100 Happy Days

Posted by random olio

I have been seeing a ton of folks embark on 100 Happy Days, and I think it is time I joined them. I mean why not right? I know the next few weeks/months are going to be crazy for me, and so why not add another thing to the mix? I have been wanting to begin taking more pictures, and if I do this challenge, my Instagram connections might hate me after I show them how boring the next 100 days will be and how much I work, but oh well.

Have you heard of 100 Happy Days? It is a challenge that is meant to get you to share a photo of what made you happy that day for the next 100 days. They have set it up so you can share your photos publicly or privately, but the main idea is that you focus on what made you happy that day. Here are results from the challenge that were listed on their website:

“Start noticing what makes them happy every day:

Be in a better mood every day;
Be in a better mood every day;
Start receiving more compliments from other people;
Realize how lucky they are to have the life they have;
Become more optimistic;
Fall in love during the challenge.”

Often at the end of the day I will write in a journal, as a way to decompress from the day. (Really it starts with my run when I get home from work, and the writing comes just before bed). I process, explore, and resolve my world through the words that come out of my fingertips. There are moments of gratitude, moments of frustration, and moments of aha. 100 Happy Days will take it one step further to require me to notice those happy moments as they happen, and not as I recollect them at the end of the day.

Want to join me?

A little Ball jar…

Posted by random olio

I grew up in Muncie, Indiana. Home of the Ball canning jar. You might be asking yourself, is she really going to blog about the Ball jar? Yes, I am. Keep reading, I have a method to my madness. I grew up in a town where everything was Ball. Ball Brothers, Ball Memorial Hospital, Ball State University, Ball Corp (maker of Ball jars). The Ball Family had their stake on my hometown.

Yet, there is a pride I feel when I see a Ball jar. These days with canning making a resurgence, and organic being the way of the world it feels like all I ever see are Ball and Kerr mason jars. I have quite a few in my house. We use them as glasses, I measure my water intake from the wide mouth version. I take it to my work meetings ensuring I will drink my daily allotment of water throughout the day. I use the smaller ones for concoctions for my hair (most recently cornstarch as my dry shampoo for my “no poo” adventures).

Wherever I go I encounter Ball or Kerr jars. If I ever have a choice, I go with Ball. Call me nostalgic, but there is something about supporting a family that kept your little town afloat for so many years. These days just take some time to explore Pinterest and you will see weddings, family affairs, dinner parties, all with use of the Ball jars in the way of food, flowers, candles, and party favor containers. It brings vintage to 2014. I love it.

Funny how something that used to live right in your backyard (now manufacturing happens in Broomfield, CO) to being a common, everyday item in households for more than just canning. Wikipedia states:

“Company headquarters moved from Muncie to Broomfield, Colorado in 1998. Ball no longer produces the glass fruit jar; the license to produce the jar now is owned by Jarden Home Brands. Jarden produces all lids for all brands of fruit jars at its Muncie plant. Jars are made by a variety of glass producers.”

Heck we have a mini version holding our toothbrushes in the bathroom. Vintage really has spanned all avenues. What was commonplace is now “in.”

Ball jars: the new wine glass.

Fiber filled gratitude

Posted by random olio

“Gratitude is like fiber.” I love this line. It fills me up. Ha. No pun intended. It is a great visual reminder on days when things might feel murky. I have not had one of those days lately, but I know when they hit. You often wonder, “why me?” How did I get into this slump, or why do I have to go through this situation? No matter what lies before you, “Gratitude is like fiber” is the reminder you need. Right? If you are feeling off, or grumpy, or frustrated, look within and think about how much you are filled with gratitude, and if you are lacking in the fiber department, start bulking up. Add the lentils, black beans, brown rice of gratitude into your thoughts.

You can call me a Pollyanna all you want, but I think Kristin Armstrong has it right. Yes, I am still talking about her and her book: Mile Markers. This is my third blog post on this book, and there may be more. This is definitely my favorite book of 2014. Here is the full quote:

“I realized the power I had over my own thoughts. I could have a good or bad day simply by being more conscientious about choosing my mood. Gratitude is like fiber. Fill up on that and it takes up so much room that other things (like negative thinking, resentment, or pity) are crowded out. We are satiated. By focusing on what is, we forget to think about what is not. Even by being thankful for not having things that we don’t want, we are replete.” page 273

Just as we need to be more conscientious about selecting the food that fuels us (think fruits and vegetables, and not sugar and white flour) we can be just as selective about the thoughts we bring into our mind and how those thoughts impact our mood. I guarantee you that we all have more in our life than we can ever imagine, and if we just take time to think about all that good, we have less crevices in our thoughts to think about the bad.

I am sure I have mentioned this before in a blog, but I remember at probably one of the lowest times in my life as a kid: my dad was out of the picture, my mom in ICU, my sister and I living on our own, my sister sent me a Turkey Gram at school. Turkey Grams around Thanksgiving were purchased and brought to your classroom (almost like getting flowers or candy) and it felt special to be singled out with one. My Turkey Gram said: “It cannot get worse, it can only get better than we can ever imagine.” Whether my sister knew it or not, that was the fiber I needed to fill me and not give space to the life we were living.

How can you be your own fiber to fill you up with good, and what can you do to be the fiber in someone’s day?

Badass self, no apologies

Posted by random olio

I love when people are wholeheartedly themselves. They say what is on their mind, and sometimes do not have a filter. I very much say what is on my mind, and while I do know when to have a filter in most situations, I am still blunt and say what I think. Last September I wrote a blog about being “Unapologetically herself.” It is my modus operandi. Why should we be anything other than who we are? Why should we hide our true selves?

Last week I wrote about the book: “Mile Markers.” After traveling and a full week, I can tell you I am now two-thirds done with this book, and have a zillion dog-eared pages. An idea jumped off the page at me when I was reading last night. It is from writer-comedian Katie Goodman that the author has framed on her desk:

“There will invariably be people who do not accept you. And in that case you must be your own badass self, without apology.”

I think I want to steal the idea and add it to the other thoughts and inspirations that sit above my desk. I am less worried about whether individuals will accept me and more interested in making sure I am being me. Life is short, YOLO (you only live once), so why should we not live each day as our badass selves? How and when did we start to apologize for ourselves? I try to think back to when I started apologizing for myself, and it is a blur. My dad raised us that children should be seen and not heard. Why, oh why dad was that important to you? It makes me want to bring together all my friends that have just had babies and say, please, oh please raise your children each day knowing their worth, and encourage them to live their lives to the fullest as their individual badass self.

Forget the nay sayers, the poo poo-ers, and those that discourage you in life. Let go of those that shut or knock you down, belittle you, or potentially throw you under the bus (as the saying goes). Lead your own life, if you do you will be strong and unflappable. I am not going to apologize for glorious me, and you should not either.

No apologies.

Doting on Charlie

Posted by random olio

Over the weekend I visited my sister and got to meet my three-week old niece. Her name is Charlise and they have been calling her Charlie. I secretly love calling her Charlie. She looks like a Charlie. Do not ask me to explain, as I will get defensive, just trust me, she is a Charlie. She is a feisty little one, even at three weeks. My sister always said she had a kicker, and she definitely lets her legs move or tighten at her own will. Especially when you change her diaper. She will tighten her little thighs (which I call chicken legs). She is very, very long for her size, has long feet, toes, and fingers, but the cutest thunder thighs (thus the chicken legs). When she does not want you to change her diaper (which hell must be new when you have just been pooping in the womb for all those months and now you have to wear a diaper). Anyway – she will tighten her legs/thighs and make it much, much harder to change her diaper. I love it. A fighter, which hopefully means she will tell it like it is, when she starts to babble and eventually talk. Right now, she communicates with her legs. My sister says she often kicks her while nursing. Little Charlie communicates in her own way.

Recently I came across this quote from Anne Lamott, and it made me think about how I felt today as I left my sister and my niece and boarded an airplane back to Portland:

“The depth of the feeling continued to surprise and threaten me, but each time it hit again and I bore it…I would discover that it hadn’t washed me away.”

Is that what it is like for most moms? I had a good afternoon yesterday. There was good energy in the office, but I kept thinking about my time with Charlie. Whatever it is, whether because she is so small and precious or because it is my sister’s daughter, I just feel such a strong connection to her. I will be there for her whenever she does not feel she can talk to her mom or dad (that is what aunt’s are for). I will be her “fun” aunt that teaches her all the sassy and fun things about life. I will pamper her, play with her, and above all else let her know that I am just another person in her life to love her to pieces. Hopefully I will not smother her with all my love for her, but that it will be just the right balance of spoiling her. Maybe I am making up for the fact that my parents are not here to dote on her. Even so I just want her to know how loved she is by her aunt and uncle regardless of the fact that we live on the north side of this country.

We already miss you tons, Charlie. We will be back soon.

Aunt T + Uncle C