Last week I had the pleasure of guest posting on fellow urban mommy blogger Bunnie Hilliard’s website. I took the opportunity to drone on about cool things to do with and without your kids in my town of Dectur, Georgia. Click the photo to head to her site and read the post.
Have a great weekend!
It has taken me 43 years to learn which clothes work for me and which ones work against me. After the usual teen trend fashion disasters in the 80s and early 90s I realized that classic works best.
I’m not a small woman. At 5’10” tall and 174 pounds I am not built for the seasonal whims of clothing designers. High waisted pants? No way! Gladiator sandals? Only if I want to feel like an awkward extra from the movie 300. A crisp white cotton blouse? Certainly. An a-line floral print skirt? That’s more like it.
This look that I put together on Polyvore is a classic work outfit for me. Learn more about fashion that moves me on my Pinterest page here.
I would love to be able to write a post about how I became a more relaxed person. How I stopped having mini-anxiety attacks every Sunday night. How I became more aware of the little things that make life great. How I have quieted my mind, reduced moments of forgetfulness and reduced the number of times I walk into a room and wonder, “What did I come in here for?“.
I would love to tell you how to achieve those things; but in actuality I myself have no idea how I have done it. Looking back on changes that I have made I can only think it is from my effort to bring a little more gratitude into my life and to not sweat the small stuff. Several months ago I thought about small and big moments in my life and how I handled them. From these experiences I’ve learned four things:
1. If I was hyper stressed about what someone’s reaction to something would be or how something would unfold, the end result was almost always a small blip on the radar. Feeling stress and anxiety benefits no one and changes nothing. Don’t waste your emotions on those emotions.
2. Remember that your work will be there tomorrow. When you leave the office remember to take your mind with you. Evenings and weekends are for rest, relaxation, and recharging. There will be times when you need to do work from home; but handle those tasks as quickly as possible and move on. Your job pays you but so does your family. That compensation comes in the form of love, laughs, and memories. That currency makes for pretty good paydays also, so be present to cash those checks.
3. Be grateful and open to good things coming your way. At the beginning of 2014 I made a bucket list for the year. I decided to put my full efforts into doing everything on the list. In addition, I was open to the possibility of some of those things not happening during this time (grad school) ; and grateful for the things I would be able to accomplish. This has made the experiences even more worthwhile and has led to me adding a few more exciting things to the list.
4. Say hello to the day and hope for the best. My attitude towards the day and its scenarios is always up to me. I try to begin my morning with a thank you to the powers that be, and a call to my inner self to use grace and understanding with each person I will meet that day.
Possibly one or two of these tricks will work for you. If all else fails martinis, massages, and manicures are also highly effective.
What do you do to make this life a joyous one?
I think we are in the clear. It is mid-May, so I will go out on a limb and say we probably are done with the cold weather.
We have all seen the temperamental nature of Mother Nature this past year so I could always be wrong. Quick! Enjoy it while you can. In Georgia Spring lasts for about three weeks (if you are lucky). This is why weekends in the month of May are crammed with beer festivals, art festivals, festival festivals!
Days like these put me in the mood for spring cleaning, welcoming back my warm weather uniform of ballet flats and full skirts, and spending evenings on the patio. What about you? You only have days before the sweatbox switch is turned on and we are searching for the nearest air conditioned oasis.
Get outdoors. Catch some fresh air, a few rays, and maybe a bug or two.
Maria Pinkelton 