living a life of gratitude

It's somewhat by happenstance that I'm posting this around Thanksgiving - but timely, nonetheless.

A few weeks ago, I was able to spend some time with a friend (and colleague) who was visiting Minneapolis. She's awesome... and she has done quite a bit of research on spirituality, positive thinking, meditation, and all that jazz. 

I'll admit that I'm not very familiar with all of that, so may not explain this all very well. Thanks to her, though, I have been thinking about it more. She did an informal "session" for a few of us to teach us about some of the basics. One of the things I really appreciated she wasn't to push or negate any religious beliefs of anyone. She shared some info herself, we listened to a recording, meditated for 5 minutes looking at a candle flame (which actually isn't as strange as it sounds), and did a couple of other activities.

Honestly, I wasn't sure what I'd think about all of this... but I was pleasantly surprised and left with a few take-aways that have kept me thinking since then. Thanks, Tiffany!

1. Take time for you. Think about it - how much time do you spend thinking about others, doing things for others, working for others? .... Now, compare that to how much you think about yourself and do things for yourself. This is where the idea of meditation comes in - and not necessarily like you may be imagining - sitting cross-legged, saying "ohm...." repeatedly. It's about taking a few minutes to do clear your head and think about you. Sit however you feel comfortable. Take some deep breaths, even for 30 seconds... sit quietly for 5 minutes... spend 30 minutes or an hour clearing your head. And, get really crazy - take a whole day to yourself (gasp!) Who has the time? Right? You do - just take it. It's not selfish. It's necessary.
2. It's OK to Recommit. It's not uncommon for us to get down on ourselves when we fail at something - and we all fail. I messed up my diet and ate that cookie (or box of cookies); I was late (again); I screwed up on (insert most recent mess-up here). We have a tendency to be really hard on ourselves, beat ourselves up, and not let things go. But, whatever wagon we've recently fallen off of, we need to learn that it's OK to recommit ourselves to our goals and move forward. So what if I ate the (box of) cookies? I'll do better tomorrow and I'll recommit to (insert name of wagon here).
3. A life of gratitude. This has been what has stuck with me the most. Related to (#1) how we don't take time to reflect and (#2) our tendency to look at the glass half-empty. Thinking about the things we're grateful for can help lead to a life of more positive thinking, and help us to remember that life isn't so bad, or hard, or insane, after all. So, take time for yourself (#1) and think about what you're grateful for (#3). And, if you get sidetracked and stop for a while, it's OK... just recommit (#2) to remembering what we are grateful for.

So, what does it all boil down to? In the past few weeks, I've been trying some little things. And, I'll have to admit that I've had to recommit a couple of times already to #1 and #3 because (surprise) I've been busy and I haven't taken the time. But, I'm trying.

Tonight, I'm taking time for me - sitting down and writing, which is something I enjoy doing for me. And, tonight I am thinking about some things I'm grateful for: 

• Tiffany for making me pay attention to these things. 
• vacation days so I can be off until next Monday, because I hardly ever take time off. 
• a job to take vacation days from.
• Tiffany for giving us a burned copy of her birthday-mix CD so I haven't had to hear the song I hate the most for weeks!
• friends who call to tell me random things that make me laugh (I'm looking at you, KVO).
• family who will love me no matter what.
• and - you, for humoring me and reading what I write.

What do you think? Is there anything here that made you think?

And, in the spirit of Thanksgiving this week - what are you grateful for?

a nice fall day

OK, so maybe it's not fall, yet... but it sure felt like it this morning. It was a little dreary and cool enough so that I needed my sweater. I'm going to be sad to see summer go, because I know that winter is coming then... but Fall is my favorite, so I'm looking forward to it!

So, (unrelated) I learned a lesson on this nice fall (feeling) day: Always dress in a way that you're prepared for the unexpected. I couldn't sleep last night until about 3 a.m. and, consequently, I was a little late getting up to get ready for church this morning. So, I got up, put on jeans (nice ones, no rips, holes, or the like) and a black sweater, threw my black flip flops on and ran out the door. Oh, and I did comb my hair and put it in a ponytail. I showered late last night, so I was not the smelly kid, either.  But, when I got there, Pastor stopped me on the way in...

(I'm paraphrasing here)

Pastor: We have another family joining - do you want to do the new member welcome in front of church with them?

Me: Today?

Pastor: Yes - sorry for the short notice.

Me: Um... (looks down at what I'm wearing) I probably would have dressed a bit differently if I would have known...

Pastor: It's OK, we can do yours another time if you want. Just thought I'd see if you wanted to do it with them.

Me: Ummmm... that might be a good idea.

I started to walk away and turned around and went back to him.

Me: You know, why not... I think I'm OK.

Pastor: I think it's fine - and it's a small crowd this morning.

Me: Let's do it.

And, it was fine. I wasn't dressed like a hobo, or anything, but I probably would have forgone the jeans and flip flops had I known. Argh... lesson learned.

Anyway - back to how it was a fall (feeling) day - the grocery store had apples on sale because it's getting to be that time of year so I bought some, some pre-cooked smoked pork chops (awesome) and some green and yellow zucchini. Here's what I ended up with for lunch:

I grilled the pre-cooked smoked pork chop to heat it up - these things are awesome. They're delicious and don't take very long to make since you just have to heat it up. I cut the zucchini up and sauteed it with some olive oil, salt, and pepper - and it was mighty tasty. My typical mistake with this kind of stuff is being too light on the seasoning, but today I did well. :)  And the apples, I sauteed in a bit of butter with honey, and sprinkled with cinnamon and a tiny bit of nutmeg. I went light on the seasoning with the apples, but that worked out well, too. I'm not sure what it is about apples and pork chops, but they are delicious together. And the meal seemed very fall-ish to me.

I also got a roast to make a Coke roast in the crock pot tomorrow. Yum!

What do you think? Are you dreading summer ending or looking forward to fall? As for me - I'm looking forward to it, along with the seasonal yumminess that comes with it.

the great minnesota get-together

Growing up I don't really remember if we ever went to the State Fair (aka the Great Minnesota Get-Together) - but now that I live only about 30 minutes from it, I think it's a must-do every year. The people watching is amazing, the company is excellent, and it's one time of year when it's perfectly acceptable to have everything you eat all day to be deep fried and/or on a stick. What's not to like?

Maybe the crowds - but the glass-half-full in me says: more people watching! I have the glass-half-full approach for the first 4 or so hours. Then glass-totally-empty kicks in and I hate pretty much everyone that I'm not there with. (I exaggerate just a bit.)

Fortunately (for the glass-half-full me) I was only able to go to the fair for about 3 hours this year. However, unfortunately (for the I-want-to-eat-deep-fried-everything-because-it's-the-state-fair me) I was only able to be at the fair for about three hours this year. The company was definitely the best part of the day, so thanks to the Hanson's, Storlie's, and Gavin's for letting me hang out with them again over the weekend.

Meeting up with them worked out swimmingly because the shuttle I was on dropped off by the Haunted House, across the street from the Horticulture building - and they were right behind it. I'm glad I didn't have to try to find them in the mess.

One of the first things we came across after I got there was - you saw it - the Spring Grove Soda Pop stand!!! If you haven't had it, or don't know why I'm excited, you're missing out totally. Spring Grove is one small town over from where I grew up and it was always a treat to get Spring Grove pop. I had strawberry, because it's the best. It's even better over ice cream - but they didn't have any.

Then we hit up the animal buildings. First, the miracle of birth center which is always fun. I think I mentioned in last year's post that the animal barns are probably more fun for someone who didn't grow up on a farm... but how can you resist this face?

After the miracle of birth center, we walked through the coliseum to see what was going on. They were showing cows. Then Kyle, Reagan, Harlee, Joan, and I walked through the cow barn and talked about our favorites. The others went cowboy/girl belt shopping.

Then, of course, the pig barns. Harlee petted a pig (don't worry, we know that pig). And we saw the largest pig in Minnesota (we do NOT know that pig.)

We ended the time at the animals there and went to the heritage area - and had some deep fried mushrooms.

While the girls went to pick up their aforementioned belts, I went to the deep fried pickle stand (I'll have two, please.) Don't worry, I shared with the group. Love. I can't believe the kids don't like these. Oh, well. More for us. I agree with Kyle, though, that the stand needs to be bigger - it's always SUPER busy.

Harlee and Carson were having a good time, I think. Aren't they awesome? I think so, too.

Time for a beer. The crowds are starting to get to me. (Grainbelt Nordeast - a nice local brew.)

Unfortunately, I had to leave shortly after that. :(  But I did pick up some deep fried cookie dough on the way out. Turns out I like cold cookie dough more than deep fried. Also, I like my cookie dough in balls smaller than a golf ball dipped in funnel cake batter. Disappointed, but glad I tried it so I wasn't left wondering what could have been!

Sadly, that was the extent of my food at the fair this time due to the time limitations (happily for my heart.) The state fair is full of mixed feelings. However, if you want to see what a real champ can do at the fair, check out last year's post. Last year, I was a champ. And irresponsible, fulfilled champ.

Sometime after the cow barn and before the pig barn, this is what happened to Reagan -- and it lasted at least until I left. She must have still been tired from last night's turkey.

Laura and I decided that it would be awesome to make strollers for adults and have a stand at the fair. People could rent one and have someone walk them around for an hour or two if they needed a nap during the middle of their time there. How awesome would that be if you could "sleep and rally!" at the fair?

I also liked my friend Janine's idea that she posted on facebook - she said that after all of that walking, she could have used an ibuprofen on a stick. Or even better, deep fried ibuprofen on a stick. I like where your head is, Janine... I like where your head is.

My only regret is not getting the cheese curds (mmm......) Maybe I'll have to go back.

Did you go to "the fair" this year? What was your favorite part?