Happy Friday: Relax Into It

Well, I've had a pretty productive day. An allergy attack woke me up around 6:30 this morning, and since I was congested enough to not be able to breathe while laying down, I sat at my desk and worked on a story that's been percolating in my brain for the past couple of weeks.

I've also cooked tonight's dinner, done some laundry and cleaned up cat barf, so, yea for getting stuff out of the way!

HUBS and I, as usual, are plan-less for the weekend. But, I hope to do a lot of reading, writing and get out of the house to somewhere interesting. Now, let's look into some internet things!

1) Wanna animate your photos?

2) Get help meeting goals and moving forward in life with the Unstuck app and their remarkably helpful blog.

3) I am newly obsessed with the Giant Pants of the '30s tumblr.

4) What the most successful people do before breakfast can help you plan your day.

5) Triposo is a travel guide for your cell phone/tablet that has over 8000 destinations. Phew!

There! Now go relax, already!

If There Is An Upside...

I've been thinking about depression. Not because I'm in the throws of a "mood" right now, but because I want to figure it out a bit more. To see if I can change my thought process about it; maybe even see if there's an upside.

Two nights ago (while in a frenzy of aerobic activity, as I watched the best athletes in the world push their physical limits) I accidentally punched myself in the face. After feeling momentarily embarrassed for something no one saw me do, the shock of the hit settled in and I had an epiphany. That punch in the face? That's depression.

Not just because falling into a deep, deep funk feels like as much of a jolt as getting punched, even though that's often true. But, because it's a sign. Like getting punched is a sign that you did or said something wrong, depression is a sign that we need to do something different, better, slower, harder...Or just do something at all. Anything to shake up our (frequently) self-imposed status quo.

That's what my depression has been all this time. The beast on my heart and monster in my mind has just been my subconscious' way of trying to make me DO. Anything. I've spent so much time sad. Afraid of it, worrying about it, trying to ignore it and praying to keep it at bay. Instead, I should have been listening to it. It never occurred to me that it was attempting to teach me.

It's been decades. Finally, I think, I'm starting to learn to listen.

What have your hard times taught you?

I'm still a little embarrassed about it. And now I've told you. So you can feel a bit less embarrassed about that time you accidentally hit yourself in the face. The kinship of mistakes feels good, no?

Music Monday: Sticking To My Guns

Well, I did what I said I was going to do. On Saturday morning HUBS and I got out of the house and visited a couple of farmer's markets. I took a ton of photos with my "serious photographer" camera and played with the photo apps on my phone. Photography is something else I enjoy that's been missing from my life just like writing and running around the city. No wonder I was screwy last week.

Why do we torture ourselves by abandoning things we love to do? I think I get it now; when the world feels heavy, I should run to my hobbies instead of leaving them behind in a whirl of madness. The things we enjoy are around to comfort us, not give us trouble or make life difficult (mostly, anyway).

I also met up with the friends I made online a couple of months ago. We went to a brunch buffet and ate our asses off, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I also felt like a bit of a slob later, after waking up from an impromptu nap taken on the couch. What did I do about it? I exercised! Yeah, that's right. The girl who loves nothing more than sitting got off her butt and moved and lifted and sweat for 30 minutes.

I feel very good about this weekend. I also feel good about keeping progress going. Today I cleaned the bathroom, made a call I was afraid to make and applied for a job I believe I'll actually like. Yes. This is nice.

Music!









Is there anything you keep forgetting that you love to do?