me or a cat in my lap. Loving these little beasts and having them love me in return feels like I’m doing life right.
  3. Writing. At this point it is very unlikely that I will hit my goal of 90,000 words written by the end of the year, which feels like a failure. However, I’ve recently been going back and rewriting parts of the beginning of the book that are more in line with where I see things going and it’s making my writing sessions much more successful in terms of creative flow. In this case, letting go of my quantitative goal is leading to better quality.
  4. Morning routine. While I might never have two mornings that look exactly the same, this week I’ve been able to get the each of following things done every morning – meditate, journal, eat breakfast, walk the dog, shower, get dressed. Sometimes I also write in the morning, one day I had a doctor’s appt, and some mornings I linger a little longer on the couch with my second cup of coffee. So my routine is less a rigid timeline and more a series of activities that make me feel grounded and ready for the rest of the day.
  5. Boring adult stuff. The past couple weeks I done a few things that aren’t really the “spark joy” kinds of activities but that I know are going to benefit me long term. Last week I got a root canal on a damaged front tooth that has been discolored for many years. They did internal bleaching and now it looks like nothing every happened! Don’t know why I didn’t do it years ago but glad to have it done now. I also did some work to consolidate some old retirement and HSA accounts. Very excited to have it all in one place and not have to use the Forgot Username/Password button on multiple sites to keep track of things! And last but not least…after a few months of our trash can lid being broken, I finally ordered a new one and it’s getting swapped out today! Woohoo!

Friday Five Things 10/8

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“Our heads are round so thought can change direction.” – Francis Picabia

It was a pretty good week here! Fall feels in full swing here, I’ve had to wear a jacket or vest for my morning walks with Bama and the leaves are changing in our neighborhood. Some neighbors have put out elaborate Halloween decorations and Bama tends to give those houses a very wide berth. Hope you are all having a good October so far!

  1. Rewrites on my novel. My original plan was to finish a complete first draft before I went back to the beginning to make changes, but I was stalling out on how to finish up the story because I changed my mind about a few key things in the plot. So instead of continuing to write forward, I went back and started rewrites already. And I’m so glad I adjusted my plan! Making these changes is really sparking creativity about the story and I’m having a lot of fun writing right now.
  2. Virgin River. Okay, so I’m late to the party on this one. A lot of people I know watched it at the beginning of the pandemic shut down. But I finally decided to give it a shot! If you don’t know, it’s a drama/soapy-type show on Netflix. It’s set in a small town in northern California and full of all the small town characters tropes you would expect. The cranky older doctor, the handsome but troubled bar owner, the gossipy town matriarch, and, of course, the new girl in town. Here’s the deal, it’s not a good show. Like, objectively it isn’t great writing, great acting, anything like that. But it’s so easy to watch especially if you are doing something else like folding clothes, cooking, or doing a puzzle. It’s the same kind of mom-watching-All-My-Children-while-ironing vibes that a lot of us grew up with.
  3. Disney planning. We are going to Disney World in the spring and I am so excited! I am one of those people who loves researching and planning ahead of a trip almost as much as I enjoy going on the actual vacation. I’ve been following Disney Instagrammers, watching YouTube videos, and reading blogs so we can make the best of our time in the most magical place on earth!
  4. Being social. I met up with a couple friends on Tuesday to grab margaritas and Mexican food. We had a lot of fun chatting and laughing and catching up. I’ve been making a concerted effort to get out of the house and be more social. It always seems daunting to me at first but I always have so much fun.
  5. Soup season! I really love soup and would make it year round, but our kitchen gets so warm with the stove on for awhile so I usually skip the homemade soup in the summer. Now that the evenings are getting cooler, I’m back to soup making! I made a delicious butternut squash soup the other day (kinda followed this recipe but included carrots and added a little heavy cream at the end.) I had enough for two nights of dinner and then some, so I froze it in our big ice cube tray (like this). If what we had didn’t work well enough, I would get some of these souper cubes. Makes freezing thawing the right portion so much easier!

Friday Five Things 10/1

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“I make a point to appreciate all the little things in my life. I go out and smell the air after a good, hard rain. These small actions help remind me that there are so many great, glorious pieces of good in the world.” – Dolly Parton

Happy October everyone! Some of us are getting excited about Halloween, others are already planning and decorating for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and others are just plain happy to be done with the hot hot weather (that’s me 🙋‍♀️). I hope whatever it is about this time of year that brings you joy, that you receive it in abundance.

  1. Propagating houseplants. This week I did a bit of pruning on some of my houseplants and I now have a whole little army of cuttings that I’m attempting to propagate. Most likely, not all of them will take to it. But if I get one or two out of the bunch I’ll be happy! I never ever thought I’d turn into such a plant lady, but here I am!
  2. Mums. Speaking of being a plant lady, I bought mums this week! We were at Home Depot for a few other things and I saw they had some really healthy looking mums and I couldn’t resist. I bought two HUGE planters of multicolored mums and I am so excited for them to bloom! It also prompted me to finally get rid of my summer hanging baskets that have been dead for a few weeks.
  3. Writing desk. We have a room in the house that somewhat functions as an office. I mean, it has a desk, a printer, and some file cabinets. But it’s also where the snake and lizard live…so it’s hot with their heat lamps on. And it’s cut off from the rest of the house. It was great when I was working full time and on conference calls constantly because I could shut the door. But now that I’m doing something different, I like to work in our more open living area. After a year of sitting on the couch to write, I decided last week to get a small desk. Tyler helped me pick one out that would look good and wouldn’t be too large and clunky in the space. Target was having a sale on desks and then we found the perfect chairs at our local Habitat for Humanity Restore. Altogether I spent less than $150 for a desk and two chairs! I’m really pleased with my new setup and I’ve spent a few hours sitting here every day since it put it together. Here’s the desk (though not on sale anymore). It was pretty straightforward assembly and it feels really sturdy, but doesn’t take up too much space in the room.
  4. Crossword puzzles. This week I signed up for a free trial of the New York Times crossword puzzle app and I’ve been having a great time doing puzzles in my spare time. In fact, I’ve stayed up way too late on a couple of nights working on a crossword! I don’t think I’m going to pay for the full trial just because the NYT puzzles are pretty difficult for me still. So I’ll probably buy a book at the store to get back into the practice of doing them regularly at a more beginner/intermediate level to start. I do not consider myself competitive with other people at all, but I am super competitive with myself when it comes to trivia or puzzles of any kind, if that makes sense. I feel so accomplished when I’m able to get an answer quickly!
  5. Autumn! I mentioned it earlier, but I love this season so much. The end of summer kind of drags on for me a bit and I don’t like really hot weather. So as soon as things start to cool down my mood gets such a big boost. And my energy levels too! It doesn’t last forever, I know, but I love the leaves changing and pumpkins everywhere and pulling out my favorite sweaters and scarves. Cozy season for sure!

Friday Five Things 9/24

~ kofriedery ~ Leave a comment

“Not what we have but what we enjoy constitutes our abundance.” – Jean Antoine Petit-Senn

First of all, this has been one of those weeks where I’ve lost track of what day it is…pretty much every day. I only knew today because my phone alarm went off to remind me to take the trash out to the curb for pickup! Anyway, it’s been a pretty good week and, like usual, I’m happy to be here sharing my thoughts with you.

  1. Freedom to adjust priorities. If there was a theme to this week it would be adjusting priorities. I’ve had a lot of things come up that have gotten in the way of my writing or my gardening or any number of other things on my weekly to-do list. But I remember someone once making the comment that we should change our perspectives from “I don’t have time to do xyz” to “Xyz isn’t a priority for me right now.” And to see how that feels. For example, this week writing has not been a priority and I’m okay with that. This month putting money into the “vacation” bucket hasn’t been a priority because of various other things and I’m okay with that. What doesn’t feel okay is to say that my health isn’t a priority. Or my family isn’t a priority. Or taking care of my animals isn’t a priority. So things had to adjust and rearrange this week and guess what…probably next week my priorities will look a little different!
  2. Getting outside every day. Speaking of priorities! I did not make getting outside every day a priority in August and I think I suffered for it. While I haven’t been able to hike as much recently as I’d prefer, I have been taking the dog on daily walks around the neighborhood and I think we are both benefiting from the routine of it. Getting outside before I dive into whatever else needs to be done helps me clear my mind and start things off on the right foot.
  3. Meditation. Something else that I decided to make a priority this week was doing short little meditations when I started to feel like things were going off the rails. Anywhere from two to five minutes of focusing on my breathing and clearing my mind. I do a visualization of a big black hole in front of me and any thought that comes into my mind while I’m meditating gets thrown into the black hole. Need to put away laundry? Not now, into the black hole it goes. Worried that I had too much sugar last night? Who cares, into the black hole. Getting overwhelmed with my ambitious writing goals? BLACK HOLE IT!!!! Somehow it just works for me, once something goes into the black hole it doesn’t come back until the meditation is finished. Also, I’m always amazed at how many thoughts can pop into my head in the span of two minutes!!
  4. Tackling home projects. Today I installed a new utility sink in our laundry room all by myself! Well…Tyler helped me troubleshoot an issue and even ran out to the hardware store to grab the right connection to solve the problem. But I was the one who put everything together from assembling to sink to connecting the water and the drain. I plumbed! I also understand why plumbers charge so much money! But I did it and now I have a functioning sink. Which (hopefully means) no more handwashing large items in the bathtub. Or rinsing out paint brushes in my bathroom! Love that accomplished feeling!
  5. Matt Amodio. If you watch Jeopardy, you know that Matt is having an awesome run of it right now! I don’t know what it is, but I’m enjoying watching him so much. He seems really humble and down to earth. I also feel like he is genuinely surprised and delighted each time he wins. Go Matt Go!!

Friday Five Things 9/17

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“Don’t wait. The time will never be just right.” – Napoleon Hill

Last night I learned that an old coworker and dear friend died this week after a long battle with cancer. She was the kindest and sweetest soul, but could also be incredibly feisty. I learned a lot about what it means to set personal boundaries and advocate for myself at work from her. I hadn’t seen her or spoken to her in a few years but I miss her like it was just yesterday that we were having dinner together. Squeeze your loved ones tight and remind them you love them. And in the midst of it all, don’t forget to find joy also.

  1. Drinks with a friend. This week I was running errands south of Denver and decided to see if a friend was available to grab a drink. Then what started as a planned one hour happy hour turned into almost four hours of sharing, reminiscing, and laughing. It was very much needed for my sanity! I spend most of my time alone at home talking to the cats and dog, so it was good to be around people.
  2. Applying for jobs. I have been thinking about getting back to work part-time for a few months and this week I finally pulled the trigger on applying to a couple! TBD if anything works out, but it feels good to be acting on it. Would love to start working with people and feeling like I’m contributing to society again.
  3. Cooler weather. It’s finally feeling (a little bit) like fall! The afternoons are still pretty hot, but the mornings are cool enough to wear a jacket. This morning I had an early appointment for my car and I had to pull a fleece on over my t-shirt! No leaves changing around me yet, but I think next week I’ll get some mums for my front stoop.
  4. Football! I know I mentioned going to a college football game a couple weeks ago, but I’m also so happy that now my Saturdays and Sundays are full of the familiar sounds of football on the tv. It’s rare that I sit still and just watch a whole game, but I love having it on in the background while I’m writing or cleaning or cooking. It’s a cozy and comforting sound to me.
  5. Booksmart. I know I’m a couple years late to the party on this one, but I recently watched the movie Booksmart and omg, I loved it. It is rated R with a lot of F-bombs and sex-references and drug use…but it was really a heartwarming movie about two best friends just trying to have fun and support each other! The premise is that these two girls only focused on schoolwork and didn’t have any “fun” but then they realize they could have been doing both and try to cram four years worth of fun into the night before high school graduation. It was really reminiscent of Can’t Hardly Wait in a way. I laughed, I cringed, and I cried.

Friday Five Things 9/10

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“Courage is very important. Like a muscle, it is strengthened by use.” – Ruth Gordon

Summer is not leaving without a fight here in Colorado! Last year at this time we were getting snow and this year we are getting temps in the 90s. Hopefully things get more fall-like soon…I’m ready for mums and pumpkins! Although, I finally decided not to spend money on pumpkins for my porch this year because every year the squirrels make quick work of destroying them. Anyway, hope everyone is having a wonderful September so far, wherever you are!

  1. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Tyler and I went to see this movie earlier this week and WOW it completely exceeded my already high expectations. It was such a great mix of a classic superhero movie and a classic martial arts movie, with lots of fun supernatural elements thrown in. I loved the story, loved the characters, and just had a lot of fun watching the movie. Side note: with our schedules we were able to go early afternoon on a Tuesday so the theater was practically empty. I think there were five other people there? I’m not sure I would have felt comfortable going to the theater during normal busy hours and being in a crowded room with stranger for a couple hours…
  2. Peanut Butter M&Ms. I don’t have candy very often, if I’m going to have a sweet treat it’s more likely to be ice cream or cookies. But Tyler picked up some candy for the movie and guys…I had forgotten how good those little suckers are! You know how sometimes when you haven’t had something for awhile it doesn’t quite live up to your memory of how good it was? Not the case with peanut butter m&ms. Seriously. Brought so much joy to my mouth.
  3. Hiking! Bama and I got back on the hiking train this week! After basically not hiking at all during August due to the heat and smoky air, we loaded up and drove a bit into the mountains to find a nice shady trail on Wednesday. It was about 3 miles round trip, which is a little longer than Bama prefers to hike with me, but she did it without too much struggle. I’ll probably leave her at home and try for something slightly longer next week, but so glad to have a few miles under my belt already this month.
  4. Long overdue dentist appointment. No, going to the dentist does not bring me joy. However, finally checking off “go to the dentist” from my to do list does! Like many others I’ve talked to, the dentist was one of the first regular doctors appointments to get bumped to the bottom of the list during the pandemic. In the early days, the office was closed. Then they opened, but the thought of going somewhere to sit with my mouth wide open for an hour sounded…risky. And then eventually I just started avoiding it because it had been so long and I knew it wasn’t going to be an easy appointment. Yesterday morning I sat down to journal and wrote down “Things are not as scary in real life as they are in my head.” And then I repeated that to myself a few times while I was getting my teeth looked at. And you know what? It’s true! It wasn’t a perfect appointment, I have to go back in a few months to get some things checked out and worked on, but nothing major that can’t be fixed. Not as scary in real life as it was in my head.
  5. Finished my Late-Summer Cleaning list. After chipping away at a it for a few weeks, I finished everything that was on my deep cleaning list for the house! Of course, between the two cats and the dog they are doing their best to undo my hard work, but the house really does feel cleaner and brighter.

Friday Five Things 9/3

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“The world always seems brighter when you’ve just made something that wasn’t there before.” -Neil Gaiman

Sometimes I think of myself as not very artistic. Like, only someone who makes visual art is truly creative. But then I remember this quote from Neil Gaiman and remember that every time I sit down and write, I’m making something that wasn’t there before. And it does make the world feel a little brighter when I’m done.

  1. It’s finally September! I am so glad that August is in the rear view mirror and we are marching on towards autumn! While chatting with a friend this week I commented how January, February, and August are always so difficult for me. I think it’s because while January and February are often too cold for me to spend significant time outside…August is usually too hot! So I am very much looking forward to the cooler weather on the horizon.
  2. The ability to rest when needed. Earlier this year I had my first episode of vertigo. It was scary and unexpected and frustrating. Earlier this week I had a second episode. Let me tell you, there is nothing fun about waking up and rolling over as usual, only for the world to start spinning uncontrollably. Luckily this time I understood what was happening and what would help me. I also gave myself permission to rest and recover. While I haven’t had any spinning the past couple days, I still haven’t felt 100% stable yet. So I’m continuing to take it easy as needed, even if it means delaying the completion of my deep cleaning this week! But I figure bending over to wipe down all my baseboards isn’t the best activity for my equilibrium.
  3. DIY Haircut. Okay, hear me out. I’ve been giving myself at home haircuts for the past year, just a couple inches or less every few months. And because I wear my hair curly it isn’t the end of the world if things are completely even. But I feel like I really nailed it this week! So I’m happy to look a little less scraggly and frizzy.
  4. Mike Richard ousted as Jeopardy EP. A few weeks ago I mentioned being happy that Mike Richards had stepped down from the role of the new host of Jeopardy. But I had resigned myself to the fact that he would remain executive producer, especially after hearing the Sony execs planned to send him to sensitivity training. It seemed like such a dated and disappointing move that I figured they wouldn’t be swayed further. BUT THEN this week they straight up fired him from his job. Guys, it is so gratifying as a Jeopardy fan to see Sony take it seriously that this guy has damaged their credibility. And it is so gratifying as a woman who has experienced blatant misogyny in the workplace to see someone truly be held accountable for their toxic behavior. I truly think Jeopardy will be better for it.
  5. Finding the right thing at the right price. While I’ve been trying to buy less and spend less, there are a few house projects that are still on the table for purchases. One of these is making our laundry room more functional. After we moved in, we took out the utility sink to reseal the floor in the laundry/utility/mud room. Then it just never made it back inside. And then I got a standing drying rack that took up the space where the sink used to be, but I really only ever use the top part of the drying rack. Anyway…I reorganized the laundry room a couple weeks ago and decided I want to get a new utility sink which means I needed a new drying rack solution. This week at Costco I found the perfect little rack/shelf with hooks underneath it! It was less than $15 and will fit perfectly over the space where the sink will go. Now we just need to find the right sink at the right price…

Friday Five Things 8/27

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“Happiness is not a goal; it is a by-product.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

I think recently I’ve been making happiness my goal. And this week something shifted that allowed me to let that go and focus on other things, which has actually brought about happiness as a by-product. So I guess my encouragement is that if you are striving after feeling happy, let it go for a bit. Focus on other things that take your time and focus. See if happiness shows up along the way.

  1. A little break from the smoky air. Weather patterns have changed over the last week and we had several days of wind which brought some relief to the bad air quality around here. From what I’ve seen, the smoke will return shortly. But it’s been nice to have a break. I’ve been able to spend time outside without feeling it in my lungs!
  2. A garden that keeps giving. Some how, despite the heat and smoke and wind we’ve been having, my outdoor plants are still thriving and producing! I even got to harvest my first cucumber this week! I’ve been able to shop my yard for tomatoes, zucchini, kale and herbs all month and so far it isn’t showing signs of slowing.
  3. This recipe. Making these zucchini fritters will help use up any squash your garden might still be churning out, like mine is! I think it would work just as well with yellow summer squash as it does for zucchini. I made these and ate them with some tzatziki sauce. They would be great for a very light dinner, otherwise I’d serve them as a side to some grilled salmon.
  4. 40,000 words written. I just crossed 40,000 words written in my novel manuscript! For reference, that’s probably about 150 pages of a typical novel. My goal is 90,000 words by the end of the year and now that I’m past 40,000 it feels so doable! I’d love to be able to finish my first draft by mid-December, take a break for the holidays, and then hit the ground running with editing in January!
  5. Exercise and movement. I pretty much stopped working out in August. It wasn’t intentional but the weather started to get too hot for hikes. And the dog only wanted to go for short walks. And the air was so smoky I didn’t want to spend much time outside. And there was so much other stuff to do! So it just eventually stopped being a priority. And then I stopped putting it on my daily list of things to do. But this week I’m making more of an effort to get outside and move my body for at least 15 minutes every day. So far so good and it feels great!

Friday Five Things 8/20

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“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.” – Soren Kierkegaard

Getting this out a little late this week, but better late than never. Last night I had the privilege of attending a fundraiser gala and the featured speaker was Eric Weihenmayer who is the first blind man to summit Everest. His story has always been inspiring to me and it was incredible to listen to him speak in person. He infused that room with encouragement and motivation about how change is difficult and full of struggle, but the end is worth it. We also each got a copy of is new book and I’m excited to read it soon and report on it here!

  1. Encouragement and motivation. In addition to getting inspired from the talk last night, I’ve been feeling very encouraged and motivated in my writing recently from people I’ve been talking with. I’ll be honest, sometimes I feel embarrassed to tell people that I quit my job to write a book. Like, I’m not worth as much to the world because I’m not working. Or that I don’t deserve to not be working full time because I don’t have kids to take care of. But when I’ve told people what I’m doing, the response has been overwhelmingly positive. Most commonly people tell me that they are excited for me and that they can’t wait to read my novel. I think it’s easy for me to get stuck inside my head with what I assume people’s expectations are of me. When I actually get out and talk to people I realize that there are no expectations really. And that most people will celebrate the fact that someone they care about is happy and pursuing their dreams.
  2. Late-summer cleaning. I’ll be honest, Tyler and I are not clean freaks by any stretch of the imagination. I guess that’s a good thing, given we have two cats and a dog running the house. I do my best on a daily and weekly basis to mostly keep a handle on the dirt, but it still builds up. I’ve also never been super into spring cleaning. I get the idea, after being cooped up in your house all winter you want to freshen things up. My problem is that in the spring…I don’t want to spend my time inside cleaning! But when it’s unbearably hot outside in mid-August? I’ll happily spend my days inside wiping down baseboards and cleaning out closets! To me this is a perfect example of managing time vs. managing energy. To keep me inside in the spring just to fit into the pattern of spring cleaning would completely zap my motivation. But a late-summer cleaning is the right match for me!
  3. Empathetic pets. Earlier in the week I was watching an episode of a tv show that just hit my emotions hard and I started crying. All of a sudden I was surrounded by my sweet sympathetic animals who just wanted to make sure I was okay. One of the cats ran over to me and snuggled up next to me and the dog started nosing my arms out of the way so she could get to my face. Of course this ended with the dog trying to scare the cat off, assuming in her mind that the cat was making me cry. So it all ended in laughter but it was such a sweet moment with them.
  4. This quick and easy dinner recipe. It was so easy to make, it’s relatively healthy, and it was SO YUMMY! I highly recommend for a weeknight dinner.
  5. Jeopardy drama. I was THRILLED to see that Mike Richards decided to step down from being the new host of Jeopardy. The things that some journalists uncovered about him were so problematic. It was pushing me towards not wanting to watch the show anymore if he was going to be the host. I think there were a lot of other fans who felt the same way and Sony felt that pressure. Not happy that he’s staying on a executive producer…but I guess you take what you can get. On the edge of my seat to see who they end up selecting now!