May 2013
14 posts
5 tags
Day 274 - Weekend Update
This weekend was a good one! I started it off by hanging out with some friends and making pizza completely from scratch on Friday evening. We relaxed and chatted and watched old episodes of How I Met Your Mother. I also got to see some clips of their wedding video. Saturday I spent running some errands and crossing things off of my to do list - I washed all my sheets and towels, listened to the...
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Day 273 - Hello Friday!
Happy Friday!! My week’s been pretty standard. Work was good. I made it out hiking on Thursday evening. I didn’t get to yoga at all this week (boo meetings scheduled on either side of the lunch hour), but I am going out to lunch today with the lunch group! I’ve got some fun little plans for the weekend - I’m seeing some friends tonight, volunteering for a bit on Sunday, and...
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Day 272 - Recent Photos
Flowers from around my neighborhood. It’s been in the triple digits all week, and I’ve been running errands in the evenings, so I haven’t walked around the block this week - this photo is from a walk last week. Brick pathways with tree limb tunnels from campus this weekend. Tiny cactus flowers in a garden at the museum I went to two weekends ago. Boats safe in their...
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Day 471 - All Things Awesome
This past Sunday was Mike’s graduation!!! I got to fly back east for it, and it was so wonderful to see him and to celebrated with him and his family. This weekend was simply the best, and I was the proudest fiance ever. Mike completed his degree with highest honors after defending his thesis a couple of weeks ago, and he won an award that is given to one member of the senior class based on...
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Day 470 - From 35,000 Feet
{View from my seat on one of my flights this weekend - I tried to take some photos at night, but they didn’t come out}
The world looks so different from an airplane, especially at night. As you fly west across the country, the heavily concentrated sets of lights that make up big towns and cities and butt up against each other spread further apart and smaller clusters of light appear less...
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Day 469 - False Evidence Appearing Real
My yoga instructor always warns us against fear based thinking. Fear is False Evidence Appearing Real, and we once we recognize it’s falseness we can release fearful thinking and focus on reality.
When we self-create fear about things we can’t control or the future, we should instead focus on the present and transform that fear into a more positive emotion. Fear holds us back and...
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Day 468 - Up and Away
Well this was quite a busy week, but a lot was accomplished. I went hiking with a friend on Tuesday evening, which was really fun, and I got to catch up with my parents on Wednesday night. Work’s been pretty standard, so nothing too exciting to report there. I’m really looking forward to the weekend - I get to see Mike!
Five happy things from the week:
1. Finding this lovely painting...
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Day 467 - Flower Petals
I know I shared cactus flowers yesterday, but aren’t these flowers neat too!? The petals look like leaves and there’s a second tiny flower in the middle. The flowers here are so fascinating. After I saw the pink ones, I found these multi-colored blooms! They are just gorgeous.
Happy Thursday! :)
Today’s Good Thing: I’m going to have a calm and productive day at work.
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Day 466 - Cactus Flowers
Isn’t it interesting that cactus have flowers? I would have never known or expected that. Cactus have such a spiky exterior. I’d have never guessed they also produce vibrant flowers in a range of colors - purple, yellow, orange. It’s really quite fascinating. I suppose since cactus are such interesting plants to being with (I mean, they survive in the middle of the desert),...
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Day 465 - That time I ate my way through the...
{Cactus in flower}
This past weekend was one of adventures, shopping, friends and food, lots of food. I ate out for lunch and dinner both Saturday and Sunday! It was fun, but I’m definitely going to be eating in for the next week at least.
{Replica Native American home at the museum}
Saturday morning I met up with a friend at a museum at the site of the ruin of a Native American...
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Day 464 - Happy Birthday Daily Jenn!!!
{An old photo taken back at college}
Yesterday, Daily Jenn turned 2!! Thank you all so much for your support. Thank you for your encouragement and for sticking with me as I share random moments from my life. Thank you for being a part of my happiness project. I truly, truly appreciate every single one of you. I love keeping this diary of my daily good things, my reflections, and my adventures....
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Day 463 - Happy Friday!
Wow! This week went by pretty fast. I was worried it would be a slow one since the last two weeks I had a day away from the office and this week I went in every day, but it actually went by really quickly. This weekend should be fun! I’m checking out a museum with a friend on Saturday morning and getting dinner with another friend Sunday evening. Otherwise, I’m planning to relax, read,...
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Day 462 - Key Learnings
{From hiking several weeks ago when the wildflowers were out}
The other week, I went to a conference put on by the local women’s network at work. It was really awesome!! There was a great line-up of speakers, and I left feeling super inspired and energized. I also got to meet some really neat people. The theme of the conference was to think bold, act now, and win. I heard a lot of...
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Day 461 - April Reads
Oh my goodness, how is it May already!? I know, I say that every month, but still. I’m happy that times is moving right along, because I am so looking forward to July, but I still can’t believe we’ve already made it through April!
This month I read a ton of books! First was The Paris Wife by Paula McLain, a really fascinating and compelling tale about Hadley Richardson,...
April 2013
22 posts
1 tag
Day 460 - Releasing Judgement
{Taken while hiking on Sunday a couple of weekends ago}
“I find hope in the darkest of days and focus in the brightest. I do not judge the universe.” Dalai Lama
It’s always easier to judge someone than to make a conscious effort not to, but when I release my judgements of others, I become more open and aware of other people, I feel more content, and I’m able to be a...
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Day 459 - Pretend Like It's the Weekend
Sunday I made some AWESOME chocolate chip banana oatmeal amazing-ness pancakes. Seriously, they’re soo good! The recipe is from the Minimalist Baker, and I followed it almost exactly - I left out the almond butter since I didn’t have any and I used regular flour and vanilla almond milk. These pancakes are delicious and nutritious and really filling! I’d highly recommend them,...
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Day 458 - Kind Explosion
This week was pretty great! Work was a bit slow during the first half of the week but then it sped up during the second half. I got in many acts of kindness and enjoyed the More Love Letters and Kind Snacks twitter party. I also spent some time with members of my group and met up with a woman I met last week at the women’s conference! I didn’t make it out hiking at all in the evenings,...
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Day 457 - Grateful
{From hiking a few weeks ago}
It’s been a little while since I’ve made a list of things I’m grateful for, and since I’m now pretty settled into my new job and location, I thought it would be a good idea to reflect on some things I’m thankful for at the moment.
The way the sun warms my skin when I walk outside.
Yoga, plain and simple. I love being able to do yoga...
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Day 456 - Giving Presentations, Part 2
{Hopefully this is not what the audience looks like during your presentations, but apply some of this advice, and they’ll definitely be more engaged - image source}
On Monday, I talked about Slide:ology, but last week I also went to a lunchtime workshop on presentation choreography and delivery. The workshop shared some similarities with the books and contained a ton of really useful...
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Day 455 - Wrapping Veggies
Recently, I’ve been eating more and more vegetables. I definitely wouldn’t yet call myself vegetarian, because I have had meat a couple times in the last few weeks, but I have transitioned to more vegetable based meals. For lunch at the moment, I’m eating a veggie wrap I made up while wandering around Trader Joe’s the other week. I think it’s pretty delicious, so I...
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Day 454 - Slide:ology
The other week I read Slide:ology by Nancy Durate. It was recommended to me by an awesome woman I know through work. The subtitle of Slide:ology is ‘the art and science of creating great presentations,’ and the theme of the book is rethinking the traditional approach to making a presentation.
When I need to make a presentation, my natural inclination is to open powerpoint and start...
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Day 453 - Food and a Few Other Things
It’s been a fun week with lots of pampering. This weekend I’m volunteering Saturday morning at a computer recycling drive and otherwise I’m not really sure what I’ll be up to. Definitely some relaxation and blog post writing. What are your plans? I hope you have a great one!!
Here are five happy things from the week:
1. Framing! I got those small frames all for $2.49...
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Day 452 - Lavender Eye Pillows
Sunday afternoon, I decided to try out some of the decorative stitches on my sewing machine and make lavender eye pillows and little satchels. It was really fun, and I’m looking forward to using these eye pillows in the evenings as a relaxing way to unwind at the end of the day.
Here’s what you’ll need to make your own:
{Dried lavender, lavender oil, thread, cotton fabric,...
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Day 451 - Sweet Tea!
I love sweet tea! Surprisingly enough, there’s really good sweet tea available in the cafe at work. But I decided to try my hand at making my own this weekend.
It’s really easy to make, although it took me a couple of tries to get it just right. I may adjust this recipe slightly the next time I make it, but I think it’s pretty good.
What you’ll need: 4 tea bags,...
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Day 450 - Vintage Finds
On Saturday, I visited a couple of thrift stores and then found a vintage shop I’ve been trying to find for the past few weeks. I knew which shopping center this shop was in, but I could never find the actual store. Finally, on Saturday I just drove by all the store fronts, and I found it!! And inside, I found a plethora of treasures!
I didn’t have much luck at the thrift shops...
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Day 449 - Making Lemonade
{Another photo from hiking Sunday a couple of weekends ago}
‘When life gives you lemons, make lemonade’
This is something I’m usually quite good at. When things don’t quite work out, I make the best of the situation. When not everything goes my way, I deal with it and move on. It’s not always easy, but it does make me feel more satisfied and generally content.
...
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Day 448 - Much Improved
This week was much better than the last one. Things are definitely going smoother at work, and I’m feeling loads better about my project. I also got out hiking, finished a book and started a new one, went to yoga twice (and hopefully a third time today), and went out to dinner! This weekend I’m volunteering at a food bank on Saturday morning with the young professionals group at work...
4 tags
Day 447 - Nicely Noted
I’m always tempted by monthly subscriptions for boxes of pretty things or little gifts, but I usually can’t justify the expense or see exactly how I’ll use those lovely items. Then I came across Nicely Noted, a stationary subscription service that sends you three letterpress notecards and three stamps every month. I write letters frequently, and I love having pretty and unique...
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Day 446 - Favors
So, let’s talk wedding favors! Once we have a good estimate of how many guests are going to attend our wedding, it will be time to order favors (thinking of this reminds me that I better check shipment times).
Tip #1 - check the shipment and order times so that your favors arrive in time for the wedding (rather than afterwards) but you have enough time to gauge how many you’re going...
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Day 445 - Personal Finances
{Photo from hiking last Sunday, completely unrelated to this post}
A couple of weeks ago, I attended a personal finance webinar during my lunch break. It was really helpful, so I wanted to share some of the things I learned!
Disclaimer: I am by no means a financial expert, I just want to share some of the things I learned in a personal finance webinar. Take any of these learnings as advice at...
1 tag
Day 444 - 8 Tips for Getting Out of a Rut
{Taken last Sunday when I went out hiking}
After a great Friday and a relaxing weekend, I am feeling ready for this week and much better about things here. I came up with a list of things to do to get out of a rut, and I thought I’d share them. Feel free to add your own ideas in the comments, I’d love some more!
1. Exercise - Get moving! Even just going for a short walk can help...
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Day 443 - Five and Two
Some weeks aren’t as good as others, and this one certainly isn’t vying for a position as ‘best week ever’, and that’s okay because it certainly can’t all be rainbows and sunshine. I think in tough moments, it’s sometimes best to just let yourself have a minute and then try to push through and remember some good things. Everything’s always changing,...
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Day 442 - March Books
{Three of the four books I read this month - these three I got when I volunteered at the radio pledge drive - they come out this summer}
Summer in the South by Cathy Holton - I really enjoyed this novel about a writer named Ava who decides to quit her job and move out of Chicago to spend the summer in Woodburn, Tennessee at the invitation of Will Fraser, a college friend. Ava spent her...
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Day 441 - Three Months To Go - Wedding Update!!!
{Source for image, photo by Ryan Howell}
This Friday marks three months till the wedding!!! Oh my gosh!!! I’m so excited! We can’t wait!! There’s not too much left to do - make programs, write our vows, and order favors. We’re currently waiting for the RSVPs to roll in. My dad has been updating our Google spreadsheet of guests almost every day! It’s so fun to check...
3 tags
Day 440 - Desert Hiking and Flowers
I probably took around 150 photos or more on my hike on Sunday (and I took the 10,000th photo on my camera in the year and a month that I’ve had it, so the counter reset - crazy!). I tried to narrow down some favorites from Sunday morning’s hike for this post, but I had some trouble, so there are a lot of photos here. I had a really fun time hiking! It was very peaceful and relaxing.
...
7 tags
Day 439 - Weekend in Photos
Here’s my weekend in photos:
{An easter basket of flowers from Mike’s parents!}
{Friday night (after mini golf and laser tag, which were awesome!) I painted my nails, relaxed, and watch Pretty in Pink}
{A silk scarf and watercolor I found at the vintage stalls in the farmer’s market Saturday morning}
{Treated myself to a fancy lunch - brie, french bread, strawberries,...
March 2013
22 posts
7 tags
Day 438 - Week Two Done!!
Woohoo! I made it through week two of work (well almost, there’s still today but anyway)!! How was your week? Mine was good. It went by pretty fast, and I made some progress on my project. We had a group meeting all day yesterday. It was long, but really good. I learned a lot more about the projects people are working on, and it was a good team building/social event too. Plus we were given...
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Day 437 - Chocolate Chunk Cookies!!
On Saturday, I made David’s Cookies from the Maida Heatter’s Cookies book my friend sent me. I really love this book! These cookies are amazing and really simple to make. The hardest part was cutting up the chocolate bar to make chunks.
{Ingredients - really simple!}
{Before baking}
{Fresh out the oven}
{Yum!!!}
I froze some of these cookies and took some more with me...
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Day 436 - Honeymoon, Help!
{Source}
Mike and I are going to have a short honeymoon. A week after our wedding day, we have to be in our new home. We’re planning to go somewhere for a few days starting on the day after our wedding and going until about mid-week. Where should we go!? We were thinking about somewhere in the Caribbean, but with such a short time period, it might take a whole day (or more) to get there....
3 tags
Day 435 - Taco Night!
I saw this recipe for Quinoa Black Bean Tacos on Budget Bytes back in January, and I really wanted to try it out. So over the weekend, I picked up everything I needed and got to work. It was actually really easy to make. I didn’t have chili powder or paprika, so I just left them out and it still came out really well. One thing I will do differently next time is use another kind of...
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Day 434 - Content
These are photos from the group hike I went on last Sunday. I went hiking again yesterday, by myself. And I found a gorgeous trail. It was a great hike with really pretty wild flowers (even better than the ones from last Sunday), BUT I forgot my camera at home. So that was silly of me. But the cactus flowers will be out in a week or two (hopefully along with all the wild flowers out now),...
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Day 433 - Hello, Weekend!!
Happy Friday!!!! I started work this week, and while it has been an adjustment from my time off, it’s also been really good. It’s nice to have something interesting and challenging to work on, and I really like the group I’m in. Plus, my group’s on a renovated floor and it’s nice and bright and colorful and our desks can move up and down! Crazy!! So I can work...
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Day 432 - Baking!!
On Saturday morning, I got a surprise package from the FedEx man!! It was a cookie cookbook and some measuring cups and spoons from a really awesome friend from college!!! I decided to try everything out right away, and I made Chocolate Banana Cookies. They are so yummy!! Like banana bread but in cookie form and slightly chocolately. It had been quite awhile since I’d baked something, and I...
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Day 431 - Engagement Photos!!!
Here are some of my favorites from our engagement photos. Our photographer is Dani Leigh, and she is really amazing! We had SUCH a blast with her doing our engagement photos and cannot wait for her to do our wedding!
Apparently I really like the ones where our heads are together or we’re looking at each other haha. Anyway, these are just a few of my favorites. Dani sent...
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Day 430 - Mismatched Napkins!
The other week, I saw this post on A Beautiful Mess about making cloth napkins. I knew I wanted to try making my own set, so once I got settled in to my apartment and got my sewing machine out, I looked up the nearest fabric store.
I found a quilting store actually. But ‘fat quarters’ are perfect napkin size! I picked out six different patterns, some neutral thread, and straight...
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Day 429 - More Flower Power
I had too many favorites from Tuesday’s trip to the botanical gardens, so I had to carry some over to today. Enjoy!!
Today’s my first day of work!! I’m excited to get started and get into my work routine. I have really enjoyed this time off, and it will be a bit hard to engage my brain again after it’s been turned off for the past three months. But I am so...
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Day 428 - Friday, Friday
This week’s been an adjustment to my new neighborhood, a new state, and living on my own again. It’s been fun to explore and get to know the area I’ll be living in for the next several months. I’ve gotten back into hiking (woo!!) and reconnected with some of the people I met over the summer. I’m excited for new adventures! This weekend I’m hoping to check out an...
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Day 427 - Flower Power
Tuesday was the second Tuesday of March, so it was free afternoon at the botanical gardens. I went for a couple of hours, and boy was it busy! It took me 30 minutes just to find a parking space - people were getting vicious! But it was totally worth it for the free admission to the gardens and to the butterfly exhibit. I took a ton of photos and had a great time wandering around!
...
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Day 426 - Programs!
At some point before the wedding, I’m going to make programs for our ceremony. I’m going to print them out myself on card stock and then fold them with the right side out, round the corners, and put a large craft stick in the middle so that they can function as fans as well, since we’ll be getting married outside on a summer’s day. The program will have all the standard...
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Day 425 - Errands & Exploring
Just a few more photos from the fair I went to on Sunday. Yesterday I did some exploring and ran a few errands. I think I have (almost) everything I need now. Moving across the country with only a car and shipping a couple of boxes from home means that I need a lot of basics. Yesterday I picked up a lot of stuff, including a clock radio so I can listen to the local NPR station. I don’t...
