Quote: “Sometimes the most important thing in a whole day is the rest taken between two deep breaths.” — Etty Hillesum
Music: Better Sleep App – ocean and a calming humming music sound
Mood: Anxious
Grateful For: Cute stuffed animals which may be a seemingly immature thing, but they always bring a smile to my face and lighten my mood.
Act of Kindness: Helped a friend register for her next college courses.
Goal: Remove another 5 things from my house and 5 from my car. Clean top of end table since I ran out of time yesterday. Help DS to login to his course (tried Saturday but ran into issues).
Other: I decided to not complete my psychology course and just take it over again. Yes it is a loss of money (again) but I feel better just focusing on the two remaining courses. I have another two starting tomorrow which overlap the first two by two weeks. One is a desktop publishing course which I am really excited about.

Quote: “Sometimes it takes only one act of kindness and caring to change a person’s life.” – Jackie Chan

Music: Better Sleep App – ocean and a calming humming music sound

Mood: Detached and anxious

Grateful For: Coworker S whose bright personality always makes me feel a little better and cared about.

Act of Kindness: Helped someone yesterday through submitting an expense claim.

Goals: Remove 5 things from my house and 5 from my car. Clean top of end table since I forgot that goal yesterday. Continue psychology homework. Help DS to login to his course.

Other: My homework right now is on schizophrenia and what those afflicted with it go through is heart breaking. It is partly why I am feeling anxious because I wish there was something I could do to help. It is a reminder to view those suffering from mental health issues with a compassionate lens and be kind and caring.

Quote: “Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after the other.” – Walter Elliot

Music: Instrumental movie soundtracks playlist

Mood: Tense and detached

Grateful For: Technology to assist with my goals, especially writing. I can only hand write for very short periods of time.

Act of Kindness: Buying a card and gift card for a coworker who is moving to a new position.

Goals: Remove 5 things from my house and 5 from my car. Start psychology homework. Ride exercise bike for 14 minutes. Clean top of end table.

Other: I have decided my word of the year is ‘persevere’. The quote above was shared with me by my Supervisor after I told her what it is. There is a lot I have to get through this year and a lot of areas where I have to really go out of my comfort zone. I have another great coworker who is a great role model for that as she pushes herself often to go out of her comfort zone and it inspires me. Anyway, I will need a lot of perseverance this year.

Quote: “When we love, we always strive to become better than we are. When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better too.” ? Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

Music: Better Sleep App – ocean and a calming humming music sound

Mood: Hopeful

Grateful For: Having a support network even if I don’t always reach out to them when I am struggling. Just knowing they are there helps.

Act of Kindness: Sent a crocheted ’emotional support pickle’ to a coworker a few days ago just because I thought she might get a chuckle and find it cute. Work is stressful right now and I thought it might put a little bit of light in her day.

Goals: Homework – I have been slacking due to depression and seasonal affective disorder. I won’t likely pass but I can check anyway to see if it is possible. Also, get rid of 5 things from my room and my car.

“People with goals succeed because they know where they are going” ~ Earl Nightengale

This quote resonates with me because when I don’t have any particular goals I tend to flounder and feel adrift and directionless. So this year I am following in the footsteps of Gretchen Ruben, author of ‘The Happiness Project’, and I have set 20 goals for 2020.

I speak about this in episode two of my upcoming podcast, ‘Positively Growing’ and fortunately for me I am part of an accountability group through ‘The Happiness Project Experience’ since I am more likely to achieve my goals when there are external expectations I am trying to meet.

I am going to share my goals here but first I wanted to mention that I have posted them to the walls of my bedroom and our studio where I do my morning routine so that I see them everyday and it isn’t just some ideas in my head I can easily forget about. I am also using Microsoft OneNote as my planning tool so I can create a list of steps I need to take in order to achieve each of these goals. So here they are:

Long Term Goals

1. Read 20 books (including 5 non-fiction)
2. Complete and upload 10 podcast episodes
3. Complete the Happiness Project Experience
4. Listen to a minimum of 1 educational podcast with S each week
5. Watch a minimum of 2 anime episodes with S each week
6. Call or text D a minimum of every 3 days
7. Blog a minimum of 5 times per week
8. Exercise for a minimum of 10 minutes per day when physically able
9. No soda for 1 year
10. Get rid of 5 things from the house each day until it is clean and organized

Short Term Goals

1. Clean and organize studio
2. Inventory books and give away majority
3. Organize digital photos
4. Learn 1 song on guitar
5. Pay off credit cards
6. Make B.O.B for home, work, and car with S
7. Research sewing and make 10 plushies to donate
8. Update personal mission statement
9. Set up pellet shooting range with S
10. Create one raised bed garden and grow peppermint and cucumbers

So there it is. I have put those out for anyone to see. So far I have read 2 books and am almost finished a third of which one was non-fiction, clearly I am crushing my blogging goal, and I am on track with the others. If you know me personally feel free to check in and ask me how I am doing with my goals because the more external accountability I get the more I am likely to work on my goals and achieve them.

That’s it for now and until next time… Goals can be like anchors, if you make unrealistic goals that anchor can drag you down and sink you but if you make realistic and measurable goals that anchor can give you a starting point or home base and keep you from floating aimlessly in your life.

~ Crimson

I have a confession to make… (imagine that … as a bit of a hesitant and contemplative pause). I find classy people intimidating. There all kinds of classy people and classy can mean many different things to different people but for the sake of this post it means people who for all appearances ‘have their shit together’ when it comes to appearance, manners, speech, body language, etc. The ones that are often referred to as having ‘It’ or ‘It potential’. Why? Because I don’t have ‘It’. I will never have ‘It’. I sometimes say to myself and usually even mean it, that it I am okay with that. Please don’t read that as me feeling sorry for myself, because I don’t, I have a pretty darned good life, and while I may not be classy I am certainly happy with my life.

I think the intimidation was first born from having a grandmother from London, England who was ‘Classy’ which a capital C. She was beautiful, vibrant, put together, well to do, everything a young girl might aspire to be, except… she came from a generation where children were to be seen and not heard. They were to be trotted out, inspected, and dismissed because it was time for the ‘adults’ to talk now. She seriously should have been born in the Victorian age.

Anyway, back to today and the title of my post, ‘Find Your Joy’.

While I admire (sometimes even envy) those who dedicate time and money to have the right and matching ensemble, I have accepted it simply isn’t me. I am sure many if not most of the ‘classy’ people as they sit in my mind enjoy the finished product of a nice outfit, stylish hair, matching accessories, etc, etc… (impressions do matter after all) it is more of a chore to me.

Again, what does this have to do with finding your joy?

It was while attending a charity event and thinking on this topic of ‘classy’ people that I told myself I should focus more on what brings me joy than what brings me wistful thinking. Of course I find joy in things most people do like love, family, and success, but I thought I would look at something I don’t often see people write in their list of joyful things. Ready for a buzzword that has probably become so dated and will make you groan? My ‘wheelhouse’ of joy is being silly. I find I can relax, get comfortable, and really be myself when being silly. I talk to my teenage son in character voices, I volunteer as a puppeteer, I make corny jokes, I collect Funko Pop figures, I laugh at myself when I trip and fall, I make up stories for children, I create craft projects that a second grader could probably do better at, I watch anime, I participate in RPGs, I colour, and the list goes on. I am a child at heart and it makes me truly happy. Acknowledging this gives me focus and peace. Something I can call to mind to bring a smile to my face when feeling stressed or overwhelmed and living in joy is certainly a better place to be. So where do you find your joy?

I finally have project plans for my YouTube channel but I have been so sick for the last week. It has been incredibly frustrating because I can’t get out of bed long enough other than to take care of my basic needs and when I talk I sound like a honking goose. Gah!!!

Question: Name a fad, whether it be fashion, activity, or object, you fully went for (successfully or not)?

Crimson: In high school I fell for the acid wash denim jacket trend with the long leather tassels. Spectacular fail I must add. For some reason when I think back on that, the image of a Pterodactyl pops into my head.

Quote: “Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.” ~ Charles R. Swindoll (I needed this reminder)
Music: Sara Bareilles, The Fray, The Chainsmokers, The Weeknd
Mood: Melancholy, Motivated, Dull, Excited
Grateful For: high-quality dark chocolate, literacy

Random: I tried a trampoline fitness class at an indoor trampoline park. Because of all my wipe-outs I haven’t laughed that hard in a long time. I am definitely going again.

Random: I got carried away with the subscription boxes and ordered one from Kiwi Crate, OwlCrate, Geek Fuel, FabFitFun, TopBox, and Loot Vault. Fortunately I was able to track down some good coupon codes to get them at discounted prices. I received emails that the Loot Crate and OwlCrate have shipped so far. Can’t wait do some unboxing videos and open them !!!

One of the focuses in the videos will be value for money. I am not impressed by brand names. I am looking for good quality products that will fair well over time and that I will actually use (or display in the case of geek items).

Merry Geekmas!

Quote: “If you put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them.” ~ Bruce Lee
Music: Gavin DeGraw, Meghan Trainor, Bastille, Lady Antebellum
Mood: Disappointed, Tired, Headachey, Excited, Numb
Grateful For: formal and informal learning opportunities
Act of Kindness: Bought some Tim Horton’s gift cards to give out to random people. I will give one out today.

Random: I have been wanting to order a subscription box from Loot Crate for quite sometime but was concerned about value for money especially since it is in American dollars which the exchange rate is awful plus extra shipping costs for Canadians. They had a really good sale on for the holidays for some of their previous Crates that didn’t sell out as well as a deal on a new Crate so I ordered a few and am excitedly looking forward to when they arrive. I may do some unboxing videos on my YouTube channel since I haven’t really used it for anything.