Happy New Year!!

*hopes the door hit 2007 on the ass on the way out*

I had a great time ringing in 2008 with my sweetie and friends. I am SO optimistic about 2008. I ran into one of Ryan's and my mutual friends on NYE, also named Ryan, and we were talking about how 2007 was pretty much a wash, and that we were happy to have broken even with the good stuff vs. the bad stuff. The first half of 2007 was pretty rough on me, but falling in love with Ty helped the year to redeem itself. I'm just SO excited to have the chance at a year that both starts AND ends well!

I've already started a list of affirmations for the new year. I've also settled on two resolutions which I hope will be easy to maintain. They are to remember to stretch and to take my vitamins daily. I've been slacking on my health consciousness as of late, and I'd like to turn that around. I need to make healthier choices all around, but I think stretching and vitamins are a good start for a daily commitment.

What are you affirming or resoluting for 2008?

Here's to health, wealth, and happiness for all in the aught-eight! :)

I love everything and everyone right now.

If you are a person or thing that exists in this world right now, at this moment, rest assured that you are loved. Because I love you. And you are amazing. I love everything about you. And I love everything about ME. Aren't we wonderful?

I wish I didn't get so nervous and anxious to meet new people! Argh!!

I will NOT call and cancel.

I will NOT call and cancel.

I WILL NOT CALL AND CANCEL!


*deep breaths*


I will say that writing These Affirmations has already calmed my nerves a fair amount. I need to go repeat them about a million times, and get the butterflies in my tummy to stop flapping their wings long enough for me to get some food in my belly without feeling like I'm going to hurl.

(Pep Talks Welcome!)

1. Thanks for all the movie/documentary suggestions so far! Keep 'em coming!. :)

I recently signed up for the blockbuster thing where you pay a monthly fee and they mail DVDs right to your house, then when you mail them back (using the provided postage-paid envelope) they send you more. I'm going to be adding all of the suggestions you've made (that are available there) to my queue! :)



2. In re-reading the entry I wrote last night, (I really try to avoid posting when I'm under the influence, but sometimes, I let one slip!) it reads as though I was fishingn for compliments or something, which was totally not the purpose. I just needed to get it out, because it's a recurring source of frustration in my life*, and I didn't want to go to sleep with it festering in my mind.



3. I'm having a really great weekend so far! Lots of fun outdoor activities with friends, and the weather has been just perfect for it. After I finish typing this, I'll be off to wake up the husband so we can take the dogs and go meet Em & Dave and their dog Leesha and go splash around in the river. Yesterday, we all went hiking together, and then they (and Leesha) came back to our house for a couple beers and for me to unload a bunch of practically brand new clothes that don't fit me right on to Emily.



*The frustration doesn't come from a feeling of needing to look as "pretty" as someone else. The fact of the matter is that my appearance will always be perceived differently than someone who puts more time and effort into their physical appearance than I do. The frustration comes from not understanding why some people feel it is appropriate to point such things out, and from not understanding why some people feel the need to compare everyone in such a way. I focus on inner beauty, and some people focus on outer beauty. I just get fed up with having my outer beauty judged by people whose opinions on the matter I did not ask for.

This morning upon waking, I did some affirmations regarding my inner beauty and strength, and released the judgements on my outward appearance placed on me by others.


The beauty that is inside of me shines through to those who are open to seeing it, and I am blessed to be surrounded by such people. :)

Heh, that last line is going to my_affirmations next!

Yesterday afternoon, I had to go to the DMV to renew my drivers license. I've never understood people complaining like they do about the DMV, because every time I've had to go there, it's been a relatively quick "in and out" type situation. That is, every time until yesterday. When I got there, the parking lot was, like, FULL. I've never seen more than 10-15 cars there before! I was looking around for the new NOT-DMV building that I was sure must have been built that shared a parking lot with the DMV. It didn't exist.

So I walk in the door, and there was a sea of people. *mini anxiety attack* There was a line just to get a number from the machine thing-o that you push a button on to indicate what you're there for. I immediately regretted not having brought a book or something with, but this was the time I had set aside to do this, so there I was.
( Read more... )

Last night, I was just beaming with joy and appreciation as I read This Post in my_affirmations.

Anyone who reads my journal with any regularity knows how important my journey of personal growth and self love is to me. If you'd like to join me with a similar journey of your own...if you want to start loving yourself more and thinking more positively...if you can use a mood boost...or if you just like a little positivity in your day, please read the post linked above, join the community and start spreading the love!

Having awareness about my weaknesses is a strength all its own.

X-Posted to my_affirmations

It's no secret that I try very hard to be a positive person, and am dedicated to making the rest of the world more positive too. I believe that we choose our attitudes, and with practice, we have the power within ourselves to become more positive, and to love ourselves more, and discover our own personal value and worth.

Well, it turns out, there are people who agree with me! Experts even!

The following excerpt is from This Article, which felipemcguire thought I might like. (Does he know me well, or what??)

It says:

Think positive, loving thoughts: Finally, a decade of research at the W.M. Keck Laboratory for Functional Brain Imaging and Behavior led by neuroscientist Richard Davidson found that choosing specific thoughts and emotions can permanently change the working of the brain.

When participants practiced feeling love and compassion, their brains went into action -- connecting and building new circuitry at high speed.

Davidson has concluded that emotions play a strong role in mental acuity and that spending just 10 minutes a day focusing on feeling loving and kind can make you smarter -- and happier.

So see, forcing yourself to think more positively will lead to a permanent change in the way you think!

x-posted to my_affirmations

(Speaking of my_affirmations, joining it would be a great way to get you on the road toward that 10 minutes a day focusing on feeling loving and kind!)

Today's affirmation is courtesy of kittygopounce:

"I am elastic (not only do I spring back from disappointment, but I'm flexible too!)"

x-posted to my_affirmations <----Join it! Pimp it!

I'm adapting this from a comment I left for a friend for my own purposes.

It's something I've been wanting to get down, some of my tools for cultivating a positive attitude. These are mostly things that I started working on the last time I spent some time seeing a counselor, which was a little over a year ago.

I also thought it might be a good time to start dropping the name of the community I'm starting, my_affirmations. (pssst...go check it out, and pimp it for me, if you don't mind!)

( Joellacritter's Positivity Tool Box )

One thing I've learned in my relatively short (so far) life is that sometimes, when something gets taken away from you, something else gets given back.

As a recap, for anyone who may have missed it, any prospect of a romantic relationship with my friend Lance has been wiped away. We are now and will always be friends. Good friends, I hope, but just friends.

Anyway, yesterday, I got an invitation from an old friend for dinner last night. Kellie is just about the only friend of mine from High School who I'm still in contact with. For a while last year, we were taking a Pilates class together and going out to eat every now and again, but then as her wedding got closer, she got busy, and we lost touch again.

Now that things have settled down, we agreed that we should get back to having dinner occassionally, and getting together with our husbands too, since they get along well. Well, the food was kind of bleh, but Kellie and I picked right up where we left off, like we always do. We're going to start going to a Yoga class on Tuesday nights after work, and make it a point to get together for dinner at least once a month.

Yay for the sisterhood! Wheeeee!

When I got home from dinner, I checked my e-mail to find I had received one from Paul! Paul was my first real love, my first real relationship, my first just about everything. We broke up because we grew up, and our relationship was not really an adult one, but we've remained friendly over the years. He moved to Arizona a few years ago, and we keep in touch via the rare e-mail exchange. I hadn't heard from him in a long while, so it was nice that he sent a message to see how I've been and catch me up on his life. It sounds like things are going well for him, and that makes me very happy. He went through some rough stuff after we broke up, and I'm glad that things are looking up for him.

Its nice that in the face of some pain, some good stuff has been dropped in my lap at roughly the same time. I'm all about balance. I love it, and I deserve it.

Ooh! Oooh!

Todays Affirmation: I AM DESERVING.

I LEARN FROM MY MISTAKES.

I AM UNDERSTANDING.

I'm leaving what's looking to be a lovely day in little old Wisconsin to head for a not-so-lovely day in Orlando, FL! Figures!

Ah well, I'm excited nonetheless. I get to travel to a place I've never been to, and I'll FINALLY get to feast my eyes on a real, live ocean.

I hope you're all well until I return to LJ land next week.

Todays Affirmation: I AM BRAVE!