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  • November 30, 1999

Archives For November 30, 1999

Blissfully aware

September 5, 2012

It’s good to recognize what makes you happy. Happy people experience lows in life just like everyone else; they just don’t remain in the valleys for too long. To steal a quote from the Brave Girls Club, “Life is absolutely meant to be enjoyed, not just endured.”

We all must endure hardship…such is life. We must also recognize when life is good and soak up every ounce of it.

I am sitting at one of my son’s baseball practices and it’s an absolutely beautiful evening. There’s no time like the present to start a new series about how I am blissfully aware of so much good around and inside of me. So here’s my first installment of what contributes to my happiness:

1. My dog rocks. She’s a crazy ol’ lady whose sole purpose in life is to make me smile.

2. My husband is a good coach and mentor to our boys and their friends. I have known my husband since high school and I remember how much fun it was to watch him play basketball. Now I get to see him transfer his love of the game to his sons.

3. I love to learn. Starting a new job earlier this summer reminded me that I am happiest when I am challenged and introduced to new people and new ideas.

4. As much as I love meeting new people, I value my tried and true friends even more. One of the best perks of every week is getting to sit next to my BFF and pretend we’re legit radio personalities on the Pat&JT Show. Total strangers are actually starting to recognize my voice outside of the studio and that’s awesome.

5. Freaking Panera. I don’t know if there’s a more perfect place on earth.

6. The joy I experience when I feel like I am making a positive impact on others. I hope my actions speak as loudly as my words when it comes to parenting my kids. I hope I always treat people the way they should be treated…not because I am being judged by others, but because I judge myself.

7. The feeling I get after a great workout is second to none. (Well, technically, eating super bad food feels pretty damn amazing too. Not gonna lie.)

8. I love this quote: “Don’t wait for inspiration or passion to find you. Climb the mountain not to plant your flag, but to embrace the challenge, enjoy the air, and behold the view. Climb it so you can see the world, not so the world can see you.” – Taken from You Are Not Special Commencement by David McCullough Jr. 

OK, your turn. What are you blissfully aware of these days?

In Awareness, Family, Friendship, Inspiration, Just for Fun, Reflection, Running, Strength , , , , ,
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Seven facts about myself

August 19, 2012

Taking a cue from one of my favorite bloggers, Kate from 365til30.com, I’ve accepted the challenge, “share seven unknown facts about yourself.” Enjoy the randomness of my bean spilling below and then repay me by sharing your list.

1. I am a borderline trypophobic. No idea what trypophobia is? Neither did I until I searched “pattern phobia” on Google and viewed pictures that made my skin crawl. My cousins and I have talked about our shared squeamishness for clustered patterns. An image of bees crawling out of honeycomb gives us the dry heaves. Then there’s crap like this…

…I can’t explain it. If you can look at this photo and have absolutely no reaction, then congratulations for not being a freak. If the above image deeply disturbs you, well, welcome to my world.

2. I check my purse at least twice before I lock my van. Even when I am absolutely positive I have my keys in there, I still feel compelled to double-check. I have only locked my keys in the inside of an automobile once in my life. I also unbuckle my seat belt before coming to a complete stop when parking my car. If I’m lucky, that saves me two seconds in my day. Weird, right?

3. I get teary eyed every time I see a baby being born or any athlete (at any age) making a huge play.

4. I often trap flies in my house and then take them outside to release them.

5. I don’t miss my children being babies one bit. I secretly feel like that makes me an awful mom. But I don’t care. Parenting is a lot easier when children can sleep through the night and control their bowel movements.

6. I have grown to distrust the medical community. My grandmother passed away in a nursing home due to negligence. I had a botched c-section by a trusted OB-GYN. And my son just had his “waterproof” cast removed, revealing his bone had healed but his skin was severely blistered and irritated.

7. I love sleep over almost anything else in life.

In Awareness, Brain dump, Crazy, Just for Fun, Reflection , ,
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Simple isn’t stupid

August 1, 2012

Many people assume that my home state of Nebraska is nothing but cows and cornfields. They are surprised to learn that its biggest city, Omaha, boasts events like the Olympic Swim Trials, the NCAA College World Series, and one of the nation’s most popular zoos.

I’ve never lived on a farm. I’ve never gone to the state fair (but I will attend for the first time later this month…can’t wait to blog about THAT). I’ve never wrestled a pig. I don’t travel on horseback. I don’t consider steak a food staple. What other Nebraskan myths can I debunk?

The point of this post is not to sell you on Cornhusker football. Please don’t falsely assume we all have season tickets because college football is the only thing happening around here. I’m also not trying to convince you we are as fast-paced and exciting as major metropolises across the country.

The point is that we don’t have oceans or mountains or great public transportation, and I’m ok with it.

After college, I chose to remain close to family because, frankly, I couldn’t survive without their support. Plus, my husband never wanted to move either so once we had kids, our desire to relocate diminished even more.

However, I like to travel and see how other people live their lives.

I recently backpacked across Europe, fished in Iceland, danced in Spain, drove to western Nebraska. Yep, I was THAT adventurous. It was a work trip and I got to ride along as a coworker navigated. I learned to appreciate the vastness, the emptiness, and solitude of what I saw out my passenger side window.

What intrigued me the most was how every community we visited was gracious with their time and attention. It’s not that they’re not busy. I’d bet that the vast majority of people I met put in more hours than city slickers half their age. They are simply too polite to not shake your hand and hear you out.

They don’t spend hours a day on the latest social media outlets updating people on their interests and whereabouts. They prefer to sit down to dinner together and share how their day went. They don’t waste away hours at the water cooler gossiping with coworkers about reality television. They’d rather live in reality…from sunrise to sunset.

Yes, we Nebraskans may be slower. And you could learn a few things from us.

In Belonging, Dining, Family, Home, Honor, Inspiration, Memories, Reflection, Stress release , , , , , , , , ,
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