figuring out 40

source: random google image search that i forgot to copy. oops!

1. I called out sick yesterday. This is significant b/c I never call out sick. Thanks to a stomach bug that made its way around the office, my never streak was broken.

2. I am ridiculously excited to see Brene Brown on Super Soul Sunday.

3. Perhaps from the aforementioned stomach bug, I feel like I could sleep for days.

4. I am three weeks behing on Project Life. Maybe four. 

5. Oh, Bradley. You complete me.

this guy.

Happy Birthday little brother!!

While it's true that I'm a bit irish...I'm not sure that I got the "lucky" part of that heritage. I tend to believe more in hard work than in lucky breaks. Although, I do believe in the law of attraction, the power of intention, and various other "systems" that might be viewed as luck. Leave it to me to over-analyze a Ventage Tuesday topic! Angie's pick for today - something making you feel lucky, or a luck ritual. 

Disclaimer - this post would be better with pictures. 

1. Lucky sweatshirt. I have a sweatshirt from the University of the Pacific that I've had since my freshman year of high school. It's white with orange letters, and it has held up surprisingly well! I bought it at the first debate invitational that I ever went to. It now serves as my "lucky sweatshirt" when I need inspiration - usually for crafting or writing. 

2. Lucky numbers. I definitely notice when angel numbers show up - 1111, 444, and 555 are the most common occurences for me. 

3. Lucky coffee cups. I'm pretty particular about the coffee cups that I use at home - and I guess I really do consider a few of them to be "lucky" as they relate having a good day. 

4. Lucky quarter. New! I picked up a quarter in the parking lot the other day. If finding a penny brings a day of good luck, I should have about three weeks left. Hey Universe, do you hear that??

5. and....that's all that I've got. :)

I'm not really sure what happened with the blogging last week. A few business dinners, a lot of laundry, and a persistent bad mood - any or all of those might have happened. I'm usually not a fan of "fake it til you make it," but I'm willing to give it a shot this week. 

this week...I am returning to the gym on the regular (motivated by the threat of losing the wellness $$ that my company kicks into my paycheck). 

this week...I am desperately tired of every.single.item of clothing that I own. 

this week...I am cooking yummy dinners. Pan Seared Scallops in a Whiskey Cream Sauce. Coconut Risotto with Shrimp. Sweet Potato Fritters. Lentil Tacos. Oh, and eggplant something-or-other (because it was pretty).

this week...I am doing the Oprah/Deepak Chopra Meditation Challenge.

this week...I am thankful for friends who don't judge, and who love me through the hard stuff.

Two things - 1) the amount of spam that I am currently getting on old posts = ridiculous and 2) it is cold & snowy & probably going to MORE snowy soon and spring feels like about a MILLION FREAKIN YEARS AWAY.

Alright. Now...on to today's Ventage Tuesday post! We're all dreaming of spring, so today's post is all about things that are putting a little spring in our step...

the farmer's market | dinners on the deck | walking on the waterfront | flowers | pretty pedicures.

Well. March certainly came in like a lion around here...and I'm talking Scar, not Simba. Yesterday was not my favorite. 

I'm regrouping today. Looking for the lesson. I'm going to do some crafting. I might take myself to see Safe Haven. I'm going to continue to work on my vision book (will share soon). I'm going to buy myself an ice cream. I'll sit in meditation for a good long while. Self-care. Do the work. Find a way to soar, even with broken wings.

Weekend reads...

I'm Fine, Thanks - okay, not a read...but a watch. Austin & I are definitely fans of a good documentary. This one is going on the list.

Five Lessons from Silver Linings Playbook

I haven't jumped on the 52Lists wagon yet - but this might be the weekend for it. 

On Time Management which inspired Lee's Real Right Now post.

Self Care in the Real World

enjoy your weekend, friends. xoxo

My March focus hit me just before I fell asleep last night. I was paging through Gretchen's book again, hoping that inspiration would strike. I thought about a "green" theme - green cleaning, green money, St. Patrick's day. I thought about a "play" theme - but that felt really forced. Spring Forward? Nope. One thing that I was sure of - I wanted to have a few one & done TASKS on my list this month. As any (all) of my friends can attest to, I'm an overachiever when it comes to self-improvement...so I wasn't sure that adding more concepts to my plate would make me happier. It would make me happy to cross some nagging tasks off of my to-do list. Somehow, out of all of that, I landed on a focus...

Here's what's on my list this month:

Clean & organize the pots & pans cabinet - I have this normal depth + abnormal length pots & pans cabinet. Confession - I have no idea what resides at the end of it. Everything that I use regularly is jumbled at the front. Clearly, there's room to simplify (and add to the garage sale pile that is amassing in the family room). 

Move all bills to my bank's bill pay service - After all of the splitting of accounts & such that comes along with divorce, I never got things really set up for myself. The result? A complicated system of trying to remember when/what/where bills are that (frankly) results in stress & late fees.

Walk more - This bit of exercise isn't hard. I need to make it a point to walk more. Simple.

Consolidate email - I have 4 email accounts (not including work) that I attempt to maintain. It's cumbersome. I'll be consolidating & simplifying. I may even just move everything to gmail. 

That's it for now. A simple list. :)