Transitions, laughables, edibles.

Yikes! I can’t believe it’s been almost a month since I posted. April was quite the month. I am grateful for what it offered and glad it is over! I took trips to St. Louis and to Cleveland, getting some great time with my sister-in-law and a good friend from home. In Cleveland I got to experience spring again–the tulips and trees were in full bloom after they had already faded here. I feel like I spent most of the month navigating health issues and graduate school decision-making. But I have come out of it feeling good about what the future holds and so very grateful for all that has brought me here, including an amazing community of loved ones. I am also so proud of my many friends who have also been going through transitions over the past month or so. Completing degree programs or first years of degree programs, job searching, job starting, and many other transitions… I hope everyone can take some time to breathe, rest and reward the hard work that has gone into these endeavors.

Some things have made me laugh out loud recently. One of these things was watching a segment on The Ellen Show where she hired a mariachi band to surprise people. The video is 4 1/2 minutes long, but if you have limited time make sure you watch the end where they are hiding in a bathroom stall. That’s right. A bathroom stall. I’m glad I wasn’t one of the people who was surprised–they already had to go to the bathroom!!

For cute baby videos featured on that same show, see http://youtu.be/HP6EsGsN00M.

And for an absolutely awesome musical project (yes, it was for a commercial) see Xylophone in the Forest.

Another great joy has been the bounty of baked goods in my apartment. Both my roommate Sarah and I have been on baking kicks with Mothers Day and gifting and the general desire to bake. Granola, bread, bagels, strawberry cake, and brownies–oh my! Pictures to come soon. In the meantime, here are a couple recipes: S’mores brownies and Strawberry Cake.

I leave you with a recap of some photos of April:

opening a little box with a tea bag in it feels like opening a present

these cupcakes look better than they tasted. but the lemony icing was awesome.

sarah and I being silly during an outing

AZ added this lovely detail for a Peep diorama

sometimes one needs a deeeelicious and beautiful mocha

PS- After reading this post, I feel like all of my links and pictures could be on Stuff White People Like. Oh my.

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A Wednesday evening list of thanks and joy

Donut and coffee.

Serendipitous run-in with old acquaintance.

Someone sitting across from me who responds to the “huh,” “mm,” and sighs of my filling out applications.

Butterscotch croissant, what?

Loving emails.

Finished an application.

Bought a present.

Really comfortable pants I can still wear in public!

A scarf.

Hope.

Joy.

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Counting the moments, not the days

my three little pumpkins!

mums! purple!

josh came to visit last week and i got a private concert

talented, sweet, and soulful

These are photos of fall joy and friend joy from last week.  This week has had its own ups and downs with freak outs about the amount of work required to apply to grad school.  But Monday I wrote a poem and I worked every day on grad school application organization, hunting down details and requirements.  This morning I had a delicious fall harvest muffin.  Yesterday I bought green corduroy pants that fit and make me feel happy.  I also got hugs from my mom and a piece of her apple cake.  This afternoon I walked outside in the slanting light of 5 o’clock and saw the yellows and browns and oranges of fall everywhere–everything glowing in that golden light.  Tonight I sat on the couch and read through grad school booklets and felt reassured and excited because I feel like I’m on the right track.  In the midst of worry about big decisions and daunting work, it is still the small moments that I try to weigh heavily.  Giggles over ice cream or re-tellings of awkward life moments.  Old friends I see rarely but our time together still means heartfelt and renewing conversation–moments of tears in the eyes and affirmation.  A perfect cup of tea.  Getting even two more rows done on that scarf…

What brought you joy this week?  One little moment?

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Getting what I need

Sometimes I get exactly what I need.  Like a mocha from Open Eye that has a pretty leaf design on top.  And a late night conversation with a new/old friend Sarah to inspire me to keep writing and get disciplined.  I think I have a new partner in crime. And a poetry group.  Sarah gave me the gift of this great image metaphor of what it’s like to try to be a writer.  All these sheets are just tumbling down, tangled around her and she can’t sort them out because if she stops to do that she’ll just keep getting lost in them.  So all she can do is try to fold them and put them away and then one day she’ll be able to lay them all out and look at them and… see what they say.  I like this image because that’s how I feel, and because sheets are less threatening than other metaphors for all the word/idea mess.

Oh, and you know how some days you just want to crawl under a rock and not come out?  Maybe hide under the covers and hope that the day will start over or just be over?  That happened to me yesterday but then I called my friend B.  I was going to try to hide the fact that I was a total mess and falling apart, but I remembered that she would probably not judge me too much for it and may in fact help. So I called her and tried to play it off with my typical laugh-haha of course this thing happened to me, but ended up babbling a little about staying up until 3 worrying and feeling bad and sleeping past my alarm…  And she was not only non-judgmental, she told me that I was doing a good job and she didn’t see why I didn’t have mini-meltdowns more often.  Which actually made me feel better, like maybe I am a mess but I do a pretty damn good job with the keeping-going part.

Once I did decide to face the world, I wore a green necklace Iimay gave me, and 3 people told me how much they liked it.  And I thanked them and told them my friend gave it to me.  Which is like saying “yeah, someone loves me and knows me really well.”  Which is a really great thing to be able to say.

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Thank you to:

• whoever decided to put Boy Meets World on air at 7 am
• nice and talented phlebotomy person
• Karen at the desk who agrees with me about some people
• person who made the best unnecessarily kind and sincere phone call I’ll ever get from someone who didn’t hire me
• woman who said have a blessed day and really meant it
• barista who wanted to spell my name correctly on my coffee cup
• Brittany, study buddy and story-sharer
• whoever invented Nutter Butters
• whoever invented good instant coffee
• people who fill out reference forms
• Eric Hutchinson
• Dr. Pepper, and my mom who sent it my way
• Catherine, for escorting large bug out of my apartment last time. (Seriously, thanks.)
• Dad, for telling me that my endeavors are important and worthy of time, and for saying what I needed to hear but not just because he thought I needed to hear it
• whoever invented rubber kitchen gloves
• Mary, for making me feel better about the cockroach-in-plastic-wrap-box situation (PS, I forgot to ask for your method of removal)
• the person who gave me this hair cut a month ago.  it’s the small things, really.
• humming birds, and my neighbor who put up the favored feeders
• Lastly for now, and unrelated to the actual hummingbirds:
  hummingbird cake.

Who or what are your thanks to at this moment?

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41. Practice mindful eating.

Before you take the first bite at your next meal, observe what your food smells like.  Take the first bite slowly, noticing the texture of the food and how it feels in your mouth.  Appreciate the range of tastes and flavors.  Chew slowly.  Do this for at least one meal a day.

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27. Share a meal with someone.

For at least one meal, eat with others.  Don’t eat in front of the television or answer your phone while eating.  Focus on the conversation and the person/people you are with.  If you know someone who regularly eats alone, invite them to eat with you.  If you eat with the same people/person all the time, try not to take the time for granted.  Have real quality time.

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5. Enjoy the grocery store!

First of all, awesome response so far!  If any of you haven’t checked out the comments left by folks in this community of joy, please do.  You may be inspired.  🙂

So, I’m thinking…the weekend is upon us and many of you may need groceries!

Next time you’re at the grocery store, nab one of those free cookies.  I think at Harris Teeter they used to be in a plastic box attached to a cutout of an alligator or something awesome.  While you’re at it, go ahead and try all the free samples you find appealing.  Savor those little nibbles of yum.  On your way out, look to see if there is a group of balloons (perhaps designated as “for kids”).  Take one of those too, and proudly tie it to your wrist or bag–you don’t want to lose it in the parking lot!

If you don’t go to a grocery store with free samples and balloons, maybe you should.  At least once.  Just for a try. I don’t, however, recommend making free samples out of something that isn’t free (e.g. don’t take a knife to that cantaloupe or open a pack of Oreos “for display.”  Not that any of you would do that….).

Either way, while you’re at the store, why not really appreciate what is around you?  The people, the variety of produce, how many different kinds of rice there are, or the foods you used to love when you were young.  Imagine what it would be like if you were in the grocery store for the first time in months.

Instead of just running an errand, enjoy!  (And make sure you take your re-usable bags!)

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2. Eat Fresh, Seasonal Fruit

Pretty self-explanatory. Go get some strawberries or blueberries…  Or hey, fresh vegetables can add joy to your life too!  Today, try not to open any canned or frozen fruits or veggies.  Don’t know what’s seasonal?  Check out this fruits & veggies website.  (FYI, you can also visit The Food Network Website and click the “In Season Now” tab at the top to find recipes using seasonal foods.)

You could even make it your mission to find out where to buy local food near you.  Is there a Saturday Farmer’s Market? Does your grocery store have a local foods section, or at least tell you where the produce came from?  If you can buy locally, do it!  Does anyone have tips to share regarding fresh fruit and the like?

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