I am, admittedly, a bit of a grumbler- sometimes it feels like all I do is complain, especially about work, sometimes about being tired, and every now and then about some aspect of the creative projects I'm working on (gasp!). Due to some "personalities" at work, the last few months have seen an upswing in the frequency and intensity of my frustration and subsequent whining.
That being said, I can't help but notice that I feel happier lately... much happier! I attribute this to a few things...
1) Sunshine. God, things seem so much easier when the sun is shining brightly, the sky is blue, and there's a warm breeze. I don't know WHAT is going on with the Rochester weather this winter, but I think Spring has officially sprung-- we've been basking in the daily glow of 60-70 degree temperatures and sunny days for a couple of weeks now. If this is global warming, I'm okay with it. Everything just seems to much more carefree when the weather is beautiful like that-- makes me just want to fling open my windows to let the breeze gently blow my gauzy curtains as I laze around a freshly cleaned apartment. It makes walking to and from my car a pleasure every day. Things that might normally irritate me are met with a "who cares- it's perfect outside today" attitude. I strangely feel so much more productive, and that makes me happy.
2) Forcing myself to start my day earlier. I know... anyone who has ever had to deal with me first thing in the morning knows that I am the poster child for the "not a morning person" movement. My parents have a home video of me when I was 3, sitting at the breakfast table eating Lucky Charms in my pjs, and after having tried to ignore my mom's attempts to engage me in conversation, I glared straight into the camera and grumpily uttered the words "don't.bug.me." and went back to eating my marshmallows. True story- I have the proof on video. Despite this aversion to all things early, I've been forcing myself to "get up" when I "wake up", which means the difference between resignedly rolling out of bed at 8:30am (I'm supposed to be at work at 9am) and starting my day at 7ish. That's a big difference! Think what I could do with that extra time-- I can eat breakfast if I want to, I actually have time to make myself look polished and put-together (and when you look great, you feel great), I can watch an episode of Keeping up with the Kardashians, I can tidy my apartment... so many possibilities! Now I get to work right on time, if not early, I don't come home to a disaster every day, and I get to spend the day looking nice and not thrown together. I've noticed that I actually feel less tired throughout the days when I don't allow myself to go back to sleep until the last possible moment. All those things make me feel good!
3) Butterflies. You know the ones, right? The ones that are caused by seeing or talking to or thinking about someone you reeeeeally like? Yep- I've got those... ! 2011 was a very tough year for love for this adorkable gal- lots of baggage to wade through, lots of soul-searching, lots of dating attempts, lots of worrying that my previous experiences had left me permanently broken in the relationship department, lots of lonely cat-lady behavior (I may or may not have taped a music video set to Celine Dion's "All By Myself" over the course of many solitary nights last Fall... the music video features an obscenely large bag of cotton candy, an entire spectrum of sweatpants, my couch, my cat, wine... need I continue?). But 2012 is a new year, and a little romance finally found me when I was least expecting it! It feels good to be a genuinely smitten kitten again and I'm so relieved to find that all the nervousness that I've been holding onto when it comes to getting back into the game has been replaced with excitement and straight-up happiness. I feel like a school girl again! Hah!
4) Babies. I love babies. In fact, I love them so much that I would embark upon a 6-hour solo road trip after working a full day and going to a dentist appointment just to see one. Well, I wouldn't do that for just ANY baby, you're right. But I would TOTALLY do it for MY baybee, my nephew Ben! And that's just what I'll be doing tonight- picking up and driving to Philly all by myself right after my dentist appointment this afternoon. Yes, I will be driving with a half-numb face for the better part of the first hour (let's just hope that my coffee doesn't dribble down my chin while I'm driving) and I won't be arriving at my destination until 11pm because of my late start, but it's totally worth it. I haven't seen Ben since Christmas (iChats don't count) and the pictures my sister posts are only getting more and more adorable. The last time we Skyped, we had a good time making fart noises (okay, I was the one making the fart noises, but he was enjoying them) and shaking our heads "no" vigorously (his newest trick). I can't wait to play with him in person! He's the cutest thing ever and I've made sure to charge up my camera because this aunt is gonna be takin' a lot of photos and videos this weekend! Can't wait!
So there are my 4 current big-time "happy"-makers. Honorable mentions go out to iced cappuccinos, my upcoming European vacation in less than 2 months (more on that in a subsequent post!), fresh flower arrangements, $5 dvds, good hair days, naps, my new piping gun for decorating baked goods, compliments, free movie passes, free time, online shopping, and goat cheese. :-)
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