Highlights

Posted in Life, Series by C.

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{Day 34: My BF left to run an errand & came home with 2 Sunday favs: fresh flowers & bacon!}

This has been one of the most chaotic and exhausting weeks I have had in quite awhile boys and girls. I knew going into it that it would be a challenging one on all levels – mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually. And while I’m not really in a head space to delve into the particulars of everything that seems to be piling up at the moment, I am happy on this heat wave induced Friday in LA to say…I made it. I’m still in the middle of said storm that I know I’ve been rather elusive about, but the rain has lifted a bit since the beginning of the week. What I will share is that The Universe is making it very clear that the sunshine will prevail…even at 94° outside as I literally write this.

I know that I’m equipped to deal with everything that’s going on, it’s just funny how in life it tends to happen at the most inconvenient moment and the struggle is just accepting reality (which I’ve done), getting past the mental kicking (still working on it), while anxious about how everything will turn out (I’m a total worrywart, so still working on this, too). Then again, what I’ve learned as I’ve gotten older, is that there’s never a convenient time. You really just have to roll with life and hope for the best. As I reflect back over the last week, I found myself constantly remembering to focus on the positive so I can see how my perspective is shifting often – and I smile because I can clearly see where things could always be much worse. I hope this inspires you, no matter what’s happening at this particular moment, to focus on the good. In fact, cling to it.

My week-long vacation starts in just a few more hours. I’m taking some time off from life for a while to celebrate my birthday on Tuesday and recharge. I really need it. I’m looking forward to spending some time with my boyfriend in Ojai for my birthday for a few days, then heading back home for a much-needed staycation to have the time to relax, catch-up on life, and think about the next steps.

As such, I’m also taking some time off from the blog, but not to worry – I’ll be back! I hope you’ll still be here.

Have an amazing weekend and week ahead.

I still made it a point to find that one thing a day, that brought a smile to my face, even during this crazy week. Here are some of my favorite moments from the 100 Happy Days Challenge.

Talk soon! x

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{Day 39: 9:52am today. Heat wave in progress, and I’m lovin’ it. Another LA Friday has arrived.}

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{Day 37: A fresh homemade strawberry smoothie to start another busy day.}

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{Day 33: French films, festivals, and nights in Hollywood. Win, win.}

Day38ATG

{Day 38: Dropping your phone from a second story building to meet its fate with the concrete, not cool. Getting a replacement phone in 24 hours because you were smart enough to always get phone insurance, now smiling.}

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28Apr2014

5 Reasons This Week Will Rock

Posted in Life, Series by C.

5 reasons heder pic ATG

There are moments in life where you mentally kick yourself over and over, obsessing over a barrage of “what ifs” – knowing that the domino effect of what’s to come could’ve easily been avoided had either you made a different choice, or the circumstances surrounding you had been different. Of course, life is meant to be a teacher; and God, The Universe, or whatever spiritual ideology you choose to believe in never gives you more than you can handle. And yet, it still seems to take time before you get passed the mental kicking and cycle of “if I had just done this…”

I suppose it’s just the nature of being human and learning with the ebb and flow of life. This means that during the domino effect or the results of events to come, we also have a choice of how to deal/respond as we see our way through the storm.

This is going to be a chaotic and lively week as I maneuver through a more stressful moment in life. And though this particular storm is not life-threatening and not anything at all uncommon, admittedly, I still do the human thing and kick myself (often). However, as I’ve gotten older, I’ve made it a point to try to focus on the positive and look for the gratitude in every situation. I must say, it’s an interesting exercise when you consciously catch yourself alternating between the kicking and the gratitude.

I’m choosing to focus on the positive at this particular moment. It’s a huge aspect of why I even started blogging almost 2 years ago and started my “5 Reasons” series 7 months ago.

So, I’ll take a deep breath, tell myself to take it one step at a time, focus on finding the lesson, ask The Universe to send good vibes and look forward to these 5 reasons this week rock…even during the storm.

1. I’d planned to take some time off and have a quiet staycation here at home for my birthday next week, but my sneaky boyfriend made other plans much to delight. Last week, he handed me a box and said it was an early birthday present. Inside, reservations for a quaint hotel in Ojai! My staycation just turned into a vacation! I’m SO looking forward it. This unexpected surprise will be what will carry me through the week! I can’t wait. 🙂

2. I’m 100% back to normal after my cold last week. It’ll be nice to get back to life healthy and rested. I’ll need it to make it through a rather hectic week ahead.

3. The new read for my next book club meeting is now on my Kindle ready to go! I’m excited for Wally Lamb’s new novel, We Are Water.

4. Aside from always being grateful for steady employment – things are expected to be busy at work this week. I’m in the middle of a huge project that I’m enjoying and being challenged by. It’s a great change of pace.

5. Movie night with my boyfriend (who totally rocks by the way!). Looking forward to a weekday night at one of my favorite theaters and Tom Hardy in Locke. Looks intense and currently 89% on Rotten Tomatoes? I’m there. Here’s the trailer!

Have a good week, guys! I can’t believe April will be leaving us shortly.

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6Dec2013

Highlights

Posted in Life by C.

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When it rains, it pours. To say that this week was a bit overwhelming is an understatement. Though I’m trying to keep positive (it is the holidays after all) December is off to a rough start. Where do I begin? I’d like to rant for a bit if you don’t mind…

For the last 3 months, I’ve been trying to find out why my allergies have been bothering me as soon as I hit my head to the pillow every night. Every. Single. Night. Without. Fail. It got the point that I was on medication for a while to help with the discomfort and started desperately digging for causes. I already avoid “down”-anything like the plague because me and feathers just don’t mix. I washed my sheets, cleaned everything I could think of, minus my comforter because I had it dry cleaned recently. And note to self: don’t read about dust mites on your phone at 4:00am when you can’t sleep and start researching bed allergens to pass the time. I suppose the good news is that I’ve located the source after months of torture this week and realized it was that damn comforter all along! It was the first time I’d taken it to the cleaners since buying it and apparently whatever chemicals they used to dry clean it didn’t make my sinuses happy… At. All.

On top of my allergies, I’ve been dealing with the “joys of being a woman.” I won’t go into detail about what specifically, and it’s certainly not life threatening and very much a common “joy” that comes with being a woman, but suffice to say – in my next life I want to be a man! Thank god I have great health insurance and a Cedars Siani doctor I can email at any time.

I walked out to my car yesterday morning and there was a lovely note on it from my parking space neighbor. It wasn’t a simple “hello!” or “I love your car!” No, it was what I had dreaded. As soon as I saw the paper tucked into my windshield wiper, my stomach dropped. I was hoping it was an annoying flyer for psychic healing services or something. But no. No one else in the parking lot had a “flyer.” It was, in fact, a note letting me know that my parking space neighbor hit my car while parking hers the night before. The reason I’m not furious is because I’m beyond grateful that the damage was mild and that she actually left me a note with authentic contact information (and actually answered the phone and took total responsibility!). I’ve been burned by this before. Not too long ago, I come out one day and my then still pretty brand new-ish car had a nice sexy dent in it without a note so that I could get it fixed. (Asshole). My insurance company couldn’t help either based on my deductible. The damage would be less than it so I’d have to cover the repairs entirely. So despite battling #1 and #2 above, I’m just more annoyed by the inconvenience – the taking the time to get an estimate and now finding the time to get it fixed during an already crazy busy month.

I suppose that with anything, perspective is key. With every scenario that made this week a complete and total pain, there was and is a silver-lining. I have my health (at least the whole I’m still breathing/alive aspect to it), I have health insurance, and there are still good people in the world who own up to their responsibilities when they make a mistake. Not only did she immediately offer to pay for the damages to my car, she emailed me a list of highly rated auto body shops in our area within just a few hours of speaking to be helpful.

Boy, am I glad it’s the weekend…