Daily Jenn

Day 276 - Outward Appearances

Wed, 22 May 2013 07:30:33 -0400

{From Wales last June}

The other week I wrote a post about releasing judgement. As I walked around my neighborhood this weekend, I thought about that post, and I also considered outward appearances. I looked at the houses as I walked down the street, and I thought about first impressions. While I can try not to judge others, it doesn’t necessarily mean they won’t judge me, and first impressions are formed in a matter of seconds. So I considered outward appearances because that’s what I have control over when someone is making their impression of me. I try to approach people with a smile and a friendly and positive attitude. I hope to come across as an upbeat and happy person who’s open and welcoming to others. No matter what, someone’s going to have a judgmental attitude, but I have complete control over how I appear to them.

Today’s Good Thing: I’ve picked up a bunch of books at the library both real and in e-format, and I’m going to read tonight!!

Day 275 - Finding Your Passion

Tue, 21 May 2013 07:30:22 -0400

Last week I went to a lunchtime talk by a former employee of the company I work for. There wasn’t an overarching theme of it, really, but the speaker did talk a lot about finding your passion. He also emphasized that in terms of that work/life balance that everyone’s always talking about, it’s all in your control. You get to decide how much time and effort you put into work and how much you put into life. And all that research and effort you put into your job, you should also be putting into your passion outside of work. You should also bring that passion into work because it adds a new dynamic to the group.

So how do you go about figuring out what your passion is? He had some good tips! There are a couple of questions you can think about and write lists of answers to, then you can look for a common theme in those lists and out of that you can tease out your passion.

So, onto the questions!

1. If you had a long period of time off and you couldn’t travel and your family was away, what would you do?

2. What do you like to spend your time on? Time is precious. One minute is one minute and when it’s gone, you can’t get it back. So what do you do with your time when you have a free hour or two and you don’t have anything to do?

I’ve started thinking about this, and I think some of my answers are volunteering, photography, reading, and spreading happiness. I’d also love to do something to help girls in STEM and just in general encourage students interested in math and engineering. And I’d love to go on a campaign to spread as much kindness and happiness as possible and help people in any way I can. So I think out of that one of my big passions is happiness. What’s your passion?

Today’s Good Thing: I’m cooking this evening and trying out a new recipe!!

{Photos by Mike taken in England and Wales last June}

Day 274 - Weekend Update

Mon, 20 May 2013 07:30:00 -0400

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 radio a lot, wrote some letters and made my favorite oatmeal, banana, chocolate chip pancakes. I found the Little Free Library in my neighborhood and dropped off the book I picked up last weekend at the airport. I also went to the library and borrowed some new books in paper and on my Kindle (which those awesome Friday night friends gave me since they got a new one)! Sunday brought grocery shopping, coffe shop writing with iced tea, volunteering at a cancer fundraiser and dinner with another friend. I lived in my black and white stripey shorts and flip-flops. It was a bright and sunny weekend!

Today’s Good Thing: Yoga and hiking!!!

Day 273 - Hello Friday!

Fri, 17 May 2013 07:30:31 -0400

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 having dinner with a friend that evening. Otherwise I’m planning to take it easy and relax and maybe go out on a hike (if I get up early enough).

Here are five happy things from my week:

1. Mac and cheese from Trader Joe’s!

2. A lovely letter from one of my pen pals (writing back will be another fun weekend activity)

3. Lots of reading! I didn’t get much reading done during the week, but I’m about to start The House I Loved, and I finished Death of Yesterday and read Guilt by Degrees last weekend.

4. Being back at my alma mater over the weekend and seeing Mike!!!

5. Hike, hike, hiking!

This week’s acts of kindness:

1. I got a wedding card for everyone to sign for the woman in my group who got married this week!

2. I overheard some women talking about how our bathroom at work doesn’t have lotion, so I bought a bottle and put it in there.

Today’s Good Thing: It’s Friday!! And I’m going out to lunch!

Have a wonderful weekend!!!

Day 272 - Recent Photos

Thu, 16 May 2013 07:30:11 -0400

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 slips outside the restaurant at which we had Mike’s celebratory graduation dinner. Just some photos from life lately.

Today’s Good Thing: I’m going hiking!!!

Day 471 - All Things Awesome

Wed, 15 May 2013 07:30:12 -0400

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 character, scholarship, and leadership. His family and I got to sit in the President’s box at the main graduation ceremony, and it was just really fantastic to see him recognized in such a big way!!!

{A photo that a friend of Mike’s took - Mike’s up on the stage and on the big screen!!}

I am so very grateful that I was able to be there for his graduation. It was lovely to be back on the campus that he and I love so much. Life couldn’t have been much better than it was this weekend.

{Mike with his diploma after the departmental ceremony!!!}

{Campus on Saturday - so pretty and green!}

{We ate dinner at a restaurant on the water Saturday evening - it was fantastic!}

Today’s Good Thing: I’m going to have a quiet and relaxing evening after work :)

Day 470 - From 35,000 Feet

Tue, 14 May 2013 07:30:00 -0400

{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 frequently in the blackness. Before the plane got too high on Sunday evening, I watched cars winding along dark roads like little ants with headlamps. I wondered about the people in the meandering neighborhoods tucked away for the night. Flying isn’t always my favorite thing, but I love the adventure of traveling, I love wandering around the airport and amusing myself with stories about the people around me, and I love to explore somewhere new. Most of all, I love the feeling of wonder I experience when looking down on a small part of the world from 35,000 feet in the air.

Today’s Good Thing: I’m going to learn something new!

Day 469 - False Evidence Appearing Real

Mon, 13 May 2013 07:30:00 -0400

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 once we acknowledge that it is false evidence appearing real, we can let it go. Last Wednesday in class, we did a lot of poses for anxiety. It was a stressful day for me at work, and I found that those long poses and letting all my fear based thinking go was really helpful. I love yoga so much, and I really love the instructor we have at work - I always come out of class feeling open and calm. It’s quite wonderful. I am so grateful for the fact that I can go to yoga at work.

Today’s Good Thing: Yoga!!

Photo from outside of the museum I went to the Saturday before last.

Day 468 - Up and Away

Fri, 10 May 2013 07:30:12 -0400

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 at Goodwill on 50% off everything day

2. New scarves! I love scarves so much, and these lightweight ones are perfect for the office when I start to get chilly.

3. Reading! I read this book this week and started another. This was really fun!

4. Smoothies!! I’ve been making my kale berry smoothies recently (with different extra fruits and veggies added in), and they are awesome!

5. Gorgeous flowers! The flowers are still out, and I love seeing so many bright blooms on my way to and from work and on my walks around the neighborhood.

This week’s acts of kindness:

1. I wrote a note of appreciation and thanks to my local NPR station and to the recycling team at work because they’re awesome.

2. I bought some extra nonperishable food items at the grocery store for the food drive that the local post offices are doing.

Today’s Good Thing: I get to see Mike tonight!!!!!!!!!

Day 467 - Flower Petals

Thu, 09 May 2013 07:30:19 -0400

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.

Day 466 - Cactus Flowers

Wed, 08 May 2013 07:30:26 -0400

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), it’s not really that surprising that they contain many interesting and beautiful secrets like stunning flowers. I think people are like this too - full of interesting and wonderful surprises. I guess this is just another lesson in you can’t judge a book by it’s cover.

Today’s Good Thing: Yoga! Plus I’m presenting a workshop this afternoon, so I’m looking forward to that being successful and finished.

Cactus flower photos taken over the weekend.

Day 465 - That time I ate my way through the weekend

Tue, 07 May 2013 07:30:13 -0400

{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 village. We had fun exploring the ruins and learning about the history of the area. Then we headed out to lunch and shopping! We checked out a couple of thrift stores and found some great items. That evening I went out to dinner with the same friend and her husband and a couple her husband knows through work. We ate some delicious pizza at a local chain!

{Thrifty finds - two dresses and a top - the white dress I’m going to wear for our rehearsal dinner!}

Sunday I met up with my sister’s boyfriend who just finished an AMAZING kayaking trip. I got to see some of his photos and had a great time chatting with him. Plus we had an awesome lunch at quite the dive bar. That evening I met up with a friend from college who also lives in this area for some delicious Thai food. We had fun catching up with each other.

Today’s Good Thing: I’m going to have a relaxing evening!

Day 464 - Happy Birthday Daily Jenn!!!

Mon, 06 May 2013 07:30:25 -0400

{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. I have so much to be thankful and grateful for today and every day.

Today’s Good Thing: It’s less than two months till the wedding!!!!

Day 463 - Happy Friday!

Fri, 03 May 2013 07:30:22 -0400

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, and maybe go hiking. What are your plans for the weekend?

Here are my five happy things:

1. Letters!! I got letters from five pen pals this week :)

2. Volunteering! I’m really enjoying all of the volunteering opportunities that are available through the company I work for. I’m not volunteering this weekend, but in a couple of weeks I’ll be back at it!

3. A new box for the letters and notes I receive and fun notecards from Michaels! I love that $1.50-$2 section!

4. A new bottle of wine

5. The heart shape that’s formed by the drainage area outside my building.

This week’s acts of kindness:

1. I pledged to back this project on Kickstarter for a book about autism.

2. I posted signs with happy messages around town.

Also this week, I got a really nice card from my mom! In it she told me about this piece of work she found of mine from June 1996. I wrote:

“My strength is math. Math is my talent. I am very good at Math. Math is fun. I practits math at houm. Numbers are fun too play with.”

Spelling never was my strong suit. But still, I loved reading that! I remember discovering my love of math in calculus in high school, but apparently it was much earlier than that. And how lovely to read that all these years later when I now hold a Bachelor’s degree in math and a Master’s in operations research, which is a branch of applied math :)

Anyway, have a fantastic weekend!!!

Today’s Good Thing: It’s almost the weekend!!

Day 462 - Key Learnings

Thu, 02 May 2013 07:30:23 -0400

{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 valuable advice, so I wanted to share some of the key points with you :)

The conference began with a really inspiring keynote address. The most valuable points were:

Speak up and stand up for your opinions and ideas. When someone else has a new idea, be sure to support them as well – extend a hand!
Question things that don’t make sense and suggest alternatives.
What do you want to accomplish at work and outside of work? Use your answers to this question to develop your purpose and your goals.
Know what you’re passionate about and what you want to do and work diligently towards that goal (and on the way, embrace the journey). Your goal shouldn’t be something like ‘become VP’, rather it should be more focused and more engaged with your passion (see third point).
Aim high and stretch yourself, but make sure you pace yourself too – you don’t have to stretch all the time!
If you’re always successful in reaching your goals, then you’re not taking risks and you’re not pushing yourself.
Show the same grace and generosity when receiving compliments and feedback. It’s also important to create a support system that you can go to for help and advice when you get feedback.

Risk taking is one of my company’s values. It’s something that I’m working on because I’m not a big risk taker, but I definitely see the value in it, so I’m trying to be more open to risks. I found these steps for conscious risk taking really useful.

Steps for Conscious Risk Taking
- Purpose – what will come of taking this risk? Why should it be taken?
- Guiding principles – evaluate your principles and think about whether or not the risk is aligned with them
- Recognize your abilities and talents – are you ready to take this risk? Are you equipped with everything you need? Also, be confident in the skills that you possess.
- Determine readiness – are you completely ready for the risk?
- Evaluate – where is the motivation for this risk coming from?
- Be still and listen to your inner voice

There was also a panel discussion with senior company leaders, which was really awesome! Here are some of the things I found most noteworthy from them:

Find a way to make sure people know what you do – show off your good work.
If you’re afraid of doing something, that means you should do it – be brave!
Keep believing in yourself and don’t be afraid to ask for help.
Step back from self-negativity. When you’re feeling down on yourself, think about the things you’ve accomplished and the people who support you and think highly of you.
We can’t all be good at everything and no one has all the answers. (That no one has all the answers is especially important to remember, I think. It means that you shouldn’t be afraid of speaking up when you do have the answer or an idea of the answer. But it also means that you should cut yourself some slack when you don’t know the answer, because nobody knows everything.)
With regard to work/life balance/choices, the panel emphasized the importance of being a team with your partner. I’m about to get married, so I’m looking for all the advice I can get in this arena, and I think that the panel’s tip to align your family around what’s truly important and make your choices based on that will be very useful for me in the future.
Assume responsibility. Engage. Connect. Get involved. Speak up.

Finally, the closing act was filled with interesting and inspiring anecdotes as well as many motivational quotes, mostly from Eleanor Roosevelt. Here are some points I found valuable:

My favorite quote in the presentation was ‘Do one thing every day that scares you’ from Eleanor Roosevelt
- Now that’s a big challenge! But maybe it can be thought of in small doses. After all, you always have to start somewhere. Either way, I think this is a valuable thing to keep in mind. The things that scare me the most are often the things I really should do, so I’m going to try to do one thing each day that scares me, even if it is something simple or small.
Give yourself the freedom to fail and learn from those failures. Ask yourself what didn’t work and why as well as what worked and why.
Choose the unknown. Step up. Be fearless. Find your strength.
It’s all about opportunities.
You can bring people with you and convince them to join you by being passionate about your idea and what you’re doing.

So there you have it – the (numerous) important pieces of advice I gained during the conference. I hope you found them helpful! I’m already looking forward to next year’s event, and I’m hoping to find many areas in which I can apply the valuable things I learned this year. Many of these takeaways are pretty broad and over-arching, but I think they’re important things to keep in mind. I know I’ll be referring back to my notes frequently to keep the most important points in focus.

Today’s Good Thing: I’m going out to lunch with two work friends!

Day 461 - April Reads

Wed, 01 May 2013 07:30:17 -0400

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, Earnest Hemingway’s first wife. It takes place mostly in Paris in the 1920s and follows the couple from the time they meet through their marriage It’s wonderfully written and beautifully told. I loved this novel (although parts of it broke my heart)! Then I read Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, and it totally lived up to all the hype. Oh my goodness - it was so, so good!! I devoured it in less than three days. It’s mysterious and thrilling with an awesome twist that I never saw coming! The novel starts with the disappearance of Amy Dunne. Her husband, Nick, doesn’t appear as concerned as he should be and as the evidence starts to pile up, you’re left wondering, did he do it? And what in the world has happened to Amy?

I next moved on to library books. I started with a light mystery, Murder Unleashed by Elaine Viets. It’s the fifth in the Dead-End Mysteries series, but it was the first of the series that I’ve read. I really enjoyed this mystery! It’s fun, humorous, and highly entertaining. The main character, Helen Hawthorne is working at an upscale dog boutique in Florida when a dog goes missing and customers start being murdered. Helen tries to track down the killer and the missing pooch with the help of her hunky boyfriend before a hurricane blows in. I then took a break from mysteries with Decline and Fall by Evelyn Waugh. I’m not usually much of a ‘classics’ person, but I picked up this novel because the cover looked interesting (haha, definitely one of my most common reasons for grabbing a new book), and I really enjoyed it. It’s a social commentary and satire portrayed through the story of Paul Pennyfeather, a student at Oxford who is sent away at the start of the novel and ends up working at public school in Wales. It was first published in 1928 and was Waugh’s first novel. I’d highly recommend it.

The last novel I read this month was Miss Dimple Suspects by Mignon Ballard. The novel takes place in a small town in Georgia during World War II. It begins with the frantic search for one of Miss Dimple’s students who has gone missing. Miss Dimple finds the girl and the two make their way to a remote house where an elderly artist and her caregiver live. The caregiver nurses the girl and in the morning the two return to the town. Several days later, however, the caregiver calls Miss Dimple in a panic as she’s found the artist murdered in the house! The caregiver has Japanese heritage, and the town turns against her. It’s up to Miss Dimple and her friends to track down the real killer.

What have you been reading recently? This week I’m returning my books from April and picking up some new ones! I love a good trip to the library :)

Today’s Good Thing: I’m catching up with a close friend over the phone this evening!!

Day 460 - Releasing Judgement

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 07:30:23 -0400

{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 more understanding person. It’s something I have to work on and definitely be constantly aware of. When I catch myself being judgmental, I try to recognize it and shift my mindset. I let the judgmental thought go and instead try to think of something good about the person. I also remind myself that I don’t know their story - I have no idea where they come from and I don’t know what they’ve been through. I have no right or reason to be judgmental of them. Judging is easy along with most negative thinking, but making a conscious effort to be more positive and open bring a much greater benefit.

“How would your life be different if you stopped making negative judgmental assumptions about people you encounter? Let today be the day you look for the good in everyone you meet and respect their journey” Steve Maraboli

Today’s Good Thing: I’m going hiking tonight (finally, it’s been too long since I was last out in the evening)!!!

Day 459 - Pretend Like It's the Weekend

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 07:30:38 -0400

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, and I’m going to use them to convince Mike that vegan baking is good (well almost vegan, I did use regular chocolate chips).

The recipe made exactly six small pancakes for me, which I think is great for two servings. Although I will admit I ate four yesterday, which left me only two for breakfast this morning. Still, I think three is probably the perfect serving size. And these don’t even need syrup - they are perfect as is! Enjoy!! :)

Today’s Good Thing: I’m going to yoga!! It’s been a week since I last went, so I’m really looking forward to it!

Day 458 - Kind Explosion

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 07:30:27 -0400

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, but I did go running and walking around my neighborhood. How was your week?

1. A really lovely letter from one of my pen pals that included her mom’s recipe for Strawberry Iced Tea!

2. Flowers brightening up my apartment

3. Berries, berries, berries!!

4. Pretty spring themed stamps from the post office

5. Experimenting with fruity drinks

5. Hiking! I only made it out on Sunday, but it was great to be back on the trails, and I’m hoping to go out again in the evenings next week.

Acts of Kindness:

1. I wrote inspirational quotes inside notecards and left them around different places.

2. I’m volunteering at an event on Saturday that is for girls interested in engineering!

3. I cleared out the dish return in the cafe at work when it got clogged with cups and plates on Wednesday afternoon.

4. I made sure the admin. of my group was recognized on Wednesday for Administrative Professionals Day!

Whew, I guess it was a busy week!

Have a fantastic weekend!!!! :)

Today’s Good Thing: I’m going out to lunch with a woman I met at the conference last week!!

Day 457 - Grateful

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 07:30:37 -0400

{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 at work during lunch on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. I love how relaxed I feel afterwards.

Hiking. I’m grateful for the plethora of hiking trails in close proximity to me and for the leaders that take groups out on hikes.

Afternoon light streaming into my living room.

Connections. I’m thankful for my pen pals and my friends back home, for little moments shared with others, and for meeting new people.

What are you grateful for today?

Today’s Good Thing: I’m attending a workshop with some co-workers that should be really useful and a good bonding experience!