Tag: “secret”

friday’s “secret”: enjoy my favorite things-holiday edition

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The Holidays are in full swing and there is nothing like them. I have always enjoyed Christmas! As a kid, I loved the presents I would get, obviously, but I also liked the atmosphere and the traditions that only Christmas candle decorhappened during that time of the year!

As I got older, the magic and joy seemed to evaporate slowly, like a heavy fog in the early morning, with each passing year. It is only recently that I have decided to be very intentional about enjoying my favorite things, holidays included.

  • You have to start with the music. I make a conscious decision not to listen to Christmas music until Christmas time; that makes it even more special. My favorite album is The Gift: A Colours Christmas, a relaxing but different take on a number of traditional Christmas carols. My family has been listening to this for as long as I can remember Christmas and it wouldn’t be Christmas without it! Also gotta hear Handel’s Messiah, Leroy Anderson’s traditional rendition of Sleigh Ride played everywhere and This Christmas by Donny Hathaway.
  • Movies are next. This year, I plan on watching my three all-time favorite Holiday movies: The Holiday with the all-star cast of Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslett, Jude Law, and Jack Black. I tear up at the end every single time. Next is that quirky, I don’t know why I love it but I do, Love Actually with another all-star cast of Hugh Grant, Emma Thompson, Keira Knightley, and Colin Firth, just to name a few. I rewind and watch the final scene of the arrivals at Heathrow’s Airport set to The Beach Boys’ God Only Knows over and over again. God only knows what I would be without my family! And finally, my family’s traditional Christmas movie, the classic Miracle on 34th Street staring Maureen O’Hara and Natalie Wood. Love it!
  • And you can’t forget about the food. My mommy makes a delicious strawberry danish that we serve with a her homemade blend of peppermint tea sweetened with apple juice. Oranges and grapefruit complete our Christmas Eve meal. It’s just dawned on me that I’ll have to make the danish this year since we will be celebrating separately! And of course, for Christmas Dinner, which for us is a version of Thanksgiving Dinner again, I must have my mommy’s homemade stuffing, which I will be making as well. This is also a great time of year for caramel popcorn, Kroger’s Simple Truth Kettle Popcorn will suffice here and I have to get a tin of those traditional Christmas cookies. You know, the ones in the blue tin?
  • I also send out Holiday cards.  Does anyone still do that? It’s a lot of fun for me to go pick out my cards around Thanksgiving and send them out every year.  If I do nothing else for Christmas, I send out my cards!
  • And finally, the decorations: a tree with traditional white lights, a lit wreath for the door, and a few ornaments scattered around the house. Keeping it simple this year.

What do you enjoy about the holidays?

And please, I am looking for suggestions for a fourth great Christmas movie!

enjoy life the holidays…

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friday’s “secret”: to be happy, you gotta step outside of your comfort zone, again

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Logo. Galaxy of Lights 5KThis week, I did something that was truly terrifying for me. I ran the Huntsville Botanical Gardens Galaxy of Lights 5K race alone; in the dark.

The Galaxy of Lights is a holiday extravaganza of lights displays throughout the Garden during the holiday season. Displays include the 12 Days of Christmas, and my personal favorite, the Icicle Forest which takes my breath away every time. The displays are sponsored by local companies and community members and installed, repaired, and maintained throughout the year by NASA engineers, electricians, and volunteers. After Thanksgiving, Galaxy Driving Nights allow you to experience the displays in the warmth of your vehicles. The 5K and 3K Holiday Dash allows you to experience it up close and personal.

I had made plans to run with a friend. Being alone in large crowds terrifies me. Unfortunately this friend hurt her ankle and couldn’t do it with me. I spent the day scrambling trying to find someone else to go with me. On top of that, it was raining cats and dogs throughout the entire day and I told myself that the was suppose to be a fun race and running, in the rain, alone, in the dark, was not going to be fun.

Around 3:30 PM, the rain let up enough for me to consider doing it. But I couldn’t find anyone to go with me. I flip-flop back and forth between going and not going for about an hour and ultimately decided to go. I had all ready arranged for my mother-in-law to keep the Buddy Man later with Hubby picking him up after work and I rationalized that I would ultimately regret it if I did not.

I got there at 5:00 and hour and a half before race time. In retrospect, this was a mistake. I wanted to make sure I had close parking and that I was able to pick up my race packet in time to pin on my number and use the restrooms which had lines throughout the night. It had stopped raining and I wandered around the exhibits looking for someone to talk to. Overwhelmed, I gave up and went to my car and the tears formed. Why was I doing this? I began to feel guilty about not being there for the first time to put my baby to sleep. I was lonely. This wasn’t fun.

I found a book and read by the light of a flashlight until close to race time. Once, we were off, I thoroughly enjoyed it! The lights were beautiful and every time I run, I feel awesome!

I felt so proud of myself. I did something else that I was afraid to do. And I don’t have to look back and wish that I had had the courage to do what I really wanted to do. I did high-tail it out of there as soon as the race was over, though. And what do you know, but it started pouring again!

How about you? Ever done something you were afraid to do?

enjoy life…

friday’s, uh, thursday’s “secret”: being grateful = being happy

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Here’s my absolutely, positively, number one, sure-to-work, no-fail secret to my being happy, and it’s mind blowing: I must be grateful for what I have.

So this Thanksgiving, I would like to increase my happiness quotient by highlighting just a few of the things that I am grateful for this year.

  • My Hubby – this guy has proven himself to be an excellent father, in addition to being a great husband, just like I knew he would be when I started dating him 13 years ago.
  • Buddy Man – this guy! What can I say about him except it’s true: your life changes in so many ways, both expected and unexpected. It’s the unexpected ones that truly surprise me. I love this guy more and more in each day.
  • My Parents – speaking of the Buddy Man, I could not raise my son half as well without the support that they give us. I truly appreciate my mother much more, being a mom myself. What she did for my sister and I, day-in and day-out, cannot be calculated or described.
  • My Sister – another wonderful source of support during this new adventure I find myself in. I can’t even begin to thank her for everything that she has done for me this year.
  • My New Brother – my sister got married this year! I absolutely love my new brother, a fellow reader! He’s awesome!
  • My Mother-in-Law – Thanks for those much needed periods of restoration from the Buddy Man every week. Don’t know if I could make it without it.
  • My Family and Friends – a special shout out to those who have especially supported me throughout this challenging year: Grandma, Mel, Nicole, Joy, Jamila, Domonique, Cindy, Mrs. Cort, and Erika.
  • Challenge Groups and Team Beachbody – my Challenge Group peeps (Nicole, Jamila, Ciera, Aunt Libby) and the Beachbody Team  – Randi and the 21 Day Fix program. I’m making progress to my fitness goals. Thanks for all of your support.
  • Great Books – book have definitely kept me sane this year. There have been so many good ones but a few deserve a special mention this year: Nourished by Becky Johnson and Rachel Randolph; Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert; and Better Than Before by Gretchen Rubin and her Four Tendencies Framework provided a, dare I say it, framework to make and continue some changes in my life. Life-changing!
  • The Ability to Run – the other major thing that keeps me sane.
  • And it’s always nice to take a hot shower after a run.
  • And finally, all of you – the readers of my blog. Thank you so much!

“Given the amount of unjust suffering and unhappiness in the world, I am deeply grateful for, sometimes even perplexed by, how much misery I have been spared.”

– Dennis Prager

Happy Thanksgiving! enjoy life…

Happy Thanksgiving 2015