Gratitude Weekly Thoughts: v1

I've been deliberating for a while whether or not I wanted to do this kind of post but given that my life has been up and down lately, I want to focus on the positive and not let the bumps get me down, as hard as they may be. I asked someone the other day if life ever got easier and their answer was a resounding "No." Wow, not what I wanted to hear but instead of looking at life as something to be endured, I want to retrain my brain, think positively and while I recognize good things in my life, I want to make sure that I'm grateful and truly appreciate them.

Weekly Quote: In daily life we must see that it is not happiness that makes us grateful, but gratefulness that makes us happy. --Brother David Steindl-Rast

Monday 1/21:  A vacation day to regroup before work ** taking long walks ** sunny/ warm weather ** living in southern California ** mild winters **

Tuesday 1/22: Having a reliable car to get to/ from work ** friendly Starbucks barista who remembered my drink order even though I hadn't been to that store in over a month ** generous friends ** hot showers ** good music

Wednesday, 1/23: Learning to stick up for myself and not let other people's lack of planning impact my evening. ** Starbucks Iced Tea ** Friendly baristas who chat while you wait ** Reusing plastic cups ** Being able to drive to Starbucks on my break and read a book ** Working with people with whom I can share my opinions ** having good friends recommend a book and loving it so much you can't put it down ** being able to practice my flute ** being able to watch reruns of old shows on Netflix ** the beautiful view from the SBCC campus

Thursday, 1/24: Good workouts with an inspiring and helpful trainer ** workout buddies who encourage ** relaxing/ regrouping before work ** friendly local baristas with mutual friends ** catching up with great friends ** iced tea ** 

Friday, 1/25: Sleeping in my own bed ** cute kitties ** students who practice and improve ** the look on students faces when they get something they've been working on **

What About You?

I'm truly looking for your thoughts on the following questions?

A). What do you do to go from "I wish I had more" to "I'm happy with what I have now."

B). What do you do to relax? (other than yoga)

C). What are some things on your bucket list? I'm looking to update mine :)

Thanks blogging folks, you're help is greatly appreciated!!

*Update:
I love these synonyms for grateful: beholden (more specifically meaning indebted), thankful. I think I am going to begin a weekly gratitude list, mainly to remind myself of what I'm grateful for, plus I can always look back at the list and see what I may have forgotten along the way. :)

January So Far

I cannot believe it's another new year but I'm loving it! I remember being in elementary school and teachers talking about "2001" and all these crazy years that seemed would never arrive. And now, there are here, rolling away in full force.

A. and I were in a bad car accident the Saturday before the new year. As my Facebook post stated, thanks 2012, for kicking me when I was down. In all reality 2012 brought a lot of amazing things so please don't take it as me being negative but wow, the things that did happen in 2012 were tough, some of the hardest things I have ever had to go through. A. and I are ok but his car is totalled. Since it's an older car it was easy to do but we are the process of fixing it up. Car accidents are so scary, let alone all the stuff you have to go through once it's happened. My back has been on the fritz and I spent a week laying on my back, going back and forth between icing it and heating it (knowing it only made me feel better). I am so thankful that it's slowly getting better. It still hurts if I drive for more than about 20-30 minutes.

Anyone have any good songs/ bands they recommend? I'm looking for some new tunes :)

Holiday Fun

I haven't had much chance to post in a while, life has been it's usual busy self plus some. One thing I love about the holidays is making myself bake. I found a great banana bread recipe and I've made quite a few loafs:

This weekend, Aaron and I got the chance to go to the Cleopatra exhibit at the LA Science Center, it was awesome!

One of recent things found in a dive were these gold earrings, beautiful!

We also got to see the Endeavor.

As most people know, I LOVE Starbucks. I get a kick out of the creative ways they spell my name. This time I was Italian apparently

The important of crossing your T's, now I'm Sleph-anie.

Campus Life

Sitting in my office (I work at a college campus), I hear the 'darndest things.' Frequently, I wonder if students remember that I am here, in my office below the theatre, and can hear everything they say. Sometimes I'm even nice and ask them :) Most of the time, they don't seem to care and I'm left more embarassed by what they did this weekend than the 50+ people walking by.

In my many years working with students and in offices, here is what I have determined:

LUNCHTIME: After sitting at your desk for a minimum of 6 hours, you finally pull yourself away from your desk to eat/ see sunshine/ go outside. No calls received during this period of time. While at lunch, you come back only to find 6 missed calls and 5 voice mails. I wish I could be hired as the person who calls the world, telling people that you're away from your desk and people can now call. This is also when higher-ups will call you. Then, do they wonder, why is this girl *never* at her desk??

BREAK: Eating at your desk with students still stopping by, some not giving you a minute to swallow before asking their question(s).

BCC: Something not everyone is familiar with, helpful when sending emails to an entire campus or distribution list with more than 3 people. #researchtechnologypeople

ACTORS: A constant source of entertainment. Energetic. Important to know when they are acting a scene or just conversing.

A few pictures from life since you've listened to me ramble:

Starbucks is selling these really cute teddy bears!

I LOVE iced tea, you can't have too much :)

Love my Sicily 

My Week: August

Wow... just found this post from August: never got posted and was saved as a draft, oops!

My week in not so many words:

Monday: Auditions until late into the night #entertaining
Tuesday: "Best if used by April 16, 2012" #hummusfail
Wednesday: Zuma Cafe with a wonderful friend, so great catching up and easy conversation!
Thursday: More auditions late. Found a fork in my tea, not sure how it got there though presumably I did it :)    Treated myself to an early birthday treat:

Friday: #exhausted

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

I absolutely love dressing up and Halloween! Last year, I loved the costume I put together, I was a disco queen:

I feel so grateful that in times when others are experiences hurricanes and flooding, I have beautiful blue skies and warm weather:

I FINALLY got to play mini golf with friends last weekend and it was a blast! I cannot remember the last time I went, at least 15 years! The best part, I got a hole in one on the first hole! I came in last but still :)

More beautiful weather! I never get tired of it.

This weekend we celebrated my Grandma's life, I miss her so much. The weather in Morro Bay was blue sky, she would have loved that.

I LOVE Halloween, it is my favorite holiday. I didn't have inspiration for a costume this year so I went as a tired musician (not far off) and wore all black and an orange top. Someone made these at work, so cute!

My grandmother's favorite holiday was Halloween too. My dad decorated with these decorations and let me keep them so I decorated my office. Love them!