My friend Sarah, recently posted about celebrating the unperfectness of our lives, and I thought it was a great idea. I know my posts have been negative recently and this one doesn't seem like it would be adding any happiness, but actually I think the unperfect parts of life are the most interesting and fun. And though they provide stress, I am happy that my life isn't just a fairytale ending. I like the blood sweat and tears that make up my life.
So here it goes 10 things that make me so far from perfect:
1) I hate taking my dog on walks. I know that sounds terrible, but its true. He doesn't walk easily, and its so boring to just walk around the neighborhood. Of course if I had trained him better when he was a puppy I'm sure he would walk like a pro, but I didn't. And so instead he is constantly pulling, rips my arm out of my socket if he sees another dog before I have a chance to brace myself, and sometimes thinks its a great idea to try and take the leash away from me.
2) I have only run 7 times since I finished my marathon in July. Thats right, I trained for 6 months, and now have lost a huge amount of the gains I made because I've had no drive to run. When people at work ask me, I try and make it sound like I've been keeping up the running, but I haven't. Just last Sunday was my first run since the marathon that was longer than 3 miles.
3) I am way in debt. Be it student loans, loans from my parents, a car loan, or credit card, its going to take me 2 years of severe austerity just to get myself down to only having my student loans. And thats only if I am super good about sticking to my budget. Which means no fun trips, no skiing, no nothing. I don't know if I am going to be able to do it, but I really want to.
4) I'm jealous of married couples. I know I say I don't care and don't want to rush into marriage. But sometimes thats complete bull.
5) I burn food more often than I don't.
6) I spend most weekends in my pjs. Sometimes I get the energy up to actually make myself presentable, but it just seems like such a waste of time. I never go anywhere besides the store it seems and who cares if I am in sweats at the store?
7) I've wanted to write a book since 7th grade, and so far have only made it through the first page of about 3 different attempts. I just have no imagination it would appear.
8) I don't care about watching basketball. Sure I talk a big game about how basketball is the best sport in the world, but I honestly don't really watch until March Madness usually. Jay who thinks basketball is one of the worst sports watches more of it than I do.
9) Since I was 6 weeks old, I've never been outside of the United States. I've always wanted to travel to Europe, Asia, really everywhere but I never follow through on my dreams. I don't have the willpower to actually commit and save for anything.
10) Even though I know how to eat healthy, given the choice of a cheeseburger or a salad, I'd probably pick the cheeseburger 95% of the time. And of course the next day I feel fat and gross, but it doesn't matter the next time I'm given the choice I would still pick the cheeseburger.
There you go. I am sooo far from perfect. But the funny thing is, I actually had to think hard to come up with 10 things that aren't perfect in my life. Despite all of these things, I have a really great life. And it feels good to look my baggage in the face and say, you will not drag me down. Despite you I am happy!
Showing posts with label Happiness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Happiness. Show all posts
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Happiness is....
...a clean house!
Okay, I know that seems weird, but honestly it is amazing the difference in my happiness levels when my apartment is clean. I don't know why I ever let it get dirty! (Well yes I do, I get lazy, but you know what I mean.) Luckily Jay also really likes things clean, so we never get truly out of hand, but even the small difference having a clean, picked up floor makes is noticeable. Which is probably why my wonderful boyfriend knew the best birthday present he could have gotten me was a new vacuum.
Yes it sounds lame I know. Turning 24 years old and her biggest wish is for a vacuum. I don't care though. When you have 2 dogs who track in the outdoors every time they have to pee, going a month with a broken vacuum is WAY too long. Just looking at the clean floor now makes me smile.
Here are a few other things that make me happy:
That tired feeling after a really good workout.
Seeing my adorable dogs having the time of their lives at the dog park.
Tasting a delicious creation I've made after spending WAY too long in the kitchen.
Laying on the couch with Jay.
Knowing that I have an awesome family who will always be there for me.
Drinking hot cocoa and enjoying the cool fall weather (from the safety of my couch)
Napping
Okay, I know that seems weird, but honestly it is amazing the difference in my happiness levels when my apartment is clean. I don't know why I ever let it get dirty! (Well yes I do, I get lazy, but you know what I mean.) Luckily Jay also really likes things clean, so we never get truly out of hand, but even the small difference having a clean, picked up floor makes is noticeable. Which is probably why my wonderful boyfriend knew the best birthday present he could have gotten me was a new vacuum.
Yes it sounds lame I know. Turning 24 years old and her biggest wish is for a vacuum. I don't care though. When you have 2 dogs who track in the outdoors every time they have to pee, going a month with a broken vacuum is WAY too long. Just looking at the clean floor now makes me smile.
Here are a few other things that make me happy:
That tired feeling after a really good workout.
Seeing my adorable dogs having the time of their lives at the dog park.
Tasting a delicious creation I've made after spending WAY too long in the kitchen.
Laying on the couch with Jay.
Knowing that I have an awesome family who will always be there for me.
Drinking hot cocoa and enjoying the cool fall weather (from the safety of my couch)
Napping
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Life Lessons Learned in Traffic
Over the last few weeks I have spent many many hours sitting in construction related traffic trying to get home from work.And at the time it seemed like an unbearable ordeal. But looking back at it in light of the events that occurred this past week (my car getting hit in the parking lot of the gym, among other things) I've come to realize there are much worse things in life than even a lot of traffic. Here are some other lessons I've learned:
1. Construction signs lie approximately 50% of the time.
2. Going over 10 miles per hour for longer than 30 seconds is exciting.
3. The Black Eyed Peas get annoying really really fast.
4. If you see a car with a lot of shiny chrome detailing or a giant spoiler that obviously doesn't match the car douchbaggery is probably afoot.
5. No matter how annoying it is to see motorcycles driving in between the two lanes of traffic you should not open your door really fast in hopes they collide with it. They actually are legally allowed to do that when traffic is at a stand still.
6. Being self-righteous doesn't get you anywhere in life but stuck in the slow lane.
7. It is fun to drive down the center of the road to prevent jerks in the back from cutting in the merge line.(And apparently very common out here, I've never seen people do that before.)
8. If I am ever cornered by a angry herd of cattle my dog will defend me.
9. Being stuck next to 3 cattle trucks for 2 hours is not fun for your nose.
10. Go to the bathroom before you get in your car. 2 hours is a long time to hold it. (Though it does make that next trip to the bathroom one of the best experiences ever.)
11.Learn from past mistakes. While holding it for an hour isn't as bad as two it still sucks to need to pee while stuck in traffic.
12. And finally attitude is everything. If you stop thinking about how much it sucks to be stuck in traffic, you will not be nearly as upset about the whole experience.
Along with these lovely realizations I have had some other exciting things happen this week. I found out that while I don't have cancer, I did have a Spindle Cell Nevus that needed to be removed, and now have 3 lovely blue stitches in its place. I also found an awesome website Mint.com that allows you to create budgets and track your spending, savings, debts etc and make financial goals along with plans on how to meet those goals. It is pretty much the sweetest thing ever. It is a partner of Quicken which I've tried to use many times but could just never get into the habit of, but I think this site will be different. Already I've made a budget and if I stick to it I can be completely debt free (minus my student loans) with a good rainy day fund in savings in just 2 years time. Its going to take some discipline but I can do it! I'm so excited. Admittedly 2 years is a long ways away but really in the span of my life its not that far away and if I can get my financial life straightened out by the time I'm 25 I'll count that as an amazing success.
As for my other goals. I failed at all of them this week. I went to the gym only once (which is where my car got hit in the parking lot). I did not do a good job of drinking enough water. Though I did put in more effort than usual. And I definitely wasted money on candy, but that should be changing as I start to stick to my new budget (which does not have candy anywhere in it).But even though I failed at all of my goals I actually am feeling really good about myself. Its been a rough week but a good one and I am on my way to even bigger an better things!
1. Construction signs lie approximately 50% of the time.
2. Going over 10 miles per hour for longer than 30 seconds is exciting.
3. The Black Eyed Peas get annoying really really fast.
4. If you see a car with a lot of shiny chrome detailing or a giant spoiler that obviously doesn't match the car douchbaggery is probably afoot.
5. No matter how annoying it is to see motorcycles driving in between the two lanes of traffic you should not open your door really fast in hopes they collide with it. They actually are legally allowed to do that when traffic is at a stand still.
6. Being self-righteous doesn't get you anywhere in life but stuck in the slow lane.
7. It is fun to drive down the center of the road to prevent jerks in the back from cutting in the merge line.(And apparently very common out here, I've never seen people do that before.)
8. If I am ever cornered by a angry herd of cattle my dog will defend me.
9. Being stuck next to 3 cattle trucks for 2 hours is not fun for your nose.
10. Go to the bathroom before you get in your car. 2 hours is a long time to hold it. (Though it does make that next trip to the bathroom one of the best experiences ever.)
11.Learn from past mistakes. While holding it for an hour isn't as bad as two it still sucks to need to pee while stuck in traffic.
12. And finally attitude is everything. If you stop thinking about how much it sucks to be stuck in traffic, you will not be nearly as upset about the whole experience.
Along with these lovely realizations I have had some other exciting things happen this week. I found out that while I don't have cancer, I did have a Spindle Cell Nevus that needed to be removed, and now have 3 lovely blue stitches in its place. I also found an awesome website Mint.com that allows you to create budgets and track your spending, savings, debts etc and make financial goals along with plans on how to meet those goals. It is pretty much the sweetest thing ever. It is a partner of Quicken which I've tried to use many times but could just never get into the habit of, but I think this site will be different. Already I've made a budget and if I stick to it I can be completely debt free (minus my student loans) with a good rainy day fund in savings in just 2 years time. Its going to take some discipline but I can do it! I'm so excited. Admittedly 2 years is a long ways away but really in the span of my life its not that far away and if I can get my financial life straightened out by the time I'm 25 I'll count that as an amazing success.
As for my other goals. I failed at all of them this week. I went to the gym only once (which is where my car got hit in the parking lot). I did not do a good job of drinking enough water. Though I did put in more effort than usual. And I definitely wasted money on candy, but that should be changing as I start to stick to my new budget (which does not have candy anywhere in it).But even though I failed at all of my goals I actually am feeling really good about myself. Its been a rough week but a good one and I am on my way to even bigger an better things!
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Falling down to Earth
I always thought that when I managed to accomplish something monumental it would be life changing. Like somehow I would suddenly be able to do anything. Now two weeks after running and finishing my first marathon I know how wrong I was. Instead of feeling powerful and in control I feel like I am spiraling back down to earth where reality has once again beaten me into submission. I am not any more able to stick to my goals now than I was 3 weeks ago. In fact I feel less motivated. I'm struggling to even think of goals that are worth accomplishing.
Of course there are always the stock goals to fall back on like "I want to workout consistently", or "I want to kick the candy habit", even the "I want to not hate myself when I look in the mirror" one has been floating around. The problem is I've never been motivated enough to tackle those goals before and today is no different. Instead of feeling like I can do whatever I set my mind to when I think about those goals I feel like I am doomed to failure. Two weeks after accomplishing the hardest thing I've ever set out to do I am already falling back into the perpetual guilt cycle.
Can I break the cycle? I have no idea. But I am going to try. This is my new goal: embrace and accept my ADD. I am never going to be one of those people who can stick to every plan they make but I can be someone who doesn't hate myself when get distracted by a pretty flower, a new book, or just the siren song of a few more minutes of sleep. Of course this goal is hard to track the progress of so I have a few other goals I plan on working on too. For this week: drink 72 oz of water each day, whenever I feel like complaining about something add "but it doesn't matter" to the end of the complaint, exercise 3 days this week, and don't spend money on candy. Seems reasonable right?
Of course there are always the stock goals to fall back on like "I want to workout consistently", or "I want to kick the candy habit", even the "I want to not hate myself when I look in the mirror" one has been floating around. The problem is I've never been motivated enough to tackle those goals before and today is no different. Instead of feeling like I can do whatever I set my mind to when I think about those goals I feel like I am doomed to failure. Two weeks after accomplishing the hardest thing I've ever set out to do I am already falling back into the perpetual guilt cycle.
Can I break the cycle? I have no idea. But I am going to try. This is my new goal: embrace and accept my ADD. I am never going to be one of those people who can stick to every plan they make but I can be someone who doesn't hate myself when get distracted by a pretty flower, a new book, or just the siren song of a few more minutes of sleep. Of course this goal is hard to track the progress of so I have a few other goals I plan on working on too. For this week: drink 72 oz of water each day, whenever I feel like complaining about something add "but it doesn't matter" to the end of the complaint, exercise 3 days this week, and don't spend money on candy. Seems reasonable right?
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