Giving thanks

One thing I like to do on a regular basis to stay try to be mentally healthy is to keep up a gratitude journal. This sums it up better than I ever could, but basically reflecting on the things we are thankful for keeps us happier, easier to get along with, less materialistic, and healthier in general.

Image found here.

I have struggled at times with this practice, sometimes being snarky (e.g., I am thankful for... hard liquor) but I agree with the above. It is interesting to look back and reflect on what I've been thankful for at different times over the past few years.. times when Justin was gone, I was struggling with working full-time and parenting on my own, times when other things have gone wrong in my life.

This is my Gratitude journal. I was using a plain ol' notebook until I found this in a little shop in Shirlington and was smitten.

Each page features a quote on gratitude. 

'We are the heroes of our own story.'

I am truly enjoying this practice but haven't been keeping up with it as much as I would like. I've also noticed that Dylan has been making more negative statements than usual, complaints about school or friends and so on. I wanted to infuse (if you will) some more gratitude into our lives and also teach him my practice. In the spirit of the season (Thanksgiving, that is), I decided to copy the idea that Young House Love featured a while back, and also what is sold at Wisteria (but for way too much money, IMHO) and create a gratitude jar.

I used the same technique as featured on the Young House Love link above, etching "Give Thanks" into the side of a ginormous mason jar I've had for awhile.

Side story: This jar was also used to catch five of the ten fish Dylan keeps in his aquarium at a trip to a local lake. I thought the fish would never make it, but here we are, months later and they're still kickin'. Go figure. I did clean the jar out after. Maybe.

I picked out some fall-ish scrapbooking paper and cut it into small pieces so we can all write what we are thankful for. Often, we will sit down together as a family and secretly record our response. We plan to read them all on Thanksgiving. However, I hope to keep this practice up for Dylan (and myself) long past the leftovers.

I can honestly say that I have an incredible amount to be thankful for. Without disclosing too much personal, sappy crap, things were a bit tough for me for awhile there, but have only been looking up lately. Things that I could have never dreamed of, not just moving to where we're living now (which HELL YES I am thankful for), but other things I could not have imagined this time last year, both family- and career-wise, are actually happening. Things are just, falling into place. I know my 'luck' may not always be so good but for now, I'm enjoying it.

Relaxation rituals

I have found it very beneficial to my sleep and well being to reinstate the lost ritual of taking nightly candle-lit bubble baths complete with 'Sleepytime' tea (and aromatherapy bubble bath scents... I'm very into this whole bath time thing). An essential key to this tradition is the 'bath mix' of music specifically for these baths. Without further ado, I present my current 'bath mix' on iTunes:

1. Corrina, Corrina- Bob Dylan
2. Linger- The Cranberries
3. Sail Away- David Gray
4. Make You Feel My Love- Adele
5. You Can Close Your Eyes- James Taylor
6. Hallelujah- Jeff Buckley
7. Carolina On My Mind- James Taylor
8. I Found a Boy- Adele
9. Jealous Guy- John Lennon
10. Fire and Rain- James Taylor
11. Love- John Lennon
12. Someone Like You- Adele
13. Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness- The Smashing Pumpkins
14. Imagine- John Lennon
15. Wish You Were Here- Pink Floyd
16. Something in the Way She Moves- James Taylor

Do you have other suggestions? Apparently I'm  looking for acoustic or instrumental, with a soothing honey voice (mostly)... I guess having David Gray or Chris Martin serenade me on that grand piano I've been meaning to get for the bathroom wouldn't be half bad.

How UPS allowed me to realize that I am capable of managing my anxiety

Alternate title: Ode to my Smartphone
Bear with me.
So you know how I had to turn in my FINAL portfolio by 5pm today, right? So with the 35 minute drive to my university, between stuff I had to finish up at work and having to pick up Dylan and then the "Oh my gosh I'm so hungry" stop at McDonald's, we were cutting it close until I hit.... (dun dun dun).. the TRAFFIC on I-75 S (funny how quickly I forget these things). Sidenote to self: avoid commutes at all costs.
Well.

I'm just going to add the disclaimer here that I in no way work for or am compensated by any smartphone companies.. because the tale I am about to tell may sound like one long ad for a smartphone. BUT IT SAVED MY LIFE.Okay, so old me would be all "Oh my god, death! despair! panic! I cannot make it to school on time and I will never get my certification and then I will die alone on the street, homeless."
BUT new me has a smartphone and has learned to manage her anxiety! SO! I use my smartphone to first look up the e-mail sent by the secretary and call her directly by the simple touch of a button. I explain to her that I am in traffic and she's all, "Nope, leaving at 5, sucks to be you!" No she didn't really say that, and I can certainly understand needing to leave at a certain time but seriously you don't need to be all robot about it.

Please keep in mind I am at I-75 and 11 mile at this point, and it is 5pm. The whole getting-to-school-on-time thing was not happening.

I almost panicked. A little. But then I used my SMARTPHONE (insert some superhero theme song or something here) and used Google to find the number to the UPS store near our home. Please keep in mind it is 5pm and I am at 11 mile and there.is.traffic. Oy vey.

So I call UPS near our home and calmly ask if I ship something overnight, can it get to Detroit by 10AM tomorrow? And THANK THE LORD JESUS, it can! By golly!

Caveat: Must get there by 6pm for this to happen. Oh.

Now I am faced with the challenge of getting from 11 Mile to our home in a matter of 45 minutes. BUT ALAS, enter the SMARTPHONE (superhero music.. yadda yadda). I pull up my GPS and am all, "TAKE ME TO THE NEAREST UPS... pleeeeease." The SMARTPHONE TOOK ME TO THE NEAREST UPS. No joke. I nearly kissed the UPS employee and told them a million times that they saved my ass, when I arrived at UPS a mere 15 minutes later (hooray for the smartphone!). I shipped that brick for the low low cost of $40 (ouch) and it is on its way to be reviewed, critiqued, and ripped apart ONE. LAST. TIME.

AND Dylan was entertained by several rounds of Angry Birds on the way home ON MY SMARTPHONE.

I got home at 6:30, ate a gallon of Butterfinger ice cream and swore up and down I will never. ever. ever. go through school again.

Morals of the story:

1) I am finally able to handle stressful situations in a rational and calm manner. WE ALL SURVIVED me almost not turning my final portfolio in. Look at that!

2) Dear Smartphone, I'm so sorry for anything bad I ever said about you. I totally understand that you need to take rests and not like, actually make phone calls or turn on from time to time, but you are there when I need you. And for that, I love you. I may want to marry you. You saved my ass, is all I'm sayin'.

3) No more grad school. Ever.