Happy Wednesday, friends! Hope your week is going great. I’m enjoying my final few days at home in Ventura before heading back up to the Bay Area to teach another week-long class for Communication Academy. Summer is flying by!
Here’s a meditation for you today — I discovered the quote thanks to one of my favorite writing/creativity bloggers, Alexandra Franzen. Hope you enjoy!
Hi, everyone, and apologies for my {unexpected} blogging break! I was not really planning to take time off, but life just worked out that way with my visit home, teaching final classes and then prepping to teach a couple summer camps for Communication Academy. And THEN Holly visited me all of last week which was absolutely wonderful and the perfect excuse to unplug for a bit. We lounged, talked, cooked a delicious impromptu frittata, ate lots of veggies {and yeah, some pizza too!}, talked some more, explored San Francisco, met up with Dana for dinner, had a sleepover with Arianna, skyped with Allyn, and just generally had a magical time.
So special to have two of my favorite ladies together in one place! ❤
Whenever Holly visits me or I visit her, it always feels like we instantly fall back into our rhythm from when we lived together in college — it feels so normal to be together in everyday life. Now it’s weird not to have her here. I love you and miss you so much, Holly!
Now here’s a quick mid-week meditation to hopefully brighten up your Tuesday!
Have a joyful day, friends! I’ll be back again soon, I promise. 🙂 Thanks for sticking around and being patient with me. I missed you guys!
Hello, beautiful friends! Hope you’re having a lovely day! I’m off in a few hours to teach and then head to the airport to catch a flight home for my cousin Julie’s bachelorette party and wedding this weekend… I can’t wait!
Last night I went to an insightful meeting at church, and as always our minister began with a brief reading and a couple minutes for quiet reflection. Later on, as I drove home from the meeting, I thought about how comforting and nurturing even those brief periods of meditation are in my life. That gave me the idea to start a new series here on the blog: mid-week meditations! Each week, I’ll try to post a quote or question to think about as you go about your busy day. I hope it brings you solace and gratitude as it does for me!
Today, I’m thinking about joy and abundance, and these lovely words I came across from Sarah Ban Breathnach:
If you’re looking for more meditation, I love Heather Waxman’s blog posts and her amazing meditation album Soul Sessions. I’m a newbie to meditation, and Heather has been a gentle guide as I nurture my own budding practice.
I’ve been living with my grandparents for almost three months now. Daily life with these two full-of-life octogenarians has been such a gift. My grandparents are insightful, intelligent, kind, hard-working, and often hilarious people. And their love for each other warms my spirit.
I’ve learned a lot from watching and listening to my grandma. Here is a woman who graduated from college, earned a Master’s degree in Education while working full-time as a teacher, and also raised four children — often by herself, as my grandpap traveled a lot for his job. She grew up during the Great Depression and WWII and learned from her mother how to live with the utmost frugality. She is the matriarch of our family, always going out of her way to make sure her children and grandchildren are happy and well-fed and comfortable. She talks to her sister every day, keeps up with a wide network of friends, and volunteers her time through various organizations. I’m so proud of the woman she is, and proud to be her granddaughter.
My mom and my grandparents.
I thought it would be fun to share some lessons, large and small, that I’ve learned from living with my grandma these past few months. {I’m sure there will be more posts to come on the subject!}
1. Love is more powerfully shown through actions than through words. My grandma isn’t one to say “I love you” all that often. She says she can’t really remember her parents ever telling her they loved her, but she always knew they loved her because of their loving actions. My grandma is always doing kind things for the people she cares about. Yes, I believe it is important to tell the people you love how much you love them, but even more important is backing up those words with loving actions. Without caring gestures and acts of love, the words “I love you” lose their meaning.
2. Always bring a jacket. You never know when the weather’s going to turn, and you don’t want to be cold.
3. Always bring a snack. You don’t want to be hungry. Just stick a granola bar in your purse, at the very least.
4. Get to the show early to get a good seat. My grandma is always the first person at the movie theater, picking the best seat in the house. Often she’ll change her mind two or three times before she finds the seat she wants.
5. The freezer is your friend. My grandma hates wasting food. All leftovers are refrigerated. If she thinks we won’t eat them in time, she’ll put them in the freezer for later. Bread, cakes, cookies, pies — everything can be frozen and resurrected later. The woman wastes nothing. It’s amazing.
6. If you don’t know what to make for dinner, raid your fridge and make soup. You can’t go wrong with a pot of chicken stock and cut-up veggies.
7. Take a walk every day. Every morning, even when her hip is a little sore, she puts on her tennis shoes and goes for a walk around the neighborhood. Even just fifteen or twenty minutes of exercise makes a difference. My grandma also believes in getting your exercise in early, before the craziness of the day sets in.
8. When the weather’s nice, sit outside. If the sun in shining and the breeze isn’t too cold, you can bet you’ll find my grandma outside on the patio, relaxing in her lounge chair, reading the paper or talking to her sister or enjoying an afternoon nap.
9. Sometimes people are yo-yo heads. Forgive them. My grandma’s favorite term for someone who disappoints is a “yo-yo head.” According to her, we’re all yo-yo heads sometimes. That’s why we have to be patient with each other.
10. Strangers are simply friends you haven’t met yet. My grandma is the Queen of Small-Talk, the friendliest person I’ve ever known. She talks to everyone — people waiting behind her at the post office, the barista at Starbucks, the person sitting the next seat over on BART. All the grocery store checkers know her by name. To me, sometimes the world can seem lonely or disconnected, everyone staring at their tiny phone screens or listening to their iPods. But my grandma reminds me every day that the world is a friendly place if you make the effort to be friendly yourself.
Hi, friends! How is your week going so far?
It’s been quite a busy past few days over here … this past weekend I taught my sixth annual summer writing camp for 15 energetic, creative and exuberant young writers. Teaching writing camp always renews my respect and admiration for full-time teachers — I love it, but whew! I am exhausted on Sunday evening! I’m doing some individual tutoring this week, and then I’ll have two more days of teaching writing camp this upcoming weekend. The kids are so much fun. I feel lucky to have such a great group. Their passion and enthusiasm is contagious!
Making silly faces.
Hard at work!
This week I came across this link thanks to Lindsay @ The Lean Green Bean: “15 TED talks that will change your life.” There are some real gems here! http://mashable.com/2013/07/08/ted-talks-change-your-life/
Now, on to the kindness! The Week 28 Kindness Challenge is to compliment a stranger or acquaintance at least once every day, and/or give out ten compliments by the end of the week. It is amazing how something as simple as a kind word or compliment can brighten someone’s entire day. The main thing is to be sincere. Brainstorm a list of the people you know who are doing good things — and then tell them what you admire about them! Compliment a coworker on their presentation. Tell the manager at your favorite restaurant how much you love their food. Maybe the barista ringing up your coffee order is wearing a strikingly pretty necklace — compliment her on it! I’ve read statistics that we humans are much more hard-wired to remember insults people say about us than compliments. I think that means we need to compliment each other more than ever!
As always, blog about your experiences and include your links in the comments section below, or feel free to send me an email at dallaswoodburn <AT> gmail <DOT> com.
Have a wonderful week!
Dallas
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year of kindness archives:
– week 1 challenge: donate items to those in need
– week 2 challenge: leave quarters & note at laundry machine
– week 3 challenge: write & send a kind handwritten note
– week 4 challenge: give hot chocolate to someone outside in the cold
– week 5 challenge: do something kind for a neighbor
– week 6 challenge: deliver valentines to a nursing home
– week 7 challenge: donate to a food pantry
– week 8 challenge: donate toiletries to a shelter
– week 9 challenge: post a kind note in a public place
– week 10 challenge: do something kind for a child
– week 11 challenge: thank someone in a genuine & meaningful way
– week 12 challenge: deliver baked goods to a fire station
– week 13 challenge: give someone flowers
– week 14 challenge: donate books
– week 15 challenge: reach out and spend time with people
– week 16 challenge: smile at everyone you meet
– week 17 challenge: pick up litter/trash
– week 18 challenge: write a kind note to a mom figure in your life
– week 19 challenge: leave an extra-generous tip
– week 20 challenge: donate blood/join bone marrow registry
– week 21 challenge: visit a cemetery and pay respect
– week 22 challenge: practice a little patience
– week 23 challenge: call 3 loved ones on the phone
– week 24 challenge: do something kind for a senior citizen
– week 25 challenge: pay for someone’s public transportation
– week 26 challenge: volunteer at a food pantry or soup kitchen
– week 27 challenge: send a care package to someone in the military
Happy Sunday, friends! Hope you are having a joyful, relaxing, rejuvenating day!
It has been H-O-T here in Southern California, and especially in my little beach community where few of us have air conditioning, this weekend has been all about trying to keep cool! I have been downing Gatorade, homemade iced tea, and smoothies.
As I mentioned the other day, I have been all about the smoothies lately! I am a little late to the smoothie party, and I don’t know why it took me so long. I think I was intimidated by the blender {and blender clean-up} but it really takes me all of five minutes to assemble my smoothie, blend it, and wash the blender. A smoothie has become my go-to breakfast! I normally blend some fresh or frozen fruit, a couple spoonfuls of greek yogurt, 1/2 cup of coconut water, a handful of baby spinach, and ice. Here are a few of my favorite fruit combos:
– strawberries, banana, pineapple
– peach, strawberries, blueberries
– mango, peach, blueberries
– raspberries, strawberries, banana, blueberries
Also, if anyone is like me and feels a little wary about adding spinach, trust me: you really can’t taste it! It’s a great way to get a little more green into your diet.
On a more decadent note, I also made these chocolate butter cups which are currently chilling in the freezer … I will let you know how they turn out!
Yesterday I spent the afternoon at the beach with my dear friend Patty and her family, who were sweet enough to invite me out to their beach house. It was a beautiful day at the beach and the nice ocean breeze cooled things off a little!
Then, last night my mom and I kept cool in the air conditioning: we went to a local restaurant and saw my amazing friend Lauren Sexton in concert! She is such a talented songwriter, singer and guitar player. She just released an album and the concert was a celebration. You can check out her music on her Facebook page — two of my favorites are her songs “In the Morning” and “The Highway.” Her music is beautiful and I was so proud to be there last night! Congrats, Lauren!
This morning began with a smoothie, the Sunday comics, a slobbery doggy kiss from Murray, and a beautiful sermon at church. Today’s sermon was about delighting in the abundance and joy of the summer and taking time to relax and recharge your batteries. After I got home, I’ve spent the rest of the afternoon sprawled out on the couch reading a great book — Abide With Me by Elizabeth Strout. {I love her! Her novel Olive Kitteridge is another great read!}
As I’ve written about before, sometimes I feel this pressure to be go-go-go all the time, like constant busyness makes my days more worthwhile, but I’ve found it’s really quite the opposite. On those rushed, forced go-go-go days I typically climb into bed feeling depleted and frazzled, like my gas tank is on empty. Not a good feeling. I’m learning to give myself permission, especially on Sundays, to just relax and savor this amazing life I’ve been blessed with. There was nothing I felt more like doing today and curling up with a book, and it has been a delightful Sunday.
What are you doing to relax and recharge your batteries? What are you delighting in this summer?
The Sunny Side Up! is a real gem. Not only will you have fun reading this book, you will learn a lot, too. How can you squeeze the most happiness out of your daily life? What are important components that will bring you lasting fulfillment and joy? What about when life throws challenges your way—how can you find happiness even in the hard times? Lauren Cook, a.k.a. The Sunny Girl, covers all of these topics and more in this engaging, thought-provoking, fun and inspiring book! {You might remember Lauren from this beautiful and inspiring guest post she wrote for us last year about finding happiness in a sense of daily accomplishment.}
Lauren interviewed hundreds of young people and incorporates their views throughout the book on everything from friends to dating, family to volunteering, stress levels to definitions of success. I was fascinated reading all of their thoughts and opinions, and it made me realize that I am not alone in my quest for greater happiness and fulfillment. Indeed, Lauren makes us feel like we are all on the same team, cheering each other on and helping one another gain more joy from life.
One of my favorite things about the book is the interactive quality — Lauren frequently poses questions to the reader, with room for you to write down your own answers. In this way, The Sunny Side Up! is not only a book — it is also a lively, dynamic workbook that will take you through tangible strategies and ideas for pumping up the happiness in your life! The Sunny Side Up! is a joyful manifesto you will find yourself returning to again and again.
What books are you reading and loving this summer?
previous book club posts:
– The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
– Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
– The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin
– The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton
– Blackberry Winter by Sarah Jio
The book for the March Peanut Butter Fingers Book Club was The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. I’ve read and loved previous John Green novels, so I was eager to read this one. And I was not disappointed! This is a beautiful, heartbreaking, honest, incredibly moving book about love, loss, and the bittersweet ephemeral quality of life.
This was one of those books I could not put down but simultaneously did not want to end. The characters felt like real people. I was entirely invested in their lives and their emotions. I’ll warn you, this book is sad — the main character is a teenage girl with terminal cancer — but I was surprised by the many moments of humor and hope. This is a heartbreaking, but ultimately joyous and uplifting, read.
Instead of a traditional review, I decided to pull some of my favorite quotes from the book to share with you:
Read this book. {Maybe not on a plane or public bus, as you will likely weep while reading, if you are anything like me.} But yes, read this book! You will be glad you did.
Till soon,
Dallas
previous book club posts:
– Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
– The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin
– The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton
– Blackberry Winter by Sarah Jio
Happy Monday, everyone! Hope your week is off to a marvelous start!
How did last week go for you? Did you join me in the #yearofkindness challenge? I was surprised at how much FUN I had combing through my closets for items to donate! Never imagined I could enjoy cleaning/organizing so much. I’ve donated clothing in the past, but something about looking through my closet *specifically* for items to give to others made the endeavor feel different — waaaaay more rewarding. Maybe also because in the past I would purge items from my closet solely in order to make room for new items. Not this time! Simpler is better for this girl. Less clothing means I can better appreciate the items I do have!
I ended up packing up a small box of four bras in great condition to ship off to Free the Girls, a fantastic organization I featured in a post last summer.
I also brought a box of about a dozen clothing items — t-shirts, sweaters, pants, and a pair of shoes that never quite fit me right — to the local Goodwill.
It made me so happy to give these things away to others! An added bonus is that my closet feels neater and less cluttered.
And maybe it’s a coincidence, or maybe I’m just more attuned to kindness around me, but the karma was returning my way this past week! Just a couple examples:
I’m already jazzed up about this week! Okay, here’s the Week 2 Challenge: leave a stranger a nice note and quarters for the laundry machine. If you live in an apartment complex with a laundry facility {like I do} you can easily leave quarters and a note there. If not, go to a laundromat and leave a note and quarters on one or two of the machines there.
Take pictures and blog about your experience, or email me at dallaswoodburn <AT> gmail <DOT> com, and I’ll be delighted to link to and share your experiences in my post next week!
In joy & kindness,
Dallas
Today was a glorious 50-degree day here in Indiana, and a Friday to boot! I celebrated by stopping by a frozen yogurt shop for a midafternoon snack. They still had the holiday flavors out and I perhaps gorged myself on a little too much of the gingerbread fro-yo {I am a sucker for anything gingerbread flavored, as evidenced by this photo of my happy gingerbread chai latte face} and needless to say, I am now in a little bit of a fro-yo sugar coma. I will persevere onward…
So, you may remember that this book was on my to-read list back in November as part of the book club hosted by blogging phenom Julie at PB Fingers.
You may also have noticed that finishing the book was crossed off my to-do list a while ago and that I mentioned one of the book’s principles {“Do good, feel good”} in my post about taking cards & cookies to the nursing home for the holidays.
To be honest, I think I kind of blurred together that post and the book in my mind, and thought I had already posted a review of The Happiness Project on here … until I went to look for the post last night and couldn’t find it. Whoops!
Better late than never, right? 😉
The Happiness Project takes us through a year-long quest of writer Gretchen Rubin to become happier and more grateful for her life and her blessings. She focuses on a specific area of her life for each month, such as feeling more energetic, being a better parent, and improving her relationship with her husband. Her aim is to continue the lessons from each month into the next month {picture a snowball accumulating more and more power as it rolls forward} so that by the end of the year she is attempting to put all of her lessons into practice. I really liked how she set up the project, and the book, in this organized, easy-to-follow way. I am using this strategy to tackle my own goals for this year: I have broken them up into different categories and am focusing on one main category per month, which will hopefully make it less overwhelming to stay on track and get things done.
Rubin writes in an accessible way, almost like a friend chatting to you over coffee. I also liked how she interspersed quotes, examples, and scientific & psychological research she had done throughout the book. It is clear she dove full-heartedly into her happiness project and I think that is a big part of what makes her story so inspiring and invigorating. This book is part of what motivated me to start my own year of kindness challenge!
I was moved by Rubin’s “Splendid Truths” about Happiness {you can read the entire list on her blog here} especially her Second Splendid Truth:
“One of the best ways to make yourself happy is to make other people happy;
One of the best ways to make other people happy is to be happy yourself.”
Reading this statement made me feel joyfully understood. This would be my First Splendid Truth; this is my key to happiness. I make myself happy by making other people happy. And I try to brighten other people’s days with my own happiness. I remember a mantra I came up with in elementary school: “Why be sad when you could be happy?” It still rings true, for me, in most situations.
Something else that I found useful from this book was the appendix, which is filled with handouts and resources for people interested in starting their own happiness projects. Rubin wrote that one of the most motivating things for her was to track her progress with daily charts, and as I am someone also motivated by checking things off lists, I devised my own goal list for the week to keep me motivated on those routine goals that could easily fall by the wayside.
All in all, I think The Happiness Project is a motivating and inspiring book to read while also asking yourself, “What does my own Happiness Project look like?”
Have any of you read The Happiness Project? What did you think of it? I’d love to hear your thoughts.
** For January, the PB Fingers book club pick is The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton.
** I’ll also be reading and reviewing 7: an experimental mutiny against excess by Jen Hatmaker if anyone wants to join me! I’d be happy to post links to your book reviews, too!
Have a great weekend! I am planning a night in watching Men in Black III {which I still can’t believe I managed to miss in theaters… I’ve been wanting to see it for.ev.er!}
Hope your night is filled with fun and relaxation and perhaps even a little Friday fro-yo! 😉
xo,
Dallas
Day-By-Day Masterpiece 