How to Live Happier

Our happiness is directly linked to the way we think, according to Jan Silvious’ book, Big Girls Don’t Whine. Yesterday morning, I was getting upset about things that had not happened yet, simply by assuming they would go wrong. I learned recently that this is a defense mechanism, as well as a half-hearted way to live. Basically, if there is a possibility for something to go wrong in the future, I will prepare my emotions before anything actually does go wrong- just in case. After watching this video (twice) I am learning why that is not good for my well being, and I am changing the way I behave and think. I suggest you do the same: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCvmsMzlF7o

have a good day and give a good day 

How to Live Happier

I could watch this every day and still learn something new. Who knew being vulnerable was such a big deal?

7 Ways to Stay Positive in Winter

Cold weather is something I don’t know if I will ever get used to, but I have found a few things that keep me positive in the dreary weather. Here are a few of my discoveries:

1. Listen to what you want to listen to. Spotify is great and 8tracks even lets you search by mood for playlists. Pretty cool. 

2. Make a goal. Motivate yourself to work for something you want to cross off your new years resolution list. I don’t know if you are like me, but I make way more than 1 resolution a year (more chances for success!).

3. Drink hot chocolate. Get the big marshmallows too while you are at it. 

4. Clean out your closet or room. During Christmas, I try to get rid of 5 things a day and it is surprisingly simple. 

5. Change up your appearance in some small way (haircut, new shirt, paint your nails, whatever works).

6. Dance around. Any kind of exercise will work, but dancing is the most fun in my opinion.

7. Find something that makes you laugh, and read/listen/watch it every day. This video always works for me. 

I hope these help brighten your winter a little. If none of these help, go eat something.

Have a good day and give a good day.

 

Lessons Learned

Tomorrow marks the 6th day, of my 6th semester of college on February 6th. (Also in 2013 which adds up to 6 -yet again.) So here are 6 realizations from my time in college that have to do with the number 6:

1. Six responsibilities is too much to handle and do well.

2. If you do about six donuts in the car around the flagpole in the freshman parking lot, you can then take your foot off the gas and do an infinite amount thanks to the momentum of the slight hill.

3. Everyone loves getting mail. Send six letters a month.

4. Do not spend more than $6 on birthday’s or Christmas, the best presents are the cheapest to make.

5. Six days are for work, one is for rest.

6. Thinking of six things to be thankful for before bed is an excellent way to end a day.

Also, for this 6,6,6,6 day we will celebrate my roommates 21st birthday. Happy birthday Anne Pants!

Halloween Costumes

I have noticed a growing problem for this years Halloween among college students. Several times when I have asked people what they are going to dress up as for our university’s annual costume coffee house, they have responded with, “Nothing. I don’t have a costume.”

Yes you do, liar. That problem simply does not exist–as long as you use some creativity.

If the problem is that you do not like free candy, that is a completely different story. But I can assure you from personal experience that you most certainly can find a costume in less than five minutes. I have also found that whether or not it is Halloween, people will give you candy if you go to their door in a costume.

My friends and I tested this theory in a hotel on the senior trip to Orlando.

Case and point.

So if you find yourself in a creative bind, here is a suggestion of where to find free costumes:

The Kitchen

-grab some tin foil and become: a robot, left-overs, the tin man, or lady gaga

-take a strainer, turn it upside down and put it on your head. you are now an alien.

Public Restroom

-roll off some toilet paper, thus making yourself a mummy. classic. Or, you could put it on as a sash and be a trailer park queen/king. *warning, this may take a while if the toilet paper is the kind that tears off one square at a time.

Nature

-put some dirt on your face and go as pig-pen from Charlie Brown

-tie a stick to your head and go as the dog from the Grinch

Closet

-look at your old clothes and pick out something that makes you look like a little-kid version of you.

-put on a robe and go as an old lady

-get a sweater and be either Mr.Rogers or Bill Cosby.

…really the options here are endless.

The point is, a costume does not have to come from something you spend money on. It comes from random things laying around the house that can make you somewhat portray a noun. So get out there and enjoy some free candy today (and really any other day if you are bold enough to put on a costume when its unexpected). Happy Halloween!

Being Kind. Random and Free.

Post it notes. They bring so much joy into the world.

I wonder if Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion started the phenomenon with colored, printed and interestingly shaped sticky notes. If you are anything like me, when you make a trip to Target it is difficult to walk past the stationary aisle without picking up some unnecessary item.

Recently, I have discovered how the simple post it note can turn into an incredible act of kindness.

One of my roommates has the post-it kindness down to a sneaky art form. Anytime I am having a stressful week, encouraging post-its magically appear all around my room. The post-its in the picture above became my wall’s tattoo last semester because the simple verse always helped me re-focus on what was important each day.

A few years ago, I tried my hand at post-it kindness in an unusual way. My best friend was turning 18, and I had to get her something awesome. So, I turned the post-it prank into a post-it kindness birthday gift. As she was closing at work, I was frantically arranging post-its all over her car with notes from her friends and family.

This was the finished product. These post-its also became wall tattoos in her room until she left for college the next Fall.

So when I think about how simple post-its are, and all the creative ways they can be used it is pretty inspiring. Now, the challenge is to find other simple items to show a little bit of kindness.

A tight budget does not equal an inability to give gifts. It equals a creative opportunity to use what we have and make something out of it.

So go ahead, post-it some kindness today.

The Next Big Thing

From the clapper to the iPhone 4s, technology has been there for us when we need to save the energy we use on little tasks, like turning on the lights and texting. As technology has progressed, we have realized how many things we can do at once. Which I think has sparked our curiosity about how many more things we can do simultaneously.

For me, the most intriguing idea right now is anything voice automated. I know a lot of phones have voice automated calling, but that is not what I’m talking about. I don’t know about you but any time I have tried that feature, my phone has called whoever it wants to call no matter what name I actually say. Anyway, what I am talking about is a more advanced kind of voice automated technology. As our brains are busy doing a multitude of things at one time, something other than our brain has to stand in for our memory. This is where voice activated technology could help out. The latest version of the iPhone has the right idea; it is essentially acting as a personal assistant for the anyone who needs one. Think of all the moms who could tell their technology what it needed to do and when awesome right? Jim Gaffigan,  one of my all time favorite comedians has joked before about the laziness that comes along with technology.

While I can definitely identify with laziness and the tendency to watch TV instead of doing something productive, I do think technology has the ability to take society to a new level of productivity. I realize multitasking is not the best thing for our brains, but at this point I don’t think there is really a choice in that matter. For the majority of people in America, multi-tasking is just the way of life. One interesting article referred to multitasking as a cult.  The New York Times had an article about the desire we have to do multiple things at once, and the ways it is hurting us. However, I think voice automation of technology could help stop some of the multitasking we do. My pet peeve is when people text while I am having a conversation with them; but, with voice recognition texting the amount of time spent on that could be drastically decreased. This is of course depending on the person texting, for some of my family members it could save about five minutes per text. I think a lot of technology has increased the desire for multitasking too much, but some voice automated time-saving technologies could bring us back to a more healthy state of attentiveness. I think this could be one step closer to achieving one of my mom’s favorite sayings, “be with the people you are with.”

Thoughtfulness is Healthiness

The County Fair: toddler pageants, fried Oreos, and a Ferris wheel all rolled into one event, showcasing all that has gone awry with America. I try to attend one every year. Maybe I am the only one, but I feel as though a good percentage of the people at the County Fair each year are there simply to observe the spectacle.

Earlier today, I watched Mark Bittman’s TED talk on “what’s wrong with what we eat.” Essentially, everything that you could find to eat at the County Fair is the hub of the problem. He makes the point that 18% of greenhouse gasses are attributed to livestock, yet we are slaughtering 10 billion livestock per year. Bittman interestingly went through the history of food  and noted that between 1950 and 2000 the population doubled; however, the production of food increased five times. I don’t think there is any mystery as to where that food went. While drastic weight loss makes for fantastic television, it is not making for a great nation. Mark Bittman believes the livestock that we are eating thoughtlessly, could be producing the healthiest version of greenhouse gasses available. At the core of the problem, he says, “there is an overproduction of meat and junk food.” Looking back on what I have eaten recently, I began feeling like this TED talk was being spoken directly to me.

funnel cake, anyone?

As I begin my personal learning plan of creating a food blog, this talk made me re-think my initial ideas and recipes. I have already tried making two somewhat fancy dishes for the blog which both turned out..well, disgusting. Therefore, I was planning on ditching the cooking side for a while and retreating back to my comfort zone of baking. However, Bittman’s concluding sentence, “we can make food more important, not less, and save ourselves by doing so” has inspired me to eat in a thoughtful way.

Bittman admits during the talk to not having the healthiest food options present as he grew up, primarily due to thoughtlessness. In no way is he saying that people are “thoughtful” by being solely vegetarians. He does say, “The evidence is very clear that plants promote health. You eat more plants, you eat less other stuff, you live longer.” The challenge before me now, is to stick to my original plan of making college-friendly cheap  meals; that are also thoughtful. And while I may never give up an opportunity to go to the County Fair, I will probably give up my next chance to have some deep friend Oreos and funnel cake.